Sermons, preached partly before His Majesty at White-Hall and partly before Anne Dutchess of York, at the chappel at St. James / by Henry Killigrew ...

The First Sermon . 1 JOHN iii. 5 .

And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sin , and in him is no sin .

THE main Drift and Scope of Saint John , throughout this whole Epistle , is to perswade the Christians to whom he writes , Not to sin ; These things , says he in the former Chapter , I write unto ye , that ye sin not . For such Christians it seems there were then , as well as now , who believed that the Faith and a wicked Life were not inconsistent together ; that men might profess the Gospel , and not forsake their Vices . They acknowledged Christ to be the promised Messiah and Saviour that was to come into the World , but they understood not rightly wherein Salvation consisted , viz. that 't was not only in the remission of sins , but in the reclaiming men from the commission of them ; not only in taking away their guilt , but in reforming their evil lives . The Apostle therefore , to set them right in a matter of so high concernment , alledges in the foregoing Chapter many Reasons against their indulging themselves in any vicious course : As the contrariety of sin to God , who is all Light , and to walk in sin , is to walk in darkness : the unsuteableness of such ways to the glorious Promises they expected ; the vileness of earthly things , in comparison of things heavenly , and the like . And in the Words of my Text he adds two Reasons more , taken from two things , which he says they did know , but did not duly consider . The first from the purpose of the manifestation of Christ in the Flesh , which was to take away sin . And the second from the Sanctity of his Life , ( which was an even course of righteousness ) Christ purposing to take away Sin by his Example , as well as by his Death and Sufferings . And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins , and in him is no sin .

We may observe in the Words these three things :

I. The Purpose of the manifestation of Christ in the Flesh , It was to take away sin .

II. The Purpose of his holy Life , That was also to take away sin : For St John alledges this for a Motive , as well as his manifestation in the Flesh , That in him was no sin .

III. The Inference from these two Purposes , imply'd in the Argumentation of the Apostle , though not express'd in his Words , That it is the Duty of all Christ's Followers , as far as 't is possible for frail men , to be without sin .

I begin with the Purpose of Christ's Manifestation in the Flesh , To take away sin . And first a few things

Of his Manifestation .

Christ's coming into the World is express'd in Scripture by this Term of Manifestation , to shew that 't was of a different kind from other mens , who had no Being before their productions into the World , unless in a very imperfect way of conceiving it , viz. in their Causes and Principles . But Christ before he was born into the World , had a full and perfect Existence , even from all Eternity , and did only assume our Nature to his Pre-existent Being , thereby to enable him to perform the Work of our Salvation , and more familiarly to converse with Mankind : as our Apostle says , that we might see , and hear , and handle the Word of Life . And 't was in reference to his Being before he was born of the Virgin , that Old Zachary compares his Manifestation in the Flesh , to the rising of the Sun above the Horizon , Whereby the Day-spring , says he , from on high hath visited us . The Sun 's Rising , we know is not his first Being , as some ignorant People of old conceived , who thought he was extinguish'd every Night in the Sea , and a new one lighted every Morning : But the Sun , before he comes forth to us as a Bridegroom out of his Chamber , has run his Course to many People and Nations . So likewise Christ , the Sun of righteousness , before he shone to us here on Earth , had run the Course of Eternity , as I may say , with his Father , being the power of God from all Ages , the Image of his Goodness , and the brightness of his Person . And this , by the way , may arme us against the errour and seduction of the Ebionites , Samosatenians , reviv'd again by the Socinians in later days : who teach , That Christ had no Being before he was conceived by the Virgin , of the Holy Ghost , Christus non fuit ante Mariam Virginem ; Mary the Virgin , say they , and Christ the Saviour , were Cotemporaries . Thus these Hereticks , while they feared to worship a Man , denyed the Son of God ; and ran into the highest Infidelity and Sacriledge , to avoid only a supposed Idolatry . But to proceed .

The Manifestation of Christ unto the World in our Nature , the Appearance of the Son of God in the Flesh , to speak strictly , was rather an Obscuration than a Manifestation of him . As the interposition of a Cloud between the sight of our Eyes and the Sun , is a veiling , and not a shewing of him ; so the exhibiting of Christ in the beggarly Raggs of our Flesh and Bloud , was a disguising , not a revealing of him . That God ( who is incomprehensible and unconceiveable , hid from our senses , and hid from our understandings , not by Darkness , but by excess of Light and Glory , and our incapacity to behold him ) would stoop to manifest himself to mortal eyes , though in the most excellent created Form whatsoever , was an infinite diminution of his Majesty : But to manifest himself not only to , but in our Nature , must be confest to be the greatest Clouding and Absconding , and not Revelation , of the Deity imaginable ; and such as could never have entred into the thoughts of Man to believe , if it had not been done and seen . But however that this is most true : yet if we consider this Mystery rightly ( for though the Evangelists set down the Manifestation of Christ in the Flesh Historically , St Paul speaks of it as of a high Mystery ) we shall find , that God could no way have more eminently declared his Wisdom , and consulted the infirmity of Men , in the manifesting of his Son to the World , than after that mean manner which he did ; that such his eclipsing and obscuring him , was the most advantageous and effectual way of revealing him .

For in the first Place , how was it possible for mortal eyes to have seen the Immortal God otherwise ? Alas ! we cannot behold the Sun , but in his setting , as one says , Spectantes oculos infirmo lumine passus , our weak Eyes are not able to gaze on that glorious Luminary in its Meridian strength ; but if we will see its Beauty , we must watch the opportunity of its infirmity : For otherwise the greater its lustre is , the greater is our darkness to perceive it . How then could we have beheld the Glory of Christ ? the ineffable Glory , I say , which he had with his Father from all Eternity ? His three Disciples were as dead men , beholding only his Transfiguration ! and those that apprehended him in the Garden , upon the streaming-forth only of some Rays of his Divinity through the Cloud of his Flesh , fell twice to the Ground : who could then have stood or supported the Fulguration , as I may say , of his Deity in its full Glory ? It was not possible for Christ to have appeared , but in some exinanition , or being stript of his Majesty ; the Son of God to have convers'd with Mankind , but in the Clothing of Humanity .

2. If we consider the Purpose of his Manifestation , which was to take away sin ; it was not possible again to have effected this by any other Manifestation , but such as was also an Obscuration of him . For how could he have been subject to the Law in his Divine Nature ? delivered up into the hands of wicked men , suffered Death , and the like ? How could he have fulfilled the Types that shadow'd him in the Law , the Paschal Lamb , the Goat for the Sin-Offering , the Ram caught by the Horns in the Bush , &c. unless he had been hamper'd , as I may say , and caught in our Flesh , intangled in our infirmities , found , as St. Paul says , in the similitude of a man ? There had been no Sacrifice , no Propitiation for Sin , if Christ had not come in the Flesh ; no Redemption , no Salvation of the World , if the God of the World had not vouchsafed to have been born of a Woman . Yes , some perhaps will say , God of his free Grace might have pardoned mens sins , without the Incarnation of his Son , or any Sacrifice or Atonement for them . What belongs to this will fall-in in the next Place , the handling the Purpose of the Manifestation of Christ in the ●●●sh , which was

To take away our Sins .

It is no Wisdom barely to understand things ; but this is Wisdom , To understand the Purpose of things . Generally the greatest Naturalists among us admire the World , this stupendous Workmanship of the Almighty and Eternal Agent , and think they have studied and observed fairly , if they have arrived to the Knowledge of the Qualities and Properties of some particular Natural Bodies ; but rarely do they deduce them from their first Original , the Creator , and rarelier discern the chief End for which they were created ; they see a continual corruption and generation of Sublunary Beings , and that by this means the succession of the Universe is maintained : but pierce not so deep as to see that this is done , not so much for the continuance of the World , as for the continuance of God's Glory in the World ; and that many Ages may see , and acknowledge his Power , and partake of his Bounty and Goodness . And so it is with many Believers under the Gospel ; they read what 's written of Christ , they magnifie his Miracles , admire his holy Life and Doctrine , commemorate his Sufferings , celebrate his Festivals ; But what was the main Design of these things , what they were to bring to pass in the World , they reflect not on as they ought to do : but stand in need to be put in mind of it , as the first Christians our Apostle here wrote to . All men are ready to assent to this Saying of St. Paul , Great is the mystery — God was manifest in the Flesh , justify'd in the Spirit , seen of Angels , preached to the Gentiles , &c. But then that all these Mysteries are Mysteries of Godliness , i. e. such as should produce Godliness , Vertue and Piety in all those to whom they are preached and revealed ; make them renounce their wicked ways , and fulfil the Law of righteousness ; this they neither penetrate into , nor care to be convinc'd of . We cannot be therefore too solicitous and assiduous in making known the End , and awakening men to the consideration of the Design and Purpose of the Transactions of their Salvation , as necessary to be understood as the Transactions themselves : As our Apostle does not only teach , That Christ was manifested in the Flesh , but adds also the Reason of it , that 't was to take away our sins . And this being his chief design in my Text , I shall endeavour to explain , How Christ , assuming our Flesh , did take away our sins . For the contrary may be imagined , that by taking our Flesh , he should have taken likewise our sins , but not have taken them away . But Christ by his Incarnation took away our sins two ways . He took them away [ From us ] And took them away out of us , or [ From within us . ]

First , He took away our sins from us . ] And this he did by taking them upon himself , and paying to God the forfeiture for them , undergoing the punishment of their guilt in our behalf , so that they were no longer our sins , but his own ; the Original sin of Adam , after this manner , and all the Actual sins since of the whole World , he made his own . To speak strictly indeed , the Guilt of sin can never be taken away ; for sin after 't is once committed , remains for ever sinful : but in a Legal and Political sence Sin may be said to be taken away from us , when the Guilt of it is transferr'd , and the Punishment undergone by another ; and the Word in the Original for [ taking away ] our Sins is 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which signifies [ the lifting them up ] and is in importance the same with St. Peter's expression [ he bare ] or as the Margent of our Bible has it [ he bare away ] our sins in his Body on the Tree . What our Lord said of his Exaltation on the Cross , When I am lifted up from the Earth , I will draw all men unto me ; may be affirmed of their Sins , as well as of themselves ; of the Guilt , as well as of the Persons of them that believe in him ▪ viz. that by his lifting up on the Cross , the Sins of all men should be taken up from them , as Exhalations are drawn up from the Earth by the heat of the Sun , and after dispers'd into Air.

But now if we consider seriously this great and wonderful Dispensation of God's , in manifesting his Son in the Flesh to take away the Sins of the World , we must certainly conceive that he had a further and more excellent aim and end in it , than merely to pardon the Guilt of Sin , and to cancel past Transgressions . For if this had been all , as 't was objected , this might have been done freely , and with less ado , without Sacrifice or Atonement for Sin ; without God's sending his Son from Heaven to live so many Years upon Earth in a poor and persecuted Condition , and at last to suffer a painful and ignominious Death : Besides , in all reason , the Pardon of Sin would have been pronounced more authoritatively and satisfactorily by God in his Glory , than in the Disguise of Humane Nature ; as the Great Lord of Heaven and Earth , than as a poor Delinquent standing himself before the Tribunal of Justice . Again , what had all the other Mutations in the Church of the Jews , the removing of the Law of Moses , and the introducing a more perfect , that of the Gospel , to do with the bare Remission of Sin ? the giving so many excellent Precepts , and Christ himself for an Example of a holy Life ; the clear discovery of a Heaven for the Reward of Well-doers , and of a Hell for evil ; the confirming these things with so many Miracles , and the Bloud of so many Divine Persons ; the instituting an Order of men to preach and inculcate these things to the end of the World ? If , I say , the absolving men from their past Transgressions had been all the business , and nothing had been aimed at further , or required of them to qualifie them to receive this Grace , but barely to believe that such a Grace was offered them ( as too many flatter and delude themselves ) all these operose , toilsome , mysterious and astonishing Performances of Christ and the Holy Ghost might have been spar'd , and any one of the least of the Sons of the Prophets would have serv'd to have proclaim'd the Remission of Sins , and coming on this Errand , would have found credence and welcome . But , alas , the Case was otherwise : Men were not only to be pardoned , but reformed ; to be absolved from their Guilt : but , as 't is in the Benedict' , being delivered out of the hands of their Enemies , they were to serve God without fear , in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of their life .

That men therefore may not mistake the principal Design for which Christ came into the World , our Apostle plainly declares it at the 8th Verse . For this purpose , says he , the Son of God was manifested , that he might destroy the works of the Devil . Christ came not only to pardon Sin , but to destroy it ; not only to absolve a wicked World , but to make a righteous ; to take away the condemnation , but the commission of Sin : And therefore the second way I named of Christ's taking away our Sins [ From within us ] ought to be taken into our highest consideration . For can it be imagined , that he should descend from the Bosome of his Father , and visit the Earth for no other end , but to make a Gaol-Delivery , as I may say , to reprieve so many Rake-Hells only and condemn'd Persons , and to turn them loose again into the World to commit more villanies ? The whole Tenor of the Gospel speaks otherwise , that Christ was born in the Flesh , that we might be regenerate and new-born of the Spirit ; that he was crucified , that we might crucifie our vile Lusts and Affections : dyed for the Guilt of Sin , that we might dye to the Practice of it ; suffer'd , to excuse us from suffering , but not to excuse us in any wickedness : he cast out the Hand-writing , or Accusation of Satan against us , to no other end but that we should cast out Satan himself and his Kingdom out of our hearts , and erect in the place God's Kingdom , or the Kingdom of righteousness . So that the manifestation of Christ in the Flesh to take away our sins , imports no less than his rectifying that ugly confusion and disorder which Sin had wrought in the Universe , and the deposing Satan from his Usurpation over the World ; than the restoring God to his Dominion , and his Creatures to his Obedience ; the repairing his Honour , and giving satisfaction , not to one Attribute only , his Justice , but to all his other Attributes , his Wisdom , Truth , Goodness , Holiness , &c. And this was a Design worthy of the Incarnation of the Deity , of the travel , sufferings , and all the other Glorious Works of the Messiah , of his unhinging and unframing the Course of Nature by his Miracles : for it was to no less end , than to re-establish it again in the beautiful Frame and Order , which God at first created it in , before the Devil had disfigured and deformed it .

And for this Cause the Evangelists , in relating the Passages of Christ's life , often take us off from looking too intently on the Events which they record , and call upon us to consider the Purposes of them , rather than the Events themselves , bidding us regard the Prophecies that went before of them , frequently repeating , that it might be fulfilled , that it might be fulfilled , that was spoken by such or such a Prophet . And if we will make the best advantage of Christ's Incarnation , we must not look so much on the Fact , as on the design of the Fact , what it intimates and preaches to us , viz. the extinction and extirpation of Sin , not only of the Guilt , but of the reigning Power of it . According to what St Peter says , As he has suffered for us in the Flesh , arm your selves likewise with the same mind : for he that has suffered in the Flesh hath ceased from Sin . This arming-our selves with the same mind , and ceasing from Sin in the Flesh , was that which God chiefly aimed at in his Manifestation of his Son in the Flesh ; To the end , as the Apostle goes on , that we should no longer live the rest of our time in the Flesh , to the lusts of men , but to the will of God . And to shew us yet further , that the bringing of men to live righteously was the great aim of God in all Ages of the World , says St. Peter , For this cause was the Gospel preached also to those that are dead , [ i. e. to those of the old World ] that they might live according to God in the Spirit . Let every Christian therefore ( that professes the Faith of Christ's coming in the Flesh to take away Sin , and yet lives in it ) hearken and attend to this Admonition , [ Remember thy End . ] In the Place where the Son of Syrach utters these Words , he means the End or Consummation of our Days , as we are natural men , which is good Wisdom : But remember thy end , i. e. the Design and Purpose of thy Christian Profession , and the Mysteries of it : for this is yet a higher degree of Wisdom . And before I yet leave this Point , I shall give caution against two sorts of Men , who greatly pervert this Advice :

And first , Against the Papists , who play and trifle with the weightiest Passages of our Salvation , as Poets and Romance-Writers do with serious Histories , turn them into Gauds and Entertainments of the Fancy ; make Models and Representations in their Churches , of Christ's lying in the Manger at this holy Season , and of his rising from the Grave at the Feast of Easter , with all the circumstances belonging to them ; as if such Puppet-Shews were adequate and sutable Returns of Devotion for these Divine Dispensations . Again , they gather and hoard up the Nails and Fragments of our Lord's Cross , as if they treasured to their Souls the Benefits of his Passion : hug his Crucifix , and weep over the Pictures of his Wounds , as if this express'd a Seraphical Affection , though they hug also at the same time the grossest Sins .

The second Caution is against those among our selves , who yet worse abuse the Purpose of the Manifestation of Christ in the Flesh , making it to be more for the encouragement , than the taking away of Sin ; fansying that he died , to excuse them from holy living ; was made subject to the Law , that they might be freed from the Obedience of it ; perform'd all righteousness , that they should need to perform none : and these men pray , as they believe , O Lord , say they , do thou all in us , and for us , and take thou the glory . Thus exempting themselves from all Obligations to the Commandments , and making the Faith a jest and scorn to Libertines and Unbelievers , while they talk only more of a holy Life than they , but practise it as little ; make the Cross of Christ not a Sanctuary to Penitent Sinners , but a refuge for Hypocrites and Cheats in Religion ; and yet none are so righteous , so much in God's favour in their own opinion as these : But they will find at last to their great confusion , That Christ was manifested in the Flesh , not only to take away our Sins [ From us ] but also to take them away [ Out of us , or from within us . ]

And he does this by three Means or Expedients , By his Spirit , by his Word , and by his Example .

First , By his Spirit . After the Manifestation of Christ in the Flesh , his Suffering , and being laid in the Grave , he was quickned ( or raised to life again ) by the Spirit of God , and exalted to have the Power and Prerogative of sending down the Spirit into the hearts of Believers , to quicken them , and to raise them from the Death of Sin to a Life of Righteousness , i. e. to sanctifie and enable them to master Sin in themselves . They that saw Christ in the Flesh , knew not at first , That the principal Intention of his Flesh , was his Spirit , viz. that his Incarnation was to produce their Sanctification ; to conform them to his likeness in the Inner-man , as he was conformed to their likeness in the Outward-Man : and those that are not thus conformed , that have not their Sins taken away In them , by Vertue of his Nativity , shall never have them taken away From them by Vertue and Merit of his Passion .

Secondly , By his Word he takes away our sin from within us . Now ye are clean , says our Lord , John 15.3 . through the Word which I have spoken unto you , i. e. you have put away your former wickedness , upon believing what I have preached . To believe and to be clean , in a Scripture sense , is the same thing : For 't is not possible rightly to believe , and to continue in the Pollution of Sin . The Word of God is quick and powerful , sharper than any two edged Sword , piercing even to the dividing asunder of Soul and Spirit . The efficacy of it was seen in the reprobate hearts of Herod and Felix ; How did it ruffle and discompose the incestuous security of the first , and put an Earthquake into the stupid Conscience of the last ? But yet 't is then only , to use Solomon's expression , that wise Words are as Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver , when they meet with docile ears and honest hearts ; when the disposition of the Hearers concurs with the faithful intention of the Preacher ; and they comply to destroy Sin in themselves , as he endeavours to destroy it in his Sermon . Otherwise this most powerful and effectual Engine to batter and beat down Sin , the Word preached , profits not , as 't is in the Chapter now mentioned in the Hebrews , But the Word preached did not profit them , not being mixt with Faith in them that heard it .

Thirdly , Christ takes away Sin from within us by his Example , i. e. by his holy Life , as well as by his Word and by his Spirit : his Meekness , Holiness , Self-denial , Obedience , &c. were designed by him to excite his Followers to practise the same Vertues equally or above his Precepts . And though we condemn the Errour of those who affirm , That the Pattern of Christ's life , the perfect Exemplar of Piety and Holiness which he exhibited to the World , was the only means , besides his Word , which he used to take away our Sins : We may yet more condemn the sloth and hypocrisie of those , who set his Life above our Imitation ; who put his Vertues into the same Classis with his Miracles , and think it as impossible for us to practise his Humility , Patience , and the like , as to open the Eyes of the Blind , or to raise the dead ; affirm that his Obedience and Righteousness were not set for our Example , to direct and encourage us to do the like , but to upbraid and reproach our weakness and infirmities . In the mean time our Lord himself , Joh. 17.19 . declares , That the holiness he practised , was not only for the love of holiness , but that his Disciples should follow him , even in the roughest Paths he trod , those of his Suffering , to which his Words more particularly relate . For their sakes , says he , I sanctifie my self , [ or offer up my self a Sacrifice ] that they also might be sanctified through the Truth . And St Peter says expresly , Christ suffered for us , leaving us an Example , that we should follow his steps . And this brings me to the second Motive the Apostle alledges to disswade men from Sin , the sanctity and sinlesness of Christ's Person , — and ye know that in him is no sin . But because this in a great part has fallen-in with the former Motive , and to accumulate Reasons of the same Nature rather nauseates than perswades , I shall wave this Point , and proceed to my last , The Inference which the Argumentation of the Apostle implies from the foregoing Motives , viz. That 't is the Duty of all Christ's Followers to endeavour , as far as 't is possible , to be also without sin , and which shall serve me also for an Application .

The Son of God , we have heard , was manifested in the Flesh to take away our sins , and in him is no sin . Now certainly we cannot think that we comply either with the Example of Righteousness which he has set us , or yet with the gracious Purpose that brought him into the World , if we reflect on his Nativity only after an Historical manner , as that he was born in such an Olympiad , or when such an one was Emperour ; that such rare Events attended his coming into the World , as are recorded by the Evangelists , namely , that he was conceived by a Virgin of the Holy Ghost , welcom'd by Angels , signaliz'd and reveal'd to the Gentiles by a Star , &c. as if we were Chronologers , rather than Christian Believers : But that principally we are to consider these things Doctrinally and Morally , to regard the Obligations they lay upon us , and the final intendment of God in them . For Example , to say to our selves , If God came so far as from the highest Heavens to take our Flesh , that he might destroy sin , how much more are we concerned to destroy sin , in whom it dwells , whose Flesh is its Domestick Organ , and which will certainly destroy us both Body and Soul , unless we destroy it ? Again , if God vouchsafe so highly to dignifie our Flesh , as to assume it to his Divine Nature , and to carry it up to Heaven with him , and that by way of Pledge and assurance to carry up all that live holy lives thither also ; how ought we to respect and even to revere these our mortal Bodies , and not to pollute them with sin , which are designed to such sublime Honour , as to reign with God in Glory ? Once more , If the Son of God came into the World , not only to teach us his Father's Will , but to demonstrate to us , by his own performance , the feasibleness of accomplishing it ; and did not only discourse of the probability of mortal mens ascending to Heaven , but gave an instance of it in our Flesh : how are we without excuse , if either upon pretence of the difficulty of the Duties enjoined , or the arduous ascent to the heavenly Kingdom promised us , we supersede our endeavours to attain it ? When the Israelites were travelling to the Land of Canaan , they said to Aaron , Make us Gods that may go before us , i. e. visible Gods that we may behold : they were not satisfied with the conduct of an invisible Deity , of a God that afforded not his personal presence . Christ manifested in the Flesh is such a visible palpable God as they required , who marches as a Captain at the Head of us , and guides us not only by his Counsel , but leads us by his Bodily Presence . But yet notwithstanding this compliance with our infirmities , and all the other endeavours that have been used for our Salvation ; though Christ by his Spirit , by his Word , and by his Example , has essayed to take away our sins From us , and to take them away In us : I know not how , they are not taken away from [ Among us ! ] Our Sins , like Idolatry in Israel , like the Groves and High-Places , are continually taking away , and still found remaining ; they vary and change according to the several Revolutions and Vicissitudes of our Condition , but they are not abolished ; when Rebellion reigned in the Land , Rapine , Oppression , Bloudshed , Sacriledge , were its complexion : When this Evil by a singular Mercy was remov'd from us , the Sins of Peace succeeded , Ingratitude for past , and Insensibleness of present Benefits , Drunkenness , Whoredom , Irreligion , Schism , Faction , &c. So that as the Romans complained of old , that after they had subdued the Nations , themselves were subdued by their own Vices ; that these sly and silent Enemies , Luxury , Covetousness and Ambition , revenged and retaliated the conquered World — victumque ulciscitur Orbem : We may in like manner complain , that after the Violences and Outrages of War ceased , the soft and soothing Sins of Peace crept in in their place , and have tyrannized over us more fatally and destructively . And who then can say , our Sins are taken away , when they are only transformed , and have assumed new Shapes and Names ? when that which was Rebellion in 41. is Dissoluteness or Atheism in the Year 70 ?

But though there be too much reason to bewail this : yet I hope , ( with the same Charity that I wish the thing ) that none that are guilty of the more enormous Sins I have mentioned , are present in this Assembly : but that it fares with my Complaint , as it does with the Exhortations which are made out of the Pulpit to Non-Conformists , those to whom the Speech is directed , are never there . So in my present Complaint ( of not forsaking our Sins , but exchangeing them for others ) I do but inculcate a Doctrine to the Gracious already , and that those that are otherwise , are not here . But if any chance to be , I shall only mind them of those Words they find , Psal. 10.17 . Take away his ungodliness , and thou shalt find none . If after God has endeavoured so many ways to take away their ungodliness , it shall still remain , they are more incorrigible than the worst of men ; and their obstinacy may well fear , not only what the Words in the Psalm sound , but what they signifie , viz. that God will not only confound their wickedness , but themselves also the wicked Doers . Christ was manifested in the Flesh to destroy Sin , and we ought in compliance with this his gracious Design to put to all our Powers to destroy Sin in our selves ; that purifying our selves as he is pure , we may hereafter be glorious , even as he is glorious .

To the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost be ascribed all Honour , &c.

The Second Sermon . 1 SAM. xii . 25 .

But if ye shall still do wickedly , ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King .

THE State and Commonwealth of Israel differed from all other States in the World ; it was neither Aristocracy , nor yet Democracy ; but , if rightly denominated , a Theocracy or Divine Monarchy : i. e. it was in subjection to no Man , or Number of Men , but immediately to God himself . Ye have said , Nay , but a King shall reign over us , when the Lord your God was your King , v. 12. Again , C. 10.19 . Ye have this day rejected your God , who himself saved you out of all your adversities . God was the Commander , Prince and Monarch of this State in his own Person .

But being a Spiritual King , as well as a Temporal ; and exercising a Dominion over the Souls , as well as Bodies of his Subjects : though his Reign were as the Reign of Prosperity it self ; his Scepter , not only a Scepter of righteousness , but of felicity ; Plenty , Victory , and all other Blessings attending it ; they were impatient of it , as of an intolerable and insupportable Yoke ; chose rather to be governed as the Nations of the Earth , than even as the Angels in Heaven ; by a mortal , than a Celestial King ; preferred an improsperous Condition , together with a greater liberty of sinning , before the most prosperous , with a strict obligation to righteousness ; held it , I say , more eligible even to see their Enemies within their Gates , than their God with narrow eyes continually prying into their actions .

God , who saw this perverseness of their hearts in demanding a King , punished their folly by complying with it ; defeated their wickedness by granting their request . Ye shall , says God , for the future be governed as you desire ; after the manner of the Nations , ye shall have a King ; the Court and the Sanctuary , the Palace and the Tabernacle shall be separated ; my Divine Authority shall no more interpose in your making War or Peace , in your marching or encamping , in your Civil or Military Affairs ; all shall be in the power of your King : But promise not your selves from hence a greater licence to sin , for though I shall withdraw my former manner of Conduct from you , I will have as near an inspection into your Actions as I had before ; and though my miraculous assistances are more rarely shewed , I will visit your iniquity with Scourges . Your King and new-modell'd State shall be so far from protecting you in your disobedience , that they shall render your destruction only more signal and calamitous . But if ye shall still do wickedly , ye shall be consumed both ye and your King .

In the Days in which God chiefly invited his People to Obedience by the Promises of temporal Blessings , and deterred them from Disobedience by the threats of temporal Evils , none were greater than those that related to their King . As whether he were a Child , or of grown Years ; a base Vpstart , or the Son of Nobles ; one that eat in the morning , or at due season ; for strength or for drunkenness , as Solomon speaks : Or as the Prophet Isaiah , A wise and gracious Prince , or a fierce and cruel Lord and a Fool. Again , whether the Reign of a wicked King were prolonged , or of a righteous cut short ; whether the Prince were often changed , or many set up at the same time , as those Words may be interpreted either way , For the transgressions of a Land many are the Princes thereof . I say , no higher Marks of God's favour , or disfavour to a People , could be shewed , than in what related to their King . And no wonder : For undoubtedly a good King is infinitely above the encrease of the Barn and the Wine-press , of the Flocks and the Herds : for he is the security of all these , and whatever else makes a Kingdom happy and blessed . Plenty is not Plenty , Possessions are not Possessions , Peace is not Peace , Religion is not Religion , without such a Guardian and Conserver of them .

Well therefore might God , as being the highest of Judgments , threaten his rebellious People with the destruction of their King . I say , his rebellious People ; for the King is not threatned in my Text , but the People , of whom he was King . For though a wicked King shall certainly bear the burden of his Sins ; and though the Judgment here denounced by Samuel was after a King was anointed in Israel : yet 't was denounced against the Sin of the People committed before there was a King : Neither had Saul as yet displeased God , he affected not the Kingdom , though Israel affected to have a King . They are the Israelites therefore that are threatned in the Person and misfortune of their King , whom God declares he will involve in their destruction , even when he is not involved in their sins ; and a good King is sooner cut off for the provocation of a Land , than a bad ; but then though he falls , 't is the Land that is punished ; though he be untimely snatcht away , 't is the Nation that is judged and condemned . But if ye shall still do wickedly , ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King .

The Words consist of a Commination or Threat , Ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King

And the Case wherein the Commination or Threat shall take place , If ye shall still do wickedly —

I begin with the Commination or Threat ,

Ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King .

The Commination runs high , a greater cannot well be denounced ; 't is only to be fear'd it may suffer the fate of the vain menaces and Rhodomantadoes of men ; which are most despised when they sound loudest , and affect to carry most terrour . Ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King ! ] Why certainly , men will say , This is some Figurative Hyperbolical Speech , which carries not so much danger in it to be feared , as difficulty to be understood ; and sends us to an Interpreter , and not an Asylum or Sanctuary . Was it ever known , that a whole Nation was destroyed as one man ? Dathan and his Complices , 't is true , went down into the Bowels of the Earth , and it clos'd its mouth upon them : but they were not a whole Nation , but a seditious Party only . Pharaoh and the Egyptians were overwhelmed in the Sea , and not one of them escaped ; but they again were not a King and his People , but a King and his Host. The seven Nations of the Canaanites were adjudged to utter extirpation : but by reason of the Sins of God's own People , the Sentence was not executed with that rigour it was denounced , and they were not utterly destroyed . Let us see therefore how we are to understand the Commination in my Text , How a King and People may be said to be totally consumed .

A thing may be totally consumed or destroyed two ways , simul & semel , altogether and in a moment ; as Fire consumes Flax or Gunpowder , so that nothing remains but the Place of them : Or gradually and by degrees , when 't is wasted by little and little , as Liquor consumes over the Fire , or as a Body is extenuated by Sickness . Now though God perhaps through the greatness of his Mercy , has never consumed a whole Nation in the fullest and strictest sense of either of these two Ways ; yet so dreadful have been his Judgments , and so universal the Destruction he has wrought , that there will be no cause to say , There is an Hyperbole in the Commination in my Text.

The first way God practised , when he caused the ten Tribes and their King to be carried away captive by Shalmanezer into Assyria with a swift destruction : and the other two Tribes and their King by Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon . This way also God practised , when he gave this Nation up to the Conquest of the Normans : Or as the Tragedy on this Day should rather prompt us to remember , when he permitted the Bloud of our righteous Sovereign , after the slaughter of many thousands of his Loyal Subjects , to be spilled by the hands of execrable Villains , and together with that sacred Sluce broke-up all the Floud-Gates of Impiety , and suffered it to overwhelm the Land with wickedness and ruine , as the World was once overwhelmed with a Deluge of Water . At which time , we may affirm , Death , or a change like Death , past upon all ; the Rich became poor , and the Poor rich ; the Nobles were debased , and the Scum of the People exalted ; the Loyal were accounted Traytors , and Traytors Loyal ; Oppression and Cruelty sat in the Seats of Justice ; Hypocrisie and Blasphemy in the Chair of Religion , and an abject Villain in the Throne of Majesty . And when the Kingdom was reduced to this State , may we not say , it was destroyed simul & semel ? altogether and at once ? both King and People ? and that nothing remained of what had been , but the Place and Memory ? The Scripture says , Adam dyed on the Day he eat of the forbidden Fruit , though he survived nine hundred and thirty Years after : because he fell then into an evil condition , and forfeited all his happiness . Again , the Scripture calls Damnation Eternal Death , not because the Bodies and Souls of Sinners shall be extinguish'd , but eternally tormented ; Life consisting not so much in duration , as in felicity . And in this sense , when a Kingdom has lost its Felicity and Glory , its Laws and Liberty , its King and Religion , though a Remnant of the People be left , it may deservedly be said , To be totally and utterly destroyed .

God practised the second way of destroying a whole Nation , when he consumed the Israelites in the Wilderness by such slow and lingring paces , that a new Generation was grown up by the time that the old was expired ; and the Children were ready to enter into the Land of Canaan , as soon as their Fathers Graves were made in the Wilderness . God thus punishing them after the manner they had transgressed ; as they had grieved him forty Years , he consumed them for forty Years together . And when ever a Nation is seen to decline in Piety , Vertue , Policy , Wealth , Reputation , the Number of its People , and the like ; when private interest takes place in mens hearts before the Publick ; when Trade , Vigour , and Industry languish , then this lingering Curse works and ferments .

I may seem both ill-affected , and also to intrude into a Secret that cannot be known , if I should pronounce , that this Kingdom lay at this present under this slow and lingering destruction , as it has been more than once a miserable Instance of the other quick and total destruction : But it may become me , and all that hear me this day , to fear and endeavour to prevent so dreadful a Judgment ; especially when so many and sad Symptoms of it seem to appear . For , not to name our Consumptions of late Years by War , by Pestilence and by Fire , we see the Moral and Spiritual Consumptions of Piety and Vertue , and as fearful an encrease of Riot , Prophaneness and Irreligion ; Popery gains upon the true Religion on one side , and Fanaticism on the other ; and Atheism , the Vorago of all other Sects and Schisms , daily swallows up Popery and Fanaticism . Again , we hear plentiful Years complain'd of , that the People are impoverished by the great encrease of the Land ; Abundance cry'd out against as a worse evil than Scarcity . God thus making his Punishments a Riddle , while he confounds us no less by his Blessings than his Judgments : as if he would at once confute and deride the Atheism that denies his Providence , and ascribes all Events to Natural Causes ; letting men see , their Wealth cannot enrich them , their Victories advantage them , their Wisdom profit them , without his Blessing and concurrence . But that which ought most tenderly and sensibly to affect us , is the Fatality in the Royal Family , so many of those Illustrious Branches having been snatcht away of late Years in their Youth or Infancy , that we may compute our Annals by the Death of one or more of our Princes : the Royal House , Alas ! being only fruitful to the Grave . But to proceed .

As the Consumption , mentioned in my Text , may be thus twofold ; so the Persons threatned to be consumed are also twofold ; and the threatning of the last is set down by way of Aggravation of the Evil , Ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King . But there will not want some Sons of Belial to say here , What Part have we in David , or Inheritance in the Son of Iesse ? that this should be held a matter of so great moment , so high an aggravation of our misery , that not only our selves shall be destroyed , but our King also ? The Speech of the People is , When I dye , all the World dyes with me ; not only all my thoughts perish , as the Psalmist says , but all my care and concern for my Relations also perish ; whether as of a Father for my Children , or as of an Husband for my Wife , or yet as of a Subject for my Prince . So that to say , Ye shall be consumed , nay more , your Prince shall be consumed , aggravates the terrour , but as if one should threaten , Your Limbs shall be torn on the Rack , nay further , Your Garments shall be torn also .

No doubt , I say , but there are too many of these Sheba's in our Israel : But yet where ingenuity and natural goodness , honour and generosity are not quite extinguished by self-love and interest , there is in many men a care of others , their near Relations , even beyond themselves , and after their Decease . And this made Lawgivers enact ( for a further terrour to evil Workers ) the destruction of Wives and Children for the offences of Fathers and Husbands , ut haberent aliquid quod timerent , qui mortem non timent ; that they that feared not Death as to their own Persons , might yet fear it reaching to those for whom they had a greater tenderness than for themselves . And we see those frequently among us , that chuse to wear their lives out in a noysom Prison , or to dye under the torture of the Press , that by these means they may preserve a poor maintenance for those they leave behind them . Why , the Relation of a Subject to his King ; of a People to their Prince , is in just estimation the chiefest and highest of Relations , the principal in importance , though not the nearest in Bloud : which the men of Israel rightly understood , when they called David the light of their eyes , and preferr'd him before so many thousands of themselves . And also the People of Rome , when upon the Election of just Numa they rejoyced , as Plutarch says , as if they had not only obtained a new King , but a new Kingdom . Indeed the felicity of a Nation is bound up in the Person of the King , and waxes or wains according to his Vertue . Well therefore may we pray heartily and truly for our King , as the Romans were wont to pray flatteringly for their Tyrant-Emperours , Demas annos meos mihi , & addas Caesari , Take , O Jupiter , from the number of my Years , and add them to the account of Caesar's ; esteeming the King's life a greater Blessing to us , than our own ; the destruction threatned to him more dreadful than the destruction threatned to our selves ; looking upon the Commination in my Text as the highest aggravation of Evils , Ye shall dye for your Sins , nay , your religious , your victorious , or your gracious Prince shall dye also .

But some perhaps will say here , Is it just and righteous with God to destroy a good King for the transgressions of his People ? Surely yes , and the Scripture affirms as much , For the transgressions of a People , many are the Princes thereof : and in the second Commandment God says , He will visit the sins of the Father upon the Children : and for the same reason , of any Relation upon his Correlation ; as of a Subject upon the Prince . For though the Subjects are Vassals and Homagers to the Prince , both Prince and Subjects are Vassals aad Homagers to God , and may be disposed of by him , as he sees best for the ends of his Glory . But then though it be righteous in God to cut off a good Prince for the punishment of his People , because he can translate him to a better life , and turn his Crown of Gold into a Crown of Glory ; yet wo be to those Subjects , who any way contribute to their Prince's or Countries misfortune , either by their wicked Plots or wicked lives ; by their immediate Conspiracies against them , or their remoter , as I may say , of their sins against their Peace and prosperity : For if men commit great offences , and go on obstinately in them , they sin not only against their own Souls , but the Publick Safety . Which brings me to my second general Part , The Case wherein the Commination in my Text shall take place , wherein both King and People are threatned to be consumed ,

If ye shall still do wickedly —

The things wherein both Israel and their Forefathers continually did wickedly , the Scripture tells us , were Infidelity , Stubbornness , Ingratitude , Murmuring openly upon the least want or distress , against their best Governours , but covertly and secretly against God himself , Proneness to Idolatry , Incontinence , the very Sins for which the Nations were cast out before them , to which the present Generation added over and above , the demanding a King , with the design to exclude God from ruling over them . For we must note here , That the greatness of the present sin of Israel consisted not in desiring a King simply ; in renouncing , as some would have it , the sweet Government of the Sanhedrim , or Council of Elders , for the Regal and more Tyrannical Power . For , not to say any thing in vindication of Monarchy ( that 't is the best of Governments , not only by the consent of the wisest men of all Ages , but by the attestation of Nature , or rather the God of Nature in all Orders and Subordinations of things both in Heaven and Earth ) 't was God's express Purpose from the beginning to establish Israel under a Monarchical Government , and Deut. 17. ( some hundreds of Years before a King was demanded ) the Laws concerning a King were set down by Moses .

Neither did the greatness of their Sin consist in desiring a King inordinately , precipitately , rebelliously , not attending God's time , nor consulting his Will in so important an Affair : these were Aggravations of their Sin , but not their Sin it self ; which was no other than Apostasie , at least in purpose and determination ; a resolution not only to shake off the Yoke of God's Political Government , but also to break his Yoke of righteousness from off their Necks . And that their Sin was of no common nature , the miraculous Rain and Thunder , v. 17. sent to reprove them , are a sufficient Argument But we have no need to conjecture what their Offence was , for God himself declares it to Samuel , C. 8. v. 7. They have not rejected thee , says God , but they have rejected Me , that I should not reign over them . Their desire to be governed as the Nations of the Earth , was indeed To live after the licentious manner of the Nations of the Earth ; not so much to have a King like them , as to be without God in the World like them , as the Apostle speaks . They were weary of the Divine Conduct , uneasie under God's Discipline ; his Statutes and Ordinances were a burden to them , th●● hated on all occurrences to address themselves to the Ephod , to have their last Appeal to the Deity , to see the Cloud descend upon the Tabernacle , on every miscarriage , as in the days of their Fathers . The Presence of the Living God is dreadful to Flesh and Bloud in its purest and holiest state , well then might these Rebels wish him further removed from them , that were conscious to themselves not only of infirmities , but of purposed defection from him ; not only of defects and failures , but of direct Apostasie .

And as the Greatness of their Sin thus consisted not in desiring a King , but in revolting in their hearts from God : so their [ still doing wickedly ] which is so severely threatned in my Text , could not possibly be , as some interpret , their persisting in the desire to have a King . God had already given them a King , before the Prophet denounced the Commination in my Text ; and not only so , but he had promised a Blessing upon his Reign , and also on them , in case of future obedience , as may be seen at the 14th Verse . Their Still doing wickedly therefore , must be , their persisting and going on to accomplish their wicked design to forsake God ; their making good their Apostasie in Act , as well as in Determination and Purpose ; their giving themselves up like the Heathen to whatsoever their Lusts prompted them to ; and this out of a Perswasion that they might sin more securely under the Dominion of Flesh and Bloud , than under the Dominion of God . And this was the Case in which the Universal Destruction , the Destruction of King and People , is threatned in my Text.

All Sin and Doing wickedly offends God ; but Presumption in sinning , persisting and resolving to do wickedly , turns him into a consuming Fire ; when men add wickedness to wickedness , and draw iniquity , as the Prophet says , with a Cart-rope ; i. e. with a long Series or Train of evil Deeds , not interrupting or breaking them off by Repentance ; but lying down to sleep in sin , and rising up to return again to it ; making sin the business of their lives , and not only transgressing against God and his Laws , but renouncing them . And we find in After-ages , when the Children fell into the Apostasie , which their Fathers only consulted of at this time ; when , I say , their King , instead of humbling himself upon hearing God's wrath denounced against him , Cut the Roll , and cast it into the Fire ; and the People presumptuously told his Prophet , As for the Words that thou hast spoken unto us in the Name of the Lord , we will not hearken unto them ; But we will certainly do whatsoever goeth forth of our own mouth , to burn Incense to the Queen of Heaven , &c. as it is Jerem. 44.17 . For three iniquities , and for four , says God , I will visit my People . By three is understood many , or very much , as we say , thrice happy , and thrice honourable , for exceeding happy and honourable . When a Nation comes up to be thrice , i. e. exceeding sinful , their condition is dangerous : but when it goes beyond that , and is four times sinful , then 't is no marvel if God also sets no Bounds to his Anger , but says , Nunc exurgam , I will now arise and visit ; and as they have vext me with their transgressions , I will vex them with my Judgments ; as they have cast me out of their Hearts , I will cast them out of my Sight ; as they will allow me no longer to be their God , I will pluck them up by the Roots , and allow them no longer to be a People and Nation ; or , which is all one , a happy People , a flourishing Nation , governed as in times past : But I will eclipse their Glory , and change their Laws , together with many thousands of them , cut off their King ; and they that remain , shall be in a worse condition , as Sheep without a Shepherd , They shall be a living and lasting Destruction .

I am now come to the full Close and Period of my Text ; and what Use or Application shall I make of that which we have heard ? Shall I endeavour to set forth the Heroick Vertues of our murthered King , and shew that he fell not for his own Sins , but the Sins of his People ? that the impious Act of executing a Sovereign Prince by a pretended Process of Law , was a higher Strain of Treason , than to have dispatcht him with a Dagger , or an empoysoned Cup ? the one being Treason only against a single Monarch , but the other against Monarchy in general . These things , I confess , may be worthy of a pious Pains , and a pious Attention : but , alas ! what would they profit here , where they are already acknowledged ? Or what would it profit to dilate either on the Vertues or Vices of other men , when we are so apt to think on the one side , that while we only extol the Vertues of Heroick Persons , we go Half-sharers with them in their Vertues ? like the Cryers in the Olympick Games , who fansied , while they pronounced only audibly and volubly the Victors Names and Victories , part of their Glory redounded to them . And again , on the other side , while we declame against Vice , that we are free from all imputation of Vice our selves ; my Text calls us to other Considerations , not only to look back on Evils past , but forward on worse Evils to come ; I say , on worse , while but on the same repeated : for if it be a sad reflection , that we have been totally destroyed , 't is certainly a much sadder , that we may be so destroyed again ; that if we shall still do wickedly , we shall be consumed , both we and our King . This consideration , if rightly made use of , will excite us rather to call our own Sins to remembrance , than to commemorate the Sins of other men ; to arraign and condemn the evil deeds are found in our selves , than to employ our time in raking into the crimes of the Age that 's past . And in order to our doing this , I shall instance in three Particulars in which this Nation seems most to tread the steps of Israel , and to be in danger to bring home to it self , the dreadful Commination made in my Text against them .

And first , As Israel desired a Change of Government , only to remove God further from them : so if we may judge of mens minds by their outward actions , of the Secrets of their hearts by their following behaviour , the passionate desire of many among us to have a King again , after the fatal stroke struck this Day , was on no better an account than Israel's desire to have a King . We had lain a long time under a sad Oppression at home , or a sadder Exile abroad ; ate no Bread for many Years , but what came , in a manner , to us , like Manna , from the immediate hand of God : and the frequent Fasts , strict Devotions , and holy Lives , which could only promise a continuance of such favour from Heaven , were as insupportable as the Holiness and Obedience God required of Israel that he might dwell among them . And many desired a King , not so much to deliver the Nation from Oppression and Confusion , as themselves from the Paedagogy of Divine Discipline ; not so much , I say , to rescue them from the Tyranny of the Usurper , as from the Tyrannies of Religion . And such a Surfeit many took , no less of holy Duties , than of evil days , that they have endeavoured since to obliterate all memory of them both : as 't was the practice , or at least the boast of a prophane Person , That whereas others observed the Days of their Deliverance from any great danger , with Fasting and Humiliation ; he always kept such Days with Feasting and Jollity ; and for this Reason , To make his Soul amends for what it had suffered . And such has been the deportment of some men since God restored them to their prosperity , that they seem to vie by their voluptuous lives with the former miseries they suffered ; to make their Souls amends for the twenty Years affliction they lay under , by a twenty Years , or a whole future Lifes Debauchery . When God restored us to our forfeited Peace and Prosperity , he promised himself , he had restored a People sensible of so wonderful a mercy ; who , as he had made them to abound in all secure enjoyments , would have abounded in Good Works , and Gratitude to him : but he has found such an 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , as I may say , such an unexpected Issue among us , as the Prophet Isaiah complains he did in Israel in his Days , He lookt for righteousness , but behold a cry . When God lookt for righteousness , that his Glory should have been exalted in this Land more than in any other , because he had done more for it , than for any other , behold , I know not what Cry of more than usual infidelity and wickedness ! What shall I say ? that we are fallen back again into those Sins , which brought on us the calamity of this Day ? Nay , but we have outdone all our old Sins , and all that ever went before us ; we have not only broken God's righteous Laws and Commandments , but denyed he ever gave a Law to the World ; we have not only denyed him by our wicked lives , but even in our words to have any Being ; and as all Ages have been guilty of Adultery , Drunkenness , and the like , 't is the Character of this , That it affirms such things are no sins .

Secondly , As Israel put their confidence in Flesh and Bloud , believed , if they could obtain a King of their own Nation , he would be invincible , possessed of all the Heroick Qualities they had read of their Judges , and as his Character was greater , so his Performances would be also greater ; and this of course , as if God had been obliged , for his own Glory , to see it should be so , though they never so little regarded his Glory themselves . And have not we put as high a confidence in Flesh and Bloud , who have lookt upon our King not only as a defence against our Enemies , but even against God himself ? not only as a Foundation of our Peace and Felicity , but of our Rebellion against Heaven ? Who have said in our hearts , We have no need of the burthensom Duties of Religion , and the severities of a holy Life , now we have a King to provide against our dangers from abroad , and to take care for our quiet at home ? Few considering , in order to the Prosperity they desire , what are the provocations of the Land , how we stand in favour or disfavour with God : But enquiring , What Alliances we have made abroad ? What Ships we are able to set out ? What Money there is in the Exchequer ? What Supplies the Parliament will give , and the like ? Is not this to provoke God to infatuate our Counsels , and to bring our Enterprizes to nought ? to involve our King in a common destruction with our selves , as he did this Day , though he were even a Hezekiah or a David ?

Thirdly , As Israel was mutinous and rebellious upon the least occasions against their best Governours , we come not behind them in this Sin : witness the black disloyalty of this Day . Historiographers , the publick Censurers of Mankind , brand every Nation of the Earth with some Vice more peculiar to them than others , as , to name none , one with Drunkenness , another with Robbery and Piracy , a third with ambition and desire of Sovereignty , a fourth with Whoredom , and abusing themselves with Mankind , &c. And we of this Nation , among the rest , are taxt for stubbornness , and proneness to Rebellion , noted for a People that delight in Sedition and seditious Persons , that are apt to think the most turbulent and factious , the best Patriots ; the greatest Troublers , the greatest Lovers of their Country : So that as other Princes , in regard of the sweet compliance of their Subjects , are styled Reges Hominum , Kings of Men , ours are styled Reges Diabolorum , Kings of Devils . And 't is observable , that what was the Vice of every Nation many hundred Years ago , continues to be the same still ; Time has not altered them , nor the Preaching of the Gospel reformed them . But though we of this Nation should not care to wipe off the imputation that lies upon us among men ; nor yet fear the displeasure of God ( who counts Rebellion as the Sin of Witchcraft , i. e. Disobedience to Governours a Degree of Apostasie from himself ) yet the experience alone of the former Evils , which our unquiet Spirits have brought upon us , and their direct tendency to bring the like again , ( viz. to bereave us a second time of our Royal Government , and to cast us under the subjection of the basest of the People ) may well make us abhor all seditious thoughts ; I say , for fear lest a second time we become not only the most miserable , but the most ridiculous and despicable of all People ; while we give the World leave to say , that we that could not digest a miscarriage in the State , are forc'd to digest Oppression and Tyranny ; that could not pass by an oversight in our Rulers , are compell'd to undergo Sequestration and Banishment , the Axe and the Halter , perhaps a Foreign Yoke .

To draw to a Conclusion . It is a common Perswasion , That Comets or Blazing Stars portend the Change of States , and the Falls of Great Men : but we have much more reason to apprehend , that the Sins of the Nation , which hang like so many Meteors over our Heads , have an Ominous and Fatal Aspect on us . The Bands of Discipline are loosned , the Majesty of our Prince is despised , God blasphemed , common Honesty baffled and affronted , Lewdness triumphs , seditious Spirits take advantage from all to foment Disorders , Good Men are agast , the Magistrate desponds , as if the Distempers were as incurable as Epidemical : And yet Good Men , as if we sate on a safe Shore , we please our selves in beholding our Neighbours Ships tost and wreckt by the Tempests of War ; we read unconcernedly the weekly Gazettes of Armies overthrown , Cities ras'd , Countries subdu'd and ruin'd , and never apprehend , that our fair weather may suddenly lowre and overcast into a Storm . We met at this Day with vain and elated minds to judge others , not to humble our selves ; and if we lay load enough upon our Adversaries , and render them black and odious , we think our selves white as Innocence . Methinks the loud Thunder in my Text ( for so the Commination in it sounds to me ) should chastise these Gaieties , and not appear less terrible , because articulate , and speaks more to the Soul , than to the Ear ; and this pronounces emphatically , That the Issue of Sin persisted in , is utter ruine and confusion , and that the only way to prevent destruction , is Reformation . Let us therefore seek to reverse God's threats , by turning from our evil ways ; let us upbraid the wickedness of our Oppressors by our holy Lives ; condemn the Hellish Practice of this Day , not by Invectives , but by our Loyalty and Obedience ; and this will turn the dreadful Commination , Ye shall be consumed , both ye and your King , into the Blessing promised at ver. 14. If ye will fear the Lord , and serve him , and not rebel against his Commandments , then shall ye , and also the King that reigns over you , continue following the Lord your God , the Blessing promised to Israel , contained in these Words , shall be made good to us . God , in an extraordinary manner , will be our God , and we shall be his People : in which is included all the Felicity that can be wisht by man . And which God of his infinite mercy grant to us , through our Lord Jesus Christ , to whom , together with the Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour and Glory , &c.

The Third Sermon . JOHN ii . 4 .

— Woman , What have I to do with thee ? my hour is not yet come .

OUR Saviour's turning Water into Wine at the Marriage-Feast in Cana of Galilee , was not only the first Miracle he wrought , but , as I may say , the first Revelation of the Messiah to the World : For the Wonderful Conception of him by a Virgin , the Vision of Angels declaring his Birth , the Star pointing out his Cradle , and the like , may rather be reckoned among the Prophecies , than the Revelations of him ; the Types and Shadows of him in the Law , than for the Completion of them in his Person . The Meanness and Obscurity of his Education and Parentage did again so darken the Glorious Prognosticks that usher'd him into the World , that he was still the Messi●h under a Veil , the Saviour to be given and the Christ to come . But when he once enter'd on the Execution of his Office , and began to teach , and Work Miracles ; when at this poor but holy Feast in Cana of Galilee he turn'd Water into Wine , and gave not only an Instance of his Benignity to his Creatures , but of his Power over the Creatures , then , as our Apostle says , He Manifested his Glory , and lay no longer under the Disguise of Fabri Filius , the Carpenter's Son , but prov'd himself to be Fabricator Mundi , the Creator of the Universe ! What we read in the Gospel hitherto , is of the Child Jesus , now it , first , treats of the Lord Jesus ; to this Period it relates his Obedience to his Parents , but now it shews the time that his Parents were to be Obedient to him . If Mary therefore upon the Score of her Maternal Authority affects still to exercise a Dominion over him , he checks her by the Right of his Divine Authority ; if she intimates that her Desires are to be comply'd with , he lets her know his own appointed Seasons are to be attended ; and the Submission to be paid to him , which she expected from him . When they wanted Wine , the Mother of Iesus said unto him , They have no Wine . Jesus said unto her , Woman , What have I to do with thee ? my hour is not yet come .

The Words offer more especially to our Consideration these two things :

I. Our Saviour's Check or Reproof of his Mother , Woman , What have I to do with thee ?

II. The Reason of his Checking or Reproving her , Because she importun'd him Unseasonably , when his Hour was not yet come .

In the Reproof we may reflect again upon two things : The Name he calls her by , Woman : And the Terms in which he reproves her , What have I to do with thee ? I begin first with the Name he calls her by ,

Woman .

That Christ should call the Blessed Virgin by the Name only that distinguish'd her Sex , Woman , and not by the Individual Name of her Person , Mary ; nor yet by the Name of his Relation to her , Mother ; that he should thus treat his Parent , as not his Parent , use a Compellation to her as a Stranger ; was so surprizing and posing a Behaviour from him , that it has occasion'd many Different , and some Wild Imaginations in men , why he did this thing . The Montanists and Valentinians ( a sort of Hereticks who taught that our Saviour took not True Flesh from the Virgin ) affirm'd , That he denies her here to be his Mother , and that these Words , Woman , what have I to do with thee ? import as much as , Nihil tecum commune habeo , non agnosco te pro Matre , I am not of the same Nature with you , I acknowledge you not to be my Mother : But there is no ground from our Lord's Words to say , He made his Mother a Stranger to his Nature , though he made her a Stranger to his Business . The Jovinians , Helvetians , and Eunomians affirm'd as extravagantly , That our Lord call'd her Woman , to shew , that she continu'd no longer in her Virgin-State , than till she brought-forth him : But what St Augustine says , is not only agreeable with the Universal Tradition of the Church , but also with Scripture it self , Dicta est mulier , secundùm Foemininum Sexum , non secundùm corruptionem Virginitatis . Christ call'd her Woman in regard of her Sex , not of her Married Condition ; as God call'd Eve Woman the hour he created her , before he gave her to Adam for a Wife . The Papists , on the other side , who may be call'd Beatae Virginis Parasiti , the Parasites or Flatterers of the Blessed Virgin , create to her an addition of Honour , and sing her New Magnificats , from her being call'd Woman . They say Christ styled her so upon the same account , that himself was styled The Son of Man , by way of Excellence , because she was something Above a Woman . But our Church ( which has no other Interest in this matter , but the Truth ; which honours the Blessed Virgin , but does not idolize her ; which celebrates her Sanctity , but makes no Markets of her Shrines ) speaks as the Gospel gives her light , viz. That Christ , by the Compellation of Woman in this place , checks and rebukes her ; that his Words are a Diminution and no Accession of Glory to her . The term Woman , I confess , in it self carries no Reproof or Asperity : neither did our Lord use it at other times to signifie his Displeasure . When he said to the Woman of Canaan , that besought him to heal her Daughter , O Woman ! great is thy Faith . He call'd her not Woman , because he was angry with her , but because she was a Stranger , known only to him by her Faith . But then , though to call a Stranger Woman , has no Asperity , yet to call a Mother so , has much Asperity . We find but one time only more besides this , that our Lord took up this Compellation to the Blessed Virgin , and that was when he hung upon the Cross ; a time , I confess , when he had no displeasure at all to her , but contrariwise the most tender Resentment of her desolate Condition . When he bequeath'd her to the Care of his Beloved Disciple , he said to her , Woman , behold thy Son . But though the Expression there imply'd no Anger , it imply'd something of the like nature with what it does in my Text : for as his calling of her Woman upon his entering on his Prophetick Office , imported the Expiration of her Maternal Authority : So his calling of her Woman at the hour of his Death , imported the Expiration of hers , and all other humane Relations to him ; and that for the future she was to look upon him as her Saviour , not as her Son ; depend upon his Divine Providence , not his Filial Care of her .

It is not possible for a Son , with the preservation of his Duty and Reverence , to use a Term of Diminution , or but of Strangeness to a Parent , without some very important Reason to justifie it . But the Case and Condition of Christ , as I say , was at this time much alter'd : for when the Relation of Redeemer commenc'd , Carnal Relations began to cease ; and when he was in a more evident manner declar'd to be the Son of God , his being the Son of Mary surceas'd and expir'd . He put this Question ( concerning his Divine Nature and Humane Alliance ) afterwards to the Pharisees . The Lord said unto my Lord , Sit thou on my Right hand , until I make thine Enemies thy Footstool . Seeing Christ was the Son of David , says he , why does he call him Lord ? viz. for this only reason , because the Greater and more Important Relation , on some Occasions , swallows up the Less . As we see in the Case of a Father and a Son in a Commonwealth , when the Son comes to bear Office , the Father that was Superiour Oeconomically , and commanded in the Family , becomes Inferiour to his Son Politically , and is commanded by him in the State : and thus though Fabius Maximus might approach his Son , being a Private Person , on Horseback , or which way he pleas'd ; yet when his Son was Consul , he might approach the Supreme Magistrate only on foot : and when the Lictors commanded him from his Son to alight , he not only obey'd , but rejoic'd that he so rightly understood the Dignity he bore . But I might have brought an Example from Scripture . When Joseph was in his Father's house , he paid humble Submission and Subjection to his Parents : but when he was advanc'd to be a Prince in Egypt , 't was God's will , that not only the Elder Sheaves should do Obeysance to the Younger ; but even that the Sun and Moon themselves , i. e. his Father and Mother ( by their Representatives his Brethren ) should bow their Heads in Homage to him . And by the same Rule , Christ , who express'd Obedience to his Parents while he appear'd nothing but their Son , had Obedience belonging to him , when it appear'd he was their Lord and Saviour .

But now , though these things are true , and that omnis Christi actio nostra est instructio , every Action of Christ is our Instruction : Yet it will concern us to take heed , that we rightly understand his Actions , and that we make not a wrong Construction of that , which was given to be our Instruction . We must not wrest or extend this Carriage of Christ to his Mother , to the Prejudice of our Parents Authority : for it does not warrant any one , that is a Son or Daughter among us , so soon as they are out of their Minority , to cry , Aetatem habeo , I am of Age , and owe no more Observance : Or as soon as they are promoted to any Dignity , presently to change their Behaviour , and to take up a new Compellation to them . No , in respect of a dutiful Regard to be paid to those that Bore and Educated us , Christ would have all men for ever to be Pupils , for ever to continue in a Voluntary Reverential Wardship , as I may say , to them : and we read ▪ that he prefer'd Duty to Parents , even before the Corban ; the Maintenance of them , before the giving Oblations for the Reparations of the Temple . Again , no Spiritual Change in our Condition absolves us from the Duty of Children ; though we are called to a Divine Office and holy Ministry , we are not exempted from Filial Obedience and Natural Affection . And therefore the Doctrine of the Church of Rome in this particular is to be abominated , ubi pietatis genus ducitur , esse crudelem , among whom it is held a Sublime and abstracted Piece of Piety , for those that are once enter'd into a Covent , to forget their Parents and Kindred according to the Flesh ; as soon as their Persons are thus sequester'd from them , to sequester also their Natural Affections ; and to espouse the Interest of their Spiritual Cognation , though it be never so Prejudicial to their Natural . In some Cases indeed , religiosior est mentium copula , the Union of the Mind , upon long experience of mutual Vertue , may deservedly be counted a faster Tye , than that of Consanguinity , accompanied with less Vertue . As our Lord on this account preferr'd his Cognation to his Disciples , before that with his Kinsmen ; esteem'd those to be nearer Allied to him , in whom he found Faith , than those that had the same Bloud running in their Veins . And looking upon his Disciples , he said , Behold my Brethren , my Sisters , and my Mother . But then in such Changes of Condition , as are the mere Inventions of Men , as the Orders of Friars , and their Rules of Worship are , to add Barbarity to Superstition , under the pretence of Greater Sanctity to shake off the Duties of Humanity , no Church can justifie , but that which justifies yet greater Impieties . I proceed to the second Circumstance I observed in Christ's reproving his Mother , the Terms in which he reproved her ,

What have I to do with thee ?

This was a Phrase used among the Jews , to repulse those that moved any thing to them unseasonably , or unworthy of them to do in their Opinion ; and also to express their Resentment , if they thought themselves hardly dealt with . The Widow of Zerephath used it this last way to the Prophet Elijah , when she conceiv'd the Cohabitation of so holy a Person with her , and his near Inspection into her Life , was the Cause of her Childs death , What have I to do with thee ( says she ) O thou Man of God! art thou come unto me to call my Sins to remembrance , and to slay my Son ? And David used it the first way , 2 Sam. 19. to Abishai , urging him to put Shimei to death upon the Day of his Restoration to the Kingdom , because he had Curs'd him in his Flight from Jerusalem . Says he , What have I to do with you , ye Sons of Zerviah ? And notwithstanding the great Dislike and Offence this Phrase exprest , our Lord forbore not to use it to his Mother , intermedling in his Divine Employment , Woman , says he , What have I to do with thee ?

I confess it was durum Dictum , a harsh Speech , considering the Person to whom 't was spoken : but 't was also , if rightly weighed , frugiferum Dictum , a Speech full of good Instruction and Profit : For it shews Christ's equal and impartial Deportment , as he is a Lord and Saviour , to all Persons whatsoever , without Consideration of Country , Acquaintance , or Kindred : The very Womb that bare him , in an Unadvis'd Action , shall not go away without a Rebuke ; if his Mother does that which is Dishonourable to his Office , she shall hear that which is less honourable to her Relation ; if she forgets her Duty , he will forget her Name and Title . A good Lesson for those Favourites of Christ in these our Days , who call themselves his Elect , and his Darling Children , however they live in Disobedience to his Laws ; and fansie he can see nothing in them that displeases him , whatever wickedness they commit . Though Propinquity in Grace be more in Christ's account , than Propinquity in Bloud : yet if even those that are ally'd to him by Grace , sin presumptuously against him , they will find him but a rough Kinsman . Though Coniah were as the Signet upon my Right hand , says God , yet would I pluck him thence . And if Peter , the most Zealous of the Apostles , shall take upon him to tempt Christ , he shall bear the Name of Adversary , Get thee behind me Satan . If the Provocations of the Servants of God be Great , however near and close their former Relation to him was , they will find him as far Estranged from them : and in Case their Provocations be of a less and meaner Allay , they will receive a Check , as the Blessed Virgin here did . And so I proceed to the Reason why Christ reprov'd her , Because she unseasonably interpos'd in what she ought not to have meddled , prompted him to work a Miracle before his Time was come .

— My Time , says he , is not yet come .

These , and the foregoing Words , Woman , what have I to do with thee ? utterly o'erthrow all the vain and false Glories , which the Church of Rome Superstitiously , Idolatrously , and injuriously , rather than Devoutly , heap upon our Lady : ascribing to her impeccability and being born without Sin , the Title of Queen of Heaven , and a perpetual Regency over her Son , &c. But as Stout and resolute Souldiers , where the Works are weakest , shew the greatest Valour : So those of that Church shrink not for all the Assault they receive from my Text ; but the ruder the Shock is , the more obstinately they maintain their Post. They affirm that the Action of the Blessed Virgin here was not only without Blame , but full of Faith , Charity , Humility , Prudence , &c. and that Christ was so far from being angry with her , or having any Cause given him to be so , that he took up a feigned and dissembled Dislike , to have an Occasion only to teach the World , and not her neither , That the Power by which a Prophet works Miracles , is not derived from his Parents , nor to be governed by them , but wholly by the Spirit of God , says Cornelius à Lapide , In ipsa nulla fuit culpa : ergo non vera fuit Christi reprehensio , reprehendere tamen illam videtur , ut non ipsam , sed nos doceret , in operibus theandricis parentes nihil habent juris , and so forth . Thus the Jesuite is not asham'd to make our Lord Jesuitize , i. e. falsifie and dissemble : but the time would be ill spent to confute such gross Follies and Blasphemies , which chuse rather to find a Miscarriage in Christ , than in his Mother ; to make him angry without a Cause , or to feign an Unjust Anger , than to allow it possible for her to give him a Just Cause to be angry . But the Explanation of these Words [ my hour is not yet come ] will more plainly shew wherein our Lady deserv'd a Reprehension .

The Hour of Christ is sometimes understood of the Hour of his Death , as 't is said , They could not lay hold of him , because his Hour was not yet come . But here it is to be understood of his Season or Opportunity to do a thing : as when he answered his Brethren , that ask'd him to go up to Jerusalem to the Feast , Your Time , says he , is always , but my Time is not yet come . But here by the way , we must not conceive any thing of the Hours assign'd to Christ of that nature , which the Arrians and Priscillians did , who said , He was subject to Fate and Necessity , and bound up to the Observation of Times , and could not therefore be the Eternal Son of God . Christ's Death was not impos'd on him by any Fatal Necessity , as himself declares Chap. 10. and 18. of our Evangelist : No man taketh my Life from me , says he , but I lay it down of my self , I have Power to lay it down , and I have Power to take it up . But when 't is said , The Hour of his Death was not yet come , it means no more than this , That he had not yet finish'd the Work for which he came into the World , he had not fully preach'd the Gospel , accomplish'd the Prophecies that were of him , confirm'd his Disciples , &c. i. e. the Hour by his own Eternal Wisdom chosen , was not yet come ; the Hour , as St Augustine speaks , non Necessitatis , sed Voluntatis ; the Hour not of his Necessity , but his Will ; not of his Constraint , but of his Counsel . And the like may be said of the Hour of his working Miracles , he attended no Critical Minute , or favourable Conjuncture of the Stars to assist him : as to his Power , he could have wrought them when he would , every Hour was the Hour of his Power , but every Hour was not the Hour of his Opportunity ; he could have turned the Water into Wine at the time his Mother spoke to him , as well as at any other , but the End for which he did it , would not have fallen out so Easily and Naturally at one time , as at another ; and though the Miracle had been the same , the Effect would not have been so great . An Opportunity is not to be measured or judged by the Power of the Agent , but by the Purpose and Design of his Action ; and the Purpose of Christ's present Action here was , to give a Testimony of his Divine Power , that Men might the readilier believe in him ; his Inferiour and Subordinate Purpose to this was So to dispose his Miracle , as it might best conduce to this End .

And in the first place therefore 't was of no small Moment , that he should order it so , that he might be seen to be the Free and Sole Agent of it , without any Complice or Confederate , without Monitor or Director : that it proceeded meerly from a Divine Motive as well as Power , and tended to a Divine End ; to use our Adversaries Words , that in operibus Theandricis Parentes nihil habent juris , a Prophets Parents have nothing to do in his Divine Operations . It was enough alone to have put off the Hour of Christ's working this Miracle , had it been come , his Mothers prompting him to do it . Secondly , It was of great Importance to chuse the most Advantageous Season or Minute for the Performance of it , viz. when it would be both most remarkable , and most grateful ; and that would have been after the perfect Absumption of the Wine provided for the Feast , when the Guests felt the Defect of it : Abundance is most welcome , when it succeeds Want . Thirdly , It was considerable to perform it , when it was sure to move the Greatest Admiration and Astonishment ; and that was , before there was any Intimation or Expectation of it . The Surprize of a Rare Event creates most Wonder : as we see the Good Wine did here in the Master of the Feast , he not knowing whence it came ; the Unexpected Change and Excellence of it was a Miracle to him , before he knew 't was derived from a Miracle .

Now the Blessed Virgin forestall'd and discompos'd all these Divine and Prudential Purposes of our Lord . First , By her inconsiderate Advising him of the Want of Wine , she disparag'd his Prophetick Power , as if he had been Ignorant , or less Observant of what past , and of what was needful for him to do ; and he might well answer her trifling Solicitude with Indignation : as Elisha did the young Prophets , that took upon them to inform him , that his Master would be taken that day from his head : I know that , says he , hold ye your peace . Secondly , She precipitated the Proper Season of the Miracle , and had her motion taken place , the Benefit of it would scarce have appeared to have been a Benefit . Thirdly , She appears , by interposing her Motherly Authority , to have affected part of the Glory of the Miracle , ut quae Filium haberet tali potentia praeditum , as being the Mother of such a Wonderful Son : so that whatever Honour Christ had acquired , a share of it might redound to the Womb that bare him , and to the Paps that gave him suck . Fourthly , The highest Motive which seems to have induced her to desire the Miracle , was some Secular Regard : as to oblige the Married Couple , to gratifie the Guests , or the like : and this appears by her whispering to the Servants to observe what our Lord commanded them , as a beneficial Obedience to all that were concerned in the Feast .

And thus her Purpose was as different from Christ's Purpose , her Design from his Design : as Good Cheer is from Preaching the Gospel ; as Wine is another thing from Faith ; complementing a Friend from Converting men to Christianity ; and she justly deserved the Reprehension she received . For 't was too low and mean an Imagination of his Power , that 't was to be engaged meerely to supply the Defects of a Meal , that those Divine Operations that were design'd to destroy the Kingdom of Satan , and to set up the Kingdom of God in the World , were fit to be terminated , as well as employed , in serving Tables . We read indeed in the Legend of Romish Saints , that a holy Abbot or Hermit meeting with another holy Abbot or Hermit , ( meerly to exercise their Faith , and to shew which had the greater Favour with God , and the profuser measure of his Graces ) would vie Miracles with one another , as Juglers do Tricks , remove a Hill , or change the Site of a Forest , and the like : Inventions , as one says , ferrei oris , & plumbei cordis , of a blockish Understanding , and a shameless Impudence . Christ did not prostitute his Miracles , to light or Vain-glorious Purposes : That he turn'd Water into Wine at the present Marriage-Feast , was not so much to gratifie the Palates of the Company , as to give them , and the World after them , a Taste of the Inocciduum Nectar , the Fruit of the Eternal Vine that grows only in his Father's Kingdom .

And here it may be worthy our Observation , That both Christ and his Apostles were many times more Severe against the Mistakes of Men , than against their Misdeeds ; more offended with those that did not rightly Apprehend the Faith and the Design of it , than those that Oppos'd it . Get thee behind me , Satan , was a Sharp Reproof , not for Infidelity , but for an Unadvised Carnal Tenderness shew'd to Christ . Ananias and Sapphira were made terrible Examples , not again for Denying the Faith , but for thinking a Cheat or Lye were reconcileable with the Profession of it , or could be hid from the Spirit of God . And in the Passage here before us , notwithstanding the Action of the Blessed Virgin was not without Good-Will , Charity , and a Perswasion of Christ's Divine Power : yet because she had not a due Regard of that Divine Power , of the Dignity of a Miracle , and our Lord's Office , but thought she might be the Disposer of them , she received a sharp Rebuke .

And if ever this Observation was worthy a Serious Consideration and adverting to , 't is in these Days , in which the Gospel is so Universally profest , and the Faith so Factiously Contended for , and the Principal Purpose and Design of it so little regarded . The Church of Rome on the one side , stands upon the Antiquity of her Religion and Worship , though her Antiquity be no better , than that of an old Ship 's , which has been pieced and altered , till little remains , beside the Name , of the first Building ; Ignorance and Superstition in some Ages , and Interest and Ambition in all , having patcht up their boasted Antiquity , till 't is liker to Heathenism , than the Gospel at first profest in that Church : We of this Nation on the other side stand as much upon our Reformation , and because our Doctrine and Worship are more holy and consonant to Scripture , we care not though our Lives and Manners be worse than theirs whose Errors we condemn . There are others again among us , who are perswaded they have yet purer Ordinances than we , and that they have Reformed the Reformation ; and so it be to promote their Pretences , that Faction , Schism , Sedition , Treason , Murder of Princes , and Subversion of States , are a Justifiable and Holy Zeal . These Misapprehensions and Erroneous Conceits in Religion , I say , are more pernicious to it , and hateful to God , than direct Opposition and Blasphemy against it ; and Turks , Jews , and Infidels have not hindred the Progress and Propagation of the Gospel so much , as the Scandalous Dissensions and the Unsutable Lives of the Professors of it . And all this while , the Ways and Modes of serving God are not the Service of God it self , but Holiness , Righteousness , Charity , Obedience , Meeknees , Peaceableness , and the like . All Manners and Forms of Worship are good , that are consonant to Scripture , conduce to Edification , and establisht by Just Authority , I say , and establisht by Just Authority : for 't is not allow'd to Private Men to be the Fashioners or Chusers of the Publick Way of Worship ; if this were permitted , the Issue would be only Confusion ; and the Dissensions about the Circumstances of Religion , would destroy the Substance and Essentials of it . Christ laid not down his Life to establish these or those Rites or Forms of Worship , but , as himself professes , To destroy the Works of the Devil . And this is that which ought to be the Business and Concern of his Followers , that about which all their Care and Sollicitude should be employ'd , against which their Anger and Animosity should be directed , I say , to abolish Sin , and to make Vertue and Piety flourish in the Earth . And they that lay not the Weight and Stress of Religion in this , are Impertinent and Trifling in the Faith , and Impious in their Zeal ; they understand not the most Material and weighty Part of their Profession ; and instead of receiving an Euge , or Well-done from Christ at the last Day , they will receive a Check or Increpation , as the Blessed Virgin did in my Text , and not only so , but a Renunciation and a Condemnation . God give us Grace to be Wise in a Wise Religion ; and Holy in a Holy Faith : and to God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost be ascribed all Honour , Glory and Thanksgiving , now , and for evermore . Amen .

The Fourth Sermon . DAN. ix . 26 .

And after threescore and two Weeks Messiah shall be cut off : but not for himself —

THIS is one of the most clear and most Illustrious Predictions of the Passion of our Lord , which is contain'd in Scripture ; it comprehending not only the several Stages of his drawing near to the World for its Redemption , his Advances and Pauses : but unfolding also the wonderful Mystery , and seeming Contradiction in it , viz. That the Salvation of the World should be wrought by the Cutting-Off , or Destruction of its Saviour ; the Son of God made subject to the Violence and Out-rages of the Sons of Men. I call'd the Words a Prediction , but I might have styl'd them a Description or Register of all the Passages in that strange and astonishing Transaction ; they declaring the Design and Circumstances , the How , and for Whose behalf , and the precise Time ( however obscurely ) of the Death of the Messiah .

However therefore at this Day every Child is catechiz'd and perfect in this Point of Chronology , imperante Augusto natus est Christus , imperante Tiberio crucifixus est Christus , in the Reign of Augustus Caesar Christ was born , in that of Tiberius he was crucifi'd ; and none needs to have recourse to the dark Calculations of remote Ages for this matter : yet with good Reason we may look back to Prophecies , when they are fulfill'd ; and scan Aenigmatical Speeches , even after they are expounded . For though this seems to be seeking of Light in Shades and Darkness ; the retiring back again into Night and Obscurity , after the Day-spring from on high hath visited us : yet not only much Confirmation , but much Illustration of things Believ'd may be fetcht from the remote Springs of Antiquity ; for not only the Evangelists write the History of Christ , but also the Law and the Prophets in many things Evangelize : as the Prophet Daniel does in my Text , And after threescore and two Weeks Messiah shall be cut off , but not for himself .

We may observe in the Words these two General Parts .

I. The Angels Prediction to Daniel of the Death of the Messiah , or Christ , After threescore and two Weeks Messiah shall be cut off .

II. His Correction of what he had said , or rather Direction for the right understanding of his Prediction , and to prevent misapprehe●●●on , — He shall be cut off , but not for himself .

In the first of these two General Parts , the Angels Prediction , I shall observe more particularly two things : The Substance of it , the Excision of the Messiah — he shall be cut off . And the Circumstance of the Time of it , when it should come to pass , After threescore and two Weeks — I begin first with the Substance of the Prediction ,

— He shall be cut off .

This Term of cutting-off does usually imply in Scripture three things . 1. The untimely destroying a Person from the Land of the Living . 2. The destroying him as a Criminal or Malefactor . 3. The destroying him by God himself , and if not always immediately , yet by his Appointment . I shall give but one Proof of this , of the many that might be brought , Exod. 31.14 . God gives this Charge by the mouth of Moses , — Every one that defileth my Sabbath , shall surely be put to Death — that Soul shall be Cut-off from among his people . In which Words are exprest the Person 's untimely Death , that he dyes as a Criminal , and that God is the Author that dooms him to it .

Now Death is call'd a Cutting-off for two Reasons . First , Because a Cutting-off is the discontinuation of a thing from that to which it was before united : or Secondly , A shortning of it from the Measure it had , or would have arriv'd to . Thus the Untimely Death of a Person is the shortning of the Days he might have liv'd to , and the separating him from the Society of the Living , of which he was a Member . And however strange and wonderful it is , such was the End of the Messiah : after all the glorious Prophecies and magnificent Elogies relating to his Person and his Kingdom , as that he should be call'd The Wonderful , the Mighty God , the Everlasting Father , the Prince of Peace , that his Dominion should reach to the Ends of the Earth , and to the End of Time , he was Cut-off and Extinguisht like a Mortal Man ; after the fashion , as the Psalmist speaks , of common Princes , Ye are styled Gods , but ye shall dye like Men. Like Men ? nay he dy'd like a Malefactor , and by God's Sentence and Decree . And it was upon the account of his Tragical End , and the misunderstanding of other Predictions of him ; especially that one , Christ shall live for ever , that both the Jews of old despised him , and those of these Days blaspheme him , calling him , from the manner of his Death , and the Structure of his Cross , The Warp and the Woof . It was by reason also of his Ignominious Death , that the Heathen derided and reproach'd our Holy Faith , saying , We believ'd in a hang'd Man .

But neither Jew nor Gentile had any just Cause of Exception against our Lord for his Violent and Untimely Death ; I say , there was nothing strange , or hard to be digested by either of them in this thing : For 't was the Practice of them both to sacrifice the Innocent , for the Guilty ; the Unoffending Victimes , for Offending Men : Nay , 't was usual among the Gentiles for the Noblest and most Sacrosanct Persons , their Kings , and Generals , and holy Virgins , to devote themselves to Death for the Preservation of their Country . Why then should the Devoting of Christ for the Salvation of the Whole World be held irrational and foolish by them ? Why did they despise in another Religion , what they held Honourable in their own ? And the Jews had yet less reason to be scandaliz'd ( especially the most Learned among them who were yet only offended ) who saw their Messiah daily slain before their Eyes in so many Rites and Mysteries , the Paschal Lamb , the Scape-Goat , the Goat for the Sin-Offering , in a word , all their Expiatory Sacrifices were Prefigurations of Christ's Passion . Beside those , that were Learned , were sensible , That the Way of propitiating God by the Bloud of Beasts , was of it self Irrational , and had no Efficacy in it , but as it related to the Bloud of Christ . The Jews therefore with less reason than the Gentiles disclaimed the Messiah , coming in the Guise of a Sacrifice , and drencht in his own Bloud ; when 't was his Bloud alone that sanctify'd all their Forefathers , and their own Offerings , and distinguisht their Temple from a common Shambles or Slaughter-house .

The reason that the Cross of Christ has given such Scandal in all Times , and that so great a Part of the World have thought it Monstrous , That a Divine Person should undergo an Ignominious Death , arises from the Slight Apprehension Men generally have of Sin , and their ignorance of the Malignity of its Nature ; they look upon it as a mere Transient Act , and think that the Guilt of it passes away , as soon as the Fact ; they have no Unkindness to their own Wicked Ways , and fansie God has none neither ; that any Trifle will make Compensation for them , or that God will pass them by without any Compensation at all . But if they would weigh the Odiousness of Sin to God , by its Contrariety to his Holy Nature , and the fearful Judgments he has denounc'd against it , and that it cannot go unpunisht , if God be just and true , i. e. if God be God : Again , if they would consider , that the Greatness of an Offence arises in proportion to the Greatness of the Person Offended , and then compute what would be a Competent Satisfaction for offending an Infinite and Eternal Deity , they would not think it monstrous , ut medela responderet morbo , that a Divine Person should be found only worthy to do Right to a Divine Person . Men may well be astonisht at the Goodness of God , and adore his Mercy , that he vouchsaf'd to give his Son to be a Ransom for Sinners , but none can justly wonder , that he requir'd so Honourable an Amends for the Violation of his Majesty ; or that a less Sanctity than Christ's was sufficient either to intercede for , or to Counterpoise the Guilt of the Whole World .

But as there are those that despise the Cross of Christ , and count the Bloud of the Covenant , as the Apostle speaks , an unholy thing : so there are those again on the other side , who are no less Enemies to it , by ascribing to it what was never the Will or Meaning of our Lord that they should : and these are of two Sorts ; Those of the Church of Rome , who Superstitiously and Idolatrously Worship the Cross , ascribe to it the Power of driving away Devils , conferring Divine Graces , and the like . The others are those among us , who teach , That since Christ has Suffer'd , all Guilt and Condemnation for Sin is taken away in respect of Believers : like those in the Apostles time who affirm'd , That after the Faith of Christ was once entertain'd , all that was necessary for Salvation was perform'd , and men need not be sollicitous for their future Behaviour , whether 't were Righteous , or Unrighteous . But St Paul , Heb. 10.26 . stops the mouths of all such as thus pervert the Grace purchas'd by Christ's Death . If we sin wilfully , says he , after we have received the Knowledge of the Truth , there remains no more Sacrifice for Sin , but a certain fearful looking for of Judgment , and fiery Indignation . As if he would have said , Although Christ cannot be Cut-off any more in his Person , yet he may and will be Cut-off again in the Fruits and Benefits of his first Cutting-off , from those that abuse them . Which Words , though spoken of Apostates to the Faith , will hold true also of Subverters of the Faith . And there is a Passage in this Chapter of Daniel before us , well worthy the observation of all those , who sin now presumptuously under the Gospel , which is this : When the Angel had reveal'd to Daniel the Time when the Captivity in Babylon should expire , and that the People should return , and rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple : and not only so , but that the long-promis'd and much-desir'd Messiah should be given them ; and the Prophet thought all was now well , and nothing could be added to the Felicity of the Nation ; immediately it follows , that after so many Weeks again ( for the succeeding Transgressions of the People ) the so-long'd-for Prince and Saviour , the Messiah , should be cut-off as if he had never been : So that he should be given in a manner , and not given unto the Nation ; but be the Cause of a Second and Greater Destruction , than the foregoing Captivity , even the final Rejection of the House of Israel . And 't is dreadful to consider , that the giving of a Saviour to many Christians shall have the like Success ; that by reason of their Presumption of I know not what Favour and Election of God's , and their Continuance in their Unreform'd Lives , this Blessing shall be turn'd into a Curse ; and He that was cut-off For them , shall be again cut off From them ; and the Private State of their Souls , like the Publick State of the Jews , shall be much more Calamitous after their Redemption , than before .

And now what Use shall we make of this first Branch , the Substance of the Angels Prediction , the Excision of the Messiah , He shall be cut off — ? Shall I exhort you , after the manner of the Church of Rome , to set before you Pictures of our Lord's Passion , representing his macerated and dilacerated Body hanging on the Cross between two Thieves , and attended by his Virgin Mother fallen into a Swoun , and expect that the like Effects of an o'r-whelming Sorrow may be seen in you ? No , I shall rather desire that all such Pageantry and Ostentation of misplaced Grief may be remov'd far from you ; and as our Lord directed the Women ( who wept for him when he bore his Cross to Mount Calvary ) to spend their Tears on the right Object , Daughters of Jerusalem , weep not for me , but weep for your selves , and your approaching misery : So let me advise you , Not to weep for what Christ suffer'd more than sixteen hundred Years ago for your sakes , seeing he is now at the Right Hand of his Father in Glory ; but to weep for your Own Souls , that you have made no more Advantage by his Sufferings . Weep not therefore because he was mockt , and spit on , and set at nought by the Souldiers , but weep because thou thy self hast despis'd him , set his Gospel at nought , perhaps derided it . Sigh not because Christ was scourg'd , and crown'd with Thorns , and hung so many hours upon the Cross , but sigh truly and deeply that all these things have not moved thee to forsake one Sin , or to mortifie one Lust ; mourn sensibly and pungently that he drunk the bitter Cup of his Passion in vain , as to thee , or for thy greater Condemnation : For if it be a Sad Reflection , that he liv'd a persecuted and afflicted Life , and dy'd a Calamitous Death , 't is yet a much Sadder , that such his Sufferings do not Expiate , but aggravate thy Guilt and Damnation .

The second Use I shall desire you to make of the painful and ignominious Death of so Divine a Person as the Messiah , is to consider the Malignant Nature of Sin , which ( however easily and hourly , regardlesly and remorslesly we commit ) cost our Lord his Heart bloud to expiate ; and after we were once infected by it , nothing less than his being Accurs'd , could put us into a Capacity again of being Blest ; nothing but his being Cut-off could restore us to Life and Felicity .

Let the third Use we make of the Messiah's Death be , To consider how precious a Thing the Soul of a Man is ; that 't is such a Jewel that the Son of God came down from Heaven to save from perishing ; compass'd the Earth , like a greedy Merchant , to purchase ; set his Glory and Life at nought to ransome ! And now 't is ransom'd at so Immense a Rate , is of more Value than before ; and he that sells it now for Gold , or Pleasure , or any other Worldly Consideration , sells not only an Immortal Spirit , but a Divine Purchace ; sells his Soul Redeem'd , parts with his Soul and his Messiah too ; delivers it up together with the Ransom and Satisfaction , after no more can be expected . When the Devil therefore offers to barter with us his beggarly and deceitful Wares for this Divine Treasure ; as the Satyrist said with indignation to a Gluttonous Person , that gave more for a Fish than would have bought the Fisherman , Hoc pretium Squamae ? all this Revenue for Finns and Scales ? So let us say with no less Indignation , Shall we give our Immortal Souls , the Bloud of Christ , and Eternal Glory , for a little Momentary Pleasure ? such as the very Slaves to it set often below a contemptible Summ of Money , even when they have drawn their Purse , and bid for it , put it up again , as thinking it too dear ? I proceed to the Circumstance of the Time of the Cutting-off the Messiah .

After threescore and two Weeks .

From what Epocha or Computation of Time these threescore and two Weeks begin to be reckon'd , or in what King 's Reign they determin'd , is very difficult to pronounce , by reason that the Scripture is silent in the Extent or Number of Years of the Reigns of the Kings of Persia , and those Accounts we have from Heathen Writers ( however competently punctual and sutable to their own Chronologies , yet ) to make them fall in , and come to a Concurrence with Holy Story , ( one reckoning by Lunary Years , and the other by Solary ) has been found a very hard Task : insomuch that some that have labour'd over-curiously in this matter , while they have sought to reconcile the Times , have lost much of their own ; and instead of giving Satisfaction , have only forfeited their Discretion . I shall not therefore engage in so difficult and ambitious an Undertaking , but content my self to follow the Conclusion of the soberest Expositors , hasting through the ragged Ways and barren Tracts of Chronology and Arithmetick , as a Traveller that delights not in his Journey , and not sitting down , and amusing my self in them , as if I took pleasure in the Passage .

The plain Account is this , The Prophet Jeremy , long before our Prophets time , had foretold , that the Captivity of the Jews in Babylon should continue seventy Years . Now Daniel being a Captive in Babylon about the End of this time , and mindful of Jeremy's Prophecy , besought of God , by fasting and Supplications , an Accomplishment of the promis'd Deliverance : whereupon an Angel was sent to him , with much more Gladsome Tydings than he expected , viz. to assure him , that not only at the Expiration of the Seventy Years prefixt , the People should certainly return , but that after Seventy Weeks of Years more , i. e. seventy times seven Weeks ( a Week of Years consisting of seven Years ) the righteous and glorious Prince Messiah should be sent . And the more to confirm Daniel in this joyful News , the Angel ( according to the Distribution of the Time for the bringing this Counsel and Determination of God to pass ) divides the Seventy Weeks of Years into three Parts , assigns seven Weeks of Years for the rebuilding Jerusalem and the Temple , threescore and two from that to the Birth of the Messiah and his Cutting-off , or at least for the Preaching of the Gospel by his Disciples ; and one Week of Years remaining for the destroying of Unbelievers : as these things may be collected from ver. 21. to the end of the Chapter .

In which Distribution of Time God's singular Goodness and Wisdom , in chusing the Season for sending his Son into the World , is very remarkable . He sent him not the first seven Weeks , or forty nine Years , after the Jews return from Babylon , that the City and Sanctuary were building , and the Nation re-establishing , for that was a busie and troublesome Time , but sixty two Weeks after that , when they were setled and at Leisure to attend Divine things . And for this Reason God also so order'd it , that Christ should be born in a Calm and Serene Age of the World , in the peaceful Reign of Augustus Caesar , when , as the Historian says , universi terrarum orbis aut pax , aut pactio , that there was either an Universal Peace , or Treaty of Peace through the Whole World . God thus stilling the Noise of Wars , and the Tumults of the Nations , that the Voice of his Son might be heard ; gave men nothing to intend , that they might intend Religion . But though he offer'd the Jews this Opportunity for their Salvation , they laid not hold of it : but when they were disengaged from Civil Affairs , they engaged and immers'd themselves in all manner of Sin and Wickedness ; when their Wars ceas'd , their Lusts began to rage ; when the Architects and Builders had finish'd their Work , the Contrivers of Iniquity set to plot and contrive theirs . So that few were at leisure to compute how Daniel's Weeks , for the coming of the Messiah , past away , and much less to prepare themselves for his Reception ; and accordingly when he appear'd , so far they were from paying him Obedience , that they knew him not ; from acknowledging him their King , that they crucifi'd him . They dreamt of a second Joshua for their Messiah , not of a Melchizedeck ; of a fighting , not a preaching King : when therefore he rebuk'd their Vices , they conspir'd his Death ; and cut him off , instead of cutting off their Sins . 'T was no wonder therefore , that God allow'd but one Week of Years for the destroying so Carnal , so wicked , so ungrateful a People .

'T is an Ominous and Fatal Sign , when God has given Eminent Deliverance to a Nation , and allow'd it time for the Re-establishing it self , if at least in the second place it makes not Religion and his Worship its Business : but falls from Secular Employments to Sensual and Sinful ; never reflecting either why he did so severely punish them , or why again so Graciously Restore them . We of this Nation attend not the fulfilling of the Weeks foretold by Daniel , for the Coming of the Messiah in the Flesh , his Cutting off , and the Destruction of Jerusalem , these things are already past : But there are other Weeks in which we are concern'd , which are not yet fulfill'd , viz. the few Weeks before God may possibly call us to account for the ill Use we have made of his Glorious Restoration of our King and Nation , and his other Illustrious Mercies : Or if in his Wisdom he shall think fit to adjourn this Account to the General Audit at the Last Day , then the very few Weeks , before we that are here present shall be seal'd up for that Dreadful Day by our Departure out of this Life . And in the mean time we have daily an Image or representation of that Great Assize of the Whole World , in the Absolution which the Church pronounces to Penitent Sinners , and consequently in binding over to Judgment the Impenitent : For though the Righteous are not juridically and finally absolv'd in this World , nor the Wicked condemn'd ; yet the Issue that both are to expect is foreshew'd ; and however there seems for a time a Forgetfulness of the one and the other , that the Just appear to go away without their Reward , and the Unjust to be Tenants to an Easie Lord , that will never call them to account : yet they will receive their Recompence according to what they have done in this Life , and find though Christ suffered for Sin , he never suffered or tolerated Sin ; but that his Death will prove Effectual for their Condemnatition , for whom it prov'd not Effectual for their Salvation .

The Reason that Men put off the Fear of the Lord 's Coming to Judgment , or think his Coming but a Fable , is , because they consider not how far he is already advanc'd on his Way towards them , how many Stages he has past , and how very near he is come . He is advanc'd long since to the Destruction of Jerusalem ; there 's the first prophesy'd Stage of his Coming , and so many Weeks of Years past . Secondly , His Gospel is preach'd through the World : Christ is arriv'd so much Nearer on his Journey towards us . Thirdly , Anti-Christ is come : the Apostle speaks of him as entred into the World , though as 't were incognito or conceal'd , in his time : but now for many Years he has shew'd himself openly , and raged in the Church : and there 's the Third Sett of Weeks foretold for Christ's coming , past : So that there remains but one Parcel of Weeks more , before we shall see him at our very Doors , i. e. coming in the Clouds of Heaven to judge the Quick and the Dead . We have seen three Predictions of his Coming actually fulfill'd , and is it possible our Sins should perswade us , that he will tire by the Way , and that the fourth shall not come to pass ? The Night succeeds not the Day , Winter the Summer so certainly , as Christ's Second Coming shall succeed in the time appointed . And seeing these things shall be so , what manner of Persons , as St Peter says , ought we to be in all holy Conversation and Godliness ? My Text says , Christ was not cut off for Himself , let us take care to be of the Number of those he was cut off For , and not of those he shall be cut off From. And so I pass to my Second General Part , the Angel's Direction for the right Understanding of his Prediction ,

He shall be cut off , but not for himself .

The Words in the Original [ ve en lo ] which our Translators render , but not for himself , and in the Margent , and shall have nothing , are so concise and abrupt , that they leave place to several Apprehensions to add , what they think will best fill up their Sense : But all that is offered being merely conjectural , and also less edifying than what we read in our own Bibles , I shall not decline what I there find . And it may be understood in two Respects , That Christ was cut off , and not for Himself .

1. In Respect of any Demerit or Fault of his . There were many that pretended to be the Messiah , that were Thieves and Murderers , and were cut off , but 't was justly for their Offences . But the Angel prevents here the least Suspicion , that the True Messiah should be a Guilty Person , cut off for his own Crimes . He did no Sin , as St Peter says , neither was Guile found in his mouth : But he could make that bold Challenge to all the Nations of the Jews , Which of you convinceth me of Sin ? It fared indeed with him , as it did with David , a good King , and his Type , who Psal. the 59th and the 3d , complains of his Enemies after this manner , They lye in wait for my Soul , the Mighty are gathered against me ; not for My Transgressions , nor for my Sin , O Lord ! they run and prepare themselves without my Fault . No : if any man could take away our Messiah , by justly alledging Impiety against him , we would readily deliver him up our selves : But when he was Holy in his Life and Doctrine , when his Righteousness was attested from Heaven before , and in , and after his being in the World , by Prophecies , Miracles , by the Voice , to use St Peter's expression , which came to him from the Excellent Glory , saying , This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased : by his Resurrection , Ascension , and sending the Holy Ghost , we may well adhere to such a Saviour , and excuse the seeming Shame of his Cutting off , for those real Glories which none beside himself ever pretended to .

2. Not for himself , in respect of any Benefit he received . If the Angel had told the Prophet , That the Cutting off of the Messiah had been for any Personal Advantage of his own , though he had taken Death in the Way to that Advantage , his Suffering had not been Relative to Others , it had been for Himself . But the Scripture disclaims this , and affirms , 'T was for our Redemption , our Salvation , our being Reconcil'd to God and instated in Glory that Messiah suffered . For he being enthron'd already in Heaven , what could he gain to himself by taking our wretched Flesh , and undergoing all the Miseries and Indignities of a Humane Life ? His Sufferings , indeed , were antecedent to his Exaltation , but his Exaltation was not the End or Reason of his Sufferings ; God highly exalted him , and gave him a Name above every Name ; that at the Name of Jesus every Knee should bow , of things in Heaven , and things in Earth , and things under the Earth : but this was the Result or Event of the Merit of his Humiliation , not the Design of it . And the Joy which , as the Apostle says , was set before him , and made him endure the Cross , and despise the Shame , was a Contemplation of the Redemption and Recovery of Lost Man , and of the Glory redounding to God by his Atchievement , more than of his own Glory .

There are but two Sorts of Creatures in the Whole Lump of the Creation , for whom the Excision of the Messiah could possibly be , namely , Angels and Men : but the Scripture excludes the first , He took not upon him the Nature of Angels , but took upon him the Seed of Abraham : and the Ancients interpret , That the Nature that was not assum'd , was not ransom'd . The State of the Angels , Good and Bad , immediately after the Fall of those that kept not their Station , was made Immutable , and they are Happy , or Accursed without Change . For Men therefore alone the Benefit was : and it being said for Men indefinitely , it must be understood of all the Race of Mankind ; the Men of all Nations , and of all Times ; quocunque sub axe , how remote or in what Clime soever , quocunque sub scelere , how remote from Righteousness , or under what Sins soever ; all that Believe , all that Repent , are of the Number of those for whom Christ was cut off : as St John says , He is the Propitiation for our Sins , and not for ours only , but for the Sins of the Whole World . None are so much cut off from Goodness , but Christ was cut off to bring them to Righteousness and Salvation .

And now to draw to a Conclusion : What does this Universal , this Wonderful Love of Christ preach to us ? Who when he was not capable , as God , to dye for us , as our Condition required , espoused our Nature first , that he might espouse our Miseries after ; and that he might bring us to perfect Felicity , was content to be made perfect by Sufferings , as the Apostle speaks ? As I said before , an affected weeping and sorrowing in remembrance of Christ's Passion , was but an Insignificant Return for his Sufferings : So I may say here , an Empty Admiration of his Love will be as Vain , as Ungrateful , and as unacceptable an Acknowledgment of his Goodness . The Return he expects for his Unspeakable Love is , that we , according to our Measures and proportions should shew the like Love to our Brethren . And this is the Consequence St John draws from the Love of Christ , If Christ so loved us , we ought to love one another .

But what Kind of Love is it , which is requir'd of us ? For the Love commonly practis'd in the World , is but a Confederation for Lust and Pleasure : or an Association ( like that of Merchants ) for Interest and Profit . Moralists observe three Kinds of Love in regard of the Ends of them , Love for Pleasure sake , Love for Profit , and Love for Vertues sake . Now the last only of these bears any Resemblance to the Love of Christ , which we are to imitate : and which is more perfectly described by the Pen of St Paul , To be , first , a Benevolence or Well-willing to others , as to our Selves , not excluding our very Enemies ; a Candid and favourable Interpretation of all Mens Actions ; a Meek Conceit of our selves , and a Lowliness towards others ; ready to forgive Injuries , and to overcome Evil with Good , &c. which Love the Apostle prefers even before Martyrdom . Secondly , a Mutual Compassion and being affected as our Brethren are , a sorrowing with them that sorrow , and a rejoycing with them that rejoyce , as the Apostle says , like Members of the same Body , suffering all , if one suffers ; and if one be honoured , all rejoycing . Thirdly , a Beneficence or Liberal Contribution to those that need , exprest in these Words , But to do Good and to Contribute forget not . And this Love , it seems , the Church was so happy in in St Paul's days , that he thought it superfluous to recommend it among other Duties to the Thessalonians , But as touching Brotherly Love , says he , ye need not that I should write unto you . But had the Apostle liv'd in these days , he would have thought it necessary , not only to say , Love one another , love Strangers , love your Enemies ; but love your Friends , love your Selves . For we see Men destroy their Souls for the love of their Bodies ; and their Bodies again for the love of their Lusts. And if any in these days should pretend to love merely for Vertue and Goodness sake , to have a Kindness to those that gave them an Opportunity to exercise their Charity , even as unto those that did them a Good Turn , they would be hiss'd at as Hypocrites ; and if they should love their Enemies , and return Good for Evil , they would be lookt on as base and degenerate , despicable and ridiculous persons . But had not Christ been so ridiculous , as to do Good to them that hated him ; so degenerate , as to lay down both his Life and Glory for his Enemies ; none , that now shall be admitted into the Kingdom of Heaven , should ever have come there . And he that gave his Soul unto Death for our sakes , looks that we should not only be Believers , but Martyrs for his Sake , if Occasion requires ; that we should be ready to be cut off for Him , that was cut off for us ; that is , be content to lay down our Lives for the Truth , or the Salvation of our Brethren .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , &c. Amen .

The Fifth Sermon . ZECHARY xiii . 6 .

And one shall say unto him , What are these Wounds in thy hands ? Then shall he answer , Those with which I was wounded in the house of my Friends .

THere is nothing esteemed more barbarous , than to violate the Laws of Hospitality , to outrage a Stranger-Guest . The sense of Mankind in this Particular may be seen by the fatal Revenge taken for the abuse of the Levite's Concubine ; which occasioned the destruction well near of a whole Tribe in Israel . But then the Violation of an Ambassadour , and of such an one as comes to offer Peace and Alliance , not only to break the Laws of Hospitality , but of Nations ; to Evil-Entreat a Sacrosanct Person , and to return Hostility for Friendship and Amity , what can be found sufficient to make an Atonement for such Inhumanity ? How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad Tydings of Good things ? And how deformed and detestable on the other side must the Ingratitude of those be , that are injurious to such Messengers ? 'T is no wonder if such Barbarity creates irreconcileable Feuds , inter mortales inimicitias immortales . between mortal men immortal Enmities . Yet the Prophet Zechary foretells , that such should be the Reception of the Messiah , the Entertainment that the Prince of Peace should find in the World , when he came to offer Peace to the World . And that he may set it off the more lively , he does it by way of Dialogue , shews it in a kind of Drama , or Acted Representation , introduces a Nameless Person to be astonish'd at the Strange Spectacle of an Ambassadour wounded , a publick Minister invaded like a publick Enemy ; and the Person so used , giving as strange an account of his Usage , viz. that 't was not on the Road , but in the City ; not in the Camp , but in the House ; again , not in the House of his Enemies , but in the House of his Allies and Friends . And one shall say unto him , What are these Wounds in thy hands ? Then shall be answer , Those with which I was wounded in the House of my Friends .

I am not ignorant , that the Generality of Interpreters ( a few only excepted ) as well ancient as modern , apply these Words to the False Prophet mentioned ver. 5. and not to Christ : but though I affect not to follow the Few rather than the Many , yet I find it hard to resign a Picture so perfectly resembling our Lord , as my Text does , and allow it to be drawn for a False Prophet . I shall therefore shew upon what Considerations I have been induced to understand the Words as I do , and if they are not convincing , content my self to handle them by way of Accommodation to the Business of the Day , though not by way of Interpretation .

In the first Verse of the Chapter , the Times of the Messiah are confessedly spoken of , In that Day there shall be a Fountain opened to the house of David , and to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem for Sin and for Vncleanness . In the five following Verses , the things transacted preparatory to the Coming of the Messiah are set down , viz. the rooting Idolatry out of the Land of Israel , and the destroying of the False Prophets , as at ver. 2. For God having for a time determined to silence all Prophecies , and to restrain all Miracles , that greater Notice might be taken of his Son when he came in the Power of both , with that lumine prophetico , which Justin Martyr says , Christ first kindled again after 't was Extinguish'd ; False Prophets from hence took occasion to arise , and having nothing Divine to countenance their pretended Mission from Heaven , they apishly imitated the Outward Garb and Austerity of the true Prophets , as 't is ver. 4. wore rough Garments , and used boldness of Speech . But God not suffering these Impostors to frustrate his Divine Counsels , sent a Discerning Spirit into his People , and stir'd them up to bring them to condign Punishment , as at v. 3. The very Father and Mother of the False Prophet shall thrust him through , and force him to confess that he spoke Lies , and that he was not sent by God , but was a Herdsman that had kept Cattel from his Youth . And Christ at this Season entering on the Stage of Judaea in a Mean and Poor Condition , far Unlike that Glorious and Warlike Prince that carnal Nation had fansy'd him , the Priests and Rulers set him at nought , and out of a pretence of Zeal to God's Glory ( as the faithful Jews had a little before laid hands upon the False Prophets ) did the like on the Messiah , and crucifi'd him for an Impostor : as these things are imply'd partly in the Words of my Text , What are these Wounds in thy hands , & c. ? and partly in the Verse immediately following , Awake , O Sword , against my Shepherd , against the Man which is my Fellow , says the Lord of Hosts , smite the Shepherd , and the Sheep shall be scattered . Which last Words our Lord also applies to himself , Matth. 26.31 .

The Prophet Zechary recounting so close together the semblable Treating of these two most Unresembling Persons , the Messiah and the False Prophets , and shifting his Narration from the one to the other without any transition , has made it hard to distinguish which he speaks of : But in Prophetick Writings this Abruptness is common , as the Rabbins say , lumen propheticum est lumen abruptum : and St Hierom , Non curae fuit Spiritui prophetali Historiae ordinem sequi , the Spirit of Prophecy is not sollicitous to observe Method , but despising all Historical and Logical Contextures , makes the Exits and Intrats of Persons in an unaccountable Manner . And such a Freedom it uses in this Chapter , that 't is impossible rightly to apply the Particulars related to the Persons they belong , but by considering what was truly and indeed done to each of them . And by this Rule , Piercing the Hands plainly alludes to Crucifying , and must belong to the Messiah , this being a Punishment never practised among the Jews , till they fell under the Roman Yoke , Stoning being the Penalty of a False Prophet by the Law : and then , if we consider , Wounding the Hands , is not only a punishment differing from that prescribed , but also an Odd one that no way comports with the Crime , it being more sutable to the Offence , to have bored the Tongue of the False Prophet , than his Hands . But the truth is , the Prophet had exprest the Punishment of the False Prophet before , at the third Verse , namely , by Thrusting him through : which might be done jure Zelotarum , by the Right of Zealots , God exciting his own Relations against him . Or else the Punishment may refer to Exod. 19.12 . where God commands , That if Man or Beast came within the forbidden Precincts of the holy Mount , they should be Thrust through with a Dart : Our Prophet threatning here the same Death to those that , Uncall'd , invaded the Prophetick Office , which was threatned there to such as presumptuously intruded to pry into God's Mysterious and Dreadful Appearance . Which things being premis'd , I shall proceed to handle the Words as they are applicable to our Saviour : and so they contain in them two Great Mysteries of our Faith , which I shall explain , by enquiring

I. For what Reason the Divine Goodness so order'd it , That Christ our Saviour should be a Wounded Saviour , in satisfaction to this Question , What are these Wounds in thy Hands ?

II. For what Reason the Divine Goodness so order'd it , That he should be wounded by those he deserved Best from , in exposition of these Words , Those with which I was wounded in the House of my Friends .

I begin with the First of these , Why Christ was to be

A Wounded Saviour .

What are these Wounds in thy Hands ? ] The Wounds in Christ's Hands do more particularly relate to the Wounds made by the Nails of the Cross , but by the Figure of a Part for the Whole , they may stand for the Wounds he received all his Body over ; and not only so , but for all his Sufferings , whether in Body or in Spirit , from his Cradle to his Grave ; from the Manger at Bethlehem , to his Crucifixion at Mount Calvary ; and the Summ Total of this Question , ( What are these Wounds in thy Hands ? ) imports no less , Than what is the meaning of thy Strange and astonishing Miseries , thy low Condition and sad Wants , thy perpetual Dangers and Persecutions ? What is the meaning of thine Agony and bloudy Sweat , thy Crown of Thorns platted and crusht into thy Head , thy being Mockt and Spit on ? What is the meaning of thy Submitting not only to the Dishonours of a Humane Birth , but to those also of a Violent and Ignominious Death ? Being the Son of God , why didst thou suffer any Evil ? Why didst thou not convert the Stable in which thou wert Born into a Palace , and the Cross to which thou were Nail'd into a Throne ? Why didst thou undergo such Miseries and Indignities as made the World doubt of thy Divine Nature , and not exert thy Deity , and destroy thy Murderers , and burn up their City , as thou spak'st in one of thy Parables ? Thy People expected thee a mighty Prince , but thou shew'd'st thy self a Destitute , Forlorn Person ; they lookt for a Deliverer , but behold one Obnoxious to Bonds and Death ; for a Redeemer , but , Alas ! none needed Redemption more himself .

Great , undoubtedly , and wonderful was the Mystery of the Incarnation of the Son of God ; and that he should not only be born in a Mortal , but in a Miserable Condition . The Apostle might well give it the precedence to all other Mysteries of Godliness , Great is the Mystery of Godliness , says he , God was manifested in the Flesh , justify'd in the Spirit , seen of Angels , &c. But that Christ should suffer the things he did in our Nature , was no less Necessary , than Wonderful : And to omit all other Reasons for it , I shall insist only on that One Great One , Because Sin could not otherwise have been abolisht , the End , for which Christ came into the World , attain'd ; which was To destroy the Works of the Devil . Christ could have destroy'd the Devil with more Facility , if he had come in Majesty and Glory , as the Apostle says , 2 Thess. 2. He shall consume Anti-Christ with the Spirit ( or breath only ) of his Mouth , and the Brightness of his Coming . But our Lord's Business at this time was not to destroy the Person , but the Power of the Devil : Sin was both the Stratagem by which he conquer'd , and the Chain by which he held Mankind in Captivity ; and Christ undertaking to rescue them from this Thraldom , to bind the Strong Man , and to take from him the Armour in which he trusted , he was not to do this by an Omnipotent Power , as he brought the World out of Nothing , Light out of Darkness , &c. but by an Heroick Vertue , such as he shew'd when he trampled upon the Temptations of the Devil in the Wilderness . He therefore enter'd the Lists against Satan as a Champion or Combatant , according to the fair Law of Armes , as they say , i. e. with a sutable Strength and Appointment to his Adversaries . Man was lost by Sin , and could only be restored by Righteousness ; he had forfeited God's Favour and his Felicity by his Transgressions , and could recover them again no other way but by Obedience . On this Account Christ laid by his Majesty and Glory , and took our Nature , that in the Infirmity of our Flesh he might foil our Strong Enemy ; the Second Adam redeem the Glories lost by the First Adam ; the Seed of the Woman bruise the Serpents head ; made himself subject to the Law , that he might fulfil the Law ; obnoxious to Death , that he might subdue Death and the Author of it by suffering Death : as St Paul says , Heb. 2.14 . That through Death he might destroy him that had the Power of Death , that is , the Devil . So that we see here was no place for Thunder and Lightning , for an O'er-bearing Irresistible Power , but only for Divine Graces or Vertues ; and the Weapons Christ used in this Conflict , were only Courage , Holiness , Obedience , Patience , Self-denial , Meekness , and the like , such as were in the Power of Men also to make use of ; he so conquer'd , as they might conquer after him . For the Great Business was not Christ's Personal Victory , that was secure , but the Victory of his Followers ; he indeed was to break the Power of the Kingdom of Darkness , but they were to compleat the Conquest , every one in his own Particular to subdue Sin and Satan .

And thus while Christ destroy'd the Power of the Devil , disarm'd him , and made those that had been his Slaves , Lords over him ; by consequence , and in a Political Sense , he destroy'd the Devil himself : as a Prince is said to be destroy'd , that is stript of his Forts and Castles , his Territories and Armies , his Ammunition and Harness of War , though his Person still survives . However then that Zipporah upbraided Moses upon the Circumcising of her Child , saying , factus es mihi Sponsus sanguinum , thou art to me a Bloudy Husband : we have no reason to quarrel that Christ was to us Salvator Sanguinum , a Bloudy Saviour , i. e. a Saviour drencht in his own Bloud : for without the Bloud of Christ there had been no Redemption .

But to be more particular and distinct : There are two Ways by which Christ destroy'd the Power of the Devil , and delivered Mankind from his Bondage , and those are Pretio & Exemplo , by the Price or Satisfaction he paid for Sin , And by the Example of his Holy Life . By the first he destroy'd the Guilt of Sin , And by the second the Dominion or reigning Power of Sin .

1. Therefore we may say , There was a Necessity of Christ's Death and Sufferings , and that he should be a Wounded Saviour , that he might pay a Price , make Satisfaction to God the Father for the Sins of the World . For whether it be , that the Vindicative Justice of God for Sin be so natural and intimate to his Essence that he cannot , without renouncing his very Nature and Being , pardon Sin without a Competent Satisfaction , as some would have it : Or whether it be only his Declared Will not to pardon Sin without a Competent Satisfaction , as others , more sutably to the Divine Goodness and Glory , affirm , I shall not need here to dispute ; seeing both Sides agree in one and the same Conclusion , That it was necessary for Christ to Dye for the Sins of the World . The Wages of Sin is Death , says the Apostle : and in another place , Almost all things by the Law were purged by Bloud , and without shedding of Bloud there was no Remission . Now though the Bloud there mentioned , was but the Bloud of Beasts that were sacrificed : yet those Beasts were the Proxies and Representatives of Men , and also Types of the Great Sacrifice which Christ was once to offer on the Cross , and derived from it all their Vertue and Merit : and God revealed this Way of atoning by Sacrifice early to the World , and afterwards prescribed it to his People the Jews by written Laws , from whom it was deriv'd to all Nations : though the Mystery , that Sacrifices were founded in the Death of Christ , was not clearly understood till the Days of the Gospel . As a Remedy for Sin was promised from the Beginning , so 't was also taught , however obscurely , from the very Beginning , That Sin was not to be abolisht without Satisfaction made for it ; and that no Competent Satisfaction could be made for it , but by the Bloud of the Son of God , or the Eternal Destruction of the Sinner .

And if we will make the best Use of this Doctrine , we must observe , That as the Parts of the Body are framed in so excellent a manner , that they serve for more Uses than one : as the Nose not only to breathe , but to smell ; the Hand not only to lay-hold with , but to strike , &c. So likewise that the Institution of Sacrifices for expiation of Guilt had two Excellent Designs in it : First , to shew God's Mercy to Sinners , and secondly , his Irreconcileable Hatred to Sin . And if we look no further in this Matter , than on God's Goodness only in accepting so favourable an Exchange , as the Bloud of the Sacrifice , for the Bloud of the Sinner , we defeat one half of his Design , which was to shew the Malignant and Mortiferous Nature of Sin , in that it could not be purged away by any less Means than Death ; than either by the Destruction of the Sinner , or of some Other in his behalf . And therefore though God deal with us after that Royal Manner as the Children of Princes are dealt with , who have another Punishment for their Faults ; or as he dealt with David after his Numbering the People , past by in a great measure his Offence , and took Occasion from it only to send a Plague on Israel for former Transgressions ; thus chusing rather to punish David's Ingenuity , than his Person ; to afflict him with beholding the Afflictions of others , than by sending any immediately on himself : yet if we shew not the like Ingenuity which David did , suffer not Our Selves , for what we see another suffer , when we were the Delinquents ; I say , if as he cry'd out upon the Destruction of the People , Lo , I have sinned , I have done Wickedly ; but these Sheep , what have they done ? So if we cry not out , in Contemplation of what our Proxy suffered on our behalf , We have sinned , we have done Wickedly , but the Lamb of God , what has he done to be sacrificed for us ? We shall forfeit both the Indulgence and Indemnity which God intended us , and while we shew our selves Insensible of so high a Benefit , we shall be deprived of it ; and in the next place , we must Dye our Selves , and Dye to all Eternity .

And thus we see , as the Death of Christ , paid to God as a Ransom for Sins , ought to be the highest Object of our Joy : So the Consideration again on the other side , that Nothing but the Death of Christ could pay that Ransom , ought to create in us no less than a horrour and Detestation of Sin . But yet , I know not how , we see men precipitately and remorslesly run into all Impiety , as if there were no danger in Sin ; as if Christ had suffered nothing for it ; as if it were as easily remitted , as 't is committed ; the Price of Iniquity no more than what it cost the Wicked Person to purchase it : For certainly , if Men did consider at how dear a Rate God's Justice and Wrath were satisfied , they would not think the gratifying of every Lust more valuable , than the Compensation made for it ; they would not set more by the Savage Delight of Revenge , or the Swinish of Drunkenness , than by the Bloud of Christ ; prefer the Favours of a Light Woman , before their Peace with God ; a cheap Sin , before the dearest-bought Redemption . A Fool can work a Mischief , which may pose a Wiseman to remedy ; and every Weak Person , when he is tempted , can commit Sin , but none but the Eternal Son of God can remove the Guilt of it when 't is done . And 't is the light Reckoning that men make of Sin , which brings God's heavy Displeasure upon them for it ; their thinking so cheaply of the Greatest Offences , because the Pardon of them costs them little , that provokes him to make them feel what the Weight of Guilt is : For 't is but just , that those who refuse to understand the pernicious Nature of Sin by the Punishment laid on an Other , should understand it by undergoing the Punishment of it themselves ; who will not learn how Odious it is to God by the Death of his Son , should be taught it by their own Confusion . Who is there so Ungrateful and Insensible even among the Worst of Men , that if a Friend hazard his Life for his Preservation , will not acknowledge so great a Benefit ? and yet the Son of God did not only hazard , but lay down his Life to redeem us from Eternal Damnation , and few there are that consider it , that have so much Compassion , as but to ask the Question in my Text , What are these Wounds in thy hands ? resentingly to say , Was it possible so Divine a Person should be so Abus'd for me ? that the Son of God , should be buffetted , spit on , derided , torn with Scourges , mangled with Tortures , and at last nail'd to the Cross , for my Disobedience ? There are those , I confess , in the Church of Rome who spend a great Part of their Lives in gazing on a Crucifix , and weeping over the Pictures of our Lord's Passion , in bemoaning his Sufferings , and kissing the Representations of his Wounds : but , alas , these do but haerere in cortice , stick at the Bark and Husk of the Mystery , out of a simple or affected Fondness express their Gratitude to Christ a Wrong Way , lament his Sufferings now they are past , and he in Glory at the Right Hand of his Father ; they do not penetrate into the true Purpose and Meaning of his Sufferings , as they declare the Malignant Nature of Sin , that could not be expiated at a less Rate than the Death of so Divine a Person : For this is the true Return that Men should make Christ for his Passion , not so much to consider What his Wounds were , as For what they were , and from thence fly that which was the Cause of his Sufferings .

The second Reason of the Necessity of Christ's Sufferings , I said , was , To give Men an Example of Obedience . The Apostle , Heb. 2.17 . gives another Reason for Christ's suffering in our Nature , viz. that he might be a Merciful High Priest , become Compassionate of our Infirmities by the Experimental Knowledge of them in his Own Person . But the Reason or Purpose I now speak of , is such as is in Reference to Men , and not to himself ; that he might give an Example to the World , that God commanded nothing but what was possible to be performed by Flesh and Bloud . The last Effort or Endeavour of Heaven to bring Men to Salvation was now essaying , and the shortest and most Efficacious Motive was thought to be , to give them an Instance of the Fulfilling the Law : Precepts are but cold Inducements ; but an Example fires the Soul with Emulation to do , what it sees done before it ; and Men think it a Disparagement to give out in that , which another has enterpriz'd with Success . The Life of a Christian is full of Difficulties and Troubles , many Lusts are to be mortifi'd , many Affections to be rectifi'd , many Vices to be rooted out , and many Vertuous Habits to be acquir'd , which things are not Easie even to the best of Men ; again , Persecutions and Evils , loss of Goods , of Liberty , and Life it self , are the Lot often of the most Righteous , and for their Righteousness : So that there was need of a Great Encouragement and a Generous Precedent to excite Men to undertake the Heroick Duties of Christianity . God therefore afforded them his Own Son clothed in our Nature to go before them ; his Own Son , I say , to add the Greater Authority to his Example ; and cloathed in our Flesh , to remove all Objections which Sloth might otherwise make against the Possibility of following his Steps . I am not Equal , says one , to the Burdens and Dangers required in a Christian Life , able to undergo Imprisonment , Beggary , Martyrdom , &c. Behold my Hands and my Feet , says Christ , these Wounds I suffered for thy Salvation , and canst not thou , who art framed of the same Flesh and Bloud , endure as much for thy Self , as another could endure for thee ? Says another , I cannot digest Injuries and Affronts , my Temper , my Profession of Life , are inconsistent with these things . Learn of me , says Christ , I am lowly and meek , and when I was enthron'd in the highest Heavens , I disdained not to descend into this World in the form of a Servant , and to bear Indignities and Outrages , when the Wisdom of God so order'd it , and well then mayst thou submit to the like , whose Original is but from the Earth . These things are too plain to be long insisted on : let thus much suffice to be said in Satisfaction to this Question , What are these Wounds in thy Hands ? viz. they signifie first Malum culpae , the Evil Demerit of Sin , which Christ suffered , that we might be excused . Secondly Malum poenae , the Toleration of Evil , which Christ underwent to leave us an Example to follow him . I proceed to shew , For what Reason the Divine Wisdom so order'd it , that Christ should be wounded by those be deserved Best from , in Explanation of these Words ,

Those with which I was wounded in the House of my Friends .

Of whom do the Kings of the Earth take Tribute ? says Christ , Of their Children , or of Strangers ? Not of their Children , but of Strangers . So again , Who are those Men usually Wound and Kill , their Friends , or their Enemies ? certainly , not their Friends , but their Enemies : Yet so it was , that the Messiah was wounded and murthered by his Own Nation and Kindred . The Gentiles bore him no Malice , Herod laid nothing to his Charge , Pilate would have set him free , Am I a Jew ? says he , thine own Nation , and the Chief Priests have delivered thee unto me : all Strangers honoured him : but as St John says , He came unto his Own , and his Own received him not . Received him not ] is a Meiosis , or mitigated Expression for the Worst of Usages , they Persecuted him with the highest Malice and Hatred , the more to disgrace him , they hung him between two Thieves , and put him to Death in their Capital City . But though the Nation of the Jews were not his Friends de facto , yet they are so called , because they ought to have been his Friends de jure ; for they were his Compatriots and Kindred , he chose to be born of their Stock before any other , he preacht the Gospel to them first , made Palestine the Scene of his Holy Life and Miracles , design'd their whole Nation the Honour of being his Apostles at large , to be the Preachers of Salvation to the rest of the World ; and by how much the more they ought to have been his Friends for these Obligations , the more unpardonable was their Barbarity , not only to make him so Strange a Spectacle , as Saint Paul says himself was made , Legatus in vinculis , an Ambassadour in Bonds , but also Legatus cum vulneribus , an Ambassadour wounded and crucified . What Malice , besides the Jews , was ever so Great , as to destroy so much Vertue and Goodness ? What Envy so black and rancorous to persecute so much Meekness and Humility ? What Wickedness ever so unfortunate and unhappy , as to cut off the Saviour of their Nation and of the World , to the Salvation of others , and to their own only Destruction ? It appears at first hearing , the most Mysterious and unaccountable , the most Strange and amazing Event , that ever the Wisdom of God produced in the World , That he should permit his Own People , of all the People of the Earth , to be the Murderers of his Son ! Acts 2.23 . says St Peter , Him being delivered by the determinate Counsel and Foreknowledge of God , ye have taken , and by wicked hands have crucified and slain . But the wonder of this will vanish , as soon as the Reason appears ; for if we consider the Blindness and Hardness of the Jews Hearts after so many Glorious Revelations ; their Uncorrigible Lives under so many holy Laws ; their high Ingratitude after so many Benefits ; Who deserved to be condemned to such a Prodigious Punishment , but those who were the Greatest Prodigies of Stubbornness and Impiety ? From this wonderful and dreadful Judgment of God , I shall reflect upon two things for our Edification .

First , The Wickedness of Mens Hearts , when they are void of the Spirit of Grace : For upon such no Reason , no Benefits , no Miracles , whether of Power or Goodness , can effect any thing : but those very Means and Endeavours which are employed for their Salvation , serve only for their greater Obduration ; those that are their chiefest Friends , and of whom it may be said , as of the Apostles , These Men are the Servants of the most High God , which shew the Way of Salvation , if they rebuke them for their Sins , seek to instruct their Ignorance , or to confute their Folly , they will look upon them as the Worst of Enemies .

Am I become your Enemy , says St Paul , because I tell you the Truth ? Yes , Blessed Apostle , there 's nothing more certain , nothing turns Friends sooner into Foes than an Unwelcome Truth : they that will not be reformed , will not be taught ; and to instruct one that loves his Sins , is like the bringing a Candle upon him , when he is retir'd to commit it . And 't is observable in all times , that those Persons who , mov'd by an Heroick Piety , have attempted to reform the Errours and Vices of a Nation , have found as hostile a Reception , as those who have sought to Enslave it ; men defending their long-wedded Opinions as passionately , as their Riches ; their Hereditary Corruptions , as their Hereditary Country . In the Parable in which our Lord set forth his own Ill Success in seeking to convert Sinners , when he liv'd upon the Earth , he introduces certain Husbandmen , saying , Come , this is the Heir , let us kill him , and the Inheritance shall be our own . For such was the Consultation of the Sanhedrim or principal Council of the Jews concerning him . Come , let us rid our selves of this Pretended Messiah , this bold Reprover of our Vices , and Confuter of our Traditions no less by Miracles than by Reason , and then we shall continue to sit in Moses's Chair , lead the People as we please , and none will dare to contradict us . If we will not shew our selves such Friends to Christ , as my Text speaks of , who stain'd their hands in his Bloud , let us with all Submission of Soul , and Singleness of Heart embrace his Doctrines , and pay Obedience to his Precepts , whether they relate to Faith or to Manners ; and suffer neither Pleasure , nor Profit , Reputation among Men , or any By-Respect whatsoever to disaffect us to him : For the things of this World are at Enmity with Christ , and if we set our Affections upon them , they will lead us from the Worship of the True God , as the Canaanitish Wives did the Israelites , to worship Idols , and the worst of Idols , even themselves : Christ himself will appear to us a Deceiver , and we shall sooner rescue Barabbas from the Cross , than him . And let none in these days , who have received the Knowledge of the Truth , and after extinguisht the Grace of God in their Hearts by fulfilling the Lusts of the Flesh , flatter themselves as the Jews did , who said , If we had lived in the Days of Old , we would not have been Partakers of the Bloud of the Prophets : So if we had liv'd in Christ's days , we would not have used him , as the Jews did : for this is but a Pharisaical Deception , those that hate Christ's Gospel , would have shew'd but little Kindness to his Person ; who crucifie him now by their Wicked Lives , would not have spared his very Life , if they had liv'd in his days . Idem qua idem semper efficit idem , the same thing dispos'd in the same Manner , will produce the same Effect ; the same Corruption in the Heart will always bring forth the same Wickedness in the Hands .

The second Reflection I shall make upon Christ's being wounded in the House of his Friends , Is the Part which God performed , after the Jews added this Great Wickedness of murdering the Messiah , to all their former Impieties : For if we look on the Reverse of the Coin , as I may say , the Vengeance God sent upon them , we shall find it stampt in as deep and legible Characters , as their Wickedness was engraved on the other Side ; it being no less than the utter Rejection and Ruine of their Nation , and with such Tragical Circumstances , as are in no Story to be parallell'd : but they are so generally known , that I shall spend no time to dilate on them , but rather exhort all such , who after the manifold Admonitions and frequent Warnings of God , still persist in their Sins , and are deaf and incorrigible to all his Invitations to Repentance , to consider , How for the like Refractoriness and Hardness of Heart God suffered his Own People to proceed from Wickedness to Wickedness , till they arriv'd at last in profundum malorum , into such a Gulph of Perdition , that if the most Desperate among them had seen the End of their Rebellious Ways , at their first setting-out in the Course of them , they would have started back with Horrour at the Prospect . The 2d Kings 5. we read , that when the Prophet Elisha foretold to Hazael ( yet a Private Person , and unacquainted with his own Temper ) what Immanities and Cruelties he would commit , when he came to be King of Assyria , that he would butcher Men , rip up Women with Child , dash Infants against the Stones , &c. He answer'd , But what ! is thy Servant a Dog , that I should do these things ? And the very Scribes and Pharisees , who were the Chief Actors in this Days Tragedy , when our Lord insinuated to them ( in the Parable I late mentioned of the Husbandmen consulting to kill the Heir ) that they would be his Murderers , and by it pull certain Destruction on their Nation , they reply'd , God forbid ; Not only deprecating the Punishment , but detesting the Crime . The raw Novice-Sinner knows not at first to what a Villain , to what a Devil he will grow : Men ought therefore to fear the first Motions of Sin , and to suppress the Beginnings of Wickedness , if for no other Reason but this , Lest they become Worse than they could have imagined it possible for them to have been . Who allows himself at first only to Over-reach his Brother , by degrees will take from him by Violence or Open Robbery ; who makes no Scruple to be Factious and Seditious , will hardly stop till he arrives at Rebellion and Treason ; who indulges himself at first in a Negligent Irreverent Performance of God's Service , and makes the Church the Scene of his Vanity , and not of his Devotion , is in the ready Path to proceed from Prophaneness to Atheism . But as Sin encreases , we have heard that Vengeance also ripens and Encreases ; says our Lord , Whoever falls on this Stone , shall be broken ; but on whomsoever it shall fall , it will grind him to Powder . The first Sins a man commits , dangerously wound his Soul , they dash against Christ , as an Earthen Vessel does against a Rock ; but Presumption and Obstinacy in Sinning causes Christ to fall upon the Sinner , as a Rock upon an Earthen Vessel , which is sure to crush it to Dust.

To conclude : Though we that are here present , are not of the House of Christ's Friends , i. e. of his Kindred and Nation : yet we have a Nearer and more Excellent Relation to him , in that we are of the Houshold of Faith , and of the Family of his Church ; as himself declared , when he stretcht forth his Hand to his Disciple , saying , Behold my Mother and my Brethren ; for whoever shall do the Will of my Father which is in Heaven , the same is my Mother , my Sister , and my Brother . Now , if we in our Spiritual Relation shall by our Sins crucifie Christ in his Glory , as his Kindred according to the Flesh nail'd him to the Cross when he liv'd on Earth , our Wickedness will far exceed theirs ; as the Wickedness of a Disciple far exceeds that of an Unbeliever ; the Wickedness of Judas , did that of Pontius Pilate and Caiaphas . It is our Unspeakable Happiness , that Christ was Wounded for us , but it will be our Unexcusable Impiety , if he be wounded by us ; 't is again our Strange Felicity , that when Others slew him , we reap the Benefit of his Death ; when the Husbandmen Kill'd the Heir , that we inherit the Vineyard . And if we make that faithful Use of Christ's Death which we ought , while the Jews bear the Guilt of his Bloud , we shall be purged by it from all our Transgressions ; and while Eternal Infamy and Wrath cleaves to them , Eternal Glory and Felicity shall be our Portion ; which God of his Infinite Mercy , through our Lord Jesus Christ , grant to us .

And to God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , &c. Amen .

The Sixth Sermon . ROMANS viii . 11 .

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead , dwell in you , he that raised up Christ from the dead , shall quicken your mortal Bodies , by his Spirit that dwelleth in you .

IF the Resurrection of Christ had been of his Person only , it would have been a rare and glorious Event , but an Event of no Concern to us ; and if we did meet only this Day to celebrate his Resurrection from the Dead , and not our Own that shall be , though we celebrated a Great Miracle , we should not celebrate a Great Benefit . But St Paul teaches us in my Text , how we may be assured to commemorate our own Resurrection , as well as Christ's , namely , If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead , dwell in us . Those whom the Spirit does not inhabit in this Life , when they dye , they dye for ever : but they on the other side in whom it dwells and inhabits now , the Resurrection of Christ is not to them a History , but a Precedent ; and such Persons shall not be only Admirers , but themselves Partakers of the Miracle . If the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead , dwell in you , he that raised up Christ from the Dead shall also quicken , &c.

To look further into this Mystery , and the Expedient propos'd to bring this Wonderful thing to pass , I shall observe in the Words these three Particulars :

I. What it is for the Spirit of God ( or , which is all one , of him that raised up Jesus from the dead ) to dwell in us .

II. The Effect or Consequence of such In-dwelling of the Spirit of God , viz. if it be in a Man , He that raised up Christ from the Dead , shall raise up his Mortal Body .

III. By what Means God will produce this Effect in such a Man , even by that which dwelleth in him , — by his Spirit that dwelleth in him .

I. What it is for the Spirit of God to dwell in a man .

The Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the Dead is no other , than the Eternal Spirit of God , the third Person in the Trinity , the Spirit which is mentioned in Genesis , that in the beginning of the World gave Life to all things , is the same Spirit that still gives the Palingenesia , the second Genesis , or Regeneration : whether we understand the Word of the Change and Renovation of our Soul and Affections to the Will of God in this Life , or the Resuscitation of the Body from the Grave in the next , and the Reuniting it with the Soul in order to Eternal Bliss .

The Spirit is said here to be the Spirit [ Of God ] but not the Spirit [ In God : ] as if it dwelt in God , as it dwells in us : it is in God Personally and Essentially , as his Being , but 't is in us only by way of Tenancy , as an Inhabitant or Inmate , to excite in us its Gifts and Graces . And this may serve to refute and silence those deceived Souls , who of late times , through their misunderstanding of the Union of the Saints with God exprest in Scripture , have run into such high-flown and horrible Blasphemies , as to say , They are In-Godded in God , and In-Christed in Christ : thus claiming Prerogative , instead of Priviledge ; and affirming Divinity , instead of a Divine Spirit , to be in them ; supposing themselves to be inspired even Essentially with the Divine Nature . But such Blasphemous Conceits as these , so audacious and injurious to the Deity , are so far from being Effects of God's Spirit , which is the Principle of Eternal Life in those it dwells , that they are Demonstrations of the Spirit of Satan , an Affectation to be like the Most High , and to equal their Maker , and unrepented of will certainly consign them to have a Portion with him in Eternal Death : for what the Jews blindly objected against our Lord as a Crime , That being but a Man , he made himself God , may be justly charged on these , that being indeed but Men , and commonly but the Dreggs of Men , they fansie themselves to be Gods : Only the Sin of these is more unpardonable , in regard that after so long a time , and so much warning of the like Miscarriage in this kind , they have not exploded this old worn out Stratagem of Satan's . But though this Diabolical Frenzy must be abhorr'd , yet when 't is said that the Spirit of God dwells in a Man , we must look upon it as denoting something more Extraordinary and Excellent , than the common Lodging or Abiding of an Inhabitant in a House ; as representing rather God's Residence in his Temple at Jerusalem : which Temple as it was Splendid and Glorious with all that Art and Cost could make it , a Representation of Heaven , so God by wonderful Tokens and Testimonies declared his Divine Presence in it . And after this manner the Heart of every Christian ought to be embellish'd with Vertue , and sanctified like a Temple , appear like a little Heaven upon Earth , in which the Holy Spirit may be seen to dwell by shewing his Divine Operations . Know ye not , says St Paul , that your Bodies are the Temples of the Holy Ghost ? Solomon built God but one Material House , but Christ by his Spirit has raised to God as many Living Temples on Earth , as there are Believers .

But to be more particular : Dwelling in a House implies three things . 1. Legitimate Possession by Legal Title and Introduction . 2. Command and Dominion . 3. Residence or Mansion . And all these Properties the In-dwelling of the Spirit of God ought to have in those , whom it hereafter quickens to Everlasting Life .

1. The Spirit must have Legitimate Introduction and Possession . God dwelt not in his Temple at Jerusalem , till it was Dedicated and consecrated to him , till he was introduced into it by Supplications and Sacrifices . And his Holy Spirit will not dwell in Mens Hearts , till they be dedicated and consecrated to him by Baptism , and he be introduced by Prayer , and Vows of Faith and Repentance , Ephes. 3.17 . St Paul beseeches God , that he would grant to the Ephesians , according to the riches of his Glory , to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the Inner-Man , that Christ may dwell in their Hearts by Faith . They that by Faith in Christ do not unite themselves unto him , and so receive of his Spirit , have not yet introduced the Spirit into its Temple : and they that recede again from the Faith after they have received it , dislodge and thrust the Holy Spirit out of his Tenure and Occupation . The Jews reckoned that God was still among them , as before , when they had rejected and crucified the Holy One : but after such their Infidelity and Wickedness he remained no more in their Hearts , than he did in their Material Temple , after that Voice was heard to come out of it , migremus hinc , let us depart hence . Wheresoever it is so , That either Men believe not on the Son of God , or else having believed on him , through the Allurements of the World and the Flesh fall back again into Unbelief , and chuse rather to dispossess his Spirit , than their Sins and Lusts , there no Quickening Power will be found to revive their Mortal Bodies at the last Day : for where the Spirit it self is not , its Operations cannot be expected . 'T is true indeed , that Sinners and Infidels shall rise again , as St Paul says , Acts 24.15 . There shall be a Resurrection of the Dead , both of the Just , and Vnjust . Those that crucified Christ in the days of his Flesh , and those that crucifie him by their Wicked Lives now in his Glory , shall rise no less than True Believers , than his holy Apostles and Martyrs : But how , and to what Resurrection shall they rise ? Even to such a Resurrection as is no other than a Second and Worse Death , a Death not of Extinction or annihilation , but a Death of Eternal Duration in Torment ; Non-Existence being not the State of the Second Death , but Endless and Insupportable Misery : insomuch that they shall wish , that the Grave had for ever swallowed them up ; that as they liv'd like the Beasts that perish , so they had also dyed like them , without the Expectation of any After-Being . So that the Resurrection of the Wicked is but an Aequivocal Resurrection : as the lifting up of the Head of Pharaoh's Baker on the Gallows , and the hanging Haman fifty Cubits high , were but Aequivocal Advancements . The Bodies of the Saints that rose after the Passion , dy'd again the same Death ; but those that shall rise at the Last Day , not having the Spirit , shall dye again , not the same Death ( that would be a Happiness ) but a Death that shall have no End ; and the Miseries of which we can no more describe , than we can the Joys of Eternal Life : but we must suffer a Change , and be endued with new Powers and Faculties , before we can support the Bliss of the one , or the Torments of the other .

The second Property of an Inhabitant or Dweller in a House , is to Command and Rule . 'T is the Saying of every man to those that withstand the Exercise of their just Authority , or but their Civility , Give me leave to Command in my own House . The Spirit of God must Rule and Command where it dwells ; we must not only give it House-room , but Dominion ; look upon him as a Tenant , but revere as our Land-Lord , resign our Actions , Wills , Affections , the Whole Man to his Dispose and Guidance . Faith invites the Holy Ghost , but Obedience and Submission to his Gracious Motions perfumes his Habitation , and makes him delight to stay in it . The Spirit of Love , Meekness , Purity , and Holiness , will not reside , but where these and the like Vertues bear the Sway. Let the Word of Christ , says St Paul , dwell in you Richly in all Wisdom : So let the Spirit of God dwell in you Richly in all Wisdom : it will not Cohabit with the Sons of Men , unless it be Richly , i. e. in the Abundance of its own Divine Graces and Operations . If we will have the Spirit of God quicken our Mortal Bodies hereafter , we must suffer him to quicken our Souls in this Life ; if we hope to reign by his Power in the World to come , we must submit to his Dominion in this present World .

The third Property is Residence and Mansion ; our Houses are called our Manours and Places , i. e. the Places where we ordinarily abide , and where the Law presumes we are to be found : so that if a Writ be delivered to any of the Houshold , or but fastned to the Ring of the Door , 't is counted the same thing as if given into our hands . Thus our Hearts must be the Holy Spirit 's Manour or Place : for what David says of God's constant Abode in his Temple on Mount Sion , This is the Hill which God delights to dwell in , yea the Lord will dwell in it for ever : the like must be said of the constant Abode of the Holy Spirit in our Hearts , This is the Habitation of the Holy Spirit , and if we grieve him not , nor drive him away by our Sins , he will delight to dwell in us for ever . When we were devoted to God in Baptism , we devolved and made-over to his Holy Spirit an Estate in our Hearts , even the Whole Term we had to live in this World : and if we make good this Grant or Demise , he will never abandon his Tenements , till he has raised them up to Eternal Glory . The Reason that a Great Schole-Man gives , Why God punishes the Sins of Men , which were but Temporal , with an Eternity of Torments , is , Quia peccaverunt in suo aeterno , because they sinn'd out all the Eternity they had , i. e. all the Time God allowed them in this World ; and had he continued their Lives to the End of all Ages , they would have continued still the same Wicked Persons . The like Reason may be given for God's rewarding the Temporal Obedience of the Righteous with Eternal Glory , Quia obedientes fuerunt in suo aeterno , because they were Obedient all that little Eternity he allowed them in this World , and would have persever'd in their Obedience if he had drawn out their Lives to the last Period of Time . Abiding and Persevering in Righteousness is that which will give us Immortality : if we give up the Possession of our Souls to the Dispose and Conduct of the Blessed Spirit the Whole Little Aeternum we have in this World , we shall certainly obtain an Eternity , that shall have no end in the next . And thus I have shew'd the Manner of the Spirit 's Dwelling in every Christian : and they that pretend to his In-dwelling without these Properties , boast of an In-mate which they have not ; and as they want this Divine Guest , so they will want the Blessed Effects and Consequence of his inhabiting in them , the quickning of their Mortal Bodies at the last Day to Glory . Which is the second thing I propos'd to explain ,

The Effect or Consequence of the Spirit 's dwelling in us .

If the Spirit dwell in you , He that raised up Jesus from the Dead , shall quicken your Mortal Bodies . The Words suggest two things to our Consideration : 1. What shall be done to such Persons in whom the Spirit dwells , He shall quicken their Mortal Bodies . 2. Who shall be the Author to effect or bring this to pass , He that raised up Jesus from the Dead .

1. What shall be done to such Persons in whom the Spirit dwells . 'T is said , He shall quicken their Mortal Bodies . Our Bodies are Mortal three Ways ; by Natural Death , the Dissolution of the Substance of them ; by Eternal Death , which succeeds the Natural , that Riddle of a Death , which by its Existence is in truth a Life , but by the Torments belonging to it may deservedly be called a Death ; and by Spiritual Death , which is the Cause of the other two . Now our Mortal Bodies may be quicken'd or reviv'd again to three Lives ; To a Life of Eternal Duration ; to a Life of Eternal Joy ; and to a Spiritual Life , or a Life of Grace , which is the Cause in us of the other two Lives . Some understand these Words [ shall quicken our mortal bodies ] only of Spiritual Proselytism , of the raising us from the Death of Sin , and the enlivening us to a Life of Grace . But though this meaning sutes well with St Paul's Design in this Epistle , to confute the Imagination of the Jews , that they could obtain Eternal Life by Virtue of the Law of Moses , without Faith in Christ : Yet the Words of my Text point at the Blessed Immortality the Righteous shall hereafter be Partakers of , and are only to be understood after this manner : If Christians give themselves up to be led and governed by the Spirit of God in this World ( which is the Spirit that raised up Jesus ) they in like manner shall be raised up by it at the Last Day ; and the more they are quickned to a Life of Grace here , the more they may be assured they shall be quickned to the Life of Glory hereafter .

Many Practical Uses and Advantages might be inferred from hence : but I shall collect only this one , which may be of great Encouragement to our Christian Industry and Endeavours to lead a Godly Life , and that is the Expedition we shall make towards the attaining the Unspeakable Rewards of the Kingdom of Heaven . There are three Lives to be attained , and all to be attained by the Well-Ordering of One , of our Spiritual Life alone in this World : if we rise from the Death of Sin to Newness of Life , we shall attain by the same Performance three Resurrections , to that of perfect Grace , to that of perfect Time or Duration , and to that of perfect Joy and Glory . This I say is so rich a Harvest , and to be purchas'd with such Expedition , that the Nicest and most impatient of Toil and Difficulties may be encouraged to strive for it . Happy is he , says St John , that has a share in the first Resurrection , i. e. in the Life of Grace : for the other are but Corollaries or Additional Complements of this : Sanctification is as certain and assured a Way to Glorification , as Childhood is the Way to Manhood ; 't is the Inchoation or Beginning of it , and in a sense may be said to be it . Those whom he Justify'd , says St Paul , those he also Glorify'd : as if these were done together , and not in process of Time . But to proceed .

The Author , secondly , of this Grace and Bounty is God . And why did not the Apostle express himself so in a Word , but used this Circumlocution , [ He that raised up Jesus from the dead ? ] Because since Christ's coming in the Flesh , and having performed the Work of our Salvation , God has left off to govern in the Church immediately by himself , and does all things by and through our Lord Jesus Christ . God Created and Drowned the World , and wrought all the other wonderful things we read of in the Old Testament , in his Own Name , as God : But now under the Gospel he dispenses all his Mercies as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , and we must expect the Gift of Grace , the Pardon of Sin , Resurrection to Eternal Life , and all his other Blessings and Favours , from his Relation to his Son . It is indeed by the Power of God that all men shall be raised from the Dead : but then it is again for the Merits sake of Christ , and their Believing in him , that they shall be raised to Glory . And that we should take notice of the Change of his Name in the New Testament , from that he delighted to be called by in the Old , is his own Will and Pleasure . Says he there , By my name Jehovah I will be known : but now to us , by the Name of his Relation to his Son , as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . The Manichees from the Mistake of some Passages and Observations like this raised their detestable Heresie , That the God of the Old Testament , and the God of the New were two Different Persons ; the Father of Christ another God from the Creator of the World ; who sent his Son in the Flesh with a Design to win men from the Creator of the World . But these are Wicked and Impious Dotages : 't is only an Other Name that God has taken , 't is not an Other God that acts among us : there is but One God from and to all Eternity , whose Name be Blessed for ever . The meaning of the Scripture is only to teach us , That 't is not God , quatenus God , that we expect should quicken us at the Last Day , but God as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ . And this manifests the Perverseness of the Jews , who still adhere to Moses and the Synagogue for their hopes of Salvation : and the Blindness also of those , who perswade themselves they can please God and attain Heaven by Natural and Moral Performances , without Faith in Christ : But the time permits me not to insist on these things . I haste therefore to my last Particular , The Means by which God will quicken our Mortal Bodies at the last Day , viz.

By his Spirit that dwelleth in us .

This Particle [ By ] in the Original [ 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 ] does not infer any Means that God shall use as Instrumental for the quickening our Mortal Bodies , but implies here , and in many other places , the Motive only or Reason that invites the Agent to perform an Action . God will raise us from the Dead , as he does all his other Works , by his Word or Omnipotent Power : but though his Power does the thing , yet 't is for something in Men that invites him to do it , namely , his Holy Spirit ; which he gave them to that very End and Purpose to dispose and fit them for the receiving Eternal Life . David says of himself immediately , and Christ typically , and of all Faithful People mystically , Thou wilt not suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption , i. e. God will not leave or forsake the Righteous either in their Life or Death , as if he had forgotten them , and the Motive of this his Favour to them is , Because they are Righteous , or Holy Ones . And the Psalmist expresses the thing with some Indignation , and as if it were an injury to God to imagine , that he could suffer in his very Nature , that that which was Holy should be swallowed up in the Grave , that which was Righteous should perish , that which was Incorruptible , should see Corruption . And indeed there is not only an Incongruity , but an Impossibility , that this should be : For what the Apostle says of Christ's Resurrection , God raised him up , having loosed the Pains or Bands of Death , because it was possible he should be held of them : may be said of the Resurrection of all the Faithful , with this Difference only , That the Impossibility of Christ's being detain'd in the Grave proceeded from his Divine Nature , ours from a Divine Promise : Nay , we may add , and with good Warrant , That the Impossibility of our remaining in the Grave depends not only on an External Promise , but on Something With-in our selves , though not Of our selves , even on the Spirit of God which dwelleth in us ; by which we are united to Christ , and made Members of his Body , he being the Head ; and our Resurrection must necessarily be a Consequence of his by the very Law , as I may say , of the Body , or the Inseparable Conjunction of the Limbs to one another : for it is not possible that the Head should be quickened , and the Body mortified : that the Head should be raised to Life , and crowned with Glory , and the Members remain in Death and Dishonour . And 't is on this account that Christ is said To be the First-fruit of those that Sleep : and not only in regard that none went before him , but the First-fruit in relation to them that were to follow after him . The First-fruits in the Law , were Part of the Fruits of the Season , one Sheaf of the Harvest , which being lift-up and consecrated to God in the Name of the rest , sanctified the Whole Crop : So Christ being lift up as the First-fruit of the Dead , consecrated and sanctified the Whole Harvest of the Dead . And , as Saint John says of every true Believer in point of Impeccability , He cannot Sin , because the Seed of God abideth in him ; i. e. none can be a Child of God's , and a customary Sinner , for these are irreconcileable : So we may affirm with unspeakable Comfort in the point of our Immortality , A true Believer cannot be held in Death , because God's Seed abideth in him , i. e. Death , and a Seed or Principle of Immortality are inconsistent with one another .

And thus we see we have not only Matter of Congratulation for Christ's Victory over Death and the Grave , but the highest Cause of Jubilee and Rejoycing for our own Deliverance from this heavy Curse and Punishment of Sin . As Sin subjected us to the Dominion of Death , the Spirit of Sanctification breaks the Bonds of the Tyrant asunder , and enables us to conquer this Conquerour of Mankind ; as Disobedience shut the Gates of Heaven against us , Obedience sets them open again ; Holiness of Life in the Faith of Christ in this World , is the Ticket whereby we receive Happiness and Immortality in that to come . The Young Phoenix is said to spring out of the perfum'd Ashes and Reliques of the Old : but though this be never so fabulous , I am sure we shall be renewed and quickned to Eternal Life , from the perfum'd Reliques of a Holy Life , the remaining Good Works and Graces the Spirit of God wrought in us ; which , as St John says , can never dye , but will follow us into the other World . If therefore we give our selves up to be led and governed by the Spirit of Christ in this Life , conform our selves in all things to his Divine Will ; if the Spirit of Christ conducts us safely , to use the Psalmist's Expression , through Fire and Water ( i. e. through the Sharper Tryals of Afflictions , and the Softer Allurements and Temptations of the Flesh and the World ) he will carry us also safe through the Regions of Death and the Grave , pass us indemnified by the Gates of Hell , and neither the Malice of Devils , the Weight of our Tomb-Stone , the Load of our Flesh , or the yet greater Load of our Infirmities shall hinder , but our Bodies shall be raised , and so winged , that they shall overtake their Souls , and be joined to them , that took their Flight so long a time before them , and both of them together shall be transported in Triumph to Heaven , and crown'd with Immortality and Glory ; the Assurance and Pledge of which Christ has given us this Day in his own Resurrection .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , Worship , and Thanksgiving , this Day forth and for evermore . Amen .

The Seventh Sermon . PSALM ii . 6 .

Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion .

WIsdome does not only do her Works well , but perceives that she does so , delights in their Beauty , exults in remembrance of the master'd difficulty , and triumphs over the conquer'd Opposition : Thus God stood-off , as 't were , from his great work of the Creation when he had finish'd it , applauded , and bless'd it ; prided himself , as I may say , in his noble performance ; in that he had brought Light out of Darkness Order out of Chaos , a World out of nothing . In the like manner , when he had here compos'd the Distractions and Confusions both in the Church and State of Israel , by establishing David literally , and Christ mystically , on the Throne of the Kingdom , he glories in having brought about his great Design ; laughs at the fruitless Opposition of his Adversaries at home and abroad , of the Philistines , the Moabites , the Ammonites , the Damascens , the Amalekites , of the King of Zoba , and of all the turbulent and ambitious Spirits of the House of Saul : delights to recount their Might , and their Machinations , the more to signalize their Overthrow , and to make his Victory illustrious . For after all their rage , their malice , their Counsels , their Combinations , their seeming successes against him , the Issue was this : Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion .

We may observe in the Words these three things : I. The Person establisht , My King , i. e. David Literally so called , and Christ Mystically . II. His Establishment , I have set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion . III. God's Glorying in the Fact , that he had done it with such a Non obstante , notwithstanding such Opposition and Contradiction : Yet have I set my King —

I. The Person establisht , My King , God's King . Not only holy Scripture , but the Writings of Heathens declare Kings to be Sacred Persons , descended more immediately from the Gods , and more particularly depending on them . Kings are from Jupiter , says Callimachus , and nothing ever descended more sacred from him . And Theocritus , Kings are the special Care of the Gods . And this Epithet's affected by Homer 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , God lov'd Kings . Indeed all Kings in general are God's , derive their Authority from him , govern by his Permission and Providence , as himself testifies , By me Kings Reign . But then he delights in a more especial manner to style Good Kings , his ; to appropriate their Persons , and owne their Causes , to interpret all things done to them , as done to himself , as at Verse 2. Why do the Rulers take Counsel together against the Lord , and against his Anointed ? Conspiracies against the King ▪ are reckoned Conspiracies against God ; the resisting his Anointed , the resisting himself . And thus , if it be a Glorious thing to be a King , 't is a Blessed to be a Good King : for as splendour attends Majesty and Greatness ; protection , and safety , and felicity , and the love of Heaven attend Righteousness . But let us see why David is here more particularly call'd God's King than others .

The First Reason we may say was , Because he was a King of God's Making , because he brought him to the Throne , having no Title by Birth to it , à Caulis Ovium tuli te , I called him from the Sheep-hook to the Sceptre . And as those Persons which are of our Election , preferring , or favouring , we call Ours ; this is my Scholar , my Souldier , my Officer , because he was of my nomination , my chusing , my advancing : so David was called God's King , because he was of his chusing and advancing ; his Right to the Crown , was his immediate nomination ; he had no other Interest in the Royalty , but the Interest he had in God's favour ; and if he had not been God's King , he had not been King of Israel .

2. David was call'd God's King more particularly , by reason of his many Deliverances of him ; he preserv'd him , from the time of his first anointing by Samuel , from the jealousie of Saul , and the malice of Saul's house ; conducted him through all the potent and perillous Oppositions of the Heathen , as I shew'd , and left him not till he had set him on his holy Hill of Sion , i. e. establish'd him peaceably and Gloriously on the United Throne of Israel and Judah . And for this reason David is not only call'd God's King in my Text , but in the following Verse , his Son , Thou art my Son , this day have I begotten thee . The Day of his Redemption and Promotion , being counted the Day of his Creation . And the same Words are apply'd to Christ in the like manner after his Resurrection , Thou art my Son , this day have I begotten thee . The day of his deliverance from death and the Grave , is call'd the day of his Nativity or Generation ; the day in which God exalted him , and Invested him with Power , the day in which he begot him .

3. David was call'd God's King more particularly , because he was a King of his liking , as 't is said , After his own heart . And in this sense also men say a thing is theirs , when they approve it , and are pleased with it above things of the like kind . Horace is my Poet , Tully is my Orator , Tacitus is my Historian , because these hit my fancy and Genius . In the Books of the Kings of Israel and Judah , and the Chronicles of their Acts , there 's registred a long Catalogue of them ; but though they were all Kings of God's people , they were not all God's Kings , in this last sense , Kings of his liking : he did not boast of many of them , or owne their proceedings , but of those only which executed Justice and Judgment , destroyed Idolatry , and restored the true Worship ; the others , though they wore the Crown , they wore not the Praise of being Kings of God's liking ; they were of the Royal Vnction , but not of this Divine Relation . And just after this manner Christ esteemed his Kindred , not she that bare him was his Mother ; nor those that descended of the same Stock , were of his Alliance ; but they that heard his sayings , and did them , were his Mother , his Sisters , and his Brethren . 'T is not he that bears the Diadem and the Scepter , not he that is of the Race of Kings , that is anointed by the Prophet , shouted for by the people , praised by the hired Historian , that is God's King , but he that does that which is Righteous in his sight : the others may boast their Title from God , but they can boast no Title to him , to his Approbation and liking , and consequently not to his Protection and Blessing . In the Hebrew Dialect , things that excel in Greatness or Height above others , are entitled to God , tall Cedars are thus styl'd Cedars of God , high Mountains , Mountains of God ; great Rivers , Rivers of God , &c. And Kings that excel only in might and magnificence , are entitl'd to God but as Trees and Mountains , and we may say unto them , as the Psalmist does to the high Hills , Why leap ye so ye high Hills ? that is , why do ye insult , or lift up your proud heads unto the Clouds ? Sion is God's Hill , where he delights to dwell , Sion of an humbler and lower pitch , but more pleasant and fruitful . 'T is not the Bulk and large Dimensions of any thing that commends it to God , but the Vertue of it ; not the King , mighty in his Host , goodly in the Symmetry and Proportions of his Body , but the King that 's mighty in Goodness , whose Actions hold a just Symmetry and Proportion with God's Laws ; 't was not Saul higher than the People , but David eminent in Piety , with whom God made his Covenant of Mercy , and set upon his holy Hill . Which brings me to my second part , The Establishment of David .

I have set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion . By four Circumstances observable in the Words , may be seen the extraordinary security in which God placed David after all his Troubles . He set him on Sion , and Sion was a Fortress taken by David from the Jebusites , who had made it the chief strength and Seat of their Kingdom . And so , First , 'T was a Fortification by Art . Secondly , 'T was a Hill , and that 's a Fortification by Nature : such as must be ascended , before it can be assaulted . Thirdly , 'T was a holy Hill , and Holiness is another Fortification , a Moral or Spiritual , stronger than either of the former , for here God is the Watch man , and concern'd in the Defence . And therefore , Fourthly , 'T is said My , i. e. God's holy Hill of Sion , the place where he dwelt , and had fixt his Tabernacle ; God had other Places of Religious Worship in the Land , but Sion was the Metropolis to which the rest paid Homage , and to which all the Tribes came up thrice every Year to offer their Oblation , and so was God's by a more Excellent Title . And to storm this Place was as vain an Enterprize ( if God did not first forsake it , drove away by the Sins of the Inhabitants ) as to attempt to force Heaven it self : for he would sooner neglect the Government of the World , than forget the Place where his Honour dwelt . So that David being establisht on Sion , might defie all danger from the Princes his Enemies abroad , or from his ill affected Subjects at home ; nay he was so far from Fearing from any of them , that he was Formidable to them , as the last Verse of this Psalm shews . Be wise now therefore , O ye Kings — Kiss the Son , i. e. pay subjection to David himself ( for that 's the first sense of the Words ) lest he be angry , and ye perish —

Thus we see David , who for so many Years together , fled from place to place ( as he describes his own condition ) like a Partridge upon the Mountains , fixt and establisht like a Mountain , inviron'd with a fourfold Fortification , as if he had been within the Enclosures of Heaven it self : so that with a Pious presumptiom he might well say , as he does , Psal. 30.6 . I shall never be removed , thou , Lord , of thy goodness hast made my Hill so strong . And let no man think much , that there was a time that he was depress'd and afflicted , as many are apt to take scandal when they read or hear such things as this , Insignem pietate virum tot adire labores . That Persons excelling in Piety , should excel also in Sufferings ; for God by these ways conducts his Servants to the Noblest Ends , hardens and prepares the Instruments of his Glory by afflictions , as men do those Tools which they design for the toughest Employments , by several drenchings of them in astringent Water . Prospera in plebem , ac vilia ingenia deveniunt , a constant even Prosperity is the Lot of mean Persons and Spirits , the Noble and Magnanimous are oppos'd to the Storms and Outrages of Fortune ; nor are they otherwise to be distinguisht from the Vulgar , than by these Encounters . That Great Person , says Seneca , that never prov'd Adversity , is like a Champion that enters the Lists without an Antagonist ; Coronam habet , Victoriam non habet . He may gain a Crown , but he never got a Victory . In a still Calm of Affairs God himself gets less Glory , he has no Field to shew his Power , his Wisdom , and his Goodness in , the Opportunity is not afforded him to frustrate the Counsels of the wicked , and to bring the Preparations of the Mighty to nought . 'T is true , He governs all things at all times , but every Act of his Providence is not a Victory over his Enemies ; and though he disposes Crowns and Scepters as he pleases ; 't is when the wicked resists , that he says , Yet have I set my King — And so I pass to my Third Part , God's Glorying in his Establishment of David .

The Holy Ghost in this Second Psalm , sets down the Method which the Enemies of David used , to prevent his succeeding in the Throne , which is also the Scheme ordinarily of all Sedition and Rebellion . First , The Heathen did rage , i. e. The Neighbour Princes were jealous and angry , out of apprehension of their own Estates ; and this is commonly the ground of Defection and Rebellion : For a King 's own Subjects , though they be malecontent , and bear him ill-will in their hearts ; yet they often want Courage or Opportunity to execute it , till they are backt by a Foreign Power . But then Secondly , The People , i. e. the Prince's own People , begin to imagine vain things ; which may either mean false things which shall not take Effect ; or Wicked which shall ; for in both sences Vain is taken in the Hebrew . In the Third place , The Kings of the Earth , and the Rulers take counsel together , i. e. The Neighbour Kings , and the Magistrates , and Great Ones of the Realm fall into Combinations and Associations . And then Fourthly , Nothing remains but open defection , the breach of all Covenants and Contracts , and Sedition is heard in every mans mouth , as Verse 3. Let us break their Bonds asunder , and cast away their Cords from us : Their Bonds , and their Cords , i. e. both of the Lord , and of his Anointed , all Obligations both Humane and Divine are Cancell'd . By Bonds , may be understood the softer and gentler Tyes of Natural Love and Loyalty , which every Subject owes unto his Sovereign : by Cords , the stronger Obligations of Oaths , those Sacramental Chains that bind men like Iron Shackles and Fetters . But both these are broken , and for fear they should be again united , cast quite from them . And why was all this ? as the Question is deservedly ask'd at Verse 1. with wonder and indignation : Why did the Heathen rage ? Why did the prople imagine a vain thing ? Why did they take Counsel together ? David was just to his Allies abroad , and gracious to his Subjects at home , God prosper'd him , and made him Victorious in all his Enterprizes . Why , Lord ? To answer in the Words of another in a like Case , Odiorum causae acriores , quia iniquiores , their hatred was the sharper and more implacable , because it was the ●●juster ; Innocence is abhorr'd by the Wicked , more than Injury and Violence ; The Religion and Piety of David was more insupportable to his Enemies , than the Yoke of Tyranny and Oppression ; and they chose rather to bear the Iron Scepter of the Nations , or of a base Usurper , than his holy and righteous Scepter . And this it was which made the Establishment of David so difficult , because there was no Why , no Just Cause for the Aversion of his Enemies ; had there been a Reason , it might have been remov'd ; had there been a Wrong , there might have been a Reparation : but Perverseness and Impiety only govern'd , and God utters himself , as if he had broke through some great Obstruction in setting David on the Throne . Like one that for a long time roll'd a Stone against a Hill , which often return'd upon him ; or Row'd against a strong Tide , which forc'd his Boat back , and when at last by many a weary stretch and Strain of his Arms has got the better , sits down , and reflects on what has past , congratulates his labour , and tells himself what himself has done : Yet I have planted my Stone upon the Top of the Hill ; or , yet I have stemm'd this Churlish Stream , and got my Boat a-head of it . So God is pleas'd to speak in the Restoring of David , as if he had been hard put to it , and groan'd under the performance , and Glory'd in having at last carry'd it through , Yet have I set my King —

But perhaps some will say , Is there any thing difficult to the Almighty ? Could not he have crusht the Cockatrice in the Shell ? Dasht the yet Infant-Plot against the Stones ? Scatter'd his Enemies in their first Imaginations ? Why did he suffer them to Combine , before he confounded them ? Confederate and grow to strength , before he cast them down , and had them in derision ? as 't is said , ver. 4. Even for this very reason , That he might not spoil such his Scene of Laughter , prevent the Glory of his Triumph , obscure the wise Dispensations of his Providence , that David might see the whole Wonder of his Deliverance , and his wicked Adversaries the whole Folly of their Enterprize . A wise General will not presently give on the Charge upon an Enemy passing a Ford , till a considerable Party have gain'd the Bank ; that he may not only shew his Courage but his Conduct ; and cut off the adverse Power as well as repulse it . Thus , though God had it in his hands to dissipate and discourage the first Attempts of his own and David's Opposers , he chose rather to let them proceed and prosper to a degree , that he might not only obstruct their wickedness , but defeat it ; disturb the Conspiracy , but confound the Conspirators . And our Blessed Lord practis'd this piece of Policy , when he suffer'd the Devil by his wicked Instruments , the Jews , to take away his Innocent Life , and lay him in the Grave : For after Satan flatter'd himself that he had surpriz'd his strong Foe , he let him see he was surpriz'd by him ; that instead of receiving a Captive , he had receiv'd a Conquerour within his Gates : one that sack'd and despoil'd his Kingdom , dismantled his Forts , and raz'd his Strong-holds . And this was a performance worthy of that Triumphant Speech , O Death , where is thy Sting ! O Grave , where is thy Victory ! A down-right Defeat is not so renowned to the Conquerour , or so grievous to the Conquered , as to turn his Stratagems upon himself , and to overthrow him by his own Subtilty and Treachery , Again , to Mock and Vex an Enemy , is a further degree of Revenge than to destroy him . When the Pyrates of Cilicia began to treat some Passengers of Italy with the cruelty they used unto their other Prisoners , they cry'd out , They were Citizens of Rome , at which the Pyrates pretended to start , as awed by that formidable Name , and commanded presently Gowns to be brought , and put upon their Backs , and Shoes on their Feet ; and then with a seeming lowly observance besought them , To walk over the sides of the Ship , and be free ; telling them by way of excuse for their Violation of such Venerable Persons , When they met them next in that Attire they should not be ignorant of their Quality ; and with this derision threw them into the Sea , when the unfortunate men refus'd to cast themselves . And the Enemies of David were such , as God thought fit not only to destroy , but also to mock and vex , as 't is said Verse the 4th and 5th , The Lord had them in derision — And vext them in his sore displeasure . But How , and after What manner did he mock and vex them : By letting them a long time plot and strengthen themselves , make a profuse expence of labour , money and bloud , by letting them perswade themselves they had prevailed , that David was utterly excluded ; and then after all , to shew them the despised and Rejected Son of Jesse set Gloriously on the Throne ; their Machine of Usurped Government , made a Pageant for his Triumph ; all their endeavours , all their glorying , serve but for this Occasion of God's glorying over them , Yet have I set my King upon my holy Hill of Sion .

I have done with the Words , which have been twice already eminently fulfilled ; Once , as I have shewed , in the Person of David . And a Second time , in the Exaltation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into the Kingdom of Heaven , after his Resurrection , and setting up his Spiritual Throne in the hearts of men . So that I may seem to essay an Impious thing , to make a Third Application to any Mortal King whatsoever . But while I shall not parallel or compare the Sufferings and Exaltation of the Divine and Mystical King , but adore his Foot-steps ; there will be no danger to shew the Tracts and Lineaments that are between the Deliverance and Establishment of David , and of our Gracious Sovereign , for the awaking our Gratitude , and magnifying God's mercies shewed to this Nation this Day .

And to observe the Method I began with : For the same Reasons and Respects that David is called Gods King in my Text , our King may pretend to the Title , before all the present Kings of the Earth .

First , He was a King of God's particular and singular Advancing , and placing on the Throne : though not call'd , like David , from being a poor Shepherd-Boy to Rule a Kingdom , but descended of a long and glorious Race of Kings ; yet recall'd from a forlorn exil'd State , and a deposd Condition , to hold the Scepter of his Royal Ancestors by a no less Divine Favour . So that whatever his Title to the Crown was , we may truly say , Had he not been God's King , he had not been King of this Land .

Secondly , David was not only call'd God's King , as we have shew'd , for his Eminent Deliverance of him , but His Son . And whoever considers the many Risques of our Sovereign's Life , the Prodigies both of his Dangers and Escapes , how God snatcht him out of the Battel , led him safe through the midst of his Enemies , conceal'd him many days by a Divine Providence , after the manner the Ancients feign'd their Heroes were wrapt in a Cloud ; and then , without the assistance of Armies , by the same Invisible and Unresistable Hand , fixt him in his Throne : must confess , we have not only reason to celebrate this Day , for his coming into the World , and his coming to the Crown ; for the Birth , I say , of his Person , or the Birth of his Royal Dignity , but for his being Born God's King , and God's Son , i. e. The King of his Preservation , and the Son of his Promotion .

Thirdly , As David was call'd God's King , because he was more pleased with him , than with others ; was the King of his liking , as well as of his Preserving and Advancing : So the Wonderful Testimonies of God's Love to our Sovereign , warrants , nay obliges us to believe , and revere him as God's King also in this sense , as the King of his liking , and after his own heart . And whom God has approv'd , let no man judge ; whom he has Seal'd , let no man dare to Censure ; no not in his thoughts . Princes then for the most part want Goodness , when the People want Candour ; and their defect of Vertue , is their Subjects defect of Love and Loyalty . But if those were God's Kings , Kings of his liking , Kings after his own heart , that set up the True Worship , and discountenanc'd the False , that executed Justice and Judgment in the Land , then Malice it self must confess , our King is God's King . David was renown'd for that one Merciful Speech upon his Return to his Kingdom , Shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel ? As if it had been a thing to be abominated , to shew Severity , when God had shew'd him such singular Grace . But how many Shimei's , how many Railers , how many Cursers ? ( 't is but a small thing which I have said ) how many Capital Enemies , how many Betrayers , how many Covenanters against him , and lyers in wait for his Blood , did our David pardon upon his Return ? 'T was an Observation of Old , — regnabit sanguine multo Ad regnum quisquis venit ab exilio ; The King that returns after Exile , will Reign for the Future in Blood and Revenge : But our King contrariwise after his Exile , — regnabat Sanguine parco , Reigns at this day , as one Elected to a Kingdom , that had a Crown bestow'd on him , and not as one that had recover'd his own . So that as the Virgins gave David the preheminence to Saul in the Songs of Victory and Triumph , saying , Saul has slain his thousands , and David his Ten thousands : We in the Songs of Mercy and Clemency , may give our King the preheminence to David , and say , As David pardon'd one single Detractor , our Gracious Sovereign gave life , and opportunity of Repentance to thousands of Traitors and Murtherers , and was truly in this , Gods King , and not only a King of his liking , but a King that is like him , resembling him in one of his Noblest Attributes , that of his Mercy . Those to whom Princes intrust the care of their Souls , ought to be faithful to them ; and not only speak pleasing things , but true ; to imitate good Surgeons , who not always use Oyls and Lenitives , but if need be , Lancets and Corrosives . But then let no man at a distance surmise Evil of his Prince , lest while he denies him to be Gods King , he sets to his hand to make him no King at all ; and while he strips him of his Righteousness , strips him also of his Royal Dignity . I speak not to the Kings Enemies , but to his severer Friends , if he have any : The Sinister Thoughts and Censures of the Subject are often Ominous and Fatal to a Prince , whereas their good Opinions are prophetick , and presage the Vertue , they ascribe ; and make him the Person , they proclaim him . St Paul says , Charity believeth all things , hopeth all things , endureth all things , ( i. e. ) those who have this Grace , are easily induced to believe the good of another , which they do not know ; to hope that , which they do not believe ; and to suffer , even when they can neither believe , nor hope . And if any man be not able to walk upon this profound Sea of Charity , why does he , like Peter , rashly and unbidden cast himself into it ? Why does he presumptuously Intrude into his Masters company ? Who supported by a Divine Power , shall stride Majestically o're the Waves , and march through the storm in safety ; while the other disorder'd by every Gust , and amaz'd at every Billow , poorly sinks in the danger his Fancy only fram'd . Will not such an one another day ( like him in the Parable that wanted a Wedding-Garment ) be speechless ? ( i. e. ) have nothing to say for himself , when he sees his Prince as far above him in Glory , as he was in his Station in this life ? And when 't is objected to him , as 't was to Peter , O thou of little faith , wherefore didst thou doubt ? But to proceed . God set David on his holy hill of Sion .

Not to say , that instead of one Fort of Sion , God has garded our King with many strong-holds and Castles , or yet to boast the Advantages of an Island above a Hill , which is not only to be ascended before it can be assaulted , but to be Sail'd to before it can be approach'd , and fought for before it can be Sail'd to ; being defended by moveable Bulwarks , stout Ships , which must be subdu'd before the Inhabitants can be grappl'd with upon equal terms : But to come to the Point , in which the chiefest strength of Sion consisted , in that it was a Moral and Spiritual Fortification , a holy hill , and God's hill . If the Church of Christ be not inferior to the Old Tabernacle , the Gospel to the Law , the substance to the shadow ; when God not only set our King upon his Throne , but restor'd the True Religion , and plac'd him within the Protection of it , he set him upon as Holy , and consequently upon as strong a Hill as he set David ; and we may rest assur'd , he delights as much to dwell here , and that 't is as desperate an Enterprize to assault this his Habitation , as 't was to assault Sion . But alas some will say with a deep sigh ! Would we found these things to be so ! But what for a long time has been more infirm and unstable than the Condition of this Nation ? Not only ready to be broken in pieces by any Impression of an Enemy , but even to dissolve and fall asunder of it self ; and the supports of Religion have been as weak , as those of the Arm of Flesh.

To which I answer , This has not happen'd from the Weakness of the Divine Assistances which God has given us , but from our neglect and contempt of them . Religion does not guard men like a Palladium or Charm , preserve those who have the luck only to wear it , and be possess'd of it , but those who practise it , and live according to its Precepts ; they are not Sextons and Sacrists that are chiefly protected by Heaven , those that keep Divine things under Lock and Key , but that treasure them up in a faithful heart . When David by sin dishonour'd God , and defam'd Religion , his fourfold Fortification little profited him , but that security which the power of the Heathen , united with the disaffection of his Subjects , could not shake , his rebellious Son alone drove him from ; and he fled ingloriously , and left his impregnable Sion , and all the Pledges of Gods favour and residence with him , behind him : confessing , that when he had violated their Sanctity , he had invalidated also their Power of Protecting ; and though he possess'd still the Curtains of the Tabernacle , the Deity was fled from him . And little will it profit us , to have the Gospel among us , nay , to have it more purely Preacht than to any other People under the Sun , if we are the worst Auditors of it of any other People under the Sun ; to have the Sacraments more rightly administer'd , if we are the wickedst Receivers of them . 'T is the holy Use of holy Ordinances that makes them a guard and defence . Righteousness , as 't is the Honour of the Soul , so 't is the best Armour of the Body ; and does not only , as the Psalmist says , Bring peace at the last , but as the Apostle teaches , safety at present , For who is he that shall harm you , says he , if you follow that which is good ? 'T was the Custom of the Ancient Heathen , when they Besieg'd a City , in the first place to endeavour to entice out the Guardian Deity , by alledging the Injustice of the Inhabitants , and inviting it to reside with a more holy People , — ut habeat te Vrbs melior acceptiorque . Holding it impossible to prevail against the Out-works , when this Divine Inward strength stood firm . The Sanctity of a Christian is this little retir'd Deity in the Chappel , which if it cannot be charm'd or entic'd out by Temptation , the Malice of Earth and Hell cannot prejudice the Person in whom it dwells . The Prophet Eliah was call'd , The Chariots and Horsemen of Israel , but much more deservedly may Justice , Piety , and Sanctity , be styled , The Chariots and Horsemen of a Kingdom . And when God , by the Restauration of his Majesty , and true Religion , gave us the Opportunity of exercising all Vertues Civil and Divine , he put it also into our hands to be as safe and well fortifi'd as we cared or desir'd to be , he made our Condition as secure as a Mortal condition could be made : and if our Mountain be turn'd into a Wheel , our Rock into a Rolling-stone , 't is our sins that have unfixt and loosen'd its Roots ; and while we are led by Vanity , what wonder is it that the Kingdom fluctuates after the manner of the Seas that surround it ?

If we consider , Lastly , how great and difficult the work was , to set the Kingdom again upon its Basis , after it was so utterly subverted ; to raise up the Truth and Splendor of the Church so long a time deform'd and Opprest by Schism and Sacriledge , we may allow God also as high , nay , a higher cause of Glorying in our behalf , than for establishing the Church and State of Israel . But the time suffers me not to insist on this particular , neither is it very necessary to do it , we having all here been Witnesses and Partakers of what was pass'd , and this will be the properer Task of another Age. Instead therefore of dressing up a Triumph for God , into which also our own Vanity or Spleen may be apt to insinuate it self , I shall imploy the few words yet allow'd me to speak , to excite our Thanks for these things .

And if the Benefits we have receiv'd are such as are worthy of God's Glorying , undoubtedly they are Worthy of our highest acknowledgments , I say , of Ours , in the most General and Universal comprehension both of Prince and People ; not of the Prince alone , as some are willing to reckon the Benefits his Majesty has receiv'd , not to revere him the more for being so much in God's Favour , but to make him more indebted to God than themselves : as if , because this is call'd the King's Day , all the Mercies of it , and all the Thanks for them were to be put upon his account . Undoubtedly the Kings Obligations to Heaven are infinite ; but was he only restor'd this Day to his Crown and Country ? Or were not all we likewise re-call'd from the same Banishment , or from Prisons and Sequestrations , Dungeons , and Gibbets at home , to enjoy our Lives and Liberties , our Religion and Estates ? Has all the delicious Fare of the Land been serv'd to the Kings Table ? All the Gold Lace been worn upon his Back ? Nay , but I behold many at this instant standing like Kings in the presence of the King : and 't is to be complain'd of , that the Enjoyments of many Out vie his in their proportion . Is there then no Thanks of our Own due to God ? We have this Obligation even more than the King has , that we have him , that we enjoy this Principle of Union , this Bond of Peace , this Foundation of Security and Prosperity . O let us not forget in the loud Joys , and Gaiety , and Festivity of this Day , the days of Sadness and Silence , of Scarcity and Doubtfulness of Soul , when we had no King ; when a Villain sat on the Throne , when our Hatred and Aversion rul'd over us ; the Scourge of Loyalty , and the Oppressor of Religion and Justice . Let us not forget the Time , when to be Noble , was to be Guilty ; and to be Loyal , an Enemy to the State : Again , when to be a Mechanick , made room for the Person in the Places of Honour ; and a Fanatick , qualify'd him for the highest Charges and Honours , and our Great Ones bow'd down to these , or bow'd under the saddest Misery .

The remembrance of these things will make us readily acknowledge the Mercies of this Day to have been General to us all ; and not only heighten , but sanctifie our Joy ; make the Feast resound with Thanksgiving and Praises of God , and not wholly to be spent in loose and confus'd Mirth , Riot , and Excess ; it will preserve us from falling into that Fatal Ingratitude which accompanies Prosperity , and which God , in the People of Israel , warns all Nations of , and yet which all more or less fall into , The forgetfulness of the Arm that deliver'd them , and the Goodness that made them Great . And in the midst of our Felicity , we shall remember our Duty ; and our Ease shall not corrupt our Manners ; nor our Prosperity and Affluence , be snares to us . And God will repeat and iterate his glorying , we have heard this Day , not only in the Person of our King , but of his Posterity to all Ages , even till all Kingdoms are swallow'd up in the Kingdom of Heaven , Yet have I set my King upon my holy hill of Sion . Which God of the riches of his Mercy grant , to whom be ascribed all Honour , Glory , and Thanksgiving this day forth , and for evermore . Amen .

The Eighth Sermon . JOHN xvi . 8 .

And when he is come , he will reprove the World of Sin , of Righteousness , and of Judgment .

GOD , who at sundry times , and in divers manners , says the Apostle , spake in times past unto the Fathers by the Prophets , hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son , &c. as if this were his ultimus conatus , the last and utmost Effort or Endeavour of his Power and Goodness to reduce the Sinful and Unbelieving World . But by miserable Event it appear'd , that this Means prov'd as uneffectual as the former ; that the World did unto Christ , as they had done unto the Prophets before him ; slew the Son , as they had slain the Servants . Yet notwithstanding , the unfathomable Depths and Riches of the Divine Goodness gave not over here , where Reason would have given over ; but shew'd it self still Infinite , where Humane Imagination was Finite ; bow'd the Heavens again , and sent down the third Person in the Trinity , the Holy Ghost . Pertinacia nostra exhausit Coelum , the Obstinacy of Men even drain'd and exhausted Heaven ; Verbum Caro , the Word made Flesh was not sufficient to master this Obstinacy , but it must be Verbum Spiritus too , the Spirit must become a Word , i. e. be sent from Heaven to be a Word in the Mouth of the Apostles to reprove , or as the Margent has it [ to convince ] the World of Sin . And when he is come , he will reprove [ or convince ] the World of Sin , of Righteousness , and of Judgment .

To convince , is to force the Understanding of the Opposer by strength of Argument to acknowledge the Truth that is contended for . And to reprove or rebuke is again but a Moral Conviction of Sin in a person .

In the Words I shall consider these two things .

I. The Matter of the Conviction , which the Spirit shall bring the World to an Acknowledgment of , namely , of Sin , of Righteousness , and of Judgment .

II. The Manner how he shall bring the World to this Acknowledgment , viz. by convincing it by irrefragable Arguments . I begin with the Matter of the Conviction , Sin , R●ghteousness , and Judgment .

And First , He shall convince the World of Sin .

What Sin it is , which is meant here , that the Spirit shall convince the World of , is doubtful . It may well be thought to be the Sin of Cruelty , the perverse and barbarous Inhumanity the Jews shew'd , when they demanded a Murderer to be releas'd unto them , and kill'd the Just One. And we read in Effect , Acts 2.36 . that it was one of the first Works of the Spirit after his coming , to bring three thousand Souls to confess this Sin , and shew their Compunction for it : for after St Peter had laid before them how by wicked hands they had crucified and slain the Lord of Life , they were prick'd to the heart , and said , Men and Brethren , what shall we do ? i. e. to be deliver'd from the Sin of Murder or Cruelty .

But though this Interpretation be plausible , it agrees not with the Reason Christ himself gives in the Verse immediately following my Text , why the Holy Ghost should convince the World of Sin . Of Sin , says he , because they believe not on me . It should seem then , it was the Sin of Unbelief that he came to reprove or convince the World of . And this is the Opinion of many on the place . The truth is , Infidelity is a Sin highly injurious to the Deity , it makes God a Lyar , as St John says , He that believeth not God , hath made him a Lyar. It makes him impotent and ignorant , How should God perceive , says the Wicked , Psal. 73.11 . is there knowledge in the most High ? And the faithless Israelites , Can God prepare a Table in the Wilderness ? He smote the stony Rock indeed , that the Water gushed out ; but can he give Bread also , and provide Flesh for his People ? Nay , it fansies him also Wicked , as those words spoken in the Person of God , Psal. 50. do shew . Thou thoughtest I was altogether such an one as thy self . And in the last place it concludes him to be Nothing at all . The fool hath said in his heart , There is no God . Infidelity first entertains Mean thoughts of God , doubts of his Attributes , and afterwards of his very Being . Infidelity moved God to send upon the Israelites in the Wilderness almost as many and grievous Plagues , as he had sent upon the Egyptians . And many Christian Professors are so possest against this Sin , that they have not doubted to aver , That as there is no Vertue that justifies but Faith , so there is no Sin that condemns but Infidelity . And that the Jews were highly guilty of this Sin in reference to Christ , there is no question : for though he had wrought so many Miracles among them , as the Evangelist says , they believed not on him . They might have known who he was , if they had not been wilfully blind , by the Rule given them by Moses , Deut. 18.12 . to discern a True Prophet from a False ; and again at the 18th ver. to distinguish the Messiah from other Common Prophets : yet blinded with Pride , Malice , Envy , and the like , the Great Council it self of the Sanhedrim condemned the Lord of Life for an Impostor , and crucified him ; affirmed , That by a Confederacy with the Devil he cast out Devils . So that this their Unbelief , and perverse Proceeding , might be a very just Cause of the Descent of the third Person in the Trinity to vindicate the Injury and Outrage done to the second ; after a Judicial Manner to arraign and convince the World of Sin , i. e. of Infidelity and Injustice to the Son of God .

But though there was Infidelity in the Case , I conceive they do exactliest hit the meaning of the place , who make not our Lord's Words point so much at any particular determinate Sin after his Coming , as at the General Sin , wherein all the World lay before his Coming , viz. the Sin of Adam , in which both Jew and Gentile were concluded : and from which , 't is said , He that believeth , and is baptized , shall be saved ; but he that believeth not , shall be damned . Now the Holy Ghost , when he came into the World to bear Testimony to all that Christ did , reproved and convinced it ( that is , all Unbelievers ) that they lay still under the Old Condemnation of the First Man , seeing they embraced not the Means of Grace and Pardon offer'd by Christ in the Gospel : nay , and that their Infidelity added a new and worse Guilt to the former they lay under , the Guilt of refusing Offer'd Redemption ; which would make their Condemnation yet heavier : For though Hell be the ultimum Supplicium , the utmost Punishment the Divine Vengeance can inflict ; yet as there are Degrees of Sins , so there are Degrees of Torment ; and , as 't is said , Hell shall be a second time heated for those that leave their first Station : so we may say , it shall be a second time heated for those that refuse the Salvation offer'd by Christ .

The second Particular the Spirit shall convince the World of , is of Righteousness . But how must this be understood ? Shall he convince the World of Sin and of Righteousness both ? Yes , de Peccato proprio , & Justitia aliena , as St Augustine distinguishes , of its Own Wickedness , and of an Others Righteousness ; the Spirit shall convince the World that 't is sinful , and that Christ was Righteous . And thus our Lord afterwards interprets his own Words , He will convince the World of Wickedness , because I go to my Father . The World spared not , while Christ was on Earth , to spend their rash Judgments of him , He is a Good Man ; say some : Nay , say others , but he deceiveth the People . Others again , He is a Samaritan , and hath a Devil , and the like . But his going to the Father , stopt the Mouth of all Slander : For as this was an approv'd Maxim , which was utter'd by the Man that was born Blind , God heareth not Sinners : So this was a Truth likely to find a more Easie and General Admittance , God translateth not Sinners miraculously and visibly to Heaven . Enoch and Elias were thus translated ; but 't is testified of the first , That he pleased God , and of the last , That his Zeal for God's Glory exceeded . Christ therefore being translated to Heaven , it was an irrefragable Proof of his Righteousness . But how did the Holy Ghost convince this ? Why , by his very coming into the World , had he born no other Testimony : For Christ had said in the Verse before my Text , If I go not away , the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart , I will send him unto you . The Descending of the Holy Ghost was the Consequent of Christ's Ascending .

But then the Righteousness , which the Spirit shall here convince the World of , must be understood in a greater Latitude , than only of the Inherent Righteousness in Christ's Person ; it comprehends also the Transient Righteousness that past from him to others : As St John says in another place , That he was not only a Glorious Light in himself , but the Light of the World , and the Light of Men. A Righteousness of greater Concern and Importance , than his Inherent Righteousness : for that made his Person only Illustrious , but this brought Utility and Benefit to Mankind ; and as the first spoke him the Son of God , the last also the Saviour of the World . Christ's Righteousness is therefore here to be understood Causativè , that he was the Author or Cause of Righteousness ; not only that he was Righteous , but Righteousness unto others ; and that two Ways . First , In respect of his Doctrine , that was Righteousness , the very Rule and Standard of it , the perfect Will of God able to conform us to his Likeness , and the World rejected it , only because their Deeds were Evil. And this the Holy Ghost , when he came , convinc't the World of , viz. of the Desperateness of its Condition , that it had refused the True Light , and for no other reason than for that which was named , Because their Deeds were Evil , and they hated to be reform'd . Secondly , Christ was Righteousness in respect of the Justification of the World , as he was Justitia nostra , the Lord our Righteousness , as the Prophets had foretold . And indeed this was the Chief Office and Business of the Holy Ghost at his coming , to convince Men , That there was no other Name under Heaven by which they could be sav'd , but only by that Name : That neither the Contemplation of things Divine , together with the Practice of Moral Vertues , which was the Gentiles Way ; nor the Plea of being Circumcised , and descended from such and such Parents , which was the Jewish Way , avail'd any thing towards the obtaining of Justification , without the laying hold of Christ's Righteousness .

The third Particular the Spirit shall convince the World of , is of Judgment . St Bernard understood the Words Actively , viz. That the Spirit shall convince the World of its Perverse Judgment of Christ , and the other things appertaining to God . He shall convince the World , says he , de Peccato quod dissimulat , de Justitia quod non ordinat , de Judicio quod usurpat , of the Sin which they now cloak or dissemble , of the Righteousness which they direct not aright , and of the Judgment they unduly exercise . But the 11th Verse clearly opposes this Interpretation , and shews that the Judgment spoken of , is not meant of the World Actively , which the World had made , but Passively , which shall be made or pass'd upon the World . Now the World , or Unbelieving Part of it , are said to be convinc't by the Judgment that should come upon them in this , That the Prince of the World is cast out . For he that hath Master'd the Prince , broken the Power of his Kingdom , and holds him in Vassalage , may be accounted to have master'd and subdu'd his People also : And the Prince of the World is said to be thus Judg'd two Ways .

First , By spoiling him of his Strength : Having spoiled Principalities and Powers , he made a shew of them openly , triumphing over them in it , Coloss. 2.15 . What is a Prince when he is stript of his Power ? When his Counsels and Policies are defeated or detected , his Officers arrested , his Prisons broke open , his Fortresses ruined and dismantled , his Harness and Ammunition of War seised , and the like ? And thus Satan was divested and unthroned by Christ , and shewed openly to be judged and subdued after the Coming of the Holy Ghost . Sin , his strong Yoke , by which he held Mankind in Bondage and Slavery , was broken ; Guilt , the Plea of his Dominion and Tyranny over them , taken away by Satisfaction made for it ; Temptation , his great Stratagem , made weak and invalid by Grace ; Death , his Sergeant himself , mortified ; the Grave , his Prison , set open , and made only a Dormitory and harmless Through-fare to Life . These things were his first Judgment , before the great and final Day , when the Staff of his Authority was , as 't were , broken over his head , and no Power left him , but what those that love Servitude better than Freedom ; chose their own Destruction before the Salvation purchas'd for them , voluntarily give him over themselves . These things , I say , did evince the Fall of Satan as manifestly , as the train of Light , which follows that which the People call a Falling Star , evinces the descent of that Meteor ; and which possibly our Lord alluded to , when he said , I beheld Satan , as Lightning , fall from Heaven .

But then , Secondly , Satan is judged Personally : for though his Sentence of Condemnation be yet , as I may say , but Ambulatory , in regard of the Execution , yet it is Final and Peremptory in regard of the Determination . He that has forfeited his Life to the Law , and is reserved in Chains in expectation of the next Assize ; or waits only donec sternuntur Subsellia , till the Judge puts on his Robes , and the Court sits , differs but little from him , that has actually received his Doom . And such is Satans Condition since the Coming of Christ and the Holy Ghost , Datur mora parvula , some little stay there is , till the Figure of this World be changed , and then he goes for ever to his Proper Place . And let this suffice to be said of the Matter which the Spirit shall reprove or convince the World of : namely , of Sin , of Righteousness , and of Judgment . I come in the next place to shew the Manner , how the Spirit did convince the World .

The Manner of the Conviction .

The word in the Original 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies , as was said , either to Reprove or to Convince ; to convince the Understanding of an Errour , or to reprove the Will of a Crime . And the Holy Ghost performed both these parts at his Coming .

First , He convinced mens Understandings , that they were in Sin ; under the Guilt contracted by the first Man , and that Belief in Christ , ( who was the Seed of the Woman that was to bruise the Serpents head , and who had power to cast out the Prince of the World , that he should no more abuse the Nations ) was the only Way to get out of that and all other Sins , and to obtain Justification . And this was de facto brought to pass , in so great a Part of the World 's being converted after the Coming of the Holy Ghost , and being content to go down into the Laver of Regeneration , the Waters of Baptism , to cleanse away their Sins : and the Church of Christ in those days might have been compared , as Solomon compared the Jewish to a Flock of Sheep newly come up from washing . For all these renounced the Prince of this World , and acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the only Saviour : and those that made use of and improved the Grace given them in Baptism , found the Devil a weak and impotent Prince , that might easily be resisted and foiled ; that had no Power but what was meerly precarious and delusive , such as might perswade or deceive men into Sin , but could not compel them .

But then as the Holy Ghost wrought this Conviction on the Unbelieving World , by what Means did he work it ? There are two Ways of convincing Mens Judgments , The one by Argumentation , and necessary Consequence on certain Premisses granted ; The other by sensible and ocular Demonstration : And though the last Way of these , by Aristotle and the Masters of Reason , be counted 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , unartificial and less Noble , yet in Assurance it goes beyond all manner of Reasoning . And this was the Way the Holy Ghost took to Convince the Gain-saying World of the Salvation preached by Christ : Our Lord himself also points at this Way , Joh. 15.26 . where he says to his Disciples , When the Comforter is come , the Spirit of Truth , he shall testifie of me , and ye also shall bear Witness . Ye also shall bear Witness ] was not unnecessarily added : for a Spirit has no Voice of its own , no more than it has Flesh and Bones : But the Apostles were the Spirit 's Agents , their Sermons were its Voice , and their Hands its Organs by which it wrought its Miracles : the Epistles of St Paul , and of the rest of the Apostles , we may say , were the Rhetorick , but the Acts of the Apostles were the Logick of the Holy Ghost . The truth is , whatever other Proofs were brought for the Confirmation of Christian Religion , Miracles were the Strength of it , the Unresistible Engines that bore down all Infidelity before them : and St Paul , Heb. 2.3 . shews the Unexcusableness of not yielding to this Conviction . How shall we escape , says he , if we neglect so Great Salvation , which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord , and was confirmed unto us by them that heard it , God also bearing them Witness with Signs and Wonders , and with divers Miracles and Gifts of the Holy Ghost ?

But then here some will say , That this Conviction , by the Miraculous Operations of the Holy Ghost , was indeed a Powerful Conviction to those that were Witnesses of them , and saw these things done : but what do they signifie to us , upon whom the Ends of the World are come , and saw them not ? To answer this Objection at large , would be in Effect to ingage in a Discourse of the whole Subject of the Truth of Christian Religion , or the Demonstration Evangelical , of which Eusebius , the first Christian Historian after the Apostles , now extant , wrote seven Books : I shall therefore content my self , in the short time that remains to me , to present you , by way of Answer , only with one Consideration , but 't is a Consideration that had great force with St Augustine , and 't is this ; The very Conversion of the World is the highest Argument imaginable , that it was converted by the Miraculous Power of the Holy Ghost . For that Man , says the Father , that can conceive the World should relinquish their long doted on Religion , received from their Ancestors with so much Veneration , and a Superstitious Conceit , that they had been Prosperous under it , a Religion so well suited to their Carnal Affections ; and receive in Exchange of it a New Religion , derived from so despicable and infamous an Author , as a Mean Man crucified by his own Nation , and the very Principles of which were so harsh to Flesh and Blood , and contrary to all worldly Glory and Interest ; That Man , says St Augustine , that can conceive this could be done without Miracle , is himself a greater Miracle , than those he thinks so hard to be believed . There were among the Roman Fencers of old one sort , that with a Net and Trident maintained Combate against their Opposers armed with a Sword and Helmet , and were so dextrous as to intangle and vanquish their Adversaries with these Uncouth Weapons . The Apostles of Christ , those Fishers of Men , may be likened to these Retiarii , these Fencers with Nets , who with the Metaphorical Nooses and Meaches of preaching , seconded by the Power of Miracles , ensnared and captivated to the Gospel the armed , potent , proud , Idolatrous , learned , and vicious World ! And this was the Way the Spirit took at his Coming , if we interpret 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 to Convince the Understanding of the World of its Errors .

But if we take it in the other Sense , redarguet Mundum , he shall Reprove the World for its Sins , it imports these two things . That the Spirit shall shame the World , And condemn it .

First , That it shall reproach and shame the World , for loving Darkness more than Light ; Death , than Life ; for lying under Wickedness and Guilt , when the Means of becoming Innocent was offered them ; for chusing things Base and Degenerate , before things Noble and Praise-worthy ; things Vicious and accompanied with Danger , rather than things Vertuous , though accompanied with Glory and Felicity ; in a word , for chusing rather to perish in their Sins and Ignorance , than to be Instructed , reformed , and saved . And as the Spirit shall shame the World for so brutish and sottish a Choice , so , Secondly , it shall Condemn it . Shame and Confusion of Face is but the beginning of the Misery of Sinners , the consequent of the Discovery of their Wickedness , not the Punishment of it . What the Wiseman says shall be the Portion of those that love Danger , they shall perish in it : is true also of those that love Darkness more than Light ; and the ways of Death , than the ways of Life ; that they shall prove what the Riddle of Eternal Death is , of a Death that never dyes , and dwell in Eternal Night and Darkness . And thus that Spirit , which is the Spirit of Love and Gentleness , which descended in the Similitude of a Creature that has no Gall nor Anger , and whose Office 't is to save , to comfort , and support , shall exercise a Part so contrary to its Name and Nature , as to Condemn , destroy , and confound ; instead of shewing it self the Spirit of Lenity and Kindness , shew it self the Spirit of Indignation and Fury , a Froward , Chiding , and Reproaching Spirit . O ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in Heart and Ears ! says the Holy Ghost by the mouth of St Stephen , which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted ? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One , of whom ye have been now the Betrayers and Murderers . Stephen who dyed the Example of Meekness , the Miracle of Patience and Charity , inspired by the same Divine Spirit , lived a sharp Reprover and severe Condemner of their Hardness of Heart and Unbelief .

And now , Beloved , to make some Application of what has been said : Are the things we have heard this day remote and unconcerning Stories ? Tales only of the Apostles Times , and Events at the first preaching of the Gospel ? Or is it not still the Business of the Spirit to Convince the World of Sin , of Righteousness , and of Judgment ? To rebuke and reprove it for the little or ill Use it has made of the Unvaluable Benefits offered it by Christ ? To Judge and Condemn it for preferring the Ways of Death and Destruction , before those of Life and Salvation ; even rejecting and crucifying the Lord of Glory a second time by their Sins ? 'T is true , the Extraordinary Miraculous Operations of the Holy Ghost are ceased ; but his Ordinary , his Inward Reproofs and Convictions , by the Outward preaching of the Word ; his converting , sanctifying , and justifying of some , and final Condemnation , and sealing up of others in their Impenitence , still remain . Christ's Work of our Salvation lasted but a while , and had its Period on the Cross ; but the Spirit of Christ , which came after him , had no Period , no Hitherto of his working , but his Operations continue to the End of the World . And 't is wonderful to consider , That after so many Unwearied and powerful Endeavours of the Spirit for sixteen hundred Years , that so much gross Infidelity and so many scandalous Impieties are still in the World : That the Unjust and Unmerciful are Unjust and Unmerciful still , the Voluptuous and Incontinent are voluptuous and incontinent still , the Prophane and Atheistical are prophane and atheistical still , the Seditious and Disobedient to Government persist to be so still : as if the World were grown too Old to blush or to learn : and what was said in Praise of our Lords Constancy and Resolution in Suffering , That he Despised the Shame , were Commendable also in the Effrontery and Impudence of the World in its Sins , That it despises all Shame . St Augustine says , That in his Young Unconverted days he boasted of many Sins , which he had never committed , ne viderer abjectior , quo innocentior , lest I should have appeared Abject and poor Spirited , if I had been known to be Innocent . And too many there are in this Age , that count the Vices of the Time the Gallantries of it ; and are as much abasht to come behind in any Lewdness in Vogue , as to be late in the Fashion .

And when things stand thus , that those that have given their Names to Christ in Baptism are more profligate Sinners , than Turks and Infidels ; may not Preachers be allow'd to say , The World is not yet Converted , the Holy Ghost has not perfected his Work ? Good God! what a Change , what a Bustle , as I may say , did the Spirit make at his first Coming ? Such as is still Wonderful to Posterity to hear or read ! How many thousands were Converted by one Sermon ? How many Nations were made Proselytes by unfolding but some one Divine Truth ? Rich men sold their Lands , the Learned in Curious Arts their Books , and laid the Money at the Apostles Feet ; Souldiers surrendred their Swords , Philosophers their Reason , Kings their Scepters , upon the Sight of a single Miracle ; and , which was more than all the rest , they parted with their habitual Lusts , their gainful delightful Corruptions , as allowable and currant generally in those days , as the Coin among them , and made an intire Oblation of them to the Gospel . But now the Spirit of God , by all the industrious and laborious Endeavours of his Servants , can hardly in many Months , in many Years , win some one Person from a Gainless Tasteless Evil Custom only , as vain Swearing , Lying , malicious Censuring , and the like .

And all that Men have to say in their Defence for this is , That they have not such Divine Teachers , nor do see the Miracles spoken of heretofore . Neither , as we may reply , do they need these . It was necessary to remove the Jewish Law , which was given by the Ministry of Angels , by a no less Glorious Ministration ; to extirpate the long-rooted Superstition and Idolatry of the Heathens , by Divine and Supernatural Convictions : But do those that have been bred and train'd up in the Christian Religion , need an Apostle or Supernatural Teacher to tell them , They should not steal ? Signs and Wonders from Heaven to inform them , They ought not to be Drunk , to commit Adultery , to be Schismaticks or Traytors ? If their Darkness be so great , 't is not that God has not afforded them sufficient Light , but they wilfully shut their Eyes against it , or have Extinguisht it , loving the Ways of Sin , more than the Ways of Righteousness : and 't is not for such as these , proudly to exact Miracles again to enlighten them . God expects from the World the Returns of a holy Faith and Obedience for the innumerable Miracles of his Power , Wisdom and Goodness already shewed ; and if obstinate and obdurate Sinners ask for more Signs and Wonders , they are to be answer'd , as our Lord answer'd the Jews upon the like perverse Demand , That no Sign shall be given them , but that of the Prophet Jonas , i. e. those that are already past , and not regarded by them .

The Holy Spirit with great Benignity and Long-suffering endeavours to reclaim Lapsed Sinners , gives them his preventing and assisting Grace ; prompts them with Good Thoughts , and if they make use of these , actuates their Repentance , strengthens them to improve and encrease in Righteousness , and the like : But if they despise these Favours , stand upon Terms , and expect Miracles ; will be converted at no Cheaper Rate , than the Holy Ghost's shewing himself in that Outward astonishing Manner , as he did at the first Pentecost ; they will sooner provoke him to exercise his last Dreadful Act , which is to Seal up obstinate Sinners in the Hardness of their Heart , than win him to prostitute his Divine Power to their wicked Fancies ; urge him to pronounce to them , what he does to the like Uncorrigible Sinners , Rev. 22.11 . He that is unjust , let him be unjust still ; and he that is filthy , let him be filthy still ; i. e. the Time of Grace being forfeited by them , he will give them up to their own ways , and certain Destruction . Those therefore that thus Exalt themselves like Lucifer , let them take heed ( while 't is yet allowed them so to do ) that they fall not also like him into the same Abyss of Eternal Misery ; consider that it becomes not those that have been Rebels to Heaven , to article and capitulate for the Manner of their Pardon and Reception into Favour ; to demand such Conditions and Priviledges as the Greatest Saints presume not to beg , viz. to stipulate for Miracles , when Pardon is too high a Grace ; as if Salvation was not their aim , but to triumph in the Contempt of God , and the breach of his Laws . The Prodigal Son , when he had spent his Portion in riotous Courses among Harlots , did not send impudently to his Father to supply him with more Considerable Summs , upon the consideration that what he had received of him was Small and Contemptible : but confess'd his Miscarriage , that he had wasted in Lewdness and Dissoluteness a Liberal Patrimony , and was not worthy to be counted the Son of so Good a Father ; that to be as one of his hired Servants , was above his desert : thus as his Crimes were heinous , his Thoughts of himself were lowly and mean ; as his Name was infamous , his Person squalid , his Condition indigent and vagabund , his Deportment and Requests were stampt with the profoundest Humility and Submission . And this being not a History of one that had spent a Portion in Money , but a Parable of such as have wasted the Stock of Grace given them by God , upbraids those that are arrogant and pufft up in the like Circumstance ; teaches them that 't is their part , to put their Mouths in the Dust , and to abhor themselves , to repent in Sackcloth and Ashes , and to catch greedily and thankfully at the least Glimpse of Pardon , even upon the hardest Terms : and that this is the only Course to turn their Rags into Rich Robes and Gold Rings ; their Husks into a Fatted Calf ; their accursed Condition , without a Figure , into a Blessed and Heavenly .

The Ninth Sermon . MARK vii . 37 .

— He hath done all things well : he maketh both the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak .

OUR Lord had cured a man that was born deaf and dumb , by pronouncing the word Ephata , or be opened , and given him and the Standers-by a Charge not to make known the Miracle : but streight , ( as if the Ephata spoken to one , had been to many thousands ; the untying the Dumb mans tongue had been the letting loose of the whole Multitudes ) all the People began to spread and divulge the Fact ; and whereas he forbad them to whisper it , they proclaim'd it ; whereas he restrained them the Use of the Tongue , they employ'd , as I may say , the Trumpet ; and he that could make the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak , could not make the Multitude hold their peace . Neither does it appear that they were faulty , but grateful , in what they did ; perverse or refractory , but faithful and just . There were some Kind of Miracles , or rather some Conjunctures of Time in which our Lord wrought his Miracles , that he thought fit to suppress the Knowledge of them ; not that they were less Glorious , or likely to prove less Edifying , but contrariwise too Edifying and too Glorious , and would have disclosed his Divine Nature too early and abruptly to the World , before his Counsels permitted it . But the People ( who supposed the reason of his concealing his Miracles proceeded only from a Modesty that fled publick Applause after the performing Noble Actions ) out of an Honest Disobedience , as I may say , refus'd to keep the Silence he enjoined them : For after he had done such Wonderful things , and no less Good and Beneficial , than Great and astonishing , they could not , they would not consent they should be smothered ; that that which was Praise-worthy , should go away without Praise ; that that which deserved so well of the World , should not be known to the World ; and they even contested with our Lord in this matter , as 't is said ver. 36. By how much the more he charged them to keep Silence , by so much the more a great deal they publisht it . 'T is reported that Virgil condemned his incomparable Poems to the fire , and that this endeared them the more to Posterity ; men setting a Value on them afterwards , not only because they were Excellent , but because they were Preserved . And the People in like manner here set a higher Rate on those Miracles our Lord sought to Conceal , because he sought to Conceal them ; more industriously endeavoured to make them Illustrious , because they were condemned to Obscurity and Oblivion ; to pay them their due Honour , because it was denyed them . When the Pharisees out of Envy urged our Lord to rebuke his Disciples and the Multitude for crying Hosanna before him , he said unto them , If these should hold their peace , the Stones would cry out : And if the People had not done him the Right they did , the Stones would have proclaim'd his Glory ; and I look not upon their words in my Text , as proceeding from the Spirit of Opposition and Contradiction , but from the Spirit of Grace and Truth , even from the Inspiration and Dictate of the Holy Ghost himself . He hath done all things well : he maketh both the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak .

Before I proceed yet to the Division , it will not be amiss to premise some things more particularly both concerning the Words , and the Speakers of them . And the Words , in the first place , are plainly a Justification of our Saviour from the mouth of the People , their Verdict given upon him in Opposition to the Censure of their Priests and Rulers . But of What are they a Justification ? Of his Innocent and holy Conversation among men ? There was no need of that , He went about his whole Life , as St Peter says , doing Good , conferring Health , as well as Faith ; Curing , as well as Converting men : and though the Malice of his Adversaries joined with the Malice of Hell at his arraignment to bring an Accusation against him , they found none . There was as little need also of their Justification of his Miracles ; for they were wrought in the face of all Judea ; and the Sanhedrim , as well as the People , confest them ; What do we do ? ( say they , John 11.47 . ) for this Man doth many Miracles ! Of what then was their Justification ? Not so much of his Life and Miracles , as of the Divine Power or Principle by which he wrought all that he did . There was a Division in the Thoughts of men concerning him , upon the Sight of his works , and some said , He was a Good Man , and others again , Nay , but he deceiveth the People ; secretly intimating , that every One that made a holy Show , was not a holy Person ; that every Worker of Miracles , was not a Messenger of God's ; but many times the most seeming Instruments of Heaven , were indeed Agents and Instruments of the Devil . In these Extremes of a good and bad Opinion , the People adhered to the most Favourable , concluded , that he was a Good Man , and no Seducer ; that a Great Prophet was risen among them , and that God had visited his People . And their [ omnia bene ] in my Text , [ he hath done all things well ] points not so much at his Morality , as at his Mission from God ; at the Truth of his Miracles , as at the Truth of his Pretences , viz. that all he taught and did , was by the Power and Spirit of God .

Secondly , The Persons that pronounc'd this Sentence , were the Multitude ; the Judgment proceeded ex ore populi , from the mouth of the People : But it was ne'er the worse for that ; what is to be concluded upon the Sight of an undoubted Miracle , may be believed as well , nay perhaps better , from the impartial Opinion of the People , than from the biass'd Reasonings of the Great Ones : in those things where Common sense is a sufficient Guide , 't is safer many times to submit the Tryal to the Country , than to the Bench ; to honest and plain Dealing , than to Wit and Learning ; for too often it comes to pass , that the Politicks of Persons in high Place extinguish their Ethicks ; and that the Truth of Religion is corrupted for Reasons of State : As may be seen in the Church of Rome , where Truth holds always the second place to Interest , and is frequently on its account allow'd no place at all . The Scribes and Pharisees saw the same Miracles , which the People did ; but while they were ambitious to be Teachers themselves , while Vain-Glory , Envy , and other by-Respects possest them , they were not Converted , but hardened by them , John 9.24 . when our Lord had cured one that was born blind , the Pharisees said to him , Give God the Praise , we know this Man is a Sinner : But the Person cured ( that was one of the People , and unconcern'd in their Pretences ) pronounced , If he were not of God , he could do nothing . Again , Matth. 12.22 . when our Lord healed another that was blind and dumb , and possest with a Devil , the Pharisees said , This Fellow doth not cast out Devils , but by Beelzebub the Prince of the Devils : But what said the Multitude on the other side ? Is not this the Son of David ? i. e. the Great Prophet or Messiah that was to come into the World ? Such were the Collections of a Simple and Sincere People free from Envy and Malice . We owe the Growth of Christian Religion to plain honest Men , that heard the Gospel with disinteressed and unprejudiced Affections , and closed with it , when they saw it consonant to Right Reason ; and Christ found at first but few of the Great or Learned that were fit to be Evangelists , or yet Disciples ; 't was three hundred Years before any Scepter submitted to Christ , and none were so fierce Opposers of the Faith in the Infancy of it , as the Philosophers . But the Ignorant People that knew not the Law , as the Pharisees reproach'd them to weaken their Testimony , convey'd to us the Knowledge of the Gospel ; and in my Text , and many places beside , it may be truly said , Vox populi , Vox Dei , the Voice of the People , was the Voice of God .

O how happy and blessed were this Nation , if it had a People of the like Temper ! that without Prejudice and Prepossession , without Siding and Faction would embrace Sound Doctrine , and bear Testimony to it by their peaceable and holy Lives ; be profitable H●●rers of the Word , and not , like the Pharisees , a●fect to be Teachers of it ; Followers of Christ and his Apostles , and not think they are all Christs and Apostles themselves ; believe , because the first Evangelists were Fishermen , that therefore all Fishermen and Fishermen-like are Evangelists ; because God can enable the most Unlearned and Ignorant to be Expounders of his deepest Mysteries , that therefore the most Ignorant and Unlearned are the best Expounders of them ; in a word , because want of Scholarship is no Obstruction to God's Omnipotent Power , that 't is therefore the highest Qualification of a Person to preach . Alas , my Brethren , though the Multitude could give Testimony to Christ's Miracles , they could not preach Christ's Sermons ; though the People could say , Diseases cannot be cured , Devils cast out , the Dead raised to Life , by a Word speaking , unless a Divine Power accompanied that Word : yet even the Apostles were not able to understand the Prophecies which related to our Lord's Person and his Kingdom , till he interpreted to them the Scriptures concerning himself ; and as it was a Speech of Ingenuity to say , He hath done all things well : he maketh both the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak : so it had been no less than a Prodigy , if the People had taught the Pardon of Sins through the Bloud of Christ , Justification through Faith , or any other revealed Doctrine . When therefore the People in these Days take upon them to condemn the Doctrine and Worship of the Church they were bred in , to reject all Antiquity , and to expound the hardest Scriptures without Learning by their New-Lights , 't is not enough for them to say , The Apostles , who were Handy-Crafts men like us , did such things in the Jewish Church before us , unless they can also shew the like Warrant and Commission from Heaven which the Apostles did , namely , unless they can speak all Tongues , cure all Diseases , utter such Wisdom , as all the Learning in the World cannot withstand . For we must not take out-of-Fashion Hats and Coats , rude Behaviour , Thouing and Theeing their Betters , for Miracles and the Seals of a Divine Calling ; accept of Ignorance and Presumption , for Gifts of the Holy Ghost ; Non-sence and Dreams of Inspiration , for Inspiration . In the days of the Prophet Zechary there arose a Sort of Mock-Prophets or Teachers like these , who having no Divine Gift to countenance their pretended Mission from Heaven , apishly imitated the Outward Garb and Free Speech of the True Prophets . And the like Entertainment which the People of God gave to those Impostors , ours deserve to receive . For 't is recorded , that the very Father and Mother , that begat the False Prophet , said unto him , Thou shalt not live , for thou speak'st Lyes in the Name of the Lord : and they thrust him through , and made him ashamed every one of his Vision , and that he had prophesied : so that they wore Rough Garments no more to deceive , but were constrained to say , I am no Prophet , I am a Husbandman : for men have taught me to keep Cattel from my Youth , Zech. 13.

To come at length to the Division of the Words , they offer these two things in general to our consideration : 1. Our Saviour's Performance , He made the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak 2. The Verdict or Testimony of the People upon it , He hath done all things well .

In our Saviour's Performance we may consider more particularly : 1. The Substance of it , Giving of Hearing , and giving of Speech . 2. The Ceremonies or Circumstances which he used in giving them , set down ver. 33. the Touch of his Finger , his Spittle , the lifting up of his Eyes and Sighing , and the Word he utter'd , Ephata , or be opened .

The Testimony or Verdict of the People offers also three things to our consideration . 1. The Appellation they give our Lord , He , or this Man . 2. The Kind or Nature of their Verdict , 't was an Approbation , that he had done Well . 3. The Extent of their Approbation , that he had done All things Well . I begin , first , with the Substance of Christ's Performance .

Giving of Hearing , and giving of Speech :

Deaf and Dumb are in Effect one and the same Infirmity , Evils so complicated , that one is a necessary Consequence of the other , and the Word in the Original 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 signifies both Deaf and Dumb : to cure also the one , is to cure the other , i. e. he that opens the Ear , does with one and the same Act so far release the Tongue , as to put it into a Capacity of recovering Speech . But yet the People here very properly exprest these as two distinct Cures : for though that which makes a Bar on the one Sense , tyes a Knot likewise on the other , yet they are really two Impotencies , and the Operation of our Lord was , as I may say , a Single Double Miracle ; Single , considering the necessary Complication of the two Evils ; Double , considering the opening of the two Doors , the Door of Audience , and the Door of Utterance ; and the People with good Reason Separated , as well as Extolled , the Fact , viz. that our Lord , with the simple Clue or Key only of his Finger did perforate and discover all the subtile Wards and Meanders of the Ear , and the hidden Vaults of the Mouth ; and so rectifie the Imperfections of them , that Sound entered into the one , and was formed and made to issue Articulately out of the other . The Senses may receive Help from the Arts and Inventions of men , but not Creation ; the Orator , with a Pebble in his mouth , might help his Pronunciation , and by an Instrument conveying Sound , the Hearing may be assisted : but a total Privation , or rather Privative Abnegation or Original Impotence , that derides the Operations of the Surgeon , and the Prescriptions of the Physician , and the Cure can never be wrought , but where the Finger of Christ is the Probe and the Salve .

But I have not yet declared the Greatness of the Miracle , it was still more wonderful , if , as Interpreters conjecture , and not without reason , Christ did not only open the Ears and loosen the Tongue of the Impotent Person , but also enricht his Understanding ; instructed his Mind , as well as healed his Senses ; bestowed on him Knowledge , which through defect of Hearing , must needs be defective in him ; conferred on him Words , as well as the Power to pronounce them ; and Conceptions , as well as Words ; thus giving him linguam & linguam , not only a Tongue , but also a Language : infusing into his Soul the Dictionary or whole Treasure of Words in a Moment , together with a Competency of Principles and Notions ; which , even to those that have the Use of the Organs , is opus dierum , a Work of Time and Labour to acquire ; after the Miracle done upon the Deaf and Dumb Man , there was need of Study and Industry to inform him ; when the Surgeon had done his Work , there was place still for the Teacher . As may be seen by him that was newly recovered of his Blindness in the following Chapter , I see , says he , Men like Trees walking , i. e. I see , but I know not well what I see ; I cannot distinguish Men from Trees , but that they walk . Those that are endowed with the Senses they were not born with , cannot immediately make a Right Use of them : and upon this account divers Counterfeits have been detected , while they have too soon confest a distinct Knowledge of Objects and their Accidents after their pretended Recovery ; shewing at once both their Fraud and Ignorance , by their too quick revealing their Experience . This therefore , I say , greatly adds to the Glory of the Miracle , if it were indeed so , that the Organ and the skill ; the Faculty , and the Learning were both given together .

We are taught from hence these two Lessons : 1. That whatever our Wants or Distresses are , however amazing and seemingly insuperable our Dangers , yet to trust and confide in that Omnipotent God , to whose Power nothing can give check ; who when the Senses could not be cured , could yet create them ; and when there was no Remedy in Nature , could find one by a Miracle ! 2. We are taught no less to adore his Bounty and Goodness , who knows no other Measure of Giving , but to supply all that is Necessary : who to the Impotent Man gave Senses , to his Senses added Knowledge , to his Knowledge Faith , to his Faith Salvation . For God deals no otherwise with men at this day , if they reject not his Grace ; whoever are his Patients , he desires should be also his Disciples ; upon whomsoever he bestows Corporal or Worldly Blessings , he is more ready to bestow Spiritual and Heavenly . And let this suffice to be said of the first Particular , the Substance of Christ's Performance , his giving of Hearing , and giving of Speech . I shall consider in the next place , the Manner of his doing it , or the Ceremony and Circumstances which he used in performing his Cure . The first of which was

The Touch of his Finger .

But you will say what need was there of this ? Do but speak the Word , as the Centurion said , and my Servant shall be whole : so do but speak the Word , and the Deaf and Dumb shall hear and speak : Christ's Ephata had been enough , without his Touch ; the Breath of his Mouth could have wrought the Cure , without the help of his Finger . 'T is true , and in many of his Miracles our Lord used only his Voice , he restored Lazarus to Life , still'd the Tempest , cast out Devils merely by his Word . But yet frequently he did his Cures by his Touch , he took the Damsel that was dead , by the hand , and she arose ; and he laid his hands upon the Sick , and healed them . For some reason therefore it must be , that not only at this time , but at many others , he performed by many Circumstances , what he could have performed , if he had pleased , by fewer , or by none at all .

And the first Reason might be this , That the Beholders might see , the Cure came from himself , from no Confederacy with Spirits , or any External Power , and from thence might have a greater Veneration both of his Person and his Doctrine ; be perswaded , that what proceeded from his Mouth must be True , when they saw what proceeded from his Body was Divine .

The second Reason might be , That by a greater Number of Circumstances the Miracle might make a deeper Impression , and be longer remembered both by the Person healed , and by the Standers-by ; remain a Monument , as well as a Demonstration of his Power and Goodness . God , in the days of Moses , gave not only his Precepts in Writing , but expos'd them to the Touch and Sight of his People ; made his Commandments dangle between their Eyes in Phylacteries , and trail at their feet in Fringes , that what they would have forgot in Books , they might remember , wearing as Dresses and Ornaments . And 't was for a like reason to this , that our Lord instituted Baptism , and his Last Supper : for he could have convey'd to us the Pardon of our Sins , and the Grace of his Holy Spirit , without the Ceremonies of Washing , and breaking of Bread : but he thought fit to adde these Performances , not only to make Spiritual things more plain and conceiveable , but to make Transient things more permanent ; that his Benefits being thus rendred operatiora , more full of Business and Toil , they might be also memorabiliora , more full of Remark , and better fixt in our Minds .

The third Reason why our Lord wrought this Miracle by his Touch , and such a Singular Touch , as thrusting his Finger into the Ear , and putting his Spittle upon the Tongue , might be ; because these Actions have a Resemblance and kind of Similitude to the Means , which Art ordinarily uses in like Cases ; Obstructions are opened by Perforations , and Lenitives cause Lubricity and Volubility ; and the more to set off the Greatness of his Power , he would have it seen , that he could cure by the Figures and Images only of those things , by which Surgeons and Physicians exercise their Narrow and restrained Skill : he used , as one says , Metaphoram in facto , a Metaphor in Fact , employ'd his Finger as a Probe , and his Spittle as an Ointment . It was a wonderful Performance to cure an Original Dumbness and Deafness by any Means ; but to do it by such things , as were indeed No Means , that was more Wonderful . To proceed , the second Ceremony Christ used , was

The Lifting up of his Eyes , and Sighing .

A Look to Heaven and a Sigh are the Prayers of them , that have no other Opportunity to make their Supplications . Levavi oculos meos , says the Psalmist , I lift up mine Eyes unto the Hills , from whence cometh my help . That little Motion of the Prophets , the looking only for Help in Faith , was his Impetration of it : and St Paul says , By Sighs and Groans the Spirit makes Intercession for things that cannot be uttered , [ or distinctly exprest . ] Thus our Lord , by casting up his Eyes to the Throne of God , made his Petition ; and his Sighing , was his Strong Intercession . Not that the Father did not hear him readily , and at all times , as himself said , but he pray'd after this manner , to shew the Correspondence he held with Heaven , and that the People might see , that the Miracles which he wrought were the Return of his Prayers ; that as his Finger toucht the Ear and Tongue of the Impotent Man , so his Request toucht the Throne of God . But we must look upon this , and all other Ceremonies which Christ used in working his Miracles , as things no way needful to what he did , but needful to our Imbecillity ; to help our Faith , not to help him in his Performances ; they were like the Voices that came to him from Heaven , not for his own Sake , but for the sake of the Standers-by .

The third Circumstance , was the Word our Lord used , Ephata , or be opened . And if the former Circumstances which he made use of , express'd any seeming Weakness or Insufficiency , this last declared the Fullness of his Power and Omnipotence ; it being a Word like that which God spake at the Creation , Let there be Light , and there was Light ; a Word pronounced as Imperatively and Magisterially , and which found as ready Obedience ; it was dictum factum , as 't is said , a Word and a Deed. The Poets tell of a famous Enchantress , whose Spells were so dreadful , that the Celestial Orbs yielded Obedience to her — carmenque timent audire secundum , and durst at no time stay her second Charm . But though this were but a Fiction or Juggle ; yet so it was that all the Creatures , without any Demur , speedily and constantly obeyed the Injunctions of our Lord , and never stay'd his second Command ; whether they were Elements , Diseases , or Devils themselves . And as when he commanded the Storm to cease , the Mariners ask'd amazedly , What manner of Man is this , that even the Sea and the Winds obey ? So the Multitude were no less astonisht here , when they saw not only the deaf Elements obey , but Deafness it self to lend an Ear ; when I say upon the pronouncing only of this single powerful Ephata , they beheld the Doors of Audience and of Utterance both fly open ; the Dumb to speak , and the Deaf to be so quick of hearing ; their Mouths were also open'd in Lauds and Praises , and with one Universal Consent they gave our Lord this Testimony or Elogy : He hath done all things Well : he maketh both the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak . Which brings me to my second General Part , The Verdict and Approbation of the People . But the time will not suffer me to go through the Several Stages of it ; I shall therefore only make some Use of what I have said , and conclude at present .

We have heard , that our Lord ( not only in the present Miracle before us , but in many others ) used divers Ceremonies , though he could have wrought them , if he had pleas'd , without so much as seeing the Persons , as he did the absent Servant of the Centurion : But while such Ceremonies edified the Beholders , instructed their Ignorance , made a deeper and more durable Impression in their Minds of his Glorious Works , while they added Authority to his Words , and Veneration to his Person , he disdained not to serve himself with them . And though the Wisdom of our Church ( for the like prudential Reasons , viz. to explain her Doctrines , to adde Order and Beauty to her Worship , to stir up Zeal and Reverence in her Worshippers , and the like ) has admitted of some few Ceremonies : yet they lye under so great a Prejudice to many , that to name them only without Detestation , is enough to render the Person that names them Detestable . But what our Lord has so far approved of , as to practise , ought not to be detested by his Followers .

It will not be possible in the few Minutes remaining to me , to treat fully of this Subject : But what are Ceremonies , which are so cry'd-out against , but the Outward Expressions of the Faith and Devotion we have Inwardly in our Hearts to God ? As the Apostle says , With the Heart we believe unto Righteousness , and with the Mouth Confession is made unto Salvation : For we may manifest our Belief by Actions as well as by Words ; neither is it material by which we do it , so we do it sincerely ; and whatever Exceptions can be made against Ceremonies , may be made also against Words , viz. that they may be Abused : But then as men reject not the Use of Words , because some do Deceive with them : So neither ought they to reject Ceremonies , the Outward Expressions of a Devout Soul , because they are used by some Superstitiously and Idolatrously .

And the true Cause indeed of so manys abhorring Ceremonies , is the Excessive and Idolatrous Use of them in the Church of Rome , the multitude of their Cringings , Bowings , Crossings , Prostrations , Sprinklings of Water , tinklings of Bells , censing and kissing of Books , Images , and Altars , changing of Vestments , exposing of Reliques , lighting and extinguishing of Candles , &c. all in one and the same Service , insomuch that the Worship of God , among so many busie Fooleries , is the least part of it self : and Religion so far from being Explained and Adorned by these things , that 't is Disfigured , and rendred only more Dark and Mysterious . Which while some have taken just offence at , they have run as much into the other Extreme , and condemned all Ceremonies in general , and endeavoured to justifie their transport against them by Scripture ; Unskilfully or Unsincerely wresting , whatever they find spoken against the Old Jewish Ceremonies , to the Christian : Whereas the Apostles Quarrel against the Jewish Ceremonies , was not for any thing which they had in Common with those that are used at this day in the Church of Christ : but for their being directly Contrary to Christianity : they were Types of Christ and of the Gospel , and while they were kept on foot , they denyed that he was come into the World . However therefore that Ceremonies have been abused , or that it may be said , that the Outward Worship of the Body , if compared with the Inward Worship of the Soul , is but as the Outward Court of the Sanctuary to the Holy of Holies : Yet if we consider rightly of the Exterior Acts of Devotion , they are no less the Acts of the Heart , than the Interior : for as the one are the Elicite , the other are the Imperate Acts of the Soul ; and , though in a Degree once removed , may be as Cordial and Sincere as the other ; and are in many respects not only Useful , but Necessary in Religion .

For first , It is not possible to perform the Publick Worship of God without them , the assembling in his House , in his holy Name , and on his Own Day , the bowing our Knees before him , and lifting up our Hands and Eyes to Heaven , and the like , are all Ceremonies , Outward Expressions of the Faith , Reverence , and Dependence we have on God : and those that are so Unreconcil'd to some of these things , necessarily and unavoidably practise others of the like nature to those they condemn . And what reason can these Men give , when they can dishonour and sin against God with their Body , why they may not also honour him with it ? When with their Body they can commit Idolatry , why with their Body also they cannot perform a Legitimate and holy Worship ? The Body is to be Partaker with the Soul hereafter in Glory , and no reason can be given why it should not now join with the Soul in the Duties of Religion . How graciously did God accept and reward the Formal , Outward and Ceremonial Humiliation of that Hypocrite and Idolater Ahab ? for his Fasting , and putting on Sackcloth , and walking softly , ( upon hearing the Judgments denounced against him by Elijah ) God revers'd his Judgments ! Seest thou , says God to the Prophet , how Ahab humbleth himself before me ? because he humbleth himself before me , I will not send the Evil in his days , &c. If men rightly considered these things , they would not come into God's House , as if they came to affront , and not to adore him , neither baring the Head , nor bending the Knee ; out of a foolish fear to commit Idolatry , deport themselves in his Presence like Idols ; and as if they came there to be worshipp'd , and not to worship .

2. Ceremonies are useful in regard of the Persons that use them : for they are Wings to their Devotion , and raise it to a higher Pitch , than the quiet Actings of the Heart alone can do . And as a man by vehement Speeches and Emotions of his Body may chafe himself into a greater Degree of Anger : so by devout Gestures in Prayer he may heighten and enflame his Zeal .

3. Ceremonies are useful in regard of the Beholders . The reverent , solemn , and holy Rites of the Church being suited to the Majesty of the Deity that is worshipp'd , excite Faith and a more awful Regard in the Hearts of men ; and 't was for this very Reason , as I said , that our Lord used so many Circumstances and Ceremonies in the working of his Miracles . For such Visible Performances are many times more Efficacious Lessons , than long Harangues ; and though men affect to appropriate the term of Edification to Sermons only , the External Parts of Religion are not without their Edification too ; and a holy Practice or Custom may make a smarter Impression on the Soul , than the Inculcations of a flat and heavy Sermon .

4. Ceremonies are useful in regard of the Light they give to many Doctrines , which being assisted and seconded by such Sensible Circumstances , as Exhibit them to the Eye as well as to the Ear , they are the better explain'd , and establish'd in the Understanding by the help of two Senses , as Differences in Law are by the Mouths of two Witnesses ; and we may term the Ceremonies which accompany the Precepts of Religion , the Jael , or Nail that fastens the Substance of them in our Minds , as the holy Matron of that Name rivetted the temples of Sisera to the ground : Or we may call them the Masorah of the Church : for as the Jewish Masorah by an exact and critical Calculation of the Number of Words , Syllables , and Letters in the Scripture , hedg'd in the Text both from Mutilations and Additions : So Ceremonies often empale the Substance of Religion , and guard it from Innovation and Corruption . And may we not then justly condemn the Perverseness of those , that make such Out-cries against such Useful , such Innocent , nay such Necessary things , as Ceremonies ? who decry the same things for Superstition , when used in the Church , which they allow to be Wisdom , when practis'd by our Saviour ? But Wisdom is justified of her Children impartially , and those that have the Ingenuity and Goodness of the People in my Text , and no Taint of Pharisaical Pride and Hypocrisie , will approve the Rites of our Church , as well as her Doctrines ; and say , She has done all things Well , She has made the Unanimous in Faith , Uniform in Worship ; added to the Beauty of Truth , the Beauty of Holiness ; neither dressing up the Service of God in that Strumpet-like Attire , which the Church of Rome does ; nor stripping it into that deformed and sordid Nakedness which is seen in the Fanatick and Congregational Assemblies .

The Tenth Sermon . MARK vii . 37 .

— He hath done all things well : he maketh both the Deaf to hear , and the Dumb to speak .

I Observed in the Testimony or Verdict of the People three things : 1. The Appellation or Denomination they give our Lord , He , or This Man . 2. The Kind or Nature of their Verdict , it was an Approbation , That he had done Well . 3. The Extent of their Approbation , That he had done All Things well . I begin , first , with the Appellation or Denomination they give our Lord ,

He , or This Man .

The Peoples Appellation here is but a lame and imperfect Acknowledgment of Christ , it exprest only one half , and the meanest half , of his Condition . It was not the Style in which Believers in after-times spoke of him ; who never mentioned him as mere Man , but as God , or the Eternal Son of God . When the Primitive Christians met in their early Devotions before day , laudes Christo , tanquam Deo , canebant , they sung Hymns to Christ , as to a God , as a Heathen could bear witness . But however the Appellation of the People was less Honourable , at the present it was accepted from them , and registred as a Proof of their Ingenuity , that they gave Christ the Due of his Actions , though under an imperfect Style of his Person . God opens the Eyes of mens Understanding , and cures the Infirmities of their Souls , by Degrees : as Christ in the following Chapter cured the Blind mans Eyes , who first saw Men like Trees , and afterwards Men like Men. 'T was enough , upon our Lord's first entering on his Prophetick Office , and preaching to the World , that the People received his Doctrine , and conceived rightly of his Miracles , though not of his Divine Nature ; that they acknowledged him to be a Good Man , though not the Son of God Incarnate : which at that time was not understood even by the Apostles themselves .

But then that which was an Ingenuous Expression in those days , would be an Injurious or Blasphemous one in these ; if men should now so far debase Christ , as to restrain him to his Humane Nature only , and deny his Divine : as the Socinians do , who allow no higher Title to be due to him , than this Man , this Man has done all things well , this Man was born of a pure Virgin , this Man died , rose from the Grave , ascended into Heaven , and sitteth at the right-hand of God , and the like . And 't is not without good reason , that some have doubted , whether those that are of this Perswasion , are to be numbered among Christians ; who , after so full and perfect a Revelation of Christ , apprehend him yet so imperfectly ; who with a greater blindness , if not malice , persecute his Divinity , than the Scribes and Pharisees did his Humanity ; use greater Endeavours to destroy the Son of God , than they did to destroy the Supposed Son of Joseph and Mary . I say though [ He or This Man ] was a pardonable appellation from the People , who were yet but Raw Auditors of the Gospel , yet 't is intolerable , coming from Grown Christians ; and such Elementarii Senes , Grey-headed Ignorants , as stick still at the first Rudiments of the Faith , deserve to be expell'd the School of Christ for their Non-proficiency . Saint Paul , 1 Cor. 1.12 . sharply reproves Believers for saying , I am of Paul , I of Apollos , I of Cephas , I of Christ : and not only for their Schisms , but chiefly , for levelling our Lord with his Servants , and making him only the Head of a Sect , a Partial Minister of mens Salvation , when he was the Sole Author and Finisher of their Faith .

But what shall we say then of those Fanaticks of later times , who deny not only the Divinity , but Humanity of Christ ; affirm , that what the Gospel says of God Incarnate , is not to be understood Historically , but Morally ; not of a Particular Single Person , but of all that are True Believers ; and that themselves are the Godded with God , those in whom God is Man'd , or Humaniz'd , as they delight to Cant. Acknowledge no Saviour or Redeemer of the World , but make themselves all to be Christs ; assume his Attributes and Prerogatives , pretend to be without Sin ; Not that they do not do those things , which the Worst of Men do , but the Spirit of God , as they fansie , doing all things in them ; to say they could sin , were to say that God himself could Sin : however therefore all Breaches and Transgressions of the Law are Criminal in other Men , in them they are only Nominal and Seeming Sins , Sins improperly and falsly so called , from the similitude they bear to them . And on this account they reprove none among themselves for committing the most heinous and flagitious Crimes , but for shewing Sorrow for them after ; it being not Sin , in their Opinion , but a Remorse for Sin , that is the Sign of an Unregenerate State , the discerning a Difference between Good and Evil ; which they call the Relish of Eves Apple still remaining , and endeavour by all means to eradicate ; perswading themselves , that when they have destroyed all Sense of Sin , they are arrived to the highest Point of Saintship and Perfection , to the very State of Innocence in which Adam was created , the State in which he knew no Evil. Miserably dreaming , because Adam knew no Difference between Good and Evil Experimentally before his Fall , that he knew not any Intellectually . And thus we see , not to believe Rightly of the Person of Christ , is , in truth , not to believe in Christ ; to deny either his Humanity or Divinity , is in Effect not to be a Christian. It is not only necessary therefore to receive all that is delivered By him , but also all that is delivered Of him ; to acknowledge him to be our God , as well as our Saviour ; and to adore him , as well as to be Instructed by him . To say in these days , with the People in my Text , He ( or This Man ) hath done all things well , were no less than Sacriledge ; when our Style ought to be , The Eternal Son of God , blessed for evermore , hath done all things well ! And so I pass to the Second Particular , The Kind or Nature of the Peoples Verdict , it was an Approbation ,

He hath done Well .

The Peoples Approbation here was rightly grounded , they concluded with good Reason , That he that had made the Deaf and Dumb to hear and speak , was a Prophet , and no Deceiver ; that he whose Works were so Mighty , must himself be Holy , and his Words True . Miracles are infallible Signs of a Divine Person , Irrefragable Testimonies of a Man of God : as the Widow of Zarephath rightly concluded , when Elijah restored her dead Son to Life , Now , says she , I know thou art a Man of God , and that the Word of the Lord in thy Mouth is Truth : and likewise Nicodemus , when he said to our Lord , Rabbi , we know thou art a Teacher come from God ; for no Man can do the Miracles thou dost , except God be with him . Our Lord himself made use of this Argument drawn from his Mighty Works , as his last Appeal for the Truth of his Divine Mission : says he , If I do not the Works of my Father , believe me not : but if I do , though ye believe not me , believe the Works . Thus even licensing the Infidelity of men , in case he had not performed Works above the Power and Ability of men . At the first production of the Creatures , there were certain Properties or Qualities implanted in them , as Descending to heavy Bodies , Ascending to light , moving Circularly to heavenly , &c. Now when it comes to pass , that Heavy things move Upwards , and Light Downwards ; when Water , a fluid Body , is made a Pavement or a Wall ; the Fiery Furnace a Refrigeratory , as Nebuchadnezzar's was to the three Children , circa frigidos capillorum globulos innoxium luxit incendium , says St Jerome , the harmless Flame did only shine upon , not singe their curled Locks . When , I say , the Courses of Nature are thus changed , and its Laws inverted , when the Creature is fashioned again anew , as the Author of the Book of Wisdom speaks , and is made to observe Particular Commands , it is a Kind of Second Creation : For none can change the Laws of Nature , but the God of Nature : Well therefore did St Augustine say , Habent Miracula linguam suam , & opera sunt & argumenta ; Miracles have a Tongue and speak , and they are not only Works , but Arguments . To give a man Speech , that was born without it , is even of it self a Kind of Speech , the Speech no less than of the Almighty : for God appears not Personally to converse with Men ; but such as these are his Utterances of himself to the World : neither did the Voices that broke from the Clouds at the Baptism and Transfiguration of our Lord , saying , This is my Beloved Son , more clearly and intelligibly declare to the Hearers , who Christ was , than the Voice of God , in every Miracle he wrought , pronounc'd the same thing ; but on all his Mighty Works was engraved in bright and shining Characters , This is my Beloved Son , and again , This is my Beloved Son , hear him ! The first Way , I say , was not more convincing to mens Senses , than the second was argumentative to their Reason ; and there is but One and the same Proof of the Deity , and of the Truth of Christ's Pretences ; and they are either both True , or both False ; he that gives Hearing to the Deaf-born , is a Righteous Person , or he that made the Ear , is nothing ; he that gives Speech to the Dumb-born , has done well , or he that made the Tongue is a mere Chimaera .

But yet this is to be received with some Caution : for there are two Uses which God makes of Miracles , The one to plant Faith , And the other to try the Constancy of Believers : And as God sent Christ and the Prophets before him with the Power of working Miracles for the first End : so he permits Anti-Christ and other Impostors to work False Signs and Wonders for the second End , and those so seemingly true , as to deceive , if it were possible , the very Elect. You will say then , Which of these two shall have the Preheminence in our Belief ? how shall we know to which to adhere , both performing the same Works , but drawing several Ways ? Must these Miracle-Workers , as one asks the Question , take place as Women in a Bake-house ? the first Comer , the first served ?

There is a Rule set down Deut. 13.1 . how we are to carry our selves in this Case , and to judge of Miracles . If there arise among you a Prophet , says Moses , or a Dreamer of Dreams , and gives you a Sign or a Wonder , and the Sign or the Wonder comes to pass , whereof he spake unto you , saying , Let us go after other Gods , which you have not known , and let us serve them , you shall not hearken unto the Word of that Prophet , for the Lord your God proveth you . Now the Wonders and Signs performed by Anti-Christ and other Impostors are all to this Purpose , To draw men from the Worship of the True God , or at least from some Fundamental Points in Religion : For as St Paul says of Anti-Christ , He opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God , so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God , shewing himself to be God . When we hear therefore any Creature whatsoever bring such a Doctrine as this , Ego altissimus , that himself is the Supreme God , or that usurps the Power and Prerogative of the Supreme God , forgives Sins , not Ministerially , but Absolutely , grants Dispensations to commit them , abrogates Divine Institutions , makes New Articles of Faith , assumes to himself Infallibility , and other Divine Properties , claims not only an Exorbitant Jurisdiction above his Commission in this World , but extends it even into the other , &c. as the Popes of Rome do ; let the Miracles they or their Followers work be never so astonishing , yet they are to be held accursed by us , and we may safely pronounce , They are not Good Men , but Deceivers of the People .

But then Christ's Miracles tended quite to another End , to ratifie and establish all holy and Divine Truths , especially that Summa Veritas , that Supreme Truth , which was the Test , not only of all other Truths , but of Miracles themselves , viz. That there is but One God , and he alone to be worshipp'd : So that his Doctrine was a Proof of his Miracles , as his Miracles were a Proof of his Doctrine : neither will this reciprocal Proof , if well observed , be found to be that Circular Way of Proof so much condemned in Logick , in which the Effect is made the Cause of the same thing , which is its Cause , which cannot be in Nature . However therefore the Grand Exception , both of the Jews of old , and of these days , lyes in this Point , That notwithstanding Christ , by the Confession of their own Rulers , wrought many Miracles ; yet he was not to be hearkened to , because he destroy'd the Worship of the True God , i. e. abolish'd those Rites and Ordinances , which were immediately delivered from Heaven ; this their Exception is vain and without Reason . For Christ did not , as they say , destroy the Worship of the True God , but reformed and improved it ; took away only the outward Cortex or Husk of Religion , to shew more plainly the Substance of it , and wherein its Weightier Duties consisted , removed the Shadows , drew the Veil from off Moses's face , altered such Inferior Alterable things in God's Service , as were foretold should be altered . And then he did this by the most clear and authentick Commission from Heaven that could be shewed , by the Broad Seal and Patent , as I may say , of Miracles : and the Ceremonial Law was removed by a no less Glorious Ministration , than 't was at first given . Now these things being so , that a Prophet's Doctrine , Miracles , and Sanctity of Life concur ( especially , as I said , when he secured the Essentials of Religion , and above all others that Great Requisite , de Vnius Dei Cultu , of the Non-Avocation of men from the Worship of the One and True God ) even by the Sentence of the Sanhedrim he ought to have been received as sent from God . We may therefore conclude , that the proceeding of the Elders and Rulers against our Lord , was perverse and wicked , and the Judgment of the People a right Judgment ; upon good Warrant we may justifie their Justification , and say , In pronouncing he did All things Well , they also spake Well . And so I pass to the third Circumstance I observed , The Extension of their Approbation ,

He hath done All things Well .

The Judgment here of the People , I say , was a Right Judgment : but 't was only so , as the Young man's in the Gospel was , who came running to Christ , and kneel'd down to him , saying , Good Master , what shall I do to inherit Eternal Life ? Whose Words and Behaviour , though they attributed to our Lord no more than his Due , yet he gave him a Check of Instruction , because he ascribed Absolute Goodness to him , which belonged only to God , when he apprehended him to be no more than a Man . So though the Peoples Approbation was Right both in the Nature and Extent of it , That our Lord had done Well , and that he had done All things Well : yet 't was not without Exception . For though our Lord had evidenced even to the most Scrupulous , that he was a True Prophet : yet the People not understanding him to be that Great Prophet that was to come into the World , the Messias and Son of God , they could not give him so Large a Testimony as they did : for even those that were True Prophets sent by God , did not do All things Well , but all of them had their Infirmities , and committed Sin . So that the best that we can say here of the Universal Extent of the Peoples Approbation , is , That they had better Luck in it , than Skill ; & aequum licet statuerint , haud aequi suerunt , that though they pronounc'd a Right Sentence , 't was not with a Right Knowledge ; but as Physicians say , An Errour in the first Concoction is never corrected in the second : so the People not rightly understanding Christ in the first place , their following Praises of him were not right ; but as far as they came short in his Title , when they styled him this Man , they over-shot themselves in their Testimony , when they said , He hath done All things well .

Neither is this a Nice and trifling Cavil or Observation , but a Point of great Importance in the Consequences of it . For if from a few Instances of Goodness a Universal Goodness may be concluded : if from some Specious or astonishing Actions a Divine Approbation may be allowed , a Theudas or Judas Gaulonites may pass for the Messiah ; Abbaris , for his dexterity of catching an Arrow flying in the Air , may pretend to the Divine Honours decreed him by the Scythians ; and Simon Magus to the Godhead given him at Rome , for his Skill in Magick ; the Heathen Demons challenge their Deities , who were all Deified for some Extraordinary and Uncommon Performances . But I shall chuse to insist on more known and familiar Instances . Many here present may remember , that in the breaking out of the late Great Troubles of this Kingdom , there were Persons that pretended to stand up for the Interest of the Nation , to reform Abuses , to be the only Publick Spirited Men and Good Patriots ; and the People , because they pleased them in Some things , thought they might trust them in All ; and idoliz'd Traytors and Rebels , and put it into their Power to plunder and tyrannize over themselves , to ruine the State , and at last murder their King . Again , while the same People in like manner doted on the Fansy'd Holiness and Endowments of some Teachers and Pastors , because they saw them Zealous and frequent Preachers , sharp Reprovers of Vice , bold Opposers of those in High Place , and Pretenders to suffer for Truth and Righteousness sake , they concluded from these things , That they were Good Men , and that they did All things Well : but as soon as these had gain'd their Point , they threw-off their Vizors , and shew'd themselves Hypocrites and Schismaticks , Trumpets to Rebellion , Misleaders of the People , and Corrupters of their Allegiance .

We see therefore that to infer from some Particular Acts a Universal Goodness , is no less an Unsafe , than an Unsound Way of arguing . He prays well , he preaches well , he is ever arraigning Sin , and the like : but , caetera sint paria ? do all things correspond ? does his private Practice comport with his publick Demeanour ? his inward Goodness with his outward Austerity ? as he is Severe against Sin , is he merciful to Sinners ? as he is assiduous in his Calling , is he Obedient to his Governours , and faithful to his Prince ? as he exhorts the People to Church , does he not debauch them with Factious Doctrines when they come there ? as he is not Scandalous in his Conversation , so is he not Morose , Proud , or Covetous ? In a Word , does he conform his Whole Life to the Tenor of the Gospel ? does he indeed do All things well ? All things ? that is , in a Moral Sense , and according to the Measure of a Sincere Honest Man ? If he does , let him carry away our Euge's and our Sophos , our Approbations and Applauses . But if he does only two or three of these things , and those hypocritically and upon Design , to give credit to a Cause , and to carry on an Interest , the Pharisees made long Prayers , that they might devour Widows houses ; and Herod heard John the Baptist gladly , and did many things upon his preaching , but continued still to live incestuously with his Brother Philip's Wife , and at last gratify'd her Malice with the Baptist's head . If a few Good Actions may set such a Colour and Varnish upon mens Lives , that they ought to be accounted holy Persons , the Scenes in our Theatres may pass for the Glorious Heavens , and solid Edifices they represent , when they are nothing but patcht Clouts , and pasted Papers , painted and shewed to an artificial Light . Lucian's Image of Jupiter in Gold , outwardly of a Majestick Form grasping a Thunder-bolt , may be allowed to be the Deity that rules the World , though it be nothing within but Dust and Cobwebs , Soder and Cramps of Iron , which hold the miserable Machine from falling asunder . I say , if we thus make Saints from Shews and Seemings , we may fill the Kalendar with Red Letters , but we shall adde but few Names to the Book of Life . I shall therefore conclude this last Particular with our Lord's advice , John 7. & 24. Judge not according to Appearance , but judge righteous Judgment .

And now what Use shall we make in general of the Peoples Testimony and Approbation of our Lord ? shall we likewise justifie his Actions , assert his Divine Mission , and say , He hath done all things well ? To praise Christ , to speak Honourably of him , to vindicate him from the Aspersions of Jews and Gentiles , and the like , is our bounden Duty ; but all of us here present are his Disciples and Followers , all of us Christianissimi , Pretenders to be the Chiefest and most Eminent of his Worshippers ; and we acknowledge not only that he spake the Truth , but that he is the Truth , even the Eternal Logos : and to take upon us to pass a humane Judgment on him , and to censure him as one Man censures another , to say , He is no Seducer , or the like , were so far from honouring him , that it were to be Irreverent and Insolent towards him , and to set our selves above him ; for the Justifier is Greater than the Justified . How then ? must we celebrate his Eternal Generation , and Descent from his Father's Bosom for our Redemption , in Magnificats sing his Victory over Death and Hell — ? Yes , this we must do , but not this only , for these are still but Empty Words , we must adde Deeds to our Praises : Obedience to our Magnificats , Duty and Service to our Psalms and Hymns : the Praises of a holy Life to the Acknowledgments of a thankful Tongue . To praise God only with the Voice , is to praise him like the Trumpets of the Sanctuary , or the Organs of our Churches : Or as the Psalmist calls upon the Sun and Moon , Fire and Hail , Beasts and feather'd Fowls to praise him , which all do in a Figure , and after a manner , in that they are the Works of his hands , and proclaim his Wisdom and Power ; thus also the Devils and Damned Spirits praise him , while their Sufferings and Torments declare his Justice . But we are to praise God , not only passively , occasionally , and instrumentally , like Inanimate , Brute , or accursed Creatures : but intentionally , primarily , and affectionately , as becomes Rational and Intellectual Beings , Obliged and illuminated Persons and Believers . And as the Faithful do best evidence their Faith by their Works , so they best evidence also their Good Opinion of Christ by their Works , viz. by following his Precepts : then we give our true Approbation of him , when we transcribe his Actions and tread in his Steps : 't is the Life of a man that expresses his Thoughts of Christ ; if that be righteous and conformable to his Gospel , he has set to his Seal that he is the Messiah and Son of God that was to come into the World , proclaims indeed , That he has done All things Well . But if his Ways are Wicked and repugnant to his Gospel , let him praise him never so industriously , never so ambitiously , with never so loud Vociferations , he does but in Effect say , He was an Impostor , and deceived the People . For as St Paul says of False Teachers , Tit. 1.17 . They profess that they know Christ , but in Works they deny him , being abominable , disobedient , and to every Good Work reprobate : So we may say of these false and counterfeit Extollers of Christ , that in Words they Approve him , but in their Works they Condemn him , being abominable , disobedient , and to every Good Work reprobate . How can a Strumpet praise Chastity ? Or the Sot that is fill'd with Drink like a Spunge , say any thing in the Commendation of Sobriety ? Vertue is praised of her Followers ; and the best Verdict we can pass on Christ , is to imitate him in all holy Conversation ; to live after his Example , is the highest Encomium we can give him .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , Worship , and Thanksgiving , this Day forth and for evermore . Amen .

The Eleventh Sermon . AMOS iii. 2 .

You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth , therefore will I punish you for all your iniquities .

THIS Expression of God's [ knowing ] a Thing or Person , is taken in Scripture in several Senses . Sometimes it is meant literally and in propriety of Speech , of the Knowledge of mere Perception and Discerning ; as when David says , Thou knowest my thoughts long before : and St John , God is greater than our hearts , and Knoweth all things , i. e. perceiveth and discerneth all things . Sometimes again it is taken Figuratively , not for mere Perceiving or Understanding a thing , but for the Owning , Approving , Favouring , Blessing of it , or the like : because these follow upon God's perceiving a Good thing . Thou hast Known my Soul in adversity , says the Psalmist , i. e. Own'd , protected , and delivered it . Again , the Lord Knoweth the way of the Righteous , and the way of the Ungodly shall perish . Knoweth their way , i. e. prospereth , blesseth , and will not suffer it to miscarry like that of the Ungodly .

And this last Way did God Know Israel above all the Families of the Earth : for he knew them not only with a Perceptive Knowledge , so as he Knows equally all the Nations of the World , but Owned , favoured , and was beneficial to them . As the Sun beholds some Countries with a more bounteous Aspect than others , not only shedding on them Light and common Influences , but enriching them with the Noblest Plants , Minerals , and Precious Stones : Or as he is feign'd by the Poets to have beheld Thessaly , when he was in love with Daphne , — & terrâ figit in unâ Quos mundo debet oculos — he fixt his Eyes on one particular Soil , which ought to have cheered the Universe . So God , as if he had been Enamoured on Israel of all the Nations of the Earth , set his Heart on them alone , to the seeming Contempt of all beside , he revealed himself to them in a more Especial Manner , made a Covenant with them , gave them Laws , and heaped Blessings upon them , vouchsafed to be their King and Governour in his own Person , conducted , fed , protected them by by Wonderful and Supernatural Means ; and whereas he governed the other Nations by his Ordinary Invisible Power ( as if he had erected a New Providence in the World for them ) he brought all things to pass in their behalf by Miracles . And thus though by Nature Israel was no better than other Nations , by his Grace and Favour God made them Excel them .

But then though it be the highest Advantage , To be Known by God after a particular and Extraordinary Manner , yet if a People shew themselves not worthy of it , it ceases to be an Advantage ; nay it turns to their greater Evil. 'T is not enough therefore , that men are known by God , to make them happy , but God must also be known by them , they must understand his Will , what is pleasing and displeasing to him , and hold a reciprocal Correspondence with him by Faith , Love and Obedience . For as St Peter says of Apostates , It had been better for them , not to have known the Way of Righteousness , than after they have known it , to turn from the holy Commandment : So it had been better for Israel if they had not been the Favourites of God , than after their being so , by their Sins to lose that Grace ; for Sins against Favour are greater than Sins against a Commandment ; Men in this Case being not only Disobedient , but Ungrateful ; and whereas God would possibly have past by the Offences of less Obliged Persons , he will call such as these to a strict account ; what he would have pardoned in the Heathen , that were Strangers to him , he will punish in his own People , whom he has known by so many Great and Distinguishing Benefits . You only have I known of all the Families of the Earth , therefore will I punish you for all your Iniquities .

The Words afford us this Proposition or Observation , That whatever People God blesses above others , if they shew themselves Ungrateful by sinning against him , he will punish them above others . Which Proposition I shall handle after this manner :

I. Prove and confirm the Truth of it , that it is indeed so . And

II. Shew the Reason and Equity of it , why it should be so .

I. To clear and confirm the Proposition .

Sin , as soon as it is committed , is followed by Punishment , except prevented by Repentance ; Punishment follows it , I say , sometimes with Slow , but always with Sure Paces , till it over-takes it ; Vengeance attends it , as the Gaoler in some Countries does Malefactors , who is bound in the same Chain with them : Or is coupled to it as the After-Birth is to the Birth : For as in Natural Productions , after the Birth of the Creature , there is a second Birth or Protrusion ; so there is in the bringing-forth of Sin , it is no sooner produced in the World , but there succeeds a Title to Punishment so close upon it , as if it came from the same Womb. If thou dost Evil , says God to Cain , Sin lyeth at the Door , i. e. the Punishment of Sin is at hand to seize thee : and says our Lord , in regard of mens proneness to Wickedness , It is necessary that Offences should come , but then also that 't was as necessary , That upon them Woes should come : and the Scripture makes it a piece of Injustice to detain them , no less than a Sin , to spare Sin . The Wages of Sin is Death , says St Paul : and as when the Wages of a Labourer or the Pay of a Souldier is detained , a Mutiny or Clamour is raised : so when Punishment , the Wages of Sin , is with-held , a Cry is sent up to Heaven , and God's Justice is continually sollicited , till Guilt receive its due Reward .

This , indeed , to the Men of this World is the primum incredibile , one of the most Incredible Doctrines that is taught : they see not the Link , which by God's appointment , couples Sin and Punishment , and because the Act of Sin is transient , and Vengeance deferred , they conceive the Guilt , and the Bitterness of Death contracted by it , are also transient ; and that they can confute the whole Hypothesis from their own Experience ; they having not only run on in Disobedience for many Years together , but encreased their Wickedness , as well as continued in it ; proceeded from sinning with fear , to sin with presumption ; from offending God , to the affronting him ; from breaking his Laws , to the deriding of his Worship , and the denying of his Deity ; and yet , say they , we have found none of that Vengeance that is spoken of , no , not the least Disturbance in our Evil Ways . But is it then no Vengeance , to let a Sinner run on in the Ways of Perdition without any Check ? Is the Blindness and Darkness of the Soul , and Hardness of the Heart , no Judgment ? Is the falling from the Condition of a Man , to that of a Beast , the despising all things Spiritual and Noble , and finding no relish but in things sensual and Brutish , no Judgment ? Is God's giving them up thus to a Reprobate Mind and Vile Affections , condemning them to love Necessarily and Finally , what they have so long loved Perversely and Wilfully , no Judgment ? Is the visible trailing after them in this manner the Chain of Damnation , and going on singing and dancing to Hell , without apprehending the least Evil , no Judgment ? What Sadder Arrest can there be of God's Wrath , than such an Exemption from it ? What Plague or Punishment sent upon Less Offending Sinners half so dreadful , as the Calm and Peace which these boast of ? But let it be as these Men imagine , that all these things we speak of are Dreams , that Obdurateness and Insensibility in Sinning is no Punishment , and that nothing deserves the Name of Vengeance , but what is Corporal Loss of Life or Liberty , deprivation of Health , Estate , and the like . How do these know they shall escape these Evils ? Those of this Way are for the most part Young , or in the Strength of their Days , and perhaps God has determined before they depart hence to make them as Eminent Examples of his Wrath , as they have been of Disobedience .

I should think my Hour well bestowed , to remove this one Practical Dangerous Errour , to open mens eyes , that they may be convinced , That Sin is a Serpent that does insidiare calcaneo , lye in the Path , and mortally bite the Heel of the Sinner ; and that he runs not on faster in the Ways of Disobedience , than he does in those of Destruction : but it is not my Business at this time , the Proposition which I am to prove , concerns not the Punishment of Sin Absolutely considered , but Comparatively , viz. That Sin in some Persons or People is more heinous , and more severely punished , than in others ; that where God has conferr'd more Signal and Illustrious Favours , there he punishes Sin with more Signal and Exemplary Vengeance ; and his foregoing Bounty despised , adds Weight to his future Severity .

And this Truth is written in so Great Characters , and so legible through the Whole Series of the Chronicle of Scripture , even from the Creation , that I shall not need so much to prove the Proposition , as to refresh your Memories , by setting before you things already known . The first Man of our Race was the first miserable Example of this Truth ; and he that first brought Sin into the World , first also left the Confirmation to us of the Fatal Consequence of it , when committed against an Extraordinary Grace . Adam was created after God's own Likeness , in perfect Righteousness and Holiness , and not only with the Knowledge of his Laws , but with a Power and Ability to keep them ; he was made to Excel all Sublunary Creatures , and had Dominion given him over them ; he was plac'd in a furnish'd World , fruitful without Labour , delightful without Satiety ; and the Continuance of this his Felicity was put into his own hands , he was not Subject to Death , Infirmities , or Misfortunes , like his Posterity : nay , 't was in his power not only to have Prolong'd his Felicity to all Eternity , but to have Improv'd it . Greater Favours God could not conferr on Flesh and Bloud , on a Creature lower than the Angels . But whither tended the Collation of all these Benefits , when Adam rebelled against God ? Only to his greater Misery , the Punishment of his Transgression was as Eminent as his Priviledges and Graces had been ; his ensuing Calamity , as his foregoing Prosperity . The day thou eatest of the forbidden Tree , says God , thou shalt dye the Death . What Death ? All manner of Deaths , Death Temporal , Death Spiritual , Death Eternal ; Death to Nature , Death to Grace , Death to Glory ! The Sin was but Single , but the Punishment inflicted was Three-fold : like a Stroke with a Trident , which makes a Triple Wound ; and the Blow fell not only on himself , but on all his Posterity . Never any Sin since his had the like Recompence of Reward ; because none since Adam could sin against so much Bounty .

I shall give you but one Instance more . We know by how Strange and Unexpected a Favour Saul was promoted to the Throne of Israel , who being sent in quest of his Father's Asses , found a Kingdom ; God advancing him above all his People in Honour , more than he Excelled them in Stature . But he proving after this Ungrateful and disobedient to the Commandment of God , falling no less than thrice into that Common Fatal Errour of Faithless Princes , to relye on Humane Policy , more than on the Divine Support : on the Favour of the People , than on the Favour of God ; and seeking to establish his Kingdom by Bloud and Sacriledge , rather than by Innocence and Justice ; as if the Power that gave him a Throne could not uphold him in it ; God's Indignation against him was as Great , as his Prevarications had been . And then what did all his antecedent Favours profit him , but to enhance his following Punishment ? Which was such , as when we read it , we cannot chuse but pity , though it were the Lord 's doing . For he rejected Saul , as he was rejected by him ; he withdrew his Holy Spirit from him , and sent an Evil Spirit to vex him in the room of it , a Spirit of Jealousie and Frenzy , which periodically possest him , and clouded all his Felicity and Glory ; disinherited his Posterity , dethroned , in a manner , himself while he was yet alive , by causing another to be anointed King in his days . And after he had suffered him thus to survive a few Years a dreadful Spectacle of the Divine Wrath , he stirr'd-up the Philistines against him , and when their Host appeared , and he most needed it , bereaved him of his Kingly Courage and Magnanimity , refused to direct or answer him by his Oracles . In which distressed and disconsolate State , all Heavenly Comfort being silent , and Saul's guilty Conscience only loud and clamorous , over-whelmed with Sorrow and Despair , under a Disguise and the Covert of the Night , with two Attendants only , he repaired to a poor Witches Cell to enquire the Fortune of his Life and Kingdom , and where God met him , as I may say , also in Disguise , made use of the Witches delusive Arts , to give him a Real Prediction of his near-approaching Overthrow , and inglorious Death : So that partly broken with Sorrow , and partly weakned through Hunger , he fell into a Swoun , and was sustained by the Bread and Counsel of the Silly Woman , the next day putting a Period to his Life and Miseries . What Invention of Romance , or Fiction of Poetry can parallel the Calamity of this once so Glorious and Heroick King ? And if any ask , Why was all this ? how came the patient Spirit of the God of Mercy to turn into Fury , like that of the Person he punish'd ? Because the Sin of Saul was not only a Sin against God , but against a Benefactor ; and the wonderful Bounty God had shewed in bringing him to the Throne , pull'd upon his Ingratitude and Infidelity this wonderful Severity and Displeasure .

And as this is God's Dealing with Particular Persons , so 't is the same with Whole Nations : Of which we shall not need a further Example , than that before us of Israel . In the foregoing Chapter the Prophet denounces God's Judgments against the Neighbouring Kingdoms for their Sins . For three Transgressions and for four , says he , God will punish Damascus , and chiefly for their Cruelty . For three Transgressions and for four God will punish Gaza , and again for their Cruelty . For three Transgressions and for four God will punish Tyre , because they kept not their Brotherly Love . And so on against the rest : But when he comes in the last place to Israel and to Judah , their Transgressions being not inferior to those of the Gentiles , he intimates that heavier Judgments were laid up in Store for them , and that they should not escape so easily as the others ; he casts their Ingratitude for their former Benefits into the burden of their Guilt ; their forgetfulness of God's bringing them out of Egypt wich a high hand , and destroying the Nations before them ; his raising up their Sons and Daughters to be Prophets , and their Young men to be Nazarites . Shall the People that have not known God be judged for their Sins , and shall not those to whom he has revealed his Laws and his Righteousness , on whom he has heaped his Blessings , be judged more severely ? He that knoweth his Masters Will , says our Lord , and doth it not , shall be beaten with many Stripes . As the Heathen therefore were chastised for their Offences , Israel was utterly ruined and Un-nationed .

And this was not only God's proceeding under the Law , but 't is the same still under the Gospel : For he has Known or favoured Believers in Christ , not only above the Gentiles , but even above the Jews themselves ; and if Judah be trod down , and the Temple destroyed for the Sins and Ingratitude of that People , the seven Churches in Asia lye under a Sadder Desolation at this Day for their Disobedience to Christ , Travellers being scarce able to discern so much as the Places where they stood . These Examples of God's Wrath both on Single Persons and whole Nations , teach us this Lesson , That 't is never so dangerous to offend against God , as when he has been Gracious to us ; his former Benefits being so far from priviledging any to transgress , that he is sure to punish those most , he has done most for . But 't is not enough to shew the quod sit , the Truth of the Proposition , that it is so ; I proceed in the next place to shew the cur sit , the Reason , Equity , and Merit of it , why it should be so .

The Reason why it should be so .

This Position , That God punishes with heavier Judgments , those whom he has chosen to fix his Favours on , if they offend against him , than others ; seems to have something in it contrary to the Nature and Disposition of Men , who are apt to delight in the Persons , on whom they have placed their Benefits ; to love the Creatures of their Advancing , no less than those of their Begetting : So St Augustine affirms the like Disposition is found in God ; who , speaking of his Rewards to Men , says , Coronat opera sua , non merita nostra , God crowns his own Gifts and Graces , not any Merit he finds in us : and Moses makes it a Plea for his Mercy to Israel , that he would not destroy them , after he had done them so much Good ; alledging his former Bounty , as a Motive , for his Pardon and Forgiveness .

In satisfaction to this , I answer : We must consider in God's Benefits to men not only his Love , but the Purpose of his Love ; he confers his Gifts upon us with a Design to make us more holy Persons , and for the Favours he bestows he looks for a Return of Obedience and Righteousness on our part ; and where he fails of this Return , he does not only cease to give , but hates in a manner his Gifts , and destroys them for the Parties sake on whom they were bestowed . Says St Paul , Ephes. 1.3 . God has blessed us with all Spiritual Blessings in Christ , ( and why ? ) that we should be holy , and without blame before him in love . But then if this Design be defeated and made void , and we are not holy and without blame before him in love , we may assure our selves , that all his purposed Bounty is also made void ; and that is hated which is loved ; thought fit to be destroyed , that was intended to be built ; and the rather , because it was not found fit to be built .

There are three things which are observed to provoke Anger and Indignation in the most Patient . First , An affront to a Mans Person : all vilifying and despising , as Aristotle , the best Describer of Passions , says , being a just Cause of Choler . Secondly , The Loss of a Mans Labour : as when a Professor of some Curious Art arrives to great Perfection in it , and reaps no Advantage by it ; is Excellent , but yet notwithstanding Poor and Neglected ; ravishes all ( for Example , with his Musick or Poetry ) and wants Bread : this will make him hate his Muse , and break his Strings , reek his Revenge upon the Instrument of his Profession , because he cannot reach his unfortunate Profession it self . Thirdly , The Loss of a Mans Love and Good-Will exasperates him more than all the rest , and turns his Kindness into Fury . Neglect of Worth , and Personal Contempt , though they be deeply resented , yet they touch not so to the Quick , as the Contempt of Affection , for indeed the Contempt of Affection includes in it both the Contempt of the Worth , and of the Person ; and he that despises a mans Love , despises all that he has , and all that he is . But what then must the Provocation be , when all these Causes concur ? as they do , when either a Nation , or a Single Person returns God Disobedience after he has shewed them his Extraordinary Mercies and Favours .

For , First , His Person is affronted ; Regard is not had to the Great God of Heaven and Earth condescending to do Good to his own Sinful Creatures ; and the Greater the Person is , the Greater is the Contempt , and consequently the Greater Anger and Evil Effects of it , Revenge and Punishment , may be expected . Says St Paul , Of how much Sorer Punishment , suppose you , shall he be thought worthy , who has trod under foot the Son of God ? viz. than he that has only trod Moses under his feet ?

Secondly , God loses his Labour on such Persons , and that enrages him yet more : he likens Israel to a Vineyard , on which he had bestow'd great Cost and Husbandry ; fenced , and gathered out the Stones , and planted it with a Choice Vine : but after all , when he lookt for Grapes , behold , it brought forth Wild Grapes ! Grapes which instead of delighting the Taste , set the Teeth on Edge ! What does he do therefore upon so unexpected a Frustration and disappointment of his Hopes ? Why , as a Person much Incensed , shews many times a Wild and Frantick Behaviour ; so God puts on a seeming Transport and Fury , breaks out into a Tragical Song to vent his Indignation . I will sing , says he , a Song of my Beloved touching my Vineyard — in which he utters both his Displeasure and his purposed Revenge . The Issue of God's Labour lost upon a People , can be no less than the Perdition or Loss of those People ; First , He complains , but after that , lest he should seem to be Master'd or Mock'd by his own Creatures , he sends Destruction and Desolation on them .

Thirdly , His Love and Kindness is despised , which provokes his Anger above all the rest . When God has shew'd Singular Goodness and Mercy to a Nation , eminently delivered them , or otherwise Blessed and prospered them , and they return him nothing but contempt and Neglect , disregard his Laws and violate his Commandments , esteem his Worship a Burden , and his Service a Slavery ; reflect upon their late Infelicities and Deliverances as the Common Vicissitudes of the World , or only as False , or more Wary and Masterly Steps made by themselves in Points of Policy . Thus , like Israel , sacrificing to their own Net , and burning Incense to their Drag : Or as another Prophet representeth them ; ascribing all the Good things they received from God , to the Idols of Canaan , to Baal , and Moloch , and the Queen of Heaven : So these ascribe to Chance or Fortune , to Good and Bad Seasons , to Humane Prudence or Folly , all their Prosperity and Adversity , and not to Divine Providence . When , I say , the Goodness of God is thus injured , his Benefits over-seen or denied , his Judgments contemned , his Righteousness hated , and his Deity set at naught , what wonder is it , if his Love be also turned into Detestation and Hatred . When Men hate , they wish the Person hated may perish ; they wish it , I say , because their Power does not always answer their Anger : but God , to whom it is as easie to destroy , as to be angry ; when he hates , he sends certain Ruine and Destruction on the Offenders ; he punishes with the same Facility , as he says in my Text — I will punish you for all your iniquities .

And now to hang our Ancestors Picture in our Gallery , if I may so allude , to set the Actions of Israel by ours , that we may draw some Instructions from them , I could almost wish that this Proposition , ( Whatever People God has blessed above others , if they sin against him , he will also punish above others ) were not so great a Truth , so Ominously it sounds : For if there be a Nation upon the Earth that God has Known , i. e. distinguish'd by his Singular and Signal Favours from all others , it is this of ours : St Paul reckons it among the highest Priviledges of Israel , that they had the Oracles of God ; though we may say of them , they were Oracles indeed , if their Darkness be compared with the Clear Light of the Gospel revealed to us ; Christ was preached to them , and not preached ; but if to any of us he be hid , 't is through wilful and affected blindness , and , as the Apostle says , He is hid only to those that perish . And when through the Inundation of Barbarians and Ignorance , and the worse Inundation of Corrupt Manners , Errours and Superstition over-spread the Face of the whole Christian World : upon the first Dawning again of the Light of the Gospel , and the shaking off of this Darkness , while the Abominations of Rome were yet seen and detested by all Discerning and Conscientious Believers , and the Fermentation of the Truth in mens hearts was not settled again upon the Lees of Secular Policy and Interest , we were rescued by God's Goodness from the Yoke of Anti-Christ . But not to look back to the Benefits of remote Ages , but only to those we our selves have been immediate Partakers of , and are accountable for . What Mercy was ever more Glorious than the Restauration of our King and Church in these our Days , not to name our later , though Signal and Illustrious Deliverances ?

But as God has known us in all our Distresses and Adversities , and wrought such Miracles of Mercy for us , how have we received them ? What Miracles of Thanksgivings and Duty have we returned to him ? We have wrought Miracles indeed , but Miracles in an Untoward Sense , Miracles of Impiety and Ingratitude . As God restored our King and Kingdom to their former Splendour and Glory , and all of us to our forfeited Peace and Prosperity : multitudes have endeavoured , by their Atheistical Opinions , to depose God from his Kingdom in Heaven , and Government over the World . As God brought us out of the Saddest and Darkest Night of Adversity , into the bright Sun-shine of Felicity , by a Power and Goodness like that by which he brought Light out of Darkness at the Creation : there are those that have turned Light into Darkness , i. e. denied and obscured all the Light of Divine Truth and Revelation : again , that have turned Darkness into Light , made the Sins of Darkness become Sins of Light and Noon-day ; those Sins which were reproachful and crept into Corners in all Ages , to be of Credit and Reputation in this . These , together with the rendering things Venerable and Sacred , ridiculous and contemptible , are the Miracles of these times ! Saint Peter says , In the last days shall come Scoffers , walking after their own Lusts. These two Sins , Walking after their own Lusts , and Scoffing at things Holy , go together : and 't is no wonder that this dissolute and profligate Age should mock at Religion and at all things Serious ; mock at their Reason , and degrade it below their Sense ; mock at the Immortality of their Souls , and level themselves with the Beasts ; mock the Kingdom of Heaven into a Dream , and the Torments of Hell into a Fable ; the Creation of the World into a piece of Non-sence and Impossibility ; and why ? Because 't is more rational to believe the Doctrine of Atoms ? that the orderly and beautiful Frame of Heaven and Earth , and all that is in them , were produced by the casual shuffling together of I know not what little Particles , than by the Contrivance of an Infinitely Wise and Powerful God ? Or again , that the World was from all Eternity , and that Men and all other Creatures grew at first , like Plants , out of the Earth , and the like , rather than that they were created ? No certainly , these things are not so easie to be conceived and digested by Reason , as the Doctrines that are rejected : but the most Monstrous Opinions are easier to be embrac'd by Wicked men , than such Truths as cannot be held , together with their Vicious Lives ; as the Apostle says , They live without God in the World , and they cannot endure to hear , that he made it , and will judge it ; that their Bodies should dye , and their Souls survive ; their Pleasures come to an End , and their Guilt remain ; that there should be a Resurrection to Punishment , and not for the Execution of their Lusts. Julian the Apostate , to justifie his revolt from the Faith , said of the Gospel , 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , I have perused it , I have understood it , I have despised it . Alas , if he had approved it , he must have condemned himself ; if he had acknowledged the Gospel to be Divine , and the Way to Bliss , he must have confess'd himself a Monster , and the most Accursed of Mankind . But that which is so great a Prodigy , is , that the least Night or Darkness of Atheism should be seen in this Kingdom , where the Gospel shines in its Meridian ; that Apostasie should be found , where so many glorious Manifestations of God's Power and Goodness are found ! We have heard , that the Ungratefully Wicked , the Wicked after much Good done for them , are in greater Danger of God's Wrath and Displeasure , than the Simply Disobedient . What then can we expect our Portion should be , when after so many Unparallell'd Benefits , we have shew'd our selves not only Unthankful , but Atheistical ? not only Transgressors of God's Laws , but Renouncers of them ? Says our Prophet , Verse the 5th , Will a Lion roar in the Forest , when he has no Prey ? i. e. will he roar to no purpose , when nothing provoketh him , when he designs nothing by it ? So when God threatens Sinners , does he mean nothing ? are the Dreadful Denunciations of his Judgments mere Empty Noise ? Again , in the Verse before my Text , says the Prophet , Can two walk together except they be agreed ? i. e. can it be expected , that God should go along with men , and bless them , unless they be righteous ? that he should Favour them , if they live in Rebellion against him ? If we will not have God our Enemy , after he has been our Friend ; and therefore our Enemy , because he has been our Friend ; if we will not have him send Evils on us , because he has sent Blessings on us so long in vain : we must rise in our Duty to him , as he exceeds in his Mercies to us ; improve in our Obedience , as he enlarges in his Bounty : And then he will adde Grace to Grace , and Blessing to Blessing , till he has brought us to the Perfect State of Blessedness , even to the Unspeakable Joys and Glory of his Heavenly Kingdom . Whither God of his infinite Mercy through our Lord Jesus Christ bring us all . To whom be ascribed all Honour , Glory , &c.

The Twelfth Sermon . PSALM CV . 44 , 45.

And he gave them the lands of the Heathen , and they inherited the labours of the people :

That they might observe his Statutes , and keep his Laws .

THIS long Psalm is nothing but an Enumeration or Recital of the Favours and Benefits conferr'd by God on Israel , even before it was Israel ; beginning with the first Promise of the Land of Canaan made to their Fathers , when they were yet but a Family , and not a Nation ; Wanderers from one Kingdom to another People , Sojurners in all places , where they found admittance , but Inhabitants of none . In which fleeting weak Condition , and obnoxious to many Evils , God greatly preserved them , as we read ver. 4. He suffered no man to do them wrong , yea he reproved Kings for their sakes . And he delivered them not only from the Violences and Outrages of Men , but exempted them from the Judgments which himself sent on the Nations where they sojourned . For when a Dearth , as 't is said Gen. 41. was on all Lands , i. e. the adjacent Countries , Canaan , Syria , Arabia , and Idumea , by a Gracious Providence he sent a Man before them to introduce them into Egypt , where he had made Provision of Bread for them : And though he suffered them in this place of Sojourners to be made Bond-men , yet when the determined Time of such his Counsel was expired , he raised up another Man , even Moses , who by ten Miraculous Judgments made the stubborn Heart of Pharaoh stoop , and let them go free . And thus he brought them out of Egypt with a Mighty Hand , they being but imbellis turba , an unwarlike Troop , a mixt Multitude of Men , Women , and Children , and conducted them with a Supernatural Cloud , which was a Shadow by Day , and a Light and Bulwark by Night : and when the Host of Pharaoh pursu'd them , he open'd them a Passage through the midst of the Sea , but overwhelmed the Egyptians presuming to follow them . Their Way then lying through the Wilderness , a place by Nature barren of all Provisions , he made it fruitful by Miracles ; spread a Table for them with Dainties , not afforded from the Earth , but from the Clouds ; commanded a River to flow out of the Stony Rock , and to journey with them forty Years to refresh them and their Cattel . And when they drew near unto the Borders of the Promis'd Land , he inspired a third Heroick Person to be their Military Leader , and by his Prowess and Conduct cast out the Heathen before them , and , to crown all his foregoing Mercies , he put them into actual Possession of the Land of Canaan ; a Land that was the Glory of Lands , ready till'd and cultivated , built and furnisht to their hands , with all manner of rich Moveables and Commodities , Dominis parantur ista , serviunt vobis , Provisions made for the Canaanites , but enjoyed by the Israelites .

And now if any ask , Why was all this Munificence and Bounty showred on this People ? what was the Design of the Almighty in making such a Profusion both of natural and supernatural Favours ? The Declaration of that is reserved to the last place , suspended to the End of the Recital of the Benefits , that it might look back to all that went before , and make a deeper and more lasting Impression in the hearts of the Receivers , and it was naturally this , That they might observe his Statutes , and keep his Laws . All the Families of the Earth had corrupted themselves again after the Floud , before God , and were either fallen into Atheism or Idolatry : but God determining in his Mercy never utterly to destroy Mankind again , resolved to take a contrary Course , to woo and soothe them to Vertue and Righteousness by his Favours ; to add Benefits to the authority of his Commands ; Blessings to the Obedience of his Laws ; Blessings , I say , and Benefits , not only in the ordinary secret Course of his Providence , but , as Occasion required , Openly and Miraculously : that Men might see 't was wiser to worship the Living God , than to be Idolaters or Atheists , more advantageous to do his Will , than to bow to Stocks and Stones , or to be Slaves to wicked Spirits . And he made Election of Abraham and his Seed after him to experiment this his Gracious Method on : but with the Design , that as he revealed his Power , Wisdom , and Goodness to them , they should be as a Nation of Prophets , Holy in themselves , and Preachers of Righteousness to the rest of the World . The Israelites thought , all the Wonders that were wrought for them , were only to pleasure and profit them , but they were principally to make known the Glory of God ; and were Sermons , as well as Benefits ; designed not so much to gratifie their Carnal Affections , as to train them up in the Obedience of God's Laws . And he gave them the lands of the Heathen , and they inherited the labour of the People : that they might observe his Statutes , and keep his Laws .

I shall observe in the Words these two things :

I. How or which Way God did confer the Lands and Labours of the Canaanites on the Israelites , viz. He gave them .

II. Why or for what End he gave them , it was for this one Great End , That they might observe his Statutes , and keep his Laws .

In the handling of the first of these , The Manner or Way of God's conferring the Lands and labour of the Canaanites , ( there being many collateral Circumstances in it which highly magnifie his Gift ) I shall not only reflect on the bare Donation , but also on the concomitant Circumstances .

I. He [ Gave ] the Lands .

In the Translation we use in the Common-Prayer-Book , 't is said they [ took ] the lands and labours of the Heathen in possession . But the Expression of their [ taking them ] in one Translation , and God's [ giving them ] in the other , amounts to the same thing : for a thing may be [ taken ] two ways , by Force , or by Gift and Reception . Now Israel took the lands and labours of the Canaanites the second of these two Ways , by Gift from God . 'T was not their own Sword , as 't is said , or their own Bow that subdued their Enemies , but God that fought their Battels . They took Canaan , as they took Jericho ; the Walls of which , when they had walk'd seven times about it , by the miraculous power of God fell down . The Grecians painted Timotheus , the fortunate Athenian Captain , lying cross a River with a Net in his hand , and Cities flowing down the Stream into it , to shew how Easie a Town-taker he was : after the like facile easie Manner did the Cities of Canaan flow into the possession of Israel . And if all Men would consider how they came possest of the Blessings they enjoy , they would find that even the Greatest of them came to them , in a manner , sitting still and without Pains . We think 't is we that get them , that 't is our Wit and Industry that acquire Riches and Honour , our Valour that conquers Nations , &c. but alas , we do but walk , as I may say , about the City , and long enough we might walk , and never take it , if God did not cast down the Walls of it , i. e. remove the Obstructions and Difficulties that stand in our way . Who can arrogate to himself that he had a hand in the bringing about the Mercies of the Year 1660 , which we this Day commemorate , when all our Endeavours were frustrated , when our Designs came home to us uneffectually , or with the Destruction only of the Undertakers , when the Royal Party grew unactive , and began to despond ? Then , even then , when all Humane Power was at a Stand , our King was restored by a Secret and Divine Hand , by means as surprizing and unhop'd for , as undeserved by us : he was not freelier bestow'd on us this Day in his Birth , than in his Restoration .

Secondly , The Substance or Matter of God's Donation to Israel is worthy the reflecting on , he gave them [ the Lands and Labours ] of the Heathen . 1. The Lands : The Gift of Lands to a people that were a kind of wandering Arabs , and who might have been denominated Sans-terre , Without-Land , as a Prince of our own Country was call'd on the same account , was no small Accommodation and Benefit . But then the Land God gave to the Israelites was a Land flowing with Milk and Honey , with Oil and Wine , a Land whose Stones were Iron , and the Bowels of whose Hills Brass . For we must not judge of Palestine , by what Travellers report of it at this day , since it fell under the Subjection of its present barbarous Anti-Christian Lord , whose Foot treads Barrenness and Desolation where-ever he marches Victoriously ; who ruines Lands , as well as Arts and Sciences ; and puts the Country-men to flight , as well as the Scholar . But Palestine must be considered in the State 't was in at the time God gave it , when not only the Bounty of Nature , but his special Blessing was upon it . And if Good Land be a Good Motive to love and serve God , we of this Nation need look no further for an Argument to do our Duty , than the very Ground we tread on : for that old Verse ( England excells in Mountains , Bridges , Fountains , Fair Churches , Women , Wool ) however comprehensive , falls short in computing the numerous Blessings of this Isle . Our misery only is , that as our most malignant Enemies are forced to confess our Countrey to be bona Terra , a good Land , so the most candid Historiographers cannot forbear censuring it for bringing forth malà gente , a naughty People , no way comporting with the Excellence of the Soil ; a People that are stubborn and prone to Rebellion , who think Sedition the best Physick for a Sick Government , and Seditious Persons the best Physicians : whereas the Diseases of a State were never cur'd by turbulent Spirits , though many States have been subverted by them ; and History that tells of so many Kingdoms ruined by Rebellion , records none that was ever reformed that way .

Thirdly , As God gave the Lands , he gave likewise [ the Labour ] of the Heathen into the possession of the Israelites : they entred into Houses which they built not , enjoyed Riches which they purchased not , reap'd Corn which they sow'd not : what our Lord said of his Disciples coming after the Prophets to preach the Gospel , What one man soweth , another reapeth , was literally true here . The Israelites came not into the Land of Canaan , as Planters do into a new-discovered Country , in vacuum , into a Void and Empty Soil : but as Students into a Colledge , or Infirm persons into an Hospital , in plenum , into an Accommodation of all things Necessary ; where the Benefactors have not been only Builders , but Founders of a liberal Maintenance ; and provided Subsistence , as well as Reception . 'T is the happy Lot of many in this Nation to come into the World provided of all things which the Life of Man can need , possess'd of Estates , not got by the Sweat of their Brows , but left them by the Acquisition of their Ancestors , so clear and disengaged , that they seem not to descend to them , as Lawyers speak , res cum onere , the Estate with the Burden and Incumbrances , but res cum foenore , the Estate with the Emolument and pure Enjoyments of it . And such was the happy Condition of the Loyal Party of this Kingdom , upon the Blessed Restauration of his Majesty , that they were like New-born Heirs to great Fortunes ; being not only call'd from a Fugitive Condition abroad , or delivered from Death , or the Apprehensions of Death or Bonds at home : but had Preferments and Riches , Honours and Dignities added to the Gifts of their Lives and Country : God being not content , in the overflowing of his Bounty , to bestow on us only a Dry-Deliverance , but accumulated on our heads all other Good things . But whereas such boundless and unparallel'd Mercies required sutable Acknowledgments on our Part , the multiplicity and greatness of our Benefactors have made us , like Israel , forget our Benefactor ; and as they were waiward and froward on every Disgust , and lookt back again to Egypt , preferring their Bondage before the glorious Deliverance God had wrought for them : So we , as little sensible of our Wonderful Restauration , upon every dislike to the Government , think better of our past Miseries , than our present Enjoyments ; and , which is a Prodigy to hear , join hands with those that were our Oppressors , to bring our selves again into Slavery .

Fourthly , He gave [ Them ] the Lands and labour of the Heathen . The Persons to whom God was so liberal are worthy to be considered . God gave the seven Nations in promise unto Abraham , to be made good to his Posterity : but to say nothing of his Posterity , whose Ingratitude is so well known , What was Abraham himself , for whose sake Canaan was promised , then when God call'd him out of Vr of the Chaldees ? Even an Idolater as well as the Chaldees . For we must not take the Tradition of the Jews for a current Truth , who , because the word Vr signifies Fire , as well as it denominates a Country , tell us , That Abraham's coming out of Vr , was his Escape out of the Flames of Martyrdom , which he was cast into for opposing Idolatry . The Jews together with the Papists , though they otherwise hate them not only as Christians , but as Idolaters , are always seeking a Reason in Man for the Motive of God's favour to him : whereas when God gives any thing , 't is not for the Merit of the Person he gives it to . Yes , say they , he gave Abraham the promise of Canaan for his Faith so highly approved of in Scripture : But who gave Abraham that Faith ? They say , He was so ingenuous as to believe upon God's Call . Ay , but who gave him that Ingenuity ? If it were a Good Gift , it came from above . We must look upon all God's After-Gifts , as we do upon those which we first and originally received from him at our Creation , as proceeding from no antecedent merit on our Part that invited them : God gave no man Beauty , Sharpness of Wit , or any other Grace of Body or Mind , for any antecedent Graces that were in him : it were as absurd and ridiculous to say , That any one merited the Preheminences and Advantages he has above others , as to say , he could merit his Being it self before he had one : but as God's Goodness was the Fountain , so 't was the sole Motive of his Endowments . Let no Man go say this Day among us , That 't was for his Loyalty , and adhering to the true Religion , when so many were Schismaticks and Traytors , that God let him behold the Restoration of the King and Church after their fatal Ruine : but for his own Bounty sake , and the Reasons of his unsearchable Wisdom . For what could it profit any man to hold the Truth in Unrighteousness ? to be Orthodox in Profession , as many boast themselves to be , and Ethnicks in Manners ? Loyal to their Prince , and Vicious in their Lives ?

I shall name but one Circumstance more of God's Bounty to Israel , and little more than name it ; and that is the Smallness of the Return he required for all his immense Favours , it was only , That they should live according to his Holy Laws . A performance rather delightsom than burthensom , so natural and reasonable , that a Wise man would close with the Condition , upon the bare hearing it , without Stipulation . Israels manner of Tenure of God's Favour was like our Tenure in the Church by Frank Alms ; who for many comfortable , and too often envy'd Endowments , are obliged only to send up Prayers and Thansgivings to God , and to perform such other Duties , as conduce to our Eternal Felicity . God's very appointment of so merciful a Return to Israel , was of it self a Singular Mercy . But because this falls into my second General Part , Why , or for what End God gave the Lands and Labours of the Heathen into the Possession of the Israelites , I shall not prevent my self by enlarging on it before the time . And he gave them the lands and labour of the Heathen — ( Why ? )

That they might observe his Statutes , and keep his Laws .

Statutes and Laws are much the same in Sense , and seem here to be but two Names for one thing . Laws being so called from their binding Authority , and Statutes from their being establisht or decreed . Likewise the observing the one , and keeping the other , are but two Expressions again of the same Duty : for by keeping the Laws is meant , that men should not wittingly violate them : and by observing the Statutes , that they should not transgress them through Ignorance or Incogitancy : as St Paul says in a like Case , Therefore we ought to give more earnest heed to the things we have heard , lest at any time we should let them slip .

But what were the Laws and the Statutes , for the keeping of which , God accumulated so many Extraordinary Benefits on Israel ? The Jews had three Sorts of Laws , Judicial , which related to their Civil Affairs , the Tryals of Justice and punishing Criminals . Ceremonial , which belonged to Religion , as the Laws of Sacrifices , Observations of Days , Purifications , &c. Thirdly , the Moral Law , contained in the Ten Commandments . The two former Sort , though they proceeded from the same Divine Wisdom , and were established by the same Divine Authority , as the last ; yet their Deductions being so remote from their Principles , like the Branches or Twigs of a Tree from the Root , and their Reason and Equity not so discernible , they were enjoyed only as the Rudiments or Elements of a Science , not so much for themselves , as for a further End : And as such Rudiments or Elements are laid aside , when once the Science it self is attained : so the Judicial and Ceremonial Laws were laid aside , as soon as the End for which they were given was attained . But the Moral Law , quite of another Nature , is the very Transcript or Copy of the Eternal Law of Reason residing in God's own Breast , and can no more be abrogated , than Vertue and Righteousness can be abrogated , it being the same thing with them . And therefore though God did require at the present , that All his Laws and Commandments , of what Kind soever , should be kept and observ'd : yet it was the Moral Law for which he was chiefly concerned , the Law of Eternal and Immutable Goodness , not temporarily impos'd upon Men , but interwoven into their very Nature at their Creation , and which , though a long Night of Sin may obscure and dim the Characters of , nothing can utterly obliterate . 'T is true this Law was afterwards written on Tables of Stone , but that was but for the same Reason , that we write them now adays on our Church-Walls , to put men in remembrance of them , and to send them to consult the Tables of their Hearts , where they were before engraved . But to proceed :

God's Laws , as my Text declares , go hand in hand with his Benefits ; his Favours and Commandments are never divided , but where he confers his Bounty , he always exacts Obedience . Men are willing to think ( as Israel did ) that all the Good they receive from God , is merely for their Accommodation , and that he has no regard to his own Glory and Service in bestowing them : that the Sun was made only to give them Light , to distinguish their Seasons , and to ripen their Fruit , Corn , and Wine , and other Products of the Earth ; to furnish their Tables , and relieve their Necessities , &c. Whereas these were given not only as Blessings , but as Documents and Instructions ; not so much to indulge the Outward , as to edifie the Inward Man ; to bring the Partakers of them to the Knowledge , Fear , and Love of the Deity : and if we would reflect on the End of God's Benefits , as well as barely on his Benefits , that which the Vine boasts of it self in the Parable , would be found true of all other good Creatures , viz. that they would cheer both God and Man at the same time , i. e. refresh and comfort indigent Man , and occasion Sacrifices of Thanksgiving and Obedience to the Almighty . 'T is a Maxime even in the Gifts of Men conferr'd on one another , and grounded on good reason , Omne beneficium est propter officium , every Good-turn is for the sake of some Good-turn ; and Gifts otherwise bestowed , are justly lookt upon as proceeding only from Weakness ; as the Effects of Prodigality , or some impotent Passion . And if any say , Benefits given on Design are by the Generous held base and sordid ; that is only true , when the Design is Sinister and Unworthy , not when 't is Noble and Religious , to promote Vertue , Friendship , &c.

Again , whereas my Text teaches us , that God makes use not only of his Laws , but of his Benefits to bring us to a Holy Life ; not only employs his Authority , but wooes and hires us to Righteousness : This shews that he is more than ordinarily concern'd in our Obedience , and that our yielding or denying it to him is not so Indifferent a thing as we make it . And if any ask , Why is the Almighty so concerned in the Actions and Behaviours of Men ? Do their Vertue and Righteousness any way profit him ? I answer , Not at all : the Righteousness of Faith contributes no more to his Happiness now under the Gospel , than Legal Righteousness did under the Law ; his Essential Glory is no more augmented by our Spiritual Oblations , than his Being was sustained by the Bloud of Bulls and Goats : God is self-sufficient and self-happy , his Creatures receive all they have from his Fullness , and can confer nothing to him . That he is pleas'd to use so many Artifices and Endeavours to make Men Righteous , is for their sakes , not his own ; 't is his Goodness , not his Interest moves him to it ; his Earnestness that we should live Holy Lives , is nothing else but his Earnestness that we should be saved . A petulant Inconsideration may wonder , why God was pleased to create Rebellious Man ; but why he should desire to preserve him , when he had created him after his Own Image , there is no temptation to wonder at , any more than to wonder that God should be Good ; or , to use the Psalmist's expression , that the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness . We shall shew our selves wiser to adore the Wisdom of God , and to submit to his Will , than to cavil at his proceedings , especially if we consider the Danger there is in Disobeying him : for though he sollicites and courts us to a Holy Life , his Judgments always attend and stand by his Favours , and are ready to right any Wrong or Contempt that is cast upon them .

But now this being the End of all God's Mercies , That he may be Glorified in the Obedience of his Creatures , how did Israel comply with this his Design ? Why , truly , if we did not read it in his own Word , their Wickedness and Ingratitude , after so many and miraculous Benefits , would be incredible . There was no Sin or Abomination of the Heathen , Idolatry only excepted , that they were not guilty of . And why did I say , Idolatry only excepted ? when they added Apostasie to their other Provocations , and multiplied Idols equal to the Gentiles : so that it may be said , God cast out the Canaanites for those that proved worse Canaanites ; and that the Jebusites were better than the Israelites . And they went on despising God's Mercies , and frustrating the Designs of his Bounty , till at last they forfeited all his Mercies and his Bounties , and became of the most happy and glorious People , the most Miserable and Despicable , even the Astonishment of all Nations . Neither need we to travel into the once Holy , but now Unholy Land to understand their Condition : for God has made their Punishment as far known , as they made their Sins and Provocations ; and has sent them home to the very Doors of all the Nations of the Earth , to preach by their Example the Penalty of Ingratitude and Disobedience .

I have done with the Words , and that we may not amuse our selves with insignificant Invectives , or unconcerning Relations , in contemplation of God's Mercies in common to us with other Christians , and his particular , Signal , and distinguishing Favour to us this Day , not only above other Nations , but even above our own Predecessors , let us ask our selves these two Questions :

1. Whether the Mercies of God have not been Greater to us , than to Israel , or to any other People ? And

2. Whether our Ingratitude to him has not been also Greater than any others ?

1. That his Mercies to us have been Greater than to Israel or any other , will need no long or laborious Proof : if the Mercies of the Gospel are Greater than those of the Law , the Substance of things more Excellent than their Shadows ; if God's casting out the Israelites themselves for our sakes , as he cast out the seven Nations for theirs , and making the Jews but as Gibeonites to Christians , as Drawers of Water , and Hewers of Wood , be a higher Favour : If again his Benefits to us exceed even those of our Fellow-Christians , if our Religion be purer , our Government happier , our People freer than theirs : If , lastly , the Blessings conferred on us of this Generation transcend even those of our Ancestors ; the Deliverance of the Kingdom in no Age being able to parallel the wonderful Restoration of it in this .

2. And secondly , I fear 't will be as easily made to appear , our Sins have been also Greater than any besides . For if Israel and Others were Ungrateful , we have been even Despiteful to our Gracious God and Benefactor ; sinn'd , as 't were , out of a Pique to the Divine Goodness , more than out of infirmity ; whereas they were Idolaters , we have been Atheists ; whereas they only forgot their God , we have derided ours ; and not only denied him by our Wicked Lives , but denied him in Words to have any Being . Again , if Israel and others have defiled themselves with the Sins of the Flesh , our Nation is polluted from one End to the Other with Riot and Debauchery : we being not contented to commit the Shamefullest of all Sins , but we must leave Trophees of them ; affix to whole Streets of our Cities the Names of those Nefanda , those infamous Crimes , which , as the Apostle says , ought not so much as to be mentioned among Christians . If others have Murmured after their Eminent Benefits and Deliverances , we have mutinied and been Seditious after ours ; turned our Thanksgivings and Glorifications of God into Libels against the Government ; our Vows of Loyalty and Obedience to the King , into Conspiracies and Treasons against his Life .

And what do we promise our selves after these things ? That though God spared not his own People , but took the Forfeiture of the Lands of the Israelites , as well as of the Canaanites , for the greatness of their Transgressions , yet that he will spare us as more Precious to him ? Let us not deceive our selves , the Greater has been God's Bounty to an Ungrateful People , the Greater will be the Displeasure he shews to them . Saint Paul , Rom. II. brings in God displanting one Nation for their Iniquity , and planting in another ; cutting off , and graffing-in ; after the manner of a Husbandman or Gardener , who places and displaces his Trees , according to their fruitfulness or unfruitfulness ; and he expresly tells us , That we that are but Wild Branches graffed into the Olive-tree , have no reason to boast our selves against the Natural Branches and to be high-minded , but to fear : For if God , says he , spared not the Natural Branches , take heed lest he spare not you . 'T is not so much the Contingency that is in the Nature of the things of this World , as the Sins of Men that make them unstable ; the Fortunes of Kingdoms are not tost like the Waves of the Sea , lift up one while to the Clouds , and then carried down again to the Center by the force of Winds ; but according to their Righteousness or Unrighteousness God pulls down one , and sets up another . Neither are they governed by the Power of Stars : The Jews have an excellent Saying , Non est Planeta Israeli , Israel has no Planet , i. e. though God gave up the Heathen oft-times to be governed , like the Plants of the Earth , by the Influences of Stars , because they trusted in such Vain things : yet he orders and disposes the Affairs of his faithful People immediately himself . And 't is a mere Vulgar Conceit , that Comets cause Wars and Changes of States ; Divine Philosophy tells us , Mens Sins occasion God to send Comets , and to fill the Sky with Prophetick Prodigies . We affect to look as far beyond our selves as we can for the Causes of our Evils , but they are to be found nearer at Home , and arise out of our own Breasts ; the Heavens are not the Authors of our Misfortunes , i. e. the Conjunctions or Revolutions of the Celestial Bodies , but our own Wicked Lives ; and the surest Prognosticks are to be made from the Innocence or Guilt of a Nation , and not from the Face of the Sky . Let no Man think I cast a Cloud upon the Glory of this Day , Illustrious in the Birth , Illustrious in the Restoration of our most Gracious King ; that instead of exciting , I affect to damp the Publick Joy by Ill Bodings ; unless he also supposes , that the Blessings of a Nation cannot be rightly commemorated and celebrated without Noise and Inconsideration , Tumult and Riot , Excess and Debauchery , setting-light by Sin , and forgetfulness of Religion . A sad and severe Reflection on our Unthankfulness to God for the Singular Mercies of this Day , with a serious Resolution of our better Acknowledging them by a future Holy Life , will add more Lustre and true Joy to it , than the Bravery and Feasts , the Bells and Bonfires , and all the other Pomps that solemnize it . For let us consider , That every Wise Agent works to some End or other , and that not only the Words we have heard this Day explain'd , but the whole Tenour of Scripture concurs in this , That the End and Purpose of God's bestowing Benefits on a Nation , is to make them Righteous and Holy ; and that the only Expedient on our part to secure a Continuation of them , is to have a strict regard to our Duty ; that Obedience is the best Preserver of our Happiness ; and the Means always to keep God's Favour , is always to keep his Laws .

The Thirteenth Sermon . MARK viii . 2 , 3.

I have Compassion on the Multitude : because they have now been with me three days , and have nothing to eat .

And if I send them away fasting to their own houses , they will faint by the way : for divers of them came from far .

THESE Words were the Introduction to that Illustrious Miracle , by which our Lord fed four thousand Souls with seven Loaves , and a few small Fishes ; made the bare and spare Allowance of seven Persons ( as some suppose ) sufficient to satisfie the Hunger of so great a Multitude . A Miracle that baffled one of the clearest and most irrefragable Principles in Natural Reason , namely , That the Part is less than the Whole ; making it appear , that when the Lord of Nature will have it so , a Part shall as many times exceed the Whole , as he pleases : as the Bread and Fishes here encreased , by being eaten and consumed ; multiplied , by being dol'd and distributed about ; and the Fragments which remained , exceeded seven times seven fold the Provision , which at first was set before them that eat .

Our Lord wrought this Miracle , as himself declares , to relieve the Hunger of the Multitude : but his principal Design here , as in all his other Miracles , was to create Faith in such as received Benefit by them ; to teach those whom he healed , that he was the great Physician of the Soul ; and whom he fed , that he was the true Bread that came down from Heaven . And if We ( at this great Distance of time , by our Meditations and Reflections on this Miracle ) shall make it also nourish our Souls , refresh our Faith , relieve and sustain our fainting Spirits , ready to sink under the continual Opposition of Sin , and the length of Duties , we shall add yet to the Glory of it , and , in a Spiritual Sense , make these Words spoken to us : I have Compassion on the Multitude : because they have now been with me three days , and have nothing to eat , &c.

This Portion of Scripture is part of a larger Narrative , and I shall take that Way in handling it , which those do , who make Remarks and Observations upon Notable Occurrents and Events in History , reflect and descant on the Principal Passages in it , as I conceive they may be most edifying and useful . And in order to this I shall observe in the Words three things : 1. Our Lord 's tender and compassionate Spirit , I have Compassion . 2. The Object of his Compassion , the Persons to whom he shew'd it , the Multitude , I have compassion on the Multitude . 3. The Motives of his Compassion , which are exprest to be two , Their present Distress , they were Hungry , and had nothing to eat . And their future feared Danger , in case they were so dismiss'd , they will faint by the way . I begin first with Christ's tender and compassionate Spirit .

I have Compassion .

The Great Preacher , our Blessed Lord , had ended his Sermon to the People , and as the antient custom of the Church was , at the End of the first Service , to dismiss the Poenitentes and Catechumeni , all such as were not qualify'd to receive the Sacrament , with these Words , Ite , missa est , Depart and void the Church : So the Disciples might very fairly here have pronounc'd an Ite , missa est , to the Multitude , Ye may be gone , there is nothing more at this time to be expected , the Prophet has no further words of Instruction to impart to you . For , as for their want of Bread , whether it proceeded from Negligence or Necessity , it was not chargeable on the Preacher ; he that ministred Spiritual things , was not also to minister Temporal , but in these to be ministred to . But our Lord had no purpose to shift off a Work of Mercy , when 't was seasonable and in his power , though he might never so fairly have done it : he cast not therefore in his thoughts , how he might plausibly Excuse his not relieving the peoples Hunger , but which way he might do it best for the Glory of God , and their Comfort and Edification . There were a Sort of Preachers in this Kingdom in the days of its late Troubles , who when they had usurp'd the whole Revenues of the Church , grudg'd to allow the least part of them to the Just Owners : but thought they approved themselves faithful Pastors , absolved all the Duties of Good Men , if they shew'd but Strong Sides , and able Lungs , stood three Hours , as they call'd it , in the Pulpit , but after that concerned not themselves , though their poor Brethren stood as many Days without Meat . The continual Burden of their Sermon was , The Word of God , the Word of God! Frighting the People with a Fear of a Famine of that of which there was no fear , viz. of their seditious Doctrines , and shutting their Eyes to all other Famine , the Want of those things which should cherish the Life of Man . But our Lord , who was Pastor bonus , as well as Doctor bonus , a good Shepherd , as well as a good Teacher , thought Tender Bowels were requisite , as well as Tough Sides ; and fed his Sheep Corporally , as well as Spiritually , when necessity required : he considered that the devoutest Souls stood in need of Meat , and that as Man did not live by Bread only , so neither did he live by the Word of God only ; but that Food was necessary , as well as Precepts ; Relief to the Hungry , as well as Instruction to the Ignorant . In the Church of Rome they have an Order of Fryars-Preachers , men of learning and ability to confute Hereticks : and another Order , which were called Fratres ignorantes , the Unlearned Fryars , whose business 't is to tend Hospitals , and to do other Offices of Charity : And though we approve not the bringing of Ignorant Orders into the Church and Clergy , yet this double Care of theirs , in providing for the Bodies , as well as the Souls of men , is highly commendable , and may be justified by the Practice of the Church in its Earliest and holiest days : as we read Acts 6. that there were not only Apostles to preach , but also Deacons to serve Tables . The People had been our Lords Auditors now three days fasting in a desart place , and his compassionate Heart would not dismiss them hungry , lest the Dissolution of the Assembly , should be the Dissolution of the Souls and Bodies of many of them ; he resolved therefore to supply by a Miracle , what was wanting in the Desart ; to furnish from the Granaries of Heaven , what the Villages did not afford .

The Word in the Original rendred by our Translators [ Compassion ] implies more than a bare Pity , viz. that our Lord felt a Strong Impulse , or vehement Percussion in his Bowels , for the Suffering of the people . He wanted not meat himself , but he was nevertheless sensible of the hunger of others ; his own Stomach grip'd him not , yet he was pain'd , because the Multitude lack'd Sustenance . And this is the true nature of Compassion and Goodness , it lyes under no Evil it self , but yet 't is afflicted for what another suffers ; it is safe in its own particular , and yet agast at the Dangers which it hears of . Who is weak , says St Paul , and I am not weak ? who is offended , and I burn not ? That which Flattery does in Pretence and Dissimulation , Compassion does in truth and Reality . The Satyrist makes the Sycophant , if his Patron says , 'T is cold , call presently for his Furr-Gown , though in the midst of Summer ; and again , if he says , 'T is hot , strip himself of it in the Extremity of Winter . Compassion feels the heats and colds , the pains and griefs , the wants and nakedness of those that are under such Afflictions , not apishly imitating , but truly suffering their Distresses . And our Saviour shewed that this Passion was predominant in him , not only at the present , but on many other Occasions ; he sigh'd for the Sick , shed tears for the Dead , pray'd for his Persecutors upon the Cross , &c. And now I have said so much of our Lord's Compassion , it were to reproach my Auditory , and not to exhort them , to use any Arguments to shew , we ought to sympathize with him in the like Tenderness ; that when he was all Pity , and melted at every Calamity , it will ill become us to shew our selves Rock and Steel at the Miseries of our Brethren . I proceed to the Object of Christ's Compassion , the Multitude .

I have Compassion on the Multitude .

Our Lord in journeying from Decapolis and the Regions thereabout , had gathered to himself by the power of his Preaching , and the sight of his Miracles , a great Number of promiscuous People , styl'd in the Original 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Rabble of the Meaner Sort , such as the Priests and Pharisees pointed at John 7. when they said , Have any of the Rulers believed on him , but only this People , who know not the Law , and are accursed ? For the over-weaning Pharisees reckoned the Poor among Publicans and Sinners , Reprobates and Harlots ; esteemed those who had no Name in the State , who were capable of bearing no Honour or Office , to be also uncapable of receiving any Special Mark of God's Favour : according to the Proverbial Speech so common among them , Spiritus non requiescit nisi super divitem , the Spirit is sent only to Eminent Persons , and refuses to rest on the Mean and Abject . And yet it was the Distress of these undervalued , despised People , the Hunger of this condemned reprobated Rabble ( in their Rulers account not worthy to be fed , if with trouble , scarce to be starved , and who if they did dye through Want , the World would find no Want of them . ) that so nearly affected our Lord , and so sensibly toucht his very Vitals . A Commiseration fit to be transcribed by those that are in Power and Great Place , who shew too much of that Anti-Christian Turkish Principle , That the Lives of the Vulgar are of no Moment , fit only to be sacrificed to the Lusts and Pleasures of the Rich in times of peace , and in War to fill up Ditches , and blunt the Enemies Sword : thus not being content to be at Ease only , and out of the Peoples Danger , unless they may be also without all Sense of their Misery . 'T is said , as I remember , of Pompey the Great , mavult Rempublicam turbari , quàm Comam , he would rather the Commonwealth should be disordered than his Hair : and too many there are of this nice Temper , to be deeplier concerned for every trifling Curiosity about their own Persons , than for the Publick Good or Evil of their Country ; and if their Lot be so happy , as to exempt them from bearing a part in a General Calamity , they easily exempt themselves from feeling any Trouble for it . But our Lord shew'd himself of a Publick Spirit ; for when he was above the Evils and Calamities of Mankind , he espoused their Nature to no other End , but that he might espouse their Miseries ; and after he had laid aside his Glory , he laid down also his Life for the Salvation of his Creatures ; he disdained not to converse with the Meanest of the People , to instruct their Ignorance , to heal their Infirmities , to relieve their Hunger . And this to teach us , That Christians ought to shew Regard , where others shew Scorn ; there to place their Pity and Compassion , where the Custom of the World is to place its Contempt ; to teach by his Own Example , what he afterwards taught his Apostle St Peter by the Sheet of all Sorts of Creatures let down from Heaven , To hold none Refuse or Common , no , not to esteem the People themselves Vulgar . I pass to the Motives of our Lord's Compassion , which I said were two . The present Want of the Multitude , They have nothing to eat . And their fear'd future Danger , in case they were so dismiss'd , They will faint by the Way .

1. Their present Want , They have nothing to eat .

Our Lord not only exercised his Compassion towards the Meanest of Men , but even in the Meanest things which concerned such men , the catering or providing Food for them . His Disciples after him thought it a Disparagement to their higher Calling of Preaching to stoop to such Low Employments . It is not reason , say they , that we should leave the Word of God , to serve Tables : but He despised not to serve Tables too . Meat is not the Reward or Aim of a Follower of Christ , but Grace and the Holy Ghost , Heaven and Eternal Life : Food , raiment , houses , land , and the rest of things Temporal , are indeed but Impedimenta Religionis , the Baggage or Luggage of our Christian Warfare , cumbersome to a Believer , as well as useful ; yet because they are useful in our present Condition , Christ indulges them to us , and is troubled if we want a Sufficiency of them ; and however there is but Vnum Necessarium , One Great Requisite , Faith ; yet the other things of this Life , which are necessary , in their kind , to that One Necessary , he wills and commands should be given to his Servants ; and if they be , he imputes it to the Givers of them for Righteousness ; and if they be not , to the With-holders of them for Unrighteousness .

The second Motive of Christ's Compassion was , The fear'd future Danger of the People , lest they might faint by the way . He shew'd himself not only troubled at present and incumbent Distresses , but solicitous for those that were future and possible , for all Emergences of Evils which might happen . Thus he wept for the Destruction of Jerusalem forty Years before it was destroyed : bewail'd the Desolation of Capernaum , while it yet flourisht , and was exalted to heaven . Compassion , or Fellow-feeling , of anothers Misery , expresses not the Commiseration that was in Christ ; his was an Ante-passion , or Fore-feeling ; he felt not only what his Servants felt , but what they felt not , but might possibly feel : If I send them away fasting , says he , they will faint by the way : We are sensible of one anothers Calamities , when they fall out , Christ even when they are contingent . He well deserves the Title of a Merciful High-Priest , who shew'd himself not only touch'd with the Evils that oppress men , but with those also that threaten them .

These were the two Motives of our Lord's Compassion , The present Distress , And the future Danger of the People . But the Distresses and Dangers of all Sorts of Men do not equally affect him , but only those of the Worthy . It was the Singular Faith and Devotion of the Multitude which brought them into the Inconvenience they were in , and our Lord's words do not only express a Disposition or Inclination to relieve them , but an Indignation that they should suffer ; 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , that men should do Well , and yet suffer Evil , his Gracious Nature could not endure . The Circumstances of the Peoples Worthiness and Goodness , which may be collected from the Words of my Text , are these four :

1. The End for which they follow'd Christ , It was purely for Instruction and Conviction : they had no other Design , no other Interest in attending him , but to hear his Words , and to see his Works ; and such deserved not to be starved away . The Lions do lack and suffer hunger , says the Psalmist , but they which seek the Lord , shall want no manner of thing that is good . Those that sit assiduously at Christ's feet , deserve to be fed by his hand ; who neglect all for him , to be cared for by him ; and till he had here relieved the Multitude , he himself suffered ; for they appeared to him not only to be his Disciples , but his Martyrs .

The second Circumstance of their Worthiness was , The Pains they took in following Christ , Divers of them , says he , came from far . To follow Christ only from Street to Street , and Synagogue to Synagogue within the City , merited Regard : but to attend him from Town to Town , from City to Country , from Mountain to Desart , call'd for a greater measure of our Affection . To receive the Gospel , when 't is brought Home to us , is commendable ; but to go on Pilgrimage to hear Wisdom , like the Queen of Sheba , deserves , as she did , to find more Satisfaction than was expected : those that submit to hear the Word of God , shall find Comfort and Refreshment to their Souls , but they that hunger and thirst after Righteousness , inebriabuntur ubertate domûs tuae , they shall be even gorged and sated with the Plenty of his House . The Church of Rome , among other vain and false Glories , reckons that of Pilgrimages : but who looks nearly into the Mystery of them , will find , that when they are undertaken by Great Men , 't is with a Perswasion , that the most heinous Offences may be expiated by Bodily Pains and profuse Offerings , without Reformation of Life : and when by those of the Meaner Sort , 't is but , under a Colour of Religion , a plain running-away from their Wives and Children , or the Burden of their Calling ; and as they went out Idle and Profligate Persons , they return commonly Thieves and Murderers .

The third Circumstance of their Worthiness was , The Generosity and Spiritual-Mindedness they shew'd : Though they had continued with our Lord three days , and had made no Provision for the Body , yet they felt no Hunger , or despised it ; they were so transported with his Conversation , that what Christ said of his own doing the Will of his Father , That it was Meat and Drink to him , appear'd true in the Multitudes hearing his Gracious Words , That it was Meat and Drink to them : they practis'd this Precept before it was taught them , Anima est plusquam esca , the Concerns of the Soul are to take place before those of the Body . 'T was said of the ancient common People of Rome , — duas tantum res anxias optat , Panem & Circenses — that they passionately set their heart but upon two things , Bread and Plays , their Belly and their Pastime . But the People here of a Nobler Strain , despised their belly , pleasure , profit , ease , Life it self , for Religion and Instruction sake : And therefore though our Lord many other times sent away the People Empty , or slipt away himself from their importunity , he treated and feasted these , and dismist them with Respect and Complement .

The fourth Circumstance of their Worthiness was their Constancy and Perseverance , they forsook not Christ in three days . Those that are not discouraged at the first Onset on Religion , yet many times length and hardness of Duties , severe Discipline , Danger and Persecutions , will make them stagger and recoil . The Seed that fell upon Stony Ground , sprung up faster for a season , than that which fell on the Good Ground : but when the Sun arose and smote it , it presently withered , wanting root . The Children of Israel went cheerfully and lustily with Moses out of Egypt , but when their Food grew scarce , and they saw the Host of Pharaoh pursue them , they boggled in their Enterprize , and in their hearts returned again into Egypt , preferring Bondage with Safety and Plenty , before Freedom with Hardship and Danger . But their Posterity voluntarily follow'd Christ three days without Sustenance , and never lookt back to their houses , or yet to their beloved City . If I forget thee , O Jerusalem ! says the Psalmist , let my right Hand forget its Cunning. But these Israelites , when they heard Tidings of the Heavenly Jerusalem , the Jerusalem above , they cast behind them all thoughts of Jerusalem below , it appeared to them no better than a second Babylon , or house of Bondage . As our Lord therefore made others of the People his Scholars , he made these of his Family ; as he taught them , he fed these ; revealed not only the Word , but the Power and Glory of God to them . To conclude :

I shall raise from all that I have said but this One acceptable and comfortable Doctrine , Whosoever follows Christ faithfully , affectionately , and constantly in these days , will find him as Compassionate in their Wants and Distresses , as the Multitude here did . For he has the same Bowels and Tenderness , now at the Right Hand of God , which he had when he conversed with men on Earth : he is ascended Intire into the Heavens , he did not carry up his Body thither , and leave his Affections in the Grave . If we therefore seek the Kingdom of Heaven , in the first place , and its Righteousness , we may rest assured of our Lord's Promise , That all the Necessaries of this Life shall be added to us ; that if we perform the Principal , he will take care to make good the Accessory . What is said of the Productions of Nature , That she brings forth nothing but what she provides for , is much more true of the Productions or Children of Grace . For when the Earth with-holds its Fatness , and the Clouds their Dew , when the Creatures that should nourish Men starve themselves for want of Nourishment , when the Breasts of Nature seem wholly dryed up , venit Coelum in partes , Heaven it self will come in to succour , and take Part with the Faithful : and if Sterility abounds , Grace ( on this occasion also ) will much more abound ; if the Soil afford no Corn , Bread shall be rained from the Sky ; if the Springs fail , the Stony Rock shall send forth Water , and Rivers shall run in dry places ; the Ravens shall feed the Righteous , or their little Stock shall encrease as fast as 't is spent ; the Courses of Nature shall be inverted , rather than Christ's Truth fail ; Heaven and Earth shall pass away , but not one Tittle of his Word shall fall to the ground . And if any say , How comes it then to pass , that the Servants of God do suffer Want ? Nay , that commonly they are more destitute and persecuted than other Men ? I answer to this , as our Lord did to his Disciples urging him on a time to eat , I have Meat to eat , says he , which you know not of : So the Faithful have Meat to eat , which the World knows not of ; they have Peace , Plenty , and Prosperity , though not seen by every Eye . They have the Grace of God , which is as a hidden Manna in their Hearts , and as a Well of Living Water , which suffers them neither to hunger nor thirst . And is it not much more Eligible and Glorious to fast with Moses and Elias forty days , than to feast even at the Table of Princes ? To be in the State of Angels , who need neither Food nor Raiment , than to be clothed and served with all the Sumptuousness and Magnificence of Solomon ? The Righteous have Content in Poverty , which is more than Riches ; Joy in Bonds , which is better than Freedom ; Satiety in a little , which is not always found in Abundance . And what is this , but to receive Bread from Heaven , when the Earth affords none ? Water from the Rock , when the Springs are dryed up ? To be fed even by a more Wonderful Way , than by the Ministry of Ravens ? Neither is the Favour of God this Way shew'd to the Followers of Christ , less than that which he shew'd to his Own Servants of old , but much greater : for it speaks yet a higher Grace to be content to perish under Hunger , Poverty , and Bonds , than to be snatch'd out of these Evils after a Miraculous Manner . Saint Peter rejoiced more , when he was scourged for bearing Testimony to Christ , than when he was delivered by an Angel from the Death design'd him by Herod . And Saint Paul gloried more in his Persecutions and Sufferings , than he did even in his Charismata , his Miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost . And thus our Gracious Lord relieves the Necessities of his Servants from the Store-houses of the World , or from the Riches of his Grace ; rescues them out of their Afflictions , or makes them delight in them ; supplies their Wants , or sets them above the Wants of other Men ; takes away their Wants , or takes them up to that Place , where no Wants are , and where all Tears shall be wip'd from their Eyes . To which blessed Place , God of his infinite Mercy , through our Lord Jesus Christ , bring us all . And

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , Worship , and Thanksgiving , this Day forth and for evermore . Amen .

The Fourteenth Sermon . LUKE xvi . 9 .

— Make to your selves Friends of the Mammon of unrighteousness , that when ye fail , they may receive you into everlasting habitations .

THESE Words may be call'd a Lecture of holy Usury , they teaching us the highest Advantages that are to be made of Riches ; beyond what is to be learned from the Books of Eastern Merchants , or the Trade to both the Indies ; from the Mysterious Rules of the antient Publicans , or our modern Bankers . 1. They teach men , by a Divine Alchymy , how to convert Earthly Treasure into Heavenly ; to make Money ( the ordinary Salary and hire of Sin ) to be the Price of Salvation , and the Purchace of the Holy Ghost , without the Danger of Simony . 2. Men are instructed by them how to cure the Vanity and Instability of Riches , call'd for their inconstant and short Abode , mendacium , phantasmata , praestigiae , scenica persona , &c. a Lye , a Dream , a Delusion , the quick shifting of a Scene or Vizor in the Theatre ; and notwithstanding that 't is said , We can carry nothing out of this World with us , we are shew'd which way to confer them to Heaven , and to erect Banks in those Eternal Mansions . 3. Whereas Folly is ordinarily imputed to Rich men , insanus & dives , stultus & dives , the Mad man and the Rich , the Fool and the Rich , being seldom in Scripture out of conjunction , it being rarely seen that a Good Understanding goes along with a Great Estate ; that the same Person should be born both to much Wealth , and to much Wit ; my Text informs men how to reconcile these together , how the Rich having the advantage of Wealth , may have also the advantage of Wisdom ; how with their Transitory things they may purchase things Eternal : nay , and which is yet a higher Strain of Wisdom , how ( being but Stewards of the Riches they possess ) they may make ( after the example of one of the craftiest Dealers in this World ▪ and best practis'd in the Double ways of Cozenage ) the gainful Purchace of Heaven at anothers Cost : and do this Innocently ▪ as he did it Fraudulently . Lastly , Men are taught how to remove the Difficulty , and almost Impossibility , of a Rich man's entering into the Kingdom of Heaven ; how to make its Narrow Passage ( which is as the Eye of a Needle to a Camel ) as wide as the Gate of a City , or the Royal Way leading to it . A Lecture which , undoubtedly , must be very acceptable to Great and Rich men , instructing them how to possess the Good Things of this World , without forfeiting those of the next ; how to join Celestial Joys to Earthly Felicity ; immortal Glory to Secular Prosperity ; Again , which can be no less grateful to the Penurious and Covetous , who love to enjoy their Wealth , after they have parted with it ; to have it their Friend , when they can hold it no longer their Servant ; who desire to dwell for ever , if it were possible , with their beloved Gold ; to cohabit with it in the next Life , as they brooded over it in this ; my Text comports and complies with all these Desires . Make to your selves Friends of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness , that when ye fail , they may receive you into Everlasting Habitations .

The Words offer these two things in general to our Consideration ,

I. The Necessity of our Fa●ling in these Habitations , — When ye fail —

II. The Policy taught us , how to procure Admission into Everlasting Habitations , when we fail in these : and that is , By making Friends of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness .

And without troubling you with any further Division at present , I begin with the first of these ,

The Necessity of our failing in these Habitation

These Words [ when ye fail ] are by some understood two ways , by our failing in Duty , and our failing in our Being , or Dying : As the Steward in the Parable fail'd two Ways : 1. In his Honesty , as at ver. 1. he had wasted his Master's Goods . And 2dly , In his Office , as at ver. 2. where his Master says to him , Thou may'st be no longer Steward . And after the like manner all Men fail , more or less , in their Fidelity and Justice : But all equally and necessarily in their Mortal Being . But whether we fail in the one of these Ways , or the other , whether we come short in our Duty , or are cut short in our Lives ; in both these Failings the Unrighteous Mammon will stand us in stead . 1. If we fail in our Justice , Eleemosynae sunt instar Justitiae , Alms are a kind of Justice ; and not only to Forgive , but also to Give , will cover a multitude of Sins : So that if we fail , viz. in our Integrity , we may again be restored by our Charity ; and when we have wasted and consumed our Graces , we may recruite them by exhausting our Purses , and in this Shipwrack also , casting our Goods overboard , may be a Means of our Preservation .

But though this Sense of the Words has nothing in it contrary to sound Doctrine , yet it cannot be that which our Lord points at in them : For the Failing here spoken of is supposed to be Inevitable , Necessary , and Universal , when ye fail ; indefinitely , when ye All fail : neither can the Words be supposed to allude to the Common Pardonable Failing or Miscarriage of an honest Servant , but to the Purloining and Cheating of a Thief , which the Steward was , and for that cause was turned out of his Office . If therefore we say the Failing here is meant of our Duty , it must be of our General Total Duty , which is Apostasie , or else it holds no proportion to the Steward's failing in the Parable : and if we do , it holds no proportion with the Truth : for we must affirm , our Lord supposes it Necessary and Inevitable for all Men Universally to be Apostates .

We must take the Words therefore in the other Sense , For Failing in our Being , or Mortal Bodies : which are often resembled in Scripture to Houses and Tabernacles , but I shall instance only in 2. Cor. 5.1 . For we know , if the Earthly Houses of this Tabernacle were dissolved ▪ we have a Building of God , a House not made with Hands , Eternal in the Heavens . There is in the Words the Figure Euphemismus , which terms things by more gentle and Favourable Names , than properly belong to them . Death sounds harsh to those 't is denounced ; to alleviate therefore the ungratefulness of it , 't is render'd Failing : But the plain Importance of these Words [ when ye fail ] is no other than this , When ye Die .

But now , though this be the true Meaning of the Words , it may seem to be a Theme less necessary to be insisted on , than any other , To tell men they must Die : Not that the Admonition is not weighty and of the highest Concern , but because it is so well known by all , and none needs this Information , Linquenda domus , & tellus , & pavens uxor — that our Houses , Lands , and tender Relations must be left by us ; that nothing which is either dear to us , or we dear unto , can exempt us from the Law of Death , is News to no man ; all men , of what Sort and Condition soever , can assume Saint Paul's scio , We Know that this Earthly Tabernacle shall be dissolved . The Ignorant see it daily demonstrated in the Mortality of other men , and the Infirmities they find in themselves ; the Learned yet further by Philosophy and Reason , which tell them , That their Bodies being made up of a Mass of contrary Humours continually jarring and fighting with one another , the Victory on either side must certainly be the Destruction of the Subject in which they are contained . Divinity adds to these a third Demonstration , teaching men that there is a Law of Death in their Members , not that which I but now spoke of , a Natural Law of Mortality , but a Spiritual Law of Sin , and consequently of Death : which Law had its Sanction ▪ from God 's own Mouth , Gen. 2. In the hour thou eatest , thou shalt dye . This present World is but a Nursery or Seminary to another , in which nothing is to be seen more common , than the transplanting of Men from this to that : Or it may be likened to a Tree , that has at the same time upon it , some Fruit decaying , some ripe , and some blooming , the one continually succeeding and thrusting off the other , till the Tree it self at last fails , as not being design'd to stand for ever .

All Men , I say , are of sufficient Learning to preach such Lectures as these , and stand not in need to have their Understanding instructed , or their Reason convinc'd in this Particular . But yet , I know not how , though Demonstration and Experience assure this Truth on the one side , there is something in Life it self on the other , something in Prosperity , Youth , Greatness , the Businesses of this World , and the like , which strangely contradict it ; and though we believe nothing more certainly , than that All Men must Dye , we believe nothing more hardly , than that we our Selves must Dye . Those that burn in a Feaver feel no Cold ; that are encompass'd with much Light , discern no Darkness ; no more can those that are incircled with the Splendour of a high Fortune , see through it the gloomy Shades of the Grave ; nor those that are within the warm embraces of Youth and Health apprehend the Cold remote Hand of Death . Paracelsus was perswaded , that there was a Certain Spirit of Salt , that gave Vegetation to all things in the World , which if he could have found out , he would have preserved himself and others Immortal . All men have generally a Tincture of this foolish Chymical , or rather Chimerical , Salt in their Fancy ; which though it preserves them not from Dying , yet it gives them a Perswasion of long Living ; and though it cannot defer the Fatal Hour one Moment , it can make them forget it , and put the Consideration of it far from them . Our Reflections upon our own Dying , are much like those of Raving Lovers upon the Loss of those they Immoderately affected , who at the very Instant that they embrace their Dead Bodies in their Arms , cry out , They cannot , they must not , they shall not Dye . What they are not able to support , they are not willing to acknowledge ; the Sorrow which is too Great for their Hearts to bear , is too Great also for their Tongues to pronounce . And after the like manner , though we see and feel Death daily marching towards us , we being not able to brook its Approach , we endeavour to disbelieve it ; and hope to avoid the Evil , by disowning it ; to delude or delay our Destiny , by entertaining Fictions of a Long Life ; and I may say , There is nothing that we at once so much Believe , and so much Disbelieve , as the Necessity of our Dying .

'T is not therefore Superfluous to teach Men the so Known Lesson of Dying , to put them in mind of that , which is daily presented before their Eyes . And the Wisest in all Ages , as well Heathens as Christians , have used studied Arts to preserve a Memory of their Frail Condition : some have brought Urns , and Skulls , and Coffins into their Bed-Chambers and Closets , that where the Scene of their Business or Pleasure lay , there they might be admonish'd , that they must one day bid a Farewel to those things : Others have served up Skeletons at their Feasts , the whole Frame of a Dead man's Bones made with Art to turn to all the Guests , and with a horrid Aspect to survey the Table , and to insinuate that Death was always near , though forgotten in the Noise of Mirth and Wine ; sate President of many Feasts , though invisibly through the Reek of Jollity and Meat . Others upon the Days of their Coronation and Triumph have placed those among the Multitude , that might mingle Admonitions of their Mortality together with the general Applauses and Acclamations , that they might not forget , while they conquered or commanded many People , themselves were Subject to Death ; and that their Heads , which were now crown'd with Gold or Laurel , must after a short time be laid in the Dust. All these confessing , that it was not enough that Men should believe they must Dye , when they Considered and Reasoned of it , but that they ought frequently to Consider and Reason of it .

And now after all is done , though these Courses may seem of great Power and Efficacy to take off the Strangeness and Terrour of Death : yet they have been found to fall short of the End they aimed at : For though men by these Artifices have become acquainted with the Name and Images of Death , they have still been miserably Strangers to Death it self ; neither is it possible to strip the King of Terrours of his amazing Circumstances merely by remembring him , and making Pictures and Representations of him : but men must fit and prepare themselves to entertain him , they must lye under no Guilt of Sin , nor be too much in love with this Life , before they can Master this Apprehension : for 't is no less than a Contradiction , that those that are fond of this Life , should welcome Death ; that are inferior to every Lust and Temptation , should be Superior to the Greatest of Evils . We must make Death Harmless , before we can make him not to be Dreadful ; take away his Sting and Curse by Repentance and a holy Life , before we can take away his Terrour ; make him Beneficial and Advantageous , before we can reconcile him to our thoughts , and render him Familiar to us . For to retain Sin , and yet to hope to free our Selves from the Punishment of Sin , would not be to set our selves to conquer the Unreasonable Fears of our Nature , but to conquer God , to wrest the Vengeance of Iniquity out of his hands , which the Pain and Fear of Death are . And if it be objected , that the antient Heathen , out of a Principle only of Magnanimity and an Emulous Bravery , despised Death ; I answer , That they cannot so truly be said to have Despised Death , as to have been Ignorant of it ; they promised themselves after their departure hence a Being of Fame and Renown , they knew nothing but Fables of the Punishments of another World : for 't is not Courage , but Madness , to despise Torments that are Intolerable , and Eternal . If it be urged again , That many Professors of Christianity , who have heard the Doctrine of Damnation and another Life frequently preached , have yet after many heinous and unrepented Sins rush'd as boldly upon Death as the Heathen ; I reply , Though they often heard the Doctrine of Damnation preach'd , they never believ'd it ; but Infidelity wrought the same Effect in them , which Ignorance did in the other . No , we must disarm Death , as I said , of the Evil that accompanies him by a Righteous Life , before we can disarm him of his Terrour ; if we will not be dismay'd , when this Grim Landlord comes to turn us out of our Mortal Tenements , we must provide our Selves before-hand Everlasting Habitations . Which brings me to my Second General Part , the Policy which is taught us to procure Everlasting Habitations , when we fail in these ; and that is , by making to our selves Friends

Of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness .

We may observe in the Policy here prescribed us , three things : 1. The Instrument of it , The Vnrighteous Mammon . 2. The Use of this Instrument , We are to make Friends with it . 3. The End of this Use , That we may be received into Everlasting Habitations .

I begin with the Instrument , the Vnrighteous Mammon , in which there are two things to be explained , The Name and Substance of it , Mammon ; And the Condition or Qualification of it , The Vnrighteous Mammon .

1. The Name and Substance of it , Mammon .

The Word Mammon , by the consent of most Criticks , is originally Syriack , but with very little Variation of writing and pronunciation , as Mamon or Mammon , Mamoná or Mammoná , 't is Chaldee , Hebrew , Greek , Latine , and as St Hierome and St Augustine affirm , also Punick or Carthaginian ; not to say how far it has obtained in the Modern Tongues . A Word , it seems , very significant , that is adopted into so many Languages , and become Proverbial , and the Proper Name of a Deity : for Mammon imports the Same with Plutus , the God of Riches : who was an Anti-Deity of old set up by Covetousness , which , as the Apostle says , is Idolatry ; and to whom every full Barn of the Miser , is , as 't were , a Chappel ; and every Store-house a Temple . And this Idol has more and more Early Votaries , than any other whatsoever ; not only Old men being its Priests and Sacrists , but Young men are also its Adorers ; and Children were of old dedicated to it , in Ventilabro olim infantes collocabant , in futurarum divitiarum & affluentiae auspicium , 't was an antient Custom to lay Infants to sleep in the Fan that winnow'd Corn , as a Good Auspice of their future Plenty and Abundance . But to understand plainly what Mammon is without Deity or Disguise , without Figure or Mystery , we have no more to do but to look to the 6th Verse of this Chapter , where he is set down in his pure and naked Nature , to be a hundred Measures of Oil , and a hundred Measures of Wheat , i. e. to be the Fruits and Products of the Earth , Corn , Wine , Oil , Gold , Silver , Jewels , &c. all that is Money and Money-Worth , is Mammon : and so the Word signifies in the Original , Treasure or Riches of any Sort : or as Suidas yet more critically , Superfluous or Unnecessary Riches .

And here by the way , this mightily commends the Policy which is taught us , that with such Vile , Superfluous , Unnecessary things we may purchase things Inestimable , and of the highest Importance ; that with things Temporal , and Perishing even in the Using , we may procure things Eternal , even Everlasting Habitations . But so it is , God is pleased that we should trade with him for his Heavenly Treasures , as men traded at first with the Indians for their Gold and Jewels , with Beads and Glasses : Only we must observe the Rule St Jerome prescribes in such our Negotiation , We must give our Hearts to God , as well as our Goods ; male enim dividit , says the Father , qui animam Diabolo tribuit , opes Deo ; he 's a false and deceitful Merchant , that offers his Goods to God , and his Service to the Devil ; without Sanctity of Life there is no difference between Alms and Simony ; between attempting to purchase the Kingdom of Heaven , and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost , for Money ; Mammon joined with Righteousness is the Current Price of Salvation , but mixt with Sin is worse than the Dung of the Earth ; this is Mammon .

And then in the second place , for the Condition or Qualification of it , the Vnrighteous Mammon , or as it is in my Text , the Mammon of Vnrighteousness , which is the same thing , this being only the Hebrew manner of speaking , which often uses the Genitive Case for the Adjective , or instead of an Adjective . Now Mammon is not call'd Unrighteous , because it is Unrighteous in it self ; all the Creatures of God are Good , and Riches are the Choicest Part of those Good Creatures : Neither in regard that 't is Unrighteous to possess them ; contrariwise , they are the Gifts and Favours of God , and beatus & dives , the Rich and Blessed are not undeservedly made Synonyma's : But Mammon is call'd Unrighteous , because , for the most part , 't is got Unrighteously , according to that Saying , Omnis Dives aut iniquus est , aut iniqui Haeres , Every Rich man is either an Unjust Man , or the Heir of an Unjust : Or again , because it goes Unjustly from us in the Expence of Sin and Vanity . 'T is call'd also Unrighteous in Opposition to the True Riches , as at ver. 11. If ye have not been faithful in the Unrighteous Mammon , who shall commit to your trust the True Riches ? But though Mammon may be , and is , call'd Unrighteous upon these and the like accounts : yet it seems to be term'd Unrighteous in my Text upon a Particular and distinct Account from all these , which is set down ver. 12. If you have not been faithful in that which is an Other Man's , who shall give you that which is your Own ? So that Mammon is principally styled Unrighteous here , because the Riches we employ are an Other Persons , and yet we employ them for our Advantage , as if they were our Own : as the False Steward did his Lord's Goods . And Riches may be said not to be our Own in two Respects .

1. Because they are God's ; as the Psalmist says , The Earth is the Lord's , and the fullness thereof . He is the True Proprietary ; and the most rightful Possessors among Men , are but Stewards . 2. Because in the Law those things are only styled propria , our Own , which will stay with us , which are in our Power , and which we can dispose of at our pleasure : as Birds and Beasts which we take , and let go , and take again : but those which we have not thus at our Will and Command , are counted Ferae Naturae , of a Wild Nature . Now Worldly Riches , in a Moral account , are of this last Sort , Wild and Uncertain , no man is Secure of them , with any Care or Providence can hedge them in , But they make them Wings , as Solomon says , and fly away ; They depart through their own default , or the default of others ; we forfeit , or we lose them ; they perish , or by a Secret Decree , pass to an other Master .

On these Considerations therefore , when ever we bestow a Charity , or any other Pious Benefaction ; we may well account , we give but that which is at present in our power , and perhaps to morrow will not be : and again , that when we are most Liberal , we are but de alieno munifici , bountiful at an Others Cost ; and we may say of our Alms , if we speak strictly , what Christ did of the Sitting at his Right hand and his Left in his Kingdom , They are not mine to give . Yet such is the Goodness of God , that he accepts our Robberies from him , as our Bounty to him ; interprets our Trespasses on his Royalties , and Purloinings of his Treasure , our Righteousness , Fidelity , and Wisdom ; gives us an Euge for it , as the Lord of the False Steward did to him in the Parable . Not that he applauded his Falshood and Dishonesty , but the Subtilty and Dexterity he shew'd in it ; as 't is said — subitis casibus ingenium , for shewing a Present Wit in a sudden Streight , and making the best of a bad Accident . The Steward is prais'd , as we praise the Fox ; not for the Mischief he does us , but for the Craft with which he does it . Or as a Judge may admire the cunning Fetches or Contrivances of a Thief , whom he thinks fit notwithstanding to condemn to the Gallows . We are not taught , by the Example of the Steward , to steal from our Neighbour to serve our Own , the Poors , or God's Interests ; we must not cheat in our Trade to provide for our Children ; rob on the High-way , or cozen the Exchequer to give Alms or build Hospitals . No , but if as the False Steward made Provision for his approaching Poverty at his Lord's Charges , we shall take of God's Abundance , of which he has made us his Stewards , and lay it out in Pious Works , there is no harm done ; if , I say , we make the things of this World Instrumental to the obtaining the Next ; if we make Riches ( which are commonly a Snare , and lead so many to Perdition ) conduce to bring us to the Kingdom of Heaven , God , who is our Lord and Master , will applaud this Divine Craft in us ; who thinks himself only then to be Robb'd and Defrauded , when his Goods are not after this manner employed . And so I pass to the Use we are to make of the Vnrighteous Mammon , which is ,

To procure Friends with it .

Here I shall enquire , 1. How we are to make Friends with it ; And , 2. What Friends we are to make . How we are to make Friends with it , the Practice of the Steward will direct us , Who where a hundred Measures were due , required only fifty ; again , where the Debt was a hundred , accepted of fourscore ; i. e. in fewer Words , By Giving our Riches . There is nothing that makes Friends , equal to Bounty ; a Gift , as it blinds the Eyes of the Wise , so it wins the Hearts of the Ingenious , and reconciles the Affections of the Averse . The antient Heroes held no Friendship so Sacred , as that which was begun with Gifts : a Goblet or Spear , a fair Horse or Armour given by the Parents , laid the Foundation of future Amity between their Posterity ; and they often preferr'd such Amity before Alliance or Consanguinity : as Teucer , on this account , sided with the Grecians against the Trojans , though Priam was his Unkle , and his Mother a Trojan . But we need not seek prophane Story for the proof of this matter : Solomon tells us , A Gift is as a Precious Stone in the eyes of him that has it , wheresoever it turns , it prospers . And Jacob found this Course successful in appeasing his Brother Esau's wrath . God himself is pleased with Offerings and Sacrifices , with Alms and Oblations : Thy Prayers are heard , says the Angel to Cornelius , Acts 10.4 . and thy Alms are had in remembrance in the Sight of God . If we would write many Volumes of the Art of making Friends , we could not prescribe a more powerful Expedient than this of Liberality . A Gift is an Experienc'd Good-Will , a Demonstration of the Affection , as 't is vulgarly call'd : he that Gives not , may Love ; but he that Gives , has testified his Kindness .

But then in the second place , What Friends are we to make ? We shall learn this best from the Rule Christ gives us , Luke 14.12 . to chuse our Guests . When thou makest a Supper , says he , call not thy Kinsfolk and rich Neighbours , but the Poor , the Maimed , and the Blind . Those which he would have us there make our Guests , he would have us here make our Friends . 'T is the Practice in a great Part of Christendome , to give away large Estates and Possessions to lusty Men to sing Latine Prayers in behalf of the Living and the Dead , which the one hear not , and the other , for the most part , understand not ; Prayers poured out by Number , not by Devotion ; and that plentiful Relief that should be sent to the Hospital , is consum'd in the Covent ; which should feed the Hungry , and clothe the Naked , is given to maintain a Holy Sloth , and too often a Lewd Idleness ; and it may be truly said of those that part with their Estates on this account , that they part with them for a Song . I know they maintain , That these Evangelical Poor , as they call them , are to be relieved in the first place , and the Poor through a hard Necessity in the second . But we neither find any such Doctrine , or yet such Persons in the Gospel : the Widows and Fatherless , the Sick and Aged , are there recommended to our Charity , and not the Voluntary , Sturdy , Ambitious , and affected Beggars , the Beggars that awe the States they live in . The Rule Christ gives us is , To make those our Friends , that cannot be our Friends again . These are they to whom the Corn and the Oil are to be imparted , or remitted . Invite not the Rich , says he , lest they invite you again : as if there were Danger in so doing , Danger of losing the Reward promis'd to Charity . Alms never shoots up to so large a Harvest , as when 't is cast into Barren Soil ; the greatest Sterility sends forth the richest Crop . And so I pass to my last Particular , The End of the Policy ,

That they may receive you into Everlasting Habitations .

As our Lord said , There were many Widows in Israel in the days of the Prophet Elias , but he was sent to none of them , but unto Zarepath to a Woman that was a Widow ; so it may be said , Though there are many Lazarus's in the World , there may be but few that will be admitted into Abraham's Bosom : and therefore the Policy may not be so good to rely on them , to introduce us into that Place , from whence themselves shall be shut out . But yet if we consider , that in giving to the Falsly Poor , we may be Truly Charitable ; and though our Money be cast away , our Good Purpose will not ; we shall not trust to a Deceitful Policy , if we promise our selves , that those that are rejected and cast into Hell , may assist us to the attaining of Heaven ; and that even these Reprobates may make us Saints . But to answer this and the like Objections : Whereas 't is said in my Text [ that They may receive you ] as if the Poor , or Mammon , or Angels , or some other failing Power , were to receive us , the Words are to be taken Impersonally [ ye shall be received : ] Or else as having a Figure in them , a Metonymy of the Motive for the Effect , and so the Poor are said to receive us , when God or Christ , in Contemplation of our Charity to them , receives us .

Now to make some Application , and to conclude : Though things stand thus , that Men are of their Worldly Goods but breves Domini , short Possessors , and they may purchase with them Eternal Felicity and Glory , they generally neglect to make this Advantage by them . And we see some , when their Treasure is like a Mine , and their Store-houses resemble the Harvest and Vintage of the Year , yet their Covetousness so much exceeds their Abundance , that they cannot be content to do any Good with all they have ; their Business is to Gather , not to Use ; cogitant quàm bene alii post se vivant , non quàm male ipsi moriantur ; they are pleas'd to think how Happily others shall live after them , and consider not how Accursedly themselves in the mean time Live and Dye . Again , on the other side , other Rich men as sottishly waste in Voluptuousness and Sensuality , what the former gripingly spared ; to gratifie a Lust , to purchase a Delicious Sin , they will pour out their Wealth without Measure , and think no Profusion too great : but to all Works of Piety and Charity they are Deaf , and a Publick Contribution , in their conceit , would undo them . And thus all the Advantages God has given them to procure their Salvation , serve only to encrease their Accounts at Dooms-Day , and to aseertain to themselves a greater Damnation : of all the Vast Riches they possess'd , there remains not one Monument of Liberality , but only fouler Sinks , and bigger Dunghills , an Ill Reputation , and a Corrupted Age. When Alphonso ( the Good King of Arragon , who gave so much in Charity ) was ask'd , What he intended , in such vast Donations , to reserve for himself ? answer'd , Ea ipsa quae dono , the very things that I give . Which Saying , though it may be despised by those that are of a contrary Temper : as the rapacious Pharisees laugh'd at our Lord , and pity'd him , when he preach'd against Covetousness : yet at that Day , when Mens Words and Works shall be rewarded according to their Merit , the Words of King Alphonso will be found to have no less Wisdom in them , than Bounty : and then men will also understand , That all that they have Ill-Saved , or Spent , profits them nothing , but only what they have Piously or Charitably bestowed ; that this is the only Wealth that benefits them , and never forsakes them ; the Good Works , which , as St John says , follow them into the Other World .

But the Rich and Potent are not only concerned in the Policy taught in my Text , but those also of an Inferior Condition have their Names in God's Census , or Book of Cesments for the Poor , and must not look upon themselves as exempted from the Duties of Charity . Acts 3.6 . says St Peter , Gold and Silver have I none , but such as I have , give I thee . In the Name of Jesus of Nazareth , rise up and walk . He that cannot clothe nor feed his Brother , possibly may heal him ; who can Give him nothing , can Forgive him and pray for him . But we may keep here to the Letter of Giving Charity : for 't is rarely seen , that any are so destitute , but they may give to the Destitute . Christ had not where to lay his Head , yet he had a Small Bag , out of which he could say to his Disciples , Give something to the Poor . And if those that count themselves the most Indigent , did compute , what pass'd through their Hands in a Year , ( as Seneca says of Mens Time , Non exiguum temporis habemus , sed multum perdimus , We have not little Time , but spend much Idly ) they might say of their undervalued Stock , Non exiguum Mammonae habemus , sed multum perdimus , our Money would not be little , if we spent it not Idlely . The Summs which slip away inconsiderately through the Fingers even of the Meaner Sort , would set Beggars on work , and knock the Shackles off from hundreds of Prisoners and Captives .

But let us all consider , of what Condition soever we are , High or Low , that we have no long time either to abuse our Wealth , or to deceive our Selves with false Measures taken of our Actions . Some perhaps , who hear me this Day , may not have so much Leisure allowed them , as the Steward had , to change an Item in their Accounts ; to say to a Poor Debtor , that owes them a hundred Measures , Take thy Bill , sit down , and write fifty ; or Take thy Bill , and write fourscore . If any of us have a Lease or Patent ready to expire , we neglect no time to renew it : but we are not at all sollicitous whether we lapse the Time of Grace , or forfeit our Heavenly Inheritance . How much wiser Tenants are we , than Christians ? Patentees , than Heirs of Glory ? We are all assured , that the Day of Death , the Dissolution of these Earthly Tabernacles , will come ; the Day in which Wealth , Beauty , Greatness , Glory , and all other Worldly Advantages will profit us nothing ; the Day in which the Rich and Potent , as well as the Poor and Mean ( however Numerous their Friends and Attendants now are ) must stand alone , and answer for what they have done in this Life ; in solatium ruinae , in Consolation of the Dreadful Circumstances of that Day , let us provide some Support , some Refuge , some Good Works , as Friends to stand by us , lest our Spirits break through intolerable Horrour and Despair ! We will not remove from one House to another , without sending before Furniture , Provisions , and Servants , to receive us ; and is it possible we should not care , what the Habitations are , in which we must abide to all Eternity ? Whether they be Places of Refreshment , or Torment ? Mansions of Bliss , or Prisons of Darkness and Horrour ? If we value not what it becomes us to do in this Life , as Good Men , yet let us consider at least what it becomes us to do , as Wise Men : But , alas , Wisdom and Goodness are not two things ! Had the Rich Man in the Parable had leave to return out of Hell , to have acted his Life a second time over upon Earth , he would not have deserved to have been call'd Fool again , for despising the Poor , and trusting in Full Barns and Enlarged Store-houses ; he would sooner have clothed the Beggar in Purple , and have set him at his Table , and have taken himself his place among the Dogs : but the Season was past , and Leave and Opportunity to shew such Wisdom was not allow'd him . This , this Life is the Time of doing our Duty , of giving Largess and Charity to the Poor , and of performing every Good Work beside : if our Lord could say of himself , I must work the Works of him that sent me , while it is Day ; the Night cometh when no man can work , Joh. 9.4 . then certainly it more highly concerns us to lay hold of the Season allow'd us to do God's Will : and this weighty Admonition is our Lord's , and not mine . — Make to your selves Friends of the Mammon of Vnrighteousness , that when ye fail , they may receive you into Everlasting Habitations .

The Fifteenth Sermon . PSALM xi . 3 .

If the Foundations be destroyed : what can the Righteous do ?

THE preceding Verses run thus : In the Lord put I my trust : how say ye to my Soul , Fly as a Bird to the Mountain ? For lo , the wicked bend their Bow , and make ready their Arrow upon the String , that they may privily shoot at the Vpright in heart . If the Foundations be destroyed : what can the Righteous do ?

That the Lord careth for the Righteous , defendeth them against the Machinations of the Wicked , as with a Shield , or , as it follows at the 7th Verse , That the Righteous Lord loveth Righteousness , his Countenance doth behold the Vpright , is prima Veritas , the first Truth and Fundamental Article , that both comforts and confirms the Godly in their Godliness ; that while they continue to be faithful , God will continue to be favourable ; while they serve him , he will protect them ; while their Righteousness is immutable , their State shall be invincible ; at least their Foundations shall not be destroyed , in their greatest Dangers they shall have a Refuge , in their highest Exigents they shall know what to do .

The Time and Occasion of writing many Psalms are utterly unknown , and we have nothing but the bare Conjecture of Expositors for them , grounded upon the fansy'd comporting or agreeing of some Words in the Psalm with some Historical Passage : and in the great Obscurity and uncertainty of the Occasion of the present Psalm before us , all I can say is , It seems thus to have stood with David when he wrote it : He had cast the Jebusites , a Nation of the Canaanites , out of their Strong hold , the City of Jerusalem flank'd with the Fortress of Sion ; which he made his Habitation , the Seat of his Kingdom , and of the Worship of his God . But as it is said of the foul Spirit in the Gospel , that when he was cast-out , he was restless as in a Desart , till he had regain'd his Possession : So it far'd with the Jebusites here , they could not sit down with the Loss of their Power and Dominion , digest the Disgrace of their Deities , and the baffling of their Confidences , hear the taunting Scoff of the Lame and the Blind , ( which themselves had Ironically utter'd of their Idols according to the Sence of the Hebrews , not their own ) retorted and verify'd on them . These things prickt and stung them to the heart , and they could find no peace , till they had restored their Gods to their Glory , and themselves to their Country and Reputation , and that by destroying David and his Foundations . One while therefore they sought to subdue him by Force , another while by Stratagems and treacherous Practices , another while by Parley and friendly Advices , representing to him the Danger of his Condition , surrounded by so many Nations of a Contrary Religion , to induce him to forsake his own , and to fly as a Bird to their Mountain .

But he , whose Heart was fixt and rooted in his God , at once encourages himself , and confutes his Enemies , with this Fundamental Principle , That God is the sure Rock and Refuge of the Faithful : beats them with his Argumentation and Reasoning , out of their Sophistry , as he had before by his Arms out of their Strong-holds . The Demonstration which he uses , is that which Logicians call leading to an Absurdity , and is the Strongest of all others : for it evinces , That if such an Assertion be not granted , then some thing must , which is a Contradiction to a confest Principle . For example , If the Foundations which I rely upon may be destroyed , then this Absurdity will follow , That the Righteous may be destitute of a Refuge , brought to that pass as not to know what to do . The Minor , which for brevity is omitted , and ought to be subsum'd , is this , But the Righteous cannot be destitute of a Refuge , brought to that pass as not to know what to do : therefore the Foundations I rely upon cannot be destroyed . If the Foundations be destroyed , what can the Righteous do ?

In the Words thus explain'd , we may observe these two General Parts :

I. The Design of David's Enemies , It was to destroy his Foundations .

II. The Absurdity of such their Design , or the Impossibility of it , For otherwise the Righteous would not know what to do .

I begin , first , with their Design ,

Which was to destroy David's Foundations .

And what were the Foundations which the Psalmist here speaks of ? For the Word is in the Plural Number , and the Foundations of a Kingdom may be many . Some Material and Visible , as Fortresses , Armies , Rocks , Mountains , &c. Others Immaterial , and visible only in practice , as Laws Civil and Ecclesiastical , which are its Moral Fortifications : for the Laws of a Land support it no less than its People , Wealth , Bulwarks ; and whoever seeks to subvert these , though he attempts nothing against the Magazines and Strong-holds , yet he undermines the very Foundations . There is also an Invisible Foundation of a State , which is God's Favour and Defence , pointed at by the Prophet Isaiah , Chap. 4. ver. 5. in these words , Over all the Glory shall be Defence . And though David had a regard to all his other Foundations , this was the Chief , the Surest Rock in which he trusted , as himself professes 2 Sam. 22. The Lord , says he , is my Rock and my Fortress , he is the God of my Rock — and saveth me from violence . His Rock was strong , but the God of his Rock was stronger ; his Habitations stood upon the Rock of Sion , but then Sion again was founded upon God . And thus as Ezekiel's Vision was rota in rota , a wheel in a wheel ; so David's Foundation was Fundamentum in Fundamento , a Foundation upon a Foundation . The Heathen had also in their Superstitious Way an Invisible or Divine Foundation : for as out of jealousie to their Neighbours they chose to plant their Cities upon Rocks and Hills , so they dedicated again those Rocks and Hills to the Protection of some Deity , which was the Rock of their Rock : and Moses seems to allude to this , Deut. 32.31 . where he says , Their Rock is not as our Rock , even our Enemies themselves being Judges .

Now in the first place , the Design of David's Enemies was to destroy All his Foundations : not only his Material and Visible ones , but also his Immaterial of his Laws , and his Invisible of the Deity in which he trusted : For the Gentiles had a conceit , that the Gods themselves were conquerable . They had a Sort of Godlings or lesser Gods , which they assign'd to the Guardianship of Springs and Trees , as Nymphs and Dryades , which they thought Mortal and extinguishable with those Springs and Trees . Other Great Gods again which they set over Kingdoms and Cities , and though they believ'd these last to be immortal : yet they fansy'd , when the Cities or Kingdoms over which they presided were subdued , that these Deities were also subdu'd .

Secondly , As the Design of David's Enemies was to destroy all his Foundations in general , of what kind soever : So it was to destroy them Finally and Vtterly . For as our Lord says of the Providence of the Children of this World in Temporal things , That they are Wiser than the Children of Light : So they are also in their Malice and Mischievous Designs , they lay the Axe to the Root , they dig as deep to destroy , as others do to build . Says St Paul , As a wise Master-Builder , I have laid the Foundation : but these on the contrary as Master-Destroyers aim to rase the Foundation , knowing this to be the speediest way to make an absolute Destruction , for the Super-structures must follow these .

Thirdly , The Ways which the Enemies of David took to effect his Destruction , are exprest to be three , Parley , Violence , and Stratagem . Parley is implyed at the first Verse , In the Lord put I my trust , how say ye then to my Soul , Flee as a Bird to the Mountain . Violence is intimated , ver. 5. The Lord tryeth the Righteous , but the Wicked and he that loveth Violence , his Soul hateth . Stratagem is mentioned ver. 3. For lo , the Wicked bend their Bow , they make ready their Arrow upon the String , that they may privily shoot at the Vpright in heart .

And now before we proceed any further , if we shall compare the Machinations of the Enemies of our Israel this Day , with those of the Enemies of David ; if we stretch Plot upon Plot , and Conspiracy upon Conspiracy , as Elijah stretcht himself upon the dead Child , we shall find , that not only Limb answers to Limb , but that the Malice of our Adversaries exceeded that of David's , as much as the Dimensions of a Man exceed those of a Child .

1. We say , The Design of David's Enemies was to destroy All his Foundations of what Kind soever : and the Design of ours was as Universal , to destroy our Forts and Castles , our Ships and Ammunition , our Laws and Policies , our Prince and People : and though they knew they could not subvert our Invisible Divine Foundation , that the Eternal Omnipotent God was not to be subdu'd : yet they sought to deprave his Worship , and to corrupt his Religion , which would have deprived us of him , or have alienated him to us . It was not for their Interest to set up Baal against Jehovah , Dagon against the God of Israel : but as it was Jeroboam's interest to set up the Calves and High Places against the Temple and Altar at Jerusalem ; so it was hugely their Interest to set up their Superstitious and Idolatrous Worship in the place of our pure and Holy , so inconsistent with their Anti-Christian Monarchy . And though the Enemies of Israel designed after the same manner to destroy all their Foundations , and All can be but All , yet one All may be greater than another , and our All , if we may believe Geographers , many times exceeds theirs .

2. The Design of David's Enemies was Fatal and Final , and to extirpate utterly ; not only , I say , to make a total Destruction , but to destroy Totally . And the same was the Design of our Enemies , only whereas the Malice of David's Enemies was weak and insignificant , they being Aliens , and at a Distance ; rather a Disposition , than an Ability to hurt ; only one of those kinds of Ill will , which Aristotle in his Ethicks says , Is not furnisht to do much Evil , and seldom grows up beyond Petulancy , and the Trouble of them that are possess'd with it : Our Adversaries were Natives and in the Bowels of us , armed with Power , as well as Malice ; and wanted not the Means and Opportunity to effect our Ruine , any more than the Will to plot it . Can a Nation be born at once ? says Job . No , nor one would think be destroyed and brought to Nothing in a Day . The Grecians were ten Years in ruining Troy : and when our Lord said , Destroy this Temple , and I will rear it again in three days , the Jews supposing he spoke of the Temple of Stone , which was forty and six Years a building , heard his words as a Prodigy . But lo a People , that were our Adversaries , that could do more ! And had not our Rock , or rather the Rock of our Rock , been Invincible , they had destroyed us ; I say not in three days , but in three Minutes , in a Thought , in a Moment . Many , Alas ! and of Various Perswasions and Pretences are the Adversaries of our Church : but as the Historian says of the Contentions Rome had in her Minority with the Veii and the Gabii , and other petty Townships her Neighbours , that they were but as the Squabbles of little Children about the Lap of their Mother , not like those she had afterwards with Carthage , and other potent States , which were like the Fatal Dissentions of grown Men , which seldom end without the Blood of the one or the other Party . So we hop'd it might be said of the Quarrels of our Dissenting Brethren , ( though they troubled us about the Superstructions , the Rites of Religion , and the like ) that their Exceptions were but lucta circa matrem , as the Brabbles and Wranglings of Children standing about the Lap of their Mother , not like the Mortal Enmities of those that plotted against us this day , whom nothing could satisfie , but the Destruction of our Foundations , and that Totally and Finally . But late times have given us experience , that the Malignity of these is not inferior to the others , not less black and bloudy ; and though they make such Out-cries against Popery , pretend to dread and detest nothing like its Return again into the Nation , yet they abstain not from its Practices , nor abhor to serve themselves with the Wickedest of its Principles . So that these two so seeming contrary Parties are not ill resembled to two fierce opposite Streams , which when they meet , roar and chide , but then friendly close and join . But while both Papist and Puritan stick at nothing , though never so impious , to subvert the Foundations of our truly pure and holy Religion , they plainly demonstrate , they have subverted in their own Hearts the Fundamental Principles of Christianity it self . But to proceed .

I said , Thirdly , That the Ways which the Enemies of David took to bring about his Destruction , were three , Parley , Violence , and Stratagem ; and our Enemies took the very same Courses to effect ours .

1. Parley . The Danger of Parley is not easily seen , it pretends only to remove Misunderstandings , and to compose Differences in an amicable Way , and Book-Combats have been ever held consistent with a State of Peace : but more Mischief has been done by this Close and Covert , than by Open and profess'd Hostilities ; and those that have defended themselves against Force , have been undone by Treaties ; many Camps and Cities have been lost by permitting a free Parley and Entercourse between the Souldiers , that could never have been stormed . And while simple and unskilful Israelites among us have play'd with this Danger , like Children upon the hole of the Asp , they have perisht by it , before they have understood that any Evil was near . How many were the Attempts of Rome in this kind upon our Glorious Queen Elizabeth at her first coming to the Crown ? how many flattering Epistles were there sent her from that See ? how many fatherly Admonitions ? What tender Care exprest for her Souls good ? What Sollicitude for her Temporal ? How were the Treasures , i. e. the Cheats of that Church offered to be commanded by her ? its Usurpt Authority to be put upon the Tenter for her accommodation ? She might have marry'd Philip King of Spain her Brother , if her fancy or interest had lain for it ; there was nothing so Unlawful , but it should have been dispens'd with ; so Infirm , but , after the manner of Rome , it should have been corroborated . Never , I may say , was the Way to Destruction more strowed with Roses ; never did the smooth Accents of the Tongue so vie with the soft Ayres of Instrumental and Vocal Musick ; till the Holy Father saw that his Artifices were seen through and despised :

And then he betook himself to the second Means , that of Violence . But , Good God! how great was now the Change ? all the late harmonious Courtship was turn'd into Harshness and Discord ; the Blessings into Anathema's or Curses ; nothing was heard but the Reproaches of Heretick , Apostate , Accursed Woman ; nothing but Fulminations , Excommunications , Interdictions , which may be call'd Rome's Spiritual Violence . Foreign Princes were stirr'd up against the Queen , open Invasions set on foot by Sea and Land , secret Conspiracies plotted at home ; Insurrections , Poysonings , Assassinations , Treasons of all kinds fomented and encouraged : which by Divine Providence being also rendred bruta Fulmina , idle Thunder , that made a Noise , and did no further Hurt , the Great Enemy of our Church and State and his Complices had recourse

In the Third place to Stratagem , to carry on their Designs in tenebris , with the dark and hellish Contrivance of the Powder-Treason this Day . I will not say with the Psalmist , They put the Arrow upon the String , that they might privily shoot at the Vpright in heart , Alas ! Bows and Arrows are an antiquated and despicable Artillery in these days , being so far out-done by the Newer and rarer Invention of Execution and Cruelty , Guns , that they deserve not to be named for destroying Foundations , to be compared with the Still , and , for a time , Silent Battery in the Cave ; but which , when least expected , thunders louder than the Heavens , and overturns Towns and whole Cities with greater Violence than an Earthquake . The Jebusites were but rude and ignorant Engineers in comparison of those , who but with a little Change bear their Name , the Jesuites : these indeed are great Workers in Darkness , none ever before them delved so deep to undermine Foundations ; we may apply to them the words of the Prophet Hosea , These Revolters are profound to make Slaughter : For the Jesuites did not only Acheronta movere , stir Hell to promote their Plot , but they dug to Hell to carry it on . But their Stratagem , I was going to say , was blown up ; but , blessed be God , I cannot say so , but is blown over , and many more since to their own great Shame only and Confusion .

And now if we ask here , Why was all this Transport of Rage and Fury against us ? Why all this restless and unwearied Malice ? 'T was still for the same Reasons that the Enemies of David were set on fire against him . We had dispossest them of their Dominion , retrench'd their Power , supplanted their Religion , derided their Lame and their Blind , namely , their Images , detected their forged Miracles , degraded their Mock-Saints , their Hypochondriack St Anthony , their Fanatical St Francis , their Bedlam Ignatius , their Chimera Giant St Christopher , &c. and they could find no peace or rest in their Spirit , till they had restored these to their former Credit and Reputation , and that by making their Prophaners , their Worshippers . And by this we may see what would have been our Condition , in case our Adversaries could have brought about their Design ? For as the Jebusites were Idolaters , as well as the rest of the Canaanites , and the Lame and the Blind with which they braved David , and defy'd the Host of Israel , were ( as the most Learned conjecture ) their Tutelar Gods , Telesmatical or Magical Images : So our Adversaries , however they seek to purge themselves with their Distinctions , are gross Idolaters : and just such a goodly Change as David should have made , if he had left the Eternal God , to trust in Stocks and Stones , is the Change we should make , if our Adversaries could prevail to make us leave our Mountain or Church to fly to theirs of Rome .

And , First , In regard that our Mountain is a Clear Mountain , enlightned by the bright Beams of the Word of God , which darts its Rays into every Corner of it : Or stands , as I may say , like a Mercurius directorius in every Path , and points the Right-Way to all that go by , bidding them to walk in it . But the Mountain of our Adversaries is always wrapt in Fogs and Mists : and yet , as if it were not Dark enough , those that profess to be Guides to it , blind the Eyes of all that are to ascend it : And as the Guards of Forts and Frontier Castles make those that enter into them first surrender their Weapons : so these make their Disciples and Proselytes resign their Reason and lay down their Understanding at the foot of the Mount , and go on for ever after in Ignorance and an Implicit Faith . And they do wisely in taking this Course : for 't is not possible that any with their Reason about them should make any long Progress , where they meet so many gross Scandals or Stumbling-Blocks at every step : where they see the Scripture not only misinterpreted in some hard places , but in the most Easie industriously perverted to Countenance the foulest Errours , even Idolatry it self ; and after they have swallow'd whole so many Contradictions no less to humane Reason , than to Divine Writ , where they are obliged to believe , that the Church which imposes these Monsters , cannot Erre ; nay , that God has confirmed them with Miracles , shew'd Signs and Wonders more and more glorious to overthrow the Gospel of his Son , than he did at first to establish it . Signs and Wonders cry'd indeed every Market-Day among them , like the Fruits of the Earth , i. e. the Relation of them , but which were never seen by any Eye . For , as one well observes , Whereas our Lord wrought his Miracles to make Believers , the Church of Rome requires that men should be Believers , before they see any of her Miracles , i. e. should be trained up to swallow Lies and Impostures .

Secondly , As our Mountain is a Lightsome and Clear Mountain , so 't is also a Safe : whereas that of our Adversaries may be likened to the Hills of Robbers , which the Psalmist speaks of , where nothing is heard of but Depredations , the continual Pillaging and spoiling of Travellers ; men go up to Rome as to a great Fair , where Themselves are bought and sold ; Confessions , Pardons , Penances , Indulgences , Dispensations , Pilgrimages , &c. aiming all at the Purse , and not at the Good of the Soul : and who shall look no further than our English Chronicle , will find , that the Vniversal Pastor , when he exercised his Usurp'd and Tyrannical Power in this Realm , was not content to fleece his Sheep only , but tore off the very Flesh from their Bones .

Thirdly , Ours is our own Mountain , we are in it ; but our Adversary's is more than a thousand Miles distant , and many other Mountains are to be past over before we can come to it ; and those that with a tame Simplicity delight to pay Homage to the Usurp'd Majesty of that Mount , travel many a dangerous and weary League , before they can attain the Abuse they seek : And sad was the Condition of this Nation , when upon every great Controversie to be judged , every great Preferment to be collated , every great Sin to be absolved , men were transferr'd to the See of Rome , corpus cum causa , themselves as well as their Cause ; and where , if they sped in their Pretences , they often miscarry'd in their Journey . We may therefore say of those that affect to be Proselytes to this Mountain , what St Paul says of the Corinthians , That they more gladly submitted to those that took of them , that brought them into bondage , than to those that were Sincere towards them , and abounded in labour for them . Or else we may upbraid them , as the Prophet Hosea did Ephraim , Ephraim is like a silly Dove without heart , they call to Egypt , they go to Assyria , i. e. to the places of their Captivity and Oppression : So these delight in those that plume them and tyrannize over them , that seal up their Eyes in Darkness , and make them believe they towre towards Heaven and the Regions of Glory , till they find themselves in the Precincts of Eternal Night . And as Ephraim was not only made a Prey , but a Scorn for their Folly , This shall be their Derision , says the Prophet , in the Land of Egypt ; so those among us that call to go to the Spiritual Egypt , shall be mock'd in the Day of Great Accounts , as well as Condemned : For what remains for those that would not be warned , but to be laugh'd at ? for those that chuse Destruction , but to be derided when they are fallen into it ? In the mean time let our Adversaries triumph in the Victories they obtain by their threefold Machinations , Parley , Violence , and Stratagem : for though they sometimes prevail upon Unstable Souls , prepar'd by their own Vanity for Ruine , yet they cannot prevail against our Cause ; they may deceive some particular Persons , but they cannot overthrow our Foundations , no more than the Enemies of David could his . Which brings me to my second General Part , The Absurdity or Impossibility of the Design of David's Enemies , To destroy his Foundations : for then the Righteous would not know what to do .

If the Foundations be destroyed , what can the Righteous do ?

What shall I do ? ] is the Expression of a Person driven to the greatest Exigence , and knows not which way to turn himself in the Difficulties he is in : they are the Words of the Unjust Steward in the Gospel , when he was turn'd out of his Stewardship , What shall I do ? says he ; Dig I cannot , and to beg I am ashamed . The only two Means of Livelihood left to those that are reduced to the Extreamest Poverty , Labour and Begging , were taken from him ; the one by Shame , and the other by a Soft Education . Such an Utter Distress as this the Words of my Text imply , they being a Negative by way of Question , which is the strongest kind of Negative . What can the Righteous do ? i. e. They can do nothing . And if any say , Yes , the Unjust Steward had still recourse unto his old Arts of Cheating and False reckoning : and so David and other Righteous men , in case their Foundations be destroyed , may make some shift , they may fly as a Bird to the Mountain of their Enemies . I answer , That this is not to be admitted , Unlawful Remedies come not so much as into the Consultation of the Righteous , be their Distress never so great ; what is Wicked , is to them Impossible ; and what they cannot do justly , they cannot do at all . How can I do this great Wickedness , and sin against God ? said Joseph , when his wanton Mistress tempted him , i. e. I cannot possibly do it . He could have done it actually , but he could not do it honestly ; and what was impossible to his Vertue , he resolv'd to be impossible to his Practice . But the Supposition here it self is vain , That the Foundations of the Righteous can be destroyed .

But how ! some will say , not possible to destroy their Foundations ? Why , Commanders will affirm , that no Place is impregnable , and consequently , that there are no Foundations but may be destroyed . When Philip of Macedon was told of a strong Place , which , by reason of the steepness , rockiness and narrowness of the Ascent to it , was Inaccessible ; he ask'd in derision , If an Ass laden with Gold could not get up to it ? Intimating , that no place was impregnable to Force and Fraud both . But the Distinction I gave before of a Visible and Invisible Foundation , answers all such Objections . David , beside his Rock , as ye have heard , had the Rock of his Rock , namely , his God . 'T is the Invisible Divine Foundation that is the Security of the Visible . No City or Fortress is safe by its natural or artificial Strength : for as the Psalmist says , A horse is but a vain thing to save a man : so Rocks and Bulwarks are but vain things to save a City ; Except the Lord keepeth it , the Watchman waketh but in vain . But on the other side , if he be the Rock and Defence , if he be the Sion himself unto Jerusalem , no Force , no Stratagem whatsoever can prevail against it , but Jerusalem on Earth shall be as invincible , as Jerusalem in Heaven , whose Builder and Maker is God .

And if any say , What is this to us , who are not to promise our selves the Priviledges of Israel ? I answer , If we be Faithful like them , we may promise our selves God's protection no less than they . For , as Saint Peter says , God is no Respecter of Persons , but in every Nation they that fearh im , and work Righteousness , are accepted by him . We have a Kingdom , thanks be to Providence , more strongly fortify'd by Nature , than Israel was ; founded , as the Psalmist says the World is , upon the Waters , He laid it in the Waters , and founded it upon the Flouds . And though our Foundations be moveable and fluctuating , yet their Mobility and Mutability being only Local , and not Substantial , they are not less permanent . We may compare our Political Foundations also with Israels . But be our Material or Moral Foundations what they will , our Invisible is the same with theirs : For God is not only our Founder , but our Foundation too ; he has not only founded us By , but On himself . He brought us one of the first of the Nations out of the Darkness of Paganism to the Light of the Gospel ; and again one of the first of the Nations out of the Bondage of Spiritual Babylon to the Liberty of the Truth , and free Use of his Word ; and he has not only given us more Excellent Ordinances , than he did to his people Israel , but many Advantages even above our Fellow-Christians ; and no Church can boast more truly than ours , That 't is built upon the Foundation of the Apostles and Prophets , Christ himself being the Chief Corner-Stone ; and what is this , but to be Founded on God himself ? And 't is our Reliance on this our Invisible Foundation , which makes us with David not to fear the Designs of our Enemies upon our Material and Visible . For though God has made us no particular Promise concerning our Temporal Prosperity , in case we keep his Commandments , as he did to Israel ; yet we may rest assured on his Holy and Divine Nature and Promises in general : which are to Love and Protect the Righteous ; and not only Israel , as the Psalmist says , but all that put their Trust in the Lord , shall be as Mount Sion , which shall not be removed , but standeth fast for ever . And the truth is , that which is said of Temporal Kingdoms , Justitia Thronum firmat , Justice supports the Throne , may be affirmed of God's Spiritual Kingdom in the World , his Justice and Goodness establishes his Dominion in the Hearts of Men. For if it were not so , That the Lord regarded the Righteous , this great Incongruity would produce another great Incongruity and Irregularity , The Righteous , as the Psalmist says , would put their hand to Iniquity , i e. they would be no longer Righteous , they would make Justice and Piety no more their Business and Concern , if there were no Regard in Heaven for these things : and so God would lose his Obedience when he neglected Good Men. Let us therefore be careful of our Duty , and we need not be solicitous for our Safety ; let us firmly rely upon God in well-doing , and believe that our Trust in our Divine Invisible Foundation is not merely Chimerical or Imaginary , and while we fail not it , it will never fail us : but the Business of this Day shall be the business of the Year round , viz. to praise and magnifie our Foundation , for protecting and preserving our Foundations : and these Lauds and Thanksgivings , if they be Cordial and Real , will create us new Occasions of Lauds and Thanksgivings , even daily Mercies and Blessings , I say , if they be Cordial and Real , not only Verbal and Vocal ; not only express'd in Bells and Bonfires , Noises and Excesses , but in true Piety and Devotion ; as our Prayer of General Thanksgiving teaches us , In shewing forth God's Praise not only with our Lips , but in our Lives ; by giving up our selves to his Service , and so forth . For though 't is impossible to solemnize Publick Joy and Thanksgiving , without Publick Expressions of them : yet these Publick Expressions should be but the Outward Signs and Significations of the Inward Sence we have of God's Benefits , and the Gratitude that dwells in our Hearts , and which ought chiefly to be shew'd in the Duties of Religion , in the Acts of Mercy and Charity in a Day of Mercy and Deliverance ; in the Reformation of whatsoever is contrary to the Divine Will in us , and the like , 'T is not enough therefore that our Streets resound with Festivity and Joy , or yet that we celebrate God's great Mercies in Psalms and Hymns sung to the Organ by Asaph and other Chief Musicians , but every Faithful Person must be a Musician ; and every Grateful Heart , that has been delivered , an Instrument of God's Praise .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , Worship , and Thanksgiving , this Day forth and for evermore . Amen .

The Sixteenth Sermon . JOHN xvi . 23 .

— Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name , he will give it you .

THESE Words are part of our Lord's Farewel-Speech to his Disciples , when he was to leave the World : the unexpected News of which did so afflict them , that they had not the power ( as himself takes notice , ver. 5. ) so much as to ask him any Question concerning it . But now I go to him that sent me , and none of you ask , Whither goest thou ? but because I have said these things unto you , Sorrow hath filled your heart . And very deservedly : for what more amazing , more Ominous Tidings could they have heard , than that he , for whom they had forsaken all they had , should after that forsake them ? than that he , that had put Enmity between them and the World , should abandon them to the World ? he in whom they had plac'd all their Ambition , all their Hope , should at last leave them in a Riddle ? A little while and ye shall not see me , and again , a little while and ye shall see me . To raise therefore their drooping and disconsolate Spirits he promises them a double Advantage by his Departure , and which could only arrive to them by his Departure . 1. That they should receive the Holy Ghost , who would establish their Faith , and wonderfully rejoice their Hearts , by assuring them of the truth of the Doctrines he had taught them , and of their own Divine Mission . 2. That they should be under the immediate Care of the Father , by reason of whose Almighty Protection they would have no Cause to deplore his Absence , or in the least to wish for his Corporal Presence again : for they would find their Dependance on the Father much more happy , than the following his Steps through the Cities of Palestine . The Words of my Text relate to the latter of these two Advantages , Their being under the immediate Care and Protection of the Father . While our Lord abode with his Disciples , he supply'd all their Wants , solv'd all their Doubts , stopt the mouths of all their Maligners : but he let them know , that his Father was Greater than he , and would perform all these things in a more uncontroul'd and unlimited manner , than he had done , when he acted only in the Flesh by his Commission ; that the Using only of his Name to the Father would be more Beneficial to them , than his Person had formerly been : for though in many things he had been kind to them , there was nothing so Precious , nothing so Difficult , nothing so Wonderful , but if they pray'd for it in his Name , the Father would bestow it on them . Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name , he will give it you .

In this Singular Priviledge and Prerogative promised by our Lord to his Disciples , there are three things very remarkable :

I. The Person with whom they are to have it , The Father , — he will give it you .

II. The Measure in which they were to have it ; it is a Measure indeed unlimited and without Measure , Whatsoever ye shall ask , ask what you will , he will give it you .

III. By what Means they are to obtain it , by asking in Christ's Name , Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name .

I begin with the first of these , The Person with whom they are to have this Singular Priviledge ,

The Father .

This was a comfortable Promise of our Lord 's to his Disciples , if they had then understood it , as they afterwards did : but when the Words were spoken , they were but as a Parable or Proverb to them , as 't is ver. 25. These things have I spoken unto you in Proverbs , the time will come that I shall speak no more unto you in Proverbs , but I shall shew you Plainly of the Father . How was that ? in what fashion did he afterwards shew them plainly of the Father ? By his Charismata , the miraculous Gifts of the Holy Ghost which they received from him , and which bore the very Character of the Father stampt upon them : For every Good and perfect Gift , as St James says , is from above , and cometh from the Father of Light . And thus he shew'd them more plainly and convincingly of the Father , than he did to Philip , when he said , Have I been so long time with you , and yet hast thou not known me , Philip ? he that hath seen Me , hath seen the Father : For he shew'd them not the Father now in the Person of another , but in their Own , in his Divine and Omnipotent Power displayed in themselves . And this was not only a Plain and Evident , but a Gracious Revelation of the Father ; which as it improv'd their Knowledge of him , so it gave them also Demonstrations of his Love and Favour . The Father was both gracious to them , and present with them before , under the Law ; he was their God , and they were his People : but after they had embrac'd the Gospel he sent his Son into the World to preach , they were admitted into a Nearer Relation ; and were not only call'd the People and Servants , but the Children of God , the adopted Brethren of Christ ; and the Father of Heaven and Earth was appropriated by our Lord no less to them , than to himself ; I go , says he , to my Father and to your Father , to my God and to your God .

And this being the blessed Condition not only of the first Disciples , but of all true Believers since , I cannot chuse but take Occasion from hence to say , That those Christians are not sensible of their own Priviledge and Dignity , that go a Compass to God , when they are allowed the Directest and Shortest Way to him ; who keep a Distance , when they are invited and encouraged to make a Near and familiar Address ; out of an affected Humility move them , that they may move her , that she may move Christ , that Christ may move the Father . What a trifling Ambages is this , after our Lord has promised an Immediate Access ? and upon no better ground , but because , forsooth , the like is practised in the Courts of Earthly Princes ; where Strangers and Unknown Persons are not allow'd to make their Approach to the King without the Introduction of some in Place . Alas ! to the Court of Heaven there comes no Strangers or Unknown Persons , all the Suters there are Sons , and these use not to implore the help of Servants , but being first in Power and Place themselves , go directly and boldly to the Throne of the King their Father : as St Paul , Heb. 4.16 . encourages the Faithful to do , Let us come boldly , says he , to the Throne of Grace : and our Lord at the 16th Verse of this Chapter speaks , as if his own Mediation were not always necessary : At that day , says he , ye shall ask in my Name , and I say not unto you , that I will pray the Father for you , for the Father himself loveth you , because ye have loved me , and have believed that I came out from God . Those that believe that Jesus is the Christ , as the Apostle says , are born of God , and begotten of his Spirit , and they need no other Advocate to speak for them , but the Spirit , and such their Propinquity by Faith ; and to distrust their Interest , were to distrust God's Love and Christ's Truth ; and we may say of such a Diffidence , what one says of the like in humane Alliance , — peccat , Qui commendandum se putat esse suis , he sins against the Right of Kindred , that thinks he needs to be recommended to his own Relations .

Therefore , though we decline not , with the ranker Socinians , the Intercession of Christ , who say , He is mere Man , and not God , and consequently that all Prayers made to him are idolatrous : Nor yet comply with the more allay'd and qualify'd Poyson of others of them , who allow it lawful to pray to Christ , but not necessary : yet we may vindicate the Prerogative given to a Disciple in my Text , against the Shew of Wisdom , in Will-Worship and Humility , practis'd in the Church of Rome . For we who are rightly instructed in the Close Conjunction of the Father and the Son , that teach he is both God and Man , know it is indifferent , whether we supplicate the Father or the Son ; whether with our Lord himself we say , Father , into thy hands I commend my Spirit : or whether with St Stephen , Lord Jesu receive my Spirit , who praying after this manner , is said also to have call'd upon God . And in truth , when our Lord sends his Disciples in my Text to his Father , he neither extinguishes his own Adoration , nor Mediation : but sends them from his Humane Nature , as I may say , to meet them again in his Divine . And this is the true Importance of his sending them to the Father : but they were not capable at this time of receiving the Doctrine of his Divinity : for a little before , in plain terms without a Figure , he had discoursed to them of his Death and Passion , and those to whom it was a hard Saying , That they should eat his Flesh and drink his Bloud , would have thought it a much harder to have heard , That he was the Eternal God , and could yet be Crucify'd by Wicked men . Not willing therefore to force their Reason either by his Argumentation or Authority , he let this Mystery alone to be revealed in due time by the Holy Ghost , and establisht their Comfort on a Foundation more easie to be conceived by them , the Goodness and All-Sufficiency of the Father : For however they did believe their Master to be an Extraordinary and Divine Person , they could not chuse but believe their God was Greater ; and if it were a happiness to follow the Son , it must be yet a higher Felicity to be Favourites to the Father , of whom the whole Family of Heaven and Earth is named .

Now this being the Condition which a Disciple was left in at his Lord's Departure , he had no reason to mourn and languish for his Absence ; with St Augustine to desire to see Christum in ore , Christ's natural face again , while he enjoyed Christum in Patre , Christ in the power and presence of the Father . When a less Person at his Departure gives us the Favour of a Greater , we may say , He does not Desert us , but bestows his Absence on us . But Christ's Care of his Disciples and kindness to them will be seen yet more in the Unlimited Measure in which they were promised God's Favour , exprest in these Words , Whatsoever ye shall ask — he will give it you . Which is the next thing I am to explain .

Whatsoever ye shall ask — he will give it you .

This was a large Promise , and yet as largely and stupendiously made good . For , 1. Such was the Power of a Disciple by Prayer upon Earth , that he could cast out Devils , chase away all Diseases , heal all Infirmities , call the Dead out of their Grave , and send the Living into it . 2. Such was his Power in the Sea , that when the Ship was become a Prey to the merciless Element , and nothing but Death and Desperation appear'd to all others , a St Paul could say , Not one of the Company shall perish . And why so ? Because he had pray'd , and God had given him the Lives of them that sail'd with him . 3. Such was his Power in Heaven , that the Holy Ghost stood press'd and ready , as I may say , upon the laying-on of the Apostles hands , as upon a Sign given , to descend in all his various and wonderful Endowments . St James notes , that Elijah by the power of prayer shut the Windows of Heaven , and caused a Dearth ; and again open'd them , and made Plenty : But the Prayers of the Apostles wrought not only Wonderful Effects in the second Region of the Air , in the Magazines of Snow and Rain , but entering into the Heaven of Heavens call'd down Showres of Supernatural and Divine Graces ; And though before the time of Christ , it was said , That 't was not known , that God so hearkened to the Voice of a Man , as he did to Joshua commanding the Sun to stand still : yet after Christ's ascension , he frequently hearkened to the Voice of Men , and effected greater Wonders : For after this Promise was once of force , Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name , he will give it you ; nothing was impossible , nothing was difficult to a Disciple of Christ .

But some perhaps will say , That it does not appear that this Promise was fulfilled according to the Extent and Latitude of it , even to the Apostles themselves , not to say how little of it has been made good to the Faithful since . For undoubtedly St Paul was not the only Person that prayed thrice , i. e. often and instantly , that the Thorn in his Flesh might be taken away , and was not heard : but others also of the Apostles and first Planters of the Gospel made many earnest Supplications for Success to their Endeavours and Deliverance in their Persecutions , and were not answered in their Petitions . So that this Promise , Whatsoever ye shall ask , &c. seems to be 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , a Promise with Repentance , which was never made good .

To this may be said in general , what St Paul says of all God's Promises , That in him they are Yea and Amen , i. e. Truths which are ratified with Performances . But when we meet with such General and Unlimited Expressions , as this in my Text , Whatsoever ye shall ask , he will give it you , though we ought to look upon them as no more than what God is both able and willing to perform , when any Just Cause shall require , yet they are only then to be expected from him , when a Just Cause does require : For we must not imagine , because he promises according to the Greatness of his own Power and Goodness , that he promises according to the Extravagance of Mens Lusts and Phancies ; because he promises Liberally , that he promises also , like Herod , Licentiously ; who at a wanton Banquet engaged the one half of his Kingdom to a dancing Damsel , and gratify'd a Harlot with the Head of a Saint . God's Unlimited Promises are to be understood like the Unlimited Promise of the Good Samaritan , when he left the Wounded Man in the Inn : Whatsoever thou spendest more , says he to the Host , I will give it thee , i. e. in Order to the hurt man's Recovery ; the Credit did not extend to the Purchace of the Inn , in case his Guest had desired it . And if we shall thus receive the Words of our Lord cum grano Salis , as they say , but with two Grains only of prudent Interpretation cast into them , we shall understand their just Latitude and Extent . Whatsoever ye shall ask , he will give it you , i. e. si justum , si rationabile , if it be Righteous , if it be Reasonable .

First , If it be Righteous , Righteous in the Matter , Righteous in the End , and Righteous in the Manner of the Petition . 1. Righteous in the Matter , if it be something Pious or Charitable that is pray'd for , something for God's Honour , or the Spiritual Advantage of the Votary , something , in a word , worthy to concern and engage Heaven in : for if men shew themselves over-much in love with the things of this Life , too solicitous for that which is Vile and Transitory , when they have the Promise of things Eternal , this declares a Degenerateness in their Affections , and an Indecorum that is reprovable , and not rewardable , as 't is said , indecorum est ei curare de cibo , qui militat de regno , Care of the Belly and the Kitchin , ill becomes him , that is in pursuance of a Kingdom . Such as these , while they pray to God , despise him ; and let them not hope , while they set at Nought the Glories of Heaven , that he will regard their abject Desires ; he promised to give to them that ask'd in his Son's Name , not in the Name of the World .

2. Righteous in the End . The End of what men desire should be the Glory of God : for if it be to satisfie their Pride , Revenge , Concupiscence , &c. 't is enough again to put an Embargo upon their Requests , as St James says , Ye ask , and ye receive not , because ye ask for your Lusts : and though God has promised to have his Ears open to faithful Prayers , he has not engaged to assist Sin , or to be accessory to Wickedness .

3. Righteous in the Manner , if men lift up pure and holy Hands , sincere and faithful Hearts , without Hypocrisie and without Presumption , neither doubting nor tempting God : constant , but with resignation ; devout , but yet humble ; Zealous and Fervent , but without Murmuring and impatience . Heaven is taken by Violence , but 't is by an Agonistical , not a Hostile Violence ; by contesting with our own Sins , not by quarrelling with God ; his Kingdom is not to be storm'd after the manner the Poets feign'd the Giants to assault Olympus , but to be conquered by Submission , Duty , and Devotion ; God is to be wrestled with , as Jacob did with the Angel , in Faith and Prayer ; and they are brutish , who , because he has promised his Servants shall have power With him , expect to have a power Over him .

And thus as our Prayers must be Righteous , have nothing in them repugnant to God's Holiness and Majesty ; so , secondly , they must be Reasonable , i. e. agreeable to God's Divine Will : for Reasonable here is not to be measur'd by what is Reasonable to us , but to God ; that which is often Good and fit in our Eyes , is not so in his . If therefore , as St John says , we ask according to his Will , he heareth us . And a thing may be supposed to be ask'd according to his Will three Ways .

1. If it be not contrary to his Decrees , something which he has predetermined : for these are immutable , and though Noah , Daniel , or Job , should intercede , they should not prevail : again , as reducible to these , if the Prayer be not against the Decrees or Laws of Nature : For though I confess the Promise made to the Apostles in my Text , relates chiefly to things of a Miraculous Nature : yet the Promise in that part is not to be extended beyond the Apostles Own Persons , or the Time of the first planting the Gospel . To bring about some great Designs of his in the World , God thought fit to interrupt and discompose the Order of Nature ; but 't is not for Men , at their Pleasure , to think to do the same : Miracles , 't is true , were wrought by Men , but they were never wrought by the Will of men ; and 't is a Fanatick Presumption to tempt God in this kind , when they are not mov'd to it by a Divine Spirit . And if Miracles were to be perform'd at the asking of every Follower of Christ , if every Prophet or Preacher of the Gospel in these days might divide the Sea , and call down Fire from Heaven , every faithful Commander cause Hail-Stones to be cast from the Clouds upon his Enemies , and the like ; not only the Harmony of the Creation , the Laws of Agents and Patients would be confounded , but the Harmony of Religion : For if such a present certain Impetration of all things of this Life did attend every true Christian Professor , that their Prayers were answered with a Miracle , who would not be a Professor or Believer on these Terms ? and what Praise were it to be a Believer ? The Congregation of the Faithful would be encreased on this account , but the Vertue of Faith would be wholly destroyed .

2. If that which is pray'd for , be not foreseen by God to be hurtful to him that prays , as 't is said , dando irascitur , & non dando miseretur , if he gives , he 's angry ; and if he denies , he 's merciful . If a Child aks of his Father a Fish , says our Lord , will he give him a Serpent ? Or if he asks a Serpent instead of a Fish , will he give him a Serpent ? The Gentiles indeed complained , that their Gods , which were Devils , easily granted them Evil things , but were inexorable when they sought Good things at their hands , Evertere Vrbes totas optantibus ipsis Dii faciles : But the Father of Heaven and Earth gives only Good things to his Children .

3. If there be not something that is Better for the Petitioner , than that which he prays for , though Good ; and which undoubtedly he would have desired before it , if he had understood it : and thus 't is said again , Non tribuit quod vellem , ut tribuat quod mallem ; God gave me not what I ask'd , that he might give me what I aim'd at ; he denied the Form of my Request , that he might grant what was more Advantageous for me . And 't was with this purpose of conferring a Greater Benefit than was ask'd , that God denied St Paul praying thrice , that the Thorn in his Flesh might be taken away : for he gave him his Grace to support him in that Temptation or Affliction , whichsoever it was , which was better for the Apostle , than to have removed the Evil : for that would have deprived him both of the Tryal and reward of his Vertue . And on this account 't is said , Heb. 5.7 . of our Lord 's praying that the Cup of his Passion might pass from him , That he was heard in that he fear'd , though God made him drink up the very Dregs of that bitter Potion .

And thus we see , though the Promise made in my Text extends not to the Exorbitant Desires of fond Men , nor yet to the Mistakes or Weaknesses of those that are Pious and Righteous , yet it reaches to all their great and important Concerns , to all that is behoof ful and best for them , that 't is commensurate to God's Goodness and Wisdom ; and 't is not to be imagin'd , that when he promises his Creatures to be merciful to them , he obliges himself to do any thing unworthy of his Majesty ; that when he says , he will hear their Prayers , he divests himself of his Soveraignty , renounces his Wisdom , or any other of his Attributes . We must not therefore liken God to Antigonus King of Macedon , that was Sir-named 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , or the Giver , for giving much in Words and little in Deeds , because upon every trifling Petition he does not unframe the World , or break the Course of Providence . The Words of our Lord , Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name , he will give it you , as they are not to be swallow'd crudely , as if a Fortunatus's Cap were promised ; so neither on the other side are they to be received with Doubting and Suspicion , as if they were fallacious and deceiveable : For in case their Petitions are retarded , or not answered in kind , it becomes not Christians presently to entertain thoughts like the Heathen , who were perswaded that the Winds had power to scatter their Prayers before they reach'd Heaven , Terribilisque Notus jactat mea verba precesque : nor yet , should it be so that their righteous Requests succeeded not to their Expectation , are they to stagger in their Faith like Cato , who because his honest Vows for Pompey and the Commonwealth were not heard against the Usurpation of Caesar , doubted of a Providence . Both this melancholy Mis-giving , that God often regards not our Prayers , though they are Just ; and the other Sanguine Folly and Credulity , that it is fit for him to grant whatever is desired , spring from one and the same Root , viz. the Immoderate Love of Earthly things : For the truly Faithful , who set their Affection on things above , feel neither such Flashes of fond Hopes , nor Damps of black Despair : but being Indifferent to Worldly things , and wholly resign'd to God's good Will and Pleasure , they can think it reasonable , that the Ends of his Providence , and the Interests of his Glory should be serv'd in the first place . And then for those that depend and hang on Christ in hopes only of Preferment in his Imagin'd Temporal Kingdom , if his Followers for the Loaves , his Disciples , as I may call them , of the Basket , be disappointed , 't is no great marvel , nor matter : for 't is not said , Whatever ye shall ambitiously , wantonly , or any other way inordinately covet , ye shall receive : but , Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my Name , he will give it you , i. e. Whatever ye that are my Disciples shall duly pray for , if you request it in my Name , as nothing is difficult to my Father , so you will find there is nothing so precious that for Love of me he will not grant you . Which brings me to my last Part , The Means by which we are to obtain our Requests , By asking in Christ's Name .

Whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name .

Though all the Favour Men receive from God is in the Name , or for the Sake or Merits of Christ , yet even that Meritorious and prevailing Name will benefit them nothing , unless they be Faithful Persons , or such as are dispos'd to be so , such as those to whom the Promise in my Text is made ; and no small Emphasis or Stress is to be put in this Particle [ Ye ] whatsover Ye shall ask , Ye that are my Disciples , Ye that have received me as coming from the Father , believed my Miracles and my Doctrine , rely'd upon my Promises , continu'd with me from the beginning to the end , notwithstanding the Scandal that so many others took at the Meanness of my Condition , and the Severity of my Precepts . The Promise , I say , is not Universal to all Men ; no , nor yet to the mere titular Professors of Christianity , who ( as the Jews of old cry'd , The Temple of the Lord , the Temple of the Lord , even when they were Idolaters and Apostates , so ) cry in these days , Lord , Lord , but do not the Will of God . A Vain and Superstitious Citation of Christ's Name will avail none in their Prayers , his Name is no Charm ; and if there be no Vertue in the Users of it , there will be as little in the Letters or Sound as in other Names . Which the Sons of Sceva the Jew found Acts 19. when they call'd over the Evil Spirits the Name of the Lord Jesus in imitation , but not with the Faith of St Paul : for the Name protected them not , but left them to the Outrage of the Devil , strengthen'd , and not subdu'd by the undue Invocation of it . Saint Peter best interprets these Words [ in my Name ] Acts 3. when he cur'd the Lame man in the Name of Christ , His Name , says he , through Faith in his Name has made this man Strong . And our Lord himself , John 15.7 . shews , that 't is not the Vocal , but Vertual Using of his Name that prevails , If you abide in me , says he , and my Words in you , ye shall ask what you will , and it shall be done unto you . So that the true Quatenus , or Reason of the Return of men's Prayers , the Secret wherein their Strength lyes ( as Samson's did in his Hair ) is their Discipleship to Christ , or in other words , their doing the Will of God : this only powerfully insinuates , and effectually presses his Name to the Father . When mere Nominal Christians present themselves before God in the Congregation of Believers , 't is but as Satan intruded ( Job 1. ) among the Sons of God , they are of their Company , but not of their Number ; neither will they find any Advantage by using Christ's Name . God is not to be impos'd upon , like Isaac , by false Pretences , by counterfeit Hands , a borrow'd Name , or Garments , but will discover the Cheat through all ; and he that to the Righteous is all Ear , to the Wicked will be as an Idol , that has Ears and hears not ; those , I say , that regard not the Words of his Commandments , nor understand the Voice of his Spirit , are to him also as Barbarians , as a People whose Language he understands not . Nay , and 't is well if it fares no worse with them , than not to be understood , and that their Petitions are only answered with Silence : for God many times breaks forth in Fury and Indignation against such for their double Provocation of him , for rebelling against him , and presuming to make Addresses for his Favour . Vnto the Wicked , says God , What hast thou to do to declare my Statutes , or that thou shouldest take my Covenant into thy mouth , seeing thou hatest to be reformed , & c. ? Such as these when they make their Prayers , add Sacriledge to Disobedience ; and as they have corrupted themselves , they prophane the Ordinances of Religion ; and God is not only deaf to their Devotion , but angry at their Presumption . Men themselves are not patient of such an Usage , that those that injure them ( be they never so much their Near Relations ) should importune them for the highest Benefits . And can we imagine that God should brook the bold and impudent Sollicitations of those that Sin against him , which are his only Enemies , be they Jews , or be they Christians ? Esse Christianum grande est , non videri , as St Jerome says , 't is a Blessed and Glorious Priviledge to be a Christian , but not only to be call'd one ; and they are hugely deceiv'd , as the Father goes on , that think a Good Name can profit those that do wickedly ; a fair Appellation justifie such as have foul Manners . If we will have God Kind and Propitious to us , we must be first Kind to our Selves ; if we will have his Ears open to our Prayers , we must keep our Ears open to his Commandments ; we must be Obedient , if we expect he should be Gracious ; like David we must search and try our Hearts , whether any Iniquity be found in us , for we may assure our Selves , where Iniquity is found , Favour will not be found . There is no Name under Heaven given among men , whereby they can be sav'd , but that of the Lord Jesus : But as we must not trust in a Wrong Name , so neither must we trust in the Right Name a Wrong Way ; we must not entertain Vain Confidences in our Saviour himself , hope that he will countenance any thing contrary to his Gospel : as St Paul says , Let every one that nameth the Name of Christ depart from Iniquity . Which God give us Grace all to do : to whom be ascrib'd all Honour , Glory , &c.

The Seventeenth Sermon . LUKE xvii . 37 .

And they said unto him , Where Lord ? And he said unto them , Wheresoever the Body is , thither will the Eagles be gathered together .

AS the Spirit of God , before the time of the Gospel , was fain to turn and winde it self , as I may say , many ways to reclaim the World from Sin : So after the Son of God came into the World to preach to it , he found it necessary to use many holy Arts to win upon it . Sometimes the Convictions of Miracles , sometimes the Invitations of Promises , sometimes the Terrours of Threats and Judgments , as in my Text , and those Judgments not only temporal , which concerned the Jewish Nation , but eternal , which concerned all Mankind .

And we that live in these Days so much nearer the Approach of the final Judgment prophesy'd of by our Lord , have reason to deplore the strange Contumacy which is yet seen in the World ; that the Hearts of men are still so Unalterable from their Evil Ways ; that those Engines that heretofore were so successful in oppugning Sin , should now , like antiquated Engines of War , become wholly unserviceable ; those powerful Methods of the Gospel , which could convert the Heathen World , cannot reclaim the Relaps'd and Apostate . If the Preacher does paulo majora canere , add Terrours to his Perswasions ; join the Voice of the Trumpet , and even of the last Trumpet , to his own Voice ; leave Christ's Sermons , and take his Prophecies for Texts , threaten Destruction to restrain Vice ; Damnation to awe Impiety ; it effects nothing : But where the Pulpit is Ominous , Men are Obstinate and Obdurate ; hear of Christ's coming in the Clouds , and their appearing before his Tribunal as unconcerned , as they hear a Poetick Fable : shew not that Fear and Amazement , however mixt with hesitancy and doubting , which the yet raw Disciples did upon their being informed of these things . And they said unto him , Where Lord ? And he said unto them , Wheresoever the Body is , thither will the Eagles be gathered together .

Before I proceed to explain the Words , it will be necessary to shew to what they appertain . The which that I may do , I must have recourse to the 24th Chapter of St Matthew , where the Subject , of which my Text is but a Branch , is more fully treated of , than by our Evangelist . And there we read at the third Verse , That the Disciples enquired of our Lord three things , When the Time of his Coming , the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple , and the End of the World , should be ? To which , according as his Custom was , he framed an Answer , not to gratifie the Curiosity of the Askers but , to reveal to the World , what was the Will of God should be revealed . For there are some future Events which the Divine Wisdom thinks fit to make known to men , the better to prepare them to receive or avoid them : Others again which it thinks fit to hide from them , not only to restrain their Curiosity , but to prevent their Trouble . Our Lord being therefore to speak of Future things , and the secret Counsels of God , as the Subject was Prophetick , he treats of them in a Prophetick , i. e. in a more Obscure Strain , than when he taught the Doctrines and Precepts of Life . Not that there is any imperfection in his expressing himself , or uncertainty of that which he foretold : but as Solomon says , It is the Glory of God to conceal a thing , as 't is the Honour of Kings to search out a matter . Christ spoke sufficiently plain , what his purpose was should then be known , and what was not , he kept still under a Cloud .

However therefore there are those that undertake to say , He handles one Question precisely to such a Verse , and another to such a Verse , and the like , there are no discernible Transitions in his Discourse , but he seems purposely to involve the matter he speaks of , to treat sometimes of two Questions together , and sometimes of all three promiscuously ; uttering himself one while literally , another while allegorically . Which has caused some to conceive , that his whole Discourse has respect but to one thing : Which some will have to be the Day of Judgment : Others , to the temporal Destruction only of the Jewish Nation by the Romans , expounding the Eagles in my Text of the Roman Standards or Ensigns , and all the other Wonders and Prodigies that are mentioned , The darkning of the Sun and Moon , the falling of the Stars , &c. allegorically , of the Change that should be in the Church and State of Israel , parallel to the like Allegory us'd in the second of Joel . Some understand by the Eagles in my Text the Elect or Faithful ; and by the Body about which they shall be gathered together , the Person of Christ , to which they shall fly as to their Spiritual Food .

But it seems very strange , when the Disciples enquired of our Lord three things , and his Words comport so well to the Satisfaction of all three , that he should be thought to answer to None , or but to one of them : which yet we must say , if we admit of any of the Interpretations I have instanc't in . As therefore not only as more congruous to Reason , but to the Passages in our Lord's Discourse , we may determine , that he answers , however indistinctly , to all his Disciples Queries . And as there is no Question , but that he speaks of his Coming to destroy Jerusalem and his wicked Crucifiers : So there is as little doubt to be made , that he speaks also of the Destruction of the World at the last Day , and his coming to judge it . For however the Calamity of the Jews was so great , the Tragical Circumstances of the Subversion of their Nation so dismal , that it was a kind of Dooms-day to them ; and their particular Destruction may be resembled to the General Destruction of the World : Yet they that shall duely consider the formidable Phaenomena or Appearances , the Scene of mixt Majesty and Terrour set out by St Matthew , must confess they are Incommunicable to any other Event , but his coming to judge the World , and the Dissolution of the visible Heaven and Earth , and can be affixt to none beside but figuratively and improperly : So that not only to accommodate , but to appropriate them to a less Accomplishment , with the exclusion of the greater , seems an Interpretation intolerable .

I shall not therefore scruple to proceed to understand the Words , as I have begun , of the last Judgment . Particularly , that by [ the Body ] in my Text , or by [ the Carcase ] as St Matthew has it , is meant all Persons of the World ; and by [ the Eagles ] the Angels , whose Office it shall be ( as God's Apparators ) to summon and bring together at the Last Day the Quick and the Dead before the Tribunal of Christ . And the End or Drift of an Emblem or Parable being chiefly to be regarded , and not the particular Words rack'd , for what Mysteries may possibly be found in them , I shall insist no longer at present to consider , what Comparisons may be brought from Carcasses and Eagles , or the like : but observe from the General Scope of the Words these three things :

I. That at the Last Day there shall be an Exact Discrimination and Distinction between the Righteous and the Wicked .

II. That there shall be a particular Visible Place to which all men shall be brought together to Judgment .

III. That Men very hardly , or very unwillingly , believe these things .

I begin with the first of these ,

That at the Last Day there shall be an Exact Discrimination made between the Righteous and the Wicked .

The Almighty and Wise God finds it not Expedient , while this World remains , continually to be giving outward and ocular Demonstrations , either of his Approbation of the Faithful , or of his Detestation of the Wicked : the most which he does in the Course of his Providence , is sometimes to check the Madness of the one , that they grow not insupportable ; and to encourage the Vertue of the other , that they may not be dejected : but as Solomon says , There is no convincing Argument from visible Occurrences of God's love or hatred to either of them . And the Unrighteous take from hence no little heart to run on in their Evil Ways , and to deride the Faithful for losing the certain pleasures of a present Life , for the uncertain Hopes of a future : they see no Difference made between themselves and the Godly in this World , and they conceive there will be as little in the next ; flatter themselves , that their Sins will either be buried with them in the Grave , and forgotten in that long Night ; or else shuffled and lost in the vast Heap of semblable Transgressions of other men . But as it is the Quality of Cold to congeal and unite together into one Lump things heterogeneous , or of divers Sorts , as Sticks , Straws , Stones , &c. and of the Thaw when it comes to dissolve the Union , and then the Stones and like heavy Bodies are precipitated , Straws and light Bodies float , and those of a middle Nature are suspended between both : So though in this World the Innocent and Guilty cohabit together , and make but one Lump or Corporation ; yet at the Dissolution of it , some Men shall be precipitated into the Bottomless Pit , and others again exalted above the Region of the Stars . Or else , as at the Creation , all things made but one Chaos , and appear'd to be but of one and the same Nature , till God by his Divine Power separated them , and then the Lighter flew up to the Heavens or higher Parts of the World , and the Heavier settled on the Earth below : So at the End of the World , when God shall come to judge it , he will distinguish and separate the Mass of men according to the Quality of their Works , and those who have set their Hearts on heavenly things , shall be thought worthy of Heaven , and to reign for ever with him and his holy Angels in Glory ; and those who have hated heavenly things , and set their Affections on things below , corrupted themselves with the Vices of this Life , to use the Psalmists words , shall be turn'd into Hell .

And the revealing of this Mystery does vindicate the Justice of the Deity , and absolve Providence from the Censures and hard Speeches of men : for our Lord has plainly taught , That there shall be a Day of calling all Flesh to account for what they have done in this Life : and however the Good and Bad are promiscuously join'd at present , and seem to be every way alike , and equal to one another ; though they be in the same Field , as he says , or the same Bed , yet one shall be taken , and the other left : Again , in another place , The hour is coming when all that are in the Graves shall come forth , those that have done Good unto the Resurrection of Life , and they that have done Evil unto the Resurrection of Damnation . And this being asserted by the mouth of Truth it self , and also the Fundamental Part of our Creed , which sustains its whole Frame and Fabrick , it will be sufficient thus to have illustrated it without bringing any Proofs of the Matter : The Article of Christ's judging the Quick and the Dead , though it be last in Place in the Confession of our Faith , yet it is the first in Office and Importance , and has an Influence on all the Articles that go before it , and which would be of no Consequence without it . For what avails it to believe there is a God , if neither in this Life , nor in the Life to come he will make any Difference between the Righteous and the Wicked ? What profit is it to believe a Redeemer or a Saviour , if there be no Salvation or Damnation ? That there is a Holy Ghost , if in the Issue it shall be all one to those that are Sanctify'd , and to those that are not Sanctify'd ? The very Equity and Reason of the thing , that there should be a Day of Judgment , is a sufficient Demonstration that there shall be such a Day .

Instead therefore , I say , of bringing Proofs of this Doctrine , I shall rather advise men to make the best Use of it , and not to be deceived with the present Uniformity and Identity , as 't were , of the Condition of the Godly and Ungodly in this World : but to reflect on what is said of the Severe Scrutiny that shall be at the Last Day , when the present Mask shall be pull'd off from the Face of the World , and no Action whatsoever be concealed ; when the secret Sins , as well as secret Counsels of Princes , whatever they have done amiss , or been the Authors of others doing amiss , without regard to their Persons , shall be laid open : when the delinquencies of the Meaner Sort shall not be past over , or lost in Oblivion , by reason of the Obscurity of their Condition : When the Nice in point of Fame and Reputation , but regardless of their Innocence , shall have their Sly and close Sins ript open , and publisht to their greater Confusion before Men and Angels : When the Player and Actor in Religion , the Hypocrite , shall be stript of his Vizard and Mantle of Holiness , and the loathsome Vices concealed under them , exposed . For as 't is said , At the coming of Christ , Anti-Christ shall no longer deceive the Nations : So it shall arrive , to all those that have liv'd Anti-Christs , at the coming of Christ to Judgment , they shall no longer deceive , however successful their Cozenages have been in this Life . The Children of Darkness are many times , to outward Appearance , clad in richer Robes of Righteousness , and make a goodlier Shew of Piety and Devotion , than the Children of Light : But in the Day that God shall make up his Jewels , as the Prophet Malachi speaks , he will distinguish the true from the false ; and however the Counterfeit Vye at present in Lustre with the right and Orient , and exceed them in Magnitude , then it shall be seen what trash they are . Which if men would duely consider , and that this Tryal and Examination of all Flesh is not only to lay open their Actions to the Eye of the Judge , for alas he knew them in the hour they were committed : or yet to expose them only to Shame before the innumerable Host of Men and Angels that will be there assembled , for that is but the Beginning of the Evils they are to expect : But 't is , that every One may receive a Reward according to his Merit , as our Lord says , They that have done Well , Everlasting Glory , and they that have done Evil , Everlasting Fire . I say , if men would seriously consider this , they would anticipate this Work of Tryal and Judgment while time was allowed them to do it ; they would tear off their Disguises of Sin , before they were stript of them ; they would distinguish and separate themselves from the Wicked by a Holy Life , before the Great Day of Separation of the Just and Unjust ; prevent God's severe Sentence on their Misdeeds , by their own severe Condemnation of them before-hand ; that whether they labour at the Mill , or in the Field ; in the City , or in the Camp ; whatever their Callings and Employments be , they may be of the number of those that are taken , and not of those that are left . And let this suffice to be said of my first Observation , That at the last Day there shall be an exact Discrimination between the Righteous and the Wicked . I proceed to my Second Observation ,

That there shall be some particular visible Place to which all men shall be brought to Judgment .

Although it be in the Power of the Almighty , where-ever Sinners shall be found at the last Day , there to sentence and send them to Hell ; and where-ever the Righteous shall be found , from thence to translate them to Heaven : Yet , as 't is the manner of Earthly Princes , to summon their People to receive Justice at some certain Place , their chief City , where their Court and ordinary Residence are ; so it seems good to the Wisdom of God , to assemble all Persons , both Just and Unjust , to one Place of Common Judicature : and Writers do most probably conceive the place shall be Jerusalem , the City of God's most visible Residence on Earth . And that for these two Reasons :

1. For the Reparation of Christ's Honour : Because he suffered there not only the Scorn and Despight of the Jews , who put him to a cruel , unjust and shameful Death , but the Affronts also of all Nations gathered together at the Feast of the Passover : it being God's will that he should receive Reparation and Amends , where he had received the greatest Outrage and Indignity : and that the Prophecy of Zechary should be fulfill'd in the most eminent Manner , They shall look on him whom they pierced .

2. For the clearer Conviction and more sensible Compunction of those that denyed and murdered him . For as it is the Custom again among Men , to send Malefactors to be judged and executed near the Place they committed their Crimes , the more to awaken their Guilt ; so God the more , first , to awaken , and then to confound the daring and relentless Infidelity of our Lord's Crucifiers , ( who , after all their Persecutions , wish'd his Bloud might be on them and on their Children ) has determin'd to pass the Sentence of Condemnation on them in the Place they perpetrated their Crimes . And the Prophecy of Joel , Chap. 3. seem'd to some of the Antients to countenance this Opinion , That God will assemble all Nations to Judgment in the Valley of Jehoshaphat , which was near adjoining to Jerusalem ; says the Prophet , Assemble your selves all ye Heathen — and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat , for there I will sit to judge , &c. Multitudes , multitudes in the Valley of Jehoshaphat : for the Day of the Lord is near in the Valley of Decision . Which Prophecy , whatever earlier Accomplishment it had in God's judging the Heathen that were Enemies to Israel , yet the Principal Completion of it has been thought to point at the last Universal Judgment . And 't is a General Perswasion of the Jews , that the Tryal of all Men at the Last Day shall be at Jerusalem : but not understanding , That the Dead shall be gathered together by the Office and Ministry of Angels , they say , That in whatever remoter Parts of the World they dye in their Dispersion , their Bodies , by the Power of God , shall be roll'd along through the inward and secret Parts of the Earth to Jerusalem , the Place assigned for their Resurrection , and the Appearance of all Men.

But now after all that has been said , though we conclude not peremptorily and chorographically , Where , or over what Part of the Earth , Christ will erect his Throne for Judgment , the Scriptures being silent , or very obscure as to the Place : yet there is nothing that they deliver more plainly , than that the Great Session or Assize at the End of the World shall be Conspicuous and Dreadful ; and they seem even solicitous and industrious in describing the formidable Manner of it , to make in mens minds a deeper impression of the Terrours of the Lord , as the Apostle calls them . And as we have two Corporal Senses , or Inletts of Fear into the Soul , the Eye and the Ear , the Word of God makes the Terrours of Dooms-Day to consist in the Objects of both these Senses , viz. in fearful and amazing Sounds , and in Prodigious and Ghastly Sights . For 't is said , That the Lord shall descend from Heaven in a Shout , with the Voice of the Arch-Angel , and with the Trump of God , and the Dead shall rise , and the Sun shall become black as Sackcloth , and the Moon red as Bloud , and the Stars shall fall , and the Heavens be roll'd up like a Scrole , &c. A Picture of such Horrour which no Phancy of Man could ever have drawn , or possibly conceiv'd , if it had not first been Divinely revealed : and though we look upon this Scheme or Draught of the Lord 's coming at present with little Concern , because we suppose it to be at a great Distance : yet if we would consider , that the holiest Persons of old were as dead men at the Sight only of an Angel , though coming to them in a familiar Shape , and with a gracious Message ; and that we our selves are beside our selves , but at the fansy'd Appearance of a Spectre or Ghost , or any other Supernatural Occurrent ; what must our amazement and Confusion be , when we shall behold the whole World in a Flame , the Visible Heaven and Earth passing away with tumultuous Thunders , Lightnings , and Earthquakes ? When we shall hear the Crack of the dissolving Universe , and the Groans of dying Nature ? when we shall behold not only one Evil Spirit , but the whole accursed and damned Crew in their Horrour ? again , when we shall behold not only one Angel , but all the Host of Heaven , and their Lord and ours sitting in the midst of them with all the annexes of Majesty and Terrour ? And this dreadful Spectacle , not like one of the Visions of the old Prophets , which concerned not the Beholder himself , but others : but such as concerns the Eternal Woe or Welfare , Salvation or Damnation of every Person there present , i. e. of all that ever came , or shall come into the World .

When our Lord discoursed of these things to his Disciples , and of the dreadful manner of the Destruction of the Jewish Nation as a Prelude to it , they were too big for their Imaginations to conceive , or their Faith to digest : and they could not , or durst not understand him ; they were in the like Astonishment the three Disciples were in at his Transfiguration , when Peter said , not knowing what he said , Let us make three Tabernacles , &c. So great , I say , was the Consternation of the Disciples at our Lord's Words , that their Reason , and Spirits were in a kind of Deliquium , or Swoun , as well as their Faith . And they answered and said unto him , Where Lord ? a Question not of Curiosity , but of Terrour and Doubt . And even still to this day we find men more inclin'd to distrust what is taught of the last Judgment , than to be warn'd and edify'd by it ; to think the things affirmed of it impossible , than to follow St Peter's Advice and to consider what manner of Persons they ought to be , seeing the World shall be dissolved . And so I pass to my last Observation ,

The Vnwillingness of Men to believe a Judgment-Day .

So weak is the Nature of man , or such is the Subtilty of our Spiritual Adversary the Devil , that even when we are convinced of the Substance of many Truths , yet by reason of the Strangeness and Unconceiveableness of some Circumstances of them , we let go the very Substance of the Truths again ; and the best Men have been sometimes subject to this Infirmity . The Psalmist was throughly instructed in this fundamental Truth , That there was a God that judged in the Earth ; yet because he saw the Righteous opprest , and the Wicked in prosperiry , he stagger'd in his Faith , and his feet , as himself confesses , had well-nigh slipt . The Blessed Virgin could not but believe the Message of an Angel appearing at Noon-day , and out-shining the Brightness of the Noon-days Light : but because she was to conceive miraculously , without the knowing of a man , some Scruple remained in her holy breast of the Event of the Prediction . The Israelites heard from their Prophets , of whose Divine Mission they doubted not , That if they went on in their Transgressions , their Temple should be destroyed , and themselves led Captive by the Gentiles : but then the Conceit , that God would never suffer these things to be done for his own Glory , whatever their Demerits were ; that if they were remov'd , he would want a People ; and if his House were prophan'd , his Worship would be extinguish'd in the World ; made them disbelieve their Prophets . And the like latent Incredulity possest the Disciples here , They knew their Lord had the Words of Truth , but the Strangeness and Dreadfulness of the things spoken of by him made their Faith fluctuate , and they could not believe , even what they could not disbelieve .

And when we see the holiest Men thus to have Doubts and Scruples to with-hold them from receiving a harsh and displeasing , though never so plainly a reveal'd , Truth ; to have a Where , or a When , Lord ? a How , or by What Means ? Some Question or other of the Time , the Place , the Possibility , and the like ? What marvel is it , if Wicked and profligate Persons , who are wholly Strangers to the Power and Wonderful Ways of God , shew a greater Infidelity , when they hear a Doctrine wholly contrary to their Temper , repugnant to their Pleasures , destructive of their Interests , and withal difficult to be conceiv'd ? I say , if when such as these , to restrain them from their Lusts , or gainful Oppressions , are told , that they will certainly be call'd to a strict Account in another Life , for what they do amiss in this , smile , or laugh out , and conceive they shall do well enough after their Sins , notwithstanding all that 's threatned against them ? We see Malefactors against the Laws of Men , even after the Sentence of Death is past upon them , and their Execution as certain to ensue , as the revolution of the short time appointed for it ; yet flatter themselves they shall find means to escape , by a Bribe , by a Rope at a Window , by a Reprieve , by a Rescue , by an Accident , by any thing , they know not what . And after the like manner Offenders against God , though their Condemnation be recorded in his Word , and their Condition more desperate , promise themselves they shall never feel the Evils denounc'd against them ; that the Report of Dooms-Day is false , the Doctrine of a Resurrection and another Life foolish and impossible . When therefore they hear such passages in Scripture as these , Some mens Sins are open before-hand , going before to Judgment , and some mens follow after : and again , The Good Works of some are manifest before-hand , and they that are otherwise , cannot escape : they reason in their hearts , and say , Ay , but why ? the Parties are dead . Ay , but When , and Where ? the Parties are escap'd into a far Country . Ay , but How , or which way ? the Parties are drown'd , and devour'd by Fishes , and their Bodies turn'd into Nourishment , or else burnt to Ashes , and that scatter'd — True , but where-ever the Carcase is , or the least Remains of it , thither will the Eagles be gathered together , i. e. though the Body of a Sinner seem to all humane Appearance annihilated ; yet God by his Power will restore it , and by the Office of his Angels bring it before the Tribunal of Christ .

And this is the importance of our Lord 's Emblematical Words in my Text : for 't is observed , that Eagles and other Birds of Prey , Ravens , Vulturs , &c. have a great Perspicacity in discovering their Food , a kind of divining , or Prophetick Conjecture where to seek it , insomuch that they will follow Armies , and know the unsuccessful Troops , and expect their Banquets from their Overthrow . Says Job , The Eagle abideth on the rock — from thence she seeth her Prey , her Eyes behold afar off — and where the slain are , there is she . And then the Celerity , strength , and rapacity of these Creatures to seize , is as great , as their Sagacity to find out . And God has more abundantly endowed the Angels with requisite Qualities to execute his Will and Commands : however therefore Vertue and Piety went out of this World without any seeming Regard , yet they are the Objects of God's Love , and the particular Care and Charge of the Angels , and they shall not pass in the next without a Glorious Reward : Again , though Wickedness dy'd in Prosperity , yet it is the Object of God's Wrath and Justice , and the Quarry of the Angels , and it will be found out by them in all the Ruines of Mortality , and brought to receive its just Punishment .

And that these things are so incredible to Sinners is without all reason : For they are the only men that believe this World to be immoveable and eternal , and yet 't is supported only by the Word or Will of God : as Job says , He hangs the Earth upon nothing , and we may say , the Heavens upon as little : But God's rewarding the Righteous , and punishing the Wicked are founded on his Justice , i. e. on his very Essence or Being , and can fail no more than the Deity it self . However therefore this Doctrine is disbelieved and slighted by sensual and carnal Men , it ought continually to ring and sound in the Ears of the Faithful , as St Jerome fansy'd the last Trump did in his ; the Parable of the Eagles and the Carcase should frequently occur to our thoughts , to make us break off our Sins , and to keep us close to our Duty . For if any One , to encourage himself in his Sins , shall say , When I leave this World , I shall creep again into the Cells of Darkness and Obscurity , where I lay before I was born , I shall be reduc'd again to the State of Nothing , as when I was in my first Causes : Let him consider , that God can call him out of that Nothing which he speaks of , as he did when he first made him a living Man ; and that Restoration is not so hard a Work , as Creation ; that what the Psalmist says of the Nocturnal Darkness , caus'd by the absence of the Sun , The Darkness is no Darkness to thee , may be affirmed of the Philosophical Darkness of his Dissolution , That Darkness is also no Darkness to him ; the Night and the Day of his Being or Not-being are alike in his all-seeing Eyes . The fat and grown Deer seems Subtil to himself in retiring into the Coverts and Thickets , and leaving the Younger and smaller to feed abroad in danger of the Huntsmen ; but alas 't is for him alone that all the Quest and Search is made , and while the lean and Rascal-Herd are past by , the Keeper only marks and lodges him for the Chace . The Policies of Wicked Men are as Simple as the Craft of these Silly Creatures , who when they are grown fat with the Oppressions and Spoils of their Brethren , swollen and ready to burst with Excess and Luxury , flatter themselves , if they can but escape the Penalty of the Laws , and get into their Graves in Peace , no Vengeance can afterwards overtake them : But alas it is to rouse them chiefly that Dooms-Day is appointed , Aquila non capit Muscas , the heavenly Eagles , the Angels , stoop not at Flies ; they are not Small Sinners , but these Monsters and Prodigies of Impiety which are their principal Game or Quarry . As therefore the bloudy Tyrant Sylla found it a foolish Meditation , after his butchering so many of the Roman Nobility , to lay down his Power , and to hope for Safety in a Retirement from the Swords of those whose Relations he had murthered : So let no Man after a Wicked Life hope to find a Place so remote , obscure , or fortify'd , as to protect him from God's Vengeance . 'T is said , That Kings have long arms , and can reach Delinquents at a great Distance ; but the King of Kings has much longer : and if the Offenders against him could take Refuge even in the Centre of the Earth , obtain of the Rocks to shelter them , or the Mountains to fall upon them , the Angels would fetch them from thence to Judgment . There are none that shall escape , none that shall be dispens'd with from appearing before the Tribunal of God , and receiving their Doom at the Last Day : Only it is now in our power , while we are yet in this Life , to make it a happy or unhappy Doom ; a Doom that adjudges us to Crowns and Scepters , or to Chains and Everlasting Torments . Repentance and a Holy Life will turn that Day of Terrour into a Day of Rejoicing ; make the Ominous Portents , the dreadful Thunders , and other amazing Concomitants of it , but as the loud Musick , cheerful Acclamations , and Solemnities which attend a Triumph or Coronation ; I say , which attend our own Triumph and Coronation , as St Paul assures us , 2 Tim. 4 8. I have finisht my Course , says he , I have kept the Faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of Righteousness , which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me at that day , and not to me only , but unto all them that love his appearance . However the Predictions of the Last Day cause Consternation and Distraction of Mind in Wicked Doers , to the Righteous they are altogether Gospel or Good Tidings ; they that keep God's Laws , cannot chuse but love and delight in his Appearance . Let the Heavens rejoice , and the Earth be glad , says the Psalmist : Let the Field be joyful , and all that is therein before the Lord — And why all this Joy ? For he cometh , for he cometh to judge the World , and the People with Equity . And Luke 21.28 . says our Lord , When these things come to pass , then look up and lift up your heads : for your Redemption draweth nigh .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , &c.

The Eighteenth Sermon . 1 PETER iv . 8 .

And above all things have fervent Charity among your selves : for Charity covereth the multitude of Sins .

THE Commandment of Charity , if we look to the Birth and Cradle of it , is as ancient as Adam : for this Natural Law , Deal so with others , as you would have them deal with you , which is the radical and original Precept out of which this Gospel one did immediately issue , Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self , sprung-up with Nature , and is as old as it ; mutual Love beginning with mutual Society ; and affection to one another being exercised , as soon as there was a Pair in the World to keep it up . But the Practice of the Jews in our Saviour's time much thwarted this Precept , Sect was against Sect , the Pharisee against the Sadducee , and the Sadducee against the Pharisee , and both against Christ ; Professions and Offices were made Crimes , Publicans , the Receivers of Tribute , were counted Sinners : again , Revenge was held as lawful as Punishment ; Extrajudicial Righting of a man's self , as Judicial Censures ; Do Good to those that do Good to you , and Evil to those that do Evil , was good Ethicks among them , and the Moral Man esteem'd to appear as eminent in practising the last part of this Maxime , as the first . So that the Precept of Charity was , in a manner , wholly extinguish'd among them , so overwhelmed with the Rubbish of ill Customs , and worse Traditions , that to clear it and make it shine out again , was a Work as hard , as to introduce something that never before was : Which caus'd our Lord to call this Commandment a New one , I give you a New Commandment , says he , That ye love one another . New , not as if it then first entred the World , but because it was then renew'd to them : as things redeem'd from the injury of Age and Oblivion appear fresh and new , when they are brought into Use and Fashion again .

But we may admire , that the World has so much agreed in all Times to abrogate this Law , brought in at first by General Interest , and of so Universal Benefit , that we may say with Tully , Non aquâ , non igne , non aëre , pluribus locis utimur , quàm amicitiâ , we stand not more in need of water , fire , or air in every turn of our Lives , than of Friendship , or the mutual Offices of Love . And if this Law were entertained , it would render all other Laws useless , it would disannul the Commandments , by fulfilling them ; it would remove heaps of Legal Cautions and Provisions , the two Tables would be no more necessary to Men , than to Angels ; private Grudges , open Wars , Rebellions , Factions , Schisms , would all vanish , every Person would be not only more holy in himself , but would cause others to be more holy ; many Sins would be amended by a fair Example , many would be extenuated by a candid Interpretation , many overcome by a kind and amicable Usage : Therefore , as the Apostle advises in the foregoing Verses , mortifie your Lusts , be sober and watch unto Prayer , neglect not necessary Duty . But above all things have fervent Charity among your selves : for Charity shall cover the multitude of Sins . In the Words we may observe these four things :

I. The Habit or Grace that is enjoin'd , Love . Not that Passion which is born with all Sensitive Creatures , and is common to Men and Beasts , but that Theological Vertue which is infus'd into Man only ; 't is not simply Love , but Christian and Brotherly Love , Have Charity .

II. The Degree of this Habit , the Intenseness of this Divine Quality , and that is Fervency ; it is not enough to have a remiss lukewarm Charity , it must burn and glow in us , Have fervent Charity .

III. The Object of this Vertue , that which bounds and terminates it , and is adequately commensurate to it ; and that is , All Men in general , the Object is as large as Humane Nature , our Charity is not to be ty'd to Families or Tribes , to Sects or Nations , or whatever Partitions else Policy or Passion have made use of to distinguish and estrange men from one another : but it is to be extended to all , not to this or that Man , but to Mankind ; as 't is indefinitely express'd in my Text , Among your selves .

IV. The Inforcement of the Practice of this Quality , and that is by the Recommendation of it from its Operation or Effect , it covers Sins : together with the Extent of that Effect , not one or two , but many and many Sins , For Charity shall cover the Multitude of Sins .

I begin first with the Habit or Vertue it self , contain'd in these Words ,

Have Charity .

The Charity or Love here enjoined us , is not , I say , that melting Passion that is common to Men and Beasts , an affection awaken'd in us by the beholding of outward Beauty , the comely Structure of the Body , or other Graces of a fair and amiable Person , which is the Child only of an abused Fancy , begot through Weakness , and nurs'd up by fond Conversation , Musick , Feasts , Comedies , and other the like Genial Sports , and busie Idlenesses of the times , and produces no better Effects than Folly , dissolute Manners , Jealousie , discontent , Madness , &c. This Frenzy has obtain'd too much in being the glorified Theme of Poets and Romance-Writers , who advance it above all other Concerns of Man's Life , whether Secular or Sacred : and while they make it the admired Subject of many Fables , and the ambitious Pursuit and highest Ornament of their counterfeit Heroes , the gilded Poyson is often swallow'd by the more Sober and Vertuous . Our Apostle is so far from recommending , or in the least degree countenancing of this Dotage , that ver. 3. he ranks it among the detestable practices of the Heathen , and such things as Christians ought to be asham'd of : For this Sensual Love in those days was not only an Immorality or Vice , but a prime Branch of Idolatry ; from hence flew all the Cupids , from hence came the Temples dedicated to Venus , the Divinity of Beauty , and the Deities of Women . And happy it were if we could say , These were not Idols still in the World : for if , as St Jerome says , every reigning Lust is an Idol set up in our hearts , Sensual Love is no inferior Deity ; Quotcunque habemus Vitia , says the Father , quotcunque peccata , tot recentes habemus Deos ; iratus sum , ira mihi Deus est ; vidi Mulierem & concupivi , Libido mihi Deus est ; as many Vices we have , as many Sins , so many Gods we have ; I am angry , Anger is a God to me ; I see a Woman and lust , my Lust again's a God to me . And the Reason of this is plain : Because none of these things can be in us , but they must be before God in us : for if they can come after God , they can agree with and be reconcil'd to God , which is impossible ; and then being before or above him , can we say less of them , than that they are Gods in us ? 'T is not the Temple or the Image that constitutes the Idolatry , but the Shrine the Idol has in our hearts , the Adoration and Sacrifice paid to it by our Affections : Neither does God require of us a higher Acknowledgment , than to love him with all our Heart and with all our Mind . The Love therefore recommended here by the Apostle , cannot be any thing that is an Enemy to God , to Man , or to our Selves : Charity or Love carries something Pious and Beneficial in its very Name , and if these things be not in the Nature of it , 't is a Spurious or Bastard Love .

To come then to the Love recommended by the Apostle , we define it to be A Divine Vertue or Supernatural Grace inspired into us by God's Holy Spirit , a Quality which resides in himself , and which is subject to no perturbation : an Image of it we see in the pious Love of Parents and Children , the religious Amity between Brethren , Friends , and Neighbours , and the Perfection of it in our Saviour , his Apostles , Martyrs , and other Christian Heroes , that follow'd his Example . An Affection it is , but a Severe and Sober one ; a Fire that warms the hearts of men , but a pure and sanctify'd one , lifted far above the Softnesses and Wantonnesses of the other Carnal heat , and not kindled by the Deception of the Outward Senses , or flaming from the Fewel of a bright Beauty , but a reflected Beam of our Love to God descending downwards , and glancing on our Brethren , from a Sense of God's Goodness to us , and in obedience to that Commandment of his , that enjoins us to pay to men , as his Proxies and Substitutes on Earth , the Tolls and Tributes due unto himself . So that 't is not This or That Person that this Love makes court to , but to Mankind ; its Addresses are as Universal as the Image of God in the World , no more regard is had by it of the Handsome , than the Deformed ; of the Young , than the Aged ; or if more be had of the one than the other , 't is of the Party most to be compassioned ; the Object of this Love is Want or Misery in any kind , and whoever it can help is its Amata or Beloved .

And as the Object of this Love is no less General than the Distresses of Humane Nature , so its Expressions towards them are as many and various as there are Ways of doing Good , and being Beneficial in any kind . For Charity is not only a Largess of Money , or a Dole of Bread , a feeding of the hungry , and a cloathing the naked , &c. but a parting with our Passions for the sake of our Brethren , a condescending to their Weakness , a complying with their Temper , and tolerating their Infirmities : 'T is again , a relieving them with Good Counsel , a Donative of Seasonable Admonition and Reproof ; a shewing of Severity , when need requires , as well as Mercy ; an Exacting of Punishment , as well as a remitting of it : for Charity is not that which is always grateful and always pleasing , but which is ever salutary and ever beneficial . The Wanton Love we condemned , is a constant Floud of Sweetness , which flows smoothly into the Ocean of Destruction , a smiling Evil that knows nothing harsh or disagreeable , till it turns all to Harshness and Disagreeableness : But Godly Love is often bitter in the first Taste , and sweet in the after Relish , a rugged Mercy and an Austere Kindness , a Good transferr'd with Frowns and Severe Discipline : and such are the Corrections of Servants and Children , the Correptions of Friends , the Excommunications of the Church , and the exterminating Sentences of the Law ; the Rod and the Stocks , the Hurdle and the Axe , being as instrumental unto Charity , as Money , Food , Raiment , and the like . Open Rebuke , says Solomon , is better than secret Love : and I may say , Open Rebuke has in it much secret Love . And to think the Remissness of Laws , charitable ; and the Execution of them , cruel ; is a Shortness of Reasoning , which becomes only Women and Children , who pity the present Sufferings of the Criminal , but see not the future Good purchased by it . The timely cutting off of a Notorious Malefactor has rescued a Nation from Destruction , Phineas stood up and pray'd , and the Plague ceas'd : his seasonable Execution of two Eminent Offenders preserved the lives of many thousands of the people ; and holy Writ calls not his Fact , Slaughter , but styles it by the milder Name of Prayer : because it invoked God's Mercy , and propitiated his Wrath. If Pity may bind the hands of Justice , and Charity protect Violence and Outrage , not only one Wolf will worry a whole Flock , but the Flock or Body of People will in time become Wolves and Tygers : for Religion only perswades men to be Just and Righteous , it does not constrain them to be so ; indeed it promises Rewards to Well-doers , and threatens Judgment to Evil-doers , but they are Rewards to come , and Judgments at a great distance , and the Sinner has leave to execute his Wickedness ; so that the Terrours of Religion work only upon the Good and Faithful , while the Worst and most of men despise them . But even the boldest and most daring in their Impiety , who count Heaven and Hell only the Parables of Scripture , and the Fictions of Preachers , will boggle in the Cariere of their Sins at the remembrance of a severe Judge and an unrelenting Humane Law , and consider whether they can escape , if they commit them ; and will not run on madly to transgress , when they see nothing is to be had but Vengeance ; the Attempt , and their Miscarriage ; their Sin , and their certain Death .

Thus we see Severity is not contrary to the Rules of Charity , the Sword in the hand of Justice less instrumental to mens Good , than the Scales ; that the fear of Punishment is a kind of Grace and Principle of Obedience in the Hearts of Wicked men , which restrains them from Vice , even when it wins them not to the Part of Vertue . But then though Severity and Punishment are Noble and necessary Branches of Charity , they are not the Natural and Genuine ; they relate to it , but as the Prophet Isaiah says they do to God , They are his Works , his strange Works ; his Acts , his strange Acts. The Works which Charity delights most in , are those that are mild and gentle ; which not only produce Good , but which in themselves are Good ; which shew Mercy by the Ways of Mercy , and are no less beneficial in their Progress , than their End : And these are the Operations of Charity which our Apostle chiefly recommends here to us : and that we may not erre in so Divine a Grace , or come short in so important a Duty , our best way will be to set before us the Perfectest Exemplar of it that ever was , our Lord and Saviour , and himself commands us , John 15.12 . to do this . As I have lov'd you , says he , so love one another : thus making his Love to us the Rule or Pattern of our Affection to those of our own Kind .

And the first Instance of Christ's Love , which I shall propose for Imitation , is this , That as he lov'd us , Before we lov'd him ; lov'd us , without any Merit or Invitation on our part ; lov'd us , when we could not love him , when we were wholly benumm'd and dead to all heavenly Affections : So likewise that we love one another , expect not Obligations and Invitations from our Brethren , to quicken our Charity towards them ; but rather delight to begin and be before-hand in our Expressions of Kindness , and to have it seen that they come from our selves . A natural Spring flows of its own Impulse , unbid , unprovoked , and makes its Way through all Oppositions : if it meets a hollow in its Course , it fills it up ; if a light Obstacle , it bears it away with its Stream ; if a great one , it swells and passes over it , at least pours out still its free Source , till it finds , or makes a Passage . And thus our Charity must take its Rise , and flow from its self , shew it depends on nought beside , that it cannot be obstructed by the want of any Qualifications , or yet by any Disobligations of our Brethren . Atticus the charitable Bishop of Constantinople , when he sent Money to relieve the Poor in the City of Nice , commanded that no enquiry should be made in the Distribution of it , of what Sect in Religion the Poor were , but what their Wants were . He that confers his Benefits upon Consideration only of mens agreeing with him in Opinion , of their Merit , Neighbourhood , former Obligations , or the like , may be just , prudent , or Grateful , but he cannot be said to be Charitable : for this is a free , unbiass'd , disinterested Vertue , and if it regards ought in the Good it does , beside the Opportunity and Power it has to do it , it changes its Nature , becomes another thing , and assumes a New Name . Let no man therefore think he has absolved the Duty of Charity , if he be Kind only where his Honour is courted and comply'd with ; ready to entertain Friendship , when he is sought to ; to be reconcil'd , when full Amends is made him : But if he will shew this Grace , he must first break the Ice , and lead the way to Concord , Kindness , and Beneficence . And none think this so hard a Saying , as those who would hugely stomach and disdain , in case their Neighbour should precede or take place of them upon any Meeting or Encounter : as if it were Disparagement to them to sit lower than another at the Table , and not to be below him in Vertue ; to go after him at a Door , and not to come behind him in all Goodness . If we cannot part with our Passions and Evil Affections for the sake of our Brethren , as well as our Money ; for go our Pride and Animosities , as well as our Goods ; we are Charitable but in part , Merciful but in a Case ; and possibly the Vertue may not be only Imperfect and lame in us , but we may be wholly destitute of it : for St Paul says , We may bestow all our Goods to feed the Poor , give our Bodies to be burnt , and yet not have the Grace of Charity : Because these things may be done out of Ostentation , and not only so , but without any Profit or Benefit : For put the Case , our Brother be not low in Fortune , but weak of Undestanding ; not indigent of outward things , but of Instruction and Advice ; stands in need to be born with , not to be reliev'd ; what Good will our Money do him in these his Infirmities ? It were as seasonable to apply it to a broken Arm , or fester'd Wound , to give it to one starving in a Desart where no Food is to be bought . If we will be Charitable , we must compassionate our Brothers Necessities , of what Nature soever they be ; supply his Wants , not gratifie our own Temper .

The second Instance of Christ's Love which I recommend to our Imitation , is this , That as he lov'd us not only first and before we lov'd him , but lov'd us when we were Enemies to him ; when we were not only Strangers , but Rebels to Heaven ; when we exercised all the acts of hatred and hostility against it : So that we love one another , and not think the Obliging and Good Natur'd only worthy of our Kindness , but the Discourteous and Injurious . Some men are contentious with their Neighbours , outrageous to their Children , tyrannical to their Inferiors , insupportable to their Equals , irreconcileable to their Enemies , implacable upon every Colour of a Wrong : But the Charitable on the other side can Excuse and pardon the most design'd and study'd Injuries , see something to commiserate and pity even in mens Injustice ; can look upon their Malice , as their Mistake or Misfortune , pray for their Enemies , as our Lord did , in the very Article of the Death which they have brought upon them , Father forgive them , for they know not what they do . And if we consider rightly , Sinners are Ignorant and Mistaken in what they do , Fools , as the Scripture constantly terms them : for no man can will a Wrong Action , that is not Ignorant and Mistaken ; and whether the Mistake lye in the thing Chosen , or in the Principle by which 't is chosen , it matters not , if it be still a Mistake ; and the grosser the Errour is , the more pitiable still it is : and if we can pardon Fools and Mad Folks , Children and Sick persons , and cannot likewise commiserate the Sick in Sin , the Mad and Foolish in Wickedness , we are as blind in our Anger , as they are in their Actions . How will that man stand before the Severe Tribunal of God , who weighs every Grain and Scruple in his Brothers Trespasses against him ? who shews the exactest and highest Rigour of Justice in his Revenges , and perhaps was never just in any other passage of his Life ? how will he be able to excuse his non-payment of the vast Arrears he is indebted to God , who has exacted the utmost Farthing of his Brother ? Beloved , we make our Condition in the World to come , according to our Charitableness or Uncharitableness in this ; God will love us , or hate us ; judge us , or justifie us ; enlarge his Mercy , or shut it up to us ; as we do these things to others : if we be difficult in remitting our Brothers Faults , he will be difficult in remitting ours ; if we forgive only small Offences , he will not pardon our Great ; if we forgive only in part , we shall not be absolv'd in the whole . He shall have Judgment without Mercy , as St James says , that shew'd no Mercy . Let no man therefore seek an Excuse , or be glad when he has found a Distinction to take him off from pardoning his Brother : for what profit is there in that Wrath which does but treasure up Wrath against the Day of Wrath ? The Fourth Council of Carthage forbad , that the Oblations of Contentious Persons should be received into the Treasury of the Church , for the same reason that the High Priest refus'd to put the money return'd by Judas into the Treasury of the Temple , because it was the Price of Bloud . So this the Council : Obligationes dissidentium Fratrum neque in Sacrario , neque in Gazophylacio Episcopi recipiant . As there is no place in the Church of God for Uncharitableness , so we may be sure there 's as little in the Kingdom of Heaven .

I have not time to set forth all the Instances of Christ's Love : but there is One which I must not omit , and 't is that which differences and distinguishes Spiritual Love from Worldly and Carnal above all others : and that is Christ's performing all he did , merely for their Sakes for whom he did it . Carnal Love , or Dotage on outward Beauty , can in a measure imitate the former things we have mentioned , love first , before it be beloved ; love without Merit in the Person affected , digest all their Peevishness and Affronts , and hang on still , and leave no means unattempted to bring their Mind about : but then they do this not for their sakes , but their own , to attain the Fruition of what they have so much desired . But , Alas ! what End , what Design could the Creator of all things have on his own Creatures ? What Advantage could he receive by them ? As Christ therefore lov'd us not for his own Good , but ours ; as it was our Salvation , our re-estating in Immortality that he intended , and not his own : so in our Love to our Brethren we must not have an Eye to any Sordid Profit of our own ; we must not chaffer Kindness , huckster , as I may say , friendly Offices ; Charity requires the mind of a Prince , not of a Merchant ; and we must make a difference between Christianity , and Factoring . As I have loved you , so love one another . If it be here objected , That the most Spiritual and Divine Love was never so abstracted , as to be without all Intuition of Reward , and that our Lord himself , for the joy that was set before him , endur'd the Cross and despised the Shame : It will be enough to say in answer , That as in a Kingdom or Commonwealth they are accounted Disinterested Persons and without all Designs , who pursue only the Publick Interest and Honourable Designs : So in the Kingdom of the Gospel those are counted to love without all Design , who have no base and bye Design ; who love God and their Neighbour for Heavens sake , are interpreted to love them purely for their Own sakes . And let this suffice to be said of the Habit or Grace of Love enjoined by the Apostle : I proceed next to speak of the Degree of it .

Have Fervent Charity .

The Word in the Original for Fervent 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , signifies as well the Continuation of Time , as the Vehemence and Intenseness of the Quality ; the Constancy that should be in our Love , as well as the Ardour . I shall therefore handle it according to both Senses .

1. In regard of the Time or Constancy of this Quality , our Charity must not be Fantastick , interrupted , and uncertain ; there must not be several Weathers in our Affections ; they must not change like the Winds , but move like the Heavens in one constant Circumvolution shedding and dispensing their favourable Influences . For he that loves not always , when he does love , loves out of Humour , not Vertue ; and we may account all the good Offices he does , only the Fits and Starts of some momentany Passion , and not the Actions of a settled and radicated Habit. Again , this Vertue must not be taken up only at the Alarm of a Danger or Sickness , at the approach of a Holy Season , or by way of Preparation to the Communion : for they are far from fulfilling the Law of Charity that lay down their Grudges and Quarrels to their Brethren out of some Affright or Design , but as soon as these are over , reassume them again ; imitating the Serpent that casts up her Poyson , when she goes into the Water , and as soon as she comes on dry Land licks it up again . God accepts not those kind of Truces , where Battel ceases , but the hatred does not ; where the Weapons rest , but the Affections still rage . Though Charity ought to flourish more eminently at holy Seasons , yet it must live and be exercised all the whole Year . Our Saviour's Example will direct us here in the Continuation of our Love , as formerly it did for the Manner of it ; of whom we read , That having loved his own which were in the World , he lov'd them unto the End .

2. In regard of its Degree , our Charity must be Vehement and Intense , it must confess its Part in its Ardour , the Holy Ghost ; which is call'd the Spirit of Love , and has appeared oftener to the World in Fire , than under any other Form : Good will without Fervency , is but the Endeavour of an imperfect Elementary Charity . That we may know therefore the Just Degree , and certain Temper that is required in our Love , the best means will be to bring it to the Test and Tryal of the Rule which is given us to measure it by , which is , Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy Self . And this Commandment makes our Love to our own Selves the Pattern or Standard of that which we ought to bear to other Men : Not that we are obliged to love other men every way Equal to our selves , that is not the meaning of the Rule , it implies not an Equality , but a Similitude ; not a Parity , but a Resemblance of it in Truth and Reality : Our Love must be as Sincere and Cordial to our Brethren , as to our Selves ; we must heat our Affections in the same Forge , have the like Zeal , the like Promptness to snatch all Occasions to advance their temporal and spiritual Good , as we would to advance our own : but yet still other mens Concerns ought to be but our second Care ; before we preach to others , before we labour for their Salvation , we must take heed with St Paul , that we our selves be not Cast-aways .

I shall not need in these days , in which Self-Love so much abounds , and Christian Love so little , to give Cautions against Supererogating and overflowing Charity : but though little will need to be said against any Excess in this Grace , yet much may be behoof-ful to prevent the Mistakes of it . For many think that for Friendship-sake they are obliged to engage in all manner of Wickedness , to drink Drunk , and fight Duels , to spend the main of their Life in Gaming , and other dissolute Courses ; nay , to enter into treasonable Practices against their Prince and Country . And there are those again that will debauch as highly in matters of Religion : out of their Kindness to a Sect , dip their hands in Bloud , and put a Nation into a Flame and Combustion ; for their Love to an ill-taken up Opinion , and a Party they have long adhered to , renounce the Church and Truth , which in effect is God himself ; chuse rather to live and dye in Disobedience and a damnable Schism , than seem to be inconstant ; and to carry their Flocks along with them in the way of Perdition , than undeceive and grieve them with an Unwelcome , though Necessary Truth . Such as these are not tender of their Brethrens Peace , but guilty of their Destruction ; and set not so high a Price on their Contentment , as a cheap on their own Consciences : 't is not possible to be Wicked , and Charitable ; to love men , and sooth them in their Sins . What St Paul says of the false Teachers among the Galatians , is true of these , They zealously affect you , but not well ; yea they would exclude you , that you might affect them ; i. e. they had rather their Congregations should miss of Salvation , than they lose the Interest they have in them . There may be some Extraordinary Cases in which we ought to prefer our Neighbours Good before our own : as their greater Good before our lesser ; their Spiritual before our Temporal , &c. But the Rule holds in General , I am not to destroy my self out of Courtesie ; I am not to contract Guilt , to preserve another Innocent ; I must love my Neighbour As my self , not Above , not Before my self .

But this Doctrine seems to be oppos'd by the Practice of the two greatest Guides of the Jewish and Christian Church , Moses and St Paul . The one , Exod. 32.31 . when the Israelites had so heinously transgress'd in the Golden Calf , interceded for them in this manner , This people have sinn'd a great Sin , they have made them Gods of Gold : yet now , if thou wilt , forgive their Sin ; if not , blot me ( I pray thee ) out of the Book which thou hast written . And the other , Rom. 9.7 . out of his heat of Zeal for the Salvation of the same Seed of Abraham , utters these words , I could wish my self Accursed from Christ for my Brethren . And both these seem to prefer not only the Temporal , but Spiritual Good of others , before their own : insomuch as to salve their Excess of Charity , some have thought nothing less sufficient , than to say , There are many things done in Scripture by Persons acted by an Extraordinary and Heroick Spirit , which are not to be brought into Practice by us , who are mov'd by lower Degrees of the Spirit ; and though we may admire them , we must not imitate them . Others again , on the other side , have as much depress'd the transcendent Charity of these Great Persons , by parallelling what they did with like Usages and Customs common among the Jews : For , first , they resemble Moses's Intercession for the people , to a friendly Complement or Expression of Good-Will familiarly used by those of the Circumcision , and possibly first taken up in imitation of Moses's intercession , May I be thy Propitiation or Expiation , my Brother ; i. e. may I undergo the Penalty of the Law in thy Stead ; to rescue thee from the Divine Displeasure , bear thy temporal Punishment ? And after the like manner they parallel St Paul's words , ( I could wish my self Accursed from Christ ) to a like Passage found in Ignatius , who was an Auditor of the Apostles , Let the Punishment of the Devil come upon me , only let me obtain Christ . Where the Punishment of the Devil cannot possibly import the Eternal Torments of Hell , for from thence there is no Redemption , or returning to enjoy Christ : and therefore it must point at Excommunication , to the giving up to Satan , and the Punishments he had power to inflict on the Excommunicated , so frequently mentioned in Scripture , but I shall need to give only one instance of . Deliver such an one unto Satan for the Destruction of the Flesh , that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus , 1 Cor. 5.5 .

But there seems here to be no need of these Extraordinary Salvo's , these , however ingenious and learned , Accommodations . For put the Case we should take the Words of Moses in the strictest literal Sense they can bear , ( and we must take them so , if we will take them , as God's Answer shews he took them , Whosoever has sinn'd against me , says he , him will I blot out of my Book ) what would be the Danger or Inconvenience ? What did his Intercession import more , than may be thus fairly paraphrased ? Lord , let me prevail with thee to revoke thy Sentence of totally destroying this People thou hast done such wonderful things for , or involve me in their Destruction , which is easier for me to bear , than to survive so great a Calamity , and to hear the Heathen insult and blaspheme thy Name on this Occasion . But Moses's words relate to an Eternal blotting out . Not necessarily , no nor probably : for whatever knowledge he might have of another Life , the less 't is to be supposed , that he should be willing to undergo an Eternal Death , to save the People only from a Temporal . And as fair an account may be given of St Paul's words , who does not say , I do , but I could wish my self accursed from Christ for my Brethren . So that his words are not an anathematizing or devoting himself , but only a Meditation : as if he had said , I could in my Imagination be contented , upon the Condition or Contemplation of an Event so much to God's Glory and the salvation of so many Millions , as the bringing in the body of the Jewish Nation to the Faith of Christ , to whom the Promise was principally made , to be separated or excluded my self from him : as Vatablus excellently expounds , Vnus pro tam multis optarim perire , si liceat , I could wish , as far as 't is lawful for me , that One rather than so many might perish . And there is nothing in either of these Passages of Moses or St Paul , which every faithful Pastor may not safely imitate ; let their Zeal be as much in Earnest , and as right plac'd as theirs , and it will not only be pardonable , but rewardable : Neither is there any thing in their Practice , if rightly weighed , contrary to this Rule , I must love my Neighbour As my self , not Above , not Before my self . I should proceed to the Object of our Charity , but what remains will be sufficient for another Task .

The Nineteenth Sermon . 1 PETER iv . 8 .

And above all things have fervent Charity among your selves : for Charity covereth the multitude of Sins .

The Object of Charity , All Men in General .

GOD taught the Church of the Jews in the beginning by easie and natural Notices and Instructions , by a kind of hieroglyphical or symbolical Divinity , the Scene of their Religion lay in Garments , Diet , Washes , and the like ; the Commandment was conversant in the Objects of the Senses , touch not , taste not , handle not . And thus men were inur'd to the Ways of Vertue , and held at a Distance from Vice , by allowing or disallowing them the Use of such Creatures and Customs , as shew'd the Beauty of the one , and the Deformity of the other . God endeavouring to render Sensuality and Prophaneness odious , by rendring Dogs and Swine so ; Hypocrisie and Corruption of Doctrine , by forbidding Garments of mixt matters , and sowing the Field with Seeds of several kinds ; Exorbitant Lust , by amputation of the Fore-skin ; Idolatry and Unnatural Mixtures , by commanding a perpetual War with the seven Nations of Palestine , deeply ingulph'd in these Sins . Again , he endeavoured to train them in Purity and Innocence of Life , by enjoining frequent Washings of themselves , their Garments and their Vessels : But the Jews perverted and defeated the Counsel of God in this method of instructing them , they lookt not , as 't is said of them , to the bottom of their Lavatories , to the Design and Signification of their Types ; they cleans'd their Pots and Skins , and polluted their Lives ; they entertain'd the forbidden Sin , and terminated their Hatred in the innocent Sign ; wallow'd in the Sensuality of Beasts , and detested the harmless Creatures ; practis'd all the Abominations of the Heathen , and when they were as guilty as they , lookt upon them as their Enemies : As if God had taught them , not to hate Idolatry , but Men ; not to be at Variance with Sin , but to keep up a Feud with the greatest part of the Creation . When they were enjoined utterly to root out the Canaanites , that their Corruptions might not spread among them , they made Marriages with them , and incorporated them into one People with themselves : and again , when in after Ages the reason of such Enmity was worn out , and the Danger of their Community Out-dated ; when their Aversion to the Gentiles did not Secure their Religion , but render it Odious ; and preserved not the Truth , but hindred the Propagation of it ; then most preposterously and unreasonably they shew'd an irreconcileable Hatred to the Heathen , and extended their Malice not only to the seven Nations , but to all Nations beside themselves , and were detestable to all the Inhabitants of the Earth for their Churlishness and Inhumanity .

In this Condition of hating , and being hated , our Lord found them when he came into the World ; and when he set himself to reform their Mistakes , to remove the Outward Ordinances they had so little profited by , and to reveal the Duties that were shadowed under them , they abhorred the Sanctity of their Meaning , preferr'd the Burden of them before the Vertue they signified ; embraced closer and more strictly their beggarly Elements ; like degenerate Children that fly from their Book to the Bables of their Infancy ; from their Tutors to their Nurses ; chusing rather to counterfeit still an imperfect clipt Speech , than to form their Tongue to pronounce Words of Instruction and Knowledge . And it cost our Saviour the Cross , and his Disciples Persecutions and cruel Deaths , while they laboured to wean them from their first Childish Rudiments ; to redeem the Creatures from those Prejudices which for a time were thrown upon them for Religion and Instruction sake ; to bring the anathematiz'd and excommunicated World into the Pale of the Church ; to have all men seen to be of one Kindred , as they were at the Creation ; to revive the Consanguinity of Nature , by the Alliance of Grace ; which acknowledges its scattered and remotest Relations , though situate in the furthest Climes , and made not only Strangers , but Enemies by distant Countries , and more distant Religions and Interests .

However therefore the Jews were born to Animosities and Hatreds , had Quarrels intail'd on them like their Lands , had so many Nations made over to them their hereditary , legal , and commanded Enemies : yet Christians are allow'd to account no Sort of People their Enemies , but are enjoined to bear an Amicable friendly Disposition to all men ; or taught that their Brethren are not those only of the same Kindred or Nation , but those of the same Kind and the same Nature : as Tertullian says , Lex vetus amorem docet in proximos , nova in extraneos ; the Old Law taught us to love our Neighbours , but the New teaches us that all the World are our Neighbours ; not only those that live near us , but those that do any way stand in need of our Assistance ; not those alone that we know , but those whose Distresses we are acquainted with , though their Persons are Strangers to us . And this Doctrine our Lord revealed or explained in the Parable of the wounded Samaritan : and according to the Tenour of it , we ought to say with Gregory Nazianzen , All the Earth is my Country , and no Part of the Earth is my Country , 't is Heaven alone that can claim that Title ; and no man ought to be excluded my Kindness , till I know him to be excluded Heaven ; and no man but may challenge my Love , of whom I can say , Behold an Other Man . And this Point of Christianity is so grounded on the Principles of Nature , that the better Heathens discerned and practised it : As I am Antoninus , says that excellent Emperour , my Country and City are Rome and Italy : but as I am a Man , the whole World . And like again to this is that Speech in the Comoedian , Homo sum , humani nihil à me alienum puto ; I am a Man , and I esteem nothing humane strange to me , or not to be my Concern .

Be then my Brother an Arabian or Indian , though he has travelled far , and planted himself in a remote Clime , though he be fed with Fruits of the Earth I never saw , and speaks a Language I never heard , he ceases not to be my Brother ; nay , though he be a Jew , Mahometan , or Infidel , and not only an Enemy to the Faith , but also to me ; he has not lost his Humanity , though he lost his Religion and Goodness ; he has not drunk of Circe's Cup , he is not become a Lion or a Wolf : & docet Christus , delicto alterius non tolli Naturam , and Christ teaches us , that a mans Nature is not destroyed by his Sins , the Image of God remains still in him , and he is yet a Member of Mankind : and whoever shall obliterate this Character , though but in his Uncharitable Estimation , is impious and sacrilegious ; and because his Brother has done something unworthy of his Relation to him , he does that which is unworthy of his Creation , unworthy of the Divine Character he bears .

The Word Enemy ought to be a mere Notion or empty Term in Christian Religion , or to be Relative to nothing , but to Sin and Satan , to the Devil and the Devil's Works ; God and Nature made all men Brethren ; Malice , Interest , or Chance , made them Strangers or Enemies . Says Hierocles , To a Good man no man is an Enemy , i. e. a Good man may be hated , but he will not hate again ; he may be treated hostilely , but he will not use another as an Adversary . And this unconquered Love , of returning good for evil , is the truest and noblest Badge of our Christian Profession . The Disciples of the Philosophers were distinguisht by the Various Opinions of their Masters ; those of the Lawyers by particular Sentences and Interpretations of the Law ; the Scholars of the Pharisees by certain Traditions and Observations : But Christ would have his Disciples known by no Vain-glorious Marks or Distinctions , But by this , says he , shall men know that you are my Disciples , if ye love one another : And those that hate their Brother , be it upon what Pretence soever , Judaize ; and though they wear their Baptismal Cross as conspicuously on their Foreheads , as the Pharisees did their Phylacteries , they are Disciples of the Synagogue .

I shall add but one thing more , and conclude this Point . Though we are oblig'd to love one another , i. e. All men to love all men , we are not obliged to love all men alike . Our heavenly Father , who is set to be our Example in general Beneficence , does not do so ; though his Love be Universal to all , 't is not Equal to all : but as Seneca says of Earthly Kings , Rex honores dignis dat , congiarium & indignis , a King bestows common Largesses both on the Worthy and Unworthy , but Offices and Charges of Honour he confers only on the Worthy . So the King of Heaven sends his Rain and makes the Sun to shine on the Good and Bad , on the Just and Unjust ; but does not in the like promiscuous manner and without Distinction scatter the Gifts of his Holy Spirit ; he shews himself a Common Father to all men , but a Gracious Father only to the Righteous . And we ought to conduct our private limited Charity by the like Rule , shed the common Influences of it on all Mankind , even as far as we can extend them : but when they will not reach both to Believers and Unbelievers , then to give the preference to Believers : for the Alliance of Grace is yet straiter , than that of Nature . And thus St Paul states this Duty , Gal. 6.10 . As we have opportunity , says he , let us do good to all men , but especially unto the houshold of Faith . And I conceive after this manner we are to understand what is said Ecclus 12.4 . Give to a godly man , and help not a Sinner ; i. e. help the Godly man rather ; when thou canst not relieve both , chuse to relieve the first . And let thus much suffice to be said of the Object of our Charity . I proceed to the Reason that inforces it , which is taken from its Operation and Effect , It covers Sins , together with the Extent of that Effect , not one or two , but many and many Sins ;

For Charity shall cover the multitude of Sins .

These Words are Parallel to the last Verse of the fifth Chapter of St James , He that converteth a Sinner from the errour of his ways , shall save a Soul from death , and shall hide a multitude of Sins . But in some Copies , both in this place and in my Text , the Original has not 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 in the Future Tense , Charity [ shall ] cover a multitude of Sins , implying the Sins of the Charitable Man , but 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 in the present , [ Does ] cover a multitude of Sins , implying the Sins of other men : as 't is Prov. 10.12 . Hatred stirreth up Strife , but Love [ or Charity ] covereth all Sins , i. e. hideth and beareth with the transgressions of other men : and thus again 't is said 1 Cor. 13.4 . Charity suffereth long , and is kind . In which words the Apostle speaks of a prime Act of Charity , not of its Reward ; of the Goodness it shews , not of the Recompence it shall receive . But there will be no need to contend for rendring of the Words either way : for both these Propositions are true . Charity is a benign Vertue that pardons the Sins of those that offend against us . And again , Charity is so acceptable a Vertue in the Sight of God , that for its sake he will pardon many Sins committed against him . I shall therefore handle the Words in both Senses .

And first , Charity shall cover the Multitude of Sins , i. e. of our own Sins against God . Sins are said to be hid or covered in Scripture , when they are pardoned : so Psal. 32.1 . Blessed is he whose unrighteousness is forgiven , and whose sin is covered . And again , Psal. 84.3 . Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people , thou hast covered all their Sins . Covering of Sins imports not the concealing them in relation to God's Sight or Knowledge , but in relation to his Justice or Punishment : as men are said to forget Injuries , not in a Sense of Memory , but of Mercy , when they remember them not to revenge them : as Joseph forgot his Brethrens selling him into Egypt , not as Pharaoh's Butler forgot Joseph in Prison . But may not then the same Question be ask'd here , which the Scribes and Pharisees ask'd in the Gospel ? Who can forgive sins , but God alone ? In what Sense can Charity be said to cover or pardon Sins ? for covering or pardoning of Sins , and Justification , are one and the same thing , the peculiar Prerogative of God , and his free Gift of Grace through Jesus Christ : and to affirm , that Charity , or any other Vertue whatsoever , can work this Work belonging only to God , were to make it , as St Hilary speaks , ambitiosa errorum patrona , an ambitious or aspiring Patroness of Errour , to make it affect the Throne of God like Lucifer ; to attribute to an imperfect humane Vertue the Power of the Deity , and to advance that to be a Giver of Pardon , which stands in need to receive Pardon it self . When 't is said therefore , That Charity shall cover our Sins , it means only , That it will dispose God to shew us Favour , that it is an acceptable Vertue in his Sight , and if we come qualify'd with this Grace for his Mercy , which is a special Condition also of his Covenant , we shall not fail to obtain it ; but may more powerfully urge this Petition , Forgive us our trespasses , as we forgive them that trespass against us : not , as the Papists teach , upon the Presumption of Merit , but upon the Confidence of God's Promise and Covenant , Fac hoc , & vives ; Do this , and thou shalt live .

Secondly , If we take the Words in the other Sense , Charity covers the Sins of other men against us . Charity does this many ways , but I shall mention only three : 1. Remittendo , by pardoning and forgiving them : and this is the perfectest and most absolute way of covering Sins of all other : for thus Sins are covered , as , I said , God covers them ; he that remits Offences , when he has right to do it , restores the Person guilty to the State of Innocence again ; and does not so much cover his Transgressions , as utterly take them away : as he on the other side that revenges or punishes Offences , registers and preserves the Memory of them ; as the Widow of Zerepaths Expostulation with the Prophet Elijah imports , Art thou come , says she , to call my Sins to remembrance , and to slay my Son ? to punish her old Guilt , and to revive it , was all one in her account ; to slay her Son , to call her past transgressions to remembrance .

2. Charity covers the Sins of other men , corrigendo & medendo , by Correcting and amending them , by turning their Vicious Habits into Vertuous : and thus it covers Sins , as a Plaster does a Wound ; its covering is its healing them , and bringing it to sound flesh again . But then much Prudence and Skill is requir'd in this Point of Charity , we must be sure that our Corrections of our Brethren be medicinal and salutary , that our Cures of Mens Minds and Manners be conducted with as much Caution and Tenderness , as Surgeons and Physicians use in the Cure of their Bodies . The first Caution therefore that I shall give , is , That we do not mistake the Disease , and cast the Patient into a Worse Condition ; bring him out of a light Distemper , into a more dangerous and deadly . There are many Spiritual Physicians in these days , who , like the Pharisees of old , compass Sea and Land to make Proselytes , and then render them sevenfold more the Children of Hell , than they were before . The second Caution which I shall give , is , That if soft and gentle Remedies will work the Cure ; we do not apply rough and sharp ones ; affect to operate with Saws , and Knives , and Fire , use cutting and corroding Reproofs , where Oils and Balsams , milder Counsels will suffice : a Physician ought to compassionate the Sufferings of his Patient ; and the Reformer of his Brother that shews more Rigour and Austerity than is necessary , acts the part of a Tyrant , not of a Councellor ; and leaves it to be suspected , that his Design is not so much to reclaim , as to insult over him ; to make him a Convert , as to dress up a Trophee to his own Pride . Churlishness and Harshness hardens the Bread that 's given in Alms , into a Stone ; whereas on the other side , Mildness and Gentleness renders the sharpest Reprehensions , sweet ; and the severest Discipline , grateful . The last Caution I recommend , is , If the Disease or Sin be disgraceful , that we not only shew our selves good Physicians , but good Men ; perform the Duty of Confessors , as well as of Reformers ; hide the Shame , as well as amend the Crime : Open Reprehension turns into Scandal , and that which would have been Advice , if secret ; publisht , becomes a Libel .

3. Charity covers the Sins of other men , benignè interpretando , by favourably Interpreting of them , and taking them in the best Part , by setting all Actions , even Injuries themselves in the most advantageous Light ; as Joseph call'd not his Brethrens ill-Dealing with him ( in selling him into Egypt ) their Envy or their Malice , but God's Providence ; and looking upon the Success , and not upon their Intention , he upbraided them not for their Cruelty , but congratulated the Preservation of his Father's House . And those that will have God look with favourable Eyes upon their Miscarriages , must in like manner behold and excuse the Miscarriages and Delinquences of others : where the Intention appears to have been Evil towards them , content themselves , if the Success be Good ; and when the Success is Ill , yet perswade themselves the Meaning was not so bad ; and when they can make no fair Construction of either of them , then consider if themselves would not have done the same upon the like Temptation , or have not done Worse in some other Instance . And thus where they cannot preserve their Charity by a candid Interpretation of their Neighbours Defaults , support it yet on the Consideration of their own Infirmities ; where they find them not Kind , Just , or Reasonable in their proceedings , remember that themselves are as Unkind , Unjust , and Unreasonable as they .

And now I shall not have much to do in the last place , to shew the Extent of the Operation of Charity , viz. That it covers a Multitude of Sins : For if it covers all our Own Sins , and all the Sins of other Men ; not only a Great Number , where a Greater Number yet remains ; but the whole Infinity of them , though they out-vie the Leaves of Autumn , and the Sand on the Sea-shore ; we may well allow the Apostles Expression , That Charity covers the Multitude of Sins . And I doubt not to understand the Words in their utmost Latitude , Our Lord commands us to forgive our Brother seventy times seven times , which is a definite Number set for an indefinite , and imports as much as to forgive him without Measure or Number , if he request it : Again , Luke 6.37 . he says , Forgive , and ye shall be forgiven , and without all doubt , as Unlimitedly as he commands us to forgive , he will forgive : for 't is not imaginable that God's Benignity should be less than his Creatures ; that when he requires of us to remit the Sins of others totally and plenarily , that he will remit ours partially and restrainedly .

And if it be said , There are some Sins mentioned in Scripture , as the Sin against the Holy Ghost , which shall neither be forgiven in this World , nor in the World to come : I answer , This is no Objection : For where such Sins are found , 't is not possible that Charity , or any other Grace , can be found to mediate for the Transgressor ; such Sins do not only offend against God's Laws , but deny his Deity ; and the Committers of them are not only Transgressors , but Apostates ; and unpardonable not on the account that their Crimes are above his Mercy , but renounce it ; or that they transcend the Promise made to Charity , but are destitute of the Vertue .

And if it seems too high a Prerogative to ascribe to Charity , or to any other Single Vertue whatsoever , and such as derogates from the rest , and makes them useless , to say , It covers all Sins ; I answer , That Charity , nor no other Vertue in a high and Heroick Degree , are Single , but Complicated Vertues : and whoever shall consider what St Paul says of Charity throughout the thirteenth Chapter of the First to the Corinthians , and again , Rom. 13.8 . He that loveth another , hath fulfilled the Law ; will confess 't is not a Single Vertue ; but that whoever has Charity in an Eminent Degree , must also have Faith , Justice , Liberality , Patience , Humility , Self-denial , even a whole Conjugation or Constellation of Christian Graces . And that where this Vertue is entertain'd , there all Quarrels and Dissentions , secret Malice and open Injuries , both the greater Outrages and more petty Vexations and Molestations so much complained of in humane Society , are utterly interdicted and banisht . Where Charity has its abode , indifferent actions are not put upon the Tenter , and men made guilty by Censures , when their Lives are Innocent . Calamities and Misfortunes are not reckoned among Crimes , and the Miserable judged void of Goodness , because they are void of Success . Brutish and voluptuous Affections are not call'd Vertues ; Lust , the greatest Enemy to Charity , stampt with the Specious Title of Love . Men are not seen to visit their Lawyer oftener than their Neighbour ; to seek his Ruine and undoing , whom 't is their Duty to protect ; to keep him upon a perpetual Guard and Alarm , whose Security should be as precious to them as their own , giving him cause to complain , That he rather borders on the Den of a Dragon or some savage Beast , than on the Habitation of his Christian Brother . Men disturb not , for every Nothing , the Quiet of their own Families , making their Houses resemble the Habitation , the Poets describe , of Aeolus , places of continual Storms and Tempests . Look not upon the Peace and Safety of their Country with a more malignant and malevolent Aspect , than a fatal Comet ; hatch not worse Mischiefs in their black Cabals , than are brooded in the poysonous Womb of the Air , when the Contagion of a Plague is fermenting in it . Men rend not the Church in pieces to patch up their Beggarly Fortunes , or to cover their more beggarly Endowment ; knowing the Perverseness of men is such , that a mean Harangue will lead them sooner into Sedition , than the most powerful Oratory will be able to retain them in their Duty and Obedience ; and that their Voices which sound so loud and shrill in the Cause of Schism and Rebellion , would be hoarse and flat in the Defence of Loyalty and Conformity . Against these , and infinite Disorders more , Charity is the best Catholicon , the best General Antidote can be prescribed , Which , as the Apostle says , seeks not its own things , but the things of another . And if we entertain this Vertue , it will not only remove those Mischiefs which are already on foot , but prevent those that are springing up ; it will defend us , not by the Power of Arms , but by turning Wars into Peace ; Ill-Will into Love ; Enemies into Brethren ; by making the World one Common Family , and of one Common Interest ; by making God our Common Father , and Heaven our Common Aim and Ambition ; to the attaining the highest Honours and Dignities in which Kingdom , 't is not Envy and Strife , the crossing and frustrating Mens Endeavours , but the furthering and assisting them , that conduces .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , &c.

The Twentieth Sermon . MATTH. xxii . 46 .

On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets .

THE Law being a large Body , consisting of many weighty Precepts upon several distinct accounts ; as that of the Sabbath , for the remembrance of the Creation of the World and the Redemption out of Egypt ; that of Tythes , for the maintenance of the Sanctuary and the Priests ; that of Sacrifices , for the purging away transgressions ; that of Circumcision , for the sealing of the Covenant , and which for its better remembrance was rigorously carved into the very Flesh of the Covenanters , &c. ; the Jewish Doctors ( more curious to compare the Excellence of their Precepts , than solicitous to obey them ; to make them contest their Priority with one another , than to reform and regulate their Lives by them ; ) made it a Question of the highest concern , Which Commandment had the Preheminence of all the rest . And our Lord in those days opening , as 't were , a School of Divine Knowledge , and professing a Solution of all Difficulties in the Revealed Will of God to men ; a Pharisee ( either to shew his Skill in the Law , or to try our Lord's ; to inform himself , or to have whereat to cavil ; ) put to him this so controverted Point among those of his own Sect , Quaenam est suprema Lex ? among the many Great Commandments , which is the Queen , or Supreme Commandment ? the Law , as one may say , that gives Law to all beside ? Our Lord ( whose custom it was not to answer directly to the impertinence of the Asker , but to take occasion from his malice , mistake , or the like , to make known some important Truth ) satisfies not the folly of the enquiry , Which Law had the Precedence to the prejudice of the rest , but declares , That the End and Design of all God's Laws is Piety and Charity , the love of God , and the love of our Neighbour : brings these two Duties ( which lay overwhelmed and neglected under the Rubbish of vain Traditions , over-seen like Saul in the Stuff and Lumber ) not only into Competition with the Commandments more highly prized by them , but as the tallest and most Illustrious anointed them with the Royal Oil , and set the Crown upon their heads . The Love of God , and of our Neighbour are not distinct formal Laws , but the Drift and Scope of the Whole Law , duae Cardines Tabularum , the Hinges on which the two Tables and all the preaching of the Prophets hang and turn , and without which they would fall to the ground , i. e. have nothing of Vertue or Moment in them . But our Lord having styled them two Commandments , has made them so by his authority , and as such , I shall observe in them these two General Parts :

I. The Substance of them , Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart , with all thy soul , and with all thy mind , And thy Neighbour as thy self . And

II. The high Dignity of them , by reason of the Dependance of the Whole Law and Prophets on them , On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets .

In the First of these two General Parts , the Substance of these two Commandments , I shall observe more particularly these three things .

1. The Duty enjoin'd , which is the same in both Commandments , Love .

2. The Objects of this Duty , God and our Neighbour .

3. The Measure or Degree in which the Love to each Object is commanded , viz. God to be lov'd with All the heart , And our Neighbour as our self .

I begin first with the Duty enjoin'd , which is the same in both Commandments ,

Love .

To love a Person , as Aristotle defines , is to wish him well , and to procure things Good and Agreeable to him for his own sake . And this Rule of Love to Men , may teach us what Love we ought to pay to God : for we ought to wish Well to God , and to procure things Good and Agreeable to him . And if any ask , Wherein we can do this to God ? I need look no further for an Answer than the second Petition in the Lord's Prayer , Thy Kingdom come , thy Will be done in Earth as 't is in Heaven . It consists in the Execution of God's Will , and the Extension of his Glory : For all other things besides these are nothing to God , as the Psalmist says , My goods are nothing unto thee . The Riches of this World , and the most precious things in its account , are contemptible in his Sight : but these two which I have named , he esteems , and in some measure wants and desires , possesses not perfectly and absolutely as he would , All his Creatures do not acknowledge him , honour him , worship him , delight in his Dominion , pay a ready cheerful Obedience to his Commands , as the Angels in Heaven do ; notwithstanding that they are reasonable , honourable , beneficial , have more of Profit , than of the Yoke in them . But so it is , there is another God of this World that blinds most men , and leads them away captive with divers Lusts , and they chuse rather to be Vassals and Drudges to this Usurper and Tyrant , than to be Nobles and Princes , even adopted Children to the King of Heaven and Earth . And with good reason holy Men in every Age have pray'd for God's Kingdom , i. e. the Encrease of Righteousness , and of the Number of the Faithful : for God is yet , in a manner , like those Princes , which are outed of part of their Dominions , and deny'd the Obedience of whole Nations of their People , and his Loyal Subjects can no way shew their affection so much to him , as by espousing his Interest , abetting his Title , employing their best Endeavours to reduce the Rebellious to Allegiance ; by wishing with the Psalmist , That Kings and all People , young men and maidens , old men and children , would praise and glorifie his holy Name . 'T is the business of Great Ministers of State to understand the Strength and weakness of Foreign Princes , the Commodities and Defects of their Countries , that they make the most advantageous Alliances for their own Masters , and they are held the best Politicians that do this best : But if both those of the highest Condition , and also of the lowest and meanest , even all People would set to their Power to serve the Great Monarch of Heaven and Earth , they would find no Policy comparable to this ; that the promoting of his Designs , would be the most certain way of promoting their own , whether publick or private ; they would find , that they would thrive like Jacob , that all things would prosper under their hands like Joseph , that they would return with constant Victory like David , and heap up Gold and Silver like Solomon . Numa , though a Heathen , rely'd so confidently on this Policy , that when he was told on a time , That the Enemy was drawing up against him , he answer'd , And I am praying against them ; And when 't was said , They were charging , he reply'd , and he was Sacrificing ; assuring himself the Gods would not neglect his Safety , while he was solicitous for their Worship .

But you will say , Is it needful that we should wish for the Encrease of God's Kingdom ? does he want the help of his Creatures ? No. Is he not Omnipotent , and can bring to pass whatever seems good to him ? Yes . Who has resisted his Will ? As the Question is ask'd , None : and yet it may be as truly said , Who is there that has not resisted his Will ? What was spoken of Israel , may be affirmed of all Mankind , that they are a rebellious and gain-saying People . God , 't is true , is Omnipotent , and his Power never fails ; he brought the World out of nothing by his Word , and by his bare Word can reduce it again to nothing ; if he had pleas'd , he could have created a Generation of Men that should have served him regularly and constantly , fatally and necessarily , as the Fire burns , and the Sun and the Moon move in their Courses . But this is not the Service that God wants , and which we are to pray for in his behalf ; 't is the Free and Voluntary , not the Constrain'd , Service of his Rational Creatures , that Men would obey him out of Love and Choice ; as his Dominion is gracious , that they would desire it ; as it is beneficial and honourable , that they would delight in it . Compell'd Righteousness is no Righteousness ; 't is in Obedience , as in Charity ; he that gives grudgingly and of necessity , does not give , but is tax'd ; and he that obeys of Compulsion , is a Slave , and not a Votary . 'T is reported of the famous Painter Apelles , that when he had finish'd any rare Piece , his custom was latere post tabulam , to hide himself behind it , that he might hear what Passengers said of it , and that he car'd for no Approbation , but what came in this free way . After the like manner , God exposes to the View and Consideration of Men his Works of Power and of Wisdom , of Mercy and of Goodness , and then delights latere post tabulam , to conceal himself in his inaccessible Glory , and to observe what free and unextorted Returns of Honour and Love they will bring him in ; all forc'd or feign'd , Superstitious and Hypocritical Acknowledgments being odious to him . And now after all that has been said , in strict speaking , God stands no more in need of our Obedience and Worship , than he does of our Riches : as 't is said , Acts 17.24 . He dwelleth not in Temples made by hands , neither is he worshipp'd by mens hands . The meaning of his being outed of part of his Kingdom and denied his full Dominion , in truth signifies no more , But that he has not yet extended the Salvation of Men to the Bounds his Goodness designed .

But to proceed . We said , Love did not only Wish , but Procure things good and acceptable to the Person belov'd : and we ought not only to wish the Execution of God's Will , and the Extension of his Glory , but to set-to our hands to Effect what we pray for : as it is not sufficient , in Point of Charity , to give good Words only to the Poor , to say , Be thou warm , be thou fill'd , God assist thee , and the like , when we can supply what they want our selves : so 't is not sufficient in our Love to God to say only , Thy Kingdom come , thy Will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven : but we must zealously and industriously do his Will , and endeavour all we can to promote his Kingdom . Says our Lord to St Peter , Simon Peter , lovest thou me ? Lord , reply'd he , thou knowest that I love thee . And yet notwithstanding that he knew the Sincerity of his heart , he ask'd him the same Question three times . Why ? to grieve Peter ? or that he delighted in the repetition of the Profession of his Love ? No , but to excite him to a more diligent Execution of his Apostleship , Feed my Sheep . And the Method which our Lord here prescribes to Peter must be observed also by us in advancing the Kingdom of God , When thou art converted , says he , strengthen thy Brethren ; We must first set up the Kingdom of God in our own hearts , before we attempt to erect it in others . As he is unfit to be a Teacher , that is not first well instructed himself : So he is not fit to be a Reformer , that is not first reform'd himself : for his Evil Manners will certainly defeat his Sermon , and instead of making others righteous by his preaching , he will render himself ridiculous . 'T is a Noble Undertaking to bring others to the fear of God , but 't is an indispensable Duty to serve God our selves : says St James , He that converteth a Sinner from the Error of his ways , shall save a Soul from death — ( that 's an Heroick Action ) and shall hide a multitude of Sins , ( that 's a necessary Concern . ) Self-reformation is the most Effectual Step we can make to promote God's Glory , 't is such a Giantly Step , as I may say , as reaches from the Setting out of the Course to the End of it ; 't is like the first Step of the Sun above the Horizon , which darts Rays to the furthest Circumference of it , and fills the whole Hemisphere with Light and Vigour , which these Words of our Lord seem to allude to , Let your Light so shine before men , that they may see your good Works , and glorifie your Father which is in heaven . Nothing so illustrates the Gospel , nothing so powerfully converts Sinners , and brings them to glorifie God , as the Holy Lives of the Faithful : But I urge not this to exclude other Endeavours to propagate Righteousness , but to shew the great Force and Prevalence that Righteousness has to produce Righteousness . I proceed to the Objects of our Love , which are two , God , and our Neighbour .

1. God .

Saint John speaks as if there were some difficulty in this Part of our Duty , Our loving God : says he , He that loveth not his Brother , whom he hath seen , how can he love God whom he hath not seen ? Implying , though the Ear be Janua Scientiae , the Gate of Knowledge , the Eye is Janua Amoris , the Gate of Love , and that to excite this Passion 't is requisite some Visible Beauty be display'd . But we may say to this , Though we do not see God , yet we may love him , by what we see and hear of him , nay with good reason we may be the more enamour'd on him , because his Perfections transcend not only our mortal Senses , but even all humane Conception : and thus we may fall in love , as Blind Men often passionately do , by report ▪ and hear-say . But more particularly , there are three Motives why we should love God , comprehended in the very Object , The Lord thy God .

1. Because he is God : For that 's the Name of the highest Excellence and Perfection , and they are only Glorious and Illustrious things that stir Love and Admiration in us ; we run not out to gaze upon Common Persons , but upon those that are famous for Greatness , Learning , Beauty , Prowess , and the like . Now there is nothing Rare or Admirable of any kind , but 't is in God in its Fullness and Perfection : and for this reason Epicurus , though he believed no Providence , or that Men received any Good or Evil from the Gods , yet he adored them , and sacrificed to them , merely because they were Glorious Beings . Had we no other Cause to love God , but for the Stupendous Perfections that are in him , it were sufficient .

But we have greater reason to love him from the

Second Motive , Because we have the Honour of Relation to him , he is The Lord Our God . The Psalmist thought it a high Obligation to praise him , because he was created by him , I will praise thee , because I am fearfully and wonderfully made . But we have not only the Obligation upon us of Creation and Conversation , which is a kind of continual Creation , in common with all Creatures , to love God ; but other Extraordinary and Distinguishing Favours , viz. his calling us to the Knowledge of the Faith , and the Blessed Consequences attending it : and this ought to tune our Harps yet higher , and to be the Subject of many Hymns and Psalms more .

But then , Thirdly , Our greatest Motive of all to love him is , Because he Redeem'd us , after we were lost ; restor'd us , when by our Sins we were in a manner uncreated again ; when we had defac'd the Image of God in us , our Innocence and Righteousness ; forfeited all our Felicity , and were become the Bond-slaves of Satan ; then he rescued us from Eternal Damnation , and made us again the Children of God . So that as he is Deus , or God , to all Mankind , to Christians he is also , over and above , Dominus , a Lord , i. e. a Redeemer and Saviour . There is nothing so much obliges , as Love and Benefits : Celsus the Physician speaking of Philtres or Love-potions , says , Amor est naturale Philtrum , Love is a Natural Love-potion , and more powerful than those that are compounded of Drugs and by Incantations . The most stupid of Creatures , the dull Oxe and Ass ; the wildest and fiercest , the Lion and Tyger , are brought to love by good Usage ; though they know not the Nature of a Man , they know if they receive Meat at his hands , and be well treated by him , and will love him , and be obsequious to him . And men were more insensible than the Brutes , if when they have received of the Riches of God's Bounty and Goodness , they refuse to love him , because they have not seen his Person , and cannot comprehend his Essence . And God , Isai. 1.3 . complains of this stupid Insensibility in Israel , The Oxe , says he , knoweth his Owner , and the Ass his Master's Crib : but Israel doth not know , my people do not consider . We love God , as St John says , because he loved us first , he began with us , and our Love to him is at best a Gratitude or Retaliation : if therefore the innumerable and inestimable Benefits of God work no return of Love in us to him , we deserve not only to have our Names rased out of the Number of Men , but to be allowed no place among the better natur'd Beasts , but to be rang'd with Devils , who are the only Enemies of God for his Goodness , and Haters of him for that which is Excellent and Amiable in him . The next thing I am to shew , is ,

In what Measure or Degree we are to love God .

The Words of the Commandment are , Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Soul , with all thy heart , and with all thy mind . On which three Expressions Commentators have many Observations and Criticisms , but more nice than profitable : for as Saint John says of the three that bear witness on Earth , the Spirit , the Water , and the Bloud , these three are one : so I may say of these three Expressions in the Commandment , however diversify'd , that in importance they are but One , and may be summ'd up in this single term , omnibus viribus , with all thy Strength . Instead therefore of amuzing my Auditory with fruitless Niceties , it will be more worthy the while to take notice

In the first place , That when God commands us to love him with all our Strength or Power , he commands us no more , than what we are able to perform , and not , as some will have it , what is above our Ability , posse autem hominem quantum potest , nemo sanus negabit , for that a man can do as much as he can , none that is in his wits will deny ; and we are enjoined here , To love God With All our Strength , and not Above it .

Secondly , It may be worth the while to note on the other side , The ambitious Folly and Vanity of the Church of Rome , who , more to exalt her own false Reputation than the Truth , boasts of such performances of her Saints , as are above the measures of Humane Nature . For Example , their living in Desarts , after the manner of Elias and John the Baptist , and using such wonderful Austerities as have not only mortify'd their Carnal Affections , but so Spiritualiz'd their very Bodies , that they have been seen , to the astonishment of the Beholders , raised and suspended in the Air many Foot above Earth : as if it were as easie a thing to work Miracles , as to write a Legend , or tell Lies ; to bring God to c●●ply with the Follies of Men , as for them to conceive or fansie foolish things ; as if again it were as easie to live a Miraculous Life , as to assume the Name of Heremite , or to live in a Wood ; the last indeed they do in an apish Imitation of Elias and John the Baptist , which is all that is true in this Piece of Pageantry , they being ridiculously fed by the neighbouring Towns . All that I shall say to this Affectation of Divine Performances , shall be something like that which the Elder Pliny said to the Younger racking his Invention for an Oration he was to make , Visne melius dicere quàm potes ? Will you speak better than you can ? So will you shew your selves Diviner Persons than you are ? When you are but Men , would you act like Angels ? Have you perform'd all that is enjoined you in the Gospel ? Are the Commandments of God indeed so mean and trifling that they are not worthy to amuse your Greater Abilities ? The Example of Christ's patience , meekness , self-denial , &c. such narrow Scenes to shew your Spacious Vertue in , that you aspire to his Supernatural Performances ? He trod no other way to Heaven , than those which honest men ordinarily tread in ; and though none was ever so abstracted from the Love of the World , as he ; yet none was more conversant in it ; none abhorr'd Sin equal to him , and none yet was more familiar with Sinners ! But to leave these men to their Dreams ; as in Humane Love we may love ardently , and yet be wise ; so in Divine Love we may love Exaltedly , and yet not Extravagantly and affectedly ; we may love God above our selves and the whole World , and yet not above Sobriety . To direct us in the way of this Duty by so many perverted , we need only observe two things , which are express'd both in the Letter of the Commandment , namely , That we love God with the Heart , And with All the Heart .

First , With the Heart , i. e. unfeignedly , and without Hypocrisie . Hypocritical Love is odious even to Men , we endure not to have Professions made to us , when there is no real Affection ; to be embraced and caressed , when the Heart is far distant from the Outward Behaviour : much less does God suffer such Juggling , but , as St Augustine says , Sim 〈…〉 Sanctitas est duplex iniquitas , counterfeit Sanctity , 〈◊〉 God's account , is a double Provocation ; and he more detests the feigned Saint , than the Open Sinner ; denounces more Judgments in Scripture against those that mock him in this manner , than against those that defie him .

Secondly , We are to love God with All the Heart : which implies two things , All in Quantity or Extension , and All in Quality or Intention . 1. With all the Heart in Quantity or Extension , is as much as with the Intire Heart ; not excluding all Inferior Loves , but all Competitor or Rival Loves with our Love of God : and so debarrs not only Idolatry , but all Inordinate Love whatsoever to any Creature , which is a kind of Idolatry . No man can serve two Masters : nor no man can love two Opposite Objects , Divers he may , but not Contrary and Opposite ; but as he loves the one , he must hate or dissemble with the other . 2. To love God with all the Heart in Quality or Intention , implies Fervency , and excludes Coldness and Indifferency : Slack Lukewarm Love is neither active nor durable ; productive of Service , nor constant in the Day of Tryal ; Demas hath forsaken me , says St Paul , having loved this present World : and no wonder : for 't is not possible for him that loves this present World , to suffer Persecution for the Gospel . Such as Demas love God , as Flatterers love those in Power ; who are officious to them in Prosperity , but are sure to leave them in Adversity . As 't was observed , that none were so forward to break down Sejanus's Statues , and to lay their hand on the Hang-man's Rope that dragg'd him to Execution , as those that had saluted him loudest that morning , and were readiest to have proclaim'd him Emperor had his Treason succeeded . Let this suffice to be said of our Love to God . I proceed to the Love of our Neighbour : In which , as in the former , there are two things to be observed : The Object of our Love , Our Neighbour . And the Measure of our Love to him , We must love him as our self .

I. The Object of our Love , Our Neighbour .

The Jews , before our Lord interpreted to them who was their Neighbour , understood not this Commandment ; they allow'd none this Title , but those that were of their Nation , or at least Proselytes to their Religion , to all beside that they were directly Inhumane , they would not shew a Heathen a waste running Water to save him from perishing by thirst , or so much as direct him in the right Way . But our Lord in the Parable of the Samaritan taught them , who they were to esteem their Neighbour , that 't was not only those of the same Kindred or Religion , but those of the same Kind or Nature ; as 't is said in the Parable , Quidam homo , a Certain man fell among Thieves ; no mention is made of what Country or Religion he was , Tros , Tyriusve nullo discrimine habentur , in Point of Charity no Difference is to be made between Jew and Gentile , Native and Stranger : Charity or Divine Love knows no Partiality , but where there is an Object of Misery , there is also an Object of Mercy ; if there be Distress on the one Side , and Power to relieve on the other , all Circumstances are fitted to shew our Love , and in Christ's account there are two Neighbours met . The Object of our Love , or who is our Neighbour , is so well known , that I shall not need to insist longer on it . The Measure of the Love we are to shew him , requires more Explanation .

We are to love him as our self .

And the Rule is so Excellent , that I may say of it , That if the like Freedom had been allow'd to Men to chuse a Standard of their Love to those of their own Kind , as was allowed , Isai. 7.11 . to Ahaz to ask a Sign , ( Ask thee a Sign either in the Depth , or in the Height above , i. e. in the whole Circuit of Heaven and Earth ) they could not have found a more apt and congruous , than that which is here prescribed them , The Love of their own selves . Which I shall shew in four Regards or Respects .

1. In regard of the Universality of it , 't is a great Universality where there is no Exception : St Paul says of our Love to Our Selves , No man ever hated his own flesh , but nourishes and cherishes it . God implanted this Love in every man by Nature , and that with singular Wisdom and Goodness , that his Creatures loving themselves , might conserve themselves in their Being : and we see , when this Love in any afterwards fails , through Miseries which befal them , and that they find no Amability in themselves , they ordinarily make themselves away . God therefore made choice of this Passion implanted in all men in general for Self-Preservation , for the Preservation of our Neighbour , that as our Love never fails to our Selves , so it should never be wanting to others .

2. In regard that this Rule is ever ready and at hand , as present and officious as he in the Gospel that said to our Lord , Master , I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest . Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self , is a Sociable and Concomitant Rule that is never absent , an inherent Direction that prompts us from within , when any Opportunity of doing Good is offered us . Or we may liken it to the Foot of the Compass that stands fixt at home , and guides and carries on the other that romes and circuits about : so this quiescent resident Love we bear our Selves , ought to be the Guide of that Love we extend or carry out to others .

3. In regard that this Rule takes from us all Excuse of Ignorance in performing the Duties of Charity . Men are often Churlish to one another , too apt to say , How must I love my Neighbour ? What must I do to him , to be said to love him ? Nescio quid sit Amor , as the Young Novice is made to speak , I know not what this Enjoined Love is . No ? why the Pattern of it is within thy self : how dost thou love thine own Person ? dost thou not clothe it , when 't is naked ? feed it , when 't is hungry ? cure it , when 't is hurt ? consult for it , when 't is in Trouble or Danger ? &c. Do the same for thy Neighbour . There is no need here to turn over Books , or to ask how the Learned have determin'd : but to ask thy self , what thou wouldst do to thy self in the like Cases ? What desirest thou ? Not , What readest thou ? What God says of mens knowing his Laws under the Gospel , I will put my Law into their Inward Parts , and write them in their Hearts — and they shall teach no more every man his Neighbour , saying , Know the Lord , for all shall know me : may be affirmed of the Rule that is given us for the Love of our Neighbour , It needs not be learned or copied out from any other , for the Original of the Duty , is a multiply'd Original in the Breasts of all Mankind .

4. In regard of the Truth and Sincerity of the Rule . No man loves himself with a False or Counterfeit Love , but is truly Dear to himself , will not hurt , will not deceive himself . David in the 22th Psalm calls his Soul ( or Life ) his Darling , Deliver my Soul , says he , from the Sword , my Darling from the power of the dog . How tender is David to David ? how David careth for himself ! Why , every man does this as well as he : and lo here is the Rule of our Love to other Men ! With the same Fidelity , with the same Sincerity , with the Same Tenderness , we treat Our Selves , we ought to treat our Other-Selves , our Neighbours . What David calls in this place [ his Darling ] is styl'd in the Margin [ his Only-One ] unicam meam . Men are allow'd , in a sense of Propriety , to esteem their Own Souls , their own Lives , their own Interests , to be their Only Ones : yet in a sense of Charity they are obliged to make this Onlyness , or Singularity , become Plural ; and so to look upon themselves as their Only-Selves , as to reckon all Men else their Multiply'd and Several-Selves . Since this Commandment was given , Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy self , all men are made , in a manner , One Man again , as at the first Creation : and I can no more count my self and my Neighbour to be two in regard of Charity , than I can separate my self from my self ; seclude him from my Love , than I can seclude my self from it . I shall make but one General Reflection on all that has been said , for Application , and conclude my first General Part.

Although these two Precepts , Of loving our Neighbour As our selves , and God Above our selves , are founded in Nature , re-inforc'd and bound straiter on us by express Commandments , press'd further in the Gospel , and declar'd to be the Summ and General Design of the whole Law ; yet there is one Rival , one Opposite Vicious Principle , which is able to with-hold us from paying Obedience to them . I say , One , because whatever with-holds us beside , may be reduc'd to this One , and that is our Over-much Love of our selves . Saint Paul , 2 Tim. 3. reckoning many Vices , which are causes of perillous Times , brings them all out of the Belly of this Monster , makes them all the Daughters and Spawn of Self-Love ; says he , This know also , That in the last days perillous times shall come : for men shall be Lovers of themselves , covetous , boasters , proud , blasphemers , without natural affection , &c. All the cursed Genealogy of Ungodliness and Uncharitableness draw their Extraction from this Stock , The Immoderate Love of Our Selves . From hence it is that we think it more reasonable to satisfie our vainest Desires , and to gratifie our most Sinful Affections , than to relieve the most weighty and pressing Distresses of our Brethren : from hence it is , that we set more by our own Opinions and Estimation , than by the Truth it self , or God's Glory ; by our Ambition or Revenge , than by the Peace and Tranquillity of the Land . The Rule that Divines give men , when they seek Justification from God , viz. That they go out of themselves , and look upon nothing in themselves , with a very small change will direct us in the Duty of Love that is commanded us , We must go out of our Selves , and look less upon what concerns our Selves , if we will love God and our Neighbour as we ought to do . Some men are praised , and perhaps not undeservedly , for being good Fathers , they have laid up for their Children ; for being kind Husbands , they have provided for their Wives ; for being bountiful Masters , they have preferr'd their Servants : But yet all this is but to do Good or Charity Oeconomically , or within our own Doors , not Oecumenically or Universally ; all this is still but the Love of a Man's Self : for he is hardly yet gone out of Himself , that is not gone beyond his Family and Relations ; This measure of Love , as our Lord observes , is found among Infidels , They love those that love them : but we are to be like our Father which is in Heaven , who sends his Rain upon the Vnjust , as well as the Just ; we are to love Aliens and Enemies , as well as Friends . The Love that is express'd to Relations , may be the Pin or Hook on which some Single Precept hangs , but not which supports the Stress of the Whole Law and the Prophets , that Honour or Dignity belongs only to these two , The Love of God Above our selves , And the Love of all men As our selves . Which brings me to my Second General Part , The Dignity of these two Commandments , by reason of the Dependence of the whole Law and Prophets on them .

The Twenty First Sermon . MATTH. xxii . 46 .

On these two Commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets .

THESE two Commandments , The Love of God , And the Love of our Neighbour , sustain the Entire Structure or Frame of the Book of God , as the two Pillars Boaz and Jachin bore up the stupendous Fabrick of Solomon's Temple : Or rather , to keep to our Lord's Comparison , they are as two mighty Hooks , Hinges , or Pins on which all the Law and the Prophets hang. For the better Explanation of which , I shall do these three things :

I. Shew , how it is to be understood , That all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments , The Love of God , And the Love of our Neighbour .

II. I shall shew the Excellence of Love by way of Essay , so far as to make it appear worthy of the Honour ascribed to it , of sustaining all the Law and the Prophets .

III. I shall add , as a Corollary , how we may attain this Excellent and important Grace , Love , on which all the Law and the Prophets hang.

I. How it is to be understood , That all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments , The Love of God , And of our Neighbour .

The Law and the Prophets , i. e. the Text , and the Gloss or Comment ; whatsoever the Law has concisely commanded or implyed only , and the Prophets more largely expounded and dilated on , were but to plant this one Duty , this One Master Principle in the hearts of men , Love . In every Law there are two Parts , the Matter enjoin'd , and the Rewards and Punishments annex'd , by way of Sanction , for the better Observation of it : For a bare Injunction , not animated and fortified with the Promise of Good things to the Keepers of it , and Threats of Evil to the Infringers , will find but cold Observation among men : Who , as the Psalmist speaks , are little better than horse and mule , that must be held with bitt and bridle [ of Penalties ] lest they fall upon you . The Office of the Prophets was to be Custodes Legis , the Guardians and Conservators of the Law , they were not to add to the Law , though they were inspired by God as Moses was , but to interpret , press , and inculcate the Duties of it , to revive in mens thoughts the Promises and Threats , and thus they were a kind of Mound or Fence to the Law to keep off Transgressions . The Jews had a Sort of Criticks , who with great preciseness observed the Number of the Letters in each Book of Moses , how they were written , together with the Various Readings , and these were call'd the Masorites , because they were , as the Word imports , a Hedge to the Law : But with much better right the Greater and Lesser Prophets may deserve this Name . And upon this account it is , that these two , the Law and the Prophets , or Moses and the Prophets , are still quoted by our Lord together , who says not , The Law and the Interpretation of the Scribes , or the Law and the Determination of the Priests , ( though in lesser Matters the People were also to harken to them ) but the Law and the Prophets , which were both of equal Divine Production , and carried on the Same Design , the one by commanding , and the other by preaching and inculcating the Will of God and Duty of Men. Now whatsoever the one of these enjoins , and the other enforces , our Lord says , Hang all upon these two Pins , The Love of God , and the Love of our Neighbour : And though the Word [ Love ] is not often found in the Law and the Books of the Prophets , though they are not , as I may say , so much Canticles , as the Sermons of Christ , and the Writings of his Apostles , ( in some of which there is scarce a Verse but it is even verbally repeated and ingeminated : ) yet the Duties which the Prophets urge and press , are all Acts of Love to God , and Charity to our Neighbour ; and whatsoever else they seem most to intend and employ their Pens about , the propagation of Piety and Charity may be seen latent in the Scheme and Contexture of their Discourse , and he that reads the one , shall be unawares engaged and intangled in the other .

But then it may be ask'd here , Seeing all the Law and the Prophets hang on this One Law of Love , what need was there of so many Specifications of the Several Duties contain'd in both Tables ? as , Thou shalt not kill ? Thou shalt not commit Adultery ? Thou shalt not Steal , & c. ? For this Single Word , Love , comprehending them all in effect , so many Tautologies might have been spared . To this we may say , Men are so crafty and subtil to evade the Duties imposed on them , or pretend Ignorance for their Disobedience , that 't was not sufficient to set down in Generals the Obligations that lay on them , but it was necessary by Express Prohibitions , and Particular Instances to convince them , when they offended against the Divine Precepts . And for this reason the Law is fain often to descend to many trivial Specifications , to work a lively and sensible Impression of the Justice or Injustice of every Fact in their minds : As for Example , Thou shalt not reap the Corners of thy Field , nor glean thy Vineyard . Thou shalt not suffer the Hire of the Labourer to remain with thee till the morning . Thou shalt not take his Garment to Pledge , his Bed , nor his Working-tools , nor his upper Milstone , and the like . Sure'y to an Ingenious Heart , disposed to Humanity , this particularizing would have been needless , I say , to a Good and Friendly Nature these things are of easie Deduction from the bare Word , Love , that all the rest might have been spar'd : we say , Verbum Sapienti , a Word to the Wise is sufficient ; but 't is much truer , Verbum Amanti , a single Word to a true Lover is abundantly sufficient to make him recollect the rest of his Beloveds mind . But , I say , Men being generally of a Churlish Disposition , it comes to pass that the Duties both to God and Men , which are to be inferr'd from the General Precept of Love , are obscure , or at least pretended to be so ; and that they may have no Colour , from the Abridging their Whole Duty into one Word , Love , to say , There is no Obligation upon us to do the things required , shew us where they are commanded , produce the Letter of the Law , and the like : all the Silva Legum , as Justinian calls them , the Forest of God's and Mens Laws , consisting of such Heaps of Precepts , were added , whereas otherwise all the Duties would have been seen to hang on this brief Syllable , Love .

This Phrase [ do hang upon it ] is a Figurative Expression borrowed from the hanging things upon a Hook or Pin in a Wall , which bears the Stress of their Weight . We find the same Figure used Isaiah 22.23 . God determining to make Eliakim Treasurer over his House , to shew the Support he should be , by the Influence of his Wisdom and Justice , to the Inhabitants of Jerusalem , he says , I will fasten him as a Nail in a sure place — and they shall hang upon him all the Glory of his Father's House — all the Vessels , from the Vessels of Cups , to the Vessels of Flaggons : ( and then it follows ) In that day , says the Lord of hosts , shall the Nail that is fastned in a sure place be removed , and cut down , and the Burden that was upon it shall be cut off . But I shall shew more particularly three Ways , how all the Commandments hang or depend on the Commandment of Love .

1. As the Parts do upon the Whole , the Whole contains the Parts , and is but the Parts collected into One. And some will have this the only Dependance that is here meant of the other Commandments on that of Love , according to St Paul's interpretation , Rom. 13.9 . He that loveth another , hath fulfilled the whole Law : For this , Thou shalt not Kill , Thou shalt not commit Adultery , Thou shalt not Steal , &c. are briefly comprehended in this saying , namely , Thou shalt love thy Neighbour as thy Self . And the like may be said of the Duties of the First Table , Thou shalt have no other God , but the God of Israel ; Thou shalt worship him no other way than he has prescribed , Thou shalt not take his Name in vain , Thou shalt not break his Sabbath , they are briefly contained in this , Thou shalt love the Lord thy God . And if Love were deeply rooted in the Hearts of men , upon their going about any Act dishonourable to God , or unjust to their Neighbour , it would pull them back from it : for this would be the immediate Question they would ask themselves , By what Rule do I do this ? Will it hold according to the Precept of Love to God and to my Neighbour ? This particular Fact , which I put forth by way of retail , does it not vary from the General Rule in which it ought to be comprehended as in its Body ?

2. The Law and the Prophets may be said to hang or depend upon the Law of Love , because it is the Scope or Drift to which all the Commandments in particular tend : according to that Saying of St Paul , 1 Tim. 1.5 . The End of the Commandment is Charity , or Love , out of a pure Heart , and good Conscience , and Faith unfeigned , i. e. upon the Ground of the Belief of Remission of our Sins through Christ , to love God and our Brethren for so great a Benefit , and to express our Love in the Works of a good Conscience . 'T is not preaching the Law , though never so zealously , as those did St Paul here speaks of ; or the performing the Outward Acts of the Law , as many of the Jews were very scrupulous in the Observation of , that makes a Righteous Man according to the Law : but he that does according to the Design and Intention of the Law , which is Love . Ratio Legis est interpres Legis , the Purpose of the Law is the best Interpreter of the Law ; and they that mind not this , as St Paul says , Take their Aim amiss , and swerve from the End and Intention of the Law , discern not the Grace of Love that runs through it , as the Warp and the Woof do through a Web of Cloth , and wholly sustains the Contexture of it . Without Love all that is Excellent , all that is Divine in the Law would fall to the Ground , as all the Riches and Gallantry of the Veil of the Temple , all the Purple and Scarlet would have lain grovelling on the Earth , without the Tacks or Hooks on which they hung .

3. The Law , i. e. all the Vertue , Goodness , and Righteousness it commands , all the Worth and Value of its Duties depend upon Love , as the Value of Coin depends upon the Price the Stamp sets upon it : or as a thing that is Accessory depends on its Principle , take away the Principle and the Accessory is nothing : so take away Love , and all the Commandments are insignificant and nothing . And this Saint Paul shews , 1 Cor. 13. That even the most Specious , and seemingly Heroick Performances of Christianity it self ( as a man's giving his Goods to feed the Poor , and his Body to be burned , &c. ) if they be not accompanied with Charity ( or Love ) are all nothing : the Dignity of these Works depending so absolutely upon this Grace , that in God's Esteem to suffer Injury only out of Love to our Fellow-Christian , is more than to suffer Martyrdom ; not to envy , not to be puft up , not to despise our Brother , is more in his Eyes than to speak with Tongues , than to prophesie , than to understand all Mysteries . And indeed there is more true Religion in this one Benign Good Natur'd Vertue , than in the Ostentation and outward Grandeur of all the other . But the Excellence of Love , and that 't is worthy of the Honour ascribed to it , to sustain all the Law and the Prophets , is the next thing I am to shew .

The Excellence of Love , &c.

This I shall make appear by four Reasons , 1. For the Natural , Universal pleasing Effect Love has upon All , and even upon God himself , as well as men and other Creatures : insomuch as God for his part requires almost nothing else from us , Now , O Israel ! what doth the Lord thy God require of thee , but to fear the Lord thy God — and to love him with all thy heart , and with all thy soul ? Deut. 10.12 . To be belov'd is so grateful a thing , that men receive delight even in the Affection of Brute Creatures : and we see , that such as are not qualify'd to deserve any true Love , are taken with the Similitude only of it , the gross Flatteries of them that counterfeit it . Sinners , as our Lord tells us , love those that love them : and St Paul , 1 Thess. 2.15 . brands the Jews for their want of Love , as with a Crime of so high Nature , as deserved to be reckoned with their murdering the Prophets , and of Christ himself , says he , Who have kill'd the Lord Jesus , and their own Prophets , and persecuted us , and are Contrary to all men .

2. Because Love easily forgives Injuries , hardly perceives any , can never possibly wrong the Party Beloved ; and the Object , or Party Belov'd , of Divine Love is all Mankind : So that there needs no Admonitions here to suppress Malice or Uncharitable Inclinations , for the first Motions of them never arise in the heart to be suppress'd .

3. Because Love of all other Vertues of the Soul goes forth of a Mans self , and places its Content in the Good it does to another : that so hard a Duty to Flesh and Bloud which the Apostle commands , 1 Cor. 10.12 . Let no man seek his own , but every man an Others Wealth , is its Choice and Delight . No Vertue therefore qualifies us equal to this to perform the Works of Piety , Justice , and Charity .

4. Because of the wonderful Activity of Love in the Soul , and enflaming it more than any other Vertue to Great Actions : for indeed whatsoever is Vigorously performed is the Effect of Love . This Grace is like a Fire in the Heart , and makes it restless in what it conceives will be acceptable to the Person beloved ; it renders it also undaunted in the greatest Difficulties and Dangers , and for this reason 't is Faiths chiefest Instrument to conquer the World and the Temptations of it , This is the Victory that overcometh the World , says St John , even your Faith : but then 't is that Faith , which , as St Paul speaks , worketh by Love . 'T is a strange word in the Original which the Apostle uses in that place for [ working by Love ] 〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉〈◊〉 , which imports as much as being possess'd with Love , as a Demoniack is possess'd with an Evil Spirit , which kind of Persons are ordinarily indued with an Unusual Strength , to do things which naturally they could not do : as the Demoniack that met our Lord out of the Tombs , whom no Chains of Iron could hold , but he brake them asunder . Those that are acted by Love , are transported after the like manner to perform things above their own and other mens Measures : As the Spouse speaks in the Canticles , Love is strong as Death , i. e. conquers all things , and nothing can stand against it . 2 Cor. 5.13 . St Paul says again , That for the Love of God , and the cause of the Gospel , and the sake of the Brethren , he had done some things that in the Eye of the World appeared Wild and Extravagant , But whether we be Beside our Selves , says he , it is to God , or whether we be sober , 't is for your Cause , for the love of Christ Constraineth us : For the Influence therefore Love has upon all other Good Works , as well as for its own Good Nature , it is that God so highly Esteems it : and 't is no wonder that 't is the Favourite of his Graces , when , as St John says , God himself is Love : and though he be no more Love essentially , than he is Wisdom , Justice , Power , or any of his other Attributes : yet because he exerts and diffuses his Love more among men , and is revealed and made known more by it , than by another Attribute , it is spoken of as his Sole Being . And now after so many Excellent things have been said of this Divine Grace , namely , That 't is the Summ of the Commandments , the Soul of all Vertue , the Favourite of God , and in a Sense God himself , certainly it will be worth our best Endeavours to acquire it : and how we may do this is the last thing I am to shew .

How we may acquire or attain Divine Love .

That we may take the right course to attain this Vertue , we must look upon it , as upon all other Vertues , partly as a Grace of God's bestowing , and partly as that which is to be acquired by our own Labour ; for there is something of Gift , and something of Industry in it . First , We must look upon it as a Grace of God's Donation : For what our Lord says of Faith , That all men have it not ; and St Paul , That no man has it of himself , but it is the Gift of God , may likewise be said of the Love of God , and of our Neighbour , We have them not of our Selves , but they are Heavenly Gifts , born of a Divine Seed , and we must not conceive , that by our own mere Natural Power and humane Will we can acquire them to the Soul , and that we have no more to do , but to resolve to obtain them , and the Possession will follow : But we must seek them by devout Addresses from God , and expect them from his Bounty , they being , as I say , Graces , as well as the Fruits of our Labour . As our Church therefore sets before the Epistle of Charity a Collect or Prayer to God for it , [ Send , O Lord , into our Hearts the most Excellent Gift of Charity , without which all our doings are nothing worth , &c. ] we must also supplicate for this Grace , before we can hope to attain it .

But then , Secondly , 't is also an Acquisition of Labour , and to be arriv'd to , as other Vertues or Habits , by Industry . There are that have written of the Art of Vnchaste Love , and all the Mysteries of it , taught men how to accomplish their Wicked Ends , which it would have been happier for them if they had been ignorant of . And the Art of Godly Love may be also taught , Rules and Precepts given to make men Masters of it : And the Way in general to raise our Affections to the Love of God , is to take the same course which we do when we betray our selves into a humane Passion , reflect on what is Excellent and Amiable in God , meditate on his Unparallell'd and Glorious Perfections , which are sufficient to ravish us from the Desire of all Earthly things . The reason that the Love of many waxes cold , and their Affection to God , as I may say , is without Affection , without heat and ardour , is because they understand not the Beauties of his Essence , and the Glorious Operations of his Power , Wisdom , and Goodness . Men profess to be Worshippers of God , to be brought up and skill'd in the Knowledge of him , and his Religion , but generally they are Strangers to him and his ways ; and what the Psalmist says of the Ungodly , That they care not for God , neither is God in all their thoughts , I fear , without Injustice , may be affirmed of most men , That they care not for God , neither is he in all their thoughts : and then what wonder is it , si ignoti nulla cupido ? if men have no longing after a Good that they are ignorant of , or at least never weigh and consider ? The Spouse in the Canticles numbers up and runs over in her Thoughts the manifold Graces that are in Christ , which made him so amiable in her own and others Eyes , before she sigh'd out her Love for him . My Beloved , says she , is white and ruddy , the chiefest among ten thousand : again , Because of the Savour of thy Ointments , therefore do the Virgins love thee . There must be some Fewel for the Flame of Divine Love , as well as for that of Carnal ; and if men excite not their Love to God by the Contemplation of his Sublime Perfections and Goodness , their Love will be no better than the dead Carcase of a Passion , than the cold Picture of a Flame .

And if any say , A high and abstracted Contemplation of the Nature , Properties , and Attributes of the Deity , is only fit for Philosophers , who have Learning and Subtilty to penetrate into them ; but they come not within the comprehension of Common Men , though otherwise Godly : I answer , Neither need they be solicitous in this matter , there are other Motives to stir men up to the Love of God , no less Excellent , and subjected to the meanest Capacity , viz. those which are taken from his Love to us first , his manifold and never-to-be-enough-acknowledged Benefits both Spiritual and Temporal , especially Spiritual , which he has bestowed upon us through Christ Jesus the Son of his Love , as the Remission of our Sins , the Gift of Grace , the Adoption of us to be his Children , the Promise of the Kingdom of Heaven , &c. For when all is done , there is no greater Procurer of Love or Motive to it , than to be prevented with the Acts of Love . Says David , Praise the Lord , O my Soul , and all that is within me praise his holy Name : who forgiveth all thy Sin , and healeth all thy Infirmities ; who saveth thy Life from Destruction , and crowneth thee with Mercy and Loving-kindness . If men would weigh and consider the accursed and dreadful Condition into which the Guilt of Sin had brought them , that the Wages of it is Eternal Damnation , they would also be sensible how inestimable a Benefit the Remission of Sin , and the Gifts of Grace , and Glory are : And as there can be no greater Motive to winde up mens Affections to God to the highest Pitch , than this Exceeding great Love of God to them , so there will need no other . Instead therefore of heaping up many Motives , I shall leave this one to your Meditations , and proceed to shew what Inducements we have

To Love our Neighbour . And now the whole Hour would not suffice me to give a particular account of them , some drawn from Mankinds being all at first of one Stock and Kindred ; others again , from the Renewing this Relation between them , by their being made Brethren through Grace in Christ , and the adopted Children of one Father in Heaven ; from mens needing one anothers mutual help , even the Greatest and Happiest as well as the Poorest and Meanest ; and the like . But all these Inducements , however weighty , I shall wave at present , not having time to insist on them , and restrain my self to the one Motive express'd in my Text , Because the Love of our Neighbour is one of the two Hooks or Hinges on which all the Law and the Prophets hang , has the Honour to support at least one of the Tables of the Commandments , one half of the Conditions God requires of men to make them Partakers of his Promises , of the Blessings of this Life , and of the Glory of that to come . And though I said it has the Honour or Dignity to support but One of the two Tables ; yet there is that inseparable Connexion between the two Tables , that he that breaks the one , inevitably breaks the other , Whosoever , says St James , shall keep the whole Law , and yet offend in one Point , he is guilty of all . 'T is not possible to offend against the Law , and not against the Law-giver ; 't is not possible to transgress against the Second Table , and not to violate the First ; to hate our Brother , and to love God . And the School-men on this account make but one Theological Vertue , of our Love to God , and our Love to our Neighbour : and St John reckons Uncharitable men among Unbelievers , the Hater of his Brother , and an Infidel to be the same ; says he , If a man says , I love God , and hate his Brother , he is a Lyar — and again , he is in darkness , i. e. without Faith or the Knowledge of God . Our Lord also , Matth. 25. pronounces , That whatsoever Love is shew'd to his Brethren , is shew'd to him ; Inasmuch , says he , as you have done it unto one of the least of these my Brethren , ye have done it unto me : and again , what is denied to them , is denied to him , Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these , you did it not to me . The true Love of God carries with it , as a necessary Consequence , the Love of our Brother ; and 't is but a cheap Piece of Hypocrisie , and a niggardly Lye , to pretend to love God , who is above any Material Expressions of our Love , and to harden our hearts to our Brethren , who stand in need of such things , and whom God has appointed and deputed to be the Receivers of such Tribute in his behalf . And thus as all the Law and the Prophets hang on these two Commandments , The Love of God , And the Love of our Neighbour : So these two again depend on one another .

The Summ of all that has been said is this : Love is the End of the Commandment , all the Numerous Precepts contain'd in the Law , point only at this One grand Duty , and are but particular Instances and Exemplifications of it . Many things in the Law consist more in a Shew of Goodness , than of true Goodness ; and are rather the Way to Righteousness , than Righteousness it self ; all the Typical Ceremonial Ordinances were but ad populum phalerae , as 't is said , Pomps and Ornaments either to amuse the rude People , or to be Helps to their weak Understanding to bring them to the Knowledge of better things ; while therefore they observed these , they learned to be Religious ; but when they lov'd God and their Neighbour , they were Religious . Etiam stante Hierosolyma , Jerusalem even standing , and the Law of the Sabbath being in force , the Strict Rest of it yielded to the Works of it ; and our Lord tells us , Matth. 12. None broke and prophan'd the Sabbath more than the Priests toiling in killing and sleying the Beasts for Sacrifice , and were yet blameless : And upon another occasion of breaking the Sabbath , says he , I will have Mercy , and not Sacrifice , i. e. when both cannot be performed , he prefers the Works of Mercy or Charity to a Brother , before the Outward Duties to God himself : And the learned among the Jews perceived , that even while they did perform the Outward Works enjoined them by the Law , that they were not principally intended in the Law : nay , that in respect of the Works of Love , that they were cancell'd , even when they stood most in force : that which is said of our Lord 's particular Obedience , Psal. 40. Burnt-Offerings and Sacrifices thou wouldest not , but a Body hast thou prepared me — then said I , Lo , I come to do thy Will , O God! may be said in like manner of the Obedience that is required of all Men , that there is a [ noluisti ] thou wouldst not have , implyed in all Commands concerning them , when they clash or come in competition with these two Great Commandments , The Love of God , And the Love of our Neighbour . We see what is become of the Purifications , Vows , Sabbaths , Sacrifices , Feasts , New-Moons , &c. they are all , since the bringing in of a better Covenant , de facto done away : all that Forest of Laws was cut down by this Novum Mandatum , this New Commandment of our Lord's , Behold , a New Commandment I give unto you , That ye love one another . And not only Shadows and Figures gave way to this Divine Law , but many real and Substantial Vertues vail to this Eternal and never-to-be-out-dated Vertue of Love or Charity : Whether there be Prophecies , they shall cease ; whether there be Knowledge , it shall vanish away : Nay , when Faith and Hope are no more , Charity abideth for ever . The Noblest Vertues , I may say , are without Vertue , the most heroick Acts of Religion are without Religion , if performed without Love or Charity : for where this Grace is wanting , they are but Acts of Ostentation , Hypocrisie , or Compliance with mens own humours . That which is therefore the chief Scope of the Law , ought to be the chief Scope of our Lives ; and what we see to be the main Drift of God's Precepts , ought to be likewise the main Aim of our Actions .

To God the Father , Son , and Holy Ghost , be ascribed all Honour , Glory , Worship , and Thanksgiving , this Day forth and for evermore . Amen .

THE Twenty Second Sermon . LAMENT. iii. 39 , 40.

Wherefore doth a living man complain , a man for the punishment of his Sins ?

Let us search and try our ways , and turn again unto the Lord .

THIS Book is styl'd [ the Lamentations of Jeremiah : ] representing of , and grieving for the Miseries of Judah under the Captivity of Babylon : and so far 't is justifiable . For who can deny to them that are in Affliction , the only Consolation of Affliction , which is to ease themselves by complaining ? to evaporate their Sufferings by the breathings-out of a Sorrowful Spirit ? This is natural to all men , and it would shew an affected Piece of Stoicism to quarrel at it ; the Prophet's Temper had been of Iron , and his Bowels of Brass , if he could have look'd upon the Calamity of his Country with dry Eyes , and an unwounded heart ; if , I say , he could have beheld the People of God , fallen into the Displeasure of God ; the City that was call'd by his Name and the Glory of all Cities , sunk to be the By-word and Scorn of the Heathen ; the Land that so abounded with Inhabitants , to be solitary and desolate ; that was the Stage of Miracles and Divine Favours , to be ruined and accursed . His breaking-out in the first Chapter upon contemplation of so Sad a Change in this admiring Commiseration , ( How is she become a Widow , She that was great among the Nations , a Princess among the Provinces , how is She become tributary ? ) was but a just Passion .

But the Prophet , in the prosecution of his Complaints , teaches us a better Remedy of our Evils , than empty and idle Complaining , viz. to consider them as Punishments , as well as Evils ; as the Effects of God's wrath for our Sins , as well as Miseries ; to join Repentance to our Lamentations ; and amendment of Life to our Uneasiness under God's correcting hand : for the sense of Sufferings , without Contrition for Sin , shews only a love of our Selves and Earthly things , but nothing that is praise-worthy . Our Prophet therefore ( like a good Physician that amuses not himself with the Groans or Exclamations of his Patient , but sets himself to find out the Cause of his Distemper , as the readiest way to give him Ease ) passes by or reproves the Unseasonable Wailings and Lamentations of those that are in Misery , and lets them know that the Root of all their Mischiefs and Misfortunes are their Trangressions against God's Laws , and to wring their hands and fill the Air with Cries , was Womanish and Childish , when their business was to try and search their Ways , and turn to the Lord , whom they had forsaken by their Iniquities . Wherefore doth a living man complain ? a man for the punishment of his Sins ? Let us search and try our ways , and turn again to the Lord .

What one says of a good Author he was expounding , Whereas in the obscure places of many Writers 't is hard to make out any tolerable Sense , the difficulty I find , is , in the multiplicity of excellent Senses , to know which to chuse ; may more deservedly be affirmed of doubtful places in Scripture , That 't is more difficult to resolve which Sense to prefer , than to find a good one .

Many are the Interpretations of my Text , and all tending to Edification . Some Expositors , because the Hebrew has no more than [ Why doth a living man complain , a man of his Sins ? ] and makes no mention of the Punishment of them , interpret the Words after this manner , Why do men pretendingly or really sorrow excessively for their Sins , and rest there ? why do they not rather proceed from Confession , to Dereliction ? and from Dereliction to Amendment ? But though this be a good Admonition , there is no reason here to decline the Translation of our Bible , and to leave out [ Punishment ] it being common in the Hebrew to put Sin , for the Punishment of Sin . If thou doest well , says God to Cain , Gen. 4.7 . shalt thou not be accepted ? and if thou doest not well , Sin lieth at the door , i. e. the Punishment of Sin is at hand to seize thee . Others there are who observing the Prophet to vary his terms , in the first Clause to say , Why does a living man complain ? and in the second only , Why does a Man complain ? put a weight and Emphasis in living : as if his meaning were , Why does he , that has yet Life and Time , complain , and not rather hope ? But a living man in this place imports no more , than a man , or any man : this form of Speech being not only usual in Scripture , but among our selves , who say , No living man can endure this , when we mean no more than no man can endure it . Others understand the words thus , Why does any Mortal Man complain , i. e. murmur , as if God were cruel , and dealt harder measure to him , than he deserved ; when none ever yet bore the full Burden of his Sins , but God always in judgment remembers mercy ; applying justly to such Repiners , what Solomon says Prov. 19.3 . The foolish man perverteth his way , and his heart fretteth against the Lord . And not much unlike unto this is their Interpretation , who say , Why does a living man complain , i. e. afflict himself for his Afflictions ? annoy himself for his Annoyances , when Troubles and Molestations are the common Lot of Mankind ? When , as Job says , Man is born to trouble , as the Sparks fly upwards ? Such Wailing and bemoaning speaks only an over-fondness and tenderness of our selves , as if we thought we were fit to be exempted from what our whole Race is obnoxious to : or else a mutinous discontented Spirit against the Sovereign of the World and his Providence . The wiser Heathen may reproach the Pusillanimity , or Undisciplin'd Temper , which soever it is , of such Believers , one of whom could say , If our Misfortunes proceed from our Enemies , we ought to bear them with Fortitude ; if from God , with Patience . Others again expound , Why does a living man complain , a man for the punishment of his Sin ? Why does any man complain or murmur at his Punishment , and not rather at himself for doing such things as brought the Punishment upon him ?

In this Variety of Interpretations I shall adhere to that which I toucht upon in my Introduction , as the fullest and most comprehensive of the rest , viz. Why does any man amuze himself with idle and fruitless Bewailing the Punishment of his Sins , and not rather set to remove the Punishment by putting away his Sins ? Or as the Prophet speaks , By searching and trying his ways , and turning again to the Lord . And so the Words have these two Parts :

I. A Condemnation of the Course which Men ordinarily take under God's Judgments sent on them for their Sins , They complain .

II. The Recommendation of a better Course , which is , To search and try their Ways , and turn to the Lord .

I begin first with the Prophet's Condemnation of the Course Men ordinarily take under God's Judgments sent on them for their Sins ,

They Complain .

The Complaint of a man under the Punishment of his Sins may be blameable in many Respects , and deserve the Check imply'd in this Question , Wherefore doth a living man complain ? But I shall insist only on three .

1. It may be blameable in respect of the Complaint it self : For if it be a mere Complaint , without any Endeavour to get out of the Misfortune , 't is either an Action without all Design and Purpose , and so is irrational and foolish : or else it pronounces that there is no Redress of the Evil a man lyes under , and then the Complaint is false : for there is no Case and Condition at least of a Faithful Person so miserable , as to be also Desperate and helpless : but as Saint Paul says of Temptation , That God will not suffer his Servants to be tempted above what they are able , but will with the Temptation also make a way to escape : So in the Punishment of Sin , God does not inflict any so irreversibly , that there is no Evasion out of his Displeasure : but if the Sinner make due Application to his Goodness , he will remove it ; or so support and comfort him under it , that it will countervail a Deliverance . That therefore which is here tax'd in the frequent Practice of men , is a lazy fruitless bemoaning themselves , as if they were excluded all possibility of future Comfort , as well as the present possession of it ; a vain and affected Delight to ask our Prophet's Question , Chap. 1.12 . of all they meet , but without just cause , Was there ever Sorrow like my Sorrow , wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me ? insinuating that great Severity is exercised towards them , which they have not deserved ; and that they are of the Number of the Innocent , that are afflicted ; of the Noble , that are Unfortunate : and they complain in this fond manner , till at last they grow in love with their Complaints ; find a Consolation , in the Want of Consolation ; the conceived Singularity of their Condition converting their Disasters into Glory , and a kind of Shadow of Comfort . But if these Persons in the mean time would search their own Hearts , and make Inquisition into their Lives past , they would find Cause enough for God's Wrath , and confess that their Sufferings were the least part of their Demerit ; and their Plumes of Vanity would flag and sink ; this fond Imagination , That Satisfaction was rather due from God to them , than from them to God , would be changed into a sad Repentance ; and they would seek a Solid Comfort by humbling themselves before his Divine Majesty in Sack-cloth and Ashes , and not in the vain Complacencies and Ravings of an abused Fancy . But such is the Folly of men ( like the Prodigal Son before he came to himself ) they set themselves to feed on Husks , when in their Father's House the very hired Servants have their fill of Bread ; they mourn and suffer misery , when Musick and Feasting , a Ring and Robe of Honour , i. e. the highest Content , is prepared for them , and attends only their sueing for it .

2. Mens Complaints may be blameable and reproveable in regard of the Persons against whom they make them . Men commonly complain against Fortune , as if the World were governed as blindly , as they govern their particular Affairs : against their Enemies , when their Enemies have no more power over them , than their Sins give them ; and God over-rules the most Potent Malice , and makes a Good Mans Enemies to be at peace with him : they complain against themselves , as if their Misfortunes proceeded only from some false or imprudent Step which they had made , and that they were the Efficient , as well as Meritorious Cause of their Sufferings : or , what is yet worse and more dangerous , they charge themselves with Unkindness to themselves , that they are not indulgent enough to their own Content , deny themselves the Satisfactions that are in their power ; and this makes them often seek to drown their Cares , as they call them , in Wine ; to alleviate their Misfortunes by Debauchery : as Thetis in the Poet perswades her Son Achilles to comfort his approaching Fate with the enjoying of young Women . But Sin is a sad Refreshment of Sorrow ; and the Enlargement which men endeavour to procure from the Arrests of God's Judgments , by letting loose the reins of Lust , is like the Relief an Hydropick Person seeks in large Draughts of Drink ; which gratifie his Thirst , but quench withal the little Spark of Life remaining to him ; and remove not his Distemper , but make it incurable : Or else we may liken this wicked Course which Men take to ease their Sorrows , to Saul's seeking Counsel from the Witch , when the Oracles of God were silent ; he learned by such his Apostasie his approaching Destruction , but he assured it also . The Church of Rome has as many appropriate Saints , as they have Needs and Distresses ; and every Complaint of theirs has a Patron to redress it ; St Christopher at Sea , St Roch in the time of Infection , St Anthony when their Cattel are diseased , our Lady of Good-Succour for Women in Child-bed , &c. But God is all the while pass'd by , and all these that I have named , deservedly forfeit Help from him that can only give it , while they perversly seek it , where 't is not to be had .

3. Mens Complaints may be blameable in respect of the Nature or Manner of them : when though they be rightly Addressed , i. e. to God , yet the Complaint it self is not Right , not qualify'd with the Conditions God requires , with Faith , Holiness , Humility , &c. First , If men complain without Faith , they complain to God , as they do to their Fellow-Creatures ; they tell him a Tale of their Wants and Discontents , unload their Breasts of their Evils , but find no Redress : and we may reckon among the Unfaithful , those who refuse or neglect to perform the Conditions upon which alone God has promised to hear the Cries and Complaints of men , though they never so much believe his Power and Goodness : for to be perswaded that God will accept the Prayers of the Wicked , is equal Infidelity , as to be perswaded that he will not accept those of the Righteous ; and proceeds , if rightly considered , not from an Excess , but a Defect of Faith : and we may say with St James , Let not such look for any thing at his hands .

Secondly , If mens Complaints be not seasoned with Humility , they are Murmurs , and not Prayers ; Expostulations for Dues , not Supplications for Grace and Favour . Again , if they proceed not from a Gracious and Holy Mind , more from the Sense of their Sins , than of their Sufferings ; from their Sorrow for their Unworthiness and Ingratitude to the Divine Goodness , than for the Chastisements they lye under ; their Mourning and Complaining is but like that which God reproaches Israel for , Hos. 7.14 . when he had sent a Famine upon them for their Disobedience , They have not cried unto me , says God , with their hearts , when they howled upon their beds : they assemble themselves [ viz. to make Supplications to me in my House ] for Corn and for Wine , i. e. they bewailed not their Sins , but their Wants ; howled not like Penitents , but like Wolves ; because their Bellies , not the Sense of their Sins , pinched them ; they desired again their loaded Tables and full Cups , they found no miss of Justice , Righteousness , &c. The Burden of our Complaints must not be the Loss of our Plenty and Prosperity , of our Riches or our Honor , our Health or our Friends ; but of the Loss of our Innocence and God's Favour ; of the Smart we feel for our Guilt , not of our Punishment , if we will have them accepted by God , without the reprehensive Interrogatory or Check in my Text , Wherefore doth a living man complain , a man for the Punishment of his Sins ? And after all that has been said , Complaints , even the best of them , Prayers themselves , are but Empty Words and Air without Amendment of Life : and therefore in the second place , the Prophet recommends to us a Better Course to deliver us out of God's Displeasure , than Complaining , viz. To search and try our Ways , and turn again to the Lord . Which is my second General Part.

Let us search and try our Ways , and turn again to the Lord .

The Prophet's Advice comprehends in it two things : 1. Searching and Trying our Ways in order to Conversion . And , 2dly , Conversion it self unto the Lord .

1. Investigation or searching out our Ways : which is a figurative or metaphorical Expression , taken from the hunting of wild Beasts by the Track or Scent which they leave behind them , and implies , that our Sins many times lye hid from our selves , as well as others , and require Pains and Diligence to find them out . For as those Creatures , which are either profitable or hurtful to us , out of a Natural Instinct hide themselves from us in Holes and other fast and retired Places , till the skillful Huntsman discovers them by their Scent , their Slotts , their Brousings , and the like , and beats them up for the Chace : So those also that have committed Heinous Crimes , know that they are Obnoxious both to God and Man for the same , and use all possible Means to conceal them ; and for their greater peace , not only from the Eyes of the World , but from themselves , i. e. from the reflections of their own memory and Conscience : insomuch , that when God awakens and affrights their secure and slumbering Souls with some loud and dreadful Judgment , they are utter Strangers to their Sins , and at as high a Loss to find them out as others ; and are fain to use no less Diligence to discover them , than they did to conceal them ; to serve themselves with the Huntsman's Art , to traverse and search by-ways to recover the secret Lairs of their Lust , the intricate perplex'd Windings of their Injustice , and to follow them by their Scent , as I may say , viz. the Scandal and Ill Fame they have left behind them ; by their Tracks and wild Rangings , the Breaches made in God's Laws , and the injurious Marks yet remaining of them among men : and before Amendment of Life , Peace with God and their own Consciences can be attained , they must thus hunt back on the Scent , and beat over again the same Ground , to retrieve the Knowledge of those Crimes which either their wicked Habits or Custom of Sinning made them pass over without regret or regard , or their wicked Craft industriously concealed . And this is that which the Prophet means , by searching out our ways .

And then [ the trying them ] is much the same thing , being a Metaphor or Similitude borrowed from the Trade of the Gold-smith , who by the Touch-stone and Weights , Fire , and the Waters of Separation , and many laborious Operations , proves and distinguishes false and adulterate Metals from true and sincere , light and counterfeit Coins from current and legitimate . For all Men are more or less Hypocrites , Coiners and Gilders of Brass and Copper , and Utterers of them for good Gold , i. e. Embasers of the pure Metal of God's Word , and Clippers of his Commandments , whenever their Reputation or Interest are at Stake , and that there needs either an Extenuation or Varnish for their Evil Actions ; and there is no less need of the Gold-smith's or Chymist's Art , than of the Huntsman's ; of the trying our ways , than of the hunting them out . And the same Scriptures which we have perverted and bowed to our Crooked Purposes , are the only Rule and Test by which we can straighten and set them right again ; the only Waters of Separation , by which we can discover and discriminate the Allays and Corruptions of our Duties , from the pure and sincere Holiness which ought to have been in them , that can purge away the Dross of our Evasions , Palliations , Self-flatteries , and the like . To try Other mens Ways , as 't is not so Ungrateful , so it seems not so hard a Task : we hear nothing of late more commonly cry'd in the Streets , than The Tryal of such a Priest , or such a Sectary ; of such a Jesuite , or such a Traiterous Schismatick ; and what by the Sagacity of the Judge , the Uprightness of the Jury , and the False-Brothers among themselves , the Dangerous Thoughts of many Hearts are revealed . But the great Difficulty is to find out a mans Own Ways : we are so much better Alchymists , than Christians ; cunning Falsifyers , than honest Disclosers of our Actions ; we so long hug our selves in our Iniquities , till , as the Psalmist says , our abominable Wickedness be found out , i. e. by God , or by some other , but we rarely discover it our selves ; we may be deprehended , but we are seldom self-detected . All generally abominate and execrate the very Names of Sectary and Papist ; but we are not so unkind to their Falsifications and Equivocations , as to their Appellations and Denominations ; we can give as large Dispensations and Allowances to our selves in any Interested Point as they , though they contradict the express Word of God , and make that glorious Light a mere Ignis fatuus , a Will with the Wisp , and extinguish also the Candle of the Lord , that Inward Light of our Conscience which was kindled in our Soul at our first Creation , and instead of its Divine Instructions teach it new Lessons after the Mysteries of Hell and Iniquity . But these wicked Artifices must be laid aside , and Sincerity , Fidelity and Diligence used in the Examination and Tryal of our Ways , before we can possibly turn to the Lord .

Which is the Second Particular I said was contained in the Prophet's Advice , and for the sake of which Duty the other of Searching and Trying our Ways was prescribed : for to search into our wicked Lives , and to call our pass'd Sins to remembrance , if not in order to their Condemnation , and our Returning again to the Lord , must be to applaud them , and to delight our selves in a fanciful re-acting them over again , which is a greater Sin , if it be possible , than the first committing them . And this Duty of Turning again to the Lord , is also express'd by a Metaphor , the so common Figure in Scripture , by a Similitude taken from such as go astray , and return again into the Right way : or that fly from their Abode , and upon better thoughts return home again . For there are Wanderers from their Duty , as well as from the Road or High-way ; Fugitives from Vertue , as well as from their Houses and Country . Philo says of Adam and Eves flying from God's presence after their Transgression , Every Sinner is a Fugitive : and the Psalmist calls those that break the Commandments , Wanderers out of the Right-way . God , in the Wisdom of his Counsel , made Some things without Himself the Centre or Resting-place of Inferior Creatures , as the Air for light Bodies , the Earth for heavy , &c. but he made Himself the only Center of Man's happiness , the only Resting-place of his Soul ; and when ever Men are intic'd and led away with their Lusts to seek Content in any Worldly or Carnal Enjoyment , as they depart from God and turn their Backs upon him , so they depart from their Peace , and turn their Backs upon their Felicity ; and till they follow the Prophet's Advice , Turn again to the Lord , they pursue only their Misery .

Now [ the turning ] here spoken of being Figurative ; not Corporal , but Spiritual ; not local from place to place , but progressive from Vice to Vertue ; the plain Importance of returning to the Lord , is Repentance , the forsaking our former wicked Courses , and serving God for the future in Holiness of Life . And though the Words comprehend in their full Latitude the Whole Duty of Man , yet they may be reduc'd to these two short Precepts which we find in the fourth Chapter of St James , ver. 8. — Cleanse your Hands ye Sinners , and purifie your Hearts ye double-minded . By our Hands the Apostle means our Outward Actions , our Hands being the ordinary Instruments by which they are wrought : and by our Hearts he denotes our Inward Affections , because from thence our Affections proceed . Now our Outward Actions must be Just and Honest , because by them our Hearts are only made legible and intelligible to the World : and our Hearts again or Inward Affections must be pure and holy , because otherwise 't is as impossible that our Actions should be Just and Honest , as that a clear Stream should flow from a troubled and puddled Fountain : besides , God sees the Heart , though Man does not ; and East and West will sooner meet , and make one Point in the Compass , than God will close with an Impure or Wicked Person . If we will enjoy an Union with God , we must forsake our Sins , and not expect that he should recede from his Righteousness ; we must turn to him , or he will never turn to us : and all our Prosperity and Felicity depend upon our Early and Sincere Turning to the Lord : for as those that Dye in the Lord , have all Tears wip'd from their Eyes ; so the Living Man that turns to the Lord , shall have all Tears wip'd from his Eyes , as the Prophet implies in my Text , i. e. his Complaints for the Punishment of his Sins taken away , nay his Punishment shall be turned into Blessings and Mercies by the God of Mercy . I shall add but a few Words of Application , and conclude .

We see here the highest Encouragement to excite us to Repentance and a Holy Life , no less than the removing all our Complaints , by the removing all our Evils ; nay , than by turning our Evils into Blessings . Thanks be to God , we cannot parallel the Evils of our days , with those of the Jewish Nation , which the Prophet here laments ; we are not actually reduced again , as some years since , to an Egyptian bondage , to work in Brick-kilns , by our bloudy and oppressing Dissenting Brethren . Thanks be to God , I say , the Calamity of our Israel is not such , that we should take up this Complaint , How is She become a Widow , She that was Great among the Nations , a Princess among the Provinces , how is She become tributary ? Among antient Roman Medals there is one with a disconsolate Figure , sitting on the Ground , with this Inscription , Britannia capta , Britain subdu'd : but I trust to the Divine Goodness , that the like Fate is far from us this day : though we were lately so near being Surpriz'd , and totally destroy'd by the Malice of our Bloudy Enemies , that what one said of a Dog 's near seizing the Prey , might be apply'd to us — similisque tenenti , non tenet , we were so near being taken , that we were only not taken ; and though we were not confounded , we seem'd to be : As might be gathered , as by other Evidences so , from the Letters of our ill-willing Neighbours , who , more solicitous for our Ruine , than charitable to warn us of our Danger , enquired only after the Manner and Measure of our Destruction , but doubted not in the least of the Certainty of it . But though we were Miraculously snatch'd out of the Jaws of Ruine , are we now secure ? so that the Reprehension in my Text may be retorted on us , Wherefore doth a living man complain ? Some forward Heads and Branches of the late Conspiracy , I acknowledge , are cut off , or secured ; but the Roots of it are still left in the Ground , and charily preserved and fostered by the Still-Designing Parties , and not a little cherished and assisted by many who pretend to be of a contrary Perswasion . This Age , which despises to go less in a Refined Way of working Mischief than any former whatsoever , has fram'd an Engine , which would be thought to have been filed and polished by the very Hand of Charity , though it was forged in Hell , and that is , To disbelieve all that is said of any Plot and Conspiracy against the King , Church or State ; insinuate , nay dare to publish in Print , That the Conspiracy , which makes such a Noise , is indeed only against the Accused Party , either to destroy or to bring it low . Good and Gracious Souls ! who can give the Lie to their King and Country to justifie Villains ; make no scruple to rescue Traitors from the Bar , and to set the Judges in their place ; to acquit Schismaticks and Regicides , and to arraign the whole Loyalty of the Realm . And with what reason , beside their secret favouring of the Guilty ? Forsooth , some of the Condemned Persons denied their Treason to the last Moment of their Life , and expired in Protestation of their Innocence . Their False Principles and Impious Tenets were their Innocence , and the Good Opinion they have of their Wicked Designs is all the Uprightness and Integrity they insist on . O foolish Galatians ! says St Paul , who has bewitched you ? when the Christians among them Judaized . And we may say to those that countenance Sectaries and Schismaticks among us , O insensati , O fautores ! O mad and besotted Favourers of your greatest Enemies ! who has fascinated , who has bewitched you ? Are these indeed those truely Illuminated Persons they pretend to be , and are you your selves those Reprobated People they call you , that you think the Terms easie to involve the Kingdom in Bloud and Ruine to be of their Number ? This is no time to convince this Frenzy : but I instance in these Important and even Incumbent Evils to shew we are not without Just Causes of Complaint : and so little does the Nation want Complaints , that Complaints are one of the greatest Grievances we complain of , namely , the Complaints of those who at present have no power to do further Mischief , but with false Surmises and feigned Lamentations endeavour to fill the Unwary with Jealousies and Fears . Against all these Complaints the Prophet's Advice in my Text is a Sure Armour and Defence , If we turn unto the Lord by Repentance and holy Lives , he will turn our Dangers into Security , our Troubles into Peace and Prosperity , I laid me down and slept , says the Psalmist , and rose again , for the Lord sustained me . If we lye down , and repose our Trust in the Lord in well-doing , though there be Trayterous Cabals and Midnight Conspiracies against us , our Sleeps shall be as Safe as Sweet : a false Brother or a Misgiving Conscience , a faint Heart or an Unwary Word let slip , shall betray all : Nay , Means most remote and unlikely , no way relating to the Design on foot , shall overthrow the whole Machination ; a casual Fire shall drive the King into his Safety , and leave the Traytors in the Destruction they contrived against him , and the like . If we secure our Duty , God will secure our Peace and Safety . To whom be ascribed all Honour , Glory , &c.

FINIS .