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S^^^p^^^iF*-"'  ^w  I  >«»■''' 


V. 


y_ 


1 

TWELVE  \ 

SERMONS      i 

UPON    SEVERAL  '^ 

SUBJECTS  ^ 

AND  ■ 

C  C  A  S  I  O  N  S.       : 


By 

ROBERT 

SOUTH, 

D. 

D. 

V  o  : 

L.     III. 

The 

Sixth 

Edition. 

LONDON: 

Printed  by  J.  Bettenham^  for  Jonah  Bowyer, 

at  the  Rofe  in  Pater-nojier  Row. 

M.DCC.XXVIL 


^%n 


TO   THE 
Moil  Reverend  Father  in  G  O  D 

]SI  A  R  C  I  S  S  U  S 

Lord  Archbifliopof  DuBLiisr, 

His  G  R  A  C  E. 


My  Lord, 

THE  particular  Acquaintance 
andFriendfh'ip  which  jourGrace 
was  pie afed to  honour  me  with  while  you 
lived  at  Oxford  have  emboldened  me  to 
addrefs  myfelfto  your  Lord/hip  at  this 
A  %  great 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

difiarice  ^/ Place,  mid  greater  of  Con- 
dition ^  hi  hopes  that  by  your  Grace's  Ad- 
vancement to  fo  high  a  Station  tn  the 
Churchy  That^  which  before  was  only 
Friend fihip,  may  now  improve  into  Pa- 
tronage and  Prote6iion.  And  yet^  as 
ambitious  as  I  am  offo  ennobling  a  Pa- 
tronage, and  as  fwgtdar  a  Value  as  I 
have  for  your  Grace  s  Favour^  I  mufl 
needs  own,  that  the  Defign  of  my  pre- 
fent  Application  to  your  Grace ^  tsnot  fo 
much  to  crave  a  Favour ^as  to  pay  a  Debt : 
and^  tn  anfwer  to  the  many  Obligations 
I  he  under ^  to  congratulate  your  Grace 
on  that  height  of  Dignity  and  Great- 
nefs^  to  which  Frsvidence  has  fo  hap- 
pdy  raifed  you^  and  your  own  IVorthfo 
fifily  ent'ituledyou 3  and fo^  without  your 
leeking  {and  much  lefs  fneaking)  for 
\t^  made  you^  to  your  great  Honour^  to 
he  fought  for  by  it:  There  being  {as 
from  my  Heart  I  believe)  jew  E^x ample s 

m 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

in  the  IVcrld^  cf  fo  much  Merit,    and 
fo  much  Modefly  /;;  ConjunfttGn. 

It  is  indeed  no  fin  all  Infehctty  to  the 
Church  of  England,    to   have  parted 
with  fio  extraordinary  a  Member-^  hut 
none  at  ati  I  conceive  to  your  Grace, 
that  you  are  placed  where  you  are  ,•  £- 
fipecialhj^  if  your  Grace  fioall  confider^ 
the prefent  eflate  of  our  Church  here ^  as 
through  the  Arts  rf  her  RnerAies  fl.  e 
JJands  divided  againft  Her  Iclf:    and 
that  only  ly  two  or    three    odd  new 
Teniis  of   Diftind'ion  malic lou fly  in" 
vented  J  and  fludiopijly  made  life  of  for 
that  bafe  Purpofe  3  fuch  a  Sovereign^  or 
at  leaf  fuch  a  peculiar  Method^  have 
fome  found  out  jor preferving  our  Churchy 
if  the  hefi  way  to  preferve  a  Body^  be 
by  cutting  //  afunder.     Fofthofe  of  the 
ancienter  Members  of  Her  Communion 
who  have  all  along  oivned  and  contend^ 

A I  ed 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

ed  for  a  jlriB  Conformity  to  her  Rules 
and  SanBiom^  as  the  furejl  Comfe  to 
efiahltfhher^  have  been  of  late  repref ent- 
ed,  or  rather  reprobated  under  the  in" 
odiatmg    Character   of  High  Church- 
merij  and  thereby  ft  and  marked  out  for 
all  the  Dtfcouragement  that  Spighc  and 
Power    together  ca?i  pafs  upon  them , 
zvhtle  thofe  of  the  contrary  I'Vay  and 
Principle  are  diftinguifhedj  or  rather 
fandlified,  by  the  fafhionable  endearing 
Name  of  how  Church-men,  not  from 
their  ajfeBing  {we  may  be  fur  e)  slower 
Condition  in  the  Church  than  others 
{fence  none  he  fo  low  but  they  can  look 
as  high)  but  from  the   low  Condition 
which  the  Authors  of  this  DtftinBion 
would  jam  bringthe  Church  it  felf  into  ^ 
a  Work  in  which  they  have  made  nofmall 
Progrefs  already-^  andthusby  the fe un- 
generous, as  well  as  unconfcionable  Pra* 
Bices,   a  fatal  Rent  and  Divifion  is 

made 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

made  amongH us :  and^bemgfo^  I thinky 
thofe  of  the  Concifion  who  made  //, 
would  do  well  to  confider,  whether  thatj 
which  our  Saviour  affures  us^  will  de- 
ftroy  a  Kingdom,  he  the  likeliefl  way 
to  fettle  and  fupporc  a  Church.  But 
I  queftion  ?Jot^  hut  thefe  Dividers  vjill 
very  fhortly  receive  Thanks  Jrom  the 
Papifts  yir  the  good  Services  they  have 
done  them  3  and  in  the  mean  time  they 
may  he  fur  e  of  their  Scoffs. 

Never  certainly  were  the  Fundamen- 
tal Articles  of  our  Faith  fo  holdly  im-^ 
pugned^  nor  the  Honour  of  our  Church 
fo  foully  hlemifkedy  as  they  have  been  of 
late  Tears  ,•  while  the  Socinians  have  had 
their  full  uncontrolled  Fling  at  Both; 
and  the  Tritheifts  have  injured  and  ex" 
pofed  them  more  by  pretending  to  defend 
them  agamfl  the  Socxmins^  than  the  So- 
cinians themfelves  did^  or  could  do.  by 
A  4  f>ppoft^^ 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

oppofmg  them.  For  furely  k  would  he 
thought  a  very  odd  way  of  ridding  a  Man 
of  the  Plague  hy  running  htm  throufrh 
with  a  Sword  3  or  of  Curing  him  of  a 
Lethargy  by  cajlmg  him  into  a  Calen- 
ture 3  a  Difeafe  oj  a  contrary  Nature 
indeed^  hut  no  lefs  fatal  to  the  Patient  ^ 
who  equally  dies  whether  his  Sicknefs 
or  his  Phyfick,  the  Malignity  of  his  Di- 
ftempers,  or  the  Method  (?/his  Cure  dif'- 
patches  him.  And  in  like  manner  mujl 
it  fare  "with  a  Churchy  "which  jeeling  it 
felffiruck  with  the  Poyfon  of  Socinia- 
nifm,  j?/^^  to  Trkheifmy^r  an  Antidote. 
But  at  length  happily  fieps  in  the 
Royal  Authority  to  the  Church's  Relief 
with feveral healinglayxnCtions  in  its 
Hands^  for  the  compoftng  and  ending 
the  Difputes  about  the  Trinity  then  on 
foot ;  and  thofe  indeed  fo  wifely  framed^ 
fo  feafonahly  ttmedy  {and  by  the  King 
at  /d'^./?)>graciou(Iy  intendedythatthey 

mtifi 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

mufl  m  all  Ltkehhood  {wnhout  any  0- 
ther   Irenicon)   have  reftored  Peace  to 
the  Churchy  had  it  not  been  jor  the  hn^ 
poriiinii'^)  and  Part tahty  of  fome^    who 
having  by  the  Awe  of  the/'e  InjunBwns 
endeavoured  to  filence  the  oppofite  Party 
{jjuhkh  hy  their  Armaments  they  could  not 
do^)  and  withal  looking  upon  themjelves 
as   privileged    Perrons,    and  fi*  dihoyt 
thofe  Ordinances,  which  others  were  to 
be  fubjeB  to^    refolved  not  to  be  filenc 
themfelves -J    but  renewing  the  ConteJI^ 
partly  by   throwing   Muggleton,    and 
Rigakius,  with  fome  other  foul  ftuft  in 
their  Adverf arte s  Faces -^  and  partly  by 
a  Jhamelefs   Reprinting    {w'lthout  the 
leafi  Re-inforcing)    the  fame  exploded 
Tritheiftick  Notions  again  and  agatn^ 
they  quite  broke  through  the  Royal  Pro- 
hibitions,   and  foon  after  began  to  take 
as  great  a  Liberty  m  venting  their  In- 
novations and  Invec1:ives,  as  ever  they 

had 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

had  done  before  ,•  fo  that  he^  who  Jhall 
tmpartially  confider  the  Courfe  taken  by 
thefe  Men  with  reference  to  thofe  enga- 
ged on  the  other  fide  of  this  Controverfy 
about  the  Trinity,  will  find  that  their 
whole  Proceedingm  itrefembles  nothing 
fo  much^  as  a  Thief  s  binding  the  hands 
of  an  honefi  Man  with  a  Cord,  much 
fitted  for  his  own  Neck. 

But^  Bleffed  be  God^  matters  fl and 
not  fo  with  you  in  Ireland  3  the  Climate 
there  being  not  more  impatient  of  poy- 
fonons  Animals^  than  the  Church  of 
poyfonous  Opinions  :  An  untverfal 
concurrent  Orthodoxy Jhinmg  all  over  it^ 
from  the  fuperior  Clergy  who  pre  fide  y 
to  the  inferior  placed  under  them :  fo 
that  we  never  hear  from  thence  of  any 
Presbtyer,  and  much  lefs  of  any  Dean, 
who  dares  innovate  upon  the  Faith  re- 
ceived; and  le aft  of  all  [fhould  fuch  a 
Wretch  chance  to  ft  art  up  among  you) 

can 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

can  I  hear  of  any  Bifhop  hkely  to  dehafe 
his  Style  ^//^  Charade r/^  low^  as  either 
to  defend  the  Man,  or  colour  over  his 
Opinions.  Norlaftly^  dowefind^that 
in  the  Judgment  of  the  Clergy  there ^  a 
Maris  having  wrote  againft  one  fort  of 
Herefy  or  Heterodoxy,  ought  tojufttfy 
or  excufe  him  m  writing  for  another, 
and  much  lefs  iot  a  worfe. 

The  Truth  isj  fuch  things  as  ihefe 
make  the  Cafe  with  us  here  m  England 
come  too  near  that  6?/ Poland  about  no 
cr  1 3  o  Tears  ago^  ^  where  the  Dodrine 
of  three  diftind  infinite  Spirits  began 
and  led  the  Dance  ^  and  was  quickly  fol- 
lowed [as  the  Defign  was  laid)  by  Sod- 
nianifm,  whereupon  their  old  Popery  got 
a  firmer  Efiablifljment  and  more  r'lgO' 
rous  hnpofit'ion  than  before  {the  Govern^ 
ment  preferring  a  lefs  pure  and  per  feci 

*See  a  learned  Tract  in  8vo,  entituled,  T'hegroixah  of 
Error ^  &c.  Sed.  8.  printed  in  the  Year  1697. 

Chriftianiry 
4 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

tianity  before  the  mojl refin  cnuxciim,) 
This  was  the  method  taken  there,  and 
I  wifh  it  fnay  not  have  the  like  Ijfue 
here. 

But  on  the  contrary  atnongfl  Tou, 
when  a  certain  Mahometan  Chriftian 
(no  newthmgof  late^)  notorious  for  his 
hlafphemousDenyal  of  the  Myfteries  of 
our  Religion^  and  his  tnfufferakle  Viru- 
lence againfithe  whole  Chriftian  Prieft- 
hood,  thought  to  have  found  Shelter  a- 
mongfi  you^  the  Parliament,  to  their  Im^ 
mortal  Honour^  prefentlyfent  him  pack" 
ingy   and  without  the  help  of  a  Faggot 
foon  made  the  Kingdom  too  hot  for  him : 
A  fufficient  Argument  doubtlefs^    how 
far  we  are  from  needing  thofefavageRxe- 
cutlons^    ufed  by  the  Papijls  to  rid  the 
Church  of  Hereticks  and  Blafphemers^ 
where  Authority    animated  ivith  due 
TLeal  will  attempt  that  worthy  IVork^ 
by  other  more  humane,    but  not  lefs  ef- 

fedual 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

fc6lual  Means.  Nothmg  certainly  hut 
Power,  asthe  World noiv goes ^  can  keep 
the  Church  m  Peace. 

And  now^  My  Lord^  may  that  God 
by  whom  Princes  and  Prelates  govern^ 
and  Churches  ftand^  long  preferve  Tour 
Grace^  and  that  Excellent  Church  which 
you  are  fo  eminent  a  Pillar  of ^  and  Or- 
nament to\  and  which  hy  Her  incom- 
parable Courage  and  Faith fidnefs  lately 
JJjewn  inprefervmg  that  great  Depofi- 
turn,  the  Holy  Religion  committed  to  her 
Trufij  has  gotten  herfelj  aYkoVCiZ^  which 
zvill  never  ait-,  and  jlich  a  folid  well 
founded  Reputation^  as  no  bending  thi^ 
way  or  that  way^  no  trimming  or 
tricking  //,  ever  could  or  can  give  fo 
ample  andfo  conftderahle  a  Body :  For 
tt  is  Lead  only  that  bends  to  almofl  e- 
very  things  which  the  nobler  Metals 
cannot  do,  and  the  nobler  fort  of  Minds 
will  not. 

But 


Epiftle  Dedicatory. 

But  I  fear  Itrefpafstoo  far  upon 'your 
Grace's  Time  andBufmefs^  and  therefore 
humbly  trnplortng  your  Grace's  BleJJingj 
I  lay  the fe poor  Papers  at  your  Feety  m^ 
finitely  unworthy^  I  confefs^  of  the  Ac " 
ceptance  of  fo  great  a  Perfon^  and  the 
Perufal  of  fo  judicious  an  Eye^  but  yet  at 
prefent  the  beji  Pledges  I  can  give  your 
Grace  of  thofefincerePef peels  andServi^ 
ceSy  which  your  Grace  ought  always  ta 
claim,  and  fhall  never  fail  to  receive 
from^ 

My  LORD, 

Tour  Graces  ever  faithful 
and  mofl  obedient  Servant, 


^'^'tfi6^^^''^         Robert  SoutE 


T  H  Ei,  r^ 

Contents  of  the  Ser^ion  s, 

SERMON     I. 

JO  B  XXII.  2.  former  part,  Can  a  Man 
be  -profitable  to  God?  Page  i 

SERMON     II. 

Luke  XI.  35.  Take  heed  therefore  that  the 
Light  which  is  in  thee  be  not  ^ark- 
nefs.  p.  44 

SERMON     III. 
Matth.  V.  44.  former  Parr.     But  Ifay  unto 
you,  Love  your  Enemies.  p.  89 

SERMON     IV. 

Matth.  VII.  26,  27.  And  every  one  that  hear- 
eth  thefefayings  of  mine,  and  doth  them  not, 
Jhallbe  likened  unto  a  foolifh  Man,  who  built: 
his  Houfe  upon  the  Sand. 

And  the  Rai?i  defc  ended,  and  the  Floods  came, 
and  the  Winds  blew,  and  beat  upon  that 
Houfe,  and  it  fell,  and  great  was  the  Fall 
ojit.  p.  133 

SERMON     V. 

?  Cor.  VIII.  12.  But  when  ye  fin  fo  againfh 
the  Brethren,  andwound their  weak  Confci- 
mc^,)'efin  againft  Chrifi,  p.  1 54 

S  E  R- 


SERMON     VI. 
r  Cor.  II,  7.  former  Part.     But  iz'efpeak  the 
JV'tfdorn  of  God  in  a  Myftery.  p.  1 9  3 

SERMON     VII. 
Revel.  XXII.  1 6.  latter  Part.     I  am  the  Root 
and  the  Off-fpring  of  DzNidj  and  the  Bright 
and  Morning- ft ar*  p.  239 

SERMON     VIII. 
John  I.  1 1 .  He  came  to  his  own,   and  his 
own  received  him  not.  '^»'2'77 

SERMON    IX. 
Ifaiah  LIII.  8.  latter  Part.    For  the  Tranfgref- 
Jion  of  my  People  was  heftricken.      p.  3  2  2 
SERMON     X. 
A£ls  II.  24.     Whom  God  hath  raifed  tip,  ha- 
ving loofed  the  'Pains  of  T>eath :  becaufe 
it  was  not  pojfible  that  he  jhottld  be  holden 
of  it.  p.  362 

SERMON     XI. 
I  Cor.  XII.  4.    Now  there  are  ^iverjities  of 
GiftSy  but  the  fame  Spirit .  p.  3  94 

SERMON     XII.       . 
Pfalm  CXLIV.  10.  former  Part.     It  is  he 
that  giveth  Salvation  unto  Kings,   p.  43  5 


THE 


The  DoBrlne  of  Merit  flat ed,  and 
the  Impojflhtltt'y  of  Man's  Mer't- 
ting  of  QOD, 

Aflerted  in  a 

DISCOURSE 

UPON 

The  2 2d  of  Job,  and  the  idVerfe. 
Preach'd  at 

Westminster-Abbey; 

Oil  December  the  5^^  1697. 

JOB  XXII.  z. 

Can  a  Man  he  profitable  to  GO  D  ? 

IT  is  a  Matter  of  no  fmall  Moment  certainly 
lor  a  Man  to  be  rightly  informed,  upon 
what  Terms y  and  Conditions,  he  is  to  tranfadt 
'ix.ith  God.  andGodwith  him,  in  the  great  Bufi- 
Vol.  lU.  B  nefs 


\ 


2.  A  Sermon  preached 

iiefsof  his  Salvation.  For  by  knowing  upon 
'what  Terms  he  muft  obtain  Eternal  Happinefs 
hereafter,  he  will  know  alfo,  tipon  what 
Grounds  he  is  to  hope  for,  and  exped  it  here  ; 
and  i^o  be  able  to  govern  both  his  Adions  and 
Expedations  according  to  the  Nature  of  the 
Thing  he  is  in  Purfuit  of  j  Left,  otherwife, 
he  fhould  chance  to  fail  of  the  Trize  he  runs 
for,  by  miltaking  the  Way  he  fhould  run  m. 

St.  ^atily  as  plainly  as  Words  can  exprefs  a 
Thing,  tells  us.  That  Eternal  Life  is  the  Gift 
ofGodh  and  Confequently  to  be  expeded  by 
us  only  as  fuch :  nay,  He  afterts  it  to  be  a, 
Gift  in  the  very  fame  verfe  in  which  He  af- 
firms T)eath  to  be  as  due  to  a  Sinner ,  as  Woges 
are  to  a  IVorkmany  Romans  vi.  2  3 .  Than 
which  Words  nothing  certainly  can  be  more 
full  and  conclufive.  That  Salvation  proceeds 
wholly  upon  Free-Gift^  though  'Damnation 
upon  ftrid  Defert. 

Neverthelefs,  fuch  is  the  Extrer^ Folly,  or 
rather  Sottiflinefs  of  Man's  Corrupt  Nature, 
That  this  does  by  no  Means  fatisfy  him.  For 
'though  indeed  he  would  fain  be  Happy,  yet 
fain  v/ould  He  alfo  Thank  none  for  it  but 
Himfelf.  And  though  He  finds,  that,  not 
only  His  Dutj  but  His  NeceJJity  brings  him 
every  day  upon  His  iiT^^^^j"  to  Almighty  God 

for 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.  3 

forthe'very  Bread  he  eats ;  yet  when  he  comes 
to  deal  with  Him  about  Spiritual  (Things  of 
infinitely  greater  Vahie)  he  appears,  and  ads, 
not  as  a  Suppliant ^  but  as  a  Merchant  5  not 
as  One,  who  comes  to  be  Relicvedy  but  ta 
Traffick,  For  Ibmething  he  would  receive  of 
Godj  and  fomething  he  would  Give  Him ; 
and  nothing  will  content  this  hifolent,  yet 
Impotent  Creature,  unlcfshemay  feem  to  Buy 
the  very  Thing  he  Begs.  Such  being  the 
^rideandBafenefsoi  Tome  Spirits,that  where 
they  Receive  a  Benefit  too  big  for  them  to 
requite,  they  will  even  'Deny  the  Kindnefs, 
and  difwwn  the  Obligation. 

Now  this  great  Self-delufion,  fo  prevalent 
upon  mod  Minds,  is  the  Thing  here  encoun- 
tered in  the  Text.  The  words  of  which  (by 
an  ufual  way  of  Speech)  under  an  Interroga- 
tion couching  a  Tojitive  Ajjertion,  are  a  T)e' 
duration  oi  the  hnpoflibility  of  Man's  being 
Profitable  to  God,  or  (which  is  all  one)  of 
his  meriting  of  God\  according  to  the  true, 
proper,  and  ftrid  Senfe  of  Merit.  Nor  does 
this  Interrogative  way  of  Exprefllon  import 
only  a  bare  Negation  of  the  Thing,  as,  in  it 
felf,  ImpolTible,  but  alfo  a  manifcfl.  Undenia- 
ble Evidence  of  the  faid  ImpolTibility  j  As  if 
it  had  been  faid,  That  nothing  can  be  m.ore 

B  z  plainly 


4-  A  Sermon  preached 

plainly  ImpeJJible,  than  for  a  Man  to  he  Pro- 
fitable to  God'->  for  God  to  receive  any  Advan- 
tage by  Mans  Right eoufncfs  -,  or  to  gain  any 
Thing  by  his  making  hisIVap perfetl :  and  con- 
Icquently,  That  nothing  can  be  more  abfurd, 
and  contrary  to  all  Senfe  and  Reafon,  than 
fox  a  Man  to  entertain,  and  cherifli  fo  irratio- 
nal z.  Conceit,  or  to  affirm  fo  grofs  a  Paradox. 

And  that  no  other  Thing  is  here  meant  by 
a  Man's  htvs\%  profitable  to  God y  but  his  ;»^- 
riting  of  God^  will  appear  from  a  true  State 
and  Account  of  the  Nature  of  Merit ;  Which 
we  may  not  improperly  define,  A  Right  to 
receive  fome  good  upon  the  Score  of  fome  good 
done  J  together  with  an  Equivalence  or  Vari^ 
ty  of  worth  between  the  Good  to  be  Received^ 
and  the  Good  'Done.  So  that  although  accor- 
ding to  the  Common  Divifion  oijtiftice  into 
Commutative  and  Diftributive,  that,  which 
is  called  Commutative  be  employed  only  a. 
bout  the  ftrid  Value  of  Things,  according  to 
an  Arithynetical  Troportion,  (as  the  Schools- 
fpeak)  which  admits  of  no  Degrees ;  and 
the  other  fpecies  of  JufiicCy  call'd  ^iflribw 
tive  (as  confiding  in  the  Diftribution  of  Re' 
wards  andTuniJhments)  admits  of  fome  La- 
titude and  Degrees  in  the  Difpenfation  of  it ; 
yet,  in  Truth,  even  this  ^ifiribut ion  it  felf 

mu^ 


at  Weftminfter- Abby.  5 

muft  To  far  follow  the  Rules  of  Commutation, 
That  the  Good  to  be  difpenfed  by  way  of  lie- 
war  dj  ought  in  Juftice  to  be  Equivalent  to 
the  Work,  or  AEiion-,  which  it  is  dcfiL;ti*d  as  a 
Compenlation  of  5  So  as  by  no  means  to  fink 
below  it,  or  fall  fhort  of  the  full  Value  of  it. 
From  all  which  (upon  a  juft  Eftimate  of  the 
matter)  it  follows.  That,  in  true  Phiiofophy, 
Merit  is  nothing  elfe,  but  an  Inftance,  or  Ex- 
emplification  of  that  noted  Say  ing,  or  Maxmi, 
That  one  BenefaEiion,  or  good  Turn  requires 
another  ;  and  imports  neither  more  nor  \t^s 
than  ^  Maris  Claims  or  Title  to  Receive  as 
much  Good  from  another  ^  as  he  had  done  for 
him. 

Thus  much  therefore  being  premifed,  as 
an  Explication  of  the  Drift,  or  Defignofthe 
Words  (the  Words  themfelves  being  too 
plain  and  eafy  to  need  any  further  Expofition) 
we  fhall  obferve,  and  draw  from  them  thefc 
Four  Particulars. 

Firfty  Something  fuppofedy  or  implyed  in 
themy  viz.  That  Men  are  naturally  very  Prone 
to  entertain  an  Opinion,  or  Perfualion,  That 
they  are  able  to  merit  of  God,  or  be  Trofita- 
ble  to  Him. 

Secondly    Something  exprejfed,    namely, 

That  fuch  an  Opnion  or  Terfuajion  is  utter- 

B3  ly 


6  A  Sermon  Preached 

ly  falfe  and  abfurd  J  and  that  itis  impoflible 
for  Man  to  merit  of  God,  or  to  be  Trojitable 
to  him. 

Thirdly,  Something  Inferred  from  both 
the  former,  to  wit.  That  the  forementioned 
Opinion,  or  Terftiafion  is  the  very  Source  or 
Foundation  of  two  of  the  greateft  CorruptionSy 
that  have  infefled  the  Chriftian  Church  and 
Religion.     And, 

Fourthly,  and  Laftly,  Something  objeded 
againft  the  Particulars  difcourfed  of,  which  I 
fhall  endeavour  to  anfwer,  and  remove  j  and 
fo  Conclude  this  Difcourfe. 

Of  Each  of  which  in  their  Order :  And, 

Firji,  For  the  firft  of  them.  The  Thing 
fiippofed  or  imply ed  in  the  Words,  namely. 
That  Men  are  naturally  very  Trone  to  enter- 
tain an  Opinion  or  Terfitajton,  That  they 
are  abh  to  merit  of  Gody  or  be  Profitable  to 
Him. 

The  Truth  of  which  will  appear  from  thefe 
two  Confiderations. 

Firfi,  That  it  is  Natural  for  them  to  place 
too  High  a  Value  both  upon  themfelves,  and 
their  own  Performances.  And  that  this  is  fo, 
is  evident  from  that  Univerfal  Experience, 
which  proves  it  no  lefs  Natural  to  them,  to 
bear  a  more  thanordinary  Love  to  themfelves, 

and 


at  Wcflminfter-Abby.  7 

and  all  Love  (wc  know)  is  founded  in,  and 
rcfulrs  from  a  Proportionable  Eftccm  of  the 
Objed  Loved  :  So  that,  look  in  what  Degree 
any  Man  loves  himfelf,  in  the  fame  Degree  it 
will  follow,  that  hemufl:  efteem  himfelf  too. 
Upon  which  Account  it  is,  that  every  Alan 
will  be  fure  to  fet  his  oizn  Trice  upon  what 
he  is,  and  what  he  does,  whether  the  World 
will  come  up  to  it  or  no  j  as  it  feldom  docs. 

That  Speech  of  St.  Teter  to  our  Saviour  i§ 
very  remarkable,  in  Mat.  xix.  27.  Mafter 
(fays  he)  'uje  have  forfook  all  and  followed 
Thee^  '-juhat  Jhall'we  have  therefore  ?  In  which 
Words,  he  feems  to  be  upon  Equal  Terms 
with  his  Lordj  and  to  exped  no  more  of 
him  (as  he  thought)  but  what  he  ftridly  had 
deferved  from  him  -,  and  all  this  from  a  Con- 
ceit that  he  had  done  an  Ad  fo  exceedingly 
Meritorious  J  that  it  muft  even  Non-plus  his 
Mafter's  Bounty,  to  quit  Scores  with  him  by  a 
juft  Requital.  Nay,  fo  far  had  the  fame  proud 
Ferment  got  into  the  Minds  of  all  the  Difcl- 
ples,  that  neither  could  their  own  low  Condi- 
tion, nor  the  conftant  Sermons  of  that  great 
Example  oi  S elf -T^enial  and  Humility ,  whom 
they  daily  converfed  with ;  nor,  laft]y,the  Cor- 
redivesofa  Peculiar  Grace  totally  clear,  and 
cure  them  of  it.  And  therefore, no  Wonder, 
B4  if 


8  A  Sermon  preached 

if  a  Principle  fo  deeply  rooted  inNatur e,works 
with  the  whole  Power  of  Nature ,  and  confi- 
dering  alfo  the  Corruption  of  Nature,  as  little 
wonder  is  it,  if  it  runs  out  with  an  Extrava- 
gance equal  to  its  Power,  making  the  Minds 
of  Men  even  T)runk  with  a  falfe  intoxicating 
conceit  of  their  own  Worth,  and  Abilities, 
From  whence  it  is,  That  as  Man  is,  of  all 
Creatures  in  the  World,  both  the  mort:  T^efi- 
rous,  and  the  moft  Unable  to  advance  himfelf  ; 
So  through  ^rlde  and  Indigence,  (Qualities 
which  uiually  concur  in  Beggars)  none  is  fo 
unwilling  to  own  the  Banefadions  he  lives 
by,  and  has  no  claim  to,  as  this  weak  and 
worthlefs  Self  Admirer,  who  has  nothing  to 
be  admired  in  him,  but  that  he  can,  upon 
fuch  Terms,  admire  Himfelf.  For  Naked 
came  Unto  t^e  fiord,  and  Naked  {kail  I  go  out 
again,  ought  to  be  the  Motto  of  every  Man 
when  born,  the  HiQory  of  his  Life,  and  his 
Epitaph  when  Dead  :  His  Emptinels  and  Self. 
confciottfnefs  together,  cannot  but  make  him 
feel  in  himfelf  (which  is  the  fureft  way  of 
knowing)  that  He  has  indeed  Nothing,  and 
yet  he  bears  himfelf  as  if  he  could  command  all 
things ;  at  the  fame  time  low  in  condition>  and 
yet  lofty  in  opinion  ;  boafiing  and  yet  depend- 
ing i  nzy,  boating  i$zmii  Him,  whom  he  de- 
pends 


at  Weftminfter  Abbey.  9 

pcnds  upon.     Which  certainly  is  the  fouled 
Solec'tfm  in  Behaviour,  and  two  of  the  worft 
Qualities,  that  can  be,  in  Conjunftion.     Bur, 
Secondly y   A  fecond  Confideration,     from 
whence  we  infer  this  ^ronenefs  in  Men  to 
think  themfelves  able  to  Merit  of  God,  or  to 
be  profitable  to  htmy  is  their  natural  Aptnefs 
to  form  and  meafurc  their  apprehenfions  of 
the  Supreme  Lord  of  all  Things^  by  what  they 
apprehend,  and  obferve  of  the  Princes  and 
Potentates  of  this  Worlds  with  reference  to 
fuch  as  are  under  their  Dominion.  And  this  is 
certainly, a  very  prevailing  Fallacy,  and  deals 
too  eafily  upon  Mens  Minds  as  being  found- 
ed in  the  unhappy  Predominance  oi  Senfeo\ct 
Reafon  -■>  which  in  the  Prefent  Condition  of 
Man's  Nature,  does  but  too  frequently,  and 
fatally  take  Place.     For  Men  naturally  have 
but  faint  Notions  of  Things  Spiritual-,  and 
fuch  as  incur  not  into  they  Senfcss  bm  their 
Eyes.,  their  EarSy  and  their  Hands  are  too 
often  made  by  them  the  Rule  of  their  Faith 
but  almoft  always  the  Rea(on  of  their  ^ra. 
£fice.     And  therefore  no  marvel, if  they  blun- 
der in  their  Notions  about  G(?<;/ 5  a  Being,  fo 
vaftly  above  the    Apprehenfions   of  Senfe  ; 
while  they  conceive  no  otherwife  of  Him  at 
beft,  but  as  fomc  great  Kingj  or  Trince,  ru- 
ling 


JO  A  Sermon  preached 

ling  with  a  Worldly  Maj eft y,  and  Grandeur  o- 
ver  fuch  puny  Mortals  as  themfelves :  Where- 
upon, as  they  frame  to  themfelves  no  other 
Idea  of  Him,  but  fuch  as  they  borrow  from 
the  Royal  Eft  ate  of  an  Earthly  Sovereign-,  fo 
they  conceive  alfo  of  their  own  Relationio 
him,  and  T>ependance  upon  hiniy  juftasthey 
do  of  that  which  pafTes  between  fuch  a  So- 
'uereign  and  His  SubjeBs  5  and  confequently, 
Jlnce  they  find,  that  there  is  no  Trince  upon 
Earth  fo  Abfolute,  but  that  he  ftands  in  as 
much  need  of  his  Subje£is  for  many  Things, 
as  they  do,  or  can  ftand  in  need  of  Him  for 
His  Government  and  TroteBton  5  (by  Reafoii 
whereof  there  muft  needs  follow  a  reciprocal 
Exchange  of  Offices ^  and  a  mutual  fupply  of 
Wants  between  them,  rendring  both  Parties 
Equally  Neceflary  to  one  Another).  I  fay, 
from  thefe  mifapplied  Premifes,  the  Low, 
Grofs,  UndiflinguiihingReafonof  the  Gene- 
rality of  Mankind,  prcfently  infers,  That  the 
Creature  alfo  may,  on  fomc  Accounts,  be  as 
Beneficial  to  His  Creator,  as  fuch  a  SubjeB  is 
to  his  Prince  s  and  that  there  may  be  the  like 
Circulation  of  goodTurns  between  them  jthey 
being  (as  they  think)  within  their  Compafs, 
as  really  Ufeful  to  God,  as  God  for  his  Tart  is  . 
Beneficial  to  them-,  which  is  the  True  No- 
tion 


at  Weftminfter- Abby.  1 1 

tion  of  Merits  or  of  being  profitable  to  God. 
A  Conceit,  tliat  flicks  fo  clofe  to  Humane 
Nature-,  \X\2XVi€\\kiziThilofophy ,  w^x.  Religion 
can  wholly  remove  it :  and  yet  if  we  confi- 
der  the  limited  Rights  which  the  Greateft 
Prince  upon  Earth  has  over  his  meaneft  Slave, 
and  that  Abfolute,  Boimdlefs,  Tar  amount 
Righty  which  God  has  over  the  very  fame 
Things,  and  Perfons,which  fuch  Princes  avow 
a  Claim  to,  and  by  virtue  of  which  Tranfien- 
dent  Right  fomething  is  God's  which  can 
never  be  Theirs :  And  even  what  is  Theirs  is 
ftill  by  much  Higher  Title  His :  I  fay,  if  we 
confiderthis,  the  y^lffurditj', and  Inconfequence 
of  all  fuch  Difcourfes  about  the  Relation  be- 
tween God  and  Men ^  as  arc  taken  from  what 
we  fee,  and  obferve  between  Man  and  Man, 
as  Governing  and  governed,  is  hereby  more 
than  fufficicntly  proved  •■,  and  yet  as  Abfiird^ 
as  Fallacious  and  Inconfeqttent  as  this  Way  of 
Difcouriing  is,  it  is  one  of  the  Chief  Founda- 
tions of  the  T)oEirine  of  Merit,  and  confe- 
quently  of  thePvcligion  of  too  great  a  Part  of 
the  World  :  A  Religion  tending  only  to  de- 
fraud Men  of  their  true  Saviour,  by  perfua. 
ding  them  that  they  may  be  their  Oven.  And 
thus  much  for  the  firft  Particular,  the  Thing 
fuppofedi\\xh<:,Woids,  to  wit,  That  Mtn  are 

NatU' 


I  i  A  Sermon  preached 

Naturally  very  prone  to  perfuade  them/elves^ 
that  they  are  able  to  Merit  ofGody  orheTro- 
jitable  to  him. 

I  proceed  now  to  the 

Second  Particular,  In  which  we  \\^^tfome' 
thing exprejjed^n2imt\yy  Thatfuch  a  ^erfua- 
fan  is  utterly  falfe  andabfurd,  and  that  it  is  im~ 
poljihle  for  Men  to  Merit  of  God,  or  be  TrO' 
Jitable  to  Him.  And  this  I  (hall  evince  by 
fhewing  the  feveral  Ingredients  o^  Merit,  and 
the  Conditions  neceflary  to  render  an  Adlion 
Meritorious.  Slich  as  are  thcfe  fou£  that 
follow  5  as, 

Firft,  That  an  ABion  be  not  due ;  that  is 
to  fay,  it  nmft  not  hz  fuch  as  a  Man  ftands 
obliged  to  the  doing  of  but  fuch  as  he  is  free 
either  to  do,  or  not  to  do,  without  being  charge- 
able with  the  Guilt  of  any  (injulOmiffion,in 
cafe  he  does  it  not.  It  being  no  ill  Account 
given  of  Merit  by  *  Spanhemius  (the  Elder,) 
That  it  is  Opus  bonum  Indebitum  jaciens 
premium  debitum  ex  Indebito.  For  otherwife, 
if  that  which  is  'Due,  may  alfo  Meritjthcriy 
by  paying  what  I  owe,  I  may  make  my  Cre- 
ditors my  Debtors;  and  every  Payment 
would  not  only  clear,  but  alfo  transfer  the 

Debt. 

I' '  ' -..I ....  I  "? 

y  Bub.  Evmg.  Parte   3«.  pag.  782. 

2  Befides 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.'         1 3 

Bcfides,  that  in  all  the  BenefaBions  pafling 
from  Almighty  God  upon  ibch  as  fervc  him 
the  bed  they  can,there  could  be  no  fuch  Thing 
as  Liberality  -,  which  can  never  take  Place  but 
where  fomething  is  given,  which  the  Recei- 
ver cannot  Challenge :  Nay,  very  hardly 
could  there  be  any  fuch  Thing  as  Gift,  For 
if  there  be  firft  a  Claim,  then,  in  Stridnefs  of 
Speech,  it  is  not  fo  properly  Gift,  as  Payment. 
Yea,  fo  vaft  would  be  the  Comprehenfion  of 
Juftice,  that  it  would  fcarce  leave  any  Objed 
for  Favour.  But  God's  Grace  and  Bounty,  be- 
ing lo  prevented  by  Merits  would  be  SpeBa- 
tors  rather  than  A5iors  in  the  whole  Work  of 
Man's  Salvation.  Nor  would  our  Obedience 
to  God's  Tofitive  Precepts  only,  but  alfotohis 
Negative  fometimes  ftrike  in  for  theirShare  of 
Merit,  and  Claim  to  a  Reward.  And  any  one, 
who  could  plead  fuch  a  Negative  Righteouf- 
nefs,  might  come  and  demand  a  Recompence 
of  God  for  not  drinking  or  Whoring,  Swear' 
ing  or  Blafpheming  5  juft  as  the  Tharifee  did, 
for  not  Being  as  the  very  Dregs  of  Sinners ; 
and  fo  vouch  himfelf  meritorious  (forlboth) 
for  being  a  Degree  or  Two  fhort  of  Scan- 
dalous. Moreover,  amongft  Men,  it  would 
pafs  for  an  Obligation  between  Neighbours, 
that  one  of  them  did  not  rob  or  murder  the 

other  5 


14  ^  Sermon  preached 

other  5  and  a  fufficient  Plea  for  Preferment 
before  Kings  and  Governours,  not  to  have 
deferv'd  the  Gibbet  and  the  Halter ;  which  is 
a  poor  Plea  indeed,  when  to  have  deferv'd 
them  proves  oftentimes  a  better.  In  lliort, 
upon  thefe  Terms,  he,  who  is  not  the  very 
worft  of  Villains,  muft  commence  Prefently 
a  Perfon  of  a  peculiar  Worthy  and  bare  /w- 
demnity  will  be  too  low  a  Privilege  for  the 
Merit  of  not  being  a  Clamorous y  Overgroissjn 
Malefa^or. 

But  now,  that  All  that  any  Man  alive  is 
Capable  of  Doing,  is  but  an  Indifpenfable 
Homage  to  God,  and  not  zfree  Oblation ;  and 
that  alfo  fuch  an  Homage,  as  makes  his  Obli- 
gation to  what  he  does  much  earlier  than  his 
Doing  of  it,  will  appear  both  from  the  Law 
ofNature.andthat  ofGod'sToftive  Command: 
Of  each  of  which  a  Word  or  two,  and 

Firfjcor  the  Law  of  Nature .  There  is  No- 
thing that  Nature  proclaims  with  a  louder, 
and  more  intelligible  Voice,  Than,  that  Hey 
who  gives  a  being,  and  afterwards  preferves 
and  flip  forts  it,  has  an  Indefeafible  claim  to 
whatfoever  the  faid  Being  fo  given,  and  Stip^ 
ported  by  Him,  either  is  or  has  or  can  Pof- 
fibly  do.  But  this  is  a  Point,  which  /muft  be 
more  particular  upon,   and  thereby  lay  a 

Poun- 


at  Weftmlnfter-Abbeyr  15 

Foundation  for  what  I  fhall  argue,  a  Fortioriy 
concerning  God  Himfelf,  from  what  is  to  be 
obferved  amongft  Men.  Now  the  Eighty 
which  One  Man  has  to  the  Anions  of  Another , 
is  generally  derived  from  One  or  Both  of  thefc 
two  Great  Originals /ProduSfionyOi  ^offejjion. 
The  firft  of  which  gives  a  Tarent  Right  over 
the  Adions  of  his  Child;  and  the  other  gives 
aMafter  a  Title  to  whatfoever  can  be  done  by 
his  Servant.  Which  two  are  certainly  the 
Principal,  and  mod  Undoubted  Rights,  that 
take  Place  in  the  World.  And  both  of  them 
are  eminently  and  tranfcendently  in  God,  as  he 
ilands  related  to  Men  :   and, 

Firft y  For  Production.  By  the  pureft  and 
mod  entire  Communication  of  Being,  God 
did  not  only  T rodiicey  but  Create  Man .  He 
gave  him  an  Exiftence  out  of  Nothings  and 
while  he  was  yet  but  a  meer  Idea  or  ToJJibiU- 
ty  in  the  Mind  of  his  Eternal  Maker.  That 
one  Expreflion  to  the  Pfahiiift,  //  is  He  who 
hath  made  its,  and  not  we  our  f elves,  being 
both  a  full  Account,  and  an  irrefragable  T>e- 
monftration  of  His  Abfolutc  Sovereignty  over 
our  Perfons,  and  inconteflable  Claim  to  all 
Our  Services :  Nor  is  this  the  Utmoft  Meafure 
of  our  Obligation  to  Him,  but  as  he  firft 
drew  us  out  of  Nothing  and  Non-Exiftence, 
4  fo 


1 6  A  Sermon  preached 

fo  He  ever  fince  keeps  us  from  Relapfing  into 
it  \  HisTower  brought  us  forth ;  and  His  Tra- 
vidence  maintains  us.  And  thus  has  this  pooif 
impotent  Creature  been  perpetually  hanging 
upon  the  Bounty  of  his  great  Creator,  and  by 
a  daily  Prefervation  of  his  Precarious  Being, 
ftands  obliged  to  Him  under  the  growing  re- 
newed Title  of  a  Continual  Creation.  But 
this  is  not  all.     There  is  yet, 

Seco  idljy  Another  Title ;  whereby  One  Ter- 
fan  obtains  a  Right  to  all  that  another  Can  do ; 
and  that  is  TojJeJJion.  A  Title,  every  whit 
as  tranfcendently  in  God  as  the  former  i  as 
being  founded  in,  and  refulting  from  His 
forementioncd  Prerogative  of  a  Creator.  No- 
thing being  more  unqueftionable,  than  that 
the  Earth  is  the  Lord' s^and  the  Fullnefs  there- 
of: as  the  yy^/w//?  declares,  Tfalm  xxiv.  r. 
He  is  the  Sole  proprietor,  and  Grand  Land- 
lord oftheUniverfe.  And  moreover,  as  all 
Things  were  made  by  Him,  fo  they  were 
made/^r  Him  alfo  ;  He  made allThings  for 
Himfelf,{v^s  the  wifeft  of  Men,  T^rov.  xvi.  4. 
He  is  the  Original  Efficient  by  which,  and 
the  Great  and  Laji  End  for  which,  they  are : 
For  by  Him  they  Begun,  and  in  Him  they 
Terminate,  after  which  two  EJfential  Re- 
lattons  born  by  God  to  Man  on  the  one  fide, 

and 


at  Weftminiler- Abbey.  iT 

and  obliging  Man  to  God  on  the  other,  can 
there  be  any  Thing  that  is  Good,  either  in 
the  Beim  or  Anions  of  the  latter,  which  can 
be  call'd  perfedly  his  own  ?  any  Thing  which 
is  not  entirely  due  to  God,  and  that  by  a  Com- 
plication of  the  raoft  binding  and  Indifpenfa- 
ble  Titles  ?  And  if  fo,  Ho'W  and  where  can 
there  be  any  Room  for  fuch  a  Thing,  as 
Merit. 

The  Civil  Law  tells  us,  t\\^\.Servants\\^\t 
not  properly  a  Jus,  a  Right  or  Title^  to  any 
Thing,  by  Virtue  whereof  they  can  implead, 
or  bring  an  Adion  againft  their  Lord,  upon 
any  account  whatfoever  5  every  fuch  Servant, 
as  the  Law  here  fpeaks  of,  being  not  only  his 
Mafter  s  Vajfalyhnt  alfo  part  of  his  ToffeJJioiis, 
And  this  Right  our   Saviour  Himfclf  owns, 
and  fets  forth  to  Us  by  an  Elegant  ^arable^ 
couching  under  it  as  ftrong  an  Argument j'Luko. 
xvii.  7,  8,  9.     JVhich  of  Ton  (faith  \v^)having 
a  Servant  pi o^'juing-,  or  feeding  Cattle,  will  fay 
nnto  him  by  and  by,  when  ke  is  comefrd?n  the 
Field,   Go,  and  fit  down  to  Meat  "^     Aiidwill 
not  rather  fay  tinto  him,  make  ready  where- 
with I  may  [up  j  and  Gird  thyfelf  andfrve 
me,  till  1  have  ea  en  and  drank ;    and  after- 
wards thou  jhall  Eat  and  drink.     'Doth  he 
thank  that  Servant  J  becaufe  he  did  the  Things 
Vol.  Ill,  C  that 


i  8  A  Sermon  preached 

that  were  Commanded  htm  5    /  tro^jo  not) 
Where  we  fee,  upon  what  Terms  of  Right y 
even  the  moft  diligent,    and  faithful  Servant 
Hands  with  his  Mafter  5  who  after  he  had  been. 
ToyUng  all    Day   in  his    Mailer's    Bufinefs, 
drefling  and  manuring  his  Grounds,  and  Wa- 
tering them  with  the  'Drops  of  his  Brow-, 
comes  home  at  Xt.Vi'^xh.himgry  and  tired.,  (where 
if  he  could  find  no  reward  for  his  hard  fervice, 
yet  one  would  think,  that  he  might  at  Icaft 
exped  a  difcharge  from   any  further  Work-, 
and  receive  the  prefent  Refrefhments  of  his 
natural  Food,)  yet  even  then  his  Mailer  re- 
news his  Employment,  delays  his  Repaft,  and 
Commands  him  to  ferve  and  attend  him  at 
his  Table,    and  with  weary  Limbs,  and  an 
empty  Stomach,  to  exped  a  difmiilion  at  his 
Plealure;  and,  ail  this,  without  fo  much  as 
any  Thanks  for  his  Pains.     In  which  neither 
is  the  Mailer //»/'///?,  nor  the  Servant  injured. 
For  he  did  no  more  than  what  his  Condition 
obliged  him  to  3    he  did  but  his  IDuty -■>  and 
'Duty  certainly  neither  is,  nor  can  be  Merito- 
rious.    Thus,  I  lay,  Hands  the  Cafe  amongft 
Men  according  to  the  Difference  of  their  re- 
fpedive  Conditions  in  this  World.  And  if  fo, 
mull  not  the  fame  Obligation,  as  it  palfes  be- 
tween God  and  Man,  rife  as  much  higher,  as 

the 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.  i  p 

the  Condition  of  a  Creature  founds  nn  Obli- 
gation incomparably  Greater,  than  that  of  a 
bare  Servant  pollibly  can?  And  therefore 
iince  Man,  ftands  bound  to  God  under  Eoth 
thefe  Z/V/^j,  to  wit,  o^TrodutJioriy  Tiwd^of- 
feffiortj  How  can  there  be  a  greater  Paradox, 
than  for  fuch  a  Contemptible,  forlorn  piece  of 
living  Dirt,  to  claim  any  thing  upon  the  flock 
of  Merit  from  Him,  who  is  both  his  Mafter 
and  his  Maker  too  ?  No,  the  very  bcft  of 
Men,  upon  the  very  bed  of  their  Service, 
have  no  other 'P/f^  before  God  hwiTrayerh 
they  indeed  may  beg  an  Alms,  but  muft  not 
think  to  fland  upon  their  Terms.     But, 

Secondly y  Not  only  the  Law  of  Nature^ 
and  the  Reafon  of  the  Thing  itfelf,  (as  we  have 
fufficiently  ftiewn)  Excludes  a  Man  from  all 
^lea  of  Merit y  but  alfo  that  further  Obliga- 
tion lying  upon  him^  and  all  his  Services  from 
the  pojitive  Laoi^  and  Comjnand  of  God,  e- 
qually  curs  him  oft  from  the  fame.  The 
known  Voice  of  that  Law  being,  Thoufloalt 
Worfjip  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  Him  only  ^ alt 
thou  ferve,  Matth.  iv.  lo.  And  then  for  the 
7neafitre  and  extent  of  that  fervice,  it  is  to 
be  livV/^  all  the  Hearty  and  all  the  Strength, 
and  all  the  Soul,  MarkxW.  30.  Which  one 
Comprehcnfive  Injunclion  grafpingin  it  all 
C  2  that 


lo  A  Sermon  preached 

that  humane  Nature  is  able  to  do,  and  by 
Confequence  bringing  all  that  can  be  done  by 
Man  within  the  Compafs  and  Verge  of  Duty, 
has  left  no  Vacancy  or  Poilibility  for  Merit  to 
take  place;  till  it  be  proved.  That  a  Man 
may  adually  do  more,  than  with  aU  his  Hearty 
and  all  his  Strength  and  all  his  Soul:,  he  is 
able  to  do :  than  which,  it  is  impoffible,  even 
for  common  Senfe,  to  conceive  any  Thing 
more  fenfelefs  and  contradictious.  And  fo  I 
proceed  to  the 

II.  Condition  required  to  render  an  AEiion 
7neritorious ;  and  that  is,  That  it  jhotild really 
add  to,  and  better  the  State  of  the  Terfon  of 
whom  it  is  to  Merit,  The  reafon  of  which  is^ 
becauf  e  all  Merit  (as  we  have  fhewn  before) 
confifts  properly  in  a  Right  to  receive  fome 
Benefit,  on  the  account  of  fome  Benefit  firji 
done :  The  natural  Order  of  Things  requiring, 
that  where  a  confiderable  Advantage  has  been 
received,  fomething  of  the  like  Nature  fhould 
be  returned.  For  that  otherwife,  if  one  Part 
of  the  World  fhould  be  always  upon  the  Re- 
ceiving handy  and  never  upon  the  Refloring-, 
that  ^art  would  be  a  kindof  monftrous  T^ead 
Weight  upon  the  other,  and  all  that  was  good 
and  ufeful  to  Mankind  would  by  an  enormous 
Difparity  lean  wholly  on  one  fide. 

But 


at  Wcftminftcr-Abbey."  2 1 

But  to  bring  the  forementioncd  Condition 
of  Merit  home  to  our  prcfent  Purpofc.  And 
thereby  to  fhew  how  far  God  is  capable  of 
Receiving  from  Many  and  Man  of  giving  to 
God  J  it  may  not  be  amils  briefly  to  reprefent 
to  ourfeives.  What  God  is,  and 'what  Man  /V, 
and  by  Confequence  how  the  CzCc  of  Giving 
and  Receiving  muft  (land  on  God's  ^art^  and 
how  on  Man's.     And  here  in  the 

ift.  Place.  God  offers  Himfelf  to  our  Con- 
fideration  as  a  Being  infinitely  Terfe^,  infinite- 
ly Happy,  and  Self  fiifficient 'y  depending  up- 
on no  Supply,  or  Revenue  from  abroad,  but 
(as  I  may  fo  exprefs  it)  retreating  wholly  into 
Himfelf,  and  there  living  for  ever  upon  the 
Inexhaufl:ible  flock  of  His  Own  Eflential  ful- 
nefs  ',  And,  as  a  Fountain  owes  not  its  Streams 
to  any  Poor,  Adventitious  Infufions  from 
without,  but  to  the  Internal,  Unfailing  Plen- 
ties of  its  own  Springs  j  So  this  Mighty,  All- 
comprehending  Being  which  we  call  God^ 
needs  no  other  Happinefs,  but  to  Contemplate 
upon  that  which  he  adlually  is,  and  ever  was, 
and  fhall  be  poflefled  of.  Prom  all  which  it 
follows,  Thaj  the  Divine  Nature  and  Beati- 
tude, can  no  more  admit  of  any  Addition  to 
it,  than  we  can  add  Degrees  to  Infinity,  new 
mealures  to  Immenfty,  and  farther  Improvc- 
C  3  mcnts 


2  2  A  Sermon  preached  \ 

mcnts  to  a  boimdlefs^  abfolute^  iinimproveable  ' 
Perfedion  :  For  fuch  a  Being  is  tlie  Great  Gody 
v/iio  is  one  of  the  Parties  whom  we  are  now  ' 
difcourfing  of.  Neverthclcfs,  to  carry  the  i 
Cafe  a  little  further ;  fuppofmg  for  the  Pre-  i 
fent.  That  the  Divine  Nature  and  Felicity- 
were  capable  of  fome  further  Addition  and  \ 
Encreafe,  Let  us  in  the  i 

zd  Place,    caft  our  Eye  upon  the  other     ; 
Party  concern'd,  and  confidcr,  whether  Man     I 
be  a  Being  fit,  and  able  to  make  this  Additi- 
on ;  Man,  Ifay,  that  poor,  flight,  inconfidcr- 
able  Nothing  -,  or  at  befl  a  pitiful  Sometht7ig 
beholden  to  every  one  of  the  Elements,  as  well 
as  compounded  of  them,    and  living  as  an  E-      \ 
leemofynary  upon  a  perpetual  Contribution      I 
from  all,    and  every  Part  of  the  Creation  5 
This  Creature  clothing  him,  another  feeding      j 
him,   a  third  curing  him  whenyfr^,   and  a      | 
fourth  comforting  and  refrefhing  him  when      I 
well.    In  a  word,  he  fubfifts  by  the  joint  Alms      i 
of  Heaven  and   Earth;    and  ftands  at   the      ' 
Mercy  of  every  Thing  in  Nature,    which  is 
able  either  to  help,  or  hurt  him.  : 

And  is  this  now  the  Perfon  who  is  to  ob- 
lige his  Maker  ?  to  indent  and  drive  Bargains 
with  the  Almightj'  ?  Thofe,  I  am  fure,who 
in  their  feveral  Ages,  have  been  reputed  moft      j 

Eminent      I 


at  Wcftminfter-Abbeyr  23 

Eminent  for  their  Knowledge  of  God  and  of 
themfclves  too,  ufed  to  fpeak  at  much  another 
Rate  concerning  both.  My  Goodnefs  (fays 
^avid)  extendeth  not  to  Thee,  Pf.  xvi.  2. 
And  again,  If  Thou  be  righteous  (fays  Elthti  to 
Job)  what  giveft  thou  Him  ?  or  "juhat  does 
He  receive  at  thy  Hands  ?  Job  xxxv.  7.  So  that 
St.  ^aul  might  well  make  that  Challenge 
without  expeding  ever  to  fee  it  anfwered  in 
Rom.  xi.  35.  fVho  hath  fir  ft  given  to  him  and 
it  poall  be  recommenced  to  him  again  ?  For  let 
Man  but  firft  prove  the  Debt,  and  the  Al- 
mighty will  be  fure  to  pay  it.  But  moft  fully 
of  all  docs  our  Saviour  himfelf  determine  this 
Point  in  that  remarkable  Conclufion  of  the 
forecited  Parable,  in  Luke  xvii.  10.  where  he 
inftruds  his  Difciples,  After  they  had  done  all 
that  was  commanded  them,  to  acknowledge 
themfelves  unprofitable  Servants  5  that  is  to  fay, 
fuchasGod,  upon  no  account  whatfocver, 
was,  or  could  be  at  all  the  better  for.  And  a 
clearer  Text  certainly,  and  more  direB  and 
home  againft  all  Pretence  of  Merit,  neither 
Law  nor  Gofpel  can  afford. 

Neverthelefs,    it  mufi  be  confeffed.  That 

fome  have  found  out  luch  an  Expofition  of  it 

as  (if  admitted)  renders  it  of  no  force  at  all  a- 

gainft  this  Doftrine  oi  Merit.    For  hi  ft,  they 

C  4.  abfolutc- 


2  4  ^  Sermon  preached 

abiblutely  Cafhier  the  Literal,  Exprefs  fcnfc 
of  the  Words,  and  in  the  room  of  it  Introduce 
a  Figure  called  by  the  Greeks  /^siW;?,  which 
todiminiih,  or  degrade  a  thing,  exprefles  it 
in  Terms  reprefenting  it  much  lefs  than  indeed 
it  is  i  as  when  we  fay,  a  thing  \s [mailer  than 
an  Atom,    lefs  than  Nothings  and  the  Hke  i 
SuchWords  are  not  to  be  underftood  Literally, 
but  import  only,  that  the  thing  fpoken  of  is 
very  Inconfiderable.  Accordingly^whcn  Chrift 
bids  his  Difciples  after  their  belt  and  moft  ex- 
ad  Performances    acknowledge   thcmfelves 
Unprofitable  Servant s,  we  are  not  (fays  thefe 
lixpofitors)  to  conclude  from  hence,  that  real- 
ly they  were  fo,  but  that  Chrift  only  read  them 
a  Letfture  of  Humility,and  Self  abafement  to- 
wards God,  in  fpeaking  but  meanly  and  lowly 
of  their  own  Piety,  how  differently  foever  it 
might  defcrve  to  be  Valued,  according  to  the 
ftricl  Eilimate  of  the  Thing  itfelf.     So  that 
by  all  this   (it  feems)  our  Saviour  was  only 
teaching  thofe  about  him,  how  to  pafs  Com- 
plements upon  Almighty  God,  Their  profef- 
fing  of  thcmfelves  Unprofitable  Servants,  a- 
mounting  to  no  more  than  if  they  had  told 
him,  they  were  his  humble  Servants  The  mean- 
ing of  which  Words  (if  they  have  any  mean- 
ing at  ail)  the  Fafhionable  Cuftom  of  Gen^ 

ted 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.  2  j 

teel  Lying  will  much  better  account  for,  than 
the  Language  of  Scripture  {the  Word  of  Truth) 
is  able  to  do.  But  in  the  mean  time,  what  an 
infufferable  perverfion  of  the  Written  Wordls 
it,  to  affix  fuch  a  fenfe  to  any  Text  of  it,  as 
this  forced  Expofition  here  does  ?  which  ma- 
nifcftly  turns  a  moft  Devout  Confeflion  to  Al- 
mighty God  into  a  piece  of  Coiirtfbij?}  a 
Principal  Truth  into  a  mere  Trope  or  Figure ; 
and,  in  a  word,  one  of  the  higheft  Duties  of 
a  Chriftian  into  a  falfe^  fiilfome  and  (at  belt) 
an  Empty  ExpreJJion.  And  lb  I  pafs  to  the 

III.  Condition  required  to  render  an  Adion 
•  meritorious  \  and  that  is.  That  there  be  an  E- 
qual  Proportion  of  Value  between  the  Action, 
and  the  Reward.  This  being  evident  from  the 
foundation  already  laid  by  us ,  to  wit.  That 
the  Nature  of  Merit  confifts  properly  in  Ex- 
change i  and  that,  we  know  muft  proceed  ac- 
cording to  a  Tarity  of  Worth  on  both  fides  5 
Commutation  being  moft  properly  between 
things  Equivalent.  But  now  the  ^rize  we  run 
for  J  in  all  our  Religious  Performances,  is  no 
Jefs  a  thing  than  Life  Eternal,  and  a  Beatifck 
EnJoyme?it  of  God  Himfelf  for  everj  And 
can  any  Man,  not  quite  abandoned  by  his 
Reafon,  imagine  a  few,  weak,  broken  Adi- 
pns,    a  Competent  Price  for    Heaven  and 

ImmQT' 


26  A  Sermon  preached 

Immortality  ?  and  fit  to  be  laid  in  the  Balance 
with  an  exceeding  and  eternal  Weight  of 
Glory  ?  Is  there  any  thing  in  T>uft  and  Ajhes, 
that  can  deferve  to  dwell  with  God,  and  to 
converfe  with  Angels?  Or  can  we,  "who live 
by  Sen/ej  and  ad  by  Senfe,  do  any  thing  wor- 
thy of  thofe  Joys  vs^hich  not  only  exceed  our 
SenfeSy  but  alfo  tranfccnd  our  Intelle&iials? 
Can  we  do  beyond  what  we  can  think,  and 
deferve  beyond  what  we  can  do  ?  For  let  us 
rate  our  beft,  and  moft  exact  Services  accord- 
ing to  the  ftrid  Rules  of  Morality ^  and  what 
Man  is  able  to  carry  fo  fteady  an  hand  in  any 
religious  Performance,  as  to  oblcrve  all  thofe 
Conditions,  that  are  abfolutely  necefTary  to 
anfwer  the  full  Meafures  of  the  Law  ?  No, 
this  is  fuch  a  pitch  of  Ading  as  the  prefent 
flrength  of  Nature  muft  not  pretend  to.  And 
if  not,  how  can  an  Adion,  fhort  of  complete 
Morality,  fet  up  for  Meritorious  ? 

The  Papifts,  we  know,  in  their  Difputes 
upon  this  Subjed,  diftinguifh  Merit  into  that 
which  is  de  Condigno,  which  merits  a  Reward 
upon  Terms  of  Juftice,  and  by  reafon  of  the 
inherent  Worth  and  Value  of  the  Work  done-, 
and  that  on  the  other  Side  to  be  de  Congruo, 
which,  tho'  it  cannot  claim  a  Reward  upon 
thofe  Terms,  and  from  the  frecife  Worthy 

and 


at  Weflminfter- Abbey.  27 

and  Value  of  the  JVork  itfelf,  yet  is  fuch,  that 
God  would  not  ad  fuitably,  and  congriwitflyy 
to  the  Equity  and  Goodnejs  of  his  Nature^  if 
He  fhould  not  reward  it.  Thefe  two  forts 
of  Merit,  I  fay,  they  hold,  but  are  not  yet 
agreed,  which  of  the  two  they  fhould  ftate 
the  Merit  of  their  good  Works  upon.  Por 
fome  boldly  aifert,  that  they  merit  the  former 
way,  to  wit,  by  their  own  inherent  Worth  and 
Vahte '■,  Kn&fomej  that  they  merit  only  the 
latter  way,  that  is  by  being  fuch,  as  the  Equi- 
ty and  Goodnefs  of  God  cannot  but  Reward; 
And  laftly,  Others,  (as  particularly  Bellar- 
mine)  hold  that  they  merit  both  ways  5  to 
wit,  partly  by  Condignity,  and  partly  by  Con- 
gruity. 

In  Anfwer  to  which,  without  difputing  any 
thing  againft  their  Merit  of  Condignity  (fince 
it  more  than  fufficiently  confutes  it  felf )  I  ut- 
terly deny  the  whole  foundation  of  their 
Merit  de  CongniOy  as  to  any  Obligation  on 
God's  Vdintoreijuardour  religious  Service  upon 
the  fcore  oi Equity  5  fuice  upon  that  account 
God  can  be  under  no  Obligation  to  do  any 
thing:  Forafmuch  as  there  is  no  fuch  thin^ 
as  Equity  in  God,  diftind  from  his  Jijtice  and 
Mercy  5  and  the  Exercife  of  hib  Mercy  muH  on 
all  hands  needs  be  granted  to  be  free-,  how 

much 


2  8  A  Sermon  preached 

much  foever  that  ofhisjitftice  may,  by  fomc^ 
be  thought  otherwife. 

Amongli  Men,  I  confefs,  there  is  fuch  an 
Obligation^  as  that  of^^f/i//;  and  the  reafon 
is,  becaufe  Men  ftand  obliged  by  a  Superior 
Law  to  exerciie  Mercy y  as  well  as  Jujiice', 
which  God  does  not :  and  therefore  though 
there  may  be  fuch  a  thing  as  a  Meritiim  de 
Congruo  between  Man  and  Man^  yet  between 
God  and  Man,  (fince  God  is  under  no  Obltga- 
tion  to  JJoew  Mercy,  inhere  His  own  Word  has 
not  lirft  obliged  Him)  no  fuch  Merit  can  take 
place. 

But,  befides,  this  is  not  the  Point,  Whether 
or  no  it  be  Congruous  to  the  Goodnefs  of  God, 
for  Him  to  reward  fuch  or  fuch  Anions  ?  For 
there  be  many  Thoufands  of  Things  and  Ani- 
ons very  Congruous  for  God  to  do,  which  yet 
by  his  Nature,  He  his  not  obliged  to  ^<?,  nor 
ever  will  do.  So  that  the  bare  Congruity  of 
any  Thing,  or  Aftion  to  the  Divine  Nature, 
lays  no  obligation  upon  God  to  do  it  at  all. 
But  the  Point  lies  here ;  to  wit,  whether  it  be 
fo  Congruous  to  God  to  reward  the  Obedience, 
and  good  Actions  of  Men,  that  it  is  incongru- 
ous to  his  Nature  not  to  do  it :  And  this  I  ut- 
terly deny.  For  if  it  were  Incongruous  to  his 
Nature  not  to  reward  them^  it  would  be  ne- 

ceffary 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  29 

cejfary  for  him  to  reward  them  5  and  then  in- 
deed Merit  muft  upon  Equal  neccffity  take 
Place.  But  if  God  be  not  bound  to  reward 
every  Ad,  which  it  may  be  fuitable  or  Con- 
gruous for  him  to  reward  (as  we  have  fhewn 
that  he  is  not)  then  Meritum  de  CongrnOy  is 
but  Merit  equivocally  fo  called  -,  and  the  fore- 
mentioned  Titvijion  of  Merit  is  not  a  "Divifi- 
on  of  a  Genus  into  two  feveral  Species,  but 
only  a  Diftribution  of  an  Equivocal  Term  m- 
to  its  feveral  Significations ;  and  Confequent- 
ly  to  give  the  Name  of  Merit  with  refped  to 
God,  to  that  which  is  fo  only  de  CongruOj  is 
a  mere  trifling  about  Words,  without  any  re- 
gard had  to  the  fcnfe  of  them.  Nor  let  any 
one  here  Objed  the  frequent  ufe  of  theTerms 
mereri  and  meritum  by  the  Fathers  and  other 
Ancient  Church-Writers ;  for  they  ufe  them 
not  in  a  Senfe  importing  Claim  upon  the  fcore 
oi^nCiJuftice,  but  only  as  they  fignify  the 
Actual  obtainment  of  any  Thing  from  God, 
upon  the  Stock  oiFree  Tromife,  by  coming 
up  to  the  Conditions  of  it :  which  by  no  means 
reaches  x}i\zx.  fence  of  the  Word  which  we  have 
been  hitherto  difputing  againft.  In  fhort  there- 
fore the  Queftion  ftands  thus :  Does  this  Me- 
ritum de  CongruOj  from  the  Nature  of  the 
Thing  it  f elf  oblige  God  to  reward  it y  or  does  ii 
4  not  ? 


30  A  Sermon  preached 

not  ?  If  it  docs,  then  I  am  fure  that  Merit  of 
Condtgnity  does  the  fame,  and  can  do  no  more  5 
and  lb  the  Diftindion  between  them  is  but 
verbal,  and  fuperfluous.  But  if,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  does  not  oblige  God,  tlien  I  affirm, 
that  it  is  not  fo  much  as  Merit  5  for  where 
there  is  no  Obligation  on  one  fide,  there  can 
be  no  Merit  on  the  other.  To  which  we 
may  add  this  furtiier  Confideration,  that  the 
affertiDg  of  fuch  a  Merit  of  Congruity,  is  al- 
together as  Arrogant,  as  to  affcrt  that  oi  Con- 
dign: tj'i  foraimuch  as  it  equally  binds  God, 
and  brings  him  under  as  great  a  neceffity  of  Re- 
warding, as  the  other  can  5  and  that  not  by 
Realon  of  his  own  Free-Word,  and  Promife 
obliging  him  to  it,  (of  which  more  anon)  but 
becaufe  of  a  certain  Worth  and  Value  inhe- 
rent in  the  Work  itfelf  5  which  makes  it  in- 
congruous, and  conlequently  ImpoJ/ible,  for 
God  not  to  reward  it  3  Since  it  muft  needs  be 
impojfjible  for  him  to  do  any  thing  Incongruous 
to  himfelf,  or  to  any  of  his  Attributes. 

For  all  which  it  follows,  That  the  Third 
Condition  required  to  make  an  Action  merito- 
rious^ is  here  failing  alfo.  Which  is,  That  the 
Excellency  of  the  Work  be  commenfarate  to 
the  Value  of  the  Reward,     And  fo  1  am  come 


at  length  to  the 


4  Fourth 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  jt 

Fourth  and  La(l  Condition,  or  Ingredient  of 
Merit.  And  that  is,  That  he  who  does  a  Work^ 
ivherehy  he  would  merit  of  another , does  it folely 
hy  his  o'jun  Strength,  and  not  by  the  Strength 
or  Tower  of  htm,  from  whom  he  is  to  merit. 
The  Realon  of  which  is,  becaufc  otherwife 
the  W'  ork  would  not  be  cmntiy  z.±vlans  own. 
And  where  there  is  no  Property,  there  can  be 
no  Exchange,  all  Exchange  being  the  Aliena- 
tion ot  one  'Property  or  Title  for  another. 
And  I  have  all  along  fhewn,  that  the  Nature 
of  A/^r/V  is  founded  m  Commutation. 

But  now,  how  great  an  Hand,  or  rather 
what  a  total  Inilucnce  God  has  in  all  our 
Actions,  that  known  Maxim  jointly  received 
both  by  Heathens  and  Chriftians,  fuffici- 
cntly  demonftrates  j  namely.  That  in  him  we 
live  J  and  move,  and  have  our  Being.  And  fo 
intimately  and  infeparably  does  this  Influence 
joynitfelf  with  all  the  Motions  of  the  Crea- 
ture, that  it  puzzles  the  decpeft  and  moft 
acute  Philofophers  to  diftinguifh  between  the 
Adions  oifecondCatijes^^ziid  the  Concurrence 
of  the  firft,  fo  as  to  refcucthem  from  a  down- 
right Identity.  Accordingly  in  y;^/.{?/>.  ii.  15. 
the  Apottle  tells  us,  That  it  is  God  who 
worketh  in  us  not  only  to  do,  but  alfo  to  will  ac- 
cording i  0  his  good  Pleajure.    And  if  in  c  ve ry 

srood 


^t  A  Sermon  preached 

good  Inclination,  as  well  as  A£iion,  God  be 
the  Worker,  we  muft  needs  be  the  Recipient 
Subjeds  of  what  is  wrought :  and  to  h^Re- 
cipient  certainly  is  not  Meritorious. 

In  all  the  Anions  of  Men,  though  we  natu- 
rally fix  our  Eye  only  upon  fome  Vijible  Agent \ 
yet  ftill  there  is  a  fecret  Invifible  Spring  which 
is  t\iQ  frfi  mover  of  2ind  conveys  an  Adivity 
to  every  Power  and  Faculty  both  of  Soula.nd 
^tf^jthough  it  be  difcerned  by  neither.  Upon 
which  account  it  is,    that  S:.  Aujiin  fays. 
That  in  all  that  God  does  for  us.  He  only 
Crowns  His  own  Works  in  us  5  the  f^im^  Hand 
ftill  enabling  us  to  do,  which  Ihall  hereafter 
reward  us  for  what  we  have  done.     And  if, 
according  to  thefe  Terms,   and  thofe  Words 
alfo  of  the  Spoufe  to  the  fame  purpofc,  Cantic, 
I.  4.  \Draw  me  and  1  will  follow  Thee  -,  our 
Coming  to  Godbc  from  nothing  elfe,  but  from 
His  'Drawing  us  to  himfelf,  how  can  we  merit 
of  him  by  our  following  Htm,    or  coming  to 
Him?      For  can  any  one  oblige  me  by  a 
Prefent  bought  with  my  own  Money?  or  by 
giving  me  that  which  I  firfc  gave  Him  ?  And 
yet  the  Cafe  here  is  much  the  fame.     For  as 
apt  as  we  are  to  flatter  ourfelves,     and  to 
Think  and  Speak  big  upon  this  Subjed,  yet  in 
Truth  by  all  that  we  do  or  can  do,    we  do 

but 


at  Wcftniinftcr- Abbey.  33 

hut  return  God  fomethingof  his  own.  Much 
like  the  Rivers,  which  come  rolling  with  a 
mighty  Noifc,  and  pour  thcmfelves  into  the 
Sea,  and  yet  as  high  as  they  iVell,  and  as 
loud  as  they  roar,  they  only  reflore  the  Sea 
her  own  Waters:  That  which  flows  into  her 
in  one  Place,  having  been  ^i^  drawn  from  ker 
in  another.  In  a  Word,  can  the  Earth Tc^zy 
the  Heavens  for  their  Influences,  and  the 
Clouds  for  that  Verdure,  and  Fertility  which 
they  befl:ow  upon  it  ?  or,  can  ^irt  and  T)u7ig' 
hi/Is  rcqmtc  the  Sun  and  the  Light  for  (hining 
upon  them  ?  No  certainly ;  and  yet  what  poor 
Shadows,  and  faint  Rcprefentations  are  thefe 
of  that  infinitely  greater  Inability,  even  of  the 
noblefl:  of  God's  Creatures  to  prefent  him 
with  any  thing,  which  they  were  not  iirft  be. 
holden  to  him  for!  It  is  clear  therefore,  that 
fince  Man,  in  all  his  Duties  and  Services, 
never  had  any  thing  of  his  own  to  fet  up  with, 
but  has  trafficked  all  along  upon  a  borrowed 
Stock,  the,  fourth  and  loft  Condition  required 
to  make  his  Performances  meritorious  utterly 
fails  him. 

And  thus  I  have  diftindly  gone  over  the 
feveral  Conditions  of  Merit.  As  F/>y?,  That 
the  meritorious  Act  be  not  due.  Secondly, 
That  it  really  add  to,  and  better  the  Condi- 

VoL.  III.  D  tion 


34  ^  Sermon  preached 

tion  of  him  from  whom  it  merits.  Thirdly^ 
That  there  be  a  Tarity  of  Value  between  the 
Work  and  the  Reward.  And  Fourthly  and 
Lajlly,  That  it  be  done  by  the  file  Strength 
of  him  who  merits,  and  not  by  the  Help  and 
Strength  of  him,  from  whom  he  merits.  Thefe 
four,  I  fay,  are  the  ejfential IngreedientSy  and 
indifpenfable  Cw^i/z^wi"  of  Merit,  And  yet, 
not  one  of  them  all  agrees  to  the  very  beft  of 
Man's  Adions,  with  Reference  to  Almighty 
God.  Ncverthelefs,  in  Defpight  of  all  thefe 
deplorable  Impotences,  we  fee  what  a  towr- 
■ing  Principle  of  T^ride  works  in  the  Hearts  of 
Men,  and  how  mightily  it  makes  them  afFed 
to  be  their  own  Saviours ^  and  even  while  they 
live  upon  God,  to  depend  upon  themfelves: 
To  be  poor  and  proud  being  the  trueft  Cha- 
rader  of  Man  ever  fmce  the  Tride  of  our 
firft  Parents  threw  us  into  this  forlorn  Con- 
dition. And  thus  I  have  finifhed  the  fecond 
and  main  Particular  propofed  from  thefe 
Words,  and  exprejfed  in  them^  namely,  That 
it  is  impofflhle  for  Men  by  their  befl  Services  to 
merit  of  God,  or  be  profitable  to  him.  I  pro- 
ceed now  to  the 

Third  Particular,  which  exhibits  to  us 
fomething  by  way  of  Inference  from  the  two 
former  5  to  wit,  That  this  Terfuafion  of  Man's 

being 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  3  7 

being  able  to  merit  of  Godj  is  the  Source,  and 
Foundation  of  two  of  the  great  efl  Corruptions 
of  Religion  that  have  infefied  the  Chriflian 
Church ;  and  thofe  are  Telagianifm  and  To- 
pery.     And, 

Firfiy  For  Telagianifm.  It  chiefly  fprings 
from,  and  is  refolvable  into  this  one  Point, 
namely,  That  a  Man  contributes  fomething 
of  his  own,  which  he  had  not  from  God-,  to- 
wards his  own  Salvation:  And  that  not  a  bare 
fomething  only,  but  fuch  z  fomething  alfo,  as  is 
t\\c  principal  and  mofi  effe6iiial  Caufc  of  his 
Salvation.  Forafmuch  as  that  which  he  re- 
ceives from  God,  (according  to  ^elagius)  is 
only  a  Tower  to  will  and  to  do  ;  which  a  Man 
may  very  well  have,  and  carry  to  Hell  with 
him,  as  thofe  v/ho  go  to  Hell,  no  Doubt,  do. 
But  that  which  obtains  Heaven,  and  adually 
faves  a  Man,  is  the  rightUfe  of  that  Tower  ^and 
thefreeT>eterminationofhisfVill'^  which  (as 
the  fame  Telagius  teaches)  a  Man  has  wholly 
from  himfelf,  and  accordingly  may  wholly 
thank  himfelf  for.  So  that  in  Anfwer  to  that 
^.eflion  of  the  Apoftle,  i  Cor.  iv.  7.  §luis  te 
dtfcrevit?  Who  made  thee  to  differ  from 
another?  and  that  as  to  the  grand  Difcrimi* 
nation  oi  Saint  and  Reprobate .?  The  Telagian 
muft  rf/J'j  if  i^e  will  fpeak  pertinently  an^^ 
D  2  confidently 


^6  A  Sermon  preached 

confillently  with  himfelf  j  Why  ;  /  mademy- 
felf  to  differ,  by  ufing  the  lowers,  which  God 
gave  mey  as  I  (Joould  do  •■,  which  my  Neigh-, 
hour  did  not  j  and  for  that  Rcafon  Igo  to 
Heaven,  and  he  to  Hell i  and  as  he  can 
blame  none  but  himfelf  for  the  one,  fo  I  am 
beholden  to  none  but  my  felf  for  the  other. 
This,  I  fjiy,  is  the  main  of  the  ^^/^^/tfw©/- 
vinityy  though  much  more  compendioufly  de- 
livered in  that  known  but  lewd  Aphorifm  of 
theirs.  A  'Deo  habemtis  quodfnmus  Homines, 
a  nobis  nut  em  ipfis  qiiod  fumus  Jujli.  To 
zvhich  we  may  add  another  of  their  Princi- 
ples, to  wit,  That  if  a  Man  does  all  that  na- 
turally he  can  do  (dill  underftanding  here- 
by the  prefent  State  of  Nature)  God  is  bound 
injtiftice  tofipphy  whatfoever  more  Jh all  be 
necefjdry  to  Salvation,  Which  Premifles  if 
they  do  not  directly,  and  unavoidably  infer  in 
xMan  a  Power  oi  meriting  of  God,  the  World 
is  yet  to  feck,  what  the  Nature  and  Notion  of 
Merit  is.  Accordingly,  both  Gelafms-,  and 
^t.  Avftiny  in  fetting  down  the  Points  where- 
in the  Catholick  C/5??/rr^  diifered  from  the  ^e- 
lagianSj  aillgn  this  for  one  of  the  chief,  That 
the  "^Pclagians'licliX  Gratiam  T>ei  fecundum 
Ilominummeritaconferri.  And,  the  Truth  is,, 
u^^on  their  Principles  a  Man  may  Q.\'znmerit 

the 


at  Weftminftcr-Abbey.  7^7 

the  Incarnation  of  Chrifi :  For  if  there  be  no 
fa'ving  Grace  without  it,  and  a  Man  may  do 
that  which  fhall  oblige  God  in  Jjijlire  to 
voLichfafehim  fuch  Grace,  (as  withnofmall 
Self-Contradidion  thefe  Men  ufc  to  Ipcak) 
then  let  them  quahfy  and  foftcn  the  Matter 
with  what  Words  they  pleafe.  I  affirm,  that 
upon  thefe  Terms,  a  Man  really  merits  his 
Salvation,  andby  Confequence  all  that  is,  or 
can  be  neceflary  thereunto. 

In  the  mean  Time,  throughout  all  this  "Te- 
logian  Scheme,  we  have  not  fo  much  as  GViz 
Word  of  Man's  natural  Impotency  tofpiritual 
Things,  (though  inculcated  and  wrote  in 
both  Teftaments  with  a  Sun-beam)  nor  con- 
fequently  of  the  Neceflity  of  fome/^X'^r////, 
^ivitie  Energy  to  bend,  en  dine  andeffedfu- 
ally  draw  Man's  Will,  to  fuch  Objeds,  as 
it  naturally  refills,  and  is  averfe  to :  Not  a 
Word,  I  fay,  of  this,  or  any  thing  like  it  j 
(for  thofe  Men  ufed  to  explode,  and  deny  it 
all  i  as  their  modern  OfF-ipring  amongft  us 
alfo  do  :)  And  yet  this  paffed  for  found,  and 
good  Divinity  in  the  Church  in  St.  Anflin's 
timej  and  within  lefs  than  an  hundred  Years 
fmce,  in  our  Church  too :  'till  Pelagianifm,  and 
Socinianifm,  Deifm,  Tritheifm,  Atheifm,  and 
a  Spirit  of  Innovation,  the  Pvoot  of  all,  and 
D  3  worfe 


3  8  A  Sermon  preached 

worfc  than  all,  broke  in  upon  us,  and  by 
falfe  Schemes  and  Models  countenanced  and 
encouraged,  have  given  quite  a  new  Face  to 
things :  though  a  new  Face  is  certainly  the 
worlt  2nd  moft  unbecoming  that  can  be  fet 
upon  'i^.n  old  Religion.     But 

Secondly^  To  proceed  to  another  Sort  of 
Men  famous  for  corrupting  Chriftianity  more 
Ways  than  one ;  to  wit,  thofe  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  We  fhall  find,  that  this  T^oBrine  of 
Mans  being  able  to  merit  of  God  is  one  of  the 
chief  Foundations  oi^opery  alfo.  Even  the 
Great  ^/^7M,  which  fome  of  the  xxio^  expe- 
rienced Crafts-men  in  the  World  do  with  fo 
much  7jZz.\  facrifce  to,  and  make  Shrines  for  % 
and  J  by  fo  doing,  get  their  Livings  and  that 
a  very  plentiful,  and  fplendid  one  too  5  as 
knowing  full  well,  that  without  it  the  Gran- 
deur of  their  Church  (which  is  all  their  Reli- 
gion) would  quickly  fall  to  the  Ground.  For 
if  there  be  no  Merit  of  good  Works  ^  then  no 
Snpertrrogation,  and  if  no  Sup erer rogation,  no 
Indulgences,  and  li'c^o  Indulgence Sj\};\q.w  it  is  to 
be  feared,  that  the  Silver frniths  Trade  ^\\\  run 
low,  and  the  Credit  of  the  Pontifical  Bank 
begin  to  fail.  So  that  the  ycxy  Marrow  ,t  he  Life, 
and  Spirit  o^ToperyWo.^  in  a  ffiff  Adherence 
to  this  Dodrine :   The  grand  Queilion  ftill  in- 

fifted 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.  3  9 

fifted  upon  by  thcfe  Merchants  being  §ltnd  da- 
hitisy  and  the  great  Commodity  fet  to  Sale  by 
them  being  Merit.  For  can  any  one  think  that 
the  Tope^  and  his  Cardinals,  and  the  reft  of 
their  Ecclefiaftical  Grandees,  care  a  Ru(h 
\^[\tx.\izi  the  JVillof  Manbefree,  or  no,  (as 
the  Jefuifts  ftate  the  Freedom  of  it  on  the  one 
fide,  and  Dominicans  and  Janfenifts  on  the 
other)  or  that  they  at  all  concern  themfelves 
about  Juftification  and  i*r^^  Gr^^^,  but  only 
as  the  artificial  ftating  of  fuch  Points  may 
fometimes/^rx'^  them  in  their  Spiritual  Traf- 
fick,  and  now  and  then  help  them  to  turn  the 
^eny.  Noj  they  value  not  their  ^y^iW^  any 
further,  than  they  furnifh  their  Markets  5  nor 
regard  any  Gofpel  hwt  that  of  Cardinal  ^alla- 
wini  I  which  profefledly  owns  it  for  the  main 
Defign  of  Chriftianity,  to  make  Man  as  Rich, 
as  Great  J  and  as  Happy,  as  they  can  be  in 
this  World.  And  the  grand  Inftrument  to  com- 
pafs  ail  this  by,  is  the  Doctrine  of  Merit.  For 
how  elfe  could  it  be,  that  To  many  in  that 
Communion  fhould  be  able  to  fatisfy  them- 
felves in  doing  To  much  lefs,  than  they  know 
they  are  required  to  do,  for  the  faving  of  their 
Souls,  but  that  they  are  taught  to  believe, 
that  there  are  fomejagain  in  the  World  who  do 
a  great  deal  more  than  they  are  bound  to  do^ 

D4 


40  A  Sermon  preached 

and  fo  may  very  well  keep  their  Neighbours 
Lamp  from  going  out,  by  having  Oil  enough. 
both  to  (upply  their  own,  and  a  comfortable 
Overplus  befides,  to  lendy  or  (which  is  much 
better)  to  fell,  in  fuch  a  Cafe.  In  a  Word, 
take  away  the  Foundation,  and  the  Houfe  muft 
fall ;  and,  in  like  Manner,  beat  down  Merit j 
and  down  goes  Topery  too,  And  fo  at  length 
(that  I  may  not  trefpafs  upon  your  Patience 
too  much)  I  defcend  to  the 

Fourth  and  La[i  ^artictdar,  propofed  at 
firft  from  the  Words.  Which  was  to  remove 
an  Obje^ion,  naturally  apt  to  ijfue  from  the 
foregoing^  art  iculars.  TheObjedion  is  ob- 
vious, and  the  Anfwcr  to  it  needs  not  belong. 
It  proceeds  thus. 

If  the  T>ocirine  hitherto  advanced,  be  true^ 
can  there  be  a  greater  Difcouragement  to 
Men  in  their  Chritlian  Courfe,  than  to  con- 
fider,  that  ^//their  Obedience,  all  their  Du- 
ties and  choiceft  Performances  are  nothing 
worth,  in  the  Sight  of  God  ?  and  that  they 
themfelves,  after  they  have  done  their  Beft^ 
their  Utmofl,  and  their  very  Allm  his  Service, 
are  iliil,  for  all  that,  ufelefs  and  unprofitable, 
and  fuch  as  can  plead  no  Recommence  at  allzx. 
his  Hands  ?  This  you  will  fay  is  very  hard ; 
bat  to  it  I  anfwer. 

^  'Firft 


at  Weflminfter- Abbey.  41 

Ftrji^  That  it  neither  ought,  nor  ufes  to 
be  any  Difcouragement  to  a  Beggar  (as  we  all 
are  in  refpedt  of  Almighty  God)  to  continue 
asking  an  Alms,  and  doing  all  that  he  can  to 
obtain  it  J  though  he  knows  he  can  do  nothing 
to  claim  it.     But, 

Secondly,  I  deny,  That  our  difavowing 
this  lDo5irine  of  Merit y  cuts  us  off  from  ^// 
^lea  to  a  Recompence  for  our  Chriflian  Obe- 
dience at  the  Hands  of  God.  It  cuts  us  off  in- 
deed from  all  Plea  to  it  upon  the  Score  of  Con- 
dignity  and ftridt  Jiiftice :  But  then  fhould  we 
not  on  the  other  fide  confider,  whether  God's 
Jujlice  be  the  only  Thing  that  can  oblige  him 
in  his  Tranladings  with  Men  ?  Fordoes  not 
his  Veracity-,  and  his  Tromife  oblige  him  as 
much  as  his  Jnftice  can  ?  And  has  he  not 
Y)o(it\\cly  ^romi/ed  to  reward  our  fincere  Obe. 
di^nce?  Which  Promife,  though  his  meci" 
Grace  and  Goodnefs  induced  him  to  make, 
yet  his  ejfential  Truth  ftands  obliged  to  fee 
performed.  For  tho'  fome  have  ventur'd  (o 
far  as  to  declare  God  under  no  Obligation  to 
inflid  the  Eternal  Torments  of  Hell  (how 
peremptorily  loever  threatned  by  him)  upon 
Men  dying  in  their  Sins ;  yet  I  fuppofe,  none 
will  be  fo  hardy y  or  rather  ^mmdefs,  as  to 
affirm  it  free  for  God,  to  perform,  or  not  per- 
form 


42.  A  Sermon  preached 

form  hisTromife  i  the  Obligation  of  which 
being  fo  abfolute^  and  unalterable,  I  do  here 
further  affirm,  that  upon  the  trueft,  and  moft 
aflfured  Principles  oipra£fical  Reafin  there  is 
as  ttrong,  and  as  enforcing  a  Motive  from  the 
immutable  Truth  of  God's  Tromife  to  raife 
'Men  to  the  higheft,  and  moft  hcroick  Ads, 
pf  a  Chriftian  Life,  as  if  every  fuch  fingle  Ad 
could  by  its  own  intrinfic  Worth  merit  a 
glorious  Eternity.  For  to  fpeakthe  real  Truth, 
and  Nature  of  Things,  that  which  excites  En- 
deavour, and  kts  Obedience  on  Work,  is  not 
properly  a  Belief,  or  Tirfuafan  of  the  Merit 
of  our  Works,  but  the  AJJurance  of  our  Re- 
'ward.  And  can  we  have  a  greater  Aflurance 
of  this,  than  that  Truth  itff  which  cannot 
break  its  Word,  has  promiled  it  ?  For  the 
Moft  High,  and  Holy  One  (as  we  have  (hewn, 
and  may  with  Reverence  fpeak,)  h2ii>pawned 
bis  Word,  hisiV/2«??,anJ  liis  Honour  to  reward 
theftcdfaft,  finally  ptrfevering  Obedience  of 
every  one  vvithin  the  Covenant  of  Grace, 
notwifhftanding  its  legal  Imperfedion. 

And  therefore,  tho'  we  have  all  the  Rea- 
fon  in  the  World  to  blufh  at  the  worthlefs 
cmptinefs  of  our  beft  Duties,  and  to  be  afliam- 
ed  of  the  Poorncfs,  and  Shoruiefs  of  our  moft 
complcat  Adions,  and,  in  a  Word,  to  think 

as 


at  Weftminfter' Abbey.  4  5 

as  meanly  of  them  and  ofourfelvesforthem, 
as  God  himfelfdoes,  yet  ftillktus  build  both 
our  TraEiice,  and  our  Comfort  upon  this  one 
Conclufion,  as  upon  a  Rock ;  that,  though 
after  we  have  done  All,  we  are  ftill  unprofi- 
table Si  rvantSj  yet  becaufe  we  have  done  All^ 
God  has  engaged  himfelf  to  be  a  gracious 
Majler, 

To  whom  therefore  be  rendred,  and  afcribedy 
as  is  mo f  due,  allTratfe,  Might,  Majeftjiy 
and  'Dominion,  both  now  and  jor  ever- 
more.    Amen. 


(  44  ) 


S  E  R  M  ON 

Preached  at 

Christ-Church,  Oxon, 

Before  the 

UNIVERSITY, 

October  29,  1(^93. 

Luke  xi.  3J.      . 

Take  Heed  therefore,  that  the  Light 
which  is  in  thee  benot  Darknefs, 

\  S  Light  is  certainly  one  of  the  moft 
jTjL  glorious,  and  ufeful  Creatures  that  ever 
ifiued  from  the  Wifdom,  and  Power  of  the 
?reat  Creator  of  the  World  j  fo  were  the  Eye 
of  the  Soul  as  little  weakned  by  the  Fall^zs  the 

Ey,e 


at  Chrifl-Chiirch,  Oxon.         ^y 

Eye  oft  he  ^^^y^noDoubt  the  Light  within  us 
would  appear  as  much  more  glorious  than  the 
Light  without  uSy  as  the  fpiritual,  intellcdual 
Part  of  the  Creation  exceeds  the  Glories  of  the 
fcnfible,  and  corporeal.  As  to  the  Nature  of 
which  Light y  to  give  fome  Account  of  it  be- 
fore I  proceed  further,  and  that  without  en- 
tring  into  thofc  various  Notions  of  it,  which 
fome  have  amufed  the  World  with  j  it  is,  in 
fhort,  that  which  Philofophers  in  their  Dif- 
courfes  about  the  Mind  of  Man,  and  the  firft 
Origins  of  Knowledge,  do  fo  much  magnify 
by  theName  oireBa  Ratio ;  that  great  Source 
and  Principle,  (as  they  would  have  it)  both 
of  their  Thilofophy^  and  Religion. 

For  the  better  Explication  of  which  I  muft,' 
according  to  a  common  but  neceilary  Dif- 
tindion,  (and  elfewhere  made  ufe  of  by  me) 
obferve  that  this  reEia  Ratio  may  be  taken 
in  a  double  Senfe. 

Fir  fly  For  thofeMaxims,or^£'«^r/s;/7r//^>^j5 
which,  being  coUeded  by  the  Obfervations 
of  Reafon,  and  formed  thereby  into  certain 
Propofitions,  are  the  Grounds  and  Principles, 
by  which  Men  govern  both  their  T>ifcourfe 
and  Traciicey  according  to  the  Nature  of  the 
Obje(^s  that  come  before  them:  or, 

\Sico7idlyf 


J^6  A  Sermon  preached 

Secondly,  It  may  be  taken  for  that  Faculty^ 
or  Tower  of  the  Soul,  by  which  it  forms  thefc 
Maxims  or  Tropofitions,  and  afterwards  dif- 
courfes  upon  them.  And  fo  no  Doubt  it  is 
to  be  taken  here. 

For  Tropofitions  themfelve^,  as  to  the  Truth 
of  them,  are  neither  capable  of  Increafe,  or 
Decreafe,  Improvement,  or  Diminution  5 
but  the  Towers  and  Faculties  of  the  Soul  are 
capable  of  both  5  that  is,  of  becoming  (Iron- 
ger  or  weaker,  according  as  Men  fhall  ufe, 
or  abufe,  cultivate,  or  negled  them.  Upon 
which  Account  this  Recfa  Ratio  can  be 
nothing  elfe,  but  that  intellectual  Power  or 
Faculty  of  the  Soul,  which  every  one  is  na- 
turally endowed  with. 

To  which  Faculty,  as  there  belong  two 
Grand,  and  Principal  Offices;  to  wit,  one 
to  inform  or  direB,  and  the  other  to  com- 
mand or  oblige  5  fo  the  faid  Faculty  fuftains 
a  different  ^io-^g  or  Denomination  according 
to  each  of  them.  For  as  it  ferves  to  inform 
the  Soul,  by  difcovering  Things  to  it,  fo 
it  is  called  the  Light  of  Nature ;  but  as  it 
obliges  the  Soul,  to  do  this,  or  forbear  that 
(which  it  does,  as  it  is  aduated,  or  informed 
with  rhofe  forementioned  general  Truths  or 
Maxims,)  fo  it  is  called  the  Law  of  Nature: 
I  which 


Chr\(^-  Church  Oxon, 

at  S^ejbiunlkx-Abbey:*         47 

which  two  Offices,  though  belonging  to  one 
and  the  fame  Faculty,  are  very  different.  For 
the  former  of  them,  to  wit,  its  enlightning 
or  informing  ^alityj  extends  much  further 
than  its  obliging  Virtue  does;  even  to  all 
Things  knowable  in  the  Mind  of  Man ;  but 
the  latter  only  to  fuch  Things,  as  are  Matter 
of  Pradice,  and  fo  fall  under  a  Moral  Con- 
fideration.  Befides,  that  this  obliging  §iualtty 
muft  needs  2^£o  prefuppofethe  enlightning^a- 
lity  as  effentially  going  before  it.  For,  as  no 
Law  can  bind,'till  it  be  notified  orpromulgedi 
fo  neither  can  this  Faculty  of  the  Soul  oblige 
a  Man,  'till  it  has  firft  informed  him.  By  which 
we  fee,  that  the  Light  of  Nature^  according 
to  the  eflential  Order  of  Things,  precedes 
the  Law  of  Nature ^  and  confequently  in 
Stridnefs  of  Speech,  ought  to  be  diftinguifh- 
ed  from  it,  how  much  foever  fome  have 
thought  fit  to  confound  them.  And  I  doubt 
not,  but  it  is  ThiSy  which  the  Text  here  prin» 
cipally  intends  by  the  Light  within  us. 

Neverthelefs,  fmce  the  Word  Confcie7ice 
takes  in  both,  and  lignifies  as  well  a  Light  to 
inform,  as  it  imports  and  carries  with  it  alfo 
a  Law  to  oblige  us,  1  fhall  indifferently  ex- 
prefs  this  Light  by  the  Name  of  Confcience 
(as  a  Term  equivalent  to  it)  in  all  the  foUovv-- 


48         Ilk  A  Sermon  preached 

ing  Particulars;  but  ftill  this  (hall  be,  with  re- 
fpcd  to  its  informing,r::!iX.\\Q.t  than  to  its  obliging 
Office.  Forafmuch  as  it  is  the  former  of  thefe 
only  which  is  the  proper  Eflfed  of  Light,  and 
not  the  latter.  For  tho'  Cvnfcience  be  both  a 
Light y  and  (as  it  commands  under  God)  a 
Law  too ;  yet  as  it  is  a  Light,  it  is  not  for- 
mally a  Law,  For  if  it  were,  then  whatfo- 
ever  it  difcovered  to  us,  it  would  alfo  oblige 
us  to.  But  this  is  not  fo  ;  fince  it  both  may, 
and  docs  difcover  to  us  the  indifferent  Nature 
of  many  Things  and  Adions  without  oblig- 
ing us  either  to  the  Practice  or  Forbearance 
of  them  5  which  one  Confideration  alone  is 
fufficient  to  fet  the  Difference  between  the 
enlightning  and  the  obliging  Office  of  Confci- 
cnce,  clear  beyond  all  Objedion. 

And  thus  much  I  thought  fit  to  premifcj 
concerning  the  nature  of  theL/^^r  here  fpokcn 
of  by  our.y^i;/^f/r,and  intended  for  the  Subjed 
of  the  prefent  Difcourfe.  Which  Light,  as  it  is 
certainly  the  great  and  fovereign  Gift  of  God 
to  Mankind  for  thcGuidance  and  Government 
of  their  Adions,  in  all  that  concerns  them, 
with  Reference  to  this  Life,  or  a  better  i  fo  it 
is  alfo  as  certain,  that  it  is  capable  ol  being 
turned  into  'Darknef,  and  thereby  made 
wholly  ufelefs  for  fo  noble  a  rurpoic. 

Tor 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.        49 

Por  fo  much  the  Words  of  the  Text  import ; 
nor  do  they  import  only  a  bare  ^ojjibility, 
that  it  may  be  {o,  but  alfo  a  very  high  Pro- 
bability y  that,  without  an  extraordinary  Tre- 
'vention,  it  will  be  i'o.  For  as  much  as  all 
Warning,  in  the  very  Reafon  of  the  Thing, 
and  according  to  the  natural  Force  of  luch 
Expreflions,  implies  in  it  thefe  two  Things, 
Firfty  Some  very  confiderablc  Evil,  orMif- 
chief 'K.'/^r/^f^againftj  zwd^  Secondly ,  an  equal 
Danger  of  falling  into  it :  Without  which 
all  JVarning  would  be  not  only  lliperfluous, 
but  ridiculous. 

Now,  both  thefe,  in  the  prefcnt  Cafe,  are 
very  great  j  as  will  appear  by  a  diftind  Con- 
fideration  of  each  of  them.     And 

Firft-,  For  the  Evil  ijuhich  we  are  warned 
er  caution' d  againft\  to  wit,  the  turning  of 
this  Light  within  us  into  ^arknefs.  An  Evil 
fo  unconceivably  great,  and  comprehcnfive, 
that,  to  give  an  account  of  the  utmoil  extent 
of  it,  would  poje  our  Thoughts,  as  well  as 
nonplus  our  Expreflions.  But  yet  to  help  our 
Apprehenfions  of  it  the  beft  we  can,  let  us 
but  confider  with  ourfelvcs  thofe  intolerable 
Evils  which  bodily  BUndnefSy  T>eafnefs,  Stti- 
pefa^ion,  and  an  utter  deprivation  of  all 
Senfe  mud  unavoidably  fubjcd  the  outward 

Vol.  Ill,  E  Man 


JO  A  Sermon  preached 

Man  to.  For  what  is  one,  in  fuch  a  Conditi- 
on, able  to  do  ?  And  what  is  he  not  lyable  to 
fitffer  ?  and  yet  'Doing  and  Stiffermg,  upon 
the  matter,  comprehend  all  that  concerns  a 
Man  in  this  World.  If  fuch  an  one's  Enemy 
fecks  his  Life  (as  he  may  be  fare,  that  fome 
Or  other  will,  and  pollibly  fuch  an  one  as  he 
takes  for  his  Trucft  Friend)  in  this  forlorn 
Cafe,  he  can  neither  y?^  nor  ^^^r,  nor  /per- 
ceive his  Approach,  till  he  finds  himfelf  actu- 
ally in  his  murdering  Hands.  He  can  neither 
encounter,  nor  efcape  him,  neither  in  his  own 
Defence  give,  nor  ward  off  a  Blow :  For 
whatfoever  blinds  a  Man,  ipfofacio  difarms 
him ;  fo  that  being  thus  bereft  both  of  his 
Sight  and  of  all  his  Senfes  befides,  what  fuch 
an  one  can  be  fit  for,  unl efs  it  be  to  {^i  up  for 
Prophecy,    or  believe  Tranfubjlantiation,    I 


cannot  uiiaCTme. 

c 


Thefc,  I  fay,  are  fome  of  thofe  fatal  Mid 
chiefs,  which  corporal  Blindnefs  and  hifenfi- 
bility  expofe  the  Body  to ;  and  are  not  thofe 
o(  z  fpiritnal  Blindnefs  unexprellibly  greater  > 
For  muft  not  a  Man,  labouring  under  this,  be 
utterly  at  a  lofs,  how  to  diftinguiili  between 
the  two  grand  governing  Concerns  of  Life, 
Good  and  Evil?  and  may  not  the  Ignorance 
of  rhefe  coft  us  as  dear  as  the  Knowledge  of 

them 


/?/ Chrift-Church,   Oxon.         51 

them  did  our  firft  Parents  ?  Life  and  Deaths 
Vice  and  Virtue  come  alike  to  fuch  an  one  i 
As  all  things  are  of  the  fame  Colour  to  Him 
who  cannot  fee.  His  whole  Soul  is  nothing 
but  Night,  and  Confufion,  Darknefs,  and  In- 
diftindion.  He  can  neither  fee  the  way  to 
Happinefsj  and  how  then  Ihould  he  choofe 
it?  Nor  yet  to  Dcftruclion,  and  how  then 
ftiould  he  avoid  it  ?  For  where  there  is  no 
Senfe  of  tb'mgs,thcrc  can  be  no  ^/ft/ncfmi^ 
and  where  there  is  no  Diftindion  there  can 
be  no  Choice. 

A  Man  deftitutc  of  this  direding  and  di. 
ftinguifhing  Light  within  him,  is  and  muft 
be  at  the  Mercy  of  every  thing  in  Nature, 
that  would  impofc  or  ferve  a  Turn  upon  him. 
So  that  whatfoever  the  Devil  will  have  hini 
do,  that  he  muft  do.  W hither focver  any  e:> 
orbitant  Defire  or  Defign  hurries  him,thither 
he  muft  go.  Whatfoever  any  bafe  Intereft 
fhall  prefcribe,  that  he  muft  fet  his  Hand  to? 
whether  his  Heart  goes  along  with  it,  or  no. 
If  he  be  a  Statefman,  he  muft  be  as  willing  to 
fell,  as  the  Enenriy  of  his  Country  can  be  to 
buy.  If  a  Churchman,  he  muft  be  ready  to 
furrender,and  give  Up  the  Church,  and  make 
a  Sacrifice  of  the  Altar  itfelf  though  he  lives 
by  it  5  and  (in  a  Word)  take  that  for  a  full 
E  2  I  Difcharge 


ji  A  Sermon  pye ached 

difcharge  from  all  his  Subfcriptions  and  Ob- 
ligations to  it,  to  do  as  he  is  bid.  Which  be- 
ing the  Cafe  of  fuch  as  fteer  by  a  falfe  Light, 
certainly  no  Slave  in  the  Gallies  is  or  can  be  in 
Inch  a  wretched  Condition  of  Slavery  as  a 
Man  thus  abandoned  by  Confcicnce,  and  be- 
reft of  all  inza'ard  T^rinciples-,  that  fhould  ei- 
ther guide  or  controul  him  in  the  Courfe  of 
his  Converfation.  So  that  we  fee  here  the 
tranfcendent  Greatnefs  of  the  Evil  which 
we  ft  and  caiition'd  againft.     But  then, 

Secondly,  If  it  were  an  Evil  i\\:itfeldom  hap- 
pened, that  very  hardly  and  rarely  befel  a  Man, 
this  might  in  a  great  meafure  fuperfede  the 
Stridnefs  of  the  Caution  j  but  on  the  contrary, 
we  fhall  find,   that  as  great  as  the  Evil  is, 
which  we  are  to  fence  againft  (and  that  is  as 
great  as  the  Capacities  of  an  immortal  Soul) 
the  Greatnefs  of  the  Danger  is  ftill  commen- 
liiratc  :  For  it  is  a  Cafe  that  ufually  happens  5 
it  is  a  Mifchicf  as  frequent  in  the  Events  as  it 
is,  or  can  be  fatal  in  the  Eff^eB.     It  is,  as  in 
a  common  Plague,   in  which,  the  Infedion  is 
as  hard  to  be  efcaped,  as  the  Diftcmper  to  be 
cured:     For  that  which  brings  thisDarkncfs 
upon  the  Soul  is  Sin.     And  as  the  ftate  of  Na- 
ture now  is,   the  ty^/// is  not  fo  clofe  united 
to  the  Body^  as  Sin  is  to  the  Soul  j  indeed  fo 

clofe 


^^  Ch  rift -Church,    Oxon.        53 

clofe  is  the  Union  between  them,  that  one 
would  even  think,  the  Soul  itfelf  (as  much  a 
Spirit  as  it  is)  were  the  Matter,  and  Sin  the 
Form  in  ourprefentConftitution.    In  a  word^ 
there  is  a  fet  Combination  of  all  without  a 
Man,  znd  z\\  witkin  him,  o^^Wabo've grounds 
and  all  under  it,  (if  Hell  be  fo)  firft  to  put 
out  his  Eyes,  and  then  to  draw  or  drive  him 
headlong  into  Perdition.     From  all  which,  I 
fuppofe,  we  muft  needs  fee  Reafon  more  than 
fufficient  for  this  Admonition  of  our  Saviour, 
tcike  heed  that  the  Light  which  is  in  thee  be 
not  'Darknefs.  An  Admonition  founded  upon 
no  lefs  aConcern,than  all  that  aMan  can  favc, 
and  all  that  he  can  lofe  to  Eternity.     And 
thus  having  Ihewn  both  the  Vajinefs  of  the 
Evil  itfelf,  and  the  extreme  Danger  we  are  in 
of  if ',    Since  no  Man  can  be  at  all  the  wifcr, 
or  the  fafer  barely  for  knowing  his  danger 
without  a  vigorous  Application  to  prevent  it , 
and  fince  the  fureft  and  moft  rational  Prcvcnr 
tive  of  it,  is  to  know  by  what  Arts,  and  Me- 
thods, our  Enemy  will  encounter  us,   and  by 
which  he  is  moft  likely  to  prevail  over  us, 
we  will  enquire  into,and  confider  thofc  fVays 
and  Means  by  which  he  commonly  attempts, 
and  too  frequently  effects  this  fo  difmal  a 
Change  upon  us,  as  to  ftrip  us  even  of  the  pool' 

E  3  Remains 


J  4  A  Sermon  preached  j 

Remains  of  oui*  fallen  Nature,  by  turning  the 

laft  furviving  Spar'^k  of  it,  this  Light  within  \ 

nSf  into  Darknefs.  ^ 

For  this  muft  be   acknowledged,  that  no  I 

Man  living,  inrefped  of  Confcience,  inborn  \ 

Blindly  but  makes  hirafelf  fo.  None  can  ftrike  i 

out  the  Eye  of  his  Confcience  but  himfelf :  jFor  ■ 

miking  can  put  it  out,  but  that  whichyTwiit  ; 

put.     And  upon  this  Account,  it  muft  be  con-  ' 

feffed,   that  a  Man  may  love  his  Sin  fo  enor-  i 

mouily  much,  as  by  a  very  ill  Application  of  ' 

the  Apoftle's  Exprcifion,  Q.\^n  to  pluck  out  his  \ 

own  Ryes  and  give  them  to  it ,  as  indeed  every  I 
obftinate  Sinner  in  the  World  does. 

Our  pueicnt  Bufmefs  therefore  fhall  be  (and 
that  as  a  Completion  of  what  I  difcourfed  for- 
merly upon  Confcience  in  this  Place)  to  (hew  i 
how  and  by  what  C^f/r/^j,  this  Divine  Light, 
this  Candle  of  the  Lord,  comes  firft  to  burn  I 
faint  and  dim, and  fo  by  a  gradual  Decay  faint- 
er and  fainter,  till  at  length  by  a  total  Extin- 
ction it  quire  fmks  to  nothing,  and  fodiesa-  i 
way.     And  thislfnaiido,     F/>/f,  in  General,  i 
and  Secondly ■>  in  Particular.  ; 

And  firft  in  Generalj  I  ihall  lay  down  thcfc  ; 

t^'o    Obftrvations.  1 

Firfi,  that  whatfoever  defies  the  Confci-  ' 

cnce,  in  the  fame  Degree  alfo^^r^^^^j  it.  ' 

As 


at  Chrift- Church,  Oxon.         5  y 

As  to  the  Philofophy  of  which,  how  and 
by  'what  way  this  is  done,  it  is  hard  to  con- 
ceive, and  much  harder  to  explain.  Our  great 
Unacquaintance  with  the  Nature  of  Spiritual, 
Immaterial  Beings  leaving  us  wholly  in  the 
Dark  as  to  any  explicite  Knowledge,  either 
how  they  Work,  or  how  they  are  worked  up- 
on. So  that  in  difcouriing  of  thefe  things  we 
are  forced  to  take  up  with  Analogy,  and  Al- 
lufion,  inftead  of  Evidence  and  Dcmonflration. 
Neverthelefs  the  Thing  itfelf  is  certain,  be 
the  manner  of  efFeding  it  never  fo  unaccount- 
able. 

Yet  thus  much  we  find,  that  there  is  fome- 
thing  in  Sin  analogous  to  Blacknefs,  as  hmo- 
cence  is  frequently  in  Scripture,  exprefled,  and 
let  forth  to  us  hy  Whit enefs.  All  Guihblackensy 
(or  does  fomething  equivalent  to  the  blacken- 
ing of)  the  Soul  j  as  where  Pitch  cleaves  to 
any  thing,  it  is  fure  to  leave  upon  it  both  its 
Fotdnefs  and  its  Blacknefs  together :  and  then 
we  know,  that  Blacknefs  and  'Darknejs  are 
infeparable. 

Some  of  the  ableft  of  the  T-eripatetick  School 
(not  without  countenance  from  yfr//?^//(?him- 
felf,  in  the  fifth  Chapter  of  his  third  Eook> 
wE^'  -^v-xY^q)  hold,  that  befides  the  Native y  in- 
herent Light  of  the  Intelled(which  is  eflential 

£4  tQ 


^6  A  Sermon  preached 

to  it,  as  it  is  a  Paculty  made  to  apprehend,  and 
take  in  its  Objed  after  a  fpiritual  way)  there 
is  alio  another  Light, in  the  Nature  of  a  Medi- 
tim,  beaming  in  upon  it  by  a  continual  Efflux 
and  Emanation  from  the  great  Fountain  of 
Light ^^nd.  irradiating  this  intelledual  Faculty, 
together  with  the  Species  or  Rcprefentations 
of  Things  imprinted  thereupon.     According 
to  which  Do£lrine  it  feems  with  great  Reafon 
to  follow,  that  whatfoever  interpofes  between 
the  Mind  and  thofc  Irradiations  from  God, 
(as  all  Sin  moreorlcfs  certainly  does)  muft 
needs hhidcr  the  Entrance  and  Admiillon  of 
them  into  the  Mind  i  and  then  Darknefs  muft 
by  neceifary   Confequcnce  enfue,   as  being 
nothing  clfe  but  the  Abfince,    or  ^Privation 
of  Life. 

For  the  further  Illuftration  of  whichNotion, 
we  may  obferve,  that  the  Under ftanding,  the 
Mind,  or  Confcienceoi^Azxi  (which  wefhall 
iicre  take  for  the  lame  Thing)  feem  to  beau 
much  the  fame  refpec^  to  God,  which  Glafs 
or  Cr/y?^/ docs  to  the  Light  on  Sun  :  which 
appears  indeed  to  the  Eye  a  bright  and  a 
fnining  Thing;  Neverthelefs  this  fhining  is 
not  fo  tmich  from  any  elTcntial  Light  or  Bright- 
ncfs  exifting  in  the  Glafs  it  Iclf  (fuppofing.that 
ihcrc  be  any  fuch  in  it)  as  it  is  from  the  ^o- 

\  roujnefs 


^if  Ch rift-Church,  Oxoii.        57 

Yonfnefs  of  its  Body,  rend  ring  it  diaphonous, 
and  thereby  fit  to  receive  and  tranfmit  thofe 
Rays  of  Light,    which  falling  upon  it,  and 
palling  through  it,  reprefent  it  to  common 
View  as  a  luminous  Body.     But  now  let  any 
Thing  of  Dirt  or  Foulnefs  fully  this  Glafsy 
and  fo  much  of  the  Shine  or  Brightnefs  of  it 
is   prefently  gone,   becaufe  fo  much  of  the 
Light  is  thereby  hindred  from  entring  into 
it,  and  making  its  Way  through  it.     But  if, 
befides  all  this,  you  fhould  alfo  draw  fomc 
black  Colour,  or  deep  Die  upon  it,  either  by 
Paint  or  otherwifcj  why  then  no   Bright- 
nefs co\x\&  be  feen  in  it  at  all,  but  the  Light 
being  hereby  utterly  fhut  out,  the  Glafs  or 
Cryftal  would  Jhine  oiglijier  no  more  than 
a  Piece  of  Wood,  or  a  Clod  of  Earth. 

In  like  manner  every  Ad  of  Sin,  every 
Degree  of  Guilt,  does  in  its  Proportion  caft  a 
kind  oiSoiloi  Foulnefs  upon  the  intelleclual 
Part  of  the  Soul,  and  thereby  intercepts  thofe 
blefled  Irradiations,  which  the  Divine  Nature 
iscontinually  darting  in  upon  it.  Noristhis 
all,  but  there  are  alfo  fomc  certain  Sorts  and 
Degrees  of  Guilt,  fo  very  black  and  foul,  that 
they  fall  like  an  huge  thick  Blot  upon  this  Fa- 
culty i  and  fo  finking  into  it,  and  fettling 
within  it,  utterly  exclude  all  thofe /////«/i»^- 

tions 


58  A  Sermon  preached 

tionSj  which  would  otherwife  flow  into  it, 
and  reft  upon  it  from  the  great  Father  of 
Lights  i  and  this  not  from  any  Failure,  or 
Defed  in  the  Illumination  itfclf,  but  from  the 
Indifpoution  of  the  Objcd,  which  being  thus 
blacken'd,  can  neither  let  in,  nor  tranfmit  the 
Beams,  that  are  caft  upon  it. 

I  will  not  affirm  this  to  be  a  perfed  Exem- 
plification of  the  Cafe  before  us,  but  I  am 
fure  it  is  a  lively  lUuftration  of  it,  and  may 
be  of  no  fmall  Ufe  to  fuch  as  fhall  throughly 
^confidcr  it.  But  however  (as  I  (hew'd  before) 
the  thing  itfcif  is  certain  and  unqueftionabkj 
Gtiilt  and  'Darknefs  being  always  fo  united, 
that  you  fhall  never  find  ©^r^»^  mentioned 
in  Scripture  in  a  Moral  Senfe,  but  you  fhall 
alfo  find  itderiv'd  from  Sin,  as  its  direSi  Caufiy 
and  joined  with  it  as  its  conjiant  Companion : 
For,  by  a  mutual  Produdion,  Sin  both  caufes 
Darknefs,  and  is  cauled  by  it.  Let  this  there- 
fore be  our  firft  General  Obfcrvation  5  That 
w h at foever  pollutes  or  fouls  the  Confciencey  in 
the  fame  degree  alfo  darkens  it.  \ 

Secondly,  Our  other  general  Obfcrvation 
fliall  be  this 3  That '■juhatfoeverputs  a  Byafs 
upon  the  Judging  Faculty  ofConfcience,  weak- 
ens,  and,  by  Confeqnence,  darkens  the  Light  of 
it.     A  clear  and  ^  right  judging  Confcience 

muft 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.         '^^ 

muft  be  al^^ays  impartial':,  and  that  it  may  be 
£b,  it  muft  be  perfedly  indifferent :  That  is 
to  fay,  it  muft  be  free  and  difencumbred 
from  every  Thing,  which  may  in  the  leaft 
fway,  or  incline  it  one  Way,  rather  than 
another,  beyond  what  the /(?/^  and  meer  Evi- 
dence of  Things  would  naturally  lead  it  to. 
In  a  Word,  it  muft  judge  all  by  Evidence^ 
and  nothing  by  ]Inclination. 

And  this  our  Bkfled  Saviour  with  admirable 
Eniphafis  and  Significance  of  Exprcilion  calls 
the  SinglenefsoftheEye,  in  the  Vcrfe  imme- 
diately before  the  Text.  If  thy  Eye  (fays  he) 
be  Jingle,  thy  whole  Body  jh  all  be  full  of  Light, 
That  is,  nothing  extraneous  muft  cleave  to, 
or  join  with  the  Eye  in  the  Ad  of  Seeing,  but 
it  muft  be  left  folely,  and  entirely  to  itfelf,  and 
its  bare  Objed,  as  naked  as  Truth,  as  pure, 
limple,  and  unmixed  as  Sincerity,  Other- 
wife  the  whole  Operation  of  it  unavoidably 
pafles  into  Cheat,  Fallacy,  and  Delufion.  As^ 
to  make  the  Cafe  yet  more  particular ;  if  you 
put  a  Muffler  before  the  Eye,  it  cannot  fee, 
if  any  Mote  or  Duft  falls  into  it,  it  can  hardly 
fee  j  and  if  there  be  any  Sorenefsor  Pain  in  it, 
it  (huns  the  Light,  and  will  not  fee.  And  all 
this  by  a  very  eafy,  but  yet  certain,  and  true 
Analogy,  is  applicable  to  the  Eye  of  the  SouU 

the 


6o  A  Sermon  preached 

the  Confcience  ;  and  thelnftance  is  verifiable 
upon  it,  in  every  one  of  the  ailedged  Parti- 
culars. 

Infnort,  whatfoever  ^^tz^j",  OYpttts  a  Biafs 
upon  the  Judging  Faculty  of  Confcience,  re- 
prefents  Things  to  it  by  a  falfe  Light  ;  and 
whatfoever  does  fo,  caufes  in  it  a  falfe  and 
erroneous  judgment  of  Things.  And  all  Er- 
ror or  Falfliood  is,  in  the  very  Nature  of  it, 
a  real  inteileduai^D^r/^w^/i-  j  and  confequently 
muft  difFufe  a  T^arknefs  upon  the  Mind,  fo 
far  as  it  is  affefted  and  poflefled  with  it. 
And  thus  much  for  our  Second  General  Ob- 
fervation. 

From  whence  we  (iTall  now  pafs  to  Parti- 
culars. In  the  afligning  and  ftatingof  which^ 
as  I  fhew'd  before,  that  Sin  in  general  was 
the  geiierdCaiife  of  this  ^arknefs,  lb  the  par- 
ttcular  Caufes  of  it  muft  be  fetched  from  the 
particular  Kinds  and  T)egrees  of  Sin. 

Now  Sin  may  be  confidered  Three  Ways* 
Fir  [I  J  In  the  Act. 
Secondly y  In  the  Habit  or  Cuftom. 
"Thirdly y  In  the  Affection,  or  productive 
Principle  of  it. 

In  all  which  wc  fhall  fhew  what  a  darken- 
ing and  fnalign  Influence  Sin  has  upon  the 
Confcience  01  Mind  of  Man  j  and  confequently 

with 


^A  Chrift'Chiirch,  Oxon.       6i 

with  what  extreme  Care  and  fevere  Vigilance 
the  Conlcience  ought  to  be  guarded,  and 
watched  over  in  all  thefe  Refpeds.     And, 

Firflj   For  Sin   coniidered    in  the  fingle 
Ad.     Every  particular  Commillion  of  any 
great  Sin,  fuch  as  are,  for  Inftance,  the  Sins 
of  Perjury,   of  Murder,   of  Uncleannefs,  of 
^runkenn^fsy  of  Theft  5  and,  above  all,   of 
Undutifulnefs  to  Tarents,    (which  being  a 
Thing  fo  much  againft  Nature,  nothing  in 
Nature  can  be  faid  for  it  :)   Thefe  I  fay,  and 
the  like  Capital,  Soul- Wafting  Sins,  even  in 
any  one  fingle  Ad  or  Commillion  of  them, 
have  a  ftrangely  efficacious  Power  to  cloud 
and  darken  the  Confciencc.     Some  of  the 
School- Men  are  of  Opinion,  that  ont  fingle 
AEiy    if  great,    and  extraordinary,    has  in  it 
the  Force  of  many  ordinary  and  lefler  Ads> 
and  fo  may  produce  a  Habit :     Which  Opini- 
on, how  true  foever  it  may  be  of  an  Act  of 
*T)emonftration  producing  a  Habit  oj Science  in 
the  Intelled,    yet  1  cannot  think  it  true  of 
any  Moral  Habits  whatfoever.     For  it  is  not 
to  be  thought,    that  St.  Jeter's  denying  and 
forfwearing  his  Lord,  left  behind  it  a  Habit 
of  Unbelief  j  nor  t\iz\.T>avid's  Miirder  and 
Adultery  rendred  him  habitually  murderous 
and  adulterous.    For  no  doubt  it  was  not  io. 

But 


6z  A  Sermon  preached 

But  this  I  fay,  That  every  fingle  grofs  kSt 
of  Sin,  is  much  the  fame  thing  to  the  Con- 
fcience,  that  a  great  Blow  or  Fall  is  to  the 
Head,  it  ftuns  and  bereaves  it  of  all  Ufe  of 
its  Scnfes  for  a  time.  Thus  in  the  two  fore- 
mentioned  Sins  of  T>av'id^  they  fo  mazed  and 
even  ftnpified  his  Confcience-,  that  it  lay  as  it 
were  in  a  S'jooon->2i'CiA  void  of  all  Spiritual  Senfe 
for  almoft  a  whole  Year.  For  we  do  not  find, 
that  he  came  to  himfelf  or  to  any  true  Sight 
or  Senfe  of  his  horrid  Guilt,  till  Nathan  the 
Prophet  came  and  roufed  him  up  with  a  Mef- 
fage  from  God ;  nor  did  Nathan  come  to  him, 
till  after  the  Child,  begotten  in  that  Adultery, 
was  born.  Such  a  terrible  Deadnefs  and  Stu- 
pefadion  did  thofe  two  Sins  bring  upon  his 
Soul  for  fo  many  Months  together,  during 
which  time  whatfocver  Notion  o{ Murder  and 
Adultery  T>avid  might  have  in  general ;  yet 
no  doubt,  he  had  but  very  flight,  and  fuperfi- 
cial  Thoughts  of  theHeinoufncfs  of  his  own  in 
particular.  And  what  wastheReafonof  this.'^ 
Why,hisConfcience  wascaft  intoa  ^^^^iS^/^^/^, 
and  could  not  fo  much  as  open  its  Eyes,  fo  as 
to  be  able  to  look  either  upwards  or  inwards. 
This  was  his  fad  and  forlorn  Eftate,  notwith- 
ftanding  that  long  Courfe  of  Piety  and  Con- 
verfe  with  God,  which  he  was  now  grown 

eld 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.         67^ 

old  in.  For  he  had  been  an  early  Pradifer, 
and  an  eminent  Proficient  in  the  Ways  of  God 
and  was  now  paft  the  50th  Year  of  his  Age  ; 
and  yet,  we  fee,  that  one  or  two  fuch  grofs 
Sins  dulled  and  dcadned  the  Spiritual  Prin- 
ciple within  him  to  fuch  a  Degree,  that  they 
left  him  for  a  long  Time  (as  it  were)  dozed 
and  benumbed,  blind  and  mfcnfible  5  and,  no 
doubt,  had  not  a  peculiar  Grace  from  God 
raifed  him  up  and  recovered  him,  he  had 
continued  fo  to  his  Life's  End. 

For  this  is  mod  certain,  and  worth  our  be(t 
Obfervationj  that  whatfocvcr  carries  a  Man 
Off  from  God,  will  in  the  natural  Courfe,  and 
Tendency  of  it,  carry  him  ftill  further  and 
further :  'till  at  length  it  leaves  him  neither 
Will  nor  Power  to  return.  For  Repentance  is 
neither  the  T^efign,  nor  Work  of  meer  Nature, 
which  immediately  after  the  Commiflion  of 
Sin  never  puts  a  Man  upon  difowning  or  be- 
wailing it  j  but  upon  ftudying  and  calling 
about  him  how  to  palliate  and  extenuate,  and 
rather  than  fail,  how  to  plead  for  and  defend 
it.  This  was  the  Courfe,  which  Adam  took 
upon  the  firft  Sin,  that  ever  Man  committed  : 
And  the  fame  Courfe  in  the  fame  Cafe  will  be 
taken  by  all  the  Sons  of  Adam  (if  left  to 
themfelves)  as  long  as  ths  fVorM Jiands, 

I  Secondly^ 


64  A  Sermon  preached 

Secondly y  The  frequent  and  repeated  Tra^ 
Bice  of  Sin  has  alfo  a  mighty  Power  in  it  to 
obfcure  and  darken  the  natural  Light  of  Con- 
fcience.  Nothing  being  more  certainly  true, 
nor  more  univerfally  acknowledg'd  than  that 
Cuftom  of  Sinning  takes  away  the  Senfe  of  Sin ; 
and,  we  may  add,  the  Sight  of  it  too.  For 
tho'  the  Darknefs  confequent  upon  any  one 
grofs  A6i  of  Sin,  be  (as  we  have  fliew'd)  very 
great,  yet  that  which  is  caufed  by  Cuftom  of 
Sinning,  is  much  greater  and  more  hardly 
curable.  Particular  A<^s  of  Sin  do  (as  it  were) 
call  a  Mift  before  the  Eye  of  Confcience,  but 
cuflomary  Sinning  brings  a  Kind  of  Film 
upon  it,  and  it  is  not  an  ordinary  Skill  which 
can  take  off  that.  The  former  only  clofes 
the  Eye,  but  this  latter  puts  it  out  5  as  leaving, 
upon  the  Soul  a  wretched  Impotence,  either 
xojudgey  or  to  do  well ;  much  like  the  Spots 
of  the  Leopard  not  to  bechanged^  or  the  Black- 
nefs  of  an  ^Ethiopian  not  to  be  wajhedoff.  For 
by  thefe  very  Things  the  Spirit  of  God  in 
Jer.  xiii.  2  3 .  exprelTes  x.\\Q.Iron  invincible  Force 
of  a  wicked  Cuftom. 

Now  the  Reafon,  I  conceive,  that  fuch  a 
Cuftom  brings  i\xQhz\Darknefs\x^on.  the  Alind 
or  Confcience^  is  this :  That  a  Man  naturally 
defigns  to  pleafe  himfelf  in  all  that  he  does  3 

and 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.        6^ 

dndthatitis  impollible  for  him  to  find  any 
Adion  really  pleafurable^  while  he  judges  it 
abfolutely  unlawful '•>  fince  the  Sting  of  this 
muft  needs  take  off  the  Relijh  of  the  other, 
and  it  would  be  and  intolerable  Torment  to 
any  Man's  Mind,  to  be  always  doingy  and  al- 
ways condemning  himfeif  for  what  he  does. 
And  for  this  Caufe,  zMnnfiuts  his  Eyes,  and 
flops  his  Ears  againft  all  that  his  Reafon  would 
tell  him  of  the  Sinfulnefs  of  that  Pradice, 
which  longCufl:om,andFrequency  has  endear- 
ed to  him.     So  that  he  becomes  lludioufly, 
and  afFededly  ignorant  of  the  Illnefs  of  the 
Courfe  he  takes,  that  he  may  the  more  fenfi* 
bly  tafte  the  Pleafure  of  it.     And  thus,  when 
an  inveterate,  imperious  Cuftom  has  fo  over- 
ruled all  a  Man's  Faculties,  as  neither  to  fuf- 
fer  his  Eyes  to  fee  ^  norhis  Ears  to  hear  j  nor  his 
Mind  to  think  of  the  £w7of  what  he  does  5 
that  is,   when  all  the  Inftruments  of  Know- 
ledge are  forbid  to  do  their  Office,  Ignorance 
and  0^«r//>' muft  needs  be  upon  the  whole 
Soul.   For  when  the  Windows  are  flopped  up> 
no  wonder  if  the  whole  Room  be  dark. 

The  Truth  is,  fuch  an  habitual  Frequency 

of  Sinning,  does  (as  it  were)  bar  and  bole  up 

the  Confcience  againft  the  fharpeft  Reproofs^ 

and  the  moft  convincing  Inftrudions ;  fo  that 

Vol.  III.  F  when 


66  A  Sermon  preached 

when  God  by  the  Thunder  of  his  Judgments, 
and  the  Voice  of  his  Minifters  has  been  ring- 
ing Hell  and  Vengeance  into  the  Ears  of  fuch 
a  Sinner,  perhaps,  like  FeliXy   he  may  trem- 
ble a  little  for  the  prefent,  and  feem  to  yield, 
and  fall   down    before   the   over-powering 
Evidence  of  the   Conviction  j    but  after  a 
while,  Citftom  overcoming  Confcience,  the 
Man  goes  his  Way,    and  though  he  is  con- 
vinced,   and  fatisfied  what  he  ought  to   dOy 
yet  he    ad^ually   does  what  he  ufes  to  do: 
And  all  this,    becaufe  through  the  Darknefs 
of  his  Intelled  he  )\i^'^z%xh.zpreJentTleafure 
of  fuch  a  fmful  Courfe,  an  over-balance  to  the 
Evil  of  it. 

Por  this  is  certain,  That  Nature  has  placed 
all  Humane  Choice  in  fuch  an  elTential  Depen- 
dance  upon  the  Judgment,  that  no  Man  does 
any  Thing,  tho'  never  fo  vile,  wicked,  and 
inexcufable,  but  all  Circumftances  confider'd, 
he  judges  it,  'Pro  hie  ^  nunc,  abfolutely  bet- 
ter for  him  to  do  it,  than  not  to  do  it.  And 
what  a  darknefs  and  ^elujion  muft  Con- 
fcleiice  needs  be  under,  while  it  makes  a  Man 
judge  that  really  beft  for  him,  which  diredly 
tends  to,  and  generally  ends  in,  his  utter  Buin 
and  'Damnation  !  Cujlomis  faid  to  be  zjecond 
Nature,  and  ifby  the  Jirjl  we  are  already  fo 

bad:, 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.        6-/ 

bad,  by  thcfecond  (to  be  fure)  we  jloall  be 
much  worfe. 

Thirdly y  Every  corniftT ajponyO"!.  Ajfecl'ion 
of  the  Mind,  will  certainly  pervert  x\\c  jndg. 
ing,  and  obfcurc  and  darken  the  difccrning 
Power  of  Confcience.     The  Affedions  which 
the  Greeks  call  ri't&^jj  and  the  Latines  AjfeSrus 
Animi,  are  of  much  the  fame  ufetothe  Soul, 
which  the  Members  are  of  to  the  Body  ;  fer- 
ving  as  the  proper  Inftruments  of  moftofits 
Actions  5  and  are  always  attended  with  a  cer- 
tain preiernatural  Motion  of  the  Blood  and 
»5^/r/'f  J  peculiar  to  eachPailion;  or  Affedion. 
And  as  for  the  Seat  or  Fountain  of  them,  Phi- 
lofophers  both  place  them  in  and  derive  them 
from  the  Heart.     But  not  to  infifl:  upon  mere 
Speculations :    The  Paillons  or  Affedions are 
(as  I  may  fo  call  them)  the  mighty  Flights  and 
Sally  ings  out  of  the  Soul  upon  (uch  Objeds  as 
come  before  it  5  and  are  generally  accompa- 
nied with  fuch  Vehemence,  that  the  Stoicks 
reckoned  them,  in  their  very  Nature  and  Ef- 
fence,  as  to  many  Irregularities,  and  Devia- 
tions from  right  Reafon,   and  by  no  means 
incident  to  a  wife  ov good  Man. 

But  though  better  Philofophy  has  long  fincc 

exploded  this  Opinion, and  Chriftianity,which 

is  the  greateil  and  the  beft,  has  taught  us,  that 

F  2  wc 


^8  A  Sermon  preached 

\vc  may  be  angry  y  and  yet  not  Sin,  Eph.  iv.  16« 
j^nd  that  godly  Sorrow  is  neither  a  Paradox 
nor  a  Contradiction,  2  Cor.  vii.  10.  andcon- 
Tcqiicntly,  that  in  every  Paifion  or  AfFeftion 
there  is  Ibmething  purely  natural,  which 
may  both  be  diftinguijhed  and  divided  too 
from  what  is  Tmful  and  irregular  i  yctnot- 
withflanding  all  this,  it  muft  be  confefled, 
that  the  Nature  of  the  Paffions  is  fuch,  that 
they  are  extremely  prone  and  apt  to  pafs  into 
ExcefSy  and  that  when  they  do  ib,  nothing  in 
the  World  is  a  greater  hinderancc  to  the  Mind 
or  Reafon  of  Man,  from  making  a  true,  clear, 
and  cxadt  Judgment  of  Things,  than  the  Paf- 
fions thus  wrought  up  to  any  thing  of  Fer- 
ment, or  Agitation.  It  being  as  impoflible  to 
keep  the  jV/^/^?^  Faculty  fteady  in  fuch  a  Cafe, 
as  it  would  be  to  view  a  Thing  diftinBly  and 
perfeBly  through  a  Perfpe£live  Glafs,  held  by 
a  fhaking,  paralytickHand. 

When  the  AffeBionszuzoncz  engaged,  the 
Judgment  is  always  partial,  and  concerned. 
There  is  a  ftrong  Bent,  or  Byafs  upon  it,  it  is 
pollcfled  and  gained  over,  and  as  it  were  fec'd 
and  retained  in  their  Caufe,  and  thereby  made 
utterly  unable  to  carry  fuch  an  equal  regard  to 
the  Objed,  as  to  confider  Truth  w^^t^//,  and 
flripped  of  all  foreign  Refpedsj  and  as  fuch 

to 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       69 

to  make  it  the  rigid  inflexible  Rule,  which 
it  is  to  judge  by-,  cfpecially  where  Duty  is  the 
Thing  to  be  judged  of.  For  a  Man  will 
hardly  be  brought  to  judge  right,  and  true, 
when  by  fuch  a  Judgment  he  is  fure  to  con- 
demn himfelf. 

But  this  being  a  Point  of  fuch  high  and 
practical  Importance,  I  will  be  yet  more  par- 
ticular about  it,  and  fhew  feverally,  in  feveral 
corrupt  and  vitious  AfFedions,  how  impolUble 
it  is  for  a  Man  to  keep  his  Confcience  rightly 
informedy  and  fit  to  guide  and  dired  him  in 
all  the  arduous  perplexing  Cafes  of  Sin,  and 
^Duty,  while  he  is  adually  under  the  Power 
of  any  of  them.  This  I  know  Men,  generally 
are  not  apt  to  believe,  or  to  think  that  the 
Plaws  or  Failures  of  their  Morals  can  at  all 
affed  their  Jntellecfuals.  But  I  doubt  not 
but  to  make  it  not  only  credible,  but  un- 
deniable. 

Now  the  vitious  AfFedions  which  I  fhall 
fingle,  and  cull  out  of  thofe  vaft  Numbers, 
which  the  Heart  of  Man,  that  great  Store- 
houfe  of  the  Devil,  abounds  with,  as  fome 
of  the  Principal,  which  thus  darken  and  de- 
bauch the  Confcience,  Ihall  be  thefe  three. 

Firji,  Senfuality.  Secondly^  Covetoufnefs. 
Thirdly,  Ambition. 

Fa  Of 


70  A  Sermon  preached 

Of  each  of  which  I  fhall  (peak  particularly : 
And 

jF/V/?,  For  Senfualitj,  or  a  vehement  delight 
in^  and  purfuit  of  bodily  Pleafures.  We  may 
truly  fay  of  the  ^<?<^/,  with  Reference  to  the 
Soul,  what  was  faid  by  the  Poet  of  an  ill 
Neighbour,  Nemo  tarn  prope  t.>in  proculque: 
None  fo  nearly  joined  in  point  of  Vicinity, 
and  yet  fo  widely  diftant  in  point  of  Intereft 
and  Inclinations. 

The  antient  Philofophers  generally  holding 
the  i^^/// of  Man  to  be  2.  fpiritual  immaterial 
Subftancc,  could  give  no  Account  of  the  fe- 
veralFailures  and  Defeds  in  the  Operations  of 
it,  (which  they  were  fufficiently  fenfible  of) 
but  from  its  Immerfion  into,  and  intimate  Con- 
jun^tion  with  Matter^  called  by  the  Greeks 
vA'/j.  And  accordingly  all  their  Complaints 
and  Accufations  were  ftill  levelled  at  this  vXij 
as  the  only  Caufe  of  all  that  they  found  amifs 
in  the  whole  Frame  and  Conftitution  of  Man's 
Nature.  In  a  word,  whatfoever  was  obferved 
by  them,  either  irregular  or  defe^ive  in  the 
workings  of  the  Mradj  was  all  charged  upon 
the  Body,  as  its  great  Clog  and  Impediment. 
As  the  skilfullcft  Artift  in  the  World  would 
make  but  forry  work  of  it,  fhould  he  be  forced 
to  make  ufe  of  Tools  no  way  fit  for  his 
Purpofe.  But 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       7  r 

But  whether  the  Fault  be  in  the  fpiritual 
ot  corporeal  Part  of  our  Nature,  or  rather  in 
both,  certain  it  is,  that  no  two  Things  in  the 
World  do  more  rife  and  grow  upon  t\\cfall 
of  each  other,  than  the  Flefh  and  the  Spirit : 
They  being  like  a  kind  o^ Balance  in  the  Hand 
of  Nature,  fo  that  as  one  mounts  up,  the  other 
ftill  iinks  down  i  and  the  high  Eftate  of  the 
Body  feldom  or  never  fails  to  be  the  low,  de- 
clining Eftate  of  the  Soul.  Which  great  Con- 
trariety and  Difcord  between  them,  theApo- 
ftle  defcribes,  as  well  as  Words  can  do.  Gal. 
V.  7.  The  Flejh  (fays  he)  lufteth  againgfi  the 
Spirit,  and  the  Spirit  lufteth  againft  the  Flefh, 
andthefefxo  are  contrary,  like  two  mighty 
Princes,  whofe  Territories  join,  they  are  al- 
ways encroaching,  and  warring  upon  one  an- 
other. And,  as  it  moft  commonly  falls  out, 
that  the  worfe  Caufe  has  the  befi  Sticcefs-,  fo 
when  the  Flefh  and  the  Spirit  come  to  a  Bat- 
tle, it  is  feldom  but  the  Flejlo  comes  off  victo- 
rious. And  therefore  the  fame  great  Apoftle, 
who  fo  conftantly  exercifed  himfelf  to  keep  a 
Confcience  void  of  Offence,  did  as  conftantly 
and  fevercly  exercife  himfelf  to  keep  under  his 
Body,  and  bring  it  into  SubjeEiion,  i  Cor.  ix.  27. 
And  the  fame,  in  all  Ages,  has  been  the  Judg- 
ment and  Pradice  of  all  fuch  as  have  had 
F  4  any 


7  i-  A  Sermon  preached 

any  Experience  in  the  ways  of  God,  and  the 
true  Methods  of  IVeligion.  Por  ail  bodily 
Ple^afure  dulls  and  weak?|is  the  Operation? 
of  the  Mind,  even  upon  a  natural  Account, 
and  much  more  upon  a  Spiritual.  Now  the 
^leafures  which  chiefly  afFed,  or  rather  be- 
witch the  Body,  and  by  fo  doing  become  the 
Peft,  and  Poylbn,  of  the  nobler  and  intelleEiU" 
al?zxto^  M^rij  are  ihoic  fa  If e^i^di  fallacious 
Pieafures  of  Luft  and  Intemperance : 

Of  each  of  which  feverally  :     And 

Firji,  For  Luft.  Nothing  does,  or  cat; 
darken  the  Mind,  or  Confcience  of  Man 
more  :  Nay,  it  has  a  peculiar  Efficacy  this 
way,  and  for  that  Caufe  may  juftly  be  ranked 
amongft  the  very  lowers  ofDarknefs :  It  be- 
ing that  which,  (as  Naturalifts  obferve)  ftrikes 
at  the  proper  Seat  of  the  Underftanding,  the 
Brain»  Something  of  that  Blacknefs  of  T) ark- 
nefs  mentioned  in  the  1 3  th  of  St.Judey  Teem- 
ing to  be  of  the  very  Nature,  as  well  as 
^T'unijhment  of  this  Vice. 

Nor  do(:s  only  the  Reafon  of  the  thing  it 
felf,  but  alfo  the  Examples  of  fuch  as  havt 
been  poflefled  with  it,  dcmonftrate  as  much. 

For  had  not  Sampfon  (think  we)  an  intole- 
rable Darknefs  and  Confufion  upon  hisUnder- 
ftan  ding,  while  he  ran  roving  after  every  Strum- 
pet 


^/ Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       75 

pet  in  that  brutifh  Manner  that  he  did  ?  Wa§ 
it  not  the  Eye  of  liis  Confcience  which  his 
^alilah  firft  put  out,  and  fo  of  a  Judge  of  If- 
rael  rendred  himfelf  really  a  Judgment  upon 
them  ?  And  when  the  two  Angels  (as  we  read 
in  Gen.  xix.)  ftruck  thofe  Monfters,  the  Men 
of  Sodom,  with  Blindnefs,  had  not  their  own 
deteftable  Luft  firft  ftricken  them  with  a  grea- 
ter? Or  could  Herod\\2S^  ever  thought  him- 
felf obliged  by  the  Religion  of  an  Oath,  to 
have  murdered  the  jB^^//?,  had  not  his  Luftt 
andhisWztod^iTiSimprifoned  and  murdered  his 
Confcience  firft  ?  For,  furely,  the  common 
Light  of  Nature,  could  not  but  teach  him  that 
no  Oath  or  Vow  whatfoever  could  warrant 
the  greateft  Prince  upon  Earth  to  take  away 
the  Life  of  an  innocent  Perfon.  But  it  feems 
his  befotted  Confcience  having  broken 
through  the /event  h  Commandment,  the  (ixth 
Aood  too  near  it  to  be  fafe  long :  And  there- 
fore his  two  great  Cafuifts,  the  ©^^v'/and  his 
Herodias  (the  worfe  Devil  of  the  two)  having 
allowed  him  to  lie,  and  wallow  inAduletry  fo 
long,  cafily  perfuadcd  him  that  the  fame  Sal- 
'vo  might  be  found  out  for  Murder  alfo.  So 
that  it  was  his  Lufi  obftinately  continued  in, 
which  thus  darken  d,  and  deluded  his  Confci- 
ence J  and  the  fame  will,  no  doHbt,  darken^ 
3  and 


74  ^  Sermon  pr  e  ached 

and  delude^  and,  in  the  End,  extinguijh  the 
Confcicnceof  any  Man  breathing,  whofhall 
furrendcr  himfeJf  up  to  it.  The  Light  within 
him  ihall  grow  every  Day  lefs  and  lefs,  and  at 
length  totally  and  finally  go  out,  and  that  in 
zjiink  too.  So  hard,  or  rather  utterly  unfea- 
fible  is  it  for  Men  to  be  zealous  Votaries  of  the 
blind  Gody  without  lofmg  their  Eyes  in  his  Ser- 
vice, and  it  is  well  if  their  Nofes  do  not 
follow.  From  all  which  it  appears,  what  a 
Paradox  it  is  in  Morals,  for  any  one  under 
the  Dominion  of  his  Luft,  to  think  to  have  a 
right  Judgment  in  Things  relating  to  the 
State  of  his  Soul :     And  the  fame,  in  the 

Second  Tlace,  holds  equally  in  that  other 
Branch  oiSenfuality,  Intemperance  5  whereup- 
on we  find  them  both  joined  together  by  the 
Prophet,  Hofea  iv.  11.  Whoredom  (fays  he) 
and  Wine  take  away  the  Heart ;  that  is, 
according  to  the  Language  of  Holy  Writ,  a 
yizxis  judging  and  dijcerning  Abilities.  And 
therefore,whofoever  would  preferve  thefe  Fa- 
culties (eipecially  as  to  their  Difcernment  of 
Jpiritual  Ob]zCts)  quick  and  vigorous, muft  be 
fure  to  keep  the  ttfper  Region  of  his  Soul  clear 
^ndferenei  which  the  Fumes  of  Meat  and 
Drink  luxurioufly  taken  in,  will  never  fuf- 
fer  it  to  be.     We  know  the  Method,  which 

this 


at  Chrift-Churcli,  Oxon.       7j 

this  high  and  exaft  Pattern  of  fpiritual  Pru- 
dence, St.  ^aiiU  took  to  keep  the  great  Cen- 
tineloi  his  Soul,  his  Confcience,  always  vi- 
gilant and  circumfped:.  It  was  by  a  conftant 
and  fevere  Temperance,  heighten'd  with  fre- 
quent Watch'mgs  and  FaftingSj  as  he  himfelf 
tells  us,  2  Cor.  xi.  27.  In  watcbings  often,  in 
f ^flings  often,  &c.  This  was  the  Difciplinc 
which  kept  his  Senjes  exerctfed  to  a  fure  and 
exquifite  Difcrimination  of  Good  and  Evil ^ 
and  made  the  Lamp  within  himy7;/«^  always 
with  a  bright  and  a  triumphant  Flame. 

But  Gluttony  and  all  Excers,either  in  eating 
or  drinking,  llrangely  clouds  and  dulls  the 
intelleftual  Powers;  and  then,  it  is  not  to 
be  expeded  that  the  Confcience  fhould  bear 
up,  when  the  Under fanding  is  drunk  down. 
An  Epicure's  Tra^ice  naturally  difpofes  a 
Man  to  an  Epicures  principles  -,  that  is,  to 
an  equal  Loofenefs  and  Diflblution  in  both  : 
And  he  who  makes  his  Belly  his  Bufinefs, 
will  quickly  come  to  have  a  Confcience  oi  ^s 
large  a  Swallow  as  his  Throat;  of  which 
there  wants  not  feveral  fcandalous  and  deplo- 
rable Inftances.  Loads  of  Meat  and  Drink 
are  fit  for  none  but  a  Be  aft  of  Burden  to  bear-, 
and  he  is  much  the  greater  Beaft  of  the  two, 
who  carries  his  Burden  in  his  Belly,  than  he 

who 


y6  A  Sermon  preached 

who  carries  it  upon  his  Back.  On  the  contrary^ 
nothing  is  fo  great  a  Friend  to  the  Mind  of 
Man,  zs  Abflinence  i  it  ftrengthens  the  Me- 
tnory,  clears  the  Apprehenjion,  and  fharpens 
the  Judgment,  and  in  a  word,  gives  Realbn 
its  full  Scope  of  Ading ;  and  when  Reafonhas 
that,  it  is  always  a  diligent,  and  faithful  Hand- 
maid to  Confcience,  And  therefore y  where 
Men  look  no  further  than  mere  Nature,  (as 
many  do  not)  let  no  Man  exped  to  keep  his 
Gluttony  and  his  Tarts,  his  IDrunkennefs  and 
his  fVit,  his  Revellings  and  his  Judgment, 
and  much  lefs  his  Confcience  together.  For 
neither  Grace,  nop  Nature,  will  have  it  fo. 
It  is  an  utter  Contradidion  to  the  Methods 
of  both.  Who  hath  Woe  ?  who  hath  Sorrow  ? 
who  hath  Contentions  ?  who  hath  Babbling  ? 
who  hath  Wounds  without  Caufe  ?  who  hath 
rednefs  of  Eyes  ?  fays  Solomon,  Trov.  xxiii.  29. 
Which  Queftion  he  himlelf  prefently  anfwers 
in  the  next  Vcrfe,  They  who  tarry  long  at  the 
Wine,  ihey  whofeek  after  mixt  Wi^^-  So  fay 
I,  who  has  a  ftupid  Intelleft,  a  broken 
Memory,  and  a  blafted  Wit,  and  (which  is 
worfe  than  all)  a  blind  and  benighted  Con- 
fcience, but  the  intemperate  and  luxurious^ 
the  Epicure  and  the  Smell feaft  ?  So  impoiTible 
is  it  for  a  Man  to  turn  Sott,  without  making 

him- 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       yj 

himfelf  a  Blockhead  too.  I  know,  this  is  not 
always  the  ptefent  Effcd  of  thefe  Courfes, 
but,  at  long  run,  it  will  infallibly  be  fo ,  and 
Time  and  Luxury  together  will  as  certainly 
change  the  Infidey  as  it  does  the  Out  fide  of  the 
beft  Heads  whatfoever ;  and  much  more  of 
fuch  Heads  as  are  Jirong  for  nothing  but  to 
bearT)rmk:  Concerning  which,  it  ever  was, 
and  is,  and  will  be  a  fure  Obfervation,  that 
fuch  as  are  ableft:  at  the  Barrel,  are  generally 
weakeft:  at  the  Book.  And  thus  much  for  the 
firft  great  darkner  ^/ Man's  Mind,  Senfualityy 
and  that,  in  both  the  Branches  of  it,  Luftznd 
Intemperance. 

Secondly,  Another  'uitious  Affe6lion,\f\iich. 
clouds  and  darkens  the  Confcience,  is  Cove- 
toufnefs.  Concerning  which  it  may  truly  be 
affirmed,  that  of  all  the  Vices  incident  to 
humane  Nature,  none  fo  powerfully  and  pe- 
culiarly carries  the  Soul  downwards  as  Co- 
vetoufnefs  does.  It  makes  it  all  Earth  and 
Dirt,  burying  that  noble  Thing  which  can 
never  die.  So  that  while  the  Body  is  above 
Ground,  the  Soul  is  under  it  -,  and  therefore 
muft  needs  be  in  a  State  of  T>arknejs,  while 
it  converfes  in  the  Regions  of  it. 

How  mightily  this  Vice  darkens  znddebafes 
the  Mind,  Scripture-lnftances  do  abundantly 

Ihew, 


78  A  Sermon  preached 

fhcw.  When  Mofes  would  aflign  the  proper 
Qiialificarions  of  a  Judge,  (which  Office  cer- 
tainly calls  forthequickeft  Apprehcnfion,  and 
the  folideft  Judgment  that  the  Mind  of  Man 
is  well  capable  of)  'Deitt,  xvi.  9.  Tkoupalt 
not  (fays  he)  take  a  Gift.  But  why  ?  He 
prefently  adds  the  Reafonj  Becaiife  aGift 
(lays  he)  blinds  the  Eyes  of  the  Wife.  And 
no  wonder,  for  it  perverts  their  Will  j  and 
then,  who  fo  blind  as  the  Manwhorefolves 
nottojee?  Gold,  it  fecms,  being  but  a  very 
bad  Help,  and  Cure  of  the  Eyes  in  fuch  Cafes. 
In  like  Manner,  when  t^^;^?/^/ would  fet  the 
Credit  of  his  Integrity  clear  above  all  the  Af- 
perilous  of  Envy  and  Calumny  itfelf,  i  Sam. 
xii.  3.  Ofwhofe  Hands  (fays he)  have  Ireceiv- 
ed  a  Bribe  to  blind  my  Eyes  therewith  ?  Im- 
plying thereby,  that  for  a  Man  to  he  gripe- 
handed  and  clear-fighted  too  was  impoilible. 
And  again,  EccL  vii.  7.  A  Gift  (fays  the  wife 
Man)  deftroyeth  the  Heart :  That  is,  (as  we 
have  Ihewn  already)  t\\z  judging  znd  difcerni/jg 
Powers  of  the  Soul.  By  all  which  we  fee? 
that  in  the  Judgment  of  fome  of  the  wifeft 
and  greateft  Men  that  ever  lived,  fuch  as 
Mofesy  Samuel,  Solomon  himfelf,  Covetouf- 
nefs  baffles  and  befools  the  Mind,  blinds  and 
confounds  the  reafoning  Faculty,  and  that, 
2  not 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.        79 

not  only  in  ordinary  Perfons,  but  even  in  the 
ableft,  the  wifeft,  and  moft  fagacious.  And 
to  give  you  one  Proof,  above  all,  of  the  pc 
QxxXizi blinding  ^ower  of  this  Vice,  there  is  not 
the  moft  covetous  Wretch  breathing,  who 
does  fo  much  as  fee  or  perceive,  that  he  is 
covetous. 

for,  the  Truth  is,  preach  to  the  Confcience 
of  a  covetous  Perfon  (if  he  may  be  faid  to  have 
any)  with  the  Tongue  of  Men  and  Angels,  and 
tell  him  of  the  Vamty  of  the  World,  oiTrea- 
fiire  in  Heaven,  and  of  the  Neceility  of  be- 
ing rich  toward  God,  and  liberal  to  his  poor 
Brother  5  and  *tis  all  but  flat,  infipid,  and  ri- 
diculous Stuff  to  him,  who  neither  fees,  nor 
feels,  nor  fuffers  any  Thing  to  pafs  into  his 
Heart,  but  thro'  his  Hands  You  niuft  preach 
to  fuch  an  one  of  Bargain  and  Sale,  ''Profits 
and  Terquifites,  Trincipal  and  Interefl,  Ufe 
upon  Ufe--,  and  if  you  can  perfuade  him  that 
Codlinefs  is  Gain  in  his  own  Senfe,  perhaps 
you  may  do  fomething  with  him  5  othervvife) 
though  you  edge  every  Word  you  fpealc 
with  Reafon  and  Religion,  Evidence  and  De- 
monftration,  you  fhall  never  affed,  nor  touch, 
nor  fo  much  as  reach  his  Confcience  3  for  it  is 
kept  fealed  up  in  a  Bag  under  Lock  and  Key> 
and  you  cannot  come  at  it. 

And 


So  A  Sermon  preached 

And  thus  much  for  the  fccond  bafe  ArfedL 
on,  that  blinds  the  Mind  of  Man,  which  is 
Covetoufnefs.  A  thing  dirediy  contrary  to  the 
very  Spirit  of  Chriftianity ;  which  is  a  free,  a 
large,  and  an  open  Spirit ;  A  Spirit  open  to 
God  and  Man,  and  always  carrying  Charity 
in  one  Hand,  and  Generofity  in  the  other. 

Thirdly^  The  third  and  iaft  vile  AfPedtion, 
which  I  fhall  mention  (as  having  the  fame 
darkening  EffeB  upon  the  Mind  or  Confci- 
ence)  is  Ambition.  For  as  Covetoufnefs  dulls 
the  Mind  by  prelling  it  down  too  much  below 
itfelf,  fo  Ambition  dazles  it  by  lifting  it  up  as 
much  above  itfelf  j  but  both  of  them  are  furc 
to  darken  the  Light  of  it.  For  if  you  either 
look  too  intently  down  a  deep  Precipice  upon 
a  thing  at  an  extreme  diftance  below  you,  or 
with  the  fame  Earneflnefs  fix  your  Eye  upon 
fomething  at  too  great  an  Height  above  you  i 
in  both  Cafes  you  will  find  a  Vertigo  or  Giddi- 
nefs.  And  where  there  is  a  Giddinefs  in  the 
Head,  there  will  be  always  a  Alift  before  the 
Eyes.  And  thus,  no  doubt,  it  was  only  an 
ambitious  afpiring  after  high  Things,  which 
not  long  fince  caufed  fuch  a  woful,  fcandalous 
Giddinefs  in  fome  Mens  Confciences,  and 
made  them  turn  round  and  round  from  this  to 
that,  and/r^w  that  to  this,  till  at  length  they 

knew 


at  Chrift-Church,   Oxon.         8  \ 

knew  not  what  Bottom  to  fix  upon.  And 
this,  in  my  Opinion,  is  a  Cafe  that  admits  of 
no  Vindication. 

^ridey  we  know,  (which  is  always  Coufin- 
German  to  Ambition)  is  commonly  reckoned 
the  Fore-runner  of  a  Fall.  It  was  the  devil's 
Sin  and  the  "Devil's  Ruin,  and  has  been  cvei: 
fmce  the  Devil's  Stratagem  ;  who  like  an  ex* 
pert  Wrejiler  ufually  gives  a  Man  a  Lift  be- 
tore  he  gives  him  a  Throw.  But  how  does  he 
do  this  ?  Why  5  by  firfl:  blinding  him  with 
Ambition  5  and  when  a  Man  either  cannot,  or 
will  not  mind  the  Ground  he  ftands  upon,  as 
a  Thing  (forfooth,)  too  m4icb  below  him,  he  15 
then  eafily  juftled  down,  and  thrufl  head- 
long into  the  next  Ditch.  The  Truth  is,  in 
this  Cafe  Men  feem  to  afcend  to  an  high  Sta- 
tion, )uft  as  they  ufe  to  leap  down  a  very 
great  Steep  :  In  both  Cafes  they  fliut  their 
Eyes  firft,  for  in  both  the  Danger  is  very 
dreadful,  and  the  Way  to  venture  upon  it  is 
mt  to  fee  it. 

Yea,  fo  fatally  does  this  touring,  afpiring 
Humour  intoxicate  and  impofe  upon  Men's 
Minds,  that  when  the  Devil  ftands  bobbing 
and  tantalizing  their  gaping  Hopes  with  fome 
Preferment  in  Church  or  State,  they  fhali  do 
the  bafeft,  the  vileft,   and  moft  odious  things 

Vol.  III.  G  ima^i- 


2t  A  Sermon  preached 

imaginable  i  and  that,  not  only  in  Defiance 
of  Confciencc,  but,  which  is  yet  more  im- 
pudent  and  intolerable,  fhail  even  alledge 
Confcience  itlelf  as  the  very  Reafon  for  the 
doing  them  :  So  that  liich  Wretches  fhall  out 
of  meer  Conference  (ihrCooth)  betray  the  Coun- 
try that  bred,  and  the  Church  that  baptized 
them,  and  having  firft  pradifed  a  difpenjing 
^ower  upon  all  Law  within  thenty  fhall  help 
to  let  the  fame  loofe  upon  all  Laws  without 
them  too.  And  when  they  have  done,  fhall 
wipe  their  Mouths,  and  with  as  boon  a  Grace 
and  as  boldaFront  look  the  World  in  the  Face, 
as  if  they  expected  Thanks  for  fuch  Villanies, 
as  a  modeft  Malefador  would  fcarce  prefume 
to  exped  a  Tar  don  for. 

But  as  for  thcfe  ambitious  Animals,  who 
could  thus  fell  their  Credit,  and  their  Confci- 
encCj  wade  through  thick  and  thin,  and  break 
through  ail  that  is  Sacred  and  Civil,  only  to 
make  themfelves  High  and  Great,  I  fhall  fay 
no  more  of  them  but  this,that  inftead  of  being 
advanced  to  what  they  fo  much  defired,  it  is 
well  for  them,  that  they  have  not  been  advan- 
ced to  what  they  fo  highly  deferved.  For  this, 
I  am  fure  of,  that  neither  Tapifls,  nor  Fana- 
ticks  (both  of  them  our  mortal,  implacable 
Enemies)  can  conceive  a  Prayer  more  fully 
4  and 


^/ Ch rift-Church,  Oxon.         83 

and  effedually  for  their  own  Intcrcfl:,  than 
this,  That  the  Church  of  V^n^Uvi A  may  never 
iMnt  fiore  of  ambitious,  Time-ferving  Men. 
And  if  God  fhould  in  his  Anger  to  this  poor 
Church,  and  Nation,  grant  them  this,  they 
doubt  not,  but  in  a  little  Time,  to  grant  j  o^ 
give  themfelves  the  reft.  Let  this  therefore 
be  fixed  upon  as  a  certain  Maxim,  that  Am^ 
bit  ion  fir Ji  blinds  theConfciefice,  and  then  leads 
the  Man  whether  it  will,  and  that  is  in  the 
dired  Courfe  of  it,  to  the  Devil. 

I  know,  there  arc  many  morCj  irregular 
and  corrupt  AfFedions  belonging  to  the  Mind 
of  Man,  and  all  of  them  in  their  Degree  apt 
to  darken  and  obfcurethe  Light  ofConfcience. 
Such  as  are  Wrath  and  Revenge,  Envy  and 
Malice,  Pear  and  Defpair,  with  many  fuch  o- 
thers,  even  too  many  a  great  deal,  to  becroud- 
ed  into  one  Hour's  Difcourfe.  But  the  three 
forementioned,  (which  we  have  been  treating 
of)  are,  doubtlefs,  the  moft  predominant,  the 
moft  potent  in  their  Influence,  and  moft  per- 
nicious in  their  Effeft  :  As  anfwering  to  thofe 
three  principal  Objcds,  which,  of  all  others, 
do  the  moft  abfolutcly  command  2ind  domineer 
over  the  Defires  of  Me  n  ;  to  wit,  thcTleafures 
of  the  World  working  upon  their  SenfuaUty  \ 
the  Profits  of  the  World  upon  their  Covetoiif- 

Q  z  v.efs  h 


84  A  Sermon  preached 

7iefs  j  and  laftly  the  Honours  of  it  upon  thek 
Ambition.  Which  three  powerful  Incenti'ves^ 
meeting  with  thefe  three  violent  Ajfe6itonSi 
are  (as  it  were)  the  great  Trident  in  the 
Tempter's  Hand,  by  which  he  ftrikes  through 
the  very  Hearts  and  Souls  of  Men ;  oi  as  2l 
mighty  threefold  Cord-,  by  which  he  firft  ham- 
pers, and  then  draws  the  wiiole  World  after 
him,  and  that  with  fuch  a  rapid  Swing,  fuch 
an  irrefiftible  Fafcination  upon  the  Under- 
Handings,  as  well  as  Appetites  of  Men,  that 
as  God  faid  heretofore.  Let  there  be  Lights 
and  there  was  Light-.,  fo  this  proud  Rival  of  his 
Creator,  and  Over-turner  of  the  Creation, 
is  (till  faying  in  Defiance  of  him.  Let  there 
be  ^arknefsy  and  accordingly  there  is  'T)ark- 
nefsy  ^arknefsy  upon  the  Mind  and  Reafon  ; 
IDarknefSjM^oti  thejudgment  and  Confcience 
of  all  Mankind.  So  that  Hell  itfelf  feems 
to  be  nothing  elfe,  but  the  Devil's  finifhing 
this  his  great  Work,  and  the  Confummation 
of  that  Tiarknefs  in  another  World,  which  he 
had  fo  fatally  begun  in  this. 

And  now,  to  fum  up  briefly  the  foregoing 

Particulars,   you  have  heard,    of  what  vaft 

and  infinite  Moment  it  is  to  have  a  clear,  im- 

partialy  and  right -judging  Confcience:  Such 

an  one  as  a  Man  may  reckon  himfclf  fafe  in 

the 


^/Chrifl- Church,  Oxon.        8j 

the  Directions  of,  as  of  a  Guide,  that  will  al- 
ways tell  him  Truth,  and  Truth  with  Au- 
thority ;  and  that  the  Eye  of  Confcience  mzy  be 
always  thus  quick  and  lively,  let  conftant 
Ufe  be  fure  to  keep  it  conftantly  open  j  and 
thereby  ready  and  prepared  to  admit  and  let 
in  thofe  Heavenly  Beams,  which  are  always 
ftreamingyi?r^^  fro?n  God  upon  Minds  fitted 
to  receive  them. 

And  to  this  Purpofe,  let  a  Man  fly  from 
every  thing,  which  may  leave  either  a  Fotil- 
nefs,  or  a  Byafs  upon  it  i  for  the  firft  will 
blacken,  and  the  other  will  diftort  it,  and  both 
be  fure  to  darken  it.  Particularly  let  him 
dread  cvcxy grofs  A6iofSin ;  for  one  great  Stai> 
may  as  certainly  and  fpeedily  deftroy  Life  as 
forty  lefTer  Wounds.  Let  him  alfo  carry  a 
jealous  Eye  over  every  growing  Hahit  of  Sin  5 
for  Citftom  is  an ; Over- match  to  Nature y  and 
feldom  conquered  by  Grace  5  and,  above  all, 
let  him  keep  aloof  from  all  Commerce  orFel- 
lowfhip  with  any  vicious  and  bafc  AjfeEiion  5 
efpecially  from  all  Senfuality,  which  is  not 
only  the  Dirt,  but  the  black  Dirty  which  the 
Devil  throws  upon  the  Souls  of  Men ;  accord- 
ingly  let  him  keep  himfelf  untouched  with  the 
hellifh,  unhallowed  Heats  of  Luji,  and  the 
noifomc  Steams  and  Exhalations  of  7;«^^«^<f- 
G  3  ranee. 


26         A  Sermon  preached 

rancCy  which  never  fail  to  leave  a  brutifh 
^Dtikefs  and  Infatuation  behind  them.  Like- 
wife,  let  him  bear  himfclf  above  that  fordid 
and  low  Thing,  that  utter  Contradidion  to 
allGreatnefsof  Mind,  Covet oufnefs  ■-,  let  him 
difenllavehimfelf  from  the  Pelf  of  the  World, 
from  xhz.x.  Amor  feeler attts  habendi ',  for  all 
Love  has  fomething  of  Blmdnefs  attending 
it;  but  the  Love  of  Money  z'i'^zdiTiW-^,  And, 
laftly,  let  him  learn  fo  to  look  upon  the  Ho- 
nours, the  Pomp,and  Greatnefs  of  the  World, 
as  to  look  through  them  too.  Fools  indeed 
are  apt  to  be  blown  up  by  them,  and  to  fa^ 
orifice  all  for  them  j  fometimes  venturing 
their  very  Heads,  only  to  get  a  Feather  in 
their  Caps,  But  wife  Men  inftead  of  look- 
ing above  them,  chufe  rather  to  look  about 
thermw^  within  them,  and  by  fo  doing,  keep 
their  Eyes  always  in  their  Heads :  And  main- 
tain a  noble  Clearnefs  in  one,  and  Steadinefs 
in  the  other.  Thefe,  I  fay,  are  fome  of 
thofe  Ways,  and  Methods,  by  which  this 
great  and  internal  Light,  the  judging  Fa- 
culty of  Confcience,  may  be  preferved  in  its 
native  Vigour  and  Qnicknefs.  And  to  com- 
pleat  the  foregoing  Diredions  by  the  Ad- 
dition of  one  Word  more ,  That  we  may 
the  more  furely  prevent  our  Affe^ions  from 

work- 


^/ Chrift- church,   Oxon.       87 

working  too  much  upon  our  Judgment,  let 
us  wifely  beware  of  all  fuch  Things  as  may 
work  too  ftrongly  upon  our  Affe^ions. 

If  the  Light,  that  is  in  thee  y  be'Darknefs, 
(fays  our  Saviour)  how  great  mtift  that  T>ark- 
nefs  needs  be.  That  is,  how  fatal,  how  de. 
ftruclive!  And  therefore  I  fhall  clofe  up  all 
with  thofe  other  Words  of  our  Saviour, 
John  xii.  While  you  have  the  Light  walk  in 
the  Light  j  fo  that  the  Way  to  have  it  (we 
fee)  is  to  walk  in  it.  That  is,  by  the  Adi- 
ons  of  a  pious,  innocent,  well-govern'd 
Life,  to  cherifh,  heighten,  and  improve  it  i 
for  ftill  fo  much  Innocence,  fo  much  Light : 
And  on  the  other  Side  to  abhor,  and  loath 
whatfoever  may  any  Ways  difcourage,  and 
eclipfe  it ;  as  every  Degree  of  Vice  ailuredly 
will.  And  thus  by  continual  feeding  and 
trimming  oitr  Lamps,  we  fhall  find  that 
this  Blefled  Light  within  its,  will  grow  every 
Day  flronger  and  ftronger,  and  flame  out 
brighter  and  brighter,  'till  at  length  having 
led  us  through  this  Vale  of  ^arknefs  and 
Mortality,  it  Ihall  bring  us  to  thofe  happy 
Manfions  where  there  is  Light  and  Life  for 
evermore. 


G  4  JVhich 


S  8       A  Sermon  preached  Sec, 

Which  God  {the  great  Author  of  both)  of 
his  infinite  Mercy  vouchfafe  to  us  all  5  To 
whom  be  afcribedy  as  is  ?mft:  due,  all  Traife^ 
Might,  Majefiy,  andT>ominion,  both  nowy 
and  for  evermore.     Amen. 


A    SER 


(  h  ) 


SERMON 

Preach'd  at 

Westminster-Ab  bey, 

May  29.   1670, 

Matth.  v.    44. 

But  I  fay  unto  jou^  hove  your  Eaib- 
mies» 

BEFORE  we  defcend  to  the  Profecu-' 
tioii  of  the  Duty  enjoin'd  in  thefc 
Words ;  It  is  requifite  that  we  confider  the 
Scheme  and  Form  of  them  as  they  (land  in  Re- 
lation to  the  Context.  They  are  ufher'd  in  with 
the  adverfative  Particle  iBufl  which  ftands  as  a 

Note 


<)  o  A  Sermon  preached 

Note  of  Oppofition  to  fomething  going  be- 
fore :  And  that  we  have  in  the  immediately 
preceding  Verfe,  Te  have  heard  that  it  hath 
beenfaidj  Thoujhalt  love  thy  Neighbour,  and 
hate  thy  Enemy.  But  I  fay  unto  you,  love  your 
Enemies.  Which  Way  of  Speai^ing  has  given 
Occafion  to  anEnquiry,whetherthe  Duty  here 
enjoined  by  Chrift  be  oppofed  to  the  Mofaick 
Law,  or  only  to  the  Dodrine  of  the  Scribes 
and  Tharifees,  and  their  corrupt  Glofles 
thereupon :  Some  having  made  this  and 
the  next  Chapter,  not  only  a  fuller  Expli- 
cation and  Vindication  of  the  Mofaick  Law, 
but  an  Addition  of  higher  and  perfeder  Rules 
of  Piety  and  Morality  to  it. 

For  the  better  clearing  of  which  Point,  I 
conceive  that  the  Matter  of  all  the  Command- 
ments (the  Fourth  only,  as  it  determines  the 
time  of  God's  folemn  Worfhip  to  the  feventh 
Day, excepted,)  hoi  Natural,  Moral Kight, 
and  by  confequence  carries  with  it  a  neceflfary 
and  eternal  Obligation  j  as  rifing  from  the  un- 
alterable Relation,  that  a  rational  Creature 
bears  either  to  God,  his  Neighbour,  or  him- 
felf.  For  there  are  certain  Rules  of  Deport- 
ment fuggefted  by  Nature  to  each  of  thefe, 
which  to  deviate  from,  or  not  come  up  to?, 
would  be  irrational,  and  confcquently  iinful. 

So 


€t  Chtift-Church,  Oxon.        pi 

So  that  fuch  Duties  can  by  no  Means  owe 
their  firft  Obligation  to  any  new  Precept  given 
by  Chrifl,    but    fpringing    from    an   earlier 
Stock,  obliged  Men  in  all  Ages  and  Places? 
iince  the  World  began.     Forafmuch  as  that 
^^w^r^?/ Habitude  or  Relation  (upon  which  all 
particular  Inftances  of  Duty   are    founded) 
which  Men  bore  to  God,  their  Neighbour,  and 
themfelves,  uponAccount  of  their  being  ratio- 
nal Creatures,  was  univerfally    and    equally 
the  fame  in  all.     So  that  for  a  Man  to  hate 
his  Enemy,  or  to  be  revenge ftil,  or  to  be  angry 
without  a  Caufe,  or  to  [wear  rajhly,   or  by 
Looks,  Words,  or  Actions,  to  behave  himfelf 
lafcivioujly ,  were,  without  Queftion,  always 
Aberrations  from  the  Didates  of  rightly  im- 
proved Reafon  j  and  confequently  in  the  very 
Nature  of  the  things  them  felves  unlawful.  For" 
if  there  were  not  a  naturalEvil  and  Immorality 
in  the  aforefaid  Ads,  nor  a  Goodneis  in  the 
contrary,  but  that  all  this  iflued  from  2ipofitive 
Injundion  of  the  one,  and  Prohibition  of  the 
other  5  what  Reafon  can  be  alligned,  but  that 
God  might  have  commanded  the  faid  Ad:s,and 
made  them^D/zr/Vjinftead  of  forbidding  them  > 
which  yet  certainly  would  be  a  very  flrange, 
or  rather  monftrous  AtTertion,  but  neverthe- 
leis,  by  a  Necelluy  of  Sequel,  unavoidable. 

From 


^z  A  Sermon  preached 

Prom  whence  I  conceive  it  to  be  very  clear, 
that,  if  the  fevcral  Particulars  commanded  or 
forbidden  by  Chrijly  in  that  his  great  Sermon 
upon  the  Mount,  had  a  natural  Good,  or  Evil 
lefpeclively  belonging  to  them  j  Chrijl  thereby 
added  no  new  Precept  to  the  Moral  Law, 
which  eternally  was,  and  will  be  the  fame,, 
as  being  the  unalterable  Standard  orMeafure 
of  the  Behaviour  of  a  rational  Creature  in  all 
its  Relations  and  Capacities. 

For  we  muft  not  think,  that  when  the  Law^ 
cither  by  Precept,  or  Prohibition,  takes  notice 
only  of  the  outward  A6f)  and  the  Gofpel 
afterwards  direds  itfelf  to  the  Thoughts  and 
'Dejires,  the  Motives  and  Caufes  of  the  faid 
A(^,  or  Gain,  when  the  Law  gives  only  a 
^^«^r^/ Precept,  and  the  Gofpel  ailigns  fevcral 
Jf articular  Inftances  reducible  to  the  fame 
general  Injunftion,  that  therefore  the  Gofpel 
gives  fo  many  new  'Preceps  corrective,  or 
perfedivc  of  the  aforefaid  Precepts,  of  the 
Law,  No,  by  no  Means ;  for  it  is  a  Rule 
which  ever  was,  and  ever  ought  to  be  allow- 
ed in  interpreting  the  Divine  Precepts,  that 
every  fuch  Precept  does  virtually ,  and  impli- 
citly y  and  by  a  parity  of  Reafon,  contain  in 
it  more  than  it  exprefly  declares ;  which  is 
io  true,  that  thofe  Perfons,  who  impugn  the 

Per- 


at  Weftminfter'-Abbey.  p  | 

t*erfedion  of  the  old  Moral  Precepts,  and  up- 
on that  Account  oppofe  the  Precepts  of  Chrift 
to  them,  do  yet  find  it  neceflary  to  mamtain, 
that  even  the  Precepts  of  oar  Saviour  himfelf 
ought  to  extend  their  Obligation  to  many 
more  Particulars  than  are  mentioned  in  them, 
and  yet  are  not  to  be  look'd  upon,  as  at  all 
the  lefs  perfed  upon  that  Account.  Which 
Rule  of  Interpreting  being  admitted,  and 
made  Ufe  of  as  to  the  Precepts  of  the  AZif^ 
Teftament,  why  ought  it  not  to  take  Place  in 
thofc  of  the  Old  alfo  ?  And  if  it  ought  (as 
there  can  be  no  Shadow  of  Reaion  to  the  con- 
trary) I  dare  undertake,  that  there  will  be 
no  Need  of  multiply  ing  oiNew^receptsin  the 
Gofpel,  as  often  as  the  ^aptfis  and  Soc'mians 
have  a  Turn  to  ferve  by  them.  For  furely 
every  new  Inflmce  of  Obedience  does  not  of 
Neceflity  infer  a  new  'Precept  3  and  for  that 
Rcafon  we  may  and  do  admit  of  feveral  of  the 
former  without  any  need  of  aflerting  the  1  atter. 
The  Unity  of  a  Precept  is  founded  in  the^^- 
»^r/2/Unity  of  its  Objedi,  and  every  fuch  Ge- 
neral comprehends  many  Particulars.  The 
very  Inftitution  of  the  Two  Chriftian  Sacra- 
ments, is  rather  the  Aflignation  of  Two  new 
Inftances  of  Obedience  than  of  Two  new  Tre- 
cepts.  For  Chrift  having  once  authentically 
declared    that  God    would   be  worfhipped 

by 


P4  -^  Sermon  preached 

by  thofc  two  folemn  Ads,  the  antecedents^-" 
;2^r^/ Precept  of  worfhipping  God  according 
to  his  own  Will,  was  fufficient  to  oblige  us  to 
thefe  two  y&^r//a//^r  Branches  of  it  being  thus 
declared  j  and  indeed  to  as  many  more  as 
fliould  from  Time  to  Time  be  fuggefted  to 
our  Practice.  For  otherwife,  if  the  Multi- 
plication of  new  particular  Inflames  of  Duty, 
fhould  multiply  Precepts  too,  it  would  render 
them  innumerable,  which  would  be  extream* 
ly  abfurd  and  ridiculous. 

And  now,  all  that  has  been  here  alledged 
by  us  againft  the  Neceility  of  holding  any 
new  Precepts  added  to  the  Old  Moral  Lai^;,  as 
it  obliged  all  Mankind,  (whether  notified  to 
them  by  xh^  Light  of  Nature  only, or  by  Reve- 
lation too)  I  reckon  may  as  truly  be  affirmed 
of  the  Law  of  Mofes  alfo,  (ftill  fiippojing  it  a 
true  and  perfed  Tranfcript  of  the  faid  Moral 
Law,  as  we  have  all  the  Reafon  in  the  World 
to  believe  it  was ;)  for  were  it  otherwife,  it 
would  be  hard  to  fhew,  what  Advantage  it 
could  be  to  the  Jewijlo  Church  to  have  that 
Law  delivered  to  them  j  but  on  the  contrary 
it  muft  needs  have  been  rather  a  Snare  than  a 
Privilege  or  Help  to  them,  as  naturally  giving 
them  Occafion  to  look  upon  that  as  the  moft 
pcrfed  Draught  of  their  Duty,when  yet  it  re- 
quired 


at  Weftminfter* Abbey.  9  j 

quired  of  them  a  lower  Degree  of  Obedience 
than  Nature  had  before  obHged  them  to  j  it 
being  a  Thing  in  itfelf  moft  rational,  to  fup- 
pofe  the  latter  Declaration  of  a  Lcgillator's 
Mind,  to  be  ftill  the  fuller  and  more  aurhcn., 
tick.  And  therefore  if  other  Duties  had  been 
incumbent  upon  the  Jewijlj  Church  by  the 
Law  of  Nature,  befides  what  were  contained 
in  the  Law  oi  Mofes  j  it  is  not  imaginable 
how  they  could  avoid  the  OmilTion  of  thofe 
Duties  while  they  acquiefced  in  the  Diredi- 
ons  of  Mofes  as  a  full  and  fufficient  Rule  of 
Obedience,  and  had  fo  much  Reafon  fo  to 
do.  Which  yet  furely  muft  have  rendred  the 
whole  Mofaick  Difpenfation  by  no  Means 
agreeable  either  to  the  Wifdom  or  Goodnefs 
of  God  towards  his  chofen  People. 

For  though  indeed  the  Moral  Law  as  a  Co- 
venant promifing  Life  upon  Condition  of  ab- 
foiute  indcfedive  Obedience,  be  now  of  no 
Ufe  to jtt^ftify,  (Sin  having  difabled  it  for  that 
Ufc  through  the  Incapacity  of  the  Subjed)  yet 
as  it  is  a  Rule  dire^fing  our  Obedience,  and  a 
i^^i£;^/W/w^toit,it  ftill  continues  in  fullForcc, 
and  will  do  as  long  as  humane  Nature  endures. 
And  as  for  the  abfolute  Perfedion  of  it  in  the 
Quality  of  a  Rule  direEiing^  and  a  Law  ob- 
Ugingy  can  that  be  more  amply  declared,  and 

irre- 


^6  A  Sermon  preached 

irrefragably  proved  than  as  it  ftands  ftated  and 
reprefented  to  us,  in  the  vaft  Latitude  of  that 
Injundion,  Deut.  vi.  5.  and  Levit.  xix.  18. 
Thou  jhalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  alt 
thy  Heart,  with  all  thy  Soul,  and  with  all 
thy  Strength,  and  with  all  thy  Mind^  and  thy 
Neighbour  as  thyfelf.  I  fay,  is  there  any 
higher  Degree  of  Obedience  which  the  Na- 
ture of  Man  is  capable  of  yielding  to  his 
Maker  than  this? 

Neverthelefs  there  are  fomc  Artifts,  I  muft 
confefs,  who  can  draw  any  Thing  out  of  any 
Thing,  who  anfwer,  that  thefe  Words  arc 
not  to  be  underftood  of  absolutely  all,  that  a 
Man  can  doj  but  of  all  that  he  can  be  enga. 
ged  to  do  by  the  Law  as  propofed  under  fuch 
an  Oeconomy,  namely,  as  enforced  with  tem" 
pofal^romifes  and  Threatnings ;  fo  that  upon 
thefe.  Terms,  to  love  God  with  all  thy  Hearty 
&c.  is  to  love,  him  with  the  utmoft  of  fuch  an 
Obedience,  as  Laws  feconded  with  temporal 
Elejjings  ^nd  Curfes  are  able  to  produce.  But 
to  this  I  anfwer  j 

Firjl,  That  the  Argument  bears  upon  a 
Suppofition,  by  no  Means  to  be  admitted,  to 
wit,  that  the  Law  of  Mofes  proceeded  only 
upon  temporal  Rewards  and  Punilhments : 
Which  is  molt  falfc,    and  contrary  to  the 

conftan^ 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  97 

conftantly  received  Dodrinc  of  the  Chriftian 
Church ;  and  particularly  of  the  Church  of 
England,  as  it  is  declared  in  the  fixth  of  her 
Articles,     But 

Secondly,  I  add  further;  That  the  obliging 
Power  of  the  Law  is  neither  founded  in,  nor 
to  be  meafured  by  the  Rewards  and  ^unijh- 
ments  annexed  to  it  j  but  by  therole^;/r/^<?r/Vy 
of  the  Law-giver  fpringing  from  the  Relation 
(which  he  bears)  of  a  Creator  and  Gover- 
nour,  to  Mankind,  and  confequently  of  the 
entire  dependance  of  Mankind  upon  him  ;  by 
virtue  whereof  they  owe  him  the  utmoft  Ser- 
vice, that  their  Nature  renders  them  capable 
of  doing  him.  And  that,  I  am  furc,  is  capa- 
ble of  fcrving  him  at  an  higher  rate,  than 
the  Confidcration  of  any  Temporal  Rewards 
or  Punifhments  can  raife  it  to  ;  fincc  often- 
times the  bare  love  of  Virtue  itfelf  will  carry 
a  Man  further  than  thefe  can  :  But  however 
it  is  certain  that  Eternal  Rewards  can  dofoj 
which  yet  add  nothing  to  our  natural  Powers 
of  obeying,  tho'  they  draw  them  forth  to  an 
higher  pitch  of  Obedience.  And  can  we  then 
imagine  that  God  would  fink  his  Law  below 
thefe  Powers,  by  leaving  fome  Degree  of  Love 
and  Service  to  himfclf  abfolutely  within  the 
Strength  and  Power  of  Man,  v.  hich  he  did 

Vol.  Ill,  H  not 


c)  8  A  Sermon  preached 

not  think  fit  by  the  Mofaick  Law  to  oblige 
him  to  (when  yet  our  Saviour  himfelf  pro- 
mifcd  eternal  Life  to  one,  upon  fuppofal  of 
his  Performance  of  this  Law.)  Luke  x.  28. 
This  certainly  is  very  ftrange  Divinity.  But 
after  all,  fomc  may  poflibly  reply,  does  not 
the  Golpcl  enjoin  us  that  Perfedion  and 
height  of  Charity y  which  the  Law  never  did, 
in  commanding  us  to  lay  down  our  Life  for 
our  Brother?  i  John  iii.  16. 

To  which  I  anfwer.  That  this  is  a  Precept 
by  no  means  abfoliite  and  univerfal,  but  al- 
ways to  be  limited  by  thefe  two  Conditions^ 
^iz-.  Firft,  That  the  Glory  of  God,  and  Se- 
condlj.  That  the  eternal  Welfare  of  the  Soul 
of  our  Brother  indifpenfably  requires  this  of 
usj  upon  the  fuppofal  of  either  of  which  I  af- 
firm, it  was  as  really  a  ^uty  from  the  Begin- 
ning of  the  World,  as  it  was  from  that  very 
time,  that  the  Apoftle  wrote  thefe  Words  j  the 
very  common  Voice  of  Reafon  upon  thefe 
Terms,  and  under  thefe  Circumftances,  dida- 
ting  and  enjoining  no  lefs,  as  founding  itfelf 
upon  thcie  two  felf-evident  and  undeniable 
Principles,  ^7^.  That  the  Life  of  the  Creature 
ought,  when  Neceflity  calls,  to  be  facrificed 
to  th  e  Glory  of  him  who  gave  itj  and  Secondly > 
that  we  ought  to  perfcr  the  eternal  Good  of 

our 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.  pp 

our  Neighbour  or  Brother,  before  the  high- 
eft  temporal  Good  of  ourfelves.   Which  ma- 
nifeftly  fhews,  that  this  high  Inftance  of  Cha- 
rity (as  extraordinary  as  it  appears)  did  not 
at  length  begin  to  be  a  Duty  by  any  Evange- 
lical Sandion,  but  was  ib  ever  fince  there  was 
fuch  Creatures  in  the  World  as  Men,  and  con- 
fequently  that  all,  both  Je-ji;5  and  Gentiles^ 
(whether  they  adually  knew  fo  much  or  no) 
would  have  finned  againft  this  Duty  of  Cha- 
rity, fhould  they  have  refufed  to  promote  the 
Glory  of  their   Maker,  or  prevent  the  De- 
ftrudion   of  their  Brother's  immortal  Soul> 
being  called  thereto,  by  quitting  this  tempo- 
ral Life  for  the  fake  of  either.     And  confc- 
quently  that  this  is  no  fuch  new  Precept  to  be 
reckoned  by  Anno  'Dominiy  but  as  old  as  the 
Obligations  of  Charity,  and  of  Right  Reafon, 
difcourfing  and  ading  upon  the  Diclates  of 
that  Noble  Principle. 

And  now  to  apply  this  general  Difcourfeto 
the  Particulars  mentioned  in  this  Chapter:  I 
affirm  that  Chrift  does  by  no  means  here  fet 
himfelf  agamft  the  Law  of  Alofes  as  a  Law 
either  faiiky  or  imperfeSf,  and  upon  thofe  Ac- 
counts needing  either  CojreBion,  or  Addition^ 
but  only  oppofedthe  cofrbptCommentsotthe 
Scribes  and  Tharifces  upon  the  Law,  as  re- 
H  2  ally 


•  10  o  A  Sermoyi  preached 

ally  Contrddidiions  to  it,  rather  than  Expoji- 
tions  of  it  i  and  that  for  thefe  following 
Reafons. 

Firft,  Becaufe  the  Words  in  this  Sermon 
mentioned  and  oppofed  by  Chrift,  are  mani- 
fcftly,  for  the  moft  part,  not  the  Words  of 
the  Law  itfelf,  but  of  the  Scribes  T^ndTharifees. 
As  for  inftancc,  IFhofoever  jhall  kill,  pall  be 
in  danger  of  the  Judgment.  And  again  in  the 
next  ^QiiCjHe  fiallbe  in  danger  of  the  Coun- 
cil. They  all  refer  to  the  Tharifees  way  of 
exprefTing  themfelves ;  which  manifcftly 
ihews,  that  it  was  their  Doctrine  and  Words 
which  he  was  now  difputing  againft,  and  not 
the  Law  itfelf  j  which  this  is  by  no  means 
the  Language  of. 

Secondly y  That  Exprefllon,  That  it  iz'as 
faid-^  by  thofe  of  old  Time,  was  not  uttered 
by  Chrift  in  his  own  Peribn,  but  by  way 
o^Trofopopccia,  in  the  Perfon  of  the  ;5'rri^^j' 
and  Tharifees,  whofc  Cuftom  it  was  to  preface 
and  authorize  their  Ledures  and  Glofles  to  the 
People,  with  the  pompous  plea  of  Antiquity 
and  Tradition.  As  if  Chrift  has  bcfpokenthem 
thus.  You  have  been  accuftomed  indeed  to  hear 
the  Scribes  and  "Pharifees  tell  you,  that  This 
and  This  was  faid  by  thofe  of  old  Time,  but  not. 
I  Some  render  is  [to  ihofc.'] 

withftanding 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.       loi 

wlthftanding  all  thefc  Pretences!  tell  you  that 
the  Cafe  is  much  othcrwife,  and  that  the 
true  Account  and  Senfeof  the  Law.is  Thus 
and  Thus.  This  I  fay  is  the  natural  purport 
and  meaning  of  our  Saviour's  Words,  through- 
out this   Chapter. 

Thirdly-,  That  Paflage  in  the  43d  Verje 
of  the  fame  :  Te  have  heard  that  it  hath 
been  f aid,  ye  Jhall  love  your  Neighbour  and 
hate  your  Enemy ,  is  To  far  from  being  the 
Words  of  the  Alofaick  Law,  that  Mofes  com- 
mands the  clean  contrary  to  the  latter  Claufci 
Exod,  xxiii.  24.  If  thou  fee  ft  thine  Enemy  s 
Ox  going  aflray,  thou  fn  alt  fur  ely  bring  it  back 
to  him  again  i  and  if  thou  fee  the  Afs  of  him 
who  hateth  the  lying  under  his  Burthen, 
thou  jhalt  furely  help  him.  And  if  this  was 
the  Voice  of  the  Law  then,  can  we  imagine 
that  it  would  make  it  a  xMan's  Duty  to  re- 
lieve his  Enemies  Ox,  or  his  Afs,  and  at  the 
fame  time  allow  him  to  hate  or  malign  his 
Perfon  ?  This  certainly  is  unaccountable  and 
incredible. 

Fourthly,  If  Chrift  oppofed  his  Precepts  to 
thofe  of  the  Mofaick  Law,  then  God  fpcaking 
by  Chrift  muft  contradict  himfclfas  fpeaking 
by  Mofes.  For  whatfoever  Mofes  fpoke,  he 
fpoke  as  the  immediate  Dictates  of  God,  froai 
H  3  whom 


10  2,        A  SerrMn  preached 

whom  he  received  the  Law.  But  this  is 
abfurd,  and  by  no  means  confiftent  with  the 
Divine  Holinefs  and  Veracity. 

Fifthly,  and  laftly,  Chrift  in  all  this  Dif- 
courfc  never  calls  any  one  of  the  Dodrines 
oppofed  by  him  the  Words  of  Mofes,  or  of 
the  LaWy  but  only  the  Right eoufnefs  of  the 
Scribes  and  Tharifees,  which  fhews  that  they, 
and  they  only,  were  the  Perfons  with  whom 
he  managed  this  whole  Conteft. 

Let  this  therefore  reft  with  us  as  a  firm  Con- 
clufion  5  That  Mofes  and  Chrifi  were  at  per- 
fect Agreement,  whatever  the  Controverfy 
was  between  him  and  the  Tharifees.  And  fo 
from  the  Scheme  and  Context  of  the  Words, 
I  pafs  to  the  Duty  enjoined  in  them,  which  is 
to, love  our  Enemies :  The  Difcuflion  of  which 
I  fliall  caft  under  thefe  three  general  Heads. 

Firfiy  I  fhall  fhew  negatively  what  is  not 
that  Lovey  which  we  are  here  commanded 
to  fhew  our  Enemies. 

Secondly,  I  fhall  fhew  pofitively  wherein 
it  does  confifl. 

Thirdly,  Ifhall  produce  Arguments  to  en- 
force it. 

And  firft,  for  the  Firjl  of  thefe  -,  what  is 
not  that  Love,  which  we  muft  fhew  our 
Enemies :  this  we  fhall  find  to  exclude  fe- 

2  Ycra^ 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.       103 

veral  Things  which  would  fain  wear  this 
Name. 

I.  As  firft:  to  treat  an  Enemy  with  a  fair 
Deportment  and  amicable  Language,  is  not 
the  Z>d?i;^  here  enjoined  by  Chrift.  Love  is  a 
thing  that  fcorns  to  dwell  any  where  but  in 
the  Heart.  The  Tongue  is  a  thing  made  for 
Words,  but  what  Reality  is  there  in  a  Voice> 
what  Subftance  in  a  Sound  ?  and  Words  arc 
no  more.  The  Kindnefs  of  the  Heart  nevei-* 
kills,  but  that  of  the  Tongue  often  does.  And 
in  an  ill  Senfe  's^foft  Anfuuer  may  fomctimes 
break  the  Bones.  He  who  fpeaks  me  well, 
proves  himfelf  a  Rhetorician  or  a  Courtier ; 
but  that  is  not  to  be  a  Friend. 

Was  ever  the  Hungry  fed,  or  the  Naked 
cloathed  with  good  Looks  or  fair  Speeches  ? 
thefc  are  but  thin  Garments,  to  keep  out  the 
Cold,  and  but  a  (lender  Repaft  to  conjure 
down  the  Rage  of  a  craving  Appetite.  My 
Enemy  perhaps  is  ready  to  fcarve  or  perifh 
through  Poverty,  and  I  tell  him  I  am  heartily 
glad  to  fee  him,  and  fhould  be  "very  ready  to 
ferve  hirfty  but  ftill  my  Hand  is  clofe,  and  my 
Purfe  fhut ,  I  neither  bring  him  to  my  Tablc^ 
nor  lodge  him  under  my  Roof  5  he  asks  for 
Bread,  and  I  give  him  a  Complement,  a  thing 
indeed  not  iohard  as  a  Stone,  but  altogether 
H  4  as 


10  4        ^  Sermcn  preached 

zs^rj.  I  treat  him  with  Art  and  Out- fide  • 
and  laftly  at  parting,  with  all  the  Ceremonies 
of  Dcarnefs,  I  fhake  him  by  the  Hand,  but 
put  nothing  into  it.  In  a  word,  I  play  with 
his  Diftrefs,  and  dally  with  that  which  will 
not  be  dallied  with,  Want  and  Mifery,  and 
a  clamorous  Necellity. 

For  will  fair  Words  and  a  courtly  Beha- 
viour pay  Debts  and  difcharge  Scores  ?  If  they 
could,  there  is  a  fort  of  Men  that  would  not 
be  Co  much  in  debt  as  they  are.  Can  a  Man 
look  and  fpeak  himfelf  out  of  his  Creditors 
Hands?  Surely  then,  if  my  Words  cannot  do 
this  for  myfelf,  neither  can  they  do  it  for  my 
Enemy.  And  therefore  this  has  nothing  of 
the  Love  fpoken  of  in  the  Text.  It  is  but  a 
Scene  and  a  meer  Mockery,  for  the  receiving 
that  cannot  make  my  Enemy  at  all  the  richer, 
the  giving  of  which  makes  me  not  one  peny 
the  poorer.  It  is  indeed  the  Paihion  of  the 
World  thus  to  amufe  Men  with  empty  Ca- 
relTes,  and  to  feaft  them  with  Words  and 
Air,  Looks,  and  Legs  j  nay,  and  it  has  this 
peculiar  Privilege  above  all  other  Fafhions, 
that  it  never  alters;  but  certainly  no  Man 
ever  yet  quenched  his  Thirft  with  locking  up- 
on a  golden  Cup,  nor  made  a  Meal  with  the 
outfide  of  a  Lordly  Diih, 

But 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  105 

But  we  are  not  to  reft  here  ;  fair  Speeches 
and  Looks  are  not  only  very  infignificant  as 
to  the  real  Effedls  of  Love,  but  are  for  the  moft 
part  the  Inftruments  of  Hatred  in  the  Execu- 
tion of  the  greateft  Mifchiefs.  Few  Men  arc 
to  be  ruined  till  they  are  made  confident  of  the 
contrary  :  and  this  cannot  be  done  by  Threats 
and  Rough  ncfs,  and  owning  the  Mifchief  that 
a  Man  defigns;  but  the  Pit- fall  muft  be  cover- 
ed to  invite  the  Man  to  venture  over  it ;  all 
things  muft  be  fweetned  with  Profeflions  of 
Love,  friendly  Looks,  and  Embraces.  For  it 
is  Oyl  that  whets  the  Razor,  and  the  fmooth- 
eft  Edge  is  ftill  the  fharpeft  :  they  are  the  Com- 
placencies of  an  Enemy  that  kill,  the  clofcft 
Hugs  that  ftifle,  and  Love  muft  be  pretended 
before  Malice  can  be  eff'edually  pradifed.  In 
a  word,  he  muft  get  into  his  Heart  with  fair 
Speeches  and  ^romifeSj  before  he  can  come 
at  it  with  his  T>agger.  For  furely  no  Mati 
fifties  with  a  bare  Hook,  or  thinks  that  the 
Net  itfelf  can  be  any  Enticement  to  the  Bird. 

But  now,  if  thefc  outward  fhews  of  Fairncfs 
are  ftiort  of  the  Love  which  we  ov/e  to  our 
Enemies ;  What  can  we  fay  of  thofe,  who  have 
not  arrived  fo  far  as  thcfe,  and  yet  pretend  to 
be  Friends?  Difdain  and  Ditlance,  lour  Looks 
and  ftiarp  Words  are  all  the  Expreftions  of 

Friendlhip 


io6  A  Sermon  preached 

Friendfhip  that  fome  Natures  can  manifeft.  I 
confefs,  where  real  Kindnefles  are  done,  thefe 
circumftantial  Garnitures  of  Love  (as  I  may 
fo  call  them)  may  be  difpenfed  with ;  and  it 
is  better  to  have  a  rough  Friend  than  a  fawn- 
ing Enemy :  but  thofe  who  neither  do  good 
turns,  nor  give  good  looks,  nor  fpeak  good 
words,  have  a  Love  ftrangely  fubtil  and  meta. 
phyfical :  for  other  poor  Mortals  of  an  ordinary 
Capacity  arc  forced  to  be  ignorant  of  that 
which  they  can  neithcry^^,  hear^feely  nor  un- 
derfiand.  And  thus  much  for  the  firft  Negative. 
The  Love  that  we  are  to  fhew  to  Enemies j  is 
not  a  fair  external  courtly  deportment ;  it  is 
not  fuch  a  thing  as  may  be  learnt  in  a  Dancing 
School,  nor  in  thofe  Shops  of  Fallacy  and  Dif- 
fuiiulation,  the  Courts  and  Palaces  of  great 
Men,  where  Mens  Thoughts  and  Words  ftand 
at  an  infinite  diftance  ;  and  their  Tongues 
and  Minds  hold  no  Correfpondence  or  Inter- 
courfe  with  one  another. 

2.  Fair  'Promifes  are  not  the  Love,  that  our 
Saviour  here  commands  us  to  fhew  our  Ene- 
mies. And  yet  thefe  are  one  Step  and  Ad- 
vance above  the  former :  for  many  fair  Speech- 
es may  be  given,  many  courteous  Harangues 
uttered,  and  yet  no  Promife  made.  And  it  is 
worth  obferving  how  fome  great  Ones  often 

delude. 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.  107 

delude,  and  fimple  ones  fufFer  themfelvcs  to  be 
deluded,  by  generalDiicourfes  andExpreflions 
of  Courtely.  ^'-  As,  take  you  no  Care,  I  will 
"  provide  for  you.  I  will  never  fee  you  want. 
"  Leave  your  Bufinefs  in  my  Hands,  and  I  will 
"  manage  it  with  as  much  or  more  Concern 
*'  than  you  could  yourfelf.  What  need  you 
"  infift  fo  much  upon  this  or  that  in  particu- 
"  lar.  I  defign  better  things  for  you.  "  But 
all  this  while  there  is  no  particular  determi- 
nate thing  promifed,  fo  as  to  hold  fuch  an 
one  by  any  real  folid  Engagement  (fuppofing 
that  his  Promifes  were  fuch)  but  perhaps  when 
the  next  Advantage  comes  in  the  way,  the 
Man  is  forgot,  and  balked  :  Yet  ftill  thofe  ge- 
neral Speeches  hold  as  true  as  ever  they  did, 
and  fo  will  continue  notwithftanding  all  par- 
ticular Defeats  5  as  indeed  being  never  calcu- 
lated for  any  thing  elfc  but  to  keep  up  the  Ex- 
pedation  of  eafy  Peribns ;  to  feed  them  for 
the  prefent,  and  to  fail  them  in  the  ifliie. 

But  now  as  thefe  empty  glolllng  Words  are 
fhort  oi^romifes-,  fo  Promifes  are  equally 
fhort  of  '^Performances.  Concerning  both 
which  I  fhall  fay  this,  that  there  is  no  wife 
Man,  but  had  rather  have  had  one  Promife 
than  a  thoufand  fair  Words,  and  one  Perfor- 
mance than  ten  thoufand  Promifes.  For  what 

Trouble 


io8  A  Sermon  preached 

Trouble  is  it  to  proniifc,  what  Charge  is  it  to 
fpend  a  little  Breath,  for  a  Man  to  give  one 
his  Word,  who  never  intends  to  give  him  any 
thing  elfe?  and  yet  according  to  the  Mcafures 
of  the  World  this  muft  fometimes  pafs  for  an 
high  piece  of  Love  j  and  many  poor  unex- 
rienced  believing  Souls,  who  have  moreHo- 
nefty  than  Wit,  thmk  themfelves  wrapt  up 
into  the  third  Heaven,  and  actually  pofleflcd 
of  fome  notable  Preferment,  when  they  can 
fay,  1  have  fuch  a  great  TerforisTromifeyfor 
ftich  or  fuch  a  thing.  Have  they  fo  ?  Let  them 
fee  if  fuch  a  Promife  will  pay  Rent,  buy  Land, 
and  maintain  them  like  Gentlemen.  It  is  at 
the  bed:  but  a  future  Contingent  5  for  either 
the  Man  may  die,  or  his  Intercft  may  fail, 
or  his  Mind  may  change,  or  ten  thoufand  Ac- 
cidents may  intervene.     Promifcs  are  a  Dyet 
which  none  ever  yet  thrived  by,  and  a  Man 
may  feed  upon  them  heartily,  and  never  break 
his  Faft.     In  a  word,  I   may  fay  of  human 
Promifes,  what  Expofitors  fay  of  divine  Pro- 
phecies, That  they  are  never  under fiood  till 
they  come  to  be  fulfdled. 

But  how  fpeaks  the  Scripture  of  thefe  Mat- 
ters ?     V/hy  in  Rom.  xii.  20.  If  thine  Ene- 
my hunger  feed  him^  if  he  thirfigive  him  drink- . 
It  i.s  nor,  promife  him  Meat  and  Drink  a 
2.  Week 


at  Wcftminftcr- Abbey.         109 

Week  hence,  that  is  perhaps  two  Days  after 
he  is  dead  with  Thirft  and  Hunger.  He  who 
lives  only  upon  Reverfions,  and  maintains 
himfelf  with  Hope,  and  lias  nothing  to  cover 
him  but  the  Cloaths  of  dead  MeUy  and  the 
^romifes  of  the  Livings  will  find  juft  as 
much  Relief  from  them,  as  a  Man  in  the 
depth  of  Winter  feels  the  Heat  of  the  fol- 
lowing Summer. 

But  bare  Promifes  are  fo  far  from  anfwer- 
ing  Chrift's  Precept  of  loving  our  Enemies, 
that  if  they  are  not  realiz'd  in  Deeds,  they  be- 
come a  Plague  and  a  great  Calamity.  For  they 
raife  an  Expedation,  which,  unfatisfied  or  de- 
feated, is  the  greateft  of  Torments,  they  be- 
tray a  Man  to  a  fallacious  Dcpendance,  which 
bereaves  him  of  the  Succours  of  his  other  En- 
deavours, and  in  the  iflue  leaves  him  to  inherit 
the  fhamc  and  mifery  of  aDifappointment,  and 
unable  to  fay  any  thing  elfe  for  himfelf,  bur 
that  he  was  credulous,  and  the  Promifor  faUc 

3.  But  thirdly  andlaftly,  to  advance  a  de- 
gree yet  higher,  to  do  one  or  two  kind  Offices 
for  an  Enemy,  is  not  to  fulfil  the  Precept  of 
loving  him.  He  who  clothes  a  nakedMan  with 
a  Pair  of  Gloves,  and  adminifters  to  one  pe- 
rifhing  with  Thirft-,  a  drop  or  two  of  Water? 
reaches  not  the  Mcafurc  of  his  Ncceflit}', 

buC 


no  A  Sermon  preached 

but  inftead  of  relieving,  only  upbraids  his 
Want,  and  paffcs  ajeft  upon  his  Condition. 
It  is  like  pardoning  a  Man  the  Debt  of  a 
Peny,  and  in  the  mean  Time  fueing  him  fierce- 
ly for  a  Talent.  Love  is  then  only  of  reali- 
ty and  value  when  it  deals  forth  Benefits  in  a 
full  proportion  to  ones  need  :  and  when  it 
fhews  itfelf  both  in  Univerfality  and  Con- 
ftancy.  Otherwife  it  is  only  a  Trick  to  ferve 
a  Turn,  and  carry  on  a  Defign, 

For  he  who  would  take  a  cleanly,  unfufpec- 
ed  way  to  ruin  his  Adverfary,  mufl  pave  the 
way  to  his  Deflruction  withfomeCourtefics  of 
a  lighter  fort,  the  Senfe  of  which  fhall  take 
him  off  from  his  Guard,  his  Warinefs,  and 
Sufpicion,  and  fo  lay  him  open  to  fuch  a  Blow, 
as  fhail  deflroy  him  at  once.  The  skilful 
Rider  flrokes  and  pleafes  the  unruly  Horfc, 
only  that  he  may  come  fo  near  him,  as  to  get 
the  Bit  into  his  Mouth,  and  then  he  rides, 
and  rules,  and  domineers  over  him  at  his  Plea- 
fure.  So  he  who  hares  his  Enemy  with  a  Cun- 
ning equal  to  his  Malice,  will  not  flrain  to 
do  this  or  that  good  Turn  for  him,  fo  long 
as  it  does  not  thwart,  but  rather  promote 
the  main  Defign  of  his  utter  Subverfion.  For 
all  this  is  but  like  the  helping  a  Man  over 
the  Stile,  who  is  going  to  be  hanged,  which 

furely. 


at  Weftmlnftcr- Abbey.         1 1 1 

Turely  is  no  very  great  or  difficult  piece  of 
Civility. 

In  the  Reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  we  read 
of  one  whom  the  Grandees  of  the  Court 
procured  to  be  made  Secretary  of  State,  only 
to  break  his  Back  in  the  Bufmcfs  of  the 
Queen  of  Scots^  whofe  Death  they  were 
then  projedling.  Like  true  Courtiers  they 
firft  engage  him  in  that  fatal  Scene,  and 
then  defert  him  in  it,  ufing  him  only  as 
a  Tool  to  do  a  prefent  State  Job,  and  then 
to  be  reproach'd  and  ruin'd  for  what  he 
had  done.  And  a  little  Obfervation  of  the 
World  may  Ihew  us,  there  is  not  only  a 
Courfc  of  Beheading,  or  Hanging,  but  al- 
fo  of  Preferring  Men  out  of  the  IVay.  But 
this  is  not  to  love  an  Enemy,  but  to  hate 
him  more  artificially.  He  is  ruined  more 
fpeciouQy  indeed,  but  not  lefs  efficaciouily 
than  if  he  had  been  laid  faft  in  a  Dungeon, 
or  banifhed  his  Country,  or  by  a  ^Packt 
Jury  difpatched  into  another  World. 

2.  And  thus  having  done  with  the  Ne- 
gative--,  I  come  now  to  the  fecond  Gene- 
ral Thing  propo  fed  :  Namely,  to  Ihew/^- 
fitively  what  is  included  in  the  Duty  of 
loving  our  Enemies. 


It 


1 1  z  A  Sermon  preached 

It  includes  thefe  Three  Things. 

I.  A  difcharging  the  Mind  of  all  Rancour 
and  Virulence  towards  an  Adverfary.  The 
Scripture  moll:  fignihcantly  calls  it  the  Leaven 
of  Malice,  and  we  know,  that  is  of  a  fprcad- 
ing  and  fermenting  Nature,  and  will  in  Time 
difFuie  a  Sourncfs  upon  a  Man's  whole  Beha- 
viour: But  we  will  fuppofe  (which  is  yet 
feldom  found)  that  a  Man  has  fuch  an  abfo- 
lute  Empire  and  Command  over  his  Heart, 
as  for  ever  to  ftifle  his  Difgufts,  and  to  ma- 
nage his  Anions  in  a  conftant  Contradidi. 
on  to  his  AfFedlions,  and  to  maintain  a  friend- 
ly Converfe,  while  he  is  hot  with  the  Ran- 
cour of  an  Enemy  5  yet  all  this  is  but  the  My- 
ftery  of  DiHimulation,  and  to  aci  a  'Party  in- 
ftead  of  ading  a  Friend. 

Befidcs  the  Trouble  and  Anxiety  to  the 
very  Perfon  who  thus  behaves  himfelf.  Por 
Enmity  is  areftlefsThing,  and  not  to  bedif- 
fembled  without  iome  Torment  to  the  Mind 
that  entertains  it.  It  is  more  eafily  removed 
than  covered.  It  is  as  if  a  Man  fliould  en- 
deavour to  keep  the  Sparks  from  flying  out 
of  a  Furnace,  or  as  if  a  Birth  ftiould  be  flop- 
ped when  it  is  ripe  and  ready  for  Delivery, 
which  furely  would  be  a  Pain  greater  than 


that  of  brin^ins;  forth. 


He 


at  Wcftminfter-Abbey.        113 

He  who  is  rcfolved  to  hate  his  Enemy,  and 
yet  refolves  not  to  fhew  ir,  has  turned  the 
Edge  of  his  Hatred  inwards,  and  becomes  a 
Tyrant  and  an  Enemy  to  himfeh^,  he  could 
not  wifh  his  mortal  Advcrfary  a  greater 
Mifery,  than  thus  to  carry  a  Mind  always 
big  and  fwelling,  and  ever  ready  to  burft? 
and  yet  never  to  give  it  vent. 

But  on  the  other  fide,  it  is  no  Pain  for  n 
Man  to  appear  what  he  is,  and  to  declare  a 
real  Principle  of  Love  infenfihle  Demonftra- 
tions :  Docs  a  Man  therefore  find  that  both 
his  Duty  and  his  Intereft  require,  that  he 
(hould  deport  himfelf  with  all  /igns  of  Love 
to  his  Enemies?  Let  him  but  take  this  eafy 
Courfe  as  to  entertain  the  Thing  in  his 
Heart,  which  he  would  manifcft  in  his  Con- 
verfe,  and  then  he  w^ill  find  that  his  Work  is 
as  natural  an  eafy,  as  it  is  for  Eire  to  caft 
abroad  a  Flame.  Art  is  difficult,  but  what- 
foever  is  natural  is  eafy  too. 

2.  To  love  an  Enemy  is  to  do  him  all  the 
real  Offices  of  Kindncfs,  that  Opportunity 
fhall  lay  in  our  Way.  Love  is  of  too  fubllan- 
tial  a  Nature  to  be  made  up  of  mere  Nega- 
tives, and  withall  too  operative  to  terminate 
in  bare  Defires.  Does  Providence  cafl  any  of 
my  Enemies  Concernments  under  my  Power? 
Vol.  III.  I  As 


114  -^  Sermon  preached 

As  his  Health,  his  Eftatc,  Preferment,  or  any 
thing  conducing  to  the  Conveniencics  of 
his  Life?  Why,  in  all  this  it  gives  me  an 
Opportunity  to  manifeO,  whether  or  no  I 
can  reach  the  Sublimity  of  this  Precept  of 
loving  my  Enemies. 

Is  my  Enemy  fick  and  languifhing,  and 
it  is  in  my  Power  to  cure  him  as  eafily^  or 
to  killhimas  fafelyy  as  if  I  were  his  Phyfi- 
cian  ?  Chriftianity  here  commands  me  to  be 
concerned  for  his  Weaknefs,  to  fhew  him 
a  Remedy,  and  to  relcue  him  from  the 
Grave;  and  in  a  word,  to  preferve  that 
Life,  which  perhaps,  would  have  once  de- 
ftroyed  mine. 

Do  I  fee  my  Enemy  defrauded  and  circum- 
vented, and  like  to  be  undone  in  his  Eftate  ? 
I  muft  not  fit  flill  and  fee  him  ruined,  and 
tell  him  Iis:ifn  him  iL'elh,  which  is  a  Contra- 
didion  in  Pradice,  and  an  impudent  Ill-na^ 
tured  Sarcafm:  But  I  muft  contribute  my 
hearty  A lliftance  to  difcover  the  Fraud,  and 
to  repel  the  Force  :  And  as  readily  keep 
him  from  being  poor,  as  relieve  him  if  he 
were.  I  muft  be  as  forward  in  the  Purfuit 
of  the  Thief  who  ftole  his  Goods,  who  once 
plundered  mine,  as  if  the  Injury  had  light 
upon  my  Friend,  my  Kinfman,  or  myfelf. 

4  And 


at  Weftmiafter- Abbey.        1 1  y 

And  jaftly,  does  it  lie  in  my  way  to  put  ia 
a  Word  to  dafh  or  promote  my  Enemy's  Bu- 
finefs  or  Intercft  ?  To  give  him  a  fecrct  Blow, 
fucli  a  one  as  fhall  ftrike  his  Intereft  to  the 
Ground  for  ever,  and  he  never  know  the 
Hand  from  whence  it  came?  Can  I  by  my 
Power  obflrud  his  lawful  Advantage,  and 
Preferments,  and  fo  reap  the  diabolical  Satif- 
fadion  of  a  clofe  Revenge  ?  Can  I  do  him 
all  the  Mifchief  imaginable,  and  that  eafily, 
fafely,  and  fuccefsfully ;  and  fo  applaud  my- 
felf  in  my  Power,  my  Wit,  and  my  fubtle 
Contrivances,  for  which  the  World  fhall  courc 
me  as  formidable  and  confiderablc  ?  Yet  all 
thefe  wretched  Pradices  and  accurfed  Me- 
thods of  growing  great,  and  rifing  by  the  Fall 
of  an  Enemy,  are  to  be  dctcfted  as  infinitely 
oppofite  to  that  innocence  and  clearnefs  of 
Spirit,  that  opennefs  and  freedom  from  Delign 
that  becomes  a  Profellbr  of  Chriftianity. 

On  the  contrary,  amidft  all  thefc  Opportu- 
nities of  doing  Mifchief,  I  mufl:  efpoufe  my 
Enemy's  juft  Caufc,  as  his  Advocate  or  Solli. 
citor.  I  muft  help  it  forward  by  favourable 
Speeches  of  his  Pcrfon,  Acknowledgment  of 
his  Worth  and  Merit  by  a  fair  Conftruction 
of  doubtful  Paflages :  And  all  this,  if  Need  be, 
in  fecret,  where  my  Enemy  neither  fees  nor 
I  2  hears 


ii6  A  Sermon  preached 

hears  me  do  him  thefe  Services,  and  con- 
fcquently  where  I  have  all  the  Advantages  and 
Temptations  to  do  otherwife.  In  fliort  the 
Gofpel  enjoins  a  greater  Love  to  our  Enemies, 
than  Men,  for  the  moft  Part,  now  a-days 
fhew  their  Friends. 

3.  The  lad  and  crowning  Inftance  of  our 
Love  to  our  Enemies,  is  to  pray  for  them. 
For  by  this  a  Man,  as  it  were,  acknowledges 
himfelf  unable  to  do  enough  for  his  Enemy  j 
and  therefore  he  calls  in  the  AlTiftance  of  Hea- 
ven, and  engages  Omnipotence  to  compleat 
thelvindncfs.  He  would  fain  out-do  himfelf, 
and  therefore  finding  his  own  Stores  fhort  and 
dry,  he  repairs  to  Infinity.  Prayer  for  a  Man's 
felf  is  indeed  a  choice  Duty,  yet  it  is  but  a 
kind  of  lawful  and  pious  Sclfifhnefs.  For  who 
would  not  follicit  for  his  own  Happinefs,  and 
be  importunate  for  his  own  Concerns  ?  But 
when  I  pray  as  heartily  for  my  Enemy,  as  I 
do  for  my  daily  Breads  when  I  ftrive  with 
Prayers  and  Tears  to  make  God  his  Friend, 
who  himfelf  will  not  be  mine  5  when  I  reckon 
his  Felicity  amongft  my  own  Necefilties: 
Surely  this  is  fuch  a  Love  as,  in  a  literal  Senfe, 
may  be  faid  to  reach  up  to  Heaven.  For  no 
body  judges  that  a  fmall  and  a  trivial  Thing, 
for  which  he  dares  to  pray :    No  Man  comes 

into 


at  Weflminftcr- Abbey.        1 17 

into  the  Prcfcncc  of  a  King  to  beg  Pins.  And 
therefore  if  a  Man  did  not  look  upon  the 
Good  of  liis  Enemy,  as  a  Thing  that  nearly  af- 
feded  himfelf,  he  could  not  own  it  as  a  mat- 
ter of  a  Petition,  and  endeavour  to  concera 
God  about  that,  with  which  he  will  not  con- 
cern himfelf.     And  upon  the  fame  Ground 
alfo  is  inferred  the  Neceflity  of  Man's  per- 
fonal  endeavouring  the  Good  and  Happinefs 
of  his  Enemy :  For  Prayer  without  Endeavour 
is  but  an  Affront  to  the  Throne  of  Grace,  and 
a  lazy  throwing  that,  which  is  our  own  Duty, 
upon  God.  As  if  a  Man  fhould  fay,  God  for- 
give you,  God  relieve  and  comfort  you,  for 
/  v:;iUnot.     But  if  to  pray  for  an  Enemy  be  a 
Duty,   furely  the  Manner  in  which  we  do  it 
ought  to  be  fo  too  :  And  not  fuch  as  fhall  turn 
a  Supplication  for  him  into  a  Satyr  againft  him, 
by  reprefentinghim  in  our  Prayers  under  the 
Charadcr  of  one  void  of  all  Grace  and  Good- 
nefsy  and  confequcntly  a  much  fitter  Object 
for  God's  Vengeance  than  his  Mercy.     And 
yet  there  was  a  Time  in  which  this  Way  of 
Praying  was  in  no  fmall  Vogue  with  a  certain 
fort  of  Men,  who  would  allow  neither  the 
Gift  nor  Spirit  of  Prayer  to  any  but  them- 
felves.     For  if  at  any  time   they  prayed   for 
thofe  whom  they  accounted  their  Emmies 

1  3  (and 


1 1  8  A  Sermon  preached 

(and  that  only  becaufe  they  had  done  fo  much 
to  make  them  To)  it  could  not  be  properly 
called  an  interceding  with  God  for  them,  but 
a  downright  inditing  and  arraigning  them  be- 
fore God  as  a  Pack  of  gracelefs  Wretches  and 
Villains,  and  avowed  Enemies  to  the  Tower 
and  Turity  of  the  Go/pel.  This  and  the  like, 
I  fay,  was  the  devout  Language  of  their  Pray- 
ers, fometimes  by  Intimation^  and  iometimcs 
by  dired  ExpreJ/io7i :  And  thus  under  the  Co- 
lour and  Cover  of  fome  plaufible  artificial 
Words,  it  was  but  for  them  to  call  thofe  whom 
they  malign'd  Antickrift,  and  themielves  the 
Kingdom  of  Chriji,  and  then  they  might  very 
laudably  pray  for  x.\\c  pulling  down  of  the  one, 
and  the  fetting  up  of  the  other,  and  thereby  no 
doubt  anfwer  all  the  Meafures  of  a.  fan^ifedy 
felf  denying  Petition.  But  as  thofe  Days  are 
at  an  End,  fo  it  were  to  be  wifhed  *  that 
fuch  kind  of  Praying  were  fo  too;  efpecially 
fmce  our  Church,  I  am  fure,  has  fo  much  Cha- 
rity, as  to  teach  all  of  her  Communion  to 
pray  for  thofe,  who  are  not  only  Enemies  to 
our  TerfonSy  but  alfo  to  our  very  Prayers, 

And  thus  I  have  endeavoured  to  (hew,  what 
it  is  to  Love  our  Enemies  ;  though  I  will  not 
fay  that  I  have  recounted  all  the  Inftances  in 

*  See fomething  upon  the  like  Subje6t-  Fol.  2.  p.  ii8. 

which 


<?/ Weftminftcr- Abbey.        iip 

which  this  Duty  may  exert  itfelf.  Por  Love 
is  infinite,  and  the  Methods  of  its  adling  va- 
rious and  innumerable.  But  I  fuppofe  that  I 
have  marked  out  thofc  Generals  which  all 
Particulars  may  be  fairly  reduced  to. 

And  now,  before  I  proceed  to  the  Motives 
and  Arguments  to  enfore  the  Duty,  I  Ihall, 
to  prevent   fome  Abufes  of  this  Dodrine^ 
fhew  what  is  not  inconfiftcnt  with  this  loving 
our  Enemies:      And  that  is  to  defend  and 
fecure  ourfclvcs  againft  them.     I  am  to  love 
my  Enemy,  but  not  fo  as  to  hate  myfelf :    If 
my  love  to  him  htzCopyj  I  am  fure  the  Love 
to  myfelf  ought  to  be  the  Original.    Charity 
is  indeed  to  diffufe  \t.(^\i abroad ,  but  yet  it  may 
lawfully  begin  at  home:  For  the  Precept  furc- 
ly  is  not  unnatural  and  irrational;    nor  can 
it  (late  the  Duty  ofChriftians  in  Oppofltioii 
to  the  Privile2;es  of  Men,    and  command  us 
tamely  to  furrendcr  up  our  Lives  and  Eftatcs 
as  often  as  the  Hands  of  Violence   would 
wreft  them  from  us.     Wc  may  love  our  Ene- 
mies, but  we  arc  not  therefore  to  be  fond  of 
their  Enmity.     And  though  I  am  command- 
ed when  my  Enemy  thirfts  to  give  hinrDrink, 
yet  it  is  not  when  he  thirfts  for  my  Blood. 
It  is  my  Duty   to  give  him  an  Alms,    but 
not  to  let   him   take   my    Eftate.      Princes 
I  4  and 


no  A  Sermon  preached 

and  Govcrnours  may  very  well  fecure  them- 
felvcs  with  Laws  .and  Armsngainfl  implacable 
Enemies  for  all  this  Precept :  They  are  not 
bound  to  leave  the  State  dcfencelefs,  againft 
the  Projeds,  Plots,  and  Infurredions  of  thofc 
who  are  pleafed  to  think  themfelves  perfecu- 
/^^if  they  are  not  permitted  to  reign.  Wemay 
with  a  very  fair  Comportment  with  this  Pre- 
cept love  our  Enemies  Pcrfons,  while  we  hate 
their  Principles  and  counterplot  their  De- 
fig  ns. 

I  come  now  to  the  third  and  laft  Thing, 
njtZ:  to  affign  Motives  and  Arguments  to  en- 
force this  Love  to  our  Enemy  j  and  they  fnall 
be  taken, 

1.  From  the  Condition  of  our  Enemy's 
Perfon. 

2.  From  the  Excellency  of  the  Duty. 

3-  From  the  great  Examples  that  recom- 
mend it;  and 

For  the  firft  of  thefe,  if  we  confider  our  E- 
nemy,  we  fhall  find  that  he  fuftains  feveral 
Capacities,  which  may  give  him  a  juft  Claim 
to  our  charitable  AfFedion.    . 

I .  As  firft  he  is  joined  with  us  in  the  Society 
and  Community  of  the  fame  Nature.  He  is 
a  Man.  And  fo  far  bears  the  Image  and  Su- 
perfcription  of  our  heavenly  Father.   He  may 

4  ceafc 


at  Weftminfter-AbbeyJ        121 

ccafe  to  be  our  Friend,  but  he  cannot  ccafc  to 
be  our  Brother.  For  we  all  defcended  from 
the  fame  Loins,  and  though  Ejau  hues  J acoi^, 
^ind  Jacolf  iu^'phnts  Efau,  yet  they  once  lay- 
in  the  fame  Womb  :  And  therefore  the  Say- 
ing of  Mofes  may  be  extended  to  all  Men  at 
Variance  5  ff^/jy  do  ye  ijorong  one  another,  for 
ye  are  Brethren  ?  If  my  Enemy  were  a  Snake 
or  a  Viper,  I  could  do  no  more  than  hate  and 
trample  upon  him :  But  fliall  I  hate  the  Seed 
of  the  Woman  as  much  as  I  do  that  of  the 
Serpeyit  ?  We  hold  that  God  loves  the  moil 
finful  of  his  Creatures  fo  far  as  they  are  his 
Creatures ;  and  the  very  Devils  could  not  iia 
themfelves  out  of  an  excellent  Nature,  though 
out  of  an  happy  Condition. 

Even  War,  which  is  the  Rage  of  Man- 
kind, and  obferves  no  Laijus  but  its  own,  yet 
offers  Quarter  to  an  Enemy  ;  I  fuppofc^  be- 
caufe  Enmity  docs  not  obliterate  Humanity^ 
nor  wholly  cancel  the  Sympathies  of  Nature. 
For  every  Man  does,  or  (lam  fure)  he  may, 
fee  fomething  of  himfcif  in  his  Enemy,  and 
a.  Tranicript  of  thofe  Perfedions  for  which 
he  values  himlelf. 

And  therefore  thofe  inhuman  Butcheries 
"which  fome  Men  have  ailed  upon  others, 
ftand  upon  Record  not  only  as  the  Crimes  o£ 

PerfonSj, 


Ill  A  Sermon  preached 

Perfons,  but  alfo  as  the  Reproach  of  our  very 
Nature,  and  excufable  upon  no  other  Colour 
or  Account  whatfoever,  but  that  the  Perfons 
who  aded  fuch  Cruelties  upon  other  Men  firft 
ceafed  to  be  Men  themfelves ;  and  were  indeed 
to  be  reckoned  as  fo  many  Anomalies  and  Ex- 
ceptions from  Mankind  j  Perfons  of  another 
Make  or  Mold  from  the  reft  of  the  Sons  of 
y^^/2W,and  deriving  theirOriginal  not  from  the 
*T>ufl-,  but  rather  from  the  Stones  of  the  Earth. 
2.  An  Enemy  notwithftanding  his  Enmi- 
ty may  be  yet  the  proper  Objed  of  our  Love, 
becaufe  it  fometimes  fo  falls  out,  that  he  is  of 
the  fame  Religion  ^\\\\Vi^'-,  and  the  very  Bu- 
finefs  and  Defign  of  Religion  is  to  unite,  and 
to  put  (as  it  were)  a  fpiritual  Cognation  and 
Kindred  between  Souls.  I  am  fure,  this  is  the 
greatPurpofe  of  the  ChriftianReligion  j  which 
never  joins  Men  to  Chrift  but  by  firft  joining 
them  amongft  themfelves :  And  making  them 
Members  one  of  another,  as  well  as  knitting 
them  all  to  the  fame  Head.  By  how  much 
the  more  intolerable  were  our  late  Zealots,  in 
their  Pretences  to  a  more  refined  Strain  of  Pu- 
rity and  Converfe  with  God ;  while  in  the 
mean  time  their  Hearts  could  ferve  them  to 
plunder,  worry,  and  undo  their  poor  Brethren, 
only  for  their  loyal  Adherence  to  their  So- 
vereign 5 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.^       123 

vcrcign  ;  fcqueftring  and  calling  whole  Fami- 
lies out  of  their  Houfes  and  Livings  to  ftarvc 
abroad  in  the  wide  World,  againft  all  the 
Laws  of  God  and  Man;  and  who,  to  this  Day, 
breath  the  fame  Rage  towards  all  Diflentcrs 
from  them,  fhould  they  once  more  get  the 
reforming  Sword  into  their  Hands.  What 
thefe  Mens  Religion  may  teach  them,  I  know 
not,  but  I  am  fure,  it  is  fo  far  from  teaching 
them  to  love  their  Enemies,  that  they  found 
their  bittercft  Enmities,  and  mofl  inveterate 
Hatreds  only  upon  Religion-,  which  has  taught 
them  firft  to  call  their  Malice  Zeal,  and  then 
to  think  it  their  Duty  to  be  malicious  ^nd  im- 
placable. 

3.  An  Enemy  may  be  the  proper  Object 
of  our  Love,  becaufe,  though  perhaps  he  is 
not  capable  of  being  changed  and  made  a 
Friend  by  it,  (which,  for  any  thing  I  know, 
is  next  to  impoflible)  yet  he  is  capable  of  be- 
ing fhamed  and  rendred  inexcufable.  And 
Shame  may  fmooth  over  his  Behaviour,though 
no  Kindnefs  can  change  his  Difpofition  :  Up- 
on which  account  it  is,  that  fo  far  as  a  Man 
fhameshis  Enemy,  lb  far  healfo  difarms  him. 
For  he  leaves  him  flript  of  the  Alliftance  and 
good  Opinionof  the  World  roundabout  him; 
without  which  it  is  impoilible  for  any  Man 

living 


12  4  A  Sermon  preached 

living  to  be  confiderable,  cither  in  his  Friend- 
fhip  or  Enmities. 

Love  is  the  Fire  that  muft  both  heap  and 
kindle  thofe  Coals  upon  our  Enemies  Head, 
that  fhall  either  melt  or  confume  iiim.  For 
that  Man  I  account  as  good  as  confumed  and 
ruined,  whom  all  People,  even  upon  the  com- 
mon Concern  of  Mankind,  abhor  for  his  In- 
gratitude, as  a  Peft  and  a  publick  Enemy.  So 
that  if  my  Enemy  is  refolved  to  treat  me 
fpightfully,  notwithftanding  all  my  Endea- 
vours to  befriend  and  oblige  him  i  and  if  he 
will  ftill  revile  and  rail  at  me,  after  I  have 
employed  both  Tongue  and  Hand  to  ferve  and 
promote  him,  furely  I  fhall  by  this  means  at 
leaft  make  his  virulent  Words  recoil  upon  his 
bold  Face,  and  his  foul  Mouth  -,  and  fo  turn 
that  Stream  of  publick  Hatred  and  Deteftatioa 
juftly  upon  himfelf,  which  he  was  endeavour- 
ing to  bring  upon  me.  And  if  I  do  no  more, 
it  is  yet  worth  while,  even  upon  a  temporal 
Account,to  obey  this  Precept  of  C^^//?,of^^'- 
ing  my  Enemy.  And  thus  much  for  the  firft  ge- 
neral Argument  to  enforce  this  Duty,  ground- 
ed upon  the  Condition  of  my  Enemy's  ^erfon. 

2.  A  fecond  Motiwc  or  Argument  to  the 
fame  fnall  be  taken  from  the  Excellency  of 
the  Duty  itfeif.     It  is  the  higheft  Perfedion 

that 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  i  z  j 

that  humane  Nature  can  reach  unto.  It  is  an 
Imitation  of  the  Divine  Goodnefs,  which 
Ihines  upon  the  Heads,  and  rains  upon  the 
Fields  of  the  finful  and  unjuft;  and  heaps  Blcf- 
fings  upon  thofe,  who  ai*c  bufy  only  to  heap  tip 
Wrath  to  themfelvcs.  To  love  an  Enemy  is  to 
ftretch  Humanity  as  far  as  it  will  go.  It  is  an 
heroick  Adion,  and  fuch  an  one  as  grows  not 
upon  any  ordinary  Plebeian  Spirit. 

TheExcellency  of  the  Duty  is  fufficiently 
proclaimed  by  the  Difficuhy  of  its  Pradicc. 
For  how  hard  is  it,whcn  the  Pallions  are  high, 
and  the  Senfe  of  an  Injury  quick,  and  Power 
ready,  for  a  Man  to  deny  himfelf  in  that  luf- 
ciousMorfel  of  Revenge!  To  do  Violence 
to  himfelf,  inftead  of  doing  it  to  his  Enemy  ! 
and  to  command  down  the  ftrongefl  Princi- 
ples, and  the  greateft  Heats,  that  ufually 
ad  the  Soul  when  it  exerts  itfelf  upon  fuch 
Objeds. 

And  the  Difficulty  of  fuch  a  Behaviour  is 
no  lefs  declared  by  its  being  fo  rarely  and  fel- 
dom  obferved  in  Men.  For  whom  almoil  can 
we  fee,  who  opens  his  Arms  to  his  Enemies,  or 
puts  any  other  Bounds  to  his  Hatred  of  him  but 
Satiety  or  Difabiiity  j  either  becaufe  it  is  even 
glutted  with  having  done  fo  much  againfthim 
already,  or  wants  Power  to  do  more?  Indeed 

where 


ii6  A  Sermon  preached 

where  fuch  a  pitch  of  Love  is  found,  it  ap- 
pears glorious  and  gliftcring  in  the  Eyes  of  all, 
and  much  admired  and  commended  it  is,  but 
yet  for  the  moft  part  no  otherwife  than  as  we 
fee  Men  admiring  and  commending  Tome  rare 
Piece  of  Art,  which  they  never  intend  to 
imitate,  nor  fo  much  as  to  attempt  an  Imi- 
tation of.  Nothing  certainly  but  an  excellent 
Difpofition  improved  by  a  mighty  Grace,  can 
bear  a  Man  up  to  this  TerfeBio7t. 

3.  The  third  Motive  or  Argument,  fhall 
be  drawn  from  the  great  Examples  which  re- 
commend this  Duty  to  us.  And  firft  of  all 
from  that  of  our  Blclfed  Saviour,  whofe  Foot- 
Jieps  in  the  Paths  of  Love  we  may  trace  out 
and  follow  by  his  own  Blood.  He  gave  his 
Life  for  Sinners.  That  is  for  Enemies,  yea, 
and  Enemies,  with  the  higheft  Aggravation, 
for  nothing  can  make  one  Man  fo  much  an 
Enemy  to  another,  as  Sin  makes  him  an  E- 
nemy  to  God. 

1  jay  unto  you,  love  your  Enemies,  (fays 
Chrift)  That  is,  I  emphatically,  I  who  fay  it 
by  my  Example  as  much  as  by  my  Precept. 
For  Chrift  went  about  doing  Good,  A^s  x.  3  8, 
Yea,  and  he  did  it  ftill  in  a  Miracle.  Every 
Work  that  he  did,  was  equally  beneficial  and 
miraculous.   And  the  Place  where  he  did  fuch 

Wonder 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  127 

Wonders  of  Charity  was  Jerufaleniy  a  City 
red  with  the  Blood  of  God's  MefTengers,  and 
paved  with  the  Sculls  of  Prophets.  A  City 
which  he  knew,  would  fhortly  compleat  all 
its  Cruelty  and  Impiety  in  his  own  Murder, 
though  he  was  the  promiled  and  long  exped- 
ed  MeiTias.  And  in  the  Prologue  to  this  Mur- 
der, his  violent  Attachment,  when  one  of  his 
Enemies  was  wounded  he  beftowed  a  Mira- 
cle upon  his  Cure:  So  tender  was  he  of  his 
mortal  Enemies.  Like  a  Lamb  that  affords 
wherewithal,  both  to  feed  and  cloath  its  very 
Butcher;  nay,  and  while  he  was  adualJy 
hanging  upon  the  Crofs,  he  uttered  a  pallio- 
nate  Prayer  for  the  Forgivenefs  of  his  Mur- 
derers: So  defirous  was  he,  that  though 
they  had  the  fole  ading,  yet  that  he  himlelf 
fhould  have  the  whole  feeling  of  their  Sin. 
In  fine,  now  that  he  fits  at  the  right  Hand 
of  his  Father  triumphant,  and  governing 
the  World,  from  whence  he  could  with  much 
more  eafe  confound  his  moft  daring  Ene- 
mies,  than  the  moft  potent  Grandee  can  crufh 
his  meaneft  and  moft  fervileJDependantsj  yet 
he  treats  them  with  all  the  Methods  of  Pati- 
ence and  Arts  of  Reconcilement,  and  in  a 
word  endures  with  much  Long- fuffering,xho^t 
Veffels  of  Wrath  who  feem  even  refolved  to 

perifti. 


12  8  A  Sermon  preached 

perifli,  and  obftinately  fct  to  fit  themfelves 
for  T^efiru^ion. 

And  now,  though  after  fuch  an  Example, 
this  fort  of  Argument  for  the  loving  our  E- 
nem'ies  can  be  carried  no  higher,  yet  blcfled 
be  God,  that  is  not  fo  wholly  exhaufted  by 
any  one  Example,  but  that  it  may  be  carried 
further ;  and  that  by  feveral  Inftances,  which 
though  they  do  by  no  Means  come  up  to  a 
juft  Comparifon  with  it,  yet  ought  to  be  own- 
ed for  noble  Imitations  of  it.  And  fuch  an 
one  this  happy  Day  affords  us,  a  Day  Confe- 
crated  to  the  folemn  Commemoration  of  the 
Nativity  and  Return  of  a  Prince,  who  having 
been  moft  barbaroufly  driven  out  of  his  King- 
doms, and  afterwards  as  miraculoufly  reflored 
to  them,  brought  with  him  the  grcatcft,  the 
brighteft  and  mofl  flupendous  Inflance  of  this 
Virtue,  that,  next  to  what  has  been  obfcrved 
of  our  Saviour  himfelf,  was  ever  yet  (hewn  by 
Man.  Providence  feeming  to  have  raifed  up 
this  Prince,  as  it  had  done  his  Father  before 
him,  to  give  the  World  a  glorious  Demonflra- 
tion,  that  the  mofl  injured  of  Men,  might  be 
the  moft  merciful oi  Men  too.  For  after  the 
highefl  of  Wrongs  and  Contumelies  that  a  So- 
vereign could  fuffer  from  his  Subjeds  j  fcorn- 
ing  ail  Revenge  as  more  below  him  than  the 

very 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  up 

veryPerfons  whom  he  might  have  been  reven- 
ged upon,  he  gloried  in  nothing  fo  much  as  in 
giving  Af^;ry  tiie  upper-hand  ofAIaje/IyitCdf, 
making  Ammfty  his  Symbol  or  Motto,  and 
Forgivenefs  the  peculiar  flgnalizing  Charader 
of  his  Reign  5  herein  refembling  the  Ahiiighty 
Himfelf  (as  far  as  MortaUty  can)  who  feems 
to  claim  a  greater  Glory  for  /paring  and  re- 
deeming Man,  than  ^oi: creating  him.  So  that 
in  a  Word,  as  our  Saviour  has  made  Love  to 
oar  Enemies  one  of  the  chicfeft  Badges  of  our 
Religion,  fo  our  King  has  alraoft  made  it  the 
very  Mark  of  our  Allegiance, 

Thus  even  to  a  Prodigy  merciful  has  he 
fhewn  himfelf  j  merciful  by  Inclination-,  and 
merciful  by  Ext  ration  5  merciful  in  his  Ex- 
ample,  and  merciful  m  his  La-jvs,  and  thereby 
expreiling  the  uinio^^utifulnefs  of  a  Son,  as 
well  as  the  higheft  Magnanimity  and  Clemen- 
cy of  a  Prince  j  while  he  is  dill  making  that 
good  upon  x.\\Q.Throne  which  the  Royal  Mar- 
tyr his  Father  had  enjoined  upon  the  Scaffold -y 
whejc  he  dyed  pardoning  and  praying  for 
thofe,  whofe  Malice  he  was  then  falling  a 
Vidim  to :  'And  this  with  a  Charity  fo  unpa- 
rallerd,  and  a  Devotion  fo  fervent,  that  the 
Voice  oihis  Prayers,  'tis  to  be  hoped,  drown- 

Vol.  III.  K  ed 


130  A  Sermon  preached 

cd  the  very  Cry  of  his  Blood.  But  I  love  notf 
to  dwell  upon  fuch  Tragedies,  favc  only  to 
illuftrate  the  Height  of  one  contrary  by  the 
Height  of  another ;  and  therefore  as  an  hum- 
ble Follower  of  the  Princely  Pattern  here  fet 
before  us,  I  fhall  draw  a  Veil  of  Silence  over 
all  5  efpecially  fince  it  furpaflcs  the  Power  of 
Words  fufficiently  to  fet  forth,  either  the 
Greatnefs  of  the  Cnmes  forgiven j  or  of  the 
Mercy  ihu  forgave  them. 

But  to  draw  to  a  Clofe:  We  have  here 
had  the  highcft  and  the  hardeft  Duty  perhaps 
belonging  to  a  Chriftian,  both  recommended 
to  our  Judgment  by  Argument-,  and  to  our 
Praftice  by  £'.v^;^/'/i? ;  and  what  remains,  but 
that  we  fubmit  our  Judgment  to  the  one,  and 
govern  our  Trainee  by  the  other?  And  for 
that  Purpofe,  that  we  beg  of  God  an  AiTift- 
ance  equal  to  the  Difficulty  of  the  Duty  en- 
joined; for  certainly  it  is  not  an  ordinary 
Meafureof  Grace  that  can  conquer  the  Oppo- 
fition,  that  Flefh  and  Blood  and  corrupt  Rea- 
fon  itfelf,  after  alUtsConvidions,  will  be  fure 
to  make  to  it.  The  greatcft  Miferies  that 
befal  us  in  this  World  are  from  Enemies,  and 
fo  long  as  Men  naturally  deflre  to  be  happy, 
it  will  be  naturally  as  hard  to  them  to  love 

thofe 
3 


at  St.  MaryV^  Oxen,  i  ^  i 

thofe  who,  they  know,  are  the  grand  Ob- 
ftacles  to  their  being  lb.  The  Ligiit  of  Na- 
ture will  convince  a  Man  of  many  Duties, 
which  it  will  never  enable  him  to  perform. 
And  if  we  fhould  look  no  further  than  bare 
Nature,  this  Teems  to  be  one  cut  out  rather 
for  our  Admiration  than  our  Pradice.  It  be- 
ing not  more  difficult  (where  Grace  does  not 
interpofe)  to  cut  off  a  Right-hand,  than  to 
reach  it  heartily  to  the  Relief  of  an  invete- 
rate implacable  Adverfary.  And  yet  God 
cxpedls  this  from  us,  and  that  io peremptorily, 
that  he  has  made  the  Pardon  of  our  Enemies 
the  indifpenfablc  Condition  of  our  own. 
And  therefore  that  Wretch  (vvhofoever  he 
was)  who  being  prcflcd  hard  upon  his  Death- 
Bed  to  pardon  a  notable  Enemy,  which  he 
hadj  anfweredjZ'^^^  if  he  died  indeed,  he  par- 
doned him,  but  if  he  lived  he  would  be  revenged 
on  him  :  That  Wretch,  I  fay,  and  every 
other  fuch  Image  of  the  Devil,  no  doubt, 
went  out  of  the  World  fo,  that  he  had  better 
never  have  come  into  it.  In  fine,  after  we 
have  faid  the  utmoft  upon  this  Subjeift  that  v/e 
can,  1  believe  we  fhall  find  this  the  Refult  of 
all.  That  he  is  an  happy  Man  who  has  no 
Enemies,  and  he  a  much  happier,  who  has 
never  fo  many,  and  can  pardon  them. 

K  2  God 


131       A  Sermon  preached^  &c. 

Godpreferve  us  from  the  onCy  or  enable  us  to 
do  the  other.  To  whom  be  rendred,  and 
afcribed,  as  is  moft  due,  all  Traife, Might, 
Majejiji  andT>ominiony  both  now,  and 
for  evermore.     Amen. 


Falfe 


Falfe  Foundations  removed^  and  true 
ones  laid  for  ftich  wife  Builders  as 
dejign  to  build  for  Eternity, 


I  N     A 

SERMON 

Preached  at 

St.  Mary's,  Oxon^ 

Before  the 

UNIVERSITY, 

December   io.   i66i. 


Matth.  vii.  2^,   27. 

And  every    one    that    heareth  thefe 

Sayings  of  mine^    and   doth  them 

K  3  not 


134  ^  Sermon  preached 

noty  Jhall  be  likened  unto  a  fooUJh 
Man  which  htiilt  hn  Houfe  upon 
the  Sand. 

And   the   Ram   defcended.,    and    the 
Floods  came^    and  the  Winds  hlew^ 
and   heat    upon   that    Houfe    and 
it  fell^    and  great  was    the  fall  of 
iff 

IT  fccms  to  have  been  all  along  the  prime 
Art  and  Method  of  the  great  Enemy  of 
Souls,  not  being  able  to  root  the  Senfe  of 
Religion  out  of  Mens  Hearts,  yet  by  his 
Sophiftries  and  Delufions  to  defeat  the  Dc- 
fign  of  it  upon  their  Lives  ;  and  either  by 
empty  Notions,  or  falfe  Perfuafions  to 
take  them  off  from  the  main  Bufmefs  of 
Religion,  which  is  Duty  and  Obedience,  by 
bribing  the  Confcience  to  reft  fatisfied  with 
fomething  lefs.  A  Projedl  extreamly  fuitable 
to  liic  corrupt  Nature  of  Man  5  whofe 
chief,  or  rather  fole  Quarrel  to  Religion  is  the 
Severity  oiiisTreceptSjZnd  the  Difficulty  of 
their  TraBice.  So  that  although  it  is  as  na- 
tural for  him  to  defux  to  be  happy,  as  to , 
breath,  yet  he  |iad  rather  lofe  and  mifs  of 

Happinefs 


^/ iT^  MaryV,  Oxon.  13  j 

Happincfs  than  fcek  it  in  the  Way  of  Holinefs. 
Upon  which  Account  nothing  Tpeaks  fo  full 
and  home  to  the  very  inmoft  Defires  of  his 
Soul,  as  thofe  Dodrines  and  Opinions,  which 
would  perfuadc  him,  that  it  may,  and  fhall 
be  well  with  him  hereafter,   without  any^ 
Necellity  of  his  living  well  here.  V/hich  great 
Myliery  of  Iniquity  being  carefully  managed 
by  the  utmoft  Skill   of  the  Tempter,    and 
greedily  embraced  by  a  Man's  own  treache- 
rous AfFedions  lies  at  the  Bottom  of  all/^//^ 
Religions,  and  cats  out  the  very  Heart  and  Vi- 
tals of  the  true.     For  in  the  Strength  of  this, 
fome  hope   to  be  faved  by  believing  'well -y 
fome  by  meaning  well--,  fome  hy paying  i^eU\ 
and  fome  by  fhedding  a  few  infipid  Tears,  and 
uttering  a  few  hard  Words  againft  thofe  Sins 
which  they  have  no  other  Controverfy  with, 
but  that  they  were  fo  unkind  as  to  leave  the 
Sinner  before  he  was  willing  to  leave  them. 
For  all  this  Men  can  well  enough  fubmit  to, 
as  not  forcing  them  to  abandon  any  one  of 
their  beloved  Lufts.     And  therefore  they  will 
not  think  themfelves  hardly  dealt  with,  tho' 
you  require  Faith  of  them,  if  you  will  but 
difpenfe  ^it\\ good  Works:  They  will  abound, 
and  even   overflow  with  good   IntentlonSy 
K4  if 


136'  A  Sermon  preached 

if  you  will  allow  them  in  quite  contrary 
A^iions.  And  you  fhall  not  want  for  Sacri- 
fice, if  that  may  compound  for  Obedience ; 
nor  Laftly,  will  they  grudge  to  find  Money,  if 
fomc-body  elfe  will  find  Merit.  But  to  live 
'■juell,  and  to  do  ic^^^//,  are  Things  of  too  hard 
a  Digeflion. 

Accordingly  our  Saviour,  who  well  knew 
all  thefe  falfc  Hopes  and  fallacious  Reafonings 
of  the  Heart  of  Man  (which  is  never  fo  fubtle 
as  when  it  would  deceive  itfelf)  tells  his 
Hearers,  that  all  thefe  little,  trifling  Inven- 
tions will  avail  them  nothing,  and  that  in  the 
Bufmefs  of  Religion,  and  the  great  Concern 
of  Souls  5  all  that  is  fhort  of  Obedience  and  a 
good  Life,  is  nothing  but  Trick  and  Evafion, 
Froth  and  Folly ;  and  confcquently  that  if 
they  build  upon  fuch  deceitful  Grounds,  and 
with  fuch  flight  Materials,  they  mufl  and  can 
exped  no  other,  than  after  all  their  Cofl  and 
Pains,  to  have  their  Houfe  fall  upon  their 
Heads,  and  foperifh  in  the  Ruin.  And  with 
this  terrible  Application  in  thefe  two  laft 
Verfes,  which  I  have  pitched  upon  for  my 
Text,  he  concludes  his  Divine  Sermon,  and 
Difcourfe  from  the  Mount, 

The 


^;?  t$V.  Mary'5,  Oxon.  137 

The  Words  of  the  Text  being  too  plain 
and  eafy  to  need  any  nice  or  large  Explica- 
tion, 1  fhall  manage  the  DifculTion  of  them 
in  thefc  four  Particulars. 

Firfiyln  (hewing  thcReafons  upon  which 
I  conclude  T'ra^ice  or  Obediencey  in  the^r^^^ 
Btijinefs  of  a  Man's  Erernal  Happincfs,  to  be 
the  beft  and  fur  eft  Foundation  for  him  to 
build  upon. 

Secondly  J  In  fhewing  \\\z  falfe  Foimdor 
iions  upon  which  many  build,  and  according- 
ly in  Time  of  Tryal,  mifcarry. 

Thirdly,  In  fhewing  the  Caiifes-,  why 
fuch  mifcarry,  and  fall  away  in  Time  of 
Tryal  or  Temptation. 

Fourthly y^wdi  Laftly,  In  fhewing  wherein 
the  fatal  Greatnefs  of  their  Fallconfifts. 

And  Firft  for  the  firft  of  thefe,  viz.  to  fhew 
theReafonswhy  TraBiceor  Obedience  is  the 
beft  and  fur  eft  Foundation,  (ftill  fuppofmg  it 
bottomed  upon  the  Merits  of  Chrift)  for  a 
Man  to  build  Ins  IDeftgns  for  Heaven  and  the 
Hopes  of  his  Salvation  upon  j  I  ihali  mention 
Three. 

Firft,  Becaufe,  according  to  the  ordinary 
Way,  andOeconomy  of  God's  working  upon 
the  Hearts  of  Men,  nothing  but  Practice 
can  change  our  corrupt  Nature  5  and  Pradice 

continued^ 


158         A  Sermon  preached 

continued,  and  perfevcfed  in,  by  the  Grace 
of  God,  will.  We  all  acknowledge  (that  is, 
all  who  are  not  wife  above  the  Articles  of  our 
Church)  that  there  is  an  univerfal  Stain  and 
Depravation  upon  Man's  Nature,  that  does 
incapacitate  him  for  the  Fruition,  and  infinite- 
ly pure  Converfe  of  God.  The  Removal  of 
which  cannot  be  effeded,  but  by  introducing 
the  contrary  Habit  of  Holinefs,  which  fhall 
by  Degrees  expel,  and  purge  out  the  other. 
And  the  only  Way  to  produce  an  Habit,  is  by 
the  frequent  Repetition  of  congenial  Anions, 
Every  pious  Adlion  leaves  a  certain  Tinfture, 
or  Difpolition  upon  the  Soul,  which  being  fe- 
conded  by  Actions  of  the  fame  Nature,  whe- 
ther by  theSuperaddition  of  new  Degrees,  or 
a  more  radicate  Fixation  of  the  fame,  grows 
at  length  into  an  Habit,  or  Qiiality,  of  the 
Force  and  Energy  of  a  fecond  Nature. 

I  confefs  the  Habit  of  Holinefs,  finding  no 
Principle  of  Production  in  a  Nature  wholly 
corrupt,  muft  needs  be  produced  by  fuperna- 
tural  Infufion,  and  confequently  proceed,  not 
from  Acqiiifitiony  but  Gift.  It  muft  be  brought 
into  the  Soul,  it  cannot  grow,  orfpring  out  of 
it.  But  then  we  muft  remember  that  moft  ex- 
cellent, and  true  Rule  of  the  Schools,  that 
Habit  us  infufi  obtinentur  per  modum  acquifL 

torum> 


at  St,^l2iXYSy  Oxon.  139 

tor  urn.  It  is  indeed  a  (uper  natural  Effed, 
but  (as  I  may  To  Ipeak)  wrought  in  a  natu- 
ral Way.  The  Spirit  of  God  imitating  the 
Courfe  of  Nature,  even  then,  when  it  worlds 
fomething  above  it. 

A  Perfon  in  the  State  of  Nature  or  Unre- 
generacy  cannot  by  the  fole  Strength  of  his 
mod  improved  Performances,  acquire  an  Ha- 
bit of  true  Grace  or  Holinefs.  But,  as  in  the 
Rain,  it  is  not  the  bare  Water  that  frudifies, 
but  a  fecret  Spirit,  or  Nitre  defcending  with 
it,  and  joined  to  it,  that  has  this  Virtue,  and 
produces  this  Effed  ;  So  in  the  Duties  of  a 
meer  natural  Man,  there  is  fometimes  an  hid- 
den, Divine  Influence,  that  keeps  Pace  with 
thofe  Adions,  and  together  with  each  Perfor- 
mance, imprints  a  holy  Difpofition  upon  the 
Soul ;  which  after  a  long  Series  of  the  like 
Adions  influenced  by  the  fame  Divine  Princi- 
ple, comes  at  length  to  be  of  that  Force  and 
Eirmnefs  as  to  out-grow,  and  work  out  the 
contrary  Qualities  of  inherent  Corruption. 

We  have  an  lUuftration  of  this,  tho'  not  a 
parallel  Inftance,  in  natural  Adions,  which 
by  Frequency  imprint  an  Habit,  or  permanent 
Facility  of  ading,  upon  the  Agent.  Godlinefs 
is  in  fome  Senfe  an  Art  or  Myftery,  and  wc 
all  know  that  it  is  Pradice  chiefl^y,  that  makes 
the  Artift,  Secondly^ 


140         A  Sermon  preached 

Secondly,  A  fccond  Reafon  for  our  Afler- 
tion,  is,  becaufe  ABion  is  the  higiieft  Per- 
fedlion,  and  drawing  forth  the  utmoft  of  Pow- 
er, Vigor,  and  Adivity  of  Man's  Nature.  God 
is  pleafed  to  vouchfafe  the  beft  that  he  can 
give,  only  to  the  beft  that  we  can  do.  And 
Adion  is  undoubtedly  our  beft,  becaufe  the 
inoft  difficult  i  for  in  fuch  Cafes,  Worth,  and 
Difficulty  are  infeparable  Companions.  The 
propereft  and  moft  raifed  Conception  that  we 
have  of  God,  is,  that  he  is  a  pure  AB,  a  per- 
petual, inceflant  Motion.  And  next  to  him, 
in  the  Rank  of  Beings,  are  the  Angels,  as 
approaching  neareft  to  him  in  this  Perfection  5 
being  all  Flame,  and  Agility,  miniftring 
Spirits,  always  bufy  and  upon  the  Wing,  for 
the  Execution  of  his  great  Commands  about 
the  Government  of  the  World.  And  indeed 
^oing  is  nothing  elfe  but  the  nobleft  Improve- 
inent  of  Being.  It  is  not  (as  fome  nice  Spe- 
culators make  it)  an  airy,  diminutive  En- 
tity, or  Accident  diftind  from  the  Subftance 
of  the  Soul ;  but  to  define  it  more  fuitably  to 
itfelf,  andto  the  Soul  too,  Adion  is  properly 
the  Soul  in  its  beft  Pofture. 

Thirdly,  A  third  Reafon  is,  becaufe  the 
main  End,  Thrift  and  T>efign  of  Religion  is 
the  adive  Part  of  it,     ProfefTion  is  only  the 

Badge 


at  St,  MaryVj  Oxon.  141 

Badge  of  a  Chriftian,  Belief  the  Beginning, 
but  Pradice  is  the  Nature,  and  Cultom  the 
Perfe(5lion.  For  it  is  this,  which  tranflatcs 
Chriftianity  from  a  bare  Notion  into  a  real 
Bufinefs  i  from  ufelefs  Speculations  into  fub- 
ftantial  Duties ;  and  from  an  Idea  in  the  Brain 
into  an  Exiftence  in  the  Life.  An  upright 
Converfation  is  the  bringing  of  the  general 
Theorems  of  ReHgion  into  the  particular  In- 
ftances  of  folid  Experience ;  and  if  it  were  not 
for  this.  Religion  would  exift  no  where,  but 
in  the  Bible.  The  grand  deciding  Queftion  at 
the  laftDay  will  be,  not  What  have  yon  [aid? 
or  What  have  you  believ'dl  but  What  have 
you  done  more  than  others  ? 

But  that  the  very  Life  of  Religion  confifts 
in  Pradice,  will  appear  yet  further  from  thofe 
fubordinate  Ends  to  which  it  is  defiiined  in 
this  World,  and  which  are  as  really,  though 
not  as  principally,  the  Purpofe  of  it,  as  the  ut- 
moft  Attainment  of  the  Beatifick  Vifion, 
and  the  very  laft  Period  of  our  Salvation; 
and  thefc  are  two. 

Firfiy  The  honouring  of  God  before  the 
World.  God  will  not  have  his  Woidiip,  like 
his  Nature,,  invifible.  Next  to  Authority  it. 
fclf  is  the  Pomp, and  Manifefiation  of  it  j  And 
to  be  acknowledged  is  fomething  more  than 

to 


142,  A  Sermon  preached 

to  be  obeyed.  For  what  is  Sovereignty  un* 
known,  or  Majefty  unobfervcd  >  Wliat  Glory 
were  it  for  the  Sun  to  dired  tlie  Affairs,  if  he 
did  not  alio  attrad  the  Eyes  of  the  World? 
It  is  his  open  and  univcrfal  Light,  more  than 
his  occult  Influence,  that  we  love  and  admire 
him  for.  Religion,  ifconfined  to  the  Heart, 
is  not  fo  much  entertain'd,  as  imprifoned : 
That  indeed  is  to  be  its  Fountain,  but  not  its 
Channel.  The  Water  arifcs  in  one  Place,  but 
it  ftrcams  in  another  j  and  Fountains  would 
not  be  fo  much  valued  if  ihey  did  not  produce 
Rivers. 

One  great  End  of  Religion  is  to  proclaim 
and  publifh  God's  Sovereignty,  and  there  is 
no  fuch  way  to  caufe  Men  to  glorify  our  Hea- 
venl'f  Father-,  as  by  caufing  our  Light  to  Jhine 
before  them  5  which  I  am  fure,  it  cannot  do, 
but  as  it  beams  through  our  good  Works. 
When  a  Man  leads  a  pious  and  good  Life, 
every  Hour  he  lives  is  virtually  an  Ad  of 
Worfliip.  But  if  inward  Grace  is  not  exerted^ 
and  drawn  forth  into  outward  Pradice,  Men 
have  no  Infpedion  into  our  Hearts,  to  difcern 
it  there.  And  let  this  be  fixed  upon  as  a  {lan- 
ding Principle,  that  it  is  not  pofTible  for  us  to 
honour  God  before  Men  ybwx.  only  by  thofe  Ads 
of  Worfhip,  that  are  obfervable  by  Men.  .It  is 

our 


at  St,  Mary'^,  Oxon.  14^ 

our  Faith  indeed  that  recognizes  Him  for  our 
God,  but  it  is  our  Obedience  only,  that  de- 
clares Him  to  be  our  Lord. 

Secondly y  The  other  End  of  Religion  in 
this  World,  is  the  good  and  mutual  Advan- 
tage of  Mankind  in  the  way  of  Society.  And 
herein  did  the  admirable  Wifdom  and  Good- 
nefs  of  God  appear,  that  he  was  pleafcd  to 
calculate  and  contrive  fuch  an  Inftrument  to 
govern-,  as  might  alfo  benefit,  the  World.  God 
planted  Religion  amongft  Men  as  a  Tree  of 
Life ;  which,  though  it  was  to  fpring  upwards 
directly  to  himfelf,  yet  it  was  to  fpread  its 
Branches  to  the  Benefit  of  all  below. 

There  is  hardly  any  NecelTity,  or  Conve- 
nience of  Mankind,  but  what  is  in  a  large 
Meafure  ferv'd  and  provided  for  by  this  great 
Bleffmg  (as  well  as  Bufinefs)  of  the  World, 
Religion.  And  he  who  is  a  Chriftian,  is  not 
only  a  better  Man, but  alfo  a  betterNeighbour, 
a  better  Subie6]:,and  atruerFriend,than  he  that 
is  not  fo.  For  was  ever  any  Thing  more  for  the 
Good  of  Mankind,  than  to  forgive  Injuries,  to 
love  and  carefs  our  mortal  Adverfaries,  and  in- 
ftead  of  our  Enemy, \o  hate  only  our  Revenge? 

Of  fuch  a  double,  yet  benign  Afpe^t  is 
Chriftianity  both  to  God  and  Man  j  like  In- 
cenfe,  while  it  afcends  to  Heaven  it  perfumes 

all 


T  4  4  -^  Sermon  preached 

all  about  it ;  at  the  fame  Time  both  inftru- 
mental  to  God's  Worfhip,  and  the  Worlhip- 
pers  Refrefhment :  As  it  holds  up  one  Hand 
in  Supplication,  io  it  reaches  forth  the  other 
in  Benefa(^ion. 

But  now,  if  it  be  one  great  End  of  Reli- 
gion, thus  to  contribute  to  the  Support  and 
Benefit  of  Society,  furely  it  mufl  needs  con- 
fift  in  the  active  Piety  of  our  Lives,  not  in 
empty  Thoughts  and  fruitlefs  Perfuafions. 
For  what  can  one  Man  be  the  better  for  what 
another  thinks  or  believes?  When  a  poor 
Man  begs  an  Alms  of  me,  can  /  believe  my 
Bread  into  his  Mouth,  or  my  Money  into  his 
Hand?  believing  without  doing  is  a  very 
cheap,  and  cafy,  but  withal  a  very  worthlefs 
Way  of  being  religious. 

And  thus  having  given  the  ReafonSj  why 
the  aBiveTart  of  Religion  is  the  only  fur  e  Bot- 
tom for  us  to  build  upofiy  I  now  proceed  to 
i\ie.fecond  Thing  propofed,  namely  to  fliew, 
thofefalfe  andfandy  Foundations y  which  many 
venture  to  build  upon,  and  are  accordingly  de- 
ceived by.  Which  tho'  they  are  exceedingly 
various,  and,  according  to  the  Multiplicity 
of  Mens  Tempers,  Bufineffes,  and  Occafions, 
almoft  infinite,  and  like  the  Sand  men- 
tioned in  my  Text,  not  only  infirnty  but 
4  numberlefs 


at  St.  MaryV,  Oxon.  145 

numberlefs  alfo  j  yet  according  to  the  beft  of 
my  poor  Judgment  and  Obfervation,  I  fhall 
reduce  them  to  thefe  three  Heads.     The 

Firfi  of  which  is  a  w^^f  ^,unoperative  Faith : 
ask  but  fome  upon  what  grounds  they  look  to 
be  faved,   and  they  will  anfwcr,  becaufe  they 
firmly  believe jthat  through  the  Merits  of  Chrift 
their  Sins  are  forgiven  them.     But  fmce  it  is 
hard  for  a  Man  in  his  right  Wits  to  be  confi- 
dent of  a  Thing,    which  he  does  not  at  ail 
know  5  fuch  as  are  more  cautious  will  tell  you 
further,   That  to  deftre  to  believe  is  to  believe> 
and  to  defire  to  repeyit  is  to  repent.     But  as  this 
is  abfurd  and  impoflible,  iincc  no  AH  can  be 
its  own  0^/V<^  without  being  notitfelf;  for- 
afmuch  as  the  Ati  and  the  Object  are  diflind 
things  J  and  confequently  2i  defire  to  believe, 
can  no  more  be  Belief ythzn  a  defire  to  be  faved 
can  be  Salvation'^  fo  it  is  further  intolerable 
upon  this  Account,  that  it  quite  difpirits  Re- 
ligion,  by  placing  it   in  languid,    abortive 
Vellcities,  and  fo  cuts  the  Nerves  of  all  En- 
deavour,   by  rating  Glory  at  a  bare  defire, 
and  Eternity  at  a  Wijh. 

But  becaufe  the  Poyfon  of  this  opinion  does 
fo  cafily  enter,  and  foftrangely  intoxicate,  I 
fhall  prefume  to  give  an  Antidote  againft  it  in 
this  one  Obfervation,  namely,  that  all  along 

Vol.  III.  l'  the 


>i4  6  A  Sermon  preached 

the  Scripture,  where  Juftification  is  afcribed 
to  Faitti  alone,  there  the  word  Faith  is  ftill 
ufed  by  a  Metonymy  of  the  Antecedent  for  the 
Confequent,  and  does  not  fignify  abftraO:edly 
a  meer  Perfuafion,  but  the  Obedience  of  an 
holy  Life  performed  in  the  Strength  and  Virtue 
offiich  a  Perfuafion.  Not  that  this  juftifies 
meritorioufly  by  any  inherent  Worth  or  Value 
in  itfelf,  but  inftrumentallyzs  a  Condition  ap- 
pointed by  God,  upon  the  Performance  of 
which,  He  freely  imputes  to  us  Chrift's 
Righteoufnefs,  which  is  the  Iblc,  proper,  and 
formal  Caufc  of  our  Juftification,  So  that, 
that  Inftrumentality,  which  fome,  in  the  Bu- 
iinefs  of  Juftification,  attribute  to  oxxz  fingle 
AH  of  Credence^  is  by  this  afcribed  to  the 
whole  aggregate  Series  of  Gofpel  Obedience, 
as  being  that  which  gives  us  a  Title  to  a  per- 
fed  Righteoufnefs  without  us,  by  which  a- 
lone  we  ftand  juftified  before  God.  And  this 
feems  with  full  accord  both  to  Scripture  and 
Reafon  to  ftate  the  Buimefs  of  Juftification 
by  an  equal  Poife  both  againft  the  arrogant 
AlTertions  oiSelfJufiiciaries  on  the  oneHand, 
and  the  wild  Opinions  of  the  Antinomians  on 
the  other. 

But  whether  the  Obedience  of  a  pious  Life, 
performed  out  of  a  Belief   or  Terfnafion  of 

the 


at  St.  MaryVj   Oxon.  147 

the  Truth  of  the  Gofpel,  ought  to  pa fs  for  that 
Faith  which  juftifies,  or  only  for  the  EffeB 
or  Confequent  of  it,  yet  certainly  it  is  (uch 
an  Effe5f  as  iffues  by  a  Kind  of  con-natural, 
conftant  Efficiency  and  Refult  from  it.  So 
that  how  much  foever  they  are  diftinguifh- 
able  by  their  refpedive  Adions  from  one 
another,  they  are  abfolutely  infeparable  by  a 
mutual  and  a  neceflary  Connexion  :  It  be- 
longing no  lefs  to  the  Faith  which  juftifics  to 
be  Operative,  than  to  juftify  :  Indeed  upon 
an  eflential  Account,  more ;  forafmuch  as  it 
is  operative  by  its  Nature,  but  juftifies  only  by 
Inftitution. 

.Secondly,  Thefecond  faife  Ground  which 
fome  build  upon,  is  a  fond  Reliance  upon  ths 
Goodnefs  of  their  Heart,  and  the  Hone  fly  of 
their  Intention.  A  profitable,  and  therefore 
a  very  prevailing  Fallacy  5  and  fuch  an  one  as 
the  Devil  feldom  ufes,  but  with  Succefs;  it 
being  one  of  his  old  and  long  experimented 
Fetches,  by  the  Pretences  of  Oi good  Heart,  to 
fupplant  the  NecefTity  of  a  good  Life.  But  \.o 
alledge  the  Honeily  of  the  Mind  againft  the 
Charge  of  an  evil  Courle,  is  a  Troteftation 
againft  the  Fa5i,  which  does  not  excufe,  but 
enhance  its  Guilt.  As  it  would  look  like  a 
very  ftrange  and  odd  Commendation  of  a  Tree 

La  to 


148  A  Sermon  preached 

to  apologize  for  the  Sournefs  of  its  Fruit,  by 
pleading  that  all  it  Goodnefs  lay  in  the  Root, 

But  in  the  Difcourfes  of  Reafon,  fuch  is  the 
Wcaknefs,  and  Shortnefs  of  its  Reach,  that 
it  fcldom  fuggcfts  Arguments  <3:jOri<7r/ for  any 
Thing,  but  by  a  low  and  humble  Gradation 
creeps  from  the  EfFeds  up  to  the  Caufe,  be- 
caufe  thefe  firft  ftrike  and  alarm  the  Senfes  5 
and  therefore  St.  James  fpeaks  as  good  Phi- 
lofophy  as  Divinity  when  he  fays,  James  ii. 
1 8.  She-dj  me  thy  Faith  by  thy  Works.  Every 
Adion  being  the  mod  lively  Pourtraiture, 
and  impartial  Exprellion  of  its  efficient  Prin- 
ciple, as  the  Complexion  is  the  beft  Comment 
upon  the  Conftitution :  For  in  natural  Pro- 
dudions  there  is  no  Hypocrify. 

Only  we  muft  obfervc  here,  \\\2Xgood  and 
^•i;/7  Adions  bear  a  very  different  Relation  to 
their  refpedive  Principles.  As  it  is  between 
Truth  and  falfhood  in  Argumentation,  fo  it  is 
between  Good  and  Evil  in  Matters  of  Pra- 
ctice. For  though  from  an  artificial  Contri- 
vance of  falfe  Principles  or  T^remifes  may  e- 
merge  a  true  Conclufion,  yet  from  true  Pre- 
mifes  cannot  enfue  a  falfe :  So,  though  an  evil 
Heart  may  frame  itfelf  to  the  doing  of  an 
Aftion  in  its  Kind  or  Nature  good,  yet  a  re- 
newed, fandtified  Principle  cannot  of  itfelf 

dcfign 


at  St.  MaryV,  Cxon.       149 

dcfign  Adionsrcally  vitious.  The  Rcafon  of 
which  is,  bccaufe  the  former,  in  fiich  a  Cafe, 
ads  upon  a  Principle  of  DiHimulationi  and 
no  Man  by  dilfembling  affedto  appear  worfc 
than  he  is,  but  better.  But  all  this  while,  I 
fpeak  not  of  a  fingle  Adion,  but  of  a  Conver- 
fation,  or  Courfe of  acting  :  For  a  pious  Man 
may  do  an  evil  Adion  upon  Temptation  or 
Surprize,  but  not  by  theTenour  of  his  (land- 
ing Principles  and  Refolutions.  But  when  i 
Man's  Sin  is  his  Bufinefs  and  the  formed  Pur4 
pofe  of  his  Life  j  and  his  Piety  fhrinks  only  in- 
to Meaning  and  Intention  5  when  he  tells  me 
his  Heart  is  right  with  God,  while  his  Hand 
is  in  my  docket,  he  upbraids  my  Reafon,  and 
outfaces  the  common  Principles  of  natural 
Difcourfe  with  an  Impudence  equal  to  the 
Abfurdity. 

This  therefore,  I  affirm,  that  he  who  pla- 
ces his  Chriftianity  only  in  his  Heart,  and  his 
Religion  in  his  Meaning,  has  fairly  fecured 
himfelf  againft  a  Difcovery  in  cafe  he  fhould 
have  none,  but  yet,  for  all  that,  Ihaii  at  the 
laft  find  his  Portion  with  thofe  who  indeed 
have  none.  And  the  Truth  is,  thofe  who  are 
thus  intentionally  pious,  do  in  a  very  ill  and 
untoward  Senfe  verify  that  Philofophical 
Maxim,  that  what  they  fo  much  pretend  to 

L  3  be 


1 5  o  A  Sermon  preached 

be  chief  and  Firft  in  their  Intention^  is  always 
J_,aft  (if  at  all)  in  the  Execution. 

Thirdly y  The  third  and   laft  falfe  Ground, 
that  I  fliall  mention,  upon  which  fome  Men 
build  to  their  Confufion,  is  ^ arty  and  Singu- 
larity.    If  an  implicit  Faith  be  (as  fome  fay) 
the  Property  of  a  Roman  Catholick,  then,  I 
am  fure,  Popery  may  be  found,  where  the 
Name  of  Papift  is  abhorred,  for  what  account 
can  fome  give  of  their  Religion,  or  of  that 
Affiirance  of  their  Salvation  (which  they  fo 
much  boaft  of)  but  that  they  have  wholly  re- 
figned  thcmfelves  up  to  the  Guidance  and 
Dictates  of  thofe,  who  have  the  Front  and 
Boldncfs  to  ufurp    the  Title    of  the  Godly. 
To  beoffucha  Party,  offuchaName,  nay, 
of  fuch  a  fncaking  Look,  is  to  fome  the  very 
Spirit,    and  Charaderiflick   Mark  of  Chri- 
{lianity. 

See  what  St-'P^/z/himfelf  built  upon  before 
his  Convcrfion  toChrift,  y^^^xxvi.  5.  Iwds 
(fays  he)  after  the  JifiBeJi  Sedi  of  our  Re- 
ligion a  Tharifee.  So  that  it  was  the  Repu- 
tationof  the  Se^,  upon  which  St.  ^aul then 
embarked  his  Salvation.  Now  the  Nature  of 
this  Fraternity  or  Seel  we  may  learn  from  the 
Origination  of  their  Name  ^harifee^  it  being 
derived  from  W12 Tarafch.feparavitydifcre'Vtt^ 

whence 


at  St,  MaryV^  Oxon.  i  j  i 

whence  in  Greek  they  were  called  *  Acp^^^r- 
^%vo^y  feparati.  So  that  the  Words  amount 
to  this,  That  St  Taul  before  he  was  a  Chrifti- 
an,  was  a  rigid  Separatift. 

But  Singularity  is  not  Sincerity,  tho'  too 
often  and  mifchievoufly  miftaken  for  it ;  and 
asanHoufe  built  upon  the  Sand  is  likely  to 
be  ruined  by  Storms  j  fo  an  Houfe  built  out 
of  the  Road  is  cxpofed  to  the  Invafion  of 
Robbers,  and  wants  both  the  Convenience 
and  Alliftance  of  Society  :  Chrift  is  not  there- 
fore called  the  Corner  Stone  in  the  Spiritual 
Building,  as  if  he  intended  that  his  Church 
fhould  confift  only  of  Corners  or  be  driven  into 
them.  There  is  a  By-Tath  as  well  as  a  Broad- 
Way  to  Deftrudion.  And  it  both  argues  the 
Nature,  and  portends  the  Doom  oi  Chaff',  up- 
on Agitation  to  feparate  and  divide  from  the 
Wheat.  But  to  fuch  as  venture  their  eternal 
Intereft  upon  fuch  a  Bottom  I  (hall  only  fug- 
geft  thefe  two  Words. 

Firfiy  That  admitting,  but  not  granting, 
that  the  Party  which  they  adhere  to,  may  be 
truly  pious  5  yet  the  Piety  of  the  Party  cannot 

♦  ^x^ia-Mci  ol  i^fJbii/jiucfJttivet  a.^u^;(r[/jivet,  xc^oe.  to  fiti^t^m  y^ 
cc,<po^\^nt  iavTcv^  T  ccXXuv  oizocvTu)/ ,  Suidns.  Again,  ^x^ia-eiitx;  ct<l)U' 
fKTfi/ivei;  fji/t[jbt^irfjtttv<^,  xoj^apo?.  Hefych.  So  that  the  Pharifees  pro- 
perly were,  and  might  be  called  the  Jewilh  Cuthari  or  Furitam. 

L  4  fandify 


152,  A  Sermon  preached 

fan£lify  its  Profelytes.  A  Church  may  be  pro- 
perly called  Holy,  when  yet  that  Holinefs 
does  not  difFufe  itfelf  to  each  particular  Mem- 
ber :  the  Reafon  of  which  is  becauie  the  whole 
may  receive  Denomination  from  a  Quality  in- 
herent only  in  fome  of  its  Parts.  Company 
may  occafion^but  it  cannot  transfufe  Holinefs. 

No  Man's  Right eoajnefs  but  Chrift's  alone 
can  be  imputed  to  another.  To  rate  a  Man 
by  the  Nature  of  his  Companions,  is  a  Rule 
frequent  indeed,  but  not  infallible.  Judas  was 
as  mych  a  Wretch  amongft  the  Apoftles,  as 
amongft  the  Prieits  :  And  therefore  it  is  but  a 
poor  Argument  for  a  Man  to  derive  his  Saint- 
Ihip  from  the  Virtues  of  the  Society  he  be- 
longs to,  and  to  conclude  himfelf  no  Weed, 
only  becaufe  he  grows  amongft  the  Corn. 

Secondly y  Such  an  Adhefion  to  a  Party  car- 
ries in  it  a  ftrong  Sufpicion  and  Tang  of  the 
rankeft  of  all  ill  Qiialities,  Spiritual  Tride, 
There  are  two  things  natural  almoft  to  all 
Men. 

Firfi,  A  defire  of  Preheminence  in  any 
Perfedion,  but  efpecially  Religious.  Second- 
ly j  A  Spirit  of  Oppofition  or  Contradiction  to 
fuch  as  are  not  of  their  own  Mind  or  Way. 
Now  both  thefe  are  eminently  gratified  by  a 
Man's  lifting  himfelf  of  a  Party  in  Religion. 

And 


at  St.  Mary '5,  Oxon.  153 

And  I  doubt  not  but  fome  are   more  really- 
proud  oftheafFcdedSordidnefs  of  a  pretended 
Mortification,  than  others  are  of  the  grcateft 
Affluence  and  Splendor  of  Life :  And  that  ma- 
ny who  call  the  Execution  of  Law  and  Juftice 
^erfecution-,  do  yet  fufFer  it  with  an  higher 
and  more  pleafing  Relifh  of  Pride,  than  others 
can  inflid  it.       For  it  is  not  true  Zeal  rifing 
from  an  hearty  Concernment  forReligion,but 
an  ill,  reftlefs,  crofs  Humour,   which  is  pro- 
voked with  Smart,  andquickned  with  Oppo- 
fition.  The  Godly  ^arty  is  little  better  than  a 
Contradiction  in  the  Adjund  ^  for  he  who  is 
truly  godly,  is  humble  and  peaceable,  and  will- 
neither  make,  nor  be  ofaT'arty,  according  to 
the  common  Senfe  of  that  Word.     Let  fuch 
Pretenders  therefore  fufped:  the  Sandinefs  and 
Hollownefs  oftheir  Foundation  5  and  know 
that  fuch  Imitators  of  Corah,  Nathan,  and 
Abtram  build  upon  the  fame  Ground  upon 
which  they  flood,  and  into  which  they  funk. 
And  certainly  that  Man's  Condition  is  very 
unfafe,  who  accounts  his  Sin  his  Perfection 
and  fo  makes  the  Objed  of  his  Repentance, 
the  Ground  of  his  Salvation  ? 

And  thus  I  have  difcovcr'd  fome  of  thofe 

falfe  and  deceiving  grounds  upon  which  many 

bottom  their  eternal  State,  and  by  which  they 

3  think 


15  4         ^  Sermon  preached 

think  themfelves  in  the  dired  Way  to  Life 
and  Happinefs,  while  God  knows  they  are 
in  the  high  and  broad  Road  to  Perdition. 

^afs  isoe  now  to  the  Third  Thing  propofed, 
which  is  to  (hew  whence  it  is  that  fuch  ill 
founded  StruBiires  are,  upon  Tryaly  fare  to 
fall.  For  the  Demonftration  of  which  we 
muft  obferve,  that  to  the  violent  Diffolution 
of  any  Thing  two  Things  concur,  Firji,  an 
Affault  or  ImprelTion  from  without.  Secondly, 
an  inherent  Weaknefs  within.  One  is  the, 
aftive,  the  other  the  paflive  Principle  of  eve- 
ry Change.  For  fo  much  as  there  is  of  Weak- 
nefs, there  is  of  Non-Refiftance,  and  fo  far 
as  any  Thing  yields  or  not  refifts,  the  con- 
trary Imprefllon  enters,  and  by  Degrees  wea- 
kens, and  at  length  deftroys  the  Subfiftence 
of  the  Thing  oppofed. 

As  for  the  firft  of  thele,  the  Force  and  Op- 
pofit  ion  from  without:  It  comes  from  the 
0  TTGvriocg  the  true  common  Enemy y  the  impla- 
cable, infatiable  Devourer  of  Souls,the  Devil ; 
who  will  be  fure  to  plant  his  Engines  of  Bat- 
tery againfi:  every  Spiritual  Building  which 
docs  but  look  towards  Heaven.  The  Oppofi- 
rioa  he  makes,  our  Saviour  here  emphatically 
defcribcs  by  the  fVmds  bio  wing,  i\\z  Rainde- 
fiending,  and  the  Floods  coming,  which  is  not 

an 


at  St,  Mary'5,  Oxon.  155; 

an  infi^nificantRhetorication  of  the  fame  thin"- 
by  feveralExprcirions(Ukc  fomePalpct  Bom- 
baft  made  only  to  meafure  an  Hour-Glafs)  but 
an  exad  Dcfcription  of  thofe  three  Methods, 
by  which  this  Aflault  of  the  Devil  prevails 
and  becomes  vidorious. 

Firfi,  The  firft  is,  that  it  is  fuddain  and 
tinexpeBed.  The  Devil  ufually  comes  upon 
the  Soul  as  he  fell  from  Heaven,  like  Light- 
ning. And  he  fhews  no  fmall  Art  and  Poli- 
cy by  his  fo  doing  :  For  Quicknefs  prevents 
Preparation,  and  fo  enervates  Oppofition.  It 
is  obferved  of  C^^r,  that  h^d'\(i^lurima& 
maxima  bellafola  celeritate  corijicere :  So  that 
almoft  in  all  his  Expeditions  he  feldom  came 
to  any  place,  but  his  coming  was  before  the 
Report  of  it.  And  we  ihall  find,  that  the 
Roman  Eagles  owed  moft  of  their  great  Con* 
quefts  as  much  to  their  Swiftnefs  as  to  their 
Force.  And  the  fame  is  here  the  Devil's  Me- 
thod in  his  Warfare  againft  Souls.  Upon 
which  account  alfo  the  fame  Charader  that 
T'lill'j  gave  the  forementioned  Cafar  in  his  £- 
piftles  to  AtttCiiSy  may  much  more  fitly  agree 
to  him,  that  he  is  Monftrum  horribile  Celeri- 
tatis  &  Vigilanti^.  He  flies  to  his  Prey,  he 
fetches  his  Blow  quick  and  fure.  He  can  fhoot 
a  Temptation  in  a  Glance,  and  convey  the 

Poyfon 


1^6         A  Sermon  preached 

Poyfon  of  his  Suggeftions  quicker  than  the 
Adtation  of  Thought,  or  the  Strictures  of 
Pancy.  It  is  the  fuddain  Trip  in  Wreftling 
that  fetches  a  Man  to  the  Ground. 

Thus  St.  Teter,  that  Giant  in  Faith,  was 
iliamefully  foiled  by  a  fuddain  though  weak 
Aflault.  While  he  fits  in  'the  High  Prieft's 
Hall  warming  himfelf  and  thinking  nothing, 
one  confounds  him  with  this  quick  unex- 
pected Charge,  Matth.  xxvi.  69.  Thou  alfo 
iz' aft  isoith  J efus  of  Galilee.  The  Surprize  of 
the  Onfct  prevented  his  deliberating  Powers 
from  rallying  together  thofe  Succours  of  habi- 
tual Grace,  which,  being  alarm'd  by  a  more 
gradual  Approach  of  the  Temptation,  would 
have  eafily  rcpulfed  ir.  But  the  Devil  will  ne- 
ver caution  the  Soul  into  aPofturc  of  Defence 
by  prcfcnting  the  Temptation  at  a  Diftance. 
He  bites  and  Ihews  his  Teeth  at  the  fame  In- 
llant ;  and  fo  preventsthe  Forefight  of  the  Eye^ 
by  exceeding  it  in  ^iicknefs. 

Secondly,  His  Aflaults  are  furious  and  impe- 
tuous. Temptations  come  very  often,  as  the 
Devil  himfelf  is  faid  to  do,  in  a  Storm.  And 
a  Guft  of  Wind,  as  it  rifcs  on  a  fuddain,  fo  it 
lufhes  with  Vehemence.  And  if  the  Simili- 
tude docs  not  yet  fpeak  high  enough  5  to  the 
Violence  of  the  Storm,  theTe^t  adds  the  pre- 
vailing 


at  St,  MaryV,  Oxon.        157 

vailing  Rage  of  a  Flood.  And  we  know  the 
Tyranny  of  this  Element  when  it  once  em- 
bodies into  a  Torrent,  and  runs  with  the  uni- 
ted Force  of  many  Waters  j  it  fcorns  all 
Confinement,  and  tears  down  the  proudeft 
Oppofuion,  as  Virgil  fully  defcribes  it : 

"  Rapidiis  montano  flumine  torrens, 

"  Sternit  agros,  fternit  fata  lata,  boumq-^ 

labores. 
"  Tracipitejqi  trahit  Sylvas 

With  a  parallel  Encounter  does  the  Devil 
draw  upon  the  poor  Fortifications  of  outward 
Civility  good'\De[ires,imperfe£lRefolutions,znd 
the  like,  which  are  no  more  able  to  abide  the 
Shock  of  fuch  Batteries,  than  aMorning'Dew 
is  able  to  bear  the  fcorching  Fury  of  the  Sun ; 
or  than  fuch  little  Banks  as  Children  ufe  to 
raife  in  Sport,  are  able  to  ftem  or  ftand  a- 
gainft  the  outragious  breaking  in  of  the  Sea 
Every  Temptation  has  this  Property  of  Water 
cither  to  infinuate,  or  to  force  its  Way. 

Thirdly,  The  Devil  in  his  Aflaults  is  refi- 
lefs  and  importunate.  The  fVind  is  here  faid 
not  only  to  blow,  but  emphatically  to  beat 
upon  the  Houfe.  And  as  in  a  Tempeft  the 
Blafis  are  both  fuddain  and  violent  in  their 

Onfet 


1 5  §  A  Sermon  preached 

Onfet,  lb  they  are  frequent  in  their  Returns^ 
Importunity  is  the  only  Coadion  that  the  Will 
knows.  Where  the  Devil  cannot  petifuade, 
he  will  if  he  can,  even  weary  into  a  Confent. 
It  is  often  charging  that  wins  the  Field.  The 
Tempter,  if  he  is  repulfed  in  a  Battel,  will 
lengthen  his  Affault  into  a  Siege.  For  the 
Mind  may  have  often  a  fuddain  Heat  of  Va- 
Jour  to  repel  the  one,and  yet  not  Conftancy  to 
endure  the  other.  A  rejeded  Propofal  fhall  be 
reinforced  with  continual  frefh  Supplies  of 
more  urgent  and  repeated  Perfuafions. 

See  him  thrice  renewing  the  Combat  with 
our  Saviour  j  and  indeed  after  he  has  had  the 
Impudence  to  begin  a  Temptation,  it  is  al- 
ways  his  Prudence  to  purfue  it.  Otherwife^ 
Oppofition  only  attempted  ferves  not  forCon- 
queft,  but  Admonition.  His  Affaults  arc  here 
faid  to  come  like  the  Ra'mj  and  the  Rain 
never  falls  in  one  fmgleDrop;  and  yet  if  it 
did,  even  a  ^rop  would  hollow  and  dig  its 
Way  by  Frequency  and  Afliduity. 

It  is  obferved  by  the  learned  Verulam,  what 
Advantage  bold  and  importunate  Men  have 
over  others,  nay,  even  fo  as  to  prevail  upon 
Men  of  Wifdom  andRefolution,  becaufe,  as 
he  excellently  notes.  The  wifeji  Men  have 
their  weak  Times :   And  then  I  infer,   that 

he 


at  St.  MaryV,  Oxon.  1J9 

he  who  is  importunate  at  all  times,  muft  needs 
catch  them  at  thofe. 

So  when  the  Tempter  continues  his  Impor- 
tunity and  Siege  about  a  Soul,  he  has  all 
thefe  Advantages  over  it  j  as  to  view  its  ftrong 
Holds,  and  to  fpy  where  they  are  leaft  for- 
tified. To  obferve  the  Intervals  and  Cefla- 
tions  of  Duty.  When  Devotion  ebbs,  and 
the  Spiritual  Guards  draw  off :  When  the 
AfFcdions  revel,  and  Aide  into  a  Pofture  of 
Security ;  and  then  to  renew,  and  bring  on 
the  Aflault  afrefh,  and  fo  to  force  a  vidori- 
ous  Entrance  for  his  Temptations. 

It  is  here,  as  with  the  Greeks  before  Troy ; 
it  was  not  their  Armies,  nor  their  Achilles, 
but  their  ten  Tears  Siege  that  got  the  Con- 
queft.  What  a  violent  Flame  cannot  prefently 
melt  down,  a  conftant,  tho'  a  gentle  Heat 
will  at  length  exhale.  It  is  our  known  Duty 
to  fight  and  refift  the  T>ev'tlh  and  we  fhall 
find  that  fcarce  any  Temptation  ever  encoun- 
ters the  Soul  without  its  Second. 

So  then,  you  fee  here  the  firft  Caufe  of  this 
great  Overthrow,  namely,  the  Ajfaidt  and  Im, 
prejjion  made  from  without  by  the  Tempter^ 
which  in  the  next  Place  is  rendred  effectual  by 
t\v^  Impotence  and  Non-Rejifiance  of  the  Soui, 
that  is  fo  oppofed  j  which  peculiarly  anfwers 
5  his 


i6o  A  Sermon  preached 

his  threefold  Oppofition  with  three  coritrary 
QuaHfications.  • 

Firft,  As  Firft,  That  it  is  frequently  un- 
prepared. The  Soul  (God  knows)  is  but  fel- 
dom  upon  the  Watch  ;  its  Spiritual  Armour 
is  feldom  buckled  on.  The  Bufinefs,  the  Cares, 
and  the  Pleafures  of  the  World,  draw  it  off 
from  its  own  Defence :  Bufuiefs  imploys,Care 
diftrads,  and  Pleafure  lulls  it  afleep.  And  is 
this  a  Pofture  to  receive  an  Enemy  in  ?  An 
Enemy  cunning,  watchful,  and  malicious ! 
An  Enemy  who  never  {leeps,nor  loyters,  nor 
overlooks  an  Advantage ! 

Secondly,  As  it  is  unprepared,  fo  it  is  alfo 
weak  2in6,  feeble.  The  Spirit  (fays  our  Savi- 
our) is  willing,  but  the  Flefi  is  weak.  And 
fuch  is  the  Condition  of  Men  in  this  World, 
that  much  more  oi  Flefi  than  Spirit  ^ocs  to 
his  Conftitution.  Nay,  is  not  Grace  itfelf 
defcribed  under  the  Weakncfs  of  fmoaking 
Flax,  or  a  bruifed  Reed?  Of  which  how 
quickly  is  one  extinguifhed,  and  how  eafily 
is  the  other  broke ! 

Thirdly,  As  it  is  both  unprepared,  and 
weak  i  fo  it  is  alfo  inconftant.  Peter  will 
die  for  his  Matter  at  one  time,  and  not  many 
Hours  after  deny,  and  forfwear  him.  Sted- 
faftnefs  is  the  Rcfult  of  Strength,  and  how 

then 


at  St.  MaryV,  Oxon,  \6{. 

then  can  Conftancy  dwell  with  Weaknefs  ? 
The  greateft  Strength  of  the  Mind  is  in  its 
Refolutions,  and  yet  how  often  do  they 
change !  Even  in  the  weightieft  Concerns  Men 
too  frequently  put  them  on  and  off\j'iih  their 
Cioaths.  They  deceive,  when  they  are  moil 
trufted  :  fuddainly  darting,  and  flying  in  pieces 
like  a  broken  Bow  j  and  like  a  Bow  again? 
even  when  ftrongeft,  they  can  hardly  be  kept 
always  bent.  We  fee  what  fair  and  promifing 
Beginnings  fome  made,  Luke  v'm.  13.  They 
heard  the  JVord,  they  received  it  with  Joy,  but 
having  not  Root:,  they  believed  only  for  awhile^ 
and  fo  in  time  of  Temptation  fell  away . 

Conftancy  is  the  crowning  Virtue.  Maf, 
X.  22.  He  who  endnreth  to  the  End  fiall be 
faved.  But  then  Conftancy  and  Perfeverance 
are  the  Gift  of  God,  and  above  the  Produdion 
of  meer  Nature  5  it  being  no  fmall  Paradox 
to  imagine  that  where  the  Stock  itfelf  is  flight 
and  infirm,  any  thing  which  grows  our  of  it 
fhould  be  ftrong. 

And  thus  having  fhewn,  the  threefold  Impo- 
tence of  the  Soul  anfwerable  to  the  threefold 
Oppofition  made  againft  it  by  the  Devil ;  what 
can  we  conclude  ?  But  that  where  Uiiprepa- 
rednefs  is  encountred  with  unexpe^fed  Force,, 
Weaknefs  with  Violence,  Incoiiflancy  with  Im- 

Vol.  III.  M  fortunity^ 


I  (J  2,  A  Sermon  preached 

portunity^  There  Deftrudlion  mud  needs  be? 
not  the  efFed  of  Chance,  but  Nature,  and, 
by  the  clofefl:  Connexion  of  Caufes,  unavoid- 
able. 

It  now  remains  that  in  the  lad  place  we 
fhew,  wherein  the^r^^fw^of  this  Fall  con- 
ififts.  The  Houfe  fell  and  great  "ji^as  the  Fall 
thereof.  In  fhort,  it  may  appear  upon  thefe 
two  Accounts. 

Firjl^  That  it  is  fcandalous,  and  difFufes 
a  Contagion  to  others,  and  a  Blot  upon  P^e- 
Jigion.  A  falling  Houfe  is  a  bad  Neighbour. 
It  is  the  Property  of  Evil  as  well  as  Good  to 
be  communicative.  We  ftill  fuppofe  the  Build- 
ing here  mentioned  in  the  Text  to  have  had 
all  the  Advantages  of  vifibic  Reprefent- 
ment,  all  the  Pomp  and  Flourifh  of  external 
Ornament,  a  ftately  Superftrudture,  and  a 
beautiful  Appearance  ;  and  therefore  fuch  an 
one  muft  needs  pcrifh  as  remarkably  as  it 
flood.  That  which  is  feen  afar  off  while  it 
ftayidSy  is  heard  of  much  further  when  it 
jails. 

An  eminent  Profeflbr  is  the  Concern  of  a 
whole  Profeflion.  As  to  Nonplus  an  Ariftotle 
would  look,  not  only  like  a  Slur  to  a  parti- 
cular Philofopher,  but  like  a  Baffle  to  Philo. 
fophy  itfclf. 

The 


at  St.  Mary'^-j  Oxoii.  i  (^5 

The  Devil  will  let  a  Man  build  and  pradife 
high,  that  he  may  at  length  fetch  him  down 
with  the  greater  Shame  j  and  fo  make  even 
a  Chriftian  an  Argument  againft  ChriiHanity^ 
The  fubduing  of  any  Soul  is  a  Conqueft,  but 
of  fuch  an  one  a  Triumph.  A  fignal  Profcf- 
for  cannot  perilh  without  a  Train,  and  in  his 
very  T)eftru6fion  his  Example  is  authentick. 

Secondlj,  The  Grcatnefs  of  the  Fall  here 
fpokcn  of  appears  aifo  in  this,  that  fuch  an 
one  is  hardly  and  very  rarely  recovered.  He 
whole  Houfe  falls,  has  not  ufually  cither 
Riches  or  Heart  to  build  another.  It  is  the 
Bufinefs  of  a  Life  once  to  build. 

God  indeed  can  cement  the  Ruins,  and  heal 
the  Breaches  of  an  apollate  Soul,  but  ufually 
a  fhip-wrack'd  Faith  and  a  deflour'd  Confci- 
ence  admit  of  no  Repair.  Like  the  prefent 
Time,  which,  when  once  gone,  never  returns. 

What  may  be  within  the  Compafs  of  Om- 
nipotence, the  Secret  of  a  Decree,  or  the  un- 
limited Strains  of  extraordinary  Grace,  is  not 
here  difputed  :  But  as  it  would  be  Arrogance 
for  us  Men  to  define  the  'P^z£;^r  of  Grace  i  fo 
is  it  the  height  of  fpiritual  Prudence  to  oblcrve 
its  Methods.  And  upon  fuch  Obfervation  we 
fliail  iind,  that  the  Recovery  of  fuch  Apoftatcs 
is  not  thcCuJlom  but  the  ^Prerogative  of  Mercy. 
M  2  A 


1(5  4  ^  Sermon  preached 

A  Man  is  ruined  but  once.  A  Mircarria2;e 
in  die  New-Birth  is  dangerous  j  and  very- 
fatal  it  generally  proves  to  pafs  the  Critical 
Seafons  of  a  defeated  Converfion. 

And  thus  I  have  at  length  difpatched,  what 
I  atfirft  propofed.  Now  the  Words  them- 
felves  being  (as  I  faid  before)  Chrift's  Appli- 
cation of  his  own  Sermon,  cannot  be  im- 
proved into  a  better,  and  confequently  need 
not  into  another ;  except  what  their  own 
natural  Confequence  does  fuggeft  j  and  that 
is,  what  our  Saviour  himfelf  intimates  elfe- 
wherc,  namely,  that  he  who  is  about  to  build, 
iLWuldfirfifit  do\ji)7i  and  confider  v:hat  it  is  like 
to  coft  him.  For  Building  is  chargeable,  efpe- 
cially  if  a  Man  lays  out  his  Money  like  a  Fool. 
Would  a  Man  build  for  Eternity,  that  is,  in 
other  Words,  would  he  be  faved  >  Let  him 
confider  with  himfelf,  what  Charges  he  is 
willing  to  be  at,  that  he  may  be  fo.  Nothing 
under  an  univerfal,  fincere  Obedience  to  all 
the  Precepts  of  the  Gofpel,  can  entitle  him 
to  the  Benefits  of  it  j  and  thus  far  and  deep 
he  muft  go,  if  he  will  lay  his  Foundation  true* 
It  is  an  hard  and  a  rocky  Work,  1  confefs 
but  the  Difficulty  of  laying  it  will  be  abun- 
dantly recompcnced  by  the  Firmnefs  of  it 
when  it  is  laid. 

But 


at  St,  Mary'5,  Oxon.  1 6^ 

But  it  is  a  fad  and  mortifying  Confidcration 
to  think  upon  what  falfe  and  finking  Grounds, 
or  rather  upon  what  JVhirlpools  and  §)itick- 
fands  many  venture  to  build.  Some  you  (hall 
have  amufing  their  Confeiences  with  a  Set  of 
fantaftical  new-coin'd  Phrafes,  fuch  as  Laying 
hold  on  Chr ift^  get thig  into  Chrifty  and  rolling 
themjelves  upon  Chrijlj  and  the  like  5  by  which 
if  they  mean  any  Thing  elfe  but  obeyin"-  the 
Precepts  of  Chrift,  and  a  rational  Hope  of 
Salvation  thereupon,  ( which,  it  is  certain 
that  generally  they  do  not  mean)  it  is  all  but 
a  Jargon  of  empty,  fenfclefs  Metaphors  j  and 
though  many  venture  their  Souls  upon  them 
defpifing^^^^/i^r^j'  ^ndJiriB  Living  as  meer 
Morality y  and  perhaps  as  Topryy  yet  bein^- 
throughly  look'd  into  and  examined,  after  all 
their  Noife,they  are  really  nothing  but  IFords 
and  IVind. 

Another  flatters  himfelf  that  he  has  lived 
in  full  Ajfuranceof  his  Salvation  for  ten,  or 
twenty,  or  perhaps  thirty  Years  j  that  is,  in 
other  Words,  the  Man  has  been  ig?iorantj  and 
confident  very  long. 

Ay,  but  fays  another,  I  am  a  great  Hearer 
and  Z/tfi/vr  of  Sermons,  (efpecially  o^LeSiures.) 
And  it  is  this  which  is  the  very  Delight  of  my 
Righteous  Soul,  and  the  m.ain  Bufinefs  of  my 
Life }  and  the'  indeed  according  to  the  good 
Ms  old 


1 66        A  Sermon  preached 

old  Puritan  Cuftom,  I  ufe  to  walk,  and  talk 
out  the  Prayers  before  the  Church-Door,  or 
without  the  Cho'tr^  yet  I  am  fure  to  be  always 
in  at  Sermon.  Nay,  I  have  fo  entirely  devo- 
ted my  whole  Time  to  thc^^^r/>^  of  Sermons, 
that  I  muft  confefs,  I  have  hardly  any  left  to 
praBtfe  them.  And  will  not  all  this  fet  me 
Rii^ht  for  Heaven  ?  Yes,  no  doubt,  if  a  Man 
were  to  be  pulled  up  to  Heaven  by  the  Ears  > 
or  the  Golpel  would  but  reverfe  its  Rule, 
and  declare,  That  not  the  T>oers  of  the  Wordy 
but  the  Hearers  only  foould  be  juftlfied. 

But  then  in  comes  a  fourth,  and  tells  us. 
That  he  is  a  Saint  of  yet  an  higher  Clafs,  as 
having  got  far  above  all  their  rnean^  beggarly, 
Steeple-Hoiife  T>ifpenfattons^  by  an  happy  Ex- 
change of  them  for  the  purer  and  more  refined 
Ordinances  of  the  Conventicle  5  where  he  is 
fure  to  meet  \,ni\\  powerful  Teaching  indeed, 
and  to  hear  PFill'WorJhip  and  Siiperjttt'wn  run 
down,  and  the  Triefis  of  Baal  paid  off,  and 
the  Follies  and  Fopperies  of  their  great  Idol 
the  Commo'/i-Trayer  laid  open  with  a  Witnefs, 
(not  without  fome  edifying  Flings  at  the  King 
and  Court  too,  fometimes)  by  all  which  his 
Faith  is  now  grown  {oftrovg^  that  he  can  no 
more  doubt  of  his  going  to  Heaven,  than  that 
there  is  fuch  a  Place  as  Heaven  to  go  to. 

So 


at  St,  Mary'53  Oxon.  1(^7 

So  that  if  the  Confcicncc  of  fuch  an  one 
fhould  at  any  Time  offer  to  grumble  at  him, 
he  would  prefently  flop  its  Mouth  with  this, 
Ikat  he  is  of  fitch  an  Ones  Congregation  -,  and 
then  Confiience  fay  thy  isuorft  :  Or  if  the  Guilt 
of  fome  old  Perjuries  or  Extortions  fhould 
begin  to  look  flern  upon  him,  why  then  all 
thofe  old  Scores  fhall  be  cleared  off  with  a 
comfortable  Perfuafion,  Thatjnchashecan. 
not  fall  from  Grace,  tho'  it  is  flirewdly  to 
be  feared,  that  his  only  way  of  proving  this 
mufl  be,  That  there  can  be  no  lofing  or  fall- 
ing  from  that  '-johich  a  Man  never  had. 

But  ah!  thou  poor,  h\m<\y  felf-deludhgy 
and  deluded  Soul  I  Are  thcfe  the  befl  Eviden- 
ces thou  haft  for  Heaven  ?  Thefe  the  Grounds 
upon  which  thou  hopcft  for  Salvation  ?  Afllire 
thylelf  that  God  will  deal  with  thee  upon 
very  different  Terms. 

For  he  abfolutely  enjoins  thee  to  do  what- 
foever  Chrifl  has  commanded ;  and  to  avoid 
whatfoever  he  has  forbidden.  And  Chrift  has 
commanded  thee  to  be  poor  in  Spirit,  and 
pure  in  Heart.  To  fubdue  thy  unruly  Ap- 
petites, to  curb  thy  Luft,  to  reftrain  thy  AnJ 
ger,  and  to  fupprefs  thy  Revenge.  And  if  a- 
ny  Thing  proves  an  Hindrance  to  thee  in  thy 
Duty,  tho*  it  be  as  dear  to  thee  as  thy  Right 
M  4.  Eye^ 


i6^        A  Sermon  preached 

Eye,  to  pluck  it  outh  and  as  iifefal  to  thee  as 
thy  Right- Hand,  to  cut  it  off  andcafi  it  from 
thee,  he  will  have  thee  ready  to  endure  Per- 
fecLitions,  Revilings,  and  all  manner  of  Slan- 
ders, not  only  patiently,  but  alfo  chearfully 
for  the  Truth's  Sake.  He  calls  upon  thee  to 
love  thine  Enemies,  and  to  do  Good  for  Evil: 
To  blefs  thofe  that  ctirfe  thee,  and  to  pray  for 
thofe  that  defpitefully  ufe  thee.  He  commands 
thee  in  all  Things,  ftridly  to  do  as  thou  isjould- 
efl  be  done  by ;  and  not  to  cheat,  lye,  or  over- 
reach thy  Neighbour ;  and  then  call  it  afetch^ 
ir.g  over  the  wicked,  the  better  to  enable  thee  to 
relieve  the  godly.  Ke  will  not  allow  thee  to 
refift  Evil,  and  much  lefs  to  refjl  thy  Gover- 
noiir.  He  commands  thee  to  be  charitable 
without  Vain-glory,  and  devout  without  O- 
ftentation.  In  fliort,  he  requires  thee  to  be 
meek  and  lowly,  chafte  and  temperate,  juft 
and  merciful  -,  and  in  a  Word,  (lb  far  as  the 
poor  Meafures  of  Humanity  will  reach)  per- 
feB  as  thy  heavenly  Father  is  perfect. 

This  is  the  Sum  of  thofe  Divine  Sayings  of 
our  Saviour,  which  he  himfelf  refers  to  in  my 
Text,  and  which  if  a  Man  hears  and  does,  all 
the  Powers  of  Hell  fhall  never  fhake  him. 
And  nothing  but  a  conftant,  impartial,  univer- 
fal  Praftice  of  thefe  will  or  can  ipeak  Peace  to 

thy 


^/ Chrift'ChurcVi,  Oxon.       i6^ 

thy  Confcience  here,  and  fland  between  thee 
and  the  Wrath  of  God  hereafter.  As  for  all 
other  Pretences,  they  are  nothing  but  l^eath 
and  ^Damnation,  drelled  up  in  fair  Words  and 
falfe  Shews  5  nothing  but  Gins,  and  Snares, 
and  Trapans  for  Souls  5  contrived  by  the  De- 
vil, and  managed  by  fuch  as  the  Devil  fets 
on  Work. 

But  I  have  done,  and  the  Refult  of  all 
that  I  have  faid,  or  can  fay  is,  that  every  fpi- 
ritual  Builder  would  be  perfuaded  to  tran- 
flate  his  Poundation  from  the  Sand  to  the 
Rock :  And  not  prefume  upon  Chrift  as  his 
Saviour  y  till  by  a  full  Obedience  to  his 
Laws,  he  has  owned  him  for  his  Sovereign. 
And  this  is  properly  to  believe  in  him :  This 
is  truly  to  build  upon  a  Rock  5  even  that 
Rock  of  JigeSj  upon  which,  every  one  that 
wears  the  Name  of  Chrift,  muft  by  an  ine- 
vitable  Dilemma  either  build,  ox.  fplit. 

Now  to  God,  who  is  able  to  build  us  up  in 
our  moft  holy  Faith,  to  eftablijh  us  here, 
and  tofave  us  hereafter,  be  rendred  and 
afcribed,  as  is  moft  due,  all  Traife, 
Might,  Majefty,  and  'Dominion^  both  now 
for  evermore.    Amen. 

A 


(  170  ) 

A  True  State  and  Account  of  the  Plea 
of  a  Tender  Confcience : 

I  N    A 

SERMON 

Preached  at 

Chrift-Chuixh,  Oxon. 

Before  the 

UNIVERSITY, 

In  Michaelmas  Term,  1672. 


I    C  O  R.     viii.   12. 

But  "^L'henye  fin  fo  againft  the  Brethren^  and 
wound  their  weak  Confcience,  ye  fin  a. 
gainft  Chrift, 

I  SHALL  by  God's  Affiftance  from  thefe 
Words  debate  the  Cafe  of  a  weak,  or 
( as  fome  improperly  enough  call  it )  a  tender 
Confidence :  And  with  what  Evidence  I  can 

fhe>g 


at  Chrift'Chutch,  Oxon.        171 

(liew  both  what  it  is,  and  what  Privileges  it 
may  juftly  claim  from  this  and  fuch  other 
Places  of  Scripture.  One  great  one  we  have 
here  fet  down,  and  that  indeed  fo  great,  that 
it  looks  more  Uke  a  Prerogative  than  a  Pri- 
vilege j  namely,  That  to  wound  or  Jin  againfi 
itj  is  no  lefs  a  Crime  than  to  fin  againft 
Chrift  hhnfelf. 

Our  Apoftle  in  two  Places  of  his  Epiftles 
treats  profeiTcdly  of  this  Argument :  To  wit, 
the  yX^thofthe  Rom.  and  in  this  viii^^  of  the 
I  Cor.  For  the  better  underftanding  ofhisDe- 
fign  and  Meaning  in  both  which  Places,  it  will 
be  requifite  to  give  fomc  brief  Account  of  the 
Subjed  Matter,  andOccafion  of  them.  In  the 
y^iM  th  Chapter  of  the  Rom.  he  fpeaks  of  fuch  as 
had  been  converted  from  Judaifm  to  Chri- 
ftianity  j  fome  of  which  being  but  new  Con- 
verts, were  not  yet  fo  perfedly  and  entirely 
Chriftians,  but  that  they  ftill  obferved  the  Or- 
dinances of  the  MofaicalLaw,  as  fuppofuigit 
ftill  in  Force.  Others,  on  the  contrary,  being 
more  confirmed  and  grown  up  in  the  Know, 
ledge  of  their  Chriftian  Liberty,  and  thereby 
being  fully  fatisfied,  that  the  ceremonial  Part 
of  the  Mofaick  Law  was  abolifh'd  and  took 
away,  obferved  not  that  Difference  of  ^ays 
and  Meats  which  was  prefcribed  in  that  Law, 

but 


1 7  i  A  Sermon  preached 

but  look'd  upon  one  Day  as  another,  and  in- 
differently eat  any  kind  of  Meats,  being  per- 
fuaded  in  their  Confcience,  that  Chrift  had 
took  away  all  fuch  Diftinclion,  and  made  the 
Ufe  of  all  lawful.  Neverthclefs,  the  former 
Sort  of  Converts  not  undcrftanding,  that  it 
was  the  Defign  of  Chriftianity  to  abrogate  any 
Thing  once  eftablifhed  by  Mofes,  had  their 
Conlciences  ftill  in  Bondage  to  a  Religious 
Obfervation  of  whatfoever  had  beencnjoyn- 
ed  in  his  Law.  And  thereupon,  though  they 
owned  Chrift,  yet  if  any  Meat  prohibited  by 
Mofes  was  let  before  them,  they  held  them- 
felves  bound  rather  to  faft,  or  to  eat  only 
Herbs,  than  by  eating  fuch  Meat,  to  break 
the  Law  (as  they  thought)  and  thereby  to 
defile  themfeives.    This  was  their  Cafe. 

But  in  this  \ii\th  Chapter  of  i  Cor.  St.  Taul 
fpeaks  oiT  erf  oris  newly  converted  from  Ida. 
latry,  and  that  touching  the  Lawfulnefs  or 
Unlawfulnefs  of  eating  Meats  offered  to  Idols. 
Concerning  which  Offerings  we  muft  know, 
that  befides  what  v/as  eaten  of  them,  in  the 
Idol's  Temple,  (which  eating  was  an  A£t  of 
Religious  Worfhip  and  Communion  with  the 
Idol,  as  our  eatmgthe  Bread  in  the  Sacrament 
is  a  Communion  with  Chrift  5)  bcfides  this 
fay,  there  was  a  certain  Portion  of  thofe  Sa- 
crifices 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.        173 

criiices  which  fell  to  the  Pricfts,  and  which 
they  having  no  ufe  of,  fold  to  thofe  who  after- 
wards expofed  it  toSale  promifcuoufly  amongft 
other  Meat  upon  the  Shambles ;  from  whence 
it  was  accordingly  bought  up  and  fpcnt  in  pri_ 
vate  Families,  without  any  Diftindion  whe- 
ther it  had,  or  had  not  been  offered  to  Idols. 
Now,  as  for  the  former  way  of  eating  Meats 
thus  offered,  namely,  in  the  Idol's  Temple, 
this  the  Appftle  utterly  difallows  as  abfolutely 
unlawful  i  but  the  latter  only  under  fome  Cir- 
cumftances:  For  he  allows  that  it  might  be 
lawfully  bought  amongft  other  Meat  in  the 
Market,  and  being  fo  bought,  might  be  eaten 
in  any  private  Houfe  without  the  leaft  Sin : 
Only  with  this  Caution,  that  whereas  there 
were  fome,  who  well  undcrftood,  that  Meat 
could  have  no  defilingQiiality  imprinted  upon 
it  by  its  Confecration  to  an  Idol  5  and  others, 
on  the  contrary,  having  not  fo  much  Know- 
ledge, fuppofed  that  the  Confecration  of  it  to 
the  Idol,  left  upon  it  fuch  a  polluting  QuaHty 
and  near  Relation  to  the  Idol,  as  defiled  the 
Eater:  The  former  fort  might  freely  and  inno- 
cently eat  fuch  Meats  in  private  Families^ 
provided  it  was  not  before  thofe  of  the  lattei^ 
fort  5  who  through  Weaknefs  having  an  Opi- 
nion of  the  Unlawfulnefs  of  fuchMcats,  might 
5  never- 


174  ^  Sermon  preacPjed 

neverthelcfs  be  induced  toufe  the  fame  Liber- 
ty, though  their  Confciences,  in  the  mean 
time,  having  quite  another  judgment  in  this 
Matter,  efteemed  the  eating  them  little  better 
than  Idolatry.  Now  the  Argument  by  which 
the  Apoftle  abridges  the  Liberty  of  the  former 
forts  of  Converts  in  Condefcenfion  to  thole  of 
the  latter  fort,  proceeds  upon  the  Strength  of 
this  Aflertion  5  That  the  Lawfulnefs  of  Mens 
Adions  depends  not  folely  either  upon  the 
Lawfulnefs  of  their  Subjed  Matter,  nor  yet 
upon  the  Confcience  of  the  Doers  of  them  con- 
fidered  in  itfelf,  but  as  confidered  with  refe- 
rence to  the  Confciences  of  others ;  to  whom 
by  the  Law  of  Charity  they  ftand  bound  fo 
to  behave  themfelves,  as  by  none  of  their 
Adions  to  give  them  Occafion  of  Sin.  And 
this  was  the  Cafe  of  the  Pcrions  here  treated 
of  by  the  Apoftle  in  this  Chapter.  Which 
hiftorical  Account  of  the  Subjed  Matter  of 
the  Words  being  thus  premifed,  I  fhall  caft  the 
Profecution  of  them  under  thefe  three  Heads, 

1.  I  fhall  fhew  you  what  a  i^eak  Cofifd' 
ence  is. 

2.  What  it  is  to  wound  or  fiii  againft  it. 

3.  I  (hall  lay  down  fome  Conclulions  or 
Alfertions,  naturally  refulting  from  the  fore- 
going Particulars. 

And 


at  Ch rift- Church,  Oxon.        175 

And  Firft  for  the  firft  of  thefe,  what  a  weak 
Confcience  is.  I  faid  at  firft  that  fuch  a  Con- 
fcience  was  improperly  QzWcd  tender:  which 
in  the  Senfe  it  commonly  bears,  is  an  Expref- 
fion  of  our  own  framing,  and  no  where  to  be 
met  with  in  the  Scriptures  5  Tendernefs  ap- 
plyed  to  the  Confcience,  properly  imports 
quickncfs  and  exadnefs  of  Senfe,  which  is  the 
Perfedlion  of  this  Faculty,  whofe  Duty  it  is  to 
be  a  Spiritual  Watch  to  give  us  warning  of 
whatloever  concerns  us.  It  is  indeed  the  Eye 
of  the  Soul;  and  though  the  Eye  is  naturally 
the  moft  tender  and  delicate  part  of  the  Body, 
yet  it  is  not  therefore  called  weaky  fo  lon^- 
as  its  Sight  is  quick  and  ftrong.  Confcience 
the  more  fenfible  it  is  to  accufe  or  excttfe 
(which  is  its  Office)  and  to  fpy  out  every  lit- 
tle thing  which  may  annoy  or  defile  the  Soul, 
fo  much  the  more  tender  it  is  to  be  accounted, 
but  not  therefore  fo  much  the  more  weak  : 
which  fufficientiy  fhews,  IVeaknefs  and  Ten- 
dernefs  of  Confcience^  to  be  in  Stridncfs  of 
Speech  two  different  things.  And  the  fame  ap- 
pears yet  further  from  thofe  Contraries,  to 
which  they  ftand  refpedlively  oppofed.  A 
tender  Confcience  being  oppofed  to  a  hard 
or  feared  Confcience :  Such  an  one  as  either 
wholly  or  in  a  great  meafure  has  loft  the  di- 
I  ftinguiih;^ 


ij6  A  Sermon  preached 

.  ftinguifhing  Senfe  of  Good  and  Evil,  Honeft 
and  Difhoneft.  Bat  a  weak  Confcience  is  op- 
pofed  to  a  ftrong :  Which  very  Strength  (we 
fhew)  condfted  in  the  'Tendernejs  or  Quick- 
nefs  of  its  difcerning  or  perceptive  Power  5 
whereupon  we  read  oi  jtrong  Men  and  Babes 
in  Chrift ;  which  Denominations  take  their 
Rife  from  the  Strength  or  Weaknefs  of  the 
Confcience  :  For  fuch  as  the  Confcience  is, 
fuch  muft  be  the  Chriftian. 

And  here,  let  none  think  my  infifting  up- 
on the  Diftindion  of  thefe  Terms  eitiiernice 
or  needlefs:  For  it  is  no  fmali  Artifice  of 
Fraud  to  prepoffefsthe  Minds  of  Men,  by  re- 
prefentingabad  thing  under  a  good  Name,  and 
calling  JVeaknefs  of  Confcience  which  is  a 
Defect,  by  the  Name  oiTendernefs  which  is  a 
Perfedion  Words  govern  the  Generality  of 
the  World,  who  feldom  go  fo  deep  as  to  look 
into  Things  :  And  Impoftors  well  know  how 
likely  their  Caufe  is  to  fucceed,  if  their  Terms 
can  but  once  be  admitted. 

As  for  the  Place  now  before  us,  it  is  evi. 
dent  that  the  Weaknefs  of  Confcience  here 
fpoken  of  is  oppofed  to  Faith :  So  that  in 
Rom.  xiv.  fuch  an  one  is  faid  to  be  weak  in 
the  Faith y  and  v.  2.  one  \_believeth'\  that 
he  may  eat  all  things  5  another  who  is  {weak) 

eateth 


^if  Chrift- church,  Oxon.      17^ 

eateth  Herbs.  Where  obferve  that  He  ijvbo 
believethy  is  oppofed  to  him  who  is  isjeak. 
Now  by  Faith  here  is  not  meant  that  A6t  or 
Quality  by  which  a  Man  is  juftihed,  but  fig- 
nifiesthe  fame  with  Knowledge.  As  iCi^r.  viii< 
I  o.  Ifanj  Man  fee  thee  iz'ho  haft  \_K7iowledge'\ 
Jit  at  Meat  in  the  IdoPs  Temple ^  jhall  not  the 
Confcience  of  him  who  is  weak  be  emboldened 
do  fa  too?  AndinVer.  7.  Howbeit  there  is 
mot  in  every  Man  this  {Knowledge'^  forfome 
with  Confcience  of  the  Idol  eat  it  as  a  Thing 
offered  to  an  Idol,  and  their  Confcience  being 
Iweatl  is  defiled.  So  that,  as  in  that  Chap^ 
ter  to  the  Romans,  Weaknefs  of  Confcience  is 
oppofed  to  Faith :  Here,  in  this  Chapter  to 
the  Corinthians,  the  fame  JVeaknefs  is  oppofed 
to  Knowledge.  Which  from  the  Identity  of 
the  Cafe  treated  of  in  both  Places,  together 
with  other  Circumftances,  evidently  demon- 
firate  Faith  and  Knowledge  to  be  here  taken 
for  the  fame  Thing.  In  lliort  therefore  the 
Faith  here  fpoken  of  is  a  clear  Knowledge  of 
\j\\2X.\stmlawful,  and  what  only  indifferent, 
together  with  a  firm  Perfuafion  of  the  law- 
ful Ufe  of  fuch  Indifferent  Things,  all  Cir- 
cumflances  being  duly  obfervcd  in  the  ufing 
of  them.  And  therefore  on  the  other  fide, 
the  weak  Confcience  is  fuch  an  one,  as 
Vol.  III.  N  judges 


178  ^  Sermon  preached 

judges  other  wife  of  the  Nature  of  Things, 
than  indeed  it  is,  fuppofmg  that  to  be  unlaw- 
ful in  itfelf,  which  really  is  not  fo,  and  there- 
upon abftaining  from  the  Ufe  of  it,  as  of  a 
Thins;  unlawful. 

Prom  whence  it  follows.  That  Weaknefs  of 
Confiience  implies  in  it  thele  Three  Things. 

Firft,  An  Ignorance  of  the  Lwjvfulnefs  of 
fome  certain  Thing  or  A<fiion. 

Secondly,  A  Sufpicionenfuing  thereupon  of 
its  Unlawftdnefs. 

Thirdly,  A  Religious  Fear  to  ufe  or  pradife 
it,groundcd  upon  that  Ignorance  or  Sufpicion. 

And  Firfl,  for  the  firft  of  thefe  Ingredients, 
Jgnorance.  Which  is  indeed  the  chief  and 
principal  of  all  the  Three,  as  being  the  Origi- 
nal of  the  other  Two.  Concerning  this  we 
muft  (as  the  Ground- work  of  all)  obferve,  that 
it  ought  by  all  means  to  be  fuch  an  Ignorance, 
as  may  in  Propriety  of  Speech  and  Senfe  bear 
the  Denomination  of  IVeaknefs:  Which  it  is 
certain  that  every  Sort  of  Ignorance  neither 
docs  nor  can.  For  fince  Weaknefs  is  proper- 
ly the  Privation  or  Abfence  of  Power,  That 
Ignorance  only  can  receive  this  Name,  which 
is  not  founded  upon  any  vitious  ABmi  or 
Oiniffion  of  the  WiW.  I  fay  A^ion  or  OmiJ- 
fion:    Foi^  a  Mail  may  either  pofitively  dc- 

%n 


at  Chrift- Church,  Oxon.      179 

fign  and  will  the  Ignorance  of  a  Thing,  by 
fludiouily  avoiding  all  means  to  inform  himfelf 
of  it ;  much  like  the  fhutting  of  one's  Eyes 
againft  the  Light,  or  rcfufing  to  come  to 
Church.  Or  it  may  be  founded  upon  fome 
Omillion  5  as  when  the  Will,  though  it  does 
not  defignedly  avoid  and  put  from  it  the  means 
of  Knowledge,  yet  negleds  to  look  after  them. 
Now  the  Ignorance  which  is  occafioned  cither 
of  thefc  Ways  is  iz'illingy  and  confequently 
Jinftil:  Though  ulually  for  Diilinclion  Sake 
the  former  is  with  more  Emphafis  termed  not 
only '•ji'illijig  b\xt -ui'illfui ,  as  being  the  dired 
Objed  of  an  Ad  of  Volition^  and  upon  that 
Account  ftamp'd  with  an  higher  Aggravation. 

That  Ignorance  therefore  that  renders  and 
denominates  the  Confcience  'u:eaky  muft  be 
fuch  an  one  as  is  not  '■JDtlling ;  which  is  evident 
upon  a  double  Account. 

Firjly  Becaufe  it  muft  be  fuch  an  one,  as 
renders  it  in  fome  Degree  exciifabk  5  but  fo 
far  as  any  Defed  is  refolved  into  the  Will,  it 
is  in  that  Degree  inexcufablc. 

Secondly,  Becaufe  it  muft  be  ft^ich  an  Igno- 
rance as  renders  the  Perfon  having  it,  the  Ob 
jed  of  Tity  and  CompaJ]io7i.     But  no  Man 
pities  another  for  any  Evil  lying  upon  him, 
which  he  would  not  help,  but  which  he  could 

N  2-  vot , 


1 S  o  A  Sermon  preached 

7iot.  One  is  his  Burden,  the  other  his  Choice  •■> 
virtually  at  leaft,  iince  he  might  have  chofen 
its  Prevention.  So  that  it  muft  be  fuch  an 
Ignorance,  as  is  not  (ail  Circumftances  con- 
fidcrcd)  under  the  prefcnt  Power  of  a  Man's 
Will  to  remedy.  And  confcquently  it  muft  be 
retblvcd  into  one  of  theieTv/o  Caufes. 

Firjl,  The  natural  Weaknefs  of  the  under- 
ftanding  Faculty. 

Secondly,  The  Want  of  Opportunities  or 
Means  of  Knov/ledge. 

Eitiicr  of  which  makes  Ignorance  necefla- 
ry  j  as  it  is  impoflible  for  him  to  fee  who 
wants  Eyes,  and  equally  impoflible  for  him 
who  'ooants  Light ;  the  former  being  the  Or- 
gaUy  the  other  the  Means  of  Seeing.  But  as 
touching  the  natural  Weaknefs  or  Difability 
of  theunderftanding  Faculty, we  muft  obferve, 
that  this  may  be  cither  total,  as  in  Cafe  of 
Idiotifm,  Phrenfy,  or  the  like  j  which  wholly 
deprives  a  Man  of  the  Ufe  of  his  Reafon  :  But 
Perfons  in  this  Condition  fall  not  under  the 
prefent  Confidcration.  Ot^Secondly,  this'Dif- 
ability  of  the  Under  ft  anding  may  be  only  in 
Part,  and  as  to  a  certain  degree  of  its  Exercife. 
From  whence  it  is,  that  one  Man  apprehends 
the  fame  Thing  under  the  fame  Advantages  of 
Propofal  much  more  ilowly  and  difficulty  than 
I  another. 


^/Chrift' Church,  Oxon.       i8i 

another.  Which  Dcfed  being  in  no  Man's 
Power  to  prevent,  but  coming  with  him  into 
the  World  5  all  that  Ignorance,  which  is  ine- 
vitably caufed  by  it,  neither  can,  nor  ever 
fhall  be  charged  upon  the  Will.  But  then 
withal,  as  this  Dcfcd  does  not  wholly  deprive 
a  Man  of  the  Power  ot  Knowing,  but  only  of 
theReadinefs,  Eafmefs,  and  Qiiicknefs  of  it  5 
(upon  v/hich  account  Knowledge  becomes 
more  difficult  to  him  in  the  Acquifition)  j  So 
th!sWeaknefs,Duinefs,orSlownefsofa  Man's, 
iotclieilual  Powers,  can  never  totally  excufc 
him  for  bein-i  i2;norant  of  what  it  was  his 
Duty  to  know  ;  lince  it  was  in  the  Power  of 
his  Will  by  Labour  and  Induftry  to  have  fup- 
plied  and  (as  it  were)  to  have  pieced  up  thefe 
Failures  in  hisApprehenfion;  and  fo  at  length, 
to  have  acq[uired  the  Knowledge  of  that  by 
Study  and  Pains,  which  he  could  not  by  the 
Slownefs  of  his  Underftanding  take  in  at  firft. 
But  then,  this  mufl  be  alfo  confefled,  that 
by  reafon  of  this  diverfity  in  the  Quicknefs  or 
Slownefs  of  Men'sUnderftandings ;  one  Man 
may  be  fooner  inexcufable  for  his  Ignorance 
of  the  fame  thing  than  another.  For  God  will 
allow  a  Man  of  flower  Parts  to  be  ignorant  of 
a  thing  longer  than  a  Perfon  endued  with 
more  quick  and  pregnant  Senfe.  He  expeds 
N  3  fro0 


1  8  z  A  Sermon  preached 

from  Men  only  according  to  the  Proportions 
of  his  giving  to  tiicm  ;  ftill  making  an  Equa- 
lity and  Commenfuration  between  a  Man's 
Obligations  and  his  Powers.  And  thus  much 
for  the  firft  and  grand  Ingredient  of  Weak- 
ncfs  of  Confcience  which  is  Ignorance. 

Secondly^  The  fccond  is  a  Sufpicion  of 
the  Unlawfulnefs  of  any  Thing  or  Action: 
And  this  is  manifeftly  fomething  more  than  a 
bare  Ignorance  of  its  Lawfulnefs.  Though 
indeed  fuch  an  Ignorance  is  ofitfelf  enough 
to  make  the  Forbearance  of  any  Thing  or 
Adion  neceffary :  Forafmuch  as  nothing 
ought  to  be  done  but  i7i  Faith  j  that  is,  in  a 
full  ^er/ua/ion  of  the  L2i\Yfi\lncis  of  what  we 
do.  Which  he  can  be  no  more  faid  to  do, 
who  is  ignorant  of  the  Lawfulnefs  of  what  he 
goes  about,  than  he  who  fufpeds  it  to  be  un- 
lawful. Howbcit  this  Sufpicion  adds  to  the 
Guilt  of  the  Action,  in  cafe  it  be  done  during 
its  continuance :  Becaufe  all  Sufpicion  is 
grounded  upon  fomc  Arguments,  which  leave 
not  the  Opinion  of  the  Lawfulnefs  or  Unlaw- 
fulnefs of  a  Thing  equal,  as  in  cafe  of  meer  Ig- 
norance, but  rather  encline  us  to  a  Belief  that 
it  is  unlawful.  For  it  is  one  thing  not  to 
know  whether  a  Thing  be  lawful,  another, 
to  doubt  flirewdly  to  fufpedl  that  it  is  not 

fo. 


^/ Chrifl-Cluirch,    Oxon.       183 

fo.  Now  this  indeed  is  the  ufual  Concomi- 
tant oUFeaknefsoiConfcience.zs  being  the  na- 
tural ^lodvidioi Ignorance j\v\\\d\  fcldom  flops 
in  itielf :  Men  in  the  dark  being  generally 
fearful  and  apt  to  fufpedl  the  worft.  But  yet 
this  Suipicion  is  not  eflentially  requifite  to 
make  a  Confidence  '-jjeak-,  tho'  where  it  is  ro,it 
makes  that  Weaknefs  greater  and  more  trou- 
blefome.  For  Ignorance  is  properly  that  in 
which  t\\\sJVeaknefs con{\i\s :  Ignorance  makes 
the  Sore,  Sufpicion  inflames  it. 

Thirdly  J  The  Third  and  Laft  Thing  that 
goes  to  the  making  up  of  this  Weaknefs  of 
Confcience,  is  a  Religiotis  Abjiinencehom  the 
ufe  ofthatThingof  theLawfulnefs  whereof  it 
is  thus  ignorant  or  fufpicious.  It  brings  a 
Man  tothatCondition  in  the  iid.  oiColoff,  and 
the  2  ift  V.  of  Touch  nety  Taft  not^  Handle 
mt.  It  lays  a  Tie  and  a  Rcftraint  upon  his  Pra- 
ctice, andenflaves  him  to  the  Prejudice  of  a 
miftaking  Confcience,  under  no  lefs  a  Penal- 
ty than  that  of  the  Divine  Wrath  and  Eternal 
Damnation ;  Bonds  not  to  be  fhook  off,  and 
Pences  not  to  be  broke  through  by  any  one 
who  values  the  Eternal  Welfare  of  his  Soul. 

Now  from  thefe  three  things  put  together, 

I  conceive,  we  may  colled  this  full  Defcripti- 

on  of  a  weak  Confcience ;  namely,   that  it 

N  4  is 


184         -^  Sermon  preached 

is  fuch  an  one,  as  obliges  a  Man  to  forbear 
any  Thing  or  Adion,  from  a  Sufpicion  that 
it  is  unlawful,  or  at  leaft  an  Ignorance  that 
it  is  lawful  5  which  Sufpicion  or  Ignorance 
was  not  caufed  or  occafioned  by  his  own  Will, 
but  either  by  the  natural  Weaknefs  of  his 
Undcrftanding,  or  the  want  of  fuch  means  of 
Knowledge,  as  were  abfolutely  neccflary  to 
inform  him. 

This  Defcription  ought  well  to  beobferved 
and  remcmbred  in  the  feveral  Parts  of  it ;  as 
being  that  which  mufc  give  Light  into  all  the 
following  Particulars. 

And  thus  much  for  the  firft  thing  propofed, 
which  was  to  iliew,  '-j:;hat  this  iL'eak  Confd- 
^nce  is.     I  proceed  now  to  the 

Second,  Which  is  to  fhew,  ''ji'hat  it  is  to 
'weund  or  fin  againft  it.  It  implies  I  con- 
ceiye  thefe  two  Things. 

Firji,  To  grieve,  afflid,  ordifcompofe 
it  i  or,  in  a  Word,  to  rob  it  of  its  Peace.  For 
there  is  that  Concernment  for  God's  Honour 
dwelling  in  every  truly  pious  Heart,  which 
makes  it  troubled  at  the  Sight  ofanyAdion 
by  which  it  fuppofes  God  to  be  difhonoured. 
Rivers  of  Tears  (fays  David)  run  down  my 
EyeSy  becaiife  Men  keep  not  thy  Statutes  5  and 
am.  I  not grievedwith  tbofe  wko  rife  up  againft 

Thee'i 


^^  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       iSy 

Thee  ?  Every  Sin  dire(3:ly  ftrikes  at  God,  but 
collaterally  the  Scandal  of  it  reaches  all  about 
us.  And  as  Piety  commands  us  not  to 
offend  God,  fo  Charity  enjoins  us  not  to 
grieve  our  Neighbour. 

Secondly,  The  other  Thing  implyed  in 
the  wounding  of  a  weak  Confcience,  is  to 
encourage  or  embolden  it  to  a6t  fomtthing  a- 
gainft  its  prefent  Judgment  or  Perfualion  : 
which  is  in  other  terms,  to  offend,  or  caft  a 
Stumbling-block  before  it.  That  is,  to  do 
fomething,  which  may  adminifter  to  it  an 
occafion  of  falling,or  bringing  itfelf  under  the 
guilt  of  Sin.  So  that  as  the  former  was  a 
Breach  upon  the  7eace,  this  is  properly  a 
Wound  upon  thcTurity  of  theConfcicnce. 

Now  the  Confcience  may  be  induced  to 
A£l  counter  to  its  prefent  Periuafion  two 
ways. 

I/?,  By  Example,  id,  By  Command. 
Firjl,  And  firft  for  Example  j  which  is 
the  Cafe  here  cxprefly  mentioned,  and  prin- 
cipally intended.  According  to  that  of  the 
Apoftle  in  the  loth  v.  of  this  sth  of  i  Cor, 
where  he  fays,  that  the  Confcience  of  him 
who  is  weak  is  embolden  d  to  eat  things  offer' d 
to  Idols  ^  by  feeing  him  who  has  Knowledge  fit 
at  Meat  in  the  Idol's  Temple ;  So  that  it  is 

the 


1 8  ^         A  Sermon  pi  e ached 

the  feeing  of  another  do  fo.  which  makes 
the  weak  Pcrfon  conclude  that  he  may  do 
fo  too.  Now  the  Reafon  of  that  perfuafive 
Torce  which  is  in  Example,  is  from  a  kind  of 
implicit  Faith  in  the  Goodnefs  and  Lawful- 
nefs  of  another's  Adlings  grounded  upon  a 
fuppofal  of  his  Piety  and  Judgment,  which 
in  the  weak  Confcience  of  one,  who  beholds 
him,  naturally  frames  fuch  a  kind  of  Ratio- 
cination as  this.  "  I,  for  my  Part,  by  the 
«  btftofmy  Underftanding,  can  be  no  way 
"  fatisfied  of  the  Lavvfulnefs  of  my  doino- 
"  fuch  anAdion,  neverthelefs  fuch  an  one, 
"  whom  I  efleem  a  Perfon  truly  pious  and 
**'  more  judicious  than  myfelf,  makes  no 
"  fcruplc  of  doing  it  at  all,  which  furcly  he 
*'  would,  if  it  were  indeed  unlawful:  And 
**  therefore  if  it  be  lawful  for  him  to  do  thus 
"  and  thus,  why  may  it  not  be  fo  like  wife  for 
<'  me,  albeit  my  own  Reafon,  I  confefs,  would 
•'  perfuade  me  other  wile  ? 

So  that  here  is  the  Force  of  the  Example  to 
perfuade^  and  thereby  in  this  Cafe  to  wound : 
in  that  it  induces  a  Man  to  ad  by  an  tmpU- 
cit  Faith,  in  the  private  Judgment  of  another- 
.againft  the  exprefs  Dilates  and  ^erfuajtons 
of  his  own.  A  thing  diredly  againft  the  Law 
of  God  and  Nature,  which  has  appointed 
3  every 


<7/ Chtift-Church,  Oxo.        187 

every  Man's  Reafon  or  Confcicncc  to  be  the 
immediate  Guide  or  Governor  of  his  Adions. 
Secondly,  The  fecond  way  by  which  the 
Confcience  may  be  induced  to  ad  contrary 
to  its  prefent  Periliafion,  is  by  Command  •->  as 
when  a  Perfon  in  Power  enjoyns  the  doing 
Ibmething,  of  the  Lawfulnefs  of  which  a  Man 
is  not  perfuaded  :  But  concerning  this,  thefe 
two  thincrs  are  to  beobferved. 

Firfi,  That  it  is  not  fo  clear  that  a  meer 
Command  can  wound  the  Confcience  this  way; 
that  is,  by  emboldening  it  to  ad  againft  its 
prefent  Perfuadon  :  for  fo  to  embolden  it, 
is  to  make  it  willing  to  a5l  in  this  manner; 
but  a  Command  as  fuch,  makes  not  a  Man 
willing  to  do  the  Thing  commanded,  but  lays 
only  an  Obligation  upon  the  Adion  that  is  to 
be  done.  Neverthelefs  fmce  a  Command  fel- 
dom  comes  propofed  naked  in  itfelf,  but 
with  the  Conjundion  of  Reward  upon  Per- 
formance of  the  thing  commanded,  or  of  Pe- 
nalties upon  theOmiilion-  one  whereof  works 
upon  a  Man's  Hopes jthc  other  upon  his  Fears  - 
by  both  of  which  Ways  the  Will  of  Man  is 
apt  to  be  prevailed  upon  j  therefore  in  this 
fenfe  a  Command  enjoyning  a  Man  to  do 
fomething  againft  his  Judgment,  may  be  faid 
to  ^e'^f/^^liis  Confcience  i  not  as  a  bare  C^»?- 

pjand 


1 8  8  A  Sermon  preached 

mand  (for  fo  it  has  nothing  to  allure  or  gain 
the  Will,  and  it  is  certain  that  it  cannot  force 
it)  but  as  a  Command  attended  with  thofc 
Things  which  are  apt  to  entice  and  gain  upon 
it.  Add  to  this  alfo,  that  aCommand  coming 
from  a  Perfon  ;2(?/^(?Jforhis  Piety  and  Know- 
ledge has  the  Force  of  an  Example  ;  Poraf- 
much  as  the  Reputation  of  the  Terfon  derives 
the  fame  Credit  upon  his  Law. 

Secondly y  The  other  Thing  here  to  be  ob- 
fcrved,  is  that  a  Command  may  be  confidcred 
two  ways. 

Firfij  As  dcfcending  from  o^z private  Per 
fon  upon  another,  as  from  a  Father  upon 
Son,  from  a  M after  upon  his  Servant,  from 
a  Guardian  upon  his  Pupil,  or  the  like.  And 
I  queftion  not  but  the  principal  Defign  of  the 
Apoftle  in  this  Chapter  extends  not  beyond 
private  ^erfons ;  but  diredly  propofes  rules 
only  for  the  charitable  and  inoiFenfive  Deport- 
ment of  owe  private  Terfon  towards  another. 
Ncverthelefs,  fince  by  manifcll:  Analogy  of 
Reafon,  the  Cafe  of  Magillratcs  or  publick 
Pcribns  may  here  come  into  Confideration  . 
Therefore  in  the, 

iS'f(r(9?z^'Placc,  aCommand  may  be  confidcr- 
ed as  dcfcending  from  -xMagiflrate  or  Ttiblick 
^crfon  upon  Perfons  uader  his  Jurifdidion, 

And 


«2^  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       i8c^ 

And  Co  I  affirm  that  the  Supreme  Magiftrate 
in  the  making  of  Laws,  or  giving  out  Com- 
mands, (lands  not  under  any  Obligation  from 
his  Office  to  frame  thofe  Laws  to  the  Good  or 
Advantage  of  any  particular  Perfons,  but  on- 
ly of  the   Community  or  Majority   of  the 
People,  which  are  properly  the  Truft  com. 
mitted  to  him.    So  that  if  his  Reafon  or  Con- 
fcience,  upon  the  beft  Information  he  can  get, 
tells  him  that  the  making  of  fuch  or  fuch  a 
Law  tends  to  the  Good  of  thefe,  and  that  fo 
apparently  that  without  it  they  would  be  un- 
avoidably hurt  in   Matters  of  the   greateft 
Moment :  If  this  Law  now  becomes  an  Occa- 
fion  of  Sin  to  fome  particular  Perfons,  its  be- 
ing fo  is  wholly  accidental  and  extrinfick  to 
the  Defign  of  the  Law,  and  confequently  con- 
cerns not  the  Civil  Magiftrate,  nor  makes  him 
chargeable  with  thofe  Sins  in  the  leaft.     For 
furely  where  the  Ttiblick  Good  of  all  or  moft 
of  the  People,  comes  into  Competition  with 
the  Private  Good  of  fome  Particulars,  fo  that 
both  cannot  poffibly  be  ferved  by  the  fame 
Means,  there  Charity,  as  well  as  bare  Reafon, 
will  teach,   that  the  Private  mud  ftoop  to 
the  Ttiblicky  rather  than  the  Publick  be  made 
a  Sacrifice  to  the  Private.     In  God's  Govern- 
ment of  the  World  it  is  the  Publick  Concern 

of 


ipo  A  Sermon  preached 

of  Mankind,  that  there  fliould  be  Summer 
and  Winter  in  their  relpe^live  Seafons,  and 
yet  there  are  Miliipns  of  fick  and  weak  Per- 
Ibns  to  whofe  Diftempers  the  Approach  of  ei- 
ther of  tliofe  Seafons  will  prove  certainly 
mortal.  Is  it  now  think  we  rational  that 
God  fhould  iufpend  a  Summer  or  a  Winter 
only  to  comply  with  the  Diftemper  of  thofe 
crazy,  bodily-weak  Brethren-,  and  thereby  to 
incommode  all  the  World  befides  ? 

The  Cafe  is  much  alike  here,  however  this 
indeed ]muft  be  confeffed,  That  if  the  Magi- 
flrate  or  Supreme  Power,  fhould  make  a  Law 
which  he  knew  would  be  a  dired  Occalion  of 
Sin  to  the  Generality  or  Majority  of  his  Peo- 
ple, the  making  of  inch  a  Law  would  be  in 
him  a  Sin  and  a  Breach  of  his  Truft  :  But 
Hill  I  affirm  that  his  Office  obliges  him  only 
to  provide  for  the  Good  of  the  main  Body  of 
his  People  j  and  if  it  fo  falls  out,  that  Parti- 
culars come  to  have  an  Intereft  diftinft  from, 
or  oppofite  to  that,  he  is  not,  during  fuch  its 
Oppofition,  at  all  bound  to  regard  or  provide 
for  it :  Nor  to  anfwer  for  the  Inconveniences 
which  may  attend  fuch  Perfons  either  in  their 
Civil  or  Spiritual  Concerns. 

And   thus  much    concerning  thefecond 
Thin^  propofed,  which  was  to  (hew  what  it  is 

to 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.      191 

to  vjomd  or  Jin  againji  a  weak  Confcience, 
namely,  that  it  is  either  to  grieve  it,  or  to  em- 
bolden it  to  Sin.  And  if  it  be  now  objected 
againft  this,  That  the  Text  calls  a  finning 
againft  a  weak  Confidence y  a  finning  againji 
Chrifi,  to  whom  wc  can  no  ways]  properly  be 
faid  to  adminifter  any  Occaf?bn,  or  Induce- 
ment to  Sin;  I  anfwer.  That  this  Expreflion 
of  {finning  againft^  being  applied  to  Chrift, 
imports  only  a  grieving  or  difobeying  him  : 
Though,  as  it  is  applied  to  the  weak  Con- 
fidence, it  iignifies  the  other  Thing  too.  Ic 
being  not  unufual  in  Scripture  for  the  fame 
Word  to  be  repeated  in  the  very  fame  Sen- 
tence under  a  diverfe  Signification.  Having 
thus  finifhcd  the  Two  firft  Things,  I  come 
now  to  the 

Third  and  Lafl,  which  is  to  fet  down 
thofe  Conclufions,  which,  by  way  of  Con- 
fequcnce  and  Dedudlion,  naturally  refult 
from  the  foregoing  Particulars.  Which 
Conclufions  are  thefe. 

I. 

That  no  Man  having  been  brought  up,  o^^ 
for  any  length  of  Time  continued  in  the  Com- 
munion of  a  Church,  teaching  and  profelling 
the  true  Religion;  if  he  have  but  alfo  the 
common  Ufc  of  hisReafon,  can  juftly  plead 

Weaknef's 


I  pi.  A  Sermon  preached 

IVeaknefs  of  Confc'tence  in  the  Senfe  in  which 
it  was  here  ukd  by  the  Apoftle. 

2. 

That  as  fuch  Weaknefs  ofConfcience  can  up- 
on no  fufficicnt  Ground  be  adually  pleaded, 
fo  upon  much  lefs  can  it  be  continued  in. 

Tliat  fuppofing  it  might  be  both  pleaded 
and  continued  in,  yet  the  Plea  of  it  ought  by 
no  Means  to  be  admitted  by  the  Civil  Ma- 
giftrate  in  Prejudice  of  any  Laws  either  actu- 
ally made  or  to  be  made  by  him,  for  the  ge- 
neral Good  of  his  People.  Of  each  of  which 
in  their  Order. 

Firft.  And  Firfl:,  for  the  firft  of  thefe. 
That  no  Man-,  &c.  This  Conclufion  is  of  fo 
much  Force  and  Ufe  rightly  applied,  that  it  is 
a  Wonder  it  has  not  been  more  infifted  upon, 
againft  thofe  who  difturb  the-  Church  with 
this  Pleayforafmuch  as  it  would  wholly  cafliier 
and  pluck  it  up  by  the  very  Roots.  And  Men 
miftakc  the  Method  of  difputing  with  thefe 
Pretenders  to  weak  Confciences  now  a- 
days ;  not  confidcring  that  the  very  Sup- 
pofition  that  they  cither  have  or  can  have 
a  weak  Confc'tence  ought  by  no  Means  to  be 
granted  them ;  nor  are  we  to  debate  with 
them,   how  far  and   to  what  Degree  this 

their 


^/Chrift^ church,  Cxon.      i05 

their  WeaknciS  ought  to  be  yielded  to,  but 
abfolutcly  to  deny,  that  amongfc  us,  and 
under  our  Circumftances  there  is  any  fuch 
thing. 

St.  *!P^/// indeed  fpcaks  of  fuch  a  Confcicncc 
m  thofe  flrft  times  of  Preaching  the  Gofpcl, 
and  accordingly  urges  a  compliance  with  it, 
but  where  the  Cafes  are  wholly  different, there 
the  Privileges  applicable  to  both  cannot  be 
the  fame.  In  both  thefe  places  in  which  this 
'Apoftle  treats  of  this  matter,  I  fhew  that  the 
Pcrfons  to  whom  he  addreffes  Himfelf  were 
but  ne'ui'  Converts.  Some  of  which  were  juft 
converted  and  come  off  from  Judaifm,  whofc 
Reverence  to  the  Law  of  Mofes  had  beea 
fucked  in  by  them  with  their  very  Milk,  and 
been  ilill  kept  up  in  the  Minds  of  all  that 
People,  to  that  llrange  height  almofi:  of  A- 
doration,  that  it  is  no  wonder  if  their  Opi- 
nion of  the  continuance  of  that  Law  even  af- 
ter Chrift's  Death,  and  their  Ignorance  of  its 
Abrogation,  were  for  a  time  invincible.  And 
for  the  other  fort  of  new  Converts^  they  were 
fuch  as  had  been  converted  from  Heathentjm 
Qiwd.  Idolatry^  and  confequently  looked  upon 
every  thmg  in  ufe  amongft  thofe  Heathens 
with  a  Sulpicion  and  a  jealoufy  foftrong,thac 
coniidcring  the  Weaknefs  of  Human  Nature, 

Vol.  Ill  O  it 


I  p  4  ^  Sermon  preached 

it  wasimpoflible  prefently  to  remove  it ;  and 
therefore  they  were  in  Charity  for  fome  time 
to  be  complycd  with.  For  as  the  prejudices 
and  Prcpofleflions  of  Education  are  exceeding 
hardly  removed  and  broke,  fo  being  once 
broke,  the  Averfions  of  the  Mind  from  them, 
running  into  the  other  extreme,  are  altoge- 
ther as  impetuous  and  as  hardly  governable 
by  impartial  Rcaibn  ,  whereupon  fliadows  are 
oftentimes miilook  for  Subftances,whilft  Men 
through  immoderate  fearfulnefs  (irft  create  to 
ihemfel  ves  Appearances  ofE-vil,  and  then  fly 
from  the?n. 

But  what  is  all  this  to  the  Cafe  of  thofe 
now  a-days  amongft  us  ?  who  from  their  Cra- 
dle have,  or  might  have  had  the  Principles  of 
true  Religion  inftilled  into  them  5  who  have 
Ifill  grown  up  in  a  Church  which  protefts  a- 
gainft  Idolatry  and  Superft'ition  j  and  enjoins 
nothing  that  has  any  juft  Appearance  of  fuch 
things  upon  it,  but  offers  to  vindicate  every 
thing  practifed  and  enjoyned  by  it  from  any 
fuch  Imputation :  Thefe  Men  furely  can  have 
no  Reafon  to  entertain  thole  Jealoufies  and 
Prejudices  which  poflelTed  Men,  who  had 
been  bred  up  all  their  days  in  Judaifm  or 
Idolatry y  and  were  but  newly  converted  from 
it.     Efpecially  if  wc  add  tliis  alfo,  that  the 

Goodnefs 


^/ Chrift- church,  Oxon.      19  j 

Goodncfs  of  God  makes  nothing  our  Duty 
cither  to  believe  or  pradifc,  but  what  lies 
plain  and  obvious  to  any  common  Apprchen- 
fion,  which  will  not  be  v/anting  to  itielf. 
Which  Things  fince  the  Church  inculcates  to 
all  within  it,  teaching  them  to  know  by  all 
the  ordinary  Means  of  Knov.'lcdiie  whatrocver 
it  is  their  Duty  to  knov/;  it  is  evident,  that 
no  Man  amongft  us  can  judifiably  plead 
IVeaknefsofConfcience  in  that  Senfc,  in  which 
their  Confcienccs  were  1^;^^^,  whom  Si.T'aul 
deals  with  either  in  that  Epiftle  of  his  to  the 
Romans^  or  in  this  to  the  Coririthians.  For 
can  any  Man  living  in  the  Church  ailcdgc 
any  tolerable  Canfc  why  he  fhould  be  igno- 
rant of  his  Catcchifm,  a  Thing  fo  fhort  and 
plain,  and  yet  fo  full  as  to  all  Things  necef- 
fary  to  be  believ'd  or  pradis'd  by  a  Chrillian, 
that  common  Senfc,  and  common  Induftry 
may  niake  any  one  a  Mailer  of  it  ? 

The  Sum  of  all  therefore  is  this,That  he  only 
can  plead  Weaknefs  of  Confc'tence  upon  Scrips 
ture  Grounds,  who  is  excufably  ignorant  of 
fome  Point  of  Duty  or  Privilege.  He  only  is 
excufably  ignorant,  whofe  Ignorance  i'.  nor  the 
Effed  of  his  Will.  That  Ignorance  only  is 
not  (o,  which  is  caufed  cither  by  Want  of 
Ability,  of  Underftanding,    or  of  Opportu- 

O  2  niries 


1 9  <^  A  Sermon  preached 

nitics  and  Means  of  Knowledge.  But  he  who 
has  the  common  Ufc  of  Reafon  hzs  fufficient 
Ability y  and  he  who  lives  in  a  Church  profef- 
iingthe  true  Religion,  h^asfuffcientOpportU' 
72/// and  Means  of  knowing,  whatfoever  con- 
cerns him  cither  to  know  or  do. 

From  a  joint  Connexion  and  unavoidable 
Coherence  of  w  hich  Propofitions  one  with 
another,  it  clearly  appears,  that  is  it  not 
IVeaknefs  but  fFant  of  Confcience,  which 
is  the  true  Diftemper  of  thofe  Perfons  who 
at  this  Day  diftu^b  the  Church. 

Secondly,  The  fecond  AlTertion  or  Conclu- 
fion  was  this.  That  asfiich  IVeaknefs  of  Con- 
fcience can  upon  7iofujfcient  Ground  be  aEiually 
pleaded,  fo  v.pon  much  lefs  can  it  be  continued 
in.  This  mull  needs  be  confefled  by  all, 
that-  a  iZ'eak  Confcience  in  the  Apoftle's  Scnfe 
is  an  Imperfection,  and  confcquently  ought 
by  all  means  to  be  removed  or  laid  down. 
For  as  certainly  as  Growth  and  Proficiency 
in  Knowledgeunder  the  means  of  Grace  is  a 
Duty  ;  fo  certainly  is  it  a  Duty  not  to  perfift 
in  this  IVeaknefs  of  Confcience,  which  has  its 
Foundation  only  in  the  Defed  of  fuch  Know- 
ledge. So  that  St.  ^aul  himfelf,  who  is  here 
willing,  that  for  the  prefent  it  fhould  be  com- 
plied with,  elfewhere  upbraids  and  reprehends 

Men 


ot  Chrift' church,  Oxon.       \<^7 

Men  rharply  for  continuing  under  it.  As  in 
the  i/^of  C<?r.  the  id  Chap,  and  the  i,  2,  and 
idVerfes.  he  calls  fuch  Babes ^  and  fuch  as 
were  to  be  fed  with  Milkj  and  not  with  Meat. 
And  to  fhew  yet  further  the  Imperfcu:ion 
of  this  Eftate,  he  fays,  that  upon  this  Account 
he  could  not  treat  them  as  fpiritual  T^erfons^ 
hut  as  carnal.  The  fame  Rcprehcnfion  he 
repeats  in //i?^,  V.  12.  Where  he  again  up- 
braids them  with  his  Appellation  of  BabeSy 
telling  them,  \\\2X  where  as  for  the  Time  the"^ 
ought  to  have  been  Teachers  of  others,  they  con- 
tinued in  their  fpiritual  Childhood  Jo  long,  that 
they  had  need,  that  one  taught  them  again 
which  were  the  fir jl  Principles  of  the  Oracles 
of  God.  And  to  ihew  that  thefe  were  fuch  weaJz 
Confciences  as  we  are  here  difcourfing  of,  in  the 
\A,th  Verfe  he  oppofcs  them  to  fuch  as  were 
of  fall  AgCy  and  that  by  Reafon  of  Ufe,  had 
their  Senfes  exercifedto  difcern  both  Good  and 
Evil.  That  want  of  which  Difcernmcnt  is 
properly  that  thing  wherein  this  JVeaknefs  of 
Confcience  does  confift.  Whereupon  the  Apo- 
ftle  in  the  next  Chapter  calls  w^onfuch  to  go 
on  to  VerfeEiion ;  which  furely  implies,  that 
this  their  prcfcnt  Condition  was  not  the 
Perfc6lion  which  they  were  to  reft  in, 

O  3  And 


1 9  8  A  Sermon  preached 

And  it  were  worth  the  while,  in  our  Con^ 
tcft  with  the  Pretenders  to  weak  or  tender 
Confciences  amongft  us,  to  enquire  of  them, 
how  long  they  think  it  fit  for  them  to  con* 
tinuc  weak  ?  And  whether  they  look  upon 
thck [Feaknefs  Awdlgnorance  ss  their  Freehold, 
and  as  that  which  they  refolve  to  keep  for 
term  of  Life,  and  to  live  and  die  Babes  m 
the  Knowledge  of  the  F.eligion  they  profefsj 
to  grow  up  in^o  Childhood^  and  at  length  go 
put  of  the  World  Infants  and  Weaklings  of 
Tbreefcoreoii  Four  J  core  TeaisOldl 

This  certainly  they  muft  intend  j  for  fo  far 
are  they  from  looking  upon  that  Weaknefs  or 
Tendernefs  of  Co^^/r/Vwf/?  which  they  plead,  as 
an  Imperfe6Vion,  and  confcquently  to  be  out- 
grown or  removed  by  them,  that  they  own 
it  as  a  Badge  of  a  more  refined  and  advanced 
Tlety^  and  of  fuch  a  Growth  and  Attainment 
in  the  Ways  of  God,  that  they  look  down 
upon  all  others  as  Chriftians  of  a  lower  Form, 
ss  moral  Men,  and  ignorant  of  the  Myftery 
of  the  Gofpel :  Words  which  I  have  often 
heard  from  thele  Impodors,  and  which  in- 
fallibly mew,  that  thcPerfons  whom  St.  Taul 
dealt  with,  and  thole  whom  we  contend  with, 
arc  not  the  lame  Kind  of  Men  ;  forafmuch  as 
they  own  not  the  fame  Duty.     But  that  (it 

feems) 


^7/ Chrifl:- church,   Oxon.       199 

fccms)  which  was  the  Infancy  and  Defed  of 
thofe  Pcrfons,  muft  pafs  for  the  Peifcdlion, 
andrealiy  istheDefign  of  ihefc.  And  where- 
as St.  Taul  laid  to  the  former,  thai  if  they 
doubted  they  were  damned  if  they  eat,  thefe 
(for  ought  appears)  account  it  T)amnatton  not 
to  doubt ;  where  doubting  cf  their  T>uty  may 
prove  zferving  of  their  Inter  eft. 

I  proceed  now  to  the  third  and  laft  Conchi- 
fion.  Which  is  this  :  "  That  fuppofing  this 
"  Wcaknefs  of  Confcience  might  be  both 
"  pleaded  and  continued,  yet  the  Plea  of  it 
"  ought  by  no  means  to  be  admitted  by  the 
*'  Civil  Magiftrate  in  prejudice  to  any  Laws, 
"  cither  adually  made  or  to  be  made  by 
*'  him  for  the  general  Good  ofhisTeople.  This 
was  fufficiently  manifeft  in  what  I  laid  down 
before:  To  wit,  that  the  Magiftrate  is  no 
ways  obliged  to  frame  his  Laws  to  the  Good 
of  any  particular  Perfons,  where  it  ftands  fe- 
parate  from  the  Good  of  the  Community  or 
Majority  of  the  People.  Which  Confideration 
alone,  though  it  be  fufficient  to  difcharge  the 
Magiftrate  from  any  Obligation  to  admit  of 
fuch  Pleas,  yet  there  are  other  and  more  for- 
cible Reafons  why  they  arc  by  no  means  to  be 
admitted.    I  fhall  aflign  two  in  general. 

O  4  Firft, 


100  A  Sermon  preached 

Firfly  The  firft  taken  from  the  ill  and 
fatal  Confcqucnccs  which  inevitably  enfue 
upon  their  Admillion. 

Secondly  y  The  other  taken  from  the  Qtia- 
lification  and  Temper  of  the  Perfons  who 
make  t'hefe  Pleas. 

As  for  the  ill  Confequences  fpringing  from 
the  Admiilion  of  them,  (though  according  to 
the  fertile  Nature  of  every  abfurd  Principle 
they  are  indeed  innumerable)  yet  I  fiiall  infift 
only  upon  thefe  three. 

Firfl^  The  lirfl:  is,  That  there  can  be  no 
Bounds  or  Limits  put  to  this  Plea,  nor  any 
poilibility  of  defining  the  juft  number  of  Par- 
ticulars to  which  it  may  extend.  For  it  being 
founded  in  Ignorance  and  Error  ( as  has  been 
fhown)  it  is  evident  that  it  may  reach  to  all 
thofe  things  of  which  Men  may  be  ignorant, 
and  about  which  they  may  err  :  So  that  there 
is  no  Duty,  but  "Men  may  doubt  and  fcruple 
the  doing  of  it,  pretending  thatthcir  C^;2/f/- 
e7ices  are  not  fatisfied  that  it  is  zT/uty  or  ought 
to  be  done.  Nor  is  there  any  Adion  alnioft 
fo  wicked  and  unjuft,  but  they  may  pretend, 
that  their  Confciences  either  prompt  them  to 
it  as  neceflfary,  or  allow  them  in  it  as  law- 
ful. As  there  was  one  in  the  late  blefled 
Times  of  Kebeliion  and  Reformation,  who 

murdered 


at  Chrift-CliLirch,  Oxon.       20  r 

murdered  his  own  Mother  for  kneeling  at  the 
Sacrament,  alledging  that  it  was  Idolatry, 
and  that  his  Confcience  told  him  it  was  his 
Duty  to  deftroy  Idolaters.  And  let  any  Man 
living  (if  he  can)  ftate  exadly  how  far  Con- 
fcience will  doubt  and  be  unfatisfied;  and 
give  me  any  Reafon,  I  fay,  any  folid  Reafon, 
why  if  it  may  plead  Diflfatisfadion  in  this  or 
that  thing,  it  may  not  upon  the  fame  Princi- 
ple plead  it  in  any  other  thing  whatfoevcr. 
And  fo,  if  the  Obligation  of  our  Laws  muft 
then  only  begin,  when  this  Plea  fhall  end,  I 
fear,  wefnall  never  fee  either  the  End  oiorx^y 
or  the  Beginning  of  the  other. 

Secondly y  The  fecond  ill  Confequence  is 
this  j  that  as  there  can  be  no  bounding  of 
this  Plea  in  refped  of  the  Particulars  about 
which  it  may  be  made  ;     fo  when  it  is  made 
there  can  be  no  poffible  Evidence  of  the  Sin- 
cerity of  it.     For  all  the  Evidence  producible 
muft  be  the  Word  of  him  who  makes  this 
Plea?  forafmuch  as  he  only  can  be  judge  of 
his  own  Thoughts  and  Confcience,  and  tell 
whether  they  be  really  under  fuch  aPerfuafion 
and  Dillatisfadion  or  no.  But  where  Men  may 
pretend  C^w/?/>«r^  in  the  Behalf  of /;?2/^r^,  I 
fee  no  reafon  why  their  Word  fhculd  be  taken 
m  behalf  oithetr  Confcience.     And  yet,  if  wc 
2  hold 


2  o  i         A  Sermon  preached 

hold  to  the  Principle,  upon  which  this  Plea 
relies,  no  other  Proof  of  it  can  be  had.  Which 
if  it  be  admitted,  I  flippofe  there  needs  no 
other  Argument  to  dcmonftrate,  that  this  and 
the  former  Confequencc  together  are  of  that 
abfurd  Nature,  and  malign  Influence,  that 
they  mufl  forthwith  open  the  Flood-gates  to 
all  Confufion,  and  like  a  mighty  Torrent  bear 
down  before  them  all  Law,  Right,  Jufticc, 
and  whatlbever  elfc  the  Societies  of  Mankind 
are  fettled  by  and  fupported  with.  But  to 
proceed  to  yet  a  further  and  more  deftrudive 
Confequcnce.     In  the 

Third  Place,  The  Admiilion  of  this  Plea 
abfolutely  binds  the  Hands  of  the  Magiftratc, 
and  fubjeBs  him  to  the  Confcience  of  thofe 
whofe  Duty  it  is  to  be  fubjeB  to  him.  For 
let  the  Civil  Power  make  what  Laws  it  will, 
if  Confcience  fhall  come  and  put  in  its  Excep- 
tion againfl  them,  it  muft  be  heard,  and  ex- 
empt the  Pcrfon  who  makes  the  Exception, 
from  the  binding  Power  of  thofe  Laws.  For 
ixwct  Confcience  commands  in  the  Name  of 
God,  the  Iflaeof  the  Qucfdon  muft  be,  whe- 
ther God,  or  the  Magtftrate  is  to  be  obeyed, 
and  thcnthe  Decifionisliketo  be  very  cafy. 
This  Confcquence  is  ^o  dired,  and  withal  (o 
ftrong,  that  there  is  no  Bar  againft  it.    So  that 

I  whereas 


^/ Ch rift-Church,  Oxon.        203 

whereas  heretofore  the  Magiftrate  paffed  for 
God's  Vicegerent  here  on  Earth,  the  weak 
Confcience  is  now  refolved  to  keep  that  Office 
for  in  elf,  and  to  prefer  the  Magiftrate  to  the 
Dignity  of  being  its  tinder  Officer  :  For  the 
Mngiilrate  muft  make  oniy  fuch  Laws,  as 
fnch  Confciences  will  have  made,  and  fuch 
Laws  only  muft:  be  obeyed,  as  thefe  Confcien- 
ces fhall  judge  fit  to  be  obeyed.  So  that  upon 
thefe  Terms  it  is  not  the  King,  but  the  ten- 
der Confcience  that  has  got  the  Negative 
Voice,  upon  the  making  of  all  our  Laws,  and 
which  is  more,  upon  the  obferving  them  too, 
when  they  are  made. 

I  dare  affirm  that  it  is  as  impoffible  for  any 
Government  or  Politick  Body  without  a  Hand- 
ing Force,  to  fubfift:  or  fupport  it  felfin  the  Al- 
lowance of  this  Principle,  as  it  is  for  the  Na- 
tural Body  to  live  and  thrive  with  a  Dagger 
flicking  in  its  Vitals.  Nor  can  any  thing  be 
fuller  of  Contradiction  and  ridiculous  Para- 
dox, than  to  think  to  reconcile  the  Sove- 
reignty of  the  Magiftrate,  and  the  Safety  of 
Government,  with  the  fturdy  Pleas  oidiffent- 
ing  Confciences.  It  being  all  one,  as  if  the 
Scepter  Ihould  be  put  into  the  Subje6i's  Hand, 
in  order  to  his  being  governed  by  it. 

I  could 


2  04  A  Sermon  preached 

I  could  add  vet  further,  that,  confiderinsr 
Things  and  Perfons  barely  in  themfclves,  it  is 
ten  to  one  but  God  rather  fpeaks  in  the  Con- 
fcience  of  a  lawful  Chriftian  Magiftrate  ma- 
king a  Law,  than  in  the  Confcience  of  any 
private  Perfonswhatfoever  diflentingfrom  it. 
And  thus  much  for  the  firft  general  Reafon 
againft  admitting  the  Picas  of  weak  or   ( as 
fome  falfely  call  them)  tender  Confciences:  the 
^'iff ^72-^ general  Reafon  fhall  be  taken  from 
thofe  Qualities  which  ufually  accompany  the 
faid  Pleas  5  of  which  there  are  two, 
Firft,  Partiality.    Secondly,  Hypocrify. 
"Birft,  And  firft  for  Partiality.     Few  make 
this  Plea  thcmfelvcs,  who  being  once  got  into 
Power  will  endure  it  in  others.     Confult  Hi- 
ftory  for   the  Pradiccs  of  fuch  in  Germany, 
and  your  own  Memories  for  the  Pradliccs  of 
the  late  Saints  in  England.     In  their  general 
comprehenfive  Toleration,  you  know,  Pre- 
lacy flood  always  joined  with  ^Popery,  and 
both  were  excepted  together.     Nor  was  there 
any  Toleration  allowed  for  the  Liturgy,  and 
cftablifhedWorfhip  of  the  Q\i\xxiz\iQ{  England, 
though  the  Ufers  of  it  pleaded   Confcience 
never  fo  much  for  its  ufcj  and  the  known 
Laws  of  God  and  Man,  for  the  Rule  of  that 
their  Confcience. 

But 


at  Chrlfl- Church,  Oxon.       20  j 

But  thofc  Zealots  were  above  that  le2;al 
Ordinance  of  doing  as  they  would  be  done  by  • 
Nor  were  their  Confciences  any  longer Jpiri- 
tually  weak,  when  their  Intcreft  was  once 
grown  temporally  ftrong.  And  then,  notwith- 
ftanding  all  their  Pleas  of  Tendernefs  and 
Out- cries  againft  Terfecution,  whoever  came 
under  them  and  clofed  not  with  them,  found 
them  to  be  Men  whofe  Bowels  were  Brafs, 
and  whofe  Hearts  were  as  hard  as  their  Fore- 
heads. 

Secondlyj  The  other  Qualification  which 
generally  goes  along  with  this  Plea,  and  fo 
renders  it  not  fit  to  be  admitted,  is  Hypo- 
crifie.  Divines  generally  agree  upon  this  as  a 
certain  Evidence  of  the  Sincerity  of  the  Heart, 
when  it  has  an  equal  RefpeEf  unto  all  God's 
CommandSy  and  makes  Duty  as  Duty  one  of 
the  principal  Reafons  of  its  Obedience  5  the 
Confcquence  of  which  is,  that  its  Obedience 
muft  needs  be  univerfal.  Now  upon  the 
fame  Ground,  if  Confcience  be  really,  even 
in  their  own  Senfe,  tender^  and  doubts  of 
the  Lawfulnefs  of  fuch  or  fuch  a  Practice,  bc- 
caufe  it  carries  in  it  fome  Appearance  and 
Semblance  of  Evil,  though  yet  it  dare  not 
pofitively  affirm  that  it  is  fo  5  furely  it  muft, 
and  will  be  equally  afraid  of  every  othcc 

Practice 


2  o  (5  A  Sermon  preached 

Praftice  which  carries  in  it  the  fame  Appear- 
ance of  Evil }  and  utterly  abhor  and  fly  from 
thofe  Praftices  which  the  univerfal  Confent 
of  all  Nations  and  Religions  condemns  as 
evidently  wicked  and  unjufl:. 

But  the  TendernefSi  we  have  to  deal  with, 
is  quite  of  another  Nature,  being  fuch  an  one 
as  makes  Men  fcruple  at  the  Lawfulnefs  of  a 
Set  Form  of  Divine  Worfhip,  at  the  Ufe  of 
fome  SolemnRites  and  Ceremonies  in  the  Ser- 
vice of  God;  but  makes  them  not  flick  at  all 
at  Sacrilege^  which  St.^^^/equals  to  Idolatry^ 
nor  at  Rebellion^  which  the  Prophet  makes 
as  bad  as  JVitchcraft  -,  nor  at  the  Murder  of 
their  King,  and  the  robbing  and  undoing 
their  Fellow-Subjeds  J  Villanics,  which  not 
only  Chriftianity  profcribes,  but  the  common 
Reafon  r)f  Mankind  riles  up  againll,  and  by 
the  very  Light  of  Nature  condemns.  And  did 
not  thofe,  who  plead  Tendernefs  ofConfcience 
amongftus,  do  all  thefe Things?  Nay  did  they 
not  do  them  in  the  very  Strength  of  this  Plea  ? 

In  a  Word,  are  the  Particulars  alledgcd 
true,  or  are  they  not?  If  not,  then  let  Shame 
and  Confufion,  and  a  Juft  Judgment  from 
God  light  upon  thofc,who  make  fuch  Charges, 
where  they  are  not  due.  But  if  all  which  has 
been  alledgcd  be  true,  then  in  the  Name  of 

the 


at  Chrifl-Churcli,  Oxen.     207 

the  God  of  Truth,  let  not  thofe  pafs  for  'isjeak, 
and  much  Icfs  for  tender  Confciences,  which 
can  digeft  fuch  horrid  clamorous  Impieties. 
Nor  let  them  abufc  the  World,  nor  difturb  the 
Church  by  a  fa  He  Cry  of  SuperJIition,  and  a 
caufelefs  Separation  from  Her  thereupon  ? 
Efpecially  if  they  will  but  calmly  andferioufly 
confider,  whoi^c  Ends  by  all  this  they  certain- 
ly ferve,  whofe  IFork  they  do,  and  whofe 
Wages  they  have  fo  much  Caufe  to  dread. 

In  fine,  the  Refult  of  the  whole  Dilcourfc 
is  this:  That  fincc  the  fVeaknefs  of  Confci- 
ence,  Ipokcn  of  by  St.  ^arJ,  is  grounded  up- 
on fomc  Ignorance  for  the  prefent  excufable\ 
and  fince  none  amongd  us  enjoying  the  means 
of  Knowledge  daily  held  forth  by  the  Church, 
together  with  the  common  Ufe  of  his  Reafon, 
can  be  excufably  ignorant  of  any  Thing  which 
he  is  concerned  to  know,  the  Plea  of  fuch 
WeaknefszTSi  have  no  Place  amongft  us,  much 
lefs  can  it  be  allowably  continued  in,  and  lead 
of  all  can  it  be  fuffered  to  controulthe  Civil 
Magiftrate  cuhcr  in  the  making,  or  the  Exe- 
cution of  Laws:  But  ought  wholly  to  be 
rejcftcd,  as  well  for  its  pernicious  Confe- 
quences,  to  wit,  that  it  is  te?z^/^,  and  that 
the  Truth  of  it  is  no  Ways  dif cover  able-,  and 
withal  that  it  fubjeds  the  Sovereign  Power  to 

thofe, 


2.0  8  A  Sermon  pre  ached 

thofe,  who  are  to  be  fubjcd  to  it,  and  govern- 
ed by  it :  As  alfofor  the  Partiality  and  Cruel- 
ty of  its  Pleaders,  who  deny  that  to  others 
which  they  claim  to  themfclves  j  together 
with  their  HjpocriJ)  in  flopping  at  Mole-Hills 
and  leaping  over  Mountains,  in  pradifing 
Things  notorioufly  nnjttft,  while  they  ftick 
at  Things  indifferent,  and  at  the  molt  but 
doubtful. 

From  all  which  it  follows,  That  how 
much  foever  fuch  Pretenders  may  beguile 
fadious  and  unflable  Minds,  deceiving  others 
^wAbeing  deceived\h.Q.vi\{€\.VQ.% ;  and  how  much 
foever  they  may  mock  the  Powers  of  this 
World,  yet  God  is  not  mocked,  \j\\ofearches 
the  Heart,  and  looks  through  the  Pretence, 
and  will  reward  every  Man  according  to  his 
Work,  whatfoever  may  be  his  Trofe£ion. 

To  'iz'hich  Cod  be  rcndred  and  afcribed,  as 
is  mofl  due,  all  Traife,  Might,  Majefty, 
,         and  T)o7ninion,  both  now  and  for  ever- 
more.    Amen. 


Chriflianity 


(     209    ) 

Chrijiianity  myjlerious^    and  the  Wif" 
dom  of  God  m  mahng  ttfo^ 

Proved  in  a 

S  E  R  M  O 

Preach'd  at 

Westminster-Ab  bey 

April   ip.   1694. 


I  Cor.  II.  7. 

But  we  /peak  the  W'tfdom  of  God  m 
a  Myflery^  dec. 

THE  two  great  Works,  which  God  has 
been  pleafcd  to  fignalize  his  infinite 
Wifdom  and  Tower  by,  were  the  Creation 
of  the  World  and  the  Redernption  of  Mankind  x 
the  firft  of  them  declared  by  Mofes,  and  the 
other  by  Chriji  himfelf  bringing  Life  and 
Vol.  Ill,  P  ImmoT- 


2 1  o  A  Sermon  preached 

Immortality   to   light  through    the   Gofpel, 
But  yet  fo,  that,   as  in  the  opening  of  the 
Day,  the  Appearance  of  Light  does  not  pre- 
fcntly,  and  totally  drive  away  all  T>arknefSy 
but  that  fome    Degrees  remain  and  mingle 
with  it :     So  neither  has  this  glorious  Revela- 
tion of  the  Gofpel  quite  cleared  ofFthe  Obfcu- 
rity  of  many  great  Things  revealed  in  it  j    but 
that,  as  God  has  hereby  vouchfafed  us  Light 
enough  to  inform  zn^ guide  our  Faith ;    fo  he 
has  left  'Darknefs  enough  to  exercife  it  too. 
Upon  which  account  the  Apoftle  here  defign- 
ing  to  fet  forth  the  tranfcendent  Worth  of  the 
Gofpel  above  all  other  Dodtrines  whatfoever, 
recommends  it  to  our  Efteem,    by  thefe  two 
Qiialitications  and  Properties  eminently  be- 
longing to  it,  as 

Fir  fly  That  it  is  the  IFifdom  of  God  •-,  and 
fecondly,  that  it  is  the  IVifdom  of  God  in  a 
My  fiery. 

As  to  the  firft  of  which,  namely,  the  Go- 
fpel's  being  the  Wifdom  of  God,  that  is  to  fay, 
the  grand  Inftance  and  Produd  of  it ;  if  we 
wouldtake  a  Survey  of  the  Nature  oi  Wifdom 
according  to  the  Senfe  of  the  ancient  Philo- 
fophers,  we  fhall  find  Ariflolle  in  the  fixth  of 
his  Ethicks  and  the  feventh  Chapter  defining 
it,  N^V  >(j  hn^T'if'^^T  rii^icojclTMv  t^  (pviru  :  That  is. 

The 


at  Weftminilcr-Abbey.        2 1 1 

TJoeUnderJianding  and  Knowledge  of  Things  in 
their  Nature  the  mofi  excellent  and  valuable. 
Where,  though  it  ought  to  be  fuppofccl,  that 
Arijtotle  carried  his  Notion  no  higher,  nor 
farther  than  the  Things  of  iV^^/^/^r^,  and  that 
St.  ^aiil  pointed  chiefly  at  Things  revealed 
and fupernatural'j  yet  I  cannot  fee,  but  that 
the  Terms  made  ufe  of  by  that  great  Philo- 
fopher  in  the  Definition,  or  rather  Defcripti- 
onofWifdom laid  down  by  him,  do  with  full 
Propriety  and  Fitnefs  fall  in  with  theAccount 
here  given  of  this   divine  Wifdom  by  our 
Apoftle  in  the  Text  j  and  that,  whether  we 
take  it  for  a  Wifdom  refpeding  Speculation^  or 
relating  to  TraEiice }  the  Things  treated  of  in 
the  Gofpel  (about  which  the  faid  Wifdom  is 
employed)  being  certainly   the   noblefi  and 
moft  excellent  that  can  be,    upon  both  Ac- 
counts :     And  though  it  be  hard  to  determine 
whether  of  the  two  ought  to  have  the  Prehe- 
minenccj    yet,   I  think,    we  may  rationally 
enough   conclude,    that   the   Wifdom   here 
fpoken  of  is  principally  of  ^  pra^ical  Import  i 
as  denoting  to  us  God  s  admirable  and  ileady 
bringing  about  his  great  Ends  and  Purpofes, 
by  Means  moft  fuitable  and  proper  to  them, 
and  particularly  his  accomplifhing  his  grand 
Defign  of  Mercy  upon  the  World  by  the  Pro- 
P  2  jnulgatioii 


2  12,  A  Sermon  preached 

mulgation  of  the  Gofpely  A  Do6trinc  contain- 
ing in  it  all  thcTreafurcs  of  D'wmtfVifdom,  fo 
far  as  the  fame  TVifdom  has  thought  fit  to  re- 
Veal  them.     And  yet  fuch  has  been  theBUnd- 
nefs  and  Bafenefs  of  Men's  Minds  even  from 
the  Apoftles  time  down  along  to  ours  (as  bad 
as  any)  that  this  very  Wifdom  has  not  failed 
to  meet  with  a  Sed  of  Men,   who  voting 
thcmfelves  the  only  Wits  2ind  wife  Men  of  the 
World  (as  the  greateft  Sots  may   cafily  do) 
have  made  it  their  Bufinefs  to  ridicule  and  re  ■ 
proach  it  as  downright  Fooltfhnefs ;   but  yet 
fuch  a  fort  oi Fooltfhnefs  (if  the  Tcftimony  of 
an  j^poftle  may  outweigh  the  Scoffs  of  a  Buf- 
foon) as  is  infinitely  'ouifer  than  all  the  Wifdom 
of  Men.     For  the  very  wifcft  of  Men  do  not 
always  compafs  what  they  defign,  but  this  cer- 
tainly and  efFedually  doss,  as  being  not  only 
the  Wifdom  5  but 

Secondly^  The  ^o'wer  of  God  too,  the  firft 
infallible,  the  other  irrepftible.  In  a  word, 
the  Wifdom  here  fpoken  of,  is  a  Meffenger 
which  always  goes  as  far  as  fentj  an  Inftru- 
mcnt  which  never  fails  or  lurches  the  great 
Agent  who  employs  it,  either  in  reaching 
the  End  he  direds  it  to,  or  in  finifhing  the 
Work  he  intends  it  for.  So  that,  in  fhort, 
there  could  not  be  an  higher  and  a  nobler 
3  Elogy 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.        2  i  3 

Elogy  to  exprefs  the  Gofpel  by,  fhan  by  re- 
prefenting  it  to  us  as  the  JVtfdom  of  God.  For 
as  JVifdom  in  general  is  the  noblcft  and  moft 
fublirae  Perfedlion  of  an  intelledual  Nature, 
and  particularly  in  God  himfelf  is  the  lead- 
ing, ruling  Attribute  prefcriblng  to  all  the 
refli  foa  Commendation  drawn  from  thence 
muft  needs  be  the  moft  glorious  that  can  pol- 
fibly  pafs,  upon  any  Adtion  or  Defign  pro- 
ceeding from  fuch  an  one.  And  the  Apoftle 
feems  here  moft  peculiarly  to  have  direded 
this  Encomium  of  the  Gofpel,  as  a  Defiance 
to  the  Philofophers  of  his  Time,  the  fluftring 
vain  glorious  Greeks ^  who  pretended  lb  much 
to  magnify,  and  even  adore  the  Wifdom  they 
profefled,  and,  with  great  Modefty  (no  doubt) 
confin'd  wholly  to  themfelves :  A  Wifdom^ 
I  think,  little  to  be  envyed  them  5  being  fuch, 
as  none,  who  had  it,  could  be  the  better ,  nor 
confequently  the  wifer  for. 

And  thus  much  for  the  firft  Thing  con- 
tained in  theWords,  and  propofed  from  them; 
namely,  that  the  Gofpel  is  the  Wifdom  of  God. 
I  proceed  now  to  the  fccond,  which  we  (hall 
chiefly  infift  upon,  and  that  is  concerning  the 
Myfterioufnefs  of  it  5  as  that  it  is  the  Wifdom 
of  God  in  a  Myfiery.  For  the  Profecution  of 
which  we  ftiali  enquire  into,  and  endeavour 
P  3  to 


214  ^  Sermon  f  reached 

to  give  fome  account  of  the  Reafons  (fo  far  as 
we  may  prefiime  to  judge  of  them)  why  God 
fhould  deliver  to  Mankind  a  Religion  fo  full 
of  Myfteries  as  the  Chriftian  Religion  cer- 
tainly is,  and  was  ever  accounted  to  be.  Now 
the  Reafons  of  this  in  general  I  conceive  may 
be  ftated  upon  thefe  two  Grounds. 

Firfi-,  The  Nature  and  Quality  of  the 
Things  treated  of  in  the  Chriftian  Religion. 
And 

Secondly-,  The  Ends  to  which  all  Religion 
(both  as  to  the  general,  and  particular  Na- 
ture of  it)  is  defigned,  with  relation  to  the 
Influence  which  it  ought  to  have  upon  the 
Minds  of  Men. 

,  And  firft  of  all ;  For  the  Nature  of  the 
Things  themjelves J  which  are  the  fubjed  Mat- 
ter of  the  Chriftian  Religion ;  there  are  in 
them  thefe  three  ^lalifications  and  Proper- 
ties, which  do  and  muft  of  necelllty  render 
them  myflerious-,  obfcure,  and  of  difficult 
Apprehenfion.     As, 

Firfiy  Their  furpaffing  Greatnefs  and  Ine- 
quality to  the  Mind  of  Mm.  The  Chriftian 
Religion,  as  to  a  great  part  of  it,  is  but  a 
kind  of  Comment  upon  the  divine  Nature-^ 
an  Inftrument  to  convey  right  Conceptions  (j/" 
God  into  the  Soul  of  Man,  fo  far  as  it  is  ca- 
pable 


at  Wcftminfter-Abbey.        2 1 5 

pable  of  receiving  them.  But  now  God  (wc 
know)  is  an  /?7/f«/>^ Being, without  any  Bounds 
or  Limitations  of  his  Effencc,  wonderful  in 
his  AcfingSj  inconceivable  in  his  T^urpofeSy 
and  inexprejjible  in  h is  Attributes ;  which  y  et, 
as  great  as  they  are,  if  feverally  taken,  give  us 
but  an  incomplete  Rcprefentation  of  him.  He 
is  another  JForldm  himfelf,  too  high  for  our 
Sfeculations,  and  too  great  for  our  'Defcrip- 
tions.  For  liow  can  fuch  vaft  and  mighty 
Things  be  crowded  into  a  little,  finite  Under- 
ftanding !  Heaven^  I  confefs,  enters  into  us, 
as  we  muft  into  that,  by  a  very  narrow  Paf- 
fage.  But  how  fhall  the  King  of  Glory, 
whom  the  Heavens  themfelves  cannot  contain, 
enter  in  by  thefe  ^oors?  by  a  weak  Imagina- 
tion, a  flender  Notion,  and  a  contra(^ed  Intel- 
led:?  How  fhall  thefe  poor  fhort  Faculties 
meafure  the  Lengths  of  his  Eternity,  the 
Breadth  and  Expanjions  of  hislmmenfity,  and 
the  Heights  of  his  Prefcience,  ^i\6.i\\^T)epths 
of  his  Decrees?  and  laft  of  all,  that  unutter- 
able, incomprehenfible  Myftery  of  two  Na- 
tures united  into  one  Perfon,  and  again 
of  one  and  the  fame  Nature  diffufed  into  a 
triple  Perfonality?  All  which  being  fome 
of  the  prime,  fundamental  Matters  treated 
of  in  our  Religion,  how  can  it  be  otherwife 
P  4  than 


ii6         A  Sermon  preached 

than  a  Syftem  of  Myfteries,  and  a  Knot  of 
dark,  inexplicable  Propofitions  ?  Since  it  ex- 
hibits to  us  llich  Things  as  the  very  Condition 
of  our  Nature  renders  us  uncapable  of  clear- 
ly underftanding. 

The  Socinians  indeed,  who  would  obtrude 
upon  the  World,  (and  of  late  more  daringly 
than  ever)  a  new  Chriftianity  of  their  own 
inventing,  will  admit  of  nothing  myfterious 
in  this  Religion,  nothing,  which  the  natural 
Reafon  of  Man  cannot  have  a  clear  and  com- 
prehenfive  Perception  of :  And  this  not  only 
inDefiance  of  the  exprefs  Words  oi Scripture 
fo  frequently  and  fully  affirming  the  contrary, 
but  alfo  of  the  conftant,  univerfal  Senfe  of  all 
Antiquity  unanimoufly  confelling  an  Incom- 
prehenfibility  in  many  of  the  Articles  of  the 
Chrtfiian  Faiths  So  that  thefe  bold  Perfons 
ftand  alone  by  themfelves,  upon  a  new  Bot- 
tom, and  an  upftart  Principle,  not  much  a- 
bove  an  hundred  Years  old,  fpitting  upon  all 
Antiquity  before  them ;  and  (as  fome,  who 
have  wrote  againft  them,  have  well  obferve4 
of  them)  are  the  only  Scd  of  Men  in  the 
World,  who  ever  pretended  to  fet  up,  or  own 
a  Religion  without  either  a  Myftery  or  a  Sa- 
crifice belonging  to  it.  For,  as  we  have  fhewn, 
that  they  deny  xhcfirftj  fo  they  eqtiajly  ex- 
plode 


at  Wcftmlnfter' Abbey.        1 1  7 

plodc  the  latter^  by  denying  Chrift  to  be  pro- 
perly a  Trieft,  or  his  T>eath  to  have  been  a 
propitiatory  Oblation  for  the  Sins  of  the  World. 
And  now  are  not  thefe  blefled  New  Lights 
(think  we)  fit  to  be  encouraged,  courted,  and 
have  Panegyricks  made  upon  their  wonder- 
ful Abilides,  forfooth  ?  Whilft  they  on  the 
other  Side  are  employing  the  utmoft  of  thole 
Abilities  ((uch  as  they  are)  in  blafpheming 
our  Saviour,  and  overturning  our  Religion  ? 
But  this  is  their  Hour-,  and  the  Tower  ofDark- 
nefs.  For  it  is  a  Truth  too  manifeft  to  be 
denied,  that  there  have  been  more  Innova- 
tions upon,  and  Blafphemies  againft  the  chief 
Articles  of  our  Faith  publifhed  in  this  King- 
dom, and  that  after  a  more  audacious  and 
fcandalous  Manner,  within  th.c£cfeveral Tears 
laft  pafiy  than  have  been  known  here  for 
fome  Centuries  of  Years  before  (even  thofe 
Times  of  Confufion  both  in  Church  and  State 
betwixt  Forty  One  and  i^/x^/ not  excepted :) 
And  what  this  may  produce  and  end  in,  God 
only  at  prefent  knows,  and  I  wifh  the  whole 
Nation  may  not  at  length  feel. 

Secondly^  A  fecond  G^ialification  of  the 
chief  Things  treated  of  in  our  Religion  (and 
which  muft  needs  render  them  myfterious)  is 
their  Spirituality   and  Abflra^ion  from  all 

Senfible 


2 1 8  A  Sermon  preached 

fenfible  and  corporeal  Matter,     Of  which  fort 
of  Things  it  is  impoilible  for  the  Underftand- 
ing  of  Man  to  form  to  itfelf  an  exad  Idea^ 
or  Reprefentation.  So  that  when  we  hear,  or 
read  that  God  is  a  Spirit y  and  that  Angels  and 
the  Souls  of  Men  are  Spirit s^  our  Apprehen- 
fions  are  utterly  at  a  lofs  how  to  frame  any 
Motion  or  Refemblaiice  of  them,  but  are  put 
to  float  and  wander  in  an  endlefs  Maze  of 
Guefles  and  Conjectures,  and  know  not  cer- 
tainly what  to  fix  upon.     For  in  this  Cafe  we 
can  fetch  in  no  Information,  or  Relief  to  our 
Underftandingsfrom  owiSenJesy    no  Pidure 
or  Draught  of  thefe  Things  from  the  Reports 
of  the  Eye ;  but  we  are  left  entirely  to  the 
Uncertainties  of  Fancy ,    to  the  Flights  and 
Ventures  of  a  bold  Imagination.      And  here 
to  illuftrate  the  Cafe  a  little,  let  us  imagine  a 
Man,  who  was  born  Blind,  able  upon  bare 
Hear- fay,     to   conceive  in  his  Mind  all  the 
Varieties  and  Curiofities  of  Colour,  to  draw 
an  exact  Scheme  of  C^«/?^;?^/w/?/(f,  or  a  Map 
of  France  5    to  defcribe  the  Towns,    point 
out  the  Rivers,   and  diftinguifh  the  Situations 
of  thefe,    and  the  Hke  great  and  extraordi- 
nary Places :     And  when  fuch  an  one  is  able 
to  do  all  this,  and  not  before,  then  perhaps 
may  we  atfo  apprehend  what  a  Spirit-,   an 

Angeh 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.^       219 

Angelj  or  an  immaterial  Being  is.  The  Dif- 
ficulty of  underftanding  which  fufficiently 
appears  from  this  one  Confideration  :  That  in 
all  the  Defcriptions  which  we  make  of  God, 
AngelSy  and  Spirits,  we  ftill  defcribe  them 
by  fuch  Things  as  \jQ,fee,  and  when  we  have 
done,  we  profefs  that  they  are  invifible.  But 
then  to  do  this  Argument  right  again  on  the 
other  Side  5  as  it  would  be  extreamly  fottifh 
and  irrational  for  a  blind  Man  to  conclude, 
and  affirm  pofitively,  that  there  neither  are, 
nor  can  be  any  fuch  Things,  as  Colours,  'Pi- 
BureSj  or  Landskips,  becaufe  he  finds,  that 
he  cannot  form  to  himfelf  any  true  Notion, 
Idea^  or  mental  Perception  of  them  :  So 
would  it  be  equally,  or  rather  fuperlatively 
more  unreafonable,  for  us  to  deny  the  great 
Articles  of  our  Chriftianity,becaufe  we  cannot 
frame  in  our  Minds  any  clear,  explicit,  and 
exad  Reprefentation  of  them.  And  yet  this 
is  the  true  State  of  the  whole  Matter,  and  of 
the  Ratiocination  of  fome  Men  about  it,  how 
abfurd  and  inconfequent  foever  we  fee  it  is. 
Let  this  therefore  be  another,  zvid^  a  fecon4 
Caufe,  why  the  Chriftian  Religion  which 
treats  of,  and  is  converfant  about  fuch  Things, 
muft  of  necejjity  be  mjlierioi^s. 

Thirdly, 


2  2  o  A  Sermon  pr  e ached 

Thirdly,  A  third  Property  of  Matters  be- 
longing toChriJiianityj  and  which  alfo  renders 
them  myflerious,  is  their  Strangenejs  andUn- 
reductblenefs  to  the  common  Methods  and  Olh 
Jervations  of  Nature.  I  for  my  Part  cannot 
look  upon  any  thing  (whatfoever  others  can) 
as  a  more  fundamental  Article  of  the  Chrifti- 
an  Religion,  than  Chrift's  Satisfaction  for  Sin  5 
by  which  alone  the  loft  Sons  of  Adam  are 
reconciled  to  their  offended  God,  and  lb  put 
into  new  Capacities  of  Salvation  j  and  yet 
perhaps  there  is  nothing  more  furprizing, 
ftrange,  and  out  of  the  Road  of  common 
Reafon  than  this,  if  compared  with  the  general 
Courfe  and  Way  of  Men's  acting.  For  that 
he  who  was  the  offended  Perfon  fhould  pro- 
jed  and  provide  a  Satisfaction  tohimfelf  in  the 
behalf  of  him  who  had  offended  him,  and 
with  fo  much  Zeal  concern  himfelf  to  foUi- 
cit  a  Reconciliation  with  thofe  whom  he 
had  no  need  of  being  reconciled  unto,  but 
might  with  equal  Juftice  and  Honour  have 
deftroyed  them,  was  a  thing  quite  befide  the 
common  courfe  of  the  World ;  and  much 
more  was  it  fo,  that  ^Father  fhould  deliver  up 
an  innocent  and  infinitely  beloved  Son  to  be 
facrificed  for  the  Redemption  of  his  juftly^^-  . 
ted  and  abhorred  Enemies ^   and  on  the  other 

hand. 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  2 1  r 

hand,  that  a  Son  who  loved  his  Father  as 
much  as  he  could  be  loved  by  him,  fhould 
lay  down  his  Life  for  the  declared  Rebels 
and  Enemies  of  him  whom  he  fo  tranfcend- 
ently  loved,  and  of  himfelf  too  :  This,  I  fay, 
was  fuch  a  Tranfadion,  as  we  can  find  no- 
thing like,  or  analogous  to  in  all  the  Dealings 
of  Men,  and  cannot  but  be  owned  as  wholly 
bcfide,  if  not  alfo  diredly  contrary  to  all  hu- 
man Methods.  And  fo  true  is  this,  that  fe- 
veral  Things  exprefly  affirmed  of  God  in 
Scripture  relating  to  the  prime  Articles  of  our 
Faith  are  denied,  or  eluded  by  the  Avians  and 
Socinians,  becaufe  they  crofs  and  contradid  the 
Notions  taken  up  by  them  from  what  they 
have  obferved  in  created  Beings,  and  parti- 
cularly in  Men  J  which  yet  is  a  grofs  Fallacy 
and  Inconfequence  concluding  ab  imparibus 
tanqiiam  paribus^  and  more  than  fufficiently 
confuted  and  blown  off,  by  that  one  Paflage 
of  the  Prophet  concerning  Almighty  God; 
that  his  Thoughts  are  not  as  our  Thought Sj  nor 
his  Ways  as  ourJVays,  Ifa.  Iv.  8. To  which  we 
may  add,  that  neither  is  his  Nature  as  our 
Naturey  nor  his  divine  Terfon  as  our  Ter- 
fins.  And  if  fo,  where  is  the  Socinian  Lo- 
gick  in  arguing  from  one  to  the  other  ?  And 
yet  'tis  manifeft,  that  they  hardly  make  ufe 

of 


222  A  Sermon  preached 

of  any  other  Way  of  arguing  concerning  the 
main  Points  in  Controverfy  between  them 
and  the  Church  but  this. 

But  there  are  aifo  two  other  principal  Ar- 
ticles of  the  Chrijiian  Religion^  which  do  as 
much  tranfcend  the  common  Notice  andOb- 
fervation  of  Mankind  as  the  former.  One 
of  which  is  the  Converfion  and  Change  of  a 
Man's  fuiful  Nature,  commonly  called  the 
Work  of  Regeneration  or  the  New- Birth ; 
concerning  which  Men  are  apt  to  wonder 
(and  delervedly  too)  by  what  ftrange  Power 
and  Efficacy  it  fhould  come  to  pafs,  that 
ever  any  one  fhould  be  brought  to  conquer, 
and  fhake  off  thofe  inveterate  Appetites  and 
Defires  which  are  both  fo  viol  ent  in  their  Act- 
ings, and  fo  early  in  their  Original,  (as  being 
born  with  him  ;)  and  to  have  other  new  ones, 
and  thofe  abfolutely  contrary  to  the  former 
planted  in  their  Room.  So  that  when  our 
Saviour  in  John  iii.  difcourfed  of  thefeThings 
toNicodemus,  a  great  i?<2^^/amongft  xh^Jews, 
and  told  him  that  he  muft  be  born  again -,  he 
was  prefently  amazed,  and  non-plus'd  at  it, 
as  at  a  great  Paradox  and  Impofllbility  5  and 
forthwith  began  to  Queftion,  How  can  thefe 
Things  be  ?  In  which  indeed,  he  faid  no  more, 
than  what  the  Hearts  of  moft  Men  living  are 
3  apt 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  2x3 

npt  to  fay  concerning  moll  of  the  Articles  of 
ourChriftian  Religion. 

But  above  all,  the  Article  of  the  Refur^ 
region  feems  to  lye  marveloufly  crofs  to  the 
common  Experience  of  Mankinci.  Por  who 
ever  was  yet  feen  by  them  after  a  total  Con- 
fumption  into  ^uft  and  AJhes  to  rife  agairiy 
and  to  refume  the  fame  numerical  Body? 
This  is  a  Thing  which  amongft  all  the  rare 
Occurrences  of  the  World,  all  the  Wonders, 
and  Anomalies  of  Nature,  was  never  yet  met 
with  in  any  one  fingle  Inftance  5  and  confe- 
quently  Men  muft  needs  be  apt  to  ftartle,  and 
to  be  full  of  Thought  and  Scruple  upon  the 
Propofal  of  fo  (Irange  a  Thing  to  their  Under- 
ftandings.  And  if  any  one  fhould  think,  that 
he  can  make  this  out  by  bare  Reafon,  (aspof- 
fibly  fome  Opiniators  may)  let  him  by  all 
means  in  the  next  Place  try  the  Strength  of 
his  doubty  Reafon  about  Tranfubjiantiation, 
or  turn  Knight- Errant  in  Divinity,  encoun- 
ter Giants  and  Windmills,  and  adventure  to 
explain  Things  impoilible  to  be  explained- 
This  therefore  is  a  third  Caufe  of  the  una- 
voidable Myfterioufnefs  of  the  chief  Articles 
oithcChrifiian  Religion ;  namely,that  moft  of 
them  fall,  neither  within  the  common  courfe 

of 


2  24  ^  Sermon  preached 

of  Men's  adlings,  nor  the  Compafs  of  their 
Obfervation. 

And  thus  much  for  the  -prft  Ground  of 
the  Gofpel's  being  delivered  to  the  World  in 
a  Myftery  s  namely,  t\ic  Nature  and ^tality 
of  the  Things  treated  of  in  the  Gofpel.  I  come 
now  to  the 

Second  Ground,  which  is  ftated  upon  fome 
of  the  principal  Ends  andT>eJigns  of  Religi- 
on. But  before  I  enter  upon  the  Difcufllon 
of  this,  may  it  not  be  objeded.  That  the 
grand  Defign  of  Religion  is  to  engage  Men 
in  the  TraBice  oi  fiich  Things,  as  it  com- 
mands >  And  that  this  muft  needs  be  fo  much 
the  more  eafily  efFeded,  by  how  much  the 
more  clearly  fuch  Things  are  reprefented  to 
Men's  Underftandings,  without  any  Myflery 
or  Obfcurity  in  them.  Forafmuch  as  the 
Way  to  obey  a  Law,  is  to  know  it  5  and  the 
Way  to  know  it,  is  to  have  it  plainly  and 
clearly  propounded  to  fuch  as  are  concerned 
about  it. 

Now  to  this  I  anfwer,  Firft,  That  it  is  as 

much  xhz'Defign  of  Religion  to  oblige  Men  to 

believe  the  Credenda,  as  to  pradife  the  A- 

genda  of  it :     And  Secondly,  That  notwith- 

ftanding  the  Obfcurity  and  Myfterioufnefs  of 

the 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.        225 

the  Credenda  confidered  in  thcmfelves,  there 
is  yet  as  dear  a  Reafon  for  the  Belief  of 
thefc,  as  for  the  Pradice  of  the  other.  They 
exceed  indeed  the  natural  Force  of  human 
Reafon  to  comprehend  ihzm  fcientijically,  and 
are  therefore  propofed,  not  to  o\x\:  Know  ledge, 
but  to  our  Beliefs  forafmuch  as  Belief  (vi^- 
pUes  the  want  of  Knoui'ledge-,  where  KnoisJ- 
ledge  is  not  to  be  hadj  and  is  properly  the 
Mind's  AfTcnt  to  a  thing  upon  the  Credit 
of  his  Teftimony,  who  fhall  report  it  to 
us.  And  thus  we  affent  to  the  great  and 
myfterious  Points  of  our  Faith:  For  kno-ju  and 
underpand  ihem  throughly  we  cannot ;  but 
lince  God  has  revealed  and  affirmed  them  to 
he  true,  we  may  with  the  highcit  Reafon, 
upon  his  bare  Word,  believe  and  aifcnt  to 
them  as  fuch. 

But  then  as  for  thofe  Things,  that  concern 
ouiTra^ke  (upon  which  only  the  Objedi- 
on  proceeds)  they  indeed  are  of  that  Clear?2efSy 
that  innate  Evidence  and  ^erfpictdty,  even 
in  thcmfelves,  that  they  do  (as  it  were)  meet 
our  Underftandings  half  way,  and  being  once 
propofed  to  us,  need  not  our  Study ^  but  only 
our  Acceptance  i  as  prcfenting  thcmfelves  to 
our  firft,  our  eafieft,  and  moft  early  Appre- 
henfions.    So  th^t,  in  fome  Things,  it  is  much 

Vol.  III.  Ct  ?"o?^. 


ii6  /I Sermon  preached 

more  difficult  for  a  Man,  upon  a  very  ordi- 
nary ufc  of  his  Judgment y  to  be  ignorant  of 
his  Duty  than  to  learn  it  5  as  it  would  be  much 
harder  for  him,  while  he  is  awake,  to  keep 
his  Eyes  al-Ji'ays (hut,  than  open. 

In  fumm,  the  Articles  of  our  Faith  are 
thofc  depths,  m  which  the  Elephant  may 
fwim ;  and  the  Rules  of  our  '^Practice  thofe 
Shallcr^s  in  which  the  Lamb  may  wade.  But 
as  both  Light  and  ^Darknefs  make  but  one  na- 
tural Day  5  fo  here,  both  the  Clearnefs  of  the 
y^genda,  and  the  Obfciirity  or  Myftery  of  the 
Credenda  of  the  Gofpcl,  conftitute  but  one 
entire  Religion.  And  fo  much  in  Anfwer 
to  this  Objcdion  ;  which  being  thus  remov- 
ed, 1  come  now  to  fhew,  that  the  Myfleriouf- 
nefs  of  thofe  Parts  of  the  Gofpel,  called  the 
Credefida,  or  Matters  of  our  Faith,  is  moft 
fubfervient  to  the  great,  important  Ends  of 
Religion ;  and  that  upon  thefe  following 
Accounts. 

Firflj  Becaufc  Religion  in  the  prime  In- 
flitution  of  It  w^ls  dcRgncd  to  make  Imprefll- 
oiis  of  Awe  and  reverential  Fear  upon  Men's 
Minds.  The  Mind  of  Man  is  naturally  licen- 
tious, and  there  is  nothing,  which  it  is  more 
averfc  from,  than  Duty.  Nothing  which  it 
more  abhors  than  Reftraint.     It  would,  if  let 

alone^ 


at  Weftminfter'Abbey.        217 

alone,  launch  out,  and  wantonize  in  a  bound- 
Ids  Enjoyment  and  Gratification  of  ail  its  Ap- 
petites and  Inclinations.  And  therefore  God^ 
who  dcfigncd  Men  to  a  fupematural  End, 
thought  fit  alio  to  engage  him  to  a  way  of 
living  above  the  bare  Courfc  of  Nature  j  and 
for  that  Purpoie  to  oblige  him  to  a  Icverc  A- 
bridgment  and  Controul  of  his  mere  natu- 
ralT^eftres.  And  this  can  never' be  done, 
but  by  imprinting  upon  his  judgment  fuch 
Apprehenfions  of  Thread  and  Terror,  as  may 
ftave  off  an  eager  and  luxurious  Appetite 
from  its  defired  Satisfaclions,  which  the  in- 
finite Wifdom  of  God  has  thought  fit  in  fome 
meafure  to  do,  by  non-plujjing  the  World  with 
certain  new  and  unaccountable  Revelations 
of  himfelf  and  the  Divine  Methods  of  a  my- 
fterious  Religion. 

To  proted  which  from  the  fawey  Encroacb- 
ments  of  bold  Minds,  he  has  hedged  it  in 
with  a  faered  and  majeftick  Obfcurity,  in 
fome  of  the  principal  Parts  of  it:  Which,  that 
it  is  the  moff  etfedual  Way  to  fecure  a  Reve- 
rence to  it  from  fuch  Muids,  is  as  certain^ 
as  the  univerfal  Experience  of  Mankind  can 
make  it  j  it  being  an  Obfervation  too  frequent 
and  common  to  be  at  all  doubted  of.  That 
Familiarity  breeds  Contempt )  and  it  holds  not 
Q^  2,  more 


2x8  A  Sermon  preached 

more  in  point  of  C<?«x'fr/2',  than  in  point  of 
Knowledge.  For  as  eafinefs  of  Accefs,  frank- 
neis  and  opcnnefs  of  Behaviour  does  by  De- 
grees lay  a  Man  open  to  Scorn  and  Contempt, 
cfpecially  from  fome  Difpofitions ;  fo  a  full 
infpection  and  penetration  into  all  the  Diffi- 
culties and  Secrets  of  any  Objed  is  apt  to 
make  the  Mind  infult  over  it,  as  over  a  con- 
quered Things  for  all  Knowledge  is  a  kind 
of  Conqueft  over  the  Thing  we  know. 

Diftance  prefcrves  Rcfped,  and  we  ftili 
imagine  Ibmc  tranfcendent  Worth  in  Things 
above  our  Reach.  Mofes  was  never  more  re- 
verenced than  when  he  wore  his  Veil.  Nay, 
the  very  San^um  SanEioriim  would  not  have 
had  fuch  aVencration  from  the  Jeisjs  had  they 
been  permitted  to  enter  into  it,  and  to  gaze 
and  flare  upon  it,  as  often  as  they  did  upon  the 
other  Parts  of  the  Temple.  li\\Q  High-Trieji 
himfelf,  who  alone  was  fuffercd  to  enter  into 
it,  yet  was  to  do  fo  kit  once  a  Tear  5  left  the 
frequency  of  the  oight  might  infenfibly  Icfien 
that  Adoration,  which  fo  facred  a  Thing  was 
ilill  to  maintain  upon  his  Thoughts. 

Many  Men,who in  their  AbfenceVi2s^  been 
great  and  admirable  for  their  Fame,  find  a  di- 
minution  of  that  Refped  upon  their  pcrfonal 
Trefence :    Even  the  great  Apoftlc  St.  Taul 

himfelf 


at  Wcflminfter- Abbey.        229 

himfclf  found  it  fo;  as  he  himfelf  tells  us 
2  Cor.  X.  10.  And  upon  the  lame  Account 
it  is,  that  the  Kings  of  fome  Nations,  to  keep 
up  a  living  and  a  conftant  Awe  of  themfelvcs 
in  the  Minds  of  their  Subjeds,  fhew  them- 
felves  to  them  but  once  a  Year  :  And  even 
that  perhaps  may  be  fomething  with  the 
ofteneft,  confidering,  that  Peribns,  whole 
Greatnefs  generally  confifts  rather  in  the 
Height  oi  x\\€\x.  Condition,  than  in  the  T)epth 
of  their  Under  ft  andingi  feldom  appear  freely 
and  openly,  but  they  expoje  themfelvcs  ia 
more  Scnfes  than  one. 

In  all  great  Refped,  or  Honour  fhewn, 
there  is  fomething  of  JVonder-y  but  a  Thing 
often  feen  (we  know)  be  it  never  fo  excellent, 
yet  ceafing  thereby  to  be  7iew-,  it  ceafes  alfo  to 
be  wondcr'd  at.  Forafmudi  as  it  is  not  the 
Worth  or  Excellency,  but  the  Strangenefs  of  a 
Thing  which  draws  the  Eyes  and  Admiration 
of  Men  after  it  5  For  can  any  Thing  in  Na- 
ture be  imagined  more  glorious  and  beauti- 
ful than  the  Sun  fliining  in  his  full  Might, 
and  yet  how  many  more  Spectators  and 
Wonderers  does  the  fame  Sun  find  under  an 
Eclipfc? 

But  to  purfue  this  Notion  and  Obfcrvation 

yet  further,  I  conceive  it  will  not  be  amifs  to 

Q^  3  confider 


i  3  ^  ^  Sermon  preached 

eonfidcr,  how  it  has  been  the  Cuflom  of  all 
the  fobcr  and  wile  Nations  of  the  World 
ttill  to  referve  the  great  Rites  of  their  Reli- 
gion in  Occullo  :  Thus,  how  (ludioufiy  did 
the  Egypfia?7S,  thofe  great  M afters  of  all 
Learniyig^  lock  up  their  facred  Things  from 
all  Acccfs  and  Knowledge  of  the  Vulgar! 
Whereupon  their  Gods  were  pidured,  and  re- 
prefentcd  with  their  Finger  upon  their  Mouthy 
thereby  (as  it  were)  enjoining  Silence  to  their 
Votaries,  and  forbidding  all  Publication  of 
their  Myfleries.  Nor  was  this  all;,  but  for  the 
better  concealing  of  the  Sacra  Arcana  of  theif 
Religion,  they  ufcd  alfo  :^  peculiar-  Characler 
unknown  to  the  common  People,  and  under-'' 
ilood  only  by  thcmfelvcs ;  and  laft  of  all,  that 
they  might  yet  the  ?ndre  fitrely  keep  off  all  o- 
thers  fi-om  any  Acquaintance  with  thefe  Se- 
crets, the  Triefihood'^^2.%  made  Hereditary  a- 
niongft  them,  by  which  Means  they  eafily  fe- 
cured  and  confined  the  Knowledge  of  theiry^ 
ardotal Rites  wholly  within  their  ov/n  Fami- 
ly.The  like  alfo  is  reported  ofthe  "Phoenicians^ 
the  Babylonians,  and  the  Gr£cianSy  that  they 
h?A  their  Upoi  yi?cij.iiJ,ai<A,  and  their  l^ing  X'^cy-^-l'^r 
Pjxf,  their/^rr^^/and  peculiar  Way  of  Writing, 
by  which  they  refcued  the  reverend  Myfleries 
of  their  Religion  from  tht  rude  InTpcdion  qf 

the 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.        i  ?  i 

the  Rout.  And  Laftly,  that  the  fame  CoiuTe 
of  Secrecy  and  ConceaUncnt  was  alio  iol- 
lo'w cd.  by  the Rojnans J  though  in  a  dilTcrcnt 
Way,  and  not  by  the  Ufe  of  inch  peculiar 
Charaders,  is  fufficiently  evident,  from  that 
known  Introdu^ion  and  Prologue  to  their 
f acred  Rites.  Trocul  efte  prof  ant  \  by  which 
they  drove  far  away  the  Trofane,  and  fuch 
were  all  thefe  accounted,  who  were  not 
actually  engaged  in  the  faid  religious  Per- 
formances. And  7io\2j  to  "-jnhat  Purpofe  do 
thefe  feveral  Inftances  fcrve,  but  to  fhevv  U5, 
That,  as  in  the  Je'juifi  Church  the  People 
were  not  fuffered  to  enter  into  the  Holy  of 
Holies,  nor  to  pry  or  look  into  the  Ark,  no 
nor  fo  much  as  to  touch  it  >  and  all  this  by  the 
particular,  exprefs  Prohibition  of  God  himfelfi 
fo  amongll  the  Heathens,  the  mod  civilizd-, 
learned,  and  belt  reputed  Nations  for  Wif- 
dom  have,  by  the  bare  Light  and  ConduEi  of 
their  natural  Reafon,  ftill  taken  the  fame 
Way  to  cftabliHi  in  Men's  Minds  a  Venerati- 
on for  their  Religion  ?  That  is,  by  keeping 
the  chief  Parts  and  Myfteries  of  it  put  up 
from  the  promilcuous  View  and  Notice  of 
that  fort  of  Men,  who  are  but  too  quickly 
brought  (God  knows)  tofaght  andnaufeate, 
what  they  once  think  they  tmderjiand, 

Q.  4  Now 


2  3  i  ^  Sermon  preached 

Now  that  the  fevcral  Religions  of  the  forc- 
mcntioned  Nations  of  the  Gentiles  were  falfe 
and  idolatrous,  I  readily  own  j  but  that  their 
Method  of  preferving  the  Reverence  of  them 
(which  is  all  that  I  here  infiftupon)  was  found- 
ed upon  any  Perfuafion  they  had  of  the  Falf- 
hood  and  Idolatry  of  the  faid  Religions,  this  I 
abfolutcly  deny  5  fince  it  is  not  imaginable  that 
any  fort  of  Men  whatfocver,  could  heartily 
own  and  prof efs  any  fort  of  Religion,  which 
they  themfelves  fully  believed  to  hzfalfe-j  and 
therefore  fince  it  could  not  be  but  that  they 
believed  their  fevcral  Religions  true,  (though 
really  and  indeed  they  were  not  fo)  yet  the 
way  which  they  took  to  keep  up  an  awful 
Elteem  of  them  in  the  Hearts  of  fuch  aspro- 
feffcd  them,  was  no  doubt  founded  upon  an 
excellent  Philofophy  and  Knowledge  of  the 
Temper  of  Man's  Mind,  in  relation  to  facred 
Matters.  So  that,  although  their  SiibjeB  was 
bad,  yet,  their  Argumentation  and  T>tfconrfe 
upon  it  was  highly  rational. 

Secondly,  A  fccond  Ground  of  the  Myfte- 
rioufnefs  of  Religion  (as  it  is  delivered  by 
God  to  Mankind)  is  his  moft  wile  Purpofe 
thereby  to  humble  the  Pxide  and  Haughtinefs 
of  Man's  Reafon.  A  quality  fo  peculiarly  odi- 
ous to  God,  that  it  may  he  laid?  not  fo  much 
3  to 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey."        233 

to  imprint  upon  Men  the  Image,  as  to  com- 
municate to  them  the  very  Effence  of  Ltici- 
fir.  The  way  by  which  Man  firft  fell  from 
his  original  Integrity  and  Happinefs  was  by 
Tride,  founded  upon  an  irregular  T)ejire  of 
Kncduledge  5  and  therefore  it  feems  to  be  a 
Courfe  moft  agreeable  to  the  Divine  Wifdom 
to  contrive  Man's  Recovery  by  fuch  a  Me- 
thod as  fliould  abafe  and  nonplus  him  in  that 
very  Perfedion,  whereof  the  ambitious  Im- 
provement firft  caft  him  down  from  that  glo- 
rious Condition.  In  ihort,  Man  would  be  like 
God  in  Knowledge,  and  fo  he  fell  5  and  now 
if  he  will  be  Y\kz  him  in  Happinefs  too,  God 
will  effed  it  in  fuch  a  way,  as  fhall  convince 
him  to  his  Face,  that  he  knows  nothing.  The 
whole  courfe  of  his  Salvation  fhall  be  all  Rid- 
dle and  Myftery  to  him  5  he  fhall  (as  I  may  fo 
cxprefs  it)  be  carried  up  to  Heave?!  in  a  Cloud- 
Inftead  of  Evidence  fpringing  from  Things 
thcmfelves,  and  clear  Knowledge  growing 
from  fuch  an  Evidence^  his  Underftanding 
muft  now  be  contented  with  the  poor,  dim 
Light  of  Faith  5  which  (as  I  have  fhewn) 
guides  only  in  the  Strength  and  Light  of  an- 
other's Knowledge,  and  is  properly  ^  feeing 
with  another' s  Eyes-,  as  being  otherwife  whol- 
ly unable  to  inform  us  about  the  great  Things 


2  34  ^  Sermon  pr  cached 

of  our  ^eace,  by  an  immediate  Infpedion  of 
thofe  Tilings  themfelves. 

Whereupon  we  find  tiie  Gofpel  fet  up  (as 
it  were)  in  Triumph  over  all  that  Wifdom  and 
^h'tlofophy  which  the  learned  and  more  refi- 
ned Parts  of  the  World  fo  much  boafted  of, 
and  valued  themfelves  upon;  as  we  have  it 
in  the  i  Cor.  i.  from  the  17th  to  the  end  of 
the  Chap.  Where  is  the  Wife,  'uchere  is  the 
Scribe^  and  where  is  the  "Difputer  of  this 
World?  God  is  there  faid  to  have  made  fool- 
ifh  the  very  Wifdom  of  it.  So  that  when  the 
Wor  Id  by  Wifdom  knew  7iot  God '■>  that  is,  by 
all  their  Thiiofophy  could  not  find  out,  either 
how  he  was  to  be  ferved,  or  by  what  Means 
to  be  enjoyed,  this  grand  Difcovery  was  made 
to  them  by  the  Fooliflinefs  of  breaching  (as  the 
World  then  efteemed  it  5  nay,  and  o\ preach- 
ing the  Crofs  too ;  a  thing  utterly  exploded 
both  by  Jew  and  Greek,  as  the  greateft  Ab- 
furdity  imaginable,  and  contrary  to  all  their 
received  Principles  and  Reafoiiings  about 
the  way  of  Alan's  attaining  to  true  Happincfs. 
And  yet,  as  high  as  they  bore  themfelves, 
\\\€\^  jirongefl  Rcafunings  were  to  bend  to  this 
Weaknefs  of  God,  (as  the  Apoftie  in  Derifion 
ofthofc,  who  thought  it  fo,  there  calls  it) , 
and  their  fublimclt  Wifdom  to  ftoop  to  this 

FooH^nefs^ 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.       235- 

FooUJhnefs,  if  fo  be  they  were  not  refolvcd 
to  be  too  ftrong,  and  too  wife  (forfooth) 
^o  be  faved.  For  as  the  primitive  EfFed 
of  Knowledge  was  firft  to  puff  up,  and  then 
to  thro^sj  down ;  fo  the  contrary  Method  of 
Grace  and  Faith  is  firft  to  depefs,  and  then  to 
advance. 

The  Difficulty  and  Strangenefs  of  feme  of 
the  chief  Articles  of  our  Religion,  fuch  as 
are  thofe  of  the  Trinity ,  znd  of  the  Incarna^ 
tion  and  Satisfa&ion  of  Chrifi^  are  notable 
Inftruments  in  the  Hand  of  God  to  keep  the 
Soul  low  and  htimbley  and  to  check  thofe 
Self-complacencies  which  it  is  apt  to  grow 
into  by  an  over- weening  Conceit  of  its  own 
Opinions,  more  than  by  any  other  Thing 
whatfoever.  For  Man  naturally  is  fcarce  fo 
fond  of  the  Offspring  of  his  Body,  as  of  that 
of  his  Soul.  His  Notions  are  his  Darlings: 
fo  that  neither  Children  nor  Self  are  half 
fo  dear  to  him,  as  the  only  begotten  of  his 
Mind.  And  therefore  in  the  Difpcnfations 
of  Religion  God  will  have  this  only  begotten, 
this  beft- beloved,  this  Ifaac  of  our  Souls  (a- 
bove  all  other  Offerings  that  a  Man  ca^ 
bring  him)  to  b^  facrificedj  and  given  up  to 
him. 

Xhirdlji 


1^6  A  Sermon  preached 

Thirdlyy  God  in  great  Wifdom  has  been 
pleafed  to  put  a  Myfteriotijnefs  into  thcgreateft 
Articles  of  our  Religion,  thereby  to  engage  us 
in  a  clofer,  and  more  diligent  Search  into  them. 
He  would  have  them  the  Objects  of  our  Study  y 
and  for  that  Purpofe  has  render'd  them  hard 
and  difficult.  For  no  Man  fludies  Things 
plain  and  evident,  and  fuch  as  by  their  native 
Clearnefs  do  even  prevent  our  Search,  and 
of  their  own  Accord  offer  themfelves  to  our 
Underftandings.  The  Foundation  of  all  En- 
quiry is  the  Obfcurity  as  well  as  Worth  of  the 
Thing  enquire  X  after.  And  God  has  thought 
good  to  make  the  Conftitution  and  Complexion 
of  our  Religion  fuch,  as  may  fit  it  to  be  our 
Bufine fs  and  our  Task  5  to  require,  and  take 
up  all  our  intelledual  Strengths,  and,  in  a 
word,  to  try  the  Force  of  our  beft,  our  no- 
bleft,  and  moft  adtive  Faculties.  For  if  it 
were  not  fo,  then  furely  human  Literature 
could  no  ways  promote  the  Study  of  Divinity, 
nor  could  Skill  in  the  liberal  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences be  any  Step  to  raife  us  to  thofe  higher 
Speculations.  But  fo  the  Experience  of  the 
World  (maugre  all  Fanatick  Pretences,  all 
naked  Truths ,  and  naked  Gofpelsy  or  rather 
Jhameful  Nakednefs  inftead  of  either  Truth 
or  Gofpel)  has  ever  yet  found  it  to  be.     For 

ilill 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  137 

ftill  the  Schools  arc  and  muft  be  the  (landing 
Nurferics  of  the  Church :  And  all  the  Cul- 
tivation and  Refinement  they  can  bcftow  upon 
the  beft  Wits  in  the  Ufe  of  the  moft  unweari- 
ed Induftry,  are  but  a  Means  to  facilitate 
their  Advance  higher,  and  to  let  them  in 
more  eafily  at  thz  Jir ait  G^r^of  thofe  more 
hidden  and  involved  Propofitions,  which 
Chriftianity  would  employ  and  exercife  the 
Mind  of  Man  with.  For  fv.ppoje,  that  we 
could  grafp  in  the  whole  Compais  of  Nature, 
as  to  all  the  Particulars  and  Varieties  of  ^^/>?g" 
and  Motion,  yet  (hall  we  find  it  a  vafl,  if  not 
an  impollible  Leap  from  thence  to  afcend  to 
the  full  Comprehenfion  of  any  one  of  God's 
Attributes ,  and  much  more  from  thence  to 
the  myflerious  OEconomy  of  the  T>ivine 
Vcrfons'^  and  laftly,  to  the  aftonifhing  Work 
of  the  World's  Redemption  by  the  Blood 
of  the  Son  of  God  himfe  If  J  conde [tending  to  be 
a  Man,  that  he  might  die  for  us.  All  which 
were  Things  hidden  from  the  IFife  and  T^ru- 
denty  in  fpight  of  all  their  JVifdom  and  Tru- 
dence\  as  being  Heights  above  the  Reach, 
and  'Depths  beyond  the  Fathom  of  any  mor 
tal  Intelled. 

We  are  commanded  by  Chrift  to  fearch 
the  Scriptures  as  the  great  Rcpofitory  of  all 

the 


138  A  Sermon  preached 

the  Truth  and  Myfteries  of  our  Religion,  and 
whofoever  fliall  apply  himleif  to  a  tiiorough 
Performance  of  this  high  Command,  fhall 
find  Difficulty  and  Abftrufenefs  enough  in  the 
T\\m2^'i  fear ched  into  to  perpetuate  his  Search. 
For  they  are  a  rich  Mine,  which  the  greateft 
Wit  and  Diligence  may  dig  in  for  ever,  and 
ftill  find  new  Matter  to  entertain  the  bufieft 
Contemplation  with,  even  to  the  utmoft  Pe- 
riod of  the  moft  extended  Life.  For  no  Man 
can  out-live  the  Reafons  of  Enquiry,  fo  long 
as  he  carries  any  thing  of  Ignorance  about 
him  :  And  that  every  Man  muft,  and  Ihall 
do  while  he  is  in  this  State  of  Mortality.  For 
he,  who  himfelf  is  but  a  Tart  of  Nature, 
fhall  never  compals,  or  comprehend  it  all. 

Truth  (we  are  told)  dwells  low y  and  in  a 
Bottom ;  and  the  moft  valued  Things  of  the 
Creation  are  conceal'd,  and  hidden  by  the 
"teat  Creator  of  them  from  the  common 
View  of  the  World.  Gold  and  'Diamonds, 
with  the  moft  precious  Stones  and  Metals 
lie  couched  and  covered  in  the  Bowels  of  the 
Earth  -,  the  very  Condition  of  their  Being 
giving  them  their  Burial  too.  So  that  Vio- 
lence muft  be  done  to  Nature,  before  Ihe 
will  produce  and  bring  them  forth. 

And 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  239 

And  then,  as  for  what  concerns  the  Mind 
of  Man,  God  has  in  his  wife  Providence 
caft  Things  fo,  as  to  make  the  Bufuiefs  of 
Men  in  this  World  Improvement ;  that  fo  the 
very  JVork  of  their  Condition  may  ftill  remind 
them  of  the  ImperfeBion  of  it.  For,  furcly, 
he  who  is  ftill  py effing  forward  has  not  yet 
cbtain'd  the  Trize.  Nor  has  he,  who  is  on- 
ly growing  in  Knowledge,  yet  arrived  to  the 
full  Stature  of  it.  Growth  is  Trogrefs  j  and 
all  Trogrefs  defigns  and  tends  to  the  Acqui- 
fition  of  fomething,  which  xhc growing  Ter- 
fon  is  not  yet  poffeffed  of 

Fourthly  y  The  fourth  andlafl  Reafon  which 
I  jhall  alledge  of  the  myfieriousY)i'^^zn(zt\.Qi-i  of 
the  Gofpel  here,  is.  That  the  full,  entire 
Knowledge  of  it  may  be  one  principal  Part  of 
our  Felicity  and  Bleflednefs  hereafter.  All 
thofe  Heights  and  'Depths  which  we  now 
ftand  fo  much  amazed  at,  and  which  fo  con- 
found and  baffle  the  fubtleft  and  moft  piercing 
Apprehenfion,  fhail  then  be  made  clear,  open, 
^nd  familiar  to  us.  God  fhall  then  difplay  the 
hidden  Glories  of  his  Nature,  and  withall  for- 
tify the  Eye  of  the  Soul  fo,  that  it  fhall  be 
able  to  behold  and  take  them  in,  fo  far  as  the 
Capacities  of  ^»  human  Intellect  fhall  enable 
it  to  do.     We  fhall  then  fee  the  Myftcrics 

of 


2  4^  A  Sermon  preached 

of  the  Trinity y  and  of  the  Incarnation  of 
Chrifiy  and  of  the  Refurre6iion  of  the  T>ead 
unriddled  and  made  plain  to  us ;  all  the  Knots 
of  God's  T^ecrees  and  Providence  untyed  and 
made  fit  for  our  Underftandingy  as  well  as  our 
Admiration.  We  fhall  then  be  tranfportcd 
with  a  nobler  kind  of  Wonder,  not  the 
effed  of  Ignorance,  but  the  produd  of  a  clea- 
rer, and  more  advanced  Knowledge.  We  fhall 
admire  and  adore  the  Works  and  Attributes  of 
the  great  God,  becaufe  we  fhall  fee  the  glori- 
ous Excellency  of  the  one,  and  the  admirable 
Contrivances  of  the  other,  made  evident  to 
our  very  Reafon  j  fo  as  to  inform  and  fatisfy 
that,  which  before  they  could  only  aftonifli 
and  amaze. 

The  Happinefs  of  Heaven  fhall  be  an  Hap- 
pincfs  of  Vifion  and  of  Knowledge  j  and  we 
fhall  there  pafs  from  the  T^arknefs  of  our 
native  Ignorance,  from  the  T)tisk  and  Twi- 
lip-ht  of  our  former  Notions  into  the  broad 

o 

Light  of  an  everlafting  T)ay :  A  Day,  which 
fhall  leave  nothing  undifcovered  to  us,  which 
can  be  fit  for  us  to  know :  And  therefore  the 
Apoftle  comparing  our  prefent  with  our  fu- 
ture Condition  in  refped  of  tliofe  different 
Meafures  of  Knowledge  allotted  to  each  of 
them,  I  Cor.  xiii.  12.  n:\\'^  us,  that  here  vje fee 

but 


at  Weftrninftcr- Abbey.  ^41 

but  darkly  and  in  a  Glafs  5  and  a  Glafs  (  we 
know)  often  gives  a  falfe^  but  always  a 
faint  Rcprelenration  of  the  Objed  :  but  then? 
fays  he,  fiall  we  fee  God  Face  to  Face.  And 
again,  Here  we  know  but  in  part  ^  but  thercy 
we  fiall  blow  as  we  are  known,  and  that, 
which  is  perfect ,  being  come,  then  that 
which  is  in  part  ^all  be  done  away.  Reafon 
being  then  uncloggcd  from  the  Body,  fhali 
have  its  full  Flight,  and  a  free,  uncontrolled 
Paflage  into  all  things  intelligible.  Wc  (hall 
then  fiirm.unt  thefc  beggarly  Rudiments,  and 
mean  Helps  of  Knowledge,  which  now  by 
many  little  Steps  gradually  raife  us  to  fome 
fhort  Speculation  of  the  Nature  of  Things. 
Our  Knowledge  fhall  be  then  intuitive  and 
above  T)ifcourfe,  not  proceeding  by  a  long 
Circuit  of  Antecedents  and  Confeqiients,  as 
now  in  this  Vale  of  Imperfection,  it  is  forced 
to  do  i  but  it  ihall  then  fully  inform  the  whole 
Mind,  and  take  in  the  whole  Objed,  by  one 
fmgle,  and  fubftantial  Ad. 

For  as  in  that  Condition,  we  fhall  enjoy 
the  HappinefSy  (o  we  fhali  alfo  imitate  the 
Terfeciion  of  Angels,  who  out-fhine  the  rcfl 
of  the  Creation  in  nothing  more  than  in  a 
tranfcendent  Ability  oti  Knowing  d^v^djudgijigi 
which  is  the  very  Glory  and  crowning  Excel- 

VoL.  III.  R  lency 


1^1  A  Sermon  preached 

lency  of  a  created  Nature.  Faith  itfclf  fliall 
be  then  accounted  too  mean  a  thing  to  accom- 
pany us  in  that  EftatCj  for  being  only  con- 
verfant  about  Things  not  feen-,  it  can  have  no 
Admittance  into  that  Place,  the  peculiar  Pri- 
vilege of  which  fhall  be  to  convey  to  us  the 
Knowledge  of  thofe  Things  by  Sights  which 
before  we  took  wholly  upon  Trufi.  And  thus 
I  have  given  you  fome  account,  firft  of  the 
Myjierioufnefs  oftheGofpel,  and  then  of  the 
Reafom  ofiti  and  that  both  from  the  Na- 
ture of  the  Things  themj elves  which  are 
treated  of  in  it,  as  alfo  from  thofe  great 
Ends  and^urpofeSj  which  God  in  his  infinite 
Wifdom  has  defigned  it  to. 

From  all  which  Difcourfc  feveral  very 
weighty  Inferences  might  be  drawn,  but  I 
fhall  colled  and  dra'ju  from  thence  only  thefe 
Three ;  As, 

Fir  [I,  The  high  Reafonahlenefs  of  Men's  re 
lying  upon  the  Judgment  of  the  whole  Church 
in  general,  and  of  their  refpeBive  Teachers , 
and  fpiritual  Guides  in  particular,  rather  than 
upon  their  ov^n  private  Judgments,  in  fuch 
important,  and  myfterious  Points  of  Religi- 
on, as  we  have  been  hitherto  difcourfing  of; 
I  fay,  upon  the  Judgment  of  thofc,  who  have 
made  it  their  conjiant  Bufinefsj  as  well  as 

their 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.       243 

their  avowed  TrofeJ/ion  to  acquaint  thcm- 
feives  with  thcfc  Myfteries  (  lb  far  as  Hu- 
man Reafon  can  attain  to  them)  and  that 
in  Order  to  the  Inftruction  and  Information 
of  others. 

Certain  it  is,  that  there  is  no  other  Profef- 
fion  in  the  World,  befides  this  of  Divinity 
wherein  Men  do  not  own  foniething  of  a  My- 
fteryy  and  accordingly  recicon  it  both  highly 
rational,  and  abfolutely  neceffary  in  many 
Cafes,  to  refign  and  fubmit  their  own  Judg- 
ments to  the  Judgments  of  fuch  as  profefs  a 
Skill  in  any  Art  or  Science  whatfocver.  For 
whofe  Judgment  ought  in  all  Fvcafon  to  be 
followed  about  any  Thing,  his,  who  ha^ 
made  it  his  whole  Work  and  CallirK^  to  un^ 
derftand  that  Thing ;  or  his,  who  has  be- 
llowed his  whole  Time,  Parts,  and  Labour 
uponfomcthingelfe,  which  is  wholly  foreign 
to  it,  and  has  no  Cognation  at  all  with  it.^ 

But  there  is  not  only  Reafon  to  perfuade, 
but  alio  Authority  to  oblige  Men  in  the  pre: 
fcnt  Cafe.  For  fee,  in  what  notable  Words 
the  Trophet  aHerts  this  Privilege  to  the  Prieft- 
hood  under  the  Moiaick  Oeconomy,  Mai.  ii. 
7.  The  Tr lefts  Lrps  (fays  he)  jhstdd pre- 
fer ve  Knowledge,  and  the  Teople^otddfeekthe 
Law  at  his  Mouth }  (adding  this  as  a  Reafon 
R  z  of 


244  ^  Sermon  preached 

of  the  fame)  For.  (lays  he)  hen  the  Mejfenger 
of  the  Lord  of  Hofis. 

for  which  Words,  no  doubt,  this  Prophet 
would  have  pafled  for  a  Man  of  Heat,  or 
High-Church- Man-,  now  a-days :  for,  in  good 
Earnelt,  they  run  very  high,  and  look  very 
feverely  upon  our  fo  much  applauded,  or  ra- 
ther doated  upon  Liberty  of  ConfciencejZnd 
are  fo  far  from  cafting  the  leaft  Eye  of  Favour 
upon  ir,  that  they  are  a  more  dired  and 
mortal  flab  to  it,  than  all  the  Tleas,  Argu- 
ments, and  Apologies,  I  could  ever  yet  read* 
or  hear  of,  have  been  a  Defence  of  it. 

Nor  does  the  fame  Privilege  fink  one  jot 
lower  under  the  Chriftian  Conftitution ;  For, 
as  we  have  already  fhewn,  that  the  Gofpel  is 
full  oiMyfteries,  fo  i  Cor.  iv.  i.  theMinifters 
of  theGofpel  are  declared  th^Stewards  ofthefe 
Myjieries ;  and  whatfoever  any  one  dilpenles 
as  a  Steward,  he  difpenfes  with  the  Authority 
and  in  the  ftrength  of  an  Office  andCommiffion  • 
and  I  believe  it  will  be  hard  to  prove,  that  a 
Minifter  of  the  Gofpel  can  be  obliged  to  dif- 
penle  or  declare  any  Thing  to  the  People y 
which  the  People  arc  not  upon  hisDeclaratioa 
pf  it  equally  bound  to  believe  and  affent  to. 

An  implicit  Faith  indeed  in  our  fpiritual 
Guides  (fuch  as  the  Church  of  Rome\io\(i^)  I 

own 


J 


at  Weflminfler-Abbey.  245- 

own  to  be  a  great  Abfurdity,  but  a  due  Defe- 
rence and  Submiflion  tothe  Judgment  of  the 
fa'id  Guides  in  the  Difcharge  of  their  Mmr 
7?r/,  I  affirm  to  be  as  great  a  Duty.     And  I 
ftate  the  Mca Cures  of  tliis  SubmiJJion,  in  a  Be- 
lief of,  and  an  Obedience  to  all  that  a  Man's 
fpiritital  Guide  fhaJl  in  that  Capacity  declare, 
and  enjoyn,  provided  that  a  Man  does  not 
certainly  know,  or  at  leaft,  upon  very  great 
and  juft  Grounds,  doubt  any  thing  to  the  con- 
trary :  (which  two  Conditions,  I  allow,  ought 
always  to  be  fuppofed  in  this  Cafe)  and  then, . 
if  no  Objedion,  from  either  of  thefe,  fhall  in- 
terpofe,  I  affirm,  that  every  Man  ftands  obli- 
ged by  the  Duty   he  owes  to   his  fpiritiial 
\PaJior-,  to  believe  and  obey  whatfoever  his  faid 
Taftor  fhall  by  Virtue  of  his  Tafloral  Office 
deliver  to  him.     In  a  Word,  if  Men  would 
but  ferioufly  and  impartially  conftder  thefe 
three  Things  5   Firft,    That  the   Gofpel  or 
Chriftian  Religion  is,  for  the  moft  part  of  it, 
made  up  of  Myfieries :  Secondly,  That  God 
has  appointed  a  certain  Order  of  Men  to  de- 
clare, and   difpenfe  thefe    Myfteries-,    And 
Thirdly,  and  Laftly,  That  it  was  his  JVifdom 
thus  to   order  both  thefe  j    Certainly  Men 
would  both  treat  the  GofpeliiCcif  more  like 
a  Myfierji  and  the  Minifters  of  the  Gofpel 
R  3  more 


14^6        A  Sermon  preached 

more  like  the  T)ifpenfers  of  fo  high  and  fa- 
cred  a  Myftery  than  the  Guife  and  Falhion  of 
our  prcfent  Blcffed  Times  difpofes  them  to 
do  j  that  is,  in  other  Words,  Men  would  be 
kfs  confident  of  their  own  Underftandin^s, 
and  more  apt  to  pay  Reverence  and  Submif- 
fion  to  the  Underftandings  of  thole,  who  are 
both  more  converfant  in  thefe  Matters  than 
they  can  pretend  to  be,  and  whom  the  fame 
Wifdom  of  God  has  thought  fit  to  appoint 
over  them  as  their  Guides.  For  the  contrary 
Pradice  can  proceed  from  nothing  but  an 
high  Self- Opinion,  and  a  Man's  being  Wife 
in  his  own  Conceit^  which  is  a  fure  way  to 
be  fo  in  no-body's  elfe. 

In  fine,  every  one  is  apt  to  think  himfelf 
able  to  be  his  own  divine,  his  own  ^riefi, 
and  his  own  Teacher y  and  he  fhould  do  well 
to  be  his  own  Thyficia-iy  and  his  own  Lawyer 
too.  Aji<i  then,  as  upon  fuch  a  Courfe,  he 
finds  himfelf  fpeed  in  the  Matters  of  this 
World,  let  him  upon  the  fame  reckon  of 
his  Siiccefs  in  the  other. 

Secondly,  We  learn  alfo  from  the  foregoing 
Particulars  the  grofs  Unreafonablenefs,  and 
the  manifeft  Sophiftry  of  Mens  making  what. 
focvcr  they  find  by  themfelves  not  intelligible^ 
(that  is  to  fay,  by  Human  Reafon  not   com- 

frehenfible) 


at  Weilminflcr-Abbey.  147 

prehenjible)  the  Aleafure  whereby  they  would 
conclude  the  fame  alio  to  be  tmpojjible.  This 
I  fay  is  a  mccr  Fallacy,  and  a  wretched  In- 
confequence :  And  yet  nothing  occurs  more 
commonly,  (and  that  as  a  Principle  taken  for 
granted)  in  the  late  Writings  ot  (ome  hett' 
rodoxy  pert,  unwary  Men,  and  particularly, 
it  is  the  main  Hinge  upon  which  all  the  Soci" 
nian  Arguments  againft  the  Myfieries  of  our 
Religion  turn,  and  depend  -,  but  withal  fo  cx- 
treamly  remote  is  it  from  all  Truth,  that  there 
is  not  the  lead  fhew  or  fhadow  ot  iU^albn 
allignable  for  it,  but  upon  this  one  Siippofit'tony 
namely.  That  the  Reafon  or  AH  nd  of  Alan  is 
capable  of  comprehending ,  or  throughly  un- 
derflanding  whatfoevcrit  is  pojflhle  for  an  In- 
finite T>ivine  ^ower  to  do.  This,  I  fay,  muft 
be  fuppofed,  for  no  other  Foundation  can  fup- 
port  the  Truth  of  this  Propofition,  to  wit. 
That  whatfoevir  is  humanly  not  intelligible^ 
is,  and  ought  to  be  reckoned,  upon  the  fame 
Account,  alfo  impofflole.  But  then  every  one 
muft  needs  fee,  and  explode  the  horrible 
Falfenefs  of  the  fore  mentioned  Suppofitiom 
upon  which  alone  this  Afl'ertion  is  built;  and 
confcquently  this  Affertion  itfelf  muft  needs 
be  altogether  as  falfe. 

R  4  For 


a  4  ^         -'^  Sermon  preached 

Por  who  can  comprehend,  or  throughly  un- 
dcrftand  how  the  Soulis  united  tOy  and  how  it 
atls  by,  andiiponthe  Body  ?  Who  can  compre- 
hend or  give  a  full  Account  how  Senfationis 
performed?  Or  who  can  lay  open  to  us  the 
"isjhole  Mechanifm  of  Motion  in  all  the  Springs 
and  Wheels  of  it  ?  Nay,  who  can  rcfolve  and 
clear  off  all  the  Difficulties  about /^^  C(?;»/<?- 
Jition  of  a  continued  ^iantityy  as  whether  it  is 
compounded  of  parts  divifible  or  indivifible? 
Both  of  which  are  attended  with  infuperable 
Objedions :  And  yet  all  thefe  Things  are  not 
only  pollible,  but  alfo  adually  exiftent  in  Na- 
ture. From  all  which  therefore,  and  from  a 
Thoufand  more  fuch  Inftances  (which  might 
eafily  be  produced)  I  conclude,  That  for  any 
one  to  deny  or  rejed  the  Myfteries  of  our 
Religion  as  impofflble,  becaufe  of  the  Incom- 
^rehenjiblenefs  of  them,  is  upon  all  true  Prin- 
ciples, both  of  T^ivinity  and  Thilofophyy  ut- 
terly inconfequent  and  irrational. 

Thirdly y  In  the  Third  and  LafiT lace,  \^c 
learn  alfo  from  what  has  been  difcourfed,  the 
great  Vanity  and  extravagant  Trefumption 
of  fuch  as  pretend  to  clear  up  all  Myfteries^ 
and  determine  all  Controvcrjies  in  Religion, 
The  Attempts  of  which  fort  of  Men  I  can 
lil^en  to  nothing  fo  properly  as  to  thofe  Pre- 
tences 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.         249 

tcnces  to  infallible  Cures^  which  we  daily  fee 
poftcd  up  in  every  Corner  of  the  Streets; 
and  1  thinlc  it  is  great  pity,  but  that  both 
thefe  fort  of  Pretences  ^cic  poffed  tip  toge- 
ther. For  I  know  no  univerfal,  infallible 
Remedy,  which  certainly  cures,  or  rather  car- 
ries off  all  T^ifeafeSy  and  puts  an  end  to  all 
Difputes,  but  Death:  Which  yet,  for  all  that, 
is  a  Remedy  not  much  in  requeft.  Quacks 
and  Mountebanks,  are,  doubtlefs^  a  very  dan- 
gerous fort  of  Men  in  Phyfick,  but  much  more 
ib  in  Divinity  :  They  are  both  of  them  al- 
ways very  large  in  Pretence  and  Promife,  but 
fhort  in  Performance,  and  generally  fatal  in 
their  Pradice.  For  there  are  feveral  Depths 
and  Difficulties  (as  I  noted  before)  both  in 
^hilofophy  and  divinity ,  which  Men  of  Parts 
and  folid  Learning,  after  all  their  Study, 
find  they  cannot  come  to  the  Bottom  of,  but 
are  forced  to  give  them  over  as  Things  un- 
refolveable,  and  will  by  no  means  be  brought 
to  pronounce  dogmatically  on  either  fide  of 
the  Oueftion. 

Amongft  which  faid  T>ijpCLilties  perhaps 
there  is  hardly  a  greater,  and  more  unde- 
cideable  Troblem  in  Natural  Theology,  and 
which  has  not  only  exercifed  but  even  cru- 
cified the  grcateft  Wits  of  all  Ages,  than  the 

3  recon- 


2  JO  A  Sermon  preached 

leconciling  of  the  immutable  Certainty  of 
God's  Fore-knowledge  with  the  Freedom  and 
Contingency  of  all  Humam  Ads,  both  Good 
and  Evil,  {o  fore-known  by  him.  Both  parts 
of  which  Problem  are  certainly  true,  but  how 
to  explain  and  make  out  the  Accord  between 
them  without  overthrowing  one  of  them,  has 
hitherto  exceeded  the  Force  of  Man's  Rea- 
fon.  And  therefore  Socinus  very  roundly, 
or  rather  indeed  very  profanely  denies  any 
fuch  Trefcience  of  future  Contingents  to  be 
in  God  at  all.  But  as  profane  as  he  was  in 
thus  cutting  afunder  this  Knot,  others  have 
been  as  ridiculous  in  pretending  to  untie  it. 
Tor  do  not  iome  in  their  Difcourfes  about  the 
divine  Atiriutttes  and  decrees ^  promife  the 
World  fuch  a  clear  Account,  fuch  an  open 
explicit  Scheme  of  thole  great  Things,  as 
Ihould  make  them  plain  and  evident  even 
to  the  meaneft  Capacities  ?  And  the  Truth 
is,  if  to  any  Capacities  at  all,  it  muft  be  to 
the  meaneft  \  for  to  tnofe  of  an  higher  Pitch, 
and  a  larger  Compafs,  thefe  Things  neither 
arc,  nor  will,  nor  ever  can  be  made  evident. 
And  if  fuch  Perfons  could  but  obtain  of  Hea. 
ven  a  Continuance  of  Life,  till  they  made 
good  what  they  fo  confidently  undertake^ 
they  would  be  in  a  fure  way  to  out-live  not 

only 


at  Weflminfter'Abbey.         25  i 

only  Methufalahy  but  even  the  World  itfelf« 
But  then,  in  come  fome  other  Undertakers^ 
and  promife  us  the  fame  or  greater  Won- 
ders in  Chrifiian  Theology,  offering  by  fomc 
new  whimfical  Explications  of  their  own  to 
make  the  deepeft  Myfiertes  of  our  Chriftian 
Faith  as  plain,  eafy,  and  intelligible  (forfooth) 
as  that  two  and  two  make  four ,-  that  is,  in 
other  Words,  they  will  reprefent  and  render 
them  fuch  Mvfteries  as  (hall  have  nothing 
at  all  myftical  in  them. 

And  now  is  not  this,  think  we,  a  moft 
profound  Invention,  and  much  like  the  DiA 
covery  of  fome  New-found  land ,  Ibme  O 
Brazil  in  Divinity?  with  fo  much  abfurd 
Confidence  do  fome  difcourfe  or  rather  ro- 
mance upon  the  moft  myjlerious  'Points  of 
the  Chriftian  Faith ;  that  any  Man  of  Senfc 
and  Sobriety  would  be  apt  to  think  fuch 
Pcrfons  not  only  befide  their  Subject-,  but 
befide  themf elves  too.  And  the  like  Cen- 
fure  we  may  juftly  pafs  upon  all  other  fuch 
idle  Pretenders ;  the  true  Character  of 
which  fort  of  Men  is,  That  he  who  thinks 
and  fays  he  can  underftand  all  Mjfteries^ 
and  refolve  all    Controverftes,    undeniably 

Ihews, 


25-  A  Sermon  'preached 

fhews,    that    he    really   underftands    none. 
In  the  mean  time,  we  may  here  obferve 
tlie  true  way,  by  which  thefe  great  and  a- 
dorable  Myjieries    of  our   Religion ,  come 
firft  to  be  ridiculedy  and  blafphemedy  and  at 
length  totally  laid   afide  by  fome  5  and  that 
is,  by  their  being  firft  innovated  upon,  and 
neiju-modelled  by  the  bold,  fenfelefs,  and  ab- 
furd  Explications  of  others.     For,  firft  of  all 
fuch  Innovators  break  down  thofe    facred 
Mounds  which  Antiquity  had  placed  about 
theie  Articles^  and  then  Hereticks  and  Blaf- 
phemers  ruih  in  upon   them,  trample  them 
under  foot,  and  quite  throw  them  out  of  our 
Creed.     This  courfe  we  have  feen  taken  a- 
mongft  us,  that  the  Church  (God  blefs  it,  and 
thofe  who  are  over  it)  has  been  hitherto  pro- 
foundly  filent  at  it  5    but  how    long    God 
(whofe  Honour  is  moft  concerned)  will   be 
lb  too,  none  can  tell.     For  if  fome  NoveL 
liils  may  put   what  Senfe  they  pleafe  upon 
the  Writings  of  MofeSy  and   others   do  the 
like  with  the  Articles  of  the  Chrifti an  Church 
alfo,  (and  the  greateft  Encouragement  attend 
both)  I  cannot  fee,  (unlefs  fome   extraordi- 
nary Providence   prevent  it)  but  that  both 
thefe  Religions  are  in  a  dired  way  to  be  run 

down 


at  Weftmlnfter'Abbey.       25-3 

down  amongft  us,  and  that  in  a  very  Ihort 
Time  too. 

Let  every  fober,  humble,  and  difcreet 
Chriftian  therefore  be  advifed  to  dread  all 
tampering  with  the  Myjieries  of  oiir  Faith y 
cither  by  any  new,  and  unwarrantable  Ex- 
plications of  them,  or  Defcants  upon  them. 
The  great  Apoftle  of  the  Gentiles,  who,  I  am 
fure,  had  as  clear  a  Knowledge  of  the  whole 
Myftery  of  the  Gofpel,  as  any  in  his  Time, 
and  a  greater  Plenty  of  Revelations  than 
any  one  could  pretend  to  fince  him,  treat- 
ed thefe  Matters  with  much  another  kind 
of  Pveverence,  crying  out  with  Horror  and 
Amazement,  O  the  ^epth  and  Unfearchablc 
fiefs  of  the  Things  of  God  I  m  Rom,  xi.  ^^, 
And  again,  Who  is  fufficient  for  thefe  Things  ! 
ia  2  Cor.  ii.  16.  This  was  his  Judgment, 
thefe  were  his  Thoughts  of  thefe  dreadful 
and  myfterious  depths -^  and  the  fame,  no 
doubt,  will  be  the  Thoughts  and  Judgment 
of  all  others  concerning  them,  who  have 
any  thing  of  T>epth  themfelves.  For  as  the 
lame  Apoftle  again  has  it  in  that  moft  noted 
Place  in  the  i  Tim.  iii.  16.  IVithotit  Contro- 
verfy  great  is  the  Myftery  ofGodlinefs :  God 
manife/led  inthe  FleJh,Jiiftifedm  the  Sprite 

feen 


254  -^  Sermon  preached 

feen  of  Angels,  believed  on  in  the  World,  and 
received  up  into  Glory. 

To  which  God  infinitely  Wife,  Holy,  and 
Great,  be  rendredy  and  afcribed)  as  is 
mofi  due,  all  Traije,  Might,  Majefty, 
and  T>ominiony  both  now^  and  for  ever- 
more.   Amen. 


THE 


The  Lineal  Defcent  of  ]  esv  s 
of  Nazareth  from  Da- 
vid ^y  his  BJeJfed  Mother  the 
Virgin  Mary, 


Proved  in  a 

DISCOURSE 

On  R  E  F.  xxii.   1 6. 


REV.  xxii.  I  6.  latter  part. 

I  am  the  Root  and  the  Offspring  of  David, 

and  the  Bright  and  Morning  Star. 

TH  E  Words  here  pitciied  upon  by  mc^ 
are  the  Words  of  Chrift  now  glori- 
fied in  Heaven,  and  fecm  (  as  it  were)  by 
the  Union  of  a  double  Feftival,  to  reprefcnt 
to  us  both  the  Nativity  and  Epiphany ^  while 

they 


1^6  A  Sermon  preached 

they   lead  us  to  the  Birth  of  Chrift  by  the 
Difedion  of  a  Star  :  though  with  this  Differ- 
ence, I  confefs,  that  both  the  Means  direding, 
and  the  Term  direded  to,  do  in  this  Place  co- 
incide ;  andClirift  the  Perfon  fpeaking,  as  well 
as  fpoken  of,  is  here  the  only  Star  to  dired  us 
to  himfelf.  The  Nativity  of  Chrift  is  certainly 
a  Compendium  of  the  whole  Gofpel,  in  that 
it  thus  both  be^ns  and  ends  it,  reaching  from 
the  firft  Chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  to  this  laft 
of  the  Revelation  i  which  latter,  though  it  be 
confelTedly  a  Book  of  Myfteries  and  a  Syftem 
of  occult  Divinity,  yet  furely   it  can  con- 
tain  nothing  more  myfterious    and.ftupea, 
dous  than  the  Myftery  here  wrapt  up  in  the 
Text  J  where  we  have  Chrift  declaring  himfelf 
both  the  Root,  and  the  Ojf spring  of  T^ avid. 
For  that  any  one  fhould  be  both  Father  and 
Son  to  the  fameT'erfon,  produce  himfelf,  be 
Caufe  and  EiFed  too,  and  fo  the  Copy  give 
Being  to  its  Original,  feems  at  firft  Sight  fo 
very  ftrange  and  unaccountable,  that  were  it 
not  to  be  adored  as  a  Myftery,  it  would  be 
exploded  as  a  Contradidion.     But  fince  the 
Gofpel  has  lifted  us  above  our  Reafon,  and 
taught  us  one  of  the  great  Arcana  of  Hea- 
ven, by  afluring  us  that  'Divinity  and  Hu- 
manity  may    cohabit    in    one    Subfiftence;, 

that 


on  REyEL.xxii,  16.        j^7 

that  two  Natures  may  concur  in  the  fame 
Perfon,  and  Heaven  and  Earth  rningle  with- 
out Confufion  \  we  being  thus  taught  and  per» 
fuaded,  Ihall  here  endeavour  to  exhibit  the 
whole  Occonomy  of  Chrift's  glorious  Perfon, 
and  to  fhew  what  a  Miracle  He  was,  as  well 
as  what  Miracles  He  did,  by  confidering  him 
under  thefe  three  feveral  Refpeds. 

Fir  ft)  As  the  Root,  Secondly,  AsthcOff- 
f^ring  of  'David.     And 

Thirdly,  As  He  is  here  termed,  The  Bright 
and  Morning  Star. 

And  Firil:  for  the  firft  of  thefe : 

Chrift  was  the  Root  of  David-,  but  How ) 
Certainly  inrefpedtoffomethinginhimwhich 
had  a  Being  before  David.  But  his  Humanity 
had  not  fo,  being  of  a  much  later  Date,  and 
therefore,  as  a  meer  Man,  he  could  not  be 
the  Root  of  David',  whereupon  it  follows 
that  he  muft  have  been  fo  in  refped  of  fome 
other  Nature :  But  what  that  Nature  was 
will  be  the  Queftion.  The  Arians  who  ^z- 
Xi\z^\\\^  Divinity,  but  granted  his  Pre- exi- 
gence to  his  Humanity  (which  the  Socini" 
ans  abfolutely  deny)  held  him  to  be  the  firft- 
Born  of  the  Creation-,  the  firft,  and  mofl 
glorious  Creature  which  God  made,  a  fpi- 
ritual  Subftauce  produced  by  him  long  before 
Vol.  III.  S  the 


158  A  Difcourfe 

the  Foundation  of  the  World,  and  afterwards 
in  the  Fulnefs  of  time  fent  into  a  Body,  and 
fo  made  iyicamate.  This  is  what  they  hold  j 
whereby  it  appears  how  much  they  differ  from 
the  School  oiSocinus,  though  fome  with  great 
Impertinence  confound  them.  y^r/W  taught 
that  Chrift  had  a  fpiritual  Subflftence  before 
the  World  began :  Socinus  held  that  he  was 
ameer  Man,  and  had  no  Subfiftence  or  Being 
at  all,  till  fuch  time  as  he  was  conceived  by 
the  Holy  Ghoft  in  the  Womb  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  I  fhall  not  much  concern  myfclf  a- 
bout  thefe  two  Opinions,  as  they  ftand  in 
Oppofition  to  one  another  ;  but  only  remark 
this  of  them.  That  Socinus  alTerts  a  thing 
confidered  barely  in  itfelf  more  agreeable  to 
Reafon,  which  can  much  better  conceive  of 
Chrift  as  a  Man  naturally  confifting  of  Soul 
and  Body,  than  as  fuch  an  heterogeneous 
Compofition  of  a  Body  and  (I  know  not  what) 
ftrange  fpiritual  Subftance  exifting  before 
the  Creation,  as  the  Arians  reprefent  him  : 
But  then  on  the  other  fide,  the  Opinion  of 
Arius  is,  of  the  two,  much  more  difficult  to 
be  confuted  by  Scripture  :  For  as  to  Socinus ^ 
the  chief  Arguments  brought  from  thence  a- 
gainft  him,  are  not  fuch  as  are  taken  from 
the  Kame  or  Anions  of  God,  attributed  to 

Chrift  5 


on  REVEL,  xxii.  \6,        ijp 

Chriftj  which  he  thinks  he  eafily  anfwcrs  by 
aflerting  that  God  is  a  Name  not  of  Nature^ 
but  oiTowirznd  T>ominion :  and  that  Chrift  is 
called  God  bccaiite  of  the  Power  and  Govern- 
ment of  all  things  put  into  his  Hands  5  as 
earthly  Kings  alfo,  in  their  proportion,  have 
in  Scripture  the  fame  Title,  upon  the  fame 
account.  But  the  Arguments  which  bear  hard- 
eft  upon  SocimtSj  are  fuch  as  are  taken  from 
thofe  Scriptures,  which  beyond  all  poiTibility 
of  rational  Contradiction,  declare  the  Pre- 
exiftence  and  precedent  Being  of  Chrift  to  his 
Conception, fuch  asj^?^. viii.  58.  Before Kbni^ 
ham  was  J I  am.  And  in  J  oh.  xvii.  5 .  Glorify 
me,  O  Father,  with  the  Glory  which  I  had 
with  thee,  before  the  World  was ,  which  ali 
the  Socinians  in  theWorid  could  never  yet  give 
any  clear,  proper,  and  natural  ExpofTtion  of 5 
but  unnaturally  and  illogically  pervert  and 
diftort  them  in  defiance  of  Senfe  and  Reafon  ' 
and  all  the  received  ways  of  Interpretation. 
But  now  as  for  Ariiis,  the  Allegation  of  thefe 
and  the  like  Scripturesprejudice  nothisHypo- 
thefis  at  all :  who  grants  Chrift  to  have  been 
a  Glorious  Spiritual  Subftancc  of  an  Exiftence 
not  only  before  Abraham^wi  alio  before  Adam^ 
and  the  Angels  themfelves,  and  the  whole 
Hoft  of  the  Creation.  But  what?    Was  Chrift 

S  2.  thea 


l6o  A  D'lfcourfe 

then  the  Root  of  ^avid  only  in  refped  of 
this     rpiritual,     pre-exifling,    created    Sub- 
ftance,  firft  found  out  and  let  up  by  Arms  ? 
No,  certainly  j    for  the  Scripture,  and  (the 
beft  Comment  upon  the  Scripture)  a  general 
Council,-  and  that  aUb  the  lirft  and  mod  fa- 
mous, even  the  Council  of  Nice,  have  con- 
demned this.    And  all  thofe  Scriptures  which 
make  Chrift  either  O;?^  icv'/Z?,  on  equal  to  the 
FathtTy    clearly  confute   and  overthrow  lb 
abfurd,  as  well  as  blalphcmous  an  Aflertion. 
Let  this  therefore  be  fixed  upon,  that  Chrift 
was  the  RoGt,    or  Original  of  'Danjid,  as  he 
was  of  all  Mankind  bcMcsj  Namely,   in  re- 
ipcttoi  His 'Divinity-y  of  that  infinite,  eter- 
nal Po\ver,whichdifplayed  itfelfin  the  Works 
of  the  Creation.    For  l>y  him  all  things  iz'ere 
made,   as  the  Evange'ift  tells  us,  John  i.  3. 
But  how  ready  natural  Realbn  will  be  to  rile 
up  againfl  this  Aflertion,  I  am  not  ignorant  i 
and  how  [that  Jefus  of  Nazareth,    a  Man 
like  cnrfelves,    jhonld  be  accounted  by  Na- 
ture God,  the  Creator  of  the  JVorld.Ownifcienty 
Omnipotent,  and  Eternal']  is  look'd  upon  by 
many  as  a  Propofition  not  only  falfe,    but 
fooUp,  and  fitter  to  be  laugh' d  than  difputed 
out  of  the  World,  this  allb  is  no  Surprize  to 
us.     But  then  on  the  other  fide,  That  this  is  a 

thing 


on  REFEL.  \yXu   i6,       ^6i 

thing  not  to  be  founded  upon,  or  to  take  its 
Rife  from  the  bare  Difcourfes  of  Reaforiy  he 
muft  be  very  much  a  Stranger  to  Rcafon 
himfelf,  who  fhall  venture  to  deny  ;  for  if  it 
may  be  proved  by  Reafon,  (as  I  doubt  not  but 
it  ma^')  that  the  Scripture  is  the  JVordofGody 
addrejfedto  Men  5  and  confequcntly  ought  to 
be  underllood  and  interpreted  according  to  the 
familiar  natural  way  of  Conftrudion,  proper 
to  human  Writings  5  then  I  affirm  that  to  deny 
Chrift  to  be  naturally  Godjis  irrational  j  when, 
his  being  fo,  is  fo  frequently  aflertcd  through- 
out the  whole  Scripture,  and  that  in  as  clear 
terms,  as  it  is  pollib'e  for  one  Man  to  exprefs 
his  Mind  by  to  another,  if  it  were  his  Purpofe 
to  declare  this  very  Thing  to  him. 

And  therefore  I  have  often  wondred  at  the 
prcpoflerous  Tenets  oiSGcintiSy  and  that,  not 
fo  much  for  his  denying  the  naturalT>eity  of 
our  Saviour,  as  that  he  fhould  do  it  after  he 
had  wrote  a  Book/Z?r  the  Authority  of  the  Scrip- 
ture. For  upon  the  fame  Rcafons  that  he 
and  his  Sed  deny  the  Deity  of  Chrift,  1  fhould 
rather  deny  the  Scripture  to  be  ofT)ivine  Au" 
thority.  They  fay,  for  Chrift  to  be  God  is  a 
thing  abfurd  and  impoflible  5  from  which  I 
fhould  argue,  that  that  Writing  or  Doftrinc, 
which  affirms  a  thing  abfurd  and  m;pojJible^ 

%  5  cannot 


z6%  A  Dlfcourfe 

cannot  be  true,  and  muchlefs  the  Word  of 
God.  And  that  the  Gofpel  affirms  fo  much 
of  Chrift  we  may  appeal  to  the  Judgment  of 
any  impartial  Heathen,  who  underftands  the 
Language  in  which  it  is  written.  But  he  who 
firft  denies  the  Deity  of  Chrift  as  abfiird  and 
mpojjibie^  and  thereupon  rejeds  the  Divine 
Autnority  of  the  Scripture  for  affirming  it, 
ni-iy  be  prefumed  upon  the  Suppofal  of  the 
former  to  do  the  latter  very  rationally.  So 
that  he  who  would  take  the  moft  proper  and 
dired  way  to  convince  fuch  an  one  of  his 
Herejy  ( if  there  be  any  convincing  of  one 
who  firft  takes  up  his  Opinion,  and  then  feeks 
for  Reafons  for  it)  muft  not,  I  conceive,  en- 
deavour in  the  firft  place  to  convince  him  out 
of  Scripture  [  that  Jefus  Chrift  is  God^  but 
turn  the  whole  Force  and  Strefs  of  his  Dif- 
putation  to  the  Proof  of  this  [that  the  Scrip- 
ture is  the  Word  of  God  to  Mankind,  and 
uponthat  account  ought  to  be  interpreted  as 
the  Writings  ofMenufe,  and  ought  to  be] 
and  if  fo,  he  who  will  make  Senfe  of  them, 
muft  grant  the  Divinity  of  Chrift  to  be  clearly 
aflerted  in  them,  and  irrefragably  inferred 
from  them.  In  fhort,  if  the  Adverfaries  of 
Chrift'sDivinity  can  prove  Chrift  not  tobeGod, 
they  muft  by  confequcncc  prove  that  the  Scrip- 
tures 


on  REFEL»  xxii.  16.       16^ 

turcs  naturally  and  grammatically  interpret- 
ed, are  not  the  Word  of  God :  But  on  the  con. 
trary,  the  Church  being  aflurcd  that  the  Scrip- 
tures fo  mtCTi^\:ztz6.are  the  JVord  of  God M  con- 
fequently  aflfured  alfOjthat  Chrifi  is  andmufi  be 
God.  Neverthclers  if,  according  to  the  unrea- 
fonable  Demands  of  the  Men  of  this  Se£l,this 
and  all  other  Myfteries  of  our  Religion  fhould 
be  put  to  anfwer  for  themfelves  at  the  Bar  of 
Human  Reafon,  I  would  fain  know,  where- 
in confifts  the  Paradox  of  aflerting  Chrifl:  to 
be  God?     For  no  Man  fays  that  his  Human 
Nature  is  his  Divine,  or  that  he  is  God  as  he 
is  Man.     But  we  aflcrt  that  he  who  is  God  is 
alfo  Man,  by  having  two  Natures  united  into 
one  and  the  fame  Subllance.    And  if  the  Soul 
which  is  an  immaterial  Subftance  is  united  to 
the  Body,  which  is  a  material h  though  the  cafe 
is  not  altogether  the  fame,  yet  it  is  fo  very 
near,  that  we  may  well  ask,  what  Repugnancy 
there  is,  but  that  the  Divine  Nature  may  as 
well  be  united  to  the  Human  ?     I  believe  if 
we  reduce  things  to  our  way  of  Conception, 
we  fhall  find  it  altogether  as  hard  to  conceive 
the  Conjundion  of  the  two  former,  as  of  the 
two  latter:  and  this,  notwithftanding  that 
other  Difference  alfo  o^  finite  and  infinite  be- 
tween them :  for  why  z  finite  and  an  infinite 

S  4  Being 


z64-  A  DifciUrfe 

Being  may  not  be  united  to  one  another  by 
an  intimate  and  infeparable  Relation,  and  an 
Affamption  oixht  finite,  into  ihcperfonal Suh- 
fiftence  of  the  infinite,  I  believe  it  will  be  hard 
for  any  one  to  give  a  folid  and  demonftrative 
Reafon  :  for  Scoffs  and  Raillery  (the  ufual 
Arguments  brought  againft  it)  I  am  fure, 
are  not  {o.  But  I  forget  my  felf ;  for  the  Per- 
fons  here  difputed  againft  believe  not  the  Soul 
to  be  either  immaterial  or  *  naturally  immor- 
tal ;  but  are  much  the  fame  with  the  Saddticesy 
and  upon  that  account  litter  to  be  crufh'd  by 
the  Civil  Magiftratc,  r,s  defrrudive  to  Govern- 
ment and  Society,than  to  be  confuted  as  meer« 

« 

ly  Hereticks  in  R,eligion. 

I  conclude  therefore  againft  the  Scoffs  of 
the  Heathens,  the  Diiputations  of  the  Jews, 
the  Impiety  of  Ariiis-,  and  the  bold,  blafphe- 
mons  Affertions  of  Socimis,  that  the  Man 
Chriftjelus,  born  at  Bethlem,  of  the  Virgin 
Mary,  is  Godj  God  by  Nature,  the  Maker  of 
ail  Things,    the    Fountain   of   Being,   the 

*  Tantum  id  mihi  vitletHr  ftatui  polfe,  poji  hanc  Viiam,  Hominis 
Anlmam  five  Ammum  r.on  it  a  per  fi  fubfiflere,  ut  ulln  yr&rnia  poe. 
nsifve  feKtiat,  "vel  eiiamilla  fentienili  {it  capux. 

And  again.  In  ipfo  prima  homine  totius  immortalitatis  rationem 
uyi  gratis  Dti  iriiuo ;  nee  in  ipf*  Creaiiom  c^uicquam  immortttlts 
Vita  in  homi/je  a^nofco,  Socin.  Ep,  f.  ad  Joh.  Volkelium.  Sec 
more  of  the  like  nature  cited  by  the  Learned  Dr.  A/hrvell  ia  his 
Piftcrtacion  deSbiim  (^  Segmmjhjo.  Pag.  187,  188,  189,  &c. 

j^ncienP 


on  REVEL,  xxli.  \6.       i6$ 

^Ancient  of  T>ays,  the  Firfl  and  the  Laft,  of 
whofe  Being  there  was  no  Beginning,  and 
of  whofe  Kingdom  there  Jh all  be  no  End,  And 
in  this  one  Propofition  the  very  Life  and 
Heart  of  Chriftianity  does  confift.  For  as, 
that  there  is  a  God,  is  the  grand  Foundation 
of  Religion  in  general:  fo,  that  JefusChriJi 
is  God,  is  the  Foundation  of  the  Chriflian 
Religion :  And,  I  believe  it  will  one  Day  be 
found,  that  he  who  will  not  acknowledge 
Chrijlfor  his  Creator,  Ihall  never  have  him  for 
his  Redeemer. 

Having  thus  fhewn  how  Chrift  was  the 
Root  and  Original  of  T> avid,  pafs  we  now  to 
the  next  Thing  propofed,  which  is  to  fhew 

Secondly,  That  he  was  his  Off- faring  too, 
and  fo,  having  aflerted  his  divinity,  to  clear 
alfo  his  Humanity.  That  the  Chriflian  Reli- 
gion be  true,  is  the  eternal  Concernment  of 
ail  thofe  who  believe  it,  and  look  to  be  faved 
by  it :  And  that  it  be  fo,  depends  upon  Jefus 
Chrifl's  being  the  true  promifed  Mefflas, 
(the  grand  and  chief  Thing  aflerted  by  him  in 
his  Gofpel  5)  and  laftly,  Chrifl's  being  the  true 
Meffias  depends  upon  his  being  the  Son  of 
^avid,  and  King  of  the  Jews.  So  that  un. 
lefsthis  be  evinced,  the  whole  Foundation  of 
Chriftianity  muft  totter  and  fall,  as  being  a 

Cheat, 


't66  A  'D'tfcourfe 

Cheat,  and  an  Impoftor  upon  the  World. 
And  therefore  let  us  undertake  to  clear  this 
great,  important  Truth,  and  to  demonftrate 
that  JeiTus  of  i\Z<2;s^r^/^  was  \}ciztrue  Seed  of 
'Davidy  and  rightful  King  of  the  Jews. 

His  Pedigree  is  drawn  down  by  two  of  the 
Evangelifts,  by  St.  Matth.  in  his  i  ft  Chapter ^ 
and  by  St.  Luke  in  his  3^,  from  whence  our 
Adverfaries  oppofe  us  with  thefe  two  great 
Difficulties. 

Firfit  That  thefe  two  Evangelifts  difagree 
in  deducing  of  His  Pedigree. 

Secondly y  That  luppofing  they  were  proved 
to  agree,  both  of  their  Pedigrees  terminate  in 
JofephjZVidi  therefore  belong  not  to  JifuSywho 
was  not  indeed  the  Son.  of  J  ofeph, but  of  Mary. 

In  anfwer  to  which  we  are  to  obferve,  that 
concerning. this  whole  Matter  there  are  two 
Opinions. 

Firjl,  That  both  in  St.  Matth.  and  St.  Luke 
only  the  Pedigree  of  Jofeph  is  recounted,  in 
the  firft  his  Natural-,  in  the  other  his  Legal: 
For  it  beingaknownCuftom  among  x\\.^JewSy 
that,  a  Man  dying  without  Illue,  his  Brother 
ihould  marry  his  Widow,  and  raife  up  Seed  to 
him,  £//hereupondying  without  any  Child, 
Jacob  took  his  Wife  and  of  her  begat  Jofeph  5 
who  by  this  means  was  naturally  the  Son  of 

Jacobs 


onREFEL,xu\.  16       16/ 

"Jacob,  as  St.  Matth.  deduces  it  j  and  legally 
or  reputedljrih^SonoiEliy  as  St.  Z>///^^.  And 
then  to  make  Jacob  and  Eli  Brothers,  who 
are  there  fet  down  in  different  Lines,  it  is  faid 
that  Matthan  of  the  Line  of  Solomon-,  and 
Melchi  of  the  Line  of  Nathan-,  fucceflively 
married  the  fame  Woman  {EJtha  by  Name) 
of  whom  Matthan  begat  Jacob,  and  Melchi 
begat  Eli:  whereupon  y/sf^;?^  and  Eli  being 
Brothers  by  the  Mother,  though  of  different 
Fathers,  Eli  dying  without  Iffue  Jacob  was 
obliged  by  Law  to  marry  his  Relid,  and  fo 
to  raife  up  Seed  to  his  Brother  Eli. 

Now  all  this  is  grounded  upon  an  ancient 
Story  of  one  Julius  Afrtcamis  recorded  by 
EufebiuSy  in  his  firfl  Book  and  feventh  Chap- 
ter. And  of  late  Faujlus  Socinus,  (who  hav- 
ing denied  Chriffs  Divine  Nature  was  re- 
folved  to  cut  him  fhort  both  Root  and 
Branch-,  and  to  deny  his  Human  too  -,  at 
Icafl  as  to  themoft  confiderable  Circumftancc 
of  it,  which  concerned  the  Credit  of  his  be- 
ing the  true  Mejf/ias)  he,  I  fay,  catches 
at  this  forlorn  Story,  and  afcribes  much  to 
it  in  that  Book  of  his  called  his  LeBiones 
Sacra ;  and  though  generally  a  profefl  Defpi- 
fer  of  Antiquity,  yet  when  he  thinks  it  may 
laake  any  thing  for  his  Purpofe,  he  can  catch 

at 


i6S  AD\fcourf€ 

at  every  fabulous  Scrap  of  it,  and  thereupon 
vouches  this  as  authentick,  even  for  its  An- 
tiquity. From  which  Opinion  it  follows? 
that  Chrift  was  only  the  reputed  Son  of  ^^- 
<vtdj  that  is  to  fay,  becaufe  his  Mother  was 
married  to  one  who  was  really  oi'Davids 
Line.  And  this  the  whole  Sed  of  Socinus 
affirms  to  be  fufficient  to  denominate  and 
make  Chrift  the  Son  of  T)avidy  and  accord- 
ingly allow  him  fo  to  be  upon  no  other  or 
nearer  Account. 

But  of  the  Authors  and  Affertors  of  this 
Opihion  we  may  well  demand,  that  admitting 
Chrift-  might  upon  this  Account  be  called  the 
Son  of  T) avid m  the  large  and  loofe  way  of  that 
Denomination,  yet  how  could  he  for  this 
only  Reafon  be  called  the  Seed  of  T^avtd? 
Kay,  and  what  is  yet  more  full  and  exprefs,  be 
faid  to  be  made  of  the  Seed  of  T>avid,  as  it  is 
in  Rom.  i.  3-  And  further,  to  be  the  Fruit  of 
his  LoinSy  as  it  is  in  A^is  ii.  30.  I  fay,  with 
what  Propriety  or  Accord  with  the  common 
ufe  of"  Speaking,  could  one  Man  be  faid  to  be 
another  Mans  Seed^'CiA  the  Fruit  of  his  Loins  ^ 
when  he  had  no  other  Relation  to  him  in  the 
World,  than  that  his  Mother  only  married 
with  a  Perfon  who  ftood  fo  related  to  that 
Other.     1  believe  the  Jews  would  defire  no 

greater 


on  REVEL,  xxii.  \6,       i6^ 

greater  a  Conccflion  from  us  than  this,  where- 
by to  conclude  and  argue  Jefiis  of  Nazareth 
not  to  have  been  the  true  Meflias.  Let  us 
therefore  leave  this  Opinion  to  itfelf,  as  de- 
flructive  to  the  main  Foundation  of  our  Re' 
ligion^  and  fit  to  be  owned  by  none  but  the 
mortal  Enemies  of  Chriji  and  ChrifiianttVy 
the  Jews  and  the  Socinians  5  and  fo  pafs  to 
the 

Second  O'^mionj  which  is,  that  hothjofeph 
and  Mary  came  from  T>avidhy  true  and  real 
Defcent,  and  that,  as  Jofepb's  Genealogy  and 
Pedigree  is  fet  down  in  that  Line,  which 
St.  Matth.  gives  an  account  of  5  fo  the  Vir- 
gin Marys  Lineage  is  recited  in  that  which  is 
recorded  by  St.  Luke;  which  Opinion  as  it 
has  been  generally  received  by  Divines  of  the 
greatcfl:  Note,  and  beft  anfwers  thofc  Diffi- 
culties and  Objedions  which  the  other  is  be- 
fet  with  5  fo  I  fhall  endeavour  fully  to  clear 
and  fet  it  down  in  thefe  following  Pro- 
pofitions. 

I. 

Firfly  The  firft  Tropojition  is  this.  That 
the  Defigns  of  the  two  Evangelifts  in  their 
refpedive  Deductions  of  our  Saviour's  Pedi- 
gree, are  very  different.  For  ^t.  Matthe-jj 
intends  only  to  fet  down  His  ToUtical  or 
I  Royal 


270  A  Difcourfe 

Royal^ed'tgree,  by  which  he  had  Right  to 
the  Crown  of  the  Jews,  but  St.  Lttke  {hews 
his  natural  T>efcent  through  the  feveral  Suc- 
cellions  of  thole  from  whom  He  took  Fle^  and 
Blood.  And  that  this  is  fo,  befides  that  na- 
tural Reafon  taken  from  the  ImpolTibility  of 
one,  and  the  fame  Perfon's  having  two  feveral 
Fathers,  as  St.  Matth.  and  St.  Luke  feem  at 
firft  Sight  to  import :  We  have  thefe  farther 
Arguments  for  the  faid  Aflertion ;  as  Firft ^ 
that  St.  Matth.  begins  his  reckoning  only 
from  Abraham  5  to  whom  the  firft  Tromife  of 
the  Kingdom  was  made.  Gen.  xvii.  6.  But  ^i, 
Luke  runs  his  Line  up  to  Adam  the  firft  Head 
and  Fountain  of  Human  Nature  5  which 
fairly  (hews  that  one  deduced  only  His  Title 
to  theCrowriy  the  oihcr  the  natural  ^eft:ent 
of  his  Humanity.  And  then  in  the fecond  'T/ace, 
that  St.  Matthew  ufed  the  word  ibegat^  only 
in  2L political  Scn{c  is  further  clear  from  this. 
That  he  applies  it  to  him  who  had  no  Child ^ 
even  to  Jeconiahj  of  whom  it  is  exprefly 
faid  in  Jeremiah  xxii.  2  3 .  that  God  wrote  him 
childlefs.  Whereupon,  being  depofed  by 
the  King  of  Babylon,  Zedekiah  his  Uncle 
was  made  King,  and  afterwards  upon  the 
Removal  of  him  alfo  for  his  Rebellion,(there 
remaining  no  more  of  the  Line  of  Solomon) 

Salathiel 


en  REVEL,  xxii.  i(J.        271 

Sakthiel  being  next  of  Kin  was  declared 
King  of  the  Jews.  Which  Salathiel,  upon 
that  account,  is  faid  to  be  begot  by  Jeconiah^ 
in  St.  Matthew  -■>  not  becaufe  he  was  natural- 
ly his  Son,  but  legally  and  politically  fo ;  as 
fucceeding  him  in  the  Inheritance  of  tlie 
Crown.  For  though  in  i  Chron.  iii.  1 7.  there 
is  mention  of  AJJir-,  and  of  SalathieU  as  it 
were  of  two  Sons  of  Jeconiah ;  *  yet  in  truth 
jlfflr  there  is  not  the  proper  name  of  a  Terjon, 
nor  of  any  Son  of  Jeconiah,  but  is  only  an 
Appellative  of  Jeconiah  himfelf,  fignifying 
one  tinder  Captivity,  or  in  Bonds,  as  Jeconiah 
then  was  in  Babylon,  when  Salathiel  was  de- 
clared King.  And  that  Salathiel  is  not  there 
fet  down  as  his  Son  in  a  natural  Scnfc,  is 
evident  from  the  1 6.  Verfe  of  the  fame  Chap, 
where  Zedekiah  is  likewife  faid  to  be  his  Son  5 
though  naturally  he  was  his  Uncle  5  yet  be- 
caufe Zedekiah  firft  fucceeded  him  in  the  King- 
dom, and  Salathiel  next,  Jeconiah  ftill  furvi- 
ving,  therefore  both  of  them  in  that  political 
Senfe,  I  fpoke  of,  are  faid  to  be  his  SonSy 
whom,  in  xhQ.natural Senfe,  thcTrophetJere- 


*  As  it  fiandi  reBified  by  Junius  «»</ Tremellius,  who  place  the 
Comma  after  Aflir,  anj  not  betwsm  Teconiab,  and  that. 


my 


lyz  A  D'lfcrurfe 

my  (as  has  been  fliewn)  declares^to  have  been 
childlefs. 

*  T\\tfecond  Propofition  is  this.  That  as 
^avid  had  fcveral  Sons  by  former  Wives,  fo 
by  Bathfheba  alfo  he  had  three,  b^fides  Solo' 
tnon,  of  which  the  eldcft  nckt-'-to  him  wa$ 
Nathan:  And  that  Chrift  defcended  natural^ 
ly  from  T>avid^  not  by  Solomofiy  but  Na* 
than.  And  accordingly  that  St.  Luke  deduces 
only  Nathans  Line ;  upon  which  account  it 
is,  tiiat  the  Jews  at  this  Day,  in  oppofition 
to  the  ChriftianSy  make  it  one  main  Article 
of  their  Creed,  that  the  MeJJias  was  to  de- 
fcend  naturally  from  Solomon  i  and  accord- 
ingly pronounce  a  Curfe  upon  all  thofe  who 
aflcrt  the  contrary  :  Though  to  this  very  Hour 
they  have  not  been  able  to  ailign  who  was 
the  Son  of  Jeco^nah^  iz'hojn  God  izrote  child- 
lefs ;  nor  to  fhew  any  folid  Reafon,  why,  if 
Jeconiah  had  any  natural  liTue  of  his  own, 
the  Crown  and  Sceptre  of  Jtidah  came  to 
be  devolved  upon  the  Line  of  Nathan,  as  it 


^  Note  that  thofe  four  Sons  of  David  by  Bathfheba  mentioned  in 
I  Chron.  iii,  j.  are  not  there  ft  dorpn  according  to  the  order  of  their 
Birth.  Far  Solomon,  thotigh  lafi  named,  rvas  certainly  horn  firfli 
«»«/ Nathan  {ashetsgimrally  reckoned)  tmmcdir<,iclynext, 

I 

adually 


on  REVEL,  xxii.  \6,        273 

adiually  was  in  Salathiel  and  his  Succeflbrs. 
Add  to  tiiis  (whicii  is  a  thing  well  worth  ob- 
fcrving)  that  although  it  is  frequently  faid  in 
Scripture,  that  the  MeJJlah  fhould  defcend 
from  T)avtd,  yet  it  is  never  faid  that  he  Ihould 
defcend  from  Solomon.  For  though  in  i  Chron. 
xxii.  I  o.  it  is  faid  of  Solomon^  that  God  would 
ejlablip>  the  Throne  of  his  Kingdom  over  Ifrael 
for  ever,  yet  it  is  not  faid,  that  he  would  e- 
ftablifli  //  in  his  Seed  or  Line  j  and  befides, 
the  Kingdom,  here  fpoken  of  and  intended, 
was  the  Spiritual  Kingdom  over  the  Church 
of  God,  typified  in  that  Temporal  one  of  So- 
lomon :  Which  Spiritual  Kingdom  was  efla- 
blilh'd  only  in  the  Perfon  of  the  Meffias, 
whom  we  believe  to  have  been  Jefus  of  iV"^- 
zareth,  the  Great  King  and  Head  of  the 
Church,  God  blejfed for  ever. 

3* 

The  Third  Tropofttion  is  this.  That  the 
Crown  of  Judah  being  now  come  into  the 
Line  of  Nathan  in  Salathiel,  (whofe  imme- 
diate Son  was  ^edaiah  (though  not  mention- 
ed in  the  Succeflion,  becaufe  he  died  before 
his  Father's  Aflumption  to  the  Crown)  and 
next  to  Salathiel,  the  great  and  renowned 
Zorobabel,)  forafmuch  as  St.  Matthew  and 
Lttke  agree  from  Jeconiah  to  Zorobabel',  (af- 

Vol,  IIL  T  tec 


1/4  ^  Difcourfe 

tcr  whom  they  divide,  each  afcribing  to  him 
a  different  Succeflbr,  viz.  one  of  them  Abiudy 
and  the  other  Rhefa)   we  are  rationally  to 
fuppofe,    that  thcfe  two  were  the  Sons  of 
Zorobabel:   and  that  from  Abiud  the  elder 
Brother  (who  only  had  a  Right  to  the  Crown 
and  Kingdom)  lineally  defcended  Jofeph^  ac- 
cording to  the  Calculation  of  St.  Matthew, 
and  that  from  Rhefa  the  younger  Brother, 
defcended  Mary^  of  ^h.ovaJefus  was  born, 
according  to  St.  L//^f'sDcfcription :  For  tho' 
in  the  above-mentioned  thiidC^^/>.  of  i  Chron. 
(where  there  is  an  account  given  of  Zoroba- 
beh  Sons)  there  occur  not  the  Names  oi Abiud 
and  Rhefa--,  yet  it  being  common  with  the 
Jews  for  one  Man  fometimes  to  have  twa 
JSIameSy  there  is  Ground  enough  for  us,  with- 
out any  Prefumption,  to  believe  and  conclude 
that  it  fo  happened  here. 

4. 
The  Fourth  ^ropofition  is  this,  That  it  was 

the  Cuftom  of  the  Jews  not  to  reckon  the 
Woman  by  Name  in  her  Pedigree,  but  to  rec- 
kon the  Husband  in  right  of  his  Wife.  For 
which  Reafon  Jofeph  is  twice  reckoned,  f/.s. 
Firft  in  his  own  Right  by  St.  Matthew  j  and. 
Secondly  in  hisWife  Mary's  Right  by  SuLuke, 
loiMary  was  properly  the  Daughter  of  Elii, 

and 


on  REl^EL.xxiu  i6.        i7S 

and  Jofeph  who  is  there  reckoned  after  him, 
is  fo  reckoned  not  as  his  Natural  Son,  but  as 
his  Son-in-LaWy  inftead  of  his  Wife  Mary, 
according  to  that  Cuftom  oiiht  Jews:  Where- 
upon it  is  noted  by  Chemnitius^  that  St.  Luke 
doth  not  fay  that  Jofeph  was  the  Son  of  Eli, 
or  Eli  begat  Jofeph,  as  St.  Matthew  precife- 
ly  doth,  that  Jacob  begat  Jofeph,  but  t5  'hA<, 
who  was  of  Eli,  that  is,  was  related  to  him, 
and  belonged  to  his  Family,  viz.  as  his  Son- 
in-Law.  Nor  ought  any  to  objed  againft 
Mary's  being  the  Daughter  of  Eli,  that  anci- 
ent and  received  Tradition,  which  reports  her 
the  Daughter  oi  Joachim  ^^a^  Anna\  for,  as 
the  Learned  Bilhop  Mount  ague  obferves,  Eli 
and  Joachim,  however  they  are  two  Words, 
(and  very  different)  are  yet  but  one  Name, 
and  fignify  but  one  Perfon ;  Eli  being  but 
Ozroxo^^'iJtov,  a  diminutive  of  EliakimjZndEli- 
akim  the  fame  with  Jehojachim  or  Joachim, 
as  appears  from  2  Kings  xxiii.  3  4.  and  2  Chron, 
xxxvi.  4.  quoting  withal  two'notedje wifh  Rab- 
bles, *  viz.  Macana  Ben  Nehemia,  and 
Rabbi  Hacadojh^  in  Confirmation  of  the 
fame,  and  with  particular  Application  of  it 
to  the  Father  of  the  Blejfed  Virgin,  there 


*  AHi  and  Mmumenu  of  the  Church,  p,  fiii 

T  2  pointed 


176  A  Difcourje 

pointed  out  by  them  as  the  Mother  of  the 
Meffjas. 

5- 

The  fifth  and  lafl  Tropofition  is  this,  That 
although  Jefus  of  Nazareth  naturally  de- 
fcended  only  from  Mary,  yet  he  derives  not 
his  Title  to  the  Crown  and  Kingdom  of  the 
Jews  originally  by  the  Line  of  Mary,  (foraf- 
much  as  (he  fprang  from  the  Line  of  i?^^  the 
younger  Son  of  Zorobabel)  but  received  that 
iiom  Jofeph,  who  was  of  the  elder  Line  by 
Abiud  i  which  Line  of  Ab'tud  falling  in  Jo- 
fephf  as  having  no  Iffue,  the  Right  of  Inheri- 
tance devolved  upon  one  of  the  youngerLine, 
'viz.  upon  Mary,  and  confcquently  upon  Je- 
fus her  Son  and  legal  Heir.  From  whence 
there  rifes  this  unanfwerable  Argument,  both 
againfl  the  Opinion  of  thofe  who  affirm  Jo- 
feph  to  have  had  other  Children  by  a  for- 
mer Wife  5  as  alfo  againft  that  old  Herefy  of 
HehidiuSy  who  againft  the  general  and  con* 
ftant  Senfeof  the  Church,  denied  the  perpe- 
taal  Virginity  oi  Mary^  affirming  that  Jofeph 
had  other  Children  by  her  after  the  Birth  of 
Jefus,  Spanhemhis  in  his  IDttbia  Evangeliea, 
concludes  againft  the  Opinion  of  Hehidius 
(which  I  much  marvel  at)  meerly  upon  the 
account  of  Decency  and  Congruity,  as  judg- 
ing 


on  REVEL,  xxii.  \6.       277 

irlg  it  more  fuitable  and  agreeable  to  that  ho- 
nourable Efteem  we  ought  to  have  of  ourBIef- 
fed  Saviour's  Mother,  to  hold  that  after  his 
Birth  fhe  remained  a  perpetual  Virgin.  But 
I  add,  that  to  allcrt  To,  feems  not  only  decent, 
but  of  as  abfolute  Neceflity,  as  that  Jefus 
Chrtft  the  MeJJias  was  to  be  of  right  King  of 
the  Jews.  For  had  Jofeph  had  any  Children 
either  by  Mary,  or  any  other  Wife,  they  as 
coming  from  the  elder  Line  of  Abiud  by  Jo- 
feph their  Father,  muft  have  claimed  the  In- 
heritance of  the  Kingdom  in  his  Right,and  net 
Jeftisxhz  Sow  oi  Mary y  who  dcfcended  from 
a  younger  Line,  and  fo  could  not  legally  in- 
herit, but  upon  default  of  Iffue  from  Jofeph 
the  only  remaining  Heir  of  the  elder  :  For 
this  was  the  Law  o^Mofes,  which  in  this  cafe 
would  have  barr'd  Jejusixom  a  Title  to  the 
Kingdom  of  the  Jews.  But  we  know  Jefus 
came  to  fulfil  the  Law  in  every  Part  and 
Tittle  of  it  j  and  therefore  would  never  have 
own'd  himfelf  King  of  the  Jews,  contrary  to 
the  exprefs  Injundions  and  Tenour  of  it.  For 
though  it  muft  be  confefled  that  the  Gofpel 
makes  mention  of  the  Brothers  and  Sifters 
oi  Jefus  J  yet  it  is  known  to  be  moft  ufual  in 
the  Jewijh  Language  to  call  any  collateral 
Kindred,  as  Couftns  and  Couftn-germans  by 
T  3  that 


278  ADifcourfe 

that  Name.  And  Antiquity  reports  the  Vi^ 
gin  Mary  to  have  had  two  Sifters,  the  Chil- 
dren of  which  might  very  well  be  called  the 
Brethren  of  Jefiis.  So  that  from  hence  there 
can  be  no  Neceffity  of  granting  that  Jefu  s 
had  any  Brother  or  Sifter  either  by  his  Mo- 
ther Maryy  or  his  reputed  and  legal  Father 
Jofeph, 

And  thus  I  have  endeavoured  to  make  out 
ourBlefted  Saviour's  Defcent  from  theLine  of 
*T>avid,     But  as  for  that  Opinion  which  af- 
fcrts  him  to  have  been  of  the  Tribe  of  Levi, 
becaufc  his  Mother  Mary  was  Coufm  to  Eli' 
zabeth  who  was  of  that  Tribe,  it  is  very  weak 
and  groundlefs.     For  no  Man  aflerts  Jefus 
to  have  been  fo  of  the  Houfe  of  *D<2'ui^as  to 
exclude  all  Relation  to  other  Tribes  and  Fa- 
niilies,  with  which  by  mutual  Marriages  he 
might  well  contract  a  Kindred  5  it  being  pro- 
hibited to  none  but  Heircfles  to  marry  out  of 
their  own  Family.     And  as  for  another  Opi. 
nion,  which  (in  order  to  the  making  of  Chrift 
a  Prieft)  affirms  Nathan  the  Son  of  T>avidy 
from  whom  Chrift  defcended,  to  have  been  a 
Triejiy  as  Solomon  was  a  Kingy  and  fo  to 
have  founded  a  Sacerdotal  Line  as  Solomon 
did  a  Royal',  this  being  a  Conceit  both  fo 
groundlefs  in  itfelf,  and  withal  fo  cxprcf- 


en  REFEL.  xxl  \6.         279 

ly  contradiaed  by  the  Scripture,  which  in 
Heb.  vii.  1 3 .  fo  pofixively  affirms,  that  no  Man 
of  the  Tribeof]\id2i\i  ever  gave  Attendance  at 
the  Altar;  I  fay,  upon  this  Account  it  de- 
ferves  no  further  Thought,  and  much  lefs 
Confutation. 

Now  to  fum  up  all  that  has  been  deliver- 
ed, it  briefly  amounts  to  thus  much,  that  the 
Royal  Line  of  T>avid  by  Solomon  being  ex- 
tind  in  Jeconiah,  the  Crown  and  Kingdom 
pafl'ed  into  the  immediately  younger  Line  of 
Nathan  (another  Son  of  T>avid)  in  Salathiel 
and  Zorobabel;  which  Zorobabel  having  two 
Sons,Abmd^nd  Rhefa,  the  Royal  Dignity  de. 
fcended  of  Right  upon  the  Line  of  Abiudy  of 
which  Jofeph  was  the  lafl,  who  marrying 
the  Virgin  Mary^  which  fprung  from  the 
Line  oi  Rhefa  the  younger  Son  oi  Zerobabel, 
and  withal  having  no  Iflue  himfelf,  his  Right 
paffes  into  the  Line  of  Mary^  being  the  next  of 
Kin,  and  by  that  means  upon  Jejus  her  Son. 
Whereupon  he  was  both  naturally  the  Son  of 
T>avidy  and  alfo  legally  the  King  of  the  Jei^s ; 
which  latter  is  accounted  to  us  by  St.  Mat- 
thew, as  the  former  is  by  St.  Luke  -,  who  de- 
livers down  the  Pedigree  of  A/ii/r/  the  Mother 
o^Jefus,  and  Daughter  of£//:  tho*  Jojeph 
her  Husband  only  (lands  there  named  ac- 
T  4  cording 


i8o  A  Difcourfe 

cording  to  the  known  Way  of  the  Jews  com- 
puting their  Genealogies. 

And  this  to  me  feems  a  moft  clear,full,and 
manifeft  Dedudion  of  our  Saviour's  Pedigree 
from  David,  which  yet  I  Oiall  further  con- 
firm with  this  one  Confideration  -,  that  what- 
foever  Cavils  the  modern  Jews,  and  others 
make  now  a-days  againft  the  Genealogies  itr 
corded  by  the  Evangelijis  5  yet  the  Jews  their 
Contemporaries,  who  were   moft  nice  and 
exadly  skilful  in  Things  of  this  nature,  and 
withal  moft  malicioufly  bent  againft  Chrift, 
and  Chriftianity,  never  offered  to  quarrel  a* 
gainft,  or  invalidate  the  Accounts  they  have 
given  us  of  this  Particular  i  which   had  they 
been  faulty,  the  Jews  would  moft  certainly 
have  done ;  this  giving  them  fo  vaft  an  Ad- 
vantase  ao;ainft  us.     And  this  Confideration 
alone,  were  we  now  not  able  particularly  to 
clear  the  fc  Matters,  is  of  that  Weight  and  Sub- 
ftance,  that,  fo  far  as  Terms  of  moral  Cer- 
tainty can  demonftrate  a  thing,  it  ought  with 
every  fober  and  judicious  Perfon  to  have  even 
the  Force  of  a  Demonftration.     But  the  Dif- 
cuffion  which    has  already  pafied  upon  this 
Subject  wiU  afford  us  Ground  firm  enough  for 
the  moft  rational  and  impartial  Belief  to  ftand 
upon,     Howeverj  if  any  one  knows  fome 

other 


on  REVEL.  ryX\,  \6.       aSr 

other  way  of  clearing  this  great  Article  of  our 
Faith,  which  may  better  accord  all  Difficul- 
ties, and  lie  open  to  fewer  and  lefler  Excep- 
tions, he  will  do  a  worthy  Service  to  the 
Chriftian  Religion  to  produce  it,  and  none 
(hall  be  more  thankful  to  him  for  it  than 
'inyfelf. 

Having  thus  finifh'd  the  fecond  Part  of 
my  Text,  which  fpeaks  Chrift  the  Ojf-fpring 
of  ^ avid,  according  to  his  Human  Natures 
as  the  jfry?  declared  him  the  Root  ofDavid'm 
refped  of  his  Divine,  I  fhalldefcend  now  to 
that 

Third  and  lafl:  Part;  of  the  Text,  which 
reprefents  him  to  us  linder  the  glorious  De- 
nomination of  ^^^  bright  and  Morning  Star: 

Three  Things  there  are  confiderablc  in  a 
Star. 

Firft,  The  Nature  of  its  Subftance. 

Secondly,  The  Manner  of  its  Appearance. 

Thirdly,  The  Quality  of  its  Operation. 

In  every  one  of  which  refpeds  Chrift 
bears  a  lively  Refemblance  to  it. 

Firft,  andFirftfor  the  Nature  of  its  Sub- 
ftance. It  is  commonly  defined  in  Philofo- 
phy  the  pureft,  and  moft  refined  Part  of  its 
Orb ;  by  which  it  is  diftinguifhed  from  all 
thofe  Meteors  and  fhining  Nothings  that 
3  afcend 


i8i  A  Difcourfe 

afccnd  no  further  than  the  Air,  how  high 
foever  the  Miftake  and  Ignorance  of  vulgar 
Eyes  may  place  them,  as  alfo  from  the  other 
Parts  of  the  Celeftial  Sphere  or  Orb  in  which 
it  is.  In  like  manner,  was  not  Chrift  the 
pureft  and  the  nobleft  Part  of  the  World, 
which  was  the  Sphere  and  Orb  wherein,  du- 
ring his  Humiliation,  he  was  pleafed  to  move  > 
he  was  tlje  very  Flower,  the  Extrad  and 
QuintefTcncc  of  Mankind,  uniting  all  the 
Perfcdions  of  it  in  his  Perfon,  without  any 
Alloy  or  Mixture  of  Imperfc6lion„  Upon 
which  Account  ^avidby  the  Spirit  of  Pro- 
phecy calls  \\im  fairer  thanthe Sons  of  MerPi  as 
being  anointed  with  the  Oil  ofGladnefs  above 
his  Fellows  :  that  is,  the  Graces  of  the  Spirit 
defcended  not  upon  him  in  thofe  minute  Por- 
tions, and  .{tinted  Meafures  that  they  do  up- 
on other  Mortals.  Their  Drop  was  nothing 
to  his  Ocean. 

And  to  (hew  yet  further  of  how  pure  a 
Make  he  was,  we  know  him  to  have  been 
wholly  untouch'd  with  any  thing  of  that  ori- 
ginal Stain,  which  has  univerfally  funk  into 
the  Nature  of  all  Men  befides.  He  was  a 
Jecond  Adam  without  any  of  the  Guilt  con- 
traded  by  the  firft  ;  he  was  born  a  Man  with- 
out any  Human  Impejrfedions  $  a  Rofe  with- 
out 


on  REVEL,  xxii.  \6,       283 

out  Thorns.  He  was  nothing  but  Purity  it- 
felf  j  Virtue  cloathed  in  a  Body,  and  Innocence 
incarnate.  So  blamelefs  and  free  from  all 
Shadow  of  Guilt,  that  the  very  Jew5\i\s  bit- 
ter Enemies  gave  him  this  Teftimony,  that 
he  had  done  all  things  well\  Mark  vii.  37.  And 
even  Tilate  his  unjuft  Judge,  tho'  he  took 
from  him  his  Life,  yet  left  him  his  Innocence^ 
declaring  openly,?^^^  hefoundinhim  no  Fault 
at  all,  J<>hn  xvii.   38. 

There  are  Spots  (they  fay)  not  in  the  Moon 
only,  but  alfo  in  the  Face  of  the  Sun  itfeif : 
But  this  Star  was  of  a  greater,  and  more  un- 
blemifh'd  Luftre ;  for  not  the  leaft  Spot  was 
ever  difcover'dinit :    tho'  Malice  and  Envy 
itfeif  were  the  Perfpcdivcs  thro'  which  moft 
of  the  World  beheld  it.     And  as  it  is  the  Pri- 
vilege of  the  Celeftial  Luminaries  to  receive 
no  Tindure,  SuUage  or  Defilement  from  the 
moft  noifom  Sinks  and  Dunghills  here  below, 
but  to  maintain  a  pure,    untained.    Virgin 
Light  in  fpight  of  all  their  Exhalations :     So 
our  Saviour  fhined  in  the  World  with  fuch 
an  invincible  Light  of  Holinefs,  as  fufFcred 
nothing  of  the  corrupt  Manners  and  depra- 
ved Converfe  of  Men  to  rub  the  leaft  Filth 
or  Pollution  upon  him.     He  was  not  capable 
of  receiving  any  Impreffion  from  all  the  Sin 
3  and 


284  A  Dtfcourfe 

and  Villany  which  like  a  Contagion  fattened 
upon  every  Soul  round  about  him.  In  a 
word,  he  was  pure,  righteous,  and  undefi- 
led,  not  only  above  the  World,  but  what  is 
more,  in  the  midfi  of  it . 

Secondly,  The  next  thing  confiderable  in  a 
Star  is  the  Manner  of  its  Appearance.  It  ap- 
pear^ but  fmall,  and  of  a  little  Compafs :  So 
that  altho'our  Reafon  aflures  us  that  it  is  big- 
ger than  the  whole  Earth,  yet  our  Sight  would 
feem  to  perfuade  us  that  it  is  not  much  big- 
ger than  a  Diamond  fparkling  upon  the  Cir- 
cle of  a  little  Ring.  And  now  how  appofite- 
ly  docs  this  Confidcration  alfo  fuit  the  Condi- 
tion of  our  Saviour !  who  both  in  his  rifmg 
andfhining  upon  the  World  feemed  in  the 
Eyes  of  all  Men  but  a  fmall  and  a  contemp- 
tible thing  5  a  poor,  helplefs  Man  5  firft  li- 
ving  upon  a  Trade,  and  then  upon  fomething 
that  was  much  meaner,  namely,  upon  Alms, 
Whereupon,  what  flight  Thoughts  had  they 
of  his  Perfon !  as  if  he  had  been  no  more  than 
an  ordinary  SouU  join'd  to  an  ordinary  Body ; 
and  fo  fcnt  into  the  World  to  take  his  Courfe 
in  the  common  Lot  of  Mortality.  They  lit 
tie  dreanVd  of  a  Diety,  and  of  fomething 
greater  than  the  World  lodged  in  that  little 
Tabernacle  of  his  Flefh.     So  that  notwith- 

ftanding 


en  REVEL,  xxii.  \6.       285 

ftanding  his  being  the  Great  and  Almighty 
God,  the  Lord  of  Hofts,  and  King  of  Kings, 
yet  the  generality  of  Men  took  him  for  but  a 
mean  Perfon,  and  fuch  another  living  Piece 
of  Clay  as  themfelves.  And  what  could  be 
the  Caufe  of  his  being  thought  fo,  but  the 
fame  that  makes  Stars  to  be  thought  little 
things,  even  their  Height  and  vaft  ^iftance 
from  poor,  earthly  Spedators  ?  So  the  Glo- 
ries of  Chrift's  Perfon  were  by  the  very 
Tranfccndency  of  their  Height  placed  above 
the  Reach  and  Ken  of  a  mortal  Apprehenfi- 
on.  And  God  muft  yet  elevate  our  Reafon 
by  Revelation,  or  the  Son  of  God  himfelf  will 
ftill  feem  but  a  fmall  thing  in  our  Eyes.  For 
carnal  Reafon  meafures  the  greateft  Things 
by  all  the  Difadvantages  of  their  outward 
Appearance,  juft  as  little  Children  judge  of 
the  Proportion  of  the  Sun  and  Moon,  rec- 
koning that  to  be  the  Smallnefs  of  the  Objed 
which  is  only  the  Diftance  of  the  Beholder, 
or  the  Weaknefs  of  the  Organ. 

Thirdly,  The  third  and  laft  thing  to  be  con- 
fidered  in  a  Star  is,  the  Quality  of  its  Opera- 
tion, which  is  twofold.  Firji,  open  and  vi- 
fible  by  its  Light.  Secondly y  fecret  and  in- 
vifible  by  its  Influence.     And, 

Brii, 


1^6  A  D'tfcourfe 

Firfii  This  Morning  Star  operates  by  its 
Brightnefs  and  Luftrc;  in  refpc£t  of  which 
it  is  the  firft  Fruits  of  Light,  and,  as  it  were. 
Day  in  its  Minority  :  clearing  the  heavenly 
Stage,  and  chafing  away  all  other  Stars,  till 
it  reigns  in  the  Firmament  alone.  And  now 
to  make  good  the  Comparifon  between 
Chrift  and  this,  we  fhall  fhew  how  he  by  hir 
Appearance  chafed  away  many  Things  much 
admired  and  gazed  at  by  the  World,  and 
particularly  thefe  three. 

Firft,  Much  of  the  Heathenilh  Worfhip 
and  Superftition,  which  not  only  like  ajCloud, 
but  like  a  black  and  a  dark  Night,  had  for  a 
long  Time  covered  the  Face  of  the  whole 
Earth,  and  made  fuch  Triumphs  over  the 
Reafon  of  Mankind,  that  in  nothing  more 
appeared  the  Ruins  and  Decays  .of  our  Na- 
ture. And  it  was  unqueftionably  the  great- 
eft  and  fevereft  Inftance  of  the  Divine  Wrath 
upon  Man  for  his  original  Apoftacy  from 
God,  thus  to  leave  him  confounded  and  un- 
certain in  the  Management  of  the  greateft 
AiFair  and  Concernment  of  his  Soul,  his  Re- 
ligion :  So  that,  as  it  was  then  ordered,  it 
was  nothing  elfe  but  a  ftrange  confufed  Com- 
pound of  Abfurdity  and  Impiety.  For  as 
to  the  Objed  of  their  Worftiip,   the  Apoftic 

tells 


OH  RRVEjL.  xxii.  \6,       287 

tells  us,  thzx.  t\ity  'worJhtppedT>e'vils,  i  Cor. 
X.  20.  and  elfe where  they  worfhippcd  Men 
like  themfelves.  Nay,  Birds  and  Beaftsy  and 
creeping  things  i  and,  as  Hiftorians  tell  us. 
Roots  and  Herbs,  Leeks  and  Onions  j  yea 
and  their  own  bafc  Dcfires  and  AfFedionsj 
Deifying  and  building  Temples  to  Luft,  An- 
ger, Revenge,  and  the  like.  In  fumm,  they 
worlhipped  all  Things  but  God,  who  only 
of  all  Things  was  to  have  been  worfhippcd. 

Now  upon  the  (;oming  of  Chrift,  very 
much,  tho*  not  all,  of  this  idolatrous  Trum- 
pery and  Superftition  was  driven  out  of  the 
World  :  So  that  many  of  the  Oracles  (thofe 
great  Inftruments  of  Delufion)  ceafed  about 
the  Time  of  our  Saviour's  Nativity.  The 
Divine  Power  then  difpoflcfling  the  Devil 
of  his  greater  Temples,  as  well  as  of  his  lef. 
fcr,  the  Bodies  of  Men :  and  fo  calling  down 
the  Throne  of  Fallacy  and  Superftition,  by 
which  he  had  fo  long  enflaved  the  ValTal 
World  5  and  led  it  captive  at  his  Pleafure. 

Secondly,  As  the  Heathenijh  falfe  Worfliip, 
fo  alfo  the  Jewifi  imperfeB  Worlhip  began  to 
be  done  away  by  the  coming  of  Chrift.  The 
Jews  indeed  drew  their  Religion  from  a  pu- 
rer Fountain  than  the  Gentiles  i  God  himfelf 
being  the  Author  of  it,  and  fo  both  enno- 
bling 


2  88  A  Bifcourfe 

bling  and  warranting  it  with  tlie  Stamp  of 
Divine  Authority.  Yet  God  was  plealcd  to 
limit  his  Operations  in  this  Particular  to  the 
Narrownefs  and  fmall  Capacities  of  the  Sub- 
jed  which  he  had  to  deal  with  5  and  therefore 
x!i\Q,Jews  being  naturally  of  a  grofs  and  fenfual 
Appreiienfion  of  Things,  had  the  Oeconomy 
of  their  Religion,  in  many  Parts  of  it,  brought 
down  to  their  Temper,  and  were  trained  to 
SpiriUials  by  the  Miniftry  of  Carnal  Ordi- 
nances. Which  yet  God  was  pleafed  to  ad- 
vance in  their  Signification,  by  making  them 
Types  and  Shadows  of  that  glorious  Arche- 
type that  was  to  come  into  the  World,  his 
own  Son  ;  both  in  Terfon  and  Office  by  admi- 
rable Myftcry  and  Contrivance  fitted  to  be 
the  2;reat  Redeemer  of  Mankind.  He  therefore 
being  the  Perfon  to  whom  all  the  Prophets 
bore  witnefs,  to  whom  all  Ceremonies  point- 
ed, and  whom  all  the  various  Types  prefigu- 
red J  it  was  but  Reafon  that  when  he  adually 
appeared  in  the  World,  all  that  previous 
Pomp  and  Apparatus  fliould  go  off  the  Stage, 
and,  like  ShadowSy  vanifh  before  the  Sub- 
fiance.  And  accordingly  we  look  upon  the 
whole  Mofaical  Inftitution  as  having  recei- 
ved its  Period  by  Chrift,  as  defund  and  cea- 
fcd,  and  the  Church  now  grown  up  to  that 

Virility 


on  REf^EL,  xxii.  i6.        ic^p 

Virility  and  Stature,  as  to  be  above  the  Dif- 
cipline  of  beggarly  Rudiments,  and  like  an 
adult  Heir  palling  from  the  Pedagogy  of  Tu- 
tors, to  alTume  its  full  Liberty  and  Inheri- 
tance :  For  thofe  whom  Chr^fi  makes  free  are 
free  indeed. 

Thirdly,  and  laftly.  All  pretended  falfe 
MeJJlahs  vanifh'd  upon  the  Appearance  of 
Chrift  the  true  one.  A  Crown  will  not 
want  Pretenders  to  claim  it,  nor  Ufurpers, 
if  their  Power  ierves  them,  to  pofiefs  it :  And 
hereupon  the  Mcflialhip  was  pretended  to  by 
feveral  Impoftors :  but  Fallacy  and  Falfhood 
being  naturally  weak,  they  ftill  funk  and 
came  to  nothing.  It  mufl:  be  confefled  in- 
deed, that  there  rofe  up  fuch  Counterfeits  af- 
ter Chrift  as  well  as  before  him  ;  yet  ftill,  I 
think,  their  Defeat  ought  to  be  afcribed  to 
his  coming :  Becaufe  as  a  Light  fcatters  the 
Darknefs  on  all  fides  of  it  :  So  there  was  fuch 
a  Demonftration  and  Evidence  given  of  Je- 
fus's  being  the  true  MelTias  by  his  coming 
in  the  Flefh,  that  it  caft  its  difcovering  In- 
fluence both  backwards  and  forwards  j  and 
equally  baffled  and  confuted  the  Pretences 
of  thofe  who  went  before,  and  of  thofe  who 
rofe  up  after  him  ;  So  potent  and  vidlorious 
is  Truth,  efpecially  when  it  comes  upon  fuch 

Vol.  III.  U  an 


ipo  A  Difcourfe 

an  Errand  from  Heaven,  as  to  fave  the 
World. 

Amongft  thofe  feveral  falfe  Mcffias's,  it  is 
remarkable  that  one  called  himfelf^/^r^/^^r^^, 
or  the  Son  of  a  Star :  but  by  his  Fall  he  quick- 
ly fhewed  himfelf  of  a  Nature  far  differing 
from  this  glorious  Morning  Star  mentioned  in 
the  Text,  which  even  then  \f2iS  fixed  in  Hea- 
*ven  while  itfijone  upon  the  Earth.  It  was  not 
the  tranfitory  Light  of  a  Comet,  which  fhines 
and  glares  for  a  while,  and  then  prefently 
vanifhes  into  nothing,  but  a  Light  durable 
and  immortal,  and  fuch  an  one  as  (hall  out- 
live the  Sun,  and  jhine  and  burn  when  Hea- 
ven and  Earth  and  the  whole  World  fhall  be 
reduced  to  Cinders. 

Having  thusfhewn  how  Chrift  refembled 
a  Star  in  the  refpe£t  of  his  external  vifible  Shi- 
llings to  the  World,  by  which  he  drove  away 
much  of  the  Heathenifh  Idolatry,  all  the 
y^u?//]^ Ceremonies,  together  with  the  Pre. 
tences  of  all  counterfeit  Mellias's,  as  the  Light 
difpels  and  chaces  away  the  Darknefs.  Come 
we  now  in  the 

Second  place  to  fee  how  he  refembles  a 
Star  alfo  in  refped  of  its  internal  fecret  Ope- 
ration and  Influence  upon  all  fublunary  infe- 
rior Beings.  And  indeed  this  is  the  noblcft 
4  and 


OH  REVEL,  xxii.  id".        291 

and  the  grcatcft  part  of  the   Refemblancc. 
Stars  are  thought  to  operate  powerfully  even 
then  when  they  do  not  appear  ;  and  are  felt 
by  their  EffeBs  when  they  are  not  fecn  by 
their  Light.     In  like   manner,  Chrift  often 
ftrikes  the  Soul,   and  darts  a  fecrct  Beam  into 
the  Heart,  without  alarming  either  the  Eye  or 
Ear  of  the  Pcrfon  wrought  upon.    And  this  is 
called  both  properly  and  elegantly  by  S.^eter? 
2Ep.  i.  1 9.  thell>ay-ftafsarifing  in  our  Hearts--, 
that  is,   by  the  fecret  filent  Workings  of  his 
Spirit  he  illuminates  the  Judgment,  bends  the 
Will  and  the  AfFedions,  and  at  laft  changes 
the  whole  Man  :  and  this  is  that  powerful  but 
ftill  Voice  by  which  he  fpeaks  eternal  Peace 
to  the  Souls  of  his  EleB'm  the  admirable  but 
myfterious  Work  of  their  Converfion.  So  that 
our  great  Concern  and  Enquiry  fhould    be, 
whether  thofc  heavenly  Beams  have  reached 
us  inwardly,  and  pierced  into  our  hTwds,  as 
well  as  (hone  in  our  Faces  5  and  whether  the 
Influence  of  this  Star  upon  us  has  been  fuch 
as  to  govern  and  draw  us  after  it,  as  it  did 
the  Wife  MeUy    and  thereby  both  make  and 
prove  us  'wife  unto  Salvation.     For  Light  is 
operative  as  well  as  beautiful,  and  by  work- 
ing upon  the  Spirits  affeds  the  Heart  as  well 
as  pleafcs  the  Eye,    Above  all  things  therefore 

U  z  let 


2pi  A  Difcruyfe^  Sec. 

let  us  be  ftricl  and  impartial  in  this  Search^ 
where  the  thing  fearched  for  is  of  fuch  Con- 
fequence.     For  fince  there  are  falfe  Lights, 
Light  it(Q\i^o\x\6.  be  tried h  and  if  we  would 
know  infallibly  whether  it  be  the  Light  from 
above,   by  which  we  are  led  and  live  ;  and 
whether  this  Morning-Star  has  had  its  full  Ef- 
•  ficacy  tipon,  or  rather  iz;ithin  us  -,  Let  us  fee 
whether  or  no  it  has  fcattered  the  Clouds  and 
Darknefs  of  our  fpiritual  Ignorance,  and  the 
noifom  Fogs  of  our  Lufts  and  vile  AfFedions. 
Do  we  live  as  the  Sons  of  Light  ?  Do  we  walk 
as  in  the  'Day ;   without  ftumbling  into  the 
Mire  of  our  old  Sins  ?  Thefe  are  the  only  fure 
Evidences  that  Chrift  is  not  only  a  Star  in 
himfelf,    but  fuch  an  one  alfo  to  us.     For 
when  the  Day-fpring  from  on  high  vifits  us 
truly  and  efFedlually,   it  firft  takes  us  out  of 
thefe  Shadows  of  Death,  and  then  guides  our 
Feet  into  the  Ways  of  Teace.\ 

To  which  God  of  his  Mercy  vouch fafe  to 
bring  us  all;  To  whom  be  rendred and 
afcribedj  as  is  mofi  due,  all  Honour,  &c. 


Jefus 


(  ^91  ) 

Jesus   ^/Nazareth  proved  the 

true  and  only pror^'ifed  Meffiah. 
I  N    A 

SERMON 

Preached  at 

St.  MARY'j,Oxon. 

Before  the 

UNIVERSITY, 

O    N 

Christmas-Day^  1665. 

John  i.    11. 

He  came  to  kts  own^  and  his  own  re- 
ceived him  not: 

IC  A  N  N  O  T  think  it  diredly  requifite  to 
the  Profecution  of  thefe  Words  (nor  will 
the  Time  allotted  for   it   permit)   to  aifert 
and  vindicate  the    foregoing  Verfes  from 
the  perverfe   Interpretations   of  that  falfe 
U  3  Tre- 


2  o  4  ^  Sermon  preached 

Pretender  to  Reafon  and  real  Subvert  er  of  all 
Religion^  SocinuSy  who  in  the  Expofition  of 
this  Chapter,  together  with  fomc  part  of  the 
Sth  (both  of  them  taken  from  the  pofthumous 
Papers  of  his  Uncle  Lelius)  laid  the  Founda- 
tion of  that  great  ^^^^^/ofBlafphemics,  with 
which  he  afterwards  fo  amufcd  and  peftered 
the  Chriftian  World,  and  under  Colour  of 
reforming  and  refining  (forfooth)  the  beft  of 
Religions,  has  employed  the  utmoft  of  his 
Skill  and  Art  to  bring  Men  indeed  to  believe 
none.     And  therefore  no  fmall  Caufe  of  Grief 
muft  it  needs  be  to  all  pious  Minds  that  fuch 
horrid  Opinions  fhould  find  (o  ready  a  Recep- 
tion and  fo  fatal  a  Welcome  in  fo  many  Parts 
of  the  World  as  they  have  done  5  confidering 
both  what  they  tend  to,  and  whom  they  come 
from.     For  they  tend  only  to  give  us  fuch  a 
Chrift  and  Saviour,  as  neither  the  Prophets 
nor  Evangelifls  know  or  ffeak  any  thing  of. 
And  as  for  their  Original,  if  we  would  trace 
them  up  to  that,  thro'  fome  of  the  chief  Bran- 
ches of  their  infamous  Pedigree,  we  muft 
carry  them  a  little   backward   from  hence  5 
firft  to  the  forementioned  Fa%ftus  Socinus  and 
his  Uncle  Lelius,  and  from  them  to  Gentilis, 
and  then  to  Servetus,  and  To  thro'  a  long  In- 
terval to  Mahomet  and  his  Sed,  and  from 

them 


at  Sl  Mary'5,  Oxon.  295 

them  to  ThotimiSy  and  from  him  to  Arms, 
and  from  Ariiis  to  Taiilus  SamofatenuSy  and 
from  him  to  Ebion  and  Cerinthus,  and  from 
them  to  Simon  Magus,  and  fo  in  a  dire61:  Line 
tothe©w/him{elf :  under  whofe  Condud 
in  the  fcvcral  Ages  of  the  Church  thefe 
Wretches  fuccellively  have  been  fome  of  the 
moft  notorious  Oppofers  of  the  Divinity  of 
our  Saviour,  and  would  undoubtedly  have 
overthrown  the  Belief  of  it  in  the  World, 
could  they  by  all  their  Arts  of  wrefting,  cor- 
rupting and  falfc  interpreting  the  holy  Text, 
have  brought  the  Scriptures  to  fpeak  for 
them  5  which  they  could  never  yet  do.  And 
amongft  all  the  Scriptures  no  one  has  flood  fo 
diredly  and  immovably  in  their  way  as  this 
firft  Chapter  of  St.  y<?^»'s  Gofpel,  a  Chapter 
carrying  in  it  ^o  bright  and  full  an  Aflertion 
of  the  Eternal  Godhead  of  the  Son,  that  a 
Man  mud  put  common  Senfe  and  Reafon  ex- 
treamly  upon  the  Rack  before  he  can  give 
any  tolerable  Expofitionof  it  to  the  contrary. 
So  that  an  eminent  Tiiitch  Critick  (who  could 
find  in  his  Heart  (as  much  as  in  him  lay)  to 
interpret  away  that  noble  and  pregnant  Place 
of  Scripture,  John  vii.  58.  ^^r^  Abraham 
was  I  am,  from  being  any  Proof  at  all  of 
Chrift's  Eternal  Tre-exiftence  to  his  Incarna- 
U  4  tion. 


2  p  6  A  Sermon  preached 

tion,  and  To  to  give  up  one  of  the  main  Forts 
of  tlie  Chriftian  Religion  to  the  Socimans ) 
has  yet  been  forced  by    the  over-powering 
Evidence  of  this   Chapter  ( notwithftanding 
all  his  Shifts,  too  manifeftly  fhewing  what 
he  would  be  at )  to  exprefs  himfelf  upon  this 
Subjed  more  agreeably  to  the  Senfe  of  the 
Catholick  Church,  than  in  many  other  Places 
he  had  done.     And  well   indeed  might  he, 
even  for  Shame  itfelf,  do  fo  much,  when  it 
is  certain  that  he  might  have  done  a  great 
deal  more.     For  fuch  a  commanding  Majefty 
is  there  in  every  Period  almoft  of  this  Chap- 
ter, that  it  has  forced  even  the  Heathens  and 
Atheijls  (Perfons  who  valued  themfelves  not  a 
little  upon  their  Philofophy)  tofubmit  to  the 
controlling  Truth  of  the  Propofitions  here  de- 
livered, and  inftead  of  contradicting  or  dif- 
puting,  to  fall  down  and  Worjhip.     For  the 
things   here  uttered  were  Myfteries  kept  hid 
from  Ages,    and  fiich  as  God  had  for  Four 
thoufand  Years   together,      by  all  the  wife 
Arts  and  Methods  of  his  Providence,  been 
preparing  the  World  for,  before  it  could  be 
fit  or  ripe  to  receive  them ;  and  therefore  a 
moft  worthy  Subjed  they  muft  needs  have 
been  for  this  beloved  Apoftle  to  impart  to 
Mankiad,  who  having  folong  lain  in  x\\^Bo- 

fom 


at  St.  MaryV,  Oxon.       297 

fom  of  Truth  itfelf,  received  all  Things  from 
that  Great  Original  by  more  intimate  and 
immediate  Communications  than  any  of  the 
reft  of  tiie  Apoftles  were  honoured  with.  In 
a  word,  he  was  of  the  Cabinet  5  and  therefore 
no  Wonder  if  he  fpake  Oracles. 

In  the  Text  we  have  thefe  two  Parts. 

Firftj  Chrift's  coming  into  the  World,  in 
thofe  Words,  he  came  to  his  own. 

Secondly^  Chrift's  Entertainment  being 
come,  in  thofc  other  Words,  his  own  received 
him  not. 

In  the  former  of  which  there  being  an 
Account  given  us  of  one  of  the  greateft  and 
nioft  ftupendousAdions  that  the  World  was 
ever  yet  Witnefs  of  5  there  cannot,  I  fuppofe, 
be  a  truer  Meafure  taken  of  the  Nature  of  it^ 
than  by  a  diftind  Confideration  of  the  feve_ 
ral  Circumftances  belonging  to  it,  which  are 
thefe. 

Firftj  The  Terfon  who  came. 

Secondly,  The  Condition  from  which  he 
came. 

Thirdly y  The  Terfons  to  whom  he  came. 
And, 

Fourthly,  and  laftly.  The  Time  of  his  conv 


mg. 


Of  ail  which  in  their  Order.     And, 

I.  Firft 


20  8  A  Sermon  preached 

I.  Firft  for  the  Terfon  who  came.  It  was 
the  Second  Perfon  in  the  glorious  Trinity, 
the  ever-bleffed  and  eternal  Son  of  God,  con- 
cerning whom  it  is  a  Miracle  and  a  Kind  of 
Paradox  to  our  Reafon  (confidering  the  Con- 
dition of  his  Perfon)  how  he  could  be  faid 
to  come  at  all :  for  fince  all  coming  is  Motion 
or  Progrelllon  from  a  Place  in  which  we  were, 
to  a  Place  in  which  we  were  not  before  j  and 
fince  Infinity  implies  an  adual  Comprehenfi- 
on  ofy  and  a  Prefence  to  all  Places,  it  is  hard 
to  conceive  how  he  who  was  God  could  be 
faid  to  come  any  whither,  whofe  Infinity  had 
made  all  Trogrejfion  to,  or  Acquifition  of  a 
new  Place  impoilible.  But  Chrift,  who  de- 
lighted to  mingle  every  Mercy  ^'ah  Miracle 
and  Wonder,  took  a  finite  Nature  into  the 
Society  and  Union  of  his  Perfon  j  whereup- 
on what  was  impoflibleto  a  T>ivine  Nature^ 
was  rendred  very  pofiible  to  a  'Divine  Per- 
fon-, which  could  rightfully  and  properly 
entitle  itfclf  to  all  the  refpedive  Adions  and 
Properties  of  either  Nature  comprehended 
within  its  Perfonality  :  So  that  being  made 
Man,  he  could  do  all  things  that  Man  could 
do,  except  only  Sin.  Every  thing  that  was 
purely  Human,  and  had  nothing  of  any  fin- 
ful  Deficiency  or  Turpitude  cleaving  to  it,  fell 

within 


at  St,  Mary'y,  Oxon.       299 

within  the  Verge  and  Compafs  of  his  Ani- 
ons.    But  now  was  there  ever  any  Wonder 
comparable  to  this !  to  behold  Divinity  thus 
cloathed  in  Flefh !  the  Creator  of  all  things 
humbled  not  only  to  the  Company,  but  alfo 
to  the  Cognation  of  his  Creatures !  It  is  as  if 
we  fhould  imagine  the  whole  World  not  only 
reprefented  uponj  but  alio  contained  in  one 
of  our  little  artificial  Globes  -,    or  the  Body  of 
the  Sun  invelop'd  in  a  Cloud  as  big  as  a  Man^s 
Hand--,    all  which  would  be  look'd  upon  as  a- 
ftonifhinglmpoiTibilities;  and  yet  as  fhort  of 
the  other,  as  the  greateft  Finite  is  of  an  Infi- 
nite, between  which  the  Difparity  is  immea- 
lurable.     For  that  God  fhould  thus  in  a  man- 
ner transform  Himfelf,  and  fubdue  andmaf- 
ter  all  his  Glories  to  a  Pofiibility  of  human 
Apprehenfion  and  Converfe,  the  beft  Reafon 
would  have  thought  it  fuch  a  thing  as  God 
could  not  dOy  had  it  not  (ecn  it  aEiiially  done. 
It  is  (as  it  were)  to  cancel  the  effential  Di- 
ftances  of  Things,  to  remove  the  Bounds  of 
Nature,    to   bring  Heaven  and  Earth,    and 
(which  is  more)  both  Ends  of  the  Contradicii- 
en  together. 

And  thereupon  fome,  who  think  it  an  Im- 
putation upon  their  Reafon,  to  believe  any 
thing  but  what  they  demonflrate,    (which 

is 


3  CO  A  Sermon  preached 

is  no  Thanks  to  them  at  all)  have  invented  fe- 
vcral  ftrange  Hypothefes,  and  Salvo's  to  clear 
up  thefe  things  to  their  Apprehenfions :  As 
that  the  Divine  Nature  was  nt\Qy:perfonally 
united  to  the  human,  but  only  paflfed  thro' 
it  in  a  kind  of  imaginary,  phantaftick  Way; 
that  is,  (to  fpeak  plainly)  in  fome  way  or  o- 
ther,  which  neither  Scripture^  Senfe  nor  Rea- 
fon  know  any  thing  of.  And  others  have 
by  one  bold  Stroke  cut  off  all  fuch  Relation 
of  it  to  the  Divine  Nature,  and  iw  much  an- 
other Senfe,  than  that  ofthe  Pfalmift,  made 
Chrifl;  altogether  fuch  an  one  as  themfelvesy 
that  is,  a  meer  Man.  iJ/tAcV  obv^^uTroq^  for  Soci- 
nus  would  needs  be  as  good  a  Man  as  his 
Saviour. 

But  thisOpinionjWhatfoever  ground  it  may 
have  got  in  this  latter  Age  ofthe  Church,  yet 
no  fooner  was  it  vented  and  defended  by 
^hotinus  hi^op  oi Sirmium,  but  it  was  im- 
mediately crufli'd,  and  univerfally  reje6led  by 
the  Church :  So  that  although  feveral  other 
Herefies  had  their  Courfe,  and  were  but  at 
length  extinguifhed,  and  not  without  fome 
Difficulty,  yet  this,  like  an  indigeftcd  Meteor, 
appeared  and  difappeared  almofl  at  the  fame 
time.  However  Socinus  beginning  where 
^hotinus  had  long  before  left  off,  lick'd  up 

his 


at  St,  Mary'5,  Oxon.         301 

his  deferted  forlorn  Opinion,  and  lighting- 
upon  worfe  times  has  found  much  better 
Succefs. 

But  is  it  true  that  Chrifl  came  into  the  World  > 
Then  fure,  I  am  apt  to  think,  that  this  is  a 
folid  Inference,  that  He  had  an  Exigence,  and 
a  Being  before  He  came  hither  ;  Jince  every 
Motion  or  Paflage  from  one  'Tlace  or  Condi- 
tion  to  another  fuppofes  the  Thing  or  Perfon 
fo  moving  to   have  adually    exifted    under 
both  Terms  5  to  wit,  as  well  under  th.:it  from 
which,    as  that  to  'uuhich  he  pailes.     But  if 
Chrift  had  nothing  but  an  human  Nature, 
which  never  exifted  till  it  was  in  the  World, 
how  could  that  pollibly  be  faid  to  come  into 
the  World  ?    The  Fruit  that  grows  upon  a 
Tree,  and  fohad  thefirft  Moment  of  its  Ex- 
iftence  there,    cannot  with  any  Propriety  or 
Truth  of  Speech  be  faid  to  have  come  to  that 
Tree,  fmce  that  muft  fuppofe  it  to  ha\''e  been 
fomewhere  elfe  before.    I  am  far  from  build- 
ing fo  great  and  fo  concerning  a  Truth  mere- 
ly upon  the  ftrefs  of  this  way  of  Expreflion  ; 
yet  till  the  Reafoning  grounded  upon  it  be 
diiproved,  I  fuppofe  it  is  not  therefore  to  be 
dcipifed,   though  it  may  be  fcconded  with 
much  better. 


But 


30  2         A  Sermon  preached 

But  the  Men,    whom  we  contend  with, 
feem  hugely  injurious  to  him,    whom  they 
call  their  Saviour,    while  they  even  crucify 
him  in  his  divinity ^  which  the  Jews  could 
never  do  J    making  his  very  Kindnefs  an  Ar- 
gument   againft  his    Prerogative.     For    his 
condefcending  to  be  a  Man  makes  them  infer 
that  he  is  no  more  5  and  Faith  muft  flop  here, 
becaufe  Sight  can  go  no  further.     But  if  a 
Prince  (hall  deign  to  be  familiar  and  to  con- 
verfe  with  thofe  upon  whom  he  might  tram- 
ple,  fhall  his  Condefcenfion  therefore  un- 
king him  ?  And  his  Familiarity  rob  him  of 
his  Royalty?     The  Cafe  is  the  fame  with 
Chrift.     Men   cannot  perfuade   themfelves 
that  a  ^eity  and  Infinity  (hould  lye  within  fo 
narrow  a  Compafs  as  the  contemptible  Di- 
menfions  of  an  Human  Body :  That  Omnipo- 
tence, OmnifcienceandOmniprefcncefhould 
be  ever  wrapt  in  Swadling  Clothes,  and  aba- 
fed  to  the  homely  Ufages  of  a  Stable  and  a 
Manger  :     That  the  glorious  Artificer  of  the 
whole Univerfe,  Who  fpreadout  the  Heavens 
like  a  Curtainy  and  laid  the  Foundations  of  the 
Earth  could  ever  turn  Carpenter,and  exercife 
an  inglorious  Trade  in  a  little  Cell.     They 
cannot  imagine,  that  He  who  commands  the 
Cattle  uf  on  a  Thoufand  Hills ^  and  takes  up  the 

Ocean 


at  St,  MaryV,  Oxon.         303 

Ocean  in  the  Hollow  of  his  Hand  could  be  Tub- 
jcdl  to  the  meannefles  of  Hunger  andThirfl-,ancl 
be  afflided  in  all  his  Appetites.  That  he  who 
once  created,  and  at  prerent^^i;^^^^',  and  Ihall 
hereafter  jiidge  the  World,  fhall  be  abufed  in 
all  his  Concerns  and  Relations,  be  fcourged, 
fpitupon,mock''dyU\d  at  lajl  crucified. k\l  which 
are  PafTages  which  lie  cxtreamly  crofs  to  the 
Notions  and  Conceptions  that  Reafon  has  fra- 
med to  itfelf  that  high  and  impaffiblc  Per- 
fedion  that  refides  in  the  Divine  Nature.  For 
it  is  natural  to  Men  to  be  very  hardly  brought 
to  judge  things  to  be  any  more,than  v/hat  they 
appear-,  and  it  is  alfo  as  natural  tc/ them  to 
meafurc  all  Appearances  by  Senfe,  or  at  the 
furtheft  by  Reafon  ;  though  neither  of  them 
is  a  competent  Judge  of  the  Things  which 
we  are  here  difcourfing  of. 

2.  The  fecond  thing  to  be  confider'd  is  the 
State  or  Condition  from  which  Chrift  came  -, 
and  that  was  from  the  Bofom  of  his  Father, 
from  the  incomprehenfible,  furpalTing  Glories 
of  the  Godhead,  from  an  eternal  Enjoyment 
of  an  abfolute,  uninterrupted  Biifs  and  Plea- 
fure,  in  the  mutual,  ineffable  Intercourfes  be- 
tween him  and  his  Father.  The  Heaven 
of  Heavens  was  his  Habitation,  and  Legions 
of  Chcrubims  and  Seraphimshis  humble  and 

conftant 


304         ^  Sermon  preached 

conftant  Attendants.  Yet  he  was  pleafed  to 
difrobe  himfelf  of  all  this  Magnificence,  to 
lay  afide  his  Sceptres  and  his  Glories,  and  in 
a  Word  to  empty  himfelf  as  far  as  the  ellential 
Fulnefs  of  the  Deity  could  be  capable  of  fuch  . 
a  Difpenfation. 

And  now,  if  by  the  poor  Meafures  and  Pro- 
portions of  a  Man,  we  may  take  an  Eftimate 
of  this  great  Adion,  we  fhall  quickly  find 
how  irkfomc  it  is  to  Flefh  and  Blood  to  have 
been  happy,  to  defcend  fome  Steps  lower,  to 
exchange  the  Eftate  of  a  Prince  for  that  of  a 
Peafant,  and  to  view  our  Happinefs  only  by 
the  help  of  Memory,  and  long  Reflexions. 
por  how  hard  a  Task  muft  Obedience  needs 
be  to  a  Spirit  accuftomed  to  Rule,  and  to  Do- 
minion !  how  uneafy  muft  the  Leather  and 
the  Priezc  fit  upon  the  Shoulder  that  ufed  to 
fhine  with  the  Purple  and  the  Ermin  !  All 
Change  muft  be  grievous  to  an  Eftate  of  abfo- 
lute,  entire,  unmingled  Happinefs  j  but  then 
to  change  to  the  loweft  Pitch,  and  that  at  firft, 
without  inuring  the  Mind  to  the  Burthen  by 
gradual,  intermediate  Lefleningsand  Declenfi- 
ons,  this  is  the  fharpeft  and  moft  affliding 
Calamity  that  Human  Nature  can  be  capable 
of.  And  yet  what  is  all  this  to  Chrift's  Hu- 
miliation? He  who  tumbles  from  a  Tower 
4  furely 


iit  St.  Mary'^^  Oxori.  30  j 

furcly  has  a  greater  Blow  than  he  who  Aides 
from  a  Mole-Hill.  And  we  may  as  well  com- 
pare the  falling  of  a  Crumb  from  the  Table 
to  the  falling  of  a  Star  from  the  Firmament^ 
as  think  the  Abafement  of  an  Alexajjder^TOv^ 
his  Imperial  Throne,  and  from  the  Head  of 
all  the  Terjian  and  Macedoniun  Greatncfs  tai 
the  Condition  of  the  meancii  Scullion   that 
followed  his  Camp,  any  ijuays  comparable  to 
the  Dcfcenflon  of  him  who  was  the  Brightnefs 
df  his  Father  s  Qlory^  and  the  exprefs  linage  of 
his  TerfoTij  to  the  Condition  of  a  Man,  much 
lefs  of  a  Servant,  and  a  crucilicd  Malefadon 
For  foi  was   Chriil    treated  :     This  was  the 
ftrange  Leap  that  he  made  from  the  gfeateft 
Height  to  the  loweft  Bottom  :    Concerning 
which  it  might  be  well  pronounced  the  great- 
eft  Wonder  in  the  World,    that  he  fhould  be 
able  fo  far  to   humble  himfcif,  were  it  not 
yet  a  greatcf  that  he  could  bs  iji'illing.     And 
thus  much  for  the  fccond  Circumftancc. 

3 .  The  Third  is,  The  Perlons  to  whom  he 
tamp,  expreflcd  by  that  endearing  Term  his 
own  5  and  this  in  a  more  peculiar,  advanced 
Senfe  of  Propriety.  Fot  all  the  Nations  of 
the  World  were  his  o'Wn  by  Creation,  and 
what  is  confequent  to  it  by  the  Right  ofTof- 
fejjion  and  abfolute  Dominion  ;  But  the  Jews 

Vol.  IIL  X  were 


3  0  5  A  Sermon  preached 

were  his  own  by  fraternal  Right  of  Con* 
fanguinity.  He  was  pleafed  to  derive  his  Hu- 
manity from  the  fame  Stock,  to  give  them 
the  Honour  of  being  able  to  call  the  God 
of  Heaven,  and  tke  Saviour  of  the  World 
their  Brother. 

They  were  his  own  alfo  by  the  Right  of 
Churchjhipt  as  feleded  and  enclofed  by  God 
from  amidft  all  other  Nations,  to  be  the  feat 
of  his  Worfliip,  and  the  great  Confervatory 
of  all  the  facred  Oracles  and  means  of  Salva- 
tion. The  Gentiles  might  be  called  God's 
own,  as  a  Man  calls  his  Hall  or  his  Parlour 
his  own,  which  yet  others  pafs  tbrough  and 
make  ufe  of ;  but  the  Jews  were  fo,  as  a  Man 
accounts  his  Clofet,  or  his  Cabinet  his  own ; 
that  is,  by  a  peculiar,  incommunicable  Defti- 
nation  of  it  to  his  own  ufe. 

Thofe  who  have  that  hardy  Curiofity,  as 
to  examine  the  Reafon  of  God's  Adions, 
(which  Men  of  Reafon  fliould  ftill  fuppofe,) 
wonder  that,  fuice  the  Defign  of  ChrilVs  Co* 
ming  was  univerfal  and  extending  to  all  Man- 
kind, he  fhould  addrefs  himfelf  to  fo  inconfi- 
derable  a  Spot  of  the  World,  as  that  of  ^a- 
lejiine,  confining  the  Scene  of  all  his  Life  and 
Adtions  to  fuch  a  fmall  handful  of  Men  j 
whereas  it  would  have  feemcd  much  more 
•  fuitable 


at  St.  Mary'x,  Oxon.  307 

fuitable  to  thePurpofes  of  his  Coming,  to  have 
made  Rome^  at  that  time  the  Metropolis  of  the 
Weftcrn  World,  and  holding  an  IntcrcouiTe 
with  ail  Nations,  the  Place  of  his  Nativity 
and  Abode  :  As  when  a  Prince  would  pro- 
niulge  a  Law,  becaufe  he  cannot  with  any 
Convenience  do  it  in  ail  Places ;  therefore  he 
does  it  in  the  moft  eminent  and  confpicuous. 
To  which  Argument  frequently  urged  by  the 
Enemies  of  Chriftianity,  he  who  would  feck 
for  a  fatisfadory  Anfwer  from  any  thing  but 
the  Abfolutenefs  of  God's  Sovereignty,  will 
find  himfelf  defeated  in  his  Attempt.  It  was 
the  mere  refult  of  the  Divine  Good  Pleafu^, 
that  the  Fountain  of  Life  fhould  derive  a  Blcf- 
iing  to  all  Nations,  from  fo  narrow  and  con- 
temptible an  Head. 

And  here,  I  cannot  but  think  it  obferva- 
ble,  that  all  the  Paflages  of  the  whole  Work 
of  Man's  Redemption  carry  in  them  the 
Marks,  not  only  of  Mercy,  but  of  Mercy  ad- 
ing  by  an  unaccountable  Sovereignty :  And 
that  for  this  very  Reafon  (as  may  be  fuppo- 
fed)  to  convince  the  World  that  it  was  pure- 
ly Mercy  on  God's  Part,  without  any  thing 
of  Merit  on  Man's,  that  did  all.  For  when 
God  reveals  a  Saviour  to  fome  few,  but  de- 
nies him  to  more;  fends  him  to  a  People 
X  2.  defpired> 


308  A  Sermon  preached 

defpifed,  but  paflcs  over  Nations  vidorious^ 
honourable,     and  renowned,     he    thereby 
gives  the  World  to  know,  that  his  own  Will 
is  the  Reafon  of  his  Proceedings.     For  it  is 
worth  Remarking,  that  there  is  nothing  that 
befalls  Men  equally  and  alike,    but  they  arc 
prone  to  afcribe  it  either  to  Nature  or  Merit. 
But  where  the  Plea  of  the  Receivers  is  equal, 
and  yet  the  Difpenfation  of  the  Benefits  vaftly 
unequal,  there  Men  are  taught,  that  the  thing 
received  is  Grace ;    and  that  they  have  no 
Claim  to  it,  but  the  Courtefy  of  theDifpcn- 
icr,  and  the  Large fs  of  Heaven  5  which  can- 
not be  queftion'd,  bccaufe  it  waters  my  Field, 
while  it  fcorches  and  dries  up  my  Neighbour's. 
If  the  Sun  is  pleated  to  ihineupon  a  Turf,  and 
to  gild  a  Dunghil,  when  perhaps  he   never 
looks  into  the  Bed- Chamber  of  a  Prince,  we 
cannot  yet  accufe  him  for  Partiality.     That 
ihort,  but  mod  fignificantSaying  in  the  Evan- 
gelifty  May  I  not  do  ii-hat  I  isjill  with  my 
own?  Matt,  xx,  15.  being  a  full  and  folid 
Anfwcr  to  all  fuch  Objcclions. 

4.  1h.<z  fourth  and  lajl  Circumftance  of 
Chrift's  Coming  related  to  the  time  of  it :  He 
came  to  the  Je-jjSj  when  they  were  in  their 
lowePt  and  worft  Condition,  and  that  in  a 
double  RefpccL,  National  and  Ecclefiajiical. 

I.  And 


at St.M.2ixys^  Oxon.  309 

1..  And  firft  upon  a  Civil  or  National Kq. 
count.  It  was  not  then  with  them  as  in  thoIc 
triumphant  Days  oi  Solomon,  when  for  Plen- 
ty, Riches,  and  Grandeur,  they  had  little 
Caufe  either  to  make  Friends  or  to  fear  Ene- 
mies, but  fhone  as  the  Envy  and  Terror  of  all 
the  furrounding  Neighbourhood.  At  the  bed 
now  they  were  but  a  Remnant,  and  a  piece 
of  an  often  fcattered,  conquered,  and  capti- 
vated Nation  :  But  two  Tribes  of  twelve, 
and  thofe  under  the  Roman  Yoke,  tributary 
and  opprefTed,  and  void  of  any  other  Privi- 
lege but  only  to  obey, and  to  be  fleeced  quietly 
by  whofoever  was  appointed  their  Governour. 
This  was  their  Condition  :  And  could  there 
be  any  Inducement  upon  the  common  Prin- 
ciples and  Methods  of  Kindnefs  to  vifit  them 
in  that  Eftate  ?  which  could  be  nothing  elfe 
but  only  to  fhare  with  them  in  Servitude,  and 
to  bear  a  Part  in  their  Oppreflion. 

The  Mcafure  of  Men's  Kindnefs  and  Vifits 
beftowed  upon  one  another,  is  ufually  the 
Profperity,  the  Greatnefs,  and  the  Intereft  of 
the  Perfons  whom  they  vifit  i  that  is,  becaufe 
their  Favour  is  profitable,  and  their  Ill-will 
formidable  5  in  a  word.  Men  'vtjit  others  be- 
caufe they  are  kind  to  themf elves.  But  who- 
ever faw  Coaches  and  Liveries  thronging  at 
^     "  X  3  '  ^  the 


3 1  o  A  Sermon  preached 

the  Door  of  the  Orphan  or  the  Widow  (un- 
lefs  peradventure  a  rich  one)  or  before  the 
Houfe  or  Priion  of  an  affiided,  decayed  Friend  ? 
No,  at  (uch  a  time  we  account  them  not  fo 
much  as  our  own,  that  unfriends  and  unbro- 
thers,  and  diffolves  all  Relations,  and 'tis  fcl- 
dom  the  Dialed  oi  my  good  Friendy  any  longer 
t\\din\t\s  my  great  Friend. 

But  it  was  another  fort  of  Love  that  warm- 
ed the  Brcaft  of  our  Saviour,  he  vifits  his 
Kindred,  nay  he  makes  them  fo  in  the  loweft 
Ebb  of  all  their  outward  Enjoyments,  When 
to  be  a  Jew  was  a  Name  of  Difgrace,  and  to 
be  circumcijt'dz.  Mark  of  Infamy :  So  that  they 
might  very  well  be  ^peculiar  People,  not  only 
bccaufe  God  feparated  them  from  all  other 
Nations,  but  becaufe  all  other  Nations  fepa- 
rated themfelves  from  them. 

Secondly ,Con{\<iz\^  them  upon  ^nEccleJtaJii- 
cal  Account,  and  fo  we  fhall  find  them  as 
corrupted  for  a  Church  as  they  were  defpifed 
for  a  Nation.  Even  in  the  Days  of  the  Pro- 
phet Ifaiahy  i.  21.  it  was  his  Complaint, 
that  the  faith jul  City  was  become  an  Harlot  -, 
that  is,  notable  for  two  things,  as  Harlots 
ufually  are,  Paint  and  Impurity.  Which 
growing  Corruption,  in  all  the  intervening 
Time^    from  thence  to  the  con:iing  of  Chrift, 

received 


at  St,  Mary'^,  Oxon.  3  1 1 

received  a  proportionable  Improvement:  So 
that  their  Teachers,  and  moft  feraphick,  ado- 
red Dodors  of  the  Law,  were  (till  ranked 
with  Hypocrites.  For  the  Text  of  Mofes  was 
ufed  only  to  authorize  a  falfe  Comment,  and 
to  warrant  the  Impiety  of  a  perverfe  Interpre- 
tation. Still  for  all  their  Villanies  and  Hypo- 
crifies  they  borrowed  a  Veil  from  Mofes  5  and 
his  Name  was  quoted  and  pretended  as  a 
glorious  Expedient  to  countenance  and  var- 
nifh  over  well  contrived  Corruptions:  Nay, 
and  they  proceeded  fo  high,  that  thofe  who 
vouched  the  Authority  oi  Mofes  moft,  deny 
the  being  of  immaterial  Subftances,  and  the 
Immortality  of  the  Soul,  in  which  is  wrapt 
up  the  very  Spirit  and  vital  Breath  of  all  Re- 
ligions :  And  the(e  Men  had  formed  them- 
felves  into  a  ftanding  and  confiderable  Sed 
called  the  Sadducesi  fo  confiderable,  that 
one  of  them  once  ftept  into  the  High-Prieft-^ 
hood  :  So  that  whether  you  look  upon  the 
Sadduces  or  the  Tharifees^  they  had  brought 
the  Jewish  Church  to  that  pals,  that  they  ejla- 
blijhed  Iniquity  by  a  LaWy  or  which  is  worfe, 
turned  the  Law  itfelf  into  Iniquity. 

Now   the  State  of  things  being  thus  a- 
mongft  the  Jews  at  the  Timt  of  Chrift's  Com- 

X  4-  inS> 


1 1 2  A  Sermon  preached 

ing,  it  eminently  offers  to  us  tlie  Confider^- 
tion  of  thefe  two  Things. 

Firfi,  The  invincible  Strength  of  Chrifl's 
Love,  that  it  fhould  come  leaping  over  fuch 
Mountains  of  Oppoficion,  that  it  fliould  tri- 
umph over  ib  much  Je-ivip  Balcncls  and  Vil- 
lany,  and  be  gracious  even  in  Ipight  of  Ma- 
lice irfclf.  It  did  not  knock  at,  but  even  break 
ppen  their  Doors.  Blelling  and  Happinefs  was 
ill  3  manner  thrud  upon  them.  Heaven 
would  have  took  them  by  Force^  as  they  {houl4 
YiTiSctaok  Heavcn:  So  that  they  were  fain  to 
take  Pains  to  rid  themfelvcs  of  their  Happi- 
pefs,  and  it  coft  them  Labour  and  Violence 
to  become  mifcrablc. 

Secondly.,  It  declares  to  us  the  immovable 
Ve'acity  of  God's  Promife.  Fpr  furely,  if  any 
thing  could  rcverfe  a  Promife.,  and  unty  the 
Bands  of  a  decree,  it  would  have  been  that 
uncontrolled  Impiety  which  then  reigned  in 
the  Je'dvifh  Church,  and  that  to  fuch  a  degree, 
that  the  Teniple  iticlf  was  prophaned  into  a 
'iDen  of  Thieves  J  a  Rendezvous  ofHiglersand 
provers,  and  a  Place  not  for  x\\z  JacriJiciTigj 
but  for  the  felling  of  Sheep  and  Oxen.  So 
that  God  mi<^ht  well  have  for2;ot  his  Promife 
tp  his  Ppoplc,    wheia  they  had   altered  the 

very 
I 


at  St,  Mary '5,  Oxon.'         513 

very  Subjedof  the  Promife,  and  as  much  as 
in  them  lay  had  ceafcd  to  be  his  People, 

We  have  here  finifhed  the  firft  Part  of  the 
Text,  and  took  an  Account  of  Chrift's  com^ 
ingtohiso'junj  and  his  coming  thro'fo  many 
Obftacles :  May  we  not  tlierefore  now  expcd 
to  fee  him  find  a  magnificent  Reception,  and 
a  Welcome  as  extraordinary  as  hisKindnefs? 
Tor  where  fhould  any  one  expcd  a  Welcome 
if  not  coming  to  his  own  ?  And  coming  alfo 
not  to  charge,  but  to  enrich  them,  not  to 
fhare  what  they  had,  but  to  recover  what 
they  had  loft,  and  in  a  word,  to  change  their 
Temporals  into  Eternals,  and  bring  an  over- 
flowing Performance  and  Fruition  to  thofe 
who  had  lived  hitherto  only  upon  Promife 
and  Expectation  ;  but  it  fell  out  much  other- 
wife,  his  own  received  him  not. 

Nor  indeed  if  we  look  further  into  the 
World  (hall  we  find  this  Ufage  fo  very  ftrange 
pr  wondcfful.  For  Kindred  is  not  Friendfhip, 
but  only  an  Opportunity  of  nearer  Converfe, 
which  is  the  true  Caufe  of  a  natural  In- 
ducement to  it.  It  is  not  to  have  the  fame 
Blood  in  ones  Veins,  to  have  lain  in  the  fame 
Womb,  or  to  bend  the  Knee  to  the  fame 
father,  but  to  have  the  fame  Inclinations, 
ti^e  fame  Affe^^ionsj  an^  the  faine  Soul,  that 

makes 


2  14  ^  Sermon  preached 

makes  the  Friend.  Otherwife  Jacob  may 
fupplant  EfaUy  and  Efau  hate  and  defign  the 
Death  of  Jacob.  And  we  conftantly  fee  the 
Grand  Seignior's  Coronation  Purple  dipt  iii 
the  Blood  of  his  murthcred  Brethren,  facrifi- 
ced  to  Reafon  of  State,  or  at  leaft  to  his  own 
iinreafonahle^^2iX%  and  Sfupicions:  But  Friends 
ftrive  not  who  fhall  ktlly  but  who  Ihall  die 
firft.  If  then  the  Love  of  Kindred  is  fo  fmall, 
furely  the  Love  of  Countrymen  and  Neigh- 
bours can  promife  but  little  more.  A  Pro- 
phet may  without  the  help  of  his  prophctick 
Spirit  fore- fee  that  he  fhall  have  but  little  Ho- 
nour in  his  own  Country,  Men  naturally  ma- 
lign the  Greatnefs  or  Virtue  of  a  Fellow  Ci- 
tizen, oraDomeftickj  they  think  the  Near- 
nefs  of  it  upbraids  and  obfcures  them :  It  is  a 
Trouble  to  have  the  Sun  ftill  fhiningin  their 
Faces. 

And  therefore  the  Jews  in  this  followed  but 
the  common  Pra(^ice  of  Men,  whofc  Emu- 
lation ufually  preys  upon  the  next  Superior 
in  the  fame  Family,  Company,  or  Profeflion. 
Thebittereft  and  the  loudefl  Scolding  is  for  the 
moft  part  amongft  thofe  of  the  fame  Street: 
In  fhort,  there  is  a  kind  of  ill  Difpofition  in 
moft  Men,  much  refembling  that  of  pogs, 

they 


at  St.  Mary '5,  Oxon.  3 1  j 

they  hark  at  what  is  high  and  remote  from 
them,  and  bite  what  is  next. 

Now  in  this  fecond  Part  of  the  Text, 
in  which  is  reprefented  the  Entertainment 
which  Chrift  found  in  the  World,  expreffed 
to  us  by  thefe  Words,  his  own  received  him 
not  J  we  (hall  confider  thefe  three  things. 

I .  The  Grounds  upon  which  the  Jews  re- 
jefted  Chrift. 

2^.  TheUnreafonablenefs  of  thofe  Grounds. 
And, 

3.  The  great  Arguments  that  they  had  to 
the  contrary. 

As  to  the  firft  of  thefe :  To  reckon  up  all 
the  Pretences  that  the  Jews  alledge  for  theii* 
not  acknowledging  of  Chrift,  would  be  as 
cndlefs  as  the  Tales  and  Fooleries  of  their 
Rabbles,  a  fort  of  Men  noted  for  nothing 
more  than  two  very  ill  Qualities,  to  wit,  that 
they  are  ftill  given  to  invent  and  write  Lies, 
and  thofe  fuch  unlikely  and  incredible  Lies, 
that  none  can  believe  them  but  fuch  as  write 
them.  But  the  Exceptions  which  feem  to 
carry  moft  of  Reafon  and  Argument  with 
them  arc  thefe  two. 

Firft,  That  Chrift  came  not  as  a  temporal 
Prince, 

Secondly^ 


7i6  A  Sermon  preached 

Secondly i  That  they  looked  upon  him  as 
an  Underminer  and  a  Deftroyer  of  the  Law 
of  Mofes. 

I.  As  for  the  firft.  It  was  a  Perfuafion 
which  had  funk  into  their  very  Veins  and 
Marrow,  a  Perfuafion  which  they  built  up- 
on as  the  grand  fundamental  Article  of  all 
their  Creed,  that  their  Mefjiah  fhould  be  a 
temporal  Prince,  nor  can  any  thing  beat 
their  Pofterity  out  of  it  to  this  Day.  They 
fancied  nothing  but  Triumphs  and  Trophies, 
and  all  the  Nations  of  the  Earth  licking  the 
Dud  before  them  under  the  vidorious  Con- 
duiCl  of  their  MeJJiah ;  they  expeded  fuch  an 
one  as  fhould  difenflave  them  from  the  Roman 
Yoke,  make  the  Senate  ftoop  to  their  Sanhe- 
drim, and  the  Capitol  do  Homage  to  their 
Temple.  Nay,  and  we  find  the  Difciples 
themfelves  leaven'd  with  the  fame  Conceit  '- 
Their  Minds  flill  ran  upon  the  Grandeurs  of 
an  earthly  Sovereignty,  u^onjittingat  Chriji's 
right  ar^dltft  Hand  in  his  Kingdom,  banquet- 
ing and  making  merry  at  his  Tabky  and  who 
Ihould hoiwcthegreateft  Office  and T lace  under 
him.  So  carnal  were  the  Thoughts  even  of 
thofc  who  owned  Chrifl  for  the  AleJJIah  ;  but 
how  much  more  of  the  reft  of  th^  Jews,  who 
contemn'd  and  hated  him  to  the  fame  Degree? 

Sq 


at  St.  Mary'5,  Oxon.         3 1 7 

So  that  while  they  were  feeding  themfelvcs 
with  fuch  Fancies  and  Expeclations,  how  can 
wc  fuppofe  that  they  would  receive  a  Perfon 
bearing  himfelf  for  the  Mefjiah,  and  yet  in  the 
poor  Habit  and  Profelllon  of  a  mean  Mecha- 
nick,  as  alfo  preaching  to  them  nothing  but 
Humility,  Self  denial,  and  a  Contempt  of 
thofe  Glories  and  temporal  Felicities,  the 
Enjoyment  of  which  they  had  made  the  very 
Defign  of  their  Religion  ?  Surely  the  Fruftra- 
tion  of  their  Hopes,  and  the  huge  Contrarie- 
ty of  thefe  Things  to  their  beloved  pre- con- 
ceived Notions,  could  not  but  enrage  them 
to  the  greateft  Difdain  and  Rejedion  of  his 
Perfon  and  Doctrine  imaginable. 

And  accordingly  it  did  fo :  For  they  fcorned, 
perfecuted,  and  Q.vcn  fpit  upon  him  long  be- 
fore his  Crucifixion  :  And  no  doubt,  between 
Rage  and  Derifion,  a  thoufand  Flouts  were 
thrown  at  him :  As,  what,  fhall  we  receive  a 
thread-bare  Meffiah,  a  Fellow  fitter  to  wield  a 
Saw  or  an  Hatchet  than  a  Scepter  ?  Forisnot 
this  the  Carpenter's  Son?  And  have  we  not 
feen  him  in  his  Shop  and  his  Cottage  amongft 
his  pitiful  Kindred?  And  can  fuch  an  one  be 
a  fit  Perfon  to  ftep  into  the  Throne  oi'Davldy 
to  redeem  Ifrad,  and  to  cope  with  all  the 
Roman^o^tx}  No,  it  is  abiurd,  unreafon- 

abie. 


31^  A  Sermon  preached 

able,  and  impoflible  :  And  to  be  in  Bondage 
to  the  Romans  is  nobler  than  to  be  freed  by 
the  Hand  of  fuch  a  deliverer. 

2.  Their  other  grand  Exception  againft 
him  was,  tiiat  he  fet  himfelf  againft  the  Law 
of  Mofes,  their  Reverence  to  which  was  fo 
facred,  that  they  judged  it  the  unchangeable 
Rule  of  all  human  Adions  j  and  that  their 
MeJJlah  at  his  Coming  was  to  impofe  the  Ob- 
fervation  of  it  upon  all  Nations  5  and  fo  to 
cftablifti  it  for  ever :  nay,  and  they  had  an 
equal  Reverence  for  all  the  Parts  of  it,  as  well 
the  Judicial  and  Ceremonial  as  the  Moral  j 
and  (being  naturally  of  a  grofs  and  a  thick 
conception  of  Things)  perhaps  a  much  greater. 
For  ftill  we  (hall  find  them  more  zealous  in 
tything  Mint,  and  Rue,  and  Cummin,  and 
wajhing  Tots,  and  blatters  (where  chiefly 
their  Mind  was)  than  in  the  prime  Duties  of 
Mercy  and  Juftice.  And  as  for  their  beloved 
Sabbath,  they  placed  the  Celebration  of  it 
more  in  doing  nothing,  than  in  doing  good-,  and 
rather  in  fitting  ftill,  than  in  refcuing  a  Life, 
or  faving  a  Soul :  So  that  when  Chrift  came 
to  interpret  and  reduce  the  moral  Law  to  its 
inward  Vigour  and  Spirituality,  they,  whofe 
Soul  was  of  fo  grofs  a  Make,  that  it  was 
fcarce  a  Sprit,  prefently  defied  him,  as  a  Sa- 

3  maritan> 


at  St,  MaryV,  Oxon.         319 

maritan,  and  an  Impoftof,  and  would  by  no 
means  hear  of  fuch  ftrange  impradicable 
Notions.  But  when  from  refining  and  cor- 
recting their  Expofitions  and  Senfe  of  the 
Moral  Law,  he  proceeded  alfo  to  foretel  and 
declare  the  approaching  Dcftrudion  of  their 
Temple ;  and  therewith  a  Period  to  be  put  to 
all  their  Rites  and  Ceremonies,  they  grew 
impatient,  and  could  hold  no  longer,  but 
fought  to  kill  him 5  and  thereby  thought  that 
they  did  God  good  Service,  and  Mofes  too  : 
So  wonderfully  (it  fcems)  were  thefe  Men 
concerned  for  God's  Honour,  that  they  had 
no  way  to  fhew  it,  but  by  rejeding  his  Son, 
out  of  Reference  to  his  Servant. 

We  have  feen  here  the  two  great  Excepti- 
ons which  fo  block'd  up  the  Minds  and  Hearts 
of  the  Jewijh  Nation  againft  Jefus  Chriji  their 
true  MeJJiah,  that  when  he  came  to  his  own^ 
his  own  rejedled  and  threw  him  off.  I  come 
now  in  the  next  Place, 

2.  To  fhew  the  Weakncfs  and  Unreafona- 
blencfs  of  thefe  Exceptions.     And, 

Firjiy  Por  Chrift's  being  a  temporal  Mo- 
narch, whofhould  fubduc  and  bring  all  Na- 
tions under  the  Jewijh  Scepter.  I  anfwer, 
that  it  was  fo  far  from  neccflary,  that  it  was 
■abfolutely  impoflible,  that  the  MeJJiah  fliould 

be 


3  i  o  A  Sermon  preached 

be  fuch  an  one,  and  that  upon  the  Account 
of  a  double  Suppofition,  neither  of  which,  I 
conceive^  will  be  denied  by  the  Jews  them- 
felves^ 

I.  The  firft  is  the  profeffed  Dcfign  of  his 
coming,  which  was  to  be  a  BleJJing  to  all  Nii- 
tions:  For  it  is  over  and  over  declared  in 
Scripture,  that  in  the  Seed  of  Abrahamy  that 
is,  in  the  Meffiah,  all  Nations  of  the  Earth 
pjouldbe  blejfed.  But  now  if  they  mean  this 
o^7i  temporal Blejfing,  as  I  am  fure  they  in- 
tend no  other,  then  I  demand  how  this  can 
agree  with  his  being  fuch  a  Trince,  as  accor- 
ding to  their  Defcription,  muft  conquer  all 
*p€Oplej  and  cnflave  them  to  the  Jews^  as 
Hewers  of  Wood  and  drawers  of  Water,  as 
their  Vaflals  and  Tributaries,  and  in  a  word> 
liable  upon  all  Occafions  to  be  infultcd  over 
bythe  worft  condition'd  People  in  the  World? 
A  worthy  Bleffing  indeed,  and  fuch  an  one 
as  I  believe  few  Nations  would  defire  to  be 
beholden  to  the  Seed  of  Abraham  for.  For 
there  is  no  Nation  or  People  that  can  need 
the  coming  of  a  Meffiah  to  blefs  them  in  this- 
Manner  :  Since  they  may  blefs  themfelves  fo 
whenloevcr  theypleafe,  if  they  will  but  fend 
MelTengers  to  fome  of  their  Neighbours, wifer 
and  more  powerful  than  themfelves^  and  de- 
clare 


clarc  theirEftatcs  ^nd  Country  at  their  Service, 
provided  tliey  will  but  come  and  r/iake  them 
Slaves  without  calling  them  fo  5  by  fending 
Armies  to  take  Pollellion  of  their  Forts  and 
Garrifons,  to  feize  their  Lands,  Moneys,  and 
whatfoever  elfe  they  have  5  and  in  a  Word,  tO 
opprefs,  beggar,  and  fqueezc  them  as  dry  as 
a  Pumice,  and  then  trample  upon  them  bc"- 
caufe  they  can  get  no  more  out  of  them  '■> 
Let  any  People,  I  fay,  as  they  fhall  like  this, 
apply  to  fome  potent  over gro-jin  Prince 
(whom  the  Fools,  his  Neighbours,  Ihall  have 
made  fo)  and  I  dare  Undertake  that  upon  a 
word  fpeaking,  they  fliall  find  him  ready  to 
be  fucb  a  Mejfias  to  them  at  any  Time.  And 
yet  this  was  all  that  the  Gentile  World  could 
gain  by  thofe  magnificent  Promifes  of  the 
MeJJiah  ( as  univerlally  a  Blelling  as  the  Pro- 
phets had  foretold  he  fhould  be)  if  the^^x'^ 
Opinion  concerning  the  Nature  of  his  King- 
dom over  the  reft  of  the  World  ihould  take 
place.  But  fince  they  judge  fuch  a  kind  of 
Government  fo  great  a  Blefling  to  Mankind, 
it  is  pity  but  they  fliould  have  a  large  and 
lafting  Enjoyment  of  it  themfelvcs,  and  be 
made  to  feel  what  it  is  to  be  peeled  and  pol- 
led, fleeced  and  flayed,  taxed  and  trod  upon 
by  the  feveral  Governments  they  fliould  hap. 
Vol.  IIL  Y  pen. 


3  2.2  A  Sermon  preached 

pen  to  fall  under  -,  and  fo  find  the  fame  U- 
fage  from  other  Princes  which  they  had  fo  li- 
berally defigned  for  them,  under  their  fup- 
pofed  MeJJiah:  As  indeed  through  the  juft 
Judgment  of  God  they  have  in  a  great  Mea- 
fure  found  ever  fince  the  Crucifixion  of  Chrift. 
Second^  The  other  Suppofition  upon  which 
I  difprove  the  Mejjiah'%  being  fuch  a  tempo- 
ral Prince,  is  the  unqueftionable  Truth  of  all 
the  Prophecies  recorded  of  him  in  Scripture  i 
many  of  which  declare  only  the  Sufferings,  his 
Humility,  his  low  defpifed  Eflate^  and  fo  are 
utterly  incompatible  with  fuch  a  princely 
Condition.  Thofc  two,  the  firft  T'fal.  xxii. 
the  other  in  Ija,  liii.  are  fuflicient  Proofs  of 
this.  'Tis  not  to  be  denied  indeed,  that  fe- 
veral  have  attempted  to  make  them  have  no 
refpeft  at  all  to  the  MeJJiah ;  but  ftillthe  Truth 
has  been  fuperior  to  all  fuch  Attempts.  The 
yewijh  Rabbles  for  the  moft  part  underftand 
them  of  the  whole  Body  of  the  People  of  If- 
rael :  And  *  one  we  know  amongfl  our  Chri- 
ftian  Interpreters,  though  it  will  be  hard  to 
chrijien  his  Interpretation  who  will  needs 
have  this  whole  liii^.  Chap,  of  Jja.  to  relate 


*    See  more  of  this  iii   the  following  Difcourfe  on 
Efiy  liii.  8. 

only; 


at  Si.  Mary'^j  Oxon.  32? 

only  to  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  in  the  lirft  and 
hiftorical  Scnic  of  it :  Little  certainly  to  the 
Service  of  Chriftianity  j  unlefs  we  can  think 
the  propereft  way  for  confirming  our  Faith 
(efpccially  againit  its  mortal  Adverfaries  the 
Jews)  be  to  flrip  it  of  the  chief  Supports 
which  the  oldTcftament  affords  it.  But  every 
little  Fetch  of  Wit  and  Criticifm  mud  not 
think  to  bear  down  the  whole  Stream  of  Chri- 
ftian,  Catholick  Interpreters;  and  much  lefs 
the  apparent  Force  and  Evidence  of  To  clear 
^  Prophecy. 

And  therefore  to  return  to  the  Rabbles 
themfelves,  the  moil  learned  ot'  them  after 
all  fuch  fruitlefs  Attempts  underltand  thofe 
Prophecies  only  of  the  MeJJiah :  But  then  being 
fond  of  his  temporal  Reign  and  Greatnefs, 
fomeofthem  have  invented  the  a-C'pcv  (pdpixccicov 
of  twofeveral  Meffiahs,  LleJJlah Benl^civid> 
zwd  Meffiah  Benjofeph.  One  whereof  was 
to  be  potent  and  victorious,  the  other  low, 
afHided,  and  at  length  klil'd.  A  bold  ur.« 
heard  of  Fidion,  and  never  known  to  the  Ac-' 
Qic'CixJewifi  Church,  till  the  modern  Rabbies 
began  to  doat  and  blatpheme  at  all  Adven- 
tures. But  there  is  no  Shlk  fo  fcnfelcfs  and 
groundlefs  which  an  obftinate  Adherence  to 
a  dcfperate  Caufe,  vvill  not  drive  the  De.^ 
Y  z  fenders 


3  2. 4  ^  Sermon  preached 

fenders  of  it  to.  It  is  clear  therefore  that  all 
the  Pretences  which  the  Jews  have  for  the 
temporal  Reign  and  Greatnefs  of  their  Mef- 
fiah  is  fufficicntly  anfwered,  and  cut  off  by 
thefe  two  Confiderations:  For  to  argue  with 
them  further  from  the  Spirituality  of  the  Mef- 
Jiah's  Kingdom,  as  that  the  end  of  it  was  to 
abftrad  from  all  carnal,  earthly,  fenfual  En- 
joyments, as  the  certain  Hinderers  of  Piety, 
and  Underminers  of  the  Spirit,  would  be  but 
a  begging  of  the  Qiicftion,  as  to  the  Jews, 
who  would  contend  as  pofitively  that  this 
was  not  to  be  the  Intent  of  it.  And  befides 
the  Truth  is,  their  Principles  and  Temper  are 
fo  hugely  eftranged  from  fuch  Confiderations, 
that  a  Man  might  as  well  read  a  Ledure  of 
Mufick  or  Aftronomy  to  an  Oxy  or  an  Afs, 
as  go  about  to  perfuade  them  that  their 
Meljiah  was  only  to  plant  his  Kingdom  in 
Mens  Hearts,  and  by  infufing  into  them  the 
Graces  of  Humility,  Temperance,  and  Hea- 
venly Mindednefs,  to  conquer  their  Cor- 
xuptions,  and  reign  over  their  carnal  Affec- 
tions, which  they  had  a  great  deal  rather 
fhould  reign  over  them.  And  thus  much  for 
Anfwer  to  their  firft  Exception. 

Secondly-,  I  come  now  to  fhew  the  Unrea- 
fonablenefs  of  the  other,  grounded  upon  a 

Pretence, 


at  St.  MaryV,  Oxon.  3x5 

Pretence,  that  Chrift  was  a  Supplantcr  of  the 
Authority  of  MoJeSy  and  an   Enemy   to  the 
Law.     And  here  for  Anfwer  to  this,  I  grant 
that  Chrift  defigned  the  Abrogation  of  their 
Ceremonial  Law,  and  yet  for  all  this  I  affirm 
that  Chrift  made  good  that  Word  of  his  to 
the  utmoft.  That  he  came  not  to  defiroy  the 
Law,  but  to  fulfil  it.     For  we  muft  know, 
that  to  defiroy  a  Conftitution ,  and  to  abro- 
gate,  or  meerly    to  put  an  end  to   it   are 
very  different.      To  defiroy  a  thing,   is   to 
caufe  it  to    ccafe  from   that  ufe  to  which 
it  is  defigned,  and    to    which  it  ought  to 
ferve :  But  To  did  not  Chrift  to  the  Ceremo- 
nial Law  5  the  Defign  of  which  was  to  forc- 
fignifie  and  point  at  the  Mejfiah  who  was  to 
come.     So  that  the  Mejfiah  being  come,  and 
having  finifhed  the  Work  for  which  he  came, 
the  ufe  of  it  continued  no  longer;  for  being 
only  to  relate  to  a  thing  future,  when  that 
thing  was  paft,  and  (o  ceafed  to  be  future,  the 
Relation,  furely,  grounded  upon  that  Futu- 
rity muft  needs  ceafc  alfo.     In  a  Word,  if  to 
fulfil  a  Prophecy  be  to  defiroy  it,  then  Chrift 
by    abrogating  the  Ceremonial  Law  may  be 
faid  alfo  to  have  deftroyed  it.     A  Prophecy 
fulfilled  is  no  longer  a  Prophecy  i  the  very 
Y  I  Subjedt 


^z6        A  Sermon  preached 

Subjcd  Matter  of  it  being  hereby  took  away; 
So  a  Type  is  no  longer  a  Type  wlicn  the 
Thing  typified  comes  to  be  actually  exhibi- 
ted. But  the  Jews^  who  ftrip  d  all  thcfe  things 
from  any  Relation  to  a  Spiritual  Defign, 
thought  that  their  Temple  was  to  ftand  for 
ever;  rheir  CircumciHon  and  Sabbaths  to  be 
perpetual,  their  New-Moons  never  to  change, 
and  the  difference  of  Meats,  and  of  clean 
and  unclean  Bcafl  to  be  unalterable.  For  alas, 
poor  ignorant  Wretches!  All  their  Pvcligion 
(as  they  had  made  it)  was  only  to  hate  Hogs, 
and  to  butcher  Sheep  and  Oxen.  A  Religi- 
on which  they  might  very  well  have  pradif- 
ed,  had  they  facrificed  to  no  other  God^  but 
their  Belly.  Having  thus  Ihewn  the  Unrea- 
fonablenefs  of  the  Jews  Exceptions  againft 
Chrift;  I  come  now  to 

3.  The  Third  and  Lafl  Thing,  which  is  to 
fhew,  that  they  had  great  Reafon  for  the  con- 
trary, high  Arguments  to  induce  them  to  re- 
ceive and  embrace  him  for  their  MeJJias.  It  is 
not  the  Bufmefs  of  an  Hour,  nor  of  a  Day  to 
draw  forth  all  thofe  Rcafons  which  make  for 
this  Purpofe,  and  to  urge  them  according  to 
their  full  Latitude  and  Dignity:  and  there- 
fore being  to  fpeak  to  thofe,  who  need  not  be, 

convinc'd 

4 


at  St.  MaryV,  Oxon.  327 

convinc'd  of  that  which  they  believe  already, 
I  fhall  mention  but  two,  and  thofe  very 
briefly. 

I.  The  Firft  fhalfbe  taken  from  this  jThat 
all  theSigns  and  Marks  of  the  MeJJiah  did  moft 
eminently  appear  in  Chrift  :  Of  all  which  Signs 
I  fliall  fix  upon   one   as  the   moft   notable, 
which  is  the  Time  of  his  coming.     It  was  ex- 
actly when  the  Sceftre,  (or  Government)  was 
departed   from    Jiidah ,   according   to   that 
Prophecy  of  J/zr(?^ :  And  at  the  end  of  ©^- 
niel''i>  Weeks ;  at  which  time  he  foretold  that 
the  MejJiah  fliould  come.  Upon  a  Confide- 
ration  of  which  one  of  their  own  Rabbles 
but  fifty  Years  before  Chrift,  faid  that  it  was 
impoflible  for  the  coming  of  the  MeJJiah  to 
be  deferred  bcyond^^/  Years :  A  Proportion 
of  Time  vaftly  different  from  that  of  above 
Jixteen  hundred,  and  yet  after  this  alfo,  they 
can  hear  no  Newsoffuch  ^  MeJJiah  as  they 
exped.     The  fame  T>aniel  alfo  affirms,  that 
after  the  coming  and  cutting  off  of  the  Mef. 
(iah,  the  City  and  the  Temple  fhould  be  de- 
ftroycd  :  As  clear  therefore  as  it  is,  that  the 
City  and  Temple  are  deftroyed,  fo  clear  is  it 
that  their  Mefjiah  came  before  that  Dcftruc- 
tion.  From  all  which  we  may  well  infift  upon 
that  Charge  made  againft  them  by  our  Saviour, 
Y  4  ,  Te 


3 1 8         A  Sermcn  preached 

e  Fools,  ye  can  difcern  the  Face  of  the  Skjy 
and  of  the  Heavens,  but  how  is  it  that  ye  do 
not  difcern  this  Time  ?     A  Tiaic  as  evident 
as  if  it  were  pointed  out  by  a  Sun-Beam  upon 
a  Dial.  And  therefore  the  modern  Jewsht^ 
ing  pinched  with  the  Force  of  this  Argument, 
fly  to  their  old  ftale  Evafion,  That  the  Pro- 
niife  of  the  Time  of  the  MeJ/iah's  coming  was 
not  abfolute  but  conditional ;  which  Condi- 
tion failing  upon  the  great  Sins  of  the  JewSy 
the  time  of  his  coming  has  been  accordingly 
defer'd,     But  this  Anfwcr  figniiies  nothing: 
For  the  very  Defign  of  the  Meffiah's  coming, 
was  to  take  away  Sins  and  be   a  Propitiati- 
on for  them,  even   according  to  their  own 
Rabbies  Words  and  Confeflion :  And  there- 
fore it  is  ridiculous  to  make  the  Jews  Sins 
the  Hindtanccs  of  his  coming,  when  he  made 
the  Atonement  of  Sins  the  chief  Reafon  why 
he  fhould  come.  In  a  Word,  if  the  Mejfiah 
was  to  come  within  fuch  a  certain  Period  of 
Time,  (which  Time  is  long  fmce  expired\ 
and  while  the  City  and  Temple  were  yet 
ftanding,  which  fhortly  after  Chrift's  com- 
ing were  demolifhed  -,  then  either  that  Jefus 
was  the  Meffiah ,  or  let  them  fhew   fonie 
other  about  that  Time,  to  whom  th^t  Title 
might  better  belong. 

a.  A 


at  St,  Mary\  Oxon.        329 

2.  A  fecond  Rcafon  fhall  be  taken  from 
the  whole  Courfe  and  Tenor  of  Chrift's  Beha- 
viour amongft  x^cje'-^s.  Every  Miracle  that 
he  did  was  an  ad  of  Mercy  and  Charity,  and 
defigned  to  Cure  as  well  as  to  convince.  He 
went  about  dolnggood^  he  converfed  amongft 
them  like  a  walking  Baljamy  breathing  Health 
and  Recovery  wherefoever  he  came.     Shew 
me  To  much  as  one  Miracle  ever  wrought  by 
him  to  make  a  Man  lame  or  bind,    to  in- 
commode an  Enemy,  or  to  revenge  himfelf  5 
Or  fhew  me  any  one  done  by  him  to  fervc 
an  earthly  Intereft.     As  for  Gain  and  Gold 
he  renounced  it.     Poverty  was  his  Fee,  and 
the  only  Recompence  of  all  kis  Cures:    And 
had  he  not  ben  fold  till  ho,  fold  himfelf,  the 
High   Pr lefts    might   have  kept  their  thirty 
pieces  of  Silver  for  a  better  ufe.     Nor  was 
Eame  and  Honour  the  Bait  that  allured  him : 
For  he  defpifed  a  Kingfhij?,  and  regarded  not 
their  Hofannds.     He  embraced  a  Crofs^  and 
declined  not  the  Shame.     And  as  for  Pleafure 
and  Softnefs  of  Life,  he  was  fo  far  from  the 
leaft  Approach  to  it,  that  he  had  not  where  to 
lay  his  Head-,  while  the  Foxes  of  the  World 
had  very  warm  places  where  to  lay  theirs. 
He  lived  as  well  as  wrought  Miracles.     Mi- 
racles pf  Aullerityj  fading,  and  Praying,  long 

Journeys, 


330         A  Sermon  preached 

Journeys,  and  coarfe  Receptions  5  fo  that  if 
\vc  compare  his  Dodrine  with  his  Example, 
his  very  Trecepts  were  T>ifpenfations  and  In- 
dulgencies,  in  comparifon  of  the  Rigours  he 
impojed  xy^ow  himfelf. 

Let  the  Jews  therefore,  who  (hall  except 
againfl  Chrift  as  an  Impoftor,  (as  they  all  do) 
declare  what  carnal  or  fecular  Intereft  he  drove 
at  3  and  if  not,  what  there  is  in  the  Nature  of 
Man,  that  can  prompt  him  to  an  endurance 
of  ailthefe  Hardlhips :  to  ferve  no  temporal 
End  or  Advantage  whatfoever.  For  did  ever 
any  fober  Perfon  toil  and  labour,  and  at 
length  expofc  himfelf  to  a  cruel  Death,  only 
to  make  Men  believe  that  which  he  neither 
did  nor  could  believe  himfelf?  And  fo  by 
dying  iriy  and  for  a  lye,  muft  procure  him- 
felf  ^Damnation  in  the  next  World,  as  well 
as  T>eJim^ion  in  this?  But  if,  for  all  this, 
they  will  ftill  make  Chrift  a  Deceiver,  they 
muft  introduce  upon  Mankind  new  Principles 
of  adling,  cancel,  and  overturn  the  old  ac- 
knowledged Methods  of  Nature ;  and,  in  a 
word,  either  affirm  that  Chrift  was  not  a 
Man,  or  that  he  was  influenced  by  Ends  and 
Inclinations  contrary  to  all  the  reft  of  Man- 
kind :  one  of  which  muft  unavoidably  fol* 
low  3  but  neither  of  them  ought  to  be  admit- 
ted. 


at  St,  Mary'5,  Oxoii.        331 

ted,  where  Senle  or  Reafon  is  lb  much  as 
pretended  to. 

And  thus  I  have  at  length  finifhed  what 
I  firft  propofed  to  be  difcourfed  of  from  thefe 
Words,  He  came  to  his  own,  and  his  own 
received  him  not.  In  which,  that  Men  may 
not  run  thcmfelvcs  into  a  dangerous  Miftaket 
by  thinking  the  Jews  the  only  Perfons  con- 
cerned in  thefe  Words,  and  confequently  that 
the  Guilt  here  charged  upon  them  could  af- 
iz^  none  elfej  we  muft  know,  that  although 
upon  the  fcore  of  the  Natural  Cognation  be- 
tween Chrift  and  the  Jews,  the  Text  calls 
them  by  that  appropriating  Chara(n:er  his 
own,  and  accordingly  fpcaks  of  his  coming 
to  them  ^s  fuch  ;  yet  that  ail  the  Nations  of 
the  World,  who  have  had  the  Gofpel  preach- 
ed unto  them,  are  as  really  his  own,  as  any 
of  the  Race  of  Abraham  could  be,  (if  thofc 
may  be  called  his  own  whom  he  had  fo 
dearly  bought)  and  confequently  that  we  are 
as  capable  of  having  Chrifl  come  to  us,  as 
the  Jews  themfelves  were.  And  accordingly 
he  adually  has,  and  every  Day  does  come  to 
us  j  not  in  the  fame  manner,  indeed,  but 
to  the  fame  Purpofe  j  Not  in  the  Form  of  a 
Servant,  but  with  the  Majefty  of  a  Savi- 
our s  that  is  to  fay,  he  comes  to  tis  in  his 

Word. 


3  }  2<         A:  Sermon  preached 

Word,  in  his  Sacraments,  and  in  all  the  Be- 
nefts  of  his  Incarnation  j  and  thofc  exhibi- 
ted to  us  with  as  much  Reality  and  Effe^,  as 
if  with  our  very  Eyes  we  beheld  the  Per- 
fon  of  our  Benefa6for.  And  then  on  the 
other  hand,  as  we  are  altogether  as  capable 
of  his  coming  to  us,  as  his  Kindred  and  Con- 
temporaries the  Jews  themfelves  were  j  fo 
arc  we  likewife  as  capable  of  not  receiving 
him,  as  thofe  Wretches  were  or  could  be. 
And  therefore  let  no  Man  flatter  himfeif 
with  reference  to  Chrift,  as  the  Jews,  m 
much  the  like  cafe,  did  with  reference  to  the 
old  Prophets  j  boafting  (foriooth)  that  had 
they  lived  in  the  T>ays  of  their,  Fathers  they 
would  have  had  no  hand  in  the  Blood  of  thofe 
holy  Meffengers  of  God,  Mat.  xxiii.  30.  Let 
no  vicious  Perfon,  I  fay,  though  never  fo  no- 
ted, and  profeft  a  Chriftian,  conclude  from 
hence,  that  had  he  lived  when  and  where  our 
Saviour  did,  nothing  could  have  induced  him 
to  ufe  him  as  thofe  Mifcreants  had  done.  For 
though  I  know  that  fuch  Men,  (  as  bad  as 
they  are)  do  with  great  Confidenc^e  aver  all 
this,  and  think  themfelves  in  very  good  ear- 
ned, while  they  do  foj  yet  as,  in  general* 
he  who  thinks  he  Q2ir\noi  deceive  himfelf,  does 
not  fufficiently  know  himfelf  5  So,  in  this  par- 
ticular 


at  St,  Mary'i,  Oxon.  3J3 

ticular  Cafe,  every  Hypoctite  or  wicked  Li- 
ver profefling  Chriftianity,  while  he  thinks 
and  Ipeaks  in  this  manner,  is  really  impof- 
ing  upon  himfelf  by  a  falfc  Pcrfiiaiion ;  and 
would  ( though  he  may  not  know  To  much ) 
have  born  the  very  fame  Malignity  towards 
our  Saviour,  which  thofe  Jews  are  recorded 
to  have  done ;  and  under  the  fame  Circum- 
ftances  would  have  infallibly  treated  him 
with  the  fame  Barbarity.  Por,  why  did  the 
Jews  themfelves  ufe  him  fo  ?  Why  ?  be- 
caufe  the  Dodrines  he  preached  to  them 
were  diredly  contrary  to  their  Lulls  and  cor- 
rupt Affedions,  and  defeated  their  Expeda- 
tions  of  a  worldly  MeJJias,  who  fhould  have 
anfwered  their  fenfual  Defires  with  the 
Plenties  and  Glories  of  fuch  an  earthly 
Kingdom,  as  they  had  wholly  fet  their  grofs 
Hearts  and  Souls  upon.  Accordingly,  Let 
us  now  but  fhift  the  Scene,  and  fuppofc 
Chrift  in  Perfon  preaching  the  fame  Doc- 
trines amongft  us,  and  withall  as  much  ha- 
ted and  run  down  for  an  Impoftor  by  the 
whole  National  Power,  Civil,  and  Ecclefi- 
aftical,  as  it  then  fared  with  him  amongft 
the  Jews  \  and  then  no  doubt  we  fhould  fee 
all  fuch  vicious  Perfons,  finding  themfelves 
prick'd  and  galled  with  his  fevere  Precepts, 

quickly 


334  -^  Sermon  preached 

quickly  fall  in  with  the  Stream  of  publick 
Vogue  and  Authority,  and  as  eagerly  fet  for 
the  taking  away  his  Life,  as  againji  reform- 
ing their  own.     To  which  we  may  further 
add  this.  That  our  Saviour  himfelt  pafles  the 
very  fame  Eftimate  upon  every  fuch  wick- 
ed Profelfor  of  his  Gofpel,  which  he  then 
did  upon  the  Jews  themfclves,  in  that  his 
irrefragable  Expoftulation  with  them,    fVhy 
call  ye  me  Lord^  Lordy  and  do  not  the  things 
that  I  command  you  ?  Luke  vi.  46.  imply- 
ing thereby,  That  this  was  the  greateft  Hof- 
tility  and  Affront,  that  Men  could  pofubly 
pafs  upon  him.     And  no  doubt,    but  the 
Jews  themfelves,    who  avowedly   rejeded 
Chrift,  and  his  Doftrine,  out  of  any  almoft 
invincible  Prejudice  infufed  into  them  by 
their  Teachers  and  Rulers,  concerning  the 
utter  Inconfiftency   of  both  with  the  Mo- 
faick  Conftitution,   were    much  more  ex- 
cufable  before  God,  than  any  Chriftians  can 
be,  who  acknowledging  the  Divine  Autho- 
rity both  of  his  Terfon,  and  his  Gofpel^  do 
yet  reverfe  and  contradid  that  in  their  Lives 
and  Adions,   which    they    avow   in    their 
Creeds,  and  folemn  declarations.    Por  he 
who  prefers  a  bafe  Pleafure   or  Profit  be- 
fore Chrift,  j^/V J  in  his  Face^   as  much  as 

the 


at  St.  Mary'5,  Oxon^  3jj 

he  Jews  did :  And  he  who  debauches  his 
immortal  Soul,  and  proftitutes  it  to  the  vile 
and  low  Services  of  Luft  and  Senfuality,  cru- 
cifies  his  Saviour  afrefh,  and  puts  him  to  as 
open  a  Shame  as  ever  Pontius  Tilate,  the  high 
Prieft,  or  thofe  mercenary  Tools,  the  very 
Soldiers  themfelves  did.  They  do  not  in- 
deed//Vrr^  his  Side,  but  (what  is  worfe) 
they  ftrike  a  Dagger  into  his  Heart: 

And  now,  if  the  palling  of  all  thefe  Indig- 
nities upon  one,  who  came  into  the  World 
only  to  fave  it  (and  to  redeem  thofe  very 
Perfons  who  ufed  him  fo)  is  not  able  to 
work  upon  our  Ingenuity,  fhould  not  the 
Confequences  of  it  at  leaft  work  upon  our 
Fears,  and  make  us  coniider,  whether,  as 
we  alFed  to  Jin  like  the  Jews,  it  may  not 
be  our  Doom  to  fidffer  like  the  Jews  too  ? 
To  which  purpofe,  let  us  but  reprefcnt 
to  our  felves  the  woful  Eftate  oijenifakm 
bleeding  under  the  Rage  and  Rapine  of  the 
Roman  Armies  j  together  with  that  Face 
of  Horror  and  Confufion,  which  then  fac 
upon  that  wretched  People,  when  the  caft. 
ing^  oft  their  Mejjias  had  turned  their  Ad- 
vacate  into  their  Judge,  their  Saviour  into 
their  Enemy  s  and  by  a  long  Refufal  of  his 

Merc/, 


33^  -^  Sermon  preached 

Mercy,  made  them  ripe  for  the  utmoft  Exe- 
cutions of  his  Jiiftice.  After  which  proceed- 
ing of  the  Divine  Vengeance  againft  luch  Sin- 
ners, fhould  it  not  (one  would  think)  be  both 
the  Inter  eft  and  Wifdom  of  the  ftouteft  and 
moft  daring  Sinners  in  the  World,  forthwith 
to  make  Peace  with  their  Redeemer  upon 
his  own  Terms  ?  And,  (as  hard  a  Leflbn  as 
it  feems)  to  take  his  Toke  upon  their  Necks* 
rather  than  with  tfie  Jews  to  draw  his  Blood 
upon  their  Heads  -,  efpecially  fmce  one  of 
the  two  muft  and  will  alTuredly  be  their  Cafe  : 
For  the  Methods  of  Grace  are  fixed,  and  the 
Meafures  ftated :  And  as  little  Allowance  o 
Mercy  will  be  made  to  fuch  Chrijiians,  as  re. 
jed  Chrift  in  his  Laws,  as  to  thofe  very  Jews 
who  nailed  him  to  the  Crofs. 

In  fine,  Chrift  comes  to  us  in  his  Ordi- 
nances, with  Life  in  one  Hand,  and  T)eath 
in  the  other.  To  fuch,  as  receive  him  not, 
he  brings  the  abiding  Wrath  of  God,  a  pre- 
fent  Curfe,  and  a  future  Damnation :  But 
to  as  many  as  pjall  receive  him  (according  to 
the  Expreflion  immediately  after  the  Text) 
he  gives  Tower  to  become  the  Sons  of  God' 
That  is,  in  other  Words,  to  be  as  happy, 
both  in  this  World,  and  the  next,  as  infinite 
4-  Goodnefs 


at  St,  Mary'i,  Oxon.^         337 

Goodnefs  acting  by  infinite  Wtfdom  can  make 
them. 

To  him  therefore^  who  alone  can  do  fiich 
great  Things  for  thofe  who  fefve  him, 
be  rendred  and  afrribed,  as  is  moft  due-> 
all  Traife,  Might,  Majefty,  and  T>omi- 
nion,both  now  and  for  evermore.  Amen* 


3s'^ 


V  o  h.  Ill 


<nL    S  £  K,'' 


3  3  8  ^  Sermon  preached 


A 

S  E  R  M   ON' 

Preached  on 

GOOD-FRIDAY, 

A  T  \ 

I 

Chrift-Church,  Oxon. 

Before  the 

UNIVERSITY,! 

O    N  ■ 

March  ^^  loth.    \66%. 

i 
— .  I 

Ifaiah  liii.  8.  latter  part.  ] 

i For  the  TranJgreJJion  of  my  People  was  \ 

he  ftricken. 

THIS  great  and  eloquent  Prophet  the 
Evangelift  of  the  Jew'tjh  Church  (as  \ 
without  any  Impropriety  he  may  be  called)  : 
from   V.  13.  of  the  foregoing  Chapter  to  1 
the  end  of  this,  feems  wrapt  up  with  the  ■ 

Con-  i 


^/ Chrift- church,  Oxon.      339 

Contemplation  of  a  Great  Terfon  under 
ftrangc  and  unufual  Afflictions,  \vhoie  Cha- 
rader,  with  all  the  Heights  of  Rhetorick 
which  the  Genius  ofGV/V/'anci  Trophecyxo- 
gether  could  raife  him  to,  he  here  fets  him- 
felf  with  full  purpofe  to  defcribe.  In  all  which 
Defcription  there  is  no  one  Paflage  which 
does  not  fpeak  fomething  extraordinary  and 
fupernaturaloi\S\tY^iiowdefcr'tbed^  and  with- 
al reprefent  the  Defcriber  of  it  in  the  highcft 
degree  of  Ecftafy  and  Rapture  y  fo  that  no- 
thing could  tranfcend  the  Height  of  the  Ex- 
prejjion  but  the  Sublimity  of  its  Subje^.  For 
ftiii  it  fallens  upon  him  the  Marks  and  To- 
kens of  fomething  more  than  a  Man,  indeed 
more  than  a  Creature-,  afcribing  Aftions  to 
him  which  furmount  any  created  Power,  and 
fo  vifibly,  upon  all  Principles  of  Reafon,  above 
the  Strength  and  Reach  of  the  ftrongeft  Arm 
of  Flepjy  that  if  the  Perfon  here  fpoken  of  be 
but  a  Man,  I  am  fure  it  requires  the  Wit  of 
more  tharh  a  Man  to  make  Senfe  of  the  Pro- 
phecy. Who  that  great  Perfon  therefore 
was,  here  fo  magnificently  fet  forth  by  the 
Prophet,  is  the  thing  now  to  be  enquired 
into.  In  which  Enquiry  we  fhall  find  fevc- 
ral  Opinions,  and  every  one  of  them  pre- 
tending to  give  the  right  Interpretation  of 

Z  %  the 


3  4^  A  Sermon  preached 

the  Place.  I  fhall  redace  them  all  to  thefe  two. 

Firfty   The  Opinion  of  the  ancient. 

Secondly,  The  Opinion  of  fome  later  In- 
terpreters. 

Firft,  As  for  the  ancient  Interpreters,  I  may 
boldly  and  truly  fay,  that  it  was  the  general 
Senfe  of  all  the  old  Jewijh  Rabbles,  that  the 
Perfon  intended  in  this  Prophecy  was  the 
Mejjlas.  Take  the  Affirmation  of  Rabbi  Al- 
fchech  in  his  Comment  upon  this  Prophecy, 
Rabbini  noftri  beat£  memori£  tino  oreftatimnt 
juxta  receptam  traditionem  hie  de  Rege  Mef- 
(ia  fermonem  ejfe.  And  tho'  their  Opinion  of 
the  temporal  Greatnefs  of  the  Meflias  might 
(if  any  thing)  tempt  them  to  draw  this  Pro- 
phecy another  way,  (fuicc  it  declares  the  low, 
abjed^,  and  opprcfTed  Condition  of  the  Per- 
fon here  treated  of)  yet  to  fhew  that  ^fiijfer- 
ing  MeJJlas  was  no  fuch  Paradox  in  the  Divi- 
nicy  oiihz  ancient  Jewijh  Rabbies,  it  was  a 
conftant  received  Speech  among  them,  that 
dividing  all  the  Afflictions  of  the  People  of 
God  into  three  Parts,  one  third  was  to  fall 
upon  the  Meffias. 

And  as  for  the   Dodors  and  Fathers  of 
the  Chriftian  Church,  they  do  all  with  one 
unanimous  Breath  declare  this  to  be  a  Pro- 
phecy 


at  Ch  rift- Church  J  Oxon.      341 

phccy  of  the  MeJJias^  and  this  AlejfJJas  to  be 
JefiiS  Chrifl.  And  lb  full  arc  they  to  thispur- 
pofe,  that  Efaias  upon  the  Account  of  this 
Prophecy  is  filled  by  fome  of  them  ^i;^;?^^- 
Irlia,  and  ^ auliis prophet icus .  Nor  was  ever 
the  Icaft  Intimation  given  of  any  other  Senfc 
ot  it,  till  a  little  before  this  lall  Century,  a 
new  Chrifiianity  has  endeavoured  to  get  foot- 
ing in  the  Chr'tfttan  World. 

Second,  The  other  Opinion  is  of  the  later 
Interpreters,  amongft  which  I  account  the 
Jewijh,  that  is,  fuch  as  have  wrote  after  a 
Thoufand  Years  fmce  Chrift's  Time,  whofe 
Opinion  in  this  Matter  will  be  found  to  have 
this  eminent  Property  of  Fa^jityj  that  it  is  very 
'various.  For  having  departed  from  the  old 
received  Interpretation  ,  they  are  no  ways 
agreed  what  they  fhall  ilibftitute  in  the  room 
of  it.  Some  will  have  the  Subjed  of  this 
Prophecy  to  have  been  the  People  oilfrael. 
Some  indefinitely  any  juflor  righteous  ^er- 
Jon.  Some  affirm  it  to  have  been  Jofiah  i 
and  one  [among  the  rcfl  will  needs  have  the 
Perfon  here  fpoken  of  to  have  been  the  Pro- 
phet Jeremy.  The  Authors  of  each  of  which 
Opinions  give  us  fuch  infipid  Stories  upon 
this  Chapter,  as  are  fitter  to  be  ufhcrcd  in 
Z  3  with 


3  41-        A  Sermon  preached 
with  the  grave  and  folemn  Preface  of  [  once 
upon  a  time  1  than  to  be  accounted  Interpreta- 
tions of  the  Word  of  God. 

He  who  contends  for  the  Prophet  Jeremy ^ 
is  one  Rabbi  Saadias  HaggaoUy  and  he  ftands 
alone,  not  being  countenanced  by  any  of  his 
'Jewtjh  Brethren,  till  one  in    the   Chrijtian 
Church  thought  fit  to  be  his  Second,  and  out 
of  his  Zeal  (forfooth)  to  the  Chrifiian  Faithy 
to  wrelf  one  of  the  ftrongeft  Arguments  out 
of  the  Hands  of  the  Chriftian  Church,  which 
it  has  fought  with  againfl:  Judaifm  ever  fince 
jt  was  a  Church.     And  thus   much  I  fhall 
with    Confidence   (  becaufe  with  Evidence ) 
affirm,  that  if  fuch  Prophecies  may  be  proved 
to  have  had  their  fir fi  and  literal  Completion 
in  the  Perfon  of  any  befides  Jefits  of  Naza^ 
rethj  all  Arguments  proving  them  to  belong 
to  him  at  a  fecond  hand,  and  by  Accommo- 
dation (as  the  Word  is)  are  but  vain  and  pre. 
carious  to  the  Jeujs,  who  will,  and  indeed 
upon  his  Hypothefis  may  rejed  them,  as  eafi- 
ly  as  we  can  alledge  them,  and  then  convince 
him  who  can. 

But  how   can  this  Prophecy  be  rnade  to 

agree  to  Jeremy  ?  With  what  Truth  or  Pro. 

priety  could  he  be  faid  to  have  been  exalted 

(in4  extolled,  and  to  have  been  very  htgh^  to 

5  haij^. 


^/ Chrift-Churchj  Oxon.      343 

have  beenftricken  for  our  TranfgreJJions^  and  to 
have  had  the  Iniquity  of  us  all  laid  upon  him? 
How  could  it  be  laid  of  him,  who  fJoali  de- 
clare his  Generation?  And  that  he  Jhould  fee 
his  Seed  and  pro  lo  fig  his  'Days?  And  alio 
that  he  jhould  divide  the  Spoil  vuith  the 
Mighty?  with  the  Uke  Expucllions. 

Why  yes,  fays  our  Expofitor,  he  was  exalt- 
ed, and  very  high,  becaufe  the  Chaldeans  had 
him  in  Admiration,  which  is  yet  more  than 
we  read  of,  and  Thanks  to  a  good  Invention 
for  it :  tho'  it  muft  be  confcfTed,  that  upon 
his  being  drawn  out  of  the  Dungeon  he  was 
fomething  higher  and  more  exalted  than  he 
was  before,  in  the  next  place /?^  was  jlricke^^^ 
for  Tranfgrejfion,  and  had^  our  Iniquities  laid 
upon  him,  becaufe  by  the  Sin  and  injurious 
Dealing  of  the  y^i2;j  he  was  cruelly  and  un- 
worthily ufed,  as  indeed  all  or  moft  of  the 
Prophets  were  both   before   and  after  him. 
And  then  for  that  faying.  Who  {hall  declare 
his  Generation  ?     The  meaning  of  that  we  are 
told  is,  who  fhall  reckon  his  Tears  ?   For  he 
Ihall  live  to  be  very  aged :  tho'  yet  we  know 
no  more  of  his  Age,  but  that  he  propheficd 
about  Forty  Years ;  whereas  Tome  others  have 
prophefied  much  longer,    and    particularly 
Bofeat  who  prophefied  about  Fourfcore.  As 
Z  4  for 


344        ^  Sermon  preached 

for  the  other  Expreflion  of  feeing  his  Seed, 
and  prolonging  his  ^ays,  that  wc  are  taught 
muft  fignify,  that  he  fhould  fee  many  of  his 
Converts  in  Egypt j  where  he  fhould  live  for 
a  long  time.  Tho'  yet  we  read  not  of  any  one 
of  thofc  Converts  J  nor  of  any  inch  prolonging 
his  Days  there,  but  that  it  is  a  conftant  Tra- 
dition of  Antiquity  that  he  died  an  untimely 
difaftrous  Death,  being  knock'd  on  the  Head 
in  Egypt  by  his  wicked  Country-men  with  a 
Puller's  Club.  And  inthelaft  place,  for  his 
dividing  the  Spoil  with  the  Might yy  that  we 
are  informed  was  fulfilled  in  this,  that  Nehti- 
zaradan  Captain  of  the  ChaldeanHo^  (as  we 
tind  it  in  jferefny  xl.  5.)  gave  him  a  Reward 
and  fome  Vi5lttals  (that  is  to  fay,  a  fmall  Sup- 
ply or  Modicum  of  Meat  and  Money  for  his 
prefent  Support)  and  fo  fent  him  away.  A 
worthy  glorious  dividing  of  the  Spoilindczdy 
and  much  after  the  i'ame  rate  that  the  Poor 
may  be  laid  to  divide  the  Spoil,  when  they 
take  their  Shares  of  what  is  given  them  at 
rich  Men's  Doors. 

So  then  we  have  here  an  Interpretation? 
but  as  for  the  Senfe  of  it,  that,  for  ought  I 
fee,  muft  fliift  for  itfelf.  But  whether  thus 
to  drag  and  hale  Words  both  from  Senfe  and 
Context,  and  then  to  fqueezc  whatfoever 

Meaning 


«^  Chrift- church,   Oxon.       345 

Meaning  we  pleafe  out  of  them,  be  not  (as 
I  may  fpeak  with  fome  change  of  the  Pro- 
phet's Phrafe)  to  draw  Lies  with  Cords  of 
Blafphemy,  and  Nonfenfe  as  it  were  with  a 
Cart-rope,  let  any  fober  and  impartial  Hearer 
or  Reader  be  Judge.  For  whatfoever  Titles 
the  Itch  of  Novelty  and  Socinianifm  has 
thought  fit  to  dignify  fuch  immortal^  incom- 
parable,  incoynprehenfible  Interpreters  with,  yet 
if  thefe  Interpretations  ought  to  take  place, 
the  faid  Prophecies  (which  all  before  *  Gro- 
tms  and  the  aforefaid  Rabby  Saadias  unani- 
mouily  fixed,  in  the  firft  Senfe  of  them,  upon. 

the 


*  Having  had  the  Opportunity  and  Happinefs  of  a  fre- 
quent Converfe  with  Dr.  Pocock  (the  late  Hehrew  and  Ara- 
bkk  ProfefTor  to  the  Univeriity  of  Oxon^  and  thegreateH: 
Mafler  certainly  of  the  Eaftern  Languages,  and  Learning, 
■which  this  or  any  other  Age  or  Nation  has  bred)  I  asked 
him  (more  than  once,  as  I  had  occalion)  what  he  thought 
oiGrutius\  Expolition  of  Ifaiah  liii.  and  his  Application 
of  that  Prophecy,  in  the  firll  Scnfc  and  Delign  of  it  to  the 
Perfon  of  the  Prophet  Jeremy  ?  To  which,  fmiltng  and 
jhakwg  his  Hcad^  he  anfwered,  Why,  what  elfe  can  be 
thought  or  faid  of  it,  but  that  in  this  the  Optniatur  over- 
ruled the  Annotator,  and  the  Man  had  a  mind  to  indulge  his 
Fancy  ?  This  Account  gave  that  great  Man  of  it,  tho'  he 
was  as  great  in  Modejly  as  he  was  in  Learning  (greater 
than  which  none  could  be)  and  withal  had  a  particular 
Refped  for  GVt/^/^j-,  as  having  been  perfonally  acquainted 
■with  him.  But  the  Truth  is,  the  Matter  lay  deeper  than 
fo,  for  there  was  a  certain  Party  of  Men  whom  Grotius 
had  unhappily  engaged  himfelf  with,  who  were  extreme- 
ly dilguftedatthe  Book  de  Satisfa^ione  Chrijii^  written 

by 


34<^         ^  Sermon  preached 

the  fole  Perfon  of  the  MeJJiah)  might  have 
been  adually  fulfilled,  and  confequently  the 
Veracity  of  God  in  thefaid  Prophecies  ftrid- 
ly  accounted  for,  tho'  Jefus  of  Nazareth  had 
never  been  born.  Which  being  fo,  would 
any  one  have  thought  that  the  Author  of 
the  Book  de  Veritate  Religionis  Chriftian^^ 
&  de  SatisfaBione  Cbriftiy  could  be  alfo  the 
Author  of  fuch  Interpretations  as  thefe?  No 
Age  certainly  ever  produced  a  mightier  Man 
in  all  forts  of  Learning  than  Grotins^  nor 
more  happily  furniihed  with  all  forts  of  Arms, 
both  offenjive  and  defevfivCy  for  the  Vin- 
dication of  the  Chriftian  Faith,  had  he  not 
in  his  Annotations  too  frequently  turned  the 
Edge  of  them  the  wrong  way. 

Well  therefore,  taking  it  for  manifeft,  and 
that  upon  all  the  Grounds  of  rational  and 
unforced  Interpretation,  that  the  Perfon  here 
ipoken   of   was  the  Mellias,   and  that  this 


by  himagainft  Socinus^  and  therefore  he  was  to  pacify  (or 
rather  fatisfy)  thefe  Men,  by  turning  his  Pen  another 
way  in  his  Annotations^  which  alfo  was  the  true  Reafon 
that  he  never  anfwered  Crelllus ;  a  fhrewd  Argument,  no 
doubt,  to  fuch  as  Ihall  well  confidcr  thefe  Matters,  that 
thofe  in  the  Low  Countries,  who  at  that  time  went  by 
the  Name  of  Remonfirants  and  Arm'imanSy  were  indeed 
a  grt;at  deal  more. 

Mcflias 


^?/Chn{l- church,   Oxon.       347 

Meffias  could  be  no  other  thzn  J efus  of  Na- 
zareth, the  great  Mediator  of  the  lecond 
Covenant,  verjy  God,  and  very  Man,  in  whom 
every  Tittle  of  this  Prophecy  is  moft  exadtly 
verified,  and  to  whom  it  docs  moft  peculiarly 
and  incommunicably  agree:  We  (hall  pro- 
ceed now  to  take  an  Account  of  the  feveral 
Parts  of  the  Text,  in  which  we  have  thefe 
three  Things  confiderable. 

Firft,  The  Suffering  itfelf,  he  wasfiricken. 
Secondly,    The  Nature  of  the   Suffering,- 
which  was  penal,  and  expiatory:   he  was 
ftricken  for  Tranfgreffion :  And, 

Thirdly,  The  Ground  and  Caufe  of  this  SuL 
fering,  which  was  God's  Propriety  in,  and 
Relation  to  the  Perfon  for  whom  Chrift  was 
ftricken,  implied  in  this  Word,  My  People : 
For  the  Tranfgreffion  of  my  F^eople  was  he 
firicken. 

Of  each  of  which  in  their  order  :  And, 
Firfl,  For  the  Suft^ering  it  felf :  He  was 
firicken.  The  very  Word  imports  Violence 
and  Invafion  from  without.  It  was  not  a 
Suffering  upon  the  Stock  of  the  meer  inter- 
nal Weaknelfes  of  Nature,  which  carries  the 
Seeds  and  Caufesof  its  DifTolution  in  its  own 
Bowels,  and  fo  by  degrees  withers  and  de. 
cays,  and  at  length  dies,  like  a  Lamp  that 

for 


34S         A  Sermon  preached 

for  want  of  Oilcan  burn  no  longer,  but  like 
a  Torch  in  its  full  Flame  beat  and  ruffled, 
and  at  length  blown  out  by  the  Breath  of  a 
North  Windj  fo  was  Chrift  dealt  with  in 
the  very  prime  and  vigour  of  his  Years,  be- 
ing by  main  Force  torn  and  ftricken  out  of 
the  World.  Blows  did  the  Work  of  Time, 
and  Stripes  and  Spears  were  inftead  of  y^^  to 
put  a  Period  to  his  afflided  Life.  Now  the 
Greatnefs  of  this  Suffering  will  be  made  out 
to  us  upon  thefe  three  Accounts. 

Firji,  Upon  the  Account  of  the  Latitude 
and  Extent  of  it. 

Secondly^  Of  the  Intenfenefs  and  Sharp- 
nefs  of  it:  And, 

Thirdlj,  Of  the  Terfon  infliding  it. 

Firjiy  As  for  the  Latitude  or  Extent  of  it. 
The  Blow  rcach'd  every  Part  of  his  Huma- 
nity, carrying  the  Grief  all  over,  till  by  an 
univerfal  Diffufion  ofitfelf  it  entred,  accord- 
ing to  the  Pialmift's  Exprellion,  like  Water 
into  his  Bowels j  or  like  Oil  into  his  Bones* 
It  fpread  itfelf  into  every  Part  of  his  Body^ 
as  if  it  had  been  another  SouL  Nothing  was 
free  from  fuffering  that  could  fuffcr.  Suffer^ 
ing  feemed  to  be  his  Portion,  his  Inheri- 
tance, nay,  his  very  Property.  Even  the 
Religion  that  he  came  to  propagate  and  efta- 

bliih 


at  Chrlft-Church,  Oxon.      349 

blifh  was  a  fuffering  Religion,  and  by  the  fe. 
vereft  Method  of  Eftablifhment  he  gave  the 
firft  and  the  greatcft  Inftance  of  it  in  himfelf. 
He  who  would  recount  every  Part  of  Chrift 
that  fuffcred  muft  read  a  Lecture  oi  Anatomy, 
From  the  Crown  of  the  Head  to  the  Sole  of  the 
Foot  there  was  nothing  but  the  Traces  of  Pain 
and  Suffering  :  they  made  long  Furrows  upon 
his  Back  (  fays  the  Pfalmift )  they  did,  as  it 
were,  tear  and  plow  up  his  innocent  Body. 
In  his  Perfon  we  might  have  feen  Grief  in  its 
Height  and  Supremacy,  Grief  triumphant, 
crown' d,  and  arrayed  in  y^r//<?,  Grief  reign- 
ing, and  doing  the  utmoft  that  it  was  able. 
It  is  a  Subjed  too  well  known,  and  too  frc. 
quently  difcourled  of,  to  make  Defcriptions 
of  the  Thorns,  the  Spears,  and  the  Nails,  that 
adcd  their  fevcral  Parts  in  this  Tragedy, 
and  that  fo,  that  the  very  Narrative  of  our 
Saviour's  TaJ/ion  cannot  but  beget  another 
in  every  pious  Hearer  of  it.  But  when  we 
have  faid  the  utmoft  of  his  bodily  Sufferings, 
we  ftill  know  that  Nature  has  provided  a 
Support  able  to  make  and  ftand  up  againfl: 
all  thefe  :  for  the  Strength  and  Firmnefs  of  a 
refolved  Mind  will  bear  a  Man  above  his  In. 
firmity^  as  the  Breath  bears  up  the  Body  from 

finking : 


3  5  o  A  Sermon  preached 

finking:  But  when  the  Supporter  itfelf fails, 
when  the  primum-^'vivens  and  the  ulttmiim 
moriens  has  had  a  mortal  Blow,  and  the  Iron 
enters  into  the  'very  SouU  the  baffled  Nature 
niuft  Turrender  and  quit  the  Combat,  unlefs 
feconded  and  held  up  by  fomething  greater 
and  mightier  than  itfelf.  And  this  was  our 
Saviour's  Condition.  There  was  a  Sword 
which  reaclVd  his  very  Spirit ,  and  pierced 
his  Soulj  till  it  bled  thro'  his  Bodyy  for  they 
were  the  Struggles  and  Agonies  of  the  in- 
ward Man,  the  Labours  and  Strivings  of 
his  reftlefs  Thoughts,  which  caft  his  Body 
into  that  prodigious  Sweat.  For  tho'it  was 
the  Flelh  thzt /weated,  it  was  the  Spirit  that 
took  the  ^ains.  It  was  that  which  was  then 
treading  the  fVine-prefs  of  God's  Wrath  alone y 
till  it  made  him  red  in  his  Apparel ,  and 
dyed  all  his  Garments  with  Blood.  What 
Thought  can  reach,  or  Tongue  exprefs,  what 
our  Saviour  then  felt  within  his  own  Breaft ! 
The  Image  of  all  the  Sins  of  the  World,  for 
which  he  was  to  fuffer,  then  appeared  clear 
and  lively,  and  exprefs  to  his  Mind.  All  the 
vile  and  horrid  Circumftances  of  them  flood 
(as  it  were)  particularly  ranging  before  his 
Eyes  in  all  their  difmal  Colours.  He  faw 
ho-iv  much  the  Honour  of  the  Great  God  was 

abufed 


at  Chfift-Church,  Oxon.        351 

abufed  by  them,  and  how  many  Millions  of 
poor  Souls  they  muft  inevitably  have  caft 
under  the  Preffures  of  a  Wrath  infinite  and 
intolerable,  ftiould  he  not  have  turned  the 
Blow  upon  himfelf.  The  Horror  of  which 
then  filled  and  amazed  his  vaft  apprehenfive 
Soul,  and  thofe  Apprehenfions  could  not  but 
affed  his  tender  Heart,  then  brim-full  of  the 
higheft  Zeal  for  God's  Glory,  and  the  moft 
relenting  CompaiTion  for  the  Souls  of  Men, 
till  it  fermented  and  boiled  over  with  Tran- 
fport  and  Agony,  and  even  forced  its  way 
thro*  all  his  Body  in  thofe  ftrange  Ebullitions 
of  Blood,  not  to  be  parallel'd  by  the  Suffer- 
ings of  any  Perfon  recorded  in  any  Hiftory 
vvhatfoever.  It  was  this  which  drew  thofe 
doleful  Words  from  him.  My  Soul  is  exceed- 

ing  forrowful)  &C.  ^za^i^Xvyrog  \<Ttv  )j  if'U^)?  fxa.  It 
was  furroundcd,  and  (as  it  were)  beficgcd 
with  an  Army  of  Sorrows.  And  believe  it, 
his  Soul  was  too  big,  and  of  too  ftrong  a 
Make  to  bend  under  an  ordinary  Sorrow. 
It  was  not  any  of  thofe  little  things  which 
makes  us  put  the  Finger  in  the  Eye,  as  Lofs 
of  Eftate,  Friends,  Preferment,  Intereft,  and 
the  like,  Things  too  mean  to  raife  a  Tumult 
in  the  Breaft  of  a  refolved  Stoick,  and  much 
l€(s  in  his,  who  both  placed  and  preached 

Hap' 


3  5  t  A  Sermon  preached 

Happinefs,  not  only  in  the  want,  but  in  the 
very  Defiance  of  them. 

And  now  after  this  his  Agony  in  the  Gar- 
den, I  need  not  much  infill  upon  tlie  Wounds 
given  his  Reputation  by  the  Sword  of  a  blaf- 
pheming  Tongue,  the  fharpeft  of  all  others, 
and  which,  like  a  poifoned  Dagger,  hurting 
both  with  Edge  and  Venom  too,  at  the  fame 
time  both  makes  a  Wound  and  prevents  its 
Cure.  Even  a  guilty  Perfon  feels  the  Sting 
of  a  malicious  Report,  and  if  fo,  much  more 
muft  one  who  is  innocent,  and  yet  infinitely 
more  muft  he,  who  was  not  only  innocent, 
but  Innocence  itfelf.  Reputation  is  tender> 
and  for  it  to  be  blown  upon  is  to  be  tainted-^ 
like  a  Glafs,  the  clearer  and  finer  it  is,  the 
more  it  fufFers  by  the  leaft  Breath.  And 
therefore  for  him,  who  came  to  deftroy  the 
Kingdom  of  Satan,  to  be  traduced  as  a  Part- 
ner with,  and  an  Agent  for  Beelzebub :  for 
him,  whofe  greateft  Repafts  were  Prayer 
and  Abftinence,  and  the  mofl  rigid  Severities 
upon  himfelf,  to  be  taxed  as  a  fVine-bibber, 
and  a  good  Fellow  :  for  him  who  came  into 
the  World,  both  in  Life  and  Death  to  bear 
Witnefs  to  the  Truth,  to  fuffer  as  anlmpof- 
tor,  and  a  ^Deceiver ;  what  could  be  more 
I  grievous 


at  Ghrift-Church,  Oxon.      3  j  :; 

grievous  and  a ffl idling  to  a  great  Innocejice, 
joyncd  with  as  great  an  J.pprehcnfionl 

However,  his  Church  gains  this  great  Ad- 
vantage of  Comfort  by  it,  that  the  worft  of 
Sufferings  comes  fandified  to  our  Hands  by 
the  Perfon  of  our  grand  Example,  who  was 
reviled  and  flandcred,  and  tolfed  upon  the 
Tongues  of  Men  before  us.  A  greater  Mar- 
tyrdom qucftioniefs  than  to  be  calf,  as  the 
primitive  Chriilians  v/cre,  to  the  Mouths  of 
Lions,  which  arc  tender  and  mcrciuil  com- 
pared to  the  Mouths  of  Men  5  whether  wc 
look  upon  that  bitter  Spirit  v;hich  aded  in 
thofe  JewSy  or  in  fomc  Chriftians  now  a-days 
worfe  than  Je-ws:  Men,  v/ho  feem  to  have 
out-done  all  before  them  in  the  Arts  of  a 
more  refined  Malice,  and  improved  Calumny. 
Qiialities  lately  fprung  up  out  ofthe  Stock  of 
a  fpreading  Atheifm,  and  domineering,  reign- 
ing Senfuality  j  Sins  no\V  made  National  and 
Authentick,  and  fo  much  both  'judgment  and 
Mercy-proofj  that  it  is  well  if  we  can  be 
cured  without  being  cut  off.  But  to  return  to 
the  Bufinefs  before  us.  We  have  now  fcen 
the  firft  thing  fetting  forth  the  Grcatnefs  of 
this  Suffering ;  to  wit,  the  Latitude  and  Ex- 
tent of  it  J  as  that  it  feized  both  Body  and  Soul, 
and  every  Part  and  Faculty  of  both. 
Vol.  III.  A  a  Secondly 


3  J 4  ^  Sermon  peached 

Secondly,    The  next  thing  declaring   its 
Greatnefs  was  the  Intenfenefs  and  Skarpnefs 
of  it.     We  have  feen  already  \\o^  far  it  went, 
we  are  now  to  confider  how  deep.    It  fell  not 
on  him  like  a  Dew  or  Mift,  which  only  wets 
the  Surface  of  the  Ground,  but  like  a  pouring 
foaking  Rain  which  defcends  into  the  very 
Bowels  of  it.     There  was  Pain  enough  in  e- 
very  fingle  Part  to  have  been  Ipread  in  lefler 
Proportions  over  the  whole  Man.      Chrift 
fufFered  only  the  Exquifitenefs  and  Heights  of 
Pain,  without  any  of  thofe  Mitigations  which 
God  is  pleafed  to  temper  and  allay  it  with  as 
it  befalls  other  Men ;  like  a  Man  who  drinks 
only  the  Spirits  of  a  Liquor  feparated  and  ex- 
tradled  from  the  dull,  unadive  Body  of  the 
Liquor  itfelf.      All  the  Force  and  Activity, 
the  Stings  and  Fiercenefs  of  that  troublefome 
thing  were   (as  it  were)  drain'd  and  diftill'd, 
and  abridg'd  into  thai  Cup  which  Chrift  drank 
of.     There  was  fomething  fharpcr  than  Vi- 
n^gar,  and  bitterer  than  Gaily    which  that 
Draught  was  prepared  and  made  up  with.  Wc 
cannot  indeed  fay,that  the  Sufferings  of  Chrift 
"were  long  in  Duration,  for  to  be  violent  and 
lafting  too,  is  above  the  Methods  or  Meafures 
of  Nature.     But  he  who  lived  at  that  rate, 
that  he  might  be  faid  to  live  an  Age  every 

Hour> 


^/ Chrift-Church,  Oxon.      355 

Hour,  was  able  to  fufFer  fo  too;  and  to  com- 
prize the  grcateft   Torments  in  the  fhorteft 
fpace  5    which  yet  by  their  (hortneis  loft  no- 
thing of  their  Force  and  Keennefs  j  as  a  Pen- 
knife is  2iS  fiarp  as  a  Spear,   thougii  not  fo 
long.     That  which  promotes  and  adds  to  the 
Impreflionsof  Pain,  is  the  delicate  and  exad 
Crafis  and  Conftitution  of  the  Part,  or  Facul- 
ty aggrieved.     And  there  is  no  doubt  but 
the  very  Fabrick  and  Compledion  of  our  Sa- 
viour's Body  was  a  Mafter-piece  of  Nature, 
a  thing  abfolutcly  and  exactly  framed,  and  of 
that  finencfs  as  to  have  the  quickeft  and  molt 
fenfible  Touches  of  every  Objed  5    and  with- 
al to  have  thele  advanced  by  the  Communion 
of  his  admirably  made  Body,   with  his  high 
and  vigorous  Intcllcduals.     All  which  made 
him  drink  in  Pain  more  deeply,    feel  every 
Lafh,  every  Wound  with  fo  much  a  clofer, 
and  a  more  aflfecling  Senfe.  For  it  is  not  to  be 
doubted  but  a  dull  Fellow  can  endure  the  Pa- 
roxyfms  of  a  Fever,  or  the  Torments  of  the 
Gout  or  Stone,  much  better  than  a  Man  of 
a  quick  Mind  and  an  exalted  Fancy  -■,  becaufe 
in  one  Pain  beats  upon  a  Rock  or  an  Anvil^ 
in  the  other  it  prints  itfelf  upon  Wax.  One  is 
even  born  with  a  kind  of  Lethargy  and  Stu- 
pefadion  mto  the  World,  armed  with  an  Iron 
A  a  2  Body 


3^3  '"^  Sermon  preached 

Body  and  a  leaden  Soul  againft  all  the  Ap- 
prehenfions  of  ordinary  Sorrow  j  fo  that  there 
isneedoffome  Pain  to  awaken  fuch  an  one, 
and  to  convince  him  that  he  is  alive  ;  but  our 
Saviour,  who  had  an  Underftandingtoo  quick 
to  let  any  thing  that  was  intelligible  efcape 
|t,  took  in  the  dolorous  affliding  Objed  in 
its  full  Dimenfions.  He  faw  the  utmoft  Evil 
of  every  one  of  thofe  Strokes,  which  the  guilt 
of  our  Sins  inflided  on  him  >  and  what 
his  Eye  faw,  his  Heart  proportionably  felt  : 
For  furely  they  mufl  needs  have  been  incon- 
ceiveably  affliding,  in  the  adual  Endurance, 
which  were  fo  dread  fulin  their  very  Approach 
that  the  Horror  of  them  put  the  Alan  of  God's 
right  Handy  the  Man  made  ftrong  for  that 
very  purpofc,  to  ftart  back,  and  decline  the 
Blow,  could  the  Avoidance  of  it  have  flood 
with  the  Decrees  of  Heaven.  Father ^  if  it  be 
fojjible  let  this  Cttppajsfrom  me:  Which  yet 
was  not  the  Voice  of  Cowardife,  but  of  hu- 
man Nature  j  Nature,  which  by  its  firft  and 
mod  elfcntial  Principle  would  hsLWcfaved  it- 
felfj  might  it  have  confided  with  the  faving 
of  the  World. 

Thirdly,  The  third  thing  fetting  forth  the 
Greatnefs  of  this  Suffering,  is  the  Canfe  and 
Author  of  it,  which  w^as  God  himfelf.     The 

4  Meafure 


^7/ Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       357 

Meafure  of  every  Paflion  is  the  Operation  of 
the  Agent.  And  then,  we  Icnow  what  Om- 
nipotence can  do;  Omnipotence ^;;?/>/<?)'^^ or 
rather  inflamed  by  Jiiflice  5  in  whofe  Quarrel 
it  was  then  engaged.  We  muft  not  meafure 
the  Divine  Strokes  by  the  Proportion  of  thofe 
Blows,  which  are  inflidied  by  the  greatcft  and 
moft  exafpcrated  Mortal ;  the  Condition  of 
whofe  Nature  fets  bounds  to  his  'Pj^x^^r^when 
it  cannot  to  his  Rage:  So  that,  in  the  utmoft 
Executions  of  it  lie  a£ls  but  like  a  Wafp  5  very 
angrily  indeed  5  but  very  weakly.  Every 
Blow  inflided  by  the  fierceft  Tyrant  can 
reach  no  farther  than  the  Body  5  and  the  Bo- 
dy is  but  the  dwelling  Place,  not  any  part  of 
the  Soul  5  and  confcquently  can  no  more  com- 
municate its  Ruins  to  that,  than  a  Man  can 
be  faid  to  be  wounded  in  his  Pcrfon,  becaufe 
a  Wall  of  his  Houfe  was  broken  down.  Up- 
on which  account  there  have  been  fome, 
whofe  Souls  have  been  fo  fortified  with  Phi- 
lofophy,  and  great  Principles  as  to  enable 
them  to  laugh  in  Thalariss  Bull  j  to  fmg  up- 
on the  Rack  5  and  to  defpife  the  Flames.  For 
ftill,  when  God  torments  us  by  the  inftru- 
mental  Mediation  of  the  Creature,  his  Anger 
can  fall  upon  us  in  no  greaterProportions  than 
what  can  pafs  through  the  narrow  Capacities 
A  a  5  of 


358  A  Sermon  preached 

of  a  created  Being.  For  be  the  Fountain  ne- 
ver fo  fall,  yet  if  it  communicates  itfelf  by 
a  little  Pipe,  the  Stream  can  be  but  fmall  and 
inconfiderabie,  and  equal  to  the  Meafures  of 
the  Conveyance.  God  can  no  more  give  his 
'Power ^  than  his  Glory  to  another ;  there  is  no 
mortal  Arm  can  draw  his  Bow:  God  can- 
not thunder  or  lighten  by  Proxy.  He  alone 
is  the  Father  of  Spirits,  and  none  can  reach 
the  Confcience,  but  he  who  made  it :  And 
therefore  being  to  difcharge  the  utmoft  of  his 
vindiclive  Juftice  upon  the  Sins  of  Mankind 
then  charged  upon  our  Saviour,  he  took  the 
Sword  into  his  own  Hand,  entred  the  Lifts, 
and  dealt  with  him  immediately  by  himfelf. 
And  then  we  find  the  Difference  of  our  Sa 
viour's  fuffering  by  the  difference  of  his  Be- 
haviour. While  he  was  bufFetted,  fcourged, 
and  nailed  to  the  Crofs,  we  hear  nothing 
from  him,  but  like  a  Lamb  before  the  Shearers 
he  was  dumb :  Not  becaufe  he  could  not,  but 
becaufe  h.tfcornedx.0  roar  under  the  Imprefli- 
ons  of  a  finite  Anger.  But  when  God  reach- 
ed forth  his  Hand,  and  darted  his  immedi- 
ate Rebukes  into  his  very  Soul  and  Spirit, 
(as  he  did  while  he  was  hanging  upon  the 
Crofs)  then  he  cries  out.  My  God,  my  G-od, 
why  hafl  thouforjaken  me!  Silence  upon  fuch 


rt-/ Chrifl-Church,  Oxon.       jjp 

aLofs  would  have  been  but  Stupidity,  and 
Patience  and  Abfurdity  ;  for  when  God  with- 
drew his  Prefence  from  him,  that  Darknefs 
which  then  covered  the  Face  of  the  whole 
Earth,  was  but  a  faint  Emblem  of  that  black- 
er Cloud  of  Dcfpair  which  had  overcaft  his 
Soul.  It  is  not  poflible  for  us  to  conceive  the 
utmofl:  Weight  of  thofe  heavy  Strokes  inflid- 
ed  by  the  Almighty  himfclf  upon  our  Sa- 
viour. AH  the  Reprefentations  and  little 
Draughts  of  them  made  by  Words  and  Fancy 
are  vaftly  fhort  of  the  keen  hiipreflions  of 
Senfe.  But  yet  that  which  gives  us  the  near- 
eft  Refemblance  of  them,  furcly,  is  the  Tor- 
ment o^2i guilty  Mind  under  a  State  oI'Dcfer- 
tion ;  when  God  fhall  turn  the  JForm  of  Con- 
Jcience  into  a  Scorpion,  and  fmite  it  with  the  fe- 
cret  invifible  Stings  of  his  Wrath,  fuch  as  (hall 
fefter  and  rage  inwardly,  gnaw  and  rake  the 
very  Entrails  of  the  Soul.  The  Burden  and 
Anguifh  of  this  has  been  fomctimes  fo  infup- 
portable,  that  fome  haveprofcffed  themefelves 
to  envy  the  Condition  oVJudas  and  the  dam- 
ned Spirits,  as  i\\\wV\'!\^x\\zEndiirance  of  thofe 
Flames  more  tolerable  than  the  ExpeBation^ 
and  accordingly  have  done  Violence  to  their 
own  Lives,  and  fo  fled  to  Hell  as  to  a  San- 
ftuary,  and  chofe  Damnation  as  a  Releafe. 
A  a  4  Far 


^6o  A  Sermon  preached 

Far  were  fuch  Perfons  (God  knows)  from  bet- 
tering their  Condition  by  completing  tliat 
which  they  could  ncvf  bear  in  the  very  Begin- 
nings and  Foretafts  of  it;  yet  however  it  de- 
monftrates  to  us  the  unfpeakabie  wretched- 
neis  of  a  guilty  Soul,  labouring  under  the 
Hand  of  God.  And  by  the  Vv^ay,  let  the  bold- 
eft,  the  hardcft,  and  the  fecureft  Sinner  know 
that  God  is  able,  without  ever  touching  him 
either  in  his  Eftate,  his  Health,  his  Reputa- 
tion, or  any  other  outward  Enjoyment  dear 
to  him,  but  merely  by  letting  a  few  Drops  of 
his  Wrath  fall  upon  his  guilty  Confcicnce,  fo 
to  fcald  and  gall  him  with  the  lively  Senfe  of 
Sin;i  that  he  fhall  live  a  continual  Terror  to 
himfelf,  carry  about  him  an  Hell  in  his  own 
Bread;  which  fhall  echo  to  him  fuch  Peals  of 
Vengeance  every  Hour,  that  all  the  Wine  and 
Mufick,  all  the  Honours  and  Grcatnefs  of 
the  World  fhall  not  be  able  to  minifter  the 
leaft  eafe  to  his  heart-fick  and  dclponding  Soul. 
Now  in  thefe  Torments  of  a  guilty  Confcience 
we  have  fomc  little  Image  of  the  Pains  then 
fuft'ered  by  our  Saviour,  the  Greatnefs  of  both 
being  founded  upon  the  fame  Reafon  j  name- 
ly, that  God  is  the  fole  and  immediate  In- 
Aider  of  fuch  Strokes :  And  then  furely  the 
fuffering  rnuft  needs  be  grievous,  when  infi- 
nite 


at  Chrift-Chiirchj  OxonV        3^1 

nitc  Juftice  paffes  Sentence^  and  infinite  Pow. 
cr  does  Execution. 

And  thus  I  have  finifhed  the  firft  general 
thing  propofed  from  the  Text,  which  was 
the  Suffering  itfelf,  expreffed  in  thefe  Words, 
he  was  flricken,  and  that  by  confidering 
the  Latitude,  the  Intenfenejs,  and  alfo  the 
Caufe  of  it :  All  of  them  fo  many  Argu- 
ments to  demonftrate  to  us  its  unparalleled 
Greatnefs. 

2.  The  fecond  general  thing  propofed  was 
the  Nature  and  Quality  of  this  Suffering  5 
namely,  that  it  was  penal  and  expiatory, 
he  was  ftrtcken  for  TranfgreJJion.  And  to 
prove  that  it  \J2iS  penal j  there  needs  no  o- 
ther  Argument  to  any  clear,  unbiafTed  Un- 
derftanding  than  the  natural,  genuine  and 
unconflrained  ufe  of  the  Word  :  For  what 
other  Senfe  can  there  be  of  a  Man's  being  [irick' 
en  orfufferingfor  Sin,  but  his  being  puniihed 
for  Sin?  And  that  I  am  fure  is  fpoke  fo 
plain  and  loud  by  the  univerfal  Voice  of  the 
whole  Book  of  God,  that  Scripture  mull  be 
crucified  zs  \Jt\\as  Chrift,  to  give  any  other 
tolerable  Senfe  of  it.  But  fince  Hercfy  has 
made  fuch  bold  Invafions  upon  thofe  facred 
Writings,  we  will  confider  both  thofe  Senfes 
which  thefe  Words  are  alTertcd  to  be  capable 
of.  I .  Firft 


^6z  A  Sermon  preached 

I.  Firftofallthen,  fomc  aflfert,  that  to  be 
ftrickenfor  TranfgreJJion  imports  not  here  a 
^imijhment  for  Sins  part,  but  a  Prevention 
or  taking  away  of  Sin  for  the  future.  So 
that  Chrift  is  faid  to  be  Jtricken,  tofuffeVy  and 
to  die  for  Sin,  becaufe  By  all  this  he  confirm- 
ed to  us  an  excellent  and  holy  Dodrine,  the 
Belief  of  which  has  in  it  a  natural  Aptnefs  to 
draw  Men  off  from  their  Sins.  In  a  word, 
becaufe  Chriftianity  tends  to  make  Men  ho- 
ly, and  ceafe  from  Sin,  and  becaufe  Chrift  by 
his  Blood  fealed  the  Truth  of  Chriftianity, 
therefore  is  he  faid  to  die  for  Sin-,  a  ftrange 
and  remote  Dedudion,  and  fuch  an  one  as  the 
common  Rules  and  Ufe  of  fpeaking  would  ne- 
ver have  fuggefted.  But  then  befides,  becaufe 
it  is  eafy  to  come  upon  the  Authors  of  this  per- 
verfe  Interpretation,  by  demanding  of  them 
"what  Fitnefs  there  could  be  in  Chrift's  Death 
to  confirm  his  Dodrine?  And  what  Reafon 
the  World  could  have  to  believe  Chriftianity 
true,  becaufe  the  Author  of  it,  a  pious,  in- 
nocent, excellent  Perfon  was  bafely  and  cru- 
elly put  to  Death?  Therefore  they  further 
fay,  that  this  Eff*ed  of  its  Confirmation  is  re- 
ally and  indeed  to  be  afcribed  to  his  fubfe- 
qucnt  RefurreBion^  though  only  his  T)eath 
be  ftili  mentioned  j  that  being  the  moft  diffi- 
cult 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.         ^61 

ailt  and  heroick  Paflage  of  all,  that  he  either 
did  or  fufFered  for  our  Sakes,  and  confequent- 
Jy  the  greateft  Inflance  of  his  Patience,  and 
Perfuafion  of  the  Truth  of  that  Doctrine,  for 
which  he  fufFered.  But  by  their  Favour,  if 
Chrift  is  faid  no  otherwife  to  die  for  SiUy  than 
becaufe  he  delivered  a  Dodrine,  the  Defign 
of  which  was  to  draw  Men  off  from  Sin,  and 
which  was  confitm'd  to  be  true  only  by  his 
RefurreBion  5  how  conies  it  to  pafs  that  this 
Effedisftill  joynedwith  his  "Death,  but  ne- 
ver with  his  Refurre^iion  ?  It  being  faid  over 
and  over,  that  he  died  for  Sin,  fuffered  and 
bled  for  Sin,  but  never  that  he  rofe  again 
for  Sin.  It  is,  indeed,  faid  once  that  he 
rofe  again  for  our  Juflification  5  but  in  the 
very  foregoing  Words  it  is  faid,  that  he 
was  delivered  to  Death  for  our  Offences : 
Which  fhews  that  thofe  Words  for  our  Of- 
fences, znd  for  our  Juflif cation,  have  there 
a  very  different  Scnfc,  and  bear  a  different 
Relation  to  the  Words  with  which  they  are 
joined,  in  that,  as  well  as  in  the  other  Scrip- 
tures. But  this  whole  Invention  is  fo  forced 
and  far  fetched,  and  fo  much  out  of  the  Road 
of  common  Reafon,  that  it  is  impollible  it 
fhouldgain,  but  by  the  Strengths  and  Pre- 
poflcflions  of  Prejudices    and  where 'Pr^/'/^- 

dice 


2  (^4  ^  Sermon  pr  e  ached 

dice  ftands  for  Judgment,  for  ought  I  fee.  It 
is  as  vain  to  urge  Arguments  as  to  quote  Scrip- 
tures. 

2.  The  other  Senfe  of  thefe  Words,  and 
which  alone  the  Catliolick  Church  receives 
for  true,  is,  that  Chrifi's  being  flricken  for 
SiUy  figniiies  his  being  punijhed  for  Sin.  The 
Word  \_For'\  in  this  cafe  denoting  the  antece- 
dent meritorious  Caufe  of  his  fufFcring,  and 
not  xkvz  final y  as  the  School  of  Socinus  does 
aQerti  and,  confequently,  muft  diredily  re- 
late to  the  Removal  of  the  guilt  of  Sin,  and 
not  the  ^ower,  as  it  is  alfo  affirmed  by  the 
fame  Perfons.  Now  that  Chrift's  fuffering 
and  being  flricken  for  Tranfgrejfion  imports 
that  fuffering  to  have  been/j^w^/and  expat ory, 
as  it  might  with  the  higheft  Evidence  be  de- 
monftrated  from  feveral  Scriptures  :  So  at 
this  time  I  fhall  confine  myfelf  within  the  Li- 
mits of  the  Chapter,  from  whence  I  took  my 
Text :  And  here  I  fhall  found  the  Proof  of  it 
upon  thefe  two  Exprellions. 

Firfiy  That  Chrift  is  faid  to  have  born  our 
Sins,  in  the  I2th^7.  Now  to  bear  Sin  is  an 
Hebrew  ^hrafe  for  that,  which  in  Latin  is 
Lucre  peccatum,  and  in  Englijh  to  be  punijh- 
ed for  Sin.  And  if  to  bear  another  Man's. 
Sin  or  Iniquity  by  Juffering,  does  not  im- 
ply 


^  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.      3^5- 

ply  the  undergoing  of  the  Punifhmcnt  due 
to  that  Man's  Sin }  we  muft  invent  a  new 
way  of  expounding  profane  Writers  as  well 
as  facred,  and  interpreting  the  common 
Speeches  of  Men,  as  well  as  the  Word  of 
God. 

Secondly^  The  other  Argument  Ihall  be 
taken  from  that  Exprelllon  which  declares 
Chrift  to  have  been  made  a  Sacrifice,  or  an 
Offering  for  SiUj  in  the  loth  v.  When  thou 
fhalt  make  his  Sou!  an  Offering  for  Sin.  The 
Proof  of  what  I  here  affirm,  is  grounded  upon 
the  Ufe  and  Dcfign  of  a  Sacrifice,  as  it  has  been 
ufcd  by  all  Nations  in  the  World;  which 
was  to  appeafe  the  Deity  by  paying  down 
a  Life  for  Sim  2nd  that  by  the  Subftitution 
of  a  Sacrifice,  whether  of  Man  or  Beaft,  to 
die  and  pay  down  his  Life  inftead  of  the 
Sinner.  For  there  was  a  tacit  Acknowleds:- 
ment  univerfaliy  fixt  in  the  Hearts  of  all 
Mankind,  that  the  Wages  of  Sin  was  T^eath, 
and  that  without  fhedding  of  Blood  there  could 
be  no  Remiffion :  Upon  which  was  built  the 
Reafonofall  their  Sacrifices  and  Vidims.  So 
furely  therefore  as  Chrift  was  a  Sacrifice,  and 
as  the  Defign  of  a  Sacrifice  is  to  pay  down  a 
Life  for  Sin,  and  as  to  pay  down  a  Life  for 
Sin  is  to  h^ pimped  ioi  Sin  j  fo  fure  it  is,  that 

Chrift's 


^66  A  Sermon  preached 

Chrift's  Death  and  Sufferings  were  pendl. 
Now  it  being  clear  that  the  Foundation  of  all 
Punifliment  is  Compenfation  or  Exchange  ; 
that  is  to  fay,  fomething  paid  down  to  di- 
vine Juftice  for  fomething  done  againft  it  > 
and  fince  all  Compenfation  implies  a  Retribu- 
tion equivalent  to  the  Injury  done,  there- 
fore, that  Chrift  might  be  qualitied  to  be  a 
Sacrifice  fit  to  undergo  the  full  Punifhmenc 
due  for  the  Sins  of  Mankind,  two  things  were 
required. 

1.  An  infinite  Dignity  in  his  Perfon ;  for 
fuice  the  Evil  and  Demerit  of  Sin  was  in- 
finite ;  and  fince  Chrift  was  fo  to  fuffer  for  it, 
as  not  to  remain  under  thofe  Sufferings  for  an 
infinite  Duration ;  that  Infinity  therefore  was 
to  be  made  up  fome  other  way  j  which  could 
not  be,  but  by  the  infinite  Worth  and  Dig- 
nity of  his  Perfon,  grafping  in  all  the  Perfe- 
dions  and  Glories  of  the  Deity,  and  by  con- 
fequence  deriving  an  infinite  Value  to  his 
Sufferings. 

2.  The  other  Qualification  required  was  a 
perfed  Innocence  in  the  Perfon  to  fuffer :  For 
fo  much  was  fpecified  by  the  Pafchal  Lamb, 
of  which  we  flill  read  in  Scripture,  That  it 
was  to  be  a  Lamb  without  blemijh.  And  there 
is  no  doubt,  but  had  Chrift  had  any  Sin  of 

4  !^is 


at  Chiift-Chiirch,  Oxon.       3^7 

his  own  to  have  fatisfied  for,  he  had  been 
very  unable  to  fatisfy  for  other  Mens.  He 
who  is  going  to  Goal  for  his  own  Debts,  is 
very  unfit  to  be  a  Security  for  another's. 

But  now  this  perfect  Innocence,  which  I 
affirm  neccllary  to  render  Chrift  a  fit  and  pro- 
per Sacrifice,  is  urged  by  our  Adverfaries  to 
be  the  very  Reafon  why  Chrift's  Sufferings 
could  not  he  penal':,  fince  Punifhment  in  the 
very  Nature  and  EfTence  of  it  imports  a  Re- 
lation to  Sin.  To  this  I  anfwer,  that  Punifh- 
ment does  indeed  import  an  eflential  Relation 
to  Sin  5  but  not  of  Ncceflity  to  the  Sin  of  the 
Perfon  upon  whom  it  is  infiided  5  as  might 
be  evinced  by  innumerable  Inftances,  as  well 
as  undeniable  Rcafons. 

If  it  be  replied,  that  God  has  declared  that 
the  Soul  that  Sins  Jhall  die, 

I  anfwer,  that  this  is  only  zpoJiti'vel^z^Wy 
according  to  which  God  declares  he  will  pro- 
ceed in  the  ordinary  Courfe  of  his  Providencej 
but  it  is  not  of  natural  and  eternal  Obli- 
gation, fo  as  univerfally  to  bind  God  in  all 
Cafes  5  but  that  he  may  when  he  pleafes  deal 
otherwifc  with  his  Creature.  But  this  will 
receive  farther  Light  from  the  Difcuffion  of 
the  third  and  laft  general  Head,  to  which  we 
now  proceed.     NamelV;, 

3,  The 


3^8  A  Sermon  preach  ed 

3 .  The  Ground  and  Caufe  of  this  fuffering^ 
which  was  God's  Propriety  in,  and  relation 
to  the  Perfons  for  whom  Chrift  fufFered, 
fpecificd  inthefe  Words,  My  Teople :  For  the 
TranfgreJJion  of  my  People  was  he  flricken. 

If  it  be  here  asked,  upon  what  account  the 
Perfons  here  fpoken  of  were  denominated  and 
made  God's  People  ?  I  anfwer,  that  they  were 
fo  by  an  eternal  Covenant  and  Tranfadion 
between  the  Father  and  the  Son  j  by  which 
the  Father,  upon  certain  Conditions  to  be 
performed  by  the  Son,  configned  over  fome 
Perfons  to  him  to  be  his  People,  For  our 
better  underftanding  of  which  wc  are  to  ob- 
ferve  that  the  bufinefs  of  Man's  Redemption 
proceeds  upon  a  two-fold  Covenant. 

Firfiy  An  eternal  Covenant  made  between 
the  Father  and  the  Son,  by  which  the  Father 
agreed  to  give  both  Grace  and  Glory  to  a 
certain  Number  of  Sinners,  upon  Condition 
that  Chrift  would  aflume  their  Nature,  and 
pay  down  fuch  a  Ranfom  to  his  Jullicc,  as 
fhould  both  fatisfy  for  their  Sin,  and  withaU 
Merit  fuch  a  mcafure  of  Grace  as  fhould  ef- 
fedually  work  in  them  all  things  neceffary 
to  their  Salvation.  And  this  Covenant  may 
be  properly  called  a  Covenant  of  Surety ^ip  or 

Redemption. 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.     3  6() 

Redemption.  Upon  which  alone,  and  not 
upon  any  Covenant  made  between  God  and 
Man  in  their  own  Perfons,  is  built  the  In- 
fallibiUty  of  the  future  believing,  repenting, 
and  finally  perfevering,  of  fuch  as  Chrift 
from  all  Eternity  undertook  to  make  his 
People. 

Secondly t  The  other  is  a  Covenant  made 
in  time,  and  adually  entred  into  by  God  and 
Man,  by  which  God  on  his  Part  promifes  to 
Men  eternal  Salvation,  upon  Condition  of 
Faith  and  Repentance  on  theirs.  And  this 
is  called  in  Scxi^mn^  the  fecond  Covenant,  or 
the  Covenant  of  Grace,  and  (lands  oppofed  to 
that  which  is  there  called  the  firft  Covenant^ 
or  the  Covenant  of  Works. 

Now  by  that  eternal  Compad  or  Tranf- 
adion  between  the  Father  and  the  Son  (of 
which  alone  we  now  fpea^)  was  this  Dona- 
tion  of  a  certain  determinate  Number  of 
Perfons  made  to  Chrift  to  be  his  People,  by 
virtue  of  which  Agreement  or  Tranfadion 
he  ^j^sintheFulnefsofTime to  fufFer  for  them, 
and  to  accomplifh  the  whole  Work  of  their 
Redemption  from  firft  to  laft.      For  to  affirm 
that  Chrift  died  only  to  verify  a  Propofition 
iXhat  whofoever  believed Jhould  be  faved)  but 
in  the  mean  time  to  leave  the  whole  Ifluc 
yoL.  IIL  Bb  pf 


3  70  A  Sermon  preached 

of  Things  in  reference  to  Terfons  fo  loofeand 
undetermined,  that  it  was  a  Queftion,    whe- 
ther ever  any  one  fhould  a^ually  believe^  and 
very  pofTible  that  none  ever  might,  and  con- 
feqnently  that  after  Chrift  had  fujferedy  had 
been  JlrickeUy  and  died  for  TranfgrcJJion,  yet 
for  any  thing  that  he  had  done  in  all  this,  he 
might  never  have  had  a  People ;  this  certainly 
is  a  ftrange  and  new  Gofpel,  and  fuch  as  the 
Dodrineofour  Church  feems  utterly  unac- 
quainted with. 

Having  thus  fhevvn  the  Foundation  upon 
which  the  Perfons  here  fpoken  of  are  call- 
ed by  the  Prophet  God's  People,  namely,  an 
eternal  Covenant,  in  which  God  the  Father 
and  the  Son  mutually  agreed  upon  the  Terms 
of  their  Redemption,  we  are  now  to  obfervc, 
that  the  fame  thing  that  thus  denominates 
and  makes  them  Gods  People,  makes  them 
under  the  fame  Relation  to  belong  alfo  to 
Chrift,  and  that  not  only  upon  the  Account 
of  his  Nature  that  he  was  God,  but  chiefly 
of  his  Ofice,  that  he  was  their  Mediator, 
which  Capacity  made  him  equally  concerned 
in  that  eternal  Covenant,  he  accepting  and 
agreeing  to  thoic  Terms  that  were  propofed 
aud  offered  him  by  the  Father.     By  his  Ac- 

ceptance 


^7/ Ch rift- church,  Oxon.      371 

ceptance  of  which  he  became  both  a  myjfical 
Head  and  a  Surety  to  thofe  for  whom  he  fo 
undertook.  And  this  Relation  of  his  to 
them  was  the  Caufe  why  he  both  might  be, 
and  aftually  was  Jiricken  by  God  for  their 
Tranfgreffiojiy  without  any  Violation  of  the 
Divine  Juftice,  notwithftanding  the  perfed 
Innocence  of  his  Perfon.  For  to  render  it 
juft  to  inflidl  a  Punilhment  upon  an  innocent 
Perfon  inftead  of  another,  either  ofthefetwo 
Caufes  are  fufficicnt. 

Fir  ft  ^  An  intimate  Conjundion  betweeii 
thofe  Perfons,  and  that  either  natural,  as  be- 
tween Father  and  Son,  or  political,  as  be- 
tween King  and  People,  and  the  like  :  Qr, 

Secondly,  The  voluntary  Conjent  and  Will 
of  an  innocent  Perfon  to  undergo  the  Punifh- 
ment  due  to  the  nocent,  as  it  is  between  a 
Man  and  his  Surety. 

Accordingly  from  that  Covenant,  by  which 
the  Father  made  over  a  certain  Number  of 
Perfons  to  the  Son  to  be  his  Teople,  there  arofe 
this  two-fold  Relation  of  Chrift  to  them. 

I.  Of  a  King  to  his  People,  orofamyfli- 
cal  Head  to  his  Members,  fo  that  legally  and 
politically  they  fuffered  as  really  in  Chrift,  as 
the  whole  Body  fufFers  when  the  Head  is 
wounded,  or  ftruck  thro*  with  a  Dart. 

JB  5  2  2 .  Th^ 


3  7  2^  A  Sermon  preached 

2.  The  other  Relation  is  of  zSiirety-y  fo 
that  the  Satisfadion  paid  down  by  Chrift  to 
God's  juftice for  Sin,  is,  in  Eflimation  of  Law, 
3s  really  accounted  to  be  paid  down  by  the 
Saints,  as  if  they  had  paid  it  in  their  own 
Perfons. 

And  this  is  a  farther,  and  withall  a  full 
Anfwer  to  that  Objedion  formerly  hinted 
from  the  Innocence  of  Chrift's  Perfon,  as  if  it 
rendred  him  uncapable  of  'Pumjhment.  For 
his  own  free  voluntary  Confent  to  be  a  Sure- 
ty for  Sinners,  and  refponfible  for  all  that 
Divine  J ullice  could  charge  them  with,  tranf- 
ferred  x.\\^  Guilt  and  Obligation  from  their 
Perfons  to  his  Own. 

In  a  word,  the  CompaSfbctv7cen  Chrift  and 
his  Father  made  him  ^  King,  a  myftical Head, 
and  alio  a  Surety  to  fome  certain  Perfons ; 
and  his  being  fo,  made  them  his  ^eoplcy  and 
their  being  his  People,  did,  upon  that  Ac- 
count, make  it  both  juft  and  equitable  for 
him  to  fuffer,  and  to  be  flricken  for  their 
TranfgreJJion,  which  is  the  refult  of  the  Text, 
and  the  thing  undertook  by  us  to  be  proved. 

I  have  now  finifhed  the  feveral  Things 
propofed  from  the  Text,  in  which  having 
fet  before  you  how  much  Chrift  has  fufFeredj 
and  all  for  our  Sakes,  1  hope  it  will  kindle 

the 


^/ Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       373 

the  Workings  of  a  pious  Ingenuity  in  every- 
one of  our  Breads.  For  I  am  fure  if  Chrift's 
fnfering  for  us  were  the  ^Do&rine,  Gratitude 
fhould  make  our  Readinefs  to  fuffer  for  him 
the  Application.  Chriftianity  1  fhew  was  a 
fnfering  Religion,  and  there  are  two  forts  of 
Suffering  to  which  it  will  certainly  expofe 
every  genuine  Profeflbr  of  it. 

I.  The  firft  is  from  himfelf. 

z.  The  fecond  from  the  World. 

I.  And  firft  it  will  engage  him  in  a  Suf- 
fering from  himfelf,  even  that  grand  Suf- 
fering of  Self-denial  and  Mortification,  the 
fharpeft  and  moft  indifpenfable  of  all  others, 
in  which  every  Chriftian  is  not  only  to  be 
the  Sufferer yhxxt  himfelf  alfo  the  Executioner. 
He  'who  is  Chrift's  (fays  the  Apoftle)  has  cru- 
cified the  Flejh,  with  the  Affections  and  Lifts, 
A  fevere  Difcipline  certainly,  in  which  a 
Man  is  to  ad  his  fiercefl  Anger  upon  his 
deareft  Friends.  For  could  Nature  ever  yet 
fuggeft  to  any  one  the  Hatred  of  his  own 
Flefljy  the  Crucifixion  of  his  Defires,  and  the 
dabbing  of  his  moft  beloved  Affections  ? 
Nature  indeed  cannot,  will  not  prompt  it, 
B  b  3  but 


374  ^  Sermon  preached 

but  Chriftianity,  which  rifes  many  Strains 
above  Nature,  both  muft  and  will.  The 
bcft  Sacrifice  to  a  crucified  Saviour  is  a  cruci- 
fied  Luft,  a  bleeding  Heart,  and  a  dying 
Corruption.  We  cannot  bring,  nor  indeed 
docs  Chrifl:  exped  a  Recompence  for  what 
he  has  fufFered  for  us,  yet  that  which  he 
will  accept,  as  if  it  were  a  Recompence,  is 
for  us  to  deal  cruelly  with  that  Body  of  Sin 
which  has  caufed  the  adins^  of  all  thofe 
Cruelties  upon  him.  Let  the  ambitious 
Man  lay  his  Pride  in  the  Duft,  the  covetous 
Man  depofite  his  Treafures  in  the  Banks  of 
Charity  and  Liberality,  and  let  the  volup- 
tuous Epicure  renounce  his  Cups  and  his 
Whores,  and  this  will  be  a  prefent  to  Hea- 
ven better  than  an  whole  Hecatomb  :  Nor 
could  the  Fruit  of  his  Body  fall  fo  grateful  a 
Sacrifice  upon  God's  Altars  as  the  Sin  of  his 
Soul,  But  it  is  like  the  jolly  World  about  us 
will  but  feoff  at  the  Paradox  of  fuch  Pradi- 
ces,  and  explode  them  as  Madncfs  and  Me- 
lancholy :  Yet  let  thofe  Sons  of  Pleafure 
know,  that  fuch  as  fcorn  to  be  thus  melan- 
choly in  this  World,  will  have  but  little 
Caufe  to  be  merry  in  the  next. 

%,  The 


^/ Chrift-Church,  Oxon.       37 y 

2.  The  other  kind  of  Suffering  in  which 
Chriftianity  will  engage  a  Man,  is  from  the 
World.  Such  is  the  Genius  and  Nature  of 
the  Cliriftian  Religion,  that  it  muft  unavoid- 
ably bring  him,  who  owns  it,  in  the  Power 
of  it,  under  temporal  Troubles  and  Afflidi. 
ons.  In  the  World  (fays  Chrift)  ye  jh  all  have 
Tribulation.  And  he  fpoke  it  not  fo  much 
by  a  Spirit  of  Prophecy  as  Philofophy,  and  by 
an  adtual  Sight  of  it  in  its  pregnant  Caufcs. 
for  the  Contrariety  of  the  Principles  and 
Maxims  of  Chriftianity  to  thofe  of  the  World, 
cannot  but  engage  Men  in  fuch  Practices  as 
Ihall  alfo  thwart  the  Cuftoms  and  Modes 
which  govern  the  Adions  of  the  World. 
But  where  there  is  Contrariety  there  will 
be  Fighting,  and  where  there  is  Fighting, 
the  weaker,  I  am  fure,  muft  fuff  er  j  and  ge- 
nerally the  Chriftian's  is  fo  in  all  worldly  En- 
counters, whofe  chief  Defenfatives  lie  not  in 
that  Armour  that  is  Sword- proof  or  Bullet- 
proof, and  who  wears  no  Breafl-plate  upon-t 
but  within  his  Breaft,  that  is,  his  Innocence, 
his  Confcience,  and  his  Confidence  in  a  re- 
conciled God.  Suffering  is  a  thing  which  all 
Men  abhor,  and  that  becaufe  they  are  a- 
fhamedofit;  and  their  being  fo  is  grounded 
upon  this  Opinion,  ikvzxto  fujfety  in  the  very 
B  b  4  Nature 


3  7  <5         -^  Sermon  preached 

Nature  of  it,  feems  to  impeach  the  fufFering 
Perfon,  either  in  the  Reputation  of  his  ^ow- 
er,  or  of  his  Innocenee,  that  is,  he  fuffers,  ei- 
ther  becaufe  he  is  weak,  and  cannot  hinder 
it,  or  becaufe  he  is  faulty,  and  fo  deferves  it. 
But  with  every  Chriftian  Chrift  is  an  abun- 
dant Anfwer  to  both  thefe  Objedions.  For 
wlien  we  fee  Omnipotence  hanging  upon  the 
Crofs,  and  God  himfelfy?^//r^^^  and  fpit  up- 
on, and  when  we  fee  him  who  could  have 
commanded  Fire  from  Heaven,  and  Legions 
of  Angels  to  his  Refcue,  yet  furrendering 
himfelf  quietly  to  the  Willof  liis  Murderers, 
furely  no  mortal  Man,  who  is  but  Dirt  and 
Worms  Meat  at  the  bed,  can  pretend  himfelf 
too  great  and  too  high  to  fuiter.  And  again, 
when  we  behold  Virtue,  Innocence,  and  Puri- 
ty, more  than  Angelical,  crucified  between 
Thieyes  and  MaIefadors,/^^i//anyManwhofe 
Birth  andx\dions  revile  and  fpeakhim  a  Sinner 
to  his  Face,  think  himfelf  too  good  to  come 
under  the  Crofs,  and  to  take  his  Share  in  the 
common  Lot  of  Chriftianity  ?  'Tis  not  the 
Suffering  itfelf,  but  the  Caufc  of  it,  that  is 
difhonourable.  And  even  in  the  worft  and 
moft  fhameful  of  Sufferings,  tho'  the  Hang- 
man does  the  Execution,  yet  it  is  the  Crime 
alorie  whicii  does  tke  T^ifgrace, 

3  Chrift 


at  Chrift-Church,  Oxon.        377 

Chrift  commands  us  nothing,  but  he  en- 
forces it  with  Arguments  from  his  Terfon  as 
well  as  from  his  Wordy  and  it  is  well  if  we 
can  make  a  due  Ufe  of  them.  For  God  knows 
how  foon  he  may  call  us  from  our  cafy  Spe- 
culations and  Theories  of  Suffering  to  the 
pradlical  Experience  of  it :  How  foon  he 
may  draw  us  forth  for  Perfecution  and  the 
fiery  Trial.  Only  this  we  may  be  furc  o^ 
that  if  thefe  Things  be  brought  upon  us  for 
his  Honour,  it  will  be  for  ours  too  to  endure 
them.  And  be  our  DiftrefTes  never  fo  great, 
our  Calamities  never  fo  ftrange  and  unufual, 
yet  we  have  both  our  Saviour's  Example  to 
dired,  and  his  Promife  to  fupport  us,  who 
has  left  it  upon  Record  in  his  Everlafting 
Gofpel,  that  if  we  fuffer  with  him,  wejhali 
alfo  reign  with  him. 

To  whom  therefore  be  rendredand  afcribed^ 
as  is  moji  due,  all  Traife,  Might,  Ma- 
jefty,  and  dominion,  both  now  and  for 
/evermore.    Amen. 


3  7  S  ^  Sermon  preached 

A 

SERMON 

UPON    THE 

RESURRECTION, 

PREACHEE) 

On  Eafter-Day,  1667. 


ACTS  ii.   24. 

KciQcri  ^ic  yjv  ovvcltsv  tc^StcS^  ojutzv  vw  cuitoZ. 

Whom  God  hath  rdifed  up^  having 
loofed  the  Pains  of  Death  j  hecaufe 
it  was  not  pojfihle  that  he  JJjould  be 
holden  of  it, 

IT  is  of  infinite  Concern  to  Mankind,  both 
as  to  their  Welfare  in  this  World  and  the 
next,  to  preferve  in  their  Minds  a  full  Belief 
of  a  future  Eftatc  oi  Hafpinefs  or  Mifery,  into 

which. 


en  Eafter-Day.  3751 

which,  accordmg  to  the  Quality  of  their  K(i\, 
ons  herCjthey  muft  for  ever  bedifpofed  of  here, 
after,  the  Experience  of  ail  Ages  having  found 
the  InfufEciency  of  bare  human  Reftraints  to 
controul  the  audacious  Sinfulnefs  of  fomc 
Tempers  and  Difpofitions,  without  holding 
them  under  the  Awe  of  this  Perfuafion.  From 
which,  tho'  fome  by  much  and  long  finning 
and  pervcrfe  Ratiochiations  caufed  thereby, 
have  in  a  great  meafure  difentangled  theirCon- 
fcienccs,  yet  thefe  are  but  few  and  inconfider- 
able  compared  with  the  reft  of  the  World,  in 
whofeMinds Education,  and  better  Principles, 
grafted  upon  the  very  Inftinds  of  Nature, 
have  fixed  this  Perfuafion  too  deep  to  be  ever 
totally  rooted  out.  And  it  is  from  the  victo- 
rious Influence  of  this,  that  the  commonPeacc 
of  the  World  has  been  maintained  againft 
thofe  bold  Invafions,  which  the  Corruption 
of  Man's  Nature  would  otherwife  continually 
make  upon  it.  But  now  as  highly  necefTary 
as  it  is  for  Men  to  believe  iwahdi future  Eftate^ 
yet  it  mufl  be  acknowledged,  that  with  the 
generality  of  the  World  this  Belief  hzs{\.ood 
hitherto  upon  very  falfe,  or  at  the  befl  very 
weak  Foundations,  and  confequently  that  it 
is  of  no  fmall  Import  to  flate  and  fettle  it  up- 
on better.     For  the  doing  of  which  the  mofl: 

cfFeaual 


3  8  o  A  Sermon  preached 

cffedual  Ways,  I  conceive,  may  bethefetwo.^ 

1.  By  Revelation. 

2.  By  Exemplification. 

Firfly  As  to  the  firft  whereof,  it  muft  needs 
be,  either  by  an  immediate  Declaration  of  this 
great  Truth  (not  difcoverable  by  Reafon)  by 
a  Voice  from  Heaven,  or  by  God's  infpiring 
fomc  certain  feled  Perfons  with  the  Know- 
ledge of  it,  and  afterwards  enabling  them  to 
atteft  it  to  the  World  by  Miracles.  And  as 
this  is  undoubtedly  fulficicnt  in  itfelf  for  fuch 
a  Purpofe,  fo  Providence  has  not  been  want- 
ing, partly  by  Revelation,  and  partly  by  Tra- 
dition thereupon,  to  keep  alive  among  Men 
fome  Perfuafion  at  Icaft  of  this  important 
Truth  all  along,  as  appears  even  from  thofe 
fabulous  Accounts  and  Stories  which  the  Hea- 
then World  ftill  cloathcd  or  rather  corrupted 
it  with.  Neverthelefs  fuch  has  been  the  Pre- 
valence of  human  Corruption  and  Infidelity, 
as  in  a  great  Degree  to  fruftrate  all  the  Im- 
preflions  that  bare  Revelation  or  Tradition 
could  make  upon  Men's  Minds,  while  they 
chiefly  governed  their  Belief  h^  the  Obferva- 
tion  of  their  SenfeSy  which,  from  the  daily 
occurring  Inftances  of  Mortality,  fhew  them, 
that  as  the  Tree f ell  fo  it  lay :  And  that  no  Body 

was 


on  Eafter-Day.  381 

was  ever  feen  by  them  to  return  from  the 
Manfions  of  the  T)eady  but  that,  for  any- 
thing they  could  find  to  the  contrary,  all  paf- 
fed  into  ^uji  and  Rottennefs,  and  perpetual 
Oblivion. 

Secondly  J  The  other  ways  therefore  of  con- 
vincing the  World  of  this  momentous  Truth 
(in  comparifon  of  which  all  Science  and  Phi- 
lofophy  are  but  Trifles)  muft  be  by  Exempli' 
f  cation  5  that  is  to  fay,  by  giving  the  World 
an  Inftance  or  Example  of  it  in  fome  Perfon  or 
Perfons,  who  having  been  confeffedly  dead, 
fhould  revive,  and  return  to  Life  again.  And 
this,  one  would  think,  fhould  be  as  full  and 
unexceptionable  a  Proof  that  there  may  be  a 
Rejurre6iion  of  Men  to  2i future  Eft  ate  as  could 
be  defired,  nothing  ftriking  the  Mind  of  Man 
fo  powerfully  as  Inftances  and  Examples 
which  makes  a  Truth  not  only  intelligible j  but 
even  palpable.  Aiding  it  into  the  Undcrftand- 
ing  thro' the  Windows  of  Senfe,  and  by  the 
moft  familiar  as  well  as  moft  unqueftionable 
Perceptions  of  the  Eye,  And  accordingly 
this  Courfe  God  thought  fit  to  take  in  the 
Refurre6fion  of  Chrift,  by  which  he  conde- 
fcended  to  give  the  World  the  greateft  Satif- 
fadion  that  Infidelity  itfelf  could  rationally 
infift  upon :    Howbeit,   notwithftanding  fo 

plaia 


3  8 1  A  SerrHon  preached 

plain  an  Addrefs  both  to  Men's  Reafon  and 
Senfe  too,  ncithei:  has  this  Courfc  proved  fo 
fuccefsfui  for  convincing  of  the  World  of  a 
Refurre^ion  from  the  'Dead,  and  a  future 
Eftate  confequent  thereupon,  but  that  Unbe- 
lief has  been  dill  putting  in  its  Objections 
againft  it.  For  it  is  not,  I  confefs,  the  Inte- 
reft  of  fuch  as  live  ill  in  this  World  to  believe 
that  there  fliall  be  another,  or  that  they  fhali 
be  fenfible  of  any  thing  after  Death  has  once 
done  its  Work  upon  them  :  And  therefore 
let  Truth  and  Scripture,  and  even  Senfe  itfelf, 
lay  what  they  will  for  a  Refurre6iion,  Men, 
for  ought  appears,  will  for  ever  fquare  their 
Belief  to  their  T>efireSj  and  their  'Dejires  to 
th^'n  Corrupt  ions  3  fo  that,  as  we  find  it  in 
St.  Luke  xvi.  31.  Thd  they  jhoiild  even  fee  one 
rife  from  the  T^ead  they  would  hardly  be  per- 
fuaded  of  their  own  RefurreBion.  Such  a  fad 
and  deplorable  Hardnefs  of  Heart  have  Men 
finned  themfelves  into,  that  nothing  fhall  con- 
vince them  but  what  firft  pleafed  them,  be  it 
never  fo  much  a  l^elufion.  Neverthelefs  the 
moft  wife  and  juft  God  is  not  fo  to  be  mock- 
ed, who  knows,  that  by  raifing  Chrift  from 
the  IDeadj  he  has  done  all  that  rationally  can 
or  ought  to  be  done  for  the  convincing  of 
Mankind,  that  there  fliall  be  a  RefurreBion, 
3  whether 


on  Eafter-Day.  383 

whether  they  will  be  convinced  by  it  or  no. 
But  now  if  after  all  it  fhould  be  asked,  how 
is  Chrift's  Refurredion  a  Proof  that  the  reft 
of  Mankind  fhall  rife  from  the  Dead  too> 
I  anfwer,  that  confidered  indeed  as  a  hare 
Infiance  or  Example,  it  proves  no  more,  than 
that  there  may  be  fuch  a  thing,  flncc  the  fame 
infinite  Power  which  effected  the  one  may  as 
well  efFed  the  other  5  but  then  if  we  confider 
it  as  an  Argument ,  and  a  Confirmation  of  that 
1)o5irine  (whereof  the  Affertion  of  a  general 
ReftirreEtion  makes  a  principal  Part)  I  affirm 
that  fo  taken  it  does  not  only  prove  that  fuch 
a  thing  ;i^^y  ^^,  but  alfo  that  it  adually^^?// 
be,  and  that  as  certainly  as  it  is  impoffible  for 
the  Divine  Power  to  fet  a  Seal  to  a  Lye,  by 
ratifying  an  Impofture  with  fuch  a  Miracle, 
And  thus  as  Chrift's  Refurredion  irrefragably 
proves  the  Refurredion  of  the  reft  of  Man- 
kind, fo  it  no  lefs  proves  Chrift  himfelf  to 
have  been  the  Meffiah,  for  that  having  all 
along  affirmed  himfelf  to  be  fo,  he  made 
good  the  Truth  of  what  he  had  fo  affirmed 
by  his  miraculous  rifing  again,  and  fo  gave 
as  ftrong  a  Proof  of  his  Meffiafhip,  as  infinite 
Tower,  joined  with  equal /^r^f/r/,  could  give. 
And  upon  this  Account  we  have  his  Refurre- 
^/f?«alkdged  by  St.  !P^r^r  for  the  fame  Pur- 

pofe. 


384  A  Sermon  preached 

pofe,  here  in  the  Text,  which  was  part  of 
his  Sermon  to  the  Jews  concerning  Jefus 
Chrijiy  whom  lie  proves  to  be  their  true  and 
long  expeded  Meffiah,  againft  all  the  Cavils 
of  Prejudice  and  Unbelief,  by  this  one  invin- 
cible Demonftration. 

In  the  Text  then  we  have  thefe  three 
Things  confiderable. 

Firfty  Chrift's  Refurreftion,  and  the  Caufe 
of  it,  in  thefe  Words,  whom  God  hath  raif- 
ed  up. 

Secondly,  The  Manner  by  which  it  was 
efFeded,  which  was,  by  loojing  the  Tains  of 
T>eath,     And, 

thirdly-,  and  Laflly,  The  Ground  of  it 
which  was,  its  abfolute  NeceJJity,  exprefled 
in  thefe  Words,  it  was  not  pojjible  that  he 
p]ould  be  holden  of  it.    And, 

I.  For  the  firft  of  thefe,  the  Caufe  of  the 
Refurre6i:ion,fet  forth  in  thisExprelIion,w^tf;jf2 
Qod  hath  raifed  up.  It  was  fuch  an  Adion  as 
proclaimed  an  omnipotent  Agent,  and  car- 
ried the  Hand  of  God  writ  upon  it  in  broad 
Charaders,  legible  to  the  meaneft  Reafon. 
Death  is  a  Difeafe  which  Art  cannot  cure ; 
And  the  Grave  a  Prifon  which  delivers  back 

its 


on  Eallcr-Day.  385^ 

Its  Captives  upon  no  human  Summons.  To 
rcftore  Lite  is  only  the  Prerogative  of  hinri 
who  gives  it.  Some  indeed  have  pretended 
by  Art  and  phyficai  Applications  to  recover 
the  dead,  but  the  Succefshas  fufficiently  up- 
braided the  Attempt :  Phyfick  may  rcpaii' 
and  piece  up  Nature,  but  not  create  it.  Cor- 
dials, Plaifters  and  Fomentations  cannot  al- 
ways ftay  a  Life  when  it  is  going,  much  lefs 
can  they  remand  it,  when  it  is  gone.  Neither 
is  it  in  the  Power  of  a  Sf^irit  or  Demon  good 
or  bad  to  infpire  a  new  Life  :  For  it  is  a  Cre- 
atioUj  and  to  create  is  the  incommunicable; 
Prerogative  of  a  Power  infinite  and  unlimited. 
Enter  into  a  Body  they  may,  and  fo  ad  and 
move  it  after  the  manner  of  a  Soul ;  but  it 
is  one  thing  to  movey  another  to  animate  a 
Carcafs.  You  fee  the  Devil  could  fetch  up 
nothing  of  Samuel  zx.  the  Requeft  of  Sauly  but 
a  Shadow  and  a  Refemblance,  his  Countc» 
nance  and  his  Mantle,  which  yet  was  not 
enough  to  cover  the  Cheat,  or  to  palliate  the 
Illufion.  But  I  fuppofe  no  body  will  be  very 
importunate  for  any  further  Proof  of  this,  that 
ii  Chrijl  was  raffed,  it  muft  be  by  God  who 
railed  him.  The  Angel  might  indeed  rollzr 
way  the  Stone  from  the  Sepulchre,  but  not 
turn  it  into  a  Son  of  Abraham ;  and  a  lefs 
Vol.  IIL  C  c  Power 


^^6         A  SeimoH preached 

Power  than  that  which  could  do  (o,  could  not 
cfFed  the  Refuiredion. 

2.  I  come  now  to  the  fecond  thing,  which 
is  to  fhcw  the  manner  by  which  God  wrought 
this  Refurrcdion,  let  forth  in  thcfe  Words, 
having  looftdthe  Tains  of  T>eath,  An  Exprcf- 
fion  not  altogether  lb  clear,  but  that  it  may 
well  require  a  further  Explication.  For  it 
may  be  required,  with  what  Propriety  God 
could  be  faid  to  loofe  the  Tains  of  T>eathy  by 
Chrift's  Re  furred  ion,  when  thofe  Tains  con- 
tinued not  till  the  Refurrecfion,  but  determin- 
ed and  expired  in  the  Death  of  his  Body  ? 
Upon  which  Ground  it  is,  that  fome  have  af- 
firmed. That  Chrift  defcended  into  the  place 
of  the  damned  ;  where  during  his  Body's  a- 
bode  in  the  Grave,  they  fay,  that  in  his  Soul 
he  really  fuffered  the  Pains  of  Hell ;  and  this 
not  unfuitably  to  fome  ancient  Copies,  which 
read  it  not  ulhccg  S-ccvdviij  the  Tains  ofT)eathi 
but  uhvctg  cihy  the  Tains  of  Hell'-,  and  this  alfo 
with  much  fccming  con  fonance  to  that  Article 
of  the  Creed  in  which  Chriil  is  faid  to  have  de- 
fcended into  Hell.  But  to  this  I  anfwcr,  That 
Chriil:  fuffered  not  any  fuch  Pains  in  Hell,  as 
the  foremcntioned  Opinion  would  pretend, 
which  we  may  dcmonftrate  from  this,  That 
if  Chrift  fuffered  any  of  thofe  Pains  during 

his 


on  Eafter-Day.  38;^ 

his  Abode  in  the  Grave,   then  it  was  cither 
in  his  divine  Nature^  or  in  his  Soul^  or  in 
his  Body  :    But  the  Divine  Nature  could  not 
fuffer;^  or  be  tormented,   as  being  wholly  im- 
poUib'le  :  Kor  yet  could  he  fuffcr  in  his  Soul ; 
forafmuch   as  in  the  very  fame  Day  of  his 
Death,  that  palled  into  !P^r<^<^//?,  which  (lire- 
ly  is  n6  place  of  Pain  :  Nor  LaJI/y,  in  his  Body^ 
for  that  being  Dead,    and  conlequently  for 
the  time  bereaved  of  all  Senfe,  could  not  be 
capable  of  any  Torment.     And  then,    foif 
anfwcr   to  what  was  alledged  from  the  an- 
cient Copies,    it  is  to  be  obfetved  that  the 
word  cc^a  (which  fome  render  He//,)    indif- 
ferently fignifies  alfo  t/je  Gravej  and  a  State  of 
^eath,     AndLaftly,  for  that  Article  of  the 
Creed  in  which  there  is  mention  made  of 
Chrift's  'Defcent  into  Hellj  there  are  various 
Expofitions  of  it,  but  the  moft  rational  and 
agreeable  is,  that  it  means  His  abode  in  the 
Grave  and  under  the  State  of  T>eath  three 
Days   and  •  three    Nights,    or    rather   three 
yvx^nt^z^j^j  viz.  part  of  the  F/'r/?,  and  Third, 
(fo  called  by  a  Synechdoche  of  the  part -for 
the  whole)   and  the  i'^r^???^ entirely :  Where- 
by as  his  Biirtal  fignified  his  Entrance  into 
tlie  Grave  ;  So  his  defc ending  into  Hell  iigni- 
iied  his  Continuance  there  and  Subiedion  to 

C  c  2  that 


388  A  Sermon  preached 

that  Eftate.     And  thus  the  three  parts  of  his 
Humiliation  in  the  laft  and  grand  Scene  of  it, 
do    moft    appofitely    anfwcr   to  three  parts 
of  his  Exaltation.     For  Firft,  his  Death  an- 
fwers  to  his  rifing  again.     Secondly,  his  Bu- 
rial anfwers  to  his  afcending  into  Heaven. 
And  Thirdly^  his  dcfccnding   into  Hell,  an- 
fwers to  his  fitting  at  the   Right  Hand  of 
God,   in  a  State  of  never  dying  Glory,  Ho- 
nour and  Immortality.     But  however,   that 
his  deftcvdlng  into  Hell   mentioned  in  the 
Creed  cannot  fignify  his  local  T>efcent  into 
the  place  of  the  Damned,  the  former  Argu- 
ment difproving  his  fufFering  the  ^ains  of 
Hell,  will  by  an  eafy  Change  of  the  Terms 
fufficiently  evince  this  alfo.     For  firft,  Chrifl 
could  not  delcend  according  to  his  1^'fuine 
Nature  j    fiiice  that  which  is  InMnite  and  fills 
all  places  could  not  acquire  any  new  place. 
And  as  for  his  Soul,    that  was  in  ^aradife, 
and  his  Body  was  laid  in  the  Grave  5  and  be- 
ing fo,  what  part  of  Chrift  could  defcend  into 
Hell,  (the  whole  Chrift  being  thus  difpofed 
of)  needs  a  more  than  ordinary  Apprehenfion 
to  conceive. 

We  are  therefore  in  the  next  place  to  fee, 
how  we  can  make  out  the  Reafon  of  this  Ex- 
preliion  upon  fome  other  or  better  Ground. 

I  In 


on  Eaftcr-Day.  3  89 

In  order  to  which, it  is  very  obfervablCjthat  the 
fame  word  which  in  the  Greek  Text  is  rcndred 
by  uiTivAq,  and  in  the  Engli^o  by  ^ainsy  in 
the  Hebrew  fignifies  not  only  ^ain,  but  alfo 
a  *  Cord  or  Bandy  according  to  which  it  is 
very  cafy  and  proper  to  conceive,  that  the 
Refurredion  difcharired  Chrifl  from  \\\QBands 
ofDeath:  befidcs  that  this  Rendition  of  the 
Word  fecms  alfo  moft  naturally  to  agree  with 
the  genuine  Meaning  of  fome  other  Words 
in  the  fame  Verfe  5  as  of  aJjtcc?  having  looftd, 
which  is  properly  applicable  to  Bands  and  not 
to^FainSy  as  alfo  of  >c,^^«c^,  which  fignifics 
proper  to  be  bound  with  fome  Cord  or  Band: 
So  that  undoubtedly  this  Expofition  would 
give  the  whole  Verfe  a  much  more  natural 
and  appofiteConftruiftion,  and  withal  remove 
the  Difficulty.     But 

Secondly,  Becaufe  the  Evangelift  St.  Luke 
follows  theTranflation  ofthe^^/?/"//^^/72^(v/ho 
little  minding  the  Hebrew  Pointings,  rendred 
the  Word ^"7.?'^  not  by  (^omc^Cords or  Bands, 
but  u^ivagTains)  we  are  therefore  not  to  baulk 
fo  great  an  Authority,  but  to  fee  hov/  the 
Scheme  of  the  Text  may  be  made  clear,  and 
agreeable,  even  to  this  Expofition. 

*  Sec  Dr.  Hammond's  Anmt.  on  the  Place. 

C  c  5  To 


39®  ^  Sermon  preached 

To  this  therefore  I  anfwer, 

Firfty  That  the  Words  contain  in  them 
anHcbraifm,  n:iz.  the  Trains  ofDeatb,  for  a 
gainful  T^fath  i  as  it  is  faid,  Matth.  xxiv.  15. 
'The  abomination  of  'DefoUtionSoY  an  abomina- 
ble ^efolatiouh^nd.  fo  the  Refurredioii  loofed 
Chrift  from  a  painful  ^eath,  not  indeed  pain- 
ful in  fenfii  compofito,  as  if  it  were  fo  at  the 
Time  of  his  Rclcafe  from  it,  but  in  a  divided 
Senfe  (as  the  Logicians  fpcak)  it  loofed  hin^ 
from  a  Continuance  under  that  Death ;  >vhich, 
relating  to  the  Time  of  his  fuffering  it,  was 
fp  painful. 

2.  But  Secondly,  I  anfwer  further,  that 
though  xhcTa^ns  ofT^eath  ceafed  long  before 
the  Refiirre^ion,  fo  that  this  could  not  in 
flridnefs  of  Senfe  be  faid  to  remove  them  y 
yet,  taken  in  a  Metonymy  of  the  Caufe  for 
the  Effect,  the  Tains  ofT>eath  might  be  pror 
perly  faid  to  haye  hzcn  loofed,  in  the  llcfur- 
rs^dion,  bccaufe  that  Eftatc  of  Death  intq 
which  Chrift  was  brought  bv  thofc  forcj^o- 
ing  Tains  was  then  conquered  and  com- 
pletely triumph'd  ovc;-.  Captivity  ijndcr 
Death  and  the  Grave  was  the  Effcd  and  Con- 
fequcnt  of  thofc  Tains^znd  therefore  the  fame 
Deliverance  which  difciiarged  Chrift  from  the 
pncj  might  not  improperly  be  faid  to  loofe 

hin^ 


on  Eafler-Day.  591 

him  from  the  other.  And  thusChrill:  was 
no  fooncr  boundy  but  within  a  little  time  he 
was  loo  fed  again.  He  was  not  fo  much  buri- 
ed,  as  for  a  while  depofited  in  the  Grave  for  a 
fmall  inconfidcrable  Space  :  So  that  even  in 
this  refped:  he  may  not  inelegantly  be  faid 
to  have  taftedofT)eath--y  for  2iTafleis  tranficnr, 
Ihort,  and  quickly  paft.  God  refcucd  him 
from  that  Eftate,  as  a  Trey  from  the  Mighty y 
and  a  Captive  from  the  Strong  :  and  though  he 
was  in  the  very  Jaws  of 'Death,  yet  he  was 
not  devoured.  Corruption,  the  common  Lot 
of  Mortality,  fcized  not  on  him  ;  Worms 
and  Putrefadion  durft  not  approach  him  : 
His  Body  was  facred  and  inviolable  ,  as  fweet 
under  Ground  as  above  it,  and  in  Death  it 
felf  retaining  one  of  the  higheft  Privileges  of 
the  Living. 

3.  Come  we  now  to  the  laft  and  prin- 
cipal thing  propofed  j  namely,  The  Ground 
of  Chrift's  Refurredion,  which  was  its  abfo- 
lute  NeceJJityy  cxprefled  in  thefe  Words,  Be- 
catife  it  was  not poffible  that  hepoiild  be  holden 
of  it :  and  that  according  to  the  firiclcft 
and  moft  received  fenfeof  the  Word  {poffible, -\ 
For  it  was  itot  only  par  cr  t^quuniy  that 
Chrift  fhould  not  always  be  detained  un- 
der Death,becaufe  of  his  Innocence y  (as  Gr otitis 
C  c  4  pre- 


^pi  A  Sermon  preached 

precarioLiQy,  and  to  fcrve  any  Kypothefis, 
would  have  the  word  ^wcizo)>  here  fignify) 
but  it  was  abfolutely  neceffary.  that  he  fhould 
not,  and  impofilble  that  he  ftiould  continue 
under  the  Bands  of  Death,  from  the  pe- 
ctiliar  Condition  of  his  ^crfon,  as  well  as  upoi^ 
fcvcral  other  Accounts.  And  accordingly 
this  Impojfibility  was  founded  upon  thefe  five 
Things. 

1 .  The  Union  of  Chrift  s  Human  Nature  tQ 
the  Divine. 

2.  God's  Immutability. 

3.  HisJuRice. 

4.  The  NeccfTuy  of  Chrift's  being  believed 
in. 

5 .  And  L^_/?/y,the  Nature  of  his  Prlcfthood. 

Pirft  of  all  then,  the  hypoflatical  Union 
pf  a  rijh  Human  Nature  to  his  T)ivine.y 
rcndred  a  perpetual  Duration  under  Death 
abfolutely  impofiTible.  For  how  could  that 
yhich  was  united  to  the  great  Source  and 
Principle  of  Life  be  finally  prevailed  over  by 
Death,  and  pals  into  an  Eflate  of  perpetual 
Darknefsand  Oblivion?  Even  'H'hUe  Chrifi's 
Body  was  divided  from  his  Soul,  yet  it  ceaf- 
ed  no;  tp  maintain  an  intimate  induTolvable 
Pvclation  to  his  Divinity.  It  was  alTumed 
into  the  fame  Terfon  5  for  according  to  the 

Creed 


on  Eafter-Day.  59) 

Cr.eed  of  Athanajius,  as  the  Soul  and  Body 
make  one  Man\  fo  the'Divine  Nature  and  the 
Human  make  one  Chr'tft.  And  if  fo,  is  it 
imai^inable  that  the  Son  of  God  could  have 
one  of  his  Natures  rent  wholly  from  hi? 
^erfon?  his  T>ivmitj  (as  it  were)  buoyed 
up  his  fmking  Humanity-^  and  preferved  it 
from  a  total  Diflblution :  for,  as  while  the 
Soul  continues  joined  to  the  Body,  (ftill 
fpeaking  mfenfu  compofito)  Death  cannot  pafs 
upon  itj  forafmuch  as  that  is  the  proper 
EiFed  of  their  Separation ,  So,  while  Chrift's 
Manhood  w2Lsrcnincd  in  a  perfonalConjundi- 
on  with  hJs  Godhead,  the  Bands  of  Death 
were  but  feeble  and  infignificant,  like  the 
JViths  and  Cords  upon  Sampfonj  while  he  was 
infpired  with  the  mighty  Prefence  and  Allift- 
ance  of  God's  Spirit. 

It  was  polTiblc  indeed  that  the  divine  Na- 
ture might  for  a  while  fufpend  its  fupporting 
Influence,  and  fo  deliver  over  the  Human 
Nature  to  Pain  and  Death,  but  it  was  impof- 
fible  for  it  to  let  go  the  Relation  it  bore  to  it. 
A  Man  may  fufFer  his  Child  to  fall  to  the 
Ground,  and  yet  not  wholly  quit  his  Hold  of 
him,  but  ftill  keep  it  in  his  Power  to  recover 
and  lift  him  up  at  his  Pleafure.  Thus  the  Di- 
yine  Nature  of  Chrift  did  for  a  while  hide  it 
'  ^     '  fclf 


5  p  4  -^  Sermon  preached 

felf  from  his  Humanity,  but  notdefcrt  it. 
put  it  into  the  Chambers  of  Death,  but  not 
lock  the  everlafting  'Doors  upon  it.  The  Sun 
may  be  clouded  and  yet  not  eclipfed,  and 
eclips'd  but  not  ftop'd  in  his  Courfc,  and 
much  lefs  forced  out  of  his  Orb.  It  is  a  My* 
fiery  to  be  admired,  that  any  thing  belong- 
ing to  the  Perfon  of  Chrift  fhould/^^r,  but 
it  is  a  Paradox  to  be  exploded,  that  it  fhould 
ferijh.  For  furely  that  Nature  which  difFufmg 
itfclf  throughout  the  Univerfe  communicates 
an  enlivening  Influence  to  every  part  of  it, 
and  quickens  the  leaft  Spire  of  Grafs  accord- 
ing to  the  Meafure  of  its  Nature, and  the  Pro- 
portion of  its  Capacity,  would  not  wholly 
leave  a  Nature  aflumed  into  its  Bofom,  and, 
what  is  more,  into  the  very  Unity  of  the 
^Divine  Perfon,  breathlefs  and  inanimate,  and 
difmantled  of  its  prime  and  noblcft  Perfec- 
tion. For  Life  is  fo  high  a  Perfedlion  of  Be- 
ing, that  in  this  refpcd  the  leaft  Fly  or  Mite 
is  a  more  noble  being  than  a  Star.  And  God 
has  exprefly  declared  himfelf,  not  the  Qod 
of  the  T)ead,  but  of  the  Living :  and  this  in 
refped  of  the  very  Terfons  of  Men  5  but  how 
much  more  with  reference  to  what  belongs 
to  the  Terfon  of  his  Son>  For  when  Natures 
come  to  unite  fo  near,    as  mutually  to  intcr- 

I  change 


on  Eafter-Day.  595 

change  Names  and  Attributes,  and  to  verify 
the  Appellation  by  which  Godis  faid  to  be 
Marly  and  Man  to  be  God-,  furely  Man  fo 
privileg'd  and  advanced,  cannot  for  ever  lie 
under  Death,  without  an  infufFerable  Invafion 
upon  the  Entirenefs  of  that  glorious  Perfon, 
w ho fc  Perfection  is  as  inviolable,  ^s-it  is  in- 
comprehenfible, 

2.  The  fccond  Gfoijnd  of  the  Impoflibility 
of  Chrift's  Continuance  underDeath,  was  that 
great  and  glorious  Attribute  of  God,  his 
Immutability.  Chrift's  Refurre5fion  was  found- 
ed upon  the  fame  bottom  with  the  Confo- 
lation  and  Salvation  of  Believers,  cxprefled  in 
that  full  Declaration  made  by  God  of  him- 
fclf.  Make.  iii.  ^.  I  the  Lord  change  not :  there* 
fore  the  Sons  ^/Jacob  are  not  confitmed.  Now 
the  Immutability  of  God,  as  it  had  an  In- 
fluence upon  Chrift'sRefurredion,  was  two- 
fold. 

Firft,  I^  rcfped  of  his  Decree  or  Pur- 
pofe. 

Secondly,  In  rcfped  of  his  Word  or  Pro- 
mi  fe. 

And  Firfl  for  his  decree.  Gqd  had  from 
all  Eternity  defigned  this,  and  felled  it  by  an 
irreverfible  Purpofc,  For  can  we  imagine  that 
thrift's  Refurrcdion  was  not  decreed  as  well 


39^         A  Sermon  preached 

as  his  Death  and  Sufferings?  and  thcfe  in 
the  23.1;.  of  this  Chapter  are  exprefly  faid, 
to  have  been  determined  by  God.  It  is  a  known 
Rule  in  Divinity,  that  whatfoever  God  does  in 
Timey  that  he  propofed  to  do  from  Eternity  > 
for  there  can  be  no  ncwTurpofesofGod :  fmce 
he  who  takes  up  a  new  Purpofe,  does  fo  be- 
caufe  he  fees  fome  Ground  to  induce  him  to 
fuch  a  Purpofe,  which  he  did  not  fee  before; 
but  this  can  have  no  place  in  an  infinite 
Knowledge,  which  by  one  comprehenfive 
Intuition  fees  all  things  as/^r^/t'W/,  before  ever 
they  come  to  pafs :  So  that  there  can  be 
no  new  Emergency  that  can  alter  the  Divine 
Rcfolutions.  And  therefore  it  having  been 
abfolutely  purpofed  to  raife  Chrift  from 
the  Dead,  his  Rcfurredion  was  as  fixed 
and  ncceffary,  as  the  Purpofe  of  God  was 
irrevocable  :  A  Purpofe  which  commen- 
ced from  Eternity,  and  was  declared  in  the 
very  Beginnings  of  Time  ;  a  Purpofe  not  to 
be  changed  nor  fo  much  as  bent,  and  much 
lefs  broke,  by  all  the  created  Powers  in 
Heaven  and  Earth,  and  in  Hell  befides.  For 
though  indeed  Death  is  a  great  Conque- 
ror, and  his  Bands  much  too  llrong  for  Nature 
and  Mortality  :  Yet  when  over-match'd  by 
a  l^scree^  this  Conqueror,  as  old  as  he  has 

s:rown 


on  Eailer-Day.  397 

grown  in  Conqucft,  muft  furrcnder  back  his 
Spoils,  unbind  his  Captives,  and  in  a  word, 
even  Death  itfelf  muft  receive  its  Doom, 
Prom  all  which  it  is  manifeft,  That  where 
there  is  a  Divine  Decree^  there  is  always  an 
Omnipotence  to  fecond  it  j  and  confequently, 
that  by  the  Concurrence  of  both  no  \ck  a 
Power  was  employed  to  raife  Chrift  out  of 
the  Grave,  than  that  which  firft  raifed  the 
World  itfelf  out  of  nothing. 

2.  Let  us  confider  God's  Immutability  in 
refped  of  his  Word  and  Tromifey  for  thefe 
alfo  were  engaged  in  this  Affair.  In  what  a 
clear  Prophecy  was  this  foretold,  and  dictated 
by  that  Spirit,  which  could  not.Iye?  Pfalm 
xvi.  10.  Thou  {halt  not  fttffer  thy  Holy  One  to 
fee  Corruption.  And  Chrift  alfo  had  fre- 
quently foretold  the  fameof  himfelf.  Now 
when  God  fays  a  thing,  he  gives  his  Vera- 
city in  Pawn  to  fee  it  fully  performed.  Hea- 
ven and  Earth  maypafs  aisuay  Jooner  than  one 
lot  a  of  a  Divine  Tromife^iW  to  the  Ground. 
Few  things  are  recorded  of  Chrift,  but  the 
Rear  of  the  Narrative  is  ftill  brought  up 
with  this.  That  fuch  a  thing  was  done,  that 
it  might  be  fulfilled  iz; hat  was  fpoken  by  fuchy 
or  ftich  a  Trophet  5  Such  a  firm,  unfhaken, 
adamantine  Connexion  is  there  between  aPro- 

phecy 


3  p  8         A  Sermon  preached 

phccy  and  its  Aceomplifhment.  All  things 
that  are  isjritten  in  the  Trophets  concerning  Me 
(faysChrift)  miift  cometo  pafs.  And  Turcly 
then  the  moft  illuftrious  PaiTage  that  con- 
cerned him  could  not  remain  under  an  Un- 
certainty  and  Contingency  of  Event.  So  that, 
what  is  moft  emphatically  faid  concernv 
Ing  the  pcrfcvcring  Obftinacy  and  Infidelity 
of  the  Jews  J  John  xii.  3  9, 40.  That  they  could 
not  believe y  becaufe^  that  Efaias  had  faid,  that 
God  blinded  their  Eyes,  and  hardened  their 
Heart s^th at  thej ^ouldnot  fee  with  their  Eyes, 
nor  underjland  with  their  Heart Sy  and  fo  bs 
converted  and  he  ^uould  heal  them.  The  fame, 
I  affirm,  may  with  as  great  an  Emphafis, 
and  a  much  greater  Clearnefs  to  ourReafon, 
be  affirmed  of  Chrift,  that  therefore  Death 
could  not  hold  him,  becaufe  the  Kingly  Pro-* 
phct  had  long  before  fung  the  Triumphs  of 
his  glorious  Refurredion  in  the  foremention- 
cd  Predidion.  In  a  Word,  whatfoever  God 
purpofes  or  promifes,  pafles  from  contingent 
and  meerly  polfible  into  certain  and  nccef^ 
fary  :  and  whatfoever  is  neccITary,  the  con- 
tray  of  it  is  fo  far  impoffible. 

But  when  I  fay  that  the  Divine  Decree  or 
Promifc  imprints  a  Neceility  upon  things;  it 

may 


on  Eafter-Day.  jpp 

may  to  prevent  Mifapprehenfion  be  needful 
to  explain  what  kind  of  Neceflity  this  is, 
that  fo  the  Liberty  of  fecond  Caufes  be  not 
thereby  wholly  cafhiered  and  taken  away. 
For  this  therefore,  we  are  to  obferve  that  the 
Schools  diftinguifli  of  a  two-fold  Neceflity, 
phyfical  and   logicaU    or   caufal  and    confe^ 
quentiali  which  Terms  are  commonly  thus 
explained,  viz.   T^^x.  phyfical  ot  caufal  Ne- 
cejfity  is  when  a  thing  by  an  efficient  pro- 
ductive Influence  certainly  and  naturally  cau- 
fes fuch  an  EfFedl :  and  in  this  Senfe  neither 
the  Divine  Decree  nor  Promife  makes  things 
neccflary ;  for  neither  theDecree  norPromife, 
by  itfelf  produces  or  effeds  the  Thing  de- 
creed or  promifed ;  nor  exerts  any  adive  In- 
fluence upon  fecond  Caufes  fo  as  to  impel 
them  to  do  any  thing ;  but  in  point  of  Adi- 
on  are  wholly  ineff^edive.     Secondly,  logi- 
cal or  confequentialNecejfityiSy  when  a  thing 
does  not  efficiently  caufe  an  Event,   but  yet 
by  certain  infallible  Confequence  docs  infer 
it.     Thus  the  Fore-knowledge  of  any  Event, 
if  it  be  true  and  certain,does  certainly  and  nc- 
eeflarily  infer,that  there  mufl:  be  fuch  an  Event : 
forafmuch  as   the  Certainty  of  the  Know- 
..  kdge  depends  upon  the  Certainty  of  the  thing 
kr^zi'n.     And  in  this  Senfe  it  is,  that  God's 

Decree 


40 d  A  Sermon  pr inched 

Decree  and  Promife  give  a  neceflary  Exit- 
tence  to  the  thing  decreed  or  promifcd,  that  is 
to  fay,  they  infer  it  by  a  neceflary  infallible 
Confequence  :  So  that  it  was  as  impofllble 
for  Chrift  not  to  rife  from  the  Dead,  as  it 
was  for  God  abfolutely  to  decree  and  promife 
a  thing,  and  yet  for  that  thing  not  to  come 
to  pafs. 

The  Third  Reafort  of  the  Impoflibility  of 
Chrift's  Detention  under  a  State  of  Death, 
was  from  the  Jttftice  of  God.  God  in  the 
whole  Procedure  of  Chrift's  Sufferings  muft 
be  confidcred  as  a  Judge  exading,  and  Chrift 
as  a  Perfon  paying  down  a  Recompenceor  Sa-* 
tisfadion  for  Sin.  For  tho^  Chrift  was  as 
pure  and  undcfiled  with  the  kaft  Spot  of  ^m 
as  Purity  and  Innocence  itfelf:  yet  he  was 
pleafcd  to  make  himfelf  the  greateft  Sinner  in 
the  World  by  Impntatioriy  and  rendring  him- 
felf a  Surety  refponfible  for  our  Debts.  For, 
as  it  is  faid,  i  Cor.  v.  2 1 .  He  'who  knew  no  Sin 
'was  made  Sin  for  us.  When  the  jufticeof  God 
was  lifting  up  the  Sword  of  Vengeance  ovet 
our  Heads,  Chrift  fnatch'd  us  away  from  the 
Blow,  and  fubftituted  his  own  Body  in  our 
Room,  to  receive  the  whole  Stroke  of  that 
dreadful  Retribution  inflidcd  by  the  Hand  of 
an  angry  Omnipotence. 

But 


on  Eafler-Day.  401 

But  now,  as  God  was  pleafcd  fo  to  com- 
port withhisjuftice,  as  not  to  put  up  the  In- 
jury done  it  by  Sin  without  an  equivalent 
Compenfation;  fo  this  being  once  paid  down, 
that  proceeding  was  to  ceafe.     The  Punifh- 
mentdueto  Sin  was  T)eathy  which  being  paid 
by  Chrift,  Divine  Juftice  could  not  any  long- 
er detain  him  in  his  Grave.     For  what  had 
^his  been  elfe  but  to  keep  him  in  Prifon  after 
theDebt  was  paid?  Satisfaftion  difarmsjuftice, 
and  Payment  cancels  the  Bond.     And  that 
which  Chrift  exhibited  was  full  Meafure,pref- 
fed  down  and  running  over,   even  adequate 
to  the  niceft  Proportions,  and  the  moft  exad 
Demands  of  thatfevere  and  unrelentingAttri- 
bute  of  God.     So  that  his  Releafe  proceeded 
not  upon  Terms  of  Courtefy  but  of  Claim* 
The  Gates  of  Death  flew  open  before  him  out 
of  Duty  j  and  even  that  Juftice  which  was  in- 
finite, was  yet  circumfcribed  within  the  in- 
violable Limits  of  what  was  due.    Otherwifc 
Guilt  would  even  grow  out  of  Expiation,thc 
Reckoning  be  inflamed  by  being  paid,and  Pu- 
nifliment  itfelf  not  appeafe  but  cxafperatc 
Juftice.     Revenge  indeed  in  the  Hands  of  a 
finful  mortal  Man  is  for  the  moft  part  vaft, 
unlimited,  and  unreafonable  5  but  Revenge  in 
the  Hands  of  an  infinite  Juftice  is  not  fo  in- 

Vol.  hi.  D  d  finite 


40 1         A  Sermon  preached 

finite  as  to  be  alfo  indefinite,  but  in  all  its 
adings  proceeds  by  Rule  and  Determination, 
and  cannot  poflibly  Airpafs  the  Bounds  put  to 
it  by  the  Merits  of  the  Caufe,  and  the  Mea- 
fiire  of  the  Offence.  It  is  not  the  effect  of 
meer  Choice  and  Will,  but  fprings  out  of  the 
unalterable  relation  of  Equality  between 
Things  and  Adions.  In  a  word,  The  fame 
Juftice  of  God  which  required  him  to  deliver 
Chrift  to  Death,  did  afterwards  as  much  en- 
gage him  to  deliver  him  from  it. 

4.  The  Fourth  Ground  of  the  Impoflibility 
of  Chrift's  perpetual  continuance  under  Death 
was  the  Neceffity  of  his  being  believed  in  as  a 
Saviour  J  and  the  Impoflibility  of  his  being  fo 
without  rifmg  from  the  dead.  As  Chrift  by 
his  Death  paid  down  a  Satisfadion  for  Sin,  fo 
it  was  neccflfary  that  it  fliould  be  declared  to 
the  World  by  fuch  Arguments  as  might  found 
a  rational  Belief  of  it  5  fo  that  Mens  Un- 
belief fhould  be  rendred  in  excufable.  But  how 
could  the  World  believe  that  he  fully  had  fa- 
tisficd  for  Sin,  fo  long  as  they  faw  Death,  the 
known  Wages  of  Sin,  maintain  its  full  Force 
and  Power  over  him,  holding  him,  like  an 
obnoxious  Perfon,  inDuranceand  Captivity? 
When  aMan  is  once  imprifon'd  forDebt,none 
can  conclude  the  Debt  cither  paid  by  him  or 

forgiven 


on  Eafter-Day.  403 

forgiven  to  him,but  by  the  Relcafe  of  his  Pcr- 
fon.  Who  could  believe  Chrift  to  have  been 
a  God  and  a  Saviour  while  he  was  hanging 
upon  the  Tree  ?  A  dying,  crucified  God,  a 
Saviour  of  the  World  who  could  not  favc  him- 
felf,  would  have  been  exploded  by  the  uni- 
verfal  Confent  of  Reafon  as  an  horrible  Para- 
dox and  Abfurdity.  Had  not  the  Refurrcclion 
followed  the  Crucifixion,  that  Scoff  of  the 
Jews  had  flood  as  an  unanfwerable  Argument 
againfl  him,  Mark  xv.  31.  Himfelf  he  cannot 
fave-i  and  in  the  32.  v.  Let  him  come  down 
from  the  Crofs,  and  we  will  believe  171  him. 
Otherwife,  furely,  that  which  was  the  lowefl 
inflance  of  human  Weaknefs  and  Mortality 
could  be  no  competent  Dcmonftration  of  a 
Deity.  To  fave  is  the  cffcd  of  Power,  and 
of  fuch  a  Power  as  prevails  to  a  compleat  Vi- 
ctory and  a  Triumph.  But  it  is  exprefly  af- 
firmed, 2  Cor.  xiii.  4.  That  Chrifl  was  cruci- 
Jied  through  Weaknefs.  Death  was  too  hard 
for  his  Humanity,and  bore  away  the  $poiIs  of 
it  for  a  Time.  So  that,  while  Chrifl  was  in 
the  Grave,  Men  might  as  well  have  expetfled, 
that  a  Porfon  hung  in  Chains  fhould  come 
down  and  head  an  Army,  as  imagine  that  a 
dead  Body,  continuing  fuch,  fhould  be  able 
to  triumph  over  Sin  and  'Death,  which  To 
D  d  2  potently 


404  ^  Sermon  preached 

potently  triumphs  over  the  Living.  The 
Difcourfe  of  the  two  Difciples  going  to  Em- 
maus,  and  expecting  no  fuch  thing  as  a  Re- 
furredion,  was  upon  that  Suppofition  hugely- 
rational,  and  fignificant,  Lukexxiv.  21.  IVe 
trufted  (faid  they)  that  this  had  been  he  who 
Poould  have  redeemed  Ifrael:  thereby  clearly 
implying  that  upon  his  Death  they  had  let 
that  Confidence  fall  to  the  Ground  together 
with  him.  For  they  could  not  imagine 
that  a  breathlefs  Carcafe  could  chafe  away 
the  Roman  Eagles j  and  fo  recover  the  King- 
dom and  Nation  of  the  JewSy  from  under 
their  Subjedion,  which  was  the  Redemp- 
tion that  even  theDifciples  (till  they  were  fur- 
ther enlightened)  promifed  themfelves  from 
their  Mefliah.  But  the  Argument  would  e- 
qually,  nay,  more  ftrongly  hold  againft  afpi- 
ritual  Redemption, fuppofmg  hisContinuance 
under  a  State  of  Death,  as  being  a  thing  in  it 
fclf  much  more  difficult.  For  how  could 
fuch  an  one  break  the  Kingdom  of  Darknefs, 
arid  fethis  Foot  upon  Principalities 2indTow- 
erSy  ^rxdfpiritual  JVickedneJfes  in  high  places, 
who  himfelf  fell  a  Sacrifice  to  the  Wick- 
ednefs  of  mortal  Meni  and  remained  a 
Captive  in  the  lower  parts  of  the  Earth, 
reduced  to  a  Condition  not    only    below 

Mens 


on  Eafter-Day.  405 

Mens  Envy  J    but  below  their  very   Feet  ? 
5 .  The  Fifth   and  Laft  Ground  of  the  Im- 
pollibility  of  Chrift's  perpetual  Continuance 
under  a  State  of  Death  was  the  Nature  of  the 
Priefthood,    which  he  had  took  upon  him. 
The  Apoftle,  Heb.  viii.  4.  fays,  That  if  he 
were  upon  Earth  he  fiould  not  he  a  ^rieft. 
Certainly  then  muchlefs  could  he  be  fo  fhould 
he    continue  under   the   Earth,     The  two 
great  Works  of  his  Priefthood  were  to  offer 
Sacrifice,  and  then  to  make  Interccllion  for 
Sinners,  correfpondent  to  the  two  Works  of 
the  Mofaical  Priefthood  5    in  which  the  Ptieft 
firft  flew  the  Lamb,  and  then  with  the  Blood 
of  it  entred  into  the  Holy  of  Holies^  there  to 
appear  before  God  in  the  behalf  of  the  People. 
Chrift  therefore  after  that  he  had  off'ered  him- 
fclf  upon  the  Crofs  was  to  enter  into  Heaven, 
and  there  prefenting  himfelf  to  the  Father  to 
make  that  Sacrifice  effedual  to  all  the  Intents 
and  Purpofes  of  it.     Upon  which  Account 
the  Apoftle,  to  exprefs  his  Fitnefs  for  the 
Priefthood  infinitely  beyond  any  of  the  Sons 
oiAaron^  ftates  it  upon  this,  Heb.  vii.  2  5 .  That 
he  lives  for  ever  to  make  Inter cefjlon  for  us, 
and  upon  that  very  Score  alfo  is  able  tofave 
to  the  uttermojl.    But  furely  the  dead  could 

D  d  3  not 


4  o  (5  A  Sermon  preached 

not  intercede  for  the  living,  nor  was  the 
Grave  a  SanBiim  San&orum.  Had  not  Chrift 
rifen  again,  his  Blood  indeed  might  have  cri- 
ed for  Vengeance  upon  his  Murderers,  but  not 
for  Mercy  upon  Believers.  In  fhort,  it  had 
fpoke  no  better  thingsthan  the  Blood  oi  Abel, 
which  caird  for  nothing  but  a  fearful  Judg- 
ment upon  the  Head  of  him  who  fhed  it. 
Chrift's  Death  merited  a  Redemption  for  the 
World,  but  Chrift  while  dead  could  not  fhew 
forth  the  full  ^^^J  of  that  Redemption.  He 
made  the  Turchafe  at  his  Death,  but  he  could 
not  take  ToffeJJion  till  he  was  returned  to  Life. 
Ever  fmce  Chrift  afcended  into  Heaven,  he 
has  been  purfuing  the  great  Work  begun  by 
him  upon  the  Crofs,  andappying  the  Virtue 
of  his  Sacrifice  to  thofe  for  whom  it  was  of- 
fcr'd.  It  is  affirmed  by  fome,  and  that  not 
without  great  probability  of  Reafon,  that  the 
Souls  of  the  Saints  who  dyed  before  Chrift's 
Relurredion  did  not  adually  enter  into  a  State 
of  compleat  Glory,  till  Chrift  the  great  Cap- 
tain of  their  Salvation  upon  his  Afcenfion  firft 
entrcd  into  it  himfelf,  and  then  made  way 
for  others.  So  that  according  to  that  Divine 
Anthem  of  the  Church,  After  that  he  had 
pverccme  the  Sharpnefs  of^eath^  then  at 
kngth;  and  not  till  thcnj/'f  opened  the  Kingdom 


on  Eafter-Day.  407 

of  Heaven  to  all  Believers.  And  thus  I  have 
given  five  feveral  Reafons,  why  it  was  not 
pojjible  that  a  State  of  Death  fliould  finally 
prevail  over  Chrift,  which  was  the  thing  to 
be  proved.  And  I  have  nothing  further  to 
recommend  to  your  Confideration,  but  only 
two  things,  which  the  very  Nature  of  the 
Subject  fecms  of  itfelf  to  imprint  upon  all 
pious  Minds. 

I .  The  firft  is  a  T)ehortation  from  Sin,  and 
that  indeed  the  ftrongeft  that  can  be.  For 
can  we  imagine  that  the  fccond  Perfon  in 
the  glorious  Trinity,  would  concern  himfelf 
to  take  upon  him  our  Flefh,  and  ro  fuflfer, 
and  die,  and  at  length  rife  again,  only  to  ren- 
der us  the  more  fecure  and  confident  in  our 
Sins?  Would  he  neither /^^,  nor  endure ^w;' 
Corruption  in  his  dead  Body,  that  we  fliould 
harbour  all  the  Filth  and  Corruption  imagin- 
able in  our  immortal  Souls  ?  Did  he  conquer 
and  triumph  over  Death,  that  we  fliould  be 
the  Slaves  and  Captives  of  that  which  is  worfe 
than  Death  ?  Chrift  has  declared  that  he  will 
dwellinthoit,  whom  he  affumes  into  the  Soci- 
ety of  his  myftical  Body  :  But  can  we  think, 
that  he  who  pafled  from  a  clean  new  Sepulchre 
into  an  heavenly  Manfion,  will  defcend  from 
thence  to  take  up  his  Habitation  in  the  rot- 
D  d  4  ten 


^o  8         A  Sermon  preached 

ten  Sepulchre  of  an  Heart  polTefred  and  pollu- 
ted with  the  Love  of  that  which  he  infinitely 
hates?  It  will  little  avail  us,  that  Chrift  rofe 
froma  ^^«?/><?rj/Dcath,unlcfs  we  alfo  rife  from 
Tifpiritual.  For  thofe  who  do  not  imitate  as 
well  as  believe  Chrift's  Refurredlion,  mufi 
€Xpe5i  no  Benefit  by  it. 

2.  Chrift's  Rcfurrcdion  is  an  high  and  fo- 
vereign  Confoiation  againft  'Death.  Death 
we  know  is  the  grand  Enemy  of  Mankind, 
the  mercilefs  Tyrant  over  Nature,  and  the 
King  of  Terrors.  But,  bleffed  be  God,  Chrift 
has  given  a  mortal  Blow  to  his  Power,  and 
broke  his  Sceptre.  And  if  we  by  a  thorow 
Conqueft  of  our  Sins,  and  riling  from  them 
can  be  but  able  to  fay,  O  Sin  ?  where  is  thy 
^ower?  We  may  very  rationally  and  war- 
rantably  fay  thereupon,  O  Death y  where  is 
thy  Sting  ?  So  that  when  we  come  to  rc%n 
back  thcic  frail  Bodies,  thefe  Veflelsof  Mor- 
tality to  the  Duft  from  whence  they  were  ta- 
ken, wc  may  yet  fay  of  our  Souls  as  Chrift 
did  of  the  Damfel  whom  he  raifed  up,  that 
fie  was  not  dead,  but  on\y  Jlept  -^  for,  in  like 
manner,  we  Ihall  as  certainly  rife  out  of  the 
Grave,  and  triumph  over  the  Difhonours  of 
its  Rottennefs  and  Putrefadion,  as  we  rife 
in  the  Morning  out  of  our  Beds,  with  Bodies 

refrclhcd 


on  Eafter-Day.  409 

rcfrefhcd  and  advanced  into  higher  and  no- 
bler Perfedions.  For  the  Head  being  once 
rifcn,  we  may  be  fure  the  Members  cannot 
ftay  long  behind.  And  Chrift  is  already  ri- 
fen  and  gone  before,  to  prepare  Manfionsfor 
all  thofe  who  belong  to  him  under  that  high 
Relation,  that  where  he  is,  they  (to  their  eter. 
nal  Comfort)  may  be  alfo,  rejoicing  and  Ring- 
ing ^ra'tfes  and  Hallelujahs  to  him  whojit- 
teth  upon  the  Throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  for 
ever  and  ever. 

To  whom  be  rendred  and  afcribed-,  as  is 
moft  due,  allTraife,  Might ■,  Majefty , and 
dominion,  to  eternal  Ages.    Amen. 


THE 


4  T  o  A  Sermon  preached 

TheChrifiian  PENTECOST: 

O  R    THE 

Solemn  Effufion  of  the  Holy  Ghoft  j 

IN  THE 

Setural  miraculous  Gifts  conferred  h  him  upon 
the  Apoftles  and  firft  Chrifiians  s 

Set  forth  in  a 

SERMON 

Preach'd  at 

Weflminfter-Abbey,  1692. 


I  Cor.  XII.  4. 

IVow  there  are  Diver fities  of  Gifts ^  but 

the  fame  Spirit, 

OUR  blefTed  Saviour  having  newly 
changed  his  Crown  of  Thorns  for  a 
Crown  of  Glory y  and  afcending  up  on  high 
took  Pofleflion  of  his  Royal  Eftatc  and 
Sovereignty,  according  to  the  Cut- 
torn  of  Princes,  is  here  treating  with 
3  thj5 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.        411 

this  lower  World  (now  at  fo  great  a 
Diftance  from  him)  by  \\\s  Ambaffador .  And, 
for  the  greater  Splendor  of  the  Embajfy, 
and  Authority  of  the  Meflfage,  by  an  Am^ 
baffador  no  ways  inferior  to  himfelf,  even 
the  Holy  Ghoft,  the  third  Perfon  in  the 
blefled  Trinity,  in  Glory  equals  in  Majejiy 
co-eternal'-,  and  therefore  moft  peculiarly  fit, 
not  only  as  a  deputy,  but  as  a  kind  of  alter 
idem  to  fupply  his  Place  and  Prefence  here 
upon  Earth :  and  indeed  had  he  not  been  e- 
qual  to  him  in  the  Godhead,  he  could  no  more 
have  fiipplted  his  Place,  than  he  could  have 
filled  it :  which  we  know,  in  the  Accounts 
of  the  World,  are  things  extreamly  different; 
as  by  fad  and  fcandalous  Experience  is  too 
often  found. 

Now  the  fum  of  this  his  glorious  Nego- 
tiation was  to  confirm  and  ratifie  Chrift's 
DoCtnnCjtofeal  the  new  Charter  of  the  World's 
Bleffednefs  given  by  Chrift  himfelf,  and 
drawn  up  by  his  ;  Apoftles :  and  certainly, 
it  was  not  a  greater  Work  firft  to  publijhy 
than  it  was  afterwards  to  confirm  it.  For 
Chriftianity  being  a  Religion  made  up  of 
Truth  and  Miracle,  could  not  receive  its 
Growth  from  any  Power  lefs  than  that  which 
firft  gave  it  its  Birth,    And  being  withal  a 

Dodrine 


412         A  Sermon  preached 

Dodrine  contrary  to  corrupt  Nature,  and 
to  thofe  Things,  which  Men  moft  eagerly 
loved,  to  wit,  their  worldly  Interejls,  and 
their  carnal  Ltifts ;  it  muft  needs  have  quick- 
ly decayed,  and  withered,  and  dyed  away, 
if  not  watered  by  the  fame  Hand  oiOmm- 
fotence  by  which  it  was  firft  planted. 

Nothing  could  keep  it  up,  but  fuch  a  {land- 
ing, mighty  Power,  as  fhould  be  able  upon 
all  occafions  to  countermand,  and  controul 
Nature ;  fuch  an  one  as  fhould,  at  the  fame 
time,  both  inftru^  and  afton'tjh -,  and  baffle 
the  Difputes  of  Reafon  by  the  obvious  over- 
powering Convidions  of  Senfe. 

And  this  was  the  Defign  of  the  Sprit's  Mif- 
Jion.  That  the  fame  Holy  Ghoft,  who  had 
given  Chrift  his  Conception,  might  now  give 
Chriftianity  its  Confirmation.  And  this  he 
did  by  that  wonderful  and  various  EfFufian  of 
his  miraculous  Gifts  upon  the  firft  Meflengers, 
and  Propagators  of  this  Divine  Religion.  For 
as  our  Saviour  himfelf  faid,  John  iv.  48.  Un- 
lefs  youfee  Signs  and  Wonders  you  will  not  be- 
Iteve.  So  that  Sight  was  to  introduce  Belief : 
^nd  accordingly,  the  firft  Conqueft  and 
Convidlion  was  made  upon  the  Eye,  and  from 
thence  paffcd  vidiorious  to  the  Heart. 

This 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.       413 

This  therefore  was  their  Rhetoricky  this 
their  Method  of  Perfuafion.  Their  Words 
were  Works :  T>ivmity  and  Thyjick  went  to- 
gether :  They  cured  the  Body,  and  thereby 
convinced  the  Soul:  They  conveyed  and  en- 
forced all  their  Exiiortations,  nbt  by  the  Arts 
of  Eloquence  y  but  by  the  Gifts  of  Tongues  % 
Thefe  were  the  SfeakerSy  and  Miracle  the 
Interpreter. 

Now  in  treating  of  thefe  Words,  I  fliall 
confidcr  tliefe  three  Things. 

Firjij  What  thofe  Gifts  were,  which  were 
conferred  by  the  Spirit  both  upon  the  Apo- 
files y  zv\(\firfl  Trofeffors  of  Chriftianity. 

Secondly,  What  is  imported,  and  to  be  un- 
derftood  by  their  'Diverfity :  and 

Thirdly,  and  Lafily,  What  are  the  Confe- 
quencesof  xhcix  Emanation  from  one  and  the 
fame  Spirit. 

Firft,  Andfirft,  ionthcfirfief  them.  Thefe 
Gifts  are  called  in  the  Original  ;^ctp/(r^6t7c'othat 
is  to  fay,  A£fs  of  Grace  or  Favour  i  and  figni- 
fie  here  certain  Qualities  and  Perfedions, 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  freely  bellowed  up- 
on Men,  for  the  better  enabling  tliem  to 
preach  the  Gofpel,  and  to  fettle  the  Chri- 
(lian  Religion  in  the  World  :  and  accord- 
ingly we  will  confider  them  under  that 
•  Ji  3  known 


414         -^  Sermon  preached 

known  Dichotomy,  or  Divifion,  by  which 
they  (land  divided  into  ordinary,  and  ex- 
traordinary. 

And  firft,  for  xht  ordinary  Gifts  of  the  Spirit ^ 
thefe  he  conveys  to  us  by  the  Mediation  of 
our  own  Endeavours.  And  as  he,  who 
both  makes  the  Watch,  and  winds  up  the 
Wheels  of  it,  may  not  improperly  be  faid  to 
be  the  Author  of  its  Motion  ;  fo  God,  who 
firft  created,  and  fince  fujiains  the  Powers 
and  Faculties  of  the  Soul,  mayjuftly  be  cal- 
led the  Caufe  of  all  thofe  Perfedions,  and  Im- 
provements, which  the  faid  Faculties  fhall  at- 
tain unto  by  their  refpedive  Operations.  For 
that  which  gives  xhcForm-,%\Mcs  alfo  the  Con- 
fequents  of  that  Form  5  and  the  Principle,with 
all  its  appendant  Anions,  is  to  be  referred  to 
the  fame  T)onor, 

But  God  forbid  that  I  fhould  determine 
God's  Title  to  our  Actions  barely  in  his  gi- 
ving us  the  Tower  2Si^  Faculty  of  A6ting.  T>U' 
randus  indeed,  an  eminent  Schoolman  held 
fo,  and  fo  muft  Telagius  and  his  Followers 
hold  too,  if  they  will  be  true  to,  and  abide 
by  their  own  Principles. 

But  undoubtedly,  God  does  not  only  give 
the  Tower,   but   alfo  vouchfafes  an  a^ive 
Influence  and  Concurrence  to  the  Produc- 
tion 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.       4 1 5 

tion  of  every  particular  ABioriy  fo  far  as 
it  has  either  a  natural  or  a  moral  Goodnefs 
in  it. 

And  therefore,  in  all  acquired  Gifts,  or 
Habits,  fuch  as  are  thofe  of  ^hilofophy.  Or  a- 
tory,  or  ^Divinity,  we  are  properly  cvn^yo-f, 
Co-workers  with  God.  And  God  ordinarily 
gives  them  to  none,  but  fuch  as  labour  hard 
for  them.  They  are  fo  his  Gijts,  that  they 
are  alfo  our  own  Acquifitions.  His  Afliftance, 
and  our  own  Study  are  the  joint  and  adequate 
Caufe  of  thefe  Perfedions :  And  to  imagine 
the  contrary,  is  all  one,  as  if  a  Man  fhould 
think  to  be  a  Scholar,  barely  by  his  Matter's 
teaching-,  without  his  own  learning.  In  all 
thefe  Cafes,  God  is  ready  to  do  his  Part,  but 
not  to  do  both  his  own  and  ours  too. 

Secondly,  The  other  fort  of  the  Spirit's  Gifts 
arc  extraordinary.  Which  are  fo  abfolute- 
ly  and  entirely  from  God,  that  the  Soul,  in- 
to which  they  are  conveyed,  contributes  no- 
thing to  the  obtaining  of  them  but  a  bare 
Reception  :  As  when  you  pour  fome  gene- 
rous Wine  or  Liquor  into  a  Cask  or  Vefiel, 
that  affords  nothing  to  its  own  Fullnefs,  but 
a  meer  Capacity  j  the  reft  it  owes  wholly  to 
the  liberal  Hand  that  infufed  it :  And,  no 
doubt,  from  an  Alluiion  to  this,  fuch  Endow- 
ments 


4 1 6  A  Sermon  preached 

ments  arc  faid  to  be  by  way  of  Infujion  from 
the  Holy  Ghoft. 

Of  which  kind  were  the  Gift  of  Miracles j 
the  Gift  of  Healing-,  the  Gift  ofTrophecy  and 
of  [peaking  with  Tongues ;  which  great  things 
might  indeed  be  the  Obje5i  of  Mens  Admi- 
ration, and  fometimes  alfo  xhz  Motive  of  their 
Envy,  but  never  the  EjfeEi^  or  Purchafe  of 
their  own  Endeavours. 

Now  concerning  thefe  Gifts  we  muft  ob- 
ferve  alfo,  that  there  was  no  fmall  Difference 
amongft  them,  as  to  the  manner  of  their  In- 
exiflence  in  the  Perfons  wiio  had  them. 

For  oneof  them,to  wit,the  Gift  of  Tongues, 
after  its  firft  Infufion  by  the  Spirit j  might  be  in 
a  Man  by  habitual  Inherence,  as  a  Handing 
Principle,  or  Power  refiding  in  the  Soul, 
and  enabUng  it  upon  any  Occafion  to  exprefs 
itfelf  in  feveral  Languages.  There  being  no 
Difference  between  the  acquired  and  the  fu- 
pernatural  Knowledge  of  Tongues,  as  to  the 
Nature  and  Quality  of  the  Things  themfclves, 
but  only  in  refpedof  their  firft  Obtainment, 
that  one  is  by  induftrious  Acquifition,  the  o- 
ther  by  Divine  Infufion. 

But  then  for  the  Gifts  of  healing  the  Sick, 
raifing  the  *T>ead,  and  the  like;  inafmuch 
as  thefe  were  immediate  Emanations  from, 

and 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.        4 1 7 

and  peculiar  EfFeds  of  an  Infinite  and  ©/- 
vine  Tower^  Such  a  Power  could  not  be 
made  habitually  to  inhere  and  refide  in  the 
Apoftles;  nor  indeed  in  any  created  Being 
vvhatibever.  But  only  by  an  exterior  Afii/t- 
ance,  the  Power  of  God  was  ready  at  hand, 
uporx  fpecial  and  emergent  Occafions,  at 
their  Invocation,  or  Word,  (as  God  fhould 
tliink  fit)  to  produce  fuch  miraculous  EfFeds : 
For  a  this  To'juer  ofhealingh^id.  been  habitual- 
ly lodged  in  the  Apoftlcs,  lb  that  they  might 
exert,  and  make  ufe  of  it  when  they  pleafed, 
it  will  be  hard  to  give  a  fatisfadory  Reafon, 
why  St.  ^Fatiljhould leave  Twphimus  at  Mi- 
Ictiim fickf  as  '-jje  findhe  did^  2  Tim,  iv.  20. 

And  then  Laftly,  for  the  Gift  of'Tropben't 
and  foretelling  future  Events;  neither  was 
this  in  the  Soul  by  conftant  Inhefion,  and  ha- 
bitual Abode  i  but  (as  we  may  not  unfitly  ex- 
prefs  it)  only  by  fudden  Strictures,  by  tran- 
iient  Immiffions,  and  Reprefcntations  of  the 
Ideas  of  Things  future^  to  the  Imagination. 
In  a  word,  it  was  in  the  Mind  not  as  an  In- 
habitant j  but  as  a  Guefi: ;  that  is,  by  inter- 
mittent Returns  and  EcJiafieSj  by  occajional 
Raptures  zti^.  Revelations  3  as  is  clear  from 
what  we  read  of  the  Prophets  in  the  Old 
Vol.  IIL  E  c  Teftament. 


4 1 8  A  Sermon  preached 

Tcftament.  And  thus  much  I  thought  good 
to  difcourfc  of  the  Nature  of  thefe  Q'tftSy 
and  to  fhew  what  kind  of  Things  they  were  5 
how  they  quaUfied,  and  affcdcd  the  Apo- 
ftles,  and  Primitive  Chriftians,  in  the  Exer- 
cife  of  them  5  that  fo  we  may  not  abufe  our 
Undcrftandings  by  an  empty  Notion  of  the 
Word, without  a  clear  and  diftind  Apprehen- 
fion  of  the  Thing. 

And  here,  I  doubt  not,  but  fome  will  be  apt 
to  enquire,  how  long  thefe  extraordinary  and 
miraculous  Gifts  continued  in  the  Church: 
For  the  Rcfolution  of  which,  the  very  Na- 
ture of  the  Thing  itfelf  will  fuggeft  thus 
much,  that  the  conferring  of  thefe  GtftSy 
being  in  order  to  the  Eftablifhment  of  a 
Church,  and  the  fettling  o'i^new  Religionm 
the  World,  their  Duration  was  to  be  propor- 
tioned to  the  need,  which  that  w^-;^  Religi- 
on had  of  fuch  Credentials,  and  Inftruments 
of  Confirmation.  For  when  Chriftianity  firft 
appeared  in  the  World,  it  found  it  under  the 
mighty  Prejudice  and  Prepoliellion  of  two 
contrary  Religions,  but  both  of  them  equal- 
ly bent,  and  fet  againfl  that,  to  wit,  Gen- 
tilifm,  ^\\6.  Judaifm.  Which  Prejudices  no- 
thing could  conquer,  but  the  Arm  of  Om- 
nipotence itfelf  (as  it  were)  made  bare  be- 
3  fore 


at  Weflmindcr-Abbcy.        419 

fore  them,    in  fuch  ftupcndous  Works,    as 
could  not  but  convince  them  to  rheir  Face, 
that  it  was  a  Religion  which  came  from  God 
But  when  thefe  Prejudices  were  once  remo- 
ved,   by  the   aftual  Entertainment  of,    and 
Submiflionto  thcChriftian Faith,  there  could 
not  be  the  fame  Ufe  or  Need  of  Miracles 
then,  which  there  was  before.     For  dill  wc 
muft  remember,  that  the  State  of  a  Church 
m  its  Infancy  and  firft  Beginnings,  and  in  its 
Maturity  and  Continuance  is  very  different, 
and  confequently  that   the  Exigencies  of  it, 
under  each  Condition,  muft  equally  differ  too. 
It  is  a  much  harder  Work  firft  to  advance,  and 
put  a  thing  into  Motion,    than  to  continue 
and  keep  up  that  Motion  being  once  begun  j 
for   though  indeed  (as  v/e  obferved  before) 
there  is  an  Omnipotence  required  tomaintairij 
as  well  as  tiril  \.ofet  up  the  ChrilHan  Church, 
yet  it  does  not  therefore  follow  that  this  Om- 
nipotence muft  ftill  exert  itfclf  to  the  fame 
Degree,  and  after  the  fame  way,  in  one  Cafe, 
that  it  does  in  the  other. 

Wherefore  theUfe  and  Purpofe  of  Miracles 

being  extraordinary ^  and  to  ferve  only  for  a 

time  J    they  were  not  by  their  Continuance 

to  thwart  their  T^efign,  nor  to  be  made  com- 

E  e  2  mm  " 


4^0  A  Sermon  preached 

mon  by  their  being  J^erfetual.      The  exad 
Period  of  their  Duration  can  hardly  be  a(- 
figncd }   bur  manifeft  it  is  from  all  Hiftory 
that  they    (or  at  leaft   fome  them)    conti- 
nued long  after  the  Apoflles  time  j  as  we  may 
gather  from  the  feveral  Ages  of  thofe  emi- 
nent Fathers  and   Chriftian  Writers,    who 
have  Co  freely  given  in  their  Teftimony  con- 
cerning the  ejedingof  evil  Spirits  from  Pcr- 
fons  poflcfled,  as  very  common  in  their  time 
in  the  Chriftian  Church  j  a  Power  no  doubt 
ftipernaturalj  and  therefore  miraculous :  Such 
as  were  Juftin  Martyr,  who  lived  fomething 
before  the  middle  of  the  fecond  Century,  and 
Irentcus  who  lived  about  thirty  Years  after, 
and  'Tertullian  who  lived  in  the  latter  End  of 
the  Second,  and  the  Beginning  of  the  Third, 
and  Minutius  Felix  thereabouts,  and  St.  Cy- 
prian about  the  Middle  of  the  Third,    and 
LaBantiiis  about  the  Beginning  of  the  Fourth. 
AU  thefe,  I  fay,  according  to  the  Times  they 
lived  in,  fpeak  of  this  Power  of  cafting  out 
Devils  (but  more  efpecially  Tertullianin  the 
twenty  third  Chapter  of  his  Apologetick) 
with  lb  much  AfTurance,   that  it  mud  needs 
prove  it  to  have  been  very  frequent  amongft 
the  Chriftians    in    thofe  Days;    as   feveral 
Pailages  in  thofe  forementioned  Writers  par- 
ticularly 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.        411 

ticularly  declare  :  Which  might  cafily  be  pro- 
duced  and  rehcarfed  by  us,  could  we  fparc 
Room  enough  for  them  in  ^o  fhort  aDifcourrc. 

But  however,  certain  it  is,  that  now  thcfc 
extraordinary  and  miraculous  Powers  are 
ccafcd,  and  that  upon  as  good  Reafon,  as  at 
firft  they  began.  For  when  the  fptrittial 
Building  is  confummate,  and  not  only  the 
corner  Stone  laid,  but  the  Supcrftrudure  alio 
finijhedy  to  what  Purpofe  fhould  the  Scaf- 
folds any  longer  ftand  ?  Which  when  they 
leave  off  to  contribute  to  the  Building,  can 
fcrve  for  little  elfc  but  to  upbraid  the  Folly 
of  the  Builder.  Befidcs,  that  by  ib  long  a 
Continuance  Miracle  would  aimoft  turn  into 
Nature \  or,  at  lead  look  very  like  it;  the 
Rarities  of  Heaven  would  grow  cheap  and 
common,  and,  (which  is  very  prepofterous 
to  conceive,)  they  would  be  Miracles  with- 
out a  Wonder. 

The  Papifts  indeed,  who  having  fwaliow- 
*£d  and  digefted  the  Belief  of  fo  many  mon- 
ftrous  Contradidions,  would  do  but  very 
unwifely,  and  difagreeably  to  thcmfelves,  if, 
for  ever  after,  they  fliould  (lick  at  any  ad- 
vantageous Abfurdity  ;  thefe,  I  fay,  hold,  that 
the  Gift  of  Miracles  ftill  continues  ordinary 
in  their  Church  j  and  that  the  Chriftian  Rcli. 

Ee  3  §ioi^' 


4^2,  A  Sermon  preached 

gion  has  flill  the  fame  need  of  fuch  miracu- 
lous Confirmations;,  as  it  had  at  firfl. 

Where,  if  by  the  Chriftian  they  mean  their 
own  Topi^o  Religion,  I  am  fo  fully  of  their 
Mind,  that  I  think  there  is  need,    not  only 
o^  daily,  but  even  of  hourly ,  or  rather  con- 
tinual Miracles,    to  confirm  it;    if  it  were 
but  in  that  one  fmgle  hxiioi^oiTranfubjlan' 
fiat  ion.     But  then,  we  know  whofe  Badge 
and  Charader   the    Scripture  makes  it,    to 
corns  in  lyirig  Wonders  5   and  we  know  alfo> 
that  lying  I  bonders  are  true  Impoftmes :  And 
theirs  are  of  that  Nature,  that  the  Fallacy  is 
fo  grofs,    and  the  Cheat  fo  tranfparent  \\x 
them,  that,  as  it  hardens  the  Jews  and  Ma- 
hometans with  a  defperate,  invincible  Preju- 
dice againif  ChriJHanitjj    as  a  thing  as  falfe 
as  thofc  Miracles,  which  they  fee  it  recom- 
mended by  ;  fo,  I  am  confident,    that  it  cau- 
fcs  many  Chriftians  alfo  to  naufeate  their  own 
Religion,  and  to  fall  into  fecret  Atheifm  5  be 
ing  apt  to   think    (as  even  thefe  Impoftors 
alfo  pretend)   that  the  very  Miracles  of  the 
Apoftles  might  be  of  the  fame  Nature,  with 
thofc  which  they   fee  daily   adied   by  thefe 
fpiritual  Juglers:    So  that  hereby  the  grand 
Proof  of  Chriftianity  falls  to  the  Ground,  and 
has  no  Force  or  Hold  upon  Mens  Minds  at 
'     , '   "     all 


^/ Wcftminfter-Abbey.        413 

3II.  Whereas  our  Saviour  himfelf  laid  the 
main  Strefs  and  Credit  of  his  Gofpel,  and  of 
his  Miflion  from  God,  upon  \\\s  Miracles.  The 
Works  that  I  do  (fays  he)  bear  IFitnefsofme, 
John  X.  25.  And,  Believe  me  for  my  very 
Works fakey  John^iv.  ir.  And,  had  I  not 
done  afuongji  them  the  Works  which  no  other 
Man  didy  they  had  not  had  Sin^  John  xv.  24. 
So  that  we  fee.  here,  that  the  Credit  of  all' 
turned  upon  his  Miracles ,  his  mighty  iiwdfit- 
pernaturalWotks. 

But  as,  we  know,  it  often  falls  out,  that, 
when  a  Man  has  once  got  the  Chara£ier  of 
aLyar,  even  Truth  itfelf  is  fufpeded,  if  not' 
abfolutely  disbelieved  when  it  comes  from 
the  Mouth  of  fuch  an  one :  So  thefe  Miracle- 
Mongers  have  alarm'd  the  World  round  a- 
bout  them  to  a  Difcernmcnt  of  their  Tricks^ 
when  they  came  afterwards  to  preach  Chri- 
ftianity,  efpecially  to  Infidels^  and  to  prefs 
it  upon  Mens  Belief  in  the  Strength  of  thofe 
miraculous  Works  which  were  truly  and  real- 
ly done  by  Chriftj  yet,  fmcc  they  pretend 
the  fame  of  their  own  Works  too,  (which 
all  People  fee  through,  and  know  to  be  LyeSy 
and  Impoftures)  all,  that  they  preach  of 
Chrift,  is  prefently  looked  upon  as  falfe,  and 
fi<^itious,  and  leaves  the  Minds  of  Men  lock- 
E  e  4  ed 


4 2. 4  ^  Sermon  peached 

cd  up  under  a  fixedy  obftinatey  and  mpreg* 
fiable  Infidelity.  Such  a  fatal  Blow  has  the 
Legerdemain  of  thofe  Wretches  given  to  the 
Chriftian  Religion,  and  fuch  Jcaloufies  have 
they  raifcd  in  fome  Mens  Thoughts  againft 
it,  by  their  falfe  Miracles  and  fabulous  Sto- 
ries oi the  romantick  Feats  of  their  pretended 
Saints.  In  all  which  there  is  nothing  indeed 
ftrangc  or  miraculous,  but  the  Impudence 
and  Impiety  of  fuch  as  report  and  make 
them,  and  the  Folly  of  fuch  as  can  believe 
them. 

2.  Pafs  we  now  to  the  fecond  Thing  pro- 
pofed,  which  is  to  fhew,  what  is  meant  by 
this  diver fity,  of  Gifts,  mentioned  in  the  Text. 
It  imports;,  I  conceive,  thefe  two  Things. 

1 .  Something  by  way  oi  Affirmationy  which 
is  Variety. 

2.  Something  by  way  of  Negation,  which 
is  Contrariety, 

u  And  firft,  for  the  firft  of  them.  It  inu 
ports  Variety  ?  of  which  excellent  Quaiifica» 
tion,  it  is  hard  to  fay,  whether  it  makes  more 
for  Ufe  or  Ornament.  It  is  the  very  Beauty 
of  Providence,  and  the  Delight  of  the  World. 
It  is  that  which  keeps  alive  Defire,  which 
-^/ould  otherwife  flag  and  tire,  and  be  quickly 

wcarv 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  42,  y 

weary  of  any  one  fmgle  Objed.  It  both  fup- 
plies  our  AflFcftions,  and  entertains  our  Ad- 
miration 5  equally  ferving  the  innocent  Tlea- 
furesy  and  the  important  Occafions  of  Life. 
And  now  all  thefe  Advantages  God  would 
have  this  defirable  Quality  derive  even  upon 
his  Church  too.  In  ^^hich. great  Body  there 
are,  and  muft  be  feveral  Members  having 
their  reveral  ZT/^J",  Offices j  and  Stations:  As 
in  the  2  %th  v.  of  this  Chapter  (where  my  Text 
is)  the  Apoftle  tells  us,  that  God  has  placed 
in  the  Churchy  fir  ft  Apoftles^Jecondarily  Tro- 
phetSy  thirdly  Treacher s ;  after  that  Miracles ^ 
then  Gifts  of  Healing,  Helps,  GovernmentSy 
T)iverfities  of  Tongues.  The  particular  Fun- 
dion,  and  Employment  of  fo  many  Parts 
fubferving  the  joint  Intereft,  and  Defign 
of  the  whole.  As  the  Motion  of  a  Clock  is 
a  complicated  Motion  of  fo  many  Wheels 
fitly  put  together  5  and  Life  itfelf,  but  the  Re- 
fult  of  fo  many  feveral  Operations,  all  ifliiing 
from,  and  contributing  to  the  Support  of  the 
fame  Body.  The  great  help  and  further, 
jance  of  Adion,  is  Order ;  and  the  Parent  of 
Order  is  T>i/iinBion.  No  Senfe,  Faculty,  or 
Member  muft  encroach  upon,  or  interfere 
with  the  Duty  and  Office  of  another.  For  ^s 
the  fame  Apoftle  difcourfes  in  the  two  next 

Verfesy 


4  2,  <S  A  Sermon  pr  e ached 

Verjes,  Are  all  Jpoftles?  Are  allTrophets? 
Are  all  Teachers  ?  Are  all  Workers  of  Mira- 
cles ?  Have  all  the  Gifts  of  Healing  ?  T>o  all 
fieak  with  Tongues?    T^o  all  interpret?  No, 
but  as  in  the  natural  Bpdy  the  Eye  docs  not 
fpeaky  nor  the  Tongue  fee  \    fo  neither  in  the 
Spiritual,  is  every  one,  who  has  the  Gift  of 
Prophecy,    endued  alfo  with  the  Gift  and 
Spirit  of  Government  j  every  one,    who  may 
fpcak  well,    and  pertinently  enough  upon  a 
Text,  is  not  therefore  prefently  fit  to  rule 
a  Diocefe ;  nor  is  a  nimble  Tongue  always 
attended  with  a  ftrong  and  a  fteady  Head.     If 
all  were  Preachers j  who  fhould  govern  ?    or 
rather  indeed,   who  could  be  governed?  If 
the  Body  of  the  Church  were  all  Ear,  Men 
Vv'ould  be  only  Hearers  of  the  Word,    and 
where  would  then  be  the  T^oers  ?     For  fuch, 
1  am  fure,    wc  are  moft  to  feek  for  in  our 
Days,  in  whichj   fad  Experience  fhews  that . 
hearing  Sermons  has,   with  moft,   fwallow- 
ed  up  and   devoured  the  Pradice  of  them,; 
and  manifeftly  ferves  inftead  of  it  3    rendring ; 
many  Zealots  amonLft  us,  as  really  guilty  of 
the  Super ftition  of  rclling  in  the  bare  OpUs , 
Operatiitn  of  this  Duty,    as  the   Papifts  are; 
or  can  be  charged  to  be  in  any  of  their  re-. 
ligious  Performances  whatfoever.    The  Apo- 

ilk 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  4x7 

file  juftly  reproaches  ftich  with  itching  Ears, 
2  Tim.  iv.  3 .  And  I  cannot  fee,  but  that  the 
Itch  in  the  Ear,  is  as  bad  a  Diftepper  as  in 
any  other  Part  of  the  Body,  and  perhaps  a 
iL'orfe. 

But  to  proceed  :  God  has  ufe  of  all  the  fe- 
veral  Tempers  and  Conflitutionsof  Men,  to 
fcrve  the  Occafions  and  Exigencies  of  his 
Church  by.  Amongft  which  fome  are  of  a 
ianguine,  chearful,  and  debonair  Difpofi- 
tipn,  having  their  Imaginations,  for  the  moft 
Part,  filled  and  taken  up  with  pleafmg  Ideas, 
and  Images  of  Things  5  feldomor  never  trou- 
bling their  Thoughts,  either  by  looking  too 
//^f/?  into  them,  or  dwelling  too  long  upon 
theni.  And  thefe  are  not  properly  framed 
to  ferve  the  Church  either  in  the  knotty, 
dark  and  Icfs  pleafmg  Parts  of  Religion,  but 
are  fitted  rather  for  the  airy,  joyful  Offices 
of  Devotion;  fuch  as  zicTraife  and'Thankf. 
giving.  Jubilations,  and  Hallelujahs  j  which 
though  indeed  not  fo  difficult,  are  yet  as 
pleafing  a  Work  to  God  as  any  other.  For 
they  are  the  noble  Employment  of  Saints  and 
Angels ;  and  a  lively  Refemblance  of  the  glo- 
rified and  beatifick  State ;  in  which  all  that  the 
bklled  Spirits  do,  is  to  rejoice  in  the  God,who 

mnde» 


428  A  Sermon  preached 

madcy  and y2?t;^^ them,  to  fing  his  Praifes,  and 
to  adore  his  Perfedions. 

Again,  there  are  others  of  a  melancholy ^  re- 
fervedy  TLndfeiere  Temper,  \jho  think  much 
and  /peak  little  ;  and  thefe  are  the  fitted  to 
ferve  the  Church  in  t\\Q.penflve,aJfli£live  Parts 
of  Rehgion  j  in  the  Aufterities  of  Repentance 
and  Mortification,  in  a  Retirement  from  the 
World,  and  a  fettled  Compofure  of  their 
Thoughts  to  Self-refleftion  and  Meditation. 
And  fuch  alfo  are  the  ableft  to  deal  with 
troubled  and  diftrefTed  Confciences,  to  meet 
with  their  Doubts,  and  to  anfwer  their  Ob- 
jedions,  and  to  ranfack  every  Corner  of  their 
fhifting,  and  fallacious  Hearts,  and,  in  a 
word,  to  lay  before  them  the  true  State  of 
their  Souls,  having  fo  frequently  defcendcd 
into,  and  took  a  ftrid  Account  of  their  own. 
And  this  is  fo  great  a  Work,  that  there  are 
not  many,  whofe  Minds  and  Tempers  are 
capable  of  it,  who  yet  may  be  ferviceable 
enough  to  the  Church  in  other  Things.  And 
it  is  the  fame  thoughtful  and  refcrved  Tem- 
per of  Spirit,  which  muft  enable  others  to 
ferve  the  Church  in  the  hard  and  controver- 
fial  Parts  of  Religion.  Which  fort  of  Men, 
(though  they  fhould  nevci:  rub  Mens  itching 

Ears 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.       429 

Ears  from  the  Pulpit)  the  Church  can  no 
more  be  without,  than  a  Garrifon  can  be 
without  Soldiersy  or  a  City  without  Walls  j 
or  than  a  Man  can  defend  himfelf  with  his 
Tonguej  when  his  Enemy  conies  againft  him 
with  his  Sword.  And  therefore,  great  pity 
it  is,  that  fuch  as  God  has  eminently  and  pe- 
culiarly furniflied,  and  (as  it  were)  cut  out 
for  this  Service,  fhould  be  caft  upon,  and 
compell'd  to  thcfopular,  freaking,  no'tfy  Part 
of  Divinity ;  it  being  all  one,  as  if,  when  a 
Town  is  beficged,  the  Governour  of  it  fhould 
call  off  a  valiant  and  expert  Soldier  from  the 
Walls,  to  iing  him  a  Song  or  play  him  a 
Leflbn  upon  the  Violin  at  a  Banquet,  and 
then  turn  him  out  of  Town,  becaufc  he 
could  not  fing  and  play  as  well  as  he  could 
fight.  And  yet  as  ridiculous  as  this  is,  it  is 
but  too  like  the  irrational  and  abfurd  Hu- 
mour of  the  prefent  Age ,-  which  thinks  all 
Senfe  and  Worth  confined  wholly  to  the  Pul- 
pit. And  many  excellent  Perfons,  becaufe 
they  cannot  make  a  Noife  with  Chapter  and 
Verfe^  and  harangue  it  twice  a  ^ay  to  faHi- 
ous  Tradefmeny  and  ignorant  old  Womeriy  arc 
efteemed  of  as  nothing,  and  fcarce  thought 
worthy  to  eat  the  Church's  Bread.  But  for 
^\  thcjfe  falfe  Notions^  and  wrong  Meafures 
3  of 


4  3  o  A  Sermon  preached 

of  Things  and  Pcrfons,  fo  fcandaloafly  pre- 
valent amongft  us,  Wifdom   (as  our  Saviour 
tells  us)  is  andwillbejufiifiedofher  Children. 
But  then  again,    there  are  others  befides 
thefe,    who  are  of  a  warmer  and  more  fer- 
vent Spirit,  having  much  oi  Heat  and  Fire  in 
their  Conftitution  :  And  God  may  and  does 
ferve  hi^  Church  even  by  iuch  kind  of  Per- 
fons  as  thcfe  alfo,  as  being  particularly  fitted 
to  preach  the  terrifying  Rigours   and  Curfes^ 
of  the   Law  to  obftinate  daring   Smners ; 
which  is  a  Work  as  abfolutely  neceflary,  and 
of  as  high  a  Confequence  to  the  good  of  Souls, 
as  it  is,  that  Men  Ihould  be  driven,    if  they 
cannot  be  drawn  off  from  their  Sins  i    that 
they  fliould  be  cut  and  launccd  if  they  can- 
not otherwife  be  cured,    and  that  the  terri- 
ble Trump  of  the  laft  Judgme7it  fliould  be  al- 
ways founding  in  their  Ears,  if  nothing  elfe 
can  awaken  them.     But  then,    while   fuch 
Perfons  are  thus  bufied  in  T reaching  ofjudg- 
tnent,   it  is  much  to  be  wilhed,    that  they 
would  do  it   with  judgment  tooj   and  not 
preach  Hell  and  'Damnation  to  Sinners  fo,  as 
if  they  \fQ}ic pleafed  \^\x.\\  what  they  preached  > 
No,   let  them  rather  take  heed,    that  they 
niiftake  not  their  own  fierce  Temper  for  the 

Mind 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.        431 

Mind  of  God  5  for  fome  I  have  known  to  do 
fo,  and  that  at  fuch  a  Rate,  that  it  wafs  cafy 
enough  to  diftinguifh  the  Humour  of  the 
Speaker,  from  the  Nature  of  the  Thing  he 
fpoke.  Let  Minifters  threaten  T>eath  and 
T>eftniciion  even  to  the  very  word  of  Men  ia 
fuch  a  Manner,  that  it  may  appear  to  ail  their 
fober  Hearers,  that  they  do  not  dejire,  but 
fear  that  thefe  dreadful  Things  fhouid  come 
to  pafs:  Let  them  declare  God's  Wrath  a- 
gainft  the  hardened  and  impenitent,  as  I  have 
feen  a  Judge  condemn  a  MalefaBoYj  with 
Tears  in  his  Eyes:  For  furely  much  more 
Ihould  a  T>ifpenfer  of  the  PFord,  while  he  is 
pronouncing  the  infinitely  more  killing  Sen- 
tence of  the  ^Divine  Law,  grieve  with  an 
inward- bleeding  Compalllon  for  the  Mifery 
of  thofe  forlorn  Wretches,  whom  it  is  like  to 
pafs  upon.  But  I  never  knew  any  of  the 
Geneva,  or  Scotch  Model  (which  fort  of 
fandified  Reprob  at  toners  we  abound  with) 
either  ufe,  or  like  this  way  of  Preaching  in 
my  Life  5  but  generally  Whips  and  Scorpions y 
Wrath  and  Vengeance,  Fire  and  Brimftone^ 
made  both  Top  and  Bottom,  Front  and  Rear, 
Firft  and  Laft  of  all  their  Difcourfes. 


Buc 


4  3  2^  -^  Sermon  preached 

But  then  on  the  contrary,  there  are  others 
again,  of  a  gentler,  a  fofter,  and  more  ten- 
der Genius,  and  thefe  are  full  as  ferviceable 
for  the  Work  of  the  Miniftry,  as  the  former 
fort  could  be,  though  not  in  the  fame  way  ; 
as  being  much  fitter  to  reprcfent  the  Aleeknefs 
oiMofes,  than  to  preach  his  Law  \  to  bind 
up  the  broken-he  art  edy  to  fpeak  Comfort 
and  Refrefhment  to  the  weary ^  and  to  take 
off  the  Burden  from  the  heavy  laden.  Na- 
ture itfelf  feems  peculiarly  to  have  fitted 
fuch  for  the  Difpenfations  of  Grace,  And 
when  they  are  once  put  into  the  Miniftry, 
they  are  (as  it  were)  marked  and  fingled  out 
by  Providence,  to  do  thofe  benign  Offices  to 
the  Souls  of  Men,  which  Pcrfons  of  a  rough- 
er and  more  vehement  Difpofition  are  by  no 
means  fo  fir,  or  able  to  do.  Thefe  arc  the 
Men,  whom  God  pitches  upon  for  the  He- 
raids  of  his  Mercy,  with  a  peculiar  Empha- 
/is  and  Felicity  of  Addrefs,  to  proclaim  and 
ifllie  out  the  Pardons  of  the  Gofpel,  toclofe 
up  the  Wounds  which  the  legal  '[Preacher- 
had  made,  to  bathe  and  fupplc  them  with  the 
0/7  of  Gladnefs  5  and  in  a  word,  to  crown 
the  Sorrows  of  Repentance  with  the  Joys  of 
AfTurance.  And  thus  we  have  feen  how  the 
Gofpel  muft  have  both  its  Boanerges  and 

its 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.        433 

Its  Barnabas^  Sons  of  Thtrader,  and  Sons  of 
Confolation :  The  firft  (as  it  were,)  to  cleanfe 
the  Air  and  purge  the  Soul,  before  it  can  be 
fit  for  the  RefrcHiments  of  a  Sun^ine^  the 
Beams  of  Mercy ^  and  the  Smiles  of  a  Sa- 
'vioiir. 

'David  had  fhewn  himfelf  but  a  mean 
Pfahiiift,  had  his  Skill  reached  no  further 
than  to  one  Note :  And  therefore,  Tfal.  ex. 
V.  I.  we  have  him  Singing  of  Judgment  as 
well  as  Mercy  5  and  fo  raifing  the  fwceteft 
Harmony  out  of  the  feeming  ^ifcord  of  the 
moft  difagrceing  Attributes.  There  can  be 
no  Compofition  in  any  Thing,  without  fome 
Multiplicity  and  T>iverjity  of  Tarts:  And 
therefore  we  have  a  Catalogue  of  thofe  Gifts, 
which  did  (as  it  were)  compound  d^nd  make  up 
the  Primitive  Cliurch  in  the  8,9,  and  loth 
Verfes  of  this  i  ^th  Chapter  of  the  \fl  to  the 
Corinthians.  Where  the  Apoftle  tells  us. 
That  to  one  is  given  the  Word  of  IVifdom,  to 
another  the  Word  of  Knowledge,  to  another 
Faith ;  with  many  more  fuch  like  Gifts  there 
reckoned  up  5  and  indeed  fo  many  and  vari- 
ous were  the  Gifts  poured  out  by  the  Spirit 
of  God  upon  the  firft  Preachers  of  the  Gof- 
pel,  that  there  is  need  almoft  of  the  Gifts  of 
Tongues xo  rehearfe  them. 

Vol.  III.  Ff  Of 


434         -^  Sermon  preached 

Of  which  great  Variety,  as  we  have  hi- 
therto obrerved  the  Ufe,  fo  it  is  intended  alfo 
for  the  Ornament  of  the  Church.     I  fay  Or- 
nament: Por  I  cannot  perfuade  myfelf,  that 
God  ever  defigned  his   Church  for  a  rude, 
naked,    unbeautiful  Lump}     or  to  lay  the 
Foundations  of  Purity  in  the  Ruins  of  de- 
cency.   The  Entrance  and  Gate  of  Solomon'j' 
Temple  ^2iSC2L\\tdi  Be attt if ul:  And,  as  there 
were  feveral  Orders  of  Triejls  and  Levites 
belonging  to  it,  fo  they  had  their  feveral  Of- 
fices, their  feveral  Chambers  and  Apartments 
in  that  Temple.     It  was  a  kind  of  Reprefen- 
tation  of  Heaven  i  in  which,  our  Saviour  tells 
us,  there  are  many  Manfions,    But  behold ! 
there  are  wifer,  much  wifer,  than  Solomon  a- 
mongft  us,  who  will  have  it  quite  otherwife 
in  the  Chriftian  Church.     Nothing  of  Order 
or  Diftindion,  nothing  of  Splendor  or  Drefs 
muft  be  allowed  of  here.     No,  they  are  all 
for  lying  in  the  l^ufi  before  Gody   (as  their 
word  is,)  and  therefore  will  have  nothing  but 
*T>ufl  and  Naflinefs  for  the  Church's  Furni- 
ture :  To  attempt  a  Confutation  of  fuch  Per- 
fons  would  b€  fuperfluous  5  and  indeed  I  have 
no  more  to  fay  for  thofe,  who  contend  for 
fuch  a  fordid,    and  mean  Condition  of  the 
Church,    but,  that  in  this,  they  do  not  io 

much 


a^  ^v^eftminfler* Abbey.         43  j 

much  rpeak  their  devotion  as  their  Educa- 
tion: It  being  generally  found  that  a  flovenly 
way  of  br<:eding  difpofes  Men  to  a  kind  of 
flovenly  Rcligioa. 

Much  might  be  fpoken  by  way  of  Analogy 
between  th  e  internal,  and  external^  the  fpi- 
ritual  and  the  material  Ornaments  of  the 
Church  5  but  both  of  them  fcrve  to  drefs  and 
fet  off  the  Spoufe  of  Chrift  5  the  firft  to  re- 
commend her  to  his  own  Eyes,  and  the  lat* 
ter  to  the  Eyes  of  the  World. 

Where  would  be  the  Beauty  of  the  Hea- 
vens thenifelvcs,  if  it  were  not  for  the  mul- 
titude of  the  Stars,  and  the  variety  of  their 
Influences'?  And  then  for  the  Earthhere  below, 
and  thofc  who  dwell  therein,  certainly  wc 
might  live  without  the  Plumes  of  Peacocks, 
and  the  curious  Colours  of  Flowers  5  with- 
out fo  many  different  Odours y  fo  many  feve- 
ral  Tajtts,  and  fuch  an  infinite  Diverfity  of 
Airs  and  Sounds.  But  where  would  thea 
be  the  Glory  and  Luftre  of  the  Univerfe  ?  The 
Flourifh  and  Gaiety  of  Nature?  If  our  Senfes 

were  forcedto  be  alwayspcringupon  the  fame 
Things,  without  the  Diverfion  of  Change, 
and  thequickningRelifh  of  Variety?  And 
now,  when  matters  ftand  thus,  may  we 
not  jufily  fay,  If  God  fo  clothes  the  Fie  Id j  ^o 
F  f  2  paints 


4  3  <5  A  Sermon  preached 

paints  the  Flowers,  and  paves  the  very  Pla:-' 
CCS  we  tread  upon,  and  with  fuch  Curiofity 
provides  for  all  our  Senfes,  which  yet  are  but 
the  Servants,  and  under  Officers  of  the  Soul  j 
fhall  he  not  much  more  provide  for  the  Soul 
itfelf  and  its  own  Service  thereby,  in  the 
glorious  Oeconomy,  and  great  Concern- 
ments of  the  Church?  And  moreover,  does 
not  fuch  a  liberal  EfFufion  of  Gifts  equally 
argue  both  the  7ower  and  the  Bounty  of  the 
Giver  ?  Number  and  Multitude  are  the  Signs 
of  Riches,  and  the  Materials  of  Tknty ;  And 
therefore  though  Unity  in  the  Government 
and  Communion  of  the  Church  is  indeed  a 
great  Bleffing,  yet  in  the  Gifts  and  Endow- 
ments of  it,  it  would  be  but  Penury  and  a 
Curfe.     But 

Secondly  i  As  ihis  T>iverfity  of  the  Spirit's 
Gifts  imports  Variety,  fo  it  excludes  Contra- 
riety :  Different  they  are,  but  they  are  not 
oppofite.  There  is  nojarr,  no  Combat,  or 
Conteft  between  them,  but  all  are  difpoled 
of  with  mutual  Agreements,  and  a  happy 
Subordination  :  For  as  Variety  adorns,  fo  Op- 
fojition  deftroysi  Things  moft  difft-rent  in 
Kature,  may  yet  be  united  in  the  fame  De- 
lignj  and  the  moft  diftant  Lines  may  meet 
and  clafp  in  the  fame  Centre. 

4  A 


^7;?  Weftmlnfter- Abbey  437 

As  for  inftancc,  one  would  think  rh?.t 
the  Spirit  oi  Meeknefs,  and  the  Spirit  o\  Zeal 
flood  at  that  diftancc  of  Contrariety,  as  to 
defy  all  Poflibility  either  of  Likencfs,  or  Re- 
concilement; and  yet  (as  we  have  already 
fhewn)  they  both  may  and  do  equally  lerve 
and  carry  on  the  great  End  and  Bufincfs  of 
Religion.  And  the  fame  Spirit,  which  bap. 
tizes  with  Water,  baptizes  aljo  with  Fire,  It 
is  an  Art  to  attain  the  fame  End  by  feve- 
ral  Methods  5  and  to  make  things  of  a  quite 
contrary  Operation  to  concur  in  one  and  the 
fame  EfFcci. 

Come  we  now  to  the  third  andlafl  thing 
propofed  from  the  Words  5  which  is  to  fhew, 
what  are  the  Conjequences  of  this  Emanation 
offo  many  and  di-fferent  Gifts  from  one  and  the 
fame  Spirit :  I  fliall  inftance  in  four,  directly 
and  naturally  deducible  from  it :  As 

Firfy  If  the  Spirit  works  fuch  Variety  of 
Gifts,  andthofe  in  fo  vaft  a  Multitude,  and 
for  the  moftpart  above  the  Force  of  Nature, 
certainly  it  is  but  rational  to  conclude,  that 
it  is  a  Being  fuperior  to  Nature  ^  and  fo  may 
jufily  challenge  to  itfelf  a  l^eity.  There 
have  been  feveral  who  have  impugned  the 
Deity  of  the  Holy  Ghoft,  though  not  in  the 
F  f  3  fame 


438  A  Sermon preacJoL^d 

fame  manner ;    but   the  princip  al  of  them 
come  within  thefe  two  forts. 

1.  Mace^onms  znd  his  Followers,  who  al- 
lowed him  to  be  a  Terfon,  but  denied  his 
^eity  :  Affirming  him  to  be  x\\t  r.hief  Angel, 
the  fupreme  and  moft  excellent  ot'thofe  blef- 
fed  Spirits,  employed  by  God  adminiftring 
the  Affairs  of  the  Church,  and  conveying 
good  Suggeftions  to  the  Minds  of  Men,  and 
for  that  Caufe  to  be  called  the  Holy  Spirit  5 
and  fometimes  Jimply  and  xa7  i^ox^,  or  by 
way  of  Eminence  the  Spirit.  And  the  fame 
was  held  by  one  Biddle  an  Hcretick  of  fome 
Note  here  in  Englandy  a  little  before  the  Re- 
ftauration:  That  is  to  lay,  while  Conjttjion 
and  Toleration  gave  Countenance  to  almoft 
all  ReligionSy  except  the  true. 

2.  But  fecondly,  Sacinus  and  his  School 
deny  both  the  Deity  of  the  Holy  Ghoft,  and 
h\s perfonal  Siibfiftence  too  5  not  granting  him 
to  be  a  Pcrlon,  but  only  the  Tower  of  God: 
To  wit,  that  Vis  or  ojipyetA,  by  which  he  ef- 
fects, or  produces  things.  And  amongft 
thofe  who  aflfert  this,  none  have  given  fuch 
bold  Strokes  ztthc'Deity  of  the  Holy  Ghofl,  as 
CrelliuSj  in  his  Book  de  uno  T^eo  Tatre,  and 
his  other  de  Spritu  San5to. 

Now 


at  Wcflminfter- Abbey.         439 

Now  to  draw  forth  and  infill:  upon  all  the 
Arguments  and  Texts  of  Scripture^  which  ufe 
to  be  travcrfed  on  both  fides  in  this  Contro- 
verfy,  would  be  a  Thing  neither  to  be  done 
within  this  Compafs  of  Time,  nor  perhaps 
fo  proper  for  this  Exercife  ;  and  therefore  let 
it  fuffice  us  upon  the  Warrant  of  exprcfs 
Scripture,  not  fophifticated  by  nice  and  for- 
ced Expofit  ions,  but  plainly  interpreted  by  the 
general  Tradition  of  the  Church  (to  which  all 
private  Reafon  ought  in  Reafon  to  give  Place) 
to  confefs  and  adore  the  ^eity  of  the  Holy 
Ghoft. 

Now  this  Holy  Spirit  is  in  the  Church,  as 
the  Soul  in  the  natural  Body;  For  as  the 
fame  Soul  does  in  and  by  the  feveral  Parts  of 
the  Body  exercife  feveral  Fundlions  and  Ope- 
rations y  fo  the  Holy  Ghofiy  while  he  ani- 
mates the  myflical  Body  of  Chrift,  caufes  in 
it  feveral  Gifts  and  Powers,  by  which  he 
enables  it  to  exert  Variety  of  Adions.  And 
as  in  the  River  Nilus,  it  is  the  fame  Foun- 
tain which  fupplies  the  feven  Streams ;  fo 
when  we  read  of  the  feven  Spirits,  Revela- 
tion iv.  5.  they  are  but  fo  many  feveral  Gifts 
of  the  fame  Spirit,  all  bearing  the  Name  and 
Title  of  their  Donor  ;  as  it  is  ufual  for  fo  ma- 
ny feveral  Volumes  to  bear  the  fingleDenomi- 
F  f  4  nation 


44*^         -^  Sermon  preached 

nation  o^x.h.Qn  Author  j  and  we  fay  properly 
enough,  that  fuch  an  one  has  read  Cicero  or 
Plutarch,  when  he  has  read  their  Works. 

Eat  now   farely  this  glorious  Perfon  or 
Being,  who  thus  enlightens  the  Minds  of  all 
Men  coming  into  the  IVorldm  Tome  Meafure 
and  of  the  Church  more  efpecially,  cannot 
be  in  the  Rank  and  Number  of  created  Be- 
ings.    The  Heathens  attributed  a    kind  of 
Divinity,  or  Godhead  to  Springs,  becaufe  of 
that  continual  inexhauftible  Emanation  from 
them,  refcmbling   a  kind  of  Infinity.     But 
here  we  fee  the  very  Gift  soft  he  Spirits  to  be 
divine :  And  where  we  find  fuch  a  Divinity 
In  the  Stream,  certainly  we  may  well  afcribc 
it  in  a  more    tranfcendent    manner  to  the 
Fountain :  Befides,  ifthe  Holy  Ghoft  were  not 
God,    I  cannot  fee  how  our  Bodies  could  be 
well  called  his  Temples ;  fmce  none  but  God 
can  challenge  to  himfelf  the  Prerogative  of 
a  Temple.     And  fo  much  for  the  firft  Confe- 
quent.     But 

Secondly,  TKis  great  'Diverfity  of  the  Spi- 
rifs  Gifts  may  read  a  Ledure  of  Humility  to 
fome,  and  of  Contentment  to  others  :  God 
indeed,  in'this  great  Scheme  of  the  Creation, 
has  drawn  fome  capital  Letters,  fet  forth 
feme  Mailer-  Pieces,  and  furnifhed  them  with 

highei^ 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.         441 

higher  Abilities  than  ordinary,  and  given 
them  Gifts,  as  it  ^Qxc,with  both  Hands:  But 
for  all  that,  none  can  brag  of  a  Monopoly 
of  them,  none  has  fo  abfolutely  engrofled 
them  all,  as  to  be  that  thing  of  which  wc 
may  fay,  Here  we  fee,  ijahat  and  how  much 
God  can  do.  No,  God  has  wrote  upon  no 
created  Being  the  utmoft  Stint  of  his  ^ower, 
but  only  the  free  lilues  and  Products  of  his 
T  lea  fur  e.  God  has  made  no  Man  in  Oppro- 
brium Natura,  only  to  overlook  his  fellow 
Creatures,  to  upbraid  them  with  their  De» 
feds,  and  to  difcourage  them  with  the  a- 
mazing  Diftanceofthc  Comparifon  :  He  has 
filled  no  Man's  Intelleduals  fo  full,  but  he 
has  left  fome  Vacuities  in  them,  that  may 
fometimes  fend  him  for  Supplies  to  Minds  of 
a  much  lower  Pitch  :  He  has  flocked  no 
Land  or  Country  with  fuch  univerfal  Plenty, 
without  the  Mixture  of  fome  Wants,  to  be  the 
Ground  and  jCaufe  of  Commerce  :  For  mu- 
tual Wants,  and  mutual  Perfedions  together, 
are  the  Bond  and  Cement  of  Convcrfation. 
The  vaft  Knowledge  and  ruling  Abilities  of 
il/^<?x,mightyet  ftand  in  need  of  Aaron's  Elo- 
cution :  And  he  \Yho  /peaks  with  the  Tongue 
of  Angels,  and  the  greateft  Fluency  of  fpiritual 
Rhetcrick,  may  yet  be  at  a  lofs,  when  he 

comes 


44^         ^  Sermon  preached 

comes  to  matters  of  Controverfy,  and  to 
aflert  the  Truth  againft  the  Aflaults  and 
Sophiftry  of  a  fubtle  Opponent.  God  indeed 
can,  and  fometimes  happily  does  unite  both 
thefc  Gifts  in  the  fame  Perfon :  But  where 
he  does  not,  let  not  him  who  can  preach, 
condemn  him  who  can  only  difpute  5  neither 
let  him  who  can  difpute-,  defpife  him  who 
QZWOwX^  preach :  Por  (as  we  have  fhewn  be- 
fore) the  Church  is  ferved  by  both,  and  has 
equally  need  of  fome  Men  to  fpeak  and  de- 
clare the  Word.,  and  of  others  to  defend  it :  It 
being  enough,  and  too  often  more  than  e- 
nough,  for  one  Man  to  maintain  what  ano- 
ther fays.  In  which  Work,  the  /peaking 
Part  is  indeed  the  more  eafy,  but  the  defen~ 
five  the  more  glorious. 

And,  as  this  may  give  fome  Check  to  the 
^refumption  of  the  moft  raifed  Underftand- 
ings,  fo  it  fhould  prevent  the  "Dsfpondency  of 
the  meaneft :  For  the  Apoftle  makes  this 
very  ufe  of  it  in  the  1 2.  and  zzv.  Where  he 
would  not  have  even  the  loweft  and  pooreft 
Member  of  the  Church  to  be  dejeded,  upon 
the  Confideration  of  what  it  wants,  but  rather 
be  comforted  in  the  Senfe  of  what  it  has.  Let 
liot  the  Foot  trample  tiponitfelfhzz^wiz  it  does 
not  rule  the  Body^  but  confider,  that  it  has  the 

Honour 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.         445 

Honour  to  fupp or t  i^ :  Nay,  the  greateft  Abili- 
ties are  fomctimes  beholding  to  the  very  mean- 
eft,  if  but  for  this  only,  that  without  them  they 
would  want  the  Glofs  and  Luftre  of  a  Foil. 
The  two  Talents  went  into  Heaven  as  eafily 
as  the  j'f'i;^ :  And  God  has  put  a  peculiar  Ufe- 
fulncfs  even  into  the  fmalleft  Members  of  the 
Body,  anfwerablc  to  fome  Need  or  Defed  in 
the  greateft  ;  thereby  to  level  them  to  a  mu- 
tual Intercourfe  of  Compliance  and  Benefac- 
tion 5  which  alone  can  keep  things  equal,  and 
is  indeed  the  very  Toife  and  Ballaji  of  Soci- 
ety. And  thus  much  for  the  fecond  Confe- 
quent.     But 

Thirdly,  The  foregoing  Dodrinc  affords  us 
alfo  a  Touchftone  for  the  Trial  of  Spirits :  For, 
luch  as  are  the  Gifts,  fuch  muft  be  alfo  the 
Spirit  from  which  they  flow  :  And  fmce  both 
of  them  have  been  fo  much  pretended  to,  it  is 
well  for  the  Church,  that  it  has  the  Rule  of 
Judgment,  and  a  Note  of  Difcrimination. 
There  is  none,  who  is  not  wilfully  a  Stranger 
to  the  Affairs  of  our  Ifrael,  but  has  had  the 
Noife  and  Blufters  of^///^^  ^r^r^r^'w,  and  of 
T er fons pretending  to  the  Spirit^  ringing  in  his 
Ears.  Concerning  which  Plea  of  theirs,  fince 
we  all  know,  that  there  are  Spirits,  \iQt\\good 
and  bad  J  it  cannot  be  denied,  but  that  in  fome 

Senfe 


444         A  Sermon  preached 

Senfe  they  might  have  the  Spirit  (fuch  a  Spirit 
as  it  was)  and  that  in  a  very  large  Meafure  : 
But  as  for  their  Gifts,  we  muft  examine  them 
by  the  Standard  ofthofehere  mentioned  by 
the  Apoftle. 

And  firft,  for  that  ofTrophecy  :  Thefe  Men 
were  once  full  of  a  Prophecy  that  the  World 
fhould  be  deftroyed  in  theYear  1656;  becaufe, 
forfooth,  the  Flood  came  upon  the  old  World 
in  that  Year  reckoning  from  the  Creation. 
And  again,  that  the  Downfal  of  Tope  and 
Antichrift,  together  with  that  of  Monarchy 
and  Epifcopacyy  (which  they  always  accounted 
as  Limbs  oi  Antichrift)  fhould  be  in  the  Year 
1666.  And  that  becaufe  fome  remarkable 
Mention  is  made  of  the  Number  666  in  the 
Revelation  ;  with  many  other  fuch  like  Pre- 
didions :  The  Event  of  all  which  has  fhewn, 
that  thofe  Men  were  not  of  God's  Trivy 
Council;  but  on  the  contrary  that  all  their 
prophecies  were  like  thofe  of  Almanacks, 
which  warn  e\'ery  wife  Body  to  prepare  a- 
^zin^ f oul  PFe  at  her,  by  their  foretell  ing/^/>. 

And  then,  for  the  Gift  of  Healing,  let  a 
bleeding  Church  and  State  fhew,  how  nota- 
bly they  were  gifted  that  way.  They  played 
the  Chirurgeons  indeed  with  a  Witnefs,but  we 
never  yet  heard  that  they  aded  the  Thyft- 

cian  i 


at  Weftmlnfter-Abbey.       445 

dan  •■>  all  their  Pradice  upon  the  Body  Poli- 
tick was  with  'Towder  and  Ball,  Sword  and 
'piftoL  No  faving  of  Life  with  thofe  Men, 
but  by  Purging  away  the  Eftate. 

And  like  wife  for  the  Gift  of  difcerning  of 
Spirits :  They  had  their  Tryers,  that  is,  a 
Court  appointed  fortheTryal  ofMinifters; 
but  moft  properly  called  Cromwell's  Inquifi- 
tion-y  in  which  they  would  pretend  to  know 
lAo.ns  Heart Sy  and  inward  ^^»/  of  their  Spi'^ 
rits  (as  their  word  was)  by  their  very  Looks. 
But  the  Truth  is,  as  the  chief  Pretence  of 
thofeTryers  was  to  enquire  into  MensG///j  > 
fo  if  they  found  them  but  well  gifted  in  the 
Hand,  they  never  looked  any  further  5  for  a 
full  and  free  Hand  ^^s\fiih.  them  an  abun- 
dant Demonftration  of  z  gracious  Heart  5  a 
word  in  great  Requeft  in  thofc  Times. 

And  moreover,  for  the  Gifts  oj  diverfe 
TongueSy  it  is  certain,  that  they  fcarcc  fpakc 
the  fame  thing  for  two  Days  together.  Though 
Otherwife  it  muft  be  confeffed,  that  they  were 
none  of  the  greateft  Lingiiifls  j  their  own  Mo- 
ther Tongue  ferving  all  their  Occafions,  with- 
out ever  fo  much  as  looking  into  the  Father Sy 
who  always  fpoke  the  Language  of  the  Beaft 
to  fuch  as  could  not  undcrftand  them.  Latin 
was  with  them  a  mortal  Crime,  and  Greek, 

inltead 


44^  ^  Sermon  preached 

inftead  of  being  owned  for  the  Language  of 
the  Holy  Ghoft,  (as  in  the  New  Teftament  it 
is)  was  looked  upon  like  the  Sin  againft  it'-,  fo 
that  in  a  Word,  they  had  all  the  Confu/ions 
ofBakUmon^ik  them  without  the  'Diverjity 
of  Tongues. 

And  then  Lajily,  For  the  Gift  of  hit er pre- 
ting  i  they  thought  thcmfelvcs  no  ordinary 
Men  at  expounding  a  Chapter ;  if  the  turn- 
ing of  a  few  rational  fignificant  Words  and 
Sentences  into  a  loofe,  tedious,  impertinent 
Harangue  could  be  called  an  Expofition.  But 
above  all,  for  their  interpreting  Gift,  you 
muft  take  them  upon  Ezekiel,  Daniel,  and 
the  Revelation  5  and  from  thence  (as  it  were) 
out  of  a  dark  prophetical  Cloudy  thundering 
againft  the  old  Cavaliers,  and  the  Church  of 
England,  and  (as  I  may  but  too  appofitely 
cxpr^fs  it)  breaking  them  upon  the  Wheels  in 
Ezekiely  cafting  them  to  the  Beafts  in  Da- 
niel, and  pouring  upon  them  all  the  Vials  in 
the  Revelation.  After  which  let  any  one  de- 
ny it  who  durft,  that  the  black  Decree  was 
abfolutely  paffed  upon  thofe  Malignant s,  and 
that  they  were  all  of  them,  to  a  Man,  Sons 
of  Reprobation. 

And  thus,    I  think,   I  have  reckoned  up 

moft  of  the  extraordinary  Gifts  of  the  Spirit, 

4  and 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.         447 

and  compared  them  with  thofe  of  our  late 
gifted  Brethren.  Amongft  all  which  T>i- 
"vine  Gifts ^  I  muft  declare,  that  I  cannot  find 
the  Gift  oi  Canting  and  Whining,  and  making 
Faces  5  that  is,  of  fpeaking  bad  Senfe  with. 
worfe Looks  i  which  yet  thofe  Men  ufcd  to  call 
the  Language  of  Canaan,  Nor  can  I  find  the 
Gift  of  uttering  every  fudden,  crude,  undi- 
gefted  Thought  coming  over  their  Minds,and 
of  being  impudently  bold  ^dfamiliar  with 
Almighty  God  in  Prayer. 

I  cannot  find  the  Gift  of  exploding  the 
MyfierieSy  and  peculiar  Credenda  of  the  Gof 
pely  in  order  to  the  turning  Chrijiianity  into 
bare  Morality. 

I  cannot  find  the  Gift  of  accounting  Ten^ 
dernefs  of  Confcience  againfi  Law,  as  a  Thing 
facred,  but  Tendernefs  of  Confcience  according 
to  LaWy  as  a  Crime  to  be  profecuted  almoft 
to  Death. 

In  a  word,  I  cannot  find  the  Gifts  of  *  Re- 
belling,  Plundering,  Sequeftring,  Robbing 
Churches,  and  Murdering  Kings,  and  all  this 
purely  for  the  fake  of  Confcience  andReligion, 

*  Notwithftanding  the  iandJtjed  Charader  they  bear  in  the 
"Repudltcetm  new  Go/pel,  viz.  LutUbvb's  Memoirs:  And  in  the  Judg- 
ment oi  thofe  who  like  fuch  PraHices,  and  therefore  publifh  fucb 
Books,  to  the  manifeft  Affront  of  the  Monarthy  they  live  under: 
Aftrange  unaccountable  way  doubtiefs  of  lupportmg  it. 

Thcfc 


^4  4  8  A  Sermon  preached 

Thefe  Things  I  fay,  (whether  it  be  through 
the  Weaknefs  of  my  difcerning  Faculties,  or 
whatlocver  elfe  may  be  the  Caufe)  I  cannot, 
for  my  Life,  find  amongft  the  Primitive  Gifts 
pf  the  Spirit. 

And  therefore,  wherefoever  I  do  find  them, 
let  Man  talk  never  fo  much  of  inward  Mo- 
tions, and  extraordinary  Calls  of  the  Spirit,  of 
the  Kingdom  of  J  e fits  Chrifi,  and  of  the  ptih- 
lick  Good,  of  Moderation  and  of  an  healing 
Spirit,  and  the  like  j  yet  long  and  fad  Experi- 
ence having  taught  us  the  true  meaning  of 
all  thefe  fine  and  fallacious  Terms  ;  I  muft 
needs  fay,  both  of  them,  and  the  Spirit  from 
which  they  proceed,  in  thofe  Words  of  St, 
James  iii.  i8.  That  they  dcfc  end  not  fom  a^ 
hove,  but  are  earthly,  fenfual  and  devilifh. 
Thefe  are  the  Names  which  God  knows  and 
calls  them  by,  though  Schifmaticks  and  Hypo- 
crites may  call  them  Reformation.     But, 

Fourthly,  In  the  fourth  and  laft  Place,  This 
Emanation  of  Gifts  from  the  Spirit,  afTures 
us  that  Knowledge  and  Learning  arc  by  no 
Means  oppofite  to  Grace  -,  fince  we  lee  Gifts 
as  well  as  Graces  conferred  by  the  lame  Spi- 
rit. But  amongft  thofe  of  the  late  reforming 
Age  (whom  we  have  been  (peaking  of)  all 
Learning  was  utterly  cryed  down.     So  that 

with 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  44? 

with  them  the  beft  Preachers  were  fuch  as 
could  not  read,  and  the  ablcll  \Divines  fuch 
as  could  not  write.  In  all  their  Tt^reacbmtnts 
they  fo  highly  pretended  to  the  Spirit-,  that 
they  could  hardly  lb  much  z^fpelltke  Letter. 
To  be  blind  ^QiS'^ixh  them  the  proper  (^la- 
lification  of  a  Spiritual  Guide,  and  to  be  iDook- 
Learned  (as  they  called  it)  and  to  be  Irreii^ 
gious  were  aim  oft  Terms  convertible.  None 
were  thought  fit  for  the  Miniftry  but  Trade f" 
men  zndMechanicks,  becaulenone  elle  were 
allowed  to  have  the  Spirit.  Thofe  only  were 
accounted  like  St.  Taul,  who  could  work 
with  their  Hands,  and  in  a  literal  Senfe 
drive  the  Nail  home,  and  be  able  to  m,ike  a 
Pulpit  before  ih^y  preached  in  it. 

Eut  the  Spirit  in  the  Primitive  Church  took 
quite  another  Method  5  being  ftill  as  careful 
to  furnifh  the  Head^i  to  fandtify  the  Heart  % 
and,  as  he  wrought  Miracles  to  found  and 
cftablifh  a  Church  by  theie  extraordinary 
Gifts,  fo  it  would  have  been  a  greater  Mira- 
cle to  have  done  it  without  them. 

God,  as  he  is  the  Giver  of  Grace,  fo  he  is 
the  Father  of  Lights  \  he  neither  admits 
*T>arknefs  in  himfeif,nor  approves  it  in  others. 
And  therefore  thofe  who  place  all  Religion 
in  the  Heats  of  a  furious  Zeal,    without  the 

Vol.  111.  Gg  due 


4^o       A  Sermon  preached^Scc, 

due  Illuminations  of  Knowledge,  Know  not 
of  what  Spirit  they  are ;  indeed  of  fuch  a  Spi- 
rit, as  begins  in  T>arknefs,  leads  to  it,  and 
ends  in  it. 

But,  certainly,  we  fhall  one  Day  find,  that 
a  Religion  fo  much  refemblingHelly  neither 
was,  nor  could  be  the  readied  Way  to  Hea- 
'Ven.  But  on  the  contrary,  that  the  Spirit  al- 
ways guides,  and  inftruds  before  ke  faves ; 
and  that,  as  he  brings  to  Happinefs  only  by 
the  Ways  of  Holinefs  5  fo  he  never  leads  to 
true  Holinefs  J  but  by  the  Paths  of  Know- 
ledge, 

To  which  Holy  Spirit y  together  with  the 
Father  and  the  Son  j  Three  Terfons  and 
one  God,  be  rendred  and  afcribedj  as  is 
moft  due,  all  Traife,  Might,  Majejly, 
and  dominion,  both  now  and  for  ever-^^ 
more.    Amen. 


The 


45^ 

The  peculiar  Care  and  Concern  of 
PROVIDENCE  for  the    Pro-- 

teSton  and  Defenfe  of  KINGS, 


Set  forth  in  a 

SERMON 

Preached  at 

Westminster-Ab  bey^ 
Novemb.  5.    1675. 

Pfahn  CXLIV.  lo.  former  Part. 

It  IS  He^   that  giveth  Salvation  unto 
Ktngs, 

THE    greateft   and    moft    magnificent 
Title,     by    which    GOD     exhibits 
himfelf  to  the  Sons  of  Men,    is,    that  he 
is  King  of  Kings,     and  that   the.  Govern- 
piirs  of  the  Earth  are  iiis  Subje^s,  Princes 
G  g  2  and 


452,       A  Sermon  preached 

and  Emperors  his  Vdffals,  and  Thrones  his 
Footjtools '-y  and  confequcntJy  that  there  is 
no  Abfolute  Monarch  in  the  World  but  0«^. 
And  from  the  fame  alfo  it  follows,  that  there 
is  nothing,  which  Stibje6fs  can  juftly  exped 
from  their  Trtnce^  but  Princes  may  expert 
from  G/?^j  and  nothing  which  Princes  ^z- 
mand  from  their  StibjeEis,  but  Godiw  a  high- 
er Manner,  and  by  a  better  Claim  requires 
from  them.  Now  the  Relation  beween 
*Prince  and  StibjeB  eflcntially  involves  in  it 
thefe  two  things  5 

Firfti  Obedience  from  the  Subjedto  all  the 
Laws  and  juft  Commands  of  his  Prince.  And 
accordingly  as  Kings  thcmfelves  have  a  Sove- 
reign over  them,  fo  they  have  Laws  over 
them  too.  Laws  which  lay  the  fame  Obliga- 
tion upon  crowned  Heads,  that  they  do  upon 
the  mcaneft  ^eajant :  For  no  Prerogative 
can  bar  ^iety :  No  Man  is  ioo great,  to  be 
bound  to  be^<7^^.  He  who  wields  the  Scep- 
tre, and  fiiines  in  the  Throne  has  a  great 
Account  to  make,  and  a  great  Mafter  to  make 
it  to :  And  there  is  no  Man  fent  into  the 
World  to  rule,  who  is  not  fent  alfo  to 
obey. 

Secondly^  The  other  thing  imported  in  this 

Relation  is  Trote^iion  vouchfafed  from  the 

4  Sovereign 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.         453 

Sovereign  to  the  Subjed.  Upon  which  Ac- 
count it  is,  that  as  God  with  one  Hand  gives 
a  LaWy  fo  with  the  other  he  defends  the  O, 
bedient.  And  this  is  the  higheft  Prerogative 
of  worldly  Empire,  and  the  brighteft  Jewel 
in  the  Diadems  of  Princes,  that  by  being 
God's  immediate  Stibje5ls  they  arc  his  im- 
mediate Carey  and  intituled  to  his  more  cfpe- 
cial  Protedion  ;  that  they  have  both  an  Om- 
mfcience,  in  a  peculiar  Manner,  to  wake  over 
them,  and  an  Omnipotence  to  fupport  them  : 
And  that  they  are  not  the  Legions  which  they 
command,  but  the  G^^whom  they  obey,  who 
mull:  both  guard  their  Perfons  and  fecure 
their  Regalia.  Por  it  is  he,  and  he  only  ijiho 
grueth  Salvation  unto  Kings. 

The  Words  of  the  Text,  with  a  little  Va- 
riation, run  naturally  into  this  one  Propofiti- 
on,  which,  containing  in  it  the  full  Senle  of 
them,  fhall  be  the  Subjed  of  our  following 
Difcourfe,  viz. 

That  God  in  the  Government  of  the  World 

exercifes    a  peculiar  and  extraor dinar yi 

Providence  over  the  Perfons  and  Lives 

of  Trinces. 

The  Profecution  of  which  Propofition  fhall 

lie  in  thcfc  four  Things. 

p  S  3  Firji 


45  4  A  Sermon  preached 

Firfi,  To  fhew  upon  what  Account  any 
A6t  of  God's  Providence  may  be  faid  to  be 
peculiar  and  extraordinary. 

Secondly,  To  fhew  how  and  by  what 
Means,  God  docs  after  fuch  an  extraordinary 
Manner  fave  and  deliver  Princes. 

Thirdly,  To  fhew  the  Reafons  why  he 
does  fo.     And 

Fourthly  and  Laftly,  To  draw  fomcthing 
by  way  of  Inference  and  Conclufion  from  the 
whole. 

Of  all  which  in  their  Order  :  And 

Firft,  For  the  firfl  of  thefe  ;  which  is  to 
jhsw  upon  what  Account  any  A£i  of  God's 
'F^rovidence  may  be  faid  to  be  peculiar  and 
extraordinary.  Providence  in  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  World  ads  for  the  moft  part  by 
the  yia^izxiovioi fecondCanfes :  which,  tho' 
they  proceed  according  to  a  Principle  of  Na~ 
ture,  and  a  fettled  Courfe  and  Tenour  of  ad- 
ing,  (fuppofmg  ftill  the  fame  Circumftances,) 
yet  Providence  ading  by  them  may,  in  feve- 
ral  Inftances  of  it,  be  faid  to  be  extraordinary^ 
upon  a  threefold  Account :  As, 

Firfl,  When  a  thing  falls  out  befides  the 
common  and  ufual  Operation  of  its  proper 
Caufe,  As  for  Inftance,  it  is  ufual  and  natu- 
^-al  foj:  a  Man  meeting  his  Enemy  upon  full 

Advantage^ 


at  Wcftminfter-Abbey.         455 

Advantage,  to  profecute  that  Advantage  a- 
gainft  him,  and  by  no  means  to  let  him  efcape, 
yet  fometimes  it  falls  out  quite  otherwifc. 
Efau  had  conceived  a  mortal  Grudge  and 
Enmity  againft  his  Brother  Jacobs  yet  as  fooii 
as  he  meets  him,  he  falls  tipon  hirriy  in  a  very 
different  way  from  that  of  Enemies,  and  em- 
braces him.  Ahab  having  upon  Conquefl:  got 
Benhadady  his  inveterate  Enemy,  into  his 
Hands,  not  only  fparcs  his  Life,  but  treats 
him  kindly  and  lets  him  go.  That  a  Brother 
unprovoked  fhould  hatej  and  a  Stranger  not 
obliged  fhould  love^  is  againft  the  ufual  act- 
ings of  the  Heart  of  Man.  Yet  thus  it  was 
with  Joftphy  and  no  doubt  with  many  others. 
In  which,  and  the  like  Cafes,  I  conceive, 
things  fo  falling  out,  may  be  faid  to  come  to 
pafs  by  an  extraordinary  K<X  of  Providence  j  it 
being  manifeft,  that  the  Perfons  concerned  in 
them  do  not  act,  as  Men  of  the  fame  Princi- 
ples and  Interefts  under  the  fame  Circumftan- 
ces  ufe  to  do.  For  Intereft,  we  fay,  '■ji'illnot 
lye,  nor  make  a  Man  Jalfe  to  himfelf,  what- 
foever  it  may  make  him  to  others. 

Secondlyy    Providence  may  be  faid  to  a£t 

extraordinarily,  whtn  a  thing  falls  out  befide, 

or  contrary  to  the  Defign  of  expert,  politick 

^nd  fhrcwd  Perfons,    contriving  or  ading 

G  g  4.  in 


45<^  A  Sermon  preached 

in  it.     As  when  a  Man  by  the  utmoft  of  his 
Wit  and  Skill,    projcds  the  compafling  of 
fuch  or  fuch  a  thing,    fits  Means  to  his  End, 
lavs   Antecedents  and   Confequents  dirc£lly 
and  appofitely  for  the  bringing  about  his  Pur- 
pofe  i   but  in  the  Iffue  and  Refult  finds  all 
broken  and  bafHed,  and  the  Event  contrary 
to  his  Intention  ;  and  the  order  of  Caufes  and 
Councils  fo  ftudioufly  framed  by  him,  to  pro- 
duce and  effed  oppofitc  to,  and  deftrudive  of 
theDe%n  driven  at  by  thofe  Means  and  Arts. 
In  this  Cafe  alfo,  I  fay,  we  may  rationally  ac- 
knowledge an  extrayrjinary  A(5t  of  Provi- 
dence :    Forafmuchr^as  the  Man   himfelf  is 
made  inftrumental  to  the  efFcding  of  fome- 
thing  pcrfeftly  againfthis  own  ^/7/ and  ^^r^^- 
tnejit,  and  that  by  thofe  very  Ways  and  Me- 
thods wiiich  in  themfelves  were  the  moft  pro- 
per to  prevent,  and  the  moft  unlikely  to  bring 
to  pafs,  fuch  an  Event-     The  World  all  the 
while  {landing  amazed  at  it,  and  the  Credit 
of  the  Politician  finking :  for  that,  nothing 
feems  to  eaft  fo  juft  a  Reproach  even  upon 
Reafon  itfelf,  as  for  Perfons  noted  for  it  to  ad 
as  notably  againft  it. 

Thirdly  and  Lajily,  Providence  may  be 
faid  to  ad  in  an  extraordinary  Way,  when 
a  thing  comes  to  pafs  vifibly  and  apparently 

beyond 


at  Weftminfter* Abbey.         457 

beyond  the  Power  of  the  Caufe  immediately 
employed  m  it.     As  that  a  Man  dumb  all  his 
Life  before,  Ptiouid  on  the  fuddain  fpeak  :  as 
it  is  faid,  that  the  Son  oiCroejtis  did,  upoa 
the  fight  of  a  Murther  ready  to  have  been 
committed   upon  the  Perfon  of  his  Prince 
and  Father.     That  a  fmall  Company  fhould 
rout  and  fcatter  an  Army,  or  (in  the  Lan- 
guage of  Scripture)  that  one  Jhotild  chafe  an 
hundred y  and  an  hundred  put  tenthoufartdto 
flight.     That  Perfons  of  mean  Parts,  and  little 
or  no  Experience  fhould  fruftrate  and  over- 
reach the  Counfels  of  old,  beaten,  thorough- 
paced Politicians.     Thefe  EfFefts,  I  fay,  arc 
manifcftly  above  the  Ability  and  ftated  way 
of -working  belonging  to  the  Caufes  from 
whence  they  flow.    Neverthelefs  fuch  things 
are  fometimcs  feen  upon  the  great  Stage  of 
the  World,  to  the  Wonder  and  Aftonifhment 
of  the  Beholders,  who  are  wholly  unable  by 
the  common  Method,  and  Difcourfes  of  Rea- 
fon,  to  give  a  fatisfaclory  Account  of  thefc 
(Irange  Th£nomena,hy  refolving  them  into  a- 
ny  thing  vifible  in  their  immediate  Agents:  In. 
which  cafe  therefore,  I  conceive,  that  the 
whole  Order  and  Connexion  of  thefe  things 
one  with  another,  may  be  reckoned  an  K&. 
of  Providence  ( .^t r aor dinar y. 

And 


4  5  8  ^  Sermon  preached 

And  thus  much  for  the  firft  general  thing 
propofed,  which  w^sto  (hew  upon  what  Ac. 
count  the  Works  ofTrovidence  come  to  be  thus 
dijiingmjioed :  which  Confideration  it  will  be 
eaiy  for  everyone  to  make  Application  of  to 
the  enfuing  Particulars.  I  proceed  now  to 
the 

iS'^r<7«^ General  thing  propofed;  which  is 
to  (hew,  Ho'-ju  and  by  what  means  God  does 
after  fuch  an  extraordinary  manner  fave  and 
deliver  Trinces. 

I  {hall  mention  feven. 

I.  By  endowing  them  with  a  more  than 
ordinary  Sagacity  and  Quicknefs  of  Under- 
flanding  above  other  Men.  Kings  they  fay 
have  a  long  Reach  with  their  Arm,  but  they 
have  a  further  with  their  Mind.  In  i  Kings 
iv.  29.  God  is  faid  to  have  given  Solomon 
Largenefs  of  Heart,  even  as  the  Sand  on  the 
Sea-foore.  And  in  Prov.  xxv.  5.  'The  Heart  of 
Kings  is  faid  to  be  unfearchable.  In  the  for- 
mer Text  the  Royal  Mind  is  compared  to  the 
Sand  on  the  Sca-fhore  for  Compafs,  and  in 
this  latter  it  may  feem  to  vie  with  the  Sea 
itfelf /<?r  Tiepth,  And  does  not  this  Day's 
Solemnity  give  us  an  eminent  Proof  of  this  ? 
For  when  this  horrid  Confpiracy,  contrived 
m  Hell  and  Darknefs.  was  conveyed  to  one 

of 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.         459 

of  the  Confederates  under  the  Shelter  of  an 
equivocal  Writing,  our  apprehenfive  and 
quick-fcented  King  prefently  fmoaked  the 
ambiguous  Paper,  and  founding  the  Depths 
of  the  black  Intrigue;,  found  that  at  the  Bot- 
tom of  it,  which  few  Mortals  befides  (though 
of  the  quickeft  F.iculties)  could  have  difcover- 
cd  from  it  j  who  had  not  had  their  Conjcdurcs 
alarm'd  by  fome  Glimmerings  of  Light  into 
that  dark  Projed  before.  Such  a  piercing 
Judgment  does  God  often  give  to  thefe  his 
Deputies.  A  Judgment  which  looks  intOy  or 
rather  through  and  through  all  others,  but  is 
looked  mto  by  none. 

And  there  is  nothing  that  both  adorns  and 
fecures  a  Prince  comparably  to  this  difcern- 
ing  Faculty :  for  by  this,  as  by  a  great  Light 
kindling  many  others,  he  commands  the  ufe 
of  the  beft  Undcrftandings  and  Judgments 
throughout  his  Dominions,  calling  them  to 
his  Council,  and  lb  feeing  with  their  Eyes, 
apprehending  and  contriving  with  their  Heads  j 
all  their  Knowledge  and  Experience,  like  Ri- 
vers paying  Tribute  to  the  Ocean,  being  con- 
veyed into  and  fwallowed  up  in  his  Royal 
Breaft.  It  is  both  the  Safety  and  Felicity  of  a 
Prince  to  have  a  wife  Council,  but  it  muft  be 
his  own  Wifdom  which  provides  him  one, 

Wifdona 


^6o         ^  Sermon  preached 

"Wirdom  is  a  noble  Quality  and  not  difcern- 
ible  but  by  itfclf.  It  is  Art  that  mull  judge 
of  Art  5  and  lie  who  difcovers  Wifdom  in  ano- 
ther, muft  do  it  by  the  Idea  he  firft  had  of 
it  in  his  own  Brain.  Now  as  the  firft  arl 
chief  external  Safeguard  of  a  Prince  is  in  his 
Council  i  and  as  it  is  his  difceriiing  Facuty 
which  muft  furnifh  him  with  this,  [o  his  next 
Safety  is  in  the  Choice  of  his  Friends ;  and  it 
is  the  fame  difcerning  Faculty  which  muft  fe- 
curehim  here  too:  For  it  is  this  that  muft 
diftinguifti  between  Friendjhip  and  Flattery^ 
the  moft  baneful  Mifchief  that  can  be  prac- 
tifcd  by  one  Man  upon  another  5  and  Shadows 
do  not  more  infeparably  follow  Bodies,  than 
Flattery  does  the  Perfons  of  great  Men.  Flat- 
terers are  the  Bofom  Enemies  of  Princes,  lay- 
ing Trains  for  them,  not  at  all  lefs  deftrud:ivc, 
than  that  which  was  difcovered  this  Day^ 
contriving  their  Ruin  acceptably,  pleafingly, 
and  according  to  their  own  Hcart'sDefire.!P<y- 
fon  has  frequently  deftroyed  Kings,  but  none 
has  been  fo  cfficacioufly  mortal  as  that  drank 
in  by  the  Ear.  He  who  meets  his  Enemy  in 
the  Field  knows  how  to  encounter  him,  but 
he  who  meets  him  at  his  Table,  in  his  Cham- 
ber or  in  his  Clofet,  finds  his  Enemy  got  with- 
in him  before  he  is  aware  of  him,  killing  him 

with 


at  Weflminfter'Abbey.         /^6i 

with  Smiles  and  Kifles,  and  adting  the  AflaC- 
finatc  under  the  Mafqucrade  of  a  Counfellor 
or  a  Confident :  the  jure fi,  but  the  bafefl  way 
of  deftroying  a  Man. 

But  now,  it  is  the  Prince's  Wifdom,  and 
difcerning  Spirit,  that  muft  be  his  reicue  from 
the  Plots  of  his  friendly  Traitor.  It  is  a  mofl 
remarkable  Speech  of  Solomoriy  Prov.  xx.  8. 
That  the  King  fitting  on  the  Throne  of  Judg- 
ment fcattereth  away  all  Evil  with  his  Eye^ 
And  the  Nature  of  this  Evil  is  peculiarly  fuch, 
that  to  difcover,  is  to  defeat  it.  It  is  a  work 
of  Darknefs  which  the  light  never  looks  up- 
on, but  it  fcatters  too. 

Nothing  is  fo  notable  in  the  Royal  Bird, 
the  Eagle,  as  the  Quicknefs  of  his  Eye.  The 
Sight  is  the  Senfe  of  Empire  and  Command  j 
that  which  is  always  firft  and  leads  the  way  ia 
every  great  Adion  :  For  fo  far  as  a  Prince 
fees,  fo  far  properly  he  rules  ;  and  while  he 
keeps  his  Eye  open  and  his  Breaftjhut)  he  can- 
not be  furprized. 

And  thus  much  for  the  firft  way  by  which 
Providence  faves  and  delivers  Princcsj  name- 
ly by  endowing  them  with  a  more  than  or- 
dinary Sagacity  and  Quicknci^  of  Underftand- 
ing  above  other  Men, 

2.  Go4 


/^6t  A  Sermon  preached 

2.  God  favcsanddelivers  Sovereign  Princes 
by  giving  them  a  fingular  Courage  and  ^re- 
fence  of  Mind  in  cafes  of  Difficulty  and  Dan- 
ger. As  foon  as  ever  the  facred  Oyl  had  a- 
nointed  SatdY^in^-,  it  is  faid  i  Sam.  x.  9.  that 
God  gave  him  another  Heart,  That  is,  a  Great 
and  a  Kingly  Spirit,  raifmg  his  Thougiits  a- 
bove  the  Common  Level  and  Defigns  of  a 
private  Condition.  And  a  little  after,  when 
there  was  a  general  confternation  over  all  7/1 
raely  upon  the  Invafion  of  the  Ammonites^ 
though  the  Report  of  it  met  Saul  in  his  for- 
mer mean  Employment,  coming  from  the 
Field  after  his  Father's  Herd  :  yet  it  is  faid  in 
the  1 1  th  Chap,  of  the  fame  Book  and  v.  6 .That 
the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  Saul  when  he  heard 
thefe  Tydings.  That  is,  the  Royal  Spirit, 
which  he  had  received  at  his  Anointing,  then 
began  to  ftir  and  ad,  and  flame  out  like 
itfelfj  taking  him  prcfently  from  follow- 
ing an  Herd,  and  putting  him  in  the  Head 
of  an  Army.  It  is  incredible  to  confider 
the  Motion  of  fome  Minds  upon  the  fudden 
Surprize  of  Danger ;  and  how  much  in  fuch 
cafes  fome  will  even  out-adl  themfelves. 
How  much  quicker  their  Wit  is  to  invent, 
and  Courage  to  execute  than  at  other  times,. 
Tullus  HoJiiliuSy  in  the  midit  of  a  Battle  fur- 

prized 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.         4(33 

prized  with  the  Treachery  of  Met'ms  Sitf^ 
fetius  faUing  off*  with  a  great  part  of  his 
Army  to  the  Enemy,  cries  out  to  his  Soldiers 
that  it  was  by  his  Order,  and  thereby  confirm- 
ed their  Hearts  from  fainting  through  the 
Apprchenfion  of  Treachery,  into  a  prcfcnt 
and  glorious  Vidlory  by  their  fuppofrng  it  a 
contrived  Stratagem. 

Next  to  IVifdomih^  greateft  Gift  of  Hea* 
ven  is  Refolutton.  It  is  that  which  gives  and 
obtains  Kingdoms,  that  turns  Swords  into 
Sceptres,  that  Crowns  the  Valiant  with  Vic- 
tory, and  the  Vi(^orious  often  with  a  Diadem. 
It  was  anfwered  by  a  neighbouring  Prince  to 
one  alledging  a  Flaw  in  the  Title  of  HmNW, 
to  the  Kingdom  of  England,  that  he  had 
three  of  the  bed  Titles  to  his  Kingdom  of 
any  Prince  living:  Being  the  JVifeft  Prince, 
the  Valianteft  Prince,  and  the  Richeft  Prince 
in  Chriftendom. 

Prefencc  of  Mind  to  get  out  of  a  Plunge, 
and  upon  a  fudden  to  unravel  the  Knots 
and  Intricacies  of  a  perplexed  Buiinefs,  argues 
a  Head  and  a  Heart  made  for  threat  Thinss, 
It  is  a  kind  of  Ecftacy  and  Infpiration,  a  Beam 
of  Divine  Light  darting  in  upon  Reafon,  and 
cxaUing  it  to  a  pitch  of  Operation  beyond  its 
natural  and  accuftomcd  Mearurcs-5  and  per- 
haps 


4^4  ^  Sermon  preached 

haps  there  was  never  any  Perfon  in  the  World 
remarkably  and  heroically  great,without  fome 
fuch  kindof  Enthufiaim,  that  is,  fuch  a  migh- 
ty Principle^  as  at  certain  times  raifed  him 
up  to  ftrange  unaccountable  heights  of  Wit 
and  Courage.  And  therctore  wholoever  he 
is,  who  in  the  Strength  of  fuch  a  Spirit  can 
look  the  moil  menacing  Dangers  in  the  Face, 
and  when  the  State  of  all  things  about  him 
feem  defperate,  can  yet  bear  his  great  Heart 
above  Defpair,  fuch  an  one  for  the  moft  part 
makes  Fortune  itfelf  bend  and  fall  down  to 
him,  Difficulties  vanifh,  and  Dangers  fly  be- 
fore him;  fo  much  is  Vidory  the  Claim 
of  the  valiant,  and  Succefs  the  Birth-right  of 
the  bold.  And  this  is  the  fecond  way  by 
which  Providence  gives  Salvation  unto 
Kings. 

3.  Godfaves  and  delivers  Sovereign  Prin- 
ces, by  difpojing  of  Events  and  Accidentst 
in  a  ftrangc  Concurrence  for  their  Advantage 
and  Prefervation.  Nothing  indeed  is  or  can 
be  properly  accidental  to  God  j  but  Acci- 
dents arc  fo  called  in  refped  of  the  inten- 
tion, or  Expedation  of  fecond  Caufes  j  when 
things  fall  out  befides  their  Knowledge  or  De- 
iign.  And  there  is  nothing,  in  which  Pro- 
vidence fo  much  triumphs  over,    and  (as  I 

may 


at  Weftniinfter'Abbey.       4^5 

^T-ay  fo  fay)  laughs  at  the  profoundcft  Wif- 
dom  of  Men  as  in  the  ftablc,  certain  Know- 
ledge and  Difpolal  of  all  cafual  Events.  In 
rcfped  of  which  the  cleared  mortal  Intellect 
is  wholly  in  the.  dark.  And  upon  this  Ac- 
count, as  loofe  as  thcfe  Events  feem  to  hang 
upon  one  another,  yet  they  arc  all  knit  and 
linked  together  in  a  firm  Chain,  and  the 
higheft  Link  of  that  Chain,  as  the  Poets 
fpeak  moft  truly  and  philofophically  (though 
in  a  Fable)  is  faftened  to  juj)iter's  Chair : 
That  is,  it  is  held  and  managed  by  an  unerr- 
ing Providence  j  the  Chain  indeed  may  wave 
and  ihake  this  Vv^ay,  and  that  way,  but  ftill 
the  Hand  that  holds  it  is  frcady,  and  the  Ejg 
that  guides  it  infallible.. 

Now  nothing  has  fo  powerful  an  Influence 
upon  the  great  Turns  of  Affairs,  arid  the  Lives 
and  Fortunes  of  great  Perfons,  as  the  little^ 
unobferved,  unproje^led    Events  of  Things, 
For   could    any  Thing  be  greater   than  the 
Prefervation  of  a  great  Prince   and  his  next 
Heir  to  the  Crown,  together  with  his  Nobles 
arid  the  chief  of  his  Clergy,  from   certain 
imminent,  and   prepared  Deilrudion  ?    Anj* 
was  not  all   this  effeded   by  a  pityful  fmall 
Accident  in  the  miftake  of  the  Superfcription 
of  a  Letter  ?  Did  not  the  Ovcrfight  of  one  Syl- 

Vo  L.  III.  H  h  lable 


j^66  A  Sermon  preached 

jable  prcfcrve  a  Church  and  a  State  too  ?  And 
might  it  not  be  truly  faid  of  that  contemp- 
tible Paper,  that  it  did  Cafarent'vehere&for' 
tunam  Cafaris,  and  that  the  Fate  of  three 
Kingdoms  v72ls wrapt  zxi<ifealediip  in  it? 

A  little  error  of  the  Eye,  a  mifguidance 
of  the  Hand,  a  flip  of  the  Foot,  a  ftarting  of 
an  Horfe,  a  fuddcn  Mift,  or  a  great  Shower, 
or  a  Word  undefignedly  caft  forth  in  an  Ar- 
my, has  turned  the  Stream  of  Vitlory  from 
one  fide  to  another,  and  thereby  difpofcd  of 
the  Fortunes  of  Empires  and  whole  Nations. 
No  Prince  ever  returns  fafe  out  of  a  Battle, 
but  may  remember  how  many  Blows,  and 
*  Bullets  have  gone  by  him,  that  might  as 
cafily  have  gone  through  him,  and  by  what 
little  odd  unforcfeeable  Chances  Death  has 
been  turned  afide,  which  fcemed  in  a  full, 
ready,  and  dired  Career  to  have  been  polling 
to  him.  All  which  Pailages,  if  we  do  not 
acknowledge  to  have  been  guided   to  their 


*  See  a  hte  Signal  Inftauce  of  this  in  a  Prince,  who 
had  his  Shoulder  fo  kindly  klfj'ed  by  a  Cannon  Bullet^  (as 
the  late  ArchbiQiop,  by  a' peculiar  Itrain  of  Rhetorick,  ex- 
prelTes  this  wonderful  Paflage  in  his  Sermon  at  Court ; 
upon  Jeremiah  ix.  23,  24.  Page  34.)  For  well  indeed 
might  it  pafs  for  wonderful ;  the  Salutes  from  the  Mouth 
of  a  Cannon^  being  commonly  ib  boillerous,  that  theyfel- 
do;n  hfs^  but  they  kill  too. 

refpeclive 


at  Weftminftcr-Abbey.       4(^7 

refpeftive  Ends  and  Effeds,  by  the  Condud 
of  a  Superior,  and  a  Divine  Hand,  we  do 
by  the  lame  AlllTtion  calheer  all  Providence 
flrip  the  Ahnighty  of  his  nobleft  Prerogative, 
and  make  God  not  the  Governor,  but  the 
mcer  Spe5iator  of  the  World.  And  thus 
much  for  the  third  way.     The 

Foiinhy  by  which  God  laves  and  delivers 
Sovereign  Princes,  is  by  wonderfully  inclin- 
ing the  Hearts  and  Wills  of  Men  to  a  beniga 
Affection  towards  them.  Hearts  and  Wills 
are  Things  that  Princes  themfelves  cannot 
command,  and  yet  the  only  Things  in  the 
Strength  oi  which  they  do  command.  For  the 
Heart  is  the  grand  Spring  of  Adion,  and  he 
who  governs  that  part,  does  by  confequence 
command  the  wiiole.  But  now,  this  is  the 
incommunicable  Prerogative  of  God  ,  who, 
and  who  only,  can  either  by  Tower  or  by 
Knowledge  reach  the  Heart.  For  as  it  is  faid? 
TrO'V.  xxi.  I.  That  the  Heart  of  the  King 
is  in  God's  Hand,  and  that  as  the  Rivers  of 
Water  he  tiirneth  it  which  way  foever  he  will: 
So  are  the  Hearts  of  the  People  too  5  which 
like  a  mighty  Stream  or  Torrent,  he  turns 
this  way,  or  that  way,  according  to  the  wife 
Counfels  of  his  Providence.  For  if  he  intends 
H  h  2  to 


4<5  8  A  Sermon  preached 

to  advance  a  Prince,  they  fhall  be  a  Stream 
to  bear  him  up  from  finking  ;  if  to  forfake 
or  ruin  a  Prince,  they  fhall  overflow,  and 
Iweil,  and  rufh  in  upon  him  with  fuch  a  fu- 
rious ungovcrncd  Tide  as  no  Povv^eror  Arts 
of  State  fhall  be  able  to  divert  or  to  with- 
fland.  God  can  turn  the  Hearts  of  a  Nati- 
on Hidden  I  y  and  irrefiftibly.  He  has  done 
io  more  than  once  or  twice,  and  may  dofo 
again. 

.  Thus,  for  inftancc,  when  "David  fled  be- 
fore Abfalomy  and  was  forced  to  leave  the 
R^oyal  City,  it  was  the  general  AfFedion  of 
his  People,  ( God  touching  their  Hearts, ) 
which  brought  him  back  and  refettlcd  him 
in  his  Throne  ;  fo  that  in  2  Sam.  xix.  14.  it  is 
faid  of  him,  That  he  bo'jijed  the  Hearts  of  all 
the  Mtn  ^/"Judah  e-ven  as  the  Heart  of  one 
Man  ifo  that  they  [ent  this  -jDordunto  the  King  ^ 
return  thou  and  all  thy  Servants.  And  juft 
fuch  another  Meflage  did  the  Lords  and 
Commons  of  England  fend  our  baniflied  Da. 
vid  in  the  Year  Sixty.  For  what  was  it  eife 
which  Ibglorioufly  reftored  the  King?  ^lots 
were  nothing,  and  Foreign  AJJiftance  lefs  than 
nothing.  It  was  an  univerfal,  invincible 
Current  of  the  Peoples  Wills  and  Affections 
that  bore  down  all  thofe  Mountains  of  Op. 
2  pofitioo, 


at  Weftminiler-Abbey.        '^6<) 

pofition,  which  fo  many  Years  had  been  raiF- 
cd  up  agahifl:  him,  and  at  length  (hi  i'p.igl^t 
of  Guilt  and  Malice)  brought  him  in /r?^  and 
tmjhackledy  abfolnte  and  vidorious  over  the 
Heads  of  his  armed  Enenlics.  It  was  his 
Peoples  Hearts  which  made  their  //^;^^x  ufe- 
Icfs  to  his  Reftoration:     '    '  "-' 

On  the  other  fide,  wheii' the  grcateft  Part 
of  the  Kingdom  was  rent  froni  the  Houfe  of 
'David,  and  transferred  to  Jeroboam  -,  in 
I  Kings  xii.  14.  The  Prophet  exprefly  tellg 
them,  That  this  thing  was  from  God :  That 
is,  he  by  a  fecret  ovt'r-ruling  Energy  upon 
the  Hearts  and  AfFedions  of  the  People,  took 
them  off  from  one,  and  enclincd  and  carried 
them  over  to  the  other.  And  it  is  often  by 
this  alone,  that  the  %^<^^i  Lord  of  Lords  and 
Controuler  of  Monarchs  purteth  down  one 
and  fetteth  up  another.  He  can  raife  Armies 
of  Hearts  to  drive  any  King  out  of  his  King- 
dom without  ftriking  a  Stroke;  as  on  the 
contrary,  where  he  intends  to  own  and  fuo- 
port  the  Royal  Eftate  of  any  Monarch,  he 
fhall  fet  him  up  a  Throne  in  every  one  of 
his  Subjects  Breafts.  So  that  according  to 
that  Scripture-Expreilion,  Their  IDefire foatl 
be  to  him,  and  he  jhall  rule  over  them.  And 
certainly,  where  Affcdion  bindS;^  Allegiance 
H  h  3  ^  muO: 


47 o        A  Sermon  preached 

muft  needs  be  very  eafyj  and  a  pleafant 
Thing  to  rule,  where  there  is  no  Heart  to 
refifl, 

5.  God  faves  and  delivers  Sovereign  Princes 
by  refciiing  them  from  unfeen  and  unknown 
Mifcbiefs  prepared  againft  them.  This  is  mofl 
Evident:  For  if  a  Prince's  own  Obfervation 
can  bear  witnefs  to  many  Deliverances  vouch- 
fafed  him  by  Providence,  Providence  itfelf 
can  certainly  bear  witnefs  to  many  more, 
which  he  is  wholly  ignorant  of.  Forafmuch 
as  in  every  Man,  but  efpecially  in  Princes> 
their  Concern  reach  further,  and  carry  a  wi- 
der Compafs  than  their  Knowledge  can  :  It 
being  impollible  that  any  Man  living  fhould 
know  all  that  is  fpoken  or  done  concerning 
him,  and  confequently  be  aware  of  all  the 
mifchievous  Blows  levelled  againft  him.  How 
many  fecrct  Cabals  and  Plots  have  been  a- 
gainft  the  Reputation,  the  Intereft,  and  fome. 
times  the  Life  alfo  of  every  confidcrable  Per- 
fon  in  the  World,  which  never  yet  came  to 
their  Eye,  or  their  Ear,  nor,  (thanks  to  the 
Care  of  a  guarding  Providence)  ever  troubled 
fo  much  as  a  Thought,  nor  hurt  fo  much  as 
an  Hair  ortheir  Head!  And  yet  the  Contrivers 
of  them  have  wanted  neither  Will,  nor  Wit, 
nor  Power  (the  natural  Force  of  Caufes  confi- 

dered) 


at  Weflminfter- Abbey.         471 

dered)  to  add  Execution  to  Intention,  and 
to  give  Fire  to  their  Trains,  and  Efficacy  to 
their  curfcd  Projcds,  had  not  an  invifiblc^ 
overfwaying  Power  baffled  and  diiappointed 
all  the  Artifices  of  their  Malice,  and  fdficd 
the  bafe  Conception  before  the  Birth. 

And  this  is  a  way  of  Deliverance  fo  emi- 
nent for  the  Mercy  of  it,  that  if  a  Prince  or 
great  Perfon  can  be  obliged  to  Providence 
for  any,  it  mud  be  for  this.  For  when  a  Man 
knows  theDangcr  he  is  in,  all  his  Senfes  quick- 
ly take  the  Alarm,  call  up  the  Spirits,  and 
arm  his  Courage  to  meet  the  approaching  E- 
vil,  and  to  defend  himfelf.  But  when  he 
knows  nothing  of  the  impending  Mifchicf,  he 
lies  open  and  defenfelefs,  like  a  Man  bound, 
and  naked,  and  ileeping,  while  a  Dagger  is 
directed  to  his  Breall.  And  for  a  merciful 
tender  Providence  then  to  ftep  in  to  his  h.(r 
fiftance,  to  ward  off  the  fatal  Blow,  and  to 
turn  the  approaching  Edge  from  his  unguard- 
ed Heart,  this  furcly  is  the  height  of  Mercy, 
and  engrofles  the  Glory  of  the  Deliverance 
wholly  to  the  Divine  Goodnefs,  without  a'- 
lowing  any  mortal  Wit  or  Courage  the  leaft 
Share,  or  Concurrence  in  it.  No  Prince  can 
tell  what  the  Difcontcnts  of  ill  Subjects,  the 
Emulation  of  neighbour  States  or  Princes 
H  h  4.  have 


47  i        A  Sermon  f  reached 

have  been  defigning,  endeavouring  and  pro- 
jeding  againd  him  :  All  which  Counfels  by 
acontroLiling  Power  from  above,  have  from 
Time  to  Time  been  made  abortive  and  fru- 
ftraneous.  Let  Princes  therefore  reckon  up- 
on this,  and  know  aflliredly,  that  they  ftand 
indebted  to  Providence  for  more  Deliveran- 
ces than  they  can  knov/.  And  if  the  protecl- 
ing  Mercies  of  Heaven  thus  furpafs  their 
Knowledge,  furely  it  is  but  Reafon,  that  their 
Senfe  of  them,  and  Gratitude  for  them  Ihould 
furmount  ExpreiTion. 

Sixthly:,  God  faves  and  delivers  Sovereign 
Princesby  imprinting  a  certainAv/e  andDread 
of  their  Perfons  and  Authority  upontheMinds 
of  their  Subjeds.  And  there  is  not  any  one 
Thing,  which  feems  fo  manifeftly  to  prove 
Government  a  thing  perfedly  Divine,  both  as 
to  its  Original  and  Continuance  in  the  ¥/orld 
as  this.  For  v/hat  is  there  in  an/ one  mor- 
tal Man,  that  can  ftrike  a  Dread  into,  and 
command  a  Subjeftion  from  fo  many  Thou- 
fands  as  every  Prince  almoft  has  under  his 
Government,  ihould  Things  be  rated  accord- 
ing to  the  meer  natural  Power  of  fecond 
Caufes  ?  For  the  Strength  of  one  Man  can  do 
nothing againft  fomany  ,•  and  his  Wifdom  and 
Counfci  but  little  moix  :  And  thofe  who  are  to 

obey 


at  Weftminfer- Abbey.         473 

obey  him,  know  fo  much,  and  yet  for  all  that 
they  yield  him  abfolute  Siibjcdlion,  dread  his 
Threatnings,  tremble  at  his  Frowns,  and  lay 
their  Necks  under  his  Feet.  Now  from  whence 
can  all  this  be,  but  from  a  fecret  Work  of 
the  Divine  Power,  invefting  Sovereign  Princes 
with  certain  Marks  and  Rays  of  that  Divine 
Image,  which  over- awes,  and  controuls  the 
Spirits  of  Men  they  know  not  hownorwhy  ? 
But  yet  they  feel  themfelves  actually  wrought 
upon,  and  kept  under  by  them,  and  that  very 
frequently  againft  their  Will. 

And  this  is  that  properly  which  in  Kings 
we  call  Majejly,  and  which  no  doubt  is  a 
kind  of  Shadow  or  Portraiture  of  the  Divine 
Authority  drawn  upon  the  Looks  and  Per- 
fons  of  Princes,  which  makes  them  Com- 
manders of  Mens  Fears,  and  thereby  capable 
of  governing  them  in  all  their  Concerns.  Non 
fcTO  fiilgur  ociilonirn  tuorum,  is  the  Language 
of  every  Subjed's  Heart,  ftruck  with  the  aw- 
full  Afpedl  of  a  refolutc  and  magnanimous 
Prince.  There  is  a  Majefty  in  his  Counte- 
nance that  puts  Lightning  into  his  Looks  and 
Thunder  into  his  Words.  In  T>an.  v.  19.  it 
is  faid  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  that  God  gave 
him  fiich  a  Majefty^  that  allTeoj^le,  Nations 
and  Languages  trembled  before  him.    When 

ylle:<ander 


474  -^  Sermon  preached 
Alexander  the  Great  found  his  whole  Army 
in  a  Mutiny,  and  refolute  not  to  march  for- 
ward, but  to  return  to  tiieir  own  Country, 
againft  any  Arguments  or  Perfuafions  that 
he  could  ufe ;  he  *  leaps  down  from  the  Place, 
upon  which  he  had  been  fpeaking  to  them, 
and  arguing  with  them,  and  laying  hold  of 
thirteen  of  the  moft  forward  and  violent 
Alutincers,  caufes  them  to  be  bound  Hand 
and  Foot,  (in  the  Face  of  his  whole  Army  look- 
ing on)  and  then  thrown  into  the  Sea.  All 
which  this  terrible  and  victorious  Army,  to 
which  he  himfelf  owed  his  Greatnefs,  and 
which  but  even  now  was  upon  fuch  high  and 
daring  Terms  with  him,  quietly  fees  and  fuf- 
fers,  and  with  a  fneakingabjedt  Behaviour  re" 
turn  to  their  Tents,  as  if  a  Lion  had  charg" 
ed  and  chafed  a  Flock  of  Sheep  into  their 
Folds.  Nay,  the  Hiftory  fays  further,  that 
they  were  fearful  and  foUicitous  and  inqui- 
fitive  what  the  King  meant  to  do  with  the 
reft  of  them.  By  which  and  the  like  Paf 
fages  Kings  may  fee  what  they  are^  and  what 
they  may  do^  if  they  will  but  own  their  high 


*  Kt  the  fame- Time  uttering  thefc  Words  (fo  fnitable 
to  his  Kingly  Mind  and  Courage)  Jam  fcictis^  ^  quan- 
tum fine  Kege  valeat  exercitus,  ^  (j^uido^is  in  me  iinofit.  ■ 
Quia.  Curtius.  Lib.  X. 

OfSce 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.         475 

Office  with  an  equal  Courage,  and  be  true  to 
that  Sovereignty  and  Charatler  which  God 
has  ftamp  d  upon  them.  Alexander,  as  great 
as  he  was,  was  but  one  Man  ;  But  he  was 
a  Prince,  and  as  fach  aded  by  a  Commiilion 
from  Heaven,  as  one  of  the  Almighty's  Vice- 
gerents, and  upon  that  Account  able  to  en- 
counter as  well  as  to  lead  his  Army.  A 
King  ading  as  a  King,  has  all  the  Power  of 
Heaven  to  bear  liim  out ;  the  Stars  in  their 
Courfes  ^1  all  fight  for  him  i  the  Angels  are 
his  Guards,  and  the  Lord  of  Hofts  thtir  Cap- 
tain. And  this  is  the  fixth  way  by  which  God 
faves  and  delivers  Princes ;  namely,  by  the 
Aiithoritj  and  Majefty  of  their  Terfons. 

7.  In  the  feventh  and  lafl:  Place.  God 
faves  and  delivers  Sovereign  Princes,  by  dif- 
pofing  their  Hearts  to  fuch  virtuous  and  pi- 
ous Courfes,  as  he  has  promifed  a  Blefling  to> 
and  by  reftraining  them  ^from  thofe  ways  to 
which  he  has  denounced  a  Curfc.  And  this 
is  the  greatefl:  Deliverance  of  all  5  as  having 
a  Profpecl  upon  the  Felicity  of  both  Worlds, 
and  laying  a  Foundation  for  all  other  De- 
liverances. For  it  is  this  that  qualities  and 
renders  a  Man  a  Subjed  capable  of,  and  fit 
for  a  Deliverance.  King  Abrmelech  was 
about  to  do  an  Adion  that  would  certainly 

have 


47^         A  Sermon  preached 

have  drawn  Death  and  Confufion  after  it. 
Thoii  art  but  a  T)ead  Man  (lays  God  to  him) 
m  Gen.  xx.  3.  But  preventing  Grace  fnatch- 
ed  him  from  the  brink  of  Deftrudion,  and 
delivered  him  from  T^eath  by  reftraining  him 
from  the  Sin:  I  with  held  thee  (fays  God 
in  the  6th)  from  finning  agalnft  me.  See 
the  force  of  Princely  Piety  in  the  Pcrfon  of 
Hez,ekiah.  God  tells  him  that  he  fioidddie, 
and  bids  him  prepare  for  it.  But  Piety  is 
Jironger  than  'Death,  and  reverfes  the  fatal 
Edid.  The  Ajfyrians  invade  his  Kingdom, 
and  take  his  fenced  Cities,  but  how  does  he 
withftand  them  \  Why  he  puts  on  Sackcloth 
for  his  Armour,  and  it  was  neither  the 
Valour  nor  the  Number  of  his  Troops,  but 
the  Prayer  of  Hez,ektahj  and  the  irrefiftible 
Force  of  a  Y^m^,  fighting  upon  his  Knees  that 
routed  Sennacherib.       - 

Virtue  entitles  a  Prince  to  all  the  Mercies 
of  Heaven,  all  the  Favours,  all  the  Endear- 
ments of  Providence.  It  has  a  prefent  and 
a  future  Influence  j  one  upon  his  ^erfon,  the 
other  upon  his  Pofterity.  So  that  in  i  Kings 
xi.  when  God  declared  his  purpofe  to  re- 
move the  Kingdom  from  the  Houje  of  Solo- 
mon for  all  his  Idolatries  and  Abominations, 
Yet  in  the  3  4.  nj.  he  fays,  howbeit  I  will  make 

him 


at  Weftminfter-Abbey.  47;r 

him  King  all  the  ^ajs  of  his  Life ,  for  my  Ser- 
vant David'j-  fake,  becaufe  he  kept  my  Com- 
mandments and  my  Statutes.  And  \\\  the  32^ 
1;.  he  declares,  that  his  Son  after  him  fhoiild 
have  one  Tribe  for  his  Servant  David'j  fake. 
Nay,  the  Piety  of  a  King  difFufcs  a  Blcfling, 
and  a  Protection  upon  the  whole  Kingdom  : 
For  how  often  upon  the  Provocations  of 
Jtidah,  did  the  Memory  of  T)avid's  Piety 
(as  it  were)  difarm  the  Divine  Vengeance  i 
and  interpofc  between  them  and  the  de_ 
ftroying  Sentence  ?  So  that  in  the  fecond 
Book  of  Kings,  it  is  faid  three  fevcral  Times, 
upon  three  fcveral  remarkable  OccafionSjthat 
God  would  not  deftroy  Judah  and  Jerufalem 
for  his  Servant  'D^s'id'sfake.  And  who  knows, 
but  the  Piety,  the  Virtues,  and  the  Chriftian 
Sufferings  of  the  late  martyred  King,  may 
be  one  great  Prefervative  of  the  prefent  Peace/ 
of  this  wretched  and  ungrateful  Nation  ?  £0 
that  when  God  lately  fent  his  deftroy ing 
Angel,  with  his  drawn  Sword,  over  To-  ■ 
land  J  Germany ,  Holland  and  other  Coun- 
tries j  he  has  looked  upon  the  Blood  of  that' 
Royal  Martyr  flied  for  the  Rights  and  Li- 
berties of  his  Kingdoms,  and  bid  the  de. 
flrofing  Angel  pals  over  England  and  draw 
no  more  Blood  there,  where  the  Memory  of 

that 


478  A  Sermon  preached 

that  Sacred  Blood  had  made  fuch  an  Atone- 
ment and  Expiation,  and  cryed  aloud  for  Mer- 
cy upon  all  5  even  thofe  that ^ed it  not  ex- 
cepted. Certain  it  is  that  the  Virtues  of  a 
Prince  are  a  Blelling  to  more  than  to  him. 
felf  and  his  Family.  They  arc  a  publick  Se- 
minary of  Blellings  5  they  are  the  Taliadiums 
and  the  ftrong  Holds,  nay  the  common  Stock 
and  the  Inheritance  of  the  Kingdom,  and  (in 
a  Word)  an  Exchequer  that  can  never  be 
jhtit  tip. 

And  thus  much  for  the  fecond  general 
Thing  propofed,  which  was  to  fhew  the  fede- 
ral Ways  and  Me  arts  J  by  which  God  does  after 
fuch  an  extraordinary  manner  fave  and  deliver 
Sovereign  Princes :  All  which,  for  Memo- 
ry's fake,  it  may  not  be  amifs  to  rehearfe 
and  fum  up  in  fhort:  As  namely  he  deli- 
vers them, 

1.  By  endowing  them  with  a  more  than  or- 
dinary Sagacity  and  Quicknefs  of  Underlland- 
ing  above  other  Men. 

2.  By  giving  them  a  lingular  Courage  and 
Prefence  of  Mind  in  cafes  of  Difficulty  and 
Danger. 

3.  By  difpofmg  of  Events  and  Accidents  in 
a  ftrange  Concurrence  for  their  Advantage 
and  Prefervation. 

4.  By 


at  Wellminfter-Abbey.  47^ 

4.  By  wonderfully  inclining  the  Hearts 
and  Wills  of  Men  to  a  benign  AfFciSion  to- 
wards them. 

5.  By  refcuing  them  from  unfeen  and  un- 
known Mikhiefs  prepared  againft  them. 

6.  By  imprinting  a  certain  Awe  and  Dread 
of  their  Perfons  and  Authority  upon  the 
Minds  of  the  People. 

7.  Seventhly  andiaftly.  By  difpofing  their 
Hearts  to  fuch  virtuous  and  pious  Courfes,  as 
God  has  promifed  a  Blefling  to,  and  by  re- 
ftraining  them  from  thofe  ways  to  which  he 
has  denounced  a  Curfe.  And  thefe  are  the 
feveral  ways  by  which  Providence ^w^x  Sal- 
ivation unto  Kings, 

I  proceed  now  to  the 

3  d.  General  thing  propoied  which  is  tojhew 
the  Reafons,  why  Providence  is  fo  much  con- 
cerned in  the  Salvation  and  deliverance  of 
Kings.  Which  that  we  may  the  better  do, 
we  muft  know,  that  there  are  two  Things 
by  which  God  fupports  the  Societies  of 
Mankind,  which  he  will  certainly  maintain 
and  preferve,  as  long  as  he  fufFers  the  World 
to  lad ,  and  Men  to  live  in  it;  and  thefe 
are  Government  and  Religion-,  which  be- 
ing fo ,  I  fuppofe,  we  need  alledge  no  o- 
ther  Reafon  for  God's  peculiar  Care  over  the 

Perfons. 


4^0  A  Sermon  preached 

Pcrfons  and  Lives  of  Sovereign  Princes>  if 
we  demonftrate, 

1 .  Tliat  they  are  the  grcateft  Inftruments 
in  the  hand  of  Providence  to  fupport  Go- 
'vernment  and  civil  Socicr^  in  tiie  World. 
And 

2.  That  they  have  the  moll  powerful  Influ- 
ence upon  the  Concerns  of  Relfgioriy  and  the 
Prefcrvation  of  the  Church,  of  all  other  Pcr- 
fons whatfoever. 

And  iirft  for  the  firft  of  thcfc.  That 
Kings  are  thegreatefi  Infirnraents  in  the  hand 
of  'Frovidmce  to  fupport  Go-vernment ,  and 
ci'uil  Society  in  the  World :  Tiji^;  Proof  of 
which  I  conceive  will  be  fully  made  out  by 
thefe  two  Things. 

I.  By  fhewing  that  Monarchy,  or  Kingly 
Government,  is  the  moft  excellent  and  bell 
adapted  to  the  ends  of  Government,  and  the 
Benciit  of  Society.     And 

z.  That  the  Greatnefs  or  Strength  of  a  Mo- 
narchy depends  chiefly  upon  the  pcrfonal 
Qualiiications  of  the  Prince  or  Monarch. 

I .  And  firft  5  let  us  fliew  that  Monarchy  or 
Kingly  Government  is  the  moft  excellent  and 
bcft  adapted  to  the  ends  of  Government  and 
the  Benefits  of  Society.  This  is  too  large 
and  noble  a  Subjcd:  to  ^"  •^'■"  '  managed  in 

fiich 


at  Wcftminfter- Abbey.       481 

fuch  a  Difcourfe.  At  prcfcnt  let  it  fuffice  to" 
fay,  that  Monarchy  in  the  kind  of  Govern- 
ment is  the  firft,  and  confequently  the  mod 
perfed  of  all  other  Sorts.  It  is  an  Image  of 
the  Divine  Supremacy,  Man's  Imitation  of 
Providence,  a  Copy  of  God's  Government 
of  the  Univerfe  in  a  lefler  Draught.  For  the 
World  has  but  one  fovereign  Ruler,  as  well 
as  but  one  Maker  ;  and  every  Prince  is  both 
his  Lieutenanty  and  his  Refemblance  too. 
The  Excellency  of  any  Government  confifts 
in  the  natural  Firmncfs  of  its  Conftitution^ 
freeing  it  from  the  Principles  of  DifTolution. 
And  the  Diflblution  of  Government,  as  of 
moft  other  Things,  proceeds  chiefly  from  the 
internal  Fightings  and  Conflids  of  contrary 
Parts.  But  now  Unity  excludes  Contrariety, 
and  that  which  is  but  one  cannot  difagree  or 
jarr  with  itfelf.  It  is  Multitude  only  that  ad-^ 
mits  of  the  Contefts  of  Particulars,  and  a 
Common-wealth i  where  Governors  cannot  go^ 
<vern  themfelves.  That  which  like  aWorm  eats 
out  the  very  Heart  of  Government,  is  the  E. 
muiation,  the  Ambition,  and  the  Difcord  of 
the  Parties  invefted  with  it.  But  the  Supre- 
macy placed  in  one  cuts  off  all  thefe :  For  no 
Man  is  his  own  Rival,  no  Man  envies  hifn- 
VoL.IU.  li  felf, 


482,  A  Sermon  preached 

felf,    or  dejign  to  trip  up  his   own   Heels, 
whatfoever  he  may  chance  to  do. 

And  to  ihew  the  Naturahiefs  of  Monarchy, 
all  other  Forms  of  Government  infenfibly 
partake  of  it,  and  Aide  into  it.  For  look  up- 
on any  Ariftocracy  or  democracy,  and  ftill 
you  fhall  tind  fomc  one  ruling  adive  Per- 
fon  amongft  the  reft,  who  does  every  Things 
and  carries  ail  before  him.  Was  not  T>e 
JFit  amongft  our  Neighbours  a  kind  of 
King  ui  a  Common-wealth  ?  And  was  not 
that  Ufurper  here  amongft  ouriclves  a  Mo- 
narch in  Reality  of  Facf^  before  he  wore  the 
Title,  or  afllimed  the  Ofjice  ?  Moreover,when 
any  Common- wealth  is  forced  to  defend  it- 
felf  by  War,  it  finds  it  neceflary  to  appoint 
one  General  over  all,  as  this  very  Common- 
''ji'ealth  found  to  its  Coft,  and  to  make  the 
CondtiB  of  its  Armies  at  leaft  monarchical. 
Nay,  the  Romans  themfelves  in  their  greateft 
Exigencies  of  State,  had  recourfe  to  their 
Didatorfhip,  which  was  a  perfed  Monarchy 
for  the  Time.  And  when  they  fent  out  their 
Armies  under  the  Conduct  of  two  Confuls^ 
yet  thofe  Confuls  were  to  command  the 
whole  Army  by  Turns,  one  one  Day,  and 
another  another  j  which  was  a  tacit  Confef- 

fion 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.       483 

fion  of  the  Neccfllty  of  a  fingle  Condiid  for 
the  right  Management  of  great  Affairs.  And 
I  think  upon  a  full  Survey  of  the  Roman  Sto- 
ry, we  may  truly  pronounce,  that  the  great- 
cfl:  Defeats  that  were  ever  given  that  Com- 
mon-wealth,  in  any  lading  War,  have  been 
from  this,  that  the  Cuftom  of  fliifting  Corx- 
fuls  every  Year,  hindred  the  Condud  of  the 
"wholeWar  from  being  continued  in  theHands 
of  one  experienced  Commander.  In  their 
Wars  with  Hannihal  nothing,  is  more  mani- 
fcft.  From  all  which  I  infer,  that  Kingly  Go-' 
vernment  is  the  moil  natural,  excellent,  and 
beneficial  to  Society  of  all  others :  And  that 
in  every  Common-wealthy  (in  fpight  of  its 
Conftitution)  there  will  be  fomething  of  Mo- 
narchy ;  And  that  if  a  Repubhck  ever  at- 
chieves  any  thing  great  or  confiderable,  it 
is  ftill  by  Virtue  of  fomething  in  it  that  is 
monarchical. 

Secondly y  The  next  thing,  is  to  fhew.  That 
the  Greatnefs  or  Strength  of  a  Monarchy  de- 
fends chiefly  upon  the  per fonal  §lualtficat'wns  of 
the  'Friiicear  Monarch.  It  ebbs  or  flows  ac^ 
cording  to  the  rifmg  or  falling  of  his  Spirit. 
Por  ftiil  it  is  the  ^erfon  that  makes  the  Tiace 
confiderable,  and  not  the  Tlace  him.  And 
we  Ihali  find  in   every  Government    tha 

I i  2  the 


484  ^  Sermon  preached 

the  Activity  and  Bravery  of  the  Prince,    is 
the  Soul  ^Politick  which  animates  and  up- 
holds all.     When  Alexander  xhz  Great  died ^, 
the   Grecian  Monarchy  expired    with  him. 
He  was  both  the  Emperor  and  the  Empire 
too.     And  after  the  Death  of  Julius  and 
Augitftus  Cafary    thofe   great   commanding 
Souls,    the    Roman  Empire   declined  every 
Day,  falling   into  the  Hands  of  Brutes  and 
Sots,  who  could  fcarce  wield  the  weight  of 
their  own  Bellies,  and  much  lefs  the  Burthen 
of  fuchvaft  Dominions.     The  prefent  Gran- 
deur of  the  Tapacy  is  entirely  owing  to  the 
Prudence  and  governing  Arts  of  fome  of  the 
Popes;  and  it  never  fufFered  any  great  Blow, 
but  when  a  weak,  or  a  voluptuous  Perfon 
fate  in  the  Chair.     And  here  amongft  our- 
felves,    both  the  Protector,    and   the   new 
Protedorfhip  died  in  one  Man,   though  the 
Name  indeed  furvived  a  while  in  another  j 
and  it  was  quickly  feen,    how  ridiculous  it 
was  for  any  one  to  attempt  to  fucceed  into 
his  Vower,    who  could  not  fucceed  into  his 
Spirit. 

But  it  is  evident  from  Reafon,  that  the 
Fate  and  Fortune  of  Governments  mufl:  na- 
turally follow  the  perConal  Abilities  of  the 
Governor :    For  what  is  there  elfc,  that  the 

Strength 


at  Weftminftcr' Abbey.       .48  j 

Strength  of  a  Kingdom  can  be  ruppofed  to 
lean  upon,  but  one  of  thcfe  three?    lisTrea- 
Jtire^  its  Military  T^owerj  or  its  La-jvs.     But 
now,  none  of  all  thefe  can  fignify  any  thing, 
where  the  Prince  is  not  endued  with  that  Roy- 
al Skill,  that  is  requifitc  to  the  due  Manage- 
ment of  them.     For  llirely  the  bare  Image  of 
a  Prince  upon  the  Coin  of  any  Nation  can  nei- 
ther improve  or  employ  the  Treafure  of  it  5 
Nor  can  the  Military  Force  of  a  Kingdom  do 
much  to  ftrengthen  it,  fhould  the  Prince  ei- 
ther wear  a  Padlock  upon  his  Sword,  or  draw 
it  in  Defence  of  his  Enemies.  Norlaftly,  can 
the  Laws  much  contribute  to  the  Support  of 
it,  if  the  Execution  of  them  be  either  neg- 
lected or  difcountenanced :    For  it  is  not  how 
Laws  are  made^,  nor  how  they  are  interpre- 
tedj  but  how  they  are  nfedj  that  muft  influ- 
ence  the  Publick.     By  all  which  we  fee  what 
Moment  there  is  in  the  fole  Perfon  of  a  Prince. 
For  as  he  is  qualified  or  difpofed,  fo  all  thefe 
great  Things  become  helpful  or  ineffedual. 
The  Treafure y  Arms,  and  Laws  of  a  Nation 
are  all  virtually  in  him.     And  it  is  he  who 
muft  breath   Life   and  Efficacy    into  them 
all.     Which  is  the  firfl  great  Reafon,    why 
God  extends  fuch  a  particular  Providence  o- 
I  i  3  vcc 


48  <5  A  Sermon  preached 

vcr  the  Perfons  of  Kings,  namely,  bccaufc 
the  main  Concerns  of  Civil  Government  and 
Society,  which  Providence  fo  much  tenders 
the  Prcfervation  of,  are  principally  depofited 
in  them. 

Secondly,  The  other  great  Reafon  is,  Be- 
cdiife  Princes  have  tke?noli  powerful  Influence 
upon  the  Concerns  of  ReUgion,  and  the  prefer' 
'Vation  of  the  Church,  of  all  other  perfons 
whatfoever.  Religion  is  indeed  an  immortal 
Seed,  and  the  Church  is  Proof  againft  the  ve- 
ry Gates  of  Hell,  as  being  founded  upon  a 
^romife-,  and  fo  llanding  faft  in  the  eternal 
Strength  of  God's  Veracity.  Neverthelcfs,  3s 
to  its  outward  State  and  Cii'cumftances  iu  this 
World,  it  muft  clafp  about  the  fecular  Pow- 
er, and  as  that  frowns  or  fmiles  upon  it,  fo  it 
muft  droop  or  flourifh.  Accordingly  God 
has  declared  Kings  to  be  nurflng  Fathers  of 
his  Church :  And  every  Prince  by  the  eflen- 
tial  inherent  Right  of  his  Crown  is,  oX 
fhould  be  a  IDefender  of  the  Faith.  He  holds 
it  by  a  Charter  from  Heaven  j  long  before 
the  Pope's  Donation,  who  never  gives  any 
Thing  to  Princes,  but  what  was  their  own 
before.  Every  Chriftian  King  is  within  his 
Qwn  Dominions  the  great  Paftor,   both  to 

juIq 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey .       487 

rule  Chrift's  Flock,  and  to  fee  it  fed,  though 
he  does  not  feed  it  himfelf. 

We  know  how  glorious  a  Deliverance  our 
Church  received  this  Day  5  and  it  was  by 
the  Wifdom  of  that  Head  which  wore  the 
Crown,  that  God  vouchfafcd  it  to  her  King 
and  Church  then,  (as  'tis  feldom  other  wife) 
were  both  defigned  to  the  fame  Fate.  But 
God  preferved  the  King,  and  the  King  the 
Church.  And  who  knows  but  for  fuch  a 
Day  as  this,  God  paved  his  Way  before  him 
In  fuch  a  peaceable  Entrance  into  the  Eng- 
/ifh  Throne,  fo  much  above  and  againft  the 
Expedation  of  the  World  round  about  him, 
and  of  the  Court  of  Rome  efpecially  ;  which, 
it  is  well  known,  had  other  Defigns  upon  the 
Anvil  at  that  Time.  And  as  he  then  faved 
the  Church  from  periflihig  by  one  BI0W5  ^o 
he  afterwards  fupported  it  from  dying  gradu- 
ally, either  by  the  Encroachments  o^SuperJli- 
tion,  or  the  Attempts  oi Innovation. 

And  it  is  obfervable,  (which  I  fpeak  not  in 
Flattery,  but  in  a  profound  Senfe  of  a  Blefling 
which  the  whole  Kingdom  can  never  be 
thankful  enough  for  j)  that  none  of  the  Fa^ 
miltes  that  ever  reigned  over  this  Nation, 
have  to  their  Power  been  fo  careful  and  ten- 
I  i  4  dcr 


488  A  Sermon  preached 

der  of  the  Church,  kept  their  Hands  fo  clean 
from  any  thing  that  might  looic  like  Sacrilege, 
been  To  zealous  of  its  Privileges,  and  fo  kind 
to  its  Minifters,  as  the  Royal  Family  that 
now  fways  the  Scepter  in  the  Succellion  of 
three  feveral  Princes.  And  I  doubt  not  but 
as  Sacrilege  has  blafted  the  mightiefl  Families 
with  a  Curfe,  i^o  the  Abhorrence  of  it  will 
and  muft  perpetuate  a  Blefling  upon  this. 

And  thus  having  difpatched  the  feveral 
Heads  at  firft  propo fed,  and  lliewn  upon  "juhat 
Accounts  the  AEiings  of  God's  Trovidence 
way  be  [aid  to  be  extraordinary  :  And  by  what 
Ways  and  Means  this  extraordinary  Trovt- 
dencefaves  and  delivers  Trifices  5  as  alfo  the 
Reafons  ijuhy  it  does  fo:  I  proceed  now  to  the 

Fourth  and  laft  thing  propofed.  Which  is 
to  make  fome  ufeful  Deductions  from  what 
has  been  delivered,  and  it  fhall  be  by  way  of 
Information  concerning  two  Things. 

Firft,  The  Duty  and  Behaviour  of  Princes 
towards  God. 

Secondly,  The  Duty  and  Behaviour  of  Sub- 
jects towards  their  Prince. 

Firft,  And  firft  for  that  of  Princes  towards 
God.  It  (hews  them  from  whom,  in  their 
Diltrcfs,  they  are  to  exped^    and  to  whom, 

in 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  489 

in  their  Glory,  they  are  to  afcribe  all  their 
Deliverances.  T)avid  was  as  great  a  Warri- 
our,  and  as  valiant  a  Prince  as  ever  reigned. 
In  all  his  Wars  Succefs  waited  upon  his  Cou- 
rage, and  Vidory  did  Homage  to  his  Swqrd, 
yet  he  tells  us  that  he  would  neither  truft  in 
his  Sword  nor  in  his  Bow,  nor  in  the  Alliance 
oiTrinces.  All  Auxiliaries  but  thofe  from 
above  he  found  weak,  fickle  and  fallacious. 
And  as  Princes  are  to  own  their  great  Deli- 
verer, fo  are  they  to  fhew  the  World  that 
they  do  fo,  by  fetting  a  due  Eftimate  upon 
the  Deliverance  :  Efpecially  when  it  is  fhewn 
in  fo  fuiglean  Inftancc,  as  that  which  we  now 
commemorate.  And  whofoevcr  he  is,  who 
really  and  cordially  values  any  notable  'De- 
liverance vouchfafed  him  by  God,  furely  a- 
bove  all  things  it  will  concern  him,  not  to 
court  the  Mifchief  from  which  he  has  been 
delivered:     But 

Secondly,  Which  moft  properly  belongs  to 
us.  We  learn  from  the  Premifes  the  Duty 
and  Behaviour  of  Subjcds  towards  their  Prin= 
ces.  Does  not  God  by  fuch  aproteding  Pro- 
vidence over  Kings  point  out  to  us  the  Sa- 
crcdnefs  of  their  Perfons?  and  command  a 
Reverence,  where  he  himfelf  thinks  fit  to 
place  an  Honour?  Docs  not  every  extraordi- 
I  nary 


4po  A  Sermon  preached 

nary  Deliverance  of  a  Prince,  carry  this  In- 
fcription  upon  it  in  the  brighteft  Charaders, 
Touch  not  mine  anointed^  Whom  God  has 
placed  upon  the  Throne^  fhall  any  human 
Power  prefumc  to  drag  to  the  Ear  ?  or  fhall 
Royal  Heads  be  crowned  and  anointed  on- 
ly to  prepare  them  to  be  facrificcd  upon  a 
Scaffold? 

As  for  our  Parts,  when  we  refled  upon 
our  Prince,  fignalized  by  fo  many  ftrange  un- 
parallel'd  Refcues,  ought  they  not  both  to 
endear  him  to  our  Allegiance,  and  in  a  man- 
ner confecrate  him  to  our  Veneration  >  For 
is  not  this  he,  whom  in  the  Loins  of  his 
Royal  Progenitor,  God,  by  this  Day's  Mercy, 
(as  I  may  fo  fay)  delivered  before  he  was 
torn  ?  He,  for  whofe  fake  God  has  fince 
wrought  fo  many  Miracles  ?  Covering  his 
Head  in  the  ^ay  of  Battle^  and  which  is  more, 
fccuring  it  after  Battle^  when  fuch  diTrice  was 
fet  upon  it  >  Is  not  this  he,  whom  the  fame 
Providence  followed  into  Banifhment  and 
gave  him  Safety  and  Honour,  where  he  had 
not  fo  much  as  to  lay  his  Head,  or  to  fet  his 
Foot  upon,  that  he  could  call  his  own  ?  Is  not 
this  he,  whom  God  brought  back  again  by  a 
Miracle  as  great  as  that  by  which  he  brought 
Ifrael  out  of  Egy^t,    not  divided  but  (as  it 

were) 


at  Weftminfter- Abbey.  45)1 

were)  drying  up  a  Red  Sea^  before  him  ?  Is 
not  this  he,  whom  neither  the  Plots  of  his 
Enemies  at  home,  nor  the  united  Strength  of 
thofc  abroad  have  been  able  to  Ihake  or  fup- 
plant  >  And  laftly,  is  not  this  he,  whom  nei- 
ther the  barbarous  Injuries  of  his  Rebel  Sub- 
jeds  at  home,  nor  the  Temptations  of  fo- 
reign Princes  abroad,  nor  ail  the  Arts  o^  Rome 
befidcs,  could  in  his  greateft  Extremity  bring 
over  to  the  Romijh  TrofeJJion ;  but  that  af- 
ter all,  he  returned,  and  iince  his  Return 
ftill  continues  in  the  fame  Communion,which 
he  was  in  when  he  went  from  us,  Carolus 
a  Carolo,  firm  and  immoveable  like  the  Son 
of  a  Father,  who  could  rather  part  with  his 
Crowns,  Kingdoms,  and  his  very  Life,  than 
quit  his  Honour  or  give  up  his  Religion  ? 

For  all  which  glorious  Things  done  for 
him  and  by  him,  may  the  fame  God  who 
has  hitherto  delrcered  him,  order  his  Af- 
fairs fo,  that  he  may  never  need  another 
^elruerancej  but  that  he  may  grow  old  in 
Peace  and  Honour  5  and  be  as  great  as  the 
Love  of  his  Friends  and  the  Fears  of  his  Erie- 
tnies  can  make  him  j  commanding  the  Hearts 
of  the  one  mfpight  of  the  Hearts  of  the  other  • 
and,  in  a  word,  continue  to  reign  over 
us  till  Mortality  fhall  be  fwallowed   up  of 

I  ImmoT' 


492       A  Sermon  preached^  Sec, 

Immortality y  and  a  temporal  Crown  changed 
into  an  cternaU 

IVhich  God  of  his  infinite  Mercy  grant ;  to 
whom  be  rendred  and  afiribedy  as  is 
tnoft  due,  all  Traife,  Might,  Majejiy, 
andT)ominion,  both  now  and  for  ever^ 
more.    Amen, 


f  I  N  1  S. 


I 


::q 


i'^ 


M 


,Ai< 


X'i