The works of Bishop Sherlock : with some account of his life, summary of each discourse, notes, &c.

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THE WORKS

BISHOP SHERLOCK.

VOL I.

SHKRL. VOL. r.

0

THE WORKS

OF

BISHOP SHERLOCK.

WITH

SOME ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE,

SUMMARY OF EACH DISCOURSE, NOTES, &c.

BY THE REV. T. S. HUGHES, B. D.

VOL. I.

LONDON:

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY A. J. VALFY, M.A.

AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.

1830.

TO
THE RIGHT HONORABLE AND RIGHT REVEREND

CHARLES JAMES
LORD BISHOP OF LONDON,

THIS EDITION OF THE LIFE AND WORKS

OF

ONE OF HIS MOST ILLUSTRIOUS PREDECESSORS
IS DEDICATED,

IN GRATEFUL ACKNOWLEGEMENT OF

HIS LORDSHIP'S KIND AND BENEFICIAL ADVICE TO THE

EDITOR AT THE COMMENCEMENT OF HIS

UNDERTAKING,

BY

HIS OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL

FRIEND AND SERVANT,

T. S. HUGHES.

CONTENTS

THE FIRST VOLUME.

Introduction xi

Biographical Memoir of Bishop Sherlock . . . xiii

DISCOURSES.

I. John ii. 67 — 69. — Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye

also go away ? Then Simon Peter answered liim, Lord,
to whom shall we go ? thou hast the words of eternal life.
And we believe, and are sure, that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God. 9

II. Heb. VII. 25. — Wherefore he is able also to save them to
the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. . . . .40

via CONTENTS.

PAGE

III. Matt. xi. 6. — Blessed is he whosoever shall not be
offended in me. ........ 66

IV. I Cor. I. 21.— For after that, in the wisdom of God, the
world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. . 93

V. John hi. 16. — God so loved the world, that he gave his
"^f only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should

not perish, but have everlasting life. . . . .114

VI. II Tim. I. 10. And hath brought life and immortality

to light through the gospel 124

VII. Romans iv. 25. — Who was delivered for our offences,
and was raised again for our justification. . . . 140

VIII. Romans VIII. 16. — The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God, . . . 153

IX. John xx. 30, 31. — And many other signs truly did Jesus
in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in
this book. But these are written, that ye might believe
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believ-
ing ye might have life through his name. . . .170

X. Acts ii. 22.: — Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God
among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God
did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also
know 188

XI. Psalm vill. 4. — What is man, that thou art mindful of
him ? and the son of man, that thou visitest him ? . . 206

CONTENTS. IX

PAGE

XII. Acts x. 34, 35. — Then Peter opened his mouth, and
said, Of a truth I perceive tliat God is no respecter of
persons : but in every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. . . , 222

XIII. Matt. xxii. 40. — On these two commandments hang all

the law and the prophets. ...... 233

XIV. Heb. 111. 12. — Take heed, brethren, lest there be any in
you of an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the
living God. ......... 251

XV. Acts xv. 1, 2. — And certain men, which came down from
Judea, taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be cir-
cumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.
When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissen-
sion and disputation with them, they determined that Paul
and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to
Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders, about this ques-
tion. 274

XVI. Ephes. II. 18. — For through him we both have an access

by one Spirit unto the Father. ..... 288

XVII. Ephes. II. 8. — For by grace are ye saved through faith ; x
and that not of yourselves ; it is the gift of God. . . 299

XVIII. Philip, ii. 12, 13!" — Work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure. . . .311

XIX. Luke xiii. 23, 24. — Then said one unto him. Lord, are
there few that be saved ? And he said unto them. Strive

X CONTENTS.

PAGE

to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you,
will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. . . . 326

XX. Luke xii. 48. — Unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall be much required : and to whom men have com-
mitted much, of him they will ask the more. . . 340

XXI. Luke iv. 1, 2. — And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost,
returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the
wilderness, being forty days tempted of the devil. . . 355

XXII. II Cor. vii. 10. — Godly sorrow worketh repentance to
salvation not to be repented of; but the sorrow of the
world worketh death. 368

XXIII. I Peter ii. 11. — Dearly beloved, I beseech you as
strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which
war against the soul. ....... 385

XXIV. Matt, xxvii. 38. — Then were there two thieves cru-
cified with him ; one on the right hand, and another on

the left 408

INTRODUCTION.

It has frequently been a subject of complaint, that a
Collection of the best English Divines, from the scarcity of
good editions, and the expense of procuring them, is rarely
met with in the Libraries even of our Clergy, although
these are the sources to which, after the Holy Scriptures,
they must apply for instruction and edification. A few
select volumes of some favorite Authors are perhaps found
on their shelves ; but a regular series, exhibiting the pro-
found researches, the luminous expositions, the interesting
criticisms, and the noble eloquence of British Theologians,
falls to the lot of few : indeed our great public repositories
themselves are not unfrequently deficient -in so important
a branch of literature. This observation is made from pain-
ful experience, since the Editor has not been able to col-
lect the scattered works of the illustrious Sherlock in
all the Libraries of Cambridge, including the Public
Library itself; nor has it been without extraordinary
pains and diflSculty, that his Publisher has completed this
Edition even in our Metropolis. To remedy the defects

Xll INTRODUCTION.

above mentioned, and to enable both Clergy and Laymen
to possess a treasure of real excellence, at a time when
the Church of England requires the best exertions of her
sons, is the great object of the present undertaking.

It would indeed be discreditable to an age, in which the
works of so many Authors have been reprinted in a form
combining both economy and convenience, if those of the
great ornaments of our Church should be withheld from
an extended circulation. It has been determined there-
fore to publish a series in which the following plan will
be observed.

Each Work will be preceded by a Biographical Memoir
of its Author, comprising a general account of the times in
which he lived, with a particular reference to the state of
religious opinions.

An Argument or concise Summary of Contents will be
prefixed to every Sermon, Tract, or Disquisition, con-
tained in each Volume ; so that not only direct access may
be had to any portion required for perusal or consultation,
but the Summary of each Sermon may be considered as a
Skeleton, well calculated to assist the young Divine in
Composition.

Notes and observations will be added wherever they
may appear necessary or useful ; and at the end of each
Author will be given an Index of passages in Scripture,
which have been commented on in such Author.

BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR

OF

BISHOP SHERLOCK.

The illustrious prelate with whose works we begin our
series, was a younger son of Dr. William Sherlock,
Master of the Temple, and Dean of St. Paul's, a divine
who, having passed the greater part of his life in the ex-
citement of polemics, became celebrated in his day for the
multiplicity of his controversial writings, but is more advan-
tageously known to posterity by his admirable Treatise on
Death. After living to see his son Thomas, who is the
subject of this Memoir, rapidly advancing in a course ho-
norable to himself and useful to mankind, he died at
Hampstead, June 19, 1707, and was buried in his own
cathedral, leaving a very considerable property to his sur-
viving family, which consisted of two sons and as many
daughters.

Bishop Sherlock was born in London, A. D. 1678.

Of his infancy and childhood I find no traces, nor can I

discover that he showed any precocity of intellect, though

his genius soon distinguished him at Eton, a school well

sherl. vol. I. b

XIV BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR, OF

adapted to excite and bring out those qualities of emu-
lation and ambition which continued always to distinguish
him : there he laid the foundation of that classical elegance
and purity of style, which shine so conspicuously in his
wiitings ; there he acquired an early knowlege of charac-
ter, an anticipated experience of society, which was of
great service to him in after life ; and there also he formed
powerful connexions, which materially contributed to ad-
vance him in his profession. Among the friends, of his
early youth, who became promoters of his future interests,
may be reckoned Lord Viscount Townshend, Mr. Pelham,
and Sir Robert Walpole ; the latter of whom not only en-
tertained,' but invariably expressed, the highest opinion of
his talent and integrity. Nor was it in the studies of the
place only, and at the head of his class, that young Sherlock
was seen to advantage : he was equally eminent for his skill
in athletic exercises; and never failed to lead his compa-
nions in those sports and amusements, over which Hygeia
herself may be said to preside, and which, while they
strengthen the body, add vigor also to the mental powers.
It is always understood that Pope's expression of ' the
plunging prelate,' * in the Dunciad, bears an allusion to
those early habits of promptitude and decision, of which
he exhibited an example in the exercise of bathing ; for
w'hen other boys stood hesitating and shivering on the bank
of ' Father Thames,' Sherlock plunged in headlong,

■ Foremost to cleave

"\\ ith pliant arm his glassy wave.

This at least is the interpretation given to it by Warton
on the authority of Sir Robert Walpole.

* Book ii. I. 323.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XV

When he quitted those delightful scenes, so calcu kited
to impress indelibly their images on the youthful mind, he
was removed to Cambridge in 1693, and admitted of
Catherine Hall, under the tuition of Dr. Leng. What
induced his father, who was himself a member of Peter
House, to place him at this college, I am unable to de-
termine ; but it is a curious circumstance, that the master,
and the tutor under whom he was admitted, his great
rival and contemporary Hoadley, whom he found there,
as well as Sherlock himself, were all promoted to the
episcopal bench.*

It redounds much to his credit, that in so small a
society, where the incentives to emulation are necessarily
curtailed, at a time also when no prizes were instituted, as
at present, to call forth the powers and exercise the genius
of academic youth, he neglected not the study of those
ancient authors, whose very language affords constant exer-
cise to the mind, in struggling with intellectual diflficulties,
whilst they abound with sentiments and images of the
greatest beauty and sublimity. But though that powerful
stimulus to exertion which numbers give, was now with-
drawn, still even in the circumscribed limits of his present
society, Sherlock found one strenuous candidate, who

* Sir W. Dawes, the Master, was made Bishop of Chester, 1707;
Archbishop of York, 1714. Dr. Leng, Bishop of Norwich, 1723;
Hoadley, Bishop of Bangor, 1715; Hereford, 1721; Salisbury, 1723;
Winchester, 1738. Sherlock, Bishop of Bangor, 1727; Salisbury,
1734; London, 1748. The present worthy Master of Catherine
Hall, when he showed me the order-book, pointed out to my notice
the solitary instance in which Sherlock signed it as Fellow, on
occasion of the Audit, Nov. 7. 1798; when the signatures of the
three above-mentioned distinguished persons appear with only one
other, that of Mr. Thomas Tillson.

XVI BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

started with him in the race of fame, and kept the princi-
ple of emulation in full activity. This antagonist, who has
been already alluded to, was the celebrated Hoadley, whose
religious and political opinions were subsequently attacked
by Sherlock with an asperity which makes it probable that
the seeds of rivalry, if not of animosity, were thus early
sown : a little anecdote indeed is preserved, which seems
to show that they never regarded each other with feelings
of peculiar complacency. One day, as they came from the
tutor's lecture on Tully's Offices, Hoadley observed, ' Well,
Sherlock, you figured away finely to-day by help of Cock-
man's Translation.' — 'No, indeed,' replied Sherlock, 'I
did not ; for though I tried all T could to get a copy, I
heard of only one; and that you had secured.'

There can be but little doubt however of Sherlock's
profound knowlege, as well as exquisite taste, in classical
literature; since Warburton, who differed from him greatly
in opinions, and felt very little affection for his person,
took every opportunity of extolling his learning and talent,
and submitted portions of the Divine Legation to his in-
spection, as they were passing through the press.* The
following are his sentiments, expressed in a letter to
Hurd, in whose favor he had been applying to Bishop
Sherlock for a Whitehall preachership : ' It is time you
should think of being a little more known ; and it will not
be the least thing acceptable in this affair, that it will
bring you into the acquaintance of this Bishop, who stands
so supereminent in the learned and political world. / can
overlook a great deal for such a testimony, so willing to be
paid to merit.' t

* Nichols's Lit. Anec. Vol. v. p. 544.

t Warburlon and Kurd's Correspondence, p. 20. The following

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XVll

But Sherlock did not waste his precious hours at the
University in wooing even ' the willing muse/ or ' sport-
ing with Amaryllis in the shade :' his was a character of a
very different cast ; he cultivated not an exclusive system ;
and from the severe line of study which he had laid down
for himself, no allurements, even of intellectual pleasure,
could make him swerve. When he had enlarged his
powers of imagination, and refined his taste by the varied
stores of Greek and Roman literature, he resolved to keep
the balance even in his mind, by cultivating those sciences
which impart accuracy, strength, and soundness to the rea-
soning faculties ; and though the studies of the University
and the rewards of merit, stood on much lower ground than
they do in the present day, still the morning-star of science
had risen, and the splendid system of Newtonian philo-
sophy was rapidly advancing in the place which gave it
birth.* To those abstruse but invigorating studies Sherlock
steadily applied himself; the effect of which became very

passagje occurs in the letter Trom Bishop Sherlock to Warburton, in
which he promises to remember his friend : ' I am told we are to
expect soon something from your hand in vindication of the mira-
culous prevention of Julian's attempt to rebuild Jerusalem. I have
a pleasure in seeing any thing of yours, and I dare promise myself
to see the argument.you have undertaken set iu a true and clear
light:' p. 21. Pope, in one of his letters to Warburton, thus speaks
of Sherlock, and the kind of intimacy which subsisted between
them : ' We are told that the Bishop of Salisbury is expected here
daily, who I know is your friend : at least, though a Bishop, he is too
much a man of learning to be your enemy.' — Pope's Works by
Bowles, vol. ix. p. 389.

* In 1694 the celebrated Dr. Samuel Clarke, then an under-
graduate, defended in the schools a question taken from Newton's
Principia.

XVlll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

perceptible in the clear reasoning, the logical precision, and
the lucid arrangement of his compositions ; whilst the more
immediate consequence to himself was, that when he took
his degree of A. B. in 1797, his name appeared on the
Tripos, or list of Honors, in a situation similar to that
which Hoadley had obtained two years before,* and the
great Bentley in 1679. The place which each of these
tria lumina nominally occupied was sixth ; but at this time,
and for about half a century afterwards, the vice-chan-
cellor and proctors claimed the unworthy privilege of in-
serting the names of three under-gr^uates in the list,
which were placed immediately below the .*irst man of the
year : so that virtually the place occupied by Sherlock and
his two predecessors was the third.

On the 12th of August, 1798, he was elected Fellow of
his college,! and his election was signed by his antagonist
Hoadley, who had preceded him in this honor by one
year. Very soon after he had arrived at the canonical age,
he entered into holy orders ; and in 1701 proceeded to his
degree of A. M., but continued to reside in the University,
that he might prepare himself, amid the tranquil scenes
of a collegiate life, for the more active duties of the cle-
rical profession : into these he soon entered with great
earnestness and alacrity, when a circumstance occurred
which was calculated, in a peculiar manner, to draw forth
the powers of his naturally strong and cultivated intellect.
On the 28th of Nov. 1704, when he was but twenty-six
years old, he was appointed to the Mastership of the Teni-

* Hoadley was but one year senior to Iiim on tlie college boards,
but it seems that be had seven terms allowed on account of extreme
bad health. — Supplement to Biogr. Brit. p. 99.

t College order book.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XIX

pie, on the resignation and through the influence of his
father. So high and important a station, with all the jea-
lousy and prejudices that it excited, would have borne
down most men at that early age ; but Sherlock's vigorous
and elastic character raised him above all difficulties :
having already laid up vast stores of knowlege, having his
judgment ripe, and an ambition equal to his abilities, he
soon surpassed the most eminent preachers of the day in
true pulpit oratory. For his variety of matter and judicious
arrangement of it, for the strength and solidity of his reason-
ing, for his force of language, for his flow of natural and
manly eloquence, we may safely appeal to those- admirable
Discourses which have long ministered delight and conso-
lation to the Christian : they hold no secondary rank among
the writings of our Divines. Nor was it only in the weight
of his words and argument that his preacJiing was with
power, but also in the force and energy with which it was
delivered : for * though his voice was not melodious, but
accompanied rather with a thickness of speech, yet were
his words uttered with so much propriety, and with such
strength and vehemence, that he never failed to take pos-
session of his whole audience and secure their attention.
This powerful delivery of words so weighty and important
as his always were, made a strong impression on the minds
of his hearers, and was not soon forgot.'* His station at
the Temple was held by Sherlock through the diff'erent
stages of his preferment, almost to the close of life :f he
greatly enjoyed the society to which it introduced him,

* Extract from his Funeral Sermon by Dr. Nicolls. — Gent. Mag.
1762. p. 23.

t Almost all his letters that I have met with are dated from hi.s
house at tiie Temple.

XX BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

was extremely intimate with the most eminent lawyers of
the day, and was universally beloved and esteemed among
them: he always preached at their church during term-
time, and to the early and constant necessity of addressing
so polished and acute an audience, may be ascribed in
great measure that high tone both of composition and of
argument which distinguishes his sermons.*

In 1707 he must have resigned his fellowship, for he
then entered into the marriage state with Miss Judith
Fountaine.f a lady descended from a good family in

* The following is the opinion of an able writer in the Quarterly
Keview on Sherlock's pnlpit eloquence : ' the calm and dispas-
sionate disquisi(ion on some text of Scripture, or the discussion of
some theological question, henceforward to be the exclusive object
of an English sermon, was carried by Sherlock to a perfection
rarely rivalled, unless by Smalridge, nearly his own contemporary,
and by Horsley in more recent times. The question is clearly
stated and limited; every objection anticipated; and the language
is uniformly manly and vigorous. Sherlock, indeed, occasionally
breaks out in passnges of greater warmth and earnestness,' &c.
For Pope's sentiments with regard to his powers of oratory, see
Dunciad, B. iii. 203.

* Still break the benches, Henley ! with thy strain,
While Sherlock, Hare, and Gibson preach in vain.'

On which passage Warton remarks, that ' in former editions Ken-
net was named, not Sherlock :' the latter was then no great
favorite with Pope, under the lash of whose satire he fell more
than once. * The sermons of Sherlock,' Warton goes on to say,
' though censured by Mr. Church, are master-pieces of argument and
eloquence. His Discourses on Prophecy, and Trial of the Witnes-
ses, are perhaps the best defences of Christianity in our language.'

t From the monumental inscription. She was related to the
Chesters of Cockenhatch, in Hertfordshire. — Nichols's Lit. Anec.
Vol. i. p. 55G.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXI

Yorkshire, with whom he enjoyed a great portion of hap-
piness : her character is slightly touched by Cumberland
in his Memoirs, where he observes, that ' she was a truly
respectable woman, and his mother enjoyed much of
her society, till the Bishop's death brought a successor in
his place.' It was probably owing to this connexion that
Cumberland's father was permitted to exchange the living
of Stanwick for that of Fulham, and was collated by the
Bishop to a small prebend in St. Paul's, the only one that
became vacant within his time.*

But neither the bands of matrimony, nor his active and
useful employment at the Temple, detained Sherlock
long from the service of Alma Mater. The value of his
character was well known to his college, by the Society of
which he was recalled in 1714, having been unanimously
elected Master, on the resignation of Sir William Dawes.
In the same year also he took his degree of D. D., after
having held a public disputation at the commencement
with the celebrated Waterland, who had also just been
nominated to the headship of his own college. ' This
theological disputation,' says Dean Monk,-f- ' excited an
uncommon sensation, not confined to the University : the
subject was the question of Arian Subscriptions; Water-
land being the respondent, and Sherlock the opponent.
The unusual circumstance of a public debate between two
heads of houses, the general interest of the topic, and
still more, the learning, ingenuity, and fluency of the com-
batants, made a great and lasting impression. They were
both young men, distinguished by talent and erudition,
and they exhibited, on their elevation, great aptitude for

* Memoirs p. 13G— 138. t Life of Bcntley, p. 291.

XXll BIOGRAPHICAL MKMOIR OF

business and discretion as well as activity, which speedily
gave them influence and authority in the body.' * This
eulogy was shown to be richly deserved by each in his
conduct as vice-chancellor. Sherlock was first elected to
that dignified office, and exhibited an example of fidelity,
acuteness, and diligence in the discharge of its duties,

* The circumstance is thus alluded to by Mr. Seed : ' In the
year 1714, at the coiumencement, he (Waterlaiid) kept a Divinity
Act for his Bachelor of Divinity's degree. His first question was,
7v1ietlier Arian Subscription was lawful ; a question worthy of him,
who had the integrity to abhor, with a generous scorn, all prevari-
cation ; and the capacity to see through and detect those evasive
arts by which some would palliate their disingenuily. When Dr.
James, the Professor, had endeavored to answer his Thesis, and
embarrass the question with the dexterity of a person long practised
in all the arts of a sublle disputant; he immediately replied, in
an extempore discourse of above half-an-hour long, with such an
easy flow of proper and significant words, and such an undisturbed
presence of mind, as if he had been reading, what he has since
printed, T/ie rase of Arian S.ubscriplion considered, and the Supple-
ment to it. He unravelled the Professor's fallacies, reinforced his
own reasonings, and showed himself so perfect a master of the lan-
guage, the subject, and himself, that all agreed no one ever ap-
peared to greater advantage. There were several members of the
University of Oxford there, who remember the great applauses he
received, and the uncommon satisfaction which he gave. He was
happy in a first opponent, one of the greatest ornaments of the
church and finest writers of the age, who gave full play to his abi-
lities, and called forth all that strength of reason of which he was
master.' This opponent, says Bishop Van Mildert, was Dr. Tho-
mas Sherlock, afterwards Bishop of London. It has been observed,
that probably the account of this performance having reached Dr.
Clarke's ears, gave occasion to his omitting in the second edition
of his Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity, the passage in his first
edition respecting Subscription to the Articles, which had given
offence. — Life of Waterland, p. 13.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXllI

which has probably never been surpassed. Finding the
public archives in a state of great confusion through the
neglect of former ages, he set himself with ardor and per-
severance to arrange them in a compact and regular di-
gest ;* by which means he acquired such a knowlege of the
constitution of the University, that in subsequent parts of
his life he was appealed to as a kind of oracle, when
doubts and difficulties occasionally arose with regard to its
jurisdiction and government. -f- Indeed he was very soon
called on to exercise his judgment in a very important
case of this kind.

Already had the celebrated Bentley, that glory and dis-
grace of literature, begun to distract the University by
those dissensions which his arrogant, selfish, and tyran-
nical conduct protracted almost to the latest period of his
existence. This extraordinary personage having been ap-
pointed by Bishop Patrick to the Archdeaconry of Ely,
had empowered his official. Dr. Brookbank, to grant pro-
bates of wills and administrations of effects to the heirs of
members of the University ; a right which was considered
as belonging to the Academical Court. On this ground,
when Bentley was, in the ordinary course of things, ap-
proaching to a second year of the vice-chancellor's office,
a grace passed unanimously through the Senate, Oct. 10,
1712, enacting, that in future no archdeacon of Ely, or
his official, even though he might be head of a house,

* Dr. Sherlock, (says Dean Monk, in a note to his Life of Bentley,
p. 292.) during his year of office, compiled a nis. book on the pro-
perty, rights, privileges, and customs of the University. This
valuable document is said to have been lost by a vice-chancellor
some years ago : a copy of it however is preserved in Cole's Mss.
vol. xxi. p. 237.

t Biogr. Brit. Sup. p. 230.

XXIV BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

should be capable of acting- as vice-chancellor, or even as
his deputy.*

The Master of Trinity College remained thus under the
ban of the University about two years, until Sherlock
became vice-chancellor ; when the official, with the
principal's concurrence, submitted to his arbitration the
whole matter in dispute, to be by him equitably and
amicably decided : ' accordingly,' says Bentley's learned
biographer,t ' the vice-chancellor, after an examination of
the charters, records, and registers, drew up a distinct
statement of the different descriptions of persons, to the
probates of whose wills the University was entitled :
whereupon the official subscribed an engagement never
to interfere with those claims ; and the archdeacon rati-
fied the concessions, in the name of himself and his suc-
cessors. Those documents being published to the Senate
in a convocation, were immediately followed by a grace,
cancelling and annulling the late resolution ; and the
repeal was next day voted by the body, with the same
unanimity as the censure.' ;j;

On the 4tli of the following month the sense which
the University entertained of Bentley's superlative
merits iu the cause of revealed religion, was testified
by its public expression of thanks for the admirable
work which he had published against Collins, under
the assumed name of Phileleutherus Lipsiensis.§ As
some people asserted that the University had been
taken by surprise in this instance, and the grace had

* Dean Monk's Life of P.entlcy, p. 262.

t Page 292. I Ibid.

§ Tlie grace on tliis occasion was drawn up by his friend and
supporter Waterland. — Bishop "Van Miidert's Life of Waterland,
p. 13.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXV

been clandestinely passed through the Senate at a single
congregation,'* Dean Monk has taken some pains to vin-
dicate the great Aristarchus and his friends from this
charge of artifice and collusion : he observes ' that the
motion was made with unusual pomp,' and that 'the person
answerable for the management, had there been any, was
Sherlock, the vice-chancellor, who can never be reck-
oned among the friends of the Master of Trinity. 'f

In truth it redounds greatly to the credit of the subject
of this Memoir, that he was not numbered among those
friends. I am inclined to think that the sound sense, the
accurate legal knowlege, and the strict integrity of
Sherlock's character, would never have allowed him to
encourage the scandalous acts of that extraordinary per-
sonage, who seemed as if he took delight in stirring up
the waves of strife around him, just as one might imagine
some powerful enchanter to raise the foaming billows of
the ocean, that he might plunge amidst their furrows, and
defy their rage. But that Sherlock became one of Bent-
ley's most determined opponents, was probably owing, not
so.much to his detestation of the other's tyranny, as to the
different view he took of politics, and to the associates
Avithwhomhe was accustomed to act; one of whom was
connected with him by nearer ties than those of friend-
ship : J a similarity however of opinion in ecclesiastical
matters, (for Beutley, though he was a Whig in politics,

* This actually gave rise (o a decree wliicli passed soon after-
wards, declaring, * that no public business should be completed
except in two congregations.' — Life of Bentley, p. 293.

t Page 293.

I Dr. Goocb, Master of Caius College, whom Bentley desig-
nuted as the ' empty. Gotch of Caius,' in whose vice-chancellor-
ship the Master of Trinity was degraded, and who was the leader

XXVI BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

by no means sided with that party in all their low church
doctrines,*) and a mutual respect which each of these
two great men bore for the other's talents and attainments,
kept them from that personal collision, which so frequently
took place between some individuals and the great
Aristarchus, to the disgrace of learning and scandal of
the University. As might have been expected, when
personalities did occur, they arose on the part of Bentley ;
and the nickname of Cardinal Alberoni, which he fixed on
his antagonist, from a fancied resemblance of his active
exertions and extensive influence to the intriguing po-
litics of the Spanish minister, adhered to Sherlock long
after the circumstances which gave birth to it had been
forgotten.

It becomes necessary here to advert briefly to the state
of parties at Cambridge, as an introduction to one of the
most splendid bequests that regal bounty ever made to a
seat of learning. Political animosity was perhaps now at
its height ; and the enmity between Whigs and Tories was
scarcely any where more violent : great discretion, there-
fore, was necessary for a person holding so high and re-
sponsible an office as that of vice-chancellor, to escape
obloquy, whilst he carried himself firmly, but temperately,
through the waves of contending factions. In his en-
deavors to this effect, Sherlock seems to have been
eminently successful ; but it must be added that his diffi-
culties were considerably lessened by the different charac-

of his adversaries in Ihe University, married Sherlock's sister; and
the closest intimacy always subsisted between these two brothers-
in-law.

* It is to this cause that Dean Monk, with great probability of
truth, assigns Bentley's forbearance to take up tiic cudgels in the
Bangorian Controversy.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXvii

ter of Tory politics in Cambridg-e, from that which they
assumed in the sister university. At Oxford they were
mixed up with the strong leaven of Jacobite principles ;
whence arose disturbances which sometimes required
military aid to quell them. But at Cambridge the
Tories, though numerically preponderant, were for the
most part distinguished by a firm adherence to the
Hanoverian succession. Of this number was our vice-
chancellor : but when, on the night of the Pretender's
birth-day this year (1715), certain disturbances arose from
some young men, which Sherlock and his coadjutors pru-
dently passed over as the freaks of youth or inebriety, and
thereby incurred the charge of conniving at such excesses,
and of encouraging sentiments hostile to the reigning
family, a loyal and energetic address to his Majesty was
carried through the Senate, which avowed, in the strongest
terms, a determination of upholding the Hanoverian suc-
cession on the principles of the Church of England.

On this occasion, when ' a troop of horse,' according to
the witty epigram of the day, was sent to curb the Tory
spirit of Oxford, a magnificent donation of books, pur-
chased by the King from the executors of the deceased
Bishop Moore for 6000/., rewarded the Whig principles of
Cambridge. Notice of this valuable present, which had
been suggested and advised by Lord Townshend, one of the
schoolfellows and early friends of Sherlock, was commu-
nicated to him as vice-chancellor, for the information of
the University, in a letter from his Lordship, dated
September 20th, 1715.* The gratitude of that learned
body for this signal generosity, was expressed by an
address to the King, and another to the minister ; 'in both

* University Register.

XXVlll BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

of which,' says the Dean of Peterborough,* * we find
specimens of that glowing eloquence frequently conspi-
cuous in the writings of Dr. Sherlock.' The insertion
of these documents, which, through the kindness of ray
valued friend the present registrary,t T have procured
from the grace-book of the University, must prove accep-
table to the reader, while they fully justify that opinion
which the learned Dean has advanced concerning the
intellectual powers of their author: with respect to their
orthography, which has been carefully observed, that must,
I think, be referred, at least in one instance, which is
marked by italics, to the worthy registrary of the day,
lather than to our vice-chancellor. The address to King
George was carried up by Dr. Sherlock in person, at-
tended by many heads of houses and other members of
the Senate, who were introduced to His Majesty by Lord
Townsheud, in the absence of the Duke of Newcastle,
then Chancellor of the University .

To the King's Most Excellent Majesty, — The humble address of
thanks from the Chancellor, Masters, and Scholars of the Uni-
versity of Cambridge.

Most Gracious Sovereign,

We beg leave to approach your Majesty with our most humble
thanks for the gracious mark of royal favor which your Majesty has
bestowed on your ancient University of Cambridge. There never
was an occasion when we were either more desirous to express
our sentiments of gratitude, or less able to do it to our own satis-
faction. The genius of learning, which has for many ages so hap-
pily presided in this place, cannot furnish us with language to utter
wiiat we feel. There is nothing to which even the wishes of your

* Life of Bentley, p, 296.

t W. Hustler, Esq., Fellow of Jesus College.

BISHOP SHURLOCK. Xxix

University extend, that is not fully contained in the happiness she
now enjoys of calling your Majesty her King and her Patron: one
is the common blessing of every Britain, the other the peculiar pri-
vilege of the sons of learning. The noble collection of books and
manuscripts gathered in many years by the great industry and ac-
curate judgment of the late Bishop of Ely, though in itself exceed-
ing valuable, is upon no account so welcome to your University, as
it is a testimony of your royal favour ; the memory of which will be
constantly preserved by this ample benefaction, worthy to bear the
title of the donor, and to be for ever styled the royal library. Li-
berty and learning are so united in their fortunes, that your Majesty's
known character of being the great protectour of the liberty of Eu-
rope, led us to expect what our experience has now confirmed, that
you would soon appear the patron and encourager of learning.
Such royal qualitys must necessarily produce the proper returns of
duty and affection. Your University will endeavour, as she is
bound to do by the strongest ties of interest and gratitude, to pro-
mote the happiness of your government. And tis with the greatest
pleasure she observes, that some there are whose youth was formed
under her care, of whose abilitys and fidelity your Majesty has
had the fullest experience. Your royal progenitors, the kings and
queens of England, moved by their regard to virtue and learning,
have conferred many large privileges and donations on this place;
those who shine with the greatest lustre in story, appear the fore-
most in the list of our patrons and benefactours; and as your Ma-
jesty's name will be an ornament to the annals of Britain, so shall it
stand through ages to come a perpetual honour to the records of
this University. It shall be our incessant prayer to God for your
Majesty, that he would long preserve you to reign over us in peace
and tranquillity, that he would extend your empire over the hearts
of your subjects, a dominion for which he then designed you, when
he adorned you with so much goodness and clemency.

To which his Majesty was pleased to make the following most
gracious answer : —

It is great satisfaction to me that this first mark of my favour has
been so welcome and agreeable to you. The dutiful and grateful
manner in which you have expressed your thanks upon this occa-
sion, will oblige me to take all opportunities of giving farther proofs

XXX BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

of my affection to my University of Cambridge, being very sensible
how much the encouragement of learning will always tend to the
security and honour of our Constitution both in Church and State.

To the Right Honorable the L<i Viscount Townshend, one of his
Majesty's Principal Secretarys of State.

May it please y'' Lordship,

We have paid our duty to the King in an address of thanks for
the mark of Royal Favour w'^^ he has bestowed on this University,
by giving us the Library of the late Bp. of Ely. But we cannot
think ourselves discharged of the obligations we are under upon
this account, till we have made our acknowledgem'* to y'' Ldship
for the signal favour we have received from you. Had not y
Ldship remembered the place of y' education with a kindness
almost peculiar to y^^^'f, we had wanted that great encouragem' of
Learning w** now, by y"" Ldship's powerfull interposition on our
behalf, we enjoy from the King's bounty.

We are sensible that y'' Ldship acted in this matter w"» the noble
view of promoting the King's honour and the publick good; and
tis a blessing both to Prince and country, when those, who enjoj'
the greatest share in their Prince's favour, have so much virtue and
honour as to use it to such excellent Purposes. And this is so far
from lessening our obligation to y Ldship, that it receives a great
addition from this consideration, that y' Ldship thought us not un-
worthy to be distinguish'd by the King's favour in order to such
ends.

Y"^ Ldship is so nearly related to us, as once a member, now an
honored Patron of this University, that we shall always esteem y
Ldship's Prosperity as our own, and reckon ourselves the safer and
securer the more y'' Ldship advances in Honour and Power.
Y'' Ldship's

Most obedient humble Scrv'%

The Vice-chancel^ and the Senate of the
University of Cambridge.

Given in full Senate, 7*" 24'^, 1715.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXXI

Mr. Vice-Cbancellor and Gentlemen of the Senate,
I am much obliged to you for the honour of y'' letter, and tor the
kind acknowledgements you are pleased to bestow on my endea-
vours for your service ; but I should be guilty of Ingratitude to his
Majesty, and of injustice to you, did I suffer that to be ascribed to
my interposition vv** was so entirely owing to his Majesty's generous
inclination to encourage his faithfull University of Cambridge. Tlie
only part I can assume to myself, is that of having suggested to his
Majesty's wishes such a method of conveying his Royall favour as I
hoped might prove most agreeable to you ; nor was it possible that
much Sollicitation should be necessary to induce him to furnish
you with those materials of Learning w*" he was secure w*" become
so many weapons in y"^ hands to guard and maintain the faith of the
Church, the rights of the Crown, and the Liberties of the British
Constitution.

I hope you will continue me the justice to believe that I shall
gladly embrace any opportunity of testifying that unfeigned Affec-
tion and Gratitude I shall ever retain for the University within
which I had the happiness to be educated.
I am with the greatest respect,

M^ Vicechancellor and Gentlemen of the Senate,
Y' most obedient humble Servant,

TOWNSHEND.

Whitehall, 4"' Octob'", 1715.

While we are on this topic, it would be unfair to with-
hold from Sherlock's successor in the vice-chancellorship,
the praise due to him for his exertions in the proper
disposal of this munificent gift. To convey it to its
place of destination,' says his learned biographer, * and
to provide a fit place for its reception, were among the
first cares that devolved on him : and he is stated to have
exerted himself, during his continuance in office, in mak-
ing various arrangements for its proper and convenient
disposal ; and although these were not actually completed

XXXU BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR DF

till some time after, all the preliminary steps were taken
during his administration.'*

After Lord Townshend had been thus instrumental in
procuring for his University some of its choicest trea-
sures, he did not forget its head ; for, through his influence,
Dr. Sherlock, immediately after the resignation of his
office, was promoted to the Deanery of Chichester, in
November 1715. Finding his residence there unfit for
the purposes either of comfort or convenience, he pulled it
down and rebuilt it ; but in a style which savors strongly
of the bad taste in architecture which so generally pre-
vailed at that period. He did not however immediately
vacate his University preferment, which he retained until
1719, with the laudable and conscientious purpose of car-
rying a suit through the Court of King's Bench which
affected the rights of his office. In the latter part of
Queen Anne's reign an act of Parliament had been passed,
by which a stall in the cathedral of Norwich was perma-
nently attached to the Mastership of Catherine Hall.
Some difficulty however arose about the admission of Sher-
lock to this prebend, as the statutes of the chapter seemed
to oppose it, in consequence of his already holding a simi-
lar dignity in the cathedral of St. Paul : but after a liti-
gation of considerable length, the question was decided in
his favor, it being determined that the act of Parliament
suspended the operation of the local statutes. Soon after
this event Sherlock resigned his mastership in 1719, hav-
ing been for several years the great leader and manager
of public business in the University ; nor, from the docu-
ments which I have perused, can I discover that his conduct

* Bishop Van Mildert's Life of Waterland, p. 14.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXXlll

was regulated by any principles but such as do honor to
his integrity as well as to his ability. From many testi-
monies to his candor and freedom from the malignity of
party, which are extant, I select that of Dr. Disney, au-
thor of the life of Arthur Ashley Sykes ; for this latter
gentleman having been the most violent of all Sherlock's
antagonists, the evidence of his biographer cannot be sus-
pected of partiality towards the object of his opposition.
Yet Dr. Disney hesitates not to assert, ' that Sherlock does
not seem to have carried his displeasure against his adver-
saries and their associates into the little muddy streams of
party resentment :'* and whoever shall contemplate the
state of our University at that period, in the picture drawn
of it by the Dean of Peterborough in his admirable life of
Bentley, will not be inclined to undervalue this praise.
Yet it seems that Sherlock did not wholly withdraw him-
self from Alma Mater, nor cease to take an interest in her
welfare; for before the great Aristarchus was restored, in
1724, to the honors of the doctorate, from which he had
been suspended by a vote of the Senate, a Syndicate was
appointed of certain leading members in the University, to
take measures for the interest of that body ; and amongst
them the name of Sherlock is found, together with an ac-

* Life of Sykes, p. 70, note. Dr. Disney goes on to confirm bis
assertion by tbe testimony of anotlier person. Dr. Clarke, (says be)
in a letter to Mr. Jackson of Rossington, in August 1718, on
occasion of tbe higb cburch party at Cambridge having formed so
strong a party in tbe Caput, against admitting Mr. Jackson to bis
Master's degree, as to oblige him to desist from pursuing it, says :
' it is of great consequence to tbe Jacobite cause to discourage
such persons as you are. I shall particularly thank tbe vice-chan-
cellor, Dr. Gooch, and Dean Sherlock, Master Catb. Hall, for being
of a better spirit.'

XXXIV BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

knowlegement of his extraordinary and useful activity in
the cause. The grace offered to the Senate on this
occasion was drawn up by Waterland, and is dated
September 26, 1723.*

It is time however we should revert to that celebrated
contest which introduced Sherlock to the world as one of
the most able disputants of the age, and which, from the
great leader of the opposite party, has been denominated,
The Bangorian Controversy. We of the present day, who
happily are strangers to the disastrous scenes of an unsettled
government, and are accustomed more to form our opinions
from conclusions of the understanding, whether rightly
or wrongly drawn, than to defer implicitly to authority,
and to echo the watch-word of a party, can scarcely gain a
proper notion of the heats and animosities which this dis-
pute excited. To attempt it we must take into considera-
tion the peculiar state of parties, or rather of factions,
which then existed both in church and state. The doc-
trines of the Revolution were at that time but partially ad-
mitted : the Jacobites were strong in many parts of the
kingdom, and existed in all ; while they sedulously fo-
mented disaffection in other parties, and attached them-
selves to each, as it seemed disposed to encourage their
pretensions : non-jurors, non-conformists, and sectarians

* Sherlock, and the party who acted with him, had hcen severely
attacked for their conduct, in a pamphlet hy Mr. Arthur Ashley
Sykes. * When a reply to this w as found to be indispensable,' says
the Dean of Peterborough (Life of Bentley, p. 387.) ' (he powerful
pen of Sherlock was called forth to defend the conduct of the aca-
demical aristocracy, of which he was himself believed to be the
main-spring. He immediately gave the world his own narrative
and view of the affair, in which he displays all the art of an ex-
perienced controversialist:' &c.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXXV

of every description, were constantly breaking out into ticts
of animosity against the established church, and the go-
vernment which protected it ; nor did the Popish Pretender
fail to take advantage of these circumstances, by hovering
around the coasts, stirring up rebellion within the realm,
and the hostility of foreign potentates from without. In
the mean time the country was divided generally into two
great parties, Tories and Whigs ; terms which might be
taken as synonymous with those of high and low church-
men, so thoroughly were political opinions identified with
theological tenets and rules of ecclesiastical discipline.
The former of these, or at least the greater part of them,
upheld the doctrines of indefeasible hereditary right, unli-
mited non-resistance, and inherent ecclesiastical authority,
to a degree which went to chain down man's free spirit,
and render him at once the slave and instrument of tyranny :
a majority of the latter, on the contrary, in their hatred for
popery, and love of that blessed Revolution which liberated
us from its fetters, would have loosened the bands of
church authority, inconsistently with the safety of the
Protestant establishment. These professed a liberality of
sentiment which led them to coalesce with all classes of
dissenters, and a latitude of opinion which would have
opened every avenue of office to their wily associates; of
whom many were planning, and more desiring, the over-
tjjrow of our constitution.

This state of affairs, if duly considered, will in some
measure account for the strong prejudices and violent ani-
mosities which reigned at that period ; whilst they tend to
palliate what may appear unreasonable obduracy in that
party, which opposed itself to any relaxation of laws or
tests that originated in no unjust or oppressive principle,

XXXVl BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

but had been the result of self-defence and state necessity :
they partook not of the nature of penal statutes and reli-
gious persecution, until the necessity of self-defence had
ceased with the animosities which called it into action.

During the reign of Queen Anne, Mr. Hoadley, then
a London clergyman, had published many able works in
defence of natural and revealed religion, as well as of civil
liberty, freedom of conscience, and extended toleration.
This produced, in 1709, a resolution of the House of Com-
mons, which declared that he, having often strenuously
justified the principles on which her Majesty and thenation
proceeded at the Revolution, had justly merited the favor
and recommendation of that House, and that an humble
address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she
would bestow some dignity on so distinguished a writer,
for his eminent services both to church and state. About
this time, however, Tory principles began to prevail in the
councils of Queen Anne ; and the doctrines of divine right
and passive obedience, so loudly trumpeted forth by the
contemptible Sacheverell, had taken possession of her mind ;
so that she returned a civil answer to her Commons, but
paid no farther attention to their recommendation. Hoad-
ley's advancement therefore was postponed, until the recur-
rence of more liberal men and measures, at the accession
of George I., procured his appointment to the Bishoprick
of Bangor. In 1716 he published his Preservative against
the Principles and Practices of the Non-jurors * which was

* One of the publications to wiiicli this was intended as an anti-
dote, is thus noticed by Calaniy : ' Some messengers, searching for
a scandalous paper called ' The Shift Shifted,' happened to meet
with a book entitled 'the Case of Schism in the Church of England
truly stated,' by Mr. Howell, a clergyman ; who was thereupon

BISHOP SHERLOCK. XXXVll

followed, in March, 1717, by his celebrated Sermon, preach-
ed before the King, on the Nature of the Kingdom or
Church of Christ ; in which he insists that Christ is the
sole lawgiver to his subjects, and the sole judge of their
behavior in the affairs of conscience and eternal salvation ;
and that to set up any other authority in his kingdom, to
which his subjects are indispensably and absolutely bound
to submit their consciences or conduct in what is properly
called religion, evidently destroys the rule and authority
of Jesus Christ as king. These publications raised violent
clamor and much calumny against the Bishop from the
high church party, and produced an extraordinary number
of sermons, charges, letters, and essays ; wherein the
several writers maintained their respective opinions on the
nature of Christ's kingdom, the origin and extent of
civil government, and the expediency or advantage of a
religious test. Nor was it from the pens of private indi-
viduals only, that opposition to the Bishop of Bangor's
sentiments emanated : his doctrines and positions were
thought to give sufficient occasion for the exercise of that
very authority against which he had so strongly protested :
accordingly the subject was in the same year taken up very
warmly by the lower House of Convocation, in which a

committed to Newgate. The avowed design was to prove, that
ever since llie Revolution, there has been a schism in the Church of
England ; that those only are of the trne church, who have pre-
served their principles of loyally to King James II. and his pos-
terity ; and that tiie others are schisniatical, guilty of perjury, and
by consequence ipso facto, deprived.' He was sentenced, March 2,
1717, to a fine of 500^., to remain in prison three years, to be twice
whipped, to be degraded and stripped of his gown by the execu-
tioner, which was done in court accordingly.— Calaniy's Life, vol.
ii. p. 358.

SHERL. VOL. I. c

XXX:vill BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

committee was appointed, with the Dean of Chichester at
its head, to draw up a report concerning their tendency;
which was declared to be,

First, • to subvert all government and discipline in the
church of Christ, and to reduce his kingdom to a state of
anarchy and confusion.'

Secondly, ' to impugn and impeach the regal supremacy
in causes ecclesiastical, and the authority of the legislature
to inforce obedience in matters of religion by civil sanc-
tions.'

These proceedings, however, were speedily stopped :
' the Convocation gaped, but could not speak ;' for before
the report could be brought into the Upper House, the
whole assembly was prorogued by a special order of the
King, into whose mind the principles of the Revolution
were diligently instilled by his whig ministers ; nor has it,
since that period, ever been permitted to sit for the trans-
action of business.*

Such a measure as this tended but to inflame the con-
troversy which had previously been commenced by Dr.
Andrew Snape, the most intolerant and abusive of all the
Bishop's adversaries, who was answered by Mr. Arthur
Ashley Sykes, one of the most pertinacious disputants on
the other side of the question. Dean Sherlock also, in vin-

* Whenever a new parliament is assembled, the Primate, wilh
his Dean (the Bishop of London,) accompanied by other dignitaries,
repair to St. Paul's. There they are joined by tiie civilians from
Doctors Commons, and after the Liturgy has been read in Latin,
they listen to a Concio ad Clown. Then, after a benediction from
the Archbishop, they form a procession to the Chapter-House ; and
when a Latin speech has been delivered by the Prolocutor of
the Lower House, they vote an address to the king, and adjourn
sine die.

BISHOP SHERLOCK, XXXIX

dicationof himself as a leader in Convocation, and chief au-
thor of the Report, published, very early in 1717, his Re^
marks on the Bishop of Bangor s Treatment of the
Clergy and Convocation, which soon called forth from the
pen of Mr. Sykes, A Letter to Dr. Sherlock, &c. comparing
the dangerous Positions and Doctrines contained in the
Doctors Sertnon, preached Nov. 5, 1712, icith those
charged on the Bishop in the late Reports of the Com-
mittee ; in which extracts were produced from the Dean's
own Discourse, by which it was attempted to be shown
that he himself had rejected all temporal authority in the
civil magistrate, and had in fact advanced the same doc-
trine regarding Christ's kingdom as that of the Bishop of
Bangor. To this pamphlet the Dean replied, in An
Answer to a Letter sent to the Rev. Dr. Sherlock, relating
to his Sermon, &c. ; which, being considered unsatisfactory,
was met by a Second Letter to Dr. Sherlock, containing
an Appendix relating to Dr. Snape, and a Postscript to
Dr. Sherlock, hy the Bishop of Bangor himself: in this his
Lordship, having assured the Dean that he did not know
of the former Letter addressed to him till after its publi-
cation, vindicates himself against the charge of ' writing
down the magistrate's power in every case,' promises to un-
dertake all necessary defence of himself ; and at the same
time declares his opponent to be 'a person of great abili-
ties and weight, and ooe whom he could never persuade
himself either to contemn or ridicule.' This publication
again drew out Sherlock, whose reply was particularly di-
rected to the Postscript ; and thenceforward he chose to
conduct the dispute with the principal, though he certainly
was more concerned with the letter-writer, whom he desig-
nated as the 'second.'

After some more skirmishing, the Dean of Chichester,

xl BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

seeing that the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts
was both directly and indirectly aimed at by the Bishop
of Bangor and the Low Church party, applied all the
powers of his acute intellect and legal knowlege, to show
the expediency and justice of those enactments in his cele-
brated Vindication ; a work which has continued from the
time of its publication to possess a high reputation ; and
which, just before the laws in question were repealed by
Parliament, drew from an able writer in one of our best
periodicals, the following commendatory expressions : —
' If a discussion of this subject' (the repeal of the Test
Laws) ' should be brought on, we have one request to
make. It is, that no member of the Legislature will give
a suffrage on the question, without previously perusing a
small tract of Bishop Sherlock on this subject; a tract first
drawn up in the Bangorian Controversy, and lately re-
printed in a separate pamphlet. We care not if every
thing be read over and over again, that was ever written
against the Test Laws; but shall be amply satisfied if only
this small treatise be read in their defence. Let a plain
understanding, biassed by no prejudices, be brought to the
discussion, and we shall have no fears as to the result.' —
Quarterly Review, iv. 309.

Still, in this ingenious defence, the special pleading of
an advocate appears sometimes mixed up with a candid
inquiry after truth ; nor can I withhold my humble tribute
of approbation from the more dignified sentiments of those
enlightened prelates of our own times, who withstood the
profanation of a most holy rite, instead of attempting to
retain the Sacramental Test, by professing, like Sherlock,
to consider it not as a qualification for a civil office, but
only as Si proof o^ such qualification. The conclusion of
this treatise, in which the Bishop of Bangor's sentiments

BISHOP SHERLOCK. xli

on the condition and example of our Lord, seem to have
been rather misrepresented by the Dean in the zeal ot
controversy, confined the efforts of these two antagonists
for a considerable time to this particular point : but it
must not be supposed that the dispute was limited either to
this point, or to these champions ; on the contrary, it
spread itself until it comprehended, in its various ramifi-
cations, near a hundred authors of note ; among whom
were some of the greatest names of which the age could
boast. As the once powerful interest however which this
controversy excited, is become almost extinct with the
obnoxious statutes, all farther account of it may be
spared, beyond a few general observations on the manner
in which it was conducted, and the effects which it pro-
duced.

In the first place, then, I think we may fairly give cre-
dit to the principals on both sides for sincerity in the opi-
nions which they advanced. Hoadley had on all occasions,
from his first entrance into public life, advocated those
principles which led finally to the abolition of the Test
Acts; and though he may have carried his latitudinarian
sentiments to an extent sometimes inconsistent with eccle-
siastical discipline and authority, yet his arguments on
these subjects are no more to be included in Dr. Snape's
sweeping and unjustifiable assertion, that they are hostile to
all revelation, than the prelate himself is to be stigmatised,
on the authority of an anonymous author, as a Dissenter
and a Socinian in lawn : * had he been this, he never
would have been honored with the friendship, and defended
by the pen, of the learned and amiable Dr. Balguy. With
regard to Sherlock, he had imbibed high church and

♦ Quarterly Review, vol. iii. p. 362.

xlii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

Tory principles from his father ; and these he steadily
asserted against the ruling powers, losing thereby the
king's favor, who erased the name both of himself and of
Dr. Snape from the list of court chaplains, and deferring
his promotion to the episcopal bench to a period much
later than that which his splendid talents and high charac-
ter would, under other circumstances, undoubtedly have
secured.

Nor was this controversy unfavorable to the cause of
truth, or to just views of civil liberty. Dr. Disney is un-
questionably right, when he asserts * that ' the nature of
Christ's kingdom, and the proper province of the civil
magistrate, became better understood when the question
had been argued in all its various shapes by Hoadley,
Sykes, Jackson, Pyle, and Balguy on the one side, and by
Sherlock, Snape, Trapp, Hare, and Stebbing on the other.'
Though the angry passions of some, and the fears of others,
were violently agitated at the time, yet the minds of men,
as they became enlarged, became also more tolerant, and
the way was then paved for that great parliamentary mea-
sure of Abolition, of which the annual Act of Indemnity
had gradually removed all fear.

In touching on the personal invectives introduced into
this controversy, I must confess that the balance inclines
greatly to the high church party. Dean Sherlock him-
self abounds in the asperities of language far beyond his
episcopal antagonist, though his strict integrity has pre-
served him from descending to that disingenuous abuse
and calumny which distinguishes some of his associates.
It is however in the nature of things that the defender of
any established system should deal in personalities more

* Life of Sykes, p. 81.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. xliii

than he who attacks it : the object of the one is merely to
subvert the establishment, which, from the very circum-
stance of its being generally professed, engages him in ge-
neral observations : in fact he has no private animosity
to gratify, and has therefore nothing to do with its indivi-
dual professors: but, on the contrary, he who supports a
system, feels his own honor and credit involved in it ; he
considers that his judgment and penetration are insulted,
when the opinions which he has long held sacred are de-
clared false; and being thus stimulated, he breaks out into
bitter invective and personal sarcasms, which not unfre-
quently give an advantage to his more cool and philosophic
opponent : and this is not unworthy of being kept in mind
by all who engage in literary controversy for the defence
of established opinions.

Soon after his labors in the Bangorian Controversy,
Sherlock was engaged in answering a pamphlet put forth
by Mr. Sykes in vindication of Bentley, to which allusion
has been already made ;* but he soon found himself re-
lieved from this task by an able and willing advocate, the
author of the feud himself, who brought his tremendous
powers of sarcasm and invective to bear on his adversaries
with a force that has been rarely equalled. Speaking on
one occasion of Mr. Sykes, who had published his tracts
anonymously, Middleton makes the following bitter, and I
believe undeserved, reflexions on that gentleman :

* It was to little purpose for the author to conceal his

* The occasion of the dispute was a demand made by Dr. Bent-
ley, as Divinity Professor, of an extraordinary fee of four guineas,
at the creation of the Doctors by royal mandate, the day after the
king's visit to the University.

xfiy BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

name, for every soul who could get through a page or two,
cried out presently, it must be Sykes :

Ubi ubi est, diu celari non potest.

* Nature, which in kindness to the world has set a mark
on his countenance, has given us infallible ones of his pro-
ductions. Wherever you find a writer surprisingly trifling
and dull, glorying in never being in the right, discovering
an antipathy to church and university, with a special ma-
lice to Dr. Sherlock, the principal champion and ornament
of both, there's your man ; pronounce it to be Sykes ; you
need not be afraid ot counterfeits. When the work is too
foul and scandalous for any other man to engage in, Sykes
is a sure card that never fails his friends in distress.

Cum nemini obtrudi potest, itur ad me.

He always keeps himself in readiness for service ; and like
a famous lawyer I have heard of, can be advocate or evi-
dence, as occasion requires; and, as a true dragoon, fights
either a-foot or on horseback.'*

Yet it appears that Middleton afterwards changed his
opinion of Mr. Sykes, and spoke of him in terms of great
respect ;f whilst he became one of Sherlock's bitterest
theological opponents, when his own religious principles
had undergone a change, and he had commenced his subtle
attacks against the bulwarks of revealed religion.

Not long after this period, Sherlock's good offices were
exerted with his friend Lord Townshend, in behalf of Dr.
Colbatch, the great leader of the Anti-Bentleian party in

* Some remarks on a Pamphlet, p. 6
t Disucy's Life of S}kes, p. 87.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. xlv

Trinity College, for the purpose of screening him from the
vindictive spirit which in those days contaminated the pu-
rity of our courts of judicature ;* and in 1723, he assisted
this same gentleman in drawing up a return to a manda-
mus of the Court of King's Bench, showing cause why the
great Aristarchus should not be restored to the degree of
which he had been deprived by the University.^

But greater and more worthy subjects soon offered
themselves to the ready pen of Sherlock. The celebrated
Anthony Collins, whom Bentley has so severely handled
in his Phileleutherus Lipsiensis, had lately published a
work, intitled a Discourse on the grounds and reasons of
the Christian Religion, wherein he endeavors to fix its
evidence chiefly on the prophecies of the Old Testament,
and then explains those prophecies in such a manner that
they may seem to have no better foundation than Pagan
divinations. This publication brought out many writers on
the subject ; and though the dean of Chichester did not
enter directly into the controversy, yet he took occasion to
deliver his sentiments in six discourses, at the Temple

* Colbalch had published a pamphlet intitled Jus Academicuni :
in fhis having inadvertently made some reflexions on the state of
Law and Justice in England, which certainly at that time were not
inappropriate, the crafty Aristarchus turned on him the full tide of
judicial indignation, which had not as yet divested itself of the aspe-
rities and sarcasms, and I may add, revenge, that disgraced the
characters of Judge Jeffreys and others of that era. Seethe Dean of
Peterborough's Life of Bentley, (p. 478, &c.) a work, w hich, though
it occasions a painful interest to the reader, from the profligacy
which it necessarily exposes iu almost all the |)ublic men of that
day, is the finest refutation of the laudator temporis acli that Ciin
possil)ly be produced,

t Life of Bentley, p. 493.

Xlvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

church,* which he printed in the following year, under the
title of ' The Use and Intent of Prophecy in the several
Ages of the World.' As one of the main objects of his op-
ponent was to separate the prophecies, and, by attacking
each when isolated, to overthrow the authority of all,
Sherlock, with peculiar propriety, deduces a regular and
connected series from their earliest period, through their
several ages, exhibiting them as subservient to one and the
same administration of Providence, and showing that they
cannot be the effect of art or religious fraud, f

* In the months of April and May, 1724.

+ These Discourses ran through many editions. The fourth, cor-
rected and enlarged, was published in 1744, with four Dissertations;
tliree of which only appeared in tlie original edition. In 1749 the
author, being then Bishop of London, published an Appendix to
the Second Dissertation, being a further inquiry into the Mosaic
account of the Fall. To this subject relate the two following letters
from his Lordship to Dr. Grey, which I have extracted from the
pages of the Gentleman's Magazine for 1790 :

Temple, Feb. II, 1748-9.

Sir,

1 am obliged to you for communicating your papers to me re-
lating to the Prophecy of Daniel and that on the Psalms. You
have done justice to the thoughts I suggested to you, and I have no
objection to the publication of them; but I ought to let you know
how far I had gone in this matter.

Soon after the publication of my Intent of Prophecy, Mr. Collins
wrote a book, and took notice of what I had said of the History of
the Fall. I drew up an answer at the time, but did not publish it then,
intending to add a Dissertation to some new edition of my book. I
have not yet done it, and may perhaps have no time to do it; but I
have sent you a copy of what I have said on this Prophecy with
?io intention to prevent your publishing your piece, which I am
v-ery willing you shall do. Your view is to explain the Prophecj

BISHOP SHERLOCK. xlvii

Two years had scarcely elapsed from the publication of
these admirable Discourses, when their author obtained
that station to which his eminent merits intitled him, and
which served to call forth with increased alacrity and
effect the energies of his powerful mind. In the first year

in general ; mine is to show how the Prophecy at the Fall was
understood.

f should say something to the Prophecy in the Psalms, but wri-
ting is uneasy to me. If you publish your piece, you shall be
welcome to use, and you will do me great honor to use, any obser-
vations of mine.

I am, Sir, with sincere regard and respect for you, your very
affectionate brother and humble servant,

THO. LONDON.

Dr. Sherlock to Dr. Grey.

Temple, June 27, 1749.

Dr. Grey,
I came this morning out of the country, and am here only fur
two or three days on my way to Tiinbridge. I have published a
new edition of the hook of Prophecy, and have added the new
Dissertation I mentioned to you : I will order my bookseller to send
you a complete copy. As to the particular texts from Genesis and
the Psalms, I had rather have seen them under your name than my
own ; but you will judge how necessary a part (hey are of the new
Dissertation, which I had promised and was expected. I have bor-
rowed from you a reference to Boerhaave, which you will find at the
bottom of one of the pages. Before August is quite spent I hope
to be at Fulham, and nobody will be more welcome there than
yourself. I find there is a very old bad house; I must repair a
great deal of it, and, I am afraid, rebuild some part. It is late for
me to be so employed, but somebody will be the better for it. J
write with diflRcuKy ; I wish you can read.

I am. Sir, your very afl'ecfiomate brother and humble servant,

THO. LONDON.

Xlviii BIOGRAPHICAL ME3fOIR OP

of George II , Dean Sherlock was advanced to the epis-
copal see of BaDgor ; and so high an opinion of his cha-
racter and deserts had Queen Caroline, to whose notice he
was recommended by Sir R. Walpole, that he would
have been at once preferred to that of Xorwich, had not
ministers represented to her Majesty that such an ar-
rangement would produce and justify complaints in all
the other bishops.*

Soon after his promotion, we find Sherlock again step-
ping forth in the cause of revealed religion, and to repress
the efforts of daring and licentious spirits. As Collins had
endeavored to explain away the prophecies, so did Wool-
ston, under the assumed character of a moderator in the
controversy, attempt to allegorize the miracles, and thus

• The folloniDg article relating to this affair is extracted from
^Fr. Morrice's Correspondence with Dr. Friend, in Nichols's Lit.
Anecdotes, Vol. V, p. &7.

Janaarj 2, 17-27S.
YoQ observe ri^tlj, that all things do not mn in one channel as
ihej did in the late reign; and that Sir Robert's influence in eccle-
siasiicai affairs is at an end. Nor has the Archbishop uf Canterbury
an) power in that matter. He imagined he should have the first
week or fortnight of the new rei^ ; and people thought so too :
bat he found his recommendations were disregarded, and so he has
those to sit still at Lambeth and tells every body he has no interest
at court. The queen seems chiefly to manage that branch, though
not absolutely ; for she intended Dr. Hare for the bishoprick of
Eatii and Wells, and Dr. Sherlock for that of Norwich ; but the
« hole Ministry united in their representalions against it. alleging
it vronld disoblige the whole Bench of Bishops to have the new-
eonsecrated ones let into tlie best preferments at once ; and to
carry their point they put Wynne on taking Bath and Wells, for
which it seems be male no application himself, and Baker on taking
Norwich to disapouint Sherlock.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. xlix

to destroy that great collateral branch of evidence. As the
virulent attack of this sceptical writer was chiefly directed
against the great miracle of the resurrection, Sherlock
concentrated on this point his vast powers of defence, and
produced, in 1729, a very ingenious treatise, intitled 'The
Trial of the Witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus ;'
in which, with singular felicity, he turns his great stores
of legal knowlege to the purpose of an advocate pleading
the cause in hand; and of a judge who has to decide on
its evidence. The novelty, as well as the clever execution
of this pamphlet, excited great applause, and caused it to
run through fourteen editions in a very short time, when
a taste for literature was far from being so universally dif-
fused as it is in the present age. In 1749, ' A Sequel to
the Trial ' appeared ; which was stated to have been re-
vised, and perhaps was composed, by the same author.

Nor did Bishop Sherlock, though he dedicated much
time to the defence of Christianity, and the duties of his
diocese, neglect to display his shining talents on another
theatre which now called them forth. As a peer of the
realm, no less than a ruler of the church, he felt the re-
sponsibility of his station, as well as the extraordinary
powers with which he was qualified to support it. By na-
ture he possessed an acute and vigorous understanding ; by
education he had both strengthened the reasoning faculties
and enlarged the varied stores of imagination ; by an inti-
mate association with the highest characters in the legal
profession, as well as by constant study of the great princi-
ples or rudiments of law,, he had acquired a profound know-
lege of its general maxims, and a facility of applying them
to any new case ; and though he had no advantages from
previous habits of extemporaneous speaking, yet had he

1 BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

a natural flow of eloquence, and a steadiness of nerves,
which the most practised speakers do not often acquire.

Under these circumstances, when he appeared as a Lord
of Parliament, and assisted at its important deliberations
on questions either of an ecclesiastical or political nature,
he was not content to give a silent vote, but often took an
active part in debates. Nor can it be matter of sur-
prise, that he was listened to with great attention at all
times, and that he not unfrequently led the House to its de-
cision. His powers in this respect were manifested very
soon after his admission into the Senate ; for when the long-
pending cause respecting the visitorial jurisdiction of the
Bishop of Ely over Trinity College, was carried by a writ
of error to the Lords, after having been decided against
the Bishop, and in favor of Dr. Bentley, by the Court of
King's Bench, Sherlock reasoned against this judgment
with a power of argument that bore down all the efforts of
its supporters: the judgment itself was reversed by a ma-
jority of 28 peers against 16, and the unexpected success
of the day was attributed, by Bentley's prosecutors, mainly
to the exertions of Bishop Sherlock.*

Even befoi'e this trial of his strength, he had contended
with marked success against the famous Pension Bill,f
which had been carried in the House of Commons by a ma-
jority of 10. This bill, which was the most popular and
plausible of the measures proposed by Opposition, went to
disable all persons from sitting in Parliament who held any
pension or office under the Crown ; and to bring every mem-
ber to the test of an oath before he took his seat, that he did
not enjoy such ; or that if he accepted either, he would de-
clare it to the House within fourteen days. It was generally

* Dean Monk's Life of Bcniley, p. 692. t i„ 1731,

BISHOP SHERLOCK. li

thought that Sir R. Walpole permitted this measure to pass
the lower House, in order that he might avoid the popu-
lar indignation which would have adhered to him had it
been rejected. To the great annoyance therefore of Lord
Townshend, he threw this odium on the House of Lords,
where it was negatived after a long debate, and a protest
was entered by the extraordinary number of 26 peers.
Sherlock spoke with great animation against the principle
of the bill, regarding it as tending to diminish the influ-
ence of the Crown, and by that means to disturb the balance
of the Constitution. One of his positions was, * that an
independent House of Commons, or an independent House
of Lords, was as inconsistent with the Constitution, as an
independent, that is, an absolute monarch.'

As the king was extremely averse to this measure, and
indignant at its very proposal, it is probable that Sherlock's
interest was not diminished in that quarter by his exer-
tions, any more than with his patrons. Sir R. Walpole and
Lord Townshend : to an opinion indeed which prevailed
at the time against the purity of his motives, may be
ascribed the origin of a motion that was very soon after-
wards brought into the House, against the translation
of bishops. I should however require stronger evidence
before I consented to stigmatize so eminent a prelate
for the part he took in this political debate. His Tory
principles and his attachment to prerogative will sufli-
ciently account for his conduct. The speech however
made such a noise out of doors, that soon after the session,
a justification of it was printed in the public newspapers,
dated Cambridge, April 27, 1731 : this was written by
some particular friend of the Bishop, if not dictated bj
himself.*

* See Biograph. Brit. Siippl. p, 234. Nolo,

Hi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

Nor were these the only occasions when he distinguished
himself as a parliamentary orator. On many subjects
wherein the civil, and especially the ecclesiastical esta-
blishment, was concerned, he declared his sentiments with
great weight and authority ; and in cases of ecclesiastical
law brought before the Lords, he sometimes led their
judgments, in opposition to the most distinguished mem-
bers of the legal profession. His exertions however in
opposition to one particular measure, were too important
to be passed over in silence. During the time that he
held the see of London, an attempt was made in Par-
liament to introduce a law, by which the rights of the
parochial clergy would have been fundamentally affected ;
an attempt the more formidable, because it was encou-
raged and supported by persons of distinction in the
government. This project was to settle a certain and
invariable annual stipend on the clergy in lieu of tithes ;
but it was defeated, and the ancient rights of the church
secured, by the spirited opposition raised against it, within
and without doors, chiefly by the talent and influence of
Bishop Sherlock.*

Yet all this time, while he was employed in Parliamen-

* His speeches on the'following subjects are printed in the Col-
lection of Debates in Parliament: against Lord Bathurst's motion,
in May, 1733, for an account of the produce of the South Sea Di-
rectors' forfeited estates, in 1720: for a clause in the Mortmain
Bill, in 1736, affecting the benefit of Queen Anne's bounty for the
augmentation of small livings, but it was not carried: also in the
same year against the bill for the more easy recovery of tithes
from Quakers : likewise against the motion for declaring the sen-
tence of the High Court of Justiciary against Captain Portcous, in
1737. He also made a long speech in favor of the convention with
Spain, in 1738, and another against the bill for retailing spirituous
liqaors, in 1740.— Biblioth. Brit. Supp. p. 234.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. liii

tary business for the general ^ood of his country, he still
continued to preach to his congregation at the Temple
during term, and in the vacation always went down to
visit and reside in his diocese ; where he spent his time
in an exemplary manner; in a decent hospitality; in
repairing many churches and houses ; in conversing with
his clergy ; and in giving to them and to their people
those directions which the circumstances of the times
required.* In the distribution of his preferment, both in
this and other dioceses over which he presided, he seems
to have been guided by the most laudable motives ; not only
rewarding talent and exciting emulation, but encouraging
the humble efforts of the lowly pastor, and preserving him
from that poverty which is too often his lot in this world.
His attention to that indigent though hard-working class
of men, the Welsh curates, appears from the two following
letters, which I have extracted from the Gentleman's Maga-
zine. They are written to a worthy man at the very point
of time when the Bishop was quitting his see of Bangor ;
and show that he did not forget his humble friend when
he was himself advanced to a more splendid station. The
successor to whom he alludes in these epistles, was Bishop
Herring, with whom he became involved in a dispute
when the latter was promoted to the metropolitan see of
Canterbury.

Temple, Nov. 5, 1734.
Mr. Lloyd,
I do assure jou tbat I thought of you and your circumstances in
Llanfrothen before I received your letter. I will make it my re-

* Dr. Nichols's Funeral Sermon in Gent. Mag. 1762. p. 24.

■|iv BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

quest to the Bishop to provide a more comfortable living for you ;
and I hope I shall be able to recommend you to him with effect.

It is a concern to me whenever I think of the state of the clergy
in the diocese, which I am now very soon to leave. I did what I
could to help them, much less than I wished to do ; and am sensible
I have left many worthy clergymen but meanly provided. I should
have left more so, if I had not withstood great importunities for the
sake of those whom I judged deserving. I will not forget you ;
and though I leave the diocese, yet I hope the good opinion you
have given me reason to have of you will not be altogether useless
to you.

1 am your humble servant,

THO. BANGOR.

March 1.5, 1739.
Mr. Lloyd,

Immediately upon receiving yours, I applied to the Bishop of

Bangor for you. I wish I could have succeeded in the present

instance ; but I found the Bishop Lad very kind intentions towards

you, which he intends to acquaint you with himself: and therefore

I have nothing to add but my good wishes for your success, and

that I am your affectionate brother and humble servant,

THO. SARUM.*

Nor was it in this case only that he showed great care
or penetration in the selection of proper objects for his
patronage. It is not necessary to cite instances ; but the
reader may find many interspersed in the Literary Anec-
dotes of that indefatigable collector the late Mr. Ni-
chols,! who bears ample testimony also to the Bishop's

* Gent. Mag. for 1790. p. 293. It is satisfactory to know that the
application to Bishop Herring was successful, as he very soon after-
wards presented Mr. Lloyd to the rectory of Llanfwrog.

t Vol. I. p. 658.— Vol. V. pp. 162. 354. 361. 709. — Vol. viii.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. Iv

kind and charitable disposition.* In 1734 he succeeded
his old antagonist Hoadley in the see of Salisbury ; and
during- the time he held this bishopric, his talents became
so fully known, and his character so duly appreciated,
that on the death of Archbishop Potter in 1747, the high-
est dignity in the church was immediately offered to his
acceptance. In 1741, the party of Frederick Prince of
Wales, by combining their strenuous efforts with those
of the opposition, succeeded in gaining a majority in
the House against the measures, and in exciting just in-
dignation throughout the county, against the corrupt in-
fluence of Sir Robert Walpole. Sherlock, however, in
the House of Lords, took up the defence of his friend and
patron, and by his advice, influence, and eloquence, pro-
cured a prorogation of Parliament for the purpose of
screening the minister ; by which measiu'e he much ex-
asperated the Prince and his party against him. Whether
his conduct in this instance is to be commended for dis-
interestedness and discretion, or blamed for want of pa-
triotism, each person must determine for himself; and
each will probably be guided by the view he takes of
party men and party measures in that troubled period.
At any rate this act of the Bishop lays open his character
to severe reprehension ; and accordingly we find that it
did not escape the lash of the satirist, who, in allusion to
the obstruction thus thrown in the way of the Prince's

pp. 383. 440. 561. 568.— Vol. ix. pp. 528.610. — He presented Cole,
the celebrated antiquary, to the rectory of llornsey in Middlesex ;
but it seems that the Bi.shop diil not behave, as Cole thought, very
kindly to him, and therefore he resigned it. — Vol. viii. p. 383.
* Vol. viii. p. 309.

Ivi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

measures, indignantly remarks, that

' S k, if he lives, will love the Prince.

F. Strange spleen to S k !

P. Do I wrong the man ?

God knows I praise a courtier when I can.'*

In commenting on this passage, Dr. Warton asks, whe-
ther Pope, in thus publicly and wantonly holding up to ridi-
cule an amiable man, and an exemplary and learned digni-
tary of the church, can seriously inquire whether or not ' he
wrongs the man?' With all due deference to the learned
commentator, I cannot see the propriety of the term
• wanton ridicule' in this instance. Sherlock's motives
and conduct lay fairly open to any man's animadversion ;
and when amiable and learned dignitaries of the church
plunge into the stormy sea of politics, it is not their amia-
bility of character or their uncommon learning, which can
or ought to defend their conduct from criticism, or from
censure if deserved. With regard to the * little wasp of
Twickenham,' when we consider that his friend and patron
Bolingbroke was moving the secret springs of Frederick's
party at this time, and that Sherlock was an intimate friend,
adviser, and defender of Whig ministers, whom he hated
with no common aversion, we shall be surprised, not in-
deed that he drew out his sting, but that he did not inflict
a deeper wound.

It has been already observed that, on the decease of
Archbishop Potter, Sherlock might have ascended to the
highest eminence in the church : this however he de-
clined wiihout hesitation, on account of the ill state of his
health at that period. Hitherto he had felt himself equal
to the duties of each place which he had filled : but now

* Pope's Epilogue to the Satires, Dial. ii. 1. 61.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. Ivii

his apparently declining strength made him fear, lest, by
accepting so exalted a station, he should only increase his
cares and responsibility, without enlarging his sphere of
usefulness. But the exertions of his powerful mind were
not destined yet to cease. In the succeeding year, 1749,
he rallied ; and on the death of Dr. Edmund Gibson, ac-
cepted a translation to the arduous see of London.

On the duties of this important office he entered with
his usual vigor and alacrity ; and in this same year he pub-
lished that edition of his Discourses on Prophecy, which
excited Dr. Middleton to attack them with great virulence
in his ' Examination ;' who proved in this instance the truth
of a common observation, that no one is a bitterer foe than
he who has once been a friend to the person assailed.
Nor does it tell well for Middleton's candor and inge-
nuousness, that his hostility against Sherlock's theological
opinions, took its origin from personal pique and private
malevolence. According to his own showing it arose
merely from resentment, because he thought the Bishop
had opposed his election to the mastership of the Charter
House, on account of the sceptical views which he had
introduced into his letter to Dr. Waterland on the mira-
culous powers. But even in this he seems to have erred;
since the Bishop interfered no farther than to give an
answer to Sir R. Walpole, when pressed to declare his
opinion whether the appointment would be relished or not
by the clergy. Archbishop Potter and Bishop Gibson
seem to have been the persons who most effectually op-
posed his advancement.* When Middleton descends to
personal invective and abuse against an old associate and
friend, whom he had once complimented on the very work

* Encjclop. Brit. Suppl. p. 231. nole D.

Iviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

in question, even this is sufficiently derogatory to a scholar
and a gentleman ; but the folly and the crime become much
more serious when such an one allows resentment for
injuries, real or supposed, from weak and fallible men,
to urge him on to hostilities against revealed religion.
' Had he had/ says Bishop Warburton, * I will not say,
piety, but greatness of mind enough not to suffer the pre-
tended injuries of some churchmen to prejudice him
against religion, I should love him living, and honor his
memory when dead. But, good God ! that man, for the
discourtesies done him by his miserable fellow-creatures,
should be content to divest himself of the true viaticum,
the comfort, the solace, the asylum from all the evils of
life, is perfectly astonishing.'* The following observations
of the same learned prelate to his correspondent Mr. Hurd,
respecting Middleton's virulent examination of the Dis-
courses on Prophecy, are too interesting and important to
be withheld from the reader's notice.

' Your last favor of the 23rd instant was sent me hither from
Prior-Park, which 1 left about ten clays ago, and whilhcr I propose
to return in about a fortnight. We agree intirely in our sentiments
about the examination. I think it the weakest as well as warmest
pamphlet the Dr. ever wrote. But I agree with you there is no
harm done. It n)ay be of use to make people understand them-
selves. I disagree with the Dr. in his two general questions. The
first, that there is no system of prophecy, but only particular, de-
tached, unrelated prophecies. His reason is, that Christ and his
Apostles refer only to such. By the same kind of reasoning I could
prove there is no system of morals, because Christ and his Apostles
recommend and inforce only particular and detached virtues occa-
sionally. But is not the reason of this evident enough ? They had

* Letter to Hurd, July 11, 1750.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. lix

to do wilb the common people, who cannot comprehend or attend
to a loDg deduction or chain of tilings. They can only see simple
truths, and it is well they can see them. Take a plain man with an
honest heart, give him his Bible, and make him conversant in it, and
I will engage for him he will never be at a loss to know how to act,
agreeably to his duty, in every circumstance of life. Yet give this
man a good English translation of Aristotle's Ethics, (one of the
most complete works for method in its kind,) and by the time he
has got 1o the end of it, I dare say he will not understand one word
he has been reading. But is the explanation of the economy of
grace, in which is contained the system of prophecy, that is, the
connexion and dependance of the prophecies of the several ages' of
the church of God, therefore of no use? Surely the greatest.
And I am confident nothing but the light which will arise from
thence can support Christianity under its present circumstances.
But the contending for single prophecies only, and by a man who
thinks they relate to Christ in a secondary sense only, and who ap-
pears to have no high opinion of second senses, looks very suspi-
cious. What would one think of an advocate at the bar, who, when
the contrary party had hiade out his point by a number of various
circumstances that supported and threw light on one another,
should reply and say, you are a maker of fanciful hypothesis? you
have brought all these various unrelated circumstances into a body
or a system : but you should consider Ihem as separate and distinct,
for so they were delivered in at the bar by the witnesses? If the
Doctor ever considers these proj)he(;ies, as he seems to promise he
will, I j)erliaps shall have something to say to him. The other point
is the Fall. It is managed just in the manner you say, — He will
have it to be an allegory. I agree it is so. In this we differ, — He
supposes it to be an allegory of a moral truth, namely, that man
soou corrupted his ways ; and seems to think, by his way of speak-
ing, that an allegory can convey no other kind of information. I
say it is an allegory of a moral fact, namely, that man had trans-
gressed that positive command, (whatever it was,) on the observance
of which the free gift of immortality was conditionally given. In
this interpretation Christianity has something to bottom itself on.
On the Doctor's notion it is a mere castle in the air. But I do
not pretend you should understand what I mean, till you see it

Ix BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

developed in my Discourse of llie Nature of Christianity, which
makes the IXth liook of the Div. Leg, But on this point tlie
Doctor's and tlie Bishop's notions are not \ery different, though
controversy has kept them at a distance.*

Sherlock, at his first entrance into the see of London, had
a dispute with Archbishop Herring concerning the right
of options. That which was selected by his Grace in this
instance was the valuable rectory of St. George's, Hanover
Square, the incumbent of which, Dr. Trebeck, was very
old and infirm. The Bishop, vexed at being deprived of
one his best pieces of preferment, drew up a pamphlet on
the subject, and for a while determined to oppose the
claim ; but at length a compromise took place, and the
Archbishop consented to accept of St. Anne's, Soho, instead
of St. George's.! This was submitted to by the Bishop ;
but in 1755 he printed his opinions in a folio pamphlet,
though he did not think proper to publish them ; and this
was afterwards reprinted by Archbishop Herring, in 4to.
for his friends, with a short answer by Mr. Joddrell and
Archdeacon Denne.J

* Warburton and Hurd's Correspondence, Letter xvii. Jan. 30,
1749-50.

t Fifty copies only were struck off for those that were interested
in the subject: a copy was presented to each of the Advocates in
Doctors Commons. — Nichols's Lit, Anecd. vol, ix. p, 311.

X Having never seen either of these pamphlets, and having been
obliged to compose this biography by fits and starts, far removed
from my literary resources, and in the midst of a severe domestic
affliction, I am totally unprepared to enter into the merits of the
question, though I conceive that many who have hitherto touched
on it, have deviated from the main point by arguing from hearsay.
A curious and interesting letter on the subject from Dr. Nathaniel
Forster to the Archbishop is published by Nichols in his Lit. Anec-
dotes, vol. ix. p. 297.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. Ixi

Bishop Sherlock however soon had an opportunity of
shining in his proper sphere, and effecting more good than
he could expect to produce by controversy. In the month
of February, 1750, a violent shock of an earthquake, which
had been, as it were, announced by some remarkable co-
ruscations of aurora borealis, with tremendous tempests of
thunder, lightning, hail, and rain, greatly terrified the in-
habitants of the metropolis : and this terror was redoubled
by a similar phenomenon, on the very same day of the fol-
lowing month, between five and six in the morning. The
shock was immediately preceded by a succession of thick
low flashes of lightning, and a rumbling noise like that of
a heavy carriage rolling over a hollow pavement : its vi-
brations shook every house from top to bottom, and in
many places the church-bells were heard to strike ; people
started naked from their beds, and ran to their doors and
windows in a state of distraction ; yet no house was over-
thrown and no life was lost. However the periodical re-
currence of the shocks, and the superior violence of the
second, made a deep impression on the minds of the more
ignorant and superstitious part of the community ; who be-
gan to fear lest another such visitation might be attended
with more dismal consequences. These sentiments of
terror and dismay soon spread, and were augmented to
an extraordinary degree by a fanatical soldier, who went
about the streets preaching up repentance, and boldly
prophesying that another shock on the same day in April
would lay the mighty Babylon in ruins. * Considering
the infectious nature of fear and superstition,' says the
historian,* and the emphatic manner in which the ima-
gination had been prepared and prepossessed, it was no

• Smollett in his History of England : reign of George II.

SHERL. VOL. I. d

Ixii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

wonder that the prediction of this illiterate enthusiast
should have contributed in a great measure to augment the
general terror. The churches were crowded with penitent
sinners ; the sons of riot and profligacy were overawed
into sobriety and decorum. The streets no longer re-
sounded with execrations or the noise of brutal licentious-
ness ; and the hand of charity was liberally opened. Those
whom fortune had enabled to retire from the devoted city,
fled to the country with hurry and precipitation ; insomuch
that the highways were encumbered with horses and car-
riages. Many who had in the beginning combated these
groundless fears with the weapons of reason and ridicule,
began insensibly to imbibe the contagion, and felt their
hearts fail in proportion as the hour of probation ap-
proached : even science and philosophy were not proof
against the unaccountable effects of this communication :
in after ages it will hardly be believed that on the evening
of the 8th day of April, the open fields that skirt the me-
tropolis were filled with an incredible number of people
assembled in chairs, in chaises, and coaches, as well as on
foot, who waited in the most fearful suspense, until morn-
ing and the return of day disproved the truth of the
dreaded prophecy. Then their fears vanished ; they re-
turned to their respective habitations in a transport of joy ;
were soon reconciled to their abandoned vices, which they
seemed to resume with redoubled affection ; and once more
bade defiance to the vengeance of heaven.'

The Bishop of London took advantage of the peculiar
state of feeling into which the public mind had been forced
by these extraordinary events, to address ' a Pastoral
Letter to the Clergy and Inhabitants of London and West-
minster, on occasion of the late Earthquakes.' This was
bought up and read with such avidity by all ranks of

BISHOP SHERLOCK. Ixiii

(jeople, that more than 100,000 copies were sold within
a month. A tract also which he composed on the obser-
vance of Good Friday is said to have had great effect,
in a moral and religious point of view. Nor would it be
right if we omitted to mention his admirable Charge, the
only one he published,* which he printed and distributed
among his clergy in 1759, and in which a profound
knowlege of the law, both of church and state, is applied
with paternal affection to their use and service. It is
thus noticed by that eminent critic, Mr. Jonathan Toup,
at a time when it excited a considerable controversy, and
some illiberal feeling against its author : — ' The Bishop
of London's late charge against non-residence is such a
masterly, sensible, and seasonable piece, that it deserves
the attention of every clergyman ; nay, I could wish that
every parish would get a copy of it, to be kept in the
vestry-room, for the service and inspection of future
incumbents ; for I am of the same opinion with the author
of a late spirited letter to the Bishop of E — that the
residence of the clergy is absolutely necessary to the well-
being of Christianity. The apology which Dr. has

lately published in answer to the Bishop of London, is not
properly an apology for the clergy, but an apology for a
set of worthless, insignificant ecclesiastics, who scarce
deserve the name of clergymen ; who, instead of residing
on their proper cures, where they are in duty and con-

* It appears that he was able to make only one general visitation
of his diocese in person, on account of his growing infirmities:
' though certain it is,' sajs Dr. Nichols, ' that for the first three or
four years he applied himself closely to business, &c. : nay, he ex-
tended his care to parts abroad, and began his correspondence
there, which \yould have been very useful to the church, if his
health had permitted him to carry it on.'— Funeral Sermon.

IXIV BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

"science bound to reside, and living decently and hospitably
in their several parishes, are idling away their time in
borough-towns, and busying themselves there about
matters which do not concern them.'*

With all his dignities. Bishop Sherlock had still kept
possession of his favorite piece of preferment, the Master-
ship of the Temple, residing and preaching there during
Term, and enjoying its beloved and long-cherished
society. But in the year 1753,t when his increasing
infirmities rendered him incapable of performing the func-
tions of this office, he resigned it with the following letter
of acknowledgement, which was received by those to whom
it was addressed, with mingled feelings of admiration and
regret ; —

To the Treasurers, &c. of the two Societies of the Temple.

Fulham, Nov. 5, 1753.
Gentlemen,

His Majesty having been graciously pleased (in consideration of
my age and infirmities) to accept of my resignation of the master-
ship of the Temple, permit me to take the opportunity of your
meeting, after the recess of the vacation, to return you my thanks
for your great goodness to me, during the continuance of the long
course of my ministry among you. It would be a satisfaction and
pleasure to me to acknowlege these obligations, and to express the
sense I have of them, iu person. But as I cannot promise myself,
in the uncertain state of my health, that I shall be able to do it in
proper time, I shall beg leave to do it by writing; and to assure you.
that I shall always remember the many instances of your favor to
me, some of which were so distinguishing marks of your approba-
tion of my services, as I must never — I can never forget; and yet

* Nichols's Lit. Anecd. vol. ii. p. 342.

t Even in 1751 he was obliged to use an amanuensis, as he informs
Dr. Parsons, an eminent physician of that day, in a letter published
by Nichols in his Lit. Anecdotes, vol. v. p. 480.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. IxV

to mention them particularly, might be construed as an effect ra-
ther of vanity than of gratitude. I esteem my relation to the two
societies to have been the greatest happiness of my life, as it intro-
duced me to the acquaintance of some of the greatest men of the
age, and afforded me the opportunities of improvement, by living
and conversing with gentlemen of a liberal education, and of great
learning and experience.

I am Gentlemen,

Your most obedient,

and most humble servant,
THOMAS LONDON.

But jt was not for long that the Bishop's bodily weak-
ness permitted him to exercise the active duties of his
episcopal charge. About this time it pleased God to afflict
him with a dangerous illness, by which, though he re-
covered from it, he almost lost the total use of his limbs,
and was so far deprived of his speech, as to be unable to
enjoy the advantages of a free conversation.* Yet his
mind partook of none of these infirmities — he still attended
to the punctual dispatch of business, giving directions,
dictating letters whenever the importance of the case re-
quired it, and demanding from all whom he employed, an
exact account of their various transactions. * Under all
his infirmities,' says Dr. Nichols, ' his soul broke through,
like the sun from the cloud, and was visible to every eye.
There was a dignity in his aspect and countenance to the
very last. His reason sat enthroned within him ; and no
one could approach him without having his mind filled
with that respect and veneration which was due to so
great a character.'

It was under the last stage of bodily decay, with the re-
tention of his powerful faculties and discriminative judg-

* Dr. Nichols's Funeral Sermon, Gent. Mag. 1762. p. 24,

Ixvi BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR. OF

ment, that he revised and published those admirable Ser-
mons, which stand foremost among the brightest ornaments
of our theological literature; and of which I conceive this
to be a striking characteristic, that they make it evident
by irresistible arguments, that the doctrines discussed are
consistent with sound sense, and that religion in its various
details is not contrary to reason, but, in fact, highly ra-
tional. In 1755 and 1756, he published four volumes of
these Discourses in octavo ; to which a fifth was added in
1776, when their author was no more.*

Death seemed as if he delayed to strike this great and
good man, allowing him to continue in the uninterrupted
exercise of his mental powers, until he saw the accession of
our late revered monarch ; when, unable as he was person-
ally to approach the throne, he addressed the following-
beautiful letter of condolence and congratulation to him
who so auspiciously ascended it : —

November 1, 1760.
Sire,

Amidst the congratulations tliat surroinid the throne, permit me
to lay before your Majesty a heart, w hich, though oppressed with
age and infirmity, is no stranger to the joys of my country. Wlien
the melancholy news of the late king's demise reached us, it natu-
rally led us to consider the loss we had sustained, and upon what

* 1 his contains his tourteen occasional Sermons, and was under-
taken at the suggestion of Mr. Southgate, Curate of St. Giles's, who
furnished the copies. The publishers were those two eminent bib-
liopoles, Loclajer Davies and Thos. Davits, whose initials D.D. are
subscribed to the Preface. — Nichols's Lit. Anecd. vol. iii. p. 214.
His Sermons wore translated into French by the celebrated Pere
Houbigant, his Discourses on Prophecy, and his Trial of (lie Wit-
nesses, having received the s.nme comiliment from the pen of Le
Moine.

BISHOP §HERLOCK, Ixvii ,

our hopes of futurity depended. The first part excited grief, and
put all the tender passions in<o motion ; but the second brought
life and spirit with it, and wiped away the tears from every face.
Oh ! how graciously did the providence of God provide a successor,
able to bear the weight of government in that unexpected event !
You, Sir, are the person wliom tiie people ardently desire: which
affection of theirs is happily returned by your Majesty's declared
concern for their prosperity ; and let nothing disturb this mutual
consent. Let there be but one contest between them, whether the
king loves the people best, or the people him : and may it be a long,
a very long contest ! may it never be decided, but let it remain
doubtful! and may the paternal affection on the one side, and the
filial obedience on the other, be had in perpetual remembrance !
This will probably be the last lime I shall ever trouble your Ma-
jesty. I beg leave to express my warmest wishes and prayers on
your behalf. May the God of heaven and earth have you always
under his protection, and direct you to seek his honor and glory
in all you do; and may you reap the benefit of it by an increase of
happiness in this world and in the next!'

At length the summons came; when this illustrious pre-
late, well prepared to answer it, resigned his soul into the
hands of his Maker, on the 18th of July, 1761, at the ad-
vanced age of 84. He was buried at Fulham, not in the
church, but in the church-yard ; exhibiting an example,
like many other prelates of this see,* which is well worthy
of observation in this church-defiling age. A monument
is erected to his memory, on which the following epitaph
is inscribed : —

In this vault is deposited the body of

The Right Reverend Father in God

Dr. Thomas Sherlock, late Bishop of this Diocese,

formerly Master of the Temple, Dean of Chichester,

and Bishop of Bangor and Salisbury.

* Compton, Robinson, Gibson, Hayter, Osbaldiston, Terrick,
Lowth, and Randolph. — Lit. Anecd. vol. ix. p. 505.

Ixviii BIOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR OF

Whose beneficent and worthy conduct

in the several high stations which he filled,

entitled him to the gratitude of multitudes,

and the veneration of all.

His superior genius,

his extensive and well-applied l^earning,

his admirable faculty and unequalled power of reasoning,

as exerted in the explanation of Scripture,

in exhortations to that piety and virtue

of which he was himself a great example,

and in defence especially of Revealed Religion,

need no encomium here.

They do honor to the age wherein he lived ; and

will be known to posterity, without the help

of this perishable monument of stone.

Underneath, on another tablet, is this :

He died the 18th day of July, in the year
of our Lord 1761, and the 84th of his age,
the powers of his mind continuing unimpaired
throughout a tedious course of
bodily infirmities,
which he sustained to the last with a most cheerful
and edifying resignation to the will of God.

The side of a monument, to the memory of his lady,
placed on the top of the above-mentioned tablet, is thus
inscribed.

Judith Fountaine,

was married to Dr. Thomas Sherlock,

Master of the Temple, August 8, 1707 ;

Died July 23, 1764; aged 77.

Bishop Sherlock died without issue, and left a large for-
tune behind him, not, as some have asserted,* shamefully
amassed out of the see of London, but principally saved

* Among others, Dr. King, in the 'Anecdotes of his own Times,'
p. 183.

BISHOP SHERLOCK. Ixix

from his own private resources; for he received a consider-
able sum from his father, which was greatly augmented by
the testamentary disposal of his elder brother's fortune :
neither is it true, as others have dechired,* that he left the
palace at Fulham in a bad condition, though it is very true
that he found it so. In fact, his present worthy successor
informs me, in a letter dated January 27, 1830, that he
built a dining-room there (which is now the kitchen) v/ith
bed-rooms over it. To his lady, who survived him. Bishop
Sherlock bequeathed 3000/. per annum for her life, and
10,000/. at her own disposal. The rest of his property,
with the reversion of his widow's income, after certain be-
quests, devolved on his nephew. Sir Thomas Gooch. It
seems that he was neither deficient in the virtue of charity
during his life, nor unmindful of those who had any claim
on him at his death ; for as his piety was constant and
exemplary, his zeal in establishing the great truth of Chris-
tianity warm and fervent, so, says Dr. Nichols,t was his
munificence and his charity large and diffusive. It appears
that he gave great sums of money to the corporation of
clergymen's sons, to several of the hospitals, and to the
Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts. In-
deed at the instance of this same Society, he printed at his
own charge an impression of 2000 copies of his valuable
Discourses, which were sent to all the islands and colonies
of America. To his old college of Catherine Hall, the
place of his education, he left his valuable library of books,
with an estate at Congeston, in the county of Leicester,*

* The Rev. C.Godwyn, in a letter to Mr. Hutchins, says that he
died worth 120,000?., and left the palace at Fulham in very bad con-
dition— Lit. Anecd. vol. viii. p. 227. On this point sec his letter to
Dr. Grey, p. xlvii.

t Funeral Sermon.

t This estate was subsequently exchanged for one at Nether

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE L

JOHN, CHAP. VI. — VERSES 67 — 69.

PART I.

Three reasons for the constancy and adherence of the dis-
ciples to Christ : ^I.) the miserable condition of those who
should forsake him, having no other in whom they could trust;
(II,) the excellency of his religion, and the means afforded by
it for obtaining eternal happiness ; (III.) his authority and di-
vine commission, as a ground of confidence and faith. These
three reasons referred to three general principles or maxims :
(1.) that religion, which is the only means of true happiness and
perfection in the present circumstances of the world, does not
depend on human reasoning or invention ; we cannot learn it
from ourselves or others : (2.) the great end of religion is future
happiness ; consequently the best religion is that which most
surely directs us to it : (3.) the authority and word of God is
the only sure foundation of religion and reasonable ground of
our hopes. First head considered : the necessity of religion in
general is taken for granted ; the only question is, from what
source we must derive it : improvements which the gospel has
introduced into the world stated : sceptics of the present age are
apt to refer these to natural religion : this pretence examined
and shown to be false : men are chiefly indebted to the gospel
even for that natural religion which they boast of : the question
then put — is there no such thirig as natural religion ? Answered
by an exposition of the state of mankind under it, (which is not
sherl. vol. I. A

a^* SUMMARY OF

to be estimated by a few bright examples, while millions are
left in ignorance and vice :) also by a comparison of it with the
gospel revelation ; which latter was given to restore human na-
ture and deliver reason from bondage by grace. Conclusion —
the bad return made for so great a blessing by those who set up
reason and nature in opposition to it. The success of such an
attempt however will not be greater than its wisdom and piety.

PART II.

Second head considered : religion shown to be founded in the
principles of reason and nature ; hence it must be formed with a
view of securing our future happiness : that therefore is the best
religion which will most surely conduct us to the end proposed :
the nature of religion enlarged on : eternal happiness out of our
own power ; it is the gift of God alone : if eternal life therefore
be the end of religion, and likewise the gift of God, religion is
nothing but the means of obtaining from God this most excellent
gift : thus far all religions that have appeared in the world are
shown to agree : from this account of the nature of religion, that
it is to know the living God and to serve him acceptably, some
consequences follow — first, since to please God and to act ac-
cording to the will of God are but one and the same thing, that
must be the most perfect religion which instructs us best in the
knowlege of his will : defect of reason and nature in this point
of view — secondly, it is wrong to compare natural religion and
revelation together, for the purpose of inquiring which is prefer-
able ; for this is to inquire whether we know God's will better
than he himself knows it. Since revelation must needs be the
surest guide in religion, every man is bound to consider its pre-
tensions when offered to him : this inquiry excluded by those
who argue against all revelation, d priori, as inconsistent with
God's wisdom. Sum of the argument against revelation a priori
stated — viz. that God, having given to us reason, has bound us

DISCOURSE I. 3

to obey its dictates, and will judge us by its rule ; otherwise he
would have given an imperfect rule, which is inconsistent with
his wisdom: but, the rule being sujfficient, revelation must be
useless and impertinent, and therefore not derived from God:
moreover, as reason and natural religion never yet prevailed
universally , it must he supposed that whatever happens in the
world is designed by God, and those who have least reason are
in that state for which he designed them ; it is therefore absurd
to suppose a revelation u'ould be given to take them out of that
state. — On this argument four observations are briefly made ;
involving — 1. the principle that the creature is always bound to
obey the Creator : — 2. that human reason cannot be said to be
absolutely, but only relatively perfect, as a rule ; and it is beg-
ging the question to suppose there is no other rule but reason
given; vv'hich must be proved, not supposed : — 3. to add to a
law once considered perfect as a rule, when an alteration of cir-
cumstances requires it, is oftentimes the eftect of wisdom and ne-
cessity : — 4. to say that revelation is unnecessary because reason
is a perfect rule, and yet to aflirm that those who have an im-
perfect use of reason have need of a revelation, is a contradic-
tion ; again to say, that those who are in such a state that they
do not and cannot obey the laws of reason, are yet in such a
state as God designed for them, is not only making God the
author of evil, but ascribing to him two inconsistent intentions ;
we do not argue now in behalf of any particular revelation :
this alone is urged, that revelation is the surest foundation of reli-
gion : hence it is incumbent on every man of sense and reason
to inquire whether there be a revelation or no : for the precepts
of natural religion cannot be taken into consideration until it
be certain that there is no revelation to guide us ; there can be
no comparison made to determine our choice ; for the revelation
must be rejected, before natural religion can pretend to take
the lead : the beaten but false path, which unbelievers tread,
explained : the conclusion of their reasonings shown to be — that

4 SUMMARY OF

because there may be a false revelation, there cannot be a true
one : application of what has been said to the Christian revela-
tion : its pretensions are worthy of the deepest consideration :
reasons given why such pretensions are not to be turned off with
general and loose observations : neglect of this consideration
shown to be inexcusable : want of sincerity in religious profes-
sions, antl desire of salvation, give a wrong turn to controversies
about religion : different conduct is pursued with respect to
those worldly objects which we highly value : concluding ex-
hortation.

PART III.

There cannot be a fairer trial of any religion than a consi-
deration of its efficacy in leading us to eternal life, which is the
end of all religion : the difficulty is, how to apply this rule so
as to direct our choice, since all religions pretend to have the
words of eternal life: our object therefore must be to enable
ourselves to determine, which are, and which are not, icords of
eternal life. Some principles in all religions are allowed, which
may help our determination : such are these — that life eternal
can be had only from God ; and that from him the only way
to obtain it is to live agreeably to his holy will ; whence it
follows, that since to do God's will is the only way to obtain
eternal life, the words which instruct us in the knowlege of his
will must be the words of eternal life : when therefore we in-
quire from what principle we ought to derive our religion, we
do in truth inquire from what we may best derive our knowlege
of God's will, since this is the true measure of our religious
obedience. Two ways only by which we can arrive at this
knowlege : one, by following the dictates of reason and nature ;
the other, by learning it either from God's own declaration, or
from persons suflGiciently authorised by him, which is what we
call revelation. Between these two general principles, it is no
hard matter to judge which is the safest : as nature is a better

DISCOURSE I. 5

guide than any pretended revelation, so every true revelation,
as far as it goes, is better than nature : absurd to compare
natural religion and revelation together, as considered in them-
selves : since, if the revelation be false, no arguments are ne-
cessary to make it yield to nature ; if true, none can be suffi-
cient. On the same principle other general objections against
the gospel of Jesus Christ examined : its methods of salvation,
which human sagacity cannot fathom, are matters of complaint
with unbelievers: they think it unreasonable that God should
propose such as objects of faith, and from this presupposed un-
reasonableness conclude they were not of God's contrivance,
but the tricks of impostors: this objection, however, is opposed
to all revelation in general, considered as a principle of religion,
which adds any thing to what reason teaches us : the question
then will be — can it be reasonable for God to propose any
articles of faith or conditions of salvation, the reason and pro-
priety of which do not appear to man ? This the case of the
gospel. In the sense of the gospel, what is a mystery and what
is not : it must be remembered that not human reason, but God's
will is the rule and measure of religious obedience ; and there-
fore the terms of it must be tried by their agreement with God's
will rather than the narrow compass of man's reason. If reason
can by any means discover that the conditions of salvation pro-
posed to us are the will of God, its work is over, and we are
bound to use the means prescribed in order to obtain the
desired end : and how little soever reason may be able to pe-
netrate into mysteries, yet if it can discover them indeed to be
the mysteries of God, and proposed by him as terms of salva-
tion, it discovers to us that these mysteries are the words of
eternal life; and what more does a man look for in his religion ?
This, it may be said, is true, on the supposition that God re
quires the belief of mysteries ; but how does this prove it rea-
sonable for him so to do ? Certain allowances being made on
each side, the question is reduced to this — whether it can ever

6 SUMMARY OF

be necessary to reveal mysteries, in order to perfect the salva-
tion of mankind ? whenever it is necessary, it must be reasona-
ble, unless it be unreasonable for God to save the world.
Nature of a mystery stated : no real or positive thing in nature,
but merely negative with respect to ourselves : what the com-
plaint against mysteries amounts to shown. Return to the
question, whether it can be ever necessary for God to use
such means for the salvation of the world, the agreeableness of
which to the end proposed human reason cannot discover : this
shown to be necessary by various arguments, particularly by
the difficulty of reconciling it with the wisdom and justice of
God so freely to pardon sin as not to leave the marks of his
displeasure on it, and vindicate in the face of creation the
honor of his laws and government : no religion but that which
is able to adjust these difficulties can have the words of eternal
life: mysteries are so far from being an objection to the gospel,
that without a mystery it is impossible for us to be saved : a
religion without them might serve for this life, since they are
not necessary parts of religion considered only as a rule of
action ; but they are most necessary when considered as means
of obtaining pardon and eternal glory.

PART IV.

Religion acting on the soul, compared with a regimen neces-
sary for the body — one sort proper for a sound constitution,
and another for repairing a broken one : an innocent man has
nothing to do but to preserve his innocency, which is his title
to God's favor ; his religion therefore is only a rule of life, and
there is no room in it for mystery ; but on the supposition of
mankind becoming sinful and liable to God's wrath, religion
itself becomes a new thing. Unbelievers may think that too
much is required to believe that all are sinners and are fallen
short of the glory of God: but this is the principle on which'

DISCOURSE I. 7

the gospel uniformly proceeds, and on this it must be judged.
Three things, necessary to be done for a sinner in order to restore
him to eternal life, considered : 1st, that God be reconciled to
him : 2dly, that he be purged from the impurity of sin : 3dly,
that for the future he be enabled to obey God's holy laws :
necessity of these conditions briefly shown. Allowing them
to be necessary, and likewise that religion must contain the
words or means of eternal life, it follows that the sinner's reli-
gion must contain the means of fulfilling these conditions : our
notion therefore of such a religion is very imperfect, when we
consider it only as a rule of action : as far as a rule of action
is necessary, the gospel is shown to have it in the strictest
sense of the words, and in the purest form : but a rule of life
is not the only notion of religion : according to the other ideas
which belong to it, it is not necessarily absurd if supposed mys-
terious : examined in this point of view with reference to the
first of the three conditions above-mentioned, or as containing
the means by which God is reconciled to sinners. Though we
cannot practise a law without understanding it, yet God may
be reconciled to us without our comprehending every thing
done for that purpose, as a malefactor may receive and profit
by a pardon, without knowing what induced his prince to grant
it : if a sinner could not receive mercy unless he comprehended
all the reasons of it, then only would it be necessary for reli-
gion to exclude all mysteries : since the knowlege of the
essence of things, and that of the existence of things, are quite
distinct, our ignorance of the latter can be no argument against
our belief in the former : this explained more fully. The ar-
gument carried still further ; it being shown that this part of
religion must necessarily be mysterious, and the means of re-
concilement such as reason and nature cannot comprehend.
Reason challenged to discover any means of reconcilement, if
these certain and allowed principles be laid down — viz. that it
is just for God to punish sinners, and that God can do nothing

8 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE I.

but what is just : difficulty must ever remain as long as we
attempt to scan the divine justice by our narrow conceptions
of it : and this it is which occasions many things in the gospel
to be mysterious. To redeem the world is the work of God
only : he alone could find the means, and apply them : religion
founded on redemption must consist of two parts — viz., an ac-
count of the redemption wrought by God, and instructions to
men on what terms they may reap its benefits : as far as our
own part in the gospel goes there is nothing mysterious ; we
know how to act : as to the other parts of it, we are not re-
quired to comprehend and account for the means of salvation,
but only to accept them : mysteries of God in redemption
compared with his wonderful" and mysterious works of creation,
in which his ways are past finding out : strange that salvation
should be the only instance in which men refuse mercy because
they cannot understand the methods of obtaining it. The other
two points, viz., the cleansing sinners from their iniquity, and
the enabling them to live virtuously for the future, are omitted,
because the same arguments will apply to them, mutatis mu-
tandis. Conclusion — the only fair way of appreciating the
gospel, is to consider the true state of mankind in the world.

DISCOURSE I.

JOHN, CHAP. VI. — VERSES 67 — 69.

Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away ? Then
Simon Peter answered him. Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou
hast the words of eternal life. And we believe, and are sure,
that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

PART I.

In the foregoing" part of this chapter we read that the doctrine
of our Saviour had given such offence to his hearers, that many
even of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him :
on which occasion our Saviour put this question to the twelve,

* Will ye also go away ?' To which St. Peter, in the name of
all, made answer, ' Lord, to whom shall we go ? thou hast the
words of eternal life. And we believe, and are sure, that thou
art that Christ, the Son of the living God.' In this answer
there are three things expressed, or implied, as the ground of
their constancy and adherence to Christ.

I. The first is, The miserable condition they should be in, if
they did forsake him, having no other in whom they could trust :
' Lord, to whom shall we go ?'

II. The second is, The excellency of his religion, and the
certain means it afforded of obtaining that which is the great
end of religion, a blessed life after this : ' Thou hast the words
of eternal life.'

• III. The third is, The authority and divine commission of
Christ, on which their faith and confidence were built : ' Wo
believe, and are sure, that thou art that Christ, the Son of the

10 SHERLOCK.

living God.' To believe, because we have sufficient reason to
determine our belief, is a rational faith ; and this is what is
meant in the word eypwKafiev, ' we believe ;' because we have,
from the things we have heard and seen of you, determined
with ourselves, ' That thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God.'

These three reasons, which St. Peter gives for adherence to
Christ, refer to as many general principles or maxims :

As first, That religion, the only means by which men can ar-
rive at true happiness, by which they can attain to the last per-
fection and dignity of their nature, does not, in the present cir-
cumstances of the world, depend on human reasoning or inven-
tions : for, was this the case, we need not to go from home for
religion, or to seek farther than our own breast for the means of
reconciling ourselves to God, and obtaining his favor, and, in
consequence of it, life eternal. On such supposition St. Peter
argued very weakly, in saying, ' To whom shall we go?' for to
whom need they go to learn that which they were well able to
teach themselves ?

The second principle referred to is. That the great end of re-
ligion is future happiness; and consequently the best religion is
that which will most surely direct us to eternal life. On this
ground St. Peter prefers the gospel of Christ, ' Thou hast the
words of eternal life.'

The third thing is, That the authority and word of God is the
only sure foundation of religion, and the only reasonable ground
for us to build our hopes on. Thus St. Peter accounts for his
confidence in the religion which Christ taught : ' MVe know, and
are sure, that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.'

In this state of the case, the necessity of religion in general is
supposed ; and the only question is, from what fountain we must
derive it? The dispute can only lie between natural and revealed
religion : if nature be able to direct us, it will be hard to justify
the wisdom of God in giving us a revelation, since the revelation
can only serve the same purpose which nature alone could well
supply.

Since the light of the gospel has shone throughout the world,
nature has been much improving ; we see many things clearly,
many things which reason readily embraces, which nevertheless

DISCOERSE I. — PART I. 11

the world before was generally a stranger to. The gospel has
given us true notions of God and of ourselves ; right conceptions
of his holiness and purity, and of the nature of divine worship :
it has taught us a religion, in the practice of which our present
ease and comfort, and our hopes of future happiness and glory
consist ; it has rooted out idolatry and superstition, and, by in-
structing us in the nature of God, and discovering to us his unity,
his omnipresence, and infinite knowlege, it has furnished us
even with principles of reason, by which we reject and condemn
the rites and ceremonies of heathenism and idolatry, and dis-
cover wherein the beauty and holiness of divine worship consist :
for the nature of divine worship must be deduced from the na-
ture of God ; and it is impossible for men to pay a reasonable
service to God, till they have just and reasonable notions of him.
But now, it seems, this is all become pure natural religion ; and
it is to our own reason and understanding that we are indebted
for the notion of God, and of divine worship; and whatever
else in religion is agreeable to our reason, is reckoned to proceed
entirely from it : and, had the unbelievers of this age heard St.
Peter's piteous complaint, ' Lord, to whom shall we go ?' tliey
would have bid him go to himself, and consult his own reason,
and there he should find all that was worth finding in religion.

But let us, if you please, examine this pretence, and see on
what ground this plea of natural religion can be maintained.
If nature can instruct us suflSciently in religion, we have indeed
no reason to go any where else ; so far we are agreed : but
whether nature can or no, is, in truth, rather a question of fact
than mere speculation ; for the way to know what nature can
do, is to take nature by itself and try its strength alone. There
was a time when men had little else but nature to go to ; and
that is the proper time to look into, to see what mere and un-
assisted nature can do in religion : nay, there are still nations
under the sun, who are, as to religion, in a mere state of nature :
the glad tidings of the gospel have not reached them, nor have
they been blessed, or (to speak in the modern phrase) preju-
diced with divine revelations, which we, less worthy of them
than they, so much complain of : in other matters they are
polite and civilized ; they are cunning traders, fine artificers,
and in many arts and sciences not unskilful. Here, then, we may

12 SHERLOCK.

hope to see natural religion in its full perfection ; for there is no
want of natural reason, nor any room to complain of prejudices
or prepossession ; but yet, alas ! these nations are held in the
chains of darkness, and given up to the blindest superstition and
idolatry. Men wanted not reason before the coming of Christ,
nor opportunity nor inclination to improve it : arts and sciences
had long before obtained their just perfection ; the number of
the stars had been counted, and their motions observed and ad-
justed ; the philosophy, oratory, and poetry of those ages are
still the delight and entertainment of this. Religion was not
the least part of their inquiry ; they searched all the recesses of
reason and nature ; and had it been in the power of reason and
nature to furnish men with just notions and principles of religion,
here we should have found them ; but instead of them we find
nothing but the grossest superstition and idolatry ; the creatures
of the earth advanced into deities; and men degenerating and
making themselves lower than the beasts of the field. Time
would fail me to tell of the corruptions and extravagances of the
politest nations. Their religion was their reproach, and the
service they paid their gods was a dishonor to them and to them-
selves : the most sacred part of their devotion was the most
impure ; and the only thing commendable in it was, that it
was kept as a great mystery and secret, and hid under the dark-
ness of the night ; and were reason now to judge, it would ap-
prove of nothing in this religion, but the modesty of withdraw-
ing itself from the eyes of the world.

This being the case, wherever men have been left to mere
reason and nature to direct them, what security have the great
patrons of natural religion now, that, were they left only to rea-
son and nature, they should not run into the same errors and
absurdities? Have they more reason than those who have gone
before them ? In all other instances nature is the same now that
ever it was ; and we are but acting over again the same part that
our ancestors acted before us ; wisdom, and prudence, and cun-
ning, are now what they formerly were ; nor can this age show
human nature in any one character exalted beyond the ex-
amples which antiquity has left us. Can we show greater in-
stances of civil and political wisdom than are to be found in the
governments of Greece and Rome ? Are not the civil laws of

DISCOURSE I. — PART I. , 13

Rome still had in admiration ? and have they not a place al-
lowed them still in almost all kinodoms ? Since then in nothing
else we are grown wiser than the heathen world, what probabi-
lity is there that we should have grown wiser in religion, if we
had been left, as they were, to mere reason and nature ? To this
day there is no alteration for the better, except only in the
countries where the gospel has been preached. What shall we
say of the Chinese, a nation that wants not either reason or
learning, and in some parts of it pretends to excel the world ?
They have been daily improving in the arts of life, and in every
kind of knowlege and science ; but yet in religion they are igno-
rant and superstitious, and have but very little of what we call
natural religion among them : and what ground is there to ima-
gine that reason would have done more, made greater discoveries
of truth, or more entirely subdued the passions of men in Eng-
land, or France, or any other country of Europe, than it has
in the eastern or southern parts of the world ? Are not men as
reasonable creatures in the east as they are in the west ? and
have not they the same means of exercising and improving their
reason too ? Why then should you think that reason would do
that now in this place, which it has never yet been able to do in
any time or place whatever?

This fact is so very plain and undeniable, that I cannot but
think, that, would men consider it fairly, they would soon be
convinced how much they are indebted to the revelation of the
gospel, even for that natural religion which they so fondly boast
of : for how comes it to pass, that there is so much reason, such
clear natural religion, in every country where the gospel is pro-
fessed, and so little of both every where else ?

But is there then, you will say, no such thing as natural reli-
gion ? Does not St. Paul lay the heathen world under condem-
nation for not attending to the dictates of it ? ' Because,' says
he, ' that which may be known of God is manifest in them ; for
God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being under-
stood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and
Godhead : so that they are without excuse ; because that, when
they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were

14 SHERLOCK.

thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their
foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools ; and changed the glory of the uncorruptible
God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds,
and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.' — A sad account
this of the state of religion in the heathen world, and a manifest
proof how much nature stands in need of assistance ! What we
learn from St. Paul is plainly this, that notwithstanding the
care which God had taken to display the evidences of his own
Being and Godhead in every work of the creation, so that men
could not but have a notion of the Deity ; yet, so little did they
profit by that knowlege, that it served only to render them in-
excusable in their superstition and idolatry ; for ' when they
knew God,' (as indeed all the heathen world had a notion of a
supreme Being) yet ' they glorified him not as God ; but changed
the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like
unto corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and
creeping things.' And was not nature an excellent guide to
follow, that thus stumbled at the very threshold, and, having
from natural reason the notion of a supreme Deity, sought to
find him among the four-footed beasts and creeping things of
the earth ? Can you say what it was that thus debased the rea-
son and understanding of mankind ? What evil was it that had
diffused itself through the whole race, and so possessed their
senses, that, ' seeing, they did not perceive, and hearing, they
did not understand ?' or, do you think that you alone are exempt
from this common, this universal blindness ; and that the same
reason and nature, that hitherto have misguided all the world
into error and idolatry, would lead you out of the common road
into truth and pure religion ?

Is it not the utmost presumption to think thus, and to ima-
gine that we alone are able to surmount the difficulties which
all the world before has sunk under ? And yet thus every
man must think, who sets up natural religion in opposition to
revelation : for has mere nature ever yet, in any one part of the
world, extricated itself from error? Do the nations of old, or
those which now are, afford any instance of this kind? But still
you think that nature is sufficient to direct you ; and what else

DISCOURSE 1. — PART I. 15

is this but to distinguish yourself from all the world, as if you
only were privileged against the common failings and corrup-
tions of mankind.

But you will say, Are there not complete schemes of natural
religion drawn from principles and axioms of reason, without
calling in the help of revelation ? and are they not evident de-
monstrations that nature is able to furnish us with a religion
that is pure and holy, and agreeable to the divine attributes ?
Allow this : but let us then be informed how it came to pass,
that never any system of this pure religion was in use and prac-
tice in any nation, or indeed ever fully discovered, till the gos-
pel had enlightened the world. You may boast of Socrates
and Plato, and some few others in the heathen world, and tell
us perhaps of their great attainments on the strength of mere
reason. Be it so : but what is this to the present question ?
Must millions in every age of the world be left in ignorance,
because five or six among them may happen to extricate them-
selves ? Would it be reasonable to suffer a whole nation to perish
without help in a plague, because some few were not tainted
with the distemper ? or, will you say all men are seven feet
high, because we see now and then some who are?

I question not but the wise Creator of the world formed us
for his own service, and that he gave us whatever was requisite
either to the knowlege or the performance of our duty : and that
there are still in nature the seeds and principles of religion,
however buried under the rubbish of ignorance and superstition,
I as little question. But what was it, I beseech jou, that op-
pressed this light of reason and nature for so many ages ? and
what is it that has now set it free ? Whatever the distemper
was, nature plainly wanted assistance, being unable to disengage
herself from the bonds and fetters in which she was held : we
may disagree, perhaps, in finding a name for this evil, this ge-
neral corruption of nature ; but the thing itself is evident ; the
impotence of nature stands confessed : the blindness, the igno-
rance of the heathen world are too plain a proof of it. This
general corruption and weakness of nature made it necessary
that religion should be restored by some other means, and that
men should have other helps to resort to, besides their own
strength and reason. And, if natural religion is indeed arrived

16 SHERLOCK.

to that state of perfection so much boasted of, it gives a strong
testimony to the gospel, and evidently proves it to be an ade-
quate remedy and support against the evil and corruption of
nature. For where the gospel prevails, nature is restored ; and
reason, delivered from bondage by grace, sees and approves
what is holy, just, and pure : for what else can it be ascribed
to but the power of the gospel, that, in every nation that names
the name of Christ, even reason and nature see and condemn
the follies which others still, for want of the same help, are
held in subjection to?

Can this truth be evaded or denied ? And what a return then
do we make for the blessing we have received ! and how de-
spitefully do we treat the gospel of Christ, to which we owe
that clear light even of reason and nature which we now enjoy,
when we endeavor to set up reason and nature in opposition
to it ! Ought the withered hand, which Christ has restored and
made whole, to be lifted up against him ? or should the dumb
man's tongue, just loosened from the bonds of silence, blas-
pheme the power that set it free ? Yet thus foolishly do we sin,
when we make natural religion the engine to batter down the
gospel ; for the gospel only could and only has restored the re-
ligion of nature ; and therefore there is a kind of parricide in
the attempt, and an infidelity heightened by the aggravating
circumstance of unnatural baseness and disingenuity.

Nor will the success of the attempt be much greater than the
wisdom and the piety of it : for when once nature leaves her
faithful guide, the gospel of Christ, it will be as unable to sup-
port itself against error and superstition, as it was to deliver
itself from them, and will by degTees fall back into its original
blindness and corruption. Had you a view of the disputes that
arise even on the principles of natural religion, it would show
you what the end will be ; for the wanderings of human reason
are infinite. Under the gospel dispensation we have the im-
mutable word of God for the support of our faith and hope.
We know in whom we have believed ; in Him, who can neither
deceive, nor be deceived; and, poor as our services are, we have
his word for it, that our labor of love shall not be forgotten.
But to them who rely on nature only, it is not evident, nor can
it be, whether any future reward shall attend their religious

DISCOURSE I. — PART II. 17

service. Well therefore did St. Peter say to Christ, 'Thou
hast the words of eternal life ; ' for no other religion can give
any security of life and happiness to its votaries. Whither then
shall we go from Christ, or to whom shall we seek for succor,
since he only has the words of eternal life ?

DISCOURSE I.

PART II.

The second thing to be considered is, That the excellency
of religion consists in affording certain means of obtaining
eternal life.

Religion is founded in the principles of reason and nature ;
and, without supposing this foundation, it would be as rational
an act to preach to horses as to men. A man who has the use
of reason cannot consider his condition and circumstances in
this world, or reflect on his notions of gootl and evil, and the
sense he feels in himself that he is an accountable creature for
the good or evil he does, without asking himself how he came
into this world, and for what purpose, and to whom it is that
he is, or possibly may be accountable. When, by tracing his
own being to the original, he finds that there is one supreme
all-wise Cause of all things; when by experience he sees that
this world neither is nor can be the place for taking a just and
adequate account of the actions of men ; the presumption that
there is another state after this, in which men shall live, grows
strong and almost irresistible ; when he considers farther the
fears and hopes of nature with respect to futurity, the fear of
death common to all, the desire of continuing in being, which
never forsakes us ; and reflects for what use and purpose these
strong impressions were given us by the Author of nature ; he
cannot help concluding that man was made not merely to act
a short part upon the stage of this world, but that there is an-
other and more lasting state, to which he bears relation. And

18 SHERLOCK.

from hence it must necessarily follow that his religion must be
formed on a view of securing a future happiness.

Since, then, the end that men propose to themselves by reli-
gion is such, it will teach us wherein the true excellency of re-
ligion consists. If eternal life and future happiness are what
we aim at, that will be the best religion which will most cer-
tainly lead us to eternal life and future happiness : and it will
be to no purpose to compare religions together in any other re-
spects, wnich have no relation to this end.

Let us tb in by this rule examine the pretensions of revela-
tion, and, as we go along, compare it with the present state of
natural religion, that we may be able to judge ' to whom we
ought to go.'

Eternal life and happiness are out of our power to give our-
selves, or to obtain by any strength and force, or any policy or
wisdom. Could our own arm rescue us from the jaws of death,
and the powers of the kingdom of darkness ; could we set open
the gates of heaven for ourselves, and enter in to take possession
of life and glory, we should want no instructions or assistances
from religion ; since what St. Peter said of Christ, every man
might apply to himself, and say, * I have the words, or means,
of eternal life.'

But, since we have not this power of life and death, and
since there is One who has, who governeth all things in heaven
and in earth, who is over all God blessed for evermore, it ne-
cessarily follows that either we must have no share or lot in
the glories of futurity, or else that we must obtain them from
God, and receive them as his gift and favor; and consequently
if eternal life be the end of religion, and likewise the gift of
God, religion can be nothing else but the means proper to be
made use of by us to obtain of God this most excellent and
perfect gift of eternal life : for, if eternal life be the end of reli-
gion, religion must be the means of obtaining eternal life ; and,
if eternal life can only be had from the gift of God, religion
must be the means of obtaining this gift from God.

And thus far all religions that ever have appeared in the
world, have agreed : the question has never yet been made by
any, whether God is to be applied to for eternal happiness or
no ; but every sect has placed its excellency in this, that it

DISCOURSE I. — PART II. 19

teaches the properest and most effectual way of making this
application. Even natural religion pretends to no more than
this : it claims not eternal life as the right of nature, but the
right of obedience, and of obedience to God, the Lord of
nature : and the dispute between natural and revealed religion
is not, whether God is to be applied to for eternal happiness;
but only, whether nature or revelation can best teach us how
to make this application.

Prayers, and praises, and repentance for sins past, are acts
of devotion, which nature pretends to instruct and direct us in :
but why does she teach us to pray, to praise, or to repent, but
that she esteems one to be the proper method of expressing our
wants, the other of expressing omt gratitude, and the third of
making atonement for iniquity and offences against God ? In all
these acts reference is had to the over-ruling power of the Al-
mighty ; and they amount to this confession, that the upshot of
all religion is, to please God in order to make ourselves happy.

This will show us what must necessarily be understood by
any person's or by any religion's * having the words of eternal
life :' for, since eternal life can only be had by pleasing God,
no person, no religion, can be said to have the words of eternal
life upon any other account than because it teaches and enables
us so far at least to please God as to obtain eternal life from
him.

If we consider God as the ruler of this world as well as of
the next, religion indeed will be as necessary a means of obtain-
ing the blessings of this life, as of that which is to come. But
this will make no alteration in the nature of religion : for if the
blessings of this life are the gift of God, they must be obtained
by pleasing God; and the same services must entitle us to the
blessings of this life and of the next, unless you can suppose that
there are different ways of pleasing God ; one way to please
him, in order to obtain the blessings of this world ; and another,
in order to obtain the blessings of heaven.

From this account of the nature of religion, that it is the
knowlege of pleasing God, and serving him acceptably, (I
speak of religion now considered only as a rule,) there are some
consequences which naturally follow, that may be of great ser-
vice to us in directino; us in our choice of relisfion.

20 SHERLOCK.

First then, Since it is the perfection of religion to instruct us
how to please God ; and since to please God, and to act ac-
cording to the will of God, are but one and the same thing ; it
necessarily follows that must be the most perfect religion
which does most perfectly instruct us in the knowlege of the
will of God. Allow then nature to have all the advantages
that ever the greatest patrons of natural religion laid claim to
on her behalf; allow reason to be as clear, as uncorrupted, as
unprejudiced, as even our fondest wishes would make it; yet
still it can never be supposed that nature and reason, in all
their glory, can be able to know the will of God so well as he
himself knows it : and therefore, should God ever make a de-
claration of his will, that declaration must, according to the
nature and necessity of the thing, be a more perfect rule for reli-
gion than reason and nature can possibly furnish us with. Had
we the wisdom and reason ofcherubims andseraphims to direct
us in the worship and service of our Maker, nevertheless it would
be our highest wisdom, as it is theirs, to submit to his laws, that
is, to the declarations of his will.

Secondly, From hence it appears, how extremely wrong it
is to compare natural religion and revelation together in order
to inquire which is preferable ; for it is neither more nor less
than inquiring whether we know God's will better than he him-
self knows it. False revelations are no revelations ; and there-
fore to prefer natural religion before such pretended revelations,
is only to reject a forgery : but to suppose that there is or may
be a true revelation, and yet to say that natural religion is a
better guide, is to say that we are wiser than God, and know
better how to please him without his directions than with them. -
On this state of the case then, a revelation must be intirely
rejected as a forgery, or intirely submitted to ; and the only
debate between natural religion and revelation must be, whe-
ther we really know a revelation or no ; and not whether reve-
lation or nature be, in the nature of things, the best and surest
foundation of religion : which dispute but ill becomes our con-
dition, and is a vain attempt to exalt ourselves and our own
reason * above every thing that is called God.'

Since then revelation, considered as such, must needs be the
surest guide in religion, every reasonable man is bound to con-

DISCOURSE I.— PART II. 21

sider the pretensions of revelation, when offered to him ; for no
man can justify himself in relying merely on natural religion
till he has satisfied himself that no better directions are to be
had. For, since it is the business of religion to please God, is
it not a very natural and a very reasonable inquiry to make,
whether God has any where declared what will please hira ? at
least it is reasonable, when we are called to this inquiry by
having a revelation tendered to us supported by such evidence,
which, though it may be easily rejected without reason, yet to
reason will ever approve itself.

But the inquiry into the evidence for any particular revela-
tion is excluded by those who argue against all revelation, d
priori, as being inconsistent with the wisdom of God. What
they say amounts to this, that God, having given us reason,
has bound us to obey the dictates of reason, and tied himself
down to judge us by that rule, and that only : to suppose
otherwise, they imagine, would be to maintain that God gave us
an imperfect rule at first, and which wanted to be mended ; a
thing, they imagine, inconsistent with his wisdom : and the rule
of reason being sufficient, all revelation, they judge, must be
useless and impertinent, and consequently can never derive
itself from God. But as it is too apparent to be denied, that
reason and natural religion never did in any age universally
prevail ; to help out the argument, it is further supposed that
whatever happens in the world is agreeable to the original design
of God, and consequently, that those who have least of reason
and natural religion are in the state for which God designed
them ; and if so, it is absurd to suppose a revelation should be
given, to take men out of that state in which God originally
designed to place them.

This is the sum of the argument against revelation n priori :
to consider it particularly will take more time than can be
allowed : but in brief we may observe,

1. That to argue, from the perfection of human reason, that
we are discharged from receiving any new laws from God, is
inconsistent with as clear a principle of reason as any whatever,
and which necessarily arises from the relation between God and
man ; which is, that the creature is bound to obey the Creator
in which way soever his will is made known to him : and this

22 SHERLOCK.

surely is true with respect to the highest order of beings, as well
as to the lowest : for this plea, now made for human reason,
would be presumptuous in the mouth of an angel, and inconsis-
tent with the subjection he owes to God.

2. As to the perfection of human reason, it cannot be, nor, I
suppose, will it be maintained, that human reason is absolutely
perfect ; and therefore the meaning must be, that reason is rela-
tively perfect, considered as the rule of our obedience. But
this is true only on the supposition that reason is the only rule
of our obedience ; for, if there be any other rule besides, mere
reason cannot be the perfect rule of our obedience : and therefore
this argument is really begging the thing in question ; for it sup-
poses there is no other rule but reason, which is the thing not to
be supposed, but to be proved. As much maybe said for every
law as is said in this case for human reason : every law, being
the only law in the case, is a perfect rule for the subject's obe-
dience, because the subject is bound to no more than the law
requires : but if the law be amended and enlarged by the
same authority that made it, it is no longer a perfect rule of
obedience; but, to make it such, it must be taken jointly
with the corrections and enlargements made by the proper
authority.

3. Hence it follows that to alter or add to a law once con-
sidered as a perfect rule of obedience, when an alteration of
circumstances requires it, is neither useless nor impertinent, but
oftentimes the effect of wisdom and necessity.

4. To say that revelation is unnecessary because reason is
a perfect rule, and at the same time to aflSrm that those who
have but an imperfect use of reason have need of revelation, is
a manifest contradiction : to say farther, that those who are in
such a state that actually they do not obey the laws of reason,
and, morally speaking, cannot obey, are nevertheless in such a
state as God intended they should be in, is not only making
God the author of evil, but it is ascribing to him two inconsis-
tent intentions : for to argue that God gave men reason to be
the rule of their obedience, is supposing that his original inten-
tion is, that men should obey reason ; to argue at the same time
that those who live in disobedience to this law are in the state
which God intended them to be in, is to suppose that God in-

DISCOURSE I." PART II. 23

tended the law should be obeyed, and not obeyed at the same
time. But to return :

We are not now arguing in behalf of any particular revela-
tion, which may be true or false for any thing that has hitherto
been said : but this I urge, that revelation is the surest founda-
tion of religion ; and this wants no other proof than an explica-
tion of the terms : religion, considered as a rule, is the knowlege
of serving and pleasing God : revelation is the declaration of
God, how he would be served, and what will please him : and,
unless we know what will please God better than he himself
does, revelation must be the best rule to serve and please God
by ; that is, it must be the best religion.

From hence then, I say, it is incumbent on every man of
sense and reason, on every one who judges for himself in the
choice of his religion, first to inquire whether there be a reve-
lation or no : nor can the precepts of natural religion singly be
drawn into question, till it is first certain that there is no revela-
tion to direct us : and therefore there can be no comparison
stated generally between natural and revealed religion, in order
to determine our choice between them ; because the revelation
must be first rejected before natural religion can pretend to the
sole direction.

And yet this is the beaten path that unbelievers tread : they
consider in general that revelation is subject to many uncertain-
ties ; it may be a cheat at first, or it may be corrupted after-
wards, and not faithfully handed down to them ; but in natural
religion there can be no cheat, because in that every man judo-es
for himself, and is bound to nothing but what is agreeable to the
dictates of reason and his own mind : and on these general
views they reject all revelations whatever, and adhere to natural
religion as the safer guide. But attend to the consequence of
this reasoning, which is this ; that, because there may be a false
revelation, therefore there cannot be a true one : for, unless
this consequence be just, they are inexcusable in rejecting
all revelations, because of the uncertainties which may attend
them.

But now to apply what has been said to the Christian revela-
tion : it has such pretences, at least, as may make it worthy of
a particular consideration : it pretends to come from heaven ; to

24 SHERLOCK.

have been delivered by the Son of God ; to have been confirmed
6y undeniable miracles and prophecies; to have been ratified
by the blood of Christ and his Apostles, who died in asserting
its truth. It can show likewise an innumerable company of
martyrs and confessors : its doctrines are pure and holy, its pre-
cepts just and righteous; its worship is a reasonable service,
refined from the errors of idolatry and superstition, and spiritual
like the God who is the object of it : it offers the aid and assist-
ance of heaven to the weakness of nature ; which makes the
religion of the gospel to be as practicable as it is reasonable : it
promises infinite rewards to obedience, and threatens eternal
punishment to obstinate offenders ; which makes it of the
utmost consequence to us soberly to consider it, since every
one who rejects it stakes his own soul against the truth of it.

Are these such pretences as are to be turned off with general
and loose objections ? Because miracles may be pretended,
shall not the miracles of Christ be considered, which were not
so much as questioned by the adversaries of the gospel in the
first ages ? Because there may be impostors, shall Christ be
rejected, whose life was innocence, and free from any suspicion
of private design, and who died to seal the truths he had deli-
vered ? Because there have been cheats introduced by worldly
men, endeavoring to make a gain of godliness, shall the gospel
be suspected, that in every page declares against the world,
against the pleasures, the riches, the glories of it ; that labors
no one thing more than to draw off the affections from things
below, and to raise them to the enjoyment of heavenly and
spiritual delights ?

But whether you will consider it or no, yet there is such a
call to you to consider it, as must render your neglect inexcusa-
ble. You cannot say you want inducement to consider it, when
you see it entertained by men of all degrees. The gospel does
not make so mean a figure in the world as to justify your con-
tempt of it : the light shines forth in the world, whether you will
receive it or no ; if you receive it not, the consequence is upon
your own soul, and you must answer it.

Were men sincere in their professions of religion, or even in
their desires of salvation and immortality, the controversies in
religion would soon take a new turn : the only question would

DISCOURSE I. — PART II. 25

be, whether the gospel were true or no? We should have no
reasoning against revelation in general; for it is impossible that
a sincerely religious man should not wish for a revelation of
God's will, if there be not one already: we should then see
another kind of industry used in searching the truths of God,
which are now overlooked, because men have lost their regard
for the things which make for their salvation. Were the gospel
but a title to an estate, there is not an infidel of them all who
would sit down contented with his own general reasonings against
it : it would then be thought worth looking into ; its proofs
would be considered, and a just weight allowed them : and yet
the gospel is our title, our only title, to a much nobler inherit-
ance than this world knows; it is the parent by which we claim
life and immortality, and all the joys and blessings of the hea-
venlj'^ Canaan. Had any man but a pedigree as ancient as the
gospel, what a noise should we have about it! and yet the gospel
is despised, which sets forth to us a nobler pedigree than the
kings of the earth can boast ; a descent from Christ, who is
head over the whole family ; by which we claim as heirs of
God, and coheirs with Christ: and, did we not despise our rela-
tion with Christ, and secretly abhor and dread the thoughts of
immortality, we could not be so cold in our regard to the gospel
of God.

I wish every man who argues against the Christian religion,
would take this one serious thought along with him ; that he
must one day, if he believes that God will judge the world,
argue the case once more at the judgment-seat of God : and let
him try his reasons accordingly. Do you reject the gospel
because you will admit nothing that pretends to be a revela-
tion ? Consider well ; is it a reason that you will justify to the
face of God ? Will you tell him that you had resolved to re-
ceive no positive commands from him, nor to admit any of his
declarations for law ? If it will not be a good reason then, it
is not a good reason now ; and the stoutest heart will tremble
to give such an impious reason to the Almighty, which is a plain
defiance to his wisdom and authority.

SHERL. VOL. T.

26 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE I.

PART III.

A FAIRER issue there cannot be for the trial of any religion :
for, since eternal life is the end that all men aim at by religion,
that must necessarily be the best religion, which most certainly
leads us to this great and desirable blessing. But the difficulty
is, how to apply this rule so as to form our judgments upon it,
and direct our choice, since all religions pretend ' to have the
words of eternal life ;' which makes it necessary for us first to
enable ourselves to determine which are, and which are not,
' words of eternal life,' before this rule can be of any service to
us in distinguishing true and genuine religion from the specious
pretences of counterfeits and impostors. In order to this, we
must consider that there are some principles which in all reli-
gions are allowed, and from the consideration of which we may
possibly come to some fixed determination in this matter : such
are these ; that life eternal can be had only from God, who is
the author and fountain of all being : that from him the only
way to obtain it is, by living and conversing in this world
agreeably to his holy will : from whence it evidently follows,
that, since to do the will of God is the only way of obtaining
eternal life, the words which instruct us in the knowlege of
God's will must needs be * the words of eternal life.' Thus
far we can go on mere principles of reason.

From hence the way lies open and plain to another conse-
quence of some importance in the present question : for, since
it is the perfection of religion, considered as a rule or institu-
tion, to direct us in all things to act according to the will of
God, when we inquire from what principle we ought to derive
our religion, we do in truth inquire from what principle we
may best derive the knowlege of God's will ; for the knowlege
of God's will is universally acknowleged to be the true and
proper rule and measure of our religious obedience in all
things.

DISCOURSE I. — PART III. 27

There are but two ways by which we can possibly arrive at
this knowlege : one is, by following the dictates of reason and
nature ; when from that knowlege of God and his attributes,
which reason and nature furnish us with, we infer his right of
governing, and our duty of obeying ; and when from the holi-
ness and purity of God, and the necessary difference between
good and evil, we infer wherein our obedience must consist,
namely, in serving a holy God in holy things, and in keeping
ourselves pure and undefiled from evil, even as he is pure : and
this is called natural religion. The other way by which we
may possibly arrive at the knowlege of God's will, is, by
having it declared to us, either immediately by God himself, or
by others sufficiently authorized and commissioned by him to
make such declaration in his name : and this is what we call
revelation. And, as nature and revelation are the only ways
by which we can come to the understanding of God's will ; so,
for that reason they are the only principles from which reli-
gion can derive itself.

Between these two, considered purely as principles of reli-
gious knowlege, it is no hard matter to judge which is the
safest and securest for us to rely on ; it being a matter that
will bear no dispute, whether our own reason or God himself
•can best instruct us in the knowlege of his will; upon which
single point the whole controversy between nature and re-
velation turns, as long as they are considered only as
principles of religion, without drawing into the question the
merits of any particular revelation, or of any particular scheme
or system of natural religion : the consequence of w^hich is
plainly this ; that as nature is a better guide than any pretended
revelation, so every true revelation, as far as it goes, is a better
guide than nature.

The last consequence, and for the sake of which I have made
this deduction hitherto, is, that when any particular revelation
is to be examined, when it lies before us to be received or to
be rejected, it is absurd, in the very nature of the thing, to put
the determination upon a comparison between natural religion
and revelation, considered in themselves ; since, if the revela-
tion be false, there want no arguments to make it yield to
nature ; and, if it be true, no arguments can be sufficient.

28 SHERLOCK.

And thus it appears that the very topic itself is excluded,
from which the deists of the present age fetch their main sup-
port, and all the plausible arguments by which they labor to
explode the gospel, and to render it useless and insignificant,
and consequently vile and contemptible in the opinion of the
world.

On the same principle we may proceed to examine other
general objections made use of in opposition to the revelation
of Christ Jesus. The gospel is a dispensation of Providence in
regard to mankind, which the reason of man cannot fathom, nor
his utmost sagacity search into ; which the angels themselves
' desire to look into,' and, after all their inquiries, are content to
reverence and adore at an awful distance. These methods of
salvation are matter of great complaint with unbelievers : they
think it highly unreasonable that God should propose such
things as objects of faith ; and from the unreasonableness of the
imposition they argue (which presupposed, they conclude not
much amiss) that these terms of salvation were not of God's
contrivance, but are owing to the guile and deceit of cunning
impostors, who took pleasure in abusing mankind.

Though this objection is levelled against the Christian revela-
tion particularly, yet it must conclude equally against revela-
tion in general, considered as a principle of religion, if it makes
any addition to the things to be done or believed beyond what
reason teaches us. The question then will be, whether it can
be reasonable for God to propose any articles of faith, or any
conditions of salvation, the reason and propriety of which does
not appear to man ? and this is a question of great importance,
it being confessedly the case of the gospel.

In the sense of the gospel, whatever is the effect of God's
secret counsels, in order to the redemption of the world, is a
mystery. That men ought to obey God in truth and holiness,
that they may obtain his blessing — that sinners ought to be
punished — are not, nor ever were mysteries ; because these
things were suflSciently published to the world when men were
endued with reason. But all the methods of religion beyond
these were, and still are, mysterious : the intention of God to
redeem the world from sin by sending his own Son in the like-
ness of man, is a mystery unknown to former ages ; it is a mys-

DISCOURSE I, — PART III. 29

tery still, inasmuch as we cannot penetrate into the depths of
this divine economy, or account, by the principles of human
reason, for every step or article of it. But let it be remembered
that not human reason, but the will of God, is the rule and
measure of religious obedience: and, if so, the terms of I'eligi-
ous obedience must be tried by their agreeableness to the will
of God, and not measured by the narrow compass of man's rea-
son. If reason can discover, either by internal or external
signs, the conditions of salvation proposed to us to be the will
of God, the work of reason is over, and we are obliged to use
the means, which are prescribed by God, as we hope to obtain
the end, which is the gift of God : and how little soever rea-
son can penetrate into the mysteries of God, yet, if it can dis-
cover them to be indeed the mysteries of God, and by him
proposed to us as necessary to salvation, it discovers plainly to
us that these mysteries of God are ' the words of eternal life ;'
which is all, I think, that a reasonable man would desire to
find in his religion ; for, since all that he desires to obtain by
his religion is eternal life, what more has he to look for in his
religion than ' the words ' or means ' of eternal life V

This is true, you will say, on supposition of God's requir-
ing the belief of mysteries, or the practice of any positive duties
from us ; then it will be our duty to hearken to his voice, and
entirely submit our wills and understandings to him : but how
does this prove it reasonable for him so to do, or remove the
l)rejudice that lies against the gospel, because of its mysterious
doctrines ?

To come then to the point: it will, I suppose, be easily
granted to be agreeable to the wisdom and goodness of God to
reveal whatever is necessary to be revealed in order to perfect
the salvation of mankind ; as, on the other side, it must be
allowed that it is not consistent with infinite wisdom and good-
ness to reveal mysteries merely to puzzle the minds of men.
These allowances being made on each side, the question is re-
duced to this; whether it can be ever necessary to reveal mys-
teries in order to perfect the salvation of mankind ? Whenever
it is necessary, it must be reasonable, unless it be unreasonable
for God to save the world; and on this foot it will be found
that a revelation cannot have ' the words of eternal life ' without

30 SHERLOCK.

opening to us all necessary truths, how abstruse and mysterious
soever some of them may be.

With respect to infinite wisdom, there is no such thing as
mystery in nature : all things are equally clear in the under-
standing of the Deity; all things lie naked before his eye,
having no darkness, obscurity, or difficulty in them. A mys-
tery therefore is no real or positive thing in nature ; nor is it,
any thing that is inherent or belonging to the subjects of which
it is predicated. When we say this thing or that thing is a
mystery, according to the form of our speech, we seem to affirm
something of this or that thing ; but, in truth, the proposition is
not affirmative with respect to the thing, but negative with
respect to ourselves : for, when we say this thing is a mystery,
of the thing we say nothing, but of ourselves we say, that we do
not comprehend this thing. With respect to our understanding,
there is no more difference between truth that is, and truth that
is not mysterious, than, with respect to our strength, there is
between a weight which we can lift, and a weight which we
cannot lift: for, as defect of strength in us makes some weights
to be immoveable, so likewise defect of understanding makes
some truths to be mysterious.

The complaint then against mysteries in religion amounts to
no more than this ; that God has done something for us, or
appointed something for us to do, in order to save us, the
reason of which we do not understand; and requires us to
believe and to corarly with these things, and to trust him
that we shall receive ^he benefit of them : for this is all the
faith, or positive obedience, that is required of us; as will in
its due place appear.

But to return to the question, whether it can be ever neces-
sary for God to reveal mysteries, or appoint positive duties, in
order to perfect the salvation of mankind ; or, in other words,
to use such means for the salvation of the world, the agreeable-
ness of which to the end intended the reason of man cannot
discover ? This is certain, that, whenever it is out of our power
by natural means to save ourselves, if we are to be saved at all,
it is necessarythat supernatural means be made use of: and,
how hard soever it may be to conceive this to be the case of
mankind in general ; yet of particular men it will not, I pre-

DISCOURSE I. — •PART III. 31

sume, be denied but that they may sin so far, and render
themselves so obnoxious to the justice of God, that it shall not
be in the power of mere reason and nature to find an infallible
method of atoning the justice of God, and, consequently, re-
deeming- the sinner from death : and in this case there is a plain
necessity that the sinner must perish, or be redeemed by such
means as reason and nature are strangers to ; since, in the
means that reason and nature can prescribe, there is confessedly
no help for him.

What may confessedly happen to one man, or to many, may
possibly happen to all : suppose then (since there is no absur-
dity in the supposition) that all men have so far sinned as
to have lost the rights and pleas of obedient subjects ; that an
universal corruption has spread through the whole race, and
rendered them incapable of performing the duties of reason and
nature, or, if they could perform them, precluded the merit
and title of all such works to reward ; for the works of nature,
though they may prevent a forfeiture, yet they cannot reverse
a forfeiture once incurred : in this case what shall be done ? Is
it unreasonable for God to redeem the world? God forbid !
and yet by the means of reason and nature the world cannot be
redeemed. Will you allow that God may freely forgive the
sins of the world, and remit the punishment, and bestow even
on sinners the gift of eternal life ? How mysterious would even
this grace be, and how far beyond the power of reason to com-
prehend ! Could you, from any of the natural notions of your
mind, reconcile this method of redemption with the wisdom,
justice, and holiness of God? Consider the essential difference
between good and evil, the natural beauty of one, and the
natural deformity of the other ; compare them with the essen-
tial holiness of the Deity ; and then tell me the ground upon
which he reconciles himself to sin, pities and forgives it, and
decrees immortal glory for the sinner : or, if this way please
you not, consider his wisdom, by which he rules and governs
the world, and try, by all the notions you can frame of wisdom,
whether it be not necessary for the good government of the ra-
tional world, that rewards and punishments should be divided
with an equal hand to virtue and vice ; and then tell me
where is the wisdom of dropping all the punishment due to sin.

32 SHERLOCK.

and receiving sinners not only to pardon but to glory ? There
may be wisdom and holiness in this, but not human wisdom,
nor holiness that human reason can discern; but infinite myste-
rious wisdom and holiness. If from the notions of wisdom and
holiness you can have no help in this case, much less will the
natural notion of justice assist you. Is not justice conversant
in rewards and punishments? Is it not the essence of justice
to distribute both where they are due ? Is there not in nature
and reason a connexion between virtue and reward, between
vice and punishment ? How then comes nature to be reversed,
and the laws of reason to be disturbed ? and how, as if justice
were more than poetically blind, come sinners to be entitled to
life and happiness? Even in this case therefore, of God's
finally forgiving the sins of the world, which is the lowest that
can be put, religion would necessarily be mysterious, and not
to be apprehended by reason or nature, but to be received by
faith ; and our only refuge would be, not in the reason and nature
of the thing, but in the unfathomable goodness and incompre-
hensible mercy of God.

But, should it really be, as to human reason it appears, in-
consistent with the wisdom and justice of God so freely to par-
don sin, as not to leave the marks of his displeasure upon it, or
to remit the transgressions of men, without vindicating in the
face of the whole creation the honor of his laws and govern-
ment; in what amaze must reason then be lost, in searching
after the means of reconcilement and redemption ! How shall
sin be punished, and yet the sinner saved ? How shall the
honor of God's government be vindicated in the face of all the
world, and yet in the face of all the world the rebels justified
and exalted ? These are difficulties irreconcileable to human
reason and nature ; and yet they must be reconciled, or the
world, once lost, must lie for ever under condemnation. The
religion that can adjust this difficulty, and give us the clue to
lead us through these mazes, in which human reason must for
ever wander, can only have ' the words of eternal life;' which
' words of eternal life' must necessarily abound with inconceiv-
able mysteries, but with mysteries of grace and mercy.

So far is it from being an objection against the gospel of
Christ, that it contains many wonderful mysteries of the hidden

DISCOURSE I. — PART III. 33

wisdom of God, that, as our case stands, without a mystery it
is impossible for us to be saved : for, since reason and nature
cannot find the means of rescuing sinners from punishment, and
of making atonement to t1ie justice of God ; since they cannot
prescribe a proper satisfaction for sin, in which the honor of
God and the salvation of men shall be at once consulted ; since
they cannot remedy the corruption that has spread through the
race of mankind, or infuse new principles of virtue and holiness
into the souls already subdued to the lust and power of sin ;
since, if they could procure our pardon for what is past, they
cannot secure us for the future from the same temptations,
which by fatal experience we know we cannot withstand :
since, I say, these things cannot be done by the means of rea-
son and nature, they must be done by such means as reason and
nature know nothing of; that is, in other words, they must be
done by mysterious means, of the propriety of which we can
have no adequate notion or conception.

If you stand in need of no new favor, if you aim not so high
as eternal life, religion without mysteries may well serve your
turn. The principles of natural religion tend to procure the
peace and tranquillity of this life ; and the not distinguishing
between religion as a rule of life for our present use and well-
being here, and as the means of obtaining pardon for sin and
eternal life hereafter, may have in some measure occasioned
the great complaint against the mysteries of the gospel : for
mysteries are not indeed the necessary parts of religion, consi-
dered only as a rule of action ; but most necessary they are to
it, when considered as a means of obtaining pardon and eternal
glory. And this farther shows how unreasonably men object
against the mysterious wisdom of the gospel, since all that the
gospel prescribes to us as our duty is plain and evident; all
that is mysterious is on God's part, and relates entirely to the
surprising acts of divine wisdom and mercy in the redemption
of the world. Consider the gospel then as a rule of action,
no religion was ever so plain, so calculated upon the principles
of reason and nature ; so that natural religion itself had never
more natural religion in it. If we consider the end proposed to
us, and the means used to entitle us to the benefit of it, it grows
mysterious, and soars above the reach of human reason ; for

34 -SHERLOCK.

God has done more for us than reason could teach us to
expect, or can now teach us to comprehend. Let us then do
our part, which we plainly understand, and let us trust in God
that he will do his ; though it exceeds the strength of human
wisdom to comprehend the length, and depth, and breadth of
that wisdom and mercy, which God has manifested to the
world through his Son Christ Jesus, our Lord.

DISCOURSE I.

PART IV.

As, with respect to the health of the body, there is one
regimen proper to preserve and maintain a sound constitution,
and another to assist and restore a broken and distempered
one ; the one case requiring little more than wholesome food
and temperance, thie other calling for all that the help and
skill of the physician can furnish : so it is in religion. An in-
nocent man has nothing more to do than to preserve his inno-
cence, which is his title to the favor of God ; and therefore his
religion is only a rule of life, directing him in all things how
to preserve his integrity, and walk uprightly with his God.
This is the first and the natural notion of religion ; because
the first and natural state of mankind was a state of innocence,
and required no other religion than this. Here, indeed, there
is no room for any thing mysterious, this religion being-
founded merely in the natural notions of justice and equity, and
the necessary difference between good and evil : nor is it at all
to be wondered at, that, whilst men consider religion under this
single view, and imagine that whatever is to be done for their
salvation is to be done by themselves, and that religion is only
the rule directing them how to do it, they should see no use of
mysteries, nor, consequently, any reason to admit them.

But, on supposition of men's becoming sinners, and liable to
the displeasure and wrath of God, religion itself becomes a new

DISCOURSE I. — PART IV. 35

thing. Innocence, which once was all the care religion had, is
now vanished, and with it all our hopes of glory and immorta-
lity. The natural attributes of God, which to the eyes of in-
nocence afforded a pleasant prospect, to the eyes of sinners are
exceeding dreadful. What then shall the sinner do ? Shall
he seek to natural religion in this distress? But, if this reli-
gion be nothing but a rule of living well, what is that to him,
who has already lived so ill as to be obnoxious to condemna-
tion ? As well may you send the condemned malefactor to
study the law by which he dies, in order to save his life, as the
sinner to the perfect rule of life, which he has transgressed, in
order to save his soul. The more he studies the rule by which
he should have lived, and compares it with his own transgres-
sions, he will but the more fully comprehend how much he
deserves punishment, and how desperate the state is to which
his sin has reduced him. In a religion, which is barely a rule
of life, there is no sure comfort or support to be had against the
terrors of guilt and sin.

Unbelievers may think we ask too much of them to be
granted, when we argue on this supposition, ' that all are sin-
ners, and are fallen short of the glory of God.' But as this is
the supposition upon which the gospel uniformly proceeds, pre-
tending to no more than to provide means of salvation for sin-
ners, whoever takes on himself to question the reasonableness
of the gospel, must consider it as being what it pretends to be ;
otherwise he will not argue against the gospel, but against
something else formed in his own imagination. If, on exami-
nation of the gospel, it appears to be indeed, what it pretends
to be, a means for saving sinners, you must necessarily come to
one or other of the following resolutions : if you are conscious
to yourself that you are a sinner, you must gladly receive the
remedy provided for you, and which on examination you find
to be proper for your case ; or, if you are satisfied with yourself,
and want no help, you must reject it as unnecessary and im-
proper in your case, and trust intirely to your own merit ; and
must appear before God, and demand life and immortality as
due from his justice and equity, which you will not accept as a
gift from his grace and mercy.

Let us' then consider what is necessary to be done for a sin-

36 SHERLOCK.

ner in order to restore him to eternal life ; and that will teach
us the true notion of that religion mentioned in the text, and
which are 'the words of eternal life;' and will enable us to
judge what weight there is in the objection raised against such
a religion from the additions which it makes to natural reli-
gion.

First then, It is necessary, in order to restore a sinner to
eternal life, that God be reconciled to him :

Secondly, That the sinner be purged from the impurity con-
tracted by sin :

Thirdly, That for the future he be enabled to obey the holy
laws of God, without which his reconcilement to God would
be fruitless and of no effect.

I think there needs but little to be said to prove the neces-
sity of these conditions : if the sinner's case be desperate be-
cause God is provoked by his iniquity, and justly angry at his
offences, theie can be no foundation for him to hope till God
be reconciled to him : if sinners are impure and odious in the
sight of God because of their sins, their impurity must be
cleansed before he can again take pleasure in them, and de-
light to do them good : if the transgression of the laws of rea-
son and nature, which are the laws of God, was that which
lost him the favor of God ; that he may not lose it again, after
being reconciled to him, it is necessary that he sin no more, or
if he does, that a remedy be provided to restore him.

Allowing then these conditions to be necessary to the salva-
tion of a sinner, and likewise that religion must contain ' the
words' or means ' of eternal life ;' it necessarily follows that
the sinner's religion must contain the means by which he may
be reconciled to God ; the means by which he may be purified
and cleansed from sin ; and the means by which he may be
enabled for the future to obey the will of God : for these are
the necessary means by which a sinner must be saved ; and
therefore they must necessarily be contained in the sinner's re-
ligion. How imperfect a notion then have we of such a reli-
gion, when we consider it only as a rule of action ! and how
weakly must we argue against it when our arguments are
pointed only against this notion or idea of it !

A rule of action must be plain and intelligible, or else it is

DISCOURSE I. — PART IV. 37

no rule ; for we can neither obey nor disobey a law that we
cannot understand : and therefore from this idea of religion,
that it is a rule of action, there lies a very plain objection
against admitting mysteries in religion : and let the objection
have its full force, the gospel is secure from the blow ; for the
rule of life contained in the gospel is the plainest, as well as
the purest, that ever the world was acquainted with. In the
precepts of Christianity there is no mystery, no shadow of a
mystery, to be seen ; they are all simple, and to men of the
lowest understandings intelligible ; the duties which it requires
us to perform to God, to ourselves, and to our neighbors, are
such as, when offered to us, we cannot but in our minds and
consciences approve : and therefore the gospel, as far as it is a
rule of life, is far from being mysterious, since both the sense
and the reason of the law are open and plain, and such as we
cannot but see, and, when we see, consent to.

But since this is not the only notion or idea of religion, that
it is a rule of life ; let us consider whether, according to the
other ideas which belong to it, it be equally absurd to suppose
it in some points mysterious. Let us examine it then under
this notion, as containing the means by which God is reconciled
to sinners.

And first, it is obvious to observe that here is not the same
reason against mysteries as in the other case : for, though we
cannot practise a law without understanding it, yet God may
be reconciled to us, and we have the assurance of it without
our being able to comprehend and account for every thing that
was done in order to it. A malefactor may receive a pardon,
and enjoy the benefit of it, without knowing what it was that
induced his prince to grant it; and would, without doubt, be
thought mad to stand out against the mercy, merely because
he could not dive into the secret reasons of it. Could not a
sinner receive the benefit of God's mercy without understand-
ing all the methods of it, it would then be necessary indeed,
that even this part of religion should be free from mysteries,
and made plain to every man's understanding : but since
a sinner may be saved by a mercy which he cannot compre-
hend, where is the absurdity of offering sinners mercy, and
requiring them to rely on it, or, in other words, to believe in it,

38 SHERLOCK.

though it be never so incomprehensible or mysterious ? Were
it unreasonable or impossible to believe things to be, without
knowing how they came to be, faith could never be reasonable
in religion, or in any thing else : but since the knowlege of
the essence of things, and of the existence of things, are two
distinct kinds of knowlege, and independent of one another,
our ignorance of the essence of things, and of the relation they
have to each other, can never be a good argument against the
belief of their existence : and yet this objection contains all the
argument that unbelievers bring against the mysteries of Chris-
tianity. Why do they, for instance, refuse to believe Christ
to be the Son of God ? only because they cannot comprehend
how he can be the eternal Son of God : and if they will
be true to their principle, and carry the objection as far
as it will go, they must in time come to deny the exist-
ence of every thing in the world, themselves not excepted.
Since then to comprehend the reason and nature of things is
neither necessary to our believing the reality of them, nor yet
to our receiving benefit and advantage from them, how comes
it to be necessary that in religion there should be nothing that
we do not understand ? Necessary it cannot be to our salva-
tion, for we may be saved by means we comprehend not ; nor
yet to our faith is it necessary, for we may, and do daily
believe the reality of things without knowing any thing of the
nature and reasons of them. And, if mysteries may set forward
our salvation, and are not destructive of our faith, on what
other views they can be excluded from religion I cannot con-
ceive.

Thus much then may serve to show that according to this
notion of religion, that it contains the means by which God is
reconciled to sinners, no argument can be drawn to weaken
the authority of any religion, because some parts of it are mys-
terious : but if you consider it farther, it will appear that this
part of religion must necessarily be mysterious, and the means
of reconcilement such as reason and nature cannot comprehend.
This I partly observed to you in a former part of this discourse,
and shall therefore the more briefly touch it now,

The principles from which this consequence I think will fol-
low, are these : that men are sinners : that God must be re-

DISCOURSE I. — PART IV. 39

conciled to sinners in order to their salvation : that religion
must contain ' the words of eternal life,' or the certain method
by which we may obtain eternal life. The consequence of these
principles is evident, that religion must contain the means by
which God is reconciled to sinners ; for since this reconcile-
ment is necessary to eternal life, religion cannot have ' the
words of eternal life' without it. Now then, if there be no
such means of reconcilement, which reason and nature can
either discover or comprehend, this part of religion must neces-
sarily be mysterious ; since what reason cannot comprehend is
mysterious. Now, from the natural notion we have of God
and his attributes, there arises such a difficulty in this case as
reason cannot get over : for it is certain, according to all the
natural notions of our mind, that it is just for God to punish
sinners : it is likewise certain that God can do nothing but
what is just: if therefore he forgives sinners, and receives them
to mercy, and remits their punishment, it is then certain that
it is just for God in this circumstance not to punish sinners.
Now, reason cannot comprehend how it should, with respect
to the same individual sinners, be just to punish, and just not
to punish them. If it be not just to punish sinners, there wants
no reconcilement for sinners; and if it be not just not to punish
them, no reconcilement can be had, for it is contrary to the
nature of God to do what is not just. The same argument lies
from all the attributes of the Deity, which are at all concerned
in the redemption of mankind : his wisdom and holiness, and
even his mercy, are as indiscernible as his justice. Now try
how far reason can go towards discovering the means of re-
concilement: lay down first these certain and allowed princi-
ples— that it is just for God to punish sinners — that God can
do nothing but what is just— and try how you can come at the
other conclusion, which must be the foundation of a sinner's
reconcilement to God ; namely, that it is just for God not to
punish sinners, and righteous in him to receive them to favor.
If reason cannot discover or comprehend how both these pro-
positions should be true at the same time with respect to the
same persons, it is impossible that it should discover or com-
prehend the means which God makes use of to reconcile him-
self to sinners ; that is, it is impossible for God to make use of

40 SHERLOCK.

any means that are not mysterious, that is, above the reach and
comprehension of human wisdom.

This difficulty must for ever remain as long as we attempt to
scan the divine justice by our narrow conceptions of it ; and this
is the very difficulty that makes many things in the gospel to
be mysterious. The scripture tells us 'that God has been re-
conciled to sinners by the death of Christ — that he made
atonement for the sins of the whole world.' These are great
mysteries : we cannot see that there is any proportion between
the sufferings of one and the sins of all ; or, if there were, we
cannot see the justice of laying the sins of the wicked on the
innocent head. If we could see the reasons on which the jus-
tice of God proceeds in this case, here would be no mystery ;
and therefore the mysteriousness of the whole proceeding arises
only from hence, that our finite minds cannot comprehend the
reasons and limits of the divine justice. Most certain it is,
that, if God be reconciled to sinners, satisfaction must be made
to his justice; for he may as well cease to be God as to be
just. Whatever satisfaction is made, it must be founded in the
reasons of his own justice, that is, of justice directed by infinite
wisdom. The reasons of such justice we cannot comprehend ;
and therefore we must either be saved by means that are mys-
terious to us, or God must give us infinite wisdom to compre-
hend the reason of his justice. You see then that from this
notion of religion, considered as containing the means by which
God reconciled himself to the world, it is so far from being
absurd to suppose it in some parts mysterious, that it is not
possible it should be otherwise.

To redeem the world is the work of God : he only could
find the means of reconciliation, and he only could apply
them : it is our part merely to accept them, and to obey the
terms and conditions on which he offers them. Religion there-
fore, which is founded on redemption, must needs consist of
these two parts ; an account of the redemption wrought by
God, and instructions to men on what terms they may reap the
benefit of the redemption. As far as our part goes in the gos-
pel, there is nothing mysterious ; we have nothing to do for
ourselves, but what we very well know how to do. As to the
other parts of the gospel, we are not required to comprehend

DISCOURSE I. — PART IV. 41

and account for God's method of salvation, but only to accept
them ; which, as I before observed, are two distinct acts of
the mind, and not dependent on each other. As for the work
of God in our redemption, it is indeed wonderful and myste-
rious ; and why should it seem strange to you that it is so ?
Are there any other works of God which are not mysterious ?
Consider the creation and formation of this world ; consider
the sun, the moon, and the stars, the works of his hand ; tell
me by what secret power they move, by what rule their diflfer-
ent motions were at first impressed, and by what secret in nature
or providence ever since preserved. Or, if you think it hard
to be sent to consider the heavens at a distance, do but consider
the earth, and the meanest creatures of it : can you tell how
they are formed ? how they ' live, and move, and have their
being?' Nay, can you name that work of God which is not
mysterious ? Is there any thing in nature, the first principles
of which you can discover and see into ? If in all the works
of God there is no such thing, why should we think it strange
that in his work of redemption he has appeared so like himself,
and that in this as in every thing else ' his ways are past
finding out ?' We live by the preservation of providence, and
enjoy the comforts and pleasures of this life ; and yet how
mysterious is our preservation I how little do we know of the
methods by which we are preserved ! and yet the benefits of it
we enjoy, notwithstanding our ignorance of the means : and
why is it a greater absurdity to suppose that men may be re-
deemed, without comprehending all the means made use of in
their redemption ? In all other instances whatever, the mira-
culousness of an escape adds to the pleasure and joy of it, and
is always remembered with a kind of ecstacy in the relation.
Salvation is the only instance in which men demur on the
means, and are unwilling to receive the mercy, because they
cannot understand the methods of obtaining it. In any other
case a man would be thought beside himself, who should act
in the same manner.

As to the other two points, the cleansing sinners from their
iniquity, and enabling them to live virtuously for the future ;
or, in other words, the sanctification and grace promised in the
gospel ; I shall not enter into the consideration of them parti-

42 SHERLOCK.

cularly, because the same way of reasoning is applicable in
these cases, rmitalis mutandis ; and therefore I shall leave
them to your own reflection.

On the whole, the only true and fair way of judging of the
gospel is, to consider what is the true state of mankind in the
world. If men are in a state of purity and innocence, no re-
demption is wanting, and the methods prescribed in the gospel
bear no relation to their circumstances : but if men have every
where sinned, and come short of the glory of God, the law of
nature cannot help them to those blessings which by the law
of nature are forfeited; and there is manifestly a necessity to
have recourse to other means to obtain salvation.

It may be said, for it often is said, that, whatever degree of
light men have, it will make little difference in the case ;
since an equitable judge will consider men and their merits in
proportion to their abilities. Allowing this maxim to be true,
yet it plainly goes no farther than this, that God will not
punish men for not doing the things which their natural powers
enabled them not to do. The argument cannot go farther :
you cannot argue from the weakness or stupidity of men, that
they shall be rewarded. It may be a good reason not to beat
a man when he does amiss, because he is a fool, and knows not
what he does ; but it is no reason to honor or to advance him.
And therefore a religion founded in this favorite principle can-
not be said * to have the words of eternal life ;' for no plea, no
claim for eternal life can possibly be raised out of it.

Considering, therefore, religion under the character given in
the text, ' that it has the words of eternal life,' we shall have
reason to conclude with St. Peter, that our only hope is in
God, and in him whom he hath sent, our blessed Lord and
Redeemer; and with him to say, ' Lord, whither shall we go ?
thou, thou only hast the words of eternal life. And we believe,
and are sure, that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living
God.'

DISCOURSE II. 43

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE II.

HEBREWS, CHAP. VII.— VERSE 25.

When we consider the wonderful work of our redemption,
we cannot imagine it to be the effect of mere will and arbitrary
appointment, not founded in the reason and propriety of things :
from our natural notions of God and his attributes, it is absurd
to suppose that he could do any thing by chance, or from mere
will and humor : this as true in works of grace as in those of
nature : it is one thing, not to be able to discern the reasons of
Providence, and another to suppose them void of reason : no
religion can subsist with an opinion of this latter kind. The
gospel has made an alteration in the scheme of religion by re-
vealing the Son of God : the knowlege of his power in the
creating and upholding all things became necessary for the
foundation of our faith in him as the Redeemer ; for that cha-
racter would be ill supported by one who had not power equal
to the undertaking : the doctrines therefore of the New Testa-
ment relate to that character, of which there was no explicit
declaration, either before or under the Law of Moses. Natural
religion leads us to acknowlege one supreme intelligent Creator
of all things ; and therefore all the religious duties of man in
that state relate to this Being alone : but suppose it could dis-
cover that this Being had an eternal Son, by whom he made the
worlds ; would there not on that supposition necessarily arise
an alteration in natural religion ? It cannot be supposed that
we were created by the Son, are under his government, and
shall be under his judgment, and at the same time be main-
tained that no service is due to him from his creatures and

44 SUMMARY OF

subjects : the conclusion therefore is, that the religion of a
Christian is a natural and reasonable service. When we con-
sider what expectations we have from our Redeemer, and what
are his promises to us, it is but reasonable to ask, by what au-
thority he does these things ? The foundation of our expecta-
tions is shown to be reasonable from Scriptural authorities ; and
we have thence reason to conclude that he is now as able to
restore life, as he was at first to give it. The relation of Christ
tt> mankind as Creator and Governor considered : the work of
redemption could not properly have been undertaken by any
other hand : this shown to be the case both from reason and
from Scripture. Though the redemption of mankind be a work
which seems to concern men only, yet considered as a vindica-
tion of God's justice and goodness, it is exposed to the consi-
deration of every intelligent being in the universe : hence,
though it relates immediately to men, it must be agreeable to
all the reason and relation of things discoverable by the highest
intellectual beings ; and there are many such not discoverable
by us. The existence of orders superior to man agrees both
with reason and with Scripture; and since God's justice and
equity in redemption are things which angels desire and are
concerned to look into, his reasons in that great affair may be
discoverable by the highest, though not by the lowest order of
beings : this shown to be probable : it is next explained how
well these principles and doctrines of the gospel agree together ;
from whence we may discern how reasonable and natural the
religion of the gospel is. The belief that the dead shall hear
the voice of the Son of God and arise to life, is the funda-
mental article of a Christian's faith. The hopes which nature
imparts with respect to our prospects beyond the grave consi-
dered : also how these hopes are supported, confirmed, and en-
larged by the gospel. Conclusion : the question put, who is
this who was subject to death, and yet had power over death ?
How could so much power and weakness meet together ? An-

DISCOURSE II. 45

swered ; he was a man, and therefore he died ; he was the Son
of God, and therefore he rose from the dead, and will give life
to all his true disciples. Had the gospel required us to expect
from Christ the redemption of our souls and bodies, without
giving us any reason to think he was endued with power equal
to the task, Christians might have been justly reproached with
believing they know not what. That the world was made by
the Son of God, is not contrary to reason ; and that he who made
the world should be able to renew it, is highly consonant to
reason : all the mystery lies in this — that so high a person
should condescend so far for the sake of man ; but it becomes
not us to complain of his mysterious love.

46 SHERLOCK

DISCOURSE II.

HEBREWS, CHAP. VII, — VERSE 25.

Wherefore lie is able also to save them to the uttermost that come
unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for
them.

When we consider the great and wonderful work of our re-
demption, though we cannot account for every step of it to our
own reason and understanding, yet neither can we imagine it
to be the effect of mere will and arbitrary appointment, and
void of all foundation in the reason and propriety of things.
All the works of God are works of wisdom ; and as far as our
capacities give us leave to judge, we discern evident marks of
wisdom in them all, and discover a fitness and propriety in
every thing with respect to the end which it is intended to
serve or promote. If this be so in every instance in which we
are able to make any judgment, it is a great presumption that
it is and must be so in all other instances, which are too high
and great to be viewed and measured by human understanding:
and we have one positive argument that it is so, arising from
the natural notion we have of God, and of his attributes of wis-
dom and justice. It is impossible to suppose such a being to
do any thing by chance, or in compliance to mere will and
humor. No : every act of God is the act of infinite wisdom^
and is founded in the necessary reason and propriety of things :
and it is as true of the works of grace as it is of the works of
nature, that ' in wisdom he has ordained them all.'

DISCOURSE II. 47

It is one thing not to be able to discern the reasons of provi-
dence, and another to suppose there is no reason in them. The
reasons that made it either necessary or proper for Christ to
die for the sins of mankind, may be removed out of our sight:
but to suppose that Christ really did die for the sins of the
world, and yet that there was no reason or propriety in his so
doing, is to l>p found revealed religion upon a principle de-
structive of natural religion ; for no religion can subsist, with
an opinion that God is a being capable of acting without reason.

The publication of the gospel has made an alteration in the
scheme of religion, by revealing to us the Son of God, ' whom
God hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made
the worlds ; who is the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person ; who upholdeth all things by the word of
his power :' Heb. i. 2. 3.

The knowlege of the Son of God, of his power and domi-
nion in the creating and upholding all things, became neces-
sary, as the foundation of the faith required to be placed in
him as our Redeemer. The character of Redeemer would be
but ill supported by any person who had not power equal to
the great undertaking. The New Testament doctrines there-
fore, relating to the dignity and authority of Jesus Christ, are
relative to his office of Redeemer ; and therefore there Was no
explicit declaration of them either before or under the Law of
Moses.

Natural religion leads us by certain conclusions to the ac-
knowlegement of one supreme intelligent Being, the Author
and Creator of all things, and can by no reasoning whatever
discover any other being concerned in the making, framing, or
governing the world ; and therefore all the hopes and fears, in
a word, all the religious acts of man, in the state of natural re-
ligion, are necessarily and immediately relative to this one
supreme Being. But put the case, that natural religion could
possibly discover that this one supreme Being had an eternal
Son, to whom he had communicated all power and authority,
who was the immediate Creator, Governor, and Judge of man-
kind ; I beseech you to consider whether, upon this supposition,
there would not necessarily arise an alteration in natural reli-
gion ; whether the hopes and fears, and all other religious acts

48 SHERLOCK.

of mankind, would not relate immediately to this their imme-
diate Creator, Governor, and Judge. Can it be reasonably
supposed that we were created by the Son of God, that we are
now under his government, and shall be finally under his judg-
ment; and at the same time maintained that no service, obe-
dience, or regard is due to him from us his creatures and sub-
jects ? If this cannot be maintained consistently with this sup-
position, the conclusion will be, that the religion of a Christian
is a natural and reasonable service, arising from the relation
between Christ and mankind, which the gospel has revealed
and made known to the world.

When we consider what expectations we have from our Re-
deemer, and what great promises he has made to us in his
gospel, we cannot possibly avoid inquiring who this person is :
when we hear his promise to be always present with us to the
end of the world, to support us under all our difficulties, it is
but a reasonable demand to ask by what authority he does
these things : and when we are told that he liveth for ever, and
is the Lord of life and of glory, there is no room to doubt of his
being ' able to save us.' St. Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus
Christ ' shall change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned
like unto his glorious body.' A great expectation this ! but
consider what the reasonable foundation of this expectation is :
St. Paul tells us it is the energy of power with which Christ
is endued, ' whereby he is able even to subdue all things to
himself.' Our Saviour puts this article upon the same foot :
hear his declaration : ' Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour
is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of
the Son of God ; and they that hear shall live.' In the next
verse the reason follows : ' For as the Father hath life in him-
self, so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself:' John
V. 25. 26. If the Son has life in himself, even as the Father
has life in himself; if he is really endued with power to which
all nature submits and obeys, a power sufficient for the creation
of the world at first, and for the preservation ever since ; we
have reason to conclude that he is now as able to restore life
as he was at first to give it ; to call men from the grave into
being, as well as to call them out of nothing at the first creation.

The relation of Christ to mankind as Creator and Governor

DISCOURSE II, 49

considered, the work of redemption could not properly have
been undertaken by any other hand : for, if Christ was the im-
mediate Creator and Governor of the world, what reason can
you infj^gine why God should resume this authority out of the
hands of his Son, or set up another to have dominion and au-
thority over any part of the creation, which by natural right
belonged to him who made all things? Were we to consider
one person as our Creator, and another as our Redeemer, it
would be extremely to the diminution of the honor and regard
due to the Creator, inasmuch as the blessing of redemption
would greatly outweigh the benefit of creation ; and it would
be natural to us to prefer the love that delivered us from the
evils and miseries of the world, to that which placed us in
them. In the daily service of oiir church we praise God for
creating and preserving us, but above all for his inestimable
love in the redemption ; which is very consistent with respect
to one great benefactor, who both made us and redeemed us :
but had any other hand redeemed us, such expression of grati-
tude to him would have rejected dishonor on the Creator.

St. Paul tells jus expressly that Christ is head of the church ;
a title founded in the right of redemption, ' that in all things he
might have the pre-eminence ;' that, as he was the head of all
creatures in virtue of having created them, so he might be the
head of the church, the elect people of God, in virtue of having
redeemed them : ' for it pleased the Father, that in him should
all fulness dwell;' that is, that Christ should be all in all, the
head of the second as well as of the first creation : Coloss. i. 19.
According to St. Paul's reasoning here, if any other person had
redeemed the world, or if the world had been redeemed without
Christ, he would not ' have had the pre-eminence in all things;'
which yet he had before sin came into the world ; and, conse-
quently, the sin of the world would have been the diminution
of the headship and power of Christ. On these principles of
the gospel revelation we may discern some propriety in Christ's
coming to redeem the world : the work was such, that no person
of less power could undertake it ; and his relation to the world
was such, as made it fit and proper to commit the work to him.

The redemption of mankind is a work which in the event
seems to concern men only : but considered as a vindication of

SHERL. VOL. I. C

50 SHERLOCK.

the justice and goodness of God towards his creatures, it is a
work exposed to the consideration of every intelligent being in
the universe. Whether they may be supposed to inquire into
God's dealings with the children of men, we may judge by our-
selves. It is little we know of the fall of angels ; yet how has
that employed human curiosity ! for every man considers himself
as having an interest in the justice and equity of that supreme
Being, under whose government he lives, and by whose judgment
he must finally stand or fall. If we doubt whether the superior
orders of beings have the like inclination, St. Peter will tell us,
' that the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow —
are things the angels desire to look into:' 1 Pet. i. 11. 12.
And indeed the method of God's dealing with any rational
creature is a common concern to all ; and. it is for the honor of
God's government to be vindicated in the sight of every intelli-
gent being, ' that he may be justified in his saying, and over-
come when he is judged.'

If this be so, it must necessarily follow that the redemption
by Christ, though it relates immediately to men, must be agree-
able to all the reason and relation of things, known or disco-
verable by the highest intellectual beings; and need I add, that
there are many such not discoverable by us ?

It is certain that we are but a small part of the intellectual
world : what relation we bear to the other parts, or to the
whole, we know not ; and yet undoubtedly the common Go-
vernor of the whole must in his dealings with every part have
regard to this common relation, whether we understand it or
no. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews tells us, ' that
Christ took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on
him the seed of Abraham.' Angels sinned, and men sinned :
men only are redeemed. If God is just, there must be a reason
for this, though not within our reach at present ; and when we
come to know it, perhaps we may be no longer at a loss to
know that the sacrifice of Christ was necessary to the salvation
of men.

That there are many orders of beings superior to man, is a
proposition so agreeable to reason, that there is little room to
doubt of it. All these orders are in Scripture comprehended
under the general name of ' angel.' What relation these beings

DISCOURSE II. ■ 51

stand in to us in many respects, I will not now inquire : but
that they are not unconcerned spectators in the work of our re-
demption is evident. Our Saviour tells us, ' There is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth :'
Luke XV. 10. Again : * He that overcometh, the same shall
be clothed in white raiment ; and I will not blot out his name
out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my
Father, and before his angels :' Rev. iii. 5. Here the angels
are mentioned as witnesses of the justice of the judgment, and
not merely as attendants to make up the pomp and ceremony
of judicature.

Since then the justice and equity of God in redeeming men
are things which the angels desire and are concerned to look
into, it is evident that his justice and equity, and the reasons
of providence in this great affair, may be discernible to the
highest order of intellectual beings, though not discoverable by
us, the lowest.

That this is probably the case may be learnt from hence ;
that, where the gospel has revealed to us any of these relations,
not discoverable by human reason, so far we can see the reason
and propriety of this great work of our redemption.

But let us consider how well these principles and doctrines of
the gospel agree together, and how naturally the one flows from
the other. When we view the sad condition of mankind, the
sin, folly, and misery, which are in the world ; and then turn to
contemplate the perfections, the wisdom, and the goodness of
him who made us ; nature raises some hopes in us, that this
confusion will some day find a remedy, and ourselves a release,
from the goodness and wisdom of him who formed us. I blame
not these hopes ; they are just, they are natural ; but if nature
had the knowlege of the Son of God, and could discover that
the world was made and is upheld by his power, that we are his
immediate creatures and subjects ; would it not be altogether as
natural to found some hopes on this relation ? Should we not
be willing to- believe that this great person, who made us,
would have some compassion on the work of his own hands ?
Should we not hope to find in him at least an intercessor on our
behalf, an ' advocate with the Father ? ' Should we not be in-

52 SHERLOCK, ,

clined to recommend to him all our pleas, to put all our interest
into his hands, trusting that he could not want bowels of affec-
tion towards the creatures whom he formed after his own image
and likeness ? I think this would be but natural ; and what
more does the gospel require of us? It has discovered to us this
relation between Christ and the world, between Christ and the
church, and requires from us such hope and faith, and such obe-
dience, as naturally flow from this relation ; and could it pos-
sibly require less ? Would it not be absurd to tell us that
Christ is Lord of the world that is, and of that which is to
come, and not to require us to have hope and confidence in
him ? Would it not be absurd to tell us that he is the Lord of
life and glory, and to bid us expect life and glory through any
other hands than his ? Would it not be absurd to tell us that
all judgment is committed to the Son, and yet no obedience
due to him? or, that God has appointed him to be head over
all, and yet no honor to be paid hrm ?

From these and the like considerations we may discern how
reasonable, how natural the religion of the gospel is. It has
indeed opened to us a new scene of things, discovering to us the
ever-blessed Son of God, the Creator and Governor of the world :
what else it proposes to us results naturally from this relation
between Christ and the world. The mysterious work of our
redemption itself seems to have arisen from the original relation
between the only Son of God, and man the creature of God ;
and our Christian faith, in every article and branch of it, has a
just foundation and support in the power, authority, and pre-
eminence of the Son of God. We may well believe he has re-
deemed us, since we know he made us. And, though all na-
ture seems to frown on us, and to threaten death and destruction,
from which no human power or cunning can deliver us ; yet our
hope is steadfast and immoveable, being placed in him who is
' able to subdue all things to himself.'

This belief, that the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of
God, and arise to life, is the fundamental article of a Christian's
faith : if this be not well established, our hope and confidence
are vain, and the preaching the cross of Christ is foolishness.

Let us reflect a little how our case stands with respect to the

DISCOURSE II. 53

prospect beyond the grave ; let us consider what hopes nature
furnishes, and how they are supported, coiufirmed, and enlarged,
by the gospel of Christ Jesus.

When we view the world in its present circumstances, and
see the misery and oppression that are in it; when we consider
that the distresses and sorrows arising from the weakness and
the wickedness of men are in number and in weight ten times
more than all the sulFerings to which we are exposed by the
mere frailty of our condition ; we can hardly imagine that a
wise and just God made the world to be what we find it is.
When we look farther, and find that the best men oftentimes
fare worst ; that even the desire and endeavor to please God
frequently exposes thera to infinite sorrows in this world; we
stand amazed, and are ready to doubt whether these appear-
ances can be reconciled with the belief that God governs the
world. But since all nature proclaims the being and the power
of God, and the visible things of the creation declare in every
language of the world the wisdom and goodness of him who
made them; under the force and conviction of this evidence that
there is a God, we can find no possible way to account for his
justice and goodness towards the children of men, but by sup-
posing that ' he has appointed a day in which he will judge the
world in righteousness :' and since this world evidently is not
the scene of this judgment, we conclude there must be another,
in which we shall stand before his tribunal. Thus far nature
goes : all beyond this is vain philosophy and imagination,
founded in conceits which are in vogue to-day, and forgot to-
morrow. Scholars may reason of the nature of the soul, and
the condition of it when separated from the body ; but the com-
mon hopes of nature receive no support from such inquiries.
But yet something farther seems necessary to give ease to na-
ture in this painful search after life and happiness. The num-
berless instances of mortality which we hear and see, the re-
mains of those who left the world ages before we came into it,
and are still mouldering in their tombs, is undeniable evidence
that death destroys this compound being which we call man.
How to revive this union nature knows not ; and as for tiiose
who make the spirits of men in the divided state to be perfect

54 ' SHERLOCK.

njen, they seem to have got a conclusion without consulting the
premises.

Look now into the gospel : there you will find every reasonable
hope of nature, nay, every reasonable suspicion of nature, cleared
up and confirmed, every difficulty answered and removed. Do
the present circumstances of the world lead you to suspect that
God could never be the author of such corrupt and wretched
creatures as men now are ? Your suspicions are just and well
founded : God made man upright, but through the temptation
of the devil sin entered, and death and destruction followed
after.

Do you suspect, from the success of virtue and vice in this
world, that the providence of God does not interpose to protect
the righteous from violence, or to punish the wicked ? The sus-
picion is not without ground. God leaves his best servants here
to be tried oftentimes with affliction and sorrow, and permits
the wicked to flourish and abound. The call of the gospel is
not to honor and riches here, but to take up our cross and follow
Christ.

Do you judge, from comparing the present state of the world
with the natural notion you have of God, and of his justice and
goodness, that there must needs be another state in which justice
shall take place ? You reason right ; and the gospel confirms
the judgment. God has appointed a day to judge the world in
righteousness : then those who mourn shall rejoice, those who
weep shall laugh, and the persecuted and afflicted servants of
God shall be heirs of his kingdom.

Have you sometimes misgivings of mind ? Are you tempted
to mistrust this judgment, when you see the difficulties which
surround it on every side ; some which affect the soul in its se-
parate state, some which affect the body in its state of corrup-
tion and dissolution ? Look to the gospel : there these difficulties
are accounted for ; and you need no longer puzzle yourself with
dark questions concerning the state, condition, and nature of
separate spirits, or concerning the body, however to appearance
lost and destroyed ; for the body and soul shall once more meet
to part no more, but to be happy for ever. In this case the
learned cannot doubt, and the ignorant may be sure that it is

DISCOURSE II. 55

the man, the very man himself, who shall rise again : for an
union of the same soul and body is as certainly the restoration of
the man, as the dividing them was the destruction.

Would you know who it is that gives this assurance ? It is
one who is able to make good his word ; one who loved you so
well as to die for you ; yet one too great to be held a prisoner
in the grave. No ; he rose with triumph and glory, the first-
born from the dead, and will in like manner call from the dust
of the earth all those who put their trust and confidence in
him.

But who is this, you will say, who was subject to death, and
yet had power over death ? How could so much weakness and
so much strength meet together ? That God has the power of
life, we know; but then he cannot die : that man is mortal, we
know ; but then he cannot give life.

Consider; does this difficulty deserve an answer, or does it
not ? Our blessed Saviour lived among us in a low and poor con-
dition, exposed to much ill treatment from his jealous country-
men : when he fell into their power, their rage knew no bounds :
they reviled him, insulted him, mocked him, scourged him, and
at last nailed him to a cross, where by a shameful and wretched
death he finished a life of sorrow and affliction. Did we know
no more of him than this, upon what ground could we pretend
to hope that he will be able to save us from the power of death ?
We might say with the disciples, ' We trusted this had been
he who should have saved Israel ;' but he is dead, he is gone,
and all our hopes are buried in his grave.

If you think this ought to be answered, and that the faith of
a Christian cannot be a reasonable faith, unless it be enabled to
account for this seeming contradiction ; I beseech you then
never more complain of the gospel for furnishing an answer to
this great objection, for removing this stumbling-block out of
the way of our faith. He was a man, and therefore he died : he
was the Son of God, and therefore he rose from the dead, and
will give life to all his true disciples. He it was who formed
this world and all things in it, and for the sake of man was con-
tent to become man, and to taste death for all, that all through
him may live. This is a wonderful piece of knowlege which
God has revealed to us in his gospel ; but he has not revealed

56 SHERLOCK.

it to raise our wonder, but to confirm and establish our faith in
him to Tt^hom he hath committed all power, ' whom he hath ap-
pointed heir of all things.'

Had the gospel required of us to expect from Christ the re-
demption of our souls and bodies, and given us no reason to
think that Christ was endued with power equal to the work,
we might justly have complained ; and it would have been a
standing reproach, that Christians believe they know not what.
But to expect redemption from the Son of God, the resurrection
of our bodies from the same hand which at first created and
formed them, are rational and well-founded acts of faith ; and
it is the Christian's glory, that he ' knows in whom he has be-
lieved.'

That the world was made by the Son of God, is a proposi-
tion with which reason has no fault to find : that he who made
the world should have power to renew it to life again, is highly
consonant to reason. All the mystery lies in this, that so high
and great a person should condescend to become man, and sub-
ject to death, for the sake of mankind. But are we the fit per-
sons to complain of this transcendent mysterious love ? or does it
become us to quarrel with the kindness of our blessed Lord to-
wards us, only because it is greater than we can conceive? No;
it becomes us to bless and to adore this exceeding love, by which
we are saved from condemnation, by which we expect to be res-
cued from death ; knowing that the power of our blessed Lord
is equal to his love, and that he is ' able to subdue all things to
himself.'

DISCOURSE III. 57

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE III.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XI. — VERSE 6.

PART I.

Connexion of the words of the text with those preceding it
explained: hence arise two subjects of inquiry : — 1. what are.
the offences which are generally taken at the gospel of Christ :
II. from what sources these offences come. The earliest, and
it may probably be the latest objection to the gospel, was the
poverty and meanness in which our Saviour appeared. Though
he came with such high purposes, and to exact such strict
obedience, yet he came with less attendance and show than ati
ordinary messenger : hence the upbraidings and reproaches he
constantly met with throughout his life, and at his death : and
so blinded are men with false notions, that this prejudice has
prevailed in every age : when Christ crucified was preached by
St. Paul, he was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to the
Greeks foolishness : in this case God did not act as the Greeks
made their Jupiter to act, in thunder and lightning, or as God
is represented in the Old Testament, ivith clouds and darkness
round about him : here every thing had a different turn ; Christ
came in the likeness of a man, and in the form of a servant;
whilst his doctrine was framed rather to purify the heart than
to exercise the head. But these things the wise and great of
this world find difficult to reconcile to their notions of God's
wisdom and majesty : they ask why Christ did not appear in
the power and majesty of his father — they compare his ap-
pearance with that of an ambassador sent by a prince, with
honor and a large retinue, to awe and reclaim rebellious sub-
jects— and they ask why. if faith be a means of salvation, more
reason for confidence was not given ? What foundation there

38 SUMMARY OF

is in reason for this prejudice considered : no wonder t^ tifeai
men reason upon the notions that are familiar to them : power
and authority are connected with ideas of pomp and splendor ;
and when we talk of the works of God, we naturally turn to
view his wonderful works of Providence : hence men are so
slow to discern his hand in the ordinary course of nature, wherein
are things familiar to us. The case of Naaman the Syrian
stated : not unlike to his folly is theirs who take offence at the
poverty and meanness of the Author of our redemption. This
prejudice, when searched to the bottom, found to arise from
a false conception of the power and majesty of God ; as if the
success of his purposes depended on the visible fitness of his
instruments : with men the case is so ; but not with God,
whose foolishness, says the Apostle, is wiser than men, and
weakness is stronger than men ; teaching us that we should not
presume to sit in judgment upon the methods of Providence,
since how foolish or how weak soever they may seem to us,
they will be found in his hand to be the wisest and the strongest :
and this reasoning the Apostle applies to the case before us :
however the Jews or however the Greeks conceived of the
crucified Jesus, yet to every true believer he is the mighty
power of God to salvation, because God ordained him to be
so ; and this gives full efficacy to his Cross, however con-
temptible and unfit for the purpose it may seem to be. If we
would judge truly, the more simple and plain the methods of
Providence are, the more do they speak his power ; as when
he said. Let there he light, and there was light : so when our
Lord said, / will, he thou clean, and the person was.cleansed,
his divinity shone forth more bright than if he had been assisted
by all the powers above. And the same may be said respect-
ing the redemption of the world committed to Jesus, a man of
sorrow and affliction, but endued with such mighty powers.

In the next place it is considered, with respect to men, whe-
ther the advantages would have been greater, had Christ ap-

DISCOURSE III. 59

pea^<jl in greater splendor and with more visible power. One
thing is certain, that the majesty of God is not to be approached
by human eyes ; therefore when it descends to treat with men,
it must be veiled under such representations as they can bear :
but, it may be said, is there no medium between his immediate
presence, and so vile a state both of life and death ? No doubt
there are many degrees of visible glory, in any of which Christ
might have appeared ^ but none in which he could have come
with greater advantage to religion : this shown to be tlie
case. But, it may be said, though he came not with worldly
state and temporal dominion, he might at least have exhibited
some visible manifestation of his divine authority : in answer to
this, his miraculous works are enumerated, than which higher
signs of a divine commission cannot be required : under all the
meanness of his appearance therefore, the evidence of his divine
authority is the same as it would have been had he come in
the greatest pomp and power. To us, who are removed at a
distance from the scene of action, the evidence is much greater.
Had he come in surprising glory, we might have suspected the
relations of men who saw and heard every thing while their
faculties were lost in astonishment : but now we have the evi-
dence of those who lived with him familiarly, and saw his
mighty works without astonishment, being reconciled to them
by daily use, and the long-experienced gentleness and love of
their master : from his poverty and meanness therefore arises
the stability of our faith, which standeth not in the words
or works of man's wisdom or power, but in the power and
wisdom of him who knows how to produce strength out of
weakness.

60 .SUMMARY OF

PART II.

From the offence taken at the mean condition of our Eord,
the cross became to the Jeivs a stumbling-block : it became also
foolishness to the Greeks; for they sought after wisdom; and
not finding that wisdom which they sought after in the gospel,
it was esteemed by them as foolishness. The nature of God,
the manner of the soul's existence, the nature of rewards and
punishments in a future life, are not philosophically explained
in the gospel : yet it is said by some — Who would not have
expected from a person sent from God, to have had all diffi-
culties Solved which affect the belief and practice of religion ?
As it is, we are taught only the plain doctrines of moralitj^
and are bid to take his word for the rest. To clear up this
greart and unreasonable offence against the gospel, three sub-
jects of consideration are proposed. First ; this objection does
not lie against the gospel of Christ ; but, if there be any force
in it, it strikes at the wisdom and goodness of God in the crea-
tion. As long as men keep to the plain simple points in which
religion is concerned, there is no danger, of their splitting on
these insuperable difficulties : if they seek after God, the whole
creation will lead them to him : if they search after the immor-
tality of the soul and the certainty of future retribution, these
truths will be suggested to them by their natural sense of good
and evil, and their notions of God's wisdom and justice and
goodness, compared with the present unequal distribution of re-
wards and punishments : but if they are not content with know-
ing that God is, without knowing what he is ; or if, not satis-
fied with the moral certainty of a future state, they wish to look
into the texture of the soul, it is no wonder if they make ship-
wreck both of their reason and their faith at once ; for this
knowlege is too high for us ; nor has God given us faculties
to comprehend such mysteries of nature ; not even are the
seeds of such knowlege implanted in us, and therefore no culti-

DISCOURSE III. 61

vation can ever produce it. This being the condition of men,
it had been to little purpose, if our Lord had attempted to let
them into those great secrets. His business was to instruct
them in the ways of virtue, awaken them to a sense of good-
ness, and show them the way to happiness, by setting before
them the precepts of God and nature in their true uncorrupted
purity; and this he has done, even by the confession of his
greatest enemies. It is the great business of a teacher to speak
to the sense and understanding of the people ; otherwise his
words are mere air and sound ; and therefore whatever wisdom
and knowlege were in our blessed Saviour, it is folly to expect
from him any greater degrees of either than we can compre-
hend : instead of improving the nature of man, he. must have
destroyed it, and re-created him, to have made him capable of
a clear insight into all the mysteries which the curious seem
desirous of knowing. If more be required on this head, the
cause must be pleaded with God, and not with Christ ; we
must inquire of God why he made us no wiser. And, it may
be said, would it not have been better, if he had done so ? To
this it may be answered ; that I would rather be an angel
than a man ; but I know of no right I had to be either ; and
that I am either, is owing purely to the goodness of my Creator.
Had God given us only the faculties of men and required of us
the service of angels, then indeed we might have complained
with some justice. Our present faculties, rightly applied, will
lead us to a knowlege of God's being and excellency, and will
instruct us in what our reasonable service to him consists :
when we know that there is an all-sufficient being, and that it
is our duty to serve him, to suspend our duty because we can-
not comprehend his nature and manner of existence, is as un-
reasonable as it would be for a merchant not to trade to the In-
dies, until he can account to himself for the nature of all the
surprising objects of those wealthy regions. God has given us
knowlege enough for the foundation of our duty ; and if we

(>2 SUMMARY OF

use the light we have, we shall be happy : the great mistake
is, that men suppose they should have better evidence for the
things of another world, could they overcome these difficulties
which cross them in a search after nature : and this would be
an advantage to religion, if it were so ; but that it is not,
appears from the following considerations ; for, Secondly, the
difficulties which arise in considering the natural properties of
things, affect not the certainty and reality of their existence :
if they did, we could be certain of the real existence of no one
thing : there cannot be two more distinct inquiries, than when
we examine whether a thing really is, and when we examine
what it is ; these things do not at all depend one on the other :
as we can examine the properties of some things, without reflect-
ing whether there ever were such things or no, (as for in-
stance, an exact circle or square,) so we can examine and come
to the certainty of the existence of things without knowing, or
attempting to know, their properties; for the peasant knows
there is a sun and moon as surely as the astronomer. Nor is
this true only in things that are objects of sense ; but also in
those, the existence of which we collect from reason. From
visible effects to invisible causes the argument is conclusive ;
though in many cases it extends only to the reality of the cause,
and does not in the least lead to the knowlege of its nature :
thus when we see distempers cured by plants or drugs, we are
sure that some virtue is in them, on which the effect de-
pends, though what, we seldom or never can tell.

Now, in the case before us, what sort of knowlege is neces-
sary to support religion in the world ? If we are sure there is
a God who will judge the world, is not that a sufficient founda-^
tion for holiness ? if such an event will certainly take place, it
concerns not us to know hoiv. Since then our Saviour has given
us the best evidence of the certainty of a future state and of the
soul's existence after death, it is impertinent and unphilosophical
to confront it with difficulties arising from our conceptions as to

fi^Md|ttc£_

DISCOURSE III. 63

the nature and manner of these things : it is in truth to set up
ignorance against knowlege.

Since, then, religion depends on the certainty and reality of
these and other like articles, and not in the least on a knowlege
of their nature or philosophical account of them, it had been
absurd in our Saviour, who was a preacher of religion only, to
have entered into those difficulties which did not belong to his
province ; and it is ridiculous in us to expect the solution of
thetn in the gospel, when, if solved, they would not serve any
one point in which the gospel is concerned. It may however
be said — all this is true, where the existence of things is out of
doubt ; but when this is doubtful, these seeming contradictions,
which arise in considering the nature of things, shake greatly
the presumption of their existence. In the third place, there-
fore, it is shown that the gospel has given us the best evidence
of our own immortality and a future state, that can be conceived
or desired. Two things on which our resurrection to life
depends ; as we learn from our Saviour's answer to the Saddu-
cees — ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of
God. We can desire to know nothing more than that he can
raise us, and that he will : the first is to be learnt from our na-
tural notions of God, the second from his declared will, i. e. the
holy Scriptures : as to the power of God, it cannot be brought
into question without throwing off all pretence to natural
religion ; it remains therefore to inquire after his will : now we
have our Saviour's promise for our resurrection often repeated :
he also raised persons from the dead, and he raised himself; he
therefore has the power : take both propositions then together,
and they will amount to this, that he who has the power of
raising the dead has promised to raise us. God, we know, can-
not lie, and therefore must ratify every word which he spoke by
his holy child Jesus ; and hence arises a security which no
doubts can shake. As to difficulties in nature and philosophy,
he answered them when he himself rose from the grave.

64 SUMMARY OF

PART III.

The prejudices which men conceive against the gospel vary
according to the views under which they consider it : as some
take offence at the gospel for not clearing up the doubts arid
diflSeulties which religion contained before, so others take offence
«t the new doctrines introduced by it : this attached itself even
to many of Christ's disciples : what purpose of religion or mo-
rality, it is said, can be served by our receiving articles of faith
which tve cannot understand ? This charge, if it were as true as it
is heavy, might possibly shake the fouJidations of the gospel : but
to set the matter in a clear light, we must consider the different
notions of the word mystery, as used in the gospel, and as in
common use amongst men at this time : hence it will appear,
I. that the objection does not reach the gospel sense of the
word, and cannot aflect its mysteries: II. that the use and
sense of the word which is liable to this objection, does not be-
long to the gospel ; as it does not contain any such mysteries as
may justify the complaint.

First then, the whole design of the gospel in the salvation of
mankind, is styled a mystery, because it was kept secret since
the world begun, in allusion to this time of secresy and silence ;
but on the revelation of it by Jesus Christ it is no longer
looked on as such, but as the manifestation of God's will and
goodness to men ; see Rom. xvi. 26. : the opposition here is be-
tween mystery and revelation ; in this sense therefore there can
lie no objection against the gospel. As the gospel itself is in
this sense styled a mystery, so also are the several parts of it :
/ show yon a mystery, says St. Paul, we shall not all sleep,
hut we shall all be changed. Other instances of the same kind
enumerated. Against this gospel-sense of mystery the com-
mon objections have no place. It is therefore, in the second
place, shown that the notion of mysteries, against which the
objection lies, does not belong to the gospel. It represents a

DISCOURSE III. 65

mystery as a thing inconceivable, and altogether irreconcileable
to human reason : but such mysteries are not in the gospel of
Christ : men may have run into contradictions by endeavoring
to explain the mysteries of God farther than he has explained
them ; but let not the gospel be charged with their errors : no-
thing is more fatal to religion than attempts to explain and ac-
count for the hidden wisdom of Cod on principles of humaii
reason. Concerning the persons of tlie Godhead there are in*
deed great mysteries, which are not revealed : God has not told
us how his Son and his Spirit dwell in him, or how they came
from him : these therefore are properly mysteries, hidden in his
secret wisdom, and which we are no where called on to i;iquire
into : we might readily take God's word for them, without en-
tering into natural and philosophical inquiries; especially as
they are well qualified to be objects of faith. Common sense
might teach us not to call God to account, or pretend to enter
into the reason of his doings.

00 SHERLOCK

DISCOURSE III.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XI. — VERSE G.
Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.

PART I.

In the beginning of this chapter we read, that the Baptist
sent two of his disciples to Christ, to inquire of him whether he
was indeed the great Prophet so long expected by the people,
and foretold by the prophets, or whether they were still to ex-
pect and wait the coming of another. Our Saviour detained
the disciples of John, till he had made them eye-witnesses of
the mighty power that was in him. They saw, at the command
of his word, the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers
cleansed, the deaf restored to hearing, and the dead raised up
to life again : they saw likewise, that these mighty powers were
exercised without giving the least suspicion of any worldly
desig^i ; that no court was made to the great or wealthy by
singling them out either for patients or for disciples. The bene-
fit of the miracles was chiefly the lot of the poor ; and as they
were better disposed to receive the gospel, so were they pre-
ferred before the rich and mighty to be the disciples of Christ.
When the Baptist's disciples had seen and heard these things,
our Saviour thought them sufficiently enabled to satisfy John
in the inquiry on which he had sent them : ' Go,' says he,
' and show John those things which ye do hear and see : the
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk ; the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear ; the dead are raised up, and the
poor have the gospel preached to them.' Then follow irame-

DISCOURSE III. — PART II. 67

diately the words of the text : ' And blessed is he whosoever
shall not be offended in me.'

The close connexion of the text with the last words of the
fifth verse shows us what sort of persons our Saviour had in his
eye, when he spoke of the offence taken at him in the world :
' The poor,' says he, ' have the gospel preached to them : and
blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me.' As if he
had said, The poor are ready to embrace the gospel, and happy
are in this, yea, happier far, notwithstanding their present un-
comfortable condition, than the honorable and the learned, who
are too great, and in their own opinion too wise, to hearken to
the instructions of the gospel.

The words thus explained lead us to inquire,

First, What are the offences which are generally taken at
the gospel of Christ :

Secondly, From what source these offences come.

The poverty and meanness in which our Saviour appeared,
was the earliest, and may probably be the latest, objection to
the gospel. He came from God to convert and to save the
world, to declare the purposes and the commands of the Al-
mighty, and to exact obedience from every creature : but he
came with less attendance and show than if he had been an
ordinary messenger from the governor of a province. Hence it
is that we so often find him upbraided either with the mean-
ness of his parentage, the obscurity of his country, or the pre-
sent necessity of his circumstances : ' Is not this the Carpenter's
son ? ' says one ; ' Can any good come out of Nazareth ?' says
another ; ' or any prophet out of Galilee ?' says a third. And
when they saw him oppressed with sufferings, and weighed
down with afflictions, they openly insulted his sorrow, and
triumphed over his fond pretences to save the world : ' Thou,'
say they, * that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three
days, save thyself: If thou be the Son of God, come down
from the cross.' And so blinded are men with the notions of
worldly greatness, and so apt to conceive of the majesty of God
according to their own ideas of power and dignity, that this
prejudice has prevailed in every age. The- Apostle to the
Corinthians ' preached Christ crucified ;' but he was to the
Jews ' a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks foolishness :' for
the Jews ' required a sign,' a visible temporal deliverance, and

68 . SHERLOCK.

had no notion, much less any want, as they could apprehend,
of such a Saviour as Jesus. The ' Greeks sought after wis-
dom,' and thought that, if God were indeed to redeem the
world, he would act more suitably to his power and wisdom ;
whenever they made their Jupiter speak, his voice was thunder,
and lightning was his appearance, and he delivered oracles not
to be communicated to vulgar ears. So in the Old Testament,
when God sneaks, ' clouds and darkness are round about him,'
and his presence and his voice are terrible. But here every
thing had a different turn ; the appearance was in the likeness
of a man, and in the form of a servant ; and, as he came in like
a servant, he went out like a slave, ' he was esteemed stricken,
and his departure was taken for misery.' His doctrine was
framed rather to purify the heart, and to give wisdom to the
simple, than to exercise the head, and furnish matter for the
curious and learned ; to be a general instruction and a common
rule of life to all men, and not to satisfy the vanity of worldly
wisdom in inquiries above its reach. With him the precepts of
virtue are the principles of wisdom and holiness, the greatest
ornament of the mind of man.

But these things the wise and the great men of the world
find hard to reconcile with the wisdom and majesty of God,
according to their notions of wisdom and power. Why did not
Christ, say they, appear in the power and majesty of his
Father ? Would not the embassy have been more worthy both
of God and of him? Would any prince, who had a mind to
reclaim his rebellious subjects to obedience, not rather choose
to send a person of honor with a suitable retinue, whose ap-
pearance might command respect and credit, than an ambas-
sador clothed in rags and poverty, fit only to create in the
rebels a greater contempt both of himself and his prince ? If
it was the purpose of God that the world through faith should
be saved, would not the world more securely and readily have
confided in one whose very appearance would have spoken his
dignity, than in one who seemed to be even more miserable
than themselves, and not able to rescue himself from the vilest
and most contemptible death ?

But let us now, in the second place, consider what foundation
there is in reason for this great prejudice.

It is no wonder to hear men reason on the notions and

DISCOURSE III. — PART 1, 69

ideas which are familiar to them. Great power and great au-
thority are connected with the ideas of great pomp and splen-
dor ; and when we talk of the works of God, our minds natu-
rally turn themselves to view the great and miraculous works of
providence : and this is the reason why men are slow to discern
the hand of God in the ordinary course of nature, where things,
being familiar to us, do not strike with wonder and admiration.

When Naaman the Syrian came to the prophet of Israel to
be cured of his leprosy, Elisha sent a messenger unto him,
saying, * Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh
shall come again unto thee, and thou shalt be clean.' The
haughty Syrian disdained the easy cure, and scorned the pro-
phet : Is this your man of God, and this his mighty power, to
send me to a pitiful river of Israel ? ' Behold,' says he, ' I
thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on
the name of the Lord his God, and strike his hand over the
place, and recover the leper. Are not Abana and Pharpar,
rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel ? may
I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned, and. went
away in a rage,' But his servants, not a little wiser than their
master, thus reason the case with him : ' My father, if the pro-
phet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have
done it ? how much rather then, when he saith unto thee, wash
and be clean V Upon this gentle rebuke his stomach came
down, and he condescended to follow the Prophet's direction :
' and his flesh came again like the flesh of a young child, and
he was clean.' Not unlike to Naaman's folly is theirs, who
take ofl^ence at the poverty and meanness of the Author of our
redemption. His sentiments and theirs agree : he expected to
have seen some surprising wonder wrought for his cure ; and,
when he was bid only to wash, he thought there could be no-
thing of God in so trifling a remedy. And is not this thejr
sense, who think that so obscure, so mean a person as Jesus,
could never be the messenger of God on so great an erranjd
as the salvation of the world ? who thus expostulate, Why
came he not in a majesty suitable to his employment, and then
we would have believed him ; but how can we expect to be
raised to the glory of God by him who was himself the scorn
and contempt of men ?

70 SHERLOCK.

If we search this prejudice to the bottom, we shall find that
it arises from a false conception of the power and majesty of
God, as if the success of his purposes depended on the visible
fitness of the instruments he made choice of. With men we
know the case is so ; they must use means which they can judge
to be adapted to the end they aim at, if they intend to prosper
in what they undertake : but with God it is otherwise. To
stop the current even of the smallest river, banks must be raised,
and sluices cut, when the work is done by man : but in the
hand of God the rod of Moses was more than sufficient to curb
the rage of the sea, and force it to yield a passage to his people.
'The foolishness of God,' says the Apostle, 'is wiser than
men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men :' teaching
us that we should not presume to sit in judgment on the
methods of Providence ; since, how foolish or how weak soever
they may seem to us, they will be found in his hand to be the
wisest and the strongest. And this reasoning the Apostle
applies to the case now before us : ' The cross of Christ was a
stumbling-block to the Jews, and to the Greeks foolishness ;
but unto all them which are called, the power of God, and the
wisdom of God ; because the foolishness of God is wiser than
men, and the weakness of God stronger than men.' However
the Jews, or however the Greeks, conceived of the crucified
Jesus, yet to every believer he is the mighty ' power of God to
salvation,' because God ordained him so to be ; and this ordi-
nation gives full efficacy to the cross of Christ, however in itself
contemptible, and to all human appearance unfit for the pur-
pose. The waters of Jordan had no natural efficacy to cleanse
a leper ; in the rod of Moses there was no power to divide the
sea : but when ordained by God to these purposes, the sea fled
back at the touch of Moses's rod, and the leprosy of Naaman
was purged by the so much despised waters of Israel. If we
would judge truly, the more simple and plain the methods of
Providence are, the more do they speak the power of the
Almighty. When God said, ' Let there be light, and there
was light,' his uncontrollable power more evidently appear«(i^
than if all the angel»of heaven had been employed to produce
it. When our I^ordsaid, ' I will, be thou clean,' and the per-
son was cleansed, his divinity shone forth more brightly than

DISCOURSE III. — PART I. 71

if he had commanded all the powers above visibly to assist
him. So likewise,' when God committed the redemption of the
world to Jesus, a man of sorrow and affliction, and of no form
or comeliness, and gave him the power of doing such works as
never man did, in confirmation of his commission, he appeared
as plainly in him, as if he had clothed him with visible majesty
and power. If we consider him afflicted and tormented, and
given up to a cruel death, it proves indeed that he was weak
and mortal ; but still God is strong, and not the less able to
establish the word which he spoke by this weak, this mortal
man.

As to this part of the offence then, so far as the majesty and
power of God are concerned, it proceeds from very wrong
notions in both cases, and supposes that the majesty of God
wants the same little supports of outward pomp and grandeur
as that of men does, and that his power depends upon the fitness
of instrumental or material causes, as human power plainly
does ; whereas the majesty and power of God are never more
clearly seen than when he makes choice of the ♦ weak things
of the world to confound the things which are mighty.'

Let us then in the next place consider, with respect to men,
whether the advantages on their side would have been greater,
had Christ appeared in greater splendor, and with more visible
power and authority.

How far the imaginations of some men may rove on such
inquiries as these, or what degrees of splendor and glory they
would judge sufficient for their purpose, I cannot tell. This
we are sure of, that the majesty of the Almighty is not to be
approached by human eyes ; that therefore, whenever it
descends to treat with men, it must be veiled and obscured
under such representations as men can bear. This is true, you
will say ; but is there no medium between the immediate pre-
sence of God, and his appearing in the form of a servant, and
dying, not as the children of men commonly die, but as the
vilest and most profligate criminal ? Many degrees there are,
no doubt, of visible glory, in any of which Christ might have
appeared, but in none with greater advantage to religion than
that in which he came. Suppose he had come, as the Jews
expected, in the form of a mighty prince, and in that situation

-•• '*^-

72 SHERLOCK.

had propagated his faith and doctrine ; what wo'nld the unbe-
lievers then have said ? How often should we have been told
before now, that our religion was the work of human policy,
and that our prince's doctrine and dominions were extended by
the same sword ? Was ever any religion the better thought of
for having been preached at the head of an army ? This is
certain, that, to make religion a rational act of the mind, it
cannot be conveyed to us in too easy and familiar a manner :
the less awe we have of our teacher, the more freedom we shall
exercise in weighing and examining his doctrines. And on
this account our Saviour's appearance was in the most proper
form, as it gave to men the greatest scope and liberty of trying
and seai;ching into his doctrines and pretences : and therefore
his meanness and poverty should least of all be objected by
those who seem to contend for nothing more than to clear reli-
gion from fears and prejudices.

But perhaps they will say, we wanted him not to appear in
worldly state and glory, or to exercise temporal dominion on
earth ; we would have been contented with a visible, though
an inferior kind of manifestation of his divine authority. ' O
fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
written !' AVhat think ye of giving sight to the blind ; of open-
ing the ears of the deaf ; of loosening the tongue that was dumb ;
of restoring health to the sick ; of raising the dead to life again ;
of raising even himself from the grave, and abolishing the scan-
dal of the cross by a visible victory and triumph over death?
What do ye call these things ? What do they manifest to
you? Are these the works of that mean man, that wretched,
that crucified mortal, of whom we have been speaking? Do
slaves and servants, nay, do princes and the greatest of the chil-
dren of men, use to perform such works ? If not, these are the
very manifestations of divine power and authority which you
require. Nor can it, I believe, enter into the heart of man to
contrive any greater signs to ask of any person pretending to a
divine commission, than these which our Saviour daily and
publicly gave the world of his authority. Had he appeared
with all the visible power and glory which you can conceive,
yet still you cannot imagine what greater works than these he
could possibly perform : and therefore the evidence now, under

DISCOURSE III. — PART II. 73

all the meanness of his appearance, is the same for his divine
authority and commission, as it would have been, had he come
in the greatest pomp of glory and power.

As to us, I think, who are removed at a distance from the
scene of this action, the evidence is much greater. Had he
come in surprising glory, we might have suspected the relations
of men, who, we might well think,' saw and heard every thing
under the greatest astonishment, and, like St. Paul, when he
was caught up to the third heavens, could hardly tell whether
they were in the body, or out of the body. But now we have
the evidence of men who lived and conversed with him fami-
liarly, who saw all his mighty works, and saw them without
surprise or astonishment, being reconciled to them by daily use,
and the long-experienced gentleness and love of their Master ;
and therefore they very justly introduce their accounts with
this assurance, ' that they relate that only which they had
heard, which they had seen with their eyes, which they had
looked on, and which their hands had handled, of the word
of life.' So far are we then from having any just cause of
oflence in the poverty and meanness of our blessed Lord, that"
from those circumstances arises the great stability of our faith,
and this comfortable assurance, that our faith standeth not in
the words or in the works of man's wisdom and power, but in
the power and in the wisdom of the Almighty, who knows how
to produce strength out of weakness.

DISCOURSE III.

PART II.

I HAVE already examined the first and great prejudice against
the gospel, arising from the poverty and meanness of our
blessed Lord, and the low condition of life in which he appeared
in the world, and the wretched circumstances which put an end
to it ; and showed it to be so far from being a just offence
against the gospel, that, when fairly considered, it -serves to
recommend religion to us with all possible advantage, and the

SHERL. VOL. I. D

-"^

74 - SHERLOCK.

more eminently to set forth the love of Christ, and the wisdom
and goodness of God, in the gospel.

It was from the offence taken at the mean condition of our
Lord, that the cross became a ' stumbling-block to the Jews.'
It became also, as the Apostle says, ' foolishness to the
Greeks :' for they * sought after wisdom ;' and not finding the
wisdom they sought after in the gospel, it was esteemed by them
as foolishness.

The great articles on which all religion depends, are the
nature of God, the immortality of the soul, and the certainty
of future rewards and punishments in another life after this.
These things have ever exercised the wit and learning of the
considering part of mankind, and philosophy has furnished dif-
ficulties on every side ; and were they well cleared up, it is
thought religion would want no other support. But in vain do
you search the gospel of Christ for a solution of these diflScul-
ties : he has not so much as entered into them, or once
attempted to give an account of the nature or essence of God,
or of a human soul, or to consider the diflficulties that are
urged by the schools against its separate existence from the
body. Future rewards and punishments he has indeed fully
asserted ; but, as to the nature and manner of them, and the
soul's existence in each state, he has left them involved in the
same intricacies in which he found them. And yet, say the
disputers of this world, who would not expect from a person
sent from God to have all his difficulties solved which affect the
belief and practice of religion ? We are bid to be good and
holy, and are promised immortality : so far it is well. But did
he not know what doubts exercise the most learned men con-
cerning the nature of God, and of the soul, and its passage to
another world, and concerning the place and condition of that
other world ? Why were not these doubts cleared ? Had he
opened to us this dark scene of nature, and made us to under-
stand the contexture of the soul, and its manner of subsisting
out of the body ; had "he taught us to comprehend the state and
nature of the other world ; such doctrines, such discoveries
would have been sufficient evidence of the divine wisdom : but
now we are only taught the plain doctrines of morality, and are
bid to take his word for our immortality.

DISCOURSE III. — PART II. 75

To clear up this great and unreasonable offence against the
gospel, I desire you would consider with me the following par-
ticulars :

First, That the objection does not lie properly against the
gospel of Christ ; but if there be any sense in it, it must rise
higher, and strike at the wisdom and goodness of God in the
creation : for, if any fault is to be found in this matter, it is not
with Christ for not teaching us more wisdom than we are capa-
ble of, but with God for not making us wiser than we are. And
hence it will appear that the objection is both impious and
senseless.

Secondly, That this objection, allowing it its full force, does
no way affect the belief or practice of religion ; because reli-
gion depends intirely on the certainty of the soul's immor-
tality, and of a future state of rewards and punishments ; which
certainly no way depends on the knowlege of the nature of
the things themselves, since we are and may be certain of many
things, the nature of which we neither do nor can know. And
hence it will appear that the difficulties arising from the con-
sideration of the nature of these things cannot affect our belief
of the certainty of them, if it be supported by proper evidence ;
and, consequently, that religion is no way concerned to re-
move these difficulties. And,

Thirdly, That the gospel has given us the greatest evidence
for the certainty and reality of these things, that can be thought
on or desired. And hence it will appear that the doctrines of
the gospel are such as are adapted to the service of religion,
and as might be expected from a teacher divinely inspired.

And, first, Let it be considered that this objection does not
lie against the gospel of Christ; but if there be any force in it,
it strikes immediately at the wisdom and goodness of God
in the creation.

As long as men keep to the plain simple points in which re-
ligion is concerned, there is no danger of their splitting on
these insuperable difficulties. If they seek after God, the
whole creation will lead them to him ; ' for the invisible things
of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being
understood by the things which are made, even his eternal
power and godhead.' If they search after the immortality of

76 SHERLOCK.

the soul, and the certainty of a future state of rewards and pu-
nishments, these truths will be suggested to them from their
own natural sense of good and evil, and the notions of God's
wisdom and justice and goodness, compared with the present
unequal distributions of rewards and punishments ; which can
be accounted for on no other foot, nor reconciled to the na-
tural sense God has implanted in us of the difference of good
and evil, and the notions we have of his excellency and per-
fection. But if they launch out into philosophical inquiries,
and, not content to know that God is, without knowing what
he is, 'endeavor to pry into the nature and manner of the exist-
ence of the Almighty ; or if, not satisfied with the moral cer-
tainty of a future state, they want to look into the contexture
of the soul, and to see there the natural seeds of immortality;
it is no wonder if they make shipwreck both of their reason
and their faith at once : for this knowlege is too high for men.
God has not given us faculties to enable us to comprehend
these mysteries of nature ; and therefore we must always of
necessity wander out of the way, and be bewildered, when we
search after them. For let any man consider whence it is that
the difficulty of these inquiries ariseth : it is not for want of
teaching, for all the teaching in the world will not enable men
to comprehend the things of which they can form no notions or
ideas. And this is the case : the seeds of this knowlege are
not implanted in our nature, and therefore no cultivation can
ever produce it. There is nothing which ever fell under the
notice of our senses, to which the existence and being of God
can be likened, nothing that bears any proportion of similitude
to the natural frame and make of our souls : and therefore it is
impossible to represent these things to the mind of man ; for it is
not in the power of any sound of words to create new notions
or ideas in our mind, or to convey new knowlege without them.
God has set bounds to our knowlege by limiting our faculties,
beyond which our utmost care and diligence, however assisted,
cannot advance. Whatever wisdom or excellency of knowlege
may be in our teacher, it is impossible he should infuse more
into us than we are capable of receiving ; as a vessel can never
receive more than its measure, though it be filled out of the
sea.

DISCOURSE III. — PART II. il

This being the state and condition of men, it had been to
little purpose if our blessed Lord had attempted to let them
into the knowlege of those great secrets of nature, which the
curious and learned are so desirous of prying into. His busi-
ness was to instruct them in the ways of virtue and holiness, to
awaken their sleepy souls and rouse their stupid consciences to
a sense of goodness, to show them the way to peace and happi-
ness, by setting before them tlie precepts of God and nature in
their true uncorrupted purity : and this he has done, even by
the confession of his greatest enemies, who in this part have
nothing to object, but that his laws are too good and too holy
for their observance. It is the great excellency of a teacher to
speak to the sense and understanding of the people ; and when-
ever he rises above them, he is lost in the clouds, and his words
are mere air and sound : and therefore, whatever wisdom and
knowlege were in our blessed Saviour, it is folly to expect from
him any greater degrees of either than we are capable of com-
prehending. As he was our prophet and teacher, it was his
business to be understood : and he forbore teaching us the deep
mysteries of nature, for the same reason that we do not teach
children algebra, not that we envy them the knowlege, but that
we know they are incapable of it. Instead of improving the
nature of man, he must have destroyed it, and new created him,
to have made him capable of a clear insight into all the myste-
ries which the curious seem desirous of knowing. And, could
he have given us all the knowlege we thirst after, yet still the
way to happiness would be the same, and we could do nothing
to set forward our salvation, which he has not already both
instructed and enabled us to do : and therefore, as the case
stands, he has fully performed the office of a divine teacher,
having fully instructed us ' in the things which make for our
peace.'

If you will press this argument any farther, you must plead
the cause with God, and not with Christ : he has taught you
all that you are capable of knowing ; and you must inquire of
God why he made you no better and no wiser. And had it
not, you will say, been better, if God had given us such en-
larged faculties, as might have enabled us to surmount all
difficulties of this kind ? If you ask me, I can readily answer

78 SHERLOCK.

that I had rather I were an angel than a man ; but I know of
no right I had to be either ; and that I am either is owing
purely to the goodness and beneficence of my Creator. Had
he left me still in the lump of clay out of which I was formed,
he had done me no injury, nor could any complaint have been
formed against him on my behalf. For what I have, I have
reason to be thankful ; for what I have not, I have no reason
to complain.

Had God indeed given us only the faculties of men, and
required of us the service of angels, we might then with some
justice have lamented the unequal weight : but now that he
requires nothing of us but what we are able to perform, and
what, according to our present degree of understanding, it is
highly reasonable we should perform, it is great perverseness
to hang back for want of more light, and a greater capacity to
understand what it is no way necessary for us to understand.
Our present faculties, if rightly applied, will lead us to a cer-
tainty of the being of a God, to the knowlege of his excel-
lency and perfection, and will instruct us wherein our reason-
able service to him does consist : and shall we, when we know
there is an all-sufficient Being, and that it is our duty to serve
him — shall we, I say, suspend our duty because we meet with
great difficulties in trying to comprehend his nature and manner
of existence ? As weak as we are, we may assuredly know,
' that God will one day judge the world in righteousness, and
reward every man according to his doings :' and shall we not
listen to this great motive to obedience, because we are not
able to know how the soul can act distinctly from the body,
or how it can be united to it again ? It would be altogether as
reasonable for a merchant not to trade to the Indies, though he
is sure there is great wealth and riches there, till he can ac-
count to himself for the nature of all the surprising objects in
that other world ; or for a man not to eat, though he is sure it
would nourish and support his life, till he can see the reason of
nutrition, and give an account of all the secret ways by which
nature performs the work.

God has given us knowlege sufficient to be the foundation
of our duty; and if we will use the light we have, we shall
be happy. The great mistake which men commit in reflecting

DISCOURSE III. — PART II. 79

on these matters, is, that they suppose they should have
better evidence for the things of another world, could they
overcome these difiSculties, which cross them perpetually in
the search after nature : and this would indeed be a real ad-
vantage to religion, if it were so; but that it is not, will ap-
pear in the following considerations : for,

Secondly, The difficulties which arise in considering the
natural properties of things, do no way affect the certainty
and reality of their existence : if they did, we could be certain
of the real existence of no one thing ; since there is nothing-
hut what affords us very great difficulties, when we come to
account for the nature and properties of it. Let what will be
the subject, I think there cannot be two more different in-
quiries, than when we examine whether the thing really is, and
when we examine what it is ; they are inquiries which do not
at all depend one on the other. We can examine the pro-
perties of some things without so much as reflecting whether '
there ever were such things or no. When the mathematician
considers the properties of an exact circle or square, it matters
him not whether there be such perfect figures in the world
or no ; nor does he trouble himself to inquire. So, on the
other hand, we can examine and come to the certainty of the
existence of things, without knowing, or attempting to know,
their natures and properties. The peasant knows there is a
sun and a moon as well as the astronomers ; and his certainty
as to their existence is as great and as well-grounded as theirs.
Nor is this only true in things which are objects of sense, but
will hold likewise with respect to such things, the existence of
which we collect from reason. From visible ett'ects to invisible
causes the argument is conclusive ; though in many cases it
extends only to the reality of the cause, and does not in the
least lead us to the knowlege of the nature of it. When we
see distempers cured by the use of plants or of drugs, some
virtue we are sure there is in them, on which the effect de-
pends, though what, we seldom or never can tell. This being
the case then, that we can arrive at the knowlege of the exis-
tence of things, when we are perfectly ignorant of their natures
and properties ; and can, on the other side, examine and know
tlie properties of things without considering whether they exist

BO SHERLOCK.

or no ; it is plain that these are distinct acts of knowlege,
which do not depend on each other, and that we may be cer-
tain as to the reality of things, however we may be puzzled
and confounded when we enter into the consideration of their
nature.

And now pray consider, as to the case before us, what sort
of knowlege it is that is necessary to support religion in the
world. If we are sure there is a God who will judge the world,
is not that a sufficient foundation for holiness? Does it signify
any thing, as to the necessity of our obedience, to inquire into
the manner or nature of his being ? Does not the whole of reli-
gion evidently depend on this question, whether there certainly
be a God who will judge the world ? And, if it appears there
is, is it of any consequence to say there are great difficulties in
conceiving how these things can be? For, if they certainly will
be, they will be some way or other, no doubt; and it concerns
not us to know which way. Since therefore our Saviour has
given the greatest evidence that can be of the certainty of a fu-
ture state and the soul's existence after death, it is imperti-
nent and unphilosophical to confront this evidence with diffi-
culties arising from our conceptions as to the nature and man-
ner of these things : it is in truth to set up ignorance against
knowlege ; for our difficulties spring from our ignorance of
nature, which is an argument we ought rather to be ashamed
of, than to bring into competition with the clear evidence we
have for the certainty and reality of the things themselves.
Were this duly considered, it would set the great contro-
versy of religion on the right foot, which ought to turn on
this single point, whether there be sufficient evidence of a fu-
ture state or no ? For if such a state there be, let our concep-
tions concerning it be clear or not clear, most certainly we
shall be brought to account for all we do ; which is enough, I
think, to make us careful what we do. And this is the main
concern of religion, and that which will secure whatever is
necessary to it.

Since then religion evidently depends on the certainty and
reality of a future state of rewards and punishments, and other
the like articles, and not in the least on the knowlege of the
ijature or the philosophical account of these things; it had

DISCOURSE III.— PART II. 81

been absurd in our Saviour, who was a preacher of reli2,ioii
only, a teacher sent from God, to have entered into those diffi-
culties, which did not at all belong to his province. And,
since neither the practice of religion would have received any
advantage by the discussion of these doubts — for if we had the
knowlege of angels, and saw the heavens as plainly as they do,
yet the same virtue and holiness, without any change, would
be necessary to carry us thither — nor the motives of religion
would have gained any new strength ; since the evidence for
the reality of a future state is not affected by these doubts ;
it is ridiculous to expect the solution of them in the gospel,
when, if solved, they would not serve any one point in which
the gospel is concerned, but would end in mere philosophy and
speculation.

But perhaps it may be said that all this is true indeed,
where the existence of things is out of doubt : in that case no
difficulties can destroy the evidence of their existence ; but
where the existence of things is doubtful, there the seeming
contradictions which arise in considering the nature of the
things, do mightily shake the presumption of their existence.
This is a fair state of the case, and we ought to join issue on it.

Let us then proceed, in the third place, to show that the
gospel has given us the greatest evidence of our own immor-
tality, and of a future state, that can be thought on or desired.
There are two things on which our resurrection to life de-
pends, as we learn from our Saviour's answer to the Saddu-
cees : ' Ye do err,' says he, ' not knowing the Scriptures, nor
the power of God :' which answer is a very clear one ; for we
can desire no more than to know that God certainly can raise
us, and that he certainly will. The first is to be learnt from
our natural notions of God ; the second from the Scripture,
which is the declaration of his will to mankind. As to the
power of God, it cannot be brought into question without
throwing off all pretence even to natural religion ; for if you
allow God that he made the world, and formed man into a
living soul in the beginning, you cannot deny but that he,
who made man out of nothing at first, can as easily make him
again, after death has dissolved the vital union. It remains
then to inquire, after the will of God, whether he, who cer-

82 SHERLOCK.

tainly can, certainly will raise us at the last day ? The time
will not permit me to enter largely into the argument ; and
therefore I shall rest it on one, but that a very clear point.
It will not be denied but that we have our Saviour's promise
and word for our resurrection often repeated in the gospel : and
consider, pray, did he not raise many dead to life again ? Did
he not at last raise himself from the grave, after he had been
three days buried? Is it not plain then, on the gospel ac-
count, that he had the power of raising the dead ? and is it
not as plain that he has promised to raise us ? Take both pro-
positions together then, and they will amount to this ; that he,
who has the power of raising the dead, has promised and de-
clared that he will raise us from the dead. God, we know,
cannot lie, and therefore must ratify every word which ' he spoke
by his holy child Jesus :' and hence arises a security which no
doubts can shake. Besides, as to difficulties in nature and
philosophy, he has not indeed taught us to answer them ; but
he fully answered them himself, when he came from the grave ;
as he who got up and walked, baffled all the philosophers'
arguments against motion.

It is true, you will say, this is very good evidence, but you
find it hard to believe : and perhaps you might have been as
hard of belief if our Saviour had reasoned never so philoso-
phically. The question is, whether any objection lies against
the gospel for overlooking the difficulties which learned men
raise ? I have showed that none can lie, and that the gospel
has given a much better evidence than that which is desired :
and this is sufficient to remove the offence taken on the
account of this supposed defect in the gospel. If you believe
not the gospel, that alters not the case : the evidence is not
the worse for that ; for neither would you believe perhaps,
' though one rose from the dead.'

DISCOURSE III.

PART III.

The prejudices which men are apt to conceive against the
gospel, are of different kinds, according to the different views

DISCOURSE III. — PART III. i','.i

under which they consider it. When they set themselves to
examine tlie pretensions it has to be a divine revelation, they
stumble at the meanness and poverty of its author ; imagining-
that, if God were to send a person into the world on so con-
siderable an errand, he would clothe him with a majesty be-,
coming one immediately commissioned by himself, and which
might better support the great undertaking : or if they consider
the gospel as the word of God, given to men for their instruc-
tion in all things pertaining to the service of God, they expect
to find all their doubts and difficulties removed, which are any
way related to the cause of religion ; such, for instance, as
relate to the nature of the soul, its manner of subsisting out of
the body, and to the nature and condition of the future state
which we are bid to expect : and not finding these difficulties
considered and removed, they are apt to conclude that this
revelation has not all the marks of wisdom which are to be
expected in one coming immediately from God.

These offences have been already considered : but as some
are offended at the gospel for not clearing the doubts and diffi-
culties which encumbered the notions of religion before, so
others take offence at the new doctrines introduced into reli-
gion by the gospel, and complain of the hardship put on
them in requiring them to believe things which are not sug-
gested to them by natural reason, nor are to be maintained by
it. Even of our Saviour's disciples we find many offended at
his doctrine, and complaining to each other, 'This is an hard
saying ; who can hear it ?' And so far did their prejudice pre-
vail, ' that they went back, and walked no more with him.'

The gospel, it is said, contains many mysterious truths : and
what purpose of religion can be served by our receiving articles
of faith which we do not understand ? Shall we be the better
men for it? Will it make us more just, or holy, or beneficent
to our brethren ? Will it promote the honor of God to repre-
sent him as requiring such conditions from us, the end or use of
which we cannot discern ? Or, will it recommend religion to
the world ? AVill men be the more forward to submit, when
they must first renounce their sense and understanding, and
cease to be rational, in order to be religious ?

This is a very heavy charge, and were it as true as it is

84 SHERLOCK.

heavy, might possibly shake the foundations of the gospel.
But to set this matter in a clear light, 1 must desire you to
observe the different notions which belong to the word mystery
in the use of the gospel, and in vulgar use among men* at this
l^rae ; and by thus distinguishing the use or sense of the word,
it will appear.

First, That the objection does not reach the gospel sense or
use of the word, nor can aftect the mysteries contained in the
gospel : and.

Secondly, That the use and sense of the word, which is
liable to this objection, does not any way belong to the gos-
pel ; nor are there any such mysteries in the gospel as may
justify the complaint made against them.

First, then. If you look into the sacred writers, you will
find that the whole design of the gospel, the dispensation of
providence in the salvation of mankind, is styled a mystery ;
' the hidden wisdom of God, which was kept secret since the
world began :' a mystery it is called, because it was kept
secret since the world began, God not having opened or de-
clared his gracious purposes before the coming of Christ.
With respect to this time of secrecy and silence, the gospel is
called a mystery ; but on the revelation of it by Christ
Jesus, it is no longer looked on as a mystery, but as the
manifestation of God's will and goodness to men. Thus you
will find St. Paul speaking in the last of the Romans : ' The
mystery which was kept secret since the world began, but now
is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, accord-
ing to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known
to all nations for the obedience of faith :' that is, this great
work was a mystery in all ages, being kept secret in the coun-
sels of God ; but since the coming of Christ it is no longer a
mystery, but is manifest and made known to all nations and
people. Here then, you see plainly, the opposition is be-
tween mystery and revelation : what God has reserved to him-
self, without communicating the knowlege of it to the world,
that is a mystery ; what he has revealed is no longer a mys-
tery, but a manifestation of his will and purpose. In this
sense, I presume, there lies no objection against the gospel :
that it was once hidden m the secret counsels of Providence,

DISCOURSE in. — PART III. 85

but is now, by the revelation of Christ Jesus, made known to
all men, can aft'ord us no matter of complaint, but may admi-
nister to us great joy, and be a subject of praise and glory to
God ; inasmuch as our eyes have seen, and our ears heard,
those things, which many righteous men and prophets have
' desired to see, and have not seen them, and to hear, and have
not heard them.'

As the gospel itself is in this sense styled a mystery, so are
the several parts of it likewise : ' 1 show you a mystery,' says
St. Paul ; ' we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.*
He did not mean that he would show them what they could
not comprehend, but that he would declare to them the pur-
pose of God, which they were ignorant of. The same use of
the word you may meet with in our blessed Saviour himself:
when he had described the future state of the church in para-
bles to the Jews, and came afterwards to explain them to the
disciples, he tells them the reason of his proceeding : * Be-
cause,' says he, ' unto you it is given to know the mysteries of
the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given.' All
futurities, because known only to God, are mysteries ; but
when revealed, they are no longer so, being made known and
manifest. Thus, it is plain, St. Paul uses the word in 1 Cor.
xiii. where he joins the gift of prophecy and the knowlege of
mysteries together : ' Though I have,' says he, ' the gift of pro-
phecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowlege :' where
it is plain what he means by mysteries, since they are to be
understood by the gift of prophecy. In the fourth chapter of
the same epistle he shows what account we are to make of our
pastors and teachers : Let a man,' says he, ' so account of us,
as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of
God.' His meaning is not, that they were preachers of mys-
teries in the vulgar notion of it, that is, of things which nobody
can understand ; but that God had intrusted them with his
purposes and intentions in the salvation of mankind, which they,
like good stewards, were to dispense to the whole family by
declaring and revealing the whole will of God.

The same Apostle says, chap. ii. 7. ' AVe speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery;' and in the next words explains what he
means by mystery, * even the hidden wisdom which God

86 ■ SHERLOCK.

ordained before the world to our glory :' and in the tenth verse
he tells us, this is no longer hidden, but the mystery is laid
open ; ' God having revealed it unto us by his Spirit.' In the
same sense we read of the' mystery of faith :' where we are not
to understand the Apostle to mean incomprehensible articles of
faith, but the revelations of God's purposes and designs, which
through faith we receive, and are therefore styled the mysteri^
of faith.

In this sense the gospel is full of mysteries, as containing
^he secret purposes of God's hidden wisdom in the redemption
of the world, which were made manifest by Christ Jesus,
' who brought life and immortality to light.' Against this
gospel-sense of mystery the common objections have no force ;
since mysteries here are not understood to be such things as
reason cannot receive, but such things as proceed from the
hidden wisdom of God, and are made manifest in the gospel
of Christ.

Let us then, in the second place, proceed to show that the
notion of mysteries, against which the objection lies, does not
belong to the gospel. The objection represents a mystery as a
thing inconceivable, and altogether irreconcileable to human
reason. But such mysteries there are none in the gospel of
Christ. If men, learned or unlearned, have run themselves
into contradictions by endeavoring to explain the mysteries
of God farther than he has explained them, be that to them-
selves ; let not the gospel be charged with their errors and
mistakes. Nothing indeed has proved more fatal to religion
than the vain attempts of men to dive into the unrevealed
mysteries of God, and to account for, on principles of human
reason, the things which proceed from the hidden wisdom of
God. All the secret purposes of Providence are, in the sense
of the Scripture, mysteries; as likewise all knowlege which
God has not revealed. Of such mysteries are there many;
but then they concern not us to inquire after; if they did,
God would reveal them to us. God has declared to us that
he has an only-begotten Son, and that he was the person who
came down from heaven for our deliverance : that he has a
holy Spirit, who shall sanctify our hearts, and be assisting to
us in working out our salvation. This, and agreeable to this,

DISCOURSE III, — PART III. 87

is the Scripture doctrine : and a man would be put to it to fix
any absurdity, or so much as seeming contradiction, on this
doctrine, or any thing said concerning it in Scripture. Con-
cerning these persons there are indeed exceeding great mys-
teries, which are not revealed : G od has not told us, or enabled
us to conceive, how his Son and his Spirit dwell in him, or how
they came from him. These therefore are properly mysteries,
which are hidden in the secret wisdom of God, and which we
are nowhere called on to inquire after. It is easy, I think,
to take God's word, that he has a Son and a Spirit, who dwell
with him and in him from all eternity ; a Son who came to
our assistance, a Spirit who is ever with us to guide us into
truth : these things, I say, are easy to be believed, without
entering into the difficulties arising from natural and philoso-
phical inquiries, which the Scripture nowhere encourages us to
seek after; and as long as men keep close to the rule and
doctrine of Scripture, they will find no cause to enter into the
great complaints raised against mysteries..- The Scripture has
revealed indeed wonderful things to us, and for the truth of
them has given us as wonderful evidence ; so that they are well
qualified to be the objects of our faith : for such God designed
them, and not for the exercise of our vanity and curiosity, or, as
you call it, of our reason. If it is not reasonable to believe God
on the gospel evidence, there is an end of all mysteries ; but
if it is reasonable, there must be an end of all farther inquiries :
and I think common sense will teach us not to call God to
account, or pretend to enter into the reason of his doings.

88 SHERLOCK.

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE IV.

I CORINTHIANS, CHAP. I. — VERSE 21.

PART I,

The expression, in the wisdom of God, considered. Two
main assertions in the text: — I. that the world by wisdom
knew not God : II. That it pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save believers. The meaning of the term
foolishness of preaching explained : adopted by the Apostle as
having been used by the ancient philosophers in derision of
the gospel : he calls on them in their own language to
compare their boasted wisdom with this foolishness of preach-
ing, and to judge by the effects. It is hard to account for the
great corruption of religion, and the absurd superstitious rites
that prevailed. in the world ; but being once introduced and
propagated, it is easy to account for the difficulty of removing
them. The corruption of the world was so general, that those
who were most endowed with wisdom were unable to extricate
themselves or others from the prevailing superstition and
idolatry: hence the truth of the first proposition, that 'the
world by wisdom knew not God.' With regard to the second
proposition, as far as true notions of God and religion go,
the truth of it will be admitted : even the enemies of reve-
lation, in spite of themselves, bear witness in some measure to
this truth : they now see clearly the great truths of religion ;
they can now demonstrate the being and attributes of God,
and can deduce from thence the worship that is to be paid to
him : yet whence this wisdom ? are they wiser than all the

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE IV. 89

sages of antiquity ? what single advantage, indeed, have
they above them, except this, that in their days the light of
the gospel has been spread over the world ? But this com-
parison between the wise and learned of different ages' will not
determine the case : religion is not made for scholars only,
but to influence the general practice of mankind : the great
question, therefore, lies between the religion of the world in
general as aftecting its morality before the coming of Christ,
and since r condition of the world in the one instance con-
trasted with its condition in the other : whence then comes
this change ? If it is for the better, surely the world is in-
debted to the hand that rooted out false notions, destructive of
virtue and happiness, and planted in their stead such as pro-
duce contrary effects. It may be said that the common
people are now only influenced by custom and education, like
the heathens : suppose the case to be so, and we are even
then greatly obliged to revelation. Two things must surely be
admitted : — I. that it was the work of a very extraordinary
power to root out such ancient errors : II. that it was also an
act of great wisdom and goodness to introduce and establish
such just principles and notions as throw the weight of custom
and education on the side of virtue and true religion. The
first proposition cannot be disputed ; for the power that de-
stroys the force of custom and education must be very great :
no instance in history of a nation reasoned out of its religious
errors ; and the gospel not having been introduced by external
force, the work must be ascribed to a power of another kind.
With regard to the second proposition, it may be thought that
true religion is no longer religion when it stands by the force of
custom and education : yet the precepts of the holy writers call
on us to train up a child in the ivay he should go, for this very
reason, that lohen he is old he will not depart from it ; which,
as well as God's declaration to Abraham, Gen. xviii. 19.
proves that true religion is not the worse for the support it has

00 SUMMARY OF

from example and education : but farther, inasmuch as prin-
ciples, opinions, and practices of mankind will ever be strongly
influenced by custom and education, how could the wisdom
and goodness of God be manifested more than by directing such
influence to the side of virtue, religion, and happiness? The
true end of religion is to make men better, and to lead them to
perform their duty to God and man : true principles, therefore,
being instilled into them, they are as capable of discharging
those duties as the greatest philosophers, and as beneficially to
the world. It is not to be inferred from hence that religion
should be founded on prejudice : the gospel was at first pro-
mulgated by the strongest appeal to reason, when it was intro-
duced by the hand of God in signs and wonders, called by the
Apostle ' demonstration of the spirit,' in opposition to ' the
wisdom of the world;' and it stands on the same reason still,
though it may be maintained under the natural influence which
custom and education have on mankind : hence, perhaps,
we may see the reason why miracles were so frequent in the
beginning of the gospel, and why they afterwards ceased :
they were necessary till truth had possession of the world ; but
truth, thoroughly established, was left to be propagated by the
natural means of instruction and education. Any one may see
that evil is produced by false and corrupt principles, which owe
not their influence to reason, but tp the possession which they
have of the mind ; and that good principles, with the same
advantage of possession, will be as powerful to good purposes,
though the mind discerns not the reason from whence they flow :
to answer this end of religion, were the preachers of the gospel
sent into the world ; and the errand was worthy of him who
sent them.

PART II.

The subject of the text re-considered ; and the circumstance,
that a few of the learned heathens extricated themselves from"

DISCOURSE IV. 91

popular errors, discovered a Supreme Being, and-acquired clear
notions of morality, shown to be no argument against the ne-
cessity of a revelation : for, in the first place, religion, if it be
of any use at all, is of use equally to all men : since all men
live under a sense of being accountable for their actions, all
equally stand in need of directions to guide them : to show that
reason served the purpose of four or five persons out of millions,
is no proof that it rendered the publication of the gospel unne-
cessary : neither will the argument hold good — that what
reason did for a few, it was capable of doing for all, and was
therefore a suflBcient foundation for true religion ; inasmuch as
true religion was lost, not from a defect in reason, but by the
abuse and misapplication of it ; for the general abuse of reason
stood in need of a remedy, as an eye which, thouglr* sound, is
covered with a film, requires this obstruction of the sight to be
removed : moreover, when reason is considered abstractedly,
as a principle of action, that degree of it which illuminates the
minds of extraordinary men must not be taken as a measure
of what is to direct the mass : yet among even the learned and
philosophic sages of antiquity, few formed just notions of re-
ligion and morals ; the people in general had neither time nor
capacity to make the attempt : reasoning, in short, will not do
for them ; and therefore the gospel set out difterently, by pro-
posing the great truths of religion, plainly, simply, and autho-
ritatively. The custom of dressing up the doctrines and proofs
of religion in axioms, theorems, and demonstrations, may be
useful to men of thought and contemplation, but not so to man-
kind in general : by this method religion would have lost that
plainness of doctrine and simplicity of evidence which are
strong proofs of its divine original. The foregoing observa-
tions are made on the supposition that a few wise and learned
men had extricated themselves from all popular superstitions ;
but this has never been proved : indeed St. Paul justly lays it
to the charge of the wise men of the world, that when they

92 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE IV.

knew God they glorijied him not as God, &c. Socrates, the
best of them, when accused of despising, and of teaching the
Athenian youth to despise, the gods of his country, acknowleged
himself an idolater in the court of Areopagus, and made his
observance of sacrificial rites on the Pagan altars a part of his
defence. But how different was the defence of St. Paul, ac-
cused in the same court and of the same crime, when he made
his appeal to the altar of the unknown god ! The
very death of Socrates shows that he did not dissemble his
opinions through fear : was it then possible for any one to
oppose heathen idolatry on his authority ? Moreover, the
character of Socrates, as well as of his accusers, was afterwards
put in a true light ; his memory was held in reverence ; and
his doctrines were published by his great and philosophic
pupils ; yet for the space of near four hundred years to the
birth of Christ, what was the eff'ect produced thereby on
the morals of mankind ? The manner and effect of St. Paul's
preaching at Athens, and of other Apostles in various parts of
the world, contrasted with those of Socrates and his school.
Concluding observations :

I. If during so many ages reason was unable to reform the
world, let us not be so vain as to imagine we could have done
more in similar circumstances, &c.

II. When we consider the means used by God in restoring
true religion, and pretend to judge of their fitness, let us avoid
being misled by the conceit of some, who think themselves wise
enough to give such directions in so momentous a matter, &c.

III. Since we see how unable human reason is to struggle
against the inveterate follies of superstition, and also how much
it is indebted to the light of the gospel, let us be careful to
preserve this light, for fear of falling back again into the
vvTfitched state from which it delivered us, &c.

DISCOURSE IV. — PART I. 93

DISCOURSE IV.

I CORINTHIANS, CHAP. I. — VERSE 21.

For after that, in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew
not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save
them that believe.

PART I.

' In the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not
God.' There is some difficulty in , ascertaining the precise
meaning of the first words, ' in the wisdom of God.' Some
understand the meaning to be, that since the world, * in the
wisdom of God,' i. e. by contemplating the wisdom of God in
the great works of the creation, had not ' by wisdom,' i. e. by
the exercise of tFieir reason, arrived to the true knowlege of
God, it pleased God to take another method, and ' by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe,' But since
this difficulty does not affect the main assertions of the Apostle
in the text, I will not spend time in inquiring what has been,
or may be, said on this point.

The main assertions of the Apostle in the text are two :
, First, That the world by wisdom knew not God.

Secondly, That it pleased God by the foolishness of preach-
ing to save believers.

The language made use of here by St. Paul may want ex-
plaining ; for it may seem strange that the preaching of the
gospel should by an Apostle of Christ be called ' the foolish-
ness of preaching.' But the meaning and language of St. Paul
will be accounted for by considering what led him to this kind
of expression.

The doctrine of the cross, and of the redemption of the world
by the death and passion of Christ, was received by the great

94 SHERLOCK.

pretenders to wisdom and reason with scorn and contempt :
' The Greeks,' says the Apostle, ' seek after wisdom — and
Christ crucified is to the Greeks foolishness.' The pride of
learning and philosophy had so possessed the polite parts of the
heathen world, that they could not submit to a method of sal-
vation which was above the reach of their philosophy, and
which refused to be tried by the disputes and subtilties of their
schools. The Apostle, verse 17, says, ' Christ sent him to
preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of words.' The
wisdom of the world, thus discarded, took its revenge of the
gospel, and called it ' the foolishness of preaching.' Be it so,
says the Apostle ; yet by this ' foolishness' of preaching God
intends to save them who believe ; for this method is of God,
and not of man ; ' and the foolishness of God is wiser than men.'
You see what led St. Paul to use this expression, and to call
the preaching of the gospel ' the foolishness of preaching.'
The great and the learned so esteemed it, and so called it :
the Apostle speaks to them in their own language, and calls
on them in the text to compare their much-boasted wisdom
with this foolishness of preaching, and to judge of them by
their effects : the world by ' wisdom knew not God ;' but the
' foolishness' of preaching is ' salvation' to every believer.

Whether this charge of ignorance imputed to the gentile
world be true or no, is a matter depending on the evidence of
history : if it be not true, there can be no difficulty in disproving
it : the time and place may be named, when and where the
true knowlege of God prevailed, and religion in its purity was
professed by the people. But this has not been attempted,
nor will it be, by any one who is acquainted with the history
of the ancient world.

It may be hard perhaps to account for the general corrup-
tion of religion which prevailed in the world ; especially when
we consider how absolutely absurd, and contrary to common
sense, many of the superstitious rites were, which had spread
themselves over the heathen world. AYe can scarcely con-
ceive what should move men to consecrate birds and beasts,
stocks and stones, and to fall down and worship them. But
these follies being once introduced, and propagated from father
to son, it is easy to account for the great difficulty of removing

DISCOURSE IV. — PART I. 95

them. Custom and education, and the reverence which men
naturally have for w^hat they esteem to be religion, were foun-
dations too strong to be removed by the reasoning and specu-
lations of a few who were something wiser than the rest, and
saw perhaps many and great absurdities in the common prac-
tice ; and though there did appear in the heathen world some
such great and good men, who were as lights shining in a dark
place ; yet was there not one found able to extricate himself
from all the superstition of his country, much less to reduce the
people to a practice consonant to the pure principles of natural
religion. And it is an observation true in itself, and of great
weight in this case, that not one country, nay, not one city,
ever embraced the principles of pure natural religion on the
strength of their own reason, or on conviction from the reason
and wisdom of others. And since the world continued under
idolatry for many ages together before the coming of Christ,
notwithstanding that they had as much sense and reason in
those days as we have in ours, what pretence is there to ima-
gine that they would not have continued in the same state to
this day, if the light of the gospel had not appeared ?

Whoever considers this matter seriously and fairly, cannot
but be convinced of the truth of the Apostle's assertion, that
' by wisdom the world knew not God.'

As to the second proposition, * That it hath pleased God by
the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe ;' as far
as true notions of God and religion are necessary means of
salvation, the truth of the assertion will be admitted.

The enemies of revelation will of themselves, and in spite of
themselves, bear witness so far to this truth. They now see
clearly the great truths of religion ; they can now demonstrate
the being and attributes of God, and from the relation we bear
to him deduce the duties owing to him, the worship, and the
purity of the worship, that is to be paid him. Are they wiser
than all who lived before them ? or do they owe this new
degree of light and knowlege to some advantage which others
before them had not ? They will hardly say they are wiser
than all who lived when learning and arts and sciences
flourished in the East, in Greece, and at Rome ; and should
they say it, it will be harder still to believe them : and yet

96 SHERLOCK.

what one advantage have they above the others, this only ex-
cepted, that in their days the light of the gospel has been
spread over the w^orkl ?

But, hovpever, this comparison between the wise and learned
of different ages will not determine the case before us ; for
religion is not made for scholars only : the use of it is to govern
and direct the world, and to influence the practice of mankind.
And the great question lies between the religion of the world in
general before the coming of Christ, and since ; and the
influence which religion in one state and the other naturally
had, or may be supposed to have had, by just consequence, on
the morality of mankind. To give you an account of the reli-
gion and divinity of the vulgar in the days of heathenism,
would be to entertain you with a history of folly and super-
stition; some parts of which for the barbarity of them, and
some for the lewdness of them, are very unfit to be related in a
Christian congregation. The people thought of their gods
much after the rate that the poets write of them ; and their
sacred history was an account of the battles and quarrels, and
of the loves and amours of their deities. Their practice in reli-
gion was agreeable to their articles of belief : their impure
deities were worshipped in acts of impurity or barbarity : and
how could it be otherwise ? for when vice itself was conse-
crated, and had temples dedicated to it, how could the wor-
shippers be untainted ?

IBut consider now how the case stands in countries where the
gospel is preached in any tolerable degree of purity. The com-
mon people now are no gTeater reasoners than they were for-
merly : yet go into our villages, you will find there a firm
persuasion of the unity of God, who made heaven and earth,
and all things in them : the meanest of the people will tell
you that an honest heart is the only acceptable sacrifice to
God, and that there is no way to please him but by doing
justly and righteously.

Let me ask now, whence comes this change ? Is it for the
better or no ? If it is, surely the world is greatly indebted to
the hand that wrought this change, that rooted out all the
false notions destructive of virtue and the happiness of man-
kind, and planted in the room thereof principles which do so

DISCOURSE IV. — PART I. 07

much honor and glory to God, and are full of present peace
and future hopes for the children of men.

I am aware that it will be said that the common people now
are no more able to give a reason of the faith that is in them ,
than their heatheni h ancestors were before them ; and that
custom and the prejudices of education have influenced both
equally ; and that these Christians, had they been born hea-
thens, would have been heathens, or, if Mahometans, they
would have been still Mahometans.

Suppose the case to be so, and consider whether we are not
extremely obliged to revelation on this foot.

If men are naturally influenced by custom and the force of
education to follow the opinions and practices of their country,
and are, after all that has been said to exalt human reason,
incapable to deliver themselves from popular and national
errors by the strength of their own reason ; two things must, I
think, be admitted :

First, That it was a great undertaking, and the work of a
very extraordinary power, to root out ancient errors, which had
for many ages had possession of the whole world : And,

Secondly, That it was an act of great wisdom and goodness,
as well as power, to introduce just principles and notions of
religion, and by giving them at first a firm establishment, to
throw the weight of custom and education on the side of virtue
and true religion, in opposition to superstition and vice.

The first proposition cannot be disputed ; for if the power
of custom and education be as great as it is represented, the
power must be very great that gets the better of it ; and 1 be-
lieve it will be hard to show from history, that ever a nation
was reasoned out of their religious errors : it has been done by
the power of miracles, and by the power of the sword ; but in
this last method the nation and its errors have been commonly
destroyed together. However, the gospel was not introduced
by external force ; and therefore the work must necessarily be
ascribed to a power of another kind.

As to the second proposition, it may be thought dishonorable
to true religion to suppose it to be at all beholden to custom
and education for its support ; dishonorable to God, to suppose
that he can make use of any thing to propagate religion, but

SHERL. VOL. I. E

98 SHERLOCK.

the reason and understanding of his creatures ; and, conse-
quently, that true religion is no longer religion, when it stands
by the force of custom and education.

I know how much has been said of the use of reason in re-
ligion, to the exclusion of all other helps : but I know too that
the holy writers frequently call on us ' to train up a child in
the way he should go,' and give tbis reason for it, ' that when
he is old he will not depart from it.' I know too that God
called Abraham, and made of him a great nation, ' because he
knew him, that he would teach his children after him to keep
the commandments of the Lord :' which precept to instruct
children betimes, and which declaration on God's part in rela-
tion to Abraham, cannot stand with a supposition that true reli-
gion is the worse for the support it has from example and edu-
cation.

But to consider this matter a little farther : if we know any
thing with certainty of mankind, it is this; that their principles,
opinions, and practices are strongly influenced by custom and
education. I will ask any man whether he thinks it possible
to alter this state of things, and to make all men as much phi-
losophers, and as much above prejudices, as some pretend to
be ? I believe no man in his senses ever thought this possible.
If then men are, and ever will be as long as they continue men,
greatly governed by custom and education, the single question
is, whether it Avas an act beneficent to mankind, and becoming
the wisdom of God, to direct this influence to the side of virtue
and true religion, in order to make men happy, rather than to
leave them to be miserable under the strong influence to vice,
superstition, and idolatry, which had possession of the world ?

The true end of religion is to make men better, to lead them
to a due discharge of their duty to God and to man. True
principles and right and just notions of God will lead men to a
just performance of their duty, independently of this conside-
ration, whether their principles are the result of their own rea-
soning, or instilled into them by education. If this be so, the
common people, whose religion is always treated as their pre-
judices, are as capable of performing the duties of religion, and
as acceptably in the sight of God, as the greatest reasoners and
philosophers.

DISCOURSE IV. PART I. 90

Let us suppose that some wise man had fully convhiced
himself by reason of the b^ing of God, of the holiness of his
nature, and that he is a rewarder of all those who diligently
seek him : suppose too, that a plain countryman, not able to
make deductions in a course of reasoning, was yet fully per-
suaded of the same truths from his bible, or the instruction of
his parish-priest : I say, in this case, that the countryman's
principles are as good a foundation for all the duties and pur-
poses of religion as the philosopher's ; that they will be as be-
neficial to the world in making a good father, husband, or
master, and as beneficial to the man in making him happy here
and hereafter : and though his instruction, compared with the
philosopher's deep knowlege, may, in the language of St.
Paul, be called the ' foolishness of preaching,' yet will it, if
duly attended to, ' make him wise unto salvation.'

I am not placing religion on prejudice as its proper founda-
tion : no ; the gospel was at first introduced by the strongest
appeal to reason, when it was introduced by the hand of God
in signs and wonders and mighty works, which the Apostle
calls the ' demonstration of the Spirit,' and opposes it to the
' wisdom of the world :' and the gospel stands on the same
reason still. But this is a reason which, the wise ones of the
world think, can produce nothing but prejudice, or such faith as
difters but little from it. This then I say, that it was, worthy
of God, by a strong hand and outstretched arm, in signs and
wonders to beat down superstition and idolatry, and the cor-
rupt notions of the world ; and to plant in the room of them,
not by the arts of man's wisdom, but by these demonstrations
of the Spirit, true principles of reason and religion ; to give
them possession in the world, that they might be delivered
down from generation to generation, and maintained under the
natural influence which custom and education have, and always
will have, on mankind.

And if we consider revelation in this light only, as removing
false principles of error and superstition, and introducing just
ones of truth and religion, independently of the reason and
evidence on which the gospel stands, it must appear to be an
act of divine love and goodness, which we ought to receive
with thankfulness. If men were supposed to be quite inca-

100 SHERLOCK.

pable of entering at all into the reason of things, and to be
wholly guided by prejudice and custom, yet surely even then it
M'ould be an act of love to draw out of their minds principles
full of mischief to themselves and others, and place in their
room principles of love and benevolence to make themselves
and others happy. And surely this at least must be allowed
to the gospel, that it did in fact expel the false and pernicious
notions of heathenism, and introduce principles on which men
may be at peace and in friendship with God and with each
other. And from hence perhaps we may see the reason why
miracles were so frequent in the beginning of the gospel, and
why they ceased afterwards. They were necessary till truth
had possession of the world; but truth, thoroughly established,
was left to be propagated by the natural means of instruction
and education.

Every body sees what mischief and wickedness are often
produced by false and corrupt opinions and principles ; which
owe not their strength to reason, for with reason they have no
alliance, but to the possession they have of the mind. Good
principles, with the same advantage of possession, will be as
powerful to good purposes, though the mind discerns not the
reason from whence they flow. There are but few workmen,
perhaps, who know the reason, and can demonstrate the me-
chanic powers of the instruments they use ; but being perfect
in the use and application of these powers, they are able
Avorkmen and master-builders ; which is all that is required of
them. In like manner, if true religion is so introduced into
the mind as to work in the heart of man, and make him up-
right and honest, the end and purpose of religion is answered.

To answer this end of religion were the preachers of the
gospel sent into the world : the errand was worthy of him who
sent them ; whose goodness and mercy inclined him to teach
men the way to happiness, but not to flatter their vanity and
pride of knowlege. The doctrines of the gospel are not the
worse for being ' foolishness to the Greeks, and a stumbling-
block to the Jews;' since they are, and on experience appear
to be, ' the power of God to salvation to all who believe.'

DISCOURSE IV. -PART II. 101

DISCOURSE IV.

PART II.

In treating on this subject, I have already observed to yon
that there are two propositions or assertions contained in the
words of the text :

First, That ' the world by wisdom knew not God.'

Secondly, That it pleased God ' by the foolishness of preach-
ing' to save believers.

It being allowed in general that the world was grossly igno-
rant and superstitious, and unacquainted with the true notion of
God, and the religion that was to be paid him ; yet it will still
be said that there were some, some few at least, who had ex-
tricated themselves from these popular errors; who saw and
acknowleged one Supreme Being, the cause of all things; who
had clear and distinct notions of morality, and of the duties
owing from man to man. The writings of some of these great
men are still extant ; and if we consult only Plato, Aristotle,
and the Roman philosopher Tully, we may see how far reason
and philosophy could and did carry these men in matters of
religion and morality.

From these and such-like instances we are apt to form a
general notion of the powers of human reason ; and the argu-
ment appears undeniable : thus far human reason did go without
the help of the gospel ; thus far therefore it certainly can go.

It may be worth our while to consider this case, not with an
intent to depreciate the worth of these, the best and greatest
men of antiquity, but to state it clearly and fairly, as far as
it does, or may be supposed to affect the argument for the ne-
cessity of revelation.

Supposing then, in the first place, all that is said of these
wise men to be true, and that they did arrive at a clear and
distinct knowlege of God, and of the religion that was due to
him ; yet it will weigh but little in the present consideration,
for this plain reason ; because religion, if it is of any use at all,
is equally of use to all men : for since all men live under the

102 SHERLOCK.

impression of natural conscience, and the sense of being ac-
countable for their actions, they all equally want direction ;
and as the experience of the world shows, all men will have
some religion, either good or bad. To say therefore that reason
was sufficient for the purposes of religion before the publication
of the gospel, and to prove it by showing that it served this
purpose in four or five instances in an age, whilst millions and
millions had no help from it, is quite mistaking the point: we
want something to be of use to all men, and which all men
stand in need of to their well-being : you have found something
that will serve perhaps one in a million, and think that you
have discovered an adequate supply for the general want. But
what must become of the many thousands who are incapable
of being the better for your method ? If the whole nation were
infected with the plague, it would be worth while to send even
to the Indies for a man who could cure them ; but if his re-
medy could cure only tvfo or three in the kingdom, it would be
of no great consequence whether he came or staid away.

But it may be said that what reason did for a few, it was
capable of doing for all, if it had been duly attended to ; and,
consequently, that reason was a sufficient foundation for true
religion, notwithstanding that true religion was lost in the
Avorld ; which was not through a defect in reason, but through
the abuse and misapplication of it by the generality of man-
kind.

I agree the case to be so ; but we are still where we were
before: for this general abuse of reason, or inattention to the
voice of it, which had spread over the whole world, had cer-
tainly a root in some general evil and corruption that had in-
fected mankind : and whatever reason was in itself, yet it
stood in great want of a remedy for this evil, that had so uni-
versally darkened and obscured it. Suppose I should say such
a man was blind ; will it be a proper reply to say. No, his
eyes are sound and good, excepting only that there is a very
thick film over them, which intercepts all sight? or would it
be proper to insist that the man wanted no cure, because he
had sound eyes ? What shall we do with this film then ? for
till it is removed, the man might as well be without eyes. This
was the very case of the heathen world. You say they had

DISCOURSE IV. — PART II. 103

reason suflScient for all the purposes of religion : be it so; yet,
in fact, it is certain they were never able to make this use of it
for ages together. Since the coming of Christ the world has
been able to make this use of their reason : and now, at last, it
is become a great question whether a cure has been wrought
or no.

But consider farther, when we talk of reason abstractedly as
a principle of human actions, it is right to say that reason can
do whatever we see any man perform by the help of his reason ;
and therefore it is true that reason can measure the magnitude
and distances of the heavenly bodies ; but is it also true that
every man's reason can do this ? by no means ; and therefore
to consider all men as capable of doing what we see some great
geniuses able to do, is absolutely absurd. Now, the few whom
you suppose to have attained to a just notion of God and of
religion in the heathen world, what were they ? Men brought
up in retirement and study, of great industry and application,
who spent their lives in searching into the causes of things :
and even of those many who followed this method of life and
study, there are but few who can with any pretence be said t(»
have discovered the truth : the crowd of philosophers talked
much more, but knew as little as the people. But the people
themselves, what must become of them ? they have no time for
study, and they must have true notions of religion at a cheaper
rate, or not at all. As religion is a thing in which all men are
concerned, it must be conveyed in a manner that suits men of
all conditions. Supposing therefore that you have found a way
by which some few thoughtful men obtained true notions of
religion, you are far from having found a way of propagating
true religion in the world. Reasoning will not do tlie business :
and therefore the gospel set out in another manner, by propo-
sing the great truths of religion in the plainest and simplest
manner in an authoritative way, but by an authority supported
by the plainest and the strongest proof, the proof of miracles ;
an argument that was adapted to men of all conditions, and
made its way to every understanding.

It is become a fashion to dress up the great doctrines and
proofs of religion in axioms and theorems and demonstrations ;
and those who have taken pains in this way may have done

104 SHERLOCK.

great service to men of thought and contemplation : but had
the gospel set out at first with this air of mathematics, it had
lost one strong proof of its divine original, arising from the
plainness of its doctrine, and the simplicity of the evidence
which was offered in its behalf; which made the gospel to be
a proper tender to all mankind. All mankind are concerned
in the great truths of religion ; and nothing can be more ab-
surd, and contradictory to the notion of God^s wisdom and
goodness, than to suppose God to intend to establish true reli-
gion in the world, and yet to offer it in a method which could
possibly have an influence but on very few. Whoever will
reflect seriously on the nature and condition of mankind in
general; will be able to give himself a clear reason why God
did not call in the assistance of the ' wisdom of the world' to
propagate the gospel, but chose rather to establish it by the
' foolishness of preaching,' as it is called, and by the ' demon-
stration of the Spirit,' manifested in signs and wonders and
mighty works.

I have hitherto considered this plea, drawn from the case of
some great men in the heathen world, on supposition that what
is said of them is true, and that they had indeed extricated
themselves from the superstitions of their country, and attained
just notions of true religion : but this thing, which has been
often said, has never been proved, and I am afraid never will.

I do not wonder that those who have been conversant in the
writings of the ancients, and have been entertained with the
just and fine reflections to be met with on the attributes of
God, considered as Maker and Governor of the world, and of
mankind in particular, should conclude that those who thought
and talked so clearly of the great attributes of the Deity, and
of his providence over the world, had also as clear notions of
the religious service due to him, and to him only. What has
led to this conclusion I conceive to be this : there is so plain a
connexion between the relation we bear to God, and the reli-
gious duty owing to him, and the argument is so familiar to us,
that we almost naturally suppose that every man who main-
tains the principle, cannot fail of seeing the conclusion.

The conclusion indeed is so natural, that, if it were over-
looked, nothing can more sensibly prove the weakness of hu-

DISCOURSE IV. — PART II. 105

man reason in opposition to inveterate errors and superstition ;
and nothing- can more eft'ectually show us how unable these
wise men were to reform the world, since with all their wisdom
they were not able to reform themselves. Yet this was the
truth of the case ; and it was not at random, and without know-
lege of the fact, that St. Paul lays this to the charge of the
wise men of the world, ' that, when they knew God, they glo-
rified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain
in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools ; and
changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made
like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts,
and creeping things.'

To prove the truth of the Apostle's assertion, that even the
wise men, who ' knew God, did not glorify him as God,' by
an induction of particulars, would be undertaking a work which
could hardly be well discharged in this place. But yet the
point is too material to be passed over in silence. Let us then
consider the case of one only, but of one, who among the good
men was the best, and among the wise ones the wisest. I shall
easily be understood to mean Socrates, the great philosopher of
Athens : and were the wise men of antiquity to plead their
cause in common, they could not put their defence into better
hands.

We have an account of the speculative opinions of many of
the wise men of Greece preserved to us in authors of great
credit ; but of their practice and personal behavior in life
little is said : which makes it hard to judge how far their own
practice and conduct was influenced by their opinions, or how
consistent they were in pursuing the consequences of their own
doctrines. The case might have been the same with Socrates,
had not a very particular circumstance put him under a neces-
sity of explaining his conduct and pri^ctice with respect to the
religion of his country. He had talked so freely of the heathen
deities, and the ridiculous stories told of them, that he fell under
a suspicion of despising the gods of his country, and of teaching
the youth of Athens to despise their altars and their worship.
On this accusation he is summoned before tlie great court of

106 SHERLOCK.

the Areopagites ; and happily the apology he made for himself
is preserved to us by two of the ablest of his scholars, and the
best writers of antiquity, Plato and Xenophon : and from both
their accounts it appears that Socrates maintained and asserted
before his judges that he worshipped the gods of his country,
and that he sacrificed in private and in public on the allowed
altars, and according to the rites and customs of the city. After
this public confession, so authentically reported by two so able
hands, there can be no doubt of his case. He was an idolater,
and had not, by his great knowlege and ability in reasoning,
delivered himself from the practice of the superstition of his
country. You see how far the w^isdom of the world could go :
give me leave to show you what the foolishness of preaching
could do in the very same case.

St. Paul was in the same case : he was accused in the same
city of Athens of the same -crime, that he was a setter-forth of
strange gods ; and before the same great court of Areopagites
he made his apology, which is likewise preserved to us by St.
Luke in the seventeenth chapter of the Acts. We have then
the greatest and the ablest among the wise men of Greece, and
an Apostle of Christ, in the same circumstances. You have
heard the philosopher's defence, that he worshipped the gods of
his country, and as his country worshipped them. Hear now
the Apostle : ' Ye men of Athens,' says he, ' I perceive that
in all things ye are too superstitious : for as I passed by, and
beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription,
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly
worship, him declare I unto you : God that made the world,
and all things therein. This God,' he tells them, ' is not wor-
shipped with men's hands, as though he needeth any thing : —
Nor was the godhead like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven
by art and man's device.' He then calls on them, in the
name of this great God, to repent of their superstition and ido-
latry, which God would no longer bear : * because he hath ap-
pointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteous-
ness, by that man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath
given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead.'

DISCOURSE IV. — PART II. 107

Which of these two now was a preaclier of true religion ?
Let those who value human reason at the highest rate determine
the point.

The manner in which Socrates died was the calmest and the
bravest in the world, and excludes all pretension to say that
he dissembled his opinion and practice before his judges out
of any fear or meanness of spirit ; vices with which he was
never taxed, and of which he seems to have been incapable.

Consider then, was it possible for any man, on the autho-
rity of Socrates, to open his mouth against the idolatry of the
heathen world, or to make use of his name to that purpose, who
had so solemnly, in the face of his country, and before the
greatest judicature of Greece, borne testimony to the gods of
his country, and the worship paid them ?

But to proceed : the city of Athens soon grew sensible of the
injury done to the best and wisest of their citizens, and of their
own great mistake in putting Socrates to death. His accusers
and his judges became infamous ; and the people grew extrava-
gant in doing honors to the memory of the innocent sufferer :
they erected a statue, nay, a temple, to his memory; and his
name was had in honor and reverence. His doctrines on the
subjects of divinity and morality were introduced into the world
with all the advantage that the ablest and politest pens could
give ; and they became the study and entertainment of all the
considerable men who lived after him. It is worth observing
too, that from the death of Socrates to the birth of Christ were,
if I remember right, near four hundred years ; which was time
sufficient to make the experiment, how far the wisdom of
Socrates, attended with all the advantages before-mentioned,
could go in reforming the world. And v/hat was the effect of
all this ? Can you name the place where religion was re-
formed ? Can you name the man who was so far reformed, as
to renounce the superstition of his country ? No : none such
are to be found ; and how should there ? since the greater the
credit and reputation of Socrates were, the more strongly di^l
they draw men to imitate his example, and to worship as their
country worshipped.

Consider, on the other side, what was the consequence of
preaching the gospel. St. Paul entertained the Athenians witii

108 SHERLOCK.

no fine speculations ; but he laid before them, in the plainest
dress, the great and momentous truths of religion ; he openly
rebuked their idolatry, and condemned their superstition. The
gospel was published in the same manner every where. The
first preachers of it were enabled to support it by miracles ; and
most of them shed their blood in defence of its truth. By these
means they came likewise to have credit and authority in the
world. But in those two cases there was this great difference :
the corrupt example of Socrates was a dead weight on the
purity of his doctrine, and tended to perpetuate superstition in
the world ; the authority and example of the Apostles went
hand in hand, and united their force to root out idolatry. There
was this farther difference too : the doctrines of Socrates could
go only among the learned : the doctrines of the gospel were
artless and plain, and suited to every man's capacity.

For near four hundred years the disciples of Socrates had the
world to themselves, to reform it if they could ; in all which
time there is no evidence remaining that the religion of the
world was the better for their wisdom. But in much less time
the gospel prevailed in most parts of the known world : wherever
it came, superstition and idolatry fled before it : and in little
more than three centuries the empire became Christian; which
completed the victory over the heathen deities. And if we
mayjudge by this comparison between the wisest of the heathens
and an Apostle of Christ, the doctrine of the text will be fully
^verified ; ' that the world by wisdom knew not God, and that
God by the foolishness of preaching has provided salvation for
them who believe.'

I have gone through the principal points which the text led
me to consider, and shall add but few words by way of reflec-
tion on the whole.

If then it appears from history, and the experience of the
world before us, that men for ages together lived in ignorance
of the true God and of true religion, and that reason was not
able to contend against inveterate errors and superstitions; let
us not be so vain as to imagine that we could have done more in
the same circumstances, than all or any v.ho lived in the many
ages of idolatry. If we consider to what height arts and sciences
were carried in those days, and the politeness of Greece and

DISCOURSE IV. — PART II. 109

Rome in all parts of learning, we shall have little reason to
imagine that men have grown wiser as the world has grown
older. If we have more reason in matters of religion, and un-
doubtedly we have more, it should lead us to consider to whom
we are indebted for the happy change, and to give praise to him
who set the reason of mankind free from the chains under which
it had been fast bound for ages together by superstition and
idolatry.

When we consider the means made use of by God for restor-
ing true religion in the world, and pretend to judge of the fitness
of them to attain the end proposed, we should be aware of being-
misled by the conceits of some who think themselves wise enough
to give directions in a matter of so great moment. Some may
imagine it might be better, if the gospel had reasoned more phi-
losophically on the nature of the Deity, ormore fully explained
the nature of the human soul; and others may wish that other
abstruse points of reason and divinity had been cleared to their
satisfaction. But this was not the errand Christ came on: he
came to teach true religion, and to teach it to all men ; and there-
fore what was not fit for all was no part of his business. The
Greeks sought after wisdom, and the Jews required a sign ; but
the preachers of the gospel had no commission to satisfy the
curiosity of one or of the other ; but to teach the doctrines of
God in such a manner, and to prove them by such means, as
might influence and affect as well the lowest as the highest. If
then the means made use of to introduce the gospel into the
world were such as were proper and necessary to subdue ancient
errors and prejudices ; if the truths taught by Christ are a proper
foundation for all the duties of religion in which man can have
any concern ; if they are left to be supported in the world, and
propagated from age to age, by methods which by experience
have been found eff'ectual, and which, human nature considered,
must be effectual to preserve the profession of religion amongst
men : if, I say, we discover these marks in the gospel, we see
enough to convince us that the gospel is the power of God and
the wisdom of God unto salvation ; which is seeing all that we
are concerned to look after, or have any pretence to expect from
him who came to save and to redeem us.

Lastly, Since we have the experience of many ages before us

'^•M**.

110 SHERLOCK.

to show US how unable human reason is to struggle against the
errors and follies of superstition, when once they have got pos-
session ; since from our own experience we know how much
reason is indebted to the light of the gospel; we should be care-
ful to preserve this light, for fear of falling back again into the
wretched state from which we have been delivered, or into a
worse. Reason was once, what the light of the gospel is now,
a sufficient guide in religion : but v^^hen men grew corrupt and
vain in their imaginations, superstition and error prevailed over
the world, and false religion led reason in triumph for ages
together. As reason was subdued, the light of the gospel may
be ; and will be, when the same causes meet to work together :
a consideration that should make men who have any sense of
religion, think seriously of the treatment the gospel every day
meets with. If we use it no better, it may soon leave us ; and
when once we get rid of this foolishness of preaching, we know
by sad experience what is to be expected from the wisdom of
the world.

DISCOURSE V. Ill

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE V.

JOHN, CHAP. III. — VERSE 16.

Whatever difficulties men find in the gospel, we might sup-
pose it would be admitted at least to be a good lepreseutation
of God's mercy towards mankind. Yet there are some who
think that ]Vature holds out better hopes to her children, in
teaching them that the infirmities of humanity are unavoidable,
and the mercy of God infinite ; whence they conceive all pro-
mises of mercy to be unnecessary, and therefore liable to suspi-
cion : and this is made an argument against revelation, past or
to come. The credit and authority of revelation are much
strengthened by its being reconciled to the natural hopes and
expectations of mankind. The answers of a Christian and
a Deist when asked the grounds of their respective hopes and
expectations, shown nearly to coincide. The gospel is no
enemy to the hopes of nature ; but the question is, whether
these give such security of pardon and immortality as will
justify us in rejecting the light of revelation. Whoever de-
pends on God's forgiveness, admits himself to be a sinner :
upon this admission three considerations laid down : — 1. that
natural religion could not be originally founded in the con-
sideration of man's being a sinner, and in expectation of par-
don : II. that the hopes which we are able to form in our
present circumstances, are too imperfect to give us intire satis-
faction: III. that the coming of Christ has supplied these
defects, perfecting and completing the hopes of nature.

The original religion of nature was agreeable to the original

■tiiiii

112 SUMMARY OF

state of nature; consequently, if natural religion be founded in
the consideration of man's sin and wickedness, it follows that
man was originally formed sinful and weak : supposing men
originally to be what we see they are, on what grounds are we
to hope for an alteration for the better ? for if it was consistent
with God's goodness to put men into this state originally, it is
not inconsistent with his goodness to continue them in it :
hence mere reason cannot entertain hopes of being delivered
from the present state of the world. Even allowing that such
an order of things removed all responsibility from our actions,
yet no religion could be built on it : though we might
escape punishment, we could never show any plea for being
put into a better state. Farther, as natural religion is only
obedience to the laws of nature ; if natural religion be consi-
dered as nothing else from the beginning but an expectation of
pardon for sin, God must have made laws only that his subjects
might break them, and he himself show his goodness in pardoning-
their transgressions ; which is absurd.

In a view of the second consideration, two things maybe
affirmed of the present state of mankind ; one is, that they have a
sense of their obligation to obey the laws of reason and nature;
the other is, that very few do tolerably, and some perfectly, pay
this obedience : it is impossible, therefore, to found the hopes of
religion on innocence and obedience ; for obedience is not paid :
impunity cannot be claimed for all sins; much less any degree
of happiness, present or future, in behalf of offenders : we have
nothing but the probability of God's mercy accepting imperfect
endeavors and attainments : but what security can arise out
of this ? Since all our natural powers are the gift of God, and
our best services but a debt, the claims of natural religion
are only those of unprofitable servants, to whom nothing can be
due.

With respect to the third consideration, in viewing the con-
ditions and promises of the gospel, what reason have we to be
offended ? The laws which are made the conditions of happi-

DISCOURSE V. 113.

ness are not new impositions, but as old as reason itself, and
the same which natural religion stands bound to obey. In this
point we are no losers ; but in all other respects we are gainers.
Those hopes, which we could not have from innocence, the
gospel offers to us through the mercy of God : nature had no
refuge, after sin, but in repentance ; yet nature could not tell
us the efficacy of that repentance, which is disclosed only by
the gospel : all the hopes of nature beyond the grave, that
land of doubt and uncertainty, are confirmed by the gospel,
which has abolished death, and redeemed us into the glorious
liberty of the sons of God. Its promises extend to more than
nature could ever claim ; they take in all her wishes; establish
all her hopes ; and they are offered by a hand that is able to
make them good. Conclusion : the reason we have to adore
the goodness of God in these transactions.

114 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE V.

JOHN, CHAP. III. — VERSE IG.

God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that
whosoever believetli in hrra should not perish, but have everlast-
ing life.

In this passage of Scripture, and in many others, the redemp-
tion of the Avorld by Ciirist Jesus is ascribed to the love and
goodness of God towards mankind. Whatever other difficul-
ties men may tind in the gospel, one would suppose that it
might be admitted to be, at least, a good representation of the
divine mercy towards mankind, and fully to display that ten-
derness and compassion to our weakness and infirmities, which
we all hope for, and with some reason expect to receive, from
our great Creator, whose * mercy is over all his works.'

The case being so, who would expect to hear any objection
against the gospel derived from the topics of divine mercy and
goodness? Yet some there are, who think the mercy .of the
gospel to be imperfect, and that nature gives far better hopes
to all her children. They conceive the infirmities of human
nature to be unavoidable, and the mercy of God to be infinite ;
and from these considerations they raise hopes as unbounded as
they conceive the mercy to be. As they derive these strong
assurances from natural reason, they conceive all promises of
mercy to be unnecessary, and therefore to be suspected ; and
the argument is worked up not only to be an objection against
the gospel revelation, but against all revelations, either past or
to come.

There is nothing of more consequence to the credit and
authority of revelation, than to reconcile it to the natural
notions and the natural hopes and expectations of mankind ;

DISCOURSE V. 116

and indeed the promises of the gospel and the hopes of nature
are founded on the same common principles. Ask a Christian,
why did God redeem mankind by sending his Son into the
world? He must answer, because men were sinners, weak, and
miserable, and unable to rescue themselves from their wretched
condition. Ask him, what moved God to express so much
concern for such worthless objects ? He must resolve it into the
goodness, and tenderness, and paternal affection of God, with
which he embraces all the sons of men.

Ask the deist, on what grounds he has hope and confi-
dence towards God ? He will reply, that he conceives it
impossible for a beneficent being to be rigorous and severe
towards the crimes and follies of such weak, foolish, and
impotent creatures, as men : that their iniquities, though against
the light of nature, yet flow from a defect in the powers of
nature ; since it is no man's fault that he is not stronger, or
wiser, or better, than he was made to be ; and therefore,
though the light of reason renders him accountable for his
actions, yet his want of power to do what his reason approves,
will make his defects excusable in the sight of his equitable
Judge.

You see how nearly natural religion and the gospel are
allied in the foundation of their hopes and expectations. It is
pity such near friends, who have one common hiterest,- should
have any disputes. But disputes there are.

Far be it from us to weaken the hopes of nature. The
gospel is no enemy to these hopes ; so far otherwise, that all the
hopes and expectations of nature are so many preparations to
the gospel of Christ, and lead us to embrace that mercy offered
by Christ, which nature so long and so earnestly has sought
after.

But the question is, whether these natural hopes can give us
such security of pardon, and of life and immortality, as will
justify us in rejecting the light of reveliition ? Now, whoever
depends on the forgiveness of God, admits himself to be in a
case that wants pardon ; that is, admits himself to be a sinner.
This being the case of mankind in general, let it be considered,

First, That natural religion could not be originally founded

116 SHERLOCK.

in the consideration of man's being a sinner, and in the ex-
pectatioji of pardon.

Secondly, That the hopes which we are able to form in our
present circumstances, are too weak and imperfect to give us
intire satisfaction.

Thirdly, That the coming of Christ has supplied these de-
fects, and lias perfected and completed the hopes of nature.

It must be allowed that the original religion of nature was
agreeable to the original state of nature ; and consequently,
if natural religion is founded in the consideration of man's sin
and weakness, it follows that man was originally formed a
sinner and weak. But farther,

Supposing men made originally to be what we see they are,
on what grounds are we to hope for an alteration for the
better? For if it was consistent with God's goodness to put
men into this state originally, how is it inconsistent with his
goodness to continue that state, which was at first his own
appointment ? He could no more act inconsistently with his
goodness at the beginning of the world, than he can at the end
of it. If reason therefore admits the present state of the world
to be of God's appointment, it must never afterwards pretend
to entertain hopes of being delivered from it ; and without
such hopes all religion is vain and useless.

It may be thought perhaps, that, supposing the present state
of things to be of (jod's appointment, we cannot be answerable
for what we do ; for why should he blame us for doing the
work he has appointed? Allow this reasoning ; yet no religion
can be built on it ; for it can go no farther than to say that we
ought not to be punished for our doings ; it can never show
that we have any title to be put into a better state : the utmost
it can pretend to prove, is, that we are absolutely unaccounta-
ble ; and, if so, there is nothing we can do to less purpose than
to trouble our heads about religion.

Farther, if the laws of nature are the precepts of natural re-
ligion, as without all doubt they are, it follows that natural
religion can be nothing else but obedience to the laws of
nature; and, consequently, the genuine hopes of natural reli-
gion must be founded in obedience. This must necessarily be

DISCOURSE V, 117

the case ; for all laws are made to be obeyed. No prince was
ever so absurd as to make laws with this view, that his subjects
might break them, and he show his goodness in pardoning their
transgressions : and yet this must have been the scheme of
Providence, if natural religion was nothing else from the
beginning but an expectation of pardon for sin.

Secondly, Let us take a view of our present state, without
inquiring whether any and what change has happened to put us
into this condition ; and let us consider what may b^ expected
from our present circumstances. Two things may be affirmed
with certainty of the present condition of mankind : one is,
that they have a sense of their obligation to obey the laws of
reason and nature ; which is evident from the force of natural
conscience : the other is, that very few do in any tolerable
degree, and none perfectly, pay this obedience.

Let us examine then how religion will stand on these
circumstances. It is impossible to found the hopes of religion
on innocence and obedience ; for obedience is not paid. On
the other hand, absolute impunity cannot be claimed for all
sins ; much less can any degree of happiness, either present or
future, be claimed in behalf of offenders. The utmost proba-
bility to which human reason can arrive in this case is, that the
goodness of God and the weakness of man considered, God
may favorably accept our endeavors, how imperfect soever
our attainments may be. But is this reasoning built on
infallible principles ? Can any certainty or security arise out
of this ? any that can give rest or peace to the mind of man,
ever inquisitive after futurity? Will you promise impunity to
offenders on repentance? Impunity, mere impunity, is not
the thing that nature seeks after : she craves something more.
But can the argument from the divine mercy be carried farther ?
Is it not great mercy to pardon sinners ? Can you with
decency desire a reward for them? Our Saviour has told us,
that when we have done our best, we must still own ' that we
are unprofitable servants ;' and if we reflect that all our natural
powers are the gift of Ggd, and, consequently, our best services
are but a debt paid to the donor ; if we consider that in all we
do there is no profit to the Most High ; that his power and
majesty are not exalted by our service, nor lessened by our

V

118 SHERLOCK.

neglect ; we shall find that our own reason teaches us the same
lesson, and that, when we confess ourselves unprofitable ser-
vants, we give greater evidence of our understanding than of
our humility. And if this be truly the case, what are the
claims of natural religion ? are they not the claims of unpro-
fitable servants ? the claims of those to whom nothing is due ?

Thirdly, Let us now take a view of the conditions and pro-
mises of the gospel, and see whether we have any reason to be
offended at them. As to the laws which are made the con-
ditions of our happiness, they are not new impositions, but as
old as reason itself, and the very same which natural religion
stands bound to obey. Here then can be no complaint, at
least no just one. So far then we are quite safe, that we can
be no losers by the gospel, since it lays no new burden on us.
In all other respects our case is extremely altered for the
better. We feel ourselves easily tempted to do wrong, and
unable to pay the obedience we owe to righteousness. Hopes,
therefore, from our innocence we have none, but are forced to
have recourse to the mercy of God. Now this mercy, which
we hope for, the gospel oft'ers us in the name of God. Have
we any reason to suspect the offer? or to reject that very
mercy, when promised by God, which our own reason teaches
us to expect at his hands ?

If we sin, nature has no refuge but in repentance; and how
far that will go, we know not : nature has not, cannot teach us
this knowlege. From the gospel we learn that true repent-
ance shall never be in vain ; shall not only protect us from
punishment, but shall also set open to us the doors of life and
immortality. There you may view religion once more restored
to its native hope of glory and life for evermore. You will be
no longer obliged to wander in the mazes and intricacies of
human reason, and to speculate on the attributes of divine
mercy and justice ; the limits and boundaries of which are not
to be determined by the wit of man, and the contemplation of
which abounds with terrors as well as hopes : but you may see
the clear and immutable purpose of God to give salvation to all
who, with penitent hearts and a firm reliance on his word,
endeavor after righteousness.

One would imagine the gospel should easily find credit with

DISCOURSE V. 119

men, when all its promises do so exactly tally and correspond
with the hopes of nature. Has nature any reason to complain
of this? Is it an objection to the gospel that it has confirmed
all your hopes and expectations, that it has given you the
security of God's promise to establish the very wishes of your
heart ? You trust, you say, that he who made you still retains
some love for you : to convince you that he does, ' he hath sent
his well-beloved Son into the world to save sinners.' Though
you offend, yet you hope on repentance to be forgiven : the
gospel confirms this hope ; the terms of it are more beneficial,
and convey to true penitents not only hope, but a claim to
pardon. But pardon only will not satisfy ; there is still some-
thing farther that Nature craves, something which with unutter-
able groans she pants after, even life and happiness for ever-
more. She sees all her children go down to the grave : all
beyond the grave is to her one wide waste, a land of doubt and
uncertainty : when she looks into it, she has her hopes, and she
hasher fears; and agitated by the vicissitude of these passions,
she finds no ground whereon to rest her foot. How difterent
is the scene which the gospel opens ! There we see the
heavenly Canaan, the new Jerusalem ; in which city of the
great God there are mansions, many mansions, for receiving
them, 'who through faith, and patient continuance in well-
doing, seek for glory and immortality.' Our blessed Master
has abolished death, and redeemed us into the glorious liberty
of the sons of God, that we may dwell in his presence as long
as time itself shall last.

If we were to form a system of religion for ourselves that
should answer to all our wishes and desires, what more could
we ask for ourselves than what the gospel has offered ?
The obedience required of us is the same to which we are ante-
cedently bound, in virtue of that reason and understanding
which make us to be men. Tiie promises of the gospel extend
to more than nature could ever claim ; they take in all her
wishes, establish all her hopes ; and they are offered by a hand
that is able to make them good.

The conclusion of the whole is, that, since the religion of a
sinner must necessarily be founded in the hopes of mercy ;
since these hopes have at best but uncertain foundation in

120 SHERLOCK.

natural religion, and are liable to be disturbed and shaken by
frequent doubts and misgivings of mind ; we have great reason
to bless and adore the goodness of God, who has openly dis-
played before our eyes the love that he has for the children of
men, by sending ' his well-beloved Son into the world, that all
who believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'

DISCOURSE VI. , 121

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE VI.

II TIMOTHY, CHAP. I. — VERSE 10.

Some maintain that the words of this text exclude all argu-
ments for a future state of immortality, drawn either from the
light of reason and nature, or from the writings of Moses.
Thus far indeed they reason justly, that, if the text is to be
understood in this exclusive sense, the authority of any former
revelation will be affected equally with that ot sense and rea-
son : but the converse of this will hold good ; the words of our
Saviour (Luke xx. 37.), Now that the. dead are raised, even Moses
showed at the hush, indicate that the text does not impeach the
authorityofMoses, nor consequently exclude the proofs of natural
religion. It remains therefore to explain the literal meaning of
the text, in which the word (pojriSetv has been improperly trans-
lated : its true signification is, to enlighten, illustrate, or clear up
any thing; as it is used John i. 3. The real meaning therefore
of our Saviour is, that the gospel has given a more full and sure
proof of a future life and immortality than either the law of nature,
or that of Moses. This view of the text leaves us at full liberty
to consider the evidence which mankind had for those doctrines,
as well as that which the gospel now affords; to show in what
the former failed, and how it is supplied by the latter.

Natural evidence not to be estimated so much from the acute-
ness of this or that writer, as from the common sense and ap-
prehension of mankind : it owes its authority, not to the abstract
reasonings of any school, but to some general sense and notion
found in all men, or to some common and uncontroverted maxim
of reason. The argument therefore of unbelievers, drawn from

SHERL. VOL. I. ^ F

122 SUMMARY OF

the inconsistencies of Plato, Aristotle, or Tully, is not availa-
ble against the united voice of all mankind. The common
belief and persuasion of mankind shown to be the foundation of
all inquiry into this natural evidence of immortality ; inquiry
did not lead men originally to the train of evidence. The belief
and persuasion of a future life would arise from the common
sense that men have of good and evil, and their natural appre-
hension of accountableness attached to their actions, of which
account is not taken in this world. Such an internal, heartfelt
argument as this, has greater weight than all the reasonings of
philosophy. Error of those explained who imagine that the
notion of a future life originated in the descriptions of poets.
We might as soon suppose that eating and drinking had the
same origin, and that men would never have thought of it
but for the fine entertainments described by such writers. The
poets corrupted the genuine sentiments of nature by the wild
conceits of folly and superstition ; but still the root was natural,
though the fruit was strange. Moreover an expectation of re-
wards and punishments prevailed where the fables of Greece
never came. Belief of immortality, then, originated neither
with poets nor philosophers, though both parties finding it a
common principle among mankind, built their theories on this
foundation. How far any of these inquirers succeeded in their
attempts, is another question : natural evidence is prior to their
investigations. Infidelity in fact is coeval with and caused by
philosophy : doubts did not arise till men began to search for
physical reasons for the soul's immortality : the subject enlarged
on : speculations of ancient philosophers : the opinions of Plato
and Cicero opposed to the doctrine of the corporealists : this
brought the controversy to turn on the nature of the soul ; and
the belief of immortality either prevailed or declined, according
as men conceived of the soul's natural dignity and power :
hence we may judge of the difficulties attending the cause of
immortality on the footing of natural religion : these difficulties
enlarged on : another also remains, that no notion of iramorta-

DISCOURSE VI. 123

lity, as regards the soul unconnected with the body, can
serve the end of religion, because it is one which the gene-
rality of mankind never can arrive at : abstract metaphysical
notions are above the comprehension of the vulgar. Herein
nature seems deficient and unable to support the hopes of im-
mortality which she gives to her children : the expectation of
the vulgar that they shall live again and be just the same flesh
and blood, is justified by no principles of reason or nature ;
whilst the philosophic idea that the intellectual soul shall be
the whole man, is not the common sense of nature, and there-
fore no part of natural religion. Inquiry how nature comes to
be defective on so material a point : sacred history alone clears
up the fact : immortality was the original condition of the crea-
tion, and death came by surprise on nature : on the original
plan of nature, the common notion of immortality was the true
one ; for take death out of the question, which is the only sepa-
ration of body and soul we know of, and there is no pretence for
distinguishing between the man and the intellectual mind. The
vulgar retained the true original notion of nature ; but when the
original state of nature was lost, the notion grew absurd ; and
thus the coming in of death obscured the hopes of immortality.
If we consider how our Saviour has enlightened this doc-
trine, it will appear that he has removed the difficulty at which
nature stumbled. As death was no part of the state of nature,
so the difficulties arising from it were not provided for in the reli-
gion of nature : to remove these was the proper work of reve-
lation, which Christ has done by his gospel ; for this shows
us that the body and spirit may, and shall be, re-united before
his judgment seat : this is stated in the words preceding the text :
now if the abolishing of death was the bringing to light life and
immortality, the coming in of death must have been that which
so darkened nature. Conclusion : two things, as we learn from
our Saviour's answer to the Sadducees (Mat. xxii. 29.), neces-
sary to confirm us in the belief of a resurrection ; viz., knowlege
of the power of God, and of the will of God.

124 ' SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE VI.

II TIMOTHY, CHAP.— I. VERSE 10.

— And hath brought life and immortality to light through the

gospel.

These words being spoken of our blessed Saviour, and
affirming that he through the gospel brought life and immorta-
lity to light, are thought by some to be exclusive of all argu-
juents for a future immortality, drawn either from the light of
reason and nature, or from the writings of Moses : for if the
hopes of immortality were so supported before the coming of
Christ Jesus, it could not be truly asserted of him, 'that he
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.' And
so far at least they must be allowed to argue justly, that, if
the text is to be understood in this exclusive sense, it will
affect the proofs and authorities of any former revelation
equally with those of sense and reason. But then, on the other
side, it is certain that, if this argument does not impeach the
authority of Moses with regard to this fundamental article of
faith, neither will it shut out the proofs of natural religion ;
since it must destroy the evidence of both or of neither. Now,
that it does not set aside the authority of Moses, is evident
from our Saviour's argument to the Sadducees : * Now that the
dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he
calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob :' Luke xx. 37. From whence it appears
that our Saviour thought the law of Moses afforded good proof
of a future life ; which is inconsistent with the supposition that
there was no evidence for life and immortality till the publica-
tion of the gospel.

But, supposing Moses or the law of nature to afford evidence
for a future life and immortality, it remains to be considered in
what sense the words of the text are to be understood, which do

DISCOURSE VI. 125

affirm ' that life and immortality were brought to light througli
the gospel.' To bring any thing to light may signify, according
to the idiom of the English tongue, to discover or reveal a thing
which was perfectly unknown before : but the word in the ori-
ginal is so far from countenancing, that it will hardly admit of
this sense. The Greek runs thus: (pL^Tiacwros be cwy/v »cat af-
dapaiav. Now fioTiieiv signifies (not to bring to light, but)
to enlighten, illustrate, or clear up any thing. You may
judge by the use of the word in other places : it is used
in John i, 9. ' That was the true light, which lighteth (or
enlighteneth) every man that coraeth into the world :' b (pm-
Tiiei TTctiTo a.vdfi(i)iToi'. Jesus Christ did not by coming into the
world bring men to light ; but he did by the gospel enlighten
men, and make those who were dark and ignorant before, wise
even to salvation. In like manner our Lord did enlighten the
doctrine of life and immortality, not by giving the first or only
notice of it, but by clearing up the doubts and difficulties under
which it labored, and giving a better evidence for the truth
and certainty of it, than nature or any revelation before had
done. There is one place more, where our translators render
the original word as they have done in the text : 1 Cor. iv. 5.
' Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come,
who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and
will make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall
every man have praise of God.' But in this place it had been
more properly rendered, 'who will cast light on 'the hidden
things of darkness ; and so rendered, it better suits what follows,
and ' will make manifest ' the counsels of the heart. The hidden
things of darkness, which shall be brought to light at the
coming of the Lord, are the actions and practices of wicked
men ; which, though they are of a certain and determinate
nature, are yet hard to judge of, because we cannot discern the
springs and motives from whence they arise : perfectly unknown
to us they are not ; if they were, there was no occasion for the
Apostle to forbid us judging of them ; for men do not, cannot
judge at all of things which do not at all fall under their
notice : but they are so dark and obscure, that it is hard to
judge rightly of them ; and therefore it is but prudent to suspend
our sentence till the day comes which will make all things

126 SHERLOCK.

clear, which will hold such a light to these hidden things of
darkness, that we shall manifestly discern them, and be able to
view them on every side. So that, in this case, the hidden things
of darkness are not supposed to be perfectly unknown, but only
to be so dark and involved, that we cannot safely pass our
judgment on them; and ' to bring them to light' imports no
more than to set them in a clear light, and to make them plain
and manifest to the eyes of all the world. According to the
use then of the original word, 'to bring life and immortality
to light' signifies to illustrate and make plain this great doctrine
of religion, to dispel the doubts and uncertainties in which it
was involved, and to give evident proof and demonstration to
the world of the certainty of a future life and immortality.

The text, thus explained, leaves us at liberty to make the
best both of the evidence of nature and of Moses for a future
life and immortality, and asserts nothing to the gospel but this
prerogative, that it has given a surer and fuller proof of this fun-
damental article than ever the world before Avas acquainted
with. The true point then now before us, and which takes in
the whole view of the text, is, to consider the evidence which
mankind had for the doctrine of immortality before the coming
of Christ, and the evidence which the gospel now affords ; and
to show where the former evidence failed, and how it is sup-
plied by the latter.

It would take up too much time to examine minutely the
several arguments for the immortality of the soul, which are to
be found in the writings of heathen authors ; nor would it per-
haps answer the purpose of our present inquiry : for the natural
evidence in this case is not so much to be estimated by the
acuteness of this or that writer, as by the common sense and
apprehension of mankind : and this, and all other opinions
which have any pretension to derive themselves from nature,
owe their authority, not to the abstracted reasonings of any
school, but to some general sense and notion which is found in
all men, or to some common and uncontro verted maxim of rea-
son. The unbelievers of this age have abused their time
and pains in their endeavors to expose the natural evidence of
immortality, by confronting the different sentiments of the
ancient philosophers, and by showing their uncertainty and in-

DISCOURSE VI. 127

consistency: for what if Plato, if Aristotle, if TuUy, are in-
consistent with one another, or with themselves, in their ab-
stracted arguings on this point? What is this to the evidence
of nature, which is not the single opinion of Plato, or any
other philosopher, but the united voice of all mankind ? This
was the common belief of the world, derived from some com-
mon sense, or principle of reason, before any philosopher had
so much as thought of an abstracted reason for the proof of it :
and had not the common sense of nature dictated this truth to
them, I am very confident the philosophical reasons had never
been thought of. That the common belief and persuasion was
the foundation of the philosophical inquiry, is evident from
hence, that all the ancient writers on this subject appeal to the
common notion and consent of mankind, as one great argument
for the truth of the doctrine : which certainly proves this at
least, that the world was possessed of this belief long before
they were writers, or ever the philosophical reasons were
thought of. If the notion was common, that alone is a suffi-
cient proof that it did not arise from abstracted reasoning ; for
no common opinion ever did or ever can : and the reason is
plain ; for a common opinion is that which is received by the
generality of men, who never were, who never will be, capable
of attending to abstracted reason. Xow this natural evidence,
distinguished from the intricacies of philosophy, is the thine;
which we inquire after, and which will stand its ground, what-
ever becomes of the private notions of learned men ; for nature
may be in the right in giving notice of a future life, however
men may be mistaken, when they come to consider and ascer-
tain the nature and cause of it ; which to do is the mark and
aim of philosophy.

But the common consent is the voice and law of nature ; for
what all agree in must needs derive itself from something that
is common to all ; and what is so, but the sense and instinct
of nature ? When men come to speculation, they differ as
much in the cast and turn of their minds, as they do in the fea-
tures and lineaments of their faces; and therefore speculative
reasoning will never produce a common persuasion.

This belief and persuasion of the certainty of a future life
arose from the common sense that men have of the difference of

128 SHERLOCK.

good and evil, and of every man's being accountable for the
things done in this world ; which account not being taken in
this world, as the least degree of observation will enable men
to see, they concluded, or rather they felt from the very force
of reason and conscience, that there was an account to be given
hereafter. Such an internal argument as this, which springs
up in the heart and from the heart of every man, has a greater
weight in it than all the reasonings of philosophy put together,
and will tie men down, if not to hope for, yet at least to fear
a future immortality ; either of which is the silent voice of
nature testifying the reality of a life to come.

That this is the true foundation of the universal belief of a
future life, may be learnt from hence, that the persuasion of
another life was always connected with the supposition that
there were different states for good and bad men ; so that you
cannot any where trace the notion of immortality, but you find
evidence also for the different conditions of men in another life,
according as they have behaved themselves in this. Now
these two opinions being thus inseparably united, it is easy to
judge which is the natural sense, and which the consequence :
let any man try, and he will find that it is not the expectation
of living that makes men infer the reasonableness or necessity
of a judgment ; but it is the reasonable and natural expectation
of judgment, which makes them infer the necessity and reality
of a future life.

Into what great absurdities this natural notion grew under
the management of poets is well known : they named the
princes and the judges, and described the tortures of the wicked,
as their fancies led them ; and their inventions became the vul-
gar theology. But this still shows the truth of what I have
asserted ; for neither would the poets, whose business it is to
raise fine scenes on the plan and probability of nature, have so
painted the torments and the enjoyments of men departed, nei-
ther would the world have received their inventions, had there
been no foundation in nature to support the romance.

As to such as imagine that the notion of a future life arose
from the descriptions and inventions of poets, they may even as
Avell suppose that eating and drinking had the same original,
and that men had never thought of it but for the fine feasts and

DISCOURSE VI. 129

entertainments which are described in such writers. The poets
were the Papists of antiquity, who corrupted the genuine senti-
ments of nature, and obscured the light of reason, by introdu-
cing the wild conceits of folly and superstition : and when once
they had grafted the slips of superstition on the stock of nature,
they throve so fast, and grew so rank, that the natural branches
were even starved by the luxuriancy of this wild olive. But
still the root was natural, though the fruit was wild. All that
nature teaches is, that there is a future life, distinguished into
different states of happiness and misery, in which men will be
rewarded or punished according as they have pursued or neg-
lected the rules of virtue and honor. And this notion prevailed
where the fables of Greece had never been heard of ; and
wicked men felt in themselves the fear of the wrath which is
to come, though they had never so much as learnt the names
of Tantalus or Sisyphus, or any other sufferer in the poets'
scene of hell.

The natural evidence then of life and immortality stands
equally clear of the inventions of poetry, and the subtilties
and refinements of philosophy ; and though it be allied to both,
yet it arose from neither. The truth of the case with regard to
both is this : the poets found men in possession of the doctrine
of a future state, with rewards and punishments for good and
bad men : on this foundation they went to work ; and the plain
draught of nature was almost hid under the shades and colors
with which they endeavored to beautify and adorn it. The
philosophers found the same persuasion in themselves and
others, and, as their profession led them, sought out for physical
reasons to support the cause. This inquiry has furnished us
with the various opinions of antiquity concerning the nature
and operation of the soul, its manner of acting in the body and
out of it, its eternity and immortality, and many other curious
pieces of learning. How far any or all of these inquirers into
nature succeeded in their attempt to prove the immortality of
the soul from physical causes, is another question. As to the
present point, it is plain the natural evidence is not concerned
in their success, whatever it is ; for the natural evidence is
prior to their inquiries, and stands on another foot, on the
common sense and apprehension of mankind : and the schools

130 SHERLOCK.

may determine the soul to be fire, or air, or harmony, or what
else they please ; yet still nature will make every man feel that
the grave will not secure him from appearing before the great
tribunal, to which he is accountable.

So true is this, that, had it not been for philosophy, there
had remained perhaps no footsteps of any unbelievers in this
great article : for the sense of nature would have directed all
right ; but philosophy misguided many. For those who denied
immortality, did not deny the common sense of nature, which
they felt as well as others; but they rejected the notice, and
thought it false, because they could not find physical causes to
support the belief, or thought that they found physical causes
eftectually to overthrow it. This account we owe to Cicero,
one of the best judges of antiquity; who tells us plainly that
the reason why many rejected the belief of the immortality of
the soul, was, because they could not form a conception of an
unbodied soul. So that infidelity is of no older date than
philosophy ; and a future state was not doubted of till men
had puzzled and confounded themselves in their search after
the physical reason of the soul's immortality. And now con-
sider how the case stands, and how far the evidence of nature
is weakened by the authority of such unbelievers. All man-
kind receive the belief of a future life, urged to it every day
by what they feel transacted in their own breasts : but some
philosophers reject this opinion, because they have no concep-
tion of a soul distinct from the body ; as if the immortality of
the soul depended merely on the strength of human imagina-
tion. Were the natural evidence of immortality built on any
particular notion of a human soul, the evidence of nature might
be overthrown by showing the impossibility or improbability
of such notion : but the evidence of nature is not concerned in
any notion ; and all the common notions may be false, and
yet the evidence of nature stand good, which only supposes
man to be a rational creature, and consequently accountable :
and if any philosopher can prove the contrary, he may then,
if his word will afterwards pass for any thing, reject this and
all other evidence whatever.

The natural evidence, I say, supposes only that man is a ra-
tional, agcountable creature ; and this being the true founda-

DISCOURSE VI. 131

tion in nature for the belief of the immortality, the true notion
of nature must needs be this; that man, as such, shall live to
account for his doings. The question then, on the foot of
nature, is this — what constitutes the man? and whoever ob-
serves with any care, will find that this is the point on which
the learned of antiquity divided. The vulgar spoke of men
after death just in the same manner as they did of men on
earth : and Cicero observes, that the common error (as he calls
it) so far prevailed, that they supposed such things to be trans-
acted apud inferos, qua sine corporibus nee Jieri possent nee
intelUgi ; which could neither be done, nor conceived to be
done, without bodies. The generality of men could not arrive
to abstracted notions of unbodied spirits ; and though they
could not but think that the body, which was burnt before
their eyes, was dissipated and destroyed ; yet so great was the
force of nature, which was ever suggesting to them that men
should live again, that they continued to imagine men with
bodies in another life, having no other notion or conception of
men.

But with the learned nothing was held to be more absurd
than to think of having bodies again in another state : and yet
they knew that the true foundation of immortality was laid in
this point, that the same individuals should continue. The na-
tural consequence then was from these principles to exclude the
body from being any part of the man : and all, I believe, who
asserted an immortality, agreed in this notion. The Platonists
undoubtedly did ; and Cicero has every where declared it to be
his opinion : Tu habeto, says he, te non esse mortalem, sed
corpus: nee enim is es quem forma ista declarat ; sed mens cu-
jusque is est quisque. It is not you, but your body, which is
mortal : for you are not what you appear to be ; but it is the
mind which is the man. This being the case, the controversy
was necessarily brought to turn on the nature of the soul ; and
the belief of immortality either prevailed or sank, according as
men conceived of the natural dignity and power of the soul.
For this reason the corporealists rejected the opinion : for since
• it was universally agreed among the learned that all that was
corporeal of man died, they, who had no notion of any thing
else, necessarily concluded that the whole man died.

132 SHERLOCK.

From this view you may judge how the cause of immortality
stood, and what difficulties attended it, on the foot of natural
religion. All men had a natural sense and expectation of a
future life. The difficulty was to account how the same indi-
viduals, which lived and died in this world, and one part of
which evidently went to decay, should live again in another
world. The vulgar, who had no other notion of a man but
what came in by their eyes, supposed that just such men as
lived in this world should live in the next ; overlooking the
difficulties which lay in their way, whilst they ran hastily to
embrace the sentiments of nature. This advantage they had
however, that their opinion preserved the identity of indivi-
duals, and they conceived themselves to be the very same with
respect to the life to come, as they found themselves to be in
regard to the life present. But then, had they been pressed,
they could not have stood the difficulties arising from the disso-
lution of the body, the loss of which, in their way of thinking,
was the loss of the individual.

The learned, who could not but see and feel this difficulty,
to avoid it, shut out the body from being any part of the man,
and made the soul alone to be the perfect individuum. This
engaged them in endless disputes on the nature of the soul ; and
this grand article of natural religion by this means was made
to hang by the slender threads of philosophy ; and the whole
was intirely lost, if their first position proved false, that the
soul is the whole man : and it is an assertion which will not
perhaps stand the examination. The maintainers of this opi-
nion, though they supposed a sensitive as well as a rational soul
in man, which was the seat of the passions, and, consequently,
the spring of all human actions ; yet this sensitive soul they
gave up to death as well as the body, and preserved nothing
but the pure intellectual mind. And yet it is something sur-
prising to think that a mere rational mind should be the same
individual with a man, who consists of a rational mind, a sensi-
tive soul, and a body. This carries no probability with it at
first sight, and reason cannot undertake much in its behalf.

But whatever becomes of these speculations, there is a far-
ther difficulty, which can hardly be got over ; which is, that
tliis notion of immortality and future judgment can never serve

DISCOURSE VI, 133

the ends and purposes of religion, because it is a notion which
the generality of mankind can never arrive at. Go to the vil-
lages, and tell the ploughmen, that if they sin, yet their bodies
shall sleep in peace ; no material, no sensible fire shall ever
reach them, but there is something within them purely intellec-
tual, which shall suffer to eternity ; you will hardly find that
they have enough of the intellectual to comprehend your mean-
ing. Now natural religion is founded on the sense of nature,
that is, on the common apprehensions of mankind; and there-
fore abstracted metaphysical notions, beat out on the anvil
of the schools, can never support natural religion, or make any
part of it.

In this point then nature seems to be lame, and not able to
support the hopes of immortality which she gives to all her
children. The expectation of the vulgar, that they shall live
again, and be just the same flesh and blood which now they
are, is justifiable on no principles of reason or nature. What
is there in the whole compass of beings which yields a simili-
tude of dust and ashes rising up again into regular bodies, and
to perpetual immortality? On the other side, that the intellec-
tual soul should be the whole man, how justifiable soever it
may be in other respects, yet it is not the common' sense of na-
ture, and therefore most certainly no part of natural religion.

But it may be worth inquiring how nature comes to be thus
defective in this material point. Did not God intend men ori-
ginally for religious creatures ? and if he did, is it not reason-
able to expect an original and consistent scheme of religion ?
which yet in the point now before us seems to be wanting.
The account of this we cannot learn from reason or nature ; but
in the sacred history the fact is cleared beyond dispute. The
absurdity on the common notion of immortality arises from the
dissolution of the body at death ; and the great difficulty on the
foot of nature is how to preserve the individuals for judgment,
which are evidently destroyed by death. Now, if this death
was really a breach on the state of nature, it is no wonder it
should be a difficulty in the religion of nature ; for the religion
of nature was most certainly adapted to the state of nature.
And the wise man tells us, ' that God made not death : for he
created all things that they might have their being ; and the

134 SHERLOCK.

generations of the world were healthful ; and there is no poison
of destruction in them ; nor the kingdom of death on earth ;
for righteousness is immortal. But ungodly men with their
works and words called it to them.' If immortality was the
condition of the creation, if death came in as a surprise on na-
ture, no wonder if she stands mute and astonished at the fatal
change, and seems neither willing to part with her hopes of
immortality, nor yet able to maintain them. On the plan of
nature the common notion of immortality was the true one : for
take death out of the question, which is the only separation of
soul and body that we know any thing of, and there is no pre-
tence for distinguishing between the man and the intellectual
mind. The vulgar certainly retained the true original notion
of nature ; but when the original state of nature was lost, the
notion grew absurd ; and it could not be otherwise. God made
man immortal, and gave him consistent hopes and fears : man
made himself mortal by sin : must not then those hopes, which
were consistent hopes on the foot of immortality, become very
absurd when joined to a state of mortality ? And thus the
coming in of death obscured the hopes of immortality.

Lastly, If we consider how our Saviour has enlightened this
doctrine, it will appear that he has removed the difficulty at
which nature stumbled. As death was no part of the state of
nature, so the difficulties arising from it were not provided for
in the religion of nature. To remove these was tlie proper
work of revelation : these our Lord has effectually cleared by
his gospel, and shown us that the body may and shall be united
to the spirit in the day of the Lord, so that the complete man
shall stand before the great tribunal to receive a just recom-
pence of reward for the things done in the body. This account
is given in the words preceding those of the text : ' who hath
abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light
through the gospel.' Now, if the abolishing of death was the
bringing to light life and immortality, it is plain that the coming
in of death was that which darkened nature in this great point .
of religion.

There are two things, as we learn from our Saviour's answer to
the Sadducees, necessary to confirm us in the belief of a resur-
rection to come; namely, the knowlege of the power of God,

DISCOURSE VI. 135

and of the will of God : ' Do ye not therefore err,' says our
Lord, ' because ye know not the Scriptures, neither the power
of God ?' The Scriptures contain the revelation of the will of
God ; and therefore the words, I reckon, are to be understood
as if he had said, Ye err, not knowing the will of G od and the
power of God. If we are satisfied in these two points, that
God both can and will raise the dead, we shall want nothing
to assure us of the certainty of a resurrection. The power of
God we may learn from reason and nature ; for what should
make us doubt but that he, who at the first formed man out of
dust and ashes into a living soul, should be able to call him into
life again out of the same state ? But the gospel has declared
both his will and his power, which he confirmed in the raising
his own Son from the grave ; and better evidence we could not
have for the possibility and certainty of a resurrection. This
evidence of the gospel has reinstated nature in all her hopes,
confirmed her right to immortality, and taught her to triumph
over death and the grave, which seemed before to be immove-
able bars to all her expectations. This has restored religion,
which had hardly one sound foot to stand on, and made our
faith and our reason consistent, which were before at too great
distance. Nature indeed taught us to hope for immortality ; but
it was in spite of sense and experience, till the great Prince of
our peace appeared, * who brought life and immortality to light
through his gospel.'

136 SHERLOCK.

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE VII.

ROMANS, CHAP. IV. — VERSE 25.

The manner of expression used in the text is different from
what is generally met with in the New Testament on the like
occasion. It is the constant tenor of Scripture that the death of
Christ was our redemption, and his blood the price paid for us;
so that, when we consider redemption (which includes justifica-
tion) with respect to Christ, it must be ascribed to his death
and passion ; but as to ourselves, our justification, though pur-
chased by the blood of Christ, must be appropriated to our-
selves through faith in his blood : for the same Apostle who
says that we dn'B justified freely through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus, says also, that God hath set him forth to be a
propitiation, through faith in his Mood. Hence we are said
to be justified by faith; not that our faith is the purchase of
justification, but because through faith we obtain the benefit of
the redemption wrought by Christ. Now, though the death of
Christ was the reconciling of the world to God, yet this resur-
rection is the great foundation of our hope and faith in him :
hence it is very properly said that he rose again for our justifi-
cation : for his resurrection it is which has wiped away the
scandal of the cross, and made it a rational act of faith to hope
for life and immortality from him who died on the tree. For
truth of this exposition appeal made to 1 Cor. xv. 17., which
teaches that faith in the death of Christ, not grounded on the
assurance of his resurrection, is a vain faith. The power of the
resurrection, with the atonement for sin made by the death of
Christ, very beautifully expressed in Rom. viii. 34.

-•■*.

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE VII. 137

This, which is the true interpretation of the text, shows of
what great moment the resurrection of our Lord was, which was
to be the basis of the Christian institution, and the ground of our
hope and faith in him. Had he died like one of the prophets,
and been no more heard of, how shoukl we have believed that
his death had atoned for all the blood spilt from the foundation
of the world, and that remission of all sin had been granted,
through the destruction of him, the greatest of all the prophets ?
But when he rose from the gTave and brought back with him
the pardon which he had sealed with his blood, taking on
himself to be the Mediator and Intercessor for mankind as he
had been their sacrifice, there was no room to doubt the efficacy
of his death so confirmed. Our Lord's first coming was at-
tended with mean and low circumstances; he was a man of sor-
rows and acquainted with grief; and when he fell a victim to
the malice of his foes, his best friends and companions gave him
over for lost; they esteemed him stricken and smitten of God ;
all their hopes died with him, and their remembrance of his mi-
racles ; and nothing less was thought of, than that this was he
who should redeem Israel. But when he rose again, having
subdued the powers of darkness and of death, then was he de-
clared to be the Son of God with power ; and thenceforward
our faith has stood in the power and demonstration of the spirit
of life : now we may say, we know in whom we have trusted.

But if the resurrection of Christ be the support of the
Christian faith, how is itself supported ? To our apprehension
nothing is more incredible than that a man dead and buried
should be restored to life again. The particulars of the evi-
dence of this great event too long to be introduced here. More-
over, one ground of objection ought to be removed before they
are considered : the great difficulty at which many stick, does
not so much arise from the nature of the evidence proposed, as
from the nature of the thing itself: they are persuaded that it is
not capable of being supported by any evidence at all. This

138 SUMMARY OF

prejudice was a very early one : why (says the Apostle to
Agrippa) should it he thought a thing incredible with you that
God should raise the dead ? The force of this expostulation
considered : whether it is strong enough to encounter the pre-
judice. The credibility of a thing depends intirely on knowing
whether there is, or is not, a power adequate to the under-
taking. The resurrection of the dead is a stupendous work : if
it depended on us, it would be incredible indeed : it is the work
of God, and of him only ; and surely we have named one of
credit and power sufficient to be trusted : and this is St. Paul's
argument, why should it be thought incredible that God should
raise the dead ? Whoever affirms that a resurrection is in itself
incredible, must affirm that God has not power to raise the
dead. And who is it that can deny to him this power ? no one
who admits that he made the world : for if he gave us life,
what should hinder him from restoring it to us ? If there be
any contradiction therefore in the notion of a resurrection, there
must be the same in that of a creation : hence natural religion
is as much concerned in this point as revelation : if we doubt
God's power of creation, we must bid adieu to all religion at
once.

The power of God being admitted equal to this work, Christ's
resurrection comes to be a question of fact, a fact as capable of
evidence as any whatever, inasmuch as it is an object of sense.
We are told that Christ died, and rose again : of his death
there can be no great doubt ; nor can there be any more diffi-
culty in seeing and knowing that he was dead, than in knowing
when others were dead : those therefore about him might be
trusted when they report that he died. But he came to life
again : very true ; and it was very easy for those who conversed
with him to know whether he was alive or not. His having
been dead and buried could not alter the case, or create any
difficulty in judging whether he was really alive. Lay these
things then together, the promise of God to give us life eternal,

DISCOURSE VII. 139

his power to make good his word, the confirmation he has given
of our hopes by the resurrection of Christ, and what is wanting
to make the belief of this article a rational act of faith ? The
promises of God have never borrowed help from moral proba-
bilities : the promises made to Abraham did not : but his re-
liance on those promises, against all the presumptions of human
experience and probability, was the very thing that was im-
puted to him for righteousness. This compared with the case
of Christians. VYe have a great promise made to us by God in
Christ, the promise of a resurrection to life : past ages have
afforded no instance of the kind, and daily experience is, as it
were, a witness against this hope : under these difficulties whi-
ther shall we go for support ? whither, but to the promises them-
selves, and to the full persuasion, that what he has promised he
is able to perform ? Here is the great article of the Christian
faith, even of that faith which will be imputed to us, as it was
to Abraham, for righteousness. Conclusion : as the blessed
fruit of this faith is to all true believers life and immortality, so
it highly concerns us to consider what the event of unbelief
must be : for whether we like it or not, all who are in the grave
shall come forth, some to life, and some to condemnation.

140 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE VII.

ROMANS, CHAP. IV. — VERSE 25.

Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our
justification.

The manner of expression here used is different from what is
generally to be met with in other parts of the New Testament
on the like occasion. Here we are told that Christ was ' deli-
vered' for our 'offences,' and 'raised' for our 'justification ;' as
if the remission of our sins was to be ascribed peculiarly to the
passion, and our justification in the sight of God to the resur-
rection of Christ : whereas in the chapter before this, verse 25,
the Apostle tells us in general that God hath set forth Christ to
be a propitiation ' through faith in his blood ;' and in chap. 5.
verse 9. particularly and expressly, ' that, being justified by his
blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him;' and verse
10. * that we are reconciled to God by the death of his Son. '
In the twentieth of the Acts, the Apostle, in his exhortation to
the elders of the church, warns them ' to feed the church of
God, "which he hath purchased with his own blood,' verse 2b.
To the same purpose both St. Peter and St. John speak ; the
one telling us, ' that the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from
all sin,' 1 John i. 7 ; the other, that we have been redeemed
' with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot,' 1 Pet. i. 19.

It is the constant tenor of Scripture, that atonement for the
sins of the world was made by our great High Priest on the
cross; that his death was our redemption, and his blood the
price paid for us. So that, when we consider the redemption
(which includes our justification) with respect to Christ, the
author and finisher of it, it must be ascribed to his death and
passion : but as to ourselves, our title and interest in this com-

DISCOURSE VII, 141

mon salvation being; grounded on faith, our justification, though
purchased by the blood of Christ, must be appropriated to our-
selves through faith in that blood : for the same Apostle who
has told us that we are 'justified freely through the redemption
which is in Christ Jesus,' hath likewise told us ' that God hath
set him forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood.'
For this reason we are said to be justified by faith ; not that our
faith is the purchase of justification, which we owe to the blood
of Christ alone ; but because through faith we obtain the benefit
of the redemption WTought by Christ Jesus. Now, though the
death of Christ was the reconciling of the world to God, yet the
resurrection of Christ is the great and solid foundation of our
hope and faith in him, even of our faith in his blood, by which
he made the propitiation for our sins : and therefore although
Christ died for our offences, and by his precious blood made atone-
ment for our sins ; yet, since our faith in his death, our hope in
his blood, by which hope and faith we are justified, are built
on the truth and credit of his resurrection, it is very properly
said that ' he rose again for our justification :' for the death of
Christ would have been no justification to us, nor could we
have had hope or faith in it, but for the power and glory of the
resurrection ; which has wiped away the scandal and ignominy
of the cross, and made it a rational act of faith to hope for life
and immortality from him, who himself once died on the tree.

For the truth of this exposition I appeal to St. Paul, who,
1 Cor. XV. 17. has told us, ' that, if Christ be not risen, our
faith is vain ; we are yet in our sins,' So that faith in the death
of Christ, not grounded on the assurance of his resurrection, is a
vain faith, and such a one as cannot deliver us from our sins.
Nay, that the death of Christ could not have been a propitia-
tion for sin without his resurrection, he expressly teaches in the
next verse, saying, that, ' if Christ be not raised, then they also
which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.'

The power of the resurrection, together with the atonement
for sin made by the death of Christ, is very beautifully ex-
pressed by St. Paul, Rom. viii. 34. * Who is he that con-
demneth ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again,
who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh inter-
cession for us,' The death of Christ freed us from condemna-

142 SHERLOCK.

tion ; but then was our freedom made manifest, when he came
from the grave in triumph, and led captivity captive ; when he
ascended to the right hand of his Father to be our perpetual
High Priest and Mediator : for as the Apostle argues, ' if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death
of his Son, much more, being reconciled, shall we be saved by
his life ;' i. e. by his resurrection to life and to glory.

This account, as it gives the true interpretation of the text, so
likewise does it show of what great moment the resurrection of
our Lord was, which was to be the basis and support of the
whole Christian institution, and the ground of our hope and faith
in him. That Christ died the death of a common malefactor,
after a life spent in innocency, and a constant and laborious
teaching of the great duties of religion and morality, was but
common to him, and others before him, whom God had raised
up to be shining lights of the world. Thus the prophets of old
were persecuted and destroyed by sundry kinds of death : but in
their blood there was no expiation for sin : the blood of Abel
and of the prophets spoke no such language, but cried to God
for vengeance against a cruel and a guilty world. Had Christ
died like one of them, and been no more heard of, how should
we have believed that his death had atoned for all the rest of the
blood that had been spilt from the foundation of the world ? or
that the whole earth had obtained remission of sin from God by
destroying one more, and him the greatest of all the prophets,
in the most cruel manner ? But when our Lord rose from the
grave, and brought back with him the pardon which he had
sealed with his own blood ; when, instead of executing wrath
on his enemies, he sent again the offer of peace and reconcilia-
tion, and took on himself to be their Mediator and Intercessor,
as he had already been their Sacrifice ; what room was there to
doubt of the efficacy of his death, the efficacy of which was so
undeniably confirmed by his resurrection ? or what reason to
mistrust the salvation he offered others, when, by saving him-
self from the power of death, he had given the fullest evidence
how able he was to save others also ? The most incredulous of
his enemies desired him only ' to come down from the cross and
they would believe him :' but how much better reason had they
to believe him, when he came, not from the cross, but from the

DISCOURSE VII. 143

grave, which was by much the surer hold, and from which
before no mortal had ever escaped ! How undeniable was this
•testimony of God's love to mankind, that, after the ill re-
ception his Son had found among them, after all the cruel usage
he had experienced, and the ignominious death he had suffered,,
he yet sent him once more from the grave to convince unbe-
lievers, and to proclaim and confirm the pardon he had pur-
chased for them !

His first coming was attended with a mean birth and narrow
fortune ; his education was suitable to his condition ; and the
greatest part of his life spent in obscurity : ' he had no form or
comeliness that we should desire him ; he was a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief:' and when he fell a victim to the
malice and rage of the people, his best friends, the constant
companions of his sorrow, gave him over for lost ; ' they es-
teemed him stricken and smitten of God :' all their hopes died
with him, and the remembrance of his miracles and mighty works
was buried in the same tomb with himself; and nothing less
was thought of than that ' this was he who should redeem Israel
from all his sins.' But when he came again from the bosom
of the earth, having subdued the powers of darkness and of
death, then was he declared to be the Son of God with power;
and the glory as of the only-begotten Son of God shone clearly
through the veil of flesh which had so long obscured it. And
from thenceforth our faith has stood, not in the words which
the wisdom or cunning of man teacheth, but in the power and
'demonstration of the Spirit of life : and we can with assurance
say, ' we know in whom we have trusted,' expecting life and
salvation from him alone, who is the Lord of life and glory.
But after all, if the resurrection of Christ is the support of all
other articles of the Christian faith, how is itself supported ?
To our common apprehension nothing is more incredible than
that a man dead and buried should be restored to life again.

To go into the particulars of the evidence of this great event,
recorded in Scripture and the oldest writers of the church,
would open too large a field of discourse at present ; and indeed
there are some objections which naturally arise in the minds of
men, which ought previously to that inquiry to be removed ;
for the great difficulty at which men stick, does not arise so

141 SHERLOCK.

much from the nature of the evidence we propose, as from the
nature of the thing itself. The presumptions against the possi-
bility of a resurrection operate so strongly in the minds of some,
that they think it needless to inquire what evidence there is for
it, being persuaded that the thing itself is not capable of being
supported by any evidence. This prejudice was a very early
one ; for the Apostle expostulates this case with king Agrippa :
' Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you that
God should raise the dead?'

Let us consider the force of this expostulation, and see whe-
ther it is strong enough to encounter the prejudice.

Now, nothing can be said to be incredible, if there is a
power in any person able to effect it ; for if there is such a
power, that power may bring into existence that very thing
which you doubt of ; and it cannot be incredible that a thing
should exist, which may possibly really exist. If we consider
only the strength of children, it is incredible that they should
build castles ; but if we consider the strength and ability of
men, it would be ridiculous to doubt whether they could or
no. So that the credibility or incredibility of any thing de-
pends on knowing whether there is, or is not, a power adequate
to the undertaking. The resurrection of the dead is in truth a
very stupendous work : but neither you nor I am to undertake
it : if it depended on us, it would be incredible indeed. It is
the work of God, and of him only ; and surely I have named
one of credit and power sufficient to be trusted in this great
affair. And this is St. Paul's argument, why should it be
thought incredible ' that God should raise the dead?' whoever
therefore affirms that a resurrection is in itself a thing incre-
dible, must affirm that it is incredible that God has power to
raise the dead. And now consider who it is that can, con-
sistently with the common and allowed principles of reason and
nature, deny this power to God. No one certainly, who ad-
mits that God made the world, can entertain this doubt ; for if
God has given us the life we now enjoy, what should hinder
him from restoring life again, after this is lost ? Can there be
more difficulty in giving life the second time than there was at
first? If there be any contradiction therefore in the notion of a
resurrection, there must be the very same in the notion of crea-

DISCOURSE VII, 145

tion. And therefore natural religion is just as much concerned
in this point as revelation ; lor though the belief of the fact,
that the dead shall be raised, depends on revelation ; yet out
belief that God has power to raise the dead depends not on re-
velation, but on the clear dictates of reason, of that reason by
which we discover him to be our Creator. And if you doubt
even of this his power of creation, you must bid adieu to all
religion at once : for if God created not the world, how are
you at all related to him ? If he did not make us, what right
he has to govern us, or what pretence to our obedience, neither
you from nature, nor we from revelation, can ever be satisfied.

The power of God being admitted to be equal to this work,
the question of the resurrection of Christ comes to be a question
of fact ; and though I propose not to enter into the evidence of
the fact, yet it may be proper to observe that a resurrection
considered as a fact, is a fact as capable of evidence as any
whatever ; it is an object of sense, of every sense by which we
judge of the reality of things without us.

We are told, ' that Christ died and rose again.' Of his
death I suppose there is no great doubt : die he certainly did :
and surely there could be no more difficulty to see and know
that he was dead, than in knowing when others were dead, from
Adam to this day. One would think, therefore, that those
about him, who saw him crucified and buried, might be trusted
when they report that he died.

But he came to life again : very true ; and it was very easy
for those who conversed with him to know whether he was
alive or no. There was no more difficulty in judging of his being
alive, than of judging, in any other case, whether those wo
converse with are alive or no. His having been dead and
buried could not possibly alter the case, or create any difficulty
in judging whether he was really alive or no. So that the re-
surrection, considered as a fact, was in every part of it an object
of sense, and as capable of being well attested as any other
object of sense whatever. Lay these things together, the pro-
raise of God to give us life eternal, his power to make good his
word, the confirmation he has given us of our hope by the re-
surrection of Christ ; and what is wanting{\'o make the belief of
this article a rational act of faith ?

SHERL. VOL. I. \\ G

146 SHERLOCK.

The promises of God have never borrowed help from moral
probabilities. The promises to Abraham were not of this kind ?
so far otherwise, that it is said of him, that, ' against hope he
believed in hope ;' that is, he hoped where, humanly speaking,
there was no ground for hope. There was no probability that
his seed, who was a stranger and pilgrim on earth, should inherit
the land of Canaan, possessed by great and powerful nations.

The promise of a son to him, when he and his wife were both
too far advanced in years to expect one in the ordinary course
of nature, was contrary to experience and to natural probabi-
lity. But what says the Apostle ? ' Abraham not being weak
in faith, considered not his own body, now dead, when he was
about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's
womb. But he staggered not at the promise of God — being
fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able to per-
form.' This reliance on the promises of God, against all the
presumptions of human experience and probability, was the
very thing, as St. Paul tells us, that ' was imputed to him for
righteousness.'

Compare now this case with the case of Christians, ^^^e
have great promises made to us by God in Christ Jesus, the
promises of a resurrection to life. Inquire of the world ; they
know of no such thing, the ages past have afforded no instance
of this kind, and, as far as they can see and judge, daily ex-
perience is a witness against this hope. Under these difficul-
ties, whither shall we go for refuge and support ? whither ! but
to the promises of God, and to this full persuasion, ' that what
he has promised he is able to perform.' If we hold fast this
persuasion, and stagger not through unbelief, then shall we
indeed be the children of the faith of Abraham, whose ' faith
was imputed to him for righteousness :' for as St. Paul tells us,
this testimony of Abraham's faith ' was not written for his sake
alone, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we
believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead.'
Here then is the great article of Christian faith, even of that
faith which will be imputed to us for righteousness : it is a firm
confidence and reliance on God, under this peculiar character,
that he is the raiser- up of the dead, and will, according to his
promise, raise us to life eternal.

DISCOURSE VII. 147

For the confirmation of this hope and faith God raised his
own Son from the grave ; who for that reason is said to be
raised for ' our justification,' since on the authority and credit
of his resurrection depends that great article of faith, by which
alone we are to be justified.

As the blessed fruit of this faith is to all true believers life
and immortality, so it highly concerns us to consider what the
event of unbelief must be. Many would perhaps content
themselves without the hopes of glory and future happiness, if
that was all. But that is not all : ' for the dead shall be
raised,' whether you like it or like it not ; * all who are in the
grave shall come forth,' some to life, some to condemnation,
according to the things done in the body. Nothing can secure
to us more effectually a happy state in futurity, than a constant
and steady belief and expectation of the resurrection of the
dead. This will convince us that what we are now doing are
not such trifling things as to be soon forgotten, or attended with
consequences only for to-day or to-morrow ; but they are things
long to be remembered, things noted down in God's book, and
will be exposed to view at the great day in the presence of men
and of angels, and be attended with consequences through all
the ages of eternity, to our great honor and happiness, or to
our great confusion and misery.

148 SUMMARY OF

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE VIII.

ROMANS, CHAP. \III. — VERSE 16.

What it is to be the children of God explained : it implies
all the advantages that belong to, and all the qualities neces-
sary to make a good Christian : if children, then heirs ; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ : as this is a new state,
which belongs not to us by nature, our entrance into it is
styled a new birth : and this new life we receive by the minis-
tration of the Holy Spirit ; and therefore we are said to be
born of the Spii'it : he is the earnest of our inheritance, the
pledge and security which we receive from God of our future
immortality : but the difficulty is, how to make the first step,
and to know assuredly that we are the children of God. Here
the Apostle tells us, that the Spirit itself, i. e. the same Spirit
liy which we are made children, beareth witness with our
spirit. Sec. It is a matter of dispute, what sort of evidence the
Apostle here means, and what kind of certainty arises from it :
some opinions stated: present discussion confined to St. Paul,
and the endeavor to collect his meaning in the text. In this
three things considered : — I. how many witnesses St. Paul
points out, and who they are : IIv what kind of evidence
each of them gives in this case : III. what the result of their
evidence is, and with what kind of certainty we know that we
are the children of God. I. According to our translation, the
witnesses are evidently two in number : the Spirit of adoption
which Christians receive is one witness, and our own spirit is
the other. The vulgar Latin and several other translators ren-
der the words to the following effect : the Spirit itself beareth

DISCOURSE VIII. 141)

witness to our spirit : according to this sense, which is held
by Grotius, Crellius, and some others, there is but one witness,
the Spirit of adoption who beareth witness to our spirit : but
our translation is right : this shown by the invariable sig-
nification of the word avfifiaprvpelv in the New Testament,
instanced in Romans ii. 15. ix. 1. We have therefore two
witnesses; and who they are, is next considered. Who
the first Spirit is must be learnt from what goes before : in
verses 2, 9, 11, and 15 of this chapter, we read of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus, the Spirit of God and of Christ, the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus, and the Spirit of adoption,
by which we cry Abba, Father. In the verse of the text re-
ference is made to this Spirit : but the question is, whether
Spii'it in all these places be the name of a person, or whether
it denotes only a quality or temper belonging to Christians, as
in Phil. ii. 5. which sense Crellius and others maintain, and
explain the text thus : our evangelical spirit, or temper, is a
sufficient argument to our own minds that ive are the children
of God. This point is not disputed here, as it would occasion
too long a controversy : but though the Spirit of Christ some-
times is used in this sense, is it so used in the text? This
Spirit is the Spirit of life, by ivhich we are made free from the
heavy yoke of sin, which the Apostle had been describing in
the preceding chapter : now an evangelical spirit is not the
cause, but the consequent of this freedom. Again, it is the
Spirit of him who raised up Christ, i. e. the Spirit by which he
wrought that miracle, as is evident from taking the whole
of the eleventh verse together ; it is the Holy Spirit, who is
mighty in works and wonders. Lastly, it is the Spirit of adop-
tion, by which we are made sons: the Spirit of adoption is the
Spirit of which we are born in Christ; of which birth an evan-
gelical temper is the effect, not the cause : so that it appears
this first witness is the Holy Spirit of God : the second is our
own spirit, that is, our mind and conscience. Who knoweth

150 SUMMARY OP

the things of a man, save the spirit of a man that is in him ?
II. Inquiry into what evidence each of them gives in this case.
For this we must look back to the latter part of the foregoing
chapter, to which this verse of the text relates : for in all this
eighth chapter there is not one word said before of our own
mind or spirit, nor the least hint of any evidence which it gives
of our being the children of God. The great privileges men-
tioned in this chapter, such as the being made free from the law
of sin and death, the walking not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit, these being such as we receive from the Spirit of God,
are evidences of the Spirit for our regeneration : where then
must we look for the evidence of our own spirit ? This diffi-
culty put the Greek commentators on a very forced interpreta-
tion of the passage : for observing that all the signs of adoption
proceeded from the power and working of the Holy Spirit, in
effect they made the two witnesses of the text but one. Thus
Chrysostom by the Spirit itself understands the Holy Spirit ;
and by our spirit, the gift of the Holy Spirit within us. This
interpretation refuted. Keeping, then, to the sense already laid
down, we must consider what St. Paul had in view when he
penned the place in question. In this Apostle's writings we
must often search for the connexion at a considerable distance
from the passage : with respect to the one before us, in the latter
part of chapter vii. he describes the state of an unregenerate
Jew, or heathen, in order to show to his converts the necessity
of redemption through Christ, as neither the law of Moses nor
of nature could free them from the power of sin, nor from
death which follows it : then in this 8th chapter he sets forth
the power of redemption, showing how it supplies the infirmities
both of the Law and of Nature : to clear the matter still more,
what he says of the unregenerate man's condition in chap. vii.
is more particularly examined : he is described as under the
most wretched slavery to sin, though with the greatest re-
luctance to his own mind and reason ; as loving God and his

DISCOURSE VIII. lol

Law, but obeying the tyrant sin : so that the evidence of reason
even in a state of nature, shows that we are the servants and
sons of God ; but power constrains us, lust rules over us, and
experience shows that we are the slaves of sin : to complete
this evidence of our minds, nothing more is wanting than to
destroy the power of sin, which will enable us to follow the
dictates of reason, and obey the laws of God : for this is com-
plete evidence that a man is a son and servant of God, that he
loves and obeys him. Tn the 8th chapter, then, St, Paul tells
us that the redemption by Christ has put an end to our wretched
captivity : the power of the Spirit has destroyed the power of
sin : but the power of the Spirit is on reason's side and works
with it; so that to be under this power is a state of freedom ;
and therefore it is justly said, that the law of the Spirit of life
hath made us free : the consequence is, that we walk not after
the flesh, hut after the Spirit — that we mind the things of the
Spirit-— mortify the deeds of the body — are the sons of God — -.
cry Abba, Father: now this is to walk according to our own
mind acted on by reason ; and to cry Abba, Father, proceeds
from a filial duty and reverence : this we owe to the Spirit; for
before, though our minds consented to his laws, we were still
sinners, and conscience kept us back from our Father : but
now, like children, we run to his ehibrace with words of affec-
tion ; and thus (says the Apostle,) the Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit thai we are the children of God.

In the last place it is considered, what the result of this evi-
dence is, and with what certainty we may know that we are
children of God. First, it must be observed that these two
evidences strengthen each other, and must both meet to give ns
the assurance we expect: we must have the evidence of our
own spirit that we love and approve («od's laws, and that of
the Spirit of God working in us by obedience. Two ways of
judging ourselves; inward and outward signs of grace: in-
ward purity and love, with acts of obedience and conformity

152 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE VIII.

thereto : hence it appears that the evidence of the Spirit is not
any secret inspiration, or any assurance conveyed to the mind,
but the evidence of works, such as by the Spirit we perform :
hence also, it appears that some go too far on the other side,
by denying that any man may know himself to be in a state
of grace : for all the children of God are in that state ; and the
evidence of the Spirit of God and our own spirit may make us
certain, when they concur, that we are the children of God : if
our hearts condtmn us not, then have we confidence towards
God. But lastly ; this certainty does not extend to future and
final salvation : for to be in a state of grace, is to be an heir of
salvation ; but an heir may be defeated, if by any after-act he
incapacitate himself to inherit : our certainty reaches to our
present condition, which is enough to keep our minds easy:
other certainty than this might make us remiss : this may en-
courage us to run with patience the race that is set before us.

DISCOURSE VIII. 1.>:J

DISCOURSE VIII.

ROMANS, CHAP. VIII. — VERSE 16.

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God.

To be the children of God is the greatest privilege under the
gospel, and, consequently, implies in it all the advantages tiiat
belong to, and all the qualities necessary to make, a good
Christian. Thus our Apostle argues : ' if children, then heirs ;
heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.' As this is a new
state, which belongs not to us by nature, so our entrance into it
is styled a new birth ; and we are said ' to be born again,' and
' to be begotten again,' to these hopes : he, from whom we
receive these hopes, is the Father that begets us, and his children
Ave are : and therefore, as we receive our spiritual life from the
gift and mercy of God, he is our father, and we are his children.
Thus St. Peter tells us, ' that we are born again, not of cor-
ruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, wiiicii
liveth and abideth for ever :' 1 Pet. i. 23. This new life we
receive by the ministration of the Spirit : the powers whicit
belong to this life, and in which it consists, depend on the in-
fluences of the Spirit : and therefore we are said * to be born
of the Spirit.' He is the earnest of our inheritance, the pledge
and security which we receive from God of our future immorta-
lity : our right of inheritance depends on the relation we bear
to God of sons and children : and therefore the Spirit of
adoption, by which we arc born to God, is the pledge and secu-
rity of our inheritance, as he is styled by our Apostle.

But the difficulty is, how to make the first step, and to know
assuredly that we are the children of God. When once we are
sure of this, it will not be hard to believe that God will provide
for his own children, and secure to them an inheritance that
fadeth not away. And here the Apostle tells us, ' that t!i«

154 SHERLOCK.

Spirit itself,' that is, the same Spirit by which we are made
children, ' beareth witness with our Spirit, that we are the
children of God.' It is matter of great dispute, what sort of
evidence the Apostle here means, and what kind of certainty
arises from it. Some have placed this evidence among the gifts
of the Spirit, and supposed it to be given on purpose to assure
the elect of the certainty of their salvation. Others maintain
that no man, unless it be specially revealed to him by God, can
ever know that he is in a state of security in this life : and this
opinion was received and confirmed by the Council of Trent, as
may be seen at large in the sixth session. It will not be worth
my pains or your patience to enter into the niceties of this con-
troversy ; and therefore I shall confine myself to St. Paul, and
endeavor to show you his meaning in the text, which will
go a great way towards giving us right notions and apprehen-
sions in this matter. In order to this, I propose three things
to be considered :

First, How many witnesses St. Paul points out to us in the
te^, and who they are.

Secondly, What kind of evidence each of them gives in this
case.

Thirdly, What the result of their evidence is, and with what
kind of certainty we know ' that we are the children of God.'

First, We are to consider how many witnesses St. Paul
points out to us in the text, and who they are. As our trans-
lators have represented St. Paul's meaning, there is no room for
dispute concerning the number of the witnesses, which are evi-
dently two : * the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit :'
the Spirit itself, that is, the Spirit of adoption, which Chris-
tians receive, is one witness ; and our own spirit is the other
witness. But the vulgar Latin, and several other translators,
render the words to this effect : ' the Spirit itself beareth wit-
ness to our spirit.' According to this sense, which is maintained
by Grotius and Crellius, and some others, there is but one wit-
ness, the Spirit of adoption, who bears evidence to our spirit.
But the words in the original evidently imply the sense which
our translators follow : Avro ro Tlvevfia cu/z^oprupet rw irvevfiari
ilHuiv. ^vfxiJinprvpe'iv signifies to be a fellow-witness, or to witness
the same thing that another does : and so the word constantly

DISCOURSE VIII. l.J5

sio-nifies in Scripture, and is never used but where there is a con-
current evidence of two witnesses. We meet witli the same
word in Kom. ii. 15. ' which show the work of the law written
in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their
thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another.'
And to this place Grotius sends us, to show that the word is
used of one single witness only ; as here the conscience only is
said to bear witness. But a little attention will show us in
this place another witness : the Apostle proves from the evi-
dence of conscience, that the Gentiles had the work or matter
of the law written in their hearts : the law testifies to men what
is good and what is evil : if conscience testifies the same thing to
be good and just which thp law does, then conscience proves the
matter of the law to be written in the heart ; if it testifies any
thing else, so be it : but no other evidence will prove the
Apostle's assertion, that the Gentiles have the work of the law
written in their heart. And therefore the Apostle's argument
stands thus : the Gentiles show the work of the law to be writ-
ten in their heart by the testimony of their conscience, whieh
agrees with the testimony of the law ; their conscience and the
law both allowing and forbidding the same thing. So that the
Apostle's argument plainly supposes the concurrent evidence of
the law and of conscience. And therefore, even here the word
(Tv/u/japrvpelv points out two witnesses to us. The same word is
used by St. Paul in the first verse of the ninth chapter of the
Romans : * I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness,' trvfifiaprvfjovcriji jmi. But here evi-
dently are two witnesses to the same thing. When a man does
not speak the truth, it is certain that he witnesses one thing,
and his conscience witnesses another, and are therefore two
distinct witnesses : so are they likewise when a man speaks
truth ; for the same evidence will not make two witnesses to be
one witness. And therefore here also there are two witnesses ;
St. Paul, who witnessed his affection to his countrymen ; and
his conscience, which witnessed for his sincerity. The word is
Vised but once more in the New Testament, and that is in the
last chapter of the Revelations;* and there it is used with

* Griesbach however has in this instance altered the text, ami
substituted naprvpa for avjAixaprvpov/xat, Ed.

15« SHERLOCK.

respect to a testimony, in which Christ, and his Angel whom
he sent to the churches, and even St. John, were concerned.
So that the word is every where used of the concurrent evi-
dence of two or more witnesses. And this being the constant
use of the word, there can be no reason given why it should not
be taken in the same sense here, and rendered, ' Tlie Spirit
itself beareth witness,' not ' to,' but ' with,' or ' together with
our spirit, that we are the children of God.' Here then are
two witnesses ; and who they are is next to be considered.

Who the first Spirit is, must be learnt from what goes before.
In the second verse of this chapter we read of ' the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus, which hath made us free from the law of
sin and of death :' in the ninth verse he is called ' the Spirit
of God and of Christ;' in the eleventh verse, 'the Spirit of
him that raised up Jesus from the dead ;' in the fifteenth verse,
' the Spirit of adoption, by which we cry Abba, Father.' In
the verse of the text reference is had to this Spirit : ' the Spirit
itself,' that is, the Spirit which has made us free in Christ
Jesus, the Spirit by which we have received adoption, does
itself bear witness with our spirit, that we are the children of
God. But the question then is, whether Spirit in all these
places be the name of a person, or whether it denotes only a
quality and temper belonging to Christians; so that the Spirit
of Christ shall signify no more than the mind of Christ does in
another place, ' Let the same mind be in you which was in
Christ Jesus;' that is, the same temper and disposition. This
sense Crellius maintains, and others after him ; and thus he
explains the text : our evangelical spirit, that is, as he explains
himself in another place, our evangelical temper, is a sufficient
argument to our own minds that we are the children of God.
I mean not to dispute this point with Crellius and his brethren,
the Socinians ; which would be to run into a great controversy :
but since the Spirit of Christ may and does sometimes signify
both ways, I shall endeavor to point out to such as have no
private prejudices to be maintained, which sense is here to be
followed. First then, this Spirit is the Spirit of life, by which
we are made free ; that is, by which we are regenerated in
Christ Jesus, and set at liberty from the heavy yoke of sin,
which the Apostle had been describing in the foregoing chapter.
Now, an evangelical temper is not the cause, but the conse-

DISCOURSE VIII. 1.37

(jiieilt of this freedom. The Spirit of God is the efficient
cause ; of whom we are said for that reason to be born.
Secondly, It is the Spirit of him who raised up Christ ; that is,
the Spirit by which he wrought that great wonder and miracle,
as is evident by taking the whole eleventh verse together : ' If
the Spirit of him who raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in
you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.' So that
the Spirit of him who raised Christ from the dead, is the Spirit
' by which' he raised Christ from the dead ; that is, the Holy
Spirit, who is mighty in works and wonders. Lastly, It is the
Spirit of adoption by which we are made sons : the Spirit of
adoption is the Spirit of which we are born in Christ ; of which
birth an evangelical temper is not the cause, but the effect. So
that, by the whole tenor of the Apostle's arguing, it appears that
the Spirit which beareth witness with our spirit, is the Holy
Spirit of God, which works together with our spirit to enable
us to perform the just and holy will of God. As to the second
witness, our own spirit, I need not spend much time to tell you
who it is, since most are agreed that it is our own mind. ' Who
knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of a man which is
in him V that is, save his mind and conscience. So then the
faithful Christian has two witnesses of his being the Son of
God ; the Holy Spirit of God, and his own mind and con-
science.

Let us therefore, in the second place, inquire, what evidence
each of them gives in this case. In order to this, we must look
back to the latter part of the foregoing chapter, to which this
verse of the text relates : for in all this eighth chapter there is
flot one word said before of our mind or spirit, nor the least
hint of any evidence that it gives of our being the children of
God. Our crying Abba, Father, in the fifteenth verse, is very
improperly pitched on by some as the evidence proceeding
from our own mind ; since it is said expressly that we cry
Abba, Father, by the Spirit of adoption : so that our crying
^Vbba, Father, is an evidence coming not from our own minds,
but from the Holy Spirit. The power to do good comes from
the influence of the Holy Spirit ; and therefore the good we do
is such an evidence of our being the sons of God, as we stand

lo8 SHERLOCK.

obliged to the Spirit of God for : ' As many as are led by the
Spirit of God, they are the sons of God :' ver. 14. To be led
by the Spirit, is ' through the Spirit to mortify the deeds of the
flesh :' ver. 13. So that our victory over the flesh is the efteet
of our having the Holy Spirit to assist and to strengthen us,
and is consequently, as it is a great evidence and assurance to
us of our being the children of God, the evidence of that Spirit
from whom it proceeds ; that is, not our own spirit, but the
Spirit of God. So that the great privileges mentioned in this
chapter, such as being made free from the law of sin and death,
of walking not after the flesh, but the Spirit, being such as we
receive from the Spirit of God, are therefore evidences of the
Spirit for our regeneration.

But where then must we look for the evidence of our own
spirit ? since all the marks and signs of regeneration mentioned
in this eighth chapter manifestly belong to the evidence of the
Holy Spirit. This difiiculty put the Greek commentators on
a very forced interpretation of this place ; for observing that
all the signs -of adoption mentioned by the Apostle proceeded
from the power and working of the Holy Spirit, in eff'ect they
made the two witnesses of the text but one. Thus Chrysostom
by the Spirit itself understands the Holy Spirit ; and by our
spirit he understands the gift of the Holy Spirit within us ;
' What is this ?' says he : ' the Spirit beareth witness with
our spirit.' To which he answers, ' The Comforter beareth
witness to the gift bestowed on us ; for the voice, that is, of
crying Abba, Father, belongs not only to the gift of grace, but
likewise to the Spirit who bestows the grace.' The gifts of the
Spirit are sometimes called by the name of Spirit. The gift of
prophecy is styled the spirit of prophecy. But I do not re-
member that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are ever styled ' our
spirit' in sacred writ. Besides, as I observed before, this re-
duces the two witnesses to one ; for how does the Spirit bear
witness but by the gifts and graces bestowed on us? and if so,
then the evidence of the gift, and the evidence of the Spirit,
are one and the same evidence.

Keeping therefore to the sense already laid down, let us con-
sider what St. Paul had in his view when he penned the place
now before us. Those who are conversant in St, Paul's writ-

DISCOURSE VIII. loO

iiigs need not be told that they must not always search for the
connexion within a verse or two of what they read. The
Apostle often looks back to what went before at some dis-
tance, and, after a long chain of consequences, returns to his
point without giving his reader notice. This might be made
plain by instances, were it our business at present to examine
the manner or way of St. Paul's writing. But as to the place
before us : in the latter part of the seventh chapter St. Paul
describes the state of an unregenerate Jew or heathen ; for
what he says equally belongs to both. This he does in order
to show them the necessity of redemption through Christ, inas-
much as neither the law of Moses nor of nature could free
them from the power and dominion of sin, nor, consequently,
from death, which ever follows close at the heels of sin. That
this was the Apostle's intent appears from the lamentation he
makes over the state of nature, and the remedy he immediately
proposes of faith through Christ : ' O wretched man that I am,
who shall deliver me from the body of this death ! I thank
God through Jesus Christ our. Lord.' And then in this eighth
chapter he sets forth the power of redemption, showing, in
every part, how it supplies the weaknesses and infirmities both
of the law and of nature. The unregenerate man ' was brought
into captivity to the law of sin,' chap. vii. 23. ' But the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made us free from the
law of sin and of death,' ver. 2. In the unregenerate man
' there dwelleth no good thing,' ver. 18. but in the Christian
' dwelleth the Spirit of Christ,' ver. 9. So that the Apostle's
main design here is, I think, pretty evident. But to clear the
matter before us, we must more particularly examine what he
says of the unregenerate man's condition. He describes him
as under the most wretched slavery, obeying sin with the
greatest reluctance to his own mind and reason : ' that which
1 do, I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what
I hate, that do I :' ver. 15. His mind he allows to be uncor-
rupted, and to stand firm to the law of God, approving the
things which are good ; but then the lusts and appetites of the
riesh are too strong for it, and force it into the obedience of the
law of sin, which it hates and condemns : ' I find a law,' says
he, ' that when I would do good, evil is present with me :

160 SHERLOCK.

for I delight in the law of God after the inward man. But I
see another law in my members, warring against the law of ray
mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which
is in my members :' ver. 21, 22, 23. See then the divided em-
pire of sin and reason : reason approves what is just and holy,
consents to and delights in the law of God ; but sin captivates
and enthrals it, and makes the man the slave of sin, though the
admirer and approver of virtue. The upshot of the whole
matter is, as St. Paul in the last verse expresses it, ' With the
mind,' or spirit, ' I serve the law of God, but with the flesh
the law of sin.' And now consider what assistance this condi-
tion requires : the man's spirit is right and pure ; it loves, it
delights in, it approves the law of God; and could he follow
the dictates of his reason, and obey the law of God as well as
love it, and practise holiness as well as approve it, he would
want no other evidence of his being the son and servant of
God : ' his servants ye are,' says the Apostle, ' to whom ye
obey.' The man who is taken captive and carried into slavery,
-obeys by force his tyrant's law ; but he loves his own country
and king, and longs to come under the obedience of his natural
prince again. As to his own mind, he knows whose subject he
is and would be ; but outward necessity shows him that he is a
slave by the constrained obedience he yields to the foreign law.
Take off force, and the man's own inclinations will return him
soon to his natural obedience. And this is not unlike the case
St. Paul puts the unregenerate man in : he loves God and his
4aw ; but he obeys the tyrant sin. Destroy the power of sin,
and reason will return him to the obedience of God, and soon
show whose true son and servant he is. So that the evidence
of reason, even in the state of nature, shows us that we are the
servants and sons of God : but power constrains us, lust and
appetite rule over us, and woful experience shows us that we
are the slaves of sin. Now, to complete this evidence of our
minds, and to render it convincing to ourselves and others that
we are indeed the children of God, what more is wanting than
to destroy the power of sin, and to give us up to follow the
dictates of reason in obeying the just laws and commands of
God ? For this is a complete evidence that any man is the son
and servant of God, that he loves him, that he obeys him, and

. • DISCOURSE VIII, 161

t; 'keeps his commandments. You see then what the evidence of
\cMjr own spirit is : it loves and delights in the law of God, and
is restless to obey the law it loves : ' with the mind I serve the
law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin :' which words I
desire you to bear in your memory, whilst I set forth to you
the evidence of the Spirit of God.

In the eighth chapter St. Paul tells us that the redemption
by Christ Jesus has put an end to the wretched captivity we
lived under : ' the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath
made me free from the law of sin and death.' Law here sig-
nifies power ; for power is a law to those who live under it.
Now then the power of the Spirit has destroyed the power of
sin. The power of sin was opposite to the mind and reason of
man ; so that man, whilst he lived under that power, was a
slave. But the power of the Spirit is on reason's side, and
works together with it; so that to be under this power is a
state of freedom and liberty : and therefore it is justly said,
that the law of the Spirit of life hath made us free. The con-
sequence of our being under the power of the Spirit is, ' that
we walk not after the flesh, but the Spirit,' verse 4 ; * that we
mind the things of the Spirit,' verse 5 ; * that we mortify the
deeds of the body,' verse 13 ; ' that we are the sons of God,'
verse 14 ; ' that we cry Abba, Father,' verse 15. These are
the fruits of the Spirit. Now, to walk after the Spirit, and to
do the deeds of the Spirit, is to walk according to our own
mind and reason ; for reason approved the things of God, and
the things of the Spirit are the things of God. To cry Abba,
Father, proceeds from a settled and undisturbed mind, from
filial duty and reverence. Children, who live in disobedience
to their parents, are not apt to meet them with these endearing
expressions : but when the child loves, and is under no rebukes
of conscience for misbehavior towards his parent, he meets
him with these words of love and of confidence. This, there-
fore, we owe to the Spirit : for before, however our minds con-
sented to his laws, yet still we were sinners, and conscience
stood between us and our Father ; so that we could not ap-
proach without fear and trembling, our minds still representing
him to us rather as an injured Lord, than as a tender Father.
But since the power of the Spirit hath stilled the horrid con-

1G2 SHERLOCK.

test that was in us between reason and sin, and that we both
love and obey him, we now no longer fear his presence ; but,
like children longing for the return of a kind father, we run out
to embrace him, with words of friendship and affection in our
mouths, crying Abba, Father : and by this means, says St.
Paul, ' the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God.' * With the mind,' says the Apostle
before, ' I serve the law of God :' and now, says he, by the
Spirit you obey the same law ; and the Spirit of God and your
spirit agree to give you the utmost assurance of being the chil-
dren of God. You are no longer in the sad condition before
described, the mind leaning one way and the flesh another ;
so that you desired to do one thing, but yet did the contrary,
and were always restless and uneasy, rebuked within and con-
strained without : for the Spirit, by which you are now ruled,
consents to your mind, and is bent to perform the same things
which the mind approves ; from whence you may have the
greatest confidence towards God : for what more perfect obedi-
ence can there be, than that to which both outward and inward
man consent ? or what plainer signs can you have of a good
son and servant, than to know that he loves the law of his
father and obeys it ? Love the law indeed you did before ;
but obey it you could not : but now by the Spirit you obey it,
and have the greatest satisfaction, both from within and with-
out, that you are the children of God. This may suffice to
show the Apostle's meaning, and to explain the nature of the
evidence which each spirit gives.

We must now, in the last place, consider what the result of
this evidence is, and with what kind of certainty we may know
that we are the children of God.

And first, you must take notice that these two evidences
strengthen and support each other, and must both meet to give
us the assurance we expect. We must have the evidence of
our own spirit that we do indeed love and approve the law of
God ; and we must have the evidence of the Spirit of God
working in us by obedience: and when we both love and obey
the commands of God, we want nothing farther to assure us
that we are the children of God ; but where either of these
is wanting, the evidence of the other avails nothing. If you

DISCOURSE VIII. 163

love and approve the command, but do not obey, you are self-
condemned, you are in your sins; lust has dominion over you,
and not the Spirit of God. If you obey the law, and conform
outwardly to it, but do not love and like it, you are a hy-
pocrite, no servant of God, but of the world ; and your out-
ward compliance is fleshly wisdom, and not the work of the
Spirit.

So then you have two ways of judging yourselves, which
must both concur; you have inward and outward signs of
grace : the inward signs are a pure conscience, a sincere love
for God and religion, and whatever tends to the glory and
honor of your Maker : the outward signs are acts of obedience
conformable to the inward purity and love of your mind.
These are fruits by which you may judge yourselves. Our
Saviour tells us, ' that we may know men by their fruits :'
much rather may we know ourselves by our own fruits,
especially when we may know the stock too from whence they
grow, the motions and workings of our own heart.

Hence it appears that the evidence of the Spirit is not any
secret inspiration, or any assurance conveyed to the mind of
the faithful ; but it is the evidence of works, such as by the
Spirit we perform : and therefore the only sign of sanctifica-
tion is holiness ; and the only mark of grace is to obey from
the heart the word of God ; and therefore they err, not know-
ing the Scriptures, who from this or the like passages imagine
that the Spirit ever gives, or was ever designed to give, inward
assurance or certainty to men of their final state.

Hence, likewise, it is certain that some go too far on the
other side, by denying that any man may know himself to be
in a state of grace : for all the children of God are in a state
of grace ; and the evidence of the Spirit of God and our own
spirit may make us certain, where they concur, as they ought
to do, that we are the children of God. ' If our hearts con-
demn us not, then have we confidence towards God :' which
is St. John's rule, and comprehends both the evidences in the
text; for our heart judges both of our inward and outward
obedience : and therefore, where our hearts condemn us not,
we have the evidence of both spirits, the end of which is con-
fidence.

164 SHERLOCK.

But, lastly, this certainty does not extend to our future and
final salvation : for to be in a state of grace is to be heir of
salvation : but an heir may be defeated, if by any after-act
he incapacitates himself to inherit. In a word, a state of grace
may be lost ; he that is the child of God may cease to be the
child of God : and therefore being certain and confident that
you are now in a state of giace, cannot make you certain of
your salvation ; but you must still * work out your salvation
Avith fear and trembling.' This we may learn from our Apos-
tle's own arguing here : * The Spirit itself beareth witness with
our spirit, that we are the children of God.' The consequence
of this is, ' if children, then heirs,' verse 17. ' But now are we
heirs through hope,' he tells us in another place ; and at the
twenty-fourth verse of this chapter, ' we are saved by hope :
but hope that is seen is not hope.' Certainty shuts out hope :
and since being children makes us only heirs through hope, it
is plain, being certain that we are now the children of God
can give us no absolute certainty of our salvation : and there-
fore it is great presumption to talk of security. Our certainty
reaches to our present condition, which is enough to keep our
minds easy and contented. Other certainty than this might
make us remiss : this may encourage us ' to run with patience
the race that is before us, and to labor in the Lord, knowing
that our labor shall not be in vain.'

DISCOURSE IX. 165

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE IX.

JOHN, CHAP. XX. — VERSES 30, 31.

This account given by St, John to prevent the suspicions
which some might entertain of their preachers, when they
found the gieat evidences insisted on by them not mentioned
by him, who, as the latest Evangelist, might be supposed to be
the most accurate. But why, speaking of the miracles of
Jesus, does he notice only that they were done in the presence
of the disciples ? whereas they were done in the most open
and public manner ; by which much credibility is added to
them, as the Apostle well knew. The reason of this is, that
it was not to St. John's purpose on their publicity ; he is
speaking of the authoritative promulgation of the gospel, and
this led him no further than to observe that its publishers were
eye-witnesses of what they attested, and therefore unexception-
able witnesses. Reason also assigned in the text, which moved
St. John to publish his gospel, and which extends to all the
other ^vritings of the New Testament, The gospels Mere pub-
lished to be a standing evidence to all ages of God's purpose to
redeem the world by his Son, who might die for our sins, and
rise again for our justification : and it was absolutely necessary
to convey this knowlege to the world by a proper authority :
impossible to obey any law before we know what the law is :
this equally applicable to revelation ; and an insufficient pro-
mulgation is no promulgation : all the necessary qualifications
to constitute a proper witness to revelation need not be stated :
sufficient to observe that no man is naturally qualilied for it,
because all natural qualifications may be counterfeited. Things

166 SUMMARY OF

in common life are readily believed on the report of honest
men, but the moral probability of such things goes far in ren-
dering them credible : it requires another kind of evidence to
make the mind submit to the belief of things out of the course
of nature : hence men must be extraordinarily qualified to
promulgate a revelation : we rely not, in such case, merely on
their moral honesty, but on their authority proved by miracles,
and on their integrity established by what they did and
suffered in the cause. But, it may be asked, how shall we dis-
tinguish between the many and various pretences to reve-
lation ? is it not the more sure way to take up with natural
religion, which is every where the same, and in which there is
no danger of our being misled by imposture ! To form a true
judgment on this case it is necessary to state the question
rightly on the footing of this objection. First then, the ques-
tion must relate to revelation considered only as the rule and
measure of religion : it is absurd to bring instances of any re-
velations which do not pretend to this property, and were
never pretended to be given as a rule of religion, such as the
oracles recorded in the Greek and Roman histories, or even
the particular messages which God sent by different prophets
to the Jews : for these revelations, being confined to particular
occasions, have no relation to our inquiry concerning a rule
of religion : this in great measure overthrows the truth of the
fact on which the objection is built: for though in the heathen
world there were sundry pretences to revelation, yet not any
one was set up as a common standard for the religion of man-
kind : that none claimed such privilege, is evident from the
answer of the oracle to the inquiry, which religion was best?
This was, that every man should worship according to the custom
of the country where he was : so that all religions were esteemed
equally good, and the most that each pretended to was a local
authority.

But it may be said, that though these religions do not oblige

DISCOURSE IX. 1G7

us ; yet if any of them were true, they effectually overthrow
all others ; for God cannot contradict himself ; and on this
ground these several pretences come within our inquiry. This
reasoning may be good; but then it goes effectually to exclude
all these pretences ; for the voice of nature is the voice of
God, and therefore cannot be contradicted by God : no reve-
lation therefore can be considered which contradicts any one
plain principle of natural religion ; and there is not one form
of those alluded to, that does not split on this rock : but far-
ther, which of them all so much as pretends to the essentials
necessary to constitute a law, human or divine ? Take the
instance of Rome : what was Numa ? a king, and there-
fore submitted to in religious innovations : but what mark
of a divine commission can be produced ? Still it may be
urged, that the many pretences to inspiration which have been
admitted, are so many instances of the inability of men to dis-
tinguish between true and false in the present case : how can
we trust our judgment, when so many, who thought they acted
rationally, have been mistaken ! Why, then, should we expose
ourselves to almost certain error by following the same
steps ? Whatever force there is in this argument, it must recoil
on natural religion ; on many points of which men in all ages
have grossly and universally erred : what security have we that
we shall not commit the same mistakes ? Even the errors of
the heathen are chargeable on this blindness and ignorance of
nature ; had she done her part, men could not have been im-
posed on by such gross superstitions.

What is it now that discovers to us these impostures, which
were not seen before ? What, but that true sense of reason
and nature which is newly kindled and lighted up in the
mind by the gospel ? the want of which darkened the old
world : it is therefore absurd to suppose that we are in the
same danger of being deceived by pretended revelations :
for ask any one, who makes this objection, if he thinks

168 SUMMARY OF

one of the heathen forms of worship could be imposed on
himself.

From these pretences, then, let us turn to the true revela-
tions of the same period, and see how far they relate to the
present case : those given to particular men on particular
occasions are of course omitted : the law of Moses con-
sidered : this must be viewed on different principles by the
Jews and by us : to them it was given and declared ; they are
under its obligations ; and they are concerned to inquire, not
only about the truth of a subsequent revelation, but whether it
abrogates their law, or is to subsist with it ; as also whether
their law has precluded them from receiving any farther reve-
lations. With us the question is, how we are concerned with
the law; for it is plain that no revelation can oblige those to
whom it is not addressed : and in the very promulgation of
the law of Moses we find it confined to the people of Israel —
Hear, O Israel: and this was known to be the case under the
law : Deut. iv. 8. Ps. cxlvii. 19. 20. The law of Moses then
has no claim to our obedience, farther than the moral part of
it, when understood, will oblige every rational being : this
however is not the obligation we are now considering. But
the law affords to us abundant evidence for the truth of the
gospel.

But what alteration happened after the coming of Christ to
unsettle our judgments in this important matter? Many in-
stances of pretenders to revelations in history; but all vanished
and were forgotten : the want of general promulgation shows
that God had no hand in them, and therefore absurd to in-
stance them.

So the case stood, and the gospel had no competitor till the
successful impostor Mahomet arose : he pretended a commis-
sion to all the world, found means to publish his pretences,
and asserted his authority on the strength of revelation. With
respect to this instance, it is not very likely to bias our choice.

DISCOURSE IX. 1(59'

Go to natural religion : lay before her Mahomet and his dis-
ciples arrayed in armor and blood, &c. Show them to her in
their retirement, the slaves of lust, &c., which they justify by
a divine commission— then show her the blessed Jesus, humble,
and meek, and doing good to all men; injured, but not pro-
voked ; and praying for his very enemies in the agony of death :
when she has viewed both, ask, which is the prophet of God ?
But we have already had her answer from the lips of the cen-
turion at the cross— Trw/y this man was the Son of God.

SHERL. VOL. I.

170 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE IX.

JOHN, CHAP. XX. — VERSES 30, 31.

And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disci-
ples, which are not written in this book. But these are written,
that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ;
and that believing ye might have life through his name.

These words stand towards the close of St. John's gospel,
and are by some thought to be the last of his own writing.
They give us an account of the nature of his gospel, and of his
end and design in publishing it to the world. The Apostle
does not pretend his gospel to be a perfect and complete narra-
tive of all that our Lord did whilst he conversed among men,
not even of all the miracles and wonders which he wrought in
confirmation of his doctrine : ' Many other signs truly did
Jesus — ^which are not written in this book.' He adds farther,
that the signs omitted in his account were done * in the pre-
sence of his disciples,' and were consequently of as good
authority as those related by himself. This was but a neces-
sary piece of caution ; for St. John wrote his gospel late,
towards the end of his life, after the Apostles and disciples of
Christ had spread the gospel far and near, and had both by
preaching and writing published the great works and signs
done by their Master. To prevent therefore the suspicions
which some might be apt to entertain of their teachers, when
they found the great evidences insisted on by them not men-
tioned by St. John, who, being the last writer of the Apostles,
would naturally, for that reason, be supposed to be the most
accurate ; he declares that he had not recounted all the signs
done by Jesus, but that there were many others, which, having

^V»

DISCOURSE IX. 171

been wrought in the presence of the disciples, might very well
be taught and published by them, though omitted by himself.

But why does St. John, speaking of the miracles of Jesus,
take notice only that ' they were done in the presence of the
disciples?' whereas in truth they were done in the face of the
sun, in the most open and public manner, in the sight of friends
and foes ; which is so advantageous a circumstance, and
which adds so much to the credibility of the signs, that it
ought ever to be remembered. St. John knew this very well,
having in the course of his gospel often taken notice of this
very thing : particularly in the story of Lazarus, he tells us,
' that many Jews were with Martha and Mary to comfort them
concerning their brother,' who followed Jesus to the grave, and
saw Lazarus come forth to life on his call : ' many of which,'
says St. John, chap. xi. 45, 46. ' having seen the things which
Jesus did, believed on him : but some of them went their ways
to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.'
But the reason why this is not insisted on in the text is, that it
was not to St. John's purpose : he is there speaking of the
authoritative promulgation of the gospel, as is evident from
the last verse, ' These things are written that ye might believe :'
and this led him no farther than to observe that the preachers
and publishers of the gospel were eye-witnesses of the things they
attested, and therefore unexceptionable witnesses. This is the
true foundation of the Apostles' authority considered as pro-
mulgers of Christianity ; which depended on what they them-
selves had seen or heard, and not on what others had seen or
heard, whether friends or foes. Other circumstances may be
good collateral evidence ; but the testimony of the Apostles
rests on this, that they themselves saw and heard what they
have reported. And therefore the same Apostle in his first
Epistle sets forth this evidence in the very same manner :
' That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked on,
and our hands have handled, of the word of life — that which
we have seen and heard, declare we unto you, that ye also
may have fellowship with us.'

You have also the reason assigned which moved St. John to
publish his gospel, which extends likewise to all the other writ-

17*2 SHERLOCK,

ings of the New Testament : ' But these are written, that ^'e
might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that
believing ye might have life through his name.' This reason is
not so strictly to be urged, as if writing were the only way of
publishing the gospel, which we know was effectually published
to great multitudes, before any book of the New Testament was
written, by the preaching and working of the Apostles, But
thus far perhaps we may justly argue, that writing is the best,
if not the only method of perpetuating the testimony, and deli-
vering down the doctrines of Christ uncorrupted to distant ages :
and this way has had the consent and approbation of all civi-
lized nations ; from whence it is that scripta lex is used in the
best writers to signify an instituted law, as distinguished from
the law of nature arising either from instinct or reason.

The gospels then were published that they might be a stand-
ing evidence to all ages of God's purpose to redeem the world
by sending his Son to take our nature on him, * that he might
die for our sins, and rise again for our justification :' and it was
absolutely necessary to convey this knowlege to the world by
a proper authority ; for revelation cannot obtain the force and
authority of law, or any way oblige the consciences of men, till
it be sufficiently published and declared. This is universally
true of all laws whatever, both human and divine : and the
reason of it is plain ; because otherwise men would be bound
to an impossibility, to obey a law before they knew what the
law was. For the same reason also it must be allowed, that
the promulgation of the law is the proper care and concern of
the lawgiver : for the law must come from the governor to the
governed ; and the subject, till he knows the law, that is, till it
is promulged and sufficiently declared to him, can have no con-
cern in it. Apply this to revelation, and you will perceive
that it is absurd to suppose that God has given any law to the
world which he has not sufficiently promulged and declared ;
for that would be to suppose that God intended to give, and not
to give, a law to mankind at the same time. An insufficient
promulgation is no promulgation ; and therefore all powers and
qualities necessary to give credit and authority to the publishers
of a revelation are always supposed, when we speak of the truth
and authority of revelation. God may reveal what he sees fit

"Mm

DISCOURSE IX. 173

to one or two or more men ; but unless such men are commi.s-
sioned and duly qualified to satisfy others that such things have
been made known to them, others are no more concerned in the
revelation than if it had never been made. It would take up
too much of your time to inquire particularly what are the
necessary qualifications to constitute a proper witness to reve-
lation. It may suffice to observe, that no man is naturally
qualified for it, for this plain reason, because all natural quali-
fications are easily counterfeited to serve a purpose. Honesty,
sincerity, and religion, may be put on in appearance ; and a
man may bear himself so well in the disguise, as not to be dis-
covered. Things in common life are easily believed on the
report of honest men : but then it must be considered that the
moral probability of such things goes a great way in rendering
them credible. It is no shock to our minds to believe that such
a thing happened at such a time, which we know often does
happen in the course of things, and probably might happen then.
In such cases a small weight inclines the mind to assent : but
it requires other kind of evidence to make the mind submit to
the belief of things which are supported by no moral probability,
but are quite out of the ordinary course and nature of things.
This shows that no revelation can be sufficiently promulged and
declared to the world by men, unless they are extraordinarily
qualified and commissioned to that purpose. We do not there-
fore rely merely on the honesty or moral character of the first
preachers of the gospel, but on their authority proved and sup-
ported by many wonderful works which God enabled them to
do, and on their integrity sufficiently established by what they
did and sulFered for the sake of the gospel.

But here the question is asked, How shall we distinguish
between the pretences to revelation, which are so many and
various, all of which have an equal right to be heard, that it is
endless to look for religion in such a crowd of pretenders to it,
and difficult to determine the merit of the several claims ? So
that the only sure way is to take up with natural religion, which
is every where uniformly the same, and in which there is no
danger of being deluded and misled by imposture : for natural
religion admits of no counterfeit : and since every man's reason
is judge in this case, no man can be cheated but by himself:

174 SHERLOCK.

and all men are so much their own friends, that in a matter of
so great moment, which so nearly concerns their present and
their future happiness, they may securely trust themselves.

Now, to form a true judgment upon this case, it will be
necessary first to state the question right on the foot of this
objection, and then to examine what weight of reason there is
in it.

First then. The question must relate to revelation, considered
only as the rule and measure of religion : for the dispute be-
tween nature and revelation is confined to this one point, which
is the best and safest guide in religion ? It is absurd therefore
to bring instances of any revelations in this case, which do not
pretend to this property, that were never given, or pretended to
be given, as a rule of religion : for when men talk of the va-
rious revelations that have been in the world, and the difficulty
of determining which they ought to obey, they cannot take into
their consideration the answer of the oracle to Croesus, or the
several other answers on particular occasions recorded in the
Greek and Roman histories, nor yet the particular messages
which God sent by the hands of different prophets to the people
of Israel ; for these revelations, whether true or false, being
confined to particular occasions, are out of the present question,
and have no relation to the inquiry concerning a rule or mea-
sure of religion. This observation will in a great measure over-
throw the truth of the fact on which the objection is built ;
for on this view there are not many revelations that can come
into competition : in the heathen world I know of none ; for
though there were sundry pretences to revelation, yet none was
set up as a common standard for the religion of mankind. The
religion of Rome was chiefly introduced by Numa, who pre-
tended a revelation for the foundation of his authority : but it is
plain he aimed at nothing farther than modelling the religion of
his city, and had no thought of the rest of the world in what he
did. Nor had the Romans any sense that their religion con-
cerned any but themselves : and therefore, when they extended
their conquests, religion was their least concern ; they left
the world in that respect as they found it, and men were not so
much as invited to take their religion. Now it is evident that
no law, either human or divine, extends farther than the law-

DISCOURSE X. 175

giver intends. Suppose then, if you please, Nuraa's religion to
be a revelation ; yet since it was given and declared only to
the people of Rome, the rest of the w^orld can have no cojicern
in it. That no system of religion in the heathen world claimed
as a general law, is evident from the answer returned by the
oracle, when the inquiry was, which religion was best? The
answer was, that every man should worship according to the
custom of the country where he was. So that all religions were
esteemed equally good, and the most any religion pretended to
was a local authority, which reached no farther than the lavv^s
of the country did : and unless men are for giving more to the
pretended heathen revelations than ever they claimed for them-
selves, or was claimed for them by those who introduced them
and lived under them, they cannot be brought into this ques-
tion, since they have no relation to us, any more than the many
civil laws and constitutions of the same countries had : and men
may as reasonably complain of the great variety of civil and
municipal laws that distract their obedience, and then instance
in the laws of the Medes and Persians, as they now complain of
the variety of revelations, instancing in such as, if they were
true, concern them as little as the laws of Persia do.

But perhaps it will be said, that though these religions do
not oblige us, yet nevertheless, if any of them were true, they
effectually overthrow all others ; for God cannot contradict
himself, whether he speaks to one nation or to all the world :
and on this foot these several pretences come within our
inquiry. This reasoning may be good ; but then it does most
effectually exclude all these pretences : for the voice of nature
is the voice of God, and therefore cannot be contradicted by
God. No revelation therefore can entitle itself to be consi-
dered, if it contradicts any one plain principle of natural reli-
gion : and there is not any one form of religion within the pe-
riod mentioned that does not split on this rock ; and there-
fore there is no danger of your being oppressed with labor and
study in examining their several claims.

But farther ; Which of them all so much as pretends to the
essentials necessary to constitute a law, either human or divine ?
Where was it published and declared ? by whom, and how
qualitied ? Can you name the persons, or produce the gospel of

176 SHERLOCK.

such religion ? Take the instance of Rome : what was Nuraa ?
a king, and therefore submitted to in the innovations of religion.
But what one mark of a divine commission can you produce ?
and yet without such marks even a true revelation could be of
no authority. Try all other instances, and you will still see
how weakly the objection against revelation is supported by
any pretences of the heathen world.

But still it will be urged that the many pretences to inspi-
ration, which have been received and admitted, are so many
instances of the weakness of men, and their inability to distin-
guish between true and false in the present case. And how
can we ever trust ourselves in examining revelation, and be
secure in our judgment, when we see all the world has erred
before us, and men wise as ourselves, who thought too, it may
be, that they acted as rationally as we do, mistaken in every
instance of this kind ? Is it not easily supposed that the world
is misled now, as formerly it has been ? l^^hy then should we
expose ourselves to almost certain error by following the same
steps, and pursue those principles which have never yet pro-
duced aught but deceit and falsehood ? Whatever force there
is in this argument, it must recoil on the cause of natural
religion ; for certain it is from the history of all ages, both
past and present, that men have erred grossly and universally
in many principal points of natural religion. How then shall
we ever trust ourselves in examining the dictates of nature,
since the attempt has in all ages produced follj'^, ignorance, and
superstition ? What security have we that we shall not follow
our forefathers in all their errors and mistakes, if we guide our-
selves by the same clue of thread which directed them ? Nay,
in truth, the errors and superstitions of the heathen world, even
those which pretended to derive themselves from oracles and
revelations of the gods, are chargeable on this blindness and
ignorance of nature. Had natiu'e but done her part, men could
not have been imposed on by such gross and palpable super-
stition : had the natural notion of the Deity been preserved
intire and uncorrupted, no one form of the heathen worship
could have stood before it ; but they must have all dispersed,
as the clouds fleet away before the sun.

What is it now that discovers to you these impostures, which

DISCOURSE IX. 17.7

were not seen by those before you ? Is it not manifestly that
true sense of reason and nature, which hath been new kindled
j^nd lighted up in the mind of man by the gospel of Christ ? Was
it not then the want of this sense that darkened the old world ?
But be the cause what it will, if you judge rightly in supposing
yourself able now to discern the dictates of reason and nature,
without which you ought not to pretend even to natural reli-
gion, it is absurd to pretend that you arc in the same danger of
being deceived by pretended revelations as the old world was,
since you have, and claim to have, that light, the want of which
was the very thing that exposed them to all their errors and
superstitions. And to show that this objection is a mere feint,
ask any one who makes it, whether he thinks any man could
impose one of the heathen forms of worship, or any thing like
it, on him ? No man, I believe, but would be angry to be sus-
pected of so much weakness. Yet these very forms were im-
posed on your forefathers ; and you are contident, and with
good reason, that they cannot be imposed on you. It is evi-
dent, then, that you are not in the same case with them, that
their danger is not your danger ; and, consequently, their errors
about revelation is no objection against hearkening to revela-
tion now, when we know ourselves eft'ectually secured against
their errors.

From these pretences let us turn to view the true reve-
lations belonging to the same period, and see how far they
relate to the present case. Those given to particular men on
particular occasions are out of the question, for reasons already
mentioned.

The law of Moses was published and declared with great
solemnity, and by persons every way qualified : it contains a
rule or system of religion, and is still maintained by its disci-
ples in opposition to the gospel. Here then perhaps may seem
to be some difficulty, when two revelations, that have etjuiil
pleas to truth, are set in competition one against the other.
This question must be argued on different principles with
Jews and with other men ; for the law was given and declared
to the Jews, and they were under the obligations of it : they
therefore are concerned to inquire, not only of the truth of a
subsequent revelation, but also whether it does sufficienlly

173 SHERLOCK.

abrogate their law, or whether it is to subsist with it ; as like-
wise whether their law has any where precluded them from
admitting any farther revelations. But to us the question is,
how we are concerned with the law, and whether there can be
any competition with respect to us between the law and the
gospel. From the principles already mentioned we may soon
determine this question ; for it is plain that no revelation can
oblige those to whom it is not given ; that promulgation is so
tar of the essence of the law, that no man in reason or equity
owes any obligation to a law till it is made known to him ;
that the obligations therefore of a law are limited by the
terms of the promulgation. Apply this to the law of Moses ;
you will find that law in the very promulgation of it confined
to the people of Israel : ' Hear, O Israel !' is the introduction
to the promulgation ; which it could not have been, had the
law been designed for the whole world. And this was known
to be the case under the law. Moses, who best understood the
extent of his own commission, says thus to the people of Israel :
* Wliat nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judg-
ments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this
day V Deut. iv. 8. The holy Psalmist expresses the same
sense in these words : ' He showeth his word unto Jacob, his
statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with
any nation; and as for his judgments, they have not known
them :' Psal. cxlvii. 19, 20. From all which it is evident
that the law of Moses has no claim to our obedience. The
moral part of the law, when understood, will oblige every
rational creature ; but this is not the obligation we are now
speaking of. The law of Moses then cannot add to the number
of revelations which create us any difficulty in determining our-
selves ; for, let the case happen as it will, we are free from the
law. But the law aflfords even to us abundant evidence for the
truth of the gospel. The proofs from prophecy are as con-
vincing to us as to the Jews ; for it matters not whether we are
under the law or not under the law, since conviction in this
case arises from another and different principle. But I hasten
to a conclusion,

- Let us then consider briefly, what alteration has happened
since the coming of Christ to disturb and unsettle our judg-

DISCOURSE IX. 170

meats in this great affair. A man perhaps, who is a great
reader, may be able to produce many instances of impostors
since that time, and imagine that they are all so many dead
weights on the cause of revelation ; but what is become of
them and their doctrines ? they are vanished, and their place is
not to be found. What pretence is there then to set up these
revelations ? Is God grown so weak and impotent, that we may
suppose these to be his revelations, and intended for the use of
the world, had he not been baffled at first setting out ? If God
intends a law for the use of the world, he is obliged, if I may
use the expression, to publish the law to the world ; and there-
fore want of such publication evidently shows that God was not
concerned in them, or at least did not intend that we should be
concerned in them ; and therefore it is absurd to instance in
such pretences as difficulties in our way, which in truth are not
in our way at all.

And thus the case of revelation stood, and the gospel had no
competitor, till the great and successful impostor Mahomet
arose : he indeed pretends a commission to all the world, and
found means sufficiently to publish his pretences. Reasserts
his authority on the strength of revelation, and endeavors to
transfer the advantages of the gospel evidence to himself, having
that pattern before him to copy after : and should we say that
the Alcoran was never promulgated to us by persons duly com-
missioned, it may be answered perhaps, that the Alcoran is as
well published to us as the gospel is to them ; which has some
appearance of an answer, though the fact is indeed otherwise ;
for even the Alcoran owns Jesus for a true prophet.

But with respect to this instance, I persuade myself it can be
no very distracting study to find reasonsto determine our choice.
Go to your natural religion ; lay before her Mahomet and his
disciples arrayed in armor and in blood, riding in triumph
over the spoils of thousands and tens of thousands, who fell by
his victorious sword : show her the cities which he set in flames,
the countries which he ravaged and destroyed, and the miserable
distress of all the inhabitants of the earth. When she has
viewed him in this scene, carry her into his retirements: show
her the prophet's chamber, his concubines and wives ; let her
see his adultery, and hear him allege revelation and his divine

iBO SHERLOCK.

commission to justify his lust and his oppression. When she is
tired with this prospect, then show her the blessed Jesus,
humble and meek, doing good to all the sons of men, patiently
instructing both the ignorant and the perverse. Let her see
him in his most retired privacies ; let her follow him to the
mount, and hear his devotions and supplications to God.
Carry her to his table to view his poor fare, and hear his
heavenly discourse. Let her see him injured, but not pro-
voked : let her attend him to the tribunal, and consider the
patience with which he endured the scoffs and reproaches of his
enemies. Lead her to his cross ; and let her view him in the
agony of death, and hear his last prayer for his persecutors :
' Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do !'

When natural religion has viewed both, ask. Which is the
])rophet of God ? But her answer we have already had ; when
she saw part of this scene through the eyes of the centurion
who attended at the cross ; by him she spoke and said, ' Truly
this man was the Son of God.'

DISCOURSE X. 181

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE X.

ACTS, CHAP. II. — VERSE 22.

The great evidence of Christianity lies in the miracles done
to confirm the authority and commission of Jesus. This the
only reasonable evidence of his coming from God; see John
XV. 24. ; without this undeniable proof, men would have been
acquitted for not believing him, see John x. 37. Christ refers
the messengers, whom John sent, to the works which he did.

The truth of Christianity, therefore, resting on miracles, it is
shown —

I. Wherein the true force of this argument from miracles
consists, and what it is they prove.

II. What sort of works are to be admitted for miracles, in
proving the truth of any religion.

First : Miracles are notintended to prove the being of a God,
nor the doctrines of morality ; inasmuch as natural religion has
for its evidence the works of nature ; and in the most degene-
rate times God did not leave himself without witness, <S:c.
Xo revelation can bring greater works to prove its authority,
than those by which the clear dictates of natural religion are
proved ; nor is there any other distinction between miracles
and the works of nature than this, that the latter are works of
great power constantly produced, the former are such wrought
in an unusual way. Hence, no revelation can contradict or
make void any clear dictate of natural religion; and therefore
the principles of natural religion must be supposed from the
foundation of revealed, as in Heb. ii. G.

But to ascertain the use of miracles we must consider when

102 SUMMARY OF

and why they were introduced. In early times we meet with
none ; for there was no occasion for them while men preserved
a right notion of God ; were acquainted, as it were, with him ;
and knew his voice when he spoke. But when idolatry pre-
vailed, and every natioa had its deity, to whom it gave the
name of god, then it was necessary, for the preservation of true
religion, to distinguish between the true God and pretended
ones. Then God thought proper to show his superiority over
the heathen deities, and to assume a character of distinction by
his mighty works. The first miracles of which we have any
account, were those wrought in Egypt, at which time God
declared himself to be the God of the Hebrews. The question
arises, Why did he, who is the God of all the world, so style
himself? To account for this, the state of religion in the world
at that time must be considered. All the nations of the earth
had at that time their local deities. Here the question was
between God under the character of God of the Hebrews, and
that of God of the Egyptians, which of them was supreme ; and
this could only be determined by a superiority of power shown
in miracles ; and those wrought by Moses were such as plainly
pointed out the hand of the Almighty Creator. But the pur-
pose- of God in sending Moses to show his wonders in Egypt,
was not only to deliver the Hebrews, but to make his name
known over all nations. Egypt was a great country, notorious
for idolatry, from whence the infection spread to others : hence
the properest scene on which God could exert his power for the
conviction of all people. And the miracles wrought there
were such as all the world had a concern in, being so near
akin to the works of creation, that by a just comparison they
might be known to come from the same hand ; for who but the
Author of Nature could stir up things animate and inanimate
to punish offenders ? Did not God, by these signs, speak
plainly to them and say, ' See now that I, even I, am he, and
there is no God with me : I kill, and I make alive,' &c.

DISCOURSE X. 103

Deut. xxxii. 3J). This use of miracles appears throughout tlu;
history of the Jews: instanced in the contest of Elijah and
the priests o-f Baal, 1 Kings xviii. 21. The case of the
destruction of the Assyrian army in the reign of Hezekiah,
seems to carry with it a severity hard to be accounted for ;
since other princes had laid siege to Jerusalem without
incurring so terrible a calamity. But Sennacherib sent a
defiance to God, and boasted of victories obtained against
him : he acted like Pharaoh, and suffered like him ; being
made an example to show the supremacy of God to all nations.
This indeed appears to be the first and original use of miracles.
The miracles of the magicians shown to have added to, rather
than detracted from, the authority of the works done by
Moses.

With respect to the Jews, miracles had a double use. By
their long continuance in Egypt they became infected with
idolatry, so that they wanted a proof that the God of their
fathers was the Supreme Being, as much as the Egyptians them-
selves ; thus Ezekiel xx. 5. &c. But there was also a use of
miracles peculiar to them, in which the Egyptians had no con-
cern : Moses was sent, not only to be their deliverer, but their
lawgiver. The Jews were called out of Egypt to be the pecu-
liar people of God, under a new covenant, &c. for which
Moses could give them no assurance but by the evidence of
works, which plainly appeared to come from the hand of God.

The Jewish government, being a theocracy, leads us to
expect a series of miracles in its administration : and such was
the case ; and these were constant and standing proofs to them,
and to the nations around, that their God was the Lord. But
Moses had no successor as a lawgiver, until the great Prophet,
like unto Moses, came, in the full power and authority of God,
to make a new covenant, not with one people, but with all
nations ; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God bij mira-
cles, 6cc,

184 SUMMARY OF " i

As before observed, the great doctrines •£ natural r^ligioii

. ■ *" * * i

have for evidence the vporks of nature, and want not the sup-

s _ - • - ■ . . <

port of miracles. But w^hen any, , new ^octrii^e, of which-
nature has given no notice, is published, such must be esta-
blished by new proofs. Reasoij, indeed, shows that God i^to
be trusted and obeyed in what he promises or commands ; but
still a proof is required, that such promises or commands do
come from him : hence miracles necessary to the introduction
of a new revelation. Miracles do not prove the truth of any
doctrine, but that the commission of him who does them, comes
from him by whose power alone they could be performed.
The law of Moses requiring submission to commands and
doctrines that are not established by the light of nature, it was
necessary to found them on the authority of God, to which no
submission could be due till sufficient evidence was given of it,
to guard men from imposition, &c. ; and whoever considers of
what consequence it was to mankind to have a standing
evidence of the unity and supremacy of God manifested in his
government of the Jews, and how the Mosaic Dispensation
prepared the way for the salvation of the world by the gospel ,
will see reason to think that the end proposed was worthy of
God, and that his acts herein were not only those of power,
but of great benevolence.

The miracles of the gospel had the same, or a greater end in
view. As Moses overcame the magicians of Egypt, and their
false gods, our Saviour destroyed the power of Satan and wicked
spirits, and idolatrous rites. If Moses had a divine commission
to the Jews, Jesus had a more ample one, to publish salvation
to all mankind ; and as the terras of it were such as human
wisdom could never suggest, hence the necessity of miracles.

No miracles can alter the clear dictates of natural religion ;
and such is the case also with respect to any former divine
revelation : admitting therefore the Mosaic and Christian reve-
lation to be both divine, they must be consistent, each in its pro-

^ * DISCOURSE X. li''-5

",per place carryin^on the views of Providence : this evidently
was the case of Moses; and to this purpose are 'the words of our
Saviour, Matthew v. 17. 18, : he also constantly appealed to
the Law'anS tlie Prophets : so also' Sf. Paifl before Agrippa,
Acts xxvi. 22. Indeed one Revelation admitted to be of
divine authority, must be a touchstone to try all succeeding
revelations; for God cannot contradict himself: the miracles
of Moses and our Saviour not only prove their divine authority,
but are a bar to all succeeding pretenders. The miracles
reported to have been done in the heathen world are unworthy
of God, who does not work miracles merely to astonish men,
but to serve the great ends of Providence ; and he did not rest
the authority of his law on one or more single miracles, but
on a long series; and if miracles are properly applied as a
proof of God's will, then such as are wrought without any
declaration of his will, in which we have any concern, are not
to be set up in opposition to those of Moses and Christ, which
involve the happiness of mankind here and hereafter. Miracles
worked for the establishment of the gospel, compared with the
pretended ones of the heathen.

Some miracles mentioned in the Old Testament as wrought
in behalf of particular people and for particular purposes,
though of divine authority, not to be set in competition with
those of the gospel ; they are to be considered merely as acts
of God's government in his capacity of King of Israel.

Secondly, it is considered what sort of works are to be
admitted for miracles, in proving the truth of a religion.

The first inquiry is, whether the miracles might not proceed
from human art or cunning; but it scarcely can be necessary
to prove that such miracles as raising the dead, giving sight to
the blind, &c. exceed the power of man. But perhaps they
were not done, and were only false appearances ; as when the
man born blind was restored to sight, he did not recover his

lB(i SUMMARY OF

eyes, but the people lost theirs : now this would have been the
greater miracle of the two.

But must they of necessity proceed from God, because they
could not be. wrought by men? Is there no order of beings
capable of performing them ? Can we safely say that no
being but the All-wise and Almighty God could perform them,
seeing that neither the miracles of the gospel, nor the works of
nature, directly prove an infinite power or wisdom ?

This matter rightly stated : the works of nature, though
they may not appear works of an infinite power, do prove an all-
powerful cause, or the being of a God, because they of necessity
prove a first cause of all things ; which cause being unlimited,
nothing is or can be done which it cannot do. It must then be
remembered that a revelation is not introduced to prove the
being of a God ; that our Saviour's miracles were not wrought for
that purpose ; but supposing the being of a God, to prove him the
author of the revelation : if then as good arguments be brought
to prove God the author of the revelation, as can be brought to
prove his being, all who believe the one must believe the other.
The miracles of the gospel examined in this point of view, and
shown to prove — first, that God is the maker of the world :
secondly, that he is the governor of it : thirdly, that he
has the essential attributes of justice, righteousness, holiness,
and goodness.

But it is asked, how do we know that the miracles of the
gospel did not proceed from an evil power, since there are
instances, as some think, of miracles so wrought ? This question
answered : we know it in the same way that any man knows
the works of nature to proceed from a good being : the love
of virtue, and hatred of vice, is as inseparable from the
gospel of Christ as from the reason of man ; and the former
more distinctly teaches us to know and acknowlege the
holiness and goodness of God, than reason or the works of

DISCOURSE X. 187

nature can do. But this, it is said, is to argue in a circle, is to
prove the doctrines first by miracles, and then the miracles by
the doctrines : the objection a mistake, which lies in this ;
that men do not distinguish between the doctrines proved by
miracles, and the doctrines by which miracles are tried ; for
they are not the same. God never wrought miracles to prove
the difference between good and evil : this existed and was
known before the gospel ; but the doctrines proved by miracles
are the new revealed doctrines of Christianity, unknown to
and undiscoverable by man's reason. Concluding exhortation
to those who hold fast and admire the principles of natural
religion, but despise or overlook the proofs of Christianity: the
same reasons which oblige them to believe in God, oblige
them to believe in Christ also.

188 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE X.

ACTS, CHAP. II. — VERSE 22.

Jesiis of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles
and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of
you, as ye yourselves also know.

The great evidence of Christianity, to which our Saviour and
his Apostles constantly appeal, are the miracles, wonders, and
signs, which God did by the hand of Jesus to confirm the
authority and commission he gave him to publish and declare
his will to the world. This being the only reasonable evidence
that he could give of his coming from God, our Saviour says
expressly, ' If I had not done among them the v/orks which
none other man did, they had not had sin :' John xv. 24. If
he had not given these undeniable proofs of his being a teacher
sent from God, they would have been acquitted, not only in
reason, but even out of his own mouth. 'If I do not the
works of my Father,' says he, ' believe me not:' John x, 37.
' If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true :' John v.
31. and he adds, verse 36, * The works which the Father hath
given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of
me, that the Father sent me.' Thus, when St. John sent to
him to inquire expressly whether he was the Christ or no, he
showed the messengers his works, and bade them relate to John
what they had seen ; referring it to him to judge by his works,
which were tlie only proper evidence, whether he was the
Christ or no.

The truth then of Christianity resting on the authority ot
miracles, I shall endeavor in the following discourse to show.

First, Wherein the true force of this argunient from miracles
consists, and what it is that they prove.

' , DISCOURSE X. laO

Secondly, What sort of works are to be admitted for
miracles in proving: the trutli of any religion.

First, I shall endeavor to show wherein the true force of
this argument from miracles consists, or what it is that they
prove.

Miracles are not intended to prove the being of God, nor
the doctrines of morality ; for natural religion is supported by
natural reason, and has for its evidence" the works of nature.
Thus St, Paul argues in his first chapter to the Romans,
declaring that what was to be known of God was manifest to
men, God having showed it unto them : ' For the invisible
things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen,
being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead,' And in the most corrupt and degenerate
times God did not leave himself without witness, continuing to
do good, to give rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling
the hearts of men M^ith joy and gladness. These are the
standing proofs of the being and goodness of God ; and men
need but open their eyes, and look round them, to see the
wonderful and stupendous works of nature, which lead directly
to the knowlege of God, And what greater evidence can man
have than this ? for if the making one world will not prove
the being of a God, the making of ten thousand will not.
And therefore this is a principle of religion not learnt from
revelation, but which is always supposed as the foundation of
revelation ; for no revelation can bring greater works to prove
its authority, than the works by which the clear and unex-
ceptionable dictates of natural religion are proved ; for the
distinction between miracles and works of nature is no more
than this, that works of nature are works of gi-eat power, pro-
duced constantly and in a regular course, which course we call
nature ; that miracles are works of great power also, wrought
in an unusual way : but they are both considered in the same
light, and with equal advantage, as effects leading to the know-
lege of a great though invisible power. Thus we must
acknowlege great power to be. shown in the sun's constant
rising and setting; and as great in his standing still, should we
see him stopped in his course for the space of a whole day.
That we have all eyes to see, and ears to hear, is an effect of

190 SHERLOCK.

as great power, as giving sight to one born blind, or hearing to
one born deaf. On this account it is impossible that any
true revelation should contradict or evacuate any clear dictate
of natural religion, vv^hich stands at least on as good a bottom
as any revelation can do. And therefore the principles of
natural religion must be supposed for the foundation of revealed ;
which is intimated by the writer to the Hebrews : ' He that
comes to God, must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek him ;' that is, he must bring this
belief with him ; for a revelation is not to prove the being of a
God, or that he loves virtue, and hates vice. God never
wrought miracles for this purpose, having sufficiently evidenced
himself from the beginning of the world by the visible things of
the creation ; and had any one asked our Saviour to show a
proof that there was a God, I am apt to imagine he would have
turned him over to the works of nature, as he did the rich
man's brethren to Moses and the prophets for a proof of a future
state'.

But to ascertain the use of miracles, it will be proper to con-
sider when and for what purpose they were introduced. In
early times we meet with none ; nor was there any occasion for
them, so long as men preserved a right notion of God as Maker
and absolute Lord of the universe, and were acquainted with
him (I had almost said, personally acquainted with him) and
knew his voice when he spoke to them ; for so long they re-
ceived his commands without doubt or hesitation ; and being
perfectly satisfied that the command came from God, what
weight or authority could the multiplying of signs and wonders
add to their persuasion ? for signs and wonders could only show
that the command came from God, to whom all nature obeyed
and was subject ; and as they wanted no such proof, there was
no room or occasion for the introducing of miracles.

But when idolatry prevailed in the world, and every nation
had its peculiar deity, to whom they gave the name of God, it
became necessary, in order to preserve true religion in the
world, to distinguish between the true God and the pretended
deities adored by the heathen. The great works of the creation
were standing proofs of the being of a God, and common to all
nations ; and therefore the belief of a Deity was the common

DISCOURSE X. IDl

persuasion of the world ; for though men in general were
become idolaters, yet they were not atheists ; but then the true
God was forgotten, or almost lost in the multiplicity of false
gods, to whom the blindness of the world ascribed the honor
and power due to the one Supreme only.

In this state of things God thought proper to exert himself in
such acts of power as should demonstrate his superiority above
all gods of the heathen, and to assume a character of distinc-
tion, that the hand might be certainly known from which the
mighty works proceeded : and it is very observable that God
did publicly assume such a character and work miracles, at
one and the same time. The first miracles of which we have
any account, were those wrought by Moses in Egypt ; and at
the same time God declared himself to be the God of the
Hebrews. And this was the first declaration of himself to the
world under such a character : for we do not read he ever
styled himself the God of Noah, or the Godof Shem, or of any
other person, till after the call of Abraham; for to him he
appeared at first, and said, ' I am the Almighty God :' Gen,
xvii. 1. And though in the family of Abraham he was known
by the name of the God of Abraham , yet was not that relation
understood in the world, till Moses had express command to
make it known to Pharaoh and his people. And the accuracy
with which the message was delivered, is observable ; for
though God commanded Moses in speaking to the children of
Israel to say, ' The Lord God of your fathers, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent
me ;' yet in speaking to the king of Egypt, who probably might
know little of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his orders are to
say, ' The God of the Hebrews hath met us,' &c. Exod. iii.
15, IB. and v. 3.

It may appear strange to us to hear the God, the Creator of
heaven and earth, assuming to himself a character that seems
to limit the right of his dominion ; for why does he, who is God
of all the world, style himself ' the God of the Hebrews?' Is
he not the God of all nations ? Or why does he appeal to
miracles wrought under the character of God of the Hebrews,
when the great works of the creation (of all miracles the

102 SHERLOCK.

greatest) are a constant and perpetual evidence of his almighty
. power and universal dominion ?

To account for this, you must consider the state of religion
in the world at the time when God assumed this character, and
sent Moses to show signs and wonders in the land of Egypt.
All the nations of the earth had at that time their several local
deities ; and as every nation is naturally inclined to think
their own the best, a message delivered in the name of the
deity of any one people could have no effect on another.
And therefore, when Moses delivered a message to Pharaoh in
the name of the God of Israel, Pharaoh's answer was, ' Who is
the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go ? I
know not the Lord ; neither will I let Israel go :' Exod. v. 2.
Now the way which God made choice of to convince Pharaoh
was, ' by multiplying signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
that the Egyptians might know that he was the Lord, when he
stretched forth his hand on Egypt :' Exod. vii. 3, 5.

Here the question plainly was between God under the
character of the God of the Hebrews, and the god of the
Egyptians, which of them was supreme : and this point could
only be determined by a superiority of power shown in miracles.
And if we attend to the nature of the miracles wrought by
Moses, they will appear to be such as plainly pointed out the
hand of the almighty Creator. The author of the book of
Wisdom tells us, ' that the Egyptians, being deceived by the
foolish devices of their wickedness, worshipped serpents void
of reason:' Wisd. xi. 15. And the most ancient account we
have of that people from profane history confirms the obser-
vation. And therefore the first miracle performed by Moses
was a direct conquest over the deities of Pharaoh : for when
his rod was changed into a serpent, and devoured all the
serpents produced by the magicians, what could Pharaoh reason-
ably conclude, but that the God in whose name Moses spoke,
was ' God of gods, and Lord of lords V And when the magi-
cians were compelled to acknowlege the divine power of
Moses, and openly to declare to Pharaoh that the finger of God
was in it, one would imagine that this triumph over the deities
and magicians of Egypt should have furnished a complete

DISCOURSE X. 193

answer to that demand of Pharaoh, ' Who is the Lord, that I
?>hoiild obey his voice V But he continued obstinate.

But the purpose of God in sending Moses to show his won-
ders in the land of Egypt, was intended not only for the deh-
verance of the Hebrews, but to make his name known over all
the nations of the earth : for as Egypt was at that time a gTeat
and florishing kingdom, and was notoriously the seat of super-
stition and idolatry, from whence the infection spread to all
the nations round about, it was of all others the properest scene
for God to exert his power and authority for the conviction of
all people. And for this reason God had connived at the
wickedness and idolatry of Egypt, and suffered the kingdom to
grow very great, that their punishment might be the more ex-
emplary : ' In very deed for this cause have I raised thee up,
for to show in thee my power ; and that my name may be de-
clared throughout all the earth :' Exod. ix. IG.

The miracles wrought in Egypt were such as all the world
had a concern in : for they were so near akin to the works of
the creation, that by a just comparison they might be known
to come from the same hand : for who but the Author of nature
could stir up things animate and inanimate to punish offenders ?
When God slew all the first-born in Egypt in one night, and
preserved the people of Israel in safety ; when he led the
people of Israel through the Red Sea by commanding the
waters to open them a passage, and drowned Pharaoh and
all his host by bringing the waters back on them ; did not
God by these signs plainly speak to them, and say, ' See
now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god with me :
I kill, and I make alive ; I wound, and I heal : neither is
there any that can deliver out of my hand ' ? Deut. xxxii.
39.

This use of miracles appears throughout the history of the
Jews. Thus, in the contest between Elijah and the priests of
Baal, the Prophet laid before the people this choice ; ' If the
Lord be God, follow him ; but if Baal, then follow him :'
1 Kings xviii. 21. The people were silent : the dispute was re-
ferred to be determined by signs and wonders : and when the
people saw the hand of God made manifest, they fell on their
SHERL. VOL. I. I

194 SHERLOCK.

faces, and said, ' The Lord, he is the God ! the Lord, he is the
God r verse 39.

The case of the destruction of the army of the Assyrians in
the reign of Hezekiah, when a hundred and fourscore and five
thousand men were destroyed in one night by the angel of God,
seems to carry with it a severity hard to be accounted for.
Tlie king of Assyria with his great host laid siege to Jerusalem ;
and so had other princes done without falling under so great
calamity : but the case of Sennacherib has this peculiar in it,
that he sent a defiance to God, and boasted himself of many
victories obtained against him. Hear the message he sent to
Hezekiah : * Thus saith the great king, the king of Assyria,
What confidence is this wherein thou trustest ? Hearken not
unto Hezekiah : for thus saith the king of Assyria, Hath any
of the gods of the nations delivered at ail his land out of the
hand of the king of Assyria ? Who are they, among all the
gods of the countries, that have delivered their country out of
my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem out of my
hand ?' 2 Kings xviii. You see here the king of Assyria
acting the same part with the king of Egypt ; and if his
power was broken all at once, he suffered but in the same way
that the king of Egypt did ; and this judgment was brought on
him with the same view, to make him an example, and to
^'indicate and assert the supremacy of God in the eyes of all
the nations.

This appears to be the first and original use of miracles, and
they are an immediate and direct proof of what they are
brought to assert, the supremacy of God. For when the
single question is, who is the mightiest, must it not be decided
in his favor who visibly exerts the greatest acts of power ? In
this case no difficulty can arise from the supposition that other
beings as well as God are able to work miracles. The miracles
performed by the magicians in Egypt were so far from lessen-
ing the authority of the works done by Moses, that they added
to it : for the greater the powers were which God humbled and
subdued, the greater evidence did he give of his own superio-
rity. So that, whether you suppose that evil spirits have
natural powers to do such and the like works, or are sometimes

DISCOURSE X. 195

employed and permitted by God, for the punishment of men,
to deceive them by such appearances, in both cases they are
equally subject to the power of God.

With respect to the people of the Jews, miracles had a
double use ; for by their long continuance in Egypt they be-
came infected with the errors and superstitions of the country,
and served their idols. So that they wanted a proof that the
God of their fathers was indeed the supreme Being, as much as
the Egyptians themselves. Thus the Prophet Ezekiel says in
the name of God, * In the day when I chose Israel, and lifted
up mine hand unto the seed of the house of Jacob, and made
myself known unto them in the land of Egypt, when I lifted
up mine hand unto them, saying, I am the Lord your God ; —
then said I unto them, Cast ye away every man the abomina-
tions of his eyes, and defile not yourselves with the idols of
Egypt : I am the Lord your God. But they rebelled against
me ; —they did not cast away the abominations of their eyes,
neither did they forsake the idols of Egypt:' Ezek. xx. 5. &c.
Which account given by the Prophet shows plainly their cor-
rupt state in Egypt ; which was not easily worn off, as appears
from their frequent acts of disobedience in their passage through
the wilderness, and their great propensity to fall back into
idolatry ; so that God was frequently provoked to destroy
them ; and had they been chosen for their own sake, they
would have been destroyed : but God having made choice of
them to be his own peculiar people, and intending to manifest
himself to the heathen world by the protection of that people,
' he saved them for his own name's sake :' which is the ac-
count the Prophet Ezekiel gives, speaking in the name of God,
' I said, T will pour out my fury on them, to accomplish my
anger against them in the midst of the land of Egypt. But [
wrought for my name's sake, that it should not be polluted
before the heathen, among whom they were, in whose sight I
made myself known unto them, in bringing them forth out of
the land of Egypt :' verse 8, 9.

But there was another use of miracles peculiar to the Jews,
in which the Egyptians had no concern : for Moses was sent
not only to be their deliverer, but also to be their lawgiver.
With the Egyptians he had no covenant to make, nor new sta-

196 SHERLOCK.

tutes to give : he required of Pharaoh to let the children of
Israel go ; which injustice and equity he ought to have done,
considering how his country had been saved by one of that
family, and how highly he offended against the laws of hospi-
tality by detaining them as slaves, who came into his country
on the hopes and promise of protection. But the Jews were
called out of Egypt to l)e the peculiar people of God, and to
be put under a new covenant and new laws, under the imme-
diate government of God ; blessings which they had no right
to expect, and for the accomplishment of which Moses could
give them no assurance, but by the evidence of such works as
plainly proceeded from the hand of God, and proved the com-
mission which Moses had to speak in his name.

The Jewish government, being a theocracy, leads us to ex-
pect a series of miracles in the administration by the immedi-
ate hand of Providence ; and so indeed we find the case to be:
and the wonderful preservation of that people, when obedient,
and the as wonderful punishments, when they were disobe-
dient, were standing proofs to themselves, and to all the nations
round about them, that their God was the only Lord and
Governor of the world. But Moses had no successor as a
lawgiver : prophets and righteous men were often sent by God
to reprove and admonish the people for their manifold trans-
gressions of the law given by Moses, but without any autho-
rity to add to, or diminish from it. And so the case stood,
till the great Prophet, like unto Moses, came in the full
power and authority of God to make a new covenant, not with
one people, but with all the nations of the earth, * Jesus of Na-
zareth, a man approved of God by miracles and wonders and
signs.'

It has been before observed that the great doctrines of na-
tural religion have for their evidence the works of nature, and
want not the support of miracles. But when any new doc-
trine is published to the world, or any new command, of
which nature has given no notice, it is of necessity that such
new doctrines should be established by new proofs. One thing
indeed we learn from natural reason, that God is to be trusted
and obeyed in whatever he promises or commands : but still a
proof is required, that such new doctrine or command does

DISCOURSE X. 197

really proceed from God. And this shows how necessary
miracles are to the introduction of a new revelation : not that
miracles can prove the truth of any doctrine ; but they directly
prove the commission of the person who does them, to proceed
from him by whose power alone they could be performed.
This distinction between miracles considered as a proof of the
doctrine, and as confirming the authority and commission of
the person who reveals it, will plainly appear, on cousidering-
what the case would be should any man openly perform un-
questionable miracles, and then retire in silence, without de-
claring any purpose he had : the great works might astonish
and confound us ; but we could not possibly make any use of
them : we might indeed conclude that some great and invisible
power assisted and enabled the man to perform the works ; but
what that invisible power had to do with us, or we with it, we
could by no just inference conclude. But should such a man
declare himself to be a messenger from God commissioned to
publish his will to the world, and appeal to the great works
which he did as a proof of the authority he had received ; the
miracles, though, considered in themselves, they do not directly
prove his doctrine, yet do they establish his authority, and
give the force of a divine command to what he publishes in
God's name.

The law of Moses then requiring submission and obedience
to commands and doctrines which have no establishment in the
light of reason and nature, it was necessary to found them on
the authority of God, to which no submission could be due
till sufficient evidence was given of it, to guard men against
imposition and deceit either from wicked men or wicked spirits :
and this made miracles to be a necessary proof in the establish-
ment of a new revelation.

We see then to what purposes miracles were originally in-
troduced, and in what manner applied by Moses : and who-
ever considers of what consequence it was to the happiness of
mankind to have a standing evidence always before their eyes
of the unity and supremacy of God manifested in his govern-,
ment of the Jewish nation, and how far the Mosaic dispensation
prepared the way, and laid the foundation, for the accomplish-
ment of his great work in the salvation of the world by Christ

198 SHERLOCK.

Jesus, will see reason to think that the end proposed was
worthy of God, and fully accounts for his interposition by signs
and wonders, which were acts not only of great power, but of
great goodness and benevolence towards mankind.

If we consider the miracles of the gospel, we shall find that
they had the same ends in view. If Moses withstood the
magicians of Egypt, and manifested a superiority of power over
them, and the false gods whom they served, our Saviour did
much more in opposition to the power of Satan, and the wicked
spirits who had taken possession of men, and tormented them
in divers manners : in subduing them he showed such an un-
controllable power, that they were obedient to his command ;
and when he said Go, they were forced to go, yielding a
ready though unwilling obedience. And as the gospel
spread, idolatry fled before it, the heathen deities became
dumb, and their oracles were silenced. And if we look
abroad into the world, and take a view of the nations where
idolatry and superstition once prevailed, and where the know-
lege of the unity and supremacy of God is now established,
which happy change can only be ascribed to the propagation
of the gospel, we shall see how fully and perfectly this great
end was answered by the miracles wrought by Christ.

If Moses had a commission from God to publish his will to
the people of the Jews, Jesus had a far more ample commission
to publish the terms of God's salvation to all mankind : and
as these terms were of God's appointment, and not such as
human wisdom could suggest, they stood in need of the evi-
dence of miracles to support them.

It has been observed before, that no miracles can alter the
clear dictates of natural religion. The same may be said with
respect to any former divine revelation : for to suppose a reve-
lation to come from God, and to be fully established by
miracles, and that a later revelation on the like proof and au-
thority should abrogate and render the former void, would be
setting up miracle against miracle, and destroy the authority
of both : and therefore, admitting the Mosaic revelation and
the Christian to be both of divine original, they must neces-
sarily be consistent, and each be in its proper place to carry on
the great and ultimate views of Providence. This evidently

DISCOURSE X. 199

\\ as tlie case of Moses, who came to prepare the way for the
full and perfect declaration of God's will, reserved till He
should come who was the end of the law : and to this purpose
are the words of our blessed Saviour : ' Think not that I am
come to destroy the law or the prophets : I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from
the law, till all be fulfilled :' Matt. v. 17, 18. And during the
whole course of his ministry he constantly appealed to the
testimony of the law and the Prophets : ' had you believed in
Moses,' says he to the Jews, ' you would have believed me :
for he wrote of me,' And his Apostle St. Paul, in his defence
before king Agrippa, gives this account of the gospel he
preached : ' Having obtained help of God, I continue unto
this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other
things than those which the Prophets and Moses did say should
come.' And indeed one revelation admitted to be of divine
authority must be a touchstone to try all succeeding revelations
by : for God cannot contradict himself; and the great works
done by Moses and by Christ are not only an evidence of their
divine authority, but are a bar to all succeeding pretenders.
The miracles reported to have been done in the heathen world
are unworthy of God, considered either in themselves or the
end proposed by them : for let it be observed that God never
works miracles merely to astonish and surprise people, but
always to serve some great ends of providence : and though he
has in favor of his people, and sometimes even of particular
persons, wrought a miracle ; yet when he published the law
and the gospel, he did not rest the authority on one or more
single miracles, but on a long series of miracles exhibited from
day to day for years together. And if miracles are properly
applied as a proof of the purposes and the will of God, miracles
wrought without being attended with any declaration of God's
will in which we have any concern, are very improper instances
to be set up in opposition to those of Moses and Christ, on
which the happiness of mankind depends in this life and that
which is to come. This consideration gives weight and autho-
rity to the miracles of the gospel : for it was a design wortliy
of God to restore mankind to that happiness which they haa

200 SHERLOCK.

forfeited ; and it was a work in every view of equal dignity
and benevolence with the creation: for if God is adorable in
the work of the creation, he is equally so in the work of re-
demption ; and there is at least as much goodness in making
men happy as in making them at all.

With what color of reason can the pretended miracles of the
heathen world be brought into this question, which were done
on trifling occasions, unworthy of the interposition of God ?
Look into all the ancient oracles ; see to what mean purposes
they are applied, and how often they prove destructive to those
who relied on them ; and then tell me what marks you see of
divine wisdom or goodness in them, that should set them on an
equal foot with the miracles of Christ Jesus.

We read in the Old Testament of some miracles wrought in
behalf of particular people and for particular purposes ; but
neither are these, though of divine authority, to be set in compe-
tition with the miracles of the gospel : for they were not intro-
ductory to any scheme of religion or new declaration of God's
will, but are rather to be considered as acts of government, and
suitable to the character of God as king of Israel ; for where
the government itself was divine, no wonder to see the measures
of the government to be of the same kind. And this character
of God being peculiar to the Jews, is the reason why such
miracles were frequent under the Jewish law, and are very
rarely to be met with under the gospel.

Secondly, I am to consider what sort of works are to be ad-
mitted for miracles in proving the truth of any religion.

The first suspicion that men naturally have of any one who
pretends to prophecy or inspiration is, that he has contrived
the whole matter himself: for we have seen many visions and
inspirations imposed on the vulgar by men of very bad heads
or very bad hearts. And therefore the first inquiry is, whether
the miracles might not proceed from human art or cunning ?

And shall I undertake to prove, that it exceeds the power of
man to raise the dead to life, to give sight to the blind, and to
cure all diseases by the word of his mouth ? No : never was
any such attempt set up. But perhaps no such miracles were
ever really done, and the people were deceived by false ap-
pearances. As for instance, when the man born blind was

DISCOURSE X. 201

restored to sight, he did not indeed recover his eyes, but all the
rest of the people lost theirs; which I think would be the
greater miracle of the two : for it is as easy to believe that the
word of Christ should make one man see, as that it should
make a thousand blind.

But must they, you will say, of necessity proceed from God,
because they could not be wrought by men ? Were they effects
of nothing else but infinite power ?

The miracles of the gospel, being such works as neither hu-
man wisdom nor power can perform, force us to have recourse to
a superior invisible cause. But still you will say, can the wit
of man discover all the different orders of beings between him-
self and his Creator, their powers and properties, so as with
security to affirm that no being but the All-wise and Almighty
God could perform these wonderful things ; especially considering
that no effects, neither the miracles of the gospel, nor the works
of nature, can prove directly an infinite power or wisdom ? For
who will be bold to say, that the wisdom and power of God
were exhausted in the visible works of the creation, so that
there is nothing either wiser or greater that infinite wisdom and
power can contrive or execute ?

Let this matter be rightly stated, and thus it will stand : the
works of nature are certain proofs of an all-powerful cause ;
not because they appear to be works of infinite power, and such
as cannot be exceeded, but because of necessity they prove in
course of argument a first cause of all things ; which first cause
being unlimited, nothing is or can possibly be done, that the
power of the first cause cannot do. And therefore the works
of the creation must be and are admitted as an infallible proof of
the being- of a God. Let it then be remembered that a revela-
tion is not introduced to prove the being of a God ; that the
miracles of our Saviour were not wrought to that purpose, but
supposing the being of a God, to prove God the Author of the
revelation : and then it must be allowed, that if we bring as
good arguments to prove God the author of the revelation, as
can be brought to prove the being of a God, all who believe
the being of a God are equally obliged to believe the divinity
of the revelation.

The first and most natural notion of God is, that he is the

'2.0'2 SHERLOCK.

Maker of the world, and all things in it. This was the notion
the Jews had of God ; and when they distinguished the true
God from the heathen gods, they defined him to be the Maker
of the world and mankind. Look then into the miracles of the
gospel, and you will see this attribute of God as clearly demon-
strated by them as by the Avorks of nature : for there you will
find that the Author of the Christian miracles is the Maker of
mankind; for by him men were made; that is, dead bodies
were made into living men : for to raise a dead man, and to
make a new man, are much the same thing. Any matter may
be formed even by human art into the shape of a man ; but it
is adding life that makes the man. If we believe we received
our senses, our reason, our natural strength and vigor, from the
true God at first, look into the gospel, and you will find the
miracles of Christ are from the same hand : for to the blind he
gave sight, to the deaf hearing, to the lame and sick strength
and soundness, to demoniacs and lunatics he gave reason and a
right mind : or if you choose rather to look into the material
world for the proof of a God ; if you think the beauty, order,
and regularity of the world speak God to be both Author and
Governor of nature; search the gospel, and you will find the
miracles of Christ derive themselves from the G overnor of the
world, and speak the same language with the works of na-
ture : for at his word the stormy winds were laid ; the sea
obeyed his voice : when he suffered, all nature trembled ; the
earth shook, the veil of the temple was rent, the sun and the
moon were darkened : which drew from the centurion attend-
ing at his execution the confession, ' Truly this was the Son of
God,' Tf you appeal to the natural sense and notions of man-
kind for the idea of the true God, and thence collect his essen-
tial attributes, justice, righteousness, holiness, and goodness,
let the voice of nature be still ; and the gospel shall speak
more plainly, how just, how righteoiis, how holy and good
God is, who is Author of the salvation and redemption which
is by Christ Jesus. Take what way you will to prove the
being or the attributes of God, and in the same way with
equal advantage we will prove the God of the world, that is,
the only true God, to be the Author of Christianity ; which all
who believe the being of a God are bound to admit for a

DISCOLRSE X. 203

proof of the truth of Christianity : for either the works of
nature are not a g;ood proof of the being of a God; or the
works of the gospel, being of the same kind, and effects of
equal power, must be allowed to prove God the Author of the
gospel. And when our Saviour styled the wonders that he
performed, * the works that the Father had given him to finish,'
he plainly appealed to the power of the Creator as manifested
in the works that bore witness to him : for if any one else
could have done the same works, there would have been no
reason for calling them the works of the Father, nor would
there have been any room for the inference which our Saviour
draws from it : ' The Father himself, which hath sent me,
hath borne witness of me :' John v. 37.

There is a question commonly asked on this occasion, to
which it may be proper to give an answer ; that is, how we
know that these miracles did not proceed from an evil powex-,
since we have instances, as some think, of miracles so^vl-ought?
The answer is, we know this the same way that any man
knows the works of nature to proceed from a good being : for
how do you know that the Creator of the world was a good
being: if you answer that the Maker of mankind, the Author
of nature, must of necessity be a good and holy being, because
he has woven into the nature of man the love of virtue and
hatred of vice, and given him distinct notions of good and
evil, by which reason unerringly concludes the Author of this
nature and these principles to be himself good and holy ; I
answer the same for the gospel of Christ : the love of virtue
and hatred of vice is as inseparable from the gospel of Christ
as from the reason of man ; and the gospel of Christ more dis-
tinctly teaches to know and acknowlege the holiness and good-
ness of God, than reason or the works of nature can do : and
therefore those who acknowlege the Author of nature to be a
good being, have much more reason to acknowlege the Author
of the Christian miracles to be a good being. But then we
are told this is arguing in a circle ; proving the doctrines first
by miracles, and then the miracles again by the doctrines.
But this is a great mistake, and it lies in this ; that men do
not distinguish between the doctrines we prove by miracles,
and the doctrines by which we try miracles ; for they are not

204 SHERLOCK. •

the same doctrines. God never wrought miracles to prove the
difference between good and evil : and I suppose, if any man
were asked how he proves temperance or chastity to be du-
ties, murder or adultery to be sins, he would not recur to
miracles for an argument. These and the like duties are en-
forced in the gospel, but were always truths and duties before
our Saviour's coming : and we are in possession of them with-
out the help of miracles or revelation. And these are the doc-
trines by which we try the miracles.

But the doctrines which are to be proved by miracles, are
the new revealed doctrines of Christianity, which were neither
known or knowable to the reason of man : such are the doc-
trines of salvation and redemption by Christ, of sanctification
and regeneration by the Spirit of God : and whoever yet
brought these doctrines to prove the truth or divine original of
the miracles ?

I shall only add, that what has been said, it concerns those
chiefly to consider who hold fast and admire the principles of
natural religion, but despise or overlook the proofs of Chris-
tianity. If they will but consider the tendency of their own
principles, they are not far from the kingdom of God : for the
same reasons that oblige them to believe in God, oblige them
to believe in Christ also. And as we have one God the Fa-
ther of all, so should we have one faith, and one Lord, even
Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer of us all. And let
them take heed, that, having been made partakers of so much
grace, to the acknowlegement of the one true God, they fall not
the more irrecoverably under condemnation by obstinately
refusing to acknowlege his only and eternal Son, Jesus Christ
the riffhteous.

DISCOURSE XI. 205

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XI.

PSALM VIII. — VERSE 4.

The reflexion of the text naturally suggested by a consi-
deration of the care of Providence, exemplified either in the
works of nature or of grace. In the works of nature the
glories of the heavens and the earth, plainly intended for our
benefit, naturally lead us to wonder at the goodness of God in
thus providing for beings so insignificant. The same reflexion
may be made on the works of grace. Why should God con-
tinue his care towards sinful and disobedient creatures, and
not only forgive them, but send his own Son to redeem them
with his blood ? These reflexions, which should naturally lead
us to adore God's goodness, sometimes induce men to suspect
the truth of the whole history of the redemption : their rea-
soning on this point shown to be erroneous ; it being as hard to
conceive that God should create this world for creatures like
us, as it is that he should send his Son to redeem us : since it
was as agreeable to God's goodness to make such creatures,
it was consistent also that he should exert his power to save
them. It is shown that a great opinion of ourselves and of
the figure we make in the universe would be injurious to reli-
ligion, serving only to exclude a sense of dependence and
gratitude to God. The Psalmist's reflexion in the text evinces
a sense of dependence on God, admiration of his mercies, and
a consciousness of unworthiness : yet it has been used to other
purposes ; and as it has been said that the great works of
nature are too wonderful to have been formed for so inconside-
rable a part of creation as the race of men, so also., with re-

206 SUMMARY OF

gard to the work of our redemption, that the end is not pro-
portionate to the stupendous means used to attain it. It is
considered whether these reflexions be a sufficient ground for
questioning the truth of the gospel. Are we proper judges in
this matter? Although in human affairs we may form a judg-
ment by comparing the means and the end, and knowing the
power of the agent, yet this will not apply to the works of
nature, where the power of the agent is infinite ; and as we
cannot perfectly comprehend the end proposed, we are not
qualified to judge rightly in the case before us : as all things
are equally easy to be efi"ected by God, we act most absurdly
when we pretend to judge of his works by comparing them with
the ends which we can discover to be served by them. This rea-
soning equally strong when applied to the works of grace.
The wonders of the redemption are great and mysterious to us ;
but nothing is difficult with God. In judging of this matter
we are also liable to fall into the error of supposing that we
are the only persons concerned in the redemption, which, how-
ever immediately it concerns us, is intimated in many parts of
Scripture to be adapted to answer the general ends of God's go-
vernment in the universal moral world. The propriety of this will
not be discovered by us, till we are enabled by a clearer light
to see the whole scheme of Providence together. It has been
shown that the objections against God's government in the
natural and moral world, founded on the disproportion between
the means used and the ends proposed, arise from the short-
sightedness of men, and their propensity to judge on subjects
on which they are ill-informed. It is considered whether the
reflexions which have given rise to these objections do not
admit of very diff'erent conclusions. Since God has provided
abundantly for us in this life, it is reasonable to infer from
thence that he will also provide for our well-being as moral
and religious creatures. This shown also to be consistent with
what the gospel has revealed to us. If we consider the ad-

DISCOURSE XI. 207

vantages we enjoy from the works of nature, and compare them
with the greater works of grace manifested in the gospel, it
will appear that the methods of Providence, by which we hope
to be saved, and which we have from revelation, are liable to no
other objections than those are by which we live and which
we see daily with our eyes. In both cases we may justly ex-
press ourselves in the words of the text.

208 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XI.

PSALM VIII. — VERSE 4.

What is man, that thou art mindful of him ? and the son of man,
that thou visitest him ?

When we consider the care of Providence over the children
of men,, as it is manifested either in the works of nature or of
grace, we naturally fall into the reflexion of the text, and won-
der to see so much done for men, who seem to have no merit
or desert equal to the concern showed for them. If we look
up to the heavens, and view the sun, moon, and stars, and con-
sider the power by which these mighty bodies were formed,
the wisdom and contrivance by which their motions are regu-
lated and adjusted; we see plainly, by the benefit we receive
from them, that they were intended for our service : and yet
what are we that we should be so served ? If we look round
this earth, the place of our habitation, we find it filled with
many kinds of creatures, and adorned by the bountiful hand of
natufe, as if it were meant to be a seat of pleasure and happi-
ness; and we are sure that this part of the world at least, was
made for the benefit of man : here he is lord, and has dominion
over the works of God ; for on earth there is no creature to
rival him in power or wisdom, or that can challenge any share
of authority with him. But this lord of the earth, does he not
come into it helpless ? is he not wretched whilst he is in it,
and oftentimes miserable when he is to go out of it ? W hat
must we say then ? that this noble palace was erected and
adorned merely to be turned into an hospital to receive the
blind and the lame, the diseased in body and mind ; to be the
seat of him ' who is like a thing of nought, and his days like a
shadow that passeth away.'

DISCOURSE XT. 209

If we go on from the works of nature to the works of grace,
the same reflexion will pursue us still. One would imagine
that man, who had received so much from God, should at least
continue to serve and obey his supreme Lord, and to acknow-
lege the Author of these great and good gifts : so far from it,
that God was in a manner expelled from his own creation,
and stocks and stones and the beasts of the fields were exalted
and set up to receive the honor and worship due to the Crea-
tor. The morality of the world became answerable to the
religion of it ; and no wonder : for why should he not turn
brute himself, who can be content with a brute for his God ?
The wonder lies on the other side, that God should continue
his care and concern for such creatures ; that he should be
willing not only to forgive their iniquities, but that he should
contrive the means of their redemption ; and that in so won-
derful a manner, as to send his own Son into the world, not
only to instruct and reform them, but to redeem them by mak-
ing atonement for their sins by his own blood. Who that con-
siders this can help saying with the Psalmist, ' What is man,
that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man, that thou
visitest him ?'

Though these reflexions should naturally lead us to admire
and adore the goodness of God, who has done so much when
we deserved so little ; for what stronger motive can there be
for gratitude than undeserved favor ? yet have they oftentimes
another eftect : for when men consider that God does nothing
without reason, and at the same time see so little reason why
God should do so much for them, they begin to suspect whe-
ther he has done it or no, and to imagine that the whole history
of the redemption is a cunningly devised fable. To consider
the Son of God coming down from heaven, living among men,
and at last shedding his blood for them, fills them with wonder
and astonishment : and when they look on the other side, they
can see nothing in man that bears any proportion to this con-
cern showed for him, or that yields any argument to justify the
wisdom of God in this method of his redemption.

It must be owned, there is something plausible in this way of
reasoning ; and the more so, as it pretends to do justice to the
wisdom of God, and cannot be charged with any great injustice

210 SHERLOCK.

done to the character of man. But this prejudice, be the fouii-
datiou of it good or bad, lies as strongly against the works of
nature as it does against the works of grace : for it is as hard
to conceive that God should create this world for the sake of
placing in it such creatures as we are, as it is to conceive that
he should send his Son to redeem us. If you can justify the
wisdom and goodness of God in making such creatures, it will
be no hard thing to justify his wisdom and goodness in redeem-
ing them : for to open a way for men to escape out of a state
of misery is a more divine and beneficent act, than the putting
them into it. If you stumble at the dignity of the Redeemer,
and think that the Son of God was too great a person to be
concerned in saving men ; for the same reason you should think
that God or the Son of God was too great a person to be con-
cerned in making such creatures as men : and from these and
the like considerations you may as well conclude that God
never made the world, as you do that he never redeemed it.
But in spite of all these reasons, you see plainly that this earth
was made for the habitation of men, wicked and inconside-
rable as they are. Since therefore your consequence will not
hold in this case, you have no reason to depend on it in the
other ; but rather to think that, since it was agreeable to the
wisdom and goodness of God to exert his power to make such
creatures, it was also consistent that he should exert his power
to save and to redeem them.

It can serve to no good purpose to give men a great opinion
of themselves, and of the considerable figure they make in the
universe; nor can it be done with truth and justice. Expe-
rience, which shows us daily our own and the follies of those
about us, will be too hard for all reasonings on this foot ; and
the mind of man, conscious of its own defects, will see through
the flattery, which ascribes to it perfections and excellences
with which it feels itself to be unacquainted. Or could a man,
in spite of his own experience, be persuaded to think himself
very considerable, and worthy of all that God has done for
him ; this opinion could tend only to make him proud and
conceited, and to think the dispensations of Providence with
regard to himself to be rather acts of justice, and due to his
merit, than the effects of goodness and benignity in the gover-

DISCOURSE XI. 211

nor of the world. Such an opinion would in a great measure
exclude a sense of dependence, and in a greater still a sense
of gratitude ; which are vital and fundamental principles in
religion.

But if we set out with taking a proper view of ourselves in
the first place, and with considering the many imperfections
and follies to which we are liable as rational agents, the many
weaknesses and infirmities which surround us as animal crea-
tures; and then survey the works of Providence, and the great
care of God over us, manifested in his various dispensations in
the natural and moral world ; we shall easily enter into the
true spirit of the holy Psalmist's reflexion, ' What is man,
that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man, that thou
visitest him ?' It is a reflexion naturally proceeding from the
sense of our dependence on God, and leading to the highest
degree of gratitude, whilst we contemplate with admiration the
*■ greatest of his favors, and consider ourselves as unworthy of
his least.

This is the natural sense which the reflexion in the text
suggests to us : yet has it, as I observed before, been used to
other purposes ; and some have thought it unworthy of God to
suppose that in the great works of Providence he had any
special regard to so inconsiderable a part of the whole, as the
race of men appears to be. The objection, they think, grows
stronger, when the scheme of Providence displayed to us in
the gospel of Christ for the salvation of man is laid before them ;
and it appears to tliem astonishing that God should interest
himself so particularly in an aff"air, which seems, when com-
pared to the whole, of so little importance. If we ascribe
this great work to the divine love and goodness, it cannot be
controverted that they are strongly and evidently expressed
and manifested in this proceeding ; too strongly, it may be
thought ; since divine love and goodness must be bounded
by divine wisdom, and can never degenerate into fondness and
partiality; consequently, his love and goodness can never do
what his wisdom does not approve as fit to be done.

On this foot it may be asked, where is the wisdom of erect-
ing such a building as this for the service of such a creature as
man ? The works of nature arc so immense and wonderful,

212 SHERLOCK.

that, if they are formed for the sake of providing a proper
habitation for man, the house seems to be of far greater dig-
nity than the master, and the end proposed by no means to
answer and justify the means made use of. So again, in the
work of our redemption, if the only Son of God came down
from heaven, and did and suffered all that is reported of him
in the gospel ; what is there in man, considered in the most
advantageous light, that bears any proportion to this wonderful
method made use of to save him, or to justify the wisdom of
God in sending the Lord of power, and of the whole creation,
to die for the meanest, peihaps, of all intelligent beings be-
longing to it ?

Now, whether these reflexions on our weak and infirm con-
dition, and the low rank we hold in the order of intelligent
beings, be a sufficient ground for calling into question the cre-
dibility of the great things said to be done for us, is a matter
deserving serious consideration. And

The first question we should ask ourselves is, whether we
are proper judges in this matter? It is a great undertaking to
judge of the wisdom of God, and to say what is fit or not fit
for him to do ; especially where the subject of the inquiry is
the counsels of God in governing the natural and moral world ;
points, not only of the highest consequence, but of all others
the most removed out of our sight.

In human aftairs we pretty well know the powers and abili-
ties of men, and can oftentimes judge of the ends they propose
to themselves ; and this knowlege of their powers, and this
ability to judge of the ends they propose, qualifies us in many
cases to estimate comparatively the means and the end, and to
discern whether the thing aimed at is worth the expense or
labor employed in obtaining it. This judgment cannot be
made merely by considering and comparing the means and the
end together ; but consideration likewise must be had of the
power and ability of the agent. The end of building a house
is for the habitation of men : but whether the house be too
big or too little, too magnificent or not magnificent enough,
can never appear from considering merely the end of building
of a house, which is for men to dwell in ; but you must take
into the account the power, station, wealth, and other circum-

DISCOURSE XI. 213

stances of the builder, and then you may reasonably say whe-
ther too much or too little pains and cost have been bestowed
on it. To apply this to the present case : when you view the
works of nature, you think them too great and too magnificent
to be intended for the use of man : but consider a little, who
is the builder ? Is it not one of whose power and ability you
cannot possibly judge? How do you know then that it was
not as easy (and doubtless it was as easy) to God to produce
this beautiful and wonderful order of things, as to have pro-
duced a much worse, and more adapted, as you may imagine,
to the circumstances of man, the inhabitant of this world?
You cannot say too much pains or too much cost has been
bestowed : for all these considerations are relative to the power
of the agent ; and when the agent has infinite power, this con-
sideration is wholly excluded.-

But farther; in order to judge rightly in the case before us,
we ought perfectly to comprehend the end proposed. If you
see a great building, but know not for what use it was in-
tended, nor what use is made of it, it is impossible to judge
whether it be too large or too confined ; for that judgment
must arise necessarily from knowing to what purpose and to
what use it was erected. And where is the man who will
pretend to know all the ends of God in the creation of the uni-
verse ? what relates to ourselves we know tolerably well from
sense and experience : we feel the influence of the heavenly
bodies, and are sure that we are the better for them ; but that
no others are, besides ourselves, we can never be sure.

Since then we know nothing of the power of God but that
it is infinite, the true consequence from which is, that all pos-
sible things are equally easy to be effected by his hand ; since
the purposes of God to be served in the creation of the uni-
verse are various, and more than we can discover, probably
more than we can even imagine ; we act the absurdest part in
the world, when we pretend to judge of the works of Provi-
dence by comparing the greatness of the works of nature with
such ends and purposes as we can discover to be served by
them : for with respect to the infinite power of God, we talk
childishly when we call his works great or little ; and with

214 SHERLOCK.

respect to the ends and purposes of Providence, supposing a
just measure of his works were to be taken from thence, yet it
is a measure of which we are not masters.

As this reasoning- must necessarily hold in the works of na-
ture, so is it equally strong when applied to the works of
grace. It is indeed a surprising and wonderful event, the
coming of the Son of God into this world, being made man,
and born of a pure virgin, living and dying as a man to redeem
sinners. But what is there that shocks your faith in this ?
You think perhaps the means too gTeat and too considerable
to be made use of for the sake of the end proposed, which
might have been obtained at a cheaper rate. But when you
say or think this, do you pretend to know by what other way
all the purposes of God in sending his Son into the world might
have been answered ? If you do not, possibly this was the only
way to answer all the ends and intentions of Providence in
this great work ; and if it was, the means used were necessary,
and therefore, without doubt, proper : and supposing them
proper, you will not surely be surprised that God should de-
sign, and his blessed Son undertake to perform, what was
proper to execute the wise ends of Providence. It was indeed
a very great thing for a man to be born of a virgin : but in
what sense was it great ? only as being unusual, and contrary
to the established course, in our eyes : with respect to God, I
see no reason to call it so. Were God to form a new race
under this new law of nature, that all should be born of vir-
gins, I conceive there would be nothing in it more wonderful
than in the present established course of nature.

It is more wonderful still to think of the Son of God living
on earth in the form and fashion of a man ; and if we speak in
relation to our own abilities of searching into this mysterious
work, it is and it ever must continue to be a wonder : but with
respect to God, have you any reason to think this wonderful
and mysterious, or a thing difficult to be performed ? God has
united our spirits, our souls, to these bodies : a wonderful and
a mysterious thing it is to us : but can you imagine there is any
thing in the works of God, that is wonderful, mysterious, or
difficult in the execution to him ? If not, how weakly do we

DISCOURSE XI. 215

amuse ourselves, when we set ourselves with great wisdom to
weigh the works of God in our scales, and to judge which are
great and difficult in the performance !

But this is not the only mistake men are liable to, when
they set themselves up forjudges in this matter. That the re-
demption and salvation of men is the end of Christ's coming
into the world, is certain, and is revealed in the gospel ; but
whoever shall say God had no other purpose in view than this
only, will judge hastily, and, I doubt, rashly. What relates
to us immediately in this great dispensation, God has been
pleased to reveal to us distinctly ; but he has no where told us
that we are the only persons concerned : that others probably
are, may be collected from many intimations in Scripture, Our
blessed Redeemer has ' all power given him in heaven' as well
as in earth : ' principalities and powers,' the invisible powers,
' are made subject to him :' and they cannot be thought to be
unconcerned in that work, for the sake of which their King was
exalted, and 'every knee' made 'to bow' to him. How they
are concerned, we know not: but this we know, that we are
but a small part of the natural world. That there are many in-
telligent beings besides ourselves we know ; that they may be
numberless we have reason to believe; that (iod is the com-
mon Governor of all, is out of question ; that all his dispensa-
tions in the moral government of the world regard the whole,
and will finally appear in the eyes of every rational creature to
be just and equal, we have great reason to conclude ; and that.
God ' will be justified in his sayings, and clear when he is
judged.' If this be so, the great work of our redemption, how-
ever immediately it relates to us, must be supposed adapted to
answer the general ends and purposes of God's government in
the universal moral world. And this plainly shows that we
cannot judge of the propriety of the means made use of for re-
deeming the world by considering only the relation they have
to men ; for probably they relate to others, and to other pur-
poses, and are, on the whole, in every respect proper and fit :
but the propriety cannot be discerned by us, nor will it till we
come into a clearer light, and see the whole scheme of Provi-
dence touether.

•216 SHERLOCK.

You see then, on the whole, that the objections against
God's government in the natural and moral world, founded on
the disproportion between the means made use of and the ends
proposed, are really the effects of short-sightedness, and of that
great propensity which men have to judge, though they want
proper materials to form a judgment on.

But let us consider whether the observations which have
given rise to these perverse reasonings, will not, if duly at-
tended to, open a way to far other and far juster conclusions.
That men are weak and wretched, and not worthy of the care
of Providence over them, we know by sad experience ; and
have reason enough, in this view, to fall into the Psalmist's re-
flexion, 'Lord, what is man, that thou regardest him ?' But
still most certain it is, that God does regard m^n : all nature
bears witness to the truth of this ; for he is served by the works
of nature : and though the works of nature may serve a hun-
dred purposes more, yet it cannot be doubted but that they
were made to serve man, though not him alone. This must
appear on the strictest inquiry ; for considering this solar sys-
tem, of which we are a part, we have no reason to think but
that it bears as great proportion to the whole as any other
system : in this system our earth is one considerable part : and
this part was manifestly prepared for man, who has dominion
over it. So that the human race is no inconsiderable part of
the creation in this way of reckoning : and it is reasonable to
sav, that the world was made, if not for him only, yet as much
and as truly for him as for others.

Being then possessed of this fact, that, weak and infirm as
we are, God has abundantly provided for us in this life ; and
that, considered as part of the natural world, we have a very
full proportion of good things allotted to us ; what conclusion
does it lead us to, if we consider ourselves as part of the ra-
tional and moral world ? Is it reasonable to imagine that God
has taken so much care of us in his natural government of the
world, and that he will neglect us in the moral part of it ? that
he regards us as animals, but has no regard to us as rational
agents? Can any man think seriously of God, as a reasonable,
just, and upright Being, and suppose this to be the case ?

DISCOURSE XI. '217

Now, these considerations lay a foundation for a just ex-
pectation from the goodness of God of his assistance in our
case, where it is most wanted ; that is, for his assistance to us
as rational and moral beings, as capable of being happy or mi-
serable by virtue or by vice.

There is a similitude and proportion in all the works of God :
and it is reasonable to infer, from the visible regard showed to
us in one respect, the regard had for us in all ; especially in the
principal and most concerning relation in which we stand to-
wards him; that is as rational agents. And this leads us tli-
rectly to suppose that God will provide for our well-beins, as
moral and religious creatures, with a care, at least, equal to
that shown for us in our natural capacity in this world.

Join now to this presumption what the gospel has expressly
revealed to us, and see whether the whole is not of a piece, and
consistent.

The gospel tells us that God has sent his Son to redeem us :
you wonder he should take so much trouble for such creatures :
but is it not as becoming his goodness to redeem us, as it was to
make us ? You will say perhaps, we are since that become sin-
ners. True ; and yet, ever since that, he has preserved us, and
afforded us the blessings of this life : and is it not of a piece to
open to us the hopes of a better? Mistake not my meaning : I
do not mean to infer from what God does for us in this world,
that he is bound in justice to do as much for us in respect to
another. I know of nothing that he is bound injustice to do
for us. But surely it is safest reasoning on the ways of Provi-
dence from the manifest works of Providence : and by seeing
how God has dealt with the children of men as part and as in-
habitants of this natural world, it is reasonable to conclude in
what manner he will treat them as part of the moral world.
And if we consider what we see and know of the works of na-
ture, and of the good we enjoy from them, and compare them
with the greater works of grace, as manifested in the gospel of
Christ Jesus, we may easily discern the consistency and har-
mony of God's dealings in both cases; and see too, at the same
time, that the methods of Providence by which we hope to be
saved, and which we have from revelation, are liable to no other
objections than the methods of Providence by which we live,

SHERX. VOL. I. K

218 SHERLOCK.

and which we see daily with our eyes. In both cases the works
of God are indeed wonderful, and we unworthy of the least
of them : and we may justly say of both, ' Lord, what is man,
that thou regardest him ? and the son of man, that thou visitest
him?'

DISCOURSE XII. 219

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XII.

ACTS, CHAP. X. — VERSES 34, 35.

Some men have been bold enough to despise and reject the
offer of salvation by the gospel, conceiving themselves autho-
rised by this text to live according to the principles and light of
nature : hence worth while to examine its real meaning. It is
shown that the Jews had a notion, that the blessings of the
promised Messiah were to be confined to themselves ; which
notion the disciples, and especially St. Peter, entertained : the
former however were soon convinced that God had also unto
the Gentiles grunted repentance unto life (Acts xi. 18), and the
latter, comparing Cornelius's vision with his own, expresses his
own conviction of the same truth in the words of the text. In
his confession, to he accepted with God, has the same meaning
as the expression, repentance unto life, in theirs ; both mean
admission into the covenant of God through Christ : so that the
text signifies, that ' God has not confined his mercies to a par-
ticular nation ; but that all are capable of inheriting his pro-
mises in Christ, who are duly prepared by righteousness and the
fear of God.'

This farther shown by an examination of the case of Corne-
lius, and what the acceptance was which he found. lie was a
Gentile, and one of the best; yet this did not make it unneces-
sary for him to become a Christian : indeed the vision was sent
for a contrary purpose ; to inform him where he might seek and
find a proper instructor : nor could St. Peter mean that those
who did their best, on the light of nature, had no need of any
other teacher; else he would not have instructed him in tli»i

•■ * -

220 SUMMARY Of

knowlege, and baptized him in the name of Christ. St. Peter
meant that all Gentiles, duly prepared, were capable of the
mercies of the gospel, in opposition to his former error, that the
Jews only had this privilege.

Hence we may learn what is the true notion of that accept-
ance to which the Gentiles are thus entitled.

But a difficulty arises from the terras to which St. Peter li-
mits this privilege; viz. to those only who fear God and work
righteousness ; which seems to take it for granted that we are
possessed of the main thing for which the privilege is given ; in-
asmuch as it is one great end of Christianity to teach us those
things. To clear up this matter, a consideration of Heb. xi. 6.
recommended : a man cannot offer himself to God, much less
enter into the covenant of his mercy, without a firm persuasion
of his Being, and a due notion of his attributes : without this the
gospel cannot be so much as tendered to him ; for it does not
teach, but supposes this doctrine : St. Peter therefore must not
be understood as limiting the mercies of God to certain persons
of the best character, but rather as declaring the natural order
of things : it is frequently taught that Christ came to save sin-
ners; and therefore he exhorted to repentance, as John the
Baptist did before him.

But should the case of the devout Cornelius incline us to
think that St. Peter meant a greater degree of goodness than
W£is commonly to be found, this will show that the best of men
stand in need of the assistance of the gospel to secure to them-
selves the end of their hopes : those who are of a different opi-
nion, are recommended to consider the high moral character of
Cornelius, and then ask themselves, why God should send a
vision to him and to St. Peter for the purpose of making him a
Christian.

It may be asked perhaps, what would have become of Cor-
nelius, had he died, as he lived, without coming to the knowlege
of Christ? a question of speculation more than profit, and

DISCOURSE XII. 221

which can no way affect us who are called to that knowlege.
We may well take it for granted, that, had he so died, he would
have found rest to his soul through God's mercy. It concerns
us more to consider, what his case would have been, if he had
rejected the call made by St. Peter, and insisted on his own
merits and virtue, in opposition to the grace offered him by the
gospel : would this have been a pardonable error ? could he have
maintained his former character, after such contempt ? and what
would his future works have been worth, after he had renounced
that sacrifice which alone could sanctify them ? Yet bad as his
supposed case would have been, it is the case of those who,
having been betimes instructed in the knowlege of the gospel,
reject it under the color of preserving the purity of natural re-
ligion ; for the voice of God is the same, whether he speaks by
his Apostles, or by his Angels,

222 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XII.

ACTS, CHAP. X. — VERSES 34, 35.

Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that
God is no respecter of persons : but in every nation he that feareth
him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

These words, if not carefully attended to, may seem to carry
a sense contrary to the meaning of the Apostle in delivering
them. St. Peter in the text declares that God, without respect
to any national or personal privileges, was ready to admit all
people into the covenant made with Christ Jesus, provided they
were duly prepared for such admission. Some from his words
have concluded that there is no necessity of becoming disciples
of Christ, but that it is sufficient if we live according to the
principles and light of nature ; forasmuch as ' every one who
feareth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him :'
and thus supported, as they think, by one passage of Scripture,
they have been emboldened to despise and reject all the rest as
of no use to them, and to put their salvation on their own
strength, in opposition to the method revealed and declared by
the Son of God. This error is common, as well as dangerous :
and since the great regard which some pay to moral virtue is
purely opposition to the gospel, it is worth while to examine this
passage of St. Peter, and to place his meaning in a true light,
that the doctrine of the gospel may not be overthrown by its
own authority.

The Jews had a notion that the blessings of the promised
Messiah were to be peculiar to themselves, and not to be ex-
tended to any other nation or people whatever, whom they
looked on as aliens from God, and not under his care and pro-
tection, as they were. Hence in the Prophets they plead their
privilege, and tell God that he is not God of the heathen, but

DISCOURSE XII. 223

of the people of Israel ; which conceit of theirs St. Paul refers
to and confutes in his Epistle to the Romans : ' Is he the God
of the Jews only ? Is he not also of the Gentiles ? yes, of the
Gentiles also,' The disciples of our Lord, and especially St.
Peter, were as deep in this opinion as others ; and during our
Saviour's abode on earth, they were confirmed in it by what
they observed in him : he declared, • he was not sent but to the
lost sheep of the house of Israel :' and when he sent out his
disciples to preach, he expressly charged them * not to go into
the way of the Gentiles, nor to enter into any city of the Sama-
ritans ; but to go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel :'
and after his resurrection, when he enlarged their commission,
and bade them 'Go, teach all nations;' they understood him
not, but were inquisitive about ' his restoring the kingdom to
Israel.' After the ascension, the Apostles continued at Jeru-
salem preaching to their own nation, till, on the persecution of
St. Stephen, many fled into other parts, and though they went
as far as Phenice, Cyprus, and Antioch, yet they ' preached the
word to none but Jews only :' Acts xi. 19. And when St. Pe-
ter, admonished by an heavenly vision, had admitted some
Gentiles into the church of Christ through baptism, he was
called to an account for it by the Apostles and brethren who
were in Judea, chap. xi. 1 : nor were they satisfied, till he had
told them what vision he had seen, what also Cornelius had
seen, and in what a miraculous manner the Holy Ghost was
poured forth on the Gentiles, before he ventured to baptize
them: and then under the astonishment of this conviction they
held their peace, blaming his behavior no longer; but glorified
God, saying, ' Then hath God also unto the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life :' Acts xi. 18. St. Peter himself was
equally surprised, when he found, by comparing Cornelius's
vision with his own, that God had determined to admit tlu;
Gentiles as well as the Jews into the church of Christ ; and
he expresses himself in the same manner, though not just in the
same words, with the Apostles and brethren. They say, ' Then
hath God also unto the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.'
St. Peter says, ' Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter
of persons : but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh
righteousness, is accepted with him.' These two reflexions, as

224 SHERLOCK.

they are made on the same case, one by St. Peter, when he
was with Cornelius, the other by the Apostles and brethren,
when St. Peter related the story of Cornelius, so are they in
substance the same : and St. Peter, when he says, ' that in
every nation he that feareth God — is accepted with him,' and
the Apostles and brethren, when they say ' that God hath
granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life,' mean one and the
same thing : and therefore, in the text, ' to be accepted with
God' means no more than to have from God the offer of * re-
pentance unto life ;' and both certainly mean our having admis-
sion into the covenant with God through Christ Jesus. So that
the whole of what St. Peter says in the text amounts to this:
' I now at length perceive that God has not confined his mer-
cies to a particular nation only ; but that all are capable of in-
heriting the promises in Christ Jesus, who are duly prepared by
righteousness, and the fear of God.'

This will farther appear to be the true interpretation, if we
examine the case of Cornelius, and what the acceptance was
that he found. Cornelius was a Gentile, and one of the best of
them; *a devout man, and one who feared God with all his
house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God
alway :' and yet his goodness did not make it unnecessary for
him to become a Christian. The heavenly vision was not sent
to satisfy him that his righteousness was sufficient, and that he
had no need to look out for farther assistance or direction : on
the contrary, it was sent to inform him where he might seek
and find a proper instructor. St. Peter had also a vision to
prepare him to do the duty of an Apostle to the Gentile centu-
rion ; and when this devout man came to him, in obedience to
the heavenly warning, he instructs him in the faith of Christ
Jesus, and baptizes him with water : on which St. Peter
says, he finds that men of all nations, who do righteously, are
accepted with God. He could not possibly mean that those
who did their best on the light of nature, had no need of any
other teacher ; that reflexion could never rise from the case
before him : for why did he then instruct Cornelius in the
knowlege of Christ, and baptize him in his name? St. Peter
therefore certainly meant that all Gentiles duly prepared were
capable of the blessings of the gospel through the mercy of

DISCOURSE XII. 2'2.'>

God ; in opposition to his former error, that none but Jews liad
such a privilege. And the Apostle undoubtedly understood
that the best of the Gentiles had need of the gospel ; or else his
commendation of the goodness of God amounts to this only,
that he perceived that God would give to the honest-minded
Gentiles, who feared him, and did righteously, that which they
had no occasion to receive.

From the words and circumstances of the text thus explained,
we learn what is the true notion of that acceptance, which St.
Peter says the Gentiles of all nations are entitled to through
the mercy of God.

But then there arises a difficulty from the terms to which St.
Peter has limited this privilege : for he does not say that men of
all nations are accepted of God ; but that in every nation ' he
that feareth God and worketh righteousness' is accepted of him.
!Now, one great end of the Christian religion being to instruct
us in the fear of God, and in works of righteousness, it may
seem strange that in order to the obtaining this benefit of being
duly instructed in the fear of God, and in works of righteous-
ness, it should be required, as a previous condition, thafr we
should fear God, and do righteously : which condition supposes
us already in possession of the main thing for which the privi-
lege itself is granted ; and consequently, the privilege becomes
in a manner useless by our having the qualifications necessary
to the obtaining it. To clear this matter, we must consider
what the Apostle to the Hebrews teaches us, chap. xi. 6.
' Without faith it is impossible to please God : for he that
Cometh to God, must believe that he is, and that he is a re-
warder of them that diligently seek him.' The meaning of
which is, that a man cannot offer himself to God, much less
enter into the covenant of his mercy, without a firm persuasion
of his being, and a due notion of his attributes. He must know
' that he is ;' otherwise he can never move or advance towards
him : he must know also * that he is a rewarder of them who
diligently seek him;' or else he cannot be encouraged to move
towards him : which two articles of belief infer a just fear of
God as the supreme Governor of the world, and a desire to
please him as the dispenser of rewards and punishments accord-
ins: to the good or evil which men do. This is the faith, with-

226 SHERLOCK,

out which, the Apostle to the Hebrews says, it is impossible to
please God ; this is the faith with which, St. Peter says, the
men of every nation are accepted with him. And in truth
these qualifications are so necessary to a man's being accepted
with God, and admitted into the covenant of his grace through
Jesus Christ, that without them the gospel cannot be so much
as tendered to him : for on what foot would you press men
to become Christians in order to obtain the mercy of God, who
have no sense of the fear of God, and consequently no concern
about pleasing or displeasing him ? The gospel does not teach,
but suppose this doctrine : and was even an Apostle to preach
to a nation perfectly ignorant of God, he must lay by the
gospel, and first convince the people from reason and nature of
the being of God, and the necessity of righteousness in order to
deserve his favor, before he could invite them to embrace the
gospel as the perfect rule of righteousness prescribed and or-
dained by God himself. And therefore, when St. Peter says,
* that in every nation he that feareth God, and Worketh righte-
ousness, is accepted of him,' he is not to be understood as limit-
ing the mercies of God to certain persons of the best character,
but rather as declaring the natural order of things. It is fre-
quently taught that our Lord came to save sinners ; and there-
fore he began his preaching with an exhortation to repentance
in the same words that John the Baptist had done before him,
' Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand :' which is as
much as if he had said, turn to God, and fear him, working
righteousness, that ye may be made members of the kingdom
of his Son, which now approaches.

But should the case of Cornelius, ' who was a devout man,
fearing God with all his house, giving much alms, and praying
alway,' from which case St. Peter makes the reflexion con-
tained in the text, incline us to believe that he means a greater -
degree of goodness by fearing God, and working righteousness,
than was commonly to be found ; and consequently, that what
St. Peter says can be applied only to the most virtuous and
best-disposed heathens ; on this supposition, both the case of
Cornelius and the declaration of St. Peter evidently prove
that the best of men stand in need of the assistances of the gos-
pel of Christ, to make themselves secure of obtaining the end of

DISCOURSE XII. '221

their hopes, glory and immortality from God, who is the re-
warder of them who diligently seek him. I would desire those
who are of a difterent opinion, and think that they have no rea-
son to trouble their heads about the Christian religion, provided
they lead good moral lives, to consider the character of Corne-
lius : he was devout, and feared God with all his house : he was
very charitable, and gave much alms to the people, and prayed
to God continually. This, I suppose, they will allow to be a
description of such a moral man as they mean; and I would
ask then, for what purpose did God send a vision to Cornelius,
and another to St. Peter, that Cornelius might be made a
Christian ? Was all this care thrown away on a mere unneces-
sary point, that might as well have been let alone ? Was Cor-
nelius thus called to the profession of the gospel, and was it of
no consequence whether he had been cabled or no ? If God made
choice of Cornelius, one of the best of the Gentiles, to show that
some of them were capable of his grace, he did at the same time
demonstrate that all had need of it : for if the best, with all the
light they enjoyed, wanted this assistance, what could the worst
do without it ?

It may be asked perhaps, what would have become of Cor-
nelius, had he died as he had sometime lived, a devout Gentile,
in the fear of God, full of alms and of prayers, without having
been called to the knowlege of Christ Jesus? which question, if
pursued through all its views, would open a large field of dis-
course, but such as would afford rather speculation than profit;
since the case, however determined, could no way affect us,
who have been called to the knowlege of Christ Jesus. Let it
then be taken for granted that Cornelius, had he died in the
circumstances before described, would have found rest to his
soul from the mercy and goodness of God : and let this other
question be considered, which is much more to our purpose,
what would have been the case of Cornelius, if he had rejected
the call, refused to hearken to St. Peter, and had insisted on
his own merit and virtue, in opposition to the grace that was
offered him through the gospel ? ^Vould such a refusal have
been a pardonable error ? Could he have maintained the cha-
racter of one fearing God with all his house, after such an open
contempt of the divine call ? Could he ever have prayed more

2'-28 SHERLOCK.

to God to ^ide and direct his way, after he had absolutely de-
nied to be guided and directed by hini ? Would even his alms
have been an acceptable offering to the Almighty, after he had
renounced that obedience which is better than sacrifice, and
which is the only thing that can sanctify our imperfect works ?
If reason and natural religion teach us that it is our duty to
please and to obey God, what part even of natural religion
could this centurion have exercised, after he had solemnly re-
jected the counsel of God, and followed his own will in oppo-
sition to that of his Maker declared in the heavenly vision ?
As bad as this supposed case of Cornelius would have been, it
is the very case of those who, having been betimes instructed in
the knowlege of the gospel, and called to the faith and obe-
dience of Christ Jesus, do despise and reject that faith under
the color of preserving the purity of natural religion, and living
according to the dictates of reason and morality. It makes no
difference in the case that their call has been through the ordi-
nary administrations of the church, and that Cornelius's was by
a vision directed to himself: the voice of God is the same, whe-
ther he speaks by his Apostles, or by his Angels : whoever acts
by the appointment of God, speaks with his authority : and the
regular powers of the church being ordained by him, when the
church speaks to her children conformably to the commission
received, it is the voice of God calling men to repentance unto
life through Christ Jesus. And whatever the condition of
those may be who have never heard of the Lord who bought
them, ours is certainly very bad, if, having heard of him, we
reject and despise him. It is one thing not to believe in Christ,
because we know him not ; it is another to know him, and to
disbelieve him. Though such ignorance may be an excuse,
yet such knowlege must be condemnation.

DISCOURSE XIII. 229

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XIII.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXII. — VERSE 40.

Meaning of the text is, that the whole reason of religion
lies in these two general commandments, or that in them all its
particular duties and precepts are founded. Two heads of this
discourse as follows : I. the true meaning and import of these
commandments shown : II. some useful remarks made on the
whole.

In St. Mark's gospel the same thing is ^said in different
words : there is none other commandment greater than these •'
Mark. xii. 31. As beyond them there is nothing greater, by
these two principles all the duties of religion must be governed.
The reason of this is plain : for the relation between God
and man being once known, the first conclusion is, that ice
ought to love the Lord our God with all our heart, Sec, ; and
until this general principle be established, the particular duties
owing to God cannot fall under our consideration. The same
reason holds respecting the second general head : for the rela-
tion of man to man, and the common relation of all to one
great master, being supposed, the result is, that we ought to
love our neighbor as ourselves, that is, to do all we can to pro-
mote the happiness of each other.

These general principles being established, the particular
duties flow from them naturally, and form a complete system of
religion. The duties of religion are all relative, and there is
no relative duty that love does not readily transform itself
into, according to the circumstances of the person concerned :

230 SUMMARY OF

thus, love to a superior becomes honor and respect ; to an
equal, friendship and benevolence ; to an inferior, courtesy
and condescension ; to the miserable, pity and compassion.
In negative duties this principle is no less effectual than in
positive. Love will not permit us to injure or offend our bro-
ther, to neglect our betters, or despise our inferiors, &c. for
love worketh no ill to his neighbor. This deduction of parti-
cular duties from the general principle is made by St. Paul,
Rom. xiii. 8., &c. This notion of love, as being the fulness of
the law, &c., explains a passage in St. James, chap. ii. 10.
Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and offend in one point, he
is guilty of all. The common interpretation of this passage
shown to be erroneous. It has another appearance when fairly
examined. In order to do this, we must look back to that
which gave occasion to it, and follow the Apostle's argument
step by step. The whole depends on the notion, which is com-
mon to the writers of the New Testament, that love is fheful-
Jilling of the law. St. James considers the whole duty of man
as contained in one law, viz., thou shall love thy neighbor as
thyself; and then he argues rightly, that he who offends in
one point is guilty of the whole law : for whether it be theft,
or murder, or adultery, that you commit, it matters not ; for
any of these crimes is inconsistent with the law, which con-
tains, and is, the whole, Thozi shall love thy neighbor as thy-
self: this farther shown from the 8th verse, where this law is
called the Royal Law, because it is the first supreme law from
which all others proceed, &c. This different version of the
11th verse of St. James given in the margin of the Bible.
Bfeing thus understood, there is no occasion for any nice dis-
tinctions to show how a man, by offending against one law, may
become guilty of all ; for this is no longer found to be a part
ctf the Apostle's doctrine ; which is, that he who sins in any par-
ticular instance against his brother, will be found to be a trans-
lessor against this great vital principle of religion, Thou shall
tove thy neighbor as thyself.

DISCOURSE XIII. 231

The other general head referred to in the text considered ;
viz., the love of God: this called the first and great command-
ment: from this head is to be deduced all the service, worship,
and honor which we owe and pay to our Creator. All the
duties of religion are relative ; which is true here ; for the
duties we owe to God spring from the relation between God
and us : also love naturally transforms itself into all relative
duties according to circumstances: thus, if we love God, and
consider him as Lord and Governor of the world, our love will
soon become obedience ; if we consider him wise, good, and
gracious, it will become honor and adoration ; and so on.

In the second place, some reflexions made which seem to
arise naturally from the subject.

First ; these two principles, from which all religion flows, must
be consistent with one another, otherwise they could not both
be principles of the same religion : the love of God therefore
can in no case oblige us to act contrary to the love of our
neighbor. One thing in our Saviour's argument, which may
perhaps mislead some men, and therefore should be con-
sidered: of the love of God, it is said that it is the first and
great commandment ; the love of our neighbor is styled the
second, like unto it : whence it might be inferred that the first
is a law of superior obligation to the second, and may in some
instances control and overrule it : it is shown however that this
is not the case ; and that our Saviour's saying that the love of
God is the first commandment, is no reason for thinking that
it is or can be inconsistent with the second : on the con-
trary, the love of our neighbor being deducible from tlie
love of God, must ever agree with it: faults of ancient writers
on morality shown, in that they have not gone higher for prin-
ciples to build their precepts on, than to the common desires of
nature and the several relations of man to man.

Secondly ; our Saviour having declared that on these two
commandments hang all the law and the prophets, nothing is

232 ^ SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XIII.

or ought to be esteemed religion, that is not reducible to one
or other of these principles. What then, it may be said,
become of the institutions of religion, which cannot properly
be referred to either ? are they then no part of religion ? It is
answered to this, that there is a manifest difference between
religion and the means of religion : whatever is part of reli-
gion, and yet not so on account of moral reason, can only be
esteemed as means, ordained not for their own sake, but for the
sake of that religion which is founded on moral reason. This
distinction might teach men where to point their best endea-
vors, and where to place their hopes : for if our zeal be spent
only on the means, and goes no farther, we are yet in our sins.
Hence also it is shown that there can be no competition or
disagreement between the duties called moral and those called
positive.

DISCOURSE XIII. 2^33

DISCOURSE XIII.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXII.— VERSE 40.
On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

The two commandments here referred to are set down in the
verses immediately preceding the words of the text. At verse
37, we read, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind : This is
the first and great commandment :' verse 38. At verse 39 fol-
lows, ' And the second is like unto it. Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself.' Then come the words of the text, ' On
these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets ;'
the meaning of which saying is plainly this, that the whole
reason of religion lies in these two general commandments; that
in these all particular duties and precepts are founded ; that
nothing can be of any obligation in religion, but as it relates
either to the love we owe to God, or the love we owe to our
neighbor. In speaking of these words, 1 shall,

first. Show you the true meaning and import of them ; and,

Secondly, Make some useful remarks on the whole.

In St, Mark's gospel the same thing is said in different
words, though to the same effect. The words parallel to the
text are these : * There is none other commandment greater
than these,' Mark xii. 31 : that is, there is nothing in religion
of a higher obligation than these two precepts; all the duties
of religion must be governed by these two principles : beyond
tiiem there is nothing greater, nothing to limit or restrain them ;
but by them must every thing else be limited and restrained.
The reason of this is plain : for the relation between God and
man being once known, the first conclusion is, ' That we ought
to love the Lord our God with all our hearts, with all our souls,

234 SHERLOCK.

and with all our minds ;' that is, to the utmost of our power :
and until this general principle be established, the particular
duties owing to God cannot fall under our consideration. There
is no room to inquire after the proper instances of expressing
our love to God, till the general obligation of loving God be
known and admitted. The same reason holds likewise as to
the other general head of religion, ' the love of our neighbor :'
for the relation between man and man, and the common rela-
tion of all to one great Master, being supposed, the result is,
that we ought ' to love our neighbor as ourself :' that is, to do
all we can to promote the happiness of each other : and unless
we have this general sense, we cannot be concerned to know in
any particular case what is the proper instance of love which
we ought to show towards our neighbor.

But these general principles being once established, the par-
ticular duties flow from them naturally. The love of God and
the love of our neighbor, if carefully attended to, will easily
grow into a complete system of religion. The duties of religion
are all relative, regarding either God or man ; and there is no
relative duty that love does not readily transform itself into on
the mere view of the dift'erent circumstances of the persons con-
cerned. Love, with regard to a superior, becomes honor and
respect, and shows itself in a cheerful obedience and a willing
submission to the commands of authority : love, with respect to
our equals, is friendship and benevolence : towards inferiors it
is courtesy and condescension : if it regards the happy and
prosperous, it is joy and pleasure, which envy cannot corrupt: if
it looks towards the miserable, it is pity and compassion ; it is
a tenderness which will discover itself in all the acts of mercy
and humanity.

In negative duties this principle is no less eff'ectual than in
positive. Love will not permit us to injure, oppress, or offiend
our brother : it will not give us leave to neglect our betters, or
to despise our inferiors : it will restrain every inordinate passion,
and not suffer us either to gratify our envy at the expense of our
neighbor's credit and reputation, or our lust by violating his
wife or his daughter; but it will preserve us harmless and inno-
cent : for ' love worketh no ill to its neighbor.' This deduc-
tion of particular duties from this general principle was made by

ir^

DISCOURSE XIII. 236

St. Paul long since : ' Owe no man,' says he, * any thing, but
to love one another : for he that loveth another hath fultilled
the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt
not kill, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness.
Thou shalt not covet : and if there be any other commandment,
it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely. Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh uo ill to his
neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law:' Rom.
xiii. 8, &c.

This notion of love, as being the fulness of the law, and of
all the commandments being comprehended in this saying,
* Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,' will lead us to the
true and natural interpretation of a passage in St. James, which,
as it is commonly understood, is liable to great difficulties and
objections, and to those who have plain sense, and can follow
it, must appear absurd : ' Whosoever,' says he, ' shall keep the
whole law, and offend in one point, he is guilty of all :' chap. ii. 1 0.
This is a position something strange, that an offence against one
law should be a breach of all laws, however different they
are in kind and degree ; that he who commits adultery, for in-
stance, should therefore be guilty of murder and robbery, and
other the like heinous offences, nothing related to the sin of
adultery. But let us consider the Apostle's reason in the next
verse : ' For he that said. Do not commit adultery, said also.
Do not kill. Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet, if thou
kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.' This reason,
as interpreters commonly expound it, amounts to this : all laws
are founded on one and the same authority of God; therefore
every offence against any law is a contempt of the authority
on which all laws depend ; and therefore every act of disobe-
dience is a breach of the whole law, because subversive of that
authority on wiiich the whole law stands. But there are
many objections against the reason thus stated : first, it is liable
evidently to all the difficulties of the Stoics' paradox, that all
offences are equal : for if the guilt of sin depends not on the
nature and circumstances of the sinful action, but on the au-
thority of the lawgiver, then every sin, being an offence against
the same authority, is of the same guilt and heinousness ; and
there will be no difference between killing your neighbor or

236 SHERLOCK.

your neighbor's horse ; for he that has forbid you killing your
neighbor, has likewise forbid you doing any act to the hurt
and detriment of your neighbor : secondly, the Apostle's
inference in the latter part of the verse does not answer to the
principle laid down in the former part : ' He that said, Do not
commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.' This is his principle ;
and he infers, ' Now, if thou commit no adultery, yet, if thou
kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law :' no doubt of it ;
because there is a law against murder as well as against adul-
tery. But what is this towards showing that the breach of one
law is the breach of all ? The inference therefore should have
been on this foot : now, if thou commit no adultery, yet if
thou kill, thou art guilty of all the laws by disobeying the Au-
thor of all laws.

But this passage of St. James will have another appearance,
when fairly examined. In order to it, we must look back to
that which gave occasion to it, and follow the Apostle's argu-
ment step by step. The whole depends on the notion which
is common to the writers of the New Testament, that ' love is
the fulfilling of the law.' St. James considers the whole duty
of man to man as contained in one law, namely, ' Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself :' and then he argues rightly, he
who offends in one point is guilty of the whole law : for whe-
ther it be theft, or murder, or adultery, that you commit, it
matters not ; for any of these crimes is inconsistent with the
law, which contains and is the whole, ' Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself.' But hear the Apostle's own words ; in
the eighth verse you read thus : ' If ye fulfil the royal law ac-
cording to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy-
self, ye do well :' where, first, you are to observe that he calls
this the royal law ; not because given by Christ the King, as
some tell us, for all laws are in that sense royal laws ; but be-
cause it is the first supreme law, from which all others proceed
as distinct branches, and by which they must all be governed.
Secondly, you must take notice what stress the Apostle lays
on their ' fulfilling' this royal law : ' If ye fulfil the royal law
— ye do well :' that is, if you attend to it in all instances, so as
not to offend against it in any case, ye then will do well. The
Apostle proceeds in the next verse, ' But, if ye have respect to

DISCOURSE XIII. 237

persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as trans-
gressors.' The law in this verse is the same law that was men-
tioned before, that is, * the royal law :' if, says he, you have
any partial regards, you will not then fulfil the law of love, but
will be found to be transgressors of that law ; ' for,' as it fol-
lows in the tenth verse, ' whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.' In this verse
he considers the royal law, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as
thyself,' as the whole law, and all particular commandments
as points of that law. And what he says amounts to this :
whatever regard you may have to the law of loving your neigh-
bor, which all profess to walk by, yet assure yourselves you
cannot keep that law, if j'ou ofteud against any one rule of
charity ; for every such single offence is a breach of that whole
law : ' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.' In the
eleventh verse he gives the reason of his assertion : * For he that
said. Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill.' The
words in the original, here translated ' for he that said,' are of
doubtful interpretation. The sense followed by interpreters and
translators has misled people in the understanding of this whole
place. Instead of ' for he that said,' it should be rendered, for
' the law' which said, ' Do not commit adultery, said also, Do
not kill.' The place thus rendered contains a clear reason of
whatwent before : if, says he, you offend in any point of charity
or duty, you become a transgressor of this whole law, ' Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself:' for this laAV of loving thy
neighbor, which says to thee, ' Do not commit adultery,' says
likewise to thee, * Do not kill.' And now, if you go to the
latter part of the verse, you will find it exactly suited to the
whole thread of discourse which went before ; for thus it fol-
lows, 'Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou
art become a transgressor of the law;' that is, of that general
law of loving thy neighbor, which said as well to thee, 'Thou
shalt not kill,' as ' Thou shalt not commit adultery.'

How this royal law speaks to us in the language of all par-
ticular laws and precepts is easily understood, and is distinctly
explained by St. Paul in the place already produced : ' For
this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou
shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not

238 SHERLOCK.

covet : and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neigh-
bor as thyself :' Rom. xiii. 9.

As to the different version of the eleventh verse in St. James,
which I have made choice of, our own translators plainly saw
the propriety of it, and have given that version in the margin
of the bible. To them therefore, and their reasoning, I refer

you.

This place in St. James being thus understood and explained,
there is no occasion for any niceties or distinctions to support
the reason and equity of his doctrine, or to show how a man, by
offending against one law, may become guilty of all ; since this
assertion will no longer be found to be part of the Apostle's doc-
trine. What he teaches is plainly this : the great and funda-
mental law of the gospel is this, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself.' The force of this all see, and all acknowlege ;
and whilst they pretend to be Christians, all must pretend at
least to obey. But, says he, whoever in any manner offends,
injures, or oppresses his brother, it matters not in what way,
whether it be by undue and partial preference of one to another,
by contempt, or slander, by theft, adultery, or murder ; who-
ever, I say, in any of these instances sins against his brother,
will be found to be a transgressor against this great, this vital,
principle of religion, ' Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'
For this reason he tells them, the way to do well was ' to fulfil
the royal law,' that is, to observe all the points of it ; because
no point could be transgressed, but the transgressor must be
found guilty of the whole law, which is a general law of love
extending to all points. There is nothing hard in this sense,
nothing but what any man may see the reason of: for certainly
to injure our neighbor in any way makes us guilty of the
breach of the law, which commands us to love our neighbor ;
for one injurious action is as inconsistent with love as another ;
and in this respect injurious actions have no difference, for they
are all equally inconsistent with the great law.

The giving light to this passage in St. James has not misled
us from the main purpose of this discourse ; for we have seen
at the same time the true extent and meaning of the text, with
respect to one of the laws referred to in it, and which is easily

DISCOURSE XIII. 239

applicable to the other. St. James has fully taught us our
Saviour's meaning, when he said, * On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets.'

But let us turn to consider the other general head referred to
by our Saviour in the text, namely, ' the love of God.' * This,'
says our Lord in the thirty-eighth verse, * is the first and great
commandment.' From this head are to be deduced all the
service, worship, and honor, which we owe and pay to our
Creator, I observed to you before that all the duties of reli-
gion are relative : which is true in that part now under con-
sideration ; for the duties we owe to God are founded in the
relation between God and us. Were there no such relation,
the perfections of God might be matter of admiration, but
could not be the ground of duty and obedience. I observed
likewise to you that love naturally transforms itself into all
relative duties, which arise from the circumstances of the per-
sons related. Thus, in the present case, if we love God, and
consider him as the Lord and Governor of the world, our love
will soon become obedience ; if we consider him as wise, good,
and gracious, our love will become honor and adoration : if
we add to these our natural weakness and infirmity, love will
teach us dependence, and prompt us in all our wants to fly
for refuge to our great Protector : and thus, in all other
instances, may the particular duties be drawn from this general
principle. Prayer and praise, and other parts of divine
worship, which are the acts of these duties, are so clearly con-
nected to them, that there is no need of showing distinctly
concerning them, how they flow from this general command-
ment.

Having thus given you an account of the text, with respect
to both the principles of religion referred to in it, ' the love of
God,' and ' the love of our neighbor,' I would now, in the
second place, lay before you some observations which seem to
arise naturally from the whole.

The first is, that these two principles, from which our Lord
tells us all religion flows, must be consistent with one another ;
otherwise they could not both be principles of the same
religion. The love of God therefore can in no case oblige us
to act contrary to the love of our neighbor. Our Saviour has

240 SHERLOCK.

told us indeed, that the time would be, when some should
think they did God good service by destroying their brethren :
but I do not find the religion or the zeal of those persons much
commended ; but this very character is given of them to show
how little they knew or understood their duty. And yet,
could such a case ever happen, in which it might become our
duty to hurt our neighbor, in order to promote the honor of
God, it could not be a just character of false zeal, to say that
it made men think they did God good service by destroying or
abusing their neighbors; because, on this supposition, it might
happen to be the character of true religious zeal.

There is one thing in our Saviour's argument which may
perhaps mislead men in judging on this case, and which there-
fore may deserve to be particularly considered. Of the love of
God our Saviour says, ' it is the first and great commandment :'
the love of our neighbor he styles 'the second, like unto it.'
Now from hence perhaps it may be inferred that the. love of
God, which is the first and great commandment, is a law of
a superior obligation to that which is only the second, and may
therefore in some instances control and overrule it. From
whence it would follow, that we might lawfully overlook the
love of our neighbor, in obedience to the superior obligation
we are under to love God. Now, on supposition that our
duty to God and our neighbor could ever interfere, I should
readily allow that we ought to love God rather than man : but
our Saviour's saying the love of God is the first commandment,
is no manner of reason to think that it ever is, or can be, incon-
sistent with the second.

The love of God is properly styled the first commandment, in
respect to God who is the object of the love, and because it is
indeed the foundation of all religion, even of that command-
ment which is styled the second. But this is so far from showing
that the love of God may ever clash with the love of our neigh-
bor, that it proves the contrary ; for if the love of our neigh-
bor is deducible from the love of God, it must ever be con-
sistent with it.

I know very well that the ancient writers of morality have
not gone higher for principles to build their precepts on, than
to the common desires of nature, and the several relations of

DISCOURSE XIII. 241

man to man ; but that is their fault ; for they miorht have
looked farther with very j2,ood success : for if we consider God
as the common Father of mankind, and (as from his goodness
and impartiality we must needs judge) equally concerned for
the welfare of his children, we shall have a very sure foundation
for all the moral duties. No man, who thinks himself bound
to love and obey God, can think himself at liberty to hurt or
oppress those whom God has taken under his care and pro-
tection : no man, who believes it his interest as well as his duty
to please God, but must likewise believe it his interest and
duty to be kind and tender towards those who are the children
of God, and in whose happiness he is not an unconcerned
spectator. For this reason the love of God is called the first
and great commandment ; and for this reason it never can be
inconsistent with the love of our neighbor, which is the
second. In all cases therefore where your duty to your neigh-
bor is plain and clear, depend on it your duty to God con-
curs with it. All scruples to the contrary are wicked, perhaps
wicked hypocrisy ; for it is the greatest indignity to God to use
his name and pretend his honor, to cover the injuries you are
doing to his creatures and your own brethren.

The second observation I would make from the text is, that
our Saviour having declared ' that on these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets,' it is certain that nothing is
or ought to be esteemed religion, that is not reducible to one
or other of these principles.

But what then, you will say, must become of the institutions
of religion, which, considered in themselves, and according to
their own nature, are not properly to be referred either to the
love of God or our neighbor? for if all that is religion may
be so referred, it should seem that these institutions, which
cannot be so referred, are no part of religion. It is certain that
mere positive institutions are not founded on any moral
reason of the actions themselves: if they were, they might
easily be drawn from these general precepts without the help of
a positive command; for the whole moral reason of religion is
either the love of God or the love of our neighl)or : and to
make any thing else to be religion, strictly speaking, that does
not partake of this moral reason, is ignorance and superstition.

SHERL. VOL. I. L

242 SHERLOCK.

But then there is a very manifest difference between religion
and the means of religion : and whatever is part of our religion,
and yet not so on the account of the moral reason, can only
be esteemed as a means of religion ; not ordained for its own
sake, but for the sake of that religion which is founded on
moral reason.

* This distinction between religion and the means of religion
would be of use, if carefully attended to : it would teach men
where to point their best endeavor, and where to place their
hopes and expectations ; for if your zeal and fervor be spent
only on the means of religion, and goes no farther, ye are still
in your sins.

And from hence it is plain that there can be no competition
between the duties called moral and those called positive : for
if the positive duties are the means and instruments appointed
by God for preserving true religion and morality, true religion
and morality can never be at variance with the means appointed
to preserve them. And as to the obligation of observing these
duties, it is on all sides equal : for since we are bound to obey
God by all the ties of moral duty, and since the institutions of
religion are of God's appointment, whatever the matter of the
institution be, the obligation to obey is certainly a moral obli-
gation : which, duly considered, will show that the text
extends to all parts of religion, and that ' on these two com-
mandments hang all the law and the prophets.'

DISCOURSE XIV. 243

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XIV.

HEBREWS, CHAP. III. — VERSE 12.

PART I.

The text evidently contains an earnest exhortation, the
subject of which is faith towards God ; for faith is the prin-
ciple destroyed by an evil heart of unbelief: but some think
that faith is not a proper subject of exhortation, since it is a
mere act of the mind judging- on motives of credibility ; and
it is as reasonable to exhort a man to see with his eyes, as to
judge with his understanding : the warmest admonition will
not enlarge the sight, &c. ; and in faith the case is much the
same.

If then this be the true notion of faith, how comes it that in
every page we find praises of it in the gospel ? What is there
in this to deserve the blessings promised to the faithful ?
Whence is it that the whole of our salvation is put on this
ground, and that so many prerogatives belong to faith, if faith
be nothing else but the believing things in themselves credible ?
Why are we not said to be justified by sight, as well as by
faith ?

But farther : if faith be what has been stated, how comes
it described in Scripture as having its seat in the heart?
here shown that it is so described in various instances : hence
it is necessary, for the right understanding of the text, to inquire
what is the true notion of faith : from which will appear the

241 SUMMARY OF

propriety of the exhortation. Take heed, lest there he in you an
evil heart of unbelief .

With respect to the true notion of faith, every step by which
we advance to the last degree of perfection in it, is an act of
faith, though of a different kind, and not entitled to the
praises or rewards of the gospel : hence much of that confusion
and inconsistency which has obscured the question. To ren-
der this more plain, the degrees and steps of faith by which
men arrive at gospel righteousness are considered : for instance,
a belief in the gospel accounts — a belief in the miracles of
Christ and his apostles — a belief that the Spirit of God was
given to them without measure : but no one of these degrees is
the exact faith we seek after — that faith which is the principle
of the gospel, respects the declarations and promises of God,
and includes a firm reliance on him for the performance:
beyond this there is no farther act of faith : this is its comple-
tion, and leads us to the practice of virtue as the condition on
which the promises are founded. It is shown that natural
religion requires almost the same faith, without giving us the
same evidence : the professor of any religion must believe that
God is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him : is it then
become less credible that God will reward the righteous,
because he has sent his Son to declare his full purpose to do
so ? Is it harder to trust him now, since he has appeared in
signs and mighty works, than when we saw him only by the
glimmering light of nature ? &c.

Religion is a struggle between sense and faith : the tempta-
tions to sin are present pleasures ; the incitements to virtue are
future joys : these only seen by faith ; those the objects of
every sense : where the heart is established in faith, virtue
triumphs over the works of darkness ; where sense predo-
minates, sin enters through every evil passion of the heart :
hence not more absurd to say we are saved by faith, than that
we are ruined by sense and passion. With this account of

DISCOURSE XIV. 245

faith, the Apostle's definition, /a///i is the substance of things
hoped for, the evidence of things not seen, shown to agree.

Since then all the blessings of holiness and hopes of religion
are founded in faith, is it not natural to say that he who
follows after holiness, induced by the glorious prospects of futu-
rity, is saved by faith ? This subject enlarged on.

Where faith is not strong enough to bring the things of
futurity into competition with present pleasures, the world
must triumph, and the sinner be lost for want of faith. On tlie
other hand, what is it that makes men willingly endure afflic-
tions and persecutions, though they know that pleasure is better
than pain, ease than torment ? What but faith in God, which
makes them esteem his promises, as if present before their eyes?
This point enlarged on, and illustrated by instances from
Scripture.

Hence then it is easy to understand what the Scripture
means hj faith overcoming the world: for religion is a contest
between the world and faith, betw^een things present and things
to come. With this notion of faith, what St. Paul says in his
comparison between faith, hope, charity, and other spiritual
gifts, is shown to agree ; and from this account w^e may also
perceive how the heart comes to have such an influence in a
Christian's faith. It is the love of the world that is the enemy
of faith ; and is not the heart of man the magazine from which
the world supplies itself with arms? are not lust, envy, &c., the
evil treasure of an evil heart, and the fiercest combatants against
faith ? and may not a heart so stocked be styled a heart of un-
belief?

In other matters of faith which are of a more abstract nature,
and depend more on the reason and judgment, the heart too
often interposes with success : even here we have reason to
remember the apostolical admonition in the text.

246 SUMMARY OF

PART II.

Consideration of the character given in the text of an
unbelieving heart ; viz. that it makes us depart from the
living God. On this subject three heads : — I. it is for want of
faith, as a principle of religion, that men depart from the living
God: II. faith cannot be such a principle, until it has its
effects and operations in the heart : III. the motions and
operations of the heart are greatly under our own power and
government. Hence it will appear how much it is the business
of a religious life to be watchful over the heart, &c.

On the first head, it is shown what is meant by departing
from God by equivalent expressions in the chapter of which the
text is a part : the propriety of which expressions will appear,
if we consider God, as represented by the parable of the Pro-
digal, in the character of the father of the family, and sinners as
prodigal sons, who forsake his house, and seduced by luxury
and riot, enter into the service of strange masters, till the sense
of want and misery brings them back to beg admittance again :
so the nations of old forsook the service of their heavenly
Father for strange deities, and became apostates and slaves :
when they received the gospel, it was not taking a new master,
but returning to their old one, and yielding an obedience that
was always diie. Since then by faith in the gospel we become
servants of the living God, and are once more entered into his
family, it is easy to see why the text charges an unbelieving
heart with apostacy from the living God : for if Christian faith
unites us to him, whatever destroys this principle dissolves the
«nion ; and we cannot lose our faith without departing from
God.

But may not the heart possibly depart from God, through the
influence of vice and pleasure, while faith stands uncorrupted ?
We see many, whose life is a continued scene of guilty enjoy-
ments, who yet profess to believe the doctrines of the gospel.

DISCOURSE XIV. 247

and, for ought we know, do believe them : but the gospel says,
evei^y one that believelh shall he saved, and all the workers of
iniquity shall be destroyed: if then these characters can subsist
together, the gospel contains a contradiction.

The difficulty here shown to arise from confounding together
ideas which are distinct ; from not distinguishing between faith,
as a principle of knowlege, and as a principle of religion : this
point enlarged on : the knowlege of God is like other natural
knowlege, as long as it resides in the head only ; to become ii
principle of religion it must descend into the heart, and teach
us to love the hard ivit hall ourminds, &c. ; and if this be true
of the knowlege of God, which is the greatest of all divine
truths, it must be true in all other instances ; the faith then of
the gospel, to which the wicked man is a stranger, is that which
makes us cleave steadfastly to the Lord ivithfuU purpose of
heart.

On the second head, if we consider religion under the notion
of action, this proposition has nothing strange in it; as the
same is true of every principle of knowlege and action ; is as
true of sense as it is of faith. As faith makes us cleave to
God, so sense makes us cleave to the world ; but till sense lias
possession of the heart, it has no power, is of no use to the
world: we learn from sense the reality of things temporal:
yet this assent of the mind to the evidence of sense never made
a man wicked or worldly-minded : but when sense stirs up the
desires of the heart, then it becomes a principle of action, and
a combatant for the world against the powers of faith. As is the
wicked man with regard to his faith in divine truths, so is tiie
righteous man in respect to things of sense : as the wicked man
has the knowlege of faith, but nothing religious, so has the
righteous man all the knowlege of sense, but nothing sensual ;
the difference between them is, that the one pursues objects of
sense, the other objects of faith. This parallel traced farther,
to gain a right conception of the nature of faith : it is shown

248 SUMMARY OF

that, to make a man perform the actions either of religion or of
common life, his desires, which are the springs of action, must
be moved ; and since nothing can move the desires, v(^hich is
not first the object of the understanding, he must have the
knowlege of the things of this life and of religion, and consider
them under the notion of good or evil with respect to himself.
Now to enjoy the things of this life is the business of the
sensual man ; those of a future life are the good man's con-
cern. As the objects are different, so the means of obtaining
the knowlege of them are different : the world has as many
ways of making itself familiar to us, as we have senses ; religion
has only those dark glimpses of futurity, which reason, feeble
as she is, can discover : the only thing then that is wanting to
set religion on as high ground, and to enable it to bear up
against the impressions of sense, is a certain principle of
knowlege with respect to its objects : for could we as evidently
possess ourselves of the reality of the things of another life, as
of the things of this, there would be no more competition
between sense and religion than there is comparison between
the things of this life and of eternity. To supply this darkness
of our knowlege in religion, is the very end and design of
revelation. Now, as sense is to be distinguished into a prin-
ciple of knowlege and a principle of action, so is faith likewise :
this distinction in the case of sense may be seen in any
instance : an honest man knows the value of riches, as well as
a thief: it is not therefore the knowlege of the object, but the
immoderate desire of it, that makes the difference. The same is
the case in religion : faith, as a mere object of the mind, is no
principle of religion ; and one is no more a religious man for
knowing the articles of religion, than he is a sensual man for
walking with his eyes open and seeing the world : this point
enlarged on.

On the whole, since religion is not a mere science and
speculation, but is to be the employment of our lives, in the

>Aft-

DISCOURSE XIV. 240

love of God and man ; since the knowlege of any thinsi", or
belief of any thing, as mere acts of the mind, are no principles
of action; but every action proposes to itself some end, which
is the object of some desire ; it follows that faith cannot be a
principle of religion, till it becomes the object of our desires,
i. e. till it has its effects and operations in the heart.

The great advantage which the world has over religion lies
in the certainty and reality of its objects : to supply this
defect in religion, revelation assures us of the reality of things
future, to influence and keep steady our affections. The
objects of faith then support religion, as the objects of sense
encourage the love of the world.

All the articles of the gospel tend to one of these ends ;
either to assure us of the certainty of the revelation and
redemption by Christ, or to set before us the very substance
and image of the things hoped for : this enlarged on : to re-
ject therefore these articles, is to reject the revelation and
redemption of Christ, and to act purely on the ground of
natural religion.

The third head is a plain case, in which every man's own
experience is his best instructor. We find daily that we can
check our passions and inclinations, to serve the purposes of
this life ; and if we would do as much for that which is to
come, we should answer all which the text requires of us in
taking heed of an evil heart of unbelief. Were it not in our
power to suspend the influence of our passions, a man would
have no more liberty than a stone, and consequently would be
incapable of religion : though we cannot see things as we will,
it is m our power to pursue and court them as we please : we
can make our inclinations yield to our will, as men do when
they sacrifice present enjoyments to distant prospects of honor
or preferment; for the future things of this life are no more
objects of sense than those of another life ; and it is not sense,

250 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XIV.

but judgment, that refuses the present good for a distant
advantage : it is but an instance of the same reason and
judgment to restrain the sensual appetites, and to make room
for the hopes of immortality to enter and possess the heart :
and this is truly the work of religion.

DISCOURSE XIV.— PART I. 2ol

DISCOURSE XIV.

HEBREWS, CHAP. III. — VERSE 12.

Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart ot
unbelief in departing- from the living God.

PART I.

The words of the text contain an earnest exhortation, as is
evident on the first view : and the subject of the exhortation is
faith towards God ; for faith is the principle destroyed by an
' evil heart of unbelief.' But faith, as some think, is no proper
subject for exhortation : for if faith is a mere act of the mind
judging on motives of credibility, it is as reasonable to exhort a
man to see with his eyes, as to judge with his understanding ;
and the warmest admonition will not enlarge the sight, which
will still depend on the goodness of the eye, and the distance
and position of the object. In faith the case is much the same :
if the affections are thoroughly raised, and made eager to em-
brace the faith, they may chance indeed to step in between the
premises and conclusion, and make men profess to believe,
without knowing or considering the reasons of belief; which is
to destroy the foundation of faith : or, if they keep their due
distance, and leave the cause to be decided by reason and un-
derstanding, their influence will be nothing, and they might as
well have been left out of the case ; since faith will follow the
judgment the mind makes on the motives of credibility.

But then, if this be the true notion of faith, that it is merely
an act of the mind assenting to a truth on motives of credibility,
how comes it that in every page we find the praises of it in the
gospel ? What is there in this to deserve the blessings promised
to the faithful ? Or, whence is it that the whole of our salvation

2o2 SHERLOCK,

is put on this foot? Abraham, we are told, 'was justitied by
faith, and by faith inherited the promises : by faith we become
the sons of Abraham, and heirs together with him of the hope
which is through Christ Jesus : by faith we have admittance to
God, and are intitled through the Spirit of adoption to cry
Abba, Father : by faith we are delivered from the bondage ot
corruption into the glorious liberty of the sons of God : by faith
we wait for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.'
But how come all these prerogatives to belong to faith, if faith
be nothing else but believing things in themselves credible ?
Why are we not said to be justified by sight, as well as by
faith ? For is there not the same virtue in seeing things visible,
as in believing things credible ? Is not the understanding as
faulty when it rejects things credible, as the eye when it does
not perceive things visible ? Tell me then what is faith, that it
should raise men above the level of mortality, and make them
become like the angels of hieaven ?

But farther ; if faith be only an act of the understanding
formed on due reasons and motives, how comes it to be de-
scribed in Scripture as having its seat in the heart? The Apostle
in the text cautions against ' an evil heart of unbelief:' and the
same notion prevails throughout the books of Scripture, and is
as early as our Saviour's first preaching. In explaining the
parable of the sower to his disciples, Luke viii he tells them,
' Those by the way-side are they that hear : then cometh the
devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they
should. believe and be saved:' v. 12. So again, 'That on the
good ground are they which in an honest and good heart hear
the word, and bring forth fruit with patience :' v. 15. The first
sort are those who had an ' evil heart of unbelief:' the second
are those who, as the same Apostle to the Hebrews expresses
it, chap. X. had a ' true heart in full assurance of faith.' In the
Acts of the Apostles, Philip tells the Eunuch, that if he ' be-
lieved with all his heart,' he might be baptized : viii. 37. And
Barnabas exhorts the Antiochians, ' that with purpose of heart
they would cleave unto the Lord ;' which is only a periphrasis
for faith : xi. 23. The Apostle to the Romans has ex professo
determined this matter : ' If thou shalt confess,' says he, ' with
thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that

^r^ A

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART I. 253

God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved :' x. 9.
In the following verse he gives this general reason for his asser-
tion : ' For with the heart man belie veth unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.'

Since then the Scripture, read to you for the text, contains
an exhortation to faith, which supposes a man's faith to be in-
fluenced by his affections and inclinations ; which is not always
true, if we consider faith merely as the assent of the mind to a
credible proposition : since there are also such things ascribed
to taithin Scripture, such promises made to it, as cannot belong
to it in this acceptation : since faith, thus considered, is a bare
act of the mind ; but the faith of the gospel is described as
having its seat and operations in the heart of man : it is neces-
sary, for the right understanding of the text, to inquire.

First, What is the true notion of faith.

From whence, in the second place, it will appear that it is
a proper exhortation, 'Take heed, lest there be in us an evil
heart of unbelief.'

The first thing to be inquired after is the true notion of
faith.

Every step by which we advance to the last degree of per-
fection in faith, is an act of faith, though of a different kind,
and not intitled either to the praises or rewards of the gospel.
And hence has arisen great part of the confusion which has
obscured and darkened th^s question concerning faith : for when
men, not distinguishing between the intermediate acts of faith,
and that faith which is the ultimate end and perfection of the
gospel, ascribe that to one, which only and properly belongs to
the other, no wonder if they are found inconsistent with them-
selves, and destroyers of reason and religion, whilst they seem
to themselves to labor for the promotion of the doctrine of
righteousness.

To render what I mean plain and intelligible, 1 desire you
to consider the degrees and steps of faith by which men arrive
at gospel righteousness. It is one degree of faith to believe
the gospels to be true and faithful accounts ; and it is a degree
that leads to great perfection ; he that wants this faith is at a
stand, and can never proceed farther. But this is not the faith
we seek after. It is a farther degree of faith to believe the mi-

254 SHERLOCK.

racles of Christ and his apostles to be true and real miracles,
and wrought by the power and Spirit of God, But neither is
this faith complete : for the miracles were wrought, not for
their own sakes, but for the sake of something else : and there-
fore to believe the miracles, without believing what the mira-
cles were intended to prove, is not Christian faith. Farther
still ; it is another and a more advanced degree of faith to
believe that the Spirit of God was given to the apostles in a
large measure, and to Christ, the author of the; salv-ation, with-
out measure. But neither is this the faith which Christ came
to propagate: for should I ask you, why are we taught, and
why are we to believe, that God gave the Spirit to his Son
without measure, and to the disciples in a very wonderful
manner and degree? would you not easily answer, that these
heavenly endowments were both given and declared to make
them fit teachers, and us ready disciples, of the doctrines of
God ? It is evident then that these gifts were subservient to
a farther end, and that Christian faith does not terminate here.
But if, notwithstanding this, you will apply all that you read
of faith in holy Scripture to these or any of these kinds of faith,
and then imagine that faith is a very strange principle of reli-
gion, and of foreign growth, repugnant to the sense and reason
of mankind, and disclaimed by the light of nature ; which are
the usual compliments bestowed on it in the world ; you may
thank yourself for the delusion : the doctrine of the gospel of
Christ is clear of the reproach.

Faith, which is the principle of the gospel, respects the pro-
mises and declarations of God, and includes a sure trust and
reliance on him for the performance. Beyond this there is no
farther act of faith. We are not taught to believe this in order
to our believing something else : but here faith has its full com-
pletion, and leads immediately to the practice of virtue and
holiness, the conditions in which all the promises of God are
founded. For this end was the Son of God revealed, to make
known the will of his Father, to declare his mercy and pardon,
and to confirm the promises of eternal life to mankind : he that
believes and accepts this deliverance from the bondage of sin ,
and through patience and perseverance in well-doing waits for
the blessed hope of immortality ; who passes through this

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART I. 255

world as a stranger and pilgrim, looking for another country,
and a city whose builder is God; this is he whose faith shall
receive the promise, whose confidence shall have great recom-
pence of reward.

If these are hard sayings, what defence shall we make for
natural religion, which requires almost the same faith, but with-
out giving the same evidence ? Is it not the profession of every
religion to believe God to be a rewarder of them who diligently
seek him ? Could you have any natural religion without this
principle ? This the gospel requires of you : and if Jesus Christ
has given you more evidence for this faith than ever nature
could aftbrd her children, forgive him this injury. Is it become
less credible that God will reward the righteous, because he
has sent his Son into the world to declare his full purpose so
to do ? Is it harder to trust him now, since he has appeared
to us in signs and in wonders and in mighty works, than it was
before, when we saw him only by the glimmering light of na-
ture ? Are the express promises of God, confirmed to us in
Christ Jesus, of less weight than the general suggestions of
nature ? If these express promises, these clear evidences of
the purpose of God are not the things complained of in the
gospel, what are they ? Faith has ever been the principle of
religion, and must ever continue so to be : for when all othei
gifts shall cease, faith, hope, and charity will be the only gos-
pel graces which time shall not destroy.

Religion is a struggle between sense and faith. The temp-
tations to sin are the pleasures of this life : the incitements to
virtue are the pleasures of the next. These are only seen by
faith; those are the objects of every sense. On the side of
virtue all the motives, all the objects of faith engage : on the
side of vice stand the formidable powers of sense, passion, and
aftection. Where the heart is established in the fulness of
faith, the heavenly host prevails, and virtue triumphs over all
the works of darkness : but where sense governs, sin enters,
and is served by every evil passion of the heart. If this be the
case ; if religion has nothing to oppose to the present allure-
ments of the world, but the hopes and glories of futurity, which
are seen only by faith ; it is no more absurd to say men are
saved by faith, than it is to say they are ruined by sense and

250 SHERLOCK.

passion ; which we all know has so much of truth in it, that it
can have nothing of absurdity.

To this account of faith, the definition which the Apostle
has given of it (in the eleventh chapter to the Hebrews) exactly
agrees ; ' Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen.' ' Things hoped for ' are the things
of futurity, things which are not seen, as we learn from St. Paul,
Rom. viii. 24. ' We are saved by hope : but hope that is seen
is not hope ; for what a man seeth why doth he yet hope for ? '
Now without faith there can be no hope : for if we do not be-
lieve things future, we cannot possibly hope for them. Hope
therefore is indebted to faith for all its objects : for these things
with respect to hope would be mere nonentities, were it not
for faith. Considered therefore as things hoped for, they owe
their substance and their being to faith. ' Faith ' then ' is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.'
' The things not seen ' are those good things which God has
prepared for them who love him, the rewards of virtue and
holiness, which eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither, hath
the heart of man conceived. And that these things are chiefly
meant by the Apostle, is evident from the great number of in-
stances subjoined in this chapter, in which the thing not seen
is generally the promise of God, that is, the thing promised by
God. Now the promises of God being objects neither of sense
nor science, but such things as are made known to us by his de-
claration, the evidence on which they are received is the
evidence of faith. The reason why we believe there are such
rewards is, because we believe the word of God : the reason
why we hope to receive them- is, because we judge ' him faithful
who has promised.'

Since then all the blessings of holiness, all the hopes of reli-
gion, are founded in faith, is it not very natural to say, that the
man who follows after holiness and piety, induced by the glo-
rious prospects of futurity, is saved by faith? that he who sa-
crifices the world and its enjoyments to the hopes of eternity,
depending intirely on the truth of God, that he will perform
the word which is gone out of his month, is saved by his faith,
without which he could have had no hopes, no expectations, to
place against the present enjoyments of the world ? Do but

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART I. 257

consider the posture of mind a man is in, when he deliberates
on the good and evil of his own actions, and is determining
his choice whether to follow the pleasures of sin, or to endure
the hardships and fatigues of virtue : what are his motives,
what are his deliberations ? Is not the whole contest between
things present and things to come, the realities of this life, and
the uncertainty of the other ? Most certainly this is the whole
debate : for put the things of this life and the next on the same
foot of certainty and reality, and there is no man fool enough
to deliberate in his choice. AYere the glories of heaven the ob-
ject of sense; could we with the eyes of flesh look up to the
throne of God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and ' discern the innu-
merable company of angels, the general assembly and church of
the first-born', which are written in heaven, and God thejudge
of all, and the spirits of just men made perfect, and Jesus the
mediator of the new covenant, and the blood of sprinkling, that
speaketh better things than that of Abel :' could we have this
view, a man would no more part with his inheritance above, for
the short enjoyments of sin, than he would sell the reversion of
an earthly crown for one morsel of meat. The cause of sin
therefore is never argued on the comparison between the glo-
ries of heaven and the pleasures of life. No wicked man was
ever so weak as to say, it is better for me to eat, drink, and be
merry this day and the next, than to reign in eternal glory and
immortality. But thus he reasons : — the things about me are
present and real : I see, I feel the world ; and every sense di-
rects me to the enjoyment of it : but for heaven, where is it ?
Distant it is, I am sure, and out of sight; and perhaps is only
a delusion of sickly imagination. When this reasoning prevails,
as too often it does, tell me, I beseech you, is it not a victory
gained by sense over the power of faith ? Had faith been strong
enough to have placed in view the substance of things hoped
for, to have made evident the things not seen, could the world
so easily have prevailed ? I trust it could not; for the things
of faith as much excel the things of sense, as the heavens are
higher than the earth.

But where faith is not strong enough to make a competition
between the things of futurity aiid the present pleasures, the
world must triumph, and tiie sinner will be lost for want of

258 SHERLOCK.

faith. On the other side, what is it that makes men willingly
endure afflictions and persecutions? Do you think the righteous
man so very silly as not to know that pleasure is better than
pain, ease and tranquillity to be preferred to vexation and tor-
ment ? Can you imagine that he chooses oppression for op-
pression's sake? No, certainly : but his faith, his trust and
confidence in God, make him esteem the promises of God as if
they were present before his eyes ; to the hopes of them h~e
sacrifices the world; and after the example of his great Mas-
ter, the author and finisher of our faith, ' for thejoy that is set
before him, endures the cross, despising the shame.' Thus
Moses by faith, when he was come to years, refused to be
called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, ' choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season.' Mark the reason which follows, and the
power of his faith : * esteeming the reproach of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he had respect unto the
recompence of reward. By faith also he forsook Egypt, not
fearing the wrath of the king.' But what confidence was this ?
What forces, what allies, had he to support him against the
united strength of Egypt ? Thus sense indeed would reason.
But ' through faith he endured, as seeing him who is invisible :'
though he had no visible protector, yet through faith he saw
the hand of God stretched out for his deliverance. This was
his confidence, this his support.

Towards the close of this eleventh chapter the i\postle sings
the triumphs of faith under all the cruelties of men : ' Others,'
says he, ' were tortured ; and others had trial of cruel mockings
and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonments ;
they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword ; they wandered about in sheep-skins
and goat-skins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented.' All these
persisted in faith, ' not accepting deliverance, that they might
obtain a better resurrection.' The resurrection was a state they
had never seen ; it was what they could only hope for : but
the promise of God was to them more than the evidence of
sight ; and to their trust and confidence in him they willingly
gave up all that their eyes beheld, and submitted to the evils
which sense is ever warnina: us as:ainst.

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART I. 259

From this account it will be easy to understand what the
Scripture means, when it tells us * that faith overcometh the
world :' for religion is a contest between the world and faith,
between things present and things to come. Faith puts us
under the conduct of future hopes and fears, exempts us from
the power and influence of things present: which present
things are the world : and therefore it is properly said of faith,
' that it overcometh the world.* ,

To this notion of faith agrees likewise what St. Paul has said
concerning it in his comparison between faith, hope, and cha-
rity, and other spiritual gifts, such as speaking with tongues,
prophesying, and healing of distempers. These shall cease :
' But now remaineth,' says the Apostle, * faith, hope, and
charity : and the greatest of these is charity :' for charity and
universal benevolence is the very grace and ornament of hea-
ven, the employment and the pleasure of blessed spirits. Nor
can faith and hope ever be parted from true religion : for there
is no being so great as not to depend on faith in God, and trust
in his power and wisdom, or to be above hoping any thing from
his goodness and benevolence. And therefore the Apostle
says expressly of faith and hope, that they shall remain, with
charity, the greatest of the three. Other gifts are bestowed for
the service of the Church, such as tongues, miracles, and the
like ; and they may well cease, when the occasion which re-
quired them ceases ; but faith, hope, and charity are not occa-
sional gifts, but are essential to religion, and must continue as
long as religion itself.

From this account we may perceive likewise how the heart
comes to have such an interest and influence in the faith of a
Christian. It is the love of the world that is the enemy of
faith: and is not the heart of man the very magazine from
which the world supplies itself with arms? Where dwell self-
love, lust, envy, and covetousness, are not these the evil trea-
sure of an evil heart ? and are not these the fiercest combatants
against faith ? and may not a heart thus stocked be properly
styled ' a heart of unbelief?'

In other matters of faith, which seem to be of a more ab-
stracted nature, and to depend intirely on the reason and judg-
ment of men, the heart often interposes with too much success:

260 SHERLOCK.

for these are so nearly related to the faith which subdues the
world and the heart, that the heart watchful for itself and the
world, disturbs the mind, and raises such clouds of passion, as
intercept the light of truth. To believe Christ to be the Son of
God, to have dwelt for ever in the glory of his Father, from
thence to have come to our redemption, and to have published
the faith in signs and wonders and mighty works, are such kil-
ling blows to the love of the world, that the heart cannot be
unconcerned whilst these things are debating : and though they
can only be tried at the bar of reason, yet the heart will be
counsel on one side or other : and even in these cases there is
reason to remember the apostolical admonition, ' Take heed,
lest there be in vou an evil heart of unbelief.'

DISCOURSE XIV.

PART II.

I PROCEED to consider the character given in the text of an
unbelieving heart ; namely, that it makes us ' depart from the
living God.' What may be proper to be said on this subject
may be reduced, I think, under these three heads :

First, to show, that it is for want of faith, considered as a
principle of religion, that men ' depart from the living God.

Secondly, that faith cannot be a principle of religion, until
it has its effects and operations in the heart.

Thirdly, that the motions and operations of the heart are in
great measure under our own power and government.

And from hence it will evidently appear, how much it is the
business and concern of a religious life to be watchful over the
heart, to guard against all such affections as will destroy the
influence of faith, and render the heart incapable of receiving
the impressions of the Spirit of God.

First then, we are to show, that it is for want of faith, con-
sidered as a principle of religion, that men ' depart from the
living God.' What is meant by ' departing fi;om God ' will

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART IT. 261

appear by comparing this with other equivalent expressions
made use of in this chapter. In the eighth verse the Apostle
introduces the Holy Ghost speaking in the language of the
Psalmist, and thus forewarning the people, ' Harden not your
hearts,' In the tenth verse God complains of the rebellion?
Israelites in the wilderness, saying, ' They do always err in
their hearts, and they have not known my ways.' In the verse
immediately after the text the Apostle thus explains his mean-
ing : ' But exhort one another daily, while it is called to-day,
lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.'
So then, to be hardened in heart, to err in heart, not to know
or walk in the ways of God, to be hardened through the deceit-
fulness of sin, are one and the same thing as departing from the
living God : and the meaning of these ligurative expressions is
clearly explained in the seventeenth verse : ' But with whom
was he grieved forty years ? was it not with them that had
sinned ?' As sinners are said * to depart from God,' so those
who forsake sin, and are converted, are said, in the language
of Scripture, to 'turn to God.' Of the holy Baptist, who
came preaching repentance from dead works, it was foretold
that he ' should turn many to the Lord their God:' Luke i. 10.
And the Apostles Paul and Barnabas thus describe the pur-
pose and end of their mission : ' We preach unto you, that ye
should turn from these vanities unto the living God :' Acts
xiv. 15.

The propriety of these expressions will appear, if we con-
sider God, under the representation made of him by our Sa-
viour in the parable of the prodigal, as the Father of the
family; and sinners as prodigal sons, who, weary of their Fa-
ther's government, forsake his house, and reduced by luxury
and riot, enter into the service of strange masters, till the sense
of want and their own misery bring them back to beg admit-
tance again into their Father's house. Thus the nations of old '
forsook the service of God, their heavenly Father, and fell
under the hard bondage of strange deities : they were apostates
from him who had a right to their obedience, and slaves to
those who had no dominion over them : when they received
the gospel, it was not putting themselves, under a new master,
but returning to their old one, and yielding that obedience

262 SHERLOCK.

which was always due, though never paid before. Since there-
fore by faith in the gospel of Christ we become the servants of
the living God, and are once more entered into his family, it is
easy to apprehend the reason why the Apostle in the text
charges an unbelieving heart with apostacy from the living
God : for if Christian faith be the principle by which we are
united to the living God, whatever destroys this principle does
at the same time dissolve the union ; and we cannot make ship-
wreck of the faith without departing from God. An unbeliev-
ing heart therefore, that is, a heart void of Christian faith, is
guilty of apostacy.

But you may ask perhaps, may not the heart possibly de-
part from God through the solicitations of vice and pleasure,
and faith at the same time stand sound and uncorrupted ? And
there is this ground for putting the question, that we see many
men who are buried in wickedness, whose life is but one con-
tinued scene of guilty enjoyments, who sacrifice their honor,
their faith, and their religion, to lust, covetousness, or intem-
perance ; who yet profess to believe all the doctrines of the gos-
pel, and do really believe them, for aught that any man knows
to the contrary, But when I reflect on the express declara-
tions of the gospel, * that every one who believeth shall be
saved, that all the workers of iniquity shall be destroyed ;' if
these characters can subsist together, if the same person at the
same time may be both a believer and a worker of iniquity,
there is a greater contradiction in the gospel than any that has
yet been pretended by its keenest enemies.

How must we then account for this difficulty ? The true
answer, I think, is, that the difficulty arises from confounding
and blending together ideas which are perfectly distinct, from
not separating between faith considered as a principle of know-
lege, and as a principle of religion. In common life we know
many things on the evidence of faith : such are the things which
we receive on the authority of historical evidence, or on the re-
port and testimony of credible witnesses : and such influence
has this principle of knowlege in the world, that there is hardly
any thing of consequence that is not determined by it. There
is not a trial that affects either our lives or our fortunes, the
issue of which does not depend on this principle of knowlege,

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART II. 2G3

the judge and tliejuni not being supposed to have the evidence
of their own senses in the facts which come under their deter-
mination. I mention this to put it out of dispute that faith is
one of the sources or principles of our knowlege. Now mere
speculative knowlege has nothing in it of moral good or evil :
a man is not better or worse for what he knows, till he comes
to act, or to be influenced to action by his knowlege. Bare
knowlege therefore is nothing akin to religion ; for religion is
not one of those very indifterent things, which has neither good
nor evil in it. The speculative knowlege therefore of truths
depending on divine testimony is mere knowlege, and not reli-
gion ; for there is no difference in the simple act of the mind,
whether the assent be grounded on divine testimony or human
testimony; unless you think that every thing must be religion,
that depends on our belief of the being of God : which is not
true ; because there may be this belief, where there can be no
religion ; for St. James has told us, ' that the devils believe and
tremble.' Now the wicked man's faith can be nothing more
but this speculative knowlege or belief of divine truths : for it
is evident it has no effect, no influence ; and is therefore so far
from being the saving faith of the gospel, that it is not in any
degree religious. Our Lord in the gospel has given us a short
description of religion, 'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and thy neighbor as
thyself.' Now, in order to love God, we must know him and
his attributes ; in order to love our neighbor, we must know
our neighbor and his condition : and there is just as much
religion in knowing God without loving and obeying him, as
there is in knowing our neighbor without loving or regarding
him. The man who believes God, and pretends to a right
faith in divine matters, and lives in the neglect of God, in
contempt of his commands, and sins in defiance of knowlege,
has just as much faith as the priest and the Levite had cha-
rity, who saw their neighbor stripped and wounded, and lying
half-dead in the road, and ' looked on him, and passed by on
the other side.' The knowlege of God is but like other natural
knowlege, as long as it has its residence in the head only: to
become a principle of religion, it must descend into the heart,
and teach us to ' love the Lord with all our minds, with all

264 SHERLOCK.

our souls, and with all our strength ;' and if this be true of the
knowlege of God, which is the first and greatest of all divine
truths, it must be true in all other instances whatever. The
faith then of the gospel, and which the wicked man is an utter
stranger to, is that faith which makes us * cleave steadfastly to
the Lord with full purpose of heart.' And this will farther
appear under the second head, which was to show,

Secondly, that faith cannot be a principle of religion, till it
has its effect and operation in the heart. If we consider reli-
gion under the notion of action, this proposition has, I think,
nothing strange or surprising in it : for it is not only true of
faith, but of every principle of knowlege and action : it is
altogether as true of sense, as it is of faith. As faith makes
us cleave to God, so sense makes us cleave to the world : but
till sense has possession of the heart, it has no power or effi-
cacy, and is of no use and service to the world. We learn
from sense the existence and reality of things temporal : but
this assent of the mind to the evidence of sense never made any
man wicked or worldly-minded : for if it did, no man would
ever be righteous ; for the best man that ever was in the world
had his knowlege of external things from the evidence of sense.
But when sense stirs the desires and affections of the heart,
then it becomes a principle of action, and a fierce combatant
for the world against the powers of faith. If we remember
what was said of the wicked man with regard to his faith and
persuasion about divine truths, we shall find how exactly the
righteous man is in the same case in respect to sensible things :
as the wicked man has the knowlege of faith, but nothing re-
ligious, so has the righteous man all the knowlege of sense, but
nothing sensual : the difference therefore between a sensual
man and a righteous man does not consist in this, that one knows
most of sensible things, and the other most of divine things, for
this in both cases may be and often is false : but it lies in this,
that one pursues the objects of sense, the other the objects of faith.
To trace this parallel between sense and faith a little farther,
may give us perhaps a true conception of the nature of faith,
the thing we seek after. Let us consider then how the case
stands between sense and faith, things present and things to
come, between sensuality and religion. The desires which God

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART II. 2G5

has planted in our nature, are the springs of action; and wl-
always propose the obtaining some end, which is the object ot
some desire, in every thing we do. It is evident then, that
where there is nothing to move and incite our desires, we must
be unconcerned and inactive. All objects of our desires are
tirst objects of the understanding, according to the known saying
of the poet, ignoti nulla cupido. But there are many objects
of the mind which are never objects of the passions ; for the
mind must not only apprehend the thing, but likewise apprehend
it as a real thing, and as having the relation of good or evil to
a man, before it can have any etiect on our inclinations. From
this account it is plain, that to make a man j)erform the actions
either of religion or of common life, his desires, which are the
springs of action, must be moved : and since nothing can move
the desires, which is not first the object of the understanding,
he must have the knowlege of the things of this life, and of re-
ligion, and consider them under the notion of good or evil with
respect to himself.

Now the enjoyment of the things of this world is the business
and employment of the sensual man ; the good things of futurity
and another life are the religious man's care and concern. As
the objects are of different kinds, so the means of obtaining the
knowlege of the objects are likewise different. Things present
are represented to our minds by every sense ; the things of fu-
turity by no sense ; and in this single point lies the great advan-
tage which the world has over religion. The world has as many
ways of making itself familiar to us, as we have senses : religion'
has only the dark glimpse of futurity, such as reason, in its pre-
sent feeble and low condition, can discover. The only thing
then that is wanting to set religion on as good a foot as the
world, and to make it able to bear up against the impressions
of sense, is a certain principle of knowlege with respect to the
objects of religion : for could we as evidently possess ourselves
of the reality of the things of another life, as we are possessed
of the reality of the things of this, there would be no more com-
petition between sense and religion, than there is comparison

* It is scarcely necessary to nionlion that natural religion is here
meant. — Ed.

SHKRL. VOL. I. M

260 SHERLOCK.

between the things of this life and of eternity. To supply this
darkness of our knowlege in religion is the very end and design
of revelati^on : for could we as plainly discern the good things
of futurity, as we see and feel the good things present, there
would be no more want of revelation to make us acquainted
with the other world, than there is to make us acquainted with
this. Now as sense is evidently to be distinguished into a prin-
ciple of knowlege and a principle of action, so is faith likewise.
We never esteem a man to be sensual or worldly-minded,
merely because sense has furnished him with a comprehensive
knowlege of sensible objects : so neither is a man to be accounted
a religious man, because of that faith which flows from revela-
tion, considered merely as a principle of religious knowlege.
This distinction between sense as a principle of knowlege and
a principle of action, may be seen in any or in every instance.
An honest man knows the use and value of riches as well as a
thief. It is not therefore the knowlege of the object, but the
immoderate desire of it, that makes the difl*erence ; and one
man may be justly hanged for stealing five pounds, and another
be very innocent jvho had seen and examined the value of the
mines of Peru. In religion the case is just the same : faith, as
long as it continues to be a mere object of the mind, is no prin-
ciple of religion; and one is no more a religious man for know-
ing the articles of religion, than he is a sensual man for walking
with his eyes open and seeing the world. An unbelieving heart
is the same thing in faith, that an antipathy is in sense, and
supposes us rather to hate than not to know our duty. Many
men are ruined by the love of wine and strong liquors. Stop
but the passage to the heart, and these objects lose all their force
and power, and a man sees the wine sparkle with less , concern
than he sees the moon shine. And this is the case of all those
who have a natural aversion to strong drinks, which is no un-
common case. This aversion affects sense only as it is a prin-
ciple of action, and leaves it free as it is the principle of know-
lege : and in like manner the unbelieving heart destroys that
faith which is the life and principle of religion, though it may
not, perhaps, disturb the objects of faith, which have their resi-
dence in another place.

On the whole then, since religion is not a mere science and

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART II. 267

speculation, but is to be the work and employment of our lives,
and to exert itself in the love of God and our neighbor, as our
blessed Saviour has taught us : since the knowlege of any thing,
or the belief of any thing, considered merely as acts of the mind,
are no principles of action j but every action proposes to itself
some end, which is the object of some desire; it evidently fol-
lows that faith cannot be a principle of religion, till it becomes
the object of our desires, that is, till it has its elFects and opera-
tions in the heart. This notion of faith is not only probable,
but necessary, on the view of our own nature, and the origin of
all our actions, which arise in the same manner, whatever the
principle of action be. Even sense works in the same manner,
and, powerful as it is, has no effect till it has made its way to
the heart, the seat of all our passions and affections. There,
and there only, it prevails as a principle of action. Sense pro-
duces no sensuality, till it warms the affections with the plea-
sures of the world ; and faith produces no religion till it raises
the heart to love and to embrace its Maker.

The great advantage the world has over religion lies in the
certainty and reality of its objects, which flow in on us at every
sense. To supply this defect on the part of religion, revelation
was given to assure us of the certainty and reality of things fu-
ture ; without which assurance they could have no effect or in-
fluence on our affections. The objects of faith then support re-
ligion in the same manner as the objects of sense promote and
encourage the love of the world : and as there could be no sen-
sual love of the world, if there were no objects of sense ; so nei-
ther could there be any religion, where there are no articles of
faith ; for as, in general , there can be no desire where there is
no knowlege, so, in particular, there can be no principle of
faith, where there are no objects of faith.

All the articles of the gospel tend to one of these ends, either
to assure us of the certainty of the revelation and redemption
by Christ Jesus, or to set before us the very substance and
image of the things hoped for. For this last purpose our Lord
rose visibly from the grave, to give us the very evidence of sense
for that part of our faith which seemed to be most contradictory
to the experience of sense. For the first purpose, to assure us
of the certainty of the revelation and redemption by Christ

268 SHERLOCK,

Jesus, ' our Lord was declared to be the only begotten Son of
God, the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image
of his person ; by whom the worlds were made, and who up-
holdeth all things by the word of his power ;' that we, knowing
in whom we have trusted, might hold fast the confidence ' and
profession of our faith without wavering : (for he is faithful that
promised,)' When Christ was declared by the voice out of the
cloud to be the Son of God, the same voice gave the reason of
the declaration ; 'This is my beloved Son, hear ye him :' Matt,
xvii. 5. To reject therefore these articles of the gospel, is to
reject the revelation and redemption of Christ, and to set out
purely on the foot of natural religion. How reasonably you
may do this, and how well it becomes your condition, the time
will not permit me now to show.

These objects of faith are our motives and incitements to holi-
ness and righteousness ; and if we suffer them to have their due
influence on our hearts, they produce that faith which is the
life and spirit of a Christian, which unites him to God, and
will entitle him to glory at the great day. How far it is in our
power to promote or obstruct this influence, will appear under
the last head, which was to show,

Thirdly, That the motions and operations of the heart are in
great measure under our own power and government.

I shall not spend much of your time in a plain case, and in
which every man's own experience is his best instructor. We
find daily that we can check our passions and inclinations, to serve
the purposes of this life ; and if we would do as much for that
which is to come, we should answer all that the Apostle in the
text requires of us, when he exhorts us to ' take heed of an
evil heart of unbelief.' Were it not in our power to suspend
the influence of our passions, man would have no more freedom
or liberty than a stone, and would, consequently, be utterly
incapable of religion. It is not in our power to feel or not to
feel the impressions of sense : our eyes, our ears, and every
sense, present before us the objects of the world, whether we
will or no ; and if these objects can as uncontrollably take
possession of our hearts, as they do of our minds and imagina-
tions, all men must as necessarily follow the dictates of sense,
as they admit the objects of sense : which would destroy, not

DISCOURSE XIV. — PART II. 2G9

only the power of faith, but all moral virtue, all distinction of
good and evil. But this is not the case : for though we can-
not see things as we will, yet it is in our power to pursue and
court them as we please : we can supple our inclinations, and
make them yield to our will ; as is evident in the many in-
stances where men sacrifice their present enjoyments to the
distant prospects of honor or preferment: for the future things
of this life are no more the objects of sense than the things of
another life ; and it is not sense, but judgment, that refuses the
present good for a distant advantage : and it is but an instance
of the same reason and judgment to restrain the sensual appe-
tites, and to make room for the hopes of immortality to enter in
and possess the heart; and this is truly the work of religion.
God has placed before us life and death, things present and
things to come. If things temporal have this advantage, that
' they are seen;' yet the things which are not seen have this
prerogative to balance that advantage, that ' they are eternal.'
The truth of these things is founded both on reason and on the
testimony of God. If we receive his testimony, it is well :
but if we interest our hearts in the cause, and act as men re-
solved to secure to themselves these blessed hopes, then is our
faith made perfect. And since this depends on the due
regulation of our desires, which are subject to the will and
judgment of man, it is plain that the true Christian faith is an
internal principle, a religious habit and disposition of soul,
which, like other good habits, depends on the care we take
to preserve the innocence and purity of our hearts and minds.
And this sufficiently shows the reasonableness and the sense of
the Apostle's exhortation in the text: 'Take heed, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the
living God.'

270 SUMMARY OF

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XV.

ACTS, CHAP. XV. — VERSES 1, 2.

We learn from this and other texts, that from the earliest
times controversies have existed in religion : even the authority
of the Apostles was not sufficient to lay the heats and preju-
dices of men : they themselves, though agreed in the main
point, differed in their methods of dealing with opposition,
whence St. Paul says, ' he withstood Peter to the face.'
To the same cause may be referred much of the obscurity
found in the New Testament: passages are dark to us, because
we know not the errors or misconceits which the holy penmen
opposed, and how far they argue on the truth of Christianity,
or on the concessions of their adversaries. Hence length of
time, far from diminishing disputes, has rather enlarged the
field of controversy ; this is also increased by those passions
and weaknesses from which the best of men are not free, and
which often darken things clear in themselves ; hence the diffi-
culties of an honest Christian : whom shall he choose to follow?
and when he has chosen, with what security and confidence can
he proceed ? In these difficulties, when urged as arguments
against religion, two things are to be considered : — I. how far
they affect the authority of the gospel, which, if it be so dark
and obscure, that common honesty, with common sense, is
unable to discern the will of God in it, cannot be designed by
God as a measure of religion : II. with respect to ourselves,
how we may attain to a certain Rule of Religion under the
gospel revelation, notwithstanding many, and sometimes inex-

DISCOURSE XV. 27 L

cusable, controversies. On the whole, if these difficulties
appear not to affect the authority of the gospel, nor preclude
us from a knowlege of the faith and obedience required under
it, the controversies cannot in reason be urged as objections
against revealed religion.

I. The authority of revelation depends on this, that it is
the will and word of God ; and he who knows that he possesses
the word of God, knows he possesses a revelation of certain
autliority : hence arises the question , how far these two dis-
tinct acts of knowlege are attainable ? that is, to know who
spoke such or such words, and the true sense and import
of them ; since these are two independent things. This
shown by ordinary cases, and by the parables which our
Saviour delivered to his Apostles; so that in revelation the
case is the same as in human laws ; for a man may be certain
of the authority of these, and yet be unable to expound them.
This fai'ther confirmed by the proper proofs of a revelation,
and their operation on the mind prior to our distinctly under-
standing all its parts; this want of understanding being no ob-
jection to its authority, which is founded on proofs which the
objection cannot reach ; on the qualities of the person sent to
make the revelation, or the main end and purpose of his coming,
and on the miracles he gives in evidence of his commission : so
that, although we do not fully comprehend it, we are bound
to receive it as the word of God. Doctrines are not proved
by miracles ; miracles proving only the authority of the person,
which is the ground of our receiving the doctrine ; so that the
authority of the person is one thing, and to know what he says
another : his authority makes the law ; our want of knowlege
with regard to his meaning will not unmake it; otherwise igno-
rance would be the supreme authority. The question — why
then should the law of God be obscure, which from its nature
we must suppose was to be understood, and to be our rule of
life — brings us to consider whether the supposed difficulties and

272 SUMMARY OF

obscurities of the gospel render it unworthy of the wisdom of
God. The Christian Revelation is contained in the books of
the New Testament, which, being of different kinds, must be
differently considered ; had they been so considei'ed, the diffi-
culties of some parts would not have been urged as an objection
to the revelation itself: these books are either historical, doc-
trinal, controversial, or a mixture of the two last. The first
relate a plain and simple story, the different accounts of which
vary no more than might naturally be expected from different
pens : the second contain those matters of faith and rules of
duty which regard not particular cases, but are intended for
the use of the whole world : and these are most clearly ex-
pressed : take for example the honor and worship which we
are enjoined to pay to God — the plain terms in which idolatry
is condemned — the duties we owe to each other — or the pecu-
liar benefits which we receive from Christ's death, God's par-
don, assistance, &c. : all are declared without any obscurity ;
and with regard to them there is a perfect harmony among the
inspired writers. Still it is said there are difficulties in Scrip-
ture : so there are ; but they are such as do not interfere with
the clear revelation made by Christ : and if there had been no
disputes with the Jews or others, the difficulties contained in
the third or controversial class, had not existed. St. Paul, as
in duty bound, spoke of election or reprobation ; but if he had
not spoken of them, our gospel had not been less complete : but
both he and the other apostles had to root out prejudices and
errors which stood in the way of the gospel. Many difficul-
ties arise from our applying things pointedly spoken by the
apostles, to the general doctrines of Christianity. Hence
many disputes in which men have forgot the plain parts of
Scripture, to worry each other about obscure ones : this point
enlarged on. There are other difficulties also which belong to
religious men rather than religion ; such as the disputes and
nice inquiries of the schools ; but what have these to do with

DISCOURSE XV. '273

the gospel ? so also there are doubts about the sacraments, how
or what grace they may confer ; but this one point is clear —
he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. These diffi-
culties however, it may be said, are so blended with the cause
of religion, that they render the gospel of little use as a rule ;
the straightness of which by these means cannot be discerned
by the generality of mankind : this leads us to the second head,
i. e. a consideration of these difficulties ivith respect to our-
selves. The Scriptures contain a plain intelligible svstem,
and there would be no great difficulty if men would follow
what they do and may understand, but they will make rules of
life for themselves from passages which they fancy they under-
stand, but do not : how is this to be counteracted ? It is at
every man's peril, if he makes any rule to himself, contrary to
the plain express commands of God, which he does or may
easily understand. Human and divine laws in this case com-
pared, and the same shown to hold good. The understandings
however of men being different, there may be a latitude even
here, which we cannot determine, but which God, who is to be
the judge, both can and will ; and the great difficulty which
men make in this case, seems to arise from their misappre-
hension of the judgment of God. Among men, all are judged
by the same rule : no allowance is made for different capaci-
ties and circumstances : but all who are esteemed to have
reason enough to govern themselves are concluded under one
law: if then you consider the judgment of God to be like that
of men, no wonder you ask how ignorant persons should come
to the knowlege of their duty.

Conclusion : God, who, though he gave to all men one law,
has given to each his peculiar capacity and share of reason,
will judge accordingly ; we may therefore safely trust this
difficulty with God, and doubt not but he will judge righteously.

274 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XV.

ACTS, CHAP. XV. — VERSES 1,2.

And certain men, which came down from Judea, taught the
brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner
of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Bar-
nabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they
determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them,
should go up to Jerusalem, unto the apostles and elders, about
this question.

We learn from the text, and other parts of holy writ, that
the earliest and purest times of the gospel were not free from
disputes and controversies in religion : that the authority of the
Apostles, though confirmed by signs and wonders, was not
sufficient to lay the heats and prejudices of men ; which, like
ancient inhabitants, having possession and prescription to plead
for their right, were with great difficulty removed : that the
Apostles themselves, however agreed in one and the same doc-
trine, were of different opinions as to the prudential methods
of dealing with the opposition they found ; some giving way to
the torrent, that men might have time to cool, and recover the
calmness of reason and judgment; others endeavoring reso-
lutely to stem the tide, and not to give way, * no, not for an
hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue.' Hence arose
the contest between Peter and Paul : so that, as the Apostle
of the Gentiles himself tells us, ' he withstood Peter to the
face,'

To the same cause likewise we may ascribe much of the
present difficulty and obscurity of the books of the New Testa-
ment : for the writers being necessarily drawn into controversy

DISCOURSE XV. 275

by this means, which always has, and in the nature of the thing
must have, reference to the opinions and prejudices of the dis-
piiters ; there are many things in Scripture which appear dark
to us, for want of a distinct knowlege of the errors and mis^
conceits which_the writers oppose ; many things delivered down
to us, in which it is not easy at first sight to distinguish how
far the holy Penman argues on the truth of our common
Christianity, and how far on the principles and concessions
of his adversary. From whence it has come to pass that some
things have been taught by unskilful interpreters of Scripture,
as the doctrines of Christianity, which were no better than the
errors of judaizing converts.

These difficulties, thus woven into the holy writings, have
furnished even to learned men constant matter of dispute and
controversy ; and some points have labored under a difference
of opinion in most ages of the church : and so far has length of
time been from diminishing these disputes, that every writer of
name and authority has enlarged this field of controversy; and
to examine, adjust, and expound the sentiments and opinions
of men of renown in the church of God, who have gone before
us, is left as an additional labor and study, and oftentimes as a
fresh matter of contention.

Add to these causes already recited, the passions, the weak-
nesses, and prepossessions of mind, which the best of men are
not free from ; and which darken and obscure things in them-
selves oftentimes clear and intelligible; and you will have be-
fore you, perhaps, a just account of the causes which have
filled the world with so many doubte and differences in opinion
concerning the weightiest matters of religion.

• But since from this account there appears little hope of com-
ing to an intire harmony and agreement of opinion, what must
an honest man do ? ^Vhom shall he choose to follow ? And,
when he has chosen, with what security and confidence can he
proceed ? since there will be always some to tell him that he
is a blind follower of a blind leader. How far this difficulty
has been pressed, even to the rendering all religion precarious
and uncertain, and to the discarding the gospel itself, which is
represented as encumbered with so many doubts, such different
comments and expositions, that the wit of man knows not how

276 SHERLOCK.

to extricate him from this labyrinth, and lead him to one spot of
firm ground whereon to rest the sole of his feet ; how far, I
say, this argument has been urged to this purpose, I need not
say : it will be more to our purpose to call this matter to a fair
examination, and to assert the grounds and principles of our
faith, notwithstanding this fierce assault that has been made
on them,

Now there are two things which this argument leads us to
consider; and which, when fairly stated, will, I think, ex-
haust the whole difficulty.

The first is with respect to the revelation itself; to consider
how far these difficulties affect the authority of the gospel : for
if it is, as it is represented, so very dark and obscure, that com-
mon honesty, with the assistance of common sense, cannot dis-
cern in it what is the will of God ; then it cannot be a rule or
measure of religion, or designed as such by God, who is too
wise and too good to give laws to the world, which can be of
no use to them, but to perplex and confound their under-
standings.

The second is with respect to ourselves ; to consider how we
may attain to a certain rule of religion under the gospel reve-
lation, notwithstanding the many controversies and disputes,
which are too visible to be denied, and oftentimes too fierce to
be excused.

And if it shall appear on the whole, that these difficulties
do not affect the authority of the gospel, nor preclude us from
the certain knowlege of the faith and obedience required under
the gospel ; then, whatever use may be made of these contro-
versies, they cannot in reason be urged as objections against
revealed religion, the certainty of which, either as to its autho-
rity or the clearness of its doctrines, is no way impeached by
them.

The first thing is, to consider the authority of revelation,
and how it is affected by any difficulties or obscurities that are
found in it.

The authority of revelation depends on this, that it is the
will and word of God ; and he that knows he has the word of
God, knows that he has a revelation of certain authority. The
first question then is, whether this knowlege may be attained,

DISCOURSE XV. 277

before we have a distinct and explicit understanding of all the
parts of the revelation ? If it may, then it is certain that the
obscurity of some parts of the revelation cannot destroy the
authority of the whole. We know very well, in all ordinary
cases, that these are two very distinct acts of knowlege, and
not in the least dependent on one another, to know who spoke
such words, and to know the true sense and import of those
words. One man may certainly know who spoke them, though
he knows not the meaning of them : another may know the
meaning of them, without knowing who spoke them. In reve-
lation the case is the same : our Saviour spoke many things in
parables, which the disciples understood not, and which he
afterwards explained to them. Now I would ask any man
whether the disciples did not as certainly know that those
parables were the word of Christ, before he explained them,
as they did afterwards ? If they did, those parables were to
them of the same authority, though not of the same use, when
they were obscure, as when they were explained. In human
laws the case is the same : the authority of them depends not
on their being distinctly understood by all men ; for the
man who has no ability to expound a statute, may yet be cer-
tain of its authority, if he will have recourse to the proper re-
cords. And there are many statutes of this realm, the autho-
rity of which no man doubts of, though at the same time those
who are best able to judge are not agreed in the meaning and
exposition of them : and what would you think of a man who
should affirm that we have no statute-book in this kingdom, or
none of any authority ; and give you this reason for it, be-
cause that which we call our statute-book has many difficulties
and obscurities in it, many things which are not to be reduced
to a certain and determinate meaning ? And yet the argument
is as good, nay, just the same, in this case, as when it is ap-
plied to revelation ; and a man argues with the same shrewd-
ness, who tells us we have no gospel, or none that we ought to
admit, because the gospel we pretend to has many difficult
passages in it, many things that are hard to be understood : for
the obscurity of some laws is as good an argument against the
authority of the statute-book, as the obscurity of some texts is
against the authority of the gospel.

278 SHERLOCK.

This will farther appear to be true, if we consider the proper
proofs of a revelation, and how they operate : for they will be
found to take place, and have their full effect on the mind,
antecedently to our having a distinct understanding- of all the
parts of a revelation : and consequently our not having a dis-
tinct understanding of all the parts of a revelation is no objec-
tion to the authority of a revelation, which is founded on
proofs the objection cannot reach. Now these proofs are
three : the qualities of the person who is sent to make the reve-
lation : the main end and purpose of his coming : and the mira-
cles which he gives in evidence of his commission. If the per-
son be sufficiently qualified to be intrusted with so great a
charge; if nothing appears to make it justly suspected that he
is a deceiver ; if no private views, no self-interest, no ambition
are discoverable ; if he be in all respects such an one as we
may reasonably suppose God would make choice of to send on
his errand : if the end and design of his coming is such as we
may well suppose God to be the author of; if it tends to pro-
mote the honor of God and true religion, to secure the general
happiness and welfare of mankind, without any partial views
and regards : if his mission be attested by such signs and won-
ders as plainly point cut to us the hand of God supporting
and encouraging the work; if they are openly shown before
friends and foes, and attended with such other circumstances
as are necessary to place them above suspicion : in this case
we have a certain evidence of the mission and authority of this
person to make known to us the will of God, and are bound to
receive what he shall publish in God's name as the law of God.
Now all these proofs we certainly may have, without being
able to understand or fully comprehend all that such a person
delivers; and yet, in force of these proofs, we are bound to
believe what he delivers to be the word of God. Men do not
speak accurately when they say the doctrines are proved by
miracles ; for in truth there is no connexion between any
miracles and doctrines; miracles prove the authority of the
person, and the authority of the person is the ground of re-
ceiving the doctrine. Now it is one thing to know the autho-
rity of the person, another thing to know what he says. His
authority makes what he says to be law, and your want of

DISCOURSE XV. 279

knowlege in the meaning of what he says will not unmake the
law : for if it could, ignorance would be the supreme authority,
since no authority could make a law which ignorance could
not repeal. How far we are concerned in these obscurities, or
what obligations they lay on us, which perhaps may be none at
all, is another question : but I think it is evident that no body
of laws, human or divine, becomes void and of none effect, be-
cause some parts are hard to be understood, or not to be under-
stood. And if men dispute on such places, and divide into a
thousand opinions about them, such divisions do still less aftect
the law, which owes not its authority to the agreement or dis-
agreement of interpreters.

But it may be said, and I think very justly, to what purpose
is any thing delivered as law or revelation, which is too ob-
scure to be understood '( The very end of the law is, to be the
rule of our actions ; and how is this end to be attained whilst
we continue ignorant of the meaning of the lawgiver ? Men
may blunder, and make dark laws, and so miss the scope they
aimed at ; and the wonder is not great: but how should any ob-
scurity darken the law of God ? since we cannot but suppose,
from the very end and nature of a law, that his intention was to
be understood ; and his wisdom permits us not to doubt but that
he was able to explain his meaning.

This brings us to consider the fact, whether the gospel has
such difficulties and obscurities in it as may make us esteem it
unworthy of the wisdom of God.

The Christian revelation is contained in the books of the New
Testament ; but they are not all of the same kind, nor do they
fall under the same consideration in this question. Had men
given themselves time to think coolly, and to make the true se-
paration in this case, we had not perhaps been told that the
difficulties of some parts of the Scripture are an objection to the
revelation itself.

The books of the New Testament may be considered either
as historical, as doctrinal, or as controversial, and some as a
mixture of the two last. By the historical, I understand the
narrative of our Saviour's life and death, and of the preaching
of his Apostles after his resurrection and ascension. These, as
they are merely historical, aftbrd none of those difficulties which

280

SHERLOCK.

are so much complained of: the story is plain and simple, and
the different accounts of it, in the several gospels, vary no more
from each other, than may naturally be expected from difterent
pens.

By the doctrinal, I understand those matters of faith and
rules of duty, which do not regard this or that particular case,
but M^ere intended for the use of the whole world, and are to
continue to the end of it. And if there be a clear law, and
clearly expressed, in the world, this is the law. Can words
more clearly express the honor and worship we are to pay to
God, or can more familiar directions be given in this case than
are to be found in the gospel ? Is not idolatry clearly con-
demned in the gospel ? Is there any other thing relating to di-
vine worship that we yet want instructing in ? Are not the
duties likewise, which we owe to each other, made evident and
plain, and can there be any dispute about them, except what
arises from lust, or avarice, or other self-interest ? As to the
peculiar benefits of the gospel, are they not declared without
obscurity ? Can you read the gospel, and doubt whether Christ
died for you ; whether God will grant pardon to the penitent,
or his assistance to those who ask it ; whether he will reward
all such in glory, who continue the faithful disciples of his
Son ? What other revelation do we want, or can we desire, in
these great and weighty concerns ? Or what is there wanting to
make up a complete system of religion ? These things you read
in the gospels, these things you read in the other writings of the
Apostles ; in these there is a perfect harmony and consent of all
the inspired writers.

But still, you say, there are difficulties in Scripture. And so
there are : but they are such as do not interfere witli the clear
revelation made by Christ. The controversial parts of Scrip-
ture, such I mean as combat the particular opinions and errors
of the Jews or others-, are in many places dark and hard to be
understood : but had there never been any dispute with the
Jews or others, had all obeyed without dispute, the gospel had
been perfect; and is perfect still, however divines or others
may differ in expounding the particulars incident to those de-
bates. Had St. Paul said nothing of election or reprobation
(and, as these terms are generally understood, nothing perhaps

DISCOURSE XV, 281

he has said) our gospel had not been less complete ; since these
points, however understood, make no alteration in our duty, and
they ought to make none in our faith. It was a proper part of
the Apostles' office to root out the prejudices and errors which
stood in the way of the gospel of Christ ; and whilst they were
disputing with Jew and Gentile, and proving that Jesus is the
Christ, they were doing the work of their great Master. These
writings, conveyed down to us, are of inestimable value, and
worth our utmost pains and study to understand, being tran-
scripts of that wisdom with which the Apostles were endowed.
They contain the great doctrines and the great proofs of
Christianity ; in which points they are not only of the greatest
authority, but have likewise the greatest clearness : the parti-
cular disputes which are intermixed refer often to principles
and opinions, which we can hardly, at least not surely, dis-
cover ; and when men apply things pointed to one single view
by the Apostles, which view they have no clear sight of, to the
general doctrines of Christianity, no wonder if they disturb the
whole, and spread confusion over the clearest parts of the
gospel.

To this conduct have been owing many of the disputes which
have perplexed the world ; and men have forgot the plain parts
of Scripture, while, to the utter ruin of Christian charity, they
have worried one another about the obscure ones. To give one
instance of this : if there be any thing plain in any book in the
world, this is plain in Scripture, • That without holiness no man
shall see God.' This is the foundation of all religion, the
ground on which the revelation itself is built ; and yet who is
there that wants to be informed that doctrines destructive of
this great article have been advanced on the authority of Scrip-
ture ? Who has not heard that good works are not necessary to
justitication? and heard St. Paul quoted for a voucher? not
where he is delivering the general doctrines of Christianity, but
where he is beating down the particular mistakes of his country-
men. As to these parts of Scripture, happy is he who under-
stands them, for he shall discover much of the wisdom and
justice of God in his dealings with his ancient people, the peo-
ple of the Jews : but he that understands them not has this
comfort, that his salvation, his religion, depends not on any

282 SHERLOCK.

controversy that concerned the Jews only, but on the plain de-
clarations of God made to all mankind.

Thus much may serve to show how far the difficulties and
obscurities which really are found in the holy Scripture, do
affect the common cause of religion : and I think it is evident
that our common religion stands clear even of these difficulties.

Other difficulties there are, which more properly belong to
religious men than religion : such are the disputes and nice in-
quiries of the schools, which often enter into the debates of
learned writers. But it is strange to find these urged as objec-
tions against the gospel by any sober-minded man. For what
are these disputes to the gospel ? God has promised his assist-
ance to all who endeavor to serve him : is there any difficulty in
understanding this ? Let the schools consider the nature of
grace, and how it influences the mind, and divide it into a
hundred sorts, what is that to the gospel ? or what is it to a man
who is assured that God will assist him, and who knows that
God cannot want means to make good his promise ?

In like manner there are many doubts about the sacraments
of the gospel, and how and what grace they confer: but dispute
as you will, this one point is clear, ' He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved.'

Suppose this, you will say, to be true, and that these doubts
and difficulties do not affect the authority or truth of the gospel ;
yet they are so blended with the cause of religion, that they
are not easily separated from it by unlearned and unskilful
men : and this at least renders the gospel of little use, since it is
a rule, the straightness of which cannot be discerned by the ge-
nerality of mankind. And this brings me to my second head :

To consider these difficulties with respect to ourselves.

From what has been already said, it is evident that the Scrip-
tures contain a plain and intelligible system of religion : and
would men follow the directions of what they do and may un-
derstand, and not think themselves under direction of what they
do not understand, there would be no great difficulty in this
case. But the misfortune is, that men often fancy they under-
stand what they do not, and raise rules and principles of reli-
gion to themselves out of places of which they are perfectly ig-
norant : and how can this be avoided ? In the first place, it is

DISCOURSE XV. 288

at every man's peril, if he makes any rule to himself, contrary
to the plain express commands of God, which he does or may
easily understand. In human laws, the main of the subject's
duty is plain ; and if he mistakes any dark passages, yet so as
to keep strictly to his known duty, the consequence perhaps
may be tolerable, and he excusable : but if a man from any dark
statute should infer a right to rob and murder his neighbor, and
act accordingly, (which acts of violence are plainly forbid in
the law,) he ought to suffer, not for misunderstanding the obscure
law, but for transgressing the plain one. The same reason holds
as to the divine law : if a man takes care to observe what he
does understand, his mistakes may not be dangerous ; but if he
forms to himself a liberty from the obscure places, inconsistent
with the plain intelligible laws of the gospel, and acts accord-
ingly ; those plain laws, which should have been his rule, will
be his condemnation.

But plain places are not equally plain to all capacities; and
therefore even in this there may be a latitude ; a latitude which
vv'e cannot determine, but which God, who is to be the judge,
both can and wijl : and the great difficulty which men make to
themselves in this case, seems to me to arise from a misappre-
hension of the judgment of God. Among men all are judged
by the same rule, one law comprehends all, and is of the same
interpretation and extent in all cases. That it is so, is the
effect of human weakness ; for in truth and equity, if we could
come at them, no two cases are perhaps exactly alike, or
equally subject to the same rule : but men cannot allow for the
different capacities and circumstances of men, which they can-
not judge of; and therefore all who are esteemed to have reason
enough to govern themselves, are concluded under one law ;
and only children, idiots, and madmen are excepted cases.
Tliough in truth the degrees by which men approach to mad-
ness or folly, could they be limited, which they cannot, would
deserve a distinct consideration.

Now, if you conceive the judgment of God to be like the
judgment of man, and that all shall be tried by one and the
same rule ; no wonder you ask, how ignorant men should come
to the knowlege of their duty under the present doubts and diffi-
culties which cloud relioion.

284 SHERLOCK.

But the truth is this ; God, who gave all men one law, gave
every man that share of reason which he enjoys : fools are ca-
pable of receiving no law ; and no man is farther capable than
in proportion to the degree of reason which God has given him :
and consequently, in truth and equity, the law is no farther a
law to him, than his reason is capable of receiving it. And
since reason comes as much from God as the law itself ; it is
wrong to imagine that the true sense of the law is the only and
the single rule by which God will judge : since it is evident in
equity and justice, that the sentence on every man must arise
from the complex consideration of the law that was before him,
and the degree of reason which he had to apply it.

This great difficulty therefore, I beseech you, trust with God ;
and doubt not but that the righteous Judge of the world will do
righteously.

I

DISCOURSE XVI, 285

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XVI.

EPHESIANS, CHAP. II. — VERSE 18.

The text rightly understood will give us a distinct conception
of the Christian religion as distinguished from all others, natu-
ral, or pretending to revelation ; inasmuch as the access unto
(iod which this opens to us, is different from that exhibited by
the others. All religions having the same end, viz. to please
God, by serving him according to his will, for the sake of hap-
piness here and hereafter, they differ in the means which they
prescribe for this purpose. Two things to be regarded in the
choice and appointment of these means ; the holiness and ma-
jesty of God, and the nature and condition of man : reasons for
this given. In all places where the gospel is unknown, or
schemes are set up in opposition to the gospel, men split on
one or other of these rocks : the gentile religion is inconsistent
with God's holiness, as allowing of impure rites and vicious prac-
tices ; injurious also to his majesty, as dividing the honor due
to him among the creatures; natural religion again, founded on
the purity and holiness of God's nature, prescribes a worship
|)ure and holy, but prescribes it to men who have lost these qua-
lities, and are unable to perform the rigorous conditions : thus it
requires brick, as it were, without straw ; and can afford no
settled peace or satisfaction. Hence it appears how deplorable
the condition of mankind must have been without the interposi-
tion of God by a new revelation ; since every religion that
could be framed would be deficient in one or other of these re-
spects ; this point enlarged on. The Christian religion alone

286 SUMMARY OF

has eflFectually provided against both objections : this shown at
some length.

Some observations drawn from the text, and what has been
already said on it. First ; these means of salvation which Chris-
tianity has provided, viz. the assistance of the Spirit, and the
mediation of the Son, were necessary to the life of the world,
the state and condition of man considered. Not meant that they
w^ere so absolutely necessary that an all-powerful and all-wise
God could not save the world by any other method ; but that
the condition of man before the coming of Christ was such that
he could not, by the help of reason and nature, so apply himself
to God as to be secure of his pardon and mercy ; but there was
a necessity of providing other means ; and those we have being-
made choice of by God, we may safely affirm that such were
necessary for the salvation of the world. The truth of the pro-
position thus limited, plainly shows the reasonableness of the
gospel, and God's wisdom in the revelation of it : for suppose
the contrary to be true, that men were able of themselves to do
God's will, engage his favor, and obtain salvation, and it will
then be hard to account for the reasonableness of Christianity
and God's wisdom, which provides preternatural assistances to
serve ends which could be accomplished without them : but if
we consider man in the state in which Scripture represents him,
we shall see the want there was of the Mediator for our recon-
ciliation with God, and the Holy Spirit for his influence in sub-
duing our unruly passions. The economy of God in the gospel
dispensation, closely shut up in the words of the text, ex.-
plained : for a distinct conception of it, we must conceive the
Spirit of God as always present with us ; the Son as always in
the presence of the Father ; each exercising their respective
offices : this will teach us what it is to have access by the Spirit,
through Christ : this point enlarged on. But,

Secondly; these being the necessary means of salvation, it
was likewise necessary to reveal to the world the doctrines con-

DISCOURSE XVI. 287

cerning the Son ahd the Holy Spirit : and the belief of them
is necessary to every Christian, as far as the right use of the
means depends on the right faith and belief of the doctrines.
Whosoever denieth the Son, saith St. John, hath not the Fa-
ther: for since we can only come to the Father through the
Son, to deny the Son is to cut off all communication between
us and the Father. The same may be said of the blessed Spi-
rit, through whom we are in Christ : if any man, says St.
Paul, have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his : our Sa-
viour himself has told us, this is eternal life, to know the only
true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.

When we were to be put under the conduct of the Spirit,
and all our hopes rested on obedience to his holy motions, was
it not necessary to inform us who this Spirit is ? and that he is
sufficient to the office allotted him, viz. to instruct us in the
ways of God, and to rescue us from the powers of evil ? Hu-
man reason may find it hard to conceive that this holy Spirit
is the eternal Spirit of God, &c. ; but it would be harder still
to believe that the Spirit could do what is ascribed to him in
Scripture, unless he were this glorious person : this point en-
larged on : God therefore has dealt with us more like reason-
able creatures, in declaring the dignity and power of the per-
sons in whom we are to trust, than if he had required from us
the same faith in them without such a declaration : and this
shows how foolishly men sometimes charge God, when they
complain of the heavy burthen laid on their faith and under-
standing by the gospel doctrines in this respect.

We see now what every Christian has to hope for from the
assistance of the Spirit, and intercession of the Son : we were
all strangers to God, and children of disobedience ; but are now
reconciled to him, and can approach him as our loving Father.
Having this access, our all depends on the use we make of
this great privilege. By having access to God, we are not placed
in a state of security, but in one of probation : this idea enlarged
on to the end.

288 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XVI.

EPHESIANS, CHAP. II.— VERSE 18.

For through him we both have an access by one Spirit unto tlie

Father.

These words, rightly understood, will give us a distinct con-
ception of the nature of the Christian religion, as it stands dis-
tinguished from all others, whether natural, or pretending to re-
velation. All religions pretend to give access to God, by in-
structing men in what manner to approach him by prayer and
supplication ; how to please him and obtain his favor and pro-
tection, by such works as each religion accounts to be holy and
acceptable to God ; and how to reconcile ourselves to him, after
having oft'ended him by our transgressions, through sorrow and
repentance, or such other means as have been devised and insti-
tuted as effectual to this end. But the access to God, which
the gospel opens to us, is to be had only under the guidance and
direction of God's holy Spirit, and in the name and through
the mediation of God's own Son. This access is the only one
which the Christian religion knows any thing of: for we cannot
come to God but by his holy Spirit, and through his Son : and
this is what no other religion does or can pretend to.

The end of all religion is manifestly this, to please God by
serving him according to his will, in order to obtain of him hap-
piness in this world and in the next : for the belief that God is
the Governor of the world, and the Giver of every good thing,
is the foundation of all the religious worship and honor which
are paid to him. All religions being thus far the same, they
differ when they come to prescribe the method, and to appoint
the proper means by which God is to be served and applied to.
Two things there are, which must necessarily be regarded in

DISCOURSE XVI. 289

the choice and appointment of these means ; the holiness and
majesty of God, and the nature and condition of man : for un-
less the means prescribed are such as are suitable to the holiness
and majesty of God, he can never be pleased by them ; for
whatever is contrary to his holiness, or injurious to his majesty,
must ever be an abomination to him. On the other hand, the
means of religion must likewise be adapted to the use of man,
must be such as he can practise, and such as, his present con-
dition considered, will enable him to serve God acceptably;
for without this, how proper soever the means may be in them-
selves, yet they can be of no use or service to him.

If we examine all the schemes of religion which either pre-
vail in those parts of the world where the gospel is unknown,
or which are set up in opposition to the gospel where it is
known, we shall find that they split on one or other of these
rocks. The Gentile religion is inconsistent with the holiness of
God, as mixing impure rites and ceremonies with its worship,
and allowing the practice of such vices as even nature abhors :
it is injurious likewise to his majesty, as dividing the honor
which is due to him alone among the creatures; teaching men
to pay religious worship to those who by nature are not gods.
On the other side, natural religion, which seems to be the most
growing scheme, and is set up in opposition to the gospel,
taking its rise from the purity and holiness of God's nature, and
the essential difference of good and evil, prescribes a worship
pure and holy ; but it prescribes it to men who have lost their
purity and holiness, and are no longer able to perform the ri-
gorous conditions : it requires brick without allowing straw ;
exacting of men, in their present degenerate state, the purity
and holiness of uncorrupted reason and nature : it affords no
strength or assistance to men to secure against sin ; and when
they have sinned, it cannot give them any certain assurance of
pardon and forgiveness : so that men, not being able to per-
form its conditions, and having no security of the mercy of
God without performing them, can have no settled peace or
satisfaction in it.

From these two considerations plainly appears the deplora-
ble condition of mankind without the interposition of God by
a new revelation of himself to the world : for after the utmost

SHERL. VOL. I. N

290 SHERLOCK.

efforts that you can make to frame a religion in all respects
proper, you will still find that it will be defective in one or
other of these respects. If you require such degrees of holi-
ness from men, as may render their service acceptable to the
holy God, you will require what they cannot perform, and
thereby preclude them of any access to him ; or, if you consult
the present powers of men, and require no more righteousness
than they by their strength can arrive at ; if you indulge the
passions which you cannot correct, if you allow the vices you
cannot reform, if you tolerate the infirmities which you can-
not remove : by thus adapting religion to the condition of men,
you will render it too impure to be accepted by God, who • is
of purer eyes than to behold iniquity ;' and the communication
between heaven and earth will still be shut up against all such
who * hold the truth in unrighteousness.'

The Christian religion alone has effectually provided against
both these cases : it requires a worship spiritual, pure, and
holy; its laws are just and righteous, but abate nothing of the
strictest rules of reason and morality ; it exacts from us not
only an outward obedience and conformity in our actions, but
it searcheth the very heart and reins, and requireth * truth in
the inward parts;' it restrains every dissolute thought of our
minds, and every inordinate desire of our hearts. On the other
side, that the gracious purposes of God may not be defeated by
the weakness and infirmity of men, it has provided proper re-
medies for every want : it has brought down from heaven the
pardon of God to all the sins of men, which was sealed with
the blood of its great author, the ever-blessed Son of God : it
has reconciled us to our offended Father, and conferred on us
anew the spirit of adoption : it has put us under the direction
of the Holy Spirit, who is our fellow-laborer in the work of
God, and who so effectually helpeth our infirmities, that 'when
we are weak, then are we strong;' who is our stay in pros-
perity, and our support in adversity, and the undivided com-
panion of our spiritual warfare, leading us through Christ to
God, who is the end of all our hopes. And as it has thus
strenghtened and enabled us to draw near to God, so has it
likewise as effectually secured our access to him through
Christ, who ' sitteth at the right hand of God, to make conti-
nual intercession for us;' to offer up, and by himself to per-

DISCOURSE XVI. 291

feet, all our prayers and praises before the throne of God ; to
supply all our wants, to confirm our faith, to strengthen our
virtue, and to make our repentance available to the remission
of our sins ; and at the last, if we perform the conditions on
our part, to receive us into the kingdom of his Father for ever.

The use I would make of the text, and of what has been
already discoursed on it, is to observe to you :

First, that these means of salvation, which the Christian
religion has provided, were necessary to the life of the world,
the state and condition of man considered.

Secondly, that these means being necessary, it was likewise
necessary to reveal to mankind the doctrine concerning the
Son and the Holy Spirit; and that the belief of these doctrines
is necessary to every Christian, as far as the right use of the
means depends on the right faith and belief of the doctrines :
for as the Apostle to the Hebrews tells us, that whoever ' comes
to God must believe that he is;' so likewise whoever comes
to God through Christ, in the Spirit, must believe that the
Spirit is the Spirit of God and of Christ, and able to direct
him : that Christ is the Son of God, and able to bring him to
his Father. And by this means shall we be able to justify to
ourselves the wisdom and goodness of God in revealing this won-
derful knowlege to men, inasmuch as he did it, not to impose
arbitrarily on their faith and their understanding, but in order
to perfect and render effectual their salvation.

First, I would observe to you that these means of salvation
which the Christian religion has provided, namely, the assist-
ance of the Spirit, and the mediation of the Son, were neces-
sary to the life of the world, ihe state and condition of man
considered.

1 would not here be understood to affirm that these means
were so absolutely necessary in themselves, that God could not
by any other method save the world. The wisdom and the
ways of God are infinite and unsearchable : we cannot, and
therefore ought not, to pretend to set bounds to them. To in-
quire in what other way God might possibly have saved man-
kind, will make us neither wiser in this world nor happier in
the next.

What I would then be understood to mean is this ; that the

292 SHERLOCK.

condition of man before the coming of Christ was such, that he
could not by the help of reason and nature so apply himself
to God, as to be secure of his pardon and mercy; but there
was a necessity of providing other means besides those of rea-
son and nature, which no one could provide but God alone :
that he has provided us with the assistance of his Holy Spirit,
and appointed his own Son for our Redeemer and Mediator.
Some means being therefore* absolutely necessary to be pro-
vided, and these being the means made choice of by God ; we
may safely affirm, without prying too far into the hidden mys-
teries of God, that these means were necessary to the salvation
of the world.

The truth of this proposition thus limited, is that which
does most plainly show us the reasonableness of the gospel,
and the wisdom and goodness of God in the revelation of it :
for suppose the contrary to this to be true, that men were
able of themselves to do the w^hole will of God, and so to
apply to him as to engage his favor and mercy, and to obtain
salvation for themselves at his hands ; and you will find it very
hard to account for the reasonableness of the Christian religion,
which provides preternatural assistances to enable us to do that
which nature can do without them ; or for the wisdom of God,
in making the revelation to serve those ends which men knew
how to accomplish without it. But if you consider man in
the state under which the Scripture represents him before the
coming of Christ, lost to God and to himself, the slave of
passion and the servant of sin, equally unable to govern him-
self, and to serve his Maker ; you will then see the want there
was of a Mediator to be the ambassador of our peace and to
reconcile us to God ; you will then see the want there was of
the Holy Spirit's influence to enable us to subdue those unruly
passions and appetites, which were a partition-wall between
us and our God ; that we might serve our Maker in spirit and
in truth, and ' perfect holiness in the fear of God.'

Give me leave to stay here a little to represent to you the
economy of God in the gospel dispensation, which the Apostle
in the text has shut up in few words ; ' We have access to
God, through Christ, by the Spirit.' To give you a distinct
conception of this, and of the dift'erent offices of the Son and

DISCOURSE XVI, 293

of the Spirit, you must conceive the Spirit of God as always
present with us ; the Son as always in the presence of the
Father. The Spirit dwells w^ith the faithful, to guide and to
direct them, to second an'd encourage all their good desires, to
help them in overcoming their infirmities; in a word, to labor
together with them in the work of their salvation, to make their
calling and election sure. The Son of God is at the right hand
of the Majesty on high ; there he is our advocate ; he intercedes
for us ; he receives and offers up our prayers ; he obtains for us
the remission of our sins in virtue of the one oblation which he
once made of himself on the cross, the memorial of which is
ever in the sight of God. This will teach us what it is to • have
access by the Spirit through Christ.' For the Spirit abideth
with us ; he is at our right hand ; and by his happy influence it
is that we draw near to Christ, and by him approach to the
Father. The Son is our High-priest, clothed with majesty and
power, and seated at the right hand of God, able to save all
who will come to him ; through whose powerful and always
prevailing mediation and intercession the way is opened to par-
don and reconciliation. The Spirit is our comforter, given us
to dwell and to abide with us, to be a principle of new life
within us, to quicken our mortal bodies, that, dying to sin, we
may live unto God through holiness. To draw men to God is
the work of the Spirit, who therefore resides and dwells with
men : to reconcile God to man is the work of our High-priest,
who lives in the glory of God, making continual intercession
for us.

And now consider the calamitous condition of mankind
under what view you please, you will always find a proper
remedy provided by the mercy of God. If you reflect on the
holiness of God, and his hatred of sin and iniquity, and begin
to fear that he can never be reconciled to sinners ; take courage,
the work is difficult, but the Son of God has undertaken it ;
and how great soever the distance between God and you is, yet
through the Son you may have access unto him. If still you
fear for yourself, that all may again be lost through your own
weakness and inability to do good ; even here help is at hand,
the Spirit of God is your support, he is the pledge and earnest
of your redemption. But.

294 SHERLOCK.

Secondly, these being the necessary means of salvation, it
was likewise necessary to reveal to the world the doctrines con-
cerning the Son and the Holy Spirit : and the belief of these
doctrines is necessary to ev^ery Christian, as far as the right use
of the means depends on the right faith and belief of the doc-
trines.

* He that hath the Son,' says St. John, ' hath life ; and he
that hath not the Son of God, hath not life :' and again, ' who-
soever denieth the Son, hath not the Father.' For since we
can only come to the Father through the Son, to deny the Son
is to cut off all communication between us and the Father.
The same may be said of the blessed Spirit, through whom we
are in Christ : ' Jf any man,' says St. Paul, ' have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of his :' our blessed Lord has him-
self told us, ' That this is eternal life, to know the only true
God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent,'

When we were to be put under the conduct of the Spirit,
and all our hopes depended on our obedience to and compli-
ance with his holy motions ; was it not necessary to inform us
who this Spirit is ? to let us know that he is sufficient to the
office allotted him; that knowing perfectly the mind of God,
even as the spirit of a man knoweth the things of a man, he is
able fully to instruct us and to direct us in the ways of God ;
that being infinite and unconfined in time or place, he is equal
to the extensive charge committed to his care, and can be ready
at all times and in all places to succor the faithful servants of
God; that being the Spirit of power and of might, he is able
to rescue us out of all dangers, and protect us against all the
powers and principalities of the kingdom of darkness ? It may
be hard perhaps to human reason to conceive that this holy
Spirit is the eternal Spirit of God, and so intimately united with
God, as to know the mind of God as perfectly as the spirit of
a man which is in him knoweth the mind of man ; but it would
be harder still to believe that the Spirit could do what is as-
cribed to him in Scripture, without believing him to be this
great and glorious person. It is a more rational act of faith,
to expect from the eternal Spirit of God the sanctification of
our souls and bodies, spiritual aid and assistance in all our trials
and temptations, and whatever else is necessary to our salva-

DISCOURSE XVI. 29o

tion ; than it would be to expect the same things from any
other spirit, of whose power and attributes we knew nothing.
The power and mightiness of the Spirit, made known to us by
God, is a reasonable, a just foundation for the hope and con-
fidence we have in him ; but were we ignorant of his power,
our trust in him would be without ground ; and we should lose
this boasting, which is now the glory of our faith, that ' we
know in whom we have believed.' Since therefore, by the
determinate counsel of God, the redemption of the world was
to be the work of his Son : and the sanctification of it the
work of his Spirit; he has dealt with us more like reasonable
creatures, in declaring to us the dignity and power of the per-
sons in whom we are to trust, than he woukl have done, had
he required of us the same faith and reliance on those persons,
without declaring to us how able and powerful they are to help
us. If therefore it be reasonable for God to save the world,
by redeeming it by his Son, by sanctifying it by his Holy
Spirit, it cannot be unreasonable for him to make known his
Son and his Spirit to the world, that all men everywhere may
by the one Spirit of God, and through the only Son of God,
approach to the Father. And this shows how foolishly men
charge God, when they complain of the heavy imposition laid
on their faith and their understanding by the gospel doctrines
concerning the Son and the Holy Spirit. God has revealed
this for our sakes only, not for matter of speculation, or for
the enlarging of our knowlege ; but that, having a reason-
able ground of assurance and hope in him, we may, through
faith and patient abiding, inherit the promises.

You see now what every Christian has to expect and hope
for from the assistance of the Spirit, and intercession of the Son
of God. AVe all were strangers to God, and children of dis-
obedience ; we are now reconciled to God, and can approach
him as our loving Father. Having thus access to the Father,
our all depends on the use we make of this great privilege.
By having access to God we are not placed in a state of secu-
rity, but in a state of probation ; we are received as prodigal
sons come home ; if we continue obedient, we may hope for
the inheritance ; but if we turn prodigals again, our case will
be desperate. This is the condition of Christians. Tlie

296 SHERLOCK.

Scripture has told us what our present state is ; but as to our
future state, that depends on our obeying, or not obeying, the
commands of God. And those who look for farther security,
and expect to be ascertained what tlieir future state will be, do
very much impose on themselves, and ascribe to the Holy
Spirit an office of which the Scripture knows nothing. God
has done and will do great things for you ; let not this make
you vain and presumptuous, but let it excite your care, that
the gift of God may not be bestowed on you in vain ; and
always bear in mind the Apostle's advice, ' Work out your
salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in
you both to will and to do.' Some imagine that God's
working with us is a reason why we should be confident and
secure of our salvation : but you see St. Paul was of another
mind. He writes to those who certainly had the Spirit ; for
he tells them that God did work in them both to will and to
do : but does he tell them that they were safe and secure and
out of all danger? No, he says nothing like it; on the con-
trary, he calls on them to fear and tremble, lest, having re-
ceived so great a gift, they should by their negligence, as think-
ing themselves secure, forfeit all the hopes of the gospel.

God says, with respect to the old world, ' My spirit shall
not always strive with man :' the case is the same under the
gospel. The Spirit of God works with us, but will not always
strive with us ; and therefore, whilst we may have the help of
God's Spirit, we must lay hold of the opportunity and work
with him. And whoever considers this, will find he has great
reason to tremble and fear ; for if he loses the opportunity of
making the best use of the assistance of the Spirit when it is
oftered, he may lose the Spirit and himself for ever. Let us
therefore work whilst we have the light, and continually pray
in the words of our church, ' O Lord, take not thy Holy Spirit
from us.'

DISCOURSE XVII. 297

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XVII.

EPHESIANS, CHAP. II.— VERSE. 8.

Introduction : showing what is taught in the compass of
the text: in discoursing on the proposition, that faith is the
gift of God, it is shown, first, what the Scripture doctrine on
this head is ; secondly, some considerations proper to the sub-
ject are suggested. — I. The faith spoken of in the text is such a
faith as is necessary to salvation : various significations of the
word faith in Scripture laid down ; shown not to be that faith
of which the Apostle speaks : how far the natural gifts of sense
and reason can carry us, explained : the result is barely the
assent or dissent of the mind to the things under inquiry.
With regard even to these first rudiments of faith, our will and
inclination are necessary for the exercise of that reason and
knowlege which may lead us to them : our will and inclination
shown to be generally averse to this inquiry : example drawn
from men's conduct at the first preaching of the gospel : to
enable us fairly to examine the truth of a divine revelation, a
right disposition of mind is required, according to our Saviour's
own words John vii., 17. : this disposition is not natural to
man : to prepare his mind therefore for the reception of gospel
truth, is the work of the Spirit; this shown by many examples
to be the language of Scripture. Faith also shown to signify
trust and reliance on God, and on his promises made by his
Son : saving faith described as an active principle, influencing
the mind to obedience to the law of God : this the faith to
which we owe our growth in Christian graces and virtues :
this the faith spoken of by St. Paul. Faith shown to be made
up of the concurrence of the will and understanding ; the latter

298 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XVII.

of which is the rule to judge truth by ; but the former not the
right rule of action without the aid of the Holy Spirit : this
shown from Scripture. — II. Considerations on the subject
suggested. It is shown that our ascribing faith to the operation
of the Spirit, does not make it cease to be a reasonable act of
the mind ; and that the gift of the Spirit leaves a man free to
examine the proofs of religion, influencing his mind neither one
way nor the other in judging of the truth. Faith is not per-
fected but through obedience : it is one thing to judge with
reason, and another to act with reason : the spirit is given to us
that we may not only think, but act, like reasonable creatures.
If God had ever promised to force and subdue our reason to a
belief of the gospel, he might have spared the sighs, and won-
ders, and miracles which accompanied it. The method by
which we arrive at the knowlege of spiritual truths shown from
the second chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians.
Second consideration : the Scripture is not express regarding
the measure in which the Spirit is given : yet all to whom it
is given do not obey it ; whence it is evident that all who are
lost are not lost for want of God's aid. He has engaged to
give us all things necessary to salvation : as far therefore as the
Spirit is necessary, we are sure of it : as men improve in holi-
ness, they contract a greater familiarity with the Spirit : the
inference from this is, that we should endeavor to work
out our salvation with fear and trembling, for God worketh in
us, &c. ; and if we cease, he will withdraw his grace. Con-
clusion : signs and marks of divine grace in the regenerate
are obedience to the will of God and good works.

DISCOURSE xvir. 205)

DISCOURSE XVII.

EPHESIANS, CHAP. II. — VERSE 8.

For by grace are ye saved through faith ; and that not of your-
selves ; it is the gift of God.

We have here in few words the argument which St. Paul
always insists on, when he has occasion to set forth the kind-
ness of God towards mankind. Life and immortality are the
greatest blessings that we have any notion of; and these were
brought to light by the gospel of Christ : him God gave for a
Redeemer to the world, ' that whosoever believeth on him
should not die, but have eternal life.' And even that through
faith in him we are saved, is the gift of God ; for of ourselves
we are able to do nothing. These things are taught us in the
compass of the text, ' We are saved by grace ;' we had no title
or claim to salvation, but God of his own good will hath sent
among us plenteous redemption ; and according to the richness
of his mercy, and the great love wherewith he loved us, hath
together with Christ quickened us who were dead in sins. The
condition of this salvation on our part is faith ; for we are saved
by ' gTace through faith.' We must believe our Redeemer,
that he cometh from God, and hath the words of life ; and must
rely on him to perform the word of salvation which is gone out
of his mouth. But neither on the performance of this con-
dition can we say that our own arm hath saved us, or that we
have done any thing towards perfecting our redemption : for
this salvation through faith, and this faith, is ' not of ourselves,
it is the gift of God.'

1 shall discourse on this proposition, that faith is the gift of
God : First, I shall endeavour to show what the Scripture

300 SHERLOCK.

doctrine on this head is ; and, secondly, shall suggest to you
some considerations proper to this subject.

First then, let us consider what the Scripture doctrine on
this head is. The faith which St. Paul speaks of in the text is
such a faith as is effectual to salvation ; for it is the faith
through which, by grace, we are saved : this faith he asserts to
be the gift of God. There are different significations of the
word ' faith' in Scripture : sometimes it signifies barely an
assent of the mind to the revelations and doctrines of the gospel,
grounded on such evidence as the things were capable of.
This faith sometimes is merely the effect of common sense ; for
men cannot help believing the things they see. Sometimes this
faith is grounded on the necessary deductions of reason from
common principles ; by this means we arrive at the knowlege
of God : a man of reason can no more avoid believing the
existence of a first cause, than a man with eyes can avoid think-
ing that there is a material world in which he lives. But
neither has this assent of the mind the true nature of faith in it :
' Thou believest,' saith St. James, * that there is one God ; thou
doest well ; the devils also believe, and tremble.' But neither
of these kinds of faith being the faith through which we are
saved, you cannot say that St. Paul asserts of these that they
are the gift of God ; any farther than as sense and reason are
his gifts, by which we know these and all other things. Nor
do we teach that nature and reason cannot lead to the specu-
lative knowlege of divine truths ; for the evidence of all divine
truth resolves itself ultimately into either sense or reason ; which
are the common gifts of God to mankind, by the principles of
which the truth of all things, depending on the deductions of
sense and reason, may be proved and examined. From the
exercise of reason we come to know God, and the essential
difference between good and evil ; and by these principles are
enabled to judge of any doctrine, whether it be agreeable to the
pure and holy nature of God ; which is the first presumptive
argument for the truth of any divine revelation ; that it is holy
and pure, and such a one as, were God to have given a law to
the world, he would have given : from reason we learn the
unlimited power of God ; and from sense and reason we know
the limited power of man, and are enabled to distinguish

DISCOURSE XVII. 301

between the works which the power or policy of man can per-
form, and the works which can flow only from the unbounded
power of God : from hence we can judge of the positive argu-
ments of a divine revelation, the works and miracles which are
offered to the world in confirmation of its truth. Thus far the
natural gifts of sense and reason can carry us ; but the result is
barely the assent or dissent of the mind to the thnigs under
inquiry : which assent alone is not the faith through which we
are saved.

But let it be observed, as to these first rudiments of faith,
that though reason and knowlege may attain to them, yet the
exercise of reason and knowlege depends on the will and incli-
nation ; which are not naturally much given to dwell on the
subject of religion, but are engaged in the affairs and concerns
of the world, and taken up in the pursuit of present pleasures
and enjoyments : that, were men left to themselves, but few
would arrive even to this degree of faith ; not for want of
understanding to discern, but for want of will to inquire after
the things which make for their salvation. Thus, at the first
preaching of the gospel, all the worldly-minded men, and gene-
rally all the great men, were professed enemies to our Saviour.
No sooner did he appear to preach a new doctrine, but they
opposed him : not that they had time or opportunity to examine
his pretensions; but this presumption, that his doctrine would
thwart their interest, and lesson their power and authority
among the people, prevailed with them to endeavor to stifle
and suppress this new doctrine before it spread to their preju-
dice : in which they were evidently guided, not by sense or
reason, but by a perverse will and evil disposition. And since
men cannot but know, from their natural notions of good and
evil, that any revelation coming from a pure and holy God
must cross their evil designs and affections, they cannot but
lie under a gi'eat indisposition to inquire after divine truths, in
which, as long as lust and passion have the dominion over them,
they can promise themselves but little comfort or satisfaction :
so that, to enable men fairly to examine the truth of a divine
revelation, and to acknowlege it on full and sufficient evidence,
there must be such a disposition of mind to receive whatever
may appear to be the will of God, as may enable you to be

30*2 SHERLOCK.

impartial judges. This our Saviour requires of us, when he
says, ' If any man will do the will of God, he shall know of
the docrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of
myself;' that is, if any man has so far got the victory over his
own passions and lusts, as to be ready to give himself to the
direction of God's will, whenever it may be made appear to
him ; this man is in a right disposition to receive the truths of
the gospel, and to judge whether Christ be indeed the Prophet
of the Most High. Now this disposition is far from being
natural to man, according to the nature man has at present ;
and therefore thus to prepare and dispose men's minds to re-
ceive the gospel, is the work of the Spirit, and is ascribed to
him constantly in Scripture, where there is occasion to speak of
it : ' No man,' says our Lord, ' can come unto me, except the
Father which hath sent me, draw him.' And again, ' No man
can come unto me except it were given unto him of ray Father ;'
that is, unless the Father, by the grace of his Spirit, inclines
and disposes his will to attend to the words of life which I
deliver. To the same purpose -he speaks in another place,
' He that is of God, hcareth God's word ;' where, to be of God
is no more than to be of the number of those who are disposed
to obey God; for if to be of God signifies any thing more, it
will hardly leave any tolerable sense for the word. Our
Saviour would not say, ' Those who obey God will hear God's
word ;' which is saying, ' Those who obey God, will obey God :'
and, therefore, to be of God must signify no more than to be
ready and disposed to receive the will of God by the influence
of his grace. To be of God, and to be drawn of God, and to
be willing to do the will of God, are manifestly put to signify
the same thing, because the same thing is affirmed of them.
Our Saviour says, ' No man can come unto him, unless he be
drawn of God ;' and yet he says, * He that is of God will hear
his word ;' and in another place, ' If any man is willing to do
the will of God, he shall know of his doctrine ;' and if so, then
to be willing to do the will of God must amount to the same
thing with being of God, and being drawn by God. From
whence it follows that those who are willing to do his will,
that is, disposed to receive his truth, are drawn by him ; that
is, all who are well disposed to receive the faith of Christ, owe

DISCOURSE XVII. 303

their disposition to the grace and influence of God's holy
Spirit. Accordingly we read of Lydia, that ' God opened her
heart to attend unto the things which were spoken of Paul ;'
where opening her heart can signify nothing but inclining her
will to attend to and examine the truths of the gospel, which
were the things spoken by Paul. And as faith is ascribed to
this disposition wrought by the Spirit of God, so the want of
faith is ascribed to the contrary disposition, where a man is
under the power of lust and appetite, and possessed with the
love of this world and the pleasures of it : ' If our gospel be
hid,' says St. Paul, ' it is hid to them that are lost : in whom
the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who
is tlie image of God, should shine unto them.'

But, Secondly, faith signifies likewise trust and reliance on
God, and includes a confident hope and expectation that God
will perform his promises made to us in his Son. It is described
as an active principle of religion, influencing the mind to obe-
dience to the law of God. This is the faith through which ' we
are saved,' and is affirmed by St. Paul to be * the gift of God :'
to this faith we owe our growth and progress in all kinds of
Christian graces and virtues; this is the foundation of them, and
this it is that makes them acceptable to God, that they are done
in faith. That faith is perfect which is attended with a good
conscience, * void of oft'ence towards God and towards man.'
These two St. Paul couples together in his advice to Timothy,
enjoining him ' to hold the faith and a good conscience, which
some having put away, concerning faith have made shipwreck :'
so that faith cannot stand without a good conscience ; that is,
it is no faith which does not ' purge the conscience from dead
works,' and ' perfect holiness in the fear of God.' Now all
that reason can do, is to assent or dissent to any doctrine ; but
obedience must come from the will. Wicked men often believe ;
but, like the devils, they tremble at the majesty of God, and do
not love or delight in him, or seek to do his will. Faith then is
made up of the concurrence of the will and the understanding.
The understanding is still the rule to judge truth by ; but the
will is not the right rule of action, and therefore the assistance
of the Spirit, to induce the will to follow the understanding, is

304 SHERLOCK. '

necessary in the perfect work of faith : and this work is ascribed
to the Spirit in Scripture. Our Saviour, speaking to his dis-
ciples, tells them, ' I am the vine, ye are the branches; he
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much
fruit ; for without me ye can do nothing.' Christ abideth in his
members by his Holy Spirit; and therefore we are told, ' that
our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost.' So then our
Saviour's doctrine is, that without the assistance of his Spirit we
can do nothing, but with it we may bring forth fruit. To bring
forth fruit, in the phrase of Scripture, is to be obedient to the
laws of God, and to be employed in the works of righteousness :
so that faith cannot be perfected, or become the governing prin-
ciple of our lives, without the assistance of the Spirit, to subdue
our wills to the law of holiness. Faith in this sense is reckoned
among the fruits of the Spirit, both in the Epistle to the Gala-
tians and in that to the Corinthians : ' The fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.'
So,, in the Epistle to the Philippians, the Apostle tells them,
' It is given unto them in the behalf of Christ, not only to be-
lieve on him, but also to suffer for his sake :' where the Apos-
tle's doctrine is manifestly this ; that both to believe in Christ,
and to suffer for Christ, are the gifts of God through his Holy
Spirit. I shall not multiply quotations on this head, which lie
ready to any diligent inquirer's search ; but shall spend the time
that remains in suggesting to you some proper observations on
this subject.

And, first, our ascribing faith to the operation of the Spirit
does not make our faith cease to be a reasonable act of the
mind ; and yet this surmise is apt to affect men ; and they
think it is for want of reason to prove our religion that we re-
quire the gift of faith to make it go down. But the case is far
otherwise : the Apostle advises us, ' always to be ready to give
to every one that asketh it of us, a reason of the faith that is in
us ;' consequently, reason and faith, or reason and the gift of the
Spirit, are consistent ; or else it would not be possible for those
who receive faith by the Spirit, to give a reason of the faith
that is in them. Besides, a revelation sufficiently attested, that
is, sufficiently proved to reason, is presupposed to the work of
faith ; for the gift of faith administers no new arguments for re-

DISCOURSE XVII. 305

ligion ; and therefore, if it be not a reasonable religion before
we have faith, it cannot be so afterwards. The first work of
faith on the minds of men, as I proved by comparison of several
parts of Scripture, is to dispose them to listen after and obey the
will of God/ Lydia's heart was opened by grace ; this did not
make her, right or wrong, take up with the Apostle's doctrine,
but it is said that ' she attended to the words that were spoken
by Paul.' !N^ow the more you attend to a thing that has no
reason in it, the less you will like it : let the Spirit therefore
supply the grace of attention in the greatest measure ; if there
wants reason or evidence in the things we attend to, attention
will serve no other purpose than to show us these defects: so
that this gift of the Spirit neither influences the reason of man
nor the reason of the thing ; consequently, this gift of the Spirit
is no ways inconsistent with reason. So neither is that other
gift of the Spirit, by which we are disposed to a readiness to
obey the will of God ; for my being ready to obey the will of
God cannot make a doctrine to be the will of God, which is
not the will of God ; or make me see arguments to prove a
doctrine where there are none ; consequently, let a man be ever
so ready to obey the will of God, it cannot affect his judgment
in discerning what is the will of God, or disturb the exercise of
reason in searching for the doctrine which does contain the will
of God. And therefore this gift of the Spirit likewise leaves a
man free to examine the proofs of religion, and does not influ-
ence his mind oneway or other in judging the truth : for a man
who is willing to do the will of God must necessarily be very
unwilling to do what is not his will ; and therefore will be very
loth to take up with any doctrine for the will of God, which is
not sufficiently proved to be so. This grace therefore only puts
him on searching and examining the pretences of religion,
on the exercise of reason, to discern where truth lies: and this,
I suppose, will be allowed to be the most reasonable thing a
man can do. Thus, you see, the assent of the mind to the truth
of religion is an act of reason, and must be so notwithstanding
the gifts and assistances of the Spirit. And as reason is not
disturbed by the gifts of the Spirit, which are previous to the
assent of the mind ; so I hope it will not be thought it can
be influenced by those that are consequent to it. Faith is not

306 SHERLOCK.

perfected but through obedience. The power to obey and to
love God we ascribe to the Spirit. Now you cannot obey
God, till you know what is the will of God ; therefore you
must iirst judge of religion before this gift can operate : and
therefore this gift cannot affect your reason one way or other.
After you have proved and consented to the truth of the gos-
pel, it is highly reasonable you should obey it. But though
reason, on due application, can discern the truth, yet it cannot
govern the corrupt will ; and therefore it is one thing to judge
with reason, another thing to act with reason : and the grace of
obedience is given us by the Spirit, that we may not only think
but act like reasonable creatures.

I do not remember that God ever promised to force or sub-
due our reason to the belief of the gospel by his Spirit : if he
had taken this method, he might have saved the trouble of
working signs and wonders and miracles, and all other argu-
ments might have been spared, which are only appeals to rea-
son, and would have been needless, had the Spirit been given
to particular persons for the conviction of their minds. The
Apostle often prays, in behalf of his converts, ' that God would
enlighten their minds and understandings ; that he would in-
crease their knowlege ; that he would give them a right judg-
ment in all things.' But I think it will be agreed that the
more enlightened a man's mind is, the larger the compass of
knowlege and understanding, and the better his judgment is,
the more acute he will be in distinguishing truth from falsehood ;
consequently, the better able to judge of religion, and the less
ready to receive it without sufficient evidence, that is, without
reason.

In the second chapter of the first Epistle to the Corinthians,
St. Paul treats of the method by which we arrive to the know-
lege of spiritual truths : ' They are,' he says, ' spiritually dis-
cerned, and the natural man cannot receive them, they are
foolishness to him ;' and on this authority even the use of rea-
son has been rejected in inquiries of religion, and men sent to
the Spirit for proof. But what the Apostle says here will be
found consistent with what has been already said on this head.
In the third verse he tells the Corinthians, that ' his preaching-
-was not with the enticing words of man's wisdom, but in the

DISCOURSE XVII. 307

tleraonstration of the Spirit and of power ;' that is, he did not
preach from natural topics, but preached the things which the
Spirit had revealed to him ; and gave the works of the Spirit,
that is, signs and miracles, for proof of his doctrine. But this
was a reasonable proof still, and such a one as reason could
judge of. Verse the fourteenth, he says, ' The natural man
cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God :' which is very
true ; for how should natural reason furnish arguments to prove
the revelations of God, which have no connexion with natural
principles of reason ? But then he adds, * These things are
spiritually discerned ;' or, as he words it in the eighteenth verse,
' they are discerned by comparing spiritual things with spi-
ritual ;' that is, by comparing the proofs of the Spirit and the
revelations of the Spirit together. This comparison is the work
of reason ; for reason discerns the agreement between these
spiritual things, and by considering the works and wonders of
the Spirit, submits to the revelations of the Spirit. So what the
i\postle affirms here is only this, that the revelations of God are
not to be examined or known by principles or proofs of natural
reason, but must be manifested by the proofs of the Spirit ; for
we have no proofs from reason for the revelations of the gospel,
butwe have the works of the Spirit, by which they are attested.
And here it is plain what the work of the Spirit is : it brings
proofs to the reason of man, but does not bring the reason of
man to the proofs: so that reason and faith, or reason and the
gift of the Spirit, are consistent.

Secondly, as to the measure in which the Spirit is given, the
Scripture is not express : this we are sure of, that all to whom
the Spirit is given do not obey the Spirit; for we read of some
who ' resist the Spirit of God,' who ' do despite to the Holy
Spirit:' from whence it is evident that all who are lost are
not lost for want of due assistance from God ; since they had
the ofter of the Spirit, but refused and withstood his holy mo-
tions. God has engaged in Christ to give us all things neces-
sary to our salvation ; and therefore, as far as the Spirit is neces-
sary, so far we are sure of his assistance. As men improve in
virtue and lioliness, they contract a greater familiarity with the
Holy Spirit; with such he is said * to dwell, to abide with
them ;' which answers to what our Saviour says, ' To him that

308 SHERLOCK.

hath, it shall be given : and from him that hath not, even that
which he hath shall be taken away.' The plain consequence
of which is, that we should, according to the Apostle's ad-
vice, ' work out our salvation with fear and trembling ; for God
worketh in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure.' If
therefore we cease to work whilst we have time and oppor-
tunity, God will withdraw his grace from us ; * even that which
we have shall be taken from us.' We cannot work without
God : therefore should we work with fear and trembling, lest,
if we neglect the appointed time, we should be left destitute of
help, without hope or remedy.

Lastly, we may collect what are the signs and marks of grace
in the regenerate ; even this, that we keep the will of God.
I before observed that to be drawn of God, and to be willing
to do his will, are one and the same thing : if so, then all who
do the will of God are drawn of God ; and all who are effec-
tually drawn of God do his will. From whence it follows
tliat all who live virtuously and holily have the Spirit of God,
and all who do wickedly are of their father the devil. From
whence it follows that it is a vain and ill-grounded confidence
that some men have in their spiritual attainments, whilst they
work the works of darkness : for he only that doth the works
of the Spirit hath the Spirit of God ; ' and hereby do we know
that we love him, if we keep his commandments.'

DISCOURSE XVIIi, 309

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XVIIL

PHILIPPIANS, CHAP. II. — VERSES 12, 13.

Introduction : statement of the unhappy disputes in the
Christian church relating to the natural powers of man to work
out his own salvation, and those relating to the grace and assist-
ance promised in the gospel. Inconsistent as these things may
seem to be, St. Paul has thought fit to join them together : his
doctrine considered, and the natural consequences which a
Christian should draw from it. The text consists of two parts —
an exhortation, and an argument to enforce it : the argument at
first sight may appear to be false, as leading to confidence and
assurance rather than to fear and trembling. This explained by
the different significations of the word fear : there is a fear of
our enemies, and also a fear of losing the love and good offices
of our friends; which latter fear excites us to conform ourselves
to their inclinations. That this is the fear of which the Apostle
speaks, shown from the beginning of the chapter, where he
so strongly presses humility on his converts; and also from the
two verses following the text, do all things ivithout murmur-
ings and repinings, that ye may .he blameless and harmless, &c.
The Christian law indeed is fortified with rewards and punish-
ments, as motives of obedience : it is shown however that the
fear arising from them is not meant : the exhortation in the text
belongs to all men, even the most perfect Christians: it is dif-
ferent therefore from the fear which belongs to criminals and
slaves, and which perfect love casteth out. The reason why we
ought to fear, viz. because God worketh in us both to will and
to do, examined. Totally dependent as we are on God, this fear

310 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XVIII.

has more of care and solicitude in it, than of terror and amaze-
ment : the text shown to be parallel to that passage in St. Pe-
ter, Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.
Farther, this fear shown to arise from a proper sense of our
own insuflSciency and dependence on God ; according to the
Apostle's expression, let him that standelh take heed lest he
fall : this shown to be a just and holy fear, not injurious to the
love of God towards us, nor to our faith and hope in him.
From this account of holy fear, the meaning of the expression,
work out your oivn salvation ivith fear and trembling, will
easily appear to consist in care and diligence to set ourselves to
perform the will and commands of God. It is shown that there
is something in the language used to explain the doctrine of
grace, liable to be abused by ignorant or crafty men ; this lan-
guage tried in a common case, to guard men against being mis-
led by mere sounds. Consequences of the doctrine and exhor-
tation in the text considered. — I. It appears that the Christian
state is not a state of security; for if so, the Apostle's exhorta-
tion M^ould have no meaning : the Philippians themselves had
received grace, and if grace once received cannot be lost, what
had they to fear ? That we fear, is no argument of mistrusting
God ; our fear regards ourselves; and our best security is this
fear. — II. From the Apostle's command, work out your salva-
tion, we see how necessary good works are. The good works
of Christians do not deserve all the hard words that have been
bestowed on them, if the words, he worketh in us, &c., be duly
considered ; for they are the fruits of his Spirit. Conclusion :
the manner in which God works for the faithful explained. By
the argument drawn from it for fear and diligence, it is evident
that he does not work irresistibly : he enables us to work ; our
danger therefore is from ourselves, and we alone can defeat our
own hopes.

DISCOURSE XVIH. 311

DISCOURSE^ XVIII.

PHILIPPIANS, CHAP. II. — VERSES 12, 13.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is
God which worketli in you both to will and to do of his good
pleasure.

There have not perhaps been any more unhappy disputes
in the Christian church than those relating to the natural powers
of mail to work out his own salvation, and those relating to the
nature and measure of the grace and assistance promised in the
gospel of Christ. On one side it is insisted that virtue and
vice owe their being to the freedom and choice of the agent,
and lose their name when they are the effect of force and con-
straint ; and, consequently, that to suppose men to be made righ-
teous by any influence from any other being than themselves,
is contrary to reason. And hence it is that some of the advo-
cates for mere human reason, as sufficient to all the pur-
poses of salvation, despise the promises made in the gospel,
of grace and spiritual assistance ; and others of them so explain
them as to leave them no meaning at all. On the other side,
some zealous asserters of the doctrine of grace, in order to mag-
nify this free gift of God, allow nothing to reason or the natu-
ral powers of men ; but think it the highest presumption and
the greatest affront offered to the grace of God, to suppose
that men can do any thing for themselves. It is, in their own
way of expression, to make the power of God attendant on the
weakness of man, and to make the grace of God the servant
and handmaid of human reason. And thus it is agreed on both
sides, by those who carry their respective opinions to the
greatest length, that either the power of man to work out righ-

312 SHERLOCK.

teousness must exclude the grace of God, or the grace of God
must exclude all the effects and endeavors of human reason.

But as inconsistent as they may think these things to be, St.
Paul, who was better instructed in the principles of the gospel
of Christ than the ancient or the modern teachers of these doc-
trines can pretend to be, has thought fit to join them together,
and has called on all Christians ' to work out their own sal-
vation,' for this very reason, because ' God works in them both
to will and to do ' If St. Paul be in the right, God's working
with us by his grace is so far from being a reason against work-
ing for ourselves, that it is the greatest inducement to it, and
lays, us under the highest obligation to ' give all diligence to
make our calling and election sure.'

Let us then consider St. Paul's doctrine, and see what are
the natural consequences for a Christian to draw from it.

The words of the text evidently consist of two parts ; an
exhortation, and an argument by which that exhortation is
enforced. The exhortation you have in these words, ' Work
our your own salvation with fear and trembling :' the argument
to enforce it follows in the next words, ' For it is God which
worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.'
An argument which may at first sight seem rather to lead to
confidence and assurance than to fear and trembling : for if
God be for us, who can be against us ? or what is there to fear
or to tremble at, when we are thus supported and maintained
in our spiritual warfare ? And the argument is indeed appli-
cable both ways, with respect to different kinds of fear. The
disciples of the gospel have many enemies to encounter with,
many temptations to struggle with ; they are exposed some-
times to death, often to afilictions and persecutions, and almost
always to the hatred and contempt of the world. Now with
respect to these adversaries, the argument in the text may fur-
nish us with great confidence and assurance, and we may with
the Apostle say, * Who shall harm you, if you be followers
of that which is good?' for notwithstanding all the trials you
are exposed to, ' God is able to keep you from falling, and to
present you faultless before the presence of his glory with ex-
ceeding joy.' But as there is a fear which respects our ene-
mies, and is a fear of being conquered and brought into sub-

DISCOURSE XVIII, 313

jection by them ; so likewise is there a fear which respects our
friends, and is a fear of losing their favor and assistance ; and
the more a man is dependent on his friends, the greater is, and
ought to be, his fear of losing their protection ; and this fear
naturally inspires us with diligence and care to observe and
fulfil the commands of our great patrons, to study their humor
and inclination, and to conform ourselves to them. And of
this fear the Apostle speaks in the text, ' Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling;' for it is a work that you
are by no means sufficient for of yourselves ; and therefore have
a care how you forfeit the favor of him on whom you intirely
depend: ' Of yourselves ye can do nothing; for it is God
which worketh in you both to will and to do.' That St. Paul
intends this sort and kind of fear, may be seen by his own way
of reasoning. In the beginning of this chapter he presses hu-
mility on the Philippians, he warns them against strife and
vain-glory, and after some arguments drawn from the example
of Christ, and the great reward he obtained to recommend hu-
mility to them, as if humility and fear in the present case were
the same thing, he thus concludes : * Wherefore, my beloved,
work out your salvation with fear and trembling.' If we be-
lieve that God works in us both to will and to do, it will make
us humble, because we can do nothing without him ; for in
such a case what have we to be proud of ? Weakness and a
state of dependence are inconsistent with confidence and pre-
sumption : it will make us likewise fear and tremble, fear to
displease, and tremble to disobey him from whom cometh our
salvation.

That this fear is the fear of offending God and losing his
favor, is farther evident from the next verse, 'Do all things
without murmurings and disputings.' Now what fear is it that
makes men obey cheerfully, without repining, without seeking
for excuses to free themselves? Not the fear of punishment;
for who grumble more than slaves ? who repine more at their
service, or more readily seek and invent pretences to decline
the orders of their master ? But where the fear that possesses
the heart is the fear of disobliging a kind friend, or a beloved
master, or a patron on whom we depend, there fear gives wings
to obedience, and makes a man all ear and no tongue, ready to

SHERL. VOL, I. O

314 SHERLOCK.

receive but not dispute the command. The following verse
supplies us vi'ith the like argument : the words are these, * That
ye may be blameless and harmless,' or, as the margin reads it^
' sincere, the sons of God, without rebuke.' Now then the
tear the Apostle speaks of is the fear of a son, the fear of
oft'ending the father he loves ; it is a fear which makes obe-
dience blameless, and sincere, and without rebuke ; which no
fear can do, but a fear of offending him we love and him we
depend on. Other fears may make the hands or the feet obe-
dient ; but this fear only reaches the heart, and renders obe-
dience perfect and sincere.

The Christian law indeed, like all other wise laws, is forti-
fied with rewards and punishments ; and these rewards and
punishments God has proposed to us as motives of obedience ;
of that obedience which he has promised to accept and reward :
and therefore there is no doubt but that those who obey on
these motives, shall for their obedience be rewarded.

But this fear cannot here be meant : for first, it will not
aaree with the Apostle's argument for fearing : for surely it is
no reason to fear punishment, that God works in us to will and
to do ; we should have much much more reason to fear it if
he did not : and this help and assistance of God is our greatest
comfort and consolation against such fears. Secondly, ' to
work out his salvation with fear and trembling,' is the duty of
every good Christian. Now to fear punishment is a proper
restraint on the evil wills and affections of men, but it is no
good man's duty ; and yet to such the Apostle speaks, as we
may see in the verse of the text, ' Ye have always obeyed,
not as in my presence only, but now much more in my ab-
sence ;' and by the character he gives them in the seventh verse
of the first chapter, ' Both in my bonds, and in the defence and
confirmation of the gospel, ye are all partakers of my grace.'
Now to these good Christians he says, ' Work out your own
salvation with fear and trembling :' this he enjoins them as a
thing not only highly becoming their condition, but as neces-
sary to it. But the fear of punishment can never be necessary
to any good man's condition, nor can it ever be made matter
of precept or command. For the law is not made to instil the
fear of punishment into men's hearts; nor is it the design of

DISCOURSE XVIII. 315

the lawgiver to spread fear and terror into the minds of his
people : penalties are added to enforce obedience, and there-
fore concern not those who are ready and willing to obey. It
may be matter of wise admonition to Christians to set before
them the danger of disobedience, and to exhort them with our
blessed Lord to ' fear not those who can only kill the body,
but after that can do nothing ; but to fear him who has power
both over body and soul, and can throw them both into hell-
fire :' but when do you ever find it enjoined, as matter of duty,
to be afraid of hell ? Is it any part of the good subject's obe-
dience to live in perpetual apprehension of racks and gibbets,
because racks and gibbets are provided for murderers and rob-
bers ? ' Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ?' says our
Apostle, ' do that which is good.' So that to fear the power
belongs not to him who does good. God has commanded all
men to live righteously, and threatened severe punishment to
those who live otherwise ; but he has no where commanded all
men to live in fear of punishment : but the exhortation in the
text belongs to all men, it belongs to the most perfect Chris-
tians ; and therefore the fear in the text is not the fear of
punishment, which can neither be matter of command or ex-
hortation to those who do not want it, that is, to all good
Christians who from the heart obey the truth. And this may
serve to distinguish the fear and trembling mentioned in the
text, from the fear which belongs to criminals and slaves ; which
fear, the Apostle tells us, ' perfect love casteth out.'

But since there is a fear and trembling necessary to the
working out of our salvation, and which must and ought to rule
the affections of the best of men, let us consider more distinctly
the nature of this fear. Now the reason why we ought to fear,
is, because ' God worketh in us both to will and to do :' let us
examine then how far this argument goes, and that will show us
the nature of that fear which is the consequence of it. To will
and to do good are the terras and conditions of our salvation ;
and therefore from whence we have the power to will and to do,
from thence we have the means of salvation. Now salvation
comprehends in it all the good we are capable of enjoyinff,
without which our life is death, and our hope misery : so that
if we depend on God to work in us both to will and to do, we

310 SHERLOCK.

(lenend on him for all that is or can be valuable to man. And
farther, ' God worketh in us of his own good pleasure :' we have
no right or claim to his assistance ; freely he gave, and freely
he may take away whenever he pleases. Now consider your-
self in this state of dependence, and see what it is you have to
fear. All your danger is in losing the favor of God ; and there-
fore for that too must be all your fear. Now this fear has more
of care and solicitude in it than of terror or amazement : for it
is one thing to be afraid of a man, lest he should hurt you, and
another thing to be afraid of losing his favor : the first fear is
terror, the last is carefulness. So that the text is parallel to
that passage in St. Peter, ' Give diligence to make your calling
and election sure.' St. Petei", you see, speaks directly of the
call and election of Christians ; but so far was he from thinking
this call and this election to be absolute, that he advises those
who have the call and election, to give all diligence to make
them sure ; plainly teaching us, that though God has called and
elected us in Christ, yet it depends on our own care to make
them effectual to salvation. It is one certain way to forfeit the
gifts of God, not to make use of them ; for why should he be-
stow his gifts in vain ? And therefore it is a great argument
for diligence and application, that we depend not on our own
strength, but the assistance and power of God. As for things
which are intirely in our own power, it may possibly be more
for our convenience, and as well for our business, to do them
to-morrow as to-day : but no man will run this hazard when
the thing is in his power to-day, but may be out of his power
to-morrow. And this is an argument for immediate care and
innusiry : God worketh in us when he thinks fit; and therefore
when he thinks fit you must work too ; for his grace will not
w ait on your humor, and be ready at your beck : and should
you neglect the present opportunity, it may be your last ; since
you have no security but from his good-will and pleasure ; and
to play with his offers, and neglect his call, is not the way tq
obtain them. There is no constant care without constant fear.
A man will not be careful to perform what he is not afraid to
lose ; and therefore, in this case, that which is an argument for
care, is an argument for fear likewise.

But farther, this fp ar arises from a sense of our own insuffi-

DISCOURSE XVIII. 317

ciency, and our dependence on God : but our insuflSciency is no
reason why we should be afraid of God. Because I cannot
help myself, it is no argument that I must be afraid of him that
can : and since God does help our weakness, it is great reason
we should love and adore him, but not that we should dread
and fear him. So that the fear that arises from hence, is not in
the least degree inconsistent with the perfect love of God. For
the same reason that we ought to fear mightily, we ought to
love intirely, because * God worketh in us both to will and to
do of his good pleasure.' That it is of his good pleasure that
he assists us, is a great evidence of his love to us, and a great
argument for our love to him. Since then the cause of this fear
is in ourselves, for it arises from our own weakness and inabi-
lity, we ourselves, properly speaking, are the only objects of
this fear. We cannot be afraid of God, because he loves us
and helps us ; but we may well be afraid of ourselves, lest,
being weak and foolish, as we are, we should not use, as we
ought to use, the manifold gifts and graces of God. Now then,
we are come to that which is indeed the good Christian's fear,
his constant fear; and that is, the fear of himself: ' Let him
that standeth,' says the Apostle, ' take heed lest he fall.' There
is no man so perfect, but that he ought to carry this fear about
him ; and where his fear points, there must his care and dili-
gence be applied, that is, to himself still : he must watch his
passions and affections, lest any of them break out into open
enmity against God : his rebel heart must be guarded, lest it
quench the holy flame which God has kindled in it, lest it do
despite to the Spirit of God, which comes to dwell and inhabit
in it. And this is a just and a holy fear, a fear which is not
injurious to the love of God towards us ; which carries in it no
secret mistrust of his kindness or affection, nor is any blemish to
our faith or hope in him : nay, it is a security to them all ; it
preserves the love of God towards us, as it keeps us from those
offences which would alienate his love from us : it preserves our
faith and hope, by preserving us from those sins which would
destroy them, which would render our condition hopeless and
our faith vain. So likewise are the care and diligence which
proceed from this fear, free from any imputations of arrogance

318 SHERLOCK.

or presuraption. We set not up for ourselves, as if our own
arm could save us ; but for this very reason we are careful and
diligent, because of ourselves we can do nothing : and therefore
are we zealous and careful to make use of those poAvers which
God bestows on us. We are always working, but not our own
works ; but we strive to * abound in the work of the Lord,' as
St. Paul expresses it : we hope to be rewarded for our labor,
and yet not for our own, but as the same Apostle assures us, ' we
know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain.' If we hope,
we hope in the Lord ; if we fear, we fear ourselves. ' Perfect
love,' says St. John, ' castelh out fear,' that is, the fear of him
whom we love. Nor is this fear, thus to be cast out, the fear
of God, for he is on our side : but a man's worst enemies are
they of his own household; and therefore we justly fear our
own hearts and affections, and over them is all our care, * that
we may keep ourselves unspotted from the world.'

From this account of the nature of holy fear, it will be easy
to explain what it is to * work out our salvation with fear and
trembling.' God has given us many laws and commands, in
obedience to which consisteth our salvation. He has promised
us such degrees of assistance as shall enable us to ^jerform the
conditions required of us. To do the will of God, to walk in
his laws, is to ' work out our salvation.' This to do, under the
assistance which God has given us, depends on ourselves : we
can miscarry in no point, but in this which is left to ourselves.
Here then all our diligence and care is necessary. We are
prone to evil and mischief, and it requires our constant applica-
tion to secure ourselves from falling under the dominion of lust
and wickedness : and therefore we must walk circumspectly,
watching and observing ourselves ; we must be jealous over our
own hearts, for out of them ' are the springs of life,' as the wise
man tells us. This makes the Christian state to be a spiritual
warfare ; a state of continual care and watchfulness, of fear and
suspicion : so that it is no less than constant employment for a
man to walk uprightly with his God. This constant care can
come from nothing but a persuasion that it is necessary in our
condition ; and he that is well convinced of his own weakness
will be perpetually afraid of miscarrying ; which fear will keep

DISCOURSE XVIII. 319

his diligence awake : so that ' to work out our salvation with
fear and trembling,' is with the utmost care and diligence to set
ourselves to perform the will and commands of God, to be dili-
gent ' to make our calling and election sure.'

There is, in the language made use of to explain the doctrine
of grace, something liable to be abused by ignorant or crafty
men. We say that of ourselves we can do nothing ; whence
they conclude that we have nothing to do. We say that it is
the grace of God which enables us to do every thing ; from
whence they conclude that every thing must be left to the
grace of God, and that we need only work ourselves into a
strong persuasion that God is at work for us, and may sit still
ourselves. And this persuasion, which is generally mere en-
thusiasm, they dignify with the name of Christian faith.

But let us try this language in a common case, and see whe-
ther it be so hard to be understood. Suppose a man wanted to
move a weight that required double his strength to move it ;
would it not be a very proper expression to say, of himself he
could do nothing ? or would it follow, that if he was offered
help, he should sit still, and not put his own strength to the
work ? If a friend came to his assistance, would it not be pro-
perly said that his friend enabled him to do what he did ? but
would it follow that his friend did all, and he nothing? 1 men-
tion this only to guard men against being misled by mere
sounds ; and shall proceed now to consider some consequences
of the doctrine and exhortation of the Apostle mentioned in
the text.

And first, it is evident that the Christian state is not a state
of security ; for security is inconsistent with any kind of fear
and trembling, and is indeed a condition that does not call even
for care or diligence. In a state of security a man cannot even
fear for himself; for to be sure of salvation he must be sure of
every thing that is necessary to it; and therefore he must either
be sure that he is to have no part himself in working out his
salvation ; or if he is to have any, he must be sure and certain
that he shall perform it: either of which excludes all manner
of fear and trembling. Much less can he, who is secure of
being saved, fear being punished : so that there is no kind of

a20 SHERLOCK.

fear left for him ; and the Apostle's exhortation will have nO
meaning in it to such a man. ' Work out your salvation with
fear and trembling :' with fear of what? since nothing is left to
be afraid of. And yet to be sure of our salvation has been
made by some a necessary sign of regeneration and adoption :
and hence has proceeded the doctrine, that grace once received
can never be lost ; and if so, those who have received grace,
can have no reason to fear and tremble. And yet it cannot be
denied that the Philippians, to whom the Apostle writes, had
received grace ; since from his own testimony we learn, ' that
tliey had obeyed always ; that in his bonds, and in the doctrine
and confirmation of the gospel, they had been partakers of his
grace.' Grace then they had received ; what then had they to
fear ? if grace once received cannot be lost, that is, if grace
gives security of salvation. To make then the Apostle con-
sistent with himself, we must affirm that it is his doctrine that
grace may be lost ; and that even those who have made great
progress in gospel obedience, are not secure of their state ; but
must labor on, and work on with fear and trembling, lest they
come short of the promises that they have received. And from
hence we may comfort and support good Christians, under the
many fears and misgivings of mind that attend them in their
spiritual warfare. That you fear, is no argument of mistrusting
God : we have reason to fear for ourselves; nor will this fear
be taken from us, till we are removed out of this world. AVere
there any reason to think that security as to our future condi-
tion was among the gifts of God's Spirit to the true children of
Christ, then indeed our fears would be matter of disturbance to
us : but since the best must fear and tremble, why should we
disquiet ourselves because we fear for ourselves ? since not only
our present condition requires it, but it is even part of our secu-
rity to fear, and to labor with care and diligence, which is the
blessed fruit of holy fear. To fear that God will not perform
his promises to us, is a wicked fear : but to fear that we may
fall short of those promises, is a reasonable fear, our present
weakness considered ; and it is a spur to virtue. And those
who would desire tliis thorn in the flesh to be removed, may be
answered in the Lord's name, as he answered St. Paul, ' My

DISCOURSE XVIII. S-21

grace is sufficient for you.' You are weak, but the Lord is
strong, and his strength is perfected in weakness : so that if
your fear be active and busy, and sets you to work for the
thing you are afraid to lose, there is no doubt hut that through
Christ you shall be enabled to do all things.

Secondly, from hence we may learn what to think of the
works of Christians. It is, you see, the Apostle's command,
* Work out your salvation.' Now then works are necessary to
salvation ; and it matters little in what degree they are neces-
sary, or how they are to be named : if they are necessary, you
must do them ; and that is enough to secure the practice of
virtue and holiness in the world. And for this reason God
works in us, that we may not only will, but do ; that is, bring
our good inclinations to perfection ; for why does God work in
us to will and to do, if willing and doing are not necessary to
our redemption ? And perhaps the good works of Christians
may not deserve all the hard words that have so liberally been
bestowed on them, if we consider that they are not the works
of men, but of God : ' for he worketh in us to will and to do :'
and therefore our good works are the fruits of his Spirit; and
are holy because they proceed from a holy root, the power of
God dwelling in us.

Lastly, hence likewise we may observe in what manner God
works for the faithful : St. Paul makes it an argument for fear
and diligence ; from whence it is evident that God does not
so work in us, as to exclude our own care and industry ; that
is, he does not work irresistibly : for supposing God to work
irresistibly, the wit of man cannot make an argument out of it
for private care and diligence. If God does every thing in iis
whether we will or no, what is left for us to do ? or what have
we to fear and tremble for, when God alone has undertaken
the whole care and business of our redemption ? The work of
the Spirit on the hearts of the faithful is to actuate and inspire
them : but to perform what is good is the business of him who is
actuated and inspired. Now it must be allowed that it is one
thing to give a man power to act, another to force him to act.
A man's will is not influenced by his own power. He that has
ten times the power to do a thing that I have, is nevertheless as
free to let it alone as I am. And though the grace of God

;}2'2 SHERLOCK.

gives us great power and ability to work out our salvation, yet
the power to will and to work is no constraint either to will or
to work. And in this sense the grace of God is a great argu-
ment for diligence and care : for if he furnishes us with power,
it behoves us to see that we make a right use of it.

In a word then, you have the assistance of God to enable you
to work ; which is a great reason to love and trust him, since
he takes this care of you. Your danger now is only from your-
self; it is in your own power, but in no other creature's under
fieaven, to defeat your hopes. You only can rob yourself of
the assistance of God by doing despite to his Holy Spirit, by
not obeying when it is in your power to obey. Be careful
therefore, my brethren, be watchful over yourselves ; and whilst
you have opportunity, ' work out your salvation.'

DISCOURSE XIX. 323

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XIX.

LUKE, CHAP. XIII. — VERSES 23, 24.

Introduction ; concerning the many nice speculations
that iiave arisen regarding God's final judgment of mankind.
One of these proposed to our Saviour in the text; in which and
the following verses his answer is recorded ; an answer appli-
cable not only to this, but to other questions of the like im-
port : for the better understanding of this answer we must
consider why men, not content to examine themselves by the
law of God, are for launching out into the mysteries of his
judgment. They are commonly influenced by a consideration
of their own circumstances. Every man leaves the way open
to his own salvation, though he may bar it against others : this
the case with the great advocates of election and reprobation :
being secured themselves, they despise the virtues and moral
attainments of all men, and doom them to destruction. The
conceit of him who asked the question in the text shown
to be akin to this, from the peculiar prejudices of the pri-
vileged Jews. Our Lord's answer is levelled against these
prejudices, and is a declaration that the salvation of God
should be extended to all people. The controversy among
Christians concerning the salvation of the heathen world,
shown to turn on a different point from that of the Jewish pre-
judice; and to carry not with it the same contempt of man-
kind : still the limitation of God's mercy may be found to be as
presumptuous in the one case as in the other. The answer of
our Lord in the text given to such inquirers, both for instruction
and for rebuke. The opinions already mentioned confine the

324 SUMMARY OF

mercy of God ; but there is another which goes to the contrary
extreme, and sets the doors of heaven open to all comers : they
who entertain it seem to rely intirely on God's mercy and the
infirmity of human nature, both of which they paint in the
strongest colors: they suppose that God will never make all,
or most men miserable, and therefore think to escape in the
crowd. Such inquirers as these shown to make a mistake in
their reckoning ; for if it were just to punish sinners, no reason
why twenty should not be punished as well as ten, or one
hundred as well as twenty : men shown not to be of so great
value in the eyes of God : these persons therefore are exhorted
to leave others to God's justice and mercy, and strive them-
selves to enttr in at the strait gate.

As our Saviour did not think fit to satisfy the curiosity of the
inquirer, it is very presumptuous in any one else to pretend to
answer his question : natural religion will not satisfy us on this
head, nor can it be expected that Scripture should do so. Two
things however there are in which every man has a right to
require satisfaction : one relates to the method of God's dealing
with men, and comes to this, — whether all men are capable;
and, if not, who are capable of salvation ? The other relates to
our own conduct and behavior ; and is — on what terms may
we expect salvation? These two necessary inquiries our
Saviour clearly and expressly answers : as to the first, he tells
us that salvation belongs to all men, of all climes: as to the
second, he declares that all the workers of iniquity will be
excluded from the presence of God, and therefore exhorts us to
strive to enter in at the strait gate ; and in order to quicken
us, he says farther, that many who seek to enter, shall not be
able. Being thus instructed, what right have we to demand
more ? It is not necessary either for a teacher of religion to
declare more, or for a learner to know more : the effect of
knowing more would be injurious, both to good and to bad
men : this point enlarged on ; and if it can serve no good pur-

►

DISCOURSE XIX. 325

pose to know the certainty of our own future condition, what
can it serve to know that of others ? such a curiosity irreli-
gious ; no wonder therefore that it is not gratified. Absurd to
expect judgment before trial. The scope which men give to
their imaginations on this subject, when they leave their only
sure guide, the word of God, shown to be always dangerous,
sometimes fatal. Conclusion : the necessity of each person
resolving to take care of himself, which is a sufficient employ-
ment.

J26 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XIX.

LUKE, CHAP. XIII. — VERSE 23, 24.

Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved ? And
he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many,
I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.

The fate of the world at the great day is so momentous a
point, and in which every man, who is conscious to himself that
he is accountable for his actions, is so nearly concerned, that it
is no wonder to find men in every age inquisitive and curious
to pry into this event. Hence have arisen many nice specula-
tions concerning God's final judgment of mankind : sometimes
we are asked, whether, consistently with the declarations of the
gospel, any of the heathen world can be saved ; and sometimes,
whether, the strictness of the gospel morality considered, and
the visible corruption of the world, it must not necessarily come
to pass that the far greater part of mankind shall perish ever-
lastingly.

One of these questions you see proposed to our Saviour in
the text, ' Lord, are there few that be saved ?' You have also
our Lord's answer in the text, and in the verses which follow it
in St. Luke : an answer applicable not only to this, but to all
other questions of the like import ; and which therefore very
well deserves your consideration.

For the better understanding of which answer, we must con-
sider whence it is that men, not content to examine themselves
by the law of God, and to learn from thence how their own
case stands, are for launching out into the mysteries of God's
judgments, and inquiring how it shall fare with this or that
nation at the general judgment, and whether many or few shall
be saved at the last.

AVhoever will examine into the bottom of men's thouahts on

DISCOURSE xrx. 327

this subject, will find that the conclusion they make is com-
monly influenced by the consideration of their own circum-
stances. Every man in this case takes care of himself, and
leaves the way open to his own salvation, how strongly soever
he bars it against others. The great advocates of election and
reprobation always reckon themselves in the number of the
elect ; and that their iniquities, of which they are often con-
scious, may not rise up against them, they maintain that the
act of man cannot make void the purpose of God, or the sins
of the elect deprive them of the benefit of God's eternal decree.
Thus secured, they despise the virtues and moral attainments
of all men, and doom them with all their virtues to destruction;
whilst they advance .themselves with all their sins to a throne
of glory prepared for them before the world began.

Akin to this was his conceit who asked our Saviour the
question, ' Are there few that shall be saved ?' The Jews
were God's peculiar people, and enjoyed very great privileges :
* unto them were committed the oracles of God ; to them per-
tained the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the
giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises.'
But not content with these privileges, and being thus distin-
guished by God, they will hardly allow God to have any thing
to do with the rest of the world, unless it were by severe judg-
ments to afilict and to destroy them. With regard to these
prejudices it is that St. Paul puts the question to his country-
men, ' Is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not also of
the Gentiles ?' And we know full well that the gospel of
Christ gave greater offence to the Jews in no one particular,
than in opening the door of salvation to the Gentile world :
they looked on all nations but their own to be unclean, and
accounted it * an unlawful thing for a man that was a Jew to
keep company, or come unto one of another nation :' and St.
Peter was so possessed with this opinion, that he stood in need
of a special warning from heaven, before he would baptize the
honest centurion Cornelius. On the foot of this prejudice the
question is put to our Lord, ' Are there few that shall be
saved ?' He who knew what was in man, and understood their
secret thoughts, gave an answer which went to the bottom of
the inquirer's heart, and without doubt touched him to the

328 ISHERLOCK.

quick; 'There shall,' says he, 'be weeping and gnashing of
teeth, when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob,
and all the Prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you your-
selves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and
from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and
shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And behold there are
last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.'
This part of the answer was levelled directly against the Jew-
ish prejudice, and is a plain declaration that the salvation of
God should be extended to east and west, north and south, to
people of all parts of the world ; and that many, who thought
themselves alone entitled to God's favor in virtue of their pe-
culiar privileges, should for their misconduct and misbehavior
be finally excluded from his presence.

The controversy which has been managed among Christians,
concerning the salvation of the heathen world, turns on quite
another point than the Jewish prejudice did. It carries not
with it the same contempt of mankind. The Jews thought
none worthy to be sons of God but themselves : Christians
think all worthy, and are desirous that all should be made par-
takers of the glory of God. The Jews thought no nation but
their oAvn capable of being received into the covenant of God,
and therefore doomed all to destruction without remedy : the
Christian thinks every nation capable of being admitted into
the covenant of Christ; his only doubt is, whether any nation,
not received into the covenant, is capable of the benefits of it.
But then considering the infinite numbers of men already dead,
without any knowlege of the gospel, and the great number still
which probably will die in the same circumstance ; this notion
entertained by some Christians, with respect to such persons,
seems to be as peremptory and relentless as the prejudice of the
Jews. And the limitation put on God's mercy and goodness
may be found perhaps to be as presumptuous, and as injurious
to the honor and majesty of God in one case as in the other.
What then must we say to such incjuirers as these ? The an-
swer in the text is given them both for their instruction and
their rebuke ; ' Strive to enter in at the strait gate : for many,
I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.'
As if our Lord had said, You seem, by your curiosity in in-

DISCOURSE XIX. 3*20

quiring after the state of others, to be secure and at ease about
your own. But turn your thoughts from others to yourself : as
great as your advantages and privileges are, your way is still
strait and narrow : strive therefore and labor to secure your
own entrance into life ; for many of those who have equal pri-
vileges with you, and profess to seek the kingdom of God, shall
not enter into it.

As the opinions hitherto mentioned confine the mercy of
God within a narrow compass, and leave the greater part of
mankind under desperate circumstances ; so there is another
which goes into the contrary extreme, and sets the doors of
heaven open to all comers, with little or no regard to the differ-
ent qualifications of men. They who can make no title to the
kingdom of God under the terms of the gospel, or by the rules
of virtue and morality, not willing to give themselves up to
destruction, have persuaded themselves and others that it is
impossible that God should finally doom to misery so many of
his creatures, as must necessarily sufter if they are to be judged
by the strict rules of morality, or the no less strict rules of the
gospel. And having no hope but in the mercy of God, no
excuse but in the infirmities and weaknesses of human nature,
necessity makes them eloquent on this subject ; and the finest
things are said to display the goodness of God, and set it forth
in the liveliest colors; and to represent the distress of nature,
and the utter inability of man to do good in this fallen dege-
nerate state. Thus concluding all men under sin, they hope to
escape in the crowd : it would be inexorable cruelty, they think,
to make all or most men miserable ; and therefore, let God be
good, and all men be sinners, and they are safe.

To such inquirers as these, we say, that they mistake in all
their reckoning; for if it be just to punish sinners, no reason
can be given why twenty should not be punished as well as ten,
or an hundred as well as twenty. There were sinners enough
in the world to have saved the world at the general deluge, if
numbers would have done. When Sodom was destroyed, ten
righteous men would have saved the city ; but the number of
the wicked was never pleaded in bar of justice. Neither does
the race of men make so considerable a figure in the system of
the universe, as to endanger the whole, if they miscarry. Let

;3:iO SHERLOCK.

men be sinners, yet God will not want those who will serve and
obey him : or if he should, let him speak the word, and
millions will arise at his command : ' Think not therefore to
say within yourselves. We have Abraham to our Father ; for
God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.'
If all men should forsake him, he can, when he pleases, repair
the loss : he is not so weak, or in such want of the service of
men, as to be guided by such politic reasons as oftentimes,
reasonably enough, prevail with temporal princes to spare an
offending multitude. Leave therefore the rest of the world to
the judgment and mercy of God, and mind you the law that is
set before you as the condition of life, and ' strive to enter in at
the strait gate.'

You see by this account that our Saviour did not think fit
to answer the curiosity of this inquirer : and since he declined
the question, who alone was able to resolve it, it is absurd to
ask the question of any body else ; and it is great presumption
in any body else to pretend to answer it. From natural reli-
gion we may learn much of the equity and justice of God, and
of the terms of obedience on which we may hope to partake of
his mercy : but how many, or how few, will act by the laws of
reason, and qualify themselves for the mercy of God, natural
reason and religion can never show. Nor is there any reason
to expect a resolution of this doubt in the books of Scripture ;
for had it been a piece of knowlege proper to be communicated
to us, why was it not declared by our Lord, when the question
was so fairly stated to him ? or why does he give such an
answer here, as is plainly calculated not to satisfy the curiosity
of mankind in this great point, but to restrain and to rebuke
it ? The question is, * Are there few that be saved ?' The
answer is in effect. What is that to you ? mind your own
business, and ' strive to enter in at the strait gate.'

Two things there are, in which every man has a right to
require satisfaction, and without which he can on no reasonable
grounds pretend to religion : one relates to the method of God's
dealing with mankind, and comes to this point, Whether all
men are capable ; and if not all, who are capable of salvation ?
The other relates to our own conduct and behavior, and re-
solves itself into this inquiry, On what terras we may expect

DISCOURSE XIX. 331

salvation? Now, as to these two necessary inquiries, our
Saviour is so far from avoiding them, that he has expressly and
clearly determined them. As to the first, he has told us that
salvation belongs to all men, of every country and nation ; and
that the kingdom of heaven is open to receive those who come
from the east and west, from the north and south. As to the
second, he declares that all the workers of iniquity will be
excluded from the presence of God ; and therefore exhorts us
to ' strive to enter in at the strait gate :' and, to quicken our
diligence, and to raise in us a concern equal to the interest we
have at stake, he informs us farther, ' that many who will seek
to enter, shall not be able,' Being thus far instructed, what
farther demand have you on your teachers ? Would you know
before-hand what your lot will be ? and whether you shall be
in the number of those who shall seek and find, or among those
who would enter in, but shall not be able ? What has a teacher
of religion to do in this matter? Is it ever expected of a law-
giver, that he should tell who will obey and be happy, and
who will transgress the law and be punished ? Nay, what has
a learner in religion to do with this point ? Do you want to be
made either careless or desperate ? Is either state a desirable
one to a man disposed to be seriously religious ? But you may
think perhaps that it would have another eliect on you ; that it
will give great ease and satisfaction to your mind to be secure
as to your future condition, and enable you with great cheer-
fulness to bear all the hardships and discouragements to which
virtue stands exposed. I am indeed persuaded that this effect
would often follow ; that many righteous would be resolutely
righteous, and act with views above this world, and as citizens
of another country, on certain assurance given them of future
glory. But consider, the terms on which we are to be happy
in another world must be such as are consistent with our state
and condition in this. It is impossible to imagine it to be rea-
sonable for God to place us in this world, and then to give such
hopes of another, as should render us unfit to support the
several characters imposed on us here. And it is much to be
doubted whether the best men would not be rendered useless to
this world by such security given for their own future happiness

332 SHERLOCK.

as some seem to desire. They would probably be lost in the
prospect of their own future happiness, and grow stupid to the
world, and act as if they did, in the literal sense, hate father
and mother, brother and sister : whereas now the sense of reli-
gion under which they live, the necessity they know themselves
to be under to work out their own salvation, obliges them to
discharge all the offices and duties of life regularly and honor-
ably ; since there is no way of securing our happiness in another
world, but by doing all the good we can in this.

And if this sort of knowlege would probably render good
men useless to the world, it would certainly render bad men
exceedingly pernicious to it. Despair is the height of mad-
ness ; and were all bad men to be made mad and outrageous,
it would perhaps be hard to tind keepers to guard them, and to
protect the rest of mankind from their fury. To live amongst
men who knew themselves destined to eternal misery, what
else would it be but living among the damned, and being ex-
posed to all their malice and revenge, made ten times more
malicious and revengeful by their despair?

But if it can serve no good purpose to communicate to us
this knowlege with respect to ourselves and our own future
state and condition, what purpose can it possibly serve to give
us this knowlege with respect to others and their future con-
dition ? What is it to us to know the exact proportion between
the good and bad, or to know how many or how few shall
finally miscarry? Would this knowlege alter our own condition
in any respect ? Would it affect the terms of our obedience,
or make it easier for us to work out our own salvation ? If
not, to what purpose is it desired ? unless perhaps you secretly
imagine that God means not to execute his threatenings against
sinners, but will save all at the last ; and you want to be let
into this secret that you may sin without fear. If this be
indeed your case, do you not see that your curiosity is irreli-
gious, and springs from a corrupted heart, which wants to be
freed from the fear of hell, only to enjoy the pleasure of sin?
And can you still wonder why God does not gratify such a
curiosity as this, and reveal the secret mysteries of his provi-
dence, to encourage you in vice and immorality? It wants but

DISCOURSE xlx. 83:1

little reflexion in this case to see that the reason why this
knowlege is desired, is a very good reason why it should not be
granted.

In general it is very absurd to expect that judgment should
go before trial; and therefore, as this life is a state of trial,
and is naturally to be followed by a day of judgment, it is
unnatural to declare the final state of men before their trial is
over ; and with respect to any judgment but the judgment of
God, it is impossible ; for no other just judge can tell what his
sentence will be before the trial is over.

The scope which men give to their imaginations on this
subject, when they leave their only sure guide, the word of
God, is always dangerous, and oftentimes fatal to them. If
you are contented to take God's word for the method he in-
tends to pursue in the judging of the world, you will soon see
that, in order to be happy, you must be good. If you want
restraint, the threatenings of God are terrible : if you want
comfort, the promises of the gospel are the only proper cordial
for penitent sinners. Thus you will find yourself equally
guarded against presumption and despair, so long as you follow
the light of God's word. But if you indulge your own con-
ceit, and imagine that God will be either better or worse to
you than he has declared, you expose yourself to manifest
peril. If in the gaiety of your heart you imagine God means
little by his threatenings, and made use of them only to deter
men from vice, without ever intending a rigorous execution, it
is very probable that you will take advantage of your own
discovery, and abate as much in your own goodness as you do
in God's severity. If you are of a colder constitution, and
more inclined to melancholic thoughts, your imagination will
show you God clothed only with terrors : and your heart,
oppressed with fear, will sink, and leave you no courage to go
on with the duties of religion, from which your fears will suft'er
you to have no hope or expectation.

If you extend your thoughts farther, and lay schemes for the
general judgment of the world, it is well if this unnecessary
concern for others does not prove prejudicial to yourself. If
you confine the mercies of God to yourself and your own sect
only, it is an opinion which not only ascribes great partiality to
God, but it tends to introduce cruelty and inhumanity into the

334 SHERLOCK.

temper of every man so persuaded. We easily come to think
it a virtue to hate those whom God hates ; and tlien the con-
sequence is, that there must be a stop to all intercourse of good
offices veith all men, the few only excepted who think as we
think. And thus, by passing a rash judgment in a dark mys-
terious point, and which of all others does least concern us, we
shall extinguish the noblest grace of the gospel, the plainest
duty of a Christian, and which of all others does most affect the
peace and happiness of mankind.

If, in honor to the mercy of God, you open the doors of
heaven to men of all professions in the world, who live well
according to the measure of light bestowed on them ; though
your opinion has in it much more humanity and more common
sense than that before-mentioned, yet, by thus dealing to all
indifferently graces and mercies which are not in your disposal,
it is well if you do not hazard your own share. It is this opi-
nion, if I am not deceived, that leads many into contempt of
the gospel of Christ Jesus ; for when they think all religions
equally good, and all men equally secure who follow their
religion, be it what it will, they raise unawares a question which
they cannot answer, namely, to what purpose was the gospel
given ? For if all men are equally secure under all religions,
what can be the advantage of one religion above another ?
When men are led into this inextricable maze, by setting up
themselves forjudges of the world, they know not where to fix :
they lose all regard to the best and purest religion, by doing
such professed and undeserved honor to the worst.

You see then how useless, how dangerous a thing it is, to go
out of our way to meddle with things so far above us. If you
would resolve to take care of one, that resolution would
furnish you with sufficient employment : for be your advan-
tages ever so great, yet all who have your advantages will not
be saved ; for of those who seek to enter, many will not be
able; and many, of whom you little think, may perhaps go
before you ; for God has those whom he will own, in the east
and the west, and the north and the south. Leave him to find
out those whom he will honor, and look you to the point
which is indeed your true, your only concern, the salvation of
your own soul, and ' strive to enter in at the strait gate.'

DISCOURSE XX. 335

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XX.

LUKE, CHAP. XII. — VERSE 48.

The equity of the general rule iu the text is so apparent as
to need no explanation : the single mite of a poor widow is an
offering tit for God, which from a rich man would hardly be
decent charity to a poor widow : and this is the case wherever
the rule is applicable. Yet we are very apt to mistake this
general maxim in its application to particular cases; for then
self-love and self-interest overlook the true proportion of those
things from which its equity arises: this proved by the mutual
claims of men on each other, who always overrate the abili-
ties of others, or undervalue their own, as suits their purpose :
hence we seldom please our superiors, or satisfy our inferiors.
As this rule has place in all the offices of life, it ought especially
to influence the distribution of rewards and punishments ; but
the weakness and the wickedness of men have almost wholly
excluded it from human courts of judicature : this point enlarged
on. Could we but introduce a judge endowed with a perfect
knowlege of men's hearts, the text would be the rule of court :
and since there is such a judge and such a court, we must at-
tend to the application of it to ourselves, since mistakes will
finally be fatal ; and there is so much the more reason for our
care, as we are apt to make such unreasonable allowances for
ourselves. We often see men, who have no hopes of being jus-
tified by the terms of the gospel, take shelter in the general de-
claration of the text, and imagine they see an equity in their
case, which shall stand between them and the rigor of the gos-
pel law : perceiving plainly a connexion between crime and

330 SUMxMARY OF

punishment, and being conscious of crimes, they have no way
to ward oft' punishment: but when they think on the text,
they immediately infer that to whomsoever little is given, of
him little shall be required; hence they conclude that all their
errors and mistakes are well secured, &c. This is one step
towards justification ; but this is overruled by conscience : they
then urge that the power of executing what is commanded is
necessary to make men accountable ; they recollect all their
temptations and excitements; and being partial judges, con-
clude it was not possible for them to do otherwise than they
did ; and thus secured, they fancy themselves fit to appear before
Christ, and there to plead his own rule of equity against the
precepts of the gospel. Allow this plea, and it will justify all
men ; though it must reflect dishonor on their Maker, who has
by reason and revelation declared a judgment to come. Few
men are so bad as to choose wickedness for its own sake ; error
or passion is pleaded in all cases. The Canaaniteswere greatly
in error, and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah had vio-
lent passions; yet the fire of heaven spared not these, nor the
sword of Joshua those. Did they then sin, or was the judge
unjust? But if men's passions are so strong that reason is of
no use but to contrive means for their gratification, God cannot
be justified in giving to such creatures any notion of a judgment
to come ; and how irreconcileable it is with his goodness, to arm
the little reason we have against us, so that it shall always place
fears before us, which yet can have no relation to us. To clear
this matter, we must consider two things : I. to what instances
this rule of the text is extended by our Saviour and his Apostles :
Tl. how far we may extend and apply it by parity of reason
to other cases. To bring this inquiry within proper bounds, we
mustobserve, in the first place, that the rule of the text is never
applied in Scripture to excuse immoral actions on account of
tiie violence of temptation ; since even to indulge the passion is
imputed as sin : he that hotel h his brother, says the Apostle,

DISCOURSE XX. 337

is a murderer: this topic enlarged on. St. James also (i.
13 — 15.) describes all sin as the effect of inordinate passion,
which is not only no excuse, but is said to bring forth death.
Scripture has recorded the immoral actions of many persons,
but lust and passions were no excuse for them : this exemplified
in the case of Ahab, who slew Naboth, and of David, who slew
Uriah. In the verses before the text our Saviour puts the case
of those who received much, and those who received less : of the
latter he says, thei/ shall be beaten for doing things worthy of
stripes ; whence it appears that the strength of passion gives to
rational beings no hope of being saved. Now the comparison
in Scripture lies between those who enjoy the light of the gospel,
who are said in the text to have received much, and those who
are directed only by the light of reason ; and these are they who
have received little. Now the verses before the text, together with
the text itself, state exactly the condition of these two sorts of
people ; from which we learn that to know the will of the Lord
consists in having the light of God's word to direct us : for they
who kneio not the will of their Lord, are yet supposed to do
things tvorthy of stripes ; which supposes them possessed of the
light of reason, and the knowlege of good and evil. Secondly :
sinners, under all circumstances, are condemned to punishment ;
both they who know their Lord's will, but do not according to it,
and they who do things ii'orthy of stripes, i. e. who not knowing
his will, act contrary to the light which they possess: this ex-
actly agrees with what St. Paul has declared in Rom. ii, 12.
All however will be judged and punished in proportion to their
knowlege ; which general determination agrees with a more
particular one in Luke x. 13. 14. Explanation of these verses,
showing the opinion of the Jews and of Christ himself on them.
If we consider the world as divided into two parts, the one
living under the light and direction of God's word, the other
guided by mere reason and nature, we may learn from the
maxim of the text — I. that no man shall be judged by a law of

SHERL. VOL. I. p

338 SUMMARY OF

which he had no knowlege ; it beiug true of every moral action,
what St. Paul affirms of alms-giving ; it shall be accepted ac-
cording to that a man hath, and not according to what he hath
not : — II. that immoral actions admit of no excuse, but will
subject every man to the judgment of God; morality not being
founded primarily on the authority of revelation , but of reason,
for the use of which every one must answer : to plead therefore
passion or temptation as an excuse for acting against reason,
is the same as to plead our iniquity as an excuse against punish-
ment ; therefore, says St. James, to him that knoweth to do
good, and doth it not, to him it is sin. It may be said that
custom and education have rendered the notions of morality
difterent, so that the things which appear worthy of stripes to
some, seem to others to contain nothing criminal in them. Bt
it so : yet this avails nothing in the present argument : where
there is no consciousness of sin, there is no room to look for
excuses ; and whatever allowance may be made for those who
sin without knowlege, it is certain that all who contrive excuses
can take no advantage of this : for the very excuse itself shows
tlie consciousness of sin : it is a foolish thing to deceive our-
selves into an opinion that we require not pardon : repentance
may cause forgiveness of sins, but no wit of man can ever justify
them. — III. It appears that all who know the will of God,
and live under the light of the gospel, shall be judged thereby.
Men act sometimes as if they might choose what law they would
be judged by ; for as soon as they profess natural religion, they
seem satisfied that they shall be judged by their own notions;
but if the gospel of Christ be, as it is indeed, the will of God,
it will not be so easily dismissed : we may neglect the advice of
a friend, but the law of our superior must be obeyed. True, you
may perhaps say ; but this is the very thing we cannot admit,
viz. that it is the law of our superior. Beware, from the dread-
ful examples of Chorazin and Bethsaida, of Tyre and Sidon,
that your persuasion be not your crime. Here then is your case ;

DISCOURSE XX. :j;j;)

you have the gospel of Christ before you ; it claims your obedi-
ence on the most extraordinary credentials ; it cannot therefore be
an indifferent matter whether you receive or reject this law ; and
you therefore come under the rule of the text. The gospel is a
call to repentance from dead works, a summons to turn to the
living God in works of righteousness and holiness : this the fore-
warning of John the Baptist ; this the doctrine of our Lord
and his Apostles. If then the great promises of Christ belong
only to penitents, who in newness of heart turn to God, how
sadly do men impose on themselves, who trust to be saved
by God's mercy, without doing his work, and continue in sin
that grace may abound : this subject enlarged on to the
end.

340 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XX.

LUKE, CHAP. XII. — VERSE 48.

Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required:
and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask
the more.

The equity of this general rule is so apparent to common
sense, that it admits of no dispute, and calls for no explanation.
A single mite offered by a poor widovi^ is a present fit for the
King of heaven, which from the hand of a rich man would
hardly be a decent charity to a poor widow. And thus the
case is in all instances to which the rule is applicable.

But plain as this general maxim is, yet we are very apt to
mistake in the application of it to particular cases : for then
self-love and self-interest will not permit us to discern that true
proportion of one thing to another, from which the equity of the
rule arises. If we have any claim to make in our own behalf,
we think nothing too much, and are apt to overrate the ability
of the person on whom we have the demand, and to expect
from him much more than he in reason ought to grant : if any
claim be on us, we are ready enough to excuse ourselves, to
dissemble, or to undervalue our power, and consequently to do
less than may in reason and justice be required from us.
Hence it is that we are rarely pleased with those who are
above us, and seldom able to satisfy those who are below us.

As this rule has place in the intercourse of all the offices of
life, so ought it especially to influence the distribution of re-
wards and punishments : but the weakness and wickedness of
men have almost totally excluded it from human judicatures.
Por as it is in every body'.s power to pretend ignorance of the
law, or some other inability, in excuse for the crimes for which

DISCOURSE XX. 341

they are to answer ; were the plea as easily admitted as it is
pleaded, it would open a door to all kind of licentiousness, and
take off the fear of punishment, which is so necessary a re-
straint upon the depraved inclinations of men : and since the
wisest and ablest judges cannot discern, some few cases perhaps
excepted, between real and affected ignorance ; or so distin-
guish the powers and abilities of one man from another, as to
proportion rewards and punishments according to this rule ;
therefore the law puts all, except those who are manifestly de-
ficient in reason, upon the same level, and supposes every man
to know the law of his country ; and consequently, where a
malicious act is proved, a malicious intention is implied, and
the criminal is sentenced accordingly.

But how justifiable soever this proceeding is, on the necessity
there is for it in order to maintain some tolerable degree of peace
and quiet in the world ; yet it is evident that these general pre-
sumptions, on which all human judicatures proceed, do not
leave room for an exact distribution of justice; but it often
happens that men are made equal in the punishment, whose
crimes, could all circumstances be considered, were not equal.

But could you introduce a judge endowed with the perfect
knowlege of men's hearts, there would be an end of all such
general presumptions : he would do in every case what was
exactly right and equitable ; and the only standing rule of the
court, would be that of the text, ' Unto whomsoever much is
given, of him shall be much required.'

One such court there is in which he who knows the secrets
of every heart will sit judge himself; before whose tribunal
there will want no evidence to convict the guilty, no advocates
to defend the innocent : there no pretended excuse will be ad-
mitted, no real one excluded : there every man with all his
actions, with all his talents and abilities, and all his opportu-
nities of knowing the will of God, will be weighed in the ba-
lance ; and ' unto whom much was given, of him shall much be
required.'

Since then we are to be judged, and finally sentenced, by
this rule, it concerns us to be careful in the application of it to
ourselves ; for if we mistake, we shall gain only a deceitful
security, and which at the last will prove fatal : and there is

342 SHERLOCK.

the more reason for this care, considering how apt men are to
make imreasonable allowances to themselves, where their own
interest is concerned.

It is no uncommon thing for men who have no hopes of
being justified by the terms of the gospel, to take shelter in
this general declaration, and to imagine that they see an equity
in their own case, which shall stand between them and the
rigorous execution of the gospel law. When they read in the
New Testament, that all whoremongers and adulterers, all
drunkards and riotous persons, all extortioners and fraudulent
dealers, in a word, all who in any manner injure their neigh-
bours and fellow-creatures, shall without doubt perish everlast-
ingly ; they plainly perceive that the crimes and the punish-
ment are so inseparably annexed, that, being conscious of the
crimes, they have no way to ward off the punishment. But
when they read that ' unto whomsoever much is given, of him
shall much be required,' and infer from thence that unto whom-
soever little is given, of him shall little be required ; they im-
mediately conclude that all their errors and mistakes, of what
kind soever, are well secured : for whoever is in error, be it
through want of understanding, or of the external means of
knowlege, or be it through passion and prejudices, does, so long
as the error continues, want the light, and is so far to be consi-
dered as one to whom little is given. This is one step towards
their justification ; but still conscience remains, and proves that
they had the light in many instances in which they have been
offenders. But then they consider that, to render a man ac-
countable for his actions, it is not enough that he knows the
terms of his duty, he must also have power to put them in exe-
cution : for no man ought to be punished for not acting, who
never had it in his power to act, or for doing what was not in
his power to avoid doing. Being thus far advanced, they recol-
lect all the temptations and incitements they met with, and how
strongly their passions were moved to the commission of those
iniquities of which their conscience accuses them ; and being
judges disposed to favor the criminal, they conclude it was not
in their power to do otherwise than they did ; and since so little
was given them, they shall be answerable but for little : and
thus secured, they imagine they may safely appear before the

DISCOURSE XX. 343

judgment-seat of Christ, and plead to him his own rule of equity
against all the peremptory laws of his gospel.

Allow this plea, and it will indeed justify all men, and leave
no room for judgment; but it must reflect great dishonor and
reproach on him who made them, and has declared to them a
judgment to come, as well by the reason which he has given
them, as by the revelation which he has published.

Few men are so essentially wicked as to choose wickedness
for its own sake ; either error or passion is pleaded in all cases.
The Canaanites who worshipped the work of men's hands, were
greatly in error ; and the wicked inhabitants of Sodom and
Gomorrah had strong unnatural passions : but these by fire
from heaven, and those by the sword of Joshua, were rooted
out. Which part now would you take ? Were they sinners,
or was the Judge of all the world unjust?

If men are really of such a make, that their passions are too
strong for their reason, and reason of no use but to contrive
means for the satisfaction of the passions and appetites ; it is
impossible to justify God in giving such creatures any notion of
a judgment to come : for to what purpose does it serve but to
plague and torment them unnecessarily ? And how is it recon-
cileable with the goodness of God, to plant such seeds of mi-
sery in our very nature ? to arm the little reason we have
against us, which is perpetually placing fears and terrors before
us, which yet have, can have, no relation to us ?

In order to clear this matter, there are two things proper to
he considered :

First, to what instances this rule of the text is extended by
our blessed Saviour and his Apostles.

Secondly, how far we may extend and apply this rule by
parity of reason to other cases.

That we may bring this inquiry within proper bounds, it is
lit to observe, in the tirst place, that the rule of the text is never
applied in Scripture to extenuate or excuse immoral actions
on account of the violence of the temptation from whence
they proceed. So far from it, that even indulging the passion
is imputed as sin, though the immoral wicked action does not
ensue : ' He that hateth his brother,' says an Apostle, is a
murderer ; and ' he that looketh on a woman to lust after

344 SHERLOCK,

her,' says our blessed Saviour, • hath already committed adul-
tery with her in his heart.' If the case be so, if hatred has in
it the guilt of murder, and lust has the guilt of adultery ; how
shall murder be excused because it proceeds from violent hatred,
or adultery because it proceeds from violent lust ? St, James
has plainly condemned the profaneness of justifying our iniqui-
ties by accusing our constitutions, and consequently by accusing
him who made us : ' Let no man say when he is tempted I am
tempted of God : for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither
tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted, when he
is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust
hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin : and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death :' James i. 13, 14, 15. All sin
is here described to be the effect of violent and inordinate lust
and passion : but this is so far from being considered as an
excuse for sin, that it immediately follows that sin so produced
' bringeth forth death.' The Scripture has recorded to us the
immoral actions of many persons ; but is there any instance
where such immoralities are pitied or excused, because of the
lust and passions from whence they proceeded ? Nay, however
apt men are to make such excuses for themselves, they are not
apt to make them for others. When you read that Ahab slew
Naboth, are you not apt to say, poor man, how could he help
it, for he longed extremely for his vineyard ? When you read
that David slew Uriah and corrupted his wife, do you excuse
his iniquity because his passion was strong ? If you do, it is
more than he did for himself; for when he came to himself he
cried, ' I have sinned against the Lord :' which one sorrowful
confession of his iniquity was worth a thousand of the excuses
which men usually make in like cases. In the verses before
the text, our Saviour puts the case of those who have received
much and of those who have received less : of those who re-
ceived least he says, ' They shall be beaten' for doing things
* worthy of stripes :' by which it appears that all who have
sense to distinguish between good and evil are subject to
judgment: and no hope is given them of being saved by the
strength of their passion, when they act against the light of their
reason.

But there will be occasion to consider this particular again,

DISCOURSE XX. 345

in stating the case or cases to which the rule of the text is ap-
plied in Scripture.

Now the rule, as applied in Scripture, does chiefly concern
those who enjoy the light of God's word, and have the advan-
tages of the gospel to enable them to work out their salvation ;
these are they who are said in the text ' to have received much :'
and the comparison lies between them and the rest of the
world, who have the light of reason only to direct them ; and
these last mentioned, compared with the others, are they < who
have received little.'

The case of these two sorts of people is very accurately stated
in the verses before the text, which must therefore be consi-
dered : ' That servant,' says our blessed Saviour, ' which knew
his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according
to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that
knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be
beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given,
of him shall much be required.'

The case, you see, is put with respect to sinners under the dif-
ferent circumstances of knowing, and not knowing, the will of
their Lord. What we are to understand by the ' will of their
Lord ' will appear, if we consider that they who ' knew not '
the will of their Lord, are yet supposed here to ' do things wor-
thy of stripes;' which supposes them to have the light of reason,
and a knowlege of the difference between good and evil : for no
man can in a moral sense be said to do things worthy of stripes,
unless he has reason to distinguish between the things which are,
and which are not, worthy of stripes. Since therefore they
who have this light of reason are yet supposed ' not to know
their Lord's will,' it is evident that * to know the will of our
Lord ' implies something more than having the light of reason
to direct us ; and consequently must mean our having the light
of God's word for our direction.

Secondly, you see that sinners under all circumstances are
condemned to punishment. They who knew their Lord's will
are condemned for not doing * according to his will ;' they who
knew not his will are not condemned for not doing according to
the rule of which they had no knowlege, but they are sentenced
for committing things ' worthy of stripes,' that is, such things as

346 SHERLOCK,

they, according to the light they had, knew to be sinful. And
this agrees exactly with what St. Paul to the Romans has de-
clared : ' As many as have sinned without law, shall also perish
without law : and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be
judged by the law.'

But then, as the knowlege of God's will is a great advantage-
to those who know it, so will their punishment be in proportion
greater, if they offend against this knowlege : they therefore
* shall be beaten with many stripes.' Others, though their ini-
quities and offences against the light of reason which God gave
them shall not go unpunished ; yet shall their punishment be
mitigated in respect to what others must endure, and ' they shall
be beaten but with few stripes,'

This general determination agrees with a more particular one
to be found in the chapter before the text : ' Wo unto thee,
Chorazin ! wo unto thee, Bethsaida ! for if the mighty works
had been done in Tyre and Sidon which have been done in you,
they had a great while ago repented in sackcloth and ashes. But
it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment
than for you :' Luke x. 13, 14.

Tyre and Sidon were cities distinguished in the Jewish pro-
pliets for their great abominations and iniquities ; and the Jews,
it is likely, thought that it would fare worse with none at the
day of judgment than with those cities. But our Saviour tells
them it should fare worse with the cities which had seen his
mighty wonders, and yet refused to repent at his call. Which
judgment of his was far from justifying or excusing the iniqui-
ties of Tyre and Sidon, or giving any promise of impunity to
their sins: it supposes them to be reserved to great judgments,
and threatens still severer punishment to those who under
greater advantages were equal sinners.

Consider now the world as divided into two parts ; one
whereof has had the oracles of God committed to them, and
enjoyed the light and direction of his word ; and the other has
been left to the guidance of mere reason and nature, and that
knowlege of good and evil to which no rational creature can be
an utter stranger ; and you may, from the maxim of the text,
learn these general truths with respect to each sort and condi-
tion of men :

DISCOURSE XX.

a47

First, that no man shall be judged by a law of which he had
no knowlege, but every man shall stand or fall by the light that
was given him ; it being true of every moral action, what St.
Paul has aflSrmed of alms-giving, ' It shall be accepted accord-
ing to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath
not.'

Secondly, that immoral actions admit of no excuse, but will
subject every man to the judgment of God. For morality not
being founded primarily on the authority of revelation, but on
that reason which is a common gift to mankind, every man must
answer for the use of his own reason : and where reason shows
him the difference of good and evil, if he chooses the evil he is
without excuse. There is no justification, no excuse, to be
offered for sin in this case : it is in vain to plead passion or
temptation, for reason was given for this very purpose to govern
passion : and the submitting to passion and temptation against
the light of reason, is the very depravity and corruption of heart
that calls for vengeance ; and therefore to plead passion as an
excuse for acting against your reason, is to plead your own ini-
•jiiity as a reason why you should not be punished. The rule
laid down by St. James is decisive in this point, ' To him that
knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin.'

It may be said perhaps, that the notions of morality differ in
different places ; and that, through the power and force of
custom and education, the things which appear to some to be
worthy of stripes, appear to others in another light, and to have
nothing criminal in them. Be it so : for I mean not to contest
this piece of history at present. But yet, I say, this avails not
in the present argument, nor affords any advantage to them who
seek to excuse iniquity by pleading passion and infirmity.
AVhere there is no consciousness of sin, there is no room to look
out for excuses : and therefore whatever allowance may be
made to those who, in such unhappy circumstances, sin without
knowlege : yet certain it is, that all who contrive excuses for
themselves can have no advantage of this circumstance ; for the
very making an excuse shows the consciousness of sin, and is a
conviction that you have in your own opinion committed things
worthy of stripes. How foolish a thing then is it to lose the

348 SHERLOCK.

prospect of pardon, by deceiving yourself into an opinion that
you do not want one ! Such sins may be forgiven through
repentance, but no art, no wit of man, will ever justify him.

Thirdly, it appears from this determination made by our
blessed Saviour, that all who know the will of God, and live
under the light of his gospel, shall, whether they like it or
whether they like it not, be finally judged according to the
gospel. The rule is peremptory ; ' All who know the will of
their Lord, and prepare not themselves, nor do according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes.' Men act sometimes
as if they thought it were in their own power to choose what
law they would be judged by. As soon as they profess natu-
ral religion, they look on themselves to have no farther concern
with the gospel, but seem satisfied that they shall be judged by
their own notions. But if the gospel of Christ be indeed, as
indeed it is, the will of God, it will not be so easily parted with.
It is the law of our great Master, and obey it we must. The
advice of a friend we may use or refuse, as we think fit ; but
the laws of our superiors must be obeyed. True, you will say,
supposing it to be the law of our superior ; but that is the very
thing which you cannot admit. Look well to it, that this per-
suasion be not your crime : the people of Chorazin and Beth-
saida did not believe in Christ Jesus ; yet the evidence placed
before their eyes was such, that their disbelief was the very
circumstance which rendered their case more deplorable than
that of Tyre and Sidon. The people of Jerusalem were also
unbelievers; yet such was their unbelief, that at last the things
which made for their peace were hid from their eyes. Here then
is your case : you have the gospel of Christ Jesus before you ;
it claims your obedience on no slight credentials; it was intro-
duced by greater works than ever man did ; it was sealed with
the blood of its great Author, and has been handed down to you
by those who sacrificed all that was dear to them in the world
in confirmation of its truth. Think not then that it can be an
indifterent matter whether you receive or reject this law ; or
that it matters not by what light you walk, since you expect so
much equity from God that he will judge you according to the
light you have : for if the gospel be the law of God offered to

DISCOURSE XX. 349

you, as it certainly is, and you are in the number of those * unto
whom much was given ; of you therefore shall much be re-
quired.'

The mercy of God offered to you in the gospel through Christ
Jesus is a call to repentance from dead works : it is a summons
to you to turn to the living God in works of righteousness and
holiness. When John the Baptist gave notice of the near ap-
proach of our blessed Lord, the sum of his doctrine was, ' Re-
pent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Our Saviour and
his disciples introduce the gospel with the same warning ; and
St. Paul teaches that God, who winked at the times of igno-
rance, now, under the gospel, ' calleth all men every where to
repentance ; and hath appointed a day in which he will judge
the world in righteousness.' If then the great promises made
through Christ Jesus belong only to penitents, who forsake sin
and turn to God in newness of heart, how sadly do men impose
on themselves who trust to be saved by God's mercy, without
doing the work of God, and continue in sin in hopes that grace
may abound ! Little do they consider that those false pre-
sumptuous hopes will prove in the end great and real aggrava-
tions of their iniquity. To sin in hopes of mercy, is abusing the
mercy of God. and making the goodness of our heavenly Fa-
ther a reason for disobeying him. To plead the death or merits
of Christ in excuse or in justification of iniquity, will so little
avail, that it will amount to a condemnation out of our own
mouths. ' Christ died to destroy the works of the devil, to re-
deem us from sin, to sanctify an elect people to God ;' every
Christian knows this, or may know it, if he looks into his Bible.
Consider now what the plea in excuse for sin amounts to : in the
mouth of a Christian it must come to this; I know that Christ
died to destroy sin, but I will keep ray sins and trust in his
death : I know that the promises of God are made to those
only who forsake their evil deeds ; but I will depend on his
promises for the pardon of ray evil deeds, though I forsake them
not. These are the persons, who, by abusing Christ and his
redemption, do put him to open shame in the world, and, in the
language of the Apostle, ' do crucify to themselves afresh the
Son of God.' Happy had it been for such men had they been
born in the darkest corners of the earth, to which the glad

350 SHERLOCK.

tidings o£ the gospel never came : then they might have pleaded
ignorance, and weakness, and want of the knowlege of God's
will ; but now they live, and act, and reason like heathens in
tlie noon-day light of the gospel. And what can be the conse-
(luence of such a life, and such a knowlege, but this only, ' that
they shall be beaten with many stripes ?'

As to ourselves, we have great reason to bless God daily,
that by his good providence we have been born and educated
in a Christian country ; that we have been admitted into the
church of his blessed Son, and have had betimes the means of
knowlege and of grace communicated to us : but let us take
heed that we do not turn these blessings into curses on our-
selves by our abusing them. These are great talents which our
blessed Lord has entrusted us with if we use them as we ought :
if we improve them to the glory of God, and the good of them
about us, happy will it be for us, and we shall one day hear
that blessed sentence, ' Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord.'
But if we neglect these great opportunities of salvation which
God now affords, they will one day rise up in judgment against
us, and condemn us. And it shall be more tolerable for Sodom
and Gomorrah in that day, than for wicked Christians who
were redeemed by the cross of Christ, but who accounted the
blood of the covenant a vain thing ; who were sanctified by
the Holy Ghost, but did despite to. the Spirit of God ; who
were bought with a price to be the servants of God, but who
sold themselves for slaves to iniquity.

Lay hold therefore, ray brethren, of the mercy of God, while
the day of mercy lasts ; for if you neglect or despise the good-
ness of God, which calleth us to repentance, this will be your
condemnation, that ' light is come into the world, and you
chose darkness rather than liaht.'

DISCOURSE XXI. 351

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XXI.

LUKE, CHAP. IV. — VERSES 1, 2.

Should we be asked (as the Apostles asked our Saviour
the meaning of his washing their feet, which is related by St.
John, xiii. 12 — 17.) the reason of what is related in this text,
our answer is, he hath given us an example that we should do
as he hath done. Even with good men who complain of the
dangers which beset them, and that their prayers bring no
blessing with theni, we might expostulate, in the name and
words of our Saviour, if I your Lord and Master have been
tempted in all things like unto you, whence come your com-
plaints ? To profit by these things which are written for our
instruction, we should keep from nice questions; we should not
pry into the secret methods of God's providence, since the
gospel contains sufficient inducement for us to admire his wis-
dom and goodness. In the case before us we want not matter
of this kind : for the flattering hopes by which the tempter
allured our first parents to disobedience, that they should be as
gods, have been realised by means of our Saviour : this topic
fully explained : here then we behold the wisdom and the
goodness of God : by man came death, by man came also the
pleiiteousness of redemption. Thus with respect to God, this
temptation aft'ords an ample subject of praise and glory ; with
respect to ourselves, it instructs us regarding our spiritual war-
fare, and supports us under it. All the tempter's art without
doubt was displayed against our Saviour : hence we may learn
the dangers through which we must pass in our way to happi-
ness, and secure ourselves against the surprises which are so

352 SUMMARY OF

often fatal to heedless unguarded innocence : here also we may
learn from the best example how to make the best defence.

The lessons of Christian prudence and fortitude which are to
be learned from our Saviour's conduct under the different trials
being omitted, the circumstances of the temptation are consi-
dered, as recorded in the text, which relates that, immediately
after his baptism, he was led to be tempted, being full of the Holy
Ghost. We see the power of baptism and its blessings, to which
all are entitled who partake of the baptism of Christ ; for he was
neither born nor baptised for his own sake, but that we might
become, through faith, heirs together with him of the promises of
God. The spiritual advantages of baptism enumerated, afford-
ing us great privileges and room for vast expectations : yet
how unsuitable to these claims do the circumstances of a
Christian's life often appear ! This point enlarged on in the
matter of a Christian's pilgrimage through life ; who, though he
boasts of more than human strength, yet sometimes sinks even
below the character and dignity of a man. Thus the promises
of God become of none effect ; baptism sinks into a mere out-
ward ceremony, which can no longer reach to the purifying
the heart and mind ; and hence the enemies of the gospel take
occasion to blaspheme and ridicule the grace of God, as being
nothing real. On the other side, it is certain that these preju-
dices have arisen from the mistaken notions of men concerning
the grace of God : for having promised to themselves more
than ever God promised, and finding grace to be not what
they hoped it was, they rashly conclude that it is nothing; and
argue against the truth of God's promises, from the vanity and
delusion of their own. The absurdity of expecting the grace of
God to ward off temptations without our own care, shown
from human warfare. The Christian is called to the proof and
exercise of his virtue, armed with the graces of the spirit, given
him purposely by God ; which, had there been no enemy to
fear, he had not needed ; having enough of his own to sit still

DISCOURSE XXI. 353

an J do nothing : but assistance is given us according to our
dangers, and to whom much is given, of him shall much be re-
quired. From these premises two deductions are made : I.
that the temptations which good men have to struggle with,
are no proof that they want the Spirit of God, or that his favor
and kindness is in any degree lessened towards them : II.
that the sins which Christians fall into and continue in, are
no proof that they had not the Spirit, and grace sufficient to
have preserved their innocence. These two cases considered :
the dread of the first is that bitter root whence the misery of
good men mostly springs, who are apt to imagine that, had they
the Spirit of God, the wicked one would not dare to approach
them ; or if he did, that they should soon be able to quench his
fiery darts: but when the temptation, though often repulsed,
still renews its assault with redoubled force, then, through their
own fear that they are deserted by the Spirit of God and given
up to destruction, they lose the power of vigorous opposition,
and become an easy prey to the invader : our first care then
must be, rightly to apprehend our own condition, and the dan-
gers or difficulties we are to meet with, that we may be able to
stand, collected both in courage and counsel, for a just defence,
like the Author of our Salvation : hence we may learn that our
temptations, so far from being a proof that we want the Spirit of
God, are rather a proof to the contrary, and that he will not
suffer us to be tempted above what we are able to bear : our
Saviour was not tempted till he had received the Spirit. The
circumstances of the temptation fully drawn out. Having read
these, shall we complain that every day brings its trial, and
every night its temptation ? shall we fear that God has given
us up to anguish and despair in this world, and to inevitable
ruin in the next? Ought not each of us, remembering that
Christ has led the way, say with the Holy Psalmist, if is mine
own infirmity ? There is more reason to suspect ourselves, and
to fear concerning the love of God, when all things are calm

354 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XXI.

and serene about us, when our body is free from pain, and our
mind from care ; then should we fear the enemy, when he
thinks himself secure of us by leaving us alone in prosperity,
the greatest of his temptations : hence the necessity to us who
are prosperous, constantly exercising ourselves in the virtues
proper to our station ; if we see others led to virtue through
hardships and poverty, we can only attain to this through cha-
rity and humility : if God has called others to defend their
virtue against the assaults of vice, we, who enjoy a free and
unmolested virtue, must take care that pi'osperity be not our
ruin : if others are obliged constantly to be on their guard, and
have work enough to secure an unblemished innocence, we who
are in the securest recesses of our Lord's vineyard, having no dan-
gers to molest our peace, must zealously labor to till and im-
prove the soil, that we may give a good account of the talent
committed to us. Secondly, from our Lord's temptation it ap-
pears that trials and temptations may be great and severe,
where the gifts of the Spirit are administered in the largest
proportion ; and since those who are tempted may fall, (for
otherwise temptations would be no trials,) it appears that
grace may be sufficient; yet men may fall through the want of
care and diligence on their own part. Our natural infirmities
therefore, and a want of God's grace, is a false comfort and no
excuse ; for God suffers none to be tempted beyond what they
are able to bear. The instruction to be learnt from these things,
if we are so unhappy as to offend, is not to try to palliate our
offences, or to charge God foolishly, but to labor, through a
timely repentance, to correct what is done amiss, and thus re-
turn to our duty : God causes us to be tempted as a proof and
trial of our virtue ; and if we offend, the only remedy is re-
pentance through faith in Christ Jesus ; which coming from a
sincere heart will never be rejected.

DISCOURSE XXI. 355

DISCOURSE XXI.

LUKE, CHAP. IV. — VERSES 1, 2.

And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and
was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days
tempted of the devil.

After our Saviour had vrashed his disciples' feet, and wiped
them with a towel, ' he said unto them. Know ye what I have
(lone to you?' None answering this question, he explained to
them himself the meaning of what he had done : ' Ye call me,'
says he, * Master, and Lord ; and ye say well : for so I am. If
I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also
ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an ex-
ample, that you should do as I have done to you. Verily, ve-
rily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord,
neither he that is sent, greater than he that sent him. If ye
know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.' Should you
ask the like question concerning the history in the text, our Sa-
viour's temptation in the wilderness, and say, what is this that
has been done unto him ? how came the Son of God to be thus
insulted by the powers of darkness? whence arose the tempter's
confidence and power ? or why were consummate virtue and
innocence submitted to this proof and trial ? you might be an-
swered in like manner also, * He hath given us an example,
that we should do as he hath done.' Were you to hear the
complaints, which even good men often make, that they are
forced to struggle witl;i many and with great temptations; that
the paths of virtue are slippery and insecure, beset with many
dangers ; and that their prayers to be delivered from their trials
come empty back, and bring no blessing with them ; you might
in our Saviour's name and in his words expostulate the case
with them : * Ye call me Lord and Master : and ye say well ;

356 SHERLOCK.

for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master,' have been
perfected through trials, and in all things tempted even like unto
you, whence come your complaints? whence is it said that you
expect to be exempted from that condition to which I willingly
submitted ? ' The servant is not greater than his Lord, neither
he that is sent greater than he that sent him.' I have led the
way, and shown you how to conquer : and ' if ye know these
things, happy are ye if ye do them.'

Since these things therefore are written for our instruction
and admonition, the properest use we can make of them is to
consider them in that view, and to keep at a distance from such
nice questions as no man enters into with discretion, or gets out
of with advantage. There is room in all the parts of the gospel
dispensation to admire and adore the wisdom and the goodness
of God, if that will content us, without prying into the secret
methods of his providence. In this case now before us we
want not matter of this kind : when the tempter allured our
first parents to disobedience with the flattering hopes that they
should be as gods, little did the blind prophet think that the
day should ever come when the Son of God would appear in
the likeness of man, to take vengeance of his bold attempt, to
destroy his works, and to redeem the captives into the glorious
liberty even of the sons of God: little did he imagine that man,
who fell by aspiring to be like God, should ever indeed be so
like him, as to be superior to all his arts and temptations,
and be able to drive him from the dominion he had usurped
over the creation. And yet behold the wisdom and the good-
ness of God ! By man came death, and by man came the plen-
teousness of redemption : the first fruits of which we see in this
victory over the tempter.

Thus with respect to God does this temptation afford an
ample subject of praise and glory : but considered with respect
to ourselves, it will yield us the greatest comfort and consola-
tion to support us in our spiritual warfare, and the best instruc-
tion how to behave ourselves in it. There is no doubt to be
made but that all the tempter's art was displayed against our
Saviour : here then we may learn the worst we have to fear,
and see the dangers we have to pass, in our way to happiness,
and secure ourselves against the surprises which are often fatal

DISCOURSE XXI. 857

to heedless unguarded innocence : here too we may learn from
the best example, how to make the best defence against the
different temptations we stand exposed to ; how manfully to
maintain the combat, and to resist the fiery darts of the devil.

These lessons of Christian prudence and fortitude are to be
learnt from our Saviour's conduct and behavior under the
different trials the tempter made of him : but I propose at this
time to consider the circumstances which attended this tempta-
tion, and are recorded by the Evangelist in my text: 'And
Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan, and
was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days
tempted of the devil.' Now this temptation, we see, succeeded
immediately to his baptism, in which the Spirit visibly de-
scended on him ; and God declared him, in a voice from hea-
ven, to be his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased. And
accordingly the text expressly tells us that he was led to be
tempted, ' being full of the Holy Ghost.'

You see the power of baptism, and the blessings that are an-
nexed to it, to which all are entitled who partake in the bap-
tism of Christ : for himself he was neither born nor baptized,
but for our sakes, that the blessings of both might descend on
us, who through faith are heirs together with him of the pro-
mises of God.

By baptism the gates of heaven are set open to us, and the
way paved for our return to our native country : by baptism we
are declared to be such sons of God in whom he will delight,
and whom he will appoint to be heirs of his kingdom : by bap-
tism we receive the promise of the Spirit, by which we cry,
Abba, Father.

Are not these great privileges ? And is not here room for
mighty expectations? And yet how unsuitable to these claims
do the circumstances of a Christian's life often appear ! He is
on the road to heaven, you say, and the gates stand open to re-
ceive him ; but how does he stumble and fall like other men,
and sometimes lose his way, and wander long, bewildered in
night and darkness ! or if he keeps the road, how lazily does
he travel, as if he were unwilling to come to his journey's end,
and afraid to see the country which he is going to possess !
The Christian only of all men pretends to supernatural power

358 SHERLOCK.

and strength, and an intimate acquaintance witli the Spirit of
God : and yet how hardly does he escape the pollutions of the
.world, and how often look back with languishing eyes on the
pleasures, riches, and honors of this life ! And though he boasts
of more than human strength, yet how does he sometimes sink
below the character and dignity even of a man ! Ye sons of
God, for such ye say ye are, how do you die like the children
of men, and how like is your end to theirs !

And what must we say of these things ? Is the promise of
God become of none effect ? Is baptism sunk into mere out-
ward ceremony, and can no longer reach to the purifying the
heart and mind ? The fact must not be disputed : it is too evi-
dent, at least in these our days, that the lives of Christians
do not answer to the manifold gifts and graces bestowed on
them : and it is as true that this has given great occasion to
the enemies of the gospel to blaspheme, to ridicule the grace of
God, which seems to them to be no real, no useful gift or
power. But then it is certain, on the other side, that these
prejudices have arisen from the mistaken notions which men
have entertained concerning the grace of God : their expecta-
tions have been groundless and unwarrantable : they have pro-
mised themselves more than ever God promised them ; and then
finding that grace is not what they expected and hoped it was,
they rashly conclude that it is nothing ; and argue against the
truth of God's promises merely from the vanity and delusion of
their own. If you expect that the grace of God should ward
off all temptations from you, or rescue you from the power and
influence of them, notwithstanding your own remissness and
want of care ; as well may you expect that swords and pistols
should fight your battles, subdue your enemies, and conquer
countries for you, whilst your soldiers lie dissolved in ease and
luxury, and forget to use their arms. The graces of the Spirit
are the arms of a Christian, with which he is to enter the lists
against the powers of darkness ; and are a certain indication to
us that God intends to call us to the proof and exercise of our
virtue : why else does he give us this additional strength ? We
had strength enough of our own to sit still and do nothing : had
it been his intention to remove us out of the way of temptation,
and to place us out of danger, our weakness and our security

DISCOURSE XXI. 359

might well have stood together ; and having no enemy to fear,
we should not have been in need of so powerful an ally as the
Spirit of God. But since our dangers are great, and even ne-
cessary to the trial of our faith and patient continuance in well-
doing, therefore are we supported and encouraged by the assist-
ance of God, ' to fight the good fight,' and ' to endure hardness
as good soldiers of Jesus Christ.' To this we are called by the
example of our Lord and Master, who, being full of the ' Holy
Ghost,' Avas led by the Spirit ' to be tempted :' and this plainly
intimates to us that the more abundant grace we receive, the
more reason we have to expect trials and temptations ; and
' that to whom much is given, of him shall much be required.'

And if this be the case, as most certainly it is, we may, I
think, as necessary consequences, deduce these two things :

First, that the temptations which good men are exposed to,
and often are forced to struggle hard with, are no proof that
they want the Spirit of God, or that his favor and kindness are
in any degree lessened toward them.

Secondly, that the sins which Christians fall into, and con-
tinue in, are no proof that they had not the Spirit, and grace
sufficient to have preserved their innocence.

Let us consider these two cases. The temptations which
good men are exposed to, and are forced often to struggle hard
with, are no proof that they want the Spirit of God, or that
his favor and kindness are in any degree lessened toward them.
And yet the dread of this is but too common an ingiedient in
the temptations which good men suffer under : it is that which
always lies at bottom where there are any symptoms of despair ;
and when an honest soul is harassed with doubts and misgivings
of mind, and persecuted with dismal thoughts and fears, both of
what is present, and what is to come, it is from this bitter root,
generally speaking, that all the misery springs. Men are apt
to imagine, that had they the Spirit of God, the wicked one
would either not dare to approach them, or if he did, that they
should soon be able to quench his fiery darts, and to command
him with authority to get behind their backs. But when the
temptation grows on them, and though often repulsed, yet as
often with redoubled force renews the assault, then they begin
to suspect themselves, to fear lest they are given up to destruc-

360 SHERLOCK.

tion, and deserted by the Spirit of God. And when these fears
possess the heart, like spies and traitors got within the town,
they betray the strength of it to the enemy ; they stifle all the
generous thoughts of vigorous opposition, and leave the heart,
thus bereaved of courage and constancy, and fidelity to itself,
an easy prey to the invader.

The first thing then necessary in our spiritual warfare, is
rightly to apprehend our own condition, and the dangers and
difficulties we are to meet with ; that when they come, we may
be under no surprise, but may be able to stand firm, and col-
lected both in courage and in counsel, to make our just defence.
And for this purpose did the Author and Captain of our salva-
tion leave us his example, that it might serve equally for our
instruction and imitation. And hence we may learn that our
temptations are so far from being a proof that we want the Spi-
rit of God, that they are rather a proof of the contrary : ' God
is faithful, and will not suffer us to be tempted above what we
are able to bear.' And therefore, if he sufters our temptations
to be great, he will administer strength great in proportion.
For the first part of our Saviour's life, we read of no tempta-
tions that befel him ; but no sooner did he receive the Spirit,
but he was led to be tempted. And how did it fare with him ?
He still conquered, and yet still was pursued. The tempter,
though bafiled, gave not over, but addressed to him with new
art and cunning, in hopes still to prevail. Full forty days was
he under trial, sifted in every part, exposed to the horrors of the
desert, to the necessity of hunger : but neither the necessity of
hunger, nor the horrors of darkness, nor the forty days' tempta-
tion, could move him from his steadfast confidence and trust in
God. And who was it, I beseech you, that was left thus ex-
posed to these cruel trials and temptations? Was it not he
whom God but just before had by a voice from heaven declared
' to be his beloved Son, in whom he was well pleased ?' And
can you still think that your temptations are any signs that God
has forsaken you ? that he has at once withdrawn his Spirit and
his love from you ? Can you think the continuance of your
temptations any just ground for despair, when Christ himself
was tempted forty days ? For forty days without intermission
was he tempted : how soon the temptation was again renewed.

DISCOURSE XXI. 361

how frequent or how long the returns of it were, we cannot tell :
but that the tempter still pursued him, and watched all the sea-
sons and opportunities of approaching him with advantage, is
plainly intimated by the Evangelist, in the thirteenth verse of
this chapter ; * And when the devil had ended all the tempta-
tion, he departed from him for a season.' He departed; but
like an enemy that is rather enraged than subdued by his over-
throw, he departed with resolutions to try his fortune again,
and in his flight he meditated his return. Go, now, and com-
plain that your life is full of anxious care and trouble, that
every day brings its trial with it, and every night its tempta-
tion ; and much you fear that God has withdrawn his Holy
Spirit from you, and no longer regards you with the watchful
eye of a tender father, but has given you up to uncertain fears,
to anguish and despair in this world, and to ruin inevitable in
the next : but when you remember that through all these dan-
gers and difficulties Christ has led the way, that he, like you,
nay more than you, was tempted and exposed, you must blush
at your complaints, and with confusion of face confess that you
have charged God foolishly, and with the holy Psalmist say,
' It is mine own infirmity.'

Whatever you may think, there is more reason to suspect
yourself, and even to fear concerning the love of God, when all
things are calm and serene about you, and when you stand as it
were exempted from the common burden of life, your body
free from pain, and your mind from care. One would be apt
to suspect that the enemy of mankind thought himself secure of
you, and that there wanted no trials and temptations to urge on
your approaching ruin : else why should he neglect you only,
whilst with the greatest diligence and application he is exer-
cising with tortures both bodily and spiritual all the rest of the
sons of God ? The best and the only thing we can say to this
is, that prosperity itself is the greatest of temptations, and the
severest trial of virtue and innocence ; and that the tempter
leaves men to sink under the charms of plenty and indolence,
as the surest method he can make use of. And if this be so, I
am sure our ease and our plenty call on us for the utmost dili-
gence and care, for the constant exercise of all those virtues that
are proper to our station. If we see others led to virtue by

SHERL. VOL. I. Q

362 SHERLOCK.

hardships and poverty, let us reflect that we want those tutors
and guides, and that instead of them we have only charity and
humility to follow : by the exercise of these we may reap the
fruit of the others, and at last be found in the number of those
who mourned with those who mourned.

If others struggle with temptations of divers kinds, and are
j)erfected with trials, whilst we enjoy an inward peace ajid rest
of soul, let us remember that we want the advantages they
have. And since God has not called us to resist evil, as he has
called others, he certainly expects that we should do more
l^ood : it is their business to defend their virtue against the
assaults of vice ; but we, who enjoy a free and unmolested
virtue, must improve it in a constant exercise and discharge of
all the duties of piety and religion, in keeping a strict hand
over our passions, that prosperity be not our ruin. If others
are forced to stand constantly on their guard, and to watch
against the encroachments of vice, and have work enough to
secure an unblemished innocence ; we who are placed in the
inmost and securest recesses of the Lord's vineyard, where no
dangers can approach to molest and disturb our peace ; we, I
say, ought to labor the more zealously to till and improve the
soil, that we may be able at the last to render a good account
of the talent committed to our use.

Secondly, it appears from the circumstances of this history
of our Lord's temptation, that trials and temptations may be
great and severe, where the gifts and graces of the Spirit are
administered in the largest proportion : and since those who are
tempted may fall, for otherwise temptations would be no trials,
it appears that those who have the gifts of the Spirit, and
grace sufficient, may nevertheless fall into sin through the
power of temptations, and the want of care and diligence on
their own part. It is a false comfort, therefore, which sinners
administer to themselves, when they excuse their sins by lay-
ing all the blame on their own natural infirmities, and the want
of God's grace to enable them to do well. God is never want-
ing to those who are not wanting to themselves ; and though
he suffers all to be tempted, yet it is with this restriction on
the tempter, that he tempt them not above what they are able
to bear. The instruction which I propose to you from this

DISCOURSE XXI. 363

consideration is this, that whenever you are so unhappy as to
offend, you do not try to palliate and excuse your offences, and
charge God foolishly, as if he had been wanting to your assist-
ance ; but that you rather consider your own iniquity as your
own, and instead of excusing your sins, and administering
thereby a false comfort to your soul, you labor through a timely
repentance to correct and amend what is amiss, and endeavor
to regain the true peace of mind, by reconciling yourselves to
God, and by a speedy and resolute return to your duty.

In a word, it is no man's fault that he is tempted ; it is the
condition of our spiritual warfare ; it is the combat to which
God calls us for the proof and trial of our virtue. Then only
are we guilty, when we give way to temptations, and forsake
God to follow the pleasures or the gains of wickedness. And
whenever this is the case, there is but one remedy, repentance
through faith in Christ Jesus, which will never be refused
when it comes from a sincere heart, touched with a lively
sense of God's goodness and its own unworthiness.*

* It is well observed in this Discourse, that ^ since many things
are written for our instruction and admonition, the properest use
we can make of them is to consider them in that view, and to keep
at a distance from such nice questions as no man enters into with
discretion, or gets out of with advantage.' Why indeed should we
pry curiously into the ways of Divine Providence, which are past
finding out, and not rather accept the strong evidence which he
vouchsafes to give us regarding facts, and at the same time profit
by the instruction which they are intended to convey ? Yet there
still exists a school, even among ourselves, the disciples of which
attempt to allegorise, or spiritualise, all the more abstruse parts of
holy writ. To these persons the Temptation of Christ in the wil-
derness is peculiarly obnoxious : they cannot bring themselves to
believe in the reality of the transactions recorded by the Evange-
lists, but turn the whole into a vision. Some have been led to this
supposition by a consideration of the expression in the original
text; that Jesus was led iv t<u irvtv/jLaTt' i.e. 'in a vision:' not re-
flecting that eV r<2 irvevfiaTi is one of the commonest Hebraisms of
the New Testament, for iirh rod irvtvuuros ; and that this latter is the
actual phrase made use of in the parallel passage of St. Mark iv. 1.

364 SHERLOCK.

Others however stand on the mere suggestions of their own imagi-
nation, and affirm that the whole affair was a vision, because they
cannot reconcile the facts to their own ideas of propriety. Such vi-
sionaries may be asked, what use they can assign to the transaction
if it be thus spiritualised? For whether we suppose it took place
for our instruction and example, or for the purpose which appears
to be assigned in Heb. iv. 15. for we have not an high priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all
points tempted like as we are, yet without sin ; it would lose all its
eflfect if it were only a vision, and our Saviour not tempted at all.

DISCOURSE xxir. 364>

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XXII. '

II CORINTHIANS, CHAP. VII. — VERSE 10.

Religious and worldly sorrow compared in the text. The
sorrow which arises from a sense of our iniquity is the cure as
well as the consequence of the evil we suffer in worldly grief :
sorrow shown to be a remedy worse than the disease, and to
add weight to our misfortunes. The considerations of philo-
sophy, which place wisdom in an absence of passion, and teach
us to submit with indifference to the evils of life, not applicable
to religion : in natural evils sorrow gives us the sharpest sense
of our affliction, and leaves us enfeebled both in mind and
body : but in spiritual evils religious sorrow produces and
increases the means of our recovery, chases sin and guilt from
the soul, and renders it capable of the expectation of future
glory. It is shown to be the part of a friend to awaken in us
a godly sorrow : example of St. Paul to the Corinthians :
the blessed fruits of godly sorrow shown by the Apostle's
words in the text. First, sorrow is distinguished from repent-
ance, as it worketh repentance : secondly, sorrow worketh
salvation by means of repentance : thirdly, worldly sorrow
produceth death : fourthly, the death wrought by worldly
sorrow, being opposed to the salvation which follows re-
pentance, may signify eternal as well as temporal death : these
observations explained and enlarged on. First, godly sorrow
is said to work repentance, and is therefore distinguished from
it ; for if by repentance be understood sorrow for sin, we should
say that godly sorrow produces sorrow for sin, i. e. godly
sorrow produces itself; repentance therefore, denoting change

366 SUMMARY OF

of mind, is the effect of godly sorrow, and the necessary con-
dition of salvation : alliance between sorrow and repentance is
explained, and the nature of sorrow in general considered. The
cause of our sorrow must needs be the object of our aversion :
cases shown where sorrow is a ridiculous passion. Worldly
sorrow makes us in general feel our misfortunes, but does not
enable us to redress them : this not the case in spiritual con-
cerns, where sin is the object of our aversion, and the misery
we suffer through vice the best guide to virtue. Secondly,
godly sorrow not said to work salvation immediately, but by
means of repentance ; thus showing that a change of mind and
life is necessary towards the obtaining God's mercy and for-
giveness. A sense of guilt and misery leads us to the sorrow
which produces repentance, and, by making us abhor our iniqui-
ties, produces that blessed change which is true repentance
unto salvation never to he repented of. Fear may produce
sorrow, but not always repentance ; as in the case of Judas.
The sorrow which does not bring forth repentance and refor-
mation, is of no account in the sight of God. Godly sorrow is
that which respects God ; and this will always produce re-
pentance, and be followed by salvation, in virtue of God's
promises. Kepentance unto life the greatest gift of God to a
sinful world. Thirdly, a comparison is drawn between godly
and worldly sorrow, showing the difference between them.
Worldly sorrow is said immediately to ivork death : it brings
forth nothing analogous to repentance : but confirms the evil
disposition from which it flows : the causes from which worldly
and godly sorrow arise being considered, the different effects
which they produce are shown. Fourthly, the death which is
wrought by worldly sorrow is opposed to the salvation which
follows repentance, and may therefore signify eternal death.
The natural effect of grief in general is to deaden the faculties,
and render us useless to ourselves and others ; but the eft'ect of
godly sorrow is to destroy itself, and leave the mind in ease and

^.-

DISCOURSE XXII. 367

tranquillity. Even in this life sorrow for sin produces the
pleasures of righteousness, whilst the worldly man, pursuing;,-
false enjoyments, is ever reaping misery : in the world to come
the tears of repentance will be wiped away ; but the guilty
tears of worldly sorrow will stand in judgment against us, and
exclude us from the joys of heaven ; as it is forcibly expressed
in the words of the text, ' the sorrow of the world worketh
death.'

368 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XXII.

II CORINTHIANS, CHAP. VII. — VERSE 10,

Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented
of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

You have, in the words of the text, a character given you
of religious sorrow, and the advantages of it set forth, and illus-
trated by a comparison between them and the evil effects of
wordly sorrow. Sorrow in all cases arises from the conceit of
misery either present or expected. When our sorrow grows
from the consideration of our spiritual condition, from a sense
of our own iniquity, and the pains of a guilty mind ; from the
fear of God's wrath and heavy judgments denounced against
sinners; which are the proper objects of religious sorrow, and
distinguish it from the grief of a worldly mind, which reaches
only to the real or supposed evils of this life : in this case
sorrow is not only the consequence of the evil we suffer or ap-
prehend, but likewise its very cure and remedy. But in worldly
grief, where men lament the loss of riches and honors, and vex
their souls with the various disappointments of life, which are
perpetual springs of uneasiness to all whose affections are wed-
ded to the pleasures and enjoyment of the world ; there sorrow
is a remedy worse than the disease, and adds weight to our
misfortunes, which, could they be neglected, would not be
felt.

[t is the glory of philosophy to raise men above the misfor-
tunes of life, to teach them to look with indifference on the
pleasures of the world, and to submit with manly courage and
a steady mind to those calamities which no care can prevent,
and which no concern can cure. Such are all the miseries

DISCOURSE XXII. 369

which are brought on us by a change of fortune, or the neces-
sity of human condition. And the considerations of philosophy
not extending beyond these limits, it is no wonder to find
wisdom placed in an absence of passion ; and grief and sorrow,
and all the tender motions of the mind exposed as certain
marks of a slavish abject spirit. But when the reasons of phi-
losophy are transferred to the cause of religion, they lose their
name ; and the same conclusions, for want of the same prin-
ciples to support them, are foolish and absurd. In natural
evils, sorrow and grief of mind give us the quickest and sharpest
sense of our afflictions, and divest us of the power of looking
out for the proper comforts and supports : they increase and
lengthen out our misery ; nor can the mind ever lose sight of
its afflictions, till length of time sets it free from grief, or the
very excess of sorrow so far stupifies the sense of feeling, that
it destroys itself. And when it leaves us, often it carries off
with it our strength and health, and bequeaths to us a weak
body and a feeble mind, and entails on the very best days of
our youth the very worst infirmities of age and sickness : ' for
the sorrow of the world worketh death.' But in spiritual evils,
where sin and guilt threaten the life of the soul, and hasten to
bring on us death eternal, sorrow is the best indication of life,
and like the pulse in the natural body, shows there is some heat
and vigor still remaining: as it increases, it brings with it the
symptoms of recovery ; sin and guilt fly before it ; life and
immortality follow after it. And the mind thus purged by re-
ligious sorrow sends into the heart fresh streams of pleasure,
and abounds with all the joys which the sense of the love of
God, the present possession of peace, and the firm expectation
of future glory can produce : ' for godly sorrow worketh repent-
ance unto salvation not to be repented of.' From the consi-
deration of these different effects of worldly and of religious
sorrow, the Apostle, with no less truth than art, insinuates to
the Corinthians, how truly he had acted the part of a friend
towards them, in bringing them to a due sense of sorrow for
the sins they had committed. It is the part of a friend to ease
our minds of grief, to step in between us and sorrow, and to
make us, as far as it is possible, forget our misfortunes : why
then do the ministers of Christ perpetually suggest new fears

370 SHERLOCK.

to US, and still labor to awaken our souls to a sense of their
misery, and to fill us with sorrow, by continually representing
to us the greatness of our loss ? To this let the Apostle answer
for himself, and for all : 'I rejoice not that ye were made
sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance.' If from worldly
sorrow there can arise nothing but certain pain and misery, if
the anguish of mind produces feebleness of body, and the
lamenting our past misfortunes renders us incapable of the en-
joyments which are present, happy is the man who can bear
up against afflictions, and with an undisturbed mind submit to
those evils which no sorrow can either ease or prevent. But
if in godly sorrow the effects are just contrary, if giief can
blot out the guilt of sins past, and preserve us from the in-
fection for the time to come ; if it brings ease to a wounded
spirit, and makes us to be at peace with ourselves, and with
God ; if it renders life comfortable, and death not terrible ; it
it rids us of fear for the present, and fills us with hope full of
future glory : how happy then are they who go to the house of
mourning, and by a wise choice escape the punishment of sin,
by submitting to the sorrow of it ?

How these blessed fruits grow out of godly sorrow, will ap-
pear to you from the Apostle's words in the text, in which the
effects of godly and worldly sorrow are fully expressed in few
words : ' Godly sorrow worketh repentance unto salvation not
to be repented of; but the sorrow of the world worketh death.'
In which words you may observe, first, that sorrow is distin-
guished from repentance ; for ' godly sorrow ' is said to ' work
repentance,' and is therefore supposed to have the same rela-
tion to it that the cause has to its effect. Secondly, you may
observe that ' sorrow ' is not said to ' work salvation ' imme-
diately and of itself, but by the means of that repentance which
it produceth. Thirdly, you may observe that ' worldly sorrow
is said to produce ' death ' immediately : it brings forth nothing-
analogous to repentance, but does indeed confirm and strengthen
the evil disposition from which it grows. Fourtlily, the death
which is wrought by worldly sorrow is opposed to the salvation
which follows repentance ; and may therefore signify eternal
death, as well as temporal ; the truth of the proposition admit-
ting either or both of these explications. As I explain and

DISCOURSE XXII. 371

enlar^ these observations, I shall take in what I judge neces-
sary to give you a distinct conception of the nature of godly
and of worldly sorrow, and to show the effects of both.

First, then, you may observe that sorrow is distinguished
from repentance ; for ' godly sorrow ' is said to ' work re-
pentance,' and is therefore supposed to bear the same relation
to it as the cause does to its effect. In common speech we are
apt to speak of sorrow for sin under the name of repentance,
and to ascribe to it the effects belonging only to repentance :
but the Apostle in the verse before us has plainly another notion
of repentance, since the common notion would make an absur-
dity in the text ; for if by repentance you understand sorrow for
sin, the Apostle must then be understood to say that godly sor-
row produces sorrow for sin ; that is, that godly sorrow produces
itself, since that only is godly sorrow which is on the account
of sin. Repentance therefore is distinct from sorrow, and is
wrought by it, and properly denotes a change of mind : which
is indeed the natural effect of godly sorrow, and the necessary
condition of salvation ; and must therefore be the true and
genuine explication of that repentance which stands in the
middle between godly sorrow and salvation, as proceeding from
one, and producing the other. And so distinct is this change of
mind from sorrow, that of all its effects it is the happiest ; ease
and comfort attend on it, joy and hope flow from it. This is a
change ' not to be repented of;' it can never cause us any
grief or pain, or give us reason to lament any effect pro-
ceeding from it.

Sorrow then is not repentance, though it be the cause of re-
pentance in most cases. The alliance between them will be
best explained by considering the nature of sorrow in general,
and the impressions it makes on every man's mind. What-
ever is the cause of our sorrow must needs be the object of our
aversion ; since to take pleasure in the thing that grieves us
and causes us pain, is a contradiction in nature. Many things
occasion us sorrow which are out of the reach of our power,
which come without our seeking, and go without our bidding.
In all these cases sorrow is a useless passion, for the aversion
arising from it brings torment without security ; for to what
purpose can our love or our concern serve, where the objects

372 SHER'LOCK.

are neither to be obtained nor avoided by our utmost care ?
Should we afflict ourselves vv^ith the thoughts of death, and
raise in our minds the utmost horror and dread, yet death w^ill
move with the same pace to us, not retarded by our fears, or
stopped by our aversion. And this shows how ridiculous a
passion sorrow is in all these cases.

But where good and evil are set before us, and we are left
to choose for ourselves, if through weakness or folly, or the pre-
vailing power of any passion, we have chosen amiss, the pain
we suffer from these evils of our own inviting is the best secu-
rity for tlie future : we cannot lament the folly of our choice,
without condemning ourselves for piaking it, and hating the
thing which has brought so much sorrow along with it. This
self-condemnation will teach us to correct our choice for the
future, this aversion will turn the stream of our affections from
the thing which brings so much misery with it. But this can
extend but to very few instances of worldly concern, so little is
there in our own power ; for which reason worldly sorrow can
only make us feel our misfortunes, without enabling us to redress
them. But in spiritual concerns the case is otherwise : virtue
and vice are placed within our choice ; and we cannot do evil
till we have first determined ourselves to do it; and, when we
have done it, the sooner our minds recoil and grow sick of their
unhappy choice, so much the better ; since the correction of
folly is often the parent of wisdom, and the misery we suffer
through vice the best guide to the paths of virtue. Sin cannot
be the cause of our sorrow, but it must likewise be the object
of our aversion : the natural consequence of which is repent-
ance, or a change of mind, by which we shall hate the vices we
once delighted in, and fly to the arms of virtue, to taste those
pleasures which experience has taught us are there only to be
found. And thus you see how naturally a change of mind arises
from godly sorrow, or sorrow for sin : which is a farther con-
firmation of the interpretation we have given of the Apostle's
words.

Secondly, ' godly sorrow' is not said to ' work salvation '
immediately and of itself, but by means of that 'repentance,'
or change of mind, which it produceth.

This shows you that a change of mind, and consequently a

DISCOURSE XXII. 373

change of life, is absolutely necessary towards the obtaining the
mercy and forgiveness of God ; and that it is to little purpose
to lament your sins, unless you resolve to forsake them. So
many are the sad effects of sin, with respect to our health, our
reputation, and our fortune in the world, which always suffer,
and often sink, under the oppression of vice, that the sinner who
has no fear of God before his eyes, has reason enough to be
sorry for his sins. But sorrow arising from these motives is
mere worldly sorrow : one laments the decay of his health,
another the loss of his reputation, and a third the ruin of his
fortune, and often one laments the loss of all : and equally they
would have lamented these losses, had they come from any other
cause besides sin. He that is sorry for his sin because it has
destroyed his health, would have been as sorry had a fever
destroyed it ; he that grieves for the loss of his fortune, would
have grieved in the same manner if fire or the rage of the sea
had been his undoing. From whence it is plain that in such
sorrow as this no regard is had to God, whom we are principally
to respect in our repentance, as being the person against whom
we have offended, and whose mercy and pardon we labor to
obtain.

In true sorrow that produces repentance, the sense of our
guilt is a great ingredient, as v/ell as the sense of our misery.
The very hopes we have of obtaining pardon at the hand of God
will fill our minds with indignation against ourselves for having
offeuded so gracious a master. For if we can think him good
to forgive us, we must needs think ourselves wicked, and lost to
all sense of gratitude and goodness, that we could offend so kind
and compassionate a Lord. From this sense of guilt will arise
indignation, and fear, and zeal; and every passion will be roused
to act its part in making us hate and abhor ourselves and our
iniquities, and will never let us be at peace with our own hearts,
till we have purged them of every evil lust, and consecrated
them anew to the service of our Maker. And this is that
blessed change which is true repentance ' unto salvation never
to be repented of.'

Fear may sometimes prevail against the power of lust, and
the wretch who hates to think of God may not be able to ex-
clude the fear and dread of hira : when the flames of hell play

374 SHERLOCK.

before the sinner's eyes, and guilt, conscious of its own deserts,
fills the imagination with all the horrors of damnation ; in this
case there will never want sorrow, though perhaps there be no
signs of repentance. Thus Judas grieved, in his grief he died,
and in his death he found the pains of hell.

In the gospel there are no promises made to grief and sor-
row : the mercies of God are offered on the condition of re-
pentance ; and though in the nature of the thing repentance
must arise from sorrow, and therefore sorrow may be esteemed
as a part of repentance ; yet sorrow that produces not repentance,
that is, a thorough change and reformation, is of no account in
the sight of God. Such sorrow may be the sinner's due ; if he
suffers under it, he has but his reward; it is the just punish-
ment of his iniquity, but can never be the condition of his
pardon.

One would think this were too plain a case to be mistaken ;
yet so commonly it is mistaken, that repentance is grown almost
into a form and method, and instead of reforming their sins,
men set themselves so many days to be sorry for them. Alas !
it is a fruitless grief they labor to affect themselves with ; and
they may assure themselves their hopes of pardon wall be as
empty and delusive as their sorrow. Were you truly sensible
of your guilt, there would need no art to produce sorrow, you
would want no rules to limit your grief by ; nature would be
your best instructor, and teach you to lament your misery and
your guilt with unsought-for tears and groans : were you sincere,
you would fly the viper that had stungyou, and not cherish and
caress the beast, whilst with false tears you bathe the wound
you have received.

Godly sorrow is that which respects God. This sorrow-
will always produce repentance, and be followed by salvation,
in virtue of the many promises of God, by which we are
assured that, when the sinner is converted, and turns to the
Lord, forsaking the evil of his ways, ' he shall save his soul
alive.'

Repentance unto life is the gift of God to a sinful world, and
the greatest that heaven ever bestowed on it : for though nature
is no stranger to the grief and sorrow of repentance, yet is re-
pentance our title to life through the gospel of Christ Jesus.

DISCOURSE XXII. 375

And therefore, when the Gentiles were admitted to be partakers
of the gospel, and the news thereof was brought to the Apos-
tles and brethren at Jerusalem, they bless God for his great
goodness in having ' granted to the G entiles also repentance unto
life.'

The nature of this godly sorrow we shall still better under-
stand, by comparing it with worldly sorrow, and showing the
difference between them.

Thirdly, then, you may observe that 'worldly sorrow ' is
said immediately to ' work death :' it brings forth nothing
analogous to repentance, but does confirm and strengthen the
evil disposition from which it grows.

There is such a connexion between the passions, that one
cannot be powerfully set on work, but it must move and engage
the others in their several spheres. Thus the Apostle, in the
chapter of ray text, tells us that the godly sorrow of the Co-
rinthians produced fear and indignation, zeal and vehement
desire, and revenge. And thus it must be : whatever afflicts
us is the object of our hatred and fear; whatever we lament
the loss of, that we must needs vehemently desire and long
after ; and our grief for the loss will rouse us to recover, if pos-
sible, the thing we lament for. This being agreed, you need
only consider the causes from which worldly sorrow and godly
arise, to see the workings of both, and the different effects
which they must produce. The covetous man laments for the
loss of his wealth, or regrets that his gains have been no larger :
what must the consequence be ? This grief will produce no
change in him ; covetous as he was before, his sorrow for his
wealth will make him still more so : his industry to grow rich
will be inflamed by his sorrow, his concern not to part with
what is left will increase by his anxiety, and he will be ten
times more a slave to the world than ever he was before. Con-
sider the ambitious man's disappointment, and his sorrow that
flows from it ; the case will be still the same : how will his vex-
ation urge him to repair his defeat, and make him perhaps di
vest himself intirely of all the regards to good and evil, virtue
and vice, especially if he has once found them to stand in his
way ? Thus, you see, in all cases worldly sorrow confirms the

370 SHERLOCK.

evil habits from which it grows, and is therefore the most direct
way to death.

For the Hke reason godly sorrow will lead to life ; for sin
being the cause of sorrow, all the passions will be moved to
dispossess it: hope and fear, and zeal, and vehement desire,
will unite their force to throw out sin, which stands in the way
of all their views. From whence must proceed an intire change
of the man, and he that is heartily sorry for his sins will most
certainly forsake them.

In godly sorrow we grieve for having enjoyed too much of the
world, to the hazard of losing the more valuable pleasures of
immortality: in worldly sorrow we lament our having bad too
little of the world. It .is evident then that sorrow in one case
will make us fly the world and its allurements ; in the other it
will render us but the more eager to pursue and overtake them.
In one case, sorrow does as it were new make the man, gives
him new desires and dispositions of mind, teaches him to shun
the pleasures he once embraced with eager appetite, and to
seek new joys and comforts which before he was a stranger to.
In the other case, grief confirms the old habits, quickens the old
desires, and makes a man ten times more worldly-minded than
he was before ; so that his last state is even worse than his first.
And this will appear by considering, in the last place,

Fourthly, that the death which is wrought by worldly sorrow
is opposed to the salvation which follows repentance, and may
therefore signify eternal death as well as temporal, the
truth of the proposition admitting either or both of these ex-
plications.

The natural effect of grief, considered as such, is to waste
and impair the strength, to deaden the faculties of the mind, and
to make a man useless to himself and his friends : so that where
this passion inflamed to any degree has been long in possession,
it leaves nothing of the man but the outward form, and hardly
that. This, I say, is the effect of sorrow in general : but then
here lies the difference between godly sorrow and worldly sor-
row : the first, in every step, tends to peace and joy, and its
most natural effect is to destroy itself, and leave the mind in
perfect ease and tranquillity. The sinner's tears, though they

DISCOURSE XXII. 377

spring from grief, are yet the most sovereign cordial to an af-
flicted heart, and like showers in summer portend a cooler and
more refreshing air. But worldly sorrow knows no rest, it has
no period ; it still urges men to new pursuits after the world,
and the world has new disappointments in reserve to baffle all
their eager care. Every disappointment is a new occasion of
grief; and the whole gain of this passion for the world, being
fairly computed, amounts to this, ' Vanity and vexation of spi-
rit.' Thus the case stands if we regard only the comforts of this
life. The sorrow for sin produces the pleasure of righteousness,
which is a perpetual spring of joy and spiritual consolation :
whilst the worldly man, pursuing false enjoyments, is ever reap-
ing real torments. But if we change the scene, and look into
the other world, the difference grows wider still : the time is
coming when the tears of repentance shall be wiped away, when
the sinner's grief shall stand between him and judgment, and
the shame which he took to himself shall protect him from shame
at the great appearance of the world. But worldly sorrow will
then have a heavy account to pass ; those guilty tears, which
were shed for transitory pleasures of mortality, will stand in
judgment against you, and exclude you from the joys of that
life which is for evermore.

The confusion and distress of that time will be more than 1
can describe, or you imagine ; they will exceed even the fears
of guilt, and be more gloomy than even despair could ever paint
them. The whole is comprised in the words of the text, ' the
sorrow of the world worketh death.'

378 SUMMARY OF

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XXIII.

I PETER, CHAP. II. — VERSE 11.

PART I.

The exhortation of the text so common in Scripture, that
there is no need of many words to explain the subject. The
Apostle therein points out the general source from whence im-
pure vices arise, viz. ixom fleshly lusts: these are made, not to
govern, but to serve the man : some are willing to call them
natural desires ; and then they ask, how is it so heinous an
offence to comply with those desires, which God, for wise rea-
sons, has made part of our nature ? This might be asked with
respect to brutes : but man must also ask, why was reason and
understanding given to him ? Does he act up to the dignity of
his nature by following the example of the brutes, though they
may fulfil the intent of their being? This point enlarged on.

It may be farther urged, why were these desires given, which
are the cause of so much mischief, and iniquity, and of disturb-
ance to the virtue even of the best men ? In reply to this, we
must consider, how far these desires are natural. The desires
which are common, and therefore may be called natural, are
such as are necessary to the preservation, first of individuals,
next of the species : at the same time that we find these natural
desires, we also discover the ends which nature has to serve by
them ; and reason thence discerns the true rule for the govern-
ment of them. Our bodies cannot be supported without con-
stant nourishment ; hunger and thirst therefore are natural ap-
petites, given as constant calls on us to administer this support :

DISCOURSE XXIII. 379

ask any man of common sense how far they ought to be in-
dulged ; and he cannot help seeing that nature calls for no more
than is proper for the health and preservation of the body, and
that reason prescribes the same bounds : excess therefore in
these appetites is not natural, but vicious, &c. : the craving
of an habitual drunkard is not natural, but the effect of long
practised intemperance ; and such an appetite is a crime rather
than an excuse.

In other instances of a like nature, they who have inflamed
desires, commonly owe the excess of them to their own miscon-
duct : there is a great difference between men of the same
temper, where one shuns, and the other seeks temptation, &c. ;
and since the relish for sin often outlasts the temptation, this
shows that there is in sensualists a greater corruption than can
be charged on natural inclination.

Since then the desires of nature are in themselves innocent, and
implanted in us for good ends ; since God has given us reason
to moderate and direct our passions, it is in vain to plead them
in defence of sensuality, unless we could also plead that we are
void of reason ; for if it be the work of reason to keep the
passions within due bounds, the reasonable creature must be
accountable for the work of his passion : this exemplified in the
case of human judicature. Such then being the case, what
motives have we to guard against the irregularities of the pas-
sions ? In the strong and earnest exhortation of the text two
are offered to us: I. that we are strangers and pilgrims : II.
i\i?ii fleshly lusts war against the soul. On the first point, it
is observed that St. Peter directs this epistle to the strangers
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, &c. ; whence some have
thought that the text was applied to them exclusively, on ac-
count of their dispersion on the earth : it is shown that there is no
force in this observation. A more suitable meaning of the words
may be found in the first chapter of this epistle, verse 17. and in
Heb, xi. 13. The notion extends to all mankind, and shows

380 SUMMARY OF

that the Apostle looked on all as strangers and pilgrims on the
earth ; consequently the exhortation concerns all alike, and
reaches as far as the obligations of morality extend : and this
consideration, placed in this view, has great weight, with respect
to all who have faith enough to desire a better, that is, a hea-
venly country, &c.: this is putting all our hopes and fears with
respect to futurity, in balance against the solicitations of sen-
sual pleasure ; this is appealing to our reason to show the ab-
surdity of seizing momentary enjoyments, in a place where we
have no permanent abode, at the hazard of forfeiting an ever-
lasting inheritance. The subject enlarged on, and supported
by various suppositions.

But why dwell on suppositions, when the truth of the case,
fairly represented, will appear in a stronger light than any sup-
position can place it ?

If we have immortal souls, and that we have nature herself
declares wit4iin us, this place cannot be their native country :
nothing immortal can belong to this globe, where all things
tend to decay; and which itself shall one day be consumed. If
this were the only place to which we have any relation, we
then might justly complain of nature on account of the provi-
sion she has made for man, who alone of all creatures here
below would want a happiness suited to his capacity : but if
something more is in reserve for him, his desires are well suited
to his condition : and God's wisdom is evident in his having
given to man desires fitted for nobler enjoyments than this
world aftbrds, since for man much nobler enjoyments are pre-
pared. This being the case, what has a wise man to do, but to
get through this world as he can, that he may arrive at those
everlasting pleasures which are in store for him ? What can he
think of the enjoyments of this world, but that they are below
the care of one who is born to so great expectations ? Thus he
must think even with respect to innocent delights ; they are
frail and transient ; he is immortal, dc. : but guilty pleasures

DISCOURSE xxiir. 381

must appear to him in a far more ugly form : he is hastening to
the place where his heart is fixed ; they are robbers, which lie
in wait on his road to intercept him ; to take away his life and
his treasure, &c.

Consider this case fairly, look to the glory and immortality
placed before you, and then to the temptations which surround
you in the world, to intercept your hopes ; and then say, if there
could be a more powerful argument to abstain from fleshly
lusts than this, that ye are strangers and pilgrims. Sec. ?

Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we 6?«e, say the disciples
of Epicurus ; whose exhortation is suitable to their principle.
No inconsistency in exhorting men to make the best of this
world, when you teach them that no other is to be expected :
but absurd to support the same doctrine, without asserting the
same principle. Suppose however this world to be only a
state of trial, and that our appetites were given us partly for a
proof of our virtue : the consequences of this admission consi-
dered.

But perhaps it may farther be asked, how is it consistent
with God's goodness to work such temptations into the very
nature of mankind ? which comes in fact to this — How is it
consistent with his goodness to make any thing which is not
absolutely perfect ; to make rational creatures, for instance, ca-
pable of doing amiss ? This point enlarged on.

Conclusion : the desires of nature are ordained to serve the
ends of nature : reason is given to man to govern the lower ap-
petites and keep them within due bounds ; in this consists the
virtue of man ; this the trial to which he is called ; and the
prize is nothing less than immortality.

PART II.

The exhortation in the text is enforced by two considera-
tions, nearly allied to each other : that we are strangers and

382 SUMMARY OF

pilgrims here on earth, and consequently have a better interest
in another country which ought not to be neglected for the low
gratifications of this : whoever allows the principle, must allow
the consequence. This leads us to an inquiry worthy of all our
pains, how far we may pursue the pleasures of this life, con-
sistently with our hopes of a better : some enjoyments there are
not below the care of a wise and good man in this world, both
in the cultivation of thr mind, and in the pleasures of sense pro-
perly restrained : but whenever our appetites are too strong for
our reason, and caiTy us beyond the bounds of temperance to the
injury of ourselves and others, then it is that our fleshly lusts
do war against the soul ; then we wound our own souls, and,
for the sake of momentary pleasures, expose ourselves to eternal
death. The express command of the gospel against drunken-
ness, fornication, and such Alices, coming as it does from one
who has power to execute his decrees, ought to be a sufficient
argument to Christians : but the Apostle in the text goes farther,
and lays before us the reason in which the command to abstain
from fleshly lusts is founded : this point enlarged on. If we
consider wherein the dignity of man consists, and what are his
means to make himself happy, we shall see clearly the ill
effects of sensual lusts : no need of abstracted speculations on
the subject.

There is no man so little acquainted with himself, but that
he sometimes finds a difference between the dictates of his rea-
son, and the cravings of appetite : this discord is the foundation
of the difference observable among men with regard to moral
character and behavior : this point enlarged on. If our passions
are to govern us, and reason only to furnish means and oppor-
tunities of gratifying them, it will be hard to account for the
wisdom of God in making such a creature as man. If we have
no higher purposes to serve than the brutes, why have we more
understanding than they ? but it would be well if we could say
as much for some sensual men, as we can for the brutes, who

DISCOURSE XXIII. 383

are ten times less mischievous, in having only appetites, with-
out reason and the powers of contrivance, &c.

Hence it is evident in what manner sensual lusts do war
against the soul, considered as the seat of reason and all the
nobler faculties. If we look into past or present ages, we shall
see numberless instances of the pernicious effects of passion,
assisted by a corrupt and depraved reason : this point enlarged
on.

But let us consider, that the only part of man capable of
improvement is the soul : we can do little or nothing for the
body ; and if we could do more it would be little worth : if
therefore we have any ambition of being better than we are,
either in this world or in the next, we must cultivate the mind.
The excellency of a rational creature consists in knowlege and
virtue, one the foundation of the other : these are what we ought
to labor for : but sensual lusts prohibit our improvement in
either, and do therefore war against the soul.

As to knowlege, the best and most useful is the knowlege of
ourselves, of the relation in which we stand to God and man,
and of the duties thence arising. Now this knowlege is such
an enemy to sensual lusts, that a sensual man will be much in-
disposed to receive it, because to him it is self-condemnation :
hence the many prejudices in the world against the first princi-
ples of natural religion, and the many arguments to destroy the
distinction between soul and body, and all hopes of a future
state. If the fear of God be, as in truth it is, the beginning
of wisdom, sensuality cuts us off from all hopes of improve-
ment, as rational beings, by choking the spring from whence
all wisdom flows : it ties us down to the world, materializes the
soul, and makes it incapable of conceptions worthy of itself :
this point enlarged on.

Secondly, virtue and morality are the distinguishing charac-
ters of rational beings ; but these will always be lost where the
appetites have dominion.

384 SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XXIII.

In all cases where our thoughts are confined to ourselves,
and we aim only at our own interest and pleasure, we act on a
principle destructive of morality : the ability we have of ex-
tending our views beyond ourselves, and considering what is fit,
proper, and reasonable, with regard to others, is the foundation
of morality : this subject extended, and various instances given,
in which sensuality makes a man overlook what is due to others,
and lose all regard for justice, equity, and compassion.

Hence it is plain that the virtue of a man consists in bound-
ing his desires within the limits of reason and morality : these
limits tlfe lusts of thejlesh are perpetually transgressing ; every
such transgression is a wound to the soul, which weakens its
natural faculties, and renders it less able to discharge its proper
ofiice, &c. Hence arises another consideration, showing how
effectually sensual lusts do war against the soul, by extinguish-
ing natural conscience, and not leaving a man reason and religion
enough to repent of his iniquities : for the mind grows sensual
by degrees, loses all relish for serious tliought and contempla-
tion, and contracts a brutal courage that cares neither for God
nor man : this point enlarged on. The sensual man has but one
hope with respect to futurity, and a sad one it is, that he may
die like the beasts that perish : but nature, reason, religion,
deny him this comfort, and with one voice proclaim, that God
has appointed a day in which he will judge the world. The
terrors of that day to sensualists and sinners described. Con-
clusion : a return to the argument : the sensual man's condition
briefly reviewed : the sum of his account is, that he has his
portion of enjoyment in this world with the brutes, and in the
next his punishment with wicked spirits : this is the war which
the lusts of the flesh wage against the soul : from such enemies
a wise man ought to fly, for they have power to cast both body
and soul into hell.

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART I. 385

DISCOURSE XXIII.

I PETER, CHAP. II. — VERSE 11.

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain
from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.

PART I.

The exhortations of Scripture to abstain from fleshly lusts,
or lusts of the flesh, are so many, the expression itself is so
familiar to Christians, and so well understood, that there is no
need, I think, of many words to explain the subject matter of
the advice now before us. Some sins are privileged by their
impurity from being exposed as they deserve : a modest tongue
cannot relate, nor a modest ear receive an account, without
great pain, of the various kinds of lewdness practised in the
world ; for as the A postle to the Ephesians remarks, ' It is a
shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in
secret.' Had he lived in our times, he might perhaps have
varied his phrase, and said, ' which are done of them in public'
These impurities are, in one sense of the word, no longer 'works
of darkness,' they appear at noon-day. Since therefore they no
longer aff"ect to be disguised, they will speak for themselves
what they are : I have no mind to speak for them.

The Apostle in the text has pointed out to us the common
source from whence vices of this kind proceed : they arise from
' fleshly lusts :' words which carry a reason in them, to all who
value their reason, not to give themselves up to the dominion of
appetites, made not to govern, but to serve the man. But
reason, when it becomes a slave to vice, must do the drudgery
of vice, and support its cause : and therefore, on this topic,
vice has borrowed some assistance from reason, and made a
show of arguing in its own defence. These ' fleshly lusts,' as

SHERL, VOL. I. R

I

386 SHERLOCK.

the Scripture calls them, others are willing to call natural
desires ; and then the question is asked, how it becomes so
heinous an offence to comply with the desires which God, for
wise reasons, has made to be part of the nature which he has
given us ? Were this question asked in behalf of the brute
creatures, we would readily answer, we accuse them not ; but
when man asks it in his own behalf, he forgets that he has
another question to answer before he can be intitled to ask this,
for what purpose was reason and understanding given to man ?
Brutes have no higher rule to act by than these instincts and
natural impressions ; and therefore, in acting according to these,
they act up to the dignity of the nature bestowed on them, and
are blameless. But can you say the same of man ? Does he
act up to the dignity of his nature, when he makes that his rule
which is common to him and the beasts : when he pursues the
same inclinations, and with as little regard to virtue and
morality ? Why is man distinguished from the brute creatures
by so superior a degree of reason and understanding, by a
knowlege of moral good and evil, by a notion of God his Cre-
ator and Governor, by a certain expectation of judgment,
arising from a sense of his being accountable, if, after all, there
is but one rule of acting for him and for the beasts that perish ?
Let these desires be natural ; yet tell me, does the addition of
reason make no difference ? Is a creature endowed with know-
lege at liberty to indulge his desires with the same freedom as
a creature that has no reason to restrain it ? If this be absurd,
it is to little purpose to plead that the desires are natural, since
we have reason given us to direct them, and are not at liberty
to do whatever appetite prompts us to do, but must in all things
consider what is reasonable and fit for us to do : for surely
there is no case in which a reasonable creature may renounce
the direction of reason.

It will be farther urged, to what purpose were these desires
given, which are apparently the cause of much mischief and
iniquity in the world, and oftentimes a great disturbance to the
best in a life of religion ? In reply to this, it will be necessary
to consider how far these desires are natural.

If we look into mankind, we shall find that the desires
which are common, and therefore may be called natural, are

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART I. 387

such as are necessary to the preservation of individuals, and
such as are necessary for the preservation of the species. At
the same time that we find these natural desires, we discover the
ends which nature has to serve by them ; and reason from
thence discerns the true rule for the government and direction
of them. Our bodies are so made, that they cannot be sup-
ported without constant nourishment : hunger and thirst there-
fore are natural appetites given us, to be constant calls to us to
administer to the body the necessary supports of the animal
life. Ask any man of common sense now, how far these
appetites ought to be indulged ; he cannot help seeing that
nature calls for no more than is proper for the health and pre-
servation of the body, and that reason prescribes the same
bounds ; and that when these appetites are made occasions of
intemperance, an offence is committed against as well the order
of nature, as the rule of reason. The excess therefore of these
appetites is not natural, but vicious : the intemperate man is not
called on by his natural appetites, but he does, in truth, call
on them to assist his sensuality, and often loads them so hard that
they recoil, and nauseate what is obtruded on them. An
habitual drunkard may have, and has, 1 suppose, an uncom-
mon craving on him ; but the excess of his craving is not natu-
ral : it is not of God's making, but of his own, the effect of a
long practised intemperance : and such an appetite will be so
far from being an excuse that it is itself a crime.

In other instances of a like nature, they who have inflamed
desires, commonly owe the excess of them to their own mis-
conduct. There is a great deal of diff'erence between men of
the same temper, where one shims, and where the other seeks
the temptation ; where one employs his wit to minister to his
appetite, and the other uses his reason to subdue it : the pas-
sions of one, by being used to subjection, are taught to obey;
the appetites of the other, knowing no restraint, take fire on
every occasion ; and the corrupted mind, instead of opposing,
endeavors to heighten as well the temptation as the sin : and
often it is seen that the relish for the sin outlasts the tempta-
tion : a plain evidence that there is a greater corruption in
sensual men than can be charged on natural inclination.

Since therefore the desires of nature are in themselves inno-

388 SHERLOCK.

cent, and ordained to serve good ends ; since God has given us
reason and understanding to moderate and direct our passions ;
it is in vain to plead our passion in defence or excuse of sensu-
ality, unless at the same time we could plead that we were void
of reason, and had no higher principle than passion to influence
our actions : for if it be the work of reason to keep the pas-
sions within their proper bounds, the reasonable creature must
be accountable for the work of his passion. And so the case
is in human judicatures : anger and revenge, pride and ambi-
tion, are very headstrong passions, and the cause of great mis-
chief in the world ; but they cannot be alleged in excuse of the
iniquity they produce, because the reason of the offender makes
him liable to answer for the extravagance of his passion.
Take away reason, and bring a madman or an ideot into
judgment, and the magistrate has nothing to say to him, what-
ever his passions, or the effects of them, may be.

It is the work of reason then to preside over the passions :
and seeing it is so, let us consider what great motives we have
to guard against the irregularities of them. St. Peter is very
earnest in the exhortation of the text, * Dearly beloved, I
beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly
lusts, which war against the soul.' Here are two things
offered to our consideration as motives :

First, that we are * strangers and pilgrims,' and ought there-
fore to abstain from fleshly lusts.

Secondly, that ' fleshly lusts war against the soul,' and
therefore we ought to abstain from them. I shall consider
them in their order.

First, we are ' strangers and pilgrims,' and ought therefore
to abstain from fleshly lusts.

St. Peter directs this epistle to the ' strangers scattered
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia ;'
which has led some to think that he applies to them in the text
under the same notion, and calls them ' strangers and pilgrims'
on account of their dispersion on the earth. But I see no force
in the exhortation on this view. With respect to religion and
morality, there is no more reason to abstain from vice in a
foreign country than in your own. There may possibly be
sometimes prudential reasons for so doing : but this is too

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART I. 389

narrow, and too mean a consideration, for an Apostle of Christ
to build so weighty an exhortation on it, as that of the text.
We must look out therefore for a more proper meaning of these
words, and more suitable to the occasion. And we need not
look far for it : in the first chapter of this epistle, verse 17,
St. Peter thus exhorts, ' If you call on the Father, who without
respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass
the time of your sojourning here with fear.' It is plain that
St. Peter here calls the time of life the time of our sojourning
here ; and consequently reckons us to be strangers and pilgrims
as long as we are in this world. In the same sense the author
to the Hebrews speaks of the saints of old, ' These all died in
faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them
afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth :'
Heb. xi. 13. This notion extends to all mankind, and shows
that the Apostle looked on them all as strangers and pilgrims
on the earth : consequently the exhortation founded on this
notion extends to all alike, and reaches as far as the obligations
of morality reach. And this consideration, placed in this view,
has great weight in it, with respect to all who have faith
enough to * desire a better, that is, a heavenly country,' and to
know themselves to be but only passengers through this world,
and on their way to ' a city prepared for them.' This is putting-
all our hopes and fears, with respect to futurity, in balance
against the solicitations of sensual pleasure ; this is appealing to
our reason, to show us how absurd it is to give ourselves up to
momentary enjoyments in a place where we have no certain
abode, at the hazard of forfeiting our right to that country
where we have an inheritance which shall endure for ever.
Wise travellers do not use so to entangle themselves in the
affairs of foreign countries, as to cut off all hopes of a return to
their own home : such especially as belong to a country in no
respect to be rivalled by any other place, and are intitled to a
large share of the wealth and honor of it ; such, I say, will not
suffer their thoughts and cares to be so engaged abroad as to
forget their own inheritance, which waits to be enjoyed, and
which, once enjoyed, will recompense all the fatigues and
hazards of the journey. But this comparison conveys to our

300 SHERLOCK.

minds but a faint image of the case before us : one country
may differ from another, but no one differs so much from
another, as to represent to us the difference between heaven
and earth. Many are intitled to great degrees of honor and
riches in their own countries ; but no man is intitled to so
much on earth as every man is intitled to in heaven, if he
forfeits not his hopes by sacrificing them to the mean and low
enjoyments of the world. Put the case, that a man was so
framed by nature as to hold out a thousand years in his native
air, and to be hourly in danger of death in foreign parts, and at
best able to hold out but to sixty or eighty years at most : how
eagerly would such a man press homewards, if ever he found
himself in another country ! How would he despise the
strongest temptations of pleasure that should pretend to stay
him but a day ! How contemptible would all the honors and
glories and riches of foreign kingdoms appear to him, when
put in the balance against the secure and long life to be
enjoyed at home ! Add to this supposition one circumstance
more, that the man is by nature made for the enjoyments which
his own country only can afford, that all the pleasures else-
where to be found are attended with pain and uneasiness in the
pursuit, liable to many vexations and disappointments ; the
enjoyment of them turbulent and transient, the remembrance of
them irksome and oftentimes tormenting ; in this case what
would a wise man do ? Would he not reject with disdain such
enjoyments as these, and call up all the strength of his mind,
summon all the powers of reason to withstand temptations so
destructive to his natural and real happiness?

But what need to dwell on suppositions, when the truth of
our case, fairly represented, will appear in a stronger light than
any supposition can place it ?

If we have immortal souls, and that we have nature speaks
within us, this place, we are sure, is not their native country :
nothing immortal can belong to this globe, where all things tend
to decay ; which shall itself be one day consumed, and this
beautiful order be succeeded by a new confusion and another
chaos. Were this the only place to which Ave have relation,
we might justly complain of nature for the sad provision she
has made for man : he only, of all the creatures of this lower

DISCOURSE XXIII.— PART I. 391

world, wants a happiness suited to his capacity. The rest of
the creatures seem satisfied and happy, to the full measure of
their capacities, by the provision made for them. Man alone
finds no true enjoyment here, but is ever restless, and in pur-
suit of something more than this world can give. If something
more is in reserve for him, his desires are well suited to his
condition, and the wisdom of God is discernible in giving man
desires fitted for nobler enjoyments than this life affords, since
for man much nobler enjoyments are prepared. These desires
are given to be a constant call to him to remember the dignity
of his creation, and to look forward to the better hopes of a
better world ; and to govern and restrain the appetites which,
too freely indulged, set him on a level with the brutes, and
disqualify him for the happiness proper to rational beings.

Taking this to be the case, what is it a wise man has to do,
but to get as well through this world as he can; I had almost
said as fast as he can, that he may arrive at those enjoyments
in reserve for him, which will yield a full as well as an endless
satisfaction ? What can he think of the pleasures of this world,
but that they are below the care of him who is born to so great
expectations ? Thus he must think even of innocent delights :
they are frail, transitory, and uncertain ; he is immortal : these
therefore are but unworthy objects of his desires ; fit to be used,
but too mean to be courted ; proper for his diversion, but never
good enough to become his business, or to employ his thoughts
in the pursuit of them. But guilty pleasures, the sensual en-
joyments and pollutions of the world, appear to him in a more
ugly form : he is on the way, hastening to the place where his
heart is fixed : sensual pleasures are robbers which frequent his
road, and lie in wait to take away his life and his treasure :
these he will fly, for they are dangerous, and he has all his
wealth about him ; even his hopes and expectations of immor-
tality, which die away if once he falls into the snares of sensu-
ality.

Consider this case fairly, look to the glory and immortality
which are placed before you, and the everlasting habitation
prepared for those who serve their Maker in holiness, and keep
themselves unspotted from the world : then view the tempta-
tions which surround you, which would fix you down, to tliis

392 SHERLOCK.

world, and intercept all your hopes ; and tell me what more
powerful argument there can be to abstain from fleshly lusts
than this, that ye are strangers and pilgTiras on earth, and look
for another, even a heavenly habitation.

Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die, say the disciples
of Epicurus : commendable in this, that their exhortation is
suitable to their principle. There is no inconsistency in ex-
horting men to make the best of this world and the pleasures of
it, when you teach them there is no other to be expected : but
surely it is to the highest degree absurd to teach the same doc-
trine, without asserting the same principle. There is not com-
mon sense in saying, let us eat and drink, for after this life we
shall enter on another without end. Yet this is the wise ex-
hortation which every man makes, who pretends to believe a
future state, and yet pleads for a liberty to indulge his appetites
in this. Yes, say you ; but God, who knows what he has pre-
pared for us hereafter, has yet given these appetites : and how
can it be so inconsistent with our future expectations to gratify
our appetites at present, since our appetites as well as our expec-
tations are natural, and both derived from the same original ?
This is the capitol of the cause, the darling argument of the
sensual man. But suppose this world to be a state of trial,
suppose these appetites to be given partly for the proof of our
virtue, how will the consequence stand then ? God has given
us appetites for the trial of our virtue, therefore we may indulge
our appetites without any regard to virtue : how ? No man
surely can reason thus : it can never follow that we are at
liberty to sin, because God has thought fit to call us to a trial
of our virtue. But if God has given us appetites, and made it
part of our trial to govern and restrain them within the bounds
of temperance and justice, and you will nevertheless infer, that
because God has given these appetites, we may therefore in-
dulge them to the utmost ; what is it but making that a license
to sin, which God and nature intended for a trial of virtue ?

But you will insist farther perhaps, and ask how it is con-
sistent with God's goodness to work such temptations as these
into the very nature of mankind ? A notable question ! But if
you attend to it, it comes to this : how is it consistent with
God's goodness to make any thing that is not absolutely perfect.

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART I. 39^

to make rational creatures, for instance, capable of doing amiss ?
The question, I say, comes to this, or else there is nothing
in it : for if God may make creatures not absolutely perfect,
but capable of sinning, there is no greater objection against
putting the trial of their virtue on their natural appetites, than
on any other weakness or infirmity : and some infirmity there
must be in every creature capable of offending, and thereby
capable of a trial. Had we no desires that could incline us to
do amiss, we should be above a state of trial : and if it is law-
ful to indulge all our desires on this pretence, that they are
natural, it is evident we cannot do amiss in following our desires,
and consequently we are not in a state of trial. What hitherto
we have called temptations to sin, are in truth justifications of
it ; for temptations act on our desires, and our desires cannot
lead us wrong : and if so, every base action is justified by the
temptation that produces it : and no man can sin but when he
is forced to do something against his inclination. This plea,
drawn from natural desires, is, I know, made use of to justify
one kind of wickedness particularly : but surely this is very
partial dealing ; for I see no reason why pride, ambition, and
avarice should be excluded the benefit of it. Have pride,
ambition, and avarice no desires? or are they all unnatural?
It would be well for the world if they were, but the case is
otherwise : mankind are of a nature subject to these desires as
well as others; and on the foot of this plea we may make
saints, as well as heroes, of all the great disturbers of the
world.

To conclude : the desires of nature are ordained to serve the
ends of nature : reason is given to man to govern the lower ap-
petites, and to keep them within their proper bounds : in this
consists the virtue of man : this is the trial to which he is called ;
and the prize contended for is nothing less than immortality.
If we indulge ourselves to the utmost in this world, our enjoy-
ments must be very short-lived, since we are ourselves but of
a short continuance on earth ; but the next scene that opens
will present us with a state that never changes, either happy or
miserable, according as we behave here. In this world we
have little interest, no abiding place ; and ought therefore to
pass through it with the indifference of travellers, whose affec-

394 SHERLOCK.

tions are placed on tlieir native country. This is the view the
Apostle had before him in giving the exhortation contained in
the text, ' Dearly beloved, 1 beseech you, as strangers and
pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.'

DISCOURSE XXIII.

PART II.

The Apostle in the text enforces his exhortation ' to abstain
from fleshly lusts' by two considerations, which yet are near
allied to each other. He calls on ns to remember that we are
strangers and pilgrims here on earth, and consequently that we
have a better and a dearer interest in another country, which
ought by no means to be neglected for the sake of the low and
mean enjoyments which this world aftbrds. Whoever allows
the principle must needs allow the consequence. If we are
related to two worlds, if this present be in all respects inconsi-
derable, compared to the other, no reason can justify or excuse
us in sacrificing our interest in the other world to the allure-
ments and temptations to be met with in this.

This being allowed, leads us to an inquiry worthy of all the
pains we can bestow on it, how far we may pursue the pleasures
of this life, consistently with our hopes and expectations of a
better. Some enjoyments there are not below the care of a
wise and good man in this world, though he forgets not that
he is related to another : such are the pleasures of the mind,
arising from the exercise of reason : such are, in a lower degree,
the pleasures which our senses furnish, whilst used within the
bounds of temperance, and so restrained as not to be prejudicial
to ourselves and others. Whenever our appetites become so
much too strong for our reason, as to carry us into oft'ences in
either of these respects, then it is that our ' fleshly lusts do
war against the soul.' If we violate the laws of justice and
equity, to make way for tlie gratificatioti of our passions ; or if
we render ourselves incapable of discharging the duties of re-

f

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART II. 395

ligion and morality, arising from the relation we bear to God
and man, we wound our own souls, and, for the sake of momen-
tary pleasures, expose ourselves to death eternal.

It ought to be a sufficient argument to Christians, to show
them the express command of the gospel against drunkenness,
fornication, adultery, and vices of the like nature : for since
the command comes from him who has power to execute his
decrees, and the penalty of them, on every offender ; to trans-
gress such injunctions so given must discover a want of faith,
as well as a want of virtue. But the Apostle in the text goes
farther, and exhorts us to ' abstain from fleshly lusts,' by laying
before us the reason in which the command to abstain is founded :
was there no difference between abstaining and not abstaining ;
was the man who gives a loose to his passions, and indulges
them to the utmost, in as fair a way to happiness as he who
governs and restrains them, and bounds them on every side by
the rules of justice and equity; the command to abstain would
be merely arbitrary, and void of any reason to support itself.
But the case is not so : sensual enjoyments have a natural ten-
dency to debase the mind, to render it incapable of discharging
its proper functions, and unworthy of the happiness to which it
ivS ordained ; for ' fleshly lusts war against the soul :' for which
reason we are commanded to abstain from them : for which
reason we ought to abstain from them, though the command
had not intervened.

If you consider wherein the dignity of man consists, and
what are the means put into his hands to make himself happy,
you will have a clear prospect of the ill effects of sensual lusts,
and see how truly they war against the soul.

There is no occasion to carry you into any abstracted spe-
culations on this subject ; it will be sufficient to the purpose to
make use of the observations which common sense will furnish.

There is no man so little acquainted with himself, but that
he sometimes finds a difference between the dictates of his rea-
son and the cravings of appetite ; between the things which he
would do, and the things which he knows he ought to do.
This discord is the foundation of the difference to be observed
among men with regard to their moral character and beha-
vior. When men give themselves up to follow their appe-

:396 SHERLOCK.

tites, and have no higher aim than the gratification of their
passions, all the use they have of their reason is to administer
to their senses in contriving ways and means to satisfy them.
Where this is the case, consider vv^hat a figure a man makes ;
he has appetites in common with the brute creatures, and is
led by them as much as they ; only the reason he has enables
him to be more brutish than they, and to run into greater ex-
cesses of sensuality than mere natural appetites, without
the help and assistance of reason to contrive for them, can ar-
rive to.

If our passions are to govern us, and the office of reason is
only to be subservient, and to furnish means and opportunities
of gratifying the desires, it will be very hard to account for the
wisdom of God in making such a creature as man. If we have
no higher purposes to serve than the brute creatures, why have
we more understanding than they ? We see that they do not
want more reason than they have to follow their appetites ;
they move regularly as they are moved, and pursue constantly
the path marked out by nature. It would be well if we could
say as much for some sensual men ; but they are ten times
more mischievous to the world, than they could possibly be,
if they had only appetites and no reason : for appetites, un-
assisted by a power of contriving, could be guilty of no trea-
chery, no breach of trust; of no schemes to overreach, de-
fraud, and undo multitudes, and a thousand other wicked-
nesses, which sensual worldly men are daily guilty of, and will
be guilty of as long as their reason is employed to promote the
ends of their passion. So that, considering the case with re-
spect to this world only, the sensual man, who gives himself to
be conducted by his appetites, is a more mischievous, a more
odious creature, and a greater reproach to his Maker, than any
of the brutes ; which he may perhaps despise, but ought indeed
to envy, for being irrational.

From hence it is evident in what manner sensual lusts do
war against the soul, considered as the seat of reason, and all
the nobler faculties ; in the due use and improvement of which
the dignity of man consists. If we look into the ages past, or
into the present, we shall want no instances of the pernicious
eftects of passion, assisted by a corrupt and depraved reason.

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART II. 397

The miseries which men bring on themselves and others are
derived from this fountain ; and these miseries, which we pro-
vide for ourselves and others, will be found, on a fair computa-
tion, to make nine parts out of ten of all the evil which the
world feels and complains of. ' From whence come wars and
fightings among you ?' says St. James, ' come they not hence,
even of your lusts, which war in your members?' He might
have added to his catalogue many iniquities more, and repeated
the same question and answer : for whence proceed jealousies,
suspicions, the violations of friendship, the discord and ruin of
private families ? Whence come murder, violence, and oppres-
sion ? Are these the works of reason given us by God ? No,
they are the works of sensuality, and of a reason made the
slave of sensuality. Were all who are given to such works
as these to be deprived of their reason, the world about them
would be much happier, themselves more harmless, and, I
think too, not less honorable. So effectually do sensual lusts
war against the soul, that it would be better for the world, and
not worse for the sensualist, if he had no soul at all.

But to be more particular. Let us consider that the only
part of man, capable of any improvement, is the soul : it is little
or nothing we can do for the body; and if we could do more,
it would be little worth. We cannot add to our stature ; and
if we could, where would be the advantage? The affections,
which have their seat in the body, can yield us no honor : they
are capable of no improvement ; the higher they rise, the more
despicable we grow : they can yield us neither profit nor cre-
dit, but only when we conquer and subdue them. If there-
fore we have any ambition of being better than we are in
any respect, either in this world or in the next, we must
cultivate the mind, the only part of us capable of any improve-
ment.

The excellency of a rational creature consists in knowlege
and virtue, one the foundation of the other : these are the thinars
we ought to labor after : but sensual lusts are great impedi-
ments to our improvement in either of these, and do therefore
properly war against the soul.

As to knowlege, the best and most useful part of it is the
knowlege of ourselves, and of the relation we stand in to God

398 SHERLOCK.

and our feUow-creatiires, and of the duties and obligations
arising from these considerations. Now this knowlege is such
an enemy to sensual lusts, that a sensual man will be very
much indisposed to receive it. It is self-condemnation to him
to admit the principles of this knowlege ; and therefore his rea-
son, as long as it continues in the service of his passion, will be
employed to discredit such knowlege as this, and, if possible, to
subvert and overthrow the principles on which it stands. Hence
proceed the many prejudices to be met with in the world
against the first principles of natural religion ; the many la-
bored arguments to destroy the very distinction of soul and
body, and all hopes of a future existence : such hard masters
are the lusts of the flesh ! They compel the soul to deny itself,
to resign all its pretensions to present or future happiness, in
condescension to the passions and appetites of the body. Take
out of the composition of a man the inclinations to sensual
pleasures, and he must needs rejoice to hear of another life in
which he may be for ever happy. If he sees not so much rea-
son as to be sure of living for ever, yet he will be willing to
hope he may, and his mind will be always open to receive
whatever may strengthen and support such hopes. But the
sensual man sees nothing that such a future state can afford
him but misery and destruction ; therefore he shuts his eyes
against the light, and places a guard over his mind, to secure it
from such unwelcome thoughts. He hopes, he believes, at
last he comes to demonstrate, that souls, and spirits, and future
states, are mere idle dreams, the inventions either of fools or of
politicians.

If the fear of God be in truth, as in truth it is, the beginning
of wisdom, sensuality cuts us off from all hopes of improve-
ment, considered as rational beings, by choking the spring
from whence all wisdom flows. It ties us down to the world,
it materialises the soul, and makes it incapable of any noble
thoughts or conceptions worthy itself. And thus men, by fol-
lowing the sensual enjoyments of the world, become carnal in
their minds, as well as in their bodies ; and instead of a reason
qualifying them to be servants of God, the highest honor of
which a rational being is capable, they get a low cunning to
serve themselves and the worst of their own desires, which

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART II. 399

differs but little from the strong instincts to be found in crea-
tures of a lower order; but little, I mean, in point of excel-
lency, though in another respect it differs much. The crea-
tures answer the ends of their nature, and are guiltless in pur-
suing their several instincts : but the sensual man is useless to
himself, injurious to the world, and, as far as in him lies,
brings a reproach on the hand that made him. For,

Secondly, virtue and morality are the distinguishing cha-
racters of rational beings ; but these will always be lost where
the appetites have dominion.

In all cases where our thoughts are confined to ourselves, and
we aim at no other end than our own interest or pleasure, we
act on a principle destructive of morality. The ability w-e have
of extending our views beyond ourselves, and considering what
is fit and proper and reasonable with regard to others, is the
foundation of morality. It is not perhaps a total want of rea-
son that renders brutes incapable of morality ; but whatever
reason they have, it is confined to themselves, and exercised
only with regard to their own wants and desires, and this ren-
ders them immoral agents. Now every degree of sensuality is
an approach to this state : the sensual man labors in the grati-
fication of his own passions, and has no other end than to serve
himself, nay the worst part of himself, in all his actions. This
makes him overlook what is due to others, and to cast behind
him all regards to justice, equity, and compassion, in the eager-
ness of obtaining the object of his desires. Hence it is that
the covetous man is apt to defraud all he deals with, to betray
the trust committed to him, and to make a prey of the widow
and the orphan unhappily placed under his protection. Hence
it is that the ambitious man lays all waste about him, and fills
the world with blood, violence, and rapine ; sacrificing his
country, friends, and relations, to his inordinate desire of power.
Hence it is that the lustful man breaks the bonds of friendship
and hospitality, and entails dishonor and reproach on the man
who loves him best ; hence it is that he lies in wait to betray
unguarded innocence, and is content, for the sake of his pas-
sion, to bring shame, reproach, remorse of conscience, and all
the evils of life, on a fellow-creature. It is the essence of mo-
rality to bound the desires within the limits of reason, justice.

400 SHERLOCK.

and equity. It is not having or exercising great power that
makes an ambitious man ; a king may be as virtuous as any of
his subjects ; but it is getting and using it unjustly. It is not
much wealth that denominates a man covetous, but it is the
method of obtaining and dispensing riches that makes the diffe-
rence. And for the other case mentioned, you shall have the
resolution of it in the words of an Apostle : ' Marriage is ho-
norable in all men, and the bed undefiled ; but whoremongers
and adulterers God will judge.'

It is plain from these instances, that the virtue of a man con-
sists in bounding his desires, and restraining them within the
limits prescribed by reason and morality : these limits the
lusts of the flesh are perpetually transgressing ; every such
transgression is a wound to the soul, which weakens its natural
faculties, and renders it less able to discharge its proper oflSce :
for reason will not always strive with a man ; but if often sub-
dued by corrupt affections, it will at last give over the contest,
and grow hard, stupid, and void of feeling.

And this suggests another consideration, to show how effectu-
ally sensual lusts do war against the soul, by extinguishing the
force of natural conscience, and not leaving a man reason and
religion enough to repent of his iniquities. The mind grows
sensual by degrees, and loses all relish for serious thought and
contemplation ; it contracts a hardness by long acquaintance
with sin, and is armed with a brutal courage which regards nei-
ther God nor man. Age and infirmities may free us from our
sensual passions, the sinner may outlive his sins ; but what is he
the better, since his sins perhaps outlived his conscience, and
left him without either will or power to turn to God ? This is
no uncommon case : and whenever it is the case, the circum-
stances which surround a man conspire to make it desperate.
His mind, by being long immersed in sensuality, is unapt for
serious reflexion, and indisposed to receive the truths which
reason offers : and besides this, the little glimmering lights of
religion, which shine but faintly in his mind, yield no comfort
or consolation to him, and he dreads the breaking in of more
light on him, lest, by knowing more, he should become more
miserable : this makes him love the darkness in which he is,
which helps to screen him from a sense of his own misery. And

DISCOURSE XXIII. — PART II. 401

thus the sensual man spends the poor remains of life with very
little sense, and yet much fear of religion. And yet were this
the worst, happy were this case, in comparison to what it really
is : for sensual lusts war against the soul, against the very
being itself, and will render it for ever unhappy and mi-
serable.

The sensual man has but one hope with respect to futurity,
and a sad one it is, that he may die like the beasts that perish :
but nature, reason, religion, deny him even this comfort, and
with one voice proclaim to us ' that God has appointed a day
in which he will judge the world.' When that day comes, and
he shall stand before the throne of God with all his sins about
him, and every injured person ready to accuse and demand jus-
tice against him, it is much easier to imagine what his distress
and misery will be, than for any words to describe it. Be the
consequence of that day what it will, it must be fatal to sinners.
Should the much talked-of, and the more wished-for annihila-
tion be their doom, it is a sentence that destroys both .body and
soul ; a sentence shocking to nature, and terrible to all our ap-
prehensions ; and to which nothing but a guilty conscience, and
a fearful expectation of something worse, could possibly recon-
cile the sentiments of a man. But neither will this be the case :
there is a fire that shall never go out prepared for the spirits of
the wicked, a worm that never dies ready to torment them. It
may be asked perhaps, do you mean a material fire, and a mate-
rial worm ? In good truth I am little concerned to answer this
question ; there is one who will answer it, even he who said it.
There is nothing I think so weak as the disputes about future
punishments. Do you imagine that God wants means of pu-
nishing sinners effectually ? or do you think that, when he
comes to punish sin, you shall have a saving bargain, and that
your present enjoyments will be worth all you can suffer for
them hereafter ? If you imagine this, you must think God a
very weak being : but if you think him a wise governor, rest
satisfied that there is nothing to be got by offending him ; and
that it is a foolish encouragement you give yourself, in imagin-
ing that the pains of hell will be less tormenting than they are
represented to be, when you may be sure, from the power and
wisdom of God, that the pleasures of sin will be too dearly
purchased at the price of them.

402 SHERLOCK.

But to return to the argument before us : let us look back,
and take a short view of the sensual man's condition. In this
world his passions find so much employment for his reason, that
he is excluded from the improvements peculiar to a rational
being, and which might recommend him to the favor of his
Maker : with respect to his fellow-creatures, he is void of mo-
rality; with respect to God, he is void of religion : he has a
body worn out by sin, and a mind hardened by it : in his youth
he strives to forget God, in his old age he cannot remember
him : he dies fuller of sins than of years, and goes down with
heaviness to the grave, and his iniquities follow him, and will
rise with him again when God calls him to appear and answer
for himself: then will his lusts and appetites, and all the sins
which attended on them, rise up in judgment against him, and
sink his soul into everlasting misery. The sum then of his
account is this : the sensual man has his portion of enjoyment
in this world with the brutes, and in the next his punishment
with wicked spirits. This is the war which the lusts of the flesh
wage against the soul ; from such enemies a wise man ought to
fly, for they have power not only to destroy the body, but ' to
cast both body and soul into hell.'

DISCOtJRSE XXIV. 403

SUMMARY OF DISCOURSE XXIV.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXVII. — VERSE 38.

The text shows what different effects the judgments of God
have on the minds of men : this strongly exemplified in the end
of the two malefactors : hence appears the adorable wisdom of
God, who, by these examples of justice and mercy brought so
near together, has taught us to fear without despair, and to
hope without presumption. Who does not tremble for himself,
when he sees the man perish by his Saviour's side, and wanting
only faith to be saved ? What would not the dying sinner give
to have his Saviour thus near him? Yet the thief who had
this advantage died in his sins, void of hope and comfort.
Must the sinner then despair, and has God forgotten to be
merciful ? No ; behold him who is on the other side of the
cross ! His state enlarged on : thus the case stands, with all
the allowances made to it, which seem most to favor a death-
bed repentance : and yet, as if Scripture had not noticed the
wretch who died blaspheming Christ, nor given us cause to fear
that a wicked life may end in a hardened death, the case of the
penitent only is drawn into example, and such hopes built on it
as are inconsistent with the laws of God, and the terms of sal-
vation. The penitent, as soon as he knew Christ, repented of
his sins : if the example pleases you, go and do likewise ; if
you act otherwise, you like nothing but the lateness of the re-
pentance ; and you would imitate the thief rather than the
penitent Christian. If you fancy you can imitate and enjoy
both these characters, you deceive yourself ; his case cannot be
yours; his example therefore cannot be your security: but

404 SUMMARY OF

suppose it were parallel to that of the dying Christian, yet it
affords no certain hope; since the proof is as strong from the
impenitent thief, that you will die in your sins, as from the
other case, that you will repent of them. Time does not allow
us to consider this case in all its views ; but only to point out
the circumstances that distinguish it from that of the dying
Christian ; and then to show what little hope this example
affords, allowing the case to be what it is generally supposed to
be. First, in all this perhaps there may be nothing which
resembles a death-bed repentance : malefactors often lie in
prison long before their trial and execution ; and if that be the
present case, here is time for conversion ; circumstances incline
this way : these enlarged on ; whence it is probable that he had
learned the dignity and character of Christ elsewhere, and came
persuaded of the truth of his mission : but how unlike to him
are those who desire not to lie down Christians, though they
would willingly die penitents. Secondly, no example can be
drawn by Christian sinners from this great work, even if it was
begun and finished on the cross ; since the conversion of a Jew
or a heathen is one thing, and the repentance of a Christian is
another. God has promised, through Christ, that the sins of a
repentant and converted unbeliever shall be forgiven : this the
penitent's case: his pardon answers to baptismal regeneration,
but has nothing to do with a death-bed repentance, and there-
fore affects not those who have fallen from grace once received.
Thirdly, the crimes of this unconverted sinner were not so
aggravated as the sins of Christians ; he sinned against the
light of nature, and the rules of reason and morality : this topic
enlarged on ; he therefore had a better plea for mercy than the
Christian who sins in despite of knowlege and the Holy Spirit ;
for to sin in hopes of pardon and the prospect of a late repent-
ance, aggravates the crime, and is an abuse of God's mercy.
The guilt of the heathen and Christian sinner compared : for
the former of these Nature herself pleads before her great

DISCOURSE XXIV. 405

Creator. If the penitent first learned Christ on the cross, how
much more had he to say for himself than the Christian, who
comes to make his peace at the hour of death ! Example given
of this penitent's pleading before his Lord : * Lord, I am one
of those sinners, for whom thy Son now expires : I was con-
ceived in sin : I have w^andered in darkness, without the light
of thy gospel and the help of thy Spirit : accept the poor
remains of life, since it is all I have had to offer : receive my
latest breath, which confesses my own guilt, and declares my
Saviour's innocence : join me to him, as in death, so in life
everlasting.' But can the dying Christian plead these things,
after a hardened life of sin and impenitence, against the light of
the gospel, and the proffered assistance of God's Spirit?
This matter more fully treated of. May not the Lord then
say to such a one calling for mercy at his last moments,
' How long have I waited in vain for these prayers ? how
have you despised all my calls ? But though you could fly
from the mercy of God, his justice will overtake you.' Hence
the wicked Christian's case is worse than that of the penitent
on the cross ; which therefore is no example whereby he may
expect mercy. Other circumstances fit to be observed, which
render a death-bed repentance insecure. First, he that sins in
hope of repenting at last, may sin so far as to become hardened
and incapable of repentance : this reflexion grounded on the
case of the impenitent thief; who, though he had all the ad-
vantages which the other had, died reproaching Christ, and
joined in that bitter jeer, if thou he the Christ, come down from
the cross. This example might be backed by many more in
our own time : the cause of this is, that the Holy Spirit will
not always strive with sinners, but leaves them to perish in the
hardness of their own hearts ; for an habitual enjoyment of the
pleasures of sin, in the hope of repenting, renders a man at last
incapable of it; he learns to make a mock of sin, till his har-
dened conscience is unable to feel the languishing remains of

406 SUMMARY OF

grace : hence the incapability of sinners to ask pardon on a
sick-bed. Neither can a man resolve how far he will sin, any
more than how tall or short he will be : daily experience proves
this ; and happy are they who want this fatal experience !
The moment a man gives himself up to sin, he gives himself out
of his own power ; sets the passions free ; and drowns the voice
of conscience : and when reason and conscience are destroyed,
religion must soon follow after them : in this general rout,
how can one poor resolution, that of repentance, escape ?
This point enlarged on. Let those therefore who have it still
in their power, consider their danger, and reason with their own
hearts, even for a few moments, on which all eternity depends.
Secondly, if you could preserve your resolutions of repentance,
it is not in your own power to secure an opportunity of exe-
cuting them. The thief on the cross died a violent death,
happy in this at least, that he had no pretence to defer his
repentance, in prospect of a farther opportunity ; nor was his
heart to be allured by the pleasures of life, when life itself was
so near expiring. From this death may we all be defended :
yet without it which of us can hope for such favorable circum-
stances for repentance ? Whenever the sinner thinks of repent-
ance, he finds it a work of such trouble that he is unwilling to
set about it : no man is so old, but he thinks he may live one
year more : hence the procrastination of his repentance, till
sickness and infirmities render it impossible. This elicited the
moving petition of the Psalmist : so teach us to number our
days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. The way
that men generally number their days causes only folly and
wickedness ; and the years to come, which they rejoice in,
render them careless of the great concerns of immortality ;
hence their delusion. But suppose yourself in the thiefs case,
and a day fixed, on which you are to die ; could you then delay
your repentance ? could you then say, to-morrow will be time
enough? and if you would not do it then, why will you

DISCOURSE XXIV. 407

do it now ? only because you think you will have time enough
for this work hereafter ; in this expectation death or its previous
sickness arrives ; and thus very few think of repentance till
they are confined to a sick-bed : so that the unfortunate death
of the converted penitent on the cross was an advantage which
few Christians will give to themselves. Thirdly, the death-
bed repentance of a Christian will want another advantage pecu-
liar to that of the thief on the cross ; a sound body and mind,
capable of performing such acts of faith and devotion as are
necessary to repentance and conversion : the different case of a
sick, feeble, languid sinner compared with this : whence it comes
that repentance is often impracticable to' a sinner : but if he
possess his sense and reason, yet the general result of his re-
pentance is horror and despair : the fearful consequences of
this state enlarged on ; so that even supposing all circumstances
most favorable, you give him no security; if he is not sen-
sible of his sins and impenitence, he will die like the wicked
thief on the cross ; and if he becomes sensible of them, how
shall he be preserved from such despair as will render him
neither fit to live nor fit to die ? Nothing but an extraordi-
nary degree of grace can preserve this man in a temper fit for
repentance, neither too presumptuous, nor too slavish : but
who can tell whether God will grant thi& at the last, to such
as have rejected his constant calls? It cannot be supposed that
God intends to save Christians thus, which would be to make
void all the rules and duties of the gospel. This matter more
fully explained : if you do your best to obtain the promises of
the gospel, happy are you ; but if you seek new ways to salva-
tion, joining the pleasures of sin to the hopes of the gospel,
you deceive yourselves ; for God is not mocked. Conclusion ;
exhorting all who love their own souls, to work for their sal-
vation while they have the light, /or the night cometh, when
no man can work.

408 SHERLOCK.

DISCOURSE XXIV.

MATTHEW, CHAP. XXVII. — VERSE 38.

Then were there two thieves crucified with him ; one on the right
hand, and another on the left.

What different effects the judgments of God have on the
minds of men, may be learned from these examples now^ before
us. Here are two thieves crucified with our blessed Saviour ;
two, who were probably guilty of the same crimes, and now
under the same condemnation ; both brought by the providence
of God to suffer in the company of his own Son, whose blood
was shed for the sins of the whole world. But mark the end
of these men : one died reproaching and blaspheming Christ,
and breathed out his soul in the agonies of guilt and despair ;
the other saw, acknowleged, and openly confessed his Re-
deemer, and expired with the sound of those blessed words in
his ears, ' To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise.'

How adorable is the wisdom of God, who has thus instructed
us; and by setting the examples of his justice and mercy so
near together, has taught us to fear without despair, and to hope
without presumption ! Who would not tremble for himself,
when he sees the man perish in his sins who died by his Sa-
viour's side ; within reach of that blood which was poured out
for his redemption, but wanting faith to stretchout his hand and
be saved ?

What would the dying sinner give to have his Saviour so
near him in his last moments, that he might pour out his soul
before him, and seize by violence the hand which alone is able

DISCOURSE XXIV. 409

to save? Yet he who had all these advantages enjoyed none
of them ; but died in his sins, void of hope and of comfort.

Must the sinner then despair, and has God forgot to be mer-
ciful ? No : cast your eyes on the other side of the cross, and
there you may see the mercy of God displayed in the brightest
colors. Tliere hangs the penitent, surrounded with all the ter-
rors of approaching death ; yet in the midst of all calm and
serene, confessing his sins, glorifying the justice of God in his
own punishment, rebuking the blasphemy of his companion, jus-
tifying the innocence of his Saviour, and adoring him even in
the lowest state oi' misery ; and at last receiving the certain
promise of a blessed immortality.

Thus the cas^stands with all the allowances made to it
which seem most to favor a death-bed repentance ; and yet,
as if the Scripture had said nothing of Jlie wretch who died
blaspheming and reproaching Christ, nor given us any cause
to fear that a wicked life may end in a hardened and obdu-
rate death; the case of the penitent only is drawn into exam-
ple, and such hopes are built on it as are neither consistent with
the laws of God, nor the terms of man's salvation ; for even of
this example the most preposterous and absurd use is made.
This penitent, as soon as he came to the knowlege of Christ,
repented of his sins : if you are fond of the example, ' Go and
do likewise :' if you delay, and pursue the pleasures of sin, on
the encouragement which this instance aft'ords you, it is plain
that you like nothing in the repentance, bwt only the lateness
of it ; and that your inclinations are to imitate the thief rather
than the penitent Christian. Once he lived by violence, in de-
fiance of the laws of God and man : when he was penitent, he
abhorred and detested his iniquities. Which part would you
imitate? If both, if like him you propose to enjoy the plea-
sures of sin, and like him to repent and enjoy the pleasures of
heaven, you mightily impose on yourself ; his case can never be
yours, and therefore his example cannot be your security. Be-
sides, were the case indeed parallel to that of the dying Chris-
tian, yet still it can aflord no certain hope; since the proof is
as strong from the case of the impenitent thief, thatyon shall die
in your sins ; as it can be from the other case, that you shall
repent of them.

SHERL. VOL. I. S

410 SHERLOCK.

- It would take up too much of your time to consider this case
distinctly in all its views : I shall therefore only briefly hint to
you the circumstances which distinguish it from that of the dying
Christian ; and then proceed to show what little hope this ex-
ample affords, allowing the case to be what it is generally sup-
posed to be.

First, then, in all this perhaps there may be nothing re-
sembling a death-bed repentance. It is no uncommon thing
for malefactors to lie in prison a long time, before they are
brought to trial and execution ; and if that is the present case,
there is room enough for the conversion of this criminal before
he came to suff"er. The circumstances incline this way. How
came he to be so well acquainted with the innocence of Christ,
if he never heard of him till he met him on the cross ? How
came it into his he^ to address to him in the manner he does,
.'^|rd, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom ?'
^^wat were the marks of royalty that were to be discovered on
the cross ? what the signs of dignity and power ? What could
lead him to think that his fellow-sufferer had a title to any
, kingdom ? what to imagine that he was Lord of the world that
is to come ? These circumstances make it probable that he had
elsewhere learned the character and dignity of Christ, and came
persuaded of the truth of his mission : and what is this to them,
who have no desire to lie down Christians on their death-bed,
though they would willingly go off penitents ?

Secondly, suppoii this great work were begun and finished
on the cross ; yet it cannot be drawn into example by Christian
sinners : because the conversion of a Jew or a Heathen is one
thing, and the repentance of a Christian is another. The pro-
mises of God, through Christ, are so far certain, that whenever
an unbeliever repents and is converted, his sins shall be for-
given. This was the penitent's case ; and therefore the pardon
granted to him answers directly to baptismal regeneration ; and
has nothing to do with a death-bed repentance ; nor can at
all affect them who have fallen from grace once received.
For,

Thirdly, the profligate life of this unconverted sinner was not
attended with such aggravating circumstances as the sins of
Christians are. He sinned against the light of nature, and the

DISCOURSE XXIV. 411

common rules of reason and morality : but it might at least be
said for him, that he was the unhappy son of an unhappy fa-
ther, conceived in the degenerate and corrupted state of nature ;
that he wanted both the sense and knowlege, the hopes and
fears, and the helps and assistances which the gospel affords
for destroying the power and dominion of sin : and the greater
his weakness was, the fitter object of mercy was he ; and be-
cause he had not been freed by grace from the power of sin, he
had the better plea to be freed by mercy from punishment.
But are there the same excuses, or the same hopes of pardon
for Christians, who sin against knowlege, against the powerful
motives of hope and fear, and in despite of the Holy Spirit
with which they were sealed ? To sin in hopes of pardon, and
on the prospect of future repentance, is itself a great aggrava-
tion of sin, and a sad abuse of the mercy of God.

If the Heathen sins, he sins under those infirmities of nature
for which Christ died ; but the Christian sins under the use of
all the remedies which the gospel has provided, and which were
purchased for him by his dying Saviour. The condition of
mankind after the fall afforded, without doubt, many arguments
of pity and compassion ; and such arguments as moved the Son
of God to undertake their redemption. The ignorant, the un-
enlightened sinner has a right to plead all these arguments in
his own behalf: his is the common cause of mankind; and na-
ture, with unutterable groans, cries for him and all her children
before her great Creator.

If the penitent received the first knowlege of Christ on the
cross ; yet how much more had he to say for himself than the
Christian, who comes to make his peace at the hour of death .'
he might thus plead his unhappy cause : ' Lord, I am one of
those sinners for whom thy Son now expires on the cross ; 1
was conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity; I have
wandered in ignorance and darkness, without the light of thy
gospel to direct me, without the help of thy spirit to protect me :
why was all my life so dark, and these few last minutes only
blessed with the knowlege of thy Son ? Lord, accept the poor
remains of life, since it is all I have left to offer : my latest
breath shall confess my own guilt and my Saviour's innocence :

412 SHERLOCK.

and since thy wisdom has united me to him in this cross, let
me never more part from him ; but as I am joined with him in
his death, so let me be likewise in his life for evermore.' But
what shall the dyin^ Christian say, after a hardened life of
sin and impenitence ? What words shall we put in his mouth to
appease the anger of his injured Redeemer? You may spend
your time in lamenting your past folly ; but with what language
will you approach to God ? You have neither ignorance nor
weakness to plead ; you M'ere enlightened with his word ; and
his Holy Spirit was ever ready to assist you, had you been
ready to endeavor after holiness. What will you then say,
when frightened and amazed you call for mercy at your last
moments ? May not the Lord then say, ' How long have I
waited in vain for these prayers and these sighs ? how have I
spoken to you by your conscience within, and by the ministry
of my word from without; and how have my calls been de-
spised ? The gates of mercy M^ere always open to you, but you
shut them against yourself : but though you could fly from the
mercy of God, yet his justice will overtake you.' Consider
but this calmly with yourselves, and you will find that the
wicked Christian's case is so much worse than the penitent's
on the cross, that there can be no reason for you to encourage
yourselves on this example ; or to hope for the same mercy,
when your case will be greatly different. These are such cir-
cumstances as enter into the nature of the case, and will make
it always unfit, and oftentimes impossible, to be imitated by a
Christian. But there are other circumstances fit to be ob-
served, which render a death-bed repentance very insecure and
dangerous, though we should allow it all the hopes which have
been raised from the case before us. •

As, first, he that sins in hopes of repenting at last, may sin
so far as to grow hardened and obdurate, and incapable of re-
pentance when the time comes. This reflection is grounded on
the case of the impenitent thief; who was crucified Avith our
Saviour ; who, though he had certainly all the outward advan-
tages which the penitent had, yet he made no step towards re-
pentance, but died reproaching Christ, and joining with those who
crucified him, in that bitter jeer, * If thou be the Christ, come

DISCOURSE XXIV. il3

down from the cross.' Or if you want more evidence, this ex-
ample may be backed by many more in our own time ; it being-
no uncommon thing to see malefactors die stupid and senseless,
and go out of the world as wickedly as they have lived in it :
and what can this be attributed to, but to the desertion of God's
Holy Spirit, which will not always strive Avith sinners, but
sometimes leaves them to perish in the hardness of their hearts ?
So that the man who sins in hopes of repenting, can never be
sure of this last retreat; because, by pursuing the first part of
his design, that is, to enjoy the pleasure of sin, he may soon
grow incapable of the last, which is repenting. I question not
but that those who reserve themselves to these last hopes of re-
penting, mean sincerely to do it when the time comes ; for
hardly can I think that any man means to suffer for his sins :
but then those who enter on sin with these tender regards to
their own souls, soon grow above such mean thoughts, and
would scorn to own themselves in the number of those who are
candidates for repentance : they contract a familiarity with sin,
and with Solomon's fools, learn to ' make a mock of it,' till by
degrees their consciences are hardened, and not to be touched
by those soft impressions which at the first setting out they felt
from the languishing remains of grace. And from hence it
comes to pass, that when these sinners lie down on a sick-bed,
they often want both the will and the power to ask forgive-
ness ; and by an habitual neglect of all parts of religion, be-
come unable to perform any, even that in which all their poor
hopes are concluded, to repent of and ask pardon for their
sins. Nor is it in your own power to sin to what degree you
please, or to preserve a sense of religion amidst the pleasures
of iniquity : if it were, possibly the danger in this respect might
be less : but habits grow insensibly ; there is a kind of mecha-
nism in it, as in the growth of the body ; and he that gives him-
self up to sin can no more resolve how great a sinner he will
be, than he that is born a man can resolve how tall or how
short of stature he will be. To the truth of this, experience
daily witnesses : happy are those who want this fatal expe-
rience ! With how much pain and uneasiness do men bring
themselves to do the things which in a little time they glory
and take pride in, or at least grow easy and contented under?

414 SHERLOCK.

And thus the man, who with great tremblings of heart and
misgivings of mind, brings himself to taste the pleasures of sin,
with resolutions of an after repentance, comes at last to be so
well reconciled to his sins as not to think repentance necessary
for them. The moment you give yourself up to sin you give
yourself out of your own power ; you lay the chains on the
neck of reason and set the passions free : conscience, which
used to be your advance-guard, and give you early notice of
every approaching evil, falls into the power of lust and affec-
tion : and when reason and conscience are destroyed, the triple
cord is broken, and religion must soon follow after; and how,
in this general rout, one poor resolution, to repent of all this
iniquity, should escape, is more than can be easily conceived :
and yet when you lose that, you lose yourself; it is your last,
your only hope. On the whole, there is much more reason to
fear that sin, if once you indulge it, should get the better of
and destroy your resolution of repentance, than that your reso-
lution to repent should ever conquer and destroy the confirmed
powers and habits of sin. And I wish those who have not yet
put it out of their own power to reason calmly on these things,
would enter into this debate with their own hearts, and consi-
der what danger they are in : a few moments cannot be too
much to spend in so weighty an affair : and whenever you
retire to these cool thoughts, may the Father of mercies in-
fluence those moments of your life on which all eternity de-
pends !

But, secondly, could you preserve your resolutions of repent-
ance, yet still it is not in your own power to secure an oppor-
tunity to execute them. The thief on the cross died a violent
death by the hand of justice; happy in this at least, that he
knew how long he had to live ; and had no ground to flatter
himself with the hopes of many years to come. He had no
pretence to defer his repentance in prospect of a further oppor-
tunity ; nor was his heart to be allured by the soft and enter-
taining pleasures of life, when life itself was so near expiring.
From the like death God defend us all ! and yet without it
which of us can hope for such favorable circumstances for re-
pentance ? Whenever the sinner thinks of repentance, he will
find that he has a work of great sorrow and trouble on his

DISCOURSE XXIV. 415

hands ; and this will make him unwilling to set about it. No
man is so old but that he thinks he may last out one year more :
and then, why will not to-morrow serve for repentance as well
as to-day ? And thus the great work is delayed, till sickness or
natural infirmities render him incapable of it. It was the sight
of this strange delusion in which men live, still promising them-
selves longer life, and on those hopes deferring the necessary
work of eternity, v/hich made the holy Psalmist break forth
into that moving petition : ' So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.' The way that
men generally number their days can produce nothing but folly
and wickedness : the many years to come which they rejoice
in, serve only to make them careless and negligent, and thought-
less of the great concerns of immortality : and whether men are
not deluded by these hopes let any one judge. Do but sup-
pose that you were in the thief's case, and certainly to die on a
fixed day : do you not think that you should have other
thoughts, other concerns about you? Could you then delay
your repentance, and say, to-morrow will be time enough ? If
you would not do it then, Avhy will you do it now? Only for
this reason, that you think you have time enough in reserve to
do this work hereafter. And so you may continue to think
with as much reason as you do now, till death, or the sickness
which leads to it, surprises you. And hence it comes to pass
that very few who sin with resolutions of repentance, ever think
of it till they are confined to a sick-bed; because, as long as
they are in health, they have always this answer ready, it will
be time enough hereafter. So that the unfortunate end to
which justice brought this penitent on the cross, was, with re-
spect to his conversion, an advantage that few Christians
will give themselves : the certainty of his death made his re-
pentance certain, permitted him no delays, no vain excuses, no
flattering hopes of better opportunities hereafter.

'I'hirdly, considering that Christians, who propose to them-
selves this example of the thief on the cross, seldom repent till
they are warned by sickness to prepare for death : they will
evidently want another advantage which this penitent had.
His death not being the eftect of any bodily pain or distemper,
but of the judge's sentence, he brought with him to the cross,

416 SHERLOCK.

which, if you please, you may call his death-bed, a sound body
and mind. He had his senses perfect, his reason fresh and un-
disturbed ; and was capable of performing such acts of faith
and devotion, as were necessary to his repentance and conver-
sion. But how different often is the case of the sick and lan-
guishing sinner ! Perhaps he labors under such acute pains as
will give him no respite for thought or reflection ; or perhaps he
dozes and lies stupid, without knowing his friends and rela-
tions, or even himself; or perhaps the distemper seizes his head,
and he raves and is distracted, loses his sense and reason, and
every thing of the man, but the outward shape, before his death.
And are not these hopeful circumstances for repentance ? Is a
man likely to know and find out his Saviour, when he knows
not even his own brother who stands by his bed-side ? These are
very common circumstances, and such as render repentance im-
practicable. But should the sinner escape all these accidents,
and go off gently without being forsaken by his sense or reason ;
yet still it may happen, and often it does, that his promised re-
pentance produces nothing but horror and despair. In his life-
time he flattered himself with unreasonable hopes of mercy,
and now he begins to see how unreasonable they were : now he
can think of nothing but that he is going to appear before his
Judge, to receive the just rewards of wickedness : he sees him
already clothed with wrath and majesty ; and forms within his
own tormented breast the whole process of the last day. If he
sleeps, he dreams of judgment and misery ; and when he wakes,
believes his dreams forebode his fate. Thus restless and uneasy,
thus void of comfort and hope, without confidence to ask par-
don, without faith to receive it, does the wretched sinner ex-
pire, and has the misfortune to see his hopes die before him.
In a word then, put all the favorable circumstances together
that you can imagine ; bring the sinner by the gentlest decays
of nature to his latter end ; give him the fairest and the longest
warning ; yet still you give him no security : if he is not sen-
sible of his sin and impenitence, he will die, like the wicked
thief on the cross, reproaching Christ, hardened and obdurate
against the thoughts of judgment: or if he comes to a sense,
and sees his own unworthiness, how shall he be preserved from
despair, and such a dread of his righteous Judge, as will make

DISCOURSE XXIV. 417

him neither fit to live nor fit to die ? Nothing but an extraor-
dinary degree of grace can preserve him in a temper fit for re-
pentance, free on one side from confidence and presumption, on
the other from slavish fear which casts out love, which may
produce sorrow, but not repentance. And whether those who
have lived under the continual calls of grace to virtue and ho-
liness, who have rejected the counsel of God whilst they had
health and strength to serve, shall be thought worthy of such
extraordinary mercy at last, let any reasonable man judge. Jt
cannot be supposed that God intends to save Christians in this
way ; which would be at once to evacuate all the rules and
duties of the gospel. Christ came to destroy sin and the works
of the devil ; but were men promised forgiveness on the account
of a few sighs and tears at last, this would effectually establish
and confirm the kingdom of Satan. Though God has promised
pardon to penitent sinners, yet his promise must be expounded
so as to be consistent with his design in sending Christ into the
world ; and then it can never be extended to those who use
the gospel as a protection to wickedness, and sin because God
has promised to be merciful. In a word, you have the pro-
mises of the gospel set before you, you have the mercies of
God in Christ offered to you ; if you will accept them and do
your part, happy are you : but if you are for finding out new
ways to salvation, if you seek to reconcile the pleasures and
profits of sin with the hopes of the gospel, you do but deceive
yourselves : for ' God is not mocked,' nor will he regard those
who make such perverse use of his mercy.

"What then remains, but that all who love their own souls
seek the Lord whilst happily he may be found ; and work for
their salvation whilst they have the light ; ' for the night
cometh, when no man can work.' The night cometh on apace,
and brings with it a change which every mortal must undergo.
Then shall we be forsaken of all our pleasures and enjoyments,
and deserted by those gay thoughts which now support our
foolish hearts against the fears of religion. The time cometh,
and who, O Lord, may abide its coming! when we must stand
before the judgment-seat of Christ ; when the highest and the
lowest shall be placed on the same level, expecting a new dis-
tribution of honors and rewards. In that day the stoutest heart

418 SHERLOCK.

will tremble, and the countenance of the proudest man will fall
in the presence of his injured Lord. I speak not to you the
suggestion of superstition or fear, but the words of soberness and
of truth. May they sink into your hearts, and yield you the
fruits of spiritual joy and comfort here, and of glory and immor-
tality hereafter !

END OF VOL. I.

I'P.INTIU bV A. J. VAI,PY, RED MOV COURT, ILEET STREET.