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FROM-THE-  LIBRARYOF 
TR1NITYCOLLEGETORONTO 


/ 


THE    WORKS 

OF  GEORGE    BULL,  D.D, 

LORD  BISHOP  OF  ST.  DAVID'S, 

COLLECTED  AND  REVISED 


BY 


THE  REV.  EDWARD  BURTON,   D.D. 

FORMERLY  STUDENT,  AFTERWARDS  CANON   OF   CHRIST  CHURCH  AND 
REGIUS  PROFESSOR  OF  DIVINITY. 


TO  WHICH  IS  PREFIXED 


THE   LIFE   OF   BISHOP   BULL, 

BY 

ROBERT   NELSON,   ESQ. 


VOL.  I. 


OXFORD: 

AT   THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS. 

MDCCCXLVI. 


3* 


TO 
MRS.  ELEANOR  DODDINGTONa, 

WIFE  TO  GEORGE  DODDINGTON,  ESQ. 

ONE    OF    THE    LATE    LORDS    COMMISSIONERS    OF    THE     ADMIRALTY, 

AND    MEMBER    OF    PARLIAMENT    FOR    THE    BOROUGH    OF 

BR1DGWATER    IN    SOMERSETSHIRE. 


MADAM, 

ri^HE  right  reverend  author  of  these  Sermons  and 
-*-  other  Discourses  having,  upon  all  occasions, 
expressed  a  very  high  esteem  for  you,  not  only  as  a 
lady  to  whom  he  had  the  happiness  to  be  nearly 
related,  but  as  one  whose  personal  virtues  and 
eminent  qualifications  called  for  a  greater  share  of 
his  regard,  than  even  the  nearest  ties  of  blood  can 
of  themselves  ever  claim,  I  thought  myself  obliged 
to  give  you  as  public  a  testimony  of  it  as  I  could, 
by  dedicating  them  to  your  name. 

And  I  am  willing  to  persuade  myself  they  will 
meet  with  a  favourable  acceptance  at  your  hands  ; 
since  a  lady  of  your  distinguishing  sense  and  known 
piety  cannot  but  approve  of  what  was  so  seriously 

a  [She  was  sole  heiress  of  Henry  Bull,  esq.  of  Shapwick. 
Nelsons  Life,  p.  6.] 

b  2 


iv  DEDICATION. 

intended  for  the  service  of  the  church,  and  the  ho 
nour  of  that  religion  which  you  profess.  For  these, 
Madam,  are  the  ends  to  which  his  whole  endeavours 
and  studies  were  directed ;  and  if  he  had  not  all  the 
success  therein  which  he  himself  might  desire,  he 
had  at  least  the  satisfaction  of  having  done  whatever 
was  in  his  power  towards  the  promotion  of  them. 

But  I  must  not  farther  enlarge  on  this  subject,  how 
pleasing  soever  it  may  be  to  me,  as  being  conscious 
to  myself  that  I  am  in  many  other  respects  than 
that  of  relation  unqualified  for  the  discharge  of  it. 
An  abler  pen  has  undertaken  it,  (I  mean  that  wor 
thy  gentleman's,  to  whose  great  care  and  pains  in 
this  edition  I  am  so  much  indebted,)  and  will  in 
the  Life  do  justice  to  it. 

I  shall  therefore  no  longer  detain  you  from  the 
entertainment  you  will  meet  with  in  that  and  the 
following  Sermons  and  other  Discourses,  than  while 
I  write  myself, 

Madam, 
Your  most  obedient  servant, 

And  most  obliged  kinsman, 

ROBERT  BULL. 


TWENTY  SERMONS. 


THE    CONTENTS. 


SERMON   I. 

THE  necessity  of  works  of  righteousness  in  order  to  salva 
tion  ;  though  the  reward  of  them  is  only  to  be  expected 
from  the  free  grace  and  mercy  of  God ;  asserted  against 
the  Antinomians  and  papists. 

HOSEA  x.  12. 
Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  reap  in  mercy P.  i. 

SERMON  II. 

That  the  soul  of  man  subsists  after  death;  in  a  place  of 
abode  provided  by  God  for  it,  till  the  resurrection. 

ACTS  i.  25. 
That  he  might  go  to  his  own  place P.  23 . 

SERMON  III. 

Concerning  the  middle  state  of  happiness  or  misery,  allotted 
by  God  to  every  man  presently  after  death,  according  as 
he  has  been  good  or  bad  in  his  past  life,  inconsistent  with 
the  popish  doctrine  of  purgatory. 

ACTS  i.  25. 
That  he  might  go  to  his  own  place P.  49. 

SERMON  IV. 

The  low  and  mean  condition  of  the  blessed  Virgin  considered ; 
as  also  the  singular  grace  and  favour  of  God  vouchsafed 
to  her ;  and  that  respect  which  is  due  to  her  from  us  upon 
that  account,  wherein  the  invocation  of  her  by  the  papists 
is  confuted. 

LUKE  i.  48,  49. 

For  he  hath  regarded  the  low  estate  of  his  handmaiden  :  for, 


viii  CONTENTS. 

behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  me  blessed. 
For  he  that  is  mighty  hath  done  for  me  great  things ;  and 
holy  is  his  name P.  83 . 

SERMON  V. 

St.  Paul's  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan,  sent 
to  prevent  his  being  exalted  above  measure,  considered 
and  explained ;  with  several  practical  observations  drawn 
from  that  subject. 

2  Con.  xii.  7,  8,  9. 

And  lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure  through  the 
abundance  of  the  revelations,  there  was  given  to  me  a 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan  to  buffet  me, 
lest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure.  For  this  thing 
I  besought  the  Lord  thrice,  that  it  might  depart  from  me. 
And  he  said  unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  : 
for  my  strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly 
therefore  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the 
power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me P.  113. 

SERMON  VI. 

A  Visitation  Sermon  concerning  the  great  difficulty  and 

danger  of  the  priestly  office. 

JAMES  iii.  i . 
My  brethren,  be  not  many  masters,  knowing  that  we  shall 

receive  the  greater  condemnation P.  137. 

SERMON   VII. 

The  different  degrees  of  bliss  and  glory  in  Christ's  heavenly 
kingdom  answer  to  the  different  degrees  of  grace  here 
below.  Several  objections  against  this  doctrine  are  an 
swered. 

2  Pet.  i.  IT. 

For  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  you  abundantly 
into   the   everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Christ.  .  P.  1 68. 


SERMON  VIII. 

Everlasting  life  hoped  for  by  good  men   under  the  Old 


CONTENTS.  ix 

Testament ;  and  that  the  consideration  of  the  vanity  of 
the  present  life  is  an  effectual  means  to  make  us  fix  our 
minds  upon  things  eternal. 

PSALM  ciii.  15,  16,  17. 

As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass:  as  the  flower  of  the 
field,  so  he  flour isheth.  For  the  wind  passeth  over  it, 
and  it  is  gone ;  and  the  place  thereof  shall  know  it  no 
more.  But  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to 
upon  them  that  fear  him P.  193- 


SERMON  IX. 

What  that  worthiness  is,  and  wherein  it  consists,  which  is 
required  of  those  that  shall  be  partakers  of  the  future 
heavenly  glory. 

REV.  Hi.  4. 
And  they  shall  walk  with  me  in  white,  for  they  are  worthy. 

P, 216. 
SERMON  X. 

That  the  poverty  of  the  first  preachers  of  the  gospel  was 
designed  by  Providence  to  convince  the  world  of  their 
sincerity ;  and  that  even  persons  divinely  inspired,  and 
ministers  of  God,  did  not  so  wholly  depend  upon  divine 
inspiration,  but  that  they  made  use  also  of  the  ordinary 
help  and  means,  such  as  reading  of  books,  with  study 
and  meditation  on  them,  for  their  assistance  in  the  dis 
charge  of  their  office. 

2  TIM.  iv.  13. 

The  cloke  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus,  when  thou 
comest,  bring  with  thee,  and  the  books,  but  especially  the 
parchments P.  240. 

SERMON  XI. 

The  existence  of  angels  proved  from  reason  as  well  as 
scripture,  their  creation  by  God,  the  fall  of  some  of  them, 
the  nature  of  the  holy  angels,  their  state  and  condition 
in  reference  to  God. 

HEB.  i.  14. 
Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister 

for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ? P.  26 1 . 

BULL,  VOL.  i.  b 


x  C  O  N  TE  N  T  S. 

SERMON  XII. 

The  office  of  the  holy  angels  in  reference  to  good  men  ; 
being  appointed  by  God  as  the  ministers  of  his  special 
providence  towards  the  faithful  ;  and  wherein  the  ange 
lical  ministry  doth  more  especially  consist. 
HEB.  i.  14. 

Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister 
for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?  P.  289. 

SERMON  XIII. 

Prescribed  forms  of  prayer  in  the  public  worship  of  God, 
practised  from  the  very  beginning  of  Christianity,  and 
are  not  only  ancient,  but  useful  and  necessary  upon 
many  accounts. 

i  TIM.  ii.  i,  2. 

/  exhort  therefore,  that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers, 
intercessions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all 
men  ,•  for  kings,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority  ;  that 
we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness 
and  honesty P.  326. 

SERMON  XIV. 

That  the  doctrine  of  the  recompense  of  reward,  to  be  be 
stowed  on  the  righteous  after  this  life,  was  understood 
and  believed  by  the  people  of  God  before  the  law  was 
given ;  and  that  it  is  lawful  to  serve  God  with  respect 
to,  or  in  hope  of,  the  future  heavenly  recompense. 

HER.  xi.  26. 
For  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the  reward. 

P.  346. 
SERMON  XV. 

That  many  may  have  a  form  or  show  of  godliness,  when 
they  deny  its  power,  and  are  far  from  the  truth  and 
reality  of  it. 

2  TIM.  iii.  5. 
Having  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the  power  thereof. 

P.  372. 

SERMON  XVL 
A  prosperous  condition  in  this  world  is  a  blessing  of  God, 


CONTENTS.  xi 

wherein  we  not  only  may,  but  ought  to  rejoice,  since  it 
is  given  us  by  God  as  a  peculiar  time  of  comfort  and 
rejoicing. 

ECCLES.  vii.  14. 

In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful^  but  in  the  day  of  ad 
versity  consider:  God  also  hath  set  the  one  over  against 
the  other,  to  the  end  that  man  should  find  nothing  after 
him P-389- 

SERMON  XVII. 

Adversity  the  proper  season  of  serious  consideration ;  and 
so  contrived  by  the  providence  of  God  that  it  should  be 
intermixed  with  prosperity;  and  this  mixture  of  good 
and  evil  so  proportioned  by  the  same  providence,  that  it 
obviates  all  discontent  and  murmuring  against  God. 
ECCLES.  vii.  14. 

In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful,  but  in  the  day  of  ad 
versity  consider:  God  also  hath  set  the  one  over  against 
the  other,  to  the  end  that  man  should  find  nothing  after 
him P.  41  o. 

SERMON  XVIII. 

That  it  is  a  very  sinful  and  vain  thing  for  any  man  so  to 
glory  in  his  own  wisdom,  strength,  or  wealth,  as  to  place 
his  trust  and  confidence  in  either  or  all  of  them. 
JER.  ix.  23,  24. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wis 
dom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not 
the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches :  but  let  him  that  glorieth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  Jcnoweth  me,  that  I 
am  the  Lord  which  exercise  lomngkindness,  judgment,  and 
righteousness,  in  the  earth :  for  in  these  things  I  delight, 
saith  the  Lord P.  429. 

SERMON  XIX. 

That  the  religious  acknowledgment  of  God's  providence, 
in  the  wise  and  righteous  government  and  disposal  of 
all  human  affairs,  joined  with  an  humble  dependancc 


xii  CONTENT  S. 

and  firm  trust  on  him,  in  the  way  of  obedience  to  him, 
is  man's  best  and  indeed  only  security. 

JER.  ix.  23,  24. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wis 
dom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not 
the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches :  but  let  him  that  glorieth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  knoweth  me,  that  I 
am  the  Lord  which  exercise  lovingkindness,  judgment,  and 
righteousness,  in  the  earth :  for  in  these  things  I  delight, 
saith  the  Lord P.  45 1 . 

SERMON  XX. 

That  it  is  matter  of  great  use  and  concernment,  much  con 
ducing  to  the  purposes  of  religion,  seriously  to  consider 
the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  life ;  and  that  such  due 
consideration  of  our  short  and  uncertain  abode  in  this 
world  is  the  gift  of  God,  and  the  effect  of  his  grace, 
which  therefore  ought  to  be  sought  for  by  humble  and 
earnest  prayer. 

PSALM  xxxix.  4. 

Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my 
days,  what  it  is,  that  I  may  know  how  frail  I  am.  P.  472. 


SERMON  I. 


SERMON    I. 


THE    NECESSITY    OF    WORKS    OF    RIGHTEOUSNESS     IN    ORDER 

TO  SALVATION;  THOUGH  THE  REWARD  OF  THEM  is  ONLY 

TO  BE  EXPECTED  FROM  THE  FREE  GRACE   AND  MERCY  OF 
GOD  I  ASSERTED  AGAINST  THE  ANT1NOMI ANS  AND  PAPISTS. 


HOSKA  X.   12. 

Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness }  reap  in  mere?/. 

IN  the  preceding  verses  of  the  chapter,  God  sharp 
ly  reproves  and  severely  threatens  Israel  for  their 
wickedness,  especially  their  idolatry.  But  the  good 
God  always  in  judgment  remembering  mercy,  to 
those  reprehensions  and  menaces  subjoins  here  in  my 
text  an  exhortation  to  repentance  and  amendment  of 
life,  enforced  with  a  gracious  promise  of  mercy  upon 
such  repentance. 

Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  reap  in  mercy. 
Which  words  (not  to  spend  time  needlessly  in  any 
farther  preface)  I  shall  first  briefly  explain,  and  then 
raise  such  plain,  practical,  and  useful  observations 
from  them,  as  they  naturally  and  without  straining 
afford. 

First  for  the  explanation  of  the  text.  It  is  obvi 
ous  to  observe  in  general,  that  the  verse,  out  of 
which  my  text  is  taken,  contains  an  exhortation  to 
repentance  and  a  good  life,  expressed  under  the  me 
taphors  of  ploughing  and  sowing ;  and  also  a  pro 
mise  of  mercy  under  answerable  metaphors  of  rain 
upon  the  seed  sown,  and  of  reaping  a  joyful  harvest. 
Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  reap  in  mercy  : 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  B 


2  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  1. 

break  up  the  fallow  ground ;  for  it  is  time  to  seek 
the  Lord,  till  he  come  and  rain  righteousness 
upon  you.  But  I  am  concerned  at  present  to  ex 
plain  only  the  beginning  of  the  verse,  which  I  have 
pitched  on  for  the  subject  of  my  discourse  at  this 
time. 

Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness.  The  sowing 
of  seed  is  a  metaphor  used  in  Scripture  to  signify 
the  doing  of  those  moral  exercises  and  works,  by 
which  (according  as  the  quality  of  them  is,  as  they 
are  good  or  bad)  men  are  to  expect  from  God 
either  reward  or  punishment.  To  sow  in  righteous 
ness  therefore  is  nothing  else  but  to  live  righteously, 
to  do  righteous  actions,  that  is,  works  of  piety  to 
wards  God,  and  of  justice  and  charity  towards  our 
neighbour.  For  righteousness  here  is  not  only  just 
and  righteous  dealing  towards  men,  but  it  is  virtus 
universal^,  "  an  universal  virtue,"  containing  in  it 
all  other  virtues.  In  this  comprehensive  sense  it  is 
often  taken  in  Scripture;  as  for  example,  Psalm  xi. 
7 :  The  righteous  Lord  loveth  righteousness.  Pro 
verbs  xi.  5,  6  :  The  righteousness  of  the  perfect  shall 
direct  his  ivay,  but  the  wicked  shall  fall  by  his 
own  wickedness.  The  righteousness  of  the  upright 
shall  deliver  them ;  but  transgressors  shall  be 
taken  in  their  own  naughtiness.  Dan.  xii.  3  :  They 
that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the 
firmament,  and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteous 
ness  as  the  stars  for  ever  and  ever.  Matt.  v.  20 : 
Except  your  righteousness  shall  exceed  the  right 
eousness  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  ye  shall  in 
no  case  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And 
that  in  this  large  sense  it  is  to  be  understood  here, 
is  evident,  because  the  exhortation,  Sow  in,  or  unto, 


Works  of  Righteousness.  8 

righteousness,  requires  an  universal  reformation, 
conversion,  and  turning  to  God.  It  is  a  calling*  of 
the  Israelites  to  a  general  repentance,  not  only  of 
their  unjust  dealings,  but  of  all  those  other  sins  with 
which  God  had  before  charged  them.  And  besides, 
to  the  command,  Sow  in  righteousness,  is  presently 
added  in  the  verse  out  of  which  my  text  is  taken, 
break  up  the  fallow  ground ;  where  by  the  fallow 
ground  is  meant  the  unregenerate  heart,  the  heart 
that  is  void  of  virtue,  and  overrun  with  vice ;  as  it 
is  expressly  expounded,  Jer.  iv.  3,  4  :  For  thus  saith 
the  Lord  to  the  men  of  Judah  and  Jerusalem, 
Break  up  your  fallow  ground,  and  sow  not  among 
thorns.  Circumcise  yourselves  to  the  Lord,  and 
take  away  the  foreskins  of  your  heart,  &c.  Now 
to  break  or  plough  up  the  fallow  ground  of  our 
hearts,  is  by  the  exercises  of  mortification  to  subdue 
and  root  up  our  vicious  inclinations,  that  so  our 
hearts  may  be  made  fit  soil,  and  prepared  to  receive 
the  seeds  of  virtue.  The  sowing  therefore  in  right 
eousness  here  commanded,  is  of  a  wider  extent 
than  to  be  confined  only  to  works  of  justice,  strictly 
so  called,  and  signifies  the  practice  of  all  virtues,  for 
which  our  hearts,  being  cultivated  by  the  foremen- 
tioned  exercises,  are  fitted  and  disposed. 

Reap  in  mercy.  Where  Grotius  and  others  note, 
that  in  the  Scripture  language  Seminare  cst  hem 
acjere ;  metere  refcrre  mcrcedem ;  "  To  sow  is  to 
"  do  well ;  to  reap  is  to  receive  the  reward  of  so 
"  doing." 

The  words,  though  they  are  delivered  impera 
tively,  yet  are  a  plain  promise  ;  as  if  it  had  been 
said,  Sow  in  righteousness,  and  then  you  shall  reap 
in  mercy.  For  it  is  usual  in  Scripture  for  the 

B  2 


4  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  I. 

divine  promises  to  be  delivered  in  the  imperative 
mood,  to  signify,  that  if  that  be  done  which  God 
commands,  his  promise  is  sure  and  certain,  and  pre 
sently  performed  :  there  remains  no  more  to  do,  but, 
as  it  were,  to  put  forth  the  hand  and  gather  the 
fruit,  and  receive  the  effect  of  the  promise  :  to  this 
purpose  see  Isaiah  Iv.  2  :  Wherefore  do  you  spend 
your  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread,  and  your 
labour  for  that  which  satisjieth  not?  Hearken 
diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good, 
and  let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness. 

To  reap  in  mercy  is  to  receive  the  reward  of 
righteousness  from  the  free  and  abundant  goodness 
and  mercy  of  God.  Indeed  some  think,  the  mercy 
here  spoken  of  may  be  understood  of  human  mercy, 
or  the  exercise  of  mercy  by  men  to  men  ;  and  so 
that  to  reap  in  mercy  is  to  receive  our  reward  ac 
cording  to  the  mercy  we  have  shewn  to  others. 
This  interpretation  (it  is  confessed)  contains  a  sound 
truth,  and  is  safe  enough  ;  but  I  choose  rather  to  go 
with  the  stream  of  the  most  learned  interpreters, 
who  expound  the  mercy  here  mentioned,  of  the 
divine  mercy,  the  mercy  of  God,  the  fountain  from 
whence  the  reward  of  all  our  righteousness  flows. 
And  certainly  the  virtue  of  human  mercy  is  com 
prehended  under  that  universal  righteousness  men 
tioned  in  the  former  clause,  Sow  to  yourselves  in 
righteousness,  and  is  part  of  the  duty  of  man  there 
enjoined  ;  but  the  mercy  here  mentioned  belongs  to 
the  promise  of  reward,  or  the  reaping  of  the  fruit  of 
that  righteousness  from  God,  and  so  is  most  fitly 
understood  of  the  divine  mercy. 

And  this  may  suffice  for  the  explanation  of  my 
text,  the  sense  whereof  now  appears  to  be  this  :  Do 


Works  of  Righteousness.  5 

and  practise  the  works  of  righteousness,  of  piety  to 
God,  and  of  justice  and  charity  towards  men,  and 
you  shall  certainly  receive  the  reward  of  that  right 
eousness  from  the  mercy  of  God,  an  abundant  reward, 
suitable  to  the  infinite  goodness  and  mercy  of  God 
that  bestows  it.  I  now  proceed  to  raise  my  obser 
vations  from  the  text,  which  are  these  two : 

Observ.  1.  We  must  not  expect  to  reap  in  mercy, 
unless  we  sow  in  righteousness ;  that  is,  we  must 
not  hope  for  the  gracious  reward  which  Cod  hath 
promised,  without  the  practice  of  those  works  of 
righteousness  which  God  hath  commanded. 

Observ.  2.  When  we  have  sown  in  righteousness, 
that  is,  done  righteous  works,  we  must  not  plead 
any  merit  of  our  own  in  having  so  done,  but  must 
look  for  the  reward  of  our  righteousness  only  from 
the  free  grace  and  mercy  of  God. 

Of  these  in  their  order :  and  first,  of  the  first. 
We  must  not  expect  to  reap  in  mercy,  unless  we 
sow  in  righteousness,  &c. 

For  the  order  in  my  text  is  to  be  observed ;  first, 
now  in  righteousness,  and  then  (not  before,  or  other 
wise)  reap  in  mercy.  It  would  be  as  absurd  for  a 
man  to  expect  that  God's  mercy  should  save  him 
without  works  of  righteousness,  as  for  the  husband 
man  to  look  for  a  harvest  without  ever  ploughing 
and  sowing  his  ground.  He  were  a  madman  in 
his  husbandry  that  should  do  this,  and  he  is  no 
less  infatuated  in  his  religion  that  doth  the  other. 
The  same  thing  under  the  same  metaphor  St.  Paul 
teacheth  us,  Gal.  vi.  7,  8.  Be  not  deceived;  Cod  is 
not  mocked :  for  whatsoever  a  man  soweth,  that  shall 
he  also  reap.  For  he  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall 
of  the  flesh  reap  corruption ;  but  lie  that  sowetli  to 


(j  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

the  Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting, 
Which  great  truth  the  Scripture  delivers  in  proper 
terms,  when  it  tells  us  (as  it  often  doth)  that  God 
will  render  to,  or  reward,  every  man  according  to 
his  works.  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord,  saith  the  divine  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  chap.  xii.  14.  Without  a  holy  life  here, 
no  man  ought  to  expect  or  hope  for  a  happy  life 
hereafter. 

God  indeed  is  infinitely  good  and  merciful,  and  it 
is  out  of  that  infinite  goodness  and  mercy  that  he 
bestows  the  gift  of  eternal  life  upon  any  man ;  but 
God  is  also  infinitely  wise,  and  righteous,  and  holy; 
and  therefore  he  will  not  (T  think  I  may  say  he 
cannot)  confer  the  rich  donative  upon  any  unholy  or 
unrighteous  person.  St.  Paul  seems  to  count  it 
strange  that  any  Christian,  any  man  that  hath  been 
taught  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,,  should  either  not 
know,  or  not  believe,  or  not  consider  this.  For  thus 
be  bespeaks  his  Corinthians,  1  Cor.  vi.  9,  10:  Know 
ijc  not,  that  the  unrighteous  sliall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God?  Be  not  deceived;  neither  for ni- 
cators,  nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effemi 
nate,  nor  abusers  of  themselves  with  mankind,  nor 
thieves,  nor  covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers, 
nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God : 
as  if  he  had  said,  Is  it  possible  you  should  be  igno 
rant  of  so  great  a  truth  as  this,  so  often  and  so 
plainly  taught  you  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ?  Cer 
tainly  if  you  know  not  this,  you  know  nothing  in 
Christianity.  And  yet,  alas !  in  this  our  age,  how 
many,  among  those  that  call  themselves  Christians, 
seem  to  be  wholly  ignorant  of  this  great  funda 
mental  principle  of  our  religion  !  A  principle  more 


Works  of  Righteousness.  7 

fundamental  (if  I  may  so  speak)  than  any  article  of 
our  creed;  for  all  those  articles  are  fundamental 
only  in  order  to  this ;  that  is,  they  are  necessary  to 
be  believed,  because  they  have  an  influence  upon  our 
practices;  and  without  the  belief  of  them  we  cannot 
reasonably  live  a  Christian  life.  They  therefore  that 
are  ignorant  of  or  disbelieve  the  necessity  of  a  holy 
life,  are  ignorant  of  or  deny  that  article,  upon  the 
supposition  of  which  the  necessity  of  all  other  arti 
cles  of  our  religion  depends.  He  indeed  that  thinks 
himself  not  obliged  by  the  Decalogue,  or  Ten  Com 
mandments,  as  expounded  by  our  Saviour  Christ, 
may  at  the  same  time  as  reasonably  throw  away  his 
whole  creed.  For  if  it  be  not  necessary  to  live 
according  to  the  precepts  of  Christ,  it  cannot  be 
necessary  to  believe  any  proposition  or  doctrine  in 
Christianity.  If  there  be  no  danger  in  an  ill  life, 
there  can  be  no  danger  in  a  wrong  belief.  And  yet, 
I  say,  how  many  are  there  among  those  on  whom 
the  name  of  Christ  is  called,  and  who  glory  in  that 
name,  who  seem  not  yet  convinced  or  persuaded  of 
this  great  and  manifest  article  !  It  is  a  sad  truth, 
(but  a  truth  it  is,)  that  the  very  principles  of  Christ 
ianity  are  perverted  and  corrupted  by  the  professed 
disciples  of  that  religion,  yea  (which  is  yet  worse) 
by  the  very  doctors  and  teachers  of  it  too.  And 

here 

Iliacos  intra  muros  pcccatur,  et  extra. 

Protestants  and  papists  are  both  to  blame.  To  begin 
with  ourselves  first.  Among  us  protestants  there 
have  been  many  (too  too  many)  that  have  taught 
for  pure,  yea  the  purest  Gospel,  such  doctrines  as 
these :  "  That  the  faith  whereby  we  are  justified,  is 
"  nothing  else  but  a  recumbence  or  reliance  upon 


8  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

"  Christ,  or  (which  is  a  worse  definition)  that  it  is 
"  only  a  firm  belief  and  persuasion,  that  our  sins 
"  are  already  pardoned,  and  we  already  justified  ; 
"  and  consequently,  that  the  justification  spoken  of 
"  in  Scripture  is  nothing  else  but  the  sense  and 
"  knowledge  of  our  justification  past,  decreed  from 
"  eternity :  that  Christ  obeyed  the  law,  and  suffered 
"  in  our  persons,  and  that  his  righteousness  is  for- 
"  mally  ours,  and  consequently  that  there  is  no 
"  necessity  of  any  righteousness  in  ourselves  in  order 
"  to  our  salvation :  that  the  moral  law"  (though 
Christ  himself  hath  taken  the  pains  to  explain  and 
press  it  on  us)  "  concerns  not  us  Christians,  as  a  law 
"  obliging  us  sub  pcrieulo  aidince,  '  under  penalty  of 
"  damnation  ;'  but  is  only  a  contrivance  to  frighten 
"  sinners,  to  convince  them  of  their  sins,  and  to  shew 
"  them  their  impotence  and  weakness :  that  we  are 
"  to  work,  not  for  life,  but  from  life,  as  they  phrase 
"  it ;  and  consequently,  that  all  our  good  works  are 
"  (after  a  sort)  works  of  supererogation,  to  which  no 
"  necessity  obligeth  us,  but  only  gratitude  freely 
"  inclines  us."  The  men  that  taught  these  sad 
propositions  were  called  antinomians ;  whose  name 
indeed  is  now  every  where  odious  and  decried ;  but 
the  doctrines  themselves  have  taken  such  deep  root 
in  the  hearts  of  the  people,  (who  greedily  enter 
tained  them,  as  grateful  and  pleasing  to  their  carnal 
appetites,)  that  multitudes  still  perish  upon  the  con 
fidence  of  the  same  principles.  And  there  being 
some  obscurer  places  of  holy  writ,  that  seem  to  sound 
this  way,  and  to  favour  the  forementioned  errors, 
they  pertinaciously  adhere  to  them  ;  though  there 
be  five  hundred  texts  of  Scripture  that  in  the  most 
express  and  plainest  terms  teach  the  contrary.  Yet 


Works  of  Righteousness.  9 

(God  be  thanked)  I  know  of  no  protestant  church  of 
any  denomination  whatsoever,  that  openly  avouctieth 
any  of  those  doctrines.  I  am  sure,  our  church  of 
England  is  far  from  doing  so :  they  are  the  errors  or 
heresies,  rather  of  certain,  private,  and  unlicensed 
doctors,  who  took  occasion  to  sow  their  tares,  not 
when  our  watchmen  slept,  but  when  they  were  by  a 
tyrannical  power  silenced,  and  driven  from  their 
charges  in  the  time  of  usurpation.  And  the  same 
men  (when  they  are  now  not  only  not  licensed,  but 
themselves  forbidden  to  preach)  are  the  only  men 
that  still  maintain  and  strenuously  propagate  those 
pernicious  doctrines  in  their  schismatical  assemblies. 
But  having  done  this  justice  to  ourselves,  let  us 
next  call  the  papists  to  account.  Tli6  church  of 
Koine,  T  say,  the  very  church  of  Rome,  teacheth 
and  avoweth  such  doctrine,  as  evidently  and  utterly 
destroys  the  necessity  of  a  holy  life,  and  encourageth 
men  to  hope  they  shall  reap  in  mercy,  though  they 
,SY>/^  not  to  themselves  hi  righteousness .  Such  is 
that  doctrine  of  theirs,  ''That  a  man  by  attrition,  or 
"  such  a  sorrow  for  sin  as  ariseth  only  from  fear, 
'•  and  is  void  of  charity  and  the  love  of  God  above 
"  all  things,  with  the  help  of  the  sacrament  of 
"  penance,  that  is,  of  confession  to  and  absolution 
"  from  a  priest,  may  obtain  the  pardon  of  his  sins, 
"  justification,  and  eternal  life."  This  dangerous 
proposition  the  council  of  Trent  doth  plainly  enough 
assert,  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  fourteenth  session, 
concerning  Contrition.  But  in  the  Roman  catechism 
(which  was  allowed  and  published  by  the  order  of 
the  Trent  Fathers  and  pope  Pius  the  Fifth,  and  is 
therefore  as  much  their  doctrine  as  any  thing  de 
creed  by  them  in  their  sessions)  it  is  so  manifestly 


10  The  Necessity  of  SERM  i. 

delivered  that  there  is  no  room  for  contradiction,  in 
the  fifth  chapter  of  the  second  part  of  the  Sacrament 
of  Penance,  [page  223,  and  the  following,  according 
to  the  edition  of  Antwerp,  1606.]  The  sum  of  their 
doctrine  there  is  plainly  this,  "  That  true  contrition, 
"joined  with  the  love  of  God  above  all  things,  is 
"  indeed  a  thing  very  desirable,  and  most  accept- 
"  able  to  God,  even  without  the  sacrament  of  pe« 
"  nance  :  but  because  very  few  have  this  true  con- 
"  trition,  that  therefore  God  out  of  his  infinite  mercy 
"  and  indulgence,  hath  provided  for  the  common 
"  salvation  of  men  in  a  more  easy  way."  They  are 
the  very  words  of  the  catechism,  wherein  the  Fa 
thers  seem  to  have  forgotten  the  words  of  our  Sa 
viour,  Strait  is  the  gate  and  narrow  is  the  way 
that  leadcth  unto  life,  and  few  there  he  that  find  it, 
Matt.  vii.  14.  And  that  therefore  he  hath  appointed 
the  sacrament  of  penance,  as  a  help  or  crutch  to  a 
lame  and  defective  repentance,  as  a  supply  to  their 
contrition  and  sorrow  for  sin,  wherein  the  love  of 
God  above  all  things  is  wanting. 

Need  I  now  to  shew  the  danger  of  this  doctrine  ? 
It  is  indeed  a  doctrine  so  dangerous,  so  damnable, 
that  it  seems  of  itself  sufficient  to  unchristian  and 
unchurch  any  society  of  men  that  shall  teach  and 
maintain  it.  It  razeth  the  very  foundations  of  the 
Gospel :  it  takes  away  those  two  great  hinges,  upon 
which  (as  our  Saviour  himself  tells  us)  all  the  Law 
and  Prophets  depend  and  turn,  viz.,  the  love  of  God 
above  all  things,  and  of  our  neighbours  as  ourselves, 
for  God's  sake.  For  these,  according  to  this  doctrine, 
are  not  necessary:  the  rare  device  of  the  sacrament 
«f  penance  can  reconcile  men  to  God  without  them  ; 
and  by  this  expedient,  men  that  never  loved  God 


Works  of  Righteousness.  11 

with  all  their  hearts,  in  all  their  days  on  earth,  may 
for  ever  enjoy  God  in  heaven.  People  may  expiate 
their  sins  at  this  rate  of  a  servile  attrition,  toties 
(jHoties,  as  often  as  they  commit  them,  and  so  be 
saved  without  ever  having  loved  Cod  above  all 
things  in  their  lives.  But  the  danger  of  this  doc 
trine  will  more  evidently  appear,  if  we  apply  it  to 
such  as  are  in  agoue  mortis,  at  the  point  of  death. 
Suppose  a  man  to  have  lived  in  a  course  of  wicked 
ness  for  fifty  or  sixty  years,  and  being  now  upon  his 
deathbed,  to  be  attrite  for  his  sins,  that  is,  heartily 
to  grieve  for  them  only  out  of  the  fear  of  hell,  (and 
he  is  a  bold  man  indeed  that  will  not  in  earnest  fear 
hell,  when  it  gapes  upon  him,  and  is  ready  to  devour 
him,)  and  in  that  fear  to  purpose  amendment  of  life, 
if  God  restore  him,  and  to  have  a  hope  of  pardon ; 
(and  in  so  comfortable  a  church  as  the  Roman,  who 
hath  any  reason  to  despair?)  this  man,  according  to 
the  doctrine  of  the  council  of  Trent,  though  he  can 
not  be  saved  without  the  sacrament  of  penance,  yet 
with  it  he  may. 

If  he  hath  but  breath  enough  to  tell  the  priest  the 
sad  story  of  his  vicious  life,  and  beg  absolution,  he 
can  do  wonders  for  him,  more  than  God  himself  ever 
promised  :  he  can  by  pronouncing  only  a  few  words 
over  him,  presently  translate  him  from  death  to  life  ; 
and  make  him,  that  was  all  his  life  before  a  child  of 
the  Devil,  in  one  moment  the  son  of  God,  and  an 
heir  of  salvation. 

Let  not  therefore  the  church  of  Rome  boast  any 
more  of  the  strictness  and  severity  of  her  doctrine ; 
and  that  she  especially  presseth  good  works,  and  the 
necessity  of  a  holy  life ;  when  it  is  apparent,  that  by 
such  loose  propositions  as  these,  she  utterly  destroys 


12  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

that  necessity.  Indeed  it  may  be  truly  affirmed,  that 
there  is  no  society  of  Christians  in  the  world,  where 
antinomianism  and  libertinism  more  reign,  than 
among  the  papists,  into  whose  very  faith  they  are 
interwoven,  and  men  are  taught  them  by  the  defini 
tions  of  their  church.  It  is  no  wonder  so  many 
vicious  persons,  especially  when  they  come  to  die, 
turn  papists,  and  no  visitants  are  so  welcome  to  them 
as  the  Roman  confessors.  They  find  them  very  easy 
and  comfortable  doctors  for  men  in  their  desperate 
case,  and  admire  their  rare  invention,,  who  have 
found  out  a  shorter  way  to  heaven,  and  a  readier 
one  to  escape  hell  and  damnation,  than  the  Scrip 
tures  ever  discovered,  or  their  former  ministers  of 
the  church  of  England,  following  the  guidance  of 
the  Scriptures,  durst  warrant  to  them.  And  what 
broken  plank,  yea  what  flag  or  reed  will  not  a 
drowning  man  lay  hold  on  ?  O  how  pleasant  a  thing 
is  that  which  they  call  the  bosom  of  the  Roman 
church !  how  willingly  do  those  forlorn  wretches 
cast  themselves  into  it  !  where  they  are  promised, 
and  in  their  own  deluded  imaginations  enjoy,  that 
rest  and  security,  which  they  could  not  any  where 
else,  no  not  in  the  word  and  promises  of  God,  find. 
But,  alas  !  when  they  thus  say  Peace,  peace  unto 
themselves,  behold,  sudden  destruction  cometh  upon 
them,  and  within  a  minute  after  they  are  launched 
out  into  eternity,  a  sad  and  dreadful  experience  con- 
vinceth  them  what  a  sorry  refuge  they  fled  to. 

It  Is  evident,  that  the  church  of  Rome,  in  teach 
ing  this  vile  doctrine,  aims  only  at  her  own  interest 
and  advantage,  and  hath  no  regard  at  all  to  the 
honour  of  God  and  the  good  of  souls.  It  is  abso 
lutely  necessary,  she  saith,  for  a  sinner  to  make  an 


Works  of  Righteousness.  l;j 

auricular  confession  to,  and  be  absolved  by,  a  priest, 
though  God  hath  nowhere  said  so:  but  it  is  not 
necessary  for  him  to  be  contrite,  or  to  repent  of  his 
sins  out  of  the  love  of  God,  though  God  himself  in 
his  own  word  hath  an  hundred  times  said  it  is. 
That  is  necessary  for  the  honour  and  gain  of  the 
priest.  The  trade  of  auricular  confession  must  by 
any  means  be  kept  up,  because  from  thence  they 
reap  no  small  gain  ;  and  besides  by  it  they  govern, 
not  only  the  silly  common  people,  but  great  men, 
and  kings  and  princes,  by  becoming  masters  of  their 
secrets.  But  is  not  the  doctrine  of  true  contrition 
as  necessary  for  the  honour  of  God  ?  Yes ;  but  the 
promoting  of  God's  glory  in  the  salvation  of  souls  is 
the  least  of  their  design  or  business.  Indeed  it  were 
easy  to  shew  how  the  whole  frame  of  the  religion 
and  doctrine  of  the  church  of  Rome,  as  it  is  dis 
tinguished  from  that  Christianity  which  we  hold  in 
common  with  them,  is  evidently  designed  and  con 
trived  to  serve  the  interest  and  profit  of  them  that 
rule  that  church,  by  the  disservices,  yea  and  ruin  of 
those  souls  that  are  under  their  government. 

What  can  the  doctrine  of  men's  playing  an  after 
game  for  their  salvation  in  purgatory  be  designed 
for,  but  to  enhance  the  price  of  the  priest's  masses 
and  dirges  for  the  dead  ?  Why  must  a  solitary  mass, 
bought  for  a  piece  of  money,  performed  and  partici 
pated  by  a  priest  alone,  in  a  private  corner  of  a 
church,  be,  not  only  against  the  sense  of  Scripture 
and  the  primitive  church,  but  also  against  common 
sense  and  grammar,  called  a  communion,  and  be 
accounted  useful  to  him  that  buys  it,  though  he 
never  himself  receive  the  sacrament,  or  but  once  a 


14  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

year;  but  for  this  reason,  that  there  is  great  gain, 
but  no  godliness  at  all  in  this  doctrine  ?  Why  in 
their  public  eucharists  must  the  priest  only  receive 
in  both  kinds,  and  the  people  be  put  off  with  a 
piece  of  a  sacrament,  against  the  plainest  texts  of 
Scripture,  and  the  practice  of  the  catholic  church, 
for  at  least  a  thousand  years  after  Christ,  (as  some 
of  the  Romanists  themselves  have  confessed,)  but 
that  this  tends  to  the  advancement  of  the  honour 
and  estimation  of  the  priest,  as  being  alone  qualified 
to  offer  up  an  entire  sacrifice  of  Christ's  body  and 
blood  ?  The  sacrilegious  practice  indeed  came  in 
first  upon  the  pretence  of  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation ;  but  interest  afterwards  confirmed  the 
practice.  Nay  their  very  monstrous  doctrine  of 
transubstantiation,  though  it  seems  to  be  fallen  on 
by  chance,  in  a  most  ignorant  age,  evidently  serves 
the  same  design. 

Again,  to  what  purpose  is  there  feigned  a  treasury 
of  the  merits  of  saints  in  the  church  of  Rome,  and 
that  under  the  pope's  lock  and  key,  but  to  fill  his 
treasury  with  money  ?  And  who  hath  not  heard  of 
their  indulgences  of  pardon  to  the  greatest  sins  and 
sinners  openly  set  to  sale,  and  made  a  trade  of?  I 
might  pursue  the  argument  farther,  if  time  would 
permit ;  but  this  is  sufficient  to  shew,  by  the  way, 
that  gain,  not  godliness,  is  the  design  of  the  Roman 
church,  yea,  that  their  gain  is  their  godliness,  as 
St.  Paul  said  of  some  in  his  time,  1  Tim.  vi.  5.  And 
therefore  that  we  are  concerned  to  take  heed  to 
what  follows  in  the  same  place,  from  such  with 
draw.  Indeed  Christianity,  the  best  of  religions,  is, 
as  they  have  taught  it,  truly  become  what  one  of 


Works  of  Righteousness.  15 

their  popes  is  said  to  have  called  it,  only  a  gainful 
fable.  But  I  return  thither,  from  whence  I  have 
somewhat  digressed. 

The  church  of  Rome,  I  say,  falsely  glories  in  her 
being  zealous  for  good  works  ;  seeing,  as  it  appears, 
she  evidently  and  many  ways  destroys  the  necessity 
of  them.  And  yet  very  many  among  us  are  so 
foolish  as  to  believe  the  pretence ;  yea,  and  to  make 
the  preaching  up  of  good  works  a  character  of  a 
papist.  lie  is  a  papist,  say  they,  for  he  presseth 
£ood  works;  and  hence  they  themselves  sit  down  in 

r">  » 

an  openly  vicious,  or  a  careless  conversation,  in  a 
life  either  fruitful  of  wicked  works,  or  barren  of 
o-ood  ones  ;  pleasing*  themselves  with  I  know  not 

£•>  'I  o 

what  faith,  and  esteeming  themselves  the  truest 
protestants  in  so  doing.  But  what  an  honour  do 
they  hereby  do  the  papists  !  What  a  slur  do  they 
cast  on  the  reformed  churches  !  To  undeceive  these 
men  in  this  grand  mistake,  let  me  inform  them  of 
this  one  thing;  that  the  papists  are  indeed  mighty 
zealous  for  external  works,  and  works  of  their  own 
devising,  but  the  most  regardless  men  in  the  world 
of  those  substantial  and  truly  good  works,  which 
God  hath  commanded.  They  vehemently  urge  peo 
ple  to  their  beads,  and  the  repeating  of  Ave  Marys 
and  Pater  Nosters,  to  external  abstinences  and  pe 
nances,  (if  they  find  them  apt  to  receive  their  disci 
pline,)  to  pilgrimages  and  offerings  at  the  shrines  of 
saints,  to  the  endowment  of  monasteries  and  reli 
gious  houses,  as  they  call  them,  to  a  multitude  of 
superstitious  fopperies  and  ceremonies,  that  require 
so  much  time  and  care  for  their  performance,  as  to 
eat  out  the  very  heart  and  life  of  true  piety.  And 
those  that  will  do  this  drudgery  of  theirs,  (and  what 


l(j  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

will  not  men  do  to  be  freed  from  the  hard  task  of 
inward  piety  ?)  they  can  easily  excuse  from  the  truly 
good  and  essential  works  of  religion,  yea  and  per 
suade  them  to  a  presumption  of  meriting  heaven, 
though  in  the  mean  while  they  are  apparently  men 
of  unmortified  affections  and  vicious  lives ;  especially 
if  they  are  zealous  for  the  catholic  cause,  and  against 
those  whom  they  are  pleased  to  call  heretics.  Nay 
if  they  have  this  zeal,  they  will  forgive  them  all  the 
rest.  This  zeal  shall  be  a  fiery  chariot,  to  convey 
even  the  murderers  of  their  princes,  with  Elias,  to 
heaven  ;  and  make  them  canonized  for  saints,  and 
give  them  a  name  in  the  Roman  calendar,  as  red  as 
the  blood  they  have  spilt.  It  is  true,  some  good 
men  there  are  in  the  papacy,  and  as  well  as  they 
can,  declaring  against  this  wretched  corruption  of 
Christianity  among  them.  But  the  common,  cur 
rent,  ruling,  and  prevailing  religion  of  the  church  of 
Home  is  certainly  such  as  I  have  described. 

But  now  the  true  reformed  religion  (I  am  sure 
that  of  the  church  of  England)  teacheth  men  the 
necessity  of  works  truly  good,  of  true  contrition  for 
their  sins,  of  mortifying  their  sinful  and  carnal  affec 
tions,  of  all  the  substantial  works  of  piety,  justice, 
and  charity.  It  teacheth  men  not  to  expect  heaven 
and  salvation  without  these ;  but  yet  not  to  think  of 
meriting  heaven  by  them.  It  plainly  teacheth,  that 
for  a  man  to  be  a  protestant  against  popery,  will  not 
serve  his  turn,  unless  he  equally  protest  against  the 
sin  and  wickedness  of  the  world  :  that  to  be  a  mem 
ber,  by  profession,  of  a  reformed  church,  will  not 
save  his  soul,  unless  himself  be  truly  reformed  in  his 
life  and  conversation.  And  if  men  after  all  this  live 
vicious  lives,  as  too  too  many  among  us  do,  they  have 


Works  of  Righteousness,  17 

not  the  least  countenance  from  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  wherein  they  live,  but  are  continually  under 
her  severe  reprehensions  and  reproofs,  and  are  not 
suffered  to  live  quietly  in  their  sins;  so  that  if  they 
perish,  it  is  purely  their  own  fault  and  folly. 

To  conclude  this  matter,  it  is  a  very  diilicult  task 
for  men  to  persuade  themselves  to  deny  all  ungodli 
ness  and  worldly  lusts,  and  to  live  soberly,  right 
eously,  and  godly  in  this  present  world,  though  they 
are  rightly  principled,  and  convinced  of  the  necessity 
of  so  doing.  What  a  case  then  are  they  in,  whose 
very  principles  lead  them  to  a  vicious  life ;  whose 
very  minds,  understandings,  and  notions  of  things, 
are  corrupted;  who  are  not  yet  convinced  of  the 
necessity  of  a  holy  life!  //  flic  light  within  tJiee  be 
darkness,  saith  our  blessed  Lord,  how  great  is  that 
darkness!  Matt.  vi.  23.  It  is  impossible  for  men 
of  such  ill  principles  to  live  well,  unless  either  their 
understandings  be  so  weak,  as  not  to  discern  their 
consequences,  (and  then  their  weakness  is  their  hap 
piness.)  or  else  a  very  strong  inclination  to  virtue, 
and  a  mighty  grace  in  them,  conquer  and  overcome 
the  venom  and  poison  of  them. 

Wherefore,  my  dear  brethren,  let  no  man  deceive 
you  with  vain  words,  but  hearken  to  the  word  of 
God,  which  tells  you.  that  you  must  not  expect  to 
reap  in  mercy,  unless  you  sow  to  yourselves  in 
righteousness.  Let  never  either  Jesuit  or  fanatic 
persuade  you  to  the  contrary.  Fix  and  settle  in 
your  minds  such  plain  texts  of  Scripture  as  these : 
Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  perish.  Luke  xiii.  3. 
Follow  peace  and  holiness,  without  which  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord.  Heb.  xii.  14.  God  will  render 
to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds:  to  them  who 

BULL,  VOL.   I.  C 


18  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

by  patient  continuance  in  well  doing  seek  for  glory 
and  honour  and  immortality,  eternal  life :  but  unto 
them  that  are  contentious,  and  do  not  obey  the  truth, 
but  obey  unrighteousness,  indignation  and  wrath, 
tribulation  and  anguish,  upon  every  soul  of  man 
that  doeth  evil,  &c.,  but  glory,  honour,  and  peace,  to 
every  one  that  worketh  good.  For  there  is  no  re 
spect  of  persons  with  God.  Rom.  ii.  6,  7,  8,  9,  10, 
11.  Fix,  I  say,  and  settle  these  and  such  like  places 
of  holy  Scripture  in  your  minds  and  memories,  and 
let  no  sophistry  of  men  or  devils  ever  baffle  or  dis 
suade  you  from  so  plain  a  truth.  Nay,  let  not  your 
own  hearts  deceive  you,  as  they  will  be  apt  to  do, 
either  by  causing  you  to  divert  your  thoughts  from 
these  express  declarations  of  God's  will,  or  to  seek 
out  shifts  and  evasions  to  elude  them.  But  often 
call  to  mind,  meditate,  and  think  on  these  Scriptures. 
Let  them  continually  haunt  your  souls,  (if  I  may  so 
speak.)  and  never  suffer  you  to  be  at  rest,  till  you 
have  resolved  upon  a  holy  life,  and  engaged  your 
selves  in  it.  And  then  happy,  thrice  happy  shall 
you  be;  and  after  you  have  sown  to  yourselves  in 
righteousness,  a  glorious  harvest  shall  you  reap  from 
the  rnercy  of  God.  And  this  leads  me  to  the  second 
observation  from  my  text,  which  I  shall  briefly  de 
spatch,  and  so  conclude. 

Observ.  2.  When  we  have  sown  in  righteousness, 
that  is,  done  righteous  works,  we  must  not  plead  any 
merit  of  our  own  in  having  so  done ;  but  must  look 
for  the  reward  of  our  righteousness  only  from  the 
free  grace  and  mercy  of  God. 

Sow  to  yourselves  in  righteousness,  reap  in 
mercy.  The  reward  of  the  righteous  man  is  every 
where  in  Scripture  pronounced  to  be  a  reward  of 


}\  ()) "ks  of '  R i(jh teon*n ess .  1  f) 

"•race  and  mcrcv.     The  words  of  the  second  coin- 

O  ^ 

mandment  are  observable,  shewing  mercy  unto  f/tou- 
sands  of  them  that  lore  me  (Did  keep  tin/  command 
ments.  They  that  love  God  and  keep  his  command 
ments,  all  the  reward  they  can  hope  for  is,  that  God 
should  shew  mercy  unto  them.  And  there  is  a  great 
deal  of  congruity,  though  they  seem  strange,  in  the 
words  of  David,  Psalm  Ixii.  12.  Unto  thee,  0  Lord* 
belongcth  mercy :  for  tliou  rcndfirest  to  eren/  man 
according  to  his  work.  That  God  rendereth  to  every 
man,  that  is,  every  righteous  man,  according  to  his 
work,  is  an  act  of  his  mercy.  Nehcmiah,  chap.  xiii. 
reckons  up  many  great  and  noble  works  that  he  had 
done  for  the  honour  nnd  service  of  God  ;  but  that 
you  may  see  he  boasted  not  in  all  this,  that  he  had 
no  conceit  of  any  merit  in  himself,  observe  how 
humbly  towards  the  conclusion  of  the  chapter  he 
supplicates  for  mercy,  and  such  mercy,  as  whereby 
God  would  spare  him,  that  is,  not  punish  him.  Ver. 
22.  Remember  me,  ()  my  (lod,  concerning  this  ft/so, 
and  spare  me  according  to  tJte  greatness  of  thy  mere?/. 
He  counts  it  greatness  of  mercy  to  be  spared  by 
God,  after  all  his  great  good  works.  Tn  like  manner 
St.  Paul,  after  he  had  mentioned  the  frequent  acts  of 
charity  that  Onesiphorus  had  exercised  towards  him, 
prays  that  God  would  reward  them,  in  this  style; 
The  Lord  grant  unto  him  that  he  ma?/  find  mercy  of 
the  Lord  in  that  day.  2  Tim.  i.  16,  17,  18. 

There  are  two  reasons  suggested  in  the  text  itself, 
that  utterly  destroy  all  conceit  of  the  merit  of  our 
righteousness. 

1.  By  our  righteousness  we  give  nothing  to  God  ; 
he  reaps  no  advantage  from  it  to  himself.  If  we  sow 
in  righteousness,  we  sow  to  ourselves,  and  the  harvest 


20  The  Necessity  of  SERM.  i. 

of  this  righteousness  we  ourselves  reap.  Sow  to  your 
selves,  reap  ye.  My  goodness,  saith  the  Psalmist, 
extends  not  to  thee,  but  to  the  saints  that  are  in  the 
earth :  Psalm  xvi.  2,  3.  As  if  he  had  said,  I  may  and 
will  do  good  to  thy  saints,  but  I  can  do  no  good  to 
thee ;  for  I  receive  all  the  good  I  have,  or  do,  from 
thee.  Indeed  if  we  are  wicked,  we  hurt  not  God, 
hut  ourselves ;  and  if  we  are  righteous,  the  benefit  is 
to  ourselves,  and  not  to  him.  Whatsoever  we  crawl 
ing  worms  do  here  on  earth,  God  sits  still  upon  the 
circle  of  the  heavens,  the  same  perfect,  unchange 
able,  blessed,  and  happy  God  for  ever  and  ever.  Only 
he  is  pleased  out  of  his  infinite  condescension  to  look 
down  from  heaven,  upon  those  little  things  we  do 
here  out  of  a  hearty  desire  to  glorify  him  ;  and  in  his 
abundant  mercy  he  will  plentifully  reward  them. 
We  may  challenge  all  who  lay  such  stress  upon 
merit,  to  answer  St.  Paul's  question,  Who  hath  first 
given  to  him,  that  is,  God,  and  it  shall  be  recom 
pensed  to  him  again?  Rom.  xi.  35. 

2.  The  other  reason  against  all  merit  of  our  good 
works,  suggested  in  the  very  text,  is  this :  there  is 
no  just  proportion  between  our  works  of  righteous 
ness,  and  the  reward  of  them.  Our  good  works  are 
but  a  few  seeds ;  but  the  reward  is  a  harvest.  Sow 
to  ij  our  selves  in  righteousness,  reap  in  mercy.  The 
words  in  the  Hebrew  are  emphatical,  reap  ion  ^ 
lephi  chesed,  according  to  the  measure  of  mercy. 
For  lephi  and  kephi  are  in  Scripture  used  to  signify 
the  measure  or  proportion  of  a  thing.  Thus  Exod. 
xvi.  21,  Every  man  gathered  VxDN  ^  lephi  o  kelo, 
according  to  the  measure  of  his  eating.  The  sense 
therefore  is :  He  that  sows  in  righteousness  shall  reap 
and  receive  his  reward,  not  according  to  the  small 


Works  of  Righteousness.  21 

proportion  of  the  seeds  of  righteousness  that  he  hath 
sown,  but  according  to  the  measure  of  the  divine 
mercy  and  goodness,  which  nseth  superabundantly 
to  remunerate  man's  slender  performances.  And  ac 
cordingly  the  learned  Drusius  thus  paraphraseth  the 
words;  in,  or  according  to,  mercy;  benigna,  ac  pie- 
niore  mensura,  quam  seminastis,  "  in  a  bountiful  and 
44  fuller  measure  than  you  have  sown."  As  in  a  good 
and  plentiful  year,  the  harvest  or  crop  that  is  reaped 
vastly  exceeds  the  seed  sown,  every  grain  yielding 
many  more  ;  so  and  much  more  it  is  here.  What 
poor  slender  seeds  of  righteousness  do  we  sow !  But 
O  the  vast  crop  and  harvest  of  glory  that  shall, 
through  the  mercy  of  God,  spring  and  rise  out  of 
those  seeds !  It  shall  be  so  great,  that  when  we  come 
to  reap  it,  we  ourselves  shall  stand  amazed  at  it. 

To  conclude  therefore :  he  that  hath  sown  the 
seeds  of  righteousness  most  plentifully,  must  look  for 
his  harvest  of  glory  only  from  the  mercy  of  God. 
He  that  is  richest  in  good  works,  must  sue  for  heaven 
in  the  quality  of  a  poor  worthless  creature,  that  needs 
infinite  mercy  to  bring  him  thither;  mercy  to  pardon 
his  sins  antecedent  to  his  good  works ;  mercy  to  for 
give  the  sins  and  defects  in  his  works ;  mercy  to  ad 
vance  his  works  (being,  though  supposed  never  so 
perfect,  yet  finite  and  temporary)  to  the  possibility 
of  attaining  an  infinite  and  endless  reward.  He 
must  confess  with  St.  Paul,  that  eternal  life  is  the 
(lift  of  God  through  Jesus  Christ,  Rom.  vi.  23. 
That  it  is  the  rich  purchase  of  Christ's  most  precious 
blood,  by  which  alone  a  covenant  of  eternal  life  was 
established  upon  the  gracious  condition  of  faith  work 
ing  by  lore ;  that  it  was  the  grace  of  the  divine  Spi 
rit  promised  in  the  same  covenant,  that  prevented 


C2C2       The  Necessity  of  Works  of  Righteousness. 

him,  and  cooperated  with  him,  and  continually  as 
sisted  and  followed  him  in  all  his  good  works:  and 
consequently,  that  though  his  crown  of  glory  be  ti 
er  own  of  righteousness,  that  is,  of  God's  righteous 
ness,  whereby  he  is  obliged  to  make  good  his  own 
covenant ;  yet  that  it  is  a  crown  of  mercy  too,  be 
cause  that  covenant  itself  was  a  covenant  of  infinite 
grace  and  mercy. 

And  if  the  best  of  men,  after  all  the  good  works 
they  have  done,  or  can  do,  need  mercy,  infinite  mercy 
to  save  them ;  what  a  miserable  condition  are  they 
in,  who  have  no  good  works  at  all  to  shew ;  but  on 
the  contrary,  a  large  catalogue  of  wicked  works,  un- 
repented  of,  to  account  for?  We  may  say  in  this 
sense  with  St.  Peter ;  //'  the  righteous  scarcely  be 
saved,  where  shall  the  ungodly  and  the  sinner  ap 
pear  f  1  Pet.  iv.  18.  Certainly  even  the  mercy  of 
God  cannot  save  this  man,  because  his  holiness  will 
not  suffer  him.  For  though  our  good  works  are  not 
required  to  make  us  capable  of  meriting  heaven, 
(that  being  impossible  for  us ;)  yet  they  are  absolutely 
necessary  to  make  us  fit  objects  for  infinite  mercy 
to  bestow  heaven  on,  or,  in  the  excellent  words  of 
St.  Paul,  to  make  us  meet  to  be  partakers  of  the  in 
heritance  of  the  saints  in  light.  Col.  i.  12. 

To  which  inheritance,  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
bring  us,  through  Jesus  Christ : 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be 
given  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  worship, 
now  and  for  evermore.  Amen. 


SERMON     II. 


THAT     THE     SOl'L     OF     .MAX     SUBSISTS     A1TKK     DKAT1I,     IX     A 

I-LACK    OF    AHODK     1'KOVIDKl)     HY     CU)1)     FOK     IT, 

TILL    THE     UESUHKECTION. 


ACTS   i.   <25. 

That  he  might  oo  to  Jti$  oint  place. 

IN  the  verses  before  my  text,  we  have  an  account 
of  the  election  of  a  new  apostle,  in  the  room  of 
the  apostate  Judas,  who  by  his  defection  and  miserable 
death  consequent  thereon,  had  rendered  the  com 
plete  and  mysterious  number  of  apostles,  chosen  by 
our  Saviour,  uneven,  and  made  a  breach  in  that  jury 
of  witnesses,  that  were  to  report  and  testify  his 
resurrection.  In  this  grand  affair  they  first  make  use 
of  their  best  judgment,  by  appointing  two  persons 
of  the  number  of  the  seventy  disciples b,  Barsabas 
and  Matthias;  either  of  them,  as  they  conceived,  fit 
for  the  office,  leaving  it  to  their  Lord  and  Master  to 
determine  which  of  the  two  should  be  the  man,  and 
stand  as  an  apostle.  This  divine  determination 
they  seek  for  by  casting  of  lots,  an  ancient  way  of 
decision  in  such  cases,  used  both  in  the  church  of 

a  [This  and  the  following  Sermon  seem  to  have  been  written 
after  the  eighth,  of  which  they  are  in  a  manner  the  continua 
tion.] 

h  [St.  Luke  does  not  expressly  say  that  they  were  of  the  num 
ber  of  the  seventy  disciples,  Acts  i.  1 1 — 23.  It  is  stated  by  Eu- 
scbius,  lli^t.  Eccles.  I.  12.] 


1>4  That  the  Soul  of  Alan  SERM.  n. 

God  and  among  the  Gentiles.  But  before  they  go 
to  the  decision  of  this  important  affair,  they  betake 
themselves  to  their  prayers,  that  God  would  by  his 
special  providence  direct  the  lot ;  and  the  event  was 
this,  that  the  lot  fell  upon  Matthias. 

The  office  of  the  person  to  be  elected  is  described 
in  the  verse  out  of  which  my  text  is  taken,  to  be 
\aj3eiv  TOV  K\Tjf)ov  rtjs  fiictKOvias  KV.\  aTroo-roX^?,  to  be 
made  partaker  of  the  ministry  and  apostleship^  that 
ministry  and  apostleship  from  which  Judas  fell ;  the 
sad  event  of  whose  fall  is  said  to  be  this,  that  he 
went  to  his  own  place  or  state,  a  place  and  state  fit 
for  so  vile  a  miscreant ;  that  he  fell  from  the  highest 
dignity  to  the  greatest  infelicity  from  the  fellowship 
of  the  apostles,  to  the  society  of  devils.  That  he 
may  take  part  of  this  ministry  and  apostleship,  from 
which  Judas  by  transgression  fell,  that  he  might  go  to 
his  own  place. 

Indeed  some  difference  hath  been  started  about 
the  words  of  my  text,  whether  they  are  to  be  re 
ferred  to  Judas  mentioned  immediately  before,  or  to 
the  new  apostle  under  election.  Our  learned  Eng 
lish  paraphrastc  refers  them  to  the  latter,  under 
standing  that  the  new  apostle  should  go  and  betake 
himself  to  his  proper  place,  charge,  and  province  in 
the  apostleship,  the  words,  from  'which  Judas  by 
transgression  fell,  being  included  in  a  parenthesis. 
But  this  interpretation,  besides  that  it  departs  from 
the  generally  received  sense  of  ancient  and  modern 
expositors,  (which  is  prejudice  enough  against  it,) 
is  also  many  ways  incommodious.  For  first  it  feigns 
a  parenthesis  in  the  text  without  any  reason  at  all. 

1    [Hammond,  with  whom  agree  Le  Clerc  and  (Ecumenius.] 


tittltsLsts  after  Death.  25 

And  then  it  is  not  so  natural  to  refer  the  words  to 
a  person  mentioned  at  a  distance  in  the  context,  as 
to  a  person  named  just  before.  Lastly,  this  inter 
pretation  seems  to  suppose,  that  every  apostle  had 
his  distinct  and  proper  place  and  province  in  the 
apostleship,  which  is  not  true.  For  the  apostleship 
and  every  part  of  it  was  common  to  every  apostle, 
who  might  do  all  the  same  things  in  any  place,  that 
any  other  apostle  did.  Sure  I  am,  there  was  no 
such  distribution  of  provinces  at  the  time  of  this 
election  ;  for  then  the  apostles  executed  the  same 
office  all  in  the  same  place  and  country,  among  the 
Jews,  to  whom  alone  they  were  at  h'rst  to  preach  the 
Gospel  of  Christ.  The  dispersion  of  the  apostles  into 
the  several  heathen  nations,  as  they  themselves  saw 
convenient,  was  not  till  after  the  obstinate  infidelity 
of  the  Jews  gave  occasion  for  it.  This  sense  there 
fore,  though  foreign,  yet  is  not  so  strange  as  some 
have  made  it,  who  have  accused  the  forementioned 
excellent  expositor  of  singularity,  and  as  being  the 
first  author  and  inventor  of  it.  For  the  learned 
Isidore  Clarius,  in  his  notes  on  my  text,  delivers  the 
same  sense,  without  expressing  any  the  least  dislike 
of  itd.  But  yet,  I  say  it  is  a  mistake,  and  the  com 
mon  interpretation  is  undoubtedly  the  right,  that 
Judas  having  forsaken  and  betrayed  his  Lord  and 
Master,  brought  himself  to  a  most  wretched  end, 
(as  is  before  in  this  chapter  related,  ver.  16,  17,  18.) 

d  [This  is  not  quite  correct  :  his  words  are,  Si  ad  Judam  rcfc- 
ras,  videtur  intelligere  laqueum  quo  se  dignum  jitdicavit  ob  proditi- 
onem.  Sin  ad  Matthiatn,  ititellige  episcopatum  cni  successit.  Ze- 
gerus  also  referred  the  words  to  Judas  going  and  hanging  himself. 
Erasmus  and  others  interpreted  them  rather  of  his  final  punish 
ment,  than  the  intermediate  state  of  his  soul.] 


26  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

and  upon  his  death  went  to  his  proper  place,  the 
place  and  state  of  lost  reprobate  spirits,  and  damned 
souls,  a  company  with  which  he  was  far  more  fit  to 
be  numbered,  than  with  the  apostles  of  Christ.  And 
therefore  the  Alexandrian  MS.  of  venerable  anti 
quity,  reads  here,  to  his  due  place*,  that  is,  to 
the  place  and  state  of  misery  which  he  had  justly 
merited  and  deserved  by  his  wickedness. 

Now  that  this  is  the  true  meaning  of  my  text,  I 
shall  farther  demonstrate,  by  shewing  that  the 
phrase,  to  c/o  to  one's  own  place*,  or  to  one's  due  or 
appointed  place%,  was  a  known  received  phrase  in 
the  apostolic  age,  to  signify  a  man's  going  presently 
after  death  into  his  proper  place  and  state,  either  of 
happiness  or  misery,  according  to  the  life  which  he 
had  before  lived.  Polycarp  in  his  epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  towards  the  end  of  it,  speaking  of  the 
apostles  arid  other  martyrs  of  that  age,  saith,  "  That 
"  they  are  with  the  Lord,  in  their  due  place  V 

Clement  bishop  of  Rome,  of  whom  St.  Paul  makes 
very  honourable  mention,  Phil.  iv.  3,  and  who  was 
therefore  ancienter  than  Polycarp,  in  his  undoubted 
epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  useth  the  same  phrase 
more  than  once  to  the  same  purpose.  For  not  far 
from  the  beginning  of  that  epistle,  speaking  of  the 
glorious  end  of  St.  Peter,  he  saith,  "Thus  having 
"  suffered  martyrdom,  he  went  to  his  due  place  of 
"  glory1."  The  same  Clement,  presently  after  in  the 
same  epistle,  speaking  of  St.  Paul's  martyrdom,  says, 

('  Eiy  rov  TOTTOV  TOV  St'/eatov. 
f  nopevdrjvai  fls  TOV  TOTTOV  TOV  'io'iov. 
£  Els  TOV  6(f)fi\6fifvov,  or  a>fH<TiJ.evov  TOTTOV. 

h  "On    fls    TOV    6<j)(i\6p.fvov    avTols    TOTTOV    aVi    Trapa    rw    KiWeo. 
[c.  ult.] 

'  OVTO>  paprvprjvas  ewopeufyeis  TOV  6<j>ei\6p.evov TOTTOV  T^S  M&s.  [0.5.] 


after  Death.  27 

"  Thus  he  departed  out.  of  the  world,  and  went  to 
"  the  holy  placeV  So  Barnabas  (or  whosoever  was 
the  author  of  that  very  ancient  epistle  going  under 
his  name)  expresseth  the  happy  departure  of  good 
men  into  the  other  world,  by  the  phrase  of  yoiny 
to  their  appointed  place}.  But  the  apostolical  bi 
shop  of  Antioch,  Ignatius,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Mag- 
nesians,  not  far  from  the  beginning,  speaks  fully 
home  to  our  purpose:  "  There  are  two  things  to 
gether  set  before  us,  life  and  death,  and  every  one 
*"  shall  go  to  his  own  place1"."  Lastly,  Irennms,  the 
disciple  of  Polycarp,  speaks  in  the  same  language 
with  his  master.  For  in  his  fifth  book,  chap.  31. 
he  says,  that  the  souls  of  the  true  disciples  of  Christ, 
presently  after  death,  abibunt  in  inmsibilem  locum, 
definitum  eia  a  Deo,  et  U>i  tist/nc  ad  resurrectio- 
neni  commorabuntur :  "shall  go  into  an  invisible 
"  place,  appointed  them  by  Cod,  and  there  shall 
"  tarry  even  until  the  resurrection."  Where  the 
definitus  locus,  "  the  appointed  place,"  was  doubt 
less  in  Greek  the  wpia-fjiwos  TOTTO?"  of  Polycarp,  and 
the  same  with  the  SIKCUOS  TOTTO?,  tJie  due  place,  used 
by  the  Alexandrian  MS.  here  in  my  text,  of  the 
contrary  state  of  Judas  :  all  which  expressions  sig 
nify  the  determined  proper  place  or  state  to  which 
all  souls  presently  after  death,  good  or  bad,  accord 
ingly  go.  After  so  many  clear  and  full  testimonies, 

k  OvT(t>s  firrrjXXdyT)  TOV  Kocrp.ov,  K.CL\  (Is  TOV  ayiov  TOTTOV  iiropfvOt).  [c.  5.] 

1   'OdfVflV   (IS  TOV   0)pl(TfJ.(VOV   TUTTOV.    [c.    19.] 

111  'ETT/Jceirai  TCI  $vo  O^JLOV,  <J  rt  &UVUTOS  <cat  17  £<t>r),  *(ii  (Kacrros  els 
TOV  'ibiov  Tonov  /ifAXft  \<i)p(iv.  [c.  5.] 

"  [The  original  Greek  of  this  passage  is  published  in  the 
edition  of  1710,  and  the  words  are  TOV  TOTTOV  TOV  u>piap.evov,  as  Bull 
supposed.] 


28  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

I  suppose  no  man  can  yet  be  to  seek  what  is  meant 
in  my  text  by  Juclas's  going  after  his  wretched 
death,  to  his  oivn  place". 

And  having  thus  explained  my  text,  that  I  may 
not  detain  you  too  long  only  with  a  criticism  on  the 
words,  I  shall  now  proceed  to  raise  some  useful  and 
profitable  observations  from  it,  which  shall  be  these 
two. 

Observ.  1.  The  soul  of  man  subsists  after  death, 
and  when  it  is  dislodged  from  the  body,  hath  a  place 
of  abode  provided  by  God  for  it,  till  the  resurrection 
of  the  body  again. 

Observ.  2.  The  soul  of  every  man,  presently  after 
death,  hath  its  proper  place  and  state  allotted  by 
God,  of  happiness  or  misery,  according  as  the  man 
hath  been  good  or  bad  in  his  past  life. 

Of  these  propositions  I  shall  discourse  in  their 
order  ;  and  the  first  of  them  will  be  as  much  as  T 
shall  be  well  able  to  despatch  within  the  compass  of 
time  at  present  allotted  me  :  The  soul  of  man  sub 
sists  after  death,  &c.  And  this  proposition  I  shall 
manage  so,  as  to  prove  it  chiefly  by  testimonies  of 
the  holy  Scripture,  supposing  that  I  am  to  deal  with 
men  that  acknowledge  its  divine  authority,  (as  hav 
ing  been  many  a  time  sufficiently  proved  to  them,) 
and  only  question,  whether  any  such  doctrine  be 
clearly  delivered  in  it.  Of  which  sort  are  many 
professed  Christians  who  believe  a  resurrection  and 
a  life  to  come,  and  yet  deny  the  distinct  subsistence 
of  the  soul  after  the  death  of  the  body  ;  and  whilst 
the  body  remains  in  the  state  of  death,  that  the  soul 
dies  and  is  extinguished  with  the  body  ;  and  conse- 


0    EtS 


TOV   T07TOV  TOV 


subsists  after  Death.  29 

quently  that  the  resurrection,  which  we  Christians 
profess  to  believe  in  our  creed,  is  of  the  whole  man 
both  soul  and  body.  Out  of  the  abundance  of  texts 
of  Scripture,  that  refute  this  error,  I  shall  make 
choice  of  some  few,  that  do  it  most  clearly  and 
expressly. 

And  first  even  in  the  Old  Testament,  we  have 
a  full  testimony  given  to  this  truth,  that  the  soul 
subsists  after  the  death  of  the  body,  by  Solomon, 
Eccles.  xii.  7,  where,  describing  man's  death  and 
dissolution,  he  saith,  Then  shall  the  dust  return  to 
the  earth  as  it  was :  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto 
God  who  gave  it  i'.  The  plain  and  evident  sense  of 
which  words  is  this :  Whereas  man  consists  of  two 
parts,  body  and  soul,  the  condition  of  these  two, 
when  a  man  dies,  will  be  very  different :  for  the 
body  being  at  first  taken  out  of  the  dust  of  the  earth, 
and  so  of  a  corruptible  constitution,  shall  go  back 
into  the  earth  again,  and  moulder  into  dust ;  but 
the  soul,  as  it  is  of  another  and  more  excellent  ori 
ginal,  (as  being  at  first  inspired  immediately  by  God 
himself  into  the  body,)  shall  not  perish  with  the 
body,  but  return  to  that  God,  from  whom  it  came ; 
in  whose  hands  it  shall  continue  safe  and  inviolate, 
according  to  that  of  the  author  of  the  Book  of  Wis 
dom,  chap.  iii.  1,  But  the  souls  of  the  righteous  are 
in  the  hands  of  Cod,  and  there  shall  no  torment 
touch  them.  For  Solomon  seems  to  speak  of  the 
end  of  man  according  to  God's  first  intention  and 
ordination,  which  was,  that  the  soul  of  man,  after 

P  [The  whole  of  this  passage,  "The  plain  and  evident  sense — 
"  universal  judgment,  ver.  13,  14."  is  repeated  with  little  varia 
tion  in  Sermon  VIII,  which  appears  to  have  been  written  first.] 


30  That  the  Son!  of  Matt  SERM.  ir. 

death,  should  go  to  God  and  the  heavenly  beings; 
and  not  of  the  accidental  event  of  things,  happening 
through  man's  sin  and  wickedness,  whereby  it  comes 
to  pass,  that  the  souls  of  many  men,  when  they  die, 
instead  of  going  to  God,  go  to  the  Devil  and  the 
infernal  regions.  Though  it  is  true  also,  that  the 
spirit  of  every  man  after  death,  good  or  bad,  in 
some  sense  goes  to  God,  cither  as  a  Father  or  as 
a  Judge,  to  be  kept  somewhere  under  the  custody 
of  his  almighty  power,  in  order  to  the  receiving  of 
his  final  sentence  at  the  last  judgment,  either  of 
happiness  or  misery.  And  accordingly  the  Wise 
Man  a  little  after  subjoins  the  article  of  a  future 
universal  judgment,  ver.  13,  14. 

But  if  any  man  yet  doubt  what  Solomon  intends 
here  by  the  soul's  returning  to  God,  and  not  to  the 
earth  with  the  body,  let  him  consult  the  third  chapter 
of  this  Book  of  Ecclesiastes.  Where  he  first  declares 
his  thoughts  of  an  impartial  judgment  of  God,  that 
shall  happen  at  a  certain  determinate  time,  both  to 
the  righteous  and  the  wicked,  according  to  their 
different  works  and  actions,  ver.  17:  /  said  in 
mine  heart,  God  shall  judge  the  righteous  and  the 
wicked:  for  there  is  a  time  there  for  every  purpose 
and  for  every  work.  And  then  in  the  following 
verses  to  the  end  of  the  chapter,  he  expresseth  an 
other  thought  or  suggestion,  that  sometime  came 
into  his  mind,  opposite  to  the  former;  or  rather  he 
represents  the  thought  of  the  profane  person,  viz. 
that  there  is  no  such  future  judgment ;  that  religion 
is  a  vain  thing;  that  there  is  no  difference  between 
the  soul  of  a  man  and  a  brute,  but  that  they  both 
perish  together  with  their  bodies;  and  consequently, 
that  it  is  a  man's  best  course,  freely  to  enjoy  what 


subsists  after  Death.  ,'31 

this  present  life  affords  him,  and  that  it  is  a  vain 
thing  to  expect  any  better  estate  in  another  world. 
In  which  discourse  he  introduceth  the  Epicurean  (it 
I  may  be  allowed  so  to  call  him  by  an  anticipation) 
thus  deriding  the  notion  of  the  soul's  immortality, 
ver.  21 :  Who  knoweth  the  spirit  of  a  man  that 
aoeth  upward,  and  the  spirit  of  the  beast  that 
goeth  downward  to  the  earth?  As  if  he  had  said, 
As  for  the  talk  of  man's  soul  being  immortal,  who 
can  demonstrate  that  problem  ?  Who  can  discern 
any  sign  of  difference  betwixt  the  soul  of  a  man  and 
a  brute,  that  shall  prove  that  the  one  goes  upward 
to  the  region  of  permanent  and  eternal  beings,  the 
other  downwards,  that  is,  perisheth  together  with  its 
body,  that  moulders  in  the  earth.  Certainly  hence 
it  is  most  clear,  that  the  phrase  of  mans  spirit  going 
upward,  signifies,  in  Solomon's  sense,  something  di 
rectly  opposite  to  the  condition  of  the  soul  of  a 
beast,  that  dies  together  with  its  body ;  that  is,  that 
it  signifies  the  immortality  of  man's  soul,  and  its 
subsistence  after  the  death  of  the  body.  Now  what 
Solomon  doth  here  in  the  beginning  of  this  book 
question  in  the  person  of  the  Epicurean,  whether 
the  spirit  of  man  when  he  dies  doth  thus  go  upward, 
he  doth  clearly  in  the  text  before  cited,  towards  the 
end  of  the  same  book,  (where  he  expresseth  his  own 
most  serious  and  resolved  thoughts,)  peremptorily 
determine  in  these  words :  Then  shall  the  dust  re 
turn  to  the  earth :  and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto 
God  who  gave  it. 

The  matter  is  plain  and  evident.  The  New  Tes 
tament  very  often  and  most  expressly  delivers  the 
same  doctrine.  Our  Saviour,  Matt.  x.  28.  thus  ex 
horts  his  disciples:  Fear  not  them  which  kill  the 


32  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  IT. 

body,  but  are  not  able  to  kill  the  soul:  but  rather 
fear  him  which  is  able  to  destroy  both  soul  and 
body  in  hell.  What  can  be  more  clear  ?  If  the  soul 
had  such  a  necessary  dependence  on  the  body,  that 
when  this  dies,  itself  must  needs  die  with  it ;  then 
he  that  kills  the  body  would  with  the  same  stroke 
murder  the  soul  too.  But  our  Saviour  tells  us,  that 
this  is  impossible  for  man  to  do ;  the  soul  remaining 
even  after  the  death  of  the  body,  and  being1  out  of  the 
reach  of  any  created  power  that  is  able  to  destroy  it. 
If  it  be  said,  that  this  is  meant  only  of  the  utter  de 
struction  of  the  soul,  which  no  man  is  able  to  effect, 
God  having  promised  a  resurrection  to  life  again  ; 
this  will  appear  to  be  only  a  wretched  shift,  to  avoid 
the  force  of  the  plainest  text.  For  in  this  sense  our 
Saviour  might  have  as  well  denied,  that  it  is  in  the 
power  of  a  man  to  kill  the  body  of  another  man,  that 
is,  to  destroy  it  utterly  and  finally,  because  God  will 
raise  it  again  at  the  last  day.  But  our  blessed  Lord 
grants,  that  the  body  may  be  killed  by  man  in  the 
same  sense,  wherein  he  denies,  that  the  soul  can  be 
destroyed  by  him ;  and  therefore  speaks  not  this  only 
with  reference  to  the  resurrection. 

The  same  our  blessed  Saviour  assures  our  belief  of 
this  truth  by  his  own  example,  when,  being  at  the 
point  of  death,  he  said,  Father,  into  thy  hands  I 
commend  my  spirit,  Luke  xxiii.  46. 

He  believed  that  he  had  a  spirit,  a  superior  soul, 
that  after  the  death  of  his  body,  and  the  extinction 
of  his  animal  soul,  should  still  remain  ;  and  this  he 
recommends  to  the  gracious  and  safe  custody  of 
his  Father.  And  lest  we  should  think  that  this 
was  a  peculiar  privilege  of  the  soul  of  the  Messias, 
St.  Stephen,  when  dying,  after  the  same  manner 


t  after  Death.  33 

commits  his  spirit  to  Christ  himself,  then  exalted  at 
the  right  hand  of  the  Father,  saying,  Lord  Jesus, 
receive  my  spirit.  Acts  vii.  59. 

Again,  how  express  are  those  words  of  Christ  to 
the  penitent  thief  on  the  cross  ;  Verily  I  say  unto 
thee,  To-day  sltalt  tlion  he  with  me  in  paradise  ? 
Luke  xxiii.  43.  This  certainly  is  a  plain  promise  to 
the  thief,  that  on  the  very  same  day,  wherein  lie  died 
with  Christ,  his  soul  (for  his  body  was  to  be  taken 
down  from  the  cross,  and  buried  in  the  earth)  should 
be  with  Christ  in  paradise.  His  soul  therefore  died 
not  with  his  body,  but,  immediately  after  death,  went 
with  Christ's  soul  to  paradise,  «V  rov  'iSiov  TOTTOV,  to 
the  proper  place  t  for  so  great  and  illustrious  a  penitent. 
The  subterfuges  and  shifts  of  heretics  to  evade  this 
text  are  so  perfectly  ridiculous,  that  T  must  make 
myself  ridiculous  if  I  should  mention  them,  much 
more  if  I  should  go  about  seriously  to  refute  them. 

Farther,  we  read  expressly  in  the  New  Testament 
of  separate  spirits  of  men,  both  good  and  bad.  Of 
the  spirits  of  good  men  departed,  the  divine  author 
of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  speaks,  when  he  tells 
us,  that  we  Christians  are  joined  not  only  to  an  in 
numerable  company  of  angels,  but  also  to  the  society 
of  tJic  spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,  or  that  hare 
finished  their  course**,  Ileb.  xii.  23.  Of  the  spirits 
and  souls  of  wicked  men  remaining  after  death  St. 
Peter  as  expressly  speaks,  1  Pet.  iii.  19,  20:  By 
which  also  he  went  and  preached  to  the  spirits  in 
prison  ;  which  sometimes  were  disobedient,  when  the 
long  suffering  of  God  waited  in  the  days  of  Noahr, 
&c.  How  and  when  Christ  preached  to  those  spirits 


n 

r  [For  the  opinion  of  the  Ante-Nicene  Fathers  concerning  this 

BULL,  VOL.   I.  D 


34<  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

in  prison,  is  not  my  business  at  present  to  inquire : 
but  the  text  plainly  enough  affirms,  that  the  spirits 
of  those  wicked  men  that  were  destroyed  by  the 
flood  were  then  in  being,  and  in  prison  too,  that  is, 
in  the  sad  place  of  Judas,  in  the  place  and  state  of 
miserable  souls,  reserved,  as  in  a  gaol  or  dungeon,  to 
the  future  judgment  and  execution. 

St.  Paul  also  most  plainly  teacheth,  that  a  man 
(that  is,  his  soul)  may  be  absent  from  his  body,  and 
subsist  without  it,  and  in  a  state  of  separation  from 
it,  21  Cor.  v.  8,  9,  10:  We  arc  confident,  I  say,  and 
willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be 
present  with  the  Lord.  Wherefore  we  labour,  that, 
whether  present  or  absent,  we  may  be  accepted  of 
him.  For  we  must  all  appear  before  the  judgment 
seat  of  Christ,  &c.  The  same  St.  Paul  speaks  of  vi 
sions  and  revelations  that  he  had  seen  and  received 
in  paradise  and  the  third  heaven  ;  but  whether  he 
saw  those  visions  in  or  out  of  his  body,  he  professeth 
himself  doubtful  and  uncertain,  2  Cor.  xii.  2,  3,  4  : 
/  knew  a  man  in  Christ  above  fourteen  years  ago, 
(whether  in  the  body,  I  cannot  tell ;  or  whether  out 
of  the  body,  I  cannot  tell:  God  knoweth  ;)  such  an 
one  caught  up  to  the  third  heaven.  And  I  knew 
such  a  man,  (whether  in  the  body,  or  out  of  the  body, 
I  cannot  tell:  God  knoweth;)  how  that  he  was 
caught  up  into  paradise,  and  heard  unspeakable 
words,  which  it  is  not  lawful  for  a  man  to  utter. 
If  the  apostle  had  believed  the  vain  philosophy  of 

passage,  see  Hermas,  III.  sim.  9.  c.  16.  Ireneeus,  IV.  27.  Clem. 
Alex.  Strom.  III.  4.  p.  526.  et  VI.  6.  Excerpta  Theod.  ad  fin. 
Clem.  Alex.  p.  973.  Tertull.  de  Anima,  c.  7,  55.  Origen.  c.  Cels. 
I.  43-  In  Exod.  Horn.  VI.  §.  6.  In  Reg.  Horn.  2.  vol.  2.  p.  497. 
In  Psalm,  p.  553.  Hippol.  de  Antichristo,  §.  26,  45.] 


after  heath.  3.5 

some  men,  that  a  man's  soul  cannot  subsist  without 
his  body,  lie  might  very  easily  and  most  certainly 
have  resolved  his  own  doubt,  and  concluded  that  he 
received  those  visions  and  revelations  in  the  body, 
seeing  out  of  the  body  he  could  not  so  much  as 
subsist. 

But  not  to  pursue  any  farther  those  particular  texts 
of  Scripture,  that  occasionally  (and  as  it  were  by  the 
by)  dropped  from  the  pens  of  the  sacred  writers,  let 
us  inquire  into  the  whole  state  of  the  question  con 
cerning  the  soul's  immortality  and  permanence  after 
death,  as  it  was  controverted  between  the  two  great 
sects  among  the  Jews,  the  Sadducees  and  Pharisees, 
in  our  Saviour's  time,  and  as  it  was  by  the  apostles  of 
Christ  and  by  Christ  himself  professedly  determined. 

The  dogmata  and  tenets  of  the  Sadducees,  opposite 
to  the  doctrine  of  the  ancient  church  of  the  Jews, 
held  by  the  Pharisees,  are  very  briefly,  yet  fully 
enough,  expressed  by  St.  Luke,  Acts  xxiii.  8  :  l^or 
the  Sadduceex  say  there  is  no  resurrection,  neither 
angel,  nor  spirit:  but  the  Pharisees  confers  both. 
The  Sadducees  believed  that  there  is  a  God,  though 

o 

whether  they  believed  God  himself  to  be  incorporeal 
is  not  without  very  great  reasons  questioned  by  some. 
But  this  is  certain,  that  besides  God,  they  believed 
nothing  at  all  to  subsist,  but  what  is  perceptible  to 
sense.  And  hence  they  denied  angels  to  be  perma 
nent  substances,  believing  the  angels  of  which  they 
had  read  in  Scripture  to  be  only  certain  phantasms, 
occasionally  formed  by  God,  when  he  would  at  any 
time  reveal  his  will  to  the  sons  of  men,  and  after 
wards  vanishing  and  disappearing.  And  agreeably 
to  the  same  hypothesis,  they  denied  also  any  such 
beings  as  the  spirits  of  men,  distinct  substances  from 

D  2 


36  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

their  bodies,  and  able  to  subsist  without  them.  And 
hence  farther,  by  a  necessary  chain  of  consequences, 
they  denied  the  resurrection  of  the  bodies  of  men 
after  death.  For  to  what  purpose  should  the  body 
of  man  arise,  if  there  wrere  no  soul  in  being1,  to  which 
it  should  be  reunited,  and  by  which  it  should  be 
again  informed  ?  And  how  could  the  same  man  at 
the  resurrection  receive  the  reward  of  his  past  ac 
tions,  as  the  Pharisees  rightly  taught,  if  his  soul  did 
not  subsist  after  death  ?  For  every  man  hath  his  in- 
dividuation  chiefly  from  his  soul ;  and  animus  cujm- 
que  cst  quisquc,  "  the  soul  of  every  man  is  the  man." 
If  therefore  the  soul  of  man  itself  be  extinguished 
by  death,  at  the  raising  of  our  dust,  a  new  soul  must 
be  produced  by  God  for  every  man,  and  so  every 
man  would  be  another  man,  and  the  same  men  could 
not  receive  the  rewards  and  punishments  of  the 
world  to  come,  due  to  their  respective  actions  done 
in  this  life,  which  is  the  only  supposed  end  of  the  re 
surrection.  This  a  learned  man  more  scholastically 
expresseth  in  these  words  :  "  If  the  soul  be  not  a 
"  permanent  substance,  but  only  a  quality  or  crasis, 
"  which  when  the  body  dies  perisheth  and  is  extin- 
"  guished  with  it,  it  is  impossible  that  the  same  nu- 
"  merical  man  should  rise  after  death ;  because  the 
"  form  or  soul  which  perished,  cannot  be  numerically 
"  the  same  with  the  form  or  soul  which  is  restored. 
"  For  this  is  numerically  another,  because  between 
"  that  which  perished,  and  this  which  is  restored, 
"  there  intervened  nihilum,  '  a  nonentity.'  Now 
:'  whensoever  between  two  extremes  a  medium  of  a 
"  diverse  kind  is  interposed,  those  two  cannot  be  nu- 
"  merically  the  same,  though  they  may  be  the  same 
"  specifically.  For  that  is  numerically  one,  which  is 


subsist*  after  Death.  37 

u  contained  in  one  common  term  ;  as  that  is  one  line, 
"  which  is  not  cut  oil'  or  interrupted,  and  that  one 
"  motion,  which  is  not  discontinued  by  rest.  But 
"  there  is  no  common  term  between  that  which  once 
kk  was  and  perished,  and  that  which  afterwards  is 
"produced;  for  nonexistence  came  between  them, 
*'  and  therefore  they  cannot  be  numerically  the  same." 
Vain  therefore  would  be  the  expectation  of  good  men, 
because  they  themselves  should  not  be  rewarded  in 
the  resurrection,  but  others  for  them. 

To  this  I  add,  that  as  a  resurrection  cannot  rightly 
be  defended,  unless  we  assert  the  permanence  and 
subsistence  of  man's  soul  after  death ;  so  this  being 
acknowledged,  a  necessity  of  the  resurrection  of  his 
body  plainly  follows.  In  order  to  the  demonstration 
whereof,  we  are  in  the  first  place  to  observe,  that  the 
body  is  not  in  man  a  thing  adventitious  or  superin 
duced,  a  thing  which  at  first  he  was  without,  and 
afterward  was  invested  with  ;  (a  dream  of  those  men, 
who  hold  a  preexistence  of  souls  or  spiritual  beings, 
afterward,  for  some  fault  committed  in  their  primitive 
state,  thrust  down  into  bodies,  as  into  prisons ;)  but 
it  is  an  essential  part  of  man.  Though  the  soul  be 
the  principal,  and  by  far  the  most  excellent  part,  (as 
I  have  said  before,)  yet  the  body  too  is  one  constitu 
tive  part  of  that  compositum^  that  compounded  thing 
which  we  call  man.  For  the  sacred  oracles  teach  us, 
that  the  body  of  man  was  a  thing  made  by  God  in 
the  very  first  creation  and  constitution  of  man ;  nay, 
that  the  body  was  made  before  the  soul,  God  first 
forming  man  out  of  the  dust  of  the  eart/i,  and  then 
breathing  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life,  so  that 
man  became  a  living  soul.  Gen.  ii.  7.  That  is,  that 
which  was  taken  out  of  the  earth,  ami  that  which 


38  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n, 

was  from  without  breathed  by  God  into  it,  made  in 
the  whole  one  living  man ;  the  soul  being  here  put 
for  the  whole  man,  as  often  otherwhere  in  the  holy 
Scriptures.  And  the  apostle  plainly  tells  us,  that 
the  body,  as  well  as  the  soul  and  spirit,  belongs  to 
the  6\oK\>ipov,  the  wliole  of  man,  that  whole,  which 
he  prays  may  be  preserved  blameless  unto  the  com- 
incj  of  our  Lord  Jesus,  that  is,  to  the  day  of  judg 
ment,  1  Thess.  v.  23.  This  being  established,  w7e 
thus  argue.  Seeing  the  soul  of  man  is  permanent, 
and  subsists  after  the  death  of  the  body,  and  yet  the 
body  also  belongs  essentially  to  the  constitution  of 
man  ;  when  that  body  is  defunct,  either  the  soul  must 
remain  perpetually  in  a  state  of  separation,  and,  as  it 
were,  of  widowhood,  or  the  body  must  be  recalled  to 
life,  and  again  united  to  it. 

The  former  hypothesis  agrees  not  to  reason.  For 
seeing  the  soul  alone  doth  not  constitute  human  na 
ture,  that  being  which  we  call  man,  if  the  body  ut 
terly  perished,  would  for  ever  remain  as  it  were  an 
half  man,  and  be  destitute  of  a  part  of  himself.  And 
indeed  that  he  should  be  so  by  dispensation,  and  for 
a  certain  time,  and  for  certain  causes,  is  not  absurd ; 
but  that  he  should  continue  so  for  ever,  seems  repug 
nant  to  the  order  of  things  established  by  the  divine 
wisdom.  In  a  word,  if  man  had  not  sinned,  the  union 
between  his  soul  and  body  should  have  been  unin 
terrupted  and  perpetual,  that  is,  if  he  had  never  sin 
ned,  he  should  never  have  died;  but  by  sin  came 
death,  which  dissolved  the  union.  Yet  by  the  grace 
of  a  new  covenant  in  Christ,  that  death  becomes  not 
perpetual,  and  man  receives  a  second  promise  of  im 
mortality.  In  order  to  which,  though  his  body  remain 
for  a  while  under  death,  (an  irreversible  decree  being 


after  Death.  39 

past,  that  man  should  return  to  the  dust  from  whence 
he  was  taken,)  yet  his  soul  still  subsists,  and  his  body 
too  shall  in  due  time  be  raised  again  ;  and  then  the 
breach  made  by  sin  shall  be  fully  healed,  and  the 
union  between  soul  and  body  shall  never  more  be 
dissolved,  but  the  duration  of  both  shall  run  on  in 
lines  parallel.  And  our  Saviour  expressly  tells  us, 
that  they  w/io  sliull  ln>  accounted  worthy  of  a  blessed 
resurrection^  shall  not,  cannot  die  any  wore,  Luke 
xx.  35,  36. 

So  necessarily  doth  a  resurrection  to  judgment, 
and  the  soul's  subsistence  and  permanence  after 
death,  depend  each  on  the  other ;  and  therefore  the 
Sadducees  were  very  consistent  in  their  principles, 
when  they  denied  both  together.  And  so  much  for 
the  philosophy  of  the  Sadducees  in  this  matter. 

The  Pharisees  on  the  other  side  held  a  just  con 
trary  chain  of  doctrines,  viz.,  that  there  are  certain 
immaterial  and  invisible  beings,  both  angels,  and  also 
spirits  of  men  distinct  substances  from  their  bodies, 
and  subsisting  after  the  death  of  their  bodies,  and 
therefore  that  there  shall  be  a  resurrection.  He  that 
believed  one  of  these  hypotheses  believed  all ;  and 
he  that  denied  either  of  them  equally  denied  the 
rest.  Now  St.  Luke  expressly  tells  us,  that  St.  Paul 
openly  declared  himself  to  be  on  the  Pharisees'  side 
in  this  controversy,  Acts  xxiii.  6'.  He  made  indeed 
this  profession  at  that  time  politicly,  and  to  save 
himself  from  present  danger :  but  yet  his  profession 
was  honest  and  true,  and  void  of  any  deceit  or  equi 
vocation.  And  why  should  St.  Luke  together  with 
the  error  of  the  Sadducees,  in  denying  a  resurrection, 
join  their  other  opinions ;  that  there  are  no  such 


40  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

things  as  angels,  or  spirits  of  men  distinct  substances 
from  their  bodies,  but  that  he  believed  these  opinions 
to  be  equally  errors  with  the  former,  and  indeed  to 
have  a  necessary  connexion  with  it  ? 

But  let  us  hear  the  determination  of  our  Lord 
himself  in  this  controversy;  Matt,  xxii.  31,  32.  But 
as  touching  the  resurrection  of  the  dead,  have  ye 
not  read  that  which  was  spoken  to  you  ly  God,  say- 
in(j,  I  am  the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of 
Isaac,  and  the  God  of  Jacob  f  God  is  not  the  God 
of  the  dead,  but  of  the  lirina.  Where  our  Saviour 
proves  against  the  Sadducees,  the  resurrection  of  the 
dead,  from  the  words  of  God  concerning  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  spoken  to  Moses  many  ages  after 
the  death  of  those  blessed  patriarchs,  /  am  the  God 
of  Abraham,  &c.  And  he  lays  down  this  hypothe 
sis  as  the  foundation  of  his  argument,  that  God  is 
not  the  God  of  tJte  dead,  but  of  the  living.  Which 
indeed  is  an  evident  proposition,  seeing  for  God  to  be 
one's  God,  necessarily  implies  a  present  relation  that 
God  hath  to  him ;  and  no  relation  can  continue, 
where  either  of  the  relatives  cease  and  is  taken  away. 
Whence  it  clearly  follows,  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob  were  alive,  and  did  subsist  (viz.,  in  their  spirits) 
when  God  spake  those  words  to  Moses,  that  is,  many 
ages  after  the  death  of  their  bodies. 

And  to  this  sense  of  our  Saviour's  words,  doubtless 
the  holy  apostolic  bishop  and  martyr  Poly  carp  had 
respect  in  his  last  prayer  at  the  stake,  recited  by  Eu- 
sebius,  Eccl.Hist.  b.  i  v.  c.  15.  out  of  the  epistle  of 
the  brethren  of  Smyrna,  who  were  present  at  his 
martyrdom.  For  in  the  beginning  of  that  prayer,  he 
thus  addresseth  himself  to  God  :  "  O  thou  God  of 


subsists  after  Death.  41 

"  the  whole  race  of  righteous  men,  who  live  before 
"  thee8."     And  having  particularly  mentioned   the 
martyrs,  he  presently  adds,  "  Among  whom  may  T 
"  be  received  before  thee  this  day1."  So  Justin  Mar 
tyr,  in  his  second  Apology,  p.  96,  (as  it  is  reckoned 
in  the  vulgar  editions,)  tells  us,  that  by  what  was 
said   out   of  the  bush  to  Moses,   /  am  the  God  of 
Abraham,  &c.,    was    signified,    "  That     those     men 
"  even   after    death   do    still    remain  and    subsist11." 
Hence  also   in  the   most   ancient  Liturgies    of  the 
church,  the  place  and  receptacle  of  the  spirits  of  just 
men  deceased,  is  called  "  the  region  of  the  living, 
"  the  bosom  of  Abraham,  and  Isaac,  and  Jacob x,"  as 
we  find  it  in  the  Office  for  the  Dead,  at  large  described 
by  the  author  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Hierarchy,  chap, 
ulty.     And  from  those  ancient  Liturgies  our  church 
hath  taken  that  prayer  of  hers,  which  we  have  in 
the  Office  for  the  Burial  of  the  Dead  :  <k  Almighty 
"  God,  with  whom  do  live  the  spirits   of  just  men 
"  that  depart  hence  in  the  Lord." 

Now  our  blessed  Saviour  having  clearly  proved, 
that  the  spirits  of  men  can  and  do  subsist  after 
death,  had  thereby  sufficiently  confuted  the  whole 
doctrine  of  the  Sadducees,  without  proceeding  any 
farther,  considering  the  connexion  of  their  dogmata 
or  opinions,  before  mentioned.  They  denied  the  sub 
sistence  of  the  spirits  of  men  after  death,  and  there 
fore  denied  the  resurrection  of  their  bodies  :  and  if 


8   *O    0605    TTCIVTOS   TOV   ytVOVS    TO)V   8lK(ll(i)V,    01 

t  'Ev  ols  irpoaot \Bfirfv  (vutTiiov  (TOV  o~i]p.(pov. 

U   *A7TO#U1/OI>T(K  fKfil/OVS  p(l>(ll>.      [A[)ol.  I.  63.  p.  82.] 

*    H  ^oopa  TIOV  £<j)i>T(j>v. 

y  [This  is  one  of  the  works  falsely  ascribed  to  Dionysus  the 
Areopagite.] 


42  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

they  could  have  been  convinced  of  the  former,  they 
would  readily  have  acknowledged  the  other  also.  In 
a  word,  they  denied  in  the  whole  any  life  after  this, 
any  state  or  subsistence  of  men  after  death,  and  be 
lieved  death  to  be  ultima  linea  rerum,  "  the  last 
"  line  and  bound  of  things,"  beyond  which  the  con 
cerns  of  men  are  no  farther  extended.  I  doubt  not 
but  this  is  a  true  account  of  our  Saviour's  reasoning 
in  that  famous  text,  which  some  learned  interpreters 
have  strangely  perplexed,  for  want  of  attending  to 
the  whole  connexion  of  the  Sadducees'  doctrine 
above  observed.  Certainly  if  our  Saviour's  reason 
ing  had  been  so  subtle,  intricate,  and  elaborate,  as 
some  expositors  have  made  it,  it  had  been  impossi 
ble  for  the  common  people  to  have  understood  the 
force  of  it.  But  that  the  multitude  themselves  pre 
sently  apprehended  it,  and  wondered  at  our  Saviour's 
convincing  way  of  arguing,  is  expressly  affirmed, 
Matt.  xxii.  33.  And  when  the  multitude  heard  this, 
they  were  astonished  at  his  doctrine.  The  multi 
tude  were  on  the  Pharisees'  side  against  the  Sad 
ducees,  as  Josephus  and  others  assure  us.  This  mul 
titude  presently  conceived  the  text  alleged  and  urged 
by  our  Saviour  to  be  a  clear  proof,  that  the  holy 
patriarchs  subsisted  and  lived  after  the  death  of  their 
bodies.  And  they  knew  this  to  be  an  effectual 
refutation  of  the  whole  doctrine  of  the  Sadducees, 
who  held  that  there  is  no  life  after  this  present  life, 
but  that  men  die  as  the  beasts  that  perish. 

Thus  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality  of  man's 
soul,  and  its  subsistence  after  the  death  of  the  body, 
appears  to  be  the  plain  doctrine  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  delivered  in  the  New  Testament.  But  lest 
we  should  yet  suspect  ourselves  to  be  deceived  in 


subsists  after  Death.  43 

the  sense  of  those  evident  texts  of  Scripture,  (as 
some  would  fain  persuade  us  that  we  dream  when 
we  are  awake,  and  that  the  sun  shines  not  at  the 
brightest  noon,)  I  add,  that  the  catholic  church  of 
Christ  after  the  apostles  ever  acknowledged  the  same 
doctrine,  and  reckoned  it  among  the  undoubted  arti 
cles  of  the  Christian  religion.  You  have  already 
heard  the  judgment  of  those  doctors  and  martyrs  of 
the  church,  who  lived  in  or  very  near  the  apostles' 
times  ;  how  they  believed,  that  the  soul  of  every 
man  presently  after  death  hath  a  place  to  go  to, 
and  dies  not  with  the  body.  And  the  same,  tradi 
tion  was  constantly  held  and  maintained  in  the 
church  all  along  afterwards;  insomuch  that  the  doc 
trine  is  to  be  found  in  the  most  ancient  Liturgies, 
as  hath  been  above  observed  ;  wherein  it  was  unfit 
that  any  disputable  problem  should  have  a  place. 
Nor  would  the  church  ever  tolerate  or  suffer  any 
man,  under  her  government,  to  teach  the  contrary 
opinion. 

To  pass  by  the  dreams  of  those  infamous  heretics 
the  Valentinians;  the  first  (to  my  best  remembrance) 
that  universally  affirmed  the  dissolution  of  all  men's 
souls  together  with  their  bodies,  were  certain  hetero 
dox  persons  of  Arabia,  about  the  middle  of  the  third 
century,  mentioned  by  Eusebius  in  his  sixth  book  of 
Ecclesiastical  History,  chap.  37,  where  he  tells  us 
that  they  held,  "zThat  the  souls  of  men  in  this  pre- 
"  sent  world  die  and  perish  together  with  their  bo- 
"  dies  ;  but  that  at  the  resurrection  they  return  again 


dv6f)<t)nfiav  ^v\f]v  re'cor  p.tv  Kara  TUV  fVeorwra   Kdipov,  a/zu  177 
fj  <Tvi>aTrodvT)(TKfiv  Toiy  (7a>^u<ri  KOI  (rvvbinf^Bfipfcrdni'  avOts  8(  Trore 
Kara  TOV  rrjs  avaorafrfcof  Kaipbv  (Tvv  avro'is 


44  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SEEM.  n. 

"  to  life,  together  with  the  same  bodies."  Against 
these  novelists  a  great  council  was  presently  called, 
wherein  the  famous  Origen  was  present ;  and  he  by 
his  arguments  so  effectually  dealt  with  them,  that 
they  renounced  their  error,  and  so  prevented  the 
anathema  of  the  council,  that  would  otherwise  cer 
tainly  have  been  denounced  against  them. 

I  add  over  and  above,  that  the  subsistence  of  the 
soul  of  man  after  the  death  of  his  body,  wras  a  tradi 
tion  generally,  nay  I  think  universally,  received 
among  the  civilized  heathen  nations.  For  though  cer 
tain  wrangling  and  contentious  philosophers  among 
them  disputed  the  matter  ,and  by  disputing  came  at 
last  most  of  them  to  doubt  of  it,  and  some  of  them 
flatly  to  deny  it ;  yet  this  could  not  hinder,  but  that 
the  notion  still  prevailed  among  the  generality  of 
men  in  every  age  and  nation.  Nay  in  that  part  of 
the  world,  which  for  so  many  ages  remained  undis 
covered  and  unknown  to  the  rest  of  the  earth,  (there 
being  no  very  ancient  historian  or  writer  extant, 
that  gives  us  any  certain  account  of  it,)  I  say,  in 
that  part  of  the  world  which  is  called  America,  when 
it  was  first  discovered  by  the  Christians,  this  faith  of 
the  soul's  immortality  was  found  to  obtain.  Joseph 
Acosta,  a  learned  Spaniard,  and  an  approved  author, 
who  had  lived  in  those  parts,  tells  us,  1.  v.  c.  7,  that 
the  Indians  of  Peru  believed  commonly,  "  that  the 
"  souls  of  men  lived  after  this  present  life,  [and  that 
"  the  good  were  in  glory,  and  the  bad  in  pain."]  Nay, 
in  that  region  of  America  which  is  called  Nova 
Francia,  New  France,  although  when  it  was  first 
discovered,  the  people  were  found  rude  and  bar 
barous  ;  insomuch  that  a  good  author  saith  of  them, 


.v/f/Av/A-fa  after  Death.  45 

"  That  they  are  not  bound  by  any  laws,  nor  observe 
"  any  good  customs,  but  live  as  beasts  devoid  of 
"  reason  ;"  yet  even  of  these  the  same  author  thus 
testih'eth,  "  They  believe  the  immortality  of  men's 
"  souls,  and  say,  that  when  they  leave  their  bodies, 
"  they  go  to  another  region,  where  their  deceased 
"friends  arc11."  Moreover,  Lerius b  tells  us  of  a 
strange  sort  of  people  in  America,  of  a  hard  name, 
(they  arc  culled  by  him,  To  rou,  plnam  hanUli^  who 
acknowledge  no  particular  Cod  at  all,  but  only  in 
general,  certain  spirits  with  whom  their  priests  con 
verse,  from  whom  they  believe  themselves  to  receive 
courage  and  success  in  war,  and  the  production  of  the 
fruits  of  the  earth  :  and  therefore  they  are  instanced 
in  by  some  as  a  nation  atheistical,  though  unjustly; 
for  those  spirits  which  they  acknowledge  are  their 
gods.  I  Fowever  these  very  men  (as  the  same  Lerius 
informs  us)  confess,  that  "  the  souls  of  the  virtuous" 
(that  is,  of  those  who  have  valiantly  defended  their 
country,  for  this  seems  to  be  the  chiefest,  if  not 
the  only  virtue  which  they  admired,)  "  do  presently 
**  after  death  fly  beyond  certain  very  high  mountains, 
"  and  at  last  light  on  most  pleasant  gardens,  where 
**  they  lead  a  merry  life  in  perpetual  delights  and 
"  dances  :  and  that  on  the  other  side,  the  souls  of 
"  cowards  and  degenerate  souls,  go  ad  ai/fjnan,  that 
"  is,  to  the  Devil,  and  live  in  torments  with  him." 
Tn  a  word,  I  am  yet  to  seek  for  that  nation  in  the 

a  Animarum  crcdunt  immortalitatem,  dicuntquc  quod  postquam 
ex  corpore  migrarunt,  tune  in  aliam  migrant  regionem,  ubi  amici 
illorum  defuncti  reperiuntur. 

h  [Historia  Navigations  in  Rrasiliam  a  Joanne  Lerio  Burgundo. 
1686.] 


46  That  the  Soul  of  Man  SERM.  n. 

world,  among  whom  the  primitive  religion,  taught 
by  God  to  the  first  men,  is  so  utterly  corrupted  and 
lost,  but  that  they  have  still  some  notion  remaining 
among  them  of  the  soul's  immortality  and  perma 
nence  after  death. 

To  conclude  therefore,  let  us  firmly  adhere  to  this 
confessed  truth,  this  great  truth,  this  fundamental 
truth,  not  only  of  our  Christian  religion,  but  of 
religion  in  general.  Let  us  take  heed  of  those  men, 
who  professing  to  believe  the  resurrection  promised 
in  the  Gospel,  do  yet  deny  the  subsistence  of  man's 
soul  in  the  interval  between  death  and  that  resur 
rection.  That  faith  and  this  denial  cannot  well  stand 
together ;  the  resurrection  of  the  body  necessarily 
supposing  the  immortality  and  permanence  of  the 
soul,  as  I  have  evidently  shewn  you.  They  there 
fore  that  deny  the  latter,  lay  a  sure  foundation  for 
the  denial  of  the  former  too  ;  which  is  the  great 
article  of  our  religion,  the  subversion  whereof  ren 
ders  our  whole  faith  vain,  as  the  apostle  tells  us, 
1  Cor.  xv.  16,17. 

But  much  more  are  we  to  bewrare  of  those,  who 
deny  this  truth  with  a  direct  design  to  destroy  all 
our  hopes  or  fears  of  any  life  to  come.  Let  not  the 
sophistry  of  these  men,  who  study  to  shake  off  their 
Christianity  and  the  religion  of  mankind  at  once,  in 
the  least  unsettle  our  persuasion  and  belief  of  this 
established  verity.  It  is  here,  if  any  where,  certain, 
that  Vox  populi  (or  rather  populorwri)  est  Vox  Dei, 
the  voice  of  all  people  and  nations,  howsoever  distant 
in  place,  however  otherwise  differing  in  religion  from 
each  other,  yet  all  here  singing  the  same  song,  must 
needs  be  the  voice  of  God  ;  or  at  least  an  echo  of 


subsists  after  J)eath.  47 

that  voice,  by  which  God  spake  to  holy  men  in 
the  infancy  of  the  world,  and  revealed  to  them  the 
doctrine  of  a  future  life  ;  a  voice  once  so  strongly 
and  convincingly  uttered,  that  it  went  through  all 
the  earth,  and  to  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  there  is 
no  speech  nor  language,  no  people  or  nation,  where 
the  smne  voice  is  not  still  heard  ;  to  allude  to  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist,  Psalm  xix.  '3,  4.  This  were 
sufficient  to  arm  us  against  the  cavils  of  those  few 
self-opiniated  men,  that  in  every  age  (especially  in 
this  of  ours)  have  made  it  their  business  to  molest 
and  disturb  the  common  faith  of  the  world.  But 
when  wo  have  the  consent  of  nations  confirmed  by  a 
new  divine  revelation,  a  revelation  proved  to  be  such 
by  the  most  undeniable  arguments,  what  madness 
were  it  to  doubt  !  Let  us  not  therefore  give  any 
ear  to  the  voice  of  the  Epicurean,  Let  if*  eat  and 
drink,  for  to-morrotc  ire  die ;  that  is,  Let  us  live  like 
beasts,  because  we  are  to  die  as  such,  1  Cor.  xv.  32  ; 
but  rather  let  us  resolve  to  lire  xober/y,  righteously , 
and  (jodiy  in  this  present,  world ;  because  though 
as  to  our  bodies  we  mav  die  to-morrow,  and  must 

J 

die  shortly,  yet  our  souls  are  certainly  to  live  and 
subsist  after  death,  in  order  to  a  future  doom  of 
happiness  or  misery.  Let  us  hearken  to  the  wisest 
of  men,  Solomon  ;  who  having  asserted  the  soul's 
immortality,  Eccles.  xii.  7  :  Then  shall  the  dust  return 
to  the  earth  as  it  was :  and  the  spirit  shall  return 
unto  God  w/io  gave  it ;  presently  after,  ver.  13,  14, 
concludes,  and  his  conclusion  shall  be  mine,  in  these 
words  : 

Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  : 
Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments  :  for  this  is 
the  whole  of  man.  For  God  shall  hrinq  every  work 


48      That  the  Soul  of  Man  subsists  after  Death. 

into  judgment,  with  every  secret  thing,  whether  it  be 
good,  or  whether  it  be  evil. 

In  the  day  of  which  dreadful  judgment  God 
shew  mercy  to  us  all,  through  Jesus  Christ  our 
Saviour. 

To  whom  with  the  Father,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  given  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  wor 
ship,  now  and  for  evermore.  Amen. 


SERMON    111. 


CONCERNING  THE  MIDDLE  STATK  OK  HAPPINESS  OK  MISERY. 
ALLOTTED  BY  GOD  TO  EVERY  MAX  1'KKSENTLY  AFTER 
DEATH,  ACCORDING  AS  HE  HAS  15  KEN  GOOD  OR  HAD  IN 
HIS  PAST  L1KK,  INCONSISTENT  WITH  THE.  I'OI'ISII  DOC 
TRINE  OK  PURGATORY. 


ACTS  i.  &j. 
That  he  inigltt  go  to  ///.y  cicn  place. 

IN  my  former  discourse  on  this  text,  having 
gathered  two  propositions  from  it,  I  fully  de 
spatched  the  first  of  them,  concerning  the  sub 
sistence  and  permanence  of  man's  soul  after  the 
death  of  his  body.  I  am  now  to  proceed  (with 
God's  assistance)  to  the  other  proposition  or  obser 
vation,  which  was  this  : 

Observ.  2.  The  soul  of  every  man  presently  after 
death  hath  its  proper  place  and  state  allotted  by 
God,  either  of  happiness  or  misery,  according  as  the 
man  hath  been  good  or  bad  in  his  past  life. 

For  the  text  tells  us,  that  the  soul  of  Judas,  im 
mediately  after  his  death,  had  not  only  a  place  to  be 
in,  but  also  rov  TOTTOV  rov  "t$iov.  his  own  proper  place, 
a  place  fit  for  so  horrid  a  betrayer  of  his  most  gra 
cious  Lord  and  Master.  And  T  have  shewn  you, 
that  the  apostolic  writers  were  wont  to  express  the 
different  place  and  state  of  good  and  bad  men  pre 
sently  after  death  by  this  and  the  like  phrases,  that 

BULL,   VOL.    I.  E 


50  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  HI. 

they  went  to  their  own  proper,  due,  or  appointed 
places ;  that  is,  to  places  agreeable  to  their  respective 
qualities,  the  good  to  a  place  of  happiness,  the  wicked 
to  a  place  and  state  of  misery.  If  there  were  one 
common  receptacle  for  all  departed  souls,  good  and 
bad,  (as  some  have  imagined,)  Judas  could  not  be 
said  presently  after  death  to  go  to  his  own  proper 
place,  nor  Peter  to  his ;  but  the  same  place  would 
contain  them  both  :  but  Judas  hath  his  proper  place, 
and  Peter  his.  And  here  what  avails  the  difference 
of  place,  unless  we  allow  also  a  difference  of  state 
and  condition  ?  If  the  joys  of  paradise  were  in  hell, 
hell  would  be  paradise :  and  if  the  torments  of  hell 
were  in  paradise,  paradise  would  be  hell :  Judas 
therefore  is  in  misery,  and  Peter  in  happiness.  And 
what  happiness  or  misery  can  be  there,  where  there 
is  no  sense  of  either?  If  presently  after  death,  one 
common  gulph  of  insensibility  and  oblivion  swal 
lowed  up  the  souls  of  good  and  bad  alike,  the  state 
of  Judas  and  Peter  would  be  the  same.  The  result 
of  all  which  is  manifestly  this,  that  the  souls  of  men 
do  not  only  subsist  and  remain  after  the  death  of 
their  bodies,  but  also  live  and  are  sensible  of  pain 
or  pleasure  in  that  separate  state ;  the  wicked  being 
tormented  at  present  with  a  piercing  remorse  of  con 
science,  (that  sleepy  lion  being  now  fully  awakened,) 
and  expecting  a  far  more  dreadful  vengeance  yet  to 
fall  on  them ;  and  on  the  other  side,  the  good  being 
refreshed  with  the  peace  of  a  good  conscience,  (now 
immutably  settled,)  and  with  unspeakable  comforts 
of  God,  and  yet  joyfully  waiting  for  a  greater  hap 
piness  at  the  resurrection.  And  to  prove  this  more 
fully  will  be  my  business  at  this  time.  Indeed  I 
have  been  constrained  occasionally  to  intermix  some- 


Happiness  or  Misery.  .51 

what  of  this  argument  in  my  former  discourse  on 
this  text :  but  it  is  a  subject  worthy  of  ;i  distinct 
and  more  copious  handling. 

There  are  some  who  grant,  that  the  soul  of  man 
is  a  distinct  substance  from  his  body,  and  doth  sub 
sist  after  the  death  thereof;  but  yet  they  dream, 
that  the  soul  in  the  state  of  separation,  is  as  it  were 
in  a  sleep,  a  lethargy,  a  state  of  insensibility,  having 
no  perception  at  all,  either  of  joy  or  sorrow,  happi 
ness  or  misery.  An  odd  opinion,  which  seems  alto 
gether  inconsistent  with  itself.  For  how  can  the 
soul  subsist  and  remain  a  soul,  without  sense  and 
perception?  For,  as  Tertullian  somewhere  truly 
saith,  vita  an?  HUP  c.st  .sr/MW,  "  the  life  of  the  soul 
"  is  perception."  Wherefore,  to  say  an  insensible 
soul,  seems  a  contradiction  in  terms.  Ft  is  true, 
whilst  our  souls  are  confined  to  these  bodies,  they 
can  have  no  distinct  perception  of  things  without 
the  help  of  fancy  and  those  corporeal  ideas,  and,  as 
it  were,  images  of  things  impressed  on  it,  which 
being1  seated  in  the  bodv,  must  necessarily  die  and 

o  • 

perish  with  it.  But  yet  even  now  we  find,  that  the 
soul  being  first  helped  by  imagination,  may  at  length 
arrive  to  a  perception  of  some  most  certain  conclu 
sions,  which  are  beyond  the  reach  of  imagination. 
We  may  understand  more  than  we  can  imagine  ; 
that  is,  we  may  by  reason  certainly  collect,  that 
there  are  some  things  really  existing,  whereof  we 
can  frame  no  idea  or  phantasm  in  our  imaginations. 
Thus,  I  am  most  certain,  that  there  is  a  Being 
eternal,  that  hath  no  beginning  of  existence,  though 
T  can  never  be  able  to  imagine  a  thing,  without 
attributing  some  beginning  of  existence  to  it.  A 
phantasm  of  eternity  \  can  never  have ;  but  that 

E  2 


52  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

there  is  something  eternal,  I  say,  I  can  thus  by 
reasoning  demonstrate.  Either  there  is  something 
eternal,  that  had  no  beginning,  or  else  it  will  neces 
sarily  follow,  that  there  was  a  time  or  space  (let  it 
be  never  so  many  millions  of  ages  ago,  it  matters 
not)  when  nothing  existed.  If  every  being  what 
soever  had  a  beginning,  before  which  it  was  not, 
then  there  was  a  space  or  time  (I  may  have  leave  to 
call  it  so,  for  want  of  a  fitter  word)  when  no  being 
at  all  was.  He  is  a  man  of  a  desperately  lost  un 
derstanding,  that  doth  not  clearly  perceive  the  evi 
dence  of  this  consequence.  Now  if  ever  there  was 
a  time  when  nothing  at  all  was,  then  nothing  ever 
could  have  been ;  for  by  nothing,  nothing  could  be 
produced.  But  we  are  sure  that  we  ourselves  exist, 
and  many  other  beings ;  therefore  there  is  an  eternal 
Being,  that  had  no  beginning  of  existence,  and  by 
which  all  other  beings  that  are  not  eternal  do  exist. 
After  the  same  manner  we  can  demonstrate  divers 
other  propositions,  which  are  beyond  the  compre 
hension  of  our  imagination.  We  have  therefore  a 
faculty  or  power  within  us  superior  to  imagination ; 
and  of  this  we  affirm,  that  it  shall  still  remain,  act, 
and  operate,  even  when  this  grosser  imagination  of 
ours  ceaseth,  and  is  extinguished. 

If  it  be  inquired,  in  what  way  the  soul  perceives, 
when  out  of  the  body,  whether  by  the  help  of  some 
new  sub  tiler  organs  and  instruments  fitted  to  its 
present  state,  which  either  by  its  own  native  power 
given  in  its  creation  it  forms  to  itself,  or  by  a  special 
act  of  the  divine  power  it  is  supplied  with,  or  whether 
without  them ;  I  must  answer  with  St.  Paul  in  a 
like  case,  2  Cor.  xii.  2.  I  cannot  tell;  God  knoweth*. 

a  OVK  oiSa,  6  Q(os  oidev. 


Happiness  or  Misery.  53 

And  if  any  man  shall  laugh  at  this  ingenuous 
confession  of  our  ignorance,  his  laughter  will  but 
betray  his  own  ignorance  and  folly.  For  even  now 
we  can  scarce  explain  how  we  see  or  hear,  how  we 
think  or  understand,  how  we  remember  least  of  all ; 
though  we  have  continual  experience  of  all  these 
operations  in  ourselves.  And  must  it  be  thought 
strange,  that  we  cannot  tell  how  our  souls  shall  un 
derstand  and  operate,  when  out  of  our  bodies,  that 
being  a  state  of  which  we  never  yet  had  any  expe 
rience  ?  Indeed  whilst  our  souls  are  wrapped  in 
this  flesh,  we  can  no  more  imagine  how  they  shall 
act  when  divested  of  it,  than  a  child  in  the  womb 
(even  though  we  should  suppose  it  to  have  the 
actual  understanding  of  an  adult  person)  can  con 
ceive,  what  kind  of  life  or  world  that  is,  into  which 
it  is  afterward  to  be  born.  Or  (to  use  another  si 
militude)  we  can  now  no  more  conceive  the  manner 
of  the  soul's  operation,  when  absent  from  the  body, 
than  a  man  born  blind,  that  never  saw  the  light, 
can  understand  a  discourse  of  colours,  or  compre 
hend  all  the  wonders  and  mysteries  of  the  optic 
science.  But  the  thing  itself,  that  the  soul  in  the 
state  of  separation  hath  a  perception  of  things,  and 
by  that  perception  is  either  happy  or  miserable,  is 
ascertained  to  us  by  divine  revelation,  of  which  we 
have  all  reasonable  evidence,  that  it  is  indeed  di 
vine,  and  without  the  guidance  of  which,  all  our 
best  philosophy  in  this  matter  is  precarious  and 
uncertain. 

It  was  an  assertion  of  the  great  Verulam1',  that  all 
inquiries  about  the   nature  of  the    reasonable   soul 

b  Advanc.  of  Learn.  IV.  3. 


.54  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

kt  must  be  bound  over  at  last  unto  religion,  there  to 
"  be  determined  and  defined ;  for  otherwise  they  still 
"  lie  open  to  many  errors  and  illusions  of  sense.  For 
u  seeing  that  the  substance  of  the  soul  was  not  de- 
"  duced  and  extracted  in  her  creation  from  the  mass 
"  of  heaven  and  earth,  but  immediately  inspired  from 
"  God  ;  and  seeing  the  laws  of  heaven  and  earth  are 
"' the  proper  subjects  of  philosophy;  how  can  the 
"  knowledge  of  the  substance  of  the  reasonable  soul 
"  be  derived  or  fetched  from  philosophy  ?  But  it 
"  must  be  drawn  from  the  same  inspiration  from 
^  whence  the  substance  thereof  first  flowed/'  Let 
us  therefore  hear  what  the  divinely  inspired  writers, 
especially  of  the  New  Testament,  and  the  doctors  of 
the  primitive  church,  by  tradition  from  them,  have 
taught  us  in  this  matter.  And  here  most  of  those 
texts,  which  we  have  alleged  for  the  proof  of  the 
former  proposition,  will  also  serve  for  the  confirma 
tion  of  this  second.  We  have  heard  our  Saviour 
himself;  but  lest  we  should  be  thought  to  have  mis 
understood  him,  let  us  next  hear  his  apostles  in  this 
question. 

St.  Paul,  who  had  been  caught  up  into  the  third 
heaven,  and  also  into  paradise,  which  the  Scriptures 
tell  us  is  the  receptacle  of  the  spirits  of  good  men, 
separated  from  their  bodies,  and  therefore  wras  best 
able  to  give  us  an  account  of  the  state  of  souls  dwell 
ing  there  :  he  assures  us,  that  those  souls  live  and 
operate,  and  have  a  perception  of  excellent  things. 
Nay,  in  the  very  same  text  where  he  speaks  of  that 
rapture  of  his,  viz.,  2  Cor.  xii.  2,  3,  4,  he  plainly 
enough  confirms  this  hypothesis.  For  first,  when  he 
there  declares  himself  uncertain,  whether  he  received 
those  admirable  visions  he  speaks  of  in  or  out  of  the 


Happiness  or  Misery.  55 

body,  he  manifestly  supposetb  it  possible  for  the  soul, 
when  out  of  the  body,  not  only  to  subsist,  but  also  to 
perceive  and  know,  and  even  things  beyond  the  na 
tural  apprehension  of  mortal  men.  And  then  when 
he  tells  us  that  lie  received  in  paradise  visions  and 
revelations,  and  heard  there  upptjra  pwaru  unspeak 
able  irords,  not  lairfnl  (or  rather  not  possible) 
for  man  to  utter'' ;  he  directly  teacheth,  that  pa 
radise  is  so  far  from  being  a  place  of  darkness  and 
obscurity,  silence  and  oblivion,  where  the  good  spirits, 
its  proper  inhabitants,  are  all  in  a  profound  sleep, 
like  bats  in  their  dark  winter  quarters  ;  (as  some  have 
vainly  imagined  ;)  that  on  the  contrary  it  is  a  most 
glorious  place,  full  of  light  and  ravishing  vision,  a 
place  where  mysteries  may  be  heard  and  learnt  far 
surpassing  the  reach  of  frail  mortals.  Lastly,  the 
glories  of  the  third  heaven,  and  of  paradise  too,  seem 
to  be  by  an  extraordinary  revelation  opened  and 
discovered  to  St.  Paul,  not  only  for  his  own  support 
under  the  heavy  pressure  of  his  afflictions,  but  also 
that  he  might  be  able  to  speak  of  them  with  greater 
assurance  to  others.  And  the  order  is  observable. 
First  he  had  represented  to  him  the  most  perfect 
joys  of  the  third,  or  highest  heaven,  of  which  we 
hope  to  be  partakers  after  the  resurrection  ;  and  then, 
lest  so  long  an  expectation  should  discourage  us,  he 
saw  also  the  intermediate  joys  of  paradise,  where 
with  the  souls  of  the  faithful  arc  refreshed  until  the 
resurrection ;  and  for  our  comfort  he  tells  us,  that 
even  these  also  are  inexpressible. 

The  same  blessed  apostle,  when  in  the  flesh,  tells 
us,  that  he  desired  to  depart,  and  to  he  trif/t  Jesus 

0  [So  says  Origcn,  (or  rather  Rufinus,)  de  Princip.  II.  7.  §.  4. 
non  licet  pro  non  pote$t.~\ 


56  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

Christ,  which  is  far  better,  Phil.  i.  23.  Where  if 
any  man  shall  doubt  what  is  meant  by  avaXvvai, 
which  we  translate  to  depart,  the  phrase  is  clearly 
explained  by  the  following  opposition,  ver.  24  : 
Nevertheless  to  abide  in  the  flesh  is  more  needful  for 
you  d.  Whence  it  is  plain,  that  ava\va-at,  to  depart, 
is  to  depart  from  the  flesh,  that  is,  this  mortal  body, 
that  is,  to  die.  Now  how  could  the  apostle  think  it 
better  for  him  (yea  by  far  the  better*)  to  depart  from 
the  body,  than  to  remain  in  it,  if  when  he  should 
depart  from  the  body,  he  should  be  deprived  of  all 
sense,  and  sink  into  a  lethargy,  and  utter  oblivion  of 
things  ?  Is  it  not  better  to  have  the  use  of  our  rea 
soning  faculty,  than  to  be  deprived  of  it  ?  Is  it  not 
better  to  praise  God  in  the  land  of  the  living,  than  to 
be  in  a  state,  wherein  we  can  have  no  knowledge  of 
God  at  all,  nor  be  in  any  capacity  of  praising  him  ? 
Besides,  the  apostle  doth  not  desire  to  depart  from 
the  flesh,  or  to  die,  merely  that  he  might  be  at  rest, 
and  freed  from  the  labours  and  persecutions  attend 
ing  his  apostolic  office  ;  which  is  the  frigid  and  dull 
gloss  of  some  interpreters  on  the  text,  but  chiefly  in 
order  to  this  end,  that  he  might  be  with  Christ.  Now 
certainly  we  are  more  with  Christ  whilst  we  abide 
in  the  flesh,  than  when  we  depart  from  it,  if  when 
we  are  departed,  we  have  no  sense  at  all  of  Christ, 
or  of  any  thing  else. 

Let  us  hear  the  same  apostle  again,  2  Cor.  v.  6, 
7,  8:  Therefore  we  are  always  confident,  knowing 
tliat,  whilst  we  arc  at  home  (or  rather  conversant)  in 
the  body,  we  are  absent  from  the  Lord:  (for  we  walk 
ty  faith,  not  by  sight  :)  we  are  confident,  I  say,  and 


o-apKi.  e  rioAAo)  /JLO\\ 


Happiness  or  Misery.  57 

willing  rather  to  be  absent  from  the  body,  and  to  be 
present  (or  conversant)  with  the  Lord.  Where  two 
thing's  are  in  the  first  place*  to  be  observed  :  1.  That 
the  apostle  doth  here  undeniably  speak  of  that  state 
of  the  faithful  which  presently  coinmenceth  after 
death,  and  not  of  that  only  which  follows  the  resur 
rection.  For  he  expressly  speaks  of  them  as  in  the 
state  of  separation,  when  they  are  absent  from  the 
bo(hj{.  2.  That  the  apostle  speaking  to  the  faithful 
of  Corinth  in  general,  joins  them  together  with  him 
self,  speaking  all  along  in  the  plural  number,  ire  are 
confident,  &c.,  and  thereby  signifies,  that  he  speaks 
not  of  a  privilege  peculiar  to  himself,  and  some  few 
other  eminent  saints  like  himself;  but  of  the  com 
mon  state  and  condition  of  the  faithful  presently  after 
death.  Which  two  things  being  premised,  the  text 
alleged  plainly  teacheth  us  this  proposition:  That 
the  faithful  when  they  are  absent  from  their  bodies, 
that  is,  departed  this  life,  are  present  with  the 
Lord,  and  that  in  a  sense  wherein,  whilst  they  were 
present  in  their  bodies,  they  were  absent  from  the 
Lord.  And  what  sense,  I  pray,  can  that  be,  unless 
this,  that,  when  present  in  their  bodies,  they  did  not 
so  nearly  enjoy  Christ,  as  now,  when  absent  from 
their  bodies,  they  do?  No  sophistry  can  possibly 
reconcile  this  text  with  their  opinion  who  affirm,  that 
the  souls  of  the  faithful,  during  the  interval  between 
death  and  the  resurrection,  are  in  a  profound  sleep, 
and  void  of  all  sense  and  perception. 

But  let  us  at  length  hear  the  Lord  Jesus  himself, 
who  came  down  from  heaven,  and  therefore  knew 
most  certainly  the  whole  economy  of  the  heavenly 

f   'EK$T)fJLC)Vl>T(S    fK    TOV    (TtO/iOTOf. 


58  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

regions  ;  and  who  upon  the  account  of  his  omniscient 
and  omnipresent  deity,  as  perfectly  knew  the  miser 
able  state  of  those  spirits,  who  dwell  in  the  opposite 
regions  of  darkness.  He,  when  he  was  dying,  made 
this  promise  to  the  repenting  thief  that  was  crucified 
with  him,  To-day  shall  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise, 
Luke  xxiii.  43,  where  (as  learned  interpreters  have 
observed)  Christ  promiseth  more  than  he  had  been 
asked.  The  penitent  thief's  request  was,  Lord, 
remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom. 
To  which  our  Saviour  answers,  Thou  askest  me  to 
remember  thee  hereafter,  when  I  come  into  my  king 
dom  ;  but  I  will  not  put  off  thy  request  so  long,  but 
on  this  very  day  I  will  give  thee  a  part  and  the  first 
fruits  of  that  hoped-for  felicity ;  die  securely,  pre 
sently  after  death  divine  comforts  wait  for  thee. 

To-day  slialt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise.  Para 
dise  ?  What  place  is  that  ?  Surely  every  man  that 
hath  heard  of  it  conceives  it  to  be  a  place  of  plea 
sure.  And  hence  it  is  proverbial  among  us  to  express 
a  very  pleasant  and  delightful  place  by  calling  it  a 
paradise.  Into  this  place  our  Saviour  promiseth  the 
thief  an  admission  on  the  very  day  that  he  died  and 
was  crucified  with  him.  Now  to  what  purpose  was 
it  told  him,  that  he  should  on  that  day  be  an  inha 
bitant  of  paradise,  unless  then  he  should  be  capable 
of  the  joys  and  felicities  of  that  delightful  place? 
Paradise  would  be  no  paradise  to  him,  that  should 
have  no  sense  or  faculty  to  taste  and  perceive  the 
delights  arid  pleasures  of  it.  But  that  we  may  not 
discourse  uncertainly,  let  us  consider,  that  the  per 
son  to  whom  our  Saviour  spake  these  words  was  a 
Jew,  and  that  our  blessed  Lord,  speaking  in  kind 
ness  to  him,  intended  to  be  understood  by  him. 


Happiness  or  Misery.  59 

We1  are  therefore  to  inquire,  what  the  notion  of 
the  ancient  Jews  was  concerning  paradise,  and  the 
persons  inhabiting  there. 

Paradise  among  the  Jews  primarily  signified  p 
PJ7  Can  Eden,  "  the  garden  of  Eden,"  that  blessed 
garden  wherein  Adam  in  his  state  of  innocence 
dwelt.  By  which,  because  it  was  a  most  pleasant 
and  delightful  place,  they  were  wont  symbolically  to 
represent  the  place  and  state  of  good  souls  separated 
from  their  bodies,  and  waiting  for  the  resurrection ; 
whom  they  believed  to  be  in  a  state  of  happiness, 
far  exceeding  all  the  felicities  of  this  life,  but  yet 
inferior  to  that  consummate  bliss  which  follows  the 
resurrection.  For  they  distinguished  paradise  from 
the  third  heaven,  as  St.  Paul  also,  being  bred  up  in 
the  Jewish  literature,  seems  to  do  in  the  above-cited 
text,  2  Cor.  xii.  where  he  speaks  of  several  visions 
and  revelations  that  he  had  received,  one  in  the 
third  heaven,  another  in  paradise.  Hence  it  was 
the  solemn  good  wish  of  the  Jews  (as  the  learned  s 
tell  us  from  the  Talmudists)  concerning  their  dead 
friend,  "  Let  his  soul  be  in  the  garden  of  Eden,"  or, 
4*  Let  his  soul  be  gathered  into  the  garden  of  Eden." 
And  in  their  prayers  for  a  dying  person,  they  used 
to  say,  "  Let  him  have  his  portion  in  paradise,  and 
"  also  in  the  world  to  come."  In  which  form,  "•  pa- 
*•  radise"  and  "  the  world  to  come"  are  plainly  dis 
tinguished.  According  to  which  notion,  the  mean 
ing  of  our  Saviour  in  this  promise  to  the  penitent 
thief  is  evidently  this :  that  he  should  presently  after 
his  death  enter  with  him  into  that  place  of  bliss  and 

*  Vid.  Grot,  in  locum. 


60  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

happiness,  where  the  souls  of  the  righteous,  separated 
from  their  bodies,  inhabit,  and  where  they  wait  in  a 
joyful  expectation  of  the  resurrection,  and  the  con 
summation  of  their  bliss  in  the  highest  heaven.  For 
that  our  Saviour  here  did  not  promise  the  thief  an 
immediate  entrance  into  that  heaven,  the  ancients 
gathered  from  hence,  that  he  himself,  as  man,  did 
not  ascend  thither  till  after  his  resurrection,  as  our 
very  creed  informs  us  ;  which  is  also  St.  Austin's 
argument  in  his  fifty-seventh  Epistle. 

The  texts  of  Scripture  hitherto  alleged  speak  in 
deed  only  of  the  souls  of  good  men  :  but  by  the  rule 
of  contraries  we  may  gather,  that  the  souls  of  the 
wicked  also  in  the  state  of  separation  are  sensible, 
sensible  of  great  anguish  and  torment  at  present, 
and  being  in  a  dreadful  expectation  of  a  far  greater 
torment  yet  to  come.  Let  us  hear  our  Saviour 
again  plainly  describing  both  states  of  separated 
souls  in  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus 
the  beggar,  Luke  xvi.  22 — 25  :  And  it  came  to 
pass,  that  the  beggar  died,  and  was  carried  by  the 
angels  into  Abraham's  bosom :  the  rich  man  also 
died,  and  was  buried;  and  in  hell  (in  hades)  he 
lift  up  his  eyes,  being  in  torments,  and  seeth  Abra 
ham  afar  off,  and  Lazarus  in  his  bosom.  And  he 
cried  and  said,  Father  Abraham,  have  mercy  on 
me,  and  send  Lazarus,  that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of 
his  finger  in  water,  and  cool  my  tongue ;  for  I  am 
tormented  in  this  flame.  But  Abraham  said,  Son, 
remember  that  thou  in  thy  lifetime  receivedst  thy 
good  things,  and  likewise  Lazarus  evil  things : 
but  now  he  is  comforted,  and  thou  art  tormented. 
Here  Lazarus  is  expressly  said  presently  after  his 


Happiness  or  Misery.  61 

death  to  be  in  Abraham's  bosom,  and  comforted 
there  ;  and  the  rich  man  immediately  after  his  death 
to  be  tormented  in  hades. 

It  is  true  this  is  a  parable,  and  accordingly  several 
things  in  it  are  parabolically  expressed  :  but  though 
every  thing  in  a  parable  be  not  argumentative,  yet 
the  scope  of  it  is,  as  all  divines  acknowledge.  Now 
it  plainly  belongs  to  the  very  scope  and  design  of 
this  parable,  to  shew  what  becomes  of  the  souls  of 
good  and  bad  men  after  death.  And  we  have  al 
ready  heard  from  our  Saviour's  own  mouth,  that  one 
part  of  the  parable  concerning  the  comfortable  state 
of  good  souls  in  Abraham's  bosom,  or  paradise, 
immediately  after  death,  is  true  and  real ;  and 
therefore  so  is  the  other  concerning  the  souls  of 
the  wicked. 

Add  hereunto,  that  our  Saviour  spake  this  parable 
also  to  the  Jews;  and  that  therefore  the  parable 
must  be  expounded  agreeably  to  the  ancient  Cabala 
or  tradition  received  among  them  concerning  the 
state  of  separate  souls.  Now  whereas  our  Saviour 
saith  of  the  soul  of  Lazarus,  that  immediately  after 
his  death  it  was  conveyed  by  angels  into  Abraham's 
bosom  ;  we  find  it  was  also  the  belief  of  the  Jewish 
church,  before  our  Saviour's  time,  that  the  souls  of 
the  faithful,  when  they  die,  are  by  the  ministry  of 
angels  conducted  to  paradise,  where  they  are  imme 
diately  placed  in  a  blissful  and  happy  state.  For 
the  Chaldee  paraphrast  on  Cant.  iv.  12,  speaking  of 
the  garden  of  Eden,  (that  is,  paradise,)  saith,  that 
thereinto  "  no  man  hath  power  of  entering  but  the 
"  just,  whose  souls  are  carried  thither  by  the  hands 
"  of  angels."  If  this  had  been  an  erroneous  opinion 
of  the  Jews,  doubtless  our  Saviour  would  never  have 


62  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

given  any  the  least  countenance  to  it,  much  less 
would  he  have  plainly  confirmed  it,  by  teaching  the 
same  thing  in  this  parable. 

These  testimonies  of  holy  writ  (to  omit  divers 
others)  clearly  enough  prove  what  we  have  alleged 
them  for.  But  for  our  farther  confirmation,  and  to 
leave  no  ground  of  suspicion  that  we  have  misunder 
stood  or  misapplied  them,  let  us  in  the  next  place 
hear  what  the  approved  doctors  of  the  church,  that 
were  the  disciples  and  scholars  of  the  divinely  in 
spired  apostles,  and  the  nearer  successors  of  these, 
have  delivered  concerning  this  matter.  Now  I  do 
affirm  the  consentient  and  constant  doctrine  of  the 
primitive  church  to  be  this  :  that  the  souls  of  all  the 
faithful,  immediately  after  death,  enter  into  a  place 
and  state  of  bliss,  far  exceeding  all  the  felicities  of 
this  world,  though  short  of  that  most  consummate 
perfect  beatitude  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  with 
which  they  are  to  be  crowned  and  rewarded  in  the 
resurrection :  and  so  on  the  contrary,  that  the  souls 
of  all  the  wicked  are  presently  after  death  in  a  state 
of  very  great  misery,  and  yet  dreading  a  far  greater 
misery  at  the  day  of  judgment.  And  here  in  the 
first  place  would  it  not  be  highly  worth  the  while 
to  understand  the  faith  in  this  question  of  a  cotem- 
porary,  familiar,  and  fellow-labourer  with  the  apo 
stles,  and  a  most  approved  one  too,  canonized  and 
sainted  even  wliile  on  earth,  by  the  great  apostle 
St.  Paul11,  and  himself  called  by  the  ancients1  an  apo 
stle,  and  that  delivered  in  a  writing  or  epistle,  used 
to  be  read  in  the  public  assemblies  of  the  primitive 
church,  together  with  the  holy  Scriptures  of  the  New 

11  Phil.  iv.  3.  i  [Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  IV.  17.] 


Happiness  or  Misery.  63 

Testament?  Doubtless  one  clear  and  full  testimony 
of  such  an  author,  out  of  such  a  writing,  is  more 
precious  than  gold,  worth  a  thousand  sentences  of 
our  later  most  celebrated  doctors.  St.  Clement 
therefore,  in  his  undoubted  Kpistle  to  the  Corin- 
thiansk,  chap.  50,  thus  writes  of  the  place  and  state 
of  all  faithful  souls  presently  after  death  : 

"  All  the  generations  from  Adam  to  this  day  are 
44  past  and  gone  :  but  they  that  have  finished  their 
"  course  in  charity,  according  to  the  grace  of  Christ, 
"  possess  the  region  of  the  godly*,  who  shall  be 
"  manifested  in  the  visitation  of  the  kingdom  of 
"  Christ.  For  it  is  written.  Enter  into  tin/  eham- 
"  bers,  for  a  very  little  while,  till  my  wrath  and 
"  fury  be  passed  over  :  and  I  tvill  remember  the 
4<  good  da?/,  and  trill  raise  you  again  oat  of  your 
"  graves." 

Where  he  assigns  but  one  place  to  the  souls  of  all 
good  men  deceased  since  the  beginning  of  the  world, 
and  he  calls  it  the  reaion  of  the  aodly,  and  under 
stands  it  to  be  a  safe  and  comfortable  refuge,  shelter, 
or  hiding-place  for  them  till  the  visitation  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ,  that  is,  till  the  resurrection  and 
final  judgment. 

But  where  are  we  to  seek  that  text  of  Scripture, 
which  St.  Clement  applies  to  this  purpose  ?  I  an 
swer,  we  may  find,  though  not  exactly  the  words,  yet 
the  sense  of  it,  Isai.  xxvi.  19:  Thy  dead  men  shall 
live,  together  with  my  dead  body  shall  they  arise. 
Awake  and  sing,  ye  that  dwell  in  dust:  for  thy 
dew  is  as  the  dew  of  herbs,  and  the  earth  shall  cast 
out  the  dead.  And  ver.  20,  Come,  my  people,  enter 


Edit.  Cotelerii.  !  "R\ov(nv 


64  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

thou  into  thy  chambers,  at  id  shut  thy  doors  about 
thee :  hide  thyself  as  it  were  for  a  little  moment, 
until  the  indignation  be  overpast.  Where  that  the 
words  of  the  19th  verse  were  by  the  Jews  before  our 
Saviour's  time  mystically  understood  of  the  real  and 
proper  resurrection  of  the  dead  at  the  last  day,  is 
certain  from  the  Chaldee  paraphrast  on  the  place. 
And  it  is  as  certain,  that  the  chambers  of  God's 
people  in  the  20th  verse  were  by  the  ancient  Jews 
also  mystically  expounded  of  the  receptacles  of  the 
souls  of  the  righteous  till  the  resurrection.  For  in 
the  second  apocryphal  book  of  Esdras,  (as  we  num 
ber  it,)  chap.  iv.  35,  36,  after  some  curious  questions 
propounded  by  the  author  to  his  angel,  concerning 
the  state  of  the  world  to  come,  the  angel  is  brought 
in  thus  answering :  Did  not  the  souls  also  of  the 
righteous  ask  questions  of  these  things  in  their 
chambers,  saying,  How  long  shall  I  hope  on  this 
fashion  ?  When  cometh  the  fruit  of  the  floor  of  our 
reward?  And  unto  these  things  Uriel  the  arch 
angel  gave  them  answer,  and  said,  Even  when  the 
number  of  seeds  is  filled  in  you ;  that  is,  when  the 
number  of  God's  elect  is  accomplished,  as  our  church 
expresseth  it  in  the  Office  of  the  Burial  of  the 
Dead.  To  the  same  purpose  speaks  St.  John  in  the 
Revelation,  chap.  vi.  9,  10,  11  :  And  when  he  had 
opened  the  fifth  seal,  I  saw  under  the  altar  the 
souls  of  them  that  uiere  slain  for  the  word  of  God, 
and  for  the  testimony  which  they  held :  and  they 
cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying.,  How  long,  O 
Lord,  holy  and  true,  dost  thou  not  judge  and 
avenge  our  blood  on  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth? 
And  white  robes  were  given  unto  every  one  of 
them ;  and  it  was  mid  unto  them,  that  they  should 


Happiness  or  Misery.  65 

rest  yet  for  a  little  season,  until  their  fellowser- 
twnts  also  and  their  brethren,  that  should  he  hilled 
as  they  were,  should  he  fulfilled. 

But  to  return  to  St.  Clement  again :  the  region 
of  the  godly,  where  all  the  faithful  deceased  from 
the  beginning  of  the  world  inhabit,  of  which  he  here 
speaks,  he  in  the  beginning  of  his  Epistle  (as  was 
observed  at  first  in  the  explanation  of  my  text)  calls 
with  reference  to  St  Peter,  one  of  that  number,  tJie 
place  of  glory  °\  because,  according  to  the  exposi 
tion  of  the  Clementine  Liturgy,  of  which  I  shall  give 
you  an  account  presently,  they  that  are  there  behold 
the  glory  of  Christ,  though  not  in  that  full  brightness 
wherein  it  shall  be  seen  at  the  day  of  his  glorious 
appearance.  And  presently  after,  he  terms  the  same 
place,  speaking  of  St.  Paul  there,  the  holy  place?, 
not  the  most  holy  place.  For  he  seems  to  allude  in 
that  expression,  as  otherwhere  in  the  same  Epistle; 
he  doth,  to  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  which  at  the 
time  of  his  writing  it  was  yet  standing  (> ;  wherein 

O  »'  O 

there  was  the  sanctuary,  or  holy  place;  and  within 
it  the  sanctum  sanctorum,  the  holy  of  holies,  both 
figures  of  the  heavenly  things.  He  altogether  seems 
therefore  to  have  thought  the  region  of  the  qodlij 
deceased  to  be  a  part  of  the  heavenly  regions,  as  the 
sanctuary  was  a  part  of  the  temple ;  and  near  to  the 
highest  region  of  the  heavens,  as  the  sanctuary  was 
near  the  holy  of  holies.  But  I  dare  not  venture  too 
far  into  these  curious  and  abstruse  questions.  Only 
I  note,  that  upon  this  account  some  of  the  Fathers, 
as  St.  Cyprian,  St.  Ambrose,  and  others,  stuck  not  to 

0   TOTTOI/  rq?  dofrs.    [c.  5.] 
P   Tov  ayiov  TOTTOV.    [ib.] 

<1  [This  is  not  now  the  opinion  of  the  learned.     See  Lnrdncr.] 
BUM.,  VOL.  i.  r 


66  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  HI. 

call  the  place  of  the  separate  spirits  of  good  men,  by 
the  name  of  heaven,  or  the  heavens,  meaning,  as  it 
appears1",  not  the  aditum,  or  inmost  apartment  of  the 
heavens,  where  the  throne  of  the  majesty  on  high  is 
seated,  and  the  <£o>9  aTrpoartrov,  the  unapproachable 
light  shines  ;  but  a  heavenly  mansion  near  to  it. 
Whence  also  the  ancient  Hebrews  were  wont  to  say 
of  the  separate  spirits  of  the  righteous,  that  they  are 
under  the  throne  of  glory. 

But  again,  as  to  St.  Clement's  region  of  the  godly, 
where  the  spirits  of  all  the  faithful  deceased  from  the 
beginning  of  the  world  inhabit,  we  have  a  clearer  ac 
count  of  it  in  the  Clementine  Liturgy  in  the  Office 
for  the  Dead  •  ;  where  the  entrance  of  good  souls  into 
that  state  of  bliss,  which  presently  succeeds  death,  is 
said  to  be  their  admission  "into  the  region  of  the 
"  godly  released  from  their  bodies  ;  into  the  bosom  of 
"  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  of  all  those  that 
"  have  pleased  God,  and  obeyed  his  will  from  the  be- 
<<  ginning  of  the  world  :  where  all  sorrow,  grief,  and 
"  mourning  is  banished1."  And  presently  after  the 
same  region  is  called  "the  land  of  those  that  see  there 
'<  the  glory  of  Christ11." 

Of  the  same  region  of  godly  souls  Justin  Martyr 
plainly  speaks  in  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  not  very 
far  from  the  beginning  of  it  :  where,  among  the  ca- 

r  Vid.  Ambros.  de  Bono  Mortis,  cap.  10,  n.  et  eundem  ad 
Michseam,  obs.  2. 

s  Vid.  Constit.  Apost.  VIII.  41.  [Bull  could  hardly  have  con 
sidered  the  Apostolical  Constitutions  to  have  been  the  work  of 
Clement.  They  were  probably  written  in  the  third  or  fourth 
century.] 


Tf)v  86£av  TOV  Xpiorov. 


Happiness  or  Misery.  67 

tholic   doctrines  taught  him  when  he  first   became 

o 

Christian,  he  delivers  this  for  one,  "  That  the  souls 
"  of  the  godly"  (after  death  till  the  resurrection)  "  re- 
"  main  in  a  certain  better  region,  and  unrighteous 
"  and  wicked  souls  in  an  evil  one*."  And  yet  the 
same  Justin  Martyr  in  the  same  book,  p.  307,  con 
demns  it  as  an  error  in  the  Gnostics,  that  they  held, 
"  That  as  soon  as  they  die,  their  souls  are  received 
"  up  into  heaven  V  i.  e.  the  highest  heaven. 

Remarkable  is  the  catholic  consent  here.  Even 
those  doctors  of  the  church,  that  fancied  the  place 
of  godly  souls  to  be  I  know  not  what  subterraneous 
region  ;  being  led  into  that  error  (for  such  I  take  it 
to  be)  by  the  ambiguity  of  the  Greek  word  «^;?,  yet 
acknowledge  the  godly  souls  there  to  be  in  a  very 
happy  condition.  So  that,  though  they  (littered  from 
other  doctors  of  the  church,  as  to  the  situation  (if  I 
may  so  speak)  of  the  place  of  the  separate  spirits  of 
good  men,  yet  as  to  their  state,  they  well  enough 
agreed  with  them.  Thus  Irena>us  is  known  expressly 
to  have  delivered  that  opinion  in  his  fifth  book,  chap. 
31.  Yet  the  same  Father  in  his  second  book7,  chap. 
63,  from  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus, 
concludes,  "that  every  sort  of  men"  (i.  e.  both  good 
and  bad)  "receive  their  deserved  habitation  even 
"  before  the  judgment51."  And  he  somewhere  tells  us, 
"  that  the  souls  in  paradise  begin  there  their  incor- 


Tas  fttv  TWV  (iHTefttov  \^u^ns  iv  Kptirrovi  TTOI 

(cot  Troi/r/par  tv  xdpovi.   [c.  5.  p.  107.] 

Y  "AfJia   rut   anoOvri&Kfiv,   ras   \l/v\ai   avru>v   nva\ap.(3dv((rdai    fit   TOV 
ovpavov.  [c.  80    p.  178.] 

'   [See  the  passage  quoted  at  p.  27.] 

a  Dignam  habitationem  unamquamque  genteni  percipere  etiara 
ante  judicium.  []c.  34.  p.  168.] 

F  2 


68  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

"  ruptible  state  b,"  viz.,  of  bliss.  Again,  in  his  fifth  book, 
chap.  36,  he  expressly  indeed  distinguished  paradise 
from  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  and  reckons  it  a  lower 
degree  of  happiness  "  to  enjoy  the  delights  of  para- 
"  disec,"  than  "  to  be  counted  worthy  to  dwell  in  hea- 
"  vend."  But  yet  he  acknowledge  th  in  both  our  Sa 
viour  shall  be  seen,  "  according  as  they  shall  be  worthy 
"  or  meet  who  see  him6."  Which  the  author  of  the 
Questions  and  Answers  to  the  Orthodox,  in  his  answer 
to  quest.  75.  thus  explains,  "That  the  souls  in  paradise 
"  do  enjoy  the  conversation  and  sight  of  angels  and 
"  archangels,  and  also  of  our  Saviour  Christ  by  way 
"  of  vision*  f  viz.,  such  in  its  kind,  though  in  degree 
far  more  excellent,  as  whereby  the  prophets  saw  him 
of  old.  But  to  return  to  Irenseus,  he  concludes  his 
discourse  in  that  chapter  thus  ;  that  it  is  the  divine 
ordination  and  disposition,  that  those  that  are  saved 
should  per  gradus  proficcre,  "proceed  by  degrees7" 
to  their  perfect  beatitude  :  that  is,  that  they  should, 
as  St.  Ambrose  speaks^,  "  through  the  refreshments 
"  of  paradise,  arrive  to  the  full  glories  of  the  hea- 
"  venly  kingdom  h." 

Tertullian  also  in  his  Apology,  c.  47,  when  he  was  yet 
orthodox,  calls  paradise  "  a  place  of  divine  pleasant- 
"  ness,  appointed  to  receive  the  spirits  of  the  saints'1." 

Justos  qui  sunt  in  paradiso,  auspicari  incorruptelara. 
e  Tqs  TOV  Trapao'fia-ov  Tpv(prjs  aTroAaveii/.    [p.  337.] 
?7vai  rrjs  eV  ovpavw 


e   Ka0a)s  a|iot 

Kar'    oTTTacr/ai/   Se    KOL   TOV   (ruTrjpos   XpidTOv.  [in  ed.  Just.  Mart. 
p.  470.] 

g  Ad  Michseam,  observ.  2. 

h  Per  paradisum  ad  regnum  pervenire. 

Locum  divinae   amoenitatis  recipiendis   sanctorum   spiritibus 
destinatum. 


Happiness  or  Misery.  69 

Nay,  in  his  book  of  the  Soid^,  which  he  wrote 
after  he  was  seduced  into  the  heresy  of  Montanus, 
though  he  so  far  contradicts  his  former  sentiments, 
as  to  lock  up  paradise,  and  place  a  flaming  sword  at 
the  gate  of  it,  against  all  but  the  souls  of  martyrs, 
and  discourseth  very  oddly  of  the  place  and  state  of 
other  good  souls  ;  yet  he  plainly  signifioth  that  the 
catholics  of  his  time,  against  whom  he  wrote,  wrere 
of  a  contrary  belief:  and  he  is  forced  at  last  himself 
to  confess,  that  the  good  souls  in  that  subterraneous 
region  that  he  speaks  of,  do  enjoy  a  happiness  not  to 
be  despised,  that  they  do  "  in  the  bosom  of  Abraham 
"  receive  the  comfort  of  the  resurrection  to  come ' ;" 
that  is,  that  they  are  at  present  in  a  state  of  rest 
and  happiness,  and  live  in  a  sure  and  certain  hope  of 
a  greater  happiness  at  the  resurrection.  So  that  his 
contention  with  the  catholics  in  this  question  savours 
of  a  delight  that  he  had  to  pick  quarrels  with  them, 
and  seems  to  be  a  mere  strife  of  words,  whilst  in  the 
main  he  acknowledged  the  thing  itself  which  they 
affirmed  '". 

Now  to  proceed,  from  what  hath  been  said,  it 
appears  that  the  doctrine  of  the  distinction  of  the 
joys  of  paradise,  the  portion  of  good  souls  in  their 
state  of  separation,  from  that  yet  fuller  and  most 
complete  beatitude  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven  after 
the  resurrection,  consisting  in  that  clearest  vision 
of  God,  which  the  holy  Scriptures  call  seeing  him 
face  to  face,  is  far  from  being  popery,  as  some  have 
ignorantly  censured  it ;  for  we  see  it  was  the  current 

k   De  Anima,  c.  55. 

'   In  Abraha1  sinu  expectanda?  resurrectionis  solatium  capere. 
111    [Tertullian's  opinions  on  this  subject  may  also  be  seen,  de 
Rcsur.  Cnrnis,  c.  17,43.  adv.  Marc.  IV.  34.] 


70  The  middle  State  of  SEEM.  in. 

doctrine  of  the  first  and  purest  ages  of  the  church. 
I  add,  that  it  is  so  far  from  being  popery,  that  it  is 
directly  the  contrary.  For  it  was  the  popish  con 
vention  at  Florence,  that  first  boldly  defined  against 
the  sense  of  the  primitive  Christians,  "  That  those 
"  souls,  which  having  contracted  the  blemish  of  sin, 
"  are  either  in  their  bodies  or  out  of  them  purged 
"  from  it,  do  presently  go  into  heaven,  and  there 
"  clearly  behold  God  himself,  one  God  in  three  per- 
"  sons,  as  he  isn."  And  this  decree  they  made,  partly 
to  establish  their  superstition  of  praying  to  the  saints 
deceased,  whom  they  would  needs  make  us  believe 
to  see  and  know  all  our  necessities  and  concerns 
in  speculo  Trinitatis  "  in  the  glass  of  the  Trinity,"  as 
they  call  it,  and  so  to  be  fit  objects  of  our  religious 
invocation  ;  but  chiefly  to  introduce  their  purgatory, 
and  that  the  prayers  of  the  ancient  church  for  the 
dead  might  be  thought  to  be  founded  on  a  suppo 
sition,  that  the  souls  of  some  faithful  persons  after 
death  go  into  a  place  of  grievous  torment,  out  of 
which  they  may  be  delivered  by  the  prayers  of  the 
church,  always  provided  there  bo  a  sum  of  money, 
either  left  by  themselves,  or  supplied  by  their  friends 
for  them.  A  gross  imposition,  that  hath  been,  I  am 
persuaded,  the  eternal  ruin  of  thousands  of  souls, 
for  whom  our  blessed  Lord  shed  his  most  precious 
blood,  who  might  have  escaped  hell,  if  they  had  not 
trusted  to  a  purgatory. 

°The  prayers  for  the  dead,  used  in  the  ancient 
church,  (those  I  mean  that  were  more  properly 
prayers,  that  is,  either  deprecations  or  petitions,) 

11   Illas  animas  qu«?e  post  contractam  peccati  macnlam,  &c. 
«   [The  bishop  copied  the  whole  of  this  paragraph  into    his 
/I movers  io  the  Queries  of  the  Bishop  of  MeauxJ] 


Happiness  or  Misery.  71 

were  of  two  sorts ;  either  the  common  and  general 
commemoration  of  all  the  faithful  deceased  at  the 
oblation  of  the  holy  eucharist,  or  the  particular 
prayers  used  at  the  funerals  of  any  of  the  faithful 
lately  deceased »».  The  former  respected  the  con 
summation  of  bliss  at  the  resurrection,  like  as  that 
which  our  church  nseth  both  in  the  Office  for  the 
Communion,  and  in  that  for  the  Burial  of  the 
Dead  ;  which  indeed  seems  to  be  no  more  than 
what  we  daily  pray  for  in  that  petition  of  the 
Lord's  Prayer,  (if  we  rightly  understand  it,)  Thy 
kingdom  come.  The  latter  wrere  also  charitable 
omens  and  good  wishes  of  the  faithful  living,  as  it 
were  accompanying  the  soul  of  the  deceased  to  the 
joys  of  paradise,  of  which  they  believed  it  already 
possessed,  as  the  ancient  author  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
Hierarchy,  in  the  last  chapter  of  that  book,  plainly 
informs  us.  In  a  word,  let  any  understanding  and 
unprejudiced  person  attentively  observe  the  prayers 


P  [The  following  expressions  may  be  found  in  the  Ante-Niccne 
Fathers.  Oblationes  pro  defunetis,  pro  natalitiis  annua  die  faei- 
mus.  Tertul.  de  Corona,  c.  3.  Enimvero  et  pro  anima  ejus  orat, 
et  refrigerium  interim  adpostulat  ei,  et  in  prima  resurrectione 
consortium,  et  offert  annuls  diehus  dormitionis  cjus.  Ib.  de 
Monogamia,  c.  10.  Sacrificia  pro  eis  semper  offerrimus  quoties 
martyrum  passiones  et  dies  anniversaria  commemoratione  celc- 
bramus.  Cypr.  ep.  34.  Dies  eorum  quibus  cxcedunt  annotate,  ut 
commemorationes  eorum  inter  memorias  martyrum  celebrare 

possimus.    Ib.  ep.  37 et   celebrentur  hie  a   nobis   oblationes 

et  sacrificia  ob  commemorationes  eorum.  Ib.  Si  quis  istinc 
nostrum  prior  divinse  dignationis  celeritate  prsecesserit,  perseveret 
apud  Dominum  nostra  dilectio,  pro  fratribus  et  sororibus  nostris 
apud  misericordiam  patris  non  cesset  oratio.  Ib.  ep.  57.  .  ac 
si  quis  hoc  fecisset,  non  offerretur  pro  eo,  nee  sacrificium  pro 
dormitione  ejus  celebraretur.  Ib.  ep.  66.] 


72  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

for  the  dead  in  the  most  undoubtedly  ancient  Litur 
gies,  especially  those  in  the  Clementine  Liturgy,  and 
those  mentioned  in  the  Ecclesiastical  Hierarchy,  and 
he  will  be  so  far  from  believing  the  Romish  purga 
tory  on  the  account  of  those  prayers,  that  he  will  be 
forced  to  confess  they  make  directly  against  it.  For 
(to  omit  other  arguments)  they  all  run,  as  even  that 
prayer  for  the  dead,  which  is  unadvisedly  left  by  the 
Romanists  in  their  own  canon  of  the  mass,  as  a 
testimony  against  themselves,  in  this  form,  "  For  all 
"  that  are  in  peace,  or  at  rest  in  Christ."  Now  how 
can  they  be  said  to  be  in  peace,  or  at  rest  in  Christ, 
that  are  supposed  to  fry  in  the  scorching  flames  of 
purgatory,  and  to  endure  pains  equal  to  the  pains  of 
hell,  the  duration  of  those  only  excepted  ? 

Indeed  the  Romish  purgatory  is  of  a  much  later 
date  than  prayers  for  the  dead,  and  is  an  invention 
utterly  unknown  to  the  catholic  church,  for  the  first 
three  hundred  years  at  least.  We  have  already  heard 
the  apostolic  saint,  bishop,  and  martyr,  Clement,  in 
his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  acknowledging  but 
one  place  for  the  souls  of  all  that  have  finished  their 
course  in  charity  from  the  beginning  of  the  world; 
and  that  place  to  be  a  safe  and  comfortable  refuge 
and  shelter  to  them  till  the  resurrection,  a  place  of 
glory,  and  therefore  no  purgatory.  And  to  prevent 
all  cavils,  if  any  man  shall  question  whom  St.  Clement 
means  by  those  that  have  finished  their  course  in 
charity;  I  answer,  even  all  the  elect  of  God,  all 
that  are  not  reprobates,  all  that  shall  be  saved,  with 
out  exception.  For  so  he  himself  most  expressly 
tells  us  a  little  before  the  place  cited  :  "  In  chanty 
"  all  the  elect  of  God  have  finished  their  course  : 
"  without  charity  nothing  (or  no  man)  is  accepted 


Happiness  or  Alisery.  73 

"  of  God  V  Far  therefore  was  this  truly  apostolic 
pope  and  bishop  of  Rome  from  the  dream  of  his  most 
degenerate  successors,  that  any  man  who  dies  with 
that  repentance  only  which  is  called  attrition,  and 
is  void  of  charity  or  the  love  of  God  above  all  things, 
can  ever  be  in  the  number  of  God's  elect,  or  be  saved 
at  last  by  an  after-game  in  purgatory.  Again,  in 
his  second  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  which  is 
affirmed  to  be  his  by  the  learned  men  of  the  church 
of  Rome,  and  that  not  without  very  probable 
reasons1",  and  however  is  undoubtedly  of  the  first 
antiquity,  he  doth  as  it  were  professedly  oppose  the 
figment  of  purgatory.  For  thus  he  writes  in  the 

O  1  O  •' 

beginning  of  chap.  8.  "Whilst  therefore  we  are  upon 
"  earth,  let  us  repent.  For  we  are  as  clay  in  the 
"  hand  of  the  artificer.  For  as  the  potter,  if  he 
"  make  a  vessel  and  finds  it  awry  or  broken  in  his 
"  hands,  may  again  fashion  it  anew  ;  but  if  before- 
"  hand  he  hath  thrown  it  into  the  fiery  furnace,  there 
u  is  no  more  help  for  it,  he  cannot  make  it  better :  so 
"  also  we,  as  long  as  we  arc  in  this  world,  may  re- 
"  pent  from  the  whole  heart  of  the  evils  we  have  done 
-*  in  the  flesh,  that  we  may  be  saved  of  the  Lord, 
u  whilst  we  have  time  of  repentance.  For  after  we 
*'  have  left  this  world,  we  can  no  longer  confess,  or 
"  repent s."  What  sophistry  is  able  to  reconcile  this 
divinity  with  the  Romish  purgatory?  Surely  if  there 
be  no  repentance  at  all  for  sin  in  the  other  world, 
there  can  be  no  satisfactory  suffering  for  sin  there. 
The  holy  God  cannot  be  satisfied  or  atoned  by  the 

('  'Ei>  ayaTrrj   eYeAftco^frni/  TTHVTCS  oi  (K\«TO\  TOV   Qfov'  fit'^a 

OvfttlS   (VllpffTTOV    eOTt    TO)    0fO>. 

r  [This  has  not  been  the  opinion  of  later  critics.] 
s  'Q?  ovv  to-fitv  errt  yrj?  fji(Tavor}(T<t)fji(v. 


74  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  m. 

sufferings  of  those  men,  who  have  no  repentance  of 
those  sins  for  which  they  suffer.  And  if  the  papists 
will  suppose  the  souls  in  purgatory  to  suffer  the  most 
grievous  pains  of  it,  without  a  deep  repentance  for 
the  sins  that  brought  them  thither,  they  must  make 
them  very  graceless  wretches  indeed,  as  like  the 
damned  in  their  wickedness,  as  they  fancy  them  to 
be  in  their  torments. 

But  to  go  on.  Let  us  hear  Justin  Martyr  again 
in  that  place  which  we  have  before  in  part  cited  out 
of  his  Dialogue  with  Trypho,  p.  223.  [p.  107.]  where 
he  brings  in  an  old  man,  appearing  to  him  in  his 
philosophic  retirement  and  solitude,  (which  some 
think  to  have  been  the  address  of  a  real  man,  others, 
an  angelical  apparition,  others,  only  a  fiction  of  a 
person  usual  in  dialogues,)  and  teaching  him  the 
Christian  doctrine,  as  of  other  things,  so  especially 
of  man's  soul,  in  opposition  to  the  vain  philosophy  of 
Plato,  on  which  he  then  doted.  And  of  the  soul  he 
is  thus  said  to  have  spoken  :  "  I  do  not  affirm  that 
"  all  souls  die ;  for  this  indeed  would  be  advan- 
"  tageous  to  the  wicked.  What  then  ?  I  say  that 
"  the  souls  of  the  godly  remain  in  a  certain  better 
"  region,  but  unrighteous  and  wicked  souls  in  an 
"  evil  one,  there  waiting  for  the  time  of  judgment*." 
Where  the  grave  instructor  manifestly  undertakes  to 
speak  of  all  souls;  and  distributes  the  universality 
of  souls  only  into  two  ranks,  godly  and  wicked  souls ; 
and  he  allots  but  two  places  to  these  two  sorts,  a 
better  region  to  the  godly  souls,  and  an  evil  one  to 
the  wicked  ;  and  lastly,  he  confines  both  sorts  of 
souls  to  their  respective  places  till  the  day  of  judg- 

1  Toz/  rfjs  Kpio-fus  eicSf^o^Vas  XP°VOV  T(')T€- 


Happiness  or  Misery.  75 

ment.  He  must  be  very  dexterous  at  reconciling 
contradictions,  that  shall  undertake  to  bring  this 
doctrine  to  any  accord  with  that  of  the  Romanists 
concerning  their  purgatory.  The  same  excellent 
author  again  in  his  second  Apology  (as  it  is  reckoned 
in  our  vulgar  editions)  delivers  this  as  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  catholic  Christians  of  his  time,  p.  66. 
"  that  the  souls  of  the  wicked  subsisting  even  after 
*'  death,  feel  punishment  ;  but  the  souls  of  good  men 
"  live  happily  free  from  punishments"."  No  good 
man  therefore  need  fear  a  purgatory  after  death,  if 
this  scholar  of  the  apostles,  as  he  somewhere  calls 
himself,  were  rightly  taught. 

I  might  lead  you  after  the  same  manner  through 
the  writings  of  the  following  doctors  of  the  first  three 
hundred  years,  and  by  clear  testimonies  out  of  them 
make  it  evident,  that  although  some  of  them  had 
otherwise  some  odd  conceits  concerning  the  future 
state  of  men ;  yet  not  one  of  them  ever  acknow 
ledged  that  purgatory,  which  the  church  of  Rome 
hath  imposed  on  the  belief  of  Christians  at  this  day. 
But  the  time  bids  me  hasten  to  a  conclusion. 

I  shall  therefore  only  add  one  testimony  more  out 
of  an  author,  that  most  probably  lived  after  the  third 
century,  to  shew,  that  even  then  the  article  of  pur 
gatory  was  a  stranger  to  the  church  of  God.  The 
author  of  the  Questions  and  Answers  to  the  Or 
thodox,  in  his  answer  to  the  seventy-fifth  question, 
having  said,  that  in  this  life  there  is  no  difference 
as  to  worldly  concerns  between  the  righteous  and 
the  wicked,  he  immediately  adds :  "  But  after  death, 

u  K.o\d(«rdat  tv  altrdrjfTd  Kill  ^tra  Qavarov  vvvas  raj  rvv  aSt*a>i/ 
\l/v\ds.  TO?  8e  T&V  (T7rov5aia>i>  iinr]\\ayfji(vas  TWV  Ti/ieopKUV  (V  du'iydv. 
[Apol.  1.20.  p.  55.] 


76  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 


"  evOv?,  presently  the  righteous  are  separated  from 
"  the  unrighteous;  for  they  are  carried  by  angels 
k<  into  their  meet  places.  And  the  souls  of  the  right- 
"  eous  are  conveyed  into  paradise,  where  they  enjoy 
"  the  conversation  and  sight  of  angels  and  arch- 
"  angels,  and  of  our  Saviour  Christ  also  by  way  of 
"  vision  :  according  to  what  is  said,  when  we  are 
"  absent  from  the  body,  we  are  present  with  the 
<k  Lord.  But  the  souls  of  the  unrighteous  are  car- 
"  ried  to  the  infernal  regions,  &c.  And  they"  (that 
is,  both  sorts  of  souls)  "  are  kept  in  their  meet  places 
"  till  the  day  of  the  resurrection  and  recompense." 
I  will  not  dishonour  any  of  your  understandings  so 
far,  as  to  think  any  explanation  necessary,  to  shew 
you,  how  this  testimony  makes  directly  against  the 
fable  of  purgatory. 

In  a  word,  the  true  rise  and  growth  of  the  doc 
trine  of  purgatory  is  plainly  this.  About  the  middle 
of  the  third  century,  Origenx,  among  other  Platonic 
conceits  of  his,  vented  this,  that  all  the  faithful  (the 
apostles  themselves  not  excepted)  shall  at  the  day  of 
judgment  pass  through  a  purgatory  fire,  the  fire  of 
the  great  conflagration,  which  they  shall  endure  for 
a  longer  or  shorter  time,  according  as  their  imper 
fections  require  a  greater  or  lesser  purgation.  And 
in  this  conceit,  directly  contrary  to  many  express 
texts  of  Scripture,  he  was  followed  for  the  greatness 
of  his  name  by  some  other  great  men  in  the  church 
of  God.  But  how  different  this  purgatory  is  from 

x  [Some  of  Origen's  opinions  concerning  the  state  of  the  soul 
after  death  may  be  seen  in  the  following  places  :  de  Princip.  II.  i  i  . 
6.  p.  1  06.  deOratione,  c.  n.p.2i5.  c.  Celsum,  VIII.  44.  p.  774. 
in  Levit.  Horn.  VII.  2.  p.  222.  in  Reg.  Horn.  II.  ad  fin.  p.  498.  in 
Psalm.  IX.  ,8.  p.  587.  in  Psalm.  Horn.  III.  r.  p.  663,664.] 


Happiness  or  Misery.  77 

the  Roman,  every  man  of  sense  will  presently  dis 
cern.  Afterwards,  about  the  end  of  the  fourth,  or 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century,  St.  Austin  began 
to  doubt,  whether  this  imagined  purgation  were  not 
to  be  made  in  the  interval  between  death  and  the 
resurrection,  at  least  as  to  the  souls  of  the  more  im 
perfect  Christians.  And  it  is  strange  to  observe,  how 
he  is  off'  and  on  in  this  question.  And  yet  it  is  not 
strange  neither,  considering  how  easily  he  may,  nay 
how  necessarily  he  must  be  at  a  loss,  that  leaves  the 
plain  and  beaten  path  of  the  holy  Scriptures  and 
primitive  tradition,  to  hunt  after  his  own  conceits 
and  imaginations.  Towards  the  end  of  the  fifth 
century,  pope  Gregory,  a  man  known  to  be  super 
stitious  enough,  undertook  dogmatically  to  assert  the 
problem,  and  with  might  and  main  set  himself  to 
prove  it,  chiefly  from  the  idle  stories  of  apparitions 
of  souls  coming  out  of  purgatory.  Four  hundred 
years  after,  pope  John  the  Eighteenth,  or,  as  some 
say,  the  Nineteenth,  instituted  a  holyday,  wherein 
he  severely  required  all  men  to  pray  for  the  souls  in 
purgatory :  as  if  the  catholic  church  before  him  had 
been  deficient  in  their  charity,  and  forgotten  the 
miserable  souls  in  that  place  of  torment.  At  length 
the  cabal  at  Florence,  in  the  year  1439,  turned  the 
dream  into  an  article  of  faith,  so  that  now  they  are 
damned  to  hell,  that  will  not  believe  a  purgatory : 
and  the  pope's  vassals  still  tenaciously  hold  and 
fiercely  maintain  the  doctrine,  not  so  much  for  the 
godliness  as  for  the  gain  of  it. 

I  have  now  said  all  that  I  can  think  necessary  con 
cerning  the  state  of  separate  souls,  good  and  bad, 
keeping  myself  from  all  needless  curiosities,  within 


78  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  in. 

the  bounds  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  and  the  received 
doctrine  of  the  primitive  catholic  church. 

The  sum  of  all  is  this.  All  good  men  without  ex 
ception  are  in  the  whole  interval  between  their  death 
and  resurrection,  as  to  their  souls,  in  a  very  happy 
condition ;  but  after  the  resurrection  they  shall  be 
yet  more  happy,  receiving  then  their  full  reward, 
their  perfect  consummation  of  bliss,  both  in  soul  and 
body,  the  most  perfect  bliss  they  are  capable  of,  ac 
cording  to  the  divers  degrees  of  virtue  through  the 
grace  of  God  on  their  endeavours  attained  by  them 
in  this  life.  On  the  other  side,  all  the  wicked  as 
soon  as  they  die  are  very  miserable  as  to  their  souls ; 
and  shall  be  yet  far  more  miserable,  both  in  soul  and 
body,  after  the  day  of  judgment,  proportionably  to 
the  measure  of  sins  committed  by  them  here  on 
earth.  This  is  the  plain  doctrine  of  the  holy  Scrip 
tures,  and  of  the  church  of  Christ  in  its  first  and  best 
ages,  and  this  we  may  trust  to.  Other  inquiries 
there  are  of  more  uncertainty  than  use,  and  we  ought 
not  to  trouble  or  perplex  ourselves  about  them. 

But  least  of  all  are  we  fiercely  to  dispute  about 
the  places  of  separate  souls  where  determinately 
they  are  stated.  We  should  rather  imitate  here  the 
modesty  of  the  apostolic  doctors,  who  (as  you  have 
heard)  were  content  to  say  of  the  souls  of  men,  both 
good  and  bad,  after  death,  that  they  are  gone  to  their 
own  proper  places,  to  their  due  places,  to  their  meet 
places,  to  places  appointed  by  God  for  them. 

I  shall  now  conclude  with  a  brief  and  serious 
application. 

First,  This  discourse  is  matter  of  abundant  conso 
lation  to  all  good  men,  when  death  approacheth  them. 


Happiness  or  Misery.  79 

They  are  sure,  not  only  of  a  blessed  resurrection  at  the 
last  clay,  but  of  a  reception  into  a  very  happy  place 
and  state  in  the  mean  time.  They  shall  be  imme 
diately  after  death  put  in  the  possession  of  paradise, 
and  there  rejoice  in  the  certain  expectation  of  a  crown 
of  glory,  to  be  bestowed  on  them  at  the  day  of  re 
compense.  Fear  not,  good  man,  when  death  comes ; 
for  the  good  angels  are  ready  to  receive  thy  soul, 
and  convey  it  into  Abraham's  bosom.  A  place, 
wherever  it  is,  of  rest,  and  that  not  a  stupid  insensi 
ble  rest,  but  a  rest  attended  with  a  lively  perception 
of  a  far  greater  joy  and  delight,  than  this  whole 
world  can  afford.  A  place  of  the  best  society  and 
company,  where  thou  shalt  be  gathered  to  the  spirits 
of  just  men,  to  the  holy  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles, 
martyrs,  and  confessors,  and  familiarly  converse  with 
those  saints  and  excellent  persons,  whom  thou  hast 
heard  of  and  admired,  and  whose  examples  thou  hast 
endeavoured  to  imitate.  A  place  that  is  the  rendez 
vous  of  the  holy  angels  of  God,  and  which  the  Son  of 
God  himself  visits  and  illustrates  with  the  rays  of  his 
glory.  A  place  where  there  shall  be  no  wicked  man 
to  corrupt  or  offend  thee,  no  devil  to  tempt  thee,  no 
sinful  flesh  to  betray  thee.  A  place  of  full  security, 
where  thou  shalt  be  out  of  all  possible  danger  of 
being  undone  and  miserable  for  ever.  A  place  from 
whence  all  sorrow  (because  all  sin)  is  banished ; 
where  there  is  nothing  but  joy,  and  yet  more  joy 
still  expected.  This  is  the  place  that  death  calls 
thee  to.  Why  therefore  shouldest  thou  be  afraid  of 
dying  ?  yea  rather,  why  shouldest  thou  not,  when  God 
calls  thee  to  it,  willingly  and  cheerfully  die,  desiring 
to  depart,  and  to  be  with  Jesus  Christ,  ivhich  is  far 


80  The  middle  State  of  SERM.  m. 

better  f  If  thou  wert  to  fall  into  a  lethargic  state 
when  thou  diest,  and  have  no  perception  of  comfort 
till  the  last  day ;  if  darkness  were  then  to  overshadow 
thee  till  the  light  of  Christ's  glorious  appearance  at 
the  resurrection  came  upon  thee ;  this  might  reason 
ably  make  thee  unwilling  to  die,  and  desirous  to 
continue  longer  here,  where  there  is  some  comfort, 
some  enjoyment  of  Christ,  though  imperfect.  If  such 
a  purgatory,  as  the  supposition  of  the  Roman  church 
hath  painted  out  to  the  vulgar,  were  to  receive  thee, 
well  mightest  thou  be  not  only  unwilling,  but  also 
horribly  afraid  to  die.  But  God  be  thanked,  Christ 
and  his  apostles,  and  the  disciples  of  the  apostles, 
have  taught  us  much  better  things.  Wherefore  let 
us  comfort  one  another  with  these  words,  1  Thess. 
iv.  18. 

Secondly,  This  discourse  deserves  seriously  to  be 
considered  by  all  wicked  men.  If  they  die  such — and 
who  knows  how  soon  he  may  die  ? — they  are  imme 
diately  consigned  to  a  place  and  state  of  irreversible 
misery.  They  have  trod  in  the  steps  of  Judas  in  this 
life,  and  shall  presently  after  death  march  to  the  same 
dismal  place  where  Judas  is.  A  place  where  there 
is  no  company  but  the  Devil  and  his  angels,  and  those 
lost  souls  that  have  been  seduced  by  them.  A  place 
of  horrid  darkness,  where  there  shines  not  the  least 
glimmering  of  light  or  comfort.  A  place  of  wretched 
spirits,  that  are  continually  vexed  at  the  sad  remem 
brance  of  their  former  sins  and  follies,  and  feel  the 
wrath  of  God  for  them,  and  tremble  at  the  apprehen 
sion  of  a  greater  wrath  yet  to  come ;  who  presently 
taste  the  cup  of  divine  vengeance,  and  are  heart-sick 
to  think  of  the  time  when  they  must  drink  up  the 


Miser.  SI 


full  dregs  of  it.  This,  O  sinner,  is  the  miserable  place 
and  state  whereinto  thou  shalt  immediately  enter 
when  thou  diest,  if  thou  diest  as  now  thou  art. 

But  thou  wilt  say,  1  am  not  such  a  wretch  as  Ju 
das,  who  betrayed  our  Saviour  Christ  to  death,  and 
sold  his  Lord  and  Master  for  money.  \  answer,  But 
flatter  not  thyself;  it  is  true,  thou  hast  not  sinned  in 
the  same  instance,  nor  perhaps  to  the  same  degree  ; 
but  sure  I  am  thou  hast  sinned  in  the  same  kind. 
For  how  often  (if  thou  beest  a  voluptuous  man)  hast 
thou  bartered  and  parted  with  thy  interest  in  thy 
Saviour  Jesus,  for  the  satisfaction  of  a  vile  lust,  and 
the  enjoyment  of  a  transient  sinful  pleasure!  How 
often,  if  thou  beest  a  covetous  man,  hast  thou 
wilfully  transgressed  the  laws  of  the  holy  Jesus,  by 
lying,  cheating,  and  unjust  actions,  to  gain  a  tew 
pieces  of  glittering  earth,  perhaps  of  lesser  value  than 
Judas  was  bribed  with  !  How  often,  if  thou  beest  a 
vainglorious  ambitious  man,  hast  thou  made  thy 
conscience  give  way  to  thy  vainly  conceited  honours! 
How  often  hast  thou  sold  thy  Redeemer  for  the  mere 
breath  of  the  people  !  Thou  hast  therefore  played 
the  Judas,  and  if  thou  diest  without  repentance,  to 
Judas's  place  thou  must  go. 

Do  not  deceive  thyself  with  the  thoughts  of  a  re 
prieve  till  the  day  of  judgment,  or  think  thou  shalt 
be  in  an  insensible  state  till  then,  and  not  tormented 
before  that  time  ;  for  immediately  after  death,  thy 
state  of  misery  shall  commence.  Do  not  entertain 
thyself  with  the  desperate  hopes  of  a  purgatory,  or 
the  advantage  of  a  broken  plank  to  save  thce  after 
the  shipwreck  of  death.  In  the  same  miserable  state 
thou  diest,  thou  shalt  continue  in  to  the  day  of  judg 
ment,  and  then  thy  misery  shall  be  consummated. 

BULL,   VOL.   I.  G 


82      The  middle  State  of  Happiness  or  Misery. 

Consider  this,  ye  that  forget  God,  lest  he  tear  you 
in  pieces,  and  there  be  none  to  deliver.  Psalm  1.  22. 
To  shut  up  all,  let  us  pray  and  labour  that  we  may 
never,  never  be  gathered,  or  come  into  the  place  of 
Judas,  the  place  and  state  of  reprobate  and  for  ever 
lost  spirits  ;  from  this,  good  Lord,  deliver  us,  that 
when  we  die,  Ave  may  go  to  the  region  of  the  godly, 
to  paradise,  to  Abraham's  bosom,  and  at  the  resur 
rection  may  sit  down  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and 
Jacob,  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  And  in  order 
hereunto,  let  us  here  thoroughly  purge  ourselves 
from  all  filthiness  both  of  flesh  and  spirit,  perfecting 
holiness  in  the  fear  of  God,  2  Cor.  vii.  1.  for  there  is 
no  purgation  to  be  expected  in  the  other  life.  Yea, 
let  us  endeavour  to  excel  in  virtue  here,  that  so  we 
may  have  a  more  abundant  entrance  both  into  the  joys 
of  paradise,  and  also  into  the  fuller  glories  of  the 
everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ. 

Which  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant,  through 
the  same  Jesus  Christ,  to  whom,  with  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  £c. 

[These  two  Sermons  were  republished  in  1 765  by  Leonard 
Chappellow,  B.  D.,  "  together  with  some  extracts  relating  to  the 
"  same  subject,  taken  from  writers  of  distinguished  note  and  cha- 
"  racter,  with  a  preface."  They  were  also  noticed  by  the  writer 
of  "  An  Historical  Review  of  the  Controversy  concerning  an  in- 
"  termediate  State,  and  the  separate  Existence  of  the  Soul,  between 
"  Death  and  the  general  Resurrection,"  published  in  1765,  where 
some  defects  in  Bishop  Bull's  reasoning  are  pointed  out.] 


SKKMON    IV7. 


THK  LOW  AND  MEAN  CONDITION  OE  TJIK  UI.ESSED  VIRGIN 
CONSIDERED;  AS  ALSO  THE  MXGILAR  GRACE  AND  1  A- 
VOIROE<;OD  VOUCHSAFED  TO  HKH;  AND  THAT  RESI'ECT 
WHICH  IS  DUK  TO  HER  FROM  US  1'1'ON  THAT  ACCOUNT, 
WHI.REIN  THE  INVOCATION  Ol  II  K  I!  HY  THE  PAPISTS  Is 
CONFUTED. 


LUKK  i.  48,  4!). 

For  he  hath  regarded  the  lute  estate  of  his  handmaiden  :  for, 
behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call  we  blessed. 
For  he  that  /x  mighty  hath  done  for  we  oreat  thinns ;  and 
hoi  i  i  /x  7//X  name. 

UPON  the  very  hearing  of  my  text  ivad,  every 
man  will  jjrosently  perceive  it  to  bo  a  part  of 
the  magnificat,  or  the  divine  song  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  into  which  she  brake  forth  upon  the  prophe 
tic  salutation  of  the  inspired  Elizabeth  to  her,  recited 
from  ver.  41  to  45  inclusively.  For  this  song  is  daily 
sung  or  rehearsed  in  our  churches  ;  and  may  it  ever 
continue  so  to  be,  both  for  the  excellency  of  it,  and 
because  thereby  the  prophecy  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
in  my  text  is  in  part  fulfilled,  that  future  generations 
should  call  her  blessed. 

The  song,  as  Grotius  thinks,  hath  respect  to  the 
time  of  the  children  of  Israel's  departure  out  of 
Egypt,  by  which  the  time  of  the  Messias  was  figured 

a  [This  Sermon  was  preached  some  time  after  the  year  1671.] 

G2 


84  The  blessed  Virgin's  low          SERM.  iv. 

and  typified,  not  without  a  wonderful  congruity  of 
circumstances  disposed  by  divine  Providence. 

There  was  then  a  Miriam,  that  is  a  Mary,  a  virgin 
and  prophetess,  the  sister  of  Aaron,  leading  a  female 
troop  in  the  divine  praises,  Exod.  xv.  20,  21. 
And  here  there  is  another  Miriam  or  Mary  over 
shadowed  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  be  celebrated 
above  all  women,  and  therefore  celebrating  the 
praises  of  God.  There  was  then,  in  the  second  place, 
an  Elizabeth b,  the  wife  of  Aaron  ;  and  here  there 
is  another  Elizabeth,  married  to  a  priest  of  the  line 
of  Aaron. 

Throughout  this  excellent  song  the  sacred  Virgin 
expresseth  a  deep  sense  of  her  own  unworthiness, 
and  upon  that  account  a  profound  resentment  of  the 
singular  favour  of  the  Almighty  bestowed  on  her. 
Her  magnificat  is  not  a  magnifying  of  herself,  but  of 
the  Lord.  For  thus  it  begins,  "  My  soul  doth  magnify 
"  the  Lord;"  not  myself,  who  am  but  a  poor  unworthy 
handmaid  of  the  Lord ;  but  the  Lord  himself,  who 
hath  so  highly  dignified  and  advanced  me,  though 
unworthy.  She  first  sings  in  the  lowest  and  deepest 
note  of  humility,  and  then  raiseth  her  song  to  the 
highest  strain  of  gratitude  and  thanksgiving,  admir 
ing  the  transcendent  honour  to  which,  by  the  good 
ness  of  God,  she  was  exalted.  For  in  the  former 
part  of  my  text,  she  sincerely  acknowledged!  the 
very  mean  condition  she  was  in,  when  the  divine 
grace  surprised  her,  for  he  hath  regarded  the  low 
estate  of  his  handmaiden  :  and  then  she  sets  forth 
the  superlative  dignity  that  God  had  advanced  her 
to,  for,  behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations 
shall  call  me  Messed. 

b  [Elisheba,  Exod.  vi.  23.  which  is  the  same  as  Elizabeth.] 


and  exalted  Condition.  85 

Let  us  a  little  stay  upon  that  lower  ground,  from 
whence  the  holy  Virgin  takes  her  rise,  and  consider 
her  humble  acknowledgment  of  her  own  meanness 
and  unworthiness,  expressed  in  these  words,  'EW- 

p\€^l/€V  €7Tl   Tl]V   TOTTC*  VftXT*  1>   T//9   OOU\9]S    IIUTOV,   which     GUI' 

translators  have  well  rendered,  he  hath  regarded 
the  low  estate  of  his  handmaiden.  For  the  word 
Ta-jrcivuxris  signifies  here  the  same  with  raireivor^,  a 
mean,  base,  or  vile  condition  ;  as  our  body  of  a  base 
condition,  or  our  rile  body*,  Phil.  iii.  21.  And  it  is 
often  by  the  Seventy  joined  with  a  verb  signifying 
to  behold,  respect,  or  regard,  as  here,  and  used  to 
express  a  poor  mean  condition,  or,  which  is  more, 
an  afflicted  condition,  whereby  one  is  brought  very 
low,  as  we  use  to  phrase  it  So  2  Kings  xiv.  26. 
The  Lord  saw  the  affliction  of  Israel*.  And  Psalm 
xxv.  18:  Look  upon  mine  affliction*.  But  it  is 
especially  to  be  noted,  that  the  words  of  Hannah 
upon  much  a  like  occasion,  1  Sam.  i.  11,  are  in  the 
LXX.  almost  the  same  with  the  words  of  my  text. 
If  indeed  thou  wilt  look  upon  the  affliction  of  thinr 
handmaiden*.  Erasmus  had  long  ago  observed  this, 
and  corrected  the  vulgar  Latin,  too  closely  followed 
here  by  our  older  English  translation,  which  hath  it, 
he  hath  regarded  humilitatem  ancilla*,  the  humility 
or  lowliness  of  his  handmaiden,  as  that  signifies  the 
virtue  of  the  mind,  which  we  commonly  call  humi 
lity,  but  is  more  properly  called  modesty,  and  by  the 
Greeks  termed  TaTretvotppoo-vvtj.  This  erroneous  trans 
lation  the  pretenders  to  merit  at  Rome  had  greedily 
catched  at,  and  thence  inferred,  that  the  blessed 


0     To    (TMfjid    TTjS    TaTT(tl>d)(T«i)S 

''    KT5*  Kt'/>ior  rr]v  Tiin(ivo)(nv  'lapatjX,      c  Eifie  rrjv  Tairfivwaiv  pov 
'   'V.av  (irifSXiirw  (Trift\i\lfT)s  en\  TTJV  randvwaiv  TJ/V  fiouA^v  crov. 


86  The  blessed  Virgin's  loir          SERM.  iv. 

Virgin  was  tor  the  merit  of  her  humility  so  highly 
advanced  by  God.    But  Erasmus  clearly  evinced  that 
T«7re;W<?  is  rather  in  this  place  to  be  rendered  par- 
vitas,  i-ilitas,  "  the  littleness,"  or  "  vileness,"  that  is, 
the  low  and  mean  estate  of  thine  handmaiden.     The 
ignorant  and  angry  monks  indeed  fell  very  foul  upon 
that   excellent   man  for  this   his  criticism ;    whence 
there  arose  a  proverb  in  that  time,  concerning  any 
man  that  should  attempt  to  amend  that  which  could 
not  be  better  expressed,    Vidt  corrigere  magnificat, 
"  The  man  would  correct  the  magnificat."     But  the 
more    learned    papists   are   since   grown    wiser,    and 
have  subscribed  to  the  interpretation   of  Erasmus; 
among  whom  is  the  judicious  Maldonat,  who  gives 
us  this  clear  account  of  it :   "  If  we  weigh,"  saith  he, 
"  the  sense  of  these  words,  it  is  so  much  the  less 
u  credible,  that  Mary  should  here  have  spoken  of  her 
"  own   virtue,  by  how  much   more  she   excelled    in 
"  that  virtue.     For  T  cannot  think  it  to  be  humility, 
"  for  a  man  not  only  to  know,  but  also  to  proclaim 
"  himself  to  be  humble.     Humility  is  the  only  virtue 
"  that  knows  not  itself:  and   I  cannot  tell    how  it 
"  comes  to  pass,  that  the  humble  person,  as  soon  as 
"  he   knows,   or   makes   known,    his   own   humility, 
"  loseth  it.     And  besides,  it  was  not  the  design  of 
"  the  most  humble  and  holy  Virgin  to  declare,  that 
"  by  her  merits  she  obtained  so  great  a  benefit;  but 
"  rather  to  profess  herself  utterly  unworthy  of  such 
"  a  favour.     She  intended  not  therefore  to  say  that 
"  her  virtue,  but    rather  her  low  and  mean  estate, 
"  and,  in  a  word,  her  unworthiness,  was  regarded  by 
"  God :  that  although  she  was  altogether  unworthy 
"  of  it,  yet  God  was  pleased  to  vouchsafe  her  so  great 
"  an  honour.     Thus  to  speak  became  her,  both  as  a 


and  exalted  Condition.  87 

"  virgin,  and  an  humble  and  modest  one*."  So  far 
that  learned  Jesuit.  Tn  short,  there  is  no  doubt  but 
that  the  blessed  Virgin  was  as  humble  and  lowly  in 
her  spirit,  as  she  was  low  and  mean  in  her  fortune 
and  condition,  and  that  God  in  bestowing  so  singular 
a  grace  and  favour  on  her  had  respect  to  that  virtue 
of  her  mind,  more  than  to  the  lowness  of  her  estate. 
But  yet  wo  say,  that  it  was  the  meanness  of  her 
condition  that  she  herself  intended  here  to  express, 
not  her  own  transcendent  humility,  which  if  she  had 
intended  to  express,  she  had  lost :  but  by  overlook 
ing  that  virtue  of  her  mind,  and  fixing  her  thoughts 
on  her  mean  and  unworthy  condition,  she  indeed 
exercised  that  humility,  of  which  she  was  a  true 
owner.  And  therefore  the  same  Maldonat  commends 
those  interpreters  who  resolve,  "  that  Mary  in  this 
"  place  did  not  profess,  but  practise  humility1'." 

But  what  was  the  low  estate  of  this  blessed  hand 
maiden  of  the  Lord  ?  I  answer,  it  was  a  state  of 
poverty.  So  poor  she  was,  so  mean  her  portion, 
that  she  could  arrive  to  no  higher  a  fortune,  than  to 
be  the  espoused  wife  of  a  poor  carpenter.  So  poor, 
that  in  her  childbirth  she  was  not  able  to  procure  a 
room  (even  in  her  greatest  necessity)  in  that  inn,  to 
which  she  came  as  a  guest ;  but,  being  neglected  by 
her  richer  kindred  of  the  royal  tribe  and  family  of 
David,  lay  indeed  in  the  straw,  and  was  brought  to 
bed  in  a  stable,  and  that  in  a  cave  underground,  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  poor  town  of  Bethlehem,  accord 
ing  to  the  tradition  of  the  most  ancient  doctors  of 
the  church1.  Tn  the  very  place  it  was,  (as  some 

s  Maldonat  in  loc. 

1'   Mariani  hoc  loco  humilitatcm  cxercuissc,  non  t-ignificasse. 

1   [*E»>  <TnT)\ai(p  nv\  vvvtyyvs  rfjs  Koi^rjt.     Justin  Martyr.  Dial,  cum 


88  The  blessed  Virgin's  low          SERM.  iv. 

have  probably  conjectured,)  where  poor  David,  the 
ancestor  of  the  Messias,  and  his  most  illustrious  type, 
fed  his  sheep,  and  from  that  mean  kind  of  life  was, 
by  the  singular  grace  and  favour  of  God,  called  to  be 
the  king  and  ruler  of  his  people,  Psalm  Ixxviii.  70, 
71,  72.  So  mean  she  was,  that  at  her  purification, 
her  great  and  generous  piety  was  confined  to  the 
offering  of  the  poor,  according  to  the  lawT  of  Moses, 
a  pair  of  turtledoves,  or  two  yoitny  pigeons :  a 
lamb  (the  prescribed  offering  to  those  of  ability)  her 
purse  could  not  reach  to,  Luke  ii.  22,  23,  24.  com 
pared  with  Levit.  xii.  6,  7,  8.  Lastly,  so  poor  she 
was,  and  still  continued,  that  her  blessed  Son,  when 
dying,  thought  it  necessary  to  recommend  her  to 
the  charitable  care  of  his  most  beloved  disciple, 
John  xix.  25,  26,  27. 

From  all  which  we  may  learn,  that  innocent  and 
virtuous  poverty  is  consistent  with  the  truest  feli 
city  ;  and  that  those  who  are  richest  in  grace,  the 
best  of  God's  saints,  and  most  regarded  by  him,  may 
be  of  a  low  and  despicable  estate  in  this  world.  If 
therefore  thou  sincerely  lovest  God,  and  art  truly 
devoted  to  his  service,  how  poor  otherwise  and  con 
temptible  and  miserable  soever  thou  mayest  be,  thou 
art  a  happy  man :  happy  and  blessed,  as  the  blessed 
Virgin  was :  yea  blessed,  as  her  blessed  Son  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  was  here  on  earth ;  who  was  born 
of  poor  parents,  in  the  meanest  circumstances,  and 
afterwards  chose  a  life  of  poverty;  so  great,  that 
whereas  the  foxes  have  holes,  and  the  birds  of  the 
air  have  nests,  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head, 
Matt.  viii.  20 ;  so  great,  that  he  lived  upon  the 

Tryph.  $.78.  Origen  says,  that  the  cave  and  the  manger  in  it  were 
to  be  seen  in  his  days.  Contr.  Cels.  1.51.  p.  367.] 


89 

charity  of  good  people  that  ministered  to  trim,  Mark 
xv.  41.  and  Luke  viii.  3.  'Flic  poor  are  either  good  or 
bad,  that  is,  the  poverty  of  men  is  found  either  in  the 
way  of  righteousness  or  in  the  way  of  wickedness. 
The  good  and  virtuous  poor  man,  though  he  deserves 
our  greatest  pity,  (as  by  that  is  signified  our  pro- 
pense  inclination  to  do  him  good,  and  relieve  his 
necessities,)  yet  he  is  also  an  object  of  our  greatest 
esteem  and  admiration.  'Phis  is  the  man  that  baffles 
the  Devil's  challenge'  to  God  concerning  holy  .lob, 
thai  so' rex  (lod  J'or  nouqltt,  that  courts  virtue  with 
out  regard  to  her  dowry,  that  is,  any  visible  dowry, 
any  present  pay,  and  by  a  mighty  faith  rests  satis 
fied  with  the  future  reward.  On  the  other  side, 
the  poor  man  that  is  as  wicked  in  the  sight  of  God 
as  he  is  wretched  in  this  world,  is  of  all  men  the 
most  miserable.  For  how  great  must  be  the  misery 
of  that  man.  who  being  poor  towards  God,  as  well 
as  men,  shall  consequently  be  miserable,  not  only  in 
this,  but  in  the  other  life  also  !  This  is  a  poor  wretch 
indeed. 

And  yet  this  is  the  case  of  every  man  that  is  so 
discontented  with  his  poverty  as  to  murmur  at  the 
providence  of  God  ;  that  seeks  by  lying  and  stealing, 
and  other  irregular  courses,  to  redress  his  poverty; 
that  is  as  proud  as  he  is  poor;  that  is  unthankful  to 
his  benefactors  :  that  loves  that  world  which  loves 
not  him  ;  that  being  unhappy  in  this  life,  yet  seeks 
not  heartily  after  the  happiness  of  the  other  life. 

But  may  not  he  that  is  rich  in  this  world  be  also 
happy  in  the  other  ?  Yes  ;  but  then  he  must  be 
after  a  sort  assimilated  and  made  like  to  the  poor, 
viz.,  by  being  poor  in  spirit.  By  an  humble  mind  in 
a  high  fortune,  and  by  condescending  to  men  of  low 


90  The  blessed  Virgin's  low          SERM.  iv. 

estate ;  by  not  trusting  in  or  setting  his  heart  upon 
those  worldly  riches  that  he  is  possessor  of,  but 
earnestly  coveting  the  heavenly  treasures  ;  by  tem 
perance  at  his  full  table,  by  intermixing  sometimes 
religious  fastings  with  his  feasts,  and  by  exercises  of 
mortification  ;  by  delighting  more  in  the  service  of 
God  and  virtuous  actions,  than  in  sensual  pleasures ; 
lastly,  by  paring  off  his  superfluities,  and  expending 
them  in  works  of  piety  and  charity.  Upon  these 
terms  only,  he  that  is  rich  in  this  world  may  rea 
sonably  hope  to  be  blessed  and  happy  also  in  the 
other. 

It  is  an  excellent  advice  that  St.  James  in  his 
Epistle  gives  in  a  few  words  both  to  poor  and  rich, 
chap.  i.  9, 10,  Let  the  brother  of  low  degree  rejoice  in 
that  he  is  exalted :  but  the  rich,  in  that  he  is  made 
low :  because  as  the  flower  of  the  grass  he  shall  pass 
away.  Where  the  sense  of  the  former  part  of  the 
advice  is  clearly  this :  Let  not  the  man  that  is  poor 
among  you  Christians,  and  contemptible  in  the  world, 
be  cast  clown  or  dejected  at  his  poverty,  but  rather 
let  him  rejoice,  considering  the  sublime  and  happy 
estate  to  which  by  Christianity  he  is  exalted,  and 
let  him  therein  glory.  His  advancement  is,  that 
he  is  a  Christian,  for  by  this  one  name  an  immense 
dignity  is  signified,  viz.,  that  he  is  a  son  of  God, 
and  a  coheir  with  Christ  in  the  heavenly  kingdom. 
But  what  means  the  apostle  by  the  opposite  clause, 
but  the  rich,  in  that  he  is  made  low :  because  as  the 
flower  of  the  grass  he  shall  pass  away  f  I  answer, 
that  the  best  interpreters k  think  that  the  speech 
of  the  apostle  is  here  elliptical,  and  to  be  supplied 

k   [Grotius,  Price,  £c.] 


and  exalted  Condition.  91 

by  a  verb  of  a  contrary  signification.  As  in  that  of 
St.  Paul,  1  Tim.  iv.  3,  Forbidding  to  marry,  (Did  to 
abstain  front  meats,  we  must  understand  (according 
to  the  supplement  of  our  English  translation)  and 
commanding  to  abstain  from  meats.  So  here  the 
speech  is  to  be  thus  supplied  :  Hut  let  f//e  rich  man 
hang  doirn  the  head  and  he  hnmhle*  in  that  lie  is 
made  l<n<\  in  that  a  little  time  shall  level  him  with 
the  poorest  man  ;  because  as  the  flower  of  the  grass, 
so  he  and  his  riches  jtass  away.  The  scope  of  the 
apostle  is  certainly  this,  to  set  before  the  rich  their 
own  vileness,  that  is,  the  instability  of  their  con- 
dition,  and  by  the  consideration  thereof  to  cure  the 
pride  and  insolence  to  which  they  are  commonly 
incident.  And  the  exhortation  is  the  same  with 
that  of  St.  Paul,  1  Tim.  vi.  17,  18,  Charge  them  that 
are  rich  in  this  world,  tJiat  tJiei/  he  not  highminded, 
nor  trust  in  uncertain  riches^  but  in  the  living  God, 
irho  giccth  its  richly  all  things  to  enjoy;  that  they 
do  good,  that  they  he  rich  in  (food  works,  ready  to 
distribute,  willing  to  communicate,  &c. 

But  let  us  at  length  proceed  to  the  second  part 
of  the  text.  The  blessed  Virgin  having  ingenuously 

o  o        o 

acknowledged  the  low  estate  and  condition,  wherein 
the  grace  of  God  found  her,  immediately  proceeds  in 
the  next  words  to  declare  the  transcendent  dignity  of 
that  estate,  to  which  by  the  same  grace  she  was  now 
advanced  :  For,  behold,  from  henceforth  all  generations 
shall  call  me  blessed. 

From  henceforth,  that  is,  from  this  very  time  of  my 
conception  of  the  holy  Jesus,  and  upon  the  account 
of  it.  All  generations,  that  is,  all  those  generations, 
that  from  henceforth  to  the  end  of  the  world  shall 


92  The  Messed  Virgin's  low          SERM.  iv. 

believe  on  that  Jesus  who  shall  be  born  of  me. 
Shall  call  me  blessed,  that  is,  shall  acknowledge  and 
proclaim  me  to  be  the  most  blessed  and  happy  of 
women,  congratulating  the  singular  grace  and  favour 
of  God  vouchsafed  to  me.  In  the  prosecution  of 
this  part  of  my  text,  I  shall  fix  these  bounds  to  my 
discourse:  I.  To  shew  you  more  particularly  what 
was  the  singular  grace  and  favour  of  God  vouchsafed 
to  the  blessed  Virgin  ;  II.  To  explain  more  distinctly, 
what  is  that  respect  that  is  due  to  her  from  us  upon 
that  account. 

I.  What  was  the  singular  grace  and  favour  be 
stowed  on  the  blessed  Virgin.  A  most  transcendent 
favour  it  was.  For, 

1.  She  was  of  all  the  women,  of  all  the  virgins  in 
Israel,  elected  and  chosen  by  God,  to  be  the  instru 
ment  of  bringing  into   the  world   the   long-desired 
Messias.  All  the  virtuous  daughters  of  Jacob,  a  good 
while  before  the  revelation  of  our  Saviour,  but  espe 
cially  in  the  age  when  he  appeared,  (the  time  wherein 
they  saw  the  more  punctual  and  remarkable  prophe 
cies  concerning  the  coming  of  the  Messias  fulfilled,) 
desired,  and  were  not  without  hopes  each  of  them, 
that  they  might  have   had  this  honour   done  unto 
them.     But  it  was  granted  to  none  of  all  those  holy 
women  and  virgins,  but  to  the  Virgin  Mary.     And 
therefore  all  generations  shall  call  her  blessed. 

2.  The  blessed  Virgin  Mary  was  the  only  woman 
that  took  off  the  stain  and  dishonour  of  her  sex,  by 
being  the  instrument  of  bringing  that  into  the  world, 
which  should  repair  and  make  amends  for  the  loss 
and  damage  brought  to  mankind  by  the  transgres 
sion  of  the  first  woman  Eve.     By  a  woman,  as  the 


(utd  c.t'altcd  Condition.  93 

principal  cause,  we  were  first  undone ;  and  by  a 
woman,  as  an  instrument  under  God,  a  Saviour  and 
Redeemer  is  born  to  us.  And  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary  is  that  woman.  Hence  Irenreus,  in  his  5th 
book,  chap.  19,  makes  a  comparison  between  the 
virgin  Eve  (for  such  the  ancients  believed  her  to 
be,  till  after  her  transgression)  and  the  Virgin 
Mary.  Seductionem  illam  solutam,  &c.  i.  e.  "  That 
"  seduction  being  dissolved,  whereby  the  virgin  Eve 
"  designed  for  man  was  unhappily  seduced :  the 
"  Virgin  Mary  espoused  to  man,  by  the  truth  hap- 
"  pily  received  the  glad  tidings  from  an  angel.  For 
"  as  the  former  was  seduced  by  the  speech  of  an 
"  angel  to  flee  from  God,  having  transgressed  his 
"  commandment ;  so  the  latter,  by  the  word  also  of 
"  an  angel,  received  the  good  news,  lit  portarct 
"  Deum,  that  she  should  bear  God  within  her, 
"  being  obedient  to  his  word.  And  as  the  former 
"  was  seduced  to  flee  from  God,  so  the  latter  was 
"  persuaded  to  obey  God.  So  that  the  Virgin 
"  Mary  became  the  comforter  of  the  virgin  Eve  V 
Where  the  last  words  of  the  holy  martyr  are  grossly 
misinterpreted  by  the  Latin  translator,  and  have 
given  occasion  to  the  papists  to  conclude  from  them, 
that  Eve  was  saved  by  the  intercession  of  the  Vir 
gin  Mary.  A  most  absurd  conceit,  unworthy  of  the 
learned  and  holy  Father,  or  indeed  of  any  man  else 
of  common  sense  ;  for  who  knows  not  that  Eve  was 
past  all  need  of  intercession,  before  ever  the  blessed 
Mary  could  be  capable  of  making  intercession  for 
her  ?  Doubtless  the  Greek  word  used  by  Iremvus 
here  was  Trapa/cX^ro?,  which  as  it  signifies  an  arfro- 

1  Uti  virginis  Evae  Virgo  Maria  fieret  ndvocnta. 


94  The  blessed  Virgin*  low  SKRM.  iv. 

cate,  so  it  also  as  frequently  signifies  a  comforter, 
and  so  ought  to  have  been  rendered  here.  But,  you 
will  say,  how  did  Eve  receive  comfort  from  the 
blessed  Virgin  Mary  ?  I  answer,  in  that  gracious 
promise  delivered  by  God  himself  in  the  sentence 
passed  on  the  serpent,  after  Eve's  seduction  by  him, 
Gen.  iii.  15,  where  it  is  said,  that  the  seed  of  the  wo 
man  should  bruise  the  serpent's  head.  Every  man 
now  knows,  that  the  seed  there  spoken  of  is  Christ ; 
and  consequently,  that  the  individual  woman,  whose 
immediate  seed  he  was  to  be,  is  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary.  The  holy  Virgin  was  the  happy  instrument 
of  the  saving  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  hath 
effectually  crushed  the  old  serpent  the  Devil,  and  de 
stroyed  his  power  over  all  those  that  believe  on  him 
self;  and  thereby  she  became  the  instrument  of  com 
fort  to  Eve,  and  all  other  sinners.  This  is  certainly 
all  the  good  Father  intended  by  that  expression. 

3.  The  blessed  Virgin  was  consecrated  to  be  a 
temple  of  the  divinity  in  a  singular  manner.  For 
the  eternal  Son  of  God,  by  an  ineffable  conjunction, 
united  himself  to  that  human  nature,  which  was  mi 
raculously  conceived  and  formed  in  her,  even  whilst 
it  was  within  her  ;  and  so  he  that  was  born  of  her,  at 
the  very  time  that  he  was  born  of  her,  was  OedvOptoTro?, 
God  and  man.  O  astonishing  condescension  of  the 
Son  of  God  !  O  wonderful  advancement  of  the 
blessed  Virgin  !  And  therefore  we  daily  sing  in  our 
Te  Deum,  "  Thou  art  the  King  of  glory,  O  Christ ; 
u  thou  art  the  everlasting  Son  of  the  Father.  When 
*'  thou  tookest  upon  thee  to  deliver  man,  thou  didst 
"  not  abhor  the  Virgin's  womb."  Upon  which  ac 
count  the  Fathers  of  the  third  general  council  at 
Ephesus,  convened  against  Nestorius,  approved  the 


and  exalted  Condition. 


title  of  OeoToVo?,  the  mother  of  God,  given  to  the 
blessed  Virgin. 

They  approved  it,  I  say;  they  did  not  first  invent 
it,  as  some  have  ignorantly  affirmed.  And  there 
fore  they  themselves  in  their  synodical  epistle  say, 
that  the  holy  Fathers  before  them  doubted  not  to  call 
the  blessed  Virgin  Oeoro/coi>,  deiparam,  "  the  mother 
"  of  God."  Indeed  an  whole  age  before  that  coun 
cil,  we  find  Eusebius  expressly  giving  that  title  to 
the  sacred  Virgin  in  his  third  book  of  the  Life  of 
Constant!  no,  chap.  43.  And  Socrates,  a  most  cre 
dible  witness  in  this  matter,  in  the  seventh  book  of 
his  Eccl.  Hist.  chap.  32,  assures  us  that  Origen, 
long  before  Eusebius,  largely  explained  and  asserted 
that  title,  as  applied  to  the  blessed  Virgin.  And  to 
go  yet  higher,  we  have  heard  Irenacus,  who  was  a 
scholar  to  a  scholar"1  of  the  apostles,  magnifying  the 
Virgin  upon  this  account,  that  she  did  portare 
Dcitm,  bear  God  within  her.  If  she  did  portare 
Deum,  she  did  parere  Deuin  ;  if  she  bore  God, 
she  brought  him  forth  too,  and  so  was  OeoroVo?,  the 
mother  of  God,  that  is,  of  him  that  was  God.  Nay 
the  blessed  martyr  and  disciple  of  the  apostles.  Ig 
natius,  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians",  edit.  Voss. 
]>.  27,  feared  not  to  say,  "  Our  God  Jesus  Christ 
"  was  conceived  of  Mary0."  But  what  need  we 

•i 

search  after  human  authorities,  when  the  inspired 
Elizabeth,  in  her  divine  rapture  a  little  before  my 
text,  ver.  43,  plainly  gives  the  blessed  Virgin  the 

"•  [Polycarp,  bishop  of  Smyrna.] 
n  [C.  18.  |).  15.  ed.  Coteler.] 

"  'O  Qfos  T)p.a>v  'lijtruis  6  Xpiaror  (Kvo<j)opT)6i)  UTTO  Mupuiv.  [It  was 
used  by  Hippolytus,  Origen,  Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  Theonas, 
Alexander  bishop  of  Alexandria,  Eusebius,  &c.] 


96  The  blessed  Virgin's  loir          SERM.  iv. 

same  title?  And  whence  is  tins  to  me,  that  the  mo 
ther  of  my  Lord  should  come  unto  me?  Where 
MTrip  rou  Kvpiov,  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  is  doubt 
less  of  the  same  import  with  OCOTOKOS,  the  mother  of 
God :  for  the  title  of  our  Lord  belongs  to  Christ 
chiefly  as  he  is  our  God.  And  we  are  to  conceive 
Elizabeth,  being  filled  with  the  Spirit,  to  have  given 
this  title  of  her  Lord  to  the  babe  in  the  blessed 
Virgin's  womb,  not  according  to  the  poor  narrow 
vulgar  sense  of  the  degenerate  Jews,  but  according 
to  the  most  august  and  highest  sense  of  the  word, 
viz.,  that  he  is  so  our  Lord,  as  to  be  our  God  also. 
Now  the  necessary  consequence  of  this  dignity  of 
the  blessed  Virgin  is,  that  she  remained  for  ever  a 
virgin,  as  the  catholic  church  hath  always  held  and 
maintained  P.  For  it  cannot  with  decency  be  ima 
gined,  that  the  most  holy  vessel,  which  was  thus 
once  consecrated  to  be  a  receptacle  of  the  Deity, 
should  afterwards  be  desecrated  and  profaned  by 
human  use.  And  so  much  of  the  singular  grace  and 
favour  vouchsafed  to  the  blessed  Virgin. 

II.  We  are  next  to  explain,  What  is  that  respect 
which  is  due  to  her  from  us  upon  that  account. 
She  herself  in  the  text  saith.  all  generations  shall 
call  me  Messed.  Where  the  Romanists  fancy,  they 
have  found  a  plain  warrant  for  all  that  extravagant 
honour  which  they  give  the  blessed  Virgin  ;  and 
that  this  is  an  express  prediction  of  hers,  that  that 
should  be  done  unto  her,  which  they  now  do  in  the 
church  of  Rome.  Hence  one  of  their  celebrated 
commentators,  that  so  understands  the  text,  could 

P  [Jer.  Taylor  also  maintained  her  perpetual  virginity.  Life  of 
Christ,  §.  3,  and  Pearson  in  his  Exposition  of  the  Creed.] 


and  ed'alted  Condition.  97 

not  forbear  thereupon  to  break  out  into  this  amazing 
acclamation  to  the  Virgin  Mary  :  Vivat  tuum 
tua  laus,  tua  gloria,  quamdiu  rivent  angeli, 
diu  vivent  homines,  quamdiu  viret  Christus, 
diit  Dcus  erit  Deus,  in  omnia  scBCulorwn  seecula  (i. 
Which  words,  not  without  a  kind  of  tremor,  I  thus 
English :  "  Let  thy  honour,  thy  praise,  thy  glory 
"  live,  as  long  as  angels  live,  as  long  as  men  shall 
"  live,  as  long  as  Christ  shall  live,  as  long  as  God 
"  shall  be  God,  even  for  ever  and  ever."  But  how 
vain  are  these  men  !  The  expression  of  the  blessed 
Virgin  doubtless  signifies  but  the  same  thing,  though 
in  a  wider  extent,  with  that  of  Leah  upon  the  birth 
of  her  son  Asher,  (Jen.  xxx.  13.  where  the  LXX. 
hath  it,  Happy  am  /,  for  the  daughters  shall  call 
me  blessed*.  No  man  can  be  so  foolish  as  to  ima 
gine  she  meant,  that  the  daughters  should  pray  to 
her  and  worship  her ;  but  only  that  they  should 
think  and  acknowledge  her  to  be  a  happy  woman. 
So  here,  when  the  holy  Virgin  &aith,  all  generations 
shall  call  me  blessed ;  she  means  no  more,  than  that 
all  generations  should,  upon  the  account  of  her  bring 
ing  into  the  world  the  common  Saviour,  esteem  and 
proclaim  her  the  most  blessed  woman.  And  this 
we  most  willingly  and  gladly  do. 

We  think  and  speak  most  respectfully  of  her,  and 
do  not  ordinarily  mention  her  name  without  a  pre 
face  or  epithet  of  honour,  as  the  holy,  the  blessed 
Virgin,  and  the  like.  We  do,  by  the  appointment 
of  our  church,  sing  or  rehearse  in  our  daily  service 
her  excellent  magnificat ;  and  thereby  we  testify 

fi  Cornelius  a  Lapidc,  in  loc. 
r  ~M.ciK.apia  tyv>  on  fiaKapiovcri  pf  ai  yvvalnts. 
BULL,  VOL.  1.  II 


98  The  blessed  Virgin's  low          SERM.  iv. 

our  assent  to,  and  complacence  in,  those  singular 
favours  that  God  is  therein  said  to  have  bestowed 
on  her ;  and  together  with  her,  we  finally  return  the 
praise  and  glory  of  all  to  God  alone.  We  celebrate 
two  annual  festivals  in  her  memorial,  the  feasts  of 
her  annunciation  and  purification.  And  if  we  could 
think  of  any  other  honour  that  we  could  do  her, 
without  dishonouring  God  the  Father  and  his  eter 
nal  Son,  we  would  most  willingly  yield  it  to  her. 
Wherefore  the  papists  are  themselves  egregious  ca 
lumniators,  when  they  charge  us  protestants,  that 
we  are  beatfs  Virginis  conviciatores*,  "  reproach- 
"  ers  of  the  blessed  Virgin."  We  defy  their  charge  ; 
we  honour  the  blessed  Virgin  as  a  most  singular 
elect  vessel  of  God  ;  as  one  in  the  highest  degree  of 
all  mere  mortals  honoured  by  God  :  but  therefore 
we  will  not  yield  her  any  of  that  honour  that  is  pe 
culiar  to  God ;  for  God  himself  hath  told  us,  that  he 
will  not  give  his  glory  to  another,  Isai.  xlii.  8.  She 
saith  indeed,  that  all  generations  should  call  her 
blessed;  but  not  that  any  generation  should  call 
upon  her  to  bless  them.  This  had  been  a  most 
arrogant  sacrilegious  speech,  altogether  unbeseeming 
the  most  humble,  as  well  as  holy  Virgin. 

We  have  carefully  read  the  holy  Scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  cannot  find  any  one  iota  in 
them,  that  makes  in  the  least  for  the  invocation  and 
adoration  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  Nay  we  find  the 
stream  of  holy  writ  carrying  and  directing  all  our 
prayers  and  supplications  to  God  alone,  through 
Jesus  Christ  the  only  Mediator.  And  for  the  blessed 
Virgin,  we  cannot  be  so  stupid  as  not  to  remark  and 

s  Maldonat  in  loc. 


and  (\r<dted  Condition.  99 

observe  the  great  silence  concerning  her  in  sacred 
history,  after  the  relation  of  her  bringing  forth  our 
Saviour,  and  her  presentation  of  him  in  the  temple, 
and  their  exile  into  Egypt,  and  return  to  Nazareth. 
After  this  we  hear  of  her  but  seldom,  and  that  only 
occasionally.  Once  she  is  mentioned  as  present, 
and  receiving  a  check  from  our  Saviour,  at  the 
marriage  feast  of  Cana  in  Galilee,  John  ii.  1,  &c. 
Another  time  she  is  mentioned  together  with  the 
brethren  of  our  Saviour  as  inquiring  after  him,  Matt, 
xii.  47,  &c.  She  is  mentioned  again,  John  xix.  2,5, 
26,  27,  as  standing  by  the  cross  of  her  Son,  behold 
ing  his  passion,  and  thereby  fulfilling  the  prophecy 
of  good  old  Simeon,  that  a  sword  should  pierce 
thronqk  her  oini  soul,  Luke  ii.  3.5.  And  lastly, 
she  is  mentioned  by  St.  Luke  as  present  at  that  as 
sembly  of  Christians,  wherein  Matthias  was  elected 
to  the  apostleship  in  the  room  of  Judas  f.  Acts  i.  14. 
In  all  which  places  the  mention  of  her  is  such,  as 
may  seem  purposely  designed  to  have  prevented  that 
superstitious  and  idolatrous  worship  of  her,  which 
was  afterward  set  up  in  the  church  of  Home. 

In  the  rest  of  the  writings  of  the  New  Testament, 
the  Epistles  of  the  apostles,  wherein  they  fully  in 
struct  us  in  all  the  essentials  of  that  religion  and 
worship  which  Christianity  requires  of  us,  she  is  not 
so  much  as  once  named  ;  much  less  is  there  any  the 
least  intimation  of  any  invocation  or  religious  wor 
ship  due  to  her  from  us. 

It   is  a   most   ridiculous  account  which  the  Ko- 


1  [It  is  not  actually  said  that  she  was  present  at  the  election  of 
Matthias:  compare  v.  15.  The  Romanists  say  that  she  was 
present  with  the  apostles  on  the  day  of  Pentecost.] 

H  2* 


]  00  The  blessed  Virgin's  low  SERM.  iv. 

manists  give  us  of  this  silence  of  the  holy  Scriptures. 
Lorinus,  a  very  learned  and  approved  writer  among 
them,  in  his  exposition  of  Acts  i.  14,  thus  resolves 
the  difficulty  :  "  There  are  few  things  delivered  con- 
"  cerning  the  mother  of  Christ  in  the  Scriptures, 
"  because  those  things  were  sufficient  which  in  her 
"  respected  Christ ;  and  also  because  that  one  title 
"  of  the  mother  of  Christ  and  of  God  serves  instead 
"  of  all  praises ;  and  farther,  because  her  testimony 
"  might  be  suspected  by  the  unbelieving  world : 
"  and  lastly,  because  as  Adam  was  formed  out  of 
"  the  unformed  and  thick  earth,  and  then  Eve  out 
"  of  his  rib ;  so  Christ  was  first  to  be  preached,  and 
"  the  virtue  of  Christ  to  be  made  known  in  the  rude 
"  earth  of  persecutions  and  martyrs  u.  Afterwards 
"  the  blessed  Virgin  was  celebrated  by  many  enco- 
"  mi  urns  of  the  Fathers,  and  made  illustrious  by 
"  many  miracles,  temples,  festivals,"  &c.  Thus  far 
he.  But,  1.  the  Jesuit  yields  all  that  we  desire, 
when  he  confesseth  "  that  those  things  were  suffi- 
"  cient  to  have  been  spoken  concerning  the  blessed 
"  Virgin  which  in  her  respected  Christ."  Nothing 
more  certain.  It  was  the  setting  forth  Christ,  not 
of  his  mother,  which  was  the  end  and  design  of  the 
Holy  Ghost  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  New  Testa 
ment  ;  and  therefore  that  was  sufficient  to  be  spoken 
of  her  which  served  to  lead  us  to  the  knowledge  of, 
and  to  faith  in,  Christ.  2.  As  for  the  title  of  the 
mother  of  God,  it  doth  not  at  all  infer  any  right  the 
blessed  Virgin  hath  to  our  religious  adoration  of  her. 
By  that  relation  to  the  Son  of  God  she  cannot  chal 
lenge  any  share  with  him  in  his  divine  honour; 

u  In  rudi  terra  persecutionum  et  martyrum. 


and  exalted  Condition.  101 

much  less  any  commanding  power  over  him,  which 
yet  hath  been  formerly  in  the  public  offices  of  the 
church  of  Romex,  and  I  am  certain  is  still  in  some 
of  their  private  offices,  attributed  to  her?.  For  though 
she  was  the  mother  of  him  that  was  God,  yet  she 
contributed  nothing  to  him  as  God ;  but  he,  as  such, 
was  and  is  her  God,  Lord,  Creator,  and  Saviour ;  to 
whom  therefore  she,  together  with  us,  pays  all  hum 
ble  adoration  and  worship.  Nay,  she  was  not  his 
mother  as  man,  in  so  strict  a  sense  as  other  women 
are  mothers  of  their  children  ;  for  she  conceived  him 
not  naturally,  but  by  the  help  of  the  divine  Spirit 
overshadowing  her :  so  that  her  very  conception  of 
him  as  man  was  immediately  due  to  him  as  God, 
and  she  was  eternally  bound  to  praise  him  for  so 
wonderful  an  operation  wrought  in  her.  And  it  is 
to  be  observed,  that  the  ancient  doctors  of  the 
church,  when  they  contested  with  heretics  about  the 
title  OCOTOKOS,  mother  of  (lod,  designed  not  by  that 
title  so  much  to  advance  the  honour  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  as  to  secure  the  real  and  inseparable  union 
of  the  two  natures  in  Christ;  and  to  shew  that  the 
human  nature,  which  Christ  took  of  the  holy  Virgin, 
never  subsisted  separately  from  the  divine  person  of 
the  Son  of  God.  3.  His  third  reason  of  this  silence 
is  plainly  foolish  and  absurd,  "  that  her  testimony 
"  would  have  been  suspected  by  the  unbelieving 
"  world :"  for  by  the  same  reason  the  Scriptures 
must  have  been  silent  concerning  Christ  himself  also. 

*  [Accedit  ad  illud  iiureum  Divinac  Majestatis*  tribunal,  non  ro- 
£<ms,  seel  imperans,  doniina  non  ancilla.  Damianus.  Maria 
orat  ut  filia,  jubet  ut  soror,  impcrat  ut  mater.  Albcrtus  Magnus, 
Bibl  Maria.] 

y  [Monstra  te  esse  matrem.     Office  of  the  Virgin.] 


102  The  blessed  Virghfs  low          SERM.  iv. 

Besides,  the  question  is  not  of  the  Virgin  Mary's  testi 
mony  of  herself,  but  of  the  testimony  of  the  apostles 
and  sacred  writers  concerning  her.  Now  certainly 
it  highly  concerned  the  world  to  understand  how 
much  the  blessed  Virgin  could  do  with  God  and  his 
Son,  if  "  by  her  all  grace  be  dispensed,"  as  the  Papists 
have  affirmed.  And  the  apostles  cannot  escape  the 
censure  of  gross  negligence  or  great  envy,  if  they 
knew  of  any  such  conveyance  of  grace,  and  yet  would 
not  vouchsafe  to  the  world  the  least  point  of  their 
finger  towards  it.  4.  His  fourth  and  last  reason  is 
an  impious  speculation.  For  are  Christ  and  the 
blessed  Virgin  joined  together  in  the  point  of  reli 
gious  worship,  as  the  male  and  female  deity,  as  Adam 
and  Eve  were  in  their  formation,  with  this  only 
difference,  that  as  Adam  was  first  formed,  and 
after  Eve,  so  the  divine  power  of  Christ  was  first 
proclaimed  in  the  world,  and  afterward  the  blessed 
Virgin  was  celebrated  and  made  illustrious?  Be 
sides,  what  a  dirty  comparison  is  that,  whereby  he 
resembles  the  primitive  age,  the  age  of  confessors 
and  martyrs,  the  best  and  most  glorious  age  of  the 
church,  to  the  thick  and  unformed  earth  and  clay, 
out  of  which  Adam  was  fashioned;  and  the  after-ages 
to  the  more  refined  substance  of  Adam,  out  of  which 
Eve  was  taken !  What  a  dreadful  infatuation  must  it 
be,  that  shall  make  men,  of  great  sense  and  learning 
otherwise,  thus  to  write  and  speak!  Lastly,  How 
plainly  doth  the  Jesuit  here  again  yield  up  the  cause 
to  us  !  He  confesseth,  that  the  knowledge  of  Christ 
alone  was  at  first  preached  in  the  days  of  persecution 
and  martyrdom,  and  that  the  celebration  of  the 
blessed  Virgin  (such  as  is  now  practised  in  the  church 
of  Rome)  sprang  up  afterwards.  A  most  certain 


and  waited  Condition.  103 

truth  ;  for  there  is  not  one  tittle  to  be  found  in  any 
genuine  writer  of  the  first  three  hundred  years  after 
Christ,  (to  go  no  farther,)  that  may  give  any  the  least 
countenance  to  the  invocation  of  the  blessed  Virgin 
Mary,  or  of  any  other  saint ;  but  very  many  most  ex 
press  testimonies  against  it  in  all  of  them  :  and  there 
fore  we  are  most  certain,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
church  of  Rome  concerning  the  invocation  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  the  other  saints,  was  none  of  the 
doctrines  delivered  by  the  holy  apostles  to  the  church 
of  Christ.  And  for  our  part,  we  are  content  and 
fully  satisfied  with  that  knowledge  of  Christ  alone, 
which  was  preached  "  in  the  rude  earth  of  persecu- 
'•  tions  and  martyrs*;"  that  is,  in  the  best  and  most 
glorious  ages  of  the  church  :  and  we  willingly  leave 
those  after-refined  discoveries  of  the  blessed  Virgin's 

O 

honour  to  the  papists,  to  follow  and  embrace  them, 
seeing  they  will  not  be  otherwise  persuaded,  at  their 
own  peril. 

Before  T  conclude,  I  will  mention  some  few  in 
stances  of  extravagant  honour  which  the  papists 
give,  but  we  of  the  church  of  England  utterly  refuse 
to  yield,  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  out  of  a  true  zeal  to 
the  honour  of  God. 

\Ve  will  not  give  her  lavish  and  excessive  attri 
butes,  beyond  what  the  holy  Scriptures  allow  her, 
and  the  holy  men  of  the  primitive  church  afforded 
her.  \Ve  will  call  her  blessed,  as  the  mother  of  our 
Lord,  in  the  sense  above  explained.  But  we  dare 
not  call  her  k*  queen  of  heaven,"  ''queen  of  angels, 
"  patriarchs,  prophets,  and  apostles,"  "  source  of  the 

z  Jn  rudi  terra  persecutionuin  et  martyrum. 


104  The  blessed  Virgins  low          SERM.  iv. 

<'  fountain  of  grace,"  "  refuge  of  sinners,"  "  comfort  of 
"  the  afflicted,"  "  advocate  of  all  Christians,"  as  she 
is  called  in  that  Litany  of  our  Lady  still  used  in  their 
devotions.  For  we  have  no  instance  of  such  attri 
butes  given  to  the  blessed  Virgin  in  the  holy  Scrip 
tures,  and  they  are  too  big  for  any  mere  creature. 

We  will  not  ascribe  those  excellencies  to  her,  that 
she  never  had  nor  could  have ;  as,  a  fulness  of  habi 
tual  grace,  more  grace  than  all  the  angels  and  arch 
angels  ,  of  God  put  together  ever  had  ;  that  she  was 
born  without  original  sin,  and  never  committed  any 
the  least  actual  sin,  and  consequently  never  needed 
a  Saviour.  These  are  wild  things,  which  very  many 
of  the  papists,  drunk  with  superstition,  say  of  her. 

We  will  not  give  her  the  honour  of  invocation,  or 
praying  to  her,  as  all  the  papists  do,  for  the  unan 
swerable  reasons  above  mentioned.  Indeed,  as  long 
as  that  one  text  of  Scripture  remains  in  our  Bibles, 
which  we  read  1  Tim.  ii.  5,  There  is  one  God,  and 
one  mediator  between  God  and  men,  the  man  Christ 
Jesus ;  we  shall  never  be  persuaded,  by  any  sophistry 
or  subtle  distinctions  of  our  adversaries,  to  betake 
ourselves  to  the  mediation  of  the  blessed  Virgin, 
much  less  of  any  other  saint. 

Much  more  do  we  abhor  the  impiety  of  those 
among  the  papists,  who  have  held  it  disputable,  whe 
ther  the  milk  of  the  blessed  Virgin  or  the  blood  of 
her  Son  be  to  be  preferred ;  and  at  last  could  pitch 
upon  no  better  resolution  than  this,  that  the  milk  and 
blood  should  be  mixed  together,  and  both  compound 
a  medicine  for  their  souls. 

We  abhor  to  divide  the  divine  kingdom  and  em 
pire,  giving  one  half,  the  better  half,  the  kingdom  of 


and  exalted  Condition.  105 

mercy,  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  and  leaving  only  the 
kingdom  of  justice  to  her  Son.  This  is  downright 
treason  against  the  only  universal  King  and  Monarch 
of  the  world. 

We  are  astonished  at  the  doxology,  which  some 
great  and  learned  men  of  the  church  of  Rome  have 
not  been  ashamed  to  close  their  printed  books  with ; 
Laus  Deo,  Deiparcrijue  Vin/hii ;  "  Praise  be  to 
"  God,  and  the  Virgin-mother  of  God." 

We  should  tremble  every  joint  of  us,  to  offer  any 
such  recommendation  as  this  to  the  Virgin  Mary. 
Hear  if  you  can  without  horror  a  prayer  of  theirs  to 
her.  Tt  is  this  : 

"  ( )  my  lady,  holy  Mary,  I  recommend  myself  into 
"  thy  blessed  trust  and  singular  custody,  and  into  the 
"  bosom  of  thy  mercy,  this  night  and  evermore,  and  in 
"  the  hour  of  my  death,  as  also  my  soul  and  my  body  ; 
"  and  I  yield  unto  thee  all  my  hope  and  consolation, 
'*  all  my  distress  and  misery,  my  life  and  the  end 
"  thereof,  that  by  thy  most  holy  intercession,  and  by 
"  thy  merits,  all  my  works  may  be  directed  and  dis- 
"  posed,  according  to  thine  and  thy  Son's  will.  Amen." 
What  fuller  expressions  can  we  use  to  declare  our 
absolute  affiance,  trust,  and  dependence  on  the  eter 
nal  Son  of  God  himself,  than  they  here  use  in  this 
recommendation  to  the  Virgin  ?  Yea,  who  observes 
not.  that  the  will  of  the  blessed  Virgin  is  expressly 
joined  with  the  will  of  her  Son,  as  the  rule  of  our 
actions,  and  that  so,  as  that  her  will  is  set  in  the  first 
place.  A  plain  smatch  of  their  old  blasphemous  im 
piety,  in  advancing  the  mother  above  the  Son,  and 
giving  her  a  commanding  power  over  him.  Can 
they  have  the  face  to  say,  that  all  this  is  no  more 
than  desiring  the  blessed  Virgin  to  pray  for  them,  as 


106  The  blessed  Virgins  low          SERM.  iv. 

we  desire  the  prayers  of  one  another  on  earth  ?  And 
yet,  this  recommendation  is  to  be  seen  in  a  manual 
of  prayers  and  litanies  printed  at  Antwerp  no  longer 
ago  than  1671,  and  that  permissu  superiorum,  in 
the  evening  prayers  for  Friday.  A  book  it  is  to  my 
knowledge  commonly  to  be  found  in  the  hands  of 
our  English  papists ;  for  I  had  it  from  a  near  rela 
tion  of  mine,  (who  had  been  perverted  by  the  emis 
saries  of  Rome,  but  is  since  returned  again  to  the 
communion  of  the  church  of  England,)  who  assured 
me,  that  she  used  it  herself  by  the  direction  of  her 
confessor,  in  her  private  devotions. 

Lastly,  We  abominate  the  impious  imposture  of 
those,  who  have  translated  the  most  humble  and  holy 
Virgin  into  an  idol  of  pride  and  vanity,  and  repre 
sented  her  as  a  vainglorious  and  aspiring  creature, 
like  Lucifer,  (I  tremble  at  the  comparison,)  thirsting 
after  divine  worship  and  honour,  and  seeking  out 
superstitious  men  and  women,  whom  she  may  oblige 
to  her  more  especial  service,  and  make  them  her  per 
petual  votaries.  For  what  greater  affront  than  this 
could  they  have  offered  to  her  humility  and  sanctity? 
How  fulsome,  yea  how  perfectly  loathsome  to  us,  are 
the  tales  of  those,  that  have  had  the  assurance  to  tell 
us  of  the  amorous  addresses  of  the  blessed  Virgin  to 
certain  persons  her  devout  worshippers,  choosing  them 
for  her  husbands,  bestowing  her  kisses  liberally  on 
them,  giving  them  her  breasts  to  suck,  and  present 
ing  them  with  bracelets  and  rings,  of  her  hair,  as  love- 
tokens  !  The  fables  of  the  Jewish  Talmudists,  yea  of 
Mahomet,  may  seem  grave,  serious,  and  sober  histo 
ries,  compared  to  these  and  other  such  like  impudent 
fictions.  Insomuch  that  wise  men  have  thought  that 
the  authors  of  these  romances  in  religion  were  no 


and  exalted  Condition.  107 

better  than  the  tools  and  instruments  of  Satan,  used 
by  him  to  expose  the  Christian  religion,  and  render 
it  ridiculous,  and  thereby  to  introduce  atheism.  And 
indeed  we  are  sure,  that  the  wits  of  Italy,  where 
these  abominable  deceits  have  been  and  are  chiefly 
countenanced,  were  the  first  broachers  and  patrons 
of  infidelity  and  atheism  in  Europe,  since  the  time 
that  Christianity  obtained  in  it. 

In  a  word,  such  is  the  worship  given  to  the  blessed 
Virgin  by  many  in  the  church  of  Rome,  that  they 
deserve  to  be  called  Jffiridui,  rather  than  Cltri- 
stiani,  &c. 

My  brethren,  let  us  bless  God  that  we  yet  breathe 
in  a  pure  air,  free  from  the  noisome  and  pestilent 
fogs  of  those  superstitious  vanities,  where  none  of 
those  fooleries  and  impieties  are  obtruded  on  our 
faith  or  practice;  that  we  live  in  a  church,  wherein 
no  other  name  is  invocated  but  the  name  of  God  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost;  nor  divine  worship 
given  to  any  but  to  the  one  true  God,  through  Jesus 
Christ  the  only  Mediator.  O  happy  we,  if  we  knew 
and  valued  our  own  happiness  !  But  alas !  alas ! 
many  of  us  do  not.  We  despise  and  trample  upon 
that  reformation  of  religion,  which  by  a  miracle  of 
God's  mercy  was  wrought  in  this  nation  in  the  days 
of  our  forefathers,  and  run  to  schismatical  assemblies 
under  pretence  of  seeking  after  a  better  reformation. 
We  abandon  that  church,  and  can  hardly  forbear  to 
call  it  antichristian  and  popish  harlot,  the  founda 
tion-stones  whereof  were  laid  and  cemented  in  the 
blood  of  God's  holy  martyrs,  that  died  in  defiance  of 
the  errors  and  superstitions  of  the  Romish  synagogue. 
And  yet  these  men  call  themsejves  protestants,  yea 
the  only  true  protestants,  and  will  scarce  allow  us  of 


108  The  blessed  Virgin's  low          SERM.  iv. 

the  Church  of  England  a  share  in  the  title.  God 
grant,  that  by  this  our  horrid  ingratitude,  we  do  not 
provoke  him  to  recall  that  mercy,  which  ourselves 
indeed  throw  back  into  his  face,  as  if  it  were  not 
worth  our  acceptance,  and  to  cause  a  dark  night  of 
popery  to  return  on  us ;  wherein  a  superstitious  and 
idolatrous  worship  shall  be  thrust  upon  us,  yea  and 
we  shall  be  compelled  to  forbidden  and  idolatrous 
worship,  or  to  death ;  wherein  our  Bibles,  that  we 
now,  not  only  with  liberty  but  encouragement,  carry 
about  us,  shall  be  snatched  out  of  our  hands,  and 
fabulous  lying  legends  put  in  the  room  of  them  ; 
wherein  our  excellent  Liturgy,  in  a  tongue  we  all 
understand,  which  many  of  us  now  loathe,  and  call 
pitiful  pottage,  yea  and  popish  mass,  shall  be  abo 
lished,  and  the  abominable  Roman  mass  indeed  placed 
in  its  stead ;  wherein  the  cup  of  blessing  in  the  holy 
eucharist  shall  be  sacrilegiously  taken  from  us,  which 
is  now  openly  and  freely  held  forth  to  us  all,  and 
that  in  so  excellent  a  way  of  administration,  that  the 
whole  Christian  world  beside  is  not  able  at  this  day 
to  shew  the  like ;  but  we  scorn  to  take  it,  and  refuse 
to  receive  it,  unless  it  be  given  us  by  an  unhallowed 
hand  in  a  factious  conventicle.  If  ever  these  and  the 
other  ill  effects  of  popery,  which  I  cannot  now  men 
tion,  happen  to  us,  (which  God  avert,)  and  I  trust  it 
will  never  come  to  pass ;  but,  I  say,  if  ever  these 
things  should  befall  us,  we  should  then,  when  it  is 
too  late,  clearly  distinguish  between  light  and  dark 
ness,  and  discern  the  vast  difference  between  the 
established  religion,  which  many  now  call  popery, 
and  popery  itself.  We  should  then  cast  back  a  kind 
and  mournful  eye  upon  our  dear  mother  the  Church 
of  England,  whose  very  bowels  we  now  tear  and 


and  exalted  Condition.  109 

rip  up  by  our  wicked  schisms.  We  should  then 
wish  ourselves  in  the  safe  arms  of  her  communion 
once  again,  and  resolve  never  more  to  depart  from 
it.  Let  us  do  that  now,  whilst  it  is  seasonable,  which 
we  shall  then  wish  we  had  done,  but  cannot  do. 

But  I  return  to  my  text,  and  shall,  for  a  con 
clusion  of  my  discourse  on  it,  observe,  that  both  it 
and  the  whole  magnificat,  or  song  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  is  applicable  to,  and  may  be  made  use  of  by, 
all  true  Christians.  For, 

I.  The  nature  which  the  Son  of  God  assumed  of 
his  virgin  mother  is  our  common  nature,  which  is 
by  that  assumption  transcendently,  to  our  own 
amazement  and  the  admiration  of  angels,  dignified 
and  advanced.  The  eternal  Word,  by  his  incarna 
tion,  or  being  made  flesh,  intended  not  directly  to 
honour  the  blessed  Virgin  in  particular,  but  man 
kind  in  general.  He  intended  thereby  to  declare  us 
his  brethren,  by  being  made  of  the  same  flesh  and 
blood  that  we  are,  as  the  divine  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  assures  us,  chap.  ii.  14  :  Forasmuch 
then  as  the  children  are  partakers  of  flesh  and 
blood,  he  also  himself  likewise  took  part  of  the 
same.  And  verse  17.  Wherefore  in  all  things  it 
behoved  him  to  be  made  like  unto  his  brethren.  In 
a  word,  the  Son  of  God  therefore  honoured  the 
blessed  Virgin  so  far,  as  in  and  from  her  to  become 
man,  that  he  might  advance  human  nature,  by 
assuming  it  into  the  unity  of  his  divine  person  ;  and 
that  being  born  of  her,  he  might  procure,  not  only 
hers,  but  our  common  salvation.  So  that  every  one 
of  us  may  sing  the  magnificat,  and  bear  a  part  in 
this  divine  anthem,  and,  mutatis  mutandis,  say,  "  My 
"  soul  doth  magnify  the  Lord,  and  my  spirit  hath 


110  The  blessed  Virgin' a  low          SERM.  iv. 

"  rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour.  For  he  hath  regarded 
"  the  low  estate  of  us  vile  and  mortal  men,  his  poor 
"  servants  and  vassals.  For  behold  from  henceforth, 
"  and  upon  the  account  of  the  incarnation  of  the  Son 
"  of  God,  the  whole  creation,  yea  the  very  angels 
"  themselves,  shall  and  do  proclaim  us  blessed.  For 
"  he  that  is  mighty  hath  magnified  us  in  the  highest 
"  degree,  by  uniting  himself  to  our  nature,  and  there- 
"  fore  holy  is,  and  for  every  blessed  be,  his  name." 
And  therefore  the  holy  Virgin,  presently  after  my 
text,  celebrates  the  mercy  shewn  to  her,  as  common 
to  all  the  sons  of  men  in  all  ages,  that  do  not  by 
their  disobedience  and  ingratitude  render  themselves 
utterly  unworthy  of  it.  Ver.  50.  And  his  mercy  is 
on  them  that  fear  him  from  generation  to  generation, 
or  throughout  all  generations. 

Wherefore  most  lamentable  is  the  ignorance  and 
folly  of  our  dissenters,  who  despise  the  use  of  this 
excellent  song  in  the  daily  service  of  our  church,  as 
unedifying,  as  impertinent,  and  not  belonging  to 
them,  and  proper  only  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  and 
therefore  refuse  to  stand  up  and  bear  a  part  in  the 
rehearsal  of  it.  Certainly  they  are  very  ill  taught 
and  instructed,  who  understand  not  that  all  Christ 
ians  may  and  ought  most  heartily  to  join  in  this 
divine  hymn.  For, 

II.  The  blessedness  of  the  holy  Virgin  is  not  so 
altogether  proper  to  her,  or  incommunicable  to  others, 
but  that  the  meanest  sincere  Christian  may  share 
with  her  in  the  better  part  of  it.  Wonderful  and 
full  of  comfort  are  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  Luke  xi. 
where,  when  a  certain  woman,  hearing  his  excellent 
discourse,  cried  out,  Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bare 
thee,  and  the  paps  which  thou  hast  sucked,  ver  27, 


and  exalted  Condition.  Ill 

our  Saviour  answers,  ver.  28,  Yea  rather,  blessed 
are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God,  and  keep  it. 
Which  is  not  a  negation  of  the  blessedness  of  his 
mother,  (for  that  would  be  a  plain  contradiction  to 
my  text,)  but  a  correction  of  the  woman's  mis 
take,  who  so  admired  the  blessedness  of  the  mother 
of  such  a  son,  that  she  scarce  thought  of  any  other 
blessedness.  Our  Saviour  therefore  tells  her,  that 
blessed  are  they  also,  yea  and  eliirtfy,  that  hear 
the  word  of  (iod,  and  keep  it.  And  in  another 
place  our  gracious  Lord  being  told  that  his  mother 
and  brethren  desired  to  speak  with  him,  gave  this 
short  answer,  Who  is  my  mother?  and  who  are  mi/ 
brethren  ?  And  he  stretched  forth  his  hands  to 
wards  his  disciples,  and  said,  Behold  my  mother 
and  mi/  brethren !  for  whosoever  sJiall  do  the  will 
of  mi)  leather  whieh  is  in  heaven,  the  same  is  mi/ 
brother,  and  sister,  and  mother.  Matt.  xii.  48,  49,  50. 
Where  I  think  there  is  a  mighty  emphasis  in  those 
words  of  our  Saviour,  my  leather  whieh  is  in  hea- 
ren  ;  as  if  he  had  said,  You  Jews  think  of  me  as  a 
mere  man,  and  understand  not  any  other  relation 
that  I  have,  besides  that  which  is  according  to  the 
flesh :  but  know  ye  that  1  am  of  a  higher  original, 
even  the  eternal  Son  of  the  eternal  God  dwelling  in 
heaven  ;  and  as  such  I  own  no  relation  but  what  is 
spiritual,  and  every  obedient  disciple  of  mine  is  to 
me  as  a  brother,  or  sister,  or  mother.  Indeed,  the 
Virgin  herself  was  more  blessed  by  conceiving  Christ 
in  her  heart  by  faith,  than  by  conceiving  him  in  her 
womb.  And  in  this  her  chiefest  blessedness  the 
meanest  Christian,  that  is  a  sincere  one,  may  be  a 
sharer  with  her.  Christ  may  be  thus  formed,  nay 
he  must  be  so  in  every  one  that  shall  be  saved, 


The  Virgins  low  and  exalted  Condition. 

Galatians  iv.  19.  And  if  we  be  true  Christians,  though 
all  generations  do  not  call  us  blessed,  as  the  holy 
Virgin,  yet  together  with  her  we  shall  be  indeed 
blessed  beyond  all  generations,  even  for  ever  and 
ever. 

To  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be  given 
and  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  all  religious 
worship  and  adoration,  now  and  for  evermore. 
Amen. 


S  K  H  M  O  N    V. 


ST.  PAUL'S    THORN*    ix    THK    FI.KSII,   THK    MF.SSKXCKR    OF 

SATAN,  SKNT  TO  1MIF.VKXT  HTS  HKING  F.XALTKD  AKOVK 
MEASURE,  CONSIDERED  AND  EXI'LAINKD;  WITH  SF.VF- 
RAL  PRACTICAL  CONSERVATIONS  DRAWN  FROM  THAT 
SUBJECT. 


2  COR.  xii.  7,8,9. 

And  Jest  I  should  be  exalted  above  measure  through  the 
abundance  of  the  revelations,  there  -iras  gicen  to  me  a  thorn 
in  the  fesh,  the  messenger  of  Katan  to  buffet  me,  lest  I 
should  be  exalted  above  measure.  For  this  thing  I  besought 
the  Lord  thrice,  that  it  might  depart  from  me.  And  he  said 
unto  me,  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee  :  for  my  strength  is 
made  perfect  in  weakness.  Most  gladly  therefore  fill  I 
rather  glory  in  my  infirmities,  that  the  power  of  Christ  may 
rest  upon  me. 

ST.  PAUL,  of  all  the  apostles  of  Christ,  met  with 
the  greatest  opposition  and  contempt  from  the 
false  Judaizing  apostles,  that  troubled  the  church  in 
his  time.  The  true  reason  whereof  was,  that  he  first  of 
all  openly  and  every  where  proclaimed  and  preached 
the  utter  abolition  of  the  Mosaic  law,  both  as  to 
Jews  and  Gentiles.  But  the  pretence  seems  to  be 
this,  that  he  was  none  of  the  twelve  apostles,  called 
by  Christ  himself  when  on  earth  ;  nor  afterwards 
duly  elected  an  apostle  in  the  room  of  any  of  that 
number,  as  Matthias  was  :  but  an  odd  thirteenth 
apostle,  thrusting  himself  into  that  sacred  office, 
they  knew  not  how,  or  by  what  authority.  For  the 

BULL.  VOL.  I.  I 


114  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

relation  of  Christ's  glorious  appearance  to  him  from 
heaven,  and  sending  him  to  preach  his  Gospel  among 
the  Gentiles,  (which  indeed  was  a  higher  call  than 
any  of  the  other  apostles  had,)  doubtless  they  rejected 
as  a  mere  fiction  ;  though  the  visible  effect  of  that 
apparition,  his  strange  and  sudden  alteration  and 
change  from  a  violent  persecutor,  to  be  a  preacher 
of  the  Gospel,  yea  and  willingly  to  be  persecuted 
for  it,  was  of  itself  sufficient  to  convince  all  sober 
and  unprejudiced  persons  of  the  certain  truth  of  it. 

Against  these  calumniators  he  strenuously  vindi 
cates  his  divine  mission  and  authority  in  the  two 
preceding,  in  this,  and  in  the  following  chapters. 
In  pursuance  of  which  design,  he  is  constrained  to 
do  that,  which  in  itself,  and  prescinded  from  the 
circumstances  he  was  in,  had  been  sin  and  folly, 
that  is,  to  commend  himself.  And  he  excellently 
and  fully  demonstrates,  that  he  was  not  in  any  re 
spect  inferior  to  the  very  chiefest  of  the  apostles  ; 
neither  in  his  sufferings,  nor  in  his  miracles,  nor  in 
his  generous  charity  and  unwearied  diligence  in  the 
discharge  of  his  office,  nor  in  the  success  of  it ;  nay, 
that  in  the  three  things  last  mentioned  he  exceeded 
all  the  other  apostles ;  nor  in  the  point  of  revelations 
made  known  to  him. 

And  upon  this  last  head  he  insists  in  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter,  out  of  which  my  text  is  taken ;  where 
he  speaks  of  admirable  visions  and  revelations  he  had 
received  from  God  at  several  times,  once  in  the 
third  or  highest  heaven,  and  another  time  in  paradise, 
ver.  2,  3,  4.  The  V7rep/3o\r]9  the  exceeding  greatness 
or  excellency  of  these  revelations,  he  declares  to  be 
such,  that  he  was  in  danger  by  them  to  be  transported 
beyond  the  bounds  of  sobriety  and  modesty,  into  pride 


the  Flesh  explained.  115 

tincl  vanity,  had  not  God  in  his  wisdom  and  goodness, 
by  a  very  severe  discipline  on  his  flesh  or  body,  pre 
vented  that  undue  elation  of  his  mind.  Which  dis 
cipline,  he  farther  shews,  the  gracious  God  thought 
necessary,  for  the  same  reason,  still  to  continue  on 
him,  notwithstanding  his  earnest  repeated  and  reite 
rated  prayers  and  supplications  for  the  removal  of  it ; 
only  assuring  him,  that  his  grace  should  be  sufficient 
for  him,  and  that  his  strength  should  be  made  perfect 
in  that  weakness  of  his  ;  and  that  thereupon  he  fully 
acquiesced  in  the  good-will  and  pleasure  of  God,  yea 
and  rejoiced  and  gloried  in  that  sharp  chastisement. 
And  lest  I  should  he  exalted  above  Measure,  &c. 

For  the  understanding  of  which  text,  we  are  to 
inquire  into  these  three  things:  I.  What  is  meant 
in  those  words  of  St.  Paul,  lest  I  should  be  exalted 
abore  measure.  \  \.  What  we  are  to  understand  by 
the  thorn  in  the  flesh.  III.  What  by  the  messenger 
of  Satan,  sent  to  buffet  the  apostle. 

I.  Let  us  inquire  what  is  meant  in  those  words 
of  St.  Paul,  lest  I  should  be  ed'<:!'"d  above  measure ;  for 
that  is  questioned  by  some.  Photius,  in  (Kcumenius, 
understands  the  words,  not  of  St.  Paul's  being  over 
much  exalted  in  his  own  conceit,  but  of  his  being 
too  much  extolled  in  the  esteem  and  praises  of 
others.  And  Theophylact  also  mentions  the  same 
interpretation,  though  he  himself  utterly  dislikes 
it.  Indeed  the  Greek  will  bear  it  well  enough  ;  for 
a/a  /x»;  vTrepaipw/mai  may  not  unfitly  be  translated, 
lest  I  should  be  too  much  extolled,  that  is,  magnified 
by  others.  And  of  this  he  expressly  speaks  in  the 
verse  immediately  preceding,  lest  any  man  should 
think  of  me  above  that  which  he  seeth  me  to  be.  And 
it  seems  a  very  good  and  pious  design  to  endeavour 

12 


H(j  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

to  excuse  the  excellent  apostle  from  so  shameful  an 
infirmity,  as  a  propension  to  pride.  But  yet  this  inter 
pretation  is  by  no  means  to  be  admitted.  For,  1.  all 
the  most  ancient  doctors  of  the  church,  with  one 
consent,  understand  the  words  as  we  do,  of  St.  Paul's 
being1  in  danger  to  be  too  much  lifted  up  in  his  own 
conceit.  So  Irenacus,  in  his  fifth  book,  chap.  3,  tells 
us,  that  the  words  of  the  apostle  here  signify  "  being 
"  lifted  up  to  fall  from  the  truth  a  ;"  and  "  to  be  ex- 
"  alted  against  God,  and  presumptuously  to  assume 
"  glory  to  one's  self  b."  And  so  all  the  rest  of  the 
Fathers,  who  are  herein  followed  by  a  full  stream  of 
modern  interpreters.  And  to  oppose  so  general  a 
consent  would  savour  something'  of  that  sin  of  pride 
in  ourselves,  which  we  endeavour  to  excuse  St.  Paul 
from  a  propension  to.  2.  It  is  not  so  reasonable  to 
conceive  that  St.  Paul  should  be  so  severely  afflicted, 
and  thus  buffeted,  to  prevent  the  sin  of  others,  as  that 
he  should  suffer  so  much  to  prevent  or  cure  a  sin  of 
his  own.  3.  The  exaltation  spoken  of  in  the  text 
is  plainly  expressed  as  an  effect  likely  to  have  imme 
diately  happened  from  those  visions  and  revelations, 
which  St.  Paul  received  in  secret,  and  which  were 
not  known  to  others,  till  he  thus  declared  them. 
The  danger  therefore  he  speaks  of  was  to  himself, 
and  not  to  others.  4.  As  for  the  context,  if  it  be 
more  closely  considered,  it  doth  not  necessarily  con 
firm  the  other  interpretation.  For  of  the  connection 
of  my  text  with  what  went  before,  a  clear  account 
may  be  given  without  it.  For  the  apostle  having 
said,  he  would  forbear  to  insist  on  his  revelations, 

a  Elatum  excidere  a  veritate. 

b  Extolli  adversus  Deum,  et  preesumptionem  suae  glorise  assu- 


mere. 


the  Flesh  explained.  1  1  7 

lost,  if  he  should  set  them  forth  to  the  full,  other  men 
might  be  tempted  to  think  too  highly  of  him  ;  he 
proceeds  in  the  text  to  shew,  that  the  revelations 
were  indeed  so  great  and  excellent,  that  he  himself, 
after  he  had  received  them,  was  in  danger  of  being 
transported  into  pride,  if  God  had  not  administered 
an  effectual  remedy  to  prevent  that  distemper  of  his 
mind.  Besides,  having,  verse  5,  said,  that  he  would 
rather  ylory  in  his  infirmities^  than  in  his  revela 
tions;  in  the  text  he  accordingly  speaks  of  those  in 
firmities,  and  that  as  they  were  on  purpose  inflicted 
on  him  by  Cod,  to  keep  him  from  glorying  too  much 
in  the  revelations  he  had  received.  Lastly,  Though 
St.  Paul  were  an  excellent  apostle,  yet  he  was  still 
but  a  man,  and  a  man  on  earth,  not  yet  in  heaven,  a 
viator  not  a  comprehensor,  a  proficient,  not  yet  fully 
perfect,  or  so  immutably  confirmed  in  virtue,  as  to 
be  out  of  all  danger  of  the  sin  of  pride,  which  even 
the  angels  of  heaven  fell  into.  Hence  Theophylaet 
having  thus  paraphrased  the  words  of  St.  Paul,  tfc  lest 
"  T  should  be  vainglorious1',"  presently  subjoins,  "  for 
"  St.  Paul  himself  also  was  a  man'1."  The  commonly 
received  interpretation  therefore  here  is  undoubtedly 
the  truest. 

TT.  Our  second  inquiry  is,  what  is  meant  by  the 
thorn  in  the  fash.  The  Greek  word  ovco'Aox//-  signi 
fies  (fiiicquid  acuminatum  r.v/,  "  any  thing  that  is 
"  sharp-pointed,"  as  a  goad,  or  stake,  or  arrow,  or 
thorn,  or  the  like  ;  which  being  fixed  in  the  flesh  or 
body  is  very  painful  and  troublesome.  It  is  a  meta 
phor  ;  and  what  the  thing  is  St.  Paul  intended  by 
it,  is  the  great  question.  I  shall  set  before  you  the 


r  *\va  p.Tj  Ktvo$o£<a.  d  "\v6patirot  yap  TJV  Kill  avTOf. 


118  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

several  interpretations  of  expositors,  rejecting  those 
which  I  have  evident  reasons  to  conclude  false,  and 
establishing  that  which  I  think  to  be  the  true  one. 

First,  Some  eby  the  thorn  in  the  flesh  understand 
"  those  troubles,  afflictions,  and  persecutions,  which 
"  St.  Paul  suffered,  and  wherewith  he  was  continually 
"  molested  in  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel."  But  I 
do  not  think  this  to  be  the  meaning  of  the  apostle, 
for  these  reasons  :  1.  The  thorn  in  the  flesh  he  speaks 
of  seems  to  be  some  trouble  more  peculiar  to  himself, 
and  adapted  to  his  particular  circumstances ;  whereas 
troubles  and  persecutions  for  the  sake  of  the  Gospel 
were  common  to  him  with  all  the  rest  of  the  apostles ; 
and  yet  we  hear  not  a  word  of  any  thorn  in  the  flesh 
given  to  any  of  them.  2.  Troubles  and  persecutions 
for  the  Gospel  are  too  general  a  thing  to  agree  to  the 
expressions  in  the  text,  which  are  more  particular, 
and  plainly  denote  some  special  trouble  or  evil,  where 
with  St.  Paul  was  exercised.  For  it  is  said  in  the 
singular  number,  a  thorn  in  the  flesh ,  the  messenger 
of  Satan.  To  evade  which  argument,  some  have  an 
swered,  that  here  is  meant  some  one  particular  and 
more  notable  adversary  of  the  apostle,  that  conti 
nually  set  himself  to  oppose  and  persecute  him,  as 
Alexander  the  coppersmith,  or  the  like.  But  it 
were  vain  to  conceive,  that  either  Alexander  the  cop 
persmith,  or  any  other  adversary  of  St.  Paul,  should 
continually  dog  him  at  the  heels  whithersoever  he 
went,  and  be  a  perpetual  vexation  to  him,  as  the 
thorn  he  speaks  of  was.  Besides,  the  thorn  is  said 
to  have  its  seat  in  the  flesh  or  body  of  St.  Paul,  and 
therefore  was  some  inherent  grief  in  himself,  and  not 

c  [Erasmus,  after  Chrysostom  and  Ambrose.] 


the  Flesh  explained.  119 

any  external  trouble  from  without.  3.  The  thorn  in 
the  flesh  St.  Paul  speaks  of  was  not  given  him  till 
after  his  being  caught  up  into  the  third  heaven,  and 
into  paradise ;  whereas  St.  Paul's  troubles  and  perse 
cutions  for  the  Gospel's  sake  commenced  from  his 
very  first  giving  up  his  name  to  Christ.  4.  It  became 
not  St.  Paul  to  pray  so  earnestly  and  so  often,  to 
have  his  persecutions  removed  from  him,  who  could 
not  but  know,  that  they  were  his  allotted  portion, 
bequeathed  to  him  in  his  very  first  conversion,  Acts 
ix.  16,  yea,  and  that  all  who  should  then  live  godly 
in  Jesus  Christ  were  of  necessity  to  suffer  persecu 
tion,  2  Tim.  iii.  12.  The  chiefest  colour  for  this 
interpretation  is,  that  St.  Paul  doth  indeed  presently 
after  make  mention  also  of  his  persecutions  and 
distresses  for  the  Gospel's  sake,  verse  10.  But  of 
this  I  shall  give  a  very  clear  and  satisfactory  account 
afterwards  in  this  discourse. 

Secondly,  Some  by  the  thorn  in  the  JJc.sh  under 
stand  urcdinem  libidinis,  which  I  am  ashamed  to 
translate.  Yet  it  being  a  very  common  exposition,  it 
will  be  necessary  to  shew  the  great  absurdity  and 
folly  of  it.  1.  This  interpretation  contradicts  the 
plain  and  express  profession  of  St.  Paul  concerning 
himself,  that  he  had  the  gift  of  continence,  and  that 
in  so  eminent  a  degree,  that  he  wished  all  Christians 
were  in  this  like  himself,  1  Cor.  vii.  7.  2.  If  this 
had  been  the  thorn  in  the  flesh  St.  Paul  was  troubled 
with,  he  had  a  remedy  at  hand,  the  same  he  proposed 
to  others,  and  which  he  tells  us  he  might  himself 
have  made  use  of  as  well  as  some  other  of  the  apo 
stles,  if  he  had  seen  occasion  for  it,  viz.,  honest  and 
honourable  matrimony,  1  Cor.  vii.  9.  and  ix.5.  3.  St. 
Paul  when  he  wrote  this  Epistle  was,  by  the  compu- 


120  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

tation  of  chronologers,  about  sixty  years  old  :  and  it 
is  a  foul  slur  to  so  great  and  holy  an  apostle  to  ima 
gine,  that  he  should  burn  in  that  frozen  age,  which 
useth  to  extinguish,  or  at  least  to  allay,  those  flames 
in  the  most  unclean  persons.  4.  If  this  had  been 
St.  Paul's  thorn  in  the  flesh,  he  could  not  without 
blasphemy  have  said  of  it,  eSoOtj  /u.oi,  it  was  given  me, 
viz.,  by  God,  the  same  gracious  God,  who  in  giving 
it  intended  to  keep  me  from  being  undone  by  pride. 
The  sparks  of  lust  issue  from  hell,  and  lead  also  to 
those  unquenchable  flames.  5.  If  this  had  been  the 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  St.  Paul  would  have  prayed  for  the 
removal  of  it,  not  only  thrice,  but  a  thousand  times ; 
yea  he  would  never  have  given  over,  till  by  an  un 
wearied  importunity  he  had  obtained  his  desire ;  and 
the  most  holy  God  would  not,  could  not  have  denied 
him  so  just  and  holy  a  request.  Lastly,  St.  Paul's 
thorn  in  the  flesh  was  something,  wherewith,  when 
he  was  denied  the  removal  of  it,  he  not  only  rested 
contented,  but  even  gloried  in  it,  verse  9.  Now  it 
had  been  the  greatest  impiety  in  him  to  have  gloried 
in  his  impure  motions  and  desires.  And  this  same 
reason  equally  overthrows  all  those  other  interpreta 
tions  that  expound  the  text  of  any  other  sinful  affec 
tion  or  infirmity  in  St.  Paul.  But  let  us  proceed. 

Thirdly,  Others  by  the  thorn  in  the  flesh  under 
stand  original  sin,  or  the  relics  of  it  in  St.  Paul. 
But  this  interpretation  likewise  we  may  boldly  pro 
nounce  absurd,  not  only  for  the  reason  last  mentioned, 
but  upon  other  accounts  also.  For,  1,  original  sin 
was  not  given  to  St.  Paul  by  God:  nor,  2,  was  it 
given  after  his  rapture  into  the  third  heaven,  and 
into  paradise  ;  but  it  was,  howsoever  you  define  it, 
born  with  him. 


the  A'A'.v//  explained.  121 

Fourthly,  Some  there  are  that  by  the  thorn  in  the 
flesh  understand  solicitations  to  pride.  13ut  this  is 
the  most  senseless  interpretation  of  all.  For  besides 
that,  1.  this  could  not  be  said  to  be  given  by  God  ; 
nor,  2.  could  it  be  called  ft  thorn  in  the  flesh*  pride 
being  a  vice  seated  in  the  mind;  8.  this  interpreta 
tion  implies  a  manifest  contradiction.  For  pride 
was  the  disease  to  be  cured  in  St.  Paul,  and  therefore 
could  not  be  itself  the  cure  or  remedy. 

Fifthly  and  lastly,  Others  expound  the  thorn  in  the 
flesh  of  some  bodily  disease  in  St.  Paul,  extraordinary 
painful  and  troublesome  to  him  ;  which  he  aptly  calls 
(i  thorn,  for  its  sharpness  and  pungency ;  and  a  thorn 
in  his  /ft'.s-//,  for  the  seat  of  it,  which  was  his  body. 
This  is  the  consentient  interpretation  of  the  most 
ancient  doctors  of  the  church,  who  have  happened  to 
make  mention  of  this  text.  And  they  are  the  most 
likely  men  to  have  understood  the  history  of  St. 
Paul,  and  what  (at  least  extraordinarily)  happened 
to  him.  Fremvus,  in  his  fifth  book,  chap.  3,  cites  my 
text,  and  expressly  expounds  the  thorn  in  the  flesh, 
of  some  bodily  infirmity  of  the  apostle,  such  as  might 
shew  him  to  be  a  mortal  man.  For  after  he  had 
alleged  my  text,  he  thus  glosseth  upon  it:  "What 
"  therefore,  (may  some  say,)  would  the  Lord  then 
kk  have  his  apostle  so  buffeted,  and  to  undergo  such 
kk  an  infirmity?  Yea,  saith  the  word:  for  strength  is 
"  perfected  in  weakness.  For  how  could  man  have 
"  learnt,  that  he  himself  is  infirm,  and  by  nature  mor- 
<k  tal,  and  (iod  immortal  and  powerful,  unless  he  had 
"  experimented  what  is  in  bothf?"  that  is,  both  the 

1  Quid  ergo  ?  (dicct  enim  aliquis)  voluit  ergo  Dominus  aposto- 
lum  *uum  sic  colaphizari,  et  talem  sustinere  infirmitatem  ?  Etiam, 


122  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

infirmity  of  man  and  the  power  of  God.  And  he  ap 
plies  this  to  the  error  of  those,  "  who  look  upon  the 
"  infirmity  of  the  flesh  or  body  of  man,  but  do  not 
"  consider  the  power  of  him  who  raisetli  it  from  the 
"  deads."  Tertullian,  in  his  book  De  Pudicitia,  c.  13, 
speaking  of  St.  Paul's  thorn  in  the  flesh,  and  his 
being  buffeted,  adds,  "  by  a  pain,  as  they  say,  in  his 
"  ear  or  head11."  Where  it  is  observable  that  he  de 
livers  this,  not  as  his  own  conceit,  but  as  a  received 
tradition  in  his  time.  St.  Cyprian,  in  his  book  De 
Mortalitate,  understands  St.  Paul's  thorn  in  the  flesh 
to  be  "  many  and  grievous  torments  of  his  flesh 
"  and  body1."  And  St.  Jerom  also,  in  his  notes  upon 
Gal.  iv.  13,  assures  us,  that  this  was  the  ancient  tra 
dition.  "They  report/'  saitli  he,  "that  he  often  suf- 
"  fered  a  most  grievous  pain  in  his  head,  and  that 
"  this  was  the  messenger  of  Satan  given  him  to  buf- 
"  fet  himk."  I  will  not  determine  what  particular 
sickness  or  infirmity  of  body  St.  Paul  was  troubled 
with ;  whether  a  violent  headache,  which,  as  you 
have  seen,  was  the  ancient  tradition  ;  or  the  cholic,  as 
Aquinas  upon  the  place  tells  us  some  thought ;  or  the 
falling  sickness,  as  others  have  imagined ;  (a  fit  dis- 

dicit  verbum ;  virtus  enim  in  infirmitate  perficitur.  Quemadmo- 
uum  enim  didicisset  homo  quoniam  ipse  quidem  infirmus  et  natura 
mortalis,  Deus  autem  immortalis  et  potens,  nisi  id  quod  est  in 
utroque  didicisset  experimento  ? 

;  Qui  infirmitatem  intuentur  carnis,  virtutem  autem  ejus  qui 
suscitat  earn  a  mortuis  non  contemplantur. 

h  Per  dolorem,  ut  aiunt,  auricula?  vel  capitis. 

1  Carnis  et  corporis  multa  et  gravia  tormenta. 

Tradunt  eum  gravissimum  capitis  dolorem  saspe  perpessum, 
et  hunc  esse  Satanse  angelum,  qui  appositus  ei  fuerit,  ut  ipsum 
colaphizaret. 


the  Flesh  explained.  12  3 

ease  indeed  to  cure  an  aspiring  pride  ;)  but  it  seems 
plain  and  evident  to  me,  that  some  bodily  sickness  or 
infirmity  it  was.  For, 

1.  In  the  answer  of  God  to  St.  Paul's  prayers  for 
the  removal  of  his  thorn  in  the  flesh,  it  is  expressly 
said,  For  iny  strength  is  wade  perfect  in  weakness^. 
Where  it  is  known  the  Greek  word  ucr&Wm  literally 
and  most  properly  signifies  infirmity  or  weakness  of 
body.     And  why  we  should   here   depart  from    the 
propriety  of  the  word,  I  understand  not.     It  is  true, 
in  the  next  verse,  after  the  mention  of  infirmity,  it 
presently   follows,    in    reproaches,   in    necessities',    in 
persecutions,    in    distresses  for    Christ's   sake.     .But 
this  is  not  added  exegetically,  or  by  way  of  exposi 
tion,  but  by  accumulation  :  as  if  he  had  said,  This 
my    bodily   infirmity,    though    attended    with    many 
other  grievous  and  sharp  afflictions  and  persecutions, 
I  bear  by  the  grace  of  God,  yea  and  take  pleasure  in 
it  and  them.    And  accordingly  St.  Cyprian,  occasion 
ally  discoursing  on  the  text,  in  the  place  but  now 
cited,  joins  St.  Paul's  "many  and  grievous  torments 
"  of  body1""  with  his  other  calamities,  with  his  suf 
ferings  and  persecutions. 

2.  St.  Paul   himself  plainly  enough  confirms  this 
interpretation    of   the    ancients,   Gal.  iv.  13,  14  :    Ye 
know  how  through  infirmity  of  the  flesh  I  preached 
the  (Jospel  unto  you  at  the  first.     And  my  temptation 
which  was  in  my  flesh  ye  despised  not,  nor  rejected  ; 
but  received  me  as  an  angel  of  God,  even  as  Christ 
Jesus.     There  is  little  doubt  to  be  made  but  that 
St.  Paul's  thorn  in  his  flesh",  and  his  temptation  in  his 


'H  yap  8i>vap.is  fiou  tv  d(r6(V(iq  . 

Corporis  multa  et  gravia  tormeuta.         n  2*oAo\//-  r/j  <rapiti. 


St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

flesh" ,  are  one  and  the  same  thing.  Now  his  tempta 
tion  in  Ids  flesh  he  expressly  here  expounds  to  be  an 
infirmity  of  his  flesh? ,  or  body.  And  it  is  observ 
able,  that  he  speaks  of  such  an  infirmity  of  his  flesh 
as  was  notorious,  open,  and  visible  to  the  Galatians, 
and  therefore  such  as,  if  they  had  not  looked  any  far 
ther  than  his  flesh  or  body,  they  might  have  despised 
him  for.  This  one  consideration  closely  attended  to 
utterly  overthrows  all  the  other  interpretations,  and 
confirms  the  last  exposition  of  the  ancient  doctors, 
which  I  follow. 

St.  Paul's  thorn  in  his  flesh,  or  his  temptation  in 
his  flesh,  could  not  be  any  inward  motion  of  original 
sin,  or  irritation  to  uncleanness,  or  suggestion  of 
pride,  it  being  something  outward  and  apparent  to 
the  Galatians.  Nor  could  it  be  his  sufferings  and 
persecutions  for  the  Gospel's  sake.  For  these  all  of 
them  could  not,  without  a  very  great  impropriety,  be 
called  the  infirmity  of  his  flesh,  or  body.  Nor  could 
they  with  any  colour  of  reason  make  him  despicable 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Galatians,  but  rather  on  the  con 
trary  they  must  needs  render  him  more  honourable 
and  glorious ;  when  at  the  same  time  they  saw  the 
preacher  of  the  Gospel  to  them  a  stout  and  courage 
ous  confessor  for  that  Gospel  which  he  preached. 
Nor  could  this  thorn  and  temptation  in  his  flesh  be 
any  secret  assaults  of  Satan  upon  his  body  or  mind, 
(as  some  from  the  appellation  given  it,  the  mes 
senger  of  Satan,  have  collected,)  for  these  were  not 
visible  to  the  Galatians  or  others.  It  remains  there 
fore,  that  it  was  some  extraordinary  bodily  infirmity 
of  St.  Paul  that  he  carried  about  him,  which  might 

'O  irtipaa-pbs  eV  rf,  (rapid.  P   'Acr<9eVftai/  rfjs  (rapKos. 


tin*  Flesh  explained.  125 

have  rendered  him  despicable  in  the  eyes  of  the  Ga- 
latians  and  others,  to  whom  he  preached  the  Gospel, 
if  they  had  not  at  the  same  time  seen  the  power 
of  God  appearing  in  the  miracles  he  wrought,  and 
in  the  excellency  of  his  doctrine,  and  in  his  other 
virtues.  And  it  is  very  probable  that  the  infirmity 
of  his  body,  which  thus  continually  haunted  him, 
was  interpreted  by  his  malicious  adversaries  to  be  a 
judgment  of  God  upon  him. 

Lastly,  St.  Paul  himself  again  elsewhere  informs 
us,  that  he  was  generally  despised  by  the  adversaries 
of  his  preaching,  upon  the  account  of  some  notable 
bodily  weakness  or  infirmity  of  his.  For  he  repre 
sents  the  false  apostles  as  thus  objecting  against  him. 
/7/,v  letters,  say  they,  arc  weighty  and  powerful ; 
bid  Ins  bodily  presence  is  iccak,  and  his  speech 
contemptible,  2  Cor.  x.  10.  Where  it  is  in  the 
Greek  his  bodily  presence  is  aa-Oevw,  infirm,  weak,  or 
sickly,  and  his  speech  contemptible  ;  as  there  are 
many  bodily  diseases  that  have  a  great  influence  on 
the  speech,  and  render  it  less  grateful  and  accept 
able.  And  the  same  bodily  infirmity  he  in  divers 
other  places  mentions,  as  the  great  disadvantage 
which  he  laboured  ui^der  in  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.  See  especially  1  Cor.  ii.  3:  And  I  was  with 
you  in  weakness,  and  in  fear,  and  in  much  trem- 
bllnq.  And  2  Cor.  xiii.  3,  5,  9  :  Since  ye  seek  a 
proof  of  Christ  speaking  in  me,  which  to  you-ward 
is  not  weak,  but  is  mighty  in  you.  Examine  your 
selves  ;  whether  ye  be  in  the  faith ;  prove  your  own 
selves.  Know  ye  not  your  own  selves,  how  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  in  you,  except  ye  be  reprobates  f 
For  we  are  glad,  when  we  are  weak,  and  ye  are 
strong:  and  this  also  we  wisht  even  your  perfec- 


126  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

tion.  By  all  which  it  seems  to  me  very  plain,  that 
St.  Paul  had  some  notorious  visible  infirmity  in  his 
body,  that  might  expose  him  to  contempt  with  those, 
who  looked  no  farther  than  the  outward  appearance, 
and  was  designed  by  God  as  a  means  to  keep  him 
humble.  He  was  a  weak,  sickly  apostle ;  and  there 
fore  despicable  to  many.  In  this  also  like  his  ge 
nuine  son  Timothy,  to  whom  he  gives  this  advice, 
Drink  no  longer  water,  but  drink  a  little  wine,  for 
thy  stomach's  sake,  and  for  thy  often  infirmities^ 
1  Tim.  v.  23.  There  was  this  difference  between  the 
infirmity  of  the  one  and  the  other,  that  St.  Paul's 
was  extraordinary  and  supernatural ;  but  Timothy's 
an  effect  of  his  natural  constitution.  Which  brings 
me  to  the  third  inquiry. 

In  the  third  and  last  place  therefore  we  are  to 
inquire,  what  St.  Paul  means  by  the  messenger  of 
Satan.  And  here  it  is  agreed  by  the  generality  of 
interpreters,  that  this  signifies  the  same  thing  with 
the  former,  viz.,  the  thorn  in  the  flesh.  And  indeed 
in  the  Greek,  as  well  as  in  our  translation,  there  is 
no  conjunction,  but  a  plain  apposition  ;  it  is  not  said, 
a  thorn  in  the  flesh  and  a  messenger  of  Satan ; 
but  a  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of  Satan. 
Now  we  have  evidently  shewn,  that  St.  Paul's  thorn 
in  his  flesh  was  some  troublesome  disease  in  his 
body.  It  remains  therefore  that  we  inquire,  why 
this  bodily  disease  is  called  ofyyeXo?  Zcn-ay,  the  mes 
senger  of  Satan.  The  learned  Grotius  here  answers 
in  short,  because  it  was  "a  disease1","  by  God's  per 
mission  and  appointment,  "  sent  or  inflicted  on  him 


Kai  Sta  rot?  TTVKvds  crov  d<r6evfias, 
Morbus  a  Satana  immissus. 


the  Flesh  explained.  127 

"  by  Satan."  And  I  doubt  not  but  lie  is  in  the 
right.  For  it  was  an  ancient  opinion  of  the  Jews, 
that  many  diseases  are  without  natural  causes  in 
flicted  on  men  by  evil  angels.  Nor  is  it  any  wonder 
that  Satan  should  have  such  a  power,  by  Cod's  per 
mission,  over  the  bodies  of  the  best  of  men,  to  him 
that  reads  the  history  of  Job,  the  most  perfect  man 
of  his  age,  Jobii.6,  7:  And  the  Lord  mid  iinto 
Satan,  Behold  he  is  in  thy  hand,  but  save  his  life. 
So  Satan  ivcnt  forth  front  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  and  smote  Job  with  sore  boils,  from  the  sole 
of  his  foot  unto  his  crown.  But  there  is  a  text  also 
in  the  New  Testament  that  plainly  warrants  this 
exposition.  We  read,  Luke  xiii.  11,  of  a  woman, 
who  had  a  spirit  of  infirmity  for  eighteen  years 
together,  an  extraordinary  infirmity,  whereby  her 
body  was  doubled,  and  so  bowed  together,  that  in 
all  that  time  she  could  in  no  wise  lift  up  herself. 

That  this  was  a  supernatural  affliction  is  plain 
from  the  words  of  our  Saviour,  ver.  16,  And  ought 
not  this  woman,  being  a  daughter  of  Abraham, 
whom  Satan  hatli  bound,  lo,  these  eighteen  years, 
be  loosed  from  this  bond?  Here  we  have  a  bodily 
infirmity  continuing  upon  a  daughter  of  Abraham  for 
eighteen  years  together,  and  this  infirmity  attributed 
to  the  power  (permitted  him  by  God)  of  Satan. 
And  my  text  tells  us  of  one  of  the  most  excellent 
sons  of  Abraham,  continually  vexed  with  a  bodily 
infirmity,  and  that  the  messenger  of  Satan.  The 
good  woman  was  in  her  infirmity  bound  by  Satan 
for  eighteen  years :  St.  Paul  in  his  infirmity  was 
buffeted  by  Satan  (as  it  is  very  probable)  to  the  end 
of  his  life. 

And  so  much  for  the  explanation  of  my  text ; 


128  St.  Pau.r*  Thorn  itt  SERM.  v. 

wherein  I  have  been  of  necessity  so  large,  that  I 
have  little  time  left  me  for  the  handling  of  the  useful 
observations  that  may  be  drawn  from  it.  But  in 
deed  such  a  text  thoroughly  opened,  yields  of  itself 
profitable  matter  enough  to  entertain  the  intelligent 
hearer,  that  knows  how  to  improve  it.  Yet  for  the 
help  of  the  weaker  sort,  give  me  leave  to  point  out 
some  observations  that  naturally  flow  from  the  text 
thus  explained. 

Observ.  1.  The  best  of  men,  those  that  excel  in 
the  gifts  and  graces  of  God,  are  liable  to  the  worst 
of  vices,  viz.,  pride. 

Mr.  Calvin's  note  on  my  text  is  very  apposite : 
"  Let  us  diligently  consider  who  it  is  that  here 
"  speaks.  A  man  that  had  conquered  infinite 
"  dangers,  torments,  and  other  evils  ;  that  had  tri- 
"  umphed  over  all  the  enemies  of  Christ ;  that  had 
"  shook  off  the  fear  of  death  ;  and  lastly,  had  re- 
u  nounced  the  world ;  and  yet  tins  man  had  not  as 
"  yet  wholly  subdued  his  inclinations  to  pride :  nay, 
"  he  was  still  engaged  in  so  doubtful  a  combat  with 
"  it,  that  he  could  not  conquer  without  being  him- 
"  self  beaten  and  buffeted  s."  Pride,  as  it  was  the 
first  sin  of  man,  so  it  is  his  last  too  ;  and  is  there 
fore  not  unfitly  called  by  one  indusium  animce,  the 
vice  that  sticks  most  closely  to  us,  and  the  last  we 
shall  put  off  and  be  rid  of. 

Other  vices  are  found  only  in  evil  actions,  but 
this  ariseth  out  of  our  best  works.  Nay,  this  sin 
ofttimes  springs  out  of  its  contrary  virtue,  and  a 
man  is  apt  to  be  proud  of  his  own  humility  ;  and  the 
humble  man,  as  soon  as  he  knows  his  own  humility, 
is  in  danger  of  losing  it. 

s  Consideremus  diligenter  quis  hie  loquatur,  &c. 


the  Flesh  explained.  1 CJ9 

When  a  man  hath  arrived  at  the  top  of  all  virtue, 
he  is  not  out  of  all  danger  of  this  vice ;  nay,  he  is 
then  in  most  danger  of  it.  "  It  is  a  rare  thing  to 
"  excel  many,  and  to  despise  none'."  It  is  a  hard 
matter  for  a  man  to  be  cried  up  for  an  eminent 
saint,  and  an  excellent  person,  and  not  to  let  in 
through  his  ears  into  his  soul  the  infection  of  pride 
and  vanity.  Few  men  have  such  steady  heads  as 
to  be  able  to  stand  upon  the  spires  and  pinnacles  of 
glory  without  giddiness. 

Tt  was  the  sin  of  pride,  as  divines  generally  be 
lieve,  that  ruined  a  multitude  of  the  angelic  host. 
Those  once  most  glorious  spirits,  walking  upon  the 
battlements  of  heaven,  grew  dixxy  with  their  own 
greatness,  and  fell  down  into  a  state  of  utter  dark 
ness  and  extreme  misery.  Upon  whose  fall  one 
observes,  that  pride  is  a  vice  highly  descended,  and 
commonly  entailed  on  the  most  highborn  and  excel 
lent  minds  ;  because  it  was  first  born  in  heaven,  and 
conceived  in  the  womb  of  an  angel's  mind.  I  jet  us 
therefore  (being  taught  by  these  examples)  so  war 
with  all  other  lusts  and  vices,  as  to  bend  our  chiefest 
force  against  this  sin  of  pride  ;  and  when  we  have 
done  our  best,  we  shall  find  the  conquest  difficult 
enough. 

But  are  the  best  of  saints,  the  most  excellent 
persons,  only  subject  to  this  worst  of  vices?  No, 
certainly;  for  pride  is  nothing  else  but  an  over 
weening  opinion  of  a  man's  own  excellence ;  and 
such  an  opinion  they  may  and  often  do  entertain 
who  have  no  real  excellence  in  themselves.  The 

*  Rarum  est  multis  praeminere  et  neminem  dcspicere. 

BULL,  VOL.   I.  K 


130  St.  Paul's  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

beggar  may  dream  that  be  is  a  king,  and  the  fool 
may  entertain  himself  in  his  paradise,  though  it  be 
a  mere  creature  of  his  own  foolish  fancy.  Yea  there 
are  some,  who  are  proud  by  a  kind  of  creation,  that 
is,  proud  of  nothing.  But  how  intolerable,  how 
utterly  inexcusable,  is  this  kind  of  pride  !  That 
such  a  man  as  St.  Paul,  the  great  thaumaturgus  or 
wonder-worker,  the  most  learned  and  laborious  of 
all  the  apostles,  the  doctor  of  the  Gentiles,  the  man 
of  the  highest  revelations,  the  guest  of  paradise  and 
of  the  third  heaven,  in  both  which  he  was  entertained 
with  the  discovery  of  unutterable  mysteries ;  that 
such  a  man  as  this  should  be  tempted  to  pride  is 
not  so  wonderful,  though  in  him  pride  would  have 
been  a  grievous  sin.  How  insufferable  then  is  their 
pride,  who  come  infinitely  short  of  any  such  excel 
lencies,  and  yet  are  actually  as  proud  as  St.  Paul  was 
only  in  danger  to  be !  What  a  prodigy  of  pride  is  he, 
that  thinks  himself  to  be  something  (yea  and  jaeya? 
rf?,  some  (/rent  one  loo)  when  he  is  nothing  !  as  St. 
Paul  expresscth  it,  Gal.  vi.  3. 

If  it  would  have  been  a  fault  in  that  great  apostle 
to  have  been  lifted  up  in  his  own  conceit,  though  ad 
vanced  by  God  to  so  very  high  a  perfection  of  science 
and  sanctity;  what  a  crime  is  it  in  us  to  be  exalted 
by  self-opinion,  who  indeed  creep  in  the  dust,  and 
have  so  little  or  nothing,  either  of  intellectual  or 
moral  endowments,  to  pride  ourselves  in,  who  know 
so  little,  and  practise  much  less ! 

What  a  sad  sight  is  it  to  behold  a  young  novice, 
having  read  a  dry  system  in  theology,  and  attained 
to  some  remembrance  of  the  common  objections  and 
solutions  therein,  strutting  as  if  he  had  already 


131 

reached  the  very  top  of  that  lofty  and  sublime 
science,  and  were  become  the  most  consummate  and 
complete  divine  ! 

But  how  much  more  lamentable  an  object  is  the 
ignorant  and  illiterate  mechanic;  who,  because  his 
memory  serves  him  to  quote  a  "Teat  many  texts  of 
Scripture,  and  that  by  chapter  and  verse,  (though 
the  sense  of  the  tenth  part  of  them  at  least  he  is  far 
from  understanding,)  and  to  repeat  after  a  sorry 
fashion  some  sermons  he  hath  heard,  thinks  himself 
wiser  than  those  very  teachers  to  whom  he  owes  all 
his  little  scraps  and  fragments  of  knowledge,  and 
sufficiently  qualified  for  a  critic,  and  judge  of  sermons 
and  orthodoxy;  and  consequently  undertakes  to  be 
a  teacher  himself,  and  perhaps  sets  up  for  the  master 
of  a  new  sect,  and  prefers  his  own  small  wisdom 
before  the  wisdom  of  the  whole  church  wherein  he 
lives,  and  dares  tax  the  most  deliberate  and  advised 
sanctions  and  constitutions  of  the  learned  and  holy 
Fathers  of  it,  of  imprudence  and  folly,  yea  and  im 
piety  too  !  I  am  sick  of  these  men ;  and  therefore 
beseeching  God  to  give  them  a  righter  understand 
ing  of  themselves,  I  leave  them,  and  proceed  to  mv 
second  observation. 

Observ.  2.  Pride  is  so  dangerous  a  disease  and 
vice  of  the  soul,  that  God  thinks  fit  to  prevent  or 
cure  it  in  his  servants,  by  the  sharpest  and  severest 
remedies. 

St.  Paul  shall  have  a  thorn  in  Ins  flush,  the  ine*- 
jaeHf/er  of  Satan  to  buffet  him,  rather  than  be  lifted 
up  aborc  measure:  that  he  might  not  fall  into  the 
Devil's  sin,  God  permits  him  to  fall  under  the  Devil's 
scourge  ;  and  he  that  could  by  his  apostolic  authority 
deliver  up  others,  is  himself  in  a  manner  delivered 

K  2 


132  St.  Paul? a  Thorn  in  SERM.  v. 

up  to  Satan.     It  must  be  a  desperate  disease  that 
requires  so  desperate  a  remedy. 

The  man  inclined  to  pride  must  perire,  ne  pereat, 
"  be  undone,  that  he  may  not  be  undone ;"  that  is, 
he  must  be  undone  by  some  grievous  affliction  and 
calamity  in  this  world,  that  he  may  not  be  undone 
for  ever  in  the  other. 

But  let  us  learn  humility  at  a  cheaper  rate,  endea 
vouring  of  ourselves  to  be  humble,  before  we  are  hum 
bled  by  God,  and  not  forcing  our  gracious  Lord  to 
use  his  sharper  medicines  for  the  cure  of  our  pride. 
Let  us  watch  every  thought  of  vanity  that  ariseth  in 
our  minds,  and  presently  suppress  it,  as  a  spark  of 
fire,  that  may  be  kindled  into  a  devouring  flame. 
Let  us  fix  our  thoughts  on  the  worst  of  ourselves, 
and  the  best  of  us  shall  find  matter  enough  there  to 
keep  us  humble. 

Observ.  3.  The  gift  of  miracles,  and  particularly 
the  gift  of  curing  diseases  without  natural  medicine, 
was  so  given  by  Christ  to  his  apostles,  as  not  to  be 
at  their  own  absolute  disposal,  but  to  be  dispensed 
by  them  as  the  Giver  should  think  fit. 

This  is  no  loose  or  far-fetched  collection  from  my 
text,  but  such  as  upon  a  little  consideration  offers 
itself  to  every  man.  St.  Paul  was  as  great  a  wrorker 
of  wonders  as  any  of  the  chiefest  apostles :  he  could 
and  did  frequently  cure  all  manner  of  the  most  in 
curable  diseases  where  lie  preached  the  Gospel,  yea 
and  raised  the  dead  to  life ;  and  yet  he  could  not  rid 
himself  of  that  thorn  in  the  flesh,  that  painful  disease, 
which  Satan,  by  God's  permission,  had  inflicted  on 
him.  What  account  can  be  given  of  this,  but  that 
which  we  have  already  given  in  the  observation  men 
tioned,  that  The  gift  of  miracles,  &c.?  Upon  the  same 


the  Flesh  explained.  133 

account  it  was,  that  the  same  St.  Paul  cured  not  his 
dearly  beloved  son  Timothy  of  his  bad  stomach  or 
digestion,  and  the  many  ill  effects  consequent  there 
on,  but  wrote  to  him  rather  as  a  physician  than  an 
apostle,  advising  him  in  the  place  above  mentioned, 
1  Tim.  v.  23,  to  drink  no  longer  water,  but  to  drink 
a  little  wine  for  his  stomactis  sake,  and  for  Jiis  often 
infirmities;  that  is,  by  this  means  to  palliate  and 
alleviate  those  infirmities  which  God  thought  n't  to 
continue  on  him  ;  though  by  his  apostles,  and  by 
himself,  he  totally  removed  other  more  incurable  dis 
eases  and  distempers  from  those  to  whom  the  Gospel 
was  preached,  as  occasion  required.  J  lereby  it  ap 
peared,  that  the  gift  of  curing  diseases,  without  the 
help  of  art  or  nature,  was  indeed  a  gift,  and  a  gift  of 
God,  and  so  given  by  him  to  his  apostles,  that  they 
could  not  exercise  it  arbitrarily,  and  at  their  own 
pleasure,  but  only  to  whom,  when,  where,  and  how 
God  pleased,  and  should  direct  them  to  make  use  of 
that  power  :  that  so  the  glory  of  all  the  wonderful 
cures  wrought  by  them  might  at  last  redound  to 
God  the  author,  and  not  to  man  the  instrument. 

And  (by  the  way)  perhaps  this  is  the  best  account 
that  can  be  given  of  the  relic  and  remainder  of  the 
primitive  miraculous  gift  of  healing,  for  some  hun 
dreds  of  years  past,  visible  in  this  our  nation,  and 
annexed  to  the  succession  of  our  Christian  kings  :  I 
mean  the  cure  of  that  otherwise  generally  incurable 
disease,  called  morbus  reyius,  or  the  king's  evil. 
That  divers  persons  desperately  labouring  under  it 
have  been  cured  by  the  mere  touch  of  the  royal  hand, 
assisted  with  the  prayers  of  the  priests  of  our  church 
attending,  is  unquestionable,  unless  the  faith  of  all 


134  St.Paitr*  Thorn  in 

our  ancient  writers,  and  the  consentient  report  of 
hundreds  of  most  credible  persons  in  our  own  age, 
attesting  the  same,  be  to  be  qustionedu.  And  yet, 
they  say  some  of  those  diseased  persons  return  from 
that  sovereign  remedy  re  infecta,  without  any  cure 
done  upon  them.  How  comes  this  to  pass?  God 
hath  not  given  this  gift  of  healing  so  absolutely  to 
our  royal  line,  but  that  he  still  keeps  the  reins  of  it 
in  his  own  hand,  to  let  them  loose,  or  restrain  them, 
as  he  pleaseth.  But  T  go  forward. 

Obscrv.  4.  God  doth  sometimes  lay  very  severe 
bodily  and  outward  afflictions  on  the  best  of  his 
servants. 

St.  Paul  himself  had  his  thorn  in  the  flesh,  a  pain 
ful  disease  and  sickness,  ever  and  anon  molesting,- 

o 

him.  And  is  any  of  us  better  than  that  blessed 
apostle  ?  But  I  must  not  dwell  on  this. 

Observ.  5.  Good  men,  when  they  pray  for  the 
removal  of  outward  evils,  are  not  always  heard,  God 
purposing  to  continue  the  affliction  on  them  for  their 
spiritual  good. 

St.  Paul  prayed  earnestly  and  frequently  for  the 
removal  of  that  thorn  in  the  flesh,  the  messenger  of 
Satan,  sent  him  by  God  to  prevent  his  being  lifted 
up  above  measure,  and  yet  was  not  heard.  And  yet 
he  was  heard  too,  God  promising  a  sufficient  grace  to 
support  him  under  the  affliction  which  lay  upon  him. 
Which  brings  me  to  my  last  observation. 

Observ.  6.  When  God  sees  it  for  our  good  to  con 
tinue  any  bodily  or  outward  affliction  on  us,  we  must 
submit  to  his  will,  and  comfort  ourselves  with  the 

11  See  especially  Bradwardine  DC  Causa  Dei,  1. 1.  c.  i .  coroll.  par. 
32.  p.  39- 


tin*  Flesh  explained.  I.S5 

assurance  of  his  sufficient  grace,  and  his  strength  to 
be  made  perfect  in  our  weakness. 

This  is  the  plain  sense  of  the  ninth  verse,  where  the 
oracle  of  God  immediately  delivered  to  St.  Paul,  J/// 
(irdcc  /*•  sufficient  for  t/tee,  for  mij  strength  ?V  made, 
perfect  in  weakness,  is  really  spoken  through  St. 
Paul  to  all  that  are  in  the  same  or  the  like  circum 
stances  with  him. 

Perhaps  it  is  the  case  of  some  of  us,  that  we  la- 
hour  under  some  painful  or  troublesome  infirmity  of 
body,  or  else  are  pressed  with  some  other  grievous 
outward  affliction,  which  wo  have  used  all  means 
within  our  power  to  be  rid  of,  and  often  with  earnest 
ness  prayed  unto  God  to  be  delivered  from,  and  yet 
still  remain  under  the  same  calamity.  If  this  be  our 
case,  let  us  not  be  dismayed  or  cast  down,  but  remem 
ber  that  the  great  apostle's  condition  was  much  the 
same  with  ours.  And  provided  we  be  true  and  faith 
ful  servants  of  God,  as  St.  Paul  was,  (though  not  in 
so  eminent  a  degree  as  he,)  let  us,  T  say,  be  assured, 
that  the  words  of  God  in  my  text,  My  (/race  is  .\tf/'- 
ficient  for  thce,  for  mt/  strength  is  made  perfect  hi 
weakness,  are  as  certainly  spoken  to  every  one  of  us, 
as  ever  they  were  to  him.  And  indeed  there  is  a 
general  promise  of  God,  of  the  same  import,  delivered 
by  the  same  apostle  to  all  true  Christians,  1  Cor.  x. 
13,  God  is  faithful,  irho  will  not  Buffer  I/OH  to  be 
tempted  above  that  you  are  able ;  bat  will  with  fJie 
temptation  a/so  make  a  ivau  to  escape^  that  i/e  mat/ 
be  able  to  bear  it.  Wherefore  let  us  comfort  one 
another  with  these  words. 

And  let  us  consider  farther,  that  our  life  here  is 
1m t  short,  and  consequently  that  no  trouble  attending 


136      St.  Paul"*  Thorn  in  the  Flesh  explained. 

it  can  be  long.  We  may  say  of  every  affliction,  "  It 
"  is  but  a  little  cloud  that  will  soon  pass  away,  vanish, 
"  and  be  gonex."  Trust  in  God,  faithfully  serve  him, 
and  be  patient ;  yet  a  little  while,  and  he  that  shall 
come  will  come,  and  will  not  tarry,  Heb.  x.  37.  The 
Lord  our  Redeemer  is  at  hand,  and  his  harbinger, 
Death,  by  hasty  paces  marcheth  towards  us  ;  a  mes 
senger  that  ought  in  reason  to  be  most  welcome  to 
all  afflicted  persons,  who  by  faith  and  a  good  life,  or 
at  least  by  a  timely  and  true  repentance  for  a  bad 
one,  are  prepared  to  meet  and  receive  him.  This 
physician  will  infallibly  cure  all  our  maladies  and 
distempers,  and  put  a  final  period  to  all  our  troubles 
and  afflictions.  This  will  pass  us  into  a  state  of  per 
fect  rest  and  peace,  in  which  there  shall  be  no  more 
sickness  or  sorrow,  because  no  more  sin.  Yea,  this 
will  lead  us  into  that  presence,  and  to  that  right 
hand  of  God,  where  there  is  fulness  of  joy,  and 
where  there  are  pleasures  for  evermore,  Psalm 
xvi.  11. 

For  which  blessed  estate,  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
fit  us,  and  thereinto  in  his  due  time  admit  us  all, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  only  Lord  and  Saviour. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  wor 
ship,  now  and  for  evermore,  Amen. 

x  Nubecula  est  cite  transitura. 


SERMON    VI.' 


A      VISITATION      sKKMON      CONCERN  INC!      T11K      liKKAT      1>  I  I- 
I  U'l'l.TY     AND     DAXCKll    OK    T11K     1'KIKSTI.Y     OFI'ICK. 


.1  A.MI.S  iii.    1  . 

Mi/  brethren,  be  itot   main/  manter,^   h  non-Inn  that    ire   shall 
receive  the  n  reciter  condemnation. 

rinilK  text  may  at  first  sight  appear  to  some  to 
JL  stand  at  a  very  wide  distance  from  the  present 
occasion.  But  I  hope,  by  that  time  I  have  spent  a 
little  pains  in  explaining  it,  I  shall  set  the  text  and 
occasion  at  a  perfect  agreement. 

The  words  therefore  are  by  interpreters  divcrsly 
expounded.  Among  the  rest,  two  interpretations 
there  are  which  stand  as  the  fairest  candidates  for 
our  reception. 

1.  Some  understand  the  master*  here  in  my  text, 
to  be  proud,  malicious  censors,  and  judges  of  other 
men's  actions,  and  so  expound  the  text  as  a  pro 
hibition  of  rash  and  uncharitable  judgment,  and  make 
it  parallel  to  that  of  our  Saviour,  Matt.  vii.  1,  Jtidae 
not.  that  ye  he  not  jndyed.  Be  not  rash  and  hasty 

a  [Published  in  London,  1714,  together  with  his  Charge  to 
his  Diocese,  and  his  Circular  Letter  to  the  Clergy.  The  title- 
page  was,  A  Companion  for  the  Candidates  of  Holy  Orders  ;  or, 
The  Great  Importance  and  Principal  Duties  of  the  Priestly  Office. 
This  Sermon  was  evidently  written  many  years  before  ;  and  Nel 
son  tells  us,  (Life,  p.  401,)  that  the  bishop  told  his  son  on  the 
night  but  one  before  he  died  to  strike  out  the  preface,  as  too 
juvenile.] 


138  77/c'  Prietf*  Office  SEUM.  vi. 

in  censuring  or  judging  the  actions  of  others,  or 
speaking  evil  of  them,  considering  that  by  so  doing 
you  will  but  procure  a  greater  judgment  of  God  upon 
yourselves.  The  chief,  if  not  the  only  argument  for 
this  interpretation,  is  the  context  of  the  apostle's 
discourse,  which  in  the  following  verses  is  wholly 
spent  against  the  vices  of  the  tongue.  But, 

2.  Others  there  are  who  interpret  the  maxturs  in 
the  text  to  be  pastors  or  teachers  in  the  church  of 
Cod ;  and  accordingly  understand  the  words  as  a 
serious  caution  against  the  rash  undertaking  of  the 
pastoral  office  or  function,  as  an  office  attended  with 
great  difficulty  and  danger,  a  task  very  hard  to  be 
discharged,  and  wherein  whoever  miscarries,  makes 
himself  thereby  liable  to  a  severer  judgment  of 
Almighty  God. 

This  latter  interpretation  (with  submission  I  speak 
it)  seems  to  me,  almost  beyond  doubt,  the  genuine 
sense  of  the  apostle.  The  reasons  are  evident  in  the 
text  itself.  For,  1.  unless  we  thus  expound  the 
words,  it  will  be  hard  to  give  a  rational  account  of 
this  word  vroXAo),  many*  why  it  should  be  inserted. 
For  if  we  understand  those  masters  the  apostle 
speaks  of,  to  be  rash  judges  and  censurers  of  others, 
it  is  most  certain  then,  one  such  would  be  too  many, 
and  the  multiplicity  of  them  would  not  be  the  only 
culpable  thing.  But  on  the  other  side,  if  we  receive 
the  latter  interpretation,  the  account  of  the  word 
TToXXoi  is  easily  rendered,  according  to  the  paraphrase 
of  Erasmus,  thus :  "  Let  not  pastors  or  teachers  be  too 
;'  vulgar  and  cheap  among  you ;  let  not  every  man 
"  rush  into  so  sacred  an  office  and  function1'."  And 

b  Nc  passim  ambiatis  cssc  magistri. 


difficult  a  ml  dangerous. 

Drusius's  gloss  on  tin's  very  word  is  remarkable: 
SffMMfi  siinnnfirtnn  ;  <juo  pauciorcs  ximt  Mdf/tsfn* 
co  wcl ins  (Kjitttr  CUM  populo.  Xatn  lit  medico-rum 
olim  Curium,  it  a  tlodnnnn  rf  magistroriun  mine 
multitude  pcrdit  rcDipublicctm.  Utiitam  r (in its  *nn. 
T  need  not  English  the  words  to  those  whom  they 
concern. 

12.  If  we  embrace  jinv  other  interpretation,  we 
must  of  necessity  depart  from  the  manifest  propriety 
of  the  Greek  word  which  our  translators  render 
Dinstrrs.  The  word  is  SiSda-KaXot,  which  whoso  un 
derstands  the  first  elements  of  the  Greek  tongue, 
know  to  be  derived  from  SI^'KTK^  to  teach  ^  and  so 
literally  to  signify  fcuc/trr*.  Jlc  not  iiuuij/  fcfic/trr*. 

And  so  accordingly  the  Syriac  renders  it  by  a 
word  which  the  learned  Drtisius  tells  us  is  parallel 
to  the  Hebrew  CTTT.:,  which  undoubtedly  signifies 
doctors  or  teachers. 

These  reasons  are  sufficient  to  justify  our  inter 
pretation,  though  I  might  add  the  authority  of  the 
ancients,  who  generally  follow  this  sense,  as  also  the 
concurrent  judgment  of  our  most  learned  modern 
annotators,  Erasmus,  Vatablus,  Castalio,  Estius,  l)ru- 
sius,  Grotius,  with  many  others. 

As  for  the  connection  of  the  words  thus  explained, 
with  the  following  discourse  of  the  apostle,  1  suppose 
this  very  easy  account  may  be  given  of  it.  The 
moderation  and  government  of  the  tongue,  (on  which 
St.  James,  in  the  sequel  of  the  chapter,  wholly  insists,) 
though  it  be  a  general  duty,  (for  there  is  no  man's 
tongue  so  lawless  as  to  be  exempted  from  the  do 
minion  of  right  reason  and  religion,)  yet  it  is  a  duty 
wherein  the  pastor  or  teacher  hath  a  peculiar  con 
cern.  The  minister's  tongue  is  a  chief  tool  and  in- 


140  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi. 

strument  of  his  profession,  that  which  ex  officio  he 
must  often  make  use  of:  he  lies  under  a  necessity  of 
speaking  much  and  often;  and  the  Wise  Man  tells 
us,  In  the  multitude  of  words  there  wantcth  not 
sin,  Prov.  x.  19.  And  certainly  there  is  scarce  any 
consideration  more  powerful,  to  deter  a  man  from 
undertaking  the  office  of  a  teacher,  than  this ;  how 
extremely  difficult  and  almost  impossible  it  is,  for  a 
man  that  speaks  much  and  often,  so  to  govern  his 
tongue,  as  to  speak  nothing  that  either  is  itself  unfit, 
or  in  an  unfit  time,  or  after  an  undue  manner ;  and 
yet  how  highly  every  teacher  is  concerned  so  to  do. 

So  that  it  is  a  very  easy  knot  to  fasten  my  text 
to  the  next  verse,  thus :  Let  not  every  man  ambi 
tiously  affect  the  office  of  a  teacher  in  the  church  of 
God,  considering  that  it  is  an  office  of  great  difficulty 
and  danger,  for  in  many  things  we  offend  all ;  if 
any  man  offend  not  in  word,  the  same  is  a  perfect 
man,  &c.  As  if  he  had  said,  As  there  are  many 
ways  whereby  the  best  of  us  do  offend,  so  there  is  no 
way  whereby  we  so  easily  fall  into  sin,  as  by  that 
slippery  member  the  tongue;  and  there  is  no  man 
more  exposed  to  this  danger  of  transgressing  with 
the  tongue  than  the  teacher,  who  makes  so  much 
and  so  frequent  use  of  it.  So  that  the  teacher  is 
re\€Lo<5  avyp,  "  a  rare  and  perfectly  accomplished  man 
"  indeed,"  that  hath  acquired  the  perfect  govern 
ment  of  his  tongue.  He  that  can  do  that,  who  fails 
not  in  that  piece  of  his  duty,  may  easily  also  bridle 
his  whole  body,  i.  e.  rightly  manage  himself  in  all 
the  other  parts  of  his  pastoral  office.  But  this,  as  it 
is  very  necessary,  so  it  is  extremely  difficult,  and 
therefore  be  not  many  teachers c. 

c    Mrj  TroXXoi  StSaa/caXot  yiv((T0f . 


difficult  a n d  da n gero its.  141 

To  this  it  will  not  be  amiss  to  add  what  Carotins 
wisely  observes,  that  the  admonition  of  the  apostle 
concerning  the  vices  of  the  tongue,  subjoined  to  the 
caution  in  my  text,  "  is  chiefly  directed  against  brawl- 
"  ing  and  contentions  disputers'1 ;"  such  teachers  as 
abuse  their  liberty  of  speaking  unto  loose  discourses, 
and  take  occasion  from  thence  to  vent  their  own 
spleen  and  passions:  men  of  intemperate  spirits  and 
virulent  tongues,  troublers  rather  than  teachers  of 
the  people,  whose  tongues  are  indeed  cloren  tongues 
of  fire,  but  not  such  as  the  apostles  were  endowed 
with  from  above;  as  serving  to  burn,  rather  than  to 
enlighten  ;  to  kindle  the  flames  of  faction,  strife,  and 
contention,  rather  than  those  of  piety  and  charity  in 
the  church  of  God. 

And  indeed  the  direful  and  tragical  effects,  which 
the  apostle  in  this  chapter  ascribes  to  the  evil  tongue, 
as  that  //  is  a  fire,  a  world  of  iniquity^  defiling  the 
whole  body,  setting  on  fire  the  course  of  nature,  full 
of  deadly  poison e,  &c.,  are  such  as  are  not  so  easily 
producible  by  the  tongue  of  a  private  man  as  of  a 
teacher ;  "  whose  discourse,"  saith  Erasmus,  "  spreads 
"•  its  poison  by  so  much  the  more  generally  and  ettcc- 
'4  tually,  as  the  authority  of  the  speaker  is  greater, 
'*  and  his  advantage  also  of  speaking  to  manyf." 

Having  removed  this  seeming  rub  in  the  context, 
1  return  again  to  the  text  itself;  wherein  you  may 
please  to  observe,  1.  A  serious  dissuasive  from  the 
rash  undertaking  of  the  pastoral  office  :  My  brethren, 
be  not  mam/  masters,  or  teachers.  2.  A  solid  argu- 

ll  Maxime  directa  est  in  rixosos  disputatores. 

e    <b\uyi£oV(T(l   TOV  Tp6%OV   TJJS  yfVt(T((i)S. 

{  Cujus  sernio  hoc  latius  ac  periculosius  spargit  suum  venenum, 
quod  auctoritate  dicentis  commendetur. 


142  77/6'  Pries  fs  Office  SEUM.  vi. 

mcnt  or  reason  to  enforce  it,  drawn  from  the  difficulty 
and  the  danger  thereof;  knowing  that  we  shall  re- 
cch'G,  &c.  lULetfyv  Kplfjia,  a  greater  or  severer  judgment ; 
i.  e.  God  will  require  more  of  us  that  are  teachers 
than  of  others ;  we  shall  not  escape  or  be  acquitted 
in  the  divine  judgment  at  so  easy  a  rate  as  they. 
There  is  a  place  in  the  excellent  Book  of  Wisdom 
that  is  exactly  parallel  to  my  text,  and  gives  great 
light  to  it,  chap.  vi.  5 :  A  sharp  judgment  shall  be 
to  them  that  arc  in  high  places^.  Where  the  ol  u-Trep- 
e^o^re?,  those  that  are  in  high  places  in  the  state, 
ansAver  to  the  $i$d<TKa\oi  in  my  text,  the  teachers  in  the 
church  :  the  Kpta-is  GLTTOTO/JLO^  the  sharp,  or  the  precise 
and  severe  judgment,  to  the  jmeifyv  KplfAa,  the  greater 
judgment  in  the  text. 

I  shall  not  at  all  insist  on  the  first  branch  of  the 
division,  the  dissuasive,  as  remembering  that  I  am 
to  preach  not  an  Ordination,  but  a  Visitation  Sermon; 
and  to  discourse,  not  to  candidates  of  holy  orders, 
but  to  such  as  are  already  engaged  in  that  sacred 
profession.  I  come  therefore  to  the  reason  or  argu 
ment  in  the  text,  (as  of  very  much  concernment  to 
all  that  are  in  the  priestly  office,)  drawn  from  the 
difficulty  and  danger  thereof.  To  represent  both 
which,  as  fully  as  my  short  allowance  of  time,  and 
much  shorter  scantling  of  abilities,  will  permit,  shall 
be  my  present  business. 

And  first,  as  to  the  difficulty  of  the  teacher's  office, 
it  is  a  very  great  difficulty  fully  to  explain  it.  So 
many  are  the  branches  of  his  duty,  that  it  were  a  te 
dious  labour  to  reckon  them  up.  Lord  !  what  a  task 
is  it  then  to  discharge  them  !  I  shall  content  myself 

^  Kptcri?  uTToroynos  eV  TO??  vTrepe'^ovcri  yi 


(//fficn/t  mid  dtUHjerou*.  14.'j 

therefore  nidi  Minerva  briefly  and  only  in  general 
to  describe  the  chiefest  requisites  tluit  are  necessary 
to  constitute  a  complete  teacher  in  the  church  of  God, 
and  even  by  that  little  which  I  shall  say,  I  doubt  not 
but  it  \vill  appear,  how  very  formidable,  how  tremen 
dous  an  undertaking  that  fmU-tion  deserves  to  be 
accounted.  The  teacher  s  oflice  then  requires  a  very 
large  knowledge,  a  great  prudence,  an  exemplary 
holiness.  And  surely  much  is  required  of  him  of 
whom  these  things  are  required. 

1.  Then,  the  first  requisite  to  the  oflice  of  a 
teacher  is  a  very  large  knowledge.  The  very  name 
of  his  oflice  implies  this  ;  he  is  diSaa-KaXo?,  a  teacher ; 
and  he  that  is  such  must  be,  as  the  apostle  requires, 
1  Tim.  iii.  2,  ///>/,  or  fit  to  teach  h.  And  this  he  can 
not  be,  unless  he  be  well  learned*  and  instructed  him 
self,  and  furnished  with  a  plentiful  measure  of  divine 
knowledge,  (iod  himself,  by  the  prephet  Malachi, 
chap.  ii.  7,  requires  that  the  /^vV.v/'.v  ///y\  *p£tp  ji>n 
xhnitld  keep  <>r  jtre.serve  kmwledije.  Methinks  the 
expression  is  more  cmphatical  than  is  ordinarily  con 
ceived.  Tt  seems  to  imply  that  the  priest  should  be 
a  kind  of  repository  or  treasury  of  knowledge,  richly 
furnished  with  knowledge  himself,  and  able  also  abun 
dantly  to  furnish  and  supply  the  wants  of  those  that 
shall  at  any  time  have  recourse  to  him  for  instruc 
tion.  And  therefore  it  presently  follows:  and  tJiei/ 
(that  is,  the  people)  xhull  xeek  1lte  Jan'  (tt  his  viont/i. 
Yea,  the  words  import  that  the  priest  should  be  a 
treasury  of  knowledge  not  to  be  exhausted. 

lie  must  have  knowledge,  not  onlv  to  spend,  but 


,  aptus,  sivc  icloneus  ad  docendum. 

of,  doctlis. 


144  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi. 

to  keep ;  not  like  those  that  live  from  hand  to  mouth, 
or  whose  stock  of  knowledge  is  quickly  spent  in  a  few 
sermons,  but  he  must  have  something  still  reserved 
and  laid  up  in  store.  Methinks  our  Saviour  doth 
excellently  expound  this  text,  though  it  be  by  a  pa 
rable,  Matt.  xiii.  52  :  Every  scribe  that  is  instructed 
unto  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  like  unto  a  man  that 
is  an  householder,  which  bringeth  forth  out  of  his 
treasure  things  new  and  old ;  where  the 
or  scribe  is  the  same  among  the  Jews  with  the 
SMa-KaXos,  the  teacher  or  expounder  of  the  law.  And 
it  is  the  usual  custom  of  our  Saviour,  as  Grotius  ob 
serves,  "by  names  in  use  among  the  Jews,  to  express 
"  such  offices  as  were  to  be  in  the  Christian  church  V 
The  ypajULfjLarevs  then,  or  scribe,  is  the  same  with  the 
SMa-KciXos,  or  teacher,  afterwards  in  the  church  of 
Christ.  The  scribe  is  said  by  our  Saviour  to  be  in 
structed  unto,  or  for,  the  kingdom  of  heaven1,  i.  e. 
wrell  prepared,  provided,  furnished  for  the  preaching 
of  the  Gospel.  And  to  shew  that  he  is  so,  he  is  com 
pared  to  the  householder,  who  for  the  maintaining  of 
his  family,  and  the  entertainment  of  his  guests  all  the 
year  long,  is  supposed  to  have  an  a-n-oO^Krj  or  repository 
for  provisions,  (called  here  his  Oriravpo?,  his  treasure,) 
and  there  to  have  laid  in  provisions  /can/a  Kal  7ra\ata 
both  new  and  old,  i.  e.  a  great  store  and  abundance, 
provisions  of  all  sorts  and  kinds.  As  the  Spouse  in 
the  Canticles  tells  her  beloved,  chap.  vii.  13,  At  our 
gates  are  all  manner  of  fruits,  both  new  and  old, 
which  I  have  laid  up  for  thce.  This  kind  of  hospi 
tality  (however  by  the  iniquity  of  an  ungrateful  sa- 

k  Nominibus    apud    Judseos    receptis    significare   munia,    quae 
futura  erant  in  ecclesia  Christiana. 

e\s  eis  rrjv  (3aai\fiav  TWV  ovpavuv. 


difficult  and  dangerous.  1  4.5 

crilegious  age  he  may  be  disabled  from  exercising 
the  other)  is  the  indispensable  duty  of  the  pastor  or 
teacher.  lie  must  keep  a  table  well  furnished  with 
these  heavenly  provisions  for  all  comers. 

The  knowledge  of  a  teacher,  we  shall  easily  grant, 
extends  itself  into  a  very  large  compass,  if  we  consi 
der  what  that  science  is  that  he  is  to  teach  ;  theology, 
"  the  art  of  arts,  and  the  science  of  sciences'","  as 
Nazianzen  speaks  ;  the  queen  and  mistress  of  all 
other  disciplines,  to  which  they  do  all  but  anciUare, 
perform  the  office  of  handmaids,  and  yet  in  so  doing 
they  are  of  use  and  service  to  her. 

And  upon  that  account,  the  divine,  if  he  will  be 
complete,  must  be  7ravtTricrT}]/j.wv,  must  have  compassed 
the  €i>KVK\o7raiSela  in  the  modern  and  more  noble  signi 
fication  of  the  word  ;  i.  e.  the  whole  circle  of  arts  and 
sciences.  And  he  that  hath  so  done,  illi  dcs  nominis 
hnjus  honorem,  let  him  pass  for  a  perfect  divine,  he 
only  is  adequate  to  so  ample  a  title.  But  ((«od  be 
thanked)  this  is  only  the  heroic  perfection,  not  the 
necessary  qualification  of  a  teacher.  A  man  may  very 
well  content  himself  to  sit  in  a  much  lower  form,  and 
yet  sit  safely  ;  he  may  move  in  a  far  inferior  orb,  and 
yet  give  much  light,  and  communicate  a  benign  and 
useful  influence  to  the  church  of  God.  Let  us  view 
therefore  the  necessary  parts  of  theology  itself,  where 
in  the  teacher  cannot  be  ignorant  or  uninstructed, 
but  to  the  very  great  detriment  of  his  disciples, 
and  his  owrn  greater  shame  and  hazard.  How  ample 
a  field  have  we  still  before  us  !  Here  is  theology 
positive,  polemical,  moral,  casuistical,  and  all  most 
necessary  for  the  teacher. 


Tt\vu>v  KOI  eiOTJTj  £7r«rr77/ia>i>. 
BULL,  VOL.  I.  L 


146  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi. 

As  for  positive  divinity,  or  the  knowledge  of  those 
necessary  speculative  truths  that  are  revealed  in 
Scripture,  a  man  can  no  more  be  a  divine  that  is  un 
acquainted  with  this,  than  he  can  be  a  grammarian 
that  understands  not  the  very  first  elements  of  gram 
mar.  And  yet  of  so  abstruse,  so  sublime  a  nature  are 
even  these  truths,  that  for  a  man  rightly  to  apprehend 
them,  and  clearly  to  explain  them,  especially  to  the 
capacity  of  his  duller  hearers,  is  no  very  easy  matter. 

Polemical  or  controversial  divinity  is  theologia 
armata,  or  that  part  of  divinity  which  instructs  and 
furnish eth  a  man  with  necessary  weapons  to  defend 
the  truth  against  its  enemies.  Now  the  good  shep 
herd's  office  is  not  only  to  feed  his  sheep,  but  to  se 
cure  them  from  the  wolves,  or  else  his  care  in  feed 
ing  them  serves  only  to  make  them  the  fatter  and 
richer  prey.  And  therefore  St.  Paul,  Tit.  i.  9,  requires 
that  the  teacher  should  be  able,  both  by  wand  doc 
trine  to  exhort  his  hearers™,  as  also  to  convince  or 
refute  the  gainsay ers  or  opposers0.  HCKC  non  sunt 
TOV  TV-^OVTOS,  (as  Grotius  well  glosseth  on  the  text,) 
every  man  cannot  do  this,  and  yet  every  teacher 
must.  The  times  wherein  we  live  do  much  heighten 
the  necessity  of  this  study:  for  we  may  enforce  this 
duty  on  all  teachers,  by  the  same  melancholy  argu 
ment  that  St.  Paul  doth  in  the  forementioned  text. 
The  teacher,  saith  he,  must  he  able  to  convince  gain 
say  ers :  why  so?  he  gives  the  reason,  ver.  10,  11: 
There  are  many  unruly  and  vain  teachers  and  de 
ceivers,  fyc.9  whose  mouths  must  be  stopped,  who  sub 
vert  whole  houses,  teaching  things  which  they  ought 
not.  These  unruly  and  vain  teachers,  these  deceivers. 

11    Kat  7rn/jaKaAeu>  ez>  rfj  StSatTKaAia  rfj  v 
0   Kat  TOVS  apTtXeyoj/ras  c\ty\fiv. 


difficult  and  dangerous.  1 47 

wore  never  certainly  in  a  greater  number  than  now 
they  are.  These  men's  months  must  be  stopped, 
there  is  a  necessity  for  it ;  for  otherwise  they  will  sub 
vert  whole  houses,  yea  and  pervert  whole  parishes. 
Not  that  we  have  any  hopes  in  this  age  to  stop  the 
months  of  our  opposers,  so  as  to  make  them  cease 
speaking;  (for  bawl  they  will  to  eternity;  they  are, 
as  the  apostle  somewhere  speaks,  unreasonable  JHCH\\ 
that  understand  not,  admit  not  of  any  topics:  no 
argumentation,  though  never  so  convincing,  will 
make  them  give  back  ;)  but  so  at  least,  as  that  they 
shall  be  able  to  speak  little  to  the  purpose,  so  as  to 
satisfy  sober,  humble,  docible  persons,  who  have  not 
passionately  espoused  an  error,  or,  to  speak  in  the 
apostle's  phrase,  that  (ire  not  qiren  up  to  stronq 
delusions,  to  hcft'erc  lies,  that  they  IIKD/  be  damned- 
Tn  a  word,  onr  fate  in  these  days  is  much  like  that 
of  the  rebnilders  of  Jerusalem  after  the  captivity, 
that  were  necessitated  ereri/  OHC,  with  onr  of  Iiis 
hands  to  work  in  the  bnildinq,  with  tJte  other  to 
hold  a  weapon,  Nehem.  iv.  17.  With  one  hand  we 
must  build  up  our  people  in  the  doctrine  of  piety, 
with  the  other  we  must  resist  heretical  opposers, 
who  otherwise  will  demolish  as  fast  as  we  build. 

And  to  quicken  us  to  this  part  of  onr  study, 
methinks  no  consideration  can  be  more  forcible  than 
this ;  to  observe,  where  ministers  are  defective  there 
in,  with  what  triumph  and  ostentation  deceivers  carry 
souls  captive,  to  the  disgrace,  not  only  of  the  persons, 
but  also  of  the  function  of  the  teachers,  yea  and  of 
truth  itself,  which  is  wounded  thus  through  their 
sides,  and  bleeds  through  their  weakness  and  folly. 

P    "AvdpO)7TOl   nTOTTOI. 

L  2 


148  The  Priests  Office  SERM.  vi. 

But  let  us  leave  this  thorny  field  of  controversial, 
and  step  a  little  into  the  other  more  fruitful,  of  moral 
or  practical  divinity.  Of  this  one  speaks  most  truly : 
"  The  knowledge  of  controversies  is  made  necessary 
"  by  heretics,  the  study  of  piety  by  God  himself  V 
Theology  is  doubtless  a  practical  science,  nothing  in 
it  but  what  aims  at  this  end.  And  therefore  he  that 
neglects  this  practical  part  of  it,  understands  not  the 
very  design  of  his  own  profession.  Without  this  a 
man  deserves  no  more  to  be  accounted  a  divine,  than 
he  a  physician  that  understands  little  or  nothing  of 
therapeutics.  It  is  true,  there  are  some  (otherwise 
not  unlearned  men)  that  despise  this  part  of  theo 
logy,  as  a  vulgar,  trivial,  easy,  obvious  thing.  But 
sure  they  very  much  disparage  their  own  judgment, 
who  let  the  world  understand  that  they  are  of  this 
mind.  And  the  event  commonly  shews  how  much 
they  are  mistaken.  For  bring  these  doctors  out  of 
their  academic  cells,  set  them  to  preach  in  a  country 
congregation,  and  they  soon  become  the  objects  of 
laughter,  or  rather  of  pity  to  the  wiser.  To  observe 
how  they  greedily  snatch  at  every  occasion  of  en 
gaging  in  a  controversy,  and  that  perhaps  such  a 
one  as  was  never  before  heard  of  by  their  hearers, 
but  a  controversy  they  had  read  in  some  of  their 
books,  though  long  ago  dead  and  buried,  thus  man 
fully  encountering  ghosts  and  shadows.  How  learn 
edly  they  will  discuss  the  barren  subtleties  of  Aqui 
nas  or  Scotus,  which  the  poor  souls  no  more  under 
stand,  than  if  they  had  read  them  a  lecture  out  of 
Cornelius  Agrippa's  Occult  Philosophy.  How,  when 
they  come  to  practicals,  they  are  velut  in  alium 

1  Controversiarum   scientiam   necessariam  fecerunt   haeretici, 
studium  pietatis  Deus  ipse  mandavit. 


difficult  and  dangerous.  149 

mtntdum  translate,  "  as  if  they  were  entered  into  a 
"  new  unknown  world ;"  so  frigid,  barren,  and  life 
less  are  their  discourses  on  those  subjects.  And  may 
the  same  shame,  or  a  serious  repentance,  attend  all 
the  contemners  of  this  useful  theology. 

Lastly,  There  is  casuistical  divinity,  which  I  distin 
guish  from  moral  or  practical,  as  a  more  noble  spe 
cies  thereof,  and  which  therefore  deserves  a  distinct 
consideration.  For  though  all  casuistical  divinity 
be  practical,  yet  all  practical  divinity  is  not  casuisti 
cal ;  for  the  design  of  casuistical  divinity  is  to  re 
solve  only  the  dubious  and  difficult  cases  that  refer 
to  practice.  How  difficult  this  study  is,  every  man 
that  is  not  a  very  stranger  therein  will  readily  ac 
knowledge.  And  the  necessity  thereof  is  evident : 
for  what  more  necessary  for  a  teacher,  than  to  be 
able  to  resolve  his  people  what  their  duty  is  in  diffi 
cult  cases?  Teachers,  no  doubt,  are  purposely  placed 
by  God  in  the  crossways,  as  Mercurial  statues,  not 
dead,  but  living  speaking  ones,  directing  the  per 
plexed  traveller  towards  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
and  saying,  (as  it  is  in  the  prophet,)  This  is  the  ivay, 
walk  therein.  And  the  Lord  by  the  prophet  Malachi, 
ii.  7,  tells  us,  that  the  priest  should  be  such  a  one, 
as  that  the  people  may  .seek  the  law  at  Iti*  mouth : 
the  law,  i.  e.  the  sense  of  the  law,  or  what  that  duty 
is  which  the  law  obligeth  them  to  in  doubtful  cases : 
a  very  oracle  to  be  consulted  by  them  on  all  occa 
sions.  It  is  true,  the  greatest  oracle  may  be  some 
times  silenced  by  a  greater  difficulty :  but  an  oracle 
altogether  dumb  is  certainly  a  very  lamentable  con 
tradiction. 

I  have  all  this  while  spoken  nothing  of  the  holy 
Scriptures,  that  deep  and  unsearchable  mine,  from 


150  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi. 

whence  the  divine  is  to  fetch  all  his  treasure.  From 
hence  he  is  to  borrow  the  principles  of  all  theology, 
positive,  polemical,  moral,  casuistical  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  evident,  that  unless  he  be  well  studied  in  these, 
he  must  needs  be  defective  in  all  the  rest.  He  must 
needs  be  a  weak  divine  that  is  not  mighty  in  the  Scrip 
tures*,  as  it  is  said  of  Apollos,  Acts  xviii.  24.  And, 
Lord,  how  many  things  are  necessary  to  give  a  man 
a  right  understanding  of  these  sacred  writings  !  I 
confess  we  are  fallen  into  a  very  confident  age, 
wherein  to  interpret  Scripture  is  counted  the  most 
obvious  and  easy  thing  ;  and  every  mechanic,  that 
scarce  understands  common  sense,  will  venture  on 
the  expounding  of  these  mysterious  books.  We 
have  so  childishly  departed  from  the  error  of  the 
Romish  church,  in  asserting  an  inexplicable  ob 
scurity  of  the  Scriptures,  even  in  things  necessary, 
that  for  fear  of  this  Charybdis  we  are  swallowed  up 
in  as  dangerous  a  Scylla,  to  make  the  Scriptures 
even  despicable  and  contemptible.  For,  as  Nazian- 
zen  truly  saith1,  "  that  which  is  thus  easily  under- 
';  stood,  is  generally  with  as  much  ease  slighted 
"  and  contemned."  But  we  know  who  they  are, 
kt  who  run  from  one  bad  extreme  into  another"." 
For  it  is  certain,  that  rightly  to^jinderstand  the  holy 
Scriptures  is  a  very  difficult  thing,  especially  for  us 
who  live  at  so  great  a  distance  from  those  times 
wherein  they  were  written,  and  those  persons  and 
churches  to  whom  they  were  directed.  It  is  no 
slender  measure  of  the  knowledge  of  antiquity,  his 
tory,  philology,  that  is  requisite  to  qualify  a  man  for 


OS  fi>  ypa<pals. 
'    To  padiws  X^Trrof  anav 
u  Dam  vitant  vitia  in  contraria  currant. 


difficult  and  dangerous.  151 

such  an  undertaking.  They  know  nothing-  of  the 
holy  Scriptures  that  know  not  this.  And  therefore 
those  unlearned  and  ignorant  men,  that  venture  on 
the  exposition  of  Scripture,  being  perfect  strangers 
to  these  parts  of  learning,  must  of  necessity  wrest 
them  to  their  own  and  their  hearers'  destruction. 

T  cannot  omit  to  take  notice  here  of  that  common 
axiom,  "A  good  textuary  is  a  good  divine*  ;"  and  to 
observe,  that  it  is  most  true,  if  rightly  understood  : 
if  by  a  textuary,  we  mean  him  who  hath  not  only  a 
concordance  of  Scriptures  in  his  memory,  but  also  a 
commentary  on  them  in  his  understanding;  who 
thinks  it  not  enough  to  be  ready  in  alleging  the  bare 
words  of  Scripture,  with  the  mention  of  chapter  and 
verse  where  it  is  written,  unless  he  know  the  sense 
and  meaning  of  what  he  recites.  The  former  every 
illiterate  sectary  is  able  to  do,  who  can  quote  Scrip 
tures  by  dozens  and  scores,  the  tithe  whereof  he 
understands  not,  and  are  little  to  his  purpose:  the 
latter  is  the  proper  commendation  of  the  divine. 
Without  this  grain  of  salt,  the  aphorism  but  now 
mentioned  most  justly  falls  under  the  severe  censure 
of  our  learned  Prideaux :  ''  A  good  textuary  is  a 
"  good  divine,  say  many,  who  understand  not,  mind 
*•  not,  either  the  text,  or  divinity,  or  goodness^." 

We  have  seen  the  necessary  parts  of  theology 
rudely  delineated,  and  yet  even  by  this  imperfect 
draught  we  may  take  an  estimate,  how  large  that 
man's  knowledge  ought  to  be,  that  is  obliged  to 
understand  all  these  things. 


x    Bonus  textualis,  bonus  thcologus. 

Y   Bonus  textualis,  bonus  theologus,  clamant  quamplurimi,  <jui 
neo  de  textu,  nee  de  thcologia,  nee  de  bonitate  sunt  soliciti. 


The  Priests  Office  SERM.  vi. 

I  confess  that  here  also  (and  I  have  as  much  rea 
son  to  rejoice  in  it  as  most  of  my  brethren)  a  lati 
tude  is  to  be  allowed ;  and  it  were  a  cruelty  worse 
than  that  of  Procrustes,  to  stretch  all  men  to  the 
same  giantlike  proportion  of  knowledge  that  some 
attain  to.  But  yet  doubtless  it  is  a  wise  and  prudent 
severity,  as  Nazianzen  speaks2,  "  to  measure  every 
"  teacher,  and  stretch  him  out  to  St.  Paul's  rules 
"  and  canons."  And  they,  as  we  have  already  heard, 
require  .that  he  should  be  SiSaKTucos,  apt  and  Jit  to 
teach,  i.  e.  in  some  competent  measure  able  to 
instruct  his  hearers  in  all  these  useful  parts  of  the 
ology. 

2.  I  have  discoursed  so  largely  of  the  first  re 
quisite  of  the  teacher's  office,  that  if  I  gave  over 
here,  I  had  said  enough  to  convince  any  sober  per- 
son  of  the  difficulty  thereof.  But  yet  this  is  not  all. 
A  very  great  prudence  also  is  required  in  the 
teacher,  or  else  his  knowledge  will  be  useless  and 
unserviceable.  Wisdom  is  the  soul  that  animates 
and  enlivens  knowledge,  without  which  a  large  know 
ledge  is  but  like  a  huge  carcass,  a  lifeless  inactive 
thing.  And  if  any  man  thinks  that  science  and 
prudence  are  things  inseparable,  sad  experience  re 
futes  him.  Every  learned  man  is  not  a  wise  man ; 
and  there  are  some  who  have  read  very  many  books, 
but  very  few  men  ;  who  have  dwelt  so  much  in  their 
studies,  that  they  understand  little  abroad  in  the 
world,  no  not  in  their  own  little  world,  I  mean  their 
charges  and  parishes.  There  are  some  that  have  a 
large  measure  of  the  spirit  of  knowledge,  but  want 
the  spirit  of  government,  which  yet  is  most  neces- 

Z   napfKrdvciv  rols  HavXov 


difficult  and  dangerous. 

sary  for  him  who  is  to  be  a  guide  of  souls.  Every 
teacher  is  concerned  to  be  wise,  both  for  himself  and 
those  committed  to  his  charge.  For  himself,  to  take 
heed  of  men,  that  he  be  neither  betrayed  by  false 
brethren,  nor  become  a  prey  to  the  malice  of  pro 
fessed  enemies  ;  to  decline  both  the  envy  and  con 
tempt  of  his  neighbours,  to  keep  himself  within  the 
bounds  of  his  calling,  to  mind  his  own  business*,  &c. 
To  this  kind  of  wisdom  belongs  the  advice  of  our 
Saviour,  when  sending  forth  his  apostles,  as  innocent 
lambs  amongst  the  wolves  of  that  age  ;  he  cautions 
them  to  he  icise  as  serpents,  and  innocent  as  doves, 
Matt.  x.  16.  i.  e.  to  use  all  honest  and  sinless  arts  to 
secure  themselves.  But  this  is  not  the  prudence 
which  F  principally  intend;  for  if  a  minister  be 
defective  in  this,  he  is  no  man's  foe  but  his  own  ; 
he  hurts  only  himself,  and  that  but  in  his  temporal 
concerns. 

I  add  therefore,  that  he  is  to  be  wise  for  those 
committed  to  his  charge,  lest  by  any  indiscretion  of 
his,  he  obstructs  that  which  ought  to  be  his  great  de 
sign  and  business,  the  eternal  salvation  of  their  souls. 
And  here  how  many  things  are  there  which  a  teacher 
is  concerned  to  understand  !  He  must  be  wise  so  to 
frame  his  discourses,  especially  in  public,  that  he 
speak  nothing  that  may  either  otfend  the  weak,  or 
give  advantage  to  the  malicious ;  that  his  sermons 
may  not  only  be  good  in  themselves,  but  adapted  and 
fitted  to  the  necessity  of  his  hearers;  that  he  make 
choice  of  the  most  suitable  and  powerful  arguments 
to  enforce  on  them  those  Christian  duties  whereto 
lie  exhorts  them.  He  must  be  wise  in  the  govern- 

a  To  iftia  irpdaveiv. 


154  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi. 

ment  of  his  carriage  and  actions,  distinguishing 
especially  between  lawfulness  and  expediency,  and 
shunning,  not  only  that  which  is  directly  sinful,  but 
whatsoever  is  scandalous  and  offensive.  He  must  be 
wise  in  his  common  converse  with  his  people,  that 
he  be  neither  of  too  easy  or  of  too  morose  and  diffi 
cult  an  access ;  but  especially  he  is  to  be  careful  of 
this  in  his  freer  conversation  ;  that  he  indulge  not 
himself  any  liberty  more  than  ordinary,  among  those 
who  wjll  make  an  ill  use  of  that  wherein  there  was 
no  ill  intended.  He  is  to  be  wise  in  the  choice 
of  his  friends  ;  not  to  inscribe  any  man  into  that 
catalogue,  that  may  reflect  any  disparagement  on  his 
person  or  function.  For,  qui  non  contemnitur  a  se, 
contemnitur  a  socio.  He  must  be  wise,  especially 
in  the  government  of  his  own  family:  for,  as  the 
apostle  excellently  reasons,  if  a  man  know  not  liow 
to  ride  his  own  house,  how  shall  he  take  care  of  the 
church  of  God?  1  Tirn.  iii.  5.  He  must  be  wise  to 
inquire  into  the  state  of  his  flock,  and  to  discern  their 
particular  tempers  and  constitutions;  and  even  to 
search  into  their  hearts  and  secret  inclinations.  He 
must  be  wise  to  administer  private  counsels  and  re 
proofs,  duly  observing  the  circumstances  of  time,  of 
place,  of  person,  of  disposition.  For,  as  the  wisest 
of  men  tells  us,  a  word  fitly  spoken  is  like  apples  of 
gold  in  pictures  of  silver.,  Prov.  xxv.  11.  These,  and 
many  other  things,  the  teacher  is  deeply  concerned 
to  be  well  versed  in ;  and  what  a  task  is  this  ! 

If  it  be  objected,  That  prudence  is  a  thing  with 
out  our  power,  an  arbitrary  gift  of  (iocl,  which  he 
bestows  on  whom  he  pleaseth,  as  he  doth  beauty, 
or  wealth,  or  a  good  natural  wit,  and  therefore 
cannot  reasonably  be  imposed  on  a  man  as  his 


difficult  and  dangerom.  155 

duty:  I  answer;  If  this  prudence  were  wholly 
out  of  our  election,  yet  this  certainly  was  left  to  our 
free  choice,  whether  we  would  undertake  that  office 
whereto  so  great  prudence  is  requisite.  We  have 
obliged  ourselves  to  it,  by  engaging  in  that  function, 
that  cannot  be  discharged  without  it.  But  indeed, 
this  excellent  gift  of  Cod  is  in  a  great  degree  put 
within  our  power,  in  conjunction  with  the  divine  as 
sistance.  \Ve  may  and  must  endeavour  for  it,  dili 
gently  study  it,  carefully  observe  things  and  persons, 
faithfully  record  experiments,  consult  wiser  friends: 
but  above  all  things  we  must  take  St.  James's  advice, 
If  any  man  want  wisdom,  let  him  a*k  oj  God,  ivlio 
giveth  liberally,  and  upbraideth  not ;  and  it  shall  be 
(/irai  him,  James  i.  5.  Especially  if  lie  desire  it  con 
stantly,  earnestly,  and  above  all  tilings  in  the  world  ; 
if  with  Solomon  he  despise  greatness  and  wealth,  and 
all  other  secular  advantages;  and,  before  them  all, 
desire  this  one  thing  of  Cod,  that  lie  would  gire  hint 
wisdom  and  knowledge  to  (/o  in  and  out  before 
the  peojtle  committed  to  ///.v  charge  and  guidance, 
12  Chron.  i.  10. 

'3.  I  come  now  to  the  last,  though  not  the  least  of 
those  requisites  that  are  necessary  to  the  office  of  a 
teacher,  viz.,  an  exemplary  holiness.  For  of  this  I 
may  say,  as  the  apostle  doth,  speaking  of  the  three 
theological  graces,  1  Cor.  xiii.  13:  And  notr  <d>ideth 
faith,  hope,  and  charity*  these  three  ;  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  charity.  So  here,  there  remain- 
etli  knowledge,  prudence,  holiness,  all  three  necessary 
requisites  to  make  up  a  complete  teacher,  but  the 
greatest  of  these  is  holiness.  And  what  he  farther 
says  of  the  same  grace  of  charity,  in  tfie  beginning 
of  the  same  chapter,  may  with  a  little  change  be 


156  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi. 

applied  also  to  our  present  purpose.  If  a  man  had 
Trdvav  yvuviv,  all  sorts  of  knowledge,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
understand  all  mysteries  ;  if  be  were  prudent,  beyond 
the  prodigious  measure  of  Solomon's  wisdom  ;  if  those 
endowments  were  crowned  in  him  with  an  eloquence 
more  than  human,  so  that  he  were  able  to  discourse 
like  an  angel :  yet  without  this  holiness  he  were  as 
nothing,  or  at  best  but  as  the  sounding  brass  or 
tinkling  cymbal.  The  priest  that  is  not  clothed  with 
righteousness,  though  otherwise  richly  adorned  with 
all  the  ornaments  of  human  and  divine  literature,  and 
those  gilded  over  with  the  rays  of  a  seraphic  prudence 
and  sagacity,  is  yet  but  a  naked,  beggarly,  despicable 
creature,  of  no  authority,  no  interest,  no  use  or  ser 
vice  in  the  church  of  God.  The  unholy  teacher,  let 
him  preach  never  so  well,  discourseth  to  little  pur 
pose  ;  there  will  be  no  life  in  his  doctrine,  because  his 
life  is  so  destitute  of  the  spirit  of  holiness ;  he  will 
sooner  damn  his  own  soul,  than  save  any  man's  else. 
His  discourses,  though  armed  with  the  most  powerful 
oratory,  will  serve  to  move  no  other  affection  in  his 
hearers  than  that  of  indignation  against  his  hypocrisy 
and  impudence,  to  hear  him  excellently  declaim 
against  a  vice,  of  which  himself  is  notoriously  guilty ; 
and  they  will  say, 

Loripedem  rectus  derideat,  ^Ethiopem  albus. 

In  a  word,  as  a  wise  man  well  observes,  "  every 
"  notorious  vice  is  infinitely  against  the  spirit  of 
"  government,  and  depresses  a  man  to  an  evenness 
"  with  common  persons." 

Facinus  quos  inquinat  aequat. 

And  when  a  man's  authority  is  thus  lost,  he  be 
comes  a  thing  wholly  useless  in  the  church  of  God. 
Useless,  did  I  say  ?  it  were  well  if  that  were  all :  he 


difficult  (Did  dangerous.  157 

is  the  most  pernicious  creature  that  moves  on  God's 
earth  ;  he  serves  to  the  worst  purposes,  to  make  men 
atheists,  infidels,  or  heretics.  Learned  and  knowing 
men,  of  ill  lives,  have  been  always  the  greatest  stum- 
blingblock  in  the  church  of  God  ;  their  fall  is  not  sin 
gle,  but  attended  with  the  ruin  of  many  others  ;  who, 
imitating  the  barbarous  civility  of  those  nations  that 
use  to  solemnize  the  funerals  of  their  great  men  by 
sacrificing  a  great  part  of  their  families,  when  their 
teachers  damn  themselves,  are  ready  to  die  and  pe 
rish  with  them  for  company.  And  the  fallacy  that 
ruins  them  is  this ;  because  some  wise  men  live 
wickedly,  they  presently  conclude  that  wickedness  is 
the  greatest  wisdom  :  as  if  it  were  impossible  for  the 
will  to  choose  contrary  to  the  dictates  of  the  under 
standing,  or  for  a  man  that  knows  his  duty  not  to  do 
it.  \Ve  of  this  age  have  reason  to  take  special  notice 
of  this.  For  as  Cicero,  inquiring  into  the  causes  of 
those  bold  and  unheard-of  attempts  that  Catiline  and 
his  confederates  made  upon  the  commonwealth  of 
Rome,  presently  gives  this  account ;  Nos  (dico  npertc) 
nos  consul-os  desumus :  so  when  we  are  astonished 
at  the  prodigious  blasphemies,  heresies,  and  schisms 
of  our  times,  and  wonder  at  the  cause  of  them,  Ave 
may  quickly  resolve  ourselves  after  the  same  manner; 
Nos  (dico  aperte)  nos  pastores  desumus.  For  cer 
tainly  all  the  arguments  that  heretics  and  sectaries 
have  made  use  of  to  seduce  our  people  from  obe 
dience  unto  the  most  excellent  doctrine,  liturgy,  and 
discipline  of  our  church,  would  have  been  accounted 
ridiculous  sophisms,  and  no  way  served  their  wicked 
purposes,  if  they  had  not  been  furnished  with  a  more 
powerful  topic  ab  exemplo  from  the  vicious  lives  of 
some  clergymen.  And  as  to  this, 


158  The  Priests  Office  SERM.  vi. 

Pudet  hsec  opprobria  nobis 
Et  dici  potuisse,  et  non  potui?se  refelli. 

I  might  here  be  very  large  in  representing  the 
necessity  of  holiness  in  a  minister ;  but  I  shall  only 
observe,  that  the  wicked  teacher  sins  with  the  high 
est  aggravation  of  his  guilt,  and  the  least  hope  of  his 
repentance;  he  is  the  greatest  and  most  desperate 
sinner. 

The  greatest  sinner ;  for  either  he  is  a  person  of 
more  than  ordinary  knowledge,  or  he  is  not :  if  not, 
he  sinned  greatly  in  undertaking  that  office,  to 
which  so  great  a  knowledge  is  requisite  :  if  he  be, 
his  knowledge  doubtless  increaseth  his  guilt.  For 
he  thai  knows  his  masters  will,  and  doth  it  not, 
shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes,  [Luke  xii.  47.] 
Besides,  he  must  needs  sin  with  a  very  strange  as 
surance,  by  living  in  that  wickedness  which  he  daily 
reproves  and  preaches  against,  and  so  becoming  av- 
TOKaraKpiTo?,  a  condemned  man  from  his  own  mouth. 

But  that  which  I  chiefly  urge  is  this  :  the  wicked 
teacher  is,  of  all  men  living,  in  the  most  hopeless 
and  desperate  condition.  It  is  usually  observed  of 
seamen,  that  dwell  in  the  great  deep,  that  if  they 
are  not  very  pious,  for  the  most  part  they  are  des 
perately  wicked ;  because  they  daily  behold  the 
wonders  of  the  Lord,  and  besides  live  in  a  continual 
and  very  near  danger,  bordering  upon  the  very 
confines  of  death,  and  being 

Quatuor  aut  septem  digitis  a  morte  remoti, 
"  but  a  few  fingers'  breadth  divided  from  their  fluid 
"  graves."  And  if  these  considerations  do  not  per 
suade  them  to  fear  the  Lord  exceedingly,  as  it  is 
said  of  the  mariners  in  Jonah  i.  16,  it  argues  that 
they  are  exceedingly  hardened.  The  observation  is 


difficult  and  dangerous.  159 

truer  of  the  minister ;  if  he  be  not  a  good  man,  he 
must  needs  be  extremely  bad ;  for  he  daily  convers- 
eth  in  the  great  deep  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  and 
there  sees  and  reads  such  things,  that  if  they  do  not 
effectually  persuade  him  to  piety,  it  is  certain  he  is 
a  man  of  an  obdurate  heart. 

What  remedy  is  likely  to  work  this  man's  cure 
and  repentance?  Will  the  dreadful  menaces  and 
threats  of  God's  word  affright  him?  No;  these  are 
daily  thundered  out  of  his  own  mouth,  and  yet  to 
him  they  arc  but  brntn  fuhnina.  Will  the  gracious 
promises  of  God  allure  him?  No;  he  daily  charms 
his  hearers  with  these,  but  remains  himself  as  the 
deaf  adder.  Will  those  excellent  books  of  learned 
and  pious  men,  that  he  reads  in  his  study,  work  any 
good  on  him  ?  No  ;  he  that  slights  God's  word  will 
little  regard  the  words  of  men.  Will  the  public 
prayers  make  him  serious  ?  No ;  he  daily  reads 
them,  and  his  daily  practice  is  contrary  to  his  daily 
prayers.  Will  a  medicine  compounded  of  the  flesh 
and  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  (I  mean  the  holy  eucha- 
rist)  do  the  miserable  man  any  good  ?  No  ;  he  hath 
frequently  received  those  dear  pledges  of  his  Sa 
viour's  love,  and  yet  is  still  as  bad  as  ever,  and  so 
hath  trodden  under  foot  the  blood  of  the  everlasting 
covenant,  wherewith  he  should  have  been  sanctified. 
The  Lord  look  upon  this  man,  for  there  is  no  hope 
of  him  without  a  miracle  of  divine  mercy:  nay  in 
deed  all  these  excellent  means,  by  being  made  fami 
liar  to  him,  have  lost  their  efficacy  upon  him.  Our 
Saviour,  methinks,  doth  excellently  represent  the 
hopeless  condition  of  a  vicious  minister,  by  a  para 
ble,  Matt.  v.  13,  where  speaking  to  the  apostles, 


160  The  Priest*  Office  SEEM.  vi. 

(considered,  I  suppose,  as  ministers  of  the  word,)  he 
tells  them,  Ye  are  the  salt  of  the  earth :  but  if  the 
salt  have  lost  his  savour,  wherewithal  shall  it  be 
salted  f  it  is  thenceforth  good  for  nothing  but  to 
be  cast  out,  and  trodden  under  foot  of  men.  Salt, 
if  it  be  good,  is  of  excellent  use  to  season  many 
things  ;  but  if  it  become  itself  unsavoury,  it  is  not 
only  the  most  useless  thing,  good  for  nothing  but  to 
be  cast  out,  &c.,  but  irrecoverably  lost ;  there  is  no 
thing  will  fetch  putrid  salt  again;  for  if  the  salt 
hath  lost  its  savour,  wherewithal  shall  it  be  salted  f 
Thus  necessary  is  holiness  in  a  minister,  both  for 
himself  and  others. 

I  have  now  done  with  the  difficulty,  and  conse 
quently  with  the  danger  of  the  pastoral  office,  re 
presented  from  the  three  grand  requisites  thereunto  ; 
a  very  large  knowledge,  a  great  prudence,  an  ex 
emplary  holiness.  I  shall  add  but  one  consideration 
more,  of  itself  abundantly  sufficient  to  evince  the 
whole  ;  viz.,  that  every  teacher  is  accountable  for  the 
souls  committed  to  his  charge.  This  is  the  plain 
doctrine  of  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He 
brews,  chap.  xiii.  17,  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule 
over  you,  and  submit  yourselves,  for  they  watch 
for  your  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account,  &c. 
A  dreadful  consideration  this  !  And  St.  Chrysostom 
tells  us,  that  when  he  read  that  text  "  it  did  Kara- 
"  o-eietv  ryv  ^v^v  cause  a  kind  of  earthquake  within 
"  him,  and  produce  a  holy  fear  and  trembling  in  his 
"  soul."  And  in  his  commentary  on  the  text  he 
thus  exclaims,  "  Lord,  how,  how  difficult,  how  ha- 
"  zardous  an  undertaking  is  this !  What  shall  a  man 
"  say  to  those  wretched  men,  that  rashly  thrust 


difficult  and  dangerous.  161 

"  themselves  into  such  an  abyss  of  judgments?  All 
"  the  souls  that  are  committed  to  thy  conduct,  men, 
"  women,  and  children,  thou  art  to  give  an  account 
44  ofc."  lie  presently  subjoins,  "  It  is  a  wonder  if  any 
"  ruler  in  the  church  be  saved  d  :"  a  passionate  hy 
perbole,  expressing  his  deep  sense  of  the  extreme 
danger  of  the  pastoral  office. 

It  is  true  indeed,  the  excellent  bishop  speaks 
there  of  those  of  his  own  most  sacred  order,  whose 
place  and  dignity  in  the  church  of  Cod,  as  it  is 
eminently  higher,  their  charge  greater,  their  inspec 
tion  more  extensive,  so  will  their  account  be  accord 
ingly.  But  yet  the  same  is  true  in  its  proportion 
of  every  clergyman,  of  what  order  soever  he  be.  So 
St.  Austin  expressly;  "If  you  mark  it,  (most  dear 
"  brethren,)  you  shall  find  that  all  the  Lord's  priests, 
"  not  only  bishops,  but  also  presbyters  and  ministers 
"  of  churches,  stand  in  a  very  hazardous  condition  e." 
And  he  gives  a  shrewd  reason  for  what  he  says  a 
little  after  ;  "  If  at  the  day  of  judgment  it  will  be  a 
"  hard  task  for  every  man  to  give  an  account  of  his 
"  own  soul,  what  will  become  of  priests,  of  whom 
"  God  will  require  an  account  of  the  souls  of  so 
"  many  others  committed  to  their  charge  f?"  He 
concludes,  Magnum  opus,  sed  gravis  sarcina  : 


C  Ba/3(Z(  TTOfTOf  6  KlvdvVOS  !  Tt  aV  TIS  €?7TOt  TTpOf  TOVS  dffXlOVS  TOt'9 
fTTLpptTTTOVTaS  ((IVTOVS  TOffdVTl)  TlfJittipltoV  djBvCT&O)  J  TTUl/TCOl/  0)l>  Clp^ftS 

yvvaiKtav,  Kal  dv8pa)v  Ka\  nal$u>v  av  \6yov  Si'Sair. 

ll  0au/za£a>  ct  nvd  (<TTI  TO>V  dp^ovruv  <T<a6f)vat. 

e  Si  diligenter  attenditis  (fratres  charissimi)  omnes  sacerdotcs 
Domini,  non  solum  episcopos,  sed  etiam  presbyleros  et  ministros 
ccclesiarum,  in  grandi  periculo  esse  cognoscitis. 

f  Si  enim  pro  se  unusquisque  vix  poterit  in  die  judicii  ratio- 
nem  reddere,  quid  de  sacerdotibus  futurum  est,  a  quibus  sunt 
omnium  anima  requirendae  ? 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  M 


162  The  Priest's  Office  SEBM.  vi. 

"  The  care  of  souls  is  indeed  a  great  work,  a  noble 
"  undertaking,  but  yet  a  very  grievous  burden." 
He  must  be  a  man  of  very  firm  shoulders  that  is  not 
crushed  under  it. 

I  have  ofttimes,  not  without  wonder  and  indigna 
tion,  observed  the  strange  confidence  of  empirics  in 
physic,  that  dare  venture  on  the  practice  of  that 
noble  art,  which  they  do  not  at  all  understand  ;  con 
sidering  how  for  a  little  paltry  gain  they  shrewdly 
hazard,  or  rather  certainly  destroy,  the  health  and 
lives  of  men ;  and  have  judged  them  worthy  of  as 
capital  and  ignominious  a  punishment  as  those  that 
kill  men  on  the  highways.  But  I  have  soon  ex 
changed  this  meditation  into  another  of  more  con 
cernment  to  myself;  and  my  indignation  hath 
quickly  returned  into  my  own  bosom,  when  I  con 
sider  how  much  bolder  and  more  hazardous  an 
attempt  it  is  for  a  man  to  venture  on  the  priestly 
office  ;  to  minister  to  the  eternal  health  and  salvation 
of  souls.  How  much  skill  is  requisite  to  qualify  a 
man  for  such  an  undertaking !  how  great  care  in 
the  discharge  of  it !  What  a  sad  thing  it  would  be, 
if  through  my  unskilfulness  or  negligence  any  one 
soul  should  miscarry  under  my  hands,  or  die  and 
perish  eternally  ! 

We  minister  to  souls.  Souls !  Methinks  in  that 
one  word  there  is  a  sermon.  Immortal  souls  !  pre 
cious  souls !  one  whereof  is  more  worth  than  all  the 
world  besides,  the  price  of  the  blood  of  the  Son  of 
God.  I  close  up  this  with  the  excellent  words  ap 
pointed  by  the  church  to  be  read  at  the  ordination 
of  every  priest :  "  Have  always  therefore  in  your 
"  remembrance  how  great  a  treasure  is  committed 
"  to  your  charge  ;  for  they  are  the  sheep  of  Christ, 


difficult  and  dangerous.  1 63 

44  which  he  bought  with  his  death,  and  for  whom  he 
"  shed  his  blood.  The  church  and  congregation 
"  whom  ye  serve  is  his  spouse  and  body.  And  if  it 
<k  shall  happen  the  same  church,  or  any  member 
"  thereof,  to  take  any  hurt  or  hinderance  by  reason 
"  of  your  negligence,  you  know  the  greatness  of  the 
"  fault,  and  also  the  horrible  punishment  that  will 
*'  ensue." 

And  now  methinks  I  may  use  the  apostle's  words 
in  another  case,  1  Cor.  i.  26  :  Ye  SPC  your  callimj* 
brethren^  \  you  see  how  extremely  difficult  and  ha 
zardous  an  office  it  is  we  have  undertaken  ;  ir/io  /.v 
sufficient  for  these  tilings^?  Whose  loins  do  not 
tremble  at  this  fearful  burden  on  his  shoulders  ? 
Who  would  not  be  almost  tempted  to  repent  himself 
of  his  undertaking,  and  to  wish  himself  any  the 
meanest  mechanic  rather  than  a  minister  ?  But, 
alas  !  this  were  vain,  yea  sinful.  We  are  engaged 
in  this  sacred  office,  and  there  is  no  retreating;  we 
must  now  run  the  hazard,  how  great  soever  it  be  ; 
in  we  are,  and  on  we  must.  What  shall  we  then 
say  ?  what  shall  we  do  ?  Surely  this  is  our  best,  yea 
our  only  course.  Let  us  first  prostrate  ourselves  at 
the  feet  of  the  Almighty  God,  humbly  confessing 
and  heartily  bewailing  our  great  and  manifold  mis 
carriages  in  this  weighty  undertaking  ;  let  us  weep 
tears  of  blood  (if  it  were  possible)  for  the  blood  of 
souls,  which  we  have  reason  to  fear  may  stick  upon 
our  garments.  The  blood  of  souls,  I  say :  for  when 
I  consider  how  many  less  discerned  ways  there  be. 
whereby  a  man  may  involve  himself  in  that  guilt,  as 
not  only  by  an  openly  vicious  example,  but  even  by 

^  BAeVrrc  TTJV  K\f)<Ttv  vfjiiav,  a8(\<j)oi. 
h  Kai  Trpos  ravTa  ris  IKOVOS  ;  [2  Cor.  ii.  1 6.] 
M  2 


164  The  Priest's  Office  SERM.  vi, 

a  less  severe,  prudent,  and  wary  conversation  ;  not 
only  by  actions  directly  criminal,  but  by  lawful 
actions,  when  offensive,  (for  by  these  the  apostle 
assures  us,  a  man  may  destroy  the  soul  of  his  weak 
brother,  for  whom  Christ  died,  Rom.  xiv.  15,)  not 
only  by  a  gross  negligence  and  supine  carelessness, 
but  by  every  lesser  remission  of  those  degrees  of  zeal 
and  diligence,  which  are  requisite  in  so  important 
an  affair:  in  a  word,  by  not  doing  all  that  a  man 
can,  and  lies  within  his  power,  to  save  the  souls 
committed  to  his  charge  :  I  say,  when  I  consider 
this,  for  mine  own  part  T  cannot,  I  dare  not  justify 
myself,  or  plead  Not  guilty  before  the  great  Judge  of 
heaven  and  earth ;  but  do  upon  the  bended  knees  of 
my  soul  bewail  my  sin,  and  implore  his  pardoning 
grace  and  mercy,  crying  mightily  unto  him ;  De 
liver  me  from  this  bloody  uiltiness,  0  my  God,  thou 
God  of  my  salvation  :  and  my  tongue  shall  sing  aloud 
of  thy  righteousness.  [Psalm  li.  14.] 

Having  laid  ourselves  at  God's  feet,  let  us  not  lie 
idly  there,  but  arise,  and  for  the  future  do  the  work 
of  God  with  all  faithfulness  and  industry  ;  yea,  let 
us  make  amends  for  our  past  negligence,  by  doubling 
our  future  diligence.  And  for  our  encouragement 
here,  let  us  remember,  that  though  many  things  are 
required  of  a  minister,  yet  the  ohief  and  most  in 
dispensable  requisites  are  these  two,  a  passionate 
desire  to  save  souls,  and  an  unwearied  diligence  in 
the  pursuit  of  that  noble  design.  The  minister  that 
wants  these  two  qualifications  will  hardly  pass  the 
test,  or  gain  the  approbation  of  God  the  great  judge 
and  trier;  but  where  these  are  found,  they  will 
cover  a  multitude  of  other  failings  and  defects.  Let 
us  therefore,  reverend  brethren,  (and  may  I  here 


difficult  and  dangerous.  1()5 

conjure  both  you  and  myself,  by  the  endeared  love 
we  bear  to  our  own  souls,  and  the  precious  souls 
committed  to  our  charge,  yea  by  the  blood  of  the 
Son  of  God,  the  price  of  both,)  let  us,  T  beseech  you, 
from  henceforth  return  to  our  several  charges,  zeal 
ously  and  industriously  plying  the  great  work  and 
business  that  is  before  us.  Let  us  think  no  pains 
too  great  to  escape  that  ^el^ov  Kpi/m<i,  that  areater 
judgment  that  otherwise  attends  us.  Let  us  study 
hard,  and  read  much,  and  pray  often,  and  fn-eaek  in 
season  and  out  of  season,  and  catechise  the  youth, 
and  take  wise  opportunities  of  instructing  those, 
who  being  of  riper  years,  may  yet  be  as  unripe  in 
knowledge;  and  visit  the  sick,  and  according  to  our 
abilities  relieve  the  poor;  shewing  to  all  our  flock 
the  example  of  a  watchful,  holy,  humble  conversa 
tion.  And  may  a  great  blessing  of  (lod  crown  our 
labours !  Let  us  go  on,  and  the  Lord  prosper  us. 

I  have  done  ad  clcrum,  and  have  but  a  word  more 
ad  popidum,  *'  to  the  people." 

My  brethren,  you  may  possibly  think  yourselves 
altogether  unconcerned  in  this  whole  discourse.  But 
if  you  do,  you  are  mistaken;  all  this  nearly  concerns 
even  you.  I  shall  only  point  to  you  wherein. 

1.  Tf  the  pastoral  ottice  be  so  tremendous  an  un 
dertaking,  judge  then,  I  pray  you,  of  the  sacrilegious 
boldness  and  impiety  of  those  L^zzahs  among  the 
laity,  that  dare  touch  this  ark,  the  priest's  charge 
and  care.  If  we,  my  brethren,  that  have  been 
trained  up  in  the  schools  of  the  prophets,  that  have 
been  educated  with  no  small  care  and  cost  to  this 
employment,  that  have  spent  a  double  apprenticeship 
of  years  in  our  studies,  and  most  of  us  a  great  deal 
more :  if  we,  T  say,  after  all  this,  find  reason  to 


166  The  Pries  fs  Office  SERM.  vr. 

tremble  at  our  insufficiency  for  such  an  undertaking, 
how  horrible  is  the  confidence,  or  rather  impudence, 
of  those  mechanics,  that  have  leaped  from  the  shop- 
board  or  plough  into  the  pulpit,  and  thus  per  saltum, 
by  a  prodigious  leap,  commenced  teachers!  What 
shall  we  say  to  these  mountebanks  in  the  church, 
these  empyrics  in  theology?  I  only  say  this;  I  can 
never  sufficiently  admire,  either  their  boldness  in 
venturing  to  be  teachers,  or  the  childish  folly  and 
simplicity  of  those  that  give  themselves  up  to  be 
their  disciples.  It  is  a  miracle  that  any  such  person 
should  dare  to  preach ;  or  if  he  do,  that  any  man  in 
his  right  wits  should  vouchsafe  to  hear  him. 

2.  This    discourse    concerning    the    difficulty   and 
hazard  of  the  priestly  office  shews  sufficiently  all  the 
people's  danger.     It  is  the  danger  your  own  souls  are 
in.  my  brethren,  if  not  carefully  looked  to,  that  is  the 
great  hazard  of  our  office.  O  therefore,  if  you  do  con 
sider  it,  what  need  have  you  to  look  to  yourselves ! 

3.  Lastly,  If  our  work  and  office  be  attended  with 
this  difficulty,  sure  it  is  your  duty  to  pity  us,  to  pray 
for  us,  to   encourage   us   by  all   possible  ways   and 
means  to  the  vigorous  performance  of  it ;  at  least 
not  to  add  to  our  load,  or  discourage  us,  either  by 
your  wayward  factiousness,  or  stubborn  profaneness, 
or  sacrilegious  injustice :  if  you  do,  sad  wall  be  your 
account. 

Remember  therefore  the  advice  of  the  apostle, 
Ileb.  xiii.  17 :  Obey  them  that  have  the  rule  over 
you,  and  submit  yourselves :  for  they  watch  for  your 
souls,  as  they  that  must  give  an  account,  that  they  may 
do  this  (i.  e.  attend  on  this  work  of  watching  over 
your  souls)  with  joy,  and  not  with  grief1.  Grotius's 

1      Il/tt   fJi(T(l   XaP®S  TQVTO   TTOtOHTl,    KCU   / 


difficult  and  dangerous.  1 u'7 

paraphrase  is  here  most  genuine ;  "  Sweeten  and 
"  allay  the  irksome  labour  of  your  teachers,  by 
"  performing  to  them  all  offices  of  respect  and  love, 
"  that  they  may  with  alacrity,  and  not  with  grief, 
4<  discharge  that  function,  which  is  of  itself  a  sufti- 
"  cient  burden,  without  any  addition  of  sorrow  from 
"  youk." 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be 
ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  wor 
ship,  both  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 

k  Mulcete  cum  laborem  omnibus  obsequiis  et  officii^,  ut  cum 
alacritate  potius  (main  dolore  fungantur  muncre  satis  gravi,  ctiamsi 
a  vobis  nihil  triste  accedat. 


SERMON    VII. 


THE  DIFFERENT  DEGREES  OF  BLISS  AND  GLORY  IN  CHRIST  S 
HEAVENLY  KINGDOM,  ANSWER  TO  THE  DIFFERENT  DE 
GREES  OF  GRACE  HERE  BELOW.  SEVERAL  OBJECTIONS 
AGAINST  THIS  DOCTRINE  ARE  ANSWERED. 


2  PETER  1.  11. 

For  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto  you  abundantly 
into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ. 

IT  is  the  great  concern  of  every  man,  in  the  first 
place,  to  get  the  saving  grace  of  God,  and  having 
gotten  it,  to  proceed  and  increase  in  it ;  earnestly  to 
reach  after  a  principle  of  the  divine  life  within  him 
self,  and  having  attained  it,  to  cherish  and  improve 
it ;  to  endeavour  of  evil  (as  we  are  all  naturally  and 
antecedently  to  the  divine  grace)  to  become  truly 
good,  and  then  every  day  to  grow  better;  first  to  be 
sincere  disciples  of  the  holy  Jesus,  and  then  to  aspire, 
study,  and  labour  hard,  to  become  great  proficients 
in  his  divine  school.  This  latter  duty,  St.  Peter 
earnestly  and  vehemently  presseth  on  the  converted 
Jews  of  the  dispersion,  to  whom  he  writes,  and  in 
them  upon  all  of  us,  in  the  verses  preceding  my 
text ;  where  he  exhorts  them  in  the  most  emphatical 
expressions  to  an  holy  covetousness  after  spiritual 
riches,  and  to  accumulate  and  heap  up  heavenly 
treasures  with  as  much  greediness,  as  the  men  of 
this  world  do  their  gold  and  silver ;  to  add  one  grace 


Different  Degrees  of  Bliss  in  Heacen.        169 

to  another,  and  one  degree  of  each  grace  upon  an 
other,  and  to  abound  in  virtue  and  good  works.  For 
after  he  had,  ver.  4,  minded  them  of  the  great 
design  of  Christianity,  which  is  to  make  men  par 
takers  of  the  divine  nature,  by  rescuing  them  from 
the  corruption  that  is  in  the  world  through  lust,  i.  e. 
to  convert  men  from  their  evil  and  wicked  courses, 
and  to  bring  them  to  a  state  of  grace  and  regene 
ration  ;  and  charitably  supposing  this  to  be  already 
done  in  them,  he  proceeds  to  shew  them  their 
farther  duty,  ver.  5,  6,  7,  8 :  And  besides  this, 
(jiving  all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith  virtue,  and 
to  virtue  knowledge,  and  to  knowledge  temperance, 
and  to  temperance  patience,  and  to  patience  godli 
ness,  and  to  godliness  brotherly  kindness,  and  to 
brotherly  kindness  charity.  For  if  all  these  things 
be  in  you,  and  abound,  they  make  you  that  ye  shall 
neither  be  barren  nor  unfruitful  in  the  knowledge 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  As  if  he 
had  said,  You  have  now,  God  be  thanked,  escaped 
the  pollutions  of  the  world,  and  are  truly,  I  hope, 
converted  to  Christianity,  and  in  baptism  have  been 
regenerated  by  the  Holy  Ghost ;  (that  he  means  by 
their  being  made  partakers  of  the  divine  nature.} 
This  indeed  is  a  very  great  achievement,  and  an 
invaluable  mercy  of  God,  vouchsafed  to  you;  yet  I 
beseech  you,  rest  not  here  ;  but  besides  this,  giving 
all  diligence,  add  to  your  faith  virtue,  &c.  So  that 
the  sum  of  his  discourse  is  to  press  them  first  to 
truth  in  grace,  and  then  to  growth  in  grace  ;  to 
acquire  the  divine  virtues  reckoned  up  by  him,  and 
then  to  abound  in  them .  And  to  persuade  them  to 
this  abounding  in  grace  and  virtue,  he  useth  a  very 
powerful  motive  and  argument  in  the  words  of  my 


170  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

text :  for  so  an  entrance  shall  be  ministered  unto 
you  abundantly  into  the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  As  if  be  had  said, 
If  you  thus  abound  in  grace,  you  shall  abound  in 
glory  ;  you  shall  not  only  come  to  heaven,  or  get 
just  within  the  gate  of  that  glorious  region,  (and 
yet  happy  is  he  that  can  arrive  to  be  but  a  door 
keeper  in  tlie  house  of  his  heavenly  Father,)  but 
you  shall  have  an  abundant  entrance  into  it ;  you 
shall  go  very  far,  and  attain  an  higher  pitch  and 
degree  of  glory  there.  This  is  the  plain  and  obvious 
sense  of  the  words. 

Not  to  spend  time  needlessly,  or  to  trouble  you 
with  any  farther  preface,  the  text  thus  briefly  ex 
plained  and  considered,  with  relation  to  the  context, 
readily  and  of  itself  offers  to  us  this  proposition : 

There  shall  be  degrees  of  bliss  and  glory  in  Christ's 
heavenly  kingdom  ;  and  the  more  we  abound  in  grace 
and  good  works  here,  the  more  abundant  shall  our 
reward  be  hereafter. 

This  proposition  I  intend,  with  the  divine  assist 
ance,  for  the  theme  and  subject  of  my  following 
discourse. 

That  this  is  no  nice  or  fruitless  speculation,  fitted 
only  to  exercise  the  wits  of  men,  or  to  entertain 
their  curiosity,  but  a  branch  of  that  truth  which 
is  according  to  godliness a,  as  the  apostle  Paul 
expresseth  it,  Tit.  i.  1 ;  that  is,  a  doctrine  tending 
to  the  advancement  and  furtherance  of  piety  and 
virtue  amongst  men,  will  be  soon  evident  to  any 
man  that  with  any  degree  of  serious  attention  shall 
consider  it. 

If  this  be  a  truth,  it  must  needs  be  a  useful  one, 

a  'A.\r)6(ias  TTJS  Ka 


o  /y//.s,s  hi  iicarcn.  171 


and  of  concernment  to  us.  And  that  it  is  so,  will 
further  appear  to  all,  from  those  other  texts  of  Scrip 
ture,  wherein  it  is  not  only  plainly  taught,  but  also 
urged  as  a  motive  to  a  more  fruitful  piety,  which 
shall  he  produced  in  the  sequel  of  my  discourse; 
wherein  I  shall  prescribe  to  myself  this  plain  and 
easy  method. 

First,  I  shall  farther  prove  the  proposition  by 
other  clear  and  express  texts  of  Scripture,  and  by 
reasons  and  arguments  grounded  on  Scripture,  and 
bv  the  consent  of  the  catholic  church,  interpreting 
the  Scripture  to  the  same  sense.  hi  the  next  place, 
1  shall  endeavour  to  answer  the  principal  objections 
that  are  usually  made  against  this  truth.  Lastly,  I 
shall  conclude  with  a  brief  application  of  the  whole 
discourse. 

First,  For  the  fuller  demonstration  of  the  point, 
let  us  in  the  first  place  hear  what  the  Holy  Ghost 
hath  in  other  places  of  Scripture  delivered  concern 
ing  it.  And  here,  out  of  a  great  abundance  of  texts 
that  might  be  alleged,  I  shall  make  choice  only  of 
such  as  speak  more  plainly  and  evidently  to  our 
purpose. 

Such  is  that  text  in  the  nineteenth  chapter  of 
St.  Matthew's  Gospel;  where,  to  St.  Peter  asking 
what  reward  he  and  the  rest  of  the  apostles  should 
have,  that  had  forsaken  their  all  in  this  world  to 
follow  Christ,  and  be  his  disciples,  ver.  27,  our  Sa 
viour  thus  answers,  ver.  28  :  Verily  I  say  unto  you, 
That  ye  -which  have  followed  me,  in  the  regeneration 
when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his 
glory,  i/c  also  shall  sit  upon  twelve  thrones,  judg 
ing  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel.  So  I  read  the  text. 
For  it  is  evident  enough  our  translators  have  mis- 


172  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

pointed  it,  referring  the  words  in  the  regeneration 
to  that  which  went  before,  thus;  Ye  ivhich  have 
followed  me  in  the  regeneration :  whereas  they 
should  be  joined  to  the  following  words,  thus  :  Ye 
•which  have  followed  me,  ev  rjj  TraXiyyevea-la  in  the 
regeneration  when  the  Son  of  man  shall  sit  in  the 
throne  of  his  glory,  &c.  In  the  regeneration ;  what 
is  that?  Not  in  baptism,  nor  in  the  regeneration 
or  renewing  of  the  Spirit,  as  some  have  fancied ; 
for  neither  of  these  significations  will  make  good 
sense  in  this  place ;  but  in  the  resurrection,  which 
will  be  indeed  a  TraXiyyeveo-ia,  a  regeneration,  or 
second  generation  of  men  to  life,  after  that  life  which 
they  had  in  their  first  generation  was  extinguished. 
Which  second  generation,  or  production  of  men  to 
life,  is  more  properly  the  work  of  God,  as  being 
effected  solely  by  his  divine  power,  without  the 
concurrence  of  any  second  causes  ;  whereas  in  our 
first  generation  into  the  world  our  parents  were 
instruments.  Hence  those  words  of  the  Psalmist 
concerning  Christ,  Psalm  ii.  7,  Thou  art  my  Son ; 
this  day  have  I  begotten  thee,  are  said  by  St.  Paul  to 
be  then  fulfilled  in  him,  when  God  raised  him  from 
the  dead,  Acts  xiii.  32,  33  :  The  promise  which  was 
made  unto  the  fathers,  God  hath  fulfilled  the  same 
unto  us  their  children,  in  that  he  hath  raised  up 
Jesus  again ;  as  it  is  also  written  in  the  second 
Psalm,  Thou  art  my  Son,  this  day  have  I  begotten 
thee.  And  hence  also,  all  the  godly  are  said  at  the 
resurrection  to  become  the  children  of  God,  eo 
nomine,  upon  the  very  account  of  their  being  then 
raised  by  God  to  a  blessed  immortal  life,  Luke  xx. 
36.  They  are  called  the  children  of  God,  being  the 
children  of  the  resurrection. 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven,  173 

Well  then  !  Tn  or  at  the  regeneration,  or  resur 
rection,  when  Christ  shall  sit  in  the  throne  of  his 
glory,  as  the  Judge  of  men  and  angels,  it  is  promised 
to  the  twelve  apostles,  that  they  also  shall  sit  upon 
twelve  thrones,  jtirlyinf)  the  tirelre  tribes  of  Is 
rael.  Concerning  the  full  sense  of  which  words, 
though  there  is  some  dispute,  yet  this  is  generally 
agreed  among  interpreters,  and  it  is  most  evident 
from  the  context,  that  they  express  some  singular 
and  eminent  glory,  which  the  apostles  should  receive 
in  the  world  to  come,  as  the  reward  of  their  singular 
and  eminent  self-denial,  in  devoting  themselves  to 
Christ's  Gospel.  And  though  every  saint  shall  in 
his  degree  be  enthroned  in  the  heavenly  glory ;  yet 
here  are  twelve  thrones  of  judicature  and  preemi 
nence,  answering  to  the  twelve  apostles  then  in 
being.  Indeed  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve,  afterward 
fell  from  his  office,  and  so  lost  his  throne  too.  But 
this  was  through  his  own  default,  and  our  blessed 
Lord  tailed  not  in  his  promise.  But  the  cursed 
traitor,  by  his  horrid  violation  of  the  condition  of  it, 
forfeited  his  right  therein.  There  being  twelve 
apostles  at  that  time  to  whom  our  Saviour  spake 
these  words,  he  saith  thn/  should  sit  upon  twelve 
thrones ;  as  if  Judas  also  should  have  his  throne  to 
sit  on ;  not  that  he  thought  the  wretch  should  ever 
attain  that  throne,  (for  he  knew  him  from  the  be 
ginning  to  be  a  devil,)  but  because,  if  Judas  had 
continued  in  the  faithful  discharge  of  his  office,  as 
the  other  apostles  did,  he  should  have  had  his  throne, 
as  the  other  apostles  had  theirs,  as  St.  Chrysostom 
well  observes;  for  Christ  speaks  of  his  apostles, 
secundum  prcescntem  justitiam,  "  according  to  their 


174  Different  Degree*  SERM.  vn. 

"  present  righteousness,"  and  not  so  much  of  their 
persons,  as  of  their  state  and  office. 

As  if  he  should  have  said,  The  office  of  apostles, 
as  it  is  an  office  of  the  highest  service,  labour,  and 
difficulty,  so  it  hath  the  highest  reward  propounded 
to  it ;  insomuch  that  they  who  well  perform  it,  shall 
be  advanced  to  the  most  eminent  thrones  of  glory  in 
the  life  to  come,  and  be  nearest  to  myself  the  King 
of  glory.  For,  to  sit  upon  thrones,  judging  (or  go 
verning,  or  being  over)  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel, 
is  a  metaphorical  expression,  taken  (as  Grotius  well 
observes  upon  the  place)  from  the  ancient  state  of 
the  kingdom  of  Israel,  in  which  ol  (pvXap-^at  the 
princes,  or  heads  of  tJie  tribes,  came  nearest  in 
dignity  to  the  king's  majesty,  and  in  the  public 
assemblies  sat  next  to  the  royal  throne  in  chairs  of 
state  made  of  ivory.  So  that  it  is  manifest,  Christ 
here  promiseth  his  apostles  an  eminent  degree  of 
glory  and  dignity  in  his  heavenly  kingdom.  And 
hence  the  language  is  different,  which  our  Saviour 
useth,  concerning  the  reward  of  those  who  should 
afterwards  imitate  the  apostles,  and  follow  them  in 
their  active  and  passive  virtue,  though  Itaud  cecjuis 
passibus,  "  at  a  very  humble  distance."  For  of 
those  in  the  next  verse  he  saith,  that  they  should 
receive  an  hundredfold,  (a  very  ample  and  liberal 
reward  of  their  self-denial,  in  whatsoever  instance 
expressed,)  and  inherit  everlasting  life;  but  he 
doth  not  say,  as  of  the  apostles,  that  they  shall  sit 
upon  thrones,  judging  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel. 

The  next  place  we  shall  cite  will  give  light  to  the 
former,  and  speaks  more  clearly  to  our  present  pur 
pose.  It  is  to  be  found  in  the  very  next  chapter, 


of  Bliss  in  J I  care  it.  175 

the  twentieth  chapter  of  the  same  Gospel  of  St. 
Matthew,  where  we  read,  vcr.  20,  21,  that  the  mo 
ther  of  the  sons  of  Zebeclee,  James  and  John,  came 
with  her  two  sons  to  Christ  with  this  petition, 
Grant  that  these  my  two  sons  may  sit,  the  one  on 
thy  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  the  left,  in  thy 
kingdom.  She  had  heard  from  her  sons,  that  the 
apostles  in  general  had  a  promise  of  a  more  eminent 
dignity  in  Christ's  kingdom,  like  that  of  the  princes 
or  heads  of  the  tribes  in  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  as 
hath  been  already  noted.  But  she  knew  that  even 
among  the  apostles  themselves  there  would  be  de 
grees  of  dignity ;  as  in  the  ancient  kingdom  of  Is 
rael,  the  two  first  places  belonged  to  the  princes  of 
the  tribes  of  Judah  and  Joseph ;  these  two  first 
places  therefore  she  asks  for  her  two  sons  in  the 
kingdom  of  Christ.  To  sit  at  the  right  hand  of  a 
king,  according  to  the  eastern  custom,  is  the  very 
next  place  of  dignity  to  the  king  himself.  Hence 
Solomon  sitting  on  his  royal  throne  commanded  his 
mother  to  be  set  on  his  right  hand,  1  Kings  ii.  19; 
consequently  the  third  place  of  dignity  in  the  king 
dom  is  described  by  sitting  at  the  king's  left  hand  ; 
for  accordingly  as  any  man  was  greater  in  the  king 
dom,  so  in  the  public  assemblies  he  sat  nearer  to  the 
king.  To  this  petition  of  Salome,  our  blessed  Lord 
having  first  by  the  way  given  a  check  to  her  vanity, 
and  her  erroneous  opinion  about  his  kingdom,  at 
length,  ver.  23,  he  thus  more  directly  answers, 
To  sit  on  my  right  hand,  and  on  my  left,  is  not 
mine  to  give,  hid  it  shall  be  gicen  to  them  for  whom 
it  is  prepared  of  my  Father.  Christ  speaks  as 
man  in  the  state  of  humiliation,  referring  all  things 
of  his  kingdom  (according  to  his  manner)  to  his 


176  Different  Degree*  SERM.  VIL 

Father,  from  whom  he  received  it.  But  as  to  our  pre 
sent  purpose :  our  Saviour  denies  not  that  there  shall 
be  a  right-hand  and  a  left-hand  place,  as  a  first  and 
second  place  of  dignity,  and  consequently  a  third 
place,  and  so  downwards,  in  his  heavenly  kingdom, 
yea,  he  plainly  asserts,  that  there  shall  be  such  de 
grees  of  honour  therein ;  but  he  only  teacheth,  that 
those  places  and  degrees  shall  be  distributed  accord 
ing  to  the  pleasure  of  his  Father,  who  best  knows 

o 

who  are  fittest  for  them ;  and  that  this  pleasure  of 
God  was  not  yet  to  be  made  known,  either  to  Sa 
lome  and  her  sons,  or  to  any  of  the  sons  of  men  ; 
but  the  discovery  of  it  to  be  reserved  to  the  revela 
tion  of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God  at  the  last 
day.  So  that  this  text  very  manifestly  confirms  the 
proposition ;  especially  if  wre  add  the  words  of  our 
Saviour  presently  afterwards  in  the  same  chapter, 
spoken  upon  the  same  occasion,  ver.  26,  27 :  Who 
soever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your 
minister:  and  ivhosoevcr  will  be  chief  among  you, 
let  him  be  your  servant.  For  hence  St.  Jerom  thus 
argues  against  Jovinian,  "  If  we  shall  be  equal  in 
"  heaven,  we  in  vain  humble  ourselves  here,  that  we 
"  may  be  greater  there b."  Indeed  our  Saviour  in 
these  words  most  plainly  acknowledged,  that  there 
shall  be  some  greater,  some  lesser,  some  first  or 
chief,  some  inferior  in  his  heavenly  kingdom ;  and 
he  shews  that  the  only  way  to  attain  a  preeminence 
hereafter,  is  by  the  lowest  humility  here,  and  by  con 
descending  to  the  meanest  for  their  spiritual  good 
and  advantage. 

b  Si  omnes  in  ccelo  sequales  futuri  sumus,  frustra  nos  hie  hu- 
miliamus,,  ut  ibi  possimus  esse  majores.  Lib.  II.  contr.  Jovin. 
c.  18. 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven.  177 

The  same  doctrine  is  plainly  taught  us  (whatever 
some  learned  men  have  fancied  to  the  contrary) 
from  the  very  scope  of  the  parable  of  our  Saviour, 
Luke  xix.  of  the  ten  servants,  who  received  of  their 
lord,  being  to  go  into  a  far  country,  each  of  them  a 
pound,  to  trade  with  till  his  return.  At  which  time 
he  that  had  increased  his  pound  to  ten  pounds  was 
made  ruler  over  ten  cities,  ver.  16,  17,  and  he  that 
gained  but  five  pounds  was  made  ruler  over  fire 
cities,  ver.  18,  19,  the  lord's  reward  bearing  pro 
portion  to  the  several  improvements  made  by  his 
servants. 

To  the  same  sense  and  purpose  very  many  of  the 
ancient  Fathers,  and  the  most  learned  modern  inter 
preters,  generally  expound  those  words  of  our  Sa 
viour,  John  xiv.  2:  In  my  Father's  house  are  many 
mansions.  The  multitude  of  mansions  in  heaven 
seems  hardly  intelligible,  without  admitting  a  differ 
ence  of  degrees  in  the  heavenly  glory.  For  if  all  the 
saints  should  be  placed  in  one  and  the  same  degree 
or  station  of  bliss,  they  would  have  all  one  and  the 
same  mansion  in  heaven  ;  but  in  our  heavenly  Fa 
ther's  house  there  are  ^ovai  -rroAXa)  many  mansions, 
some  higher,  some  lower,  according  to  the  measure 
of  proficiency  in  virtue,  which  men  have  attained  to 
in  this  life.  So  Clemens  Alexandrinus,  "  There  are 
"  with  the  Lord  many  rewards  and  mansions,  ac- 
'*  cording  to  the  proportion  of  men's  lives0.1'  So 
also  Tertullian,  "  Flow  are  there  many  mansions 
"  with  the  Father,  but  according  to  the  variety  of 
"  merits'1?"  that  is,  (in  the  language  of  those  writers,) 


c  Eitrt  yap  irapa  Kvpia>  <a\  fiicrdol  KCI\  p.ova\  frXctoiff,  K.CIT'  avaXoyiav 

.    Strom.  IV.  p.  488.  [p.  579.  also  1.  VI.  p.  797  ] 
d  Quomodo  multse  mansiones  apud  Patrera,  si  non  pro  varie- 

BUI.L,   VOL.  1.  \ 


178  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

the  good  works  of  men.  So  the  Fathers  of  the 
church  afterward  alleged  this  text  against  Jovinian, 
who  held  a  parity  of  rewards  in  the  life  to  come. 

Another  common  proof  of  this  doctrine  is  taken 
out  of  the  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  chap.  xv. 
41,  42  :  There  is  one  glory  of  the  sun,  and  another 
glory  of  the  moon,  and  another  glory  of  the  stars  : 
for  one  star  differeth  from  another  star  in  glory. 
So  also  is  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  It  is  true, 
in  the  context  of  this  place,  the  manifest  scope  and 
intent  of  the  apostle  is  to  shew  the  vast  difference 
between  those  bodies  of  ours  that  die  and  turn  to 
corruption,  and  the  glorious  bodies  wre  shall  receive 
at  the  resurrection.  But  yet,  in  these  words  it 
seems  plain,  that  the  apostle  riseth  higher,  and  by 
the  way  sets  forth  the  disparity  that  there  will  be  at 
the  resurrection,  even  among  the  glorified  bodies  of 
the  saints;  some  shining  with  brighter,  some  with 
lesser  rays  of  glory :  as  among  the  heavenly  lights, 
some  are  more  glorious  than  others.  As  if  he  should 
have  said,  There  is  a  difference,  not  only  betwreeri 
the  terrestrial  and  celestial  bodies,  but  even  the  ce 
lestial  bodies  differ  among  themselves ;  the  sun  being 
the  brightest  of  the  heavenly  lights,  the  moon  in  its 
appearance  to  us  the  next  to  it;  and  among  the 
stars,  some  being  more  bright  and  conspicuous  than 
others.  So  in  the  resurrection,  not  only  the  glori 
fied  bodies  of  the  saints  shall  differ  from  their  cor 
ruptible  bodies  they  had  here,  but  also  among  those 

tate  meritorum?  Scorpiace.  [c.  6.  also  de  Monogam.  c.  10.  Ire- 
nseus  agrees  with  this,  V.  36.  so  also  Origen,  in  Num.  Horn.  I. 
§.  3.  vol.  II.  p.  277.  and  in  Jesu  Naue,  Horn.  X.  p.  422.  but  in 
vol.  I.  p.  1 06.  (de  Princip.  II.  n.  §.6.)  he  interprets  it  of  the 
different  heavens  through  which  persons  will  pass.] 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven.  179 

glorified  bodies  themselves  there  shall  be  degrees  of 
glory. 

Unless  we  thus  expound  the  apostle,  it  will  be 
hard  to  give  a  tolerable  account  of  his  discourse  in 
this  place.  For  we  must  otherwise  suppose,  that  he 
compares  those  bodies  that  are  sown  hi  corruption, 
the  rotten  stinking  carcasses  of  men,  to  some  of  the 
glorious  heavenly  lights,  though  of  a  lesser  magni 
tude  ;  than  which  comparison,  what  can  be  more  in 
congruous  or  absurd  !  Hence  Tertullian  in  the 
place,  in  part  already  cited,  thus  understands  the 
text,  "  How  are  there  many  mansions  with  the  Fa- 
"  ther,  unless  it  be  according  to  the  variety  of  men's 
"  good  works  ?  How  also  shall  one  star  differ  from 
"  another  star  in  glory,  but  according  to  the  di- 
"  versity  of  rays  or  beams  of  light6?"  And  as  the 
greatest,  so  the  best  part  of  modern  interpreters,  ac 
knowledge  this  exposition  of  the  apostle's  words  to 
be  true  and  genuine,  yea  and  absolutely  necessary. 

But  our  last  text  of  Scripture  will  put  the  matter 
out  of  all  doubt,  which  wre  read  2  Cor.  ix.  6:  But 
this  I  *ay,  He  which  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap 
sparingly;  and  he  ivhich  xowcth  bountifully  shall 
reap  also  bountifully.  It  is  certain,  and  confessed 
by  all,  that  the  design  of  the  apostle  in  this  place  is 
to  excite  and  stir  up  the  Corinthians  to  a  liberal 
charity  towards  their  distressed  brethren,  and  that 
his  chief  argument  is  contained  in  these  words.  It 
is  confessed  also,  that  in  these  words,  to  sow,  signi 
fies  to  do  good  works,  particularly  works  of  charity ; 
to  reap,  to  receive  the  reward,  the  future  eternal 

e  Quomodo  multae  mansiones  apud  Patrem,  si  non  pro  varie- 
tate  meritorum  ?  Quomodo  et  stella  a  Stella  distabit,  nisi  pro 
diversitate  radiorum  ? 

N  2 


180  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

reward  of  such  works.  Indeed  the  apostle  other 
where  plainly  interprets  himself  to  this  sense ;  viz. 
Gal.  vi.  8 :  He  that  soweth  to  his  flesh  shall  of  the 
flesh  reap  corruption ;  but  he  that  soweth  to  the 
Spirit  shall  of  the  Spirit  reap  life  everlasting. 
Where  also  the  latter  words  manifestly  respect  in 
the  first  place  works  of  charity  and  beneficence,  par 
ticularly  such  as  are  exercised  towards  our  spiritual 
teachers,  as  appears  from  ver.  6.  Let  him  that  is 
taught  in  the  word  communicate  to  him  that  teach- 
eth  in  all  good  things.  Now  our  apostle,  in  the 
place  alleged  out  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
expressly  asserts,  that  as  our  sowing  is  more  sparing 
or  more  liberal,  so  shall  our  reaping  be  also ;  the 
greater  charity  exercised  by  us  in  this  world,  the 
greater  felicity  and  happiness  attends  us  in  the  world 
to  come :  and  so  on  the  contrary,  the  thinner  our 
seeds  of  charity  are  sown  here,  the  lesser  will  be  our 
harvest  of  glory  hereafter.  Nothing  can  be  more 
express  to  our  purpose  than  this  testimony,  and 
therefore  I  shall  seek  after  no  other  or  farther  proofs 
from  Scripture  of  the  proposition  I  have  undertaken 
to  demonstrate. 

But  to  these  direct  testimonies  of  Scripture,  I  shall 
only  add,  by  way  of  overplus,  one  or  two  reasons,  or 
arguments  grounded  on  Scripture. 

1.  It  is  certain,  that  amongst  the  damned  there 
will  be  an  inequality  of  punishments,  some  suffering 
lesser,  others  greater  degrees  of  torment ;  therefore 
it  is  highly  reasonable  to  think,  that  in  the  opposite 
state  of  the  blessed  there  will  be  also  a  disparity  of 
rewards.  The  antecedent  is  determined,  and  beyond 
all  contradiction  asserted,  by  our  Saviour  himself. 
For  speaking  of  the  town  or  city  that  shall  reject  the 


of  Bliss  in  J leaven.  181 

Gospel  preached  to  them  by  the  apostles,  he  tells  us, 
that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  the  land  of  So 
dom  and  Gomorrah  in,  the  day  of  judgment,  than 
for  that  city,  Matt.  x.  15.  And  in  the  next  chapter 
he  assures  us,  that  it  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 
Tyre  and  Sidon  in  the  day  of  judgment,  than  for 
Chorazin  and  Bethsaida,  who  had  heard  his  doc 
trine  and  seen  his  miracles,  and  would  be  converted 
by  neither  of  them  ;  and  that  it  shall  be  more  to 
lerable  for  the  land  of  Sodom,  than  for  Capernaum, 
upon  the  same  account,  Matt.  xi.  20 — 24.  And 
most  express  are  his  words,  Luke  xii.  47,  &c.  And 
that  servant,  which  knew  his  master  s  will,  and  pre 
pared  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  shaH  be  much 
required :  and  to  umom  men  hare  committed  much, 
of  him  they  ivill  ask  the  more. 

2.  There  are  degrees  of  honour  and  glory  among 
the  angels  in  heaven,  and  though  they  are  all  of  them 
glorious  creatures,  yet  among  them  some  are  higher, 
some  inferior  in  dignity,  some  are  greater,  others 
lesser ;  therefore  we  have  reason  to  conclude,  that 
there  will  be  an  order  and  gradation  among  the 
blessed  saints  of  heaven  likewise.  For  we  are  sure, 
that  in  the  future  state  we  shall  be  like  unto  the 
angels;  and  why  not  in  this?  Seeing  in  the  ange 
lical  polity  there  are  divers  orders,  ranks,  and  de 
grees,  can  we  imagine  that  the  communion  of  the 
saints  in  heaven  shall  be  a  levelled  society  ?  This  is 
utterly  incredible.  Now  the  antecedent  here  again 


Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

is  most  evident  from  Scripture;  and  though  we  dare 
not  intrude  ourselves  into  the  things  we  have  not 
seen,  or  imitate  the  temerity  of  that  learned  and 
sublime  conjecturer  Dionysius,  who  undertakes  to 
reckon  up  exactly  the  several  orders  of  the  angelical 
hierarchy,  as  if  he  had  seen  a  muster  of  the  heavenly 
host  before  his  eyes;  yet  that  there  are  orders  and 
degrees  among  the  blessed  angels,  we  may  with  all 
assurance  affirm,  having  the  plainest  warrant  of  the 
holy  text  for  the  assertion.  For  we  often  read  in 
Scripture,  not  only  of  angels,  but  also  of  archangels, 
i.  e.  chief  angels,  that  have  a  preeminence  above  the 
rest.  This  is  so  known  and  confessed  by  every  man, 
that  we  need  not  cite  the  texts  wherein  mention  is 
made  of  them. 

To  these  reasons  we  may  add  the  consent  of  the 
catholic  church  in  this  question.  It  is  certain,  that 
it  was  ever  held  in  the  primitive  church  as  an  un 
doubted  truth,  that  there  shall  be  a  disparity  of  re 
wards  in  the  life  to  come ;  and  that  this  was  never 
called  into  question,  until  the  conceited  opinionist 
Jovinian,  among  his  other  paradoxes,  ventured  to 
broach  the  contrary  doctrine.  But  how  he  was  en 
tertained  for  this  by  the  most  eminent  doctors  of  the 
church  of  his  age,  St.  Jerom,  St.  Austin,  and  others, 
we  very  well  know.  His  obstinacy  in  this  and 
other  erroneous  tenets,  against  the  plainest  evidence 
of  Scripture  and  reason,  hath  placed  him  in  the 
black  catalogue  of  heretics. 

And  it  is  pity  that  amongst  the  reformed  foreign 
divines  there  should  be  any  found  that  should  dare 
to  patronise  so  exploded  an  error;  especially  if  we 
consider  the  very  weak  arguments  by  which  they 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven.  183 

endeavour  to  justify  their  dissent  from  the  catholic 
church.  To  the  brief  examination  of  which  argu 
ments  we  are  in  the  next  place  to  proceed. 

1.  They  say  they  cannot  conceive  how  this  doc 
trine  can  be  maintained,  without  admitting  with  the 
papists  the  merit  of  good  works.  For  if,  as  our  la 
bour  is  greater  or  lesser  in  God's  service  here,  our 
reward  shall  be  greater  or  lesser  in  the  life  to  come ; 
then  there  is  a  proportion  observed  between  our  la 
bour  or  work,  and  the  reward.  And  this  necessa 
rily  infers  the  merit  of  our  work  or  labour. 

I  answer,  that  this  objection  is  founded  on  a  plain 
mistake  of  the  doctrine  of  Scripture,  which  we  de 
fend.  For  when  we  say  with  the  holy  Scriptures, 
that  every  man  shall  receive  his  own  reward  accord 
ing  to  his  own  labour,  we  do  not  mean  that  there 
will  be  an  exact  proportion  between  a  man's  labour 
and  his  reward ;  for  it  is  certain  that  the  highest 
degree  of  grace  can  never  equal  the  lowest  degree  of 
glory,  nor  can  the  best  of  saints  by  all  that  he  can  do 
deserve  so  much  as  to  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house 
of  his  heavenly  Father:  but  the  proportion  here  is 
between  the  work  and  reward  of  one  good  man, 
compared  with  the  work  and  reward  of  another; 
and  in  this  comparison  the  proportion  is  exact. 

A  very  learned  Father  of  our  church  explains  this 
by  an  apposite  similitude,  which  I  shall  give  you  as 
near  as  may  be  in  his  own  words  translated :  "  Sup- 
44  pose,"  saith  he,  "  three  husbandmen  to  be  em- 
44  ployed  in  cultivating  or  dressing  the  field  of  some 
14  prince,  one  for  one  day  only,  another  for  three 
44  days,  the  third  for  six  days.  Now  if  the  prince, 
44  out  of  his  royal  bounty,  shall  give  to  the  first  a 
44  thousand  talents,  to  the  second  three  thousand 


184  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

"  talents,  to  the  third  six  thousand ;  it  is  evident 
"  that  the  reward  is  measured  out  to  each  of  these 
"  according  to  the  different  measure  of  their  labour : 
"  but  yet  it  were  ridiculous  for  a  man  hence  to  con- 
"  elude,  that  the  labour  of  him  that  wrought  six  days 
"  deserved  six  thousand  talents,  yea  or  so  much  as 
"  six  talents,  yea  or  so  much  as  one  talent,  and  so  in 
"  the  rest.  After  the  same  manner  are  we  to  con- 
"  ceive  of  the  divine  remuneration.  For  although 
"  we  affirm,  that  God  measures  out  to  every  man  a 
'•  different  degree  of  glory,  according  to  the  different 
"  measure  of  his  labour ;  yet  it  doth  not  follow  from 
"  hence,  that  between  the  work  and  reward  of  one 
"  and  the  same  man  there  is  an  equality  of  propor- 
"  tion ;  but  only  that  between  the  different  works 
"  and  rewards  of  different  men  there  is  an  equality 
"  of  proportionality.  If  therefore  the  work  of  any 
"  man  be  compared  with  the  reward  of  the  same 
"  man,  viz.,  eternal  life,  we  may  presently  discern  an 
"  infinite  inequality  between  them ;  but  if  the  works 
"  of  different  men  and  the  rewards  of  different  men 
"  be  compared,  according  to  the  degrees  of  eminence 
*'  in  the  same  life  eternal,  there  will  appear  an  accu- 
"  rate  proportionality.  And  this  is  to  reward  every 
kk  man  according  to  his  own  labour1"." 

I  need  not  say  any  more  in  answer  to  this  argu 
ment,  and  shall  therefore  pass  to  the  next. 

2.  They  thus  argue.  The  future  glory  of  the 
saints  is  the  purchase  of  Christ's  righteousness,  which 
is  alike  imputed  to  all  true  believers,  and  they  have 
an  equal  share  therein,  and  consequently  they  shall 
share  equally  in  the  future  glory. 

f  Davenant  de  Just.  Act.  p.  608. 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven.  185 

1  answer,  The  doctrine  of  the  imputed  righteousness 
of  Christ,  as  it  hath  been  too  commonly  taught  and 
understood,  hath  been  a  fruitful  mother  of  many  per 
nicious  and  dangerous  errors  in  divinity.  In  this  ob 
jection,  it  is  supposed,  that  the  righteousness  of  Christ 
is  so  imputed  to  every  believer,  that  it  becomes  for 
mally  his  righteousness,  and  that  upon  the  sole  ac 
count  thereof  he  hath  a  right  to  the  future  glory. 
And  if  this  were  true,  if  Christ's  righteousness  were 
thus  ours,  that  righteousness  being  the  most  perfect 
righteousness,  nothing  less  could  answer  it  than  the 
highest  reward  in  heaven  ;  and  so  indeed  it  would  ne 
cessarily  follow,  that  the  future  glory  of  all  the  saints 
should  be  alike  and  equal.  But  this  supposition  hath 
no  foundation  in  Scripture,  yea  it  is  plainly  false. 
And  that  it  is  so,  if  we  had  no  other  argument,  the 
very  doctrine  we  are  now  upon  were  sufficient  to 
evince.  We  have  proved  by  very  plain  texts  of 
Scripture,  that  there  will  be  a  disparity  of  rewards  in 
the  life  to  come,  according  to  the  disparity  of  men's 
graces  and  good  works  in  this  life ;  and  from  hence 
we  may  safely  conclude,  that  the  doctrine  of  those 
who  teach  that  the  perfect  righteousness  of  Christ  is 
formally  the  righteousness  of  every  believer,  and  that 
thereupon  he  hath  a  right  to  the  highest  reward  in 
heaven,  is  certainly  false.  Nay  indeed,  if  that  doctrine 
of  their's  were  true,  a  consequence  would  follow, 
which  cannot  be  uttered  without  trembling,  that 
every  saint  shall  be  equal  to  Christ  in  glory ;  Christ's 
righteousness  being  his,  and  so  he  having  a  right  to 
whatsoever  that  righteousness  deserved. 

But  to  answer  more  directly  to  the  objection,  there 
is  nothing  more  certain,  than  that  the  future  glory  of 
the  saints  is  the  purchase  of  Christ's  righteousness. 


186  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

But  how  ?  By  the  meritorious  obedience  of  Christ,  in 
his  life  and  death,  a  covenant  of  grace,  mercy,  and 
life  eternal  was  procured,  ratified,  and  established 
between  God  and  the  sinful  sons  of  men  ;  the  condi 
tion  of  this  covenant  is  faith  working  by  love,  or  a 
faith  fruitful  of  good  works ;  and  there  is  also  suffi 
cient  grace  promised  to  all  that  shall  heartily  seek  it 
for  the  performance  of  that  condition.  It  is  from  this 
covenant  of  infinite  mercy  in  Christ  Jesus  alone  that 
our  imperfect  good  works  have  any  ordination  to  so 
excellent  a  reward  as  the  future  glory ;  and  it  is  the 
mercy,  the  rich  mercy,  the  royal  bounty  and  libe 
rality  of  God,  expressed  in  the  same  covenant,  that 
assigns  to  greater  degrees  of  grace  here,  greater  de 
grees  of  glory  hereafter.  This  is  the  plain  truth. 
But  to  be  short,  and  to  shew  the  perfect  sophistry 
of  this  objection,  I  ask  the  objectors,  whether  they 
do  not  acknowledge  that  the  present  grace  of  the 
saints  in  this  life  is  as  well  the  purchase  of  Christ's 
righteousness,  as  their  future  glory?  They  must,  they 
will,  they  do  confess  it.  Now  then,  according  to 
their  argument  it  will  follow,  that  all  the  saints  have 
equal  degrees  of  grace  in  this  life,  because  they  have 
an  equal  share  in  the  righteousness  of  Christ,  by 
which  that  grace  was  purchased ;  than  which  assertion 
nothing  can  be  more  notoriously  false.  This  their 
argument  therefore  is  a  manifest  fallacy. 

3.  Their  last  objection  is  taken  from  the  parable 
of  our  Saviour,  Matt.  xx.  1,  &c.  where  the  kingdom 
of  heaven,  that  is,  the  church  of  God,  is  compared 
to  a  vineyard,  the  master  whereof  went  out  in  the 
morning  to  hire  labourers,  and  agreed  witli  them 
for  a  penny  a  day.  Three  hours  after,  or  at  the 
third  hour,  he  went  out  and  hired  more ;  and  so  again 


of  Bliss  in  Hear  an.  187 

at  the  slvth  and  ninth  hours ;  yea  at  the  eleventh 
hour  he  did  likewise.  And  when  they  came  all  to  re 
ceive  their  wages,  he  gave  the  last  he  had  hired  as 
much  as  he  had  agreed  for  with  the  first,  viz.,  every 
one  a  penny,  neither  more  nor  less.  Whence  they 
infer  that  the  future  reward,  signified  by  this  penny, 
shall  not  be  proportioned  according  to  the  difference 
of  men's  works,  but  be  one  and  the  same  to  all. 

I  answer,  this  parable  belongs  not  at  all  to  the 
matter  in  question,  seeing  the  scope  of  it  is  to  justify 
God's  proceedings  in  the  dispensation  of  his  grace 
towards  the  church  of  the  Jews,  and  that  of  the 
Gentiles  ;  the  latter  of  which  was  not  called  till  a  long 
time  after  the  former ;  and  though  being  so  much 
junior  to  it,  yet  was  made  its  equal  in  the  benefits 
and  blessings  of  God's  gracious  covenant.  The  Jews 
were  first  hired  into  the  vineyard  betimes  in  the 
morning,  in  the  more  early  ages  of  the  world,  in  the 
days  of  Abraham,  with  whom  and  his  posterity  God 
made  a  special  covenant  of  grace  and  mercy ;  and  in 
the  after-ages,  (which  seem  to  be  signified  in  the 
parable  by  the  third,  and  swth,  and  ninth  hours,)  at 
such  times  as  the  true  religion  was  in  danger  to  fail 
among  them,  he  by  extraordinary  means  and  instru 
ments  raised  and  restored  it  again  ;  as  in  the  days  of 
Moses  and  Klias,  and  after  the  captivity  of  Babylon. 
But  the  Gentiles  were  not  called  into  the  vineyard 
till  the  day  was  far  spent,  in  the  last  time  and  dis 
pensation  ;  (undoubtedly  signified  in  the  parable  by 
the  eleventh  hour ;)  and  yet  these,  by  the  goodness  of 
their  heavenly  Master,  are  admitted  to  the  same  pri 
vileges  with  the  Israelites,  and  they  receive  the  same 
reward  which  was  promised  to  the  Jews,  with  whom 


188  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vu. 

the  covenant  was  first  made,  and  who  bore  the  heat 
of  the  day,  whilst  the  others  stood  idle. 

This  admission  of  idolatrous  Gentiles,  upon  their 
conversion  to  the  faith  of  Christ,  unto  equal  privileges 
with  the  Jews,  was  a  great  offence  to  them,  and  an 
occasion  of  hardening  many  of  them  in  their  unbelief 
and  rejection  of  Christ's  Gospel.  They  would  rather 
quit,  than  share  in  the  benefits  of  the  Gospel  with 
the  Gentiles,  whom  they  so  much  despised  and  hated, 
as  if  they  scorned  to  go  to  heaven  in  their  company. 
This  discontent  of  the  Jews,  at  the  gracious  dispen 
sation  of  God  towards  the  Gentiles,  by  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  in  the  latter  ages,  is  doubtless  signified  in  the 
parable  by  the  murmuring  of  those  servants  that  were 
first  hired  into  the  vineyard,  against  the  equal  retri 
bution  given  to  those  servants  that  were  hired  last 
of  all,  mentioned  ver.  11,  12.  And  now  what  is  all 
this  to  the  purpose  of  the  objectors  ? 

In  a  word,  it  may  seem  strange  that  any  man 
should  fetch  a  proof  out  of  this  chapter  for  a  parity 
of  rewards  in  the  life  to  come,  and  that  from  a  para 
bolical  discourse  delivered  therein,  and  that  mani 
festly  designed  to  a  quite  different  purpose ;  when  in 
the  very  same  chapter,  ver.  23,  26,  27,  our  Saviour 
plainly  teacheth  the  contrary  doctrine,  as  I  have 
already  undeniably  evinced. 

The  objections  against  this  truth  being  thus  cleared, 
I  shall  add  only  one  caution,  necessary  to  prevent 
the  misunderstanding  of  it,  viz.,  that  though  there 
shall  be  different  degrees  of  glory  in  the  life  to  come, 
yet  to  every  saint  his  own  degree  shall  be  a  satis 
factory  beatitude. 

To  receive  those  rivers  of  pleasure,  that  flow  from 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven.  189 

the  right  hand  of  God,  there  will  be  many  vessels  (if 
I  may  use  the  common  similitude)  of  different  sizes 
and  capacities,  some  greater,  some  lesser,  but  all  of 
them  shall  be  filled.  This  different,  but  in  every  one 
satisfactory  perception  of  the  future  heavenly  bliss, 
seems  to  have  been  typified  and  represented  by  the 
Israelites  gathering  of  manna  (that  food  of  heaven) 
in  the  wilderness;  of  which  we  read,  Exod.  xvi.  18, 
that  lie  that  (fathered  much  had  nothing  over,  and 
he  that  gathered  little  had  no  lack :  they  gathered 
every  man  according  to  his  own  eating.  To  explain 
this  as  far  as  we  are  able,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that 
although  whilst  we  are  in  this  state  of  proficiency 
and  running  our  race,  it  be  not  only  lawful,  but  a 
laudable  ambition  and  emulation  in  us,  to  strive  to 
outstrip  and  excel  each  other  in  virtue,  and  so  to 
gain  the  richer  prize ;  yet  when  our  race  is  finished, 
and  the  great  Bpa/Seirr//?  or  Judge  of  it  hath  given  his 
award,  and  passed  the  decisive  sentence,  we  must 
not,  we  shall  not  contend,  but  fully  acquiesce  and 
rest  therein.  And  then  the  servant,  who  having 
increased  his  pound  but  to  five  more,  shall  hear  his 
lord  thus  pronouncing,  Eu  uyaOe  $ov\e,  Well  done  thou 
aood  servant,  be  thou  rider  over  Jive  cities  :  he,  I 
say,  shall  be  as  well  pleased  and  satisfied  as  the  other 
servant,  who,  having  made  a  double  improvement, 
shall  receive  a  proportionable  reward,  and  have 
authority  over  ten  cities. 

Among  the  blessed  in  heaven  there  shall  be  no  dis 
content  or  repining,  no  pride  or  disdain,  no  grudging 
or  envy ;  but  there  shall  be  all  contentment,  all  joy, 
all  thankfulness,  all  love.  They  that  are  seated  in 
the  higher  mansions  of  glory,  shall  not  look  down 
with  contempt  on  those  that  are  beneath  them ;  nor 


190  Different  Degrees  SERM.  vn. 

shall  these  lift  up  an  envious  eye  towards  the  other; 
but  they  shall  perfectly  love  and  delight  in  each 
other :  and  by  an  inexpressible  union  of  sublimated 
charity,  each  shall  make  what  the  other  enjoys  his 
own,  and  all  together  shall  make  up  in  different  notes 
one  sweet  harmonious  concert  in  the  praises  of  God, 
the  fountain  of  their  bliss.  To  this  purpose  is  the 
saying  of  St.  Austin  on  John  xiv.  2.  speaking  of  the 
different  rewards  of  the  blessed  in  heaven :  "It  comes 
"  to  pass  through  charity,  that  what  each  hath  is 
"  common  to  all ;  for  thus  every  man  hath  it  also  in 
"  himself,  when  he  loves  and  rejoiceth  in,  and  so 
"  enjoys  in  another,  what  himself  hath  nots." 

It  is  hard  indeed  for  us  mortals,  whilst  we  dwell 
in  these  houses  of  clay,  and  are  encumbered  with  the 
sinful  inclinations  and  passions  of  this  flesh,  to  con 
ceive  of  this,  and  to  comprehend  the  divine  power  of 
exalted  love.  But  let  us  consider,  why  may  not  that 
be  among  the  saints  hereafter,  which  we  are  sure  is 
among  the  holy  angels  now  ?  In  that  celestial 
hierarchy,  archangels  and  angels,  cherubims  and 
seraphims,  and  thrones,  and  the  lower  orders  of 
those  blessed  spirits,  disagree  not  among  themselves, 
though  they  differ  from  one  another  in  honour  and 
dignity ;  but  on  the  contrary,  they  perfectly  love  and 
delight  in  each  other,  and  all  in  their  God.  And 
in  their  several  stations,  they  readily  and  cheerfully 
execute  the  will  and  pleasure  of  their  great  Lord  and 
Master,  whose  ministers  they  are ;  and  all  together 
make  one  family  of  love  and  peace,  of  joy  and  order, 
and  one  harmonious  choir,  in  perfect  concert,  and  with 

g  Fit  quidem  per  charitatem,  ut  quod  habent  singuli,  commune 
sit  omnibus  :  sic  enim  quisque  etiam  ipse  habet,  cum  amat  in 
altero  quod  ipse  non  habet. 


of  Bliss  in  Heaven.  191 

ravishing  melody,  sounding  forth  the  praises  of  their 
heavenly  King.  And  thus  it  shall  be  with  the 
saints  after  the  resurrection,  when  they  shall  be  made 
to-dyycXoi,  like  unto  the  angels,  i.  e.,  when  they  shall 
enjoy  the  same  life  immortal  which  the  angels  do, 
and  be  joined  to  them,  and  incorporated  into  their 
blessed  society. 

And  now,  lastly,  to  apply  this  whole  discourse :  Let 
us,  by  what  hath  been  said,  be  excited  and  stirred  up 
to  a  diligent,  earnest,  and  zealous  pursuit  after  an 
increase  of  virtue,  and  a  greater  proficiency  in  the 
ways  of  righteousness  and  holiness.  Let  us  shun  no 
labour  that  comes  in  our  way,  and  is  within  our  reach 
and  compass,  whereby  we  may  glorify  God,  and  do 
good  to  others;  for  we  see,  the  more  grace  the 
more  glory  ;  and  the  greater  and  more  industrious 
our  labour  in  God's  service  hath  been  in  this  life, 
the  greater  and  more  copious  and  abundant  shall  our 
reward  be  in  the  life  to  come.  We  cannot  be  truly 
righteous  overmuch,  as  the  slothful  world  would  per 
suade  us,  nor  can  there  be  any  excess  or  superfluity 
in  virtue,  or  in  the  habits  and  exercises  of  real  piety 
and  charity.  How  great  soever  our  labour  be  in  the 
business  of  religion,  none  of  it  shall  be  lost  labour,  or 
in  vain  in  the  Lord.  Every  degree  of  grace  which 
we  advance  to  here,  shall  raise  us  a  degree  higher  in 
the  future  glory.  And  all  the  good  works  that  ever 
we  do,  shall  be  recorded  in  the  faithful  register  of 
the  divine  Omniscience,  and  not  one  of  them  shall 
be  forgotten,  or  miss  of  its  reward.  Oh  !  that  this 
consideration  might  often  and  very  deeply  enter  our 
thoughts  !  How  would  a  vigorous  sense  of  this  truth 
awaken  and  rouse  us  out  of  our  remissness  and  neg 
ligence  in  religion,  that  too  often  seizeth  on  us  !  How 


192  Degree*  of  Bliss  in  Heaven.     SERM.  vn. 

would  this  inspirit  and  animate  us  to  generous  at 
tempts  even  of  heroic  virtue,  which  in  this  degene 
rate  ao*e  are  derided,  as  vain  romantic  enterprises! 
How  often  at  least  would  this  thought  call  us  from 
our  idle  solitude  or  unprofitable  society,  to  our  prayers 
and  devotions  !  How  many  precious  hours  of  our  time 
would  it  rescue  and  redeem,  from  being  misspent 
and  lost  in  vanity  and  folly  !  How  readily  should  we 
embrace,  yea,  how  studiously  should  we  seek  after 
the  opportunities  of  doing  good  !  for  indeed  every 
such  opportunity  is  an  advantage  offered  us  by  the 
good  providence  of  God,  farther  to  enrich  our  souls, 
and  to  add  to  our  heavenly  store  and  treasure,  the 
only  true  treasure,  that  shall  never  fail  or  be  taken 
from  us. 

In  a  word,  therefore,  let  us  in  the  first  place 
(as  I  said  in  the  beginning  of  this  discourse)  take 
care  to  secure  our  being  in  a  state  of  grace ;  for 
"  it  is  a  folly  for  him,  that  is  not  yet  sure  of  life,  to 
"  contend  for  honourV  And  having  done  this,  let 
us  not  rest  here,  but  advance  more  and  more  in  that 
blessed  state,  and  go  on  to  perfection. 

I  conclude  with  the  words  of  St.  Peter  in  the 
close  of  this  Epistle,  Grow  in  grace,  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 
To  him  be  glory  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 

h  Incertis  de  salute,  de  gloria  minime  certandum. 


SKRMON    VIII. 


EVERLASTING  LIKE  HOPED  FOR  BY  GOOD  MEN  UNDER  THE 
OLD  TESTAMENT  J  AND  THAT  THE  CONSIDERATION  OF  THE 
VANITY  OE  THE  PRESENT  I.IFR  IS  AN  EFFECTUAL  MEANS 
TO  MAKE  US  FIX  OUH  MINDS  UPON  THINGS  ETERNAL. 


PSALM  ciii.  15,  1(>,  17. 

As  for  man,  his  day*  arc  «x  arasf :  «*  the  jflvircr  of  the 
fit:ld,  so  he  flourisheth.  For  the-  wind  passeth  oca"  it,  and 
it  is  qone  ;  and  the  place  thereof  sliall  know  it  no  more. 
Hut  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  ?'x  from  everlasting  to  cver- 
lastinq  upon  tJiein  that  f«ir  Jiim. 

TTS  Psalm  (confessed  by  all  to  be  a  Psalm  of 
David)  is  encharistical  throughout:  it  begins  and 
ends  with  the  most  devout  and  affectionate  praises 
and  thanksgivings  to  Almighty  God.  For  thus  the 
sweet  singer  of  Israel  begins  the  Psalm,  ver.  1,  2, 
Bless  the  Lord,  O  mi/  soul:  and  all  that  is  within 
me,  bless  his  holy  name.  Bless  the  Lord,  0  my 
soul,  and  for  act  not  all  his  benefits.  And  thus  he 
ends  the  Psalm,  ver.  20,  21,  22,  Bless  the  Lord,  ye 
his  angels,  that  c.vcel  in  strength,  that  do  his  com 
mandments,  hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  his  word. 
Bless  the  Lord,  all  ye  his  hosts  ;  ye  ministers  of 
his,  that  do  his  pleasure.  Bless  the  Lord,  all  his 
works  in  all  places  of  his  dominion :  bless  the 
Lord,  0  my  soul. 

The  matter  of  this  praise  and  thanksgiving,  con 
tained  in  the  body  of  the  Psalm,  is  of  a  very  large 

BULL,   VOL.  I.  O 


194  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SERM.  vm. 

and  wide  compass,  extending  itself  to  all  the  benefits 
bestowed  by  God  upon  man.  But  the  divine  Psalm 
ist  more  particularly  takes  notice  of  two  principal 
blessings  of  God,  belonging  to  the  faithful,  (which 
are  indeed  the  matter  of  two  great  articles  of  our 
Christian  faith,)  "  the  forgiveness  of  sin,"  and  "  the 
"  life  everlasting."  The  mercy  of  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  he  celebrates  verse  3,  Who  forgiveth  all  thine 
iniquities,  who  healeth  all  thy  diseases.  And  again, 
in  the  eighth  and  following  verses,  The  Lord  is 
merciful  and  gracious,  slow  to  anger,  and  plenteous 
in  mercy.  lie  will  not  always  chide :  neither  will 
he  keep  his  anger  for  ccer.  He  hath  not  dealt 
with  us  after  our  sins  ;  nor  rewarded  us  according 
to  our  iniquities.  For  as  the  heaven  is  high  above 
the  earth,  so  great  is  his  mercy  toward  them  that 
fear  him.  As  far  as  the  cast  is  from  the  west,  so 
far  hath  he  removed  our  transgressions  from  us. 
Like  as  a  father  pitieili  his  children,  so  the  Lord 
piticth  them  that  fear  him.  For  he  knoweth  our 
frame  ;  he  remembereth  that  we  are  dust.  The 
blessing  of  everlasting  life,  after  this  present  vain 
life,  he  sets  forth  in  the  verses  which  I  have  chosen 
for  my  text. 

In  which  the  royal  Psalmist  suggests  to  us  a  two 
fold  meditation.  1.  Of  the  vanity  and  shortness  of 
this  present  life,  and  all  the  enjoyments  thereof: 
As  for  man,  his  days  are  as  grass :  as  the  flower 
of  the  field,  so  he  flour isheth.  For  the  wind  pass- 
eth  over  it,  and  it  is  gone;  and  the  place  thereof 
knoweth  it  no  more.  2.  Of  the  everlasting  mercy 
of  God  to  the  faithful  in  the  other  life:  But  the 
mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from  everlasting  to  everlast 
ing  upon  them  that  fear  him.  For  the  everlasting 


the  Eternity  of  the  ue.t't.  195 

mercy  of  God  here  spoken  of,  being  opposed  to  the 
short  transitory  enjoyments  of  this  present  life,  must 
necessarily  signify  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  (iod 
to  the  faithful  in  the  other  life,  which  indeed  is  the 
only  everlasting1  mercv.  Hence  Aben  K/ra,  and 

J  O  J 

other  of  the  Hebrew  doctors,  saw  and  acknowledged 
that  this  text  speaks  of  the  everlasting  happiness  of 
the  righteous  in  the  life  to  come.  And  the  Thaldee 
paraphrast  thus  renders  the  latter  part  of  my  text  : 
"  Hut  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  in  this  world,  and 
"  even  in  the  world  to  come,  upon  them  that  fear 
"  hini'V 

The  text  thus  briefly  explained,  yields  us  these 
two  observations,  which  shall  be  the  subject  of  mv 
discourse  at  this  time.  1.  That  good  men,  even 
under  the  Law,  or  Old  Testament,  looked  beyond 
this  present,  vain,  transitory  life,  and  believed  and 
hoped  for  an  everlasting  happiness  in  the  life  to 
come.  2.  That  a  serious  consideration  of  the  vanity 
and  shortness  of  this  present  life,  and  all  the  enjoy 
ments  thereof,  is  an  effectual  means  to  bring  us  to 
God,  and  to  make  us  fix  our  hopes  on  him  and 
things  eternal. 

1.  That  good  men,  even  under  the  Law,  or  Old 
Testament,  looked  beyond  this  present,  vain,  transi 
tory  life,  and  believed  and  hoped  for  an  everlasting 
happiness  in  the  life  to  come.  For  such  a  faith  and 
hope,  you  see,  David  plainly  expresscth  in  this  text, 
and  the  same  he  often  otherwhere  declares  in  this 
divine  Book  of  Psalms.  Indeed  in  all  those  places, 
wherein  he  shews  the  vanity  and  shortness  of  this 
life,  and  that  there  is  no  solid,  substantial,  and  stable 


_  -rjn  MD 

o  2 


196  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SERM.  vm. 

happiness  to  be  found  here  below ;  and  yet,  with  the 
same  breath,  sets  forth  the  great  happiness  of  the 
faithful,  in  their  trust  and  dependence  on  God's 
goodness  and  mercy ;  I  say,  in  all  those  places  he 
evidently  points  his  finger  towards  heaven,  and  di 
rects  our  thoughts  to  the  bliss  and  happiness  of  a 
future  state.  You  may  especially  find  it  in  Psalm 
xxxix.  5,  6,  7:  Behold,  thou  /taut  made  my  days  as 
an  handbreadth ;  and  mine  age  is  as  nothing  be 
fore  .thee :  verily  every  man  at  his  best  state  is 
altogether  vanity.  Surely  every  man  walketh  in  a 
vain  show :  surely  they  are  disquieted  in  vain :  lie 
hcapeth  up  riches,  and  knowcth  not  who  shall  ga 
ther  them.  And  nou\  Lord,  what  wait  I  for  f 
my  hope  /.s  in  thee. 

To  the  same  purpose  are  those  Psalms  of  David, 
wherein  he  amply  describes  the  prosperous  and  flou 
rishing  estate  of  many  wicked  men ;  and  on  the 
other  side,  the  calamitous  and  afflicted  condition  of 
many  good  and  virtuous  in  this  world  ;  and  yet  in 
the  close  pronounceth  these  to  be  most  happy  men, 
and  the  other  to  be  most  miserable;  which  cannot 
be  true,  but  on  supposition  of  a  future  state  and 
resurrection.  Of  this  sort  are  the  forty-ninth  and 
seventy-third  Psalms  throughout. 

But  what  need  we  search  far  into  the  Book  of 
Psalms?  The  very  first  Psalm  affords  us  a  clear 
proof  of  this  truth.  For  therein  David  first  shews 
the  blessedness  of  the  godly  man  in  the  first  and  fol 
lowing  verses  :  Blessed  is  the  man  that  walketh  not 
in  the  counsel  of  the  ungodly,  nor  standeth  in  the 
way  of  sinners,  nor  sitteth  in  the  seat  of  the  scorn 
ful.  But  his  delight  is  in  the  law  of  the  Lord ;  and 
in  his  law  doth  he  meditate  day  and  night,  &c. 


f/if  Kternity  of  tin  >  ne,et.  }\)7 

And  then,  on  the  contrary,  lie  declares  the  miserable 
condition  of  the  ungodly,  ver.  4,  5,  The  ungodly  arc 
not  so  :  (i.e.  they  are  not  blessed  as  the  righteous, 
but  are  indeed  very  miserable  men  :)  they  arc  like  the 
chaff  winch  the  icind  d  fleet  h  array.  Therefore,  or 
because,  the  ungodly  shall  not  stand  in  the  judg 
ment,  nor  sinners  in  the  congregation  of  the  right 
eous. 

Now  what  judgment  or  tribunal  of  God  is  that,  to 
which  all  the  ungodly  shall  be  cited,  in  which  none 
of  them  shall  be  able  to  stand?  i.e.  to  carry  their 
cause,  but  they  shall  all,  canxa  cadcre,  "be  cast,  and 
"  utterly  overthrown?"  Certainly  this  cannot  be  un 
derstood  of  any  judgment  of  God  exorcised  in  this 
life.  For  here  wicked  men  often  prosper,  and  go  out 
of  the  world  without  any  discernible  mark  of  God's 
judgment  on  them.  And  on  the  other  side,  many 
good  men,  as  to  the  things  of  this  world,  are  cast  and 
overthrown,  ruined  and  undone.  David  therefore 
undoubtedly  speaks  of  a  judgment  to  come.  And 
accordingly  the  author  of  the  Targum,  or  Chaldee 
Paraphrase,  thus  renders  the  words,  "The  ungodly 
"  shall  not  be  justified  in  the  great  day1'."  The  great 
day,  i.  e.  the  day  of  the  last  judgment,  the  day  of  the 
great  assize,  wherein  all  men  shall  receive  their  final 
doom  and  sentence,  called  by  St.  Peter  the  day  of  the 
Lord,  2  Peter  iii.  10.  Again,  what  is  that  congre 
gation  of  the  righteous,  wherein  no  sinner  shall  ap 
pear?  Surely  there  neither  is,  nor  ever  was,  nor  ever 
will  be,  any  such  unmixed  company  of  righteous  men 
to  be  found  in  this  world.  Here  the  chaiY  and  the 
wheat,  the  good  and  bad,  are  mingled  together;  but 


vn  "jr^  par  $ 


198  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SERM.  vin. 

a  winnowing  time  of  judgment  will  come,  wherein 
the  wicked  shall  be  as  the  chaff  which  the  wind  driveth 
crwat/,  (as  the  Psalmist  expresseth   it,)  and  nothing 
but  the  pure  and  clean  wheat  shall  remain  and  be 
laid  up  in  God's  granary.     There  shall  then  (as  our 
Saviour  assures  us)  be  a  congregation  or  gathering 
together,  from  one  end  of  the  heavens  to  the  other, 
of  all  God's  elect,  who  have  been  from  the  beginning 
of  the  world  ;  which  being  placed  at  the  right  hand 
of  the  Judge,  shall  receive  that  joyful  sentence,  Come 
ye  bles^'d  of  my  Father,   inherit  the   kingdom  pre 
pared  for  you  from    the  foundation    of  the  world. 
In  this  congregation  of  the  righteous  no  sinner  shall 
be  found  :  the  ungodly  shall  be?  placed  altogether  in 
another  herd,  at  the  Judge's  left  hand,  and  hear  that 
dreadful    sentence,    Go,  ye    cursed ',   into   everlasting 
fire,  prepared  for  the  Devil  and  Ins  angels.     This  is 
the  clear  sense  of  those  words  of  the   Psalmist,  The 
ungodly  are  not  to :  hut  are  like  the  chaff  which  the 
wind    driveth    away.      Therefore    the    ungodly   shall 
not  stand  in  the  judgment,  nor  sinners  in  the  congre 
gation    of  the  righteous.     And   by  these  texts  it  is 
evident,  that   David    believed   a  future  state  and  a 
judgment  to  come. 

Nor  was  this  faith  peculiar  to  David,  but  a  received 
notion  among  the  Jews,  in  the  time  and  age  wherein 
David  lived.  For  it  appears  that  the  Jews  then 
generally  believed  the  immortality  and  subsistence 
of  the  soul  of  man  after  the  death  of  the  body,  and 
consequently  a  future  state  of  happiness  or  misery, 
according  to  the  works  and  actions  of  men  in  this  life 
respectively.  This,  I  say,  appears  (if  we  had  no  other 
evidence  of  it)  from  the  history  of  Saul,  desiring  to 
consult  the  prophet  Samuel  after  he  was  dead,  1  Sam. 


the  Eternity  of  the  m\rt.  199 

xxviii.  the  eleventh  and  following  verses.  For  that 
history  (which  way  soever  you  determine  the  old  dis 
pute,  whether  it  was  indeed  the  soul  of  Samuel  that 
gave  him  answer,  or  an  evil  spirit  personating  the 
holy  prophet)  undeniably  proves  that  Saul  (as  little 
true  religion  as  he  had,  yet)  believed  that  the  soul  of 
Samuel  was  still  in  being,  and  alive,  after  his  body 
was  dead  and  laid  in  the  grave ;  from  whence  it  is 
plain,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  soul's  immortality  was 
no  news  to  the  men  of  that  age. 

In  the  writings  of  king  Solomon,  the  son  of  David, 
we  find  some  very  clear  declarations  of  the  immor 
tality  of  man's  soul,  and  of  a  future  state.  Such  is 
that  in  the  twelfth  chapter  of  Kcclesiastes,  ver.  7, 
Then  shall  the  dust  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was, 
and  the  spirit  shall  return  unto  God  who  (/are  itc. 
The  plain  and  evident  sense  of  which  words  is  this: 
Whereas  man  consists  of  two  parts,  body  and  soul, 
the  condition  of  these  two  when  he  dies  will  be  very 
different :  for  the  body  being  first  taken  out  of  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  and  so  of  a  corruptible  constitution, 
shall  go  back  into  the  earth  again,  and  moulder  into 
dust ;  but  the  soul,  as  it  is  of  another  and  more  noble 
original,  (as  being  at  first  breathed  immediately  from 
God  himself  into  the  body,)  shall  not  perish  with  the 
body,  but  return  to  Cod  and  the  regions  above. 
For  Solomon  seems  to  speak  of  the  end  of  man, 
according  to  God's  primary  and  antecedent  will  and 
intention ;  which  was,  that  the  soul  of  man  after 
death  should  go  to  God  and  the  heavenly  beings ; 
and  not  of  the  consequent  event  of  things  happening 
through  men's  sin  and  wickedness  ;  whereby  it  comes 

c  [See  note  at  p.  29.] 


£00  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SERM.  vm. 

to  pass,  that  the  souls  of  many  men,  when  they  die, 
go  to  the  Devil  and  the  infernal  regions.  Though  it 
is  true  also,  that  the  spirit  of  every  man  after  death, 
good  or  bad,  in  some  sense  goes  to  God,  and  returns 
into  his  hands,  to  be  kept  somewhere  under  the  cus 
tody  of  his  almighty  power,  in  order  to  the  receiving 
of  his  final  sentence  at  the  last  judgment,  either  of 
life  or  death  eternal.  And  accordingly  the  Wise  Man, 
a  little  after  in  the  same  chapter,  subjoins  the  article 
of  the  future  universal  judgment,  and  that  as  an 
argument  to  persuade  men,  not  to  acquiesce  in  these 
worldly  vanities,  but  to  make  religion  and  the  service 
of  God  their  chief  design  and  business ;  ver.  1 3, 
14,  Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter: 
Fear  God,  and  keep  Jtis  commandments :  for  this  is 
the  ivhole  [duty]  of  man.  For  God  shall  bring 
every  work  into  judgment,  until  every  secret  thing, 
whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil.  This  was 
Solomon's  faith. 

Let  us  proceed  to  the  following  ages.  After  these 
times  it  pleased  the  good  and  gracious  God,  to  afford 
his  people  a  mighty  and  most  convincing  evidence  of 
the  future  heavenly  and  immortal  life  in  the  transla 
tion  of  Elias,  of  which  you  read,  2  Kings  ii.  11,  12, 
that  he  was  taken  up  by  God  in  a  fiery  chariot  into 
heaven,  and  that  in  the  sight  of  Elisha,  who  after 
wards  saw  him  no  more.  And  this  was  left  upon  re 
cord,  so  that  none  of  the  Jews  who  read  the  history 
could  be  ignorant  of  this  wonderful  work  of  God. 

In  the  writings  of  the  succeeding  prophets,  there 
are  many  passages,  which  an  equal  and  unprejudiced 
reader  cannot  but  believe  have  a  prospect  to  the  life 
to  come.  But  because  they  are  liable  to  some  cavils 
and  exceptions,  (occasioned  by  the  obscurity  of  the 


the  Eternity  of  the  ne.et. 

prophetic  style,)  which  I  have  not  now.  time  to  con 
sider,  T  shall  at  present  wave  them,  and  proceed  to 
some  other  instances. 

In  the  time  of  the  captivity  lived  the  penman  of 
the  102d  Psalm,  as  clearly  appears  from  the  thirteenth 
and  following  verses  ;  and  he  is  thought  by  some 
learned  interpreters  to  have  been  Xehemiah.  lint 
whoever  was  the  writer  of  the  Psalm,  we  have  therein 
a  very  remarkable  passage  to  our  purpose  in  the 
twenty-fifth  and  following  versos  :  Of  old  hast  thou 
laid  the  foundation  of  the  earth  :  find  the  hearens 
are  the  work  of  tin/  hands.  They  shall  perish,  hut 
thou  shalt  endure  :  yea,  all  of  them  .shall  wa.e  old 
like  a  (jarment  ;  as  a  venture  shalt  thou  change 
them,  and  they  shall  he  changed.  Here  it  is  most 
plainly  asserted,  that  as  the  heavens  and  the  earth 
we're  at  first  created  and  made  bv  the  almighty  power 
of  Cod,  so  by  the  same  power  they  shall  one  day,  as 
to  their  present  constitution,  perish  and  be  dissolved  ; 
and  that  a  change'  or  new  state  of  things  shall  ensue. 

Now  what  is  this,  I  beseech  you,  but  the  very  doc 
trine  of  St.  Peter  concerning  the  last  day  of  judg 
ment,  2  Peter  iii.  10.  and  13:  Hut  the  day  of  the 
Lord  le ill  conic  as  a  thief  in  the  niffht ;  in  the  which 
the  heavens  sliall  pass  away  with  a  areaf  noise,  and 
the  elements  shall  inch  leith  fervent  heat,  the  earth 
also  and  all  the  works  that  are  therein  shall  he  burnt 
up.  Nevertheless  ice,  according  to  his  promise,  look 
for  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth,  wherein  dteelleth 
righteousness.  Certainly  the  end  or  dissolution  of 
this  present  world,  and  a  future  state  or  world  to 
come,  have  a  necessary  connection  one  with  the  other, 
and  are  both  alike  matters  of  divine  revelation.  Nor 
can  it  be  imagined  why,  and  to  what  purpose,  the 


202  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SERM.  vm. 

former  should  be  revealed  to  the  sons  of  men  without 
the  latter.  But  besides,  as  I  have  already  noted,  the 
words  of  the  Psalmist  expressly  speak  of  a  change  of 
things  at  the  end  and  dissolution  of  this  present 
world ;  such  a  change,  as  when  a  man  puts  off,  folds 
up,  and  lays  aside  an  old  garment,  and  puts  on  a  new 
and  fresh  one. 

I  shall  only  farther  remark  here,  that  the  ancient 
oracles  attributed  to  the  Sibyls,  extant  before  our 
Saviour's  time,  (which  in  great  part  had  their  ori 
ginal  from  the  Jewish  theology,)  spake  also  of  the 
last  great  conflagration,  or  dissolution  of  this  present 
world.  For  so  Ovid  testifieth, 

Esse  quoque  in  fatis  reminiscitur  afforc  tempus, 

Quo  mare,  quo  tellus,  correptaque  regia  coeli 

Ardeat,  et  mundi  moles  operosa  laboret.    [MET.  I.  256.] 

That  in  them  there  was  mention  of  a  time  appointed 
by  the  divine  decree,  wherein  heaven  and  earth  should 
be  all  on  fire,  and  the  vast  fabric  of  this  world  should 
sink  in  the  flames  thereof. 

My  next  instance  shall  be  taken  from  the  book  en 
titled,  The  Wisdom  of  Solomon  ;  which  though  it  be 
not  canonical,  is  yet  an  ancient  and  venerable  writing, 
undoubtedly  extant  before  our  Saviour's  time,  and  is 
a  competent  and  sufficient  witness  of  the  faith  and 
belief  of  the  church  in  the  time  wherein  it  was  written. 
In  the  second  chapter  of  that  book,  from  the  first  to 
the  twentieth  verse  inclusively,  the  author  elegantly 
represents  the  base  and  vile  sentiments  of  ungodly 
infidels  concerning  the  life  to  come.  And  then  in  the 
four  last  verses  of  the  same  chapter,  and  the  four  first 
verses  of  the  following  chapter,  against  that  wicked 
doctrine,  he  opposeth  the  catholic  truth,  received  and 
believed  by  the  church  of  God  in  his  time,  in  these 


the  Eternity  of  the  nca't.  203 

words  :  Such  things  they  did  imaqine,  and  were  de 
ceived  :  for  their  own  wickedness  hath  blinded  them. 
As  for  the  mysteries  of  God,  they  knew  them  not: 
neither  hoped  they  for  the  iraaes  of  the  righteous  : 
nor  discerned  a  reward  for  blameless  souls.  For 
God  created  man  to  be  immortal,  and  made  him  to 
be  an  image  of  Jiis  own  eternity.  Nevertheless 
through  envy  of  the  Devil  came  death  info  the  world: 
and  they  that  hold  of  his  side  do  find  it.  lint  the 
souls  of  the  righteous  are  in  the  hand  of  God,  and 
there  shall  no  torment  touch  them.  In  the  sight  of 
the  unwise  they  seemed  to  die  :  and  their  departure 
is  taken  for  misery,  and  their  qoinq  from  us  to  be 
utter  destruction  :  hut  they  are  in  peaec.  /''or 
thouah  they  be  punished  in  the  siaht  of  men,  yet  is 
their  hope  full  of  immortality. 

My  last  instance  shall  be  in  those  Old  Testament 
martyrs,  that  matchless  woman  and  her  seven  sons, 
who,  for  adhering  to  the  law  of  («od,  suffered  under 
the  impious  merciless  tyrant  Antiocbus ;  whose  his 
tory  you  may  read  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  the 
second  book  of  Maccabees.  What  exquisite  torments 
did  they  sutler  with  the  greatest  courage,  in  hope  of 
a  blessed  resurrection,  which  they  all  openly  pro 
fessed  to  the  face  of  the  tyrant  !  I  low  did  they  scorn 
the  offer  of  life  and  honour  too,  upon  their  com 
pliance  with  the  sinful  terms  proposed  to  them  !  But 
the  words  of  the  last  of  the  seven  sons,  speaking  of 
his  brethren  that  died  before  him,  are  express,  and 
most  remarkable,  ver.  36:  Our  brethren,  u'bieh  now 
hare  suffered  a  short  pain,  are  dead  under  God's 
covenant  of  everlasting  life.  I  scarce  know  where 
to  find  an  instance  of  greater  faith  and  fortitude  in 
any  of  our  Christian  martyrologies.  And  as  to  the 


204  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SKRM.  vni. 

truth  of  the  history,  it  was  never  questioned  in  the 
Jewish  church,  as  appears  from  Josephus  and  their 
other  writers.  And  it  is  moreover  confirmed  by  the 
divine  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  who 
manifestly  refers  to  it,  chap.  xi.  35,  where,  discours 
ing  of  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  saints  before 
Christ,  he  mentions  some  who  were  tortured,  not 
accepting  deliverance ;  that  they  might  receive  a 
better  resurrection. 

By  these  testimonies  and  instances  it  sufficiently 
appears,  that  good  men  under  the  law  did  not  live 
and  die  like  swine,  feeding  only  on  the  husks  of 
these  earthly  vanities,  as  some  have  foolishly  ima 
gined.  They  had  undoubtedly  a  future  state  in  their 
eye,  and  lived  by  the  faith  of  it,  as  well  as  we.  This 
faith  was  first  derived,  not  from  the  law  of  Moses, 
(for  that  in  the  letter  of  it  promised  nothing  beyond 
this  life,)  but  from  the  gracious  revelation  of  God  to 
mankind  from  the  beginning.  For  the  clearing 

O  o  O 

whereof  we  are  to  remember,  what  the  author  of 
the  Book  of  Wisdom  in  the  place  before  cited  tells 
us,  and  the  church  of  God  always  believed,  viz.,  that 
God  created  man  to  be  immortal,  and  made  him  to 
be  an  image  of  his  own  eternity  ;  and  that  through 
the  cmy  of  the  Decil  death  entered  into  the  world, 
Wisdom,  chap.  ii.  23,  24.  That  is,  that  our  first 
parents  in  paradise  were  designed  to  a  life  immortal, 
if  they  had  not  sinned.  And  indeed  in  the  history 
of  Genesis  we  expressly  read,  that  they  were  for 
bidden  only  the  tree  of  the  knowledge  of  good  and 
evil,  being  freely  allowed  to  eat  of  all  the  other  trees, 
the  tree  of  life  not  excepted.  Which  doubtless  was 
so  called,  because  it  was  either  a  symbol  and  sacra 
ment,  or  an  instrument  or  means  of  immortality,  or 


the  Eternit    o    the  ne.ti.  205 


both.  And  wo  there  read  also,  that  death 
threatened  to  our  first  parents,  as  a  punishment 
to  them  if  they  should  transgress  the  command  of 
Cod  qiren  them.  Which  evidently  implies,  that  if 
they  had  not  sinned,  they  should  not  have  died.  In 
deed,  how  could  they  understand  the  sanction  other 
wise,  and  what  force  could  it  have  had  on  them  to 
deter  them  from  sinning,  if  they  had  thought  they 
should  have  died,  whether  they  had  sinned  or  not  ? 
And  therefore  St.  Paul  expressly  teacheth  us,  that 
by  the  sin  of  the  first  man  (and  no  otherwise)  death 
entered  into  the  irorld,  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  in  other  places. 

By   his   sin    then    Adam    lost    paradise,  and    that 
whereof  it  was  a  figure,  heaven   too.     lie  was  de- 

c^ 

barred  from  the  sacrament  of  immortality,  the  sen 
tence  of  death  being  passed  upon  him.  But  was  he 
utterly  left  in  this  sad  estate,  without  hope  of  re 
covery  ?  The  church  of  God  hath  always  believed 
that  he  repented,  and  laid  hold  on  the  mercy  of  a 
second  covenant,  and  was  received  again  into  divine 
favour  ;  although  there  be  no  express  mention  of 
this  in  his  history.  Thus,  we  do  not  read  of  any 
precept  or  law  given  by  God  to  Adam  after  his  fall, 
but  we  find  the  practice  of  sacrificing  in  his  family. 
And  it  will  be  very  difficult  to  him  that  considers 
the  matter  thoroughly,  to  imagine  that  he  invented 
that  rite  of  his  own  head  ;  he  was  taught  it  there 
fore  by  the  command  and  institution  of  God.  And 
it  is  highly  reasonable  to  think,  that  at  the  same 
time,  when  God  gave  a  second  law  and  institution, 
he  encouraged  him  also  to  the  obedience  of  it,  by  a 
promise  of  acceptance  and  restitution  to  his  former 
favour.  Upon  this  hope  doubtless  he  renewed  his 


206  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,       SERAI,  vm. 

allegiance  to  bis  Creator,  and  devoted  himself  to  the 
worship  and  service  of  God,  and  taught  his  sons, 
Cain  and  Abel,  to  do  so  likewise.  From  him  they 
learned  to  present  their  several  offerings  to  the 
Lord,  Gen.  iv.  where  we  read  also,  ver.  4,  5,  that 
God  had  respect  to  Abel's  offering,  and  declared 
his  acceptance  of  it  by  some  visible  sign,  taken 
notice  of  by  his  brother  Cain ;  probably,  as  the 
Hebrew  doctors  tell  us,  "  by  a  fire  from  heaven, 
"  inflaming  his  offering."  But  how  was  Abel's  offer 
ing  accepted  by  God  ?  Surely  not  to  the  obtaining 
of  any  of  the  temporal  blessings  or  good  things  of 
this  life;  for,  on  the  contrary,  for  this  very  sacrifice 
which  he  offered  to  God,  he  soon  became  himself  a 
sacrifice  to  the  envy  and  malice  of  his  wicked  brother. 
Abel  therefore,  and  his  offering  were  accepted  by 
God  to  the  purposes  of  salvation,  and  the  obtaining 
of  the  good  things  of  the  life  to  come.  And  as  he 
was  the  first  martyr  for  righteousness  sake,  that  is, 
upon  the  account  that  he  was  more  righteous  than 
his  brother ;  so  he  was  the  first  saint  that  entered 
the  heavenly  paradise. 

Moreover,  it  is  certain  that  Enoch,  the  seventh 
from  Adam,  spake  of  a  life  to  come  and  a  future 
judgment.  For  St.  Jude  assures  us,  ver.  14, 15,  of 
his  Epistle,  that  he  expressly  prophesied,  that  God 
should  come  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints,  or 
angels,  to  judge  all  that  are  ungodly.  And  the 
same  Enoch,  as  he  was  a  preacher  of  the  life  to 
come,  so  he  \vas  an  illustrious  precedent  or  example 
thereof.  For  we  read,  Gen.  v.  24,  that  Enoch 
walked  with  God :  and  he  was  not ;  for  God  took 
him  ;  i.  e.  God  took  him  out  of  this  world,  to  the 
happiness  above,  to  the  bliss  of  paradise.  And  the 


the  Eternity  of  the  ne.rt.  207 

author  of  Ecclesiasticus,  chap.  xliv.  16,  tells  us,  that 
Enoch  pleased  God,  and  ica.s  translated,  beuuf  an 
example  of  repentance  to  future  generations.  What 
God  did  to  Enoch  was  exemplary,  and  taught  all 
future  generations  what  they  might  expect  from 
God,  if  they  walked  with  him  as  Enoch  did.  So 
that  the  translation  of  Enoch  to  heaven  was  a  seal 
and  confirmation  of  the  doctrine  of  a  life  to  come, 
which  he  had  preached  to  men  while  he  was  here  on 
earth. 

St.  Paul  seems  plainly  to  confirm  all  that  hath 
been  said  in  his  Epistle  to  Titus,  chap.  i.  2,  where 
he  tells  us  that  eternal  life  wan  promised  by  God 
that  cannot  lie,  irpo  xpovwv  utcovicov,  that  is,  (not  before 
the  foundation  of  the  world,  as  our  translators  ren 
der  itd,  for  there  were  then  no  men  to  whom  such 
promise  might  be  made,  but)  before  ancient  times, 
as  the  words  will  bear,  or  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world.  This  promise  was  made  to  Adam  in  para 
dise  ;  this  promise  was  renewed  to  mankind  pre 
sently  after  the  fall ;  it  was  believed  by  Adam  and 
his  sons ;  it  was  preached,  published,  yea  and  exem 
plified  by  Enoch.  By  the  faith  of  this  promise,  the 
patriarchs  did  and  suffered  great  things,  as  the  divine 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  excellently 
reasons,  chap.  xi.  This  promise  continued  in  force 
under  the  law,  and  was  not  made  of  no  effect  by  it ; 
and  this  same  promise  is  now  most  fully  revealed, 
ratified,  established,  and  confirmed  to  us  by  the 
Gospel  of  Christ. 

In  a  word,  the  doctrine  of  a  future  life  and  judg 
ment  continued  inviolate  and  unquestioned  among 

d  [This  is  a  mistake:  our  translation  has  "before  the  world 
"  began .''] 


208  The  Vanity  of  tliu  Life,        SERM.  viu. 

the  Jews  till  after  their  return  from  the  captivity. 
After  which  time  (exactly  how  soon,  or  how  long  after, 
seems  to  me  uncertain)  there  arose  the  heresy  of  the 
Sadducees,  who  believed  neither  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  nor  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  nor  the 
judgment  to  come.  But  concerning  these  Joseph  us 
observes6,  that  'c  though  they  were  generally  rich 
"  and  great  men,"  (their  principles  leading  them  to 
mind  and  seek  after  the  riches  and  honours  of  this 
world,)  '  yet  they  were  very  few  in  number,  com- 
"  pared  to  the  rest  of  the  Jews."  And  accordingly 
we  read,  that  when  our  blessed  Lord  had  refuted 
their  wicked  doctrine  out  of  the  Pentateuch,  or 
books  of  Moses,  which  they  themselves  acknow 
ledged,  the  multitude,  as  adhering  to  the  old  catho 
lic  faith,  applauded  his  discourse,  Matt.  xxii.  3,'j. 
The  same  Josephus  also  tells  us,  "  that  when  any  of 
"  the  Sadducees  were  admitted  to  offices  of  public 
"  trust  and  government,  they  were  forced  to  dissem- 
"  ble  their  faith,  or  rather  infidelity,  and  to  subscribe 
"  to  the  received  doctrine  of  the  church  of  the  Jews, 
"  because  otherwise  the  people  would  by  no  means 
"  have  endured  them." 

I  shall  only  by  the  way  farther  add,  what  divers 
Hebrew  writers  of  good  note  have  related  as  a  cer 
tain  and  known  truth,  that  several  of  that  impious 
sect,  being  gotten  into  the  pontifical  office,  when 
they  were  about  to  enter  the  sanctuary,  were,  like 
Naclab  and  Abihu,  smitten  by  the  hand  of  God,  a 
flame  of  fire  issuing  forth  from  between  the  che- 
rubims,  that  covered  the  ark,  and  destroying  them 
upon  the  spot.  A  just  and  suitable  judgment  upon 

e  Antiq.  Judak-ie,  XVIII.  2. 


the  Eternity  of  tfn>  nr.ti.  209 

those  profane  wretches,  who  durst  approach  that 
type  of  heaven,  whilst  in  their  hearts  the)7  derided 
the  antitype,  believing  no  other  heaven  but  what  is 
here  on  earth,  and  scoffing  at  the  resurrection  and 
future  judgment,  without  the  belief  whereof,  there 
can  be  no  serious  and  hearty  worship  or  service  of 
God. 

And  thus,  T  hope,  I  have  sufficiently  cleared  and 
confirmed  my  first  observation  from  the  text,  that 
good  men,  under  the  Law  or  Old  Testament,  looked 
beyond  this  present  vain  and  transitory  life,  and 
believed  and  hoped  for  an  everlasting  happiness  in 
the  life  to  come. 

Now  this  discourse  serves  to  confirm  the  truth  of 
the  Christian  religion,  and  our  belief  of  it.  The 
great  promise  of  the  Gospel  is  of  a  happy  life  here 
after  to  them  that  live  virtuously  here.  That  this 
promise  is  not  delusory,  no  new  fiction,  or  vain  sug 
gestion  of  Christ  and  his  apostles,  is  sufficiently  evi 
dent  from  the  suffrage  of  the  church  of  God  before 
our  Saviour's  time,  and  from  the  beginning.  We 
may  say  of  this  promise  of  a  future  life,  as  St.  John 
doth  of  the  evangelical  precept  of  love,  that  it  is  a 
new  commandment,  and  yet  no  new  one,  but  an  old 
one,  delivered  from  the  beginning ;  1  John  ii.  the 
7th  and  following  verses.  So  this  promise  of  a  future 
happiness  to  the  righteous,  the  chief  part  of  that 
good  tidings  which  the  Gospel  brings  us,  is  a  new 
promise,  and  yet  not  new,  but  an  old  one.  New  it 
is  in  respect  of  its  clearer  discovery  and  fuller  con 
firmation  by  Christ ;  and  yet  not  new,  because  this 
promise  was  given  from  the  beginning,  and  good 
men  in  the  church  of  God  had  always  the  same 
kind  of  hope  that  we  have.  In  the  church  of  God, 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  P 


210  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,         SERM.  vm. 

did  I  say  ?  Nay,  there  is  no  people  so  barbarous  but 
have  had  some  notion  of  a  life  to  come,  this  divine 
revelation  being  delivered  from  the  beginning,  pre 
served  till  the  flood,  and  after  the  dispersion  of  the 
sons  of  Noah,  conveyed  by  them  to  the  several 
nations  descending  from  them ;  though  the  doctrine 
(as  all  things  intrusted  to  mere  tradition  used  to  be) 
was  corrupted  in  the  conveyance. 

When  therefore  we  Christians  deny  ungodliness 
and  worldly  lusts,  and  live  soberly,  righteously,  and 
godly  in  this  present  world,  out  of  an  hope  to  be 
rewarded  in  a  state  remaining  after  this  life,  we 
venture  in  the  same  bottom  that  all  good  men  of  all 
nations  have  done  before  us.  But  God  be  thanked, 
if  this  notion  had  never  been  heard  of  in  the  world 
before  our  Saviour's  coming,  yet  he  alone  hath  brought 
with  him  such  an  assurance  of  it,  that  there  remains 
no  place  of  doubting  to  any  reasonable  and  unpre 
judiced  person ;  even  by  his  own  most  glorious  re 
surrection  and  ascension,  abundantly  attested  to  us, 
by  the  constant  sufferings  of  the  many  eyewitnesses 
thereof,  upon  the  account  of  that  very  testimony  ; 
and  by  very  many  unparalleled  miracles  wrought  by 
them  and  their  successors  a  long  time  after  them ; 
whereby  indeed  the  whole  Gospel  of  Christ  is  clearly 
evidenced.  I  conclude  this  with  St.  Paul's  exhort 
ation,  1  Cor.  xv.  58  :  Wherefore,  my  beloved  brethren, 
be  ye  steadfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in 
the  ivork  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that 
your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord. 

And  so  I  pass  to  the  other  observation  from  my 
text,  which  I  shall  despatch  in  a  word  or  two,  and 
so  conclude. 

2.  That  a  serious  consideration  of  the  vanity  and 


tin*  Eternity  of  the  ne.H.  i>l  1 

sliortncss  of  this  present  life,  and  all  the  enjoyments 
thereof,  is  an  effectual  means  to  bring  us  to  (Joel, 
and  to  make  us  fix  our  hopes  on  him  and  things 
eternal. 

For  thus  it  wrought  with  David  here,  who  after 
lie  had  considered  the  vanity  of  this  world  in  these 
words,  As  /or  man,  his  dat/s  are  a*  (frass  :  a*  n 
flower  of  the  field,  so  he  ffonrishetJi.  The  icind 
passeth  orer  //,  and  it  is  aonr  ;  (tnd  th<'  j>l<icc  thereof 
.shall  know  it  no  more;  he  presently  directs  his 
thoughts  to  heaven  in  the  following  words,  Itnt  flic 
mercy  of  the  Lord  Is  from  everlasting  to  ever/fisting 
upon  than  that  fear  hhn. 

If  therefore  we  would  have  our  hearts  brought  oft' 
to  (iod,  and  the  serious  pursuit  of  eternal  things,  let 
us  daily  study  the  vanity  of  this  world.  Study  it, 
did  1  say?  There  seems  little  need  of  study,  or  deep 
search  into  tin's  matter.  This  is  a  thing  that  thrusts 
itself  upon  our  thoughts,  so  that  we  must  think  of  it, 
unless  we  thrust  it  from  us. 

This  lesson  of  the  world's  vanity,  divine  Provi 
dence  doth  press  and  inculcate  on  us,  and  as  it  were 
beat  into  us.  We  daily  see  the  vicissitudes  of  human 
affairs.  We  continually  hear  of  the  losses,  troubles, 
or  calamities  of  friends  or  strangers.  Yea,  ever  and 
anon  some  cross  accident  or  other  befalls  ourselves, 
to  let  us  know,  that  our  happiness  lies  not  here. 
We  are  daily  accosted  with  spectacles  of  mortality, 
and,  as  our  church  expresseth  it,  k'in  the  midst  of  life 
u  we  are  in  death."  Alas  !  that  in  the  midst  of  so 
many  remembrancers  wherewith  Providence  hath 
surrounded  us,  we  should,  with  the  monarch  in  story, 
need  another  monitor  to  tell  us  every  day,  "  Re- 
"  member  that  thou  art  mortal !"  And  yet  this  is  our 

p  2 


212  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,        SERM.  vm. 

case.  What  fatal  stupidity  is  it  that  hath  seized  on 
us  ?  Hath  the  frequency  of  these  admonitions  made 
them  to  lose  their  force  and  virtue  on  us?  or  rather, 
are  we  affectedly  ignorant,  and  do  we  wilfully  put 
the  evil  day  far  from  us  ?  Whatever  the  cause  be, 
the  effect  is  sadly  visible. 

The  time  will  shortly  come,  when  we  shall  all 
perfectly  understand  (if  we  have  any  understanding 
left  in  us)  the  vanity  of  this  world,  when  perhaps  it 
will  be  too  late  for  us  to  be  the  better  for  that  know 
ledge,  too  late  to  mend  our  fortunes,  (if  I  may  so 
speak,)  or  to  secure  ourselves  a  happier  condition  in 
another  world  :  I  mean,  when  the  world  shall  take 
its  leave  of  us  and  we  of  it,  when  we  come  to  die. 
Then  the  worldling  himself  shall  be  out  of  love  with 
this  world,  yea,  perfectly  hate  it,  and  be  angry  and 
vexed  to  find  himself  so  miserably  deluded  and 
cheated  by  it.  When  all  his  treasures  shall  not  be 
able  to  redeem  his  life  from  death  ;  when  all  his  vain 
and  sinful  delights  and  pleasures  shall  utterly  for 
sake  him,  and  leave  nothing  behind  but  a  bitter 
remembrance  of  them ;  when  pain,  anguish,  and 
sorrow  shall  take  hold  of  him  ;  when  his  soft  bed 
shall  give  him  no  ease,  nor  his  luxurious  table  afford 
him  one  morsel  of  food  or  sustenance  ;  when  his 
friends  (if  he  have  any)  shall  stand  weeping  about 
him,  but  not  be  able  to  help  him;  when  his  very  life 
and  breath  shall  begin  to  fail  him,  especially  when 
(if  his  conscience  be  awakened)  he  shall  see  that 
dismal  state  of  things  that  expects  him  in  the  other 
world,  an  angry  and  an  almighty  God  too,  bend 
ing  his  bow,  (as  the  Psalmist  elegantly  describes  it, 
Psalm  vii.  12,  13.)  and  making  ready  his  arrows, 
and  whetting  his  glittering  sword  of  vengeance 


the  Eternity  of  the  ne.rt.  213 

against  him :  those  bailiffs  of  the  divine  justice,  the 
devils,  waiting  to  arrest  his  soul,  and  carry  it  to  that 
prison  from  whence  there  is  no  redemption  ;  and,  in 
a  word,  hell  itself  opening  her  mouth  wide  to  devour 
him.  Then,  then  he  will  acknowledge  that  to  be 
most  true,  which  he  had  been  often  told  before  bv 

•/ 

the  wise,  but  would  not  be  convinced  of  it,  that  to 
trust  to  any  thing  in  this  world  is  a  perfect  folly,  to 
neglect  God  and  eternal  things  a  very  madness,  and 
that  religion  and  the  fear  of  God  is  the  only  true 
wisdom.  Then  he  will  confess,  that  one  spark  of 
true  virtue  and  grace  in  the  heart,  one  soft  whis 
per  of  a  good  conscience,  one  glimpse  of  the  light 
of  God's  countenance,  is  more  to  be  valued  than 
this  whole  world. 

But  it  were  to  be  wished  we  would  understand 
the  vanity  of  this  world  at  a  cheaper  rate,  and  as 
becomes  wise  men,  by  foresight  and  consideration, 
and  not  learn  it  only  from  that  mistress  of  fools,  sad 
experience.  Yea,  let  us  anticipate  and  be  before 
hand  with  this  perfidious  world,  by  breaking  off  our 
league  with  it  before  it  thus  miserably  disappoints 
us.  Let  us  now,  presently,  (if  we  have  not  before 
done  it,)  entirely  devote  and  give  up  ourselves  to  the 
service  of  God,  and  the  serious  pursuit  of  eternal 
things.  Let  us  renew  our  baptismal  vow,  and  once 
again  in  good  earnest  renounce  the  world,  with  all 
its  vanities.  And  let  us  do  this  seasonably,  and  in 
due  time,  whilst  we  may  be  accepted  of  God,  whilst 
we  are  in  such  circumstances,  that  our  abandoning 
the  vanities  of  this  world,  and  the  devotion  of  our 
hearts  and  affections  to  God  and  heavenly  things, 
may  be  accounted  a  free-will  offering,  and  not  be  a 
matter  of  mere  constraint  and  necessity.  For  let  its 


214  The  Vanity  of  this  Life,  SERM.  vm. 

not  deceive  ourselves,  God  is  not  mocked.,  he  will 
not  accept  of  the  world's  leavings. 

The  ever-blessed  God,  the  fountain  of  all  happi 
ness,  the  chief  good  of  man,  the  most  excellent  and 
desirable  Being,  out  of  his  infinite  grace  and  good 
ness,  from  time  to  time  calls  upon  us  in  the  ministry 
of  his  word,  and  by  his  providence,  to  take  off*  our 
hearts  from  the  things  of  this  world,  and  offers  him 
self  to  our  acceptance,  and  even  courts  us  (O,  in 
finite  condescension  !)  to  be  happy,  for  ever  happy, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  him.  Now,  if  after  all  this,  we 
still  cleave  to  the  lusts  and  vanities  of  this  world, 
and  prefer  them  before  God  the  Creator,  blessed  for 
ever,  and  that  even  to  the  last,  till  death  is  just 
ready  to  hale  us  off  from  the  world,  and  we  can 
enjoy  it  no  longer;  how  can  we  expect,  or  so  much 
as  imagine,  that  God  will  bear  this  affront  at  our 
hands,  this  vile  contempt  of  his  most  glorious  ma 
jesty,  or  ever  receive  us  into  his  grace  and  favour? 

Let  us  therefore  now,  in  the  day  of  our  health  and 
prosperity,  in  the  midst  of  the  enjoyments  of  this 
life,  whilst  the  world  smiles  on  us,  and  tempts  us 
with  its  alluring  vanities,  take  off  our  hearts  from  it, 
despise  it,  and  live  above  it,  and  heartily  choose  God 
for  our  portion,  and  set  our  affections  on  the  things 
which  arc  abocc.  And  then  we  may  be  secure,  we 
may  depend  upon  it.  that  in  the  day  of  our  distress, 
even  in  the  hour  of  death.  God  will  be  our  God,  to 
stand  by  us,  and  to  support  and  comfort  us.  And 
the  light  of  his  countenance  shall  make  even  the 
valley  of  the  xhadow  of  death  bright  and  lightsome 
to  us.  And  after  death,  we  shall  be  received  into 
those  regions  of  bliss,  where  we  shall  see  and  enjoy 
things  that  cnc  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither 


the  Eternity  of  the  ne.t't.  (215 

Ifoth  it  entered  into  the  heart  of  man  to  conceive. 
To  which  blessed  state  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
bring  us  all  in  his  due  time,  through  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord  and  Saviour. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  wor 
ship,  now  and  for  evermore.  Amen. 


SERMON    IX. 


WHAT    THAT    WORTHINESS    IS,   AND    WHEREIN    IT    CONSISTS, 

WHICH     IS     REQUIRED     OF     THOSE     THAT     SHALL     BE 

PARTAKERS  OF   THE   FUTURE   HEAVENLY   GLORY. 


KKV.  iii.  4. 
And  they  shall  walk  with  me  in  white,  for  they  arc  worthy. 

THE   whole  verse  runs   thus  :    T/tott  hast  a  few 
names  even   in  Sardis,   which  have  not   defiled 
their  garments;    and   they  shall   walk   with    me   in 
white  :  for  they  are  worthy. 

My  text  is  part  of  the  epistle  or  letter  of  our 
blessed  Saviour  dictated  to  and  sent  by  St.  John, 
his  apostle,  to  the  angel  or  bishop  of  the  church  of 
Sardis.  Wherein  our  Lord  severely  reprimands 
that  bishop  (and,  as  it  appears,  the  generality  of  the 
church  under  his  government)  for  great  corruptions, 
both  in  doctrine  and  manners,  which  they  were 
guilty  of,  ver.  1,  2,  3.  But  in  the  verse  out  of  which 
my  text  is  taken,  our  Saviour  takes  notice  of  some 
few  in  that  very  church,  who  had  kept  themselves 
pure  and  free  from  the  general  and  prevailing 
corruptions  of  it  :  Thou  hast  a  few  names  even  in 
Sardis,  which  have  not  defiled  their  garments.  A 
few  names,  i.  e.  a  few  persons  ;  so  the  word  oi/o/ 


a  [From  a  passage  in  this  Sermon  concerning  the  prospect  of 
persecution  being  removed,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  written 
not  long  after  1688.] 


The  Worthiness  of  the  Partakers,  &c.        217 

names,  is   used  Acts  i.  15,  and    in   other   places   of 
Scripture. 

In  the  greatest  corruptions  of  the  church,  God's 
grace  always  reserves  some  few  that  retain  their 
integrity.  Thus  in  Isaiah's  time,  when  the  people 
of  the  Jews  were  fjonerallv  become  so  vile,  that  the 

O  *' 

prophet,  speaking  to  them  and  their  magistrates, 
calls  thorn  rulers  over  Sodom  and  people  of  Go 
morrah  ;  yet  even  then  God  had  left  to  himself  a 
small  remnant  of  good  men,  for  whose  sake  the  city 
of  Jerusalem,  though  as  wicked  as  Sodom,  \vas  not 
destroyed  as  Sodom  was,  with  a  final  and  utter  de 
struction,  Isai.  i.  9,  10.  When  the  church  of  the 
Jews  was  so  overwhelmed  with  idolatry,  that  good 
Elias  thought  himself  the  only  man  that  stuck  to  the 
worship  and  service  of  the  true  God  ;  yet  even  then 
the  Lord  could  tell  him,  Yet  I  hare  left  me  seven 
thousand  in  Israel,  all  the  knees  which  Jiare  not 
bowed  unto  Baal,  and  every  moutli  irhich  hath  not 
kissed  hint,  1  Kings  xix.  18.  In  that  exceeding 
numerous  and  populous  nation,  there  were  but  seven 
thousand  that  adhered  to  the  God  of  their  fathers, 
just  so  many,  and  not  one  more.  In  general  cor 
ruptions,  when  those  few  good  men  that  are  left  are 
hid,  and  seem  as  it  were  to  be  lost  and  swallowed 
up  in  the  vast  multitude  of  the  wicked ;  yet  even 
then,  the  all-seeing  eye  of  God  finds  them  out,  and 
not  a  man  of  them  escapes  his  gracious  and  favour 
able  notice ;  and  as  the  expression  of  our  Lord,  con 
cerning  those  few  good  men  in  the  degenerate 
church  of  Sardis,  imports,  he  knows  them  all  by 
name,  Thou  hast  a  few  names  in  Sardis,  which 
have  not  defiled  their  garments.  Those  names  the 
Lord  so  knew  and  took  notice  of,  as  to  write  them 


218  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

in  his  book  of  life,  for  so  it  follows  in  the  text: 
And  they  shall  walk  with  me  in  white,  for  they  are 
worthy. 

They  shall  walk  with  me  eV  Aeu/coF?,  in  white,  or 
bright,  garments.  As  they  walked  before  me  in  the 
pure  and  clean  garments  of  sanctity  and  holiness  in 
this  life,  so  shall  they  walk  with  me  in  bright  gar 
ments  of  glory  in  the  life  to  come.  Thou  hast  a  few 
names  in  Sardis,  which  hare  not  defiled  their  gar 
ments  ;  and  they  shall  walk  with  me  in  white.  It  is 
a  metaphorical  expression  frequently  used  in  this 
book  of  the  Revelation,  to  set  forth  the  heavenly 
glory,  which  the  saints  shall  be  partakers  of  in  the 
future  state.  So,  to  look  no  farther,  it  is  used  in  the 
verse  next  to  my  text,  ver.  5 :  He  that  orercomcth, 
the  same  shall  be  clothed  in  white  raiment;  and  I 
will  not  blot  out  his  name  out  of  the  hook  of  life, 
but  will  confess  his  name  before  my  Father,  and 
before  his  an </<'/*. 

This  is  the  promise  of  our  Saviour  to  the  good 
men  of  the  church  of  Sardis,  and  in  them  to  all 
sincere  and  faithful  Christians.  The  reason  of  the 
promise  follows  in  the  next  words  of  my  text,  on 
fi^ioi.  eia-i,  for  they  are  worthy.  And  upon  this  part 
of  the  text  I  shall  insist  in  my  following  discourse. 

For  they  are  worthy.  Let  no  man  startle  at  the 
expression,  for  to  be  sure  there  is  no  hurt  in  it,  it 
being  the  language  of  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  when 
we  have  thoroughly  inquired  into  it,  it  will  be  found 
pregnant  of  matter,  tending  very  much  both  to  the 
glory  of  God,  and  the  instruction,  yea,  and  comfort 
too,  of  all  sincere  Christians.  In  the  mean  time, 
from  the  plain  words  of  the  text,  we  may  venture  to 
Jay  down  this  proposition  as  an  undoubted  truth : 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  219 

There  is  a  certain  worthiness  required  in  those, 
that  shall  be  partakers  of  the  future  heavenly 

glory. 

The  text  is  express,  and  there  are  many  other 
places  of  Scripture  that  speak  as  expressly  to  the 
same  purpose.  So  again  our  Saviour  himself,  Luke 
xx.  35,  o'l  KarafytoOevre?,  Thet/  ?''//<>  shall  lie  accounted 
worth  if  to  obtain  flint  world,  ami  the  resurrection 
from  tin1  dead)  net tln'r  niarnj  ttor  an'  aircii  in 
marriage.  And  chap.  xxi.  3(J.  Watch  j/e  there* 
fore,  and  jirai/,  "iva  KaTaj~ia)9tJT€,  that  i/e  niai/  be  ac- 
counted  worthy  to  e^eane  these  things  which  shall 
come  to  yw.v.v,  and  to  stand  be  fore  the  Son  of  man. 
So  2  Thess.  i.  5.  That  i/e  n/a//  be  accounted  worthy 
of  the  kingdom  of  (iod.  AYhcre  tlie  Greek  word  is 
the  same  as  in  the  former  texts.  From  these  testi 
monies  of  Scripture,  (to  which  divers  others  might  be 
added,)  it  is  evident,  that  there  is  a  certain  worthi 
ness  required  in  those,  that  shall  be  partakers  of  the 
heavenly  glory.  Xow  my  business  at  present  shall 
be  carefully  to  inquire,  what  this  worthiness  is,  and 
wherein  it  consists. 

1.  And  first  negatively,  It  is  not.  cannot  be  a 
worthiness  of  condignity  or  proper  merit,  that  is 
meant,  as  the  doctors  of  the  church  of  Rome  ge 
nerally  understand  by  the  texts  alleged. 

Some  of  these  men  have  not  trembled  to  allirm, 
that  their  good  works  are  worthy  of  the  heavenly 
glory,  in  strict  justice,  without  any  respect  at  all  to 
the  covenant  and  promise  of  God.  Others  of  them 
assert,  that  the  good  works  of  the  regenerate,  being 
performed  by  the  assistance  of  the  divine  Spirit,  bear 
a  just  proportion  to  the  heavenly  glory;  and  need 
the  promise  of  (iod  to  make  them  deserve  it  only 


220  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

upon  this  account,  because  God  is  not  bound  to  ac 
cept  our  good  works  to  eternal  life,  though  they  be 
commensurate,  and  in  value  equal  thereunto,  unless 
he  bind  himself  by  agreement  so  to  do :  just  as  a 
man  is  not  bound  to  part  with  a  piece  of  land  of  his 
own  to  another,  that  offers  him  a  full  price  for  it, 
unless  by  his  consent  he  makes  it  a  bargain ;  which 
is  the  general  opinion  of  the  Romanists,  and  which 
Bellarmin1'  maintains,  as  undoubtedly  agreeable  to 
the  decree  of  the  council  of  Trent. 

This  is  a  horrid  doctrine,  and  not  to  be  endured 
in  the  church  of  Christ.  Such  a  worthiness  of 
condignity,  and  proper  merit  of  the  heavenly  glory, 
cannot  be  found  in  any  the  best,  most  perfect,  and 
excellent  of  created  beings,  much  less  in  any  of  the 
sons  of  fallen  and  sinful  man.  For  what  is  the  wor 
thiness,  what  are  the  good  works  of  the  best  of  us  ? 
Works  imperfectly  good,  mixed  with  human  frailty 
and  infirmity  in  the  doing  of  them  ;  interrupted  with 
sins  of  daily  incursion,  so  that  even  they  who  can 
call  God  their  Father,  are  in  the  Lord's  Prayer 
taught  every  day  to  pray  for  the  forgiveness  of  their 
trespasses,  as  duly  as  they  pray  for  their  daily  bread. 
And  then  they  are  the  works  (suppose  them  never 
so  perfect)  of  a  very  short  life  here  on  earth,  and 
that  generally  of  a  little  scantling  of  that  short  life; 
most  of  us  having  sinned,  or  trifled  away  the  best 
and  greatest  part  of  our  life,  before  we  had  well 
learned  the  art  of  living  well ;  and  in  that  part  of 
our  lives  committed  such  sins,  as  all  our  after-piety, 
were  it  far  greater  than  it  is,  can  never  of  itself 
sufficiently  expiate.  And  after  all  this,  we  are 

b  De  Justif.  V.  17.  [vol.  IV.  ed.  1608.] 


y.  221 

beholden  for  all  the  good  which  we  do,  to  the  free 
grace  of  Cod  exciting  us  to  do  it,  and  assisting  us 
and  our  endeavours  in  the  doing  of  it  ;  so  that  our 
good  works  are  the  gifts  and  graces  of  God.  Well, 
this  is  our  worthiness,  these  are  our  good  works. 

Now  what  is  that  future  glory  and  happiness  we 
profess  to  hope  for?  An  astonishing  happiness,  no 
less  than  the  vision  and  everlasting  fruition  of  Cod 
himself,  blessed  for  ever.  And  is  it  possible  for  any 
man,  yea,  any  angel  or  created  being,  by  any  thing 
that  IK;  can  do,  to  merit  such  a  glory  as  this  ?  Ts  it 
possible  for  the  creature  to  deserve  the  Creator,  and 
the  everlasting  possession  and  enjoyment  of  him  ? 
Certainly  no  ;  nothing  but  the  infinite  goodness  and 
condescension  of  Cod  the  Creator  can  be  assigned  as 
the  cause  or  reason,  why  any  the  best  of  creatures 
should  be  advanced  to  such  an  amazing  felicity  and 
happiness.  And  as  for  us  sinful  men,  we  having  by 
our  sins  put  a  bar  to  the  divine  goodness,  nothing 
could  (or  at  least  Cod  had  for  very  good  reasons 
decreed  that  nothing  should)  remove  that  bar,  and 
make  way  for  the  free  current  of  his  heavenly 
bounty  to  descend  upon  us,  but  the  meritorious 
satisfaction  of  the  Son  of  Cod,  made  man,  and  dying 
for  us.  it  is  impossible  therefore  for  so  transcend 
ent  a  glory  to  fall  under  the  merit  of  the  best  of 
creatures,  much  more  of  fallen  and  sinful  man.  And 
so  much  for  the  negative. 

2.  Affirmatively,  The  worthiness  required  in  those 
that  shall  be  partakers  of  the  heavenly  glory,  is  only 
a  worthiness  of  meetness,  fitness,  or  due  disposition 
to  receive  it;  and  this  wrought  in  us  by  the  grace, 
and  accepted  through  the  mercy  of  the  Gospel  cove 
nant,  procured,  ratified,  and  confirmed  by  the  me- 


222  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

ritorious  obedience  and  sufferings  of  the  Son  of  God, 
and  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.  For  though 
there  be  no  just  proportion,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
there  must  needs  be  a  vast  inconceivable  dispropor 
tion  between  our  good  works,  and  the  eternal  hap 
piness  which  God  by  way  of  recompense  bestows  on 
them  ;  yet  there  must  be,  and  is,  some  kind  of  agree- 
ableness  and  suitableness  between  our  works  and 
that  recompense.  Our  obedience  to  God  ought  to 
be  such,  as  that  it  may  have,  though  not  a  merit  of 
condignity  to  deserve  everlasting  bliss,  (that  being, 
as  I  have  shewn  you,  utterly  impossible,)  yet  an  or- 
dinability,  (as  a  great  doctor  of  our  church  express- 
eth  it,)  i.  e.  a  meetness,  fitness,  and  due  disposition 
toward  the  obtaining  of  it.  This  is  the  manifest 
purpose  of  the  texts  alleged,  and  all  others  which 
speak  of  any  worthiness  in  us  of  the  heavenly  glory. 
And  in  this  sense  the  word  a^o?,  worthy^  is  often 
used  in  Scripture  in  other  cases.  So  Matt.  x.  our 
Saviour  sendeth  forth  his  twelve  apostles  to  preach  his 
Gospel  in  the  several  parts  of  Palestine  ;  and  among 
other  directions  he  gives  them,  this  is  one,  ver.  11, 
12, 13,  Into  whatsoever  city  or  town  ye  shall  enter, 
inquire  who  in  it  is  worthy  ;  and  there  abide  till 
ye  cjo  thence ;  and  if  the  house  or  family  be  a^la 
worthy,  let  your  peace  be  upon  itc.  Where  it  is 
plain,  that  by  worthy  persons  and  families,  are  meant 
such  as  by  an  humble,  docible  temper,  and  other 
good  inclinations,  were  prepared,  fitted,  and  disposed 
to  receive  the  divine  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the 
Gospel  with  effect. 

In  the  same  sense  as  the  famous  Galilean  bishop 

c  Tts  fv  avrf]  ci^ios  ecrrti/. 


Partakers  of  fitting  Glory.  22,c* 

and  martyr  Pothinus,  in  Eusebius'1,  being  asked  by 
the  Roman  president  "  who  or  what  the  God  of  the 
"  Christians  was  ?"  answered,  "  If  thou  wert  worthy 
"  thou  shonldest  know"  ;"  i.e.  If  thou  wert  fit  to 
receive  so  sublime  a  mystery,  I  would  declare  it  to 
thee.  So  here  then  a  man  is  said  to  be  worthy  of 
the  heavenly  glory,  (that  glory  which  infinitely 
transcends  the  merits  of  the  best  of  creatures,)  when 
he  is  fit,  duly  qualified,  and  disposed  to  receive  it 
from  the  divine  mercy  ;  when  lie  is  such  as  the 
infinite  goodness  of  God  may  bestow  heaven  on, 
saving  the  honour  of  his  wisdom,  righteousness,  and 
holiness. 

And  accordingly  St.  Paul,  who  requires  from  the 
Thessalonians,  in  the  place  before  cited,  that  they 
be  counted  worthy  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  explains 
himself!  Col.  i.  12,  Giving  thanks  to  the  Father,  TM 
tKavwaravTi  >//xrZ?,  u'lio  Jiatli  made  its  fit,  or  meet)  to  be 
partakers  of  the  inheritance  of  the  saints  in  liaht. 
For  so  IKGLVOVV  signifies,  as  appears  from  2  Cor.  iii.  6, 
where  our  translators  indeed  have  it,  ivho  hath  made 
its  aUe  ministers  of  tJie  neir  testament;  but  in  the 
Greek  it  is  o?  IKUVWO-CV  >?M«?,  who  hath  made  us  meet, 
or  fit,  to  I>e  ministers  of  the  new  testame)it. 

Thus  in  general  you  see  that  the  worthiness  re 
quired  in  those  that  shall  be  partakers  of  the  hea 
venly  glory,  is  not  a  worthiness  of  condignity  or 
merit,  but  only  a  worthiness  of  meetness  or  fitness 
for  it. 

Now  here  it  must  be  farther  and  more  particu 
larly  inquired,  wherein  this  worthiness  of  meetness, 
fitness,  or  due  disposition  for  the  heavenly  glory 

''  Eccl.   Hist.  V.   I .  *'  'Eai>  rjt  n£iov,  yi/a>(T»/. 


The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

consists,  and  what,  in  its  true  notion,  it  compre 
hends?  I  answer,  it  comprehends  these  following 
particulars  : 

1.  A  steadfast  belief  and  persuasion  of  the  cer 
tainty  of  the  future  glory.  This  must  be  presup 
posed  and  laid  as  a  foundation,  before  we  can  in 
good  earnest  so  much  as  attempt  any  thing  in  re 
ligion.  For  he  that  cometh  to  Cod  must  believe, 
riot  only  that  God  is,  but  also  that  lie  h  a  rewarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  him,  Ileb.  xi.  6.  A  re- 
warder  of  them,  not  so  much  in  this  life,  as  in  that 
which  is  to  come.  For  here  good  and  virtuous  men 
do  ofttimes  suffer  many  and  great  evils,  and  that  upon 
the  very  account  of  their  virtue. 

Indeed  some  kind  of  belief  of  a  life  to  come  hath 
obtained  in  all  ages  and  all  nations  of  the  world, 
even  in  those  which  in  almost  all  other  respects 
have  become  barbarous.  From  whence  we  may 
justly  conclude,  that  the  notion  of  a  future  state  is 
either  a  dictate  of  the  common  reason  of  mankind, 
or  a  part  of  that  primitive  divine  revelation,  which 
God  gave  to  the  first  men,  and  was  from  them  de 
rived  down  to  all  their  posterity;  or  else  that  it  is 
the  product  and  effect  of  both.  Yet  perhaps  this 
general  belief  might  with  some  appearance  of  rea 
son  have  been  suspected  as  a  vulgar  error,  had  not 
the  Son  of  God  himself  come  down  from  heaven  to 
attest  it,  as  a  very  great  and  most  certain  truth. 

But  now  he  hath  brought  life  and  immortality 
into  the  clearest  light  by  his  Gospel,  wherein  are 
many  repeated,  plain,  and  express  promises  of  an 
inexpressible  eternal  felicity  and  happiness,  to  be 
bestowed  on  all  such  as  believe  in  him,  and  sincerely 
obey  him.  And  these  promises  which  he  hath  made 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  225 

to  us,  lie  hath  as  it  were  exemplified  and  fulfilled  in 
himself,  by  raising  himself  from  the  dead,  and  as 
cending  into  the  heavenly  glory ;  that  his  resurrec 
tion  and  ascension  being  attested  by  unexception 
able  witnesses,  who  could  not  possibly  (all  things 
considered)  either  be  deceived  themselves,  or  go 
about  to  deceive  others  in  what  they  testified. 

In  a  word,  our  whole  Christian  faith,  whereof  the 
belief  of  a  life  to  come  is  a  principal  part,  is  through 
the  superabundant  goodness  of  God  so  ascertained  to 
us,  by  so  very  many  and  so  convincing  arguments, 
both  external  in  the  undoubted  miracles  wherewith 
it  was  confirmed,  and  the  astonishing  way  of  its 
propagation,  and  also  internal  in  the  very  constitu 
tion  and  frame  of  the  religion  itself,  that  I  think  it 
impossible  (and  I  speak  advisedly)  for  any  sound, 
honest,  and  unprejudiced  mind,  that  hath  thoroughly 
weighed  and  considered  them,  to  withstand  their 
evidence. 

So  that  now,  if  we  do  not  firmly  believe  a  future 
state  of  perfect  happiness  to  the  virtuous,  and  so  on 
the  other  side  of  extreme  misery  to  the  wicked,  our 
infidelity  is  incurable  and  unpardonable.  That  is 
the  first  thing  which  this  worthiness  comprehends, 
a  steadfast  belief  and  persuasion  of  the  certainty  of 
the  future  glory. 

2.  This  worthiness  of  the  heavenly  glory  compre 
hends  a  vigorous  and  lively  apprehension  and  con 
sideration  of  its  transcendent  worth  and  excel 
lency,  compared  with  whatsoever  happiness  this 
present  life  can  offer  in  competition  with  it.  The 
worthy  Christian,  beholding  those  eternal  joys  that 
are  set  before  him,  looks  down  with  contempt  on  all 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  Q 


226  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

the  glories  and  enjoyments  of  this  transitory  world, 
despising  them  as  perfect  vanities. 

It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  believe  the  happiness  of 
the  life  to  come,  unless  we  also  lay  it  in  the  balance 
with  all  the  seeming  felicities  of  this  present  life,  and 
by  frequent  and  serious  consideration  both  of  the  one 
and  the  other,  we  at  last  arrive  to  this  determinate 
and  settled  judgment,  that  heaven  is  infinitely  to  be 
preferred  before  this  earth,  solid  and  eternal  joys  be 
fore  empty,  temporary,  and  transient  pleasures.  This 
determination  one  would  think  to  be  very  easy ;  but, 
alas  !  it  is  not.  For  though  there  can  be  no  dispute, 
whether  an  eternal  and  everlasting,  or  a  temporary 
and  transient  good  be  to  be  preferred ;  yet  in  this 
case,  the  temporary  good  hath  this  advantage  above 
the  eternal,  that  the  former  is  present  and  at  hand, 
the  other  future  and  at  a  distance ;  and  we  are  more 
apt  to  catch  at  any  present  and  seeming  satisfaction 
of  our  craving  desire  after  happiness,  than  to  wait 
with  patience  for  a  future  one,  though  we  cannot  but 
think  it  the  far  greater  good.  Just  as  some  prodigal 
heirs,  for  a  little  money  in  hand  to  serve  their  pre 
sent  extravagant  occasions,  sell  their  inheritance  of  a 
far  greater  value.  Or  like  the  profane  Esau,  who  to 
gratify  a  present  pungent,  languishing  appetite,  for  a 
mess  of  pottage  parted  with  his  birthright  for  ever. 

Now  there  is  nothing  can  be  a  more  effectual  cure 
of  this  folly  and  madness  of  ours,  than  the  frequent 
and  serious  consideration  we  are  now  discoursing  of: 
for  this  would  make  things  future  to  be  as  it  were 
always  present  with  us.  Faith  itself  is  an  ineffectual 
virtue,  unless  it  be  excited,  actuated,  and  enlivened 
by  this  consideration.  And  I  am  apt  to  think,  that 


Partakers  of  future  Glory. 

among  those  multitudes  of  professed  Christians  that 
perish  everlastingly,  there  are  as  many  at  least  that 
miscarry  for  want  of  a  serious  consideration  of  the 
things  they  believe,  as  for  want  of  the  belief  itself; 
and  that  unthinking  believers  take  up  a  very  great 
room  in  the  regions  of  darkness.  But  our  worthy 
Christian  lives  in  the  daily  meditation  of  eternity, 
frequently  in  his  most  serious  thoughts  comparing 
the  future  and  everlasting  state  with  this  present 
vanishing1  life. 

O 

Thus  did  St.  Paul,  and  he  speaks  in  the  plural 
number,  as  joining  herein  all  true  believers  together 
with  himself,  2  Cor.  iv.  16,  17,  18,  For  which  cause 
we  faint  not;  but  though  our  outward  man  perish, 
yet  the  inward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day.  For 
our  light  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  work- 
eth  for  us  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory ;  while  we  look  not  at  the  things  whi ch 
are,  seen,  but  at  the  things  which  are  not  seen  :  for 
the  things  which  are  seen  are  temporal;  but  fin1 
things  which  are  not  seen  are  eternal.  The  holv 
apostle  did  not  only  firmly  believe,  but  also  constantly 
eye  and  mind  the  future  unseen  things,  and  that  so 
as  to  compare  them  with  the  things  that  are  seen, 
i.  e.  the  things  of  this  present  life,  considering  these 
as  temporal,  the  other  as  eternal.  And  this  made 
him  to  bear  his  afflictions,  though  in  themselves  very 
grievous,  not  only  patiently,  but  even  triumphantly, 
despising  them  as  light,  trivial  things,  scarce  worth 
the  speaking  of,  i.  e.  compared  with  the  future  hap 
piness,  the  reward  of  them  ;  the  excellency  whereof 
he  seems  to  labour  for  words  to  express,  as  terming 
it,  an  inexpressibly  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 

Q2 


228  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

of  glory*.  A  heathen  philosopher  hath  excellently 
comprised  all  true  practical  philosophy  in  two  words, 
Bear  and  forbear  %  ;  Bear  pain,  forbear  pleasure; 
i.  e.  in  more  Christian  language,  Patiently  endure 
all  afflictions  which  God  sends  on  thee,  and  care 
fully  abstain  from  all  sinful  pleasures  and  enjoyments 
which  the  law  of  God  forbids  thee.  These  are 
two  very  hard  things,  and  indeed  impossible  to  be 
performed  by  us,  unless  through  the  grace  of  God 
we  have  a  constant  respect  to  the  future  eternal 
glory,  and  this  indeed  will  make  them  both  easy  to 
us. 

In  a  word,  we  shall  never  be  fit  for  heaven,  or  in 
God's  gracious  account  worthy  of  it,  till  we  have  tho 
roughly  learned  that  lesson,  which  the  wisest  of  men, 
Solomon,  inculcates  on  us,  in  his  excellent  book  of 
Ecclesiastes.  Wherein  almost  throughout,  he  admir 
ably  represents  the  perfect  vanity  of  all  things  under 
the  sun,  and  thereupon  in  the  close,  chap.  xii.  13, 
makes  this  inference  ;  Let  us  hear  the  conclusion  of 
the  whole  matter:  Fear  God,  and  keep  his  com 
mandments:  for  this  is  the  whole  duty  of  man. 
Yea,  and  his  whole  and  entire  happiness  too.  But 
how  doth  this  follow?  you  must  take  in  what  is 
presently  added  verse  14  :  For  God  shall  bring 
every  word  into  judgment,  with  every  secret  tiling^ 
whether  it  be  good,  or  whether  it  be  evil.  He  that  is 
fully  convinced  of  these  two  things,  that  there  is  no 
solid  happiness  to  be  found  in  this  world,  and  that 
there  is  a  world  to  come,  wherein  God  will  adjudge 


Ka0'  VTreppoKrjV  (Is  VTrcpftoXrjv  aldaviov  /3apoj 
,  Sustine  et  abstine. 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  229 

men  to  an  everlasting  state,  either  of  happiness  or 
misery  respectively,  as  they  have  made  their  choice 
and  acted  here,  must  necessarily  subscribe  to  the 
truth  of  Solomon's  conclusion,  that  true  religion  is 
the  only  way  to  true  happiness.  Thus  Solomon  dis 
coursed  even  under  the  Old  Testament. 

Nor  is  it  any  wonder  that  God's  own  people,  even 
under  that  dispensation,  had  such  an  apprehension  of 
things,  when  we  find  the  same  notion  in  the  writings 
of  the  very  heathens.  I  instance  in  Seneca,  who  out 
of  Plato,  comparing  the  present  transient  things  with 
things  future  and  eternal,  thus  excellently  discourseth 
in  his  59th  Epistle.  "  All  those  things  which  are  sub- 
"ject  to  our  senses,  and  excite  and  inflame  our  pas- 
"  sions  and  affections,  Plato  will  not  allow  to  be  in 
*'  the  number  of  those  things  which  truly  are  or  exist. 
"  They  are  but  imaginary  things,  carrying  some  face 
"  and  appearance  for  a  while.  There  is  none  of  them 
"  stable,  solid,  or  substantial.  And  yet  we  desire 
"  them,  as  if  they  were  always  to  be  and  continue, 
"  and  as  if  we  ourselves  were  always  to  enjoy  them. 
"  But  let  us  direct  our  minds  to  things  eternal ;  let 
"  us  contemn  and  despise  all  those  things,  which  are 
"  so  far  from  having  any  true  worth  in  them,  that  it 
"  is  disputable  whether  they  have  at  all  any  real 
"  proper  being  and  existence11."  What  could  a  Christ 
ian  divine  have  said  better? 

11  Omnia  ista,  quae  sensibus  serviunt,  qua?  nos  accendunt  et  ir 
ritant,  negat  Plato  ex  iis  esse,  quae  vere  sunt.  Igitur  ista  imagi- 
naria  sunt,  et  ad  tcmpus  aliquam  faciem  habent.  Nihil  horuin 
stabile  nee  solidum  est.  Et  nos  tamen  ea  cupimus  tanquam  aut 
semper  futura,  aut  semper  habituri.  Mittamus  animum  ad  ilia 
quae  aeterna  sunt.  Contemnamus  omnia,  quae  adeo  pretiosa  non 
sunt,  ut  an  sint  omnino  dubium  sit. 


230  The  Worthiness  of  the          SERM.  ix 

That  is  the  second  thing  which  this  worthiness 
comprehends,  viz.,  a  vigorous  and  lively  apprehen 
sion  and  consideration  of  the  transcendent  worth 
and  excellency  of  the  heavenly  glory,  compared  with 
whatsoever  happiness  this  life  can  offer  to  us. 

3.  This  worthiness  of  the  future  glory  comprehends 
a  well  weighed  and  fixed  resolution  to  part  with 
any  thing  that  is  most  dear  to  us  in  this  world, 
rather  than  to  lose  our  interest  and  share  in  it.  This 
resolution  depends  indeed  upon  the  former  appre 
hension  ;  but  yet  it  is  a  distinct  thing  from  it,  and 
deserves  a  distinct  consideration. 

Now  that  this  resolution,  as  also  the  practice  of  it, 
as  occasion  is  offered,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  ren 
der  us  worthy,  i.  e.  to  qualify  and  fit  us  to  be  par 
takers  of  Christ  and  his  heavenly  kingdom,  our  Lord 
himself  most  plainly  and  expressly  assures  us,  Matt. 
x.  37,  &c.  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than 
me  is  not  worthy  of  me ;  and  he  that  loveth  son  or 
daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me.  And 
he  that  taketh  not  his  cross,  and  follow eth  after  me, 
is  not  worthy  of  me.  He  that  findeth  his  life  shall 
lose  it ;  and  he  that  loscth  his  life  for  my  sake  shall 
find  it. 

Christ  will  not  endure  a  superior,  no,  nor  an  equal, 
in  our  hearts  and  affections,  he  will  reign  there  as 
our  supreme  and  sovereign  Lord,  or  not  at  all.  If 
our  dearest  friends  or  nearest  relations,  if  our  worldly 
goods  and  estates,  if  our  temporal  life  itself  be  dearer 
to  us  than  our  deservedly  dearest  Saviour  and  Re 
deemer,  so  as  that,  when  they  stand  in  competition, 
we  choose  to  quit  his  service  and  our  duty  to  him, 
rather  than  to  part  with  them  ;  it  is  most  certain,  we 
shall  be  accounted  utterly  unworthy  of  him  and  his 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  231 

heavenly  kingdom.  God  be  praised,  though  not  very 
long  since  a  dismal  cloud  hung  just  over  our  heads, 
and  sadly  threatened  us,  yet  now  we  are  in  no  very 
near  prospect  of  a  time  of  persecution,  wherein  we 
shall  be  put  to  this  trial. 

But  yet  we  should  always  retain  a  preparation  of 
mind,  when  God  calls  us  to  it,  to  do  or  suffer  any 
thing,  rather  than  endanger  our  interest  in  Christ, 
and  that  inestimable  happiness,  that  is  offered  us  in, 
with,  and  by  him.  This  preparation  of  mind,  indeed, 
many  confident  persons  boast  of,  who  are  very  far 
from  it ;  as  on  the  other  side,  many  a  sincere  and 
humble  Christian  may  tremble  at  the  apprehension 
that  he  wants  it,  when  indeed  he  hath  it. 

But  by  our  behaviour  in  a  peaceable,  prosperous 
time,  we  may  shrewdly  guess  what  we  should  do  in 
a  time  of  trial.  He  that  cannot  quit  a  base  vile  lust, 
upon  Christ's  command,  we  maybe  certain  will  never 
part  with  his  life  for  Christ's  sake.  lie  that  cannot 
endure  the  little  severities  of  mortification,  will  hardly 
sutler  the  pains  of  martyrdom.  He  who  through  an 
evil  conscience  lives  in  a  continual  slavish  fear  of  a 
natural  death,  will  scarce  with  courage  and  resolution 
meet  a  violent  death,  though  in  never  so  good  a  cause. 
He  that,  in  the  abundance  of  the  good  things  of  this 
life,  cannot,  by  the  many  repeated  strict  commands 
and  most  bountiful  promises  of  our  Lord,  be  persuaded 
to  expend  a  considerable  portion  of  his  estate  in  pious 
and  charitable  uses,  you  may  be  certain,  if  Christ 
should  call  him  to  forsake  all  and  follow  him,  lie  would 
turn  his  back  upon  this  call ;  and  though  perhaps  he 
might,  with  the  rich  young  man  in  the  Gospel,  go 
away  sorrowful,  as  being  loath  to  leave  his  hopes  of 


The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

heaven ;  yet  go  away  he  would,  leaving  Christ,  and 
cleaving  to  the  world. 

In  a  word,  no  covetous,  or  voluptuous,  or  am*- 
bitious  man  can  be  idoneus  auditor,  a  "  fit  hearer 
"  of  the  doctrine  of  the  cross  ;"  nor  will  either  of 
them,  whilst  such,  be  ever  able  to  practise  it.  But 
on  the  other  side,  the  truly  mortified  Christian,  that 
is  dead  to  this  world,  and  lives  the  life  of  God,  that 
serves  God,  and  doth  his  duty  faithfully  in  the  time 
of  peace,  let  him  not  be  over  solicitous  what  he  shall 
do  in  the  time  of  persecution  ;  but  let  him  humbly 
depend  upon  the  grace  and  goodness  of  God,  which 
will  never  fail  him.  He  may  comfort  himself  with 
the  sure  promise  of  God  by  St.  Paul  to  all  good 
Christians,  1  Cor.  x.  13:  God  is  faithful,  who  will 
not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are  able  ; 
but  will  with  the  temptation  also  make  a  way  to 
escape^  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it.  And  so 
much  of  the  third  thing  which  this  worthiness 
comprehends,  viz.,  a  well  weighed  and  fixed  reso 
lution,  &c. 

4.  This  worthiness  of  meetness,  fitness,  or  due 
disposition  for  the  heavenly  glory,  comprehends  a 
deep  and  profound  sense  of  our  own  utter  unworthi- 
ness  of  it.  "  A  great  part  of  our  worthiness  consists 
"  in  an  ingenuous  confession  and  acknowledgment  of 
"  our  unworthiness l,"  saith  a  great  author  upon  this 
subject. 

We  can  never  in  God's  gracious  account  be  wor^ 
thy  of  the  future  happiness,  i.  e.  fit  to  receive  it  from 
God's  infinite  mercy  in  Christ,  if  we  think  ourselves 
worthy  of  it,  i.  e.  in  the  least  to  merit  or  deserve  it. 

1  Magna  pars  est  dignitatis  nostrse,  indignitatem  nostram 
ingenue  confiteri. 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  233 

No,  on  the  contrary,  the  best  of  us,  after  all  our  best 
performances,  must  sue  for  heaven  in  the  quality  of 
poor,  worthless,  nay,  sinful  creatures. 

We  must  debase  ourselves  to  the  lowest  degree, 
and  extol  and  magnify  the  riches  of  God's  grace  and 
mercy  in  Christ  Jesus,  who  hath  called  us  to  the 
participation  of  so  excellent  a  glory,  and  admits  us 
to  it  upon  so  equitable,  so  easy  a  condition,  as  that 
of  faith  working  by  love  ;  which  also  by  the  assist 
ance  of  his  Holy  Spirit  we  are  enabled  to  perform. 
David,  when  he  saw  but  this  lower  heaven,  with  the 
glorious  lights  that  shine  therein,  and  considered 
that  those  excellent  bodies  are  all  subservient  to  the 
uses  of  us  mortal  men,  that  crawl  on  this  spot  of 
earth,  was  wrapt  into  wonder  and  astonishment,  as 
we  find  Psalm  viii.  3,  &c. :  When  I  consider  the 
heavens,  the  work  of  tlnj  fingers,  the  moon  and  the 
stars,  which  thou  hast  ordained ;  wliat  is  man,  that 
thou  art  mindful  of  him?  and  the  son  of  man,  that 
thou  visitcst  him  f  For  thou  hast  made  him  a  little 
lower  than  the  angels,  and  hast  crowned  him  with 
glory  and  honour.  But  if  we  could,  as  St.  Paul  once 
did,  look  within  the  veil,  into  the  holy  of  holies, 
the  highest  heaven,  the  presence-chamber  of  the 
supreme  and  universal  King,  and  see  but  a  glimpse 
of  the  supertranscendent  glories  that  are  therein  ; 
and  then  reflected,  that  this  is  the  glory  to  which 
we  clods  of  earth  are  called  and  invited,  yea,  and 
(Hear,  O  heaven  !  and  give  ear,  O  earth !)  wooed  to 
accept ;  how  should  we  be  even  swallowed  up  with 
amazement,  and,  if  we  were  able  to  speak  for  won 
der,  how  should  we  forbear  to  cry  out,  "  O  infinitely 
"  good  and  gracious  God  !  O  most  meritorious  Sa- 
"  viour  and  Redeemer  Jesus !  who  when  thou  hadst 


234  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

"  overcome  the  sharpness  of  death,  didst  open  this 
"  kingdom  of  heaven  to  all  believers  !" 

It  is  very  easy  for  us  to  lose  ourselves  in  this 
speculation,  and  therefore  I  pass  from  it  to  what 
remains. 

5.  And  lastly,  This  worthiness  of  the  heavenly 
glory  comprehends  a  mighty  zeal,  industry,  and  dili 
gence  in  our  endeavour  to  obtain  it. 

He  that  believes  he  shall  come  to  heaven  without 
labour  and  diligence,  his  belief  is  contrary  to  the 
very  nature  and  notion  of  true  faith,  which  the  di 
vine  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  assures 
us  is  to  believe,  that  God  is  a  rewarder  of  tlicm  that 
diligently  seek  him,  not  of  such  as  negligently  and 
lazily  serve  him.  And  accordingly  the  same  author 
exhorts  us,  not  to  be  slothful,  but  to  be  followers  of 
them,  who  through  faith  and  patience  (i.  e.  an  un 
wearied  diligence  and  perseverance  in  the  service 
of  God)  inker  it  the  promises. 

Indeed  the  holy  Scriptures  do  every  where  incul 
cate  and  press  on  us  an  earnest,  vehement  study  and 
endeavour  in  the  business  of  our  salvation.  We  are 
commanded  to  strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate; 
to  labour  for  that  meat  which  endures  to  everlasting 
life ;  to  work  out  our  salvation  with  fear  and  trem 
bling  ;  to  press  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  the 
high  calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus  ;  to  give  all  dili 
gence,  to  make  our  calling  and  election  sure;  that  so 
an  entrance  may  be  ministered  to  us  abundantly  into 
the  everlasting  kingdom  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ. 

But  I  shall  insist  only  on  that  one  text,  as  most 
apposite  to  our  present  purpose,  which  on  another 
account  we  have  already  cited  out  of  Luke  xxi.  36 : 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  235 

Watch  ye  therefore,  and  pray  always,  that  ye  may  be 
accounted  worthy  to  escape  all  these  things  which  shall 
come  to  pass,  and  to  stand  before  the  Son  of  man. 

They  are  the  words  of  our  Lord  himself,  wherein 
he  plainly  shews  us  what  we  must  do,  if  we  will  be 
accounted  worthy  to  escape  those  dreadful  things, 
which  shall  befall  the  wicked  at  the  day  of  the 
universal  judgment,  (for  that  he  principally  respects 
in  that  chapter,  and  not  only  the  destruction  of  the 
wicked  Jews,  the  type  and  shadow  of  it,)  and  to 
stand  before  the  Judge  as  acquitted  and  absolved 
persons;  to  stand  at  his  right  hand  among  those 
holy  ones,  to  whom  he  will  say,  Come,  ye  blessed  of 
mi/  leather,  receirc  the  kingdom  prepared  for  you 
from  the  foundation  of  the  world.  If  we  would  be 
accounted,  through  the  grace  and  mercy  of  God  in 
Christ  .Jesus,  worthy  of  this,  we  must  do  these  two 
things,  we  must  watch  and  we  must  prat/,  and  that 
always.  We  must  watch,  i.  e.  stand  upon  our  guard, 
look  about  us,  use  all  possible  care  and  diligence  to 
avoid  those  temptations  to  sin  wherewith  we  are 
surrounded  ;  and  not  only  so,  but  we  must  also 
watch,  and  carefully  observe  all  opportunities  of 
doing  our  duty,  of  doing  and  receiving  good  :  nor 
must  we  only  watch,  but  also  pray  to  God  for  his 
grace,  to  enable  us  to  do  our  duty,  and  to  persevere 
therein. 

How  aptly  are  these  two  things  joined  together ! 
We  must  not  presume  on  the  assistance  of  God's 
grace  without  our  own  care  and  endeavour  ;  nor 
must  we  so  rely  on  our  own  endeavour,  as  not  to  see 
our  continual  need  of  God's  grace,  without  which 
all  our  endeavours  will  prove  vain  and  ineffectual. 


236  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 


and  -n-poa-ev-^,  care  and  prayer,  must  go 
together,  and  in  both  we  must  persevere.  We  must 
watch  and  pray  ev  Travrl  Kaipw  at  all  times  ;  i.e.  we 
must  live  in  the  daily  exercise  of  watchfulness,  care, 
and  diligence,  about  the  concerns  of  our  immortal 
souls  ;  and  also  in  a  constant  course  of  devotion,  of 
serious  and  most  earnest  prayer  to  God  day  and 
night,  for  his  grace  to  assist  us  ;  ever  both  looking 
to  ourselves,  and  also  looking  to  God  for  help.  This 
must  be  our  constant  employment,  whilst  we  live  on 
this  earth. 

And  if  thus  we  do,  our  Lord  himself,  who  is  to  be 
our  Judge,  hath  beforehand  assured  us,  that  at  the 
great  day  of  trial  we  shall  be  accounted  worthy  to 
stand  before  him  :  i.e.  we  shall  carry  our  cause  at  his 
tribunal,  be  accounted  and  pronounced  righteous  in 
his  sight,  according  to  that  law  of  grace  and  mercy, 
which  he,  as  our  Saviour,  hath  procured,  ratified,  and 
confirmed  with  his  most  precious  blood. 

This  is  the  worthiness  required  in  those  that  shall 
be  partakers  of  the  future  heavenly  glory.  It  com 
prehends  these  five  things  :  1.  A  steadfast  belief 
and  persuasion  of  the  certainty  of  the  future  glory. 
2.  A  vigorous  and  lively  apprehension  and  considera 
tion  of  its  transcendent  worth  and  excellence,  com 
pared  with  whatsoever  happiness  this  present  life 
can  offer  in  competition  with  it.  3.  A  well  weighed 
and  fixed  resolution  to  part  with  any  thing  that  is 
most  dear  to  us  in  this  world,  rather  than  lose  our 
shares  and  interest  therein.  4.  A  profound  and  deep 
sense  of  our  own  utter  unworthiness  of  it.  5.  And 
lastly,  A  mighty  zeal,  industry,  and  diligence  in  our 
endeavour  to  obtain  it. 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  237 

APPLICATION. 

Now  from  this  discourse,  (that  I  may  briefly  apply 
it,)  we  cannot  but  see  too  much  reason  sadly  to  re 
flect  on  the  state  and  condition  of  the  generality  of 
professed  Christians.  If  none  shall  be  partakers  of 
the  future  heavenly  glory,  but  such  as  have  this 
worthiness  of  meetness,  fitness,  and  due  disposition 
for  it,  how  few  are  there  among  those  that  have  been 
baptized  into  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  profess  their 
hopes  of  heaven,  who  can  produce  any  colourable 
claim  and  title  to  it ! 

There  are  two  sorts  of  persons,  T  am  sure,  that  are 
here  deeply  concerned. 

1.  If  this  be  true,  what  will  become  of  the  noto 
riously  vicious,  the  gross  and  scandalous  sinner,  the 
drunkard,  the  adulterer,  the  fornicator,  the  common 
swearer,  the  malicious  and  revengeful  person,  the  liar, 
the  extortioner,  the  oppressor,  and  such  like  ?  Can 
any  of  these  men  (even  in  the  most  merciful  esti 
mation)  be  thought  worthy  of,  i.  e.  meet  and  fit  for 
the  heavenly  glory  ?  was  the  kingdom  of  heaven, 
think  you,  ever  prepared  or  designed  for  such  as 
these?  Certainly  no.  I  need  not  insist  long  on  this, 
the  case  is  so  plain  ;  and  therefore  St.  Paul  seems  to 
wonder  at  the  sottish  and  stupid  ignorance  of  those 
who  can  imagine  a  vicious  life  to  be  reconcilable 
with  the  hopes  of  heaven;  1  Cor.  vi.  9, 10:  Know 
ye  not  that  the  unrighteous  shall  not  inherit  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?  Be  not  deceived ;  neither  forni- 
cators,  nor  idolaters,  nor  adulterers,  nor  effemi 
nate^  nor  abusers  of  themselves  with  mankind,  nor 
thieves,  nor  covetous,  nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers, 
nor  extortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God. 
The  good  Lord  of  his  mercy  open  the  eyes  of  these 


238  The  Worthiness  of  the  SERM.  ix. 

men,  that  they  may  see  their  wretched  condition  be 
fore  it  be  too  late,  and  seasonably  take  the  advice  of 
St.  James,  chap.  iv.  8,  9, 10,  Draw  nigh  to  God,  and 
he  will  draw  nigh  to  you.  Cleanse  your  hands,  ye 
sinners,  and  purify  your  hearts,  ye  double-minded. 
Be  afflicted,  and  mourn,  and  weep  :  let  your  laughter 
be  turned  to  mourning,  and  your  joy  to  heaviness. 
Humble  yourselves  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  and  he 
shall  lift  you  up. 

2.  This  discourse  discovers  the  vain  hope  of  the 
careless,  negligent,  idle,  and  unprofitable  Christian, 
that  rests  in  a  negative  religion  ;  who  hath  no  other 
ground  for  his  hope  of  heaven,  but  that  he  is  no 
scandalous  sinner ;  whilst  in  the  mean  time  he  hath 
no  lively  sense  of  religion,  and  lives  in  the  ordinary 
neglect  of  the  manifest  duties  of  Christianity,  both 
those  of  piety  towards  God,  and  of  charity  towards 
his  neighbour ;  who  by  his  carelessness  in  those  mat 
ters  declares  that  religion  is  none  of  his  main  design 
or  business.  How  much  a  stranger  is  this  man  to 
frequent,  fervent,  and  serious  prayer  in  private !  to 
the  diligent  and  daily  study  of  the  holy  Scriptures  ! 
to  daily  meditation  of  heaven  and  heavenly  things  ! 
In  a  word,  view  him  in  the  whole  course  of  his  life, 
and  you  will  think  he  scarce  in  good  earnest  be 
lieved  a  life  to  come,  or  had  any  serious  thoughts  of 
his  eternal  state  in  the  other  world.  Now  surely 
the  worthiness  we  have  been  discoursing  of  implies 
another  kind  of  religion  than  this. 

The  sum  is,  no  man  shall  be  accounted  worthy  of 
the  future  heavenly  glory,  but  he  that  steadfastly 
believing  it,  doth  before  all  things  desire  it,  and 
thinks  no  labour  too  much  to  obtain  it.  He  whose 
greatest  care  it  is,  how  he  may  save  his  precious  and 


Partakers  of  future  Glory.  239 

immortal  soul,  and  accordingly  makes  religion  his 
main  business.  He  who  watches  and  prays  daily, 
and,  in  a  word,  who  lives  a  life  fruitful  of  good  works, 
works  of  piety  towards  God,  and  (according  to  his 
ability)  of  charity  towards  men.  This  man,  and  he 
only,  though  indeed  unworthy  in  himself,  yet  through 
the  rich  mercy  of  God,  and  the  merits  of  Christ, 
shall  be  accounted  worthy  of  the  blessed  immortality, 
to  live  with  the  holy  angels,  yea  with  God  himself, 
in  the  beatific  vision  and  fruition  of  him  for  ever  and 
ever. 

To  which  blessed  state  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
bring  us  all,  through  his  Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord 
and  Saviour. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and 
worship,  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 


SERMON    X. 


THAT  THE  POVERTY  OF  THE  FIRST  PREACHERS  OF  THE  GOS^ 
PEL  WAS  DESIGNED  BY  PROVIDENCE  TO  CONVINCE  THE 
WORLD  OF  THEIR  SINCERITY  :  AND  THAT  EVEN  PERSONS 
DIVINELY  INSPIRED,  AND  MINISTERS  OF  GOD,  DID  NOT  SO 
WHOLLY  DEPEND  UPON  DIVINE  INSPIRATION,  BUT  THAT 
THEY  MADE  USE  ALSO  OF  THE  ORDINARY  HELP  AND 
MEANS,  SUCH  AS  READING  OF  BOOKS,  WITH  STUDY  AND 
MEDITATION  ON  THEM,  FOR  THEIR  ASSISTANCE  IN  THK 
DISCHARGE  OF  THEIR  OFFICE. 


2  TIM.  iv.  13. 

The  cloke  tliat  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus,  when  thou 
earnest,  bring  with  thee,  and  the  books,  but  especially  the 
parchments. 

THE  sacred  writings  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa 
ment,  being  penned  by  holy  persons  either 
entirely  and  immediately  inspired,  or  directed  and 
assisted  by  the  divine  Spirit  in  what  they  meditated 
and  wrote,  have  nothing  in  them  that  is  frivolous 
or  useless,  nothing  but  what  may  yield  us  profitable 
matter  of  instruction,  if  rightly  understood. 

The  seemingly  very  little  things  in  them  are  many 
times,  upon  farther  search  and  consideration,  found 

a  [This  Sermon  was  probably  written  some  years  before  the 
last :  he  speaks  of  the  church's  prosperity  after  a  few  interrup 
tions,  and  alludes  to  the  Quakers,  who  were  numerous  in  his 
parish  of  Suddington  :  this  might  seem  to  fix  the  date  between 
the  restoration  and  1685,  when  he  left  Suddington.] 


Human  Means  useful  to  inspired  Persons.    241 

to  be  of  no  little  use.  Such  is  the  text  1  have  now 
read  :  a  place  of  Scripture  which  I  have  made  choice 
of,  not  so  much  to  shew  my  skill  in  improving  a 
seemingly  barren  text,  as  because  it  is  the  most  ap 
posite,  and  the  fittest  I  could  find,  whereon  to  found 
{i  discourse,  which  I  think  may  be  of  very  good  use. 
to  many  in  the  age  wherein  we  live.  To  make 
way  whereunto,  I  must  borrow  some  of  your  time 
and  patience  for  the  opening  and  explaining  of  the 
text  itself. 

St.  Paul  wrote  this  Kpistle  from  Rome  to  Ti 
mothy  in  the  Lesser  Asia,  where  St.  Paul  had  for 
merly  been,  and  had  in  that  time  thrice  at  least  vi 
sited  Troas,  the  chief  city  of  a  country  of  that  name, 
the  same  with  the  old  city  of  Troy,  so  famous  for 
the  ten  years  siege  of  the  Grecians  against  it.  At 
his  last  being  at  that  city  he  had  left  some  things 
behind  him  there,  which  he  now  desires  Timothy, 
when  he  came  to  Home,  to  bring  with  him,  as  things 
that  he  stood  in  need  of,  and  might  be  useful  to 
him:  and  what  were  they? 

First,  The  clokc  that  I  left  at  Troas;  in  the 
Greek  it  is  ror  (pe\oi>>ii>,  a  word  borrowed  from  the 
Latins,  as  appears  from  the  other  writing  of  it  often 
used,  TOV  (p€v6\r)i>,  penulaw,  which  signifies  a  cloke, 
or  upper  garment,  such  as  travellers  use  to  defend 
themselves  with  from  the  cold  or  bad  weather. 

And  the  books.  The  sacred  books  of  the  Old 
Testament,  say  some  very  confidently ;  but  I  must 
crave  leave  to  dissent  from  them.  For  though  T 
question  not  but  that  St.  Paul  was  very  conversant 
in  those  sacred  books,  and  esteemed  them  above  all 
human  writings,  yet  it  is  very  improbable  that  these 
were  the  books  here  meant.  For  the  Scriptures  of 

BILL,  VOL.  I.  11 


Human  Mean*  useful  SERM.  x. 

the  Old  Testament  were  to  be  had  in  all  the  churches 
of  Christ  where  St.  Paul  came,  being  constantly  read 
in  the  Christian  assemblies,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the 
Jews;  so  that  he  could  not  be  in  such  want  of  them, 
as  to  send  for  them  from  Rome  as  far  as  Troas. 
Nor  is  it  likely,  that  he  would  give  the  common 
appellative  name  of  books  to  the  divinely  inspired 
writings,  without  any  other  note  of  distinction. 

But  it  is  certain,  that  St.  Paul  had  read  other 
books  besides  the  Scriptures,  which  what  they  were 
may  best  be  gathered  from  his  education,  and  from 
those  footsteps  and  tracings  of  his  reading,  which 
appear  in  his  writings.  He  was  bred  a  scholar  at 
the  feet  of  Gamaliel,  Acts  xxii.  3,  a  learned  and 
famous  doctor  among  the  Jews,  very  probably  the 
same  of  whom  we  read,  Acts  v.  34:  Then  stood 
there  up  one  in  tJte  council,  a  Pharisee,  named  Ga 
maliel,  a  doctor  of  law*  had  in  reputation  among  all 
the  people,  &c.  But  that  he  was  a  very  learned 
and  celebrated  doctor  among  the  Jews  of  that  age 
is  most  certain,  and  confessed  by  all  Christian  ex 
positors. 

Under  this  famous  tutor  St.  Paul  questionless 
made  a  great  proficiency  in  all  the  learning  of  his 
time  and  country.  There  were  then  extant  very 
excellent  books  of  Jewish  learning,  written  by  men 
renowned  in  their  generations,  before  our  Saviour's 
coming  in  the  flesh;  (which  are  now  perished,  little 
more  than  the  authors'  names  surviving ;)  of  which 
St.  Paul,  being  the  pupil  of  so  great  a  master  in  that 
sort  of  learning,  cannot  reasonably  be  supposed  to 
have  been  ignorant.  These  were  partly  exegetical, 
and  explanatory  of  the  mysterious  senses  veiled 
under  the  letter  of  the  Law  and  the  Prophets ;  and 


243 

partly  historical.  The  ancient  books,  containing  the 
mysteries  of  the  Jewish  religion,  are  by  the  latter 
Jews  stifled  an<l  suppressed,  as  making  too  much  for 
the  Christian  cause.  Vet  we  have  somewhat  of  this 
kind  of  learning  still  preserved,  especially  in  the 
writings  of  Philo  the  Jc\v,  though  mixed  with  much 
trash;  like  a  few  thin  and  slender  veins  of  gold 
running  through  a  great  mass  or  bodv  of  earth  and 
dross.  And  it  is  plain  to  him  that  hath  carefullv 
read  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  and  is  acquainted  also  with 
the  writings  of  Philo,  that  the  holy  apostle  well  un 
derstood  that  cabalistical  theology  of  the  Jews,  and 
retained  so  much  of  it,  as  by  the  direction  of  the  di 
vine  Spirit  in  him,  he  found  to  be  sound,  good,  and 
genuine.  In  the  tenth  chapter  of  the  first  Kpistle 
to  the  Corinthians,  St.  Paul  expounds  the  manna 
showered  on  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness,  and 
tJie  roek  thdt  (fare  them  irater  to  quench  their 
thirst,  to  be  significations  of  our  Saviour  Christ; 
and  shews  moreover,  that  ////'  attf/rl  <joiny  l>efor<' 
the  people  of  Cod  in  that  their  pilgrimage,  and 
tempted  In/  tJiein,  was  our  Lord  Christ.  And  all 
this  Philo  likewise  understands  of  the  Ao'yo?,  the 
\\ro)'d\\  or  Son  of  God,  which  we  Christians  know 
to  have  been  in  the  fulness  of  time  made  man,  and 
called  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  The  author  of 
the  Kpistle  to  the  Hebrews,  (who  is  supposed  by 
some  to  have  been  St.  Paul  himself,  but  was  ques 
tionless,  if  not  St.  Paul,  yet  a  contemporary  and 
acquaintance  of  his,)  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  that 
Kpistle,  ver.  12,  13,  speaking  of  the  Ao^o?,  the  ll'ord 
of (Jod,  useth  almost  the  very  same  expressions,  but 

'»   Vide  Phil. 
R2 


244  Human  Means  useful  SERM.  x. 

altogether  the  same  sense,  that  Philo  hath,  discours 
ing  of  the  same  matter  in  his  writings;  as  hath  been 
observed  by  the  learned  Grotius  on  the  place ;  who, 
from  that  and  other  indications,  conjectures,  that 
the  divine  author  had  read  the  books  of  that  learned 
Jew. 

And  for  the  Jewish  history,  whence  had  St.  Paul 
the  names  of  Jannes  and  Jambres,  nowhere  men 
tioned  in  the  sacred  chronicle,  but  from  some  other 
ancient  records  extant  in  his  time,  which  he  had 
read,  and  so  far  approved  ?  Nor  was  St.  Paul 
unacquainted  with  the  heathen  writers  celebrated  in 
his  time ;  for  these  he  sometimes  makes  use  of  for 
the  conviction  of  the  heathens  with  whom  he  had  to 
do,  and  whose  apostle  chiefly  and  especially  he  was, 
as  by  his  learning  the  fittest  for  that  office.  Thus 
in  his  sermon  to  the  Athenians,  Acts  xvii.  28,  he 
quotes  a  testimony  out  of  one  of  the  Greek  poets,  in 
these  words :  As  certain  also  of  your  own  poets 
have  said.  For  tve  arc  also  his  offspring.  The 
poet  he  cites  was  of  Cilicia,  St.  Paul's  native  country, 
named  Aratus,  who  had  this  in  his  poems,  "  For  we 
"  are  also  his  offspring c." 

Thus  also  in  his  Epistle  to  Titus,  chap.  i.  12,  he 
cites  a  verse  of  one  of  the  prophets  or  poets  of  the 
Cretans,  One  of  them,  even  a  prophet  of  their  own, 
said,  The  Cretans  are  always  liars,  evil  beasts9 
and  slow  bellies^.  Epimenides  is  the  author  of  the 
verse,  who  was  a  prophet,  not  only  in  the  sense  that 
all  poets  are  so  called,  but  a  pretender  also  to  enthu 
siasm  and  prophecy  in  the  stricter  sense,  as  Cicero 


c    Tou  yap  KCI\  ye'vos  ec 

KprJTfs  del  -^rfixTrai,  KaKu  Orjpia,  yaarepcs  dpyai, 


to  inspired  Persons.  245 

tells  us  in  his  book  of  Divination e,  and  owned  as 
such  among  the  heathens,  even  the  more  learned  of 
them. 

So  in  the  first  Kpistle  to  the  Corinthians,  chap.  xv. 
33,  he  cites  this  Greek  sentence; 

4>0€LpOV(TLV    *lOl]  XJ^Q'   6/AlAlCU  KdKCU. 

i.e.  Evil  communications  corrupt  good  manners; 
which  is  a  verse  of  the  poet  Menander,  as  St.  Jerom 
hath  long  ago  observed.  And  that  St.  Paul  had  di 
ligently  perused  the  Epistles  of  Ileraclitus  the  Kphe- 
sian,  hath  been  abundantly  proved  by  the  learned 
Scultetusf,  who  also  gathers  from  the  Platonic 
phrases  often  used  by  him,  that  he  had  read  likewise 
some  writings  of  the  Platonists^. 

O 

Some  few  choice  books  of  both  these  kinds,  (but 
very  few,  according  to  his  poverty,)  St.  Paul  had 
made  a  shift  to  get  and  preserve,  but  for  the  present 
left  at  Troas,  from  whence  he  desires  Timothy  to 
convey  them,  as  being  of  use  to  him.  But  let  us 
go  on  in  the  words  of  the  text. 

But  especially  the  parchments,  ru?  /j.e/jL/3pava<f,  a 
Latin  word  again  made  Greek,  signifying  the  .skins 
of  beasts,  smoothed,  dried,  and  fitted  to  receive 
writing  on  them,  which  we  call  parchments.  These, 
as  learned  interpreters  generally  conclude1',  (nor  can 
it  well  be  otherwise  imagined,)  were  St.  Paul's 
adversaria,  or  commonplace  books,  wherein  he  had 
written  down  what  he  had  observed,  as  worthy  of 
more  especial  notice,  in  the  reading  either  of  the 

<••  [Lib.  I.  1 8.] 

f  Orat.  de  Philol.  et  Theol.  conjunctione,  Delic.  Evangelicis 
pnemissa. 

«  Vid.  Scult.  Observ.  in  2  Tim.  i.  6. 
h  V.  Est.  et  Grot,  in  loc. 


246  .Human  Mean*  useful  SERM.  x. 

Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  the  other  books 
but  now  mentioned,  for  the  help  of  his  memory.  The 
blessed  apostle  could  not,  by  reason  of  his  poverty, 
(as  hath  been  already  observed,)  be  the  master  and 
owner  of  a  complete  library  of  the  learned  books  ex 
tant  in  his  time  ;  and  if  he  could,  it  was  not  possible 
for  him  to  carry  it  about  with  him  in  his  travels : 
and  therefore  he  had  his  parchments,  wherein  he 
had  noted  what  he  thought  might  be  of  use  to  him, 
out  of  the  many  books  he  had  read.  Concerning 
these  collections,  as  being1  probably  the  fruit  of  some 
years  reading  and  study,  he  gives  Timothy  a  most 
special  charge  to  take  care  of  their  safe  conveyance 
to  him  :  but  especially  the  parchments. 

This  may  suffice  for  the  explanation  of  my  text. 
I  come  now  to  raise  such  useful  observations  from 
it,  as,  being  so  explained,  it  naturally  affords  us. 

I.  Then,  I  observe  here,  the  poverty  and  mean 
estate  of  the  great  apostle  Paul.  It  is  indeed 
Erasmus's  observation  on  the  place  :  "  Behold  the 
"  a] jostle's  goods  or  moveables,  a  poor  cloke  to  keep 
"  him  from  the  weather,  and  a  few  books '  !"  And 
Grotius's  note  on  the  text  is  to  the  same  purpose : 
"  See  the  poverty  of  so  great  an  apostle,  who  could 
"  not  want  so  little  a  thing  as  a  cloke  left  at  Troas, 
"  but  charges  Timothy  to  bring  it  with  him  from  so 
"  remote  a  distance1' !"  Hence  St.  Paul  himself  often 
takes  notice  of  his  own  poverty.  So  1  Cor.  iv.  11, 
12:  Even  unto  this  present  hour,  we  both  hunger* 
and  thirst,  and  are  naked,  and  are  buffeted,  and 

i  En  supellectilem  apostolicam,  penulam  quce  defendat  ab 
imbribus  et  libros  aliquot. 

k  Vide  paupertatem  tanti  apostoli  qui  rem  tantillam  tarn  longe 
relict  am,  inter  damna  censuerit. 


fo  inspired  Persons.  247 

hace  no  certain  dwelli  noplace  ;  and  labour,  working 
with  ottr  oirn  hands.  And  that  he  lived  by  his 
labour,  he  tells  us,  Acts  xx.  '34:  Yea,  yoarsclrcs 
knoWi  t hn I  tin**!'  hands  It  are  ministered  to  mj/  nc- 
i'essities,  <ind  to  them  that  were  with  tne.  And  the 
same  tiling  he  expresseth  in  other  places,  which  I 
have  not  time  now  to  recite. 

This  was  a  singular  design  of  God's  providence 
towards  the  apostles  in  general,  who  were  all  of  them 
kept  in  a  poor  and  mean,  yea  in  a  most  afflicted  and 
miserable  condition,  as  St.  Paul  observes,  1  Cor.  iv.9— 
l.'J:  I^or  I  tli ink  that  d'od  hath  set  forth  as  the 
apostles  last,  as  it  ircre  appointed  unto  death  :  for 
ire  are  made  a  spectacle  unto  the  world,  <uid  to 
angels,  and  to  men.  He  are  fools  for  Chrisfs  saki\ 
but  f/e  arc  wise  hi  Christ  ',  tee  arc  weak,  but  ye  are 
strong ;  i/e  arc  honourable,  but  ice  are  despised. 
I'or  nnfo  this  present  Jioitr  ire  both  hunger,  and 
thirst,  and  arc  naked*  and  are  buffeted,  and  /tare 
no  certain  dicellinaplacc ;  and  labour,  working  icith 
our  oicn  Iiand* :  bcino  reviled,  ire  bless ;  bcina 
pertsccittcdi  ire  suffer  it :  bcinn  defamed,  ?re  entreat : 
we  are  made  as  tJie  filth  of  the  world*  and  arc  f/te, 
off  scouring  of  all  things  unto  this  day. 

The  design  of  Providence  was,  that  hereby  the 
world,  to  whom  the  apostles  preached  the  (lospel, 
might  be  fully  convinced  of  their  sincerity  in  the 
preaching  of  it ;  that  they  sought  not  themselves,  or 
their  own  ease  and  advantage,  but  were  content  for 
the  propagation  of  the  Gospel,  of  which  they  were 
ministers,  to  endure  the  greatest  inconveniences, 
necessities,  and  extremities.  This  was  sufficient  to 
satisfy  all  sober  and  reasonable  persons,  that  they 
had  no  design  of  their  own  ;  that  their  only  aim  was 


248  Human  Means  useful  SERM.  x. 

the  advancement  of  that  truth,  which,  with  so  great 
a  loss  and  hazard  to  themselves,  they  constantly 
published  to  the  world. 

'But  this  was  not  to  be  the  standard  and  measure 
of  the  ministers  of  Christ,  in  the  after  more  flourish 
ing  and  prosperous  condition  of  the  church,  when 
'kings  should  become  their  nursing  fathers,  and 
(jueens  their  nursing  mothers,  as  it  was  prophesied, 
Isaiah  xlix.  23.  The  church  of  Christ,  even  in  the 
first  ages,  and  times  of  persecution,  had  its  ydXqvrjv, 
its  calm  sometimes,  when  the  powers  of  the  earth 
favoured  them,  and  allowed  them  a  more  peaceable 
and  prosperous  condition.  But  when  Constantino 
declared  himself  Christian,  the  church  grew  splendid 
and  glorious,  and  the  succeeding  emperors  thought 
it  their  glory  to  advance  the  wealth  and  honour  of 
it.  This  prosperous  estate  of  Christians,  with  some 
few  interruptions,  is  (God  be  praised)  conveyed  down 
to  us  at  this  day,  and  may  it  for  ever  continue ; 
whilst  the  designs  of  those  that  envy  the  church's 
prosperity  perish,  and  are  brought  to  nought.  But 
if  ever  a  time  of  poverty  and  affliction  shall  befall 
us,  we  are  then  to  follow  the  example  of  the  apostles 
of  Christ ;  to  be  contented  with  our  poverty  and 
affliction,  and  by  no  means  to  be  deterred  from 
the  constant  asserting  of  the  truth  we  preach  and 
profess. 

But  this  is  not  the  point  I  intend  to  prosecute, 
there  being  another  observation  as  naturally  arising 
from  my  text,  and  which  I  designed  to  be  the  chief 
subject  of  my  discourse  at  this  time. 

2.  Therefore  I  observe,  that  even  the  divinely 
inspired  persons  and  ministers  of  God,  did  not  so 
wholly  depend  upon  divine  inspiration,  but  that  they 


to  inspired  Persons.  249 

made  use  also  of  the  ordinary  helps  and  means,  such 
as  reading  of  books,  with  study  and  meditation  on 
them,  for  their  assistance  in  the  discharge  of  their 
office. 

St.  Paul  had  his  books  which  he  had  read,  and  his 
manuscripts  too,  or  collection  of  notes,  which  he 
found  to  be  useful  to  him,  and  therefore  gives  Timo 
thy  a  special  charge  to  convey  them  safely  to  him. 

And  it  is  farther  to  be  observed,  that  he  earnestly 
exhorts  his  son  Timothy  to  the  same  course  of  read 
ing  and  study,  1  Tim.  iv.  13,  14,  15:  Till  I  come, 
(jire  attendance  to  reading,  to  exhortation^  to  doc 
trine.  Xeylect  not  the  gift  tJtat  is  in  thee  by 
prophecy,  with  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the 
presbytery.  Meditate  on  t/iesc  things;  (/ice  tin/self 
wholly  to  them  ;  that  thy  profiting  may  appear  to 
all.  \Yhere  we  have  several  things  observable  to 
our  purpose.  1.  The  exhortation  is  to  Timothy,  a 
man  placed  by  the  apostles  bishop  at  Ephesus,  the 
metropolis  of  the  Lesser  Asia,  which,  though  called 
the  Lesser,  was  of  a  very  great  and  wide  extent ;  a 
man  that  was  the  beloved  son,  or  darling  scholar  and 
disciple,  of  the  great  apostle  St.  Paul ;  a  man  marked 
out  long  before  by  prophecies,  as  one  that  should 
prove  a  very  eminent  and  excellent  person,  or  by 
the  spirit  of  prophecy  in  the  apostles,  after  a  singu 
lar  manner  appointed  to  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel, 
1  Tim.  i.  18,  a  man  accordingly  endowed  with  ex 
traordinary  and  immediately  infused  abilities,  signi 
fied  by  the  ^a^io-^a,  or  gift,  said  here  to  be  given 
him  in  his  ordination.  This  man  St.  Paul  exhorts  to 
reading  and  meditation,  for  the  better  discharge  of 
his  office.  2.  The  order  of  the  apostle's  exhortation 
to  him  is  observable ;  Give  attendance  to  reading, 


250  Unman  Means  useful  SERM.  x. 

to  exhortation,  to  doctrine:  to  reading,  before  ex 
hortation  or  doctrine.  He  is  advised  to  be  himself 
first  a  well-read  and  learned  divine,  that  he  might 
be  the  better  able  to  instruct  and  teach  others. 
3.  The  emphatical  words  used  by  the  apostle  in  the 
exhortation  are  remarkable.  lie  adviseth  Timothy, 
not  only  to  read  and  study,  that  he  might  be  able 
to  exhort  and  teach  with  profit;  but  presseth  him  to 
(fire  attendance  to  reading,  not  to  neglect  the  super 
natural  gift  bestowed  on  him,  to  meditate  on  what 
he  read  and  learned,  and  to  addict  and  gire  himself 
wholly  to  these  tilings.  All  which  phrases  plainly 
signify  the  greatest  industry  and  diligence  to  be  used 

o  .  o 

by  him  in  reading  an  1  study,  and  the  other  exer 
cises  there  mentioned.  The  same  thing  doubtless 
St,  Paul  intends,  when  he  admonisheth  the  same 
Timothy  to  sf/r  up  t/ie  gift  of  God  within  him, 
2  Tim.  i.  6,  where  the  Greek  word  is  ava^ooTrvpeii', 
which  properly  signifies  to  cherish  or  rekindle  fire, 
(that  will  otherwise  go  out  and  die  in  its  own  ashes,) 
by  blowing  it  up,  and  adding  new  fuel  to  it. 

Thus  the  gifts  of  God  in  men.  even  the  extraor 
dinary  gifts,  such  as  Timothy  had,  will  soon  decay, 
die,  and  be  extinguished  in  the  ashes,  as  it  were,  of 
their  sloth  and  negligence,  and  require  continual 
refreshment  and  reparation  from  their  diligence  in 
reading,  studying,  and  praying ;  and  I  add  also, 
charitable  using  and  exercising  those  gifts  for  the 
good  of  others.  A  learned  man  thinks,  that  the 
apostle,  speaking  of  gifts  more  immediately  infused 
from  above,  alludes  to  the  fre  of  the  altar  under 
the  law,  that  first  came  down  from  heaven,  but  was 
afterwards  to  be  preserved  and  maintained  by  the 
priests  with  a  constant  supply  of  wood,  and  their 


sy///vv/  i'1'i'xonx.  251 

continual  care  in  cherishing  it;  Leviticus  vi.  12,  1:3, 
compared  with  chap.  ix.  12  k  This  is  sufficient  to 
shew  us  the  practice4  of  the*  divinely  inspired  persons 
under  the'  New  Testament. 

I  add,  that  the  holy  prophets,  under  the'  Old  Tes 
tament,  took  the  same'  course,  not  depending  so 
wholly  upon  immediate  revelation  and  inspiration 
from  (rod,  as  to  think  all  endeavour  and  diligence 
on  their  own  part  needless:  but,  on  the1  contrary, 
taking  pains  to  be  prophets,  being  for  a  long  time 
educated  in  societies  and  schools  of  that  divine  learn 
ing,  under  a  constant  discipline  and  exercise  for  the 
attaining  of  the  gift  of  prophecy;  and  when  they 
had  attained  it,  still  u^ing  a  proportionable  diligence 
for  the  maintenance,  preservation,  and  increase'  of  it. 
For  we  read  of  colleges  and  incorporated  societies, 
consisting  of  prophets  and  their  sons,  or  of  prophets 
and  their  scholars  and  disciples,  the  one'  receiving 
instruction  from  the  other,  just  as  it  is  in  the  col 
leges  of  our  universities. 

That  there  were  such  colleges  of  prophets  ancient 
ly  among  the  .lews,  over  each  of  which  one  more  e*x- 
cellent  prophet  was  president,  is  most  certain  from 
divers  texts  of  Scripture.  The  first  mention  of  such 
a  college  we  have'  1  Sam.  x.  10:  And  lelien  the?/ 
(i.  e.  Saul  and  his  company)  eutne  thither  to  tin*  /////, 
behold*  a  eomjxnii/  of  prophets  met  them,  &c.  A 
company  of  prophets^  that  is,  saith  Drusius,  k<  a  com- 
"  pany  of  students  devoting  themselves  to  the  study 
"  of  prophecy1."  Where  by  the  way  observe,  that 
those  prophetic  colleges  were  usually  erected  in 
remoter  and  higher  places,  on  hills  distant  from 

1  Cohors  studiosorum  operam  dantium  prophetwe. 


252  Human  Means  useful  SERM.  x. 

towns  and  cities,  as  the  fittest  and  most  commodious 
places  for  a  studious  contemplative  life.  But  more 
clear  is  that  place,  1  Sam.  xix.  20  :  And  Saul  sent 
messengers  to  take  David :  and  when  they  saw 
the  company  of  the  prophets  prophesying,  and 
Samuel  standing  as  appointed  over  them,  &c.  Here 
we  have  plainly  a  college,  or  society  of  prophets 
together,  and  Samuel  appointed  as  president  of  the 
college. 

Of  the  sons  of  the  prophets,  or  those  students  that 
entered  themselves  in  the  colleges  of  the  prophets, 
to  be  instructed  by  their  several  presidents,  we  have 
express  mention  2  Kings  ii.  where,  verse  3,  we  read 
of  the  sons  of  the  prophets  that  were  at  Bethel 
coming  to  Elisha,  and  giving  him  warning  that  Elias 
should  presently  be  taken  from  him.  And,  verse  7, 
there  is  mention  made  of  another  college  of  prophets 
at  Jericho,  who  afterwards,  verse  15,  are  said  to  have 
done  reverence  to  Elisha  succeeding  Elias. 

So  in  2  Kings  iv.  38,  we  read,  that  Elisha  being 
at  Gilgal,  the  sons  of  the  prophets  were  sitting  before 
him,  viz.,  in  the  posture  of  disciples  and  scholars, 
to  learn  and  receive  instruction  from  their  master. 
And  because  the  disciples  sat  in  a  lower  form  or  seat, 
under  their  masters  and  teachers,  they  are  said  to  sit 
at  their  feet.  Hence  the  people  of  Israel's  receiving 
the  law  from  God  is  thus  expressed,  They  sat  down 
at  thy  feet;  every  one  shall  receive  of  thy  words, 
Deut.  xxxiii.  3.  So  St.  Paul  is  said  to  have  been 
brought  up,  or  educated,  at  the  feet  of  Gamaliel, 
Acts  xxii.  3. 

The  business  of  these  colleges  of  the  prophets  is 
by  learned  men  described  to  be  this :  they  were 
taught  by  their  presidents  the  law  of  God;  they 


to  inspired  Persons.  °.,5^ 

were  instructed  in  the  prophecies  of  those  prophets 
tluit  went  before  them  ;  they  were  taught  by  what 
ways  and  means  they  might  obtain  th^  gift  of  pro 
phecy,  or  the  increase  of  it  ;  they  were  in  (brined 
what  was  the  scope  and  signification  of  the  sacrifices 
and  ceremonial  laws,  by  which  the  things  that  were 
to  come  to  pass  in  the  time  of  the  Messias  were  pre 
figured  ;  and,  in  a  word,  they  were  in  those  colleges 
taught  the  whole  mystery  of  the  Jewish  religion, 
according  to  the  time  and  age,  and  their  several 
capacities.  So  that  even  prophecy  was  a  science 
among  the  ancient  Jews,  and  men  were  trained  up 
to  it  by  discipline  and  education. 

I  shall  only  add,  that  Daniel,  the  most  excellent 
of  prophets,  (though  the  latter  Jews  out  of  prejudice 
will  scarce  allow  him  a  room  or  place  in  that  sacred 
order,)  is  not  ashamed  to  confess,  that  he  had  learned 
something  by  reading  the  writings  of  the  prophet 
Jeremiah  that  was  before  him,  Dan.  ix.  2  :  1  Daniel 
understood  l>i/  books  tJte  number  of  years,  wJiereof 
the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to  Jeremiah  the  prophet. 
\\  Inch  also  may  serve  to  confirm  what  was  said 
before,  that  the  sons  of  the  prophets  in  their  colleges 
were  instructed  in  the  prophecies  of  those  prophets 
who  were  before  them  For  if  so  accomplished  a 
prophet  as  Daniel  made  use  of  the  books  of  the 
preceding  prophets,  we  may  be  sure  that  those  young 
novices  in  the  study  of  prophecy  were  taught  by  their 
masters  diligently  to  peruse  them. 

And  this  may  suffice  for  the  proof  of  my  latter 
observation,  viz.,  That  even  the  divinely  inspired 
persons  and  ministers  of  God  did  not  so  wholly 
depend  upon  divine  inspiration,  but  that  they  made 
use  also  of  the  ordinary  helps  and  means  ;  such  as 


254  Unman  Means  useful  SEUM.  x. 

reading  of  books,  with  study  and  meditation  on  them 
for  their  assistance  in  the  discharge  of  their  office. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  use  and  improvement  of  this 
doctrine. 

1.  This  serves  to  discover  the  folly  of  those  who 
renounce  all  books  and  book-learning  as  needless, 
and  of  no  use  to  them;  and  bid  defiance  to  all  study 
and  reading,  under  pretence  of  a  spirit  or  light  with 
in  them,  sufficiently  able  to  direct  and  guide  them 
in  all  things.  Of  which  sort  the  sect  called  Quakers 
are  especially  to  be  noted.  For  you  see  the  great 
apostle  St.  Paul  read  books,  not  only  sacred,  but 
human,  and  had  his  parchment*,  probably  collections 
of  notes  gathered  out  of  the  books  that  he  had  read  ; 
and  that  the  same  St.  Paul  exhorts  his  beloved 
Timothy,  an  archbishop  in  the  apostolic  church,  to 
the  same  diligence  in  reading  and  studying,  that  ho 
might  be  the  better  enabled  for  the  discharge  of  his 

o  o 

duty;  and  lastly,  that  the  prophets  themselves  under 
the  Old  Testament  observed  the  same  method.  What 
an  insufferable  impudence  then  are  they  guilty  of, 
who  nowadays  decry  all  reading,  study,  and  learning, 
and  rely  only  on  enthusiasm  and  immediate  inspira 
tion  !  The  apostles,  the  prophets,  and  other  un 
doubtedly  inspired  persons,  thought  that  necessary, 
which  these  men  (that  cannot  give  the  least  proof 
of  any  such  inspiration  in  themselves)  despise  as 
wholly  useless  to  them.  Let  me  advise  them  to 
consider,  that  the  Spirit  of  God,  even  in  the  times  of 
the  extraordinary  dispensation  of  it,  was  never  given 
to  any  but  the  diligent  and  industrious,  and  such  as 
did  their  best  to  attain  divine  wisdom  ;  not  only  by 
praying  for  it,  but  also  by  reading  and  studying  the 
books  and  writings  of  the  wise  men  tlrat  were  before 


/r>  inspired  Persons.  L255 

them.  Lot  them  consider,  that  the  Spirit  of  (iod 
never  dwelt  with  the  slothful  or  la/y  ;  or  with  those 
who,  presuming  on  its  inspiration,  neglected  the  use 
of  those  ordinary  moans  of  getting  knowledge,  which 
Providence  afforded  them.  The  divine  assistance 
and  human  industry  always  went  together  hand  in 
hand,  and  an  anathema  is  due  to  that  doctrine  that 
separates  and  divides  them. 

And  yet,  see  the  ago  we  live  in  !  enthusiasm  and 
atheism  divide  the  spoil,  and  the  former  makes  way 
for  the  latter,  till  at  length  it  be  devoured  by  it.  In 
the  mean  while  enthusiasm  fills  the  conventicle  and 
empties  the  church  :  silly  people  dance  after  its  pipe, 
and  a  iv  lured  l>v  it  from  their  lawful,  orthodox 
teachers,  to  run  they  know  not  whither,  to  hear  they 
know  not  whom,  and  to  learn  they  know  not  what. 
And  till  the  minds  of  men  are  better  informed  and 
possessed  with  rightor  notions  of  things,  it  is  impos 
sible  they  should  ever  be  brought  to  any  regular  and 
sober  religion.  Nothing  in  religion  will  nowadays 
be  acceptable  to  many,  but  what  pretends  to  a  more 
immediate  inspiration  from  God  ;  and  the  bare  colour 
thereof,  be  it  never  so  small  and  slender,  will  almost 
make  any  thing  pass  for  current  divinity.  Let  a 
man  preach  without  authority,  and  without  book, 
and  make  show  as  if  he  did  it  extempore,  and  by  the 
sudden  suggestion  of  the  Spirit,  and  he  shall  be 
cried  up  by  the  vulgar,  though  he  deliver  the  plainest 
nonsense.  No  discourse  will  please  them,  but  that 
which  is  not  only  delivered  without  book,  (for  so  to 
do  is  no  fault,  but  rather  commendable,  when  it  is 
added  as  an  ornament  to  a  well  studied  and  sub 
stantial  discourse,  and  done  without  vanity,  and 
occasions  no  expense  of  time,  that  might  be  spent 


256  Human  Means  useful  SERM.  x. 

to  better  purpose,)  but  also  pretended  to  be  made 
without  book,  that  is,  without  consulting-  beforehand 
the  books  of  the  wise  and  learned.  Thus  the  people  are 
deceived,  and  love  to  be  so,  and  who  can  help  it  ? 

And  yet  my  charity  prompts  me  to  try  a  dilemma 
on  these  miserably  deluded  persons.  They  that  tell 
you  they  preach  without  the  help  of  any  precedent 
reading  or  study,  by  a  mere  and  immediate  depend 
ence  on  the  assistance  of  the  Spirit,  cither  they  say 
true  or  false  :  if  what  they  say  be  true,  they  are 
guilty  of  a  very  great  and  intolerable  presumption, 
in  despising  those  helps  which  the  divinely  inspired 
persons  both  under  the  Old  and  New  Testament 
thought  useful  to  them  :  if  they  tell  you  that  which 
is  false,  and  whilst  they  pretend  to  immediate  in 
spiration,  use  the  help  of  reading  and  study,  you  are 
to  shun  them  as  liars  and  cheats,  and  to  have  no 
more  to  do  with  them.  The  truth  is,  the  men  with 
whom  we  have  to  do  are  of  two  sorts,  each  of  which 
must  needs  fall  under  the  one  or  the  other  part  of 
the  dilemma.  Some  of  them  do  indeed  in  their 
profession  renounce,  and  in  their  practice  too  much 
neglect,  reading  and  study,  as  sufficiently  appears  by 
the  fulsome  repetitions,  impertinence,  nonsense,  and 
too  often  heresies  and  blasphemies  in  their  dis 
courses  :  others  take  some  pains  for  what  they  do, 
and  shew  something  of  industry  and  diligence  in 
their  performances,  easily  to  be  discovered  by  a  more 
careful  observer  of  them,  and  thereby  betray  the 
fraud  and  falsehood  of  their  pretences. 

Intolerable  is  the  consequence  of  the  error  I  am 
now  reproving ;  for  it  directly  tends  to  the  perfect 
phrensy  and  madness  of  those,  who  declaim  against 
the  nurseries  of  learning,  the  universities  themselves, 


to  inspired  Person*.  2.57 

as  the  nurseries  of  men,  that  will  by  their  carnal 
reasoning  and  learning  obstruct  the  advancement  of 
the  more  spiritual  Gospel.  Alas  !  what  will  this 
conceit  bring  men  to  at  length,  but  barbarism  and 
confusion?  And  who  are  the  authors  that  teach 
these  silly  men  to  decry  learning,  but  the  papists, 
whom  yet  they  seem  most  of  all  to  defy  ?  For  take 
away  universities  and  learning,  and  they  are  sure  of 
their  opportunity,  and  that  the  more  ignorant  will 
in  tract  of  time  bo  easily  brought  to  any  religion, 
and  so  to  theirs.  If  learning  and  the  schools  of 
learning  be  once  suppressed  among  us,  we  shall  in  a 
little  time  have  no  learned  men  to  stand  in  the  gap, 
and  to  keep  out  popery.  Hoc  Ithacits  re/if,  this  is 
that  which  the  Jesuit  would  have,  and  passionately 
desires.  Tn  short,  popery  was  born  and  bred  in 
ignorant  and  unlearned  ages;  and  as  soon  as  learning 
revived,  popery  began  to  decline,  till  at  last  the 
happy  reformation  ensued,  which  we  now  enjoy ; 
and  if  ever  learning  run  to  decay  again,  we  must 
expect  to  relapse  into  popery,  or  something  else  as 
bad  as  or  worse  than  that. 

But  let  us  proceed  in  the  improvement  of  the 
doctrine  we  are  now  upon. 

2.  This  may  teach  all  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
their  duty,  viz.,  diligently  to  read  and  study  the  holy 
Scriptures  in  the  first  place,  and  next  to  them  the 
books  of  learned  and  good  men  that  have  bestowed 
their  pains  in  explaining  them,  and  whatever  books 
besides  they  can  get  which  may  be  any  way  useful 
to  them  in  their  ministry. 

It  is  the  note  of  the  learned  and  judicious  Estius 
upon  the  text:  "Let  bishops  and  priests,"  saith  he, 
"  learn  from  hence  what  great  need  they  have  of 

BULL,   VOL.   I.  S 


258  Human  Means  useful  SERM.  x. 

u  continual  reading  and  study,  how  great  soever 
"  their  proficiency  may  already  be  ;  seeing  St.  Paul, 
"  who  had  been  taught  the  mysteries  of  religion  by 
"  the  Lord  Christ  himself,  and  now  a  long  time  ex- 
"  ercised  in  the  office  of  an  apostle,  had  still  occasion 
"  to  make  use  of  books."  And  when  we  consider 
how  strict  a  charge  the  same  apostle  gives  Timothy, 
that  great  apostolic  prelate,  to  apply  himself  to  read 
ing  and  study ;  and  that  the  inspired  prophets,  under 
the  Old  Testament,  thought  the  same  exercises 
necessary  for  themselves ;  how  dare  we  (very  mush 
rooms,  the  best  of  us,  compared  to  them)  either 
through  pride,  scorn  and  reject,  or  out  of  sloth  and 
laziness,  neglect  those  helps  ?  We  ought  not  in  the 
least  to  value  the  clamours  of  the  wild  fanatics 
among  us,  who  cry  out,  "  that  if  we  study  for  what 
"  we  do,  we  do  it  not  by  the  Spirit ;"  as  if  the  assist 
ance  of  the  Spirit  and  human  industry  were  incon 
sistent  with,  yea  repugnant  to  each  other.  For  on 
the  contrary  we  may  be  assured,  from  what  hath 
been  said,  that  the  Spirit  of  God  will  help  none  but 
the  studious  and  industrious.  Let  us  therefore  <nve 

O 

attendance  to  reading  and  study,  yea  addict  ourselves 
wholly  to  these  exercises,  with  daily  prayer  to  God 
for  his  blessing  on  them,  that  our  profiting  may 
appear  unto  all  men. 

3.  And  lastly,  this  may  serve  to  instruct  also  lay 
Christians  in  their  duty  of  diligently  reading  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  and  those  other  good  books,  that 
God's  providence  hath  furnished  them  with,  in  order 
to  their  instruction  in  the  matters  of  religion.  If 
the  ministers  of  Christ,  yea  the  very  apostles  of 
Christ,  have  thought  reading  and  study  useful  to 
them,  can  you  think  you  have  no  need  at  all  of 


to  inspired  Persons.  259 

it  ?  It  is  true,  more  time  and  pains  in  those  exer 
cises  is  required  of  the  ministers  of  religion,  than  of 
others ;  but  none  are  wholly  exempted  and  excused 
from  the  duty ;  because  all  men  are  bound  to  be 
wise  unto  salvation,  and  to  be  so  requires  no  small 
pains  and  industry.  Ministers  are  to  read  that 
they  may  be  able  to  teach  ;  and  you  are  to  read  that 
you  may  be  capable  of  learning,  or  being  taught. 
For  unless  there  be  a  concurrent  industry  in  the 
teacher  and  the  disciple,  the  one  teacheth  in  vain, 
because  the  other  will  never  learn. 

Be  sure  therefore  daily  to  read  the  holy  Scrip 
tures,  and  those  other  good  books  you  have  or  can 
procure,  that  may  help  you  to  understand  them. 
And  if  any  of  you  cannot  read  yourselves,  (T  hope 
there  are  very  few,  if  any,  in  this  congregation 
under  so  unhappy  circumstances,)  get  some  relation, 
friend,  or  neighbour  to  read  to  you  ;  and  they  must 
be  very  uncharitable  indeed,  that  will  deny  you  that 
assistance.  They  that  cannot  read  are  concerned 
to  double  their  diligence  in  hearing,  and  in  a  more 
careful  attendance  on  all  opportunities  of  instruction 
that  shall  be  offered  them  in  public,  and  in  asking 
and  seeking  after  instruction  from  their  ministers  in 
private,  adding  their  daily  and  most  earnest  prayers 
to  God  for  the  assistance  of  his  holy  Spirit  in  the 
use  of  those  means,  and  encouraging  themselves  with 
that  promise  of  his,  James  i.  5  :  //'  any  of  you  lack 
wisdom,  let  him  ask  of  God,  that  giveth  to  all  men 
liberally,  and  upbraidcth  not ;  and  it  shall  be  given 
him. 

In  a  word,  let  none  of  you  think  or  imagine 
divine  wisdom  and  knowledge  so  cheap  a  thing,  as 
to  be  obtained  without  labour  and  diligence.  And 

s  2 


260    Human  Means  useful  to  inspired  Pet 

remember  that  it  is  worth  your  while  and  pains  to 
learn  the  right  way  to  heaven ;  for  if  you  miss  it, 
you  are  undone  for  ever. 

Wherefore  consider  what  I  say,  and  the  Lord 
give  you  understanding  in  all  things. 

To  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be 
ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  wor 
ship,  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 


SKRMON    XI. 


THE  EXISTENCE  OF  ANGELS  PROVED  FROM  REASON  AS  WELL 
AS  SCRIPTURE,  THEIR  CREATION  HY  GOD,  THE  FALL  OF 
SOME  OF  Til  KM,  THE  NATt'RE  OF  THE  HOLY  ANG  E  I, S,  THEIR 
STATE  AND  CONDITION'  IN  REFERENCE  TO  GOD. 


HEBREWS  i.  14. 

Are  they  not  all  ministering  spirit*,  sent  forth  to  minister 
for  them  who  shall  I'-  hrirn  of  salvation  ? 

THE  subject-matter  of  my  text,  concerning  the 
holy  angels  of  (*od,  hath  suffered  between  two 
extremes,  the  bold  presumptuous  curiosity  of  some, 
and  the  desperate  or  supine  carelessness  and  imcoii- 
cernedness  of  others  about  it ;  some  flying  too  high, 
others  sinking  too  low  ;  some  thinking  and  speaking 
too  much,  others  too  little  of  those  noble  beings, 
which  we  call  angels.  St.  Paul  takes  notice  of  some 
in  his  time,  whose  curiosity  in  this  inquiry  led  them 
to  a  religious  worship  of  angels,  whom  therefore  he 
condemns,  as  hitrttdiitf/  info  those  f/thif/s  which  they 
liad  not  seen,  vainly  puffed  tfj>  bij  their  fleshly  minds, 
Col.  ii.18. 

But  to  let  these  pass,  about  the  end  of  the  fourth 
century  (as  it  is  probably  conjectured)  there  came 
forth  a  book  under  the  name  of  Dionysius  the  Areo- 
pagite,  (the  convert  and  disciple  of  St.  Paul,  of 
whom  we  read  Acts  xvii.  34,)  entitled,  Concerning 
the  Celestial  Hierarchy ;  wherein  the  author  speaks 
so  sublimely,  so  punctually,  with  so  much  assurance 


262  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  xi. 

of  the  things  above,  as  if  he  had  himself  surveyed 
the  heavenly  mansions,  and,  as  a  learned  man  ex- 
presseth  it,  taken  an  exact  inventory  of  all  that  is 
there.  The  book  was  either  unknown  to,  or  not 
much  relied  on,  by  the  catholic  doctors  of  the  next 
ages,  as  appears  by  the  sentiments  and  notions  they 
had  of  the  orders  of  angels,  very  different  from  the 
determinations  of  that  author.  But  afterwards  the 
schoolmen  and  others  of  the  church  of  Rome,  taking 
the  book  to  be  really  his,  whose  name  it  bears,  re 
ceived  all  the  groundless  conjectures  therein,  as  very 
truths,  yea  well  nigh  adored  them  as  divine  oracles. 
Nor  have  these  men  been  contented  with  the  specu 
lations  of  that  author,  but  have  ventured  farther, 
and  raised  many  more  curious  and  fruitless  inquiries 
concerning  angels,  than  he  ever  dreamt  of.  It  must 
needs  disgust  a  sober  man  to  read  the  many  nice 
and  idle  questions  they  have  started,  and  taken  a 
great  deal  of  pains  to  resolve,  especially  concerning 
the  knowledge  of  angels.  Methinks  men  that  know 
so  little  of  themselves,  and  are  so  unable  to  give  a 
certain  account  of  the  operations  of  their  own  in 
ward  faculties  of  understanding,  willing,  and  re 
membering,  nay,  of  the  very  perceptions  they  have 
of  things  by  their  outward  senses,  should  be  more 
modest,  and  not  dare  so  confidently  to  discourse  of 
those  sublimer  beings,  or  to  tell  how  and  what  they 
do  or  can  know. 

Wherefore  others,  out  of  a  dread  and  abhorrence 
of  such  presumption,  have  run  themselves  into 
the  contrary  extreme,  and  can  scarce  endure  any 
professed  discourse  of  angels,  or  let  it  pass,  without 
the  censure  of  vain  and  dangerous  curiosity.  And 
this  their  folly  they  call  prudence,  modesty,  and 


and  their  Nature.  1263 

humility,  and  endeavour  to  justify  it  by  the  authority 
of  an  old  threadbare  maxim,  (the  common  shelter 
of  dulness,  stupidity,  and  negligence  about  divine 
things,)  "  Those  tilings  that  are  above  us,  do  not  at 
"all  concern  usa."  Twill  not  undertake  to  make 
comparisons  between  this  and  the  other  extreme ; 
but  of  this  I  am  certain,  that  the  ill  consequences  of 
the  latter  extreme  are  very  great. 

For  by  this  conceit,  the  most  noble  part  of  the 
creation  is  hid  from  our  eyes,  and  banished  out  of 
the  bounds  and  limits  of  the  Christian  philosophy. 
By  this  pretence,  the  majesty  of  the  divine  empire, 
to  which  so  many  millions  of  glorious  creatures  are 
subject,  is  lessened  and  depressed  ;  and  men  must 
needs  think  too  highly  of  themselves,  and  too  meanly 
of  the  great  and  glorious  Cod,  if  they  are  not  minded 
sometimes  of  those  more  excellent  beings  that  are 
between  (Jod  and  themselves,  irho  dwell  in  houses 
of  clay,  whose  foundation  /\  in  the  dust,  which  are 
crushed  before  t/ic  moth,  Job  iv.  19.  By  this  means 
we  must  be  ignorant  of  the  great  instruments  of  the 
divine  Providence  over  us,  and  deprived  of  the  com 
fort  we  might  receive  from  the  knowledge  of  them 
in  the  time  of  our  distress  and  danger.  Hereby  the 
best  patterns  of  virtue,  which  God  hath  set  before 
us,  (next  to  the  example  of  his  most  holy  Son,)  are 
removed  out  of  our  sight ;  nor  can  we  with  a  right 
understanding  say  that  our  daily  petition,  Tin/  will 
be  done  in  earth,  as  it  is  in  heaven,  viz.,  by  the  holy 
angels.  In  a  word,  the  great  mistake  of  those,  who 
would  have  the  doctrine  of  angels  passed  over  in 
silence,  will  plainly  appear  by  the  excellent  uses  of 

H  Quae  supra  nos,  nihil  ad  nos. 


264  The  Existence  of  Angels,        SERM.  xi. 

the  same  doctrine,  which  I  shall  endeavour  to  set 
before  you  in  the  conclusion  of  this  discourse. 

But  to  avoid  both  the  extremes  mentioned,  our 
only  way  will  be  to  keep  close  to  the  holy 
Scriptures,  and  to  admit  only  of  such  speculations 
concerning  this  matter,  as  are  plainly  taught  us  by 
divine  revelation.  And  a  brief  summary  of  the 
doctrine  of  Scripture,  concerning  the  holy  angels,  we 
have  in  the  short  text  I  have  read:  Are  tliey  not 
all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for 
them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation? 

It  is  a  negative  interrogation,  which,  according  to 
the  known  rule,  is  to  be  resolved  into  a  strong  and 
vehement  affirmation ;  thus,  Then,  i.  e.  the  holy  an 
gels,  are  certainly  all  of  them  ministering  spirits, 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  uilio  shall  be  heirs 
of  salvation.  In  which  proposition  I  shall  take 
notice,  first,  of  the  subject  or  persons  spoken  of  in 
the  word  then.  Secondly,  of  the  predicate,  or  that 
which  is  spoken  and  affirmed  of  them,  viz.,  that  they 
are  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister 
for  tli em  icho  sliatt  be  heirs  of  salvation. 

I.  The  subject  of  the  proposition,  or  the  persons 
spoken  of  in  the  word  then,  are  the  holy  angels. 
For  of  these  the  divine  author  had  discoursed  in 
the  preceding  verses  of  this  chapter,  and  particularly 
in  the  verse  immediately  going  before  my  text ; 
But  to  which  of  the  angels  said  he  at  any  time,  Sit 
on  my  right  hand,  till  I  make  thine  enemies  thy 
footstool?  And  then  it  follows,  Are  they  not  all 
ministering  spirits,  &c. 

That  there  are  such  beings  in  the  regions  above 
us,  as  we  call  angels,  i.  e.  certain  permanent  sub 
stances,  invisible  and  imperceptible  to  our  senses, 


265 

endowed  with  understanding  and  power  superior  to 
that  of  human  nature,  created  by  and  subject  to 
(iod  the  supreme  Being,  and  ministering  to  the 
divine  Providence  in  the  government  of  the  world, 
and  therein  especially  of  the  affairs  of  men,  is  most 
certain  from  the  holy  Scriptures ;  even  those  parts 
of  Scripture  which  the  Sadducees  themselves  un 
doubtedly  acknowledge,  viz.,  the  five  books  of 
Moses,  a  fiord  us  proofs  of  this  truth  so  plain  and 
manifest,  that  nothing  but  a  prejudiced,  perverse, 
and  obstinate  mind  can  resist  their  evidence. 

Nay,  the  very  heathen  philosophers  confessed  the 
existence  of  angels,  although  they  called  them  by 
other  names,  as  demons,  genius's,  and  the  like.  To 
this  confession  they  were  led,  either  by  a  certain 
natural  instinct  and  force  of  human  reason,  or  by  a 
prevailing  tradition,  derived  originally  from  that  in 
stitution  and  revelation  which  God  gave  to  mankind 
in  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  before  the  dispersion 
of  the  sons  of  Noah ;  or  by  experience  of  such  ef 
fects  and  appearances  as  are  unaccountable  but  upon 
supposition  of  such  beings;  or  by  all  these  together. 

It  is  a  question  indeed  in  the  schools,  whether 
natural  reason  directs  us  to  the  acknowledgment  of 
this  truth.  But  to  me  it  seems  out  of  all  doubt, 
that  the  existence  of  angels  may  be  evinced  by  very 
cogent  reasons,  and  such  as  must  needs  prevail  with 
all  those  that  will  give  themselves  leisure  attentively 
to  consider  the  nature  of  things.  For, 

1.  Although  man  be  an  excellent  creature  among 

O  O 

the  creatures  of  this  lower  world,  yet  that  very  rea 
son,  whereby  he  excels  those  other  creatures,  must 
needs  force  him  to  acknowledge,  that  he  himself  is 
too  mean  a  creature  to  be  the  first-born  and  top  of 


266  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  xi. 

the  creation,  the  masterpiece  of  the  works  of  God, 
who  is  the  great  Creator  and  Framer  of  all  things. 
Supposing  that  God  hath  created  a  complete  world, 
a  perfect  system  of  things  comprehending  all  degrees 
of  entity,  as  the  schoolmen  speak,  (which  is  gene 
rally  acknowledged  by  philosophers,)  it  demonstra 
tively  follows,  that  there  are  such  beings  as  angels. 

We  have  before  us  in  this  lower  world  several 
ranks  of  beings ;  some  that  have  only  bare  being,  as 
earth,  air,  water;  some  that  have  life  too,  as  plants 
and  trees,  and  other  vegetables;  some  that  beside 
life  have  sense,  perception,  and  discrimination  of 
material  objects,  as  to  their  outward  appearances 
and  accidents,  as  the  brute  animals  ;  lastly,  some 
that  have  beyond  all  this,  a  faculty  of  investigating 
and  searching  out  the  inward  nature  and  properties 
of  things  material  and  sensible,  and  also  of  dis 
coursing  of  immaterial,  spiritual,  and  divine  things ; 
which  is  that  to  which  in  our  common  speech  the 
name  of  reason  or  understanding  is  deservedly  ap 
propriated,  and  is  to  be  found  in  men,  who  are  the 
highest  order  of  beings  here  below. 

But  yet  man  is  thus  rational  only  in  one  part  of 
him,  being  otherwise  akin  to  the  beast  that  perish- 
eth.  And  hence  he  reasons  and  discourses  of  things, 
not  without  the  help  of  sense  and  imagination,  and 
grosser  corporeal  phantasms,  which  are  as  it  were 
the  first  foundations  whereon  he  raises  his  highest 
speculations ;  and  so  he  is  neither  wholly  nor  purely 
a  rational  or  intelligent  creature. 

Now  it  cannot  be  imagined  by  any  one  of  deep 
thought,  that  the  reason  of  mankind  being  such,  (if 
we  consider  human  nature,  not  only  as  it  is  now  by 
*in  depraved  and  corrupted,  but  also  as  it  was  and 


and  their  Nature.  267 

must  needs  have  been  in  its  original  constitution  ; 
the  first  man  himself  being  as  to  his  body  made  out 
of  the  dust  of  the  earth,  and  his  soul  afterwards 
created,  and  immediately  united  to  it,  Gen  ii.  7. 
compared  with  1  Cor.  xv.  45,  46,  47,)  should  be  the 
most  perfect  reason  of  created  beings,  or  that  among 
them  all  there  should  be  none  of  a  purer  and  higher 
capacity,  to  know  and  glorify  the  great  Creator  of 
all  things. 

It  remains  therefore,  that  besides  and  above  man 
kind  there  is  a  rank  of  intelligent  beings,  separated 
and  abstracted  from  this  heavy  matter  with  which 
we  arc  clogged,  of  nearer  affinity  to  the  supreme  and 
universal  mind,  and  of  a  purer  and  sublimer  under 
standing  faculty,  than  that  wherewith  we  mortals 
are  endowed.  And  these  are  the  beings  which  we 
call  angels. 

For  the  farther  confirmation  and  illustration  of 
which  argument  it  is  to  be  considered,  that  man  is 
evidently  a  mixed  and  compounded  creature,  made 
up  of  two  very  different  natures,  one  far  superior  to 
the  other,  viz.,  an  understanding,  and  an  animal  na 
ture.  Now  as  we  are  sure  that  his  inferior  animal 
nature  doth  exist  apart  in  certain  creatures  below 
him,  viz.,  the  brutes ;  so  we  may  be  as  sure,  that  his 
other  more  noble  and  understanding  nature  doth  exist 
separately  in  certain  creatures  above  him,  viz.,  the 
angels.  Thus  there  could  be  no  wine  mixed  with 
water,  unless  there  were  such  things  as  wine  and 
water  separated  from  each  other ;  and  as  water 
mixed  with  wine  is  a  more  generous  liquor  than 
mere  water,  and  yet  pure  wine  without  water  is 
better  than  it ;  so  man  being  compounded  of  the 
understanding  and  animal  nature,  is  far  superior  to 


268  The  Existence  of  Any  els,         SERM.  XL 

a  mere  animal  without  understanding,  that  is,  a 
brute ;  and  yet  a  creature  that  hath  a  purer  intelli 
gence  separated  from  animality,  viz.,  an  angel,  is  a 
more  noble  being  than  he.  This  is  one  not  con 
temptible  reason  to  prove  the  existence  of  angels ; 
another  follows. 

2.  Forasmuch  as  we  see  this  earth  whereon  we 
are  replenished  with  men  innumerable,  by  nature 
capable  of  understanding  and  knowing,  and  conse 
quently  of  serving  and  glorifying  the  great  Creator 
of  all  things ;  it  cannot  without  a  very  gross  ab 
surdity  be  imagined,  that  the  more  noble  heavenly 
regions  above  us  should  be  empty  or  void  of  intelli 
gent  creatures,  doing  homage  to  the  supreme  God. 
What  an  odd  thing  would  this  earth  be,  if  there 
were  no  men  in  it !  And  yet  it  would  be  a  stranger 
vacuum  in  nature,  if  in  the  heaven  above  there 
should  be  no  understanding  beings,  to  take  notice  of 
the  wonders  of  that  place,  and  to  serve  and  praise 
the  God  of  heaven.  If  (to  avoid  this  absurdity)  any 
man,  that  will  not  admit  of  the  existence  of  angels, 
should  have  recourse  to  the  opinion  of  those  of  old, 
who  held  the  heavenly  luminaries,  the  stars,  to  be 
living  creatures,  endowed  with  reason  and  under 
standing,  this  will  easily  appear  to  be  a  very  vain 
refuge. 

For  if  the  stars  of  heaven  had  any  reason  or  un 
derstanding,  they  would  have  also  some  liberty  and 
freedom  of  will,  and  consequently  would  exert  and 
exercise  some  free  actions ;  but  this  it  is  plain  they 
do  not,  all  their  motions  being  natural,  determined, 
and  perpetually  returning  after  one  and  the  same 
law  or  order,  and  therefore  necessary.  For  in  phi 
losophy  those  things  are  said  to  be  necessarily  done, 


and  their  Xutnrc.  269 

which  are  always  done  after  the  same  manner.  For 
this  and  other  plain  reasons  (which  might  be  pro 
duced  if  the  time  would  permit)  that  opinion  hath 
been  long  since,  by  heathen  as  well  as  Christian 
philosophers,  generally  exploded. 

Besides,  the  starry  heaven  is  but  as  it  were  the 
floor  or  pavement  of  a  heaven  above  it,  the  supreme 
or  highest  heaven,  which  is  by  the  consent  of  nations 
the  place  of  the  Almighty's  most  especial  presence  ; 
all  men  by  a  kind  of  natural  instinct,  with  minds, 
eyes,  and  hands  lifted  up,  directing  thither  their 
prayers  to  (»od.  And  can  we  fancy,  that  the  uni 
versal  King  hath  no  servants  to  wait  on  him  in  his 
presence-chamber,  when  we  see  so  many  paying  their 
devotion  to  him  at  so  great  a  distance  here  below  ? 
Natural  reason  therefore  directs  and  leads  us  to  an 
acknowledgment,  that  there  are  certain  intelligent 
creatures  in  the  upper  world,  who,  as  they  are  more 
remote  from  the  dregs  of  matter  wherein  we  are 
immersed,  so  are  they  of  a  more  pure,  refined,  and 
excellent  substance,  and  as  far  exceeding  us  in  their 
way  of  understanding  and  glorifying  the  supreme 
God,  as  they  are  of  nearer  admission  to  the  place 
where  his  glory  is  in  the  most  especial  manner 
manifested  :  and  these  are  they,  who  in  our  sacred 
writings  are  known  by  the  name  of  angels. 

And  so  much  of  the  real  existence  of  angels, 
proved  by  the  authority  of  the  divinely  inspired 
writers,  by  the  consent  of  heathen  philosophers, 
and  by  very  powerful  reasons ;  which  I  thought  fit 
to  premise,  lest  there  should  happen  to  be  any 
Sadducee  in  this  congregation,  lurking  under  the 
Christian  name  and  profession,  (as  it  is  certain  too 
too  manv  such  there  are  in  the  Christian  world, 


270  The  Existence  of  Angels,          SKUM.  xi. 

and  even  in  this  our  nation,)  who  might  deride  our 
intended  discourse  of  angels,  as  spent  upon  a  mere 
fiction,  or  creature  of  fancy,  nowhere  existing  in  the 
nature  of  things.  I  now  proceed. 

When  the  angels  first  received  their  being,  and 
were  created  by  God,  whether  they  existed  before, 
or  were  themselves  a  part  of  the  hewameron,  or 
"  six  days'  work  of  God,"  described  by  Moses  in 
the  beginning  of  Genesis,  was  a  question  disputed 
among  the  ancient  doctors,  especially  of  the  Greek 
church.  But  the  latter  part  of  the  question,  viz.. 
That  the  angels  were  created  sometime  within  the  six 
days,  is  now  unanimously  asserted  by  the  generality 
of  modern  divines,  who  produce  very  clear  reasons  for 
their  opinion,  from  the  very  history  of  the  creation 
delivered  by  Moses.  For  although  Moses  doth  not 
therein  tell  us,  on  what  particular  day  of  the  six 
the  angels  were  made,  yet  that  they  were  created 
sometime  within  the  compass  of  those  six  clays 
which  preceded  the  seventh,  wherein  God  rested 
from  all  his  work,  he  seems  plainly  enough  to  teach 
us,  Gen.  ii.  1 ,  2 :  Thus  the  heaven  and  the  earth  were 
finished,  and  all  the  host  of  them  ;  and  on  the  seventh 
day  God  ended  his  work  which  lie  had  made ;  and  he 
rested  on  the  seventh  day,  from  all  his  work  which  he 
had  made.  Where  we  have  evidently  a  general  reca 
pitulation  of  all  the  six  days'  works  of  God,  described 
in  the  foregoing  chapter ;  and  in  that  recapitulation, 
not  only  the  heaven,  but  also  all  the  host  of  heaven, 
is  expressly  mentioned. 

Now  what  do  other  scriptures  teach  us  to  under 
stand  by  all  the  host  of  heaven  f  The  whole  host  of 
heaven  consists  of  two  parts,  the  visible,  and  the 
intelligible  host  of  heaven.  The  visible  host  of  heaven 


and  their  Nature.  271 

are  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  those  glorious  lights  of 
heaven  which  we  behold  with  our  eyes  ;  for  so  they 
are  called,  Deut.  xvii.  3,  and  in  divers  other  places 
The  intelligible  host  of  hearen  are  the  angels,  who 
are  therefore  frequently  denoted  by  that  appellation 
in  the  holy  Scriptures.  So  1  Kings  xxii.  19  :  I  saw 
the  Lord  sitting  on  his  throne,  and  all  the  host  of 
heaven  standing  by  him,  on  his  right  hand,  and  on 
his  left.  So  Psalm  ciii.  20,  21  :  Bless  the  Lord,  ye 
his  angels,  that  c.rccl  in  strength,  that  do  his  com 
mandments,  hearkening  unto  the  voice  of  /us  word. 
Bless  the  Lord,  all  his  hosts,  ye  ministers  of  his  that 
do  his  pleasure.  So  Luke  ii.  13  :  And  suddenly  there 
was  with  the  angel  a  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host, 
praising  God,  &c.  But  there  is  a  place  of  Scripture 
that  comprehends  both  those  notions  of  the  heavenly 
host  together,  and  seems  to  be  a  plain  comment  on 
the  text  of  Moses:  you  may  find  it  in  the  ninth 
chapter  of  the  book  of  Nehemiah,  ver.  6,  Thou, 
even  thou  art  Lord  alone ;  thou  hast  made  hearen, 
the  hearen  of  heavens,  with  all  their  host ;  the  earth, 
and  all  things  thai  are  /herein  ;  the  sea  and  all  that 
is  therein  ;  and  thou  prcscrvest  them  all ;  and  the 
host  of  hearen  worshippeth  thee.  Where  by  the 
heaven  of  heavens  doubtless  is  meant  the  highest 
heaven,  called  by  St.  Paul  the  third  heaven.  And 
of  this  heaven,  as  well  as  of  the  inferior  heavens, 
the  starry  and  airy  regions,  it  is  said,  that  God 
made  them  with  all  their  host.  Now  the  host  of 
the  heaven  of  heavens,  or  the  highest  heaven,  are 
certainly  the  angels;  the  host  of  the  heaven  next 
under  it,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars.  But  that  the 
host  of  the  heaven  of  heavens,  the  angels,  are  chiefly 
respected  here,  appears  from  the  last  words  of  the 


27 C2  The  Existence  of  Angels,          SERM.  xr. 

verse,  and  the  host  of  heaven  worshippeth  thee ;  wliicli 
in  the  proper  sense  (from  which  there  is  no  reason 
here  to  depart)  is  true  only  of  the  angelical  host  of 
heaven.  When  therefore  Moses  in  the  place  cited 
tells  us,  that  within  the  sLv  days,  not  only  the  earth 
with  all  things  belonging  thereunto,  but  also  the 
heaven  and  all  the  host  thereof  were  finished  ;  we 
may  with  very  great  reason  conclude,  that  he  in 
tended  hereby  to  signify,  that  the  angels,  being  a 
part,  and  the  chief  part,  of  the  heavenly  host,  were 
also  created  within  the  compass  of  those  six  days ; 
although  in  what  day  of  the  six  he  had  not  before 
expressly  told  us,  as  indeed  it  is  nowhere  else  in 
Scripture  revealed  unto  us. 

And  we  have  the  greater  reason  thus  to  conclude, 
because  that  Moses  himself  knew  of  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  or  the  highest  heaven,  as  appears  from 
Deut.  x.  14  :  Behold,  the  heaven,  and  the  heaven  of 
heavens,  are  the  Lord's  thy  God ;  the  earth  also, 
until  all  that  therein  is.  And  that  the  angels  are 
God's  host,  we  are  taught  by  him  also  in  this  very 
book  of  Genesis,  chap,  xxxii.  1,  2,  where  he  relates 
an  apparition  of  angels  to  Jacob  in  these  words, 
And  Jacob  went  on  his  way,  and  the  angels  of  God 
met  him ;  and  when  Jacob  saw  them,  he  said,  This  is 
God's  host. 

Tins  is  farther  confirmed  from  what  follows  in 
the  place  above  cited,  out  of  the  second  chapter  of 
Genesis,  wherein,  after  it  had  been  said  that  the 
heaven  and  the  earth  were  finished,  and  all  the  host 
of  them,  it  is  presently  added,  and  on  the  seventh  day 
God  ended  his  work  which  he  had  made,  and  he 
rested  on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  work  which 
he  had  made.  From  whence  it  appears,  that  the 


and  their  Nature. 

heaven  and  the  earth,  and  all  the  host  of  them,  said 
then  to  be  finished,  are  to  be  understood  in  the  most 
comprehensive  latitude,  as  taking  in  all  the  work  of 
God,  a/I  that  God  hath  made,  i.  e.  all  creatures,  and 
therefore  angels,  they  being  unquestionably  God's 
creatures,  as  I  shall  presently  shew  yon  ;  now  it  is 
plain,  that  the  angels  are  not  comprehended  under 
the  earth,  and  the  host  thereof;  and  therefore  they 
must  be  contained  in  the  mention  of  the  heavenly 
host. 

The  same  thing  is  clearly  taught  us  in  the  words 
of  the  fourth  commandment  of  the  Decaloarue,  de- 

O 

livered  also  by  Moses,  wherein  it  is  expressly  aflirm- 
ed,  that  in  \i,r  days  God  made  heaven  and  earth, 
and  all  f/iaf  in  them  is.  Now  if  within  the  six  days 
God  made  all  things  that  are  in  heaven,  then  within 
that  time  he  made  the  angels,  who  have  their  ha 
bitation  there,  and  are  therefore  very  frequently  in 
Scripture  reckoned  with  the  things  in  heaven1'. 

But  yet  we  need  not  much  contend  about  this 
matter.  It  is  sufficient  for  us  to  know  and  believe 
(and  so  much  we  must  believe)  that  the  angels  are 
creatures  of  God,  made  by  the  eternal  Word,  or 
Son  of  God,  and  receiving  from  him  a  beginning  of 
being,  before  which  they  were  not.  This  doctrine  is 
most  evidently  delivered  in  the  Scriptures  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testament.  In  the  148th  Psalm, 
after  the  Psalmist  had  invited  all  the  things  above, 
and  among  them  the  angels,  to  celebrate  the  divine 

b  [Yet  the  Book  of  Job  says,  xxxviii-4,  7,  that  when  God  laid 
the  foundations  of  the  earth,  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  : 
and  if  they  were  created  during  the  six  days,  the  time  between 
their  creation  and  the  apostasy  of  some  of  them  seems  very- 
short.] 

HULL,  VOL.   I.  T 


274  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  xi. 

praises,  lie  presently  adds  concerning  all  of  them 
alike,  ver.  5,  Let  them  praise  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  for  he  commanded  and  they  were  created. 
But  most  full  is  the  text  out  of  the  New  Testament, 
Col.  i.  16,  17:  For  by  him  (i.  e.  the  Son  of  God) 
were  oil  thinqs  created,  that  are  in  heaven,  and 
that  are  in  earth,  risible  and  invisible,  whether 
they  be  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or 
powers :  all  thinqs  were  created  by  him,  and  for 
him  :  and  he  is  before  all  thinqs,  and  by  him  all 
things  consist.  And  concerning  this,  there  hath 
heen  always  a  perfect  agreement  in  the  churches  of 
Christ.  Let  us  go  on. 

The  angels  were  all  created  good  and  obedient  to 
God,  their  and  our  supreme  Lord.  But  divine  reve 
lation  teacheth  us,  that  some  of  them  sinned,  2  Peter 
ii.  4,  and  kept  not  their  frst  estate,  but  left  their 
own  habitation,  Jude,  verse  6,  and  so  became  of  the 
most  glorious  and  blessed,  the  most  vile  and  miser 
able  of  all  creatures.  What  the  sin  was  wrhereby  they 
fell,  and  when  they  fell,  are  questions  very  hard,  if 
not  impossible  to  be  determined  by  any  full  and 
clear  evidence  of  Scripture,  and  no  way  necessary 
for  us  to  be  resolved  in  ;  and  therefore  I  think  it 
best  and  safest  to  pass  them  by.  Of  this  wre  are 
certain  from  holy  writ,  that  there  was  a  fallen  angel 
before  the  fall  of  man,  the  Devil,  the  first  and  chief- 
est  of  fallen  angels,  being  man's  tempter,  under  the 
form  of  a  serpent,  and  therefore  called  the  old  ser 
pent,  and  a  murderer  from  the  beginning,  Rev.  xii. 
9.  and  xx.  2.  John  viii.  44.  We  are  certain  also 
from  Scripture,  that  there  are  now  a  great  multi 
tude  of  evil  angels,  joined  in  association  with,  and 
headed  by  that  prince  of  darkness,  and  therefore 


and  their  Nature.  275 

called  his  angels,  uniting  their  forces  against  Cod 
and  goodness,  and  good  men  ;  enemies  of  mankind, 
troubling,  disturbing,  perverting,  and  corrupting 
this  lower  world,  into  which  for  their  sin  they 
arc  cast  down  from  the  regions  of  light  and  glory 
which  they  once  possessed.  Nay,  the  very  heathens 
confessed  this  also,  acknowledging  bad  as  well  as 
good  genius's. 

And  the  existence  of  those  evil  spirits  is  so  evi 
dent  from  their  evil  operations  in  the  world  ;  in  the 
energumeni)  or  persons  possessed  by  them ;  in  wi 
zards  and  witches,  their  instruments,  acknowledged 
by  all  ages  and  nations,  and  of  which  in  our  own 
age  we  have  had  some  unquestionable  instances;  in 
their  temptations  on  the  minds  of  men,  which  are 
many  times  such,  (especially  that  which  is  by  divines 
called  toitatin  Jiorrrnda,  "  the  temptation  of  blas- 
'•  phemous  thoughts,"  abhorred  by  the  person  who 
is  continually  molested  with  them,)  that  it  is  very 
apparent  they  proceed  from  some  external,  invisible, 
wicked  agent  injecting  them  ;  in  the  open,  visible, 
and  palpable  tyranny,  which  they  exercise  at  this 
day  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  where  they  are  still 
worshipped.  T  say,  that  there  arc  devils,  or  evil 
angels,  is  from  hence  so  manifest,  that  he  must 
needs  be  under  a  very  strong  and  powerful  delusion 
of  the  Devil  that  shall  deny  it. 

But  my  business  at  present  is  not  to  treat  of  the 
evil  spirits;  the  subject  of  the  proposition  in  my  text 
being  the  good  and  holy  and  blessed  angels  of  God, 
who  persisted,  and  do  still  persist,  in  that  integrity 
wherein  they  were  at  first  created.  Wherefore  be 
seeching  God  to  deliver  our  souls  and  our  bodies 
from  the  power  and  policy,  from  the  violent  assaults 

T  2 


276  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  xl. 

and  secret  machinations,  stratagems,  and  devices  of 
those  wicked  apostate  spirits,  let  us  leave  them,  and 
proceed  in  our  discourse  of  the  good  angels,  and 
consider, 

II.  Secondly,  the  predicate  of  the  proposition  in 
my  text,  or  what  is  affirmed  concerning  them,  viz., 
that  they  are  all  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to 
minister  for  them,  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation. 
Whence  we  have,  1.  The  nature  of  the  holy  angels, 
they  are  spirits.  2.  Their  state  and  condition  with 
reference  to  God,  they  are  ministering,  waiting,  or 
serving  spirits.  3.  Their  office  with  relation  to  us, 
they  are  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  who  shall 
be  heirs  of  salvation. 

1.  Here  is  the  nature  of  the  angels  of  God  de 
scribed  in  this  word  Trvev^ara,  spirits.  That  is,,  they 
are  not  flesh  and  blood  as  we  are,  nor  is  their  sub 
stance  like  any  of  those  things  that  fall  under  our 
senses.  Hence  St.  Paul,  speaking  of  the  enemies  of 
our  souls,  the  evil  angels,  (who  differ  not  in  their 
nature  and  essence,  but  only  in  the  malice  of  their 
wills  from  the  good  angels,)  saith,  that  we  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  spiritual 
wickedness  (or  wicked  spirits)  in  high  places,  Eph. 
vi.  12. 

It  is  indeed  most  certain  that  the  angels  of  God 
are  not  such  spirits,  as  God,  blessed  for  ever,  is,  i.  e. 
they  are  not  OJULOOVO-IOI  of  the  same  nature  and  essence 
with  God ;  for  then  they  would  be  Gods  and  not 
creatures,  as  we  have  before  proved  them  to  be.  But 
we  cannot  so  certainly  and  positively  tell  what 
kind  of  spirituality  that  of  the  angels  is,  whether 
it  be  void  of  all  manner  of  corporeity,  as  modern 
divines  generally  hold,  or  joined  with  some  certain 


mid  their  Nature.  277 

corporeity,  not  of  the  grosser  sort,  either  fleshly,  or 
airy,  or  fiery,  but  most  subtle  and  pure,  like  that  of  the 
highest  heaven,  which  is  styled  their  tfitov  oiK>)T*jpioi>, 
their  proper  habitation,  as  some  of  the  ancient  doctors 
believed. 

And  indeed  there  is  no  necessity  that  we  should 
l>e  resolved  in  this  matter.  But  this  is  most  evident 
from  the  Scriptures,  that  of  all  created  beings,  the 
angels  of  God  are  the  most  subtle,  defecate,  pure, 
tive,  and  so  the  most  perfect  and  noble  substances, 
ncc  they  are  described  in  holy  writ,  as  creatures 
wonderful  agility  and  swiftness  of  motion,  Psalm 
.  4,  therefore  called  cherubim^  i.  e.  winged  crea 
ms  ;  and  of  as  strange  a  subtlety  penetrating  into 
y  kind  of  bodies,  yea  insinuating  themselves  into 
affecting  the  very  inward  senses  of  men,  Acts 
xii.  8.  Matt.  ii.  19.  1  Sam.  xvi.  15.  As  endowed 
with  admirable  efficacy  and  power,  Psalm  ciii.  20. 
2  Kings  xix.  35.  And  lastly,  as  immortal  beings^ 
that  have  no  principles  of  corruption  within  them 
selves,  as  unalterable  at  least  as  the  pure  heaven 
where  they  dwell,  that  can  never  die  or  perish  but 
by  the  hand  of  him  that  first  gave  them  being, 
Luke  xx.  36.  This  may  suffice  to  have  been  spoken 
of  the  nature  of  the  angels  of  God,  of  which  we 
cannot  hope  to  attain  a  clear  and  full  knowledge, 
till  we  arrive  to  that  blessed  state,  wherein,  through 
the  infinite  grace  and  almighty  power  of  God,  we 
shall  be  made  like  unto  them. 

2.  Let  us  next  consider  the  state  and  condition  of 
the  holy  angels  with  reference  to  God,  signified  by 
this,  that  they  are  styled  XetrovpyiKa,  ministering, 
i.  e.  waiting  or  serving,  .spirits.  Ministering  ?  to 
whom  ?  not  to  us.  For  although  they  minister  for 


278  The  Existence  of  Angels,          SERM.  xi. 

our  good,  (as  shall  be  shewn  when  we  come  to  the 
third  particular,)  yet  they  are  not  our  ministers  or 
servants,  (this  would  be  intolerable  arrogance  for  us 
creeping  worms  on  earth  to  imagine,)  but  God's. 
And  God's  ministers,  servants,  and  vassals  they  are, 
as  his  creatures,  owing  their  being  and  all  that  they 
have  or  are  to  his  bounty,  and  thereby  obliged  to 
pay  him  all  adoration,  worship,  service,  and  obe 
dience.  As  high  as  they  are  in  heaven,  they  do 
not  sit  upon  the  throne  of  the  divine  Majesty  there, 
but  stand  before  it,  humbly  attending  and  waiting 
to  receive  the  commands  of  the  universal  King, 
as  they  are  often  described  in  the  holy  Scriptures. 
In  a  word,  although  the  holy  angels  are  the  most 
excellent  creatures,  yet  they  are  but  creatures ;  and 
therefore  we  must  not  be  so  scared  and  dazzled 
with  their  excellence,  as  to  fall  down  and  worship 
them  ;  but  rather  join  with  them  in  rendering  all 
divine  honour  to  the  supreme  God  alone,  to  whom 
we  are  fellowservants  with  them,  although  in  a 
lower  rank  or  station. 

Hence  the  angel  that  appeared  to  St.  John  would 
not  suffer  him  to  fall  down  before  him,  for  this  rea 
son,  that  he  was  his  fellowservant,  Rev.  xxii.  8,  9  : 
And  ivhen  I  had  heard  and  seen,  I  fell  down  to 
worship  before  the  face  of  the  angel  which  shewed 
me  these  things.  Then  saith  he  unto  me,  See  thou 
do  it  not :  for  I  am  thy  fellowservant,  and  of  thy 
brethren  the  prophets,  and  of  them  which  keep  the 
sayings  of  this  book :  worship  God.  Where  three 
things  are  especially  to  be  noted. 

1.  We  may  observe,  that  the  angel  styles  himself 
the  fellow  servant,  not  only  of  St.  John,  and  those 
other  excellent  men  the  prophets,  (who  by  their 


and  their  Nature.  279 

office  and  extraordinary  mission  from  God  were 
themselves  after  a  sort  made  angels  of  God,)  but 
universally  of  t/iciit  which  keep  the  sayings  of  this 
I  took  i  i.  e.  of  all  faithful,  all  truly  pious  men.  80 
that  if  the  meanest  sincere  servant  of  Christ  had 
been  in  St.  John's  room,  and  done  as  he  did,  the 
angel  would  after  the  same  manner  have  refused 
the  honour  done  him,  and  for  the  same  reason,  be 
cause  he  was  his  fellow  servant. 

2.  Tt  is  to  be  remarked,  that  the  reason  in  the 
text  extends  itself  to  all  manner  of  religious  wor 
ship,  whereby  we  subject  ourselves  as  servants  to  the 
holy  angels,  even  to  that  lower  degree  of  religious 
worship  which  the  papists  call  cultnm  dulifr,  "  the 
u  worship  of  service."  For  this  worship  supposeth 
that  we  are  servants  to  the  angels  ;  whereas  the  text 
expressly  teacheth  us,  that  we  are  not  servants  to 
them,  but  fellowservants  with  them  to  the  supreme 
God,  to  whom  alone  therefore  we  ought  with  them 
to  render  all  religious  worship  and  service.  And 
indeed  it  will  be  very  evident  to  him  that  shall 
attentively  consider  the  context,  (especially  the  ninth 
verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  and  the  sixth  verse 
of  this,)  that  St.  .John  all  along  did  and  could  not 
but  know  the  person  that  spake  to  him  to  be  oidy 
an  angel  sent  from  God  and  his  Son  Christ,  and 
not  God  the  Father  or  Son  himself;  and  therefore 
could  not  intend  to  give  him.  that  sort  of  religious 

o  o 

worship  which  the  Romanists  call  \arpeiav  worship, 
in  the  most  absolute  and  perfect  sense  of  the  word, 
consisting  in  an  acknowledgment  of  infinite  excel 
lency  in  the  person  worshipped,  and  therefore 
acknowledged  by  all  to  be  due  to  the  supreme 
God  alone  ;  but  only  such  a  veneration,  as,  being 


280  The  Existence  of  Angels,          SERM.  xi. 

as  it  were  in  a  rapture,  be  thought  he  might  not 
unfitly  give,  to  testify  his  honour  and  gratitude  to  so 
glorious  a  messenger  from  God,  who  shewed  him 
such  wonderful  things,  and  brought  him  such  wel 
come  tidings.  And  yet  even  this  kind  of  worship, 
when  offered  by  St.  John,  the  angel  refused,  as  unfit 
and  unsafe  for  himself  to  receive  and  the  other  to 
give ;  as  apt,  being  used,  by  insensible  degrees  to 
withdraw  and  alienate  the  minds  of  men  from  the  due 
veneration  of  the  supreme  God,  blessed  for  ever. 

3.  We  may  here  see  the  mind  and  disposition  of 
the  holy  angels  of  God,  that,  in  all  their  intercourses 
with  the  sons  of  men,  they  seek  not  their  own  honour, 
but  the  honour  and  glory  of  him  that  sends  them  ; 
that  then  we  please  them  best,  and  oblige  them 
most,  when  they  see  us  paying  all  religious  worship 
and  veneration  to  the  blessed  Trinity;  and  that  on 
the  other  side,  when  we  render  any  thing  like  that 
worship  to  themselves,  we  greatly  offend  and  dis 
please  them. 

The  ancient  church  of  Christ  well  understood  this, 
though  the  degenerate  church  of  Rome  will  not. 
For  Origenc,  speaking  the  sense  of  the  Christians  in 
his  time,  in  answer  to  Celsus,  objecting  the  neglect 
of  worshipping  those  spirits,  that  under  God  preside 
over  affairs  here  below,  as  a  faulty  omission  among 
Christians,  tells  him,  "  Although  we  know  that  not 
"  devils,  (such  as  you  worship,)  but  angels,  are  ap- 
"  pointed  to  take  care  of  the  increase  of  the  earth, 
"  and  the  generation  of  animals ;  we  speak  well  of 
"  them  indeed,  and  proclaim  them  blessed,  but  yet 
"  we  give  them  not  the  honour  due  to  God,  because- 

c  Orig.  cont.  Cels.  VIII.  p.  416.  [§.57.  yol.  I.  p.  785.] 


and  their  Nature.  281 

"•  neither  God  would  have  us  to  do  so,  nor  they 
"  themselves."  And  a  few  pages  after*1,  "  There  is 
"  only  one  whose  favour  we  are  to  seek,  viz.,  the 
u  supreme  God  ;  and  the  only  way  to  obtain  his 
"  favour,  is  by  prayer  and  virtuous  living*.  If,  next 
"  to  the  supreme  God,  Celsus  would  have  us  to  court 
"  the  good-will  of  those  other  powers  that  are  under 
"  him,  let  him  consider,  that  as  when  the  body 
"  moves,  its  shadow  moves  with  it ;  so  when  a  man 
"  hath  obtained  the  favour  of  God,  he  consequently 
'•  hath  all  the  angels  and  saints  for  his  friends." 
'I'll is  he  saith,  who  in  the  same  place  presently  after 
acknowledged,  that  "  the  angels  are  present  at  our 
'*  prayers,  and  pray  with  and  for  us;"  which  plainly 
shews,  that  he  thought  the  concernment  of  the  holy 
angels  in  our  devotions  no  good  argument  for  us 
to  withdraw  any  of  our  prayers  from  God,  and  to 
impart  them  to  those  blessed  spirits. 

So  likewise  in  another  place  of  the  same  work  of 
his6,  having  acknowledged,  that  k'  the  angels  do  one 
4k  while  ascend  to  the  highest  heaven,  and  then  again 
"  descend  to  men,  with  a  return  of  the  divine  bless- 
"  ings,'1  he  presently  subjoins,  by  way  of  caution, 
that  "yet  we  are  not  to  worship  them;"  adding  this 
reason,  "  for  all  deprecations  and  prayers,  and  inter- 
"  cessions  and  thanksgivings,  are  to  be  directed  to  the 
"  supreme  God,  by  the  High  Priest  that  is  above  all 
"  angels,  the  living  Word  and  God."  If  all  prayers 
are  to  be  directed  to  God  the  Father  through  his  Son 
Christ,  then  no  prayer  is  to  be  made  to  angels,  or  to 
God  by  them.  But  may  we  not  call  upon  them  to 
•pray  for  us,  and  to  do  us  those  good  offices  to  which 

11    P.  420.   [§.  64.  p.  789.]         e    J,Jb.  V.  p.  23;v   [§.  4.  p.  579.] 


282  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  XL 

we  know  they  are  appointed  by  God  ?  No ;  not  that 
neither.  For  he  presently  adds,  that  "  we  must  not 
"  dare  to  pray  unto  any  but  God  alone,  because  he 
"  alone  is  all-sufficient  for  us,  through  our  Saviour 
"  his  Son ;  and  because  our  piety  towards  God,  and 
"  our  faith  in  his  Son,  is  of  itself  sufficient  to  make 
"  the  holy  angels  propitious  to  us,  and  to  do  all  good 
"  offices  for  us,"  without  our  praying  to  them. 

These  places  of  Origen  are  so  very  express  against 
all  manner  of  veneration  to  the  holy  angels,  that 
exceeds  the  thinking  and  speaking  honourably  of 
them,  and  revering  their  presence  in  our  behaviour 
and  conversation,  that  I  cannot  but  wonder  what 
should  move  the  learned  annotatorf  on  him,  to  go 
about  to  shew,  that  Origen  notwithstanding  prayed 
to  his  guardian  angel.  For  proof  whereof,  he  cites 
a  place  out  of  the  first  Homily  of  Origen,  upon 
Ezekiel,  where  are  these  words,  Veni  angele,  suscipe 
scrmonc  convermm  <il>  errore  pristhw,  &c.  i.  e. 
"  Come  angel,  take  the  convert  into  thy  custody,"  &c. 
But  that  this  is  a  gross  mistake,  will  appear  to  any 
man  that  shall  carefully  consult  the  place :  for 
Origen  there  (if  it  be  Origen  and  not  his  translator) 
directs  his  discourse  to  a  convert  to  Christianity, 
coming  to  baptism,  or  newly  baptized :  "  Thou  wert 
"  yesterday  tinder  the  power  of  a  devil,  to-day  thou 
"  art  in  the  custody  of  an  angel  *."  And  having 
cited  some  texts  of  Scripture  to  prove  the  ministry 
of  angels  over  the  faithful,  by  a  rhetorical  figure  he 
introduceth  the  angels  thus  speaking  among  them 
selves,  Eia,  omnes  angeli  descendamus  e  coelo,  &;c. 

f  Vid.  Spenceri  Notas  ad  lib.  V.  cont.  Celsum,  p.  233.  lin.  33. 
£  Tu  heri  sub  daemonic  eras,  hodie  sub  angelo.  [§.  7.  vol.  III. 
P-358.] 


(UK, 


I  their  Nature.  283 


"  Come,  let  us  angels  all  descend  from  heaven,"  to 
visit  the  sons  of  men,  as  the  Son  of  God  himself 
hath  done.  Then  presently,  continuing  his  rhetorical 
scheme,  he  adds,  Vcni  angele,  "  Come  angel,  take 
"  the  convert  into  thy  custody."  So  that  it  is  very 
manifest,  Origen  doth  not  there  pray  to  his  own 
guardian  angel,  but  only  in  a  strain  of  rhetoric  in 
vites  the  angel  of  the  new  convert  to  Christianity, 
to  receive  him  into  his  care  and  protection. 

A  like  mistake  Grotius  is  guilty  of1',  who  would 
persuade  us  that  Origen,  notwithstanding  those  plain 
declarations  of  his  mind,  was  not  against  all  religious 
worship  and  invocation  of  angels,  because  he  in 
another  place'  tells  Celsus,  that  it  is  perhaps  lawful 
Qepa-Treveiv  to  worship  the  good  angels,  provided  the 
word  worshipping  be  understood  in  a  purged  and 
sound  sense.  But  what  is  that  refined  sense  of  the 
word,  wherein  he  allows  the  angels  to  be  wor 
shipped  ?  He  partly  tells  us  afterward,  in  the  same 
book,  in  the  place  already  cited  k,  viz.,  as  the  word 
may  signify  cixp^/uLeiv  KU\  /maKapt^eiv,  "  to  think  and 
*'  speak  honourably  of  them,  and  to  proclaim  them 
"  blessed."  Add  hereunto,  (what  Origen  also  in 
many  other  places  observes,)  that  "  we  are  in  all  our 
"  actions,  especially  our  religious  actions,  to  revere 
"  the  presence  of  those  holy  inspectors  over  us,  and 
**  to  take  care  we  do  nothing  that  may  offend  and 
"  displease  them,"  as  hereafter  shall  be  more  fully 
shewn. 

But  as  to  the  invocation  of  angels,  to  pray  for  us 


h  Grot,  in  explicat.  Dccalogi  ad  Precept,  priinuni. 
»  Orig.  cont.  Gels.  VIIT.  p.  386.  [§.  1 3.  p.  751 .] 
k  P.  416.  [p.  785.] 


284  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  xi. 

or  help  us,  he  every  where  universally  rejects  it,  as 
neither  pleasing  to  God  nor  the  good  angels  them 
selves,  nor  agreeable  to  the  practice  of  the  church  in 
his  time. 

One  would  think  indeed,  that  there  were  no  more 
hurt  in  praying  to  the  angels  to  pray  for  us,  they 
being  ordinarily  present  with  us  here  on  earth,  than 
for  one  Christian  in  this  state  of  mortality,  to  desire 
the  prayers  of  another  in  the  same  state,  which  is  our 
common  practice  warranted  by  Scripture ;  but  in 
truth,  if  we  duly  consider  things,  we  shall  find  a  vast 
disparity  in  these  cases,  as  in  many  other  respects, 
so  especially  in  this. 

When  Christians  conversing  together  on  earth 
mutually  desire  the  assistance  of  each  other's  prayers, 
they  being  by  sense  and  experience  thoroughly  ac 
quainted  with  their  common  humanity,  and  the 
frailty  attending  it,  there  is  no  danger  of  idolatry  in 
the  case ;  or  that  one  should  ascribe  that  to  the 
other,  which  belongs  to  God  alone.  But  if  we  mor 
tal  men  were  allowed  to  make  such  applications  to 
the  holy  angels  of  God,  the  brightness  of  the  ac 
knowledged  glory  and  excellence  of  their  nature  and 
office  would  be  apt  to  dazzle  the  eyes  of  our  minds, 
and  consequently  to  fix  our  devotion  on  them,  and 
withdraw  it  from  God  the  fountain  of  blessings ; 
especially  when  we  see  them  not,  and  so  must  be 
forced  to  address  ourselves  to  them  with  the  same 
faith  and  abstraction  of  mind  as  we  do  to  the  invi 
sible  God.  So  likewise  if  we  were  permitted  to 
have  recourse  to  the  mediation  of  angels  in  our 
necessities  and  distresses,  we  should  upon  the  same 
account  too  easily  place  our  trust  and  confidence 
in  them,  and  be  taken  off  from  our  due  dependence 


and  their  Nature.  285 

on  the  one  only  meritorious  Mediator  between  God 
and  man,  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ. 

Sad  experience  and  observation  of  things,  where 
angel-worship  is  practised,  assures  us,  that  this  is  no 
vain  imagination.  Upon  this  account,  among  others, 
we  are  not  allowed  either  by  Scripture,  or  the  cus 
tom  of  the  church  in  the  purest  ages  of  it,  to  ask  the 
prayers  of  angels,  as  we  desire  the  prayers  of  one 
another.  There  is  great  danger  in  doing  so,  but  no 
necessity  at  all  of  doing  it.  For  we  need  not  stir 
up  the  remembrance,  or  excite  the  charity  of  those 
blessed  spirits  that  watch  over  us :  who  are  of  them 
selves  always  readily  inclined  to  do  us  all  the  good 
offices  they  can  ;  and  the  more  ready,  as  they  see 
us  more  intent  on  the  service  and  worship  of  God  in 
Christ,  the  promoting  whereof  is  their  great  design 
and  business  here  on  earth.  This  is  the  plain  sense 
of  Origen,  and  of  the  Christians  of  his  age. 

A  good  while  after  Origen,  Lactantius  flourished, 
who  discourses  much  to  the  same  purpose,  observing 
that  the  devils  and  evil  spirits  only  seek  for  honour 
and  worship  from  men  ;  but  that  the  good  angels  are 
averse  from  it,  and  will  by  no  means  admit  of  any 
religious  honour  or  worship  to  be  done  unto  them. 
u  The  angels,"  saitli  he,  "  though  they  are  immor- 
"  tal,  will  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  called  Gods; 
"  whose  only  office  it  is  to  be  at  God's  beck,  and  to 
"  do  nothing  at  all  but  what  he  commands  them. 
"  Therefore  they  will  have  NO  HONOUR  given  unto 
"  themselves,  whose  honour  is  in  God.  But  the 
"  apostate  spirits,  being  enemies  to  truth  and  sin- 
"  ners  against  God,  endeavour  to  get  unto  them- 
"  selves  both  the  name  and  worship  of  Gods1." 
1  Lact.  II.  17. 


286  The  Existence  of  Angels,         SERM.  XL 

In  short,  there  is  not  one  text  in  the  Scriptures  of 
the  New  Testament  to  warrant  angel- worship ;  but 
on  the  contrary,  we  have  a  very  plain  prohibition  of 
it,  not  only  in  the  particular  case  of  St.  John,  but 
generally  delivered  by  St.  Paul,  Col.  ii.  18:  Let  no 
man  beguile  you  of  your  reward  in  a  voluntary 
humility  and  worshipping  of  angels,  intruding  into 
those  things  which  he  hath  not  seen,  &c.  Where 
the  worshipping  of  angels  condemned,  being  joined 
with  voluntary  humility,  plainly  enough  signifies 
such  worship  of  angels,  as  is  performed  under  colour 
of  humility,  that  is  with  this  pretence,  that  it  is 
a  kind  of  presumption  in  us  vile  sinners  to  make 
our  addresses  immediately  to  the  supreme  God  by 
his  eternal  Son  ;  and  that  therefore  we  ought  in  mo 
desty  to  apply  ourselves  to  the  angels,  the  heavenly 
ministers,  and  by  their  merits  and  intercession  to 
convey  our  petitions  to  the  great  King  of  heaven. 
And  who  sees  not,  that  this  is  the  very  same  angel - 
worship  which  the  papists  at  this  day  practise  and 
defend,  and  that  under  the  same  colour  and  pre 
tence  ? 

And  if  we  look  to  the  ancient  church  for  at  least 
three  hundred  years  after  Christ,  it  is  evident  from 
the  testimonies  of  Origen  and  Lactantius  but  now 
cited,  (the  former  writing  about  the  middle  of  the 
third,  the  other  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  cen 
tury,)  that  there  was  no  such  thing  as  angel-worship 
in  those  days  among  the  catholics.  And  for  our 
farther  confirmation  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  in  the 
Clementine  Liturgy"1,  (so  called,)  which  is  by  the 
learned  on  all  hands  confessed  to  be  very  ancient, 

m  Apost.  Constitut.  lib.  VIII. 


and  their  Nature.  287 

and  to  contain  the  order  of  worship  observed  in  the 
eastern  churches  before  the  times  of  Constantino, 
there  is  not  one  prayer  to  be  found,  from  the  begin 
ning  to  the  end  of  it,  made  either  to  angel  or  saint ; 
(no  not  so  much  as  any  such  prayer  as  this,  () 
Michael,  ()  Gabriel,  or  6  Peter,  O  Paul,  pray  for 
us  ;)  but  all  the  prayers  are  directed  to  God  in  the 
name  of  his  Son  .Jesus  Christ,  as  they  are  (God  be 
praised)  in  our  Liturgy. 

So  that  if  the  plain  doctrine  of  the  holy  Scrip 
tures,  and  the  declared  sense  of  the  primitive  purest 
churches  of  Christ,  are  to  be  regarded,  we  are  cer 
tain,  both  that  we  ourselves  are  safe  in  not  worship 
ping  the  angels  of  God,  and  that  they  of  the  church 
of  Rome  sin  and  err  greatly  in  their  practice  of  such 
worship. 

And  so  much  of  the  second  particular  contained 
in  the  predicate  of  the  proposition  in  my  text,  vix., 
The  state  and  condition  of  the  holy  angels  with 
reference  to  God.  They  are  ministering  spirits, 
servants  with  us  to  the  supreme  God,  and  therefore 
not  to  be  worshipped  by  us  with  religious  worship; 
no  not  with  that  lower  sort  of  religious  worship, 
which  consists  in  praying  unto  them  to  recommend 
our  prayers  to  Almighty  God. 

And  if  we  must  not  make  any  such  religious  ad 
dresses  to  the  holy  angels,  then  certainly  not  to  the 
saints  departed.  For  besides  that  there  is  no  war 
rant  either  in  Scripture  or  the  practice  of  the  primi 
tive  church,  for  the  invocation  of  saints,  any  more 
than  of  angels,  as  hath  been  already  intimated  ;  we 
may  also,  from  what  hath  been  said  against  the  wor 
ship  of  angels,  farther  argue  with  advantage  against 
the  invocation  of  saints,  thus :  The  saints  departed 


288     The  Existence  of  Angels,  and  their  Nature. 

are  not  yet  equal  to  angels,  nor  shall  be  till  the  re 
surrection,  and  then  they  shall,  as  our  Saviour  teach- 
eth  us,  Luke  xx.  36  ;  if  therefore  we  must  not  make 
any  religious  application  by  way  of  prayer  to  the 
angels,  as  excellent  creatures  as  they  are,  then  much 
less  to  the  saints  departed.  Again,  we  are  sure  from 
Scripture,  that  the  angels  are  ex  officio  by  their 
office  ordinarily  to  be  present  with,  and  to  attend 
upon,  the  faithful  here  on  earth,  as  shall  be  more 
fully  shewn  in  the  sequel  of  this  subject ;  and  yet  if 
we  regard  either  the  holy  Scriptures,  or  the  sense  of 
the  primitive  church,  we  may  not,  we  must  not  pray 
unto  them  ;  what  reason  can  there  be  then  for  the 
invocation  of  the  saints  deceased,  of  whom  the  holy 
Scriptures  give  us  not  the  least  assurance,  that  they 
are  ordinarily  present  with  us,  nay  in  divers  places 
seem  not  obscurely  to  teach  the  directly  contrary  ? 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  third  and  last  thing 
affirmed  of  the  angels,  concerning  their  office  with 
relation  to  us :  that  they  are  sent  forth  to  minister 
for  them,  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation ;  but  that 
subject  I  shall  leave  to  another  opportunity. 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration 
and  worship,  both  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 


SERMON  XII. 


THE  OFFICE  OF  THE  HOLY  ANGELS  IN  REFERENCE  TO  GOOD 

MEN;    HKING    APPOINTED    uv    C'.OD   AS    THE    MINISTERS 

OF  HIS  SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE  TOWARDS  THE  FAIT1IFIM.  ; 
AND  WHEREIN  THE  ANGELICAL  MINISTRY  DOTH  MORE 
ESPECIALLY  CONSIST. 


IIi-:n.  i.  11. 

Are  they  not  all  initiisterincf  spirits,  m-nt  forth  to  Minister  for 
than  irko  $h<(ll  be  heirs  of  salvation  ? 

[N  the  entrance  of  my  former  discourse  on  this 
text  I  observed,  that  the  negative  interrogation 
or  question  therein  propounded  is  equivalent  to  thN 
strong  affirmative  proposition,  That  the  holy  angel* 
of  God  arc  questionless  all  of  than  ministering  spirits, 
sent  forth  to  minister  for  them  ic/io  shall  be  heirs  of 
sal  ration. 

In  which  proposition  I  considered,  first,  the  sub 
ject,  or  persons  spoken  of,  the  holy  angels.  Where 
T  proved,  even  by  cogent  reasons,  that  there  are  such 
noble  beings  as  we  call  angels;  and  that  they  are 
very  certainly  creatures  of  God,  most  probably  cre 
ated  sometime  within  those  six  days  of  the  creation 
described  by  Moses  in  the  beginning  of  Genesis, 
though  on  which  of  those  six  days  the  holy  Scrip 
tures  nowhere  plainly  inform  us. 

In  considering  the  predicate  of  the  proposition,  or 
what  is  therein  affirmed  of  the  holy  angels,  I  have 

BULL,    VOL.    I.  U 


290  The  Office  of  flu.'  holy  Augets      KERM.  xn. 


first  discoursed  of  their  nature,  that  they  are  spirit  ; 
and  then  of  their  state  and  condition  with  reference 
to  God,  that  they  are  Ministering  or  serving  spirits., 
doing  homage  with  us  to  the  supreme  God  and  Lord 
of  all  things,  and  therefore  by  no  means  religiously 
to  be  worshipped  by  us. 

It  remains  that  I  now  proceed  to  the  third  and 
last  particular  in  the  second  part  of  my  text,  con 
cerning  the  office  of  the  holy  angels  in  relation  to 
us,  viz.,  That  they  are  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them 
who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation. 

This  is  to  us  the  most  useful  part  of  the  text,  and 
therefore  the  more  accurately  and  carefully  to  be 
considered  by  us. 

The  holy  angels  are  spirits,  aTro(rre\Xojutei>af  sent 
from  heaven  above  into  this  earth  ;  what  to  do  f 
Chiefly  to  minister  to,  or  to  do  all  good  offices,  both 
corporal  and  spiritual,  for  them  who  shall  he  heirs 
of  salvation*  i.e.  all  truly  faithful  persons  continuing 
such. 

The  providence  of  God  in  the  government  of  this 
lower  world,  and  therein  more  especially  of  the  chil 
dren  of  men,  and  most  especially  of  those  who  love 
and  fear  him,  is  in  great  part  administered  by  the 
holy  angels:  these,  as  Philo  terms  them,  are  "the 
"  ears  and  eyes  of  the  universal  King"."  The  expres 
sion  alludes  to  the  government  of  earthly  monarchs, 
who  have  their  deputies  or  lieutenants  in  all  parts  of 
their  dominion,  who  are,  as  it  were,  the  eyes  by 
which  they  see,  and  the  hands  by  which  they  act, 
Not  as  if  God  needed  the  help  of  angels  to  oversee 
and  act  those  things  which  his  own  knowledge  and 

a     Qru  K.IH  o 


power  cannot  reach  to,  lor  he  is  omniscient,  omni 
present,  omnipotent  ;  hut  this  is  spoken  of  (Jod, 
a\>Qpu>iroiraQ(a<;.  after  tin'  manner  of  men,  and  must  he 
understood,  9eo7rpc7rws9  in  ft  wuxe  becoming  the  ina- 
Jc*tjl  °J  ('<  d.  The  rulers  of  this  world  have  their 
deputies  out  of  necessity,  hecause  they  cannot  govern 
without  them:  hut  the  universal  King  hath  his 
ministers  out  of  choice,  hecause  he  is  pleased  for 
verv  good  reasons  to  make  n*e  of  them. 

But  as  to  IMiilo's  expression,  it  seems  to  he  bor 
rowed  from  the  holy  Scriptmes.  wherein  the  angels 
of  God  are  expressly  termed  thf  et/e\  of  the  Lord*** 
So  2  Chron.  xvi.  9,  The  cues  of  the  Lord  run  to 
(tnd  fro  throughout  tin'  whole  earth,  to  shew  tJiem- 
selves  stroiHf  in  the  hehalf  of  them  wJtoxe  heart  /.v 
perfect  towards  him.  indeed  our  translators  here 
read  himself;  hut  there  is  no  such  word  in  the  He 
brew,  and  the  supply  might  as  well  have  heen  made 
by  the  word  themselves  ;  vea,  so  it  ought  to  he  made, 
if  we  will  make  sense  of  the  words,  with  reference  to 
the  rj/es  of  the  Lord  in  the  plural  number  preceding. 
However,  that  by  the  cj/rs  of  ////•  Lnrd  in  that  text 
are  meant  angels  of  («od,  is  otherwise  plain  enough 
from  th(v  words  themselves,  which  clearly  express  the 
very  employment  constantly  attributed  to  the  holy 
angels  in  Scripture,  of  being  sent,  and  rnttning  to 
and  fro  through  the  earth,  to  exercise  their  power 
in  the  protection  and  security  of  good  and  upright 
men.  And  the  same  is  farther  evident  from  other 
parallel  texts  of  Scripture.  In  the  fourth  chapter  of 
the  prophecy  of  Zechariah,  verse  2,  we  have  a  vision 
of  seven  lamps  in  a  golden  candlestick.  The  inter- 

b   [Part  of  this  and  the  following  page  is  repeated  nearlv  word 
for  word  in  Sermon  XIX.] 

U  2 


292  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angela     SERM.  xn. 

pretation  of  which  vision  is  thus  given,  verse  10, 
Those  seven,  they  are  the  eyes  of  the  Lord,  which 
run  to  and  fro  throughout  the  whole  earth.  Now 
what  those  seven  eyes  of  the  Lord  are,  we  learn 
clearly  from  St.  John,  Rev.  v.  6,  where  we  have  a 
vision  of  the  Lamb,  haviny  seven  horns  and  seven 
eyes,  which  are  the  seven  spirits  of  Cod,  sent  forth 
into  all  the  earth  ;  and  those  spirits  he  terms  an  yds, 
chap.  viii.  2,  /  saw  the  seven  an  yds  which  stood  before 
God.  So  again,  Rev.  i.  4,  we  read  of  seven  spirits 
which  are  before  Cod's  throne,  i.  e.  wait  in  his  pre 
sence,  do  not  sit  upon,  but  stand  before  his  throne, 
ready  to  receive  his  commands,  and  are  therefore 
undoubtedly  created  spirits,  i.  e.  angels. 

For  the  understanding  of  which  places  we  are  to 
know,  that  the  ancient  Jews  believed,  that  among 
the  holy  angels,  those  eyes  of  Cod  and  instruments 
of  his  watchful  providence  over  us,  there  are  seven 
(whereby  perhaps  they  meant  no  more  than  a  cer 
tain  determinate  number  of)  principal  angels,  as  it 
were  chief  captains  and  commanders  of  the  whole 
heavenly  host.  So  in  the  ancient,  though  apocry 
phal  book  of  Tobit,  chap.  xii.  15,  the  angel  Raphael 
is  brought  in  thus  speaking  to  Tobit  and  his  son  : 

/  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  holy  an  yds, 

which  yo  in  and  out  before  the  cjlory  of  the  holy 
One.  And  that  this  was  no  vain  speculation  of  the 
Jews,  appears  from  those  texts  of  canonical  Scrip 
ture,  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  which 
we  have  but  now  produced.  But  this  by  the  way ; 
I  proceed. 

That  the  holy  angels  are  appointed  by  God,  as 
the  ministers  of  his  special  providence  over  the 
faithful,  is  plainly  asserted  in  very  many  places  of 


toward*  the  Faithful.  293 

Scripture  besides  my  text.  So  Psalm  xxxiv.  7  : 
Th^  anael  of  the  Lord  cncampcth  round  about  than 
thai  fear  It  I'M ,  and  delirereth  them.  So  Psalm  xci. 
9 — 12  :  Because  thou  hast  made  the  Lord,  which  /.v 
nn/  ref't«/c,  even  the  Most  I  Hah,  tin/  habitation  ;  there 
.shall  no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall  an?/  plaque 
conic  ni(jh  tin/  dwelling.  For  lie  shall  </ive  ///-v  angels 
charae  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  tin/  icai/s.  They 
xJiull  bear  tliee  i>j>  in  their  hands,  lest  thou  dash  tin/ 
foot  a(j(iinst  a  stone.  Yea,  our  Lord  himself  assures 
us,  that  his  little  ones,  those  that  imitate  the  inno 
cence  and  humility  of  little  children,  i.  e.  all  truly 
good  men,  have  their  angels  in  heaven  to  protect 
and  defend  them  ;  and  that  therefore  it  is  a  very 
dangerous  tiling  for  any  man  to  injure  or  offend 
them,  Matt,  xviii.  10. 

Ft  is  true  indeed  the  good  angels  do  not  now 
ordinarily  appear  in  visible  forms,  or  speak  by  audible 
voices  to  men,  as  in  ancient  times  they  did.  After 
Clod  had  once  spoken  unto  men  by  his  own  Son, 
manifested  in  the  ilesh,  and  by  him  fully  revealed 
his  will  to  the  world,  and  confirmed  that  revelation 
by  a  long  succession  of  unquestionable  miracles, 
there  was  no  such  need  of  angelical  appearances, 
for  the  instruction,  confirmation,  and  consolation  of 
the  faithful.  The  succeeding  ages  do  indeed  afford 
us  very  credible  relations  of  some  such  apparitions 
now  and  then  ;  but  ordinarily,  T  say,  the  government 
of  angels  over  us  is  now  administered  in  a  secret 
and  invisible  manner.  Hence  too  too  many  have  been 
inclined  either  flatly  to  deny,  or  at  least  to  call  in 
question,  the  truth  of  the  doctrine  we  are  now  upon. 
But  they  have  souls  very  much  immersed  in  flesh, 
who  can  apprehend  nothing  but  what  touches  and 


294  The  Office  of  the  holy  Anyelx        SRUM.  xn. 

affects  their  senses  ;  and  the}  that  follow  this  gross 
and  sensual  way  of  procedure,  must  at  last  neces 
sarily  fall  into  downright  epicurism,  to  deny  all 
particular  providence  of  Cod  over  the  sons  of  men, 
and  to  ascribe  all  events  to  those  causes  that  are 
next  to  them. 

But  besides,  although  the  ministry  of  angels  be 
now  for  the  most  part  invisible,  yet  to  the  observant 
it  is  not  altogether  indiscernible. 

We  may  trace  the  footsteps  of  this  secret  provi 
dence  over  us  in  many  instances,  of  which  I  sliall 
note  a  few.  How  often  may  we  have  observed 
strong,  lasting,  and  irresistible  impulses  upon  our 
minds  to  do  certain  things  we  can  scarce  for  the 
present  tell  why  or  wherefore,  the  reason  and  good 
success  of  which  we  afterwards  plainly  see  ?  So,  on 
the  contrary,  there  are  ofttimes  sudden  and  unex 
pected  accidents,  as  we  call  them,  cast  in  our  way, 
to  divert  us  from  certain  enterprises  we  are  just 
ready  to  engage  in,  the  ill  consequences  whereof  we 
do  afterwards,  but  not  till  then,  apprehend.  Again, 
Quantum  cat  in  subiti*  casibus  ingenium  !  "  How 
"  strange  many  times  are  our  present  thoughts  and 
"  suggestions  in  sudden  and  surprising  dangers  !" 
We  then  upon  the  spot  resolve  and  determine  as 
well  as  if  we  had  a  long  time  deliberated,  and 
taken  the  best  advice  and  counsel ;  and  we  ourselves 
afterwards  wonder  how  such  thoughts  came  into 
our  minds.  Hither  also  we  may  refer  that  lucky 
conspiracy  of  circumstances,  which  we  sometimes 
experience  in  our  affairs  and  business,  otherwise  of 
great  difficulty ;  when  we  light  upon  the  TO  vvv,  or 
nick  of  opportunity ;  when  the  persons,  whose  counsel 
or  assistance  we  most  need,  strangely  occur,  and  all 


295 

tilings  fall  out  according  to  our  desire,  but  beyond 
our  expectation.  "What  strange  ominous  abntlin^s 
and  tears  do  many  times  on  a  sudden  se'/e  upon 
men  of  certain  approaching  evils,  whereof  at  present 
there  is  no  visible  appearance  !  And  have  we  not  had 
some  unquestionable  instances  of  men  not  inclined  to 
melancholy,  strongly  and  unalterably  persuaded  of 
the  near  approach  of  their  death,  so  as  to  be  able 
punctually  to  tell  the  very  day  of  it.  when  they 
have  been  in  good  health,  and  neither  themselves 
nor  their  friends  could  discern  any  present  natural 
eause  for  such  a  persuasion,  and  yet  the  event  hath 
proved,  that  they  were  not  mistaken  '.  And  although 
1  am  no  doter  on  dreams,  yet  I  verilv  believe,  that 
some  dreams  are  monitory,  above  the  power  of  fancy, 
and  impressed  on  us  by  some  superior  influence. 
For  of  such  dreams,  we  have  plain  and  undeniable 
instances  in  history,  both  sacred  and  profane,  and 
in  our  own  age  and  observation.  Nor  shall  1  so 
value  the  laughter  of  sceptics,  and  the  scoils  of  the 
Epicureans,  as  to  be  ashamed  to  profess,  that  1 
myself  have  had  some  convincing  experiments  of 
such  impressions.  Xo\v  it  is  no  enthusiasm,  but  the 
best  account  that  can  he  given  of  them,  to  ascribe 
these  things  to  the  ministry  of  those  invisible  instru 
ments  of  God's  providence,  that  guide  and  govern 
our  affairs  and  concerns,  viz..  the  angels  of  God. 

However  it  is  most  certain,  that  the  holy  angels 
are  appointed  by  divine  Providence  as  the  guardians 
of  good  men  (as,  and  whilst  they  are  such)  in  all 
their  ways,  and  throughout  the  whole  course*  of 
their  lives.  For  of  this,  as  you  have  heard,  the 
holy  Scriptures  (to  which  we  have  all  the  reason  in 
the  world  to  give  credit)  often  and  most  expressly 


296  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels      SERM.  xn. 

speak ;  and  the  wiser  heathens  themselves  acknow 
ledged  as  much,  though  they  called  those  blessed 
instruments  of  God's  providence  over  the  virtuous 
by  other  names  than  we  do,  as  by  that  of  boni  genii, 
"  good  genius's,"  and  the  like,  as  hath  been  before 
observed. 

This  theme  of  the  angelical  ministry  is  indeed 
very  pregnant,  and  hath  administered  abundant 
matter  to  exercise  the  more  curious  wits,  who 
have  raised  very  many  questions  about  it  of  more 
subtlety  than  profit. 

But  for  my  own  part,  being  truly  conscious  to 
myself  of  my  infirmity,  and  believing  that  what  I 
discourse  at  this  time  of  the  ministry  of  the  holy 
angels,  I  deliver  in  the  presence  of  some  of  those 
heavenly  ministers,  I  shall  be  very  careful  to  keep 
myself  within  the  bounds  of  modesty  and  sobriety. 
But  there  are  three  questions  here,  which  I  think 
may  with  some  profit  be  discussed,  and  cannot  well 
be  passed  over  in  silence.  1.  Whether  the  office  of 
ministering  on  earth,  for  the  good  of  the  faithful, 
belongs  to  the  holy  angels  universally,  even  those  of 
the  highest  order,  or  only  to  some  certain  angels  of 
the  inferior  orders  ?  2.  Whether  every  faithful  per 
son,  during  his  life  on  earth,  hath  his  particular 
guardian  angel  more  constantly  to  preside  and  watch 
over  him  ?  3.  Wherein  the  angelical  ministry,  for  the 
good  of  the  faithful  on  earth,  doth  more  especially 
consist  ?  Of  these  questions  I  shall,  by  God's  assist 
ance,  discourse  in  order,  with  all  due  reverence,  and 
as  the  time  will  permit. 

Quest.  1.  Whether  the  office  of  ministering  on 
earth,  for  the  good  of  the  faithful,  belongs  to  the 
holy  angels  universally,  even  those  of  the  highest 


twnirds  the  faithful.  297 

order,  or  only  to  some  certain  angels  of  the  inferior 
orders  ? 

Aquinas  and  his  followers,  being  led  by  the  au 
thority  of  the  counterfeit  Dionysius,  and  some  texts 
of  Scripture  that  seem  to  favour  him,  have  distin 
guished  inter  (ixxixh'jitex  et  ministrantcs  angclos,  be 
tween  those  superior  angels  that  always  stand  before 
the  throne  of  (lod  in  heaven,  and  those  inferior 
angels  that  are  sent  forth,  as  need  requires,  to  min 
ister  for  the  faithful  on  earth.  Which  distinction 
being  admitted,  it  follows,  that  some  of  the  principal 
angels  are  wholly  exempted  from  that  ministry  of 
which  we  are  now  discoursing. 

Not  to  take  any  notice  again  of  Dionysius,  the 
places  of  Scripture  on  which  this  opinion  is  founded 
are  those  wherein  it  is  said  of  certain  angels,  that 
tJu'tj  (ihrm/s  behold  the  face  of  God  in  heaven, 
Matt,  xviii.  10,  and  stand  before  God,  Dan.  vii.  9, 
10.  Rev.  viii.  2.  And  to  these  texts  of  Scripture 
the  patrons  of  this  opinion  add  a  reason  or  argu 
ment,  drawn  from  the  order  of  nature  and  grace, 
which,  as  they  say,  the  angelical  polity  constantly 
retain  and  observe.  According  to  which  order  the 
inferior  angels  are  always  illuminated  and  instructed 
by  the  superior  concerning  those  things  that  are  to 
be  done  here  below.  So  that  the  superior  angels 
never  go  forth  themselves  by  external  mission,  but 
only  give  the  orders  they  have  received  from  God  to 
the  inferior  angels  that  minister  under  them,  to  be 
executed  by  them  on  earth. 

But  notwithstanding  these  fair  colours  put  upon 
this  opinion,  we  can  by  no  means  admit  of  it ;  but 
on  the  contrary  we  affirm,  that  although  commonly 
and  ordinarily  the  inferior  angels  are  the  immediate 


298  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels      SKRM.  xir. 

instruments  of  the  divine  Providence  over  the  faith 
ful  on  earth  ;  yet  sometimes,  extraordinarily  ami  by 
the  divine  dispensation,  the  superior  angels  also, 
even  those  of  the  highest  order,  are  themselves  sent 
forth  by  external  mission  to  minister  for  the  good  of 
the  faithful  here  below.  For  the  negative  interro 
gation  in  mv  text,  which  1  have  already  noted  to  bo 

o  .  • 

equivalent  to  a  vehement  affirmation,  is  universal 
and  unlimited,  yf  r//  they  -not  fill  ministering  spirits, 
witf  for tli  &c. 

And  it  is  farther  to  be  observed,  that  the  manifest 
scope  of  the  divine  author  in  this  chapter  is  to  assert 
the  preeminence  of  the  Son  of  («od,  not  above  some 
certain  inferior  angels  only,  but  over  the  angels  uni 
versally,  even  those  of  the  highest  order  and  dignity. 
And  among  the  proofs  hereof  alleged  by  him,  this 
is  one  and  the  last,  that  whereas  the  Scripture  speaks 
of  the  Son,  as  sitting  on  tic  t/ironr  of  God  the  Fa 
ther,  at  7//.v  right  hand,  and  so  as  copartner  with 
him  in  the  divine  empire;  the  angels  all  of  them 
are  confessedly  ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  at 
Cod's  pleasure  to  execute  his  commands  on  earth, 
As  certain  therefore  as  it  is,  that  the  Son  of  God  is 
superior  to  all  the  angels,  none  cxeepted  ;  so  certain 
is  it,  that  all  the  angels,  without  exception,  arc 
ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  the 
faithful  on  earth.  This  latter  being  the  medium 
or  argument  whereby  the  divine  author  proves  the 
former. 

As  for  those  texts  of  Scripture  wherein  it  is  said 
of  certain  angels,  that  they  stand  before  God,  they 
are  of  no  force  to  prove  that  for  which  they  are  al 
leged,  but  rather  prove  the  contrary.  For  to  stand 
before  God  in  those  places,  doth  not  signify  that  the 


toward*  the  /V//////J//. 

angels  who  are  sai<l  so  to  do  always  stand  still  in 
heaven,  exempt  from  all  ministerial  offices  here  on 
earth,  hut  rather  serves  to  express  their  ministerial 
function.  The  phrase  is  metaphorical,  and  signifies 
no  more  than  to  appear,  or  be  ready  at  hand,  to 
serve  another;  as  princes  and  magistrates  have  their 
officials  attending  them,  to  receive  and  execute  their 
commands.  I  Fence  those  very  Scripture's  that  speak 
of  certain  angels,  as  standing  before  (iofl.  do  plainly 
tell  ns,  that  those  very  angels  are  sent  from  heaven 
to  earth,  upon  certain  embassies  and  ministries 
committed  to  them.  So  the  angel  (iabriel,  who 
appeared  to  Xechariah  in  the  temple  upon  the 
most  weighty  occasion  of  revealing  to  him  the  near 
approach  of  the  coming  of  the  Messias,  and  of  his 
forerunner  John  the  Baptist,  who  was  to  be  born  of 
his  wife  Kliznbcth,  tells  him  at  the  same  time,  /  nni 
(/ubricl,  that  stand  hi  tJte  /tre.senee  of  ( lod,  and 
nm  .sent  to  xjieuk  unto  ////y,  find  to  slirir  thee  t Jif.se 
(find  tidings,  Lnke  i.  19.  And  presently  after,  in 
the  same  chapter,  the  same  angel  is  said  to  have 
been  sent,  and  appeared  to  the  blessed  Virgin,  of 
whom  the  Messias  himself  was  to  be  born,  verse  26, 
27.  So  those  seven  principal  angels  or  spirits  of 
God,  that  are  said  in  the  Revelation  of  St.  John  to 
stand  he  fore  Uod,  are  nevertheless  in  the  same  book 
said  to  be  the  wren,  s/iirit*  of  (ind  sent  forth 
into  all  the  earth,  chap.  v.  6.  And  one  of  them, 
St.  John  seems  to  suy,  was  .scut  to  hhn.self\  chap, 
xvii.  l.c 

And  then  for  the  reason  or  argument  to  prove  the 
exemption  of  the  superior  angels  from  ministering 

c  [See  also  Job  i.  6.  i   Kings  xxii.  19  ] 


300  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels     SERM.  xn. 

here  below,  taken  from  the  order  established  and 
observed  among  the  angels,  according  to  which  the 
superior  angels  act  by  the  inferior,  and  the  inferior 
under  them,  it  is  easily  answered.  For  though  this 
order  be  ordinarily  kept  and  observed,  as  hath  been 
before  acknowledged,  yet  this  hinders  not,  but  that 
sometimes,  and  upon  extraordinary  occasions,  it  may 
be  dispensed  with.  The  order  both  of  nature  and 
grace  among  the  holy  angels  is  subservient  to  the 
kingdom  of  Christ ;  and  when  any  grand  affair  of 
that  kingdom  requires,  it  may  be  altered.  And  if 
the  Son  of  God  himself  once  vouchsafed  to  come 
down  from  heaven,  being  sent  by  his  Father,  and  to 
be  "incarnate  for  us  men,  and  for  our  salvation;"  it 
cannot  be  thought  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  most 
excellent  angel  to  be  sent  by  God  from  heaven,  to 
do  good  offices  for  men  on  earth.  And  this  may 
suffice  to  have  been  spoken  to  the  first  question ;  I 
proceed  to  the  next. 

Quest.  2.  Whether  every  faithful  person,  during 
his  life  on  earth,  hath  his  particular  guardian  angel, 
more  constantly  to  preside  and  watch  over  him  ? 

I  answer,  The  affirmative  hath  been  a  received 
opinion,  and  seems  to  be  confirmed  by  some  very 
considerable  texts  of  Scripture. 

1.  It  is  an  opinion  that  hath  been  entertained  in 
former  ages  with  a  general  consent,  both  among 
Jews  and  Christians,  as  hath  been  observed  and  fully 
proved  by  learned  mend ;  nay,  the  very  heathens  too 
had  such  a  notion  among  them,  though  perhaps  they 
went  too  far,  assigning  to  every  man  his  good  ge 
nius  universally.  Thus  Menander,  "  Every  man,  as 

d  Vide  Petav.  [De  Angelis  II.  6,  &c.  vol.  III.  ed.  1700.] 


toward*  the  Faithful  301 

"  soon  as  he  is  born,  hath  his  genius  to  attend  and 
"assist  him,  as  the  good  guide  of  his  after-life  e." 
And  Aniamis  upon  Kpictetus,  speaking  of  God, 
saith  f,  "  lie  hath  given  to  every  man  his  peculiar 
"  genius,  as  his  keeper  or  guardian,  to  whose  custody 
"  he  is  delivered  ;  and  that  a  watchful  guardian, 
"  that  cannot  bv  any  means  be  withdrawn  from  the 
"  faithful  discharge  of  his  office." 

2.  As  this  opinion  hath  been  generally  received 
among  Jews,  Christians,  and  heathens,  so  it  seems 
to  be  favoured  by  divers  texts  of  Scripture.  T  shall 
take  notice  of  some  of  them,  as  the  time  will  per 
mit. 

Tn  the  eighteenth  chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  ver.  10, 
our  Saviour  cautions  all  men  to  take  heed,  how  they 
offrnd*  anij  of  his  little  ones  that  believe  on  In  in  ; 
subjoining  this  reason  of  that  caution,  For  1  MIIJ 
unto  ijou,  their  angels  do  always  behold  the  face  of 
in?/  Father  which  in  in  hearen.  They  have  their 
guardian  angels  to  assist  them,  and  to  avenge  all  in 
juries  done  unto  them  ;  and  therefore  take  heed  how 
you  oilend  them.  The  main  force  of  the  proof  lies 
in  the  pronoun  aiVou',  THEIR  ftnyck,  which  plainly 
intimates,  that  all  Christ's  little  ones  who  believe  in 
him,  i.  e.  all  humble  and  faithful  persons,  have  their 
proper  angels  assigned  to  them,  as  their  guardians 
and  protectors.  And  besides,  we  are  to  consider, 
(what  the  learned  Grotius  seasonably  advises,)  that 


e  ["A-ayri 


'    Knt  (TTiTfiorrov  fK((TTU>  Tnipt(TTr](T€  TOV  ei((TTov 

^(i(T(T(tv  avTov  aura),  *c,ji  TVVTOV  aKOtfJiijTOV  /cat  (/Trii/wAoyiorof  .    [_!.  1  4.] 

B  [Despise.] 


302  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angel*     SERM.  xn. 

the  persons  to  whom  our  Saviour  spake  these  words 
were  Jews,  and  consequently  that  the  words  ought 
to  be  interpreted  in  such  a  sense,  as  may  correspond 
with  their  conceptions  and  apprehensions.  Now  it 
is  certain,  (as  I  have  already  noted,)  that  the  Jews 
generally  believed  every  good  man  to  have  his  ge 
nius  or  guardian  angel  more  constantly  to  watch 
over  him. 

Another  text,  which  seems  plainly  to  countenance 
the  opinion  of  guardian  angels,  is  that  known  one  in 
the  twelfth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
where  we  read,  that  St.  Peter  having  been  impri 
soned  by  Herod,  and  being  miraculously  delivered 
out  of  prison  by  an  angel,  presently  comes  to  the 
liomc  of  Mary  the  mother  of  John,  ivhose  surname 
was  Mark,  where  many  Christians  were  met  to 
gether  unto  prayer,  and  probably  praying  for  St. 
Peter's  deliverance ;  coming  to  this  house,  and 
knocking  and  desiring  entrance,  the  maid  that  came 
to  the  door  hearing  and  knowing  his  voice,  and  being 
surprised  with  joy  and  wonder  at  his  unexpected 
coining,  left  the  door  shut  as  it  was,  and  running 
back  to  the  company,  tells  them  that  Peter  was  at 
the  door.  But  they  being  persuaded  that  Peter  was 
at  that  time  fast  enough  in  his  chains,  slighted  the 
maid's  report,  yea  and  accused  her  of  madness.  But 
she  soberly  and  constantly  affirming,  that  it  was 
even  so  as  she  had  said ;  they  then  (supposing  it 
impossible  it  should  be  Peter  himself)  make  this 
conclusion,  //  is  his  angel,  i.  e.  his  guardian  angel, 
assuming  at  that  time  his  shape  and  voice.  The 
whole  story  you  may  read,  ver.  12 — 16  of  that 
chapter. 

They  who  tell  us  here  that  the  word  ayye\os  may 


t/«'  Faithful. 

be  translated  a  mefisenqer,  and  so  be  understood  of 
a  messenger  sent  by  St.  Peter  from  his  prison,  to 
give  the  brethren  intelligence  of  his  concerns,  do,  in 
my  judgment,  fasten  an  intolerably  absurd  sense 
upon  the  text.  For  with  what  reason,  I  beseech 
you,  could  those  Christians  imagine,  that  the  maid, 
to  whom  the  apostle  was  so  well  known,  (as  the  text 
itself  expressly  affirms.)  should  mistake  a  messenger 
from  Peter,  for  Peter  himself,  especially  after  the 
maid  had  so  positively  and  constantly  affirmed,  that 
she  was  sure  it  was  Peter.  Besides,  if  the  Christian 
brethren,  when  they  made  this  conclusion,  //  /.v  ///.v 
anqt'L  had  meant  only  that  it  was  a  messenger  from 
St.  Peter,  they  would  doubtless  have  presently  either 
gone  themselves,  or  sent  the  maid  again  to  the  door, 
to  let  in  the  messenger,  that  they  might  know  what 
news  he  brought  from  the  apostle,  about  whom  they 
were  so  solicitous.  But  this  they  did  not,  as  the 
text  plainly  intimates,  being  under  a  consternation, 
till  after  the  continual  knocking  of  St.  Peter;  and 
then  they  took  courage  to  go  themselves  and  open 
the  door. 

Lastly,  It  is  here  again  to  be  remembered,  that 
the  persons  who  spoke  these  words,  //  is  his  (tityrl, 
were  Jews,  and  consequently  that  the  words  are  to 
be  understood  as  spoken  f\ti  aententia  Jttdaorum,  in 
a  sense  agreeable  to  the4  opinion  of  the  Jews,  who 
generally  acknowledged  such  guardian  angels,  as 
hath  been  already  more  than  once  observed.  This 
opinion  they  retained,  after  they  had  been  taught 
the  doctrine  of  Christianity  ;  nor  doth  the  holy  text 
reflect  any  the  least  blame  upon  their  opinion. 

To  these  two  texts  out  of  the  New,  I  shall  add  a 
third  out  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  is  in  the  fifth 


304  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels     SERM.  xn. 

chapter  of  Ecclesiastes,  where  the  Wise  Man,  having 
declared  the  necessity  of  keeping  all  those  lawful 
vows  which  we  have  once  made  unto  God,  how 
inconvenient  soever  they  may  afterwards  appear  to 
be,  verse  4,  5,  he  enforceth  what  he  had  said,  verse 
6,  in  these  words,  Suffer  not  thy  mouth  to  cause  thy 
flesh  to  sin ;  neither  say  thou  BEFORE  THE  ANGEL, 
It  was  an  error;  wherefore  should  God  be  angry 
at  thy  voice,  and  destroy  the  work  of  thine  hands  ? 
Where  we  have  two  very  strong  arguments  to  dis 
suade  us  from  violating  those  vows  we  have  once 
made  to  God;  and  an  answer  to  an  excuse  which 
men  commonly  make  to  palliate  that  sin.  The  first 
argument  is  drawn  from  the  danger  of  bringing 

o  O  O         O 

thereby  the  judgment  of  God  on  our  family,  in  these 
words,  Suffer  not  thy  month  to  cause  thy  flesh  to 
sin,  i.  e.  (say  some  very  learned  interpreters,  and  I 
think  most  probably,)  Do  not,  by  making  vows  which 
thou  afterwards  violates!-,  bring  sin,  or  the  punish 
ment  of  sin,  upon  thy  children  or  posterity,  which 
are  thine  own  flesh.  The  second  argument  is  taken 
from  the  curse  which  will  certainly  fall  upon  the 
estate  of  the  offender  in  this  kind,  Wherefore  should 
God  be  amjry  at  thy  voice,  and  destroy  the  work  of 
thine  hands  f  As  if  he  had  said,  What  a  folly  and 
madness  is  it  in  thee  by  uttering  a  vow  with  thy 
voice,  which  thou  afterwards  breakest  in  thy  prac 
tice,  to  provoke  Almighty  God  to  destroy  and  blast 
that  estate  which  was  gotten  by  the  work  of  thy 
hands,  and  is  the  fruit  of  thy  labour!  But  because 
men  are  apt  notwithstanding  to  excuse  this  grievous 
sin,  by  pretending  that  they  were  in  an  error,  and 
did  not  well  consider  what  they  did  when  they  made 
their  vow;  the  Wise  Man  therefore  obviates  this 


towards  the  Faithful.  .'305 

excuse  in  these  words  :  Neither  sat/  thou  before  the 
anyel,  It  was  an  error ;  i.  c.  Do  not  seek  out  excuses 
to  lessen  thy  fault ;  the  angel  of  Cod  was  present 
when  thou  solemnly  madest  thy  vow,  and  takes  no 
tice  of  thy  breach  of  it,  and  shall  be  the  instrument 
of  the  divine  justice  in  punishing  it. 

Here  we  have  the  anuel  in  the  singular  number, 
not  the  angels  in  the  plural,  to  denote  some  one  cer 
tain  angel  ;  and  then  this  angel  is  described,  as  the 
angel  before  whom  and  in  whose  presence  tlic  person 
vowing  is,  as  the  inspector  and  observer  of  his  words 
and  actions;  which  gives  us  the  plain  notion  of  a 
guardian  angel.  And,  by  the  way,  we  may  farther 
observe  from  this  text,  that  it  belongs  to  the  office 
of  our  guardian  angel,  not  only  to  secure  us  from 
dangers,  but  to  inspect  and  govern  our  actions,  yea, 
and  if  need  be,  to  chastise  us  when  we  transgress 
and  prevaricate. 

From  these  and  the  like  texts  of  Scripture,  seem 
ing  so  plainly  to  favour  the  general  belief  of  .lews, 
Christians,  yea  and  of  the  wiser  heathens  ;  I  cannot 
but  judge  it  highly  probable,  that  every  faithful  per 
son  at  least  hath  his  particular  good  genius  or  angel, 
appointed  by  Cod  over  him,  as  the  guardian  and 
guide  of  his  life.  But  yet,  if  any  man  shall  look  on 
our  inferences  from  those  texts  as  not  demonstrative, 
and  shall  modestly  doubt  of  or  dissent  from  so 
received  an  opinion,  for  my  part  I  shall  not  quarrel 
with  him,  provided  that  in  general  he  acknow 
ledges  the  ministry  of  angels,  for  the  good  of  those 
who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,  as  need  shall  re 
quire. 

This  is  a  truth  by  all  means  not  only  firmly  to  be 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  X 


306  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels      SERM.  xn. 

believed,  but  also  seriously  to  be  considered,  as  being 
of  great  use  and  concernment  to  us.  And  so  I  pass 
to  the  third  and  last  question  propounded. 

Quest.  3.  Wherein  the  angelical  ministry  for  the 
good  of  the  faithful  on  earth  doth  more  especially 
consist  ? 

Answ.  The  ministry  of  the  holy  angels  towards 
the  children  of  God  for  their  good  and  benefit,  is  in 
all  respects  opposed  to  the  attempts  of  the  Devil  and 
his  wicked  angels  against  them  for  their  hurt  and 
detriment.  The  devils  spring  their  mines  of  mischief 
against  good  men,  but  the  good  angels  countermine 
them.  This  opposition  of  the  good  against  the  evil 
angels,  with  reference  to  the  faithful,  is  observable 
especially  in  these  four  things  : 

1.  They  continually  watch  over  good  men  to  pre 
serve  and  keep  them  from  corporal  and  outward  evils 
and  dangers,  and  to  promote  their  temporal  good. 
This  the  divine  Psalmist  seems  especially  to  have 
respect  unto  in  those  words  of  his,  Psalm  xci.  10, 115 
12 :  There  shall  no  evil  befall  thee,  neither  shall 
any  plague  come  nigh  thy  dwelling.  For  he  shall 
give  his  angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all 
thy  ways.  They  shall  bear  thee  up  in  their  hands, 
lest  thou  dash  thy  foot  against  a  stone.  So  on  the 
contrary,  the  wicked  angels  lie  in  wait  to  do  hurt 
and  mischief  even  to  the  bodies  and  temporal  con 
cerns  of  the  faithful ;  as  it  plainly  appears  in  Satan's 
dealing  with  Job :  on  whose  sheep  and  servants  he 
sent  a  fire  out  of  the  air  to  consume  them ;  stirred 
up  the  Sabaeans  and  Chaldaeans  to  plunder  his  oxen, 
asses,  and  camels,  and  to  kill  his  servants ;  raised  a 
tempest  to  blow  down  his  house  and  destroy  his 


towards  the  /«>/////////.  ,'J07 

children  ;  afflicted  his  body  with  grievous  blotches 
and  boils,  from  the  sole  of  his  foot  to  the  crown  of 
his  head  ;  and  would,  if  God  would  have  given  him 
leave,  have  proceeded  so  far  as  to  the  taking  away 
the  life  itself  of  that  excellent  person,  Job  i.  12. 

The  care  and  vigilance  of  the  angels  of  light  is 
employed  in  a  direct  opposition  to  these  mischievous 
designs  of  the  powers  of  darkness.  They  study  to 
preserve  and  promote  even  the  temporal  safety,  health 
and  wealth,  peace  and  prosperity  of  the  faithful. 
This  we  may  learn  again  from  the  case  of  .Job,  be 
fore  God  thought  Ht  by  way  of  trial  to  permit  the 
Devil  to  afflict  him  ;  Satan  then  observed  and  envied 
his  outward  security  and  felicity,  as  .appears  from 
those  words  of  his  to  God  concerning  him,  Job  i.  9< 
10:  Doth  Job  fear  God  for  tiouqht?  Hast  not  thou 
made  (in  hedge  about  linn,  and  about  his  house,  and 
about  all  that  he  hatli  on  ercri/  .side.''  Thon  hast 
blessed  the  work  of  his  hands,  and  Jiis  snbsfance  is 
increased  in  the  land.  The  good  man  was  then  so 
fenced  and  secured  on  every  side,  in  his  person, 
goods,  and  relations,  by  the  angels  of  God  encamp 
ing  round  about  him,  that  all  the  power,  policy,  and 
malice  of  the  Devil  could  not  make  a  breach  upon 
either  of  them,  till  God  himself  prepared  the  way 
for  him. 

In  short,  God  may  and  doth  sometimes  so  far 
withdraw  his  guard  of  holy  angels  from  the  faithful, 
as  to  permit  the  Devil  to  invade  their  temporal  con 
cerns  ;  either  for  the  exercise  of  their  virtue,  as  in 
the  case  of  Job,  or  for  the  prevention  of  their  sin,  as 
in  the  case  of  St.  Paul,  who  had  a  thorn  in  his  flesh, 
the  messenger  of  Satan,  i.e.  a  sharp  painful  disease 
inflicted  by  Satan,  with  God's  leave,  on  his  body  to 

x  2 


308  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels     SERM.  xn. 

keep  him  humble,  2  Cor.  xii.  7,  or  by  way  of  punish 
ment  of  some  past  great  sin  of  theirs,  which  God  will 
have  them  smart  for  in  this  world  that  they  may  not 
utterly  perish  in  the  world  to  come. 

And  happy  is  the  man  that  gets  to  heaven  at  last, 
though  the  Devil  himself  hath  a  hand,  unwillingly, 
in  driving  him  thither.  It  is  a  noble  expression  of 
the  holy  apostolic  bishop  and  martyr  Ignatius  to  this 
purpose  in  his  Epistle  to  the  Romans  h  :  "  Let  the 
"  punishment  of  the  Devil  come  upon  me,  provided 
"  only  I  may  obtain  Jesus  Christ." 

But  ordinarily,  and  excepting  these  cases,  even 
the  bodily  and  outward  concerns  of  good  men  are 
secured  by  the  ministry  of  the  holy  angels.  This 
indeed  is  not  their  main  business,  their  ministry  be 
ing  chiefly  designed  for  the  heirs  of  salvation  as  such, 
i.  e.  to  promote  especially  their  salvation,  and  their 
future  eternal  happiness.  St.  John,  in  his  salutation 
to  the  churches  of  Asia,  wisheth  them  grace  and 
peace,  i.  e.  all  spiritual  as  well  as  temporal  good 
things,  yea  spiritual  good  things  especially  ;  not  only 
from  God  the  Father,  as  the  fountain  of  them,  and 
from  Jesus  Christ,  as  the  only  meritorious  Mediator, 
who  hath  obtained  them  for  us  ;  but  also  from  the 
seven  spirits  or  chief  angels  that  are  before  the  throne 
of  God,  as  instruments  of  divine  Providence  in  dis 
pensing  both  spiritual  and  temporal  good  things  to 
the  sons  of  men.  Wherefore  let  us  proceed  to  the 
other  methods  of  the  angelical  ministry,  more  di 
rectly  tending  to  our  spiritual  good  and  the  salvation 
of  our  souls. 


"  KdXatrtj  TOV  Sia/3oXov  f?r'  ep.e  ep;^ecr$a>,  p.6vov  Iva   'irjcrov  Xpicrroi} 

eVirv^co.    P.  $g.  ed.   Vossii.   [Coteler   reads    natal 

8iafi6\ov  fls  €/ne  epxeo-QoMTav,  p.6vov  K.  T.  X.  §.  5.  p.  28.] 


towards  the  Faithful.  309 

2.  The  good  angels  suggest  to  the  faithful  good 
thoughts  and  affections,  and  excite  them  to  good 
works  and  actions.  For  as  the  evil  spirits  make 
it  their  business  to  inject  evil  thoughts  into  the 
minds  of  men,  and  to  lay  before  them  the  occasions 
of  sin  ;  so,  on  the  contrary,  we  need  not  doubt  but 
that  the  good  angels  are  as  sedulous  to  put  good 
motions  into  the  faithful,  to  frustrate  the  snares  of 
Satan,  and  to  stir  them  up  to  good  works  ;  Satan 
put  it  into  the  heart  of  Judas  to  betray  his  Lord 
and  Master,  John  xiii.  27-  Satan  filled  the  heart 
of  Ananias  and  Sappbira  to  lie  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  to  commit  sacrilege,  Acts  v.  3.  And  in  general 
it  is  said  of  the  Devil,  that  he  /.v  the  spirit  that 
irorketh  IN  the  children  of  disobedience^  Kph.  ii.  2. 
Now7  have  the  evil  angels  this  power  over  the 
thoughts  of  men  for  evil,  and  shall  we  think  that 
the  good  angels  have  not  as  great  an  influence  over 
them  for  good  ?  or  have  the  good  angels  less  will  to 
incline  men  to  goodness,  than  the  evil  angels  have  to 
draw  them  to  wickedness  ?  Certainly  no. 

Indeed  the  eternal  uncreated  Spirit  of  God  alone, 
the  Holy  Ghost,  is  the  author  of  our  sanctification, 
the  infuser  of  the  principle  of  divine  life  into  us,  who 
only  is  able  to  overrule  our  wills,  to  penetrate  the 
deepest  secrets  of  our  hearts,  and  to  rectify  our  most 
inward  faculties.  But  yet  the  good  angels  may  and 
often  do,  as  instruments  of  the  divine  goodness, 
powerfully  operate  upon  our  fancies  and  imagina 
tions,  and  thereby  prompt  us  to  pious  thoughts, 
affections,  and  actions.  There  is  no  man  exercised 
in  the  ways  of  religion  but  must  have  observed, 
that  ofttimes  on  a  sudden,  he  knows  not  how,  most 
vigorous,  powerful,  affecting  thoughts  of  eternity 


310  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels       SERM.  xn. 

and  the  great  concerns  of  religion  have  seized  and 
possessed  his  soul;  such  affecting  thoughts,  as  at 
other  times,  when  he  composeth  and  sets  himself  to 
think  of  those  matters,  he  cannot  without  very 
great  difficulty,  if  at  all,  command  and  retrieve. 
He  hath  observed  also,  that  some  times,  when  his 
thoughts  have  been  employed  and  busied  about 
quite  other  matters,  he  hath  suddenly  been  called 
to  bis  prayers,  or  minded  and  powerfully  instigated 
to  some  good  work  to  be  done  by  him.  For  my 
part,  I  question  not  but  that  much  of  this  is  to  be 
attributed  to  the  ministry  of  the  holy  angels. 

3.  When  the  evil  angels  more  violently  assault 
the  faithful  by  their  temptations,  the  good  angels 
presently  step  in,  to  succour,  aid,  and  assist  them, 
that  they  sink  not  under  these  temptations, 

Our  Saviour,  -who  was  in  all  points  tempted  like  as 
•we  aye,  vet  ivithont  sin,  Ileb.  iv.  15,  is  our  example 
in  this.  He  was  tempted  in  the  wilderness  in  a 
very  astonishing  manner,  the  Devil  violently  seizing 
his  body,  and  hurrying  it  up  to  a  pinnacle  of  the 
temple,  and  then  again  into  an  exceeding  high 
mountain,  and  impetuously  assaulting  his  mind  with 
the  most  horrid  temptations  to  tempt  God,  to  com 
mit  idolatry,  and  the  worst  sort  of  it,  the  worship 
of  the  Devil  himself.  But  the  good  angels  were  all 
the  while  ready  at  hand,  and,  when  they  saw  their 
time,  appeared  and  ministered  to  him,  as  we  read, 
Matt.  iv.  11,  Then  the  Devil  leaveth  him,  and,  behold, 
angels  came  and  ministered  to  him.  It  is  true  the 
good  angels  seem  not  by  those  words  to  have  come 
in  to  our  Saviour,  till  after  he  had  single  and  alone 
vanquished  all  the  assaults  of  the  Devil;  because 
they  knew  his  virtue  to  be  impregnable,  and  in  no 


towards  the  Faithful.  311 

danger  of  being  overcome  by  temptations  so  foul 
and  horrid.  But  yet  as  man,  and  in  tlie  state  of 
humiliation,  he  was  subject  to  the  pure  natural 
infirmities  of  mankind  ;  and  therefore  needed  food 
for  his  body  after  so  long  an  abstinence,  and  refresh 
ment  to  his  mind  after  so  dismal  a  conflict  with 
the  Devil :  for  both  these  purposes  we  may  well 
suppose  the  good  angels  came  and  ministered  to 
him.  They  ministered  to  him.  when  tempted  by 
the  Devil,  all  needful  help  and  aid,  and  so  they 
will  to  all  the  faithful  his  members,  who  as  they 
stand  in  need  of  a  more  timely  assistance  of  Cod's 
holy  angels  in  their  temptations,  so  they  shall  never 
fail  to  receive  it. 

Our  Saviour  ajrain  a  little  before  his  death   was 

O 

in  a  most  dreadful  agony;  his  sou]  be'uifj  exceeding 
sorrmrfiil.  the  anguish  of  his  mind  overflowing  the 
channels  of  his  body,  and  causing  him  to  sireat  (frrat 
drops  of  blood,  Mark  xiv.  34.  Luke  xxii.  44.  There 
is  little  reason  to  doubt,  but  that  Satan  had  some 
hand  in  this  last  anguish  of  our  Saviour.  For  we 
must  not  think  that  the  Devil,  after  he  had  tempted 
our  Lord  in  the  wilderness,  so  left  him  as  never  to 
return  again  to  trouble  him  more.  Nay,  St.  Luke 
expressly  obviates  this  conceit,  when  he  tells  us, 
the  Devil  then  departed  from  him  for  a  season, 
Luke  iv.  13.  If  he  then  departed  from  him  only 
for  a  season ,  we  may  be  sure  that  this  was  not  his 
last  assault  upon  our  Saviour.  He  set  upon  him 
again  afterwards,  but  especially  and  in  the  most 
pressing  manner  (as  is  most  probable)  in  his  last 
agony  in  the  garden.  But,  behold,  then  there  ap 
peared  an  angel  unto  him  from  heaven  strengthening 
him,  as  St.  Luke  assures  us,  chap.  xxii.  43. 


312  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels       SERM.  xn. 

4.  And  lastly,  The  good  angels  take  notice  of  the 
prayers  and  good  works  of  good  men  on  earth,  and 
report,  commemorate,  and  represent  them  before 
God  in  heaven.  Just  as,  on  the  contrary,  the  Devil 
watches  our  sins  and  miscarriages,  and  is  ready  to 
charge  us  with  them,  and  is  therefore  said  to  be 
the  accuser  of  the  brethren,  accusing  them  before 
God  day  and  night1,  Rev.  xii.  10.  In  the  book  of 
Tobit,  (a  book  though  not  canonical  yet  very  an 
cient,  and  always  of  good  esteem  in  the  church  of 
God,  nor  do  I  find  that  the  truth  of  the  story  therein 
contained  was  ever  denied  by  the  ancient  Jews  or 
Christians,)  the  angel  Raphael,  revealing  himself 
to  Tobit,  tells  him,  chap.  xii.  12.  et  seq.,  When  thou 
didst  pray,  and  Sarah  thy  daughter-in-law,  I  did 
bring  the  remembrance  of  your  prayers  before  the 
holy  One  :  and  when  thou  didst  bury  the  dead,  I  was 
with  thee  likewise.  And  when  thou  didst  not  delay 
to  rise  up  and  leave  thy  dinner,  to  go  and  cover 
the  dead,  thy  good  deed  ivas  not  hid  from  me,  but 
I  u-as  with  thee.  -  1  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven 
holy  angels,  which  present  the  prayers  of  the  saints, 
and  which  go  in  and  out  before  the  glory  of  the  holy 
One.  However,  that  the  doctrine  of  the  angels 
reporting  and  representing  our  prayers  and  good 
works  in  the  court  of  heaven  is  not  apocryphal, 
is  most  certain. 

In  the  Revelation  of  St.  John,  chap.  viii.  3,  4,  we 
read,  And  another  angel  came  and  stood  at  the 
altar,  having  a  golden  censer;  and  there  was  given 
unto  him  much  incense,  that  he  should  offer  it 
with  the  prayers  of  all  saints  upon  the  golden  altar 


i   'O  Karrjyopoy  rwv  d 


towards  the  Faithful  313 

which  was  before  the  throne.  And  the  smoke  of 
the  incense,  which  came  ivitlt  the  prayers  of  the 
saints,  ascended  up  before  God  out  of  the  angel's 
hand.  Where  Beza  himself  acknowledged,  that 
by  the  angel  is  not  meant  Christ,  (as  some  inter 
preters  would  persuade  us,  contrary  to  the  plain 
sense  of  the  text,  especially  if  compared  with  its 
parallel  text,  chap.  v.  8,)  but  a  created  angel ;  it 
being  a  part  of  the  angelical  ministry  "  to  otter  our 
w'  prayers  unto  God  daily k."  To  otter  them?  How? 
Not  as  mediators  and  intercessors,  adding  virtue  to 
our  prayers  from  their  merits;  for  this  belongs  to 
our  Saviour  Christ  alone,  the  only  meritorious  Me 
diator  between  God  and  man;  (whence  the  incense 
perfuming  the  prayers  of  the  saints  is  expressly 
noted  to  be  given  to  the  angel  from  another,  not  to 
be  his  own;)  but  as  messengers  relating  and  report 
ing  our  prayers  before  God ;  which  is  expressed  in 
the  place  cited  out  of  the  book  of  Tobit,  by  the 
phrase  of  brimi'mrf  the  remembrance  of  our  prayers 
before  the  holy  One. 

So  that  these  texts  make  not  at  all  for  the  invo 
cation  of  angels  as  our  intercessors  and  advocates 

o 

with  God,  as  the  Romanists  foolishly  imagine ;  nay, 
they  make  plainly  against  it. 

For,  1.  The  prayers  in  those  places,  said  to  be 
presented  by  the  angels,  are  not  prayers  directed  to 
the  angels  themselves,  but  prayers  to  God  alone. 

2.  The  angel  in  Tobit  expressly  advises  him  to 
pray  unto  and  praise  God  only,  and  professedly  dis 
claims  whatever  might  be  thought  due  to  his  merit 
or  interest  in  the  whole  transaction,  and  declares 

k   Preces  nostras  Deo  quotidic  offerre. 


314  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels     SERM.  xn. 

himself  no  farther  concerned,  from  first  to  last,  than 
as  God's  servant  and  messenger,  ver.  17,  18:  And  he 
said  unto  them,  Fear  not,  for  it  shall  go  well  with 
yon ;  praise  God  therefore.  For  not  of  any  favour 
of  mine,  but  by  the  will  of  our  God,  I  come;  where 
fore  praise  him  for  ever.  And  accordingly,  as  we 
find  in  the  next  chapter,  Tobit  presently  addressed 
himself  not  to  the  angel,  but  to  God  alone,  as  he 
had  always  used  to  do,  in  a  very  excellent  and  devout 
form  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving. 

But  having  said  enough  in  my  former  discourse 
on  this  text,  against  the  invocation  of  angels,  I  pro 
ceed. 

From  what  our  Saviour  tells  us,  that  there  is  joy, 
evuTTiov  rwv  ayye\wv,  in  the  presence  of  the  angels  of 
God  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  Luke  xv.  10, 
it  is  plain,  that  the  prayers  and  tears  of  the  penitent 
are  soon  reported  in  the  court  of  heaven  among  the 
holy  angels ;  and  by  whom  can  we  conceive  the 
report  to  be  made,  but  by  some  of  their  own  blessed 
society,  carrying  the  welcome  news  from  earth  to 
heaven  ?  So  when  the  angel  told  Cornelius,  that  his 
prayers  and  alms  were  come  up  for  a  memorial  before 
God,  Acts  x.  4,  we  may  reasonably  suppose,  that  the 
angel  who  told  him  so,  was  the  very  person  that 
brought  the  remembrance  of  Jds  prayers  and  alms 
before  the  holy  One,  to  use  again  the  phrase  of  the 
angel  to  Tobit,  exactly  answering  to  the  speech  of 
the  angel  to  Cornelius. 

Thus  the  holy  angels  of  God  are  the  observers  of 
our  prayers  and  good  actions  on  earth,  and  the 
relators  and  remembrancers  of  them  in  heaven.  Not 
but  that  the  all-seeing  God  of  himself  knows  and 
takes  notice  of  all  the  good  actions  of  good  men,  and 


towards  the  Faithful.  315 

records  them  to  perpetuity  in  the  most  faithful 
register  of  his  omniscience;  but  he  would  have  his 
holy  angels  to  be  conscious  of  our  good  actions,  not 
only  that  they  might  congratulate  our  happiness  as 
fellow-servants,  and  members  with  us  under  Christ, 
their  and  our  Lord  and  Head  ;  but  also  and  espe 
cially  that  they  might  bo  witnesses  of  his  righteous 
judgment  at  the  last  day,  when  his  Son  shall  come 
in  his  glory,  with  millions  of  his  holy  angels,  to  judge 
the  world. 

Hence  St.  Paul,  having  particularly  instructed  his 
son  Timothy,  in  all  the  principal  duties  of  his  epi 
scopal  oflice,  concludes  his  discourse  with  this  solemn 
obtestation,  1  Tim.  v.  21  :  1  charge  thee  before  f/W, 
(Did  the  Lord  Jet  tt*  Christ  *  and  the  elect  fi/tf/rk, 
that  thnu  observe  these  things.  Where,  having  al 
ready  appealed  to  God  the  Father  and  Son,  he  also 
adds,  the  eleet  amjels,  because  they  in  the  future 
judgment  shall  be  present  as  witnesses  with  their 
Lord. 

This  may  suffice  to  have  spoken  of  tJie  //oh/  f/itf/cl*, 
their  e.ritifeticc,  and  their  ministry  ;  their  nature, 
their  state,  and  condition,  with  reference  to  God, 
and  their  office  in  relation  to  us,  all  contained  in 
those  few  words  of  my  text,  Are  they  not  all  minis- 
terinq  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  tJiem  irho 
shall  be  heirs  of  salvation  ?  I  come  in  the  last  place 
to  a  brief  practical  application  of  the  whole  dis 
course.  The  doctrine  of  the  angels  of  God,  as  before 
explained  and  asserted,  serves  for  many  excellent 
uses.  ^ 

1.  When  we  consider  the  certain  existence  of  an 
infinite  number  of  those  most  noble  creatures  the 
angels,  that  have  always  inviolably  observed  the  laws 


316  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels     SERM.  xn. 

of  their  creation,  and  constantly  persevered  in  the 
most  faithful  obedience  and  service  of  the  great 
Creator,  God  blessed  for  ever ;  this  consideration 
will  mightily  help  to  dispel  and  scatter  those  dark 
and  cloudy  thoughts  of  the  divine  Providence,  which 
are  apt  sometimes  to  arise  within  us,  when  we  be 
hold  the  lamentable  corruption  and  apostasy  of  man 
kind. 

Mankind  was  crippled  in  his  cradle,  and  lost  in 
the  fall  of  the  very  first  man  Adam.  And  when 
God  in  mercy  renewed  a  covenant  of  grace  with 
lapsed  man  in  Christ,  that  covenant  was  also  soon 
violated,  and  the  world  in  process  of  time  so  utterly 
polluted  with  the  most  abominable  wickedness,  that 
nothing  but  an  universal  deluge  of  water,  carrying 
away  the  whole  race  of  men,  (excepting  only  eight 
persons  saved  by  miracle.)  could  cleanse  it.  How 
long  afterwards  was  the  worship  of  the  true  God 
shut  up  in  one  family  of  people,  all  the  rest  of  the 
sons  of  men  being  overwhelmed  with  idolatry !  And 
after  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  hath  ap 
peared  to  the  world,  and  enlarged  the  bounds  of 
God's  church,  yet  how  many  nations  still  sit  in  dark 
ness  and  in  the  shadow  of  death,  having  nothing 
to  guide  them  but  the  light  of  nature,  and  some 
mangled  relics  of  the  primitive  revelation ;  and  yet 
the  far  greatest  part  of  them  will  not  be  guided  by 
these  neither !  And  among  those  that  outwardly 
profess  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  how  few  are  there  who 
in  their  hearts  and  lives  conform  to  the  great  funda 
mental  rules  and  precepts  of  it !  The  consideration 
of  this,  if  we  looked  no  farther,  would  tempt  us  to 
think,  that  the  end  and  design  of  God's  creation  is 
upon  the  matter  frustrated  and  defeated. 


towards  tJtc  Fait/if ut. 

But  then,  on  the  other  side,  we  are  to  consider, 
that  there  have  been  a  remnant  of  men  in  every  age, 
that  have  yielded  to  and  been  recovered  by  the  grace 
of  God,  who  shall  glorify  him,  and  be  glorified  by 
him  to  eternal  ages.  Which,  though  compared  to 
the  rest  of  mankind,  that  have  perished  in  their 
own  folly,  they  are  but  very  few,  yet  taken  bv 
themselves,  and  all  together,  make  up  a  vast  body 
of  men.  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant  that  we 
ourselves  may  be  of  that  blessed  number  ! 

And  we  may  farther  consider,  that  besides  us 
men,  the  great  God  hath  an  innumerable  multitude 
of  more  excellent  creatures,  the  holy  angels,  who 
have  constantly  and  perseveringly  glorified  him,  and 
most  faithfully  served  him,  who  never  yet  sinned  nor 
shall  sin  against  him.  These  owe  their  confirma 
tion  in  virtue  and  bliss  to  the  grace  of  the  eternal 
Word  and  Son  of  God,  as  we  do  our  redemption  to 
his  blood  ;  and  therefore  they  shall,  together  with 
elect  men,  sing  praises  to  Jtini  that  sits  upon  the 
throne,  and  to  the  Lamb  for  evermore. 

When  therefore  we  are  troubled  and  offended  to  see 
how  ill  things  go  here  below  :  how  vice  triumphs,  and 
virtue  is  discountenanced,  disgraced,  and  trampled 
upon  ;  how  the  great  and  good  God  is  dishonoured 
and  affronted,  and  his  laws  disregarded  and  despised 
by  the  generality  of  men  ;  what  a  vast  train  of  mi 
serably  deluded  and  self-deluding  mortals  the  prince 
of  darkness  draws  after  him  into  utter  perdition, 
let  us  then  look  upwards,  and  view  the  heavenly 
regions  above  us,  where  millions  of  millions  of  holy 
angels  dwell.  There  the  kingdom  of  God  is  in  its 
glory ;  there  virtue  shines  in  its  full  lustre  and 


318  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels     SERM.  xn. 

brightness;  there  is  no  sin,  no  disorder;  there  all 
things  go  as  the  great  Creator  would  have  them. 
And  at  the  consummation  of  all  things,  the  whole 
number  of  faithful  men  of  all  ages,  from  the  begin- 
nin°-  of  the  world,  shall  be  added  to  the  society  of 
good  angels,  and  made  like  unto  them  ;  and  both 
together  make  up  one  church  perfectly  triumphant ; 
all  wicked  men  and  angels  being  finally  subdued. 
And  there  shall  be  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth, 
wherein  righteousness  and  nothing  but  righteous 
ness  shall  dwell,  2  Peter  iii.  13.  'EXfleVw  n  /3u<rt\eia 
o-ov,  Let  fids  thy  kingdom  come,  O  our  heavenly 
Father ! 

2.  When  we  consider  what  glorious  beings  the 
angels  are,  and  yet  that  they  are  but  creatures  of, 
and  servants  to,  the  God  whom  we  serve,  waiting 
before  his  throne,  and  humbly  attending  his  com 
mands;  this  consideration,  if  we  let  it  sink  deeply 
into  our  hearts,  must  needs  possess  us  with  most 
awful  apprehensions  of  the  glorious  majesty  of  our 
God  at  all  times,  but  especially  in  our  approaches  to 
him  in  his  worship,  and  fill  us  with  the  greatest 
reverence  and  humility.  We  should  do  well  often  to 
call  to  mind  Daniel's  vision,  to  wiiom  was  repre 
sented  the  Ancient  of  days  sitting  upon  his  throne, 
a  thousand  thousands  ministering  unto  him,  and 
ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand  standing  before 
him,  Dan.  vii.  9, 10.  and  that  of  Isaiah,  chap.  vi.  1, 
2,  3 :  /  saw  the  Lord  sitting  upon  a  throne,  high 
and  lifted  up,  and  his  train  filled  the  temple.  Above 
it  stood  the  seraphims :  each  one  had  sin1  wings ; 
with  twain  he  covered  his  face,  and  with  twain 
he  covered  his  feet,  and  with  twain  he  did  fly. 


towards  the  Faithful.  319 

And  one  cried  unto  another,  and  said,  Holy,  holy, 
holy  is  the  Lord  of  hosts :  the  whole  earth  is  full  of 
his  alory. 

With  what  reverence  should  we  behave  ourselves 
in  our  addresses  to  the  divine  Majesty,  before  whom 
the  seraphinis  themselves  hide  their  faces!  And  if 
they  cover  their  feet,  i.  e.  (say  interpreters)  are  con 
scious  to  themselves  (though  not  of  any  sin,  yet)  of 
their  natural  imbecility  and  imperfection,  compared 
to  the  infinitely  glorious  God  ;  how  should  we  clods 
of  earth,  we  vile  sinners,  blush  and  be  ashamed  in 
his  presence,  assuming  no  confidence  to  ourselves, 
but  what  is  founded  on  the  mercies  of  God,  and  the 
merits  of  our  blessed  Redeemer  and  Advocate  Jesus 
Christ ! 

And  when  we  find  ourselves  inclined  to  pride  and 
vanity,  to  think  highly  of  ourselves  and  of  our  ser 
vices  to  God,  let  us  reflect  at  what  a  vast  distance 
we  come  behind  the  holy  angels,  how  far  short  our 
poor,  lame,  imperfect  services  are  of  their  holy  and 
excellent  ministry.  Yet, 

3.  \Yhen  we  think  of  the  ministry  which  the  holy 
angels  perform  towards  God,  and  for  us ;  let  us 
at  the  same  time  propound  them  to  ourselves,  as 
patterns  and  examples  for  our  imitation. 

As  we  daily  pray,  so  we  should  continually  labour 
and  endeavour,  that  God's  icill  may  be  done  in  earth 
by  us,  as  it  is  in  hearen  by  them.  For  although  in 
this  state  of  mortality  we  shall  never  reach  the 
perfection  of  angels,  yet,  by  aspiring  to  it,  we  shall 
certainly  become  much  better  men  ;  and  if  we  come 
short  of  what  we  aim  at,  we  shall  nevertheless  far 
exceed  what  we  are.  As  therefore  we  hope  to  be 
equal  to  the  angels  (in  a  blessed  immortality)  here- 


320  The  Office  of  the  holy  Any  el*     SERM.  xn. 

after,  so  let  us  study  to  be  like  them  (in  holiness  and 
righteousness)  now.  Let  us  emulate  their  exalted 
love  (the  source  and  fountain  of  all  the  excellent 
services  they  performed)  to  their  Creator,  by  loving 
the  Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart,  and  with  all 
our  soul,  and  with  all  our  mind,  and  with  all  our 
strength,  Mark  xii.  33.  We  have  one  reason  to  love 
God  which  the  angels  have  not,  and  that  is  the  for 
giveness  of  many  and  great  sins ;  the  most  endearing 
obligation.  And  as  they  continually  laud  and  praise 
the  great  and  good  God,  and  Lord  of  all  things, 
so  let  us  pay  the  daily  tribute  of  our  praises  and 
thanksgivings  to  him,  according  to  our  utmost  powers 
in  this  state  of  infirmity.  And  when  we  consider 
their  fervent  love  and  charity  to  us,  in  their  earnest 
desire  and  study  of  our  good  and  welfare,  and  in 
their  most  ready  diligence  to  do  all  good  offices  for 
us  ;  let  us  then  remember,  how  much  more  we  are 
obliged  to  love  and  assist  one  another,  who  have  the 
same  common  nature,  passions,  and  infirmities,  and 
therefore  stand  in  mutual  need  of  each  other ;  where 
as  the  holy  angels  are  above  any  benefit  or  advan 
tage,  which  any  the  best  of  us  can  contribute  to 
them.  Let  us  admire  their  condescension,  in  that 
they,  being  creatures  so  glorious,  should  so  willingly 
stoop  and  humble  themselves  to  minister  to  us  sin 
ful  dust  and  ashes  ;  and  let  us  from  hence  learn  that 
excellent  lesson,  By  love  to  serve  one  another,  Gal. 
v.  13.  i.  e.  when  charity  requires  it,  not  to  disdain  or 
refuse  any  good  office  we  can  do  our  neighbour, 
though  it  be  otherwise  servile,  and  seemingly  be 
neath  our  dignity. 

Thus  the  holy  angels  are  our  patterns. 

4.  The  doctrine  of  the  inspection  of  the  angels  of 


towards  the  Faithful.  321 

God  over  us  may  serve  to  teach  us  a  holy  fear, 
circumspection,  and  caution  in  all  our  behaviour, 
even  in  our  most  secret  recesses  and  retirements. 

When  we  think  ourselves  alone,  we  are  not  so, 
but  in  the  most  reverend  and  awful  society.  Where 
fore  "  in  every  place,  in  every  corner,  revere  the 
"  presence  of  thy  angel ;  and  do  not  that  before 
k<  him,  which  thou  wouldest  be  ashamed  to  do  before 
k<  a  man  like  thyself1." 

You  have  heard  how  St.  Paul,  intending,  as  it 
were,  to  bind  Timothy  to  the  good  behaviour  in 
all  the  parts  of  his  episcopal  office,  charges  him,  not 
only  before  God  and  Christ,  but  also  before  the  elect 
angels,  to  be  careful  of  his  duty,  1  Tim.  v.  21.  Upon 
which  text  Mr.  Calvin's  note  is  observable,  "  lie 
"  must  be  more  stupid  and  senseless  than  a  stock 
"  or  stone,  whose  sloth  and  carelessness  in  his  duty 
"  is  not  shaken  off  by  this  one  consideration,  that 
"  the  government  of  the  church  is  the  theatre  of 
"  God  and  angels111."  Indeed,  there  is  not  the  meanest 
member  of  the  church,  but  acts  his  part  in  that 
tremendous  presence. 

But  this  consideration  should  especially  affect  our 
souls,  when  we  meet  together  in  the  houses  of  God, 
the  places  of  his  worship,  wherein  the  holy  angels 
(as  the  church  of  God  both  before  and  after  Christ 
always  believed)  assemble  together  with  us.  Hence 
the  Psalmist,  Psalm  cxxxviii.  1,2:7  will  praise 
thee  with  my  whole  heart :  before  the  gods  will  I 

1  In  omni  loco,  in  omni  angulo,  reverentiam  exhibc  tuo  angelo  ; 
neque  illo  pnrsente  facias,  quod  me  prnesente  erubesceres. 

m  Sane  plusquam  stupidum  et  saxeum  esse  oportet,  cui  non 
excutiat  torporem  et  oscitantiam  sola  hsec  consideratio,  theatrum 
Dei  et  angelorum  esse  ecclesise  gubernationem. 

BULL,  VOL.  1.  Y 


The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels      SERM.  xii. 

sing  praises  unto  thee.  I  will  worship  toward  thy 
holy  temple. 

He  conceived,  that  in  his  solemn  worship  towards 
the  place  of  God's  especial  presence,  he  worshipped 
not  only  before  God,  but  also  before  the  gods.  But 
who  are  they  ?  The  Septuagint  tells  us,  by  render 
ing  the  Hebrew  words  evavriov  ayyeXwv,  over  against 
(i.  e.  before)  the  angels.  And  to  the  same  purpose  is 
St.  Chrysostonrs  paraphrase  on  the  place,  "  I  will 
"  strive  to  sing  with  the  angels,  contending  with 
"  them,  and  joining  in  choir  with  the  supernatural 
'v  powers11." 

St.  Paul,  exhorting  the  Corinthian  women  to  have 
a  modest  veil  or  covering  over  their  heads  in  their 
religious  assemblies,  persuades  them  to  that  piece  of 
reverence  and  decency  by  this  very  consideration, 
that  they  appeared  in  the  presence  of  the  angels. 
For  this  cause  ought  the  woman  to  have  power  on 
her  head  (i.  e.  a  veil  or  covering  over  her  head,  the 
sign  of  her  husband's  power  over  her)  because  of  the 
angels.  [1  Cor.  xi.  10.] 

Alas  !  how  little  do  they  think  of  this,  who  sit  or 
loll,  and  neither  bow  a  knee,  nor  lift  up  an  hand, 
nor  move  a  lip  at  the  public  prayers,  as  if  they 
bore  no  part  in  them  ;  as  indeed,  till  they  mend 
their  manners,  they  shall  have  no  share  in  the 
benefit  of  them  ;  who  sleep,  or  talk  with  one  an 
other,  or  laugh,  or  suffer  their  eyes  and  thoughts 
to  wander  after  vanity,  when  they  should  seriously 
attend  to  the  word  of  God  read  or  preached  to 
them  !  Methinks  these  men,  though  they  regard 
not  the  angel  on  earth,  the  priest  ;  though  they  have 


Mer   ctyyeAcoi/  aftfiv  /3td(ro/uu,  /cat  <f)i\oveiKr)(r(t)  TTJV   a/xtAAap 
UVTOV  s  o«V$ai,  KOI  ffvyxopfvaat  rais  avot 


towards  the  Faithful. 

no  respect  to  the  congregation  of  faithful  and  devout 
Christians;  yet  should  he  awed  into  more  reverence 
by  the  presence  of  the  angels  of  heaven  ;  and  so 
indeed  they  would,  if  they  believed  and  seriously 
considered  it. 

5.  From  the  main  thing  in  the  text,  the  office 
of  the  holy  angels,  whereby  they  are  sent  forth  fo 
minister  for  them  who  shall  be  heirs  of  salvation,  we 
may  understand  the  great  goodness  of  Cod  to  good 
men,  and  the  most  happy  and  blessed  estate  of  all 
the  faithful. 

This  is  the  very  use  that  David  makes  of  the 
doctrine,  Psalm  xxxiv.  where  having  laid  down  this 
proposition,  The  anael  of  the  Lord  enetinijK'th  af>onf 
them  tli at  fear  Iiim,  and  delirereth  them,  ver.  7,  he 
thus  applies  it  in  the  verse  immediately  following, 
O  taste  and  see  that  the  Lord  is  gracious  :  Messed  is 
the  man  that  trusteth  in  him.  As  if  he  had  said,  What 
a,  wonderful  expression  of  the  divine  goodness  is  this, 
that  the  glorious  powers  of  heaven  should  thus  attend 
upon  us  worms  on  earth  !  and  how  safe  and  happy 
must  the  good  man  needs  be,  under  the  conduct  and 
protection  of  those  wise,  good,  and  mighty  spirits  ! 
A\  hat  need  he  fear  either  wicked  men  or  devils,  who 
is  continually  secured  by  so  strong  a  guard  !  \Vho 
would  not  endeavour  to  be  in  the  number  of  the 
faithful,  and  to  be  enrolled  into  so  blessed  a  society ! 
Indeed  this  should  be  our  greatest  care,  to  secure 
our  being  in  a  state  of  sincere  piety,  and  then  we 
are  secure  to  all  other  purposes  whatsoever,  and 
need  not  take  care  about  any  thing  else :  For  who 
is  he  that  will  (or  can)  harm  us,  if  we  he  followers  of 
that  which  is  good  f  1  Pet.  iii.  13. 

We  may  then  sit  down  in  peace,  and  joyfully  sing 
Y  2 


324  The  Office  of  the  holy  Angels        SERM.  xn 

the  song  of  the  divine  Psalmist,  Psalm  xci.  1,  &c. : 
Qui  habitat  in  abscondito  Altissimi,  &c. :  He  that 
diuelleth  in  the  secret  place  of  the  Most  High  shall 
abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Almighty.  I  will  say 
of  the  Lord,  He  is  my  refuge  and  my  fortress ; 
my  God ;  in  him  will  I  trust.  Surely  he  shall 
deliver  thee  from  the  snare  of  the  fowler,  and  from 
the  noisome  pestilence.  He  shall  cover  thee  ivith  his 
feathers,  and  under  his  wings  shall  tJiou  trust  : 
his  truth  shall  be  thy  shield  and  buckler.  But  how 
comes  the  faithful  person  to  be  thus  secure  ?  the 
Psalmist  tells  us,  ver.  11  :  For  he  shall  give  his 
angels  charge  over  thee,  to  keep  thee  in  all  thy 
ways. 

What  a  mighty  support  and  comfort  will  this 
be  to  us,  if  our  consciences  bear  witness  to  our 
integrity,  in  all  dangers,  distresses,  and  necessities, 
yea  in  our  last  extremity,  and  in  the  hour  of  death  ! 
For  the  good  angels  of  God  shall  go  along  with  us 
in  the  whole  course  of  our  lives,  never  leaving  us 
till  they  have  safely  landed  us  in  a  happy  eternity. 
When  we  are  in  our  extreme  agony,  those  blessed 
spirits  shall  minister  to  us,  as  they  did  to  our 
Saviour  in  his ;  and  when  we  breathe  out  our  last, 
they  shall  watch  our  souls,  that  the  wicked  one 
may  not  touch  them,  and  shall  safely  convey  them 
into  Abraham's  bosom,  where  we  shall  be  out  of  all 
danger  for  ever.  Wherefore, 

6.  And  lastly,  Let  all  truly  good  men  continually 
bless  and  praise  God  for  this  his  unspeakable  good 
ness  to  them.  Let  them  hear  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist,  Psalm  xxxii.  10, 11.  and  xxxiii.  1  :  Many 
sorrows  shall  be  to  the  wicked:  but  he  that  trusteth 
in  the  Lord,  mercy  shall  compass  him  about.  Be 


towards  the  Faithful,  325 

(/lad  in  the  Lord,  and  rejoice,  ye  righteous :  and  shout 
for  joy,  all  ye  that  are  npriqht  in  heart.  Rejoice  in 
the  Lord,  O  ye  righteous :  for  praise  is  comely  for 
the  upright. 

Let  us  conclude  all  with  that  excellent  doxology 
of  our  church  in  the  Office  of  the  Communion  : 

"  It  is  very  meet,  right,  and  our  bounden  duty, 
"  that  we  should  at  all  times,  and  in  all  places,  give 
"  thanks  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  holy  Father,  almighty, 
"  everlasting  God. 

"  Therefore  with  angels  and  archangels,  and  with 
"  all  the  company  of  heaven,  we  laud  and  magnify 
"  thy  glorious  name ;  evermore  praising  thee,  and 
"  saying,  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Lord  God  of  hosts,  heaven 
"  and  earth  are  full  of  thy  glory :  glory  be  to  thee, 
"  O  Lord  most  high."  Amen. 


SEKMON   XI 1 1." 


PRESCRIBED  FORMS  OF  PRAYER  IN  THE  PUBLIC  WORSHIP 
OF  GOD,  PRACTISED  FROM  THE  VERY  BEGINNING  OF 
CHRISTIANITY,  AND  ARE  NOT  ONLY  ANCIENT,  BUT  USE 
FUL  AND  NECESSARY  UPON  MANY  ACCOUNTS. 


1  Tim.  ii.  1,  2. 

/  ejchort  therefore,  that,  first  of  alt,  supplications,  prayers, 
intercessions }  and  giving  of  thanks^  le  made  for  all  men ; 
for  kinqs,  and  for  all  that  are  in  authority  ;  that  we  may 
lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty. 

ST.  PAUL  the  apostle  bad,  in  the  foregoing*  chap 
ter,  given  instructions  to  bishop  (or  rather  arch 
bishop)  Timothy  concerning  the  regulation  of  preach 
ing  and  preachers  within  his  province,  which  was 
the  proconsular  Asia,  of  which  Ephesus  was  the  me 
tropolis.  For  so  we  read  chapter  the  first  of  this 
Epistle,  ver.  3  :  As  I  besought  thee  to  abide  still  at 
Ephesus,  when  I  went  into  Macedonia,  that  tliou 
mightest  charge  some  that  they  teach  no  other  doctrine. 
There  were  it  seems  some  heterodox  teachers  within 
that  province  ;  and  by  the  sequel  it  appears  they  were 
Judaizing  doctors,  who  taught  the  observation  of  the 
Mosaic  law,  as  necessary  to  Christians,  such  as  the 
Cerinthians  and  others.  For  so  we  read,  ver.  5,  6,  7  : 

"  [This  Sermon  was  composed  after  the  restoration.,  when  the 
Liturgy  was  again  in  use,] 


Common  Prayers  ancient,  <$v.  327 

end  of  the  commandment  is  charity  otit  of  a  pare 
heart,  and  of  a  good  conscience,  and  of  faith  unfeign 
ed :  front  which  some  ha  ring  swerved  have  turned 
aside,  unto  rain  janglings ;  desiring  to  be  teachers  of 
the  law ;  understanding  neither  what  they  A////,  nor 
whereof  they  affirm.  Uence  in  the  folio  wing  verses 
lie  shews,  against  tlioso  heterodox  teachers,  the  right 
use  of  the  [jaw,  and  also  sets  forth  the  grace  of  the 
Gospel,  which  should  be  the  principal  subject  of  all 
Gospel  preaching. 

Now  the  apostle  having  thus  instructed  Timothy 
as  to  the  matter  of  preaching  and  preachers,  he  pro 
ceeds  in  the  next  place  to  give  him  farther  orders, 
concerning  other  ecclesiastical  matters;  and  first  of 
all  and  chiefly  concerning  the  public  and  common 
prayers  of  the  church,  in  the  words  of  my  text: 
/  ej-'/iort  therefore,  that,  fir*t  of  all,  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  and  gir'mg  of  thanks,  he 
made  for  all  men  ;  for  kings,  and  all  that  are  in 
authority ;  tliat  we  may  lire  a  f/iticf  and  peaceable, 
life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty :  Trpwrov  Trdvrwv,  first 
of  all ;  which  words,  as  Estius  well  notes,  are  to  be 
understood,  not  of  a  priority  of  time,  but  of  dignity ; 
in  the  same  sense,  as  our  Saviour  in  the  Gospel  bids 
us  seek,  irpwrov,  jirxt  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  hi* 
righteousness,  Matt.  vi.  33. 

Prayer  is  the  principal  and  most  noble  part  of 
God's  worship,  and  to  be  preferred  before  preaching: 
nay  indeed,  to  speak  strictly  and  properly,  preaching 
is  no  part  of  divine  worship ;  for  every  proper  act  of 
divine  worship  must  have  God  for  its  immediate 
object,  and  God's  glory  for  its  immediate  end.  But 
the  immediate  object  of  preaching  are  men,  to  whom 
it  is  directed,  and  the  immediate  end  of  it  is  the 


328  Common  Prayers  ancient,      SERM.  xiu. 

instruction  of  men  ;  though  it  is  true,  in  the  ultimate 
end  of  it,  it  tends  to  and  ends  in  the  glory  of  God, 
as  indeed  all  religious  actions  do,  and  all  our  other 
actions  of  moment  should  do.  But  prayer  is  imme 
diately  directed  to  God  himself,  and  it  is  an  imme 
diate  glorification  of  him,  and  a  paying  of  divine 
worship  and  honour  to  him.  In  a  word,  by  preach 
ing  we  are  taught  how  to  worship  God ;  but  prayer 
is  itself  God's  worship.  Hence  the  place  of  God's 
worship  is  styled  by  our  Saviour  of/co?  Trpoa-ev^s,  the 
house  of  prayer,  Matt.  xxi.  13.  It  is  not  called  a 
preaching  house,  (though  there  must  be  preaching 
there  too  at  due  times  and  seasons,)  but  a  house  of 
prayer,  because  prayer  is  the  principal  worship  of 
God,  to  which  all  religious  houses  are  dedicated,  and 
it  is  the  constant  and  daily  business  to  be  performed 
in  them.  No  wonder  therefore  that  the  apostle 
charges  Timothy  to  take  a  special  care  concerning 
the  Liturgy  and  public  prayers  of  the  church,  that 
they  be  duly  and  rightly  performed :  /  cohort  there 
fore,  that,  first  of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  interces 
sions,  and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  £c. 

The  text  is  an  order  or  injunction  given  by  St. 
Paul  to  Timothy,  a  bishop  of  the  church,  concerning 
the  public  and  common  prayers  to  be  used  in  the 
several  churches  and  congregations  under  his  care 
and  jurisdiction.  That  Timothy  was  a  bishop,  and 
bishop  of  Ephesus,  the  metropolis  or  chief  city  of 
Asia,  is  so  fully  attested  by  all  antiquity,  that  he  must 
be  either  very  ignorant  or  very  shameless  that  shall 
deny  it ;  especially  there  being  besides  very  plain  evi 
dences  of  the  episcopal  power  and  authority  where- 
-with  he  was  invested,  in  this  very  Epistle  of  St.  Paul 
written  to  him.  Such  is  that  in  the  first  chapter, 


useful,  and  necessary.  329 

verse  3,  already  upon  another  account  cited  ;  As  I 
besought  thec  to  abide  still  at  Ephesus,  that  thou 
mightest  charge  some  that  they  teach  no  other  doc 
trine.  He  had  therefore  a  power  invested  in  him 
of  calling  to  account  the  presbyters  and  teachers 
within  the  diocese  of  Epbcsus,  concerning  their 
preaching  and  doctrine,  which  is  certainly  a  branch 
of  episcopal  power.  We  read  also  in  the  same  Kpi- 
stle,  that  he  was  appointed  as  a  judge  of  the  presby 
ters  of  Ephesus  to  hear  and  determine  those  cases 
that  concerned  them,  chap.  v.  19  :  Against  an  elder 
(or  presbyter)  receive  not  an  accusation,  but  before 
two  or  three  witnesses.  He  had  also  the  power  of 
ordination,  (which  being  added  to  the  former  makes 
up  the  complete  episcopal  power  and  authority,)  as 
may  be  plainly  gathered  from  the  caution  given  him 
by  St.  Paul  to  use  that  power  aright ;  ver.  22,  of  the 
but  now  mentioned  chapter;  Lay  hands  suddenly 
on  no  man,  neither  be  partaker  of  other  men's  sins : 
keep  thyself  pure. 

To  this  public  person,  to  this  great  bishop  of  the 
church,  is  this  charge  given  by  St.  Paul  in  my  text : 
/  exhort  therefore,  that,  first  of  all,  supplications, 
prayers,  intercessions,  and  (jiving  of  thanks,  be 
made  for  all  men,  &c.  He  was  to  take  care  that 
such  prayers  should  be  made  in  all  churches  and 
congregations  under  his  inspection  and  jurisdiction. 

And  how  could  he  do  this,  but  by  providing  by  his 
authority  that  there  should  be  set  forms  of  prayer, 
framed  according  to  this  rule  given  him  by  the  apo 
stle,  to  be  used  in  those  churches?  Sure  I  am,  the 
primitive  catholic  church  understood  this  to  be  the 
meaning  of  the  apostle.  Hence  in  all  the  churches 
of  Christ  over  the  world,  however  distant  from  each 


330  Common  Prayers  ancient,      SERM.  xm. 

other,  we  find  set  forms  of  public  prayers,  suited  and 
conform  to  this  direction  of  the  apostle.  This  was 
observed  by  the  ancient  author  of  the  book  concern 
ing-  the  calling  of  the  Gentiles,  attributed  to  Prosper, 
who  occasionlly  citing-  the  words  of  my  text,  hath 
this  note  upon  it :  "  This  law  and  rule  of  prayer 
"  hath  been  so  religiously  and  unanimously  observed 
"  by  all  Christian  priests  and  people,  that  there  is 
"  no  part  or  quarter  of  the  world,  wherein  there  are 
"not -forms  of  prayer  suited  and  agreeable  to  this 
"  pattern  b." 

And  indeed,  if  we  consult  all  the  ancient  Liturgies 
extant  at  this  day,  we  shall  find  this  observation 
to  be  most  true ;  they  are  all  framed  and  composed 
according  to  this  rule  of  the  apostle. 

And  it  is  observable,  that  however  those  ancient 
Liturgies  have  been  altered  and  corrupted  in  after- 
times  by  many  additions  and  interpolations,  yet  there 
are  in  all  of  them  still  remaining  many  excellent  and 
divine  forms  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving,  wherein 
they  do  all  perfectly  agree,  and  which  therefore  can 
not  reasonably  be  thought  to  have  any  other  original 
than  apostolical  order  and  appointment,  delivered  to 
the  several  nations  and  people,  together  with  the 
first  preaching  and  plantation  of  Christianity  among 
them.  Such,  for  example,  is  the  Sursum  corda  in 
the  Office  of  the  Communion,  the  priest  saying,  "  Lift 
"  up  your  hearts ;"  and  the  people  answering,  "  We 
"  lift  them  up  unto  the  Lordc."  There  is  no  Liturgy 

b  Hanc  legem  supplicationis  ita  omnium  sacerdotum  et  omnium 
fidelium  devotio  concorditer  tenet,  ut  nulla  pars  mundi  sit  in  quo 
hujusmodi  orationes  non  celeb rentur  a  populis  Christianis. 

c  [The  Apostolical  Constitutions  mention  "Ai>o>  TOV  vovv,  et^E^o/iei/ 
yrpbs  TOV  Kvptov.  VIII.  12.  Cyprian  says,  Sacerdos  ante  orationem 


useful,  and  necessary.  '331 

in  any  church  of  Christ  to  this  day  but  hath  this 
form.  Such  is  the  excellent  form  of  thanksgiving  in 
the  same  Office  of  the  Communion,  to  be  performed 
by  the  priest  and  people;  the  priest  saying,  "Let 
*'  us  give  thanks  unto  our  Lord  God  ;"  and  the  peo 
ple  answering,  "  It  is  meet  and  right  so  to  do  (1." 
This  form  also  is  to  be  found  in  all  the  most  ancient 
Liturgies. 

Such  also  is  the  doxology  or  glorification  of  the 
ever-blessed  Trinity :  "Glory  be  to  the  Father,  and 
"  to  the  Son,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost."  For  they  are 
much  mistaken  who  think  that  this  form  was  first 
set  up  in  the  church  of  Christ  against  the  Arian  he 
resy :  it  was  in  use  in  the  churches  of  Christ  from 
the  beginning.  I  fence  Justin  Martyr,  who  lived  very 
near  to  the  apostolic  age,  in  his  second  Apology 
towards  the  end  setting  forth  the  public  worship  of 
Christians  in  his  time,  tells  us",  "  In  all  our  obla- 
"  tions"  (i.  e.  in  all  our  eucharists)  "  we  bless  and 
'k  praise  the  Maker  of  all  things,  by  his  Son  Jesus 
"  Christ,  and  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  And  the  Christ 
ians  of  Smyrna,  in  their  Fpistle  to  the  church  of 
Philomelia,  (extant  in  Eusebiusf,)  concerning  the 
martyrdom  of  Polycarp,  the  disciple  of  St.  John  the 
apostle,  of  which  they  were  eyewitnesses,  tell  us, 
that  blessed  martyr  in  his  last  prayer  at  the  stake 

praefatione  praemissa  parat  fratruin  nicntes  clicendo,  Sura  it  in  vorda 
— respondet  plebs,  Hubemua  ad  Dominum.  De  Orat.  Doin.  p.  213.] 

d  [In  the  Apostolical  Constitutions  we  find  EvxapurTri<r<opev  rut 
Kvpiu) — u£iov  ica\  ftiKiuov — n^iuv  o>j  d\r]6ws  Kill  SiKaiov  npu  -navrutv 
iivvpvdv  K.  r.  A.  \  III.  I  2.] 

i%  'ETTI  7ra<ri  T«  off  npo<r<fxp6fji(da,  (v\oyovp.(v  TUV  TTOITJTTJV  TOJI/  navrw 
8ia  TOV  YtoO  aiiroC  'irjaoii  \piffTov  KM!  Stu  HvtvpaTos  TOV  ayiov.  [_Apol. 
I.  67.  p.  83.] 

[Lib.  IV.  c.  15.] 


332  Common  Prayers  ancient,       SERM.  xm. 

used  this  form*?:  "  I  praise  thee,  I  bless  thee,  I  glo- 
"  rifj  thee,  by  the  eternal  High  Priest  Jesus  Christ, 
"  thy  beloved  Son,  by  whom  to  thee,  together  with 
"  him,  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  glory  now  and  for 
"  ever,  Amen."  And  the  brethren  of  Smyrna  them 
selves  thus  conclude  their  Epistle  :  "  We  bid  you 
"  farewell  in  our  Lord  Jesus  h,  with  whom  be  glory 
"  to  God  the  Father  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost."  Hence 
in  the  Apostolical  Constitutions,  wherein  we  have 
certainly  the  best  account  of  the  primitive  Liturgy 
of  the  eastern  churches,  we  find  this  full  doxology1: 
"  To  thee,  O  Father,  and  to  thy  Son  Christ  our 
"  Lord,  and  God,  and  King,  and  to  the  Holy  Ghost, 
"  be  glory,  praise,  majesty,  adoration,  and  worship, 
"  now  and  to  eternal  ages,  Amen."  So  that  if  this 
form  of  doxology  had  an  occasional  original  upon 
the  account  of  any  heresy  that  denied  the  faith  of 
the  holy  Trinity,  it  was  at  first  designed  against  the 
Cerinthians  and  Ebionites,  who  disturbed  the  church 
of  Christ  in  the  very  age  of  the  apostles,  and  denied 
the  divinity  of  our  Lord,  and  consequently  oppugned 
the  doctrine  of  the  ever-  blessed  Trinity,  no  less  than 
the  Arians  afterward  did. 

But  the  truth  is,  this  doxology  was  not  occasion 
ally  taken  up  in  opposition  to  any  heresy,  but  is  an 
essential  part  of  Christian  worship,  necessary  to  be 
used  always  by  all  Christians,  if  there  had  never 
been  any  heresy  in  the  world.  For  all  Christians  are 
baptized  in,  or  into,  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of 
the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  i.  e.  into  the  faith, 
service,  and  worship  of  the  holy  Trinity,  and  so  from 


alvS),  (T€  €v\oya),  <re  §o£a£o>,  &C. 

ov  d6£a  r<5  Ge&>  /cat  flarpi  KOI  '  Ayiut 
,  &c.   [VIIL  15.] 


useful,  and  necessary.  333 

their  very  baptism  are  obliged  to  render  and  give  to 
each  person  divine  worship  and  adoration.  Indeed 
this  is  the  main  difference  between  the  worship  of 
Christians  and  Jews ;  the  Jews  worship  God  as  one 
single  person,  acknowledging  neither  Son,  nor  per 
sonal  Holy  Ghost  subsisting  in  the  divine  nature. 
Hut  we  Christians  worship  God  in  a  trinity  of  per 
sons  and  unity  of  essence,  "  God  the  Father,  Son, 
"  and  Holy  Ghost,  three  persons  and  one  God." 

T  add,  to  what  hath  been  already  observed,  the 
consent  of  all  the  Christian  churches  in  the  world, 
however  distant  from  each  other,  in  the  prayer  of 
oblation  of  the  Christian  sacrifice  in  the  holy  eu- 
charist,  or  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper  ;  which 
consent  is  indeed  wonderful.  All  the  ancient  Litur 
gies  agree  in  this  form  of  prayer,  almost  in  the  same 
words,  but  fully  and  exactly  in  the  same  sense, 
order,  and  method;  which  whosoever  attentively  con 
siders,  must  be  convinced  that  this  order  of  prayer 
was  delivered  to  the  several  churches  in  the  very 
first  plantation  and  settlement  of  them.  Nay,  it  is 
observable,  that  this  form  of  prayer  is  still  retained 
in  the  very  canon  of  the  mass,  at  this  day  used  in 
the  church  of  Rome,  though  the  form  doth  mani 
festly  contradict  and  overthrow  some  of  the  principal 
articles  of  their  new  faith.  For  from  this  very  form 
of  prayer,  still  extant  in  their  canon,  a  man  may 
effectually  refute  those  two  main  doctrines  of  their 
church,  the  doctrine  of  purgatory,  and  that  of  tran- 
substantiation,  as  I  could  clearly  shew  you,  if  I  had 
time,  and  this  were  a  proper  place  for  it.  Thus  by 
a  singular  providence  of  God,  that  ancient,  primi 
tive,  and  apostolic  form  of  prayer  still  remains  in  the 
Liturgy  of  that  church,  as  a  convincing  testimony 


334  Common  Prayers  ancient,      SERM.  xin. 

against  her  latter  innovations  and  corruptions  of  the 
Christian  doctrine.  But  this  by  the  way. 

The  same  harmony  and  consent  of  the  ancient 
Liturgies  is  to  be  found  in  the  Office  of  Baptism, 
where  the  person  to  be  baptized  is  obliged  first  to 
"  renounce  the  Devil  and  all  his  works  the  pomp 
"  and  vanity  of  the  world,"  &c.,  and  then  to  profess 
his  faith  in  the  holy  Trinity,  "  God  the  Father,  Son, 
"  and  Holy  Ghost k."  This  form  is  to  be  found  in 
the  Liturgies  of  all  the  churches  of  Christ  through 
out  the  world,  almost  in  the  very  same  words,  and  is 
therefore  doubtless  of  primitive  and  apostolical  ori 
ginal.  They  called  the  former  part  of  this  form  UTTO- 
ra^Ht,  the  abr  enunciation^  viz.,  of  the  Devil,  and  all 
those  idols  wherein  the  Devil  was  worshipped  among 
the  heathens.  The  latter  part  of  the  form  was  called 
(7vvra$-t$9  t/ic  aggregation,  or  joining  of  one's  self  to 
the  worship  and  service  of  the  only  true  God,  the 
Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost. 

Other  instances  of  the  like  nature  I  could  give 
you,  if  the  time  would  permit.  But  these  I  think 
are  sufficient  to  shew  that  there  were  set,  prescribed 
offices  and  forms  of  prayer  and  praise,  and  profession 
of  faith,  delivered  to  all  the  churches  of  Christ  by 
the  apostles  or  their  immediate  successors  ;  many  of 
those  forms  (notwithstanding  the  manifold  corrup 
tions  and  depravations  of  the  primitive  Liturgies  in 
after-times)  being  still  retained,  and  unanimously 
used  in  all  the  churches  of  Christ  to  this  day. 

Indeed  the  exercise  of  the  public  worship  of  God 
in  set  and  prescribed  forms  of  prayer  hath  been  the 

k  [This  may  be  seen  in  Tertullian,  de  Spectac.  c.  4.  cle  Corona, 
c.  3.  de  Baptismo,  c.  6,  u.  Hippolytus,  in  Theophan.  c.  ult. 
Cyprian,  Epist.  70,  76.] 


useful  and  ueccssan/.  335 

practice  of  all  settled  churches  of  (Jod,  not  only  ever 
since  Christianity,  but  also  before  our  Saviour's  com 
ing  into  the  world.  All  the  learned  know,  that  the 
ancient  church  of  the  Jews  before  Christ  had  set 
forms  of  prayer,  which  they  used  in  their  temple 
and  synagogues,  as  also  the  Jews  have  at  this  day. 
And  indeed  many  of  those  forms  are  very  good  and 
excellent,  and  have  no  other  fault  to  be  found  in 
them,  but  that  they  do  not  end  as  the  prayers  of  us 
Christians  do,  "  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord." 
Nay,  it  is  very  observable,  that  our  Lord  Christ 
himself,  when  he  recommended  to  his  disciples,  upon 
their  desire,  a  prayer  to  be  used  by  them,  (that 
which  we  call  The  Lord's  J*nn/er,)  he  did  not 
frame  an  entirely  new  prayer,  in  words  of  his  own 
conception,  but  took  out  of  the  ancient  euchologies, 
or  prayer  books  of  the  Jews,  what  was  good  and 
laudable  in  them,  and  out  of  them  composed  that 
prayer.  The  very  preface  of  the  Lord's  prayer,  Our 
Father,  which  art  in  heurcn,  was  the  usual  preface 
of  the  Jewish  prayers.  And  all  the  following  peti 
tions  are  to  be  found  almost  in  the  very  same  words 
in  their  prayer  books. 

lie  that  doubts  of  this,  if  he  understands  the 
learned  languages,  may  be  satisfied  by  consulting 
Drusius  and  Capellus,  in  their  notes  upon  the  sixth 
chapter  of  St.  Matthew,  the  ninth  and  following 
verses.  And  the  reflection  of  the  learned  Grotius 
upon  this  is  very  remarkable :  "  So  far  was  the 
"  Lord  himself  of  the  Christian  church  from  all  af- 
"  fectation  of  unnecessary  novelty1."  Our  Saviour  in 
this  instance  hath  plainly  shewn  us,  what  respect 

1  Tarn  longe  abfuit  ipsc  Dominus  ccclesire  ah  omni  affectationc 
non  necessaria?  novitatis. 


336  Common  Prayers  ancient,       SERM.  xin. 

we  ought  to  have  for  forms  of  prayer  anciently 
received  and  approved  by  the  church  of  God.  And 
indeed  it  were  no  difficult  thing  to  shew,  that  many 
of  the  offices  and  forms  of  prayer,  and  other  religious 
institutions  received  in  the  church  of  Christ,  are  in 
their  first  original  to  be  referred  as  due  to  the  piety 
and  devotion  of  the  church  of  God  before  the  coming 
of  Christ  in  the  flesh  ;  Christianity  being  no  inno 
vation,  but  only  the  perfection  of  the  old  religion ; 
and  it  being  the  same  Spirit  of  Christ  that  governed 
the  church  of  God,  both  under  the  Old  and  New 
Testament. 

You  have  seen  what  a  mighty  prescription  we  can 
plead  for  set  and  prescribed  forms  of  prayer  in  the 
public  worship  of  God.  I  add,  that  we  have  very 
strong  reasons  to  back  this  prescription.  Set  and 
prescribed  forms  of  prayer  in  the  public  worship  of 
God  are  useful,  yea  and  necessary,  upon  many,  but 
especially  upon  these  following  accounts  : 

1.  They  are  useful  and  necessary  to  obviate  and 
prevent  all  extravagant  levities,  or  worser  impieties 
in  the  public  worship.  If  the  prayers  of  the  church 
were  left  to  the  private  conceptions  or  extemporary 
effusions  of  every  minister  of  the  church,  what  a 
lamentable  worship  and  service  of  God  should  we 
have  in  many  congregations  !  We  had  sad  expe 
rience  of  this  in  those  days,  when  our  Liturgy  was 
laid  aside ;  what  impertinences,  what  tautologies, 
what  bold  and  familiar  addresses  to  the  divine  Ma 
jesty  !  what  saucy  expostulations  with  Almighty 
God  !  yea  what  blasphemies  were  heard  in  the  houses 
of  God  from  the  men  of  those  times  ! 

And  it  is  observable,  that  those  impertinences, 
yea,  and  impieties,  were  incident,  not  only  to  the 


useful ,  and  necessary.  337 

meaner  sort  of  the  dissenters  from  our  Liturgy,  but 
even  to  the  principal  men  and  chief  leaders  anion^ 
them  :  of  which  I  could  give  you  some  sad  instance:-, 
Imt  that  T  delight  not  to  rake  in  that  dunghi.i. 
Indeed  the  public  prayers  were  in  those  days  iu 
many  places  so  absurd  and  ridiculous,  that  by  them 
religion  itself  was  exposed  to  the  scorn  and  contempt 
of  the  irreligious.  And  I  am  apt  to  think  that 
from  hence,  as  one  main  cause,  first  proceeded  that 
irreligion  and  atheism  which  hath  since  overspread 
our  sinful  nation.  For  enthusiasm  commonly  leads 
the  way  to  atheism,  and  a  fanatic  religion  too  often 
ends  at  last  in  no  religion. 

2.  Set  and  prescribed  forms  of  prayer  are  neces 
sary  in  the  public  worship  of  (*od,  that  ministers  less 
learned  may  have  provision  of  devotions  made  for 
them.  It  is  a  true  saying,  c*  In  every  sort  of  men 
"  and  professions,  there  are  some  vulgar  and  lesser 
"men"1;"  the  clergy  itself  not  excepted  :  among 
whom  (it  is  a  truth  not  to  be  dissembled)  the  less 
learned  have  been,  and  [  fear  always  will  be,  the 
greater  number. 

Now  it  cannot  by  any  considering  man  be  thought 
reasonable  or  expedient,  that  the  solemn  worship  of 
(iod,  in  the  congregations  over  which  they  preside, 
especially  the  administration  of  the  holy  sacraments, 
should  be  intrusted  to  their  discretion  and  abilities. 
Nay,  I  might  add,  (what  a  great  man  hath  well 
observed,)  that  a  prescribed  Liturgy  may  be  as 
necessary  for  more  learned  ministers,  that  they  may 
have  no  occasion  of  ostentation  ministered  to  them, 
lest  their  best  actions,  their  prayers,  be  turned  into 
sin  and  vanity. 

m  Omne  genus  hominum  habet  suum  vulg-us. 

BULL,   VOL.  I.  / 


338  Common  Prayers  ancient,       SERM.  xm. 

3.  Set    and    prescribed    forms    of  prayer    in    the 
public  worship  are  necessary  also  for  this  end,  that 
all  the  members  of  the  church  may  know  the  con 
dition  of  public  communion,  and  understand  before 
hand  what  prayers  they  are  to  join  in  ;  which  they 
cannot  do  without  a  public  and  prescribed  Liturgy. 
If  a  man  come  into  a  congregation,  where  the  minister 
is  left  to  pray  as  he  pleases,  he  cannot  immediately 
join  with  him  in  prayer,  unless  he  have  an  implicit, 
that  is,  a  foolish  faith  and  confidence  in  the  person 
that  prays  :  he  cannot  reasonably  direct  his  devotion 
immediately  to   God,  but   must  first   take  time   to 
hearken  and   consider,  whether  the  prayers  of  the 
minister  be  such  as  he  may  safely  and  heartily  join 
in  ;   which    great   inconvenience    is  taken  away  by 
forms  of  prayer,  prepared  and  provided  beforehand 
by  the  wisdom  of  the  church. 

4.  And  lastly,  Prescribed  prayers  in   the  church 
are  necessary  to  secure  the  established  doctrine  and 
faith  of  the  church.     If  the  ministers  of  the  church 
be  left  to  themselves,  to  pray  as  they  list,  they  will 
be  very  apt  (and  it  will  be  very  difficult  for  them  to 
avoid  it)   to   vent  their   own   private   opinions  and 
notions  in  points  of  religion  in   their   prayers  ;  for 
men  will  pray  as  they  think  and  believe,   and   all 
their  doctrines  will  have  a  tincture  of  their  private 
notions  and  conceptions,  which  may  not  be  always 
sound  and  orthodox. 

Heterodoxes,  false  doctrines,  yea,  and  heresies, 
may  be  propagated  by  prayer  as  well  as  preaching, 
and  by  the  former  perhaps  more  effectually  than  by 
the  latter.  For  when  poor  ignorant  people  shall 
hear  their  minister  venting  a  notion  in  his  address 
to  Almighty  God,  they  will  be  apt  to  conclude, 


useful,  and  necessary.  339 

and  not  without  reason,  that  he  is  fully  assured  of 
the  truth  of  it,  yea  that  he  hath  very  good  grounds 
for  it,  or  else  he  would  not  dare  to  utter  it  to  the 
face  of  CJod  himself.  And  thus  the  confidence  of 
the  minister  easily  at  first  begets  in  the  simple  hearer 
a  good  opinion  of  it,  which  by  degrees  grows  to  a 
steadfast  belief  and  persuasion. 

But  now,  on  the  other  side,  set  forms  of  prayer, 
composed  and  prescribed  by  the  wisdom  of  the 
church,  are  an  excellent  defence  and  security 
against  innovations  in  faith.  For  to  be  sure  the 
church  will  take  care  that  her  Liturgy  and  Common 
Prayers  shall  not  contradict  or  interfere  with  her 
Articles  of  Religion,  but  rather  confirm  them,  and 
by  prudent  methods  insinuate  the  knowledge  and 
belief  of  them  into  the  hearers.  Indeed  the  ancient 
Liturgies  were  so  framed,  that  they  were  a  kind  of 
systems  of  orthodox  divinity,  and  antidotes  against 
heresy.  And  in  this  the  Liturgy  of  our  church 
comes  behind  none  of  the  ancient  Liturgies.  For 
therein  we  are  obliged  to  confess  the  faith  of  all  the 
ancient  creeds.  But  more  especially  our  frequent 
doxologies  to  the  most  holy  and  ever-blessed  Trinity 
do  abundantly  secure  us  against  Arianism  and  Soci- 
nianism,  the  prevailing  heresies  of  our  unhappy  times, 
and  of  all  other  heresies  the  most  dangerous.  In 
short,  no  heretic  can  heartily  join  in  the  offices  of 
prayer  and  praise,  and  confessions  of  faith,  prescribed 
in  the  Liturgy  of  our  church. 

But  on  the  other  side,  in  those  congregations 
where  there  is  no  prescribed  Liturgy,  or  office  of 
public  prayer,  no  creed  or  confession  of  faith  to  be 
rehearsed,  all  sorts  of  heretics  may  easily,  and  with 
out  discovery,  find  shelter  to  themselves.  Which  is 

z  2 


340  Common  Prayers  ancient,       SERM.  xm. 

one  and  the  main  reason,  I  doubt  not,  why  at  this 
day  the  Arians  and  Socinians  among  us  are  all 
declared  enemies  to  the  public  worship  of  the  church 
of  England,  as  it  is  by  law  established,  and  shake 
hands  with  the  dissenters.  For  they  know  full  well, 
that  as  long  as  our  Liturgy  stands,  their  heresies  can 
never  prevail ;  all  the  members  of  our  church  being 
obliged  in  their  daily  public  devotions,  solemnly  to 
declare  against  those  heresies. 

I  shall  conclude  all  with  a  word  or  two  of  appli 
cation. 

1.  From  what  hath  been  said,  we  may  take  occa 
sion,  and  we  have  very  good  ground  and  reason,  to 
reprove  the  gross  error  and  folly  of  those,  who  are 
against  all  set  and  prescribed  forms  of  prayer  in 
the  public  worship  of  God,  and  upon  the  account  of 
such  forms  used  in  our  church,  separate  from  the 
communion  of  it. 

These  men  must  upon  the  same  account  have  been 
separatists  and  schismatics,  if  they  had  lived  in  any 
other  settled  church  of  Christ  since  the  days  of  the 
apostles.  For  you  have  seen,  that  this  order  and 
injunction  given  to  bishop  Timothy  in  my  text,  to 
take  care,  and  provide  by  his  authority,  that  suppli 
cations,  prayers,  intercession,  and  giving  of  thanks, 
should  le  made  for  all  men,  in  all  the  churches  and 
congregations  under  his  care  and  inspection,  was 
observed  by  him,  and  all  the  other  bishops  of  the 
primitive  church,  by  causing  such  forms  of  prayer  to 
be  made  and  composed  for  the  use  of  their  several 
churches ;  and  that  accordingly  the  same  order  of 
the  apostle  was  observed  after  the  same  manner  in 
the  catholic  church  throughout  all  succeeding  ages. 
The  exercise  of  the  public  worship  being  never  in 


useul,  (Did  ncccK.wn/.  .'$41 


any  age  of  the  church  (before  this  latter  age  of 
innovation)  permitted  and  intrusted  to  the  discretion 
and  abilities  of  every  private  minister. 

So  that  to  those  who  cry  up  the  private  concep 
tions,  or  extemporary  effusions  of  their  ministers,  in 
opposition  to  set  forms  of  prayer,  prescribed  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  church  in  the  public  worship  of  God, 
we  may  answer  with  the  apostle,  1  Cor.  xi.  16,  \\'c 
/tare  no  such  custom,  mn'  flu1  churches  of  (lo<L  And 
if  this  be  not  a  good  and  satisfactory  answer,  they 
must  be  so  daring  as  to  say,  that  the  great  apostle  of 
Christ  was  mistaken  in  his  logic,  and  argued  from  a 
wrong  and  fallacious  topic. 

And  whereas  they  pretend  they  cannot  edify  by 
such  set  forms  of  prayer,  nor  find  any  warmth  of 
devotion  in  the  use  of  them,  they  do  thereby  repre 
sent  themselves  under  a  verv  ill  character,  that  they 
are  men  of  a  spirit  and  temper  very  disagreeable 
and  different  from  that  spirit  that  hath  always 
governed  the  catholic  church  of  Christ.  They  can 
not  heartily  serve  and  worship  God  in  such  a  way  as 
the  primitive  confessors  an>l  martyrs,  and  all  good 
Christians  for  many  succeeding  ages  did. 

But  I  will  not  be  so  severe  as  to  condemn  all  those 
as  no  good  Christians  who  make  this  plea.  I  do  not 
doubt  but  some  of  them  are  men  of  good  intentions, 
and  pious  dispositions  and  affections  ;  and  if  thev 
had  not  been  prejudiced  and  imposed  upon  by  their 
deluding  teachers,  they  would  have  been  of  another 
temper.  But  they  have  been  taught  by  those  de 
ceivers,  that  prescribed  forms  of  prayer  are  a  stint 
ing  of  the  Spirit  ;  their  heads  have  been  filled  with 
harangues  and  discourses  concerning  the  gift  and 
spirit  of  prayer,  which,  they  have  been  told,  consists, 


342  Common  Prayers  ancient,       SERM.  xin. 

not  only  in  pious  and  holy  affections,  but  also  in  a 
variety  and  volubility  of  words  and  expressions ;  and 
consequently,  that  a  set  form  of  prayer  and  the  spi 
rit  of  prayer  are  inconsistent ;  which  is  in  effect  to 
say,  that  a  man  cannot  make  use  of  any  of  the 
penitential  Psalms,  nor  any  other  forms  of  prayer 
or  praise  in  the  divine  Book  of  Psalms,  no  nor  re 
hearse  even  the  Lord's  Prayer  itself,  with  the  spirit  of 
prayer ;  wThich  to  affirm  is  the  height  of  madness. 

But  the  poor  souls  labouring  under  this  prejudice, 
it  is  no  wonder  if  they  flee  from  our  Liturgy,  as  from 
a  serpent  or  scorpion  ;  no  wonder  that,  when  they  are 
forced  occasionally  to  be  present  at  it,  they  are  not 
at  all  affected  with  it ;  nay,  on  the  contrary,  find  an 
aversation  of  their  spirits  from  it. 

Woe  be  to  the  men  that  have  thus  abused  those 
poor  souls,  or  rather  those  precious  souls,  for  whom 
our  Lord  Christ  died,  and  shed  his  most  precious 
blood !  that  by  such  silly  pretences  have  drawn 
them  into  schism,  and  a  sinful  separation  from  the 
communion  of  the  best  of  churches. 

But  there  are  some  of  our  dissenters  that  pretend 
that  they  are  not  against  all  set  forms  of  prayer,  nor 
do  they  dislike  our  Liturgy,  merely  as  it  is  a  set  and 
prescribed  form  of  prayer ;  but  because  there  are 
some,  yea  very  many  things  in  it  that  are  not  agree 
able  to  the  word  of  God,  and  to  which  therefore  they 
cannot  assent.  Now  to  these  men  all  that  I  have  at 
present  to  say  is  this,  I  will  not  be  so  lavish  or 
extravagant  in  the  praise  of  our  Liturgy,  as  to  say 
it  is  an  absolutely  perfect  form  of  prayer,  or  so  good 
as  not  to  be  capable  in  some  respects  to  be  made 
better ;  for  this  were  in  effect  to  say,  it  is  more  than 
a  human  composition :  but  this  I  do  aver,  that  there 


useful-,  nii.d  necessary. 

is  no  passage  in  it,  but  what  admits  of  a  fair  mid 
candid  interpretation  ;  that  there  is  nothing  in  it  di 
rectly  sinful,  or  such  as  that  upon  the  account  thereof 
a  man  might  justify  his  separation  from  the  com 
munion  of  our  church.  This  hath  been  again  and 
again  unanswerably  proved  by  the  learned  men  of 
our  church.  And  as  to  the  main  body  of  our  Liturgy, 
it  is  a  most  excellent  office  and  form  of  prayer,  most 
agreeable  to  the  holy  Scriptures,  that  comes  nearest 
to  the  primitive  Liturgies;  and,  in  a  word,  is  the 
best  Liturgy  at  this  day  extant  in  the  Christian 
world. 

But  indeed  it  is  a  mere  pretence  of  our  dissenters 
when  they  say  they  are  not  against  a  set  and  pre 
scribed  form  of  prayer  in  the  public  worship,  and 
that  they  only  dislike  some  passages  in  our  Li 
turgy.  For  if  this  were  true,  why  do  they  not  in 
their  congregations  use  our  Liturgy,  omitting  those 
passages  in  it,  at  which  they  pretend  to  be  offended  ? 
Or  at  least,  why  do  they  not  compose  a  Liturgy  of 
their  own  ?  It  is  plain  therefore  and  evident,  that 
they  are  really  against  all  set  and  prescribed  forms 
of  prayer  in  the  public  worship,  be  they  otherwise 
never  so  blameless  ;  and  consequently  that  they  op 
pose  therein  the  consent  and  the  unanimous  practice 
of  the  catholic  church  of  Christ. 

This  I  had  to  say  to  our  dissenters.  But, 
2.  What  we  have  said  concerning  prescribed  forms 
of  prayer  as  always  from  the  days  of  the  apostles 
used  in  all  settled  churches  of  Christ,  may  administer 
abundant  satisfaction  and  confirmation  to  all  that 
adhere  to  the  communion  of  the  church  of  England, 
and  consequently  to  the  Liturgy  and  form  of  prayer 
prescribed  in  that  church. 


344  Common  Prayers  ancient,       SERM.  xnr. 

This  may  be  our  comfort,  that  we  serve  and 
worship  God  in  the  same  way  that  the  primitive 
confessors  and  martyrs,  and  all  good  Christians  in 
the  succeeding  ages  did. 

We  have  a  Liturgy  conform  to  this  law  and  rule 
of  prayer  laid  down  by  the  apostle  in  my  text,  and 
observed  by  the  catholic  church.  We  have  good  and 
wholesome  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and 
thanksgiving,  not  only  for  ourselves,  but  for  all  men. 

Those  excellent  men,  our  first  reformers,  took  care 
to  retain  and  preserve  what  was  primitive  and  good 
in  the  Liturgies  of  other  churches,  and  to  pare  off 
all  excrescences  and  adventitious  corruptions  of 
after-times.  We  have  no  prayers  to  saints  or  angels, 
but  all  our  prayers  are  directed,  as  they  ought  to  be> 
to  God  alone,  through  Jesus  Christ  the  only  Mediator 
between  God  and  man.  We  have  no  fabulous  le 
gends  imposed  on  us;  but  we  have  the  holy  Scrip 
tures,  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  in  an 
excellent  order  and  method  daily  read  unto  us.  Our 
prayers  are  in  a  tongue  and  language  that  we  all 
understand.  We  have  an  entire  sacrament,  the  cup 
of  blessing  in  the  holy  eucharist,  which  was  sacrile 
giously  taken  from  us  by  the  church  of  Rome,  being 
happily  restored  to  us.  The  ridiculous  pageantry 
and  fopperies  of  that  church  are  laid  aside,  and  we 
have  the  holy  sacrament  purely,  reverently,  and 
decently  administered. 

Let  us  bless  and  praise  God  for  these  his  great 
mercies,  and  make  a  good  use  of  them.  Let  us 
constantly  resort  to  the  prayers  of  our  church,  and 
neglect  no  opportunity  of  receiving  the  holy  sacra 
ment.  And  in  our  daily  prayers  let  us  be  serious, 
reverent,  and  devout,  shaking  off  that  coldness  and 


useful,  (t)>d  necewiry.  34.5 

indifferency  which  is  sadly  observable  in  too  too 
many,  and  which  is  enough  to  render  the  best  of 
Liturgies  ineffectual  and  contemptible. 

In  a  word,  let  our  practice  answer  to  our  prayers ; 
let  us  live  like  Christians,  and  as  becomes  the  mem 
bers  of  so  excellent  a  church.  And  if  we  do  so,  our 
prayers  will  be  acceptable  to  Cod,  and  bring  down 
a  blessing,  not  only  upon  ourselves,  but  upon  our 
church  and  state  too,  and  we  shall  see  peace  in  Sion, 
and  prosperity  in  our  Israel. 

AYhich  God  of  his  infinite  mercy  grant,  through 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ :  to  whom,  with  the  Father 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be  given  all  honour  and  glory, 
adoration  and  worship,  now  and  for  evermore. 
A  men. 


SERMON    XIV. 


THAT  THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  RECOMPENSE  OF  REWARD  TO 
BE  BESTOWED  ON  THE  RIGHTEOUS  AFTER  THIS  LIFE, 
WAS  UNDERSTOOD  AND  BELIEVED  BY  THE  PEOPLE  OF 
GOD  BEFORE  THE  LAW  WAS  GIVEN;  AND  THAT  IT  IS 
LAWFUL  TO  SERVE  GOD  WITH  RESPECT  TO,  OR  IN  HOPE 
OF,  THE  FUTURE  HEAVENLY  RECOMPENSE. 


HEBREWS  xi.  26. 
For  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of  the  reiranL 

THIS  chapter  throughout  is  an  encomium  or 
commendation  of  faith ;  the  efficacy  and  virtue 
whereof  the  divine  author  declares  and  sets  forth  by 
very  many  examples  of  those  saints  and  holy  men, 
that  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Jews  to  whom  he 
wrote,  and  who  by  faith  did  and  suffered  many  great 
and  wonderful  things.  Wherein  the  design  of  the 
author  is  to  animate  and  encourage  the  Christian 
Jews  to  a  constant  perseverance  in  the  profession  and 
obedience  of  Christ's  Gospel,  notwithstanding  the 
persecutions  which  they  suffered  from  their  unbe 
lieving  brethren  for  the  sake  thereof.  Which  indeed 
were  so  severe,  that  some  of  those  Christian  Jews,  to 
avoid  them,  had  already  shrunk  from  and  deserted 
the  church  assemblies,  as  we  learn  from  the  25th 
verse  of  the  preceding  chapter,  and  were  in  danger 
of  a  total  apostasy  from  Christianity:  the  dreadful 
consequence  whereof  the  author  excellently  sets  forth 
in  the  following  verses  of  the  same  chapter  to  the 


It  is  lawful  to  respect  the  Recompense  $c.     ,'$47 

end.  But  to  fortify  them  against  those  persecutions, 
the  most  effectual  means  being  a  steadfast  faith  and 
belief  of  the  future  reward,  he  therefore  in  this 
chapter  exemplifies  such  a  faith  in  very  many  most 
illustrious  instances  thereof,  recorded  in  the  Scrip 
tures  of  the  Old  Testament. 

The  paragraph,  of  which  my  text  is  part,  concerns 
Moses  the  great  prophet  and  legislator  of  the  Jews, 
whom  above  all  others  they  admired  ;  and  therefore 
the  divine  writer  dwells  longer  upon  his  example. 

He  begins  with  the  nativity  of  Moses,  and  therein 
takes  occasion  to  set  forth  the  faith  of  the  religious 

^ 

parents  of  so  excellent  a  son,  ver.  23 :  JJt/  faifh 
Moses,  when  he  was  horn,  was  hid  three  months 
of  Jiis  parents,  because  they  sair  him  a  proper  (or 
goodly)  c/ii/d,  and  they  irere  nof  afraid  of  the  kind's 
commandment.  Which  words  some  very  learned  in 
terpreters  think  have  reference  to  an  ancient  tradi 
tion  among  the  Jews,  delivered  us  by  Josephus  •', 
"  That  (Jod  appeared  to  Amram  the  father  of  Moses 
"  by  dream,  and  promised  him  a  son,  who  should 
44  in  due  time  deliver  the  Hebrews  from  the  Egyp- 
"  tian  bondage."  Which  oracle  both  Amram  and  his 
wife,  to  whom  he  communicated  it,  firmly  believing, 
and  observing  the  goodliness  and  admirable  features 
of  Moses,  when  he  was  born,  promising  something 
extraordinary  in  him,  they  concluded  that  this  was 
the  happy  child  which  the  oracle  had  promised 
them ;  and  therefore  they  did  the  best  they  could 
to  preserve  him,  notwithstanding  the  cruel  edict  of 
Pharaoh,  which  they  feared  not  so  much,  as  they 
confided  in  the  divine  prediction,  and  expected  some 

a  Joseph.  Antiq.  II  5. 


348  It  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

miraculous  providence  in  the  case.  Indeed  that 
there  was  some  oracle  of  God  delivered  concerning 
Moses,  that  he  should  be  the  redeemer  of  the  Israel 
ites,  long  before  God  appeared  to  him  in  the  bush, 
(though  the  sacred  history  of  the  Old  Testament  is 
silent  therein,)  is  evident  enough  from  the  words  of 
St.  Stephen  concerning  him,  Acts  vii.  Where  the 
protomartyr  having  mentioned  Moses's  going  forth 
from  Pharaoh's  court  to  visit  his  brethren  the  lie- 
brews,  and  appearing  in  the  behalf  of  one  of  them 
so  far  as  to  slay  the  Egyptian  that  injured  and  op 
pressed  him,  ver.  23,  24 ;  he  presently  adds,  ver.  25, 
for  he  supposed  Ids  brethren  would  have  under 
stood,  how  that  God  by  his  hands  would  deliver 
them. 

If  he  supposed  his  brethren  would  have  under 
stood  this,  it  is  beyond  all  question  he  understood  it 
himself.  And  how  could  he  understand  it,  but  by 
some  divine  prediction  concerning  him  to  that  pur 
pose,  antecedent  to  God's  illustrious  appearing  to 
him  in  the  bush  ?  Nor  is  it  any  contradiction  to 
this,  what  we  read  in  the  third  and  fourth  chapters 
of  Exodus,  that  when  God  appeared  to  Moses  in  the 
bush,  and  commanded  him  to  go  to  Pharaoh  and 
demand  from  him  the  freedom  of  the  Israelites,  he 
a  first  and  second  time  refused  the  embassy,  or  at 
least  was  unwilling  to  undertake  it.  For  this  he 
did,  because  he  looked  upon  it  as  impossible  by  way 
of  treaty  to  obtain  the  liberty  of  God's  people  from 
the  proud,  stubborn,  cruel,  and  inexorable  tyrant ; 
at  least  impossible  for  him  in  the  ill  circumstances 
he  was  now  in ;  his  life  being  sought  by  Pharaoh 
and  the  Egyptians  for  the  life  of  the  Egyptian 
whom  he  had  slain :  upon  which  account  he  con- 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  349 

eluded,  that  he  should  be  so  far  from  procuring  the 
release  of  the  Israelites  from  their  bondage  by  his 
going  into  Egypt,  that,  as  soon  as  he  set  foot  there, 
he  should  infallibly  meet  with  his  own  death.  And 
indeed  that  this  was  at  the  very  bottom  of  Moses's 
refusal  is  evident  from  hence,  that  God  at  least  for 
his  encouragement  thus  bespeaks  him  :  (io9  return 
into  Egypt :  for  (ill  the  men  are  dead  which  sought 
tli if  life.  Kxod.  iv.  19-  That  herein  Moses  was  to 
be  blamed,  as  at  present  under  a  great  conflict  of 
unbelief  and  distrust  of  («od.  cannot  be  doubted  ; 
seeing  the  holy  text  expressly  tells  us,  that  the 
(Differ  of  the  Lord  tras  kindled  against  hhn  for  /V, 
Kxod.  iv.  14. 

But  the  divine  author  of  this  Epistle  thought  it 
both  charitable  and  reasonable  to  draw  a  veil  of 
silence  over  this  infirmity  of  the  otherwise  excellent 
person,  which  he  himself  had  so  candidly  confessed 
to  the  world  in  his  own  writings ;  and  to  take  no 
notice  of  the  short  eclipse  of  his  faith,  which  both 
before  and  after  (excepting  only  in  one  instance 
more)  shone  with  so  bright  a  glory. 

Wherefore  the  admirable  faith  of  Moses  himself, 
in  his  first  adventure,  he  thus  in  the  next  place 
elegantly  describes,  ver.  24,  25,  26:  By  faith  Moses, 
when  he  teas  come  to  years*  refused  to  he  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  ;  esteeming 
the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the  trea 
sures  in  Egypt.  That  is,  when  he  was  forty  years 
old  (as  we  learn  from  St.  Stephen  in  the  place 
already  cited)  he  left  Pharaoh's  court,  and  went 
abroad  to  visit  his  oppressed  brethren,  and  appeared 


350  It  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

courageously  in  vindication  of  them ;  thereby  de 
claring,  that  he  had  a  greater  ambition  to  join  him 
self  to  the  afflicted  people  of  God,  than  to  retain  the 
honour  of  being  the  adopted  son  of  Pharaoh's  daugh 
ter;  and  that  he  despised  the  momentary  sinful  plea 
sures  of  that  great  monarch's  palace,  and  all  the 
riches  and  treasures  that  he  might  have  been  heir 
to,  if  he  had  continued  there  ;  and  esteemed  it  a  far 
greater  happiness  to  be  numbered  with  the  poor, 
afflicted,  and  despised  Israelites,  the  people  of  Christ, 
whom  Christ  (as  the  A 070?,  the  Word  of  God ',  then 
and  from  eternity  existing)  took  special  care  of. 

For  the  reproach  of  the  Israelites  seems  to  me  to 
be  called  the  reproach  of  67/mY,  not  only  for  the 
similitude  between  it,  and  that  which  Christ  after 
ward  suffered,  or  because  it  was  a  type  thereof,  as 
all  the  Socinians,  and  divers  otherwise  orthodox 
divines,  herein  agreeing  with  them,  have  imagined ; 
but  also  and  chiefly  because  that  people  was  the 
people  of  Christ,  and  so  their  reproach  his.  The 
people  of  Christ,  I  say  they  were,  whom  Christ  took 
into  his  singular  favour  and  tuition  ;  appearing  to 
their  ancestors  the  holy  patriarchs  ;  shewing  himself 
to  Moses  in  the  bush,  and  proclaiming  himself  the 
God  of  his  fathers,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
and  declaring  that  he  had  surely  seen  the  afflic 
tion  of  his  people,  Exod.  iii.  6,  7.  And  afterwards 
leading  the  Israelites  through  the  wilderness,  as  St. 
Paul  himself  not  obscurely  teaches  us,  ]  Cor.  x.  9, 
and  as  all  the  catholic  doctors  and  fathers  of  the 
primitive  Christian  church  have  with  one  consent 
delivered  to  us.  But  this  by  the  way  ;  I  proceed. 

Now  what  was  the  motive  that  induced  Moses  to 
make  this  strange  and  wonderful  choice  ?  My  text 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  351 

tells  us,  for  he  had  respect  unto  the  recompense  of 
the  reward.  For  the  explaining  of  which  words,  the 
question  will  be,  What  was  the  /u.ta-0<i7ro<$o<Tta,  the 
recompense  of  the  reward,  which  Moses  had  respect 
unto?  (Jrotius  understands  it  to  be  terrain  litam 
excellentem,  "that  excellent  land,  the  land  of  Ca- 
'"  naan,  which  was  promised  to  Abraham  and  his 
'*  seed."  But  nothing  can  be  more  absurd  than  this 
interpretation. 

For  if  this  had  been  the  reward  that  Moses  had 
respect  unto,  he  certainly  missed  of  his  aim.  For  he 
never  set  a  foot  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  having  only 
seen  it  afar  off  from  mount  Pisgah,  and  then  pre 
sently  dying,  as  we  read  Dent,  xxxiv.  4,  5.  Nor  did 
he  ever  in  his  life  attain  any  other  reward,  which 
he  might  look  on  as  a  reasonable  encouragement  of 
those  heroic  enterprises  which  he  undertook  ;  unless 
we  can  imagine  the  perpetual  vexation  which  he 
sustained,  even  for  forty  years  together,  in  govern 
ing  a  cross,  perverse,  stitthecked,  and  stubborn  peo 
ple  in  the  wilderness,  to  be  itself  a  desirable  reward, 
and  worthy  of  his  ambition.  It  was  therefore  a 
reward  in  another  world  that  Moses  looked  and  had 
respect  unto.  Which  is  also  farther  evident  from 
hence,  that  the  divine  author  sets  the  reward  which 
Moses  aimed  at  as  it  were  in  balance  against  that 
which  he  terms  the  having  a  temporary  enjoyment 
of  sin b,  or,  as  other  translators  render  it,  to  enjoy 
the  pleasures  of  sin  for  a  season. 

\\\  the  judgment  therefore  of  this  sacred  writer, 
Moses  rejected  and  despised  the  sinful  pleasures  of 
Pharaoh's  court  upon  this  consideration,  that  they 

b  YIpocTKatpov  (\fiv  ap-fipTias  aTTo\avcrt.v. 


352  //  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

were  short  and  transitory :  that  he  could  enjoy  them 
but  for  a  while;  that  he  must  die,  after  some  years 
expired,  and  bid  an  eternal  farewell  to  them.  On 
the  other  side,  he  chose  to  take  his  lot  and  portion 
with  the  afflicted  people  of  God,  as  having  respect 
to  the  recompense  of  tJie  reward,  attending  the  vir 
tuous  in  the  other  life,  which  is  not  temporary,  but 
eternal.  That  this  is  the  meaning  of  the  author, 
every  man  must  presently  see,  that  is  not  strangely 
blinded  with  prejudice. 

And  that  he  was  not  mistaken  in  thinking  that 
Moses  had  a  knowledge  and  belief  of  the  future  re 
ward,  I  shall  prove  by  a  demonstrative  argument 
taken  out  of  the  writings  of  Moses  himself.  In  the 
fifth  chapter  of  Genesis,  ver.  24,  we  read,  that  Enoch 
walked  with  God,  and  icas  not;  for  God  took  him. 
Which  words,  all  men  that  have  read  them,  both 
Jews  and  Christians,  have  always  understood  of  the 
translation  of  Enoch  (either  in  his  soul  only,  or  in 
his  soul  and  body  together)  to  heavenly  bliss,  after  a 
virtuous  life  spent  in  this  world  amongst  a  wicked 
and  vicious  generation  of  men.  He  therefore  that 
wrote  this  history,  could  not  be  ignorant  of  a  reward 
in  the  other  life  for  them  that  walk  with  God  in 
this  life. 

Now  we  know  that  Moses  was  the  penman  of 
this  historical  book.  Moses  therefore  certainly  had 
an  apprehension  of  that  reward  which  awaits  good 
and  pious  men  in  the  other  w^orld.  To  this  reward 
he  had  respect  in  all  the  great  things  which  he  did 
or  suffered  for  the  people  of  God  :  i.  e.  he  believed 
and  hoped  for  it,  and  was  thereby  animated  and 
encouraged  in  the  way  of  virtue  which  he  had  made 
choice  of. 


flic  Jiecotnpense  of  Reward.  '353 

The  text  being  thus  explained,  very  naturally 
yields  us  these  two  observations : 

1.  That  the  doctrine  of  the  recompense  of  reward, 
to  be  bestowed  on  the  righteous  after  this  life,  was 
understood  and  believed  by  the  people  of  God,  before 
the  law  was  jnven.  2.  That  it  is  lawful  to  serve 

O 

God  with  respect  to,  or  in  hope  of,  the  future  hea 
venly  reward. 

I  begin  with  the  first  proposition,  viz.,  that  the 
doctrine  of  the  recompense  of  reward  to  be  bestowed 
on  the  righteous  after  this  life,  was  understood  and 
believed  by  the  people  of  God  before  the  law  was 
given. 

Such  a  knowledge  and  belief  the  divine  author 
assures  us  Moses  had,  when  he  first  renounced  the 
glories,  treasures,  and  pleasures  of  Pharaoh's  court, 
and  chose  his  portion  among  the  afflicted,  oppressed 
people  of  God  ;  and  that  was  long  before  the  law  was 
revealed  to  him.  And  whence  learned  he  this  doc 
trine?  AVe  have  no  ground  to  say  that  he  received 
it  by  immediate  divine  revelation,  seeing  we  read 
not  of  any  appearance  of  God  to  him,  before  that  in 
the  bush  ;  and  an  easy  and  clear  account  may  be 
given  of  the  original  of  this  his  faith,  without  sup 
posing  any  such  revelation. 

He  had  it  therefore  by  tradition  from  his  religious 
parents,  being  nursed  by  his  own  mother,  and  trained 
up  in  his  father's  house  till  he  arrived  to  some  years, 
and  not  till  then  delivered  to  Pharaoh's  daughter,  as 
we  read  Exod.  ii.  10.  By  them  he  was  taught  the 
true  religion,  the  religion  of  the  holy  patriarchs,  and 
this  article  as  a  chief  branch  of  it ;  which  religion  he 
still  faithfully  retained,  after  he  was  taken  into  the 
palace  of  that  idolatrous  prince.  Nor  is  it  to  be 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  A  a 


354  //  in  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

doubted,  but  that  the  same  religion  in  the  substance 
of  it,  was  preserved  in  all  other  pious  families  of  the 
Hebrews,  even  under  the  Egyptian  bondage;  and 
that  the  hope  and  consolation  which  their  religion 
ministered  to  them,  was  their  chief  support  under 
that  miserable  servitude. 

The  article  of  a  future  life,  as  I  have  already  sug 
gested,  was  part  of  the  creed  of  the  holy  patriarchs 
long  before  the  time  of  Moses.  Enoch,  the  seventh 
from  Adam,  was,  by  a  miraculous  translation  to  the 
heavenly  bliss,  made  an  example,  and  given  as  an 
illustrious  proof  and  demonstration  to  the  succeeding 
generations,  of  the  glorious  reward  reserved  in  the 
other  world  for  them  that  walk  with  God  in  this 
life.  Nor  could  they  that  lived  nearer  the  times  of 
Enoch  be  ignorant  of  that  mighty  work  of  God, 
which  Moses  so  many  ages  after  had  knowledge  of, 
and  delivered  down  to  the  generations  after  him  in 
his  writings.  Nay,  Enoch  himself,  in  his  time,  was 
an  open  asserter  and  preacher  of  this  doctrine  of  a 
life  to  come ;  St.  Jude  assuring  us,  that  he  spake  and 
prophesied  of  God's  coming  with  thousands  of  his 
saints,  or  holy  angels,  to  judge  the  world ',  Jude, 
verse  14,  15.  So  that  Enoch's  after-translation  was 
a  plain  seal  and  confirmation  of  that  faith,  which  he 
had  formerly  professed  and  taught,  and  was  un 
doubtedly  designed  by  God  as  such.  And  the  author 
of  this  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in  this  very  chapter 
out  of  which  my  text  is  taken,  professedly  and 
expressly  teaches,  that  the  patriarchs  arid  holy  men, 
who  lived  before  Moses,  had  the  same  apprehension 
of  the  future  reward  that  Moses  had. 

The  truth  is  this.  God,  after  the  fall  of  our  first 
parents,  and  his  sentence  pronounced  on  them  for 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  355 

their  sin,  again  revealed  himself  to  them  ;  teaching 
them  both  what  they  should  do  to  recover  his  lost 
favour,  and  what  they  were  to  expect  from  him 
upon  so  doing;  their  duty,  and  their  reward  :  though 
in  the  history  of  the  Old  Testament  there  is  no  more 
mention  of  this  revelation,  than  of  the  revelation  of 
God  to  Enoch,  and  the  prophecies  he  uttered  from 
that  revelation.  But  unless  we  grant  this,  we  must 
necessarily  run  into  the  error  of  those  of  old,  who 
denied  the  salvation  of  our  first  parents. 

From  this  first  institution  to  fallen  man  proceeded 
the  law  of  expiatory  sacrifices,  (as  types  and  shadows 
of  the  great  sacrifice  in  due  time  to  be  offered  by 
Christ,  the  second  Adam,  for  the  sin  of  the  first.) 
practised  by  the  immediate  sons  of  Adam,  and  from 
thence  derived  into  the  practice  of  all  mankind.  For 
the  conceit  of  those  who  think  the  light  of  nature 
directed  the  first  men  to  this  rite,  must  needs  appear 
strange  to  him  that  more  attentively  considers  the 
matter.  And  from  the  same  original  (I  question 
not)  it  is,  that  the  notion  of  a  life  to  come  hath  been 
always  found  among  the  heathen  nations,  even  some 
of  the  most  barbarous  nations,  of  whom  neither  we 
nor  our  forefathers,  for  many  ages  past,  had  any 
knowledge,  till  the  latter  discoveries  of  a  new  world. 
And  accordingly  St.  Paul,  in  the  first  chapter  of  his 
Epistle  to  Titus,  verse  2,  expressly  tells  us,  that 
God,  who  cannot  lie,  promised  eternal  life,  Trpo  yfto- 
vwv  aitwiwv,  i.  e.  (not  before  the  foundation  of  the 
world r°,  as  our  translators  render  the  words;  for 
then  there  were  no  men  to  whom  such  promise 
might  be  made ;  but)  before  ancient  times,  as  the 

c  [before  the  world  beganJ] 
A  a  2 


356  //  /.v  lawful  to  respect         SERM.  xiv. 

words  otherwhere  in  Scripture  signify,  Rom.  xvi.  25.d 
i.  e.  in  the  most  early  age  of  the  world,  or  in  the 
world's  infancy. 

Now  if  the  primitive  revelation  of  the  future  life 
be  not  yet  to  this  day  utterly  lost  and  forgotten 
among  the  heathen,  yea  barbarous  nations ;  what  an 
unreasonable  thing  is  it  to  imagine,  that  the  tradi 
tion  of  it  should  so  soon  perish  among  God's  own 
people,  as  that  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  the 
other  holy  patriarchs,  should  have  no  knowledge 
of  it1 

And  as  to  those  good  men  that  lived  under  the 
law  of  Moses,  (though  that  in  the  letter  of  it  had 
none  but  carnal  and  temporal  promises,)  it  is  certain 
they  still  retained  the  same  faith  of  a  life  to  come, 
as  also  their  posterity  do  to  this  day.  Nor  did 
the  law  that  came  after,  evacuate  or  thrust  out  the 
Gospel  that  was  delivered  from  the  beginning. 

This  I  have  formerly  shewn  you  by  undeniable  in 
stances,  upon  another  occasion0,  and  have  also  given 
you  the  full  use  and  improvement  of  this  doctrine, 
and  shall  therefore  now  insist  no  farther  on  it,  but 
proceed  to  the  other  observation  from  the  text,  which 
is  this : 

Observ.  2.  It  is  lawful  to  serve  God  with  respect 
to,  or  in  hope  of,  the  future  heavenly  reward. 

For  so  did  Moses,  as  the  text  expressly  tells  us; 
and  he  is  so  far  from  being  blamed,  that  he  is 
commended  for  his  so  doing,  and  propounded  as  a 
pattern  for  others  to  do  likewise. 

This  I   note,  to  meet  with   certain  airy  fanciful 

[l   [But  the  expression  in  Tit.  i.  2.  is  npb  xpvvuv  alwlw  :  in  Rom. 
xvi.  25.  it  is  xpoi/oi 
e   [Sermon  VIII.] 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  357 

divines  of  this  latter  age,  who,  pretending  to  a  more 
spiritual,  refined,  and  sublime  theology,  above  all 
the  doctors  of  the  church  that  have  been  before 
them,  have  among  other  their  subtle  doctrines  deli 
vered  this  for  a  certain  truth,  That  the  obedience 
which  is  excited  by  the  hope  of  reward,  is  not  a 
true,  i.  e.  filial,  but  a  servile  mercenary  obedience, 
and  so  not  to  be  allowed  in  Christians  under  the 
Gospel. 

This  divinity  may  be  read  almost  in  every  page  of 
the  writings  of  Crisp,  Saltmarsh,  Townseml,  Katon, 
and  the  author  of  the  Marrow  of  modern  Divinit?/, 
and  many  others  of  the  same  herd.  Books  they  are, 
which  though  they  highly  deserve  the  flames,  are 

O  J 

notwithstanding  still  to  be  found  in  many  families 
of  schismatics,  especially  those  of  the  independent 
and  anabaptistical  sect.  These  highly  admire  them, 
as  the  most  spiritual  writings  ;  whilst  the  very  many 
excellent  labours  of  the  orthodox,  learned,  and  pious 
divines  of  our  church  (the  wonder  of  foreigners)  are 
neglected  and  despised  by  them. 

Now  this  doctrine  of  theirs  we  utterly  reject  as  a 
Saddutwan  fiction,  and  an  error  intolerable,  and 
repugnant  to  the  whole  tenor  of  sacred  Scripture. 
A  Sadducsean  error  J  call  it,  because  it  was  the  first 
occasion  of  the  heresy  of  the  Sadducees.  For  that 
heresy  arose  from  a  saying  of  Antigonus,  the  master 
of  Sadoc,  who  was  the  author  of  it,  and  lived  not 
long  after  the  time  of  Ezra.  The  saying,  as  the 
learned  Drusius  relates  it  out  of  good  authors,  was 
this;  "  Be  not  ye  like  those  servants,  who  serve 
"  their  master  for  reward  ;  but  be  ye  like  those 
"  servants  who  serve  indeed  their  master,  but  yet 


358  It  is  lawful  to  respect  SERM.  xiv. 

"  not  for  reward  f."  This  foolish  saying  of  the  sub 
lime  doctor,  his  scholars  improved  into  an  execrable 
heresy ;  denying  that  there  is  any  reward  to  be  ex 
pected  in  the  life  to  come  of  our  virtuous  actions  in 
this  life. 

Thus  enthusiasm  commonly  leads  the  way  to 
atheism  or  infidelity ;  and  a  fanatic  religion  at  last 
ends  in  no  religion.  It  is  no  wonder,  that  a  doctrine 
designed  to  banish  the  future  reward  out  of  men's 
thoughts  and  consideration,  should  soon  proceed  so 
far  as  to  discard  it  from  their  belief,  and  not  to 
allow  it  a  room  in  their  creed.  For  it  is  a  very  vain 
thing  to  make  that  the  object  of  our  faith,  which 
must  not  be  suffered  to  be  the  object  of  our  hope  and 
desire.  I  have  said  that  this  error  is  intolerable,  and 
repugnant  to  the  whole  tenor  of  sacred  Scripture  ; 
and  what  I  have  said  will  appear  most  true,  from 
the  arguments  I  shall  produce  against  it ;  to  which 
arguments  I  now  proceed. 

I.  In  the  holy  Scriptures,  the  future  reward  is 
every  where  promised  and  propounded,  as  a  motive 
to  excite  and  stir  us  up  to  good  works.  So  our 
Saviour  encourages  his  disciples  to  a  cheerful  suffer 
ing  for  righteousness'  sake,  by  this  argument,  that 
their  reward  should  be  great  in  heaven,  Matt.  v.  12. 
And  by  the  same  motive  he  exhorts  them  to  secret 
and  private  devotions,  viz.,  that  God  who  seeth  in 
secret  shall  reward  them  openly,  Matt.  vi.  4.  And 
almost  innumerable  are  the  texts  of  Scripture  which 


f  Nolite  similes  esse  servis  iis,  qui  serviunt  Domino  pro 
mercede  ;  sed  estote  similes  servis  iis,  qui  serviunt  quidem 
Domino,  non  tamen  pro  mercede. 


flic  Recompense  of  Reward.  359 

speak  to  the  same  purpose.  Now  what  an  unreason 
able  conceit  it  is  to  think,  that  where  a  reward  is 
promised  as  an  encouragement  to  work,  it  should  be 
a  fault  and  sin  to  work  with  an  eye  or  respect  to  the 
reward  ?  Nay,  hence  it  appears,  that  this  error  in 
the  consequence  of  it  is  a  horrid  blasphemy.  For  if 
the  hope  of  the  future  reward  be  a  sinful  motive  of 
obedience,  it  necessarily  follows,  that  the  Holy  Ghost, 
by  propounding  this  motive  every  where  to  us,  and 
pressing  it  on  us,  lays  a  snare  before  us,  and  tempts 
and  urges  us  to  sin  ;  at  which  impious  consequence 
every  good  Christian  must  needs  tremble. 

IT.  The  holy  Scriptures  do  not  oidy  promise  the 
heavenly  reward  as  an  encouragement  of  our  obe 
dience,  but  also  they  expressly  command  and  require 
us,  in  the  way  of  obedience,  to  seek  after  it ;  i.  e.  to 
intend  and  aim  at  it,  and  to  make  the  attaining  of 
it  our  great  design  and  business.  So  our  blessed 
Lord,  Matt.  vi.  33  :  Seek  ye  Jirtt  (-rrpwrov,  principally 
and  chiefly)  the  kingdom  of  God  and  hi*  righteous 
ness  ;  that  is,  God's  reward,  and  God's  work  ;  the 
heavenly  glory  which  he  hath  promised,  and  the 
holiness  and  righteousness  which  he  requires,  as  the 
condition  of  obtaining  it,  the  one  in  order  to  the 
other.  So  St.  Paul,  Coloss.  iii.  1,  2  :  Seek  ra  ai/o>, 
the  things  which  are  abore,  where  Christ  sitteth  at 
the  right  hand  of  God  :  Set  your  affections  on  things 
above,  not  on  things  on  the  earth  :  that  is,  aspire  to 
that  heavenly  glory,  of  which  Christ  your  Lord 
and  Head  is  already  possessed,  and  that  in  the 
most  eminent  degree  ;  having  all  power  in  heaven 
given  him,  and  so  the  power  of  bestowing  the  same 
heavenly  glory  on  all  such  as  shall  tread  in  his  steps 
and  obey  his  precepts  :  direct  your  thoughts,  desires, 


360  ft  is  lawful  to  respect  SERM.  xiv. 

and  affections  towards  that  solid,  stable,  lasting,  yea, 
everlasting  felicity;  and  suffer  them  not  to  settle 
or  rest  in  the  transitory,  vanishing,  and  perishing 
enjoyments  of  this  earth.  And  to  the  same  sense 
and  purpose  the  Holy  Ghost  speaks  in  very  many 
other  places  of  Scripture,  which  I  have  not  time 
now  to  recite.  It  is  therefore  so  far  from  being 
sinful,  in  the  course  of  our  Christian  obedience,  to 
cast  an  eye  towards  the  heavenly  reward  for  our 
encouragement,  that  we  sin  if  we  do  not  so  ;  yea,  if 
we  do  not  fix  our  eye  on  it,  and  employ  our  chief 
studies,  cares,  and  desires  about  the  obtaining  of 
it.  For  unless  we  do  thus,  we  transgress  the  plain 
commandment  of  God,  who  alone  hath  power  to 
determine  what  we  ought  to  do,  and  who  best 
knows  what  is  fittest  for  us  to  do. 

III.  In  this  eleventh  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the 
HebreAvs,  out  of  which  my  text  is  taken,  we  read, 
that  not  only  Moses,  but  all  the  most  eminent  saints 
of  old  served  God  with  respect  to  the  future  recom 
pense  of  reward.  For  the  divine  author  ascribes  all 
the  great  things,  which  they  did  and  suffered  for 
God,  to  their  faith,  which  he  makes  the  ground  and 
foundation  of  their  whole  obedience,  both  active  and 
passive,  and  that  which  animated  and  encouraged 
them  thereunto. 

Now  what  was  this  faith  ?  The  author  plainly 
tells  us,  ver.  6,  Without  faith  it  is  impossible  to 
please  him,  (i.e.  God  :)  for  he  that  cometh  to  God 
must  believe  that  he  is,  and  that  he  is  a  rcwarder 
of  them  that  diligently  seek  him.  The  faith  then, 
whereby  all  those  excellent  persons,  of  whose  acts 
and  sufferings  we  have  a  compendium  or  abridg 
ment  in  this  chapter,  came  unto  God,  i.  e.  devoted 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  J361 

themselves  to  his  worship  and  service,  and  in  so 
doing  pleased  him,  was  a  faith  respecting  God  as 
the  luia-OaTroSdTttf,  the  rt'U'ftw/er  of  all  his  faithful 
servants. 

Wherefore  they  who  affirm,  that  to  serve  God  in 
hope  of  the  reward  which  he  hath  promised,  is  a 
slavish  and  sinful  obedience,  do  consequentially  cast 
a  very  foul  slur  upon  all  those  eminent  patterns 
and  example's  of  virtue  which  the  Holy  Ghost  here 
sets  forth  and  propounds  to  our  imitation.  They  do 
indeed  unsaint  them  all,  and  strip  them  of  their 
sonship,  and  degrade  them  into  a  herd  of  vile 
mercenary  slaves. 

And  such  is  the  modesty  of  the  men  with  whom 
we  have  to  do,  that  they  startle  not  at  so  horrid  a 
consequence,  hut  are  ready  boldly  to  aHirm,  that  all 
those  saints  were  Old  Testament  saints,  living  un 
der  a  servile  dispensation,  and  that  therefore  their 
example  in  this  case  is  no  good  or  warrantable  pat 
tern  for  our  imitation  under  the  Gospel.  But  this 
pretence  (as  I  have  already  noted)  is  a  plain  con 
tradiction  to  the  very  scope  and  design  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  in  this  chapter,  which  is  manifestly  to  pro 
pound  those  Old  Testament  saints,  as  they  call  them, 
as  egregious  examples  for  us  Christians  to  follow. 
Besides,  manv  of  the  persons  mentioned  in  the  same 
chapter  were  persons  of  so  transcendent  and  heroic 
a  virtue,  that  the  best  of  us  may  blush  to  think f at 
what  an  humble  distance  we  follow  after  them.  But 
to  put  the  matter  out  of  all  doubt, 

IV.  We  find  that  the  best  and  most  excellent  of 
the  New  Testament  saints  obeyed  God,  and  suffered 
for  him,  upon  the  same  motive  and  inducement  of 
the  heavenly  reward.  The  great  apostle  of  Christ, 


362  It  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv, 

St.  Paul,  speaking  of  himself,  says,  I  press  toward 
the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God 
in  Christ  Jesus.  Where  that  by  the  /3pa/3ciov9  the 
prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  in  Christ,  is 
meant  the  future  eternal  glory,  to  which  God  calls 
us  by  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  as  to  the  reward  of  our 
obedience  thereunto,  is  agreed  on  by  all  interpreters. 
The  expression  is  metaphorical,  and  borrowed  from 
the  ancient  custom  in  races,  wherein  the  Ppa/Sevrfc, 
lie  that  held  and  bestowed  the  prize,  sat  in  some 
high  place,  and  from  thence  by  an  herald  or  crier 
called  to  each  of  the  racers,  acquainted  him  with 
the  prize,  and  offered  it  to  him  that  should  best  ac 
quit  himself  in  the  race.  Thus  God  from  the  high 
est  heaven  calls  to  us  by  Christ,  and  offers  us  the 
inestimable  prize  of  eternal  glory,  if  we  run  well 
that  race  of  virtue  und  obedience,  which  in  the  Gos 
pel  of  Christ  is  marked  out  and  prescribed  unto  us. 
Now  St.  Paul  here  plainly  signifies,  that  he  himself, 
throughout  his  whole  Christian  race,  had  a  continual 
eye  to  this  prize  of  the  high  calling  of  God  m 
Christ,  and  that  the  obtaining  thereof  was  his  aim 
and  end,  his  great  design  and  business.  It  is  evident 
therefore  that  St.  Paul,  as  well  as  Moses,  served 
God  with  respect  to  the  recompense  of  reward. 

The  same  thing  in  many  other  places  he  affirms, 
not  only  of  himself,  but  of  the  rest  of  the  apostles, 
ami  of  those  other  excellent  examples  of  virtue,  both 
active  and  passive,  in  that  glorious  age.  You  may 
especially  peruse,  at  your  leisure,  the  following  texts, 

1  Cor.  ix.  24,  25.    and   chap.  xv.   throughout,  and 

2  Cor.  iv.  17, 18.  and  Coloss.  i.  4,  5. 

V.  And  lastly,  We  may  advance  yet  a  step  higher, 
and  safely  affirm,  that  even  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  363 

himself,  as  man,  in  his  sinless,  perfect,  and  meritori 
ous  obedience,  had  likewise  a  respect  to  the  recom 
pense  of  reward.  This  is  the  plain  sense  of  the 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chap.  xii.  2, 
where  he  exhorts  us  to  look  to  Jesitx*  the  author 
and  finisher  of  our  faith  ;  who  for  the  joy  that  was 
set  before  him  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame, 
and  is  set  down  at  the  rhflit  hand  of  the  throne  of 
God. 

\  confess  there  are  some  interpreters  (and  those 
no  mean  ones)  who  so  expound  this  text,  as  to  make 
it  signify  very  little  to  our  purpose.  For  they  say, 
that  in  those  words  avT\  T>]?  7rpoK€i/j.€vt]$  UVTW  Xa/°^?> 
the  preposition  U.VT\  signifies  not  for,  but  instead  of; 
and  so  that  the  words  are  to  be  thus  rendered,  Who, 
instead  of  the  joy  that  was  set  before  him,  endured 
the  cross,  &c.  But  what  sense  is  this?  Why,  say 
they,  the  meaning  is,  that  Christ,  if  it  had  so  pleased 
him,  might  not  have  died  ;  he  might  have  exempted 
himself  from  all  sorrow  and  trouble,  and  lived  a  life 
of  joy  and  happiness,  flowing  with  all  good  things, 
like  that  of  the  innocent  Adam  in  Paradise ;  ltd 
instead  of  this,  Jie  chose  and  suffered  the  cross,  &c. 
But  any  unprejudiced  person  may  presently  discern 
this  to  be  a  very  forced  interpretation.  It  is  true, 
avr\  more  frequently  signifies  loco,  "  instead  of,"  but 
not  always;  for  it  is  sometimes  used  for  eve/ca,  for, 
or  for  the  sake  of,  and  denotes  the  cause  of  a  thing. 
80  whereas  we  read,  Matt.  xix.  5,  eveKev  rovrov,  for 
this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother, 
&c.,  the  same  thing  is  expressed  Eph.  v.  31,  by  avr\ 
rovrov,  which  is  likewise  translated  for  this  cause*. 

s  [The  examples  of  dvff  a>v,  wherefore,  on  which  account,  are  nu 
merous:  e.  g.  Luke  1.20.  xii. 3.  xix. 44.  Acts  xii.  23.  2  Thess.  ii.  10.] 


364  It  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

And  that  so  the  preposition  must  be  rendered  here, 
and  not  according-  to  the  other  sense,  is  certain ; 
because  that  other  sense  is  repugnant  to  the  whole 
design  and  scope  of  the  place.  For  the  divine  au 
thor  thought  not  here  of  an  earthly  temporary  joy 
belonging  to  Christ,  but  of  the  heavenly  joy  and 
felicity  designed  for  him  ;  and  therefore  he  presently 
expounds  it  to  be  his  sifting  at  the  riylit  hand  of 
the  throne  of  God.  Which  is  also  farther  evident 
from  hence,  that  he  speaks  of  a  joy  which  was  irpoKct- 
imevt]  set  before  Christ,  that  is,  propounded  and  of 
fered  to  him,  in  the  same  sense  as  our  race  (in  its 
whole  extent,  and  with  the  prize  at  the  end  of  it)  is 
said  to  be  irpoKei^vrj  set  before  us,  viz.,  by  God,  in 
the  verse  immediately  preceding.  But  God  never 
thus  propounded  any  earthly  felicity  to  Christ,  but 
on  the  contrary  set  before  him  the  cross  and  the 
crown,  the  former  to  be  suffered  here,  the  latter  to 
be  enjoyed  hereafter. 

Indeed  as  are  all  the  expressions  in  the  foregoing 
verse,  so  is  this  apparently  agonistical,  and  alludes 
to  the  prize  set  before,  propounded,  and  offered  to 
them  that  run  in  a  race,  for  their  encouragement. 
In  a  word,  the  TrpoKei^v^  \apu,  ^w  j°y  ^L(l^  was  se^ 
before  Christ,  is  manifestly  the  same  thing  in  kind 
with  the  TrpoKeijULevq  eA-Tn?,  the  hope  (or  thing  hoped 
for)  set  before  us,  of  which  our  author  speaks  in 
the  sixth  chapter  of  this  Epistle,  verse  18:  That  we 
might  have  a  strong  consolation,  who  have  fled  for 
refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope  set  before  us.  It  is 
not  therefore  to  be  doubted,  but  that  the  meaning  of 
the  author  is,  that  Christ,  as  man,  in  his  obedience 
and  sufferings,  had  respect  to  that  transcendent 
joy,  glory,  and  felicity,  which  God  had  propounded 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  .'j(>5 

to  him,  and  sot  before  him,  as  the  reward  of  his 
obedience  and  sufferings,  and  was  encouraged  to  do 
and  sutler  what  he  did,  by  the  certain  hope  and 
expectation  of  that  reward. 

Christ  therefore  himself,  as  man,  had  respect  in 
his  obedience  to  the  recompense  of  reward. 

It  is  the  opinion  of  many  learned  divines,  that  the 
strength  which  Christ  received  in  his  ante-passion 
in  the  garden,  from  an  angel  there  appearing  to 
him,  mentioned  Luke  xxii.  4'$.  consisted  chiefly  in  a 
vigorous  and  lively  sense  and  consideration  of  that 
incomparable  felicity,  which  he  should  presently 
after  receive  as  the  reward  of  his  passion,  impressed 
on  his  mind,  and  perhaps  vocally  suggested  to  him 
by  the  same  angel.  Nor  is  it  any  wonder  he  should 
need  such  comfort  against  his  passion,  who  was  un 
der  a  real  fear  of  it ;  as  we  learn  from  the  relations 
of  the  evangelists,  and  from  the  plain  and  express 
words  of  the  author  of  this  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews, 
assuring  us,  that  Christ  in  the  day*  of  Jiis  flexh 
offered  up  prayer*  and  supplications  ^  iritJi  strotuj 
cryinas  and  tears,  unto  him  who  wax  able  to  save 
Jiim  front  death,  and  iras  heard  in  that  he  f  eared , 
chap.  v.  7-  Indeed  our  dear  Saviour  and  Redeemer 
was  pleased  to  assume  our  whole  nature,  with  all  its 
concomitant  affections  and  passions,  that  were  not 
sinful ;  and  therefore  he  feared  death  ;  and  therefore 
he  solaced  himself  with  the  hope  of  immortality; 
and  therefore  so  may  we  do  also.  As  little  wonder 
is  it,  that  our  Lord,  having  all  the  legions  of  the 
holy  angels  under  his  command,  should  receive  this 
consolation  from  an  angel ;  seeing  he  received  it  in 
the  state  of  his  humiliation,  wherein  he  was  made  a 
little  lower  than  the  angels ;  and  that  in  the  sarno 


366  It  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

state,  at  other  times,  as  in  bis  temptation  in  the 
wilderness,  he  disdained  not  the  assisting  ministry 
of  the  holy  angels,  Matt.  iv.  11. 

These  arguments,  laid  together,  amount  to  a 
demonstration,  and  abundantly  shew  the  folly  and 
absurdity  of  their  opinion,  who  assert,  that  to  serve 
God  in  hope  of  reward,  even  the  heavenly  reward, 
is  a  servile  and  sinful  obedience ;  and  that  no  obe 
dience  is  pleasing  to  God,  but  what  is  wholly  ab 
stracted  from  all  consideration  of  such  reward.  The 
conceit  of  these  men  (as  a  learned  divine  expresseth 
it)  savours  of  an  imaginary,  metaphysical  subtlety, 
and  a  certain  ecstatical  affection  of  piety,  rather 
than  of  a  simple,  genuine,  and  solid  knowledge  of 
the  Christian  religion. 

Or  (if  I  may  speak  the  same  thing  in  my  own 
words)  these  men  teach  a  virtue  not  heroic,  but 
romantic,  impracticable,  nowhere  to  be  found  but  in 
the  scene  of  fancy  ;  and  they  require  others  to  do 
that,  which  in  truth  themselves  never  did  nor  can 
do. 

But  the  main  foundation  of  this  their  fantastical 
divinity,  relies  only  on  this  one  argument:  we  are, 
say  they,  required  in  Scripture,  to  do  all  that  we  do 
to  the  glory  of  God,  and  out  of  love  to  him ;  and 
therefore  we  ought  not  to  serve  him  out  of  hope  of 
reward,  no,  not  the  heavenly  reward. 

Answ.  I  utterly  deny  the  consequence,  and  do 
affirm,  that  the  directly  contrary  conclusion  may 
be  rather  inferred  from  hence,  viz.,  that  therefore 
we  ought  in  serving  God  to  aim  at  the  heavenly 
reward.  For  the  divine  goodness  hath  so  framed 
things  in  the  economy  of  our  salvation,  that  our  glo 
rifying  of  God,  and  our  being  glorified  by  him,  our 


f/ic  Recompense  of  Reward.  367 

love  of  God,  and  our  love  of  ourselves,  and  desire  of 
our  own  happiness,  are  inseparably  linked  together, 
so  that  we  cannot  truly  intend  the  one  without  the 
other. 

To  desire  and  seek  after  the  future  happiness  of 
heaven,  what  is  it  but  to  desire  and  seek  after  that 
blessed  state,  wherein  alone  we  shall  perfectly  glo 
rify  God,  and  love  and  enjoy  him  for  ever?  So  that 
to  say,  we  must  not  serve  God  in  hope  or  desire  of 
the  heavenly  reward,  is  in  effect  to  say,  we  must  not 
serve  God  out  of  love  to  him ;  for  to  love  God  is  to 
desire  union  with,  and  enjoyment  of  him  ;  and  in  a 
perfect  union  with  and  fruition  of  God  that  reward 
consisteth.  I  confess  it  is  very  possible,  yea  too  com 
mon,  for  men  to  seek  after  heaven  in  such  a  manner, 
as  in  so  doing  to  have  little  or  no  love  or  regard  to 
God  the  fountain  of  heavenly  bliss.  Thus  do  all 
those  Christians,  who  with  the  Jews  and  Mahomet 
ans,  conceive  of  heaven  as  a  place  or  state  made  up 
of  carnal  and  sensual  delights  and  pleasures,  and 
under  that  notion  only  desire  it. 

These  men  do  terrain  in  cte/o  qua'rcre,  "  seek 
"  earth  in  heaven ;"  they  are  earthly  minded  in  their 
very  thoughts  and  desires  of  heaven,  and  so  in  truth 
seek  not  heaven,  but  earth.  These  men  do  not  make 
God  their  chief  good  and  felicity.  But,  on  the  other 
side,  he  that  is  throughly  convinced  of  the  perfect 
vanity  of  all  earthly  enjoyments,  considering  that 
most  of  them  are  brutish  felicities,  wherein  we  are 
partakers  with  the  beasts;  and  that  they  all  vanish 
and  perish  in  the  using ;  that  the  holy  angels  are  far 
more  happy  and  blessed  creatures  than  we  are  in  this 
state  of  mortality ;  and  yet  that  they  despise  those 
worldly  felicities  that  we  so  much  dote  on,  as  being 


368  It  in  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  XI v. 

sensible  of  another  kind  of  happiness  infinitely  above 
them  :  he  that  believes  and  considers  that  God  is  the 
best  and  most  blessed  Being  of  all;  and  that  what 
soever  is  truly  good  and  desirable  in  any  created 
being,  is  from  him  the  fountain  of  goodness ;  and 
is  therefore  eminently  and  in  an  infinitely  greater 
measure  (or  rather  without  measure)  in  him ;  and 
consequently  that  the  enjoyment  of  God  must  needs 
be  man's  chiefest  good  and  happiness ;  and  that  this 
enjoyment  of  God  is  to  be  attained  only  in  the  future 
heavenly  state :  he,  I  say,  that  upon  these  or  the  like 
considerations,  seeks  after  heaven  in  the  way  of 
righteousness,  in  his  very  doing  so,  truly  loves  and 
honours  God  above  all  things,  and  shall  undoubtedly 
be  for  ever  loved  and  blessed  by  him. 

At  the  same  time  that  God  gave  us  our  being  and 
nature,  he  planted  in  us  an  inclination  to  preserve  it, 
and  a  desire  also  of  our  own  well-being  and  happi 
ness  ;  and  that  so  firmly,  that  these  can  never  be 
eradicated  or  rooted  out  of  us,  without  the  very 
destruction  of  our  being  and  nature.  We  do  not  sin 
therefore  when  we  seek  our  own  happiness,  unless 
we  seek  it  where  we  should  not ;  that  is,  otherwhere 
than  from  and  in  God  himself. 

It  is  true  indeed,  that  God  made  all  things  for  his 
own  glory,  and  that  therefore  all  creatures,  endowed 
with  reason,  are  bound  to  honour  and  glorify  him. 
But  this  great  truth,  if  rightly  understood,  is  so  far 
from  confirming,  that  it  utterly  overthrows  the  ob 
jection  propounded,  and  firmly  establishes  our  asser 
tion.  The  glory  which  God  antecedently  and  prima 
rily  intended  to  himself  in  making  the  world,  was 
the  glory  of  his  goodness.  For  he  being  from  all 
eternity  avrapK^,  self-sufficient,  fully  and  perfectly 


the  Recompense  of  Reward.  ,'*(J9 

happy  and  blessed  in  himself,  needed  not  the  praises 
of  his  creatures,  or  any  thing  else  from  them,  us  an 
accession  to  his  happiness.  But  it  pleased  him,  when 
he  saw  good,  as  it  were,  to  go  forth  from  himself,  by 
making  other  beings  besides  himself,  in  several  ranks 
and  orders,  some  remoter  from,  some  nearer  to  him  ; 
and  to  communicate  to  each  of  them  such  effluxes 
of  his  goodness,  as  his  infinite  wisdom  thought  most 
fitting.  The  glory  of  this  divine  goodness  is  pas 
sively  and  materially  declared  by  all  creatures  uni 
versally,  that  is,  it  appears  in  every  creature  to 
all  creatures  that  can  understand  it.  But  those 
creatures  only  that  have  understanding  can  glorify 
God  for  his  goodness  to  them  actively;  and  to  this 
they  are  obliged,  as  soon  as  they  have  a  being 
from  God,  and  can  know  the  Author  of  their  being. 
And  when  they  discharge  this  obligation,  God  hath 
the  glory  he  aimed  at  in  the  communication  of  his 
goodness  to  them. 

But  what,  you  will  say,  is  all  this  to  the  purpose  ? 
1  answer,  very  much.  For  the  result  of  this  dis 
course  is,  that  God  made  us  to  do  us  good,  and  that 
we  should  glorify  and  serve  him  for  the  good  he 
doth  us :  from  whence  it  apparently  follows,  that 
our  respect  to  our  own  good,  and  our  regard  to 
God's  glory,  are  inseparable ;  and  that  the  consi 
deration  of  God's  goodness,  derived  to  ourselves, 
cannot  be  an  irregular,  sinful  motive  of  our  obe 
dience  to  God  ;  seeing  God  designed  it  for  the 
motive  of  our  obedience  in  our  very  creation.  And 
if  we  may,  nay  must  glorify,  love,  and  serve  God  for 
that  goodness  of  his,  wherewith  he  hath  prevented 
us,  and  of  which  we  are  already  possessed  ;  then 
certainly  we  may  as  well  honour,  love,  and  obey 

BULL,  VOL.  i.  B  b 


370  It  is  lawful  to  respect          SERM.  xiv. 

him  for  that  farther  goodness  which  lie  hath  pro 
mised  us,  and  which  we  hope  for  and  expect  from 
him  ;  especially  for  that  greatest  good  which  lie  hath 
reserved  for  us  in  the  life  to  come,  on  condition  we 
faithfully  serve  him  in  this  life,  viz.,  the  everlasting 
enjoyment  of  himself  in  heaven. 

Wherefore,  to  conclude,  let  us  not  fear,  through 
out  the  whole  course  of  our  service  and  obedience 
to  God  on  earth,  continually  to  eye  and  aim  at  the 
future  glorious  reward  in  heaven  ;  for  so  to  do  is  not 
only  lawful,  but  highly  necessary  for  us. 

1.  Hi  is  constant  fixed  intuition  of  the  heavenly 
reward  will  invigorate,  quicken,  and  animate  us  to  a 
mighty  diligence  in  the  ways  of  righteousness  and 
holiness  :  this  will  sweeten  all  our  labours  in  God's 
service,  and  make  our  very  work  a  part  of  our 
reward.  C2.  This  will  enable  us  to  overcome  the 
world  by  a  holy  contempt  of  it  and  all  its  vanities. 
3.  This  will  arm  us  against  all  the  temptations  of 
the  Devil  and  the  flesh  ;  for  he  that  hath  continually 
in  his  thought  the  transcendent  excellency  of  the 
heavenly  bliss,  how  can  he  ever  be  persuaded  to 
part  with  his  right  therein  for  a  mess  of  pottage, 
or  to  barter  it  for  an  empty  honour,  or  for  a  heap 
of  glittering  earth,  or  for  the  gratifying  of  a  vile 
lust,  and  the  enjoyment  of  a  vanishing  sinful  plea 
sure  ?  4.  This  will  make  the  burden  of  those 
afflictions  and  sorrows,  that  necessarily  attend  us  in 
this  vale  of  tears,  light  and  easy.  5.  This  will  be  our 
only  support  and  comfort  in  the  hour  of  death,  when 
all  other  earthly  comforts  fail  and  forsake  us. 

In  a  word,  let  us  with  Moses  and  all  the  faithful 
from  the  beginning  of  the  world,  have  a  constant 
respect  to  the  recompense  of  reward,  by  a  firm  and 


steadfast  faith  ;  and  by  the  encouragement  thereof 
follow  them  in  the  paths  of  holiness,  patience,  and 
self-denial,  which  thev  have  trod  before  us;  and  so 
at  last,  in  (>'od's  due  time,  we  shall  undoubtedly 
if'if/i  tlu'iit  be  partaker*  of  his  heavenly  kinqdom. 

To  which  (iod  of  his  infinite  inercv  brin«'  us  all, 
through  .lesns  Christ  our  only  Lord  and  Saviour. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  ii'lory,  adoration  and 
worship,  both  now  and  for  evermore.  Aumn. 


B  b  2 


SERMON    XV. 


THAT   MAXY    MAY  HAVE   A   FORM    OR   SHOW   OF   GODLINESS, 

WHEN    THEY    DENY    ITS    POWER,    AND    ARE     FAR 

FROM   THE  TRUTH   AND   REALITY  OF   IT. 


2  TIM.  iii.  5. 
Hamnq  a  form  of  godliness,  lut  denying  the  power  thereof. 

IN  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  we  have  an 
illustrious  prophecy  of  St.  Paul's  delivered  to 
Timothy,  concerning  what  should  happen  in  the 
church  of  Christ  after  his  decease  ;  which  is  thus 
ushered  in,  ver.  1 :  This  know  also,  that  in  the  last 
days  perilous  times  shall  come ;  eV  ecr^arais  fumepats' 
i,  e.  not  only  the  very  last  days,  towards  the  end  of 
the  world,  but  in  general  (according  to  the  Hebrew 
phrase)  the  days  to  conic,  or  the  future  time,  whether 
nearer  or  afar  off.  For  what  in  the  following  verses 
he  doth  foretell,  he  supposeth  would  begin  to  happen 
in  the  age  of  Timothy,  to  whom  he  delivers  the  pro 
phecy,  and  that  by  way  of  caution  or  warning  to 
him,  as  most  evidently  appears  from  the  end  of  this 
fifth  verse,  immediately  after  the  words  of  my  text, 
Tovrovg  a7TOTpe7rov7from  such  do  thou  (tliou,  Timothy) 
turn  away,  and  avoid  them.  But  yet  the  full  com 
pletion  of  the  prophecy  doubtless  reachetb  farther 
than  Timothy's  days,  and  extends  itself  even  to  the 
end  of  the  world. 


A  Form  of  Godliness,  &c. 

So  among  very  many  other  interpreters  Mr.  Cal 
vin  thinks,  who  hath  this  gloss  upon  the  text: 
"  Under  the  last  dtn/s  he  comprehends  the  whole 
"  state  of  the  Christian  church*."  For  (as  the  same 
author  goes  on)  his  design  is  not  to  compare  his  own 
or  the  age  next  to  him  with  ours,  but  in  general  to 
represent  the  condition  even  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
here  on  earth. 

And  this  he  doth  to  obviate  the  vain  conceit  of 
some  men,  and  those  good  men  too,  who  fancied  that 
now  the  Gospel  times  were  come,  the  golden  age 
would  soon  return,  and  continue  for  ever.  An  age 
all  holiness,  all  happiness,  a  kind  of  heaven  upon 
earth  !  And  indeed  such  a  blessed  change  and  turn 
in  the  world  might  reasonably  have  been  expected 
by  him  that  considered  only  the  nature  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  its  excellent  precepts  of  holiness,  the  most 
powerful  motives  to  it  therein  delivered,  the  mighty 
grace  of  the  Spirit  of  God  accompanying  the  preach 
ing  of  it,  and  the  astonishing  miracles  wherewith  it 
was  confirmed. 

But  the  apostle  here  shews,  that  through  the 
vicious  nature  and  corruption  of  men  it  should  hap 
pen  quite  otherwise,  and  that  even  this  admirable 
Gospel  of  Christ  should  in  many  fail  of  its  designed 
and  desired  effect,  that  even  these  last  dfn/s  of  the 
Gospel  should  be  perilous  times  :  perilous,  because 
sinful;  sinful,  with  the  highest  aggravation,  because 
hypocrisy  should  abound  in  them  ;  and  very  many 
men  should  still  be  very  wicked,  and  yet  seem  very 
holy.  Some  of  the  chief  of  their  sins  and  wicked 
ness  he  particularly  describes,  ver.  2,  3,  4:  Far  men 

ft  Sub  extremis  diebus  comprehendit  universum  ccclesiac  Chri- 
stiumv  statum. 


A  Form  of  (jrodf/'ncss,          SERM.  xv. 

be  lorcrs  of  their  own  wires,  corefons,  boasters, 
proud,  blasphemers,  disobedient  to  parents,  unthank 
ful,  unhoh/,  wit/tout  natural  affection,  trucebreahers, 
false  accusers,  incontinent,  fierce,  despisers  of  those 
that  are  (jood,  traitor*,  heady,  hicjhminded,  lovers 
of  pleasure  more  than  Jorer*  of  (Jod.  And  then 
lie  adds  a  character  of  their  hypocrisy,  as  a  veil 
drawn  over  all  their  wickedness  in  the  words  of  my 
text ;  havinq  a  form  of  godliness,  but  denying  the 
power  thereof. 

For  the  explaining  of  the  text,  it  will  be  necessary 
to  inquire  into  these  three  things  :  1.  What  is  meant 
by  a  form-  of  godliness.  2.  What  by  the  power 
of  godliness.  3.  What  by  denying  the  power  of 
godliness. 

I.  What  is  meant  by  a  form  of  godliness ;  the 
/j.6p(f)w<Ti?  TJ/9  evcrefielas'  though  I  am  not  ignorant 
that  the  word  /jLopcpwcris  hath  sometimes  another 
signification,  yet  here  it  manifestly  signifies  a  form  ; 
\.  e.  a  bare  show  or  appearance  of  godliness,  without 
the  truth  and  reality  of  it.  A  false  and  counterfeit, 
not  a  true  and  real  godliness,  i.  e.  an  hypocritical 
religion.  As  a  wooden  or  stony  statue  of  a  man 
hath  the  form,  shape,  figure,  likeness,  or  appearance 
of  a  man,  but  is  far  from  being  really  so,  as  having 
no  true  flesh  and  blood,  much  less  a  living  and 
reasonable  soul ;  so  the  hypocrite  hath  the  outward 
show,  likeness,  and  appearance  of  a  Christian,  but  is 
far  from  being  truly  such,  as  being  destitute  of  the 
substance,  life,  and  soul  of  Christianity. 

This  b&reform  of  godliness  commonly  shews  itself 
in  these  following  particulars : 

1.  In  an  outward  profession  of  godliness ;  when 
men  declare  themselves  to  be  for  godliness,  and  that 


without  the  Power  of  it. 

in  the  strictness  of  it,  and  yet  arc  enemies  to  the 
life  and  practice  of  it  ;  when  they  are  great  and  high 
professors  of  religion,  (as  the  modern  phrase  is,)  but 
very  slender  and  careless  performers  of  it. 

2.  In  an  affectation  of  godly  discourse,  to  gain  the 
repute  and  esteem  of  godliness,  and  that  many  times 
when  it  is  altogether  unseasonable,  and  then*  is  no 
just  occasion  or  opportunity  for  it.  Many  there  be 
who  have  the  tongue  of  the  godly,  but  the  hearts 
and  hands  of  the  wicked.  Hy  their  discourses  you 
would  think  them  to  be  very  saints,  but  by  a  stricter 
examination  of  their  actions,  whereby  their  hearts 
also  are  made  manifest,  they  will  be  found  to  be  far 
otherwise. 

tf.  In  affecting  certain  modes  and  fashionable  ges 
tures  of  godliness  in  ordinary  conversation,  such  as  a 
grave  and  demure  countenance,  eves  lifted  up,  and 
the  like,  when  men's  hearts  are  vain,  and  far  from 
being  truly  religious  or  serious. 

4.  In  a  reliance  on  certain  outward  duties  of  reli 
gion,  performed  without  the  inward  and  sincere 
affection  of  the  soul.  When  men  rest  in  hearing  or 
repeating  of  sermons,  or  in  a  formal  course  of  prayer 
at  certain  times  and  seasons,  while  their  lusts  are 
unmortified,  and  their  hearts  estranged  from  the  life 
of  God  ;  when  they  satisfy  themselves  with  instru 
mental,  and  neglect  essential  religion.  Hearing  of 
sermons  and  prayers  are  indeed  necessary  duties  of 
religion,  but  necessary  only  as  instruments  and  means 
appointed  by  God,  to  bring  us,  through  his  grace,  to 
that  life  and  power  of  religion,  which  consists  in  the 
mortification  of  our  lusts,  and  the  renovation  of  our 
hearts,  and  the  reformation  of  our  lives.  And  there 
fore  to  acquiesce  in  those  outward  duties  of  religion. 


376  A  Form  of  Godliness,  SEIIM.  xv. 

without  an  inward,  lively  sense  of  it,  expressed  in 
agreeable  actions,  is  to  have  only  a  form  of  godliness. 
In  these  and  the  like  shows  and  appearances,  a  form 
of  godliness  consists. 

IT.  We  are  to  inquire,  what  is  meant  in  the  text 
by  the  power  of  godliness  ? 

Briefly,  the  power  of  godliness  is  opposed  to  a 
form  of  godliness.  And  therefore,  as  a  form  of  god 
liness  is  only  an  empty  show  and  appearance  of  it, 
so  the  power  of  godliness  is  unfeigned,  real,  and  true 
godliness.  Which  consists  in  the  sincere  love  of  Cod 
above  all  things,  and  the  love  of  our  neighbour  as 
ourselves,  expressed  in  our  lives  by  constant  actions 
of  piety  towards  God,  and  of  justice  and  charity 
towards  our  neighbour.  And  so  I  pass  to  the  third 
and  last  inquiry,  viz. 

III.  What    is    meant    by    denying    the  power   of 
godliness  ? 

I  answer  again,  in  short,  to  deny  the  power  of 
godliness,  is  for  a  man  by  indecent  and  vicious  ac 
tions  to  contradict  his  outward  show  and  profession 
of  godliness.  According  to  that  description  of  the 
wicked  Jews  given  by  St.  Paul,  Tit.  i.  16,  they  pro 
fess  that  they  know  God;  but  by  works  they  deny 
him,  being  abominable  (Did  disobedient,  and  to  every 
good  work  reprobate.  And  this  briefly  may  suffice 
for  the  explanation  of  the  text. 

The  proposition  or  doctrine  resulting  from  it  thus 
explained  is  this  : 

A  man  may  have  a  form  or  show  of  godliness, 
when  yet  he  is  very  far  from  the  power,  i.  e.  the 
truth  and  reality  of  it. 

A  notable  instance  of  this  wre  have  in  the  Phari 
sees,  who  had  indeed  a  very  specious  form  of 


frit/tout  flic  Power  of  it.  377 

godliness,  but  most  certainly  denied  the  power  of  it 
They  appeared  to  the  ignorant  people  to  be  the  best 
of  men,  when  indeed  they  were  the  worst.  They 
made  long  prayers,  which  were  directed  more  to 
the  people  than  to  God  himself,  more  to  gain  their 
applause  than  God's  gracious  acceptance;  and  ac 
cordingly  all  the  while  they  cunningly  and  under 
hand  devoured  iridnirx  IIOHXCS,  Matt,  xxiii.  14.  The 
trumpet  sounded  out  their  alms  in  the  market-place, 
but  this,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  wise  men,  proclaim 
ed  their  vanity,  rather  than  their  charity,  Matt.  vi.  12. 
They  prayed  in  the  ,vy//w/or/w.v  and  the  corners  of 
the  A/m.7.v,  and  thereby  got  the  reputation  of  very 
pious  and  devout  men  ;  but  all  the  while  they  sel 
dom  or  never  prayed  in  secret,  because  indeed  they 
regarded  not  so  much  God's  acceptance  as  the  ap 
probation  and  applause  of  the  people,  Matt.  vi.  (>,  7. 
And  indeed  they  had  the  poor  and  low  reward  which 
they  aimed  at.  They  were  cried  up,  admired,  and 
almost  adored  by  the  common  people  for  the  most 
holy  men,  the  most  godly  sect  and  party  among  the 
.lews;  but,  all  the  while,  these  men  were  the  chil 
dren  of  wrath,  and  the  sons  of  perdition,  as  far  from 
the  power  of  godliness,  as  they  were  famous  for  the 
form  of  it;  as  much  abhorred  by  God,  as  they  were 
admired  by  men. 

But  what  need  T  look  farther  than  the  context  for 
an  instance  of  this  truth  ?  The  very  same  men,  whom 
St.  Paul  describes  in  the  text,  as  having  a  form  of 
godliness,  are  charged  by  him  in  the  foregoing  verses 
with  a  long  and  lamentable  catalogue  of  the  greatest 
sins  and  vices:  For  men  shall  be  lovers  of  their  own 
selves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud,  blasphemers,  disobe 
dient  to  parents,  unthankful,  unholy,  without  natural 


378  A  Form  of  Godliness,  SERM.  xv. 

affection,  trucebreal-cers,  false  accusers,  incontinent, 
fierce,  despisers  of  those  that  are  good,  traitors,  heady, 
highminded,  lorcr*  of  pleasures  more  than  lovers  of 
God :  and  then  it  follows  in  the  text,  having  a  form 
of  godliness. 

Upon  which  words  of  the  apostle,  Mr.  Calvin  hath 
three  remarks  or  observations  not  unworthy  of  our 
notice. 

1.  He  observes,  that  the  persons  here  noted  for 
these  .heinous  vices  are  not    heathens,  or  professed 
enemies  to  Christianity,  but  Christians,  and  such  as 
would  be  accounted  members  of  the  church  of  Christ. 
It  is  the  lot  of  the  church  of  Christ  in  every  age  to 
carry  such    monsters   in   her  bosom,  which   yet  she 
cannot  but  abhor.     And  therefore  if  in  our  times  we 
find  many  such   persons  mixed  in   our  communion, 
whose  vices  we  abominate,  though  we  may  sigh  and 
groan  under  the  burden,  yet  we  must  patiently  bear 
it,  as  knowing  that  this  is  the  fate  and  portion  of 
the  Christian  church. 

2.  lie  observes,  that  it  is  a  wondrous  thing  that 
such  wicked  men  as  are  here  described  by  the  apostle 
should  have  the  confidence  to  pretend  to  godliness. 
And  yet  we  have  the  testimony  of  the  great  apostle 
to  assure  us  of  the  truth  of  this  so  strange  a  thing. 
Incredible  is  the  impudence  of  hypocrites,  in   pal 
liating  and  excusing  their  grossest  vices  under  the 
outward  profession  of  religion. 

3.  lie  observes,  that  the  vices  here  noted,  in  the 
persons  described  by  the  apostle,  are  for  the  most 
part  sculking  and  latent  vices,  such  as  do  not  easily 
fall    under    vulgar    observation,    and    yet    generally 
accompany  a  feigned  sanctity.     For  what  hypocrite 
is  there  that  is  not  proud  ?   that  is  not  a  lover  of 


without  tin-  r<>in>>'  of  it.  .'379 

himself?  that  is  not  a  despiscr  of  others?  that  is 
not  fierce  and  cruel?  that  is  not  fraudulent  and 
deceitful  ?  And  so  in  the  rest. 

The  time  will  not  permit  me  largely  to  discourse 
of  each  of  these  vices;  but  yet  I  shall  briefly  run 
over  some  of  the  chief  of  them,  not  only  for  the 
farther  confirmation  of  the  proposition,  but  also  to 
give  you  a  lively  portraiture  or  representation  of  the 
hypocrite,  who  hath  <i  fonn  of  godliness)  hut 
the  jtoirei'  of  it. 

1.  Then,  these  formalists  are  said  to  be 
lorers  <>/'  their  otnt  .w7/v.v.  This  vice4  of  theirs  the 
apostle  puts  in  the  front  of  this  black  catalogue,  and 
mentions  it  in  the  first  place,  because  it  is  the  foun 
tain  and  original  of  all  the  other  vices  that  follow. 
Indeed  it  is  not  simplv  and  absolutely  sinful  for  a 
man  to  love  himself,  nay.  self-love  is  the  first  and 
most  immediate  dictate  of  the  law  of  nature:  for  to 
love,  is  to  wish  well  and  do  good  to  the  person  loved  : 
and  this  every  man  owes"  in  the  first  place  to  him 
self,  and  then  to  his  neighbour.  Charity  begins  at 
home,  though  it  doth  not  end  there.  But  they  are 
here  said  to  be  I  over*  of  themselres.  whom  St.  Paul 
otherwhere  notes,  as  men  that  .wv/r  their.  oirn  things* 
i.  e.  who  study  only  or  chiefly  their  own  conveniences 
and  advantages  in  this  world,  having  little  or  no 
regard  to  the  glorv  of  God,  or  the  benefit  of  their 
neighbours. 

Against  this  vice  the  apostle  cautions  us,  1  Cor.  x. 
24 :  Let  no  man  seek  ///.v  OH-H,  hnt  cren/  wnn  ati- 
other*s  irea/fh.  So  again,  Phil.  ii.  4:  Look  not  even/ 
man.  on  his  own  things,  hnt  even/  man  aho  on  the 
things  of  others.  And  in  the  twenty-first  verse  of 
the  same  chapter,  he  notes  this  as  an  epidemical 


380  A  Form  of  Godliness,  SERM.  xv. 

vice;  for  all  seek  their  own,  not  the  things  which  are 
Jesus  Christ's.  And  the  same  apostle  otherwhere 
esteems  it  as  a  vice  most  repugnant  to  the  theological 
virtue  of  charity,  1  Cor.  xiii.  5 :  Charity  seeheth  not 
her  own. 

Indeed  there  is  another  notion  of  this  (piXavrla,  or 
self-lore,  among  the  moralists,  with  whom  it  com 
monly  signifies  that  vice  whereby  a  man  is  too  fond 
of  himself,  and  arrogates  to  himself  more  worth  than 
indeed  he  hath,  overvalues  himself.  But  this  vice  is 
noted  afterwards  by  the  apostle  in  other  words,  as 
yon  will  presently  see.  The  former  notion  therefore 
is  most  apposite  to  this  place  of  the  apostle. 

And  from  hence  we  may  conclude,  that  a  selfish 
man,  that  minds  only  his  own  interest  in  this  world, 
whatever  form  of  godliness  he  may  otherwise  have 
put  on,  can  never  be  a  true  Christian,  is  very  far 
from  the  power  of  f/odlhicss.  For  he  is  plainly  void 
of  charity,  "  without  which"  (as  our  church  expresseth 
it  in  one  of  her  Collects)  "  all  our  doings  are  nothing 
"  worth,  charity  being  the  most  excellent  gift,  the 
"  very  bond  of  peace  and  of  all  virtues,  without 
"  which  whosoever  livcth  is  accounted  dead  before 
"  God." 

2.  The  formalists,  noted  by  the  apostle,  are  said 
to  be  (ptXdpyvpoi,  lovers  of  money,  covetous  persons: 
a  vice  also  most  opposite  to  the  power  of  godliness, 
and  yet  a  vice  very  incident  to  many  who  make  the 
highest  profession  of  it.  The  heinousness  of  the  sin 
appears  in  this,  that  it  is  reckoned  with  the  foulest 
vices,  Eph.  v.  3 :  But  fornication,  and  all  unclean- 
ness,  or  covetousness,  let  it  not  be  once  named 
among  you,,  as  hccometh  saints.  And  verse  5,  of 
the  same  chapter,  the  covetous  man  is  by  the 


without  tlu>  I'oirer  of  if.  381 


apostle  branded  as  an  idolater:  For  this  ye 
that  no  whoremonger  )  nor  unclean  person,  nor  coretou* 
man,  who  is  an  idolater,  hath  any  inheritance  in  the 
kincjdom  of  Christ  and  of  Cod. 

3.  These   formalists   are   said   to   be   aXa^oVe?  KU\ 
V7repij(puvoi,  (toasters  and  proud,  i.  e.  such  as  through 
the  pride  of  their  hearts  boast  and  vaunt  themselves 
in  their  words  and  actions  :  another  most  detestable 
vice,  and  most  contrary  to  tlic  potrer  of  godliness  : 
For  God  rcsixtctJi   the  proud,  but  uirefJt  grace  to  the 
humble,  1  Pet.  v.  5.     The  proud  man  therefore  is  an 
enemy  to  God,  and  a  graceless  person. 

4.  They  are  said   to   be  /SXaV^/xo*,  blasphemers, 
Strange  !  how  can  any  man  that  hath  any  form  or 
show  of  godliness,   that   pretends    to   any   thing   of 
religion,  be  guilty  of  blasphemy?     Yes;  even  such 
a    man    may    entertain    such    notions    of   God,   and 
maintain   such    doctrines    in    religion,  as   by  conse 
quence  at  least  are  blasphemy.     Thus  the  Gnostics, 
on   whom   the   apostle   seems   here   to   reflect,   held 
several    doctrines    that    in    their    consequence  were 
highly  blasphemous.     Among  others  of  this  nature 
they    affirmed,    that    certain     men     are    necessarily 
wicked,  and   by  an   irrespective   absolute  decree   of 
God  predestinated  and  determined  to  sin,  and  so  to 
damnation,  which  is  to  make  God  the  author  of  sin, 
and  also  the  punisher  of  that  sin  which  he  himself 
is   the   author   of  ;    both   which   are    certainly  very 
gross  blasphemies.     That  they  held  this  doctrine,  we 
learn  from  Irenauis  and  other  ancient  writers.     And 
against  this  their  blasphemy  St.  James  discourseth, 
chap.  i.  13,14,15  :  Let  no  man  say  when  he  is  tempted, 
I  am  tempted  of  God  :  for  God  cannot  he  tempted 
with  evil,  neither  temptcth   he  any  man  :  but  even/ 


382  A  Form  of  Godliness,  SERM.  xv. 

man  is  tempted  when  he  is  drawn  away  of  his  own 
lust,  and  enticed.  Then  when  last  hath  conceived,  it 
brhujeth  forth  sin  :  and  xin,  when  it  is  finished, 
bringeth  forth,  death.  I  delight  not  in  invidious  and 
odious  parallels  ;  but  I  wish  there  were  not  some 
even  in  our  days,  and  those  such  as  seem  to  appro 
priate  to  themselves  the  character  of  the  godly  and 
orthodox  party,  who  after  the  same  manner  assert  the 
same  blasphemy.  But  thus  even  the  sin  of  blasphemy 
may  be  sheltered  under  a  form  of  godliness. 

But  there  are  some  expositors  who  understand 
the  word  /3X«'o-^»;//o/  here  in  a  milder  sense,  and  with 
reference  to  men,  as  it  denotes  such  as  by  contu 
melious  speeches  maliciously  injure  the  fame  and 
reputation  of  others,  especially  their  superiors,  and 
those  that  are  in  authority  over  them  ;  which  is 
indeed  a  grievous  HII,  and  inconsistent  with  the 
power  of  godliness.  And  it  is  a  sort  of  blasphemy, 
as  being  against  God's  representatives,  and  accord 
ingly  very  severely  prohibited,  Exod.  xxii.  28  :  Thou 
shall  not  recile  the  gods,  nor  enrse  the  ruler  of  thy 
people.  And  this  vice  also  is  censured  in  the  Gnostics 
by  St.  Jude  in  his  Epistle,  verse  8,  where  they  are 
said  to  despise  dominion,  and  to  speak  evil  of  dignities. 
And  even  in  our  days,  how  many  great  pretenders  to 
religion  are  there,  who  are  egregiously  guilty  of  this 
kind  of  blasphemy. 

5.  These  formalists  are  noted  by  the  apostle  as 
disobedient  to  parents.  A  very  grievous  sin  likewise, 
and  most  opposite  to  the  power  of  godliness.  For  let 
men  pretend  what  they  will,  he  cannot  truly  honour 
God  the  Father  in  heaven,  who  doth  not  duly  honour 
his  father,  his  parents  on  earth. 

But  interpreters  here  well  observe,  that  we  are  to 


iritliunt  the  Power  of  it.  383 

collect  e,r  specie  <}<'nn*,  from  one  special  sort  of 
disobedience  mentioned,  viz.,  disobedience  to  parents, 
all  disobedience  to  superiors  in  general.  And  indeed 
all  disobedience  to  superiors,  whether  natural,  civil, 
or  ecclesiastical,  whether  to  parents,  magistrates,  or 
ministers  of  the  church,  though  it  may  consist  with 
a  fur  HI  of  godliness,  yet  it  is  utterly  inconsistent  with 
the  power  of  it. 

6.  These  formalists  are  said  to  be  a^tpia-Tot, 
Mttliankful.  Unthankful  to  (Jod  for  his  manifold 
mercies ;  unthankful  to  men  that  are  their  bene 
factors.  A  vile  sin  again,  even  in  the  judgment 
of  the  heathen,  who  could  tell  us,  Inanition  si 
diti'ens,  c^c.  \Vheii  you  have  said  a  man  is  un 
grateful,  you  have  said  all  ;  you  cannot  say  any 
thing  worse  of  him. 

7-  They  are  said  to  be  acrTopyoi^  without  natui'til 
affection.  So  far  were  these  formalists  from  Christian 
charity,  which  extends  to  all  men,  that  they  wen* 
destitute  of  natural  affection,  of  that  love  which 
even  nature  teacheth  men  to  shew  to  their  own 
flesh  and  blood.  They  were  void,  not  only  of  true 
grace,  but  of  good-nature. 

8.  Thev  are  said  to  be  cianrovSoti  tritcebrealfcrs : 
men  that  make  little  or  no  conscience  of  their 
most  solemn  promises,  engagements,  and  agreements, 
which  they  make  with  others,  but  can  break  through 
them  all  to  serve  their  own  interest. 

9.  They  are  said  to  be  SidftoXot,  false  accuser*;  which 
is  the  title  of  devils.  They  make  no  conscience  of 
raising  or  spreading  abroad  lies,  false  and  scandalous 
reports  upon  innocent  persons,  to  their  great  preju 
dice  and  disadvantage.  Alas  !  how  many  are  there 
in  our  days,  who  though  they  are  great  pretenders  to 


384  A  Form,  of  Godliness,  SERM.  xv. 

the  power  of  godliness ,  yet  are  notoriously  guilty  of 
this  very  grievous  sin. 

10.  And  lastly,  (to  pass  by  the  other  vices  next 
mentioned  by  the  apostle,  as  being  some  way  or 
other  reducible  to  the  former,)  these  formalists  are 
said  to  be  cf)i\i']Sovai  jud\\ov  5}  (pi\o9eoi,  lover*  of 
pleasures  more  than  lor  era  of  Cod ;  i.e.  their  hearts 
are  set  upon  their  lusts  more  than  upon  God  or 
goodness.  This  indeed  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  their 
other  sins  before  mentioned.  For  where  the  sincere 
love  of  God  above  all  things  is  found,  it  will  exclude 
all  the  foremen tioned  sins  and  vices.  But  where 
that  love  is  wanting,  qua  data  porta  ruunt,  there  a 
wide  gate  is  opened  for  all  those  evils  to  rush  and 
break  in  upon  the  soul.  And  therefore  where  this 
love  of  God  is  wanting,  the  power  of  godliness  cannot 
possibly  be. 

These  are  the  black  characters  of  the  men  de 
scribed  by  the  apostle,  and  of  whom  he  saith  in  my 
text,  that  tlicij  ha  re  a  form  of  godliness,  whilst  they 
deny  the  power  thereof.  From  whence  you  may  see, 
what  a  legion  of  devils  may  lurk  under  the  pre 
tended  saint,  what  a  troop  of  the  most  heinous  sins 
may  shelter  themselves  under  a  form  of  godliness. 

And  thus  I  have  fully  (I  hope)  confirmed  and  illus 
trated  the  proposition  laid  down,  viz.,  That  a  man 
may  have  a  form  or  show  of  godliness,  when  yet  he 
is  very  far  from  the  power,  i.  e.  the  truth  and  reality 
of  it.  Now  briefly  to  apply  this  whole  discourse. 

1.  Let  us  take  heed  of  being  deceived  by  such  as 
having  a  form  of  godliness,  yet  deny  the  power  of  it. 
Let  us  not  be  cheated  by  false  appearances.  Let 
us  not  believe  every  pretender  to  godliness,  but 
remember  that  all  is  not  gold  that  glitters  :  that  the 


icithont  flu-  I'ower  <f  it. 

greatest  wickedness  may  lurk  under  the  most  spe 
cious  fnrni  of  godliness.  Indeed  tliey  tliat  a  fleet  to 
make  tlie  greatest  show  of  godliness  are  most  of  all 
to  he  suspected.  For  the  truly  good  man  is  humble, 
content  with  the  testimony  of  his  own  conscience, 
and  the  approbation  of  (Jod;  and  therefore  is  not  so 
solicitous  to  set  himself  out  to  others  to  the  best 
advantage,  as  the  hypocrite  is. 

This  caution  is  the  very  use  of  this  doctrine,  which 
the  apostle  himself  directs  us  to  in  the  words  imme 
diately  following  my  text :  from  such,  such  formal 
ists,  turn  away ;  i.e.  shun  sind  avoid  them.  And 
from  the  verses  next  following,  it  appears  the  apo 
stle  had  a  special  eye  to  unlicensed,  false,  and  schis- 
matical  teachers,  who,  by  a  specious  form  of  (jodli- 
ness,  endeavoured  to  seduce  men  from  their  lawful 
pastors,  and  to  draw  them  from  the  communion  of 
the  church,  into  house-meetings  and  private  con 
venticles.  Head  the  sixth  and  seventh  verses,  and 
you  would  think  the  apostle  foresaw  and  described 
the  humour  of  our  age.  Of  this  sort  (i.  e.  of  men, 
who  having  a  form  of  godliness,  deny  the  -power  of  it] 
are  they  who  creep  into  houses,  and  lead  capticc  silly 
women,  laden  with  sins,  led  away  with  direr*  lusts, 
ever  learning^  and  never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge 
of  the  truth. 

1.  They  creep  into  houses.    They  forsake  the  public 
communion,  and  keep  private  conventicles  in  houses, 
whereinto  they  creep  and    insinuate  themselves  by 
fair  and  specious  pretences. 

2.  Leading  captive  silly  women.      Bv  a   form    of 
godliness,  and   a  fair  show  of  more   than   ordinary 
holiness,   they   impose    especially   upon    the    female 
sex,  as   being   the   weaker,  and   generally  of  lesser 

Bl'LL,    VOL.   I.  c  C 


386  A  Form  of  Godliness,  SERM.  xv. 

judgment,  reason,  and  understanding.  In  this  they 
imitate  the  old  serpent,  the  Devil,  who  began  his 
temptation  upon  the  woman  first,  and  then  by  her 
seduced  the  man  also. 

3.  Ever  learning,  and  never  able  to  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  truth  :  i.  e.  they  continually  hang 
upon  the  lips  of  these  schismatical  teachers,  and  are 
continually  hearing  and  repeating  their  preachments, 
so  that  one  would  think  they  must  needs  learn 
much;  but  indeed  they  never  arrive  to  that  solid 
and  substantial  knowledge  in  religion,  which,  by  a 
constant  attendance  on  their  lawful  pastors,  and 
their  ministry,  they  might  have  arrived  to. 

O  that  the  men  of  our  age  would  attend  to  these 
words  of  the  apostle,  and  be  so  wise  at  last  as  to 
shun  and  avoid  such  seducers  ! 

That  is  the  first  inference,  and  you  see  it  is  the 
very  use  which  the  apostle  himself  makes  of  the 
doctrine. 

2.  Let  us  take  heed  we  deceive  not  ourselves  by 
a  form  of  godliness,  whilst  we  deny  the  power  of  it. 
Let  us  often  and  seriously  consider,  that  Ave  have  to 
do  with  a  God,  who  is  the  searcher  of  hearts,  and  a 
trier  of  the  reins,  wTho  cannot  be  imposed  upon  by 
any  cunning  hypocritical  artifices  of  men.  No  mist 
that  our  self-love  can  cast  either  upon  our  own  or 
other  men's  eyes  can  darken  his  sight,  but  he  sees 
through  it  into  the  bottom  of  our  hearts,  and  out 
most  secret  inclinations.  Though  w7e  may  deceive 
others  and  ourselves  too  with  false  appearances  of 
things,  yet  we  can  never  deceive  him.  He  knows  us 
far  better  than  we  do  ourselves.  And  at  the  great 
day  of  trial,  he  will  thoroughly  anatomize  us,  and 
lay  our  very  inside  perfectly  open  and  naked  to  the 


.'387 

view  of  the  whole  world,  to  the  sight  of  men  and 
angels.  And  how  will  the  man  that  hath  only  a 
form  of  godliness,  without  the  power  of  //,  be  then 
ashamed  and  confounded  ! 

Thev  are  great  and  weighty  words,  which  the  di 
vine  author  of  the  Kpistle  to  the  Hebrews  delivers 
in  this  case,  chap.  iv.  12,  13:  l^>r  the  word  of  (lod 
(i.e.  the  personal  Word  or  Son  of  God  b,  as  appears 
from  the  sequel)  is  quick,  and  powerful^  and  sharper 
than  any  twoedaed  sword,  pie-winy  even  fo  tin-  di- 
vidiny  asunder  of  the  soul  and  spirit,  and  of  the 
joints  and  niarrou\  and  is  a  discerner  of  the  thoiuihts 
and  intents  of  the  heart.  Neither  is  there  am/  crea 
ture  that  is  not  manifest  In  7//\  siqht :  bid  all  things 
are  naked  and  open  to  the  ei/es  of  him  with  whom  we 
hare  to  do. 

Let  us  not  therefore  acquiesce  in  a  bare  for  in  of 
godliness,  let  us  never  be  at  rest  till  we  have  attained 
to  the  power  of  it.  And  to  assure  ourselves  of  this, 
let  us  carefully  shun  and  avoid  the  sins  and  vices 
noted  in  the  persons  described  by  the  apostle,  and 
let  us  practise  the  contrary  virtues. 

Let  us  not  be  lovers  of  ourselves,  i.  e.  self-seekers, 
without  a  due  regard  to  the  glory  of  God  and  good 
of  others ;  but  let  us  make  these  our  chicfest  aim 
and  end  ;  for  thereby  we  shall  be  the  truest  lovers  of 
ourselves. 

Let  us  take  heed  and  beware  of  covetousness.  It 
is  the  repeated  caution  of  our  Saviour.  Let  us  covet 
earnestly  the  best  things;  let  us  seek  first  the  king 
dom  of  God,  &c.  Matt.  vi.  33. 

Let  us  lay  aside  all  pride  and  vainglory,  and  he 
clothed  with  humility.  1.  Pet.  v.  5. 

b  [See  Wnterland's  Works,  vol.  III.  p.  154.] 
C  C  2 


388  A  Form  of  Godliness,  $c.         SERM.  xv. 

Let  us  avoid  all  unworthy  notions,  thoughts,  and 
speeches  of  the  great  and  glorious  God,  and  speak 
reverently  of  those  men  that  represent  him. 

Let  us  be  obedient  to  all  our  superiors,  whether 
natural,  civil,  or  ecclesiastical. 

Let  us  be  thankful  to  God  for  his  mercies,  and  to 
all  men  that  are  our  benefactors. 

Let  us  love  all  men,  but  especially  let  us  be  tender 
to  our  natural  relations. 

Let  us  to  our  power  be  faithful  keepers  of  all 
promises  we  make  to  our  neighbours,  especially  in 
matters  of  right  and  justice. 

Let  us  take  heed  of  all  calumny  and  slandering  of 
others,  and  speak  evil  of  no  man  unnecessarily. 

Lastly,  and  above  all  things,  let  us  pray  most 
earnestly  for  the  love  of  God,  the  prevailing  love  of 
God,  the  love  of  God  above  all  things.  That  we  may 
see  the  perfect  vanity  of  all  other  things,  how  short 
our  enjoyment  of  them  will  be,  how  little  good  there 
is  in  them,  and  how  infinitely  good  and  excellent  a 
being  God  is,  and  may  therefore  set  our  hearts  upon 
him,  and  choose  him  for  our  everlasting  portion. 

These  are  the  virtues,  opposite  to  those  vices, 
which  the  apostle  notes  as  repugnant  to  the  power 
of  godliness.  In  the  practice  of  these,  the  power  of 
godliness  consists,  and  without  them,  no  form  of 
godliness  will  avail  us  at  the  great  day  of  accounts. 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  be 
ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and  wor 
ship,  both  now  and  for  ever.  Amen. 


SERMON    XVI. 


A    I'KOSl'KROrS    CONDITION"    I\    THIS    WOULD  IS    A     BLKSSING 

OK    GOD,   \VHKKK1  \    WK     NOT     ONLY     MAY,  1U"T    Ol'GHT     TO 

HK.IOK  K,   SIXCK    IT    IS    (ilVKN    I'S     HY    (-OD  AS    A    I'K.Ct'LlAU 
TI.MK   OK    COMKOHT   AND    H  K.JOIC  I  \C. 


K(  CLK.S.   vii.  14. 

In  1h>-  (/<t//  of  prosperity  oc  joyful  but  in  the  d<i>j  of  adoer- 
sity  consider :  (.{<>d  alto  linth  .W  the  one  ocer  dffdinst  the 
other,  to  tin1  end  that  man  should  find  nothiilf]  <(fter  hnn. 

THOUGH  it  IK*  very  liard  in  divers  places  of  this 
book  of  Kcclesiastes  to  find  out  the  connection 
of  one  sentence  with  the  other;  yet  here  a  probable 
account  may  be  ^iven  of  the  coherence  of  my  text 
with  the  preceding  verse.  For  therein  the  Wise 
Man  exhorts  us  to  consider  the  work  of  God,  i.  e. 
his  work  of  providence,  us  by  tin;  whole  context  we 
are  led  to  understand  the  words  ;  to  consider  that 
God  works  still  by  his  providence,  and  what  he 
works  ;  and  he  tells  us,  that  upon  this  considera 
tion,  we  shall  be  forced  to  say,  Who  can  make  that 
straight,  which  he  JtatJi  made  crooked?  i.  e.  God's 
providence  is  uncontrollable,  and  those  evil  afflictive 
things  that  happen  to  men  in  the  world  by  his  will 
cannot  be  avoided  ;  those  crooked  things  that  are  so 

a  [From  the  manner  in  which  king  Charles  II.  is  mentioned, 
towards  the  end  of  this  Sermon,  it  would  appear  to  have  been 
written  after  the  death  of  that  king.] 


390  The  Dai/  of  Prosperity        SERM.  xvi. 

to  us,  that  bend  and  turn  from  the  way  and  course 
designed  and  desired  by  us,  are  directed  by  God, 
and  what  he  will  have  thus  crooked,  who  can  make 
.straight  f  To  the  same  sense  the  Wise  Man  speaks, 
chap,  i.  14,  15 :  /  hace  -seen  (ill  the  works  that  arc 
clone  under  the  sun  ;  and  behold  all  is  vanity  and 
relation  of  spirit.  That  which  is  crooked  cannot 
be  made  straight. 

Upon  this  consideration,  the  Preacher  in  my  text 
exhorts  us  all  to  attend  to  the  work  of  God's  provi 
dence  in  the  various  occurrences  and  dispensations 
thereof,  whether  prosperous  or  afflictive,  and  to  ac 
commodate  and  apply  ourselves  to  them  accordingly. 
In  the  day  of  prosperity,  &c. 

In  the  handling  of  which  text  I  shall  follow 
my  usual  method,  first  throughly  to  explain  it,  and 
then  to  raise  some  practical  and  useful  observations 
from  it. 

In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joy  fid,  but  in  the  day 
of  adversity  consider'  In  the  Hebrew  niitt  DV2' 
in  the  good  day,  or  the  day  of  goodness,  i.e.  in  the 
day  or  time  when  the  good  tilings  we  desire  happen 
to  us.  So  the  phrase  is  often  used  in  Scripture;  see 
particularly  1-Pet.  iii.  10:  Ife  that  will  love  life  and 
see  good  (i.  e.  happy  and  prosperous)  days,  let  him 
refrain  his  tongue  from  evil. 

Be  joyful.  In  the  Hebrew7  ^til  rpn>  literally,  be 
thou  in  good.  The  Septuagint  renders  it  gtjOt  w  ayaOw, 
live  in  good.  The  vulgar  Latin  more  clearly,  f rue-re 
bonis,  "  enjoy  thou  the  good  things,"  which  God  hath 
given  thee,  with  complacence  and  delight  in  them. 

But  in  the  day  of  adversity.  In  the  Hebrew 
DV2'  in  the  evil  day,  when  afflictive  and  evil 


n  Tune  of  Rejoicing.  391 

things  happen  to  thee.  This  is  the  known  sense  of 
the  phrase  of  evil  days  in  Scripture.  So  (Jen.  xlvii.9, 
Jacob  expressing1  to  Pharaoh  the  troubles  and  afflic 
tions  of  his  past  life,  saitli,  /^etr  and  eril  hare  the 
(/ays  of  the  years  of  my  life  been.  So  the  Wise 
Man  again  in  his  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  chap.  xii.  1  : 
Remember  noie  tin/  Creator  in  t!ie  days  oj'  thy 
yonth,  while  tlte  erf/  days  come  not,  inn-  the  years 
draw  niaJt,  when  thou  shalt  say,  1  hare  no  plea 
sure  in  them.  Where  the  days  of  old  age  are  called 
eril  days,  because  they  are  generally  attended  with 
sickness  and  infirmities,  and  other  evils  both  of  body 
and  mind. 

Jn  the  daf/  of  adversity  consider.  In  the  Hebrew 
nt$"v  -syy'  thou,  consider  well  the  circumstances  thou 
art  in,  and  the  duty  incumbent  on  thee  ;  think  in 
what  condition  thou  art,  and  what  thou  art  to  do  in 
that  state. 

But  must  we  not  consider  also  in  the  day  of  pros 
perity^  Must  we  then  lay  aside  our  reason  and 
consideration,  and  drown  ourselves  in  sensuality  ? 
God  forbid.  F  shall  shew  yon  anon  the  necessary 
cautions  and  considerations  we  ;<re  to  make  use  of 
in  the  day  of  prosperity. 

Hut  in  tin'  day  of  adversity  we  are  especially 
concerned  to  consider,  and  to  consider  in  a  more 
especial  manner.  This  is  a  season  wherein  divine 
Providence  more  loudly  calls  ns  to  consideration, 
and  to  a  deeper  consideration.  Wre  have  a  like  text 
to  this  in  the  Epistle  of  St.  James,  chap.  v.  13:  Is 
any  ?tian  amoitcf  you  afflicted?  let  him  pray.  Is 
any  merry  f  let  him  sing  psalms.  Shall  we  hence 
conclude,  that  we  are  to  pray  only  in  the  time  of  af 
fliction  ?  This  were  an  absurd  and  wicked  inference. 


The  ha  a  of  Prosperity         SERM.  xvi. 

For  we  are  to  pray  always.  But  the  time  of  afflic 
tion  is  a  more  special  season  for  prayer,  for  much 
and  mighty,  for  frequent  and  fervent  prayer. 

Thus  we  say  evyaire  yepovrwv^  that  prayer  is  the 
proper  province  *  the  business  of  old  men,  who  are 
going  out  of  the  world.  Not  as  if  old  men  only 
were  obliged  to  pray  :  but  they  being  just  ready  to 
be  called  out  of  this  world  to  God's  tribu-nal,  and 
upon  the  very  confines  of  an  eternal  state,  either  of 
happiness  or  misery,  are  in  a  more  special  manner 
concerned  to  be  very  frequent  and  earnest  in  the 
exercise  of  this  duty.  In  tlie  day  of  adversity 
consider.  This  is  a  most  proper  season  for  con 
sideration  ;  and  if  men  do  not  then  consider,  they 
never  will.  But  to  proceed  with  the  words  of  the 
text. 

God  also  hath  set  the  one  orer  (ujainst  the  other, 
i,  e.  God  hath  set  our  evil  days,  or  days  of  adversity, 
against  our  days  of  prosperity,  each  against  and  with 
each  other.  Our  life  is  not  made  up  wholly  either  of 
prosperous  or  evil  days,  but  is  a  mixture  of  both  ; 
one  while  we  are  in  the  day  of  prosperity,  and  then 
presently  after  in  that  of  adversity;  by  such  vicissi 
tudes  and  changes,  as  the  divine  wisdom  thinks  fit, 
and  most  conducing  to  his  glory  and  our  good.  And 
so  I  come  to  the  last  words  of  my  text. 

That  man  should  find  nothing  after  him,  i.  e.  (as 
the  most  learned  interpreters  generally  expound  the 
words  according  to  the  ancient  Latin  translation,) 
id  non  invcniat  homo  contra  emn  justas  (jucerimo- 
nias,  "  that  man  might  have  no  just  cause  of  com- 
"  plaining  against  him."  For,  according  to  the  He 
brew  idiom,  to  find  something  after  another,  signi 
fies,  upon  examination,  to  find  some  fault  in  what 


(i  Time  o    Ro'H'htij.  39'* 


lie  hath  done.  According  to  this  interpretation, 
the  moaning  of  the  words  is  tliis  :  "God  hath  so 
"  disposed  and  ordered  the  whole  course  of  man's 
"  life  on  earth,  so  chequered  and  intermingled  his 
"  prosperous  and  evil  days  one  with  the  other,  that, 
"  upon  a  review  of  the  whole,  man  himself  will  find 
"  no  reason  to  complain  of  him,  or  to  blame  either 
'•  his  wisdom,  or  justice,  or  goodness  in  that  dis- 
"  posal." 

So  that  in  the  whole,  the  text  is  (as  an  excellent 
person  expresseth  it)  k'  an  admirable  advice  to  com- 
"  plv  with  our  j>resent  condition,  and  suit  our  minds 
'c  unto  it  ;"  because  we  cannot  bring  things  to  the 
bent  of  our  own  minds,  and  therefore  had  better 
study  to  conform  our  mind  to  our  condition,  what 
soever  it  be,  whether  prosperity  or  adversity;  into 
which  the  divine  wisdom  hath  divided  our  life,  and 
so  proportioned  them  one  to  the  other,  that  none 
can  justly  find  fault  with  his  disposal,  nor,  all  things 
considered,  tell  how  to  mend  them  or  order  them 
better. 

The  text  thus  explained  readily  yields  us  these 
following  observations  : 

I.  The  good  and  prosperous  days  and  times  of  our 
life  are  in  God's  dbsign  given  to  us  as  peculiar  times 
of  comfort  and  rejoicing. 

II.  The    evil    days,    the    days    and    times    of   our 
affliction  and  trouble,  are  in  God's  design  the  proper 
seasons  of  recollection  and  serious  consideration. 

III.  The  providence  of  God  hath  so  contrived  it, 
that  our  good  and  evil  days,  our  days  of  prosperity 
and  adversity;  should  be  intermingled  each  with  the 
other. 

IV.  This  mixture  of  good  and  evil  days  is  by  the. 


394  The  Day  of  Prosperity        SERM.  xvi. 

divine  Providence  so  proportioned,  that  it  sufficiently 
justifies  the  dealings  of  God  towards  the  sons  of  men, 
and  obviates  all  our  discontents  and  in nr mu rings 
against  him. 

I.  The  good  and  prosperous  days  and  times  of  our 
life  are  in  God's  design  given  to  us  as  peculiar  times 
of  comfort  and  rejoicing. 

In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful.  This  is  the 
proper  time  and  season  of  rejoicing.  Prosperity 
indeed  is  no  prosperity  but  to  him  that  rejoiceth  in 
it;  and  we  then  only  enjoy  God's  blessings,  when 
we  delight  and  take  pleasure  in  them.  And  there 
fore  the  Preacher  doth  often  in  this  book  exhort  us 
to  rejoice  in  our  present  good  things.  Nay,  God 
himself  doth  not  only  allow,  but  require  and  com 
mand  his  people  to  rejoice  in  the  temporal  blessings 
he  bestows  upon  them.  80  Dcut.  xii.7:  Yc  shall 
rejoice  in  all  that  ye  put  your  hand  unto,  yc^  and  your 
households,  wherein  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  blessed 
tliee.  So  again,  God  commands  them,  after  their 
offering  the  first-fruits  of  their  increase,  to  rejoice 
and  delight  themselves  in  the  rest,  Dent.  xxvi.  11  : 
And  thou  shalt  rejoice  i)i  every  fjood  thing  which  the 
Lord  thy  God  hath  aivcn  thee. 

Nor  is  this  merely  Old  Testament  doctrine ;  for  in 
the  New  Testament  St.  Paul  tells  rich  men,  that  God 
hath  given  them  richly  all  things  to  enjoy  ^  [1  Tim. 
vi.  17.]  Nay,  our  blessed  Lord  himself  hath  by  his 
own  example  taught  us,  that  mirth  and  cheerfulness 
in  the  use  of  the  good  things  of  this  life,  so  it  be  in  a 
due  measure  and  in  a  due  season,  is  allowable  even 
to  Christians.  For  he  vouchsafed  to  be  present,  when 
invited,  at  a  nuptial  feast  or  wedding  entertainment 
at  Cana  in  Galilee.  Neither  was  he  morose  in  the 


a  Tune  nf  AV/\>/V/>///.  395 

company  ;  nay,  he  was  so  far  from  disliking  or  re 
proving  their  mirth,  that  he  promoted  and  encou 
raged  it ;  and  when  the  fuel  of  it,  their  wine,  failed, 
he  was  pleased  to  supply  it  with  a  miracle,  as  we 
read  .John  ii.  1,  &c. 

Upon  which  text  the  excellent  Bucer  takes  occa 
sion  severely  to  reprove  those  sour  hypocrites  of  the 
anabaptistic  sect  in  his  time,  who  would  not  allow 
of  any  freer  use  of  the  good  creatures  of  God,  and 
would  frown  at  any  mirth  in  company,  though  never 
so  innocent,  when  in  the  mean  time  they  themselves 
were  in  secret  guilty  (as  the  event  afterwards  shew 
ed)  of  the  vilest  abominations.  Against  these  the 
holy  and  learned  man  gives  this  advice:  "Thou 
"  that  truly  fearest  God,  and  sincerely  lovest  Christ, 
"  value  not  these  supercilious  despisers  of  God's 
"blessings;  know  that  every  creature  of  God  is 
"  good,  if  thou  use  it  with  thanksgiving ;  avoid 
"  luxury,  but  condemn  not  temperate  or  moderate 
*'  mirth  and  cheerfulness0."  Fn  short,  Christianity, 
though  it  be  a  sober,  yet  it  is  no  sullen  or  melan 
choly  religion,  as  some  melancholy  men  have  fancied 
it,  but  admits  as  lawful  even  the  joys  and  delights 
of  this  world,  provided  we  use  them  lawfully;  which 
is  the  thing  I  am  next  to  shew  you.  For  too  many 
are  apt  to  abuse  this  doctrine  to  licentiousness.  It 
will  be  necessary  therefore  to  annex  some  cautions 
to  it,  and  they  shall  be  these  following : 

1.  We  are  to  take  care  that  we  turn  not  the  good 
ness  of  God  into  wantonness,  by  abusing  the  good 

c  Qui  Deum  vere  times  et  absque  fuco  Christum  amplexus  cs, 
mitte  istos  superciliosos  beneficiorum  Dei  contemptores,  scito 
omnem  Dei  creaturam  bonam  csse,  modo  cum  gratiarum  actione 
ilia  utaris.  Luxum  vita,  tempcratam  hilaritatcm  ne  damnato. 


396  The  Day  of  Prosperity        SEUM.  xvi. 

thing's  of  a  prosperous  condition  to  riot  and  excess. 
Prosperity,  when  thus  abused,  is  no  longer  a  bless 
ing;  it  is  so  far  from  being  so.  that  it  becomes  the 
greatest  curse.  It  is  far  better  to  be  the  poorest  and 
most  miserable  Lazarus  in  this  world,  than  to  be 
such  a  luxurious  Dives,  such  a  wicked  man  in  pros 
perity.  He  that  useth  the  good  things  of  a  prosper 
ous  estate  to  gluttony,  drunkenness,  and  other  in 
ordinate  pleasures,  uses  them  not  as  a  man,  much 
less  as  a  Christian,  but  as  a  least  that  perisheth. 
Indeed  such  a  man  loses  the  true  joy  and  comfort 
of  God's  blessings,  by  his  excess  in  the  use  of  them. 
The  glutton  and  the  drunkard  makes  himself  sick 
with  those  good  things  which  were  given  him  for 
his  health  and  refreshment,  fie  turns  the  blessings 
of  God  into  plagues  and  punishments,  by  darkening 
the  serenity  of  his  mind  and  understanding,  and  by 
destroying  his  health  in  this  world,  and  his  soul  in 
the  other.  But  I  proceed  to  the  second  caution, 
which  is  this  : 

2.  We  are  to  take  care  in  the  use  of  the  good 
things  of  prosperity,  to  avoid  not  only  riot  and  ex 
cess,  but  also  all  immoderate  affection  towards  them. 
We  arc  not  to  set  our  hearts  too  much  on  the  enjoy 
ments  of  this  life,  nor  let  out  our  affections  too  far 
after  them.  We  should  remember  the  uncertainty 
of  them,  that  though  we  have  them  to-day,  we  may 
lose  them  to-morrow.  We  should  remember,  that 
adversity  usually  follows  close  after  prosperity;  and 
therefore  in  my  text,  the  Wise  Man  had  no  sooner 
said,  In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful,  but  he  pre 
sently  adds,  In  the  day  of  adversity  consider.  And 
we  should  remember,  that  how  prosperous  soever 
our  estate  in  this  world  may  be,  death  will  most 


a  Time  of  Rejoiciiuf.  ,'397 

certainly  within  a  tew  years,  perhaps  much  sooner, 
put  an  end  to  it. 

All  the  enjoyment  that  Christianity  allows  us,  of 
the  good  things  of  this  life,  is  the  present  fruition  of 
them,  without  depending  on  them  for  the  future ; 
onlv  securing  us  that  we  shall  enjoy  them,  as  long 
as  God  sees  it  fitting  for  us.  And  in  this  good  men 
have4  a  singular  advantage  over  worldly  and  wicked 
men.  The  men  of  this  world  enjoy  the  good  things 
of  this  life  as  their  ultimate  happiness,  beyond  which 
they  look  no  farther;  but  good  men  use  them  as  a 
ri  at  ten  in  or  bait,  as  a  present  support  and  refreshment 
in  their  pursuit  of  a  far  greater  happiness.  And 
therefore  when  the  good  things  of  this  life  fail  them, 
their  hope  is  not  deceived,  they  have  another  surer 
and  better  refuge,  even  the  hope  of  a  most  perfect 
happiness  in  the  life  to  come.  The  vicissitudes  and 
changes  of  the  things  of  this  world,  of  prosperous 
into  evil  days,  which  grieve  the  minds,  and  some 
times  break  the  hearts,  of  worldly  men,  do  scarce  so 
much  as  trouble  the  righteous  ;  this  being  no  more 
than  what  they  expected,  and  what  they  had  long 
before  prepared  themselves  for.  Besides,  they  enjoy 
their  present  good  things  as  the  effects  of  God's 
favour  and  peculiar  kindness  to  them  ;  and  they  are 
sure  that  whenever  he  shall  please  to  change  the 
scene,  it  shall  be  for  their  good.  And  upon  this 
account  they  are  secure  in  their  present  enjoyments, 
and  need  not  be  solicitous  or  over-much  concerned 
for  the  future. 

But  as  for  the  ungodly,  it  is  not  so  with  them. 
They  cannot  so  comfortably  enjoy  their  present 
happiness,  and  they  have  no  security  for  the  future ; 
but  when  they  say  Peace,  peace,  unto  themselves, 


398  The  Day  of  Prosperity        SERM.  xvi. 

sudden   destruction   may  (and,  if  they   repent    not, 
assuredly  will)  come  upon  them. 

To  conclude  this  consideration,  it  is  an  excellent 
advice  that  St.  Paul  gives  us  with  relation  to  all 
temporal  both  enjoyments  and  afflictions,  1  Cor.  vii. 
29,  30,  31.  Tim  I  say*  brethren,  the  time  is  short  :  it 
remaineth,  therefore,  that  both  they  that  have  wives 
be  as  thoucjJt  they  had  none  ;  and  they  that  weep, 
as  though  they  wept  not ;  and  they  that  rejoice, 
as  though  they  rejoiced  not ;  and  they  that  Imy,  as 
thoucjh  they  possessed  not ;  and  they  that  use  this 
world,  as  not  abusing  it:  for  the  fashion  of  this 
world  passeth  away.  As  if  he  had  said,  Our  life  in 
this  world  being  so  short,  it  is  no  very  great  matter 
how  it  fares  with  us  here ;  we  should  not  be  over 
much  concerned  about  our  state  and  condition,  what 
soever  it  be,  whether  prosperous  or  afflictive.  If  we 
enjoy  good  things,  let  us  not  cleave  in  our  affections 
too  close  to  them,  for  they  will  ere  long  leave  us 
with  this  present  life.  Or  if  we  are  in  misery  and 
trouble  here,  let  us  not  be  dejected  ;  for  if  we  be 
true  Christians,  death  when  it  comes  will  put  an 
end  to  all  our  sorrows,  and  place  us  in  a  state  of  un 
mixed  and  perfect  happiness.  Or  more  briefly  thus  : 
Whether  we  be  in  the  number  of  those  that  rejoice, 
or  of  those  that  weep,  in  this  world,  let  not  either 
our  joy  or  sorrow  be  immoderate,  for  they  will  both 
soon  end  in  death  ;  and  a  state  of  things  will  pre 
sently  follow  in  the  other  life,  wherein  our  joy  or 
sorrow  shall  be  everlasting.  Let  not  therefore  the 
little  concerns  of  this  transient  world,  but  those 
far  greater  ones  of  the  eternal  state,  take  up  our 
thoughts  and  affections,  and  possess  our  souls.  I 
proceed  to  a  third  caution,  which  is  this  : 


a  Time,  of  Rejoicing.  399 

3.  That  vve  take  care  to  use  the  good  things  of 
our  prosperous   days  so,  as  to  rejoice  more  in  the 
goodness  of  God  that  gives  them,  than  in  the  good 
things  themselves. 

This  indeed  is  to  rejoice  in  the  Lord;  this  is  to 
answer  the  design  and  end  of  God  in  giving  those 
good  things  to  us.  For  he  gave  them  not  to  us  that 
we  should  settle  our  affections  on  them  ;  but  that  by 
them,  as  tokens  of  his  love,  we  should  be  led  to  him, 
to  love  and  serve  him,  and  of  a  pledge  of  a  far  greater 
happiness  which  he  will  hereafter  give  us  if  we  so  do. 
The  worldly  man  looks  not  to  the  giver,  but  to  the 
gift  itself;  and,  on  the  other  side,  the  good  man 
adores  the  giver  more  than  the  gift.  The  carnal 
man  worships  second  causes,  but  the  spiritual  man 
gives  all  honour  to  the  first  Cause  of  all  things.  He 
thus  reasons  with  himself:  ()  the  goodness  of  my 
(iod,  who  hath  thus  laden  me  with  his  blessings! 
And  if  Cod  be  thus  good  to  me  in  this  life,  what 
may  I  not  expect  from  him,  if  \  continue  faithfully 
to  serve  him,  in  the  other !  Great  is  my  reward  here, 
but  how  inexpressibly  greater  will  it  be  hereafter ! 
O  how  great  is  thy  (jood)iexs,  which  thou  hast  laid 
up  for  them  that  fea r  th cc  !  Psal  in  x  x  x  i .  19- 

4.  We  should  take  care  to  use  our  prosperity  as  a 
furtherance,  help,  and  encouragement  to  us  in  the 
service  of  God.     This  doubtless  is  the  main  design 

o 

and  end  of  the  divine  Providence,  in  bestowing  the 
good  things  of  prosperity  upon  us,  that  by  them  we 
might  be  animated  and  the  better  enabled  to  serve 
and  glorify  him  who  is  the  giver  of  them. 

It  is  a  remarkable  text  to  this  purpose  that  we 
read  concerning  Jehoshaphat,  2  Chron.  xvii.  3,  &c. : 
And  the  Lord  teas  with  Jehoshaphat,  because  he 


400  The  Day  of  Prosperity         SERM.  xvi. 

walked  in  the  first  ways  of  his  father  Da  aid,  and 
sought  not  unto  Baalim ;  but  sought  to  the  Lord 
God  of  Jds  father ',  and  walked  in  his  command 
ments,  and  not  after  the  doings  of  Israel:  there 
fore  the  Lord  established  the  kingdom  in  his  hand ; 
and  all  Jtidah  brought  to  Jehoshaphat  presents ; 
and  he  had  riches  and  honour  in  abundance.  And 
his  heart  was  lift  up  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord  :  more 
over  he  took  away  the  high  places  and  groves  out 
of  Judah. 

Jehoshaphat's  heart  by  his  wonderful  prosperity 
was  not  lifted  up  either  against  God  or  man  ;  but, 
on  the  contrary,  it  was  lifted  up  in  the  ways  of  the 
Lord ;  i.  e.  by  his  wealth  and  greatness  he  was  en 
couraged  and  strengthened  in  his  endeavour  to  pro 
mote  the  honour  of  God,  by  establishing  his  true 
worship,  and  destroying  idolatry.  Thus,  when  w^e 
are  in  prosperity,  we  must  be  raised  by  it  to  a  zeal 
for  the  honour  of  God  who  gave  it,  and  to  a  diligent 
study  how  to  glorify  the  Author  of  all  our  blessings. 
The  thoughts  of  the  good  man  in  prosperity  \vill  be 
like  those  of  David,  Psalm  cxvi.  12,  13,  14  :  What 
shall  I  render  unto  the  Lord  for  all  his  benefits 
toward  me  f  I  will  take  the  cup  of  salvation,  and 
call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord.  I  will  pay  my 
vows  unto  the  Lord,  &c. 

5.  We  should  take  care,  that  our  joy  in  the  day  of 
prosperity  transport  us  not  into  pride,  or  a  vain 
opinion  of  ourselves,  and  contempt  of  others  that  are 
below  us.  This  caution  against  pride  is  frequently 
urged  by  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Scripture,  and  pressed 
on  those  that  are  in  a  prosperous  state.  So  Deut. 
viii.  12,  14:  Beware,  lest  when  thou  hast  eaten  and 
art  full,  &c,,  then  thine  heart  be  lifted  up.  So 


a  Time  of  Rejoicing.  401 

St.  Paul  in  his  instructions  to  Timothy,  the  first 
Epistle,  chap.  vi.  17 :  Charge  them  that  are  rich  in 
this  world,  that  they  he  not  highminded. 

We  must  take  care  that  our  prosperity  be  adorned 
with  true  humility;  imitating  herein  the  holy  pa 
triarch  Jacob,  who  from  a  poor  and  small  beginning, 
being  blessed  by  God  with  a  wonderful  affluence  of 
the  good  things  of  this  life,  thus  humbly  addresses 
himself  to  God  the  giver  of  them,  Gen.  xxxii.  10: 
/  am  not  worthy  of  the  least  of  all  the  -mercies,  and  of 
all  the  trnth,  which  thon  hast  shewed  unto  thy  xerrani ; 
for  with  my  staff  I  passed  ocer  this  Jordan;  and  now 
1  am  become  two  hands. 

We  should  remember,  that  we  have  nothing  but 
what  we  have  received  from  God,  as  the  effect  of  his 
mere  mercy,  and  not  any  desert  of  our  own  ;  and 
that  there  are  multitudes  of  good  men,  and  some  of 
them  far  better  than  ourselves,  who  have  far  less  of 
the  good  tilings  of  this  life  than  we  have  :  and  from 
thence  we  should  learn  not  to  overvalue  ourselves 
upon  account  of  any  outward  blessing,  and  that 
worldly  prosperity  in  itself  is  no  distinguishing 
mark  of  God's  special  favour.  It  will  prove  to  us, 
according  as  we  use  or  abuse  it. 

We  should  remember,  lastly,  the  strict  account 
we  must  render  to  God  of  those  temporal  good 
things  which  he  hath  given  us.  And  if  we  do  well 
consider  this,  we  shall  be  so  far  from  being  lifted  up 
into  pride  by  our  prosperity,  that  we  shall  rather  be 
possessed  with  a  holy  fear  and  care  how  to  discharge 
our  duties  therein. 

6.  And  lastly,  we  must  be  sure  to  join  our 
prosperity  with  charity ;  i.  e.  so  rejoice  in  our  own 
prosperity,  as  not  to  forget  the  adversity  of  others. 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  J)  d 


402  The  Day  of  Prosperity          SERM.  xvi. 

The  rich  man  in  the  parable,  Luke  xvi,  went  not  to 
hell  for  his  being  rich,  or  for  the  mere  enjoyment  of 
his  riches,  but  for  his  luxury  and  excess  in  the  use 
of  them,  and  for  his  uncharitableness  and  want  of 
pity  to  poor  Lazarus  in  his  distress  and  misery. 

It  is  the  highest  ingratitude,  and  the  greatest  sin, 
for  a  man  to  receive  abundance  of  good  things  from 
God,  and  to  do  little  or  no  good  to  his  neighbour. 
We  do  not  rejoice  in  our  prosperity  aright,  unless 
we  cause  the  poor  and  miserable  to  rejoice  with  us, 
by  a  charitable  relief  of  their  wants  and  necessities. 
And  therefore  it  is  remarkable,  that  God  himself, 
at  the  same  time  when  he  bids  us  rejoice  in  the  good 
things  which  he  hath  given  us,  requires  us  to  make 
others  also,  the  poor  and  indigent,  to  be  partakers 
of  our  joy  ;  he  will  by  no  means  allow  us  in  our 
prosperity  to  rejoice  alone.  So  Deut.  xxvi.  11 :  And 
thou  shall  rejoice  in  every  cjood  thing  which  the  Lord 
thy  God  hath  given  unto  thee,  and  unto  thine  house, 
thou,  and  the  Levite,  and  the  stranger  that  is  among 
you.  So  again,  Deut.  xvi.  11 :  And  thou  shall  rejoice 
before  the  Lord  thy  God,  thou,  and  thy  son,  and  thy 
daughter,  and  thy  manservant,  and  thy  maidservant, 
and  the  Levite  that  is  within  thy  gates,  and  the  father 
less  and  the  widow  that  are  among  you. 

In  a  word,  that  joy  in  the  day  of  prosperity  that 
is  not  accompanied  with  this  charity,  shall  at  last 
end  in  the  greatest  and  most  dismal  sorrow.  Hell 
will  undoubtedly  be  the  portion  of  the  prosperous 
uncharitable  man,  as  our  Saviour  plainly  teaches  us 
in  the  forementioned  parable. 

All  these  cautions  are  necessary  to  be  observed 
in  our  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  prosperity.  And  with 
these  cautions  we  may  and  ought  to  rejoice  in  those 


a  Time  of  Rejoicing.  40,3 

temporal  blessings  and  good  things  which  the  divine 
Providence  hath  bestowed  upon  us.  I  shall  now 
only  apply  this  first  observation  as  thus  explained, 
and  so  for  the  present  conclude. 

1.  This  discourse  serves  to  reprove  those  who  are 
so  far  from  rejoicing,  that  they  are  sullen  and  dis 
contented  even  in  the  day  of  prosperity. 

(iod  hath  blessed  them  with  health  and  wealth, 
with  peace  and  plenty,  and  yet  they  have  no  peace 
in  themselves,  but  are  disquieted  and  unsatisfied. 
They  want,  and  would  have  they  know  not  what ; 
and  are  troubled,  they  know  not  well  why  or  where 
fore.  They  envy  them  that  are  above  them  ;  they 
think  themselves  to  be  in  a  worse  condition  than 
those  that  are  really  below  them. 

If  indeed,  in  the  midst  of  their  outward  prosperity, 
they  were  inwardly  troubled  for  the  concern  of  their 
souls,  they  were  to  be  excused,  yea  commended.  But 
this  is  not  the  case  of  the  men  with  whom  we  have 
now  to  do.  Our  reproof  is  directed  against  those 
who  are  discontented  in  and  with  their  outward 
prosperity,  either  because  it  is  not  so  great  as  that 
of  others,  or  because  there  is  something  wranting 
in  it ;  as  indeed  there  will  be  always  something 
defective  in  the  best  estate  and  condition  of  men 
in  this  world.  For  the  royal  Psalmist  assures  us, 
Psalm  xxxix.  5,  Verily  every  man  at  his  best  state  is 
altogether  vanity.  Ercry  man  in  every  state  (even  the 
most  prosperous)  is  in  ever?/  respect  vanity  A;  i.e.  the 
best  condition  of  man  in  this  life,  compared  to  the 
perfect  happiness  of  the  other,  is  perfect  vanity,  so 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  prosperity  in  this  world, 

d  Omnis  homo  in  omni  statu  est  onmino  vanitas. 
D  d  2 


404  The  Day  of  Prosperity         SERM.  xvi. 

if  that  estate  only  shall  be  accounted  prosperous 
wherein  there  is  nothing  at  all  defective  or  wanting. 
But  this  is  a  very  false  notion  of  prosperity.  He 
that  hath  many  blessings  and  good  things  of  this 
life,  wherein  he  may  rejoice,  though  he  want,  or 
fancy  that  he  wants  many  other  things,  yea  though 
he  be  under  some  inconveniences  or  lesser  troubles, 
yet  this  man  lives  in  the  day  of  'prosperity ',  if  he  could 
but  think  so,  and  to  him  undoubtedly  belongs  the 
advice  in  my  text,  lit  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful. 
But  alas  !  some  men  will  never  know,  can  never 
tell  when  tic  day  of  prosperity  is  come  ;  though  they 
be  never  so  prosperous,  yet  they  will  still  think 
themselves  to  be  miserable  ;  and  what  providence 
can  make  such  men  happy?  What  shall  I  say  to 
them  ?  They  highly  deserve,  they  dearly  need,  they 
loudly  call  for  the  day  of  adversity,  that  by  their 
own  sad  experience  they  might  learn  the  real  differ 
ence  between  prosperity  and  adversity,  and  what  the 
one  as  well  as  the  other  is,  and  so  at  last  come  to 
know  when  they  are  well. 

2.  This  serves  for  the  reproof  of  such  who  being 
in  prosperity  deny  themselves  the  enjoyment  of  it, 
and  in  the  midst  of  their  happiness  are  miserable 
through  their  own  penuriousness. 

They  tantalize  themselves,  and  being  up  to  the 
chin  in  an  affluence  of  the  good  things  of  this  life, 
will  scarce  afford  themselves  one  sip  of  the  flowing 
stream.  These  men  are  elegantly  described  by  the 
Wise  Man  in  this  book  of  Ecclesiastes,  chap.  vi. 
1,  2:  There  is  an  evil  which  I  have  seen  under 
the  sun,  and  it  is  common  among  men :  a  man  to 
ivhom  God  hath  given  riches,  wealth,  and  honour,  so 
that  he  wanteth  nothing  for  his  soul  of  all  that  he 


(t  Time  of  Rejoicing,  405 

desireth,  yet  God  qieeth  him  not  poire  r  to  cat  thereof ^ 
but  a  stranger  eateth  it :  this  is  vauitj/,  ami  it  is 
(in  evil  disease.  This  man,  in  the  midst  of  his 
abundance  and  Helios,  can  scarce  afford  himself 
necessaries.  lie  is  so  close  a  keeper  of  his  wealth, 
that  he  keeps  it,  not  only  from  others,  but  even  from 
himself.  Ami  for  whom  ?  Commonly  for  a  stranger, 
one  that  hath  no  affinity  to  him  :  and  who  not  only 
eats  of  his  plenty,  but  eats  it  out.  i.  e.  consumes  and 
devours  it;  it  being  the  usual  fate  of  the  miser  to 
have  a  prodigal  for  his  heir.  What  shall  we  say  to 
the  men  of  this  wretched  temper?  they  will  live 
miserably  here,  as  it  wore  in  despite  of  God's  good 
providence;  and  without  repentance,  through  the 
righteous  judgment  of  God,  they  shall  be  for  ever 
miserable  hereafter,  whether  they  will  or  no. 

.'3.  And  lastly;  Let  all  such  as  rejoice  in  a  pros 
perous  state  be  sure  to  temper  their  jov  with  a  due 
care,  lest  their  prosperity  betray  them  into  sin  and 
folly.  Lot  them  always  remember  the  cautions  be 
fore  given  to  this  purpose.  And  let  not  any  man 
presume  so  far  on  his  own  integrity  and  constanev 
of  resolution,  as  to  think  he  needs  them  not. 

The  Almighty  God,  the  Searcher  of  hearts,  who 
knows  our  frame  and  temper  infinitely  better  than 
we  do  ourselves,  doth  frequently  in  his  holy  word 
caution  even  his  own  people,  and  earnestly  press 
them  to  take  great  heed,  lest  they  be  corrupted  by 
their  prosperity.  So  Dent.  vi.  10,  11,  12:  And  it 
shall  be,  when  the  Lord  tin/  Cod  hath  brought  thec 
into  the  land  which  he  sicare  unto  tin/  fathers,  &c. 
When  thoit  shalt  hare  eaten  and  be  full ;  then  be 
ware  lest  thou  forget  the  Lord,  &e.  Again,  Deut. 
viii.  ver.  7.  to  ver.  12.  inclusive:  For  the  Lord  tin/ 


406  The  Day  of  Prosperity      SERM.  xvi. 

God  bringeth  thee  into  a  good  land,  &c.  When  thou 
hast  eaten  and  art  full,  then  thou  shalt  bless  the 
Lord  thy  God  for  the  good  land  which  he  giveth 
thce.  Beware  that  thou  forget  not  the  Lord  thy  God, 
in  not  keeping  his  commandments,  and  his  judgments, 
and  his  statutes,  which  I  command  thce  this  day : 
lest  when  thou  liast  eaten  and  art  full.,  &c.,  then  thy 
heart  he  lifted  up,  and  thou  forget  the  Lord  thy 
God.  And  ver.  18 :  But  thou  shalt  remember  the 
Lord  thy  God:  for  it  is  he  that  giveth  thee  power 
to  get  ivealth,  &c. 

In  these  and  the  like  places  of  Scripture,  the  good 
and  gracious  God  represents  himself  to  us  after  the 
manner  of  men  in  compliance  with  our  infirmity. 
lie  seems  to  give  his  people  prosperity  tremida 
manu,  "  with  a  trembling  hand,"  fearing  at  the  same 
time,  when  lie  intends  to  do  them  good,  lest  he 
should  do  them  hurt;  as  if  he  had  said,  Behold!  I 
give  you  these  outward  good  things,  which  men 
think  very  good  and  desirable,  as  indeed  they  are,  if 
a  good  use  be  made  of  them ;  but  as  good  as  they 
are,  there  is  danger  in  the  use  and  enjoyment  of 
them ;  therefore  look  to  yourselves,  and  take  heed 
you  do  not  abuse  them  to  your  own  hurt.  My 
thoughts  in  giving  you  these  things  are  thoughts 
of  love  and  kindness ;  I  design  them  as  blessings  to 
you;  but  beware,  lest  through  your  own  folly  you 
turn  them  into  a  curse.  This,  I  say,  is  the  plain 
sense  and  meaning  of  those  places  of  Scripture, 
wherein  God  gives  such  repeated  cautions  to  men, 
to  whom  he  gives  plenty  and  prosperity. 

[t  is  a  remarkable  passage  in  the  Life  of  the 
excellent  Dr.  Hammond,  that  upon  the  approach  of 
the  restoration  of  king  Charles  the  Second  to  his 


d  Time  of  Rejoicing.  407 

kingdoms,  knowing  the  great  advancement  in  the 
church  that  was  already  designed  for  him.  though  he 
rejoiced  as  much  as  any  man  in  the  public  happiness, 
yet  he  was  really  troubled  at  the  nearness  of  his  own 
temporal  felicity.  lie  started  back  from  that  which 
others  hunt  after  and  eagerly  pursue,  and  was  afraid 
of  what  most  men  passionately  desire,  a  prosperous 
state;  which  he  expressed  to  one  of  his  friends  with 
the  greatest  concernment  of  an  earnest  melting  pas 
sion  in  these  words :  "  I  must  confess,"  said  he,  "  I 
"  never  saw  the  time  in  all  my  life,  wherein  I  could 
"  so  cheerfully  say  my  Nunc  dimittis  as  now.  In- 
"  deed  I  do  dread  prosperity,  I  do  really  dread  it." 
And  it  pleased  God  to  give  him  his  wish  and  choice: 
for  some  weeks  before  his  majesty  landed  in  this 
kingdom,  that  holy  soul  was  translated  to  a  better 
place.  I  doubt  not  but  it  was  an  excess  of  humility 
in  that  incomparable  person,  which  caused  these  his 
fears.  For  certainly  if  any  man,  one  of  his  con 
firmed,  radicated,  and  even  heroic  virtue,  might  and 
would  have  been  very  safe  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
But  indeed,  to  the  generality  of  men,  prosperity  is 
questionless  full  of  hazard  and  danger. 

Hence  Solomon,  the  wisest  of  mere  mortal  and 
fallen  men,  tells  us,  The  prosperity  of  fools  shall 
destroy  them,  Prov.  i.  32.  Foolish  men  are  ruined 
and  undone  by  their  prosperity ;  and  therefore  it  is 
a  wise  and  weighty  petition  which  we  have  in  the 
excellent  Litany  of  our  church,  "  In  all  time  of  our 
"  tribulation,  in  all  time  of  our  wealth,  Good  Lord 
"  deliver  us."  AVe  are  in  great  danger,  not  only  in 
the  time  of  want,  but  also  in  the  time  of  wealth ; 
not  only  in  the  day  of  adversity,  but  also  in  the  day 


408  The  Day  of  Prosperity        SERM.  xvi. 

of  prosperity ;  and  from  this  danger  we  are  earnestly 
to  pray  that  God  would  deliver  us. 

Let  this  therefore  be  your  daily  prayer ;  and  if 
with  this  prayer  you  keep  in  memory  the  cautions 
before  given  you,  you  are  safe.  But.  especially  be 
sure  you  forget  not  the  fifth  caution,  to  join  your 
prosperity  with  charity.  Without  this,  I  am  per 
suaded,  (saith  an  excellent  author,)  the  danger  of 
prosperity  neither  can  nor  ever  will  be  avoided,  i.  e. 
without  being  fruitful  in  good  works,  and  liberal 
and  openhanded  to  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  also 
to  the  furtherance  of  all  pious  and  sacred  uses,  as 
occasion  offers  itself.  It  is  St.  Paul's  charge,  1  Tim. 
vi.  17,  18,  Charge  them  that  arc  rich  in  this  world, 
tJiat  they  do  good,  that  t/rcj/  be  rich  in  good  works, 
ready  to  distribute,  wilting  to  communicate,  &c.  To 
which  Solomon's  advice  is  to  be  added,  Prov.  iii.  9 ' 
Honour  the  Lord  witlt  thy  substance^  and  with  the 
firstfruits  of  all  thine  increase.  God  requires  this 
as  a  tribute  whereby  we  should  acknowledge  him 
to  be  the  giver  of  what  we  have.  "  Awray  with 
"  words,  (as  the  same  author  goes  on,)  or  mere 
"  verbal  thanksgivings.  God  is  thy  landlord,  and  he 
"  requires  a  lord's  rent;  those  who  use  not  to  pay  it, 
u*  will  soon  forget  who  is  their  landlord ;  which  is 
w'  the  proper  fountain  of  all  the  evil  that  comes  by 
•'  abundance."  Nay,  he  that  thinks  this  tribute  of 
his  goods  is  not  due  to  God,  doth  already  disclaim 
his  landlord,  and  deny  God  to  be  his  Lord. 

The  sum  of  all  that  I  have  said  upon  this  first  ob 
servation  is  this :  A  prosperous  condition  in  this  world 
is  a  blessing  of  God,  wherein  we  not  only  may,  but 
ought  to  rejoice;  and  I  think  I  may  safely  say,  we 


d  Th/tr  of  Rejoicing  409 

sin  if  we  do  not  :  for  it  is  the  command  of  God  in 
inv  text,  ///  tlic  f/fi?/  of  prosperity  be  joyful.  But 
yet  prosperity  is  then  only  a  real  blessing,  when  we 
are  truly  thankful  to  God  for  it  ;  when  we  take  a 
moderate  delight  and  satisfaction  in  it  ;  when  we 
soberly  make  use  of  the  good  things  God  hath  given 
us  for  ourselves,  and  out  of  our  plenty  supply  the 
poverty  of  others,  according  to  our  proportion  and 
ability;  when  we  walk  humbly  with  our  God  and 
with  our  neighbour,  and  honour  the  Lord  with  our 
Rubstancc;  and,  in  a  word,  when  we  make  use  of  our 
temporal  prosperity,  as  a  help  and  furtherance  to 
our  eternal  happiness. 

I  conclude  all  with  the  excellent  collect  and  prayer 
of  our  church  on  the  fourth  Sunday  after  Trinity. 

k'()  God,  the  Protector  of  all  that  trust  in 
**  thee,  without  whom  nothing  is  strong,  nothing  is 
-holy;  increase  and  multiply  upon  us  thy  mercy: 
"  that,  thou  being  our  'Ruler  and  Guide,  WE  MAY 
"  so  PASS  THROUGH  THINGS  TEMPORAL,  THAT  WE 

*k  FINALLY    LOSE    NOT    THE    THINGS    ETERNAL.       Grant 

"  this,  O  heavenly  Father,  for  Jesus  Christ's  sake, 
"  our  Lord  and  Saviour." 

To  whom,  with  thee  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  be 
ascribed,  as  is  most  due,  all  honour  and  glorv, 
might,  majest,  and  dominion,  both  now  and  for 


evermore. 


SERMON    XVII. 


ADVERSITY  THE  PROPER  SEASON  OF  SERIOUS  CONSIDERA 
TION  ;  AND  SO  CONTRIVED  BY  THE  PROVIDENCE  OF  GOD, 
THAT  IT  SHOULD  15E  INTERMIXED  WITH  PROSPERITY  ; 
AND  THIS  MIXTURE  OF  GOOD  AND  EVIL  SO  PROPORTIONED 
BY,  THE  SAME  PROVIDENCE,  THAT  IT  OBVIATES  ALL 
DISCONTENT  AND  MURMURING  AGAINST  GOD. 


ECCLES.  vii.  14. 

In  the  day  of  prosperity  be  joyful.,  but  in  the  day  of  adocr- 
sift/  consider:  God  aho  hath  set  the  one  over  against  the 
other,  to  tlte  end  that  man  should  find  nothing  after  him. 

IN  my  entrance  on  this  text,   having   shewn  the 
connection  of  it  with  the  preceding  verses,  and 
fully   explained  it,  I  raised  these  plain  and   useful 
propositions  and  observations  from  it : 

I.  The  good  and  prosperous  days  and  times  of  our 
life  are  in  God's  design  given  to  us,  as  peculiar  times 
of  comfort  and  rejoicing. 

II.  The    evil    days,  the    days    and  times   of  our 
affliction  and  trouble,  are  in  God's  design  the  proper 
seasons  of  recollection  and  serious  consideration. 

III.  The  providence  of  God  hath  so  contrived  it, 
that  our  good  and  evil  days,  our  days  of  prosperity 
and  adversity,  should  be  intermingled  each  with  the 
other. 

IV.  This  mixture  of  good  and  evil  days  is  by  the 
divine  Providence  so   proportioned,  that    it   suffici 
ently  justifies  the  dealings  of  God  towards  the  sons 


Adversity  the  proper  Season  $c.  411 

of  men,  and  obviates  all  our  discontents  and  imir- 
murings  against  him. 

I  have  already  despatched  the  first  of  these 
observations,  and  therein  endeavoured  fully  to  in 
struct  you  in  the  right  use  of  a  prosperous  state. 
1  proceed  now  to  the  second  observation. 

II.  The  evil  days,  the  days  and  times  of  our 
affliction  and  trouble,  are  in  God's  design  the  proper 
season  of  recollection  and  serious  consideration. 

But  in  the  day  of  adversity  consider.  And 
indeed  if  then  we  do  not  consider,  we  shall  never 
consider  ;  if  sadness  will  not  make  us  serious, 
nothing  will.  But  what  are  we  to  consider  in  the 
day  of  adversity  f 

1.  We  are  to  consider  from  whom  the  adversity 
or  affliction  comes.  And  here  we  are  to  look  above 
all  secondary  causes  and  instruments  to  God,  who  is 
above  all,  by  whose  either  efficacious  operation,  or 
wise  and  just  permission,  every  evil  of  affliction? 
that  befalls  us,  happens  to  us.  This  is  the  plain  doc 
trine  of  God  himself,  by  his  prophet  Amos,  chap. 
iii.6:  Shall  there  be  evil  i)t  the  city,  and  the  Lord 
hath  not  done  it?  No,  certainly.  God  is  the  great 
Disposer  of  all  the  evils  of  affliction  that  happen  to 
us.  This  consideration  will  be  of  mighty  force  to 
make  us  submit  to  the  present  adversity  or  affliction 
under  which  we  labour.  It  Is  God's  doing,  (by  what 
ever  means  or  instruments  it  comes  to  pass,)  and 
therefore  we  must  submit.  This  was  the  argument 
which  induced  holy  Job  to  a  patient  submission, 
Job  i.  21 :  The  Lord  gave,  and  the  Lord  hath  taken 
away ;  blessed  be  the  name  of  the  Lord.  He  looked 
not  to  the  secondary  causes  that  had  robbed  him 
of  his  wealth,  and  his  children  too,  for  whom  his 


412  Adversity  the  proper          SERM.  xvn. 

wealth  was  provided,  but  to  God  the  supreme  Go 
vernor  and  Disposer  of  all  things.  It  is  true,  some 
times  we  bring  affliction  and  trouble  on  ourselves, 

through  our  own  sin  and   folly.     But  even  in  this 

& 

case,  there  is  a  hand  of  God,  for  some  former  sin  or 
sins,  justly  permitting  us  to  fall  into  such  sin  and 
folly.  Wherefore  in  such  cases  we  are  indeed  to 
blame  ourselves  ;  but  we  are  also  to  acknowledge 
the  righteous  judgment  of  God,  and  seriously  to 
inquire  after  that  sin  which  provoked  God  to  leave 
us,  and  suffer  us  to  fall  into  that  folly. 

2.  We  are  to  consider  for  what  God  sends  the 
adversity  or  affliction  on  us.     And  here  generally  it 
is  true,  that  it  is  sent  for  some  sin  or  sins  of  ours 
that  have   deserved    it.     Generally,    I   say,  but  not 
always.      For  Job's  afflictions  were  sent  on  him  from 
God,  by  way  of  trial  of  his  virtues.    Yet  even  in  this 
case,  there  was   some   antecedent   or   foregoing   sin 
that   might   deserve   those  afflictions,   though   there 
had  been  no  occasion  of  trial.     And  therefore  Job 
himself,  though   he  would  never  acknowledge  any 
insincerity  or  hypocrisy,  or  greater  crime,  for  which 
those  evils  befell  him ;  yet  he  often  acknowledgeth 
himself  to  be  a  sinner,  that  had  deserved  as  much  as 
he  suffered,  with   respect   to  the  strict  justice  and 
righteousness  of  God.     But  generally,   I   say,  it  is 
true,    that    our    afflictions    come    upon    us    for    our 
sins,  and  therefore  we  ought  to  bear  them  patiently, 
according  to   that   of  the  prophet,   /  will  bear  the 
indignation  of  the  Lord,  because  I  have  sinned  against 
him,  Micah  vii.  9. 

3.  We  are  to  consider  with  what  end  and  design 
God  sends  adversity  and  affliction  on  us.     It  is  with 
a  design  of  love   and  kindness,  unless  we  be  such 


Season  of  Consideration .  413 

as  have  continually  hardened  our  hearts  against 
former  afflictions,  and  thereby  rendered  ourselves 
incorrigible.  Excepting  this  case,  all  afflictions 
that  befall  us  are  designed  in  love  and  kindness 
to  us,  to  bring  us  to  repentance,  or  to  further  our 
repentance,  and  make  us  better  by  a  greater  hatred 
of  sin,  and  by  a  more  zealous  prosecution  of  virtue 
and  goodness. 

This  doctrine  is  plainly  taught  us  by  a  prophet  of 
the  Lord,  Lament/iii.  32,  33  :  hut  thomjh  lie  cause 
cjrief,  yet  will  lie  hare  compassion  according  to  the  mul 
titude  of  ///.v  mercies  ;  for  he  doth  not  afflict  willingly 
nor  (jriere  the  children  of  )nen  :  as  if  he  had  said, 
God  doth  not  afflict  men  for  affliction's  sake,  as  if 
he  took  delight  in  their  sorrows,  but  out  of  kindness 
and  love  to  do  them  good,  to  make  them  good  when 
nothing  else  will.  So  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to 
the  Hebrews,  chap.  xii.  from  verse  5  to  12  inclusively: 
And  ye  hare  forqotten  the  exhortation  which  speaketh 
unto  you  as  unto  children,  Mi/  son*  despise  not  thou 
the  chastening  of  the  Lord,  nor  faint  when  tJiou  art 
rebuked  of  him  :  for  whom  the  Lord  loveth  he 
chasteneth,  and  scourgeth  ecery  son  whom  he  re- 
ceh'et/i.  If  ye  endure  chastening,  God  dealeth  with 
yon  as  with  sons  ;  for  what  son  is  he  whom  tlie 
fattier  chasteneth  not  ¥  But  if  ye  be  without  chas 
tisement,  whereof  all  are  partakers,  then  arc  ye 
bastards,  and  not  sons.  Furthermore  ire  hare  had 
fathers  of  our  flesh  which  corrected  us,  and  we  gave 
them  reverence :  shall  we  not  much  rather  be  in 
subjection  to  the  Father  of  spirits,  and  live  f  For 
they  verily  for  a  few  days  chastened  us  after  their 
oivn  pleasure;  but  he  for  our  profit,  that  we  mu^ht 


414  Adversity  the  proper          SERM.  xvn. 

be  partakers  of  his  holiness.  Now  no  chastening  for 
the  present  seemeth  joyous,  but  grievous  :  nevertheless 
afterward  it  yieldeth  the  peaceable  fruit  of  righteous 
ness  unto  them  which  are  exercised  thereby. 

Let  this  then  be  fixed  in  our  minds,  and  the 
settled  resolution  of  our  thoughts,  that  our  afflictions 
are  the  effects  of  God's  goodness  and  lovingkindness 
to  us,  and  then  we  shall  not  only  bear  them  patiently, 
but  receive  them  thankfully,  accounting  our  afflic 
tions  to  be  mercies,  according  to  that  of  David, 
Psalm  cxix.  71,  It  is  good  for  me  that  I  have  been 
afflicted;  that  I  might  learn  thy  statutes. 

4.  And  lastly,  In  the  day  of  adversity  we  are  to 
consider  how  and  by  what  means  we  may  be  freed 
from  our  adversity.  For  God  doth  not  require  us  to 
lie  down,  like  the  brute  creature  under  his  burden, 
without  any  endeavour  to  be  eased  of  it ;  but  allows 
us  wisely  to  consider  of  the  means  to  free  ourselves 
from  it.  And  here  the  best,  yea  the  only  way,  is  to 
make  God  our  hope  and  refuge  ;  and  to  consider  that 
as  he  sent  the  affliction,  so  he  only  is  able  to  remove 
it ;  and  that  he  is  as  willing  as  he  is  able  to  do  this, 
if  in  the  first  place  we  apply  ourselves  to  him  accord 
ingly,  by  unfeigned  repentance,  by  earnest  prayer,  and 
by  an  humble  acknowledgment  of  his  righteous  hand 

*  O  O 

ill  our  present  distress,  and  then  use  such  lawful 
means  as  Providence  offers  to  us.  This  is  the  right 
way  of  freeing  ourselves  from  adversity.  But  there 
are  other  ways  that  vain  men  seek  to  ;  they  endea 
vour  to  be  rid  of  their  poverty  by  wronging  or  stealing 
from  others,  and  of  their  losses  by  having  recourse  to 
the  instruments  of  Satan.  This  is  a  sin  which  every 
Christian  ought  to  dread  and  tremble  at.  When  God 


Season  of  Consideration.  415 

throws  thee  down,  beg  him  to  raise  thee  up  again  ; 
when  he  smites,  look  to  him  alone  for  the  cure. 
Hear  what  God  himself  says,  Deut.  xxxii.  39  I  Sec 
now  that  I,  even  I,  am  fie,  and  there  is  no  God  with 
me  :  1  kill,  and  I  make  allre  ;  I  wound,  and  I  heal ; 
neither  is  there  am/  that  ean  deliver  out  of  my  hand. 

Thus  we  are  to  consider  ///  the  day  of  iidrersity, 
who  sent  the  adversity,  for  what  it  was  sent,  with 
what  end  and  design  it  is  indicted  on  us,  and  how 
we  may  he  freed  from  it.  It  is  sent  by  God,  what 
ever  the  instrumental  causes  may  be;  it  is  generally 
sent  as  a  punishment  for  our  sin,  though  sometimes 
chiefly  by  way  of  trial.  It  is  sent  with  a  gracious 
design  of  love  and  kindness  to  us;  and  the  only  way 
to  be  freed  from  it,  so  as  either  to  be  wholly  rid  of 
it,  or  to  have  it  sanctified  unto  us,  is  to  have  recourse 
to  God  by  faith  and  repentance.  To  apply  this. 

1.  This  may  serve  for  the  reproof  of  those,  who 
in  the  day  of  adversity  are  so  tar  from  considering, 
that  they  are  stupid  and  senseless,  and  have  no  regard 
at  all  to  the  hand  of  God  upon  them,  but  harden  their 
hearts  against  him ;  and,  after  one  affliction  upon  an 
other,  are  still  as  wretched  and  as  wicked  as  ever, 
and  never  consider  either  the  true  cause  of  their 
affliction,  or  the  right  way  of  removing  it.  Flee 
they  will  to  their  pleasures  or  diversions,  or  to  any 
thing  else,  rather  than  enter  into  a  serious  and  reli 
gious  consideration  of  the  causes  and  ends  of  their 
present  affliction.  The  prophet  Isaiah  from  God 
denounces  a  woe  against  these  men,  chap.  v.  11, 12 : 
Woe  unto  them  that  rise  up  early  in  the  morning, 
that  they  may  follow  strong  drink ;  that  continue 
till  night,  till  wine  inflame  them  !  And  the  harp, 
and  the  viol,  the  tabret,  and  pipe,  arc  in  their  feasts : 


416  Adversity  the  proper          SERM.  xvir. 

but  they  regard  not  the  work  of  the  Lord,  neither 
consider  the  operation  of  his  hands  ;  i.  e.  Woe  unto 
them  that  give  themselves  to  sensual  pleasures,  even 
in  the  day  of  adversity,  the  time  of  serious  recol 
lection  and  consideration  ;  and  even  then  are  so  far 
from  being  alarmed  and  awakened  to  repentance, 
that  they  have  no  regard  at  all  to  the  afflicting  hand 
of  God,  either  upon  themselves  or  others.  These 
men  offer  the  highest  affront  to  the  almighty  and 
most  merciful  God  ;  they  tremble  not  at  his  power 
and  justice,  and  despise  his  mercy ;  all  these  attri 
butes  of  his  being  concerned  in  their  affliction. 

2.  This  may  serve  for  the  reproof  of  those,  who, 
on  the  other  side,  are  too  sensible  of  their  adversity 
in  the  day  thereof,  so  sensible,  as  to  be  driven  almost 
into  despair  and  distraction.  These  men,  when  God 
smites  them,  cry  out  too  loudly,  and  are  put  into  a 
strange  and  unreasonable  passion,  excluding  all 
friendly  advice  and  counsel.  They  are  little  better 
than  distracted  persons  in  their  affliction,  especially 
if  it  be  a  great  one,  vexing  and  afflicting  themselves 
beyond  measure,  and  all  to  no  purpose.  For  reli 
gious  consideration  is  the  only  remedy  in  the  day  of 
adversity.  In  the  day  of  adversity  do  not  fret  thy 
self,  but  consider.  Against  both  these  extremes  in 
the  day  of  adversity,  both  that  of  stupidity  and  that 
of  despondency,  of  being  sensible  of  the  afflicting 
hand  of  God  either  too  little  or  not  at  all,  or  too 
much,  the  wisest  of  men,  speaking  by  the  wisdom  of 
God,  excellently  cautions  us,  Prov.  iii.  11:  My  son, 
despise  not  the  chastening  of  the  Lord;  neither  be 
weary  of  his  correction.  The  author  of  the  Epistle 
to  the  Hebrews  renders  the  last  clause  thus,  nor 
faint  when  thou  art  rebuked  of  him. 


Season  of  Consideration.  417 

Here  are  two  extremes  noted,  which  men  respect 
ively  are  apt  to  fall  into  in  the  day  of  adversity, 
either  to  despise  the  afflicting-  hand  of  God,  or  to 
faint  and  sink  under  it ;  and  both  are  to  be  avoided 
as  we  love  our  souls,  and  desire  a  happy  issue  out 
of  the  affliction.  I  now  proceed  to  the  third 
observation,  which  was  this : 

III.  The  providence  of  God  hath  so  contrived  it, 
that  our  good  and  evil  days,  our  days  of  prosperity 
and  adversity,  should  be  intermingled  each  with  the 
other. 

For  my  text  saith,  God  hath  set  the  one  over 
against  the  other,  i.  e.  the  day  of  adversity  against 
the  day  of  prosperity,  each  against  the  other,  so  as 
to  answer  and  succeed  one  another  in  the  course  of 
our  lives. 

It  is  observed  by  some,  that  all  God's  works,  both 
of  creation  and  providence  in  the  present  state  of 
things,  are  avrla-Toi-^a,  *'  set  in  opposition  one  against 
"  the  other."  After  darkness  we  see  the  light,  the 
pleasing,  welcome  light ;  and  after  we  have  enjoyed 
the  light  a  while,  melancholy  darkness  follows ;  and 
night  and  day  succeed  one  the  other  by  a  never- 
failing  revolution.  Fair  and  cloudy  days  are  inter 
mingled  in  our  calendar.  Our  age  in  this  world 
is  made  up  of  so  many  summers  and  winters  ;  the 
sun  one  season  being  to  us  in  his  exaltation,  and 
then  another  part  of  the  year  in  his  declension  ;  one 
while  the  sun  scorcheth  us,  and  another  the  frost 
nips  us  :  only  the  gracious  providence  of  God  liath 
so  ordered  it,  that  we  pass  from  one  of  these  extremes 
to  the  other  not  all  of  a  sudden,  but  by  the  interme 
diate  and  leisurely  spaces  of  spring  and  autumn  ;  we 

BITLI.,    VOL.    I.  E  6 


418  Adversity  the  proper         SERM.  xvn. 

go  from  the  winter  through  the  spring  to  the  sum 
mer,  and  then  from  the  summer  through  the  autumn 
back  again  into  the  winter. 

One  while  we  sleep,  and  are  the  images  of  dead 
men ;  and  anon  we  awake,  and  as  it  were  live  again, 
and  are  shadows  of  our  future  resurrection. 

The  very  constitution  of  our  bodies  is  made  up 
of  contraries,  heat  and  cold,  moisture  and  drought, 
perpetually  conflicting  with  each  other.  Yea  we  live 
and  breathe  by  the  same  vicissitude  of  contraries, 
by  a  systole  and  diastole ;  our  hearts  one  while 
extending  and  lifting  up  themselves,  and  presently 
again  contracting  themselves  and  falling ;  and  all 
our  other  pulses  follow  the  same  method. 

And  thus  it  is  in  Cod's  works  of  providence,  the 
day  of  prosperity  and  the  day  of  adversity,  our  good 
and  evil  days,  interchangeably  succeed  each  the 
other.  No  man  on  this  side  hell  so  miserable,  but 
that  he  hath  some  lucid  intervals,  some  intervening 
spaces  of  joy  and  comfort ;  and,  on  the  other  hand, 
no  man  is  so  perfectly  happy  in  this  world,  but  that 
some  evil  accidents  now  and  then  befall  him,  to  give 
an  alloy  to  his  happiness.  Our  life  is  chequered  with 
white  and  black,  with  sad  and  gladsome  clays.  And 
every  man,  that  hath  lived  any  time  in  the  world,  is 
convinced  by  his  own  experience  of  the  truth  of 
wrhat  the  Wise  Man  tells  us  in  the  text  already  men 
tioned,  Eccles.  iii.  4,  that  there  is  a  time  to  weep, 
and  a  time  to  laugh,  a  time  to  mourn,  and  a  time  to 
dance.  No  man's  time  is  wholly  taken  up  either  by 
joy  or  sorrow,  but  each  of  these  hath  his  share  there 
in,  according  to  that  proportion  which  God  in  his 
infinite  wisdom  sees  most  meet.  And  so  I  pass  from 


419 

tliis  to  the  next  observation  ;  which  when  I  have 
handled,  I  shall  make  application  of  both  together, 
and  so  conclude  my  discourse  on  this  text. 

IV.  This  mixture  of  good  and  evil  days  is  by  the 
divine  Providence  so  proportioned,  that  it  sufficiently 
justifies  the  dealings  of  God  toward  the  sons  of  men, 
and  obviates  all  our  discontents  and  niurinu rings 
against  him. 

This  T  shewed  you  is  the  most  probable  meaning 
of  those  words  in  the  text,  Clod  hath  srf  the  our  &p., 
to  the  end  that  ?/taa  should  find  nothing  after  linn, 
i.e.  Clod:  viz.,  That  the  mixture  of  our  good  and 
evil  days,  one  with  the  other,  is  such,  that  when  in 
the  issue  a  man  shall  trace  the  footsteps  of  the  divine 
Providence,  and  recollect  all  God's  dealings  towards 
him,  he  will  be  able  to  find  no  fault  in  the  whole 
course  of  that  providence;  nor  shall  he  justly  blame 
either  the  justice,  or  wisdom,  or  goodness  of  God. 
lie  shall  be  forced  to  confess,  that  he  had  as  much 
prosperity  as  was  useful,  and  no  more  adversity  than 
was  necessary  for  him  :  the  result  whereof  is  this,  that 
it  is  man's  best  way  and  course  to  commit  and  sub 
mit  himself  to  the  divine  disposal,  and  entirely  to  ac 
quiesce  in  it,  in  all  the  periods  of  his  life  on  earth. 

This  was  the  very  argument  whereby  holy  Job 
brought  himself  to  a  submission  unto  God's  provi 
dence,  even  in  the  greatest  trial  and  calamity,  Job 
ii.  10:  What?  Shall  ice  receive  good  at  the  hand  of 
God,  and  shall  we  not  receive  evil  f  As  if  he  should 
have  said,  We  are  not  to  expect  that  it  should  be 
always  day,  and  never  night,  that  the  sun  of  pros 
perity  should  continually  shine  on  us,  without  any 
cloud  intervening,  that  a  perpetual  course  of  good 
things  should  happen  to  us  without  interruption, 

E  e  2 


420  Adversity  the  proper         SERM.  xvn. 

that  we  should  see  only  good  days,  and  never  any  evil 
ones ;  this  is  a  perfectly  vain  and  foolish  conceit. 

There  is  a  great  deal  of  reason  and  justice,  yea 
goodness  and  mercy,  in  that  providence  of  God, 
whereby  our  good  and  evil  days  are  mingled  with 
each  other  ;  as  will  appear  by  these  few  following 
considerations : 

1.  If  all  the  days  of  our  life  were  without  the  evil 
of  sin,  we  might  have  some  colour  of  reason  to  expect 
they  should  be  without  the  evil  of  adversity  also  ; 
though  this  would  be  only  a  colour  of  reason  ;  for 
God  may  justly  afflict  an  innocent  creature,  jure 
dominii,  by  his  right  of  dominion  and  sovereignty 
over  all  his  creatures,  at  least  as  to  a  temporary 
affliction,  which  he  recompensed]  with  an  equivalent 
or  a  greater  good.  But  I  say,  if  we  had  no  days  of 
sin,  it  were  more  tolerable  in  us  to  expect  that  no 
days  of  adversity  should  befall  us.  If  we  were  all 
good  in  our  carriage  towards  God,  we  might  presume 
that  God  would  be  all  good  in  his  providence  to  us  ; 
and  that  if  our  obedience  were  uniform,  even,  and 
uninterrupted,  that  our  prosperity  should  be  so  too. 
But,  alas !  it  is  quite  otherwise.  Many,  very  many 
have  been  our  days  of  sin,  and  therefore  we  have  no 
reason  at  all  to  complain,  if  we  see  some  days  of 
sorrow.  The  Wise  Man,  in  this  very  same  book  of 
Ecclesiastes,  and  in  this  same  chapter,  viz.,  chap.  vii. 
20,  tells  us,  There  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth,  that 
doeth  good,  and  sinneth  not ;  i.  e.  that  hath  done  good 
so  evenly  and  constantly,  but  that  sometime  he  hath 
fallen  into  sin.  No  man's  life  so  fair,  as  to  have  no 
moles  or  blemishes  ;  no  man's  escutcheon  so  untaint 
ed,  but  that  it  hath  some  blots  in  it.  There  is  not 
a  just  man  (yiNa)  upon  earth.  The  just  indeed, 


Season  of  Consideration.  421 

the  saints  in  heaven,  do  not,  cannot  sin,  but  are 
uvajuLaprrjTOi,  tittles*  as  the  angels  of  God.  .  And 
accordingly  in  heaven,  where  there  is  no  sin,  there 
shall  be  no  sorrow,  but  perfect,  perpetual,  uninter 
rupted  felicity  and  happiness ;  but  on  earth  there 
is  not  a  just  man  who  sins  not.  And  if  the  best 
of  men  do  evil,  shall  we  think  it  strange  that  the 
best  of  men  suffer  evil  ?  But,  alas  !  the  generality 
even  of  good  men  have  a  greater  abundance  of 
dross  in  them,  that  must  be  purged  away  by  ad 
versity  and  affliction.  And  shall  we  grumble  at  a 
little  sorrow,  that  have  so  much  sin  ?  Yea  rather 
let  us  bless  God,  who  hath  spared  us  so  much,  and 
punished  us  so  little,  and  confess  the  truth  with  the 
people  of  God  in  the  book  of  Kzra,  chap.  ix.  13, 
T/wte,  O  6W,  hast  jmnished  us  less  (far  less)  than 
our  iniquities  deserve.  ^ 

2.  Consider,  that  our  good  days  are  generally  more 
in  number  than  our  evil  days,  our  days  of  prosperity 
(such,  I  mean,  as  is  suitable  to  our  condition  and 
circumstances)  than  our  days  of  adversity.  This  is 
most  certain,  though  most  of  us  are  apt  to  cast  up 
our  accounts  otherwise.  How  many  days  (of  at  least 
competent)  health  have  we  enjoyed  for  one  day  of 
grievous  sickness  !  How  many  days  of  ease,  for  one 
of  pain  !  How  many  blessings,  for  a  few  crosses  ! 
For  one  danger  that  hath  surprised  us,  how  many 
scores  of  dangers  have  we  escaped,  and  some  of 
them  very  narrowly  !  But,  alas  !  we  write  our  mer 
cies  in  the  dust,  but  our  afflictions  we  engrave  in 
marble ;  our  memories  serve  us  too  well  to  remember 
the  latter,  but  we  are  strangely  forgetful  of  the 
former.  And  this  is  the  greatest  cause  of  our  un- 
thankfulness,  discontent,  and  murmuring. 


Adversity  the  proper  SKRM.  xvn. 

It  is  storied  of  a  priest  of  Neptune,  the  reputed 
god  of  the  sea  among  the  heathens,  that  when  he 
shewed  to  one  of  Neptune's  votaries  the  many  offer 
ings  hung  up  in  his  temple,  of  those  that  by  their 
devotions  to  him  had  been  saved  from  shipwreck  ; 
the  votary  answered,  "  But  where  are  the  offerings 
"  of  the  many  more  worshippers  of  Neptune,  that 
"  have  perished  in  the  waves  of  the  sea,  and  been 
"  lost  in  the  deep  ?"  But  in  the  present  case  we 
may  reverse  the  story.  When  men  represent  the 
many  evils  that  they  have  suffered  from  our  God, 
the  only  true  God,  so  dismally  as  if  their  whole  life 
had  been  a  continual  tragedy,  and  a  perpetual  scene 
of  sorrow  and  calamity;  we  may  justly  bespeak  every 
such  person  thus  :  But,  O  unthankful  man  !  where 
are  all  the  blessings  that  God  hath  bestowed  on 
thee  ?  where  are  all  the  good  things  thou  hast  re 
ceived  from  thy  God  ?  Hast  thou  utterly  lost  the 
far  greater  catalogue  of  his  mercies  ?  Are  these 
quite  out  of  thy  remembrance  ?  For  shame  keep 
a  better  account  of  God's  dealings  towards  thee, 
and  let  not  one  affliction,  though  very  grievous, 
drown  and  swallow  up  an  hundred  mercies  conferred 
on  thee  ! 

3.  Consider  that  there  is  none  of  our  days  so  evil, 
but  that  there  is  some  mixture  of  mercy  and  of  God's 
goodness  in  them.  Pure  and  unmixed  evil  is  the 
portion  only  of  the  damned,  there  is  no  such  thing 
to  be  found  on  this  side  hell.  In  this  life  it  is  most 
certain,  that  God  doth,  as  the  prophet  expresseth  it, 
Ilab.  iii.  2,  in  wrath  remember  mercy,  tempering  our 
evils  with  something  of  good  to  allay  them.  At  the 
same  time  we  have  reason  to  complain  to  God,  we  have 
no  reason  to  complain  of  him,  but  much  to  praise  and 


Season  of  Consideration.  4>123 

bless  his  holy  name  for  those  mercies,  which  at  that 
very  time  we  enjoy  from  him.  Generally  if  we  our 
selves  are  sick,  our  children  and  many  of  our  friends 
and  relations  are  well.  When  we  want  health,  other 
circumstances  for  the  most  part  occur  to  render  our 
sickness  more  easy  and  supportable.  If  we  lose  our 
sight,  our  memory  strangely  serves  to  supply  that  sad 
defect.  If  we  cannot  see,  we  can  hear;  and  if  we 
cannot  hear,  we  can  see;  and  all  our  senses  together 
seldom  fail  us,  till  death  seize  us  as  his  prey.  If  one 
of  our  children  miscarry,  and  prove  a  child  of  sorrow 
to  us,  another  doth  well,  and  is  our  joy  and  comfort. 
If  some  insult  over  our  calamity,  others  pity  and 
assist  us  in  it.  If  some  unjustly  calumniate  and 
reproach  us,  there  are  others  that  will  do  right  to 
our  reputation.  And  finally,  there  is  no  so  grievous 
outward  affliction  befalling  any  of  God's  faithful  ser 
vants,  but  that  there  is  still  an  answerable  inward 
assistance  and  comfort  administered  from  God  to 
support  him  under  it  :  that  promise  of  (Joel  to 
St.  Paul  being  not  peculiar  to  him,  but  extending 
itself  to  every  good  man  in  the  same  or  the  like  cir 
cumstances,  2  Cor.  xii.  9,  My  f/rrtee  /\  sufficient  for 
thee :  for  mi/  stTength  in  made  perfect  in  weakness. 

4.  And  lastly,  consider  that  adversity  is  needful  to 
correct  the  errors  of  prosperity.  If  we  knew  how 
to  use  our  good  days  well,  we  should  have  none,  or 
fewer  evil  days.  But,  alas  !  we  do  not.  The  art  of 
using  prosperity  aright,  none  of  us  are  perfectly 
skilled  in  ;  and  therefore  it  is  necessary  that  days  of 
adversity  should  be  intermingled  with  our  days  of 
prosperity,  that  the  one  might  remedy  the  evils  of 
the  other.  For, 

1.   If  all   our  days  were  days   of   prosperity,   we 


424  Adversity  the  proper  SERM.  xvn. 

should  be  apt  to  look  on  prosperity  either  as  a  debt 
clue  to  our  very  nature,  or  as  the  portion  of  our  fate, 
not  acknowledging  the  free  goodness  of  God  as  the 
fountain  of  it.  But  on  the  other  side,  whenever 
and  anon  we  taste  of  adversity,  we  are  thereby 
convinced,  that  prosperity  is  no  inseparable  property 
of  our  nature,  or  necessary  effect  of  our  fate  and 
destiny,  but  the  gift  of  some  free  cause,  that  one 
while  distributes  good  things  to  us,  another  while 
evil  things,  as  he  pleaseth  ;  i.e.  the  gift  of  God. 

2.  If  all  our  days  were  days  of  prosperity,  without 
interruption,  we  should  not  duly  prize  our  prosperity, 
nor  taste  the  fuller  sweetness  of  it.     For  such  is  our 
folly,  that  we  learn  to  prize  good  things,  chiefly  by 
our  want   of  them,  and  by  experience   of  the  evils 
opposite  to    them  :  Contraria  juxta   se  posita,  &c. 
"  Contraries   set    against    and   compared   with   each 
<k  other,  appear  in  their  clearest  colours."  How  sweet 
doth  health  taste  and  relish  after  a  sharp  and  tedious 
sickness  !     How  doth  that  man  rejoice  in  a  moderate 
fortune,  as  if  it  were  riches  and  abundance,  that  is 
newly  emerged  and  crept  out  of  want  and  poverty ! 
How  welcome  is  our  own  home,  though  but  homely, 
after  durance  in  a  house  of  imprisonment !     How 
doth  that  man  prize  his  safety,  and  the  very  liberty 
of  treading  firmly  on  the  common  earth,  that  hath 
newly  escaped  the  danger  of  shipwreck  !    In  a  word, 
how  thankful  are  we  even  for  common  mercies,  after 
we  have  learned  the  worth  of  them,  by  a  dear  and 
sad  want  of  them  ! 

3.  If  we  ourselves  knew  no  adversity,  we  should 
be  unapt  to  pity  others  in  their  adversity,  which  yet 
is  a  great  duty  incumbent  on  all  Christians.     We 
shall   never  know  how  to  compassionate  the  evils 


Season  of  Consideration.  425 

that  our  brethren  suffer,  unless  we  ourselves  have 
some  time  or  other  felt  the  very  same  or  the  like 
evils  ourselves.  Christ  himself,  as  man,  learned  com 
passion  to  his  brethren  by  his  own  sufferings,  Ilcb. 
ii.  17,  18.  How  much  more  do  we  sinners  need  this 
experience,  to  make  us  pitiful  and  compassionate  to 
others  in  their  calamity  ! 

4.  If  we   never   saw   any  days   of  adversity,   we 
should  want  an  occasion  and  opportunity  of  exercis 
ing  some  of  our  chiefest  virtues,  and  consequently  of 
receiving  the  fuller  reward  of  them.     What  occasion 
of  patience  in  suffering  evils,  if  no  evil  happened  to 
us!   What  opportunity  of  submitting  to  Cod's  will, 
if  things  still  fell  out  according  to  our  own  ! 

5.  If  we  knew  no  adversity,  we  should  want  one 
of  the   surest   trials,  and    consequently   the   certain 
comfort  of  our  sincerity.      The  day  of  adversity  is 
the  day  of  trial,  whether  our  religion  towards  God 
be  sound  at  the  bottom.     If  we  can  still  love  God, 
even  when   he   smites   us,  and  writes   bitter  things 
against  us,  and  seems  to   hate  us ;   if  we  can  still 
trust  on  him,  and  cleave  to  him,  though  he  seem  to 
slat/  ?AS  (as  Job  expresseth  it,)  then  is  our  love  to 
him,  and  trust  on  him,  sincere  and  solid.     And  from 
the  knowledge  of  our  sincerity,  a  far  greater  comfort 
arises  to  us,  than  all  our  worldly  prosperity  can  pos 
sibly  afford  us.     Nay,  this  will  sweeten  our  succeed 
ing  prosperity;  for  if  we  find    that  we  have  loved 
God  in  adversity,  we  may  be  sure  that  our  following 
prosperity  is  an  effect  of  his  love  to  us. 

6.  And  lastly,  if  all  the  days  of  our  life  were  days 
of  prosperity,  we  should  certainly  love  this  life  too 
much,  and  set  our  hearts  upon  this  present  world, 
not   minding   or   seeking   after,  as  we    ought,   the 


426  Adversity  the  proper          SERM.  xvn. 

things  of  a  better  life.  And  therefore  God  hath  so 
tempered  the  occurrences  of  this  life,  so  mingled  our 
days  of  prosperity  with  intervening  days  of  adver 
sity,  that  we  should  not  fix  our  habitation  or  place 
our  happiness  here ;  but  that  we  should  so  pass 
through  things  temporal,  that  we  finally  lose  not 
the  things  eternal.  If  without  interruption  we  en 
joyed  our  imaginary  heaven  here,  we  should  never 
at  all,  or  very  carelessly,  mind  and  seek  after  our 
real  heaven  hereafter ;  and  so  should  be  undone  for 
ever. 

Upon  all  these  accounts  it  is  apparent,  that  there 
is  a  great  deal  of  justice,  equity,  wisdom,  ea  and 
goodness  of  God,  in  that  providence  of  his,  whereby 
he  hath  set  the  day  of  adversity  against  the  day  of 
prosperity,  intermingling  the  occurrences  of  this  life 
with  good  and  evil. 

I  shall  now  conclude  my  whole  discourse  upon 
this  text  with  a  short  exhortation. 

Let  us  all  wisely  accommodate  ourselves  to  this 
mixed  providence  of  God;  and  under  which  soever 
of  its  dispensations  we  are  or  shall  be,  whether  that 
of  prosperity,  or  the  other  of  adversity,  let  us  en 
deavour  to  do  our  duty,  and  to  answer  the  design  of 
Providence  therein.  When  we  are  in  a  prosperous 
state,  let  us  rejoice  and  be  thankful ;  but  let  our  joy 
be  moderate,  remembering  that  adversity  may,  and 
some  time  or  other  will  come  upon  us,  and  accord 
ingly  preparing  ourselves  for  it.  It  is  a  common 
vanity  of  men  in  prosperity,  to  depend  too  much 
upon  its  stability  and  continuance,  to  grow  secure, 
and  lay  aside  all  due  and  serious  thoughts  of  future 
troubles.  Even  holy  David  confesses  himself  to  have 
been  some  time  guilty  of  this  folly,  Psalm  xxx.  6,  7 : 


Season  of  Consideration.  427 

And  in  my  prosperity  I  said,  I  shall  nrrer  be  moved. 
Lon/,  hi)  thij  fa roiir  thou  hast  made  my  mountain  to 
stand  strong :  thon  didst  hide  thy  face^  and  I  was  in 
trouble. 

When  Saul  was  dead,  and  David  was  crowned 
king  over  Judah  and  Israel,  he  then  thought  himself 
in  a  state  of  prosperity,  as  stable  and  immovable  as 
Mount  Sion,  on  which  his  royal  palace  stood,  and 
fancied  that  all  his  troubles  were  now  at  an  end. 
But  he  was  deceived  ;  God  after  that  hid  his  face, 
drew  a  cloud,  a  black  and  dismal  cloud,  of  trouble 
and  affliction  over  all  his  splendour  and  glory.  For 
as  after  his  first  being  crowned  king  of  .ludah,  he 
was  for  seven  years  together  exercised  with  troubles 
from  his  enemies  of  the  house  of  Saul ;  so  after  his 
second  coronation,  as  king  both  of  Judah  and  Israel, 
other  troubles  assaulted  him  ;  the  most  pungent  of 
which  was  the  unnatural  rebellion  and  most  miser 
able  ruin  of  his  son  Absalom.  By  this  example  (to 
which  many  others  might  be  added)  let  us  learn  not 
to  build  too  much  upon  our  present  prosperity;  and 
though  we  may  seem  to  be  in  the  most  firm  and 
settled  state  of  secular  happiness,  yet  not  to  be  so 
vain  as  to  think  ourselves  secure  from  all  future 
troubles. 

This  is  most  certain,  (howsoever  we  may  escape 
in  the  general  course  of  our  lives,)  there  is  one  day 
of  adversity  which  will  infallibly  come  upon  every 
one  of  us,  and  that  is  the  day  of  our  death  ;  a  day 
that  will  try  the  faith,  patience,  and  fortitude  of  the 
best  and  most  prepared  Christian  ;  but  indeed  will  be 
a  day  of  the  deepest  adversity  to  all  such  as  are  not 
beforehand,  by  a  lively  faith  and  effectual  repent 
ance,  provided  against  it. 


428         Adversity  the  proper  Season  fyc.    SERM.  xvn. 

Let  such  considerations  as  these  frequently  enter 
into  our  thoughts,  and  check  and  restrain  all  excess 
and  extravagance  of  our  joy  in  the  day  of  pros 
perity, 

On  the  other  side,  in  our  adversity  let  us  neither 
be  insensible  nor  too  sensible  of  it ;  let  us  consider, 
but  not  despair ;  let  us  submit  to  God's  will,  trust  in 
his  goodness,  amend  what  is  amiss  in  our  lives ;  and 
in  this  way  comfort  ourselves  with  the  assured  hope 
of  a, good  day  to  follow,  if  not  here,  yet  certainly 
hereafter. 

In  a  word,  let  us  not  fix  upon  any  state  of  things 
in  this  world ;  for  here  there  is  nothing  certain, 
nothing  uniform,  nothing  constant ;  our  present  life 
being  a  variable,  mixed  state,  made  up  of  joy  and 
sorrow ;  of  days  of  prosperity,  and  days  of  adversity 
too,  by  very  uncertain  vicissitudes,  and  turns  suc 
ceeding  each  other.  Let  us  therefore  raise  our 
hearts  above  this  world,  and  before  all  things  desire, 
and  with  our  greatest  labour  and  diligence  endea 
vour,  after  that  unmixed  state  of  happiness  proposed 
to  us  in  the  other  world ;  and  if  we  do  so,  we  shall 
there  meet  with  no  adversity,  no  trouble  or  sorrow 
at  all,  but  shall  have  all  joy,  and  rejoice  always  even 
to  eternal  ages. 

To  which  blessed  state,  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
bring  us  all,  through  the  merits  of  his  only  Son 
Jesus  Christ  our  Lord. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  adoration  and 
worship,  now  and  for  evermore.  Amen. 


SERMON    XVI 1 1. 


THAT  IT  IS  A  VERY  SINFUL  AND  VAIN  THING  FOR  ANY 
MAN  SO  TO  GLORY  IN  HIS  OWN  WISDOM,  STRENGTH,  OR 
WEALTH,  AS  TO  PLACE  HIS  TRUST  AND  CONFIDENCE  IN 
EITHER  OR  ALL  OF  THEM. 


JER.  ix.  23,  24. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his 
wisdom*  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might, 
let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches :  but  let  him  thai 
ylorieth  glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  knoweth 
me,  that  I  am  the  Lord  which  exercise  lovingJdndness^ 
judgment,  and  righteousness,  in  the  earth:  for  in  these 
tilings  I  delight,  saith  the  Lord. 

IT  is  generally  .agreed  by  the  best  interpreters,  that 
my  text  hath  reference  to  the  preceding  verses, 
even  from  the  beginning  of  this  chapter.  Wherein 
the  holy  prophet  predicts  and  foretells  things  so  dire 
ful  to  God's  people,  and  that  with  so  feeling  a  sense 
of  them,  that  he  himself  seems  to  have  suffered  little 
less  in  the  prophecy,  than  they  should  in  the  event 
of  it.  He  begins,  verse  1,  thus:  0  that  my  head 
were  ivaters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain  of  tears,  that 
I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the  slain  of  the 
daughter  of  my  people!  As  if  he  had  said,  I  think 
I  can  never  grieve  sufficiently  for  the  dismal  slaugh 
ter  and  destruction  which  I  foresee  will  shortly  befall 
the  people  of  the  Jews.  My  people,  i.  e.  my  dear 
countrymen,  the  people  to  whom  God  hath  sent  me, 
as  his  prophet,  the  people  whom  I  affectionately  love, 


430  The  Foil?/  of  (/lory ing  in     SKRM.  xvni. 

and  whose  welfare  I  wish  as  much  as,  yea,  much 
more  than  mine  own. 

In  the  following  verses  he  most  elegantly  and  pa 
thetically  describes  both  the  great  sins  of  the  Jewrs, 
the  causes  of  God's  judgments,  and  the  judgments 
themselves  that  should  come  upon  them  for  those 
sins;  one  while  sadly  reflecting  on  the  one,  and 
then  with  a  no  less  passion  of  sorrow  passing  to  the 
other. 

And  after  all,  as  well  knowing  the  obdurate  and 
stubborn,  temper  of  the  Jews,  that  they  would  be  apt 
to  slight  even  this  dreadful  prophecy  of  his,  and  fancy 
that  they  might  escape  the  threatened  destruction, 
either  by  their  policy  and  cunning,  or  by  their  power 
and  strength,  or  by  their  wealth  and  riches  ;  he,  or 
rather  the  divine  Spirit  in  him,  seasonably  obviates 
and  meets  with  this  vain  conceit  of  theirs  in  the 
words  of  my  text :  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not 
the  wise  man  glory  in  his  ivisdom,  neither  let  the 
mighty  man  glory  in  his  might,  let  not  the  rich 
man  glory  in  his  riches :  but  let  him  that  glorieth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  knowcth 
me,  that  I  am  the  Lord  which  exercise  lovingJnnd- 
ness,  judgment,  and  righteousness,  in  the  earth  :  for 
in  these  things  I  delight,  saith  the  Lord.  As  if  he 
had  said,  This  calamity  which  I  predict,  no  wisdom 
of  yours  can  prevent,  no  power  or  strength  of  yours 
shall  be  able  to  resist,  nor  are  all  your  rich.es  and 
treasures  sufficient  to  redeem  you  from  it ;  and  there 
fore  trust  not  in  any  or  all  of  these,  but  make  God 
your  refuge,  who  only  can  save  you  from  the  evils 
threatened,  or  preserve  you  under  them. 

This  is  the  connection  of  my  text  with  what  went 
before  in  this  chapter.  I  shall  now  immediately 


Wisdom,  Might,  or  Riches.  431 

betake  myself  to  the  text  itself;  which  I  shall  first 
carefully  explain,  and  then  raise  my  observations 
upon  it. 

And  first  for  the  explanation,  Thus  saith  the 
Lord.  A  solemn  preface  of  God's  holy  prophets  to 
conciliate  authority,  and  to  excite  the  reverent  at 
tention  of  their  hearers  to  what  they  are  about  to 
say;  and  it  always  leads  the  way  to  something  of 
groat  weight  and  moment  following,  such  as  is  the 
matter  of  my  text.  And  accordingly  let  me  bespeak, 
yea  in  the  name  of  God  command  and  challenge,  the 
awful  attention  of  all  that  hear  me  this  day,  from 
the  greatest  to  the  least ;  for  it  is  not  I  say  it,  but 
Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not  the  icise  man  glory  in 
Ju's  wisdom,  neither  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his 
might,  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches,  &c. 

Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  Jiis  irisdom.  By 
wisdom  may  be  understood  all  that  knowledge  uni 
versally,  which  may  seem  any  way  perfective  of  the 
mind  of  man,  besides  the  saving  knowledge  of  God. 
But  by  the  context  we  are  led  to  that  wisdom  espe 
cially,  which  we  call  prudence,  and  hath  respect  to 
the  actions  and  affairs  of  human  life,  and  consists  in 
a  due  contrivance  and  disposition  of  means,  in  order 
to  the  avoiding  the  evils  we  fear,  and  the  attaining 
the  good  things  we  desire  in  this  world. 

Neither  let  the  mighty  man  f/lory  in  his  might. 
By  might  most  interpreters  understand  bodily  strength 
or  valour.  And  accordingly  the  Chaldee  paraphrast 
on  my  text  brings  the  example  of  Solomon,  the  wisest 
of  all  men,  falling  from  God's  favour  to  dissuade  us 
from  trusting  in  our  own  wisdom  ;  the  example  of 
Samson,  the  strongest  of  men,  to  shew  us  the  vanity 


432  The  Folly  of  glorying  in     SERM.  XVTIT. 

of  bodily  strength  ;  and  the  instance  of  Ahab,  the 
richest  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  to  deter  us  from 
confiding  in  our  wealth  and  riches ;  of  which  also 
Solomon,  king  both  of  Judah  and  Israel,  was  a 
greater  instance. 

And  yet  methinks  the  might  here  spoken  of  may 
be  extended  farther,  even  to  all  that  power  and 
interest  whatsoever  which  a  man  hath,  or  is  able  to 
make  in  this  world.  Let  a  man  be  never  so  mighty 
and  powerful,  either  in  his  own  strength  and  valour, 
or  in  his  friends  and  dependents  on  him,  or  other 
wise,  yet  he  is  a  fool,  if  he  presumptuously  glories  in 
this  his  might  and  power,  as  if  it  could  be  his  security 
and  protection  without  the  favour  of  God.  What  is 
meant  by  the  rich  man  and  riches  I  need  not  tell 
you.  But  what  is  it  for  a  man  to  glory  either  in  his 
wisdom,  or  in  his  might,  or  in  his  riches  ?  In  the 
Hebrew  it  is  Mpnrp-^N'  let  him  not  praise  himself. 
Which  the  Seventy  translate  as  \ve  do,  w  Kav%aa-9o}, 
let  him  not  glory  ;  though  otherwhere  they  them 
selves  render  the  verb  by  the  Greek  ay  a\\iav,  greatly 
to  rejoice.  The  word  undoubtedly  signifies  any 
mighty  complacence,  delight,  and  satisfaction  in  a 
thing.  But  here  by  the  context  it  is  confined  to 
such  a  delight  and  satisfaction  in  a  thing,  as  is  ac 
companied  with  a  trust  and  confidence  in  it  as  our 
greatest  felicity,  safety,  and  security.  Let  not  the 
wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  i.  e.  Let  him  not  con 
fide  or  depend  on  it,  as  that  which  will  bear  him  out 
in  the  time  of  danger  and  distress;  and  so  in  the 
rest.  But  let  him  that  glorieth  glory  in  this,  that 
he  understandeth  and  knoweth  me.  Which  words 
Grotius  thus  paraphraseth ;  "  Let  him  trust  on  this, 


Wisdom,  Might,  or  Riches.  433 

"  that  lie  knoweth  me,  to  wit,  so  as  to  express  this 
"  his  knowledge  of  me  in  his  life  and  actions'1." 

o 

That  I  am  the  Lord,  which  exercise  lovingkind- 
ness,  judgment,  mid  righteousness  in  the  earth. 
Where  Grotius  again  observes,  that  it  is  not  said 
that  he  knoweth  me  according  to  my  nature  and 
essence ;  for  so  no  man,  in  this  life  at  least,  can 
know  God ;  but  that  he  knoweth  me  w/iic/i  exercise 
lovingkindness,  judgment,  and  righteousness;  i.  e. 
according  to  those  properties  and  attributes  whereby 
I  have  made  myself  known  to  men  in  my  word  and 
works  ;  such  as  lovingkindness  and  goodness,  justice, 
and  a  perfect  dpOoTtj?,  rectitude  or  righteousness, 
in  all  my  dealings  towards  the  sons  of  men.  The 
same  Grotius  farther  notes  it  as  remarkable,  that  it 
is  added  in  the  earth,  to  meet  with  the  vain  and 
wicked  conceit  of  those  who  held  that  God's  provi 
dence  extends  not  to  sublunary  things,  to  things  on 
earth,  but  is  employed  solely  and  wholly  in  the  dis 
posal  of  heavenly  things  above  us;  all  things  here 
below  being  left  to  the  determination  either  of  blind 
chance,  or  fatal  necessity,  arising  from  an  inseparable 
chain  of  causes  linked  together  in  the  first  creation 
of  things.  In  opposition  to  which  impious  imagina 
tion,  God  himself  by  his  prophet  assures  us,  that  we 
are  to  know  him  as  a  God  that  e.verciseth  loving- 
kindness,  judgment,  and  righteousness  in  the  earth. 
Which  the  divine  Psalmist  also  more  fully  and  dis 
tinctly  expresseth,  Psalm  cxiii.  5,  6 :  Who  is  like 
unto  the  Lord  our  God,  who  divclleth  on  high,  who 
humbleth  himself  to  behold  the  things  that  arc  in 
heaven,  and  in  the  earth  ! 

a  In  eo  fidat  quod  me  noverit,  nimirum  si  ct  hoc  factis  ostendat. 

BULL,  VOL.   I.  F  f 


434  The  Folly  of  glorying  in     SERM.  xvm. 

The  plain  sense  of  the  whole  text  in  short  is  this : 
instead  of  glorying  or  trusting  in  our  own  wisdom, 
powrer,  or  wealth,  as  the  men  of  the  world  use  to  do, 
we  are  to  know,  and  assuredly  to  believe,  that  all  the 
actions  and  concerns  of  men  on  earth  are  governed 
and  disposed  of  by  the  providence  of  God ;  whom 
therefore  we  ought  humbly  to  acknowledge,  faith 
fully  to  serve  and  obey,  and  on  him  steadfastly  to 
trust  and  depend  in  the  whole  course  of  our  lives, 
this  being  our  best  and  indeed  only  security.  So 
that  the  prophet  delivers  the  same  thing  here, 
which  Solomon  doth,  Prov.  iii.  5,  6,  7 :  Trust  in  the 
Lord  with  all  thine  heart In  all  thy  way*  ac 
knowledge  him Fear  the  Lord,  and  depart  from 

eviL 

The  whole  scope  of  the  text  thus  explained  is 
comprised  in  these  two  observations  : 

I.  It  is  a  very  sinful  and  vain  thing  for  any  man 
so  to  glory  in  his  own  wisdom,  strength,  or  wealth, 
as  to  place  his  trust  or  confidence  in  either  of  them. 

II.  The  religious  acknowledgment  of  God's  pro 
vidence  in  the  wise  and  righteous  government  and 
disposal  of  all  human  affairs,  joined  with  an  humble 
dependence  and  firm  trust  on  him,  in  the  way  of 
obedience  to  him,  is   man's   best,  and   indeed   only 
security. 

And  first,  It  is  a  very  vain  and  sinful  thing  for  any 
man  so  to  glory  in  his  own  wisdom,  strength,  or 
wealth,  as  to  place  his  trust  and  confidence  in  either 
or  all  of  them. 

Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wisdom,  nei 
ther  let  the  mighty  man  glory  in  his  might,  &c. ;  i.e. 
Let  not  any  man  so  glory  in  either  of  these,  as  to 
confide  and  trust  in  them  without  a  clue  regard  to 


Wisdom,  Might,  or  Riches.  435 

Cod's  providence  in  the  government  of  tilings ;  for 
these  severally  and  jointly  arc  very  weak  and  vain 
props  for  a  man  to  build  and  rely  upon.  [  shall 
pursue  the  proposition  in  its  several  parts. 

(1.)  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  ///*  wisdom. 
This  indeed  is  the  most  natural  pride  of  man.  It 
was  the  contempt  of  that  simple  innocence,  wherein 
God  created  our  first  parents,  and  their  affectation 
of  T  know  not  what  knowledge  and  wisdom  beside 
and  beyond  it,  that  was  their  ruin  in  Paradise.  And 
the  sons  of  fallen  man  are  generally  apt  to  think 
that  they  possess  indeed  that  wisdom  which  their 
first  parents  vainly  coveted  and  aspired  to. 

Wisdom  is  the  idol  that  sinful  man  chiefly  adores 
and  worships;  with  the  mere  shadow  of  this  he  is 
pleased,  upon  this  especially  he  values  himself,  and 
the  very  conceit  of  this  puffs  him  up  with  pride  and 
self-confidence.  He  can  more  contentedly  be  stripped 
of  all  his  other  vain  glories,  than  want  the  reputation 
of  this. 

Hence  (as  one  well  observes)  though  there  have 
been  some  found,  not  only  contented  with,  but  even 
glorying  in,  the  name  of  irreligious,  yea  in  being 
accounted  atheists,  and  wholly  void  of  all  religion ; 
yet  scarce  any  have  been  known  willing  t->  bear  the 
character  of  foolish  and  unwise ;  and  the  reproach  of 
knave  in  the  corrupt  world  is  esteemed  less  ignomi 
nious  than  that  of  fool.  And  even  of  those  who  have 
some  relish  of  virtue  and  goodness  in  them,  how  few 
are  there,  that  either  indeed  do,  or  would  be  thought 
to  do,  any  thing  in  favour  thereof,  which  might  in 
the  least  degree  impeach  the  credit  of  their  wisdom 
in  the  esteem  of  the  foolish  world  !  So  fain  would  all 
be  accounted,  though  very  few  in  truth  are,  wise. 

F  f  2 


436  The  Folly  of  glorying  in     SERM.  xvm. 

The  main  reason  of  which  seems  to  be  this,  that 
whereas  the  want  of  wisdom  imports  impotence  and 
inability;  irreligion  and  immorality  are  by  election 
and  free  choice. 

Now  the  pride  of  man,  if  God's  grace  correct  it 
not,  makes  him  more  impatient  of  any  want  that 
argues  him  to  be  naturally  weak  and  impotent,  than 
of  a  moral  defect  proceeding  from  his  own  free 
election  and  choice  of  will.  And  hence  it  is,  that 
many  boast  of  things  craftily  done  by  them  for  some 
particular  advantage,  which  they  know  to  be  evil 
and  unlawful  :  thus  glorying  in  their  wit,  whilst 
they  arc  not  at  all  ashamed  of  their  wickedness.  In 
a  word,  every  man  would  be  wise,  and  be  thought 
so  too,  and  most  men  think  themselves  really  to  be 
so,  and  those  few  mortals  that  are  wise  indeed,  in 
comparison  to  the  rest,  if  they  have  not  the  fear  of 
God  joined  with  their  wisdom,  are  infallibly  proud 
of  it,  and  glory  in  it,  and  trust  to  their  own  counsels, 
without  due  regard  to  the  divine  wisdom  and  provi 
dence,  the  only  sure  and  safe  guide  amidst  the  infi 
nite  uncertainties  and  perplexities  of  human  life. 

Now  how  perfectly  vain  this  glorying  and  trust  of 
man  in  his  own  wisdom  is,  will  appear  (to  omit  many 
others)  by  these  few  following  considerations : 

1.  Consider  that  the  wisest  of  men  many  times 
most  grossly  mistake  their  measures,  and,  as  if  they 
were  infatuated  by  some  destiny,  do  the  most  foolish 
things.  It  is  almost  proverbial,  that  there  is  nothing 
so  foolishly  said,  but  some  wise  man  hath  said  the 
same :  and  it  is  as  certain,  that  there  is  no  action  so 
foolishly  done,  but  that  the  examples  of  wise  men 
may  be  alleged  to  patronise  the  folly  of  it.  Solomon, 
the  wisest,  not  only  of  kings,  but  of  all  mere  mortals, 


Wisdom,  Might,  or  Riches. 

may  yet  bo  observed  to  have  committed  as  gross 
incongruities,  both  in  public  government  and  private 
conversation,  as  any  the  most  unadvised  prince  or 
man  was  ever  guilty  of. 

2.  Consider  that  wise  men  are  apt,  as  to  be  con 
fident  of,  so  to  be  secure  in  their  own  wisdom,  and 
to  despise  those  that  are  beneath  them  in  that  faculty, 
as  mere  fools,  and  thereupon  to  grow  careless,  and  to 
lay  themselves  open  to  those,  who  though  they  have 
less  wit,  yet  have  many  times  more  vigilance ;  who 
watch,  and  often  meet  with  an  opportunity  of  getting 
their  advantage  of  them. 

3.  Consider  how  many  secret  lurking  contingencies 
and  chances  there  are  in  the  course  of  human  affairs, 
which  no  sagacity  or  wisdom  of  man  can  foresee  or 
provide   against,  one  of  which  suddenly  happening, 
may  utterly  defeat  and  frustrate  the  best  laid  design 
and  contrivance  of  the  wisest  man.     And  when  such 
a  chance  happens,  the  wisest  man  is  forced  to  speak 
in  the  language  of  the  fool,  non  putaram.     Expe 
rience  tells  us  this,  and  it  were  easy  to  give  you 
many  notable  instances  of  it  out  of  history,  if  the 
time  would  permit. 

4.  Consider  that   every  man's   life   lies   at  God's 
mercy  and   absolute    disposal,   who   can,   and    often 
doth,  by  a  sudden  death  snap  off  the  designing  man, 
just  as  his  design  is  growing   to   maturity,  thereby 
dashing  the  whole  frame  of  his  plot  and  machination 
in  pieces.     This  the  divine  Psalmist  takes  notice  of 
in  princes  and  great  men,  Psalm  cxlvi.  3,  4 :  Put  not 
your  trust  in  princes  and  great  men,  nor  in  the  son 
of  man,  in  whom  there  is  no  help.     His  breath  noeth 
forth,  he  returneth  to  his  earth ;  in  that  vert/  day  his 

thoughts  perish. 


438  The  Folly  of  glorying  in      SERM.  xvm. 

The  designs  and  contrivances  of  great  and  wise 
men  are  altogether  as  uncertain  as  the  breath  they 
live  by;  that  breath  is  on  a  sudden  gone,  and  all 
their  wisest  counsels  cease  and  perish  with  it.  Man 
plots  and  designs,  and  says  within  himself,  this  and 
that,  and  the  other  great  matter,  he  will  do  hereafter. 
But,  behold  !  divine  Providence  cuts  him  short,  by 
cutting  off  his  life  on  a  sudden,  and  all  his  designs 

o  O 

together  with  it. 

5.  And  lastly,  Consider  that  God  professedly  sets 
himself  to  oppose  the  proud  man  that  glories  in  his 
own  wisdom,  to  baffle  his  wisdom,  and  to  turn  it  into 
folly,  to  cross  and  frustrate  his  designs  and  con 
trivances,  and  to  bring  his  counsels  to  nought.  It 
is  a  sad  sentence  to  these  men,  which  St.  James 
hath,  chap.  iv.  6,  and  St.  Peter  in  his  first  Epistle, 
chap.  v.  5,  Cod  resisteth,  sets  himself  as  it  were  in 
battle  array,  to  fight  with  the  proud*.  Indeed  the 
proud  man  is  an  invader  of  the  divine  glory,  chal 
lenging  that  to  himself  which  is  God's  ;  and  against 
invasion,  force  useth  to  be  opposed.  Now  who  can 
stand  against  the  divine  force  and  power  ?  what 
wisdom  is  able  to  countermine  the  divine  wisdom  ? 
How  easily,  and  how  many  thousand  ways,  can  the 
almighty  and  the  all-wise  God  confound  the  greatest 
politician  ! 

These  considerations  are  sufficient  to  shew  the 
great  sin,  vanity,  and  folly  of  trusting  to  a  man's 
own  wisdom,  without  regard  to  the  providence  of 
God  in  the  government  of  things,  and  the  necessity  of 
following  the  Wise  Man's  advice,  Prov.  iii.  5,  6,  7 : 
Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart ;  and  lean 
not  unto  thine  own  understanding.  In  all  thy  ways 


Wisdom,  Might,  or  Riches.  4,'W 

acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall  direct  tliy  f>atlts.  He 
not  wise  in  thine  own  eyes :  fear  the  Lord,  and  depart 
from  evil.  I  proceed  to  the  second  part  of  the  first 
observation. 

(2.)  Let  not  the  micjhti/  man  </l<»'j/  in  his  ?/ti(//it. 
Whether  by  that  we  understand  might  and  strength 
of  body,  or  a  mighty  interest  in  the  world,  or  both. 
First,  for  bodily  might  and  strength,  men  are  gene 
rally  apt  to  presume  on  it.  The  athletic  man,  he 
that  enjoys  a  firm  and  robust  constitution  of  body, 
seldom  or  never  thinks  of  sickness,  much  less  of 
death,  as  in  any  nearness  of  approach  to  him.  lie 
is  upon  the  matter  sure  of  a  long  life,  and  in  this 
confidence  (which  is  the  greatest  mischief)  puts  on" 
and  delays  his  repentance,  giving  himself  up  to  vain 
and  sinful  pleasures  and  delights,  and  thinking  it 
time  enough  manv  vears  hence  to  be  serious  and 

e>  J     • 

religious.  'Phis  is  a  perfect  vanity;  for  our  own 
daily  experience  furnishes  us  with  examples  of  the 
strongest  men  suddenly  assaulted  with  weakness  and 
sickness,  and  sinking  under  the  burden  of  it  into 
their  graves,  into  dust  and  rottenness. 

The  man  whom  we  see  brisk  and  lively  to-day, 
so  that  we  admire,  and  perhaps  envy  his  health, 
within  a  few  days  hence  we  may  hear  sad  news  of, 
that  he  is  either  sick,  or  dying,  or  dead  ;  and  from 
being  the  object  of  admiration  and  envy,  become  on 
a  sudden  the  object  of  our  pity,  grief,  and  sorrow. 
And  it  is  a  common  observation,  that  many  valetu 
dinarians,  many  sickly  persons,  that  scarce  ever  in 
their  lives  knew  what  health  was,  have  yet  outlived 
and  trod  upon  the  graves  of  those  who  have  enjoyed 
it  in  the  greatest  perfection.  These  very  frequently, 
either  by  a  fever  suddenly  kindled  in  their  blood  or 


440  The  Folly  of  glorying  in      SERM.  xvm. 

spirits,  or  by  a  surfeit  taken  in  confidence  of  their 
strength  to  bear  strong  drink,  or  to  digest  the  great 
est  load  of  meat ;  or  by  a  fall,  or  some  surprising 
accident,  posting  to  the  gates  of  death ;  to  which  the 
other  march  by  the  slow  and  leisurely  paces  of  a  long 
and  lingering  infirmity.  Indeed  God  himself  delights 
to  shew  his  strength  in  man's  weakness,  and  his 
strength  against  man's  strength  ;  to  teach  us  that 
we  should  not  despond  in  the  former,  nor  depend 
and  trust  in  the  latter. 

There  are  others  that  glory  in  their  bodily  strength, 
as  their  great  and  sure  defence  against  their  enemies ; 
and  indeed,,  in  confidence  of  this,  create  enemies  to 
themselves,  braving  and  affronting  all  they  meet  with. 
But  these  persons  generally  at  last  meet  with  their 
match,  yea  are  overmatched  :  some  of  them  fall  as 
victims  or  beasts  sacrificed  to  Bacchus,  by  a  quarrel 
commenced  in  a  drunken  assembly :  others  die  in 
the  field,  when  they  are  neither  drunk  nor  sober, 
by  the  sword  of  a  private  enemy,  or  perhaps  a 
friend  whom  they  would  needs  make  their  enemy, 
and  are  left  there,  as  pitiful  spectacles  of  grinning 
honour ;  and  most  of  them  come  to  an  unfortunate 
and  untimely  end. 

But  if  by  might  we  understand  a  great  and 
mighty  interest  and  power  in  the  world  ;  to  trust 
in  this  is  every  whit  as  vain  as  our  confidence  in 
the  former.  For  how  often  doth  Almighty  God 
shew  strength  with  his  arm ;  scattering  the  proud  in 
the  imagination  of  their  hearts,  and  putting  down 
the  mighty  from  their  seats !  as  it  is  excellently 
expressed  in  the  magnificat,  or  song  of  the  blessed 
Virgin,  Luke  i.  51,  52.  How  many  examples  doth 
history,  yea  our  own  age  and  observation,  supply  us 


Wisdom,  Might,  or  Riches.  441 

with,  of  great  and  mighty  men  meeting  with  as  great 
falls,  and  falling  into  the  greatest  ruin  !  But  I  shall 
not  insist  on  this,  as  being  a  subject  not  so  fit  for 
this  congregation.  Only  I  shall  make  bold  to  send 
all  great  and  mighty  men,  that  trust  in  their  power 
and  greatness,  without  a  due  dependence  on  divine 
Providence,  to  take  advice,  and  learn  from  a  woman, 
but  yet  a  woman  divinely  inspired,  and  delivering 
the  oracles  of  the  great  God ;  her  name  is  Hannah, 
who,  1  Sam.  ii.  3,  4,  7,  8,  9,  almost  in  the  words  of  my 
text,  thus  bespeaks  all  the  great  men  of  the  world  : 
Talk  no  more  so  ('.receding  proudly  ;  let  not  arro- 
gancy  come  out  of  your  month :  for  the  Lord  is  a 
God  of  knowledge,  and  by  him  actions  are  weighed. 
The  bows  of  the  miqhty  men  are  broken,  and  they 
that  stumbled  are  girt  with  strength. — The  Lord 
maketh  poor,  and  maketh  rich :  he  bringeth  low, 
and  lifteth  up.  He  raiseth  up  the  pow  out  of  the 
dust,  and  lifteth  up  the  beggar  from  the  dunghill, 
to  set  them  among  princes,  and  to  make  them  in 
herit  the  throne  of  glory :  for  the  pillars  of  the 
earth  are  the  Lord's,  and  he  hath  set  the  world 
upon  them.  He  will  keep  the  feet  of  his  saints, 
and  the  uiickcd  shall  be  silent  in  darkness ;  far  by 
strength  shall  no  man  prevail.  And  so  I  pass  to 
the  third  and  last  branch  of  my  first  observation. 

(3.)  Let  not  the  rich  man  alary  in  his  riches,  let 
him  not  trust  in  these.  This  indeed  is  the  greatest 
pro])  that  the  carnal  and  worldly  man  is  apt  to  rely 
on ;  this  is  the  rock  and  fortress,  the  tower  and 
castle,  to  which  upon  all  occasions,  and  in  the  great 
est  exigencies,  he  hath  recourse  and  flies  to  ;  and 
here,  if  any  where,  he  promiseth  himself  safety. 

The  wise  man  thinks  this  the  most  necessarv  tool 


442  The  Folly  of  glorying  in     SERM.  xvm. 

and  instrument  to  work  his  designs  by,  and  despairs 
of  doing  any  great  matters  without  it.  The  mighty 
and  powerful  man  believes  his  chiefest  strength  and 
interest  to  lie  in  his  wealth ;  a  rich  exchequer  being 
accounted  the  surest  support  of  the  great  monarch. 
And,  in  a  word,  among  all  ranks  and  degrees  of  men 
this  is  held  for  a  maxim  : 

Quantum  quisque  sua,  &c. 

u  The  greater  riches,  the  greater  reputation  and 
"  credit  in  the  world." 

Hence  the  wisest  of  men,  Solomon,  tells  us,  that 
money  answers  all  things,  Eccles.  x.  19-  i.  e.  it 
answers  all  the  designs,  desires,  and  necessities  of 
men.  This  indeed  is  the  saying  of  the  wisest  of 
men ;  but  vet  this  saying  is  to  be  taken  cum  grano 
sails,  "  with  a  grain  of  wisdom;"  the  same,  which 
the  Wise  Man  gives  us  in  the  same  book,  Eccles.  vii. 
11,12:  Wisdom  is  good  with  an  inheritance:  and 
by  it  there  is  profit  to  them  that  sec  the  sun.  For 
wisdom  is  a  defence,  and  money  is  a  defence :  but 
the  excellency  of  knowledge  is,  that  it  giveth  life  to 
them  that  have  it.  Wisdom  and  wealth,  a  good  soul 
and  a  good  estate,  are  fitly  matched  together.  For, 

Hautl  facile  emergunt,  &c. 

"  The  greatest  virtues  are  oppressed  by  poverty." 

Drusius  on  the  text  gives  us  a  proverb  of  the 
Hebrews,  "  The  law  is  good  writh  the  way  of  the 
"  earth c."  The  law,  that  is,  the  study  of  the  law,  true 
piety,  is  good  with  the  way  of  the  earth,  i.  e.  with 
some  advantage  that  may  afford  a  man  a  liberal  and 
useful  subsistence  in  this  world.  For  the  poor  man 
cannot  always,  and  in  all  circumstances,  make  use  of 
his  wisdom  ;  or  if  he  can  use  it,  he  wants  authority : 

<-'  Bona  est  lex  cum  via  terree. 


Wisdom,  Mi  (//it,  or  Riches.  443 

men  generally  regarding  not  what  is  spoken,  but 
who  speaks ;  and  there  being  a  great  difference  be 
tween  the  same  saying  or  action,  when  spoken  by  a 
rich  man  in  credit  and  reputation,  and  a  poor  de 
spised  person.  But  yet  so  excellent  is  true  wisdom, 
that  itself  alone  gives  life  to  the  owner  of  it;  i.  e. 
a  comfortable  life,  a  long  life,  (when  Providence  sees 
it  good,)  yea  life  eternal.  But  an  inheritance  with 
out  wisdom  is  a  sorry  possession,  and  really  a  very 
poverty.  Wealth  separated  from  piety  is  a  most 
vain  thing,  and  it  is  the  greatest  folly  to  trust  in  it. 

But  perhaps  the  text  may  be  otherwise  inter 
preted,  by  understanding  the  wisdom  spoken  of  in 
the  first  place,  of  secular  or  worldly  wisdom  :  and  the 
knowledge  last  mentioned,  of  the  only  true  know 
ledge  and  wisdom,  which  the  same  Wise  Man  often 
tells  us  consists  in  the  fear  of  (Jod  and  sincere  piety 
and  religion,  and  then  the  words  are  to  be  thus 
paraphrased:  Wisdom  is  <)<>od  icitlt  an  inheritance; 
fur  wisdom  is  a  defence,  and  money  is  a  defence,  &c. 
i.  e.  worldly  wisdom  and  worldly  wealth  are  seem 
ingly  a  strong  security  and  fence  to  the  man  that 
hath  them  both  together.  But  indeed  neither  the 
one  nor  the  other  severally,  nor  both  together  united, 
are  to  be  depended  on ;  that  wisdom  and  under 
standing,  which  consists  in  the  fear  of  God,  being 
man's  chiefest,  yea  only  security  and  felicity  ;  that 
alone,  which  gives  him  life,  i.  e.  makes  his  life  safe 
and  comfortable  here,  and  brings  him  perfect  peace 
and  happiness  hereafter.  This  is  a  plain  comment 
on  my  text :  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his 
wisdom,  let  not  the  rich  man  glory  in  his  riches: 
but  let  him  that  glorieth  qlory  in  this,  that  fie 
iniderstandeth  and  knoweth  me,  &c.  However  this 


444  The  Folly  of  glorying  in      SERM.  xvm. 

is  certain,  that  wealth  and  riches  are  very  vain 
things  to  be  gloried  and  trusted  in,  as  a  man's  chief 
security  and  felicity.  For, 

1.  Riches  reach  only  to  the  outward  man,  and 
cannot  cure  the  inward  evils  and  diseases  of  the 
mind.  What  doth  all  the  wealth  of  the  world  sig 
nify  to  the  man  that  is  naturally  and  incurably 
melancholy,  that  dwells  in  a  continual  cloud,  and 
looks  on  all  the  brighter  things  without  him  through 
a  black  glass  and  a  thick  mist  of  darkness  ?  Besides, 
if  some  accidental  discontent  seize  upon  the  rich 
man,  (and  the  richest  men  are  not  out  of  the  reach 
of  such  discontents,)  how  doth  this  sour  all  his 
enjoyments  and  delights,  and  render  him  inwardly 
most  miserable,  in  the  midst  of  all  his  outward  hap 
piness  !  How  apt  is  every  real  or  imaginary  affront 
from  his  inferiors,  that  are  either  indeed  so,  or 
thought  so  by  him,  to  disquiet  and  disturb  him  ! 
How  was  Haman  vexed  in  the  midst  of  all  his  glory, 
for  want  only  of  a  bow  from  Mordecai,  Esth.  iii.  5. 
Ahab,  the  richest  of  the  kings  of  Israel,  having  taken 
a  fancy  to  Naboth's  vineyard,  and  being  denied  it, 
was  heavy  and  displeased,  and  took  his  bed  upon 
it,  and  could  not  sleep,  and  would  not  eat,  1  Kings 
xxi.  4.  We  are  often  infinitely  mistaken,  and  take 
the  falsest  measures,  when  we  envy  the  happiness  of 
rich  and  great  men  ;  we  know  not  the  inward  canker 
that  eats  out  all  their  joy  and  delight,  and  makes 
them  really  much  more  miserable  than  ourselves. 

But  what  if  a  troubled  conscience  assaults  the  rich 
man  ?  And  from  this  danger  he  is  not  free,  nay  to 
this  he  is,  of  all  others,  most  subject.  For  riches  are 
styled  by  our  blessed  Lord  the  mammon  of  un 
righteousness  <  Luke  xvi.  9-  Because  they  are  for  the 


Wisdom,  Miqlit,  or  Riches.  445 

most  part  found  in  the  hands  of  unrighteous  men, 
and  by  them  are  most  valued,  as  being  the  mammon 
they  serve  and  honour  more  than  God ;  and  also 
because  they  are  often  gotten  by  unrighteous  means, 
and  generally  used  to  unrighteous  purposes,  being 
made  the  instruments  of  sin,  and  ministers  to  luxury 
and  wantonness.  Now,  I  say,  what  if  all  the  wicked 
ness  he  is  guilty  of,  in  the  getting  or  using  of  his 
wealth,  happen  to  stare  in  the  face  of  the  rich  man's 
conscience  when  awakened  by  sickness  or  any  other 
affliction?  I  low  doth  this  aifright  him,  and  into 
what  horrors  doth  it  cast  him  ! 

2.  Riches  cannot  cure  all  the  evils  and  diseases  of 
the  body  neither.     One  sharp  fit  of  the  gout,  stone, 
or  strangury,  will  overcome  all  the  cordial  power  of 
gold  and  silver,  and  make  a  man  despise  his  riches, 
and  willing  to  part  with  his  beloved  money  for  that 
ease  which  the  vilest  beggar  enjoys.     But  this  will 
not  always  do;  money  may  procure  the  physician, 
but   oftentimes   the   physician   cannot  cure  the  dis 
ease  ;  and  the  rich  man  is  left  to  roar  under  his  tor 
ment,  or  miserably  to  languish  under  his  infirmity, 
whilst  the  poor  man  sings  and  rejoices  in  his  ease 
and  health.     Besides,  I  take  it  for  certain,  that  if 
not  the  poor,  yet  the  meaner  man  hath  great  ad 
vantages  in  point  of  health  above  the  rich.    For  that 
temperance  and  plainer  fare  and  exercise  of  body  to 
which  the  condition  of  his  life  necessitates  the  man 
of  a  lower  fortune,  is  in  truth  the  best  physic,  and 
that  which,  after  a  tedious   and   costly  course,  the 
physician   himself  oftentimes   adviseth   his  rich  pa 
tient  to. 

3.  Riches  are  no  security  against  outward  acci 
dents  and  contingencies.     God  hath  placed  man  in 


446  The  Folly  of  glorying  in     SERM.  xvm. 

this  world,  in  the  midst  of  many  hazards  and  evil 
chances,  which  fall  not  under  any  certain  rule,  but 
that  of  divine  foresight  and  providence.  To  these 
the  rich  man  is  as  liable  as  the  poorest  beggar.  A 
tile  or  stone  may  as  soon  fall  on  and  crush  the  rich 
man's  head  as  the  vilest  peasant's ;  the  rich  man 
stands  on  no  better  legs,  and  hath  no  other  arms,  than 
the  poor  man ;  and  he  may,  and  as  often  doth  need 
the  surgeon  to  cure  his  broken  leg  or  arm.  He  that 
is  clothed  in  purple  is  thereby  no  more  secured  from 
a  sudden  blast  of  lightning  than  a  man  in  rags.  In 
the  time  of  war  and  public  calamity,  the  rich  man 
generally  fares  the  worst  of  all,  and  is  exposed  to 
plunder,  rapine,  and  violence ;  whilst  the  meaner 
man  is  overlooked,  and  his  obscurity  is  his  greatest 
security  and  safety. 

4.  Riches  are  themselves  uncertain,  and  therefore 
not  to  be  gloried  and  trusted  in.  For  what  a  folly 
is  it  for  a  man  to  be  secure  and  confident  in  that, 
of  the  possession  of  which  he  can  never  be  secure  ! 
Hence  the  great  apostle  gives  it  as  a  proper  advice 
to  rich  men,  not  to  trust  in  the  uncertainty  of  riches, 
or  in  uncertain  riches^.  And  of  riches  the  wisest 
of  men  thus  elegantly  discourseth,  Prov.  xxiii.  4,  5, 
Labour  not  to  be  rich  :  cease  from  thine  own  wis 
dom.  Wilt  tliou  set  thine  eyes  upon  that  ivhich 
is  not  f  for  riches  certainly  make  themselves  wings  ; 
they  fly  as  an  eagle  toward  heaven.  Riches  are  as 
volatile  a  thing  as  the  bird  of  the  air,  nowhere  fixed, 
uncertain  in  the  getting  and  keeping ;  flying  from 
us  both  when  we  grasp  after  them  and  seek  them, 
and  when  we  think  we  have  them  in  sure  posses- 

d  M?7§e  ^ATTiKeVru  eVt  vrXovrov  dbrjXoTijTi.    [l  Tim.  vi.  I  7'J 


Wisdom,  Miff/if,  or  liiches.  447 

sion.  Many  are  the  projects  of  men  to  get  riches, 
and  some  of  them  are  so  probable,  so  likely  to  take, 
and  come  so  near  the  desired  effect,  that  the  man 
thinks  himself  as  secure  of  them,  as  if  he  had  them 
already  in  his  power :  but  by  some  unexpected  acci 
dent  the  project  fails,  and  the  man  is  left  as  poor  as 
before ;  yea  much  poorer  and  more  miserable,  as 
being  fallen  from  a  great  expectation,  and  afflicted 
with  the  loss  of  that,  which  though  he  never  had, 
yet  he  was  in  his  own  conceit  as  sure  of  as  if  he 
had  possessed  it. 

And  when  a  man  hath  gotten  wealth,  how  uncer 
tain  is  the  keeping  of  it!  how  often  doth  the  bird 
fly  away  on  a  sudden  !  Riches  are  uncertain,  as  be 
ing  subject  to  many  chances,  to  theft  and  fraud,  and 
rapine  and  violence,  and  fire  and  water  too;  a  few 
great  wrecks  at  sea  often  undoing  the  richest  mer 
chant.  Besides  men  generally  seek  after  wealth,  not 
so  much  for  their  own  comfortable  subsistence  whilst 
they  live,  (for  a  little  will  suffice  for  that,)  as  for  the 
raising  of  a  family,  and  leaving  a  rich  and  flourishing 
posterity  behind  them  when  they  are  dead.  But, 
alas !  how  vain  is  this  design  !  Hear  the  royal 
Psalmist,  Psalm  xxxix.  6 :  Surely  even/  man  iralketh 
in  a  vain  show :  surely  they  are  disquieted  in  rain : 
Jie  Jteapeth  up  riches,  and  knoweth  not  who  shall 
(jathcr  them.  The  provident  man  hath  commonly  a 
wasting  prodigal,  and  the  wise  man  a  fool  for  his 
heir.  And  very  often  the  heir  utterly  fails,  and  the 
family  is  extinct,  and  the  name  of  it  is  perished  from 
the  earth,  and  the  wealth  gone  to  strangers  that  are 
no  way  related  to  the  first  gatherer  of  it. 

But  if  the  family  be  still  in  being,  yet  oftentimes 
the  riches  are  fled,  and  the  estate  is  gone.  How 


448  The  Folly  of  glorying  in    SERM.  XVIIL 

many  great  estates  may  we  reckon  up,  that  have 
within  the  compass  of  one  age  shifted  several  fami 
lies  !  A  good  many  years  ago  such  a  lordship  was  in 
such  a  family,  (and  perhaps  their  escutcheon  is  still 
to  be  seen  in  the  wall  or  windows  of  the  mansion- 
house,  as  a  sad  monument  of  decayed  and  ruined 
gentility;)  afterwards  it  went  to  another,  and  now 
it  is  in  a  third  or  fourth  family ;  and  whither  it  will 
go  next,  who  can  tell  ?  so  vain  a  thing  is  it  for  a 
man  to  promise  himself  that  he  shall  convey  his 
inheritance  to  his  heirs  for  ever.  It  is  an  excellent 
admonition  to  this  purpose,  that  David  gives  to 
those  that  trust  in  their  wealth,  and  boast  them 
selves  in  the  multitude  of  their  riches,  Psalm  xlix. 
10,11,12:  For  he  seeth  that  wise  men  die,  likewise 
the  fool  and  the  brutish  person  perish,  and  leave  their 
wealth  to  others.  Their  inward  thought  is,  that 
their  houses  shall  continue  for  ever,  and  their 
dwelling  places  to  all  generations ;  they  call  their 
lands  after  their  own  names.  Nevertheless  man 
being  in  honour  abideth  not :  he  is  like  the  beasts 
that  perish.  The  sense  of  which  place  seems  to  be 
this : 

The  rich  man  that  trusteth  in  his  riches,  seeth,  or 
may  see,  that  the  wise  man  and  the  fool  certainly 
die,  the  one  as  well  as  the  other ;  and  that  the  wis 
est  man,  by  all  his  wisdom,  cannot  so  secure  the 
estate  he  hath  gotten,  to  his  own  progeny,  but  that 
it  may,  and  often  doth,  in  a  short  time,  pass  to  an 
other  family.  And  yet  such  is  the  folly  of  the  world 
ling,  that  he  promises  himself  a  perpetual  name  in 
the  world,  and  a  never-failing,  and  always  flourish 
ing  posterity.  But  indeed,  as  the  richest  and  most 
honourable  man  must  himself  certainly  die,  and  have 


Wisdom,  Might,  ur  Riches.  44-9 

his  own  honour  laid  in  the  dust;  so  the  honour  of 
his  house,  family,  and  posterity  generally  lasts  not 
long,  but  is  also  in  a  little  tract  of  time  buried  in 
oblivion. 

5.  And  lastly,  riches  will  certainly  fail,  leave,  and 
forsake  the  owners  of  them  at  last,  when  they  come 
to  die. 

If  riches  could  for  the  present  cure  all  the  evils  of 
our  minds  and  bodies  ;  if  they  could  secure  us  against 
all  outward  accidents  in  this  world,  if  we  were  sure 
of  them  for  our  lives,  nay,  and  that  they  should  con 
tinue  to  our  posterity;  yet  were  it  a  vain  thing  to 
trust  in  them  as  our  security  and  happiness.  For 
we  ourselves  must  certainly,  after  a  few  years,  bid 
an  eternal  farewell  to  them,  and  we  must  die  and 
for  ever  leave  them.  This  is  the  meditation  of  David 
in  the  abovemen tinned  Psalm  xlix.  16,  17:  lh  tiof 
thon  afraid  when  our  is  made  rich,  when  the  glory 
of  his  house  is  increased ;  for  when  he  dieth  he 
shall  earn/  nothing  airai/ :  7//\  glori/  shall  not  de 
scend  after  him.  Now  what  a  contemptible,  or  ra 
ther  pitiful  object  is  the  rich  man  when  he  conies  to 
die,  if  then  he  hath  nothing  else  but  his  riches  to 
trust  in  !  Such  an  one  dies  with  far  greater  regret 
and  torment  of  mind,  and  is  so  much  more  miser 
able  in  his  death  than  the  poorest  man.  He  is  now 
for  ever  to  leave  all  his  wealth,  together  with  all 
that  pomp  and  grandeur,  all  those  delights  and  plea 
sures  that  it  afforded,  and  his  body  to  be  laid  in  the 
dark  and  silent  grave;  and  as  for  his  soul,  (as  little 
religion  as  he  formerly  had,  yet,)  he  is  now  uncer 
tain  at  least  what  will  become  of  it ;  but  he  is  cer 
tain,  that  if  there  be  any  place  of  misery  for  wicked 
souls,  thither  his  must  go.  But  on  the  other  side, 

BULL,   VOL.   I.  G  g 


450  The  Folly  of  glorying,  fyc.     SERM.  xvm. 

tlie  poor  man  hath  no  such  temptation  to  make  him 
fond  of  living  or  unwilling  to  die,  but  may  rather 
look  on  death  as  a  writ  of  ease,  given  him  by  Provi 
dence  from  a  life  of  sorrow  and  labour. 

But  see  the  stupidity  and  infatuation  of  fallen 
man  !  The  rich  man  knows  he  must  certainly  die 
as  well  as  others,  and  that  the  time  of  his  death  is 
altogether  so  uncertain,  that,  for  ought  he  can  tell, 
the  next  day  or  hour  may  be  his  last.  He  knows 
that  whenever  he  dies  he  must  infallibly  leave  his 
wealth  behind  him,  and  carry  none  of  his  riches  along 
with  him.  And  to  us,  that  live  under  the  revelation 
of  the  Gospel,  God  hath  given  so  full  a  demonstration 
of  a  life  to  come,  wherein  they  shall  be  for  ever  happy 
that  despise  this  world,  and  they  miserable  that  dote 
upon  it,  that  it  seems  almost  impossible  for  any 
rational  man,  that  duly  and  impartially  weighs  the 
evidence  given  him,  to  doubt  of  it ;  and  yet  the 
rich  man  still  depends  on  and  glories  in  his  riches. 
Whereas  if  he  did  but  reflect  on  the  perfect  vanity 
of  his  actions  in  so  doing,  and  seriously  consider  with 
himself  how  foolish  and  imprudent  he  therein  is,  he 
would  heartily  subscribe  to  the  truth  of  the  second 
observation  I  proposed  to  discourse  of,  viz.,  That  the 
religious  acknowledgment  of  God's  providence,  in  the 
wise  and  righteous  government  and  disposal  of  all 
human  affairs,  joined  with  an  humble  dependence 
and  firm  trust  on  him,  is  man's  best  and  indeed  only 
security.  But  I  shall  reserve  this  subject  to  another 
opportunity. 

Now  to  God  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost, 
be  given  and  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  all  reli 
gious  worship  and  adoration,  now  and  for  evermore. 
Amen. 


SERMON    XIX. 


THAT  THE  RELIGIOUS  ACKNOWLEDGMENT  OF  GODS  PROVI 
DENCE,  IN  THE  WISH  AND  RIGHTEOUS  GOVERNMENT  AND 
DISPOSAL  OK  ALL  HUMAN  AFFAIRS,  JOINED  WITH  AN 
HUMBLE  DEPENDENCE  AND  FIRM  TRUST  ON  HIM,  IN  THE 
WAV  OF  OBEDIENCE  TO  HIM,  IS  MAN'S  BEST  AND  INDEED 
ONLY  SECURITY. 


JKU.  ix.  23,  24. 

Thus  saith  the  Lord,  Let  not  the  wise  man  glory  in  his  wis 
dom,  neither  let  the  minify  man  nl»r>/  in  his  minht,  let  not 
the  rich  man  tilory  in  his  riches:  hut  Jet  him  that  fflorifth 
glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and  Icnoiwih  me,  that  I 
am  the  Lord  which  exercise  lo  oinff kindness,  judgment,  and 
righteousness,  in  the  earth :  for  in  these  thinas  I  d<>!inht, 
saith  the  Lord. 

IN    my    former   discourse    on    this    text    I    have 
stripped   the   carnal   man  of  all  his  vain  confi 
dences,  whether  in  his  own  wisdom,  or  in  his  might, 
or  in  his  wealth,  and  have  abundantly  made  good  the 
first  proposition  contained  in  the  text,  viz.,  That  it  is 
a  very  sinful  and  vain  thing  for  any  man  so  to  glory 
in  his  wisdom,  might,  or  wealth,  as  to  place  his  trust 
and  confidence  in  either  or  all  of  them.    But  lest  we 
should  seem  to  discourse  only  in  a  destructive  way, 
in  taking  oft*  poor  mortals  from   their  false  trusts, 
and  then  leave  them  in  despair,  and  destitute  of  any 
other  more  sure  and  certain  dependence ;  I  proceed 
now  to  the  second  observation,  which  was  this  : 
The  religious  acknowledgment  of  God's  providence 
Gg2 


452  Man's  Dependence  on  God      SERM.  xix. 

in  the  wise  and  righteous  government  and  disposal 
of  all  human  affairs,  joined  with  an  humble  depend 
ence  and  firm  trust  on  him,  in  the  way  of  obedience 
to  him,  is  man's  best,  yea  only  security. 

But  let  him  that  glorieth  &c.  For  the  full  clearing 
of  which  observation,  I  shall  endeavour  plainly  to 
demonstrate  these  three  things  : 

I.  That   there  is  a  divine  providence  that  takes 
notice   of,   and  wisely  and    righteously  directs    and 
go  veins  all  human  affairs,  i.e.  the  actions  and  con 
cerns  of  all  men  on  earth. 

II.  That  there  is  a  most  especial  providence  over 
good  men,  that  orders  all  things  for  their  good. 

TIT.  That  therefore  we  ought,  leaving  all  other 
earthly  dependencies,  to  commit  ourselves  to  the 
divine  providence,  in  the  way  of  piety,  and  sincere 
obedience  to  the  divine  commands,  and  firmly  to 
rely  and  trust  on  it,  as  our  best,  yea  only  security. 
Of  these  in  their  order. 

I.  That  there  is  a  wise  and  righteous  providence 
of  God  that  takes  cognizance  of  and  governs  the  con 
cerns  of  men  on  earth,  is  most  plain,  not  only  from 
the  holy  Scriptures,  but  also  from  the  universal  con 
sent  even  of  those  civilized  heathen  nations  which 
know  not,  or  own  not,  the  sacred  oracles  as  such. 

1.  First,  The  holy  Scriptures  (the  doctrine  where 
of  will  appear  to  him  that  diligently  and  impartially 
inquires  into  all  the  intrinsic  and  extrinsic  arguments 
whereby  it  is  confirmed,  to  be  most  certainly  of  God) 
in  very  many  places  clearly  set  forth  the  providence 
of  God  over  the  affairs  of  men.  Hear  some  few,  out 
of  a  great  abundance  that  might  be  produced,  most 
plain  and  express  determinations  of  sacred  writ 
concerning  this  matter.  Such  is  that,  Job  xxxiv.  21, 


his  best  and  only  Security.  4.53 

For  his  eyes  (i.  e.  Cod's  eyes)  arc  it/ton  the  ways  of 
man,  and  he  sccth  all  his  goings.  And  that,  Psalm 
xi.  4,  5,  Tlie  Lord  is  in  his  hob/  temple^  the  Lord's 
throne  is  in  heaven:  his  eyes  behold,  and  his  eye 
lids  try,  the  children  of  men.  Tlie  Lord  trieth  the 
righteous:  hut.  the  trie/fed  and  him  that  loreth  vio 
lence  the  Lord  hateth.  And  Psalm  xxxiii.  13,  14, 
15:  The  Lord  looJceth  from  heaven  i  he  beholdeth 
all  the  sons  of  men.  From  the  place  of  his  habita 
tion  he  looketh  upon  all  the  inhabitants  of  tJte  earth. 
He  fashioneth  their  hearts  (dike,  (or  as  the  Sep- 
tuagint  and  the  Latin  render  the  Hebrew,  severally,) 
he  considereth  (ill  their  works.  And  Prov.  v.  21  : 
The  trays  of  man  (ire  be/ore  the  eyes  of  the  Lord, 
and  he  ponderetlt  all  his  goings.  And  lastly,  .ler. 
xxxii.  17,  18, 19  '.  Lord  (rod  !  behold,  thou  hast  made 
the  heaven  and  the  earth  hi/  tin/  great  potcer-  and 
stretched  out  arm,  and  there  is  nothing  too  hard  for 
tJiee.  Thou  shewest  loiinqkindness  unto  thousands, 
and  recompensest  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  into 
the  bosom  of  their  children  after  them  :  tJie  great, 
the  mighty  (tod,  the  Lord  of  hosts.,  Is  his  name, 
great  in  counsel,  and  mighty  in  work :  for  thine 
eyes  are  open  upon  all  the  ways  of  the  sons  of  men  : 
to  give  even/  one  according  to  his  ways,  and  according 
to  the  fruit  of  his  doings. 

This  is  the  doctrine  of  the  divinely  inspired  writers; 
concerning  whom  it  is  farther  observable,  that  they 
have  in  their  very  writings  not  only  taught  us  the 
doctrine  of  providence,  but  also  given  us  a  full  and 
demonstrative  proof  thereof  in  those  many  clear  and 
exact  predictions  of  future  contingencies,  which  by 
the  divine  Spirit  they  have  delivered  to  the  world 
many  ages  before  the  things  themselves  came  to  pass. 


454  Man's  Dependence  on  God      SERM.  xix. 

Now  prophecy  is  an  irrefragable  argument  of  provi 
dence  ;  for  if  God  foresees  the  actions  of  men  before 
they  are  done,  he  cannot  but  see  them  in  the  doing ; 
and  those  good  or  evil  things,  which  beforehand  he 
tells  shall  befall  men,  we  may  be  sure  when  they 
happen  are  the  effects  of  his  providence. 

2.  To  the  doctrine  of  the  holy  Scriptures,  concern 
ing  the  providence  of  God,  all  the  civilized  heathen 
nations  have  given  their  suffrage,  not  only  in  word, 
but  (which  is  more)  in  fact  and  practice.  For  though 
some  conceited  and  contentious  philosophers  have 
ventured  to  dispute  against  Providence,  yet  they 
could  never  by  all  their  sophistry  so  far  prevail 
against  the  reason  of  mankind,  and  the  force  of  pri 
mitive  tradition,  as  to  eradicate  the  settled  belief  of 
it.  But  the  generality  of  men  in  every  age  and  na 
tion,  not  wholly  degenerated  into  brutishness,  have 
still  practised  upon  a  supposition  of  a  divine  Provi 
dence  overseeing  and  governing  the  concerns  of  men. 
Of  which  I  shall  give  you  two  or  three  most  plain 
and  demonstrative  instances. 

First,  The  natural  worship  of  God,  consisting  in 
prayer  and  supplication  to  him,  is  and  always  hath 
been  the  practice  of  all  nations  not  perfectly  barbar 
ous.  For  the  truth  of  which  affirmation,  I  appeal 
to  the  faith  of  all  heathen  historians  and  writers  that 
are  at  this  day  extant.  Now  what  is  prayer  to  God, 
to  deliver  us  from  danger,  or  to  give  us  any  blessing 
or  good  thing,  but  a  direct  acknowledgment  of  his 
providence  over  us  ?  For  to  what  purpose  is  it  for 
any  man  to  pray  unto  him,  that  either  cannot  or  will 
not  hear  his  prayers,  or  take  any  notice  of  his  peti 
tions,  or  grant  what  he  desires?  The  divine  Psalm 
ist  seems  to  me  plainly  enough  to  reflect  on  this ; 


his  best  and  only  Security.  455 

Psalm  Ixv.  2 :  O  thou  that  hearest  prayer,  unto  thee 
shall  all  flesh  come:  where  all  flesh  is  an  expres 
sion  so  wide  and  comprehensive,  as  that  it  must  at 
least  signify  the  generality  of  mankind.  Nor  is  it 
any  wonder  that  God  should  be  set  forth  by  the 
Psalmist,  even  to  the  heathens,  as  a  God  that  heareth 
prayer.  For  we  all  well  know,  that  there  is  a  pro 
vidence  of  God  over  the  heathens,  which  administers 
at  least  temporal  good  things  to  them  without  their 
prayers,  and  therefore  may  much  more  do  so  upon 
their  prayers  and  supplications,  though  misguided, 
and  not  well  directed.  We  know  that  the  mariners 
in  the  ship  with  Jonah,  (though  otherwise  as  sea 
men  and  heathens  too  they  might  have  been  thought 
not  very  inclinable  to  religion,  yet,)  when  they  ap 
prehended  the  danger  of  shipwreck,  had  recourse 
every  man  to  his  God  by  prayer,  Jonah  i.  5,  and 
we  know  that  the  supreme  and  only  true  God  heard 
their  prayers,  as  proceeding  from  some  honest  prin 
ciples  of  natural  religion  in  them. 

Secondly,  The  instituted  worship  of  God,  (for  so  I 
shall  presume  to  call  it,)  consisting  in  sacrifices,  hath 
been  as  universal  a  practice  in  all  ages  and  nations 
as  the  former,  and  was  indeed  always  joined  with  it 
It  were  not  very  difficult  (if  it  were  our  present  busi 
ness)  to  shew  how  from  this  practice,  as  taught  our 
first  parents  after  their  fall,  and  from  them  derived 
to  all  mankind  descending  from  them,  some  of  the 
main  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  itself  may  be  deduced. 
But  however  this  is  certain,  that  the  doctrine  of 
providence  is  so  legible  in  the  custom  of  sacrificing, 
that  he  who  runs  may  read  it.  For  sacrifices  unto 
God  among  the  heathens,  and  among  all  nations 
that  used  them,  were  either  for  the  averting  of  evils 


456  Man's  Dependence  on  God      SERM.  xix. 

that  might  come  from  him,  or  removing  of  evils 
already  inflicted  by  him,  as  punishments  of  sin ;  or 
to  procure  those  good  things  from  him  which  they 
wanted,  or  to  return  thanks  to  him  for  good  things 
already  received ;  and  so  were  all  of  them  plain 
acknowledgments  of  divine  Providence. 

Thirdly  and  lastly,  The  custom  of  deciding  doubt 
ful  matters  by  oaths  hath  been  and  is  likewise  re 
ceived  and  practised  among  all  nations  that  had  or 
have  any  sense  of  God  left  in  them.  This  as  well  as 
the  former  is  so  notorious,  that  I  need  not  spend  my 
time  in  the  proof  of  it.  Now  what  are  oaths  but 
downright  appeals  to  the  providence  of  God,  where 
by  we  acknowledge  his  omniscience,  and  that  he 
knows  the  truth  of  all  things  ;  and  his  power  and 
justice,  that  he  can  and  will  punish  the  authors  of 
falsehood,  and  protect  the  lovers  of  truth  ?  So  firm  a 
possession  hath  the  belief  of  Providence  always  kept 
in  the  world. 

Let  us  consider  now  those  objections  which  some 
bold  and  self-opiniated  men  have  brought  against  it. 
To  omit  here  the  trite  and  common  objection  of  the 
present  prosperity  of  some  wicked  men,  arid  the 
adversity  of  some  good  men,  (a  full  solution  whereof 
you  have  in  the  seventy-third  Psalm  throughout,) 
the  chief  cavils  of  the  epicureans  are  these  two  : 

Object.  1.  That  it  is  inconceivable  how  God  can 
at  the  same  moment  of  time  see  and  take  notice  of 
all  the  actions  of  all  men  on  earth,  especially  their 
inward  actions,  the  thoughts  and  secrets  of  their 
hearts. 

Object.  2.  That  it  seems  beneath  the  majesty  of 
God  to  regard  or  concern  himself  about  so  low  and 
vile  a  thing  as  man  is. 


/n'y  l/t'fit  and  only  Security.  457 

Before  I  distinct!}'  answer  these  pretences,  I  shall 
in  general  observe  this,  that  they  are  directly  oppo 
site  each  to  the  other.  For  the  former  objection 
supposes  God  too  little  to  see  and  govern  all  the 
actions  and  concerns  of  men ;  the  other  makes  him 
so  great  and  so  high,  that  he  disdains  to  concern 
himself  about  them.  In  the  former,  the  infidel  pleads 
against  divine  Providence,  that  HUH  //o/W,  "  it  can- 
"  not"  take  notice  of  all  things  on  earth  :  in  the  latter, 
he  objects,  non  meat  r.i'if/uiti,  £c. ;  4%  That  God  will 
"  not  concern  himself  about  the  little  affairs  of  men, 
"  as  being  unworthy  of  his  cares  and  regard." 

In  a  word,  the  first  objection  sets  the  work  of  pro 
vidence  in  the  government  of  this  world  above  God ' 
the  second  placeth  it  beneath  him.  Thus  error  al 
ways  contradicts,  not  only  the  truth,  but  itself.  But 
let  us  now  encounter  these  objections  several Iv. 

As  for  the  first,  that  it  is  inconceivable  how  all 
the  actions,  yea  the  most  inward  thoughts  of  all 
men  can  in  the  same  moment  of  time  be  seen  and 
taken  notice  of  by  God  ;  it  is  an  objection  so  foolish, 
that  any  rational  man  may  well  be  ashamed  of  it. 
It  was  as  wisely  as  wittily  said  of  one,  "That  if  the 
"  brutes  were  capable  of  a  design  to  draw  the  pic- 
"  ture  of  God,  they  would  paint  him  just  like  one  of 
"  themselves."  So  these  brutish  men  cannot,  or 
rather  will  not  think  of  God,  the  infinite  Almighty 
God,  under  any  other  notion  than  what  is  adequate 
to  their  own,  not  only  finite,  but  feeble  and  weak 
measures.  Thou  canst  not  conceive  how  God  doth 
see  and  govern  all  things  in  this  world;  doth  it 
therefore  follow  lie  cannot  or  doth  not  so  do?  a 
ridiculous  consequence.  The  beasts  do  not,  cannot 
conceive  how  we  men  make  ships,  and  tame  the 


458  Man's  Dependence  on  God     SERM.  xix. 

unruly  ocean;  how  and  by  what  maxims  of  policy 
we  frame  and  govern  kingdoms  and  commonwealths ; 
how  we  measure  the  courses  of  the  stars,  and  take 
observations  of  the  heavenly  bodies ;  much  less  how 
we  discourse  of  religion  and  divine  matters ;  and  yet 
we  are  sure  we  can  do,  and  actually  do  all  these 
things.  Now  it  is  certain,  that  we  mortal  men  are 
infinitely  far  inferior  to  the  supreme  God  than  the 
beasts  are  to  us.  But  let  us  see  whether  these  great 
pretenders  to  reason  may  not  be  convinced  of  their 
folly  even  by  sense  itself. 

Thou  that  questionest  the  possibility  of  God's  in 
spection  of  all  things  here  below,  look  up  and  behold 
that  glorious  luminary  of  heaven  the  sun;  see  how 
in  the  same  moment  it  ditiuseth  its  light  and  heat 
into  all  the  several  parts  and  corners  of  the  wide 
earth  exposed  to  it,  and  peeps  through  every  crevice 
of  every  the  most  secret  place  thereof.  Now  how 
canst  tliou  see  this  wonderfully  diffusive  influence  of 
a  created  light,  and  not  grant  a  far  more  extensive 
efficacy  to  the  great  Creator,  the  Father  of  lights  ? 
But  to  come  nearer  to  thee,  consider  the  very  powers 
and  faculties  that  God  hath  given  thee,  and  then 
thou  canst  never  doubt  of  the  divine  power  and 
providence  over  thee.  Do  but  open  thine  eyes,  and 
thou  canst  in  a  moment  see  to  the  starry  heaven, 
though  at  a  very  vast  distance  from  thee :  now  he 
that  made  thee  see  from  earth  to  heaven,  cannot  he 
himself  much  more  see  from  the  highest  heaven  to 
this  earth?  And  if  thou  questionest  how  God  can 
know  thine  heart  and  secret  thoughts,  I  ask  thee 
how  thou  thyself  comest  to  know  them?  Didst  thou 
not  receive  the  very  faculty  of  knowing  that,  and  all 
other  things  that  are  knowable  by  thee,  from  God  ? 


his  best  and  only  Security.  459 

And  could  he  make  thee  to  know  that,  which  he 
himself  cannot  know?  This  is  the  very  reasoning  of 
the  divine  Psalmist,  Psalm  xciv,  where,  verse  7,  he 
brings  in  wicked  and  profane  men  thus  slighting 
divine  Providence;  Yet  they  sai/9  The  Lord  shall  not 
see,  neither  shall  the  God  of  Jacob  reaard  it :  and 
then  he  excellently  refutes  them,  verse  8 — 11  :  Un 
derstand,  ye  brutish  amom/  the  people:  and  i/e  fools, 
irhen  will  i/<}  be  wise?  Jle  tliat  planted  the  ear, 
shall  lie  not  hear?  he  that  formed  the  rye,  sh(tll 
he  not  see?  he  that  chastiseth  the  heathen,  shall 
not  he  correct  f  he  tJmt  teachcth  man  knowledge, 
xhall  not  he  know?  The  Lord  knoweth  the  thoughts 
of  man,  that  they  are  vanity.  The  foundation  of 
which  excellent  argumentation  is  this ;  whatever 
perfection  there  is  in  created  things,  it  is  from  God 
the  Creator,  and  therefore  in  him  it  must  needs  be 
in  an  eminent  manner.  Much  after  the  same  way 
the  apostle  St.  John  discourses,  1  John  iii.  20  :  If  onr 
heart  condemn  us9  (*od  is  greater  tlian  our  heart, 
and  knoweth  all  thin  as.  If  a  man  be  conscious  to 
himself  of  his  own  wickedness,  yea  the  very  secret 
wickedness  and  hypocrisy  of  his  he-art ;  sure  God 
himself,  who  set  up  this  candle  of  conscience  (as 
Solomon  calls  it,  Prov.  xx.  27.)  in  every  man,  cannot 
be  ignorant  of  it ;  he  being  the  fountain  of  know 
ledge,  and  all  knowledge  in  the  creature  derivative 
from  him,  and  so  knowing  all  things  that  are  know- 
able  by  any  creature,  and  infinitely  more.  But  1 
have  perhaps  spent  too  much  time  in  answering  a 
foolish  objection. 

I  therefore  proceed  to  refute  the  other  cavil  against 
divine  Providence,  that  pretends  it  to  be  beneath  the 
majesty  of  God  to  take  notice  of  the  mean  and  vile 


460  Mans  Dependence  on  God     SERM.  xix. 

concerns  of  men  on  earth.  The  former  objection 
assaulted  the  omniscience  of  God,  this  strikes  at 
his  goodness ;  and  therefore  though  it  be  more 
specious,  is  yet  really  every  whit  as  impious  as  the 
other.  Now  here  it  is  to  be  confessed,  that  we  men 
on  earth,  yea  the  most  glorious  creatures  of  heaven, 
the  angels,  are  infinitely  beneath  the  majesty  of  God, 
the  Creator  of  all  things.  But  yet  we  say  also,  that 
whatsoever  the  infinite  majesty  of  God  was  pleased 
at  first  to  create  and  make,  and  in  any  degree  to 
communicate  his  goodness  unto,  cannot  be  thought 
unworthy  of  his  after  care  and  providence ;  yea  by 
and  from  its  first  creation,  it  is  in  a  manner  entitled 
to  the  future  providence  of  God  that  created  it.  It 
was  the  goodness  of  God,  being  self-sufficient  and 
from  eternal  ages  perfectly  happy  in  himself,  that 
moved  him  in  that  point  of  duration  which  his  in 
finite  wisdom  saw  most  fitting,  as  it  were  to  go  forth 
and  down  from  himself,  and  to  give  being  to  very 
many  things,  and  to  communicate  his  goodness  to 
each  of  them  in  such  degrees  as  the  same  his  in 
finite  wisdom  was  pleased  to  assign,  and  from  the 
same  goodness,  whereby  he  created  things,  he  still 
preserves  them,  provides  for  them,  and  takes  care  of 
them. 

The  work  of  creation  and  providence  are  both 
equally  a  a-uyKardf3aari^,  (as  some  of  the  ancient 
fathers  term  it,)  a  condescension  in  God,  and  of  this 
gracious  condescension  the  sacred  writers  take  spe 
cial  notice.  So  the  divine  Psalmist,  Psalm  cxiii.  4, 
5,  6 :  The  Lord  is  high  above  all  nations,  and  his 
glory  above  the  heavens.  Who  is  like  unto  the  Lord 
our  God,  who  dwelleth  on  hicjh,  who  humbleth  him- 
self  to  behold  the  things  that  are  in  heaven  and 


///.v  best  and  only  Security.  46*1 

earth!  As  if  lie  had  said,  The  majesty  of  God  is  not 
only  above  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  but  his  glory 
is  also  above  the  heavens  and  all  the  excellent  powers 
and  inhabitants  thereof;  and  yet  such  is  his  unpa 
ralleled  goodness  and  condescension,  that  he  hum- 
bleth  himself  to  behold  and  take  notice  of  the  trans 
actions  both  in  heaven  and  earth.  'Phis  is  the  plain 
sense  of  that  text;  and  the  hyperbaton,  which  our 
learned  Knglish  paraphrast  suggests,  is  manifestly 
forced  and  violent,  as  he  himself  at  last  doth  little 
less  than  confess.  So  that  if  we  look  to  the  infinite 
majesty  of  God,  without  respect  to  his  goodness,  the 
heavenly  affairs  are  as  well  beneath  his  care  and 
providence  as  the  concerns  of  men  on  earth.  But 
yet  such  is  the  goodness  of  God,  that  he  certainly 
takes  care  of  both. 

And  as  to  the  condescension  of  God  in  his  special 
care  of  man,  the  same  divinely  inspired  writer 
excellently  discourses  of  it,  Psalm  viii.  3,  4  :  \Vlien,  I 
consider  tJie  heavens,  the  work  of  tin/  fingers ;  tJie 
moon  and  tJie  stars,  which  thou  hast  ordained; 
what  is  man,  tJtat  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  or  tJie 
son  of  man,  that  thou  risitest  Itim  ?  i.  e.  When  I 
view  the  heavens,  and  contemplate  that  stupendous 
work  of  thine,  and  therein  behold  thy  supereminent 
glory  and  majesty,  I  cannot  but  be  amazed  to  think 
that  thou,  so  great  a  God,  shouldest  take  such  care 
of  so  mean  and  vile  a  thing  as  man  is.  The  Psalm 
ist  questions  not  God's  special  regard  to  the  sons 
of  men,  but  wonders  at  his  goodness  and  gracious 
condescension  therein.  Question  it,  I  say,  he  doth 
not ;  for  he  presently  observes  a  plain  demonstration 
of  it  in  the  very  constitution  and  frame  of  nature; 
whereby  it  is  so  ordered,  that  man  hath  an  universal 


462  Man's  Dependence  ou  Cod     SEHM.  xix. 

dominion  given  him  over  this  whole  lower  world, 
verse  5 — 8:  For  thou  hast  made  him  a  little  lower 
than  the  angel*,  and  hast  crowned  him  with  glory 
and  honour.  Thou  modest  him  to  have  dominion 
over  the  works  of  thy  hands :  thou  hast  put  all 
things  under  his  feet :  all  sheep  and  oxen,  yea,  and 
the  beasts  (i.  e.  the  wild  beasts)  of  the  field ;  the 
fowl  of  the  air,  and  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  what 
soever  passeth  through  the  paths  of  the  sea.  Thus 
I  have  despatched  my  first  particular,  viz.,  That  there 
is  a  wise  and  righteous  providence  of  God  that  takes 
cognizance  of  and  governs  the  concerns  of  men  on 
earth. 

II.  I  proceed  hence  to  the  second  head  of  dis 
course  which  I  have  proposed  to  myself,  viz.,  That 
there  is  a  most  especial  providence  of  God  over  good 
men,  that  orders  all  things  for  their  good. 

The  providence  of  God  is  indeed  over  all  things 
on  earth,  but  not  over  all  things  alike.  God  takes 
care  of  the  very  brute  creatures  ;  the  Psalmist  telling 
us,  that  lie  givcth  to  tlie  beast  his  food,  and  to  the 
young  ravens  which  cry,  being  as  soon  as  they  are 
hatched  left  destitute  and  forsaken  by  the  old  ones, 
Psalm  cxlvii.  9.  But  God's  regard  to  man  is  such, 
that  in  comparison  thereof  the  holy  text  seems 
deny  that  he  hath  any  regard  to  beasts.  Doth  God 
take  care  for  oxen  f  saith  the  apostle,  1  Cor.  ix.  9. 
Yes,  he  doth  ;  but  he  hath  a  far  greater  regard 
to  men;  and  therefore  that  law,  Thou  shalt  not 
muzzle  the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn, 
teacheth  us  not  only  that  wer  should  do  right  to  our 
labouring  beasts ;  but  also  and  much  more  that  we 
should  not  defraud  such  men  as  by  their  labours, 
especially  in  the  work  of  the  Gospel,  deserve  well  at 


his  best  and  only  Security.  4(j.'j 

our  hands  of  their  due  reward,  which  is  the  reason 
ing  of  the  apostle  in  that  place.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
very  lives  of  the  brutes  are  permitted  by  Providence, 
yea  given  by  the  divine  law  to  the  use  and  service 
of  man  ;  and  he  is  allowed  to  take  and  kill,  not  only 
the  beasts  of  the  earth,  but  the  birds  of  the  air  and 
the  fishes  of  the  sea,  to  furnish  out  a  plentiful  table 
for  himself. 

Among  men  there  is  a  most  especial  providence  of 
God  over  those  that  are  his  children,  that  imitate  his 
goodness,  and  walk  in  the  paths  of  virtue  and  right 
eousness.  The  divine  apostle  tells  us.  That  the  Hriny 
Cod  is  Zo)T>/|0,  the  Saviour  or  Preserver  of  all  men, 
but  especially  of  those  that  believe,  1  Tim.  iv.  10. 

Wonderful  are  the  expressions  in  Scripture  of 
God's  tender  care  and  kindness  towards  #ood  men. 

o 

Our  Saviour  tells  us,  that  the  very  hairs  of  their 
head  are  numbered,  Matt.  x.  30,  where  the  speech 
is  proverbial.  We  use  to  number  and  take  account 
of  things  we  value  ;  and,  on  the  other  side,  those 
things  we  esteem  and  regard  not,  we  are  said  to 
make  no  account  or  reckoning  of  them.  An  hair 
signifies  the  very  least  thing,  and  the  loss  of  an  hair 
the  least  damage.  So  that  the  sense  is,  the  very 
least  concerns  of  good  men  are  regarded  by  God,  nor 
will  he  suiter  them  to  sustain  the  least  detriment  in 
the  way  of  piety  and  righteousness,  which  shall  not 
tend  to  their  greater  good.  God  is  said  to  be  as 
tender  of  his  people,  as  a  man  is  of  the  apple  or 
pupil  of  his  eye,  of  which  we  know  every  man  is 
very  careful,  that  it  receive  not  the  least  hurt,  Dent. 
xxxii.  10.  And  David  prays  to  God  for  his  especial 
providence  over  himself  in  the  very  same  phrase, 
Psalm  xvii.  7,  8:  Shcic  thy  marvellous  lovingkindness, 


464  Man's  Dependence  on  God      SERM.  xix. 

O  thou  that  savest  by  thy  right  hand  them  which 
put  their  trust  in  thee  from  those  that  rise  up  against 
them  :  keep  me  as  the  apple  of  the  eye,  &c. ;  i.  e. 
(saith  the  English  paraphrast,)  "  Let  thy  watchful 
"  and  tender  providence  fence  and  secure  me  from 
"  all  dangers,  after  the  same  manner  as  nature 
"  hath  provided  eyebrows  and  lids,  and  five  tunicles 
"  for  guards  to  fence  and  preserve  the  black  (the 
"  most  tender  part)  in  the  middle  of  the  eye,  that 
"  wherein  the  visive  faculty  is  placed." 

And  indeed  abundant  is  the  provision  that  God 
hath  made  for  the  defence  and  security  of  his  faith 
ful  ones.  The  holy  angels  themselves  are  com 
manded  to  leave  the  heavenly  blissful  habitations, 
and  to  hover  over  this  earth  for  their  protection  and 
preservation.  For  they  are  styled  by  the  divine 
author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  chap.  i.  14, 
ministering  spirits,  sent  forth  to  minister  for  them 
who  shall  be  heirs  of  xal  ration  :  and  the  Psalmist 
tells  us,  The  angel  of  the  Lord  cncampeth  round 
about  them  that  fear  him,  and  deliver eth  them, 
Psalm  xxxiv.  7.  Upon  which  it  presently  follows, 
verse  8,  O  taste  and  sec  that  the  Lord  is  good ! 
blessed  is  the  man  that  trust  eth  in  him.  Yea  our 
Lord  himself  assures  us,  that  his  little  ones,  those 
that  imitate  the  innocence  and  humility  of  little  chil 
dren,  have  their  angels  in  heaven,  Matt,  xviii.  10. 
Hence  the  holy  angels  are  termed  the  eyes  of  the 
Lord,  as  being  the  instruments  of  his  watchful  pro 
vidence  over  good  men.  So  2  Chron.  xvi.  9 :  The 
eyes  of  the  Lord  run  to  and  fro  throughout  the 
whole  earth,  to  shew  himself  (it  should  be  them 
selves]  strong  in  the  behalf  of  them  whose  heart  is 
perfect  towards  him.  Where  that  by  the  eyes  of 


his  best  and  only  Security.  4(J5 

the  Lord  are  meant  angels  of  (Joel,  is  plain  enough 
from  the  words  themselves,  which  clearly  express 
the  very  employment  of  the  holy  angels  in  being 
sent,  and  running  to  and  fro  through  the  earth,  f bi 
t-he  protection  and  security  of  good  and  upright  men, 
and  which  indeed  can  hardly  be  made  sense  without 
admitting  that  interpretation. 

And  the  same  is  farther  evident  from  other  paral 
lel  texts  of  Scripture ;  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  the 
prophecy  of  Zechariah,  verse  2,  we  have  a  vision  of 
seven  lamps  in  a  golden  candlestick  ;  the  interpreta 
tion  of  which  vision  is  thus  given,  verse  10 :  Those 
seven,  the?/  arc  the  ei/es  of  the  Lord,  which  run  to  and 
fro  throughout  the  whole  earth.  Now  what  those  wven 
ej/es  of  the  Lord  are,  we  learn  from  St.  John,  Rev.  v.  6, 
where  we  have  a  vision  of  the  Lamb,  having  seven 
horns  and  scrcn  ei/es,  which  are  the  seven  spirits  of 
God  sent  forth  into  all  the  earth.  And  those  spirits 
he  terms  angels,  chap.  viii.  2:  f  M/IP  the  seven  angels 
which  stood  he  fore  (Jod.  So  again,  Rev.  i.  4,  we  read 
of  seven  spirit*  which  are  before  God's  throne,  i.e. 
wait  in  his  presence  ;  do  not  sit  upon,  but  stand 
before  his  throne,  ready  to  receive  his  commands ; 
and  are  therefore  undoubtedly  created  spirits.  For 
the  understanding  of  which  places  we  are  to  know, 
that  the  ancient  Jews  believed  that  among  the  holy 
angels,  those  eyes  of  God  and  instruments  of  his 
watchful  providence  over  us,  there  are  seven  prin 
cipal  ones,  as  it  were  chief  captains  and  commanders 
of  the  heavenly  host.  So  in  the  ancient  though 
apocryphal  book  of  Tobit,  chap.  xii.  15,  the  angel 
Raphael  is  brought  in  thus  speaking  to  Tobit  and 
his  son,  /  am  Raphael,  one  of  the  seven  holy  angels 
• which  go  in  and  out  before  the  f/lon/  of  the 

BULL,   VOL.  1.  H  ll 


466  Man's  Dependence  on  God        SERM.  xix. 

lioly  One.  And  that  this  was  no  vain  speculation 
of  the  Jews  appears  from  those  texts  of  canonical 
Scripture,  both  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament, 
which  we  have  but  now  alleged.  But  this  by  the 
way.  I  proceed. 

By  this  ministry  of  his  holy  angels.  God  preserves 
the  faithful,  his  children,  from  infinite  unseen  dan 
gers,  especially  from  their  ghostly  enemies,  and 
directs  them  in  all  their  ways,  and  blesses  and  gives 
good  success  (oftentimes  strangely  and  unexpectedly) 
to  their  honest  undertaking.  And  of  this  I  have 
given  several  instances,  in  my  discourse  of  the  office 
of  the  holy  angels,  in  reference  to  good  mcna,  &c., 
which  I  shall  not  now  repeat. 

Now  what  a  wonderful  condescension  of  the 
divine  goodness  is  this,  that  the  glorious  courtiers 
of  heaven,  the  intimate  servants  of  the  supreme 
King  and  Lord  of  the  world,  should  thus  attend 
upon  us  vile  clods  of  earth  !  And  how  safe  and 
happy  must  the  good  man  needs  be  under  the  con 
duct  of  these  wise,  good,  and  powerful  guardians  ! 
How  easily  can  they,  how  readily  will  they,  upon  the 
command  of  our  heavenly  Father,  preserve  us  from 
dangers,  supply  our  wants,  direct  our  courses,  and 
give  a  prosperous  issue  to  all  our  affairs.  In  a  word, 
whether  we  look  on  the  providence  of  God  over  the 
faithful  in  the  fountain  or  in  the  streams,  in  the  first 
mover  or  in  the  inferior  wheels,  in  the  principal 
cause  or  in  the  instruments  ;  it  appears  every  way 
an  abundant  provision  for  and  security  to  them. 

For  a  concluding  proof  whereof,  I  shall  only  add 
that  illustrious  text,  Psalm  Ixxxiv.  11  :  The  Lord 
God  is  a  sun  and  shield :  the  Lord  will  give  grace 

a  P.  289.  of  this  volume. 


his  best  and  only  Security.  4()7 

dtid  (/lory :  no  qood  tltinq  wilt  he  withhold  front  f  ft  CHI 
that  walk  uprightly.  Divine  Providence  is  not  only  a 
shield  over  the  truly  virtuous,  to  secure  them  from 
dangers,  but  a  sun  also  continually  shining  on  their 
heads,  and  sending  forth  upon  them  the  comfortable 
beams  and  influences  of  his  grace  and  favour.  lie 
not  only  removes  evils  from  them,  but  supplies  them 
with  all  good  things  that  are  indeed  good  for  them. 
If  they  are  fit  for  a  wealthy  prosperous  condition, 
they  shall  have  it,  and  that  with  Cod's  blessing. 
But  if  a  meaner  condition  be  more  convenient  for 
them,  they  shall  be  made  happy  therein.  Tf  at  any 
time  afflictions  be  needful,  (as  they  are  often  as 
necessary  for  our  souls  as  physic  is  for  our  bodies,) 
they  shall  taste  of  the  goodness  of  their  heavenly 
Father  even  in  them;  they  shall  be  supported  under 
them,  and  made  better  by  them,  and  in  God's  due 
time  delivered  from  them.  Tf  God  tries  them,  he 
will  assist  them  in  the  trial,  and  crown  them  after  it. 
And,  in  a  word,  divine  Providence  will  so  order  all 
the  occurrences  of  the  good  man's  life  in  this  world, 
as  shall  best  conduce  to  his  eternal  happiness  in  the 
other;  which  is  indeed  the  only  main  chance  and 
great  concern  that  we  ought  always  and  above  all 
things  to  mind  and  think  of. 

TTT.  And  this  brings  me  to  the  third  and  last 
stage  of  my  discourse,  That  therefore  we  ought, 
leaving  all  other  earthly  dependencies,  to  commit 
ourselves  to  the  divine  Providence,  in  the  way  of 
piety  and  sincere  obedience  to  the  divine  commands, 
and  firmly  to  rely  and  trust  on  it  as  our  best,  yea 
only  security.  Which  being  so  plain  a  consequence 
from  what  hath  been  already  delivered,  T  shall  be 
brief  in  the  handling  of  it,  and  so  conclude. 

H  h  2 


468  Man's  Dependence  on  God       SERM.  xxi. 

Trust  and  dependence  on  the  divine  Providence 
is  every  where  in  Scripture  recommended  as  our 
great  duty  and  only  security ;  so  that  we  can  scarce 
open  our  Bibles  but  we  meet  with  something  that 
minds  us  of  it.  But  of  so  great  an  abundance  which 
might  be  produced,  I  shall  select  only  two  or  three 
texts,  that  most  plainly  serve  for  this  purpose.  Hear 
the  Psalmist,  Psalm  Iv.  22 :  Cast  thy  burden  upon 
the  Lord,  and  he  shall  sustain  thee :  he  shall  never 
suffer  the  righteous  to  be  moved.  Hear  him  again, 
Psalm  xxxvii.  3,  4,  5  :  Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do 
good ;  so  shall  thou  divcll  in  the  land,  and  verily 
thou  shall  be  fed.  Delight  thyself  also  in  the  Lord  ; 
and  he  shall  give  thce  the  desire  of  thine  heart. 
Commit  thy  way  unto  the  Lord ;  trust  also  in  him  ; 
and  he  shall  bring  it  to  pass.  Where,  upon  our  trust 
in  God,  it  is  promised  that  God  will  give  us  even  the 
desire  of  our  hearts,  i.  e.  if  not  the  particular,  yet  the 
general  desire  of  our  hearts.  For  we  all  desire  in 
general  that  which  is  good,  though  we  too  often  err 
in  the  particular  choice,  taking  that  for  good  which 
is  indeed  hurtful  for  us.  Now  if  God  deny  that  par 
ticular  thing  which  we  think  to  be  good  for  us,  but 
is  not,  and  gives  us  that  which  he  himself  knows  to 
be  indeed  good  for  us,  he  deals  with  us  as  becomes 
a  wise  and  gracious  Father,  and  thus  he  always  deals 
with  them  that  trust  and  depend  on  him.  It  is  a 
shame  for  us  Christians  to  be  ignorant  of  this,  when 
the  heathen  poet  could  say, 

Si  consilium  vis, 

Permittes  ipsis  expendere  numinibus,  quid 
Conveniat  nobis,  rebusque  sit  utile  nostris. 
Nam  pro  jucundis,  aptissima  quaeque  dabunt  dii. 
Charior  est  illis  homo  quam  sibi. 


his  best  find  only  Security.  469 

i.  c.  "  Our  best  way  is  to  leave  it  to  the  gods  (so  he 
"  speaks  in  compliance  with  the  custom  of  liis  coun- 
"  try  men)  to  judge  and  determine  what  is  useful  and 
"  convenient  for  us.  For  they  will  certainly  give  us, 
"  instead  of  those  things  that  most  please  us,  those 
"  things  that  are  fittest  for  us.  For  they  have  a 
u  greater  care  of  man  than  he  hath  of  himself." 

But  as  to  our  duty  of  trusting  in  God,  full  is  the 
expression  of  Solomon  in  the  text  we  have  more 
than  once  mentioned,  Prov.  iii.  5  :  Trust  hi  the  Lord 
with  all  thine  heart.  Kvery  man  almost  pretends 
to  trust  in  God  ;  but  few  trust  on  him  in  truth,  and 
with  the  whole  heart.  Whereof  this  is  a  plain 
demonstration  :  no  man  heartily  trusts  in  God,  but 
he  that  doth  every  day  commit  himself  and  all  his 
concerns  in  general  to  the  divine  Providence  by 
serious  prayer,  and  in  every  particular  occurrence 
and  business  of  moment  inakes  his  particular  address 
to  God,  by  humble  supplication,  for  his  direction  and 
blessing.  Now  how  very  few  are  there,  of  those 
that  pretend  to  trust  in  God,  that  do  thus. 

And  after  all,  we  are  still  to  remember  the  proviso 
already  given,  that  our  dependence  on  God's  provi 
dence  must  be  accompanied  with  a  sincere  obedience 
to  his  commands.  Hence  the  Psalmist  joins  both 
together  in  the  above  alleged  text,  Psalm  xxxvii.  3  : 
Trust  in  the  Lord,  and  do  qood.  And  Solomon  in 
the  text  last  mentioned,  Prov.  iii.  after  he  had  said, 
ver.  5,  Trust  in  the  Lord  with  all  thine  heart,  pre 
sently  subjoins,  ver.  7,  Fear  the  Lord,  and  depart 
from  evil.  Our  hope  in  God  is  presumption,  with 
out  due  regard  to  his  laws,  and  an  uniform  obedience 
to  his  commands.  And  to  convince  us  of  the  perfect 
vanity  of  such  presumption,  let  us  but  attentively 


470  Mans  Dependence  on  God     SERM.  xix. 

consider,  what  that  providence  of  God  is  that  we 
pretend  to  trust  in.  That  special  providence  of  God, 
which  is  man's  only  security,  (as  we  have  above  de 
scribed  it,)  is  nothing  less  than  his  special  love  and 
kindness  to  man,  whereby  he  hath  a  tender  regard 
to  all  his  concerns,  and,  as  a  signal  expression  thereof, 
sends  his  holy  angels,  those  most  glorious  spirits,  to 
pitch  their  tents  round  about  him,  and  to  take  a 
singular  care  and  tuition  of  him  in  all  his  ways. 

Now  what  an  intolerable  impudence  is  it  in  any 
wicked  man  to  depend  on  such  a  providence  of  God 
over  him  ?  With  what  face  canst  thou  expect  God's 
special  care  and  regard  of  thy  concerns,  that  hast  so 
little  or  no  regard  of  his  commands  ?  Can  the  adul 
terer,  the  drunkard,  the  liar,  the  slanderer,  the  back 
biter,  the  common  swearer,  the  cheat,  the  unjust 
man,  the  covetous  and  worldly  man,  the  spiteful  and 
malicious  man,  or  any  man  that  continues  in  any 
wilful  transgression  of  any  known  law  of  God,  be  a 
darling  of  divine  Providence?  Will  the  angels,  the 
holy  angels  of  God,  those  faithful  ministers  of  his, 
attend  on  and  do  good  offices  for  such  as  refuse  to 
serve  their  great  Lord  and  Master,  yea  live  in  down 
right  rebellion  against  his  government?  Can  the 
glorious  host  of  heaven  wait  on  the  vassals  of  hell  ? 
This  cannot  be. 

Indeed  who  can  be  worthy  of  that  providence  of 
God  which  we  have  set  forth '{  No  man  by  a  worthi 
ness  of  merit.  But  yet  there  is  a  worthiness  of 
meetness,  fitness,  and  clue  disposition  required  in  all 
that  expect  to  be  favourites  of  the  Almighty,  and 
objects  of  his  more  especial  care  and  providence. 
And  this  worthiness  consists  in  a  firm  belief  of  the 
special  providence  of  God  over  good  men,  in  a  sincere 


/i  is  beat  find  only  Security.  471 

and  hearty  endeavour  to  obey  God  in  all  things,  i.  e. 
to  become  ourselves  good  men,  that  \ve  may  be 
entitled  to  such  his  providence  over  us,  and  then  in 
an  entire  trust  and  dependence  on  it. 

Wherefore  (to  conclude)  let  us  all  in  good  earnest 
make  it  our  great  business  to  serve  God,  to  study  to 
know  his  will,  and  to  do  it  when  we  know  it,  and 
then  we  are  safe.  Whosoever  thoti  art  that  hearest 
me  this  day,  be  persuaded  presently  to  forsake  thy 
sinful  courses,  and  entirely  to  resign  up  thyself  to 
the  divine  government,  and  then  be  secure  of  the 
divine  protection  and  special  providence  over  thee. 
Then  let  loose  the  reins  of  thy  hope  and  confidence 
in  God,  and  trust  in  his  gracious  providence  as  much 
as  thou  canst,  and  tlion  shalt  never  be  confounded. 
God  shall  lead  thee  by  a  most  gracious  economy 
through  this  vale  of  tears  the  whole  course  of  thy 
pilgrimage  in  this  world;  directing  thee  in  all  diffi- 
culties,  comforting  thee  in  all  sorrows  and  distresses, 
blessing  all  earthly  enjoyments  that  he  gives  thee, 
and  supplying  the  want  of  those  that  lie  thinks  fit  to 
deny  thee  with  greater  blessings ;  and  in  the  life  to 
come  he  shall  pour  out  the  full  riches  of  his  grace 
and  goodness  on  thee. 

For  which  blessed  life  God  of  his  infinite  mercy 
fit  us,  and  thereinto  in  his  due  time  admit  us  all, 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  might,  majesty, 
and  dominion,  both  now  and  for  evermore.  Amen. 


SERMON   XX. 


THAT  IT  IS  MATTER  OF  GREAT  USE  AND  CONCERNMENT, 
MUCH  CONDUCING  TO  THE  PURPOSES  OF  RELIGION,  SE 
RIOUSLY  TO  CONSIDER  THE  SHORTNESS  AND  UNCER 
TAINTY  OF  LIFE;  AND  THAT  SUCH  DUE  CONSIDERATION 

OF  OUR  SHORT  AND  UNCERTAIN  ABODE  IN  THIS  WORLD 
IS  THE  GIFT  OF  GOD,  AND  THE  EFFECT  OF  HIS  GRACE, 
WHICH  THEREFORE  OUGHT  TO  BE  SOUGHT  FOR  BY  HUM 
BLE  AND  EARNEST  PRAYER. 


PSALM  xxxix.  4. 

Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  the  measure  of  my 
days^  what  it  is  ;  that  I  may  know  how  frail  I  am. 

THIS  thirty-ninth  Psalm,  composed  on  the  same 
occasion  as  the  thirty-seventh,  namely,  on  the 
scandal  that  David  took  at  the  prosperity  of  wicked 
men  whilst  he  was  himself  in  misery,  hath  also  a 
mixture  of  contemplation  upon  the  vanity  of  all 
worldly  things.  The  particular  calamity  that  prompt 
ed  David  to  this  useful  contemplation  is  not  by 
interpreters  fully  agreed  on. 

Many  think  that  it  was  some  sickness  that  David 
was  at  this  time  afflicted  with.  Others  are  of  the 
opinion,  that  his  trouble  from  Absalom  was  the 
particular  occasion  of  the  Psalm. 

But  for  myself,  I  incline  to  the  first  opinion, 
which  I  am  confirmed  in  by  the  eleventh  verse  9 
where  David  describes  the  beauty  of  man  as  con 
suming  away  like  a  moth  at  God's  rebuke  and 


The  measuring  our  Days,  Sfc.  473 

correction  ;  and  by  the  13th  and  last  verse,  where 
he  prays  that  Cod  would  spare  him,  that  he  miuJit 
recover  strength,  before  he  should  ao  hence,  and  be 
no  more. 

On  which  words  a  learned  interpreter  thus  para 
phrases'1,  "  Withhold  thy  scourge  from  me  a  little 
"  while,  that  I  may  recover  my  former  strength,  or 
"  health,  before  I  am  forced  to  depart  out  of  this 
"  world  never  more  to  return  hither  again." 

This  Psalm  is,  by  the  wisdom  of  our  church,  ap 
pointed  to  be  used  in  the  Office  for  the  Burial  of  the 
Dead,  as  being  almost  wholly  spent  on  the  theme  of 
the  shortness  and  vanity  of  this  our  mortal  life  on 
earth  ;  and  is  indeed  a  rich  repository  or  common 
place  of  fit  texts  for  funeral  sermons. 

As  for  the  words  which  I  have  now  chosen  for  the 
subject  of  my  present  discourse,  they  are  evidently 
a  devout  prayer  of  David,  relating  to  his  death  and 
departure  out  of  this  world.  But  it  is  questioned 
what  the  thing  distinctly  is  for  which  David  prays 
in  these  words,  Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end, 
and  the  measure  of  my  days. 

Some  have  thought  that  he  prays  for  a  special 
revelation  from  God  of  the  time  of  his  death,  taken 
either  precisely  or  with  some  latitude,  how  long  he 
should  live,  when  he  should  die,  and  be  called  out  of 
this  world.  Indeed  this  is  a  favour  which  it  hath 
pleased  God  to  grant  unto  some  men.  Thus  Moses 
and  Aaron,  some  time  before  their  death,  had  notice 
given  them  of  it,  and  of  the  place  where  they  should 
lay  themselves  down  and  die,  the  one  on  mount  I  lor, 

a  Abstinc  paululum  a  flagellando  me,  ut  vires  pristinas  reci- 
piam,  priusquam  migrare  cogar,  nunquam  hue  reversurus. 


474  The  measuring  our  Days       SERM.  xx. 

the  other  on  mount  Nebo,  Dent,  xxxii.  49,  50.  Thus 
Hezekiah  had  warning  given  him  by  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  to  make  his  last  will  and  testament,  and  to 
set  his  house  in  order,  and  prepare  for  his  approach 
ing  death,  Isai.  xxxviii.  1.  And  when  God  was 
pleased,  upon  his  earnest  prayer  and  humble  sup 
plication,  to  reprieve  him  from  that  death,  under 
which,  according  to  the  course  of  nature,  he  must 
necessarily  have  fallen,  and  extraordinarily  to  add 
some  more  years  unto  his  life,  lie  had  this  second 
favour  from  God,  to  know  by  the  same  prophet  the 
precise  number  of  years  so  added,  viz.,  fifteen  years, 
no  more  nor  no  less,  verse  5.  Thus  Elijah  had  a 
revelation  from  God  beforehand  of  his  translation 
from  this  earth  to  heaven,  as  we  read  2  Kings  ii. 
And  in  the  New  Testament  we  find  St.  Peter  was 
informed  by  our  Lord  Jesus  of  his  approaching  death 
and  martyrdom,  2  Peter  i.  13, 14  :  /  think  it  meet,  as 
long  as  I  am  in  this  tabernacle,  to  stir  you  up,  by 
putting  you  in  remembrance;  knowing  that  shortly 
I  must  put  off  this  my  tabernacle,  even  as  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  hath  shewed  vte. 

In  ecclesiastical  history,  in  the  acts  of  Polycarp, 
recited  by  Eusebius  in  the  fourth  book  of  his  His 
tory,  chap.  xv.  we  read  that  the  blessed  bishop  and 
martyr,  some  days  before  his  death,  dreamt,  that  the 
pillow  on  which  he  lay  was  first  all  in  a  flame  about 
him,  and  then  burnt  to  ashes  ;  and  thereupon  awak 
ing,  he  told  the  brethren  that  he  was  sure  he  should 
very  shortly  be  burnt  at  the  stake  for  the  confession 
of  the  Christian  faith  ;  which  accordingly  came  to 
pass.  Nor  do  we  want  some  certain  instances  in  our 
own  age,  of  persons  so  instructed  by  their  guardian 
angel,  or  by  some  other  means,  as  that  they  have 


of  yreat  Use  in  Religion.  475 

been  able,  when  in  perfect  health,  punctually  to 
foretell  the  day  of  their  death. 

But  these  are  extraordinary  cases.  The  prescience 
or  foreknowledge  of  the  day  or  time  of  our  death  is 
a  thing  for  the  most  part  unfit  for  us  to  ask  of  God, 
or  for  him  to  grant  unto  us;  and  therefore  ordinarily 
the  all -wise  and  good  God  reserves  it  as  a  secret 
unto  himself.  If  men  generally  knew  the  day  of 
their  death,  the  wKv/mopoi,  they  of  shorter  lives  would 
spend  their  few  days  in  grief  and  sorrow,  and  be 
continually  vexed  to  see  their  lives  circumscribed 
within  so  narrow  limits,  and  be  sluggish  to  all  noble 
and  generous  actions  that  require  time  and  labour. 
On  the  other  side,  they  that  knew  they  had  many 
years  yet  to  live,  would  be  apt  to  procrastinate  their 
repentance,  and  from  that  delay  to  take  occasion  of 
licentiousness.  Our  last  day  is  therefore  in  mercy 
ordinarily  hid  from  us,  to  the  end  that  we  should 
every  day  and  continually  prepare  for  it.  Nor 
would  men  be  careful  to  use  the  due  means  for  the 
preservation  of  their  health  and  life,  if  they  knew 
terminum  vita  fat alem,  "  the  fatal  period  of  it." 

This  therefore  I  am  persuaded  is  not  the  thing 
that  David  here  prays  for.  What  then,  you  will  say, 
doth  he  pray  for  ?  I  answer,  he  prays  that  God 
would  make  him  to  know  in  general  how  short  and 
uncertain  man's  life  here  on  earth  is,  that  every  man 
must  certainly  die,  after  a  determinate  and  short 
number  of  years  expired,  being  in  the  mean  while 
uncertain  and  ignorant  of  that  fatal  period. 

But,  you  will  say  again,  doth  not  every  man  know 
as  much  as  this?  Yes;  but  very  few  consider  it. 
When  therefore  David  prays,  that  God  would  make 
him  to  knoiv  his  end,  and  the  measure  of  his  days, 


476  The  measuring  our  Days       SERM.  xx. 

we  are  to  call  to  mind  the  known  rule  of  divines : 
"  In  Scripture,  words  of  knowledge  betoken  suitable 
"  affections  V  For  a  man  therefore  to  know  his 
end,  and  the  measure  of  his  days,  what  it  is,  or  to 
know  how  short  and  uncertain  his  life  is  on  earth, 
is  for  him  seriously  to  consider  and  lay  to  heart  that 
great  truth,  and  to  live  accordingly.  This  is  not 
what  every  man  doth,  though  every  man  ought  to 
do  it.  In  short,  therefore,  David  here  in  my  text 
prays  for  the  very  same  tiling  that  Moses  doth  in 
his  prayer,  Psalm  xc.  12:  So  teach  us  to  number  our 
days,  that  we  may  apply  our  hearts  unto  wisdom ; 
i.  e.  By  thy  grace  enable  us  to  make  a  just  account 
of  the  shortness  and  uncertainty  of  our  life  on  earth, 
that  so  we  may  wisely  apply  ourselves  to  make  the 
best  use  we  can  of  it,  in  repenting  of  our  sins,  and 
fitting  ourselves  for  the  final  absolution.  David's 
measuring  of  his  days  is  doubtless  the  same  with 
Moses's  numbering  his  days. 

The  text  being  thus  I  hope  sufficiently  explained, 
I  proceed  to  raise  my  observations  from  it,  which 
shall  be  these  two  : 

I.  I  observe,  it  is  a  matter  of  great  use  and  con 
cernment,  much  conducing  to  the  purposes  of  reli 
gion,  for  a  man  to  know  his  end,  and  the  measure  of 
his  days,  i.  e.  seriously  to  consider  the  shortness  and 
uncertainty  of  his  life  here  on  earth.     For  you  see 
David   in  my  text  makes  this   the  matter  of  his 
serious  prayer  and  humble  supplication  to  Almighty 
God. 

II.  I  observe,  a  due  consideration  of  the  shortness 
and  uncertainty  of  man's  life  in  this  world  is  the  gift 
of  God,  and  the  effect  of  his  grace,  which  therefore 

b  In  Scripturis,  verba  scientiae  connotant  affectus. 


of  great  Use  in  Religion.  477 

we  ought  by  prayer  humbly  and  earnestly  to  ask  of 
him.  So  David  doth  in  my  text,  Lord,  make  me  to 
know  mine  end,  &c. 

I.  I  begin  with  the  first  observation,  viz.,  this,  Tt 
is  a  matter  of  great  use  and  concernment,  much 
conducing  to  the  purposes  of  religion,  for  a  man 
to  know  his  end,  and  the  measure  of  his  days,  i.  e. 
seriously  to  consider  the  shortness  and  uncertainty 
of  his  life  here  on  earth. 

This  will  appear  by  shewing  you  more  particu 
larly  what  it  is  for  a  man  to  know  his  end,  and  the 
measure  of  his  days,  or  to  number  his  days  aright. 
The  very  explanation  of  the  nature  of  this  duty  will 
of  itself  shew  the  great  use  and  benefit  of  it. 

For  a  man  then  to  know  the  measure  of  his  days, 
or  to  number  his  days  aright,  is, 

1.  To  understand  and  consider  the  shortness  and 
uncertainty  of  our  life  in  this  world,  taken  abso 
lutely  and  in  itself.  The  royal  prophet  excellently 
expresses  this  in  the  verse  immediately  following 
my  text,  Behold,  t/ioff  hast  made  my  days  as  an 
handhreadth.  An  elegant  metaphor,  to  set  forth 
the  brevity  of  man's  life  on  earth.  It  is  a  very  nar 
row  scantling,  as  it  were  but  an  handful  of  time  and 
duration.  Many  of  the  sons  of  Adam  find  their 
grave  in  their  mothers'  womb,  and  die  before  they 
see  the  sun.  Others  peep  forth  into  the  light,  as  it 
were  only  to  see  it;  and  having  by  a  shriek  or  two 
given  testimony  to  the  misery  of  this  life,  presently 
die  and  vanish,  and  their  death  treads  upon  the 
heels  of  their  birth.  JDthers  are  wepoftioi,  creatures 
of  a  day's  continuance,  and  their  birth  and  death 
are  contained  within  the  compass  of  one  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun.  Others  live  a  little  longer,  but 


478  The  measuring  our  Days         SERM.  xx. 

yet  die  upon  their  mothers'  breast.  Others  outlive 
their  infancy,  and  having  prattled  and  played  a  while 
in  the  world,  death  on  a  sudden  surprises  them,  and 
puts  an  end  to  their  childish  sport.  Others  arrive  to 
some  growth  of  stature  and  understanding,  and  bud 
forth  and  promise  fair,  and  are  the  joy  and  hope  of 
their  parents  ;  but  on  a  sudden  (like  the  child  of  the 
Shunamitish  woman)  the  sprightful  lad  falls  sick 
and  dies,  and  leaves  the  afflicted  parents'  grey  hairs 
to  follow  with  sorrow  to  the  grave.  Others  live  to 
blossom,  and  arrive  to  the  flower  of  their  age,  their 
youth,  but  a  fever  or  some  violent  accident  snatches 
them  away ;  the  flower  on  a  sudden  fades  and 
withers,  and  they  die  in  the  prime  of  their  years. 
Others  reach  the  middle  age,  and  their  mountain 
appears  strong,  and  the  tree  seems  to  have  taken 
deep  root,  and  there  is  little  doubt  but  the  man  will 
live  to  a  good  old  age.  But,  behold  !  death  lays  his 
axe  to  the  root  of  the  tree,  the  firm  oak  is  cut  down, 
falls,  and  dies,  and  the  strong  man  is  taken  away  in 
the  midst  of  his  days,  as  David  expresseth  it,  Psalm 
cii.  24.  But  if  the  days  of  our  years  are  seventy, 
nay,  if  by  reason  of  strength  they  be  fourscore 
years,  yet  is  their  strength  labour  find  sorrow ;  for 
it  is  soon  cut  off,  and  ive  fee  away,  as  Moses  ex 
presseth  it,  Psalm  xc.  10.  Threescore  or  fourscore 
years  make  a  great  noise,  and  sound  high,  arid  whilst 
they  are  before  us,  they  look  big,  and  seem  to  be  a 
long  time  of  duration.  But  one  year  steals  away 
after  another,  and  when  the  whole  term  is  out,  we 
wonder  and  are  vexed  at  our  false  arithmetic  ;  the 
vast  number  of  years  seems  as  a  cipher,  and  the 
time  that  is  past  appears  as  a  dream,  yea  a  mere 
nothing. 


of  great  Use  in  Religion.  479 

2.  To  know  the  measure  of  our  days,  or  to  num 
ber  our  days  aright,  is  to  consider  the  shortness  of 
our  life  on  earth  comparatively ;  and  that  compared, 
1.  with  God's  eternity;  2.  compared  with  our  own 
eternity  ;  3.  compared  with  the  great  work  and  busi 
ness  of  our  life,  the  business  of  religion. 

1.  To  know  the  measure  of  our  days,  is  to  consi 
der  the  shortness  of  this  mortal  life  compared  with 
God's  eternity.  This  is  a  very  humbling  and  abas 
ing  consideration,  not  only  to  us  mortal  men,  but 
even  to  the  angels  themselves.  And  therefore  David 
takes  special  notice  of  it  in  the  verse  next  my  text, 
in  these  words,  And  wine  aa<>  is  as  nothing  before 
f/tee,  i.  e.  in  comparison  of  thy  eternal  duration.  So 
Moses,  1 'sal in  xc.  4 :  A  thousand  years  are  hut  as 
yesterday  in  thy  .</>////.  Our  age  is  but  an  hand- 
breadth  in  itself;  but,  compared  to  eternity,  it  is 
not  an  hair's  breadth,  yea  it  is  nothing,  it  bears  no 
proportion. 

ETERNITY  !  O  word  of  a  vast  comprehension  ! 
how  doth  this  world,  and  the  duration  of  all  things 
therein,  vanish  and  disappear  at  the  very  naming  of 
thee  !  It  is  impossible  to  use  exact  propriety  of 
speech  in  discoursing  of  this  matter;  and  therefore 
we  must  express  ourselves  as  well  as  we  can.  Be 
fore  we  were,  there  was  an  infinite  space  of  time, 
which  no  finite  understanding  can  reach  ;  and  when 
we  die,  and  shall  be  no  more  in  this  world,  an  end 
less  eternity  of  time  (if  I  may  so  speak)  succeeds 
and  follows,  in  which  infinite  duration  our  poor  life 
on  earth  intervenes,  or.comes  in  as  an  handbreadth, 
the  space  of  a  few  minutes,  as  a  small  isthmus,  or 
creek  of  land,  between  two  boundless  oceans.  In 
short,  our  life  in  this  world  is  but  a  little  point  of 


480  The  measuring  our  Days       SERM.  xx. 

time,  interposed  between  an  eternity  past  and  an 
eternity  to  come.  We  may  quickly  lose  ourselves 
and  be  swallowed  up  in  this  profound  consideration  ; 
and  therefore  I  pass  from  it  to  the  next,  viz. 

2.  To  number  our  days  aright,  is  to  consider  the 
shortness  of  our  life  here,  compared  with  our  own 
eternity  hereafter.  God  is  eternal  a  parte  ante  and 
a  parte  post,  "  by  an  eternity  past"  (you  must  still 
bear  with  impropriety  of  speech  in  this  matter)  and 
"  by  an  eternity  to  come."  There  was  never  any 
point  of  time  wherein  he  was  not ;  there  shall  never 
be  any  point  of  time  wherein  he  shall  cease  to  be. 
And  therefore  he  is  styled  in  Scripture  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  ending,  the  Lord, 
which  is,  and  which  urns,  and  which  is  to  come, 
Rev.  i.  8.  But  as  for  ourselves,  there  was  a  time 
when  we  were  not.  Our  register-books  will  tell  us 
when  we  began  to  be  and  to  live.  Nay,  this  world, 
and  all  things  therein,  had  a  beginning,  and  there 
was  once  nothing  in  existence  besides  the  Almighty 
God,  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  the  blessed 
Trinity  in  Unity,  which  from  all  eternity  enjoyed 
itself,  as  being  self-sufficient  and  perfectly  happy  in 
itself,  nor  at  all  needing  any  thing  without  itself, 
any  created  being  to  add  to  its  felicity.  For  God 
made  not  this  world  for  any  essential  good  that 
should  thereby  accrue  unto  himself;  (for  all  things 
owe  all  that  they  are  or  have  unto  him  ;)  but  with  a 
design  to  communicate  his  goodness  to  certain  be 
ings  without  himself,  which  should  therefore  depend 
upon  him,  and  adore  and  glorify  him,  as  the  Author 
and  Fountain  both  of  their  being  and  well-being. 

Upon  this  design,  in  that  point  of  time  (if  I  may 
have  leave  so  to  call  it)  which  the  all-wise  God  saw 


of  great  L  '  se  in  Rehtfion.  481 

most  fit  and  convenient,  the  eternal  Word  and  Son 
of  God  went  forth  from  the  Father,  by  his  almighty 
power  to  create  and  make  heaven  and  earth,  and 
all  things  that  are  therein.  For  so  we  read  ;  ///  the 
beginning  wax  the  Word,  and  'the  Word  was  with 
God,  and  the  Word  was  God.  The  same  was  in 
the  beginning  wit  It  (rod.  All  things  were  made  by 
him,  and  without  hint  was  not  am/  thing  ntad*'  that 
was  made,  John  i.  1,  2,  3.  Of  things  that  God  made, 
some  he  made  only  for  a  temporary  use,  and  to  serve 
the  economy  or  dispensation  of  this  present  world,  as 
St.  [renaeus  somewhere  expresses  it.  In  this  rank 
are  all  the  beasts  that  perish,  all  trees,  plants,  and 
vegetables,  nay  the  earth  itself  and  the  heavens  as 
now  they  are.  For  all  these  shall  be  dissolved,  and 
were  made  to  be  dissolved,  as  the  Psalmist  assures 
us,  Psalm  cii.  25,  26 :  Of  old  hast  thou  laid  the 
foundation  of  the  earth  :  and  the  heavens  are  the 
work  of  thy  hands.  They  shall  perish,  hut  thou  shalt 
endure :  yea,  all  of  them  shall  wa.r  old  like  a  garment ; 
a*  a  vesture  shalt  thou  change  them,  and  they  shall  be 
changed.  But  there  arc  other  creatures  designed 
for  an  eternal  duration,  as  the  angels,  and  we  men, 
in  that  part  of  us  wherein  we  are  allied  to  the  an 
gels,  our  souls  ;  which,  when  our  bodies  die,  still  live ; 
till  by  the  power  of  Christ  our  bodies  also  shall  be 
raised  again,  and  reunited  to  our  souls ;  and  then  in 
both  we  shall  become  ia-dyyeXoi,  equal  to  the  angels* 
that  is,  as  immortal  as  they.  So  that  though  we 
cannot  boast  of  an  eternity  behind  us,  we  being  as  to 
our  particular  persons  but  of  yesterday,  (as  holy  Job 
expresseth  it,)  of  little  standing,  yet  we  may,  nay  we 
must,  look  upon  ourselves  as  made  for  an  eternity 
before  us. 

BULL,  VOL.  I.  I  1 


482  .77/0  measuring  our  Days         SERM.  xx. 

And  then  we  number  our  days  aright,  when  we 
consider  our  life  here,  not  as  the  state  for  which 
we  are  finally  designed,  but  only  as  a  short  passage 
to  another  state,  and  that  eternal.  When  we  think 
ourselves  to  be  in  this  world,  non  tanquam  in  domo, 
sed  tanquam  in  hospitio,  "  not  as  at  home,  but  as  it 
"  were  in  an  inn,"  where  we  are  to  lodge  but  for  a 
while,  as  in  our  journey  and  travel  to  that  which  is 
our  home  indeed,  our  long,  last,  and  eternal  home. 
What  a  mighty  influence  would  this  consideration 
have  upon  our  lives,  if  we  would  suffer  it  often  and 
deeply  to  enter  into  our  hearts  !  We  should  then 
clearly  see  what  an  unaccountable,  what  an  extreme 
folly  and  madness  it  is  for  a  man  to  be  so  very 
solicitous,  so  mightily  concerned  about  the  things 
of  this  life,  as  most  men  are  ;  who  tire  and  spend 
themselves  in  the  pursuit  of  an  happiness  in  this 
present  world,  which  they  can  never  attain,  and  if 
they  could  attain  it,  cannot  long  enjoy  it ;  in  the 
mean  while  very  little,  or  not  at  all,  thinking  of  that 
future  state,  wherein  they  must  be  indeed  happy  or 
miserable  for  ever. 

It  is  impossible  for  him  to  be  a  worldly  or  wicked 
man,  yea  it  is  impossible  but  that  he  should  be 
a  very  spiritual  and  holy  man,  who  often  and  seri 
ously  thinks  of  the  shortness  of  this  life,  and  the 
eternity  of  that  which  is  to  follow  it.  O  eternity  ! 
(may  I  say  again,)  how  surprising,  how  awakening 
are  the  thoughts  of  thee  !  Who  so  stupid,  so  sense 
less,  as  not  to  feel  a  trembling  in  his  loins,  when  this 
thought  comes  into  his  mind,  WHAT  IF  i  SHOULD  BE 
LOST,  AND  MISCARRY  FOR  EVER  !  And  yet  this  great 
point  depends  upon  our  good  or  ill  behaviour  in 
that  short  space  of  time  which  is  allotted  us  in  this 


of  great  Use  in  Religion.  483 

present  world  :  which  brings  me  to  the  consideration 
of  the  shortness  of  our  life,  compared  with  the  great 
work  and  business  of  it. 

3.  To  number  our  days  aright,  is  to  consider  the 
shortness  of  our  life  here  compared  with  the  main 
work  and  business  of  our  life,  the  business  of  reli 
gion  ;  for  which  chiefly  God  sent  us  into  this  world, 
and  by  which  alone  we  can  be  fitted  and  prepared 
for  eternal  happiness  in  the  other.     It  was  the  com 
plaint  of  the  physician  of  old,  vita  breris,  ars  longa, 
that  *'  the  physician's  life  is  short,  but  his  art  long 
"  and  difficult,"  requiring  much  time  and  labour  to 
understand    it.     The   saying,  with   due   explication, 
may  not  unfitly  be  applied   to  the   Christian's  life. 
Our  life  here  is  short,  but  the  art  of  living  well  is 
long,  difficult,  and  hard  to  be  learned.     It  is  true, 
the  just  and  righteous,  the  good  and  merciful  God, 
requires  no  more  of  us  in  order  to  our  eternal  hap 
piness  hereafter,  than  what  he  gives   us   time  and 
power,   opportunity   and    ability,    to    perform    here. 
But,  as  we  through  our  own  folly  generally  order 
the  matter,  our  time  proves  too  short  for  our  work. 
Deduct  the  time  we  spend  in  sleeping,  eating,  and 
drinking,  which  commonly  amounts  to  at  least  one 
half  of  our  time  ;  the  time  required  to  the  necessary 
works  of  our  calling,  the  time  we  spend  in  recrea 
tion,  in  unnecessary  visits  and  compliments,  in  idle 
company,  vel  nihil  agenda,  vcl  male  agendo,  "  in  doing 
"  either  nothing,  or  that  which   is  worse  than  no- 
"  thing ;"  and  the  remainder  will  appear  to  be  a  very 
slender  portion  of  time ;  too  little,  I  fear,  for  the 
work  and  business  of  religion,  the  main  end  for  which 
God  made  us,  and  sent  us  into  this  world. 

To  improve  this  argument,  we  may  consider  these 
i  i  2 


484  The  measuring  our  Days         SERM.  xx. 

two  things  :  1.  That  religion  is  a  work,  and  that  a 
hard  and  laborious  one  ;  2.  That  this  great  work 
must  be  done  within  the  compass  of  this  short 
uncertain  life,  or  we  are  undone  for  ever. 

1.  Religion  is  a  work,  and  that  an  hard  and 
laborious  one.  The  whole  current  of  Scripture 
represents  it  under  this  notion  to  us.  So  much 
St.  Paul  signifies  when  he  exhorts  us  to  work  out' 
our  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  Phil.  ii.  12. 
So  our  Saviour,  John  vi.  27  :  Labour  not  for  that 
meat  which  perish  eth,  but  for  that  meat  wldcli  endurcth 
to  everlasting  life.  But  the  exhortation  of  our  Saviour 
is  most  pressing  and  cmphatical,  Lukexiii.24  :  Strire 
to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate ;  for  strait  is  the  gate  and 
narrow  is  the  way  that  leadeth  unto  life,  &c.  The 
Greek  word  is  aywvifyo-Oc,  which  signifies  to  strive, 
as  wrestlers  in  the  Olympic  games.  The  work  of 
religion  therefore  is  an  hard  work,  which  cannot 
be  performed  by  us  without  great  striving  and 
struggling.  Hence  the  life  of  a  Christian  is  com 
pared  by  St.  Paul  to  a  wrestling,  1  Cor.  ix.  25  :  Every 
man  that  striveth  for  the  mastery  is  temperate  in  all 
things.  Now  they  do  it  to  obtain  a  corruptible  crown; 
but  we  an  incorruptible.  In  the  same  chapter  he 
compares  the  Christian's  life  to  a  race,  ver.  24,  and 
to  a  fight,  ver.  26.  And  so  he  doth  2  Tim.  iv.  7, 
where  he  hath  both  the  similitudes  of  a  combat 
and  a  race,  together :  /  have  fought  a  good  fight, 
I  have  finished  my  course. 

It  were  an  easy  matter  clearly  to  demonstrate  this 
truth,  by  unfolding  the  particulars  of  the  Christian 
religion.  But  my  allowance  of  time  being  but  short, 
I  shall  briefly  touch  only  on  one,  which  is  indeed 
the  sum  of  all  the  rest,  and  that  is  the  work  of 


of  great  Use  in  Religion.  485 

mortification.  Thnt  this  is  a  necessary  act  of  Christ 
ian  religion  appears,  because  it  is  expressly  required 
of  every  Christian,  Col.  iii.  5 :  Mortify  therefore 
i/our  members  which  are  if /ton  tin1  earth,  fornication, 
uncleanncss,  inordinate  affection^  &e.  Yea  that  it  is 
required  of  us  sub  pcrictilo  unhurt',  "  as  wo  hope  for 
"  salvation,"  and  to  escape  the  wrath  to  come,  we 
are  plainly  told,  Rom.  viii.  13:  For  if  ye  lire  after 
the  flesh,  i/e  shall  die :  I>t>l  //'//''  through  the  Spirit  do 
mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body^  yc  shall  lire. 

Now  that  this  act  of  religion  is  a  great  and  labo 
rious  work,  will  soon  appear  to  him  that  considers 
what  it  is.  It  is  to  die  unto  sin,  and  to  live  unto 
righteousness ;  to  put  otl'  those  affections  which  are 
natural  to  us,  or  are  rivet  ted  in  us  by  long  custom, 
which  is  atiera  iidtura,  "a  second  nature;"  to  change 
the  whole  frame  of  our  dispositions  and  actions,  and 
to  become  quite  other  men  than  formerly  we  were. 
This  certainly  must  be  opus  laboriosum  el  (issiiluum, 
k>  a  louir  and  laborious  work." 

o 

It  is  true,  Christ  saith,  that  Jiis  yoke  is  easy,  and 
his  burden  light.  But  to  whom?  To  minds  duly 
disposed  to  receive  it.  It  is  agreeable  to  our  right 
reason  and  understanding,  and  therefore  easy  to  him 
who  is  under  the  government  of  reason,  when  raised 
above  his  sensual  appetites  and  affections  by  the 
grace  of  God.  It  is  an  easy  yoke,  if  it  were  put  on 
betimes,  before  evil  dispositions  and  habits  be  con 
tracted.  It  will  at  length  be  easy  to  every  man 
that  takes  it  upon  him  by  use  and  exercise,  and  the 
grace  of  God.  But  to  men  corrupted  and  vitiated 
by  evil  habits  and  customs,  which  is  the  case  of 
most  men  before  they  undertake  the  yoke  of  Christ, 
it  is  no  such  easy  thing;  it  is  some  time  before  it 


486  The  measuring  our  Days       SERM.  xx. 

comes  to  sit  evenly  and  smoothly  upon  their  necks. 
Nay,  to  men  that  have  gone  on  in  a  very  long 
course  and  custom  of  sinning,  the  yoke  of  Christ  is 
next  to  impossible  to  be  borne.  So  God  himself 
tells  us  by  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  chap.  xiii.  23 :  Can 
the  Ethiopian  change  his  skin,  or  the  leopard  his 
spots?  Then  may  ye  also  do  good  who  are  accus 
tomed  to  do  evil.  I  shall  make  this  plain  by  some 
instances. 

Temperance  is  an  easy,  yea  most  delightful  vir 
tue  ;  it  is  agreeable  to  the  reason  of  man,  it  pre 
serves  the  faculties  of  his  soul  in  their  vigour,  it 
conduces  to  that  health  of  body  which  is  the  great 
est  outward  blessing.  Yet  the  habitual  glutton  or 
drunkard  can  sooner  die  than  be  temperate  in  his 
meat  or  drink.  What  more  easy,  than  for  a  man 
that  is  able,  to  give  alms  to  the  indigent  and  ne 
cessitous?  what  more  godlike  or  delightful  virtue, 
than  for  a  man  to  see  the  poor  and  miserable  living 
upon  and  rejoicing  in  his  bounty?  But  from  the 
man  who  hath  given  himself  to  covetousness  and 
the  love  of  money,  every  alms  comes  as  hardly,  as 
if  it  were  a  drop  of  blood  from  his  heart.  What 
more  pleasant,  when  good  men  meet  together,  than 
freely  to  discourse  of  divine  matters?  But  such  dis 
course  grates  the  ears  of  the  carnal  man.  What 
more  noble  pleasure  to  a  generous  soul,  than  the 
meditation  and  contemplation  of  heavenly  things? 
But  set  a  sensual  man  to  this  work,  and  how  unplea 
sant  and  tedious  will  it  seem  to  him  !  What  greater 
pleasure,  what  greater  privilege  to  a  soul  duly  dis 
posed,  than  frequent  converse  with  God  in  prayer? 
When  he  is  oppressed  with  the  cares  and  troubles  of 
this  life,  when  he  is  tired  with  the  vanities  of  the 


of  great  Use  in  lleliyion.  487 

world,  what  ease  and  satisfaction  doth  he  find  in 
unburdening  his  soul,  and  having  recourse  to  his 
God  !  But  to  the  man  immersed  in  worldly  cares  or 
pleasures,  prayer  is  o/w.s  alieniim,  "  a  strange  work," 
a  disagreeable  and  unpleasant  exercise;  he  is  hardly 
drawn  to  it,  he  is  frigid  and  dull  in  it,  ho  is  glad 
when  he  is  rid  of  it.  The  like  1  might  shew  you  in 
other  instances. 

Again,  Christ's  yoke  is  easy,  if  taken  together 
with  the  reward  attending  it.  If  we  consider  the 
infinite,  endless  bliss  and  happiness  wherewith  our 
short  and  slender  service  of  our  blessed  Lord  in  this 
life  shall  be  recompensed  hereafter,  all  that  he  re 
quires  of  us  will  appear  to  be  a  very  easy  condition, 
and  indeed  a  very  light  yoke  and  burden.  In  this 
sense  all  the  afflictions  of  this  life,  the  bearing 
whereof  is  the  hardest  part  of  the  Christian  duty, 
are  said  to  be  light,  2  Cor.  iv.  17:  l:or  our  /////// 
affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  worketh  for  tt* 
a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  (//on/. 
And  the  same  apostle  again  tells  us,  Horn.  viii.  18: 
For  I  reckon  that  the  sitfferinys  of  this  present  time 
arc  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  ylory  which 
ahttll  he  repealed  in  ns. 

Nay,  I  may  go  yet  farther,  and  affirm,  that  the 
law  of  Christ  is  an  easy  yoke,  compared  with  the 
yoke  of  sin  and  Satan.  The  drudgery  of  the  sinner 
in  the  service  of  sin  is  greater  than  the  labour  of 
the  £ood  man  in  the  service  of  Christ,  as  I  could 

o 

easily  demonstrate,  if  it  were  not  too  great  a  digres 
sion.  It  is  a  certain  truth,  that  wicked  men  gene 
rally  undergo  more  pain  and  difficulty  in  going  to 
hell,  than  good  men  do  in  getting  to  heaven.  In 


488  The  measuring  our  Days        SERM.  xx. 

these  senses  we  grant  that  Christ's  yoke  is  easy,  and 
his  burden  light. 

But  they  who  think  that  Christianity  is  an  easy 
tiling  in  this  sense,  that  it  complies  with  their  carnal 
ease,  sloth,  and  negligence,  are  under  a  very  gross 
and  dangerous  mistake.  Indeed,  as  these  men  have 
represented  the  Christian  religion  to  themselves,  it 
is  easy  enough.  If  to  talk  of  religion,  and  to  make 
a  show  of  it,  wore  religion  ;  if  it  were  sufficient  to 
perform  some  external  acts  of  religion,  as  going  to 
church  when  we  have  nothing  else  to  do,  or  at  those 
times  when  we  are  allowed  to  do  any  thing  else ; 
if  praying  now  and  then  when  we  are  in  a  good 
humour;  if  abstinence  from  some  grosser  and  more 
infamous  vices  might  serve  the  turn,  these  men  were 
not  much  mistaken.  But  this  is  a  very  false  notion 
of  Christianity.  Tho  Christian's  duty  is  a  work  and 
labour,  and  that  of  great  difficulty,  a  labour  of  the 
heart,  as  being  employed  chiefly  in  setting  the  heart 
aright,  in  renewing  the  inward  man,  in  changing 
our  very  natures  and  dispositions,  and,  in  a  word, 
in  new  moulding  our  souls  to  an  holy  and  divine 
frame  and  temper,  such  as  the  Gospel  of  Christ  sets 
before  us. 

So  much  of  the  first  consideration,  that  our  re 
ligion  is  a  great  and  difficult  work,  a  work  of  time 
and  labour. 

2.  We  are  to  consider  that  this  great  work  must 
be  done  within  the  compass  of  this  short,  uncertain 
life,  or  wre  ar^e  undone  for  ever.  We  should  do  well 
often  to  call  to  mind  the  weighty  words  of  our 
Saviour,  John  ix.  4 :  The  night  comcth  (i.  c.  the 
night  of  death)  when  no  man  can  ivork.  This  is  the 


of  great  Use  in  Religion.  489 

night,  as  St.  Austin  speaks",  "  wherein  no  man  can 
"  work,  but  every  man  shall  receive  according  to 
"  what  he  hath  wrought."  To  believe  in  Christ,  to 
repent,  to  do  the  works  of  righteousness,  to  exercise 
acts  of  piety  and  mercy  in  order  to  our  acceptance 
with  Cod,  are  works  proper  to  the  season  of  this 
life  ;  when  this  life  is  past,  the  season  is  gone,  and 
there  is  no  more  place  for  them  for  ever.  Our 
blessed  Saviour  plainly  teacheth  us  this  in  the  para 
ble  of  the  rich  man  and  La/arus  the  beggar,  Luke 
xvi,  where  he  gives  us  an  account  but  of  two  sorts 
of  men,  the  good  and  the  wicked  man,  and  assures 
us,  that  presently  after  death  there  is  a  vast  gulf 
fixed  between  the  places  or  states  wherein  they  are, 
so  that  the  one  cannot  pass  unto  the  other  ;  that 

is,  the  o-ood  man  after  death  can  never  become  mi- 

o 

serable,  nor  the  wicked  man  happy,  ver.  26 :  .lie- 
twccn  //.v  f/itfl  i/oit  there  /v  ft  (jwftf  (juff  Jid'cd :  so 
that  thei/  tltat  icotf/f/  /ytf.v.v  from  hence  to  i/ou  rau- 
not  ;  neither  can  thei/  /ytf.v.v  to  KM,  that  icmild  come 
from  thence.  In  the  same  state  wherein  we  die, 
we  must  continue  to  all  eternity.  There  is  no  after 
game  to  be  played  in  this  case. 

The  doctrine  of  purgatory,  taught  in  the  church 
of  Home,  is  a  vile  cheat,  that  hath  no  foundation  at 
all,  either  in  Scripture,  or  in  the  belief  of  the  pri 
mitive  church  ;  yea  is  plainly  contrary  to  both. 
Wherefore,  as  we  love  our  souls,  let  us  not  in  the 
least  depend  upon  it.  Let  us  fix  this  as  a  most 
infallible  conclusion,  that  if  death  seize  upon  us  be 
fore  we  have  repented  with  a  true  repentance  pro 
ceeding  from  the  love  of  God  above  all  things,  there 

c  In  qua  nemo  potcst  opcrari,  scd  rccipcre  quod  operntus  cst. 


490  The  measuring  our  Days        SERM.  xx. 

is  no  hope,  no  redemption  for  us.  Then  neither 
our  own  prayers,  nor  the  tears  of  others,  will  do 
us  any  good.  All  dirges  and  masses  for  our  souls 
will  then  be  insignificant.  All  the  powers  in  hea 
ven  and  earth  cannot  then  help  us.  Nay  our 
blessed  Saviour  himself  cannot  save  us,  because  he 
hath  positively  declared  he  will  not.  Behold !  now 
(whilst  we  live  under  the  means  of  grace)  is  the 
accepted  time,  now  is  the  day  of  salvation,  2  Cor. 
vi.  2. 

O  that  this  consideration  might  enter  deeply  into 
our  hearts !  And  that  it  may  so  do,  let  us  often  di 
rect  our  thoughts  to  those  wretched  miserable  souls, 
that  are  now  in  chains  of  darkness,  irrevocably  lost 
and  undone  for  ever.  How  do  they  curse  their 
own  folly,  in  neglecting  those  opportunities  of  sal 
vation,  which  we  enjoy  and  they  once  had,  but  are 
now  for  ever  denied  !  how  many  worlds,  were  they 
in  their  power,  would  they  give  to  be  where  we 
are,  in  the  house  of  God,  to  hear  the  promises  of 
salvation  offered  to  them,  and  to  call  upon  God  for 
mercy !  how  carefully  would  they  frequent  the 
prayers  of  the  church  !  how  fervent  would  they  be 
in  those  prayers !  how  often  would  they  be  upon 
their  bended  knees  in  private  prayer  !  how  greedily 
would  they  embrace  all  opportunities  of  salvation, 
when  offered  to  them ;  every  sacrament  they  could 
receive,  every  sermon  they  could  hear !  But,  alas  ! 
their  time  is  past,  and  they  are  excluded  from  the 
means  of  grace  and  salvation  to  all  eternity.  Now 
be  assured,  that  if  thou  dost  not  seasonably  re 
pent  and  turn  to  God,  thy  case  will  very  shortly 
(God  knows  how  soon)  be  the  same  with  theirs, 
and  thou  shalt  repent  in  hell  for  not  repenting  here. 


of  great  Use  in  Religion.  491 

I  have  done  with  my  first  observation,  which  was 
this :  It  is  a  matter  of  great  use  and  concernment, 
mightily  conducing  to  the  purposes  of  religion,  for  a 
man  to  know  his  end,  and  the  number  of  his  days, 
what  it  is,  i.  e.  seriously  to  consider  the  shortness  and 
uncertainty  of  his  life  here  on  earth. 

I  have  shewn  you,  that  to  know  the  measure  of 
our  days,  or  to  number  our  days  aright,  is  to  con 
sider  seriously  the  shortness  of  our  life,  1.  abso 
lutely  and  in  itself;  C2.  comparatively ;  and  that 
1.  as  compared  with  God's  eternity  ;  2.  as  compared 
with  our  own  eternity ;  3.  as  compared  with  the 
main  work  and  business  of  our  life,  the  business  of 
religion. 

I  pass  now  to  the  other  observation,  which  I  shall 
but  briefly  touch  upon,  and  so  conclude.  It  is  this  : 

TI.  A  due  consideration  of  the  shortness  and  un 
certainty  of  man's  life  in  this  world  is  a  gift  of  God, 
and  the  effect  of  his  grace,  which  therefore  we  ought 
by  prayer  humbly  and  earnestly  to  ask  of  him. 

So  David  doth  in  my  text;  Lord,  make  me  to 
know  mine  cnd^  and  the  measure  of  my  days,  &c. 
One  would  think  this  were  a  needless  prayer;  for 
who  knows  not  that  he  must  die,  and  that  the  time 
of  his  death  is  uncertain,  and  yet  certainly  not  far 
oft'?  And  who  so  brutish  as  not  to  consider  this? 
But  he  must  shut  his  eyes,  and  never  look  abroad 
into  the  world,  that  sees  not  the  necessity  of  this 
prayer.  A  spirit  of  slumber  and  sottishness  is  fallen 
upon  the  generality  of  men,  so  that  they  seldom  or 
never  seriously  think  of  that  which  so  much  con 
cerns  them.  They  see  many  of  all  ages  fall  into 
their  graves  round  about  them,  and  yet  they  live  as 
if  thcv  themselves  should  never  die. 


492  The  measuring  our  Days        SERM.  xx. 

The  lesson  of  our  mortality  divine  Providence 
doth  every  day,  yea  every  hour  and  minute,  press 
and  inculcate  on  us,  and  as  it  were  beat  into  us. 
The  funeral  bell  ever  and  anon  rings  in  our  ears, 
and  we  daily  tread  upon  the  graves  of  others.  Many 
of  us  already  find  the  harbingers  of  death  within  us, 
we  all  sec  tho  triumphs  of  death  without  us,  and 
(as  our  church  expresseth  it)  "  in  the  midst  of  life  we 
•"  arc  in  death."  Alas!  that  among  so  many  remem 
brancers,  wherewith  Providence  hath  surrounded 
us,  we  should,  with  that  monarch  in  story,  need  yet 
another  monitor  to  tell  us  every  day,  "  Remember 
"  that  th on  art  mortal."  Yet  this  is  our  case.  What 
fatal  stupidity  is  it  that  hath  seized  on  us?  hath 
the  frequency  of  these  admonitions  made  them  to 
lose  their  force  and  virtue  on  us?  are  we  become 
like  sextons  or  grave-diggers,  that  by  living  as  it 
were  in  the  charnel-house,  and  daily  conversing 
with  the  bones  and  skulls  of  dead  men,  at  last 
become  hardened,  and  of  all  mortals  are  the  least 
apprehensive  of  their  mortality  ?  Or  rather  are  we 
affectedly  ignorant,  and  do  we  wilfully  put  the  evil 
day  far  from  us  ?  Whatever  the  cause  be,  the  effect 
is  sadly  visible. 

So  that  every  one  of  us  hath  reason  to  pray  with 
David,  Lord,  make  me  to  know  mine  end,  and  the 
measure  of  my  days,  wliat  it  is,  that  I  may  know 
how  frail  I  am  :  and  with  Moses,  So  teach  us  to 
number  our  days,  that  we  ma,y  apply  our  hearts 
unto  wisdom.  We  have  reason  to  pray,  that  God 
would  never  suffer  us  to  fall  into  the  folly  of  the 
blinded  and  infatuated  world,  who  never  entertain 
any  serious  thoughts  of  death  and  judgment,  of 
heaven  and  hell,  till  death  surprises  them,  till 


493 

judgment  arrests  them,  till  heaven's  gates  be  finally 
shut  against  them,  and  hell  swallows  them  up. 

From  this  infatuation,  Cod  of  his  infinite  mercy 
deliver  us,  through  the  merits  of  his  only  Son  Jesus 
Christ  our  Lord. 

To  whom,  with  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
be  ascribed  all  honour  and  glory,  all  adoration  and 
worship,  both  now  and  for  evermore.  Amen. 


KM)  OF  VOL.   I. 


BX 

5037 
.B84 
1846 
VOL.  1 


BULL 
WORKS 


A2480