VB /!.- Jr. LIBRAEY of tiu: Theological Seminary, PRINCETON, N.J. BR 120 .B35 1939 Beveridge, William, 1637- 1708. Private thoughts / P R ItY ATE T H OUG H T S RELIGION, AND A CHRISTIAN LIFE IN TWO PARTS. BY WILLIAM BEVERIDGE ; D.D. LORD BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH. NEW- YORK: ROBERT CARTER, 58, CANAL-STREET 1839. CONTENTS. PART I. THOUGHTS ON RELIGION 25 Art. I. I believe there is one God, the Being of all beings 28 Art. II. I believe, that whatsoever the most high God would have me to believe or do, in order to his glory and my happi- ness, he hath revealed it to me in his holy Scriptures 31 Art. III. I believe, that as there is one God, so this one God is three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost 48 Art. IV. I believe, that I was conceived in sin, and brought forth in iniquity ; and that ever since I have been continually conceiving mischief, and bringing forth vanity 50 Art. V. I believe the Son of God became the Son of man, that I, the son of man, might become the son of God 51 Art. VI. I believe, that Christ lived to God, and died for sin, that I might die to sin, and live with God 55 Art. VII. I believe, that Christ rose from the grave, that I might rise from sin ; and that he is ascended into heaven, that I may come unto him 57 Art. VIII. I believe, that my person is only justified by the merit of Christ imputed to me ; and that my nature is only sanctified by the Spirit of Christ implantedin me 59 Art. IX. I believe, God entered into a double covenant with man, the covenant of works made with the first, and the covenant of grace made in the second Adam 69 Art. X. I believe, that as God entered into a covenant of grace with us, so hath he signed this covenant to us by a double seal, Baptism and the Lord's Supper 75 Art. XI. I believe, that after a short separation, my soul and body shall be united together again, in order to appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, and be finally sentenced according to my deserts 82 viii Contents. Art. XII. I believe, there are two other worlds, besides this I live in ; a world of misery for unrepenting sinners, and a world of glory for believing saints B8 RESOLUTIONS FORMED FROM THE FOREGOING ARTICLES. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to walk by rule, and therefore think it necessary to resolve upon rules to walk by 94 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to make the divine word the rule of all the rules I propose to myself 95 Resol. III. I am resolved, that as I am not able to think or do any thing that is good, without the influence of the divine grace ; so I will not pretend to merit any favour from God, upon account of any thing I do for his glory and service 9C Concerning my conversalio7i in general. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to make Christ the pattern of my life here, that so Christ may be the portion of my soul hereafter 98 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to walk by faith, and not by sight, on earth, that so I may live by sight, and not by faith, in heaven 99 Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, always to be look- ing upon God, as always looking upon me 100 Concerning my thouglils. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to watch as much over the inward motions of my heart, as the outward actions of my life 102 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to stop every thought at its first entering into my heart, and to examine it, whence it comes, and whither it tends 10;] Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as fearful to let in vain, as careful to keep out sinful thoughts 104 Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be always exer- Contents. IX cising my thoughts upon good objects, that the devil may not exercise them upon bad 105 Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, so to marshal my thoughts, that they may not one justle out another, nor any of them prejudice the business I am about 107 Concerning my affections. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, always to make my affections subservient to the dictates of my understanding, that my reason may not follow, but guide my affections 109 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to love God, as the best of goods, and to hate sin as the worst of evils 111 Resol. III. I am resolved, by the assistance of divine grace, to make God the principal object of my joy, and sin the principal object of my grief and sorrow ; so as to grieve for sin more than suffering, and for suffering only for sin's sake 113 Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to desire spiritual mercies more then temporal ; and temporal mercies only in reference to spiritual 114 Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to hope for nothing so much as the promises, and to fear nothing so much as the threatenings, of God 116 Resol. VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to arm myself with that spiritual courage and magnanimity, as to press through all duties and difficulties whatsoever, for the advancement of God's glory, and my own happiness 118 Resol. VII. I am resolved, by the grace of God, so to be angry, as not to sin, and, therefore, to be angry at nothing but sin 119 Concerning my words. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, never to speak much, lest I often speak too much ; and not to speak at all, rather than to no purpose 122 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, not only to avoid the wickedness of swearing falsely, but likewise the very appear- ance of swearing at all 123 Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, always to make my tongue and heart go together, so as never to speak with the one, what I do not think in the other 125 Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to speak of other men's sins only before their faces, and of their virtues only behind their backs 126 Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, always to speak reverently to my superiors, humbly to my inferiors, and civilly to all 12? x Contents. Concerning my actions. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do every thing in obedience to the will of God 130 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do every thing with prudence and discretion as well as with zeal and affection 131 Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, never to set my hand, my head, or my heart, about any thing, but what I verily believe is good in itself, and will be esteemed so by God 132 Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do all things for the glory of God 134 Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to mingle such recreations with my business, as to further my business by my recreations 135 Concerning my relations. Resol. I. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to honour and obey the king, or prince, whom God is pleased to set over me, as well as to expect he should safeguard and protect me, whom God is pleased to set under him 137 Resol. II. i am resolved, by the same divine grace, to be as con- stant in loving my wife, as cautious in choosing her 134 Resol. III. 1 am resolved, by the grace of God, to do my endea- vour to give to God whatsoever children he shall be pleased to give to me, that as they are mine by nature, they may be his by grace 142 Resol. IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to do my duty to my servants, as well as expect they should do theirs to me 144 Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to feed the flock that God shall set me over, with wholesome food, neither starv- ing them by idleness, poisoning them with error, nor puffing them up with impertinencies 145 Resol. VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as faithful and constant to my friend, as I would have my friend to be faith- ful and constant to me 148 Concerning my talents. Resol. I. I am resolved, if possible, to redeem my time past, by using a double diligence for the future, to employ and improve all the gifts and endowments, both of body and mind, to the glory and service of my great Creator 150 Resol. II. I am resolved, by the divine grace, to employ my riches, the outward blessings of Providence, to the same end ; and to Contents. F xi observe such a due medium in the dispensing of them, as to avoid prodigality on the one hand, and covetousness on the other 152 Resol. III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve the au- thority God gives me over others, to the suppression of vice, and the encouragement of virtue ; and so for the exaltation of God's name on earth, and their souls in heaven 154 Resol. IV. lam resolved, by the divine grace, to improve the affec- tions God stirs up in others towards me, to the stirring up of their affections towards God 155 Resol. V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve every good thought to the producing of good affections in myself, and as good actions with respect to God 157 Resol. VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve every affliction God lays upon me, as an earnest or token of his affec- tion towards me 158 PART II. On the Education of a Christian. THE advantage of being well-grounded in the Christian reli- gion 167 The want of this is the occasion of so little true religion among us 168 The direction of the Church in this behalf, and of God himself 169 The obligation on parents to observe it 170 The Church Catechism most easy, and yet most full and compre- hensive ibid. The necessity of being made Christians by baptism 171 And that for children as well as adult persons ibid. The promise made at baptism implies the necessity of Christian instruction 172 The several parts of that promise lead to the knowledge of all the rest of the Catechism, viz. of the Creed, Ten Commandments, Lord's Prayer, and doctrine of the Sacraments ibid. Directions for instructing children in this Catechism 173 They must begin with them betimes ibid. Employ others to teach them, if they cannot do it themselves 175 When taught tire Catechism, send them, for further instruction, to the minister ibid. The great obligation upon parents to instruct their children 177 Abraham's care, in this respect, rewarded, and Eli's neglect pun- ished ibid. The advantage of it to themselves, and to their children 178 An exhortation to it 179 On the Knowledge of God. Though all men agree about religion in general, yet they differ about nothing more than the particular exercise of it 180 Our form of worship incomparably the best 181 To serve God aright, it is necessary to know that Cod whom we are to serve 182 To know that he is ibid. And what he is, both in himself 183 And to us ibid. To know all his attributes ibid. All his works ibid. To know that in the one Godhead there are Three Persons 184 Contents. x'm Our knowledge of God must be also practical and experimental 184 That all this knowledge is necessary towards serving God aright 185 The error of the Church of Rome in this particular 186 Arguments to induce us to seek after this knowledge ibid. How we ought to serve God 538 What it is to serve him 189 Mistakes about this ibid. We must serve him with all we are ibid. And with all we have ibid. Pay him sincere and universal obedience 190 We must serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind 192 For what reason we ought thus to serve God 193 An exhortation to it 194 On the Mystery of the Trinity. It is impossible to be truly religious without knowing God 197 Which we cannot do truly but by the light of revelation 198 Which alone discovers to us the mystery of the Trinity ibid. Into which our Saviour commands all nations to be baptized ibid. Where we must consider the work he sends his apostles about 199 What is meant by teaching ibid. The mistake of which occasioned the sect of the Anabaptists 200 Our Saviour speaks not of teaching before baptism, but after it ibid. So that infant baptism is commanded in those very words, which are pretended to forbid it ibid. The large extent of the commission here given 201 Not understood by the apostles themselves, till interpreted from heaven ibid. The manner of admitting all nations into Christ's church 202 The church always baptized in the name of the Three Persons 203 The Trinity of Persons proved from the Scriptures, both of the Old Testament ibid. And especially of the New 204 The Godhead of each Person 205 Particularly of the Son 206 Who otherwise could not be our Saviour ibid. And of the Holy Ghost ibid. The order of the Three Persons 208 Why the Father is the first 209 Why the Son is tbe second ibid. Why the Holy Ghost is the third 210 His procession from the Son 211 Inferences from the whole ibid. The conclusion 213 On Worldly Riches. Sect. 1. Why Christians, notwithstanding the excellency of their religion, lead as bad lives as other men 215 This cannot be owing to any defect in the Gospel 216 B xiv Contents. But proceeds from being too much concerned for the things of this world ' 217 The love of money is the root of all evil ibid. Where by money the apostle means the things of this world 218 In what the love of these things consists ibid. How it is the root of all evil 219 Of all the evil of which we are guilty, viz. of sins of omission ibid. And commission 221 Of all the evil which we suffer in this life 223 And fear in the next 224 Directions for taking off our affections from the things of this world 225 On Worldly Riches. Sect. 2. Timothy first Bishop of the province of Ephesus 227 He and all ministers enjoined to preach with authority ibid. To charge not only the poor, but the rich 231 Whom the apostle means by them that are rich ibid. Why they are to be charged not to be high-minded 232 Why not to trust in uncertain riches 233 What good they are enjoined to do 234 Works of piety towards God 235 Works of charity towards the poor 236 And to be rich in good works 237 Which are our principal riches ibid. Ready to distribute 238 Willing to communicate ibid. The reward promised to this duty 239 On Self-Denial. The introduction 242 Mistaken notions about Christianity 243 How to know what it is to be a true Christian 244 It is not so easy to be as some imagine ibid. They that will be such must deny themselves ibid. Deny their reason in matters of divine revelation, which are above it 245 Their wills in submission to God's 246 And their affections 248 And the enjoyment of their estates, when they come in compe- tition with their duty ibid. They must deny themselves in those sins and lusts they are used indulge 249 And must renounce their own righteousness ibid. Which will not justify, but rather condemn 250 Why we must thus deny ourselves 252 We must also take up the cross 253 Which they only do who suffer for conscience 254 The reasonableness of this duty 255 An exhortation to it 256 Contents. xv On striving to enter at the strait gate. All must expect ere long to be in another world 250 Either of endless happiness ibid. Or of eternal misery 259 Our Saviour's direction in this case 260 The way to misery is broad and easy ibid. That to happiness narrow and difficult ibid. It implies the forsaking of all sin 262 The performance of many hard duties "263 Yet it is worth striving to obtain it 26.3 For though hard, yet it is possible 266 We are invited to it by God himself 267 Who affords us all necessary means to obtain it 263 The difficulties will soon be over ibid. Heaven will make amends for all 269 In order hereto we must first resolve ibid. And then set upon a new life 270 Depending entirely on the merits of Christ 27 1 Praying for the assistance of his grace ibid. And waiting his answer to our prayers ibid. On the Imitation of Christ. Christ came into tho world to save sinners 273 Paying, by his death, the debts we owed to God 274 Giving us a pattern of holiness in his life ibid. More perfect than any before or since 275 Which we are bound to follow ibid. But we must not presume to follow Christ in what he did as God 276 Nor in what he did as God-man 277 But only in what he did as mere man ibid. Both in his behaviour towards men 273 In his duty to his parents ibid. And to his governors ibid. In his meekness towards all men 279 In his bounty and goodness to all, even to his enemies ibid. And in his piety towards God 280 Increasing in wisdom as in stature 281 Though as man his knowledge was finite, yet that implies no im- perfection or sin ibid. Such ignorance is no sin 282 But only the ignorance of what we ought to know ibid. At least we should thus increase in godly wisdom, when grown up ibid. Teach our children after Christ's example ibid. Who, as he grew in godly wisdom when a child, also used that wisdom when grown up, and devoted himself wholly to the ser- vice of God ibid. His resignation to God's will, love of him, zeal for him, trust in him, were alone most exemplary 284 So were also his external acts of devotion, frequently retiring to pray ibid. Frequenting the synagogue on the sabbath 285 An exhortation to follow Christ 280 xvi Contents. On our call and election. Many called but few chosen, a hard saying 28f The Jews rejecting Christ's invitation, the Gentiles are called 286* What is meant by being- called 290 We are called from darkness to light ibid. From superstition and idolatry to the true worship 291 From sin unto holiness ibid. From temporal things to eternal 292 From misery to happiness ibid. God hath called some by immediate revelations 292 He calls all by his works and providences ibid. But our Saviour means his call by the ministry of his word ibid. That many have been and are thus called 295 But few chosen 296 Not absolutely but comparatively few ibid. Only such as do God's will 298 No atheistical persons 299 None that are ignorant of the principles of religion ibid. On the appearance of Christ the Sun of righteousness. Why the Scripture represents spiritual things by sensible objects 313 As Christ's coming by the rising of the Sun of righteousness 314 To burn up the wicked ibid. But with healing in his wings to such as fear God, that is, to all true believers 315 This Sun is the object only of our faith ibid. He gives some light before his rising 316 Christ is often foretold under this emblem ibid. Is properly styled the Sun, with respect both to what he is in himself 318 And to what he is to us, the fountain of our light and of our life 319 Who by nature are dead in sin 321 And of all our joy and comfort 322 Of our fruitfulness in good works 323 Which received all their lustre from the reflection of his righ- teousness, as colours owe their being to the reflection of the sun 324 This Sun of righteousness thus displayed 325 By a lively faith ibid, VVould have a great influence on the holiness and happiness of our lives ibid, PRIVATE THOUGHTS UPON RELIGION, DIGESTED INTO TWELVE ARTICLES; WITH PRACTICAL RESOLUTIONS FORMED THEREUPON. PART I. By WILLIAM BEVERIDGE, D. D, LORD BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH. Written in his Younger years, for the settling of his Principles, and Conduct of his Life. B 2 THE PREFACE After so great a name as that of Bishop Beveridge in the title, it were as superfluous to attempt any farther recommen- dation of these papers, as it would be impossible to effect it. If any thing can add to the esteem they must every where meet with, upon the account of so great an author, it must be a serious perusal and application of them. Those that read them with the same spirit of candour, with which this great man always read the works of others, and with the same spirit of piety, with which he wrote his own, will undoubtedly discover in them such a lively idea of the great genius of the author, and so sensibly experience the good influence of them upon their minds, as will more effectually engage their approbation, than the highest encomiums from another hand. The great misfortune is, that those who have most need to be instructed and reformed, have no true taste or relish for books of this nature : their eyes are dazzled with the glittering appearances of the objects of sense, and their hearts enslaved to the works of darkness ; so that the beams of divine light are but troublesome and offensive to them : every point of faith is a contradiction to their principles, and every precept enjoined a reproach to their morals. And, therefore, in order to stave off those self-condemning thoughts, that naturally a- rise from the serious perusal of such sort of treatises, they scoff at and despise them, as dull and insipid ; not worth the consideration of men of more refined parts and deeper pene- tration, who are too wise to be guided by the rule of God's word, and too obstinate to be persuaded to walk in any other path, but that which the devil has chalked out for them, the path that leads to destruction. xx PREFACE. But these men would do well to consider, before they are wholly under the power of delusion, that this is not really ow- ing to any flaws or defects in such performances, but to their own reprobate minds and depraved judgments, which tarnish the beauty, cast a mist before the truth, frustrate the influence, and pervert the design of them ; like a vitiated palate, which nau- seates the most delicious tastes ; or a foul and disordered stom- ach, that turns the most wholesome food into poison and cor- ruption. So that they must first divest themselves of their lust and pride, their prejudice and partiality, before they can ever expect to reap any benefit or advantage by this, or any other discourses, that tend to the promoting of piety and religion. Having thus opened the way to the reading of this book, it may not be improper, in order to set it in its true light, and do justice to the author of it, to say something more particu- larly concerning both ; and to advertise the reader, that the following sheets were writ by the Bishop in his younger years, upon his first entrance into holy orders. And though they may not, perhaps, be so perfect and correct, as if he himself had lived to give the finishing stroke to them, and fit them for the press with his own hand ; yet, as the roughness of a jewel doth not lessen the worth and value of it, when the brightness of its natural lustre, even under that disadvantage, outshines that of others, which are polished and refined by art ; so, it is to be hoped, the candid and judicious reader will, in this well- designed piece, however unfinished, discover such singular beau- ties and graces, as few others, even at the highest pitch of their attainments, and with the utmost care and diligence, are able to come up to. As to the author's design in writing these papers, it is suffi- ciently set forth in the title of them. He considered, that truth of doctrine, and innocency of life, were both absolutely necessary to the due exercise of the sacred function, which he had the honour and happiness to be admitted into. He knew the power of example to prevail even beyond that of precept, and was very solicitous, with the blessed apostle, to make hit own calling and election sure, lest that by any means, when he had preached to others, he himself should be a cast-away. To the end, therefore, that he might both save himself, and them that heard him, that both by his life and doctrine, he might set forth the glory of God, and set forward the salvation of men, he drew up these Articles, to settle his principles in point of faith, and formed these Resolutions upon them, to regulate his actions with regard to practice. What great things might not the Church promise herself FKifiFAUlS. XXI from a foundation so well laid ? from principles settled with so much learning and judgment, and resolutions formed upon such strict rules of piety and religion ? What glorious expec- tations in an age of that degeneracy of faith and manners, Avherein he then lived, might not be justly raised from hence, for the future reformation of both ? And, indeed, this excellent person did even more than satis- fy all these extraordinary hopes, which the early and ample specimens he gave of his virtue and knowledge had made the world conceive of him. For having taken this prudent and effectual care to ground and determine his own faith and prac- tice ; and being ever mindful of that injunction laid upon him, when he was ordained priest, " To consider the end of his ministry towards the children of God, towards the spouse and body of Christ ; he never ceased his labour, care, and dili- gence, until he had done all that in him lay," (as our holy Church does most admirably express the duty of that order,) " to bring all such as were committed to his charge, unto that agreement in the faith and knowledge of God, and to that ripe- ness and perfectness of age in Christ, that there should be no place left among them for error in religion, or for viciousnesg in life:' While his care of souls was chiefly confined to the bounds of a single parish, with what labour and zeal did he apply him- self to the discharge of his ministry, in the several parts and oflices of it ? How powerful and instructive was he in his dis- courses from the pulpit ? How warm and affectionate in his private exhortations ? How orthodox in his doctrine ? How regular and uniform in the public worship of the church ? In a word, so zealous was he, and heavenly-minded, in all the spiritual exercises of his parochial function, and his labours were so remarkably crowned with blessing and success, that as he himself was justly styled, the great reviver and restorer of primitive piety ; so his parish was deservedly proposed, as the best model and pattern, for the rest of its neighbours to copy after. Nor was the Archdeacon, or the Bishop, less vigilant than the Parish-Priest : his care and diligence increased as his pow- er in the church was enlarged ; and as he had before discharg- ed the duty of a faithful pastor over his single fold, so when his authority was extended to larger districts, he still pursued the same pious and laborious methods of advancing the honour and interest of religion, by watching over both clergy and laity, and giving them all necessary direction and assistance for the effectual performance of their respective duties, xxii PREFACE. Accordingly, he was no sooner advanced to the episcopal chair, but in a most pathetic and obliging letter to the clergy of his diocese, he recommended to them " the duty of cate- chising and instructing the people committed to their charge, in the principles of the Christian religion ; to the end they might know what they were to believe, and do, in order to salvation :" and told them, " he thought it necessary to begin with that, without which whatever else he or they should do, would turn to little or no account, as to the main end of the ministry." And to enable them to do this the more effectually, he sent them a plain and easy Exposition upon the Church Catechism ; of which I need say nothing more, and can say nothing greater, than that it was drawn up by himself in a method, which, in the opinion of so great a judge, seemed, of all others, the most proper to instruct the people. Thus endeavouring to make himself and others every day wiser and better, labouring to establish sound principles, and settle good manners wherever he came, as it was the founda- tion which this holy man laid in these Articles and Resolutions ; so we see it was the great work of his life to build upon it ; as might easily be made appear, from a faithful and particular relation of the several stages and passages of it, during the course of his ministry ; the bare enumeration of which would swell this Preface into a book. That fair portrait will, I hope, be drawn by some abler pen. In the mean time there is yet another instance of his great concern and unwearied endeavours for the establishing of sound doctrine, which I must not omit the mention of; because it is a work of so much affinity with these Articles, and what the reader may, with great advantage, have recourse to, for farther satisfaction upon these general heads of divinity, which he has here given us only in abridgment ; it is his learned Ex- position upon the Thirty-nine Articles, which is promised in a short time to be committed to the press ; and which is the more earnestly desired and expected, as being a performance, which the church, at this time, so much wants, and which he, be- yond others, was, in such an extraordinary manner, qualified for. Such discourses as these, the one giving a true exposition of the doctrine of our church, the other endeavouring to estab- lish it by an orthodox faith, and an unspotted life, were never more seasonable than in this age ; when the very being of the church is called in question, under a pretence of maintaining her rights ; and the principles of Christianity are no longer secret- ly undermined, but openly attacked ; when books are publish* FKEI'ACE. xxiii ed against all revealed religion, and deism insults and triumphs barefaced, without restraint, without reproach. In a word, when we are arrived to that dissoluteness of manners, as well as principles, that persons of the highest quality and station are addressed in print, as patrons of libertinism ; and that which has in all ages been called and esteemed the greatest wisdom, is scoffed at by false wit ; and Christianity, under the notion of enthusiasm, exposed to the contempt of the meanest capacities, and hooted out of the world by the very dregs of the people. In so general an inundation of profaneness and licentious- ness, Providence seemed indeed to have raised up this great and good man to stand in the gap, and stem the tide against it : but where the torrent is so impetuous, and the forces, that should unite in striving to divert it, so weak and pusillanimous, there is more danger the very opposers should be borne down the stream, than there are hopes of making good the opposition. But, however the doctrine and discipline of our church may be misrepresented, exploded, and despised, and our holy religion become only a name, which is almost every where spoken against ; this good Bishop will, nevertheless, have the honour, as he already enjoys the reward, not only of bearing testimony against the growing ill, but of having done all that he could (and who could do more than he 1) to restrain and subdue it. It may, perhaps, be thought a bad omen to our church, to have lost so able a champion, when she seems to stand so much in need of him. But, blessed be God, we have not altogether lost him : he has left us behind him, in these excellent papers, (to say nothing of his sermons, and other incomparable writ- ings,) such clear reasoning, and convincing arguments for the grounding of our principles, and such useful rules and di- rections for the government of our conversation, that we may yet hope for a happy reformation in both, if we are not want- ing to ourselves in the use and application of them. Would the clergy, the younger sort especially, take this method, upon their first admission into holy orders, (and it ought to be no hard matter to persuade them to it, since it is the very end and design of their ministry,) it could not fail, by the blessing of God, of producing very admirable effects. Their principles thus prudently settled, would stand the shock, even of a fiery trial ; and their resolutions thus maturely formed, would undauntedly bear up against the most powerful tempta- tions. This, if any thing, would raise the dignity of the priesthood xxiv PREFACE. to its first institution, silence all the loud clamours, as well as malicious whispers, that, like echoes, are redoubled and rever- berated upon them ; and gain them such an interest and repu- tation among the people, and such an honour and authority in the discharge of their function, that from reverencing the per- son, and commending the pattern, they Avould insensibly pro- ceed to the imitation of it ; till, by degrees, the flock too, as well as the shepherd, would become icise to sali'ation, would devoutly sanctify the Lord God in their hearts ; and not only so, but be ready always to give an answer to every one that should ask them a reason of the hope that is in them. And were both clergy and laity thus rightly principled, and firmly resolved, the enemies of our Zion would have both less encouragement to attack, and less power to hurt us ; our na- tional church might then despise all the wicked attempts and designs that are daily made and formed against her, and as- sume to herself that comfortable promise and assurance, that our Saviour himself has given, that even the gates of hell shall never be able to prevail against her. All that I have farther to say, is only to apologize for having said so much, upon a subject that so little needs it ; and to close the whole with my hearty prayers to the throne of grace, that this pious and excellent book may meet with that desired c fFect and success, which the author aimed at in the composing of it, and may be as useful to others, as it was to himself. THOUGHTS RELIGION. WHEN in my serious thoughts and more retired meditations I am got into the closet of my heart, and there begin to look within myself, and consider what I am, I presently find myself to be a reasonable creature ; for, was I not so, it would be im- possible for me thus to reason and reflect. But, am I a reason- able creature ? Why then I am sure within this veil of flesh there dwells a soul, and that of a higher nature than either plants or brutes are endued with ; for they have souls indeed, but yet they know it not ; and that because their souls or ma- terial forms (as the philosophers term them) are not any thing really and essentially distinct from the very matter of their bodies ; which being not capable of a reflexive act, though they are, they know it not, and though they act, they know it not ; it being not possible for them to look within themselves, or to reflect upon their own existences and actions. But it is not so with me ; I not only know I have a soul, but that I have such a soul which can consider of itself, and deliberate of every particular action that issues from it. Nay, I can consider that I am now considering of my own actions, and can reflect upon myself reflecting ; insomuch that had I nothing else to do, I could spin out one reflection upon another to infinity. And indeed was there never another argument in the world to convince me of the spiritual nature of my soul, this alone would be sufficient to wrest the belief and confession of it from me : for, what below a spirit can thus reflect upon itself? or, what below a spirit can put forth itself into such actions, as I find I can exercise myself in ? My soul can, in a moment, mount from earth to heaven, fly from pole to pole, and view all the courses and motions of the celestial bodies, the sun, moon, and stars ; and then the next moment, returning to myself again, I C 26 Thoughts on Religion. can consider where I have been, what glorious objects have been presented to my view, and wonder at the nimbleness and activity of my soul, that can run over so many millions of miles, and finish so great a work, in so small a space of time. And are such-like acts as these the effects of drossy earth, or impenetrable matter ? can any thing below a spirit raise itself so much beyond the reach of material actions ? But stay a little ; what is this soul of mine that I am now speaking of, that it is so nimble in its actions, and so spiritual in its nature ? Why, it is that which actuates and informs the several organs and members of my body, and enables me not only to perform the natural actions of life and sense, but like- wise to understand, consult, argue, and conclude ; to will and nill, hope and despair, desire and abhor, joy and grieve, love and hate ; to be angry now, and again appeased. It is that by which, at this very time, my head is inditing, my hand is writing, and my heart resolving, what to believe, and how to practise. In a word my soul is myself; and therefore when I speak of my soul, I speak of no other person but myself. Not as if I totally excluded this earthly substance of my body from being a part of myself ; I know it is. But I think it most proper and reasonable to denominate myself from my better part : for, alas ! take away my soul, and my body falls, on course, into its primitive corruption, and moulders into the dust, from whence it was first taken. Alljicsh is grass, says the prophet, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field. And this is no metaphorical expression, but a real truth ; for what is that which I feed upon, but merely grass, digested into corn, flesh, and the like, which, by a second di- gestion, is transfused and converted into the substance of my body ? And hence it is that my body is but like the grass, or flow- er of the field, fading, transient, and momentary, to-day flou- rishing in all its glory, to-morrow cut down, dried up, and with- ered. But now, how far is this beneath the spiritual and in- corruptible nature of my immortal soul ? which subsists of it- self, and can never be dissolved ; being not compounded of any earthly or elementary matter, as the body is, but is a pure spiritual substance, infused into me by God, to whom, after a short abode in the body, it is to return, and to live and con- tinue for ever, either in a state of happiness or misery in another life. But must it so indeed ? How much then does it concern me seriously to bethink myself, where I had best to lead this everb=f : > ig life, in the heavenly mansions of eternal glory, or else in the dreadful dungeon of infernal misery ? But betwixt Thoughts on Religion. 27 these, as there is no medium, so there is no comparison ; and, therefore, I shall not put it to the question, which place to choose to live in : but, without giving the other that honour to stand in competition with it, I this morning, with the leave of the most high God, do choose the land of Canaan, the king- dom of heaven, to be the lot of mine inheritance, the only seat of bliss and glory for my soul to rest and dwell in to all eternity. But heaven, they say, is a place hard to come at ; yea, the King of that glorious place hath told me, that strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leads to eternal life, and that there be but few that find it, Matth. vii. 14. yea, and that many shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able, Luke iii. 24. What, therefore, must I do ? Why, I must either resolve to make it my whole business to get to heaven, or else I must never hope or expect to come thither. Without any further dispute therefore about it, I resolve at this time, in the pre- sence of Almighty God, that, from this day forward, I will make it my whole business here upon earth to look after my happiness in heaven, and to walk circumspectly in those bles- sed paths that God hath appointed all to walk in that ever ex- pect to come to him. Now, though there be but one way, and that a narrow one too, that leads to heaven, yet there are two things requisite to all those that walk in it ; and they are, faith and obedience, to believe and to live aright. So that it as much behooves me to have my faith rightly confirmed in the fundamentals of reli- gion, as to have my obedience exactly conformed to the laws of God. And these two duties are so inseparably united, that the former cannot well be supposed without the latter ; for I cannot obey what God hath commanded me, unless I first be- lieve what he hath taught me. And they are both equally difficult, as they are necessary : indeed, of the two, I think it is harder to lay the sure foundation of faith, than to build the superstructure of obedience upon it ; for it seems next to impossible for one that believes every truth, not to obey every command, that is written in the word of God. But it is not so easy a thing as it is commonly thought to believe the word of God, and to be firmly established in the necessary points of religion ; especially in these wicked times wherein we live ; in which there are so many pernicious errors and damnable heresies crept into the articles of some men's faith, as do not only shock the foundation of the church of Christ, but strike at the root of all religion. The first thing, there- fore, that, by the grace of God, I am resolved to do, in re- 28 Thoughts on Religion. ference to my everlasting estate, is, to see my faith, that it be both rightly placed, and firmly fixed, that I may not be as a wave tossed to and fro tvith every wind of doctrine, by the cun- ning craftiness of those that lie in trait to deceive ; but that I may be thoroughly settled in my faith and judgment concern- ing those things, the knowledge of, and assent unto which, is absolutely necessary to my future happiness. Let therefore what times soever come upon me ; let what temptations soever be thrown before me ; I am resolved, by the grace of God, stedfastly to believe as folio weth. ARTICLE I. / believe there is one God, the Being of all beings. The other articles of my faith I think to be true, because they are so ; this is true, because I think it so : for if there was no God, and so this article not true, I could not be, and so not think it true. But in that I think, I am sure I am ; and in that I am, I am sure there is a God ; for if there was no God, how came I to be ? How came I hither ? Who gave me my being? Myself? that could not be ; for before I had a being, I was nothing ; and therefore could do nothing, much less make myself a being. Did my parents give me my being ? Alas ! they knew not that I should be, before I was ; and there- fore, certainly, could not give me my being, when I was not. As to my soul, (which I call myself,) it is plain they could not give me that, because it is a being of a spiritual nature, quite distinct from matter, (as my own experience tells me,) and therefore could not be the product of any natural or mate- rial agent : for that a bodily substance should give being to a spiritual one, implies a contradiction. And if it could neither make itself, nor take its rise from any earthly or secondary cause, I may certainly conclude, from my own reason, as well as from divine revelation, that it must be infused by God, though I am not able to determine either when, or how, it was done. As to my body ; indeed I must own it was derived from my parents, who were immediately concerned in bringing the materials of it together: but then, who made up these coarse materials into the form or figure of a body ? Was this the effect of natural generation? But how came my parents by this generative power? Did they derive it, by succession. Thoughts on Religion. 29 from our first parents in Paradise ? Be it so. But whence came they ? Did they spring out of the earth ? No. What then ? Were they made by chance ? This could not be ; for as chance seldom or never produces any one effect that is re- gular and uniform, so it cannot be supposed that a being of such admirable beauty, symmetry, and proportion, and such a nice contexture of parts, as the body of man is, should ever be jumbled together by a fortuitous concourse of atoms, which nothing but the chimeras of Epicurus could ever reduce into a regular form and composition. And the like may be said of all other created beings in the world. For there is no natural cause can give being to any thing, unless it has that being it gives in itself; for it is a re- ceived maxim in philosophy, that no thing can give what it has not. And so, however the bodies of men, or brutes, or plants, may now, in the ordinary course of nature, be produced by generation, yet there must needs be some one supreme al- mighty Being in the world, that has the being of all other beings in itself; who first created these several species, and endowed them with this generative power to propagate their kind. And this supreme Being is that which we call God. Hence it is that there is not a leaf, no not a line, in this great book of the creation, wherein we may not clearly read the existence and perfections of the great and glorious Creator, and that even by the glimmering light of nature. For, who is it that bedecked yonder stately canopy of heaven with those glistering spangles, the stars ? Who is it that commands the sun to run his course, and the moon to ride her circuit so con- stantly about the world ? Who is it that formed me so curiously in my mother's womb ? Who is it that gives my stomach power to digest such variety of meats into chyle, and my heart or liver to turn them all to blood, and thence to send each particle to its proper place, and all to keep up this crazy carcase ? Doubtless, these and such-like things, however or- dinary or natural they may appear to us at present, are in themselves very great and wonderful effects, that must, at first, be produced by some infinitely powerful and supernatural agent, the high and mighty God, who is not only the chiefest of beings, but the Being of all beings whatsoever. [ say, the Being of all beings, because whatsoever ex- cellency or perfection is in any other thing, is eminently, yea, infinitely comprehended in him ; so that he is not only the creature's perfection in the concrete, but in the abstract too ; he is not only all- wise, all-good, all-mighty, &c. but he C 2 30 Thoughts on Religion. is all-wisdom, all-goodness, all-might, all-mercy, all-justice, all-glory, &c. And as he is the ocean and abyss of all these perfections in himself, so is he the fountain of them all to us ; insomuch that we have nothing, not so much as the least mo- ment of life, but what is communicated to us from this ever- living God. And not only what we, poor sinful worms, are, or have, but even whatsoever those nobler creatures the angels have, it is but a beam darted from this sun, it is but a stream flowing from this overflowing fountain. Lift up thine eyes, therefore, O my soul, and fix them a little upon this glorious object ! How glorious, how trans- cendently glorious, must he needs be, who is the Being of all beings, the perfection of all perfections, the very glory of all glories, the eternal God ! He is the glory of love and good- ness, who is good, and doth good continually unto me, though I be evil, and do evil continually against him. He is the glory of wisdom and knowledge, unto whom all the secret thoughts, the inward motions and retirements of my soul are exactly known and manifest. Never did a thought lurk so secretly in my heart, but that his all-seeing eye could espy it out : even at this time, he knows what I am now thinking of, and what I am doing, as well as myself. And indeed, well may he know what I think, and speak, and do, when I can neither think, nor speak, nor do any thing, unless himself be pleased to give me strength to do it. He is the glory of might and pow- er, who did but speak the word, and there presently went out that commanding power from him, by which this stately fabric of the world was formed and fashioned. And as he created all things by the word of his power, so I believe he preserves and governs all things by the power of the same word : yea, so great is his power and sovereignty, that he can as easily frown my soul from my body into hell, or nothing, as I can throw this book out of my hand to the ground : nay, he need not throw me into nothing ; but as, if I should let go my hold, the book would presently fall ; so, should God but take away his supporting hand from under me, I should of myself imme- diately fall down to nothing. This therefore is that God, whom I believe to be the Being of all beings ; and so the Creator, Preserver, Governor, and Disposer of all things in the world. 1 noughts on Religion. 31 ARTICLE II. I believe that whatsoever the most high God vwuld have me to believe or do, in order to his glory and my happiness, he hath revealed to me in his holy Scriptures. Upon the same account that I believe there is a God, I believe likewise that this God is to be worshipped ; the same light that discovers the one, discovering the other too. And therefore it is, that as there is no nation or people in the world but acknowledge some deity ; so there is none but worship that deity which they acknowledge ; yea, though it be but a stick or a stone, yet if they fancy any thing of divinity in it, they presently perform worship and homage to it. Nay, that God is to be worshipped, is a truth more generally acknow- ledged than that there is a God. No nation, I confess, ever denied the latter, but no particular person ever denied the for- mer : so that the very persons who, through diabolical delusions, and their own prevalent corruptions, have suspected the exis- tence of a Deity, could not but acknowledge that he was to be worshipped if he did exist ; worship being that which is contained in the very notion of a Deity ; which is, that he is the Being of all beings, upon whom all other things or beings do depend, and unto whom they are beholden, both for their essence and subsistence. And if there be such a Being that is the spring and fountain of all other Beings, it is necessary that all other should reverence and worship him, without whom they could not subsist. And therefore it is, that men are generally more superstitious in their worshipping than they ought to be, rather than deny that worship to him which they ought to give. That therefore there is a God, and that this God is to be worshipped, I do not doubt ; but the great question is, who is this God whom I ought to worship? and, what is that wor- ship which I ought to perform unto him ? The former I have resolved upon in the foregoing article, as the light of reason and my natural conscience suggested to me ; the latter I am resolved to search out in this, viz. which of all the several kinds of worship that men perform to the Deity, and the seve- ral religions that men profess in the world, I had best make choice of to profess and adhere to. The general inclinations which are naturally implanted in my soul to some religion it is impossible for me to shift off; but there being such a multipli- city of religions in the world, I desire now seriously to con- 32 Thoughts on Religion. sider with myself, which of them all to restrain these my gene- ral inclinations to. And the reason of this my inquiry is not that I am in the least dissatisfied with that religion I have already embraced, but because it is natural for all men to have an overbearing opinion and esteem for that particular religion they are born and bred up in. That therefore I may not seem biassed by the prejudice of education, I am resolved to prove and exam- ine them all, that I may see and hold fast to that which is best. For though I do not in the least question but that I shall, upon inquiry, find the Christian religion to be the only true religion in the world, yet I cannot say it is, unless I find it, upon good grounds, to be so indeed. For, to profess myself a Christian, and believe that Christians are only in the right, because my forefathers were so, is no more than the Heathens and Ma- hometans have to say for themselves. Indeed, there was never any religion so barbarous and dia- bolical, but it was preferred before all other religions whatso- ever by them that did profess it ; otherwise they would not have professed it. The Indians, that worship the Devil, would think it as strange doctrine to say that Christ is to be feared more than the Devil, as such as believe in Christ think it is to say the Devil is to be preferred before Christ. So do the Ma- hometans call all that do not believe in Mahomet, as well as Christians call those that believe not in Christ, infidels. And why,* say they, may not you be mistaken as well as we? especially, when there is at the least six to one against your Christian religion ; all of which think they serve God aright, and expect happiness thereby, as well as you. So that to be a Chris- tian only upon the grounds of birth or education, is all one as if I was a Turk or a Heathen ; for if I had been born amongst them, I should have had the same reason for their religion as now I have for my own : the premises are the same, though the con- clusion be never so different. It is still upon the same grounds that I profess religion, though it be another religion which I profess upon these grounds ; so that I can see but very little difference betwixt being a Turk by profession, and a Christian only by education ; which commonly is the means and occa- sion, but ought by no means to be the ground of any religion. And hence it is, that in my looking out for the truest reli- gion, being conscious to myself how great an ascendant Chris- tianity hath over me beyond the rest, as being that religion whereinto I was born and baptized ; that which the supreme au- thority has enjoined, and my parents educated me in ; that which every one I meet withal highly approves of, and which I myself J,5 have, by a long continued profession, made almost natural to me ; I am resolved to be more jealous and suspicious of this religion than of the rest, and be sure not to entertain it any longer, without being convinced, by solid and substantial ar- guments, of the truth and certainty of it. That therefore 1 may make diligent and impartial inquiry into all religions, and so be sure to find out the best, I shall for a time lock upon myself as one not at all interested in any particular religion whatsoever, much less in the Christian re- ligion ; but only as one who desires in general to serve and obey him that made me in a right manner, and thereby to be made partaker of that happiness my nature is capable of. In order to this, it will be necessary to propose to myself some certain marks or characters, whereby I may be able to judge and make choice of the religion I intend to embrace : and they are in general these two, viz. First, That is the best religion wherein God is worshipped and served most like himself, i. e. most suitably and conform- ably to his nature and will. And, Secondly, Since all men naturally desire and aspire after happiness, and our greatest happiness consists in the fruition of God, that is certainly the best religion which gives me the best and most comfortable assurances of being happy with God to all eternity. To embrace a religion without these marks would be worse than to have no religion at all ; for better it is to perform no worship to God, than such as is displeasing to him ; to do him no service, than such as will be ineffectual to make me happy, and not only frustrate my expectations of bliss, but make me forever miserable. The religion then that I am to look after must be such a one wherein I may be sure to please God, and to be made happy with him, and, by consequence, such a one wherein all the cause of his displeasure and my misery may be removed ; and that is sin : for sin being infinitely opposite to him, as he is a Being of infinite purity and holiness, must certainly set me at the greatest distance from him, and render me most odious in his sight ; and whatsoever does so must make me as miserable as misery can make me. For, as our holiness con- sisted in likeness, so doth our happiness in nearness to God : and if it be our happiness to be near unto him, it must certain- ly be our misery to be at a distance from him. In enjoying him we enjoy all things, he being and having all things in him- self; and so in not enjoying him, we are not only deprived of all that we can enjoy, but made liable to the punishments that are the consequence of it. 34 Thoughts on Religion. That there is no such thing in nature as virtue and vice, as good and evil, as grace and sin, is what I can by no means persuade myself to ; for my conscience tells me that there is : and not only mine, but every one that ever yet lived upon the face of the earth ; all people, of whatsoever nation or lan- guage, still acknowledging sin to be sin, and that the displeas- ing the deity which they worship is indeed an evil that ought to be carefully avoided. And therefore the very Heathens did not only upbraid others with it, but likewise often checked themselves for it : and all men naturally desire to seem, though not to be, holy. But let others say what they will, I for my own part cannot but see sin in myself by the very light of na- ture. For my reason tells me that if God be God, he must be just and perfect ; and if I be not so too, I am not like him, and therefore must needs displease him ; it being impossible any thing should please him but what is like unto him. And this difformity to the will and nature of God is that which we call sin, or which the word sin, in its proper notion, brings into my mind. And being thus conscious to myself that I have sinned a- gainst my Maker, I may reasonably conclude, that as he is omniscient, and, by consequence, a witness of these my of- fences, so must he likewise be just in the punishment of them ; for it cannot stand with his justice to put up with such offences, without laying suitable punishments upon the offender. And these punishments must be infinite and eternal ; for wherein doth the nature of divine justice consist, but in giving to sin its just punishments, as well as to virtue its due rewards ? Now that the punishment of sin in this world is not so much as it deserves, nor, by consequence, as much as, in justice, ought to be laid upon it, to me is clear, in that every sin being committed against an infinite God, deserves infinite punish- ment ; whereas all the punishments we suffer in this world cannot be any more than finite, the world itself being no more than finite that we suffer them in. Upon these grounds, therefore, it is that I am fully satisfied in my conscience that I am a sinner ; that it cannot stand with the justice nor the existence of God that made me to pardon my sins, without satisfaction made to his divine justice for them ; and yet, that unless they be pardoned, it is impossible for me to be happy here or hereafter. And therefore must I look after some religion, wherein I may be sure my sins may be thus pardoned, and my soul made happy ; wherein I may please God, and God may bless me. Which that I may be the better able to discover, I shall take a brief survey of all itiougnts on Keugion. 35 the religions I ever Jieard of, or believe to be in the world. Now, though there be as many kinds of religions as nations, yea, almost as particular persons in the world, yet may they all be reduced to these four ; the Paganish, Mahometan, Jew- ish, and Christian religion. As to the first it is indeed of a very large extent, and compre- hends under it all such as neither acknowledge Mahomet to be a prophet, nor expect a promised Messiah, nor believe in a crucified Jesus : and since it is the majority of numbers that usually carries the vogue, let me see whether the Paganish reli- gion, being farther extended, and more generally professed than any, or indeed all the rest, be not the true religion, where- in God is most rightly worshipped, and I may be' the most cer- tainly saved. And here, when I take a view of this religion, as it is dispersed through several parts of Asia, Africa and America, I find them very devout in worshipping their deities, such as they are, and they have great numbers of them : some worship the sun, others the moon and stars, others the earth and other elements, serpents, trees, and the like. And others again pay homage and adoration to images and statues, in the fashion of men and women, hogs, horses, and other shapes ; and some to the Devil himself, as in Pegu, fcc. But now, to go no farther, this seems to me at first sight to be a very strange and absurd sort of religion ; or rather it is quite the reverse of it. For the true notion we have of religion is the worshipping the true God in a true manner : and this is the worshipping false gods in a false manner. For I cannot en- tertain any other notion of God, than as one supreme Al- mighty Being, who made and governs all things, and who, as he is a Spirit, ought to be worshipped in a spiritual manner. And therefore, as the very supposing more deities than one implies a contradiction, so the paying divine homage in a gross carnal manner to material and corporeal beings, which are either the work of men's hands, or at best but creatures like ourselves, which can neither hear nor understand what we say to them, much less give us what we desire of them, is not reli- gion, but idolatry and superstition, or rather madness and de- lusion. So that this religion, I see, if I should embrace it, would be so far from making me happy, that the more zealous I should be for it, the more miserable I should be by it. For, he that made these things cannot but be very angry at me, if I should give that worship to them which is only due to himself; and so the way whereby I expect my sins should be pardoned, they would be more increased ; it being a sin against tbe very light of nature to prefer any thing before God, or to • orship 36 Thoughts on Religion. any thinpr in his stead : therefore, leaving these to their super- stitions idolatries and diabolical delusions, I must go and seek for the true religion somewhere else. The next religion that hath the most suffrages and votes on its side is the Mahometan religion, so called from one Maho- met, an Arabian, who about a thousand years ago, by the as- sistance of one Sergius, a Nestorian monk, compiled a book in the Arabian tongue, which he called Alcoran, which he made the rule of his followers' faith and manners, pretending that it was sent from heaven to him by the hand of the angel Gabriel. This book I have perused, and must confess find many things in it agreeable to right reason ; as, that there is but one God, gracious, and merciful, the Lord of the whole universe ; that this God we are to resign ourselves wholly to ; that all that obey him shall be certainly rewarded, and all that disobey him as certainly punished ; and the like. But yet I dare not ven- ture my soul upon it, nor become one of the professors of it ; because, as there are many things consonant, so are there many things dissonant, to the natural light that is implant- ed in me ; as, that God should swear by figs and olives, by mount Sinai, as this book makes him to do, in the chapter of the Figs ; that Solomon should have an army composed of men, and devils, and birds ; and that he should discourse with a bird, which acquainted him with the affairs of the queen of Sheba, and the like. As to the argument, whereby he would persuade us that this book was sent from God, viz. that there are no contradictions in it, I take it to be very false and frivolous ; for, besides that that there are many books compiled by men which have no contradictions in them, it is certain there are a great many pin in contradictions in this book, which overthrow his suppo- sition. Thus, in the chapter of the Table, he saith, that " all " that believe in God, and the resurrection of the dead, and " have done good works, shall be saved ;" but, in the chapter of Gratification, he saith, " all that do not believe in the Al- coran shall be destroyed ;" and so in the chapter of Hod. In like manner, he tells us again, in the chapter of the Table, that the books of the old and Sew Testament were sent from God, and at the same time supposes, that the Alcoran was sent from him too ; which to me seems impossible : for my reason tells me, that God, who is truth and wisdom itself, cannot be guilty of falsehood or contradiction. And if these books contradict one another, as it is evident they do in many instances, it is plain God could not be the author of both ; and, by conse- quence, if the Scripture be true, the Alcoran must of necessity be false. To instance but in one particular, the Alcoran says, in the chapter of Women, " God hath no Son ;" the Scrip- ture, in Matt. iii. 17. God said of Jesus, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: and, Heb. iv. 14. it ex- pressly calls that Jesus the Son of God ; and so in many other things'. Now it is impossible that both these should be true, or, by consequence, that that should be true which says both are so. But if this were granted, there is still another objection against this religion ; and that is, that the rewards therein promised will not avail to make me happy, though I should be partaker of them. For, all the promises made to us in this paradise are but mere sensible pleasures ; as, that we shall have all manner of herbs, and fruits, and drinks, and women with exceeding great and black eyes, as in the chapter of the Merciful, and of Judgment, and elsewhere ; and such plea- sures as these, though they may indeed affect my body, yet they cannot be the happiness of my soul. Indeed, I know not how this book should promise any higher happiness than that of the body, because it shows no means of attaining to it; it shews no way how my sins may be pardoned, and so my soul made happy. It saith, I confess, that God, is gracious and merciful, and therefore will pardon them ; but my reason tells me, that as God is gracious and merciful, and therefore will pardon sin, so he is also just and righteous, and therefore must punish it. And how these two can stand together, is not ma- nifested in the Alcoran ; and therefore I dare not trust my soul with it. Thus, upon diligent search, have I found the two religions, that are most generally professed, to have little or nothing of religion in them. I shall therefore in the next place take a view of that religion which hath the fewest followers, and that is the Jewish. A religion, not established by any human laws, nor, indeed, generally professed in any nation, but, only by a company of despicable people, scattered up and down the world, which, as the prophet expresses it, are become a pro- verb of reproach, and a by-word among all nations whither they are driven. The principles of this religion are contained in a book written in the Hebrew tongue, which they call the Torah or Laic, composed of several precepts, pro- mises, a nd threatenings ; together with histories of things past, and prophecies of things to come : this book, they say, was written by men inspired by God himself: and therefore D 38 Thoughts on Religion. they avouch it not to be of a human invention, but merely of divine institution. This book also I have diligently read and examined into, and must ingenuously confess, that, at the very first glance, methought I read divinity in it, and could not but conclude, from the majesty of its style, the purity of its precepts, the harmony of its parts, the certainty of its promises, and the excellency of its rewards, that it could be derived from no other author but God himself. It is here only that I find my Maker worshipped under the proper notion of a Deity, as he is Jehovah, and in the right manner : for we are here com- manded to love and serve him with all our hearts, uith all our souls, our might and mind. Deut. iv. 5. chap. x. 12. which is, indeed, the perfection of all true worship whatsoever. And as God is here worshipped aright, so is the happiness which is here entailed upon this true worship, the highest that is possi- ble a creature should be made capable of, being nothing less than the enjoyment of him we worship, so as to have him to be a God to us, and ourselves to be a people to him, Jer. xxxi. 33. But that which I look upon still as the surest character of the true religion is, its holding forth the way how I, being a sinner, can be invested with this happiness : or how God can shew his justice in punishing sin in itself, and yet be so merci- ful as to pardon and remit it to me, and so receive me to his favour : which the religions I viewed before did not so much as pretend to, nor offer at all at. And this is what this book of the Law does likewise discover to me, by shewing that God Almighty would not visit our sins upon ourselves, but upon another person ; that he would appoint and ordain one to be our Sponsor or Mediator, who, by his infinite merit, should bear and atone for our iniquities, and so shew his love and mercy in justifying and acquitting us from our sins, at the same time that he manifests his justice in inflicting the punish- ment of them upon this person in our stead. A method so deep and mysterious, that if God himself had not revealed it, I am confident no mortal man could ever have discovered or thought of it ! Neither are there any doubts and scruples concerning this great mystery, but what this book does clearly answer and re- solve ; as will appear more plainly from a distinct considera- tion of the several objections that are urged against it. As, 1 . That it does not seem agreeable either to reason or Scripture, that one man should bear the sins of another : be- cause every man has enough to do to bear his own burden : and Thoughts on Religion. 39 since sin is committed against an infinite God, and therefore deserves infinite punishment, how can any finite creature bear this infinite punishment; especially, it being due to so many thousands of people as there are in the world ! But this book sufficiently unties this knot for me, by shew- ing me, that it is not a mere 'man, but God himself, that would bear these my sins ; even he, whose name is The Lord our Righteousness, Jer. xxiii. 6. where the essential name of the most high God, which cannot possibly be given to any but to him who is the Being of all beings, is here given to him, who should thus bear my sins, and justify my person ; whence David also calleth him Lord, Psal. ex. 1. Isaiah call- eth him, The mighty God, Isa. ix. 6. yea, and the Lord of Hosts himself, with his own mouth, calls him his fellow, Zech. xiii. 7, Obj. 2. But my reason tells me God is a pure act, and therefore hoiv can he suffer any punishments ? or, suppose he could, hoiv can one nature satisfy for the offences of another ? It was man that stood guilty ; and how can it stand with the justice of God not to punish man for the sins he is guilty of? To resolve this doubt, this holy book assures me that this God should become man, expressly telling me, that as his name is Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Ever- lasting Father, the Prince of Peace, so should he be born a child, and given us a son, Isa. ix. 6. And therefore at the same time that the Lord of Hosts calls him his fellow, he calls him a man too, against the man that is my fellow, says the Lord of Hosts, Zech. xiii. 7. Obj. 3. But if lie be born as other men are, he must needs be a sinner as other men be ; for such as are born by natural generation, must necessarily be born also in natural corruption. To remove this obstacle, this holy book tells me, that a vir- gin shall conceive, and bear this Son, and his name shall be Immanuel, Isa. vii. 14. And so being begotten, but not by a sinful man, himself shall be a man, but not a sinful man : and so being God and man, he is every way fit to mediate betwixt God and man, to reconcile God to me, and me to God, that my sins may be pardoned, God's wrath appeased, and so my soul made happy in the enjoyment of him. But there is one thing more yet that keeps me from settling upon this religion ; and that is, the expiration of the time in which this book promiseth this person should come into the world ; for it is expressly said, Dan. ix. 24. that seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy city, to finish the transgressions, and to make an end of sins, and to make recon- 40 Thoughts on Religion. dilation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy. From which anointing, he is, in the next verse, called Messiah, the Anointed, (under which name he is, from hence, expected by the Jews ;) and the beginning of these seventy weeks is expressly said, ver. 25. to be at the going forth of the commandment to build and restore Jerusa- lem. Now if we understand these seventy weeks in the largest sense, for seventy weeks or sabbaths of years, as it is ex- pressed, Lev. xxv. 8. the time of the Messiah's coming must have been but 490 years after the commandment for the build- ing of the city ; whereas, whether we understand it of the de- cree and command that Cyrus made, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 22, 23. Ezra i. 1, 2, 3. or that which Darius made, Ezra vi. or that Artaxerxes made, chap. vii. I say, whichsoever of these de- crees we understand this prophecy of, it is evident that it is above 2000 years since they were all made ; and therefore the time of this person's coming hath been expired above 1G00 years at least. So likewise doth this book of the law ( as they call it) assure us, that the sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a Law- giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, Gen. xlix. 10, where the Jews themselves, Jonathan and Onkelos, expound the word Shiloh, by Messiah; and so doth the Jerusa- lem Targum too. Now it is plain, that there 'hath been neither sceptre nor lawgiver in Judah, nor any political go- vernment at all among the Jews, for above 1600 years ; which plainly shews, either that their prophecies and expectations of a Messiah are false, or that he came into the world so many ages since, as were here prefixed. So likewise it was expressly foretold in this book, that the glory of the second temple should be greater than the glory of the former, Hag. ii. 9. Now the Jews themselves acknow- ledge, that there were five of the principal things which were in the first, wanting in the second temple, viz. 1. The Ark, with the Mercy-Seat and Cherubim. 2. The Schechlnah, or Divine Presence. 3. The Holy Prophetical Spirit. 4. The Urim and Thummim. 5. The Heavenly Fire : and from the want of these five things, they say, the word nDDX, / will be glorified, Hag. i. 8. wants an n at the end, which in numera- tion denotes five. Yea, and when the very foundation of the second temple was laid, the old men that had seen the first, wept to see how fir short it was likely to come of the former, Ezra iii. 12. To make up therefore the glory of the second temple to be greater than the glory of the first, notwithstand* Thoughts on Religion. 41 ing the want of so many glorious tilings, they must of necessi- ty understand it of the coming of the Messiah into it, who, ver. 8. is called, The Desire of all nations. Whereas the Jews themselves cannot but confess that this temple hath been de- molished above 1 600 years ; and therefore it is impossible for the Messiah to come into it, and so for its glory to be greater than the glory of the first temple ; and, by consequence, for the word which they profess to believe in to be true. Indeed, the time of the Messiah's coming was so expressly set down in these and the like places, that Elias, one of their great rabbies, gathered from hence, that the world should last ijOOO years, 2000 without the law, 2000 under the law, and 2000 under the Messiah, Sanh. c. 11. which computation of the Messiah's coming, after 4000 years, from the beginning of the world, comes near the time of the sceptre's departing from Judah, and the end of Daniel's seventy weeks ; which shows, that this rabbi was fully convinced that it was about that time that the Messiah should come. And therefore it was, likewise, that about 1600 years ago, the Jews did so generally expect his coining, and that so many did pretend to be the person ; as Bar-Cozbah, who, about that time, venting himself to be the man, almost the whole nation unanimously concurred in following him ; insomuch that, as the Jews re- port, there were no less than 400,000, or, as others, 500,000 men slain by Adrian the Emperor, in the city Bitter, all fight- ing in defence of this pretended Messiah. There were like- wise many others that fancied themselves to be the man, and were esteemed so by some, till manifestly convinced of their error, as we may read in a book of theirs, called n*WT D3t?. And unto this day many of them hold that he is already come, but that, by reason of their sins, he is not yet revealed to them. Hence it is that my natural reason draws me into this dilem- ma, that either that book which the Jews receive as the word of God is indeed not so, or else that they do not rightly apply it ; and so, that either their religion is a false religion, or else their profession of it is a false profession : and therefore I must go hence, and seek me some other religion to fix my soul upon. Not as if my reason told me, that all the prophecies that I have mentioned here were false in themselves, but only that they appear so to this sort of professors ; for, for my own part, I cannot shake off my faith in this law, which they profess to believe in ; especially now I have so seriously perused it, and so deliberately weighed and considered of it. Neither can I believe, that ever any Mahometan or Indian that did, without prejudice, set himself to read it through, and to examine every D 2 42 Thoughts on Religion. particular by the light of unbiassed reason, could say it was ever hatched in a human brain ; but that it is indeed of a hea- venly stamp, and divine authority. And therefore, though I am forced by the strength of reason to shake hands with this religion, yet the same reason will not suffer me to lay aside that law which they do profess, but only their profession of it. So that whatsoever religion I settle upon, my natural con- science still commands me to stick close to this book of the Jewish law, and to receive and entertain it as the word of the glorious Jehovah, the Being of all beings. Well, there is but one religion more, generally professed in the world, that I am to search into ; which if upon good grounds I cannot fix upon, I shall be the most miserable of all creatures ; and that is, the Christian religion, so named from Jesus Christ, whose doctrine, life, and death, is recorded by four several persons, in a book which they call the Gospel : and this book appears to me to be of undoubted authority, as to the truth and certainty of those things that are therein re- corded. For, if they had been false, both the persons that wrote them, and he of whom they wrote, had so many mali- cious enemies ready, upon all occasions, to accuse them, that they had been long ago condemned for lies and forgeries. But now, these writings having been extant for above 1600 years, and never so much as suspected, but even by the worst of ene- mies acknowledged to be a true relation of what passed in the world about that time ; my reason will not permit me to be their first accuser, but enjoins me to receive them under that notion, in which they have been brought down to me through so many generations, without any interruption whatsoever. For this general reception on all hands is a sufficient ground for me to build my faith upon as to the truth of the relation, though not a sufficient ground to believe every thing contained in the book to be the word of God himself: for, in this particular, it is not the testimony of others that I am to build upon, but its own : I may read its verity in man's testimony, but its di- vinity only in its own doctrines. This book, therefore, I have also diligently perused, and find it expressly asserts, that Jesus Christ, whose life and death it records, was indeed that person who was long ago promised by God, and expected by the Jews : and that all the prophe- cies under the old law concerning that Messiah, God-Man, were actually fulfilled in this person ; which if, upon diligent search, I can find to be true, I shall presently subscribe, both with hand and heart, to this religion. It is a comfort to me, that it acknowledged the Jewish law to be sent from God ; Thoughts on Religion. 43 for truly, if it did not, my conscience would scarce permit me to give any credit to it ; being so fully convinced that that book is indeed of a higher extract than human invention, and of greater authority than human institution. And therefore it is that I cannot, I dare not believe, but that every particular prophecy contained in it either is, or shall be, certainly fulfil- led, according to every circumstance of time and place men- tioned therein ; and, by consequence, that this prophecy in particular, concerning the Messiah's coming, is already past the time wherein it was foretold he should come, being so long ago expired. So that I do not now doubt whether the Messiah be come or no, but whether this Jesus Christ, whom this book of the Gospel speaks of, was indeed the person. And this I shall best find out, by comparing the Christian's Gospel with the Jewish Law ; or the histories of Christ under the one, with the prophecies of the Messiah under the other ; still conclud- ing, that if whatsoever was foretold concerning the Messiah was fulfilled in this Jesus Christ, then he was indeed the Mes- siah that was to come into the world. And, to make this comparison the more exact, I shall run through the several circumstances that attended his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, and show how punctually the prophecies were fulfilled in every particular. And first, for the birth of the Messiah, the Law saith, he was to be born of the seed of Abraham, Gen. xxii. 18. and David, 2 Sam. vii. 12. and of the stem of Jesse, Isa. xi. I. From whence he is frequently called by the Jews, The Son of David. The Gospel saith, Jesus Christ was the son of David, the son of Abraham, Matt. i. 2. The Law, that he was to be born of a virgin, Isa. vii. 14. The Gospel, that Mary, a virgin, brought forth this Jesus, Matt. i. 18. Luke, i. 17, 31. 35. chap. ii. 5, 6, 7. The Law, that he was to be born at Bethlehem Ephrata, Mic. v. 2. The Gospel, that this Jesus was born there, Matt. ii. 1. Luke iv. 5. 6. The Law says, that he was to be brought out of Egypt, Hos. xi. 1. The Gospel, that Jesus was called thence, Matt. ii. 19, 20. The Law saith, that one should go before the Messiah, Mai. iii. 5. and should cry in the wilderness, Isa. xl. 3. The Gospel, that John Baptist did so before Christ, Matt. iii. 1, 3. Mark i. 2, 3. The Law, that the Messiah should preach the doctrine of salvation in Galilee, who, sitting before in darkness, should see great light, Isa. ix. 1, 2. The Gospel, that Jesus did so, Matt. iv. 12, 23. The Law, that in the Messiah's days, the eyes of the blind should be opened, and the ears of the deaf should be unstopped, and the lame leap, and the tongue 44 Thoughts on Religion. of the dumb sing, Isa. xxxv. 5, 6. The Gospel, that it was so in the days of Jesus Christ, Matt. iv. 23. chap. xi. 5. But for all these wonders and miracles, the Law saith, they should hear, but not understand ; and see, yet not perceive, Isa. vi. 9. and the Gospel, that seeing they did. not see, and hearing they did not hear, neither did they understand, Mat. xiii. 13. Mark iv. 12. The Law, that he should be despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, Isa. liii. 3. The Gospel, that Jesus Christ had no where to lay his head, Matt. viii. 20. His soul was exceeding sorrowful even unto death, Matt. xxvi. 38. yea, he was in an agony, and his siveat was as drops of blood, Luke xxii. 24. so well was he acquaint- ed with grief. The Law says, that he should ride into Jeru- salem upon an ass, and upon a colt the fole of an ass, Zech. ix. 9. And the Gospel, that Jesus Christ, as he was going to Je- rusalem, having found an ass, sate thereon, John xii. 14. Matt, xxi. 6. At which time, the Law saith, the people should cry, Hosannali^ blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord, Psal. cxviii. 26. The Gospel, that the multitude did so to Christ, Matt. xxi. 9. The Law, that one of his own familiar friends, in whom he trusted, ivhich did eat of his bread, should lift up his heel against him, Psalm xli. 9. The Gospel, that Judas, who was one of Christ's disciples, and so ate of his bread, did betray him into the hands of the Jews, Matt. xxvi. 47. Luke xxii. 46. The Law, that he should be prized at, and sold for, thirty pieces of silver, with which should be bought the potter' s field, Zech. xi. 12, 13. The Gospel, that they covenanted with Judas to betray Jesus for thirty pieces of sil- ver, Matt. xxvi. 15. with which they afterwards bought the pot- ters' field, chap, xxvii. 7. The Law, that he should be num- bered amongst transgressors, Isa. liii. 12. The Gospel, that Jesus was crucified betwixt two thieves, Mark xv. 27. Matt, xxvii. 38. The Law, that he shoiddbe wounded and bruised, Isa. liii. 5. The Gospel, that they scourged Jesus, Matt. xxviL £0. and smote him, Mark xv. 19. The Law saith, they should pierce his hands and feet, Psal. xxii, 16. Zech. xii. 10. The Gospel, that they crucified Jesus, Matt, xxvii. 35. Luke xxiii. which was a death, wherein they used to pierce the hands and feet of those that were put to death, and nailed them to the cross. But though they should pierce his flesh, yet the Law saith, they should not break his bones, no not one of them, Exod. xii. 46. Numb. ix. 12. Psal. xxxiv. 20. The Gospel, that they brake not the legs of Christ, John xix. 33, 36. The Law, that they that should see him should laugh him to scorn, shoot out their lips, and shake their heads, saying, He trusted Thoughts on Religion. 45 in the Lord that he would deliver him, let him deliver him, see- ing he delighted in him, Psal. xxii. 8. The Gospel, that the Scribes and Elders did so to Christ, Matt, xxvii. 42, 43. The Law saith, they should give him gall for meat, and vinegar to drink, Psal. lxix. 21. And the Gospel, that they gave Christ vin- egar to drink, mingled with gall, Matt, xxvii. 34, 48. The Law, that they should part his garments amongst them, and cast lots upon his vesture, Psal. xxii. 19. The Gospel, that they part- ed Jesus' s garments, casting lots, Matt, xxvii. 35. John xix. 23.. Mark xv. 24. And as for the time of this Jesus's coming into the world, it is certain that this Jesus came before the second temple was demolished ; for it is said, that he went into it, Matth. xix. 45. yea, himself taught daily in it, ver. 47, by which means the glo- ry of the second temple was greater than the glory of the first, according to the prophecy, Hag. ii. 9. And as for Jacob's prophecy, that the sceptre should not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver, till Shiloh, or the Messiah, come, Gen. xlix. 10. it is certain that it did not depart from Judah, till Herod, by the senate of Rome, was made king of Judea, in whose days this Jesus was born, Matt. ii. 1. Luke i. 6. And so did Daniel's 70 weeks, or 490 years, exactly reach unto, and were deter- mined in, the days of this Jesus, as might easily be demonstrat- ed. So that all the old prophecies, concerning the time of the Messiah's coming, are perfectly fulfilled in this Jesus of Naza- reth. But farther, the Law saith, that though the Messiah should be crucified, yet God would not leave his soul in hell, nor suf- fer his Holy One to see corruption, Psal. xvi. 10. and that, when God should make his soul an offering for sin, he should see his seed, andprolong his days, Isa. liii. 10. which plainly implies, that though the Messiah should die, yet he should rise again, and that within few days too, otherwise he would have seen corruption. Now the Gospel saith, that this Jesus rose from the dead, Matt, xxviii. 6. Luke xxiv. 6. and that he was seen of several after his resurrection, as of Mary Magdalen, Matt, xxviii. 9. of the eleven disciples, ver. 16, 17, 18. Mark xvi. 14. of the two that were going to Emmaus, Luke xxiv. 13, 14, 15. of Peter, ver. 34. and of the disciples that were gathered together, the door being shut, John xx. 19. And, to be sure it was himself, and not an apparition, Thomas, one of the twelve, thrust his hands into his side, and found it flesh and blood indeed, as before, John xx. 27. And he ate before them, Luke xxiv. 43. which it is impossible for a spirit to do; yea, he was seen of above fee hundred at one time, 1 Cor, 46 Thoughts on Religion. xv. 6. and of Paul himself, ver. 8. Neither did he lie so long- as to see corruption, for he was buried but ike day before the sabbath, Mark xv. 42. and rose the day after, chap. xvi. 1. Lastly, he was not only to rise again, but the Law saith, he was to ascend on high, to lead captivity captive, and to give gifts to men, Psal. lxviii. 1 8. Now this cannot but be an un- doubted character of the Messiah, not only to rise from the dead, but to ascend up to heaven, and thence to disperse his gifts amongst the children of men ; and that Jesus did so, is likewise evident from the Gospel ; for, after he had spoken with them, he teas received up into heaven, and there sat at the right hand of God, Mark. xvi. 19. Luke xxiv. 51. And he gave such gifts to men, as that his disciples, of a sudden, were enabled to speak all manner of languages, Acts ii. 8. to work many signs and wonders, chap. v. 12. to heal all manner of diseases, ver. 15, 16. yea, with a word speaking, to cure a man lame from his mother's womb, chap. iii. 6, 7. Thus the Gospel seems to me to be a perfect transcript of the Law, and the histories of Jesus nothing else but the pro- phecies of Christ turned into an history. And when to this I join the consideration of the piety of the life which this man led, the purity of the doctrine which he taught, and the mirac- ulousness of the works he wrought, I cannot but be farther confirmed in the truth of what is here related. For the mir- acles which he wrought, as the healing of the sick with a word of his mouth, raising the dead, feeding so many thousands with five loaves, and the like, were so powerful and convincing, that his very enemies, that would not believe him to be the Messi- ah, could scarce deny him to be a God, Joseph. Antiq. 1. xviii. c. 4. And it is to this day a tenet amongst some of them, that the miracles which Jesus did were not the delusions and jugglements of the devil, but real miracles, wrought, as they say, by the virtue of the name of God, Jehovah, which he had gotten out of the temple. By which it is plain they acknowledged God to be the author of them, which I cannot see how he should be, unless they were agreeable to his will, and for the glory of his name. Neither was the doctrine of the Gospel only established at the first, but likewise propagated by miracles afterwards, as it was necessary it should be. For if it had been propagated without miracles, that itself had been the greatest miracle of all. It was, no doubt, a great miracle, that a doctrine so much contrary to flesh and blood, should be propagated by any means whatsoever ; but a far greater, that it should be propagated by a company of simple and illiterate men, who Thoughts on Religion. 47 had neither power to force, nor eloquence to persuade men to the embracing of it. For who would have thought that such persons as these were, should ever make any of the Jews, who expected a King for their Messiah, to advance them to temporal dignities, believe that Jesus, whom themselves scour- ged and crucified at Jerusalem, was the person ! or, that they should be able to propagate the Gospel amongst the Gentiles also, who neither believed in the true God, nor expected any thing of a Messiah to come and redeem them ? But this they did, and brought over not only many persons, but whole na- tions and countries, to the profession of the Gospel ; propagat- ing this most holy doctrine amongst the most barbarous and sinful people in the world, maugre all the opposition that the world, the flesh, and the devil, could make against it. Now, can any man that exerciseth his reason, think, they did all this purely by their own strength ? No, sure, none of these won- derful effects could ever have been produced by any thing less than the wisdom, and power, and faithfulness of their Lord and Master, whose service they were engaged in, and who promised to be with them to the end of the world, Matt, xxviii. 20. Questionless, it was nothing else but the Spirit of the most high God, that went along with them, and accompanied the word they preached ; otherwise, it never could have made such deep impression upon the hearts of them that heard it, as not only to command their attention, but to hinder them from resisting, when they strove and endeavoured to do it, the power and authority by which the disciples spake. And now, methinks, I begin to perceive this divine Spirit is come upon me too, and seems, by its powerful influence, to be working up my heart into a thorough persuasion, that it is Christ, and Christ alone, I am to cast my soul upon ; that it is he alone that is the way to life, and his word alone the word of life, which whosoever believes, and is baptized into, shall be saved ; and he that believeth not, shall be damned. Away then with your Paganish idolatries, your Mahometan supersti- tions, and Jewish ceremonies ; it is the Christian religion alone that I am resolved to live and die in, because it is this alone in which I am taught to worship God aright, to obtain the pardon and remission of my sins, and to be made eternally happy. And since all its doctrines and precepts are contain- ed in the holy Scriptures, it is necessary that I should assent unto them, as a standing revelation of God's will, and an eter- nal treasure of divine knowledge ; whereby all that sincerely believe in Christ, may be sufficiently instructed, as well as thoroughly furnished unto every good word and work. 48 Thoughts on Religion. Without any more ado therefore, I believe, and am verily persuaded, that all the books of the ancient Law, with all those that have been received into the Canon of the Scripture by the church of God since the coming of Christ, which we call the New Testament ; I say, that all these books, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of the Revelations, are indeed the word of the eternal God, dictated by his own Spirit, unto such as himself was pleased to employ in the writing of them ; and that they contain in them a perfect and complete rule of faith and manners ; upon the due observance of which, I can- not fail of worshipping and serving God in such a manner as will be acceptable to him here, and of enjoying hereafter those exceeding great and precious promises, that he has reserved in heaven for such as do so. Unto these books, therefore, of the Law and Gospel, I am resolved, by his grace that wrote them, to conform all the en- suing articles of my faith, and all the actions and resolutions of my life. Insomuch that whatsoever I find it hath pleased his sacred Majesty herein to assert, I believe it is my duty to believe ; and whatsoever he hath been pleased to command me, I believe it is my duty to perform. ARTICLE III. / believe, that as there is one God, so this one God is three per- sons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Tins I confess is a mystery which I cannot possibly conceive, yet it is a truth which I can easily believe ; yea, therefore it is so true, that I can easily believe it, because it is so high that I cannot possibly conceive it; for it is impossible any thing should be true of the infinite Creator, which can be fully ex- pressed to the capacities of a finite creature : and for this rea- son I ever did, and ever shall, look upon those apprehensions of God to be the truest, whereby we apprehend him to be the most incomprehensible ; and that to be the most true of God, which seems most impossible unto us. Upon this ground, therefore, it is, that the mysteries of the Gospel, which I am less able to conceive, I think myself the more obliged to believe ; especially this mystery of mysteries, the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, which I am so far from being able to comprehend, or indeed to apprehend, that I cannot set myself seriously to think of it, or to screw up my thoughts a little concerning it, but I immediately lose myself, as in a trance, or ecstasy : that God the Father should be one Thoughts on Religion. 49 perfect God of himself, God the Son one perfect God of him- self, and God the Holy Ghost one perfect God of himself ; and yet these three should be but one perfect God of himself; so that one should be perfectly three, and three perfectly one, that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost should be three, and yet but one ; but one, and yet three ! O heart-amazing, thought- devouring, inconceivable mystery ! Who cannot believe it to be true of the glorious Deity ! Certainly, none but such as are able to apprehend it, which, I am sure, I cannot, and be- lieve no other creature can. And, because no creature can possibly conceive how it should be so, I therefore believe it really to be so, viz. that the Being of all beings is but one in essence, yet three in subsistence ; but one nature, yet three persons ; and that those three persons in that one nature, though absolutely distinct from one another, are yet. but the same God. And I believe, these three persons in this one nature are indeed to one another, as they are expressed to be to us ; that the one is really a Father to the other, that the other is really a Son to him, and the third the product of both ; and yet, that there is neither first, second, nor third, amongst them, either in time or nature. So that he that begat was not at all before him that was begotten, nor he that proceeded from them both any whit after either of them. And therefore, that God is not termed Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as if the divine- nature of the one should beget the divine nature of the second ; or the divine nature of the first and second should issue forth the divine nature of the third ; (for then there would be three divine natures, and so three Gods essentially distinct from one another ; by this means also, only the Father would be truly God, because he only would be essentially of and from him- self, and the other two from him:) but what I think myself obliged to believe is, that it was not the divine nature, but the divine person of the Father, which did, from eternity, beget the divine person of the Son ; and from the divine persons of the Father and of the Son, did, from eternity, proceed the divine person of the Holy Ghost ; and so one not being before the other in time or nature, as they are from eternity three perfectly distinct persons, so they are but one coessential God. But dive not, O my soul, too deep into this bottomless ocean, this abyss of mysteries ! It is the Holy of Holies, presume not to enter into it ; but let this suffice thee, that he who best knows himself hath avouched it of himself, and therefore thou oughtest to believe it. See Matt, xxviii. 19. Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in tlie name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And again, 1. John E Thoughts on Religion. ver. 7. There are three that bear record in heaven, thr Father, the Word, md the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one. ARTICLE IV. / believe that J was conceived in sin. and brought forth in ini- quity; and that ever .\ine<, J hare hem euntinually conceiving mischief, and bringing forth vanity. Tin- article of my faith I must of necessity believe, whether I will or no; for if I could not believe it to be true, 1 Bhould therefore have the more cause to believe it to be bo ; because, unless my heart was naturally very .-ini'til and corrupt} it would he impossible for me not to believe that which I have bo much continually to bewail; <>r. if I do not bewail it. I have .-till the more cause to believe it ; and then fore am bo much the more persuaded of it. by how much the less 1 find myself affected with it. Tor certainly I must be a hard-hearted \\ n tch indeed, steeped in Bin, and fraught with corruption to the high- est, if I know myself sooti t«> have incensed the wrath of* the most high d againstme, aa I do, arid yet not be sensible of my natural corruption, nor acknovi ledge myself to be by nature a child of wrath, aa well as others. For I rerily believe, thai the want (A' Buch a due sense of myself argu< .- as much origi- nal corruption, as murder and whoredom do actual pollution. And I shall ever suspect those t<> l>c the most under the power of that corruption, that labour most by arguments to divest it of its i'<»v. And then I n my own part. I am resolved, by the L r mcc of God, i • about to confute that by wilful argun which 1 find bo true by woful experience. If there be not a bitter root in my heart, whence p so much bitter fruit m my life and conversation : Alas! I can m ither Bel my head nor lieart about any thing, but] still show myself to be the sinful offspring of sinful parents, by being the sinful parent of a sinful offspring : nay, I (](^ not only betray the inbred wnom of my h< art, by poisoning my common actions, but even my most religious performances also, with sin. I cannot pray, but I sin ; I cannot hear, or preach, a sermon, but J sin ; I cannot give an alms, or receive the sacrament, but I sin ; nay, I cannot so much as confess my sins, but my very confessiona are still aggravations of them ; my repentance needs to be re- pented of, my tears want washing, and the very washing of Thought* on Religion* > l myteai |U N tn nt " ua ^ lr, l over again with thebk my Redeemer. Thus not only the word ofmj bids, but i the best of my duties, speak me a child of Adam, Insomuch l t, (t n Ject upon my past actions, methinks 1 not but look upon my whole life, from the tunc of my con- ception to tliis rery moment, to be but as one continued act of sin. And whence can such ■ continued stream of corru] n from the corrupt cistern of my beartl And wh can that corrupt cistern of my heart be filled, but from the corrupt fountain of my natnn I fore, O mj to gainsay the power of original sin within thee, and labour now to subdue it under thee. But why do I of my subduing tins -in mv-« It'.' Surely this would be both an argument I and an addition to it. It is to ihee, I I my HoA, who art both the searcher and cleanser of hearts, that i desire to make my moan! It is to thee I cry out in the bitterness of my soul, <> wretched mam thai I am, who ihaU deliver me from the Imdy of this death? Who shall.' Oh! who can do lt, but thyself '! Arise thou, therefore, ( > my God, and .-how thyself as infinitely merciful m the pardoning, as thou art infinitely powerful in the purging away my sins! ARTICLE V. 1 Uiicvc tfu 1 Son of Gfad become the son of wan , that 1 the son of man wdghi become tin son of Cod. <)h! how comfortably does this raise me, from the lot ment of sin and misery, which 1 have before acknowl- edged to be my natural state, to the highest exaltation of hap- piness and glory in a spiritual one! This is that great article of faith, by which all the benefits of our Saviour's deatli and passion are made over to me in the new covenant, and by which, it' I perform the conditions therein required, I .-hall not only be retrieved from the bondage and Corruption that is in- herent in me as ■ child of wrath, but be justified and accepted as the son of (iod, and be made I joint-heir with < 'hri.-t. This is a point of the greatest jnouient and concern, which, by the grace and assistance of him of whom I speak, and in whom \ thus believe, I shall therefore be the more < KSct and {'articular in the searching and examining into. Now wri/>n I say and believe that (Jod became man. I do n<.-t — TkongkU on Religion. 90 understand it, as tf the divine nature took upon it a human son, but thai >i divine person took upon him the human nature; /. e. it was not the divine nature in genera), without - vet to tiie pei sons, but one of the persons in the divine nature which took flesh upon him. And yet, to speak pre- cisely, it was not the divine person abstracted or distinct from the divine nature, but it was the divine nature in that person which thus took upon it the human. And this was not the first or third, but the second person only in the sacred Trinity, that thus assumed our nature ; as, considering the mysterious order and economy of the divine persons, it seems to be necessary that it should. For. first, the Father could not have become this Son of man. because then he that had begotten from eternity, should been begotten in time; by which means, as he was the Father to the Son, so would the Son also have been the Fa- ther unto him ; and so the order betwixt the Father and the Son destroyed. Nor. secondly, could the Holy Ghost have taken our na- ture upon him, because the bond of personal union betwixt the divine and human nature is from the Spirit, (and thence it is, that every one that is partaker of Christ's person, is par- taker ot his Spirit also,) which could not be, if the Spirit it- self had been the person assuming. For I cannot conceive how tiie same person could unite itself, by itself, to the as- sumed nature: and therefore we read, that in the Virgin's conception of our Saviour, it was neither the Father, nor the Son himself, but the Spirit of the Most High, which did over- shadow her, Luke i. 35. And farther, if the Holy Ghost had been my Redeemer, who should have been my Sanctirier I If he had died per- sonally for me, who should have applied his death effectually to me ! That I could not do it myself is, beyond eontradic- . evident ; and that either the Father or tiie Son should do :t. is not agreeable to the nature or order of the divine opera- tions : they, as I believe, never acting any thing ad extra personally, but by the Spirit proceeding from them both. And therefore it is. that Christ, to comfort his disciples after his death, promised them in his life-time that he would send them tie Comforter, John xvi. 7. winch is the Spirit of truth, ver. 13. He doth not say. he wiil come again personallv, but mystically to them, by his Spirit. Bui now that the Spirit, whose office it is to apply the merit and mediation of God-man to me, could not have done it, if himself had been that God-man, seems to me as clear and ma- Thoughts on Religion. the* : for if be hud done it, t» done it by the Father, by the Son, or by himself. He could not do it by the Father, nor the Son, I by them, but all things from them. The Fathei .Son by the Spirit, the Son from the Father by Spirit from the Father and the Son. And I follows, that as the - Id not unite itself bei neither can it apply itself here, ' man nature ; for lo man nature into the di divine nature to the ham fore to be performed by two distinct perse is. been done on/ reaiiy D God ; the other only by one V. m^n. And that mast nee >j for oft upon i and, by conseqnence, all the would ha A m the frailty of the human, the perfect m So that it woold hare availed the Spirit had I nature upon him ; had assumed the human, I could not thence have pari of the divine nature ; nay. therefore I col. because fa could be brought into I I should be farther off than i And lastly, have been two Fathers ; so, if the Spirit had become . there would have been two Sons, the second pc from eternity, and the third p by th king our nature upon him, r: difficulties are avoided, which we alight easily j, we sufficiently dive into the depth of : orn of th- in sending his Son, rather than his Spirit, 1 1 self in his own person. Howsoever, to us. it cannot but - most equitable, 'if reason may hold the balance,) thai who is the middle person, betwixt the Father and I -should become the Mediator betwixt God and man ; and that he who is the Sun of God in the glorious Trinity, should be- corne the Son of man in this cjracious i But, on the other side, as it was not the divine nature, but a divine person, that did assume, ?.o neither was it a hi person, but the human nature, that was assumed : for other- • if he had assumed the person of any one man i: world, his death had been beneficial to none but'hira whose person he thus assumed and represented. Whereas, now E 2 ! isaaoHM tare of man in _ -.11 that partake taking :he benefits he pur- _ in our stead. And thus, under each ■ . as the re; - 90 were the ef- oa all died, even so in >: shall all be A_ became v.. - 'man, I do not mean - cease to be what he was the 8 his Godhead to : but I believe he took the man- hood into his :t off the one to put on ther, but he put on the other : neither do I believe uman nal ssomed into the divine, ceased ;o be human : bat as 1 person sso aed the human natu. to remain n, so the human nature isanmed into a di son as still to remain a human ..as to be both perfectly God S person. I say. in one per- 2 should be God and man in dd avail me no more than if he should be God only, and not man, or man only, and not God : be- ihe merit and - p isshre obedi- 5 gi upon the union of the two natures in He v: y his life and death, ed so mu ease the same person that so lived vas las - n : and even' action that he is done and suffered s God as well as m m. And hence it is that F all the pen . yea. only fit, . r, and Surety, because he alone tan in one person. If he was not man. he : not undertake that office ; if he was not God. he could If he wns not man, he could not be capable of being bound for me : if he was not God, he would not be - man by whom the covenant was re man 1 suitable punishment laid upon him : it was God vim ^vhom it was broken, and there- jod must have sufficient n made unto him : and r that satisd nan that had offended, and :bre man alone could make it suitable ; it was God that ffended, and therefore God alone could make it sufficient. The sum this : man can suffer, but he cannot sa- - . God can .-:.:" . but he can ; but Christ being both suff too ; and so is perfect n, and to make satisfaction Thoughts on Religion. 55 unto God ; to reconcile God to man, and man to God. And thus, Christ having assumed my nature into his person, and so satisfied divine justice for .ved into grace and favour again with the most hi^rh God. Upon this principle, I believe that I, by nature the son of man, am mad- _ the son of God, as really as Christ, by nature the Son oi s made by office the son of man : so, though in myself I may say to corruption. Thou art my mother : yet in Christ I may say to God, Abba Father. er do I believe this to be a metaphorical expression, viz. because he doth that for me which a father doth for his child, even provide for me whilst young, and give me my portion when come to age ; but I believe, thac in the same propriety of speech that my earthly father was called the father of my natural self, is God the Father of my spr: for. why rthly father c . .ther. but because that I. aa to my natural being, was born of what proceeded from him, viz. his seed ! ritual being, am I bora of what proceeds from God. his Spirit : ar. a not bora of the ver e of my natural parents, but only of what came from them ; s again, quickened, and const- - bstance of my heavenly Fath e Spirit- and spiritual influ- romhim. Thns re it is that I believe I a of God, became the son of man : and thus that I believe myse of man, to be made thereby the son of God. 1 ind Father, do thou help mine unbelief; and every day more and more increase my faith, till itself shall be done away, and turned into the most perfect vision and fruition of thine oven most glorious God- head : ARTICLE VI. / believe that Christ lire J lo God, and died for sin, that I might die to sin, a/ ith God. And thus by frith my Saviour from the womb to the tomb, from his incarnation I : believing \i he did or s-.: : :e for my sake .:st did not only take my nature upon him, but he suffered and obeyed, he underwent miseries and undertook duties for me ; so that not . :. but li-. : active obedience unto God. 56 Thoughts on Religion. in that nature, was still for me. Not as if I believed his duty as man was not God's debt by the law of creation ; yes, I be- lieve that he owed that obedience unto God, that if he had com- mitted but one sin, and that of the lightest tincture, in all his life-time, he would have been so far from being able to satisfy for my sins, that he could not have satisfied for his own ; for such an High-Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undc- filed, separate from .sinners, and made higher ikon the hea- ven* ; who ncctictli not dotty, as those high-priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people 1 s, lleb. \ii. 26, 27. So that if he had not had these qualifica- tions in their absolute perfection, he could not have been our High-Priest, nor by consequence have made atonement lor, nor expiated, any sins whatsoever. Bui now, though both as man, and as God-man or Mediator too, it behoved him to be thus faithful and Bootless ; yet, as being God coequal and co- 1 38< ntial with tin- Father, it was not out of duty, but merely upon our account, that he thus subjected his neck to the yoke of his own law ; himself as God being the legislator or law- giver, and so no more under it than the Father himself. And hereupon it is that I verily believe, that whatsoever Christ either did or suffered in the i!< -h was meritorious ; not that his life was righteous towards God, only that his death might be meritorious for US, (which, I believe, olherv. could not have been,) but that his life was equally meritorious as righteous. So that 1 believe my person is aa really accept* ed, as perfectly righteous, by the righteousness of his life im- puted to me, as my sins are pardoned by God, for the bitter- ness of the death he suffered for them ; his righteousness being as really by faith imputed to me, as my sins were laid upon him : as these are set upon his, so is that set upon my score ; and so every thing he did in his life, as well as every thing he suffered in his death, is mine ; by the latter, God looks upon me as perfectly innocent, and therefore not to be thrown down to hell ; by the former, he looks upon me as perfectly righte- ous, and therefore to be brought up to heaven. And as for his death, I believe it was not only as much, hut infinitely more satisfactory to divine justice, than though I should have died to eternity. For by that means, justice is actually and perfectly satisfied already, which it could never have been by my suffering for my sins myself; for if justice by that means could ever be satisfied, if it could ever say, It is enough, it could not stand with the same justice, now satisfied, still to inflict punishment, nor by consequence could the dam- ned justly scorch in the flames of God's wrath for ever. Net- Thoughts on Religion. 57 ther did the death of my Saviour reach only to the condemning, but likewise to the commanding power of sin ; it did not only pluck out its Btingi but likewise deprive it of its Btrength; so that he did not only merit by his death that I should never die M, but likewise that I Bhould die to it. Neither did he only merit by his life that I should be accounted righteous in him before God, but likewise that I should be made righteous in myself by God. Yea, 1 believe that Christ, by his death, hath so fully discharged the debt I owe to God, that now, for the remission of my sins, and the accepting of my person, (if 1 perform the conditions he requires in his covenant,) I may not only appeal to the throne of grace, but likewise to the judgment .-eat of God ; 1 may not only cry, Mercy, mercy, O gracious Father, but Justice, justice, wiy righteous God. I may not only say. Lord, be gracious and merciful, but be just and faithful, to acquit me from that debt, and cancel that bond which my Surety hath paid for me, and which thou hast pro- mised to accept of; being not only gracious and merciful, but just and faith fid. toforgiee me nnj sins, and to cleanse me from all unrightcousm ss t 1 John i. 0. ARTICLE VII. / hi Jit rr /hit Christ rose from the grave, that I might rise from sin: and that he is ascended into heaven, that I may com* unto him. kl I Shrist came from heaven to earth, so I believe he went from earth to heaven, and all for the accomplishment of my salvation,- that, after he had lived a most holy life, he died a most cruel death ; that he was apprehended, arraigned, ac- cused, and condemned, by such as could not pronounce the sent* nee against him, did not himself, at the same time, vouch- safe them breath to do it ; and that he that came into the world to take away the sins of it, to bring sinners to the joys of life, was himself, by those very sinners, brought into the pangs of death. But yet, as it was not in the power of death long to detain the Lord of life ; so, though worms had power to send him to the jrrave, vet I believe they had not power or time to feed upon him there ; for he rose again from the dead the t/iird day : he lay three days, that I might believe he was not alive, but dead : he arose the third day, that I might believe he is not dead, but lives : he descended down to hell, that ho 58 Thoughts on Religion. might make full satisfaction to God's justice for my sins ; but he is now ascended up into heaven, that he may make inter- cession to God's mercy for my soul : thither I believe he is gone, and there I believe he is, not as a private person, but as the Head and Saviour of his church. And under this ca- pacity, as I believe that Christ is there for me, so I am there in him ; for where the head is, there must the members be also ; that is, I am as really there in him, my representative now, as I shall be in my own proper person hereafter ; and he is as really preparing my mansion for me there, as I am preparing myself for that mansion here. Nay, I believe that he is not only preparing a mansion for me in heaven, but that himself is likewise preparing me for this mansion upon earth ; continu- ally sending down and issuing forth from himself fresh supplies and influences of his grace and Spirit ; and all to qualify me for his service, and make me meet to be partaker of his inher- itance with the saints in light. Which inheritance, I believe, he doth not so much desire his Father to bestow upon me, as claims it for me ; himself having purchased it with the price of his own blood. And as he hath purchased the inheritance itself, so likewise the way unto it for me ; and therefore sues out for the pardon of those sins, and subduing those corruptions, which would make me unworthy of it ; and for the conveyance of those graces to me, whereby I may walk directly to it : not only saying to his Fa- ther concerning me, as Paul said to Philemon concerning One- simus, if this thy servant oweth thee any thing, set it upon my account, I will repay it ; but what this thy servant oweth thee, see it is set upon my score already, and I have paid it ; what punishments he is indebted to thee, for all the offences he hath committed against thee, behold I have borne them already ; see how I have been wounded for his transgressions, and bruised for his iniquities ; the chastisement of his peace was upon me; with my stripes, therefore, let him be healed, Isa. liii. 5. And thus, as he once shed his blood for me amongst men, he now pleads it for me before God ; and that not only for the washing out the guilt of my transgressions, but likewise for the washing away the filth of my corruptions ; himself having purchased the donation of the Spirit from the Father, he there claims the communication of it unto me. And, that he hath thus undertaken to plead my cause for me, I have it under his own hand and seal ; himself by his Spirit assuring me, that if I sin, I have an advocate with the Father, even Jesus Christ the righteous, 1 John ii. 1. So that I believe he is not so much my solicitor at the mercy-seat, as my advo. Thoughts on Religion. 59 rale at the judgment-seat of God, there pleading my right and title to the crown of glory, and to every step of the way that I must go through the kingdom of grace unto it. In a word, I believe that Christ, upon promise and engagement to pay such a price for it in time, did purchase this inheritance for me from eternity ; whereupon I was even then immediately chosen and elected into it ; and had, by this means, a place in heaven, be- fore I had any being upon earth : and, when the time appointed by covenant was come, I believe Christ, according to his pro- mise, paid the purchase-money, even laid down his life for me ; and then forthwith went up and took possession of this my kingdom, not for himself, but for me, as my proxy and repre- sentative : so that, whilst I am in my infancy, under age, I am in possession, though I have not as yet the enjoyment of this my inheritance ; but that is reserved for me till I come at age. And howsoever, though I do not enjoy the whole as yet, my Fa- ther allows me as much of it as he sees convenient, so much grace and so much comfort as he thinks best ; which are as a pledge of what he hath laid up for me in his kingdom, which is above. ARTICLE VIII. I believe, that my person is only justified by the merit of Christ imputed to me ; and that my nature is only sanctified by the Spirit of Christ implanted in me. And thus I do not only believe Christ to be my Saviour, but I believe only Christ to be my Saviour. It was he alone that trod the wine-press of his Father's wrath, filled with the sour and bitter grapes of my sins. It was he that carried on the great work of my salvation, being himself both the Author and the Finisher of it. I say, it was he, and he alone ; for what person or persons in the world could do it besides himself? The angels could not if they would, the devils would not if they could ; and as for my fellow-creatures, I may as well satisfy for their sins as they for mine ; and how little able, even the best of us are to do either, i. e. to atone either for our own transgressions, or those of others, every man's experience will sufficiently inform him. For how should we, poor worms of the earth, ever hope, by the slime and mortar (if I may so speak) of our own natural abilities, to raise up a tower, whose top may reach heaven? Can we expect by the strength of our own hands to take heaven by violence ? or by the price of our works 60 Thoughts on Religion. to purchase eternal glory ? It is a matter of admiration to me, how any one that pretends to the use of his re;ison can ima- gine that he should be accepted before God for what comes from himself! For how is it possible that I should be justified by good works, when I can do no good works at all before I be first justified ? My works cannot be accepted as good till my person be so ; nor can my person be accepted by God, till first ingrafted into Christ ; before which ingrafting into the true vine, it is impossible I should bring forth good fruit ; for the ploughing of the wicked is sin, says Solomon, Prov. xxi. 4. yea, the sacrifices of the ivicked are an abomination to the Lord, chap. xv. 8. And if both the civil and spiritual actions of the wicked be sin, which of all their actions shall have the honour to justify them before God ? I know not how it is with others, but for my own part, I do not remember, neither do I believe, that I ever prayed in all my life-time with that reverence, or heard with that attention, or received the Sacrament with that faith, or did any other work whatsoever with that pure heart and single eye, as I ought to have done. Insomuch that I look upon all my righteousnesses but as filthy rags ; and it is in the robes only of the righteousness of the Son of God that I dare appear before the Majesty of heaven. Nay, suppose I could at length attain to that perfection as to do good works, works exactly conformable to the will of God ; yet they must have better eyes than I, that can see how my obedience in one kind can satisfy for my disobedience in another ; or how that which God commands from me, should merit any thing from him. No ; I believe there is no person can merit any thing from God, but he that can do more than is required of him, which it is impossible any creature should do. For, in that it is a creature, it continually depends upon God, and therefore is bound to do every thing it can by any means possibly do for him ; especially considering that the creature's dependence upon God is such, that it is beholden to him even for every action that issues from it ; without whom, as it is impossible any thing should be, so likewise that any thing should act, es- pecially what is good. So that to say, a man of himself can merit any thing from God, is as much as to say, that he can merit by that which of himself he doth not do ; or that one person can merit by that which another performs, which is a plain contradiction. For in that it merits, it is necessarily im- plied that itself acts that by which it is said to merit ; but in that it doth not depend upon itself, but upon another in what it acts, it is as necessarily implied, that itself doth not do that by which it is said to merit. Thoughts on Religion. 61 Upon this account, I shall never be induced to believe that any creature, by any thing it doth or can do, can merit or de- serve any thing at the hand of God, till it can be proved that a creature can merit by that which God doth : or that God can be bound to bestow any thing upon us, for that which himself alone is pleased to work in us, and by us ; which, in plain terms, would be as much as to say, that because God hath been pleased to do one good turn for us, he is therefore bound to do more ; and because God hath enabled us to do our duty, he should therefore be bound to give us glory. It is not therefore in the power of any person in the world to merit any thing from God, but such a one who is absolutely coessential with him, and so depends not upon him, either for his existence or actions. And as there is no person can merit any thing from God, unless he be essentially the same with him, so likewise unless he be personally distinct from him ; foras- much as though a person may be said to merit for himself, yet he cannot be said, without a gross solecism, to merit any thing from himself. So that he that is not as perfectly another per- son from God, as really the same in nature with him, can never be said to merit any thing at his hands. But farther, God the Father could not properly be said to do it in his own person, because, being (according to our con- ception) the party offended, should he have undertaken this work for me, he in his own person must have undertaken to make satisfaction to his own person for the offences committed against himself; which if he should have done, his mercy might have been much exalted, but his justice could not have been satisfied by it. For justice requires, either that the party of- fending should be punished for these offences, or, at least, some fit person in his stead, which the Father himself cannot be said to be, in that he was the party offended, to whom this satisfac- tion was to be made ; and it is absurd to suppose, that the same person should be capable of making satisfaction both by and to himself at the same time. It remains therefore, that there were only two persons in the Holy Trinity who could possibly be invested with this ca- pacity ; the Son, and the Spirit. As to the latter, though he be indeed the same in nature with the Father, and a distinct person from him, and so far in a capacity to make satisfaction to him ; yet not being capable both of assuming the human na- ture into the divine, and also uniting and applying the divine nature to the human, (as I have shewed before in the fifth Ar- ticle,) he was not in a capacity of making satisfaction for man ; none being fit to take that office upon him, but he that of him- 62 Thoughts on Religion. self was perfectly God, and likewise capable of becoming perfectly man, by uniting both natures in the same person; which the Holy Ghost could not do, because he was the per- son by whom, and therefore could not be the person also in whom, this union of the two natures was to be perfected. And yet it was by this means, and this method only, that any person could have been completely capacitated to have borne the punishment of our sins : he that was only man could not do it, because the sin was committed against God ; and he that was only God could not do it, because the sin was com- mitted by man. From all which, as I may fairly infer, so I hope I may safely fix, my faith in this article, viz. that there was only one person in the whole world that could do this great work for me, of justifying my person before God, and so glorifying my soul with him ; and thut was the Son of God, the second person in the glorious Trinity begotten of the substance of the Father from all eternity ; whom I apprehend and believe to have brought about the great work of my justification before God, after this or the like manner. He being in and of himself, perfectly coequal, coessential, and coeternal with the Father, was in no sort bound to do more than the Father himself did ; and so whatsoever he should do which the Father did not, might justly be accounted as a work of supererogation ; which, without any violation of divine justice, might be set upon the account of some other persons, even of such whom he pleased to do it for. And hereupon, out of mercy and compassion to fallen man, he covenants with his Father, that if it pleased his Majesty to accept it, he would take upon him the suffering of those pu- nishments which were due from him to man, and the per- formance of those duties which were due from man to him ; so that whatsoever he should thus humble himself to do or suffer, should wholly be upon the account of man, himself not being any ways bound to do or suffer more in time, than he had from eternity. This motion the Father, out of the riches of his grace and mercy, was pleased to consent unto : and hereupon, the Son assuming our nature into his Deity, becomes subject and obe- dient both to the moral and ceremonial laws of his Father ; and at last to death itself, even the death of the cross. In the one he paid an active, in the other a passive obedience ; and so did not only fulfil the will of his Father in obeying what he had commanded, but satisfied his justice in suffering the pu- nishment due to us for the transgressing of it. His active Thoughts on Religion. 63 obedience, as it was infinitely pure and perfect, did without doubt infinitely transcend all the obedience of the sons of men, even of Adam too in his primitive state. For the obedience of Adam, make the best of it, was but the obedience of a finite creature ; whereas the obedience of Christ was the obedience of one that was infinite God, as well as man. By which means the laws of God had higher obedience performed to them, than themselves in their primitive institution required ; for being made only to finite creatures, they could command no more than the obedience of finite creatures ; whereas the obedience of Christ was the obedience of one who was the infinite Creator, as well as a finite creature. Now this obedience being more than Christ was bound to, and only performed upon the account of those whose nature he had assumed, as we by faith lay hold upon it, so God through grace imputes it to us, as if it had been performed by us in our own persons. And hence it is, that as in one place Christ is said to be made sin for us, 2 Cor. v. 2 1. so in another place he is said to be made our righteousness, 1 Cor. i. 30. And in the forecited place, 2 Cor. v. 21. as he is said to be made sin for us, so we are said to be made righteousness in him. But what righteousness ? Our own ? No, the righteousness of God, radically his, but imputatively ours: and this is the only way whereby we are said to be made the righteousness of God, even by the righteousness of Christ's being made ours, by which we are accounted and reputed as righteous before God. These things considered, I very much wonder how any man can presume to exclude the active obedience of Christ from our justification before God ; as if what Christ did in the flesh was only of duty, not at all of merit ; or as if it was for himself and not for us. Especially when I consider, that suf- fering the penalty is not what the law primarily requireth ; for the law of God requires perfect obedience, the penalty being only threatened to, not properly required of, the breakers of it. For, let a man suffer the penalty of the law in never so high a manner, he is not therefore accounted obedient to it ; his punishment doth not speak his innocence, but rather his transgression of the law. Hence it is, that I cannot look upon Christ as having made full satisfaction to God's justice for me, unless he had per- formed the obedience I owe to God's laws, as well as borne the punishment that is due to my sins : for, though he should have borne my sins, I cannot see how that could denominate me righteous or obedient to the law, so as to entitle me to eternal 64 Thoughts on Religion. life, according to the tenor of the old law, Do this and live, Lev. xviii. 5. Which old covenant is not disannulled or abro- gated by the covenant of grace, but rather established, Rom. iii. 31. especially as to the obedience it requires from us in order to the life it promiseth ; otherwise the laws of God would be mutable, and so come short of the laws of the very Medes and Persians, which altered not. Obedience therefore is as strictly required under the New, as it was under the Old Tes- tament, but with this difference ; there, obedience in our own persons was required as absolutely necessary ; here, obedience in our Surety is accepted as completely sufficient. But now, if we have no such obedience in our Surety, (as we cannot have if he did not live as well as die for us,) let any one tell me what title he hath, or can have, to eternal life 1 I suppose he will tell me he hath none in himself, because he hath not performed perfect obedience to the law. And I tell him, he hath none in Christ, unless Christ performed that obedience for him, which none can say he did, that doth not believe his active as well as passive obedience to be wholly upon our account. And now I speak of Christ's being our Surety, as the Apos- tle calls him, Heb. vii. 22. methinks this gives much light to the truth in hand : for what is a surety, but one that under- takes to pay whatsoever he, whose surety he is, is bound to pay, in case the debtor prove non-solvent, or unable to pay it himself? And thus is Christ, under the notion of a surety, bound to pay whatever we owe to God, because we ourselves are not able to pay it in our own persons. Now there are two things that we owe to God, which this our Surety is bound to pay for us, viz. first and principally, obedience to his laws, as he is our Creator and Governor ; and* secondly, by consequence, the punishment that is annexed to the breach of these laws, of which we are guilty. Now, though Christ should pay the latter part of our debt for us, by bearing the punishment that is due unto us ; yet, if he did not pay the former and principal part of it too, i. e. perform the obedience which we owe to God, he would not fully have performed the office of suretiship which he undertook for us ; and so would be but a half-mediator, or half-saviour, which are such words as I dare scarce pronounce, for fear of blasphemy. So that, though it is the death of Christ by which I believe my sins are pardoned, yet it is the life of Christ by which I believe my person is accepted. His passion God accounts as suffered by me, and therefore I shall not die for sin : his obe- dience God accounts as performed by me, and therefore I shall Thoughts on Religion. 65 live with him. Not as if I believed, that Christ so performed obedience for me that I should be discharged from my duty to him ; but only that 1 should not be condemned by God in not discharging my duty to him in so strict a manner as is re- quired. I believe the active obedience of Christ will stand me in no stead, unless I endeavour after sincere obedience in mine own person ; his active as well as his passive obedience being imputed unto none, but only to such as apply it to themselves by faith ; which faith in Christ will certainly put such as are possessed of it upon obedience unto God. This therefore is the righteousness, and the manner of that justification, whereby I hope to stand before the judgment-seat of God ; even by God's imputing my sins to Christ, and Christ's righ- teousness to me ; looking upon me as one not to be punished for my sins, because Christ hath suffered, but to be received into the joys of glory, because Christ hath performed obedi- ence for me, and does by faith, through grace, impute it to me. And thus it is into the merit of Christ that I resolve the whole work of my salvation ; and this not only as to that which is wrought without me for the justification of my person, but likewise as to what is wrought within me for the sanctification of my nature. As I cannot have a sin pardoned without Christ, so neither can I have a sin subdued without him ; neither the fire of God's wrath can be quenched, nor yet the filth of my sins washed away, but by the blood of Christ. So that I wonder as much at the doctrine that some men have advanced concerning free-will, as I do at that which others have broached in favour of good works ; and it is a mystery to me, how any that ever had experience of God's method in working out sin, and planting grace in our hearts, should think they can do it by themselves, or any thing in or- der to it. Not that I do in the least question but that every man may be saved that will ; (for this I believe is a real truth ;) but I do not believe, that any man of himself can will to be saved. Wheresoever God enables a soul effectually to will salvation, he will certainly give salvation to that soul ; but I believe that it is impossible for any soul to will salvation of him- self, as to enjoy salvation without God. And this my faith is not grounded upon a roving fancy, but the most solid reasons : forasmuch as of ourselves we are not able in our understandings to discern the evil from the good ; much less then are we able in our wills to prefer the good be- fore the evil ; the will never settling upon any thing but what the judgment discovers to it. But now, that my natural judg- ment is unable to apprehend and represent to my will the true F 2 06 Thoughts on Religion. and only good under its proper notion, my own too sad expe- rience could sufficiently persuade me, though I had neither Scripture nor reason for it. And yet, the Scripture also is so clear in this point, that I could not have denied it, though I should never have had any experience of it ; the Most High expressly telling me, that the natural man reccireth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness vnto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discern- ed, 1 Cor. ii. 14. Neither can he know them, i. c. there is an absolute impossibility in it, that any one remaining in his natural principles, without the assistance of God, should ap- prehend or conceive the excellency of spiritual objects. So that a man may as soon read the letter of the Scripture with- out eyes, as understand the mysteries of the Gospel without grace. And this is not at all to be wondered at ; especially if we consider the vast and infinite disproportion betwixt the ob- ject and the faculty ; the object to be apprehended being no- thing less than the best of beings, God ; and the faculty whereby we apprehend it, nothing more than the power of a finite creature, polluted with the worst of evils, sin. So that I believe it is a thousand times easier for a worm, a fly, or any other despicable insect whatsoever, to understand the affairs of men, than for the best of men in a natural state to apprehend the things of God. No ; there is none can know God, nor by consequence any thing that is really good, but. only so fur as they are partakers of the divine nature : we must in some measure be like to God, before we can have any true conceptions of him, or be really delighted with him : we must have a spiritual sight, before we can behold spiritual things ; which every natural man being destitute of, he can see no comeliness in Christ, why he should be desired ; nor any amia- bleness in religion, why it should be embraced. And hence it is that I believe, the first work which God puts forth upon the soul in order to its conversion, is to raise up a spiritual light within it, to clear up its apprehensions about spiritual matters, so as to enable the soul to look upon God as the chiefest good, and the enjoyment of him as the greatest bliss ; whereby the soul may clearly discern betwixt good and evil, and evidently perceive that nothing is good but so far as it is like to God ; and nothing evil, but so far as it resembles sin. But this is not all the work that God hath to do upon a sinful soul, to bring it to himself; for though I must confess, that in natural things the will always follows the ultimate dictates of the understanding, so as to choose and embrace what the un- derstanding represents to it, under the comely dress of good Thoughts on Religion. 67 and amiable, and to refuse and abhor whatever under the same representation appears to be evil and dangerous ; I say, though I must confess it is so in natural, yet I believe it is not so in spiritual matters. For though the understanding may have never such clear apprehensions of spiritual good, yet the will is not at all affected with it, without the joint operations of the grace of God upon us ; all of us too sadly experiencing what St. Paul long ago bewailed in himself, that what we do, we allow not, Rom. vii. 15. that though our judgments condemn what we do, yet we cannot choose but do it ; though our un- derstandings clearly discover to us the excellency of grace and glory, yet our wills, overpowered with their own corruptions, are strangely hurried into sin and misery. I must confess, it is a truth which I should scarcely have ever believed, if I had not such daily experience of it : but, alas ! there is scarce an hour in a day, but I may go about lamenting, with Medea in Seneca, Video meliora, proboque ; deteriora sequor : though I see what is good, yea, and judge it to be the better, yet I very often choose the worse. And the reason of it is, because as by our fall from God the whole soul was desperately corrupted, so it is not the rectifying of one faculty which can make the whole straight ; but as the whole was changed from holiness to sin, so must the whole be changed again from sin to holiness, before it can be inserted into a state of grace, or so much as an act of grace be ex- erted in it. Now therefore, the understanding and will being two distinct faculties, or at least two distinct acts in the soul, it is possible for tiie understanding to be so enlightened, as to prefer the good before the evil, and yet for the will to remain so corrupt, as to choose the evil before the good. And hence it is, that where God intends to work over a soul to himself, he doth not only pass an enlightening act upon the understanding and its apprehensions, but likewise a sanctifying act upon the will and its affections, that when the soul perceives the glory of God, and the beauty of holiness, it may presently close with, and entertain it with the choicest of its affections. And without God's thus drawing it, the understanding could never allure the soul to good. And therefore it is, that for all the clear discoveries which the understanding may make to itself concerning the glorie9 of the invisible world, yet God assures us, it is himself alone that affects the soul with them, by inclining its will to them : for it is God which worketh in us both to will and to do of Ju3 own good pleasure, Phil. ii. 13. So that though God offer 68 Thoughts on Religion. heaven to all that will accept of it in his holy Scripture ; yet none can accept of it but such whom himself stirs up by his holy Spirit to endeavour after it. And thus we find it was in Israel's return from Babylon to Jerusalem, though King Cyrus made a proclamation, that whosoever would, might go up to worship at the holy city, Ezra i. 3. yet there was none that accepted of the offer, but those whose spirit God had raised to go up, ver. 5. So here, though God doth, as it were, proclaim to all the world, that whosoever will come to Christ shall cer- tainly be saved ; yet it doth not follow that all shall receive salvation from him, because it is certain all will not come ; or rather none can will to come, unless God enables them. I am sure, to say none shall be saved but those that will of themselves, would be sad news for me, whose will is naturally so backward to every thing that is good. But this is my com- fort, I am as certain my salvation is of God, as I am certain it cannot be of myself. It is Christ who vouchsafed to die for me, who hath likewise promised to live within me ; it is he that will work all my works, both for me and in me too. In a word, it is to him I am beholden not only for my spiritual blessings and enjoyments, but even for my temporal ones too, which in and through his name I daily put up my petitions for. So that I have not so much as a morsel of bread in mercy from God, but only upon the account of Christ ; not a drop of drink but what flows unto me in his blood. It is he that is the very blessing of all my blessings, without whom my very mercies would prove but curses, and my prosperity would but Work my ruin. Whither therefore should I go, my dear and blessed Saviour, but unto thee 1 Thou hast the words of eternal life. And how shall I come, but by thee ? Thou hast the treasures of all grace. O thou, that hast wrought out my salvation for me, be pleased likewise to work this salvation in me ! Give me, T beseech thee, such a measure of thy grace, as to believe in thee here upon earth, and then give me such degrees of glory, as fully to enjoy thee for ever in heaven 1 Thoughts on Religion. 69 ARTICLE IX. J believe God entered into a double covenant with man, the cove- nant of ivorks made with the first, and the covenant of grace made in the second Adam. That the most high God should take a piece of earth, work it up into the frame and fashion of a man, and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life, and then should enter into a covenant with it, and should say, Do this and live, when man was bound to do it, whether he could live by it or no, was, without doubt, a great and amazing act of love and condescension ; but that, when this covenant was unhappily broken by the first, God should instantly vouchsafe to renew it in the second Adam, and that too upon better terms, and more easy conditions than the former, was yet a more surprising mercy : for, the same day that Adam ate of the forbidden fruit, did God make him this promise, that the seed of the woman should break the serpent's head, Gen. iii. 15. And this promise he afterwards explained and confirmed by the mouth of his prophet Jeremiah, saying, This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel ; after those days, I will put my law into their inward parts, and write it in their hearts ; and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people, Jer. xxxi. 33. And again by St. Paul, under the New Testament, almost in the self-sanje words, Heb. viii. 10. A covenant so gracious and condescending, that it seems to be made up of nothing else but promises. The first was, properly speaking, a covenant of works, requiring on man's part a perfect and unsinning obedience, without any extraor- dinary grace or assistance from God, to enable him to perform it ; but here, in the second, God undertakes both for himself and for man too, having digested the conditions to be per- formed by us, into promises to be fulfilled by himself, viz. that he will not only pardon our sins if we do repent, but that he will give us repentance, that so we may deserve his pardon ; that he will not only give us life if we come to Christ, but even draw us to Christ, that so he may give us life ; and so, not only make us happy if we will be holy, but make us holy, that so we may be happy : for the covenant is, not that he will be our God, if we will be his people, but he will be our God, and we shall be his people. But still, all this is in and through Christ, the Surety and Mediator of this covenant, in whom all the promises are Yea and Amen, 2 Cor. i. 20. So that Cj ir ist 70 Thoughts on Religion. may be looked upon not only as a surety, but as a party in this covenant of grace, being not only bound to God, but likewise covenanting with him for us. As God-man he is a surety for us, but as man he must needs be a party with us, even our head in the covenant of grace, as Adam was in the covenant of works. What, therefore, though I can do nothing in this covenant of myself, yet this is my comfort, that he hath undertaken for me who can do all things. And therefore is it called a cove- nant of grace, and not of works, because in it there is no work required from me, but what by grace I shall be enabled to per- form. And as for the tenor in which this covenant runs, or the habendum and grant which each party covenants for, it is ex- press in these words, J will be your God, and you shall be my people. God covenants with us, that we shall be his peo- ple ; we covenant with God, that he shall be our God. And, what can God stipulate more to us, or we restipulate more to him, than this ? What doth not God promise to us, when he promises to be our God ? and what doth he not require from us, when he requires us to be his people ? First, he doth not say, I will be your hope, your help, your light, your life, your sun, your shield, and your exceeding great reward ; but I will be your God, which is ten thousand times more than possibly can be couched under any other ex- pressions whatsover, as containing under it whatsoever God is, whatsoever God hath, and whatsoever God can do. All his essential attributes are still engaged for us ; we may lay claim to them, and take hold on them : so that what the Prophet saith of his righteousness an d strength, surely shall one say, In the Lord, have I righteousness and strength, Isa. xlv. 24. I may extend to all his other attributes, and say, Surely in the Lord have I mercy to pardon me, wisdom to instruct me, power to protect me, truth to direct me, grace to crown my heart on earth, and glory to crown my head in heaven : and if what he is, then much more what he hath, is here made over by covenant to me. He that spared not his own Son, saith the apostle, but delivered him up for us all ; how shall he not but with him likewise freely give us all things ? Rom. viii. 32. But what hath God to give me ? Why, all he hath is briefly summed up in this short inventory ; whatsoever is in heaven above, or in earth beneath, is his ; and that this inventory is true, I have several witnesses to prove it ; Melchisedech, Gen. xiv. 19. and Moses, Deut. x. 14. and David, 1 Chron. xxix. 1 1 . Indeed, reason itself will conclude this, that he that is Thoughts on Religion. 71 the Creator and Preserver, must, of necessity, be the Owner and Possessor, of all things ; so that let me imagine what pos- sibly I can in all the world, I may, with the pen of reason, write under it, This is God's ; and if I take but the pen of faith with it, I may write, This is mine in Jesus Christ. As for example ; Hath he a Son ? he hath died for me. Hath he a Spirit ? it shall live within me. Is earth his ? it shall be my provision. Is heaven his ? it shall be my portion. Hath he angels ? they shall guard me. Hath he comforts ? they shall support me. Hath he grace ? that shall make me holy. Hath he glory ? that shall make me happy. For the Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from those that walk uprightly, Ps. lxxxiv. 11. And as he is nothing but what he is unto us, so he doth nothing but what he doth for us. So that whatsoever God doth by his i ordinary providence, or (if our necessity requires) whatsoever I he can do by his extraordinary power, I may be sure he doth and will do for me. Now he hath given himself to me, and taken me unto himself, what will he not do for me that he can ? And what can he not do for me that he will ? Do I want food ? God can drop down manna from the clouds, Exod. xvi. 4. or bid the quails come down and feed me with their own flesh, as J they did the Israelites, ver. 13. or he can send the ravens to I bring me bread and flesh, as they did his prophet Elijah, | 1 Kings xvii. 6. Am I thirsty ? God can broach the rocks, and dissolve the flints into floods of water, as he did for Israel, Deut. viii. 15. Am I cast into a fiery furnace ? He can sus- pend the fury of the raging flames, as he did for Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Dan. hi. 25. Am I thrown amongst the devouring lions ? He can stop their mouths, and make them as harmless lambs as he did for Daniel, Dan. vi. 22. Am I ready to be swallowed up by the merciless waves of the tem- pestuous ocean ? God can command a fish to come and ship me safe to land, and that in its own belly, as he did for his pro- phet Jonah, Jon. i. 17. ii. 10. Am I in prison ? God can but speak the word, as he did for St. Peter, and the chains shall immediately fall off, and the doors fly open, and I shall be set at liberty, as he was, Acts xii. 7, 8, 9, 10. And thus I can have no wants but God can supply them, no doubts but God can resolve them, no fears but God can dispel them, no dan- gers but God can prevent them. And it is as certain that he will, as that he can, do these things for me, himself having by covenant engaged and given himself unto me. And as in God's giving himself, he hath given whatsoever he is, and whatsoever he hath, unto me, and will do whatsoever 72 Thoughts on Religion. he can do for me ; so in my giving myself to him, whatsoever I have I am to give to him, and whatsoever I do I am to do for him. But now, though we should thus give ourselves up wholly to God, and do whatever he requires of us, (which none, I fear, without some degree of presumption, can say lie has done,) yet there is an infinite disproportion betwixt the grant on God's part, and that on ours, in that he is God, and we but creatures, the workmanship of his own hands, to whom it was our duty to give ourselves, whether he had ever given himself to us or no : he is ours by covenant only, not by nature ; we are his both by covenant and nature too. Hence we may infer, that it is not only our duty to do what he hath commanded us, because he hath said, Do this and live; but because he hath said, Do this ; yea, though be should say, Do this and die, it would still be our duty to do it, because we are his, wholly of his making, and therefore wholly at his dis- posing ; insomuch that should he put me upon doing that which would inevitably bring ruin upon me, I am not to neglect obey- ing him for fear of destroying myself, his will and pleasure being infinitely to be preferred before my life and salvation. But if it were my duty to obey his commands, though I should die for it, how much more when he hath promised 1 shall live by it ? Nay, I shall not only live, if 1 obey ; but my obedience itself shall be my life and happiness ; for if 1 be obedient unto him, he is pleased to account himself as glorified 1>. me; for herein is my Father glorified, if ye bring forth -much fruit, John xv. 8. Now, what greater glory can possibly be desired, than to glorify my Maker ? How can I be more glorified by God, than to have God glorified by me ? It is the glory of God to glorify himself; and what higher glory can a creature aspire after, than that which is the infinite glory of its all-glorious Creator ? It is not therefore my duty only, but my glory, to give myself, and whatsoever I am, unto him, to glorify him both in my body and in my spirit, which arc his, 1 Cor. vi. 20. to lay out whatsoever I have for him, to honour him with all my sub- stance, Prov. iii. 9. and whether 1 eat or drink, or whatsoever I do, to do all to his glory, 1 Cor. x. 31. Not as if it was pos- sible for God to receive more glory from me now, than he had himself from all eternity. No ; he was infinitely glorious then, and it is impossible for him to be more glorious now : all that we can do is duly to acknowledge that glory which he hath in himself, and to manifest it, as we ought, before others ; which, though it be no addition to his glory, yet it is the perfection of ours, which he is pleased to account as his. As for the grant, therefore, in the covenant of grace, I be- Thoughts on Religion. 73 lieve it to be the same on our parts, with that in the covenant of works, i. e. that we Christians are as much bound to obey the commands he lays upon us now, as the Jews under the old covenant were. What difference there is, is wholly and solely on God's part ; who, instead of expecting obedience from us. is pleased in this new covenant to give this obedience to us. Instead of saying) Do this and live, he hath in effect said, I will enable you to do this, that so you may live. I will put my laws into your minds, and write them in your hearts ; and I will be to you a God, and you shall be to me a people, Heb. viii. 10. Not, I will, if you will ; but, I will, and you shall. Not, if you will do this, you shall live ; but you shall do this and live. So that God doth not require less from us, but only hath promised more to us in the new, than he did in the old covenant. There we were to perform obedience to God, but it was by our own strength : here, we are to perform the same obedience still, but it is by his strength. Nay, as we have more obligations to obedience upon us now than we had before, by reason of God's expressing more grace and favour to us than formerly he did ; so I believe God expects more from us under the new, than he did under the old covenant. In that, he expected the obedience of men ; in this, be expects the obedience of Chris- tians, such as are by faith united unto Christ, and, in Christ, unto himself ; and so are to do what they do, not by the strength of man, as before, but by the strength of the eternal God him- self; who, as he at first created me for himself, so he hath now purchased me to himself, received me into covenant with him, and promised to enable me with grace to perform that obedi- ence he requires from me; and therefore, he now expects I should lav out myself, even whatsoever I have or am, wholly for him and his glory. This therefore being the tenor of this covenant of grace, it follows that I am now none of my own, but wholly God's. I am his by creation, and his by redemption, and therefore ought to be his by conversation. Why therefore should I live any longer to myself, who am not mine own, but God's ? And why should I grudge to give myself to him, who did not grudge to give himself for me ? or rather, why should I steal myself from him, who have already given myself to him? But did I say I have given myself to my God ? Alas ! it is but the restoring myself to him, whose I was ever since I had a being, and to whom I am still infinitely more engaged, that I can thus cor- dially engage myself to him ; for, as I am not my own, but his, so the very giving of myself to him is not from myself, but from him. I could not have given myself to him, had he not G 74 Thoughts on Religion. first given himself to me, and ever wrought my mind into t\m resolution of giving myself to him. But having thus solemnly, by covenant, given myself to him, how doth it behove me to improve myself for him ? My soul is his, my body his, my parts his, my gifts his, my graces his, and whatsoever is mine is his ; for without him I could not have been, and therefore could have had nothing. So that I have no more cause to be proud of any thing I have, or am, than a page hath to be proud of his fine clothes, which are not his, but his master's ; who bestows all this finery upon him not for his page's honour or credit, but for his own. And thus it is with the best of us, in respect of God; he gives men parts, and learning, and riches, and grace, and de- sires and expects that we should make a due use of them : but to what end ? not to gain honour and esteem to ourselves, to make us proud and haughty ; but to give him the honour due to his name, and so employ them as instruments in promoting his glory and service. So that whensoever we do not lay out ourselves to the utmost of our power for him, it is downright sacrilege ; it is robbing God of that which is more properly his, than any man in the world can call any thing he hath his own. Having therefore thus wholly surrendered and given up my- self to God, so long as it shall please his Majesty to entrust me with myself, to lend me my being in the lower world, or to put any thing else into my hands, as time, health, strength, parts, or the like ; I am resolved, by his grace, to lay out all for his glory. All the faculties of my soul, as I have given them to him, so will I endeavour to improve them for him ; they shall still be at his most noble service ; my understanding shall be his, to know him ; my will his, to choose him ; my affections his, to embrace him ; and all the members of my body shall act in subserviency to him. And thus having given myself to God on earth, I hope God, in a short time, will take me to himself in heaven ; where as I gave myself to him in time he will give himself to me unto all eternity. Thoughts on Religion. 75 ARTICLE X. I believe, that as God entered into a covenant of grace with us, so hath he signed this covenant to us by a double seal, Bap- tism, and the Lord's Supper. As the covenant of works had two sacraments, viz. the tree of life, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil ; the first signifying and sealing life and happiness to the perform- ance, the other death and misery to the breach of it : so the covenant of grace was likewise sealed with two typical sacra- ments, Circumcision, and the Passover. The former was an- nexed at God's first making his covenant with Abraham's person ; the other was added at his fulfilling the promises of it to his seed or posterity, which were therefore styled, the promised Seed. But these being only typical of the true and spiritual sacraments that were afterwards to take place upon the coming of the Messiah, there was then, in the fulness of time, two other sacraments substituted in their stead, viz. Bap- tism, and the Supper of the Lord. And these sacraments were both correspondent to the types by which they were repre- sented. As to the first, viz. circumcision, whether I consider the time of conferring it, or the end of its institution, I find it exactly answers to the sacrament of baptism in both these re- spects. For as the children under the Law were to be cir- cumcised in their infancy, at eight days old; so are the chil- dren under the Gospel to be baptized in their infancy too. And as the principal thing intended in the rite of circumcision was to initiate or admit the children of the faithful into the Jewish church ; so the chief design of baptism now is to ad- mit the children of such as profess themselves Christians into the church of Christ. And for this reason, I believe, that as, under the Old Testament, children had the grant of covenant- privileges and church-membership as really as their parents had ; so this grant was not repealed, as is intimated, Acts ii. 39. but farther confirmed in the New Testament, in that the Apostle calls the children of believing parents holy, 1 Cor. vii. 14. which cannot be understood of a real and inherent, but only of a relative and covenanted holiness, by virtue of which, being born of believing parents, themselves are ac- counted in the number of believers, and are therefore called holy children under the Gospel, in the same sense that the people of Israel were called a holy people under the Law, 76 Thoughts on Religion. Deut. vii. 6. and chap. xiv. 2, 21. as being all within the covenant of grace, which, through the faith of their parents, is thus sealed to them in their baptism. Not that I think it necessary that all parents should be en- dued with what we call a saving faith, to entitle their children to these privileges, (for then, none but the children of such who have the Spirit of Christ truly implanted in them would be qualified to partake of the covenant;) but even such, who, by an outward historical faith, have taken the name of Christ upon them, are by that means in covenant with God, and so accounted holy in respect of their profession, whatever they may be in point of practice. And if they are themselves holy, it follows of course that their children must be so too, they being esteemed as parts of their parents, till made distinct members in the body of Christ ; or, at least, till they come to the use of their reason, and the improvement of their natural abilities. And therefore, though the seal be changed, yet the cove- nant-privileges, wherewith the parties stipulating unto God were before invested, are no whit altered or diminished ; be- liever's children being as really confederates with their parents in the covenant of grace now, as they were before under the Jewish administration of it. And this seems to be altogether necessary ; for otherwise, infants should be invested with pri- vileges under the type, and be deprived of, or excluded from, them, under the more perfect accomplishment of the same covenant in the thing typified ; and so, the dispensations of God's grace would be more straight and narrow since, than they were before, the coming of our Saviour ; which I look upon to be no less than blasphemy to assert. And upon this ground I believe it is as really the duty of Christians to baptize their children now, as ever it was the duty of the Israelites to circumcise theirs ; and therefore St. Peter's question, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptised, who have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? Acts x. 47. may very properly be applied to this case. Can any one forbid water that children should not be baptized, who are in covenant with the most high God as well as we ? For what is it, I pray, that the right to baptism doth depend upon ? Surely, not upon performing the conditions of the covenant ; for then none should be baptized but such as are true believers in themselves, and known to be so by us, and, by consequence, none at all ; it being only God's prerogative to search their hearts, and to know the truth of that grace which himself hath been pleased to bestow upon them. But Thovghts on Religion. 77 children's right to baptism is grounded upon the outward pro- fession of their believing parents ; so that as a king may be crowned in his cradle, not because he is able to wield the scep- tre, or manage the affairs of his kingdom, but because he is heir to his father ; so here, children are not therefore baptized because they are able to perform the conditions of the cove- nant which is sealed to them, but because they are children to believing parents. And this seems to be yet farther evident, from the very nature of seals, which are not administered or annexed to any covenant, because the conditions are already performed, but rather that they may be performed ; and so children are not baptized, because they are already true Chris- tians, but that they may be so hereafter. As for a command for infant-baptism, I believe, that the same law that enjoined circumcision to the Jewish, enjoins baptism likewise to Christian children, there being the same reason for both. The reason why the Jewish children were to be circumcised was because they were Jewish children, born of such as professed the true worship of God, and were in cove- nant with him ; and there is the same reason why Christian children are to be baptized, even because they are Christian children, born of such as profess the true worship of the same God, and are confederates in the same covenant with the Jews themselves. And as there is the same reason, so likewise the same end for both, viz. that the children might be actually ad- mitted into the same covenant with their parents, and have it visibly confirmed to them by this initiating seal put upon them : so that circumcision and baptism are not two distinct seals, but the same seal diversely applied ; the one being but as a type of the other, and so to give place to it whensoever, by the in- stitution of Christ, it should be brought into the church of God. And therefore, the command for initiating children into the Church by baptism remains still in force, though circumcision, which was the type and shadow of it, be done away. And for this reason I believe, that was there never a command in the New Testament for infant-baptism, yet, seeing there is one for circumcision in the Old, and for baptism, as coming into the place of it, in the New, I should look upon baptism as necessarily to be applied to infants now, as circumcision was then. But why should it be supposed that there is no command in the New Testament for infant-baptism ? There are several texts that seem to imply its being practised in the first preach- ing of the Gospel, as particularly in the case of Lydia, and the keeper of the prison, Acts xvi. 15, 33. who had their G2 78 Thoughts on Religion. whole families baptized ; and we no where find that children were excepted. On the contrary, St. Peter, exhorting the converted Jews to be baptized, makes use of this argument to bring them to it, For the promise, says he, is unto you, and to your children, Acts ii. 38, 39. which may as reasonably be understood of their infants, as of their adult posterity. But, besides, it was the express command of Christ to his disciples, that they should go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Matt, xxviii. 19. The meaning of which words I take to be this ; Go ye, and preach the Gospel amongst all nations, and endeavour thereby to bring them over to the embracing of it ; that leaving all Jewish ceremonies and Heathenish idolatries, they may pro- fess my name, and become my disciples, receive the truth, and follow me ; which if they do I charge you to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost : for the word fiei^Tjreva-xre doth not signify to teach, but to make disci- ples, denoting the same here, that f^xB-^ru^ -zroiiiv doth upon the like occasion, John iv. 1. And this is the sense that all the ancient translations agree in ; nor, indeed, will the text itself bear any other ; especially, not that of teaching ; for though the apostles should have taught all nations, yet they were not presently to baptize them, unless they became disciples, and professors of the doctrine that they were taught. A man may be taught the doctrine of the Gos- pel, and yet not believe it ; and even though he should believe, yet unless he openly professes his faith in it, he ought not pre- sently to be baptized. For without this outward profession, the very possessing of Christ cannot entitle a man to this pri- vilege before men, though it doth before God ; because we cannot know how any one stands affected towards Christ, but only by his outward profession of him. It is the inward pos- session of Christ's person that entitles us to the inward spirit- ual grace ; but it is the outward profession of his name only that entitles us to the outward visible sign in baptism ; so that a man must of necessity be a professed disciple of the Gospel, before he can be admitted into the church of Christ. And hence it is that the words must necessarily be understood of discipling, or bringing the nations over to the profession of the Christian religion : or else we must suppose, what ought not to be granted, that our Saviour must command many that were visi- ble enemies to his cross, to be received into his church ; for many of the Jews were taught and instructed in the doctrine oi the Gospel, who, notwithstanding, were inveterate enemies unto Christ. They were taught that he was the Messiah, and jl novg/us on neugion. yy Saviour of the world, and that whosoever believed in him should not perish, but have everlasting life ; and they had all the reason in the world to be convinced of it : yet I hope there is none will say, that the bare knowledge of or tacit assent unto, these things are a sufficient ground for their reception into the church. Now, as it was in the Jewish church, when any one became a proselyte, not only himself, but whatsoever children he af- terwards had, were to be circumcised ; so in the church of Christ, whensoever any person is brought over into the pro- fession of the Christian religion, his seed are all equally invest- ed with the outward privileges of it with himself, though they be not as yet come to years of discretion, nor able of them- selves to make their profession of that religion they are to be received and baptized into. For so long as children are in their infancy, they are (as I before observed) looked upon as parts of their parents, and are therefore accounted holy, by the outward profession which their parents, under whom they are comprehended, make of it : and in this sense, 1 Cor. viii. 14. the unbelieving husband is said to be sanctified by the believing wife, and the unbelieving wife by the believing husband ; that is, man and wife being made one flesh, they are denominated, from the better part, holy, and so are their children too. And hence it is that I verily believe, that in the commission which our Saviour gave to his Apostles, to disciple and baptize all nations, he meant that they should preach the Gospel in all nations, and thereby bring over all persons of understanding and discretion to the profession of his name, and in them their children ; and so ingraft both root and branch into himself, the true vine, by baptizing both parents and children in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The main objection against this is, that infants are not in a capacity either to learn and understand their duty in this cove- nant, or to stipulate and promise for their future performance of the conditions of it. But this difficulty is easily removed, when I consider, that it is not by virtue of their own faith or knowledge, but that of their parents, that they are admitted to this sacrament ; nor is it required that they should stipulate or promise in their own persons, but by their godfathers or spon- sors, who enter into this engagement for them, and oblige them, when they come of age, to take it upon themselves, which ac- cordingly they do. And this engagement by proxy does as effectually bind them to the performance of the conditions, as if they were actually in a capacity to have stipulated for them- selves, or sealed the covenant in their own persons. For these 80 Thoughts on Religion. spiritual signs or seals are not designed to make God's word surer to us, but only to make our faith stronger in him ; nor are they of the substance of the covenant, but only for the bet- ter confirmation of it. And as baptism thus comes in the place of the Jews' cir- cumcision, so doth our Lord's Supper answer to their passover. Their paschal lamb represented our Saviour Christ, and the sacrificing of it the shedding of his blood upon the cross ; and as the passover was the memorial of the Israelites' redemption from Egypt's bondage, Exod. xii. 14. so is the Lord's Supper the memorial of our redemption from the slavery of sin, and ascention into Christian liberty: or rather, it is a solemn and lively representation of the death of Christ, and offering it again to God, as an atonement for sin, and reconciliation to his favour. So that I believe this sacrament of the Lord's Supper, under the Gospel, succeeds to the rite of sacrificing under the Law, and is properly called the Christian sacrifice, as representing the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. And the end of both is the same : for as the sacrifices under the law were designed as a propitiation or atonement for sins, by transferring the punishment from the offerer to the thing offered, which is therefore called, the accursed thing, as we read Lev. xvii. 1 1 . so, under the Gospel, we are told, that it was for this end that our Saviour died, and suffered in our stead, that he might obtain the pardon of our sins, and reconcile us to his Father, by laying the guilt of them upon his own person. And ac- cordingly he says of himself, that he came to give his life a ransom for many, Matt. xx. 28. And St. Paul tells us, 2 Cor. v. 21. that he was made sin for us, who knew no sin. And as the end of both institutions was the same, so they were both equally extended. The paschal lamb was offered for all the congregation of Israel ; and so is the sacrament of the Lord's Supper to be administered to all the faithful people in Christ, that do not exclude themselves from it. And for this reason I believe, that as all the congregation of Israel was to eat the Passover, so is all the society of Christians to re- ceive the Lord's Supper ; those only to be excepted who are altogether ignorant of the nature of that covenant it seals, or openly and scandalously guilty of the breach of the conditions it requires. But why, say some, should there be any exception ? Did not Christ die for all mankind ? And is not that death said to be a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfac- tion for the sins of the whole world/ All this is true ; but it does not from hence follow that all men must be actually saved and absolved from their sins by virtue of his death. No, it is only they who apply to themselves the merits of his passion, by partaking duly of this holy sacrament, which is the proper means by which these blessing are conveyed to us, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption. I say duly, because though this sacrament was ordained for all, yet all will not make themselves worthy of it ; and those that are not so, are so far from reaping any benefit from it, that, as the Apostle says, they eat and drink their own damnation, not discerning the Lord's body, 1 Cor. xi. 29. And therefore I believe, that as in the institution of the Passover there were some particular duties and ceremonies enjoined for the better solemnization of it ; so there are some preparatory duties and qualifications necessarily required for the celebration of the Lord's Supper, which before I presume to partake of it, I must always use my utmost endeavours to exercise myself in. And these are, First, that I should examine, confess, and bewail my sina before God, with a true sense of, and sorrow for, them ; and, taking firm resolutions for the time to come, utterly to relin- quish and forsake them, solemnly engage myself in a new and truly Christian course of life. Secondly, that I should be in perfect charity with all men, i. e. that I should heartily forgive those who have any ways in- jured or offended me ; and make restitution or satisfaction to such whom I have in any respect injured or offended myself. And then, Thirdly, that I should, with an humble and obedient heart, exercise the acts of faith, and love, and devotion, during the celebration of that holy mystery; and express the sense I have of this mystery, by devout praises and thanksgivings for the great mercies and favours that God vouchsafes to me therein; and by all the ways and measures of charity that he has pre- scribed, manifest my love and beneficence to my Christian brethren. These are the proper graces, this the wedding garment, that every true Christian, who comes to be a guest at this holy Supper, ought to be clothed and invested with. Do thou, O blessed Jesus! adorn me with this holy robe, and inspire my soul with such heavenly qualities and disposi- tions as these ; and then I need not fear, but that as oft as I eat the flesh of Christ, and drink his blood, I shall effectually obtain the pardon and remission of my sins, the sanctifying influences of his Holy Spirit, and a certain interest in the kingdom of glory ! See farther, Treatise of the Sacrament. 82 Thoughts on Religion. ARTICLE XT. J believe, that, after a short separation, my soul and body shall be united together again, in order to appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, and be f natty sentenced according to my deserts. I know this body, which for the present I am tied to, is nothing else but a piece of clay, made up into the frame and fashion of a man ; and therefore, as it was first taken from the dust, so shall it return to dust again ; but then I believe, on the other hand, that it shall as really be raised from the earth, as ever it shall be carried to it ; yea, though perhaps it may go through a hundred or a thousand changes before that day come. There are, I confess, some points in this article, which are hardly to be solved by human reason ; but I believe there are none so difficult, but what may be reconciled by a divine faith ; though it be too hard for me to know, yet it is not too hard for God to do. He that should have told me some years ago that my body then was, or should be, a mixture of particles fetched from so many parts of the world, and undergo so many changes and alterations, as to become in a manner new, should scarce have extorted the belief of it from me, though now I perceive it to be a real truth ; the meats, fruits, and spices, which we eat, being transported from several different places and nations, and by natural digestion transfused into the constitution of the body. And why should not I believe, that the same almighty Power, who made these several beings, or particles of matter, by which I am fed and sustained, can as easily with his word recal each part again from the most secret or remote place that it can possibly be transported to ? Or, that he who framed me out of the dust, can with as much ease gather all the scattered parts of the body, and put them to- gether again, as he at first formed it into such a shape, and infused into it a spiritual being ? And this article of my faith I believe is not only grounded upon, but may, even by the force of reason, be deduced from, the principles of justice and equity ; justice requiring, that they who are copartners in vice and virtue, should be copart- ners also in punishments and rewards. There is scarce a sin a man commits, but his body hath a share in it ; for though the sin committed would not be a sin without the soul, yet it could not be committed without the body ; the sinfulness of it depends upon the former, but the commission of it may law- fully be charged upon the latter : the body could not sin if the soul did not consent ; nor could the soul sin (especially so oft) if the body did not tempt to it. And this is particularly ob- servable in the sins of adultery, drunkenness, and gluttony, which the soul of itself cannot commit, neither would it ever consent unto them, did not the prevalent humours of the body, as it were, force it to do so. For in these sins, the act that is sinful is wholly performed by the body, though the sinfulness of that act doth principally depend upon the soul. Neither is the body only partner with the soul in these gros- ser sins, but even the more spiritual sins, which seem to be most abstracted from the temperature of the body, as if they depended only upon the pravity and corruption of the soul. I say, even these are partly to be ascribed to the body. For instance, an atheistical thought, which one would think was to be laid only upon the soul, because the thought takes its rise from thence ; yet if we seriously weigh and consider the mat- ter, we shall find, that it is usually the sinful affections of the body that thus debauch the mind into these blasphemous thoughts ; and that it is the pleasures of sense that first sug- gest them to us, and raise them in us. And this appears, in that there is no person that ever was, or indeed ever can be, an atheist at all times ; but such thoughts spring up in the fountain of the soul only when mudded with fleshly pleasures. And thus it is in most other sins ; the carnal appetite having gotten the reins into its hand, it misleads the reason, and hurries the soul wheresoever it pleaseth. And what then can be more rea- sonable, than that the body should be punished, both for its usurping the soul's prerogative, and for its tyrannizing so much over that, which, at the first, it was made to be sub- ject to ? But farther, it is the body that enjoys the pleasure, and therefore good reason that the body should likewise bear the punishment of sin. Indeed, I cannot conceive how it can stand with the principles of justice, but that the body, which both accompanies the soul in sin, enjoys the pleasures of it, and leads the soul into it, should bear a share in the miseries which are due to, and inflicted upon, it. For what doth justice require, but to punish the person that offends for the offence he commits ? Whereas, if the soul only, and not the body, were to suffer, the person would not suffer at all ; the body being part of the person as well as the soul, and, therefore, the soul no person without the body. Hence it is, that though the Scripture had been silent in this point, yet methinks I could not but have believed it : how 84 Thoughts on Religion. much more firm and stedfast then ought I to be in my faith, when truth itself hath been pleased so expressly to affirm it ? For thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Thy dead men shall live ; together with my dead body shall they arise, Isa. xxvi. 19. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting con- tempt, Dan. xii. 2. And thus saith the Saviour of the world, who is the way, the truth, and the life ; The hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of dam- nation, John v. 28, 29. The same hath it pleased his divine Majesty to assert and prove with his own mouth, Matth. xxii. 31, 32. and by his Spirit, 2 Cor. xv. and in many other places : from all which I may, with comfort and confidence, draw the same conclusion that holy Job did, and say, J know that my Redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth : and though after my skin ivorms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God ; whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another, though my reins be consumed within me, Job xix. 25, 26, 27. And as I believe my body shall be thus raised from the grave, so I believe the other part of me, my soul, shall never be car- ried to it ; I mean, it shall never die, but shall be as much, yea, more alive, when I am dying, than it is now ; by so much my soul shall be the more active in itself, by how much it is less tied and subjected to the body. And farther I believe, that so soon as ever my breath is out of my nostrils, my soul shall remove her lodging into the other world, there to live as really to eternity, as I now live here in time. Yea, I am more certain that my soul shall return to God that gave it, than that my body shall return to the earth, out of which I had it. For I know it is possible my body may be made immortal, but I am sure my soul shall never be mor- tal. I know, that at the first the body did equally participate of immortality with the soul, and that had not sin made the divorce, they had lived together, like loving mates, to all eternity. And I dare not affirm, that Enoch and Elias under- went the common fate ; or, suppose they did, yet sure I am, the time will come, when thousands of men and women shall not be dissolved and die, but be immediately changed and caught up into heaven, or, to their eternal confusion, thrust down into hell ; whose bodies therefore shall undergo no such thing as rotting in the grave, or being eaten up of worms, but, together with their souls, shall immediately launch into the 1 noughts on Keiigion. 85 vast ocean of eternity. But who ever yet read or heard of a soul's funeral ? who is it ? where is the man ? or, what is his name, that wrote the history of her life and death ? Can any disease arise in a spiritual substance, wherein there is no such thing as contrariety of principles or qualities to occasion any disorder or distemper ? Can any angel be sick, or die ? And if not an angel, why a soul, which is endowed with the same spiritual nature here, and shall be adorned with the same eter- nal glory hereafter ? No, no ; deceive not thyself, my soul : for it is more certain that thou shalt always live, than that thy body shall ever die. Not that I think my soul must always live, in despite of Omnipotence itself, as if it was not in the power of the Al- mighty to take my being and existence from me ; for I know 1 am but as a potsherd in the Potter's hand, and that it is as easy for him to dash me to pieces now, as it was to raise me up at the first. I believe it is as easy for him to command my soul out of its being, as out of its body ; and to send me back into my mother nothing, out of whose womb he took me, as it was at first to fetch me thence. I know he could do it if he would ; but himself hath said he will not, and therefore I am sure he cannot do it ; and that, not because he hath not pow- er, but because he hath not will to do it ; it being impossible for him to do that which he doth not will to do. And, that it is not his will or pleasure ever to annihilate my soul, I have it under his own hand, that my dust shall return to the earth as it was, and my spirit to God that gave it, Eccles. xii. 7. And if it return to God, it is so far from returning to nothing, that it returns to the Being of all beings ; and so death to me will be nothing more than going home to my Father and Mother ; my soul goes to my Father, God ; and my body to my mother, Earth. Thus likewise hath it pleased his sacred Majesty to assure me, that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens, 2 Cor. v. 1. so clearly hath the great God brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, 2 Tim. i. 10. The light of nature shows, the soul can never perish or be dissolved, without, the immediate interposition of God's omnipotence ; and we have his own divine word for it, that he will never use that power in the dissolution of it. And therefore I may, with the greatest assurance, affirm and be- lieve, that as really as I now live, so really shall I never die ; but that my soul, at the very moment of its departure from the flesh, shall immediately mount up to the tribunal of the most H £6 Thoughts on Religion, high God, there to be judged, first privately, by itself, (or perhaps with some other souls that shall be summoned to apn pear before God the same moment ;) and then, from these private sessions, I believe that every soul that ever was, or shall be separated from the body, must either be received into the mansions of heaven, or else sent down to the dungeon of hell, there to remain till the grand assizes, the judgment of the great day, when the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed, 1 Cor. xv. 52. And when our bodies, by the word of the Almighty God, shall be thus called together again, I believe that our souls shall be all prepared to meet them, and be united again to them, and so both appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, to receive sentence according to what they hare done in thefesh, whether it be good or whether it be evil. And though it is very difficult, or rather impossible, for me to conceive or determine the particular circumstances of this grand assize, or the manner and method how it shall be managed, yet, from the light and intimations that God has vouchsafed to give us of it, I have grounds to believe it will be ordered and carried on after this or the like manner. The day and place being appointed by the King of kings, the glorious Majesty of heaven and Saviour of the world, Jesus Christ, who long ago received his commission from the Father, to be the Judge of quick and dead, John v. 22. Acts xvii. 31. shall descend from heaven with the shout of the archangel, and with the trump of God, 1 Thess. iv. 16. royally attended with an innumerable company of glorious angels, Matt. xxv. 31. These he shall send with the great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other, chap. xxiv. 31. yea, and the wicked too, from whatsoever place they shall be in ; and then shall he sever the wicked from the just, Matt. xiii. 49. So that all nations, and every particular person, that ever did, or ever shall, live upon the face of the earth, shall be gathered togeth- er before him, and he shall separate the one from the other, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats upon the left, Matt, xxv. 32. 33. Things being thus set in order, the Judge shall read hi« commission, i. e. declare and manifest himself to be the Judge of all the earth, sent by the God of heaven, to judge them that had condemned him, and in that very body, that once was cru- cified upon the cross at Jerusalem for our sins. So that all the world shall then behold him shining in all his glory and i noughts on iteugion. ov majesty, and shall acknowledge him to be now, what they would not believe him to be before, even both God and man, and so the Judge of all the world, from whom there can be no appeal. And having thus declared his commission, I believe the first work he will go upon will be to open the book of God's re- membrance, and to cause all the indictments to be read that are there found on record against those on his right hand 5 but behold, all the black lines of their sins being blotted out with the red lines of their Saviour's blood, and nothing but their good works, their prayers, their sermons, their medita? tions, their alms, and the like, to be found there ; the righteous Judge, before whom they stand, turning himself towards them, with a serene and smiling countenance, will declare to them, before all the world, that their sins are pardoned, and their persons accepted by him, as having believed in him ; and, therefore, will he immediately proceed to pronounce the happy sentence of election upon them, saying, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the fount dation of the world. The sentence being thus pronounced, the righteous (and 1 hope myself among the rest) shall go up with shouts of joy and triumph, to sit with our blessed Redeemer, to judge the other parts of the world, who stand at the left hand of the tribunal, with ghastly countenances and trembling hearts, to receive their last and dreadful doom. Against these, all the sins that ever they committed, or were guilty of, shall be brought up in judgment against them, as they are found on record in the book of God's remembrance, and the indictment read against every particular person, high or low, for every particular sin, great or small, which they have committed. And the truth of this indictment shall be attested by their own consciences, crying, Guilty, guilty : I say, by their own consciences, which are as a thousand witnesses ; yea, and by the omniscience of God too, which is as a thousand con- sciences. And, therefore, without any farther delay, shall the Judge proceed to pronounce the sentence, the doleful sentence of condemnation upon them, Depart, ye cursed, into everlast- ing fire, prepared for the Devil and his angels. This, I believe, or such like, will be the method of Christ's proceeding with us in that great and terrible day of trial and retribution. Oh ! may these awful thoughts and ideas of it always ac- company me, and strike such a deep and lively impression upon my heart, in every action of life, as to deter me from 88 Thoughts on Religion. offending this just and almighty Being, in whose power it is to destroy both body and soul in hell ; and engage me in such a regular, strict, and conscientious course of life, as to be always ready, whenever he shall please to summon me, to give in my accounts at the grand audit, and, with a holy assurance, fly for mercy and succour into the hands of my Redeemer, and be permitted to enter into the joys of his rest ! ARTICLE XII. 1 believe there are two other worlds, besides this I live in ; a world of misery for unrepenting sinners, and a world of glory for believing saints. When death hath opened the cage of flesh, wherein the soul is penned up, whither it flies, or how it subsists, I think it not easy to determine, or indeed to conceive. As for the Platonic aerial and aetherial vehicles, succeeding this terrestrial one, I find neither mention of nor warrant for them in the word of God. And, indeed, to suppose that a spiritual substance can- not subsist of itself, without being supported by a corporeal vehicle, is, in my opinion, too gross a conceit for any philoso- pher, much more for one that professes himself a divine, to advance or entertain. Only this I am sure of, that according to the distinction of lives here into good or bad, and the sen- tences passed upon all hereafter, of absolution or condemna- tion, there will be a twofold receptacle for the souls of men, the one of happiness, the other of misery. As to the first, I believe, that at the great and general as- sizes of the world, there will be a glorious entrance opened for the righteous into the holy of holies, the seat and fountain of all bliss and happiness, where they shall draw nigh to the most high God, behold his presence in righteousness, and reign with him for ever in glory, where they shall see him face to face, 1 Cor. xiii. 12. and know him the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, John xvii. 3. And this knowing and beholding God face to face is, I believe, the very heaven of heavens, even the highest happiness that it is possible a crea- ture should be made capable of: for in having a perfect knowledge of God, we shall have a perfect knowledge of all things that ever were, are, shall, yea, or can be, in the world. For God being the Being of all beings, in seeing him, we shall not only see whatsoever hath been, but whatsoever can be com- Tlioughts on Religion. 89 municated from him. The contemplation of which cannot but ravish and transport my spirit beyond itself ; especially when I consider, that in knowing this one-all-things, God, 1 cannot but enjoy whatsoever it is possible any creature should enjoy. For the knowing of a thing is the soul's enjoyment of it ; the understanding being to the soul, what the senses are to the body. And, therefore, as the body enjoys nothing but by its senses, so neither doth the soul enjoy any thing but by its understanding : and, as the body is said to have whatsoever affects its proper senses, so may the soul be said to have what- soever comes under its knowledge. Nay, the soul so far hath what it knows, that in a manner it is what it knows ; itself being in a spiritual manner enlarged, according to the extent of the objects which it knows, as the body is by the meat it eats ; the truths we know turning into the substance of our souls, as the meat we eat doth into the substance of our bodies. But oh ! what a rare soul shall I then have, when it shall be extended to every thing that ever was, or ever could have been ! What a happy creature shall I then be, when I shall know, and so enjoy him that is all things in himself ! What ean a creature desire more ! yea, what more can a creature be made capable of enjoying or desiring ! And that which will always accompany this our knowledge and enjoyment, is perfect love to what we enjoy and know, without which we should take pleasure in nothing, though we should have all things to take pleasure in. But, who will be able not to love the chiefest good, that knows and enjoys him, and therefore enjoys him because he knows him ? Questionless, in heaven? as I shall enjoy whatsoever I can love, so shall I love whatso- ever I enjoy. And this, therefore, I believe to be the perfec- tion of my happiness, and the happiness of my perfection, in the other world ; that I shall perfectly know and love, and so perfectly enjoy and rejoice in, the most high God ; and shall be, as known, so perfectly loved and rejoiced in by him. And, questionless, for all our shallow apprehensions and low esti- mations of these things now, they cannot choose but be vast and inconceivable pleasures, too great for any creature to en- joy whilst here below. If we have but the least drop of these pleasures distilled into us here upon earth, how strangely do they make us, as it were besides ourselves, by lifting us above ourselves ! If we can but at any time get a glimpse of God, and of his love to us, how are we immediately carried beyond all other pleasures and contentments whatsoever ! How apt are we to say, with H2 90 Thoughts on Religion. Peter, It is good for us to be here ! And, if the foretastes of the blessings of Canaan, if the dark intimations of God's love to us, be so unspeakably pleasant, so ravishingly delightsome; oh ! what will the full possession of him be ! What transporting ecstasies of love and joy shall those blessed souls be possessed with, who shall behold the King of glory smiling upon them, rejoicing over them, and shining forth in all his love and glory upon them ! Oh ! what astonishing beauty will they then be- hold ! What flowing, what refreshing pleasures, shall then solace and delight their spirits, unto all eternity ! Pleasures, far greater than I am able either to express or conceive, much less to enjoy, on this side heaven ! My faculties are now too narrow and scanty for such an entertainment ; and, therefore, till they are spiritualized and enlarged, they cannot receive it. This is the portion only of another world, this the crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous Judge reserves in heaven for me, and which, at his second coming, he has pro- mised to bestow upon me, and not upon me only, but upon all tfiem also that love his appearing ! As to the other state, viz. that of the wicked in another life, I believe it will be as exquisitely miserable and wretched, as that of the righteous is happy and glorious : they will be driven for ever from the presence of the Lord, from those bright and blessed regions above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God, to those dark and dismal dungeons below, where the devil and his angels are for ever doomed to be tormented. What sort of torments or punishments they are there to un- dergo, I am as unable to express, as I am unwilling ever to experience ; but, according to the notions which Scripture and reason give me of these matters, I believe they will be twofold, viz. 1. privative, and, 2. positive ; i. e. the wicked will not only be deprived of all that is good and happy, but actually con- demned to all that is evil and miserable ; and that in the most transcendent degree. The first part of their punishment will consist in envious, melancholy, and self-condemning, reflections upon their having defeated and deprived themselves not only of their carnal mirth and sensual enjoyments, their friends, fortunes, and estates in this world, but also of all the infinite joys and glories of the next, the presence of God, the society of saints and angels, and all the refreshing and ravishing delights which flow from the fruition of the chiefest good : and what adds yet farther to their anguish and remorse is, that they have lost the very hopes of ever regaining any of these enjoyments ! Oh ! how infinitely tormenting and vexatious must such a Thoughts on Religion. 91 condition be, which at once gives them a view both of the greatest happiness, and the greatest misery, without the least hopes either of recovering the one, or being delivered from the other ! How must they tear, torment, and curse them- selves, for their former follies ; and, too late, wish that they had been stifled in the womb, or drowned in the font which was to be their second birth ! And, if the bare privation of heaven and happiness be so miserable and tormenting, how will it rack their consciences, and fill their souls with horror and amazement, to behold the eternal God, the glorious Jehovah, in the fierceness of his wrath, continually threatening to pour out his vengeance upon them ! How much more, when he positively consigns them over to the power of the devil, to execute his judgment in full measure ! when they are gnawed upon by the worm of their own consciences, feel the wrath of the Almighty flaming in their hearts, and fire and brimstone their continual torture ! | And all this, without the least allay or mixture of refreshment, or the least hopes of ending or cessation ! In a word when they have nothing else to expect but misery for their portion, weeping and wailing for their constant em- ployment, and the devil and damned fiends their only compan- ions to all eternity ! And this is that world of misery, which all that will not be persuaded to believe in Christ here, must be doomed for ever to live in hereafter ! I know, the subjects of this article were never the objects of my sight, though they are of my faith. I never yet saw heaven or hell, the places I am now speaking of ; but why should my faith be staggered or diminished because of that ? I never saw Rome or Constantinople; I never saw the flaming Sicilian hill iEtna ; yet I can believe there is such a burning mountain, and such glorious cities ; because others, who have been there, have told me so ; and faithful writers have related and described them to me. And shall I believe my fellow worms, and not my great Creator, who is truth itself? What though I never did see the new Jerusalem that is above, nor the flaming Tophet that is below ; yet, since God himself hath both related and described them to me, why should I doubt of them ? Why should not I a thousand times sooner believe them to be, than if I had seen them with mine own eyes ? I cannot so much believe that I have now a pen in my hand, have a book before me, and am writing in it, as I do and ought to believe, that I shall one day, and that ere long, be either in heaven, or in hell ; in the height of happiness or in the depth of misery. 9t Thoughts on Religion. I know my senses are fallible, and therefore may deceive me ; but my God, I am sure cannot. And therefore, let others raise doubts and scruples as they please, I am as fully satisfied and convinced of the truth of this article as any of the rest. Do thou, O my God, keep me stedfast in this faith, and give me grace so to fit and prepare myself to appear before thee in the white robes of purity and holiness in another world, that whenever my dissolution comes, I may cheerfully resign my spirit into the hands of my Creator and Redeemer ; and, from this crazy house of clay, . take my flight into the mansions of glory, where Christ sits at the right hand of God ; and with the joyful choir of saints and angels, and the blessed spirits of just men made perfect, chant forth thy praises to all eternity ! RESOLUTIONS FORMED FROM THE FOREGOING ARTICLES. AS obedience without faith is impossible, so faith without obedience is vain and unprofitable ; for as the body, says St. James, without the spirit is dead, so faith without good works is dead also, James ii. 26. Having therefore, I hope, laid a sure foundation, by resolving what and how to believe, I shall now, by the grace of God, resolve so to order my conversa- tion, in all circumstances and conditions of life, as to raise a ] good superstructure upon it, and to finish the work God has given me to do, i. e. so to love and please God in this world, as to enjoy and be happy with him for ever in the next. And I it is absolutely necessary that I should be speedy and serious in these resolutions ; especially when I reflect with myself, how much of my time I have already spent upon the vanities and follies of youth, and how much enhanced and increased this work, by acquired guilt, by settled and repeated habits of sin, which are not without great difficulty to be atoned for and removed. My heart, alas ! is now more hardened in iniquity, more puffed with pride, and more averse from God, than when I first entered into covenant with him : and I have added many actual sins and provocations to my original guilt and pollution ; instead of glorifying God, I have dishonoured him ; and instead of working out my own salvation, I have taken a pleasure and delight in such things as would, in the end, be my ruin and destruction. So that before I can be able to make any progress in the duties of religion, or walk in the paths that lead to life, I must first be freed and disentan- gled from these weights and incumbrances that clog and re- tard me in my spiritual course ; I must have my heart cleansed and softened, humbled and converted to God, and all my trans- gressions purged and pardoned by the merits of my Redeemer, 94 Resolutions. And then, being fully persuaded that there is no way for me to come to the joys of heaven, but by walking according to the strictest rules of holiness upon earth, I must endeavour for the future, by a thorough change and reformation of my life, to act in conformity to the divine will and pleasure in all things, and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord ; for the Most High has told me in his word, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. In order, therefore, to qualify myelf for this happiness, it will be necessary for me to settle firm and steady resolutions to fulfil my duty, in all the several branches of it, to God, my neighbour, and myself; and to take care these resolutions be put in practice, according to the following method. RESOLUTION I. I am resolved by the grace of God, to walk by rule ; and therefore think it necessary to resolve upon rules to walk by. \ And this the rather, because I perceive the want of such rules has been the occasion of all or most of my miscarriages. For what other reason can I assign to myself for having tri- fled and sinned away so much time, as I have done in my younger years, but because I did not throughly resolve to spend it better ? What is the reason I have hitherto lived so ! unserviceably to God, so unprofitably to others, and so sin- folly against my own soul, but because I did not apply myself with that sincerity of resolution, diligence, and circumspection, ; as a wise man ought to have done, to discharge my duty in i these particulars ? I have, indeed, often resolved to bid adieu to my sins and follies, and enter upon a new course of life ; , ; but these resolutions being not rightly formed upon steady prin- ciples, the first temptation made way for a relapse, and the J same bait that first allured me has no sooner been thrown in i my way, but I have been as ready to catch at it again, and as greedy to swallow it, as ever. At other times again I have acted without any thought or resolution at all ; and then, though some of my actions might be good in themselves, yet, being done by chance, without any true design or intention, they could not be imputed to me as good, but rather the quite contrary : so that in this respect the want of resolution has not only been the occasion of my sinful actions, but the corrup- tion of my good ones too. And shall I still go on in this same Resolutions. 35 loose and careless manner as I have formerly done ? No, I now resolve with myself, in the presence of the most high and eternal God, not only in general to walk by rule, but to fix the rule I design to walk by ; so that in all my thoughts, and words, and actions, in all places, companies, relations, and conditions, I may still have a sure guide at hand to direct me, such a one as I can safely depend upon, without any danger of being deceived or misled, i. e. the holy Scriptures. And therefore, RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to make the divine word the rule of all the rules I propose to myself. As the will of God is the rule and measure of all that is good, so there is nothing deserves that name but what is agree- able and conformable thereto : and this will being fully re- vealed and contained in the holy Scripture, it will be necessary for me, in directing my course over the ocean of this world, that I should fix my eye continually upon this star, steer by this compass, and make it the only land-mark, by which I am to be guided to my wished-for haven. I must not, therefore, have recourse to the inward workings of my own roving fancy, or the corrupt dictates of my own carnal reason : these are but blind guides, and will certainly lead me into the ditch of error, heresy, and irreligion, which, in these our self-admiring days, so many poor souls have been plunged in. Alas ! how many hath the impetuous torrent of blind zeal and erroneous con- science borne down into a will-worship, and voluntary subjec- tion of themselves to the spurious offspring of their own de- luded fancies ! If the light that is within them doth but dictate any thing to be done ; or rather, if the whimsey doth but take them, that they must do thus or thus, they presently set about it, without ever consulting the sacred writings, to see whether it is acceptable to God, or displeasing to him. Whereas, for my own part, I know not how any thing should be worthy of God's accepting, that is not of God's commanding. I am sure, the word of God is the good old way that will certainly bring me to my Father's house ; for how should that way but lead me to heaven, which truth itself has chalked out for me ? Not as if it was necessary, that every one of my resolutions should be contained, word for word, in the holy Scriptures ; it is sum- 96 Resolutions. cient that they be implied in, and agreeable thereto. So that though the manner of my expressions may not be found in the word of God, yet the matter of my resolutions may clearly be drawn from thence. But let me dive a little into the depth of my sinful heart ! What is the reason of my thus resolving upou such an exact conformity to the will and word of God ? Is it to work my way to heaven with mine own hands ? to purchase an inheritance in the land of Canaan with the price of my own holiness and religion ? or to swim over the ocean of this world into the haven of happiness, upon the empty bladders of my own resolutions ? No : RESOLUTION III. / am re-solved, that as I am not able to think or do any thing that is good, without the influence of the divine grace ; so I wSL not pretend to merit any favour from God. upon aceoitnt of any thing I do for his glory and service. A>"D indeed, I may very well put this resolution amongst the rest ; for should I resolve to perform my resolutions by mine own strength, I might as well resolve never to perform them at all : for truth itself, and mine own woful experience, hatii convinced me, that I am not able of myself so much as to think a good thought , and how then shall I be able of myself to resolve upon rules of holiness, according to the word of God, or to order my conversation according to these involutions, without the concurrence of the divine grace ? Alas ! should the great God be pleased to leave me to myself, to resolve upon what is agreeable to my corrupt nature, what strange kind of resolution should I make ? What should I resolve upon I Certainly, only nothing but to gratify my carnal appetite with sensual and sinful pleasures, to indulge myself in riot and ex- cess, to spend my time, and ravel out my parts and talents, in the revels of sin and vanity. But now to live holily. righteously, and godlihj in this present irorld, to deny my own. that I may fulfil the will of God ; alas ! such resolutions as these would never so much as come into my thoughts, much less would they discover themselves in my outward conversation. But, suppose I should be able to make good resolutions, and fulfil them exactly in my life and actions ; yet. what should I do more than my duty ? And what should I be esteemed of for doing that ? Alas ! this is so far from puffing me up, that I am Resolutions. 97 verily persuaded, should I spend all my time, my parts, my strength, my gifts, for God, and all my estate upon the poor ; should I water my couch continually with my tears, and fast my body into a skeleton ; should I employ each moment of my life in the immediate worship of my glorious Creator, so that all my actions, from my birth to my death, should be but one continued act of holiness and obedience ; in a word, should I live like an angel in heaven, and die like a saint on earth, yet I know no truer, nor should I desire any better epitaph to be engraven upon my tomb than this, Here lies an unprofitable servant. No, no ; it is Christ, and Christ alone, that my soul must support itself upon. It is holiness, indeed, that is the way to heaven ; but there is none, none but Christ can lead me to it. As the worst of my sins are pardonable by Christ, so are the best of my duties damnable without him. But if so, then whither tend my resolutions ? Why so strict, so circumspect a conversation ? Why, it is to justify that faith before others, and mine own conscience, which, I hope, through Christ, shall justify my soul before God. And I believe farther, that the holier I live here, the happier I shall live hereafter ; for though I shall not be saved for my works, yet I believe I shall be saved according to them. And thus, as I dare not expect to be saved by the performance of my resolutions, with- out Christ's merit, so neither do I ever expect to be enabled to perform my resolutions, without his Spirit assisting me therein. No ; it is thyself, my God and my guide, that I wholly and solely depend upon ! Oh ! for thine own name's sake, forj thy Son's sake, and for thy promise sake, do thou both make me to know what thou wouldest have me to do, and then he]p me to do what thou wouldest have me to know ! Teach me first what to resolve upon, and then enable me to perform my reso- lutions ; that I may walk with thee in the ways of holiness here, and rest with thee in the joys of happiness hereafter ! CONCERNING MY CONVERSATION IN GENERAL. Having thus far determined in general to form resolutions for the better regulating of my life, I must now descend to particulars, and settle some rules with myself, to resolve my future life and conversation wholly into holiness and re ligion. I know this is a hard task to do ; but I am sure it is no more than what my God and my Father has set me : I 98 Resolutions. why, therefore, should I think much to do it ? Shall I grudge to spend my life for him, who did not grudge to spend his own blood for me ? Shall not I so live, that he may be glorified on earth, who died, that I might be glorified in heaven ? Espe- cially considering, that if my whole life could be sublimated into holiness, and moulded into an exact conformity unto the will of the Most High, I should be happy beyond expression ? Oh ! what a heaven should I then live on earth ! what ravish- ments of love and joy would my soul be continually possessed with ! Well, I am resolved, by the grace of God, to try ; and to that end do, this morning, wholly sequester and set myself apart for God, resolving, by the assistance of his grace, to make all and every thought, word, and action, to pay their tribute unto him. Let this man mind his profit, a second his pleasures, a third his honours, a fourth himself, and all their sins ; I am resolved to mind and serve my God, so as to make him the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last of my whole life. And, that I may always have an exact copy before me, to write and frame every letter of this my life by, RESOLUTION I. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to make Christ the pattern of my life here, that so Christ may be the portion of my soul hereafter. Let the whole world go whither it will, I am resolved to walk in the steps that my Saviour went in before me : I shall endeavour, in all places I come into, in all companies I con- verse with, in all the duties I undertake, in all the miseries 1 un- dergo, still to behave myself as my Saviour would do, was he in my place. So that wheresoever I am, or whatsoever I am about, I shall still put this question to myself, Would my Sa- viour go hither ? Would he do this or that ? And, every morn- ing, consider with myself, Suppose my Saviour was in my stead, had my business to do, how would he demean himself this day ? How meek and lowly would he be in his carriage and deportment ? How circumspect in his walking ? How sa- voury in his discourse ? How heavenly in all, even his earthly employments ? Well ; and I am resolved, by strength from himself, to follow him as near as possible. I know, I can ne- ver hope perfectly to transcribe his copy, but I must endeavour to imitate it in the best manner I can, that so by doing as he Resolutions. 99 did in time, I may be where he is to all eternity. But, alas ! his life was spiritual, and / am carnal, sold under sin ; and every petty object that doth but please my senses, will be apt to divert and draw away my soul from following his steps. In order, therefore, to prevent this, RESOLUTION II. lam resolved, by the grace of God, to walk by faith, and not by sight, on earth, that so I may live by sight, and not by faith, in heaven. And truly, this resolution is so necessary to the performance of all the rest, that without it I can do nothing, with it I can do every thing that is required. The reason why I am so much taken with the garnish and seeming beauty of this world's va- nities, so as to step out of the road of holiness to catch at, or delight myself in them, is only because I look upon them with an eye of sense. For could I behold every thing with the eye of faith, I should judge of them not as they seem to me, but as they are in themselves, vanity and vexation of spirit. For faith has a quick and piercing eye, that can look through the out- ward superficies, into the inward essence of things. It can look through the pleasing bait to the hidden hook, view the sting, as well as the honey, the everlasting punishment, as well as the temporal contentment there is in sin. It is, as the Apostle very well defines it, the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, Heb. xi. 1. It is the sub- stance of whatsoever is promised by God to me, or expected by me from him : so that, by faith, whatsoever I hope for in heaven, I may have the substance of upon earth : and it is the evidence of things not seen, the presence of what is absent, the clear demonstration of what would otherwise seem impossible ; so that I can clearly discern, as through a prospective, hidden things, and things afar off, as if they were open, and just at hand. I can look into the deepest mysteries, as fully revealed, and see heaven and eternity as just ready to receive me. And, oh ! could I but always look through this glass, and be constantly upon the mount, taking a view of the land of Canaan, what dreams and shadows would all things here be- low appear to be ? Well ; by the grace of God, I am resolv- ed no longer to tie myself to sense and sight, the sordid and trifling affairs of this life, but always to walk as one of the 100 Resolutions. other world, to behave myself in all places, and at all times, as one already possessed of my inheritance, and an inhabitant of the new Jerusalem : by faith assuring myself, I have but a few more days to live below, a little more work to do, and then I shall lay aside my glass, and be admitted to a nearer vision and fruition of God, and see him face to face. Ey this means, I shall always live, as if I was daily to die ; always speak, as if my tongue, the next moment, were to cleave to the roof of my mouth ; and continually order my thoughts and affections in such a manner, as if my soul were just ready to depart, and take its flight into the other world. By this means, whatsoever place I am in, or whatsoever work I am about, I shall still be with my God, and demean myself so, as if, with St. Jerome, I heard the voice of the trumpet crying out, Awake, ye dead, and come to judgment. And thus, though I am at present here in the flesh, yet I shall look upon myself as more really an inhabitant of heaven, than I am upon earth. Here I am but as a pilgrim or sojourn- er, that has no abiding city ; but there I have a sure and ever- lasting inheritance, which Christ has purchased and prepared for me, and which faith has given me the possession of. And, therefore, as it is my duty, so will I constantly make it my endeavour, to live up to the character of a true Christian, whose portion and conversation is in heaven, and think it a disgrace and disparagement to my profession, to stoop to, or entangle myself with, such toys and trifles, as the men of the world busy themselves about ; or to feed upon husks, with swine, here below, when it is in my power, by faith, to be continually supplied with spiritual manna from heaven, till at last I am admitted to it. And that I may awe my spirit into the performance of these, and all other my resolutions, RESOLUTION III. J am resolved by the grace of God, always to be looking upon God, as always looking upon me. Wheresoever I am, or whatsoever I am a doing, I must still consider the eye of the great God as directly intent upon me, viewing and observing all my thoughts, words, and ac- tions, and writing them down in the book of his remembrance ; and that all these, unless they be washed out with the tears of repentance, and crossed with the blood of my cruci- Resolutions. 101 fied Saviour, must still remain on record, and be brought in judgment against me at the great day. That, therefore, I may always behave myself as in his presence, it behoves me thoroughly to consider, and be persuaded, not only that my outward man, but even all the secret thoughts, the inward motions and retirements of my soul, all the several windings and turnings of my heart, are exactly known and manifest, as anatomized before him. He knows what I am now a thinking, doing, and writing, as well as I do myself; yea, he sees every word whilst it is in my heart, before it be brought forth and set down. He knows all the resolutions I have made, and how often, poor creature! I have broken them already, since I made them. Upon this consideration, I resolve to stand my ground a- gainst all temptations ; and whenever I find myself in danger to be drawn aside by them, to oppose the bent of my corrupt affections by these or the like questions : Am I really in the presence of the Almighty, the great Lord of heaven and earth, and shall I presume to affront him to his face, by doing such things as I know are odious and displeasing to him ? I would not commit adultery in the sight of my fellow-creatures, and shall I do it in the presence of the glorious Jehovah ? I would not steal in the sight of an earthly judge, and shall I do it before the Judge of all the world ? If fear and shame from men have such an influence upon me, as to deter me from the commission of sin, how ought I to be moved with the ap- prehension of God's inspection, who does not only know my transgressions, but will eternally punish me for them ? May these thoughts and considerations always take place in my heart, and be accompanied with such happy effects in my conversation, that I may live with God upon earth, and so love and fear his presence in this world, that I may forever enjoy his glory in the next ! CONCERNING MY THOUGHTS. But who am I, poor, proud, sinful dust and ashes, that I should expect ever to live so holy, so heavenly, as is here sup- posed 1 Can grapes be gathered from thorns, or figs from this- tles ? Can the fruit be sweet, when the root is bitter ? or the streams healthful, when the fountain is poisoned ? No ; I must either get me a new and better heart, or else it will be impos- sible for me ever to lead a new and better life. But how must 12 102 Resolutions. I come by this pearl of inestimable value, a new heart ? Can I purchase it with my own riches ? or find it in my own field 1 Can I raise it from sin to holiness ? from earth to heaven ? or from myself to God ? Alas ! I have endeavoured it, but I find, by woeful experience, I cannot attain to it : I have been lift- ing and heaving again and again, to raise it out of the mire and clay of sin and corruption ; but, alas ! it will not stir : I have rubbed and chafed it with one threatening after another, and all to get heat and life into it ; but still it is as cold and dead as ever : I have brought it to the promises, and set it un- der the droppings of the sanctuary ; I have shown it the beauty of Christ, and the deformity of sin ; but yet it is a hard and sinful, an earthly and sensual heart still. What, therefore, shall I do with it ? O my God, I bring it unto thee ! Thou that madest it a heart at first, canst only make it a new heart now ! O do thou purify and refine it, and renew a right spirit within me ! Do thou take it into thy hands, and, out of thine infinite goodness, new mould it up, by thine own grace, into an exact conformity to thine own will ! Do thou but give me a new heart, and I shall promise thee, by thy grace, to lead a new life, and become a new creature ! Do thou but clear the fountain, and I shall endeavour to look to the streams that flow from it ! which that I may be able to do, with the better success, RESOLUTION I. 7 am resolved, by the grace of God, to watch as much over the inward motions of my heart, as the outward actions of my life. For my heart, I perceive, is the womb, in which all sin is first conceived, and from which, my Saviour tells me, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, coret- ousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blas- phemy, pride, foolishness, Mark vii. 21, 22. So that, as ever I would prevent the commission of these sins in my life, I must endeavour to hinder their conception in my heart, following the wise man's counsel, to keep my heart with all diligence, because out of it are the issues of life, Prov. iv. 23. Neither is this the only reason ,why I should set so strict a watch over my heart, because sinful thoughts lead to sinful acts ; but because the thoughts themselves are sinful, yea, the very first-born of ini- Resolutions. 103 quity ; which though men cannot pry into or discover, yet the all-seeing God knows and observes, and remembers them, as well as the greatest actions of all my life. And oh ! what wicked and profane thoughts have I formerly entertained, not only against God, but against Christ, by questioning the justice of his laws, and doubting of the truth of his revelation, so as to make both his life and death of none effect to me ! Which that they may never be laid to my charge hereafter, I humbly beseech God to pardon and absolve me from them, and to give me grace, for the remainder of my life, to be as careful of thinking, as of doing well, and as fearful of offending him in my heart, as of transgressing his laws in my life and conver- sation. To this end, RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to stop every thought at its first entering into my heart, and to examine it whence it comes, and whither it tends. So soon as ever any new thought begins to bubble in my soul, I am resolved to examine, what stamp it is of, whether it spring from the pure fountain of living waters, or the polluted streams of my own affections ; as also, which way it tends, or takes its course, towards the ocean of happiness, or the pit of destruction. And the reason of this my resolution, I draw from the experience I have had of the devil's temptations, and the working of my own corruptions ; by which I find, that there is no sin I am betrayed into, but what takes its rise from my inward thoughts. These are the tempters that first present some pleasing object to my view, and then bias my under- standing, and pervert my will, to comply with the suggestions. So that, though the Spirit of God is pleased to dart a beam into my heart at the same time, and shew me the odious and dangerous effects of such thoughts ; yet, I know not how or why, I find a prevailing suggestion within, that tells me, it is but a thought, and that so long as it goes no farther, it cannot do me much hurt. Under this specious colour and pretence, I secretly persuade myself to dwell a little longer upon it ; and finding my heart pleased and delighted with its natural issue, I give it a little farther indulgence, till, at last, my desire breaks out into a flame, and will be satisfied with nothing less than the enjoyment of the object it is exercised upon. And what water 104 Resolutions. can quench such a raging fire, as is thus kindled by the devil, and blown up by the bellows of my own inordinate affections, which the more I think of, the more I increase the flame ? How nearly, therefore, does it concern me to take up this resolution of setting a constant watch and guard at the door of my heart, that nothing may enter in without a strict examination ? Not as if I could examine every particular thought that arises in my heart, for by that means I should do nothing else but ex- amine my thoughts without intermission. But this I must do ; whensoever I find any thought that bears the face or appear- ance of sin, I must throw it aside, with the utmost abhorrence : and when it comes in disguise, as the devil under Samuel's mantle, or when it is a thought I never conceived before, and know not but it may be bad, as well as good ; then, before I suffer it to settle upon my spirits, I must examine, as well as I can, whether it be sent from heaven or hell, and what message it comes about, and what will be the issue of it. And thus, by the divine assistance, I shall let nothing into my heart, but what will bring me nearer to my God, and set me at a greater dis- tance from the evil and punishment of sin. Neither do I think it my duty only to be so watchful against such thoughts as are in themselves sinful ; but, RELOLUTION III. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as fearful to let in vain, as careful to keep out sinful thoughts. I do not look upon vain thoughts as only tending to sin, but as in themselves sinful ; for that which makes sin to be sin, is the want of conformity to the will of God ; and that vain thoughts are not conformable and agreeable to the divine will, appears in that God himself, by the mouth of his royal prophet, expressly saith, I hate vain thoughts, Psalm cxix. 113. Again, vain thoughts are therefore sinful, because they have in them nothing that can denominate them good : for as, in a moral sense, there is never a particular individual act, so neither is there any particular thought, but what is either good or bad, in some respect or other. There is not a moment of my life, but it is my duty either to be thinking, or speaking, or doing good ; so that whensoever I am not thus employed, I come short of my duty, and, by consequence, am guilty of sin. But what are these vain thoughts I am thus resolving against ? Resolutions. 105 Why, all wanderings and distractions in prayer, or in hearing the word of God ; all useless, trifling, and impertinent thoughts, that do not belong to, nor further, the work I am about, the grand affair of my salvation, may properly be called vain thoughts. And, alas ! what swarms of these are continually crowding into my heart ? How have I thought away whole hours together, about I know not what chimeras, whereof one scarce ever depends upon another : sometimes entertaining myself with the pleasures of sense, as eating and drinking, and such- like earthly enjoyments ; sometimes building castles in the air, and clambering up to the pinnacle of wealth and honour, which I am not half way got up to, but down I fall again into a fool's paradise ! Or, if I chance, at any time, to think a good while upon one thing, it is just to as much purpose as the man's thoughts were, which I have sometimes heard of, and smiled at, who having an egg in his hand, by a sort of chimerical climax, improved it into an estate ; but while he was thus pleasing himself with these imaginary products, down dropped the egg, and all his hens, and cattle, and house, and land, that he had raised from it, vanished in the fall. These and such like are the vain thoughts that Imust, for the future, endeavour to avoid ; and though it will be impossible for me wholly to prevent their first entering into my mind, yet I resolve, by the grace of God, not to har- bour or dwell upon, or delight myself in them. And then, not- withstanding they are in some sense sinful, yet they will not be imputed to me as such, provided I use my utmost endeavours to avoid them. Which that I may be the better able to do, RESOLUTION IV. J am resolved, by the grace of God, to be alivays exercising my thoughts upon good objects, that the devil may not exer- cise them upon bad. The soul, being a spiritual substance is always in action, and its proper and immediate act is thinking, which is as natu- ral and proper to the soul, as extension is to the body : it is that upon which all the other actions of the soul are grounded ; so that neither our apprehensions of, nor affections to, any object, can be acted without it. And hence it is, that I think the soul is very properly defined, substantia cogitans, a think- ing substance ; for there is nothing else but a spirit can think, 106 Resolutions. and there is no spirit but always doth think. And this I find, by experience, to be so true and certain, that if at any time I have endeavoured to think of nothing, (as I have sometimes done,) I have spent all the time in thinking upon that very thought. How much, therefore, doth it concern me to keep my soul in continual exercise upon what is good ? for be sure, if I do not set it on work, the devil will ; and if it do not work for God, it will w r ork for him : I know, sinful objects are more agreeable to a sinful soul ; but I am j sure, holy thoughts are more conformable to a holy God. Why therefore should I spend and ravel out my thoughts upon that which will destroy my soul ? No, no ; I shall henceforth endeavour always to be employing my thoughts upon something that is good, and therefore to have good subjects constantly at hand to think upon ; (as the attributes of God, the glory of heaven, the misery of hell, the merits of Christ, the corruption of my na- ture, the sinfulness of sin, the beauty of holiness, the vanity of the world, the immortality of the soul, and the like, and like- wise to take occasion, from the objects I meet or converse with in the world, to make such remarks and reflections, as may be for my advantage and improvement in my spiritual affairs. For there is nothing in the world, though it be never so bad, but what I may exercise good thoughts upon : and my ne- glect, in this kind, has been the real occasion of all those vain thoughts that have hitherto possessed my soul. I have not kept them close to their work, to think upon what is good, and therefore they have run out into those extravagances, which, by the blessing of God, in the performance of these resolutions, I shall endeavour to avoid. It is indeed, a singular advantage of that high and heavenly calling, in which the Most High, of his wisdom and goodness has been pleased to place mc, that all the objects we converse with, and all the subjects we exercise our thoughts upon, are either God and heaven, or something relating to them. So that we need not go out of our common road to meet with this heavenly company, good thoughts. But then, I do not ac- count every thought of God or heaven, which only swims in my brain, to be a good and holy thought, unless it sinks down into my heart and affections, i. e. unless to my meditations of God and another world, I join a longing for him, a rejoicing in him, and a solacing myself in the hopes of a future enjoy- ment of him. Neither will this be any hindrance, but a fur- therance to my studies ; for, as I know no divine truths as I ought, unless I know them practically and experimentally ; Resolutions. 107 so I never think I have any clear apprehensions of God, till I find my affections are inflamed towards him ; or that I ever understand any divine truth aright, till my heart be brought into subjection to it. This resolution, therefore, extends itself not only to the sub- ject matter of my thoughts, but also to the quality of them, with regard to practice, that they may influence my life and conversation, that whether I speak, or write, or eat, or drink, or whatsoever I do, I may still season all, even my commonest actions, with heavenly meditations ; there being nothing I can set my hand to, but I may likewise set my heart a working upon it. Which accordingly I shall endeavour, by the blessing of God, to do. And, for the better ordering of my thoughts, RESOLUTION V. / am resolved, by the grace of God, so to marshal my thoughts, that they may not one justle out another, nor any of tliem -prejudice the business I am about. My soul being by nature swift and nimble, and by corruption inordinate and irregular in its operations, I can never set my- self to think upon one thing, but presently another presses in, and another after that, and so on, till by thinking of so many things at once, I can think upon nothing to any purpose. And hence it is, that I throw away thousands of thoughts each day for nothing, which, if well managed, might prove very profit- able and advantageous to me. To prevent, therefore, this tumultuous, desultory, and useless working of my thoughts, as I have already resolved to fix and settle my heart upon neces- sary, and useful, and good objects, so, to prevent my thoughts rolling from one thing to another, or leaping from the top of one to the height of another object, I must now endeavour to rank and digest them into order and method, that they may for the future be more steady and regular in their pursuits. I know, the devil and my own corrupt nature will labour to break the ranks and confound the order of them ; what stratagem therefore shall I use, to prevent this confusion ? 1 shall endea- vour, by the grace of God, whensoever I find any idle thoughts begin to frisk and rove out of the way, to call them in again, and set them at work upon one or other of these objects be- fore mentioned, and to keep them, for some time, fixed and intent upon it ; and considering the relations and dependences 108 Resolutions. of one thing upon another, not to suffer any foreign ideas, such, I mean, as are impertinent to the chain of thoughts I am upon, to justle them out, or divert my mind another way. No, not though they be otherwise good thoughts ; for thoughts in themselves good, when they crowd in unseasonably, are sometimes attended with very ill effects, by interrupting and preventing some good purposes and resolutions, which might prove more effectual for promoting God's glory, the good of others, and the comfort of our own souls. These, and such like, are the methods by which I design and resolve to regulate my thoughts : and since I can do no- thing without the divine assistance, I earnestly beg of God to give me such a measure of his grace, as may enable me effec- tually to put these resolutions in practice, that I may not think and resolve in vain. CONCERNING MY AFFECTIONS. But whilst I am thus ranging my thoughts, I find something of a passion or inclination within me, either drawing me to, or driving me from, every thing I think on ; so that I cannot so much as think upon a thought, but it is either pleasing or dis- pleasing to me, according to the agreeableness or disagree- ableness of the object it is placed upon, to my natural affec- tions. If it comes under the pleasing dress and appearance of good, I readily choose and embrace it ; if otherwise, I am as eagerly bent to refuse and reject it. And these two acts of the will are naturally founded in those two reigning passions of the soul, love and hatred, which I cannot but look upon as the grounds of all its other motions and affections. For what are those other passions of desire, hope, joy, and the like, but love in its several postures ? And what else can we conceive of fear, grief, abhorrence, &c. but so many different expres- sions of hatred, according to the several circumstances that the displeasing object appears to be under. Doth my under- standing represent any thing to my will, under the notion of good and pleasant ? my will is presently taken and delighted with it, and so places its love upon it ; and this love, if the ob- ject be present, inclines me to embrace it with joy ; if absent, it puts forth itself into desire ; if easy to be attained, it com- forts itself with hope ; if difficult, it arms itself with courage ; if impossible, it boils up into anger ; if obstructed, it presently falls down into despair. Resolutions. 109 On the other hand, doth my understanding represent any object to my will, as evil, or painful, or deformed 1 How doth it immediately shrink and gather up itself into a loathing and hatred of it ! And this hatred, if the ungrateful object be pre- sent, puts on the mournful sables of grief and sorrow ; if it be at any distance from it, it boils up into detestation and abhor- rence ; if ready to fall upon it, it shakes for fear ; if difficult to be prevented, it strengthens itself with courage and magna- nimity, either to conquer or undergo it. These aifections, therefore, being thus the constant attendants of my thoughts, it behoves me as much to look to those, as to the other ; espe- cially when I consider, that not only my thoughts, but even my actions too, are generally determined to good or bad, accord- ly as they are influenced by them. That my affections, there- fore, as well as my thoughts, may be duly regulated, RESOLUTION I. / am resolved, by the grace of God, always to make my affec- tions subservient to the dictates of my understanding, that my reason may not follow, but guide my affections. The affections being of themselves blind and inordinate, unless they are directed by reason and judgment, they either move toward a wrong object, or pursue the right in a wrong way. And this judgment must be mature and deliberate, such as arises from a clear apprehension of the nature of the object that affects me, and a thorough consideration of the several circumstances that attend it. And great care must be taken, that I do not impose upon myself by fancy and imagination, that I do not mistake fancy for judgment, or the capricious humours of my roving imagination, for the solid dictates of a well-guided reason : for my fancy is as wild as my affections ; and if the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into the ditch. And alas ! how often am I deceived in this manner ! If I do but fancy a thing good and lovely, how eager are my affections in the pursuit of it ? If I do but fancy any thing evil and hurt- ful to me, how doth my heart presently rise up against it, or grieve and sorrow for it ? And this, I believe, hath been the occasion of all the enormities and extravagancies I have been guilty of, through the whole course of my past life, divesting me of my reasonable faculties, as to the acts and exercises of them, and subjecting my soul to the powers of sense, that I K 110 Resolutions. coukl not raise my affections above them. Thus, for instance, I have not loved grace, because my fancy could not see its beau- ty ; I have not loathed sin, because my fancy could not com- prehend its misery ; and I have not truly desired heaven, be- cause my fancy could not reach it glory : whereas if the tran- sient beauty and lustre of this world's vanities was but pre- sented to my view, how has my fancy mounted up to the high- est pitch of pleasure and ambition, and inflamed my heart with the desire of them ? And thus, poor wretch ! have I been carried about with the powerful charms of sense, without having any other guide of my affections, but what is common to the very brutes that perish ; fancy supplying that place in the sensitive, which rea- son does in the rational soul. And alas ! what is this, but, with Nebuchadnezzar, to leave communion with men, and herd myself with the flocks of the beasts of the field ! And what a shame and reproach is this to the image of God, in which I was created ! Oh ! thou, that art the Author of my nature, help me, I beseech thee, to act more conformably to it for the time to" come ; that I may no longer be bewildered or misled by the blind conduct of straggling fancy, this ignis fatrnis, that hur- ries me over bogs and precipices to the pit of destruction, but that I may bring all my affections, and actions to the stan- dard of a clear and sound judgment; and let that judgment be guided by the unerring light of thy divine word ; that so I may neither love, desire, fear, nor detest any thing, but what my judgment, thus formed, tells me I ought to do ! I know, it will be very hard thus to subject my affections to the dictates and commands of my judgment ; but however, it is my resolution, this morning, in the presence of Almighty God, to endeavour it, and never, to sutler my heart to settle its affections upon any object, till my judgment hath passed its sentence upon it. And as I will not suffer my affections to run before my judgment, so, whenever that is determined, I stedfastly resolve to follow it ; that so my apprehensions and affections always going together, I may be sure to walk in the direct path of God's commandments, and enter the gate that leads to everlasting life. And the better to facilitate the per- formance of this general resolution, it being necessary to de- scend to particulars ; Resolutions. 1 1 1 RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to love God, as the best of goods, and to hate sin, as the worst of evils. As God is the centre of our concupiscible affections, so sin is the object of those we call irasicible : and the affections of love and hatred being the ground of all the rest, I must have a great care, that I do not mistake or miscarry in them : for if these be placed upon wrong objects, it is impossible any of the rest should be placed upon right ones. In order, therefore, to prevent such a miscarriage, as God is the greatest good, and sin the greatest evil, I resolve to love God above all things else in the world, and to hate sin to the same degree ; and so to love other things, only in relation to God ; and to hate no- thing, but in reference to sin. As for the first, the loving God above all things, there is nothing seems more reasonable ; inasmuch as there is nothing lovely in any creature, but what it receives from God ; and by- how much the more it is like to God, by so much the more it is lovely unto us. Hence it is, that beauty, or an exact sym- metry and proportion of parts and colours, so attracts our love, because it so much resembles God, who is beauty and perfec- tion itself. And hence it is, likewise, that grace is the most lovely thing in the world, next to God, as being the image of God himself stamped upon the soul ; nay, it is not only the image and representation, but it is the influence and commu- nication of himself to us ; so that the more we have of grace, we may safely say, so much the more we have of God, within us. Why, therefore, should I grudge my love to him, who only deserves it ; who is not only infinitely lovely in himself, but the author and perfection of all loveliness in his creatures ? Why, the true reason is, that my affections have run a gadding without my judgment, or else my judgment hath been balked or anticipated by my fincy : whereas, now that my apprehen- sions of God are a little cleared up, and my judgment leads the way, though nobody sees me, yet, methinks, I cannot but blush at myself, that I should ever lie doting upon these dreams and shadows here below, and not fix my affections upon the infinite beauty and all-sufficiency of God above, who deserves my love and admiration so infinitely beyond them. Howsoever, therefore, I have heretofore placed my affections upon other things above God, I am now resolved to love God, not only above many or most things, but above all things else in the world. 112 Resolutions. And here, by loving God, I do not understand that sensitive affection I place upon material objects ; for it is impossible that that should be fixed upon God, who is a pure spiritual Being ; but that, as by the deliberate choice of my will, I take him for my chiefest good, so I ought to prefer him as such, before my nearest and dearest possessions, interest, or relations, and whatsoever else may at any time stand in competition with him. And thus, as I shall endeavour to love God, so likewise to hate sin, above all things : and this is as necessary as the for- mer ; for all things else have something of good in them, as they are made by God : but sin being, in its own nature, a privation of good, and directly opposite to the nature and will of God, (as I have before showed,) it has nothing of beauty or amiableness to recommend it to my affections. On the con- trary, it is a compound of deformity and defilement, that is always attended with punishment and misery, and must, there- fore, be the object of my hatred and abhorrence, wheresoever I find it. For, as God is the centre of all that is good, so is sin the fountain of all the evil in the world. All the strife and contention, ignominy and disgrace, misfortunes and afflictions, that I observe in the world ; all the diseases of my body, and infirmities of my mind ; all the errors of my understanding, and irregularities of my will and affections ; in a word, all the evils whatsoever that I am affected with, or subject to, in this world, are still the fruits and effects of sin : for, if man had never offended the chiefest good, he had never been subject to this train of evils which attended his transgression. When- soever, therefore, I find myself begin to detest and abhor any evil, I shall, for the future, endeavour to turn my eyes to the spring-head, and loath and detest the fountain that sends forth all those bitter and unwholesome streams, as well as the chan- nels of those corrupt hearts in which they How. And, for this reason, I resolve to hate sin wherever I find it, whether in myself or in others, in the best of friends, as well as the worst of enemies. Love, I know, and charity, covers a multitude of sins ; and where we love the man, we are all of us but too apt to overlook, or excuse, his faults. For the prevention of this, therefore, I firmly resolve, in all my expressions of love to my fellow-creatures, so to love the person, as yet to hate his sins ; and so to hate his sins, as yet to love his person. The last of which, I hope, I shall not find hard to practise, my nature, by the blessing of God, being not easily inclined to hate any man's person whatsoever ; and the former will not be much more difficult, when I consider, that by how much more I love my friend, by so much more should I hate what- soever will be offensive or destructive to him. Resolutions, 113 Having thus fixed my resolutions, with regard to those two commanding passions of my soul, love and hatred. RESOLUTION III. / am resolved, by the assistance of divine grace, to make God the principal object of my joy, and sin the principal object of mi/ grief and sorrow; so as to grieve for sin more than suffering, and for suffering only for sin's sake. The affections of joy and grief are the immediate issues of love and hatred, and, therefore, not at ail to be separated in their object. Having, therefore, resolved to love, I cannot but resolve likewise to rejoice in God above all things ; for the same measure of love I have towards any thing, the same measure of complacency and delight I must necessarily have in the enjoyment of it. As, therefore, I love God above all things, and other things only in subserviency to him, so must I rejoice in God above all things, and in other things only as coining from him. I know, I not only may, but must rejoice in the mercies and blessings that God confers upon ine ; but it is still my duty to rejoice more in what God is in himself, than in what he is pleased to communicate to me : so that I am not only bound to rejoice in God, when I have nothing else, but when I have all things else to rejoice in. Let, therefore, my riches, honours, or my friends, fail me ; let my pleasures, my health, and hope, and all, fail me ; I am still resolved, by his grace, to rejoice in the Lord, and to joy in the God of rny salvation. On the other hand, let honour or riches be multiplied upon me ; let joy and pleasure, and all that a car- nal heart (like mine) can wish for or desire, be thrown upon me ; yet I am still resolved, that as it is my business to serve God, so shall it be my delight and comfort to rejoice in him. And as God shall thus be my chiefestjoy, so shall sin be my greatest grief; for I account no condition miserable, but that which results from, or leads ine unto, sin : so that when any thing befalls me, which may bear the face of suffering, and fill my heart with sorrow, I shall still endeavour to keep off the smart, till I know from whence it comes. If sin has kindled the fire of God's wrath against me, and brought these judgments upon me, oh ! what a heavy load shall I then feel upon my soul? And how shall I groan and complain under the burden of it? But if there be nothing of the poison of sin K2 1 H Resolutions. dropped into this cup of sorrows, though it may perhaps prove bitter to my senses, yet it will, in the end, prove healthful to my soul ; as being not kindled at the furnace of God's wrath, but at the flames of his love and affection for me. So that I am so far from having cause to be sorry for the sufferings he brings wpon me, that I have much greater cause to rejoice in them, as being an argument of the love and affection he bears to me ; for\ whom the Lord lovcth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth, Heb. xii. 9. And having thus resolved to rejoice in nothing but God, and grieve for nothing but sin, I must not be cast down and de- jected at every providence which the men here below count a loss or affliction ; for, certainly, all the misery I find in any thing extrinsical, is created by myself; nothing but what is in me being properly an affliction to me ; so that it is my fancy that is the ground of misery in all things without myself. If I did not fancy some evil or misery in the loss of such an enjoy- ment, it would be no misery at all to me ; because I am still the same as I was, and have as much as I had before. For it is God that is the portion of my soul ; and therefore, should I lose every thing I have in the world besides, yet having God, I cannot be said to lose any thing, because I have him that hath, and is, all things in himself. Whensoever, therefore, any thing befalls me, that uses to be matter of sorrow and de- jection to me, I must not presently be affected with, nor de- jected at it, but still behave myself like an heir of heaven, and, living above the smiles and frowns of this world, account nothing matter of joy, but so far as I enjoy of God's love ; nor any thing matter of sorrow, but so much as I see of his anger in it. RESOLUTION IV. I am resolved by the grace of God, to desire spiritval mercies more than temporal; and temporal mercies only in reference to spiritual. Having rectified the balance of my judgment according to Scripture ; when I would begin to weigh temporal things with spiritual, I find there is no proportion, and so no comparison to be made betwixt them. And will any wise man, then, that pretends to reason, be at a stand which of these to choose, which to esteem the best, or desire most ? Alas ! what is there Resolutions. 115 in the world that can fill the vast desires of my soul, but only he, who is infinitely above me and my desires too ? Will riches do it ? No ; I may as soon undertake to fill my barns with grace, as my heart with gold ; and as easily stuff my bags with virtue, as ever satisfy my desires with wealth. Do I hunt after pleasures ? These may, indeed, charm and delight my brutisli senses, but can never be agreeable or proportionate to my spiritual faculties. Do I grasp at honour and populari- ty ? These again are as empty and unsatisfying as the former ; they may make me look high and great in the eye of the world, turn my head giddy with applause, or puff up my heart with pride, but they can never fill up the measure of its desires. And thus, if I should have the whole world at my command, and could, -with Alexander, wield both sword and sceptre over all the nations and languages of it, would this content me ? or rather, should I not sit down and weep with him, that I had not another world to conquer and possess ? Whereas, God being an infinite good, it is impossible for me to desire any thing, which I may not enjoy in him and his mercies : let me, or any other creature, extend our desires never so far, still the graces and blessings of this infinite God will be infinitely be- yond them all : insomuch that though ten thousand worlds are not able to satisfy one soul, yet one God is able to satisfy ten thousand souls ; yea, and ten millions more to them, as well as if there was only one soul in all the world to satisfy. Come, therefore, my dear Lord and Saviour ! whilst thy ser- vant is breathing after thee, and possess my heart with the spiritual blessings of grace and faith, peace and charitv ; and let none of these empty and transient delights of this world stand in competition with them! Thou art the source and centre of all my wishes and desires ; even as the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my sovl after thee, O God ! Oh ! when shall I appear in thy presence ? When, when shall that blessed time come, that I shall see thy sacred Majesty face to face ? This is a mercy, I confess, which I cannot expect, whilst imprisoned in the body : but, howsoever, though I must not yet appear before thee, do thou vouchsafe to appear in me, and give me such glimpses of thy love and graces here, as may be an earnest of the bliss and glory I am to enjoy here- after! 116 Resolutions. RESOLUTION V. lam resolved, by the grace of God, to hope for nothing so muck as the promises, and to fear nothing so much as the threaten- ings, of God. My soul being inflamed with holy desires after God, my heart cannot but be big with the hopes and expectations of him : and, truly, as there is nothing that I can absolutely de- sire, so neither is there any thing that I can assuredly hope for and depend upon, but God himself, and the promises he has made to me in his divine word. For, as all things derive their being and subsistence from him, so they are all at his beck and command, and are acted and influenced as his wis- dom and pleasure sees fit to order them. All the secondary causes are in his hand, and he turns them which way soever he will ; so that, however improbable and disproportionate the means he uses may appear to be, he never fails to accomplish the end, or whatever he wills and decrees to be done. And, therefore, wherever I meet with any promises made over to the faithful in his sacred word, (since they are the promises of one who is infinitely just and true, who can neither dissemble, nor deceive,) I cannot in the least doubt, but they will be punctually fulfilled ; and if I am of that happy number, (as I trust, through the merits of Christ, and my own sincere en- deavours, I shall approve myself to be,) T have as much as- surance of being partaker of them, as if I had them actually in possession, or as any of the faithful servants of God, who have already experienced the accomplishment of them. But, suppose God should not favour me with the bright part of his promises, but, instead of the blessings of health and prosperity, should visit me with crosses and afflictions ; yet, I have still the same grounds for my hope and confidence in him, and may say with the Psalmist, The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what the devil or man can do unto me. For, though their spite and malice may sometimes cross, afflict, and perse- cute me ; yet, since I am assured, they are only as instruments in the hand of God, that cannot go beyond their commission, nor make me suffer more than I am able to bear, I may com- fort myself, under all these afflictions, by the same divine pro- mise that St. Paul had recourse to, on the like occasion ; to wit, that all shall work together for good to them that love God, who arc the called, according to his purpose, Rom. viii. 28. The devil could not touch the possessions of Job, till he had Resolutions. 1 1 7 received a commission from God ; nor could he come near his body, till that commission was renewed ; and so, neither can he, or any creature whatsoever, throw any evil upon me, with- out the divine permission ; and even that, though it seems to be evil, shall really, in the end, turn to my benefit and advan- tage. Oh ' what a sovereign antidote is this against all des- pondency and despair, even under the deepest and severest trials 1 Permit me, O my God ! to apply this sacred promise to myself, and say, I am assured of it, by my own experience! For I can hardly remember any one thing that ever happened to me, in the whole course of my life, even to the crossing of my most earnest desires, and highest expectations, but what I must confess, to the praise of thy grace and goodness, has really, in the end, turned to my advantage another way. Oh ! make me truly sensible of all thy promises to, and dealings with me, that whatever storms and surges may arise in the \ tempestuous ocean of this transient world, I may still fix the anchor of my hope and happiness in thee, who art the source and spring of all blessings, and without whom no evil or ca- lamity could ever befal me ! I And as the promises of God, upon all those accounts, are to be the object of my hope ; so are his threatenings to be of my fear and aversation : as the former are of excellent use to raise and revive the most drooping hearts, so the latter are of weight enough to sink and depress the stoutest and most un- daunted spirits, and make them lick up the dust of horror and despair. Not to mention any thing of the exquisite and eter« nal miseries denounced against the wicked in the next world, with which the Scriptures every where abound, there is one punishment threatened to be inflicted here, which is, of itself, sufficient to do this; and that is, in Mai. ii. 2. If ye will not hear* and if yc will not lay it to heart, to give glory to my name, saith the Lord of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, und I will \curse your blessings. Most dreadful sentence ! which none, |that consider aright, can be able to read, without trembling and astonishment. Alas ! if God should curse me, where should I seek for blessing, since he is the only fountain from which it flows, and by which it is conveyed and communicated to me ? And if he should curse my very blessings, what could I hope for, but misery and despair ? My health, my wealth, my preferments, my relations, nay, my very life itself, would all be accursed to me ; and what is yet worse, even my spiritual exercises and performances, upon which I chiefly build my hopes of happiness, my preaching, praying, and communicat- ing, would all become a snare and a curse to me : yea, and 1 1 8 Resolutions. Christ himself, who came into the world to bless and redeem me, if I walk not in his fear, believe not his Gospel, or give not glory to his name, will himself be a curse and condemnation to me. So that I may say Of every thing I have, or enjoy, or expect, all these God has made curses to in'', because I have not blessed and glorified him in them. Oh! who would not tremble and be wrought upon by these thrcatenings ? Who would not fear thee, O King of nations, who art thus terrible in thy judgments .' Who would not love and obey thee, who art so gracious in thy promises? Teach me, I beseech thee, so to place ^ny fear upon the former, that I may still fix my hope upon the latter, that though I fear thy dreadful curses, yet I may never despair of thy tender mercies ! RESOLUTION VI. / am resolved, by the grate of God, to arm myself with that spiritual courage and magnanimity, as to press through all duties and difficulties' whatsoever, for the advancement of God's glory, and my own happiness. Ciiiustiaisity is well termed a warfare ; for it is, wherein no danger can be prevented, no enemy conquered, no vic- tory obtained, without much courage and resolution. I have not only many outward enemies to grapple with, but I have myself, my worst enemy, to encounter and subdue. As for those enemies which are*not near me, by the assistance of God's Spirit, I can make pretty good shift to keep them at the sword's point : but this enemy that is gotten within me, has so often foiled and disarmed me, that 1 have reason to say, as David did of his enemies, It is too strong for me : and, as he said of the chief of his, / shall one day fall by the hands of Saul ; so have I too much occasion to say, I shall fall by my- self, as being myself the greatest enemy to my own spiritual interest and concerns. How necessary is it then that 1 should raise and muster up all my force and courage, put on my spiritual armour, and make myself strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might ? I know I must strive, before I can enter in at the strait gate: I must win the crown, before I can wear it ; and be a member of the church militant, before I be admitted into the church triumphant. In a word, I must go through a solitary wilderness, and conquer many enemies, be- fore I come to the land of Canaan ; or else I must never be Resolutions. 119 possessed of it. What then ? Shall 1 lose my glory, to balk my duty ? Shall 1 let go my glorious and eternal possession, to save myself from a seeming hardship, which the devil would persuade me to be a trouble and an affliction ? Alas! if Christ had laid aside the great work of my redemption, to avoid the undergoing of God's anger and man's malice, what a misera- ble condition had I been in ? And, therefore, whatever taunts and reproaches I meet with, from the presumptuous and pro- fane, the infidel and atheistical reprobates of the age ; let them laugh at my profession, or mock at what they are pleased to call prccisencss ; let them defraud me of my just rights, or traduce and bereave me of my good name and reputation ; let them vent the utmost of their poisonous malice nnd envy against me ; I have this comfortable reflection still to support me, that if I suffer all this for Christ's sake, it is in the cause of one who suffered a thousand times more for mine ; and, therefore, it ought to be matter of joy and triumph, rather than of grief and dejection to me : especially, considering, that these my light afflictions, which arc but for a moment, will work put for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Upon the prospect of which, I firmly resolve, notwithstanding the growing strength of sin, and the over bearing prcvalency of my own corrupt affections, to undertake all duties and un- dergo all miseries, that God, in his infinite wisdom, thinks fit to lay upon me, or exercise my patience in. RESOLUTION VII. I am resolved, by the grace of God, so *to be angry, as not to sin, and, therefore, to be angry at nothing but sin. The former part of the resolution is founded in the express command of St. Paul, be ye angry, and sin not, Eph. iv. 26. and the latter is an explication of, as well as an inference drawn from it. For, if anger be not only lawful, but a duty, as is here supposed, when it does not involve us in sin ; the only difficulty is, to know how that passion ought to be quali- fied, to justify the exercise of it, without being guilty of sin : and the circumstances or qualifications required for this are, first, that it be placed upon a due object; and, secondly, that it do not exceed its proper bounds. Now, as nothing can deserve my anger, but what is disa- greeable to my nature, and offensive to the author of it, so 1 20 Resolutions. nothing bat sin can properly be called its object. The chief thing that I am to aim at in my actions is the honouring, serv- ing, and pleasing God ; and how can I serve and please God, in being angry at any thing but what I know is displeasing to him ? I may be scorned, reproached, and vilified among my equals, or accused, condemned, and punished by my superiors; and these are treatments that are but too apt to raise and transport men into anger and revenge : but then, before I suf- fer this passion to boil up in me, I ought to consider, whether I have not behaved myself so, as to deserve this sort of treat- ment ; if I have, then there is no injury or injustice done me thereby, and, therefore, I ought not to be angry at it : if I have not, I must not be angry at the persons who act thus falsely and unjustly against me, but only at their sin ; for, to speak properly, it is not the person that offends me, but the sin. And this, not because it is injurious to me, but because it is offensive and displeasing to God himself; for, to be angry at any thing but what displeases God, is to displease God in be- ing angry. Whenever, therefore, I receive any affronts or provocations of this nature, I am resolved, by God's grace as- sisting my endeavours, never to be moved, or troubled at them, farther than they are in their own nature sinful, and at the same time abstracting the sin from the persons, to pray for the pardon of those that are guilty of it; and not only so, but ac- cording to the command and example of my Saviour, even to love them too. But, how shall I be sure to be angry at nothing but sin, and so not to sin in my anger, when every petty trifle or cross accident is so apt to raise this passion in me ? Why, the best method I can take is that which the wise man directs me to, not to be hasty in my spirit, Eccles. vii. but, to defer my an- ger acccording to discretion, Prov. xix. 11. So that, when- soever any thing happens that may incense and inflame my passion, I must immediately stop its career, and suspend the acts of it, till I have duly considered the motives and occasions that raised it. And, as this will be a very good means to re- gulate the object of my anger, so likewise the measure of it : for, he that is slow to wrath, takes time to consider, and, by consequence, puts his passion under the conduct of his rea- son ; an*!, whoever does so, it will never suffer it to be trans- ported beyond its proper bounds : whereas he, whose anger is like tinder, that catches as soon as the spark is upon it, and who uses no means to stop its spreading, is presently blown up into a furious flame, which, before it is extinguished, do more mischief than he is ever able to repair ; for, no man knows Resolutions. 121 whither his anger may hurry him, when once it has got the mastery of him. In order, therefore, to prevent the fatal con- sequences of this passion, I now resolve never to speak or do any thing, while I am under the influence of it, but take time to consider with myself, and reflect upon the several circum- stances of the action or object it arises from, as well as the occasion and tendency of it ; and, as oft as I find any thing in it displeasing to God, to be regularly angry at that, to cor- rect, rebuke, and reprove it, with a zeal and fervour of spirit, suitable to the occasion ; but still to keep within the bounds of the truly Christian temper, which is always distinguished by love and charity, and exercises itself in meekness and mode- ration. And, oh, what a sedate and contented spirit will this resolution breed in me ? How easy and quiet shall I be under all circumstances ? Whilst others are peevish and fretful, and torment themselves with every petty trifle that does but cross their inclinations, or seem to be injurious to them ; or fall into the other extreme, of a stoical apathy or insensibility ; I shall, by this resolution, maintain a medium betwixt both, and pos- sess my soul in peace and patience. CONCERNING MY WORDS. Having thus far cleansed the fountain of my heart, with regard to my thoughts and affections, which are the immediate issues of my active soul, the next thing incumbent upon me is to regulate my outward conversation, both with respect to my words and actions. As to the first, the holy Scripture as- sures me, that the tongue is a world of iniquity, James iii. 6. And again, that it is an unruly evil which no ntaii can tame, ver. 8. But is it, indeed, so unruly ? Then there is the more occasion to have it governed and subdued ; and, since that is not to be done by man alone, it is still more necessary, that I should call in the assistance of that divine Spirit that gives this character of it, first to fix my resolutions, and then to strengthen me in the performance of them. I stedfastly purpose to imi- tate the royal Psalmist in this particular, and to take heed to my ways, that I offend not with my tongue, Psalm xxxix. 1. Yea, I am resolved, with holy Job, that all the while my breath, and the Spirit of God, is in my nostrils, my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit, Job xxvii. 3, 4. But, since it is such an unruly instrument, so very difficult to be bridled or restrained, do thou, O God, who first madest it, en- L 122 Resolutions. able me to get the mastery of it ! Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and keep the door of my lips, that, with St. Paul, I may speak forth the words of truth and soberness, and make this unruly evil a happy instrument of much good ! Which that I may do, RESOLUTION I. / am resolved, by the grace of God, never to speak much, lest I often speak too much ; and not speak at all, rather than to no purpose. It is the voice of fools that is knoivn by the multitude of words, Eccl. v. 3. in which there are divers vanities, ver. 7. and sin too, Prov. x. 19. whereas, he that refraineth his lips, is wise. This is that piece of Christian wisdom, which I am now resolving to look after ; and therefore, never to deliver my words out to the world by number, but by weight ; not by quantity, but quality ; not hiding my meaning under ambiguous terms and expressions, but fitting words exactly to express my meaning : not amusing those I converse with, with circles of impertinence and circumlocution, but coming directly to the matter, by the straight line of apt expressions ; so as never to speak more than the matter requireth, nor to speak at all, when no matter requireth. For, why should I spend my breath for nothing ? Alas ! that is not all ; if I spend it ill, it will be far worse than spending it for nothing ; for our blessed Saviour has told me, that I must answers/or every idle and unprofitable, as well as profane word, Matt. xii. 36. But now, if all the vain words I ever spoke should be written, as I have cause to believe they are, in the book of God's remembrance, how many vast volumes must they make ! and if an index should be made, where to find profitable, and where idle words, how few refer- ences would there be to the former ? what multitudes to the latter ? and (what is yet more terrifying) if all these words should be brought in judgment against me at the last day, how would those very words then make me speechless ? and what shame and confusion of face would they then strike me with ? But I trust, through the blood of my Redeemer, and the tears of my repentance, they will all be washed and blotted out, be- fore I come to appear before him. In order to this, as I heartily bewail and detest my former follies in this respect ; so I firmly purpose and resolve to use my utmost endeavours, for the time to come, not to give way to any more such idle words and ex- pressions, as are likely to be thus prejudicial to my eternal interest ; but always to consider well beforehand what, and how, and why I speak, and suffer no corrupt communication to proceed out of my mouth, but that which is good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the hearers, Eph. iv. 29. I know, there are some words, that are purely jocose, spo- ken with no other intent, but only to promote mirth, and divert melancholy ; and these words, so long as they are harmless and innocent, so long as they do not reflect dishonour upon God, nor injure the character and reputation of my neighbour, are very lawful and allowable ; inasmuch as they conduce to the refreshing and reviving of my spirits, and the preservation of my health. But then, I must always take care so to wind and turn my discourse, that what recreates me in speaking, may profit others when spoke ; that my words may not only be such as have no malignity in them, but such as may be useful and beneficial ; not only such as do no hurt, but likewise such as may do much good to others, as well as to myself. To this end, I firmly resolve, by the grace of God, never to speak only for the sake of speaking, but to weigh each word before I speak it, and consider the consequence and tendency of it, whether it may really be the occasion of good or evil, or tend to the edifying or scandalizing of the person I speak it to. RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the grace of God, not only to avoid the wick- edness of swearing falsely, but likewise the very appearance of swearing at all. Perjury is a sin condemned by the very laws of nature ; insomuch that I should wrong my natural faculties, should I give way to, or be guilty of it. For, the same nature that tells me the person of God is to be adored, tells me likewise his name is to be reverenced ; and what more horrid impiety can possibly be imagined, than to prostitute the most sacred name of the most high God, to confirm the lies of sinful men ? I know, swearing in a just matter, and right manner, may be as lawful under the New, as under the Old Testament ; for thus I find St. Paul saying, As God is true, 2 Cor. i. 18. and ver. 23. I call God for a record upon my soul; wherein is con- tained the very nature of an oath, which is, the calling God 1 24 Resolutions, for a record and a witness to the truth of what we speak : but when it is to maintain falsehood, which is to an ill purpose, or lightly and vainly, which is to no purpose at all, it is a sin of the highest aggravation, that ought, with the greatest detesta- tion and abhorrence, to be shunned and avoided. God saitli, by Moses, Lev. xix. 12. Thou shalt not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God : I am the Lord. And, Exod. xx. 7. Deut. v. 11. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. But farther, God says, by Christ, Swear not at all ; neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool, Sfc So that not only by God, and by Jesus, are oaths, but swearing by any of God's creatures, is, in a manner, to swear by God himself. I swear by the heavens ; can the heavens hear, or witness what I say ? No, it is the glorious Majesty that rules there, that I call upon to witness the truth of the words I speak, and the sinfulness of my heart for swearing to them. Do I swear by my faith ? But how is that ? Can faith testify what I say ? No, it is only he that wrought this faith in my heart can witness the truth of my words. And if I swear by the gifts of God, I do, in effect, swear by God himself; otherwise, I as- cribe that to the creature, which is only compatible to the glo- rious Creator, even the knowledge of the thoughts of my heart, how secret soever they be. But again, there is more in the third commandment, than the devil would persuade the world there is ; for, when God commands me not to take his name in vain, it is more than if he had commanded me only not to swear by it : for I cannot persuade myself, but that every time I speak of God, when I do not think of him, I take his name in vain ; and, therefore, I ought to endeavour to avoid even mentioning of God, as well as swearing by him, unless upon urgent occasions, and with reverence and respect becoming his majesty ; for, questionless, O Lord, and O God, may be spoken as vainly, as By Lord, and By God. And, therefore, I ought never to speak such words, without thinking really in my heart, what I speak o- penly with my mouth, lest my name be written amongst those that take the name of God in vain. But farther still, I am resolved not only to avoid downright swearing, but likewise the very appearance of it : so that what doth but look like an oath, shall be as odious to me, as what looks like nothing else. Resolutions. 125 RESOLUTION III. I am resolved, by the grace of God, always to make my tongue and heart go together, so as never to speak with the one, what I do not think in the otlier. As my happiness consisteth in nearness and vicinity, so doth my holiness in likeness and conformity, to the chiefest good. I am so much the better, as I am liker the best ; and so much the holier, as I am more conformable to the holiest, or rather, to him who is holiness itself. Now, one great title which the Most High is pleased to give to himself, and by which he is pleased to reveal himself to us, is, the God of truth : so that I shall be so much the liker to the God of truth, by how much I am more constant to the truth of God. And the farther I deviate from this, the nearer I approach to the nature of the devil, who is the father of lies, and liars too, John viii. 44. And hence it is, that of all the sins the men of fashion are guilty of, they can least endure to be charged of lying. To give a man the lie, or to say, You lie, is looked upon as the greatest affront that can be put upon them. And why so ? But only because the sin of lying makes them so like their father the devil, that a man had almost as well call them devils, as liars ; and therefore, to avoid the scandal and reproach, as well as the dangerous malignity of this damnable sin, I am re- solved, by the blessing of God, always to tune my tongue in unison to my heart, so as never to speak any thing but what I think really to be true. So that, if I ever speak what is not true, it shall not be the error of my will, but of my under- standing. I know, lies are commonly distinguished into officious, per- nicious, and jocose; and some may fancy some of them more tolerable than others. But, for my own part, I think, they are all pernicious, and therefore not to be jested withal, nor indulged upon any pretence or colour whatsoever. Not as if it was a sin, not to speak exactly as a thing is in itself, or as it seems to me in its literal meaning, without some liberty granted to rhetorical tropes and figures ; (for so the Scripture itself would be chargeable with lies ; many things being con- tained in it, which are not true in a literal sense.) But I must so use rhetorical, as not to abuse my Christian, liberty ; and, therefore, never make use of hyperboles, ironies, or other tropes and figures, to deceive or impose upon my auditors, L 2 1 26 Resolutions. but only for the better adorning, illustrating, or confirming the matter. But there is another sort of lies most men are apt to fall into, and they are promissory lies ; to avoid which, I am re- solved, never to promise any thing with my mouth, but what I intend to perform in my heart ; and never to intend to perform any thing, but what I am sure I can perform. For this is the cause and occasion of most promissory lies, that we promise that absolutely, which we should promise only conditionally : for, though I may intend to do as I say now, yet there are a thousand weighty things may intervene, which may turn the balance of my intentions, or otherwise hinder the perform- ance of my promise. So that, unless I be absolutely sure I can do a tiling, I must never absolutely promise to do it ; and, therefore, in all such promises, shall still put in God willing^ or, by the help of God ; at the same time lifting up my heart to God, lest I take his name in vain. RESOLUTION IV. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to speak of other men's sins only before their faces, and of their virtues only behind their backs. To commend men when they are present, I esteem almost as great a piece of folly, as to reprove them when they are absent ; though I do confess, in some cases, and to some per- sons, it may be commendable, especially when the person is not apt to be puffed up, but spurred on by it. But, to rail at others, when they hear me not, is the highest piece of folly imaginable ; for, as it is impossible they should get any good, so it is impossible but that I should get much hurt by it. For such sort of words, make the best we can of them, are but idle and unprofitable, and may not only prove injurious to the person of whom, but even to whom, they are spoken, by wounding the credit of the former, and the charity of the lat- ter, and so, by consequence, my own soul ; nay, even though I speak that which is true in itself, and known to be so to me : and, therefore, this way of backbiting ought, by all means, to be avoided. But I must, much more, have a care of raising false reports concerning any one, or of giving credit to them that raise them, or of passing ray iudsrment, till I have weighed the mat- Resolutions. 127 ter ; lest I transgress the rules of mercy and charity, which command me not to censure any one upon others' rumours, or my own surmises ; nay, if the thing be in itself true, still to interpret it in the best sense. But, if I must needs be raking in other men's stores, it must not be behind their backs, but before their faces ; for the one is a great sin, and the other may be as great a duty, even to reprove my neighbour for doing any thing offensive unto God, or destructive to his own soul ; still endeavouring so to manage the reproof, as to make his sin loathsome to him, and prevail upon him, if possible, to for- sake it : but there is a great deal of Christian prudence and discretion to be used in this, lest others may justly reprove me for my indiscreet reproof of others. 1 must still fit my re- proof to the time when, the person to whom, and the sin a- gainst which, it is designed ; still contriving with myself, how to carry on this duty so, as that by converting a sinner from the evil of his ways, I may save my soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins, James v. 20. Not venting my anger against the person, but my sorrow for the sin that is reproved. Hot, passionate, and reviling words, will not so much exasperate a man against his sin that is reproved, as against the person that doth reprove it. It is not the wrath of man that icorketh the righteousness of God, James i. 20. But this of all duties, must be performed with a spirit of love and meekness ; I must first insinuate myself into his affections, and then press his sin upon his conscience, and that directly or indirectly, as the person, matter or occasion shall require, that so he that is reproved by me now, may have cause to bless God for me to all eternity. RESOLUTION V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, always to speak reverently to my superiors, humbly to my inferiors, and civilly to alL The most high God, the master of this great family, the world, for the more orderly government of it, hath, according to his infinite wisdom, set some in higher, some in lower places* hath made some as stewards, others as under-servants ; and, according to every man's work that he expects from him, he measures out his talents to him. Blessed be his name for it, he hath set me in a middle form, giving me Agar's wish, sub- ject neither to envy on one hand, nor pity on the other ; so 128 Resolutions. that I have both superiors to reverence, and inferiors to con- descend to. And, accordingly, it is my duty so to behave my- self towards them, that the reverend expressions of my mouth may manifest the obedient subjection of my heart, to the power and authority God has given them over me. It is the express command of the Gospel, that we should render to every man his due, fear to whom fear, honour to whom honour belongeth, Rom. xiii. 7. which words plainly imply, both that it is some men's due to receive honour, and other men's duty to give it. And, accordingly, we find, Paul, when he was brought be- fore Festus, doth not say Art thou he, whom they call Festus ? or, Thou Festus, as the misguided enthusiasts, in our days, would have said : but, Most noble Festus, Acts xxvi. 25. In like manner, St. John doth not call her he writes to, in his second Epistle, being a person of quality, Woman, but Elect Lady. And this sort of reverence is farther confirmed to us, not only by the constant custom of all nations, in all ages of the world, but it is likewise highly agreeable to the rules of right reason, as well as the order of government. For, as there is both a natural and civil superiority, a superiority in gifts and age, and a superiority likewise in office and station ; so there is nothing can be more necessary, than that there should be, in both these respects, a reverence and respect paid to the persons of men, answerable to these distinctions. And, therefore, I cannot but condemn that rude and unman- nerly behaviour of some of our modern schismatics, towards their superiors, as factious and unreasonable, as well as re- pugnant to the dictates of the divine Spirit, which the pro- phets and apostles were inspired and influenced by. And, as there is a reverence due from inferiors to their su- periors, in point of conversation, so likewise are there some decent regards and civilities to be shewed even by superiors to their inferiors, who are always to be treated with candour and condescension, in their ordinary capacities ; and even where they are considered as criminals, with meekness and modera- tion. Insomuch that, methinks, it is one of the worst sights in the world, to see some men, that are gotten upon a little higher ground than their neighbours are, to look proudly and scornfully down upon all that are below them, disdaining to vouchsafe them the least favour or respect whatsoever. Such churlish, haughty, and foul-mouthed Nabals as these, are not only very unjust, and unreasonable in their behaviour to others, but they are certainly the greatest enemies to themselves, that they have in all the world besides ; not only by drawing upon them the hatred and enmitv of all that are about them, but Resolutions. 129 likewise by tormenting themselves with such frivolous things, as such spirits commonly do. Wherefore, that I may please God, my neighbour, and myself, in what I speak, though I could excel other men (which is impossible for me to suppose) in every thing ; I resolve, by God's grace, always to behave myself so, as if I excelled them in nothing ; and not only to speak reverently to them that are above me, but humbly and civilly to those that are beneath me too. I will always endea- vour to use such humble winning words, as to manifest more of my love to them, than my power over them : I will always season my tongue with savoury, not bitter expressions, not making my mouth a vent for my fury and passion to fume out at, but rather an instrument to draw others' love and affection in by ; still speaking as civilly unto others, as I would have them speak civilly to me. CONCERNING MY ACTIONS. The other way of my soul's putting forth, and shewing her- self to the world, is, by her actions, which it concerns me as much to look to and regulate, as my words ; forasmuch as there is not the least ill circumstance in any action, but what, unless it be repented of, must be brought into question, and answered for, at the last day : for though an action cannot be denominated good, unless it be good in all circumstances and respects ; yet it is always denominated bad, if it is bad only in one. As it is in music, if but one string jar, or be out of tune, the whole harmony is spoiled ; so here, if but one circum- stance in an action be wanting or defective, the whole action is thereby rendered immoral. How much, therefore, doth it behove me to keep a strict watch over myself, and so to perform every action, and place every circumstance in it, that it may have its approbation in the court of heaven ? Well ; I am resolved, by the grace of God, to try what I can do. I know, it is impossible for me to resolve upon particular actions : but, howsoever, I shall re- solve upon such general rules, the application of which to par- ticular acts may make them pleasing and acceptable to the sight of God ; always premising this which I have resolved upon before, as the best foundation, viz. to square all my ac- tions by the Scripture rule, and to do nothing, but what I have, some way or other, a warrant for in the word of God. Upon this fixed and steady principle, 130 Resolutions. RESOLUTION I. J am resolved, by the grace of God, to do every thing in obedi- ence to the will of God. It is not sufficient, that what I do is the will of God, but I must therefore do it, because it is the will of God. For, what saith my Father ? My son give me thine heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways, Pro v. xxiii. 26. So that my Father will not only have my hand, but my heart too : and my feet must not walk in the ways of God, till my eyes have observed and dis- cerned them to be so. I may do an action that in itself is good, and yet, at the same time not do a good action, if I do not therefore do it, because it is so ; ex. gr. I may give an alms to the poor, feed the hungry, or clothe the naked ; but let me examine and consider well, upon what principle these actions are founded, whether I therefore do them, because God hath commanded them ; if not, my feeding of the poor will be no more a good action, than the ravens feeding the pro- phet was, 1 Kings xvii. 6. Their feeding of the prophet was commanded by God, as well as my feeding of the poor ; but I cannot say, they did a good action ; because though they did do this which was commanded by God, yet being irrational creatures, they could not reflect upon that command, and so could not do this in obedience to it. There are some persons, to the very frame and disposition of whose spirits some sins are, in their nature, odious and abominable. Thus I have known some, whose very constitu- tions have carried them into an antipathy to lust and luxury ; and others again, who could never endure to drink beyond their thirst, much less to unman and be-beast themselves by drinking to excess. And the like may be observed of covet- ousness, which Luther was such an enemy to, that it is said to be against his very nature. Now, I say, though the abstaining from these sins be highly commendable in all sorts of persons, yet unless, together with the streams of their natural disposi- tion, there run likewise a spiritual desire to please God, and obey his commands, their abstaining from these vices is no more than the brute beasts themselves do, who always act ac- cording to the temper of their bodies, and are never guilty of any excesses that are prejudicial to them. Hence, servants are commanded to be obedient to their masters, with good-will doing service as to the Lord, and not to men ; Eph. vi. 5, 6, 7. which clearly shows, that though a servant doth obey his Resolutions. 131 master, yet if he doth not do it in obedience unto God, he will not find acceptance with him. So that, whensoever I set my hand to any action that is good, I must still fix my eye upon God's commanding of it, and do it only in respect to that ; as knowing, that if I give but a farthing to the poor in all my life, and do it in obedience to God's commands, it shall be accepted sooner than theirs, who feed hundreds at their table every day, and have not respect to the same command. Do I see a poor wretch ready to fall down to the earth for want of a little support, and my bowels begin to yearn towards him ? let me search into my heart, and see what it is that raises this compassion in me. If it flows only from a natural tender- ness to a brother in misery, without regard to the love of God, who has commanded and enjoined it, the poor man may be suc- coured and relieved, but God will not be pleased or delighted with it. Again, do my friends stir me up to pray or hear, or do any other spiritual or civil action, and I therefore only do it, because of their importunity ? I may satisfy my friends' de- ; sire, but cannot properly be said to obey the commands of God, in such a performance ; so that the great and only foun- dation that I must resolve to build all the actions of my life upon ! is an uniform obedience to that God, by whom alone I am en- abled to perform them. RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to do every thing with pru- dence and discretion, as well as with zeal and affection. Whilst I am penned up in this earthly tabernacle, I live almost as in a darksome dungeon, having no light to work by, but a little that springs in at the narrow crevices of my under- standing. So that I had need to make use of all that little light and knowledge I have, to regulate the heat and zeal that sometimes sits upon my spirit. For, good passions may some- times carry me into bad actions ; my zeal, when hot in the pursuits of God's glory, may sometimes hurry me beyond his laws ; especially, where Christian prudence hath not first chalked out the way, and set the bounds for it : as, in dis- course, my zeal may put me upon throwing pearls before swine, or using words, when silence may be more commenda- ble ; so, in my actions too, unless wisdom and discretion go- vern and command my affections, I shall frequently run into 132 Resolutions. such as would be altogether needless and impertinent, and therefore ought to be omitted, and daily neglect several duties, which ought to be performed. But, my understanding and discretion is chiefly requisite for the ordering of time and place, and other particular circum- stances, the irregular management of which may easily spoil the best of actions. For instance, that may be a good work at one time and place, which is not at another ; and may be very innocent and becoming in one person, though quite con- trary in another. It is, therefore, the proper office of my un- derstanding, to point out the fittest time and place, and person, for the performance of each action I engage in. As for ex- ample, in distributing to the poor, my hand of charity must be either guided by the eye of understanding, where, when, how much, and to whom, to give ; or else I may, at the same time, not only offend God, but wrong my neighbour, and myself too. And so for all other actions whatsoever ; which I ought, there- fore, never to set myself about, though it be of the lowest rank, without consulting the rules of wisdom, modelled by the law of God. RESOLUTION III. / am resolved, by the grace of God, never to set my hand, my head, or my heart, about any thing, but what I verily believe is good in itself, and will be esteemed so by God. Without faith, the Apostle tells me, it is impossible to please God, Heb. xi. 6. For whatsoever is not of faith, is sin, Rom. xiv. 23. Where, by faith, we are not to understand that saving faith, whereby I believe my person is justified through Christ ; but that, whereby I believe my works shall be accepted by God : for faith here is opposed to doubting ; and that not about Christ's dying for me, or my living in him, but about the particular actions of my life. He that doubteth, saith the apostle, is damned, if he eat ; that is, he thateateth that which he doubteth whether he may lawfully eat or no, is damned ; because he sins in doing it, and therefore may be damned for it. Rut why so ? Because he eateth not of faith ; because he doth that, which he knows not whether he may do or no, not believing it to be really good in itself, or acceptable unto God. And, though the apostle here instances only in that particular action of eating, yet what he says with relation to that, is pro- Resolutions. 1 33 perly applicable to all the other actions of life : for, he after- wards subjoins, whatsoever is not of faith, is sin ; whatsoever it is, good or bad, if not done by faith, it is sin. And truly, this particular will be of great use through my whole life, for the avoiding of many sins, and for the doing of much good : for many things, which are good in themselves, may, for want of faith, become quite otherwise to me ; my heart not believing what I do is good, my hand can never make it so. Or, if I think what I do is bad, though it be not so in itself, yet my very thinking it so, will make it so to me. And this is that which we call doing any thing with a good conscience, or keeping, as St. Paul did, our conscience void of offence. And to go contrary to the dictates of my conscience in this particular, is to transgress the command of God. For in this, conscience is as God's vicegerent in my soul ; what conscience commands, God commands ; what conscience for- bids, God forbids ; that is, I am as really under the power of conscience, as the commands of God, in such a case. So that, if I do not obey the former, it is impossible for me to obey the latter. But how much then doth it behove me to see that my conscience be rightly informed in every thing ? For as, if a judge be misinformed, it is impossible he should pass righteous judgment ; so, if conscience be misinformed, it is impossible I should do a righteous act. And, what a miserable case shall I then be in ? If I do what in itself is sinful, though my con- science tells me it is good, yet I sin, because the act in itself is sinful ; and if I do what in itself is good, and my conscience tells me it is bad, I sin, because my conscience tells me it is so : so that as my conscience is, so will my actions be. For this reason, I resolve, in the presence of my great Cre- ator, never to do any thing, till I have first informed my con- science, from the word of God, whether it be lawful for me to do it, or no ; or, in case it be not determined there, to make a strict search and enquiry into each circumstance of it, con- sidering with myself what good or evil may issue from it, and so, what good or evil there is in it ; and, according as my conscience, upon the hearing of the arguments on both sides, shall decide the matter, I shall do, or not do it ; never under- taking any thing upon mere surmises, because it may be good, but upon a real and thorough persuasion that it is so. M 134 Resolutions. RESOLUTION IV. I am resolved j by the grace of God, to do all things for the glory of God. As I was not made by, so neither for myself ; for God, says the wise man, made all things for himself Prov. xvi. 4. And being thus made for God, it follows, on course, that I ought to act for God ; otherwise, I shall frustrate the end of my crea- tion. Insomuch that whatsoever I make my chief aim in what 1 do, I make that my God. Do I aim at the glory of the all- glorious Jehovah ? it is him I make my God. Do I aim at riches ? then it is Mammon I make my God : and therefore is it, that covetousness is called idolatry, Col. iii. 5. Do I aim at pleasures? it is my senses I make my God, Phil. iii. 19. Do I aim at popular applause, or worldly advancements 1 or, do I aim at my own health or life ? these are my Gods. For what is worshipping, but making all the powers of my soul, and actions of my body, to bow and stoop to them ? Hence it is, that the most high God, who hath said, he will not give his glory to another, hath been so express in commanding me to do all things to his glory ; whether ye eat or drink, says the apostle, or whatsoever ye do, do all things to the glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 31. But how can I, poor worm, be said to do any thing to the glory of the eternal God ? Why, in the same manner as he is said to do what he doth, for his own glory. And how is that ? By manifesting his glory unto others. Thus, if I can but so live and act, as thereby to evidence, that the God I serve is a glorious God, glorious in holiness, glorious in goodness, glori- ous in wisdom, glorious in power, and the like ; this is doing- all things to the glory of God. For example, by praying to God, I avouch him to be a God infinite in knowledge, that he is present with me, and hears me pray, wheresoever I am ; and I own him to be infinite in mercy, in that he will suffer such a sinful creature as I am to address myself to him, &lc. And so there is not the least action I undertake, but lam so to man- age it, as to manifest the glory of God by it, making it my end and design so to do ; otherwise, let me do what I will, I am sure to sin ; for though, I confess, a good end can never make a bad action good, yet a bad end will always make a good ac- tion bad : so that, as ever I would do any thing that is good, I must be sure to do it to the glory of God. Resolutions. 135 RESOLUTION V. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to mingle such recreations with my business, as to further my business by my recrea- tions. Having wholly devoted myself to God, all I have, or am, is still to be improved for him ; insomuch that was it not for the necessities of nature, every moment of my life should, and ought to be spent in the immediate worship and service of him. But though nature requires some time from my solemn serving of him, for the recreating of myself; yet grace requireth, that this recreating of myself should still be for the promoting his service ; so that my recreations do not only fit me for far- ther service, but they, in themselves, should be, some way or other, serviceable to him ; which that they may be, I must have as great a care in the choice, as in the use of my recrea- tions. There are some recreations that are so far from conducing to his service, that they may make more for the incensing of his wrath ; as drinking and gaming, which, though in them- selves lawful, yet, as they often prove an occasion of swear- ing, lying, cheating, and contention amongst men, and, by consequence, of wrath in God ; so they ought, by all means, to be shunned and avoided. Indeed, it may be questioned, whether gaming be ever a lawful recreation : for either it is a lottery, or not. If it be a lottery, it is not lawful, because it is a great presumption and sin to set God at work to recre- ate ourselves ; for poor nothings to employ the chiefest good, immediately to determine such frivolous and trifling imperti- nencies. If it be not a lottery, then it is not a pure recrea- tion ; for if it depends upon man's wit and study, it exercises his brain and spirits as much as if he was about other things : so that being, on one side, not lawful ; on the other side, no recreation ; it can, on no side, be a lawful recreation. For, what is the end of recreation, but to revive my lan- guishing spirits, to let them rest and be quiet a little, when they are tired with too much exercise, that they may be fresh- er, livelier, and fitter for work afterwards ? Hence it is, that God indeed hath provided a recreation for all sensible crea- tures ; sleep, which is the rest of the spirits in the nerve3. When the little animal spirits have been, all the day, running up and down upon the soul's errands, then, to lie down still and quiet, is a great refreshment and revivement to them, pro- 1 36 Resolutions. vided still that it be moderately used. Whereas, the indulging ourselves too much in it, is rather a clogging and stupifying of them ; as we see in our bodies, which, when not accus- tomed to, are most averse from, and unfit for exercise. So that the chief and only time for recreation is when my spirits are either weary with labour and study, or else called in to some necessary employment in some other place ; as at and after meals, especially such as are of a hard digestion ; for then the spirits have enough to do, to turn the food we eat into good nourishment. And therefore the intenseness of stu- dy, running, wrestling, and such-like violent exercises, are not proper at such a time ; because, as in studying, we draw the spirits from the stomach to the head ; so, in the other ex- ercises, such as moderate walking, conference, and free dis- course, about common but necessary points, we send them from the stomach into other parts of the body, where they are to be set on work. But that which I have found the best recreation, both to my body and mind, whensoever either of them stands in need of it, is music, which exercises at once both my body and my soul ; especially when I play myself. For then, methinks, the same motion that my hand makes upon the instrument, the instrument makes upon my heart ; it calls in my spirits, com- poses my thoughts, delights my ear, recreates my mind, and so not only fits me for after-business, but fills my heart, at the present, with pure and useful thoughts ; so that when the mu- sic sounds the sweetliest in my ears, truth commonly flows the clearest into my mind. And hence it is, that I find my soul is become more harmonious, by being accustomed so much to harmony, and so averse to all manner of discord, that the least jarring sounds, either in notes or words, seem very harsh and unpleasant to me. That there is something more than ordinary in music, ap- pears from David's making use of it, for driving away the evil spirit from Saul, and Elisha, for the bringing of the good spirit upon himself. From which I am induced to believe, that there is really a sort of secret and charming power in it, that naturally dispels from the mind all or most of those black humours, which the evil spirit uses to brood upon, and, by composing it into a more regular, sweet, and docible disposition, renders it fitter for the Holy Spirit to work upon, the more susceptive of divine grace, and more faithful messenger, where- by to convey truth to the understanding. But however that be, I must necessarily acknowledge, that of all recreations, this is by far the more suitable to my temper and disposition, Resolutions. 137 in that it is not only an exercise to my body, but to my mind too ; my spirits being therefore made the more nimble and active, and, by consequence, the fitter to wait upon my soul, and be employed, by her, in whatsoever business she is engaged. But in this, and all other recreations, I must always take care not to exceed my measure, either in point of time, or intention ; I must not follow them too close, nor spend too many hours in them, but still resolve to use them, as that they may not become a snare to me, but answer the ends for which they were designed, that when God shall call me to it, I may give him as good an account of my recreations, as of my ne- cessary duties. CONCERNING MY RELATIONS. But be not deceived, O my soul ; thou art not yet advan- ced far enough : it is not sufficient to pretend to holiness in my thoughts and affections, and in my words and actions, un- less I express it likewise in all the relations and conditions of life. The commandments of God are said to be exceeding broad; they extend themselves to every capacity I can possi- bly be in, not only enjoining me to live soberly, in respect to myself, but righteously to my neighbour, obediently to my sove- reign, lovingly to my wife, and faithfully to my people ; other- wise I cannot live holily unto God. And, therefore, if I would be thoroughly religious, I must farther endeavour to fix my resolutions with regard to the several duties the Most High expects from me, in all these particular relations I bear to him, during my sojourning here on earth. RESOLUTION I. J am resolvecL by the grace of God, to honour and obey the king, or prince, whom God is pleased to set over me, as well as to expect he should safeguard and protect me, whom God is pleased to set under him. The King of Icings, and Lord of lords, the great and glo- rious Monarch of all the world, having enacted many gracious laws, is pleased to set over every kingdom and nation such persons as may put them in execution. So that I cannot but M2 1 38 Resolutions. look upon a lawful king, as truly a representative of the most high God, as a parliament is of the people ; and am therefore persuaded, that whosoever rebels against him, rebels against God himself; not only in that he rebels against the ordinance of God, and so against the God of that ordinance ; but because he rebels against him whom God hath set up as his vicegerent, to represent his person and execute his laws in such a part of his dominions. Hence it is, that these two precepts, fear God, and honour the king, are so often joined together in holy writ ; for he that fears God's power, cannot but honour his authority ; and he that honours not the king, that represents God, cannot be said to fear God, who is represented by him. And hence, likewise, it is, that God hath been as strict and express in enjoin- ing us obedience to our governors, as to himself: for, thus saith the Lord of hosts, Rom. xiii. 1. Let every soul be sub- ject to the higher powers. Why ? because there is no power but of God ; the powers that be are ordained of God. And he has denounced as great a judgment against such as rebel against the magistrate he hath ordained, as against those that rebel against himself: for, whosoever resisteth the poiver, resisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that resist, shall re- ceive to themselves damnation, ver. 2. So that the wrath of God shall as certainly fall upon those that rise up against the king, as upon those that fight against God. And no wonder that the punishment should be the same, when the fault is the same : for he that fights against the king, fights against God himself, who hath invested him with that power and authority to govern his people, representing his own glorious majesty before them. Upon this ground it is that I believe the wickedness of a prince cannot be a sufficient plea for the disobedience of his subjects ; for it is not the holiness, but the authority of God that he represents, which the most wicked, as well as the most holy, person may be endowed with : and therefore when the Gospel first began to spread itself over the earth, though there was no Christian king, or supreme magistrate^of what title soever, to cherish and protect it ; nay, though the civil pow- ers were then the greatest enemies to it ; yet even then were the disciples of Christ enjoined to submit themselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake. Insomuch that did I live amongst the Turks, I should look upon it as my duty to obey the Grand Seignior, in all his law- ful edicts, as well as the most Christian and pious king in the world. For, suppose a prince be never so wicked and never Resolutions. 1 39 so negligent in his duty of protecting me ; it doth not follow, that I must neglect mine of obeying him. In such a case, I have another duty added to this ; and that is, to pray for him ; and to intercede with God for his conversion ; for, thus hath the King of kings commanded, that prayers, supplications, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made as for all men, so, more especially, for kings, and those that are in authority ; that we may live a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and honesty, 1 Tim. ii. 1,2. So that whensoever I address to the court of heaven, I must be sure to remember my sove- reign on earth, that God would be pleased to enable his ser- vant to reign on earth, as himself doth in heaven, in righte- ousness and mercy. But especially, in case of any seeming or real default or defect, though I do not think it a subject's duty to judge or censure his sovereign's actions, I am to be the more earnest in my prayers and intercessions for him ; but upon no account to fight or rebel against him. And, if I am thus strictly obliged to honour, obey, and pray for, a bad prince, how much more should I pay those duties to one, who represents God, not only in his authority, but in his holiness too ? In this case, sure, as there is a dou- ble engagement to reverence and obedience, so I am doubly punishable, if I neglect to shew it, either to the prince him- self, or those that are set under him ; for the same obligations that lie upon me, for my obedience to the king, bind me like- wise to obey his inferior officers and magistrates, that act un- der him ; and that for this reason, because, as he represents God. so they represent him ; and, therefore, whatever they command in his name, I look upon it as much my duty to obey, as if it was commanded by his own mouth, and accordingly, do, from this moment, by the grace of God, resolve to put this duty in practice. RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the same divine grace, to be as constant in lov- ing of my wife, as cautious in choosing her. Though it be not necessary for me to resolve upon marry- ing, yet it may not be improper to resolve, in case I should, to follow these rules of duty ; first, in the choice of a wife : and, secondly, in the affection that I ought to bear towards her. 1 40 Resolutions. As for the first, I shall always endeavour to make choice of such a woman for my spouse, who hath first made choice of Christ as a spouse for herself ; that none may be made one flesh with me, who is not made one spirit with Christ my Saviour. For I look upon the image of Christ, as the best mark of beauty I can behold in her ; and the grace of God, as the best portion I can receive with her. These are excellen- cies, which, though not visible to our carnal eyes, are never- theless agreeable to a spiritual heart ; and such as all wise and good men cannot choose but be enamoured with. For my own part, they seem to me such necessary qualifications, that my heart trembles at the thoughts of ever having a wife with- out them. What ? Shall I marry one that is wedded already to her sins ? or have possession of her body only, when the devil has possession of her soul ? Shall such a one be united to me here, who shall be separated from me for ever hereafter, and condemned to scorch in everlasting burnings ? No ; if ever it be my lot to enter into that state, I beg of God, that he would direct me in the choice of such a wife only, to lie in my bosom here, as may afterwards be admitted to rest in Abra- ham's bosom to all eternity ; such a one, as will so live, and pray, and converse with me upon earth, that we may both be entitled to sing, to rejoice, and be blessed together, forever, in heaven. That this therefore may be my portion and felicity, I firmly resolve never to set upon such a design, before I have first solicited the throne of grace, and begged of my heavenly Fa- ther to honour me with the partnership of one of his beloved children ; and shall afterwards be as careful and cautious as I can, never to fix my affections upon any woman for a wife, till I am thoroughly persuaded of the grounds I have to love her, as a true Christian. If I could be thus happy, as to meet with a wife of these qualities and endowments, it would be impossible for me not to be hearty and sincere in my affection toward her, even though I had the greatest temptations to place them upon an- other : for, how could I choose but love her, who has God for her father, the church for her mother, and heaven for her por- tion ; who loves God, and is beloved of him ? Especially, when I consider, that thus to love her, will not only be my duty but my happiness too. As to the duty, it is frequently inculcated in Scripture, that husbands should love their wives, and that not with a common love, but as Christ loved his church, Eph. v. 25. yea, as their oum body, ver. 28. or, as themselves, ver. 33. and they are so Resolutions. 141 to love them, as not to be bitter against them. Col. iii. 19. not to be passionate or angry with them, upon every light matter, nor suffer their resentments to rise to that height, upon any occasions whatsoever, as to abate the least spark of conjugal affection towards them, but to nourish and cherish them, even as the Lord the church. In a word, to do all the kind offices they can for them, in their civil capacities, and to help and for- ward them, by all means possible, in the way that leads to heaven ; that as they are united in the flesh, so they may like- wise be united in the Spirit, and raised and rewarded together, at the general resurrection. And, as love is the great duty, so is it likewise the chief hap- piness of a married state. I do not mean that love whereby she loves me, but that wherewith I love her ; for, if I myself have not a cordial esteem and affection for her, what happiness will it be to me to be beloved by her ? or rather, what a mi- sery would it be to be forced to live with one I know I cannot love ? As ever, therefore, I desire to be happy, I must perform my duty in this particular, and never aim at any other end in the choice of a wife, or expect any other happiness in the en- joyment of her, but what is founded in the principle of pure and inviolable love. If I should court and marry a Woman for riches, then, whenever they fail, or take their flight, my love and my happiness must drop and vanish together with them. If I choose her for beauty only, I shall love her no longer than while that continues, which is only till age or sickness blasts it, and then farewell at once both duty and delight. But if I love her for her virtues, and for the sake of God, who has enjoined it as a duty, that our affections should not be alienated or separated by any thing but death ; then, though all the other sandy foundations fail, yet will my happiness re- main entire, even though I should not perceive those mutual returns of love, which are due to me from her upon the same bottom. But oh ! the happiness of that couple, whose inclina- tions to each other are as mutual as their duties ; whose af- fections as well as persons are linked together with the same tie ! This is the chief condition required to make the state of matrimony happy or desirable, and shall be the chief motive with me to induce me to enter into it. For though it be no happiness to be beloved by one I do not love, yet it is certainly a very great one to be beloved by one I do. If this then be my lot, to have mutual expressions of love from the person I fix my affections upon, what joy and comfort will it raise in my heart ? With what peace and amity shall we live together here ? and what glory and felicity may we not promise our- selves hereafter? 142 Resolutions. What is said here of the duty in choosing and loving of a wife, may be likewise applied to the woman's duty in choosing and loving her husband. But being not so immediately con- cerned in this, I pass on to my next resolution. RESOLUTION III. J am resolved, by the grace of God, to do my endeavour to give to God whatsoever children he shall be pleased to give to me ; that as they are mine by nature, they may be his by grace. I have sometimes wondered at the providence of God, in bringing so many millions of people out of the loins of one man ; and cannot but make this use of it, even to stir up my- self to a double diligence, in bringing up my children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. For, who knows, but the salvation of ten thousand souls may depend upon the education of one single child ? If I train up my son in the ways of religion, and teach him what it is to keep a conscience void of offence towards God, and towards man ; he will then not only have an inward sense of his own duty, but take all possible care to instil it into others, whether children or servants, that are committed to his charge: and these, again, will do the same to theirs, by teaching them to walk in the same path ; till, by degrees, the piety and holi- ness of one man has diffused itself to all succeeding genera- tions. But now, on the other hand, if I neglect the care of my son's education, and suffer the leprosy of sin and wicked- ness to taint and corrupt him, it is great odds, without an ex- traordinary interposition of divine grace, but the infection may spread itself over all my posterity ; and so draw down upon me the curses and accusations of ten thousand souls in hell, which might otherwise have been praising and blessing God for me to all eternity in heaven. Hence it is that I am resolved to endeavour to be a spiritual as well as a natural father to my children ; yea, to take more care to get a portion for their souls in heaven, than to make provision for their bodies upon earth. For, if he be accounted worse than an infidel, that provides not for his family the suste- nance of their bodies ; what is he that suffers his family to neglect the salvation of their souls ? That nothing of this, therefore, may be laid to my charge, if ever Providence sees fit to bless me with children of my own, Resolutions. 1 43 I will take effectual care, so soon as conveniently I can, to de- vote them unto God by baptism, that what guilt they have con- tracted, by coming through my loins, may be washed away by the laver of regeneration ; and then to be constantly soliciting the throne of grace, that he who hath given them to me, would be pleased to give himself to them. The next thing to be done, as soon as they come to be ca- pable of instruction, is, to take all occasions, and make use of all means, to work the knowledge of God into their heads, and the grace of Christ into their hearts ; by teaching them to remember their Creator in the days of their youth ; by ac- quainting them with the duties that he that made them ex- pects from them ; with the rewards they shall have, if dutiful, and the punishments they shall feel, if disobedient, children ; still accommodating my expressions to the shallow capacity of their tender years. And, according to their doing, or not do- ing, of what they have been told, I shall reward them with what is most pleasing, or punish them with what is most dis- pleasing, to their years. To speak to them of heaven, and eternal glory, will not encourage them so much, as to give them their childish pleasures and desires ; and the denouncing of a future hell will not affright them so much, as the inflict- ing a present smart. Hence it is, that Solomon so oft incul- cates this upon parents, as their duty to their children, that they should not spare the rod, lest they spoil the child. But I must still take care to let them understand, that what I do is from a principle of love and affection to them, not of firv and indignation against them. For, by this means, God may correct me for correcting them ; I may set before my children such an example of indiscreet and sinful passion, as they will be apt enough to learn, without my teaching them. On the other hand, it behoves me, if possible, so to order my family, that my children may not see or hear, and so not learn, any thing but goodness in it ; for commonly, according to what we learn when we are young, we practise when we are old. And, therefore, as I shall take great care that my children learn nothing that is evil or sinful at home, so likewise, that they do not come into such company abroad, where their innocence may be assaulted with swearing, cursing, or any kind of pro- fane or obscene discourse, which the generality of our youth are so obnoxious to. Or, at least, if this is not wholly to be avoided, to prevent these poisonous weeds from taking root in the heart, it be- hoves me to take all opportunities of discoursing to them of God and Christ, of the immortality of their souls, and the fu- 144 Resolutions. ture state they are to be doomed to in another world, when they have lived a little while in this ; that, according as they grow in years, they may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Christ. And when they come to years of discretion, capable of doing farther honour and ser- vice to God and their country, by some calling or profession, I must be sure to place them in such a one, as may be no hin- drance to that high and heavenly calling, which they have in Christ Jesus, but rather contribute to further and promote it ; that being, like tender plants, ingrafted into the true vine, they may bring forth much fruit to God's glory, to my comfort, and their own salvation. RESOLUTION IV. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to do my duty to my ser- vants, as well as expect they should do theirs to me. It was Joshua's, and, by God's grace, it shall be my reso- lution, that / and my house will serve the Lord. I, in the first place, and then my house ; for if I myself do not, I cannot expect that they should. So that, for the ordering of my family in general, I must not only press their duty upon them, but likewise practise my own duty, in suppressing all vicious and lewd conversation, and composing all strife and contention amongst them ; in praying every day, at the least, twice with them ; in catechizing and expounding the principles of reli- gion to them, and in calling for an account of every sermon and godly discourse they hear, either in private or in public ; in seeing that they constantly frequent the divine ordinances, and that they behave themselves so conscientiously therein, that they may be, some way or other, the better by them. And to these ends, I think it my duty to allow my servants some time, every day, wherein to serve God, as well as to see they spend their other hours in serving me ; and to make them sen- sible, that they do not serve me only for myself, but ultimately and principally in reference unto God ; their serving me mak- ing way for my better serving God. And, for this reason, I cannot believe but it is as great a sin to cumber my servants, as myself, with too much worldly busi- ness. For, how can they spend any time in the service of God, when I require all their time in my own ? And, how justly should I be condemned, if, by this means, I should bring them Resolutions. 145 into a sort of necessity of sinning, either in not obeying God, or not obeying me. Not that I think it a servant's duty, to neglect his Creator to serve his master ; on the contrary, he is obliged, in all cases, where their commands interfere, to obey God rather than man. But where they do not, there is a strict injunction upon all servants, that they should be obedient to their masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ, Eph. vi. 5. But how with fear and trembling ? Why, fearing lest they should offend God, in offending them, and trembling at the thoughts of being disobedient to the divine command, which enjoins them to be obedient to their masters in all things, not answering again, Tit. ii. 9. that is, not repining at their master's lawful commands, nor muttering and maundering against them as some are apt to do. For it is as great a sin in servants to speak irreverently to their masters, as in masters to speak passionately to their servants. But how are servants to give obedience to their masters, with singleness of heart, as unto Christ? Why, by obeying them only in obedience unto Christ ; that is, they are there- fore to do their master's will, because it is the Lord's will they should do it ; serving them, not with eye-service, as men ^leas- ers, but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart ; with good-will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, Eph. vi. 6, 7. Col. iii. 22. This is the duty therefore that I shall be oft inculcating upon my servants, and shall as oft be reflecting upon myself, that what I require for my own service may be always in subordination to God's, who is our common Lord and Master, whose laws are equally obliging to all ranks and conditions of men, and in whose sight there is no respect of persons. RESOLUTION V. J am resolved, by the grace of God, to feed the flock, that God shall set me over, with wholesome food, neither starving them by idleness, poisoning them with error, nor puffing them up with impertinencies. And here I cannot but declare, that ever since I knew what it was to study, I have found, by experience, that spiritual and intellectual pleasures do as far surpass those that are temporal and sensual, as the soul exceeds the body. And for this reason, N 146 Resolutions. as I always thought the study and profession of divinity to be the noblest and most agreeable of all others, as carrying with it its own encouragement and reward ; so I have often won- dered with myself, that the greatest persons in the world should not be desirous and ambitious of exercising their parts in the I study of this necessary, as well as sublime, science, and even ! devoting themselves to the profession of it. For do they as- pire after honour ? What greater honour can there be than to be the mouth of God to the people, and of the people unto God ; to have the Most High himself not only to speak by them, but in them too ? What greater honour, than to have a commission from the King of kings, to represent himself be- fore his people, and call upon them, in his name, to turn from the error of their ways, and walk in the paths of God to ever- lasting glory ? What greater honour, than to be an instrument, in his hand, to bring poor souls from the gates of hell, to set them among princes in the court of heaven ? Do they thirst after pleasures ? What greater pleasure can they have, than to make it their business to feed themselves and others with the bread and water of life ? But stay, my soul, let not thy thoughts run only upon the dignity of thy function, and the spiritual pleasures that attend the faithful discharge of it ; but think, likewise, upon the strict account thou must give of it in another life : the serious con- sideration of which, as it cannot but be a great comfort to the true and faithful pastor, who has diligently fed his flock with the sincere milk of God's word ; so must it be a great terror and confusion to the slothful and negligent, the false and de- ceitful dispensers of the divine mysteries, who have either carelessly lost, or treacherously deluded, the souls of those committed to their charge, which they must one day answer for, as well as for their own. And therefore, that nothing of this kind may ever be laid to my charge, I solemnly promise and resolve, before God, so to demean myself in the exercise of my ministerial function, as to make the care of souls, es- pecially of those committed to my charge, the chief study and business of my life. And that without partiality or exception, I must not single out some of the best of my flock, such as I have the highest respect for, or have received the greatest obligations from ; but minister to every one according to their several necessities. If I meet with men of knowledge and virtue, my business must be to confirm and establish them therein ; if with those that are ignorant and immoral, to teach and instruct them in the ways of religion, and, by all means possible, to reclaim and Resolutions. 147 reduce them to the exercise of their duty, always remembering, that as the blessed Jesus, the great Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, was not sent, save unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel ; and came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repent- ance ; so it is the indispensable duty of his apostles and minis- ters (and, by the grace of God, I shall make it mine) to follow his example in this particular ; to spare no time nor pains in the reformation of sinners, though it be never so irksome and difficult to accomplish, even though I should meet with such as the prophet David speaks of, who hate to be reformed, and cast my words behind them. And therefore, as I know it is my duty, so I shall always endeavour to take pleasure in the seve- ral offices I perform of this kind, to strengthen the weak, heal the wounded, and bind up the broken heart; to call in those that err and go astray, and to seek and save those that are lost. To these ends, though preaching is, without doubt, a most excellent and useful, as well as necessary duty, (especially if it be performed, as it ought, with zeal and reverence, and the doctrine applied and pressed home with sincerity of affection,) yet I shall not think it sufficient to instruct my people only from the pulpit, but take all opportunities to instil good thoughts and principles into their minds in my private conversation. I know it is impossible for all ministers frequently to visit every particular person or family in their parish, there being in some parishes, especially in and about London, so many thousands of souls : but, howsoever, if it should please the Lord to call me to such a flock, though I cannot visit all, I shall visit as many as I can ; especially those that are sick and infirm, and be sure to feed them with the sincere milk of the word, such as may turn to their spiritual nourishment, and make them grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I will not fill their heads with speculative notions and niceties in divinity ; (which among the less judicious, are very often the occasion of heresy and error, and sometimes also of delusion and distraction ;) but my chief care shall be to instruct them in those necessary truths, which their Christian faith in- dispensably obliges them to know and believe, and press them to the performance of those duties, without which they cannot be saved ; meekly and impartially reproving the particular vices they are most inclined and addicted to, and cheerfully encouraging and improving whatever virtuous actions they are any of them exemplary in, and whatever good habits or incli- nations the divine grace has put into their hearts. And since love and charity is the great characteristic of our profession, the bond and cement of all other Christian duties, 148 Resolutions. in order to make my ministry the more successful, I resolve, in the last place, not only to avoid all differences and disputes with them myself, but amicably to compose all such as may arise among the neighbours. In a word, I shall make it my endeavour, in all things, so to approve myself as a faithful min- ister, both in life and doctrine, before them, that, at the last day, when the great God shall call for my parish, and myself to appear before him, I may be fitly prepared to give an ac- count of both ; at least to answer for as many of them as he requires ; and may, with joy and comfort, pronounce this sen- tence of my Saviour, if it may, without offence, be applied to his ministers, Behold, land the children which thou hast given me. RESOLUTION VI. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to be as faithful and con- stant to my friend, as I would have my friend to be faithful and constant to me. Having before resolved to be zealous in loving God, I here resolve to be as constant in loving my friend. But why do I resolve upon this ? Is it possible to live, and not to love ? this to me seems as plain a contradiction, as to live, and not to live. For love, in my opinion, is as much the life of the soul, as the soul is the life of the body. So that, for my own part, I shall expect to cease to live, at the very moment that I cease to love ; nay, I do not look upon love only as my life, but as the joy and comfort of it too. And, for this reason, I shall never envy any man his riches, pleasures, Or preferments, provided that I can but enjoy the persons my soul delights in, viz. Christ in the first place, and my friend and neighbour in the second. But then I must have a great care where, and how, I place this affection ; for if I place it wrong, my very loving will be sinning. And therefore I shall always endeavour to make such only my friends, as are friends to God. Not that I look upon it as necessary to love my friends always under that notion only, as they are friends of God ; for then, no love but that which is spiritual would be lawful ; whereas, there is doubtless, a natural love, that is no less a duty, and, by con- sequence, no less lawful, than the other ; as the love of pa- rents towards their children, and children towards their parents ; and the mutual complacency that arises betwixt friends, as Resolutions. 149 well as relations, from the harmony and agreement of humours and tempers. Thas our Saviour is said to have loved St. John more than any of his other disciples, which cannot be under- stood of a spiritual love ; for this, undoubtedly, was equal to all ; but being a man subject to the like passions (though not imperfections) as we are, he placed more natural affection upon, and might have more natural complacency in, John, than in his other disciples. And, therefore, when I say, I am to make such my friends only as are friends to God, my meaning is, that I will make none my friends, but such as I know to be good men and good Christians, such as deserve my love in a spiritual, as well as a natural sense ; and since I may lawfully love my friend in both these senses, the one is so fir from being exclusive, that is is really perfective of the other. And for this reason, as the spiritual good of my friend is always to be preferred before that which is temporal, I am resolved to found the one upon the other. I will always be ready, as oft as he stands in need, either for my advice, encouragement, or assistance, to do him all the kind offices I can in his worldly affairs, to promote his interest, vindicate his character from secret aspersions, and defend his person from open assaults ; to be faithful and punc- tual in the performance of my promises to him, as well as in keeping the secrets he has entrusted me with. But all these tilings are to be done with a tender regard to the honour of God, and the duties of religion ; so that the services I do him in his temporal concerns must still be consistent with, and sub- servient to, the spiritual interest and welfare of his immortal soul, in which T am principally obliged to manifest my friend- ship towards him. If I see him wander out of the right way, 1 must immediately take care to advertise him of it, and use the best means I can to bring him back to it : or if I know him to be guilty of any reigning vices, I must endeavour to convince him of the danger and malignity of them, and impor- tune and persuade him to amend and forsake them. And lastly, I must be as constant in keeping my friend, as cautious in choosing him ; still continuing the heat of my affections to- wards him in the day of his affliction, as well as in the height of his prosperity. These are the rules whereby I resolve to express my friend- ship unto others, and whereby I would have others to express their friendship unto me. N 2 1 50 Resolutions. CONCERNING MY TALENTS. Having so solemnly devoted myself to God, according to the covenant he hath made with me, and the duty I owe to him ; not only what I am, and what I do, but likewise what I have, is still to be improved for him. And this I am bound to, not only upon a federal, but even a natural account , for what- soever I have, I received from him, and therefore all the rea- son in the world, whatsoever I have, should be improved for him. For I look upon myself as having no other property in what I enjoy, than a servant hath in what he is entrusted with to improve for his master's use. Thus, though I should have ten thousand pounds a year, I should have no more of my own than if I had but two-pence in all the world ; for it is only committed to my care for a season, to be employed and im- proved to the best advantage, and will be called for again at the grand audit, when I must answer for the use or abuse of it ; so that whatsoever, in a civil sense, I can call my own, that, in a spiritual sense, I must esteem as God's. And, there- fore, it nearly concerns me to manage all the talents I am entrusted with, as things I must give a strict account for at the day of judgment. As God bestows his mercies upon me, through the greatness of his love and affection, so I am to re- store his mercies back again to him, by the holiness of my life and conversation. In a word, whatever I receive from his bounty, I must, some way or other, lay out for his glory, ac- counting nothing mine own, any farther than as I improve it for God's sake, and the spiritual comfort of my own soul. In order to this, I shall make it my endeavour, by the bless- ing of God, to put in practice the following Resolutions. RESOLUTION I. / am resolved, if possible, to redeem my time past, by using a double diligence for the future, to employ and improve all the gifts and endowments, both of body and mind, to the glory and service of my great Creator. Time, health, and parts, are three precious talents, generally bestowed upon men, but seldom improved for God. To go Resolutions. 1 5 * no farther than myself; how much time and health have I en- joyed by God's grace ? and how little of it have I laid out for his honour ? On the contrary, how oft have I offended, affronted, and provoked him, even when he has been courting me with his favours, and daily pouring forth his benefits upon me ? This, alas ! is a sad truth, which whensoever I seriously reflect upon, I cannot but acknowledge the continuance of my life as the greatest instance of God's mercy and goodness, as well as the greatest motive to my gratitude and obedience. In a due sense, therefore, of the vanities and follies of my younger years, I desire to take shame to myself for what is past, and do, this morning, humbly prostrate myself before the throne of grace, to implore God's pardon, and to make solemn promises and resolutions, for the future, to cast off the works of darkness, and to put on the armour of light ; and not only so, but to re- deem the precious minutes I have squandered away, by hus- banding those that remain to the best advantage. I will not trifle and sin away my time in the pleasures of sense, or the impertinencies of business, but shall always employ it in things that are necessary and useful, and proportion it to the weight and importance of the work or business I engage myself in ; allotting such a part of it for this business, and such a part for that, so as to leave no intervals for unlawful or unnecessary actions to thrust themselves in, and pollute my life and con- versation. For, since it has pleased God to favour me with the blessing of health, and I am not certain how soon I may be deprived of it, and thrown upon a bed of sickness, which may deprive me of the use of my reason, or make me incapable of any thing else but grappling with my distemper ; it highly concerns me to make a due use of this blessing, while I have it ; to improve these parts and gifts that God has endowed me with to the manifestation of his glory, the salvation of my soul, and the public good of the community whereof I am a member. To these ends, it will be requisite for me frequently to con- sider with myself, which way my weak parts may be the most usefully employed, and to bend them to those studies or ac- tions, which they are naturally the most inclined to and delight- ed in, with the utmost vigour and application ; more particu- larly, in spiritual matters, to make use of all opportunities for the convincing others of God's love to them, and their sins against God, of their misery by nature, and happiness by Christ ; and when the truth of God happens to be any ways traduced or opposed, to be as valiant in the defence of it, as its enemies 152 Resolutions. are violent in their assaults against it. And as I thus resolve to employ my inward gifts and faculties for the glory and ser- vice of God ; so, RESOLUTION II. / am resolved, by the divine grace, to employ my riches, the out- ward blessings of Providence, to the same end ; and to ob- serve such a due medium in the dispensing of them, as to avoid prodigality on the one hand, and covetousness on the other. This, without doubt, is a necessary resolution, but is like- wise very difficult to put in practice, without a careful observ- ance of the following rules. First, never to lavish cut my substance, like the prodigal, in the revels of sin and vanity, but, after a due provision for the necessities and conveniences of life, to lay up the overplus for the acts of love and charity toward my indigent brethren. I must consider the uses and ends for which God has entrusted me with such and such possessions ; that they were not given me for the pampering my body, the feeding my lusts, or puffing me up with pride and ambition ; but for advancing his glory and my own, and the public good. But why do I say given? when, as I before observed, I have no propriety in the riches I possess ; they are only lent me for a few years, to be dispensed and distributed as my great Lord and Master sees fit to ap- point, viz. for the benefit of the poor and necessitous, which he has made his deputies, to call for and receive his money at my hands. And this, indeed, is the best use I can put it to, for my own advantage as well as theirs : for the money I be- stow upon the poor I give to God to lay up for me, and I have his infallible word and promise for it, that it shall be paid me again, with unlimited interest, out of his heavenly treasure, which is infinite, eternal, and inexhaustible. Hence it is, that whensoever I see any fit object of charity, methinks I hear the Most High say unto me, Give this poor brother so much of my stock which thou hast in thy hand, and I will place it to thy account, as given to myself; and, Look what thou layest out, and it shall be paid thee again. The second rule is, never to spend a penny where it can be better spared ; nor to spare it where it can be better spent. And this will oblige me, whensoever any occasion offers of laying out money, considerately to weigh the circumstances of Resolutions. 1 53 it, and, according as the matter, upon mature deliberation, re- quires, I must not grudge to spend it : or, if at any time I find more reason to spare, I must not dare to spend it ; still re- membering, that as I am strictly to account for the money God has given me, so I ought neither to be covetous in saving or hoarding it up, nor profuse in throwing it away, without a just occasion. The main thing to be regarded is, the end I pro- pose to myself in my expenses, whether it be really the glory of God, or my own carnal humour and appetite. For instance, if I lay out my money in clothing my body, the question must be, whether I do this only for warmth and decency, or to gratify my pride and vanity. If the former, my money is better spent ; if the latter, it is better spared than spent. Again ; do I lay it out in eating and drinking ? If this be only to satisfy the ne- cessaries of nature, and make my life the more easy and com- fortable, it is, without doubt, very well spent ; but if it be to feed my luxury and intemperance, it is much better spared ; better for my soul in keeping it from sin, and better for my body in preserving it from sickness. And this rule is the more strictly to be observed, because it is as great a fault in a ser- vant not to lay out his master's money when he should, as to lay it out when he should not. In order, therefore, to avoid both these extremes, there is a third rule to be observed under this Resolution ; and that is, to keep a particular account of all my receipts and disburse- ments ; to set down in a book every penny I receive at the hands of the Almighty, and every penny I lay out for his ho- nour and service. By this means I shall be. in a manner, forced both to get my money lawfully, and to lay? it out carefully ; for how can I put that amongst the money I have received from God, which I have got by unlawful means ? Certainly, such money I may rather account as received from the devil for his use, than from God for his. And so must I either lay every penny ou tfor God, or otherwise I shall not know where to set it down ; for I must set down nothing but what I lay out for his use ; and if it be not for his use, with what face can I say it was ? And, by this means also, when God shall be pleased to call me to an account for what I received from him, I may with comfort appear before him; and having improved the talents he had committed to my charge, I may be received into his heavenly kingdom, with a viell done, good and faithful ser- vant, enter thou into thy Master's joy. 154 Resolutions. RESOLUTION III. J am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve the authority God. gives me over others, to the suppression of vice, and the -encouragement of virtue ; and so, for the exaltation of God's name on earth, and their souls in heaven. That all power and authority hath its original from God, and that one creature is not over another, but by the provi- dence and will of him who is over all ; and, by consequence, that all the authority we have over men is to be improved for God, is clear, not only from that question, Who made thee to differ from another ? and what hast thou which thou didst not receive? 1 Cor. iv. 7. but likewise, and that more clearly, from that positive assertion, The powers that be are ordained of God, Rom. xiii. 1 . That therefore I may follow my com- mission, I must stick close to my present resolution, even in all the power God gives me, to behave myself as one in- vested with that power from above, to restrain vice and en- courage virtue, as oft as I have an opportunity so to do, al- ways looking upon myself as one commissioned by him, and acting under him. For this reason, I must still endeavour to exercise my authority, as if the most high God was in my place in person as well as power. I must not follow the dic- tates of my own carnal reason, much less the humours of my own biassed passion, but still keep to the acts which God him- self hath made, either in the general statute-book for all the world, the holy Scriptures, or in the particular laws and sta- tutes of the nation wherein I live. And, questionless, if I discharge this duty as I ought, what- ever sphere of authority I move in, I am capable of doing a great deal of good, not only by my power, but by my influ- ence and example. For common experience teaches us, that even the inclinations and desires of those that are eminent for their quality or station, are more powerful than the very com- mands of God himself : especially among persons of an infe- rior rank and more servile disposition, who are apt to be more wrought upon by the fear of present punishment, or the loss of some temporal advantage, than any thing that is future or spiritual. Hence it is, that all those whom God entrusteth with this precious talent, have a great advantage and opportunity in their hands, for the suppressing sin, and exalting holiness in the world ; a word from their mouths against whoredom, drunkenness, profanation of the sabbath, or the like: yea, Resolutions. 155 their very examples and silent gestures, being able to do more than the threatenings of Almighty God, either pronounced by himself in his word, or by his ministers in his holy ordinances. This, therefore, is my resolution, that whatsoever authority the most high God shall be pleased to put upon me, I will look upon it as my duty, and always make it my endeavour, to de- molish the kingdom of sin and satan, and establish that of Christ and holiness in the hearts of all those to whom my com- mission extends ; looking more at the duty God expects from me, than at the dignity he confers upon me. In a word, I will so exercise the power and authority God puts into my hands here, that when the particular circuit of my life is ended, and I shall be brought to the general assize, to give an ac- count of this amongst my other talents, I may give it up with joy ; and so exchange my temporal authority upon earth, for an eternal crown of glory in heaven. RESOLUTION IV. J am resolved, by the divine grace, to improve the affections God stirs up in others towards me, to the stirring up of their affec- tions towards God. If the authority I have over others, then, questionless, the affection others have to me, is to be improved for God ; and that because the affection they bear to me in a natural sense hath a kind of authority in me over them in a spiritual one. And this I gather from my own experience ; for I find none to have a greater command over me, than they that manifest the greatest affections for me. Indeed, it is a truth generally agreed on, that a real and sincere esteem for any person, is always attended with a fear of displeasing that person ; and where there is fear in the subject, there will, doubtless, be authority in the object ; because fear is the ground of authori- ty, as love is, or ought to be, the ground of that fear. The greatest potentate, if not feared, will not be obeyed ; if his subjects stand in no awe of him, he can never strike any awe upon them. Nor will that aw r e have its proper effects in curb- ing and restraining them from sin and disobedience, unless it proceeds from, and is joined with, love. I know the Scripture tells me, There is no fear in love, but that perfect love castetli out fear, 1 John iv. 18. But that is to he understood of our love to God, not to men, and that a per- 156 Resolutions. feet love too, such as can only be exercised in heaven. There, I know, our love will be consummate, without mixture as well as without defect ; there will be a perfect expression of love on both sides, and so no fear of displeasure on either. But this is a happiness which is not to be expected here on earth ; so long as we are clothed with flesh and blood, we shall, in one degree or other, be still under the influence of our passions and affections. And, therefore, as there is no person we can love upon earth, but who may sometimes see occasion to be displeased with us, so he will always, upon this account, be feared by us. This I look upon as the chief occasion of one man's having so much power and influence over another. But how comes this under the notion of a talent received from God, and so to be improved for him ? Why, because it is he, and he alone, that kindles and blows up the sparks of pure love and affection in us, and that by the breathings of his own Spirit. It was the Lord that gave Joseph favour in the sighl of the keeper of the prison, Gen. xxxix. 21. and that brought Daniel into favour and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs, Dan. i. 9. And so of all others in the world ; for we are told elsewhere, that as God fashioneth the hearts of men, so he turneth them which way soever he will. Insomuch that I can never see any express their love to me, but I must express my thankfulness to God for it : nor can I feel in myself any warmth of affection towards others, without considering it as aj talent hid in my breast, which I am obliged in duty to improve for him, by stirring up their affections unto him, whose affec- tions himself hath stirred up toward me. And this will be the more easy to effect, if I take care, in the first place, to express the zeal and sincerity of my own love to God, by making him the chief object of my esteem and adoration, and manifest my aversion to the sins they are guilty of, by representing them as most loathsome and abominable, as well as most dangerous and damnable. For, wherever there is a true and cordial af- fection to any person, it is apt to bias those that are under the influence of it, to choose the same objects for their love or aversion, that such a person does, i. e. to love what he loves, and hate what he hates. This therefore is the first thing to be done, to stir up the affections of others, to love and serve God. Another way of my improving the affections of others to this end is by setting them a good example ; for commonly what a friend doth, be it good or bad, is pleasing to us, because we look not at the goodness of the thing which is done, but at the loveliness of the person that doth it. And if the vices of ^ M * earth; H it nwecaa od to Ik nofons her. receive! 'oftk fom athatl expres iniproii gait Resolutions. 1 57 a friend seem amiable, how much more will his virtues shine ? J IFor this reason, therefore, whensoever I perceive any person to show a respect for, or affection to me, I shall always look topon it as an opportunity put into my hands to serve and glo- (rify my great Creator, and shall look upon it as a call from heaven, as much as if I heard the Almighty say to me, I de- sire to have this person love me, and therefore have I made im to love thee ; do thou but set before him an example of oodness and virtue, and his love to thy person shall induce nd engage him to direct his actions according to it. This, herefore, is the rule that I fully resolve to guide myself by, with relation to those who are pleased to allow me a share in :heir esteem and affection, which I hope to improve to their idvantage in the end : that as they love me, and I love them now, so we may all love God, and God love us to all eternity. RESOLUTION V. I am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve every good thought to the producing of good affections in myself, and as good actions with respect to God. Whatsoever comes from God, being a talent to be impro- i'ed to him, I cannot but think good thoughts to be as precious alents as it is possible a creature can be blessed with. But et me esteem them as I will, I am sure my Master will reckon hem amongst the talents he entrusted me with, and will call me to an account for, and therefore I ought not to neglect them. The Scripture tells me, J am not sufficient of myself to think any thing as of myself, but that my sufficiency is of God, 2 Cor. iii. 5. And if I be not sufficient to think any thing, much less am I able of myself to think of that which is good ; forasmuch as to £*ood thoughts there must always be supposed a special con- currence of God's Spirit ; whereas to other thoughts there is only the general concurrence of his presence. Seeing, there- fore, they come from God, how must I lay them out for him ? Why, by sublimating good thoughts into good affections. Does God vouchsafe to send down into my heart a thought of him- self ? I am to send up this thought to him again, in the fiery ^chariot of love, desire, and joy. Doth he dart into my soul a thought of holiness and purity ? I am to dwell and meditate O 158 Resolutions. upon it, till it break out into a flame of love and affection for him. Doth he raise up in my spirit a thought of sin, and show me the ugliness and deformity of it ? I must let it work its de- sired effect, by making it as loathsome and detestable, as that thought represents it to be. But good thoughts must not only be improved to produce good affections in my heart, but likewise good actions in my life. So that the thoughts of God should not only make me more taken with his beauty, but more active for his glory; and the thoughts of sin should not only damp my affection to it, but likewise deter and restrain me from the commission of it. And thus, every good thought that God puts into my heart, instead of slipping out, as it does with some others, without regard, will be cherished and improved to the producing of good actions. These actions will entitle me to the blessings of God, and that to the kingdom of glory. RESOLUTION VI. / am resolved, by the grace of God, to improve every affliction God lays upon me, as an earnest or token of his affection toivards me. Every thing that flows from God to his servants, coming under the notion of talents, to be improved for himself, I am sure, afflictions as well as other mercies, must needs be reck- oned amongst those talents God is pleased to vouchsafe. Indeed, it is a talent, without which I should be apt to forget the improvement of all the rest ; and which, if well improved, itself will work out for me a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 1,7. It is the non-improvement of an affliction that makes it a curse ; whereas, if improved, it is as great a blessing as any God is pleased to scatter amongst the children of men. And therefore it is that God most fre- quently entrusteth this precious talent with his own peculiar people : You only have I knoivn of all the families of the earth ; therefore will I punish you for your iniquities, Amos iii. 2. Those that God knows the best, with them will he entrust the most, if not of other talents, yet, be sure, of this, which is so useful and necessary to bring us to the knowledge of ourselves and our Creator, that without it we should be apt to forget both. Resolutions. 159 It is this that shows us the folly and pride of presumption, as well as the vanity and emptiness of all worldly enjoyments ; and deters us from incensing and provoking him, from whom all our happiness as well as our afflictions flow. Let, therefore, what crosses or calamities soever befall me, I am still resolved to bear them all, not only with a patient resignation to the di- vine will, but even to comfort and rejoice myself in them, as the greatest blessings. For instance, am I seized with pain and sickness ? I shall look upon it as a message from God, sent on purpose to put me in mind of death, and to convince me of the necessity of being always prepared for it, by a good life, which a state of uninterrupted health is apt to make us un- mindful of. Do I sustain any losses or crosses ? The true use of these is to make me sensible of the fickleness and incon- stancy of this world's blessings, which we can no sooner cast our eye upon, but they immediately take to themselves icings, and fly away from us. And so all other afflictions God sees fit to lay upon me may, in like manner, be some way or other improved for my happiness. But, besides the particular improvements of particular chas- tisements, the general improvement of all is the increasing of my love and affection to that God, who brings these afflictions upon me. For how runs the mittimus, whereby he is pleased to send me to the dungeon of afflictions ? Deliver such an one to Satan to be buffetted in the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus, 1 Cor. v. 5. By this it appears, that the furnace of afflictions, which God is pleased, at any time, to throw me into, is not heated at the fire of his wrath, but at the flames of his affection to me. The consideration whereof, as it should more inflame my love to him, so shall it likewise engage to express a greater degree of gratitude to- wards him, when he singles me out not only to suffer from him, but for him too. For this is an honour indeed, peculiar to the saints of God, which if he shall be pleased ever to pre- fer me to, I shall look upon it as upon other afflictions, to be improved for his glory, the good of others, and the everlasting comfort of my own soul. Thus have I reckoned up the talents God hath, or may, put :nto my hands, to be improved for his glory. May the same divine Being that entrusted me with them, and inspired me with these good resolutions concerning them, enable me, by his grace, to make a due use of them, and carefully to put in practice what I have thus religiously resolved upon ! There are some other mercies, which might be set down 1 60 Resolutions. in the catalogue of talents ; as the graces and motions of God's holy Spirit, and the use of his holy ordinances, under the min- istry of the Gospel ; but these being included and insisted on under several of the foregoing heads, will not require a distinct consideration. PRIVATE THOUGHTS UPON A CHRISTIAN LIFE; OR, NECESSARY DIRECTIONS FOR ITS BEGINNING AND PROGRESS UPON EARTH, IN ORDER TO ITS FINAL PERFECTION IN THE BEATIFIC VISION, PART II. By WILLIAM BEVERIDGE, D. D. LORD BISHOP OF ST. ASAPH. Written by him in his Riper Years, and printed from his original Manuscripts. O 2 PREFACE. THE kind reception which has been given to all the other works of this incomparable Author, particularly to his Private Thoughts, written in his younger years, has encouraged the publishing of another volume of his Thoughts, upon subjects of the most importance to the Christian Life in all the chief scenes of it ; and those composed when age and experience in the course of his parochial ministry had taught him, what di- rections were most necessary for the conduct of every disciple of Christ, through all the stages of that race which is set be- fore us, that he so run that he may obtain. Accordingly the reader is here furnished, not only with such instructions as are most proper for the entrance upon this race, and the early dis- cipline of those who are new listed under Christ's banner ; but also with such other points both of faith and practice, as are most fit to be afterwards inculcated and pressed upon them, for their successful carrying on of this holy warfare, and finish- ing their course, so as at last to attain the crovm of righteous- ness, laid up for all those that continue Chrisfs faithful sol- diers and servants to their lives'' end. As in his Private Thoughts and Resolutions, this excellent Bishop seems to have chiefly aimed at settling his own princi- ples, and regulating his practice, as became a follower of the holy Jesus, and a minister of his Gospel : so in these which are more public, he carries on the same pious design with re- spect to others, and executes that sacred office for which those were to prepare him. Indeed, great and indefatigable as his labours were, (for few ever laboured more,) the end of them was always the salvation of souls. And as that spirit of piety which runs through all his writings, together with his plain, unaffected, familiar, and yet most solid way of argument and persuasion, are both admirably adapted to this great end ; (to say nothing of all his other daily and unwearied pains in the ministry while living ;) so, through God's great blessing upon his endeavours, they were then, and have been since, crowned with great success ; and it is the hopes and prayers of all good 164 PREFACE. men, that they may continue so to be to the end of the world, and daily add to our holiness and his happiness. Among many instances that might be given of this happy success, I have now one before me, in a relation of the beha- viour of one of this vigilant pastor's flock, in his last sickness, as it is attested by an eye-witness of it. I will not trouble the reader with the particulars ; the sum is, that this pious gentle- man, with his last breath, expressed so much resignation to God's will, and so little fear of death ; such comfort in re- flecting upon the better part of his life, especially his charity to the poor ; and so much zeal in recommending that duty to those about him ; and, above all, such an anticipation of those ecstacies of joy and happiness which he was going to in an- other world, and so uncommon and enlarged an understanding of the great mysteries of religion ; that if, in the midst of these holy raptures, he had not owned his great obligations to Dr. Beveridge for these spiritual blessings; yet we might have easily judged, that so great a proficient in the school of religion could be indebted, under God, to the care and instruction of no less a master for such extraordinary acquirements. And, with respect to that good, which it is piously hoped this great Prelate's works have done since his death, and may continue to do daily, it has been observed by some devout per- sons, that sinee the publication of them, our churches have been generally fuller than they used to be ; to which, as nothing would contribute more, than that spirit of devotion and true piety, which in all his practical writings this holy man both expresses himself, and labours to create in others : so, if after all these pious endeavours to cultivate and promote it in the world, we are sensible of the least growth of it, I know not why we may not ascribe so good an effect to the blessing of God upon so probable a cause. However, if the piety of some among us, which we hope increaseth, be not a sufficient argument of a probable increase of true religion, to be expected from the influence of this great man's works, yet I am sorry to say, that the wickedness of others does abundantly make up that defect ; I mean the rest- less endeavours of all the enemies of God and religion, to dis- credit and defame them ; if by any means they could be able to ward such a blow to the kingdom of darkness, as they seem to apprehend from his pious labours. And what wonder if those who mock God, and would bring religion itself into con- tempt, use their utmost endeavours to blast the reputation of an author, whose writings are so eminently serviceable to religion, and tend so much to advance the glory of God ? All PREFACE. 165 their attempts of this nature are so many arguments of the ex- cellency of what they would decry ; they are the testimonies even of enemies, in behalf of those admirable books which they pretend to ridicule ; and all the scorn and contempt they express upon this occasion, reflects more honour upon Bishop Beveridge and his works ; I had almost said, even than the ap- probation and esteem of all his and religion's friends. So much good does God in his infinite wisdom and mercy produce out of the greatest evil, by turning all the wit and malice of these reprobates against themselves, and making them, even against their own wills, instruments of sounding forth the praises of this excellent writer, at the same time, and by the very same means, that they vainly attempt to dishonour and reproach him. As the devils themselves were forced to own our bles- sed Saviour, though they knew he came on purpose to destroy them. It were only to be wished, that in this, as in most other instances, those children of this world were not in their genera- tion so much wiser than the children of light. It is true, we may as well fear, that dogs should bark out the moon, as that the utmost malice of these enemies to truth shall ever be able to sully a reputation, that has long shined with so much bright- ness among all learned and good men, both at home and a- broad : insomuch, that when this illustrious Prelate was dying, one of the chief of his order deservedly said of him, There goes one of the greatest, and of the best men that ever England bred. No, we have seen that all their attempts against him do but add lustre to his fame. However, it cannot be less the interest of religion to promote the works of so able a divine, than it is that of atheism and irreligion to oppose them ; and if all good men would show as much zeal in the defence of them and their great author, and be as industrious to recom- mend both his writings and example, as atheists and libertines are to obstruct the influences of both, this would still be anoth- er addition to the glory of so great a name ; and the good ef- fects we might hope for, on the lives of men, from such ex- cellent books, dispersed into many hands, would be, at once, the best attestation that could be given to the wondrous benefit and usefulness of them, and also the most effectual means to stop the mouths of gainsayers, by lessening the num- ber of them daily, and bringing them over from infidelity and atheism, to the cause of God and religion. And I cannot close this Preface better, than with earnest prayers to God, that this, and all the other works of Bishop Beveridge, may have that blessed effect ; and that in return to all the malice of those, who seem to envy us the great 166 PREFACE. good we may hope for from such pious and instructive dis- courses, they may, by degrees, instil even into their breasts some of that spirit of piety, diffused though every page ; and of atheists and libertines, make them sober men, and Chris- tians. THOUGHTS CHRISTIAN EDUCATION IF the principles of the Christian religion were well rooted in the hearts of all mankind, what excellent fruit would they produce ! The earth would put on another face, bearing some resemblance of heaven itself : idolatry, with all sorts of wick- edness and vice, would be every where discountenanced and suppressed ; for all would worship the one living and true God, and him only : there would be no more wars, nor rumours of wars ; kingdom would not rise against kingdom, nor nation against nation ; but all princes would be at peace with their neighbours, and their subjects at unity among themselves, striv- ing about nothing but which should serve God best, and do most good in the world. Then piety, and justice, and charity, would revive and flourish again all the world over, and particularly in the church and kingdom to which we belong. Then the prayers would be read twice a day in every parish, as the law- requires, and all people would heartily join together in offer- ing them up to the almighty Creator of the world. Then all that are of riper years would, at least every Lord's day, cele- brate the memory of the death of Christ, by which their sins are expiated, and the most high God reconciled to them, and become their God and Father : and as all sorts of people would thus continually worship God in his own house, so wheresoever they are, they would do all they could to serve and honour him : Whether they eat or drink, or whatsoever they do, they would do all to his glory. And as for their fellow-servants, they would all love as brethren, and every one seek another's good as well as their own ; Whatsoever they would that men should do to them they would do the same to all other men. In short, all would then deny ungodliness and ivorldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godlily in this present world, and so walk hand in hand together in the narrow way that leads to 168 Thoughts upon everlasting life. This would be the happy state of all mankind, if they were but well grounded in that religion which the eter- nal Son of God hath planted upon earth. But not to speak of other people, we of this nation rarely find any such effect of this religion among ourselves ; though it be as generally professed, and as clearly taught among us, as ever it was in any nation, there are but few that are ever the better for it ; the most being here also as bad both in their principles, and practices, as they which live in the darkest cor- ners of the earth, where the light of the Gospel never yet shined : though the kingdom in general be Christian, there are many heathens in it, people that were never christened ; many that were once christened, and are now turned heathens again, living as without God in the world : many that would still be thought Christians, and yet have apostatized so far as to lay aside both the sacraments which Christ ordained, and every thing else that can shew them to be so ; many that privily bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and so bring upon themselves swift destruction ; many that follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth is evil spoken of and through covetousness with feigned words make merchandise of men, as St. Peter foretold, 2 Pet. ii. 1, 2, 3. Many who will not endure sound doctrine, but after their own lusts, heap to themselves teachers, having itch- ing ears ; and so fulfil the prophecy of St. Paul, 2 Tim. iv. 3. And of those who still continue in the communion of the Church, and in the outward profession of the true Christian faith, there are many who, although they profess to know God, yet in works they deny him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate, Tit. i. 16. Many, did I say ? I wish I could not say almost all : but alas ! it is too plain to be denied. For, of that vast company of people that are called Chris- tians in this kingdom, how few are there that live as becometh the Gospel of Christ ? that finish the work which God hath given them to do, even glorify him in the world ? How many that refuse or neglect to worship and serve him upon his own day ? How few that do it upon any other day, when they have any thing else to do ? How many that never received the sa- crament of the Lord's Supper in their whole lives ? How few that receive it above two or three times in the year, how often soever they are invited to it ? How many are the proud, the passionate, the covetous, the intemperate, the incontinent, the unjust, the profane and impious, in comparison of the humble, and meek, and liberal, and sober, and modest, and righteous, m\d holy among us ? The disproportion is so vastly great, that none but God himself can make the comparison : so little of Christianity is now to be found amongst Christians themselves ; to our shame be it spoken. It is indeed a matter of so much shame, as well as grief, to all that have any regard for the honour of Christ their Saviour, that they cannot but be very solicitous to know how it comes to pass, that his doctrine and precepts are so generally slighted and neglected as they are in our days ? and how they may be observed better for the future than now they are ? Both which questions may be easily resolved ; for we cannot wonder, that of the many which profess the Christian religion, there are so kw that live up to it, when we consider how few are duly in- structed in the first principles of it. The religion which Christ hath revealed to the world, is by his grace and blessing settled and established among us, so as to be made the religion of the kingdom in general : and there- fore all that are born in it, are, or ought to be, according to his order or institution, soon after baptized, and so made his discip^s, or Christians by profession. And the church takes security of those who thus bring a child to be baptized, that when it comes to be capable of it, it shall be instructed in the Catechism, which she for that purpose hath set forth, contain- ing all the principles of that religion into which it was bap- tized. But notwithstanding this hath been neglected for many years, whereby it is come to pass that the far greatest part of the people in this kingdom know little or nothing of the reli- gion they profess, but only to profess it as the religion of the country where they live ; they may perhaps be very zealous for it, as all people are for the religion in which they are born and bred, but h ke no care to frame their lives according to it, be- cause they were never rightly informed about it; or, at least, not soon enough, before error or sin hath got possession of them, which one or other of them commonly doth before they are aware of it ; for they are always as children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to de- ceive, Eph. iv. 14. And whatsoever sin gets dominion over them, there it reigns and domineers in their mortal bodies, so that they obey it in the lusts thereof, in spite of all that can be said to them out of God's own word ; for they are no way edi- fied by any thing they hear, in that the foundation is not first laid upon which they should build up themselves in that most holy faith that is preached to them. The word they hear is as seed that falls by the way side, or upon a rock, or else among P 170 Thoughts upon thorns, and so never comes to perfection ; their hearts not be- ing prepared beforehand, and rightly disposed for it, by having the principles of the doctrine of Christ first infused into them. This therefore being the great cause of that shameful decay of the Christian religion that is so visible among us, we can never expect to see it repaired, unless the great duty of cate- chising be revived, and the laws that are made about it be strictly observed all the kingdom over, as most certainly they ought to be, not only as they are the laws both of the church and state under which we live, but likewise for that they are grounded upon the word of God himself, who expressly com- mands the same thing by his apostle, saying, Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. For here, by nurture, we are to understand, as the Greek word zretihi* signifies, that discipline which parents ought to exercise over their children, to prevent their falling into, or continuing in any wicked course. And by the admonition of the Lord, is meant the catechising, or putting them in mind of the Lord Jesus Christ, and of what lie would have them be- lieve and do, that they may be saved. For the original word vovStTtsi which we translate admonition, properly signifies catechising. (KxTr/zJ^eiv vovSereh, Hesych.) And therefore to catechise or instruct children in the knowledge of God and our Lord Jesus Christ, is a duty here laid upon all parents by Almighty God himself; and all that neglect to educate or bring up their children in the admonition of the Lord, by cate- chising or teaching them the principles of his religion, they all live in the breach of a plain law, a law made by the supreme Lawgiver of the world, and must accordingly answer for it at the last day. Wherefore all that are sensible of the great account which they must give of all their actions, at that fime, to the Judge of the whole world, cannot but make as much conscience of this as of any duty whatsoever, so as to use the utmost of their care and diligence, that their children may grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and so be wise unto salvation. Neither is this any hard matter for those to do, who live in the communion of the church, having such a catechism or summary of the Christian religion drawn up to their hands, which is easy both for parents to teach, and for children to learn : and yet so full and comprehensive, that it contains all things necessary for any man to know in order to his being saved. As you may clearly see if you do but cast your eye upon the method and contents of it, which may be all Christian Education. 171 reduced to these five heads ; the Baptismal Vow, the Apostles' Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and the Doctrine of the Sacraments ordained by our Lord Christ. It begins where a child begins to be a Christian, and there- fore hath a Christian name give him, even at .his baptism, wherein he was made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven ; which great privileges belong to all that are baptized and to none else. None else being in the number of Christ's disciples ; for our Lord Christ, a little before his ascension into heaven, left orders with his apostles, and in them with all that should succeed in the min- istry of the church to the end of the world, to make all nations his disciples, by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, as the original words plainly import, Matt, xxviii. 19. And therefore as people of all nations are capa- ble of being made his disciples, so none now are, nor ever can be made so any other way, than by being baptized according to his order. But they who are not thus made his disciples by being baptized unto him, are not the members of Christ ; and if they be not the members of Christ, they cannot be the children of God, nor have any right to the kingdom of heaven, that being promised only to such as believe and are baptized, Mark xvi. 16. And our Saviour himself elsewhere also saith, That except a man be born again of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, John iii. 5. Whereby we may perceive the great necessity of this sacrament, where it may be had, as our church observes in the Office for the min- istration of it to such as are of riper years. It is to be farther observed, that when our Saviour ordained baptism to be the way or means of admitting persons into his church, or the congregation of his disciples, lest we should think, as some have done, that he meant it only of those who are of riper years, he used the most general terms that could be invented, requiring that all nations should be baptized ; and if all nations, then children also, which are a great, if not the greatest part of every nation. And accordingly his church hath always baptized children as well as adult persons : when any who were come to years of discretion were willing and desirous to become Christ's disciples, that they might learn of him the way to heaven, they were made so by being baptized ; and if they had children, they were also baptized at the same time with their parents : and so were the children which were afterwards born to them ; they also were baptized soon after they were born. And that it is our Saviour's pleasure that children also should be brought into his church, appears like- 172 Thoughts upon in that when his disciples rebuked those who brought children to him, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of heaven, Mark x. 14. But seeing they who are thus baptized according to the in- stitution of Christ, are thereby made his disciples, and in him the children of God, it is necessary they should then promise to believe, and live from that time forward according as he hath commanded ; which promise therefore all that are grown up, always used to make every one in his own person, and for that purpose were, and ought to be catechised beforehand, and put in mind of what they were to promise when they w T ere bap- tized; and therefore were called Catechumens. But children not being capable of making any such promise themselves in their own persons, they were always admitted and required to do it by their guardians, that is, by their godfathers and godmothers, which brought and offered them to be baptized ; and are there- fore obliged to take care that they be afterwards catechised, or instructed in the principles of that religion into which they were admitted, and put in mind of the promise which they then made of framing their lives according to it. This promise therefore, which children make at their bap- tism by their sureties, and which is implied in the very nature of the sacrament, whether they have any sureties or no, con- sists of three general heads. First, That they will renounce the devil and all his works, the pomps and vanities of this wicked world, and all the sinful lusts of the flesh. Secondly, That they will believe all the Articles of the Chris- tian faith. Thirdly, That they will keep God's holy will and command- ments, and walk in the same all the days of their life. Which three things, under which the whole substance of the Christian religion is contained, being all promised by chil- dren when they are baptized into it, it is absolutely necessary that they be afterwards put in mind, as soon as they are capa- ble, of the promise which they then made, and of the obliga- tion which lies upon them to perform it : for otherwise it can never be expected that they should either do, or so much as know it ; whereas the instructing them in this the first part of the Catechism, will prepare and dispose them for the the un- derstanding all the rest. Particularly the Apostles' Creed, which is next taught them, containing all those articles of the Christian faith, which they promise to believe, and nothing else ; nothing but what is Christian Education. 173 grounded upon plain texts of Scripture, and hath been always believed by the whole catholic church, in all ages and places all the world over. Here are none of those private opinions and controverted points which have so ong disturbed the church, and serve only to perplex men's minds, and take them off from the more substantial and necessary duties of religion, as we have found by woeful experience, .which our church hath taken all possible care to prevent, by inserting no other articles of faith into the Catechism which her members are to learn, than what are contained in this Creed, received and ap- proved of by the whole Christian world ; and then acquaint- ing them what they chiefly learn in it, even to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, in whose name they were christened, and therefore must continue in this faith, or cease to be Christians. The other thing which they who are baptized promise, is, that they will keep God's commandments, which therefore are next taught in the Catechism, without any mixture of human inventions or constitutions : those Ten Commandments, which the supreme Lawgiver himself proclaimed upon mount Sinai, and afterwards wrote with his own finger upon two tables of stone. These they are all bound to learn, because they are bound to keep them all, as they will answer it at the last day, when all mankind shall be judged by them. But no man can keep these commandments without God's special grace, which we have no ground to expect, without praying to him for it. And therefore children are in the next place taught how to pray according to that form which Christ himself composed, and commanded us to say, whensoever we pray, Luke xi. 2. And as he who believes all that is in the Apostles' Creed, believes all that he need believe ; and he that keeps all the Ten Commandments, doth all that he need to do ; so he that prays this prayer aright, prays for all things which he can have need of: so that in this short Catechism, which children of five years old may learn, they are taught all that is needful for them, either to believe, or do, or pray for. The last part of the Catechism is concerning the two sacra- ments which Christ hath ordained in his church, as generally necessary to salvation ; that is to say, Baptism, and the Lord's Supper : both which our church hath there explained with such extraordinary prudence and caution, as to take in all that is necessary to be known of either of them, without touching upon any of the disputes that have been raised about them, to the great prejudice of the Christian religion. Seeing therefore this Catechism is so full, that it contains all P 2 1 74 Thoughts upon that any man needs to know, and yet so short, that a child may learn it : I do not see how parents can bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, better than by in- structing them in it. I do not say, by teaching them only to say it by rote, but by instructing them in it, so that they may understand, as soon and as far as they are capable, the true sense and meaning of all the words and phrases in every part of it ; for which purpose it will be necessary to observe these rules. First, you must begin betime, before your children have got any ill habits, which may be easily prevented, but are not so easily cured. When children are baptized, being born again cf water and of the Spirit, as the guilt of their original sin is washed away in the later of regeneration, so that it will never be imputed to them, unless it break forth afterwards into ac- tual transgressions ; so they receive also the Spirit of God to prevent all such eruptions, by enabling them to resist the tempta- tions of the world, the flesh, and the devil, to believe and serve God according as they then promised ; so far at least, that sin shall not have dominion over them, that they should obey it in the lusts thereof, seeing now they are not under the law, but under the grace of Christ, Rom. vi. 12. 14. But that the seeds of grace which were then sown in their hearts may not be lost or stifled, but grow up to perfection; great care must be taken that they may be taught so soon as they are capable to discern be- tween good and evil, to avoid the evil and do the good, and to believe and live as they promised, when they were endued with grace to do it. Hast thou children ? saith the Son of Sirach, instruct them, and boio down their neck from their youth, Ecclus. vii. 23. Give thy son no liberty in his youth, and wink not at. his follies. Bow down his neck while he is young, and beat him en the sides while he is a child ; lest he wax stubborn, and be dis- obedient unto thee, and so bring sorrow to thine heart, chap. xxx. 11, 12. Whereas he that gathereth instruction from his youth, shall find wisdom till his old age, chap. vi. 18. According to that of the wise man ; Train up a child in the way that he should go; and when he is old, he ivill not depart from it, Prov. xxii. 6. As Timothy from a child had known the holy Scriptures, 2 Tim. iii. 15. And that was the reason that he was so expert in them when he became a man ; which therefore that your children may also be, the first thing they learn must be their Catechism, where they are taught all the great truths and duties that are revealed in the holy Scriptures, as necessary to salvation. But how can such parents do this that cannot read, nor say the Catechism themselves ? This, I fear, is the case of too Christian Education. 175 many among us. There are many who, having not been [taught to read when they were young, neglect or think scorn [to learn it afterwards, and so lose all the benefit and comfort which they might receive by reading of the holy Scriptures : but this, I confess, is not so necessary, especially in our church, where the holy Scriptures are so constantly read in public ; I that if people would as constantly come and hearken to them, j they might be wise unto salvation, although they cannot read, as few heretofore could, at least in the primitive times, when, notwithstanding they attained to the knowledge of God, and of their duty to him, as well as if they had been the greatest I scholars in the world. But then, considering that they could \ not read, they supplied that defect by attending more diligent- ly to what they heard out of God's holy word, and laying it up in their hearts, so that they understood all the principles of the Christian religion, and were able to instruct their children in the same, as well as if they could read. But this is not our case ; for now there are many who can neither read, nor so much as say the Catechism, having never learned it themselves, and therefore cannot possibly teach it their children. Such as the Apostle speaks of, who when, for the time, they ought to be teachers, they have need that one teach them again, which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat, Heb. v. 1 2. And what must such do ? They certainly, as the tender their own good, must be doubly diligent in the use of all means that may tend to their edification and instruction : and as they desire the good of their children, they must send them to school, or provide some other person to teach them ; which if the parents neglect to do, the godfathers and godmothers of every child should put them in mind of it, and see that the child be taught, so soon as he is able to learn, what a solemn vow, promise, and profession he made by them at his baptism. And that he may know these things the better, they must call upon him to hear sermons ; and chiefly they must provide that he may learn the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments in the vulgar tongue, and all other things which a Christian ought to know and believe to his soul's health, as they are contained in the Church Catechism, and then to bring them to the bishop to be confirmed by him. But for that purpose, when children have been taught the Catechism, they must be sent to the minister or curate of the parish where they live, that he may examine and instruct them in it : examine whether they can say it, and instruct them so as to make them understand it. For though the words be all 176 Thoughts upon as plain as they can be well made, yet the things signified by those words are many of them so high that it cannot be ex- pected that children should reach and apprehend them without 1] help : which therefore they must go to their minister for, whose I duty and office it is to acquaint them with the full sense and j meaning of every word, what is signified by it, and what ground j they have to believe it is God's holy word. But to do this to any purpose, requires more time than is commonly allowed for it in our days : and that is one great reason there are so few among us that are built up, as they ought to be, in their most holy faith. Many refuse or neglect to send their children to be catechised at all ; and they who send them, send them so little, and for so little a time, that it is morally impossible they should be much the better for it : as many have found by ex- perience ; who, although in their childhood they were taught the Catechism, and could say it readily, yet having not been sufficiently instructed in it, they afterwards forgot it again, and knew no more than as if they had never learnt it. I wish this be not the case of too many parents. Wherefore that this great work may be done effectually, so as to answer its end, as children should begin as soon as ever they are able to learn the Catechism, and go on by degrees till they can say it per- fectly by heart ; so when they can do that, they are still to continue to be instructed in it all along, till they understand it all so well, as to be fit to receive the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, which usually may be about sixteen or seventeen years of age, more or less, according to their several capacities. By this means, as they grow in years, they would grow also in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, 2 Pet. iii. 18. This likewise would be a great encou- ragement to the minister to take pains with them, when they are such as can understand what he saith to them, and will continue under his care and conduct till they are settled and grounded in the faith, and have their senses exercised to dis- cern between good and evil ; and so shall be every way quali- fied to serve God, and do their duty to him in that state of life, to which he shall be pleased afterwards to call them, upon earth, and then to go to heaven. If this could once be brought about throughout the king- dom, that all children that are born and bred up in it, were thus fully instructed in the knowledge of Christ, and of that religion which he hath revealed to the world, till they are fit for the holy communion, and ready to engage in the affairs of the world, the next generation would be much better than this, and Christianity would then begin to flourish again, and ap- Christian Education. 177 pear in its native beauty and lustre. And verily, whatsoever some may think, such especially as were never catechised themselves, this is as great and necessary a duty as any that is required in all the Bible. For God himself, by his apostle, expressly commands all parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord; that is, as I have showed, to catechise or instruct them in the principles of the doctrine of our Lord Christ. And therefore they who do it not, live in the breach of a known law, yea, of many laws. There being many places in God's holy word, where the same thing is commanded in other terms by Almighty God himself, saying, These words which I command thee this day, shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, Deut. vi. 7. And again, Therefore shall ye lay up these words in our heart, and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes, and ye shall teach them your children, chap. xi. 18, 19. So also, chap, iv. 10. This is thai, which he commands also by the wise man, Train up a child in the way lie should go, and when he is old he mill not depart from it, Pro v. xxii. 6. The word in the origi- nal which we translate, train up, signifies also to dedicate or devote a child to the services of God, by instructing him how to do it, and exercising him continually in it ; and therefore in the margin of our Bibles it is translated, catechise a child : so that we have here both the necessity and usefulness of this duty: the necessity, in that it is commanded to train up, or catechise, a child in the ways of God ; and the usefulness, in that what a child is thus taught, will remain with him all his life long. Seeing therefore that God hath laid so strict a command upon all parents, to bring up their children in the knowledge of himself, and of their duty to him, they can expect no other, but that he should take particular notice whether they do it or not ; and reward or punish them accordingly. As we see in Abraham, what a special kfndness had God for him upon this account ? Shall I hide from him, said the Lord, that thing which I do ? Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations upon earth shall be blessed in him. But why had he such an extraordinary favour for Abraham above all other men ? God himself gives us the reason of it, saying, For I know that he will command his chil- dren and his household after Mm, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, Gen. xviii. 19. This was the reason that Abra- ham was so much in favour, that he was called the friend of God, James ii. 23. And how much God is displeased with parents neglecting to 178 Thoughts upon bring up their children in his true faith and fear, and suffering them to grow up and go on in a course of vice and profane- ness, appears sufficiently from that severe judgment which he inflicted upon Eli and his whole house for it, saying to Samuel, For I have told him, even Eli, that J will judge his house for ever, for the iniquity which he knoweth, because his sons made themselves vile, and he restraineth them not. And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever, 1 Sam. iii. 13, 14. The execution of which dreadful judgment is left upon record in the holy Scriptures, as a standing monument and caution to all parents, to take heed how they educate their children. Be sure the saints of God in all ages have taken as much care to bring up their children well, as to live well themselves ; making as much conscience of this, as of any duty whatsoever which they owe to God. That the children which he hath given them may answer his end in giving them ; that they may not be insignificant ciphers in the world, or as fruitless trees, that serve only to cumber the ground, but that they may serve and glorify God whilst they are upon earth, so as to be meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. And verily all parents would make this their continual care and study, if they minded either their own or their children's good. Many complain, not without cause, that their children are disobedient, and undutiful to them ; but the cause is chiefly in themselves. When they have neglected their duty to their children, how can they expect their children should perform their duty to them ? They were never taught it, how then can they do it ? If therefore they prove stubborn and obsti- nate, if they give themselves up to all manner of vice and wick- edness ; if instead of a comfort they be a grief and trouble to their parents ; their parents must blame themselves for it ; and when they come to reflect upon it, their sin in neglecting their duty to God and their children in their education, will be a greater trouble to them than any their children can give them. Whereas when parents bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, if their children notwithstanding happen to miscarry afterwards, they have this to comfort them, that they did their duty, and have nothing to answer for upon that account. But what a mighty advantage would it be to the children themselves, to be thus continually put in mind of their baptis- mal vow, the articles of their faith, the duties of religion, and what else is contained in the Catechism, from their child- Christian Education. 179 Jhood all along till they come to be men or women ! Their iminds would be then filled with such divine truths, and with jso great a sense of their duty, that there would be no room 'left for heresy or sin to enter, at least not so as to get posses- sion, and exercise any dominion there. The first impres- sions that are made upon us are not soon worn out, but usually remain as long as we live. As the wise man observes, Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it, Prov. xxii. 6. When one hath been all along from his childhood brought up in the knowledge of God and his holy will, it will stick by him so as to be a constant check upon him, to keep him within the compass of his duty in all ordinary cases ; and if any thing extraordinary happen to draw him aside, it will make him restless and uneasy, till he hath recovered himself, and got into the right way again ; and so it will either keep him innocent or make him penitent. In short, by the blessing of God attending, as it usually doth, this great duty, when it is conscientiously performed, is the best means that parents can use, whereby to breed up their children for heaven, to make them fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God, both in this world, and for ever. Wherefore, if we have any regard either to our own, or to our children's eternal welfare, let us set upon this duty in good earnest ; let us bring up our children so long in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, till they fully know him, and all that he would have them believe and do, that they may be sav- ed : but we must be sure to teach them by our example as well as instructions ; we must not tell them one thing, and do anoth- er ourselves ; but show them how to keep the faith and laws of God, by keeping them ourselves before their eyes, all the while we live together upon earth ; that when we are all got, one after another, out of this troublesome and naughty world, we and our children may at last meet together in heaven, and there praise and glorify Almighty God, we for them, and they for us, and all for his grace and truth in Jesus Christ our Lord. After this general instruction in the principles of our holy religion, it will be necessary, as soon as our young Christian is capable of it, to inform him more particularly in the nature of God, and the great mystery of the Trinity, into which we are all baptized ; which therefore shall be my next subject. THOUGHTS UPON THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. Though religion in genera] be a thing that all men naturally agree in, yet there is nothing! I think, thai men differ bo much ibout the particular acts and exercise of it : for all na- tions in the world have some religion ; but there is scarce two amongst them all that have the same ; yea, in one and the same nation too, there are divers modes of religion professed and practised. .No nation or country in the world hut will afford us instances of this; and our own, I think, as many as any other whatsoever; for could we but cast our eyes into the se- veral corners of this land, at this very moment, what variety might we observe in these acts which the several parties among us account to he religious! Some wo should see sitting silently for a while together, without either speaking, or hearing of a word spoken ; until at length up .-tarts a man or a woman, or some Mich thim:* and entertains them with a discourse made up "l" censures and .malice, blasphemy and nonsense; and this is all the religion they pretend to. Others we should find crowded together in several corners, sometimes praying, some- times discoursing, as it were, sometimes arguing the case with Almighty God, and acquainting him with what happens in the world, and that with as much confidence and malapertness, as if he was their fellow-creature ; and then very gravely walk home, and please themselves with a vain conceit that they are more religious than their neighbours. Another sort of people there are amongst us, who are as superstitious as the former were slovenly and irreverent in their devotions: for these hav- ing been sprinkled with a little holy water, and having per- formed their obeisance to a crucifix or picture, presently fall a pattering over Ave Maria's and Pater Nostcrs to themselves, as fast as they can ; whilst the priest, in the mean while, says something too, but the people generally know not what it is, Knowledge of God. 181 nor indeed what themselves say, it being all in an unknown tongue. But howsoever, though they know not what they say, the] think that God doth, and therefore satisfy themselves that they have said something, though they know not what, and think that God is well pleased with what they have done, be- cause themselves are so. Others there are, and, by the blessing of God, far more than all the rest, in this nation, who present themselves before the great Creator and Possessor of the world, in that solemn and reverent manner as the constitutions of our church direct, humbly confessing their manifold sins against God, begging mercy and pardon from him, imploring his favour, and prais- ing his name for all the expressions of his undeserved love to mankind : and all this in our vulgar tongue, that we all under- stand, and so perform a reasonable service unto God. And, verily, if we consider the institution itself, of that re- ligious worship which we thus perform, it is certainly the best that ever was prescribed by any church, as being most conso- nant to the general rules of devotion laid down in Scripture ; as also most conformable to the discipline and practice of the primitive church. But we must not think that we serve God a- right, because we be present with them that do so. I do not Soubt but that there are many amongst us, who sincerely en- deavour to worship God, whensoever they present themselves before him in public. I wish that all of us would do so. But we must still remember, that we should serve the Lord else- where as well as at church, and on all other days as well as upon the Lord's day : and that if we would be truly religious, our whole man must be devoted to the service of God, yea, and our whole time too. We must not think that it is enough to do something, but we must do all things that are required of us, which notwithstanding we can never do, unless we know both that God whom we ought to serve, and that service which we ought to perform unto him. And therefore David directs his son to the right and only way to true religion, saying, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. And thou Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind : which words, did we apply them to our- selves, would, by the blessing of God, put us upon sincere endeavours after real and universal obedience to all the com- mands of God : and persuade us not to content ourselves with vain pretences to, and professions of, religion, as most do ; but strive to live up unto our profession, and carry and behave ourselves so as becometh those who desire to be religious, and to serve God in good earnest. Which that we may do, let us O Thoughts upon the re the rule and method winch David bere pre* :i : finl to know (>oit and thru to iCTVC him with a /" i i*l a witting mind. I ball n< >t trouble the reader with inj critical division of the words, for thej naturally divide themselves into two p t, That we should know, and then that we ihould * nth it }<• rft Ct heart, and a witting mind . I 111 n with the first! not onlj kx I placedf but 1" J must precede the second ; it being ight unl< n we know him i for without this all o ill be hut like the altar which tknown God. By which in- scription! ' the world, that they knew that • ..I, but tl knew not that God whom thej ought I But that we may so know him a ht, I -hall tir-t ihew what it i- of God which ' know, in oreV r to our - rving him aright t would - God aright, must &#■ >'mi he i.w II- . that there i- such a supreme and .'ill-' Being in and over the world that !! (Jed, that math . > d disposi thing in the world, :ii !•< -t to him : and that it i^ not only probable that there ia such a one, hut that it i< the v truth in the world ; without which, ertaintj . lor in- deed i\ God waa m ■ could boj ho alone being the ind foundation of all being in the world, yea, and of all motioi ' Andth( fry ikmg that Uces, every thing that is, rod to t great truth, upon which all the ipend : without which nothing would he true, much would our that the first thing t«> be done in •ir sen uiL r I . and lined by I ondly, It II as what he is in him- n d what ; i : that in him- whcU he i.v, in ami of hin, ! M i.-don . the ocean of all L r "<>dn' 'i of all happin* 38, the principle of all motion, and the a n tion of all ctions in the world; whose natur pure, per- fect, transcendent, and incomprehensible, thai the more we think of him, the more we contemplate upon him, the more we and admire him, the more we may. And the highest KnowUdg* of God. apprehensions dial we can bate of him la .-till to apprehend him infinitely higher than all our apprehension* of him. And fore that man best knows God, that knows him t<> l- yond ln< knowledge ; and that knows ho can never know him enough. But we must know too what be is to us. even the Author and Giver of every good thing we have, and wh<> in himself la whatsoever we can desire to make us happy j and therefore it is that in the covenant of grace, when he would assure us that we shall have all things that we can enjoy, he onlj promises to be our God, Heb. riii. 10. which is as much sire, and indeed as himself can promise ; for in prom himself, he hath promised whatsoever he is, whatsoever he hath, whatsoever be doth, nay, whatsoever he can as ; And thus we arc to look upon Cnn\ as tin- old;, object of all true happiness, and the only centre wherein all the desui inclinations of our souls can n st. Thirdly, It i< nec< know th« and perfections which be bath revealed of himself in Scrip- ture ; that be hi so can be known , owerful ai to do whatsoever can be doiu t and glorious in himself, that we have all j' kind and gracious in his Son. tliat it is our duty also to tin-! m him : bo true that whatsoever be sarth it od, that wbatsoevt r he <1« »th i.- good, \» cause he doth it ; - to punish < rery sin that i.- committed, and v< t bo merciful, a- t<» pardon every sinner that rep< nt( i!i : that Ik- i- pure without mixture infinite without bouni without r> isting n ithoul end, and every w a f<rxvTe$\ *.ccvov<;, which we improperly render, having taught many, the Syriac and Arabic, more properly, 200 Thoughts upon tJie having made many disciples. And these are all the places in the New Testament where this word is used, except those I am now considering, where all the eastern languages render it according to its notation, disciple. The Persian paraphrasti- cally expounds it, go ye and reduce all nations to my faith and religion. So that whosoever pleads for any other meaning of these words, do but betray their own ignorance in the original languages, and, by consequence, in the true interpretation of Scripture. I should not have insisted so long upon this, but that the false exposition of these words hath occasioned that no less dangerous than numerous sect of anabaptists in the world ; for the old Latin translation having it, euntes ergo docete om- nes gentes ; hence the German, where anabaptism first began, and all the modern translations render it as we do, go ye there- fore and teach all nations, baptizing them. From whence it was supposed by some that were not able to dive into the true meaning of the words, that our Saviour here commanded, that none should be baptized, but such as were first taught the prin- ciples of the Christian religion, which is the greatest mistake imaginable ; for our Saviour doth not speak one word of teach- ing before baptism, but only after, ver. 20. ^i^ua-Kovreg, his meaning being only that his apostles should go about the world, and persuade all nations to forsake their former idolatries and superstitions, and to turn Christians, or the disciples of Jesus Christ ; and such as were so should be baptized. And there- fore infant-baptism is so far from being forbidden, that it is ex- pressly commanded in these words ; for all disciples are here commanded to be baptized ; nay, they are therefore com- manded to be baptized, because disciples. And seeing all dis- ciples are to be baptized, so are infants too, the children of believing parents, for they are disciples as well as any other, or as well as their parents themselves : for all that are in cove- nant with God must needs be disciples : but that children were always esteemed in covenant with God, is plain, in that God himself commanded the covenant should be sealed to them, as it was all along by circumcision. But that children are disci- ples as w r ell as others, our Saviour puts it out of all doubt, saying of children, of such is the kingdom of God, Mark x. 14. And therefore they must needs be disciples, unless such as are not disciples can belong to the kingdom of God, which a man must be strangely distempered in his brain before he can so much as fancy. And besides, that children, so long as children, are looked upon as part of their parents ; and therefore as their parents Mystery of the Trinity. 201 are, so are they : if the parents be heathen, so are the chil- dren ; if the parents be Jews, so are the children ; if the pa- rents be Christian, so are the children too : nay, if either of the parents be a Christian or disciple, the children of both are denominated from the better part, and so looked upon as Chris- tians too, as is plain, 1 Cor. vii. 14. But now are they holy, that is, in a federal or covenant-sense they are in covenant with God ; they are believers, Christians, or disciples, because one of their parents is so. Now seeing children are disciples as well as others, and our Saviour here commands all disciples to be baptized, it neces- sarily follows, that children must be baptized too. So that the opinion which asserts, that children ought not to be baptized, is grounded upon a mere mistake, and upon gross ignorance of the true meaning of the Scripture, and especially of this place, which is most ridiculously mistaken for a prohibition, it being rather a command for infant-baptism. But E must crave the reader's excuse for this digression from the matter principally intended, though I could not tell how to avoid it ; nothing being more needful than to rescue the words of our blessed Saviour from those false glosses and horrible abuses which these last ages have put upon them, especially it coming so directly in my way as this did. Secondly, Here is the extent of their commission, which is very large indeed, not being directed to some few particular persons, but to nations ; nor to some particular nations only, but to all nations ; go ye therefore and disciple all nations ; or, all the world, as it is, Mark xvi. 15. This was that which the prophet Isaiah, or rather God by him, foretels, Isaiah xlix. 6. which our Saviour himself seems to have respect unto, Luke xxiv. 46, 47. The meaning whereof, in brief, is this ; that though the Jews hitherto had been the only people of God, and none but they admitted into covenant with him, now the Gentiles also are to be brought in, and made confederates or copartners with them in the covenant of grace ; that the par- tition-wall being now broke down, the Gospel is to be preached to all other nations, as well as the Jewish ; Christ being now come to be a light to lighten the Gentiles, as well as the glory of his people Israel. But though the words of the commission be so clear to this purpose, yet the apostles themselves understood it not, till God had interpreted it from heaven to St. Peter, shewing him in a vision, that he should call no man common or unclean, Acts x. 28. From which time forward he, with the rest of the apos- tles, observed their commission exactly in preaching to the 202 Thoughts upon the Gentiles, as well as the Jews. And this was one end where- fore the Holy Ghost came down amongst them, even to enable them to do what their Master had commanded them. For he had here commanded them to preach unto all nations ; but that they could not do, unless they could speak all languages, which therefore the Holy Ghost enabled them to do, Acts ii. 4, 5. which also is a clear demonstration of the true meaning and purport of these words : for there was no necessity that the Spirit should teach the apostles all languages, but that the Son had first enjoined them to preach unto all nations. Thirdly, Hence is the manner whereby they are to admit all nations into the church of Christ, or into the Christian re- ligion, by baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. For the opening whereof we must know, that baptism was a rite in common use amongst the Jews before our Saviour's time, by which they were wont to admit proselytes into their religion, baptizing them in the name of the Father, or of God. A little before our Saviour's appearance in the world, John Baptist being sent to prepare the way for him, baptized the Jews themselves, As many as came unto him, in the name of the Messiah to come, which was called, the baptism of repentance. I indeed baptize you, says he, with water to repentance; but he that comes after me is mightier than I, &c. Matt. iii. 1 1 . But when our Saviour was to go to heaven, he left orders with his apostles to make dis- ciples ; or, admit all nations into the religion which he had preached, confirmed with miracles, and sealed with his own blood, by baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost ; which form of baptism, questionless, his apostles faithfully observed all along, as may be gathered also from Acts xix. 2, 3. where we may observe, how, when they said, they had not so much as heard of an Holy Ghost ; he wonder- ing at that, asked them, Unto what then were ye baptized ? plainly intimating, that if they had been baptized aright, ac- cording to Christ's institution, they could not but have heard of the Holy Ghost, because they had been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; but ver. 5. as also chap. ii. 38. and viii. 16. we read of bap- tism administered in the name of the Lord Jesus. From whence some have thought, that the apostles baptized only the Gen- tiles, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, but the Jews in the name of the Lord Jesus only ; be- cause they believing in the Father already, if they were bap- tized in the name of Jesus, and so testified their belief that he was the Messiah, they could not but believe in his Spirit too ; Mystery of the Trinity. 203 but this expression of baptizing in the name of the Lord Jesus, seems to me rather to intimate that form of baptism which the Lord Jesus instituted : for doubtless the apostle observed the precepts of our Lord better than so, as to do it one way, when he had commanded it to be done another ; and baptized only in the name of Jesus, when he had enjoined them to baptize in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. Neither did the church ever esteem that baptism valid, which was not administered exactly according to the institu- tion, in the name of all the three persons : which the primi- tive Christians were so strict in the observance of, that it was enjoined, that all persons to be baptized should be plunged three times into the water, first at the name of the Father, and then at the name of the Son, and lastly, at the name of the Holy Ghost ; that so every person might be distinctly nomina- ted, and so our Saviour's institution exactly observed, in the administration of this sacrament. Hence also it was, that all persons to be baptized were al- ways required, either with their own mouths, if adult, or if infants, by their sureties, to make a public confession of their faith in the three persons, into whose names they were to be baptized ; for this indeed was always looked upon as the sum and substance of the Christian religion, to believe in God the Father, in God the Son, and in God the Holy Ghost ; and they who believed in these three persons, were still reputed Chris- tians ; and they who did not, were esteemed infidels or he- retics. Yea, and our Saviour himself hath sufficiently declared how necessary it is for us to believe this great mystery, as also how essential it is to a Christian, seeing that he requires no more in order to our initiation into his church, but only that we be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In which words we may observe, First, A Trinity of persons, into whose names we are bap- tized, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. This is that mys- tery which is too high for human understandings to conceive, but not too great for a divine faith to believe, even that al- though there be but one God, there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, every one of which is that one and the self-same God ; and therefore it is that bap- tism is here commanded to be administered in the name of all three. Now to confirm our faith in this great mystery, whereinto we were all baptized, I shall endeavour to shew, in few terms, what grounds we have in Scripture to believe it. For which 204 Thoughts upon the end we must know, that though this mystery hath received great light, by the rising of the Sun of righteousness upon the world, yet it did not lie altogether undiscovered before, yea, from the very foundation of the world, the church, in all ages, hath had sufficient ground whereupon to huild their faith on this great and fundamental truth ; for in the very creation of the world, he that created it is called nStf in the plural num- ber : and in the creation of man, he 'said, Let us make man in our own image ; from whence, though not a Trinity, yet a plurality of persons is plainly manifest ; yea, in the beginning of the world too, we find both Father, Son, and Spirit, con- curring in the making of it. For, first, it is said, that God created heaven and earth, and then, that the Spirit of God moiled upon the face of the waters, Gen. i. 2. There are two persons, God, and the Spirit of God. And then we read how God made the world by his word : he said, Let there be light, and there was light. From which expression, St. John himself concludes, That all things were made by the Son of God, or his word, John i. 3. and so does St. Paul, Col. i. 16. Thus we read afterwards, The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word by my tongue, 2 Sam. xxiii. 2. where we have Jehovah, the Spirit of Jehovah, and the word of Jehovah, plainly and distinctly set down. As also in Psal. xxxiii. 6. and Isa. xlii. 1. where there is the Lord speaking of his Son, and saying, that he will put his Spirit upon him : and this also seems to be the reason, why the holy angels, when they praise God, say, Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts, Isa. vi. 3, Rev. iv. 8. saying holy thrice, in reference to the three persons they adore. Thus we might discover this truth in the Old Testament, but in the New we can scarce look over it : for when Jesus was baptized, Matt. iii. 16. had we, who know nothing but by our senses, been present at this time with Jesus at Jordan, our very senses would have conveyed this truth to our understand- ings, whether we would or no. Here we should have heard a voice from heaven; whose was it, but God the Father? Here we should have seen one coming out of Jordan ; who was that but God the Son? Here we should have seen something else too, in the form of a dove ; who was that but God the Spirit? Thus was God the Father heard speaking ; God the Son was seen ascending out of the water; and God the Holy Ghost descending from heaven upon him. The first was heard in the sound of a voice, the second was seen in the form of a man, and the third was beheld in the shape of a dove. Voce Pater ^-tus corpore, Flamen ave. Mystery of the Trinity. 205 But there are many such places as this all the New Testa- jment over, where the three persons of the Godhead are dis- tinctly mentioned; as Luke i. 35. John xiv. 16, 26, xvi. 7. Gal. iv. 6. But the words of St. Paul are very remarkable too, 2 Cor. xiii. 1 4. And yet that all these three persons were but one God, Gen. xviii. 2, 3. John x. 30. St. John expressly asserts, saying, There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, and the Word, and the Spirit ; and these three are one, 1 John v. 7. which certainly are as plain and perspicuous terms as it is possible to express so great a mystery in. But I need not have gone so far to have proved, that there are three dis- tinct persons in the Godhead : the words I am treating of 'being a sufficient demonstration of it : for as all the three per- sons met together at our Saviour's baptism; so doth our Sa- viour here command, that all his disciples be baptized in the name of all three : and therefore I cannot but admire how any one should dare to profess himself to be a Christian, and yet deny or oppose the sacred Trinity, into which he was baptized when he was made a Christian : for, by this means, he, re- nouncing his baptism, blasphemes Christ, unchristians himself, blotting his own name out of the catalogue of those who were made Christians, only by being baptized, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. II. Here is the Godhead of the Trinity, or of every person in the Trinity, that one as well as the other is God : for here we see divine worship is to be performed to them all ; and all that profess the true religion must be baptized in the name of the Son and Holy Ghost, as well as of the Father ; which cer- tainly would be the greatest absurdity, yea, the most horrid impiety imaginable, were not they God as well as he. For if they be not God, they are creatures ; if they be creatures, rea- son as well as Scripture forbids the same honour and worship to be conferred on them, which is given to God himself, and only due to him ; which here, notwithstanding, we see is given to them, and that by our Lord himself, commanding baptism to be administered in his own name, and in the name of the Holy Ghost, as well as in the name of the Father ; and so making himself and the Spirit equal sharers in the same hon- our that is given to the Father. So that was there no other place in the whole Scripture to prove it, this alone would be sufficient to convince any gainsayer, that the Son and Spirit are God as well as the Father, or rather the same God with him. But that I may unveil this mystery, and confirm this truth more clearly, we will consider each person distinctly, 206 Thoughts upon the and shew, that one as well as the other is really and trulj God. That the Father is God, none ever denied it, and therefore we need not prove it. But if the Father be God, the Son must needs be God too ; for the same names, properties, works, and worship, which, in Scripture, are ascribed to the Father, are frequently ascribed to the Son also in Scripture : the Father is called Jehovah in Scripture, so is the Son, Hos. i. 7. Jer. xxiii. 6. The Father is called God, so is the Son, John i. 1 . In the beginning was the word, and the word was ivitk God, and the word was God: with God as to his person ; God, as to his nature. So also, John xx. 28. Acts xx. 28, &c. Moreover, is the Father Alpha and Omega, the first and the last ? so is the Son, Rev. i. 8. Is the Father eternal ? so is the Son, Isa. ix. 6. Rev. i. 8. Is the Father Almighty? so is the Son, Heb. i. 3. Is the Father every where ? so is the Son, Matt, xviii. 20. Doth the Father know all things ? so doth the Son, John xxi. 17. ii. 24. Did the Father make all things? so did the Son, John i. 3. Doth the Father preserve all things ? so doth the Son, Heb. i. 3. Doth the Father forgive sins ? so doth the Son, Matt. ix. 6. Is the Father to be worshipped ? so is the Son, Heb. i. 6. Is the Father to be honoured ? so is the Son, John v. 23. No wonder therefore that Christ, being thus in the form of God, thought it no robbery to be equal ivith God, Phil. ii. 6. He did not rob God of any glory by saying himself was equal to him. The greatest wonder is how any one can believe the Scriptures to be the word of God, and yet deny this great truth, than which nothing can be more plain from Scripture : nothing being more frequently and more clearly asserted than this is. And, verily, it is well for us that it is so ; for if Christ was not God, neither could he be our Saviour. None being able to free us from our sins, but only he against whom they were committed. And therefore I cannot imagine how any one can doubt of Christ's divinity, and yet expect pardon and salvation from him : all our hopes and ex- pectations from him depending only upon his assumption of our human nature into a divine person. And that the Holy Ghost also is God, is frequently asserted in the holy Scriptures, which himself indited. Indeed his very inditing of the Scriptures was a clear argument of his Deity, as well as the Scriptures indited by him. What man, what angel, what creature, who but God could compose such arti- cles of faith, enjoin such divine precepts, foretel and fulfil such prophecies, as in Scripture are contained, who spake unto or by the prophets ? Whom did they mean, when they said, Thus Mystery of the Trinity. 207 saith the Lord of hosts ? Who was this Lord of hosts that in- structed them what to speak or write ? Was it God the Father, or God the Son ? No, but it was God the Holy Ghost : For the prophecy came not in old time by the ivill of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. i. 21. Acts xxviii. 25. xxi. 11. The Holy Ghost therefore be- ing* the Lord of hosts, he must needs be God, there being no person that is or can be called the Lord of hosts, but he that is the very and eternal God. This also may be gathered from 1 Cor. iii. 16. Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwelleth in you; for none can be the temple of God, but he in whom God dwells ; for it is God's dwelling in a place that makes that place the temple of God ; and yet we are here said to be the temple of God, because the Spirit dwelleth in us. And so elsewhere ; Know ye not, saith the Apostle, that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost that is in you? 1 Cor. vi. 19. which could not be unless the Holy Ghost was God. Another express Scripture we have for it in Acts v. 3, 4. where St. Peter propounds this question to Ananias, Why hath Satan filed thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ? and then tells him in the next verse, Thou hast not lied to men, but to God : and so expressly asserts the Holy Ghost to be God. Moreover, that the Holy Ghost is truly God, coequal to the Father and Son, is plain, in that the Scriptures assert him to be, to have, and to do whatsoever the Father or Son is, hath, or doth, as God. For, is the Father and Son eternal ? so is the Spirit, Heb. ix. 14. Is God the Father and the Son every where ? so is the Spirit, Psal. cxxxix. 7. Is God the Father and the Son a wise, understanding, powerful, and knowing God ? so is the Spirit, Isaiah xi. 2. Are we baptized in the name of the Father and the Son ? so are we baptized in the name of the Holy Ghost. May we sin against the Father and the Son ? so may we sin too against the Holy Ghost. Nay, the sin against this person only is accounted by our Saviour to be a sin never to be pardoned, Matt. xii. 31, 32. We may sin against God the Father, and our sin may be pardoned : we may sin against God the Son, and our sin may be pardon- ed : but if we sin or speak against the Holy Ghost, that shall never be forgiven, neither in this world, nor yet in that which is to come. But if the Holy Ghost be not God, how can we sin against him ? or how comes our sin against him only to be un- pardonable, unless he be God ? I know it is not therefore un- pardonable because he is God, for then the sins against the Father and the Son would be unpardonable too, seeing they 208 Thoughts upon the both are God as well as he : yet, though this sin is not therefore unpardonable, because lie is God, yet it could not be unpardona- ble unless he was God. For, supposing him not to be God, but a creature, and yet the sin against him to be unpardonable, then the sin against a creature would be unpardonable, when sins against God himself are pardoned ; which to say, would, itself, I think, come near to the sin against the Holy Ghost. But seeing our Saviour describes this unpardonable sin, by blas- pheming or speaking against the Holy Ghost, let them have a care that they be not found guilty of it, who dare deny the holy Ghost to be really and truly God, and so blaspheme and speak the worst that they can against him. III. We have seen what ground we have to believe that there are three persons in the Godhead, and that every one of these persons is God ; we are now to consider the order of those persons in the Trinity, described in the words before us. First, the Father, and then the Son, and then the Holy Ghost ; every one of which is really and truly God ; and yet they are all but one real and true God. A mystery which we are all bound to believe, but yet must have a great care how we speak of it ; it being both easy and dangerous to mistake in expressing so mysterious a truth as this is. If we think of it, how hard is it to contemplate upon one numerically divine nature, in more than one and the same divine person ? or, upon three divine persons in no more than one and the same divine nature ? If we speak of it, how hard is it to find out fit words to express it ? If I say, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost be three, and every one distinctly God, it is true : but if I say, they be three, and every one a distinct God, it is false. I may say, the divine persons are distinct in the divine nature : but I cannot say, that the divine nature is divided into the divine persons. I may say, God the Father is one God, and the Son is one God, and the Holy Ghost is one God : but I cannot say, that the Fa- ther is one God, and the Son another God, and the Holy Ghost a third God. I may say, the Father begat another who is God ; yet I cannot say, that he begat another God. And from the Father and the Son proceeded another who is God ; yet I cannot say, from the Father and the Son proceed eth another God. For, all this while, though their nature be the same, their persons are distinct ; and though their persons be distinct, still their nature is the same. So that though the Father be the first person in the Godhead, the Son the second, the Holy Ghost the third ; yet the Father is not the first, the Son a se- cond, the Holy Ghost a third God. So hard a thing is it to word so great a mystery aright ; or to fit so high a truth with Mystery of the Trinity. 209 expressions suitable and proper to it, without going one way or another from it. And therefore T shall not use many words about it, lest some should slip from me unbecoming of it : but, in as few terms as I can, I will endeavour to shew, upon what account the Father is the first, the Son the second, and the Holy Ghost the third person in the Trinity. First, therefore, the Father is placed first, and really is the first person, not as if he was before the other two, for they are all coeternal ; but because the other two received their es- sence from him : for the Son was begotten of the Father ; and and the Holy Ghost proceeded both from the Father and Son ; j and therefore the Father is termed by the primitive Christians, i the root and the fountain of Deity. As in waters there is the | fountain or well head ; then there is the spring that boils up out of that fountain ; and then there is the stream that flows both from the fountain and the spring ; and yet all these are but one and the same water : so here, God the Father is the fountain of Deity ; the Son, as the spring that boils up out of the fountain ; and the Holy Ghost, that flows from both ; and yet all three is but one and the same God. The same may be also explained by another familiar instance : the sun, you know, begets beams, and from the sun and beams together proceed both light and heat : so God the Father begets the Son, and from the Father and Son together proceeds the Spirit of know- ledge and grace. But as the sun is not before the beams, nor the beams before the light and heat, but all are together : so neither is the Father before the Son, nor Father or Son before the Holy Ghost, but only in order and relation to one another ; in which only respect, the Father is the first person in the Trinity. Secondly, The Son is the second person, who is called the Son, yea, and the only-begotten Son of God, because he was begotten of the Father, not as others are by spiritual regene- ration, but by eternal generation, as none but himself is. For the opening whereof we must know, that God that made all things fruitful, is not himself sterile or barren ; but he that hath given power to animals, to generate and produce others in their own nature, is himself much more able to produce one, not only like himself, but of the self-same nature with himself, as he did in begetting his Son by communicating his own unbe- gotten essence and nature to him. For the person of the Son was most certainly begotten of the Father, otherwise he would not be his Son ; but his essence was unbegotten, otherwise he would not be God. And therefore the highest apprehensions that we can frame of this great mystery, the eternal generation S2 210 Thoughts upon the of the Son of God, is only by conceiving the person of the Father to have communicated his divine essence to the person of the Son : and so of himself begetting his other self the Son, by communicating his own eternal and unbegotten es- sence to him. I say, by communicating of his essence, not of his person to him, for then they would be both the same per- son, as now they are of the same essence : the essence of the Father did not beget the Son by communicating his person to him, but the person of the Father begat the Son by communi- cating his essence to him ; so that the person of the Son is begotten, not communicated ; but the essence of the Son is communicated, not begotten. This notion of the Father's begetting the Son by communi- cating his essence to him, I ground upon the Son's own words, who certainly best knew how himself was begotten ; for as the Father, saith he, hath life in himself so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, John v. 26. To have life in him- self, is an essential property of the divine nature ; and there- fore wheresoever that is given or communicated, the nature itself must needs be given and communicated too. Now here we see how God the Father communicated this his essential property, and so his essence to the Son ; and, by consequence, though he be a distinct person from him, yet he hath the same unbegotten essence with him : and therefore, as the Father hath life in himself, so hath the Son life in himself; and so all other essential properties of the divine nature, only with this personal distinction, that the Father hath this life in himself, not from the Son, but from himself; whereas the Son hath it, not from himself, but from the Father : or, the Father is God of himself, not of the Son ; the Son is the same God, but from the Father, not from himself; and, therefore, not the Father, but the Son, is rightly called by the Council of Nice, God of God, Light of Light, yea, very God of very God. Thirdly, Having thus spoken of the two first persons in the sacred Trinity, we now come to the last, the Holy Ghost. The last, I say, not in nature or time, but only in order : for, as to their nature, one is not better or more God than another: neither, as to time, is one before another ; none of them being measured by time, but all and every one of them eternity it- self. But though not in nature or time, yet in order, one must needs be before another : for the Father is of himself, receiv- ing his essence neither from the Son, nor from the Spirit, and therefore is, in order, before both ; the Son received his es- sence from the Father, not from the Spirit, and therefore, in Mystery of the Trinity. S 1 1 order, is before the Spirit, as well as after the Father ; but the Spirit receiving his essence both from the Father and the Son, must needs, in order, be after both. I confess, the Spirit is no where in Scripture said to proceed from the Son, and therefore the inserting this into the Nicene Creed was the occasion of that schism betwixt the Western and Eastern churches, which hath now continued for many ages ; in which, I think, both parties are blame-worthy ; the Western churches for inserting this clause following into the i Nicene Creed, without the consent of a general council ; and | the Eastern for denying so plain a truth as this is : for though I the Spirit be not said to proceed from the Son, yet he is called the Spirit of the Son, Gal. iv. 6. Rom, viii. 9. which, question- less, he would never have been, did not he proceed from the Son, as well as from the Father. And, verily, the Father communicating his own individual essence, and so whatsoever he is, (his paternal relation excepted,) to the Son, could not but communicate this to him also, even to have the Spirit pro- I ceeding from him, as it doth for himself. So that as whatso- ever the Father hath originally in himself, that hath the Son by communication from the Father : so hath the Son this, the Spirit's proceeding from him by communication from the Fa- ther, as the Father hath it in himself: and the Spirit thus pro- ceeding both from the Father and the Son, hence it is that he is placed after both, not only in the words before us, but also in 1 John v. 7. and so elsewhere. From what I have hitherto discoursed concerning this great mystery, the Trinity in Unity, and Unity in Trinity, I shall gather some few inferences, and so conclude. 1. Is the Son God, yea, the same God with the Father ? Hence, I observe, what a strange mystery the work of man's redemption is, that God himself should become man. And he that was begotten of his Father, without a mother, from eternity, should be born of his mother, without a father, in II time ; that he who was perfect God, like unto the Father, in j every thing, his personal properties only excepted, should also be perfect man, like unto us in all things, our personal infirmi- ties only excepted ; that he that made the world, should be | himself made in it ; that eternity should stoop to time, glory be wrapt in misery, and the Sun of righteousness hid under a clod of earth ; that innocence should be betrayed, justice con- demned, and life itself should die, and all to redeem man from death to life. O wonder of wonders ! how justly may we say with the Apostle, without controversy great is the mystery of godliness, 1 Tim. iii. 16. 212 Thoughts upon the 2. Is the Spirit also God ? Hence I observe, that it is God alone that can make us holy ; for seeing the Scripture all along ascribes our sanctification unto the Spirit of God, and yet the Spirit of God is himself really and truly God, it necessarily followeth, that the special concurrence and influence of Al- mighty God himself is necessary to the making us really and truly holy. 3. Are all three persons in the Trinity one and the same God ? Hence I infer, they are to have one and the same ho- nour conferred upon them, and one and the same worship performed unto them. Or, as your Saviour himself saith, That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father, John v. 23. and ye believe in God, believe also in me, John xiv. 1. and as we pray to the Father, so should we pray to the Son too, as the Apostles did, Luke xvii. 5. and St. Stephen, Acts vii. 59. and St. Paul to all three, 2 Cor. xiii. 14. 4. Is baptism to be administered in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ? Hence I observe, how necessary it is to believe in these three persons, in order to our being real and true Christians : for we being made Chris- tians in the name of all three, that man ceaseth to be a Chris- tian that believes only in one : for faith in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, is necessary to the very con- stitution of a Christian ; and is the principal, if not the only characteristical note whereby to distinguish a Christian from another man ; yea, from a Turk : for this is the chief thing that the Turks, both in their Alcoran and other writings, up- braid Christians for, even because they believe a Trinity of persons in the Divine nature. For which cause they frequent- ly say they are people that believe God hath companions ; so that take away this article of our Christian faith, and what depends upon it, and there would be but a little difference be- twixt a Christian and a Turk : but by this means, Turks would not turn Christians, but Christians Turks, if this fundamen- tal article of the Christian religion was once removed : for he that doth not believe this, is no Christian upon that very ac- count, because he doth not believe this by which a Christian is made : and whatsoever else errors a man may hold, yet if he believes in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, I cannot, I dare not but acknowledge him to be a Christian in general, because he holds fast to the foundation of the Christian religion, though perhaps he may build upon it hay and stubble, and so his superstructure be infirm and rotten. I shall conclude with a word of advice to all such as call themselves by the name of Christ : I suppose and believe they Mystery of the Trinity. 213 are all Christians, from their taking that name ; and therefore I need not use any arguments to persuade them to turn Chris- tians, for so they are already by profession : but, seeing that Jthey are Christians, let me desire them to consider how they came to be so ; even by being baptized in the name of the Fa- ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And if they desire to be Christians still, I must advise them to continue stedfast in that faith whereby they were made so. Of all the errors and heresies which Satan hath sowed amongst us, let us have an especial care to avoid such as strike at the very foun- dation of our religion ; I mean, the Arians, Macedonians, Socinians, and all manner of Antitrinitarians, such as deny the most sacred Trinity. But I hope we have better learned Christ, than to hearken to such opinions as these are ; and therefore my next advice n brief is only this, that as we excel others in the truth of our profession, so we would excel them also in the holiness of our ife and conversation : let us manifest ourselves to be Chris- ians indeed, by believing the assertions, trusting on the pro- nises, fearing the threatenings, and obeying the precepts of Christ our Master ; that both infidels and heretics may be con- inced of their errors, by seeing us outstripping them in our >iety towards God, equity to our neighbours, charity to the >oor, unity amongst ourselves, and love to all : for this would te a clear demonstration, that our faith is better than theirs is, phen our lives are holier than theirs are ; and for our encou- agement thereunto, I dare engage, that if we believe thus, as Christ hath taught us, and live as he hath commanded us, we hall also obtain what he hath promised, even eternal happi- ess in the world to come; where we shall see, enjoy, and raise that God, into whose name we are baptized!, even Fa- ker, Son, and Holy Ghost for evermore. There, with angels nd archangels, with the heavens and all the powers therein ; nth cherubin and seraphin, and all the blessed inhabitants f those everlasting mansions ; with the glorious company of le apostles, the goodly fellowship of the prophets, the noble rmy of martyrs, all the company of heaven, and the holy hurch throughout all the world, we shall eternally laud and lagnify thy sacred name : " O God the Father of heaven ; ► God, the Son, Redeemer of the world ; O God the Holy host, proceeding from the Father and the Son ; O holy, lessed, and glorious Trinity, three persons and one God, ever- lore praising thee, the Father of an infinite majesty ; toge- ler with thine honourable, true, and only Son ; thee the King 'glory, O Christ ; and thee, O Holy Ghost, the Comforter :" stm joining witn tne neaveniy cnoir, ana saying, •• noiy, noiy, Lord God of hosts, heaven and earth are full of thy glory ; glory be to thee, O Lord, most high. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty. O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesu Christ ; O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the sins of the world, and sittest at the right-hand of God the Father, O blessed, glorious, and eternal Spirit ; for thou only art holy, thou only art the Lord ; thou only, O Christ, with the Holy Ghost, art most high in the glory of God the Father ; for thine, O Lord, is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen." Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us thy servants grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknow- ledge the glory of the eternal Trinity, and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity ; we beseech thee, that thou wouldest keep us stedfast in this faith, and evermore de- fend us from all adversities, who livest and reignest one God, world without end. Amen. And now having led the Christian through this first stage of his course, and instructed him in the principles of his religion, and in the great mystery of the Trinity, into which he was bap- tized, it may be fit to bring him into the world, and shew him how he ought to demean himself in regard to the things of it. J THOUGHTS WORLDLY RICHES. SECT. I. HE that seriously considers the constitution of the Christian religion, observing the excellency of its doctrines, the clear- ness of its precepts, the severity of its threatenings, together with the faithfulness of its promises, and the certainty of its principles to trust to ; such a one may justly be astonished, and admire what should be the reason that they who profess this not only the most excellent, but only true religion in the world, should notwithstanding be generally as wicked, debauched, and profane, as they that never heard of it. For that they are so, is but too plain and obvious to every one that observes their actions, and compares them with the practices of Jews, Turks, and Infidels. For what sin have they amongst them which we have not as rife amongst ourselves ? Are they intemperate and luxurious ? Are they envious and malicious against one an- other ? Are they uncharitable and censorious ? Are they given to extortion, rapine, and oppression ? So are most of those who are called Christians. Do they blaspheme the name of God, profane his sabbaths, contemn his word, despise his ordi- nances, and trample upon the blood of his only Son ? How many have we amongst ourselves that do these things as much as they ? But how comes this about, that they who are baptized into the name of Christ, and profess the religion which he estab- lished in the world, should be no better than other people, and in some respects far worse ? It is because though they profess the Gospel, yet they do not understand it ? nor know what sins are forbidden, nor what duties arc enjoined in it ? That none can plead, especially amongst us who have the 216 Thoughts upon Gospel so clearly revealed, so fully interpreted, so constantly preached to us, as we have. Insomuch that if there be any one person amongst us that understands not what is necessary to be known, in order to our everlasting happiness, it is because we will not ; wilfully shutting our eyes against the light. But what then shall we impute this wonder to, that Chris- tians are generally as bad as heathens ? Does Christ in his Gospel dispense with their impieties, and give them indulgences for their sins, and license to break the moral law ? It is true, his pretended Vicar at Rome doth so ; but far be it from us to father our sins upon him, who came into the world on pur- pose to save us from them. Indeed if we repent and turn from sin, he hath both purchased and promised pardon and forgive- ness to us, but not till then : but hath expressly told us the con- trary, assuring us, that except we repent we must all perish, Luke xiii. 3. I confess there have been such blasphemous heretics amongst us, called Antinomians, who are altogether for faith without good works, making as if Christ by erecting his Gospel, destroyed the moral law ; but none can entertain such an horrible opinion as that is, whose sinful practices have not so far depraved their principles, that they believe it is so only because they would have it to be so, directly contrary to our Saviour's own words, Matt. v. 1 7. Think not that Iamcome to destroy the law and the prophets : J am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. But I hope there is none of us but have better learned Christ than to think that he came to patronize our sins, who was sent to bless us, by turning away every one of us from our iniquities, Acts iii. 26. But how come Christians then to be as bad and sinful as other men ? Is it because they are as destitute as other men of all means whereby to become better ? No, this cannot possibly be the reason : for nothing can be more certain, than that we all have, or at least may, if we will, have whatsoever can any ways conduce to the making us either holy here, or happy hereafter. We have the way that leads thereto revealed to us in the word of God ; we have that word frequently expounded and applied to us ; we have all free ac- cess not only to the ordinances which God hath appointed for our conversion, but even to the very Sacraments themselves, whereby our faith may be confirmed, and our souls nourished to eternal life. And more than all this too, we have many gracious and faithful promises, that if we do but what we can, God for Christ's sake will afford us such assistances of his grace and Spirit, whereby we shall be enabled to perform uni- versal obedience to the moral law, such as God for Christ's sake will accept of, instead of that perfection which the law Worldly Riches. 217 requires. So that now, if we be not all as real and true saints, ,as good and pious Christians as ever lived, it is certainly our own faults : for we have all things necessary to the making of i us such, and if we were not wanting to ourselves, it is impos- sible we should fail of having all our sins subdued under us, I Rnd all true grace and virtue implanted in us. Insomuch that since the Christian,' religion was first revealed to the world, there have been certainly millions of souls converted by it, who now are glorified saints in heaven, which once were as sinful crea- tures upon earth as we now are. But it seems they found the Gospel an effectual means of conversion and salvation ; and therefore it cannot be imputed to any defect in the Gospel, or the Christian religion, that we are not all as good men as ever lived, and by consequence better than the professors of all other religions in the world. But what then shall we say to this wonder of wonders, that Christians themselves in our age live such loose and dissolute lives as generally they do ? What should be the reason that all manner of sin and evil should be both practised and indulged amongst us, as much as in the darkest corners of the world, upon which the Gospel never yet shined ? Why, when we have searched into all the reasons that possibly can be imagined, next to the degeneracy and corruption of our nature, this must needs be acknowledged as one of the chief and principal, that men living upon earth, and conversing ordinarily with nothing but sensible and material objects, they are so much taken up with them, that those divine and spiritual truths, which are re- vealed in the Gospel, make little or no impression at all upon them ; though they hear what the Gospel saith and teacheth, yet they are no more affected with it, nor concerned about it, than as if they had never heard of it, their affections being all bent and inclined only to the things of this world. And therefore it is no wonder, that they run with so full a career into sin and wicked- ness, notwithstanding their profession of the Gospel, seeing their natural propensity and inclination to the things of this world are so strong and prevalent within them, that they will not suffer them to think seriously upon, much less to concern themselves about, any thing else. The apostle, in his Epistle to Timothy, chap. vi. endeavour- ing to persuade men from the over-eager desire of earthly en- joyments, presses this consideration upon us, that such an inor- dinate desire of the things of this world betrays men into many and great temptations, ver. 8, and 9. And then he gives this as the reason of it, ver. 10. For the love of money is the root of all evil ; that is, in brief, the love of riches and temporal T 218 Thoughts upon enjoyments is the great reason why men are guilty of such great and atrocious crimes as generally they are ; there being no evil but what springs from this, as from its root and origin ; which is so plain a truth, so constantly and universally expe- rienced in all ages, that the heathens themselves, the ancient poets and philosophers, could not but take notice of it. For Bion the philosopher was wont to say, that the love of money was the metropolis of wickedness. And Apollodorus, When thou speakest of the love of money, thou mentionest the head of all evils, for they are all contained in that. To the same pur- pose is that of the poet Phocylides, The love of riches is the mother of all wickedness. What these saw by the light of na- ture, hath here divine authority stamped upon it ; God himself asserting the same thing by this apostle, The love of money is the root of all evil; which, that we may the better under- stand, we must consider, 1 . What is here meant by money. 2. What by the love of riches. S. How the love of money is the root of all evils. As for the first, I need not insist long upon it, all men know- ing well enough what money is. But we must remember, that by money is here understood not only silver and gold, but all earthly comforts, possessions and enjoyments whatsoever, whether goods, lands, houses, wares, wealth, or riches of any sort or kind whatsoever. 2. By the love of money, we are to understand that sin which the Scriptures call covetousness, and the true nature and notion of it consisteth especially in three things. 1. In having a real esteem and value for wealth or money, as if it was a thing that could make men happy, or better than otherwise they would be ; as it is plain all covetous men have their desire of riches proceeding only from a groundless fancy, that their happiness consists in having much, which makes them set a greater value upon riches, preferring them before other things, even before God himself. Hence the love of money is altogether inconsistent with the love of God, 1 John ii. 15. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. It being impossible to love God as we ought, above all things, and yet to love the world too at the same time. 2. Hence the love of money supposeth also a delight and complacency in the having of it, proceeding from the aforesaid esteem they have for it ; for being possessed with a fond opin- ion, that the more they have the better they are, they cannot but be pleased with the thoughts of their present enjoyments, as the rich man was in the Gospel, Luke xii. 16, 17, 18, 19. Worldly Riches. 219 who, because his ground brought forth plentifully, resolved to enlarge his barns, and lay up stores for many years, and bid his soul take her ease. How many such fools have we amongst us, who please and pride themselves with the thoughts of their being rich ? 3. From this esteem for, and complacency in, money or wealth, it follows that men are still desirous of having more, placing their happiness only in riches ; because they think they can never be happy enough, therefore they think too they are never rich enough. Hence how much soever they have, they still desire more, and therefore covetousness in Scripture is ordinarily expressed by v^eove^iet, which properly signifies an inordinate desire of having more, which kind of desires can never be satisfied, because they are able to desire more than all the world, and to raise themselves as high and as far as the infinite good itself. Now such a love of money as this is, con- sisting in having a real esteem for it, in taking pleasure and delight in it, and in longing and thirsting after it, this is that which the Apostle here saith is the root of all evil ; that is, it is the great and principal cause of all sorts of evil that men are guilty of, or obnoxious to ; which, that I may clearly demon- strate to you, we must first know in general that there are but two sorts of evil in the world, the evil of sin, and the evil of punishment or misery ; and the love of money is the cause of them both. To begin with the evil of sin, which is the only fountain from whence all other evils flow, and itself doth certainly spring from the love of money, as much or more than from any thing else in the whole world. Insomuch that the greatest part of those sins which any of us are guilty of, proceed from this master sin, even the love of money, as might easily be shown from a particular enumeration of those sins which men gen- erally are addicted to. But that I may proceed more clearly and methodically in demonstrating this, so as to convince men of the danger of this above most other sins, I desire it may be considered that there are two sorts of sins that we are all guilty of, sins of omission and sins of commission, under which two heads all sins whatsoever are comprehended. First, for sins of omissions. It is plain that our love of money is the chief and principal cause that makes us neglect and omit our duties to God and man, as it is manifest we most of us do. In speaking unto which I must take leave to deal plainly, for it is a matter that concerns our eternal salvation ; and therefore howsoever some may resent it, I am bound in duty and conseience to mind men of their sins, and particu- 220 Thoughts upon larly of this great prevailing sin of covetousness, or inordinate love of money, which most men give but too much reason to fear they are guilty of, and therefore I may tell them of it with- out any breach of charity. It is true I cannot pretend to be a searcher of hearts ; that is only God's prerogative, and there- fore I shall not take upon me to judge or censure any particu- lar persons ; but I shall speak to all in general, and leave every one to make the particular application of it to himself. Neither shall I speak of things at random, but I shall instance only in such sins which I can assert upon my own knowledge, that most men allow themselves, and that upon this account only, because they love money. For first, what is the reason that so few, indeed scarce any of us, are at prayers at church upon the week-day, to perform our devotion to him that made us ? Is it because we think it impertinent to pray unto him ? No ; our presence there on Sundays condradicts that, and I have more charity than to think that any are so atheistical as to imagine it to be superfluous to pay our homage to the supreme Governor of the world, and to implore his aid and blessing upon us ? But what then should be the reason of it ? in plain terms, it is nothing else but be- cause men love money, and therefore are loth to spare so much time from their shops or callings, as to go to church to pray to God for what they want, and praise his name for what they have. Let us search into our own hearts, and we shall ac- knowledge this to be the only reason of it. But it is a very foolish one ; for who can bless us but God ? 2. What is the reason that so many neglect the sacrament of the Lord's supper ? Do not we all look upon it as our duty to receive it ? I dare say we do ; Christ himself having com- manded it, Luke xxii. 19. and it being the only way whereby to manifest ourselves to be Christians, what then can be the reason of this neglect of it, but merely the love of money, which makes men loth to spend time in preparing and fitting themselves for it. But seeing men thus excommunicate themselves by not coming to the communion, in plain terms, they deserve to be excommunicated by the censures of the church. And if God should in his providence deprive them of ever having an op- portunity of receiving the sacrament again, they must even thank themselves for it. Howsoever this shall be their present punishment, that they shall be deprived of it, until they think it worth their while to come unto it. 3. What is the reason that the Sabbath is so profaned ? That so many take their recreations upon the Lord's-day, but be- Worldly Riches. 221 cause they cannot spare time for it from getting money upon other days ? thinking the day long, because they can get little in it ; as Amos viii. 5. And why do so many profane the Sab- bath, while at church, by thinking upon the world, but because they love it ? Ezek. xxxiii. 31. 4. What is the reason that charity is so cold, but that the love of money is grown so hot amongst us ? For do not we all know it is our duty to relieve the poor ? Hath not God ex- pressly commanded it ? Hath not he threatened a curse to them that do it not, and promised a blessing to them that do it ? What then can be the reason that so many neglect it, but because they love their money more than God ? To these might be added many other sins, which the love of money daily occasions. For what is the reason that many read the Scriptures so seldom and so cursorily as they do ? What is the reason that they either have none, or commonly neglect their family duties? that every slight occasion will make them omit their private devotions ; that they can find no time to look into their own hearts, to consider their condition, and meditate upon God and Christ, and the world to come ? What is the reason that many know their shops better than their hearts, and are acquainted with the temper of their body more than with the constitution of their souls '? That they are so careful and industrious in the prosecution of their worldly designs, so negligent and remiss in looking after heaven ? What is or can be the reason of these things, but that inordi- nate love and affection they have for money, or the things of this world, which makes them so eager in the pursuit of them, that they forget they have any thing else to mind, and so much taken up with worldly business, that God, and Christ, and hea- ven, and soul, and all, must give way to it ? O the folly and madness of sinful men ! what a strange corrupt and degenerate thing is the heart of man become ! that we should be so fool- ish and unwise as to prefer our bodies before our souls, earth before heaven, toys and trifles before the eternal God, the worst of evils before the best of goods, even sin itself, with all the miseries that attend it, before holiness and that eternal happiness which is promised to it ! and all for nothing else but the love of a little pelf and trash, which hath no other worth but what our own distracted fancies put upon it. And if the love of money be the root of so many sins of omission, how many sins of commission must need sprout from it ? Indeed they are so many that it would be an endless thing to reckon them all up, and therefore I shall not undertake it, but shall mention onlv such of them as everv one upon the T 2 222 Thoughts upon first reading shall acknowledge to be the cursed offspring of this one fruitful and big-bellied sin of covetousness, or the love of money, of which Cicero observes, that Nullum est ojficium tarn sanctum atque solenne, quod non avaritia comminuere atque violare soleat. So we may say on the other side too, that there is no sin so great and horrid, but covetousness will sometimes put men upon it. Is idolatry a sin ? yea, certainly, one of the greatest that any man can be guilty of, and yet nothing can be more plain, than that covetousness, wheresoever it comes, draws it along with it ; insomuch, that every covetous man is asserted by God himself to be an idolater, Eph. v. 5. and covetousness to be idolatry itself, Col. iii. 5. And the reason is plain; for what is idolatry, but to give that worship to a creature which is due only unto God ? But what higher acts of worship can we per- form to God, than to love him and to trust on him, which it is certain every covetous man gives to his money ; and therefore covetousness is here called, the love of money. And we cannot but be all sensible what trust and confidence men are wont to repose in their estates and incomes. But such will say, we do not fall down before our money, nor pray unto it ; but they trust on it, and that is infinitely more than bare praying to it : and though they do not bow down before it in their bodies, yet they make all the faculties of their souls to bow and stoop unto it ; they love and desire it, they rejoice and delight in having of it, they are grieved and troubled for nothing so much as the parting with it, nor fear any thing so much as the losing of it. But they will say again, we do not sacrifice to our bags, nor burn incense to our estates ; we never did, nor intend to offer so much as a lamb or calf unto it ! It is true, they do not, but they offer that which is far better, they offer the poor to it, suf- fering them to perish with hunger, thirst, and cold, rather than relieve them with that necessary maintenance which God hath put into their hands for them ; they offer their own bodies to it, exposing them to heats and colds, to dangers and hazards both by sea and land, and all for money; yea, they offer their own souls to it likewise as a whole burnt-offering, giving them to lie scorching in hell flames to eternity, and that upon no other account but to get money: and tell me which are the greatest fools, and the most odious idolaters, such as offer beasts to the sun and flames, or such as offer themselves both soul and body to dirt and clay ? We cannot but all acknow- ledge the latter to be far the worse, and, by consequence, the Worldly Riches. 223 covetous man to be the greatest idolater in the world, and that too only because he is a covetous man. Moreover, is not extortion and oppression a sin ? and yet we all know that it is the love of money that is the only cause of it. Is not strife and contention a sin ? whence comes it but from our lusting after money, James iv. 1. Is not perjury a sin ? Is not corruption of justice a sin ? Is not cheating and cozenage a sin ? Is not pride and haughtiness a sin ? Is not unrighteous dealing betwixt man and man a sin ? Is not theft and robbery a sin ? Is not treason and rebellion a sin ? Are not all these sins, and great ones too ? But whence spring these poisonous fruits into the lives of men, but from the bitter root of covetousness in their hearts ? It is the love of money that makes these sins so rife among us : it is this that makes men forswear themselves, and cozen others : it is this that oft- times makes fathers ruin their children, and children to long for the death of their fathers : it is this that makes neighbours go to law, and brethren themselves to be at variance : it is this that makes men strive to overreach each other, and to blind the eyes of those they deal with : it is this that hath caused some to murder others, and others to destroy them- selves. What shall I say more ? There is no impiety that can be committed against God, nor injury that can be offered unto men, but the love of money hath been the cause of it in others, and will be so in us, unless it be timely prevented ; and there- fore it may well be termed the root of all evil of sin. And it being the root from whence all the evil of sin springs, it must needs be the root of the evil of punishment and misery too : misery and punishment being the necessary consequence of sin. Indeed this sin carries its misery along with it, as Se- neca himself saw by the mere light of nature, saying, Nulla avaritia sine poena est, quamvis satis sit ipsa posnarum, No avarice is without punishment, though it be itself punishment enough. For what a torment is it for a man to be always thirsty, and never able to quench his thirst : yet this is the misery of every covetous man, whose thirst after money can never be satisfied, and who is so desirous of having more, that he can never enjoy with comfort what he hath ; loving money so well, that he grudgeth himself the use of it. Hence the foresaid author observed, that in nullum avarus bonus est, in se ipsam pessimus, The covetous man is good to none, but worst of all to himself . And as this is the natural consequent of this sin in itself, so is it the ordinary punishment that God in- flicts upon men for it, not suffering them to take any pleasure in the use of what thev love, Eccles. vi. 1, 2. And besides 224 Thoughts upon that, what cares and fears, what labours and travels, what dan- gers and hazards doth the love of money put men upon ? How do they rack their brains and break their rest to get it ; and when it is gotten, what fears are they always in lest they should lose it again ? What grief and trouble do the poor wretches undergo for every petty loss that befals them ? So that every covetous man is not only miserable, but therefore miserable because covetous. But if their misery be so great in this life, how great will it be in that to come ? concerning which there are two things to be observed : first, that the very having of riches makes it very difficult to get to heaven, Matt. xix. 23, 24, 25. Luke xvi. 19, 22. Hence Agar was afraid of them, Prov. xxx. 8. Neither do we ever read of any of the patriarchs, prophets, or the saints recorded in Scripture, to have been guilty of this sin, unless Baruch, who is reproved for it, Jer. xlv. 5. And as the having of money makes it difficult to get to hea- ven, so the loving of it makes it impossible to keep out of hell. For so long as a man is covetous, he is liable to every tempta- tion, ready so catch at every bait that the devil throws before him ; so that he is led by him as he pleaseth, till at length he be utterly destroyed, 1 Tim. vi. 9. And therefore the same Apostle elsewhere tells us, that the covetous have no inheri- tance in the kingdom of God, but the wrath of God will most certainly fall upon them, Eph. v. 5, 6. But the wrath of God is the greatest evil of punishment that it is possible for men to bear : indeed it is that which being once incensed makes hell- fire. And yet we see that the heat of our love to money will enkindle the flames of God's wrath against us, yea, and such flames too as will never be quenched, Mark ix. 44. And so for the little seeming transient pleasure they take in getting or keeping money now, they must live in misery and contempt, in shame and torment for evermore. Thus now we see that the love of money will not only put us upon the evil of sin, but it will also bring the evil of punishment upon us; both which the Apostle here, 1 Tim. vi. ver. 9, 10. im- putes to this sin. And therefore he both well may and must be understood of both these sorts of evil, when he saith, that Hie love of money is the root of all evil ; which, the premises considered, I hope none can deny. And need I then heap up more arguments to dissuade men from this sin, and to prevail with them to leave doting upon the world and loving money ? Is not this one argument of itself sufficient ? For, is it possi- ble for us to indulge ourselves in this sin, now we know it is the root of all evil ? and that if we still love money, there is no sin Worldly Riches, 225 so great but we may fall into it, and no misery so heavy but it will fall upon us. Surely if this consideration will not prevail upon us to despise and contemn, rather than to love and desire this world, for my part I know not what can. Only this I know, that so long as men continue in this sin, all writing and preaching will be in vain to them ; and so will their hearing be, their going to church, their reading the Scriptures, their hear- ing them read and expounded to them ; all this will signify no* thing, this root of all evil is still within us, and it will bring forth its bitter fruit, do what we can. And therefore as ever we de- sire to profit by what we hear, as ever we desire to avoid any one sin whatsoever, to know what happiest means to escape either present torment or eternal misery, as ever we desire to be real saints, and to manifest ourselves to be so, to go to heaven, and live with God and Christ for ever, let not our af- fections be entangled any longer in the briars and thorns of this lower world, let us beware of loving money : If riches in- crease, let us not set our hearts upon them, Psal. lxii. 10. but scorn and despise them hereafter as much as ever heretofore we have desired or loved them. But I cannot, I dare not but in charity believe and hope, that by this time my readers are something weaned from their doting upon this present world, and desire to know how they may for the future get off their affections from it, so as to have this root of all evil extirpated, and quite plucked up from within them. I hope this is now the desire of all, or at least of most of them ; and therefore I shall now endeavour to shew them how they may infallibly acomplish and effect it. In or- der thereto, 1. Let such persons often consider with themselves how unsuitable the things of this world are for the affection of love, which was designed only for the chiefest good. When God implanted the affection of love within us, he did not intend it should be the root of all evil but of all good unto us ; and therefore he did not give it us to place it fondly upon such low and mean objects as this world present* unto us, but that we should love himself with all our hearts and souls, Deut. vi, 5. And surely he infinitely deserves our love more than such trash can do. 2. Let them remember that so long as they love money they may pretend what they please, they do not love God, 1 John ii. 15. nor Christ, Matt. x. 37. Luke xiv. 26. and by conse- quence they have no true religion at all in them, James i. 27. 3. Let them often read and study our Saviour's sermon upon the Mount, where he pronounces the meek and low, not the 226 Thoughts upon rich and mighty, to be blessed, Matt. v. 3, 4. and weigh those strong and undeniable arguments which he brings, to prevail upon us not to take thought for the world, nor trouble our heads about the impertinent concerns of this transient life, Matt. vi. 24, 25, 26, 27, 28. 4. Let them labour to confirm and strengthen their trust and confidence on the promises of God, who hath assured us, that if we love and fear him, he will take care of us, and pro- vide all things necessary for us, Matt. vi. 33. This is the great argument which the Apostle uses, Heb. xiii. 5, 6. 5. Let them remember that they are called to higher things than this world is able to afford them ; the Christian is an high and heavenly calling ; we are called by it, and invited to a kingdom and eternal glory, 1 Thess. ii. 12. and therefore ought not to spend our time about such low and paltry trash as riches and wealth. 6. Let them get above the world, let their conversation be in heaven, and then they will soon look down upon all things here below as beneath their concern. Vilescunt temporalis cum desiderantur (sterna, said St. Gregory. He that seriously thinks upon and desires heaven, cannot but vilify and despise earth. Oh what fools and madmen do the blessed angels, and the glorified saints in heaven, think us poor mortals upon earth to be, when they see us busying ourselves about getting a little refined dirt, and in the mean while neglecting those transcen- dent glories which themselves enjoy, although they be offered to us! 7. Let them never suffer the vanity of all things here below to go out of their minds ; but remember still, that get what they can, it is but vanity and vexation of spirit, as Solomon himself asserted upon his own experience, though he, be sure, had more than any of us are ever likely to enjoy. And let them not only often repeat the words, but endeavour to get themselves convinced throughly of the truth of them, which their own experiences, duly weighed and rightly applied, will soon do. 8. Let it be their daily prayer to Almighty God, that he would take off their affections from the world, and incline them to himself, as David did, saying, Incline my heart to thy testimonies, and not to covetousness, Psal. cxix. 36, To all these means, let them add the constant and serious consideration of what they have here read, that the love of money is the root of all evil ; assuring themselves that if they will not believe it now, it is not long before they will all find it but too true, by their own sad and woeful experience ; when Worldly Riches. 227 they shall be stripped of their present enjoyments, and so turn .bankrupts in another world, where they will be cast into prison without ever having a farthing to relieve themselves, or so much as a drop of water to cool their inflamed tongues. By these and such like means none of us but may suppress the love of money in us, which is the root of all evil ; and so avoid or prevent all the evil which otherwise will proceed from it. Whether any of my readers will be persuaded to use these means or no, I know not ; however let me tell them, that if they are loath to strive to get their affections deadened to the world, it is an infallible sign that they are too much in love with it, and that this root and seed of all manner of evil re- mains in them ; nor can it be expected they will be persuaded to any one duty whatsoever, until they are first prevailed upon to do this, even to mortify their lusts and affections to the things of this world. For so long as those are predomi- nant within us, no grace whatsoever can be exerted, nor duty performed, nor any sin avoided by us. But O how happy would it be, if it should please the most high God, to set what I have here said so home upon any, as to induce them to set themselves seriously for the future to the eradicating or rooting up this love of money out of their hearts ! ; What a holy, what a blessed, what a peculiar people should we then be, and how zealous of good works ! Then we should ■ take all opportunities of performing our devotions to Almighty 1 God ; then we should have as many at the sacrament as at a I sermon ; then our churches would be filled all the week, as well as on Sundays, and the eternal God constantly worship- ! ped with reverence and godly fear ; then we should take de- light in clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, and relieving ; the oppressed ; then there would be no such thing as cheating | and cozenage, as lying and perjury, as strife and contention amongst us. But we should all walk hand in hand together in the ways of piety, justice, and charity upon earth, until at length we shall come to heaven, where we shall be so far from loving or desiring money, that we shall account it as it is, even dross and dirt ; where our affections shall he wholly taken up with the contemplation of the chiefest good, and we shall so- lace ourselves in the enjoyments of his perfections for ever- more. THOUGHTS UPON WOLDLY RICHES. SEC. II. Timothy after his conversion to the Christian faith, being found to be a man of great parts, learning, and piety, and so every way qualified for the work of the ministry, St. Paul, who had planted a church at Ephesus, the metropolis or chief city of all Asia, left him to dress or propagate it, after his departure from it, giving him power to ordain elders or priests, and to visit and exercise jurisdiction over them, to see they did not teach false doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3. That they be un- blameable in their lives and conversations, 1 Tim. v. 7. and to exercise authority over them, in case they be otherwise, 1 Jj Tim. v. 19. And therefore it cannot in reason but be ac- j knowledged that Timothy was the bishop, superintendant, or J visiter of all the Asian churches, as he was always asserted to have been by the Fathers of the primitive church, as Eusebius i reports, saying, that Timothy is reported to have been the first bishop of the province of Ephesus. Be sure he had the over- sight of all the churches that were planted there ; and not only in Ephesus itself, but likewise in all Asia, which was subject then to his ecclesiastical power and jurisdiction. And hence it is that the apostle St. Paul, in his first Epistle to him, gives him directions how to manage so great a work, and to discharge so great a trust as was committed to him, both as bishop and priest ; both how to ordain and govern others, and likewise how to preach himself the Gospel of Christ. And having spent the whole Epistle in directions of this sort, in the close of it, as it were at the foot of the Epistle, he sub- joins one general caution to be constantly observed by him, Charge them that are rich, &,c. Which words, though first directed to Timothy, were in him intended for all succeeding ministers, and preachers of the Gospel ; such I mean who are Worldly Riclies. 229 Memnly ordained and set apart for this work. We are all fbliged to observe the command which is here laid upon us, is without which we are never likely to do any good upon them hat hear us : for so long as their minds are set altogether Ipon riches, and the things of this world, we may preach our iearts out, before we can ever persuade them to mind heaven nd eternal happiness in good earnest. This St. Paul knew •ell enough, and therefore hath left this not only as his advice nd counsel, but as a strict command and duty incumbent upon he preachers of the Gospel in all ages, that they charge them hat are rich, vS^c. where it may be observed in the first place, low we are expressly enjoined to charge them that are rich, fcc. a word much to be observed. The apostle doth not say, desire, beseech, counsel, or admonish the rich, but charge and command them that are rich. The word properly signi- fies such a charge as the judges at an assize or sessions make in the king's name, enjoining his subjects to observe the es- tablished laws and statutes of the kingdom. And so the word is always used in Scripture for the strictest way of command- ing any thing to be observed or done, as Acts v. 28. Did not we straitly command you? Luke v. 14. He charged him to tell no man. Thus therefore it is that we are here enjoined to charge the rich in the name of the King of kings, not to be high minded, nor to trust in uncertain riches, &x. And this is the proper notion, and the only true way of preaching the word of God ; which therefore in Scripture is ordinarily expressed by the word xvgue-cretv, which properly sig- nifies to publish or proclaim, as heralds do, the will and plea- sure of the prince, and in his name to command the people to observe it. Thus we are enjoined to preach the word of God, by publishing his will and pleasure to men ; charging them in his name to obey and practise it. For we come not to them in our own names, but in his that created and redeemed them ; and therefore, although we neither have nor pretend to any power or authority over them, from ourselves ; yet by virtue of the commission which we have received from the universal and supreme Monarch of the world, we not only lawfully may, but are in duty bound, to charge and enjoin all in his name, to observe what he hath commanded them. Insomuch, that al- though we pretend not to divine inspiration, or immediate revelations from God, such as the prophets had; yet we, preaching the same word which they did, may and often ought to use the same authority which they used, saying, as they did, Thus saith the Lord of hosts. For whatsoever is written in the Scriptures, is as certainly God's Avord now, as it was U 230 Thoughts upon when first inspired or revealed to them. And therefore it cam not be denied, but that we have as much power to charo-e upon all, the observation of what is there written, as they ever had, we being sent to preach and proclaim the will of God unto all, by the same person as they were. Hence it is that the apostle in the name of God, commands Titus, and in him all succeeding ministers of the gospel, to speak or preach the word of God, to exhort and rebuke with all authority, Tit. ii. 15. From whence nothing can be more plain, than that it is our duty to preach with authority, as those who have received power from God, to make known his will and pleasure to all men ; or, as the apostle here expressly words it, to charge them not to he high minded, and the like. But this I fear may be a very ungrateful subject to many, and therefore I should not have insisted so long upon it, but that there is a kind of necessity for it. For I verily believe, that the non-observance of this hath been, and still is, the principal reason why people receive so little benefit by hear- ing of sermons, as they usually do ; for they look upon sermons only as popular discourses, rehearsed by one of their fellow- creatures, which they may censure, approve, or reject, as themselves see good. And we ourselves, I fear, have been too faulty, or at least remiss, in this particular ; in that when we preach, we ordinarily make a long harangue or oration concerning some point in polemical, dogmatical, or practical divinity, and use only some moral persuasions to press upon our auditors, the observance of what we say, without interpos- ing, or exercising the authority which is committed to us, so as to charge them in the name of the most high God, to ob- serve and practise what we declare and prove unto them to be his will, and by consequence their duty. But for my own part, did I think that preaching consisted only in explaining some point in divinity, and using only moral arguments to persuade men to perform their duty to God and man, I should not think it worth my while to do it, because I could not expect to do any good at all by it. For all the moral arguments in the world can never be so strong to draw us from sin, as our own natural corruptions are to drive us into it. And therefore we can never expect to do any good upon men, either by our logic or rhetoric ; but our arguments must be fetched from on high, even from the eternal God himself, or else they are ne- ver likely to profit or prevail upon them. We must charge and command them in God's name, or else w T e had as good say nothing. It is true, did we, who preach God's word, propose nothing Worldly Riches. 231 lise to ourselves, but to tickle men's ears, and please their fan- |es, and so to ingratiate ourselves into their love and favour, . would be easy to entertain them with discourses of another ature, stuffed with such fine words, quaint phrases, and high otions, as would be very pleasing and aceeptable unto them. >ut I must take leave to say, that we dare not do it ; for we tnow, that as our auditors must give an account of their hear- ng, so it is not long before we also must give an account of >ur preaching too ; for so God himself hath told us before- [pand by his apostle, Heb. xiii. 17. But how shall we be Fable to look the eternal God in the face ; yea, or to look [pur auditors in the face at that time, if instead of charging their duty upon them, in order to their eternal salvation, we should put them off with general discourses, which sig- nify nothing, only to please and gratify them whilst we re- main with them ; no, we dare not do it, and therefore I wish men would not expect it from us; for we must not hazard our own eternal salvation to gain their temporal favour or ap- plause. And therefore, seeing God hath been pleased to en- trust us so far with men's souls, as to direct them in the way to eternal life, howsoever they resent it, we are bound in duty, both to God, to them, and ourselves, to deal plainly with them, and to use the authority which he hath here committed to us, where he hath expressly commanded us in his name, to charge them that are rich in this world, fyc. Where I desire the reader to observe in the next place, that we of the clergy are not only empowered to charge the poorer or meaner sort of people, who, by reason of their extreme po- verty and want, may seem inferior to us, but even rich men too ; charge them, saith the Apostle, that are rich in this world. And the reason is, because we come unto them in his name, who gives them all the riches they do enjoy, and can take them away again when he himself pleaseth ; so that he can make the poor rich, and the rich poor, when he pleaseth, and there- fore the poor and rich are all alike to him ; his power and authority is the same over both ; and therefore we, coming in his name, are ordered to make no distinction, but to charge the one as well as the other ; yea, here we are particularly com- manded to charge them that are rich. Which is the next thing to be considered in these words, even whom the Apostle means by them that are rich in this world ; which is a question that needs a serious resolution. For many men, not thinking themselves as yet to be rich enough, will be apt to conclude from thence, that they are not to be reckoned amongst those whom the apostle here calls rich 232 Thoughts upon in this world. But whatsoever they may think of themselves, I believe there are but few, except the very poor, who in a Scripture sense are not rich men. For whatsoever any have over and above their necessary maintenance, that the Scrip- tures call riches, as is plain from Agar's wish, Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me, Prov. xxx. 8. From whence it is easy to observe, that as nothing but the want of convenient food is poverty; so whatsoever a man hath over and above his convenient or necessary food, is properly his riches ; and so he that hath it is in a Scripture sense a rich man, who is therefore called here in my text ttXoo- ffv«s, quasi -zroXvovrtos, one that hath much substance, or more than he hath necessary occasion for. And therefore, al- though some may be richer than others, yet I believe the gene- rality may be justly reckoned in the number of the rich men here spoken of, at least all such as by the blessing of God have not only what is necessary for their present maintenance, but likewise something to spare, and so may all come under the notion of those whom we are here commanded to charge not to be high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, &-c. Having thus considered the act which we are here com- manded to exert, and the object, the rich of this world, we are now to consider the subject matter, what that is which we are here commanded to charge upon them ; but that is here ex- pressly set down in several particulars, all which I shall en- deavour to explain as they lie in order. First, That they he not high-minded ; a necessary caution for rich men. For riches are very apt to puff men up with vain and foolish conceits of themselves, so as to think themselves to be so much better, by how much they are richer than other people ; but this is a grand mistake, which we are here en- joined to use the utmost of our power and skill to rectify, by charging them that are rich not to be high-minded; that is, not to think highly and proudly of themselves, because they are richer or wealthier than other men, but to be every way as humble in their own eyes, and as lowly-minded in the enjoy- ment of all temporal blessings, as if they enjoyed nothing ; as considering, T. How much soever they have, they are no way really the better for it. 1 . Not in their souls ; they are never the wiser nor holier, nor more acceptable unto God by their being rich, Eccles. ix. 1. Job xxxiv. 19. 2. Not in their bodies ; they are never the stronger, nor Worldly Riches. 233 ealthier, nor freer from pain and trouble, nor yet longer lived lan others. | 3. Not in their minds ; their consciences are never the qui- iter, their hearts never the freer from cares and fears, neither an they sleep better than other people, Eccles. v. 12. 4. Nor yet in their estate and condition. 1. Not in this life ; for riches can never satisfy them, nor y consequence make them happy ; but they may still be as liserable in the enjoyment, as in the want of all things, Eccles. r« 11. 2. Nor yet in the life to come ; they are never the nearer leaven, by being higher upon earth ; their gold and silver can lever purchase an inheritance for them in the land of Canaan, Fames ii. 5. II. They are so far from being better, that they are rather nuch worse for their having abundance here below. 1. They have more temptations to sin, to luxury, to covet- )usness, to the love of this world, to the neglect of their duty ;o God, to pride and self-conceitedness, to security and pre- sumption, Luke xii. 19. 2. It is harder for them to get to heaven than it is for others ; ind by consequence, the richer they are, the more danger they ire in of being miserable for ever, Matt. xix. 23. Whence )ur Saviour himself denounceth a woe upon them that are •ich, Luke vi. 24. and St. James bids them weep and howl for heir miseries, James v. 1. and therefore advises us to rejoice •ather at poverty than riches, James i. 9, 10. Now these things >eing considered, as spoken by God himself, none can deny )ut that the rich are most certainly in a worse condition than he poor ; and, by consequence, that men have no cause to be )roud, or high minded, nor to glory in their riches, Jer. ix. 13. And therefore whatsoever outward blessings God hath >estowed upon us, let us not be high-minded, but fear, Rom. ii. 20. Secondly, Nor trust in uncertain riches, which I confess is i very hard lesson for a rich man to learn, nothing being more fifficult than to have riches, and not to trust in them, as our Saviour himself intimates, in explaining the one by the other, is things very rarely severed, Mark x. 23, 24. But certainly t is altogether as foolish a thing to trust in riches, as it is to >e proud of them. For, 1. They of themselves can stand us in no stead, they can- iot defend us from any evil, nor procure us any good : they iannot of themselves either feed us, or clothe us, or refresh us, >r be any ways advantageous to us, without God's blessing, U2 lliouglits upon Prov. xi. 4. how much less can they be able to deliver us from wrath to come. No, we may take it foi B certain truth. our riches may much further our eternal misery, but they can i conduce any thing to our future happii if we trust in them, be sure they will fail u<, and bring US into misery and desolation ; for to trust in any thing hut (io good. In treating of which, 1 might shew the several qualifications required to the making up of an ac- tion good : as that the matter of it must be L r «><»d, as com- manded, or at least allowed by God ; that the manner >.)[' per- forming it be good, as that it be done obediently, understand- ingly, willingly, cheerfully, humbly, and Bincerely ; and that the end be pood too. so as that it be directed ultimately to the glory of God. But not to insist upon that now, I shall only consider what kind of good works the rich are here command- ed to do, as they are rich men. And they are two, works of piety, and works of charity. 1. They are here commanded to do works of piety : where by works of piety, I mean not their loving and fearing, and Worldly Riches. 23fl Ipnouring of God, nor yet their praying to him, their hearing is word, or praising his name, for such works of piety as these re, the poorest as well as the richest persons amongst us are ound to do ; whereas the Apostle here speaks only of such forks as they who are rich are bound to do, upon that account lecause they are so. And therefore by works of piety here, I nderstand such works as tend to the honour of his name, to ^ie performance of worship and homage to him, to the encou- agement of his ministers, the propagating of his Gospel, and he conversion of sinners to him ; all which they are bound to lo, to the utmost of their power, out of the estates which for purposes he hath entrusted with them. For thus they ire expressly commanded to honour the Lord with all their lubstance, or riches, and with the first-fruits of all their in- crease, Prow iii. 9. And the reason is, because God is the miversal proprietor, the head landlord of all the world, and we pave nothing but what we hold under him ; neither are we any more than tenants at will to him, who may fine us at his own pleasure, or throw us out of possession whensoever he sees good. Now leaf we should forget this, even upon what tenure it is that we hold our estates, God hath enjoined us to pay him, as it were, a quit-rent, or tribute out of what we pos as an acknowledgment that it is by his favour and blessing alone that we do possess it. So that whatsoever we do, or are able to offer to him. is but a due debt which we owe him ; which if we oeglecl t<» pay him. we lose our tenure, and for- feit what we have to the Lord of the manor, the supreme Pos- sessor of the world. Hence it is, that in all ages, they who were truly pious, and had a due sense of God upon their hearts, were always very careful to pay this their homage unto God; insomuch, that many of them never thought they could give enough to any pious use, wherein to testify their acknowledg- ment of God's dominion over them, and his right and propriety m what they had. A. notable instance whereof we have in the children of Israel ; for when the tabernacle was to be built for the service and worship of God, they were so far from being backward in contributing towards it, that they presently brought more than could be used in the building of it, Exod. xxxvi. 5, 6, 7. So it was too in the building of the temple, which Da- vid, and the chiefs or nobles of Israel, made great prepara- tions for, 1 Chron. xxix. 6, 7, 8. And that they did this, there- by to acknowledge God to be the Lord and Giver of all, is plain from the following words, ver. 11, 12, 13. The same was also observed in the building of the second temple, as the raising the first out of its rubbish, wherein it had lain for many 236 Thoughts upon years. And as for Christians, I need not tell you how for- ward those who have been truly pious, have always been in doing such works of piety, seeing most of the churches in Christendom, or be sure in this nation, have been erected by particular persons. And it is very observable, that the more eminent any place or age hath been for piety and devotion, the more pious works have been always done in it, for the service and worship of Almighty God ; which plainly shews, that where such works are wanting, whatsoever pretences they may make, there is no such thing as true piety, and the fear of God. And therefore, as ever we desire to manifest ourselves to be what we profess, true Christians indeed, men fearing God, and hating covetousness, we must take all opportunities to express our thankfulness unto God for what we have, by devoting as much as we can of it to his service and honour. 2. Besides these works of piety towards God, the rich are enjoined also works of charity towards the poor, which though they have an immediate reference to the poor, yet God looks upon them as given to himself, Prov. xiv. 31. xix. 17. Matt, xxv. 40. Hence it is that God accepts of such works as these also, for part of the tribute which we owe him ; whereby we acknowledge the receipt of what we have from him, and ex- press our thankfulness unto him for it, without which we have no ground to expect a blessing upon what we have, nor that it should be really good to us. For, as the apostle tells us, every creature of God is good, if it be received with thanksgiving, not else, 1 Tim. iv. 4. But no thanksgiving is acceptable but that which is expressed by works as well as words. And therefore it is necessary for us to pay this duty and service to God out of what we have, in order to the cleansing and sanc- tifying the residue of our estates unto us, without which we have not the lawful use of w r hat we possess ; but every thing we have is polluted^and unclean to us, as our Saviour himself intimates, Luke xi. 41. A thing much to be considered. For I verily believe that the great reason why so many estates are blasted so soon, and brought to nothing amongst us, is because men do not render unto God his duty and tribute out of what they have, and therefore it is no wonder that God in his provi- dence turns them out of possession, and gives their estates to other persons, who shall be better tenants to him, and be care- ful to pay him the duties which he requires of them. And therefore, in order to men's securing their estates to them- selves and posterity, it is absolutely necessary that they observe the duty which we are here recommended to charge upon all Worldly Riches. 237 that are rich in this world, even to do good witli what they have, and not only so, but II. To be rich too in good works ; that is, not only to do good, but to do as much good as they are able with their riches, so as to proportion their good works to the riches which God hath given them wherewith to do them, according to the apos- tle's direction, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. Thus in the place before quo- ted, Luke xi 41. where our Saviour bids the Pharisees to give alms of such things as they have, his words are ru, evovret frore ryv eXeviMTvvw give alms as much as ye are able, for so the words properly signify. And verily whatsoever we do, unless it be as much as we can, God will not look upon us as doing any thing at all : for we must not think to compound with him. When he hath given us all we have, he expects that we render all that he requires of us, that is, as much as we are able to pay unto him. As if a man owes you money, you will not accept of part instead of the whole ; so neither will God from us ; we all owe him as much as we are able to devote to his service and honour, and we must not think to put him off* with part of it ; for he reckons that he receives nothing from us, unless it be proportionable to what he hath bestowed upon us. But how little soever it is that we give or offer to him, if it be but an- swerable to our estates, it will be accepted by him. This our Saviour himself hath assured us of, Mark xii. 43, 44. From whence we may certainly conclude, that there is not the poorest person whatsoever but may be as rich in good works as the richest, because God doth not measure the goodness of our works by their bulk or quantity, but by the proportion which they bear to our estates : so that he that gives a penny may do as good a work as he that gives a pound, yea, and a better too, because his may be as much as he is able, whereas the other's is not. I wish all men would seriously weigh and consider this, lest otherwise they go out of the world without ever hav- ing done one good work in it : for we may assure ourselves, he that is not thus rich in good works, doth no good at all with his riches. But it is farther to be considered here, that this expression, rich in good works, implies that good works are indeed our principal riches ; and that men must not compute their riches so much from what they have, as from what they give and de- vote to God. For what we have is not ours, but God's in our hands ; but what we give is ours in God's hands, and he ac- knowledged himself our debtor for it, in that he tells us that we lend it to him, and promiseth to pay it us again, Prov. xix. J 7. And therefore they who cast up their accounts to know 238 Thoughts upon how rich they are, ought not to reckon upon what they have lying by them, nor upon their houses and lands that are made over to them, nor yet upon what is owing to them by men ; but should reckon only upon what they have given to pious or charitable uses, upon what treasure they have laid up in heaven. For whatsoever they may think at present, I dare assure them, that will be found to be their only riches another day. And therefore if any one desires to be rich indeed, let him take my advice, do what good he can with the riches he hath, and then he will be rich enough : for this is the way to be rich in good works. But in order unto that, he must likewise observe what follows, to be III. Ready to distribute ; that is, ready upon all occasions to pay his tribute unto God, whensoever he in his providence calls for it ; taking all opportunities of doing good, and glad when he can find them, Gal. vi. 10. Thus therefore when- soever any opportunities present themselves of expressing our thankfulness unto God, by works either of piety or charity, whatsoever other business may be neglected, we must be sure to lay hold on that. For I dare say, that there is none but will grant me that there is all the reason in the world that God should be served in the first place, and that he should have the first fruits of all our increase, Prov. iii. 9. Exod. xxiii. 19. Deut. xxvi. 2. And therefore we cannot but acknowledge, that works of piety towards God and of charity to the poor, or as the Scripture calls them in general good works, are al- ways to be done in the first place ; and whatsoever other works may be omitted, besure they must not. But we ought still to be as ready to pay our duties unto God, as we are to receive any thing from him, as ready to give as to receive ; and by consequence as men let no opportunities slip wherein they can increase their estates, they are much less to let any opportuni- ties pass wherein they can any way improve their estates for God's glory and others' good ; but they ought to be ready upon all occasions to distribute what they can upon charitable and pious uses. IV. Willing to communicate ; as we must do it with a ready hand, so we must do it with a willing heart too. Thus we are enjoined to serve God willingly, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. and cheer- fully, 2 Cor. ix. 6, 7. Indeed God accepts of none but free- will offerings. If we be not as willing to do good works as we are to have wherewith to do them, we may be confident God will never accept of them. And therefore in plain terms, if any one would be rich in good works as becometh Chris- tians, and as it is our interest to be, they must not stay till Worldly Riches. 239 they be compelled, persuaded, or entreated by others to do them ; but they must set upon them of their own accord, out of pure obedience unto God, and from a due sense of their constant dependence upon him, and manifold obligations to him ; yea, so as to take pleasure in nothing in the world so much as in paying their respects and service to Almighty God, 1 Chron. xxix. 14, 15, 17. Now to encourage the rich to employ their estates thus in doing good, the Apostle adds in the last place, that this is the way to lay up for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life. A strange expression ! yea such a one, that had not St. Paul himself spoke I it, some would have been apt to have excepted against it for an error or mistake. What, good works the foundation of e- , ternal life ? No, that is not the meaning of it ; but that good \ works are the foundation of that blessed sentence which they shall receive, who are made partakers of eternal life, as is plain from our Saviour's own words, Matt. xxv. 34, 35, 36. And verily although there be no such intrinsic value in good works, whereby they that do them can merit any thing from God by their doing of them ; yet nothing can be more certain, than that God of his infinite mercy in Jesus Christ will so ac- cept of them, as to reward us for them in the world to come. For this our Saviour himself doth clearly intimate to us, in the place before quoted, as also, Matt. vi. 20. Luke xii. 33. xvi. 9. that is, distribute and employ the unrighteous or deceitful riches you have in this world in such a way as is most pleasing and acceptable unto God, that so he may be your friend, and receive you into everlasting habitations, when these transient and unstable riches fail you. From whence I beg leave to ob- serve, that to do good with what we have is the only way whereby to improve our estates for our own good, so as to be the better for them both in this and also in the world to come. The Rabbins have a good saying, that good works are the salt of riches, that which preserves them from corruption, and makes them savoury and acceptable unto God, as also useful and profitable to the owners. Unless we do good with our estates, we forfeit our title to them by the non-payment of the rent-charge which God hatli reserved to himself upon them ; and therefore we may justly expect every moment to be cast out of possession ; or howsoever though he may forbear us a while, yea so long as we are in this world, what good, what benefit, what comfort shall we have of our estates in the world to come ? certainly no more than the rich man in the Gospel had, when he lay scorching in hell-fire, and had not so much 240 Thoughts upon as a drop of water to cool his inflamed tongue. Whereas on the other side, if we do good with our estates, if we devote them to the service of God, and to the relief of the poor, by this means we shall not only secure the possession of them to * ourselves here, but shall also receive comfort and benefit from them in the world to come ; so that our estates will not die with us, but we shall receive benefit by them, and have cause to bless God for them unto all eternity : the apostle himself I assuring us, that by this means we shall lay up for ourselves a I good foundation for the time to come, so as to lay hold on 1 eternal life. This one argument being duly weighed, I hope I need not 1 use any more to persuade men to do good with what they have, and to make the best use of it they can. For I know I write j to Christians, at least to such as profess themselves to be so ; and therefore to such as believe there is another world besides \ this we live in, and by consequence that it concerns them to ] provide for that, which, as I have shown, we may do in a plen- tiful manner, by the right improvement of what God hath en- trusted with us in this world. What then do the generality of ' men mean to be so slack and remiss in laying hold on all op- portunities of doing good ! what, do they think it possible to lose any thing they do for God ! or do they think it possible to employ their estates better than for his service and honour who gave them to us ! I cannot believe any think so ; and therefore must needs advise the rich again and again not to lay up their talent in a napkin, but to use their estates to the best advan- tage for God and their own souls, that so when they go from hence into the other world, they may be received into eternal glory, with a well done good and faithful servants, enter you into your Master" s joy. But fearing lest these moral persuasions may not prevail so much upon my readers as I desire they might, they must give me leave farther to tell them, that I am here commanded to charge them that are rich in this world, to be rich also in good works : and therefore seeing, as I have shown, there are few but who in a Scripture-sense are rich in this world, in obe- dience to this command which here is laid upon me, in the name of the most high God, I charge you, and not I only, but the eternal God himself, he wills and requires all those whom he hath blessed with riches in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but that they put their whole trust and confidence only in the living God, whose all things are, and who gives us whatsoever we have : that they do good with what he hath put into their hands, lav- Worldly Riches. 241 lg it out upon works of piety towards him, and of charity to he poor, that his worship may be decently performed, and the oor liberally relieved ; that they be rich in good ivories, striv- ng to excel each other in doing good in their generation ; that hey be ready every moment to distribute, and always willing o communicate to every good work, wherein they can pay heir homage and express their thankfulness to him for what hey have. THOUGHTS VPON SELF-DENIAL. THE most glorious sight questionless that was ever to be seen upon the face of the earth, was to see the Son of God here ; to see the supreme Being and Governor of the world here ; to see the Creator of all things conversing here with his own creatures ; to see God himself with the nature, and in the shape of man, walking about upon the surface of the earth ; and discoursing with silly mortals here ; and that with so much majesty and humility mixed together, that every expression might seem a demonstration that he was both God and man. It is true, we were not so happy as to see this blessed sight ; howsoever, it is our happiness that we have heard of it, and have it so exactly described to us, that we may as clearly ap- prehend it as if we had seen it : yea, our Saviour himself hath pronounced those in a peculiar manner blessed, who have not seen, and yet have believed, John xx. 29. that is, who never saw Christ in the manger, nor in the temple ; who never saw him prostrate before his Father in the garden, nor fastened by men unto his cross ; who never saw him preaching the Gos- pel, nor working miracles to confirm it ; who never saw him before his passion, nor after his resurrection, and yet do as firmly believe whatsoever is recorded of him, as if they had seen it with their eyes. Such persons our blessed Saviour himself asserts to be truly blessed, as having such a faith as is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, Heb. xi. 1 . Hence therefore, although we lived not in our Saviour's time, and therefore saw him not do as never man did, nor heard him speak as never man spake, we may notwithstanding be as blessed, or rather more blessed than they that did. If we do but give credit to what is asserted of him, and receive and believe what is represented to us in his holy Gospels, Self-Denial. 243 where by faith we may still see him working miracles, and hear I him declaring his will and pleasure to his disciples, as really | as if we had then been by him. And therefore whatsoever we I read in the Gospel that he spake, we are to hearken as dili- • gently to it, as if we heard him speak it with our own ears, and be as careful in the performance of it, as if we had re- ceived it from his own mouth : for so we do, though not im- mediately, yet by the infallible pen of them that did so. And seeing he never spake in vain, or to no purpose, nor suffered an idle or superfluous word to proceed out of his sacred and divine mouth ; whatsoever he asserted, we are to look upon as necessary to be believed, because he asserted it. And what- soever he commanded, we are to look upon as necessary to be observed, because he hath commanded it ; for we must not think that his assertions are so frivolous, or his commands so impertinent, that it is no great matter whether we believe the one and obey the other, or no : no, if we expect to be justifi- ed and saved by him, he expects to be believed and obeyed by us, without which he will not look upon us as his disciples, nor by consequence as Christians, but strangers and aliens to him, whatsoever our professions and pretences are. It is true, we live in an age wherein Christianity in the ge- neral notion of it is highly courted, all sects and parties amongst us making their pretences to it, whatsoever opinions or cir- cumstances they differ in, be sure they all agree in the external profession of the Christian religion, and by consequence in the acknowledgment that they ought to be Christians indeed. But I fear that men are generally mistaken about the notion of true Christianity, not thinking it to be so high and divine a thing as really it is ; for if they had true and clear conceptions of it, they would never fancy themselves to be Christians, upon such low and pitiful grounds as usually they do, making as if Chris- tianity consisted in nothing else, but in the external perform- ance of some few particular duties, and in adhering to them that profess it; whereas Christianity is a thing of a much higher and far more noble nature, than such would have it ; insomuch, that did we but rightly understand it, methinks we could not but be taken with it, so as to resolve for the future to the ut- most of our power to live up to it, to which could I be an in- strument of persuading any, how happy should I think myself? Howsoever it is my duty to endeavour it, and for that purpose I shall now clear up the true notion of Christianity, that we may know, not what it is to be professors and pretenders to Christianity, but what it is to be real Christians, and true dis- 244 Thoughts upon ciples of Christ Jesus, such as Christ will own for his in an- other world. Now to know whom Christ will accept for his disciples, our only way is to consult Christ himself, and to consider what it is that he requires of those that follow him, in order to be his disci- ples ; a thing as easily understood, as it is generally disre- garded ; for nothing can be more plain, than that Christ re- quires and enjoins all those that would be his disciples, to ob- serve not only some few, but all the commands that he hath laid upon us. Ye are my friends, saith he, and therefore my disciples, if ye do whatsoever I command you, John xv. 14. So that unless we do whatsoever he commands us, we are so far from being his disciples, that we are indeed his enemies. Nay, they that would be his disciples, must excel and surpass all others in virtue and good works. Herein, saith he, is my Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit, so shall ye be my disciples, John xv. 8. yea, and continue in them too, John viii. 31. He tells us also, that they that would be his disciples, must love him above all things, or rather, hate all things in comparison of him, Luke xiv. 26. And that they love one an- other, as he hath loved them, John xiii. 35. To name'no more ; read but St. Matt. xvi. 24. and there you may see what it is to be a Christian indeed, or what it is that Christ requires of those who would be his disciples. If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. Did we but understand the true meaning of these words, and or- der our conversation accordingly, we should both know what it is to be true Christians, and really be so ourselves. For I think there is nothing that Christ requires of those who desire to be his disciples, but we should perform it, could we but ob- serve what is here commanded ; which that we may all do, I shall endeavour to give the true meaning of them, and of every particular in them, as they lie in order. First, saith he, If any man will come after me, that is, if any man will be my disciple ; for masters ye know use to go be- fore, scholars and disciples to follow after. And our Saviour here speaks of himself under the notion of a master, that hath disciples coming after him, and saith, that if any one would be one of his disciples, so as to go after him, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow him. So that here are three things which our blessed Saviour requires of those that would be his disciples, and by consequence of us who profess to be so ; for I dare say, there is none of us but desires to be a Christian, or at least to be thought so ; for we all know and believe Jesus Christ to be the only Saviour of mankind, that Self-Denial. 245 ne can save us but he, and that there is none of us but he n save, and that all those who truly come to him for pardon d salvation, shall most certainly have it. Hence it is that we ould all be thought at least so wise, and to have so much care f our own souls as to go after Christ, and be his disciples. I ope there are but few but who really desire to be so. But I ould not have any think that it is so easy a matter to be a dis- iple of Christ, or a real and true Christian, as the world would ake it ; no, we may assure ourselves, that as it is the highest onour and happiness we can attain unto, so we shall find it the ardest matter in the world to attain unto it ; not in its own ature, but by reason of its contrariety to our natural temper knd inclinations. For here we see what it is that our blessed Saviour requires of those that would go after him, even nothing less than to deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow him. All which are far greater things than at the first sight or reading they may seem to be. For first, saith he, If any one will come after me, let him de- ny himself; which being the first thing which Christ requires of those that go after him, it is necessary that we search more narrowly into the nature of it. For if we fail in this, we can- not but fail in all the rest. And therefore, for the opening of this, I shall not trouble the reader with the various expositions, and the divers opinions of learned men concerning these words, but only mind him in general, that the self-denial here spoken of is properly opposed to self-love, or that corrupt and vicious habit of the soul, whereby we are apt to admire and prefer our own fancies, wills, desires, interests, and the like, before Christ himself, and what he is pleased either to promise to us or re- quire of us. And therefore, when he commands us to deny ourselves, his will and pleasure in general is this, that we do not indulge or gratify ourselves in any thing that stands in opposition against, and comes into competition with, his interest in the world, or ours in him, howsoever near and dear it may be unto us. But to deny ourselves whatsoever is pleasing to ourselves, if it be not so to God and Christ too, so as not to live to our- selves, but only unto him that died for us ; to live as those who are none of our own, but are bought with a price, and there- fore should glorify God both in our souls and in our bodies, which are his, 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. But seeing this is not only the first lesson to be learnt by Christ's disciples, but that which is necessarily required in order to whatsoever else he com- mands from us, I shall show you more particularly what it is in yourselves that you are to deny. First, you must deny vour own reasons in matters of divine Y <■> 246 Thoughts upon revelation, so as to use them no farther than only to search into the grounds and motives that we have to believe them to be revealed by God. For this being either proved or suppos- ed, we are not to suffer our reasons to be too curious in search- ing into them, but believe them upon the word and testimony of God himself, who is the supreme truth, or verity itself. For we who by all our art and cunning cannot understanc the reasons of the most common and obvious things in nature must not think to comprehend the great mysteries of the Gos pel, which though they be not contrary to our reasons, ar< infinitely above them. For the natural man receiveth not tin things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him neither can he k?iow them because they are spiritually discerned 1 Cor. ii. 14. So that to the understanding of the things o the Spirit, or which the Spirit of God hath revealed to us, then is a great deal more required than what we have by nature even the supernatural assistance of the Spirit himself that re vealed them. And therefore if any man amongst us seemeii to be wise in this world, let him become a fool that he may h wise, 1 Cor. iii. 18. that is, he that would be wise unto salva tion, must look upon himself as a fool, as one incapable b; nature of understanding the things that belong unto his ever lasting peace, without both the revelation and assistance o God himself, and therefore must not rely upon his own judg ment, but only upon God's testimony in what he doth believe not believing what his reason, but what God's word tells him looking upon it as reason enough why he should believe it, be cause God hath said it. I know this is an hard doctrine to flesh and blood. For, as Job tells us, Vain man would be wise, though man be born lih a wild ass's colt, Job xi. 12. Though by nature we be nevei so foolish, vain, and ignorant, understanding the great myste ries of the Gospel no more than a wild ass's colt doth a mathe matical demonstration, yet howsoever we would fain be though very wise men, yea so wise as to be able to comprehend mat ters of the highest, yea of an infinite nature, within the narrow compass of our finite and shallow capacities. But this is thai which we must deny ourselves in, if we desire to be Christ's disciples, so as to acquiesce in his word, and believe what he asserts, only because he asserts it, without suffering our reasor to interpose, but looking upon his word as more than all the reasons and arguments in the world besides. Secondly, You must deny your own wills. Our wills, it is true, at first were made upright and perfect, every way corres- pondent to the will of God himself, so as to will what he wills, Self-Denial 247 that is what is really good, and to nill what he nills, that is what is really evil. But being now perverted, and* corrupt with sin, our wills are naturally inclined to the evil which they should be averse from, and averse from the good which they should be inclined to. So that instead of choosing the good and refusing the evil, we are generally apt to choose the evil and refuse the good ; yet for all that our wills are thus crook- ed and perverse, we cannot endure to have them crossed or thwarted in any thing, but would needs have our own wills in every thing, so as neither to do any thing ourselves, nor yet j have any thing done to us, but just as ourselves will, who will \ usually just contrary to what we should. But now they that would be Christ's disciples, must not be thus self-willed, but i deny themselves the fulfilling of their own wills, when it doth not consist with the will of God to have them fulfilled. This | our Lord and Master hath taught us by his example as well as precept, saying, Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from j me; nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done, Luke xxii. 42. Where we may observe, that our blessed Saviour, as man, could not but have a natural averseness from death, as all men I by nature have, and that without sin. Yet though Christ's will, ! as man, was never so pure and perfect, yet he wholly submits it to the will of God. He manifested indeed that it was the ; will of that nature which he had assumed not to suffer death, \ saying, if it be possible let this cup pass from me ; but he ! shews withal that the will of man must still be subject to the will of God ; and that man, even as man, must deny his own will, whensoever it runneth not exactly parallel with God's, j saying, nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. And if Christ himself denied his own most pure and perfect ! will, that his Father's might be accomplished, how much more cause have we to deny our wills, which by nature are always contrary to his will, yea and to our own good too, prefering generally that which is evil and destructive to us, before that which is truly good and advantageous for us ? And verily a great part of true Christianity consisted] in thus resigning our wills to God's, not minding so much which way our own in- clinations bend, as what his pleasure and command is. A notable instance whereof we have in old Eli, who questionless could not but be very willing that the iniquity of his sons might be forgiven, and his family prosper in the world ; yet howso- ever, when God had manifested his pleasure to him that his house should be destroyed, he submitted his own will wholly unto God's, saying, It is the Lord, let him do what sccmcth him good, 1 Sam. iii. 18. And whosoever of us would be Christ's 248 Thoughts upon disciple indeed, must be sure thus to deny and renounce his own will," whensover it appears to be contrary unto God's, so as even to will, that not his own will but God's be fulfilled, as our Lord and Master himself hath taught us each day to pray, Thy mill be done in earth as it is in heaven. And whosoever hath learned this art of making his own will bow and stoop to God's, hath made a very good progress in the Christian reli- gion, especially in that part of it which requires us to deny ourselves. And seeing we must deny our wills, we must needs deny our affections too, which are indeed nothing else but the several motions of the will towards good and evil, but usually they are so disorderly and irregular, as to place themselves upon objects directly opposite to what they were designed for ; for that we ordinarily love what we ought to hate, and hate what we ought to love ; desire what we ought to abhor, and abhor what we ought to desire ; rejoice in those things which we ought to grieve for, and are grieved at such things as we ought to re- joice in. So that if we suffer our affections to move according to their natural tendency and corrupt inclinations, we shall be so far from going after Christ, that we shall continually be run- ning from him. And therefore it must be our great care and study to bridle our affections, deny them their unlawful, and fix them upon their proper objects ; yea, and to deny ourselves too the lawful use of such things as our affections are apt to be unlawfully placed upon. As for example : it is lawful, yea our duty, to love our relations ; but if our love to them becomes exorbitant, so as to love them more than God, our love to them must be turned into hatred in comparison of our love to him, Luke xiv. 26. And whatsoever lawful thing it is that we take pleasure in, if once we find that our pleasure in that extin- guisheth, or but damps that pleasure which we used or ought to have in God, we are to deny ourselves such pleasures as these are, and rather despise ourselves than God. Yea, we must deny ourselves moreover the use and enjoy- ment of our estates and earthly possessions, whensoever they come in competition with his glory. So that if it comes to that point, that we must either leave our estates to enjoy Christ, or leave Christ to enjoy our estates, we must be willing and ready, without any more ado, to abandon and renounce whatsoever else we have, rather than our interest in Christ. For indeed he is not worthy to be Christ's disciple that doth not prefer him before all things else ; neither he that loves the world at all in comparison of Christ : For if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him, 1 John ii. 15. And therefore he Self -Denial. 249 that would be Christ's disciple indeed, must fix his heart so fast on Christ, that it hang loose and indifferent as to all things here below, being no more proud of them, no more delighted Lin them, no more concerned about them, than as if he had them [not. So that though he have all things besides Christ, he must pave nothing but him, or at least in comparison of him ; yea, be ready to part with all that he may gain Christ. And though Imany of us may think this an hard saying, we may assure our- selves, it is no more than what we must do, if we desire to be jChrist's disciples, Luke xiv. 33. Furthermore, we must deny ourselves those sins especially, and lusts which we have or do still indulge ourselves in : for thus the Gospel teacheth you in a particular manner, to deny I ungodliness and worldly lusts, Tit. ii. 12. And therefore we I in vain pretend to be true Christians, so long as we live in any ' one known sin with any love unto it, or delight in it. I sup- pose none of my readers guilty of all sins, and I fear there are . few but live in some. No man but may be naturally averse from some sins, but it is very rare to find one that is inclined , to none ; for ordinarily every man hath his darling, his be- loved sin, his own sin, as David himself once had, though he afterwards kept himself from it, Psal, xviii. 23. So I fear none of my readers but have some sin, which he may in a pe- culiar manner call his own, as being that which his thoughts run most upon, and his desires are carried most unto, which he labours most after, and takes most pleasure in, which he is most loth to be reproved for, and most easily overcome by. Now this and whatsoever other sins any of us are addicted to, we must wholly leave, and utterly renounce, if ever we desire to be Christ's disciples. And therefore so long as any of us live in any known sin, as in pride or prodigality, in oppression or covetousness, in malice or uncleanness, in drunkenness, uncharitableness, or any other sin whatsoever, we must not think ourselves to be Christians indeed, Christ will never own us for his disciples ; for so long as we live in any known sin, it is that sin, not Christ, that is our master ; and therefore if we would list ourselves into his service, we must be sure to deny ourselves whatsoever we know to be offensive to him. There is still another thing behind wherein we must deny ourselves, if we desire to go after Christ ; and that is, we must deny and renounce all our self-righteousness, and all hopes and confidences from ourselves, and from what we have done, which I look upon as a very great piece of self-denial, for na- turally we are all prone to sacrifice to our own nets, to burn incense to our own drags, to boast of our own good works, 250 Thoughts upon and to pride ourselves with the conceit of our own righteous- ness. Though we be never so sinful, we would not be thought to be so, but would very fain be accounted righteous, not only by men, but by God himself, for something or other which ourselves do, though when all comes to all, we know not what that should be ; but howsoever the pride of our hearts is such, that we are loth to go out of ourselves to look for righteousness, or to be beholden to another for it. And this is the reason that justification by faith in Christ hath had so many adversa- ries in the world ; mankind in general being so much in love with themselves, and doting upon what themselves do, that they cannot endure to renounce and vilify their own obedience and good works, so much as to think that they stand in need of any other righteousness besides their own ; as if their own righteousness was so perfect, that God himself could find no fault with it, nor make any exceptions against it, but must Weds acknowledge them to be just and righteous persons for it. Whereas, alas ! there is not the best action that ever a mere mortal did, but if examined by the strict rules of justice, it is far from being good, yea, so far, that God himself may justly pronounce it evil, and by consequence condemn the person that did it, for doing of it. And therefore I cannot but won- der what it is that any man doth or can do, for which he can in reason expect to be justified before God, our very righte- ousness being as the prophet tells, but asjilthy rags, and our most holy performances fraught with sin and imperfection, and therefore so far from justifying us, that we may justly be con- demned for them; but this mankind doth not love to hear of, the pride of our hearts being such, that by all means we must have something in ourselves whereof to glory before God him- self. But woe be to that person who hath no other righteous- ness but his own, wherein to appear before the judge of the whole world. For howsoever specious his actions may seem to men, they will be adjudged sins before the eternal God. He therefore that would come to Christ, although he must labour after righteousness to the utmost of his power, yet when he hath done all, he must renounce it, and look upon himself as an unprofitable servant ; for Christ came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Matt. ix. 13. that is, he came not to call such persons as think they have righteousness enough of their own to serve their turns, for such persons think they have no need of him, and therefore it would be in vain to call them ; but he calls sinners, that is, such as may perhaps be as righteous as the other, but they do not think themselves to be so, but look upon themselves as undone for Self -Denial. 251 ever, unless they have something else to trust to than their own good works and obedience to the moral law. Such per- sons therefore Christ came to call, and if they come to him, they cannot but find rest and righteousness in him ; and if any of us desire to go after Christ, so as to be his disciples, we must be sure to look upon ourselves as sinners, as deserving nothing but wrath and vengeance for whatsoever we have done ; we must renounce all our own righteousness, and be so far from depending upon it, as to think that we have none to de- pend upon, for so really we have not. And when we have laid aside all thoughts of our own righteousness, as to the matter of our justification before God, then, and not till then, shall we be rightly qualified to embrace another's, even that righteousness which is by faith in Christ. Thus St. Paul, though he had as much, yea, more reason to trust in the flesh or in himself than others ; for himself saith, that as touching the righteousness which is of the law, he was blameless, Phil, iii. 6. yet, saith he, what things were gain tome, those I count- ed loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For ivhom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law t but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, ver. 7, 8, 9. Thus therefore it is that all those must do, who desire to be, as St. Paul was, real disciples of Jesus Christ, as we must forsake our sins, so we must renounce our righteousness too. It is true, this is a great and difficult part of self-denial, thus to deny ourselves all that pride, pleasure, and confidence, which we used to take in the thoughts of our own righteousness and obedience to the law of God. But we must remember, that the first thing which our Saviour enjoins those that come after him, is to deny themselves. Thus I have shown what it is in ourselves that we must deny, and how it is that we must deny ourselves, if we desire to go after Christ ; we must deny ourselves the curiosity of search- ing too much into the mysteries of the Gospel, by the light of our own clouded reasons ; we must deny our self-conceit, our self-will, our self-love, self-interests, self-confidence, and what- soever proceeds from and terminates in our sensual and sinful selves, so as to have no delight in nor dependence upon our- selves ; yea, we must so deny ourselves, as to be quite taken off of our former selves, and become other creatures than what before we were. Thus St. Ambrose explains these words* 252 Thoughts upon saying, Seipsum sibi homo abneget et totus mutetur ; Let a man deny himself to himself, so as to be wholly changed from what he was. But then you will say, what need is there of all this trouble, what reason can be given that a man must deny him- self before he can be a true Christian ? To that I answer, it is reason enough that Christ hath com- manded us to do it, and surely he best knows whom he will accept of as his disciples, and what is necessary to be done in order to our being so. And he hath said in plain terms, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself; implying, that he that doth not deny himself, cannot go after him. But besides that, there is an impossibility in the thing itself, that any one should be a true Christian, or go after Christ, and not deny himself, as may be easily perceived, if they will but consider what true Christianity requires of us, and what it is to be a real Christian. A true Christian we know is one that lives by faith, and not by sight, that looks not at the things which are seen, but at those things which are not seen, that believes what- soever Christ hath said, trusteth on whatsoever he hath prom- ised, and obeyeth whatsoever he hath commanded ; that re- ceiveth Christ as his only Priest to make atonement for him, as his only Prophet to instruct, and as his only Lord and Mas- ter to rule and govern him. In a word, a Christian, is one that gives up himself and all he hath to Christ, who gave himself and all he hath to him ; and therefore the very notion of true Christianity implies and supposes the denial of ourselves, with- out which it is as impossible for a man to be a Christian, as it is for a subject to be rebellious and loyal to his prince at the same time ; and therefore it is absolutely necessary that we go out of ourselves before we can go to him ; we must strip our- selves of our very selves before we can put on Christ ; for Christ himself hath told us, that no man can serve two masters ; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and dispise the other, Matt. vi. 24. We cannot serve both God and Mammon, Christ and ourselves too ; so that we must either deny ourselves to go after Christ, or else deny Christ to go after ourselves, so as to mind our own selfish ends and designs in the world. Wherefore I hope I need not use any other arguments to per- suade any to deny themselves in the sense already explained ; I dare say there is none amongst us but would willingly be what we profess, even a real Christian, and so go after Christ here, as to come to him hereafter. But we have now seen how Christ himself hath told us, that we must deny ourselves, if we desire to serve and enjoy him. And verily it is an hard Self-Denial. 253 rise if we cannot deny ourselves for him, who so far denied himself for us, as to lay down his own life to redeem ours. He who was equal to God himself, yea, who himself was the true God, so far denied himself, as to become man, yea, a man of sorrows and acquainted wkh griefs, for us ; and cannot we deny ourselves so much as a fancy, a conceit, a sin or lust, for him ? how then can we expect that he should own us for his friends, his servants or disciples ? No, he will never do it, nei- ther can we in reason expect that he should give himself and all the merits of his death and passion unto us, so long as we think much to give ourselves to him, or to deny ourselves for him. And therefore if we desire to be made partakers of all those glorious things that he hath purchased with his own most precious blood for the sons of men ; let us begin here, indulge our flesh no longer, but deny ourselves whatsoever God hath been pleased to forbid. And for that end, let us endeavour each day more and more to live above ourselves, above the temper of our bodies, and above the allurements of the world, live as those who believe and profess that they are none of their own, but Christ's ; his by creation, it was he that made us ; his by preservation, it is he that maintains us ; and his by re- demption, it is he that hath purchased and redeemed us with his own blood. And therefore let us deny ourselves for the future to our very selves, whose we are not, and devote our- selves to him whose alone we are ; by this we shall manifest ourselves to be Christ's disciples indeed, especially if we do not only deny ourselves, but also take up our cross and follow him ; which brings me to the second thing which our blessed Saviour here requires of those who would go after him, even to take up their cross. Where, by the cross, we are to understand whatsoever trou- bles or calamities, inward or outward, we meet with in the performance of our duty to God or man, which they that would go after Christ must take up as they go along, without any more ado, neither repining at them, nor sinking under them ; for we must not think that Christ invites us to an earthly para- dise of idleness and outward pleasures, as if we had nothing to do or to suffer for him. For even as men, we cannot but find many crosses in the world, but as Christians we must ex- pect more ; for Christ himself hath told us, that in the world we shall have tribulation, John xvi. 33. And therefore what- soever we meet with, is no more than what we are to look for; especially if we walk uprightly in the way that leads to hea- ven, we cannot but expect to meet with many a rub ; for God himself hath told us, that it is through many tribulations that 254 Thoughts upon we must enter into the kingdom of heaven, Acts xiv. 22. And therefore we must not think to be carried up to heaven with the breath of popular applause, nor to swim through a deluge of carnal pleasures into the haven of everlasting happiness. No, we must look to be tossed to and fro in this world, as in a raging and tempestuous ocean, and never look for perpetual calmness and tranquillity, until we are got above the clouds, yea, even above the sun and stars themselves. This world was always a world of trouble, and ever will be ; its very friends, and they that have their portion here, can find no quiet nor sa- tisfaction in it ; but the disciples of Christ they are not of this world, as Christ himself tells us, John xvii. 36. ancl therefore no wonder if the world frowns more upon them than others. The way they walk in is opposite to the world, it is enmity it- self to the flesh, and therefore no wonder if they meet with so much enmity and opposition here ; the way wherein they go after Christ is a cross way, it is cross to sin, cross to satan, cross to the world, cross to our very selves as we are by na- ture, and by consequence cross to all men in the world but Christ's disciples, and therefore it is no wonder they meet with so many crosses in it. But howsoever, if we desire to go after Christ, he hath told us beforehand what we must expect, as he hath borne the cross before us, he expects that we now bear it after him ; yea, we must not only bear it, but take it up too : not that we should run ourselves into danger, but that we should balk no duty to avoid it, so as to be willing and ready to un- dergo the greatest suffering, rather than to commit the least sin, and to run the greatest danger rather than neglect the smallest duty. If whilst we are walking in the narrow path of holiness, there happens to lie a cross in the way, we must not go on one side nor on the other side of it out of the path Ave walk in, neither must we kick and spurn at it, but we must patiently take it up and carry it along with us : if it be a little heavy at first, it will soon grow lighter, and not at all hinder, but rather further our progress towards heaven. But here we must have a great care to understand our Sa- viour's meaning, and so our own duty aright ; for we must not think that every trouble we meet with in the world is the cross of Christ, for we may suffer for our fancy or humour, or per- haps for our sin and transgression of the laws of God or men, and if so, it is our own cross, not Christ's, which we take upon us ; we may thank ourselves for it, I am sure Christ hath no cause to thank us : For this is thankworthy, saith the apostle, if a man for conscience tciccrds God endure grief, suffering wronvfidlv, I Peter ii. 19, 20. And therefore the dutv which Self-Denial. 255 ^ur Saviour here imposeth on us, in few terms, is this, that we pe ready not only to do, but to suffer what we can for the glory pf God and the furtherance of the Gospel, and that we omit no duty, nor commit any sin for fear of suffering ; not to think much of any trouble that befalls us for Christ's sake, but ra- ther to rejoice at it, even as the apostles rejoiced, that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for his name. Acts v. 11. Which was a clear instance of their performing the duty here enjoined both them and us, under the name of taking up pur cross. And I hope there is none of us can take it ill that Christ hath imposed so severe a duty upon us ; for we may assure ourselves he requires no more of us than what himself hath undergone before, so that we can suffer nothing for him, but what he hath suffered before for us. Have we grief and trouble in our hearts ? so had he, Matt. xxvi. 38. Have we pains and tortures in our bodies ? so had he, Matt, xxvii. 29, 30. Are we derided and scoffed at ? so was he, Matt, xxvii. 31. Are we arraigned or condemned, yea, do we sutler death itself? it is no more than what our Lord and Master hath done before. And let us remember what he told us when he was upon the earth, the disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord, Matt. x. 24. If we be Christ's disciples, we cannot expect to fare better in the world than Christ himself did, nei- ther indeed can we fare so bad ; for it is impossible that we should undergo so much for him as he hath undergone for us, ours being only the sufferings of men, his the sufferings of one who was God as well as man ; whereby sufferings in general are sanctified to our human nature, it having already under- gone them in the person of the Son of God, so that it can be now no disparagement at all to undergo any trouble, as ha- tred, reproach, poverty, pain, yea death itself, or any other ca- lamity whatsoever in this world, seeing the Son of God him- self, he that made the world, underwent the same while himself was in it. And therefore we need not think it below us to stoop down and take up the cross of Christ, as considering that Christ having borne it before us, hath so blessed and sanc- tified it unto us, that it is now become an honourable, an ad- vantageous, yea and a pleasant cross, to them that bear it pa- tiently, thankfully, and constantly as they ought to do, espe- cially seeing it is such a cross as leads unto a crown; and what- soever we can do or suffer for Christ here, will be fully re- compensed with glory hereafter ; and therefore instead of be- ing troubled to take up our cross, we are rather to rejoice that we have any to take up, 256 Thoughts upon Thus we see in few words what it is which our Saviour com- mands from us, when he enjoins us to deny ourselves, and take up our cross, even that we do not gratify ourselves in any thing that is ungrateful unto him, nor grudge to take up any cross, or suffer any trouble we meet with in the world for his sake, thinking nothing too dear to forsake, nor any thing too heavy to bear for him, who thought not his own life too dear, nor the cross itself too heavy to bear for us ; what now re- mains, but that knowing our Saviour's pleasure, we should all resolve to do it. There is none of us but hope and desire to be saved by him, but that we can never be, unless we ob- serve what he hath prescribed in order to our salvation : and amongst other things, we see how he hath commanded us to deny ourselves, and take up our cross ; as any of us therefore desires to be Christians indeed, so as to see Christ's face with comfort in another world, let us bethink ourselves seriously what sins we have hitherto indulged ourselves in ; T fear there are but few, if any, amongst us, but are conscious to them- selves, that they have and do still live either in the constant neglect of some known duty, or else in the frequent commis- sion of some beloved sin ; what that is, I dare not undertake to tell, but leave that to God and to men's own consciences ; only I desire them to deal faithfully with their own souls, and not suffer themselves to be fooled into a fond and vain persua- sion that they have an interest in Christ, or are truly his dis- ciples, until they deny themselves that sin, whatsoever it is, which they have hitherto indulged themselves in. And let us not think that we shall deny ourselves any real pleasure or profit, by renouncing our sins ; for what pleasure can we have in displeasing God, or profit in losing our own souls ? No, we shall gratify ourselves more than we can imagine, by denying ourselves, as much as we are able, whatsoever is of- fensive or displeasing unto God ; for we may be sure, he that came into the world on purpose to save us from evil, com- mands us nothing but for our own good, neither would he ever have obliged us to deny ourselves, if we could have been saved without it ; and as for the cross, that he was so well ac- quainted with, that he would never have imposed it upon us to take it up, but that it is indispensably necessary for us. And therefore if we be what we pretend, real and true Christians, let us manifest it to the world and to our own consciences, by denying ourselves whatsoever Christ hath denied us, and by ob- serving whatsoever he hath commanded us, even to the taking up of any cross, that he for his own sake shall suffer to be laid Self-Denial. 257 lpon us, still remembering, that self-deniaj, though it be un- pleasant, is a most necessary duty ; and the cross, though it be lever so heavy, it is but short, and hath nothing less than a jrown annexed unto it, a glorious and eternal crown, which ill those shall most certainly obtain, who deny themselves. Y 2 THOUGHTS STRIVING TO ENTER AT THE STRAIT GATE. As certainly as we are here now, it is not long but we shall all be in another world, either in a world of happiness, or else in a world of misery ; or if you will, either in heaven or in hell. For these are the two only places which all mankind, from the beginning of the world to the end of it, must live in for evermore ; some in the one, some in the other, according to their carriage and behaviour here ; and therefore it is worth the while to take a view and prospect now and then of both these places, and it will not be amiss if we do it now ; for which end, I desire the reader in his serious and composed thoughts to attend me first into the celestial mansions, above yonder glorious sun and the stars themselves, where not only the cherubins and serephins, angels and archangels, but many also of our brethren, the sons of men, at this very moment are enjoying the presence and singing forth the praises of the most high God. There are the spirits of just men made per- fect, perfect in themselves, and perfect in all their actions, perfectly free from all both sin and misery, perfectly full of all true grace and glory, all their faculties being reduced to that most perfect and excellent frame and constitution, that their understandings are continually taken up with the contempla- tions of the supreme truth, and their wills in the embracement of the chiefest good ; so that all the inclinations of their souls rest in God as their proper centre, in whom by consequence they enjoy as much as they can desire, yea, as much as they can he made capable of desiring. For all those infinite per- fections that are concentered in God himself, are now in their possession, to solace and delight themselves in the full and per- fect enjoyment of them ; by which means they are as happy as God himself can make them, insomuch that at this very mo- ment methinks we may all behold them so ravished, so trans- Thoughts upon striving, Sfc. 259 ported with their celestial joys, that it may justly strike us into ; admiration, how creatures, which once were sinful, could ever be made so pure, so perfect, and altogether so happy as they are. And could we but leave our bodies for a while below, 1 and go up to take a turn in the New Jerusalem that is above, we could not but be ravished and transported at the very sight l both of the place and inhabitants, every one being far more \ glorious than the greatest emperors of this world, with nothing less than crowns of glory on their heads, and sceptres of righte- ousness in their hands, where they think of nothing but prais- ing him, do nothing but adore and worship him ; in a word, whatsoever is agreeable to our natures, whatsoever is desirable to our souls, whatsoever can any way conduce to make men happy, is fully, perfectly, eternally enjoyed, by all and every person that is in heaven. Whereas on the other side, if we bring down our thoughts from heaven, and send them as low as hell, to consider the most deplorable estate and condition of those who inhabit the regions of darkness, them we shall find as miserable as the other are happy ; not only in that they are deprived of the vision and fruition of the chiefest good, but likewise in that they are in continual pain and torment, as great as infinite justice can adjudge them to, and infinite pow- er inflict upon them ; insomuch, that could we lay our ear to the entrance of that bottomless pit, what howlings and shriek- ings should we hear, what weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth in the midst of those infernal flames, where, as our Sa- viour himself tells us, the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched, Mark ix. 44. that is, where their consciences are al- ways gnawed and tormented with the remembrance of their former sins, and the fire of God's wrath is continually burning in them, never to be quenched or abated. For certainly, as the smiles and favour of the eternal God constitute the joys of heaven, so do his frowns and anger make up the flames of hell. To see him that made us displeased with us, to see mercy it- self to frown upon us, to see the great and all-glorious Creator of the world, the chiefest good, to look angrily upon us, and to mean himself offended at us, and incensed against us ! Me- thinks the very thoughts of it are sufficient to make the stout- est heart amongst us tremble : but then what shall we think of those poor souls that see and feel it ? what shall we think of them ? Questionless they are more miserable than we are able to think thern to be. For we cannot possibly conceive either the greatness of heaven's glory, or the sharpness of hell's tor- ments ; only this we know, and may be certain of, that what- soever is ungrateful to their minds, whatsoever is troublesome 260 Thoughts upon striving to to their thoughts, whatsoever is contrary to their desires, whatsoever is painful to their bodies, or whatsoever is or can be destructive and tormenting to their souls, that all they who are once in hell, shall fear and feel, and tli;it for ever. But this is too sad and doleful a subject to insist on long, neither should I have mentioned it, but lor our own good, and to prepare us the better, both for the understanding and im- proving the advice of our Saviour, .Matt. vii. 13, 11. Enter ye in at the ttrait gate, ifc. The meaning of which words, in brief, may be reduced to these three heads. First, That it is an easy mutter to go to bell, that place of torments we have now been describing, and by consequence that many go thither ; for the gate is \\ ide and the way is broad that Iead< th thereto. S. COndly, 'I liat it i- an hard and difficult thing to <_ r <'t to hea- ven, that | >lace ofjoys we before spake of, and by consequence that but few act thither ; For .strait is the i^atc and narrow is the way that /< )n' could never have borne him, had not lie firel made and supported her. Yet howsoever, though as God he was Father to her, yet as man she was mo- ther to him ; and therefore he honoured and obeyed both her ami him to whom >he w&s espoused. Neither did he only respect his mother whilst he Was here, but he took care of her loo when he Was going In nee. Yea. all ihe p;iins that he Suf- fered on the en s could not make him forget his duty to her that bore him ; but sceini r her standing by the cross, as him- self hung on it, he committed her to the care of his beloved disciple, who took her to his aim home, John xix. 27. Now as our Saviour did, so are we bound to carry ourselves to our earthly parents, whatsoever their temper or condition be in this world. Though God hath blessed some of us perhaps with l a than ever he blessed them, yet we must not think ourselves above them, nor be at all the less respect- ful to them. Christ, we sic was infinitely above his mother, yet as she was his mother, he was both subject and respectful io her. lie was not ashamed to own her as she stood by the . but m the view and hearing of all there present, gave his disciple a charge to take care of her; leaving us an exam- ple, that such amongst us as have parents, provide for them if they need it. as well as for our children, both while we live, and when we come to die. And as he was to his natural, so was he to his civil parents, the magistrates under which he lived, submissive and faithful; for though as lie v. as God he was infinitely above them in heaven, yet as he was man he was below them on earth, having com- mitted all civil power into their hands, without reserving any at all for himself. So that though they received their commis- sion from him, yet now himself could not act without receiving a commission from them. And therefore having no commis- sion from them to do it, he would not entrench so much upon imitation of Christ, 279 their privilege and power, as to determine the controversy be- twixt the two brethren contending about their inheritance ; Man, saith he, who made me a judge or a divider orer you/ Luke xii. 1 4. And to shew his submission to the civil magistrate as highly as possibly he could, rather than offend them, he wrought a miracle to pay the tax which they had charged upon him, Matt. xvii. 27. And when the officers were sent to take him, though he had more than twelve legions of angels at his service to have fought for him if he had pleased, yet he would not employ them, nor suffer his own disciples to make any re- sistance, Matt. xxvi. 52, 53. And though some of late days, who called themselves Christians, have acted quite contrary to our blessed Saviour in this particular, I hope better things of my readers, even that they will behave themselves more like to Christ, who though he was the supreme Governor of the world, yet would not resist, but submitted to the civil power, which himself had entrusted men withal. Moreover, although whilst lie was here, he was really not only the best but greatest man upon earth, yet he carried him- self to others with that meekness, humility, and respect, as if lie had been the least ; as lie never admired anv man for his riches, so neither did lie despise any man i<>r Ins poverty : the poor man and rich were all alike to him. lie was as lowly and respectful to the lowest as he was to the highest that he conversed with. lie all'eeted no titles of honour, nor gaped after popular air, but submitted himself to the meanest vices that he could for the good of others, even to the washing of his own disciples' feet, and all to teach us that we can never think too lowly of ourselves, nor do any thing that is beneath us ; propounding himself as our example, especially in this particular, Learn of me, saith he, for I am meek and lowly in heart, Matt. xi. 29. His humility also was the more remarkable, in that his bounty and goodness to others was so great, for he went about doing good, Acts x. 38. Wheresoever you read he was, you stiil read of some good work or other which he did there. What- soever company he conversed with, they still went better from him than they came unto him, if they came out of a good end. By him, as himself said, the blind received their sight, and the lame walked, the lepers were cleansed, and the deaf heard, the dead were raised up, and the poor had the Gospel preached unto them, Matt. xi. 5. Yea, it is observable, that we never read of any person whatsoever that came unto him, desiring any real kindness or favour of him, but he still received it, and that whether he was friend or foe. For indeed, though 280 Thoughts upon the he had many inveterate and implacable enemies in the world, yet he bare no malice against them, but expressed as much love and favour to them as to his greatest friends. Insomuch that when they had gotten him upon the cross, and fastened his hands and feet unto it, in the midst of all the pain and tor- ment which they put him to, he still prayed for them, Luke xxiii. 34. Oh ! how happy, how blessed a people should we be, could we but follow our blessed Saviour in this particular! How well would it be with us, could we but be thus good and lov- ing to one another, as Christ was to all, even his most bitter enemies ! We may assure ourselves it is not only our misery, but our sin too, unless we be so. And our sin will be the greater, now we know our Master's pleasure, unless we do it. And therefore let all such amongst us, as desire to carry our- selves as Christ himself did, and as becometh his disciples in the world, begin here. Ee submissive and obedient to our parents and governors, humble in our own sight, despise none, but be charitable, lov- ing, and good to all. By this shall all men know that we are Christ's disciples indeed. Having thus seen our Saviour's carriage towards men, we shall now consider his piety and devotion towards God, not as if it was possible for me to express the excellency and perfec- tion of those religious acts which he performed continually within his soul to God, every one of his faculties being as en- tire in itself, and as perfect in its acts, as it was first made or designed to be. There was no darkness, nor so much as gloominess in his mind, no error or mistake in his judgment, no bribery or corruption in his conscience, no obstinacy or perverseness in his will, no irregularity nor disorder in his af- fections, no spot, no blot, no blemish, not the least imperfec- tion or infirmity in his whole soul. And therefore, even whilst Jiis body was on earth, his head and heart were still in heaven. For he never troubled his head, nor so much as concerned him- self about any thing here below, any farther than to do all the good he could, his thoughts being wholly taken up with con- sidering how to advance God's glory and man's eternal hap- piness. And as for his heart, that was the altar on which the sacred fire of divine love was always burning, the flames whereof continually ascended up to heaven, being accompa- nied with the most ardent and fervent desires of, and delight in, the chiefest good. But it must not be expected that I should give an exact de- scription of that eminent and most perfect holiness which our imitation of Christ. 281 blessed Saviour was inwardly adorned with, and continually employed in ; which I am as unable to express, as desirous to imitate. But howsoever, I shall endeavour to mind the reader in general of such acts of piety and devotion, which are par- ticularly recorded, on purpose for our imitation. First therefore, it is observed of our Saviour, that from a child he increased in wisdom, as he did in stature, Luke ii. 52. Where by wisdom we are to understand the knowledge of God, and of divine things. For our Saviour having taken our nature into his person, with all its frailties and infirmities, as it is a created being, he did not in that nature presently know all things which were to be known. It is true, as God, he then knew all things as well as be had from all eternity. But we are now speaking of him, as a man, like one of us in all things, except sin. But we continue some considerable time after we are born before we know any thing, or come to the use of our reasons ; the rational soul not being able to exert or manifest itself, until the natural phlegm or radical moisture of the body, which in infants is predominant, be so digested, that the body be rightly qualified, and its organs lilted for the soul to work upon and to make use of. And though our Saviour questionless came to the use of his reason, as man, far sooner than we are wont to do, yet we must not think that he knew all things as soon a^lie was born ; for that the nature he assumed was not capable of ; neither could he then be said, as he is, to increase in wisdom, for where there is perfection there can be no in- crease. But here, before we proceed farther, it will be necessary to answer an objection which some may make against this. For if our Saviour, as man, knew not all things, then he was not perfect, nor absolutely free from sin, ignorance itself being a sin. To this I have these things to answer ; first, it is no sin for a creature to be ignorant of some things, because it. is impos- sible for a creature to know all things ; for to be omniscient is God's prerogative, neither is a creature capable o( if, because he is but finite ; whereas the knowledge of all things, or om- niscience, is itself an infinite act, and therefore to be perform- ed only by an infinite Being. Hence it is that no creature in the world ever was or ever could be made omniscient ; but there are many things which Adam in his integrity, and the very angels themselves, are ignorant of; as our Saviour, speaking of the day of judgment, saith, Of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father, Mark xiii. 32. But the angels are never the less perfect because they know not this. Nay, it is A a 2 282 Thoughts upon the observable, that the Son himself, as man, knew it not, neither, saith he, the Son, but the Father ; and if he knew it not then, much less was it necessary for him to know it when a child. Secondly, As to be ignorant of some things is no sin, so neither is any ignorance at all sin, but that whereby a man is ignorant of what he is bound to know, for all sin is the trans- gression of a law. And therefore, if there be no law obliging me to know such or such things, I do not sin by being igno- rant of them, for I transgress no law. Now though all men are bound by the law of God to know him, and their duty to him, yet infants, so long as infants, are not, neither can be ob- noxious or subject to that law, they being in a natural incapa- city, yea impossibility to perform it, but as they become by de- grees capable of knowing any thing, they are obliged ques- tionless to know him first, from whom they receive their knowledge. And thus it was that our blessed Saviour perfectly fulfilled the law of God, in that although he might still continue igno- rant of many things ; yet howsoever he all along knew all that he was bound to know, and as he grew by degrees more and more capable of knowing any thing, so did he increase still more in true wisdom, or in the knowledge of God ; so that by that time he was twelve years old, he was able to dispute with the great doctors and learned rabbies amongst the Jews ; and after that as he grew in stature, so did he grow in wisdom too, and in favour both with God and man. And verily, although we did not follow our blessed Saviour in this particular when we were children, we ought howsoever to endeavour it now we are men and women, even to grow in wisdom, and every day add something to our spiritual stature, so as to let never a day pass over our heads, without being bet- ter acquainted with God's goodness to us, or our duty to him. And by this example of our Saviour's growing in wisdom when a child, we should also learn to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and not strive so much to make them rich as to use all means to make them wise and good, that they may do as their Saviour did, even grow in wisdom and in stature, and in the favour both of God and man. And as our Saviour grew in wisdom when a child, so did he use and manifest it when he came to be a man, by devoting himself wholly unto the service of the living God, and to the exercise of all true grace and virtue, wherein his blessed soul was so much taken up, that he had neither time nor heart to mind those toys and trifles which silly mortals upon earth are so much apt to dote on. It is true all the world was his, but imitation of Christ. %Q3 he had given it all away to others, not reserving for himself so much as an house to put his head in, Matt. viii. 20. And what money he had hoarded up, you may gather from his working a miracle to pay his tribute, or poll money, which came not to much above a shilling. Indeed he came into the world and went out again, without ever taking any notice of any plea- sures, honours, or riches in it, as if there had been no such thing here, as really there was not, nor ever will be ; all the pomp and glory of this deceitful world having no other being or existence, but only in our distempered fancies and imagi- nations ; and therefore our Saviour, whose fancy was sound, and his imagination untainted, looked upon all the world and the glory of it as not worthy to be looked upon, seeing no- thing in it wherefore it should be desired. And therefore in- stead of spending his time in the childish pursuit of clouds and shadows, he made the service of God not only his business, but his recreation too, his food as well as work. It is my meat, saith he, to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work, John iv. 34. This was all the riches, honours and plea- sures, which he sought for in the world, even to do the will of him that sent him hither, and to finish the work which he came about ; and so he did before he went away ; Father, I have glorified thee on the earth, I have finished the work which thou sentest me to do, John xvii. 4. Tf therefore we would be Christ's disciples, so as to follow him, we see what we must do, and how we must behave and cany ourselves whilst we are here below ; we must not spend our time, nor throw away our pre- cious and short-lived days upon the trifles and impertinencies of this transient world, as if we came hither for nothing else but to rake and scrape up a little dust and dirt together, or to wallow ourselves like swine in the mire of carnal pleasures and delights. No, we may assure ourselves we have greater things to do, and far more noble designs to carry on, whilst we con- tinue in this vale of tears, even to work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and to make our calling and election sure, and to serve God here, so as to enjoy him for ever. This is the work we came about, and which we must not only do, but do it too with pleasure and delight, and never leave until we have accomplished it ; we must make it our only pleasure to please God, account it our only honour to honour him, and esteem his love and favour to be the only wealth and riches that we can enjoy ; we must think ourselves no farther happy, than we find ourselves to be truly holy, and therefore devote our lives wholly to him, in whom we live. This is to live as Christ lived, and by consequence as Christians ought to do. 284 Thoughts upon the I might here instance in several other acts of piety and de- votion, which our Saviour was not only eminent for, but continually exercised himself in, as his humble and perfect submission and resignation of his own will to God's, his most ardent love unto him, and zeal for him, as also his firm and steadfast trust and confidence on him ; so that nothing could ever disquiet or discompose his mind ; but still his heart was fixed, trusting in the Lord. In all which, it is both our duty and interest to follow him, our happiness as well as holiness consisting in our dependence upon God, and inclinations to him. But we should do well to observe withal, that our Saviour performed external as well as inward worship and devotion unto God ; particularly we often find him praising God, and praying unto him, and that with his eyes lift up to heaven in a most humble and reverential posture, John xvii. 1 . Luke xxii. 41. Matt. xxvi. 39. yea, when he was to choose and or- dain some of his disciples to the work of the ministry, and to succeed him after his departure, under the name of apostles, he spent the night before in prayer to God, Luke vi. 12. I confess the words there used, ev tjj wgoTev%vi roZ GeoZ, will scarce admit of that interpretation or exposition, signifying rather in a strict sense, that he went into a place appointed for prayer, which was usually called a place of prayer, which kind of places were very frequent in Judaea, and some of them continued till Epiphanius's time, as himself asserts ; and they were only plots of ground inclosed with a wall, and open above, and were ordinarily, if not always, upon mountains, whither the Jews used to resort to pray together in great multitudes. And this seems to be the proper meaning of these words, where our Saviour is said to go into a mountain, and to con- tinue all night, h Ty -zs-go-evxy roZ QsoZ, in one of those proseu- cha's of God, a place dedicated to his service. Yet howsoever, we cannot suppose but that he went thither, to do what the place whither he went was designed for, even to pray. And by consequence, that seeing he stayed there all night, ques- tionless he spent the whole night in prayer and meditation, in order to so great a work as the ordaining his apostles was. Here therefore was another copy which our Master Christ hath set us to write after, a lesson that all must learn and prac- tise that would be his disciples. Though we ordinarily con- verse with nothing but dirt and clay, and with our fellow worms on earth, yet as Christ did, so should we often retire from the tumults and bustles of the world, to converse with him that made us ; both to praise him for the mercies we have received, imitation of Christ. 285 and to pray unto him for what we want ; only we shall do well jto have a care that we do not perform so solemn a duty as this is, after a careless and perfunctory manner, because none sees us but God ; for his seeing us is infinitely more than if all the world besides should see us, and we must still remember, that prayer is the greatest work that a creature can be engaged in, and therefore to be performed with the greatest seriousness, reverence, and earnestness that possibly we can raise up our spirits to. And besides our daily devotions which we owe, land ought to pay to God whensoever we set upon any great and weighty business, we must be sure to follow our Saviour's steps, in setting some time apart, proportionably to the busi- ness we undertake, wherein to ask God's counsel, and desire his direction and blessing in the most serious and solemn man- ner that possibly we can. I need not tell the reader what bene- fit we shall receive by this means ; none of us that shall try it but will soon find it by experience. I shall observe only one thing more concerning our Sa- viour's devotion, and that is, that although he took all occa- sions to instruct or admonish his disciples or followers, whether in the fields or upon the mountains, or in private houses, even wheresoever he could find an opportunity to do it ; yet upon the sabbath-days he always frequented the public worship of God ; he went into the synagogues, places appointed for pub- lic prayers, and reading and hearing of the word, a thing which I fear many amongst us do not think of, or at least not rightly consider it ; for if they did, they would not dare, me- thinks, to walk so directly contrary to our blessed Saviour in this particular ; for St. Luke tells us, that when he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, as his custom teas, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath-day, Luke iv. 16. From whence none of us but may easily observe, that our Saviour did not go into a synagogue, or church, by the by, to see what they were doing there ; neither did he happen to go in by chance upon the sabbath-day, but it was his custom and constant practice to do so, even to go each sabbath-day to the public ordinance, there to join with the congregation in per- forming their public service and devotions to Almighty God. And here I must take leave to say, that was there no other law, nor any other obligations amongst us (as there be many) to frequent the public worship of God, this practice and ex- ample of our blessed Saviour doth sufficiently and effectually oblige us all to a constant attendance upon the public ordi- nance. For as we are Christians, and profess ourselves to be his disciples, we are all bound to follow him ; he commands 286 Thoughts upon the us here and elsewhere to it; and certainly there is nothing that we can be obliged to follow him in, more than in the manner of his worshipping God. And therefore, whosoever out of any humour, fancy, or slothfulness, shall presume to neglect, the public worship of God, he doth not only act contrary unto Christ's example, but transgresses also his command, that en-i joins him to follow that example. What they who are guilty of this will have to answer for themselves, when they come to stand before Christ's tribunal, I know not. But this [ know, that all those who profess themselves to be Christians, should follow Christ in all things that they can, and by consequence in this particular, and that they sin who do not. But in whatsoever other things we may fail, I know the generality of us do herein follow our Saviour's steps, that we are usually present at the public worship of God ; but then I hope this is not all that we follow him in, but that as we follow him to the public ordinances, so we do likewise in our private devotions, yea, and in our behaviour both to God and man. Which that we may the better do, I have endeavoured to show wherein especially we ought to follow Christ, in being obedient to our parents, subject to our governors, lowly to the lowest, loving and charitable unto all ; as also, in growing in wisdom and the knowledge of God, in contemning the world, in de- voting ourselves wholly to the service of God, in resigning our wills to his, in loving of him, in trusting on him above all things else, in daily praying unto God, and frequenting his public ordinances ; to which I may also add, in denying our- selves, and taking up our crosses, which himself hath done | before us, as well as required of us. What now remains, but that seeing the steps wherein our Saviour walked, we should all resolve to walk together in them. And I hope that I need not use arguments to persuade any to it ; it is enough one would think, that Christ himself, whose name we bear, expects and commands it from us. And in that the sum of all our religion consisteth in obeying and fol- lowing Christ, the circumstances of whose life are recorded on purpose that we may imitate him unto the utmost of our power, not only in the matter but manner of our actions, even in the circumstances as well as in the substance of them. But this I dare say we all both know and believe, even that it is our duty to follow Christ ; and therefore it is a sad, a dis- mal thing to consider, that amongst them that know it, there are so few that do it : but even those that go under the name of Christians themselves, do more generally follow the beasts of the field, or the very fiends of hell, rather than Christ our imitation of Christ. 287 '(Saviour. For all covetous worldings that look no higher than jarth, and all luxurious epicures that labour after no other but jensual pleasures, whom do they imitate but the beasts that ferish. And as for the proud and arrogant, the deceitful and nalicious, seducers of their brethren, and oppressors of their Neighbours, all backbiters, and false-accusers, all deriders of teligion, and apostates from it, they are all of their father the levil, and his works they do. And if all such persons should )e taken from amongst us, how few would be left behind that bllow Christ ? very few indeed ! but I hope there would be ome. And oh that all who read this would be in the number f them, even that they would all from this day forward resolve o come as near our blessed Saviour in all their actions both o God and man, as possibly they can; which if we once id, what holy, what happy lives should we then lead ? how should we then antedate both the work and joys of heaven ? and how certain should we be to be there ere long, where Christ that is the pattern of our lives here, will be the portion of our souls for ever. Thus I have shown what Christ requires of those who would be his disciples, enjoining them to deny themselves, take up jtheir cross, and follow him. And now I have done my duty in explaining these words, it is all my readers as well as mine to practise them, which I heartily wish we would all resolve to do ; and I must say, it highly concerns us all to do so ; for we can never be saved but by Christ, nor by him unless we be his disciples ; neither can we be his disciples, unless we do what here is required of us. And therefore if we care not whether we be saved or no, we may think no more of these things, nor trouble our heads about them ; but if we really desire to come to heaven, let us remember he, who alone can bring us thither, hath told us, that we must deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. THOUGHTS OUR CALL. AND ELECTION. MANY are called, (saith our Saviour, Matt. xxii. 14.) but few chosen. Oh dreadful sentence, who is able to hear it with- out trembling and astonishment ! If he had said, that of all the men that are born into the world there are but few saved, this would not have struck such a fear and horror into us ; for we might still hope, that though Turks, Jews, and Heathens, which are far the greatest part of the world, should all perish, yet we few in comparison of them, who are baptized into his name, who profess his Gospel, who enjoy his ordinances, who are ad- mitted to his sacraments, that all we who are called to him, might be chosen and saved by him ; but that of those very persons who are called, there are but few chosen : what a sharp and terrible sentence is this ! who can bear it ? especially con- sidering by whom it was pronounced, even by Christ himself. If a mere man had spoken it, we might hope it was but an human error ; if an angel had uttered it, we might think it possible he might be mistaken ; but Christ himself, the eternal Son of God, who is truth and infallibility itself, that he should assert it, that he who laid down his own life to redeem ours, that he who came into the world on purpose to call and save us, that he in whom alone it is possible for us to be chosen to salvation, that he should say, Many are called, but few chosen. This is an hard saying indeed, which may justly make our ears to tingle, and our hearts to tremble at the hearing of it. And jy T et we see our Saviour here expressly saith it, and not only here neither, but again, Matt. xx. 16. Whence we may gather, that it is a thing he would have us often think of, and a matter of more than ordinary importance, in that he did not think it enough, to tell us of it at once, but he repeated it in the same words again, that we might be sure to remember it, and take especial notice of it, that many are called, but few chosen. call and election. 289 In which words, that we may understand our Saviour's meaning aright, we must first consider the occasion of them in this place, which in brief was this. Our Saviour, according to the custom that obtained in those days amongst the wise men of the east, delighting to use parables, thereby to repre- sent his heavenly doctrine more clearly to the understanding of his hearers, in this chapter compares the kingdom of God to a certain king that made a marriage for his son, and sent his servants to call them that were bidden to the ivedding, ver. 2, 3. Where, by the king, he means the eternal God, the universal Monarch of the world, who intending to make a marriage be- twixt his son and the church, styled the spouse of Christ, he first sent to his guests before bidden, even the Jews, the seed of Abraham his friend, and at that time his peculiar people. But they not hearkening to the first invitation, he sends to them again, ver. 4. Yet they still made light of it, having it seems, as we most have, other business to mind, and therefore went their way, some to their farms, others to their merchandize, ver. 5. By which our Saviour intimates, that one great reason why men accept not of the overtures of grace made unto them in the Gospel, is because their minds are taken up with the cares of this world, looking upon their farms, their trades, and merchandize, as things of greater moment than heaven and eternal glory. Yea, some of them took the servants which were sent to invite them, and treated them spitefully and slew them, ver. 6. Why, what is the matter ? what injury have the servants, the prophets, the apostles, or the ministers of Christ done them ? What, do they come to oppress them, to take their estates from them ? To disgrace, or bring them into bond- age ? No, they only come to invite them to a marriage feast, to tender them the highest comforts and refreshments imaginable both for their souls and bodies. And is this all the recompence they give them for their kindness, not only to refuse it, but to abuse them that bring it ? Well might this glorious King be angry and incensed at such an affront offered him as this was ; and therefore he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those mur- derers, and burnt up their city, ver. 7. as we all know he did to the murdering Jews, who soon after this were destroyed, and their royal city Jerusalem burnt. But now the feast is prepared, shall there be none to eat it ? Yes, for seeing they who were first bidden were not worthy to partake of his dain- ties, he orders his servants to go into the high-ways, and bid as many as they could find to the marriage, ver. 8, 9. The Jews having refused the Gospel, God sends to invite the Gentiles to it, who hitherto had been reckoned aliens to the commonwealth B b 290 Thoughts upon our of Israel, strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope* and without God in the world, Eph. ii. 12. But now they also are bidden to the wedding, they are called to Christ, and in- vited to partake of all the privileges of the Gospel. For the servants having received the command, ivent out into the high- way, even into all the bye-places and corners of the world, and gathered together all as many as they found, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guests, ver. 10. But amongst these too, when the king came to see his guests, he saw one that had not on a wedding garment, ver. 11. Under which one are represented all of the same kind, who have not on their wedding garment, that is, who walk not worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, not being clothed with humility, faith, and other graces suitable for a Christian. All which, notwithstanding they were invited, yea and came in too upon their invitation, yet they are cast out again into utter darkness, Matt. xxii. 12, 13. And then he adds, for many are called, but few chosen ; as if he should have said, The Jews were called, but would not come ; the Gentiles are called, they come, but some of them are cast out again ; so that of the many which are called, there are but few chosen. For many are called, but few chosen. Which short, but pithy saying, of our blessed Saviour, that we may rightly understand, we shall first consider the former part of it, many are called, and then the latter, but few chosen. That we may apprehend the full meaning of the first part of this proposition, many are called, there are three things to be considered. 1. What is here meant by being called. 2. How men are called. 3. How it appears that many are called. As for the first, what we are here to understand by being called. We must know that this is meant only of God's voice to mankind, making known his will and pleasure to them, call- ing upon them to act accordingly ; and so inviting them to his service here, and to the enjoyment of his presence hereafter. But to explain the nature of it more particularly, we must consider the terminus a quo, and the terminus ad quod, what it is God calls us from, and what it is he calls us to ; both whicli we shall speak to, jointly or together. 1. He calls us from darkness to light, from error and igno- rance, to truth and knowledge : as he made us rational and knowing creatures at first, so he would have us to be again, so as to understand and know him that made us, and that 'gave us the power of understanding and knowing ; and not employ call and election. 291 the little knowledge we have only about the affairs of our bo- dies, our trades, and callings in this world, nor yet in learning arts and sciences only, but principally about the concerns of our immortal souls, that we may know him that is the true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent ; without which all our other knowledge will avail us nothing. We are still in the dark, and know not whither Ave are going ; out of which dark, and by consequence, uncomfortable as well as dangerous es- tate, God of his infinite mercy is pleased to call us, that we should shew forth the praises of him who hath called us out of darkness into his marvellous light, 1 Pet. ii. 2. God calls us from superstition and idolatry, to serve and worship him. For we are called to turn from idols, to serve the living and true God, 1 Thes. i. 9. Thus he called Abra- ham out of Chaldea, and his posterity the Israelites out of Egypt, places of idolatry, that they might serve and worship him, and him alone. Thus he called our ancestors of this na- tion out of their heathenish superstitions, to the knowledge and worship of himself, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. And thus he called upon us to fee from idolatry, 1 Cor. x. 14. not only from the heathenish or popish, but from all idolatry what- soever, and by consequence from covetousness, which God himself tells us in plain terms is idolatry, Col. iii. 5. And so indeed is our allowing ourselves in any known sin whatsoever; for we idolize it by setting it up in our hearts and affections, instead of God ; yea, and bow down to it, and serve it, though not in our bodies yet in our souls, which is the highest kind of idolatry which God calls us from. 3. Hence he also calls us from all manner of sin and pro- faneness, to holiness and piety, both in our affections and ac- tions. For as the apostle saith, God hath not called us to un- cleanness, but to holiness, 1 Thess. iv. 7. Where by unclean- ness he means all manner of lusts and corruptions, which defile the soul, and make it unclean and impure in the sight of God. These God doth not call us to, but from : it is holiness and universal righteousness that he calls us to, and commands us to follow. This is the great thing that Christ in his Gospel calls for ; for the grace of God, which is in his Gospel, hath now appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and god- ly in this present world, Tit. ii. 11, 12. He now commandeth all men every where to repent, and turn to God, Acts xvii. 30. Hence he is said to have called us with an holy calling, 2 Tim. i. 9. And as he who hath called us is holy, so ought we to be holy in 'all manner of conversation, 1 Pet. i. 15. Thus 292 Thoughts upon our therefore we all are called to be an holy people, a people zeal- ous of good works, a people devoted wholly to the service of the living God. In brief, we are called to be saints, a people consecrated unto God ; and therefore, as every vessel in the temple was holy, so we being called to be the temples of the Holy Ghost, every thing in us should he holy ; our thoughts should be holy, our affections holy, our words holy, our desires holy ; every faculty of our souls, every member of our bodies, and every action of our lives, should be holy ; every thing with- in us, every thing about us, every thing that comes from us, should be holy ; and all because our calling is holy ; and we ought to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we are called, Eph. iv. 1. 4. God calls us from carnal and temporal things, to mind heaven and eternal glory. He sees and observes how eager we are in prosecuting of this world's vanities, and therefore calls upon us to leave doting upon such transitory and unsatisfying trifles, and to mind the things that belong to our everlasting peace ; not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we may prove lvhat is that good, that acceptable, and perfect will of God, Rom. xii. 2. To set our affections upon things above, and not upon things that are upon earth, Col. iii. 2. To seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness in the first place, Matt. vi. 33. Hence it is styled an heavenly calling, Heb. iii. 1 . and aw high calling, Phil. iii. 14. because we are called by it to look after high and heavenly things. He that made us hath so much kindness for us, that it pities him to see us moil and toil, and spend our strength and labour, about such low and pitiful, such imperti- nent and unnecessary things, which himself knows can never satisfy us, and therefore he calls and invites us to himself, and to the enjoyment of his own perfections, which are able to fill and satiate our immortal souls. 5. Hence, lastly, we are called from misery and danger, to the state of happiness and felicity. As he called Lot out of Sodom, when fire and brimstone was ready to fall upon it, so he calls us from the world and sin, because otherwise wrath and fury will fall upon our heads. Or, as he called Noah into the ark, to preserve him from the overflowing flood, so he calls us into his service, and to the faith of his Son, that so we may escape that flood of misery, which will suddenly drown the im- penitent and unbelieving world. And therefore we must not think that he calls and invites us to him, because he stands in need of us, or wants our service ; no, it is not because he can- not be happy without us, but because we cannot be happy with- call and election. 292 out him, nor in him neither unless we come unto him. This is the only reason why he calls us so earnestly to him ; For as I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of tlie wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn ye, turn ye, for why tvill ye die, O house of Is?-ael! Ezek. xxxiii. 1 1 . Let us not stand therefore pausing upon it, and considering whether we shall hearken to God's call or no, nor say severally within ourselves, How shall I part with my pro- fits ? How shall I deny myself the enjoyment of my sensual pleasures 1 How shall I forsake my darling and beloved sins ? But rather say, How shall I abide the judgment of the great God ? How shall I escape, if I neglect so great salvation as I am now called and invited to ? For we may assure ourselves, this is the great and only end why God calls so pathetically upon us to come unto him, that so we may be delivered from his wrath, and enjoy his love and favour for ever. Thus we see what it is that God calls mankind both from and to ; he calls them from darkness to light, from idolatry to true religion, from sin to holiness, from earth to heaven, and from the deepest misery to the highest happiness that they are capable of. The next thing to be considered is, how God is pleased to call us ; for which we must know, that, 1. He hath vouchsafed to call some with his own mouth, as I may so speak, even by immediate revelations from himself. Thus he called Abraham and Moses, and several of the patri- archs of the Old Testament. And thus he called Paul, Christ himself calling from heaven to him, Saul, Saul, ivhy persecutest thou me? Acts ix. 4. And it is observable, that whosoever were thus called, they always obeyed. But this is not the call- ing here spoken of. 2. God calls all mankind by his works and providences. All the creatures in the world are as so many tongues deolaring the wisdom, power, goodness, and glory of God unto us, and so call upon us to praise, honour, and obey him. And all his providences have their several and distinct voices ; his mercies bespeak our affections, and his judgments our fear. Hear ye, saith he, the rod, and ivho hath appointed it, Mic. vi. 9. The rod, it seems, hath a voice, which we are bound to hear. But though many, yea, all the world, be called this way, yet neither is this the calling our Saviour means, when he saith, many are called, but few chosen. 3. Lastly, Therefore God hath called many by the ministry of his word, and of his servants the prophets, the apostles and their successors declaring it, and explaining it to them. Thus God spake to our fathers by the prophets, rising up early and T4 K 9 294 Thoughts upon our sending them to call sinners to repentance, by shewing them their sins, and the dangerous consequences of them. As when he sent his prophet Isaiah, he bids him cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice as a trumpet, and shew my people their trans- gressions, and the house of Jacob their sins, Isaiah, lviii. 1 . And they being convinced of and humbled for their sins, then he sent his prophets to invite them to accept of grace and par- don from him, saying, in the language of the same prophet, Ho ! every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat ; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and without price, Isaiah, v. 1,2, 3. And God having thus at sundry times and in divers manners spoken in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by ivhom also he made the worlds, Heb. i. 1,2. who therefore said with his own mouth, that he came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Matt. ix. 13. Hence as soon as ever he entered upon his ministry, he called to mankind, saying, Repent, and believe the Gospel, Mark i, 15. and Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, Matt. xi. 28. And when he was to depart hence, he left order with his apostles, to go and call all nations, and teach them what he had commanded, promising that himself would be with them to the end of the world, Matt, xxviii. 1 9, 20, By virtue therefore of this commission, not only the apostles themselves, but all succeeding ministers in all ages to the end of the world, are sent to call mankind to embrace the Gospel, and to ac- cept of the terms propounded in it. So that when we his ministers preach unto them, or call upon them to repent and turn to God, they must not think we come in our own name ; for, as the apostle tells the Corinthians, We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead be ye reconciled to God. 2 Cor. v. 20. Hence in Scripture we are called also heralds, and our office is to proclaim as heralds, the will and pleasure of Almighty God unto mankind, to offer peace and pardon to all that have rebelled against our Lord and master the King of heaven, if they will now come in, and submit themselves unto him ; if not, in a most solemn and dreadful manner, to denounce his wrath and heavy displeasure against them. So that as the angel was sent to call Lot out of Sodom, when the Lord was going to rain fire and brimstone from heaven upon it ; so God being ready every moment to shower down his fury and vengeance upon the impenitent and unbelieving world, he sends us to call call and election. 295 ness to light, from the power of Satan unto God, Acts xxvi. 18. and to invite them to his court, to live with him and be happy for ever. And that this is the proper meaning of our blessed Saviour, in this place, where he saith, many are called, is plain from the parable whereon these words are grounded ; where the king is said to have sent his servants to call the guests which were bidden to the marriage feast, and put words into their mouths, telling them what to say, verse 4, as he hath given us also in- structions how to call and invite mankind in his holy word. And when of the many which were called, there would but few come ; hence our Saviour uttered this expression, that many are called, but few chosen. From whence it is clear and obvious, that our Saviour means not such as were called immediately from God himself, for they were but few ; nor yet such as are called by the works of creation and providence, for so not many only, but all are called ; but he means such as are called by his word, and by his servants and ministers reading, preaching, and ex- plaining of it. And verily that many have been and still are called in this sense, which is the next thing I promised to shew, I need not stand long to prove. For our Saviour having commanded his apostles to go and call all nations to his faith, which is the pro- per meaning of that place, Matt, xxviii. 19. it cannot be de- nied but that the apostles presently dispersed themselves, and preached the Gospel to all nations ; which they did so effectu- ally, that in a few years after, even in St. Paul's time, the mys- tery of the Gospel was made known to all nations for the obedi- ence of faith, Rom. xvi. 26. and in St. John's time, some were redeemed out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and na- tion, Rev. vii. 9. Yea, so mightily grew the word of God and prevailed, that the ancients compared it to lightning, that im- mediately dispersed itself, and was seen all the world over. So that in less than two hundred years, ab ortu solis ad occasum lex Christiana suscepta est, the Christian religion was received all the world over from east to west, as Lactantius who then lived asserts. From which time therefore, how many thousands of millions of souls have been called to the faith of Christ, by the preaching of his Gospel. And not to speak of other na- tions, how soon did the Sun of righteousness arise upon these western parts of the world, and particularly upon this nation, wherein we dwell ; several of Christ's own disciples pnd apos- tles, as Simon Peter, Simon Zelotes, James the son of Zebe- dee, Joseph of Arimathea, Aristobolus, and St. Paul himself, being all recorded by ecclesiastical writers, to have preached 296 Thoughts upon our the Gospel to this nation. Be sure in less than two hundred years the Christian faith was here received, Tertullian himself saying expressly, Britannorum inaccessa Romanis loca, Christo subdita, the Romans could scarcely come at Britanny, but Christ hath conquered it. And soon after him, Arnobius saith that the Gospel nee ipsos Indos latuit a parte orientis, nee ipsos Britannos a parte occidentis, was not concealed either from the Indians in the eastern part of the world, nor from the Britons themselves in the west. And since the Gospel was first here planted, how many have been called by it to the faith of Christ? Yea, through the mercy of the most high God, how many at this moment are called all the nation over? And to come still closer to ourselves, all that read this have I doubt not been often called heretofore, and now are called again. For in the name of the most high God, and of his Son Christ, I pray and beseech you all as strangers and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, 1 Peter ii. 11. to re- pent of your sins, and believe the Gospel. I call and invite you also to accept the offers of grace and pardon which are made you in Jesus Christ, to sit down with him at his own ta- ble, and feed by faith upon his body and blood, that so you may partake of the merits of his death and passion, and so live with him for evermore. Thus you are all called, but I fear there are but few chosen. Having thus explained and proved the first part of this pro- position, that many are called, we must now consider the mean- ing, truth, and reasons of the other part of it, but few are cho- sen. For many are called, but few chosen ; that is, there are but few which are so approved of by God, as to be elected and chosen from the other part of the world, to inherit eternal life. That this is the main drift and scope of our blessed Saviour in these words, is plain from the foregoing parable, which gave him occasion to pronounce them. For there all that were first called refused to come to the marriage feast which they were invited to ; and of them which came, some had not on their wedding garment ; that is, although they came in to the out- ward profession of the Gospel, yet did not walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they were called, and therefore they like- wise were excluded ; upon which our Saviour adds these words, For many are called, but few chosen. From whence it is easy to observe his meaning in general to be only this, that although,.many are called to partake of the privileges and graces of his Gospel, yet seeing of those who were called, many would not come at all ; and of those who come, many do not come so as the Gospel requires of them, with their wed- call and election. 297 ding garment on ; hence of the many who are called, there are but few chosen to partake of the marriage feast, that is, of the glorious promises made in the Gospel, to those that come aright unto it. Few, not absolutely in themselves considered, but few comparatively in respect of the many which are not cho- sen ; or rather few in comparison of the many which are called. For if we consider them absolutely in themselves, they are certainly very many ; our Saviour himself saith, many shall come from the east and icest, and shall sit down with Abraham, 8fc. Matt. viii. 11. And in the Revelations you read of many thousands that were sealed of every tribe, yea, there was a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white, and palms in their hands, Rev. vii. 9. Insomuch that for all the numberless num- ber of fallen or apostatized angels, St. Austin was of opinion, that there will be as many men saved, as there are angels damned, or rather more. For, saith he, upon the fall of the angels and men, God determined to gather together by his in- finite grace so many out of the mortal progeny, ut inde sup- pleat et instauret partem qu be honest and good men, but -till retain sonic secret sin or other which will as certainly keep them out of hn aven aa the most notorious or scandalous crime that is: such as OUf Saviour compare- to whited sepul- chres, Which outwardly appear ver\ beautiful, hut ore within full <>f (had men's bones, and of all uncleeum&ss, Matt. .wiii. 27. Such whose outward conversation are altogether un- blameable ; bo that no man can charge them with theft, per- jury, drunkenness, uncleanness, and the like ; bul in the mean while, they art malicious, uncharitable, censorious, prOUO, Belf-conceited, disobedii nt to parents or magistrates, covetous, ambitious, and the like* And so though they be free from those Bins which others are guilty of, yet they are guilty of as bad sins, which the others maj hie iV« « d from. To winch also maj be added all Buch as make indeed a irreat show of piety, and seem mighty zealous for the little circumstances of reli- gion, but neglect the \\< ightiei matters of the law, the love of (j'od. mercy, justice and the like. But for all the vain hopes and high conceits thai Buch persons may have of themselves, they are fir from b< ing Buch as the Gospel requires them, and by consequence from the number of the chosen here spoken of. Poi the Pharisees wen such persons as these, and yet our Saviour himself tells us, That t our righteousness exceed \ghteousm m of th scribes and Pharisees, we shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of God, Matt v. 20. And when he t. lis us elsewh< re, Thai except we n y>< nt we must all fihe- //. Luke xin. .;. his meaning is, not that we must re- pent of some, or ms.ny, or most, but of all our sins, and so repent of them as to turn from them ; and so turn from all sin, as for the future to be holy in all manner of conversation, otherwise our Saviour himself assures us, that he will never us, but we must perish without remedy. Let any man consider this, and then tell me what he thinks of the number of the chosen, whether it be not very small indeed, in comparison of the many which are called. Tor not to speak of other parts of ( Christendom, all the people of this nation ;ire called to the faith of Christ ; and how many they are I cannot call (i nd election. 303 my we all know, for it is past any man's knowledge. But where is the man amongst us all. that doth not harbour some secret lust or other in his bosom : yea, of the many men in this nation, where is he that can Bay with David, J have k&fl myself from mine iniquity ? Or to use the words of the pro- phet, Run ye to and fro through the streets of this city, and see now and know, and seek if yr can find a man, if there be any that cxccutcth judgment, that scckcth the truth, that serreth tlie Lord with a perfect heart and a trilling mind. I do not deny but there are a great many professors of religion amongst us, who would fain be accounted more strict and holy than their ii(ii_r|,i) OUrS) so as t be reckoned the religious ; as the friars and mms are in the Church of Rome : but are they therefore to !>•• esteemed the elect and chosen of God, because they fan- cy themselves to be so? or rather is not their pride and self- conceitedness an argument, that they are not so ? Blessed be God for it, I have no spleen nor rancour against any of them, but heartily wish they were as truly good and holy as they would seem to he. But what ! Is not pride a sin ? Is not sclf- conceitedness a sin ? Is not irreverence in God's worship- a sin ? Is not disobedience to magistrates a sin ? Is not uncha- ritableness or censoriousness a sin? Certainly til these wiM be found to be sins another day. And therefore whatsoever pretences men make unto religion, if they allow themselves in such sins as these, they are as far from being in the number of the chosen, as the most dissolute and scandalous persons in the world. But when these too arc removed from the num- ber of the called, how few of them will appear to be chosen. 5. Yet once again. Take out all such as believe not in our Lord Jesus ( lui.-t, hut being morally honest and faithful in per- forming their duty to God and man, trust more in their own good works than to his merit and mediation. For that all such are to be excluded, is plain from the whole tenor of the Gospel, which assures us, that there is no salvation to be had but only by believing in him. But if Christ should come this day to judgment, would he find faith upon earth 1 Verily, I fear, he would find but very little, if any at all amongst us : he might, I believe, find some pretty strict and circumspect in obeying of his other laws, or at least endeavouring to do so. But for a man to do all that is required of him, and yet to count himself an unprofitable servant ; for a man to do all he can, and yet rest upon nothing that he hath done, but to de- pend wholly upon another, even upon Jesus Christ for life and happiness, this is hard indeed to flesh and blood, and as rare to find as it is to find a rose amongst the weeds and thistles of 304 Thoughts upon our a barren wilderness, or a diamond amongst the gravel upon the sea-shore ; here and there I believe there may be found one, but so rarely, that they can scarce be termed any, he sure but very few in comparison of the many w huh are called. \..u lei us put these things together, and we shall easily errant that this Baying of our Saviour was but too true, that many an called, but few chosen. And to bring it closer to ourselves, are arc all called t<> repent and believe the Gospel: now take out from amongst as all ignorant persona thai have heard indeed, but understand not what they bear ; all atheisti- cal persons that believe not really that their is a Ci^<\ to judgi them : all debauched sinners that live in open and notorious* crimes; all pharisaiea] hypocrites that avoid open, but indulge themselves in Becref sins, that have tin form, but not tin pow- er of godliness; and all such who are as St Paul was before In- conversion* at ttmching tht rightftmsnest of tin law blame* bat ret believe not in .l< bus < "hri.-t. Take out, I say, all such persons as I have named from amongst us, and what a small number proportionably should we have left behind: How many would be excluded the presence of God, how fen 1 would continue in it .' \\ hat cause should we then have to say with Our Saviour, that many arc calU d, but ft w chostn. Having thus explained the meaning and confirmed the truth of this proposition, that many are called but few chosen, WS must consider the reasons of it. how it come- to pass that of the many which are called there are but few chosen .' a thing which 1 ct»n!e-- we have all just cause to wonder and admire at. Are not men all rational creatures? are they not abb to distinguish betwixt good and e\ li .' ao not they understand their own interest ' What then should be the reason that so many of them should be called and invited to the chiefest good, the highest happiness their natun - are capable of, yet so f< s of them should mind or prosecute it. so as to be chosen or admit- ted into the participation of it .' What -hall we ascribe it to, the will and pleasure of Almighty God, as if be delighted in the ruin of his creatures, and therefore although he calls them, he would not have them come unto him .' No, that cannot be ; for in his revealed will, which is the only rule that we are to walk by, he bath told us the contrary in plain terms, and hath confirmed it too with an oath ; saying, As I live, saith the Lord God, I hare no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but thai he should turn from his way and lire, E/.ck. xxxiii. 11. And elsewhere he assures us, that he would heme all men to be xar- ed, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, 1 Tim. ii. 4. And therefore if we believe what God saith, nay, if we believe call and election. 305 what lie hath sworn, we must needs acknowledge that it is his will and pleasure, that as many as arc called, should be chosen and saved. And indeed it* he had no mind we should come when we are called to him, why should he call us all to come? Why hath he given us his word, his ministers, his ordinances, and all to invite and oblige us to repent and turn to him, if after all he was resolved not to accept of us, nor would have us come at all I Far be it from us, that we should have such hard and unworthy thoughts of the great Creator and Govern- or of the world ; especially considering that he hath told us the contrary, as plainly as it was possible for him to express his mind unto us. I do not deny, but that according to the ipostle, known unto God arc all his works from the beginning of the world, Acts xv. 18. And that there are several pas- sages in Scripture which intimate unto us God's eternal elec- tion of all that are truly pious, to live with him for ever. But it is not for us to be so bold and impudent, as to pry into thn secrets of God, nor so curious as to search into his eternal and incomprehensible decrees ; but we must still remember the words of Moses, that secret things belong unto the Lord our God; but these things which arc revealed belong unto us, that we may do all the words of his law, Dcut. xxix. 29. What- soever is necessary for us to bdievc or do, in order to our eternal salvation, is clearly revealed to us in the holy Scriptures ; and therefore what we there read belongs unto us to know, neither are we to look any farther than to his revealed will. But God in the Scriptures doth plainly tell us, not only in the places before quoted, but elsewhere, that he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, 2 Peter iii. 0. This is the revealed will of God, which we are to acquiesce in, and rest fully satisfied with, so as to act ac- cordingly, without concerning ourselves about things that are too high for us, and no way belong unto us. And therefore it is not in his secret, but revealed will, that we are to search for the reasons of this proposition, that many are called, but few chosen. Now in consulting the word of God, to find out the reasons of this so strange assertion, that many are called, but few chosen, I know no better or fitter place to search for them than this parable, which gave our blessed Saviour the occasion of as- serting it ; in which it is very observable, that he meddles not at all with any reasons a priori, deduced from the eternal de- crees of his Father, but he only suggests to us the reasons a posteriori, drawn from the disposition and carriage of men, why so many of them are called, and yet so few chosen. C c 2 306 Thoughts upon our For the opening whereof we must know, that the end and intent of this parable was only to show the entertainment which his Gospel had then, and should still meet with in the world ; many refusing to embrace it at all, and of those who embrace it, many still walking unworthy of it. So that the issue and consequence of it will be, that though many be call- ed to it, there are but few chosen. And he hath so worded the parable, that we need not seek any farther for the reasons of this his conclusion from it, they being all most clearly couch- ed in the parable itself; which that we may the better under- stand, I shall open and explain them particularly, so as to make them intelligible, I hope, to the meanest capacity. The first reason therefore why so many are called, but so few chosen, is because they who are called to Christ, will not come unto him ; for this is the first reason which our Saviour himself in the parable assigns for it ; The king, saith he, sent his servants to call them that were bidden to the marriage, and they would not come, Matt. xxii. 3. And they would not come, so that the great fault is still in the wills of men, which are generally so depraved and corrupt, that though they be called never so oft, and cannot but in reason acknowledge that it is their interest to come, yet they have so strange an averseness to the holiness and purity of the Gospel which they are called to, that they will not come unto it only because they will not ; for here, they who were first bidden, give no reason of their refusal, only it is said, they would not come. And good cause why ; for when we have searched into all the reasons imagina- ble, why men do not fully submit themselves to the obedience of the Gospel, they will all resolve and empty themselves into this, that they will not because they will not. Let ministers say what they can, let the Scripture say what it will, let God himself say what he pleases, yet sinners men are, and sinners they will be, in spite of them all ; as the prophet rebuking the people for their sins, said, But thou saidst, There is no hope : no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go, Jer. ii. 25. And so it is to this day ; we tell them of their sins, and the dangerous consequences of them ; we tell them that they must not love the world, but seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness in the first place ; we tell them from Christ's own mouth, that except they repent and forsake their sins, they must perish ; but they say in effect, that we had as good hold our tongues ; for they have loved the world, and after it they will go ; they have found pleasure in the commission of their sins, and therefore they will commit them : Christ calls them to come unto him, and they know no reason why they call and election. 307 should not, but howsoever they will not come. If we were but once willing, the work was done ; for what our wills are really inclined to, we cannot but use the utmost of our endea- vour to attain. But the mischief is, men read the Gospel, they hear Christ calling upon them to believe and obey it, but their wills are still averse from it ; there is a kind of antipa- thy and contrariety within them, against such exact and real holiness as the Gospel requires from them. So that if they perish, they must blame themselves for it, it is their own choice ; they choose and prefer their sins with all the miseries which attend them, before the Gospel of Christ, with all the glory and happiness which is offered in it ; and therefore as God said to his people, Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Ezek. xxxiii. 11. so say I to these men, Repent, and believe the Gospel ; for why will ye die, why will ye perish eternally ? Have you any reason for it ? none in the world but your own wills. Christ hath told you in plain terms, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out, John vi. 37. But if you will not come unto him, who can help that ? Are not yourselves only in the fault ? Will not your blood be upon your own heads ? What could Christ have done more for you than he hath done? What could he have suffered more for you than he hath suffered ? How could he call you to him more plainly or pathetically than he doth ? But if after all this you will not come unto him, you must even thank yourselves for all the torments you must ere long suffer and undergo. And this is indeed the case of the greatest part of mankind, that though they be called and invited to partake of all the merits of Christ's death and passion, yet they will not come unto him. And this is the first and great reason why so many are called, and yet so few chosen, John v. 40. 2. The second reason is, because men do not really believe that they are invited to such glorious things as indeed they are, as our Saviour himself intimates in the parable. For when they who were bidden would not come upon the first invitation, as not believing the message which those servants brought them, the king sent forth other servants, saying, Tell them which are bidden, Behold, I have prepared my dinner ; my oxen and my failings are killed, and all things are ready ; come unto the marriage, Matt. xxii. 4. When the first servants were not believed, he sent others with fuller instructions, giving them orders to acquaint the guests, that all things were now ready, and to assure them that it was to a marriage-feast, they were invited. But it seems, whatsoever the first or second servants could say, it was to no purpose ; they would not believe them, 308 Thoughts upon our and therefore sent them away as they came ; whereby our Sa- viour exactly discovers to us the entertainment that his Gospel always did, and still would meet with in the world. Before his own coming into the world, he sent his prophets to invite man- kind to accept of the terms propounded in it, and to call upon them to repent and turn to God, that their sins might be blotted out, and their souls admitted into the grace and favour of Almighty God, and so partake of eternal glory, which the prophets called men to, under the notion of a feast, a feast of fat things, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees well refined, Isa. xxv. 6. which they called all men to, saying, Ho, every one that thirstetk, come ye to the waters, Isa. Iv. 1. But how their message was received, the same prophet declares, saying, Who hath be- lieved our report ? and to whom is the arm of the Lord re- vealed ? Isa. liii. 1. and so it is since. For when the pro- phets could not be credited, God afterwards sent his apostles, and still to this day is sending servant after servant to invite men to grace and pardon, to heaven and eternal happiness. But we his ministers may still say with the prophet, Who hath be- lieved our report ? We tell men, that unless they repent and turn to God, iniquity will be their ruin ; we tell them also, that if they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they shall be saved : and if they be holy here, they shall be happy hereafter. But what signifies our telling them of these things, if they believe not what we say ? And yet who doth ? Men give us the hear- ing, censure what they have heard, and that is all the use they make of it, never really or firmly believing any one truth that we make known or expound unto them ; and this being the case not only of some few, but of the greatest part of mankind, hence it comes to pass that so many are called and so few are chosen, even because they who are called do not believe it, and so it is all one with them whether they be called or no. Be sure God chooseth none but such as believe the word he sends unto them ; for, as the apostle saith, God hath chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, James ii. 5. If they be not rich in faith, they are not for his purpose ; and seeing there are but few that are so, hence of the many which are called, there are but few chosen. 3. Another reason why of the many which are called there are so few chosen, is because they have no real esteem or value for the things they are called to ; as it is in the parable, when the servants were sent to call upon them to make haste to the feast because all things were ready, it is said that they made light of it, ver. 5. They did not think it worth their while to call and election. 309 go, though it was to a feast, to a marriage-feast, yea, to the marriage-feast of so great a person as a king's son ; no, not though they were invited by the king himself unto it. Thus it was in ancient times, and thus it is still ; the King of hea- ven sends to invite men to his court, to lay aside their filthy garments, and to put on the robes that he hath prepared for them, that they may be holy as he is holy, and so live with him and be happy for ever. But they make light of such things as these ; they can see no such beauty in Christ, why they should desire him, no such excellency in God himself, why they should be in love with him ; and as for heaven, they never were there yet, and therefore care not whether they ever come there or no ; though they be called, they matter not whether they be chosen to it or no ; and hence likewise it is that of the many which are called, there are so few chosen. 4. Another reason is, because they who are called are gene- rally addicted to the things of this life ; they have the serpent's curse upon them, to feed upon the dust of the earth, and there- fore slight all the overtures that are made them of heaven and eternal happiness. As our Saviour himself intimates in this parable, saying, that when they were invited they made light of | it, and went their way, one to his farm, another to his merchan- dise, ver. 5. Thus we read of the Pharisees, that they being covetous, when they heard the words of Christ, they derided him, Luke xvi. 14. And thus it is to this day ; though men be called to Christ, they are so much taken up with worldly businesses, that they can find no time to come unto him ; but away they go again, one to his trade, another to his merchan- dise. These are the things that most men's minds are wholly bent upon, and therefore they will not be persuaded to leave them to go to Christ. It is true, if he called them to great estates, if he called them to a good bargain, if he called them to crowns and sceptres in this world, then they would all strive which should be chosen first. But the things that he calls us to are quite of another nature ; he calls us to repent of our sins, to believe in him, to contemn the world, to have our con- versations in heaven. But these are things which men do not love to hear of, as being contrary to their earthly temper and inclinations ; and therefore we who are God's ministers may call our hearts out before they will set themselves in good earnest to mind them. Or to bring it home still closer to us, how often have we all been invited to that spiritual feast, the sacrament of the Lord's supper, but how few are there that come unto it, when the whole congregation is called to par- take of it ? Scarce one in twenty think it worth their while to 310 Thoughts upon our stay, to have their share in it. What can be the reason of this, but that our minds are taken up with other things, which we fancy to be of far greater concernment to us than all the me- rits of Christ's death and passion. And therefore it is no wonder that so many of us are called, and so few chosen, see- ing we ourselves choose the toys and trides of this transient world, before all those real joys which in the Gospel we are called and invited to. 5. In the next place, many of them which are called, have - . inge an antipathy to God and goodness, that they do not only neglect and slight their heavenly, in comparison of their earthly calling, but they hate and abuse such as are sent to call them, as our Saviour himself intimates, ver. 6. O barbarous cruelty ! what hurt, what injury is done unto them f They are invited to a feast, and for this they are ansrry, and kill the mes- sengers which are sent to invite them. Thus it hath been in all ages. This was the entertainment, this the requital that most of the prophets received for the divine message they brought to mankind. Matt, xxrii. 57. Yea. Christ himself, the Son and Heir of God. was put to death tor inviting men to life and happiness : and so were his apostles too : and so it is to this day. There is still a secret malice and hatred in men's hearts against such as sincerely endeavour to preach the G pel clearly and fully to them. We tell them of their sins, we acquaint them with the danger they are in. we call upon them to forsake and avoid them, we invite them to Christ, and so to heaven and eternal happiness : and for this many of them are angry with us and incensed against us. They may forgive us this wrong : I can assure them we intend them no evil, but all the good we do or can desire to our own souls : and whatso- ever the success be. it is still our duty to call upon them, to advise them of their duty, and it* possible reclaim them from their sins : and if they be angry with us for that, as many are. they cannot wonder at our Saviour's saying, that many are called, but fexc chosen. 6. The last reason which our Saviour gives in this parable, why many are called, but few chosen, is because of those who are called, and come too at their call, many come not aright ; which he signifies by the man that came without his wedding garment, ver. 11. 12, 13. where although he mentions but one man. yet under that one is comprehended all of the same kind, even all such persons as have the Gospel preached to them, and so are called and invited to all the graces and privileges proposed in it, all such as profess to believe in Christ, and to expect happiness and salvation from him, yet will not come up call and election. 311 to the terms which he propounds in his Gospel to them, even to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, Eph. iv. 1. And indeed this is the great reason of all why of so many which are called there are so few chosen, because there are so few which do all things which the Gospel requires of them. Many like Herod will do many things, Mark vi. 20. and are almost persuaded to be Christians, as Agrippa was, Acts xxvi. 28. How zealous are some for, how violent are others against, the little ceremonies and circumstances of reli- gion, and in the mean while neglect and let slip the power and substance of it ? How demure are some in their carriage to- wards men, but irreverent and slovenly in the worship of Al- mighty God 1 How devout would others seem towards God, but are still careless and negligent of their duty towards men ? Some are all for the duties of the first table without the se- cond, others for the second without the first. Some are alto- gether for obedience and good works, without faith in Christ ; others are as much for faith in Christ, without obedience and good works. Some would do all themselves, as if Christ had done nothing for them ; others fancy that Christ hath so done all things for them, that there is nothing left for themselves to do ; and so betwixt both these sorts of people, which are the far greater part of those who are called, either the merits or else the laws of Christ are slighted and contemned. But is this the way to be saved ? No, surely : if I know any thing of the Gospel, it requires both repentance and faith in Christ, that we perform sincere obedience to all his laws, and yet trust in him, and him alone, for pardon, acceptance, and salvation. And whosoever comes short of this, though he be called, we may be sure he is not chosen ; though he come to the marriage feast with those that are invited, yet wanting his wedding garment, he will be cast out again with shame and confusion of face. So that it is not our doing some, or many, or most of the things which the Gospel requires, that will do our business, unless we do all to the utmost of our skill and power. But where shall we find the man that doth so ? What ground have we to acknowledge that our Saviour had but too much cause to say, many are called, but few chosen ; which I fear is but too true, not only of others, but ourselves too. I say not this to discourage any one : no, it is my hearty desire and prayer to the eternal God, that every soul of us might be chosen and saved. But my great fear is, that many think it so easy a matter to go to heaven, that if they do but say their prayers, and hear sermons now and then, they can- not miss of it, and therefore need not trouble themselves any 312 Thoughts upon our call and election. farther about it. But they must give me leave to tell them, that this will not serve their turn ; if it would, most of those which are called would be chosen too. Whereas our Saviour him- self tells us, in plain terms, the contrary. And yet this should be so far from discouraging of us, that it should rather excite us to greater diligence about it than heretofore we may have used, as our Saviour himself intimates in his answer to this question, Luke xiii. 23, 24. And verily, what greater encou- ragement can we have than to consider, that though there be but few chosen, yet there are some ? For why may not you and I be in the number of those few as well as others ? Are not we all called to Christ ? Are not we all invited, yea, com- manded to believe in his name, and obey his Gospel, that so we may partake of everlasting glory ? Let us then all set upon that work in good earnest, which we are called to. Let us but fear God, and keep his commandments, and believe in his Son for his acceptance of us, and then we need not fear, but though of the many others which are called there are but few chosen, yet we few who are all called shall be all chosen ; chosen to live with God himself, and Jesus Christ, and to sing forth his praises for evermore. THOUGHTS THE APPEARANCE OF CHRIST THE SUN OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, OR THE BEATIFIC VISION. SO long as we are in the body, we are apt to be governed wholly by its senses, seldom or never minding any thing but what comes to us through one or other of them. Though we are all able to abstract our thoughts when we please from mat- ter, and fix them upon things that are purely spiritual ; there are but few that ever do it. But few, even among those also that have such things revealed to them by God himself, and so have infinitely more and firmer ground to believe them, than any one or all their senses put together can afford. Such are the great truths of the Gospel, for which we have the infallible word and testimony of the supreme truth : yet seeing they are not the objects of sense, but only of our faith, though we pro- fess to believe them, yet we take but little notice of them, and are usually no more affected with them, than as if there were no such things in being. Hence it hath pleased God, in great compassion to our infirmity, not only to reveal and make known such spiritual things to us, in plain and easy terms, but like- wise to bring them as near as possible to our senses, by repre- senting them to us under the names and characters of such sen- sible objects as bear the greatest resembance to them ; that we who are led so much by our senses, may by them also be directed how to apprehend those spiritual objects which he hath told us of, on purpose that we may believe them upon his word. Thus he often useth the words, hand, eye, and the like, to signify his own divine perfections to us. Aud thus it was that our Saviour preached the Gospel to the people, by parables, (and similitudes of things commonly seen and done among them- selves. The prophets also frequently took the same course, as might be shewn by many instances ; but one of the most remarkable is that in Mai. iv. 2. where the prophet in the D d 314 Thoughts upon the name of God speaking of Christ's coming into the world, ex- pressed it by the rising of the sun, saying, To you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his icings. For that Jesus Christ is that Sun of righteousness here spoken of, is so plain from the context, and whole design of the pro- phet, that I need not insist upon the proving it ; but shall only observe, that this being the last of all the prophets in the Old Testament, he shuts up his own, and all the other prophecies, with a clear prediction of Christ, and his forerunner John the Baptist, whom he calls F; y.h or Elias ; and concludes his pro- phecy with these words concerning him, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to the fathers, lest I come and smite the earth (or rather the land) with a curse, Mai. iv. 5, 6. For that by Elijah is here meant John the Baptist, we are assured by Christ himself, Matt. xi. 14. And it is very observable, that as this prophet ends the Old Testament with a prediction of Elias, so St. Luke begins the New with a relation how John the Baptist was born, and so came into the world a little before Christ, as the morning- star that appeared before the rising of the Sun of righteous- ness. But of the day which shall come at the rising of that glorious Sun, the prophet saith, that it shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble ; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch, verse 1. It will be a terrible day to those that shall obstinately refuse to walk in the light of it ; they shall be all consumed, as we read the unbelieving Jews were at the destruction of Jerusalem, that happened soon after that sun was up. But then turning him- self, as it were, to his own people, Almighty God here by his prophet cheers and comforts them, saying to them, But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings, £$c. He shall arise to all ; but to the other with such a scorching heat as shall burn them up ; to these with healing in his wings, or rays, so as not to hurt, but heal them of all their maladies. Now that which I chiefly design, by God's assistance, to shew from these words, is what thoughts they suggest to us concerning our blessed Saviour, by calling him the Sun of righteousness. But to make the way as plain as I can, we must first consider, to whom he is here said to arise with heal- beatific vision. 315 ing in his wings, even to those that fear the name of God ; i. e. to those who firmly believing in God, and being fully per- suaded of his infinite power, justice, and mercy, and also of the truth of all his threats and promises, stand continually in awe of him, not daring to do any thing willingly that may of- fend him, nor leave any thing undone that he would have them do. Such, and such only, can be truly said to fear God. And therefore the fear of God in the Scriptures, especially of the Old Testament, is all along put for the whole duty of man. There being no duty that a man owes, either to God or his neighbour, but if he really fears God, he will endeavour all he can to do it. But this necessarily supposeth his belief in God, and his holy word, or rather proceeds originally from it. For he that cometh unto God, so as to fear and obey him, must be- lieve that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek him, Heb. xi. 6. So that as no man can believe in God, but he must needs fear him ; so no man can fear God, unless he first believes in him. From whence it necessarily follows, that by those who are here said to fear the name of God, we can understand no other but only such as are possessed with a firm belief in him, and with a full persuasion of the truth and certainty of those divine revelations that he hath made of him- self, and of his will to mankind, and therefore live accordingly. Of these, and these only, it is here said, that to them shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings. Not to any other ; no other being able to see his light, nor capable of those healing influences that proceed from him. For though he be a sun, he is not such a sun as we see with our bodily eyes in the firmament, but the Sun of righteousness, shining in the highest heavens, beyond the reach of our senses, visible only to the eye of faith, the evidence of things not seen. In- somuch that although he be risen, and darts down his beams to this lower world continually, yet they who have not faith, can neither see him nor enjoy any more benefit by him, than as if he was not risen, or did not shine at all. As if a man be born stark blind, though the sun shines never so clear about him, he sees no more than he did before, but lives in the dark at noonday as much as at midnight ; neither can ye ever make him understand what light or colours are ; for having not that sense, by which alone such things can be perceived, he can never understand what you mean by such things, so as to form any true notion of them in his mind. So it is in our present case ; though the sun of righteousness be risen, and shines most gloriously in the world, yet being the object only of our faith, without that a man can discern nothing of him. He may 316 Thoughts upon the perhaps talk of him as a blind man may talk of light, but all the while he knows not what he means by the words which he useth about him. For he useth them only as words in course, taken up from those he talks with, without having any effect or operation at all upon his mind ; whereas they who really believe God's word, and what is there revealed concerning the Sun of righteousness, they see his light, they feel his heat, they experience the power and efficacy of his influences ; and there- fore, although they who have not faith (as few have) can be no way profited by what they shall hear or read of him, yet they who have, and act it upon what they hear or read out of God's holy word concerning him, they will find their thoughts and apprehensions of him cleared up, and their affections in- flamed to him ; so as to love and honour him for the future, as the fountain of all that spiritual life, and light, and joy they have, For to them he will arise, with healing in his wings. He did not only arise once, but he continually ariseth to those who believe in God, and fear him. For thus saith the Lord, To you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, with healing in his wings. It is true, he speaks more especially of his incarnation, or visible appearance in the world ; but by this manner of speaking, he intimates withal that this Sun of righteousness is always shining upon his faith- ful people, more or less, in all ages, from the beginning to the end of the world. For in that it is said he shall arise, it is plainly supposed that he was the Sun of righteousness before, and gave light unto the world, though not so clearly as when he was actually risen. As we see and enjoy the light of the sun long before he riseth, from the first dawning of the day, though it grows clearer and clearer all along as he comes nearer and nearer to his rising : so the Sun of righteousness began to enlighten the world as soon as it was darkened by sin ; the day then began to break, and it grew lighter and lighter in every age. Adam himself saw something of this light, Abraham more ; Abraham rejoiced to see my day, saith this glorious Sun ; he saw it, and was glad, John viii. 56. Da- vid and the prophets after him saw it most clearly, especially this, the last of the prophets : he saw this Sun in a manner rising, so that he could tell the people it would suddenly get above their horizon ; The Lord whom ye seek, saith he, shall suddenly come to his temple, Mai. iii. 1. and acquaints them also with the happy influences it would have upon them, say- ing, in the name of God, Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings. The Sun of righteousness ; that is, as I observed before. beatific vision. 317 Jesus Christ the righteous, who is often foretold and spoke of under the name and notion of the sun or star that giveth light unto the world. There shall come a star out of Jacob, said Balaam, Numb. xxiv. 17. and he shall be as the light of the morning when the Sun riseth, saith David, 2 Sam. xxiii. 4. And the prophet Isaiah, speaking of his coming, saith, The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light ; and they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined, Isa. ix. 2. For that this was spoken of Christ, we have the authority of the Evangelist, Matt. iv. 16. To the same purpose is that of the same prophet, Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people ; but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee, Isa. Ix. 1, 2. The sun shall be no more thy light by day, neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee. But the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy glory, ver. 19, 20. To which we may add the many places where Christ is called HDV, which we translate the Branch. As, J will bring forth my servant the Branch, Zech. iii. 8. Behold the man, whose name is the Branch, chap. vi. 12. / will raise up to David a righteous Branch, Jer. xxiii. 5. And a Branch of righteousness, chap, xxxiii. 15. In all which places the original word signifies also the rising of the sun, and is accordingly rendered by the LXX. Oriens, not that part of heaven where the sun riseth, but the sun itself as rising there. And so it is translated also both in the Syriac and Arabic versions. And where it is said, In that day shall the branch of the Lord be beautiful, Isa. iv. 2. In the LXX. it is, God shall shine forth. In the Syriac, The rising of the Lord shall be for glory. In Arabic, The Lord shall rise as the sun. And that this is the true sense of the word in all these places, appears from the prophecy of Zacharias the father of John the Baptist ; for speaking of Christ's com- ing, he expresseth it according to our translation, by saying, The Day-spring from on high hath visited us, Luke i. 78. But in the original it is the same word that the LXX. use in all the aforesaid places, Oriens, the rising sun. And it is much to be observed, that all the said places of the prophets are interpreted of the Messiah or Christ ; by the Targum or Chaldee Paraphrase, made by the ancient Jews themselves ; for nD¥ the rising sun, is there translated xrvtyn the Christ, as if it was only another name for Messiah, the Saviour of the world. From all which it appears, that when the prophet here calls our Saviour Christ the Sun of righteousness, he speaks Dd2 318 Thoughts upon the according to the common sense and practice of the church at that time. And verily he may well he called the Sun, both in respect of what he is in himself, and in respect of what he is to us. As there is but one sun in the firmament, it is the chief of all creatures that we see in the world. There is nothing upon earth but what is vastly inferior ; the very stars of heaven seem no way comparable to it ; it is the top, the head, the glory of all visible objects : in like manner, as there is but one Saviour in the world, he is exalted far above all things in it, not only above the sun itself, but above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. All things are put under lis- feet, and lie is given to be head over all things to the church, Eph. i. 21, 22. The very angels, authorities, and powers of heaven, are all made subject to him, 1 Pet. iii. 22. And that is the reason that he is said to be at the right hand of God, because he is preferred before and set over the whole creation, next to the Almighty Creator himself, where he now reigns, and doth whatsoever he pleaseth in heaven and earth. And as the sun is in itself also the most glorious, as well as the most excellent creature we see, of such transcendent beauty, splendor, and dory, that we cannot look stedfastly upon it, but our eyes are presently dazzled ; so is Christ, the Sun of right- eousness : when he was transfigured, his face did shine as the sun, Matt. xvii. 2. When St. John had a glimpse of him, he saw his countenance as the sun that shineth in his strength, Rev. i. 16. When he appeared to St. Paul going to Damascus at mid-day, there was a light above the brightness of the sun shin- ing round about him, and them that journeyed with him, Acts xxvi. Y6. And it is no wonder, for he is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person, Heb. i. 3. and therefore must needs shine more gloriously than it is possible for any mere creature to do ; his very body, by rea- son of its union to the divine person, is a glorious body, Phil, iii. 21. The most glorious doubtless of ail the bodies in the world, as far exceeding the sun, as that doth a clod of earth ; insomuch, that could we look upon our Lord as he now shines forth in ail his ^lory in the highest heavens, how would our eyes be e'nzrded ? our whole souls amazed and confounded at his excellent glory ? The sun would appear to us no other- wise than as the moon and stars do, when the sun is up. And he that so far excels the sun in that very property, v, herein the sun excels all other things, may well be called the sun : the sun by way of preeminence, the most glorious sun in the beatific vision. 319 world, ill comparison whereof nothing else deserves to be called by that name. Neither may our blessed Saviour be justly called by this glorious name only for what he is in him- self, but likewise from what he doth for us ; as may be easily demonstrated from all the benefits that we receive from the sun. I shall instance in some of the most plain and obvious. First therefore, the sun we know is the fountain of all the light that we have upon earth, without which we could see no- thing, not so much as the way that is before us, but should be always groping and stumbling in the dark, whereas by it we can discern every thing that is about us, or at any distance from us, as far as our sight can reach. In which respect our blessed Lord is the sun indeed ; The light of the world, John viii. 12. The true light that lighteneth every one that cometk into the world, c. i. 9. A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of his people Israel, Luke ii. 32. A marvellous light, I Pet. ii. 9. Whereby we can see things that are not visible to the eye, as plainly as we do those that are. For this Day- spring from on high, this Sun of righteousness, hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace, Luke i. 78, 79. To shew us the invisible things of God, and direct us to all things belonging to our everlasting peace and happiness. He hath made them all clear and manifest to us in his Gos- pel. But whatsoever makcth manifest is light, Eph. v. 13. Wherefore he is said to have brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel, 2 Tim. i. 10. Because he hath there so clearly revealed them to us, that by the light of his holy Gospel we may see all things necessary to be known, believed, or done, in order to eternal life, as plainly as we can see the most visible objects at noon-day. By this light we can see as much of the glory of God him- self, as our mortal nature can bear. For no man hath seen God at any time ; the only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him, John i. 18. Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him, Matt. xi. 27. So that no man ever had or can have any right knowledge of the true God, but only by his Son our Saviour Christ. But by this means, they that lived before might see him as by twilight ; we who live after this sun is risen, may see him by the clearest light that can be given of him, for he hath fully revealed and declared him to us in the Gospel. By this glorious light we can see into the mystery of the eternal Trinity in unity, so as to believe that God the Father, 320 Thoughts upon the Son, and Holy Ghost are one, one Jehovah, one God. That God the Father made all things at the first by his word, and still upholds and orders all things according to his will. That God the Son was made flesh, became man, and as such died upon the cross, and so offered up himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world ; that he rose again, went up to hea- ven, and is now there at the right hand of God ; that upon our repentance and faith in him, our sins are all pardoned, and he that made us is reconciled to us by the merits of his said death ; that by the power of his intercession which he now makes in heaven for us, we are justified or accounted righteous in him, before his, and in him our almighty Father ; that God the Holy Ghost abides continually with his church, moving upon, actuating and influencing the means of grace that are there administered ; that he sanctifies all that believe in Christ, leads them into all truth, comforts them in all their troubles, and assists them in doing whatsoever is required of them. These and many such great and necessary truths, as lay in a great measure hid before, are now, by the light of the Sun of righteousness shining in his Gospel, made so plain and evi- dent, that all may see them, except they wilfully shut their eyes, or turn their backs upon them. And though the sun in the firmament enlightens only the air, to make it a fit medium through which to see ; this glorious light that comes from the Sun of righteousness enlightens men's minds too, and opens their eyes, to behold the wondrous things that are revealed in the law of God, Psal. cxix. 18. And that too so effectually in some, that they likewise are able to en- lighten ethers, to open their eyes, and turn them from dark- ness to light, Acts xxvi. 18. Insomuch that they also are the light of the world, Matt. v. 14. not originally in themselves, but by communication from him, as the moon is first enlight- ened by the sun, and then reflects its light to the earth. Moreover, the sun is the first cause under God, not only of light, but also of all the life that is in any creature upon earth, without which nothing could live, no, not so much as a vege- table, much less an animal life ; for that which we call life, wherewith such creatures as have organs fitted for it are ac- tuated and quickened, so as to be said properly to live, it all depends upon the heat and influences of the sun ; should the sun once cease to be, or to influence the world, all living crea- tures would immediately expire and die. So is Christ the Sun of righteousness the fountain of all spiritual life. In thee, saith David, is the fountain of life ; in thy light we shall see light, Psal. xxxvi. 9. Where we shall see that light and life in this beatific vision. 321 sense also go together ; they both proceed from the same fountain, the Sun of righteousness ; who therefore saith, J am the light of the world ; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life, John viii. 12. that light which hath life always proceeding from it, and accom- panying it ; so that he is both light and life itself. J am, saith he, the ivay, the truth, and the Vfe, John xiv. 6. And our life, as the apostle calls him, Col. iii. 4. even the life of all that believe in him. The Vfe that I now live in the flesh, saith the same apostle, / live by the faith of the Son of God, Gal. ii. 20. And therefore he who believeth, and so hath the Son, he hath life ; and he that hath not the Son, hath not life, 1 John v. 12. From all which it appears, that all men by nature are dead in trespasses and sins, Eph. ii. 1 . But when any arise from the dead by faith, it is Christ that gives them life, chap. v. 14. Who come into the world on jjurjwse that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly, John x. 10. more abundantly, that is, in the highest and most excellent manner that it is possible for men to live. For this life which the Sun of righteousness raiseth believers to is the life of righteousness, an holy, an heavenly, a spiritual, divine life ; it is the life of faith, whereby they live to other purposes, and in a quite dif- ferent manner from other men ; they live to God, and not unto the world ; they live in a constant dependence upon him, and submission to him ; they live in a firm belief of his word, and sincere obedience to his laws ; they live altogether in his ser- vice, so that whether they eat, or drink, or whatsoever they do, they still do it to the glory of God, 1 Cor. x. 3 1 . In short, they strive all they can to do the will of God upon earth, as the holy angels do it it heaven, and so have their conversation there, where their Saviour and their treasure is. But this life is infused into them only by the rays of the Sun of righteousness, by that Holy Spirit which proceedeth from Christ, whereby they being born again, and made the children of light, thus walk in newness of life ; and so it is nourished also, preserved, and strengthened only by him, who therefore calls himself the bread of life, John vi. 35, 48. And the bread of God, which cometh from heaven, and giveth life unto the world, 33. the living bread, of which if any man eat, he shall live for ever, 51. And this bread which he gives is his flesh, which he gave for the life of the icorld, ibid. For his \ flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed ; so that \ whoso eateth his flesh and drinketh his blood hath eternal life, and he will raise him un at the last day, that he may live for 322 Thoughts upon the ever, v. 54, 55, 57. For Christ is the resurrection and the life; whosoever believeth in him, though he were dead, yet shall he live ; and whosoever liveth and believeth in him shall never die, c. xi. 25, 26. Though his body may die, yet not his soul. And his body also at the last day shall be raised again to life, by the power of this glorious Sun. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, 1 Cor. xv. 22. Seeing therefore that Jesus Christ is the fountain of the life of righteousness, tlvj Author of that spiritual and eternal life which the righteous live ; as the Sun is of our natural, he also may most properly be called the Sun, and the Sun of righte- ousness, as he is in the words before us. And so he may be likewise from his cheering and refreshing our spirits in the in- ward man, as the sun doth in the outward. The light of the eyes, saith the wise man, rejoiccth the heart, Prov. xv. 30.^ And truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant th ing it is for the eyes to behold the Sun, Eccles. xi. 7. This we all find by daily ex- perience, and so we do too, that the light and heat of the sun agitate or move our animal spirits in so benign and delicate a manner, that we are always more cheerful and pleasant when the sun shines clearly, than we are in a dark night or cloudy day. But in this the Sun of righteousness infinitely exceeds the other, for he is the fountain not only of some, but of all the true joy and comfort that his faithful people have or ever can have in the world. It all proceeds from him, whom having not seen they love, in whom, though now they see him not, yet believing they rejoice with joy unspeakable, and full of glo- ry, 1 Peter i. 8. For upon their believing in him, as having been delivered for their offences, and raised again for their justification, he manifesteth himself and his special love and favour to them, in the pardon of their sins, and their recon- ciliation to Almighty God, whereby their souls are filled, not only with unspeakable, but glorious joy, of the same nature with that which the glorified saints in heaven are continually transported with. This is that which is called the lifting up the light of God's countenance, and his causing his face to shine upon them, Psalm iv. 6. lxvii. 1. lxxx. 3. Numb. vi. 25. When the Sun of righteousness thus shineth upon them, re- freshing and comforting their hearts, by the sweet influences of that Holy Spirit that proceedeth from him. But the Sun doth not only refresh the earth, but makes it fruitful ; it is by his means, under God, that plants grow and bring forth fruit, and that animals do the respective works of which God hath set them. So is Christ the cause or author of all the good or righteous works that are done in the world; beatific vision. 323 he himself saith, without me you can do nothing, John xv. 5. And his apostle could say upon his own experience, / can do all tilings through Christ which strengthened me, Phil. iv. 13. And that the fruits, all the fruits of righteousness, are by Je- sus Christ, or come from him, chap. i. 11. who therefore in this respect also may well be termed the Sun of righteousness. To which we may likewise add, that as the works which God hath made upon earth by his power, although they have no light in themselves whereby they can be seen, yet they ap- pear in all their beauty and colours by the sun reflecting his light upon them ; so the works which his servants do, by his assistance and grace, although they have no real worth, nor are exactly righteous in themselves, yet by the Sun of righteous- ness reflecting his righteousness upon them, they seem or are accounted righteous in the sight of God, or as St. Peter speaks, they are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ, 1 Peter ii. 5. with- out whom therefore there could be no such thing as righteous- ness seen upon earth, no more than there could be colours without light. But as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one many are made right- eous, Rom. v. 19. both sincerely righteous in themselves, and accepted of as righteous before God, by his righteousness im- puted to them. So that all righteousness, both as it is per- formed by men, and as it is approved of by God, comes only from Jesus Christ. And this seems to be the great reason wherefore he is here called in a peculiar manner the Sun of righte- ousness, and promised to arise to his faithful people with heal- ing in his wings, that they may grow up as calves in the stalls; to show that it is by him only that they are healed of their in- firmities, and restored to a sound mind, so as to grow in grace, and bring forth the fruits of righteousness, such righteousness as by him is acceptable to God, from whom they shall there- fore at the last day receive the crown of righteousness, that crown which this Sun of righteousness hath procured for them. Upon these, among many other accounts, Jesus Christ the Saviour of mankind may truly be called the Sun of righteous- ness, as he is here by the Spirit of truth itself, for our admoni- tion and comfort. For hereby we are put in mind how to think of our blessed Saviour, and to exercise our faith in him, so as to love and honour him with all our hearts, and to put our whole trust and confidence in him for all things necessary to our eternal salvation. Forasmuch as we are by this means given to understand, that what the sun is to this lower world, | the same is Christ to his church. But the sun, as we have heard, is the most excellent, and most glorious thing that we 324 Thoughts upon the see in the world. It is the next cause, under God, of all the light that is in the air, and of all the life that any creatures live upon the earth. It is that which refreshetb the earth, and makes it fruitful, ft is that also which gives a lustre to all things that are about us, so as to make them pleasing and de- lightful to the eye. And accordingly, whensoever I think of my blessed Saviour, the Sun of righteousness, I apprehend, or rather by the eye of faith I behold him in the highest heavens, there shining in glory and splendor infinitely great o th; n any mortal eye can bear, invested with supreme majesty, honour, and authority over the whole creation. I behold him there .surrounded with an innumerable companv of holy angels, as so many fixed stars, and of glorified saints as planets cnlj^htened by him ; ah his sa- tellites or servants waiting upon him, ready upon all occasions reflect and convey his benign influ< nces or favours to his peo- ple upon earth. I see him yonder by his own light ; I behold him displaying his bright beams, and diffusing his light round about, over his whole church, both that which is triumphant in heaven, and that which is militant here on earth ; that all the members of it may see all things belonging to their peace. I behold him continually sending down his qiickening Spirit upon those who are baptized into, and believe in his holy name, to regenerate them, to be a standing principle of a new and divine life in them. I behold him there manifesting himself, and causing his face to shine upon those who look up to him, so as to refresh and cheer their spirits, to make them brisk and lively, and able to run with patience the race that is set before them. 1 behold him there continually issuing forth his Holy Spirit, to actuate and influence the administration of his word and sacraments ; that all who duly receive them may thereby grow in grace, and be fruitful in every good word and work. I behold the Sun of righteousness shining with so much power and efficacy upon his church, that all the good woiks which are done in it, though imperfect in themselves, do, notwith- standing, appear through him as good and righteous in the sight of God himself, and are accordingly rewarded by him. In short, as the sun was made to rule and govern the day, so I behold the Sun of righteousness as governing his church, and ordering all things both within it and without it, so as to make them work together for the good of those who love God, till he hath brought them all to himself, to live with him in the highest heavens, where they also shall by his means, shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father for ever, Matt, xiii. 43. beatific vision. 325 Could we keep these and such like thoughts of our blessed Saviour always fresh in our minds, could we be always thus looking upon him, as the Sun of righteousness shining con- tinually upon us and his whole church, what holy, what hea- venly, what comfortable lives should we then lead ? We should then despise the pomps and vanities of this wicked world as nothing, as less than nothing, in comparison of this most glo- rious Sun and his righteousness. We should then, with St. Paul, count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord ; and should count them but dung, that we may win Christ, and be found in him, not having our own righteousness which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, Phil. hi. 8, 9. We should then leave gazing upon the tri- fles of this lower world, and should be always looking up to this Sun of righteousness, so as to be enlightened by him, Psal. xxxiv. 5. with such a light as will discover to us the glo- ries of the other world, together with the way that leads to it. We should then abhor and detest the works of darkness, and walk as the children of light, and accordingly shine as lights in the world. And then we should have the light of God's countenance shining continually upon us, enlightening, enlivening, and refreshing our whole souls, and purifying both our hearts and lives, so as to make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light ; in that everlasting light which comes from the Sun of righteousness, who liveth and reigneth, and shineth with the Father and the Holy Ghost, one God, blessed for ever. FINIS. E e CONTENTS OF THE RELIGIOUS MAGAZINE, VOLUMES 1. & II. [FOR THE YEAR 1828.] Didactic and Miscellaneous. A Sabbath in the Country. On the Causes which increase the Pre- judices of worldly Men against Re- ligion. Amusements. Meditation. Conversation. Difficulties in ascertaining the Charac- ter of Young Women, &c. Inconsistencies in the Conduct of Christians. On the Coming of the Son of Man. Religious Society and Conversation. Fearful Constitution of Man. Natural History connected with Re- ligion. Religious Biography. True and false Repose in Death. Principles more important than Im- pulses and Feelings. Mistaken Saint. Elijah's Journey. Dreams and spiritual Agency. Self-Consecration. Parental Admonitions. On the devotional reading of the Holy Scriptures. Christian Solace in the Time of Trial. Mystery of Godliness. A few Rules for Practice. Character and Misery of an irreligious Youth. Fund for the Relief of the Waldenses. Error of Balaam. On the Existence of God. On the devotional reading of the pro phetic Scrip'ures. Directions for reconciling Differences among Friends. Advantages of Sunday Schools to the'Conversion of a Budhist Priest, Teachers, Rules for a profitable Sabbath, Importance of Trifles. Wisdom and Knowledge the Sources of Grief. Advantages of an Acquaintance with the Evidences of Revelation. On Sincerity. Reflections on the Death of a Friend Standard and Test of ti ue Piety. The angelic World. Thoughs on Deism, and What Truth ? Millennial Reign of Christ. Knowledge and intellectual Habits considered in Relation to Human Life. The last Journey. Self Examination. Preaching the Gospel. Conversion of St. Paul. Adula'ion and Calumny. Christians are S ewards. Christian Ehics. Christian Churches should be more missionary. Perverse Disputings. The Old Maid. Of the Olympic Games. Heathen Fortitude and Christian Mag- nanimity. The irreparable Loss. Fidelity to'heDving. Letter of Mr. De Cnurcy. Christiani'y essentially missionary. " Cui Bono" Men. Last Hours of condemned Felons. Grace of Humility. Simplicity. Motives to the Study of the Holy Scrip- tures. Christian Missions. The Avenger Btai ed. Man the Image of he Deity. Some Evidences of Grace. Pride. Self-Knowledge. The Water of Life. Greatness of God. Salvation. Reflections on Scott's Life of Napoleon. Last Days of Bonaparte. Commit thy Way unto the Lord. Letters to the Young. Effects of physical Temperament on religious Expression. Thanksgiving. Poetry. It is not a needless Alarm. Spirituality of the present Dispensation. The Bible and Lord Byron. Moral Character of Christ. The Heavenly Inheritance. Sober-Mindedness. Decision of Character. Evidence arising from Prophecy. Recognition of departed Souls in a separate State. Historical and Narrative. Albigenses. Reformation in Ireland. Religion in Germany. Christianity in Calcutta. Protestants and Roman Catholics in Austria. Roman Catholic Church in England, present State of. Japanese Books. Education in Ireland. Religious Communities in Europe. Jews in Russia. Missions in Southern Africa. Robert Taylor's Trial and Conviction. A seasonable Supply. Oriental Cruelty, Apathv, and Brutal- ity. Ruins of Babylon. Popery on the Continent. Population of the Earth, according to us different Religions. Religion, Literature, and Philosophy of the Mahometans. Progress of Education in Europe. Survey of Christianity in the Inland Seas. Irish Reformation. Remarkable Jewish Sect. Ravages of Locusts. A Visit to the Seven Churches of Asia. Thomson's Letters from South Ame- rica. The Celtic Druids. Gipsies in England. Locusts. Superstitions of India. Religion of the Indians. Protestantism in Bohemia. French Protestants and Jesuits. Ca'holic Clergy of France. Moral Statistics of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. African Bushmen. Letters from Italy, ussia — Petersburgh. Ramble among the Mountains of Scot- land. The Druids. Fall of Popery and Mahommedanism not just at hand. Declaration to the Lutheran Churches . Gipsy Camp. Babylon Des'royed. Clapperton and'Laing. Bartholomew Massacre. Converted Gipsies. Walsh's Travels in Transylvania, isious and Benevolent Societies. Indian Suttees. Sabbath Schools of yore. Mrs. Ki I ham's Visit to Sierra Leone. Twenty-fourth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society. Present State of the Jews. Religion of the ancient Britons. Biblical. Prophecies of Scripture relative to the Mahometans. Internal Evidence of revealed Bel. gion. Daniel's historical Prophecies. Mosaic and other ancient Accounts of Leprosy. IlHistraiions of Scripture. Calendarium Palestmae. State of Society before the Deluge. Biblical Illustrations. Cain. Offence of David in numbering the People. Evangelists and Josephus. Accuracy of the sacred Writers. Scripture Natural History. Imprisonment and Deliverance of Offering up of Isaac. Hebrew Government. Divine Legation of Moses. Prophetic Description of Modern Infi dels. Prophecy of Balaam. Scripture Facts and Pagan Antiquities. Anecdote. Autograph of Ezra. Oriental Fragments. Primeval Curse. Flaming Sword. First Fruits. Sacred Geography. Hebrew Bible. Critical Remarks. Prophetic Scriptures. Biographical. Mrs. Maria Cilder. John Mason Good. Baron de Stael. Legh Richmond. Martin Bos. Robert Hall. John Frederick Oberlin. Rev. Robert Pollock. John Mason Good. Robert Raikes, Esq. Dr. Johnson's religious Character. Rev. Dr. Parr. Robert Montgomery. Legh Richmond. Rev. Joseph Wolff. James Montgomery. Robert Greathead. Zuinglius. Reviews. Scott's History of the Church of Christ Confessions of a Gamester. Memoirs of Urquhart. Hogg's Economy of Grace. Heber's Hymns. Pelican Island. Idolatry, a Poem. Hewitt's Desolation of Eyam. Thomson's Letters on South America. Pollock's Course of Time. Biblical Researches and Travels ir Russia. M'Crie's Reformation in Italy. Jay's Christian contemplated. Dealtry's Sen ins. Monthly Lectures on the Evidences of Revelation. Teinkowski's Russian Mission. Townley's Reasons of the Laws of Moses. Taylor on Transmission of ancient Books. Fincher's Achievements of Prayer. Faber on the Origin of expiatory Sac rifice. Burder's Village Sermons. March's Early Life of Christ. Montgomery, as a sacred Poet Hug's Introduction to the New Testa- ment. Hampden's Philosophical Evidence of Christianity. Slater's rural Pictures and miscellane- ous Poems. Morell's Elements of the History of Philosophy and Science. Taylor's Elements of Thought. Dawson's Christian Astronomer. Henderson's Biblical Criticism. Cecil's Remains. Montgomery's Omnipresence of the Deity. English Harmony of the Four Evange- Comprehensive Bible. The Antidote; or Memoirs of a modern Freethinker. Connexion of Christianity with human Happiness. Graham's Practical Sermons on the Ten Commandments. Mudge's Memorial of ministerial La- bour. Orme on the Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Christian Year. Beechey's Expedition to the Coast of Africa. Three Years' Residence in Italy. Payne's Elements of mental and moral Science. Pringle's Ephemerides. Bridse's Exposition of Psalm CXIX. Townley's Reasons of the Laws of Moses. Taylor's Process of historical Proof. Le Bas's Considerations on Miracles. Wood's Difficulties of the Infidel. Craig's Sermons on Practical Subjects. 'Biblical Encvclopedia. Wardlaw, Grinfield, Taylor, and Bar- row, on the Criminality of Unbelief. Russell's Connexion of Sacred and Profane History. Good's Life and Writings. Marsh on Prophecy. Philips's Researches in South Africa. Course of Time. Dr. Owen's Dying Thoughts. Benton's Testimonies of the Ante- Nicene Fathers. Boothrovd's Explanation of Psalm xxxvii. 25. One of Barrow's Sermons. Smith on the Sacrifice and Priesthood of Christ. Dr. Lardner's Works. Moase's Moral Crea ion. Lothian's Expository Letters. Leslie's Vision of the heavenly World. Taylor on Historical Proof. Arran, a Poem. Burder's Lectures on Religion. Harp of Judah. Bickersteth on Jus'ifica'ion. Soame's His'orv of the Reformation. Thornton's Fruits of the Spirit. Ryland's Pastoral Memorial'.. Suggestions for visiting the Sick. Baron's Devotional Verses. Christian Tablet. Salathiel. Wilson's Evidences of Christianity. Walsh's Jnuruev from Constantinople. Williams's Life' of Matthew Henry. Farewell to Time. Thomson's Davidica. Berthold's New Testaments. Watts's Poe'ical Album. Controversial Points between Catho- lics and Protes'an's. Cunninghame's Second Coming of the Messiah. unt's Veracity of the Evangelists. Le Bas on Miracles. Russell's English and Scotch Reform- ers. Le Bas's Sermons. Maitland, &c on the 1260 Years. Garbett's Nullity of the Roman Faith. Creuser's Religious Symbols of Anti- quity. Mann's Theological Essays. Carpenter's Scripture Natural Histo- ry- Poetry. Vale of Tears. Heaven. Christ stilling the Tempest. Bell at Sea. Paschal Morn. Messiah's Advent Nunquam non paratns. Errors of the true Christian. Mercy Seat. Est consummatum. Midnight Hymn. House of Prayer. To some hath God his Word addressed Heber's Hymns. Angel Visits. Thoughts of Heaven. Wakening. Sun of Righteousness. Faint, yet pursuing. The Approval. Lessons sweet of Spring returning. Dying Christian's Anticipations. Frailty and Felicity. To a Sceptic. Time grows not old. To thee, O Lord ! we thus draw nigh. Christmas Rose. Harp of David. O Lord ! where'er thy name, &c. Paraphrase on Psalm cxxxvii. For whom should we weep ? Omnipresent. Omnipotent The last Christian. Reminiscences. To a night-blowing Flower. An Evening Thought Bright and rapid be thy Glance. Christian's Triumph. Fair Spirit, tho' Time's unflagging Wing. An Evening Walk in Bengal. Love. Cain. Return of the Vaudois. The Refuge. Deliverance of Vienna. To Hannah More. Replenished from the Stores divine. Thy Kingdom come. Praise. God is Light The Snowdrop. Italian Epigram. Graves of Martyrs. Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. * # * These Volumes, in addition to the foregoing, announce several hundred New Works. Published, every month, by E. Littell, Philadelphia, at Six Dollars a Year. When Christ in human Nature came. What is Truth? The Stag. Joy. Hebrew Hymn for the Spring. He beileth the broken in Heart To Lady I K Night. Where is now thy God ? Morning Hymn. Friends of my Youth. Sunday School Hymn. To a Lady, on the sudden Decease d her Infant. Retrospect Evening Hymn. Omniscience. Dark is the Flow of Siloe's Stream. Last Night of 1S27. Text in my Album. Evening Hymn. Evening Star. The Harmony. Thou art my all. Our Fathers, where are they ? Difficulty of sacred Poetry. This Mortal must put on Immortality With an Almanac. Midnight Mourner. Unchanging God. Watch. Churchyard Scene. March and End of Life. Elijah in the Cave of Horeb. For these I weep. Imi'ation of Psalm cxxx. Whence conies Truth? To a Lady in her last Illness. Why hast thou forsaken me ? My God, I love to meditate on thee. The Sun of intellectual Light Pilgrims' Song of Expectation. M'>onIight ~ "m cxxvi. To the Evening Star. Presumption reproved. The Christian. On Sickness. Universal Beautv and Glory of Religion. The two Voices'. Last Plague of Egypt. Bridal Greetings. Light House. Man. Rainbow. Rebecca parting with Jacob. Re-appearance of the seventh Pleiad. 1 1012 01004 1194 lit IHE In Mill 111 iir ■ i lilllllll r Ml 1 MJJ 11 ■ ilp!:; ; : ifei:!:,!!!''!..- wt