*
J
William Kane
Jus Liber Doming
1745 4110
4
+
1817
ARTES
SCIENTIA
VERITAS
OF THE
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN |
PLURIBUS UNUM
TIEBOR
SI QUÆRIS PENINSULAM AMŒNAM
CIRCUMSPICE
:
*
}
47
1
3
Hawker:
Witham 4
July # 1747
#fe
William Hark
1
:
SEVERAL
W:T: Jurkan 1767
DISCOURSES
UPON
Practical SUBJECTS.
THE
ARGUMENTS
Of which may be collected from
The CONTENTS
By GEORGE WHITEFIELD, A. B.
Of Pembroke-College, OXFORD.
To which is added,
The Oxford METHODISTS,
LONDON:
Printed for, and Sold by J. HODGES, on London - Bridge;
J. WILSON, and P. BROWNE, in Brifol; Meff. HARRIS
in Gloucester; J. LEAKE in Bath; J. WARNE in Chiper-
ham; J. CROFTs in Monmouth; W. NORRIS in Taunten;
and by Mr. PIESLEY in Oxford. MDCCXXXVIII.
BX
WS
こざ
​น
**
To the Rev. Mr. WHITEFIELD,
Hals f
7.5 45
52
H
On his Defign for GEORGIA.
OW great, how juft thy Zeal, advent'rous Youth!
To fpiead in Heathen Climes, the Light of Truth !
Go lov'd of Heaven! with every Grace refin'd,
Inform, enrapture each dark Indian's Mind;
Grateful, as when to Realms long hid from Day,
The chearful Dawn fore-fhews the folar Ray.
How great thy Charity whoſe large Embrace
(Intends th'eternal Weal of all thy Race}
Prompts thee, the Rage of Winds and Seas to Scorn,
T'effect the Work for which thy Soul was born.
What Multitudes, whom Pagan Dreams deceive,
Shall, when they hear thy pow'rful Voice, believe?
On Georgia's Shore thy WESTLEY ſhall attend,
To hail the wifh'd Arrival of his Friend:
With Joy, the promis'd Harveſt he furveys,
And to his Lord for faithful Lab'rers prays:
Tho' crowded Temples here would plead thy ftay,
Yet hafle, bleſs'd Prophet on thy deſtin'd Way.
Be gentle, Winds and breathe an eaſy Breeze '
Be clear, ye Skies! and fmooth, ye flowing Seas'
From Heav'n, ye guardian Angels' ſwift defcend,
Delighted, his bleft Miſſion to attend
Which ſhall from Satan's Pow'r whole Nations free,
While half the World to JESUS bow the Knee.
Long as Savannah, peaceful Stream! fhall glide,
Your Worth renown'd fhall be extended wide :
Children, as yet unborn, fhall bleſs your Lore,
Who thus, to fave them, left your Native Shore.
Th' Apoftles thus, with ardent Zeal infpir'd,
To gain all Nations for their LORD defir'd:
They meafur'd Seas, a Life laborious knew,
And num'rous Converts to their MASTER drew;
Whofe Halleluja's on the ætherial Plains,
Rife fcarce beneath the bright Seraphic Strains
Vysen
The
1
}
f
THE
CONTENT S.
SERMON I. LUKE ix. 23.
AND be faid unto them all, If any Man will come after me,
let him deny himſelf.
Serm. II. Ecclef. iv. 9, 10, 11, 12.
Page. 1.
Two are better than
One, becauſe they have a good Reward for their Labour.=
For if they fall, the One will lift up his Fellow: But wo
to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another
to help him up. Again, if Two lie together, then they they
have Heat; but how can One be warm alone?
And if
One prevail against him, Two fhall withſtand him; and a
Three-fold Cord is not quickly broken.
Serm. III. Ecclef. xii. I.
21.
Remember now thy Creator in the
47.
2. Cor. v. 17. If any Man be in Chrift, he is a
4
Days of thy Youth.
}
Serm. IV.
new Creature.
65.
Serm. V. 1. Cor. vi. 11.
But ye are Juflified.
88.
Serm. VI. Acts. xxiv. 28.
Almost thou perfuadeft me to be a
•
Chriflian.
107.
Serm. VII. Matth. v. 34. But I say unto you, Swear not
at all.
128.
Serm. VIII. Joſhua xxiv. 15. As for Me and my House, we
will ferve the Lord.
146.
Serm. IX. 1. Theff. v. 25. Brethren, Pray for us.
168.
On
-
ty
ON SELF-DENIAL.
On
LUKE ix. 23.
And He faid unto them all, If any
Man will come after me, let him
deny himſelf.
W
HOEVER reads the Gofpel with
a fingle Eye, and fincere Intention,
will find, that our Bleffed Lord took
all Opportunities of reminding his Diſciples that
his Kingdom was not of this World; that is
Doctrine was a Doctrine of the Crofs; and that
their profeffing themſelves to be his Followers,
would call them to a conftant State of voluntary
or Self-fuffering and Self-denial.
THE Words of the Text afford us one In-
tance, among many, of our Saviour's Behaviour
in this Matter; For having in the preceding. Ver-
fes revealed himſelf to Peter, and the other Apo-
ftles, to be The CHRIST of GOD; left they
fhould be too much elated with fuch a peculiar
Diſcovery of his Deity, or think that their Rela-
tion to fo great a Perfonage would be attended
A
with
2
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENTAL.
with nothing but Pomp and Grandeur; He tells
them, in the 22d Verfe, That the Son of Man
was to fuffer many Things in this World, though
He was to be crowned with eternal Glory and
Honour in the next: And that if any of them,
or their Poſterity, would ſhare in the fame Ho-
nour, they muſt bear a Part with him in his Self-
denial and Sufferings. For He faid unto them all,
If any Man will come after me, let him deny him-
felf.
FROM which Words I fhall confider thefe
three Things;
1. First, The Nature of Self-denial recom-
mended in the Text; and in how many Re-
ſpects we must deny ourſelves, in order to
come after JESUS CHRIST.
II. Secondly, I fhall endeavour to prove the
Univerfality and Reaſonableneſs of this Du-
ty of Self-denial.
III. Thirdly and laftly, I fhall offer fome Con-
fiderations, which may ferve as ſo many Mo-
tives to reconcile us to, and quicken us in
the Practice of this Doctrine of Self-denial.
I. AND First, then, I am to fhew the Nature
of the Self-denial recommended in the Text; or
in how many Refpects we must deny ourſelves;
in Order to follow JESUS CHRIST.
Now
Serm. I.
3
ON SELF-DENIAL.
1
:
Now as the Faculties of the Soul are diftin-
guiſhed by the Underſtanding, Will, and Affec-
tions; fo in all theſe muſt each of us deny him-
felf. We muſt not lean to our own Understanding,
being wife in our own Eyes, and prudent in our
own Sight; but we muſt ſubmit our fhort-fighted
Reaſon to the Light of Divine Revelation: For
there are Myfteries in Religion, which are above,
though not contrary to, our natural Reafon and
therefore we ſhall never become Chriftians unleſs
we caft down Imaginations, and every high Thing
that exalteth itſelf against the Knowledge of GOD,
and bring into Captivity every Thought to the Obe-
dience of CHRIST. It is in this Refpect, as
well as others, that we must become Fools for
CHRIST's Sake, and acknowledge we know
nothing without Revelation, as we ought to
know. We must then, with all Humility and
Reverence, embrace the myfterious Truths re-
vealed to us in the Holy Scriptures; for thus only
can we become truly Wife, even Wife unto Sal-
vation. It was Matter of our Blefied Lord's
Thankſgiving to his heavenly Father, that he had
hid thefe Things from the Wife and Prudent, and
bad revealed them unto Babes. And in this Refpect
alfo we muſt be converted and become as little. Chil
dren, teachable, and willing to follow the Lamb
into whatſoever Myfteries he fhall be pleaſed to
lead us; and believe and practiſe all divine Truths,
not becauſe we can demonftrate them, but becauſe
GOD, who cannot lie, has revealed them to us.
A 2
HENCE
4
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENIAL.
HENCE then we may trace Infidelity to its
Fountain Head: For it is nothing elfe but a Pride
of the Underſtanding, an Unwillingness to fubmit
to the Truth of GOD, that makes fo many, pro-
feffing themſelves Wife, to become fuch Fools as
to deny the Lord who has fo dearly bought them ;
and difpute the Divinity of that Eternal Ward,
in whom they live, and move, and have their Be-
ing: Whereby, 'tis juftly to be feared, they will
bring upon themfelves fure, if not fwift, De-
ftruction.
BUT to return: As we muft deny ourſelves
in out Underſtandings, fo muft we deny, or, as
it might be more properly rendered, renounce our
Wills; that is, we muſt make our own Wills no
Principle of Action, but whether we eat or drink,
or whatsoever we do, we must do all, not merely
to pleaſe ourſelves, but to the Glory of GOD.
Not that we are therefore to imagine we are to
have no Pleaſure in any Thing we do, (Wiſdom's
Ways are Ways of Pleafantnefs) but pleafing our-
felves must not be the principal, but only the
fubordinate End of our Actions.
AND I cannot but particularly prefs this Doc- ?
trine upon you, because it is the grand Secret of
our Holy Religion. It is this, my Brethren,
that diftinguishes the True Chriftian from the
mere Moralift and formal Profeffor; and which
alone can render any of our Actions acceptable in
GOD's Sight; For if thine Eye be fingle, fays
our
1
Serm. I. ON SELF-DENIAL.
5
our Bleffed Lord, Matth. vi. 22. that is, If thou
aimeft fimply to pleaſe GOD, without any Re-
gard to thy own Will, thy whole Body, that is, all
thy Actions, will be full of Light; agreeable to
the Goſpel, which is called Light: But if thine
Eye be evil, if thine Intention be diverted any
other Way, thy whole Body, all thy Actions, will
be full of Darkness, unprofitable, and capable of
no Reward. For we must not only do the Will
of GOD, but do it because it is his Will; fince
we pray that GOD's Will may be done on Earth
as it is in Heaven. And, no doubt, the bleffed
Angels not only do every Thing that GOD will-
eth, but do it chearfully, out of this Principle,
becauſe GOD willeth it: And if we would
live as we pray, we must go and do likewife.
BUT farther; as we must renounce our own
Wills in doing, fo likewife muft we renounce
them in fuffering the Will of GOD. Whatfo-
ever befalls us, we muſt fay with good old Eli, It
is the LORD, let him do what feemeth him good;
or with one that was infinitely greater than Eli,
Father, not my Will, but thine be done.
"O
JESU, thine was an innocent Will, yet Thou
"renounced it: Teach us, even us alfo, O
"our Saviour! to fubmit our Wills to thine, in
all the Evils which fhall be brought upon us;
and in every Thing enable us to give Thanks,
fince it is thy bleffed Will concerning us!”
st
A 3
THIRDLY,
6
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENIAL.
THIRDLY, and laftly, we must deny ourſelves,
as in our Underſtandings and Wills, fo likewife
in our Affections. More particularly, we muſt
deny ourſelves the pleafurable Indulgence and
Self-enjoyment of Riches: If any Man will come
after me, fays our bleffed Lord, he must forfake all
and follow me. And again (to fhew the utter In-
confiftency of the Love of the Things" of this
World with the Love of the Father) he tells us,
that unless a Man forfake all that he bath, he can-
not be my Disciple.
FAR be it from me to think that thefe Texts
are to be taken in a literal Senfe, as though they
obliged rich Perfons to go fell all that they have,
and give to the Poor, (for that would put it out
of their Power to be ferviceable to the Poor for
the future) but, however, they certainly imply
thus much, that we are to fit loofe to, fell, and
forfake all in Affection, and be willing to part
with every Thing, when GOD fhall require it
at our Hands: That is, as the Apoftle obferves,
we must use the World, as though we uſed it not ;
and though we are in the World, we must not be
of it. We must look upon ourſelves as Stewards,
and not Proprietors of the manifold Gifts of
GOD; provide firft what is neceflary for our-
felves and our Houfholds, and expend the reft,
not in Indulgences and fuperfluous Ornaments,
forbidden by the Apoftle, but in clothing, feed-
ing, and relieving the naked, hungry, diftreffed
Difciples of JESUS CHRIST.
This is what
Our
+
Serm. I. On SELF-DENIAL.
7
J
our Bleffed Lord would have us underftand by
forfaking all, and in this Senſe muſt each of us
deny himſelf.
い
​I AM fenfible that this will feem an bard Say-
ing to many, who will be offended becauſe they
are covetous, and Lovers of Pleaſure more than
Lovers of God: But if I yet pleafed fuch Men, I
fhould not be the Servant of Chrift. No, we muſt
not, like Ahab's falſe Prophets, have a lying Spi--
rit in our Mouths, nor fail to declare (with St.
Paul) the whole Will of GOD; and, like honeſt
Micaiak, out of Pity and Compaffion, tell Men
the Truth, though they may falfely think we pro-
phecy not Good, but Evil concerning them.
BUT to proceed: As we must renounce our
Affection for Riches, fo likewife our Affections
for our Relations, when they ftand in Oppofition
to our Love of and Duty to, GOD: For thus
faith the Saviour of the World: If any Man will
come after me, and hateth not his Father and Mo-
ther, his Children and Brethren and Sifters, yea,
and his own Life alfo, he cannot be my Difciple.
Strange Doctrine this! What, hate our own
Fleſh? What, hate the Father that begat us, the
Mother that bare us! How can thefe Things be?
Can GOD contradict himfelf? Has he not bid us
Honour our Father and Mother? And yet we
are here commanded to hate them. How muſt
theſe Truth be reconciled? Why, by interpreting
the Word hate, not in a rigorous and abfolute
A 4
Senfe,
୪
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENIAL.
Senfe, but comparitively: not as implying a total
Alienation, but a lefs Degree of Affection. For
thus our Bleſſed Saviour himſelf, (the beſt and
fureft Expofitor of his own Meaning) explains it
in a parallel Text, Matth. x. 37. He that loveth
Father or Mother more than me, is not worthy of
ne: He that loveth Son or Daughter more than me,
is not worthy of me. So that when the Perfuafions
of fuch our Friends (as for our Trial they may be
permitted to be) are contrary to the Will of GOD,
we muſt ſay with Levi, we have not known them;
or, agreeable to our Bleffed Lord's Rebuke to
Peter, Get you behind me, my Adverfaries; for,
you favour not the Things that be of GOD, but
the Things that be of Men.
To conclude this Head: We muft deny our-
felves in Things indifferent: For it might eafily
be fhewn, that as many, if not more, perish by
an immoderate Uſe of Things in themſelves in-
different, as by any grofs Sin whatever. A prudent
Chriſtian therefore will confider not only what is
lawful, but what is expedient alfo; not fo much
what Degrees of Self-denial beft fuit his Inclina-
tions here, as what will moft effectually break his
Will, and fit him for greater Degrees of Glory
hereafter.
BUT, is this the Doctrine of Chriftianity? And
is not the Chriftian World then afleep? If not,
whence the Self-Indulgence? Whence the reign-
ing Love of Riches which we every where meet
with?
t
Serm. I. On SELF-DENIAL.
9
+
with? Above all, whence that predominant Gree-
dineſs of fenfual Pleaſure, that has fo over-run
this finful Nation? that was a pious Stranger to
come among us, he would be tempted to think
fome Heathen Venus was worshipped here, and
that Temples were dedicated to her Service. But
we have the Authority of an inſpired Apoſtle to
affirm that they who live in ſuch a Round of Plea-
fure are dead while they live: Wherefore, as the
Holy Ghoft faith, Awake thou that ſleepeſt, and
CHRIST fhall give thee Light. But the Power
of raiſing the ſpiritually Dead belongeth only unto
GOD. "Do Thou therefore, O Holy JESUS,
who by thy almighty Word commandeft Laza-
ແ rus to come forth, though he had lain in the
"Grave so many Days, fpeak alfo as effectually
έσ
CC
to theſe ſpiritually dead Souls, whom Satan for
"theſe many Years has fo faft bound by fenfual
"Pleafures, that they are not fo much as able to
"lift up their Eyes or Hearts to Heaven."
II. BUT I pafs on to the Second general Thing
propoſed; viz. To confider the univerfal Obliga-
tion, and Reaſonableneſs of this Doctrine of
Self-denial.
WHEN Our Bleſſed Maſter had been difcourfing
publickly concerning the Watchfulneſs of the
faithful and wife Steward, his Difciples asked him,
Speakeft thou this Parable to all, or only to us?
The fame Queſtion, I am aware, has been, and
will be, put concerning the foregoing Doctrine:
For
O
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENIAL.
For too many, unwilling to take CHRIST's
eafy Yoke upon them, in Order to evade the
Force of the Gofpel Precepts, would pretend,
that all thoſe Commands concerning Self-denial,
renouncing ourſelves and the World, belonged
only to our LORD's firſt and immediate Fol-
lowers, and not to us or to our Children. But fuch
Perfons greatly err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor
the Power of Godliness in their Hearts. For the
Doctrine of JESUS CHRIST, like his Bleffed Self,
is the fame Yesterday, To-day, and for ever. What
he ſaid unto one, he faid unto all, even unto the
Ends of the World; If any Man will come
after me, let him deny himself: And in the
Text it is particularly mentioned that He faid unto
them all. And left we fhould ftill abfurdly ima-
gine, that this Word all was to be confined to his
Apoſtles, with whom he was then difcourfing, it
is faid in another Place, that JESUS turned
unto the Multitude and faid, If any Man will
come after me, and hateth not his Father and Mo-
ther, yea, and his own Life alfo, he cannot be my
Difciple. "When our Bleffed LORD had ſpo-
"ken a certain Parable, it is faid, the Scribes and
"Pharifees were offended, for they knew the Fa-
"rable was ſpoken againſt them: And if Chri-
"ftians can now read thefe plain and pofitive
"Texts of Scripture, and .at the fame Time not
"think they are ſpoken of them, they are more
"hardened than Jews, and more infincere than
"Pharifees." *
Law's Chriftian Perfection.
IN
g
Serm. I. On SELF-DENIAL.
II
In the former Part of this Diſcourſe, I obfer-
ved, that the Precepts concerning forfaking and
felling all did not oblige us in a literal Senfe, be-
caufe, the State of the Church does not demand
it of us, as it did of the Primitive Chriftians;
but ſtill the fame Deadnefs to the World, the
fame abftemious Ufe of, and Readinefs to part
with our Goods for CHRIST's Sake, is as
abfolutely neceffary for, and as obligatory on us,
as it was on them. For though the Church may
differ as to the outward State of it, in different
Ages, yet, as to the Purity of the inward State,
it was, is, and always will be, invariably the fame.
And all the Commands, which we meet with in
the Epiftles, about mortifying our Members which
are upon the Earth, of fetting our Affections on
Things above, and of not being conformed to
this World; are but fo many inconteſtable Proofs
that the fame Holinefs, Heavenly-mindedneſs,
and Deadnefs to the World, is as neceffary for us
as for our LORD's immediate Followers.
BUT farther, as fuch an Objection argues an
Ignorance of the Scriptures, fo it is a manifeft
Proof that fuch as make it are Strangers to the
Power of Godliness in their Hearts. For fince
the Sum and Subftance of Religion confifts in
our Recovery from our fallen Eſtate in Adam, by
a New Birth in CHRIST JESUS, there is an abfo-
lute Neceffity for us to embrace and practife the
Self-denial before recommended. Becaufe, we
Have not only a new Houfe to build, but an old
one
12
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENTAL.
one firft to pull down; we muft, neceffarily,
therefore be dead to the World, before we can
live unto GOD. In short, all Things belonging
to the Old Man muft die in us, before the Things
belonging to the Spirit can live and grow in us.
WHEN JESUS CHRIST was about to make his
publick Appearance, and to preach the Glad Tid-
ings of Salvation to a benighted World, his Har-
binger, John Baptift, was fent to prepare his Way
before him. In like Manner, when this fame
JESUS is about to take Poffeffion of a Con-
verted Sinner's Heart, Self-denial, like John the
Baptift, muſt prepare the Way before him: For
we muſt mourn before we are capable of being
comforted; we muſt undergo the Spirit of Bondage,
în Order to be made meet to receive the Spirit of
Adoption.
WERE we, indeed, in a State of Innocence,
and had we, like Adam before his Fall, the Divine
Image fully ftamped upon our Souls, we then
fhould have no Need of Self-denial; but fince.
we are fallen, fickly, difordered Creatures, and
this Self-ſuffering, this Self-renunciation is the
indifpenfable Means of recovering our Primitive.
Glory; methinks, in that Cafe, to endeavour to
hake off and reject fuch a falutary Practice, on
Account of the Difficulty attending it at firſt, is
but too like the Obftinacy of a perverſe fick
Child, who naufeates and refufes the Potion reach-
ed
Serm. I.
13
On SELF-DENIAL.
ed out to it by a skilful Phyſician or tender Parent,
becauſe it is a little ungrateful to the Tafte.
HAD any of us feen Lazarus, when he lay
full of Sores, at the Rich Man's Gate; or Job,
when he was fmitten with Ulcers, from the Crown
of his Head to the Sole of his Foot: And had we
at the fame Time preſcribed to them fome healing
Medicines, which, becauſe they would put them
to Pain, they would not apply to their Wounds,
fhould we not moft juftly think, that they were
either fond of a diftempered Body, or were not
fenfible of their Diftempers? But our Souls, by
Nature, are in an infinitely more deplorable Con-
dition than the Bodies of Job or Lazarus, when
full of Ulcers and Boils: For, alas! our whole
Head is fick, and our whole Heart faint; from the
Crown of the Head to the Sole of the Foot, we are
full of Wounds and Bruifes and putrifying Sores,
and there is no Health in us. And JESUS CHRIST,
like a good Phyfician, in the Goſpel Doctrine of
Self-denial, prefents us with a ſpiritual Medicine
to heal our Sickness; but if we will neither receive
nor apply it, 'tis a Sign we are not fenfible of the
Wretchedness of our State, or elſe that we are
unwillng to be made whole.
EVEN Naaman's Servants could fay, when he
refuſed, purſuant to Elijah's Orders, to waſh in
the River Fordan, that he might cure his Leprofy,
Father, if the Prophet had bid thee do fome great
Thing, would't thou not have done it? How much.
rather
14
Serm. I
On SELF-DENIAL.
}
rather then, when he faith unto thee, Wash and be
clean? And may not I, very properly, addrefs
myſelf to you in the fame Manner, my Brethren;
If JESUS CHRIST, our Great Prophet, had bid
you do fome great and very difficult Thing, would
you not have done it? much more then fhould
you do it, when he only bids you deny yourſelves
what would certainly hurt you, if enjoyed; and
behold, you ſhall be made perfectly whole.
Bur to illuſtrate this by another Compariſon ;
In the 12th Chapter of the Alts, we read that
Saint Peter was kept in Priſon, and was fleeping
between two Soldiers, bound with two Chains: And
behold an Angel of the Lord came upon him, and
mote Peter on the Side, faying, Ariſe up quickly:
and his Chains fell off from his Hands. But had
this great Apoſtle, inftead of rifing up quickly,
and doing as the bleffed Angel commanded him,
hugg'd his Chains, and begg'd that they might not
be let fall from his Hands, would not any one
think that he was in Love with Slavery, and dé-
ferved to be executed next Morning? And does
not the Perfon who refufes to deny himself, act as
inconfiftently as this Apoftle would have done,
if he had neglected the Means of his Deliverance?
For our Souls, by Nature, are in a fpritual Dun-
geon, fleeping and faft bound between the World,
the Fleſh, and the Devil, not with Two, but Ten
Thoufand Chains of Lufts and Corruptions.
NOW JESUS CHRIST, like St. Peter's good Angel,
by his Gofpel comes and opens the Prifon Door,
prefcribes
Serm. I. On SELF-DENIAL.
15
prefcribes Self-denial, Mortification, and Renun-
ciation of ourſelves and the World, as fo many
fpiritual Keys which will unlock our Shackles,
make them fall off from our Hearts, and fo reftore
us to the Glorious Liberty of the Sons of GOD.
But if we will not arife quickly, gird up the Loins
of our Mind, and deny ourſelves, as he has com-
manded; Are we not in love with Bondage, and
deferve never to be delivered from it?
INDEED, I will not affirm that this Doctrine of
Self-denial appears in this juſt Light to every one.
No, I am fenfible that to the Natural Man, it is
Foolishness; and to the Young Convert, an hard Say-
ing. But what fays our Saviour? If any Man
will do my Will, he ſhall know of the Doctrine
whether it be of GOD, or whether I Speak of
myſelf. This, my dear Friends, is the beſt, the
only Way of Conviction: Let us up and be do-
ing: Let us arife quickly and deny ourfelves,
and the Lord JESUS will remove thofe Scales
from the Eyes of our Minds, which now, like fo
many Veils, hinder us from feeing clearly the
Reaſonableneſs, Neceffity, and inexpreffible Ad-
vantage of the Doctrine that has been now deli-
vered. Let us but once thus fhew ourſelves Men,
and then the Spirit of GOD will move on the Face
of our Souls, as he did once upon the Face of the
great Deep; and caufe them to emerge out of that
confuſed Chaos, in which they are moft certainly
now involved, if we are Strangers and Enemies to
Self-denial and the Cross of CHRIST.
BUT
16
On SELF-DENIAL.
Serm. I.
BUT notwithſtanding this Doctrine of Self-de-
nial is, when rightly underſtood, fo reaſonable
and beneficial; yet many, it is to be feared, like
the young Man in the Goſpel, are ready to go
away forrowful.
€
III. PROCEED We, therefore, now to the Third
and last general Thing propofed; viz. To offer
fome Confiderations which may ferve as fo' many
Motives to reconcile us to, and quicken us in the
Practice of this Duty of Self-denial.
1. AND the first Means I fhall recommend to
you, in order to reconcile you to this Doctrine, is,
to meditate frequently on the Life of our Bleffed
Lord and Maſter JESUS CHRIST. Oh! may we
often think on Him, our Grand Exemplar! follow
him from his Cradle to his Crofs, and fee what a
felf-denying Life He lead! And ſhall not we drink of
the Cup that He drank of, and be baptized with the
Baptifm that He was baptized with? Or think we,
that JESUS CHRIST did and fuffered every Thing
in Order to have us excufed, and exempted from
Sufferings? No, far be it from any fincere Chri-
ftian to judge after this Manner! For St. Peter
tells us, He fuffered for us, leaving us an Example,
that we should follow his Stepts. Had CHRIST,
indeed, like thofe that fat in Mofes's Chair, laid
beavy Burthens of Self-denial upon us (fuppo-
fing they were heavy, which they are not) and
refuſed to touch them himſelf with one of his Fin-
gers; we might have had fome Pretence to com-
plain 3
Serm. I. On SELF-DENIAL.
17
plain; but fince He has enjoined us nothing, but
what he has first put in Practice himſelf, Thou art
inexcufable, O Difciple, whoever thou art, who
wouldeft be above thy perfecuted felf-denying Ma-
fter: And thou art no good and faithful Servant,
who art unwilling to fuffer and ſympathize with
thy mortified, heavenly-minded LORD.
2. NEXT to the Pattern of our Bleffed Mafter,
think often on the Lives of the glorious Company
of the Apofiles, the goodly Fellowship of the Pro-
phets, and the noble Army of Martyrs; who, by
a conſtant looking to the Author and Finisher of our
Faith, have fought the good Fight, and are gone le
fore us to inherit the Promifes. View, again and
again, how holily, how felf-denyingly, how un-
blameably they lived: And if Self-denial was ne-
ceflary for them, why not for us alfo? Are we not
Men of like Paffions with them? Do we not live
in the fame wicked World as they did? Have we
not the fame Good Spirit to affift, fupport, and
purify us, as they had? And is not the fame Eter-
nal Inheritance reached out, as a Reward of our
Self-denial and Renunciation of the World, as was
offered to them? And if we have the fame Nature
to change, the fame wicked World to withstand,
the fame Good Spirit to help, and the fame Eter-
nal Crown to reward our Obedience; why ſhould
we not lead the fame Lives as they did? Do we
think They did Works of Supererogation? If
not, why don't we do as they did? Or why does
the Church fet apart Feftivals to commemorate the
B
Deaths
18
Serm. I.
On SELF-DENIAL.
Deaths and Sufferings of the Saints, but in order
to excite us to follow them as they did CHRIST?
3. THIRDLY, Think often on the Pains of
Hell: Confider whether it is not better to cut off
a Right Hand or Foot, and pluck out a Right
Eye, if they offend us (or cauſe us to fin) rather
than to be caft into Hell, into the Fire that never
fhall be quenched; where the Worm dieth nct, and
the Fire is not quenched. Think how many Thou-
fands there are now reſerved, with damned Spirits,
in Chains of Darkness unto the Judgment of the
Great Day, for not complying with the Precept
in the Text. And think withal that This, this
must be our own Cafe fhortly, unleſs we are
wife in Time, and fubmit to thofe eafy Conditions.
our Saviour has preſcribed us, in Order to avoid it.
Think you they now imagine JESUS CHRIST to
be an hard Mafter; or rather think you not they
would give Ten thouſand times ten thouſand
Worlds, could they but return to Life again, and
take CHRIST's eafy Yoke upon them? And can
we dwell with everlafting Burnings more than they?
No; if we cannot bear this Precept, Come, deny
yourſelves, take up your Croffes, How fhall we bear
that irrevocable Sentence, Depart from me, ye
Curfed, into everlaſting Fire prepared for the Devil
and his Angels? But I hope thoſe, amongſt whom
I am now preaching the Kingdom of GOD, are
not fo difingenuous as to need to be driven to
their Duty by the Terrors of the LORD, but
rather defire to be drawn by the Cords of Love.
LASTLY,
Serm. I. On SELF-DENIAL.
1
19
LASTLY, therefore, and to conclude,-Often
meditate on the Joys of Heaven: Think, think,
with what unspeakable Glory thofe happy Souls
are now incircled, who, when on Earth, were
called to deny themfelves as well as we, and were
not difobedient to that Call: Lift up your Hearts
frequently toward the Manfions of eternal Blifs,
and with an Eye of Faith, like the great Saint
Stephen, fee the Heavens opened, and the Son of
Man with his glorious Retinue of departed Saints
fitting and folacing themſelves in eternal Joys, and
with unfpeakable Comfort looking back on their
paft Sufferings and Self-denials, as fo many glori-
ous Means which exalted them to fuch a Crown.
Hark! methinks I hear them chanting forth their
everlaſting Halelujahs, and fpending an eternal
Day in ecchoing forth triumphant Songs of Joy.
And do you not long, my Brethren, to join this
heavenly Choir? Do not your Hearts burn within
you? As the Hart panteth after the Water Brooks,
do not your Souls fo long after the bleffed Compa-
ny of theſe Sons of GOD? Behold then a hea-
venly Ladder reached down to you, by which
you may climb to this Holy Hill. If any Man
will come after them, let him deny himself and
follow them. It was this, my Brethren, exalted
the Holy JESUS himſelf, as Man, to fit at
the Right Hand of his adorable Father. By this
alone every Saint that ever lived, afcended into the
Joy of their Lord: And by this we, even we alfo,
may be lifted up into the fame moft blissful Re-
gions, there to enjoy an eternal Reft with the
B ~
People
20
Serm. I.
ON SELF-DENIAL.
**
People of GOD, and join with them in finging
Doxologies and Songs of Praife, to the Everlafting,
Bleffed, All-glorious, moft Adoreable Trinity,
for ever and ever.
Which GOD of his infinite Mercy grant, &c.
1
له
Į
4,
On
}
On Religious Society.
ECCLES. iv. 9, 10, 11, 12.
Two are better than One, becauſe they have
a good Reward for their Labour.
For if they fall, the One will lift up his
Fellow: But wo be to him that is alone
when he falleth; for he hath not another
to help him up.
Again, if Two lie together, then they have
Heat; but how can One be warm alone?
And if One prevail againſt him, Two ſhall
withſtand him; and a Three-fold Cord is
not quickly broken.
A
MONG the many Reafons affignable for
the fad Decay of True Chrifianity, per-
haps the neglecting to affemble ourselves
together, in Religious Societies, may not be one
of the leaft. That I may therefore do my Endea-
vour towards Promoting fo excellent a Means of
Piety, I have felected a Paffege of Scripture drawn
from the Experience of the Wifeft of Men,
which being a little enlarged on and illuſtrated,
will fully anſwer my prefent Defign; that being
to fhew, in the beft Manner I can, the Neceffity
B 3
and
22
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
and Benefits of Society in General, and of Religi-
ous Society in Particular.
Two are better than One, &c.
FROM which Words I fhall take Occafion to
prove,
First, The Truth of the Wife Man's Affertion,
viz. Two are better than One, and that in Re-
ference to Society in General, and Religious
Society in Particular.
"Secondly, To affign fome Reaſons why Two are
M
better than One, eſpecially as to the laft Par
ticular. First, Becauſe Men can raiſe up one
another when they chance to flip: For if they
fell, the One will lift up his Fellow. Secondly,
Becauſe they can impart Heat to each other:
Again, if Two lie together, then they have
Heat; but bow can One be warm alone?
Thirdly, Becauſe they can fecure each other
from thofe that do oppoſe them: And if One
prevail againſt him, Two ſhall withſtand him,
and a Three-fold Cord is not quickly broken.
From hence,
Thirdly, I fhall take Occafion to fhew the Duty
incumbent on every Member of a Religious
Society.
Fourthly and Laftly, I fhall draw an Inference
or Two from what fhall have been faid; and
then
Serm. II.
23
On Religious Society.
ફ્
then conclude with a Word or Two of Ex-
hortation from the whole.
Firſt then, I am to prove the Truth of the
Wife Man's Afflertion, viz. that Two are better than
One, and that in Reference to Society in General,
and Religious Society in Particular.
AND how can this be done better than by fhew-
ing that it is abfolutely neceffary for the Welfare
both of the Bodies and Souls of Men? Indeed if
we look upon Man as he came out of the Hands
of his Maker, we imagine him to be perfect, en-
tire, lacking nothing. But GOD, whofe Thoughts
are not as our Thoughts, faw fomething ftill want-
ing to make Adam happy. And what was that?
Why, an Help meet for him. For thus ſpeaketh
the Scripture: And the LORD GOD faid, It is
not good that the Man fhould be alone, I will make
an Help meet for him.
OBSERVE, GOD faid, It is not good, thereby
implying that the Creation would have been im-
perfect, in ſome fort, unleſs an Help was found out
meet for Adam. And if this was the Cafe of Man
before the Fall; if an Help was mect for him in at
State of Perfection; furely fince the Fall, when
we come naked and helpleſs out of our Mother's
Womb, when our Wants increafe with our Years,
and we can fcarcely fubfift a Day without the
mutual Affiſtance of each other, well may we fay,
It is not good for Man to be alone.
B 4
!
SOCIETY
24
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
SOCIETY, then, we fee is abfolutely neceflary in
refpect to our bodily and perfonal Wants. If we
Carry our View farther, and confider Mankind as
divided into different Cities, Countries, and Na-
tions, the Neceffity of it will appear yet more
evident. For how can Communities be kept up,
or Commerce carried on, without Society? Cer-
tainly not at all, fince Providence feems wifely to
have affigned a particular Product to almoft each
particular Country, on Purpofe as it were to oblige
us to be focial; and hath fo admirably mingled
the Parts of the whole Body of Mankind together,
that the Eye cannct fay to the Hand, I have no need
of Thee; nor again, the Hand to the Foot, I have
no Need of Thee.
MANY other Inftances might be given of the
Neceffity of Society, in Reference to our bodily,
perfonal, and national Wants. But what are all
thefe when weighed in the Balance of the Santtu-
ary, in Compariſon of the infinite greater-Need
of it, with Refpe& to the Soul? It was chiefly
in Regard to this better Part, no doubt, that GoD
Said, It is not good for the Man to be alone. For
let us fuppofe Adam to be as happy as may be,
placed as the Lord of the Creation in the Paradife
of GOD, and ſpending all his Hours in adoring
and praifing the Bleffed Author of his Being:
Yet as his Soul was the very Copy of the Divine
Nature, whofe peculiar Property it is to be com-
municative, without the Divine All-Sufficiency he
could not be compleatly happy, becauſe he was
alone and incommunicative, nor even Content in
Paradife
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
25
Paradife for want of a Partner in his Joys.
GOD knew this, and therefore faid, It is not
good that the Man fhould be alone, I will make an
Help meet for him. And tho' this proved a fatal
Means of his falling; yet that was not owing to
any natural Confequence of Society; but partly to
that curfed Apoftate, who craftily lies in wait to
deceive, partly to Adam's own Folly, in rather
choofing to be miferable with one he loved, than
truft in GOD to raife him up another Spoufe.
If we reflect indeed on that familiar Intercourſe
our firſt Parent could carry on with Heaven, in
a State of Innocence, we ſhall be apt to think he
had as little Need of Society, as to his Soul, as be-
fore we fuppofed him to have, in Reſpect to his
Body. But yet, as GOD and the Holy Angels
were fo far above him on the one Hand, and the
Beafts fo far beneath him on the other, there was
nothing like having one to converfe with, who
was Bone of his Bone, and Flesh of his Flefb.
MAN, then, could not be fully happy, we fee,
even in Paradife, without a Companion of his
own Species, much leſs now he is driven out.
For, let us view him a little in his natural Eftate
now, fince the Fall, as having his Understanding
darkened, his Mind alienated from the Life of
GOD, as no more able to fee his Way wherein
he ſhould go, than a Blind Man to deſcribe the
Sun That notwithſtanding this, he must re-
ceive his Sight e'er he can ſee GOD: And that
if
26
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
if he never fees him, he never can be happy.
Let us view him, I fay, in this Light (or rather
this Darkness) and deny the Neceffity of Society
if we can. A Divine Revelation we find is ab-
folutely neceffary, we being by Nature as unable
to know, as we are to do our Duty. And how
ſhall we learn, except one teach us? But was
GOD to do this immediately by Himfelf, how
ſhould we, with Mofes, exceedingly quake and
fear? Nor would the Miniſtry of Angels in this
Affair be without too much Terror. It is necef-
fary, therefore (at leaſt GOD's Dealing with us
hath fhewed it to be fo) that we ſhould be drawn
with the Cords of a Man. And that a Divine Re-
velation being granted, we ſhould uſe one ano-
ther's Affiftance, under GOD, to inftru&t each
other in the Knowledge, and to exhort one a-
nother to the Practice of thoſe Things which
belong to our everlaſting Peace. This is un-
doubtedly the great End of Society intended by
GOD fince the Fall, and a ſtrong Argument it
is, why Two are better than One, and why, we
should not forfake the Affembling Ourselves together.
BUT farther, let us confider Ourſelves as Chrif
tians, as having this natural Veil, in fome Mea-
fure, taken off from our Eyes, by the Affiſtance
of GOD's Holy Spirit, and fo enabled to ſee
what He requires of us. Let us fuppofe Our-
felves in fome Degree to have tafted the good Word
of Life, and to have felt the Powers of the World
to come, influencing and moulding our Souls in--
to
Serm. I. On Religious Society.
27
*
to a Religious Frame: To be fully and heartily
convinced that we are Soldiers lifted under the
Banner of CHRIST, and have proclaimed open
War at our Baptiſm, against the World, the Flesh,
and the Devil, and have, perhaps, frequently, re-
nenewed our Obligations fo to do, by partaking
of the Lord's Supper: That we are furrounded
with Millions of Foes Without, and infeſted with
a Legion of Enemies Within: That we are com-
manded to ſhine as Lights in the World, in the
midit of a crooked and perverſe Generatión :
That we are travelling to a long Eternity, and
necd all imaginable Helps to fhew us, and en-
courage us in our Way thither: Let us, I fay, re-
flect on all this, and then how fhall each of us
cry out, Brethren, what a neceffary Thing it is to
meet together in Religious Societies!
THE Primitive Chriftians were fully fenfible
of this, and therefore we find them continually
keeping up Communion with each other. For
what fays the Scripture? They continued stedfastly
in the Apostle's Doctrine and Fellowship, Acts ii. 42.
Peter and John were no fooner difmiffed by the
Great Council, than they hafte away to their
Companions. And being fet at Liberty, fays the
Text, they came to their own, and told them all thefe
Things which the High Prieft had faid unto them,
Acts iv. 23. Paul, as foon as converted, tarried
three Days with the Difciples that were at Damaf-
cus, Acts ix. 19. And Peter afterwards when
releafed from Prifon, immediately goes to the
Houfe
28
On Religious Society. Serm. II,
Houſe of Mary, where there were great Multi-
-tudes affembled, praying, A&s xii. 12. And it is
reported of Chriftians in After-Ages that they
ufed to affemble together before Day-light, to fing
a Pfalm to CHRIST as GOD. So precious.
was the Communion of Saints in thofe Days.
IF it be asked, what Advantage we fhall reap
from fuch a Procedure now? I anfwer, much
every Way. Two' are better than One, because they
have a good Reward for their Labour: For if they
fall, the One will lift up his Fellow: But wo be to
him that is alone when be falleth; for he hath not
another to help him up. Again, if two lie together,
then they have Heat; but how can One be warm
alone? And if One prevail against him, Two fhall
withſtand him; and a Three-fold Cord is not quick-
ly broken.
WHICH directly leads me to my Second general
Head, under which I was to affign fome Rea-
fons why Two are better than One, eſpecially
in Religious Society.
As Man in his prefent Condition cannot always
ftand upright, but by Reaſon of the Frailty of his
Nature cannot but fall, one eminent Reaſon why
Two are better than One, or in other Words, one
great Advantage of Religious Society is, That when
they fall, the One will lift up his Fellow.
AND an excellent Reafon this, indeed! For
alas! when we reflect how prone we are to be
drawn
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
29
drawn into Error in our Judgments, and into Vice
in our Practice, and how unable, at leaft how
very unwilling, to efpy or correct our own Miſ-
carriages; when we confider how apt the World
is to flatter us in our Faults, and how few there
are ſo kind as to tell us the Truth; what an in-
eftimable Privilege muft it be to have a Set of
true, judicious, hearty Friends about us, continu-
ally watching over our Souls, to inform us where
we have fallen, and warn us that we fall not
again for the future. Surely, it is fuch a Privi-
lege that (to use the Words of an eminent Chrif-
tian) we ſhall never know the Value of, 'till
we come to Glory.
BUT this is not all; for fuppofing that we
could always ftand upright, yet whofoever reflects
on the Difficulties of Religion in general, and
his own Propensity to Lukewarmnefs and Indiffe-
rence in particular, will find that he must be zco-
lous as well as fteady, if e'er he expects to enter
into the Kingdom to Heaven. Here, then, the
Wife Man points out to us another excellent Rea-
fon why Two are better than One. Again, fays he,
if Two lie together, then they have Heat; but how
can One be warm alone?
WHICH was the next Thing to be confidered
under the Second general Head, viz. To af-
fign a fecond Reafon why Two are better than
One, becauſe they can impart Heat to each
other.
IT'S
30
Serm. II.
On Religious Society
It's an Obfervation no lefs true than common,
That kindled Coals, if placed afunder, foon go
out, but if heaped together, quicken and enliven
each other, and afford a lafting Heat. The fame
will hold good in the Cafe now before us. If
Chriftians, kindled by the Grace of GOD, unite,
they will quicken and enliven each other; but if
they ſeparate and keep afunder, no Marvel if they
foon grow cool or tepid. If Two or Three meet
together in CHRIST's Name, they will have
Heat, but how can One be warm alone?
OBSERVE, How can One be warm alone? The
Wife Man's expreffing himſelf by Way of Que-
ſtion, implies an Impoffibility, at leaſt a very great
Difficulty, to be warm in Religion without Com-
pany, where it may be had. Behold here, then,
another excellent Benefit flowing from Religious
Society; it will keep us zealous as well as fteady,
in the Ways of Godlinefs.
{
BUT to illuſtrate this a little farther by a
Compariſon or two. Let us look upon ourſelves
(as was above hinted) as Soldiers lifted under
CHRIST's Banner; as going out with Ten
Thouſand to meet one that cometh against us with
Twenty, Thousand; as Perfons that are to wrestle
not only with Flesh and Blood, but against Princi-
palities, againft Powers, and fpiritual Wickednesses
in high Places. And then, tell me, all ye that
fear GOD, if it be not an invaluable Privilege
to have a Company of Fellow Soldiers continually.
about
-
}
Serm. II.
31
On Religious Society.
about us, animating and exhorting each other to
ſtand our Ground, to keep our Ranks, and man-
fully to follow the Captain of our Salvation, tho'
it be thro' a Sea of Blood?
Lastly, LET us confider Ourfelves in another
View before mentioned, viz. as Perfons travel-
ling to a long Eternity; as refcued by the free Grace
of GOD, in fome Meaſure, from our natural
Egyptian Bondage, and marching under the Con-
duct of our Spiritual Fofbua, thro' the Wilderness
of this World, to the Land of our Heavenly Canaan.
Let us farther reflect how apt we are to ſtartle at
every Difficulty; to cry, There are Lions! there
are Lions in the Way! There are the Sons of A-
nack to be grappled with, e'er we can poffefs the
promiſed Land: How prone we are with Lot's
Wife to look wiſhfully back on our Spiritual So-
dom, or with the foolish Ifraelites, to long again
for the Flesh-Pots of Egypt, and to return to our
former natural State of Bondage and Slavery.
Confider this, my Brethren, and fee what a bleſs-
ed Privilege it will be to have a Set of Ifraelites
indeed about us, always reminding us of the Fol-
ly of any fuch cowardly Defign, and of the in-
tolerable Mifery we fhall run into, if we fall,
in the leaſt, ſhort of the promiſed Land.
MORE might be faid on this Particular, did
not the Limits of a Difcourfe of this Nature,
oblige me to haſten to give a
THIRD
32
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
THIRD Reaſon, mentioned by the Wife Man
in the Text, why Two are better than One;
namely, becauſe they can fecure each other
from Enemies without. And if One prevail
against him, yet Two ſhall withſtand him ;
and a Three-fold Cord is not quickly broken.
HITHERTO we have confidered the Advan-
tages of Religious Societies, as a great Preferva-
tive againſt falling (at leaſt dangerouſly falling)
into Sin, and Lukewarmneſs, and that too, from
our own Corruptions. But what fays the wife
Son of Sirach? My Son, when thou goeſt to ſerve
the LORD, prepare thy Soul for Temptation:
And that not only from inward, but outward Foes;
particularly from thoſe two grand Adverfaries, the
World and the Devil. For no fooner will thine
Eye be bent Heaven-ward, but the former will be
immediately diverting it another Way, telling thee
thou needeft not be fingular in order to be religi-.
ous; that one may be a Chriftian without going fo
much out of the Common Road.
NOR will the Devil be wanting in his artful
Infinuations, or impious Suggeſtions to divert or
terrify thee from preffing forwards, that thou mayeſt
lay bold on the Crown of Life: And if he cannot
prevail this Way, he will try another; and in or-
der to make his Temptation the more undifcerned,
but withal more fuccefsful, he will employ per-
haps fome of thy neareſt Relatives, or moft pow-
erful Friends (as he fet Peter on our bleſſed Maſter)
who
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
33
who will always be bidding thee Spare thyself;
telling thee, thou needeft not take fo much
Pains, that it is not fo difficult a Matter to get to
Heaven as fome People would make of it, nor the
Way fo narrow as others imagine it to be.
BUT fee here the Advantage of Religious Com-
pany; for fuppofing thou findest thy felf thus
furrounded on every Side, and unable to with-
ſtand ſuch horrid (though feemingly friendly)
Counfels, baste away to thy Companions, and they
will teach thee a truer and better Leflon; they
will tell thee, that thou must be fingular if thou
wilt be religious; and that it is as impoffible for
a Chriftian, as for a City fet upon a Hill, to be
hid: That if thou wilt be an almoft Chriftian
(and as good be none at all) thou mayeſt live in
the fame idle, indifferent, Manner as thou ſeeſt
moſt other People do: But if thou wilt be not
only almost, but altogether a Chriftian, they will
inform thee thou must go a great deal farther
That thou muſt not only faintly feek, but earneſt-
ly Atrive to enter in at the firait Gate: That there
is but One Way to Heaven as formerly, viz. thro'
the narrow Paffage of a found Converſion: And
that in Order to bring about this mighty Work,
thou must undergo a conftant, but neceffary,
Diſcipline of Watching, Fafting, and Prayer.
And that, therefore, the only Reaſon why thefe
Friends give thee fuch Advice is, becauſe they
are not willing to take ſo much Pains themſelves;
or, as our Saviour told Peter on a like Occafion,
C
becauſe
;
34 On Religious Society. Serm. II
}
becauſe they favour not the Things that be of God,
but the Things that be of Men.
THIS, then, is another excellent Bleffing arif-
ing from Religious Society, that Friends can here-
by fecure each other from thofe that oppoſe them.
The Devil is fully fenfible of this, and therefore
he has always done his utmoft to fupprefs, and
put a stop to the Communion of Saints. This was
his grand Artifice at the first planting of the Gof-
pel; to perfecute the Profeffors of it, in Order
to ſeparate them. Which though GOD, as he
always will, over-ruled for the better; yet it fhews
what an Enmity he has againft Chriftians affem-
bling themselves together: Nor has he yet left off
his old Stratagem; it being his ufual Way to en-
tice us by Ourselves, in Order to tempt us; where,
by being deftitute of one another's Helps, he
hopes to lead us Captive at his Will.
Bur, on the contrary, knowing how his own
Intereft is ftrengthened by Society, he would firſt
perfuade us to neglect the Communion of Saints,
and then bid us fand in the Way of Sinners, ho-
ping thereby to put us into the Seat of the Scorn-
ful. Judas and Peter are melancholy Inftances
of this.
The former had no fooner left his Com-
pany at Supper, but he went out and betrayed his
Mafter: And the diſmal Downfal of the latter,
when he would venture himfelf amongft a Com-
pany of Enemies, plainly fhews us what the Devil
will endeavour to do, when he gets us by Our-
felves
Serm. II:
35
On Religious Society
felves. Had Peter kept his own Company, he
might have kept his Integrity; but a fingle Cord,
alas! how quickly was it broken? Our Bleſſed
Saviour knew this full well, and therefore it is
very obferveable, that he always fent out his Dif-
ciples Two by Two.
AND now, after fo many Advantages to be reap-
ed from Religious Society, may we not very juſtly
cry out with the Wife Man in my Text, Wo be
to him that is alone; for when he falleth, he bath
not another to lift him up? When he is cold, he
hath not a Friend to warm him; when he is af
faulted, he hath not a Second to help him to
withſtand his Enemy.
I now come to my Third general Head, under
which was to be fhewn the feveral Duties incum-
bent on every Member of a Religious Society, as
fuch, which are Thee. Firft, Mutual Re-
proof; Secondly, Mutual Exhortation; Thirdly,
Mutual Affifting and defending each other.
Firſt, Mutual Reproof. Two are better than
One; for when they fall, the One will lift up
' his Fellow.
Now, Reproof may be taken either in a more
extenfive Senſe, and then it fignifies our raifing a
Brother by the gentleft Means, when he falls into
Sin or Error; Or, in a more reſtrained Signifi-
cation, as reaching no farther than thofe little
Mif-
C 2
36 On Religious Society. Serm. II.
Mifcarriages, which unavoidably happen in the
moſt holy Men living.
THE Wife Man, in the Text, fuppofes all of
us fubject to both: For when they fall, fays he
(thereby implying that each of us may fall) the
One will lift up his Fellow. From whence we
may infer, that when any Brother is overtaken with
a Fault, be that is ſpiritual (that is, regenerate,
and knows the Corruption and Weakness of Hu-
man. Nature) ought to restore fuch a one in the Spi-
rit of Meckness: And why he fhould do fo, the
Apoſtle fubjoins a Reaſon, confidering thy felf,
left thou also be tempted: i. e. confidering thy own
Frailty, left thou alfo fall by the like Temptation.
WE are all frail unftable Creatures; and it is
merely owing to the Free Grace and Good Provi-
dence of GOD that we run not into the fame Ex-
cefs of Riot with other Men. Every offending
Brother, therefore, claims our Pity rather than our
Reſentment, and each Member ſhould ſtrive who
fhould be moſt forward, as well as moft gentle,
in reſtoring him to his former State.
BUT fuppofing a Perfon not to be overtaken,
but to fall wilfully into a Crime; yet who art thou
that denieft Forgiveneſs to thy offending Brother?
Let him that flandeth take heed left he fall. Take
ye, Brethren, the holy Apoftles as eminent Ex-
amples for you to learn by, how you ought to
behave in this Matter. Confider how quickly
they
1
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
37
5
they joined the right Hand of Fellowſhip with
Peter, who had fo wilfully denied his Mafter:
For we find John and him together but two Days.
after, John xx. 2. And Verfe 19, we find him
affembled with the reft. So foon did they forgive,
fo foon afſociate with their finful, yet relenting,
Brother Let us go and do likewife.
:
But there is another Kind of Reproof incúm-
bent on every Member of a Religious Society,
namely, a gentle Rebuke for fome Mifcarriage or
cther, which though not actually finful, yet may
become the Occafion of Sin. This, indeed, feems
a more eafy, but perhaps will be found a more
difficult Point than the former: For when a Per-
fon has really finned, he cannot but own his
Brethren's Reproof to be juft; whereas, when it is
only for fome little Miſconduct, the Fride that is
in our Natures will ſcarce fuffer us to brook it. But
however ungrateful this Pill may be to our Bro-
ther, yet (if we have any Concern for his Wel-
fare) it muſt be adminiftred by fome friendly
Hand or other. By all Means then let it be ap-
plied; only, like a skilful Phyſician, gild o'er the
ungrateful Medicine, and endeavour, if poffible,
to deceive thy Brother into Health and Soundneſs.
Let all Bitterness, and Wrath, and Malice, and
evil Speaking be put away from it. Let the Pa-
tient know his Recovery is the only Thing aim'd
at; that thou delighteft not caufelessly to grieve
thy Brother, and then thou can't not want
Succefs.
C 3
Mutual
38
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
:
Mutual Exhortation is a fecond Duty refulting
from the Words of the Text. Again, if
Two lie together, then they have Heat.
OBSERVF, here again, the Wife Man ſuppoſes
it as impoffible for Religious Perfons to meet to-
gether, and not to be the warmer for each other's
Company, as for two Perfons to lie in the fame
Fed, and yet freeze with Cold. But now, how
is it poffible to communicate Heat to each other,
without mutually stirring up the Gift of GOD
which is in us, by brotherly Exhortation? Let
every Member, then, of a Religious Society write
that zealous Apoftle's Advice on the Tables of his
Heart: See that ye exhort, and provoke one another
to Love, and to gend Works; and fo much the more
as you fee the Day of the LORD approaching.
Believe me, Brethren, we have Need of Exhor-
tion to rouze up our fleepy Souls, to fet us upon
our Watch againſt the Temptations of the World,
the Flesh, and the Devil; to excite us to renounce
Ourfelves, to take up our Croffes, and follow our
Bleffed Mafter, and the glorious Company of
Saints and Martyrs, who thro' Faith have fought
the good Fight, and are gone before us to inherit the
Promifes. A third Part, therefore, of the Time
wherein a Religious Society meets, feems neceffary
to be ſpent in this important Duty; for what avails
it to have our Underſtandings enlightened by pi-
ous Reading, unleſs our Wills are at the fame
Time inclined, and enflamed by mutual Exhorta-
tion, to put it in Practice? Add to this, that this,
19
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
39
is the beſt Way both to receive and impart Light;
and the only Means to preferve and increaſe that
Warmth and Heat which each Perfon firſt brought
with him: GOD fo ordering this, as all other
Spiritual Gifts, that, to him that bath, i. e. im-
proves and communicates what he hath, shall be
given; but from him that bath not, i. e. does not
improve the Heat he hath, shall be taken away
even that which he feemed to have. So needful, fo
effentially neceflary, is Exhortation to the Good
of a Society.
Thirdly and Laftly, The Text points out ano-
ther Duty incumbent on every Member of
a Religious Society, viz. to defend each other
from thofe that do oppoſe them. And if One
prevail against him, yet Two fhall withstand
bim; and a Three-fold Cord is not quickly
broken.
1
HERE the Wife Man takes it for granted, that
Offences will come, nay, and that they may prevail
too: And this is no more than our Bleſſed Maſter
has long fince told us. Not, indeed, that there is
any Thing in Chriftianity itself that has the leaft
Tendency to give rife to, or promote fuch Offen-
ces: No, on the contrary, it breaths nothing but
Unity and Love.
1
Bur fo it is, that ever fince the fatal Sentence
pronounced by GOD, after our first Parents Fall,
viz. I will put Enmity between thy Seed, and her
C 4
Seed;
40
Serm. II.
On Religious Society.
ร
1
1
T
Seed: He that is born after the Flesh, that is, the
unregenerate, unconverted Sinner, has, in all
Ages, perfecuted him that is born after the Spirit:
And fo it always will be. Accordingly we find an
early Proof given of this in the Inftance of Cain
and Abel; and of Ishmael and Ifaac; of Jacob
and Efau afterwards. And, indeed, the whole Bi-
ble contains little elfe but an Hiftory of the great
and continued Oppofition between the Children of
this World, and the Children of GOD. The
firft Chriftians were remarkable Examples of this;
and though thofe troubleſome Times, bleſſed be
GOD, are now over, yet the Apoſtle has laid it
down as a general Rule, and all that are fincere,
can experimentally prove the Truth of it, That,
they that will live Godly in CHRIST JESUS muft (to
the End of the World, in fome Degree or other)
fuffer Perfecution. That, therefore, this may noɛ
make us defert our Bleffed Mafter's Caufe, every
Member ſhould unite their Forces, in order to
ſtand against it. And for the better effecting this,
each would do well, from Time to Time, to com-
municare his Experiences, Grievances, and Temp-
tations, and beg his Companions (firft asking
GOD's Affiftance, without which all is nothing)
to adminifter Reproof, Exhortation, or Comfort,
as his Cafe requires: So that if One cannot prevail
against it, yet Two fhall withstand it; and a Three-
fold, much lefs a many-fold, Cord will not be quick-
by broken.
+
BUT
Serm. II.
41
On Religious Society.
BUT it is Time for me to proceed to the
Fourth general Thing propofed, viz. to
draw an Inference or two from what has
been faid.
AND First, then, if Two are better than One,
and the Advantages of Religious Society are fo ma-
ny, and fo great, then it is the Duty of every true
Chriſtian to ſet on foot, eſtabliſh, and promote,
as much as in him lies, Societies of this Nature.
And I believe we may venture to affirm, that if
ever a Spirit of true Chriftianity is revived in the
World, it muſt be brought about by fome fuch
Means as this. Motives, furely, cannot be want-
ing, to ftir us up to this commendable and necef-
fary Undertaking: For, granting all hitherto ad-
vanced to be of no Force, yet, methinks, the
fingle Confideration that great Part of our Happi-
nefs in Heaven will confift in the Communion of
Saints; or that the Intereft as well as Piety of
thoſe Sectarists that differ from us, is ftrengthen-
ed and fupported by nothing more than their fre-
quent Meetings; either of thefe Confiderations, I
fay, one would think, fhould induce us to do our
utmoſt to copy after their good Example, and ſet-
tle a lafting and pious Communion of the Saints on
Earth. Add to this, that we find the Kingdom
of Darknefs eftabliſhed daily by fuch like Means;
and fhall not the Kingdom of CHRIST be
fet in Oppofition againſt it? fhall the Children
of Belial affemble and ftrengthen each other in
Wickedness; and ſhall not the Children of GOD
unite,
R
42
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
unite, and ſtrengthen themſelves in Piety? Shall
Societies on Societies be countenanced for Midnight
Revellings, and the promoting of Vice, and fcarce-
ly. One be found intended for the Propagation of
Virtue? Be aſtoniſhed, O Heavens, at this!
BUT this leads me to a fecond Inference, name-
ly, to warn Perfons of the great Danger
thoſe are in, who, either by their Subfcrip-
tions, Prefence, or Approbation, promote
Societies of a quite oppofite. Nature to Reli-
gion.
AND here I would not be underſtood to mean
only thofe publick Meetings which are defigned
manifeftly for nothing elfe but Revellings and
Banquetings, for Chambering and Wantonnefs,
and at which a modeft Heathen would bluſh to be
prefent; but alſo thofe feemingly innocent Enter-
tainments and Meetings which the Politer Part of
the World are fo very fond of, and ſpend ſo much
Time in But which, notwithstanding, keep as
many Perfons out of a Senſe of True Religion, as
Intemperance, Debauchery, or any other Crime
whatever. Indeed, whilſt we are in this World,
we must have proper Relaxations, to fit us both
for the Bufinefs of our Profeffion and Religion.
But then, for Perfons who call themſelves Chrifti-
ans, that have folemnly vow'd, at their Baptifm,
to renounce the Vanities of this finful World;
that are commanded in Scripture to abstain from
ell Appearance of Evil, and to have their Conver-
Lation
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
43
No; it's to be wiſh-
fation in Heaven. For fuch Perfons as theſe to
fupport Meetings, that' (to fay no worſe of them)
are vain and trifling, and have a natural Tenden-
cy to draw off our Minds from GOD, is ab-
furd, ridiculous, and finful. Surely Two are not
better than One in this Cafe.
ed there was not One to be found concerned in
it. The fooner we forfake the aſſembling Our-
felves together in fuch a Manner, the better; and
no Matter how quickly the Cord that holds fuch
Societies (was it a thouſand Fold) is broken.
BUT you, Brethren, have not fo learnt CHRIST:
But on the Contrary, like true Difciples of your
LORD and Maſter, have, by the Bleffing of
GOD (as this Evening's Solemnity abundantly
teftifies) happily formed yourſelves into fuch So-
cieties, which if duly attended on, and improved,
cannot but ftrengthen you in your Chriftian War-
fare, and make you fruitful in every good Word and
Work.
WHAT remains for me to do, but as was pro-
poſed in the laſt Place, to cloſe up what has been
faid, in a Word or Two, by Way of Exhortation
from the whole, and to befeech you, in the Name
of our LORD JESUS CHRIST, to go on in the
Way you have begun; and by a conftant confci-
entious Attendance on your reſpective Societies, to
diſcountenance Vice, encourage Virtue, and build
each other up in the Knowledge and Fear of GOD.
ONLY
✡
44
On Religious Society. Serm. II;
}
ONLY permit me to fir up your pure Minds,
by Way of Remembrance, and to exhort you, if
there be any Confolation in CHRIST, any Fellow-
fhip of the Spirit, again and again, to confider, that
as all Chriftians in General, fo all Members of
Religious Socicties in Particular, are in an eſpecial
Manner, as Houſes built upon a Hill; and that
therefore it highly concerns you to walk circum-
Spectly towards thofe that are without, and to take
beed to Yourfelves, that your Converfation, in com-
mon Life, be as becometh fuch an open and pecu→
liar Profeffion of the Gospel of CHRIST: Know-
ing that the Eyes of all Men are upon you, nar-
rowly to inſpect every Circumftance of your Be-
haviour; and that every notorious wilful Miſcar-
riage of any fingle Member will, in fome Mea-
fure, redound to the Scandal and Diſhonour of
your whole Fraternity.
LABOUR, therefore, my beloved Brethren, to
let your Practice correfpond to your Profeffion:
And think not that it will be fufficient for you
to plead at the laft Day, LORD, have we not
affembled ourſelves together in thy Name, and en-
liven'd each other, by finging Pfalms and Hymns
and Spiritual Songs? For, verily, I fay unto you,
notwithſtanding this, our Bleffed LORD will
bid you depart from him; nay, that you ſhall re-
ceive a greater Damnation, if, in the Midft of
theſe great Pretenfions, you are found to be
Workers of Iniquity.
BUT
↓
Serm. II. On Religious Society.
45
C
BUT GOD forbid that any fuch Evil fhould
befal you; that there ſhould be ever a Judas, ever
a Traitor amongst fuch diftinguiſhed Followers of
our Common Mafter. No, on the Contrary, the
Excellency of your Rules, the Regularity of your
Meetings, and more efpecially your pious Zeal
in affembling in fuch a publick and folemn Man-
ner, fo frequently in the Year, perfuade me to
think, that you are willing, not barely to ſeem,
but to be, in Reality, Chriftians, and hope to be
found at the Last Day, what you would be eſteem-
ed now, viz. Holy, Sincere Difciples of a Cru-
cified Redeemer.
Он, may you always continue thus minded!
and make it your daily, conftant Endeavour, both
by Precept and Example, to turn all you converſe
with, more eſpecially thofe of your own Societies,
into the fame moft bleffed Spirit and Temper.
Thus will you adorn the Gofpel of our LORD
JESUS CHRIST in all Things: Thus will you
anticipate the Happineſs of a future State, and
by attending on, and improving the Communion
of Saints on Earth, make yourſelves meet to join
the Communion and Fellowſhip of the Spirits of
Juft Men made perfect, of the Holy Angels,
nay, of the Ever Bleſſed and Eternal GOD in
Heaven.
Which GOD of his infinite Mercy grant, thro'
JESUS CHRIST our LORD; to whom
with the Father, and the Holy Ghoſt, Three
Perfons,
46
On Religious Society. Serm. II.
t
ទូ
Perfons, and One Eternal GOD, be afcrib-
ed as is moft due, all Honour and Praiſe,
Might, Majefty and Dominion, now and for
ever.
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164214
On
On EARLY PIETY.
ECCL. xii. I.
Remember now thy Creator in the
Days of thy Youth.
T
HE Amiableneſs of Religion in itſelf,
the innumerable Advantages that flow
from it to Society in general, as well as
each fincere Profeffor of it in particular, cannot
but recommend it to the Choice of every confi-
derate Perfon, and make even wicked Men, as
they wish to die the Death, fo, in their more fo-
ber Intervals, envy the Life of the Righteous.
And indeed we muft do the World fo much Ju-
ftice as to confefs, that the Queſtion about Reli-
gion does not uſually arife from a Diſpute whe-
ther it be neceſſary or not (for moft Men ſee the
Neceffity of doing fomething for the Salvation of
their Souls;) but when is the best Time to fet
about it. Perſons are convinc'd by univerſal Ex-
perience, that the firft Eflays or Endeavours to-
wards the Attainment of Religion are attended
with fome Difficulty and Trouble, and therefore
they would willingly defer the beginning fuch a
ſeemingly ungrateful Work as long as they can.
The wanton Prodigal, that is fpending his Sub-
ſtance
48
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
:
ſtance in riotous Living, cries, A little more
Pleaſure, a little more Senfuality, and then I'll be
fober in Earneſt. The covetous Worldling, that
employs all his Care and Pains in " heaping up
"Riches, tho' he cannot tell who fhall gather
"them," does not flatter himfelf that this will
do always; but hopes, with the rich Fool in the
Goſpel, to lay up Goods for a few more Years
on Earth, and then he'll begin to lay up Treafures
in Heaven. And, in fhort, thus it is that moſt
People are convinced of the Neceffity of being re-
ligious fome Time or another; but then, like Fe-
lix, they put off the acting fuitably to their Con-
victions, till (what they imagine) a more conve-
nient Seaſon: Whereas, would we be fo humble
as to be guided by the Experience and Counſel of
the wifeft of Men, we fhould learn that Youth is
the fitteſt Seaſon for Religion; "Remember
"now thy Creator, fays Solomon, in the Days of
"thy Youth." By which Word Remember, we
are not to underſtand a bare fpeculative Remem-
brance, or calling to Mind, (for that, like a dead
Faith, will profit us nothing) but fuch a Remem-
brance as will conftrain us to Obedience, and
oblige us out of Gratitude to perform all that the
LORD our GOD fhall require of us. For as
forgetting GOD, in Scripture Language, implies
a total Neglect of our Duty, in like Manner re-
membring him fignifies a perfect Performance of
it: So that, when Solomon fays, "Remember thy
"Creator in the Days of thy Youth," it is the
fame as if he had faid, Keep GOD's Command-
ments &
Serm. III. ON EARLY PIETY.
49
ments; or in other Words, Be religious in the
Days of thy Youth, thereby implying that Youth
is the moſt proper Seafon for it.
I SHALL in the following Difcourfe, Firft, en-
deavour to make good the Wife Man's Pro-
pofition imply'd in the Words of the Text,
and to fhew that Youth is the fitteft Seaſon
for Religion.
Secondly, by Way of Motive, I fhall confider
the many unſpeakable Advantages that will
ariſe from remembring our Creator in the
Days of our Youth.
Thirdly and Laftly, I fhall conclude with a Word
or two of Exhortation to the younger Part of
this Audience.
AND First then, I am to make good the Wife
Man's Propofition implied in the Words of the
Text, and to fhew that Youth is the fitteft Seafon
for Religion: "Remember now thy Creator in
"the Days of thy Youth."-But in Order to
proceed more clearly in this Argument, it may not
be improper, firſt, to explain what I mean by the
Word Religion. By this Term, then, I would
not be underſtood to mean a bare outward Profef
fion or naming the Name of CHRIST; for we
are told, that many that have even prophefied in
his Name, and in his Name caft out Devils, fhall
notwithstanding be rejected by him at the laft
D
Day;
50
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
•
Day: Nor would I underſtand by it barely being
admitted into CHRIST's Church by Baptifm;
for then Simon Magus, Arius, and the Herefi-
archs of old might pafs for religious Perfons, for
thefe were baptized; nor yet the receiving the
other Seal of the Covenant, for then Judas him-
felf might be canoniz'd for a Saint; nor indeed
do I mean any or all of theſe together, confider'd
by themſelves; but a thorough, real, inward
Change of Nature, wrought in us by the power-
ful Operations of the Holy Ghoft, convey'd to
and nouriſh'd in our Hearts, by a conftant Uſe of
all the Means of Grace, evidenc'd by a good Life,
and bringing forth the Fruits of the Spirit.
1
THE attaining this real, inward Religion, is a
Work of fo great Difficulty, that Nicodemus, a
learned Doctor and Teacher in Ifrael, thought it
altogether impoffible, and therefore ignorantly
asked our Bleſſed LORD, how this Thing could
be? And truly to rectify a diforder'd Nature, to
mortify our corrupt Paffions, to turn Darkneſs to
Light, to put off the old Man, and put on the
new, and thereby to have the Image of GOD
reinſtamp'd upon the Soul, or in one Word, to
be born again, however light fome may make of
it, muft, after all our Endeavours, be own'd by
Man impoffible. 'Tis true, indeed, CHRIST's
Yoke is faid to be an eaſy or a gracious Yoke, and
his Burthen light; but then it is to thofe only
who have been accuſtomed to bear and draw in it.
For, as the wife Son of Sirach obſerves,
..
rr
" At
" first
{
Serm. III. On EARLY PIETY.
51
firft Wiſdom walketh with her Children in
crooked Ways, and brings them into Fear;
"and torments them with her Difcipline, and
"does not turn to comfort and rejoice them, till
"fhe has try'd them and proved their Judgment."
-No; we must not flatter ourſelves, that our
depraved Natures can be renewed, unleſs we fub-
mit to a great many Difficulties. The fpiritual
Birth is attended with its Pangs, as well as the na-
tural: For they that have experienc'd it (and they
only are the proper Judges) can acquaint you, that
frequent Acts of Self-denial muſt be exercifed,
a conftant regular Difcipline kept up, left, after
all, when we come to the Birth, we fhould want
Strength to bring forth.
Bur if " theſe Things are fo;" if there are
Difficulties and Pangs attending our being born
again, and Difcipline must be called in, what Seafon
more proper than that of Yonth; when, if ever,
our Bodies are robuft and vigorous, and our Minds
active and courageous, and confequently we are
then the beft qualified to endure Hardneſs as good
Soldiers of JESUS CHRIST.
WE find in fecular Matters People commonly
obferve this Method, and fend their Children
abroad among the Toils and Fatigues of Buſineſs,
in their younger Years, as well knowing they are
then fitteft to undergo them. And why do they
not act with the fame Confiftency in the grand
Affair of Religion? Becauſe, as our Saviour has
D 2
told
•
52
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
us,
"the Children of this World are wifer in
"their Generation, than the Children of Light."
BUT, Secondly, if pure Religion and undefiled
confifts in the total Renewal of our corrupted Na-
tures, then 'tis not only a Work of Difficulty,
but of Time: For, as the old was not, ſo nei-
ther is the new Creation compleated in a Day.
No, good Men know, by certain Experience,
that it is a long while e're old Things can pafs a-
way, and all Things become new in them. The
ftrong Man arm'd has gotten too great Poffeffion of
their Hearts to be quickly driven out, and they are
obliged to combat many a weary Hour, e'er their
Corruptions, which is the Armour in which the
ftrong Man trufted, be wholly taken from him.
Nay, they find their whole Lives ſhort enough to
perfect the Work of Regeneration, which they
were fent into the World to do, and never expect
to fay 'tis finiſh'd till with their bleffed Mafter they
bow down their Heads, and give up the Ghoſt.
AND, if this be the Cafe, if the Renovation of
our Nature be not only difficult, but requires fo
long a Space to compleat it in; then, it highly
concerns every one to ſet about it betimes, and to
work their Work while it is Day, before the Night
cometh, when no Man can work.
COULD we, indeed, live to the Age of Methu-
felah, and had but little Bufinefs to employ our-
felves in, we might then be more excufable, if
we
Serm. III. On EARLY PIETY.
53
we made no other Ufe of this World, than, what
too many do, take our Paftime therein; but fince
our Lives are ſo very fhort, and the working out
our Salvation requires fo much Time, we have
no Room left for Trifling, left we ſhould be
fnatched away while our Lamps are untrimmed,
and we are entirely unprepared to meet the Bride-
groom.
DID we know a Friend or Neighbour, who
had a long Journey of the utmoſt Importance to
make, and yet ſhould ftand all the Day idle,
neglecting to ſet out till the Sun was about to go
down, we could not but pity and condemn his
egregious Folly: And yet it is to be feared moft
Men are juft fuch Fools; they have a long Jour-
ney to take, nay, a Journey to Eternity, a Journey
of infinite Importance, and which they are obli-
ged to difpatch before the Sun of their natural
Life be gone down; and yet they loiter away
their Time allotted them to perform their Journey
in, till Sickneſs or Death furprizes them; and
then they cry out, What shall we do to inherit eter-
nal Life? But, alas! is this a proper Seafon to
ask fuch a Queſtion? Is this a Time to begin their
Journey, when they ſhould be at the End of it; or
to enquire what they must do, when perhaps they
have hardly any Strength or Ability left to do
any Thing to the Purpoſe, and when they ſhould
be waiting with humble Patience, in hopes of
fpeedily receiving their Wages for Work already
done? O foolish People and unwife! If you offer
D 3
the
1
54
Serm. III.
On EARLY PIETY.
the Blind for Sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye
offer the Lame and Sick, is it not evil? Offer it
now unto thy Governor, will be be pleaſed with thee,
or accept thy Perfon? faith the Lord of Hofts. But
leaving fuch to the Mercies of GOD, I pafs
on to
THE Second general Thing propofed, viz.
To fhew the Advantages that will arife from re-
membring our Creator in the Days of our Youth;
which may ferve as fo many Motives to excite
and quicken all Perfons immediately to fet a-
bout it.
AND the Art Benefit refulting from thence is,
that it will bring moft Honour and Glory to
GOD. This, I fuppofe, every ſerious Perfon
will grant, ought to be the Point in which all our
Actions fhould centre; for to this End were we
born; to this End were we redeemed by the pre-
cious Blood of JESUS CHRIST, that we ſhould
promote GOD's eternal Glory. And as the Glo-
ry of GOD-is moſt advanced by paying Obe-
dience to his Precepts, they that begin fooneſt to
walk in his Ways, act moft to his Glory: For
the common Objection against the divine Laws
in general, and the Doctrines of the Goſpel in
particular, is, that they are not practicable, that
they are contrary to Flesh and Blood, and that all
thofe Precepts concerning Self-Denial, Renunci-
ation of and Deadneſs to the World, are but fo
many arbitrary Reftraints impofed upon human
Nature
1
Serm. III. On EARLY PIETY.
55
Nature. But when we fee mere Striplings not only
practiſing, but delighting in fuch religious Duties,
and in the Days of their Youth, when, if ever,
they have a Relish for fenfual Pleafures, fubdu-
ing and defpifing the Luft of the Flesh, the Luft
of the Eye, and the Pride of Life. This,
this is acceptable with GOD; this vindicates his
injur'd Honour; this fhews that his Service is
perfect Freedom, that his Yoke is eafy, and his
Burden light.
BUT, Secondly, as an early Piety redounds moſt
to the Honour of GOD, ſo it will bring moft
Honour to ourſelves: For thofe that honour
GOD, GOD will honour. We find it there-
fore remark'd to the Praife of Obediah, that he
ferved the LORD from his Youth: Of Sam-
uel, that he ftood, when young, before GOD
in a linen Ephod: Of Timothy, that from a Child
he had known the Holy Scriptures: Of St. John,
that he was the youngest and moft beloved Dif
ciple; and of our Bleſſed LORD himſelf, that
at Twelve Years old he went up to the Temple,
and fat among the Doctors, both hearing and ask-
ing them Queſtions.
NOR, Thirdly, will an early Piety afford us lefs
Comfort than Honour, not only becauſe it ren-
ders Religion habitual to us, but alſo becauſe it
gives us a well-grounded Affurance of the Sin-
cerity of our Profeffions. Was there no other
Argument againſt a Death-bed Repentance but
DA
the
1
56
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
the Unfatisfactoriness and Anxiety of fuch a State,
that would be fufficient to deter all thinking Per-
fons from deferring the moſt important Buſineſs
of their Life to fuch a dreadful Period of it. For
fuppofing a Man be fincere in his Profeffions of
Repentance on a Death-bed (which is very much
to be doubted) yet he can take no great Comfort
in them, becauſe he is uncertain whether his Con-
victions and Remorfe proceed from a true Sorrow
for Sin, or a fervile Fear of Puniſhment.But
a young Saint need fear no fuch Perplexity; he
knows that he loves GOD for his own Sake, and
is not driven to him by a Dread of impending
Evil: He does not decline the Gratifications of
Senfe, becauſe he can no longer bear the Voice of
Singing-Men and Singing-Women; but willingly
takes up his Crofs, and follows his Bleffed Maſter
in his Youth; and therefore must have great Con-
fidence of his Sincerity towards GOD. But far-
ther, as an early Piety fhews the Heart of its Sin-
cerity, fo likewiſe it brings its preſent Reward
with it, as it renders Religion, and all its Duties,
habitual and eaſy. A young Saint, was you to
ask him, would joyfully tell you the unfpeakable
Comfort of beginning to be good betimes: As
for his Part, he knows not what Men mean by
talking of Mortification, Self-Denial, and Retire-
ment, as hard and rigorous Duties; for he has fo ac-
cuſtomed himſelf to them, that they are now be-
come even natural, and he takes infinitely more
Pleaſure in practifing the fevereſt Precepts of the
Gofpel, than a luxurious Dives in a Bed of State,
of
M
Serm. III. ON EARLY PIETY.
57
or an ambitious Haman at a Royal Banquet. And,
oh! how happy muſt that Youth be, whoſe Duty
is become a ſecond Nature, and to whom thofe
Things, which ſeem terrible to Others, are grown
both eafy and delightful!
BUT the greatest Advantage of an early Piety is
ftill behind, viz. That it lays in the beſt Provifion
of Comfort and Support against fuch Times as
we ſhall ſtand moft in Need thereof, viz. all
Times of our Tribulation, and in particular againſt
the Time of old Age, the Hour of Death, and
the Day of Judgment.
THIS is the Argument the Wife Man makes
Uſe of in the Words immediately following the
Text: Remember now, fays he, thy Creator in the
Days of thy Youth, while the evil Days come not,
nor the Years draw nigh, wherein thou shalt fay, I
have no Pleaſure in them. Obferve, the Time of
old Age is an evil Time, Years wherein there is
no Pleaſure; and ask thofe that are grown old,
and they will inform you fo. Cordials furely then
muſt be exceeding proper to fupport our droop-
ing Spirits: And, oh! What Cordial comparable
to the grateful Review of a well-fpent Life?
When the Eyes, like Ifaac's, are grown dim with
Age; when the Keepers of the Houſe, i.e. the
Hands, fhall tremble; as the Wife Man goes on
to deſcribe the Infirmities of old Age; when the
Arong Men bow themselves, i. e. when the Legs
grow feeble; and the Grinders, i. e. the Teeth,
fhall
58
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
ſhall ceaſe to do their proper Office, becauſe they
are few; for a Perfon then to hear the Precepts of
the Goſpel read over to him, and to be able ro
lay his Hand on his Heart, and to fay fincerely, All
theſe have I kept from my Youth: This must fill
him with fuch unfpeakable Comfort, that I want
Words to expreſs, and Thoughts to conceive it,
But, fuppofing it was poffible for us to eſcape the
Inconveniences of old Age, yet ftill Death is a
Debt we all must pay; and what is worſe, it ge-
nerally comes attended with ſuch dreadful Circum-
ftances, that it will make even a Felix tremble.
But as for the Godly, that have ſerved the LORD
from their Youth, it is not fo with them; no,
they look upon Death not as a King of Terrors,
but as a welcome Meffenger, that is come to con-
duct them to their wish'd-for Home. All the Days
of their appointed Time have they waited, and it
has been the Buſineſs of their whole Lives to pre-
pare themſelves for the coming of their great
Change; and therefore they rejoice to hear, that
they are called to meet the heavenly Bridegroom,
Thus dies the early (I mean the early, if perfever-
ing) pious; whoſe Path has been as the shining
Light, that fbineth more and more, unto the perfect
Day. But follow him beyond the Grave, and fee
with what an holy Triumph he enters into his
Maſter's Joy; with what an humble Boldneſs he
ftands at the dreadful Tribunal of JESUS CHRIST;
and can you then forbear to cry out, Let me die
the Death of the Righteous, and let my latter End,
and future State, be like his ?
NEED
Serm. III. ON EARLY PIETY.
59
NEED I then, after having fhewn fo many Ad-
vantages to ariſe from an early Piety, uſe any more
Arguments to perfuade the younger Part of this
Audience, to whom in the Third and laft Place I
addreſs myſelf, to remember their Creator in the
Days of their Youth?
WHAT! will not a Defire of bringing Glory
to GOD, Honour and Comfort to themſelves;
will not the Pleaſure of an habitual Piety, and the
comfortable Affurance of being fincere; above all,
will not the Hopes of an honourable old Age, a
peaceful Death, and a glorious Appearance at the
tremendous Day of Judgment; will not theſe, I
fay, prevail with them to leave their Husks, and
return home to eat of the fatted Calf? What, will
they thus requite their Saviour's Love? That be
far from them! Did he come down and ſhed his
precious Blood to deliver them from the Power of
Sin; and will they fpend their youthful Strength
and Vigour in the Service of it, and then think
to ferve CHRIST, when they can follow their
Lufts no longer? Is it fit, that many who are
endowed with excellent Gifts, and are thereby
qualified to be Supports and Ornaments of our
finking Church, ſhould notwithſtanding forget
the GOD that gave them, and employ them in
Things that will not profit? O why will they not
arife, and, like fo many Phineas's, be zealous for
the Lord of Hofts? Doubtlefs, when Death
overtakes them, they will wish they had: And
what hinders them, but that they may live as well
now
бо
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
now, as they will wish they had when they leave
the World? Think you that any one yet ever re-
pented that he began to be good too foon? But
how many, on the contrary, have repented that
they began to be good too late? May we not
well imagine, that young Samuel now rejoices that
he waited fo foon at the Tabernacle of the LORD?
Or young Timothy, that from a Child he knew
the Holy Scriptures? And if you wish to be Par-
takers of their Joy, let me perfuade you to be
Partakers of their Piety.
I COULD ftill go on to fill my Mouth with Ar-
guments; but the Circumftances and Piety of
thofe among ft whom I am now. preaching the King-
dom of GOD, remind me to change my Style;
and inſtead of urging any more Diffuafives from
Sin, to fill up what is behind of this Difcourfe,
with Encouragements to perfevere in Holinefs.
Bleffed, for ever bleffed be GOD and the Fa
ther of our LORD JESUS CHRIST! I am not ſpeak-
ing to Perfons inflamed with youthful Lufts, but
to a Multitude of young Profeffors, who, by fre-
quently affembling together, and forming them-
felves into religious Societies, are in a ready Way
to be of the Number of thofe young Men who,
have overcome the wicked one.
嘻
​BELIEVE me, it gladdens my very Soul, to fee
ſo many of your Faces ſet heavenwards; and the
vifible happy Effects of your uniting together,
cannot
*
Serm. III. ON EARLY PIETY.
61
cannot but rejoice the Hearts of all fincere Chrif-
tians, and oblige them to wish you good Luck in the
Name of the LORD. The many Souls that are
nouriſhed weekly by the fpiritual Body and Blood
of JESUS CHRIST by your Means; the weekly and
monthly Lectures that are preached by your Contri-
butions; the daily Incenſe of Thankſgiving and
Prayer which is publickly fent up to the Throne of
Grace by your Subfcriptions; the many Children
which are trained up in the Nurture and Admonition
of the LORD by your Charities; and laſtly, the
commendable and pious Zeal you exert in
ing and encouraging divine Pfalmody, are fuch plain
and apparent Proofs of the Benefit of your Reli-
gious Societies, that they call for a publick Ac-
knowledgement of Praife and Thankſgiving to
our Bleſſed Mafter, who has not only put into
your Hearts fuch good Defigns, but enabled you
alſo to bring the fame to good Effect.
promot-
It is true, it has been objected,
"That young
"Mens forming themſelves into Religious Soci-
"eties has a Tendency to make them fpiritually
<<
cr
proud, and think more highly of themſelves than
they ought to think." And perhaps the imprudent
imperious Behaviour of fome Novices in Religi-
on, who, though they went out from you, were not
of you, may have given too much Occafion for
fuch an Afperfion.
BUT you, Brethren, have not fo learned CHRIST.
Far, far be it from you to look upon yourſelves as
righteous,
62
ON EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
righteous, and difpife others, becauſe you often af-
ſemble yourſelves together. No, this, inſtead of
creating Pride, ought to beget an holy Fear in
your Hearts, left your Practice fhould not corref-
pond with your Profeffion, and that, after you
have benefited and edified others, you yourſelves
ſhould become Caft-aways.
WORLDLY-MINDEDNESS, my Brethren, is ano-
ther Rock againſt which we are in Danger of
fplitting. For, if other Sins, have flain their Thou-
fands of profeffing Chriftians, this has flain its
ten Thouſands. I need not appeal to paſt Ages ;
your own Experience, no doubt, has furnish'd you
with many unhappy Inftances of young Men
who, after (as one would have imagin'd) they had
efcaped the Pollutions which are in the World thro'
Luft, and had tafted the good Word of Life, and en-
dured for a Seafon, whilft under the Tuition and
Inſpection of others; yet when they have come
to be their own Mafters, thro' a Want of Faith,
and thro' too great an Earneſtneſs in labouring for
the Meat which perisheth, have caft off their firſt
Love, been again entangled with the World, and
returned like the Dog to his Vomit, and like the Sow
that was washed to her wallowing in the Mire. You
would therefore do well, my Brethren, frequent-
ly to remind each other of this dangerous Snare,
and to exhort one another to begin, purſue, and
end you Chriſtian Warfare, in a thorough Renun-
ciation of the World, and worldly Tempers; fo
that, when you are obliged by Providence to pro-
vide for yourſelves, and thofe of your refpective
Houtholds,
Serm. III. On EARLY PIETY.
6:3
Houſholds, you may continue to walk by Faith,
and ftill feek first the Kingdom of GOD, and his
Righteousness; not doubting but all other Things,
upon your honeft Induſtry and Endeavours, ſhall
be added unto you.
AND now what shall I fay more? To fpeak un-
to you, Fathers, who have been in CHRIST fo
many Years before me, and know the Malignity
of Worldly-mindednefs, and Pride in the Spiri-
tual Life, would be altogether needlefs. To you,
therefore, O young Men (for whom I am diftref
fed, for whom I fear as well as for myſelf, do I
once more addrefs myſelf in the Words of the
beloved Difciple, Look to yourſelves, that we
lofe not thofe Things which we have wrought, but
receive a full Reward. Be ever mindful, then, of
the Words that have been spoken to us by the Apoftles
of the Lord and Saviour. Give Diligence to make
your Calling and Election fure. Beware, left ye
also being led away by the Error of the Wicked,
fall from your own Stedfaftnefs.
Let him that
thinketh be ftandeth, take Heed left he fall. Be not
high-minded, but fear. But we are perfuaded bet-
ter Things of you, and Things that accompany Sal-
vation, tho' we thus fpeak. For God is not un-
righteous, to forget your Works and Labours of Love.
And we defire that every one of you do fhew the
fame Diligence, to the full Affurance of Hope unto
the End: That ye be not flothful, but Followers
of them, who thro' Faith and Patience inherit the
Promifes. 'Tis true, we have many Difficulties
to encounter, many powerful Enemies to over-
come.
64
On EARLY PIETY. Serm. III.
#
come, e'er we can get Poffeffion of the promis'd
Land. We have an artful Devil, an enfnaring
World, and above all, the Treachery of our own
Hearts, to withſtand and ſtrive againſt. For ftrait
is the Gate, and narrow is the Way that leadeth
unto eternal Life. But wherefore ſhould we fear?
fince he that is with us is far more powerful, than
all who are againſt us. Have we not already ex-
perienced his Almighty Power, in enabling us to
conquer fome Difficulties which feemed as infur-
mountable then, as thoſe we ſtruggle with now?
And cannot he who deliver'd us out of the Paws
of thoſe Bears and Lions, preferve us alfo from
being hurt by the ſtrongeſt Goliak's?
BE ftedfaft therefore, my Brethren, be immove-
able. Confider the infinite future Rewards as well
as preſent Comforts that attend an early Piety. Be
not ashamed of the Gospel of CHRIST: For it is
the Power of GOD unto Salvation. Fear not
Mạn; fear not the Contempt and Revilings which
you muſt meet with in the Way of Duty: For
one of you shall chafe a Thoufand; and two of you
put ten Thouſand of your Enemies to Flight. And
if you will be content to be abus'd for a fhort
Time here, I ſpeak the Truth in CHRIST, I lye
not; then ſhall ye be exalted to fit down with the
Son of Man, when he fhall come in the Glory
of his Father with his holy Angels to Judgment
hereafter. May Almighty GOD give every one
of us fuch a Meaſure of his Grace, that we may
not be of the Number of thoſe that draw back
unto Perdition, but of them that believe and en-
dure unto the End, to the Saving of our Souls.
Which GOD, &c.
On
On Regeneration.
2 COR. V. 17.
If any Man be in Chrift, he is a new
T
CC
Creature.
HE Doctrine of our REGENERATION, or
NEW BIRTH in CHRIST JESUS, tho' one
of the moſt fundamental Doctrines of
our Holy Religion; though fo plainly and often
preffed on us in facred Writ, "that he that runs
may read;" nay, though it is the very Hinge
on which the Salvation of each of us turns, and
a Point too in which all fincere Chriftians, of what-
ever Denomination, agree; yet is fo feldom con-
fidered, and fo little experimentally underſtood by
the Generality of Profeffors, that were we to
judge of the Truth of it by the Experience of moſt
who call themſelves Chriftians, we ſhould be apt
to imagine they had "not fo much as heard" whe-
ther there be any fuch Thing as Regeneration or
no. It is true, Men, for the moſt Part, are Or-
thodox in the common Articles of their Creed;
they believe there is but one GOD, and one Me-
diator between GOD and Man, even the Man
CHRIST JESUS; and that there is no other Name
given under Heaven, whereby they can be faved,
E
befides
66
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
:
befides his But then tell them, They must be
REGENERATE, they must be BORN AGAIN, they
muſt be renewed in the very Spirit, i. e. in the in-
moft Faculties of their Minds, e'er they can truly
Call CHRIST Lord, Lord, or have any Share
in the Merits of his precious Blood; and they are
ready to cry out with Nicodemus, "How can theſe
૬૯
Things be?" Or with the Athenians, on ano-
ther Occafion, "What will this Babler fay? He
"feemeth to be a Setter-forth of ftrange Doc-
"trines, becauſe we preach unto them CHRIST,
"and the New Birth."
THAT I may therefore contribute my Mite to-
wards curing the fatal Miftake of fuch Perfons,
who would thus put afunder what GOD has in-
feparably joined together, and vainly expect to be
juftified by CHRIST, i.e. have their Sins for-
given, unleſs they are alfo fan&tified, i. e. have
their Natures changed, and made holy; I fhall beg
leave to enlarge on the Words of the Text in the
following Manner.
First, I fhall endeavour to explain what is
meant by Being in CHRIST,
If any
Man be in CHRIST.”
Secondly, What we are to underſtand by being a
New Creature:." If any Man be in CHRIST,
fays the Apoſtle, he is a new Creature.
Thirdly,
Serm. IV.
67
On Regeneration.
Thirdly, I fhall produce fome Arguments to
prove Why we muſt be new Creatures e'er
we can be in CHRIST
}
Fourthly and Laftly, I fhall draw fome Inferen-
ces from what will have been delivered, and
then conclude with a Word or two of Ex-
hortation from the Whole.
AND first then, I am to endeavour to explain
what is meant by this Expreffion in the Text, If
any Man be in CHRIST.
Now a Perfon may be faid to be in CHRIST
two Ways. First, only by an outward Profeffion.
And in this Senſe, every one that is called a Chrif-
tian, or baptized into CHRIST's Church, may
be faid to be in CHRIST. But that this is not
the fole Meaning of the Apoſtle's Phraſe now
before us, is evident, becauſe then " every one
"that names the Name of CHRIST," or is
baptized into his vifible Church, would be a new
Creature. Which is notoriouſly falſe, it being too
plain, beyond all Contradiction, that comparative-
ly but few of thoſe that are "born of Water," are
"born of the Spirit" likewiſe; or, to uſe another
Scriptural way of ſpeaking, Many are baptized
with Water, which were never, effectually at
leaft, baptized with the Holy Ghoft.
To be in CHRIST therefore, in the full
Import of the Word, muft certainly mean fome-
E 2
thing
68
On Regeneration.
Serm. IV.
thing more than a bare outward Profeffion, or be-
ing called after his Name. For, as this fame Apo-
ftle tells us, "All are not Ifraelites that are of
"Ifrael," i. e. when applied to Chriſtianity, all
are not real Chriftians that are nominally fuch.
Nay, that is fo far from being the Cafe, that our
Bleffed LORD himſelf informs us, That many
that have prophefied or preached in his Name,
and in his Name caft out Devils, and done many
wonderful Works, ſhall notwithſtanding be' dif-
miffed at the laſt Day with a "Depart from me,
"I know you not, ye Workers of Iniquity."
{
Ir remains therefore, that this Expreffion, If
any Man be in CHRIST, muſt be underſtood
in a ſecond and cloſer Signification, viz. to be in
him fo as to partake of the Benefits of his Suf-
ferings. To be in him not only by an outward
Profeffion, but by an inward Change and Purity
of Heart, and Cohabitation of his holy Spirit.
To be in him fo as to be myftically united to
him by a true and lively Faith, and thereby to
receive fpiritual Virtue from him, as the Mem-
bers of the natural Body do from the Head, or
the Branches from the Vine. To be in him in
fuch a Manner as the Apoftle, ſpeaking of
himſelf, acquaints us he knew a Perfon was, I
knew a Man in CHRIST, fays he, i. e. a true
Chriſtian; or, as he himself defires to be in
CHRIST, when he wishes, in his Epiftle to
the Philippians, that he might be found in him.
THIS
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
69
THIS is undoubtedly the full Purport of the
Apoſtle's Expreffions in the Words of the Text;
fo that what he fays in his Epiftle to the Romans
about Circumcifion, may very well be applied to
the prefent Subject, viz. That he is not a real
Chriſtian who is only one outwardly; nor is that
true Baptiſm, which is only outward in the Flesh.
But he is a true Chriſtian, who is one inwardly,
whofe Baptifm is that of the Heart, in the Spirit,
and not merely in the Water, whofe Praife is not
of Man but of GOD. Or, as he fpeaketh in
another Place, Neither Circumcifion or Uncir-
cumcifion availeth any thing of itſelf, but a new
Creature. Which amounts to what he here de-
clares in the Verfe now under Confideration, that
any Man be truly and properly in CHRIST,
he is a new Creature.
if
WHAT we are to underſtand by being a New
Creature, was the next and fecond general
Thing to be confidered.
AND here it is evident at the firſt View, that
this Expreffion is not to be fo explained as tho' there
was a Phyfical Change required to be made in us,
i. e. as tho' we were to be reduced to our primi-
tive Nothings, and then created and formed again.
For, fuppofing we were, as Nicodemus ignorantly
imagined, to enter a "fecond Time into our Mo-
ther's Womb, and be born," ålas! what would it
contribute towards rendring us ſpiritually new Crea-
tures? fince that which was born of Fleſh would
E 3
be
70
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
1
be Fleſh ſtill, i. e. we ſhould be the fame carnal
Perfons as ever, being derived from carnal Parents,
and confequently receiving the Seeds of all Man-
ner of Sin and Corruption from them. No, it on-
ly means, that we muſt be ſo altered as to the Qua-
lities and Tempers of our Minds, that we muſt
intirely forget what Manner of Perfons we once.
were. As it may be faid of a Piece of Gold that
was in the Ore, after it has been cleanfed, purified
and poliſhed, that it is a new Piece of Gold: As
it may be ſaid of a bright Glafs that has been co-
vered over with Filth, when it is wiped, and fo
become tranfparent and clear, that it is a new
Glaſs: Or, as it might be faid of Naaman, when
he recovered of his Leprofy, and his Fleſh return-
ed unto him like the Flesh of a young Child, that
he was a new Man; fo our Souls, tho' ftill the
fame as to Effence, yet are fo purged, purified and
cleanſed from their natural Drofs, Filth and Le-
profy, by the bleffed Influences of the Holy Spi-
rit, that they may properly be faid to be made anew.
How this glorious Change is wrought in the
Soul, cannot eafily be explained. For no One
knows the Ways of the Spirit, fave the Spirit of
GOD Himſelf. Not that this ought to be any
Argument against this Doctrine; for, as our Blefs-
ed LORD obferved to Nicodemus, when he was
difcourfing on this very Subject, The Wind, fays
he, bloweth where it lifteth, and thou heareft the
Sound thereof, but knoweft not whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth; and if we are told of natural
j
Things,
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
71
Things, and we underſtand them not, how much
lefs ought we to wonder, if we cannot immedi-
ately account for the invifible Workings of the
Holy Spirit? The Truth of the Matter is this:
The Doctrine of our Regeneration, or New Birth
in CHRIST JESUS, is "dark and hard to be under-
ftood" by the natural Man. But that there is
really fuch a Thing, and that each of us must be
fpiritually born again, before we can enter into the
Kingdom of GOD; or, to keep to the Terms
made uſe of in the Text, muft be new Creatures
before we can be in CHRIST, I fhall endeavour
to fhew under my
Third general Head, in which I was to produce
fome Arguments to prove, Why we muſt be
new Creatures, in order to qualify us for be-
ing favingly in CHRIST.
AND here one would think it fufficient to
affirm, that GOD himſelf, in his holy Word,
hath told us fo. For, not to mention many Texts
that might be produced out of the Old Testament
to prove this Point, (and indeed, by the way, one
would wonder how Nicodemus, who was a Teacher
in Ifrael, and who was therefore to inftruct the
People in the ſpiritual Meaning of the Law, fhould
be fo ignorant of this grand Article, as we find
he really was, by his asking our Bleffed LORD,
when he was preffing on him this Topick, "How
can thefe Things be?" Surely, he could not for-
get how often the Pfalmift had begg'd of GOD,
E 4
to
72
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
to make him a new Heart, and renew a right Spirit
within him; as likewife, how frequently the Pro-
phets had warned the People to make them new
Hearts, and new Minds, and fo turn unto the
LORD their GOD. But not to mention theſe
and fuch like Texts out of the Old Testament) this
Doctrine is ſo plainly and often repeated in the
New, that, as I obferved before, " He that
runs may read." For what fays the great Prophet
and Inftructor of the World himfelf? Except a
Man (i. e. every one that is naturally engendred
of the Offspring of Adam) be born again of Water.
and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of
GOD. "And left we ſhould be apt to flight this
Affertion, and Nicodemus-like, reject the Doctrine,
becauſe we cannot immediately explain, How this
Thing can be; our Bleffed Mafter therefore affirms
it, as it were, by an Oath, Verily, verily, I fay
unto you, or, as it may be read, I the Amen; I,
who am Truth itſelf, ſay unto you, that it is the
unalterable Appointment of my heavenly Father,
that unless a Man be born again, he cannot enter
into the Kingdom of GOD.
AGREEABLE to this are thoſe many Paffages we
meet with in the Epiftles, where we are command-
ed to be renewed in the Spirit, i. e. as was before
explained, in the inmoft Faculties of our Minds;
to put off the Old Man, which is corrupt; and
to put on the New Man, which is created after
GOD, in Righteouſneſs and true Holiness; That
Old Things muft pafs away, and that all Things
muſt
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
73
muft become New; That we are to be faved by
the Washing of Regeneration, and the Renewing
of the HOLY GHOST. Or, methinks, was there
no other Paffage to be produced befides the Words
of the Text, it would be full enough, fince the
the Apoſtle therein pofitively affirms, that If any
Man be in CHRIST, he is a new Creature.
Now what can be underſtood by all thefe dif
ferent Terms of being born again, of putting off
the Old Man, and putting on the New, of being
renewed in the Spirit of our Minds, and becom-
ing new Creatures; but that Chriſtianity requires
a thorough, real, inward Change of Heart? Do
we think theſe, and fuch-like Forms of ſpeaking,
are mere Metaphors, Words of a bare Sound,
without any real folid Signification? Indeed, it is
to be feared, fome Men would have them inter-
preted fo; but alas! unhappy Men! they are not
to be envied their Metaphorical Interpretation:
It will be well, if they do not interpret themſelves
out of their Salvation.
MULTITUDES of other Texts might be produc-
ed to confirm this fame Truth; but thofe already
quoted are fo plain and convincing, that one would
imagine no one ſhould deny it; were we not told,
"There are fome, who having Eyes, fee not,
"and Ears hear not, and that will not underſtand
"with their Hearts, or hear with their Ears,
"left they ſhould be converted, and CHRIST
"fhould heal them."
BUT
74
Serm IV.
On Regeneration.
BUT I proceed to a fecond Argument to prove,
Why we muſt be new Creatures, in order to be
rightly in CHRIST. And that ſhall be taken
from the Purity of GOD, and the prefent cor-
rupt and polated State of Man.
Now GOD is defcribed in Holy Scripture
(and I fpeak to thofe who profefs to know the
Scripture) as a Spirit; as a Being of fuch infinite
Sanctity, as to be of purer Eyes than to behold Ini-
quity; as to be fo tranfcendently Holy, that it is
faid the very Heavens are not clean in his Sight;
and the Angels themselves he chargeth with Folly.
On the other Hand, Man is defcribed (and every
Regenerate Perſon will find it true by his own Ex-
perience) as a Creature altogether conceived and
born in Sin; as having no good Thing dwelling in
him; as being carnal, fold under Sin; nay, as hav-
ing a Mind which is Enmity with GOD, and fuch
like. And fince then there is fuch an infinite
Diſparity, can any one conceive how fuch a filthy,
corrupted, polluted Wretch can dwell with an
infinitely pure and holy GOD, before he is
changed, and rendered, in fome Meaſure, like
him? Can He, that is of purer Eyes than to be-
bold Iniquity, dwell with it? Can He, in whofe
Sight the Heavens are not clean, delight to dwell
with Uncleanness itſelf? No; we might as well
fuppofe Light to have Communion with Dark-
nefs, or CHRIST to have Concord with Belial.
But I paſs on to a
เ
THIRD
Serm IV. On Regeneration.
75
THIRD Argument to make good the Apoſtle's
Affertion in the Text, which fhall be founded on
the Confideration of the Nature of that Happineſs
GOD has prepared for thoſe that unfeignedly love
him.
To enter indeed on a Minute and particular
Defcription of Heaven, would be vain and pre-
fumptuous, fince we are told, that Eye hath not
Seen, nor Ear heard, neither hath it entred into
the Heart of Man to conceive, the Things that
are there prepared for the fincere Followers of the
Holy JESUS, However, this we may venture
to affirm in the general, that as GOD is a Spirit,
fo the Happineſs he has laid up for his People is
Spiritual likewife; and confequently, unleſs our
carnal Minds are changed, and become Spiritual-
ized, we can never be made meet to partake of
that Inheritance with the Saints in Light.
Ir is true, we may flatter ourſelves, that, fup-
pofing we continue in our natural corrupt Eſtate,
and carry all our Lufts along with us, we ſhould,
notwithſtanding, reliſh Heaven, was GOD to
admit us thèrein. And fo we might, was it a
Mahometan Paradife, wherein we were to take
our full Swing in fenfual Delights. But fince its
Joys are only ſpiritual, and no unclean Thing can
poffibly enter thoſe bleffed Manfions, there is an
abfolute Neceffity of our being changed, and un-
dergoing a total Renovation of our depraved Na-
tures
76
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
1
tures, before we can have any Tafte or Relish of
thofe heavenly Pleaſures,
IT is, doubtless, for this Reaſon, that the A-
poftle declares it to be the irrevocable Decree of
the Almighty, that without Holiness, i. e. without
being made pure by Regeneration, and having the
Image of GOD thereby reinftamped upon the
Soul, no Man living fhall fee the LORD. And
it is very obfervable, that our Divine Mafter, in
the famous Paffage before referred to, concerning
the abfolute Neceffity of Regeneration, does not
fay, unleſs a Man be born again, he SHALL NOT,
but unleſs a Man be born again, he CANNOT en-
ter into the Kingdom of GOD. For it is found-
ed in the very Nature of Things, that unlefs we
have Difpofitions wrought in us fuitable and an-
fwerable to the Objects that are to entertain us,
we can take no Manner of Complacency or Sa-
tisfaction in them. For Inftance; What Delight
can the moſt harmonious Mufick afford a deaf,
or what Pleaſure the moſt excellent Picture give a
blind Man? Can a taftelefs Palate relish the richest
Dainties, or a filthy Swine be pleafed with the
fineſt Garden of Flowers? No: And what Rea-
fon can be affigned for it? An Anſwer is ready ;
Becauſe they have neither of them any Tempers.
of Mind correfpondent or agreeable to what they
are to be diverted with. And thus it is with the
Soul hereafter. For Death makes no more Alter-
ation in the Soul, than as it inlarges its Facul-
ties, and makes it capable of receiving deeper Im-
preffions
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
77
preffions either of Pleaſure or Pain. If it de-
lighted to converſe with GOD here, it will be
tranſported with the Sight of his glorious Majeſty
hereafter. If it was pleaſed with the Communion
of Saints on Earth, it will be infinitely more fo
with the Communion and Society of holy Angels,
and the Spirits of juft Men made perfect in Hea-
But if the Oppofite of all this be true, we
may affure ourſelves, it could not be happy, was
GOD himſelf to admit it (which he never will
do) into the Regions of the Bleffed. But it is
Time for me to haften to the
ven.
P
FOURTH and laft Argument I fhall offer to
prove, that we muſt be new Creatures c'er we can
be in CHRIST, viz. becauſe CHRIST's
Redemption will not be complete without it.
If we reflect indeed on the firft and chief End
of our Bleffed LORD's Coming, we ſhall find
it was to fave us from our Sins, to be a Propiti-
ation for our Sins, to give his Life a Ranſom for
many. But then, if the Benefits of our Dear Re-
deemer's Death were to extend no further than
barely to procure Forgiveneſs of our Sins, we
ſhould have as little Reafon to rejoice in it, as a
poor condemned Criminal that is ready to perish
by fome fatal Diſeaſe, would have in receiving a
Pardon from his Judge. For Chriſtians would do
well to confider, that there is not only a legal
Hindrance to our Happineſs, as we are Breakers
of GOD's Law, but alſo a moral Impurity in
our
$8
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
our Natures, which renders us incapable of en-
joying Heaven, (as hath been already prov'd) 'till
fome mighty Change hath been wrought in us. It
is neceffary therefore, in order to make CHRIST's
Redemption complete, that we fhould have a
Grant of GOD's Holy Spirit to change our Na-
tures, and ſo prepare us for the Enjoyment of that
Happineſs our Saviour has purchafed by his pre-
cious Blood.
ACCORDINGLY the holy. Scriptures inform us,
that whom CHRIST juftifies, i. e. (as we faid
before) whofe Sins he forgives, thofe he alfo fanc-
tifies, i. e. purifies and cleanfes, and totally chang-
eth their corrupted Natures. Nay, in one Place
of Scripture, Sanctification is put before Juftifi-
cation, on purpoſe, as it were, to convince us that
there is no Salvation to be had without it. But
ye are washed, fays the Apoſtle, but ye are fantifi-
ed; and then follows, but ye are justified. As
the Scripture alſo ſpeaketh in another Place,
"CHRIST is to us Juftification, Sanctification,
"and then Redemption." Let this therefore be
admitted as another indifputable Argument why
we must be new Creatures, e'er we can be in
CHRIST, becauſe without it CHRIST is
dead in vain.
PROCEED We now to the next general, Thing
propofed, viz. To draw fome Inferences
from what has been delivered.
>
AND
Serm. IV.
79
On Regeneration.
AND First then, if he that is in CHRIST
muſt be a new Creature, this may ferve as a Re-
proof for fome, who reft in a bare Performance
of outward Duties, without perceiving any real
inward Change of Heart.
WE may obferve a great many Perfons to be
very punctual in the regular Returns of publick
and private Prayer, as likewiſe of receiving the
Holy Communion, and perhaps, now and then
too in keeping a Faft. And fo far we grant they
do well. But then here is the Misfortune, they
reſt barely in the Ufe of the Means, and think
all is over, when they have juft complied with
thefe facred Inftitutions: Whereas, were they
rightly informed, they would confider, that all
the inftituted Means of Grace, as Prayer, Fafting,
Hearing and Reading the Word of GOD, Re-
ceiving the Bleffed Sacrament, and ſuch like, are
no further ſerviceable to us, than as they are found
to make us inwardly better, and to carry on the
fpiritual Life in the Soul.
It is true, they are Means, and Effential ones
too; but then they are only Means, they are Part,
but not the Whole of Religion: For if ſo, Who
more religious than the Pharifee? who fafted
twice in the Week, and gave Tythes of all that he
poffeffed, and yet was not juftified, as our Savi-
our himſelf informs us, in the Sight of GOD.
You perhaps, like the Pharifee, may faft often,
and make long Prayers; you may, with Herod,
hear
80
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
hear good Sermons gladly; or as Judas himself,
in all Probability, did, receive the Bleffed Sacra-
ment. But
But yet, if you continue vain and trifling,
immoral or worldly-minded in your Converfati-
ons, and differ from the reft of your Neighbours
barely in going to Church, or in complying with
fome outward Performances, are you better than
they? No, in no wife; You are by far much
worſe, becauſe thofe that wholly neglect the
Means, are anſwerable only for omitting the Ufe
of GOD's Ordinances; whereas if you uſe
them, and at the fame Time abuſe them, by not
letting them produce their intended Effect; you
thereby encourage others to think there is no-
thing in them, and therefore muft expect to
receive the greater Damnation.”
*
BUT, Secondly, If he that is in CHRIST
must be a new Creature, then this may check the
groundleſs Prefumption of another Claſs of Pro-
feffors, who reft in the Attainment of fome Mo-
ral Virtues, and falfely imagine they are good
Chriftians, if they are juft in their Dealings, are
temperate in their Diet, and do Hurt or Violence
to no Man.
BUT if this was all that is requifite to make
us Chriſtians, Why might not the Heathens of old
be good Chriftians, who were remarkable for
thefe Virtues? Or St. Paul, before his Converfi-
on, who tells us, That then he lived in all good
Conſcience, and was, touching the Law, blame-
lefs;
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
81
}
!
·
lefs; And yet, after his Converfion, we find he
renounces all Dependence on Works of this Na-
ture, and only defires to be found in CHRIST,
and to know the Power of his Refurrection, i. e.
to have an experimental Proof of receiving the
HOLY GHOST, purchaſed for him by the Death,
and enfured and applied to him by the Refurrection
of JESUS CHRIST.
1
7
THE Sum of the Matter is this: Chriſtianity
includes Morality, as Grace does Reafon; but if
we are only mere Moralifts, if we are not inward-
ly wrought upon, and changed by the powerful
Operations of the Holy Spirit, and our Moral Ac-
tions, proceed from a Principle of a new Nature,
however we may call ourſelves Chriſtians, it is to
be feared we fhall be found naked at the Great
Day, and in the Number of thoſe, who vainly
depend on their own Righteoufnefs, and not on
the Righteoufnefs of JESUS CHRIST, imputed
to and inherent in them, as neceflary to their
eternal Salvation.
NOR, Thirdly, will this Doctrine lefs condemn
thofe, who reft in a Partial Amendment of them-
felves, without going on to Perfection, and expe-
riencing a thorough, real, inward Change of
Heart.
A little Acquaintance with the World will fur-
nich us with Inftances of no fmall Number of
Perfons, who, perhaps, were before openly pro-
· F
fane
.82
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
•
fane; but feeing the ill Confequences of their
Vice, and the many worldly Inconveniencies it
has reduced them to, on a fudden, as it were,
grow civilized; and thereupon flatter themſelves.
that they are very religious, becaufe they differ a
little from their former Selves, and are not fo
ſcandalouſly wicked as once they were: Whereas
at the fame Time they fhall have fome fecret dar-
ling Sin or other, fome beloved Dalilah or Hero-
dias, which they will not part with; ſome hidden
Luft, which they will not mortify; fome vicious
Habit, which they will not take pains to root out.
But wouldst thou know, O vain Man! whoever
thou art, what the LORD thy GOD requires of
thee; thou must be inform'd, that nothing fhort
of a thorough, found Converfion will avail for the
Salvation of thy Soul. It is not enough to turn from
Profaneness to Civility; but thou must turn from
Civility to Godliness. Not only fome, but all Things
muſt become new in thy Soul. It will profit thee
but little to do many Things, if yet ſome one Thing
thou lackeft. In fhort, thou must not be only
an' almoft, but altogether a new Creature, or in vain
-thou hopeft for a faving Intereft in CHRIST.
•
Fourthly and Laftly, Ir he that is in CHRIST
-must-be a new Creature, then this may be pre-
- fcribed as an infallible Rule for every Perſon of
whatever Denomination, Age, Degree or Quality,
to judge himſelf by; this being the only folid
Foundation, whereon we can build a well-ground-
-ed Affurance of Pardon, Peace and Happiness.
*
:
Wa
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
83
F
$
We may indeed depend on the broken Reed of
WB
an external Profeffion; we may think we have
done enough, if we lead fuch fober, honeſt, moral
Lives, as many Heathens did, We may imagine
we are in a ſafe Condition, if we attend on the
publick Offices of Religion, and are conftant in
the Duties of our Clofets. But unlefs all thefe
tend to reform our Lives, and change our Hearts,
and are only uſed as ſo many Channels of Divine
Grace; as I told you, before, fo I tell you again,
Chriſtianity will profit us nothing.
LET each of us therefore ſeriouſly put this Quef
tion to our Hearts: Have we received the HOLY
GHOST fince we believed? Are we new Creatures
in CHRIST, or no? At leaft, if we are not
fo get, is it our daily Endeavour to become fuch?
Do we make, a conftant and confcientious Ufe
of all the Means of Grace required thereto? Do
we faft, watch, and pray? Do we not only lazily
feek, but laboriously ftrive to enter in at the
ftrait Gate? In fhort, Do we renounce ourſelves,
take up our Cróffes and follow CHRIST? If
fo, we are in that narrow Way which leads to
Life: We are, at leaſt fhall in Time, become
`new Creatures in CHRIST. The good Seed is
Town in our Hearts, and will, if duly water'd and
nouriſh'd by a regular perfevering Ufe of all the
Means of Grace, grow up to eternal Life. But
on the contrary, if we have only heard, and know
not experimentally, whether there be any HotY
GHOST; if we are Strangers to Fafting, Watch-
F 2
1
ing
84
Serm. IV.
On Regeneration.
ing, and Prayer, and all the other ſpiritual Exer-
cifes of Devotion; if we are content to go in the
broad Way, merely becauſe we fee moft other
People do ſo, without once reflecting whether it
be the right one or not; in fhort, if we are
Strangers, nay Enemies to the Crofs of CHRIST,
by leading Lives of Softnefs, Worldly-mindedneſs,
and fenfual Pleaſure, and thereby make others
think, that Chriftianity, is but an empty Name,
a bare formal Profeffion; if this be the Cafe, I fay,
then CHRIST is as yet dead in vain as to us;
we are yet under the Guilt of our Sins; we are
unacquained with that true and thorough Conver-
fion, which alone can intitle us to the Salvation
of our Souls.
of
you,
BUT, Beloved, I am perfuaded better Things
and Things that accompany Salvation,
tho' we thus fpeak; and humbly hope, that you
are fully and heartily convinced, that nothing but
the Wedding Garment of a new Nature, can gain
Admiffion for you at the Marriage Feaft of the
Supper of the Lamb; that you are fincerély per-
fuaded, that he that hath not the Spirit of CHRIST
is none of his; and that, unleſs the SPIRIT, which
taifed JESUS from the Dead, dwell in you here,
neither will your mortal Bodies be quickned by
the fame SPIRIT to dwell with him hereafter.
LET me therefore (as was propofed in the laft
Place) earnestly exhort you, in the Name of our
Lord JESUS CHRIST, to act fuitable to thofe
Convictions,
Serm. IV. On Regeneration.
85
Convictions, and to live as Chriftians, that are
commanded in Holy Writ, to put off their for-
mer Converſation concerning the Old Man, and
to put on the New Man, which is created after
GOD, in Righteouſneſs and true Holineſs.
It must be owned indeed, that this is a great
and difficult Work; but, bleffed be GOD, it
is not impoffible. Many Thouſands of happy
Souls have been affifted by a Divine Power to
bring it about, and why ſhould We defpair of
Succefs? Is GOD's Hand fhortned, that it can-
not faye? Was He the GOD of our Fathers,
is he not the GOD of their Children alfo? Yes,
doubtlefs, of their Children alfo. It is a Task
likewife that will put us to fome Pain; it will
oblige us to part with fome Luft, to break with
fome Friend, to mortify fome beloved Paffion,
which may be exceeding dear to us, and perhaps
as hard to leave, as to cut off a right Hand, or
pluck out a right Eye. But what of all this?
Will not the being made a real living Member
of CHRIST, a Child of GOD, and an In-
heritor of the Kingdom of Heaven, abundantly
make Amends for all this Trouble? Undoubted-
ly it will. Laftly, Setting about and carrying on
this great and neceffary Work, perhaps may, nay,
affuredly will expofe us to the Ridicule of the
unthinking Part of Mankind, who will wonder,
that we run not into the fame Excefs of Riot
with themſelves; and becauſe we may deny our
finful Appetites, and are not conformed to this
World,
F 3
86
Serm. IV
On Regeneration.
World, being commanded in Scripture to do the
one, and to have our Converfation in Heaven in
Oppofition to the other, they may count our Lives
Folly, and our End to be without Honour. But
will not the being numbered among the Saints,
and fhining as the Stars for ever and ever, be a
more than fufficient Recompence for all the Ri-
dicule, Calumny, or Reproach, we can poffibly
meet with here ?
7
INDEED, was there no other Reward attended
a thorough Converfion, but that Peace of GOD,
which is the unadvoidable Confequence of it, and
which, even in this Life, paffeth all Underftand-
ing, we should have great Reaſon to rejoice. But
when we confider this is the leaſt of thoſe Mer-
cies GOD has prepared for thofe that are in
CHRIST new Creatures; that this is but the
Beginning of an eternal Succeffion of Pleafures;
that the Day of our Deaths, which the uncon-
verted, unrenewed Sinner muſt ſo much dread,
will-be, as it were, but the first Day of our new
Births, and open to us an everlaſting Scene of
Happineſs and Comfort; in fhort, if we remem-
ber, that they who are regenerate and born again,
have a real Title to all the glorious Promiſes of
the Gospel, and are infallibly certain of being as
happy, both here and hereafter, as an ALL-WISE
ALL-GRACIOUS, ALL-POWERFUL GOD
can make them; methinks, every one that has
but the leaft Concern for the Salvation of his
precious, his immortal Soul, having fuch Pro-
miſes,
Serm. IV.
87
On Regeneration.
1
miſes, fuch an Hope, fuch an Eternity of Hap-
pineſs ſet before him, ſhould never ceaſe watch-
ing, praying, and ftriving, till he find a real,
inward, faving Change wrought in his Heart;
and thereby knoweth of a Truth, that he dwells
in CHRIST, and CHRIST in him; that he
is a new Creature in CHRIST; that he is there-
fore a Child of GOD; that he is already an In-
heritor, and will e'er long, if he endure to the
End, be an actual Poffeffor of the Kingdom of
Heaven.
WHICH GOD of his Infinite Mercy grant,
through JESUS CHRIST our LORD.
To whom, &c.
L
Y
}
}
F 4
1
On
On Juftification.
I COR. vi, 11.
But ye are Juftified.
The whole Verſe runs thus :
And fuch were
Some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are fanc-
tified, but ye are justified in the Name of our
Lord Jefus Chrift, and by the Spirit of our
God.
I
T has been objected by fome, who are fo un-
happy as to diffent from, nay, I may add,
by others alfo, who actually are Friends
to the preſent Ecclefiaftical Eſtabliſhment, That
the Miniſters of the Church of England preach
themſelves, and not CHRIST JESUS Our Lord;
that they entertain their People with Lectures
of mere Mortality, without declaring to them
the glad Tidings of Salvation by JESUS CHRIST.
How well grounded fuch an Objection may be,
is not my Bufinefs to enquire: All I fhall
fay at prefent to the Point is this; namely, that
wheneyer fuch a grand Objection is urged againſt
the whole Body of the Clergy in general, every
honeſt Miniſter of JESUS CHRIST fhould do
his utmoſt to cut off all Manner of Occafion frons
thofe
Serm V.
89
On Juftification, &c
thofe that defire an Occafion to take Offence at us;
that fo by hearing us continually founding forth
the Word of Truth, and declaring with all Bold-
nefs and Affurance of Faith, that there is no other
Name given under Heaven whereby they can be faved,
but that of JESUS CHRIST; they may be
afhamed of this their fame confident Boafting
against us.
Ir was an Eye to this Objection, joined with
the Agreeableneſs and Delightfulneſs of the Sub-
ject (for who can but delight to talk of that
which the Bleffed Angels defire to look into?)
that induced me to difcourfe a little on that great
and fundamental Article of our Faith; namely,
our being freely juftified from all our Sins by the
precious Blood of JESUS CHRIST. But ye are
washed, fays the Apoſtle, but ye are fan&tified, but
ye are justified, in the Name of our Lord JESUS
CHRIST, and by the Spirit of our GOD.
зе
THE Words beginning with the Particle But,
have plainly a Reference to fomething that went
before; it may not therefore be improper, before
I defcend to Particulars, to confider the Words,
as they ſtand related to the Context. The Apof-
tle, in the Verſes immediately foregoing, had been
reckoning up many notorious Sins, fuch as Drunk-
enneſs, Adultery, Fornication, and fuch like, the
Commiffion of which, without a true and hearty
Repentance, He tells them plainly, would cer-
tainly ſhut them out of the Kingdom of GOD.
But
چو
Serm. V.
On Justification
༧
But then, left the fincere Corinthian Converts,
who we find were once infamous for moft or all
of thefe Vices, fhould either on one Hand grow
fpiritually proud by feeing themſelves differ from
their unconverted Brethren, and therefore fhould
be tempted to fer them at nought, and to fay
with the ſelf-conceited Hypocrite in the Prophet,
Come not nigh me, for I am holier than thou: Or,
on the other Hand, by looking back on the Mul-
titude of their paſt Offences, ſhould be apt to
think their Sins were too many and grievous to
be forgiven: He firft, inorder to keep them hum-
ble, reminds them of their fad Eftate before Con-
verfion, telling them in plain Terms, Such (or
as it might better be read thefe Things) were fome
of you; that is, Not only one, but all that fad Cata-
logue of Vices I have been before drawing up, fome
of
you were once guilty of; but then at the fame
Time to preſerve them from Deſpair, behold he
brings them glad Tidings of great Joy: But ye are
washed, fays he, but ye are fanctified, but ye are
juftified in the Name of our Lord JESUS CHRIST,
and by the Spirit of our GOD.
}
THE former Part of which Text, namely, our
being Sanctified, I did in fome Meaſure, treat of,
when I difcourfed on the Nature and Neceffity of the
New Birth: I come now, as was before propof-
ed, to enlarge on the latter Part of it, namely, of
our being freely Justified from all our Sins, by
the precious Blood of JESUS CHRIST: But ye
are
Serm. V.
9!
by CHRIST.
are Fuftified in the Name of our Lord JESUS
CHRIST!
FROM which Words I fhall endeavour to con-
fider thefe Three Things:
I. First, WHAT is meant by the Word
Fuftified.
Y
II. Secondly, I fhall endeavour to prove, that
all Mankind in general, and every individual
Perfon in particular, ftands in need of being
Fuftified.
III. Thirdly and laftly, That there is no Poffi-
bility of obtaining this Juftification, which we
fo much want, but by the precious Blood of JE-
SUS CHRIST.
I. First then, I am to confider what is meant
by the Word Fuſtified.
But ye are Justified, fays the Apoſtle; which is
all the fame as though he had faid, You have your
Sins forgiven, and are looked upon by GOD,
as though you never had offended him at all;
For that is the Meaning of the Word juftified,
in almoſt all the other Paffages of Holy Scrip-
ture where this Word is mentioned. Thus when
this fame Apoſtle writes to the Romans, he tells
them, that whom GOD calls, thofe he alfo
juftifies; that is, forgives them their Sins: And
again,
92
Serm. V.
On Fuftification
again, fpeaking of Abraham's Faith, he tells them,
that Abraham believed on Him that juftifies the Un-
godly; that is, who forgives the ungodly Man his
Sins: Which Expreffion the Apoſtle himſelf ex-
plains by a Quotation out of the Pfalms; Bleffed
is the Man, fays he, to whom the LORD im-
puteth no Sin. From all which Proofs, and many
others that might be urged, it is evident that be-
ing justified, or having our Sins forgiven, are the
fame as to Signification: So that what the Apoftle
here affirms of the Corinthian Converts, namely,
that they were justified, amounts to what all of
us profefs to hold when we just now repeated our
Creed, and each of us declared in his own Perfon,
I believe the Forgiveness of Sins. Which leads me
directly to the
II. Second Thing propofed, namely. To en-
deavour to prove that all Mankind in general, and
every individual Perfon in particular, ftands in
need of being thus juftified, or having his Sins
forgiven.
AND indeed the Apoſtle fuppofes this in the
Words of the Text: But ye are justified, fays he,
thereby implying that the Corinthians (and con-
ſequently all Mankind, there being no Difference,
as will be ſhewn hereafter) ſtood in need of being
thus Juftified.
BUT, not to reft in bare Suppofitions, in my
farther Enlargement on this Second Head,. I ſhall
endeavour
Serm. V.
93
by CHRIST.
endeavour to prove that we all ftand in need of
being justified, on two Accounts: Firſt, as we
ftand chargeable with Original, Secondly, as
we have been guilty of A&tual Sin.
$
AND Firft, I affirm that we all ftand in need
of being justified, as we are chargeable with Ori-
ginal Sin: Which, though a Propofition that may
be denied by a ſelf-juſtifying Infidel, who will not
come to CHRIST that he may have Life, and
ftoop to thoſe Terms GOD has graciouſly fettled
for his Salvation; yet can never be denied by any
one who believes that Saint Paul's Epiftles were
written by Divine Inſpiration; where we are told,
that in Adam all die; that is, Adam's Sin was im-
puted to all And left we fhould forget to make
a particular Application, it is farther added in ano-
ther Place, that there is none that doth good (that
is by Nature) no, not one; that we are all gone out
of the Way; namely, of Original Righteouſneſs;
and are by Nature the Children of Wrath. And
even David, who was the Man after GOD's
own Heart, and if any one could, might ſurely
plead an Exemption from this univerfal Corrup-
tion, yet he confeffes that he was hapen in Wick-
edneſs, and that in Sin did his Mother conceive him.
And, to mention but one more Text, as imme→
diately applicable to the prefent Purpofe, Saint
Paul, in his Epiftle to the Romans fays, that Death
came upon all Men, for the Difobedience of one Man,
namely, of Adam, even upon thofe, fays he, (that
is, little Children) who had not finned after the
Similitude of Adam's Tranfgreffion; or, had not
5
been
94
Serm. V.
On Fuflification
been guilty of actual Sin, and therefore could not
be puniſhed with temporal Death (which came
into the World, as this fame Apoſtle elſewhere
informs us, only by Sin,) had not the Difo-
bedience of our firft Parents been imputed to them.
So that what has been faid on this Point ſeems to
be excellently fummed up in that Article of our
Church, where ſhe declares, "That Original Sin
"ſtandeth not in the following of Adam, but it
"is the Fault and Corruption of the Nature of
every Man, that naturally is ingendred of the
"Offspring of Adam; whereby Man is very far
gone from Original Righteoufnefs, and is of
"his own Nature inclined to Evil, fo that the
"Fleſh lufteth always contrary to the Spirit; and
"therefore in every Perſon born into this World
" it deferveth GOD's Wrath and Damnation."
tr
I HAVE been the more particular in treating of
this Point, becauſe it is the very Foundation of
the Chriftian Religion: For I am verily perfuad-
ed, that it is nothing but a Want of being well
grounded in the Doctrine of Original Şin, and
of the helpleſs, nay I may fay damnable Condi-
tion each of us comes into the World in, that
makes fo many Infidels oppofe, and fo many that
call themselves Chriftians fo very Lukewarm in
their Love and Affections to, JESUS CHRIST.
It is this, and I could almoſt ſay this only, that
makes Infidelity abound amongst us ſo much as it
does: For alas! we are miſtaken if we imagine
that Mẹn now commence or continue Infidels, and
1
fet
Serm. V.
95
by CHRIST.
fet up corrupted Reafon in Oppofition to Revela-
tion, merely for want of Evidence, (for I believe
it might eaſily be proved, that a modern Un-
believer is the most credulous Creature living;)
No, it is only for want of an humble Mind, of
a Senfe of their Original Depravity, and an Un-
willingneſs to own themſelves fo depraved, that
makes them fo obftinately fhut their Eyes againſt
the Light of the Glorious Gofpel of CHRIST.
Whereas on the contrary, were they but once
pricked to the Heart with a due and lively Senfe
of their natural Corruption and Liablenefs to Con-
demnation, we ſhould have them no more fcoffing
at Divine Revelation, and looking on it as an Idle
Tale; but they would cry out with convicted Paul,
1
Lord, what wouldeft thou have me to do? or,
with the trembling Jailer, on a like Occafion,
Men and Brethren, What shall we do to be faved?
It was an Error in this Fundamental Point, that
made fo many refift the Evidence the Son of
GOD himſelf gave of his Divine Miffion, when
he tabernacled amongst us. Every Word he fpake,
every Action he did, every Miracle he wrought,
proved that He came from GO D. And why
then did fo many harden their Hearts, and would
not believe his Report? Why He himself in-
forms us, when He tells us, they will not come to me
that they may have Life: they will obftinately ſtand
out againſt thoſe Means GOD has appointed for
their Salvation: And St. Paul tells us, that if the
Gofpel be hid, it is hid to them that are loft: In
whom the God of this World bath blinded the Minds
of
36
Serm V.
On Fuftification.
}
T
of them which believe not, left the Light of the
Glorious Gospel of CHRIST, who is the Image
of GOD, fhould fine upon them. 2 Cor.
iv. 3, 4.
เ
BUT to return from this Digreffion, which I
could not very well avoid making; If it be asked,
How it fuits with the Divine Goodneſs to im-
pute the Guilt of one Man's Sin to an innocent
Pofterity? I should think it fufficient to make uſe
of the Apoftle's Words; Nay but O Man, Who
art thou that replieft against GOD? Shall the
Thing formed fay to him that formed it, Why haft
thou made me thus? But, to come to a more direct
Reply, Perfons would do well to confider
that in this firſt Covenant GOD made with Man,
Adam acted as a Publick Perfon, as the common
Repreſentative of all Mankind, and conſequently
we muſt ſtand or fall with Him. Had He con-
tinued in his Obedience, and not eaten the for-
bidden Fruit, the Benefits of that Obedience
would doubtleſs have been imputed to us: But fince
he did not perfift in it, but broke the Covenant
GOD made with Him, and us in him; Who
dares charge the Righteous Judge of all the Earth
with Injuſtice, for imputing that to us alfo? But
I ſhall have an Occafion, by and by, to vindicate
the Divine Proceeding in this Point more parti-
cularly; and therefore I chufe to wave all farther
Confideration of it in this Place, and proceed to
the other Thing propoſed under this Second general
Head; namely,
2. To
Serm. V.
by CHRIST.
97
2. To endeavour to prove, That we all ſtand
in need of being justified, not only as we are
chargeable with Original, but as we ſtand con-
victed of Actual Sin.
THAT GOD, as he made Man, has a Right
alfo to demand his Obedience, I fuppofe, is a
Truth no one will deny: That he hath alſo given.
‣ us both a natural and a written Law, whereby we
are to be judged, cannot be queftioned by any one
who believes Saint Paul's Epiftle to the Romans
to be of Divine Authority: For in this we are
told of a Law written in the Heart, and a Law
given by Moſes; and, that each of us hath broken
thefe Laws, is too evident from our own fad and
frequent Experience. Accordingly the Holy Scrip-
tures inform us, that there is no Man which liveth
and finneth not; that in many Things we offend all;
that if we say we have no Sin we deceive ourselves,
and fuch like. And if we are thus found Of-
fenders againſt GOD, it follows that we ſtand
in need of Forgiveneſs for thus offending Him;
unleſs we ſuppoſe GOD ſhould enact Laws, and
at the fame Time not care whether they are obey-
ed or no; which is as abfurd as to fuppofe that a
Prince ſhould eſtabliſh Laws for the proper Go-
vernment of his Country, and yet let every Viola-
ter of them come off with Impunity. But GOD
has not dealt fo foolishly with his Creatures: No,
as he gave us a Law, he demands our Obedience
to that Law, and has obliged us univerfally to obey
it, under no leſs a Penalty than incurring his Curfe
G
and
98
Serm V.
On Juftification.
and eternal Death for every Breach of it. For
thus fpeaks the Scripture: Curfed is He that con-
tinueth not in all Things that are written in this
Book to do them; as the Scripture alſo ſpeaketh in
another Place, The Soul that finneth, it fall die.
Now it has already been proved that we have all
of us finned; and therefore, unleſs fome Means
can be found out to fatisfy GOD's Juftice, we
muſt periſh eternally.
LET us here then ftand a while and fee in what
deplorable Condition each of us comes into the
World, and ſtill continues, 'till we are put into
State of Grace: For furely nothing can well be
fuppofed more deplorable than to be born under
the Curfe of GOD; to be charged with Ori-
ginal Guilt, and not only fo, but to be convict-
ed as actual Breakers of GOD's Law, the leaſt
Breach of which juſtly deſerves Eternal Damna-
tion. Surely this can be but a melancholy Prof-
pect to view ourſelves in, and muſt put us upon
contriving fome Means whereby we may fatisfy
nd appeafe our offended Judge. But what muſt
thoſe Means be? Shall we repent? Alas! there
is not one Word mentioned about Repentance in
the first Covenant: The Day that thou cateft
thercof, ſays GOD, thou shalt ſurely Die. So
that, if GOD be true, unleſs there be fome Way
found out to fatisfy his Juftice, we muſt periſh;
and there is no room left for us to expect a Change
of Mind in GOD, though we fhould feek it
with Tears. Well then, if Repentance will not
do
Serm. V.
99
by CHRIST.
do, fhall we plead the Law of Works? Alas!
By the Law ſhall no Man living be juftified: For
by the Law comes the Knowledge of Sin. It is
that which convicts and condemns, and therefore
can by no means acquit, much lefs juftify us.
Wherewith then shall we come before the Lord,
and bow down before the most High GOD; in or-
der to procure the Forgiveneſs of our Sins? Shall
we come before him with Calves of a Year old, with
thouſands of Rams, or ten thousands of Rivers of
Oil? Alas! GOD has ſkewed thee, O Man, that
this will not avail. For he hath declared, I will
take no Bullock out of thy House, nor He-Goat out of
thy Fold: For all the Beafts of the Foreft are mine,
and fo are the Cattle upon a thouſand Hills. Will
not the Lord then be pleafed to accept our First-born
for our Tranfgreffion, the Fruit of tur Bodies for the
Sin of our Souls? Even this will not purchafe
our Pardon: For He has declared that the Children
fhall not bear the Iniquities of their Parents. Be-
fides, they are Sinners, and therefore, being under
the fame Condemnation, equally ftand in need of
Forgiveneſs with ourfelves They are impɩ re,
and will the LORD accept the Blind and Lame
for Sacrifice? O wretched Men that we are! Who
Jhall deliver us from this Body of Death? why I
thank GOD, our Lord JESUS CHRIST.
Which naturally leads me to
III. The Third general Thing propoſed, which
was to endeavour to prove, That there is no Poffi-
bility of our obtaining this Juification, which we
G 3
fo
100
Serm. V.
On Fuftification
fo much want, but by the precious Blood of our
Lord JESUS CHRIST: But ye are juftified in the
Name of our Lord JESUS CHRIST. But
this having been in fome meaſure proved by what
has been faid under the foregoing Head, where-
in I have fhewn that neither our Repentance,
Works, or Sacrifices could poffibly take away, or
make Attonement for our Sins; nothing remains.
for me to do under this Head, but to fhew that
the Death of JESUS CHRIST has done it for
us.
AND here I fhall ftill have recourſe to the Law
and to the Teftimony. For after all the moſt ſubtie
Difputations on either fide, nothing but the lively.
Oracles of GOD can give us any Satisfaction in
this momentous Point: It being fuch an incon-
ceivable Myſtery, that the Eternal, only-begotten
Son of GOD fhould die for finful Man, that we
durft not have prefumed f much as to have thought
of it, had not GOD revealed it in his Holy Word.
It is true, Reafon may fhew us the Wound, but
Revelation only can lead us to the Means of our
Cure. And though the Method GOD has been
pleaſed to take to put us in a Way of being happy,
may be to the Infidel a Stumbling-block, and to the
wife Opiniator and Diſputer of this World Fool-
ishness; yet Wisdom, that is, the Difpenfation of
our Redemption, will be juflified or approved of
and ſubmitted to by all her truly wife and holy
Children, by every fincere and honeft Chriftian.
BUT
Serm. V. by CHRIST.
ΙΟΙ
BUT to come more directly to the Point be-
fore us.
Two Things, as was before obſerved,
we wanted, in order to make our Peace with
GOD.
1. To be freed from the Guilt of Original Sin:
And,
2. FROM that Puniſhment we had moft juftly
deferved for our actual Breaches of GOD's Law.
And both theſe (Thanks be to GOD for this un-
Speakable Gift) are abundantly fecured to us by
the Death and Paffion of JESUS CHRIST. For
what fays the Scripture?
1. As to the firſt, or our being freed from the
Guilt of Original Sin,it informs us, that as
in Adam all die, even fo in CHRIST fball all be
made alive. And again, As by the Difobedience of
one Man, or by one Tranfgreffion, namely, that
of Adam, many were made Sinners, fo by the Obc-
dience of one, JESUS CHRIST, many were made
Righteous. And again, As by the Difobedience of
one Man, Judgment came upon all Men into Con-
demnation, that is, All Men were condemned, on
having Adam's Sin imputed to them: So by the
Obedience of one, that is JESUS CHRIST, the Free
Gift of Pardon and Peace came upon all Men unto
Fuftification of Life. Which by the way clears up
(as I promiſed to do before) that feeming Dif
agreement between GOD's Attributes, in imputing
Adam's Sin to us, (namely, his Juftice and Mercy,)
G 3
and
102
Serm. V.
On Fuftification
and wholly takes off that Imputation of Injuftice,
which wicked and ungodly Men would blafphe-
moufly caft upon the Righteous Judge of all the
Earth. Had GOD indeed imputed Adam's Sin
to his innocent Pofterity, and left them to periſh
in it: Had he looked upon and punished them
all as Sinners, without providing them a Saviour,
we might perhaps have had fome Pretence to com-
plain of his Severity, though we could not even
then but acknowledge his Juftice in the Puniſh-
ment of Sin. But fince He has not dealt with us
after our Deferts, nor rewarded us according to our
Iniquity: Since the fame Revelation acquaints us,
that As in Adam all die, even fo in CHRIST
fball all be made alive: Since the fame GOD
that informs us that Death came even upon those who
had not finned after the Similitude of Adam's Tranf-
greffion, declares likewife, that He that believeth
and is baptized shall be faved, or put into a State of
Salvation I fay, fince thefe Things are fo, what
Reafon have fuch Worms as we to quarrel with
the Moft High GOD? Doubtlefs no more than
a condemned Criminal has to find Fault with his
Judge for condemning him for breaking the Law,
only that He might give him the Pleaſure of a
Reprieve. No; as for GOD, His Ways are
perfect, and his Dealings with his Creatures are
holy, just and good; and as in all his Difpenfations,
fo more eſpecially in our Recovery from our fallen
Eſtate by the Death of JESUS, we may juftly
fay, Mercy and Truth have met together, Righteouf-
nefs and Peace bave kiffed each other. But,
2. PARDON
Serm. V.
103
by CHRIST.
2. PARDON for our actual Tranfgreffion of
GOD's Law was another Thing which we want-
ed to have fecured to us, before we could be at
Peace with GOD. And this the Holy Scrip-
tures inform us is abundantly done by the Death
of JESUS CHRIST. The Evangelical Prophet
foretells that the promiſed Redeemer fhould be
wounded for our Tranfgreffions, and bruiſed for our
Iniquities that the Chaftifement of our Peace ſhould
be upon him; and that by his Stripes we should be
healed: Ifaiab liii. 6. The Angel at His Birth
ſays, that he ſhould fave his People from their Sins:
And Saint Paul declares, that this is a faithful Say-
ing, and worthy of all Acceptation, that JESUS
CHRIST came into the World to fave Sinners: And
here in the Words of the Text, fuch (or, as I ob-
ferved before, theſe Things) were fome of you; but
ye are washed, &c.— And Saint Peter, alluding
to the aforementioned Paffage of Ifaiah, teftifies
of CHRIST, that His own felf bare our Sins in bis
own Body on the Tree, that we being dead to Sin,
fhould live unto Righteousness; by whofe Stripes,
fays he, ye are healed. 1 Pet. ii. 24.
And in ano-
ther Place, the fame Apoſtle fays, Neither is there
Salvation in any other; for there is none other Name
under Heaven given among Men, whereby we must
be faved, but the Name of JESUS CHRIST.
Acts iv. 12.
How GOD will be pleaſed to deal with the
Gentiles, who yet fit in Darkness and in the Sha-
dow of Death, and on whom the Sun of Righte-
ouſneſs
G 4
104
On Fuftification
Serm. V.
ouſneſs never yet aroſe, is not for us to enquire.
What have we to do to judge thoſe that are without?
To GOD's Mercy let us recommend them, and
wait for a Solution of this Point 'till the Great
Day of Accounts, when all GOD's Difpenfations,
both of Providence and Grace, will be fully clear-
ed up, by Methods to us, it may be, at prefent
unknown, becauſe Unrevealed. However, this
we know, that the Judge of all the Earth will,
moft affuredly, do right. But it is Time for me
to draw towards a Conclufion.
I have now then, Brethren, by the Bleffing of
GOD, diſcourſed on the Words of the Text in
the Method I propofed; and have, in as plain a
Manner as I could, hewn you what is meant by
the Word Justified, that it fignifies our having our
Sins forgiven; and have alfo in fome meaſure
proved that we all ftand in need of being thus
juſtified, as we are chargeable with Original, and
have been guilty of Actual Sin: And lastly, that
nothing but the precious Blood of JESUS CHRIST
has, or can procure this inestimable Privilege for us.
MANY uſeful Inferences might be drawn from
what has been delivered; but as I have detained
you I fear too long already, permit me only to
make a Reflection or two on what has been faid,
and I have done.
IF then we are freely Justified by the Death of
JESUS CHRIST, let us here paufe a while; and
as
•
Serm. V.
105
by CHRIST.
as before we reflected on the Mifery, let us now turn
afide and admire the Happineſs of Man. But alas!
How am I loft to think that GOD the Father,
when we were in a State of Enmity by original,
and of Rebellion, by our actual Sins, fhould not-
withſtanding yearn in his Bowels towards us his
fallen, his apoftate Creatures; and becauſe nothing
but an infinite Ranfom could fatisfy an infinitely
offended Juſtice, ſhould fend his only and dear
Son JESUS CHRIST (who is GOD bleffed for
ever, and who had lain in his Bofom from all
Eternity,) to die a curfed, painful, ignominious
Death, for us and for our Salvation! O who can
avoid crying out, on the Confideration of this
Great Myſtery of Godliness,
O the Depth of
the Riches of GO D's Love to us his wretched,
miferable, undone Creatures! How unfearchable
is his Mercy, and his Loving Kindneſs paſt finding
out! Now know we of a Truth, O GOD, that
thou haft loved us, fince Thou hast not with-held thy
Son, thy only Son JESUS CHRIST, from thus dying
for us.
BUT as we admire the FATHER fending, let us
likewife humbly and thankfully adore the SoN
coming, when fent, to die for Man. But alas!
What Thoughts can conceive, what Words ex-
preſs the infinite Greatneſs of that unparalleled
Love, which drew the Son of GOD down from
the Manfions of his Father's Glory to die for
finful Man! The Jews, when he only fhed a
Tear at poor Lazarus's Funeral, faid, Behold how
be
106
Serm. V.
On Juftification, &c.
be loved him:
How much more juftly then may
we cry out, Behold how he loved us, when He did
not fpare to fhed not only a Tear, but his own
precious Blood for us!
AND can any poor returning Sinner, after this,
deſpair of Mercy? What, can they fee their Savi-
our hanging on a Tree, with Arms ftretched out
to embrace them, and yet, upon their True
Repentance, doubt of finding Acceptance with
him? No, away with all ſuch diſhonourable, ſuch
defponding Thoughts. -Look on his Hands,
bored with Pins of Iron; look on his Side pierced
with a cruel Spear, on purpoſe to unlooſe the
Sluices of his Blood, and open a Fountain for Sin,
and for Uncleanness; —And then deſpair of Mercy
if you can! No, do but leave thofe Sins He
came to die for; Do not crucify Him afresh, and
put him again to open Shame, by leading wicked,
lukewarm, ungodly Lives: In fhort, do but la
bour to attain that Holiness, without which no Man
fball fee the Lord; and then though your Sins be as
Scarlet, yet hall they be as Wool; though they be
es Crimson, yet fall they be whiter than Snow.
Which God of his Infinite Mercy Grant, &c.
2
善
​The
$
The Almoft Chriftian.
ACTS xxvi. 28.
Almost thou perfuadeft me to be a
Chriftian.
T
HESE Words contain the ingenious Con-
feffion of King Agrippa; which having
ſome reference to what went before, it
may not be improper to relate to You the Sub-
ftance of the preceding Verfes, to which thefe
Words are fo cloſely connected.
THE Chapter then, out of which the Text is
taken, contains an admirable Account the Great
Saint Paul gave of his wonderful Converſion from
Judaifm to Christianity, when he was called to
make his Defence before Feftus and another Gentile
Governor. Our Bleffed Lord had long fince fore-
told, that, When the Son of Man fhould be lifted up,
his Difciples fhould be brought before Kings for bis
Name's fake, for a Testimony unto them. And very
good was the Defign of Infinite Wiſdom in thus
ordaining it: For Chriſtianity being from the very
Beginning a Doctrine of the Crofs, the Princes
and Rulers of the Earth thought themſelves too
high to be inftructed by fuch mean Teachers, or
too
108 The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI,
too happy to be difturbed by fuch unwelcome.
Truths; and therefore would have always conti-
nued Strangers to JESUS CHRIST and birş
Crucified, had not the Apoſtles, by being arraigned.
as Criminals before them, gained Opportunities
of Preaching to them JESUS and the Refurrec-
tion. Saint Paul knew full well that this was the
main Reaſon, why his Bleffed Mafter permitted
his Enemies at this Time to arraign him at a pub-
lick Bar And therefore, in compliance with the
Divine Will, thinks it not fufficient barely to make
his Defence, but endeavours at the fame Time to
convert his Judges. And this He did with fuch
Demonftration of the Spirit, and of Power, that
Feftus, unwilling to be convinced by the ſtrongeſt
Evidence, cries out with a loud Voice, Paul, much,
Learning doth make thee mad. To which the brave
Apoſtle (like a true Follower of the Holy JESUS)
meekly replies, I am not mad, most noble Feftus,
but ſpeak forth the Words of Truth and Soberneſs.
But in all Probability feeing King Agrippa more
affected with his Difcourfe, and obferving in him
an Inclination to know the Truth, he applies
himſelf more particularly to Him: The King, fays
he, knoweth of thefe Things; before whom alfo I
Speak freely; for I am perfuaded that none of theſe
Things are hidden from him. And then, that if
poffible he might compleat his wiſhed-for Con-
verfion, he, with an inimitable Strain of Oratory,
addreffes himſelf ftill more cloſely, King
Agrippa, Believeft thou the Prophets? I know that
thou believeft them. At which the Paffions of the
King
Serm. VI.
109
The Almoft Chriftian.
King began to work fo ftrongly, that he was
obliged in open Court, to own himſelf affected
by the Prifoner's preaching, and ingenuouſly to
ery out, Paul, almost thou perfuadeft Me to be a
Chriftian.
WHICH Words, taken with the Context, afford
us a lively Repreſentation of the different Re-
ception the Doctrine of CHRIST's Minifters, who
come in the Power and Spirit of Saint Paul, meets
with now-a-days in the Minds of Men. For not-
withſtanding They like this Great Apoſtle, Speak
forth the Words of Truth and Soberness; and with
fuch Energy and Power, that all their Adverfaries
cannot gainfay or refift: yet too many, with the
moft Noble Feftus before mentioned, being, like
him, either too proud to be taught, or too fenfual,
too careleſs, or too wordly-minded to live up to
their Doctrine, -in order to excuſe themſelves
cry out, that much Learning, much Study, or what
is more unaccountable, much Piety, hath made
them Mad. And though, Bleffed be GOD!
all do not thus disbelieve our Report; yet amongſt
thoſe many others, who gladly receive the Word,
and confeſs that we ſpeak the Words of Truth and
Sobernefs, there are fo Few, who arrive at any
higher Degree of Piety than that of Agrippa, or
are any farther perfuaded than to be Almoft Chrif
tians,
that I cannot but think it highly neceflary
to warn my dear Hearers of the Danger of fuch a
State. And therefore from the Words of the
Text
ilo
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI
Text fhall endeavour to confider theſe three
Things :
I. First, WHAT is meant by an Almoſt
Chriftian.
II. Secondly, WHAT are the chief Reaſons why
fo few arrive no higher than to be Almoft
Christians.
III. Thirdly, I fhall confider the Ineffectualness,
Danger, Abfurdity, and Uneafineſs that attends
thoſe that are but Almoft Chriftians.
IV. Fourthly, I fhall conclude with a general
Exhortation, to fet all upon ftriving not only to
be Almoſt but Altogether Chriftians.
I. AND First, I am to confider What is meant
by an Almoft Chriftian.
AN Almoft Chriftian then, if we confider him
in respect to his Duty to GOD, is one that halts
between two Opinions, that wavers between
CHRIST and the World; that would reconcile
GOD and Mammon, that is, Light and Darkneſs,
CHRIST and Belial. It is true, He has an In-
clination to Religion, but then he is very cauti-
ous how he goes too far in it: His falfe Heart is
always crying out Spare thyfelf, Do thyfelf no
Harm. He prays indeed, that GOD's Will may
be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven: but then,
notwith-
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
III
notwithſtanding He is very partial in his Obedi-
ence, and fondly hopes that GOD will not be
extreme to mark every Thing that He wilfully does
amifs? though an inſpired Apoſtle has told him,
that He that wilfully offends in one Point is guilty
of all. Above all He is one that depends much
on outward Ordinances, and upon that Account
looks upon himſelf as Righteous, and defpifes
Others, though at the fame Time he may be as
great a Stranger to the Divine Life as any other
Perfon whatſoever. In fhort, he is fond of the
Form, but never experiences the Power of Godliness
in his Heart He goes on Year after Year, feed-
ing and attending on the Means of Grace; but
then, like Pharoah's Lean Kine, is never the
better, but rather the worfe for them.
:
IF you confider Him in refpect to his Neigh-
bour, He is one that is ſtrictly juſt to all; but then
this does not proceed from any Love to GOD
or Regard to Man, but only out of a Principle
of Self-Love; becauſe he knows Difhonefty will
fpoil his Reputation, and confequently hinder hist
Thriving in the World.
He is one that depends much on being Ne-
gatively Good, and contents himſelf with the
Conſciouſneſs of having done no one any Harm ;
though he reads in the Gospel, that the Unprofi-
table Servant was caft into outer Darkness, and
the Barren Fig-Tree curfed and dried up from the
Roots, not for bearing bad, but no Fruit.
HE
112
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI.
E
+
He is no Enemy to Charitable Contributions, if
not too frequently recommended: But then he is
quite unacquainted with the kind Offices of Vifit-
ing the Sick and Imprisoned, Clothing the Naked,
and Relieving the Hungry. He thinks that theſe
Things belong only to the Clergy, though his own
falfe Heart tells him, that nothing but Pride keeps
him from exercifing thefe Acts of Humility, and
that JESUS CHRIST, in the 25th Chapter of
Saint Matthew, condemns Perfons to everlafting
Puniſhment, not for being Fornicators, Drunk-
ards, or Extortioners, but merely for neglecting
theſe Charitable Offices. When the Son of Man,
fays our Bleffed Lord himfelf, fhall come in his
Glory, He fhall fet the Sheep on his Right Hand,
and the Goats on his Left. And then fhall He fay
unto them on his Left Hand, Depart from me ye
Curfed, into everlafting Fire prepared for the Devil
and his Angels: For I was an hungred, and Ye gave
me no Meat; I was thirsty, and Ye gave me no
Drink; I was a Stranger, and Ye took me not in;
Naked and Ye Cloathed me not; Sick and in Prifon,
and Ye vifited me not. Then ſhall They also say,
Lord, When faw we Thee an hungred, or a thirst,
or a Stranger,,or naked, or fick, or in Priſon, and
did not minifter unto Thee? Then fhall be anfwer
them, Verily I fay unto you, Inafinuch as Ye have
not done it unto one of the least of theſe my Bre-
thren, ye did it not unto me: And these ball go
away into Everlasting Punishment. I thought pro-
per to give You this whole Paffage of Scripture
at large, becauſe our Saviour lays fuch a particu-
1
lar
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
113
lar Streſs upon it; and yet notwithſtanding it is
fo little regarded, that, were we to judge by the
Practice of Chriftians, one fhould be tempted to
think there were no fuch Verfes in the BIBLE.
BUT, to proceed in our Character of an Almoſt
'Chriftian: If we confider him in reſpect to Him-
felf; as before we faid he was ftrictly honeft to
his Neighbour, fo he is likewiſe ſtrictly ſober
in himſelf: But then both his Honefty and So-
briety proceed from the fame Principle of a falfe
Self-love. It is true, He runs not into the fame
Excess of Riot with other Men; but then it is not
out of Obedience to the Laws of GOD, but
either becauſe his Conftitution will not away with
Intemperance; or rather becauſe he is cautious of
forfeiting his Reputation, or unfitting himſelf for
temporal Buſineſs: But though he is fo prudent
as to avoid Intemperance and Excefs, for the Rea-
fons before mentioned; yet he always goes to the
Extremity of what is lawful. It is true, He is no
Drunkard; but then he has no Chriftian Self-
denial to plead for him. He cannot think our Sa-
viour to be ſo auftere a Maſter, as to deny us to
indulge ourſelves in fome Particulars: And fo by
this Means he is kept out of a Senſe of true Re-
ligion, as much as if he had lived in Debauchery,
or any other Crime whatever. As to ſettling his
Principles as well as Practice, He is guided more
by the World than by the Word of GOD. As
for his Part, he cannot think the Way to Heaven
fo narrow as fome would make it; and therefore
H
confiders
114 The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI.
confiders not fo much what Scripture requires, as
what fuch and fuch a good Man does, or what
will beft fuit his own corrupt Inclinations. Upon
this account, he is not only very Cautious himſelf,
but likewife very Careful of young Converts,
whoſe Faces are fet Heavenward; and therefore is
always acting the Devil's Part, and bidding them
Spare themselves, though they are doing no more
than what the Scripture ftri&tly requires of them
to do: The Confequence of which is, that He
fuffers not Himself to enter into the Kingdom of
GOD, and They that are entering in he binders.
THUS lives the Almoft Chriftian: Not that I can
fay, I have fully defcribed him to you; but from
thefe Out-lines and Sketches of his Character, if
your Confciences have done their proper Offices,
and made a particular Application of what has
been ſaid to your own Hearts, I cannot but fear
that ſome of you may obſerve ſome Features in his
Picture, odious as it is, too near refembling your
own; and therefore cannot but hope, at the fame
Time, that you join with the Apoftle in the Words
immediately following the Text, and with your
felves not only Almoft, but Altogether Chriftians.
BUT it is Time for me to proceed to the Second
General Thing propofed; namely, to confider the
Reaſons why fo many are no more than Almoſt
Chriftians.
1
AND the first Reaſon I fhall mention is, be-
cauſe ſo many fet out with falfe Notions of Re-
ligion;
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
115
ligion; and though they live in a Chriſtian Coun-
try, yet know not what Chriſtianity is. This
perhaps may be eſteemed a hard Saying, but Ex-
perience fadly evinces the Truth of it: For fome
place Religion in being of this or that Commu-
nion; more in Morality; moſt in a round of
Duties and a Model of Performances; and few,
very few, acknowledge it to be, what it really is,
a thorough, inward Change of Nature, a Divine
Life, a Vital Participation of JESUS CHRIST, an
Union of the Soul with GOD; which the Apoſ-
tle expreffes by faying, He that is joined to the Lord,
is One Spirit. Hence it happens that fo many, even
of the moſt knowing Profeffors, when you come
to converſe with them concerning the Effence,
the Life, the Soul of Religion, I mean our New
Birth in JESUS CHRIST, Confefs themfelves quite
ignorant of the Matter, and cry out with Nico-
demus, How can this Thing-be! And no wonder
then, that ſo many are only Almoft Chriftians, when
fo many know not what Chriflianity is: No mar-
vel ſo many take up with the Form, when they
are quite Strangers to the Power of Godliness; or
content themſelves with the Shadow, when they
know fo little about the Subftance of it. And
this is one Caufe why fo many are Almoft, why
fo few are Altogether Chriftians.
A SECOND Reaſon that may be affigned why
fo many are no more than Almoft Chriftians, is a
fervile Fear of Man: Multitudes there are, and
have been, who though awakened to a Senfe of
H 2
the
116
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI.
the Divine Life, and have tafted and felt the Pow-
ers of the World to come; yet, out of a baſe finful
Fear of being counted fingular, or contemned by
Men, have fuffered all thofe good Impreffions to
wear off again. It is true they have ſome Eſteem
for JESUS CHRIST; but then, like Nicodemus,
they would come to him only by Night: They are
willing to ferve him; but then they would do it
fecretly for fear of the Jews: They have a mind to
fee JESUS, but then they cannot come to him be-
caufe of the Prefs, for fear of being laughed at,
and ridiculed by thofe with whom they ufed to fit
at Meat. But well did our Saviour prophesy of
fuch Perfons, How can ye love me which receive
Honour one of another? Alas! have they never
read, that the Friendship of this World is Enmity
with GOD; and that our Lord himſelf has threat-
ned, Whofcever shall be ashamed of me or of my
Words, in this wicked and adulterous Generation,
of him fall the Son of Man be ashamed, when He
cometh in the Glory of his Father and of his Holy
Angels? But no wonder that ſo many are no more
than Almoft Chriftians, fince fo many love the
Praife of Men more than the Honour which cometh
of GOD.
A THIRD Reaſon why fo many are no more
than Almoſt Chriſtians, is a reigning Love of Money.
This was the pitiable Cafe of that forward young
Man in the Gofpel, who came running to our
Eleffed Lord, and kneeling before him, enquired
what He must do to inherit Eternal Life; to which
>
our
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
117
::
Bleſſed Maſter replied, Thou knoweft the Command-
ments, Do not Kill, Do not commit Adultery, Do
not Steal: To which the Young Man replied (Oh
that every Young Man here prefent could do fo
too!) All theſe have I kept from my Youth. Bur
when our Lord proceeded to tell him, Yet lackest
thou One Thing, Go fell all that thou haft and give
to the Poor, — he was grieved at that Saying, and
went away forrowful, for he had great Poffeffions!
Poor Youth! He had a good Mind to be a Chrif-
tian, and to inherit Eternal Life, but thought it
too dear, if it could be purchaſed at no leſs an
Expence than of his whole Eſtate! And thus many,
both Young and Old, now-a-days come running
to worship our Bleffed Lord in publick, and kneel
before him in private, and enquire at his Gofpel,
What they muft do to inherit Eternal Life: But
when they find they must renounce the Self-En-
joyment of Riches, and forfake All in Affection,
to follow Him, They cry, The LORD pardon us
in this Thing! We pray Thee, bave us excuf
ed.
BUT is Heaven ſo ſmall a Trifle in fuch Men's
Efteem, as not to be worth a little gilded Earth?
Is Eternal Life fo mean a Purchaſe, as not to
deſerve the temporary Renunciation of a few tran-
fitory Riches? Surely it is. But however incon-`
fiftent fuch a Behaviour may be, this inordinate.
Love of Money is too evidently the common and
fatal Cauſe why fo many are no more than Al-
moft Chriftians.
H
३
NOR
118
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI,
NOR is the reigning Love of Pleaſure a lefs un-
common, or a lefs fatal Caufe why ſo many are
no more than Almoft Chriftians. Thoufands and
Thouſands there are, who defpiſe Riches, and
would willingly be True Difciples of JESUS
CHRIST, Would parting with their Money make
them fo; but when they are told that our Bleffed
Lord has laid it down as an indifpenfable Con-
dition, that Whosoever will come after bim must deny
himself; - like the pitiable Young Man before
mentioned, they go away forrowful: For they have
too great a Love for fenfual Pleaſures: They will,
like Herod, perhaps fend for the Minifters of
CHRIST, as He did for John, and hear them
gladly: But touch them in their Herodias, tell
them they muft part with fuch or fuch a darling
Pleaſure; and with Wicked Ahab thy cry out,
Haft thou found us, O our Enemy?
TELL them of the Neceffity of Mortification,
Fafting, and Self-Denial, and it is as difficult to
them to hear, as if you was to bid them cut off a
Right Hand or pluck out a Right Eye: They can-
not think our Bleffed Lord requires fo much at
their Hands, though an infpired Apoftle has com-
manded us to mortify our Members which are upon
the Earth: And He. himſelf, even after he had
converted Millions, and was very near arrived to
the End of his Race, yet profeffed that it was his
daily Practice to keep under his Body, and bring it
izto Subjection, left after he had preached to Others,
He himself fhould be a Caft-away!
BUT
Serm. VI.
119
The Almoft Chriftian.
BUT fome Men would be wifer than this Great
Apoſtle, and chalk out to us what they falfely
imagine an eaſier Way to Happineſs. They would
flatter us we may go to Heaven without offering
Violence to our fenfual Appetites; and enter into
the Strait Gate without ftriving againſt our carnal
Inclinations. And this is another Reaſon why
fo many are only Almoft, and not Altogether
Chriftians.
THE Fifth and laft Reaſon I fhall affign why
many are only Almoft Chriftians, is a Fickleness
and Inftability of Temper.
fo
IT has been, no doubt, the Misfortune that
many a Miniſter and fincere Chriftian has met
with to weep and wail over Numbers of promifing
Converts, who feemingly began in the Spirit, but
after a while have fell away, and bafely ended in
the Fleſh; and this not for want of right Notions
in Religion, nor out of a fervile Fear of Man,
nor out of a Love of Money or fenfual Plea-
fure, but out of an Inftability and Ficklenefs of
Temper.
THEY looked upon Religion merely for Novel-
ty; as fomething which pleafed them for a while,
but after their Curiofity was fatisfied, they have
laid it afide again: Like the Young Man that
came to fee JESUS with a Linnen Cloth about his.
naked Body, they have followed him for a Seafon,
but when Temptations have come to take hold on
H 4
them,
$20 The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI.
them, for want of a little more Refolution, they
have been ſtripped of all their good Intentions,
and fled away naked. They at firft, like a Tree
planted by the Water-fide, grew up and flouriſhed
for a while; but having no Root in themſelves, no
inward Principle of Holinefs and Piety, like
Jonah's Gourd, were foon dried up, cut down,
and withered. Their good Intentions are but too
like the violent Motions of the Animal Spirits
of a Body newly beheaded, which though impe-
tuous, are not lafting. In short, they fet out well
in their Journey to Heaven, but finding the Way
either narrower or longer than they expected,
through an Unfteadinefs of Temper, They have
made an Eternal Halt, and fo returned like the Dog
to his Vomit, or like the Sow that was washed to her
wallowing in the Mire!
BUT I tremble to pronounce the Fate of fuch
unſtable Profeſſors, who having put their Hands to
the Plow; for want of a little more Refolution,
fhamefully look back. How fhall I repeat to them
that dreadful Threatning, If any Man draw back,
my Soul ſhall have no Pleafure in him! And again,
It is impoffible, that is, exceeding difficult at leaſt, for
those that have been once enlightned, and have tafted
the Good Gift of GO. D's Holy Spirit, and the
Powers of the World to come, if They should fall
away, to be renewed again unto Repentance. But
notwithſtanding the Goſpel is fo fevere againſt
Apoftates, yet many that begun well, through a
Fickleness of Temper, (Oh that none of us here
prefent
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
121
preſent may ever be fuch) have been by this means
of the Number of thoſe that turn back unto Perdi,
tion. And this is the Fifth and laſt Reaſon I shall
give why ſo many are only Almoft, and not Alto-
gether Chriftians.
:
BUT you, Brethren, have not fo learned CHRIST,
GOD forbid that a Fear of a little Contempt, a
Love of a little worldly Gain, or a Fondneſs for
a little fenfual Pleaſure, or Want of a ſteady Re-
folution, fhould hinder you from entering into
Eternal Life, or make you fo fottifh as to think
you may compound Matters between GOD and
your Souls.
III. PROCEED we therefore now to the
Third General Thing propofed, namely, To con-
fider the Folly of being no more than an Almoſt
Chriftian.
AND the firſt Proof I fhall give of the Folly
of ſuch a Proceeding is, that it is ineffectual to
Salvation. It is true, fuch Men are Almoſt Good,.
but almoſt to hit the Mark is really to miſs it.
GOD requires us to love him with all our Hearts,
with all our Souls, and with all our Strength: He
loves us too well to admit any Rival; becauſe
fo far as our Hearts are empty of GOD, fo
far muft they be unhappy. The Devil indeed,
like the falfe Mother that came before Solomon,
would have our Hearts divided, as fhe would
have had the Child; but GOD, like the true
Mother, will have all or none. My Son, give
ine
.
122
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI,
al Call to all
me thy Heart, thy whole Heart, is the gener-
And if we do not perform this
Condition, we never can expect the Divine
Mercy,
a
PERSONS may indeed flatter themſelves that
partial Obedience will ferve their Turn; but
GOD at the Great Day will ſtrike them dead, as
he did Annanias and Sapphira by the Mouth of
his Servant Peter, for pretending to offer him all
their Hearts, when they keep back from him the
greateſt Part. They may perhaps impoſe upon
their fellow Creatures for a while, but He that
enabled Ahijah to cry out, Come in, thou Wife of
Jeroboam, when the came difguiſed to enquire
about her fick Son, will alſo diſcover Them
through their moſt artful Diffimulations, and if
their Hearts are not whole with him,
appoint
them their Portion with Hypocrites and Unbe-
lievers.
BUT Secondly, What renders an half-way Piety
more inexcufable is, that it is not only infufficient
to our own Salvation, but alſo moſt prejudicial to
that of Others.
AN Almoft Chriftian is one of the most hurtful
Creatures in the World: He is a Wolf in Sheep's
Cloathing; He is one of thoſe falſe Prophets our
Bleffed Lord bids us beware of, in his Sermon on
the Mount, who would perfuade Men, that the
Way to Heaven is broader than it really is; and
thereby,
Serm, VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
123
thereby, as it was obferved before, enter not into
the Kingdom of GOD themſelves, and thoſe that
are entering in they hinder. Thefe, theſe are the
Men that turn the World into a lukewarm Laodi-
cean Spirit; that hang out falfe Lights, and fo fhip-
reck unthinking benighted Souls in their Voyage
to the Haven where they would be. Thefe are
they that are greater Enemies to the Croſs of
CHRIST, than Infidels themfelves: For of an
Unbeliever every one will be aware; but an Al-
moft Chriftian, through his fubtle Hypocrify, draws
away many after him; and therefore muſt expect
to receive the greater Damnation.
BUT Thirdly, As it is moft prejudicial to our
ſelves and hurtful to others, fo it is the greateſt
Piece of Ingratitude we can exprefs towards our
Lord and Maſter JESUS CHRIST. For did He
come down from Heaven, and ſhed his precious
Blood, to purchaſe theſe Hearts of ours, and
fhall we only give him half of them? Oh how
can we fay we love Him, when our Hearts are
not wholly with him? How can we call Him our
Saviour, when we will not endeavour fincerely to
approve ourſelves to Him, and fo let him fee the
Travail of his Soul, and be fatisfied!
HAD any of us purchaſed a Slave at a moft ex-
penfive Rate, that was before involved in the
utmoſt Miſeries and Torments, and fo muft have
continued for ever, had we fhut up our Bow-
els of Compaffion from him; and was this Slave
afterwards
124
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI,
afterwards to grow rebellious, or deny giving us
but half his Service: How, how fhould we ex-
claim againſt his baſe Ingratitude! And yet this
baſe ungrateful Slave thou art, O Man, who ac-
knowledgeft thyfelf to be redeemed from infinite
unavoidable Mifery and Puniſhment, by the Death
of JESUS CHRIST, and yet wilt not give thy-
felf wholly to Him. But fhall we deal with
GOD our Maker in a Manner we would not
be dealt with by a Man like ourſelves? Shall
we mete out a lefs Meaſure of Love to our
Saviour, than we would have dealt to ourſelyes?
GOD forbid!
IV. No, (that I may come to the laſt Thing
propofed, namely, to add a Word or two of
Exhortation to be not only Almoft, but Al-
together Chriftians) Let us fcorn all fuch.bafe and
treacherous Treatment of our King and Saviour,
nay our GOD. Let us 'not take fome 'Pains
all our Lives to go to Heaven, and yet plunge
ourſelves into Hell at laft. Let us give GOD
our whole Hearts, and no longer halt between two
Opinions: If the World be GOD, let us ferve
That; If Pleaſure be a GOD, let us ſerve That ;
but if the LORD He be GOD, let us, Oh let
us ferve Him alone. Alas! Why, why ſhould we
ſtand out any longer? Why fhould we be fo in
Love with Slavery, as not wholly to renounce.
the World, the Fleſh, and the Devil, which, like
fo many fpiritual Chains, bind down our Souls,
and hinder them from flying up to GOD.
Alas!
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
125
Alas! What are we afraid of? Is not GOD
able to reward our entire Obedience? If He is,
as the Almoft Chriftian's lame Way of ferving Him
feems to grant,
Why then will we not ſerve
Him entirely? For the fame Reaſon we do fo
much, why do we not do more? Or do you
think that being only half Religious will make
you happy, but that going farther will render
you miſerable and uneafy? Alas! this, my Bre-
thren, is Delufion all over! For what is it but
this half Piety, this wavering between GOD and
the World, that makes fo many that are feem-
ingly well difpofed, fuch utter Strangers to the
Comforts of Religion? They chuſe juſt ſo much
of Religion as will difturb them in their Lufts,
and follow their Lufts fo far as to deprive them-
ſelves of the Comforts of Religion. Whereas,
on the contrary, would they fincerely leave all in
Affection, and give their Hearts wholly to God,
They would then (and they cannot 'till then)
experience the unfpeakable Pleaſure of having a
Mind at Unity with itſelf, and enjoy fuch a
Peace of GOD, which even in this Life paffes
all Underſtanding, and which they were entire
Strangers to before. It is true, if we will devote
ourſelves entirely to GOD, we muft meet with
Contempt; but then it is becauſe Contempt is
neceffary to heal our Pride. We must renounce
fome fenfual Pleaſure; but then it is becauſe thoſe
unfit us for Spiritual ones, which are infinitely
better. We muft renounce the Love of the
World;
126
The Almoft Chriftian. Serm. VI.
World; but then it is that we may be filled with
the Love of GOD: And when that has once
enlarged our Hearts, we fhall, like Jacob when
he ferved for his beloved Rachael, think nothing
too difficult to undergo, no Hardships too tedious
to endure, becauſe of the Love we ſhall then
have for our dear Redeemer. Thus eafy, thus
delightful will be the Ways of GOD even in
this Life: But when once we throw off theſe
Bodies, and our Souls are filled with all the Full-
nefs of GOD, Oh! What Heart can conceive,
What Tongue can exprefs, with what unfpeaka-
ble Joy and Confolation we fhall then look back
on our paſt fincere and hearty Services, which
have procured us fo invaluable a Reward! Think
you then, my dear Hearers, we fhall repent we
had done too much; or rather think you not we
ſhall be aſhamed that we did no more; and bluſh
we were fo backward to give up All to GOD;
when he intended hereafter to give us Himſelf?
Let me therefore, to conclude, exhort you,
my Brethren, to have always the Unfpeakable
Reward of an entire Obedience ſet before you ;
and think withal, that every Degree of Holineſs
you neglect, every Inftance of Piery you paſs by,
is a Jewel taken out of your Crown, a Degree
of Bleffedneſs loft in the Vifion of GOD. Oh!
do but always think and act thus, and you will
no longer be labouring to compound Matters be-
tween GOD and the World; but on the contra-
ry, be daily endeavouring to give up yourſelves
more and more unto Him; you will be always
Watching,
Serm. VI. The Almoft Chriftian.
127
Watching, always Praying, always Afpiring after
farther Degrees of Purity, and Love, and fo con-
fequently always preparing yourſelves for a fuller
Light and Enjoyment of that GOD, in whofe
Prefence there is Fullness of Joy, and at whoſe
Right Hand there are Pleafures for evermore!
Amen! Amen!
On
ON
Curfing and Swearing
MATTH. v. 34.
But I say unto you, Swear not at all.
A
MONG the many heinous Sins for
which this Nation is grown infamous;
perhaps there is no one more crying,
but withal more common, than the abominable
Cuſtom of Profane Swearing and Curfing. Our
Streets abound with Perfons of all Degrees and
Qualities, who are continually provoking the Holy
One of Ifrael to Anger by their deteftable Oaths
and Blafphemies; and our very Children, out of
whofe Mouths, the Pfalmift obſerves in his Days,
was perfect Praife, are now grown remarkable for
the quite oppofite Ill Quality of Curfing and Swear-
ing. This cannot but be a melancholy Profpect
for every fincere and honeſt Miniſter of JESUS
CHRIST, to view his Fellow Chriftians in; and
fuch as will put him on contriving fome Means
to prevent the ſpreading at leaſt of ſo growing
an Evil; knowing that the LORD (without
Repentance) will affuredly vifit for thefe Things.
But, alas! what can he do? Publick Animadver
fions
Serm. VII. On Curfing, &c.
129
fions are fo neglected amongst us, that where fhall
we find a common Swearer puniſhed as the Laws
direct? And as for private Admonition, Men
are now ſo hardened through the Deceitfulneſs of
Sin, that to give them fober and pious Advice, and
to fhew them the Evil of their Doings, is but like
cafting Pearls before Swine, they only turn again and
rent you. Since Matters then are come to this
Paſs, all that we can do is this, that as we are ap-
pointed Watchmen and Ambaſſadors of the LORD,
it is our Duty from Time to Time to fhew the
People their Trangreffion, and warn them of their
Sin; fo that whether they will hear or whether they
will forbear, We however may deliver our own Souls.
That I therefore may diſcharge my Dury in this
Particular, give me Leave, in the Name of GOD,
humbly to offer to your moſt ſerious Confideration
fome few Obfervations on the Words of the Text,
in order to fhew the Heinoufnefs of profane Curf-
ing and Swearing.
But before I proceed directly to the Profecution
of this Point, it will be proper to clear this Pre-
cept of our LORD from a Mifinterpretation that
has been put on it by a Set of Men, who heed-
lefsly infer from hence that our Saviour prohibits
Swearing before à Magiftrate when required on a
folemn and proper Occafion. But that all Swear-
ing is not abfolutely unlawful for a Chriftian, -
is evident from the Writings of St. Paul, whom
we often find upon fome folemn Occafions ufing
feveral Forms of Imprecation and Swearing, as,
I
I call
130
Serm. VII
On Curfing
I call GOD to Witness,
- GOD is my Judge,
By your Rejoicing in CHRIST JESUS,
and fuch like. And that, our Saviour does by no
Means forbid Swearing before a Magiftrate, in
the Words now before us, is plain, if we confider
the Scope and Defign he had in view, when he
gave his Difciples this Command. Permit me to
obferve to you then, that our Bleffed Mafter had
fet himſelf, from the 27th Verfe of this Chapter,
out of which the Text is taken, to vindicate and
clear the Moral Law from the corrupt Gloffes and
Miſconſtruction of the Pharifees, who then fate
in Mefes's Chair, but without were notoriouſly
faulty in adhering too clofely to the literal Ex-
preffion of the Law, without ever confidering the
due Extent and ſpiritual Meaning of it. Accord-
ingly they imagined, that becauſe GOD had
faid, Thou shalt not commit Adultery, that therefore,
fuppofing a Perfon was not guilty of the very Act
of Adultery, he was not chargeable with the Breach
of the Seventh Commandment. And likewife in
the Matter of Swearing, becaufe GOD had for-
bidden his People in the Books of Exodus and
Deuteronomy, to take his Name in vain, or to
Swear falfely by his Name; they therefore judged
it lawful to fwear by any Creature in common
Difcourfe, fuppofing they did not directy mention
the Name of GOD. Our Bleffed Saviour there-
fore, in the Words now before us, rectifies this their
Miſtake about Swearing, as He had done in the
Verſes immediately foregoing that concerning
Adultery, and tells the People, that whatever Al-
A&
lowances
Serm. VII. and Swearing.
izi
lowances the Pharifees might give to fwear by
any Creature, yet He pronounced it abfolutely un-
lawful for any of his Followers to do ſo. You have
beard, ſays he, that it has been faid by them of old
Time, (namely, by the Pharisees and Teachers of
the Jewish Law,) Thou shalt not forfwear thyself,
but perform unto the Lord thine Oaths: But I fay
unto you, I who am appointed by the Father to be
the Great Prophet and True Lawgiver of his
Church) Swear not at all, in your common Con-
verſation, neither by Heaven, for it is GOD's
Throne; and therefore to Swear by That, is to
ſwear by him that fits thereon; neither by the Earth,
for it is his Footstool; nor by Ferufalem, for it is the
City of the Great King; neither halt thou Swear by
thy Head, becauſe thou canst not make one Hair
white or black: But let your Communications (which
plainly fhews that CHRIST is here ſpeaking of
Swearing, not before a Magiftrate, but in common
Converfation) let your Communications, fays he
be Yea, yea, Nay, nay, a ſtrong Affirmation or
Negation at the moft; for whatever is more than
this cometh of Evil, that is, cometh from an Evil
Principle, from the Evil One, the Devil, the Au-
thor of all Evil.
WHICH by the way, methinks, fhould be a
Caution to all fuch Perfons who though not guilty
of Swearing in the grofs Senfe of the Word, yet
atteft the Truth of what they are fpeaking of,
though ever ſo trifling, by faying Upon my Life,
As I live, By my Faith, By the Heavens, and fuch
I a
like:
132
Serm. VII.
On Curfing
:
like: Which Expreffions, however harmleſs and
innocent they may be efteemed by fome Sorts of
People, yet are the very Oaths which our Bleffed
Lord condemns in the Words immediately follow-
ing the Text; and Perſons who uſe fuch unwar-
rantable Forms of ſpeaking, muſt expect to be con-
victed and condemned as Swearers at our Saviour's
ſecond coming to judge the World.
BUT to return: It appears then from the whole
Tenour of our Saviour's Difcourfe, that in the
Words of the Text he does by no Means difannul
or forbid Swearing before a Magiſtrate, (which,
as might be easily fhewn, is both lawful and ne-
ceffary) but only profane Swearing in common
Converſation; the Heinoufnefs and Sinfulneſs of
which I come now, as was above propofed, more
immediately to lay before you.
AND here, not to mention that it is a direct
Breach of our Bleffed Maſter's and great Law-
giver's Command' in the Words of the Text, as
likewiſe of the Third Commandment, wherein
GOD pofitively declares, He will not hold him
guiltless (that is, will affuredly punish him) that
taketh his Name in.vain: Not to mention that
it is the greateſt Abuſe of that noble Faculty of
Speech whereby we are diftinguished from the
Brute Creation; and the great hazard the common
Swearer runs of being perjured fome Time or
other: Not to mention theſe Reaſons againſt it I
fay, which of themſelves would abundantly prove
the
Serm. VII. and Swearing,
133
the Folly and Sinfulneſs of Swearing:- I fhall
at this Time content myſelf with inftancing in
Four Particulars, which highly aggravate the
Crime of profane Swearing; and thoſe are fuch
as follow.
I. First, Becauſe there is no Temptation in
Nature to this Sin, nor does the Commiffion of
it afford the Offender the leaft Pleaſure or Sa-
tisfaction.
II. Secondly, Becauſe it is a Sin which may be
fo often repeated.
III. Thirdly, Becauſe it hardens Infidels againſt
the Chriftian Religion, and muſt give great Of-
fence, and occafion much Sorrow and Concern
to every true Difciple of JESUS CHRIST.
IV. Fourthly, Becauſe it is an Extremity of Sin,
which can only be matched in Hell.
I. THE First Reaſon then why Swearing in
common Converfation is fo heinous in GOD's
Sight, and why we ſhould not fwear at all, is
becauſe it has no Temptation in Nature; nor does
the Commiffion of it, unleſs a Man be a Devil
Incarnate, afford the Offender the leaft Pleaſure
or Satisfaction.
Now here, I prefume, we may lay it down as
a Maxim univerfally agreed on, that the Guilt of
13
any
134
Serm. VII.
On Curfing
any Crime is increafed or leffened in Proportion
to the Weakneſs or Strength of the Temptation
by which a Perfon is carried out to the Commiffion
of it. It was this Confide.ation that extenuated
and diminished the Guilt of Saul's taking upon
him to offer Sacrifice before the Prophet Samuel
came, and of Uzza's touching the Ark, becauſe
it was in danger of Falling: As on the contrary
what fo highly aggravated the Difobedience of our
Firſt Parents and Lot's Wife, was, becauſe the
former had fo little Reafon to eat the forbidden
Fruit, and the latter fo fmall a Temptation to
look back on Sodom.
AND now if this be granted, furely the com-
mon Swearer muft of all Sinners be the moſt with-
out Excufe, fince there is no Manner of Temp-
tation in Nature to the Commiffion of his Crime.
In most of the other Commands, Perfons perhaps
may plead the Force of Natural Inclination in
Excufe for their Breach of them: One, for In-
ftance, may alledge his ftrong Propenfity to An-
ger, to excufe his breaking of the Sixth: Ano-
ther, his Pronenefs to Luft, for his Violation of
the Seventh. But now furely the common Swearer
has nothing of this kind to urge in his Behalf:
For though he may have a natural Inclination to
this or that Crime, yet no Man, it is to be pre-
fumed, can ſay, He is born of a Swearing Con-
ftitution.
:
BUT farther, as there is no Temptation to it
fo there is no Pleafure or Profit to be reaped
from
Serm. VII.
135
and Swearing.
{
from the Commiffion of it. Ask the Drunkard
why he rifes up early to follow ftrong Drink, and
he will tell you, becauſe it affords his fenfual Ap-
petite fome kind of Pleaſure and Gratification,
though it be no higher an one than that of a
Brute. Enquire of the covetous Worldling, why
he defrauds and over-reaches his Neighbour, and
he has an Anſwer ready,
To enrich himſelf,
and to lay up Goods for many Years. But it muſt
certainly puzzle the profane Swearer himſelf, to in-
form you what Pleaſure he reaps from Swearing;
for alas! it is a fruitlefs, taftelefs Thing, that he
fells his Soul for. But indeed he does not fell it
at all: In this Cafe he prodigally gives it away
(without Repentance) to the Devil; and parts
with a bleffed Eternity, and runs into everlaſting
Torment merely for Nothing!
II. BUT Secondly, what increafes the Heinouf-
nefs of profane Swearing, is, That it is a Sin which
may fo often be repeated.
THIS is another Confideration which always
ferves to leffen or increaſe the Gilt and Malignity
of any Sin. It was fome Excufe for the Drunk-
enneſs of Noah, and the Adultery of David, that
they committed theſe Crimes but once: As on the
contrary of the Patriarch Abraham's Diftruft of
GOD, that he repeated the Diffembling of Sarah
to be his Wife, two feveral Times. And if this
be admitted as an Aggravation of other Perfons
Crimes, furely much more fo of the Guilt of
I 4
COMINON
136
Serm. VII.
On Curfing
common Swearing, becauſe it is a Sin which may be
and is for the generality often repeated. In many
other grofs Sins it cannot be fo: If a Man be
overcome in Drink, there must be a confiderable
Time e'er he can recover his Debauch and return
to his Cups again; or if he be accustomed to pro-
fane the Sabbath, he cannot do it every Day, but
only one in feven. But alas! the profane Swearer
is ready for another Oath almoft before the Sound
of the first is out of our Ears: Yea fome double
and treble them in one Sentence, even fo as to
confound the Senfe of what they fay, by an hor-
rible Din of Blafphemy! Now if the Great and
Terrible EHOVAH has exprefsly declared,
that He will not hold him guiltless, that is, will
affuredly punish him, that taketh his Name but
once in vain: What a vaft Heap of theſe heinous
Sins lies at every common Swearer's Door? It would
be apt to fink him into an intolerable Defpair, did
he but fee the whole Sum of them. And Oh!
what a feared Conſcience muſt that Wretch have,
that does not feel this prodigious Weight!
III. BUT, Thirdly, What makes the Sin of pro-
fane Swearing appear yet more exceeding finful
is, that it hardens Infidels againſt the Chriftian
Religion.
IT is the Apoſtle Saint Peter's Advice to the
married Perfons of his Time, that they fhould walk
as became the Goſpel of CHRIST, that thoſe
that were without might be won to embrace the
Chriftian
Serm. VII.
137
and Swearing.
Chriftian Religion, by feeing and obferving their
pious Converſation coupled together with Fear.
And what the Apoftle preffes on married Perfons
we find elſewhere enjoined each particular Mem-
ber of the Church. Accordingly we are command-
ed by our Bleffed Lord to let our Light fofhine be-
fore Men, that they may fee our good Works, and
glorify our Father which is in Heaven. And the
Apoftle Saint Paul bids us walk circumspectly to-
wards them that are without, redeeming the Time,
that is embracing all
Opportunities to do them good,
because the Days are evil. But alas! in what a
direct Contradiction does the profane Swearer live
to this and fuch Precepts, who, inftead of gain-
ing Profelytes to CHRIST from the unbelieving
Part of the World, does all he can to oppoſe it!
For how can it be expected, that Infidels fhould
Honour our GOD, when Chriftians themfelves
defpife him; or that any fhould embrace our Re-
ligion, when Profeffors of it themſelves make fo
light of one of its ftricteft Commands? No, to
our Grief and Shame be it ſpoken, it is by reaſon
of fuch Impieties as thefe that our Holy Religion
(the beſt and pureft in itſelf) is become a By-
word among the Heathen; that the facred Autho-
rity of the Holy JESUS and his Doctrine is def-
piſed; and GOD's Name, as it is written, blaſ-
phemed among the Gentiles.
THESE Cannot but be fad Blocks and Offences
in the way of our Brethren's Converfion But
wo be to thofe Men by whom fuch Offences come:
Wę
138
On Curfing
Serm. VII.
We may fay of them, as our Bleffed Lord did of
Judas, It had been better for fuch Men that they
had never been born; or, as he threatens in another
Place, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and
Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for fuch
Sinners.
BUT this is not all: As prophane Swearing muft
undoubtedly harden thofe in their Infidelity that
are without, fo muft it no lefs grieve and give
great Offence to thofe honeft and fincere Perfons
that are within the Church. We hear of David's
complaining and crying out, Wo is me that I am
constrained to dwell with Mefech, and to have my
Habitation among the Tents of Kedar; that is, That
he was obliged to live and converfe with a People
exceedingly wicked and profane. And Saint
Peter tells us, that Lot's righteous Soul was grieved
Day by Day, whilst he faw and obferved the un-
godly Converfation of the Wicked. And no doubt
it was one great Part of our bleffed Mafter's Suf-
fering's whilst on Earth, that he was compelled
to converſe with a wicked and perverſe Gener-
ation, and to hear his Heavenly Father's facred
Name profaned and fcoffed at by unrighteous and
wicked Men. And furely it cannot but pierce.
the Heart of every true and fincere Chriftian, of
every one that does in any Meaſure partake of
the Spirit of his Mafter, to hear the Multitude
of Oaths and Curfes which proceed daily and
hourly out of the Mouths of many People, and
thoſe too whoſe liberal Education and ſeeming
Regard
}
Serm. VII.
139
and Swearing.
Regard for the Welfare of Religion, one would
think, fhould teach them a more becoming Beha-
viour. To hear the Great and Terrible Name:
of GOD polluted by Men, which is adored by
Angels, and to confider how often that facred
Name is profaned in common Difcourfe, which
we are not worthy to mention in our Prayers:
This, I fay, cannot but make each of them cry
out with Holy David, Wo is me that I am con-
ftrained to dwell with Mefech, and to have my Ha-
bitation among the Tents of Kedar.. And though
the Blafphemies and profane Difcourfes of others
will not be imputed to fincere Perfons for Sin,
fo long as they have no Fellowship with fuch bellifh
Fruits of Darkness, but rather reprove them; nay
rather will be imputed to them for Righteoufnefs,
for thus lamenting the Wickednefs of Sion; yet
it will greatly enhance the prefent Guilt, and fadly
increaſe the future Puniſhment of every profane
Swearer, by whom fuch Offences come. For if,
as our Saviour tells us, it had been better for a Man
to have a Mill-ftone tied about his Neck, than that
he bould offend one of his little ones, that is, the
weakest of his Difciples, How much forer Punish-
ment will they be thought worthy of, who not only
caufe God's Name to be blafphemed among the Gen-
tiles, and the Religion of our dear Redeemer to be
abhorred; but who make his Saints to weep and
mourn, and vex their righteous Souls from Day to
Day, by their ungodly, profane, and blafphemous
Converſation? Surely as God will put the Tears of
pre into his Bottle, and recompence them with eternal.
Glory
140
Serm. VII.
On Curfing
Glory at the great Day of Retribution, foit will be juſt
in him to puniſh the other with eternal Sorrow for
all their ungodly and hard Speeches, and caft them
into a Lake of Fire and Brimftone, where they
fhall be glad of a Drop of Water to cool thofe
Tongues with which they have fo often blaf-
phemed the LORD of Hofts, and grieved the
People of our GOD.
IV. BUT it is Time for me to proceed to give
my Fourth and laft Reaſon, why common Swearing
is ſo exceeding finful. And that is, becauſe it is
fuch an Extremity of Sin, that can only be match-
ed in Hell, where all are defperate and without
Hope of Mercy. The damned Devils and damned
Souls of Men in Hell may be fuppofed to rave and
blafpheme in their Torments, becauſe they know
that the Chains wherein they are held can never
be knocked off: But for Men that fwim in the
River of GOD's Goodneſs, whofe Mercies are
renewed to them every Morning, and who are vifited
with freſh Tokens of his infinite unmerited Lov-
ing-kindneſs every Moment; for thefe favourite
Creatures to fet their Mouths against Heaven, and
to blafpheme a gracious, patient, all-bountiful
GOD; is a Height of Sin which exceeds the
Blackneſs and Impiety of Devils and Hell itſelf.
AND now, after what has been here offered,
to fhew the Heinoufnefs of profane Curfing and
Swearing in common Converfation, may I not
very juſtly addreſs myſelf to you in the Words of
the
}
Serm. VII.
i4i
and Swearing.
the Text, Therefore I fay unto you, Swear not at
all; fince it is a Sin that has no Temptation in
Nature, nor brings any Pleafures or Profit to the
Committer of it; fince it hardens Infidels in their
Infidelity, and affords fad Cauſes of Grief and
Lamentation to every honeft Chriftian; fince it
is a Sin that generally grows into a Habit; and
laftly, fuch a Sin that can only be matched in
Hell.
1. AND first then, if theſe Things be fo, and
the Sin of profane Swearing, as hath been in fome
Meaſure fhewn, is fo exceeding finful, What ſhall
we fay to fuch unhappy Men, who think it not
only allowable, but faſhionable and polite to take
the Name of GOD in vain; who imagine that
Swearing makes them look big amongft their Com-
panions, and really think it a Piece of Honour to
abound in it? But alas! little do they think that
fuch a Behaviour argues the greateſt Degeneracy
of Mind and Fool-hardiness that can poffibly be
thought of: For what can be more baſe than one
Hour to pretend to adore GOD in publick Wor-
ſhip, and the very next Moment to blafpheme his
Name: Indeed fuch a Behaviour from Perfons
who deny the Being of GOD (if any fuch Fools
there be) is not altogether fo much to be won-
dered at But for Men, who not only fubfcribe
to the Belief of a Deity, but likewife acknowledge
him to be a GOD of infinite Majeſty and Power;
for fuch Men, I fay, to blafpheme his holy Name
by profane Curfing and Swearing, and at the fame
:
Time
142
Serm. VII.
On Curfing
Time confefs that this very GOD has exprefslý
declar'd He will not hold him guiltless, that is, will
certainly and eternally punish (without Repent-
ance) him that taketh his Name in vain; is fuch
an Inftance of Fool-hardinefs as well as Bafeneſs,
that can ſcarcely be paralled. This is what they
prefume not to do in other Cafes of lefs Danger:
They dare not revile a General at the Head of his
Army, nor rouſe a fleeping Lion when within
reach of his Paw. And is the Almighty GOD,
the Great JEHOVAH, the Everlafting King,
who can confume them by the Breath of his Nof-
trils, and frown them to Hell in an Inftant; is
He, I fay, the only contemptible Being in their
Account that may be provoked without Fear, and
offended without Puniſhment? No, though GOD
bear long, he will not bear always: Time will
come, and that too perhaps much ſooner than ſuch
Perfons may expect, when GOD will vindicate
his injured Honour, when he will lay bare hist
Almighty Arm, and make thoſe Wretches feel the
eternal Smart of his Juftice, whofe Power and
Name they have fo often vilified and blafphemed.
Alas! what will become of all their Bravery then?
Will they then wantonly fport with the Name
of their Maker, and call upon the King of all
the Earth to damn them any more in Jeft? No,
their Note will then be changed; indeed they
ſhall call, but, alas! it will be for the Rocks to fall
on them, and the Hills to cover them from the Wrath
of him that fitteth upon the Throne, and from the
Lamb for ever. It is true, Time was when they
prayed,
Serm. VII.
143
and Swearing.
prayed, though without Thought perhaps, for
Damnation for themſelves and others: And now
they will find their Prayers anſwered, They
delighted in Curfing, therefore fall it happen unto
them; they loved not Bleffing, therefore hall it be
far from them; they cloathed themselves with Curf-
ing like as with a Garment, and it shall come into
their Bowels like Water, and like Oil into their
Bones.
2. BUT farther, if the Sin of Swearing is fo
exceeding heinous and withal fo common, then
it is every particular Perfon's Duty, eſpecially thofe
that are in Authority, to do their utmoft towards
diſcountenancing and fuppreffing ſo malignant a
Crime. The Duty we owe both to GOD and
our Neighbour requires this at our Hands: By
the one we are obliged to affert our Maker's Ho-
nour; by the other to prevent our Neighbour's
Ruin Not to mention that it is the greatest Proof
we can give of our undiffembled Love to our
Maſter, and is but doing as we would be done by,
and as we ourfelv es act in Cafes of leffer Confe-
quence. Were we to hear either our own or our
Friend's good Name vilified and traduced, we
ſhould think it our bounden Duty to vindicate.
the wronged Reputation of each: And ſhall the
great, terrible and holy Name of our beſt and only
Friend, our King, our Father, nay our GOD:
Shall this, I ſay, be daily, nay every Moment de-
fied and blafphemed; and will no one dare to
ftand up in Defence of his Honour and Holinefs?
་
Be
144
Serm. VII
On Curfing
Be astonished, O Heavens, at this! No, let us
fcorn all fuch bafe and treacherous Treatment :
Let us, for once at leaft, refolve to fupport the
Cauſe of Religion, and with a becoming prudent
Courage manifeft our Zeal for the Honour of the
LORD of Hofts. Men in Authority have dou-
ble the Advantages of ordinary Chriftians: Their
very Office fhews they are intended for the Pu-
niſhment of Evil Doers: And fuch is the Dege-
neracy of Mankind, that the generality of them
will be more influenced by the Power of Perfons
in Authority, than by the moft laboured Exhor-
tations from the Pulpit. To fuch therefore, if
there are any here prefent, I humbly addreſs my-
felf, befeeching them in the Name of our Lord
JESUS CHRIST, to do their utmost to put a stop
to, and reſtrain profane Curfing and Swearing.
And though it muſt be confeffed that this is a
Work which requires a great deal of Courage and
Pains, yet they would do well to confider it is
for GOD they undertake it, who certainly will
ſupport and bear them out in a due Execution of
their Office here, and reward them with an ex-
ceeding and eternal Weight of Glory hereafter.
But it is Time to draw towards a Conclufion.
3.
LE T me therefore once more addreſs myſelf
to every Perfon here prefent, in the Name of our
Lord JESUS CHRIST; and if any amongst them
have been any way guilty of this notorious Sin of
Swearing. Let me intreat them by all that is near
and dear to them, that they would neither give the
Magiſtrate
-
Serm. VII.
145
and Swearing.
Magiftrate the Trouble to punifh, nor their Friends
any Reafon for the future to warn them againſt
committing the Crime; but keep a conftant and
careful Watch over the Door of their Lips, and
withal implore the Divine Affiftance (without
which all is nothing) that they offend no more fo
fcandalouſly with their Tongues. Let them ſeriouſly
lay to Heart what with great Plainnefs and Sim-
plicity has here been delivered: And if they have
any regard for themſelves as Men, or their Repu-
tation as Chriftians; if they would not be a pub-
lick Scandal to their Profeffion, or a Grief to all
that know or converſe with them: In short, if
they would not be Devils Incarnate here, and prc-
voke GOD to punish them eternally hereafter,
I fay unto them in the Name of our Lord
JESUS CHRIST, Swear not at all.
K
The
1
The Great DUTY of
FAMILY RELIGION.
JOSHUA xxiv. 15.
As for Me and my Houfe, we will
ferve the Lord,
T
HESE Words contain the Holy Refolu-
tion of Pious Joshua, who having in a
moft moving, affectionate Difcourfe re-
counted to the Ifraelites what great Things GOD
had done for them, in the Verfe immediately
going before the Text, comes to draw a pro-
per Inference from what He had been delivering;
and acquaints them, in the moft preffing Terms, that
fince GOD had been fo exceeding Gracious unto
them, they could do no leſs than, out of Grati-
tude for fuch uncommon Favours and Mercies de-
dicate both themſelves and Families to his Service.
Now therefore, fays he, Verſe 14. Fear the Lord,
and ferve him in Sincerity and Truth, and put away
the Gods which your Fathers ferved on the other Side
of the Flood. And by the fame engaging Motives
does the Prophet Samuel afterwards enforce their
Obedience to the Commandments of GO D,
1 Sam.
Serm. VIII. The Great Duty, &c.
147
1 Sam. xii. 24. Only fear the LORD, and ferve
him in Truth, with all your Heart: For confider
(fays he) how great Things He hath done for you.
But then, that they might not excufe themſelves.
(as too many might be apt to do) by his giving
them a bad Example, or think he was laying heavy
Burdens upon them, whilft he himself touched
them not with one of his Fingers, he tells them
in the Verſe out of which the Text is taken, that
whatever Regard they might pay to the Doctrine
he had been Preaching, yet He (as all Minifters.
ought to do) was refolved to live up to and Prac-
tice it himself: Chufe you therefore, fays he, whom
you will ferve, whether the Gods which your Fathers
ferved, or the Gods of the Amorites in whife Land
ye dwell: But as for me and my Houfe, we will
ferve the LORD.
A Refolution this worthy of Joshua, and no
leſs becoming, no lefs neceffary for every true Son
of Joshua, that is intrufted with the Care and Go-
vernment of a Family in our Day: And, if it
was ever feaſonable for Minifters to preach up, or
People to put in Practice Family Religion, it was
never more fo than in the prefent Age; fiace it
is greatly to be feared, that out of thofe many
Houfholds that call themfelves Chriftians, there are
but few that ſerve GOD in their refpective Fami-
lies as they ought.
It is true indeed, vifit our Churches, and you
may perhaps ſee ſomething of the Form of Godliness
K 2
ftill
148
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
ftill fubfifting amongst us; but even that is fcarce-
ly to be met with in private Houſes. So that were
the Bleſſed Angels to come, as in the Patriarchal
Age, and obferve our Spiritual OEconomy at
Home, would they not be tempted to fay, as Abra-
ham ſaid to Abimelech, Surely the Fear of GOD is
not in this Place? Gen. XX. II.
How fuch a general Neglect of Family Religion
firſt began to over-fpread the Chriftian World, is
difficult to determine. As for the Primitive Chrif
tians, I am pofitive it was not ſo with them: No,
they had not fo learned CHRIST, as falfely to
imagine Religion was to be confined folely to their
Affemblies for Publick Worſhip; but on the con-
trary behaved with fuch Piety and exemplary Ho-
lineſs in their private Families, that Saint Paul
often ſtyles their Houfe a Church: Salute fuch a
one, ſays he, and the Church which is in his Houfe.
And, I believe, we muſt for ever deſpair of ſee-
ing a Primitive Spirit of Piety, revived in the
World, 'till we are fo happy as to fee a Revival
of Primitive Family Religion; and Perfons una-
nimouſly refolving with Good Old Joshua, in the
Words of the Text, As for Me and my Houfe,
we will ferve the LORD. ·
FROM which Words I ſhall beg Leave to inſiſt
on theſe three Things:
I. First, That it is the Duty of every Gover-
nour of a Family to take care, that not only He
himfelf
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
149
himſelf, but alſo that thofe committed to his Charge
ferve the LORD.
II. Secondly, I fhall endeavour to fhew after
what Manner a Governour and his Houſhold ought
to ferve the LORD.
III. Thirdly and laftly, I fhall offer fome Mo-
tives in order to excite all Governours, with their
reſpective Houſholds, to ferve the LORD in the
Manner that ſhall be recommended.
I. AND First, I am to fhew that it is the Duty
of every Governour of a Family to take care,
that not only He himself, but alſo that thofe
committed to his Charge ſhould fere the LORD.
AND this will appear, if we confider that every
Governour of a Family ought to look upon him-
felf as obliged to act in three Capacities; as a
Prophet, to inftru&t; as a Prieſt to pray for and
with; as a King to govern, direct, and provide
for them. It is true indeed the latter of theſe,
viz. their Kingly Office, they are not ſo frequent-
ly deficient in, (nay in this they are generally too
follicitous;) but as for the two former, viz. their
Frieftly and Prophetick Offices, like Gallio, they
care for no fuch Things. But however indiffer-
ent fome Governours may be about it, yet they
may be affured, that GOD will require a due
Diſcharge of thefe Offices at their Hands. For
if, as the Apoftle argues, He that does not provide
K 3
for
150
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
for his own Heufe, in temporal Things, has denied
the Faith, and is worse than an Infidel; to what
greater Degree of Apoftacy muft he have arrived,
who takes no Thought to provide for the Spiritual
Welfare of his Family!
BUT farther, Perfons are generally very liberal
of their Invectives againſt the Clergy, and think
they justly blame the Conduct of that Miniſter
who does not take heed to and watch over the
Flock, of which the Holy Ghoft has made him
Overfeer: But may not every Governour of a
Family be in a lower Degree liable to the fame
Cenfure, who takes no thought for thofe Souls
that are committed to his Charge? For every Houfe
is as it were a little Parish, every Governour (as)
was before obferved) a Prieft, every Family a
Flock; and if any of them perish through the Go-
vernour's Negle&, their Blood will GOD requite
at their Hands.
WAS a Minifter to disregard Teaching his Peo-
ple publickly and from Houfe to Houfe, and to
excufe himſelf by faying, that He had enough to
do to work out his own Salvation with Fear and
Trembling, without concerning himſelf with that
of Others: Would not any one be apt to think
fuch a Miniſter to be like the unjuft Judge, One
that neither feared GOD or regarded Man? And
yet, odious as fuch a Character would be, it is no
worfe than that Governour of a Family deferves,
who thinks himſelf obliged only to fave his own
Soul,
+
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
151
Soul, without paying any regard to the Souls of
his Houfhold. For (as was above hinted) every
Houfe is, as it were, a Pariſh, and every Maſter
is concern'd to fecure, as much as in him lies, the
Spiritual Profperity of every one under his Roof,
as any Miniſter whatever is obliged to look to the
Spiritual Welfare of every individual Perfon under
his Charge.
"
WHAT Precedents Men, who neglect their Du-
ty in this Particular, can plead for fuch Omiffion,
I cannot tell: Doubtless not the Example of Holy
Job, who was fo far from imagining that He had
no concern, as Governour of a Family, with any
one's Soul but his Own, that the Scripture ac-
quaints us, When the Days of his Children's Feaft-
Ing were gone about, that Job ſent and fanctified
them, and offered Burnt Offerings according to the
Number of them all; For Job faid, It may be that
my Sons have finned and curfed GOD in their
Hearts: Thus did Fob continually. Nor can they
plead the Practice of Good Old Foua, whom
in the Text we find as much concerned for his
Houfhold's Welfare as his own. Nor laftly, that
of Cornelius, who feared GOD, not only himſelf,
but with all his Houfe: And were Chriftians but
of the fame Spirit of Job, Joshua, and the Gen-
tile Centurion, they would act as Job, Joshua, and
Cornelius did.
BUT, alas! if this be the Cafe, and all Gover-
nours of Families ought not only to ferve the
K 4
LORD
t
152 The Great Duty of Serm. VIII,
LORD themſelves, but likewife to fee that their
refpective Houfholds do fo too: What will then
become of thofe who not only neglect ferving
GOD themſelves, but alfo make it their Buſineſs
to ridicule and fcoff at any of their Houfe that
do? Who are not content with not entering into
the Kingdom of Heaven themselves; but thofe alfo
that are willing to enter in they hinder. Surely
fuch Men are Factors for the Devil indeed. Sure-
ly their Damnation flumbereth not: For although
GOD, in his Good Providence, may fuffer fuch
Stumbling-blocks to be put in his Children's Ways,
and fuffer their greateſt Enemies to be thofe of their
own Houſholds, for a Trial of their Sincerity, and
Improvement of their Faith; yet we cannot but
pronounce a 10 againſt thoſe Maſters by whom fuck
Offences come. For if thofe that only take care of
their own Souls can fcarcely be faved, where will
fuch monftrouſly profane and wicked Governours
appear?
BUT hoping there are but few of this unhappy
Stamp, proceed we now to the
II. Second Thing propofed, viz. To fhew after
what Manner a Governour and his Houſhold
ought to ſerve the LORD.
1. AND the First Thing I fhall mention is
Reading the Word of GOD. This is a Duty
incumbent on every private Perfon. Search the
Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have Eternal Life,
13
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
153
is a Precept given by our bleſſed LORD indiffer-
ently to all: But much more fo ought every Go-
vernour of a Family to think it in a peculiar Man-
ner ſpoken to himſelf, becauſe (as hath been al-
ready proved) he ought to look upon himſelf as a
Prophet, and therefore, agreeably to fuch a Cha-
racer, as bound to inftruct thoſe under his Charge
in the Knowledge of the Word of G O D.
THIS we find was the Order GOD gave his
peculiar People of Ifrael: For thus fpeaks his Re-
prefentative Mofes, Deuteronomy vi. 6, 7. Theſe
Words, that is the Scripture Words, which I com-
mand thee this Day, fhall be in thy Heart, and
thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy Children,
that is, as it is generally explained, Servants, as
well as Children, and fhalt talk of them when thou
fittest in thy House. From whence we may infer,
that the only Reafon why fo many neglect to read
the Words of Scripture diligently to their Chil-
dren is, becauſe the Words of Scripture are not
in their Hearts; for if they were, out of the
Abundance of the Heart their Mouths would
fpeak.
BESIDES, Servants as well as Children are, for
the generality, very ignorant, and mere Novices
in the Laws of GOD: And how fhall they know,
unleſs ſome one teach them? And what more pro-
per to teach them by, than the lively Oracles of
GOD, which are able to make them wife unto Sal-
vation? And who more proper to inftruct them
by
154
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII,
by thefe Lively Oracles, than Parents and Ma¬
fters, who (as hath been more than once obferved)
are as much concerned to feed them with Spiritual
as with Bodily Bread, Day by Day.
BUT if thefe Things be fo, What a miferable.
Condition are thoſe unhappy Governours in, who
are fo far from feeding thofe committed to their
Care with the fincere Milk of the Word, to the
intent they may grow thereby, that they neither
fearch the Scriptures themſelves, nor are careful to
explain them to Others? Such Families muft be
in a happy Way indeed to do their Mafter's Will,
who take fuch prodigious Pains to know it!
Would one not imagine that they had turned
Converts to the Church of Rome; that they thought
Ignorance the Mother of Devotion; that thoſe were
to be condemned as Hereticks, who read their
BIBLES? And yet how few Families are there
amongst us, who. do not act after this unfeemly
Manner! But, ſhall I praiſe them in this? I
praise them not: Brethren, this Thing ought not fo
to be.
2. PASS we on now to the Second Means
whereby every Governour and his Houfhold
ought to ferve the LORD, viz. Family Prayer.
THIS is a Duty though as much neglected, yet
as abfolutely neceffary as the former. Reading is
good Preparative for Prayer, as Prayer is an ex-
cellent Means to render Reading effectual. And
a
the
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
155
the Reaſon why every Governour of a Family
fhould join both theſe Exerciſes together is plain,
becauſe a Governour of a Family cannot perform
his Priefly Office (which we before obferved he
is in fome Degree inveſted with) without perform-
ing this Duty of Family Prayer.
WE find it therefore remarked, when mention
is made of Cain and Abel's offering Sacrifices, that
they brought them. But to whom did they bring
them? Why, in all probability to their Father
Adam, who, as Prieft of the Family, was to
offer Sacrifice in their Names. And fo likewife
ought every ſpiritual Son of the Second Adam,
who is intrufted with the Care of an Houſhold,
to offer up the Spiritual Sacrifices of Supplicati-
ons and Thankſgivings acceptable to GOD
through JESUS CHRIST, in the Prefence and
Name of all who wait upon or eat Meat at his
Table.
THUS We read our Bleffed Lord behaved, when
he tabernacled amongst us: For it is ſaid often,
that He was alone praying with his Twelve Dif
ciples, which was then his little Family. And
He himself has promifed a particular Bleffing to
joint Supplications: For wherefcever, fays he, two
or three are gathered together in my Name, there
am I in the midst of them. And again, If two or
three are agreed touching any Thing they hall ask,
it shall be given them. Add to this, that we are
commanded by the Apoftle to pray always, with
all
156
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
all Manner of Supplication, which doubtlefs in-
cludes Family Prayer. And Holy Joshua, when
he fet up the Good Refolution in the Text, that
He and his Houfhold would ferve the LORD, cer-
tainly refolved withal to pray with his Family,
which is one of the best Teftimonies they could
give of their ferving Him.
BESIDES, there are no Families, but what have
fome common Bleffings, of which they have been
all Partakers, to give Thanks for; fome common
Croffes and Afflictions, which they are to pray
againft; fome common Sins, which they are all
bound to lament and bewail: But how this can
be done without joining together in one common
A&t of Humiliation, Supplication, and Thankf
giving, is difficult to devife.
FROM all which Confiderations put together,
it is evident, that Family Prayer is a great and ne-
ceffary Duty; and confequently thoſe Governours
that neglect it are certainly without Excufe. And
it is much to be feared, if they live without
Family Prayer, they live without GOD`in the
World.
AND! yet fuch an hateful Character as this is, it
is to be feared, that, was GOD to ſend out an
Angel to deftroy us as he did once to deſtroy the
Egyptians Firft - born, and withal give him a
Commiffion, as then, to fpare no Houfes but
where they faw the Blood of the Lintel fprinkled
on
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
157
on the Door-poft, fo now to let no Families eſcape
but thoſe that called upon him in Morning and
Evening Prayer; few would remain unhurt by
his avenging Sword. Chriftians fhall I term fuch
Families, or Heathens? Doubtlefs they deferve
not the Name of Chriftians; and Heathens will
furely riſe up in Judgment againſt fuch profane
Families of this Generation: For they had always
their Houfhold GODS whom they worshipped,
and whofe Affiftance they frequently invoked.
And a pretty pafs thofe Families furely are arrived
at, who must be fent to School to Pagans. But
will not the LORD be avenged on fuch pro-
fane Houfholds as theſe? Will he not pour out
his Fury upon thoſe that call not upon his
Name ?
3. BUT it is Time for me to haften to the
Third and laft Means I fhall recommend, where-
by every Governour ought with his Houfhold to
ferve the LORD, viz. by Catechizing and In-
Strutting their Children and Servants, and bring-
ing them up in the Nurture and Admonition of the
LORD.
THAT this, as well as the two former, is a
Duty incumbent on every Governour of an Houſe,
appears from that famous Encomium or Commen-
dation GOD gives of Abraham. I know, fays the
Moft High, that He will command his Children
and his Houfbold after him to keep the Way of the
LORD, to do Justice and Judgment. And indeed
ſcarce
158
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
fcarce any Thing is more frequently preffed upon
us in Holy Writ than this Duty of Catechizing.
Thus fays GOD in a Paffage before cited, Thou
fhalt teach thefe Words diligently unto thy Children.
And Parents are commanded in the New Teftament,
to breed up their Children in the Nurture and Ad-
monition of the LORD. The Holy Pfalmift ac-
quaints us, that one great End why GOD did fo
great Wonders for his People was, to the Intent
that when they grew up they should fhew their Chil-
dren or Servants, the fame. And in Duteronomy,
Chap. vi. at the 20th and following Verſes, GOD
ftrictly commands his People to inftruct their
Children in the true Nature of the Ceremonial
Worſhip, when they fhould enquire about it, as
he ſuppoſed they would do in Time to come.
And if Servants and Children were to be inftruct-
ed in the Nature of Jewish Rites, much more
ought they now to be initiated and grounded in the
Doctrines and firft Principles of the Gofpel of
CHRIST: Not only becauſe it is a Revelation,
which has brought Life and Immortality to a fuller
and clearer Light, but alſo becauſe many Seducers.
are gone abroad into the World, who do their ut-
moft Endeavour to deftroy not only the Super-
ftructure, but likewife to fap the very Founda-
tion of our moſt Holy Religion.
WOULD, then, the prefent Generation have
their Pofterity be true Lovers and Honourers of
GOD, Maſters and Parents must take Solomon's
good Advice, and train up and catechize their
refpective
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
159
&
refpective Houfholds in the Way wherein they
fhould go.
I AM aware but of one Objection that can, with
any Shew of Reaſon, be urged againſt what has
been advanced; which is, That fuch a Procedure
as this will take up too much Time, and hinder
Families too long from their Worldly Bufinefs.
But it is much to be queftioned whether Perfons
that start fuch an Objection are not of the fame
hypocritical Spirit as the Traytor Judas, who had
Indignation againft Devout Mary, for being fo
profuſe of her Ointment, in anointing our Bleſſed
Lord, and asked Why it might not be fold for
Two Hundred Pence, and given to the Poor,
For has GOD given us fo much Time to work
for Ourfelves, and fhall we not allow fome ſmall
Pittance of it, Morning and Evening, to be devot-
ed to his more immediate Worſhip and Service?
Have not People read, That it is GOD who
gives Men Power to get Wealth, and therefore
that the beſt Way to profper in the World is to
fecure His Favour? And has not our Bleffed
Lord himſelf promiſed, that if we feek firft the
Kingdom of GOD and his Righteouſneſs, all
outward Neceffaries fhall be added unto us?
Abraham, no doubt, was a Man of as great Bu-
finefs as fuch Objectors may be ; but yet He would
find Time, to command his Houthold to fere
the LORD. Nay, David, was a King, and
confequently had a great deal of Bufinefs upon
his
160
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
his Hands; yet notwithſtanding, He profeffes that
he would Walk in his Houfe with a perfect Heart.
And, to inſtance but one more, Holy Joshua was
a Perfon certainly engaged very much in Tempo-
ral Affairs; and yet He folemnly declares before
all Ifrael, That, as for him and his Houfhold, they
would ferve the LORD. And did Perfons but
redeem their Time, as Abraham, David, or Joshua
did, they would no longer complain that Family
Duties kept them too long from the Bufinefs of
the World.
III. BUT my Third and laft General Head,
under which I was to offer fome Motives, in order
to excite all Governours, with their refpective
Houfholds, to ferve the LORD in the Manner
before recommended, I hope, will ferve inſtead
of a Thouſand Arguments, to prove the Weak-
nefs and Folly of any ſuch Objection.
i. AND the First Motive I fhall mention is the
Duty of Gratitude, you that are Governours of
Families owe to GOD.-Your Lot, every one
muſt confefs, is caft into a fair Ground: Provi-
dence hath given you a goodly Heritage, above
many of your Fellow Creatures, and therefore,
out of a Principle of Gratitude, you ought to en-
deavour, as much as in you lies, to make every
Perſon of your reſpective Houſholds to call upon
him as long as they live: (Not to mention that
the Authority, with which GOD has invefted
you as Parents and Governours of Families, is a
Talent
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
161
Talent committed to your Truft, and which you
are bound to improve to your Maſter's Honour.)
In other Things we find Governours and Parents
can exerciſe Lordship over their Children and Ser-
vants readily, and frequently enough can fay to
one Go, and he goeth; to another Come, and he
cometh; to a third, Do this, and he doeth it.
And fhall this Power be fo often employed in your
own Affairs, and never exerted in the Things
of GOD? Be aſtoniſhed, O Heavens, at this.
THUS did not Faithful Abraham; No, GOD
fays, that He knew Abraham would command his
Servants and Children after him. Thus did not
Joshua: No, He was refolved not only to walk
with GOD himſelf, but to improve his Authority
in making all about him do fo too: As for me
and my Houbold, we will ferve the LORD. Let
and do likewife.
us go
2. BUT, Secondly, if Gratitude to GOD will
not, methinks Love and Pity to your Children
ſhould move you, with your refpective Families,
to ferve the LORD.
MOST People expreſs a great Fondneſs for their
Children; nay fo great, that
very often their own
Lives are wrapped up in thoſe of their Offspring.
Can a Woman forget her fucking Child, that he
fhould not have Compaffion on the Son of her Womb?
fays GOD by his Prophet Ifaiah. He fpeaks of
it as a monftrous Thing, and fcarce credible,
L
Bur
162
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
But the Words immediately following affirm it to
be poffible, Yea They may forget; and Experience
alſo affures us they may. Father and Mother may
both forfake their Children: For what greater De-
gree of Forgetfulneſs can they exprefs towards
them, than to neglect the Improvement of their
better Part, and not bring them up in the Know-
ledge and Fear of GOD.
T
Ir is true, indeed, Parents feldom forget to pro
vide for their Children's Bodies, (though, it is to
be feared, fome Men are fo far funk beneath the
Beaſts that periſh, as to neglect even that ;) but
then how often do they forget, or rather when do
they remember, to fecure the Salvation of their
immortal Souls? But is this their Way of expreff-
ing their Fondness for the Fruit of their Bodies?
is this the beſt Teftimony they can give of their
Affection to the Darling of their Hearts? Then
was Dalilah fond of Sampfon, when the deliver-
ed him up into the Hands of the Philistines:
Then were thofe Ruffians well affected to Daniel,
when they threw him into a Den of Lions.
3. BUT, Thirdly, if neither Gratitude to GOD,
nor Love and Pity to your Children, will prevail
on you; yet let a Principle of common Honefty
and Justice move you to fet up the holy Refo-
lution in the Text.
THIS is a Principle which all Men would be
thought to act upon. But certainly, if any may
be
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
163
be truly cenfured for their Injustice, none can be
more liable to fuch Cenfure than thoſe who think
themſelves injured if their Servants withdraw
themſelves from their bodily Work, and yet they
in return take no care of their ineftimable Souls.
For is it juſt that Servants fhould fpend their Time
and Strength in their Mafter's Service, and Maf-
ters not at the fame Time give them what is juft
and equal for their Service?
T
Ir is true, fome Men may think they have
done enough when they give unto their Servants
Food and Rayment, and fay, Did not I bargain
with thee for fo much a Year? But if they give
them no other Reward than this, What do they
lefs for their very Beafts? But are not Servants
better than they? Doubtlefs they are: And how-
ever Maſters may put off their Convictions for
the prefent, they will find a Time will come,
when they fhall know they ought to have given
them fome Spiritual, as well as Temporal Wages;
and the Cry of thofe that have mowed down
their Fields will enter into the Ears of the LORD
of Sabaoth.
4 BUT,
BUT, Fourthly, If neither Gratitude to
GOD, Pity to Children, nor a Principle of
common Juftice to Servants, are fufficient to ba
lance all Objections; yet let that darling, that
prevailing Motive of Self-Intereft turn the Scale,
and engage you with your refpective Houfholds to
ferve the LORD.
La
THIS
164 The Great Duty of Serm. VIII.
THIS weighs greatly with you in other Matters:
Be then perfuaded to let it have a due and full In-
fluence on you in this; and if it has, if you have
but Faith as a Grain of Muſtard-Seed, how can
you avoid believing that promoting Family Religion
would be the beſt Means to promote your own
temporal as well as eternal Welfare? For Godli-
nefs has the Promife of this Life the now is, as
well as that which is to come.
BESIDES, you all, doubtlefs, wish for honeft
Servants and pious Children; and to have them
prove otherwiſe, would be as great a Grief to you
as it was to Elijah to have a treacherous Gehazi,
or David to be troubled with a rebellious Abfalom.
But how can it be expected they should learn their
Duty, except thofe fet over them take care to
teach it them? Is it not as reafonable to expect you
fhould reap where you had not fown, or gather
where you had not ſtrawed?
DID Chriftianity, indeed, give any Countenance
to Children and Servants to difregard their Parents
and Mafters according to the Flesh, or repreſent
their Duty to them as inconfiftent with their entire
Obedience to their Father and Mafter which is in
Heaven, there might then be fome Pretence to ne-
glect inftructing them in the Principles of fuch a
Religion. But fince the Precepts of this pure and
undefiled Religion are all of them holy, juſt, and
good; and the more they are taught their Duty to
GOD, the better they will perform their Duties
to
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
165
to you; methinks then to neglect the Improve-
ment of their Souls, out of a Dread of ſpending
too much Time in Religious Duties, is acting
quite contrary to your own Intereft, as well as
Duty.
5. Fifthly and lastly, If neither Gratitude to
GOD, Love to your Children, common Justice
to your Servants, nor even that moſt prevailing
Motive Self-Intereft, will excite; yet let a Con-
fideration of the Terrors of the LORD perfuade
you to put in Practice the pious Refolution in the
Text. Remember the Time will come, and that
perhaps very ſhortly, when we muſt all appear be-
fore the Judgment Seat of CHRIST; where we
muft give a folemn and ftrict Account how we
have had our Converfation, in our refpective Fa-
milies in this World. How will you endure to
fee your Children and Servants (who ought to be
your Joy and Crown of Rejoicing in the Day of
our Lord JESUS CHRIST) Coming out as fo
many ſwift Witneffes againſt you; curfing the
Father that begat them, the Womb that bare them,
the Paps which they have fucked, and the Day
they ever entered into your Houſes? Think you
not the Damnation which Men muft endure for
their own Sins will be fufficient, that they need
load themſelves with the additional Guilt of being
acceffary to the Damnation of others alfo? Oh
confider this, all ye that forget to ferve the LORD
with your refpective Houfholds, left he pluck you
away and there be none to deliver you!
L 3
BUT
166
The Great Duty of Serm. VIII,
}
BUT GOD forbid, Brethren, that any fuch
Evil fhould befall you: No, rather will I hope
that you have been, in fome Meaſure, convinced
by what has been faid of the great Importance of
Family Religion; and therefore are ready to cry out,
in the Words immediately following the Text,
GOD forbid that we should forfake the LORD;
and again, Verſe 21, Nay but we will, with our
feveral Houfholds, ferve the LORD.
'
AND that there may be always fuch a Heart in
you, Let me, to conclude, exhort all Governours
of Families, in the Name of our Lord JESUS
CHRIST, often to reflect on the ineftimable
Worth of their own Souls, and the infinite Ran-
fom, even the precious Blood of JESUS CHRIST,
which has been paid down for them. Remember,
I beseech you remember, that you are fallen Crea-
tures, that you are by Nature loft to and eftranged
from GOD; and that you can never be reftored
to your primitive Happineſs, 'till by being born
again of the Holy Ghoft, you arrive at your
primitive State of Purity, have the Image of GOD
reinftamped upon your Souls, and are thereby
made meet to be Partakers of the Inheritance with
the Saints in Light. Do, I fay, but ſeriouſly and
fiequently reflect on, and act as Perfons that be-
lieve fuch important Truths, and you will no more
neglect your Family's fpiritual Welfare than your
own. No, the Love of GOD, which will then
be fed abroad in your Hearts, will conftrain you to
your utmoft to preſerve them: And the deep
do
Senfe
Serm. VIII. Family Religion.
167
Senfe of GOD's free Grace, in CHRIST JESUS,
(which you will then have,) in calling you, will
excite you to do your utmoſt to fave others, eſpe-
cially thofe of your own Houfhold, and though,
after all your pious Endeavours, fome may conti-
nue unreformed; yet you will have this comfort-
able Reflection to make, that you did what you
could to make your Families religious; and there-
fore may reft affured of fitting down in the King-
dom of Heaven, with Abraham, Joshua, and
Cornelius, and all the godly Houfholders, who in
their feveral Generations fhone forth as fo many
Lights in their reſpective Houtholds upon Earth.
هو
INTERCESSION
L4
INTERCESSION
Every Chriftian's Duty.
1 THESS. v. 25.
Brethren, Pray for us.
F we enquire, Why there is fo little Love to
I'
be found among Chriftians, Why the very
Characteriſtick, by which every one ſhould
know that We are Diſciples of the Holy JESUS, is
almoſt baniſhed out of the Xftian World, We ſhall
find it in a great Meaſure, owing to a Neglect or
fuperficial Performance of that moft God-like Part
of fecret Prayer Interceffion, or imploring the Di-
vine Grace or Mercy in Behalf of Others.
SOME forget this Duty of Praying for Others,
becauſe They feldom remember to Pray for Them-
felves And even good People, who are conſtant
in Praying to their Father which is in Heaven, are
often fo conftrained and felfish in their Addreffes
to the Throne of Grace, that they do not enlarge
their Petitions for the Welfare of their Fellow
Chriſtians as they ought; and thereby fall ſhort of
attaining that Chriftian Charity, that unfeigned
Love
Serm. IX. INTERCESSION, &C 169
Love of their Brethren, which their facred Pro-
feffion obliges them to afpire after, and without
which, tho' they would bestow all their Goods to
feed the Poor, and even give their Bodies to be burn-
ed, yet it would profit them Nothing.
SINCE then thefe Things are fo, I fhall from
the Words of the Text (though originally intend-
ed to be more confined) endeavour to fhew,
I. First, That it is every Chriftian's Duty to
Pray for Others, as well as for Himſelf.
II. Secondly, Who are Thoſe that we ought to
Pray for, and in what Manner we fhould Do it.
And,
III. Thirdly, I fhall offer fome Motives to ex-
cite all Chriftians to abound in this Great Duty of
Interceffion.
I. First then, I ſhall endeavour to ſhew, That it
is every Chriſtian's Duty to Pray for Others, as
well as for Himſelf.
Now Prayer is a Duty founded on Natural Re-
ligion; The very Heathens never neglected it,
though many Chriſtian Heathens amongſt us do:
And it is fo effential to Chriftianity, that you
might as reaſonably expect to find a living Man
without Breath, as a True Chriſtian without the
Spirit of Prayer and Supplication.
Thus, no
fooner
170
Serm. IX,
INTERCESSION
fooner was St. Paul converted, but behold He Pray-
eth, faith the LORD Almighty. And thus will
it be with every Child of GOD, as foon as He
becomes fuch; Prayer being truly called, The na-
tural Cry of the New-born Soul.
FOR in the Heart of every True Believer there
is a Heavenly Tendency, a Divine Attraction,
which as fenfibly draws him to converfe with
GOD, as the Loadftone açtracts the Needle.
A deep Senfe of Their own Weakneſs, and of
CHRIST's Fullness; a ftrong Conviction of their
Natural Corruption, and of the Neceffity of Re-
newing Grace; will not let them reft from Crying
Day and Night to their Almighty Redeemer, that
the Divine Image, which they loſt in Adam, may
through His All-powerful Mediation, and the
Sanctifying Operations of His Bleffed Spirit, be
begun, carried on, and fully perfected both in
their Souls and Bodies,
THUS earnest, thus importunate, are all fincere
Christians in Praying for Themſelves: But then,
not having fo lively, lafting, and deep a Senſe of
the Wants of their Chriftian Brethren, They are
for the moſt Part too remifs and defective in their
Prayers for them. Whereas, was the Love of
GOD fhed abroad in our Hearts, and did we
Love our Neighbour in that Manner in which
the Son of GOD our Saviour loveth us, and ac-
cording to his Command and Example, We could
not
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
171
not but be as importunate for their Spiritual and
Temporal Welfare, as for Our own; and as ear-
neftly defire and endeavour that Others fhould
ſhare in the Benefits and Bleffings of the Death
and Paffion of JESUS CHRIST as We ourſelves.
LET not any one think, that This is an un-
common Degree of Charity; an High Pitch of
Perfection, which every one cannot attain unto;
-fince it is no fuch Thing :-For if we are all
commanded to Love our Neighbour (that is, every
Man) even as ourselves, nay to Lay down our
Lives for the Brethren; Then, it is the Duty of
all to Pray for their Neighbours as much as for
Themſelves, and by all poffible Acts and Expreffi-
ons of Love and Affection towards Them, at all
Times, to fhew their Readineſs even to lay down
their Lives for them, if ever it fhould pleaſe
GOD to call Them to it.
OUR Bleffed Saviour, as He hath fet us an Ex-
ample that we ſhould follow His Steps in every
Thing elſe, fo hath He more eſpecially in This:
For in that moft Divine, that moft Perfect
and Inimitable Prayer (recorded in the 17th of St.
John) which He put up juſt before His Paffion,
We find but few Petitions for His Own, though
many for his Difciples Welfare: And in that moſt
Perfect Form which He has been pleaſed to pre-
fcribe us, We are taught to fay,- not My, but
Our Father,―Thereby to put us in Mind, that
whenever we approach the Throne of Grace,
We
172
Serm. IX.
INTERCESSION
not in Our own Name
We ought to Pray
alone, but in the Name of all our Brethren in
CHRIST.
་
INTERCESSION then is certainly a Duty incum
bent upon all Chriftians.
II. WHOM We are to intercede for, and How
this Duty is to be performed, comes next to
be confidered, under my Second General
Head.
1. AND Firſt, our Interceffion must be univer-
fal. I will (fays the Apoftle) that Prayers,
Supplications, and Interceffions, be made for All
Men. For as GOD's Mercy is over All His
Works, as JESUS CHRIST Died to Redeem
a People out of All Nations and Languages; fo
We should Pray, that All Men may come to the
Knowledge of the Truth and be faved. Many pre-
cious Promiſes are made in Holy Writ, that the
Gospel fhall be published through the whole World,
that the Earth fhall be covered with the Knowledge
of the Lord, as the Waters cover the Sea; and
therefore it is our Duty not to confine our Petiti-
ons to our own Nation, but to Pray that All thofe
Nations, who now fit in Darkneſs and in the Sha-
dow of Death, may have the Glorious Gospel fhine
out upon Them, as well as upon Us. But You need
not that any Man fhould teach you This, fince Ye
yourſelves are Taught of GOD, even of JESUS
CHRIST himfelf to Pray that His Kingdom may
come
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
173
come; Part of the Meaning of which Petition is,
That GOD's Ways may be known upon Earth,
and His Saving Health among All Nations.
2. NEXT to the Praying for All Men, we
fhould, according to St. Paul's Rule, Pray for
Kings; particularly, for our prefent Sovereign
King GEORGE, and all that are put in Authority
under Him; that we may lead quiet Lives, in all
Godliness and Honeſty: — For, if we confider
how heavy the Burden of Government is, and
how much the Welfare of any People depends on
the Zeal and godly Converfation of Thofe that
have the Rule over them: If we fet before us the
many Dangers and Difficulties, to which Gover-
nours by their Station are expoſed, and the conti-
nual Temptations they lye under to Luxury and
Self-Indulgence; We fhall not only Pity, but
Pray for Them,That He who preferved Esther,
David, and Jofiah, unspotted from the World, a-
midft the Grandeur of a Court, and gave Succeſs
to their Deſigns, would alfo preferve Them Holy
and Unblameable, and profper all the Works of
their Hands upon Them.
3. BUT, Thirdly, You ought in a more eſpecial
Manner, to Pray for thoſe whom the Holy Ghost
hath made Overſeers over You. This is what St.
Paul begs, again and again, of the Churches to
whom he writes: Brethren, fays He in the
Text, Pray for Us; and again, in his Epiſtle to
the Ephefians,
Praying always, fays He, with
all
1
174
Serm. IX:
INTERCESSION
all Manner of Supplication, and for Me alfo, that
I may open my Mouth boldly to declare the Mystery
of the Gospel. And in another Place, to exprefs
his Earneftneſs in this Requeft, and the Great
Importance of Their Prayers for Him,—He bids
the Church Strive, (or, as the original Word fig-
nifies, Be in an Agony) together with Him in Their
Prayers. And furely if the Great Saint Paul, that
Chofen Veffel, that Favourite of Heaven, need-
ed the moſt importunate Prayers of His Chriftian
Converts; much more do the ordinary Minif-
ters of the Goſpel ſtand in need of the Inter-
ceffion of their refpective Flocks.
AND I cannot but in a more efpecial Manner
infiſt upon This Branch of Your Duty, becauſe
it is a Matter of fuch Importance: For no doubt,
much Good is frequently with-held from many,
by Reaſon of their neglecting to Pray for their
Miniſters, which They would have received, had
they Prayed for Them as they ought. Not to
mention, that People often complain of the Want
of Diligent and Faithful Paſtors. But how do
They deferve Good Paftors, who will not earneſtly
Pray to GOD for fuch?
THE Church has fet apart Four Seaſons in the
Year for this Purpoſe, and to call down a Bleſs-
ing on thoſe who are to be Ordained to any Holy
Function: But by how very few are the Ember
Days obferved! And if we will not Pray to the
Lord
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
175
Lord of the Harvest, can it be expected-He will
fend forth Labourers into his Harveſt?
BESIDES, What Ingratitude is it not to Pray
for your Miniſters! For fhall They Watch and
Labour in the Word and Doctrine for You, and
for your Salvation, and fhall not You Pray for
Them in Return? If any bestow Favours on
your Bodies, You think it right, meet, and your
bounden Duty, to Pray for Them; and ſhall not
They be remembered in Your Prayers, who daily
feed and nourish your Souls? Add to all this, that
Praying for your Minifters, will be a manifeft
Proof of your believing -That though Paul
plant, and Apollos water, yet it is GOD alone
who giveth the Increaſe. And you will alſo find
it the beſt Means you can ufe, to promote your
own Welfare; becaufe GOD, in Anfwer to
your Prayers, may impart a double Portion of His
Holy Spirit to Them, whereby they will be qua-
lified to deal out to you larger Meaſures of Know-
ledge in Spiritual Things, and be enabled more
skilfully to divide the Word of Truth.
WOULD Men but conftantly obſerve this Di-
rection, and when their Minifters are Praying in
Their Name to GOD,—humbly befeech Him
to Perform all their Petitions; or, when They
are ſpeaking in GOD's Name to Them,
Pray that the Holy Ghost may fall on all them that
Hear the Word; We thould then find a more vi-
fible Good Effect of Their Doctrine, and a grea-
ter
..!
1
176
INTERCESSION!
Serm. IX
ter Mutual Love between Minifters and their Peo-
ple. For Minifters Hands would then be held up
by the People's Interceffions, and the People would
never dare to vilify or traduce Thoſe who are the
conſtant Subject of their Prayers.
4. NEXT to our Minifters, our Friends claim
a Place in our Interceffions; but then we ſhould
not content ourſelves with Praying in general
Terms for Them, but fuit our Prayers to Their
particular Circumſtances. When Miriam was
afflicted with a Leprofy from GOD, Mofes cried
and faid, LORD Heal Her: And when the
Nobleman came to apply to JESUS CHRIST in
Behalf of his Child, He faid, LORD, my little
Daughter lieth at the Point of Death, I pray Thee,
come, and Heal Her. In like Manner, when any
of our Friends are under any afflicting Circum-
ftances, We ſhould endeavour to Pray for Them,
with a particular Regard to thofe Circumſtances.
For Inftance, Is a Friend fick? We ſhould Pray,
That if it be GOD's good Pleafure, it may not be
unto Death; but if otherwife, That He would
give Him Grace fo to take his Vifitation, that,
after this painful Life ended, He may dwell with
Him in Life Everlaſting! Is a Friend in Doubt
in any Matter? We fhould lay His Cafe before
GOD, as Mofes did that of the Daughter of
Zelophehad, and Pray, That GOD's Holy Spirit
may lead Him into all Truth. Is He in Want?
We ſhould Pray, That his Faith may never fail,
and that in GOD's due Time He may be relieved.
And
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
177
And in all other Cafes, we fhould not Pray for
bur Friends only in Generals, but fait our Petiti-
ons to Their particular Sufferings and Afflictions;
for otherwiſe, we may never ask perhaps for the
Things our Friends moft want.
IT muſt be confeffed, that fuch a Procedure
will oblige us fometimes to break from the Forms
we ufe; but if we accuftom ourſelves to it, and
have a deep Senſe of what we ask for, the moſt
illiterate Chriftians will not want Words to exprefs
themſelves.
E
We have many noble Inftances in Holy Scrip-
ture of the Succefs of this Kind of particular In-
terceffion; but none more remarkable than That of
Abraham's Servant, in the Book of Genefis,
who being fent to feek a Wife for his Son Ifaac,
Prays in a moft particular Manner in His Behalf.-
And the Sequel of the Story informs us how re-
markably His Prayer was anfwered. And did
Chriftians now Pray for their Friends in the fame
particular Manner, and with the fame Faith as
Abraham's Servant did for His Mafter; They
would, no doubt, in many Inftances, receive as
vifible Anſwers, and have as much Reafon to blefs
GOD for Them as He hada
5. Bur farther, as we ought thus to intercede for
our Friends, fo in like Manner muſt we alſo Pray
for our Enemies. Bless them that Curfe you, ſays
JESUS CHRIST, and Pray for them that defpite-
M
fully
178
INTERCESSION
Fa-
Serm. IX.
fully use you, and perfecute you: Which Commands
He inforced in the ſtrongeſt Manner by His own
Example, when in the very Agonies and Pangs of
Death, he Prayed even for his Murderers,
ther, Forgive Them, for they know not what they
do! This, it muſt needs be confeffed, is a
difficult Duty, yet not impracticable to thoſe, who
have renounced the Things of this prefent Life,
(from an inordinate Love of which alone, all En-
mities ariſe,) and who knowing the terrible Woes
denounced againſt Thofe who offend Christ's Lit-
tle Ones, can, out of real Pity and Senfe of their
Danger, Pray for thofe by whom fuch Offences
come.
6. LASTLY, and to conclude this Head,
We ſhould Intercede for All that are any Ways
afflicted, in Mind, Body, or Eftate; - for All
who defire, and ſtand in need of our Prayers :
And for All who do not Pray for Themſelves.
AND Oh! that All who hear me, would fet
apart ſome Time every Day, for the due Perfor-
mance of This moft, neceifary Duty! In Or-
der to which,
III. I SHALL now proceed to the Third General
Thing propofed, namely, To fhew the Advan-
tages, and offer fome Confiderations to excite you
to the Practice of Daily Interceffion.
I. AND First, it will fill your Hearts with
Love one to another. He that every Day inter-
cedes
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
179
cedes at the Throne of Grace for all Mankind,
cannot but in a fhort Time be filled with Love
and Charity to all; and the frequent Exerciſe of
his Love in this Manner, will infenfibly enlarge
his Heart, and make Him Partaker of that exceed-
ing Abundance of it which is in CHRIST JESUS
our Lord! Envy, Malice, Revenge, and ſuch like
helliſh Tempers, can never long harbour in a Gra-
cious Interceffor's Breaft; But He will be
filled with Joy, Peace, Meeknefs, Long Suffer-
ing, and all other Gifts and Graces of the Holy
Spirit. By Frequently laying his Neighbour's
Wants before GOD, He will be touched with
a Fellow-Feeling of them; He will Rejoice
with thoſe that do rejoice, and Weep with thoſe
that weep. Every Bleffing beftowed on Others,
inftead of exciting Envy in Him, will be looked
on as an Anſwer to his particular Interceffion, and
fill his Soul with Joy unspeakable and full of
Glory.
INDEED I will not affirm, that this Bleiled
Temper of Mind can be acquired all at once: No,
as other Graces, fo muft this Chriftian Love
be obtained by Degrees. But Do You abound in
Acts of General and particular Interceffions; and
when you hear of your Neighbours Faults, in-
tead of relating them to, and expofing them be-
fore Others, Lay them in fecret before GOD,
and beg of Him to correct and amend them.
When you hear of a notorious Sinner, inftead of
Thinking, You do well to be angry; beg of JESUS
M 2
CHRIST
?
180
Serm. IX.
INTERCESSION
CHRIST to convert and make Him a Monument of
His Free Grace; and you cannot imagine what a
Bleffed Alteration this Practice will make in your
Heart, and How much you will increaſe Day by
Day in the Spirit of Love and Meeknefs towards
all Mankind!
BUT farther to excite you to the conftant Prac-
tice of this Duty of Interceffion; confider the
many Inſtances given us in Holy Scripture, of the
Power and Efficacy of it. Great and Excellent
Things are there recorded as the Effects of
this Divine Employ. It has ftopped Plagues, it
has opened and ſhut Heaven; and has frequently
turned away GOD's Fury from his People. How
was Abimelech's Houfe freed from the Diſeaſe
GOD fent amongst them, at the Interceffion of
Abraham! When Phineas ftood up and Prayed,
how foon did the Plague ceafe! When Daniel
humbled and afflicted his Soul, and interceded for
the LORD's Inheritance, How quickly was an
Angel diſpatched to tell him, His Prayer was
beard! And to mention but one Inftance more,
How does GOD own himſelf as it were quite
overcome with the Importunity of Mofes, when
He was Interceding for his Idolatrous People,
Let me alone, fays GOD!
THIS fufficiently fhews, I could almoſt ſay the
Omnipotency of Interceffion, and how we may,
like Jacob, wreſtle with GOD, and by an hòly
Violence prevail both for Ourſelves and Others.
And
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
181
And no doubt 'tis owing to the fecret and pre-
vailing Interceffions of the few Righteous Souls
who ſtill remain among us, that GOD has yet
fpared This miferably Sinful Nation: For were
there not fome fuch Faithful ones, like Mofes,
left to ſtand in the Gap, -We ſhould foon be
deſtroyed even as was Sodom, and reduced to Aſhes
like unto Gomorrah.
BUT, to ftir You up yet farther to this Godlike
Exercife of Interceffion, confider that, in all Pro-
bability, it is the frequent Employment even of
the Glorified SAINTS: For though they are deli-
vered from the Burden of the Fleſh, and reſtored
to the glorious Liberty of the Sons of GOD, yet, as
their Happineſs cannot be perfectly confummated
'till the Refurrection of the Laft Day, when all
their Brethren will be glorified with them, -
We cannot but think They are often importunate
in befeeching our Heavenly Father, fhortly to ac-
compliſh the Number of His Ele&, and to haſten
His Kingdom. And ſhall not We, who are on
Earth, be often exerciſed in this Divine Employ
with the Glorious Company of the Spirits of Juft
Men made perfect? Since our Happineſs is fo much
to confift in the Communion of SAINTS in the
Church Triumphant above, fhall we not frequent-
ly intercede for the Church Militant here below
and earneſtly beg, that We may all be One, even
as the Holy JESUS and his Father are One,
that We may alſo be made Perfect in One!
;
M 3
To
182
Serm. IX.
INTERCESSION
To provoke you to this Great Work and La-
bour of Love, Remember, that it is the never
ceafing Employment of the Holy and Highly-ex-
alted JESUS Himfelf, who fits at the Right Hand
of GOD to hear all our Prayers, and to make
continual Interceffion for us! So that He who is
conſtantly employed in interceding for Others, is
doing that on Earth, which the Eternal Son of
GOD is always doing in Heaven.
IMAGINE therefore, when you are lifting up
Holy Hands in Prayer for one another, That
you fee the Heavens opened, and the Son of
GOD in all His Glory; as the Great High Prieſt
of your Salvation, offering up and pleading for
you, the All-fufficient Merit of His Sacrifice be-
fore the Throne of His Heavenly Father!
Join then Your Interceffions with His, and befeech
Him that they may through Him come up as In-
cenfe, and be received as a Sweet-fmelling Sa-
vour, acceptable in the Sight of GOD! This
Imagination will ftrengthen your Faith, excite
a holy Earneftnefs in your Prayers, and make
you wreſtle with GOD, as Jacob did, when He
faw Him Face to Face and his Life was preſerved;
as Abraham, when He pleaded for Sodom; and
as JESUS CHRIST himſelf, when He prayed,
being in an Agony, fo much the more earneſtly
the Night before his bitter Paffion!
AND now, Brethren, What fhall I fay more,
fince You are taught of JESUS CHRIST
Himfelfa
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty. 183
Himfelf, to abound in Love, and in This Good Work
of Praying one for another? However, I
cannot but recommend to You one general Means
in order to make your Interceffion more effectual,
that is, To lead fuch Lives as may make your
Prayers accepted in the Beloved. The effectual fer-
vent Prayer of a Righteous Man availeth much,
faith Saint James. You shall go to my Servant Job,
fays GOD, and He fhall Pray for You. It is
This, It is This, my Brethren, muſt make your
Interceffions pierce the Clouds! For the Prayers of
the Wicked are an Abomination to the LORD.
Would You therefore prevail with GOD for
Others, Be Holy even as GOD is Holy yourſelves:
Labour daily after freſh Degrees of Grace, and
your Interceffions will acquire freſh Degrees of
Acceptance and Efficacy in Heaven. Do but walk
as becometh the Gospel of JESUS CHRIST;
Be but in Earnest about Working out your own
eternal Salvation; and your Interceffions will
Then come forth as Incenſe before GOD, and the
lifting up of your Hands be as an Evening Sacrifice.
Though ever fo mean, though as poor as
Lazarus, You will then become Benefactors to all
Mankind; Thouſands, and Twenty-times Ten
Thouſands, will then be Bleſſed for your Sakes!
and after You have employed a few Years in this
Divine Exerciſe here, You will be tranflated to
That Happy Place, where you have fo often wish-
ed Others might be advanced; and be exalted to
fit at the Right Hand of our All-powerful, All-.
prevailing INTERCESSOR, in the Kingdom of His
Heavenly Father hereafter!
HOWEVER,
M 4
$84
Serm. IX,
INTERCESSION
HOWEVER, I cannot but in an eſpecial manner
preſs This upon you now, becauſe all Ye, amongſt
whom I have now been Preaching, in all Pro-
bability will ſee me no more:
For I am now
going (I truft under the conduct of GOD's Moſt
Holy Spirit) from You, knowing not what ſhall
befall me: I need therefore your moſt importunate
Interceffions, that nothing may move me from my
Duty, and that I may not count even my Life
dear unto myſelf, fo that I may finiſh my courſe
with Joy, and the Miniſtry I have received of the
Lord JESUS, to teſtify the Goſpel of the Grace
of GOD!
4
WHILST I have been here, to the beſt of my
Knowledge I have not failed to declare unto you
the whole Will of GOD: And though my
Preaching may have been a Savour of Death unto
Death to fome; yet I truft it has been alſo a Sa-
vour of Life unto Life to Others; and therefore
I earneſtly hope that Thofe will not fail to remem-
ber me in their Prayers. As for my own Part,
the many unmerited Kindneffes I have received
from you, will not ſuffer me to forget You: Out
of the Deep therefore I truſt ſhall my Cry come
unto GOD; and whilft the Winds and Storms
are blowing over me, unto the LORD will I
make my Supplication for You. For it is but a
little while, and We must All appear before the
Fudgment Seat of CHRIST; where I muſt give
a ftrict Account of the Doctrine I have Preached,
and You of your Improvement under it. And
Oh! that I may never be called out as a fwift
Witneſs,
Y
Serm. IX. Every Chriftian's Duty.
185
1
Witneſs, againſt any of thoſe my dear Brethren
in CHRIST, for whofe Salvation I have fin-
cerely, though too faintly, longed and laboured!-
It is true, I have been cenfured by ſome as act-
ing out of finifter and ſelfiſh Views; but it is a
Small Matter with me to be judged by Man's Judg-
ment; I hope my Eye is fingle, but I befeech
you, Brethren, by the Mercies of GOD in
CHRIST JESUS, Pray that it may be more fo!-
and that I may increafe with the Increaſe of Grace
in the Knowledge and Love of GOD through
JESUS CHRIST our Lord.
AND now, Brethren, What fhall I fay more? -
I could wish to continue my Difcourfe much lon-
ger; for I can never fully expreſs the Defire of my
Soul towards you! - Finally therefore, Brethren,
Whatſoever Things are Holy, whatsoever Things are
Pure, whatsoever Things are Honeft, whatsoever
Things are of Good Report; if there be any Confo-
lation in CHRIST, if any Fellowship of the Spirit,
if any Hopes of our appearing to the Comfort of
each other at the awful Tribunal of JESUS CHRIST,
Think of the Things that you have heard, and of
Thoſe which your Paſtors have declared and will
yet declare unto You; and continue under Their
Miniſtry to work out your own Salvation with Fear
and Trembling: So that whether I ſhould never
ſee you any more, or whether it ſhall pleaſe GOD
to bring me back again at any Time, I may always
have the Satisfaction of knowing that your Con-
verfation is ſuch as be cometh the Gospel of CHRIST.
I almoſt
186
INTERCESSION, &c Serm. IX.
I almoft perfuade myſelf, that I could willingly
fuffer all Things, fo that it might any ways promote
the Salvation of your precious and immortal Souls ;
And I befeech You, as my laft Requeſt, O-
bey Them that have the Rule over You in the Lord;
and be always ready to attend on Their Miniſtry, as
it is your bounden Duty. Think not that I defire
to have myſelf exalted at the Expence of another's
Character; but rather think this- Not to have any
Man's Perfon too much in Admiration; but efteem
all your Minifters highly in Love, as they juftly de-
ferve for their Work's Sake.
AND now, Brethren, I commend you to GOD
and to the Word of His Grace, which is able to
build you up, and give you an Inheritance amongſt
all them that are fanctified. May GOD reward
You for all your Works of Faith, and Labours of
Love; and make you to abound more and more in every
good Word and Work towards all Men. May He
truly convert all that have been convinced, and
awaken all that are Dead in Trefpaffes and Sins!
May he confirm all that are wavering! And may
you all
go on from one Degree of Grace unto an-
other, 'till you arrive unto the Meaſure of the
Sature of the Fullneſs of CHRIST; and there-
by be made meet to ftand before That GO D, in
whofe Prefence is the Fullness of Joy, and at whofe
Right Hand there are Pleafures for evermore!
Amen! Amen!
A
THE
OXFORD Methodiſts:
Being an AccOUNT of fome
YOUNG GENTLEMEN
IN
That CITY, in Derifion fo called;
Setting forth their
RISE and DESIGNS.
WITH
Some Occafional REMARKS
ON
A LETTER inferted in Fog's Journal of December
9th, 1732, relating to them.
In a LETTER from a Gentleman near Ox-
FORD, to his Friend at LONDON.
The THIRD EDITION,
With very great Alterations and Improvements.
To which is prefix'd,
A Short E PISTLE to the Reverend Mr.
WHITEFIELD, A. B. of Pembroke-College,
Oxon.
[ 2 ]
༥༠-༤༢༠༦༩༥༠ཟླ༩༥༠ཟླ༩༢༠༦༩༢༠༠༩
TO THE
Rev. Mr. WHITEFIELD.
TH
SIR,
HIS little Piece was originally written to vindicate the Gen-
tlemen called by the Name of Methodiſts, (after an impar-
tial Inquiry into their Principles and Behaviour) from fome viru-
lent and groundless Afperfions caft upon them in a Letter inſerted in
Fog's Journal. And as the Conduct of these Gentlemen has con-
tinued ever fince irreproachable, and they have ftedfaftly perfever'd
i the fame Courſe which they fo laudably begun fome Years ago;
and yet have fill the Misfortune to find themſelves flightly ſpoken
of by many Perfons who care not to fall into Meaſures which they
may poſſibly think too ftrict and felf-denying; it must be thought not
improper to reprint it now. And to whom can it be ſo fitly ad-
drefs'd, as to You, Sir, who have paffed under that Appellation,
and who by your fuccesful Preaching have fo well justify'd the
Conduct of the Gentlemen who are the Subject of it?
It muſt afford no fmall Pleafure to all ferious Chriftians, to
find, by your Success in the two firft Cities of the Kingdom, that,
degenerate as the Age is in which we live, a Spirit of Piety and
Attention may nevertheless be excited in the Minds of the Ġener-
ality; and that without any other Novelty, than by preaching the
plain and obvious Doctrines of Chriftianity, in fo ferious and
affecting a Manner, as ſhall ſhew the Preacher to be in earneſt,
and himself affected by the Doctrines which he would inftill into
others. And from hence there is little Room to doubt, that if the
like Method was generally taken by our Brethren of the Clergy,
and the Doctrines of the Gospel were not made to give way to
the only fecondarily neceffary Rules of Morality, the like Success
would attend their Labours, and the Chriftian Religion and our
Sacred Function would be freed from that cold Neglect, to say no
worſe, which is now too frequently thrown upon both.
I have heard it rumour'd, that you have been refused by fome of
our Brethren, the Ufe of their Pulpits; but as you have fubmitted
Some of your Difcourfes to the Publick Cenfure, and as I have not
A 2
beard
[ 3 ]
heard it once fuggefted by the most Invidious, that there is any
Thing contained in them in the least repugnant to the Doctrines of
Chriſtianity in general, or thofe of the Eſtabliſh'd Church in par-
ticular; I hope it cannot be true, and must be spread by the Ene-
mies of thofe particular Clergymen who are named to have given
fuch a Refufal; and who, furely, have too much Piety and good
Senfe to be influenc'd, in fuch a Caufe, by Motives of Envy or
Narrowness of Mind: For can it be thought poffible that Perfons
who weekly preach, and weekly write, and hourly talk in Defence
of our holy Religion, who continually complain of the Infidelity of
fome, of the Apoftacy of others, and of the cold, lifeleſs, Un-
concernedneſs of moft, fhould be the Perfons who would endeavour
to throw cold Water on that rifing Flame in numerous Audiences,
which, well encouraged, might, in Time, blaze out in a lauda-
ble Zeal for the Gospel of Chrift, and be attended with happy
Confequences to the Caufe of Religion and Virtue ?
But be this as it will, let me exhort you, Sir, not be diſcou-
rag'd or diſmay'd at any Oppofition that you may meet with in your
good Defigns: But preferving, (in the midst of the dangerous Ap-
plaufes you meet with from the crouded Audiences that every where
attend your Preaching) that Meekneſs and Humility, which muſt
be infeparable from the Doctrines you feek to propagate, (and more
than any one Thing, befides the Bleffing of God, infure the Succeſs
of your Labours) demonftrate to the World, that you are your felf
under the happy Influences avhich you ſeek to spread; that your
Actions are regulated by the Doctrines you preach; and that God's
Glory, and the Religion of the Blessed Jefus, are the principal,
the only Motives, that animate your Conduct and your Vierus.
This will intitle you to the Bleffing of God, and the Approbation
of all good Men; and particularly to the hearty good Wifes of
Your Affectionate,
tho' Unknown Brother,
Nov. 28. 1737.
in our common LORD,
A. B.
[4]
THE
OXFORD Methodiſts.
In a LETTER from a Gentleman near Ox-
FORD, to his Friend at LONDON.
I
SIR,
HOPE you will not think me to blame, that I have not
fooner anſwer'd yours, wherein you inclofed Fog's Journal
of the 9th of December, 1733, and defir'd me to inform
myſelf, and you, of the Motives, Pretenfions, and Actions of
the young Gentlemen, there ftyled METHODISTS. As I was
intirely anacquainted with any of them when you made me this
Requeſt, it muſt needs you'll allow, take up Time, fo tho-
roughly to make one's felf Mafter of this Affair, as to be able
to anſwer the Defire of ſo good a Friend, and fo fincere a Man,
as, without Flattery, I may fay you are; and fo that you may
intirely depend upon the Account I should render you, and go-
vern yourſelf with regard to the Difpofition you intend to makė
of the excellent young Man your Son.
That I might not be deceived, or give you a haſty or raſh Ac-
count of the Practice or Way of Life of this Society, and as I
have Time upon my Hands, I took the following Method: I
made a Vifit to an intimate Friend, of C***** C******
and he brought me acquainted with two or three Gentlemen
of M******
who gave me a very difmal Account of the
Society, and made me believe, at the beft, that the Perfons
who conſtitute it, are miſerable Enthuſiaſts, and Zealots; and
I found every one almoft with whom I difcourfed on this Sub-
ject, ſtrongly prejudiced againſt them. But after all, I could not
hear the leaft Slur caft upon the Morals of the young Gentle-
men; only, as the Letter-Writer in Fog lays to their Charge,
That they pretended to be more religious than their Neighbours;
that they put a gloomy and melancholy Face upon Religion,
and affected greater Aufterities and Exemplarinefs, than the
Doctrines of the Goſpel requir'd; and that fome call'd them in
De
}
[ 5 ]
1
Derifion, The Holy or The Godly Club, others, The Sacramen
tarians, &c. But, as I faid, that no one offer'd to call in Que-
ſtion either their Morals or Integrity.
After I had heard all that could be ſaid againſt them by their
Enemies, I thought it was but fair, to enquire of their Friends
what could be faid for them: But, alas! fo ftrong were the
Prejudices againſt them, and fo general, that I found it no
eafy Matter to meet with any one that would own the Name :
Whereupon, depending upon the Character which their Ene-
mies gave them, of Probity and Sincerity, I made myſelf ac-
quainted with one of the Gentlemen, and frankly open'd my
Mind to him, and defir'd him to inform me of their Motives
and Views, and their particular Inducements to a Singularity of
Behaviour and Life, which had ſubjected them to the Cenfures
of fo many Perſons of Learning and Capacity. And from the
Gentleman's Anſwer, and the Account he gave me of their O-
riginal and Defign, I own I was greatly edify'd, and I doubt
not, but you will likewiſe be much pleaſed. In fhort, the Ac-
count which he gave me was to the following Effect; viz.
In the latter End of the Year 1729, three or four ſerious
young Gentlemen agreed to pafs certain Evenings in every Week
together, in order to read and obferve upon the Clafficks, and
on Sunday upon fome Book of Devotion. The following Sum-
mer one of theſe Gentlemen having called at the Goal out of
Curiofity to ſee a Man condemn'd for killing his Wife, told his
Companions, that from the Talk he had had with one of the
Debtors there, he verily believed it would do much Good, if a
fober Perfon would now and then take the Trouble to talk to
them: That upon his preffing the Matter, two of his Com-
panions walk'd down with him to the Caftle; and they were all
fo well fatisfied with their Converſation there, that they agreed
to go thither once or twice a Week. The Gentleman who pro-
pofed this, (who, it ſeems, is fince dead) foon after defir'd one
of his Friends to accompany him in a Vifit to a poor Woman
in the Town, who was taken fick: And finding their Advice
well receiv'd, this induc'd them now and then to paſs an Hour
in ſuch charitable Vifits to poor People, who were taken ill:
But left Offence ſhould be given to the Minifter of the Pariſh
where fuch poor People liv'd, they thought it neceffary always
to apply to fuch Miniſter for his Conſent and Approbation; and
furthermore they apply'd to the Gentleman who had the Care
of ſuch of the Prifoners as were under Sentence of Condemna-
tion, and who was Chaplain to the then Ld. Bishop of Oxford,
for his Approbation of their Vifits to the Prifoners, and of one
of the Gentlemens Defigns of preaching to the Prisoners once a
Month,
I
[6]
Month, if his Lordship approv'd of it. The Gentleman, for
his own Part, approv'd the Defign, and undertook that the
Biſhop would do the fame; and foon after fignify'd his Lord-
hip's Permiffion, and hearty Wiſhes for the good Succefs of it.
The Gentleman affur'd me, That they were fo diffident of
themſelves, eſpecially when they found a Spirit of contemptuous
Raillery ſtirr'd up againft them on thefe Occafions, that they
took Advice from Time to Time of a worthy and venerable
Gentleman, a near Relation of one of them, who had much
Knowledge and Experience of the World, and that they might
have nothing to reproach themſelves with, form'd their Con-
duct upon his Advice; and upon the Encouragement he gave
them, they were determin'd at all Events, to perfevere in the
laudable Courſe they had begun. He was fo kind to fhew me
his Friend's encouraging Epiftles; and oblig'd me with a Tran-
ſcript of fome Paffages, which I was the more pleaſed with, as
it gave me not only a Teftimony of the becoming Modeſty of
the Gentlemen to fubmit themſelves to the Opinion of a Perſon
of Years and Difcretion (which took off from them the Impu-
tation of Conceit and Self-Opinion); but as it gave me a high
Notion of the Piety and good Senſe of the venerable Author.
I will give you, Sir, the Tranfcripts, as I took them. You'll
find by the firft, that the young Gentlemen had modeftly inti-
mated their Apprehenfions of making Enemies to themſelves by
the Courſe they had enter'd upon; for the old Gentleman ſays,
•
I am afraid, left the main Objection you make again't
your going on in the Buſineſs with the Priſoners, may fe-
cretly proceed from Flesh and Blood: For who can harm
you, if you are Followers of that which is fo good! And
which will be one of the Marks by which the Shepherd of
Ifrael will know his Sheep at the Laft Day? And tho' it
were poffible for you to fuffer a little in this Cauſe, you would
have a Confeffor's Reward.- Go on then, in GOD's
Name, in that Path to which your Saviour has directed you,
• and that Track wherein I have gone before you: For even
' when I was an Under-graduate at Oxford, I viſited thoſe
in the Caſtle there, and can reflect on it with great Satifaction
to this Day. Walk as prudently as you can, tho' not fear-
fully, and my Heart and Prayers are with you.
<
• Your firſt regular Step is to conſult with him (if any ſuch
← there be) who has a Jurifdiction over the Priſoners; and the
next is, to obtain the Direction and Approbation of your
Biſhop.
•
I blefs GOD who has given you Grace and Courage
to turn the War againſt the World and the Devil, which is
• the
;
C
[7]
፡
the beſt Way to conquer them; you have but one more Ene-
my to combat with, The Flesh; which if you take Care to
* fubdue, (by Faſting and Prayer) there will be no more for
you to do, but to proceed fteadily in the fame Courſe, and
expect the Crown which fades not away.'
6
7
And to the young Gentlemens Repreſentation of the unchari-
table Cenfures and Raillery to which they were expoſed, the
venerable Old Man thus writes:
6
6
6
-This Evening, in our Courſe of Reading, I thought I
⚫ found an Anſwer to yours, that would be more proper, than
any I myſelf could dictate: Tho' fince it will not be eaſily
tranſlated, I chuſe to ſend it in the Original: Пoλλń μonau-
χησις ὑπέρ ὑμῶν πεπλήρωμαι τη δρακλήση, υπερπε
εισδύομαι τη χαρά -What would you be? Would you be
Angels? I queſtion whether a Mortal can arife to a greater
• State of Perfection, than ſteadily to do Good, and for that
• Reafon patiently and meekly to fuffer Evil. For my Part, on
the prefent View of your Actions and Defigns, my daily
Prayer is, That GOD would keep you Humble; and then I
am fure, that if you continue to fuffer for Righteouſneſs fake,
'tho' it be but in a lower Degree, the Spirit of Grace and Glo-
ry, fhall in fome good meaſure reft upon you.
•
૪
6
&
Be never weary of well-doing. Never look back; for you
know that the Prize. and the Crown are before you! Tho' I
can ſcarce think fo meanly of you, as that you would be dif-
courag'd with the Crackling of Thorns under a Pot. Be not
high-minded; but fear. Preferve an equal Temper of Mind
• under whatever Treatment you meet with from a not very
juft or well-natur'd World. Bear no more Sail than is ne-
ceffary; but fteer fleady. The lefs you value yourſelves for
• thefe Unfafhionable Duties (as there is no fuch thing as
Works of Supererogation) the inore all good and wife Men will
⚫ value you, if they fee your Actions are of a Piece: Or, what
is infinitely better, HE by whom Actions and Intentions are
weigh'd, will both accept, efteem, and reward you.'
6
This, Sir, you'll own, is a noble Strain of Piety, that fa-
vours of the Primitive Pattern. If the wife Ones of the World
account this Enthufiafm, let me, I pray GOD, at my laft
Hour, have no worſe Reflection to make upon my paft Life and
Actions, than will naturally refult from having been guilty of
fuch Enthuſiaſm as this! How happy are thefe Sacramenta-
rians, thefe Methodists, theſe Enthufiafts, as their Enemies call
them, to have fo very excellent a Director! And how much
are they to be commended for fubmitting their Conduct and
Defigns to fo pious and experienc'd a Judge!
B
Upon
[8]
Upon thefe Encouragements, the young Gentlemen continu-
ed to meet together; and the better to confirm themſelves in
the good Courſe they had begun, they thought it requifite to
Communicate at the Cathedral as often as they had Opportuni-
ty; which was once a Week: And hence their Ill-willers gave
them the Name of Sacramentarians. They continued their
Services to the poor Priſoners; vifited fuch of their Acquain-
tance as were fick, and ſeveral poor Families befides in Town,
and made Collections from the well-difpofed, and among one
another, to procure Phyfick, and other Reliefs to the bodily
Neceffities, as by their beft Advice and Prayers they did to the
Spiritual Wants, where needed; and abridg'd themfelves of
fome Diverfions and Pleafures, in order to enable them to fup-
port the Expence which attended this good Courſe; and not,
as the Gentleman affur'd me, from any melancholy Habit, or
Gloomineis of Difpofition, which this Method had brought
them into: For, as he declar'd, Religion is a chearful Thing,
and the Satisfactions they reaped from the Senſe of having per-
form'd what they took to be their Duty, however imperfectly,
were greater, and of a higher Nature, than any they ever had
before experienced. And this, Sir, no one can better account for
than yourſelf, whofe Life has been fo eminently ſpent in a re-
gular Courſe of doing good to all within the Compaſs of your
Knowledge.
There are Three Points to which theſe Gentlemen think
themſelves obliged to adhere, and their Practice of which has
brought upon them the Reproaches of all fuch who have been
wrought upon, by more relaxed Principles, or by Miſrepreſen-
tations of the Views and Actions of this little Society; for a
large one, I doubt, confidering the Oppofition they meet with,
and the Depravity of the Age, there is little Room to expect or
hope it will ever be.
The firft is, That of viſiting and relieving the Priſoners and
the Sick, and giving away Bibles, Common-Prayer Books, and
the Whole Duty of Man, where they find they will be well
receiv'd, and explaining the Neceffity and Ufefulneſs of thoſe
holy Ecoks at all Opportunities, to thofe to whom they give
them; and to the Children of poor Families they give and ex-
plain the Catechiẩm, &c. and now and then for their Encou-
ragement drop a Shilling, or fo, where they think it needful
and acceptable.
And, zdly, In order to confirm and ftrengthen theſe good
Difpofitions in themfelves, they find great Comfort and Uie, in
taking the Opportunities which the Place gives them, as I inti-
mated before, of a weekly Communion.
And,
す
​[9]
And, 3d, They obferve ftrictly the Fafts of the Church:
And this has given Occafion to fuch as do not approve of them,
abufively to call them Supererogation-Men.
Obferving the Gentleman I talked with, and got thefe Lights
from, to be a very modeſt and ingenuous Man, I threw in his
Way two or three Objections to the Method they were in, in
reſpect to the Singularity of the Thing, and wiſh'd their Zeal
were not too warm and active, &c. But I found he was very
well prepar'd to give folid Anſwers to what I faid, and ſuch as
fhew'd that their Notions and Principles were better confider'd
and digetted, than their Ill-willers generally imagine them to
be.
He faid, They did not conceive that they did any thing that
was not requir'd of them by the Duties of the Chriftian Reli-
gion: That the general Dilufe of a Duty could not by any
Means excuſe the Neglect of it. That 'twas true, they met
with too many Difcouragements, and more than they could
have apprehended from the Difintereſtedneſs of their Deſigns;
and he enumerated fome of them, from feveral Men of Wit in
Chr. C**. and M***n; and that even fome Gentlemen, noted
for Learning, and in eminent Stations of Life, had defcended
to forcible Arguments and Menaces, to fome of their Members,
and had even influenced one or two of them, which had been
great Matter of Triumph to their gay Opponents: And even
that a Meeting of the Officers and Seniors of a certain College
had been held to put a Stop to the Progreſs of Enthuſiaſm in it,
as they called it; and that it was given out thereupon, that the
Godly Club was to be blown up: That all theſe Diſcouragements.
however, had not at all difheartned the reft; and they were no
otherwiſe concern'd, than as thefe Rubs and Contumelies leffen'd
the Influences of their good Defign, thinking it, as he ſaid, a'
fmall Matter to be judged by Man's Judgment: That as they
conceived the Obfervation of thefe Points was their Duty, and
requir'd at their Hands, they thought they ought by no Means
to difpenfe with them; but that to fuch as were not of the fame
Opinion, and could not be prevail'd upon to think as they did,
they preferved all Manner of Charity: That they appealed to
the Law and to the Teftimony, by which he conceived they
ought to be judged; and that if by them they could be proved
in an Error, they would willingly retract it; but if not, that
they had not fo learn'd Chrift, as to renounce any Part of his
Service, tho' Men fhould fay all Manner of Evil againit them,
and that with more Indultry, and as little Truth, as they have
hitherto done: That if the Neglect of known Duties were to
B 2
be
[ 10 ]
be the Condition of fecuring their Reputation, fare-it-well;
they thought there was no Choice in fo unequal a Competition.
But, however, he own'd, that they were not altogether fo in-
ſenſible as to be wholly unaffected with the Reproaches of the
World, eſpecially as many Reports had been given out of their
Cuftoms, &c. which had no Foundation in Truth; but that they
were not concern'd fo much for their own Sakes, as for the Obſtruc-
tion it gave to their good Defign. And becauſe the Relation in
which the Old Gentleman I mention'd, ftood to fome of them,
fhould not be thought to have made him partial to their Pro-
ceedings, and that they might not ſeem to rely too much upon
their own Judgments, that they had laid open their Motives.
and Deſigns, and related the Difcouragements they met with,
and crav'd the Advice and Direction of a Clergyman as eminent
for Wiſdom and Integrity as moſt private Men in the Three
Kingdoms. As the Anfwer of this worthy Gentleman, who is
no other than the very Reverend may be particularly affect-
ing to you in the Difpofition of your Son, which was fo great a
Motive to you to put me upon this Enquiry, I obtained a Co-
py of it, which is as follows, viz.
Good Sir,
"A pretty while after the Date, yours came to my Hands.
"I wav'd my Anſwer till I had an Opportunity of confulting
who, upon all Accounts, is a more proper Judge of
"the Affair than I am : But I could never yet find a fit Occa-
"fion for it.
66
"As to my own Senfe of this Matter, I confess I cannot
"but heartily approve that ferious and religious Turn of Mind,
"which prompts you and your Affociates to thoſe Pious and
"Charitable Offices; and can have no Notion of that Man's
"Senfe of Religion, or Concern for the Honour of the Univer-
fity, that oppoſes you, fo far as your Deſign reſpects the
• Colleges. I fhould be loth to fend a Son of mine into any
Seminary, where his converfing with virtuous young Men,
"whofe profeffed Defign of meeting together, at proper Times,
66
*
was to affift each other in forming good Refolutions, and en-
"couraging one another to execute them with Conftancy and
"Steadineſs, was inconfiftent with any received Maxims, or
"Rules of Life among the Members.
"As to the other Branches of your Defign; as the Town is
"divided into Pariſhes, each of which has its proper Incum→
"bent; and as there is probably an Ecclefiaftic who has
"the Charge of the Prifoners, Prudence may direct you to
* confult them: For tho' I dare not fay you would be too offi-
"cious,
[ 11 ]
{
cious, fhould you of your own mere Motion feek out the Per-
fons that want your Inftructions, or charitable Contributions;
66 yet fhould you have the Concurrence of their proper Paſtor,
thofe good Offices would be leſs liable to Cenfure."
I was agreeably furpriz'd at the Circumfpection wherewith
theſe young Gentlemen had proceeded, in this Affair, and was
the more pleaſed with their Defign, as I found it a deliberate
Thing, and not the rafh Effect of intemperate Zeal, youthful
Fire, or Self-conceit, which might have puſhed fome Perfons on
to purſue theſe Methods upon falfe or inconfiderate Motives.
And the young Gentleman acquainted me, That what had made
them think it more neceffary to fubmit to the Advice of fuch as
they had Reaſon to think much wifer than themſelves, was, the
Ånger that a worthy Gentleman conceiv'd at his Son, who was
the chief Promoter of their Defign, having writ to him in the
following Terms-" You can't conceive what a Noiſe that Ri-
diculous Society, that you have engaged in, has made here.
"Beſides the Particulars of the great Follies of it at Oxford,
"which, to my great Concern, I have often heard repeated,
"it gave me fenfible Trouble to hear that you were noted for
going into the Villages about Holt, entering into poor Peoples
Houies, calling their Children together, teaching them their
"Prayers and Catechifm, and giving them a Shilling at your
"Departure,"
CC
66
Our Society, faid the young Gentleman, might eafily have
born the Reproach of being accounted Ridiculous for a Practice
fo laudable and inoffenfive as this, had it not been the Senti-
ment of a worthy Gentleman, the Father of a Perfon greatly
refpected by us, both for his own, and his Son's Sake: But it
behov'd us, continued he, to proceed in the moft wary and pru-
dent Manner, when, join'd to an Authority fo venerable as his
qwn, he added as follows in his Letter: "I could not, fays he,
"but adviſe, with a wife, learned and pious Clergyman. He told
me, that he had known the worſt of Confequences arife from
"fuch blind Zeal, and plainly fatisfy'd me, that it was a tho-
rough Miſtake of true Piety and Religion.He concluded
"with faying, that you was young, as yet; and that your
Judgment was not come to its Maturity: But that, as your
Judgment improv'd, and on the good Advice of a true Friend,
you would fee the Error of the Way you was in, and think
(as he does) that you may walk uprightly, and fafely, with-
out endeavouring to out-do all the good Bifhops, Clergy,
and other pious good Men of the preſent and paſt Ages."
6،
* :
6
B 3
You
?
[ 12 ]
You fee, Sir, faid he, when he read me this, we have no
great Merit to attribute to ourſelves on the Score of our Circum-
ſpection, which was in a Manner forced upon us by the united
Cenfures of two fo confiderable Perfons, and that foon after our
fetting out. He told me, with great Concern, and mingled
Refignation, that it had pleafed God to deprive them of the
Gentleman to whom this Letter was directed, and who was the
Original of their Defign; and ſpoke with great Honour of him,
and Humility of themselves; withing, that they were as deferv-
ing as he, of fome of thofe Titles that were, tho' in Raillery,
beltow'd
upon them ;
and they ſhould be well content, he faid,
that their Life too fhould be counted Madneſs, and their End
thought to be without Honour: But the Truth is, continued he,
our Title to Holinefs ftands upon much leſs ſtable Foundations,
as you will perceive when you reflect upon the Ground of this
wonderful Outcry, which I have made you acquainted with, and
which we are far from thinking comes up to our Duty, much
lefs intitles us to reckon upon as Works of Supererogation, as
our Opponents lay at our Door.
I told him, that the World might perhaps have conceived
the greater Prejudice againſt them, for Want of knowing what
he had fo kindly acquainted me with; and that I thought they
fhould, in order to remove Objections, and the Occafion of III-
will, condeſcend to ſet forth their Deſigns and Motives to fome
of their moft Learned and Candid Opponents, who being once
fet right, might influence others to think as favourable of them
and their Conduct, as I did.
He faid, They had not been wanting in this; for that, when
they found the Clamour increaſe againſt them, that they might
fhew what little Ground there was for it, they thought it pro-
per to propofe to their Friends, and Opponents, equally, as
they had Opportunity, thefe, or the like Queftions; which I
got him to give me in Writing, as they explain their Conduct,
and the Reaſons of it more particularly than has been hitherto
mentioned.
I. Whether it does not concern all Men, of all Conditions, to
imitate Him, as much as they can, who went about doing Good?
Whether all Chriftians are not concern'd in that Command,
While we have Time, let us do Good unto all Men?
Whether we shall not be the more happy hereafter, the more
Good ave do now?
Whether ave can be happy at all hereafter, unless we have,
according to our Power, Fed the Hungry, Cloathed the Naked,
Vifted thofe that are Sick and in Priſon, and made all thoſe Ac-
tions
[ 13 ]
tions fubfervient to a higher Purpose, even the faving of Souls
from Death?
Whether it be not our bounden Duty, always to remember, that
He did more for us, than we can do for Him, who affures us,
Inafmuch as ye have done it to one of the leaſt of theſe my
Brethren, ye have done it unto me?
II. Whether, upon theſe Confiderations, we may not try to do
Good to our Acquaintance? In particular,
Whether we may not try to convince them of the Neceffity of
being Chriftians?
Whether of the Confequent Neceffity of being Scholars?
Whether of the Neceffity of Method and Industry, in order to
either Learning or Virtue?
Whether we may not try to perfuade them to Confirm, and In-
creaſe their Indufiny, by Communicating, as often as they can?
Whether we may not mention to them the Authors, whom we
conccive to have writ beft on theſe Subjects?
Whether we may not affift them, as we are able, from Time
to Time, to form Refolutions upon what they read in theſe Authors,
and to execute them with Steadiness and Perfeverance.
III. Whether, upon the Confiderations above-mention'd, we
may not try to do Good to them that are hungry, naked, or fick?
In particular,
Whether, if we know any neceffitous Family, we may not give
them a little Food, Cloaths, or Phyfic, as they most want?
Whether we may not give them, if they can read, a Bible,
Common Prayer-Book, and Whole Duty of Man ?
Whether we may not, now and then, enquire how they have
afed them; explain what they don't underſtand; and enforce what
they do?
Whether we may not enforce upon them mo e especially, the Ne-
ceffity of Private Prayer, and of the Neceffity of frequenting the
Church, and the Sacrament?
Whether we may not contribute, what little we are able, to-
ward having their Children cloath'd, and taught to read?
Whether we may not take Care, that they be taught their
Catechifm, and fhort Prayers for Morning and Evening?
Laftly, Whether, upon the Confiderations above-mention'd,
qwe may not try to do Good to thoſe that are in Prison? In parti-
cular,
Whether we may not release fuch well-difpos'd Perfons as re-
main in Prifon for Small Sums?
B 4
Whether
>
[ 14 ]
Whether we may not lend fmall Sums to those that are of any.
Trade, that they may procure then.jelvis Tools and Materials to
work with?
Whether we may not give those, who appear to want it moſt,
a little Money, or Cloaths, or Phyfic?
Whether we may not supply, as many as are ferious enough to
read them, with a Bible, and The Whole Duty of Man?
Whether we may not, as we have Opportunity, explain and
enforce them, especially with Regard to Publick and Private
Prayer, and the Sacrament?
He faid, They never met with any Perſon who answered any
of thefe Queſtions in the Negative: But that they found ſeveral
who, on this Explanation, and Expoftulations thereupon, in-
creaſed their little Stock of Money for the Priſoners, by fubfcri-
bing fomewhat Quarterly towards it. Nor did they find any
one who entertain'd the leaft Doubt of its being lawful to appro-
priate to this Ufe that Time and Money, which might other-
wife have been expended on the more fashionable Diverfions of
the Place: So that, concluded he, the more Perfons we propol-
ed our Deſign to, the more we were confirm'd in the Belief of its
Innocence; and the more determin'd we were, of Confequence,
to purfue it, notwithſtanding the Ridicule and Derition where-
with we were more and more loaded.
Being thus abundantly fatisfy'd in whatever I defired to know
relating to theſe Gentlemen, after having made fincere Acknow-
ledgments for his Frank-neſs and Candour, I left the Gentleman,
and the City, not without affuring him of my hearty Prayers
for the Succeſs of their pious Defigns, and for their Perfever-
ance therein, and prudent Conduct amidit fo many Opponents
and Gainfayers: Not forgetting to drop a fmall Largeís towards
promoting their pious and charitable Deſign.
Give me Leave, Sir, now to make a few Obfervations on
the Premiſes, and on the Letter in Fog's Journal, which gave
Occafion to this Enquiry; which has ended fo much to my (as,
I doubt not, it will to your) Satisfaction.
As to the firft, tho' it cannot be expected that thefe young
Gentlemen ſhould gain any Number to join them, in ſuch an
Age as this; yet, if they do nothing but what is strictly their
Duty, who ſhall venture to condemn them? By the plain Ac-
count I have given of their Proceedings, the Truth of which I
cannot find difputed by their warment Opponents at Oxford,
we perceive them to be well juftified by the Rules of the
Gofpel: And if this be the Cafe, it is no great Credit to the
Perfons, or Compliment to the Age, that fo great a Number
treat
[ 15 ]
{
treat them on the Foot of Enthuſiaſts and Zealots. It looks as
if the ſtrict Rules of primitive Chriſtianity were removed a
great Way out of Sight, that we are not able to behold the leaſt
Attempt towards reviving them, without Wonder and Offence.
The Letter charges them with obferving Wednesdays and Fridays
every Week, as Fafts: But if they obferve the Wednesday as
Matter of Prudence, and the Friday as Matter of Duty injoin'd
by our own Church, Where is the Offence, where the Crime,
where the Caufe for all this Clamour? Have they not a Title
to act with the fame Freedom, in their own Cafe, as any one
has to differ from them, and to be of a contrary Opinion? But
what is ſtill more in their Favour, we find by what I have rela-
ted, that they are not govern'd by Caprice and Whimfy; by
their own Opinions and Fancies only : They have ſubmitted their
Conduct, and taken the Advice of Men of noted Piety, good
Senfe, riper Years, and Experience, and have had their Appro-
bation and Prayers too in every material Step they have taken;
which is perhaps a Point, that if their Adverfaries had known,
they would have been a little more fparing of their Reproaches
and Raillery, at leaſt of that Part which lays to their Charge
Opinionatry and Singularity. The Knowledge of this might
have made them filent, and reflect.
As for the Letter which gave Birth to the Enquiry that has
occafion'd theſe Lines, I will bestow a few Remarks upon it;
tho' I am perfuaded, that, for the Writer's Sake, it were much
better it were entirely forgotten; for I am forry to fay, that it
diſcovers a Want of good Senfe, good Manners, and Chriſtian
Charity, and fhews as much Zeal in a bad Caufe, as thoſe Gen-
tlemen expreſs in a good one.
He compares them to the Pietifts in Saxony and Switzerland,
and to the Effenes among the Jerus: By this he diſcovers his
Ignorance; and let him (for I have not Room, nor do you
want, Sir, to be inform'd in this Cafe) recollect the Rules of
thofe Sectaries, and compare them not with what he ſays is
thought, but what he may inform himſelf really is, and what I
have related to be theſe Gentlemen's Method, and he will find
the vaſt Diſparity between them: He will find, that the Me-
thodists, as he calls them, fet up no new Doctrines, but only
endeavour to follow fuch as they find already laid down in the
holy Goſpel; no Rules but what are conformable to that; and
pretend only to govern themſelves by fuch Methods as they find
preſcribed to them in common with all Chriſtians, and not which
they themſelves preſcribe and impofe on one another, as feveral
new Sects have done with great Singularity and Affectation. In
deed, thus far perhaps they may be compared to the Effenes among
the
[ 16 ]
the Jews; i. e. in the Simplicity of their Diet, and Regularity
of their Life; by which, as Jofephus witneffes, (cap. viii. De
Bell. Fud.) it was ufual for many of that Sect to attain to an
hundred Years of Age. And if it fhall pleaſe God to give
theſe Gentlemen the Grace to perfevere, and the Bleffing of fo
long a Life, they may be a Means of reforming a vicious.
World; and may rejoice in the Good they have done, perhaps
Half a Century after moft of their Social Opponents, the gay
Scoffers of the prefent Generation, are laid low, and forgotten,
as if they had never been. But you will agree with me, Sir,
that the Letter-writer intended 'em not this faireft Side of the
Comparison; but was willing to fhew his Reading, tho' at the
Expence of his Judgment and his Charity.
6C
They avoid, fays he, as much as is poffible, every Object
that may affect them with any pleafant and grateful Senfati-
on."] I am forry this ungenerous Writer is unable to judge
of the pleafing and grateful Senfations (if one may uſe fo low a
Word for fo high a Purpoſe) that ariſe from the Conſcience of
having relieved the Miferable: What can inſpire a nobler and
more exalted Pleaſure, than to fee, by what is fpared from our
Luxury and Superfluities, the Hungry fed, the Sick relieved, the
Nacked cloathed, the oppreſſed Mind chear'd and made glad, the
Prifoner enlarged, and the Mouths of even the Profligate taught
to overflow with Praifes, and to fing Thanksgivings to that gra-
cious Providence which has put it into the Hearts of theſe gene-
rous Youths to comfort and relieve them, both with regard to
Temporals and Spirituals? Who can hear the lifping Children
of the Poor taught to acknowledge the God that made them,
and to inſtruct, by the Repetition, even their abject and un-
taught Parents in the principal Duties of the Chriftian Religion,
without being affected with Joy and Tranſport, far exceeding
that which reſults from the ſhort-liv'd Pleaſures which this
groveling Writer appears to eſteem fo grateful and pleaſing?
I will venture to affirm, and I am forry the Letter-writer is un-
able to judge of it, that there is more true and folid Satisfaction
arifing to a generous Mind, from the doing a kind and bene-
ficent Action to his Fellow-creatures, that want his Affiftance,
and languiſh in the Abfence of the common Comforts of Life,
than from all that can be found from the moſt affecting Pleafures
of Senfe. He knows nothing of the Seraphick Pleaſure of ha-
ving cheared the drooping Spirit, and comforted the defponding
Heart; a Pleaſure, which makes the Eye of the generous Man
to gliften with Joy, and his enlarged Heart to bound in his Bo-
fom, and overflow in Praiſes to the Divine Power which has
enabled him to do the Good he rejoices in.- How falfely,
how
[ 17 ]
how perverfely are fuch Perfons as theſe call'd Sons of Sorrow,
and Men who duom themselves to an abfurd and perpetual Me-
lancholy! Or rather, how much are thefe Scoffers to be pitied,
who cannot rife to a Capacity of comprehending the ectatick
Pleaſures which hourly fill the Minds of thoſe they ſo rafhly
condemn! and which are infeparable from the Conícioufnefs of
having done fome Part of the Duty required of them by the
Author of their Being, in Acts of Beneficence to their Fellow-
Creatures.
66
He proceeds,
"All focial Entertainments and Diverfions.
are diſapprov'd of." How can that be, when they them-
felves are a Society; and the Diverfions and Entertainments
which they chufe, are of the noble Nature, and muſt be
heighten'd by Communication? But may we venture to judge
what the Letter-writer means by Social Entertainments and Di-
verfions? Are they not thofe of the Social Bottle, and
what flows from the Company and Converfation of Perſons of
fuch a ludicrous Turn of Mind as his own? But let him re-
member, that every one is not entertained or diverted alike.
One Man may think very meanly of that, which is the higheſt
Gratification to another, as this Writer finds in the preſent
Cafe. I will anſwer for it, that theſe Gentlemen think they
enjoy all Social Entertainments and Diverfions in as high a De-
gree at the leaſt, as the Letter-writer, tho' perhaps they would
not care to take 'em at his Choice, and 'tis likely could not in
his Company.- They think it, doubtleſs, a great Pleaſure,
to fave Money from fuch Social Entertainments and Diverfions
as he ſpeaks of, to beſtow on the much more noble Purpoſes,
which the Letter-writer diſapproves, ridicules, and does his ut-
moſt Endeavour to disparage, and render ineffectual; and this,
without Provocation, for his Entertainment and Diverfion only.
A noble Diverfion truly! to ſport with the Reputation of
others, and to ridicule the good Intentions of Perfons it would
much better become him to endeavour to imitate.
66
""
And in endeavouring to avoid Luxury, purfues he, they
"not only exclude what is convenient; that is, what the
Letter-writer thinks convenient; but what theſe Gentlemen per-
haps think fuperfluous: And who is the propereſt Judge in this
Cafe; he for them, or they for themſelves? But if they are
not fuperfluous in the Efteem of either, fuppofe they think they
fpare what they can, and therefore ought to do without, for the
fake of fupplying with Neceffaries thofe who are in actual
Want? ought they for this, to be made the Subject of licen-
tious Railery ?= They not only exclude what is conveni-
ent, but what is abfolutely necessary for the Support of Life."
Abfurd
'
[ 18 ]
J
<<
Abfurd Railer! how then do they live, if they deny themfelves
what is abfolutely necessary for the Support of Life ?———But
'twill be faid, this Expreffion is to be taken with Allowance;
But fhall he be intitled to Allowance, who makes none, where
all manner of Allowances are due? And where the beſt Inten-
tion muft, at leaft, be granted, and his acknowledged the worst,
that of ridiculing Acts of Piety and Charity ?-He goes on;
Fancying (as is thought) that Religion was defign'd
to contradict Nature." A ftrange Fancy truly! That Na-
ture which is averfe from all Evil, and inclin'd to all Good,
ought to be contradicted! That the Chriftian Religion ſhould
raiſe us above it; and make our Nature fuch, as it came out of
the Hands of its Creator. He adds, "They neglect and vo-
luntarily afflict their Bodies, and practiſe ſeveral rigorous and
fuperfluous Cuftoms, which God never required of them.
All Wedneſdays and Fridays are ftrictly to be kept as Fafts,
"and Blood let once a Fortnight to keep down the Carnal
"Man" (Jays this abandon'd Droll). But let us proceed
with his barbarous and ill-tim'd Levity; and let the Repetition
of it make the Scoffer blufh, if he be capable of it:
"And
CC
66
<<
at Dinner, they figh for the Time they are obliged to ſpend
"in Eating: Every Morning to rife at Four o'Clock, is fup-
pos'd a Duty; and to employ two Hours a Day in finging
"of Pfalms and Hymns, (dreadful Charges thefe, were they
"true!) is judg'd as an indifpenfable Duty requifite to the
Being of a Chriftian. In fhort, they practife every Thing
contrary to the Judgment of other Perions, and allow none
to have any, but thofe of their own Sect, which (fays this
"Round Afferter) is farthest from it.' Half this Cenfure,
tho' from a profeſs'd Enemy, is real Praiſe; and the Reft is fo
contrary to Truth, fuch fhameful and low Scurrility, and is fa
fufficiently contradicted by what I have related, that the farther
Notice of it is entirely unneceffary.
r¢
The Pattern which he fays they propoſe to take from Origen,
and the whole Paragraph thereupon, is too fooliſh and abſurd to
merit Obfervation; but only as it ferves to fhew what Manner
of Spirit this Writer is of, and that he has not, if one may
judge by that and another virulent Hint he gives, a Capacity
fufficient to qualify him fo much as for a tolerable Buffoon. This
abominable Hint is a Mark of the moſt deteftable Spirit of Ca-
lumny and Detraction that was ever feen; and I would refer it
to the Confcience of the Writer, fince he can thus ftab in the
Dark, and dares not fix his Name to the horrid Scandal, how
he would be content to bear this Sort of Uſage himſelf. By
fuch
་
[19]
fuch a Spirit as this Man's were the firſt Oppoſers of Chriſtianity
acted. Their Enemies reported, that the Primitive Chriftians
were guilty of Inceſts, and the moſt abominable Pollutions, in
ther Affemblies: That they kill'd and ate young Infants, &c.
And let both Parts of the Parallel have due Force; this Detrac-
tor's, to that of the malignant Heathen; theirs, to the innocent
and ftigmatized firft Chriftians; to which both bear fo near à
Refemblance.
C
CC
row."
But hear another Inftance of the Abfurdity and Folly of the
Letter-writter : "Some, fays he, are apt to aſcribe their
gloomy and diſconfolate Way of Life, to want of Money;
"thus being deny'd the Enjoyment of thofe Pleaſures they
chiefly defire, they are weigh'd down by an habitual Sor-
Was ever any Thing more abfurd?—Their gloomy
Way of Life is owing to want of Money, and therefore they
throw it away, (as this Author would be thought to reckon it,
in good Books, Bibles, Catechifms, Whole Duty of Man, &c.)
and give it to the Poor, to the Prifoners, to the Sick, &c.
The Matter of Fact is, First, They do not think their Way of
Life either difconfolate or gloomy; but as Religion itſelf, as is
before obſerv'd, is the moſt chearful Thing in the World, both
as to Caufe and Effects, ſo they enjoy fo happy a Serenity of
Mind, that even the undeſerved Calumnies of fuch an Adver-
fary, and the unprovoked Ill-treatment of their more fignificant
Oppofers, cannot diſturb it; tho', as far as I can find, they
would be glad to be otherwiſe thought of. Secondly, They have
a conſtant Enjoyment of thoſe Pleaſures they chiefty defire, and
are under no other Concern, than that they have not a Capa-
city as large as their Inclinations, to do ftill more Good to thofe
that want it. And Thirdly, They are fo far from being weigh'd
dorun with an habitual Sorrow, that he himself accufes them,
in another Place, of beftowing two Hours every Day in finging
of Pfalms and Hymns to the Almighty; which, no doubt, if
they do, is from a chearful Senſe of the Blettings He heaps upon
them, and for influencing them by his divine Grace, to do
all the Good which is in their Power. And this, according
to this Writer is to be weigh'd down by an habitual Sorrow.
He thinks; yes, even this Detractor thinks, it would be too
prefumptuous to tax their Character with Hypocrify: Tho' he
abfurdly makes this Conceffion introduce the vile Infinuation I
have hinted at, and which is really too fhocking to be repeated.
As to the Character into which he refolves the Matter at laft,
to wit, of Enthufiaftic Madness, of Superftitious Scrupuloufnej,
of Folly, &c. that has been taken Notice of already in the
Courſe of the Narration, and I fhall fay nothing to it here.
They
[ 20 ]
}
They mult be content to tarry for a better Character from fuch
Perfons as this Writer, 'till Time, and their own continu'd
good Conduct, and Perfeverance in the fame laudable Duties,
have worn off the Imputation, and given the World a better
and jufter Opinion of them.
But to throw away one Moment more upon this judicious
Writer: We find his Charge in the main, of the fame Nature
with that of the angry Gentleman above mention'd to his Son,
who makes their Virtues their Faults; viz. "That the young
*Gentlemen frequently went into poor Peoples Houfes, cal-
"led their Children together, inſtructed them in their
"Duty to God, taught them their Prayers and Catechiſm,
and gave them Money, &c. This indeed; to our modern
Chriftians, who place all Religion, as well as Prayer, in a
dead Indifference, or, at beſt, in mere Harmleſſneſs, cannot
but feem extremely odd and ſtrange. But to thoſe, who but
look into the Bible, or have ever dipt into Cave's Primitive
Christianity, it will, at firft Sight, appear plain to a Demon-
ſtration, that the Method practiſed by thoſe young Gentlemen,
is but a Revival of that good old Way which was practiſed by
the beſt People of the firft Ages; or rather, that it is the very
fame Path, which their great Mafter has pointed out, to bring
them thither; narrow indeed, and ſtreight, but moſt affuredly
tending to Life.
I need make no Reflection on the particular Unſeaſonableneſs
of making fuch an Outcry againſt [a fuppofed Excels in] Re-
ligion at this Time, when the World is running into the very
oppofite Extreme, of crying down the very Shew and Appear-
ance of it. Can they be Friends to the Thing itſelf, who raiſe
greater Clamours at Zeal for Religion (whatever Indiſcretition
there may be fuppofed) than at all the horrid and barefaced In-
fults of Blafphemy and Profaneness?
If we fuppofe Indiſcretion in fome Part of theſe young Mens
Conduct; how can it well be otherwiſe, in the firſt ſetting out?
Perfection is a Work of Time and Experience. But where
might we expect proper Help and Direction for young Begin-
ners, if not at Oxford? Surely the Letter-writer could not
have contrived a more effectual Way of Expofing that Learned
Body, than by referring the Cafe of theſe young Methodifts to
Mr. Fog's Correction, and to leave the World to ſuſpect there
is not Skill or Judgment enough in any of thofe grave Doctors,
and profeffed Guides of Youth, to rectify any miſtaken Me-
thods (if any) in their Practice, or Devotions.
It is neceffary indeed, that Zeal ſhould ever be attended with
Knowledge: So Religion fpeaks of herſelf; ---- I Wiſdom
dwell
[ 21 ]
dwell with Prudence, Prov. viii. 12. This Sentiment alfo
carries in it a double Advice: Not only to Novices and Begin-
ners in a Religious Courſe, that they ought to put themſelves
under the Conduct and Direction of fome knowing Guide, but
likewiſe to thoſe who pretend to be Guides, that they ſhould
apply their better Skill, not to extinguifh the Zeal itſelf, but
only correct its Miſtake ;——to make ftrait Paths for their Feet,
left that which is lame and imperfect be turned out of the Way;
but let it rather be healed.
What I have related, will fhew, that theſe young Gentlemen
have proceeded with great Prudence and Caution, in obſerving
the above Advice, as far as it concerns themſelves. I wiſh I
could ſay the fame of their Opponents, or of thoſe rather, whoſe
more immediate Part it is to pilot them aright; and that they
would not countenance the Infults caft upon fo hopeful a Deſign,
and thereby break the bruiſed Reed, and quench the fmoaking Flax.
'Tis not to be queftion'd, but most of the Clamours rais'd
againſt theſe Gentlemen, are owing to Mifapprehenfion and
Mifrepreſentation. The Duties they, practife and the Good
they do, and are inclin'd to do, muft proceed from Motives
that cannot deſerve theſe Clamours, or to be diſcountenanc'd or
ridicul❜d. Bad as the Age is, there are not wanting, bleſſed be
God, even among the Many, enow to admire and applaud, if
not fo ftrictly as they ought, to practife, what is laudable in
itſelf, when it appears to be fo to them. Were the Rules, by
which theſe young Gentlemen are acted, known as well to the
World, as they are to me, in Virtue of the Inquiry I have made,
other Thoughts would be conceived of them by all ferious Men,
and by fuch as have not a ſtrong Tain of Scepticiſm and Infi-
delity, and are not bad, if one may fay fo, upon Principle.
Let fuch make an Abſtract of the Narration I have given,
which I folemnly declare, upon the ftrictest Examination, I
believe to be the Truth, and let them hate or oppofe them
if they can. They will find the Matter thus come out, (te
fum up briefly what has been already faid) That thoſe Gen-
tlemen think themſelves oblig'd in all Particulars, to live
up to the Law of the Goſpel: That the Rule they have fet
themſelves, is not that of their own Inventions, but the holy
Scriptures, and the Orders and Injuctions of the Church; and
that, not as they perverfely conftrue and mifinterpret them, but
as they find them in the holy Canon: That, puríuant to thefe,
they have refolv'd to obferve with Strictnefs, all the Duties
of the Chriftian Religion according to their Baptifmal Engage-
ments, and particularly the Fafis, the Prayers, and Sacraments
of the Church; to receive the bleffed Communion as often as
there
[ 22 ]
there is Opportunity; and to do all the Good they can, in vifit
ing the Sick, the Roor, the Prisoners, &c. knowing theſe to be
the great Articles on which they are to be try'd at the Laft Day;
and in all Things to keep themselves unfpotted from the World. It
would be found, that, if they rife earlier than ordinary, if they
are fparing in Eating or Drinking, or any expenfive Diverfions,
'tis to fave Time and Money for improving thofe glorious Ends ;
and not (as is unfairly infinuated) that they make fuch Things to
be Effentials in Religion, much leſs out of a Gloomy and Pha-
rifaical Spirit, to fhun the Company, or upbraid the Practice
of others. Theſe are the Rules, this the Method they have
choſen to live by.
Let all the ſerious Part of Mankind, who alone are appeal'd
to in this Cafe, be Judges between them and this Letter-writer,
who has fo ludicrously, and, in fome Cafes fo wilfully mifrepre-
fented them. To live by Rule, eſpecially a good Rule, was ever
eſteem'd a fure Sign of Wisdom: To live by none, much more
to be against all Rule and Method, muf. be a flagrant Mark of
Folly. And I will venture to add, That if theſe young Gen-
tlemen perſevere to the End in this good Method, they fhall re-
ceive a Crown of Glory.
I hope, Sir, you will excufe my Prolixity. You fay, you
love to receive long Letters from me; and I think I have now
try'd your Patience fufficiently, and that Indulgence with which
you have always favour'd
Your most humble Servant, &c.
FINI S.
IS.
*
"
६
:
1
an
879 MAY 12
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN
{
3 9015 06439 1793
A 554679
*
AN
3.