YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

THE

WORKS

DR. JOHN TILLOTSON,

LATE ¦~rh
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY.

WITH THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR,
BY
THOs. BIRCH, M.A.

A COPIOUS INDEX, AND THE TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE
CAREFULLY COMPARED.

IN TEN VOLUMES. — VOL. IX.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY J. F. DOVE, ST. JOHN'S SQUARE;
FOR RICHARD PRIESTLEY, HIGH HOLBORN.
1820.

CONTENTS TO VOL. IX.

SERMONS. Page
CCVII. CCVIII.— Of the Necessity of Good Works -1.16
CCIX.— Of doing all to the Glory of God  28
CCX. — Doing good, a Security against Injuries from
Men  -46
CCXI. — Of Diligence in our general and particular
Calling  - .... go
CCXI1.— Of the Blessedness of Giving more than that
of Receiving ------._. go
CCXI1I. — The Evil of corrupt Communication ... 96'-
CCXIV. CCXV. CCXVI. CCXVII.— The true Re
medy against the Troubles of Life 116. 130. 144. 158
CCXVIIL CCXIX. CCXX. CCXXI. CCXXII.
CCXX[I1.— Of the Nature of Faith in general,
&c. - - - 173.190.210.225.243.258
CCXXIV. CCXXV. CCXXVL CCXXVII.— Of the
Christian Faith, the. Means of its Conveys
ance, and our Obligation to receive it, &c.
280. 295. 312. 328
CCXXVIII. CCXXIX. CCXXX.— Of the Miracles
wrought in confirmation of Christianity 347-372.388
CCXXXI. CCXXXII.— The Advantages of Truth, in
Opposition to Error ------ 402.417

IV Page
CCXXXIII. CCXXXIV. CCXXXV. CCXXXVI.
CCXXXVII. CCXXXVIII. CCXXXIX.
CCXL.CCXLI.— The Evidences of the Truth
of the Christian Religion, with the Cause and the
Danger of Infidelity
430. 442. 458. 471. 485. 499.514. 528. 544
CCXLII. CCXLIII. CCXLIV.— The Excellency and
Universality of the Christian Revelation, with
the Sin and Danger of rejecting it 567. 585. 601

SERMONS

SERMON CCVII.
OF THE NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I ivill
that thou affirm constantly, that they which have
believed in God might be careful to maintain
good works. These things are good and profitable
unto men. — Tit. iii. 8.
r rom these words I have proposed to handle these
two points :
First, The certain truth or credibility of this saying
or proposition, That they which have believed in
God ought to be careful to maintain good works.
This I have spoken to, and come now to the
Second, The great fitness and necessity of incul
cating frequently upon all that profess themselves
Christians, the indispensable necessity of the prac
tice of the virtues of a good life. In the handling of
this point, I shall do these two things :
First, I shall shew the great fitness and necessity
of pressing upon people the indispensable necessity
of the virtues of a good life. And,
Secondly, Answer an objection or two, to which
the preaching of this kind of doctrine may seem lia
ble. I begin with the
VOL. IX. B

2
First of these, viz. To shew the great fitness and
necessity of inculcating and pressing upon all Christ
ians the indispensable necessity of the virtues of a
good life. And this will appear to be very fit and
necessary upon these two accounts:
I. Because men are so very apt to deceive them
selves in this matter, and 'so hardly brought to that
wherein religion mainly consists, viz. the practice of
real goodness.
II. Because of the indispensable necessity of the
thing to render us capable ofthe Divine favour and
acceptance, and of the reward of eternal life and
happiness. I. Because men are so very apt to deceive them
selves in this matter, and so hardly brought to that
wherein religion mainly consists, viz. the practice
of real goodness. They are extremely desirous to
reconcile (if it be possible) the hopes of eternal
happiness in another world, with a liberty to live as
they list in this present world : they are loath to be
at the trouble and drudgery of mortifying their
lusts, and subduing and governing their passions,
and bridling their tongues, and ordering their whole
conversation aright, and practising all those duties
which are, comprehended in those two great com
mandments, the love of God and our neighbour.
They would fain get into the favour of God, and
make their calling and election sure, by some
easier way, than by "giving all diligence, to add
to their faith, virtue, and knowledge, and temper
ance, and patience, and brotherly kindness, and
charity." The plain truth of the matter is, men had rather
religion should be any thing, than what indeed it is;
the thwarting and crossing of our vicipus inclina-

3
tions, the curing of our evil and corrupt affections ;
the due care and government of our unruly appe
tites and passions, the sincere endeavour and con
stant practice of all holiness and virtue in our lives ;
and, therefore, they had much rather have some
thing that might handsomely palliate and excuse
their evil inclinations, than to extirpate them and
cut them up : and rather than reform and amend
their vicious lives, make God an honourable amends
and compensation for them in some other way.
This hath been the way and folly of mankind in
all ages, to defeat the great end and design of reli
gion, and to thrust it by, by substituting something
else in the place of it, which they hope may serve
the turn as well, and which hath the appearance of
as much devotion and respect, and perhaps of more
cost and pains, than that which God requires of
them. Men have ever been apt thus to impose
upon themselves, and to please themselves with a
conceit of pleasing God full as well, or better, by
some other way, than that which he hath pitched
upon and appointed for them ; not considering that
God is a great king, and will be observed and obeyed
by his creatures in his own way; and that| obe
dience to what he commands is better and more ac
ceptable to him than any other sacrifice that we
can offer, which he hath not required at our hands;
that he is infinitely wise and good, and therefore
the laws and rules which he has given us to live
by, are more likely and certain means of our hap
piness, than any inventions and devices of our
6wn. Thus, I say, it hath been in all ages. The old
world, after that general deluge which God sent
to punish the raging wickedness and impiety of
b 2

men, by sweeping all mankind from off the face of
the earth, excepting only one family, which was
saved to be the seminary of a new and better race
of men ; I say, after this, the world in a short space
fell off from the worship of the true God to the wor
ship of idols and false gods ; being unwilling to
bring themselves to a conformity and likeness to
the true God, they chose false gods like themselves,
such as might not only excuse, but even counte
nance and abet, their lewd and vicious practices.
And when God had made a new revelation of
himself to the nation of the Jews, and given them
the chief heads and substance of the natural law
written over again with his own finger in tables of
stone, and many other laws concerning religious
worship, and their civil conversation, suited and
adapted to their present temper and condition; yet,
how soon did their religion degenerate into external
observances, purifications and washings, and a mul
titude of sacrifices, without any great regard to the
inward and substantial parts of religion, and the
practice of those moral duties and virtues, which
were in the first place required of them, and with
out which all the rest found no acceptance with
God. Hence are those frequent complaints in the
prophets, that their religion was degenerated into
form and ceremony, into oblations and sacrifices,
the observance of fasts, and sabbaths, and new-
moons; but had no power and efficacy upon their
hearts and lives ; was wholly destitute of in
ward purity and holiness, of all substantial virtues,
and the fruits of righteousness in a good life. Thus
God complains by the prophet Isaiah: (chap. i. 11,
&c.) " To what purpose is the multitude of your
sacrifices unto me, saith the Lord? Bring no more

vain oblations. Incense is an abomination unto
me, the new-moons and sabbaths, the calling of
assemblies, I cannot away with ; it is iniquity, even
the solemn meeting. Wash you, make you clean,
put away the evil of your doings from before mine
eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well ; seek
judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the father
less, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us
reason together, saith the Lord. Though your sins
be as scarlet," &c. Upon these terms God declares
himself ready to be reconciled to them, and to have
mercy on them. But all their external services
and sacrifices, separated from real goodness and
righteousness, were so far from appeasing God's
wrath, that they did but increase the provocation.
And to the same purpose, (chap. lxvi. 2, 3.) " To
this man will I look, even to him that is poor, and
of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. He
that killeth an ox, is as if he slew a man : he that
sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off" a dog's neck ; he
that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine's
blood ; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an
idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and
their soul delighted in their abomination." (Jer. vi.
19, 20.) " Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil
upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts,
because they have not hearkened unto my words,
nor to my law, but rejected it. To what purpose
cometh there to me incense from Sheba; and the
sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt-offerings
are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto
me." They thought to please God with costly in
cense and sacrifices, whilst they rejected his law.
And, (chap. vii. 4 — 6.) " Trust ye not in lying
words, saying, The temple ofthe Lord, the temple

6
of the Lord, the temple ofthe Lord, are these. For if
ye thoroughly amend your ways and your doings ; if
ye thoroughly execute judgment between a man and
his neighbour ; if ye oppress not the stranger, the fa
therless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood
in this place, neither walk after other gods to your
hurt : then will I cause you to dwell in this place."
And, (ver. 8 — 10.) " Behold, ye trust in lying words
that cannot profit. Will ye steal, murder, aud commit
adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto
Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not ;
and come and stand before me in this house, which
is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to
do all these abominations ?" This was to add im
pudence to all their other impieties, to think that
the worship of God, and his holy temple, did excuse
these gross crimes and immoralities. (Micah vi.
6 — 8.) There God represents the Jews as desirous
to please God at any rate, provided their lusts and
vices might be spared, and they might not be obliged
to amend and reform their lives : " Wherewith shall
I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the
high God ? shall I come before him with burnt-of
ferings, with calves of a year old ? will the Lord be
pleased with thousands of rams, and with ten thou
sand rivers of oil ? shall I give my first-born for my
transgressions, the fruit of my body for the sin of
my soul ?" All this they would willingly do : but all
this will not do without real virtue and goodness.
" He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good ; and
what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly,
and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy
God?" And in the time of our blessed Saviour, those
who pretended to be most devout among the Jews,

were wholly busied about their pretended traditions
of washing of hands, and the outsides of their cups
and dishes, and about the external and lesser things
of the law, the tithing of mint, and anise, and
cummin, and all manner of herbs, omitting in the
mean time " the weightier matters ofthe law, judg
ment, mercy, and faith, and the love of God," as our
Saviour describes their religion, (Matt, xxiii. 23.)
And after the clear revelation of the gospel, the
best and most perfect institution that ever was, in
the very beginning of Christianity, what licentious
doctrines did there creep in, turning the grace of
God into lasciviousness, and releasing men from all
moral duties, and the virtues of a good life ; " by
reason whereof the way of truth was evil spoken of,"
as St. Peter and St. Jude expressly tell us concern
ing the sect of the gnostics. And St. John, like
wise, describes the same sect by their arrogant pre
tence to extraordinary knowledge and illumination,
whilst they " walked in darkness," and allowed
themselves in all manner of wickedness of life ; they
pretended to perfection and righteousness, without
keeping the commandments of God.
And in the next following age of Christianity,
how was it pestered with a trifling controversy about
the time of the observation of Easter, and with
endless disputes and niceties about the doctrine of
the trinity, and the two natures and wills of Christ !
by which means the practice of Christianity was
greatly neglected, and the main end and design of
that excellent religion almost quite defeated and lost.
After this, when the mystery of iniquity began
to shew itself, in the degeneracy of the Roman
church from her primitive sanctity and purity, and
in the affectation of an undue and boundless

8
power over other churches, the Christian religion
began to be overrun with superstition, and the pri
mitive fervour of piety and devotion was turned
into a fierce zeal and contention about matters of no
moment and importance ; of which we have a most
remarkable instance here in our own nation, when
Austin the monk arrived here to convert the nation,
and preach the gospel amongst us, as the church of
Rome pretended ; but against all faith and truth of
history, which assures us, that Christianity was
planted here among the Britons several ages be
fore, and perhaps sooner than even at Rome itself;
and not only so, but had got considerable footing
among the Saxons before Austin the monk ever set
foot amongst us ; I say, when Austin the monk arrived
here, the two great points of his Christianity were
to bring the Britons to a conformity with the church
of Rome in the time of Easter, and in the tonsure
and shaving of the priests, after the manuer of St.
Peter, as they pretended, upon the crown of the
head, and not of St. Paul, which was by shaving or
cutting close the hair of the whole head, as from
some vain and foolish tradition he pretended, to have
learned : the promoting of these two customs was
his great errand and business, and the zeal of his
preaching was spent upon these two fundamental
points ; in which, after very barbarous and bloody
doings, he at last prevailed. And this is the con
version of England, so much boasted of by the
church of Rome, and for which this Austin is mag
nified for so great a saint ; when it is very evident,
from the history of those times, that he was a proud,
ignorant, turbulent, and cruel man, who, instead of
first converting the nation to the faith of Christ,
confounded the purity and simplicity of the Christ-

9
ian religion, which had been planted and established
among us long before.
In latter ages, when the man of sin was grown up
to his full stature, the great business of religion was
the pope's absolute and universal authority over
all Christians, even kings and princes, in order to
spiritual matters ; ecclesiastical liberties and immu
nities ; and the exemption ofthe clergy, and all mat-
ters belonging to them, from the cognizance of the
secular power ; the great points which Thomas a
Becket contended soearnestly for, calling it the cause
of Christ, and in the maintenance whereof he per
sisted to the death, and was canonized as a saint
and a martyr. And among the people, their piety -
consisted in the promoting of monkery, and found
ing and endowing monasteries : in infinite super
stitions, foolish doctrines, and more absurd miracles
to confirm them ; in purchasing indulgences with
money, and hearing of masses for the redemption of
souls out of purgatory ; in the idolatrous worship
of saints and their relics and images, and especially
ofthe blessed Virgin, which at last grew to that
height, as to make up the greatest part of their wor
ship and devotion both public and private. And in
deed they have brought matters to that absurd pass,
that one may truly say, that the whole business of
their devotion is to teach men to worship images,
and images to worship God. For to be present at
Divine service and prayers celebrated in an unknown
tongue, is not the worship of men and reasonable
creatures, but of statues and images, which, though
they be present in the place where this service is
performed, yet they bear no part in it, being void of
all sense and understanding of what is done. And
indeed in their whole religion, such as it is, they
vol. ix. c

10
drive so strict a bargain with God, and treat him
in so arrogant a manner by their insolent doctrine
of the merit of good works, as if God were as much
beholden to them for their service arid obedience,
as they are to him for the reward of it, which they
challenge as of right and justice belonging to them.
Nay, so high have they carried this doctrine, as to
pretend not only to merit eternal life for themselves,
but to do a great deal more in works of supereroga
tion, for the benefit and advantage of others ; that is,
when they have done as much as in strict duty they
are obliged to, and thereby paid down a valuable
consideration for heaVen, and as much as in equal
justice between God and man it is worth, the sur
plusage of their good works they put as a debt upon
God, as so many bills of credit laid up in the trea
sury ofthe church, which the pope, by his pardons
and indulgences, may dispense and place to whose
account he pleaseth. And thus by one device Or
other they have enervated the Christian religion to
that degree, that it hath quite lost its virtue and ef
ficacy upon the hearts and lives of men, and instead
of the fruits of real goodness and righteousness, it
produceth little else but superstition and folly; or
if it bring forth any fruits of charity, it is either so
misplaced upon chimeras (as hiring of priests to
say so many masses for the dead, tb redeem their
souls out of purgatory), tha| it signifies nothing ; or
else the virtue of it is spoiled by the arrogant pre
tence Of meriting by it. So apt have men always
been to deceive themselves by an affected mistake
of any thing for religion, but that which really and
in truth is so ! And this is that which the apostle
St. Paul foretold would be the great miscarriage of
the last times, that under a great pretence of religion

11
men should be destitute of all goodness, and aban
doned to all wickedness and vice, " having a form
of godliness, but denying the power of it," (2 Tim.
iii. 5.)
And though things have been much better since
that happy reformation from the corruptions and er
rors of popery, yet even among protestants the ma
lice and craft of the devil hath prevailed so far, as
to undermine, in a great measure, the necessity of
a good life, by those luscious doctrines of the an-
tinomians concerning free grace, and the justifica
tion of a sinner merely upon a confident persuasion
of his being in a state of grace and favour with God,
and consequently that the gospel dischargeth men
from obedience to the laws of God, and all manner
of obligation to the virtues of a good life ; which
doctrines, how false and absurd soever in them
selves, and pernicious in their consequences, did
not only prevail very much in Germany, a little
after the beginning of the Reformation, but have
since got too much footing in other places, and
been too far entertained and cherished by some
good men, who were not sufficiently aware of the
error and danger of them. But blessed be God,
the doctrine of our church, both in the articles and
homilies of it, hath been preserved pure and free
from all error and corruption in this matter on
either hand, asserting the necessity of good works,
and yet renouncing the merit of them in that ar
rogant sense in which the church of Rome does
teach and assert it ; and so teaching justification by
faith, and the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, as
to maintain the indispensable necessity ofthe virtues
of a good life.
And thus I have done with the first reason, why
c 2

12
it is so fit and necessary to press frequently upon
Christians the indispensable necessity of the virtues
of a good life ; viz. because men are and ever have
been so very apt to deceive themselves in this mat
ter, and so hardly brought to that wherein religion
mainly consists, viz. the practice of real goodness.
I shall be brief upon the
II. Second reason ; namely, Because ofthe indis
pensable necessity of the thing to render us capable
ofthe Divine favour and acceptance, and of the re
ward of eternal life. And this added to the former,
makes the reason full and strong. For if men be
so apt to deceive themselves in this matter, and
to be deceived in it be a matter of such dangerous
consequence, then it is highly necessary to incul
cate this frequently upon Christians, that no man
may be mistaken in a matter of so much danger,
and upon which his eternal happiness depends.
Now, if obedience to the laws of God, and the
practice of virtue and good works, be necessary to
our continuance in a state of grace and favour with
God, and to our final justification by our absolu
tion at the great day ; if nothing but holiness and
obedience can qualify us for the blessed sight of
God, and the glorious reward of eternal happiness;
then it is matter of infinite consequence to us, not to
be mistaken in a matter of so great importance;
but that we " work out our salvation with fear and
trembling, and give all diligence to make our call
ing and election sure," by adding " to our faith and
knowledge the virtues of a good life ; that by pa
tient continuance in well-doing, we seek for glory,
and honour, and immortality, and eternal life;" and
that we so demean ourselves " in all holy conversa
tion and godliness," as that we may, with comfort

13
and confidence, " wait for the blessed hope, and the
glorious appearance ofthe great God, and our Sa
viour Jesus Christ; who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify to
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
That this is indispensably necessary to our happi
ness, I have in my former discourse shewn at large,
from the great end and design of religion in general,
and of the Christian religion in particular, from the
whole design and doctrine of the gospel, from the
constant tenor of the Bible, and from the nature
and reason ofthe thing.
I know it hath been the great design of the devil
and his instruments, in all ages, to undermine re
ligion, by making an unhappy separation and di
vorce between godliness and morality, between faith
and the virtues of a good life ; and by this means,
not only to weaken and abate, but even wholly to
destroy, the force and efficacy of the Christian re
ligion, and to leave men as much under the power
of the devil and their lusts, as if there were no such
thing as Christianity in the world. But let us not
deceive ourselves ; this was always religion, and
the condition of our acceptance with God, to en
deavour to be like God in purity and holiness, in
justice and righteousness, in mercy and goodness,
" to cease to do evil, aud to learn to do well." And
this you will find to be the constant doctrine of the
Holy Scriptures, from the beginning of the Bible to
the end. (Gen. iv. 7.) " If thou doest well, shalt thou
not be accepted ?" (Psalm xv. 1 , 2.) " Lord.who shall
abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell upon thy
holy hill? he that walketh uprightly, and work
eth righteousness, and speaketh the truth from his
heart." (Psal. 1. 23.) " To him that ordereth his

14
conversation aright, will I shew the salvation of
God." (Isa. i. 16—18.) " Wash ye, make you clean,
put away the evil of your doings from before mine
eyes, cease to do evil, learn to do well, seek judg
ment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless,,
plead for the widow. Come now, and let us rea
son together, saith the Lord ; though your sins be
as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." (Isa. iii.
10, LI.) " Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be
well with him ; for they shall eat the fruit of their
doings. Woe unto the wicked, it shall be ill with
him : for the reward of his hands shall be given
him." (Micah vi. 8.) " He hath shewed thee, O man,
what is good ; and what doth the Lord require of
thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to
walk humbly with thy God ?"
And our blessed Saviour, in his sermon upon the
mount, tells us plainly what manner of persons we
must be, if ever we hope to be happy, and to enter
into the kingdom of God ; and wherein his religion
consists, in righteousness, and purity, and meek
ness, and patience, and peaceableness ; and declares
most expressly, that if we hope for happiness upon
any other terms than the practice of these virtues,
we build upon the sand. (Acts x. 34.) " Of a truth
I perceive, (says St. Peter there,) that God is no re
specter of persons; but, in every nation, he that fear-
eth God, and worketh righteousness, is accepted
with him-" (Gal. vi, 7, 8.) " Be not deceived, God
is not mocked : for whatsoever a man soweth, that
shall he also reap. For he that soweth to the
flesh, shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he
that soweth to the spirit, shall of the spirit reap life
everlasting." (Eph. v. 6.) " Let no man deceive you
with vain words : for because of these things cometh

15
the wrath of God upon the children of disobedi
ence." (1 John iii. 7.) " Little children, let no man
deceive you. He that doeth righteousness is righte
ous, even as he is righteous." And here in the
text, " This is a faithful saying," &c. " These things
are good and profitable to men," acceptable to God,
and honourable to religion, and the only way and
means to eternal life, through the mercy and merits
of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord, and Saviour.

SERMON CCVIII,
OF THE NECESSITY OF GOOD WORKS.
This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that
thou affirm constantly, that they which have be
lieved in God might be careful to maintain good
works. These things are good and profitable unto
men.— Tit. iii. 8.
I come now to the second thing I proposed, which
was, to answer an objection or two, to which the
preaching of this kind of doctrine may seem liable.
First, That this is to advance and set up mo
rality. Secondly, That this seems to contradict St. Paul's
doctrine of" justification by the free grace of God
in Jesus Christ, and by faith without the works of
the law." I shall endeavour to answer both these.
First, That this is to advance and set up morality.
To which I answer two things :
I. That if by morality men mean counterfeit vir
tue, and the specious show of justice, and charity,
and meekness, or any other virtue, without the
truth and reality of them, without an inward prin
ciple of love to God and goodness, out of ostenta^
tion and vain-glory, or for some other bye and sinis^
ter end, such as probably were the virtues of many
heathens, and it is to be feared of too many Christ^
ians ; if this be that which the objectors mean by
morality, then we do assure them, that we preach up
no such morality,but those virtues only which aresh>

17
cere, and substantial, and real, the principle and root
whereof is the love of God and goodness, and the
end the honour and glory of God, and a necessary
ingredient whereof is sincerity and truth. It is
" righteousness and true holiness," the sincere love
of God and our neighbour, real meekness, and pa
tience, and humility, and sobriety, and chastity, and
not the glittering show and appearance, the vain
and affected ostentation, of any of these virtues,
which we persuade and press men so earnestly to
endeavour after.
Not that I believe that all virtues of the heathen
were counterfeit and destitute of an inward princi
ple of goodness ; God forbid that we should pass so
hard a judgment upon those excellent men, Socrates,
and Epictetus, and Antoninus, and several others,
who sincerely endeavoured to live up to the light
and law of nature, and took so much pains to culti
vate and raise their minds, to govern and subdue the
irregularity of their sensual appetites and brutish
passions, to purify and refine their manners, and to
excel in all virtue and goodness. These were glo
rious lights in those dark times, and so much the
better for being good under so many disadvantages,
as the ignorance and prejudice of their education,
the multitude of evil examples continually in their
view, and the powerful temptation of the contrary
customs and fashions ofthe generality of mankind.
Nor were they wholly destitute of an inward prin
ciple of goodness ; for though they had not that
powerful grace and assistance of God's Holy Spirit
which is promised and afforded to all sincere Christ
ians (as neither had the Jews, who were the pecu
liar people of God, and in covenant with him), yet it
is very credible, that such persons were under a

18
¦ special care and providence of God, and not wholly
I destitute of Divine assistance, no more than Job and
his friends, mentioned in the Old Testament, and
Cornelius in the New, who surely were very good
| men, and accepted of God, though they were
gentiles, and " aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and strangers from the covenant of pro
mise :" but yet not excluded from the blessing of the
Messias, though they were ignorant of him, as many
of the Jews likewise were, nor from the benefit of
that great propitiation, which in the fulness of time
he was to make for the sins of the whole world.
So that there is no need so uncharitably to con-;
elude (as some of the ancients have done, not all, nor
the most ancient of them neither), that there were no
good men among the heathen, and that the brightest
of their virtues were counterfeit, and only in show
and appearance. For there might be several good
men among the gentiles, in the same condition that
Cornelius was before he became a Christian; of
whom it is said, whilst he was yet a gentile, that
" he was a devout man, and feared God, and that his
prayer and his alms were accepted of God ;" a cer
tain sign that they were not counterfeit. And if he
had died in that condition, before Christ had been
revealed to hirn, I do not see what reasonable cause
of doubt there can be concerning his salvation; and
yet it is a most certain and inviolable truth, " that
there is no other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved, but the name of
Jesus ; neither is there salvation in any other." And
good men in all ages and nations from the beginning
of the world, both before the law, and under the
law, and without the law, such as " feared God,
and wrought righteousness," were accepted of him

19
in that: name, and by the meritorious sacrifice of
that Lamb of God, which, in respect of the virtue
and efficacy of it, is said to have been " slain from
the foundation of the world."
II. But if by moral virtues be meant those which
concern the manners of men, from whence they
seem to have taken their name, and which are in
truth the duties commanded and enjoined by the
natural or moral law, and are comprehended under
those two great commands (as our blessed Saviour
calls them), the love of God, and our neighbour ;
I say, if this be the meaning of it, then we do ad'
vanee this kind of morality, as that which is the pri
mary and substantial part of all religion, and most
strictly enjoined by the Christian, To which pur
pose our Saviour tells us, (Matt. v. 17.) that he
was not " come to destroy the law and the prophets,
but to fulfil them." And, (ver. 19.) " Whosoever there*
fore shall break one ofthe least of these command*
ments, and teach men so, shall be called the least in
the kingdom of heaven; hut whosoever shall do
and teach them, shall be called great in the king
dom of heaven ;" that is, under the dispensation of
the gospel. So that this is a principal part of the
Christian religion, to teach and practise the duties
of the moral law. This the pharisees were defec
tive in, placing their religion in external and little
things, but neglecting the great duties of morality,
" the weightier matters of the law, mercy, and judg
ment, and fidelity, and the love of God." And
therefore he adds, (ver. 20.) " I say unto you, except
your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into
the kingdom of heaven." * It is not possible in more
express and emphatical words to enjoin the obser-

20
vation of the duties of the moral law. And then for
that great principle and rule of moral justice, " lo
do to all men, as we would have them to do to us ;"
our Saviour enjoins it as an essential part of reli
gion, and the sum and substance of our whole duty
to our neighbour, and of all the particular precepts
contained in the law and the prophets. (Ma.tt. vii.
12.) " Therefore all things whatsoever ye wculd
that men should do to you, do ye even so to them :
for this is the law and the prophets." And St.
Paul most expressly declares, that he was so far
from weakening or making void the obligation of the
law by his doctrine of justification by faith, that
he did thereby confirm and establish it : (Rom. iii.
31.) " Do we then make void the law through faith?
God forbid ; yea, we establish the law."
So that moral duties and virtues are the same
with Christian graces, and with that holiness and
righteousness which the gospel requires, and differ
only in name and notion. They are called virtues,
with relation to the intrinsical nature and goodness
of them ; and graces, with respect to the principle
from which they flow, being the fruits and effects
ofthe gracious operation of the Spirit of God upon
our minds. And it hath been a very ill service to
religion, to decry morality as some have done, not
considering that moral duties are of primary obliga
tion, and bound upon us by the law of nature; and
that Christianity hath reinforced aud seconded the
obligation of them by more powerful motives and
encouragements. But I proceed to the
Second objection ; viz. That this discourse seems
to be contrary to St. Paul's doctrine of justifica
tion by the free grace of God in Jesus Christ, by
faith, without the works of the law.

21
To which I answer, that St. Paul, when he does
so vehemently and frequently assert justification
by the free grace of God, and by faith, without the
works of the law, does not thereby exclude the ne
cessity of works of righteousness, and obedience to
the moral precepts of the gospel, as the condition of
our continuance in the favour of God, and of our
final and perfect justification and absolution by the
sentence of the great day ; but, on the contrary, does
every where declare the necessity of a holy and vir
tuous life to this purpose. And this is most plainly
the tenor and current of his doctrine throughout
all his epistles. But whenever he contends that
" we are justified by faith without works," he denies
one of these three things:
1. That the observation of the law of Moses is ne
cessary to our justification and salvation. And this
he does in opposition to those who troubled the
Christian church, by teaching that it was still neces
sary to Christians to keep the law of Moses ; and
that unless they did so, they could not be saved; of
which we have a full account given, Acts xv. And
this for the most part is the meaning of that asser
tion, so frequent in his Epistles to the Romans and
the Galatians, that " we are not justified by the
works of the law, but by the faith of Christ." And
this is very evident from the tenor of his reasoning
about this matter, in which he does so frequently
urge this argument, and insist so strongly upon it;
viz. that men were justified before the law of Moses
was given, for which he instances in Abraham, and
therefore the observance of that law cannot be ne
cessary to a man's justification and salvation.
2. Sometimes he, in his discourse upon this argu
ment, denies the merit of any works of obedience

22
and righteousness to gain the favour and acceptance
of God; so that we cannot challenge any thing of
God " as of debt, and as a ground of boasting," but
we owe all to the free grace and mercy of God; and
When we have done our best, have done bnt «ur
duty. And this he likewise frequently insists upon
in his Epistle to the Romans, in opposition to an ar
rogant opinion, common among the Jews, of the
merit of good works, and that God was indebted to
them for their obedience. In this sense, he says,
(Rom. iv. 4.) " Now to him that worketh is the re
ward reckoned, not of grace but of debt ;" that is,
he that claims justification and the reward of eter
nal life, as due to him for his obedience, does not
ascribe it to the free grace of God, but challengeth
it as a debt due to him.
3. Sometimes he denies the necessity of any
works of righteousness, antecedently to our first
justification, and being received into a state of grace
and favour with God ; and asserts, on the contrary,
that by the faith of Christ, and sincerely embracing
the Christian religion, men are justified : and though
they were never so great sinners before, all their
past sins are forgiven, and God is perfectly recon
ciled to them. In which sense he says, (chap. iv.
5.) that "God justifies the ungodly" upon their
believing. So that, whatever sins they were guilty
of before, and though they never did any one good
action in their lives, yet, if they sincerely embrace
the Christian religion, and thereby engage them
selves to reform their lives, and to obey the pre
cepts of the gospel for the future, God will there
upon receive them into his favour, and pardon the
sins of their former lives. And in this Epistle to
Titus, (chap. iii. 5. 7. immediately before the text)

23
" Not by works of righteousness which 'We have
done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by
the washing of regeneration, and by the renewing
bf the Holy Ghost : that, being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of
eternal life;" that is, though their former life had
been very bad, (as he describes it before, ver. 3.
" For we ourselves were sometimes foolish, diso
bedient, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in
malice, and envy, and hatred of one another ;") I
Say, notwithstanding this, though they had done no
Works of righteousness, but on the contrary, yet,
upon their solemn profession of Christianity at their
baptism, and declaration of their repentance, and
engagements to live better, they were justified free
ly by God's grace, and saved by his mercy. But
then he does not say, that, after this solemn pro
fession of Christianity, Works of righteousness were
not necessary, to continue them in this state of
grace and favour with God, but quite contrary ;
he plainly declares the necessity of them in the very
next words ; " This is a faithful saying," &c.
And the consideration of this will fully reconcile
the seeming difference between St. Paul and St.
James, in this matter of justification. St. Paul af
firms, that a sinner is at first justified and received
into the favour of God, by a sincere profession of
the Christian faith, Without any Works of righteous
ness preceding. St. James affirms, that no man
Continues in a justified state, and in favour with
, God, whose faith doth not bring forth good works,
and that it is not a true and lively faith which doth
not approve and shew itself to be so, by the works
of obedience and- a good life. (James ii.14.) " What
doth it profit a man, my brethren, if a man say that

24
he hath faith, and hath not works ; can faith saye
him ?" And, (ver. 17.) " Faith if it have not works is
dead, being alone." And (ver. 20.) he repeats it again,
" Know, O vain man, that faith without works is
dead." And (ver. 22.) speaking of Abraham, " Seest
thou how faith wrought with his works, and by
works was faith made perfect?" And, (ver. 26'.)
" For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also." The sum and result
of all which is this : that though we be justified at,
first by faith without works preceding, yet faith}
without good works following it will not finally
justify and save us ; nay, indeed, that faith whiqh
does not bring forth the fruits of a good life, wag
never a true, and living, and perfect faith ; but pre
tended, and dead, and imperfect, and therefore can
justify no man ; and he that hath only such a faitti
does but make an empty and ineffectual profession,
but is really destitute of the true faith of the gospel,
And this is agreeable to that explication which
was given by our first reformers here in England, of
the nature of justifying faith. "That it is not a
mere persuasion of the truths of natural and re
vealed religion, but such a belief as begets a sub
mission to the will of God, and hath hope, love, and
obedience to God's commandments joined to it.
That this is the faith which in baptism is professed,
from which Christians are called the faithful ; and
that, in those Scriptures where it is said we are jus
tified by faith, we may not think that we be justified
by faith, as it is a separate virtue from hope and cha
rity, the fear of God and repentance; but by it is
meant faith, neither only nor alone, but with the
aforesaid virtues, containing an engagement of obe
dience to the whole doctrine and religion of Christ.

25
And that although all that are justified, must of ne-
cessity.have charity as well as faith, yet neither faith
nor charity are the worthiness and merit of our jus
tification, but that is to be ascribed only to our Sa
viour Christ, who was offered upon the cross for
our sins, and rose again for our justification ;" as
may be seen more at large in a treatise published at
the beginning of our Reformation, upon this and
some other points. And I do not see what can be
said upon this point with more clearness and weight.
All the application I shall make of this discourse
shall be briefly this ; that if we be convinced of the
necessity of the virtues of a good life to all that
profess themselves Christians, we would seriously
and in good earnest set about the practice of them ;
if " this be a faithful saying," then I am sure it
greatly concerns us to be careful of our lives and
actions, and that " our conversation be as becometh
the gospel of Christ ;" because if this be true there
is no possible way to reconcile a wicked life, no,
nor a wilful neglect and violation of any of the du
ties and laws of Christianity, with the hopes of
heaven and eternal life. In this the Scripture is
positive and peremptory, that "every man that hath
this hope in him, must purify himself even as he is
pure;" that " without holiness no man shall seethe
Lord :" but " if we have our fruit unto holiness,
our end shall be everlasting life."
And here I might particularly recommend to your
careful practice, the great virtues of Christianity ;
those which St. Paul tells us are the proper and
genuine " fruits of the Spirit of Christ, love, joy,
peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity,
meekness, temperance," But I have not time to in
sist particularly upon them. I shall content myself
VOL. ix, P

26
briefly to mention those duties, which the apostle m
this Epistle doth more'especially press upon the se
veral conditions and relations of men. Those who
are teachers and instructors of others, that they
would not only be careful to " preach sound doc
trine," but " in all things to shew themselves pat
terns of good works." Those who are subject to
others, and under their government, that they would
pay all duty and obedience to their superiors, as
children to their parents, servants to their masters ;
that they may " adorn the doctrine of God our Sa
viour in all things," as the apostle speaks, (chap, ii,
ver. 10.) And so likewise, those who are subjects,
that they hve in all peaceable and humble obedi
ence to princes and magistrates. This our apostle
speaks of as a great duty of Christian religion, and
reckons it among good works; (chap. iii. 1.) " Put
them in mind to be subject to principalities and
powers, and to obey magistrates, and to be ready to
every good work."
And then those who are of an inferior condition,
that they labour and be diligent in the work of an
honest calling, for this is privately good and profit
able unto men and to their families ; and those who
are above this necessity, and are in a better capa
city, to maintain good works, properly so called,
works of piety, and charity, and justice; that
they be careful to promote and advance them, ac
cording to their power and opportunity, because
these things are publicly good and beneficial to
mankind. " And besides this, (as St. Peter ex
horts, 2 Pet. i. 5, 6, &C.) — And besides this, giv
ing all diligence, add to your faith, virtue ; and to
virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance;
and to temperance, patience ; and to patience, god-

27
liness ; and to godliness, brotherly kindness ; and to
brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be
in you, and abound, they make you that you shall
neither be barren, nor unfruitful in the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these
things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath
forgotten that he was purged from his old sins;"
that is, doth not consider that the design of Christi
anity is to renew and reform the hearts and lives of
men. " Wherefore the rather, brethren (as he goes
on), give diligence to make your calling and election
sure : for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.
For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you
abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
I will conclude all with that excellent saying of
St. Paul in this Epistle to Titus, which so fully de
clares to us the great design, and the proper efficacy
of the Christian doctrine upon the minds and man
ners of men ; (chap ii. 11 — 13.) "For the grace
of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men, teaching us, that denying ungodliness, and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously,
and godly, in this present world : looking for that
blessed hope, and the glorious appearance of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
" To whom, with the Father, and the Holy Ghost,
be all glory and honour now and for ever. Amen."

d 2

SERMON CCIX.
OF DOING ALL TO THE GLORY OF GOD.
Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God. — 4 Cor. x. 31.
These words are a general conclusion inferred
from a particular case, which the apostle had been
discoursing of before ; and that we may the better
understand the meaning of this general rule, it will
not be amiss to look back a little upon the particu
lar case the apostle was speaking of ; and that was
concerning " the partaking of things offered to
idols," and that in two cases ; either by partaking
of the idol-feasts in their temples, after the sacri
fices; or by partaking of things offered to idols,
whether they were brought by Christians in the
market, or set before them at a private entertain
ment, to which by some heathens they were invited.
The first he condemns as absolutely unlawful :
the other not as unlawful in itself, but in some cir
cumstances upon the account of scandal.
The first case he speaks of from ver. 14, to
23. " Wherefore, my beloved brethren, flee from
idolatry. I speak to wise men : judge ye what I
say." As if he had said, You may easily apprehend
what it is I am going to caution you against. And
first he tells them in general, that they who commu
nicated in the worship of any deity, or in any kind
of sacrifice offered to him, did, in so doing, own and
acknowledge that for a deity. To this purpose he
instanceth in communicating in the Christian sa-

39
crament, and in the Jewish sacrifices, (ver. 16—^18.)
" The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the
communion of the blood of Christ? The bread
which we break, isait not the communion of the body
of Christ? For we being many are one bread and
one body : for we are all partakers of that one
bread. Behold Israel after the flesh : (that is, the
Jews) are not they which eat of the sacrifices par
takers ofthe altar?" Thus it is in the Christian and
the Jewish worship. And the case is the same, if
any man partake ofthe idol-feasts in their temples.
This he does not express, but takes it for granted
they understood what this discourse aimed at.
And then he answers an argument, which it
seems was made use of by some, particularly the
gnostics, of whom the apostle speaks, (chap, viii.)
and that was this. If an idol be nothing, and conse
quently things sacrificed to idols were not to be
considered as sacrifices, then it was lawful to par
take of the idol-feasts, which were celebrated in
their temples. And that the apostle speaks of these,
is plain from his discourse against the gnostics,
who made use of this argument for the lawfulness
of communicating at the idol-feasts, (chap. viii. 4.)
" As concerning, therefore, the eating of things
which are offered in sacrifice unto idols ; we know
that an idol is nothing in the world," &c. And
(ver. 10.) " If any man see thee which hast know
ledge (alluding to the very name of gnostics) — if
any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat
in an idol temple."
This then is that partaking of idol-feasts, which
the apostle here speaks of, which they pretended to
be lawful, because an idol is nothing. This, says
the apostle, I know as well as you, that an idol is

30
no real deity, but for all that the devil is reaily
worshipped and served by this means: (ver. 20.)
"But I say that the things which the gentiles
sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God ;
and I would not that ye should have fellowship
with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord
and the cup of devils! ye cannot be partakers of
the Lord's table, and the table of devils."
Having declared this way of partaking of things
offered to idols to be unlawful in itself, and a vir
tual renouncing of Christianity; then he proceeds
to the consideration of the other case, of eating of
things offered to idols out of their temples, which
might happen several ways. Sometimes, being sold
by the priests, they were exposed to sale in the
market. Sometimes the heathens carried some re
mainders of the sacrifices to their houses, and, in
viting the Christians to a feast, might set these
meats before them ; what should Christians do in
either of these cases ?
First, He determines, in general, that out of the
temples it was lawful to eat these things, because in
so doing they communicated in no act of worship
with the heathens ; it is lawful, he says, in itself;
but because it might be harmful to others, and give
scandal, in such circumstances, it became unlawful
by accident, (Ver. 23.) " All things are lawful for me,
but all things are not expedient ; all things are law
ful for me, but all things edify not." Things which
are lawful in themselves, may in some cases be very
dangerous and destructive to others, and we should
not only consider ourselves, but others also. " Let
no man seek his own, but every man another's
welfare." ' And then he comes to the particular
cases. " Whatever is sold in the shambles, that

31
eat, asking no question for conscience' sake : for the
earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." We
may take these things from God's hand, who is the
true Lord of them and of all creatures. For this
reason we may, without scrupulous inquiry, use
those meats which are publicly exposed to sale.
And so likewise, in the other case, if we be invited
to the table of a heathen, we may eat what is set
before us, without inquiring whether it be part of
an idol-sacrifice. But if any man tejls us, that this
meat was offered in sacrifice to idols, in that case we
ought to abstain from eating of it, "for his sake that
shewed it, and for conscience' sake ;" that is, out
of regard to the opinion of those who think these
meats unlawful : " for the earth is the Lord's, and
the fulness thereof." Also, in another sense, God
hath made such abundant provision for us, that
we may abstain from this or that meat without any
great inconvenience. " Conscience, I say, not thine
own but another's." He had said before, we should
" eat of what was set before us, asking no question
for conscience' sake ;" that is, not making it a
matter of conscience to ourselves : now, he says, if
we be told it was offered to an idol, we should " not
eat for conscience' sake;" that is, not as making a,
matter of conscience of it to ourselves, but out of
regard to the conscience of another, to whom it
might be a scandal. " For why is my liberty
judged of another man's conscience? and if I with
thanksgiving be a partaker, why am I evil spoken
of for that for which I give thanks ?" that is, why
should another man's conscience be a prejudice to
my liberty ? If another makes conscience of it as
unlawful, why should his conscience govern mine,
.and make me think so too ; or why should I be

m
evil spoken of, for thinking it lawful to eat any
thing set before me, for which I give thanks ? This
iis a little obscure ; but the plain meaning of the
apostle's reasoning seems to be this: — though I have
that regard to another man's weak conscience, as
to abstain from eating what he thinks unlawful ; yet
am I not therefore bound to be of his opinion, and
think it unlawful in itself; I will consider his weak-:
ness so far as to forbear that which I am persuaded
is lawful to do, but yet I will still preserve the
liberty of my own judgment ; and a§ I am content
to give no scandal to him, so I expect that he should
not censure and condemn me for thinking that
lawful, which he believes not to be so : and then,
from all this discourse, the apostle establisheth
this general rule in the text ; " Wherefore, whether
ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God." To which is parallel that other
text, (1 Pet. iv. 11.) "That God in all things may
be glorified.'' So that this general rule lays a duty
upon all Christians of designing the glory of God
in all their actions ; all the difficulty is, what is
here meant by this, of doing all things " to the glory
of God." The Jews have a common saying, which
seems to be parallel with this phrase of the apostle,
" That all things should be done in the name of
God." And this they make so essential to every
good action, that it was a received principle among
them, that he who obeys any command of God, and
not in his name, shall receive no reward. Now,
that to do things " in the name of God," and to do
them " to his glory," are but several phrases signify
ing the same thing, is evident from that precept of
the apostle, (Col. iii. 17.) " And whatsoever ye do
in word, or in deed, do all in the name ofthe Lord

3S
Jesus Christ ;" that is, to his glory. Now for our
clear understanding of the sense of this phrase of
glorifying God, or doing things to God's glory;
ye will consider the various use of it in Scripture,
and so descend to the proper and particular sense
of it here in the text.
The glory of God is nothing else but the honour
which is given to him by his creatures ; and conse
quently, the general notion of glorifying God, or
doing any thing to his glory, is to design to honour
God by such and such actions : and this phrase
is in Scripture more especially applied to these
following particulars ;
I. We are said in Scripture to glorify God by a
solemn acknowledgment of him and his perfections,
pf his goodness and mercy, of his power and wis
dom, of his truth and faithfulness, of his sovereign
dominion and authority over us. Hence it is that
all solemn actions of religion are called the worship
of God, which is given to him by his creatures,
signified by some outward expression of reverence
and respect. Thus we are said to worship God,
when we fall down before him, and pray to him for
mercy and blessings, or praise him for favours and
benefits received from him, or perform any other
solemn act of religion : (Psal. lxxxvi. 9.) " All na
tions whom thou hast made, shall come and worship
before thee, O Lord, and shall glorify thy name."
But, especially, the duty of praise and thanks
giving is most frequently in Scripture called glori
fying of God, or giving glory to him. (Psal.
lxxxvi. 12.) " I will praise thee, O Lord my God,
with all my heart, and will glorify thy name."
(Matt. v. 16.) " Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works, aud glorify

34
your Father which is in heaven ;" that is, praise
hiin upon that account. (Luke v. 25.) It is said of
the man sick of the palsy, that when he was healed,
"He departed to his own house glorifying God;"
that is, praising God for his great mercy to him.
And (Luke xvii. 18.) our Saviour, speaking of the
ten lepers that were healed, says, that "but one of
them returned to give glory to God ;" that is, to
return thanks to God for his recovery.
II. Men are said in Scripture to give glory to
God by the acknowledgment of their sins, and
repentance of them. (Josh. vii. 19.) " And Joshua
said to Achau, My son, give glory to the Lord God
of Israel, aud make confession to him." In like man
ner, the prophet Jeremiah, exhorting the people to
repentance, useth this expression : (Jer. xiii. 16.)
" Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause
darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the
dark mountains." And (Rev. xvi. 9.) it is said,
that those upon whom great plagues fell, " repented
not to give God glory." We glorify God by confes
sion of our sins and repentance, because in so doing
we acknowledge his authority, and the holiness of
those righteous laws which we have broken.
111. We are said, likewise, in Scripture to glorify
God by our holiness and obedience, Thus we are
commanded to glorify God by the chastity of our
bodies, and the purity of our minds : (1 Cor. vi, 20.)
"Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
which are his." Thus our Saviour is said to have
glorified God in the world, by his perfect obedience
to his will : (John xvii. 4.) " Father, I have glorified
thee upon earth." And thus he tells us we may
glorify God, by the fruits of holiness and obedience
in our lives : (John xv, 8.) " Herein is my Fathej:

35
glorified, if ye bring forth much fruit." So likewise
St. Paul prays for the Philippians, that they may
be "filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are
by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God."
IV. We are said likewise, in an especial manner,
to glorify God by our sufferings for his cause and
truth. (John xxi. 19.) Our Saviour foretelling St.
Peter's martyrdom, expresseth it by this phrase of
glorifying God by his death ; " This spake he, signi
fying by what death he should glorify God."
V. And lastly, And becausereligion is the solemn
hpnour, and public owning and acknowledgment of
the Deity ; hence it is, that in Scripture we are said
to glorify God in a peculiar and eminent manner,
when in all our actions we consult the honour and
advantage of religion. Upon this account, St. Peter
exhorts the ministers of the gospel so to preach to
the people, and so to perform the public offices of
religion, as may be for the honour of religion ; and
this he calls glorifying of God : (1 Pet. iv. 11.) " If
any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of
God; if any man minister, let him do it as ofthe
ability which God giveth ; that God iu all things
may be glorified." And because the peace and
unity of Christians is so very much for the honour
and advantage of religion, therefore we are said, in
an especial manner, to glorify God, by maintaining
the peace and unity of the church : (Rom. xv. 5, 6.)
"Now the God of patience and consolation grant
you to be like-minded one toward another, that ye
may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." And here in
the text, we are said to " do all things to the glory
of God," when in all our actions we have a regard
to the promoting and advancing of religion, and the

36
edification of Christians. For here, by eating and
drinking " to the glory of God," the apostle plainly
means, that when things offered to idols are set
before us, we should refrain from them, when, by
Our eating, the interest of religion, and the edifica
tion of Christians, may receive any prejudice; that
is, when our eating may be a scandal to others, that
is, a stumbling-block, or an occasion of falling into
sin. And that this is the apostle's meaning is
evident from ver. 23. " All things are lawful for
me, but all things are not expedient; (ovTrdvra avutyipu,
all things profit not;) all things are lawful for me,
but all things edify not;" that is, though I know it
is a thing very lawful in itself, to eat things which
have been offered to idols, if they be bought in the
market, or accidentally set before me at a feast ;
yet, in some circumstances, it may not be for the
advantage of religion, and be so far from edifying,
that it may be an occasion of sin to them. For
instance, 1 am invited to a feast, where things of
fered to idols are set before me, and one says, This
was offered in sacrifice unto idols; a sufficient intima
tion to me that he thinks it unlawful ; and there
fore I will forbear, because of the inconvenience to
religion, and the manifold scandal that might follow
upon it, by hindering others from embracing reli
gion ; or by tempting weak Christians, either to the
doing of a thing against their conscience, or to
apostatize from religion. In this case, he that ab
stains from these meats, and contents himself with
others, eats " to the glory of God."
And, that this is the true notion of scandal or
offence, not barely to grieve others, or do things dis
pleasing to them, bnt to do such things as are
reaily hurtful to others, aud may be a prejudice or

37;
hinderance to their salvation, and an occasion of
their falling into sin : I say, that this is the true and
proper notion of scandal is evident from what
follows immediately after the text; "Give none
offence, to the Jews, nor to the gentiles, nor to the
church of God; as I please all men in all things,'
not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many,
that they may be saved." " Give no offence to the
Jews, nor to the gentiles, nor to the church of
God :" the apostle intimates, that such an action as
this we are speaking of, might be an occasion of
sin to all these, and a hinderance of their salvation :
it might hinder the Jew from turning Christian, and
harden him in his infidelity ; for he might say, See
how wrell you Christians worship one God, when
you can partake of things offered to idols : it might
confirm the heathen in his superstition, and keep
him from embracing Christianity ; for he might say,
surely, Why should the Christians persuade me to
forsake the worship of idols, when they themselves
will knowingly eat things offered to them ? It
might tempt the weak Christians either to sin
against their consciences by following my example,
or to apostatize from Christianity upon this offence
taken against it ; therefore, says the apostle, " do
all things to the glory of God ;" that is, for the
honour and advantage of the Christian religion, and
the furtherance of men's salvation : for so, says he,
I do, in these and all other actions of my life; I study
the advantage of all men, in all things, not regarding
mine own convenience in comparison of the eter
nal salvation of others.
And thus I have as briefly and clearly as I could
explained this phrase to you, of doing things " to
the glory of God."

38
The result of all is, that we glorify God by doing
our duty, by all actions of worship and obedience
to God, and by our repentance in case of sin and
disobedience, by doing and by suffering the will of
God, more especially by using our Christian liberty,
as to things lawful in themselves, so as may make
most for the honour and advantage of religion,
for the unity and edification of the church, and
the salvation of the souls of men, which is the pro
per notion here in the text of eating and drinking,
and doing whatever we do, " to the glory of God."
From all this discourse it will be evident, that
three things must concur, that our actions may be
said to be done " to the glory of God."
1. Our actions must be materially good ; we
must do what God commands, and abstain from
doing what he hath forbidden. Sin is in its nature
a dishonour to God, a contradiction to his nature,
and a contempt of his authority and laws ; so that
we cannot glorify God by transgressing our duty.
2, Our actions must not only be good, but they
must be done with regard to God, and out of con
science to our duty to him, and in hopes of the
reward which he hath promised, and not for any
low, and mean, and temporal end. The best action
in itself may be spoiled, and all the virtue of it
blasted, by being done for a wrong end. If we serve
God to please men, and be charitable out of vain
glory " to be seen of men ;" if we profess godliness
for gain, and are religious only to serve our tempo
ral interest, though the actions we do be never so
good, yet all the virtue and reward of them is lost,
by the mean end and design which we aim at in the
doing of them ; because all this while we have no
love or regard for God, and the authority of his

S9
laws; We make nO conscience of our duty to him,
we are not moved by the rewards of another world,
which may lawfully work upon us, aud prevail with
us, but we are swayed by little temporal advan
tages, which if we could obtain as well by doing the
contrary, we would as soon, nay, perhaps, much
sooner, do it.
And this is so essentially necessary, that no ac
tion, though never so good, that is not done with
regard to God, and upon some of the proper motives
and considerations of religion, such as are the au
thority of God, conscience of our duty to him, love
of him, faith in his promises, fear of his displeasure ;
I say, no action that is not done upon all, or some of
these motives, can be said to be done " to the glory
of God." And this is the meaning of that saying
among the JeWs which I mentioned before, " That
he who obeys any command of God, but not in his
name, shall receive no reward." * Moral actions re
ceive their denomination of good or evil, as well
from the end, as from the matter of them ; and as
the best end cannot sanctify an action bad in itself,
so a bad end and design is enough to spoil tlie best
action we can do; and as it is great impiety to do a
wicked thing, though for a religious end, so it is
great hypocrisy to be religious for mean and tempo
ral ends.
" 3. That all our actions may be done " to the glory
of God," we must not only take care that they be
lawful in themselves, but that they be not spoiled
and vitiated by any bad circumstance; for circum
stances alter moral actions, and may render that
which is lawful in itself, unlawful in some cases : so
that if we would " do all things to the glory of God,"
we must in some cases refrain from doing that which

40
is lawful in itself. As, when such an action that I
am about to do, may through the prejudice or mis
take of men probably redound to the dishonour and
disadvantage of religion, by causing factions and
divisions, by hindering some from embracing the
true religion, or making others apostatize from it, or
by being any other way an occasion to men of falling
into sin, or any impediment to their salvation ; in
these and the like cases, we are bound to have that
consideration of religion, that regard to the peace
and unity of the church, that tenderness and cha
rity for the souls of men, as to deny ourselves the
use of things otherwise lawful ; and if we do not do
it, we offend against a great rule both of piety and
charity. I shall only farther at present endeavour to give a
brief resolution to two questions, much debated
upon occasion of this rule of the apostle, of doing
"all things to the glory of God."
First, How far we are bound actually to intend
and design the glory of God in every particular ac
tion of our lives. To this I answer,
1 . That it is morally impossible that a man should
do every particular action with actual and explicit
thoughts and intentions of glorifying God thereby,
and therefore there can be no obligation to any such
thing. 2. It is not necessary, no more than for a man that
takes a journey, every step of his way actually to
think of his journey's end, and at the place whither
he intends to go ; a constant resolution to go to such
a place, and a due care not to go out of the way ;
and in case of any doubt, to inform oui*selves as well
as we can of the right way ; and to keep in it, is as
much consideration of the end of a man's journey,

41
as is needful to bring him thither, and more than
this would be troublesome and to no purpose ; the
case is the very same in the course of a man's life.
From whence it follows, in the
3. Third place, That a habitual and settled inten
tion of mind, to glorify God in the course of our
lives, is sufficient ; because this will serve all good
purposes, as well as an actual intention upon every
particular occasion. He that doeth things with re
gard to God, and out of conscience of his duty to
him, and upon the proper motives and considera
tions of religion, in obedience and love to God, in
hopes of his reward, and out of fear of his displea
sure, glorifies God in his actions. And if this prin
ciple be but rooted and settled in his mind, it is suf
ficient to govern his life, and is virtually, and to all
purposes, as true and constant an intention of glori
fying God, as if we did actually and explicitly pro-*-
pound this end to ourselves in every particular action
of our lives.
Secondly, Whether a man be bound to prefer the
glory of- God before his own eternal happiness, as
Moses and St. Paul seem to have done ; the one in
being content to have his name blotted out of the
book of life, the other to be anathema from Christ,
for the salvation of Israel ? To this I answer,
If we could admit the supposition, that the glory
of God and a man's eternal happiness might come in
competition, there could be no obligation upon a
man tochoose eternal misery upon any consideration
whatsoever. The preference of one thing before
r another, supposeth them both to be objects of our
choice; but the greatest evil known and appre
hended to be so, cannot be the object of a reason
able choice ; neither the greatest moral nor natural
VOL. IX. e

42
evil of sin, or misery. Sin is not to be chosen in any
case, no, not for the glory of God. The apostle
makes the supposition, and answers it ; that if the
truth and glory of God could be promoted by his
lie, yet we are " not to do evil that good may come,
(Rom. iii. 7, 8.) . •
Nor is the greatest natural evil the object of our
choice. God himself hath planted a principle in our
nature to the contrary, to seek our own happiness,
and to avoid utter ruin and destruction ; and then
surely much more that which is much worse, as
eternal misery is, whatever some learned men, in
despite of nature and common sense, have asserted
to the contrary, that it is better and more desirable
to be extremely and eternally miserable, than not to
be ; for what is there desirable in being, when it
serves to no other purpose but to be the foundation
of endless and intolerable misery? And if this be a
principle of our nature, can any man imagine that
God should frame us so, as to make the first and
fundamental principle of it directly opposite to our
duty ?
As to the instance of Moses, it does not reach
this case ; because the phrase of " blotting out of
the book of life," does in all probability signify no
more than a temporal death. As to that of St.
Paul, it is by no means to be taken in a strict sense,
but as a vehement and hyperbolical expression of
his mighty affection to his brethren according to
the flesh, " For whom (says he) I could wish to be an
anathema from Christ." Besides the reason of the
thing, the form of the expression shews the meaning
of it, " I could wish ;" that is, I would be content to
do or suffer almost any thing for their salvation ;
insomuch, that I could wish, if it were fit, and law-

43
ful, and reasonable, to make such a wish, to be
accursed from Christ for their sakes. It is plainly
a suspended form of speech, which declares nothing
absolutely. But,
2. It is a vain and senseless supposition, that the
glory of God and our eternal happiness can stand
in competition. By seeking the glory of God, we
naturally and directly promote our own happiness ;
the glory of God and our happiness are inseparably
linked together ; we cannot glorify God by sin ;
and so gracious hath God been to us, that he hath
made those things to be our duty which naturally
tend to our felicity ; and we cannot glorify God
more than by doing our duty, nor can we promote
our own happiness more effectually than by the
same way. From whence it plainly follows, that
the glory of God and our happiness cannot reason
ably be supposed to cross and contradict one
another; and therefore the question is frivolous,
which supposeth they may come in competition.
(1 Cor. xv. 58.) The apostle exhorts Christians to be
" steadfast, and unmoveable, and abundant in the
work of the Lord, knowing that their labour shall
not be in vain in the Lord." And (Tit. i. 1, 2.) the
apostle calls himself " a servant of Jesus Christ,
in hope of eternal life, which God that cannot lie
hath promised." To serve God in hope of eter
nal life, is to glorify God; and therefore the glory
of God and our eternal happiness are never to be
opposed. I shall briefly draw two or three inferences from
this discourse, and so conclude.
I. See here the great goodness of God to man
kind, who is pleased to esteem whatever is for the
good of men, to be for the glory of God ; and what-
e 2

44
ever tends to the eternal salvation of ourselves or
others, to be a glorifying of himself.
II. We learn hence, likewise, the excellency of the
Christian religion, which requires, not only a con
scientious care of ourselves to do nothing but what
is lawful, but likewise a charitable regard to others
in the use of our liberty ; in the doing or not doing
of those things which we may lawfully do ; after the
securing of our own happiness by doing our duty,
we are to consult the edification and salvation of
others, in the charitable use of our liberty in those
things which God hath left indifferent.
III. Here is a great argument to us to be very
careful of our duty, and to abound in the fruits of
holiness, because hereby we glorify God. " Herein
is my Father glorified, (says our Saviour) if ye bring
forth much fruit;" and the apostle tells us, that
" the fruits of righteousness are to the praise and
glory of God." We having all from God, our very
being, our souls and bodies, and the powers and
faculties of both, therefore we should give him
the glory of his' own gifts; our souls and bodies
were not only made by him at first, but are like
wise redeemed by him, and bought with a price,
and therefore, as the apostle argues, " we should
glorify him in our bodies, and in our souIs> which
are his."
IV. And lastly, We should in all our actions have
a particular regard to the honour and advantage of
religion, the edification of our brethren, and the
peace and unity of the church ; because, in these
things, we do in a peculiar manner glorify God. In
vain do men pretend to seek the glory of God by
faction and division, which do in their own nature
so immediately tend to the dishonour and damage

45
of religion. Next to the wicked lives of men,
nothing is so great a disparagement and weaken
ing to religion, as the divisions of Christians ; and
therefore, instead of employing our zeal about
differences, we should be zealous for peace and
unity, " that with one mind, and one mouth, we
may glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ."

SERMON CCX.
DOING GOOD, A SECURITY AGAINST INJURIES FROM
MEN.
And who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers
of that which is good? — 1 Pet. iii. 13.
The apostle, in this and the former chapter, earn
estly presseth Christians to a holy and unblame-
able conversation, that the heathen might have no
occasion, from the ill lives of Christians, to reproach
Christianity ; particularly, he cautions them against
that abuse of Christian liberty, which it seems too
many were guilty of, casting off obedience to their
superiors under that pretence ; telling them, that no
thing could be a greater scandal to their religion,
nor raise a more just prejudice in the minds of men
against it : and therefore he strictly chargeth them
with the duty of obedience in their several relations,
as of subjects to their governors, of servants to their
masters, of wives to their husbands ; and, in short,
to practise all those virtues, both among themselves
and towards others, which are apt to reconcile and
gain the affections of men to them ; to be charita
ble and compassionate, courteous and peaceable,
one towards another, and towards all men : not only
to abstain from injury and provocation, but from
revenge by word or deed ; and instead thereof to
bless and do good, and by all possible means to
preserve and pursue peace. (Ver. 8, 9.) " Finally,
be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of

47
another ; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous,
not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing, but,
contrariwise, blessing ; knowing that ye are there
unto called, that ye should inherit a blessing."
And to encourage them to the practice of these
virtues, he tells them, that they could by no other
means more effectually consult the safety and com
fort of their lives : (ver. 10.) " For he that will love
life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue
from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile ; let
him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace,
and ensue it."
And this was the way to gain the favour of God,
and engage his providence for our protection : (ver.
12.) " For the eyes ofthe Lord are over the righte
ous, and his ears are open unto their prayers ; but
the face of the Lord is against them that do evil."
And that this would also be the best way to re
concile men to us, and to gain their good-will, and
to prevent injuries and affronts from them: (ver. 13.)
" And who is he that will harm you," &c.
In these words we have, first, a qualification
supposed, " If ye be followers of that which is
good," Secondly, The benefit and advantage we may rea
sonably expect from it : viz. security from the ill
usage and injuries of men. " Who is he that will
harm you ?"
First, The qualification supposed is, that we be
" followers of that which is good." But what is
that? The apostle takes it for granted, that every
body knows it, and he had given instances of it be
fore. He does not go about to define or explain it,
but appeals to every man's mind and conscience, to
tell him what it is. It is not any thing that is dis-

43
puted and controverted, which some men call good,
and others eviL; but that which all are agreed in,
and which is universally approved and commended
by heathens as well as Christians, that which is
substantially good, and that which is unquestion
ably so. It is not zeal for lesser things, about the
ritual and ceremonial part of religion, and a great
strictness about the external parts of it, and much
nicety and scrupulousness about things of no mo
ment, as the pharisees' tithing of mint, &c. about
meats and drinks, and the observation of days, and
the like ; but a pursuit of the weightier things of
the law, a care of the great duties of religion,
mercy, and justice, and fidelity ; those things wherein
the kingdom of God consists, righteousness and
peace : such as these the apostle had instanced in,
as substantial and unquestionable parts of good
ness, things which admit of no dispute, but do ap
prove themselves to the reason and conscience of
all mankind ; and the practice of these he calls fol
lowing of that which is good.*
" Be ye followers of that which is good ;" the word
is uiurnai, "if ye imitate the good you see in others ;"
in one copy the word is tn^wral, " if ye be zealous of
that which is good ;" and this is not amiss. Zeal
about lesser and disputable things is very unsuitable
and misbecoming; but we cannot be too earnest
and zealous in the pursuit of things which are sub
stantially and unquestionably good ; it is, good, and
will become us to be zealously affected about such
things. Some things will not bear mnph zeal, and
the more earnest we are about them, the Jess we
recommend ourselves to the approbation of sober
* Sec more of this, Seymon CCI. vol. viii. p. 465.

49
and considerate men. Great zeal about little and
doubtful things, is an argument of a weak mind, in
fatuated by superstition, or overheated by enthu
siasm ; but nothing more becomes a wise man, than
the serious and earnest pursuit of those things
which are agreed on all hands to be good, and have
an universal approbation among all parties and pro
fessions of men, how wide soever their differences
may be in other matters. This, for the qualification
supposed, " if ye be followers of that which is
good." I proceed to the
Second thing in the text, The benefit and advan
tage which may reasonably be expected from it ;
and that is, security from the ill usage and injuries
of men : " Who is he that will harm you," &c. The
apostle doth not absolutely- say, none will do it;
but he speaks of it as a thing so very unreasonable,
and upon all accounts so unlikely and improbable,
that we may reasonably presume that it will not
ordinarily and often happen. Not but that good
men are liable to be affronted and persecuted, and
no mans virtues, how bright and unblemished so
ever, will at all times, and in all cases, exempt him
fpom all manner of injury and ill treatment; but the
following of that which is good (as I have explained
it), doth in its o\yn nature tend to secure us from
the malice and mischief of men, and very frequently
does it, and, all things considered, is a much more
effectual means to this end, than any other course
we can take '¦> and this the apostle means when he
says, " Who is he that will harm you ?"
And this will appear, whether we consider the
nature of virtue and goodness; or the nature of
man, even when it is very much depraved and cor
rupted ; or the providence of God.

50
1. If we consider the nature of virtue and good
ness, which is apt to gain upon the affections of
men, and secretly to win their love and esteem.
True goodness is inwardly esteemed by bad men,
and many times had in very great esteem and ad
miration, even by those who are very far from the
practice of it ; it carries an awe and majesty with
it ; so that bad men are very often withheld and
restrained from harming the good, by that secret
and inward reverence which they bear to goodness.
There are several virtues which are apt in their
own nature to prevent injuries and affronts from
others. Humility takes away all occasion of inso
lence from the proud and haughty, it baffles pride,
and puts it out of countenance. Meekness pacifies
wrath, and blunts the edge of injury and violence.
Suffering good for evil is apt to allay and extin
guish enmity, to subdue the roughest dispositions,
and to conquer even malice itself. And there are
other virtues which are apt in their own nature to
oblige men, and gain their good-will, and make them
our friends, and to tie their affections strongly to
us ; as courtesy and charity, kindness and com
passion, and a readiness to do all good offices to all
men ; and the friendship and good-will of others, is
a powerful defence against injuries. Every man
will cry shame of those who shall fall foul upon him
that hurts nobody. He that obliged many, shall
have many to take his part when he is assaulted,
to rise up in his defence and rescue, and to inter
pose between him and danger. " For a good man
(says the apostle) some would even dare to die."
Besides, it is very considerable, that none of these
virtues expose men to any danger and trouble from
humau laws. When Christianity was persecuted,

51
because it differed from, and opposed the received
religion and superstition of the world, it was com
monly acknowledged by the heathen (as Tertullian
tells us), that the Christians were very good men in
all other things, saving that they were Christians.
When .the laws were most severe against Christians
for their meetings, which they called seditious, and
for their refusal to comply with the received super
stition of the world, which they called contempt of
the gods, yet there were all this while no laws made
against modesty, and humility, and meekness, and
kindness^ and charity, and peaceableness, and for
giveness of injuries. These virtues are in their na
ture of so unalterable goodness, that they could not
possibly be made matter of accusation ; no govern^
ment ever had the face to make laws against them.
And this the apostle takes notice of as a singular
commendation, and great testimony to the immutable
goodness of these things, that, in the experience of
all ages and nations, there was never any such in
convenience found in any of them, as to give occa
sion to a law against them : (Gal. v. 22, 23.) " But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suf
fering, gentleness, fidelity, meekness, temperance.
Against such things there is no law." So that good
ness from its own nature hath this security, that it
brings men under the danger of no law.
II. If we consider the nature of man, even when
it is very much depraved and corrupted. There is
something that is apt to restrain bad men from in
juring those that are remarkably good ; a reverence
for goodness and the inward convictions of their
own mind, that those whom they are going about
to injure, are better and more righteous than them
selves ; the fear of God, and of bringing down his

52
vengeance upon their heads, by their ill treatment
of his friends and followers ; and many times the
fear of men, who, though they be not good them
selves, yet have an esteem for those that are so, and
cannot endure to see them wronged and oppressed,
especially if they have been obliged by them, and
have found the real effects of their goodness in good
offices done by them to themselves.
Besides that, bad men are seldom bad for nought,
without any cause given, without any manner of
temptation and provocation to be so. Who will
hurt a harmless man, and injure the innocent? For
what cause, or for what end, should he do it?
He must love mischief for itself, that will do it to
those who never offered him any occasion and pro
vocation. III. If we consider the providence of God, which
is particularly concerned for the protection of inno-
cency and goodness. " For the righteous Lord
loveth righteousness, and his countenance will be
hold the upright." This the apostle takes notice of,
in the verse before the text, as the great security of
good men against violence and injury : " The eyes
of the Lord are over the righteous, £nd his ears are
open to their prayer." So that if bad men were
never so ill disposed toward the good, and beut to
do them all the injury and mischief they could de
vise, the providence of God hath a thousand ways
to prevent it ; and if he pleases to interpose between
them and danger, who can harm them if they
would ? He can snare the wicked in the works of
their own hands, and make the mischief which they
devised against good men, to return upon their own
heads; he can weaken their hands and infatuate
their counsels, so that they shall not be able to

53
bring their wicked enterprises to pass; he can
change their hearts, and turn the fiercehess and rage
of men against us, into a fit of love and kindness,
as he did the heart of Esau towards his brother
Jacob ; and their bitterest enmity against truth and
goodness, into a mighty zeal for it, as he did in St.
Paul, who, when he came to Damascus, fell a preach
ing up that way, which he came thither on purpose
to persecute. And this God hath promised to do
for good men who are careful to please him. " When
a man's ways please the Lord, he will make his
enemies to be at peace with him."
So that, considering the nature of goodness, and
the nature of man, and the providence of God,
who is like to harm us, " if we be followers of that
which is good ?" None can reasonably do it, and he
must be a very bad man that can find in his heart
to do it, when there is no cause, no temptation, or
provocation to it ; and the providence of God, who
hath the hearts of men in his hands, and can sway
and incline them as he pleaseth, is particularly
concerned to preserve good men from harm and
mischief. And yet we are not to understand this saying of
the apostle, as declaring to us the constant and cer
tain event of things, without any exception to the
contrary. For good men to appearance, nay those
that are really so, and the very best of men, are
sometimes exposed to great injuries and sufferings ;
of which I shall give you an account in these fol
lowing particulars:
I. Some that seem to be good, are not sincerely
so; and when they, by the just judgment of God,
are punished for their hypocrisy, in the opinion of
many, goodness seems to suffer. Some, under a

54
great profession and colour of religion, have done
very bad things, and when they justly suffer for
great crimes, they call punishment persecution, and
the party and church which they are of call them
saints and martyrs.
II. Some that are really good, are very imper
fectly so, have many flaws and defects, which do
very much blemish and obscure their goodness ;
they are " followers of that which is good," but
they have an equal zeal for things which have no
goodness in them, or so little that it is not worth
all that stir and bustle which they make about them ;
and will contend as earnestly for a doubtful, and it
may be for a false opinion, as for the articles of the
creed, and for " the faith which was once delivered
to the saints ;" and will oppose a little ceremony
with as much heat as the greatest immorality. In
these cases, it is not men's goodness which raiseth
enmity against them, but their imprudent zeal, and
other infirmities which attend it : but, however, bad
men are glad to lay hold of these occasions and
pretences of enmity, which their indiscretion offers.
Good men may be, and frequently are, mistaken
in their opmions and apprehensions of things ; but
it is a great mistake to have an equal zeal for little
and doubtful things, as for the great and indispen
sable duties of the Christian life, and yet many times
so as to neglect those to a great degree ; and men
must blame themselves for the inconveniences that
happen to them for their own indiscretion ; for nei
ther will the nature of the thing bear them out
alike, nor will the providence of God be equally
concerned to protect men in the following of that
which they, through a gross mistake aud a heady
conceit of their own knowledge in religion, think

55
to be good, as hi the following of that which is
really and unquestionably good.
III. The enmity of some men against goodness is
so violent and implacable, that no innocency, no
excellency of goodness, how great soever, can re
strain their malice towards good men, or hinder the
effects of it, when it comes in their way, and they
have power to do them mischief. Against these
the providence of God is our best safeguard, and it
is wisdom, as much as is possible, to keep out of
their way, and to pray with St. Paul, that we may
be " delivered from wicked and unreasonable men."
Men of so absurd a malice against goodness, that it
is not to be prevented by any innocency or prudence;
and so implacable, that there is no way to gain and
reconcile them, nor, perhaps, is it much desirable :
their good word would be no credit to us, and their
friendship would be pernicious, when it cannot be
had upon other terms than of conniving at their
faults, and being concerned in their quarrels, and
at last quarrelling and breaking with them, unless
we will " run with them to the same excess of riot."
The friendship of such men is more terrible than
their enmity, and their malice much less to be
dreaded than their kindness.
IV. The last and chief exception is that of the
cross, when the sufferings and persecutions of good
men are necessary for the great ends of God's glory,
for the advancement of religion, and the example
and salvation of others. And with this exception,
all the declarations of Scripture concerning the
temporal prosperity and safety of good men, and
all the promises of the New Testament, are to be
understood. And this exception our Saviour him
self expressly makes : (Mark x. 29, 30.) " Verily, I

56
say unto you, There is no man that hath left bouses
or brethren, or sisters, or father > or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands, for my Sake and the gospel's,
but he shall receive a hundred-fold now in this
time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers,
and children, and lands, with persecutions ; and in
the world to come eternal life ;" that is, so far as a
state of persecution would admit, all these losses
should be recompensed to them in this present time;
as they were to the apostles in a remarkable man
ner : when they who had but little to part with for
the gospel, had the estates of Christians laid at their
feet and committed to their disposal, for the noblest
purposes of charity, and common support of Christ
ians, which was as much to them as if they had
been masters of the greatest estates ; and whatever
was wanting to any of them in the accomplishment
of this promise, was abundantly made, up to them
in the unspeakable and eternal happiness of the
world to come. And this exception the apostle
St. Peter is careful to mention expressly, imme
diately after the text ; for after he had said, " Who
is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that
which is good ?" he immediately adds, " But, and if
ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye ; and
be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled,
but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts ;" that is,
in this case, fear God more than men ; " and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that
asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you ;"
that is, if ye be questioned for being Christians, be
ready to own your profession, and to give a reason
of it: so that the apostle supposeth, that, notwith-
. standing what he had said, that ordinarily it is not
in the nature of men to persecute men for true good-

57
ness, yet they must not expect to be exempted from
persecution, which was necessary for the establish
ment ofthe Christian religion.
In these cases, God permits the devil to instigate
and exasperate evil men against those that are good,
to act beyond their usual temper. Thus God, when
he designed an illustrious example of patience for
all ages of the world, he lets loose the devil, not only
to stir up his instruments the Chaldeans and Sa-
beans against Job, but to afflict him immediately
himself with bodily pains and diseases. In these
and the like cases, the best men are exposed to the
greatest sufferings. Thus God permitted Socrates,
that great light among the gentiles, and the glory of
philosophy, to be cruelly treated and put to death
for an example of virtue, and a testimony against
their impious and abominable idolatry. And thus,
likewise, when it was necessary for the common sal
vation of men, and to give the world an example
beyond all exception of the greatest innocency, en
during the greatest indignities and sufferings with
the greatest patience, that one should suffer for all
mankind, he permitted the best man that ever was,
God and goodness incarnate, " by wicked hands to
be crucified and slain ;" and afterwards, when it
was necessary for the propagation and establish
ment of Christianity in the world, that the truth of
it should be sealed by the death of so many martyrs,
God was pleased to suffer the rage of bad men to
break out into all manner of violence and cruelly.
But yet, notwithstanding these exceptions, those
who make it their business to do good^ aud to excel
in those virtues which are apt to win and oblige
mankind, may, in ordinary cases and times, expect
great safety and protection against the injuries :Qf
VOL. IX. F

58
the world, from ah exemplary piety, and innocency,
and goodness ; for these sayings in the New Testa
ment, that "through many tribulations we must
enter into the kingdom of God," and that " who
ever will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer per
secution," are not equally to be extended to all
places and times ; but more peculiarly to be under
stood ofthe first times of Christianity, when the pro
vidence of God thought fit to establish the Christian
religion upon the innocent lives and patient suffer
ings of the first professors of it.
The result from all this discourse is, that we
should not be weary of well-doing;- but mind and
follow the things which are substantially and un
questionably good ; not doubting but, besides the
infinite reward of it in the other world, it will ordi
narily turn to our great security and advantage in
this life, and save us harmless from a great many
mischiefs and inconveniences which others are ex
posed to. If we endeavour to excel in those Christ
ian virtues which the apostle mentions before the
text, and which he means by our being " followers*
of that which is good ;" we shall undoubtedly find
the comfort of it, in those temporal benefits that
will redound to us : for the "Scripture hath not said
in vain, "Trust in the Lord and do good, so shalt
thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the
earth. Glory, and honour, and peace, to every
man that worketh good." That "the fruit of righte
ousness is sown in peace of them that work peace;"
that, " by well-doing, we shall put to siience the
ignorance of foolish men ;" that " the kingdom of
God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and
peace, and joy, in the Holy Ghost ;" and that " he

59
that in these things serveth Christ, is accepted of
God and approved of men."
But if we mistake religion, and place it in those
things wherein it doth not really consist, in airy no
tions and doubtful opinions, in superstitious con
ceits and practices, and in a fiery and furious zeal
for things of no weight and substance, of no real
virtue and goodness ; if we be defective in the great
virtues of meekness and humility, of peaceableness
and charity, of kindness and courtesy, of forbear
ance and forgiveness, of " rendering good for evil,
and overcoming evil with good," qualities which
will universally endear us and recommend us to
the favour and protection of God, and to the esteem
and good-will of men ; and if, instead of these, we
abound in malice and envy, be proud and con
ceited, censorious and uncharitable, contentious
and unpeaceable, rude and uncivil, impatient and
implacable ; we must not think it strange if we be
ill treated iu this world, not for our goodness, but
for our want of it ; and we have no reason to won
der, if, at every turn, we meet with the inconve
niences of our own heat and indiscretion, of our
peevish and morose temper, of our factious and tur
bulent disposition. For this is an eternal rule of
truth, " As we sow, so shall We reap ;" every man
shall be " filled with his own ways, and eat the
fruit of his own doings." ,

f2

SERMON CCXL
OF DILIGENCE IN OUR GENERAL AND PARTICULAR
CALLING.
[Preached at Whitehall, 1G85.]
Whatsoever thy hand findeth lo do, do it with thy
might : for there is no work, nor device, nor know-
ledge,nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thougoeat*
— Eccl. ix. 10.
These words of the royal preacher are a general
exhortation to diligence and industry, in that work
which is most proper for us to do in this world.
And I shall consider in them these two things :
First, The matter of this advice and exhortation ;
and that is, that we would use great diligence about
those things which are the proper work and employ
ment of this life. " Whatsoever thy hand findeth to
do, do it with thy might."— "Whatsoever thy hand
findeth to do ;" that is, the work which is before thee,
which is most proper for thee to propose to thyself,
as the great end and design of thy life, the province
and charge which is appointed thee. So that these
words, in the full compass and extent of them, may
very well comprehend every reasonable purpose and
undertaking, whatever is incumbent upon us as a
duty, and is matter of reasonable choice. " Do it
with thy might;" that is, set about it with great
care, use all possible, diligence and industry for the
effecting and accomplishing of it.
Secondly, Here is the argument whereby the wise

61
preacher doth enforce this counsel and exhortation ;
because this life is the proper season of activity and
industry, of designing and doing those things which
are in order to a future happiness ; and when this
life is at an end, there will be no farther opportunity
of working, there will nothing then remain, but to
reap the fruit, and to receive the just recompence of
what we have done in this life; "For there is no
work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in
the grave, whither thou goest," — " In the grave," this
the LXX. render by the word aS?/e, by which the
Greeks used to express the state of the dead, the
condition of separate souls of good or bad men after
they are departed this life, and entered into another
world. In which state, Solomon does not mean that
departed souls have no knowledge and sense of any
thing, but that then there will be no place for any
counsel and design, for any activity and industry, in
order to our happiness : what we do to this purpose,
we must do whilst we are in this world ; it will be
too late afterwards to think of altering or bettering
our condition.
These are the two parts of the text, and they shall
be the two heads of my following discourse ; and
God grant that what shall be said upon them, may
be effectual to persuade every one of us seriously to
mind our great interest and concernment, and to ap
ply ourselves with all our might to that which is our
proper work and business in this world.
First, We will consider the matter of this coun
sel and exhortation; and that is, that we would use
great diligence and industry about that which is our
proper work and business in this life ; and this may
very probably comprehend in it these two things :
I. Diligence in our great work and business, that/

62
which equally concerns every man; I mean the bu
siness of religion, in order to the eternal happiness
and salvation of our souls.
II. Diligence in our particular calling and charge,
whatever it be.
I. Diligence in our great and general work, that
which equally concerns every man, the business of
religion, in order to the eternal happiness and sal
vation of our souls; and this consists in these two
things :
1. In a sincere care and endeavour of universal
obedience to God, by the conformity of our lives and
actions to his laws.
2. In case of sin and miscarriage, in a sincere re
pentance for our sins, and a timely care to be recon
ciled to God.
1. In a sincere care and endeavour of universal
obedience to God, by the conformity of our lives
and actions to his will and law. And this is a great
work, and requires our greatest care and diligence
to rectify our minds, to restrain our evil inclinations,
to subdue and mortify our lusts, to correct the irre
gularity of our passions, to moderate and govern
our appetites and affections, and to keep them'
within due and reasonable bounds, " to take heed to
our ways, that we offend not with our tongue," nor
transgress our duty by word or deed ; to serve God
with true devotion of mind, both in public and pri^
vate ; io attend upon the duties of his worship, and
to perform all acts of piety and religion, with care
and constancy, in the sincerity and uprightness of
our hearts ; to be meek and humble, peaceable and
patient, cheerful and contented with our condition ;
to be ready not only to forgive injuries, but to requite
them with kindness and good turns ; to do all offices

63
of humanity and charity to all men, according to
our ability and opportunity ; to instruct the ignorant,
and to reduce those that are in error to the know
ledge of the truth, by wise counsel and good exam
ple; to endeavour "to turn men from the evil of
their ways," and "to save their souls from death ;''
to be ready to supply men's outward wants and ne
cessities, to comfort them in their sorrows, and to
relieve them in their affliction and distress.
And these works of compassion and charity are,
perhaps, more particularly intended here in the text ;
for so the Chaldee paraphrase interprets these words
of Solomon, as a precept of charity, rendering them
thus, " Do all thou canst, according to thy utmost
ability in alms and charity :" for nothing but this will
turn to our account in another world ; no other way
of laying out our estates will be of any advantage
to us in the future state. And though I do not think
Solomon did here intend to exclude any part of re
ligious practice, yet he might very well have a more
especial eye and regard to this, as one of the princi
pal instances and best evidences of a true and sin
cere piety, according to that of St. James, (chap. i.
ver. 27.) " Pure religion, and undefiled before God
and the Father, is this, to visit the fatherless and
widows in their affliction." To be sure, our Saviour
lays mighty weight upon it, by making it the great
article by which men shall be tried at the judgment
of the great day. And, indeed, no religion is to be
valued, that wauls humanity and compassion ; for so
far as it departs from this, it departs from the true
nature of God and religion.
So that it is a vast work which lies upon our
hands, and which every one of us, from the highest
to the lowest, are engaged in ; this business of reli-

64
gion, this care of our whole man, and of our whole
duty, of the inward frame and disposition of our
minds, and of all our words and actions, " to keep
our hearts with all diligence," and carefully to ob
serve and govern all the inclinations and motions of
our souls, and "to qrder our whole conversation
aright;" in a word, to do God all the service, and
men all the good, that possibly we can, while we are
in this world. This is the first.
2. And, because *' in many things we offend all,
and there is no man that sinneth not," another part
of our work and care is, in case of transgression and
miscarriage in any part of our duty, to exercise re
pentance for it, that so we may be reconciled to God,
and at peace with him.
And this is absolutely necessary, because our
life and happiness depend upon it, and "except we
repent we must perish," and be miserable for ever.
It cannot be denied but that this work of repentance
is very harsh and unpleasant, like the taking of phyr
sic, and searching into a wound ; but because it
tends to our health and safety, and is the necessary
way and means to a better condition, this severity
must be submitted to, if we desire to be cured,
and have a mind to be well; and the sooner we
make use of this remedy the better, we shall find so
much the less difficulty and pain in the cure.
And there is great reason why we should frequent-.
ly exercise and renew our repentance, because our
failings are frequent, and in one kind or other we
offend and provoke God every day : especially
when we are coming to the holy sacrament, in
which we solemnly renew our covenant with God,
and promise him better obedience for the future;
WC should examine our lives more strictly, and caU

65
our sins more particularly to remembrance, and
exercise a most solemn and deep repentance for
them ; this is the way to keep our accounts in a good
measure even. And this surely is great wisdom, to
provide that we may have no long account to make
up, no great scores to wipe off, when we come to
be overtaken by sickness, and to lie upon our death
bed ; that innumerable transgressions unrepented
of may not then compass us about, and stare us in
the face, and fill our souls with fear and confusion,
with horror and amazement, in a dying hour ; that
an insupportable load of guilt may not then lie
upon our minds, and oppress our consciences, when
we are least able to bear it, and most unfit to deal
with it, when we may not have time to call our sins
particularly to remembrance, and to exercise a par
ticular repentance for them, and yet perhaps a ge
neral repentance may not be sufficient, and avail
able with God, for the pardon and forgiveness of
them. Therefore we should exercise ourselves much in
this work of repentance in the days of our health,
when we are fittest for it, and when it will be most
acceptable to God, and when the sincerity of it will
be most evident and comfortable to us, when we
may know it to be true by the real and certain
effects of it, in the change and amendment of our
lives. Whereas a death-bed repentance is infinitely
hazardous, because we may not perhaps have time
and opportunity for the exercise of it; or if we
should have that, yet hardly can we have oppor
tunity for the trial of it, whether it be sincere or
not, and consequently must needs die very uncom
fortably, and in great doubt and anxiety of mind,
what will be our fate and doom in another world,

66
$0 that it is a great work which lies upon our
hands, and equally concerns every one of us. The
business of religion, which consists in the strict
care of our duty to God and man, and in the fre
quent exercise of repentance for the sins and mis
carriages of our lives ; and we may consequently
judge, how great a care and diligence a work of so
much difficulty, and of so great moment and im
portance, does require and call for at our hands.
But besides this, we must in the
II. Second place, likewise, be diligent in our par
ticular calling and charge, in that province and
station which God hath appointed us, whatever it
be ; whether it consists in the labour of our hands,
of in the improvement of our minds, in order to the
gaining of knowledge for our own pleasure and
satisfaction, and for the use and benefit of others;
whether it lie in the skill of government, and the ad
ministration of public justice; or in the manage
ment of a great estate, of an honourable rank and
quality above others, to the best advantage, for the
honour of God, and the benefit and advantage of
men, so as, by the influence of our power and estate,
and by the authority of our example, to contribute
all we can to the welfare and happiness of others.
For it is a great mistake to think that any man
is without a calling, and that God does not expect
that every one of us should employ himself in doing
good in one kind or other. Some persons indeed,
by the privilege of their birth and quality, are above
a common trade and profession, but they are not
hereby either exempted or excused from all busi
ness, and allowed to live unprofitably to others, be
cause they are so plentifully provided for themselves :
nay, on the* contrary, they have so much the greater

67
obligation, having the liberty and leisure to attend
the good of others ; the higher our character and
station is, we have the better opportunities of being
publicly useful and beneficial ; and the heavier will
our account be, if we neglect these opportunities.
Those who are in a low and private condition, can
only shine to a few, but they that are advanced a
great height above others, may, like the heavenly
bodies, dispense a general light and influence, and
scatter happiness and blessings among all that are
below them.
And as they are capable of doing more good
than others, so with more ease and effect; that
which persons of an inferior rank can hardly bring
others to, by all the importunity of counsel and
persuasion, as, namely, to the practice of any vir
tue, and the quitting and abandoning of any vice,
a prince and a great man that is good himself may
easily gain them to, without ever speaking a word
to them, by the silent authority and powerful al
lurement of his example. So that though eyery
man have not a particular profession, yet the high
est among men have some employment allotted to
them by God, suitable to their condition, a province
which he expects they should administer and adorn
with great care.
The great business ofthe lower part of mankind
is to provide for themselves the necessaries of life,
and itis well if they can do it with all their care
and diligence ; but those who are of a higher rank,
their proper business and employment is to dis
pense good to others ; which surely is a much hap
pier Condition and employment, according to that
admirable saying of our Saviour, mentioned by St.
Paul, " It is a more blessed thing to give, than to

68
receive." Those of meaner condition can only be
men to one another, and it were well if they would
be so ; but he that is highly raised and advanced
above others, hath the happy opportunity in his
hands, if he have but the heart to make use of it, tO
be a kind of god to men.
Let no man then, of what birth, or rank, or qua
lity soever, think it beneath him to serve God, and
to be useful to the benefit and advantage of men ;
let us remember the Son of God, a person of the
highest quality and extraction that ever was, who
spent himself wholly iu this blessed work of doing
good, toiled and laboured in it as if it had been for
his life, submitted to all the circumstances of mean
ness, to all the degrees of contempt, to all kind of
hardship and sufferings, for the benefit and salva
tion of men, sweat drops of blood, and at last
poured it all forth in full streams, to save us from
eternal misery and ruin ; and is any of us better
than " the Son of God, the heir of all things, and
the elder brother of us all ?" Shall any of us, after
this, think ourselves too good to be employed in
that work which God himself disdained not to do,
when he appeared in the likeness and nature of
man ?
If we would esteem things rightly, and according
to reason, the true privilege and advantage of great
ness is, to be able to do more good than others; and
in this the majesty and felicity of God himself doth
chiefly consist, in his ready and forward inclination,
and in his infinite power and ability, to do good.
The creation of the world was a great and glorious
design, but this God only calls his work ; but to
preserve and support the creatures which he hath
made, to bless them and to do them good, to go-'"

oy
vern them by wise laws, and to conduct them to
that happiness which he designed for them, this is
his rest, his perpetual sabbath, his great delight and
satisfaction to all eternity ; to do good is our duty
and our business, but it is likewise the greatest plea
sure and recreation, that which refresheth the heart
of God and man.
I have insisted the longer upon this, that those
who are thought to be above any calling, and to
have no obligation upon them, but to please them
selves, may be made sensible, that, according to
their ability and opportunity, they have a great
work upon their hands, and more business to do
than other men ; which, if they would but seriously
mind, they would not only please God, but, I dare
say, satisfy and please themselves much better than
they do in any other course. I know it is a duty
particularly incumbent upon the lower part of man
kind, to be diligent in their particular calling, that
so they may provide for themselves and their fa
milies; but this is not so proper for this place, and
if it were, the necessity of human life will probably
prompt and urge men more powerfully to this, than
any argument and persuasion that I can use. I pro
ceed therefore, in the
Second place,To offer some considerations to ex
cite our care and diligence in this great work, which
God hath given us to do in this world, I mean
chiefly the business of religion, in order to the
eternal happiness and salvation of our souls. And
to this purpose, I shall offer five or six arguments,
reserving the great motive and consideration in the
text to the last, because " there is no work, nor de
vice, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whi
ther thou goest."

I. Let us consider the nature of our work, which
is such, as .may both excite and encourage our dili
gence and care about it. It is indeed a service, but
such as is our .jjerfeet-freedom ; it is the service of
God, whom to serve is the greatest honour that man
or any other creature is capable of; it is obedience,
but even obedience, considering our ignorance and
frailty, is much wiser and safer for us, than a total
exemption from all law and rule; for the laws
which God hath given us, are not imposed upon us
merely for his will and pleasure, but chiefly for our
benefit and advantage. So that to obey and please
i God, is in truth nothing else but to do those things
which are really best for ourselves.
Besides, that this work of religion will abundantly
jecompense all the labour and pains it can cost, if
we considerthe fruit and end of it, which is " the
salvation of our souls ;" so St. Paul assures us,
(Rom. vi. 22.) that if we have " our fruit unto holi
ness," our end shall be everlasting life. Nay, this
work doth not want its present encouragement and
reward, if we considerthe peace and pleasure which
attends it; "Great peace (saith David) have they
which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them."
Religion doth not design to rob men of the true de
lights of life, of any lawful pleasure and enjoyment;
it only appoints them their due place, and season,
and measure, without which they cannot be truly
tasteful and pleasant : if we make pleasure and re
creation our business, it will become a burden, and
leave a sting behind it ; but if we make it our great
business to be good, and to do good, we shall then
take true pleasure in our recreations and refresh
ments, we shall " eat our bread with joy, and drink
our wine with a merry heart," as Solomon express-

71
eth it a little before the text. Religion doth not
ordinarily debar men of any contentment which
they can wisely and safely take, in any ofthe enjoy
ments of this life, but directs us to do those things
which will yield the truest and most refined plea
sure, and so governs us in the use and enjoyment
of worldly comforts, that there shall be no bitter
ness in them, or after them : and in truth, after all
our search and inquiry after pleasure and happi
ness, we shall find that there is no solid and lasting
pleasure, but in living righteously and religiously :
and the pleasure of this is so great, that a heathen
"philosopher, speaking of a virtuous life, according
to the true precepts of philosophy, breaks out in
this rapture and transport concerning the wonder
ful pleasure of it, Vel units dies vere et ex prceceptis
tuis actus peccandi immortalitati est anleferendus ;
" Even one day truly spent according to thy pre
cepts is to be valued above an immortality of sin
ning." There is no life so pleasant as that of the
pious and good man, who being contented with
himself, every thing about him contributes to his
cheerfulness, Gratior it dies, et soles melius nitent ;
"The day passeth more pleasantly, and the sun
shines brighter to him ;" and every object which he
beholds is more delightful, because the, man is at
peace and ease within himself.
II. Let us consider how great our work is, and
then we shall easily be convinced what care it re
quires, what diligence it calls for from us. Very few
persons, I doubt, are sufficiently sensible how much
thought and consideration, how much care and vigi-
lancy, how firm a resolution and earnest attention
of mind, is necessary to the business of religion, to
the due cultivating and improving of our minds, to

the mortifying and subduing of our lusts, to the
mastering and governing of our passions, to the re
forming of our tempers, to the correcting of all the
irregularities of our appetites and affections, and to
'the reducing of our crooked wills, which have been
long obstinately bent the wrong way, to the straight-
ness of that rule which God hath given us to walk by.
Few, I fear, consider how much pains is neces
sary to the storing of our minds with good princi
ples, and to the fixing and riveting in our souls all
the proper motives and considerations to engage us
to virtue, that in all the occasions of our lives they
may have their due force and influence upon us.
Few of us take pains to understand the just bounds
and limits- of our duty, and so to attend thereto, as
to be always upon our guard against the infinite
temptations of human life, and the many malicious
enemies of our souls, that we may not be circum
vented by the wiles of the devil, nor caught in
those snares which he lays before us in our ways,
that we be not wrought upon by the insinuations,
nor overreached by the deceitfulness of sin.
How few consider what care and watchfulness
of ourselves, what constancy and fervency of prayer
to God, is necessary to the due discharge of every
part of our duty ; or to the right exercise of every
grace and virtue! Besides an earnest imploring of
the Divine assistance, there is required likewise a
particular care and application of mind, that we
may fail in no point; and that, as St. James ex
presseth it, " We may be entire, wanting nothing ;"
that our faith and our hope, our devotion and our
charity, our humility and our patience, and every
other grace, may be exercised in the best manner,
and have its proper work.

73
HI. Consider what incredible pains men will
take, what diligence they will use, for bad purposes,
and for ends infinitely less considerable ; Utjugulent
homines, surgunt de node latrones, ut teipsum serves,
non expergiscere? "Thieves will rise and travel by
night to rob and kill, and shall we use no care, no
vigilance, to save ourselves ?" What drudges and
slaves are many men to their sensual pleasures and
lusts? How hot and fierce upon revenge? And
what hazards will they run to satisfy this unreason
able and ,deyilish passion ; and thereby make way
for a speedy and bitter repentance, which always
treads upon the heels of revenge? For no sooner
hath any man executed his rage upon another, but
his conscience presently turns it upon himself.
How industrious do we see men at their recrea
tions and sports, taking really more pains for the
sake of pleasure, than the poor man does that works
for his living?
What a violent thirst, and insatiable covetousness,
possesseth some men after learning and knowledge!
How will they toil and watch, wear out their eyes,
and waste their spirits, and pursue their studies, not
only with the neglect of fitting diversion, but even
of the necessary support and reparation of nature,
by meat and sleep ? nay, many times, to increase
their learning, they weaken their understandings,
and for the gaining of more knowledge, do disable
that power and faculty which should make use of
it when they have it.
How will men attend for several hours to a lewd
and extravagant play, and sit not only with pa
tience, but with delight, to hear things spoken, which
are neither fit to be spoken nor heard ?
And, above all, how eager and earnest, how busy
VOL. ix. G

74
and industrious, are a great part of mankind, in the
pursuit of their ambitious and covetous designs ;
how sorely will they labour and travail? how hardly
will they be contented to fare, and how meanly will
they live themselves, to make they know not whom
rich ? even any body that happens to come in their
way, when they make their last wills.
And are men at all this pains for compassing of
their low and mean, of their vile and wicked designs,
to do themselves no good ; nay, for the most part,
to hurt and destroy themselves? and are the present
pleasures and satisfaction of our minds, and eternal
life and happiness in another world, things of no
value and esteem with us? Is salvation itself so
slight and inconsiderable a thing, that it deserves
none of this care and diligence to be used for the
obtaining of it?
IV. Consider that when we come to die, nothing
will yield more true and solid consolation to us,
than the remembrance of an useful and well-spent
life, a life of great labour and diligence, of great zeal
and faithfulness in the service of God ; and, on the
contrary, with what grief and regret shall we look
back upon all those precious hours which we have
so fondly misplaced in sin and vanity! How shall
we then wish that we could recal them, and live
them over again, that we might spend them better !
all that time which now lies upon our hands, arid
we know not how to bestow it and pass it away,
will then most assuredly lie heavy upon our con
sciences. What anguish and confusion have I seen
in the looks and speeches of a dying man, caused
only by the grievous remembrance of an unprofit
able and ill-spent life I So foolish are many men,
as never seriously to think for what end they came

75
into the world, till they are just ready to go out
of it.
V. Consider that the degrees of our happiness in
another world, will certainly bear a proportion to
the degrees of our diligence and industry in serving
God, and doing good. And it is an argument of a
mean spirit, not to aspire after the best and happiest
condition, which is to be attained by us. To be
contented barely to live, when by our pains and in
dustry we may become considerable, and raise our
selves above the common level of men, is a sign of
a poor and degenerate mind ; so it is in the business
of religion; to be contented with any low degrees
of virtue and goodness, and consequently of glory
and happiness, when, by a great diligence and in
dustry in " serving our generation according to the
will of God," we may be of the number of those,
" whose reward shall be great in heaven," and have
a place there, among those righteous persons, who
" shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father." Besides that, it may prove a thing of a dangerous
consequence to us, to deal thus strictly with God,
and to drive so near and hard a bargain with him ;
we may easily miss of happiness, and come short of
heaven, if we only design just to get thither; we
may be mistaken in the degree of holiness and vir
tue, which is necessary to recommend us to the
Divine favour and acceptance, and to make us
capable of the glorious reward of eternal life: for
" unto whomsoever much is given, (saith our Sa
viour) of him much shall be required;" to him that
hath only one talent committed to him, it may be
sufficient to have gained one; but he that hath
many talents entrusted to him, may gain one,
g 2

76
and yet be a wicked and slothful servant ; propor-
tionably to our advantages and opportunities, our
duty increaseth upon our hands, and better and
greater things may justly be expected from us.
The consideration whereof should make us unwea
ried in our endeavours of doing good, " and stead
fast and unmoveable, and always abounding in the
work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our
labour shall not be in vain in the Lord."
VI. And lastly, Let us consider the argument
here in the text, " There is no work, nor device,
nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither
we are going." Longe quiescendi tempora fata da-
bunt, we shall then rest from our labours, and our
works will follow us. This life is the time of our
activity and working, the next is the season of retri
bution and recompence ; we shall then have nothing
to do, but either to reap and enjoy the comfort of
well-doing, or to repent the folly of an ill-spent life,
and the irreparable mischief which thereby we
have brought upon ourselves; " there is no work,
nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest ;" in
timating, that our life is a continual journey towards
the grave, shorter or longer as God pleaseth ; and
many times when we think ourselves far from it,
we may be just upon it, and ready to stumble into
it. So that our time of working may be very short,
to be sure it is very uncertain.
And it is very well worth our consideration, that
as " there is no work nor wisdom in the grave," so
there is very little to be exercised when we come
to draw near to it, whether it be by sickness or old
age : " Sufficient (surely) for that day will be the
evil thereof." We had need** then to have nothing
else to do, but to be old and weak, to be sick and

77
die; we shall find that to be burden and trouble
enough. " Let us, therefore, work the work of him that
sent us into the world while it is day; for the night
cometh," saith our Saviour (by which may proba
bly be meant the time of sickness or old age), " the
night cometh, when no man can work;" so that
what we do, we must do quickly, mind the work
which is before us, and ply it with all our might, as
if it were the last opportunity we should ever have;
and so it may prove, for aught we know, for it is
ten to one but that some here present, and God
knows which of us it may be, may now have the
last opportunity in our hands, and that but a slip
pery hold of it, and may never have this counsel
given us again, nor, perhaps, be long in a capacity
to make use of it ; for when death hath once over
taken us, it will fix us in an unchangeable state,
" as the tree falls, so it shall lie."
This is the time of our work and preparation for
another world, and what we do towards it in this
life, will avail us in the other; but if this opportu
nity be neglected, there is nothing to be done by us
afterwards, but to inherit the fruit of our own folly
and neglect; to sit down in everlasting sorrow, and
to be immutably fixed in that miserable state, which
whilst we were in this world we could never be
persuaded to take any tolerable care to avoid.
And if we can do nothing for ourselves to help
and relieve us in that state, much less can we think
it can be done for us by others, by the consigning
of masses and prayers, of merits and indulgences,
to our use and benefit in another world. No, so
soon as ever we are passed into the other state, we
shall enter upon a condition of happiness or misery,

78
that is never to be altered. So that this life is the
proper season for wisdom to shew itself, and to
exercise our best industry for the attaining of hap
piness; it will be too late afterwards to think of
altering or bettering our condition, for death will
conclude and determine our state one way or other,
and what we are when we leave the world, good or
bad, fitted for happiness or misery, we shall remain
and continue so for ever.
Therefore it infinitely concerns all of us, to exer
cise our best wisdom in this present life, and what
we have to do for our souls, and for all eternity,
to do it with our might: to contrive and use the
best means to be happy, while the opportunity of
doing it is yet in our hands; we may easily let it
slip, but no care, no wisdom, no diligence, no re
pentance, can retrieve it; when it is once lost, it is
lost for ever.
Hear then the conclusion of the whole matter;
would we enjoy ourselves and the peace of our
minds while we live? would we have good hopes
and comfort in our death, and after death would
we be happy for ever? Let us lay the foundation of
all this, -in the activity and industry of a religious
and holy life; a life of unspotted purity and temper
ance in the use of sensual pleasures, of sincere
piety and devotion towards God, of strict justice
and integrity, and of great goodness and charity,
towards men.
And let us consider that many of us are a great
way already on our journey towards the grave, that
our day is declining apace, and the shadows ofthe
. evening begin to be stretched out; therefore, that
little of our life which is yet behind us should be
precious to us, ut esse solis gratiits lumen solet, jam

79
jam cadentis, we should improve that which yet
remains, as it were for our lives, always remember
ing that our only opportunity of working, of design
ing, and doing great and happy things for ourselves,
is on this side the grave, and that this opportunity
will expire and die with us ; " for there is no work,
nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the
grave," whither we are going.
" Now God of his infinite mercy grant, that we
may all of us know, in this our day, the things
which belong to our present peace, and future hap
piness, before they be hid from our eyes, for his
mercy's sake in Jesus Christ; to whom, with thee,
G Father, and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and
glory, thanksgiving and praise, now and for ever
more."

SERMON CCXII.
Of THE BLESSEDNESS OF GIVING, MORE THAN THAT
OF RECEIVING.
And to remember the wofds of the Lord Jesus, how
he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
—Acts xx. 36.
The whole verse runs thus :
I have shewechyou all things, how that so labouring
ye ought to support the weak; and to remember the
ivords of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more
blessed to give than to receive.
The words whieh I have read to you, have this
particular advantage to recommend them to our
more attentive consideration, that they are a re
markable saying of our Lord himself, not recorded
by any of the evangelists among his other sayings
and discourses, but remembered by the apostles,
and by some of them delivered to St. Paul, and by
him preserved to us in his farewell speech to the
elders of Ephesus. In which, after he had given
them some needful advice, and commended them
to the grace of God, he appeals to them concern
ing the integrity of his conversation among them;
that he was so far from seeking his own advantage,
and from coveting any thing that was theirs, that
he had not only supported himself, but also relieved
others by the labour of his own hands; giving them
herein a great example of charity, which it seems
he was wont to enforce upon them by an excellent

81
saying of our Lord, " It is more blessed to give
than to receive."
And it is really a particular endearment of this
saying fo us, that, being omitted by the evangelists,
and in danger of being lost and forgotten, it was so
happily retrieved by St. Paul, and recorded by St.
Luke. The Common sayings of ordinary persons
perish Without regard, and are spilt like water upon
the ground, which nobody goes about to gather Up ;
but fhe little atid short sayings of wise and excelleut
men are of great value, like the dust of gold, or the
least sparks of diamonds. And such is this saying
of our Lord, which is not only valuable out of re
spect to its author, but for the sake of that admira
ble sense which is contained in it.
Some interpreters have needlessly troubled them
selves to find these words, or something equivalent
to them, in the gospel. That the sense of them may
be inferred from several passages in the gospels,
none will deny ; but that they are either expressly
to be found there, or that there is any saying that
sounds to the same sense, I think nobody can shewr.
Besides that St. Paul cites a particular sentence or
saying of our Lord, that was pjrtoe, and in those
very words spoken by him.
And there is no reason to imagine, that the go's-
pels are a perfect and exact account of all the say
ings and actions of our Lord, though St. Luke calls
his gospel, " a treatise of all things that Jesus did
and spake ;" that is, of the principal actions of his
life, and the substance of his discourses, at least so
much of them as is needful for us to know : for St.
Luke leaves out several things related by the other
evangelists. And St. John expressly tells ns, that
Jesus did innumerable things not recorded in the

82
history of his life : and there is no doubt but the
disciples of our Lord remembered many particular
sayings of his, not set down in the gospels, which
upon occasion they did relate and communicate to
others, as they did this to St. Paul.
The words themselves are the proposition I shall
speak to, "It is a more blessed thing to give than
to receive." This I know seems a paradox to most
men, who know no happiness but in hoardingup what
they have, and in receiving and heaping up more ;
but as strange as this saying may appear, the sense
of it is owned and assented to by those great oracles
of reason, the wisest and most considerate heathens ;
t>js dpcrriQ udWov to iv TroiEiv 7} to tv iraayziv, " It IS a
more virtuous thing to do, than to receive good," says
Aristotle; which according to his opinion was to say,
itis a greater happiness, because he placed happiness
in the practice and exercise of virtue. To the same
purpose is that saying of Plutarch, h\> iroielv ij&ov kanv
n Trdaytiv ; " There is more pleasure in doing a kind
ness than in taking one." And that of Seneca, Malim
non recipere beneficia, quam non dare ; " Ofthe two,
I had rather uot receive benefits, than not bestow
them." And thatthe heathen have spoken thingsto the
same sense with this saying of our Saviour's, is so
far from being any prejudice to this saying of our
Saviour, that it is a great commendation of it, as
being an argument that our Saviour hath herein said
nothing but what is very agreeable to the best no
tions of our minds, and to the highest reason and
wisdom of mankind. In the handling of this pro
position, I shall do these two things :
First, Endeavour lo convince men of the truth
and reasonableness of it.
Secondly, To persuade men to act suitably to it.

83
First, To convince men ofthe truth and reasona
bleness of this principle, that" it is more blessed
to give than to receive." And this will fully appear
by considering these three things :
I. That it is an argument of a more happy spirit
and temper.
II. Of a more happy state and condition, And,
III. That it shall have the happiness of a greater
reward. I. To be governed by this principle, is an argu
ment of a more happy spirit and temper. To do
good, to be useful and beneficial to others, to be of
a kind and obliging disposition, of a tender and
compassionate spirit, sensible of the straits and
miseries of others, so as to be ready to ease and
relieve them (for to this kind of goodness and charity
the apostle applies this saying of our Saviour, as
appears by the context), this certainly is the hap
piest spirit and temper in the world, and is an argu
ment of a noble, and generous, and large heart, that
is not contracted within itself, and confined to little
and narrow designs, and takes care of nobody but
itself, envying that others should share with it, and
partake of its happiness ; but is free and open, ready
to do good, and willing to communicate, and thinks
its own happiness increased by making others happy.
It is the property of narrow and envious spirits
to think their own happiness the greater, because
they have it alone to themselves; but the noblest
and most heavenly dispositions desire that others
should share with them in it. Of all beings, God
is the farthest removed from envy and ill-will, and
the nearer any creature approacheth to him, the
farther it is from this hellish disposition. For it is
the temper of the devil to grudge happiness to

84
others ; he envied that man should be in paradise,
and was restless till he had got him out.
Some perfections are of a more solitary nature
and disposition, and shine brightest when they are
attained to but by few, as knowledge and power:
but the nature of goodness is to diffuse and com
municate itself, and the more itis communicated the
more glorious it is. And therefore knowledge and
power may be in a nature most contrary to God's ;
the devil hath these perfections in a high degree.
To receive good from others is no certain argu
ment of virtue or merit, for the unworthy and un
thankful often receive benefits : but to be good and
do good is the excellency of virtue, because it is to
resemble God in that which is the most amiable and
glorious of all his other perfections. And there
fore when Moses desires " to see God's glory,"
(Exod. xxxiii. 19.) he tells him, that " he will cause
all his goodness to pass before him." Without
goodness the power and wisdom of God would be
terrible, and raise great dread and superstition in
the minds of men. Without goodness power would
be tyranny and oppression, and wisdom would de
generate into craft and mischievous contrivance. So
that a being endowed with all power and wisdom,
and yet wanting goodness, would be a dreadful and
omnipotent mischief. We are apt to dread power,
and to admire knowledge, and to suspect great wis
dom and prudence; but we can heartily love and
reverence nothing but true goodness. It is not the
infinite power and knowledge of God considered
abstractedly, and in themselves, but these in con
junction with his great goodness, that make him at
once the most awful and amiable being in the
world ; which is the reason why our Saviour, (Matt.

85
v. 48.) speaks of the mercy, and goodness, and pa
tience of God, as the top and sum ofthe Divine per
fections, " Be ye therefore perfect, as your Father
which is in heaven is perfect." How is that ? In
being " good to the evil and unthankful, as God is,
who makes his sun to rise, and his rain to fall, not
only on the just but unjust." And therefore St. Luke
renders it, " Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father
which is in heaven is merciful." To be good and mer
ciful as God is, is to be perfect as he is ; because it is
to imitate him in that which is his chief perfection.
Gratitude is one of the noblest virtues, and our
goodness to men is gratitude in us to God. It is an
acknowledgment of the blessings we have received
from God ; the best use we can make of them, and
the best requital we can make to him for all his be
nefits. For we can give him nothing again, because
he stands in need of nothing. But a truly grateful
person, who hath a kindness done to him by one
that,is out of all capacity and reach of requital, will
inquire whether there be any of his family and re
lations, to whom he may shew kindness for his sake.
Yea, benefits have often been requited by thankful
persons, upoiiithose who did but resemble their be
nefactors, sthough they were no ways related to them.
Though we .can do nothing to God, yet we may do
it to men, who are " made after the image of God."
Weimay shew kindness to his relations, and to those
of his household and family, to his creatures, to his
servants, ito his friends, and to his children here in
the earth.
Besides jthat our goodness to others like our
selves, i§ an argument of great consideration and
prudence; it is a sjgn that we know ourselves, and
consider what we are, and what we may be : it shews

86
that we have a due sense of the indigence and in
firmity of human nature, and ofthe change and vi
cissitude of human affairs ; it is a just sense and ac
knowledgment of our state, that we are insufficient
for our own happiness, and good-will, and friend
ship of other men ; that we all either do or may
stand in need of others, one time or other : for he
who is now in the greatest plenty aud abundance
of all things, and thinks his mountain, so strong
that he can never be moved, may, by a sudden re
volution of fortune, by a thousand accidents, be
thrown down from his height of prosperity into the
depth of misery and necessity.
And as it is an argument of consideration, so of"
great prudence. He that is good to others, apt
to commiserate their sad case, and to relieve them
in their straits, takes the wisest and surest way
that can be, to incline and engage others to be good
to him, wheu it shall fall to his lot to stand in need
of their kindness and pity. Upon this account our
Saviour commends the prudence of the unjust
steward, who laid in for the kindness of others,
against himself should have occasion for it.
And though it should happen otherwise, and that
we should have an uninterrupted tenor of prospe
rity (which few or none have), or that coming to
stand in need of others, our kindness should meet
with no equal returns, yet it would not be quite
lost ; for, as Seneca truly says, delectat etiam sterilis
beneficii conscientia, though our charity should fall
upon stony and barren ground, and. we should find
no fruit of it from those whom we have obliged,
yet there is a pleasure in being conscious to our
selves that we have done well, what was worthy
and generous, and what became wise and con-

87
siderate men to do, whatever the event and success
be; for, setting aside all selfish respects, purely
out of humanity, and charity, and a generous com
passion, we should be ready as we have opportunity
to do good to all that stand in need of our kindness
and help.
So that a disposition to do good is the best and
happiest temper of mind, because it is the nearest
resemblance of the Divine nature, which is perfectly
happy : it is a grateful acknowledgment of our obli
gations to God, and all that we can render to him
for his benefits ; it is an argument of great wisdom
and consideration ; it gives ease and satisfaction to
our minds, and the reflection upon any good that
we have done, is certainly the greatest contentment
and pleasure in the world, and a felicity much be
yond that of the greatest fortune of this world:
whereas the spirit, contrary to this, is always un
easy to itself; the envious and malicious, the hard
hearted and ill-natured man carries his own torment
and hell about him, his mind is full of tumultuous
agitations and unquiet thoughts ; but were our na
ture rectified and brought back to its primitive
frame and temper, we should take no such plea
sure in any thing, as in acts of kindness and com
passion, which are so suitable and agreeable to our
nature, that they are peculiarly called humanity, as
if without this temper we were not truly men, but
something else disguised under a human shape.
II. To give, is an argument of a more happy state
and condition, than to receive. To receive from
others is an argument of indigency, and plainly shews
that we are iu want and necessity; either that we
stand in need of something, or that we think we do ;
and either of these conditions is far from perfect hap-

OS
piness; but tp give, is an argument of fulness and
sufficiency, that we have more than is necessary
for ourselves, and something to spare.
To receive kindness from others, supposeth we
stand in need of it ; and to stand in need of it, is
to be in a state of being obliged and indebted. Ob
ligation is a dear thing, and a real debt which lies
heavy and uneasy upon a grateful mind : so much
obligation as any man hath to another, so much he
hath lost of his own liberty and freedom ; for it
gives him that hath obliged us a superiority arid
advantage over us : and what Solomon says of the
borrower, that he is a servant to the lender, is in
proportion true in this case, that the receiver is a
servant to the giver.
But to be able to benefit others is a condition of
freedom and superiority, and is so far from impair
ing our liberty, that it shews our power ; and the
happiness which we confer upon others by doing
them good, is not only a contentment to ourselves,
but we do in some sort enjoy the happiness we give,
in being conscious to ourselves that we are tbe au
thors of it. And could we but once come to this
excellent temper, to delight in the good that others
enjoy, as if it were our own (and it is our own, if
we be the instruments of it, and take pleasure in
it); I say, could we but once come to this temper,
we need not envy the wealth and splendour of the
most prosperous upon earth, for upon these terms the
happiness ofthe whole world would in some sor.t be
ours, and we should have a share in the pleasure
and satisfaction of all that good which happens to
any man any way, especially by our means.
To depend upon another, and to receive from
him, and to be beholden to him, is the necessary

89
imperfection of creatures; but to confer benefits
upon others is to resemble God, and to approach
towards divinity. Aristotle could say, that by nar
rowness and selfishness, by envy and ill-will, men
degenerate into beasts, and become wolves and
tigers to one another ; but by goodness and kind
ness, by .mutual compassion and helpfulness, men
become gods to one another. To be a benefactor,
is to be as like God as it is possible for men to be ;
and the more any one partakes of this Divine qua
lity and disposition, the liker and the nearer he is
to God, who is good to all, and whose tender mer
cies are over all his works.
The blessed angels, who behold the face of God
continually, are, as it were, perfectly transformed
into the image of the Divine goodness, and there
fore the work which, with so much cheerfulness
and vigour, ;they employ themselves in, is to be ini-
niistering spirits for the good of the elect, to bring
men to goodness, and to encourage, and assist,
and comfort them in well-doing. And our blessed
Lord, when he was upon earth, did in nothing
shew himself more like the Son of God, than in
going about doing good : and the wonderful works
which be did .gave testimony of his divinity, not
so much as >they were acts of power as of goodness,
and wrought for the benefit and advantage of men ;
and the true advantage of greatness, and wealth,
and power, does not consist in this, that it sets
men above others, but that it puts them in a capa
city of doing more rgoad than others. Men are
apt to call them i their betters, who are higher and
richer than themselves ; but in a true and just
esteem of things; they only are our betters who do
more good than we. From the meanest creature
VOL. IX. h

90
below us up to God himself, they are the best, and
happiest, and most perfect beings, who are most
useful and beneficial to others, who have the most
power and the strongest inclinations to do good.
III.- To give, that is, to be beneficial and to do
good to others, hath the happiness of a great re
ward. There is no grace or virtue whatsoever,
which hath in Scripture the encouragement of more
and greater promises than this, of happiness in ge
neral ; of temporal happiness in this life, of happi
ness at death, and of everlasting happiness in the
world to come.
1. For promises of happiness in general. " He
hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor, his righte
ousness endures for ever ;" that is, shall never be
forgotten, shall not pass unrewarded. (Prov. xiv.
21.) "He that giveth to the poor, happy is he."
(Matt. v. 7.) " Blessed are the merciful, for they
shall obtain mercy." (Lukevi. 38.) " Give, and it
shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed
down, and shaken together, and running over, shall
men give into your bosom ; for with the same mea
sure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to
you again ;" that is, according to our goodness and
compassion towards others, we must expect to find
the charity of men, and the compassions of God
towards us. Job speaks as if some eminent and
peculiar blessing did attend and follow acts of cha
rity : (Job xxv. 19.) " The blessing of him that was
ready to perish came upon me."
2. Promises of temporal happiness in this life:
(Psal. xxxvii. 3.) " Trust in the Lord, and do good;
so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou
shalt be fed." (Prov. xxviii. 27.) " He that giveth
to the poor shall not lack." Nay, God hath pro-

91
mised to have a particular respect to such as do
good, in every condition, and all kinds of troubles
that befal them. (Psal. xii. 1 — 3.) " Blessed is he
that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver
him in time of trouble. The Lord will preserve him,
and keep him alive, and he shall be blessed upon
the earth; and thou wilt not deliver him unto the
will of his enemies. The Lord will strengthen him
upon the bed of languishing : thou wilt make all
his bed in his sickness."
3. Of happiness in death. " The righteous (saith
Solomon, Prov. xiv. 32.) hath hope in his death."
By the righteous, in Scripture, is frequently meant
the merciful and good man. And so it is to be un
derstood, as appears from the context; " He that
oppresseth the poor, reproacheth his Maker; but
he that honoureth him, hath mercy upon the poor.
The wicked is driven away in his wickedness; but
the righteous hath hope in his death." If God de
signs to send calamities upon the earth, upon the
place where the good man lives, which it would
grieve him to see, or which he might be involved
in, so as either to make his life uncomfortable, or to
cut him off by a violent death ; God considers the
merciful man, and removes him out of the way into
a better and safer place: (Isaiah lvii. 1.) " The mer
ciful man is taken away from the evil to come."
4. The promises of eternal life and happiness in
the world to come. (Luke xiv. 13, 14.) " But when
thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the
lame, and the blind : and thou shalt be blessed.
For they cannot recompense thee : for thou shalt
be recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
And, (chap. xvi. 9.) " And I say unto you, (saith
our Lord,) Make to yourselves friends of the
h 2

92
mammon of unrighteousness," that is, to do good
with what you have, "that when ye fail, they may
receive you into everlasting habitations." (1 Tim.
vi. 17 — 19.) "Charge them that are rich in this
world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust to
uncertain riches ; but in the living God, who giveth
us richly all things to enjoy ; that they do good,
that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute,
willing to communicate, laying up in store for them
selves a good foundation against the time to come,
that they may lay hold on eternal life." And the
more to fix upon our minds the necessity of doing
good, especially in ways of mercy and charity, our
Lord represents this as the great matter of inquiry
at the great day of judgment, how they have be
haved themselves in this kind, what good they have
done, or omitted and neglected to do ; especially
lo those who were in misery and want ; and as if
the sentence of eternal happiness or misery would
accordingly pass upon them. And this, methinks,
should make a mighty impression upon us, to think
that when we shall appear before the great Judge of
the world, we are to expect mercy from him, accord
ing to the measure that we have shewed it to others.
And now, if men be thoroughly convinced ofthe
happiness of this temper, methinks it should be
no difficult matter to persuade them to it. If we
believe this saying of our Lord, that " It is more
blessed to give than to receive ;" let us do accord
ingly. I know that to carnal and earthly-minded men,
this must needs seem a new and wrong Way to
happiness. For if we may judge of men's persua
sions by their practice (which seems to be a reason
able and good sure May of judging), I am afraid it

93
will appear, that few believe this to be the way to
happiness. If we mind the course of the world,
and the actions of men, it is but too evident that
most men place their greatest felicity in receiving and
getting the good things of this world ; almost all seek
their own things, and but few tbe good of others.
Many say, Who will shew us ? who will do us any
good! bnt few ask that question, " What good thing
shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?" And
when our Lord tells men that they must "give to
the poor," if they woul4 have "treasure in hea
ven ;" tbat they must be charitable, if they would be
happy ; that, " It is a more blessed thing to give
than to receive ;" these are sad and melancholy
sayings to those who have great possessions ; and
most men are ready with the young man in the
gospel to part with our Lord, and to break with
him, upon these terms.
But let us remember, that this was the saying of
our Lord Jesus, whom we all profess to believe,
and to imitate in all things ; but more especially let
us do so in this, because it was not a bare specula
tion, a fine and glorious saying, like those of the
philosophers, who said great and glorious things,
but did them not; but this was his constant prac
tice, thegreat work apd, business of his life. He
who pronounced it the most blessed thing to do
good, spent his whole life in this work, and " went
about doing good," To this end all his activity and
endeavours were bent, This was the life which
God himself, when he was pleased to become man,
thought fit to lead in the world, giving us herein an
example, that we should follow his steps. He
made full trial and experience of the happiness of
this temper and spirit ; for he was all on the giving

94
hand. He would receive no portion and share of
the good things of this world ; he refused the
greatest offers. When the people would have made
him a king, he withdrew and hid himself; he was
contented to be worse accommodated than the
creatures below us. "The foxes have holes and
the birds ofthe air have nests : but the Son of man
hath not where to lay his head." He would not so
much as have any fixed abode and habitation, that
he might be at liberty " to go about doing good."
He received nothing but injuries and affronts, base
and treacherous usage, from an ungrateful world,
to whom he was so great and so universal a bene
factor. The whole business of his life was to do
good, and to suffer evil for so doing. So fixed and
steady was he in his own principle and saying, " It
is a more blessed thing to give than to receive."
He gave away all that he had to do us good, he
parted with his glory and his life, "emptied him
self, and became of no reputation ; and being rich,
for our sakes became poor, that we through his
poverty might be made rich."
So that he adviseth us nothing, but what he did
himself; nor iroposeth any thing upon us, from
which he himself desired to be excused. And
surely we have great reason to be in great love with
this pattern, when that very goodness which he pro
pounds to our imitation was all laid out upon us,
and redounds to our benefit and advantage ; when
our salvation and happiness are the effects of that
goodness and compassion which he exercised in
the world ! He did it all purely for our sakes ;
whereas all the good we do to others, is a greater
good done to ourselves.
So that here is an example and experiment of the

95
thing in the greatest and most famous instance that
the whole world can afford. The best and happiest
man that ever was, the Son of God and the Saviour
of men, and who is the most worthy to be the
pattern of all mankind, " went about doing good,"
and governed his whole life, and all the actions of it,
by this principle, that " It is more blessed to give
than to receive." " Let the same mind be in us that
was in Jesus Christ : let us go and do likewise."

SERMON CGXIII.
the evil of Corrupt coM'stftNiCAtiow.
Lei tto corrupt Comtoiirticatidii proceed out of youp
mouth ; but that which is good to the use of edify?
ing, that it may minister grace to the hearers. —
Ephes. iv. 29.
As discourses against sin and vice in general are of
great use, so it is likewise very necessary to level
them against the particular vices of men, and to
endeavour by proper and intrinsical arguments,
taker* from the nature of that yice we treat of, to
dissnade and deter them from it ; because this,
carries-the discourse home to the consciences of
men, and leaves them no way of escape. For this
reason, and in compliance with their Majesties' pious,
proclamation, for the discountenancing and sup
pressing of profaneness and vice, I have chosen tq
treat upon this subject, of corrupt and filthy com^
munication, as being one of the reigning vices of
this wicked and adulterous generation ; ofthe evil
whereof the generality of men are legs sensible than
almost of any other, that is so frequently and sq
expressly branded in Scripture. And to this pur
pose I have pitched upon the words which I have
read unto you, as containing a plain and express
prohibition of this vice, " Let no corrupt communis
cation," &c.
I remember St. Austin in one pf his epistles tells
us, that Tully, the great master of the art of speak-

97
iug, says of one of the great orators, Nullum un
quam verbum quod revocare vellet, emisit : " That no
word ever fell from him that he could wish to have
recalled." This I doubt is above the perfection of
human eloquence, for a man always to make such a
choice of his words, and to place them so fitly, that
nothing he ever said could be changed for the
better. But the greatest faults of speech are not
those which offend against the rules of eloquence,
but of piety, and virtue, and good manners ; and
who can say that his tongue is free from all faults in
this kind, and no word ever proceeded from him
which he could wish to have recalled ? " In many
things (says St. James, chap, iii. 2.) we offend all ;"
and in this kind as much, perhaps, and as often, as
iu any. He is a good and a happy man indeed, that
seldom or never offends with his tongue. "If auyman
(as St. James goes on) offend not in word, the same
is a perfect man ;" that is, he hath attained to an emi
nent degree of virtue indeed, and is above the com
mon rate of men, and may reasonably be presumed
blameless in the general course of his life and prac
tice, and "able(as follows) to bridle the whole body;"
that is, " to order his whole conversation aright."
To govern the tongue is a matter of great diffi
culty, and consequently of great wisdom, and care,
and circumspection ; and therefore, one of the great
endeavours of a wise and good man should be, tp
govern his words by the rules of reason and reli
gion ; and we should every one of us resolve and
say, as David does, (Psal. xxxix. 1.) " I will take
heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue."
For as the virtues, so the vices of the tongue are
many and great. In respect of it, David calls it
the best member we have ; because, of all the mem-

98
bers and instruments of the body, it is capable of
giving the greatest glory to God, and of doing the
greatest good and benefit to men. And in respect
of the vices of it, it may be as truly said to be the
worst member that we have, because it is capable
of doing the greatest dishonour to God, and the
greatest mischief and harm among men. So that,
upon all accounts, we ought to have a great care of
the government of our tongue, which is capable of
being so useful and serviceable to the best and
worst purposes, according as we restrain it and
keep it in order, or let it loose to sin and folly.
And among all the vices of the tongue, as none is
more common, so none is more misbecoming, and
more contrary to the modesty of a man, and the
gravity of a Christian, than filthy and obscene talk ;
of the odious nature, and the evil and mischievous
consequences whereof, both to ourselves and others,
I design, by God's assistance, to treat at this time,
from the words which I have read unto you, — " Let
no corrupt communication," &c.
That by " corrupt (or rotten) communication,"
is here meant filthy and obscene talk, is generally
agreed among interpreters. By " that which is
good to the use of edifying," is meant such dis
course as is apt to build us up in knowledge and
goodness, to make the hearers wiser and better.
" That it may minister grace unto the hearers;" that
is, such kind of discourse as is acceptable to all ;
not nauseous and offensive to sober and virtuous
persons, not apt to grate upon chaste and modest
ears, and to put the hearers out of countenance.
So that the apostle doth here strictly forbid all
lewd and filthy discourse amongst Christians ;, and
enjoins them so to converse with one another, that

99
all their discourses may minister mutual benefit and
advantage to one another, and tend to the promoting
of piety and virtue ; and may likewise be grateful
to the hearers, carefully avoiding every thing that
might put them to the blush, or any way trespass
upon modesty and good manners, as all filthy com
munication does.
This sort of argument, though it be frequently
mentioned in Scripture, yet it is very seldom treated
of in the pulpit, because it is a hard matter to be
handled in a cleanly manner, and the preacher must
always take good heed to himself, that his dis
course be free from the contagion of that vice which
he reproves and designs to correct and cure. And,
therefore, to dissuade and deter men from this evil
practice, so rife and common in the world, and that
not only amongst the profane and dissolute sort of
persons, but those likewise who would seem to be
more strict and religious, I hope it may be sufficient
to all considerate persons plainly to represent to
them the heinous nature of the thing itself, together
with the evil and dangerous consequences of it,
both to ourselves and to others. And this I shall
endeavour to do in the most general and wary
terms, keeping all along, as much as possible, aloof
and at distance from any thing that might either
offend the chaste and modest, or infect lewd and
dissolute minds, which, like tinder, are always
ready to take fire at the least spark.
Having premised this in general, my work at this
time shall be to offer such particular considerations
as may fully convince men of the great evil and
danger of this practice; and I hope may effectually
prevail with them to leave it, and break it off. And
they shall be these following : —

100
I. That all filthy and corrupt communication is
evidently contrary to nature, which is careful to
hide and suppress whatever, in the general esteem of
the sober part of mankind, hath any thing of turpi
tude and uncomeliness in it; aud wherever nature
hath thought fit to draw a veil, we should neither by
words nor actions expose such things to open view.
Quae natura occultavit, (says Tully, de Offic. lib. 1.)
eadem omnes, qui sana sunt mente, removent ab oqulis;
" Those things which nature hath thought fit to
hide, all men that are in their wits endeavour to
keep out of sight." Nos autem naturam sequamur,
(says the same excellent moralist, ibid.) et ab omni
quod abhorret ab ocidorum auriumque approbation^
fugiamus: " Let us (says he) follow nature, and
flee every thing that is offensive either to the eye, or
ear of men." And this is so plain a lesson of na
ture, that an actor in a play will never fall into that
absurdity, as to represent a grave and virtuous per
son offering any obscene or immodest word : and,
as the same author reasons, Histrio hoc videbit in
scena, quod non videbit sapiens in vita ? " Shall an
actor see this to be improper upon the stage, and a
wise man not discern the absurdity and indecency
of it in his life and conversation ?"
II. All corrupt and filthy communication is a no
torious abuse of one of the greatest and best gifts
which God hath given us, and does directly contra
dict the natural end and use of speech. Our tongue
is our glory, as the holy Psalmist often calls it, who
hath duly considered the excellency and use of this
noble faculty, and took great care to employ it to
the purposes to which God gave it, and is herein an
admirable pattern to us.
And, next to our reason and understanding, our

101
speech doth most remarkably distinguish us from
the beasts, and sets us above them. Hoc uno prce-
stamus, vel maxime feris, quod colloquimur inter nos,
et quod exprimere dicendo sensa possumius : (says the
great Roman orator, Cicero, de Orat. lib. 1 .) " By
this one thing we excel the beasts in a very high de
gree, that we can talk together, and by speech de
clare our minds to one another." By our under
standing we knoW'God, and by our tongues we con
fess and praise him : but to use our tongues to lewd
and filthy discourse, is to pervert and abuse one of
the best and noblest faculties which God hath given
us ; it is to affront him with his own gifts, and to
fight against him with his own weapons. " Do we
thus requite the Lord? foolish creatures and un
thankful I"*
The two great ends for which this faculty of
speech is given us are, to glorify God our maker,
and to edify man our neighbour: but all corrupt
communication contradicts both these ends ; be
cause, instead of praising God with pure hearts and
lips, we do greatly dishonour him, by polluting our
tongues with lewd and filthy talk : for hereby we
offer a direct affront to his holy nature and laws.
This renders us atl together unfit for the worship and
service of Almighty God, who is " of purer eyes
than to behold iniquity" and impurity of any kind.
For how can We think that he will accept those
prayers and praises which are offered to him by
such impure and unhallowed lips ; When we disho
nour God with the same mouth that we pretend to
glorify him ; and commit sin with the same tongue
that We confess it ? How can we hope that he will
'accept the sacrifice of such polluted lips, outof which
proceed things so contrary and so inconsistent?

102
Those Who thus pervert the use of speech, and,
instead of glorifying him who gave them this ex
cellent gift, and setting forth his praise, defile their
tongues with filthy and impure language, give just
occasion to complain of them, as Elihu does of the
wicked in his time; (Job xxxv. 10, 11.) "None
saith, Where is God my maker, who giveth songs
in the night; who teacheth us more than the
beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the
fowls of heaven ?" His meaning is, that they did
not glorify God their maker, by singing his praises;
which, by being endued with this noble faculty of
speech (which he had denied to the creatures below
man, the beasts and birds), they only were capable
of performing. The consideration of this high pri
vilege, by which we do so much excel the creatures
below us, ought to be a mighty obligation upon us
to employ this gift of God in the service, and to the
glory ofthe Giver, and make us very careful not to
offend him by it, or by any defilement of it, to ren
der it unfit for one of the principal uses for which
God bestowed it upon us.
Another great end of speech is lo edify our neigh
bour. So the apostle here tells us in the text, that
nothing should proceed out of our mouths, but
what is " good for the use of edifying, that it may
minister grace to the hearers." But, instead of that,
corrupt communication offends the chaste and vir
tuous, and corrupts them w»ho have vicious inclina
tions, by exciting and cherishing lewd imaginations
in them, and making them that are filthy more
filthy still.
III. Corrupt communication is an evidence of a
corrupt and impure heart, as polluted streams are
a sign that the fountain is impure from whence they

103
came. An impure mind may be covered and dis
guised by natural shame and outward reverence, in
regard to the company, or from some other particu
lar design; but when it breaks out at any time in
lewd talk, our speech betrays us, and discovers the
inward thoughts of our hearts, and makes them
visible to every eye. For, as our Saviour says,
" Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth
speaketh:" (Matt. xii. 34, 35.) " How can ye, being
evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance
ofthe heart the mouth speaketh. A good man, out
of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth
good things : and an evil man, out of the evil trea
sure, bringeth forth evil things."
" There is not (says an excellent divine of our
own, Dr. Barrow) a more certain sign of a mind
utterly debauched from piety and virtue, than af
fecting such talk. A vain mind naturally venteth
itself in frothy discourse ; and lust boiling within,
foams out in filthy talk." It is St. Jude's metaphor,
when he describes that impure sect of the gnostics,
he says of them, that " they were continually foam
ing out their own shame;" (ver. 13.) that is, by their
lewd words and deeds they discovered the inward
filthiness of their hearts. And, therefore, it is Tully's
advice to him that would be perfectly virtuous, and
not defective in any part of his duty, Imprimis pro-
videat, ne sermo vitium aiiquod indicet inesse mori-
bus: (de Offic. lib. i.) " Let him in the first place
(says he) take great care that his speech betray not
some vice or fault in his manners." 'AvSpog ^apaKDjp
e/c \6yov yvojpiltrai: " A man's character is commonly
taken from his talk." Oi'oc o rpo7roe toiovtoq km 6 Xo-yoc
(says Aristides) ; " Such as are the manners of a man,
such is his discourse:" and Quintilian, (lib. xi. c. 1.)

104
Pr&fert enim mores plerum-qne oralio, et animi secreta
detegit., nee sine causa Grceci prodiderunt, ut vivit,
quenquam, etiam dicere: " Our speech, for the most
part, declares our manners, and discovers the secrets
of our hearts ; so that not without cause was it
become a proverbial saying among the Greeks, that,
" As the man lives, so also he speaks." And to the
same purpose, the wise son of Sirach: (Ecclus.
xxvii. 6, 7.) " The fruit declareth if the tree hath
been dressed ; so is the utterance of a conceit in
the heart of man. Praise no man before thou hearest
him speak : for this is the trial of men." And, (ver.
13.) " The discourse of fools is irksome, and their
sport is in the wantonness of sin."
Immodest speech is not only an indication of an
unchaste mind; but draws, likewise, a great suspi
cion upon a man's life. So strict a connexion com
monly is there between a man's thoughts and words*
and hetween his words and actions, that they are
generally presumed to be all of a piece, and agree
able to one another.
IV. Corrupt communication doth debauch and
defile the minds of men, and that not only of the
speaker, but likewise of the hearer of such dis
course; because it gratifies and feeds a corrupt hu
mour and a vitiated appetite, besides that it dis-
poseth and inclines to lewd and filthy actions : a
smutty tongue and unchaste deeds are seldom far
asunder, and do very ofteu go together ; for filthy
talk and lewd practices seem to differ only in the
occasion and opportunity ; and he that makes no
conscience of the one, will hardly stick at the
other, when it can be done with seer ecy andsafety.
The law of God forbids both alike, and his eye be
holds both ; " For there is not a word in my tongue

105
(says David, Psal. exxxix, 4.) but thou, O Lord,
knowest it altogether." So that whatever may de
ter us from lewd practice (the authority of God for
bidding it, or the awe of his presence, who continu
ally stands by us, and hears and sees all that we
say and do), is of equal force to restrain us from
lewd and filthy words : for they both proceed from
the same ill disposition of mind, and are done in
equal contempt of the Divine presence and autho
rity. V. It is uncivil and unmannerly, very disagree
able, and highly displeasing to all sober and modest
persons. It is a clownish and rude thing, says
Tully, (de Offic. lib. i.) Si rerum turpitudini adhi-
betur verborum obsccenitas : " If to things which are
immodest in themselves, we add the obscenity of
words." Nothing that trespasses upon the modesty of the
company, and the decency of conversation, can be
come the mouth of a wise and virtuous person.
This kind of conversation would fain pass for wit
among some sort of persons, to whom it is accept
able; but whatever savours of rudeness, and immo
desty, and ill manners, is very far from deserving
that name; and they that are sober and virtuous,
cannot entertain any discourse of this kind with ap
probation and acceptance : a well-bred person will
never offend in this way ; and therefore it cannot
but be esteemed as an affront to modest company,
and a rude presuming upon their approbation, im
pudently taking it for granted that all others are as
lewd and dissolute as themselves.
This sort of conversation was not only offensive
to righteous Lot, but was a perpetual vexation to
him, and grieved him at his very heart. So St.
VOL. ix. i

106
£eter tells us, (2 Pet. ii. 7, 8.) that Lot was " vexed
with the filthy conversation of the wicked. For
that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing
and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to
day with their uulawful deeds." " In seeing and hear
ing;" that is, in seeing their lewd actions, and hearing
their filthy talk, his life became a burden to him ;
and, therefore, God singled him out, and delivered
him both from that wicked company, and from that
dreadful judgment of fire and brimstone, which
came down from heaven upon them, and consumed
them with an utter destruction, for an example to
all ages, and an admonition to all good men, that
they ought to be in like manner affected, as righ
teous Lot was, with " the filthy conversation of the
wicked." VI. As by this practice we offend against nature
and reason and true morality; so it is likewise a
direct contempt and defiance of the Christian reli
gion, which does so strictly forbid, aud so severely
condemn it in Christians. Our blessed Saviour
seems more particularly to censure and condemn
this vice, when he says, (Matt. xii. 38.) " That
every idle word that men shall speak, they shall
give an account thereof in the day of judgment."
" Every idle word," pnua dpyov, " every vain and un
profitable word," that no way tends to edification;
that is the very lowest sense the words can bear.
But then how much more shall we give an account
in that day of every lewd word, which tends to cor
rupt and debauch the minds and manners of men!
Some copies have it, prjfia irovypdv, " every naughty
and wicked word," every false, and malicious, and
calumniating word : " An idle word (says St.
Basil) is that which is not for edification, and such

107
words shall come under examination in that great
assembly ofthe whole world ; and what then (says
he) shall be done to words of scurrility, and calum
ny, and obscenity?"
But that which will best direct us to the meaning
of this phrase, is what the Jewish masters observed,
that, by an idle word, the Jews did commonly un
derstand immodest aud unchaste speech, scurrilous
and obscene words. And then it follows, " For by
thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words
thou shalt be condemned."
Men are commonly apt to make a very light
matter of such words ; but because they shew the
mind and manners of the man, his inward temper
and disposition, therefore men shall be called to a
strict account for, them in the day of judgment,
and be condemned for lewd and dissolute words,
as well as for acts of filthiness and uncleanness;
because " these come from the heart, and defile the
man," they proceed from an impure spring and foun
tain ; and though we only perceive them to come
out of the mouth, yet they proceed " out of the abun
dance of the heart," from an evil disposition of mind.
So that our Judge hath expressly warned us of
this fault, and declared to us the danger of it.
And, therefore, whosoever believes this declaration
of our Saviour, and dreads the judgment of the
great day, ought to take heed that he offend not
with his tongue, in this or any other kind. Men
make but little account of such words now, but
they shall all be strictly accounted for another day;
and what we utter now so freely and without
blushing, will then strike us dumb, and be matter
of the greatest shame and confusion to us, in the
presence of God and his holy angels.
i 2

108
And so St. Paul, likewise, not only here in the
tfext, does forbid and reprove this practice, when
he says, " Let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth: but that which is good to the
use of edifying, that it may minister grace to the
hearers:" but in several Other places of his Epistles he
most severely condemns it, as utterly misbecoming
Christians, and most directly contrary to our most
holy profession. (Eph. v. 3, 4.) " But fornication,
and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not once
be named among you, as becometh saints ; neither
filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are
not convenient." Here he forbids all lewd and filthy
talk, as utterly misbecoming the conversation of
Christians, who should give no occasion to have the
vices of this nature so much as once mentioned,
much less practised among Christians ; let not these
things, says he, " be once named among you, as be
cometh saints; but rather giving of thanks." Here
he directs us to that which is the proper employ
ment of the tongue, and one of the chief ends of
speech ; which is to praise and glorify God, and
not to dishonour him by lewd and filthy talk. And
this he urgeth again, as the proper fruit of our
lips : (ver. 20.) " Giving thanks always for all things
unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ."
And at the 5th verse of this chapter he appeals
to Christians, whether they had not been constantly
taught and instructed, that all lewdness and filthi
ness, not only in act but in word, will certainly shut
men out of the kingdom of heaven. " For this (says
he,) ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean
person, (referring to those several sorts of unclean
ness he had mentioned before ; among which is filthy

109
and foolish talk) hath any inheritance in the king
dom of Christ, and of God." The apostle here
speaks to the gentile Christians, who were newly
converted from heathenism, and had been accus
tomed to make slight of these kinds of sin, which
were so common among the idolatrous heathen, and
part of the worship of their obscene deities : but he
tells them that the Christian religion which they1
had embraced, required another sort of conversa
tion, and did strictly enjoin all manner of purity,
both of heart and life, in all our words and actions .;
and that " as he that hath called us is holy, so we
should be holy in all manner of conversation," And
whatever false teachers might insinuate, as if the
Christian religion did allow a greater liberty in these
things, and made that " a cloak for licentiousness,"
hereby " turning the grace of God," that is, the doc
trine of tbe gospel, " into lasciviousness," as St.
Jude speaks, (ver. 4>) yet they would certainly find
things quite otherwise in the issue, and that God,
who punished the heathen for these vices, and sent
such terrible judgments upon them, would much
less let Christians go unpunished, that should be
found guilty of them : (Ephes. v. 6.) " Let no man
deceive you with vain words : for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children
of disobedience ;" that is, the heathen world, who
continued still in their infidelity, and lived in the
practice of those sins ; and would fall much more
heavily upon Christians, if, after they had embraced
this holy religion, they should allow themselves in
any of those vile and impure practices, which they
had been guilty of before, and which they had so
solemnly promised to renounce and put off in their
baptism.

no
And so likewise, (Coloss. iii. 5—7.) " Mortify
therefore your members which are upon the earth ;
fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
concupiscence,, and covetousness, which is idola
try : for which things' sake the wrath of God cometh
on the children of disobedience," or unbelief; " in the
which ye also walked sometime, when ye lived in
them ;" that is, whilst ye were heathens, and con
versed among them, ye practised these vices ; " but
now," that is, now that you are become Christians,
" put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, evil-speak
ing, filthy communication." Ye see that " filthy com
munication" is reckoned among those sins of the
gentiles, which Christians were utterly to quit and
forsake, as contrary to the purity of the Christian
profession. And so St. Paul tells the Thessaloni
ans ; (1 Thess. iv. 7.) " God hath not called us unto
uncleanness ; but unto holiness." And he gives the
same precept to the Colossians : (chap. iv. 6.) " Let
your speech be always with grace," that is, accepta
ble and useful, something that is worthy the hear
ing, " seasoned with salt," that is with prudence and
discretion, which should always govern our speech,
and keep it within the bounds of sobriety, and mo
desty. As our talk should not be insipid and foolish,
so much less rotten and unsavoury, immodest and
lewd. And in his Epistle to the Philippians, (chap, iv,
8.) he earnestly recommends the virtues that are
directly contrary to this vice : "Finally, my brethren,
whatsoever things are honest, 6aa aefivd, whatsoever
things are grave or venerable, 6aa dyvd, whatsoever
things are pure or chaste, think on these things ;"
that is, have great regard to them in your conversa
tion and behaviour, there being no sort of virtue

Ill
which the Christian religion does not strictly enjoin
and exact from us ; and consequently, whatsoever
is light and frothy, and much more whatever is
lewd and filthy, ought to be banished from the con
versation of Christians, as utterly inconsistent with
the gravity and purity of that holy profession.
And the same apostle tells us, that all the pro
mises of the gospel are so many arguments and ob
ligations to purity and holiness : (2 Cor. vii. 1.)
" Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved,
let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting," or practising, " holiness
in the fear of God." And on the contrary, St. John
tells us, that all impurity will be an effectual bar to
our entrance into heaven ; (Rev. xxi. 27.) speak
ing of the new Jerusalem, he says, " There shall in
no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither
whatsoever worketh abomination." So that, if either
the promises or threatenings of the gospel have any
influence upon us, they will effectually restrain this
vicious practice.
VII. And lastly, All impure and filthy communi
cation grieves the Holy Spirit, and drives him away
from us. And therefore, after he had forbidden this
vice here in the text, that " no corrupt communica
tion proceed out of your mouth, but that which is
good to the use of edifying, that it may minister
graee unto the hearers ;" he immediately adds, " And
grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are
sealed to the day of redemption ;" hereby intimating,
that all corrupt and filthy communication " grieves
the Holy Spirit of God," that blessed Spirit which
is " the seal and earnest of our redemption ;" that is,
as the apostle himself explains it, of " the redemp
tion of our bodies, from the bondage of corruption*"

112
by the resurrection of them to eternal life. For it
is the Spirit of God dwelling in us, which shall raise
our bodies at the last day, and make them partakers
Of a blessed immortality. So the apostle says ex
pressly : (Rom. viii. 11.) " But if the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead, dwell in you ;
he that raised up Christ from the dead, shall also
quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you." If we defile our bodies, or any
members of them by uncleanness, we " grieve the
Spirit of God which dwells in us," and force him out
of his habitation ; that blessed Spirit, which should
" quicken our mortal bodies," and is both tbe earn
est and the cause of their resurrection to eternal
life. For our bodies, as well as our souls, are
'f the temples of the Holy Ghost, and the Spirit of
God dwells in them ;" and we banish him out of his
temple whenever we profane it by lewd and filthy
speech. And the apostle useth this argument more than
once, to deter Christians more especially from the
sins of uncleanness. (1 Cor. iii. 16, 17.) " Know ye
not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit
of God dwelleth in you ? If any man defile the tem
ple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple
of God is holy, which temple ye are." The Holy
Spirit of God sanctifieth the place where he more
especially resides, and makes it his temple ; and so
are our bodies as well as our souls ; as the same
apostle expressly tells us; (chap. vi. ver. 18 — 20.)
where he argues against the sins of uncleanness,
which are committed in the body, and by the mem
bers and instruments of it, from this consideration,
that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost.
" Flee fornication," says he. " Every sin a man doeth,

113
is without the body : but he that committeth forni
cation, sinneth against his own body ;" that is, the
body is not the immediate instrument of other sins,
as it is of those of uncleanness ; and then it follows,
" What! know ye not that your body is the temple
ofthe Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own ? For ye are
bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God's." Under
the name of fornication the apostle comprehends all
the sins of uncleanness, of which any member ofthe
body is an instrument : so that the lasciviousness of
the eye, or ear, or tongue, is a polluting and pro
faning this temple of God, and drives the Holy Spi
rit of God out of his possession.
And whenever the Spirit of God departs from
us,, we cease to be the children of God, and forfeit
the earnest of our eternal inheritance. " Now if
any man have not the Spirit of Christ," says the
same apostle, (Rom. viii. 8, 9.) " he is none of his;"
that is, he does not belong to him ; in plain English,
he is no Christian. So that, as we would not forfeit
the title of Christians, and the blessed hope of a
glorious resurrection, we must be very careful that
" no corrupt communication proceed out of our
mouth," lest hereby we " grieve the Holy Spirit of
God, by which we are sealed unto the day of re
demption." I have now done with this argument, and what I
have said concerning immodest and unchaste words,
is of equal force against lascivious books, and pic
tures, and plays ; all which do alike intrench upon
natural modesty, and for that reason are equally
forbidden and condemned by the Christian religion ;
and therefore it may suffice to have named them. I

114
shall only speak a few words concerning plays,
which, as they are now ordered among us, are a
mighty reproach to the age and nation.
To speak against them in general, may be
thought too severe, and that which the present age
cannot so well brook, and would not perhaps be so
just and reasonable; because it is very possible,
they might be so framed, and governed by such
rules, as not only to be innocently diverting, but in
structing and useful, to put some vices and follies
out of countenance, which cannot perhaps be so
decently reproved, nor so effectually exposed and
corrected any other way. But as the stage now is,
they are intolerable, and not fit to be permitted in a
civilized, much less in a Christian nation. They
do most notoriously minister both to infidelity and
vice. By the profaneness of them, they are apt to
instil bad principles into the minds of men, and to
lessen the awe and reverence which all meu ought
to have for God and religion : and by their lewd
ness they teach vice, and are apt to infect the minds
of men, and dispose them to lewd and dissolute
practices. •
And therefore I do not see, how any person, pre
tending to sobriety and virtue, and especially to the
pure and holy religion of our blessed Saviour, can,
without great guilt, and open contradiction to his
holy profession, be present at such lewd and im
modest plays, much less frequent them, as too many
do, who yet would take it very ill to be shut out of
the communion of Christians, as they would most
certainly have been in the first and purest ages of
Christianity. To conclude this whole discourse : Let us always
remember, that gravity and modesty in all our beha-

115
viour and conversation, in all our words and actions,
are duties indispensably required by the Christian
religion, and the great fences of piety and virtue,
and therefore ought with great conscience and care
to be preserved and kept inviolable : and when
these fences are once broken down, there is a wide
gap made for almost any sin and vice to enter in.
Immodest words do naturally tend to " corrupt good
manners," both in ourselves and others.
There is none of us, but would reckon it a very
great infelicity to be deprived of that noble and use
ful faculty of speech, which is so peculiar to man,
and which, next to our reason and understandihg,doth
most remarkably distinguish us from thebrute beasts:
but it is a much greater unhappiness to have this
faculty, and to abuse it to vile and" lewd purposes.
The first may be only our misfortune :- but this can
never be without great fault, and gross neglect of
ourselves ; and much better had it been for us to
have been born dumb, than thus " to turn our
glory into shame" and guilt, by perverting this ex
cellent gift of God, to the corrupting ourselves and
others. This I hope may be sufficient to restrain men
from this vice, which I have all this while been
speaking against; at least to preserve those which
are not yet infected from the contagion of it; and I
hope to reclaim many from so bad a practice. And
if any be so hardened in their lewd course, that no
counsel of this kind can make impression on them,
what remains, but to conclude in the words of the
angel to St. John, (Rev. xxii. 11.) " He that is
filthy, let him be filthy still : and he that is holy,
let him be holy still !"

SERMON CCXIV.
THE TRUE REMEDY AGAINST THE TROUBLES OF
LIFE.
Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God,
believe also in me. — John xiv. 1.
In which words our blessed Saviour does, upon a
particular occasion, prescribe an universal remedy
against trouble. And the particular occasion of
this consolatory discourse which our Saviour here
makes to his disciples, was this : be had often told
them of his sufferings ; but the conceit which they
had entertained of his temporal reign, would not
suffer them to admit any thought of such a thing as
the sufferings or death of the Messias ; and there
fore it is said, that " these things did not sink into
them," and that " they understood them not ;" men
being generally very slow to understand what they
do not like, and have no mind to. At last our Sa
viour tells them plainly, that how backward soever
they were to believe it, the time of his sufferings
and death was now approaching, and that he
should shortly be " betrayed into the hands of men,"
and be " crucified and slain." At this his disciples
were struck with great fear, and exceedingly trou^
bled, both in contemplation of his sufferings, and of
their own invaluable loss. To comfort them upon this
occasion, our Saviour directs his disciples to that
course, which was not only proper in their present
case, but is an universal antidote and remedy

117
against all trouble whatsoever, and will not only
serve to mitigate our trouble, and support our spi
rits under the fear and apprehension of future evils,
but under present afflictions and sufferings ; and to
quiet and comfort our minds under the saddest
condition, and sorest calamities, that can befal us :
" Let not your hearts be troubled : ye believe in
God, believe also in me."
He does not only forbid them to be troubled, and
counsel them against it, such advice is easily given,
but not so easily lo be followed : but he prescribes
the proper remedy against trouble, which is trust
and confidence in God, the great Creator and wise
Governor of the world ; and likewise in himself, the
blessed Son of God, and Saviour of mankind, " Ye
believe in God, believe also in me."
The words are variously translated : by some in-
dicatively, " Ye do believe in God, and ye do be
lieve in me," therefore " be not troubled ;" by others
imperatively, " Believe in God, and believe likewise
in me ;" and then you can have no cause of trouble.
Or else the first clause may be rendered indica-
tively, and the latter imperatively; and so our trans
lation renders the words, " Ye do believe in God,
believe also in me ;" as you believe in God, the Cre
ator and Governor of the world, so " believe also in
me," the Son of God, and the Saviour ofthe world.
But which way soever the words be rendered, the
sense comes all to one ; that faith in God, and in
our blessed Saviour, are here prescribed as the
proper and most powerful remedies against trou
ble : " Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe
in God, believe also in me."
In the handling of these words I shall do these
two things : —

118
First, I shall consider what sort of trouble is here
forbidden, or with what reasonable limitations this
general prohibition of our Saviour is to be under
stood, " Let not your heart be troubled."
Secondly, I shall endeavour to shew what virtue
and force there are in the remedy here prescribed by
our Saviour, to mitigate and allay our trouble, and
to support and quiet our minds under it.
First, We will consider what sort of trouble is
here forbidden, and with what due and reasonable
limitations we are to understand this general prohi
bition of our Saviour to his disciples, " Let not your
heart be troubled." And this we shall best find out
by considering the various objects of trouble, to
gether with the several causes or grounds of them.
And, these may all be ranged under these three
heads ; evils past, present, or to come. For the
ground of all trouble is some evil, either really and
in itself so, or what is apprehended by us under that
notion : and the several kinds of trouble, are either
the reflection upon evils past, or the sense of an evil
that is present, or the fear and apprehension of some
future evil which threatens us and hangs over us.
I. For the first, The trouble caused by reflection
upon evils past, this must either be the evil of afflic
tion or sin. The former of these, when it is past,
is seldom any cause of trouble, the remembrance of
past sufferings, and the evils which we got over,
being rather delightful than grievous ; so that if is
only the evil of sin, the reflection whereof is trouble
some. And this is that which we call guilt, which
is an inward vexation, and discontent, and grief of
mind, arising from the consciousness that we have
done amiss, and a fearful apprehension of some ven
geance and punishment that will follow it ; and there

119
is no trouble that is comparable to this, when the
conscience of a sinner is thoroughly awakened.
Now upon this account our hearts ought to be
troubled, and we can hardly exceed in it, provided
our trouble do not drive us to despair, but to re
pentance : but there can be no suspicion that this
comes within the compass of our Saviour's pro
hibition. II. As for the troubles caused by the sense of
present evils, either of loss or suffering, though this
do properly enough fall within the compass of our
Saviour's prohibition, " Let not your heart be
troubled," yet it admits of several limitations : there
fore, in order to the fixing of its due and proper
bounds, I shall briefly shew, what trouble for pre
sent evils and afflictions which are upon us is not
forbidden, and what is.
1. We are not here forbidden to have a just and
due sense of any evil or calamity that is upon us;
because this is natural, and we cannot help it; for
there is a real difference of things in themselves ;
some things are in their nature good and* convenient
for us, and agreeable and delightful to our senses ;
and other things, are in themselves evil, that is, na
turally displeasing and grievous ; and we must not
only be stoics, but even stocks and stones, if we
have not a just sense and resentment of this differ
ence. Our blessed Saviour had so ; and as he was
afflicted more than any man, and suffered more than
any of the sons of men, so was he likewise very
sensible of his sufferings, and had a natural dread
and horror of them ; insomuch, that he himself tells
us, that " his soul was exceeding sorrowful, even to
death," upon the apprehension of what he was to
undergo ; which made him pray so earnestly, and

120
to repeat that petition so often; "Father, if it be
possible, let this cup pass from me." Nay, the very
anguish of his mind, caused by the dread and hor
ror of his sufferings, was so great, as to force blood
through the pores of his body, so that " he sweat as
it were thick drops of blood falling upon the ground."
And this is not to be wondered at, because our
blessed Saviour, as he had the greatest endowments
of human nature in their greatest perfection, so he
had a perfect sense of the evils and pains and suf
ferings of it. And all philosophy that will not ac
knowledge loss, and pain, and suffering, to be evils,
and troublesome and terrible, is either obstinate
sullenness, or gross hypocrisy.
2. Nor doth this prohibition of our Saviour ex
clude natural affection. This is a plant which God
himself hath planted in human nature, and that for
very excellent ends and purposes; and having made
us men, and endowed us with such passions, he does
uot expect that we should put off our nature, and
transform ourselves into another sort of creatures
than what we were when we came out of his own
hands. To be without natural affection, and to
have no affective sense of the loss of the nearest re
lations, is condemned in Scripture, as a mark of tbe
greatest degeneracy and depravation of human na
ture. And therefore we cannot imagine that our
Saviour did intend to forbid such a moderate and
well regulated degree of trouble upon these oc
casions, as is the proper and genuine issUe of those
natural affections, which God himself hath im
planted in us.
3. When our Saviour forbids us to be troubled,
he doth not forbid us to have a just sense of God's
judgments, or of his hand, in procuring or permit-

121
ting the evils which befal us ; much less of our own
sins, which are the meritorious cause of them ; nay,
on the contrary, he expects that we should acknow
ledge his providence, and the justness of it, in his
severest dealings with us ; that we should be " hum
bled under his mighty hand, and turn to him that
smites us," and <fbear the indignation of the Lord pa
tiently, because we have sinned against him." What
ever is a sign of God's displeasure against us, is a
just and reasonable cause of trouble to us.
But when our Saviour here forbids us to be
troubled, he plainly intends to prohibit these three
things :
1. Immoderate grief and sorrow for any present
affliction or loss, without any restraint upon our
selves, so as to let grief loose, and to give full scope
to it, to let the reins fall out of our hands, so that
the considerations of reason and religion have no
manner of power and command over us ; to sorrow,
as Rachel did for her children, " refusing to be com
forted." This is unreasonable, and usually of per
nicious consequence : for no man knows, when he
once abandons himself to melancholy, and gives
way to grief, and lets it pierce his heart, and enter
into his soul, how it may overwhelm his spirit, and
sink it past recovery. And to this pitch the trouble
of some men for worldly losses and disappoint
ments, because it was not restrained and governed
at first, hath brought them ; and it often happens, as
St. Paul hath observed, the " trouble of the world
worketh death."
I think hardly any man did ever die of grief for his
sins, and killed himself by laying them to heart. It
is well if our sorrow for sin proceed to that degree,
as to work real repentance and amendment. And
VOL. IX. K

122
the reason why our sorrow for sin is commonly mo
derate and within bounds, is because the sorrow
and trouble of repentance is always reasonable, and
reason keeps our grief within bounds ; but " the sor
row ofthe world," that is, of covetous and worldly-
minded men, who have unreasonably set their affec
tions upon this world, hath nothing to set bounds
and give limits to it. And therefore, by the just
judgment of God, it sometimes proceeds so far as
to work death. Many men's hearts have been
broken for the loss of an estate, or some great cross
and disappointment in their worldly affairs and de
signs. Thus Nabal, upon the very apprehension of
the danger that he and his estate were in, and had
so narrowly escaped, was struck with grief to the
degree of stupidity, so that" his heart died within
him, and he became as a stone ;" and in a few days
he died of that grief.
2. We are not to be troubled for present afflic
tions and sufferings to the degree of impatience and
discontent, so as to fret and murmur in our hearts
against God, and " to charge him foolishly," as if he
dealt hardly with us, and had not a due regard for
us, and an equal consideration of our case. For
we are all sinners, and always deserve to suffer ;
and therefore whatever temporal evils befal the best
men in this world, they are always " less than their
iniquities have deserved :" and yet men are very
prone to censure and find fault with God, for the
evils and calamities which they draw down upon
themselves. So Solomon observes, (Prov. xix. 3.)
" The foolishness of man perverteth his way ; and
his heart fretteth against the Lord." We suffer for
our own sins and follies, and then are angry with
God because we suffer. God is angry with us for

123
our sins, and when he is angry with us, and " lifts
up his hand against us," it becomes us " to humble
ourselves under his mighty hand ;" for " who can
stand before him when once he is angry ?" But we
have no cause to fret against him, for the evils which
we bring upon ourselves : besides that, fretting is not
the way to relieve and ease us, but to vex and gall
us the more.
3. As to the fear and apprehension of future evils,
though we ought to have a just sense of them, yet
we ought not to be dejected and troubled for them
to the degree of despondency, so as to conclude
ourselves miserable and forsaken, utterly lost aud
undone, and that our case is past all help and re
medy : we should not be so dejected, as if we were
destitute of all comfort, and utterly without hope.
Hope lies at the bottom of the worst condition ; for
while we are not without God, we can never be
without hope ; so long as the government of the
world is in so good hands, our case can never be
desperate; and therefore we ought to rebuke the
despondency of our spirits, as David did, (Psal.
xliii. 5.) . " Why art thou so cast down, O my soul ?
and why art thou so disquieted within me? hope
in God." And we should support ourselves in the
greatest dangersand fears as he did, (Psal. iii. 1 — 3.)
" Lord, how are they increased that trouble me !
how many are they that rise up against me ! Many
there be which say of my soul, There is no help for
him in God. But thou, O Lord, art a shield for
me, my glory, and the lifter up of my head."
And this cause of trouble upon the fear and
apprehension of future evils, was the Case of the dis
ciples, who were mightily dejected and disturbed,
upon the apprehension of the destitute condition
k 2

124
they should be in upon our Saviour'? departure from
them ; that they should be exposed to a malicious
world, without all manner of protection from those
innumerable evils and dangers which threatened
them. And this I shall have most particular re
spect to in my following discourse, as being more
particularly intended by our Saviour, and being
one of the most common causes of trouble in this
world. I proceed, therefore, in the
Second place, To consider, what force there is in
the remedy here prescribed by our Saviour, to miti
gate and allay our troubles, both in respect of our
present evils and sufferings, and the danger and ap
prehension of future evils, and to support and com
fort our minds under them. " Let not your heart
be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in me."
In which words our Saviour prescribes a double
remedy against trouble.
First, Faith in God, the great Creator and wise
Governor of the world. " Ye believe in God," or,
" Believe ye in God," to which he adds, in tbe
Second place, Faith likewise in himself, the Son
of God, and the Saviour of men. "Ye believe in
God, believe also in me." Not as if faith in God
were not a sufficient ground of consolation and sup
port to our minds, but to acquaint us, that a firm
faith in him who is the Son of God and Saviour of
the world, would very much tend to confirm and
strengthen our trust and confidence in God ; as
will clearly appear, when I come to shew what
peculiar consideration of comfort and support the
Christian religion offers to us, beyond what the
common light and reason of mankind, from the con
siderations of the Divine nature and perfections,
do suggest to us. And to explain the full strength

125
and force of these two considerations, I shall do
these two things :
First, I shall endeavour to shew, What consider
ations of comfort and support the belief of a God,
and the natural notions and acknowledgments of
mankind concerning him, do afford to good men,
for the allaying and mitigating of their fears and
troubles. And,
Secondly, What farther considerations faith in
Christ, and the firm belief of the Christian religion,
do afford to this purpose. " Ye believe in God,
believe also in me." ,
First, To shew, what considerations of comfort
and support the belief of a God, and the natural
notions and acknowledgments of mankind concern
ing him, do afford to good men, for the allaying and
mitigating of their fears and troubles ; which I shall
briefly deduce thus :
The firm belief and persuasion of a God, does
necessarily infer the belief of his infinite power, and
wisdom, and holiness, and goodness ; for these are
necessary and essential perfections of the Divine
nature, without which we cannot conceive such a
being as God is. Now from these essential perfec
tions of the Divine nature, these two principles do
naturally result :
I. That his providence governs the world, and
administers the affairs of it, particularly of mankind,
with great goodness and wisdom.
11. That his providence is more peculiarly con
cerned for good men, and that he hath a very tender
and particular care of them, and regard to them.
Now these two principles, concerning which I
have discoursed at large upon another occasion,*
* See Sermon CXXXVII. vol.vi. p. 438.

126
afford us this fourfold ground of comfort, under all
the evils that we labour under, and are afraid of.
1 . If God govern the world, then we and all our
interests and concernments are certainly in the best
and safest hands ; and where, if we knew how to
wish well and wisely for ourselves, we should desire
to have them ; and therefore, why should our hearts
be troubled at anything that doth or can befal us?*
2. Another ground of comfort is, that if the
providence of God have a particular regard to good
men, and favour for them, then we may be assured,
that if we be careful of our duty to God, and rely
upon his goodness, and refer ourselves to his plea
sure, in the final issue and result of things, all shall
turn to our good, and conspire in our happiness ;
nay, if we make the best use of the evils and afflic
tions which befal us, and bear them as we ought,
we ourselves may do a great deal to turn them to
our benefit and advantage ; to the bettering of our
minds, and the improvement of our virtues, and the
increase of our reward. And why should we be
troubled so much at things which may prove so
many ways beneficial to us, if it be not our own
' fault? which tend to our good, and will end in it, if
we will but " let patience have its perfect work," as
St. James shews, (chap. v. 11.) in the instance of
Job, whose admirable patience had a glorious end
and reward, even in this world ; " You have heard
(says he) of the patience of Job, and of the end God
made with him ; that the Lord is very pitiful and
of tender mercy." Job, upon a dunghill, is no
whit inferior to the most glorious prince that ever
sat upon a throne. Some men have been more
* See this matter also handled at large in the beforementioned
Sermon,

127
illustrious, and, according to the true rate and value
of things, more considerable for their patience, and
courage, and constancy of mind, in great afflictions
and sufferings, than the greatest pomp and prospe
rity in the world could possibly have made them.
Some have borne poverty, and sickness, and re
proach, and persecution, and exquisite pain and
torments, with so much decency, with such great
ness of mind, and firmness of resolution, as might
justly provoke the envy of the greatest and weal
thiest, and, to all outward appearance, the happiest
persons that ever were in the world. M. Antoninus
was an excellent good man, and perhaps the great
est emperor that ever was, for in his time the Roman
empire was at its greatest extent; and yet it is hard
to say, whether Epictetus, whose example I pro
posed before, and who lived about the same time
with this great and good emperor : I say, it is not
easy to say, whether this poor man, Epictetus, who
was depressed into the lowest and most afflicted
condition that human nature is almost capable of,
were not, by reason of those admirable virtues which
shined so brightly in that dark and dismal condi
tion, his invincible patience, his perfect submission
to the providence of God, the perpetual cheerful
ness and serenity, the unmoveable constancy and
equality of his mind, according to a right estimation
of things, the greater and more glorious person of
the two.
So that good men are always secure, as to the
main and the essentials of happiness ; under all out
ward afflictions and sufferings of the body, they may
still retain a wise and virtuous mind, which is " that
good part which cannot be taken from them ;" and
if they retain that, they are sure of the favour of

128
God, and the countenance of Heaven, which alone
are sufficient to make any condition happy.
3. Another ground of comfort is, that if God
govern the world, he can either prevent or divert
the greatest evils that threaten us; or if they come
upon us, he can support us under them, and de
liver us out of them : and if we be good, and it be
for our good, he will do one of these for us ; either
he will prevent the evil, that it shall not come, if
that be best for us ; or if the affliction fall heavy
upon us, he will support us under it : and if our
strength be" increased in proportion to the weight of
our burthen, it is as well as if we had escaped it,
nay, perhaps, much better j Considering the benefit
and reward of it. But how grievous soever it be,
he can, when he pleasethj deliver us from it ; and
he will do it presently if it be for Our good ; and if
it be not, it is not really desirable to us to be so
soon freed from it.
4. And lastly, which is consequent upon the
former particulars, it is certain, upon the whole mat
ter, and upon the balancing of all accounts, that in
every condition good men have much more cause
of comfort and joy, than of dejection and trouble.
Let our fears be as greats and our present sufferings
as heavy as they can, thefe are considerations of so
great moment to be put into the other scale, as will
infinitely outweigh them, and make them seem light.
The considerations of our immortal duration in a
future slate, and of the endless and unspeakable
happiness of another world, are of that solidity and
weight, that " these light afflictions," as the apostle
calls them, " which are but for a moment, are in no
wise worthy to be compared with them."
What though our passage through this world be

129
never so stormy and tempestuous, we shall at last
arrive at a safe port. Heaven is a sure sanctuary
and retreat from all the evils and afflictions which
we are liable to, and which many times pursue us
so close in this mortal state. It is but exercising
our faith and patience for a very little while, and all
will be well with us ; much better than if we had
never been afflicted, and had been wholly exempted
from all sorts of sufferings in this world. We have
no pretence to " the crown of life," if we do not
overcome ; and there can be no conquest without
some conflict.
But because the Christian religion does give us the
greatest, if not the only firm assurance of the hap
piness of another life, which, when all is done, is
the great support and cordial of our fainting spirits,
under the troubles and afflictions of this life, there
fore I Shall not now enlarge farther upon it, but re
fer it to the second head Of my discourse, which I
proposed to speak to in the next place, viz. What
farther considerations of comfort and support, faith
in Christ, and the firm belief of the Christian religion,
do afford to good men for the allaying and miti
gating of their festrs and troubles. " Let not your
heart be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in
me." But this I shall refer to some other oppor
tunity.

SERMON CCXV.
THE TRUE REMEDY AGAINST THE TROUBLES OF
LIFE.
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God,
believe also in me. — John xiv. 1.
I have considered these words as an universal re
medy against trouble : and in shewing what virtue
and force there are in this remedy, I have considered,
First, That faith in God is a proper and most
powerful means to mitigate and allay our trouble,
and to support and quiet our minds under it.
I now proceed, in the second place, to shew
what farther considerations of comfort and support,
faith in Christ, and the firm belief of the Christian
religion, do afford good men, for the allaying and
mitigating of their greatest fears and troubles, " Let
not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God, be
lieve also in me." I shall mention these five :
I. Faith in Christ, or the belief of the Christian
religion, gives us full and perfect assurance of im
mortality, and of the glorious and eternal rewards
of another world.
II. It promiseth to- every sincere Christian the
inward assistance, and support, and comfort, of
God's Holy Spirit, to bear up the weakness of hu
man nature under its heaviest pressures of fear, or
grief, or pain.
III. It assures us of the special efficacy of our
prayers with God, either for our deliverance from

131
trouble, or for the aids and supports of his grace
under it.
IV. It propounds to us the best and most admi
rable pattern that ever was, of patience and con
stancy of mind under the apprehension of approach
ing evils, or the sense of present sufferings ; and of
a contented and cheerful submission to the will of
God, in the saddest condition to which human na
ture is incident.
V. It assures us of a most compassionate, and
prevalent, and perpetual patron, and advocate, and
intercessor with God for us.
I. Faith in Christ, or the doctrine ofthe Christ
ian religion, gives a full and perfect assurance of
immortality, and of the glorious and eternal rewards
of another world. Of this the world was very
doubtful and uncertain before, and had but obscure
and wavering apprehensions about it. And though
the generality of mankind had naturally some glim
mering apprehensions of another life after this, and
secret hopes and expectations of a future reward
for goCd men that were hardly used in this world ;
yet the philosophers had wrangled and disputed the
matter into so much uncertainty, that mankind were
very much staggered about it, and the doubts and
difficulties that were raised about it did very much
break the force and weaken the influence of so
weighty a consideration.
Thus it was among the gentiles. And under the
law of Moses, though the Jews had such appre
hensions of their own immortality, and of a future
state of rewards and punishments, as natural light
suggested to them ; yet that covenant and dispensa
tion added but very little to the clearing of those
notions, and the strengthening of this persuasion in

132
the minds of men ; it did rather suppose it, than
add any new strength and force to it : for, Under
that dispensation, the eyes of men were generally
fixed upon temporal promises and threatenings:
though, as the times of the Messias grew nearer, and
the sufferings of that people sharper, they began to
have clearer apprehensions of a resurrection to
another and better life; it being natural to men
when they are destitute of present comfort, to
cherish and make much of the future hopes of a
better condition*
And, therefore, we find that tbe people of the
Jews, when they had been long exercised with great
afflictions, began to comfort and support themselves
with the hopes of a blessed resurrection to a better
life ; as is evident from the history of the seven
brethren in the Maccabees, who, with great patience
and courage, bore up under the most exquisite tor
ments, in confidence of being raised again to a
blessed state in another world. And of these it is
the apostle certainly speaks, (Heb. xi. 35.) when he
says, that " some were tortured, not accepting de
liverance, that they might obtain a better resur
rection." But the apostle tells us expressly, (2 Tim. i. 10.)
that the clear and certain discovery of a future state
is owing to the Christian religion, and " made ma
nifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who hath abolished death, and brought life and
immortality to light by the gospel." Not only na
tural light, but all the revelations which God had
made to the world before, had this weakness and
imperfection in them, that they did not give men
the clear discovery aud full assurance of another
life ; and consequently, had but little efficacy in

133
comparison to engage men to their duty, or to sup
port and comfort them under their sufferings : aud
therefore the apostle to the Hebrews calls the gos
pel, iu opposition to the law, " the power of an end
less life," (Heb. vii. 16.) intimating to us, how great
a force and influence the clear apprehensions of
another life are apt to have upon the minds of men.
For which reason, the same apostle tells us, (ver.
18, 19.) that the law was too weak to raise men to
the perfection of virtue and goodness, because it
did not work strongly enough upon the hopes of
men, by the greatness and clearness of its promises;
and that for this weakness it was removed, and a
more powerful and awakening dispensation brought
in the place of it : " For verily (says he), there is an
annulling ofthe commandment going before," mean
ing the law of Moses, which by the gospel was
abrogated and made void, " for the weakness and
unprofitableness of it ; for the law made nothing
perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did."
For which reason, (chap. viii. 6.) he calls the cove
nant of the gospel, " a better covenant," because it
" was established upon better promises," viz. *' the
promise of an eternal inheritance," as the same apo
stle speaks, (chap. ix. 15.) All the express pro
mises ofthe law were only of temporal good things,
but the promises of the gospel are of eternal life
and happiness : *' This is the promise which he
hath promised us, even eternal life," says St. John,
(1 John ii. 25.)
Now the firm persuasion of another life, does not
only answer that great difficulty and objection
against the providence of God, from the seeming in
justice and inequality of his dealings with good
and bad men in this world, because the eternal re-

134
wards and punishments of another world will set
all things straight, and make abundant amends to
good men, for all their sufferings and afflictions
here ; and will render the past prosperity of bad
men one ofthe greatest aggravations of their misery :
as it is said of Babylon, (Rev. xviii. 7.) " How
much she hath glorified herself and lived deliciously,
so much torment and sorrow give her." In like
manner God will deal with wicked men in another
world; their torments shall rise in proportion to
the pleasure and prosperity they have enjoyed and
abused in this world. This remarkable change of
condition which shall befal good and bad men in
another world, is set forth to us in a very lively and
affecting manner in the parable ofthe rich man and
Lazarus ; (Luke xvi, 25.) where Abraham is repre
sented speaking thus to the rich man ; " Son, re
member that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good
things, and likewise Lazarus evil things : but now
he is comforted, and thou art tormented." " He is
comforted" in proportion to his sufferings in this
world : " and thou art tormented" in proportion to,
the sensual pleasures and luxuries of thy former
life. Men under great want and sufferings, are apt
to think their lot in this world very hard, and yet
upon the whole matter, and taking all things into
consideration, who would not much rather choose
to be Lazarus with his hard fortune in this world,
and everlasting consolation in the other ; than the
rich man drowned in pleasure in this world, and
tormented in flames in the other? — I say, the firm
belief of another life, does not only answer this ob
jection against the Divine providence ; but does
likewise minister abundant comfort and matter of
joy to good men, under all their fears and troubles

135
in this world. Nay, this consideration alone, of a
blessed immortality in another world, of which only
the Christian religion hath given us full and un
doubted assurance, is of that weight and moment,
as to contribute more to the support of our spirits
under the evils and calamities of this life, than all
the considerations of philosophy put together. They
are many of them pleasant and pretty, and fit
enough to entertain and divert a man's mind under
a slight trouble ; but they are too speculative and
refined for common capacities, too thin and weak
to bear any great stress, and to support and relieve
a man's mind under a sore and heavy affliction :
but this is a consideration which hath strength and
substance in it, that all things will end in our un
speakable happiness, and that this happiness shall
have no end. This the apostle St. Paul speaks of
as a proper consideration of comfort, of which we
are assured by the Christian religion, that all the
evils of this life shall, in the last issue and result of
things, co-operate to our happiness : (Rom. viii. 28.)
" We know (says he) that all things work together
for good to them that love God." And, (2 Cor. iv.
16 — 18.) " For which cause we faint not," &c. The
apostle gives us an account how they were afflicted
and persecuted, and what it was that supported
them under all their sufferings : (ver. 8 — 11.) "We
are troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; we
are perplexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but
not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed. Al
ways bearing about in the body the dying of the
Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be
made manifest in our body. For we which live
are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake."
And then he tells us what it. was kept up the spirits

13.6
of Christians under these sharp sufferings, viz. the
assurance which the Christian religion' gives us bf
a resurrection to abetter and happier hfe: (ver. 14.)
" Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus,
shaU raise us up also by Jesus." And then it fol
lows, (ver, 16.) '< For which cause we faint not :
but though our outward man perish, yet the inward
man is renewed day by day ;" that is, though our
bodies be wasted and weakened, yet every day we
grow stronger in the resolution of our minds, be
cause '< our light affliction, which is but for a mo
ment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory ; while we look not at the
things which are seen, but at the things which are
not seen : for the things which are seen are tem
poral; but the things which are not seen are eter
nal." And then at the beginning of the next chap
ter, he still urgeth the same consideration of com
fort, that so soon as we pass out of the troubles of
this life, we shall enter upon the happiness of the
other. " For we know," that is, we Christians are
assured, " that if our earthly house of this taber
nacle were dissolved, we have a building of God,
a house not made with hands, eternal in the hea
vens." Here you see is the great ground of their
confidence and comfort in the worst condition, and
under the most grievous persecutions which they
were continually exposed to.
And therefore our Saviour and his apostles make
no scruple to pronounce those persons blessed, who
in respect of their sufferings seemed to be of all men
in the world the most miserable; and they pro-
nonnce them happy, upon this very account of
their sufferings. (Matt. v. 10—12.) " Blessed are
they (says our Saviour) which are persecuted for

137
righteousness' sake ; for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. Blessed are ye when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil
against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad ; for great is your reward in heaven."
Great sufferings for God in this world, do entitle
us, by virtue of this gracious promise of our Lord,
to a glorious reward in the other. So likewise St.
James exhorts Christians to rejoice in their suffer
ings : (James i. 2.) " My brethren, account it all joy
when ye fall into divers temptations." And, (chap.
v. 11.) "Behold, (says he)|we count them happy
which endure." And St. Peter to the same pur
pose, (1 Pet. iv, 14.) " If ye be persecuted for
righteousness' sake, happy are ye." So solid a com
fort to men under all the troubles and afflictions of
this world, is that firm assurance which the Christ
ian religion gives us of a future happiness, as to
bring even the greatest miseries which in this life
we are liable to, in some sense, under the notion of
blessedness. And this was not only fine talk, like the glorious
brags of the stoics; but the primitive Christians,
in infinite examples, gave the real proof and evi
dence of it, in their constant and cheerful behaviour
under the most cruel and intolerable torments.
Non magna loquimur, sed vivimus, says Tertullian, in
the name of the Christians : " We do not talk great
things, but do them ; and demonstrate the real
effect of our words and profession in oUr lives and
actions." Never did the arguments fetched from
another world, and the assurance of a blessed im
mortality, display their force and virtue more, than
in the joyful sufferings of the first Christians, and
their generous contempt of all that was dear to
VOL. IX. L

138
them in this World, "in hope of that eternal life,"
which God, that cannot lie, hath promised;" and
which the Son of God hath insured to them, by his
resurrection from the dead.
II. The Christian religion promiseth to every sin
cere Christian, the inward assistance and support
and comfort of God's Holy Spirit, to bear up the
weakness of human nature urtder its heaviest pres
sures of fear or sufferings. And this is peculiar to
the Christian religion : for though the providence of
God did take particular care of good men in all
ages, and he did always in some good measure
assist them to do their duty, and afford comfort and
support to them Under great trials and sufferings ;
yet God never made so express and general a pro
mise of this to all good men, as he hath done by
the Christian religion. Never was so constant a
presence and influence of the Divine Spirit vouch
safed and assured to men under any dispensation,
as that ofthe gospel ; wherein the Spirit of God is
promised to all that sincerely embrace the Christ
ian religion, to reside and dwell in them, not only
to all the purposes of sanctification and holiness,
but of support and comfort under all troubles and
sufferings ; for which reason the gospel is called
" the ministration of the Spirit," and is upon this ac
count said to be " more glorious" than any other re
velation which God had ever made to mankind.
And therefore this is said to be essential to every
Christian, to have the Spirit of God dwell in him.
(Rom. viii. 9, 10.) Speaking of all true Christians,
" Ye are (saith St. Paul) not in the flesh, but in
tbe spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in
you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his." So that every sincere Christian

139
"is made partaker of the promise of the Spirit
through faith;" that is, by his belief of the Christian
religion, he is under the immediate conduct and in
fluence of God's Holy Spirit, and hath this blessed
Guide and Comforter always present with him, nay,
continually dwelling and residing in him, if we do
not grieve and quench and drive him away from us
by our ill treatment of him, and resistance of his
blessed motions.
And this promise ofthe Spirit, our. Saviour had
a very particular respect to, when he prescribes
faith in himself as a special remedy against that
trouble which possessed their minds, upon the ap
prehension of his departure from them ; and there
fore he tells them so often, that when he was gone
from them, he would send them another Comforter
or Advocate, who should undertake their cause,
and would stand by them in their greatest troubles
and temptations. He tells them, that he himself
would be an advocate for them in heaven : but be
cause that was at a great distance, and might not
be so sensible a comfort to them, he promiseth to
send them another Advocate, that should be pre
sent with them here on earth, and upon all occasions
undertake their patronage and defence. So that, all
things considered, he assures them there was so
little reason to be troubled at his departure from
them, that they had cause rather to be glad of it,;
because it would turn to their great advantage ; and
instead of the benefit of his outward teaching and
presence, they should have the inward presence and
teaching of his Spirit, and the continual aids and
supports of his grace. " I go my way, (says he,
John xvi. 5 — 7.) — I go my way to him that sent me,
and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou ? but
l2

140
because I have said these things unto you, sorrow
hath filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the
truth; itis expedient for you, that I go away: for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto
you : but if 1 depart, I will send him unto you."
And so the evangelist tells us before, (chap. vii.
39.) that the Spirit was not to be given, till Jesus
was first glorified. " This (says he) spake he of the
Spirit, which they that believed on him should re
ceive : for the. Holy Ghost was not yet given, be
cause Jesus was not yet glorified ;" plainly de
claring, that according to the wise dispensation of
God, it was so ordered, that the sending of the
Holy Ghost for the propagating of the gospel, by
those miraculous powers which were to be conferred
upon the first publishers of it, and for the support
ing and comforting of Christians under the sharp
trials and sufferings to which they were to be ex
posed, was the fruit of " Christ's ascension into hea
ven," and " his sitting at the right hand of the Ma
jesty on high," and the first boon which he should
obtain of his Father, by the virtue and power of
his intercession. " I will pray the Father," says he,
(ver. 16. of this chapter) " and he shall send you
another Advocate, the Spirit of truth, and he shall
abide with you for ever." " He shall send you an
other Comforter ;" so our translation renders the
word irapaKAjjrot,-, but it most properly signifies " an
Advocate, or Patron," that undertakes our defence
and pleads our cause for us. And this the Holy
Ghost in a most eminent and remarkable manner was
to the apostles and first Christians, when they were
called to answer for themselves before kings and
governors. They were generally men of low con
dition and mean breeding, easily dashed out of

141
countenance before great men ; and therefore our
Saviour promised that the Holy Ghost should be
their Advocate, and should prompt and assist them
in the pleading of their cause. (Matt. x. 18, 19.)
" Ye shall be brought before governors and kings
for my sake; but when they deliver you up, take
no thought how, or what you shall speak, for it
shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall
speak: for it is not you that speak, but the Spirit
of your Father which speaketh in you." Or, as it
is in St. Luke, (chap. xii. ver. 12.) "The Holy
Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye
ought to say." And yet more fully, (chap. xxi. ver.
12 — 15.) where, speaking again of their being
brought before kings and rulers for his name's sake,
he gives them this charge, " Settle it therefore in
your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall
answer; for I will give you a mouth and wisdom,
which all your adversaries shall not be able to gain
say or resist."
And this promise we find remarkably made good
to St. Stephen, (Acts vi. 10.) of whom it is there
said, that " his enemies were not able to resist
the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spake."
And to St. Paul likewise, when he was first called
to answer for himself at Rome, as he himself tells
Timothy ; (2 Tim. iv. 16, 17.) "At my first answer,
no man stood with me; but all men forsook me:
notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and
strengthened me."
And though this was extraordinary, yet all Christ
ians have, by virtue of this promise, the ordinary
assistance and comfort of God's Holy Spirit in all
their troubles and afflictions. By this Spirit we may
in all our distresses with confidence make our ad-

142
dresses to God, " having access by one Spirit to the
Father," as St. Paul speaks, (Ephes. ii. 18.) By the
same Spirit we are assisted in our prayers, and di
rected many times what to ask of God, suitable to
the condition which his providence designs to bring
us into; which seems to be the apostle's meaning:
(Rom. viii. 26.) " Likewise theSpiritalso helpeth our
infirmities : for we know not what to pray for as we
ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for
us ;" that is, suggests to us such requests, as are
fit for us to put up to God. By the same Spirit is
secretly infused into our souls " peace and joy in be
lieving, great consolation and good hope through
grace." Hence are those expressions in Scripture of
" the consolation of the Spirit," and of "joy in the
Holy Ghost," the best cordial in the world in all
cases' of trouble.
And in extraordinary cases, good men, by virtue
of this promise of the Spirit, may expect to be
borne up and comforted iu a very extraordinary and
supernatural manner, under the greatest tribulations
and sufferings " for righteousness' sake." This was
very signal and remarkable in the primitive Christ
ians, who were exposed to the most fierce and cruel
persecutions; and may still be expected in like
cases of extraordinary suffering for the testimony
of God's truth. " If ye be reproached (saith St.
Peter, 1 Pet. iv. 14.) for the name of Christ, happy
are ye ; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth
upon you," The Spirit of God is there promised,
to strengthen and support all that suffer for the
name of Christ, in a very conspicuous and glorious
manner; according to that prayer of St. Paul, (Col.
j. 11.) that Christians might be " strengthened with
all might, according to God's glorious power, unto

143
all long-suffering with joyfulness." For when God
exerciseth good men with trials more than human,
and sufferings which are beyond the ordinary rate of
human strength and patience to bear, he hath en
gaged himself to assist and endow them with more
than human courage and resolution. So St. Paul
tells the Corinthians, who had not yet felt the ut
most rage of persecution, (I Cor. x. 13.) "No tempt
ation (or trial) hath yet befallen you, but what is
common to men ;" nothing but what is frequently
incident to human nature, and what, by an ordinary
assistance of God's grace, men may grapple with ;
but in case God calls men to extraordinary suffer
ings, " He is faithful that hath promised, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above what ye are able ;
but will with the temptation also make a way to es
cape, that ye may be able to bear it." And why
should we be daunted at the weight of an affliction,
if we be well assured that our strength shall be in
creased in proportion to our burden ?
And wherever this promise is not made good
there is some defect on our part ; either men are not
sincere in the profession of the truth, and then no
wonder if they fall for fear of suffering ; or they have
been too confident of themselves, and have not, with
that earnestness and importunity they ought, prayed
to God for his grace and assistance, and thereupon
God hath justly left them to try their strength
against a violent and powerful temptation ; as he did
Peter, who, for all his confidence, did Upon no very
great temptation deny his Saviour ; but even in this
case, where there is truth and sincerity at the bottom,
God gives to such persons, as he did to Peter, the
opportunity of recovering themselves by repentance.
There are three particulars more remain ; but I
shall proceed no farther at this time.

SERMON CCXVI.
THE TRUE REMEDY AGAINST THE TROUBLES OF
LIFE.
Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God,
believe also in me.— John xiv. 1.
From these words I proposed to shew, what force
and virtue there are in the remedy proposed by our
Saviour, to mitigate and allay our troubles ; and I
told you, that our Saviour here prescribes a double
remedy. First, Faith in God, the great Creator and Go
vernor of the world.
' Secondly, Faith in himself, the Son of God and
Saviour of men. I have spoken to the first, and
have likewise entered upon the
Second, And here I propounded to shew, what
farther considerations of comfort and support, faith
in Christ, and the firm belief of the Christian reli
gion, do afford to good men, for the allaying and
mitigating of their greatest fears and troubles.
And I mentioned five :
I, Faith in Christ gives us full assurance of im
mortality, and the rewards of another world.
II. It promiseth to every sincere Christian the in
ward assistance and support of God's Holy Spirit.
Thus far I have gone. I now proceed :
III. It assures us of the special efficacy of our
prayers with God, either for our deliverance from
trouble, or for the aids and supports of his grace
under it.

145
Now concerning the great efficacy of our prayers
with God, there are several very particular and re
markable promises and declarations in the New
Testament : (Matt. vii. 7.) " Ask, and it shall be
given you : seek, and ye shall find : knock, and it
shall be opened unto you." (Matt. xxi. 22.) " And
all things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believ
ing, ye shall receive." (John xv. 7.) " If ye abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what
ye will, and it shall be done unto you." But then
he directs us to put up our petitions to God in his
name, as the way to make them prevalent : (John
xiv. 13, 14.) " And whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glori
fied in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my
name, I will do it." And (chap. xvi. 23, 24.) he re
peats this promise again for their support and com
fort under the tribulations which they should endure.
" And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the
Father in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto
ye have asked nothing in my name: ask and ye
shall receive, that your joy may be full." And, again,
(ver. 26, 27.) "At that day ye shall ask in my name:.
and I say unto you, that I will pray the Father for
you: for the Father himself lovetn you." He assures
them of God's merciful inclination towards them ; and
if it would add any thing to their comfortable assur
ance of having their prayers heard, he could have
told them, " that he would pray the Father for
them." St. James particularly comforts the Christ
ians under their trials upon this consideration, that
God is ready to give wisdom and strength to demean
ourselves as we ought under sufferings, if we heart
ily beg it of him : (James i. 2 — 5.) " My brethren,

146
count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations,
knowing this, that the trial of your faith worketh
patience: but let patience have her perfect work,
that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing."
And since this requires great wisdom, to bear great
afflictions with patience, therefore he adds, that God
is always ready to grant this wisdom and grace to
those that heartily beg it of him. " If any of you lack
wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given
him." (1 John iii. 22.) " And whatsoever we ask, we
receive of him, because we keep his commandments,
and do those things which are pleasing in his sight."
And, (chap. v. 14, 15.) "And this is the confidence
that we have in him," that is, we Christians : for he
had said before, " These things have I written unto
you, that believe on the name of the Son of God ;"
and then it follows; " And this is the confidence
that we have in him, that if we ask any thing accord
ing to his will, he heareth us : aud if we know that
he heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we know that
we have the petitions that we desired of him.;" that
is,, though we have not presently the thing we prayed
for, yet we are as sure of it as if we had it. The
earnest prayer, of every sincere Christian, is very
powerful and available with God. So St. James
assures us : (chap. v. 16.) " The effectual fervent
prayer of a righteous man availeth much :" much
more the united prayers of the faithful. So our Sa
viour declares, (Matt, xviii. 19.) "Again I say unto
you, That if two of you shall agree on earth, as
touching the thing that they shall ask, it shall be
donefor them of my Father which is in heaven."
. All these promises and declarations do certainly
signify amore special efficacy and preyalency of the

147
prayers of Christians. And though there was a mi
raculous power of prayer in the primitive times,
which is now ceased, and of which St. James plainly
speaks, (chap, v. 14, 15.) "Is any sick among you?
let him call for the elders of the church, and let them
pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of
the Lord : and the prayer of faith shall save the
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up :" yet it is
certain that these promises extend farther, to the
efficacy of the prayers of the faithful in such cases.
And so our Saviour extends this promise ; (Matt. xxi.
22.) for after he had said in the verse before, " Verily
I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye
shall not only do this which is done unto the fig-tree;
but also, if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou
removed, and be thou cast into the sea, it shall be
done :" after this he immediately subjoins, " And all
things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing,
ye shall receive." Hereby declaring, that the efficacy
of the prayers of Christians was not limited only to
those miraculous effects which were but to continue
for a time, but that this promise was to be extended
to the prayers of the faithful in all cases, and all
times. And, indeed, all the grounds and reasons of the
effi cacy and prevalency of our prayers, which are
mentioned in the New Testament, do equally con
cern Christians in all times ; as that we pray to God
in the name and mediation of Jesus Christ, upon
which our Saviour very frequently, when he makes
this promise, lays great stress, and seems to render
it as the reason of the special efficacy of our prayers.
(John xiv. 13, 14.) " And whatsoever ye shall ask in
my name that will I do, that the Father may bp glo
rified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my

148
name, I will do it." And, (ehap. xvi. 23, 24.) " Veri
ly, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask
the Father in my name, he will give it you. Here
tofore ye have asked nothing in my name ; ask, and
ye shall receive."
Another reason of the acceptance and prevalency
of our prayers, is, that the Spirit of God which
dwells in all true Christians does help our weakness,
and secretly directs us to ask of God those things
which are according to his will, and does, as it were,
intercede for us. (Rom. viii. 26.) "Likewise the
Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know
not what we shall pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us." And, (ver.
27.) "And he that searcheth the hearts, knoweth
what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints, according to the will of
God." And no wonder if those petitions are very
prevalent, which we are assisted and directed to put
up to God, according to his will.
And this certainly is a great comfort under any
trouble, that we can have free access to God by
prayer, in confidence that he will grant us those re
quests which we put up to him according to his will.
And this the apostle to the Hebrews mentions more
than once, as sin argument to them to continue stead*
fast in the profession of their religion, notwithstand
ing the persecution that attended it, because we may
at all times address ourselves to God in confidence
of his gracious help and assistance, (Heb. iv. 16.)
After he had exhorted them " to hold fast their pro
fession," as an encouragement thereto, he adds the
free access we may have to God for his help and
support : " Let us, therefore, (says he) come boldly
(or with great freedom and confidence) to the throne

149
of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find favour
with him for our seasonable help and succour."
And to the same purpose, (chap. x. 19, 20.) " Hav
ing, therefore, freedom to enter into the holiest, by
the blood of Jesus, (that is, having access to God
in prayer, by Jesus Christ ;) let us draw near with
a true heart, in full' assurance of faith ;" that is, in
perfect confidence that our prayers will be graciously
heard and answered ; upon which he adds, " Let us
hold fast the profession of our faith without waver
ing, for he is faithful that hath promised :" if we conti
nue steadfast to God, and the profession of his truth,
he will make good all that he hath promised, both
of present support under our sufferings, and of the
glorious reward of them in another life : he will
hear our prayers, and grant us the aids and supplies
of his grace as we stand in need of them.
IV. The Christian religion propounds to us the
best and most admirable pattern that ever was of
patience and constancy of mind, under the appre
hension of approaching evils, or the sense of our
present sufferings, and of a contented and cheerful
submission to the will of God, in the saddest condi
tion to which human nature is incident ; and that is
the pattern of our blessed Saviour, who, for this
reason among others, was so great a sufferer in so
many kinds, that he might go before us in this rough
and difficult way, and " leave us an example, that
we should follow his steps ;" that we might learn
from him how to calm and quiet our spirits, to ap
pease and hush the tumults of our passions, under
the severest dispensations of God's providence to
wards us, and to bend our wills to a patient submis
sion to the will of our heavenly Father, under the
sorest afflictions and sharpest sufferings,vFor though

150
our blessed Saviour prayed so earnestly to his Fa
ther, that " that bitter cup might pass from him," yet
how quietly and cheerfully did he resign and yield.
up himself to the will of God, saying, " Yet not my
will, but thine be done!" Human nature shrunk
and gave back at the sight of his dreadful sufferings:
but his reason overruled the inclinations of nature,
and kept him to a steady resolution of submitting to
the will of God. And therefore, when Peter at
tempted his rescue, he commanded him to desist,
saying, " Put up thy sword into the sheath : the cup
which my Father hath given, shall I not drink it ?".
(John xviii. 11.) And though he had as quick a
sense of suffering as any man, yet with what pa
tience did he possess his soul! with what meekness
and humility of spirit did he bear and yield to it!
" He was led as a lamb to the slaughter ; and as a
sheep before the shearers is dumb, so he opened
not his mouth. When he was reviled, he reviled
not again ; when he suffered, he threatened not : but
committed himself to him that judgeth righteously."
And thus " it became the Captain of our salvation,"
that he might be a perfect pattern to us of patience
and submission to the will of God, of a meek and
undisturbed mind, under the greatest bodily pains,
and the extreme anguish of his soul, " to be made
perfect by sufferings."
So that under the greatest present evils, or the
most fearful apprehension of future evil and suffer
ing, we should fix our eye steadfastly upon this great
and glorious example of patience and constancy and
meekness, of a due sense, and yet of a most decent
behaviour under the heaviest load of affliction, that
ever was laid upon any of the sons of men ; look
ing, as the apostle exhorts, (Heb. xii. 2, 3.) " Look-

151
ing unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith;
who, for the jOy that was set before him, endured the
cross, and despised the shame; and considering him,
who endured such contradiction of sinners against
himself, lest we be weary and faint in our minds."
And surely if we would but let our minds dwell
awhile upon this consideration of the sufferings of
the. Son of God, and his great meekness and patience,
and submission to the will of God under them, it
would mightily conduce to the mitigating -of our
trouble, and bringing us to " possess our souls in
patience," in the saddest condition that can befal us.
And what consideration more proper for us than
this, when we are going to receive the blessed sa
crament, wherein the sufferings of the Son of God
are represented to us, in the symbols of his body
broken, and his blood shed for the remission of our
sins; and there are many considerations which this
sight is apt to suggest to us, which are so many
powerful arguments to quiet and comfort our minds
under the greatest troubles and sufferings which we
are liable to ; such as these.
1. The grievous sufferings which the Son of God
was exposed to, do clearly shew us, that the good
things of this life are not so valuable, nor the evils
and sufferings of it so considerable, as we are apt to
fancy and imagine ; when the best man that ever
lived was so destitute of the common comforts and
conveniences of human life, and had so large a share
of the calamities and sufferings of it. If we could
but rectify our opinion of things, it would go a great
way in making any of the evils and afflictions of this
life tolerable. If God see good to reduce us to po
verty and want, let us think of him, who, " being
Lord Of all, had not where to lay his head ;" who

152
" being rich, for our sakes became poor, that we
through his poverty might be made rich." To be
destitute of worldly accommodations cannot seem
so dismal and despicable a sight, when we consider
whose lot it was to live in a low and indigent con
dition ; the very consideration whereof doth not only
make poverty tolerable, but even glorious.
So likewise when we are " persecuted for right
eousness' sake," and exercised with sufferings and
reproaches ; when we are ready to be discouraged
in well-doiug by the opposition we meet withal from
the ingratitude of men, and the malicious interpre
tation of our good actions, perverting the best
things, done with the best mind and to the best end,
to some ill purpose and design ; let us " look to
Jesus," and "consider him who endured such contra
diction of sinners against himself," and this will help
to abate the hideous apprehension of these things.
2. The suffering's ofthe Son of God are a demon
stration to us, that the love and favour of God,
wherein the chief happiness of man consists, are not
to be estimated and measured by outward pros
perity in this world ; much less can it be concluded
from temporal afflictions and sufferings, that God
hath no favour and kindness for those whom he
thinks fit to exercise with them. For we see plainly
by this instance of the grievous sufferings of his Son,
that God may most deeply wound and afflict those
whom he most dearly loves ; and if we can be secure
of the favour of God, and his loving-kindness, why
should our hearts be troubled and dismayed at the
apprehension of any evil that can befal us ?
God may love his children, and yet chasten them
very severely : nay, that he does so, is rather an
argument that they are his children, and that he

153
loves them, and is concerned for them. So I am sure
the apostle teacheth us to argue, (Heb. xii. 6 — 8.)
" For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and
scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons : for
what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?
But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are
partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons." The
heaviest and most grievous load of sufferings that
was ever laid on any man, God permitted to be laid
" on his only-begotten Son, the dearly beloved of
his soul, in whom he was well-pleased." The greater
our afflictions are, and the more we suffer for
" righteousness' sake," so much the liker are we to
the Son of God, and so much the more likely to be
the sons and children of God. It is true, as the
apostle tells us, that " no affliction for the present
is joyous, but grievous :" but surely it is a great mi
tigation of it, to consider what a glorious example
and argument of patience our religion proposeth to
us, for our encouragement under sufferings: that
the best man that ever was lived in the most af
flicted condition ; and the greatest sufferer that ever
was, or can be, was " the dearly-beloved Son of
God." 3. In the victorious sufferings ofthe Son of God,
we see the world conquered to our hands, all the
terrors and temptations of it disarmed, and all its
force baffled and broken. This consideration our
Saviour makes use of to support the faint spirits of
his disciples, under the melancholy apprehensions
which they had of sufferings: (John xvi. 33.) " In
the world ye shall have tribulation : but be of good
cheer, I have overcome the world." The great work
is done to our hands ; affliction and death are van-
VOL. IX. M

154
quished and overcome by him. That conquest
which " the Captain of our salvation" hath already
made of all " the powers of darkness," renders our
victory over them. cheap and easy.
4. The temptations and sufferings of our Lord
were greater than ours are or can be ; for he bore
tbe heavy and insupportable load of all the sins of
all mankind, and ofthe wrath and vengeance due to
them. " The Lord hath laid on him," saith the pro
phet, (Isa. Iiii. 6, 7.) " The Lord hath laid on him
the iniquity of us all ; he was oppressed and af
flicted." And well might he be oppressed with af
fliction, who had such an intolerable burden as the
sins of all mankind to press him down. That pas
sage is commonly applied to him, and well might
he cry out in that manner, " Is it nothing to you, all
ye that pass by? Behold and see if there be any sor
row like unto my sorrow, wherewith the Lord hath
afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger." Such
were the sufferings of our Lord, so great and so
grievous, as none of us are in any degree able to un
dergo. That weight under which he crouched,
would crush us; that which he was hardly able to
sustain, would certainly sink us; and do we com
plain and " faint in our minds," when but a' very
little part ofthe punishment due to us only for our
own sins is inflicted upon us? The consideration of
the heavy and " unknown sufferings of the Son of
God," should make all our afflictions not only tolera
ble, but light.
5. And yet we have in effect the same support
that he had. We are apt to be very much disheart
ened and discouraged at the apprehension of suf
ferings, from the consideration of our own weakness
and frailty; " but the Spirit of Christ dwells in us,"
and the same " glorious power that raised up Jesus

155
from the dead, works mightily on them that be
lieve." St. Paul useth very high expressions in this
matter : (Ephes. i. 29, 30.) " That ye may know,"
says he, speaking in general of all Christians, " what
is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward
who believe according to the working of his mighty
power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised
him from the dead, ahd set him on his own right
hand." So that every sincere Christian is endowed
with a kind of omnipotency, being able, as St. Paul
says of himself, " to do all things through Christ
strengthening him." We are of ourselves very weak,
and the temptations and terrors of the world are
very powerful ; but there is a principle residing in
every true Christian, that is able to bear us up
against the world and the power of all its tempta
tions. " Whatsoever is born of God (says St. John),
overcometh the world : for greater is he that is in
you, than he that is in the world." The Holy Spirit
of God which dwells in all true Christians, is a more
powerful principle of resolution and courage and
patience, under the sharpest trials and sufferings,
than that evil spirit which rules in the world is to
stir up and set on the malice and rage of the world
against us. " Ye are of God, and have overcome
the world : for greater is he that is in you, than he
that is in the world."
6. Let us consider farther, for whom and for
what our blessed Lord suffered. Not for himself;
but for our sake : not for any fault of his own ; for
" he had no sin ;" but for our sins. He was per
fectly innocent : but we are great and grievous
offenders. We suffer upon our own account : but
he only for our sakes, and for our salvation. So
that the example of our Lord's sufferings hath an
m2

156
irresistible force and virtne in it, to argue us into
patience and submission. Did he bear the load of
our sins so willingly ? did he " who had no sin"
suffer so patiently, to free us from eternal suffer
ings ? And shall we who are guilty think much to
bear a small part of that burden, which he so cheer
fully underwent for us, and which falls so much
short of the due punishment of our faults? The
penitent thief upon the cross urged the equity and
force of this argument to patience, to his fellow-
criminal, that they who had been guilty of such
great crimes, and were justly condemned for them,
ought to be patient under their sufferings. "We
indeed, (says he) are justly condemned ; for we
receive the due reward of our deeds : but this man
hath done nothing amiss."
7. And lastly, If we consider the transcendent
excellency and dignity of the person, who under
went so great sufferings with so much meekness
and patience, and with so even and undisturbed a
mind, this will calm and allay our passions, and
mitigate the troubles which'befal us pitiful and incon
siderable creatures, in comparison of this " Prince
of glory" and " heir of everlasting bliss." When we
consider the meekness of this excellent person, the
eternal Son of God, and with what submission and
serenity of mind he demeaned himself under so
great and continual provocations from his own
creatures and beneficiaries, those whom he had
made, and whom he came to save ; shall we think
much to bear the indignities and affronts of our
fellow-creatures? When we behold how contented
this great person was in the meanest condition, how
he welcomed all events, and was so perfectly re
signed to the will of his heavenly Father, that what-

157
soever pleased God, pleased him ; shall we murmur
at any condition which the providence of God allots
to us, and repine at any eveut whatsoever ?
Shall we resent injuries and affronts and calum
nies so heinously as to be out of all temper and
patience, when we consider with what meekness bf
temper, and how little emotion of mind, the Son of
God bore all these? how " he gave his back to the
smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair ; and withheld not his face from shame and
spitting ;" how " he was led as a lamb to the slaugh
ter, and as a sheep before the shearers is dumb, so
he opened not his mouth ; being reviled, he reviled
not again ; when he suffered, he threatened not?"
To conclude, can we entertain thoughts of re
venge towards the instruments of our sufferings,
when we have such a pattern of forgiving before us,
who poured out his blood for the expiation of the
guilt of them that shed it, and spent his last breath
in a most fervent and charitable prayer for his
betrayers and murderers?
Thus we should propose to ourselves the pattern
of our Lord's spirit and demeanour under sufferings,
in whom meekness and submission and patience
had their perfect work ; that the same mind may
be in us that was in Christ Jesus, and that as we
have him for an example, we may follow his steps.
The last consideration of comfort and support
under trouble, which the Christian religion gives us,
remains yet to be spoken to, namely, that we are
assured of a most compassionate and prevalent and
perpetual patron and advocate and intercessor with
God for us.
But this, together with the application of this whole
discourse, I shall refer to the next opportunity.

SERMON CCXVII.
THE TRUE REMEDY AGAINST THE TROUBLES OF
LIFE,
Let not your heart be troubled : ye believe in God,
believe also in me. — John xiv. 1.
I come now to the fifth and last ground of comfort,
which the Christian religion affords to good men,
for their support under trouble, namely, That it
assures us of a most compassionate and prevalent
and perpetual patron and advocate and intercessor
with God in heaven for us, namely, our blessed
Saviour, " who for the suffering of death was
crowned with glory and honour," advanced " at the
right hand of God," where " he sits in great majesty
and glory," having " all power in heaven and earth
committed to him," and where " he lives continu
ally to make intercession for us."
And this is another consideration mentioned by
our Saviour for the comfort of his disciples, who
were so sorrowful at the thoughts of his departure
from them, that though he should leave the world,
yet he should be highly advanced in heaven, where
he would certainly employ all his favour and power
and interest for their benefit and advantage, and be
an everlasting patron and advocate for those whose
salvation he had purchased with so much sweat and
blood, presenting our requests and prayers to God,
in virtue of his most meritorious sacrifice and suffer
ings continually presented to his Father, perpetually

159
soliciting our cause, and procuring for us all those
blessings by his intercession in heaven, which he
had purchased for us by his blood upon earth.
"For which reason," saith the apostle, (He!>. vii.
25.) " he is able to save to the utmost all those that
come to God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make
intercession for us ;" that is, he is able to perfect
the work of our salvation, which he began here
upon earth; and to procure for all those who
address their prayers to God in his name, whatever
is needful and convenient for us, because he is
always at the right hand of God to second our
prayers by his powerful intercession for us.
And this is a ground of comfort, though not
greater and more substantial in itself than the other ;
yet more accommodated to our apprehensions, who
are naturally apt to dread the majesty of God, and
to seek out for some in favour with him, to be
mediators and intercessors with God for us, and to
present our prayers and requests to him. And this
was the original of the addresses ofthe heathens to
the angels and souls departed, as a kind of inter
mediate and inferior deities, to present their prayers,
and intercede with the great God in their behalf.
And as in compliance with the general apprehen
sion of mankind concerning the appeasing of the
Deity by all sorts of sacrifices, God was pleased to
provide " one sacrifice," which " by being once offer
ed" should " obtain eternal redemption for us, and
perfect for ever them that are sanctified ';" and by
this means to put an end both to the carnal sacri
fices of the law, and the barbarous and inhuman
sacrifices of the pagan worship : so, in like con
descension to the general inclinations of mankind
to address themselves to God by several mediators

160
and intercessors, God hath appointed " one only me
diator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave himself a ransom for all ;" thereby to
put an end to that infinite superstition, which had
obtained in the world for so many ages, of address
ing their prayers to God by the mediation of good
angels, and the departed souls of their heroes and
great men, who were, as I may so call them, the
pagan saints.
So that, as under the gospel, God hath appointed
but " one sacrifice for sin," that should be of eternal
efficacy : so but one mediator in heaven for sinners
to offer up our prayers to God, and to intercede
continually for us, in the power and virtue of that
one sacrifice, once offered for the redemption of
mankind. And therefore, it is every whit as con
trary to the genius and design of the Christian re
ligion, to apply ourselves to other intercessors with
God in heaven for us, whether saints or angels, or
even the blessed Virgin herself, as it would be to
continue still the Jewish sacrifices, not to say the
heathen. For, it is not clearer that there is but one
proper sacrifice under the gospel, viz. that of Christ
upon the cross; than that there is but "one medi
ator and intercessor with God in heaven for us."
Nay, St. Paul speaks as if the Christian religion did
no more admit of more mediators than one, than of
more Gods than one : (1 Tim. ii. 5.) " There is one
God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for
all." Nor is the force of this plain text to be avoided,
by saying that the apostle here speaks of " a medi
ator of redemption," as appears from the following
words, " who gave himself a ransom for all." For
it is plain likewise, that he speaks also of " a media-

161
tor of intercession," and affirms him to be " but one,"
as is evident from what goes before. The apostle
directs "prayers and supplications to be made for all
men," and then at the fifth verse, to whom Christ
ians should address these prayers, and by whose
mediation, viz. to God, in the name and mediation
of Jesus Christ. " For (says he) there is one God,
and one mediator between God and men, the man
Christ Jesus." So that the apostle's discourse does
as plainly infer, that there is but " one mediator of
intercession," as that there is but " one mediator
of redemption."
And, indeed, whosoever considers that quite
throughout the New Testament, our Saviour and
his apostles do constantly direct Christians to make
their prayers to God in the name and mediation of
Jesus Christ, and no where give so much as the
least intimation of applying ourselves to any other
intercessors with God in heaven for us, may justly
wonder how this superstition of praying to angels
and saints departed, which hath no manner of coun
tenance, and is by necessary consequence so clearly
forbidden, should ever prevail among Christians ;
especially since it is a plain diminution of the vir
tue and efficacy of our Saviour's intercession, or if
it add nothing to it, it is perfectly vain and endless,
and to no purpose. For what need of any other
intercessors with God in heaven for us, if that be
true which the apostle to the Hebrews most ex
pressly affirms, that " Christ is able to save them
to the utmost that come to God hy him, seeing he
ever liveth to make intercession for them."
The prevalency and efficacy whereof may justly
minister to us, in all our distresses and troubles,
some peculiar ground of comfort above what springs

162
from the bare contemplation of the Divine nature,
that we have so powerful a friend to intercede with
God for us, one so dearly beloved of him, and so
highly in his favour; oneithatis advanced "far above
all principalities and powers, and every name that
is named, not only in this world, but in that which
is to come ;" and consequently able to do more for
us, than all the blessed saints and angels in hea
ven, and more than all the powers of darkness can
do against us.
And this is matter of great comfort to us upon
these three considerations :
1. That our advocate is nearly related to us, hav
ing condescended., by assuming our nature, to be
allied to us, to become " bone of our bone, and flesh
of our flesh," so that we may address ourselves to
him with great freedom and confidence ; and, as
the apostle expresseth it, (Heb. iv. 16.) " We may
come with boldness to this throne of grace, for sea
sonable mercy and help in time of need." For we
may most assuredly believe, that he who stooped
to be made man, and to become one of^us, will
upon all occasions most heartily be concerned for
us, and ready to help us.
2. Considering that he hath already given the
greatest demonstration of his kindness and compas
sion to us ; we may be sure that he, who hath done
and suffered such things for our sakes, hath a very
tender love and affection for us ; he who was con
tented to die for us, will do for us any thing else
that may do us good.
3. And that we might have no doubt of his for
wardness and inclination to pity and relieve us, he
suffered the most grievous things himself that any
man could suffer, that from the experience and re-

163
membrance of his own sufferings, he might learn
to compassionate us. And this the apostle parti
cularly insists upon, as a very comfortable consi
deration to us in all our trials and sufferings, (Heb.
iv. 15, 16.) " For we have not a high-priest which
cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmi
ties, but was in all points tempted like as we are ;
yet without sin. Let us, therefore, come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need :" and, (chap.
ii. 17, 18.) " Wherefore in all things it behoved him
to be made like unto brethren, that he might be a
merciful and faithful high-priest : for in that he
himself suffered being tempted, he is able to suc
cour them that are tempted." So that we may rest
assured of his pity and support in all our afflictions
and trials, who knows both the infirmity of our
nature, and hath himself had experience of greater
sufferings than any of us either shall or can ever be
exercised withal.
And as for the general concernment of his truth,
and religion, and church upon earth, that which
all good men are with so much reason solicitous
about, this is his proper care, and the great busi
ness that he is intent upon, now that he is in heaven,
to protect and defend his truth and religion, and the
church which professeth it, so that " the gates of hell
shall not prevail against it." This is his kingdom,
for the effectual administration whereof " all power
in heaven and in earth is committed to him." And,
as he intercedeth with his Father for every particu
lar Christian, so much more for his church, which
is his body ; to preserve her from all dangers that
threaten her ruin, and to guard her against the power
and malice of all her enemies. For to this end was

164
he advanced to the right hand of God, that he
might continue there, "till he had made his ene
mies his footstool." And this kingdom of his shall
continue in his hands, " till he have put down all
rule, and all authority and power," that sets itself
against him ; " for he must reign till he have put
all things under his feet."
So that, though truth may be obscured and cloud
ed for a time, and the professors of it grievously
harased and op pressed, yet it shall not finally be
borne down, but shall at length prevail against all
opposition ; because, he who hath undertaken the
protection of it is mighty, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords, the chief favourite of heaven, who is
continually " at the right hand of God," and " lives
for to make intercession for us."
And thus I have, as briefly as I well could, re
presented to you, what force and virtue there are in
the two remedies here prescribed by our Saviour,
for the mitigating and allaying of our troubles : viz.
faith in God, the great Creator and Governor of
the world ; and faith likewise in himself, the Son
of God and Saviour of men. " Let not your heart
be troubled : ye believe in God, believe also in
me." And now to apply this discourse to ourselves;
the inferences I shall make from it shall be these
three :
I. That in all our troubles and adversities, of what
kind soever, we should support and comfort our
selves with the firm belief ofthe providence of Al
mighty God, and of his tender and compassionate
care of mankind, especially of those that fear him,
and put their trust in his mercy.
JI. We should put a high value upon the Christ-

165
ian religion, and " hold fast the profession of it
without wavering;" which affords us such firm and
solid grounds of comfort and support under all
troubles and afflictions, as are no where else to
be found ; such as neither the light of nature, nor
any other revelation that God ever made of him
self to mankind, do give us the notice and know
ledge of.
III. Since the prayers of Christ are so effectual
and prevalent with God, let us, by frequent and
fervent prayers, make our requests known to God;
and let us, " with confidence and full assurance of
faith, address ourselves to the throne of grace, that
we may obtain mercy, and find favour with him for
our seasonable help and support in the time of
need." I shall speak briefly to these, and so con
clude this discourse.
I. In all troubles and adversities, of what kind
soever, under all afflictions and sufferings that may
befal us, of loss or pain, of poverty and sickness, of
reproach and persecution for righteousness' sake,
and under the most fearful apprehensions of danger
and distress, to all human appearance inevitably
threatening us in our persons and private concern
ments, or with relation to the public peace and
tranquillity, or to that which ought to be infinitely
dearer to us than all these, our religion, which is
the great concernment of our souls, and of all eter
nity, when we have no hope any where else, no visi
ble means of help and redress, when we are almost
in despair of avoiding the danger, and warding off
the blow that is made at us, when ruin and destruc
tion seem just to have overtaken us, and are ready
to devour us with open mouth, and " to swallow us
up quick ;" in a word, when we are reduced to the

166
greatest extremity and distress that can be ima
gined — even in this case, if ever it should happen,
we should support our minds with a firm belief of
the providence of Almighty God, and of his tender
and compassionate care of mankind, especially of
" those that fear him, and put their trust in his
mercy;" and comfort ourselves, as the holy and
divine Psalmist does, iu all our fears and troubles ;
" What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee;"
(Psal. lvi. 3.) And he tells us that'every good man
hath ground and reason for this confidence ; (Psal.
cxii. 7, 8.) speaking of the righteous and good man,
" He shall not (says he) be afraid of evil tidings ;
his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. His heart
is established, he shall not be afraid." And, (Psal.
xxvii. 1.) " The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my
life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psal. lxii. 5—8.)
" My soul, wait thou only upon God: for my ex
pectation is from him. He only is my rock and
my salvation; he is my defence, I shall not be
moved. In God is my salvation and my glory:
the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God.
Trust in him at all times, ye people, pour out your
heart before him. God is a refuge for us." And,
(Psal. xl vi. 1, 2. 7.) " God is our refuge and strength ;
and a very present help in trouble. Therefore will
we not fear, though the earth be removed ; and
though the mountains be carried into the midst of
the sea. The Lord of hosts is with us ; the God of
Jacob is our refuge." To which I will add that
comfortable promise, (Isa. xxvi. 3.) " Thou wilt
keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on
thee; because he trusteth in thee."
Thus we may, in all conditions that may befal us,

167
in our greatest fears and troubles, ease our hearts,
by reposing ourselves upon God, in confidence of
his support and deliverauce, of his care and provi
dence, to prevent and divert the evils we fear; or
of his gracious help to bear us up under them, and
of his mercy and goodness to deliver us out of them,
when be sees it best ; provided always that we be
careful of our duty to him, and do what becomes
us, and nothing else.
For our more particular direction herein,
1. Let us depend upon God, and entirely confide
in his goodness and care, and trust in his wisdom
and power for our protection and deliverance: for
here is our great security. In all our difficulties and
troubles, the providence of God is infinitely more
to us, than any prudence and conduct of our own..
He hath a thousand ways to divert and put by the
evils which are levelled against us, " to turn tbe
counsels of men backward, and make their devices
of none effect." When we can do nothing to help
and save ourselves, " his right hand, and his arm,
and the light of his countenance," can do it, if " he
have a favour for us."
2. Let us so trust God, as to neglect no prudeut
and lawful means for our security and preserva
tion from evil. Let us not, by our rashness and
folly, provoke trouble and danger, and bring them
upon ourselves. Let us, according to our Saviour's
counsel, " be wise as serpents," and " innocent as
doves." Let us use all that care and prudence
which are consistent with innocence and a good con
science; and when we have done that, let us be no
farther solicitous, but resign up ourselves, and all
our concernments, to the good pleasure of God,
and the disposal of his wise providence; and leave

168
it to him, who made the world, to govern it, because
he certainly understands it best.
3. Let us be sure to keep within the bounds of
our duty, trying no unlawful ways for our ease and
preservation, and rescue from the evils which we
fear aud lie under ; by loosening the bonds of sub
jection and obedience to authority, or by any other
sinister and indirect means. For let us assure our
selves, that God is never more concerned to appear
for us, than when out of conscience of our duty to
him, we are contented rather to suffer, than work
our deliverance by undue means. Let us " commit
ourselves to him in well-doing," and do nothing, no,
not for the cause of religion, which is contrary to
the plain rules and precepts of it.
II. We should put a high value upon the Christ
ian religion, and "hold fast the profession of it with
out wavering," which affords to us such firm and
solid grounds of comfort and support under all
troubles and afflictions, as are no where else to be
found ; such as neither the light of nature, nor any
other revelation that God ever made of himself to
mankind, do give us notice and knowledge of.
We should highly value the Christian religion,
which hath " brought life and immortality to light,"
and hath made so clear a discovery to us of the
glorious and eternal rewards of another world, for
the encouragement of our faith, and support of our
patience under the evils and pressures of this life ;
and which promiseth, and is ready to afford every
sincere Christian, the precious aids and comforts of
God's Holy Spirit, to sustain the weakness of human
nature under the greatest tribulations and sufferings ¦,
and does likewise assure us of the special efficacy
of our prayers with God; and sets before us the

169
best and most admirable pattern that ever was, of
a contented and cheerful submission to the will of
God in the saddest condition incident to human
nature, and of perfect patience and composure of
mind under the apprehension of approaching evils,
and the sense of present sufferings; and, lastly,
which assures us of a most compassionate and pre
valent and perpetual patron and advocate and inter
cessor with God in heaven for us. All these are
peculiar advantages of the Christian religion, and
ought to be so many endearments of it to us, and
engagements to " hold fast the professionof it." This
builds our comfort and hope upon a rock, which
will abide firm against all rains and winds and
storms. And if we suffer ourselves to be removed
from it, we quit the only foundation of all our com
fort in this life, and happiness in the next. So that,
if we would " hold fast the confidence, and the
rejoicing of hope," firm unto the end, we must take
heed, as the apostle to the Hebrews (chap. iii. 12.)
cautions the Christians in his time ; we must (I
say) " take heed, lest there be in any of us an evil
spirit of infidelity, to apostatize from the living
God ;" that is, to fall off from the profession of his
truth and religion. A religion worthy of all men
to be received and adhered to; because, as it calls
us to sufferings, so it affords the greatest comforts
and supports under them, as is evident from the
cheerful and joyful behaviour of the primitive Christ
ians and martyrs, under the greatest extremities of
sufferings and torments, the like instances whereto
of patience and constancy under so long and re
peated persecutions, no other religion that ever was
in the world is able to produce.
HI. And lastly, Since the prayers of Christians
VOL. IX. N

170
are so effectual and prevalent with God, let us, by
frequent and fervent prayer " in every thing make
our requests known to God ; and let us with con
fidence and full assurance of faith address ourselves
to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find favour with him for our seasonable help
and support in time of need." Let us, as our Saviour
exhorts his disciples, " watch and pray, lest we
enter into temptation." And, as the apostle like
wise exhorts, let us " be sober and vigilant, and
watch unto prayer," taking all opportunities for it,
and spending much time in this duty, than which
none of all the duties enjoined by the Christian reli
gion will turn to a better and more comfortable
account, if our hearts and lives be but answerable
to our prayers.
Let us earnestly beg of God, that his watchful
and merciful providence would undertake the care
of us ; that he would fit and prepare us for every
condition which he hath designed to bring us into ;
that he would teach us fo demean ourselves in it as
we ought; that he would consider our frailties, and
" lay no greater load of affliction upon us, than he
will give us grace and strength to bear;" that if he
sees it good to exercise any of us with afflictions
and sufferings in any kind, he would make us
" able to stand in that evil day, and when we have
done all to stand."
And if, instead of vain murmurings, and com
plaints, and terrifying ourselves with fears of what
may never happen, we would, after the example of
holy David, " betake ourselves to prayer," and by
this means engage the providence of God for our
protection from evil, or for our support under it; we
should certainly do much better for ourselves, and

171
contribute much more, than we can do any other
way, to the prevention of any evil that we can
fear, or to the mitigating or shortening of it, as
to God's infinite wisdom and goodness shall seem
best. And let us always be mindful of that caution
which our Saviour gives to his disciples, that they
might always be in a due preparation for the coming
of our Lord to judgment; (Luke xxi. 34 — 36.)
" Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your
hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunken
ness, and the cares of this life, and so that day
come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it
come upon all them that dwell on the face of the
whole earth. Watch ye therefore and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man." This caution and counsel
do proportionably hold, as to our preparation for
any other evil day of affliction and suffering in this
world ; that we should beware of sensuality, and
an inordinate love to the things of this world, and
care about them ; because these soften and effemi
nate our spirits, and render them unfit for the day
of adversity : and that we should watch and pray ;
because these are the best preparations against an
evil day, and perhaps may prevent it, at least as to
ourselves, if God think it fit for us, and " count us
worthy to escape it."
To conclude then this whole discourse. In all
our fears and troubles, in all afflictions and adver
sities that may happen to us in this world, let us
" encourage ourselves in the Lord our God, the Fa
ther of mercy, and the God of all consolation ;" and
in his blessed Son Jesus Christ our Lord, " the
N 2

172
high priest of our profession," and " the author and
finisher of our faith ; whom God hath exalted far
above all principalities and powers, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but in that
which is to come, and hath given him to be bead
over all things to his church ;" remembering that we
and all our concernments are in the hands of his
providence, where we are infinitely safer than in
any counsel and wisdom of our own. And if, after
all, it be the will of God to exercise any of us with
more than ordinary trials, " to lay affliction upon
our loins," and " to suffer men to ride over our
heads," as the Psalmist expresseth it, let us, as St.
Peter exhorts, " commit the keeping of our souls to
him in well-doing, as to a faithful Creator, who is
able to keep that which is committed to him, and
to preserve us to his heavenly kingdom;" which
let us all humbly and earnestly beg, for the sake of
Jesus Christ ; " To whom, with the Father and the
Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory, might, ma
jesty, and dominion, now and for ever."

SERMON CCXVIIL
OF THE NATURE OF FAITH IN GENERAL.
But without faith it is impossible to please God. —
Heb. xi. 6.
Before 1 come to the words themselves, iu order
to our better understanding of them, we will take
into consideration the design of this Epistle, that so
we may see more clearly the relation that these
words have to the foregoing discourse. Who the
penman of this Epistle was, I shall not tell you, be
cause I do not know, nor is it much material to
know it ; but whoever wrote it, he had this very
good design in the writing of it, to persuade the
Jews to hold fast the profession of the gospel, not
withstanding all the sufferings and persecutions it
exposed them to. And to this purpose he shews,
at large, what prerogatives the gospel had above
the legal administration. " The law was given by
the disposition of the angels, in the hand of a me
diator," that is, Moses : but the gospel is revealed
to us by the Son of God ; a person, not only above
Moses, who was a mere man ; but above angels.
The gospel is the substance and reality of the types
and ceremonies, and the very good things them
selves, that were obscurely represented by those
shadows. It is " a testament established upon
better promises," the clear promises of eternal life,
which were but darkly revealed in the Old Testa
ment, that being established either solely or prin-

174
cipally upon temporal promises ; and it is a perfect
and complete dispensation, that hath in it all things
requisite to attain its end, and therefore shall never
stand in need of any farther change or alteration.
These are the heads of those arguments which
the author of this Epistle does largely discourse
upon. Now the gospel having in these respects the ad
vantage of the legal dispensation, the apostle doth
all along in this Epistle earnestly exhort the Jews
to a constant profession and steadfast belief of the
gospel, and not to return back from Christianity to
Judaism, which was a far less perfect institution :
(chap. ii. ] .) " Therefore we ought to give the more
earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest
at any time we should let them slip ;" wapappvwptv,
" lest we should fall away," so the word may be ren
dered. And, (chap. iii. 12.) " Take heed, brethren,
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God." And, (chap. iv.
1.) " Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left
us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem
to come short of it." And, (chap. x. 23.) " Let
us hold fast the profession of our faith without
wavering." After which he declares the danger of apostacy,
or falling off from the belief and profession of the
gospel which they had entertained; (ver. 26.) " For
if we sin wilfully, after we have received the know
ledge ofthe truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice
for sin." He tells them they would be shrewdly
tempted to apostacy by the reproaches, afflictions,
and persecutions, that they would meet withal : but
the promises of the gospel were sufficient to sup
port and bear up good men under these, if they

175
were but firmly persuaded of the truth of them ;
and though they did not for the present receive the
things promised, yet a firm belief of them would
carry them through all sufferings, and make them
hold out under them. " The just shall live by
faith," (ver. 38.)
And having mentioned the power of faith ; that
is, of a confident persuasion ofthe truth and reality
of the promises of the gospel to support men under
sufferings, he gives an account how faith uses to
have this influence; (ver. 1.) " Faith is the sub
stance of things hoped for ;" so we render the
word vTroaraaiq : but it might be much better ren
dered, both according to the frequent use of it in
the Septuagint, and in the New Testament, " a
confidence of things hoped for ;" that is, a confident
expectation of things hoped for, or a firm per
suasion that our hopes will not be frustrated. And
as this is more agreeable to the scope and design
of the apostle, so likewise to the common accepta
tion of this word in the New Testament, for which
I will appeal to two places : (2 Cor. ix. 4.) " that we
be not put to shame in this confidence of boasting,"
kv tti viroaraaei ravrrj. The other text is in this Epistle,
(chap. iii. 14.) " That we hold fast the beginning
of Our Confidence," rrjv dpxnv r»je virooTaoEwg, which is
of the very same sense with icappriaia, at the sixth
verse. " If we hold fast the confidence," irappno-iav,
" and rejoicing ofthe hope firm unto the end. And
the evidence of things not seen," 'eXty^og, " the con
viction," as being convinced, or persuaded of the
truth of those things, for which we have no ocular
or sensible demonstration. Now if faith in the pro
mises of the gospel do persuade us and give us
satisfaction that we shall receive a reward, which

176
will outweigh and countervail our present suffer
ings, then faith is likely to support us under suf
ferings. And, that this is no strange thing which the apo
stle speaks of faith, he shews that, in all ages, faith
hath been the principle of all holy and heroic actions.
" By it the elders obtained a good report ;" it is that
which made the holy men of the Old Testament
so famous; and this he proves throughout this
chapter, by a large induction of particular instances,
in which we see the power of faith, the wonderful
effects of it, and the mighty works it hath done in
the world,
But because he had said before, that " faith is
the evidence (or conviction) of things not seen," as
well as a confident expectation of things hoped for,
before he comes to instance in the effects of faith,
upon particular persons in the Old Testament, he
proves it to be " the evidence of things not seen," that
is, being convinced and persuaded of things of which
we have no sensible and ocular demonstration: (ver.
3.) " Through faith we understand that the worlds
were framed by the word of God, so that the things
which are seen were not made of things which do
appear ;" that is, though we were not present at the
making ofthe world, nor did see it framed ; yet we
are satisfied, and do believe that it was made hy the
powerful word of God, and that all those things
which we see, were not produced out of things
which do now appear, but either immediately out
of nothing, or a dark confused chaos.
And having thus proved that we may be per
suaded of things we do not see, of things past or
future, he comes to the particular instances of the
holy rnen of the Old Testament, in whom the power

177
of faith did appear. He begins with Abel, who be
ing persuaded of the being of God, and the perfec
tion and excellency of the Divine nature, and con
sequently that he was worthy to be served with the
best, by virtue of this faith " offered up to God a
more excellent sacrifice than Cain." The second
instance is in Enoch, who being persuaded of the
being of God, and of his goodness to reward them
that serve him, was a righteous man, and studious
to please God ; and as a reward of this faith and
obedience, " God translated him, that he should
not see death ;" upon which the apostle assumes,
(ver. 6.) " but without faith it is impossible to please
God." As if he had said, Unless a man do believe,
and be persuaded of some principles, it is impossi
ble any man should be religious, or endeavour to
do any thing that is pleasing or acceptable to
God : for religion, and the service of God, and an
endeavour to please him, do suppose at least that
I believe and am persuaded of these two things — of
the being, and of the goodness of God ; that there
is such a being as I serve and seek to please, and
that his goodness is such, that it will not be in vain
to serve him, he will not let me be a loser by it.
And that here, by pleasing, we are to understand
in general, the performing any action of religion, is
evident from the equivalent terms which are used
in the next- words; "For he that cometh to God,
must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder
of them that seek him ;" where coming to God, and
seeking of him, are of the same importance with
pleasing him. Now, to come to God, and seek him,
in Scripture phrase, signify the sum of religion, it
being usual in the language ofthe Scripture, to ex
press the whole of religion by any eminent prin-

178
ciple, or part, or effect of it, as by the knowledge,
remembrance, or fear of God, in the Old Testament ;
by the love of him, and faith in him, in the New,
by coming to him, seeking him, calling upon his
name, and pleasing of him.
Now, that coming to God, and Seeking him, are
of the same importance here with pleasing him, will
be clear to any that consider the apostle's reason
ing here in the text, which supposeth those to be
the same, otherwise there would be no force in his
argument. For the proposition which he proves,
is, that " Without faith it is impossible to please
God." The argument he useth is this, " If every
one that comes to God must believe that he is," &c.
then " without faith it is impossible to please him ;"
but " every one that comes to God must believe
that he is." Now, unless coming to God, and seek
ing him, be the same thing with pleasing him, this
would be no good argument ; for there would be
four terms in it ; but if these phrases be made equi
valent, then the argument is good. Thus, if " every
one that comes to God," that is, that will please
him, " must believe that he is," &c. then " without
faith it is impossible to please him :" but " every
one that comes to God," that is, that will please
him, " must believe that he is, and that he is a re
warder of them that diligently seek him," or that
endeavour to please him ; therefore " without faith
it is impossible to please him."
Which proposition doth not only signify that
faith is necessary to religion, and a condition with
out which it cannot be ; but implies likewise, that
it is a cause or principle of it ; not only the founda
tion upon which all religion must be built; but the
fountain from whence it springs. For this I take to

179
be implied in the words — not only that there can be
no religion unless we believe a God ; but supposing
this truth firmly believed, that there is a God, it
will have a great influence upon men to make them
religious. For the apostle having before spoken of
the power of faith upon Abel aud Enoch, that it
put them upon pleasing God, he assumes in the
next words, " but without faith," &c. As if he had
said, That ye may know what was the, principle of
their religion, of their holiness and obedience, let
us imagine that a man should believe nothing con
cerning the being of a God, or the blessedness of
those that serve him; what would be the issue?
Why this, certainly — there would be no religion, no
sueh thing as serving of God, or endeavouring to
please him ; for unless we believe that he is, and
that he will reward those that seek to please him,
it is impossible, that is, it is unreasonable to think
men should attempt to please him. So that faith
is the cause and principle of religion ; it is the thing,
quo posito, ponitur effectus; et quo sublato, tollitur.
Do but suppose and admit that a man truly believes
there is a God, and he will seek to please him :
but if you suppose a man believes no such thing, he
will cast off all religion. This is the plain meaning
of the words ; not, as some have thought, that with
out faith a man may perform religious actions, but
then they would not be accepted, or pleasing to God :
but that which the apostle means is, Without faith it
is impossible there should be any religion : not that
religious acts should be performed in an acceptable
manner ; as if Cain had offered as good a sacrifice
as Abel, only faith made the difference ; but Cain
did not believe, was not persuaded of the being of
God and his excellency, therefore thought to put

180
God off with any thing; Abel believed, and did
offer a more excellent sacrifice, not- more excellent
because it wras mixed with faith, but it was more
excellent in itself.
The observation therefore from these words is
this : that faith is one great principle of all religious
actions. In the handling of this, I shall endeavour,
First, To fix and settle the true notion of faith,
whereby we may come to understand the general
nature of it.
Secondly, To confirm the truth of the propo
sition. Thirdly, Draw some inferences from hence.
First, To settle and fix the true notion of faith,
whereby we may come to understand the general
nature of it. I find that most who write upon this
subject have marvellously puzzled themselves with
the various acceptations of this word iriang, and the
verb Tnareuuv, insomuch that some have undertaken
to enumerate above twenty distinct significations of
this word. I cannot find so many, it may be others
may ; but hereby, instead of clearing tbe notion of
faith, they have involved it, and made it more in
tricate, and have made men believe, that it is a
notion very remote from common understanding :
whereas there is not any word that is in common
use that is mere plain and easy, and which any one
may understand better than this of faith and be
lieving. Therefore, in the explication of it, I shall attend
to the use of it in common speech, and in all au
thors, as well profane as sacred : and I shall not
guide myself by terms of art, which have been re
ceived in the schools, and have confounded the

181
meaning of words, by distorting them from the com
mon and received use of them ; but shall govern
myself by the nature of the things to which this
word in common use is applied.
I shall remove two acceptations of it which are
less usual, and then fix the common and general
notion of it, to which all the other more particular
significations may be referred. The two less usual
acceptations are these :
First, It is sometimes put for the particular grace
or virtue which is called fidelity, or faithfulness in
our promises and contracts ; and in this sense it is
sometimes used in common discourse, and in all
sorts of writers. I shall only mention a text or two
where it is so taken : (Matt, xxiii. 23.) " And have
omitted the weightier things of the law, judgment,
and mercy, and faith," that is, fidelity. And (Rom.
iii. 3.) with relation to God, " Shall their unbelief
make the faith of God of none effect ?" that is, his
faithfulness in his promises. (Tit. ii. 10.) " Not pur
loining, but shewing all good fidelity," '¦ wionv rraaav,
" all faith."
Secondly, It is sometimes put for spiritual gifts,
and particularly the gift of miracles, which were
wrought by the power of faith. (Rom. xii. 3.) " Ac
cording as God hath dealt to every man the mea
sure of faith ;" that is, of spiritual gifts of prophesy
ing, or ministry, or exhortation, as it is explained
afterward. (1 Cor. xii. 2.) "To another is given
faith by the same Spirit;" that is, a power of mira
cles in general, as learned interpreters think. Nor
doth that which is added afterwards, that "to an
other is given the working of miracles," prejudice this
interpretation; for IvipynpaTa Iwduiwv, "the operation
of powers," which we render " of miracles," seems

182
to signify some special sort of miracles, not the
power of miracles in general. And this seems to be
favoured by the acceptation of it in the next chapter,
ver. 2. " And though I had all faith, so that I could
remove mountains;" where faith is undoubtedly
taken for the power of miracles.
These being removed, as very alien and remote
from the common and usual acceptation of the word,
I come now to fix the general notion of faith, to
which all other acceptations of it may easily be re
duced ; and it is this :
Faith is a persuasion of the mind concerning any
thing; concerning the truth of any proposition ; con
cerning the existence, or futurition, or lawfulness,
or convenience, or possibility, or goodness, of any
thing, or the contrary ; or concerning the credit of a
person, or the contrary. And this notion is not only
agreeable to the proper notion of the word mams,
which comes from irhOw, to persuade, but is war
ranted from the common use of it in this latitude.
It is ordinary for men to say, they believe, or are
persuaded, such a proposition is true or false, such
a thing is or is not, such an event will be or will not
be; that such an action is lawful or unlawful, such a
thing is good or bad, convenient or inconvenient,
possible or impossible to be done ; or that they be
lieve such a person, or do not believe him. And I
could shew from Scripture, that believing is applied
to all these matters, and many more ; I will only
instance in one or two.
That faith is frequently used for the persuasion
of the truth of a doctrine, or of the veracity of God
or Christ, I shall not need to produce any texts,
there are so many.
That faith is used for a persuasion of the lawful-

183
ness of an action, the 14th chapter to the Romans
doth abundantly testify. (Ver. 2.) " One believeth
that he may eat all things ;" that is, is persuaded in
his mind that all sorts of meat are lawful without
distinction. (Ver. 22.) " Hast thou faith?" that is,
art thou persuaded or satisfied in thy mind of the
lawfulness of those indifferent things he had been
speaking of? (Ver, 23.) " He that doubteth is
damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith :
for whatsoever is not of faith, is sin ;" that is, what
ever is not done with tbe persuasion and satisfaction
of our minds that we may lawfully do it, "is sin."
I shall trouble you with no more instances.
Now this being the general notion of faith, that it
is a persuasion of the mind concerning any thing,
from hence by a metonymy it comes to be put for
the argument whereby this persuasion is wrought
in us. Hence itis, that among the rhetoricians wio-Tug
are any kind of argument or proof which orators
make use of to persuade men ; and there is one
place in the New Testament, where mane: seems to
be used in this sense, or very near it, (Acts xvii. 31.)
" Because he hath appointed a day in which he
will judge the world," &c. " whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him
from the dead," mariv ira^aa^wv ndmv, " having offered
faith to all men ;" that is, having given us this argu
ment for the proof of it, that " he raised Christ from
the dead."
Sometimes it is put for the object of this persua
sion, or the matter or thing whereof we are per
suaded. And thus frequently in the New Testa
ment, the gospel, which is the object of our faith,
the thing which we believe, is called faith. And
thus you find it used in that phrase of " obedience
to the faith," that is, to the gospel, (Acts vi. 7.

184
Rom. i. 5 ; xvi. 26.) And in this sense faith, that is
the gospel, is frequently opposed to the dispensa
tion of the law, (Rom. iii. 27, 31, and x. 16, Gal. i.
23.) " He that persecuted us in times past, now
preacheth the faith which he once destroyed." (Gal.
iii. 2.) The hearing of the gospel is called the " hear
ing of faith ;" (ver. 23.) " Before faith came;" (and
ver. 25.) " But after that faith is come." (Eph. iv. 5.)
"There is one faith," that is, one gospel which we
believe. (1 Tim. iv. 6.) " Nourished up iu the words
of faith and of good doctrine."
The opposites to faith, are unbelief and credu
lity. Unbelief, which is a not being persuaded of a
thing, is the deficient extreme : or doubting, if it
prevail to a degree of unbelief: aud credulity, which
is an easiness to believe things without any proba
ble argument to induce our persuasion, is the re
dundant extreme.
The seat or subject of faith is the mind, or the
heart, as the Scripture usually calls it. " With the
heart man believes," that is, with the soul : for I do
not understand any real distinction of faculties ; but
if you will distinguish them, the proper seat of this
persuasion is the understanding; the immediate
effect of it is upon thewill ; byjvhich it works upon
the affections and the life.
And faith iu this general notion is not opposed
to error, and knowledge, and opinion: but com
prehends all these under it. For if a man be per
suaded of that which is false, he " believes a lie," as
the Scripture expresseth it ; a man may be cer
tainly persuaded of a thing, that is, firmly believe
it, which is knowledge; a man may be probably
persuaded of a thing, that is, believe it with some
diffidence antl uncertainty, and that is opinion.
But for our better understanding of this geueral

185
notion of faith, we will take into consideration these
four things :
I. The cause of it, or the argument whereby it is
wrought. II. The degrees of it, and the difference of them.
III. The natural efficacy and operation of it.
IV. The several kinds of it.
I. We will consider the cause of faith, or the
argument whereby it is wrought. Now all the
arguments whereby faith may be wrought in us,
that is, a persuasion of any thing, will I think fall
under one of these four heads J"sense,"eTperience7"
reason drawn from the thTngr~^the_author|^tv_and
testimony of some person.
1. Sense. Hence it is"com mon ly said, that "seeing
is believing," that is, one of the best arguments to
persuade us of any thing. That faith may be
wrought by this argument, appears both from the
nature of the thing, nothing being more apt to per
suade us of any thing than our senses ; and from
several expressions in Scripture. I will instance in
one for all. (John xx. 8.) " Then went in also the
other disciple into the sepulchre, and he saw, and
believed." And whereas Scripture opposeth faith
to sight, as, (2 Cor. v. 7.) " We walk by faith, and
not by sight;" (Heb. xi. 1.) "Itis the evidence of
things not seen ;" we are to understand that only
concerning a belief of the things of another world,
which are futurities, and invisible, which the apostle
is there speaking of; or of things which are of the
same nature with these, as things past : not but t
that a man may very well be induced to believe a
thing by his senses.
2. Experience ; which, though it may be sen
sible, and then it is the same argument with *
vol. ix. o

186
sense ; yet sometimes it is not, and then it is an
argument distinct from it. As for example : aman
may by experience be persuaded or induced to be
lieve this proposition — that his will is free, that he
can do this, or not do it ; which is a better argu
ment than a demonstration to the contrary, if there
could be one. ^- -
3. Reasons drawn from the thing; which may
either be necessary and concluding, or else only
probable and plausible.
4. The authority and testimony of some credible
person. Now two things give authority and credit
to the relation, or testimony, or assertion of a person
concerning any thing ; ability and integrity. Ability,.
if he can be presumed to have a competent know
ledge of what he relates, or asserts, or testifies ; and;
integrity, if he may be presumed to be honest in,!
bis relation, and free from any design, or will to
deceive. And to these heads, I think all arguments,
of belief may be reduced.
II. The second thing to -be considered is the
degrees of faith, and the difference of them. And
that there are degrees, I take for granted, though I
shall afterwards have occasion to prove it in a Divine
faith ; and these depend perfectly upon the capacity
of the person that believes, or is persuaded. Now
the capacity, or incapacity of persons are infinitely,
various, and not to be reduced to theory ; but sup
posing a competent capacity in the person, then the
degrees of faith or persuasion take their difference
from the arguments, or motives, or inducements which .
are used to persuade. Where sense is the argument,
there is the highest and firmest degree of faith, or per
suasion. Next to that is experience, which is beyond;
any argument or reason from the thing, The faith or :

187
persuasion which is wrought in us by reasons from
the thing, the degrees of it are as the reasons are :
if they be necessary and concluding, it is firm and
certain in its kind; if only probable, according to
the degrees bf probability, it hath more or less of
doubting mixed with it. Lastly, the faith which is
wrought in us by testimony or authority of a person,
takes its degrees from the credit of a person, that is,
his ability and integrity. Now because " all men are
liars," that is, either may deceive, or be deceived,
their testimony partakes of their infirmity, and so
doth the degree of persuasion wrought by it : but
God being both infallible and true, and consequently
it being impossible that he should either deceive, or
be deceived, his testimony begets the firmest per
suasion, and the highest degree of faith in its kind.
But then it is to be considered, that there not being
a revelation of a revelation in infinitum ; that this is
a Divine testimony and revelation, we Can only have
rational assurance ; and the degree of the faith or
persuasion which is wrought by a Divine testimony
will be according to the strength of the arguments
which we have to persuade us that such a testimony
is Divine.
III. For the efficacy or operation of faith we are
to consider, that fhe things we may believe of be
persuaded of are of two sorts. Either, 1. They are
such as do not concern me ; and then the mind rests
in a naked and simple belief of them, and a faith or
persuasion of such things has no effect upon me ;
but is apt to have, if ever it happen that the matter
do concern me : or else, 2. The thing I believe or
am persuaded of doth concern me ; and then it hath
several effects according to the nature of the thing
o 2

188
I am persuaded of, or the degree of the persuasion,.
or the capacity of the person that believes or is
persuaded. If the thing believed be of great moment,
the effect of the faith is proportionable, coeteris pari
bus; and so according to the degree of the persua
sion : but if the person be indisposed to the proper
effects of such a persuasion by the power of con
trary habits, as it often happens, the effect will be
obtained with more difficulty, and may possibly be
totally defeated, by casting off the persuasion: for
while it remains, it will operate, and endeavour and
strive to work its proper effect. For example : a
man may believe that wine is very pernicious to
him ; and yet a strong inclination to it may render
it very difficult for this persuasion to work its
proper effect upon him, which is to leave off wine,
and may at length wholly defeat it, by furnishing
him with some colour of argument that may per-.
suade him otherwise.
IV. For the kinds of faith, they are several, ac
cording to the variety of objects or things believed.
I shall reduce them all under these two general
heads :
1. Faith is either civil or human, under which I
comprehend the persuasion of things moral, and
natural, and political, and the like : or,
2. Divine and religious; that is, a persuasion of
things that concern religion. I know not whether
these terms be proper, nor am I very solicitous, be
cause I know none fitter, and tell you what I mean
by them.
The first kind of faith, concerning things human
and civil, I shall not speak of, it being besides my.
design.

189
The second, which I call a religious and Divine
faith, comprehends three things under it, which are
distinctly to be considered.
1. A persuasion of the principles of natural reli
gion, which are known by the light of nature ; as, the
existence of a God, the immortality ofthe soul, and
a future state.
2. A persuasion of things supernatural and re
vealed. 3. A persuasion of supernatural revelation. —
These I design fully to handle. Thus I have pre
pared materials for a large discourse ; which, though
it be necessary, is, I am sensible, but too tedious,
and yet possibly more tedious to me than you.

SERMON CCXIX.
OF A RELIGIOUS AND DIVINE FAITH.
But without faith it is impossible to please God.-*
Heb. xi. 6.
In my last discourse I came to treat of a religious
and Divine faith, which, I told you, comprehends
under it three things, which I now proceed to con
sider distinctly.
First, A persuasion of the principles of natural
religion which are known by the light of nature.
Secondly, A persuasion of things supernatural
and revealed.
Thirdly, A persuasion of supernatural revelation,
First, A persuasion of the principles of natural
religion, such as the light of nature could discover;
such are the existence of God, the immortality of
the soul, and a future state. The things to be
inquired concerning this kind of faith are these :
I. Whether this be truly and properly called
faith. II. What are the arguments whereby it is wrought.
III. Whether it admit of degrees or not, and
what differences are observable in them.
IV. What are the proper and genuine effects of it,
V. In what sense it may be said to be Divine
faith. I. Whether it may truly and properly be called
faith, or not? If the general notion of faith which \

191
have fixed before, viz. That it is a persuasion of
the mind concerning any thing, be a true notion of
faith, then there is no doubt but this may as pro
perly be called faith, as any thing can be; because
a man may be persuaded in his mind concerning
these things, that there is a God, that our souls
are immortal, that there is another state after this
life. But besides this, if the Scripture speaks proper
ly, as we have reason to believe it does, especially
when it treats professedly of any thing, as the apo
stle here does, then this question is fully decided :
for it is evident to any one that will but read this
verse, out of which I have taken my text, that the
apostle doth here in this place speak of this kind
of faith ; that is, a belief or persuasion of the prin
ciples of natural religion. For after the apostle
had said, that " without faith it is impossible to
please God," he immediately instanceth in the be
lief of the principles of natural religion, as neces
sary to the pleasing of God, that is, to make a man
religious. " He that cometh to God must believe
that he is ;" there is the existence of God, the first
principle of natural religion ; " and that he is a re
warder of them that diligently seek him;" which
implies the other two, the immortality of the soul,
and a future state; for if good men shall be re
warded, there must be a subject capable of such
rewards, which brings in the immortality of the
soul ; and there must be a season for these rewards,
which because they are seldom bestowed in this
world, there must be a season when they shall,
which brings in a future state after this life. So
that whoever denies that a persuasion of these prin
ciples of natural religion may properly be called

192
faith, he quarrels with the apostle, and does not
correct me, but the Scriptures.
II. What are the arguments whereby this faith,
or the persuasion of these principles of natural reli
gion, is wrought ? You may remember that I re
duced all those arguments, whereby any kind of
fajth_or persuasion is wrought in us, to these four _
heads ;<^gens^(%xperien^, Reasons] )drawn from the
thing, ^artneC^!ifnohj^or authority of some per
son. Now a. faith or persuasion of these_-princi=
pies cannot be wrought in us by sense ; for " no
marrBath~seen~God at any time," and being a pure
spirit, be cannot be the object of any corporeal
sense. Nor can the soul, or any mode of its exist
ence, fall under any of our senses ; nor a future
state ; because sense is only of things present. Nor
can it be wrought in us merely by experience: for
no man can conclude from any thing he experi-
enceth in himself that there is a God, unless he
be first persuaded of it by other arguments: and
the immortality of the soul, and a future state,
are things which none in this life can experience.
Nor can the authority or testimony of any person
be the argument that induceth that persuasion.
Not any human authority.: for these things are of
slfchconsequence, and so much depends upon
tEemTThat is, the belief of them puts us upon so
many things which men would not do if they did
not believe them ; as particularly the venturing of
our lives upon the account of religion, and all our
worldly interests, if occasion call for it ; that it
were a fond thing to take matters of such moment
aud importance upon any man's bare word, without
other assurance of them. Nor can the testimony
or- authority of God be the argument that persuades

1.93
me of the existence of a God. I grant that for the
other two, the immortality of the soul, and a future
state, it is an excellent, and may be a sufficient ar
gument. Though that these may be proved like
wise by other arguments without a revelation, is
evident in the heathens, who by the light of nature
did assent to them without a revelation. But a Di
vine revelation cannot possibly be an argument in
ducing me to believe the existence of a God, for
this plain reason ; because a Divine revelation can
be no argument to any that is not persuaded that it
is a Divine revelation : but before I can be per
suaded that any revelation is from God, I must be
persuaded there is a God ; and if so, there is no
need of this argument to prove to me that there is
one : and therefore, you do not find it any where
revealed in all the Scripture, that there is a God.
The Scripture often declares that Jehovah is the
true and living God, and that " besides him there
is no other :" but it doth not reveal, but every where
suppose, that there is one.
It remains, then, that it must be another kind of
argument whereby we must be persuaded of the
existence of a God, and that is, by such reasons as
may be drawn from things themselves to persuade
us hereof; as, either from the notion and idea which
we have of a God j that he is a being that hath all
perfections, whereof necessary existence is one, and
consequently that he must be ; or else from the uni
versal consent of all nations, and the generality of
persons agreeing in this apprehension, which cannot
be attributed reasonably to any other cause, than to
impressions stamped upon our understandings by
Go J himself; or (which is most plain of all) from
this visible frame of the world, which we cannot,

194 /
with out great violence to our understandingg^m-
pute to any other cause than a Being endowed with
infinite goodness, and power, and wisdom, which is
fliat we call God.
As for the other two principles of natural reli
gion, the immortality of the soul, and a future state,
after we believe a God, we may be persuaded of
these from Divine revelation; and that doth give us
the highest and firmest assurance of them in the re
surrection of Christ from the dead. Yet I do not
find but that these also are rather supposed, than
expressly revealed, in the Bible. Indeed, the im
mortality of the soul may be inferred from several
places of Scripture, and the tenor of the whole
Bible: and so a future state, which, as for the
thing itself, seems to be supposed as a thing ac
knowledged by natural light; only the Scripture
hath revealed the circumstances of it more particu
larly to us, and given us higher assurance of the
thing: but if there were no revelation, men might
be persuaded of these; and so the heathens were
by arguments drawn partly from the operations of
the soul, which would almost persuade any man that
the soul is immortal ; it being altogether unimagi
nable how, a principle that is nothing else but mat
ter, can either understand, or determine itself by
its own will ; all the motions of matter that we
know of, or can imagine, being necessary ; and
partly from the justice and goodness of God. The
eonsideration of God's goodness would persuade a
man, that as he. made all things very good, so he
made them of the longest duration they were capa
ble of; and the justice of God would easily induce
a man to believe, seeing the providence of God doth
generally iu this life deal promiscuously with good

> 195
and bad men, that there ghali be a day which will
make a difference, and every man shall receive ac
cording to his works.
But I do not intend to insist upon these argu
ments ; all that I design is, to shew what kind of ar
guments do work a faith and persuasion in men con
cerning these principles of natural religion; and
they are reasons drawn from the thing.
And it is not always necessary to the working of
this faith or persuasion, that these reasons should
necessarily, yea, or truly conclude the principle to
be believed; if they do it probably, and it appear
so lo me, it is enough to beget a persuasion in me of
such a thing. There are many men entertain the
greatest truths, an4 are firmly persuaded of them,
upon_an incompetent argument, and such as might
persuade them of any thing else as well ; and such
persons, if they have capacity and understanding,
they are rather happy than wise in their religion.
It falls out well that they happen to be in the right;
for they might have been in the wrong upon the
same terms. But if the persons who believe the
principles of religion on insufficient arguments.
and their belief have a real effect upon th^m, ns it-
will if it be true and permanent, if thpy hp ignorant,
and such as want the ordinary advantage of im
proving theirJyrinwlf'Hg^ they are wise enough ;
that is, they are as wise as God's providence hath
made them, and the circumstances of their educa
tion, and the condition of their life, will let them be.
TJ£. The~~third thing to be inquired is, Whether this
faith or persuasion of the principles of natural reli
gion admit degrees or not? And what differences
are observable in them ? That it does admit de
grees, that is, that a man may be more or less per-

196
suaded of the truth of those principles, is evident
from the heathens ; some of whom did yield a more
firm and unshaken assent to them ; others enter
tained them with a more faint persuasion of them,
especially of the immortality of the soul, and a
future state, about which most of them had many
qualms and doubts. Of all the heathens, Socrates
seems to have had the truest and firmest persuasion
of these things ; which he did not only testify in
words, but by the constancy, and calmness, and
sedate courage which he manifested at his death.
Indeed in his discourse before his death, he says,
" He did not know whether his soul shall remain
after his body, and whether there be a happiness
reserved for good men in another world : but he
thought so, and had such hopes of it, that he was
very willing to venture his life upon these hopes."
Which words, though they seem to be spoke doubt-
. ingly.as the manner ofthe Academy was; yet, consi
dering his manner of speaking, which was modest,
and not peremptory and dogmatical, they signify
as great a confidence as he had of any thing, and
they are high expressions of assurance. For we
may believe that the man who dies for any thing,
how modestly soever he may express himself, is
very well assured of the truth of it. So that this
faith and persuasion admits of degrees, the differ
ence whereof is to be resolved partly into the ca
pacity of the persons who believe, and partly into
the strength, or at least appearance of strength, in
" the arguments whereby it is wrought.
"IE The fourth thing to be inquired is, What are the
proper and genuine effectsof this faith or persuasion?
Now that, in a word, is natural religion, which con
sists in apprehensions of God suitable to his nature,

197
and affections towards him suitable to these appre
hensions, and actions suitable to both. He that
believes there is such a being in the world as God,
that is, one infinitely good, and wise, and powerful,
and just, and holy, and (in a word) clothed with
all excellency, will have a great esteem and reverence
for him, and love to him, which he will testify in
those outward expressions of respect which we call
worship. He that believes that this beiug is the
original of all good, that he made the world, and
all the creatures in it, and preserves and governs
them, he will depend upon him, and seek to him for
every good thing, and acknowledge him for the
author of them ; which brings in prayer and thanks
giving. He that believes that he owes his being to
God, and all the blessings of his* life, will think it
reasonable that he should be at his disposal, will
be willing to be governed by his laws, and ready to
submit to his pleasure ; which brings in obedience
and submission to the will of God. He that believes
there is another life after this, wherein men shall
be rewarded or punished, according as they have
demeaned themselves well or ill in this world, he
will be encouraged to piety and virtue, and afraid
to do any thing which his own reason tells him is
displeasing to the Deity, as he cannot but believe
every thing is, that is contrary to the nature of God,
or the perfection of his own nature, or the good
order and happiness of the world ; which brings in
temperance and justice, and all other real virtues.
And that the belief of these principles had this
effect upon several of the heathen's, to make them
in a good degree religious and virtuous, I doubt
not; the moral and honest lives of many of them,
give real testimony of this ; which natural religion

198
and morality of theirs, how far it may avail them
for their good; we are not concerned to determine.
This we are sure of, that it will make their con
dition more tolerable in another world; and if they
faMy under condemnation, it will mitigate and allay
their misery.
V. In what sense this faith or persuasion of the
principles of natural religion may be said to be
Divine ? In these two respects :
1. In respect ofthe object of it, or matters to be
believed, which are Divine, and do immediately
concern religion, in opposition to that which I call
a civil and human faith, which is of such things as
do-not immediately concern God and religion.
2v In respect ofthe Divine effect of it, which are
to make men religious, and like God. And a faith
may as pvoperly be said to be Divine in respect of
the object of it, as in respect of the argument
whereby it is wrought; so that a faith ofthe prin
ciples of natural religion is as truly Divine, though
it be not wrought in us by the arguments of Divine
testimony and authority, as a faith of the matters of
Divine revelation contained in the Holy Scriptures:
for why a faith may not as well be said to be Divine
for its relation to God as the object of it, as for its
relation to the testimony of God, as the cause of it,
I cannot understand.
Secondly, The second sort of faith, which I call
Divine or religious, is a persuasion of things super
naturally revealed, of things which are not known
by natural light, but by some more immediate mani
festation and discovery from God. Thus we find
our Saviour (Matt. xvi. 15 — 17.) opposeth Divine
revelation to the discovery of natural reason and
light. He asks his disciples whom they believed

199
him to bei "Whom say ye that I am? And ' S?-
mon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ,,
(that is, the Messias) the Son. of the living God.
And Jesus answered and said unto- him, Blessed
art thou, Simon Bar-jona ; for flesh and blood hath'
not revealed this unto thee ; but my Father which is
in heaven ;" where a revelation or discovery from
flesh and blood, is opposed to a revelation fron*
God ; " flesh and blood" being a Hebrew phrase or
manner of speaking, signifying a mere man, or some
thing merely human ; so we find the phrase used;
Eph. vi. 12. " We wrestle not against flesh and
blood ; but against principalities, and powers, and
spiritual wickedness ;" that is, the enemies we are-
to contend with, are not only men, but devils; and:
which is nearer to our purpose, (Gal. i. 16.) where-
the apostle would express to us, that he received:
not his commission from men, but immediately*
from the Lord Jesus Christ, he tells us, that "-where*
it pleased God, who separated him from his-
mother's womb, and called him by his grace; to<
reveal his Son in him, that he might preach him
among the heathen, immediately heconferred not with
flesh and blood ;" the word is -K^aavSkpr\v^ " I did'
not apply myself to flesh and blood ;" that is, I did*
not go to men to receive my commission from them :
for so he explains it in the next words, " neither."
went I up to Jerusalem, to them that were apostles
before me:" that is, I did not apply myself to the-
apostles, to derive any authority from them to
preach the gospel, because he had no need of that,
being called immediately by Christ to this work ;
which words are nothing else but a farther expli
cation of what he had said before, (ver. 1 1, 12.) " L

200
certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was
preached by me, is not after men : for I neither
received it of man, neither was taught it, but by the
revelation of Jesus Christ." So accordingly here
our Saviour tells Peter, that this truth, that
Christ was the Messias, the Son of the living God,
was not revealed to him by man, nor by any mere
human principle or testimony, " but by his Father
which was in heaven ;" that is, by the testimony
which God himself gave of him in the holy and
Divine gospel which he taught, and those miracles
which he wrought in confirmation of it.
So that this kind of faith is a persuasion of such
things, as are not known by natural light, nor dis
covered to us by men ; but some way or other
revealed by God : I say, some way or other, for the
ways of God's revealing and manifesting himself to
us, are various and arbitrary. God may choose
what ways he pleaseth to discover himself to us by.
So the apostle tells us, (Heb. i. 1.) " God who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake in times
past unto the fathers by the prophets." God re
vealed himself, as at several times, by several steps
and degrees, so in various manners; sometimes by
visions, sometimes by dreams, sometimes by oracles,
sometimes by a spirit of prophecy, sometimes by
a voice from heaven, and sometimes by a secret and
gentle inspiration. Now it matters not which of
these ways God chooseth to reveal himself to us,
provided we have sufficient evidence and grounds of
assurance that the thing is revealed by God.
As to us, these extraordinary ways of revelation
are now ceased, and we have a fixed and a standing
revelation, that is, the records of those revelations

201
which God formerly made to holy men ; and this is
the Holy Scriptures, or the Bible, which is a system
or collection of things supernaturally revealed.
Now if this faith be considered as restrained to a
part of Divine revelation, viz. the doctrine of the
gospel, revealed to the world by Jesus Christ, then
it is properly Christian faith, which frequently, in
the New Testament, is called faith, Kar Qoyrtv, by
way of excellency and eminency, this being the most
eminent and perfect revelation which God hath
made of himself to the world, which the apostle, at
the beginning of this Epistle, advanceth above all
those former revelations which God had made of
himself to the fathers, those being by his servants
and ministers, prophets and angels : " But in these
last days God hath repealed himself to us by his
Son, whom he hath made heir of all things," and
advanced to & dignity above that of men or angels.
And with relation to this faith of the gospel,
Christians are peculiarly and eminently called be
lievers : (1 Thess. ii. 10.) "You know how un-
blameably we behaved ourselves among you that be
lieve," that is, among you Christians. (2 Thess. i. 10.)
" When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and
admired in all them that believe," meaning the Christ
ians that entertain the gospel. And upon the same
account, the apostle calls the whole society, or body
of Christians, " the household of faith," (Gal. vi. 10.)
But now I am considering faith, not in this more
narrow and restrained sense, for a belief or persua
sion of the doctrine of the gospel ; but in a more
large and comprehensive sense, for a persuasion of
all things that are supernaturally revealed, that is,
of all things contained in the Holy Scriptures.
Now, all the matters of Divine revelation, which
VOL. ix. p

202
are contained in the book of Holy Scripture, may,
I think, be reduced to one of these six heads :
1. They are either a history or relation of some
person, or matter of fact ; and a faith of the histo
rical part of Scripture, is nothing else but a per
suasion that those narrations, or relations, are true.
Or, 2. A prophecy, or prediction of some event. Now
N a faith of the prophetical part of Scripture, is a per
suasion that the event foretold will certainly come
to pass. Or,
3. A doctrine: such as are all those propositions
in Scripture, which declare to us the nature or pro
perties of God, the nature and office of Christ, that
he is the eternal Son. of God, that is, true God, the
Messias, or Saviour of the world, the king, priest,
and prophet of his church, and the like. Now a
faith of the doctrinal part of Scripture, is a persua
sion, that those propositions which contain these
doctrines are true. Or,
4. Laws for the ordering and governing of our
spirits and lives, under which I comprehend all the
precepts and prohibitions of Scripture, which are
the matter of our duty. Now a faith of these, is a
persuasion, that God hath commanded, and forbid
den such things ; and consequently that they are
necessary to be observed by us; Or,
5. Promises of good things, either with relation
to this life or the • other. Now a faith of the pro
mises, is a persuasion or confident expectation that
they will be accomplished. And thus the apostle
describes the faith ofthe promises of another world,
at the first verse of this chapter, that itis "the sub
stance of things hoped for," virooTaaic,, that is, a " con
fident expectation" that the promises of the gospel,

203
which are the matter of our hope, shall be accom
plished ; " and the evidence of things not seen," a
being convinced of the certainty and reality of fu
ture and invisible things. Aud thus likewise, the
apostle explains to us the faith of Abraham, in re
ference to the promises of God, to give him a son :
(Rom. iv. 21.) " He was fully persuaded, that what
he had promised he was able to perform." Or,
6. Threatenings. Now a faith of the threaten
ings, is a persuasion of the danger we incur, if we
neglect our duty ; that is, a belief that God justly
may, and will (having confirmed his threatenings
with an oath, which is a sign of the immutable de
termination of the Divine will) inflict those punish
ments upon us, which he hath threatened, in case
we disobey his laws. These six heads do, I think,
contain all, I am sure the most principal matters
of Divine revelation, which I have the more care
fully distinguished, because some of them are of a
distinct and peculiar consideration from the rest, as
will afterwards appear.
Having thus, as plainly and briefly as I could,
opened to you, what I mean by this second sort ol
Divine faith, which is a persuasion of things super
naturally revealed, I come now to satisfy such in
quiries about this as may be most material. And
here I shall proceed upon those heads of inquiry
which I handled when I spake of the first sort of
Divine faith.
I. Whether this may truly and properly be called
faith? II. What is the argument whereby this faith is
wrought? III. Whether it admit of degrees, and what are
the differences of them? F2

204
IV. What are the proper and genuine effects of
this faith ?
V. In what respects it may be said to be Divine?
I. Whether this may truly and properly be called
faith ? And that it may, is evident, because the ge
neral definition of faith agrees to it ; for a man may
be persuaded in his mind concerning things super
naturally revealed ; and the Scripture every where
calls a persuasion of these matters by the name of
faith. But besides this, it seems this is the adequate
and only notion of faith, as it hath been fixed by
the schools, and is become a term of art. For the
definition that the schools give of faith is this; that
it is an assent to a thing credible, as credible.
Now, say they, that is credible which relies upon
the testimony of a credible person ; and conse
quently, a human faith is that which relies upon
human testimony ; and a Divine faith, that which
relies upon the testimony or authority of God ;
which definition, though it be short and imperfect,
(being, indeed, not a definition of faith in general,
but of a particular kind of faith, viz. that which
is wrought by the argument which we call testi
mony or authority, and consequently excludes a be
lief of the principles of natural religion, and a be
lief that the Scriptures are the word of God, from
being faith), yet this shews thus much, that all
agree in this, that a persuasion of things superna
turally revealed is truly and properly faith.
II. What is the argument whereby this faith or
persuasion of things supernaturally revealed is
wrought in us? And this, by the general consent of
all, is the testimony or authority of God, some way
or other revealing these things to us ; whose infal
lible and unerring knowledge, together with his

205
goodness and authority, gives us the highest assur
ance, that he neither can be deceived himself, nor
will deceive us in any thing that he reveals to us.
I say, the testimony or authority of God some way
or other revealing things to us, is the argument
whereby a faith of any supernatural revelation is
wrought in us : but if we restrain all supernatural
revelations to the Bible, as I told you we know of
no other, then the particular kind of testimony
whereby this faith is wrought in us, is the written
word of God.
III. As to the degrees of this faith. Supposing
men sufficiently satisfied that the Scriptures are
the word of God, that is, a Divine revelation; then
all those who are sufficiently satisfied of this, do
equally believe the things contained in the Scrip
tures. For if men be once fully satisfied that God
hath spoken any thing, I think no man makes the
least doubt but what God says is true. Now, there
can be no degrees of faith where there is no doubt
of the contrary ; all the degrees that are in faith
arising from a greater or less mixture of doubting.
So that those who do not at all doubt but that the
Scriptures are the word of God, have the same de
gree of persuasion concerning the matters contained
in them ; and that no man doubts whether what
God says is true, ariseth from the fixed and con
stant notion which men universally have of God,
that he is infallible and true. Therefore, we find,
(Matt. xxi. 25.) when our Saviour puts the dilem
ma to the pharisees concerning the baptism of John,
" whether it were from heaven, or of men?" that
"they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall
say, From heaven ; he will say unto us, Why then
did ye not believe him?" Which kind of reasoning

206
imports thus much : that it is universally acknow
ledged, that no man can in reason make the least
doubt of that which he believes to be from God.
Therefore, a man would wonder what Becanus, the
Jesuit, meant, unless it were to abuse the prophets
and apostles, when he says, (torn, iii.) of his school-
divinity, that the prophets and apostles had evident
tiam revelationis, nonautem evidentiam prima veri
tatis: tametsi enim evidenter cognoscerent Deum esse,
qui ipsis revelabat my steria fidei, non tamen evidenter
cognoscebant Deum esse summe veracem, qui necfalli
potuit,necfallere: thatis, "Though it was sufficiently
evident to the prophets and apostles, that those re
velations which they had were from God, yet it was
not evident to them, that Divine revelations are true;
for though they did evidently know, that there was
a God, who revealed to them the mysteries of faith,
yet they did not evidently know that God was in
fallible and true, who could neither deceive nor be
deceived." By which he doth not only make the
prophets and apostles idiots, and destitute of one
of the most common notions of human nature, which
is, that God is infallible and true; but he doth
likewise make all Divine revelation useless, and to
no purpose. For, to what purpose is it for a man
to be satisfied, that God reveals such a thing to
him; if he be in the mean time unsatisfied, whether
what God reveals is true ? for no man that is un
satisfied, whether what God reveals be true, can,
upon any tolerable ground of reason, yield a firm
assent to Divine revelation. But it is pity to spend
time in confuting any thing which confutes itself by
its own absurdity, and its direct contradiction to,
the common notions of human nature. I proceed,
therefore.

207
Supposing any man be unsatisfied, and do make
any doubt whether these books called the Holy
Scriptures, or any of them, be the word of God,
that is, a Divine revelation ; proportionably to the
degree of his doubting concerning the Divine autho
rity of the Scriptures, there will be an abatement of
his faith, as to the things contained in them : for he
that believes a thing merely upon the credit or testi
mony of such a person ; so much reason as he hath
to doubt, whether such a person did speak, or testify
such a thing, so much reason he hath to doubt
.whether the thing be true.
And upon this account I think it is, that the
Scripture speaks of degrees of faith ; of growing and
increasing in faith ; of a strong faith, that is, such a
faith as was either wholly, or in a great measure,
free from doubting ; and of a weakfaith, that is, such
a faith 'as had a great mixture of doubting; by
which we are not to understand, that they doubted
of the truth of any thing of which they were satisfied
by a Divine revelation ; but that they doubted whe
ther such things were Divine revelations or not.
So that the great doubt ofthe disciples was, whether
Christ were the true Messias, and really the Son of
God ; for so far as they were satisfied of that, they
could not doubt of any thing he said.
IV. What are the proper and genuine effects of
this faith? The proper and genuine effects of the
belief of the Scriptures in general, is the confor
mity of our hearts and lives to what we believe ;
that is, to be such persons, and to live such lives, as
it becomes those who do heartily believe, and are
really persuaded of the truth of the Scriptures. And
if this be a constant and abiding persuasion, it will
produce this effect; but with more or less difficulty,

208
according to the disposition of the subject, and the
weakness or strength of contrary habits and inclinar
tions. More particularly the effects of this faith
are according to the nature of the matter believed.
If it be a history or relation of things past, or pro
phecy of things to come ; it hath an effect upon men
so far as the history or prophecy doth concern
them. If it be a doctrine ; it hath the effect which
the particular nature and tendency of such a doc
trine requires. For instance : the doctrine of God's
goodness is apt to inflame us with love to him ; of
his power and justice, with a fear and awe of him.
This doctrine, that Christ is the Saviour of the
world, the proper effect of it is to make men rely
upon him for salvation ; and so of the rest. If it be
a precept, the proper effect of it is obedience : and
hence it is that unbelief and disobedience are fre-,
quently put for one another in Scripture ; and dis^
obedience is opposed to faith ; (1 Pet. ii. 7.) " Unto
you therefore which believe, he is precious : but
Unto them which be disobedient," &c. where the
disobedient are opposed to them that believe. And
so likewise those who neglect any duty of religion,
and do any thing notoriously unworthy of their pro
fession, are said to deny the faith. (1 Tim. v. 8.)
" But if any provide not for his own, and especially
for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith."
How does he deny the faith? In disobeying the
precepts of the Christian religion, which chargeth
us with such natural and moral duties. If it be a
promise, the proper effect of it is encouragement to
obedience by hopes of the thing promised : if a
threatening, the proper effect of it is to restrain men
from sin and disobedience.
- V. In what sense this faith of things supernatu-

209
rally revealed, may be said to be a Divine faith ?
Answer. — Not only in respect of the matter and
object of it, which are Divine things, such as con
cern God and religion and in respect of the Divine
effects it hath upon those who believe these things ;
(for in these two respects a persuasion of the prin
ciples of natural religion, may be said to be a Di
vine faith ;) but likewise in respect of the argument
whereby it is wrought, which is a Divine testimony.
As for the efficient cause, the Spirit of God, that
does not immediately belong to this : for the Spirit
of God doth not, speaking properly, persuade us
immediately of the truth of things supernaturally
revealed ; but mediately, by persuading us of the
truth of the revelation : for to believe a thing to be
true, which we are persuaded is revealed by God,
is so natural and consequent upon such a persua
sion, that it doth not seem to require any new work
of the Spirit. And if this be all the work of the
Spirit, to persuade men that such a revelation is
Divine ; it will be most proper to speak of this
when 1 come to the third sort of faith, which is, a
persuasion of a Divine revelation that it is such :
which because it hath many difficulties in it, de
serves a more large and particular consideration.

SERMON CCXX.
OF THE FAITH OR PERSUASION OF A DIVINE RE
VELATION.
But without faith it is impossible to please God. — u
Heb. xi. 6.
I have observed, that a religious and Divine faith
comprehends under it three things :
First, A persuasion of the principles of natural
religion, which are known by the light of nature.
Secondly, A persuasion of things supernatural
and revealed.
Thirdly, A persuasion of supernatural revelation^
The two former of these I have considered, and
now proceed to the
Third sort of faith, which I call Divine or reli
gious ; viz. a persuasion concerning a Divine revela
tion, that it is such : which I distinguish from the
former thus. The former is a persuasion concern
ing the things which are revealed from God> that
they are true : this is a persuasion concerning the
revelation itself, that it is Divine and from God.
For the opening of this there are many things to
be taken into consideration.
I. What we understand by a Divine revelation.
II, The several kinds of it.
III. Whether a persuasion concerning a Divine
revelation be properly faith.
IV. How we may come to be assured of a Divine
revelation, or by what arguments a faith or persua
sion of a Divine revelation is wrought in us.

211
V. The degrees of this persuasion or assurance.
VI. The effects of it.
VII. In what sense it may be said to be a Divine
faith ; under which I shall speak something concern
ing the testimony of the Spirit.
I. What we are to understand by a Divine re
velation. — Answer. A supernatural discovery or
manifestation of things to us. I say supernatural,
because it may either be immediately by God, or
by .the mediation of angels : as most, if not all the
revelations of the Old Testament were; a super
natural discovery, or manifestation, either immedi
ately to our minds, and inward faculties ; (for I do
not so well understand the distinction between un
derstanding and imagination, as to be careful to
take notice of it ;) or else mediately to our un
derstandings, by the mediation of our outward
senses ; as, by an external appearance to our bodily
eyes, or by a voice and sound to the sense of hear
ing. But of this I have discoursed in a former ser
mon, * and therefore shall add no more here.
II. For the several kinds of Divine revelation ; of
this also I have formerly f discoursed at large.
III. Whether a persuasion of a Divine revelation
may properly be called faith ? To this I answer,
that, according to the strait and narrow notion of
faith which the schools have fixed, which is an as
sent to any thing grounded upon the testimony
and authority of God revealing it, a persuasion of a
Divine revelation cannot properly be called faith ;
because it is irrational to expect that a man should
have another Divine revelation to assure him that
this is a Divine revelation : for then, for the same
* See Sermon CXXVI. vol. vi, p. 213. + Ibid.

212
reason, I must expect another Divine revelation to
assure me of that, and so without end. But I have
sufficiently shewn, that this is not the true notion
of faith in general, but only of a particular kind of
faith ; viz. that which is wrought by the argument,
which we call testimony or authority. But accord
ing to the true and general notion of faith, which is
a persuasion of the mind concerning any thing, a
persuasion ofthe mind concerning a Divine reve
lation, may as properly be called faith, as any thing
else, if men will but grant, that a man may be so
satisfied, concerning a Divine revelation, as verily
to believe and be persuaded that it is so.
IV- How we may come to be persuaded of a
Divine revelation, that it is such ; or by what ar
guments this persuasion is wrought in us ? For an
swer to this, it will be requisite distinctly to con
sider, First, The persons to whom a Divine revelation
is immediately made, what assurance they can have
of it. And,
Secondly,What assurance other persons can have
of it. I say these are distinctly to be considered,
because there is a very different account to be given
of them.
First, As to those persons to whom the revelation
is immediately made, the question is, by what ar
guments or means they may come to be assured,
that any revelation which they have, is really and
truly such, and not a delusion or imposture. The
Jewish doctors tell us, that some kind of Divine
revelations do not carry full assurance along with
them that they are Divine ; such are dreams and
visions, as they are distinguished from prophecy:
and as to that kind of revelation, which they strictly

213
call prophecy, they give several characteristical
notes to distinguish true Divine revelation from de
lusion ; such as these — that the spirit of delusion
only works upon the imagination, and the lower
faculties ; the Divine spirit of prophecy upon the
understanding and reasonable part of the soul :
that delusive inspirations were accompanied with
alienation of mind, which did discover itself either
in rage and fury, or melancholy ; but the true pro
phetical spirit is always consistent with the use of
reason and understanding. They distinguish them
likewise by the manner of their seizing upon them ;
that in the beginning of inspirations the prophets
use to have some apparition, or to hear some voice,
either articulate in words, or inarticulate by thun
der, or the sound of a trumpet, which in the Re
velations doth frequently precede St. John's visions;
and by these they were assured that they were
Divine. And, lastly, that a Divine inspiration did
always carry along with it a strong evidence of its
original, and that by the vigour and strength of its
impression, they were fully assured and satisfied
beyond all doubt and hesitation : thus they. But
all that I shall say by way of answer to this question,
shall be in these two propositions :
1. If we believe any such thing as Divine revela
tion, we cannot doubt but those who have it are
some way or other fully satisfied of it. The reason
is evident ; because otherwise it would be in vain,
and to no purpose, and could not possibly attain
its end. A Divine revelation cannot possibly sig
nify any thing, or in reason have any effect upon a
man, unless he be satisfied it is such : for so long
as he does not know but that it is a delusion, he
will not attend to it, or regard it. So that the dis-

214
tinction of the Jewish doctors between dreams and
visions, and prophecy, that this carries always full
assurance with it, the other not, is vain and un
reasonable. 2. The means whereby this assurance of a Divine
revelation is wrought, is most probably the evi-
, dence it carries along with it, whereby it did fully
satisfy the person that had it of its Divine original.
That God can accompany his own revelations with
such a clear and overpowering light as shall dis
cover to us the divinity of them, and satisfy us be
yond all doubt and scruple, I think no man can
doubt, that considers the vast power and influence
which he must needs have over our understandings
who made them, and knows the frame of them: and
if this be granted, it is not necessary to explain the
particular way how it is done, it being a thing not
to be expressed in words, but to be felt and ex
perienced. So that the argument, whereby this
persuasion of a Divine revelation is wrought in
those that have it, is inward experience ofthe full
satisfaction and assurance, which they find to be
supernaturally wrought in them ; that is, of which
they can give no account from themselves. And this
is not a stubborn belief, and an obstinate conceit of
a thing : but a good man, who is inspired, when
he reflects upon himself, and this assurance which
he finds in himself, he can give a rational account
of it to himself. Thus he finds that it is a foreign
impression, and doth not spring from himself, nor
hath its rise from thence; therefore he ascribes it
to some spirit without himself; and he believes
that there is a God that can communicate himself
to the minds and spirits of men : and that his good
ness is such, that he will not suffer them to be under

215
a necessity of delusion, which they must be, if,
when they have the highest assurance and satisfac
tion, that such a thing is a Divine revelation, they
maybe deceived. And then likewise he considers
the matter of the revelation, which if it do not con
tradict any essential and necessary fundamental no
tion of his understanding, he thinks himself bound
to entertain it upon this assurance.
I say, good men may give themselves this rational
satisfaction : for I grant a wicked man, that rejects
and disobeys the truth of God, may so provoke him,
as " to give him up to strong delusions, to believe
lies ;" and he may be as confident of a lie, as a
good man is of truth. But as this is not unjust
from God in reference to the persons, so it is no pre
judice to the assurance which good men may have
of Divine revelation.
And this assurance is such, as it is not in the
power of any evil spirit to convey to us, concerning
a delusion ; or if it be in his power, he is not per
mitted to do it to any who have not highly pro
voked God, by rejecting the truth, " to give them
up to strong delusions, to believe lies :" and that
such persons should be obnoxious to such delusions,
as it is not unjust in reference to them, so neither is
it any prejudice to the assurance which good men
may have of such revelations which are truly and
really Divine.
But for the other ways of discerning true reve
lation from false, which the Jews mention; as, that
the Spirit of God always works upon the under
standing, as well as the imagination, aud in conse
quence with the use of reason and understanding,
and gives some sensible notice of its seizing upon
men, I think all these to be uncertain if they be dx-

216
amined. And if the last which they mention, viz.
this that I have insisted upon, be true, all the other
are superfluous. For what need of any other sign
to assure a man that that is a Divine revelation,
which carries along with it a clear satisfaction and
full assurance that it is such ?
So that it remains now, that we fix upon some
particular ways where by the person that hath a Di
vine revelation may be assured of it ; and this I
shall do by these propositions.
First, That God can work in the mind of marl a
firm persuasion of a thing, by giving him a clear
and vigorous perception of it ; and if so, then God
can accompany his own revelations with such a
clear and overpowering light, as shall discover to
us the divinity of them, and satisfy us thereof be
yond all doubt and scruple. And this no man can
doubt of; that considers the vast power and influ
ence which God, who made the soul of man, and
perfectly knows the frame of it, must needs have
upon the mind and understanding of man.
Secondly, God never persuades a man of any
thing that contradicts the natural and essential
notions of his mind and understanding. For this
would be to destroy his own workmanship, and- to
impose that upon the understanding of a man,
which, whilst it retains its own nature, and remains
what it is, it cannot possibly admit. For instance:
we cannot imagine that God can persuade any man
that there is no God ; for he that believes any thing
as from God, must necessarily believe there is a
God ; therefore it is impossible that he cin be per
suaded of this as from God, that there is no God ;
and that he is not wise and just, and good and
powerful ; and that he is not to be honoured and

217
loved by all reasonable creatures: because these
do clearly and immediately contradict the most
essential and fundamental notions of our minds
concerning God, and the respect which is due to
him : not only because it is unworthy of God to go
about to persuade a man of a falsehood ; but be
cause it is impossible in the nature of the thing, that
the mind of man, which is naturally prepossessed
with contrary notions, should, whilst it retains its
own nature, admit of such as do clearly and imme
diately contradict them. For if these be natural
notions, that there is a God, that he must be wise
and just and good and powerful, and ought to be
honoured and loved by his creatures ; the mind of
man cannot possibly admit of any contrary persua
sions and impressions : for the former persuasions
being natural to us, will always remain while our
nature remains, and if any persuasions contrary to
these could be wrought upon our minds, they would
signify nothing, but would mutually destroy one
another. For if any man that is persuaded that
God is good, (as every man is, that is persuaded he
is at all) could, during the persuasion, be likewise
of a contrary persuasion, that he is not good ; this
latter persuasion would signify nothing : for he is
not persuaded that God is not good, whilst he re
tains this persuasion that he is good.
Thirdly, Supposing the thing revealed do not
contradict the essential notions of our minds, no
good and holy man hath reason to doubt of any
thing, whether it be a revelation from God or not,
of which he hath a clear and vigorous perception,
and full satisfaction in his own mind that it is such.
For if a man may have reason to doubt of any thing,
wjjereof he hath a clear perception, "then no man can
VOL.1X. Q

218
be certain of any thin^. Now that there is jsgch
\ thiiig7a£ certainty, is now supposed and not to
be proved. I say, a gaolFluTd 'holy man can have
no reason to doubt: for a wicked man (I grant)
may, by a sinful rejection of, and disobedience
to, tbe truth, so far provoke God, as " to give him
up to strong delusions to believe lies ;" and he may
be as confident of a lie, as amy good man is of the
truth. And as this is not unjust from God in reference to
wicked men, so it is no prejudice to the assurance
which good men may have concerning a Divine re
velation. Fourthly, A good and holy man reflecting upon
this assurance and persuasion that he hath, may be
able to give himself a reasonable account of it, and
satisfy himself that it is not a stubborn belief and
an obstinate conceit of things without any ground
or reason. A good man is secretly and within him
self persuaded,, that God hath revealed to. him such
a thing; reflecting upon this persuasion, he finds
that it is a foreign impression, and doth aot spring
from his own mind :> how he believing that there is.
a God, who can, and probably doth communicate
and reveal himself to the minds of good men ; and
being withal satisfied that his goodness is such,
that he will not suffer good men, who do heartily
and sincerely desire to know his will, to be under
a necessity of delusion, (which they unavoidably
are, if they may then be deceived;, when they have
the greatest assurance and clearest satisfaction that
such a thing is revealed to them of God ;) from
hence he reasonably concludes, that he ought not
to question the matter any farther. I might instamce
in the revelation made: to Abraham, concerning the

219
Sacrificing his son, which hath the greatest difficulty
in it of any case I know of: but of that I have else
where discoursed at large.* Thus much for the
first. Secondly, What assurance can other persons,
who have not the revelation immediately made to
them, have of a Divine revelation ? To this I shall
answer by these propositions :
1. That there are some means whereby a man
may be assured of another's revelation that it is
Divine. For,
(1.) Otherwise it would signify nothing, but Only
to the person that immediately had it ; which would
make void the chief end of most revelations, whicL
are seldom made to particular persons for their own
sakes ' only, but, for the most part, on purpose that
they may be made known to others, which could
not effectually be done, unless there be some means
whereby men may be assured of revelations made
to another.
(2.) None could be guilty of unbelief but those
who had immediate revelation made to them. For
no man is guilty of unbelief that is not obliged to
believe : but no man can be under any obligation to
believe any thing, who hath not sufficient means ,
whereby he may be assured that such a thing is
true. 2. The private assurance and satisfaction of
another concerning a revelation made to him, can
signify nothing at all to me, to assure me of it. For
what satisfaction is it fo me, that another may say,
herhath a revelation, unless I have some means to
be assured that what he saith is true? For if I
* See Sermon LVI. vol. iv. p. 20.
OV2

220
must believe every spirit, that is, every man that
says he is inspired, I lie open to all possible impos
tures and delusions, and must believe every one that
either foolishly conceits, or falsely pretends, that he
hath a revelation : for both the conceited and pre
tended enthusiast will say they have revelations, with
as much confidence as those who are truly and divine
ly inspired : and to take every man's word in matters
of such huge consequence and importance as reve
lation from God ought to be presumed lo be, would
not be faith, but credulity, that is, an ungrounded per
suasion ; which how severely God punished, you may
see in that famous instance, (1 Kings xiii.) where the
prophet that was sent to Bethel, is upon his return
torn in pieces by a lion, because of his credulity and
easy belief of a pretended revelation. I confess this
case is somewhat different from theirs who simply
believe a pretended revelation, as being complicated
with some other aggravating circumstances. For
he had an immediate revelation from God, " not to
eat, nor drink at Bethel ; nor to return the same
way that he came :" upon his return an old prophet
meets him, and tells him that an angel had appeared
to him, and had bid him to bring him back, and to
cause him to eat and drink ; he believes him, and
turns in with him. Now this was the aggravation of
his credulity — that when he himself had had an ex
press revelation from God, concerning which he
was satisfied, he hearkened to the pretended revela
tion of another, concerning which he had no assur
ance, in contradiction to a Divine revelation, which
he knew to be such. Not but that the command
which God had given him was in its own nature
revokable, and God might have countermanded it
by another immediate revelation to him, or by an

221
equivalent, that is, a miracle wrought by the pro
phet who pretended to countermand it from God ;
Unumquodque dissolvitur eo modo qui ligatur, the
obligation which was brought upon him by an im
mediate revelation, could not be dissolved but by
another, immediate revelation, or evidence equiva
lent to it. However, this instance serves in the
general to my purpose, that a man may be faulty by
credulity as well as by unbelief: and as a man
ought not to disbelieve where there is sufficient
evidence ; so neither ought he to believe any thing
without sufficient grounds of assurance.
3. That miracles wrought for the confirmation of
any Divine testimony or revelation made to another,
are a sufficient means, whereby those who have not
the Divine revelation immediately made to them, may
be assured that it is Divine*; I say, these are sufficient
means of assurance in this case. I do not say they
are the only means (for it does not become men to
limit the power and wisdom of God), but I do not
know of any other means of assurance upon which
men can securely rely ; and it is a great presump
tion that this is the best and fittest, if not the only
means, because the wisdom of God has always
pitched upon it, and constantly made use of it, and
no other. Under miracles I comprehend the pre
diction of future events, which God claims as a
peculiar prerogative to himself, because such things
are out ofthe reach of any created understanding ;
and therefore in the prophet Isaiah he challenged!
the idols of the heathens to give this testimony, or
argument of their divinity ; " Shew us things that
are to come, that we may know that ye are gods."
But here we must distinguish between doubtful
and unquestionable miracles. I call those doubtful

:222
miracles, which, though a man cannot tell how they
can be done by any natural power, yet do not carry
that full conviction with them, as to be universally
owned and acknowledged for arguments of a Di
vine power. Such were those which the magi
cians did by their enchantments. I call those un
questionable, which, considering their quality and
number, and the public manner of doing them,
are out of all question. Such were the miracles
of Moses, and our Saviour. Now a doubtful, and
a single, and a private wonder, or miracle, as I
may call it, can give no confirmation to any thing,
in opposition to a revelation, or a doctrine, con
firmed by many, and public and unquestionable
miracles. Upon this account Moses forbids the children of
Israel to hearken to any prophet that should come
to seduce them to idolatry ; yea, though he should
give a sign or wonder, and the " sign or wonder
should come to pass," (Deut. xiii. 1 — 4.) Now
here lies the strength of the reason, " Because he
hath spoken to turn you away from the Lord your
God, which brought yon out of the laud of Egypt,
and redeemed you out of the house of bondage ;"
thatis, because he contradicts the great revelation
which God made of himself, and confirmed by such
a succession of so many, and so great miracles ;
the credit of which revelation ought not in reason
to be called in question upon the working of a single
and a private wonder, which we could not distin
guish from a miracle. Upon the same account St.
Paul (Gal. i. 8,) says, "Though an angel from
heaven should preach any other doctrine than that
which had been preached unto them, he should be
accursed ;" thatis, after so clear and great confirma-

223
tion, as was given to the gospel, a contrary doc
trine, though it should come from an angel, should
be rejected as execrable.
But you will say, Suppose such a prophet as
Moses speaks of here, such an angel as St. Paul
mentions, should work as many and as great mira
cles as Moses and Christ Wrought, should we then
believe them ?
I answer ; This is not to be supposed : for sup
posing the providence of God in the world, it can
not be imagined that an equal attestation should be
given to a false doctrine and a true. But that the
greatest and most unquestionable miracles are to
carry it, is evident ; because this is all the reason
why Moses was to be credited above the magicians,
because he wrought more and greater wonders than
they did. But if it could be supposed, that any one
could work as great miracles for the confirmation
of idolatry, as were wrought by way of attestation
to the true worship of God, then there would be
no difference, but what the reason of the thing
makes ; the belief of one God being more reason
able than many ; and not to make an image or sen
sible representation of a spirit, being more reason
able than to make one. But if this could be sup
posed, the natural issue and consequence of it would
be atheism ; a man would believe neither that nor
the other, nor that there is any God at all.
But a farther account of the nature and difference
of miracles, I reserve to some * particular discourses
on that subject. At present, for the fuller opening
of this matter, it will be proper to shew, —
* See Sermons CCXXVHI. &c. on Heb. ii. 4. in this volume.

224
1. That the Divine authority both ofthe doctrine
of Moses and Christ is resolved into miracles.
2. What assurance of miracles is sufficient to
persuade men to believe that testimony, for the con
firmation of which they are wrought.
3. What assurance they give us, that the Scrip
tures are a Divine revelation.
But the consideration of these I refer to the next
opportunity.

SERMON CCXXI.
OF THE FAITH OR PERSUASION OF A DIVINE REVE
LATION.
But without faith it is impossible to please God. —
Heb. xi. 6.
In discoursing of the faith or persuasion of a Divine
revelation, I proposed the considering these seven
things :
I. What we understand by a Divine revelation.
II. The several kinds of it.
III. Whether a persuasion concerning a Divine
revelation be properly faith.
IV. How we may come to be assured of a Divine
revelation ; or by what arguments a faith or per
suasion of a Divine revelation is wrought in us.
V. The degrees of this persuasion or assurance.
VI. The effects of it.
VII. In what sense it may be said to be a Divine
faith. I was upon the fourth of these, viz. considering
by what arguments a faith or persuasion of a Divine
revelation is wrought in us ; which led me to con
sider the evidence of miracles ; and 1 proposed to
shew particularly these three things:
1. That the Divine authority both ofthe doctrine
of Moses and Christ is resolved into miracles.
2. What assurance of miracles is sufficient to
persuade men to believe that testimony, for the con
firmation of which they are wrought.

226'
3. What assurance they give us that the Scrip
tures are a Divine revelation.
I proceed to treat of these in their order.
1. I shall shew that the Divine authority both
of the doctrine of Moses and of Christ, is resolved
into miracles. We find the Scripture lays the
whole weight of the Divine authority, both of the
law and gospel, of the revelation of the Old and
New Testament, upon this evidence. (Exod. iv.
1 — 3.) When God sends Moses, he objects, " that
they will not believe him, nor hearken to him, but
will say, The Lord hath not appeared unto him,"
Thereupon God gives him a power of miracles, that
they may believe " that the Lord God of their fa
thers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
hath appeared unto him ;" and by the evidence of
those miracles which he wrought, he prevailed over
the magicians. And generally, throughout the
story of the Old Testament, we find all persons
yielding to the evidence of miracles, as a suf
ficient attestation to a prophet and his message.
When Elijah had prevailed with God in a mira
culous manner to confirm his own worship, and
confute the worship of Baal, by sending fire from
heaven to consume the sacrifice, the people yield to
this evidence, and cry out, " The Lord he is God,
the Lord he is God," (1 Kings xviii. 39.) When
Elijah raised the woman's son, then she owned him
for a prophet ; (1 Kings xvii. 24.) " Now by this
I know that thou art a man of God, and that the
word ofthe Lord in thy mouth is true." So like
wise Naaman was convinced by the miraculous cure
which the prophet Elisha wrought on him : (2 Kings
v. 15.) " Behold ! now I know that there is no God
in aU the earth but in Israel,"

227
And so likewise the divinity of our Saviour and
his doctrine is resolved into the evidence of his mi
racles. This is the evidence Christ gives of himself,
when John sent his disciples to inquire whether he
was the Messias ; (Matt. xi. 2.) " Now when John
had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent
two of his disciples, and said unto him, Art thou
he that should come, or do we look for another?
Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew
John again those things which ye do hear and see.
The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk,
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
preached unto them. And blessed is he whosoever
shall not be offended in me." So John v. 36. " But
I have greater witness than that of John : for the
works which the Father hath given me to finish,
the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that
the Father hath sent me." (Chap. x. 25.) " Jesus
answered them, I fold you, and ye believed it not :
the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear
witness of me." (Ver. 37, 38.) " If I do not the works
of my Father, believe me not; but if I do, though
ye believe not me, believe the works ; that ye may
know and believe that the Father is in me, and I
in him." (Chap. xiv. 11.) "Believe me that I am
in the Father and the Father in me : or else believe
me for the very works' sake." (Chap, xx, 30, 31.)
" And many other signs truly did Jesus in the pre
sence of his disciples, which are not written in this
book. But these are written, that ye might ber
lieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, aud
that, believing, ye might have life through his name."
And from hence our Saviour aggravates the unbe
lief, and the impenitency of the Jews, because they

228
resisted this highest evidence : (Matt. xi. 20 — 24 .)
" Then began he to upbraid the cities whereiu most
of his mighty works were done, because they re
pented not : Woe unto thee, Chorazin ; woe unto thee,
Bethsaida : for if the mighty works which were
done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and
ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tole
rable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment
than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art
exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell.
For if the mighty works which have been done in
thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have re
mained until this day. But I say unto you, That
it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in
the day of judgment than for thee." (John xv. 24.)
" If I had not done among them the works which
none other man did, they had not had sin : but
now have they both seen and hated both me and
my Father." And so the apostle tells us, that mi
racles are the great confirmation of the gospel, and
are so clear an evidence of the truth of it, that they
render all unbelievers inexcusable : (Heb. ii. 2, 3.)
" For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received
a just recompense of reward ; how shall we escape,
if we neglect so great salvation, which at first began
to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto
us by them that heard him?"
In particular, the great weight of the gospel is
laid upon the miracle of Christ's resurrection from
the dead, which our Saviour mentions as the " only
sign that should be given to that generation," that is,
the clearest. And the apostle (Rom. i. 4.) saith,
that " he was declared to be the Son of God, with

229
power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead." This puts it out of all
question. And St. Paul, in his sermon to the
Athenians, (Acts xvii. 30, 31.) insists upon this as
the great evidence ; " And the times of this igno
rance God winked at ; but now^ commandeth all
men every where to repent : because he hath ap
pointed a day in which he will judge the world in
righteousness, by that'man whom he hath ordained,
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in
that he hath raised him from the dead." And this
was the proper work ofthe apostles, to be witnesses
to the world of this great miracle : (Acts i. 21, 22.)
" Wherefore, of these men which have companied
with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and
out among us, beginning from the baptism of John,
unto that same day that he was taken up from us,
must one be ordained to be a witness with us of
his resurrection." So St. Peter, in his sermon,
(Acts ii. 32.) " Him hath God raised up, whereof
we are all witnesses." And to mention no more,
(Acts x. 38—41.) " God anointed Jesus of Nazareth
with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went
about doing good, and healing all that were opr
pressed of the devil : for God was with him. And
we are witnesses of all things which he did, both in
the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem ; whom
they slew and hanged on a tree : him God raised up
the third day, and shewed him openly ; not to all
the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God,
even to us who did eat aud drink with him after he
rose from the dead."
2. What assurance of miracles is sufficient to
persuade men to believe the revelation or testimony,
for the confirmation of which they are wrought.

230
Of this assurance there are three degrees, all which
do oblige men to believe the Divide revelation for
which tbey are wrought. ,
(1.) If we have the evidence of Onr own senses
for it, that is, if we see them wrought. This evidence
ifce disciples of our Lord had, and the Jews, and
therefore their unbelief was inexcus'able ; and the
blaspheming tbe Spirit whereby they saw sttch
miracles to be wrought, was the sin against the
Holy Ghost.
(2.) If we have the credible report of eye-Wit-
nesses of those miracles, who are credible persons,
and we have ho reason to doubt of their testimony ;
that is, if we have the report of them immediately
from the month of those who were eye-witnesses of
them. That this lays likewise an obligation on
men to believe/ appears by our Saviour's reproof of
Thomas, who would not believe except he himself
saw : but most expressly from that text, (Mark
xvi. 14.) " He upbraided them with their unbelief
and hardness of heart, because they believed Hot
them which had seen him after he Was risen."
(3.) If the credible report of eye-witnesses eoi*-
cerning such miracles be conveyed to us in such a
manner, and with so much evidence, as we have no
reason to doubt of it. For why should we not
believe a credible report conveyed to us in such a
manner, as we have no reason to question, but that
it hath been faithfully conveyed and transmitted to
us ? St. John thought this to be assurance suffi
cient to induce belief: (John xx. 31.) " But these
things were written that ye might believe," &c. And
this is that assurance which we, who live at this
distance from the age of Christ and his apostles,
have of the miracles wrought in confirmation of the

231
gospel. 1 shall have occasion to enlarge upon these
heads hereafter.
3. What assurance miracles give us, that the
Scriptures are a Divine revelation. And this conr
tains four distinct questions in it.
(1.) What assurance we have from hence, that the
doctrine contained in the Scripture is from God ?
To which the answer is easy ; because these miracles
were wrought for the co>nfirmation of this doctrine.
(2.) The question is, What assurance the nasiiFacles
give us, that those persons who are said to* be> the
penmen of the several books of Scripture, were
really so? To this I answer: None at all: fori do
not know of any miracle that was wrought to prove
Moses wrote the Pentateuch,, or that St. Matthew
wrote tbe Gospel which goes under his name. But
if the question be, How then am I assured of this?
I answer, by credible and uncontrolled report. It
bears; his name ; and hath always been received for
his :¦ and if this will not satisfy, I cannot prove it
farther ; itis too late now to prove it by any other
argument. St. Matthew is dead, and those who
saw him write it, and those who- received it from
them ; so that we cannot go to inquire of them in
order to our satisfaction : but the best of it is, that
as it cannot now be proved at this distance other
wise than by constant and uncontrolled report ; so
no man at this distance can have any reason to
doubt of it ; and so long as no man can have reason
to doubt of it, there can be no need of proving it;
especially considering, that it is by no means, neces
sary to salvation, to believe that St. Matthew wrote
the history of the gospel; but only to believe what
he- wrote.
(3.) The question is, Whatassurancemiraclessgive,

232
that those persons who are said to be the penmen
of the books of Scripture were divinely inspired ?
The miracles (under which I comprehend the pre
diction of future events) which Moses and the
prophets and the apostles wrought, were testimonies
from heaven, that they were Divine persons, and
that what they said was to be credited, and conse
quently if they gave out themselves for such, that
they were such. That the penmen of the New
Testament were persons endued with a miraculous
power, is plain, because they were most of them
apostles: and for the rest we have no reason to
doubt of it; those extraordinary gifts being so
common in the primitive times : however, so long as
there is nothing in the rest, that is dissonant from,
or contrary to, what those wrote, of whose inspi
rations we are assured, and these their writings have
always been received in the church as of Divine
inspiration, which we may well presume was not
rashly done, and without grounds, we have no
reason to doubt as to them: or if they were, so
longas they contain nothing that is contrary to those
who were unquestionably inspired, the matter is of
no dangerous consequence. And as for the pen
men ofthe Old Testament, we are assured that they
were all inspired, by one in the New Testament,
that was unquestionably so; St. Paul, who tells
us, " That all Scripture is of Divine inspiration,"
meaning the books ofthe Old Testament which were
called by that name, kut kZoynv, or by way of emi-
nency. But if any one inquire farther, how far the pen
men of Scripture were inspired in the writing of
those books? whether only so far as to be secured
from mistake in the delivery of any message or

233
doctrine from God, or in the relation of any history,
or matter of fact ; yet so, as they were left every
man to his own style and manner of expression ? or
that every thing they wrote was immediately dictated
to them, and that not only the sense of it, but the
very words and phrases by which they express
things, and that they were merely instruments or
penmen — J shall not take upon me to determine ; I
shall only say this in general, that considering the
end of this inspiration, which was to inform the
world certainly of the mind and will of God, it is
necessary for every man to believe that the inspired
penmen of Scripture were so far assisted as was
necessary to this end : and he that thinks upon good
grounds that this end cannot be secured, unless
every word and syllable were immediately dictated,
he hath reason to believe it was so ; but if any man
vupon good grounds thinks the end of writing the
Scripture may be sufficiently secured without that,
he hath no reason to conclude, that God, who is not
wanting in what is necessary, is guilty of doing what
is superfluous. And if any man is of opinion, that
Moses might write the history of those actions
which he himself did or was present at, without an
immediate revelation of them ; or that Solomon by
his natural and acquired wisdom might Speak those
wise sayings which are in his Proverbs ; or the evan
gelists might write what they heard and saw, or
what they had goqd assurance of from others, as St.
Luke tells he did ; or that St. Paul might write for
his cloak and parchments at Troas, and salute by
name his friends and brethren, or that he might
advise Timothy to drink a little wine, &c. without
the immediate dictate of the Spirit of God — he seems
to have reason on his side. For that men may,
vol. ix. R

234
without an immediate revelation, write those things
which they think without a revelation, seems very
plain. And that they did so,"there is this probable
argument for it, because we find that the evangelists
in relating the discourses of Christ, are very far
from agreeing in the particular expressions and
words, though they do agree in the substance of the
discourses: but if the words had been dictated by
the Spirit of God, they must have agreed in them.
For when St. Luke differs from St. Matthew, in re
lating what our Saviour said, it is impossible that
they should both relate it right as to the very words
and form of expression; but they both relate the
substance of what he said. And if it had been of
concernment, that every thing that they wrote
should be dictated ad apicem, to a tittle, by the
Spirit of God, it is of the same concernment still,
that the providence of God should have secured the
Scriptures since to a tittle from the least alteration:
which, that it is not done, appears by the various
readings both of the Old and New Testament, con
cerning which, no man can infallibly say, that this
is right, and not the other. It seems sufficient in
this matter to assert, that the Spirit of God did re
veal to the penmen ofthe Scriptures what was ne
cessary to be revealed: and as to all other things,
that he did superintend them in the writing of it, so
far as to secure them from any material error or mis
take in what they have delivered., Or,
4. If the question be, What assurance we have
from miracles, that all those books which we re
ceive are canonical? To this I answer, I do not
know of any miracle that was ever written on pur
pose to confirm the canon of the Scriptures : but as
for the books ofthe Old Testament, we have suffi-

235
cient assurance, that those which we now receive,
are those which the Jews received for such in our
Saviour's time; and he doth not any where find
fault with any of them as not canonical, which we
have no reason to doubt but he would have done, if
any one of them had been otherwise. And that
these are the same the Jews then received, appears
sufficiently, because both Jews and Christians to
this day agree in them. And as for the books of the
New Testament, we are sufficiently assured, that
these and no other are the books which the ancient
church received for canonical and of Divine autho
rity, and though some of them were for a time con
troverted, yet upon farther inquiry and examination
they were received.
V. Whether this faith concerning a Divine reve
lation made to others, do admit of degrees? That it
doth, is evident from these expressions which the
Scripture useth, of " increasing faith," of " growing
in it," of " a weak and strong faith," all which plainly
supposeth degrees. And that these degrees of faith
which the Scripture speaks of, are to be understood
of a higher and lower degree of assurance concern
ing a Divine revelation as such, and concerning the
things revealed, I shewed before. For all the doubts
which the disciples had concerning what our Sa
viour taught, did resolve itself into this — whether he
was the Messias, and sent by God to teach those
things; which, had they been fully satisfied of,
they could have made no doubt of any thing that
he taught.
And here it will be proper to inquire, what is the
highest degree of assurance which we can have con
cerning a Divine revelation made to another, that it
is such; whether it be an infallible assurance, or
R 2

236
only an undoubted certainty. The difference be
tween them is this: an infallible assurance is such
as excludes all possibility of error and mistake ; an
undoubted certainty doth not exclude all possibility
of mistake, but only all just and reasonable cause
why a prudent and considerate man should doubt.
And the reason why I make this inquiry, is, in
order to be satisfied of a clear and firm way for the
resolution of our faith, against the papists, who say
it is impossible for us to give any satisfactory ac
count of our faith, because we do finally resolve it
into fallible grounds, and consequently our faith
must be fallible, and consequently cannot be Di
vine, because all Divine faith is infallible; for, say
they, when we inquire why you believe the doc
trines of Christian religion; you say, upon Divine
authority, or the revelation of God in Scripture.
This is granted to be an infallible ground, if we can
be infallibly assured that the Scriptures are a Di
vine revelation ; therefore they inquire in the se
cond place, Why do you believe the Scriptures to
be a Divine revelation? We say, because the persons
who delivered the doctrines contained in them, had
the greatest attestation from God, that they were
employed by him, to reveal and make known his
mind ; and this attestation was miracles. But then
they ask, What assurance have you that such mira
cles were wrought? Have you an infallible assur
ance, or not? If not, then it cannot be a sufficient
ground for a Divine faith, which is always infalli
ble. In opposition therefore to them, I shall not
now attempt to shew the insufficiency of their way
of resolving faith; but vindicate ours as sufficient,
by laying down and proving, if I can, these propo
sitions : —

237
1. That infallibility is not essential to Divine
faith, and necessarily included in the notion of it:
which I prove thus. Divine faith admits of degrees,
as I have shewed before : but there can be no degree
of infallibility. Infallibility is an impossibility of
being deceived ; but there are no degrees of im
possibility, one thing is not more impossible than
another: but all things that are impossible, are
equally so.
2. That the assurance which we have of the mi
racles wrought for the confirmation of the gospel, is
not an infallible assurance. I shewed before, that
there are three ways whereby we may be assured of
matter of fact, such as the working of miracles is.
First, By our own senses.
Secondly, By the report of credible witnesses.
Thirdly, By credible history. But none of these
ways give us infallible assurance. That it is pos
sible our senses may deceive us, I think nobody
will deny ; and if so, then the testimony of witnesses,
and the report of history, which likewise depends
originally upon our senses, may deceive us. I do
not know a fourth way whereby we may be assured
of matter of fact.
3. That an undoubted assurance of a Divine reve
lation, that it is such, is as much as in reason can
be expected. I deny not, but that a Divine revela
tion is an infallible ground of faith ; because what
ever God says is infallibly true, and a faith built
upon a Divine revelation would be infallible, if we
could be infallibly assured that it is a Divine reve
lation ; but that we cannot be without another Di
vine revelation to assure us infallibly that this is
oue, and that other would require, a third, and so
without end; which being absurd and unreasonable,

238
it remains that an infallible assurance of a Divine
revelation is impossible; and consequently, that we
can have no more than an undoubted assurance;
and this is as much as in reason we can expect to
have; for it is unreasonable to expect that we
should have any greater assurance that such a reve
lation is from God, than we have that there is a
God, because that there is a God, is the first and
most fundamental principle in religion, and it is uiit
reasonable to expect greater assurance of any thing
in religion, than we have of that which is the first
principle of it. And indeed it is impossible; for no
man can be infallibly assured, that a revelation is
from God, unless he be first infallibly assured, that
there is a God, but no man hath more than un
doubted assurance that there is a God. No man
pretends to a Divine revelation that there is a God ;
but only to have rational satisfaction of it, such as
leaves no just or reasonable cause to doubt of it.
And why then should any desire greater assurance
of a Divine revelation, than he hath of a God?
4. An undoubted assurauce is sufficient to con
stitute a Divine faith. Mark xvi. 14, it is said,
Christ upbraided his disciples with their unbelief;
because they believed not on them, who had seen him
after he was risen. Suppose now the disciples had
believed, which they ought to have done, this faith
of theirs would have been a truly Divine faith; but
by no means infallible. For that cannot be an infal
lible faith which is built but upon fallible grounds :
now the ground upon which they ought to have be
lieved, was the report of credible witnesses; but the
report of credible witnesses is by no means infallible:
it is indeed undoubted, for I have no reason to
doubt of a credible report; for that is credible which

239
I have just cause to believe; but I can have no just
cause to doubt of that which I have just cause to
believe. As an undoubted assurance is sufficient to consti
tute a Divine faith, so it is sufficient to all the ends
and purposes of a Divine faith. To instance in the
faith of the promises of eternal life. What is the
end and design of this faith, but to encourage our
obedience, and make us continue in it, notwithstand
ing the hazard of any thing in this world ? Now I
say, an undoubted assurance is abundantly suffi
cient to this end. Do not men venture their estates
in traffic to places they never saw, because they
have it from credible persons, that there are such
places, and they have no reason to doubt their tes
timony : and why should not the same assurance
serve in greater matters ; if an undoubted assurance
of a lesser benefit and advantage will make men
venture as much ? Why should any man desire
greater assurance of any thing than to have no just
reason to doubt of it; why more than so much as
the thing is capable of? I cannot possibly under
stand why every man should not be contented with
sufficient assurance, or for what reason a man should
desire more than enough ; and why a man should
not be satisfied that a thing is so, when he hath as
great assurance of it, and as good evidence for it, as
he could have, supposing it were.
And for men to say, Nothing less than infallible
assurance can satisfy a man's mind, that men will
always doubt so long as there is a possibility of the
contrary ; and there will be a possibility of the con
trary, until we have infallible assurance, is as un
reasonable as can be imagined. I ask any man
whether he be infallibly assured that there was such

240
a man as William the Conqueror ? or that there is
such a country as Spain ? If he say he is, I ask
where is his infallible evidence for this ? He will
cite several historians; but all this is human testi
mony, and that is fallible. It seems then he is not
infallibly certain there was such a man, or there is
such a country ; and consequently there is a possi
bility of the contrary. It is granted there is : but is
any sober man unsatisfied in his mind about these
things ? I would fain meet with the man that will tell
me in good earnest, that he hath reason to doubt,
whether there was such a man or not; and whether
there be such a place as Spain or not? So that it is
fond for any man to allege a bare possibility of the
contrary, as a reasonable cause of doubting con
cerning any thing, for which we have as good evi
dence as the thing is capable of.
Upon these grounds we can easily resolve our
faith. We believe the doctrine of Christian religion,
because it is revealed by God ; we believe it to be
revealed by God, because it was confirmed by un
questionable miracles: we believe such miracles
were wrought, because we have as great assurance
of this, as any matter of fact, at such a distance
from the time it was done, is capable of. Now if the
papists say, this doth at last amount to no more than
moral assurance ; I grant it doth not : but then I
have proved this assurance to be as much as in rea
son can be expected, and as much as is sufficient to
the nature and ends of a Divine faith, and that an
infallible assurance is not agreeable to a human un
derstanding ; but an incommunicable attribute and
prerogative of the Divine nature, which whoever
pretends to, he hath not the modesty of a creature,
but doth by a sacrilegious ambition attempt the

241
throne of God, and equal himself to the Most High.
And, therefore, it is no wonder that the popes of
Rome, after they had once assumed to themselves to
be infallible, did presently arrogate to themselves
the titles of God, there being such strict connexion
between the attribute of infallibility, and the Divine
nature, that whoever challengeth the first, may with
equal reason claim the other.
I shall only add this: that nothing hath been more
pernicious to Christian religion, than the vain pre
tences of men to greater assurance concerning things
relating to it, than they can make good ; the mis
chief of which is this — that when discerning and in
quisitive men find that men pretend to greater mat
ters than they can prove, this makes them doubt
of all they say, and to call in question the truth of
Christianity itself. Whereas if men would be con
tented to speak justly of things, and pretend to no
greater assurance than they can bring evidence for,
considerate men would be apt to believe them. Every
knowing man being more ready to listen to a modest
man, whose confidence bears a proportion to the
reason and arguments he brings for what he says,
than to a confident pretender, who calls every weak
saying a demonstration. And, indeed, such men
are but justly dealt withal, since the experience of
the world hath sufficiently taught us, that usually
those who speak modestly of things, are furnished
with the best arguments for their assertions ; and
that those who have made the strongest pretences to
infallibility in any thing, have the weakest reasons
for what they have said ; of which this account may
be given, that good reasons and arguments are re
quisite to beget in men a rational assurance; but

242
a strong conceit is sufficient to beget in men an
opinion of infallibility.
VI. What is the proper and genuine effect of this
faith of a Divine revelation ? I answer, A compli
ance with the design and intention of it.
VII. In what respect this may be called a Divine
faith? To this I answer, Not only in respect of the
object of it, and the argument whereby it is wrought,
and the effect of it : but, likewise, in respect ofthe
author and efficient of it, which is the Diviue Spirit.
And here, if time would permit, I should speak of
the testimony of the Spirit; not as an argument
whereby a persuasion of a Divine revelation, , viz.
that the Scriptures are the word of God, is wrought j
but, also, as he is the author and efficient cause of
it. I do most readily grant the great influence that
the Spirit of God hath upon the minds of men in
this work of faith, as well as in every spiritual act :
but it is to be inquired, how the Spirit of God may
be said to work this faith in us ; whether by strength
ening the faculty, or by holding the mind intent
upon the argument, whereby this persuasion is
wrought ; or discovering the object, or removing the
impediments, or furthering and helping forward the
efficacy of it upon our hearts and lives. But of this,
God willing, in my next discourse.

SERMON CCXXII.
OF THE TESTIMONY OF THE SPIRIT, TO THE TRUTH
OF THE GOSPEL.
But without faith it is impossible to please God. —
Heb. xi. 6.
In discoursing of the faith or persuasion of a Divine
revelation, I came to inquire, in what respects this
may be called a Divine faith. -To which my answer
was, that it is a Divine faith, not only with respect
to the object of it, and the argument whereby it is
wrought, and the effect of it ; but likewise in re
spect of the author and efficient of it, which is the
Divine Spirit. I proceed, therefore, to consider the
testimony of the Divine Spirit, not only as an argu
ment whereby a persuasion of a Divine revelation,
viz. that the Scriptures are the word of God, is
wrought; but also, as he is the author and efficient
cause of it. The Scripture doth, in a peculiar
manner, ascribe the belief of a Divine revelation,
especially of the revelation of the gospel, to the
Spirit of God. In this sense the Scripture saith,
that " no man can say that Jesus is the Christ, but
by the Spirit of God." And though every good per
suasion that we have, be, in some sort or other, to be
ascribed to God, yet 1 observe it to be the phrase of
the New Testament, to attribute the belief of the
gospel, in a more peculiar manner, to the Spirit of
God. When any man believes the principles of
natural religion, that there is a God, that the soul
is immortal, and that there are rewards after this

244
life, as the heathens did; even this is from God, who
hath planted these principles in our nature ; or,
which comes to all one, hath given us such facul
ties, by the use and improvement of which, we may
come to the knowledge of these principles : but it
is not usual, in the phrase of Scripture, to attribute
this natural knowledge, in such a peculiar manner,
to the Spirit of God.
When any man believes the matters of Divine re
velation (for instance, the doctrines contained in the
gospel), this faith is to be attributed to the Spirit of
God ; but not as immediately persuading us of the
truth of these doctrines, but by persuading us, that
the gospel, which contains these truths, is a Divine
revelation ; or, which is all one, that the Lord Jesus
Christ, who delivered these doctrines to the world,
was a Divine person, and came from God : and if
we once firmly believe and entertain this, that Jesus
was the Messias, and sent from God to acquaint
the world with his mind and will, we can make no
doubt of the truth of any thing which he hath de
livered. So that the faith which the Scripture doth
in a peculiar manner attribute to the Spirit of God,
is this persuasion, "that Jesus is the Christ;" that
is, that he was the true Messias, and sent from God.
So that the question is — how the Spirit of God
doth concur to the begetting of this faith or persua
sion? Or, why this faith is in such a peculiar man
ner attributed to the Spirit of God?
I answer, Upon these two accounts :
First, In respect of the outward evidence which
the Spirit of God gives us to persuade us to believe.
Secondly, In respect of the inward efficacy and
operation of the Spirit of God upon the minds of
men in believing.

245
First, In respect of the outward evidence which
the Spirit of God gives us to persuade us to believe.
And if this be not that which divines mean by the
testimony of the Spirit in this matter, yet I think it
is that which may most properly be so called. Now
the Spirit of God did outwardly testify concerning
Jesus, that he was the Messias, and came from God ;
and that the doctrine which he taught was Divine.
1. In the voice from heaven, which accompanied
the descending of the Spirit upon him, in the form
of a dove, saying, " This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased," (Matt. iii. 17.)
2. In those miracles which Christ himself wrought
by the Spirit of God ; which were so eminent a
testimony of the Spirit of God, that the resisting of
the evidence of those miracles, and the attributing
of them to the devil, is by our Saviour called a
blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, and such a sin
as shall never be pardoned : because miracles being
the highest attestation that can be given to the divi
nity of any person or his doctrine, whoever resists
this evidence, resists his last remedy ; and such a
person must needs remain in his infidelity, because
there is nothing more that can be done for his con
viction. 3. The third eminent testimony which the Holy
Spirit gave to Christ, was in the great miracle of
his resurrection from the dead ; and hence it is
that the great miracle of Christ's resurrection, which
was the highest attestation to the divinity of his
person, and the grand confirmation to his doctrine,
is frequently in Scripture, in a most peculiar man
ner, ascribed to the Spirit of God. (Rom. i. 4.)
" And was declared to be the Son of God with
power, according to the Spirit of holiness ;" that is,

246
by those miracles which he wrought by the Holy
Ghost, and by his resurrection from the dead. And
so, (Rom. viii. 11.) "The Spirit of him that raised
up Christ from the dead." (1 Pet. iii. 18.) " Being
put to death in the flesh ; but quickened by the
Spirit." 4. In the effusion ofthe Spirit upon the apostles,
who were to preach Christ and his doctrine to the
world ; and that it might carry its evidence along
with it. God poured forth his Spirit upon those
who were to be the publishers of it ; by which Spirit
they were endued with several miraculous powers
and gifts, to convince the world of the truth of the
doctrine which they preached. And with relation
to this, I think, it is that the apostle saith, (1 Cor.
ii. 4, 5.) " And my speech, and my preaching, was
not with enticing words of man's wisdom : but in
demonstration of the Spirit, and of power : that your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in
the power of God ;" that is, they did not use human
eloquence to persuade men, but delivered the gos
pel with all plainness : and that which made those
plain discourses so powerful, were those powerful
demonstrations ofthe Divine Spirit, which appeared
in those miraculous gifts wherewith they were en
dowed. I am sure Origen understands this text so.
And so likewise the apostle (1 Thess. i. 5.) speaks
to the same purpose, that "the gospel came not
unto you in word only: but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance;" thatis,
they did not only speak words to men, but the
doctrine which they preached was attested in a
powerful manner by the Holy Ghost, in those ex
traordinary gifts, which were bestowed upon them,
which was a great evidence to their hearers, and

247
gave them great assurance of the truth of what they
delivered. I think this is the meaning of those two
places, but I will mention two others which are
more unquestionable: (Acts v. 32.) where Peter
and the rest of the apostles tell the high priests and
their officers, what evidence they had for what they
preached concerning the resurrection and ascension
of Christ. " We are his witnesses of these things;
and so is also the Holy Ghost whom God hath given
to them that obey him." Not only they themselves
had seen what they preached ; but, to confirm their
testimony, the Holy Ghost was poured forth upon
them in miraculous gifts. And, (Heb. ii. 3, 4.) " How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord,
and was confirmed unto us by them that heard
him ; God also bearing them witness, both with
signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and
gifts ofthe Holy Ghost, according to his own will?"
So the Holy Ghost gave testimony to the truth of
the doctrine which the apostles preached, by those
gifts which he endowed them withal, and those mi
racles which he enabled them to work.
And I doubt not but with relation to the testi
mony which the Spirit of God gave to Christ by the
miracles he wrought by Christ and his apostles ; I
say, I doubt not, but that with relation to his testi
mony it is, that the apostle saith, he was "justified
in the Spirit :" (1 Tim. iii. 16.) " Great is the mystery
of. godliness : God was manifested in the flesh, jus
tified in the Spirit." That is, the miraculous power
of the Spirit which appeared in him, and did ac
company his doctrine, did justify him to the world,
and vindicate him from being an impostor and de
ceiver.

248
From all which it appears, that the testimony
which the Holy Spirit gives to Christ and his doc
trine, was the miracles which he and his apostles
wrought by the Spirit of God : and if we will take
our forms of speaking from Scripture, this is that
which may most properly be called the testimony
of the Spirit to the truth of the gospel. But I deny
not, but, besides this outward evidence, which the
Spirit of God gives to the truth of the gospel, with
respect to which the faith of the gospel is in a pecu
liar manner attributed to the Spirit of God, there
is likewise an inward efficacy and operation of the
Spirit of God upon the minds of men. Therefore,
Secondly, Faith is in a peculiar manner attributed
to the Spirit of God, in respect ofthe inward efficacy
and operation of the Divine Spirit upon the hearts
and minds of those who sincerely and effectually be
lieve and entertain the gospel ; I say, who sincerely
and effectually believe and entertain the gospel ; that
is, who so believe and entertain the gospel, as to obey
it, and comply with it in their hearts and lives. For
I doubt not but that there is so much evidence for
the truth and Divine authority of the gospel, as is
in itself sufficient, without any peculiar operation of
the Spirit of God, to silence all opposers, and to
convince them so far as that they cannot have any
sufficient reason to disbelieve it: but withal, I do
not think that this faith doth become an abiding
and effectual persuasion in any person, without the
special operation of the Holy Ghost. Now that the
Spirit of God can work this effectual persuasion
in the mind of man, cannot be doubted, by any man
who considers the vast power and influence which
the Spirit of God, who made our souls, and knows
the frame of them, can have upon the mind of man:

249
all the difficulty is about the manner of it; how
this faith is wrought in us by the Spirit of God.
Now although it were sufficient for us to know the
thing, though we were ignorant of the manner how
it is done, and we might very well rest satisfied in
this; that the Spirit of God works this faith in us,
though we did not know how he does it; yet, be
cause many have taken upon them to state and de
termine the particular manner how it is done, it
will be requisite, in order to the rectifying some
mistakes about it, to inquire more particularly into
this matter.
Now all the ways that have been assigned, or
which, I think, we can easily imagine, may be re
duced to one of these six heads. When we say the
Spirit of God works faith in us, we must conceive
it to be done some or all of these ways:
1. By strengthening the faculty, that is, raising
and enabling our understanding to yield assent to
the gospel. Or,
2. By enlightening and discovering the object,
that is, the conclusion to be believed. Or,
3. By propounding to us the arguments, or evi
dence, whereby wre may be persuaded of it. Or,
4. By holding our minds intent upon this evidence,
till it have wrought its effect upon us. Or,
5. By removing the impediments which hinder
our assent. Or,
6. By furthering and helping forward the efficacy
of this persuasion upon our hearts and lives. That
the Spirit can work faith in us, any, or all of these
ways, so far as they are consistent with one another,
I make not the least doubt. For what man, who
believes the infinite power of the Divine Spirit, can
make the least question, whether it can raise and
VOL. ix. s

250
heighten our faculties above their natural and ordi
nary pitch ? or, whether it can discover an object to
us, with the greatest clearness and satisfaction? or,
Whether it can offer to our minds the best argu
ments, and the highest evidence, that a thing is
capable of? or, whether it can hold our minds
intent upon the consideration of any thing ? or,
whether it can remove all hinderances and impedi
ments? or, whether it can make the persuasion of
any truth effectual ? No man, in reason, can doubt of
the possibility of these. But the question is, what
reason we have to assert this or that particular
manner? and, what necessity and convenience
there are from experience, or evidence of Scripture,
so to do ?
First of all, there seems no necessity of asserting
the first ; though I will not contend with any man
that shall. For if this be true, that our under
standings are naturally endowed with a sufficient
power to assent to any truth that is sufficiently pro
pounded to them ; then there can be no necessity to
assert, that the Spirit of God doth, in the work of
faith, raise and elevate our understandings above
their natural pitch. But I think it may easily be
proved, that our understandings are naturally en
dowed with a sufficient power to assent to any
truth that is sufficiently propounded to them ; and
that in such a case nothing hinders the assent of
men, but their own perverseness and obstinacy,
which usually proceeds from opposition of their
lusts, or passions, or interest, to the truth which is
propounded to them. For if men's understandings
be not naturally endowed with a sufficient power
to yield assent to the gospel, when it is sufficiently
propounded to them, how can it be men's duty to

251
believe it? or, what justice can condemn them for
unbelief? But though there be no necessity of as
serting, that God doth always strengthen and ele
vate the understandings of those who believe ; yet
there is no reason to deny but that God may
do this when he pleaseth, and possibly he often
doth it.
God is said, in Scripture, to " enlighten the eyes
of our understandings," which we may, if we please,
understand in this sense; although that may be
done by propounding such truths to us as we were
ignorant of before, and could not have discovered,
unless they had been revealed.
Secondly, The second way whereby the Spirit
of God may be conceived to work faith in us, is by
enlightening and discovering the object, or thing to
be believed. In the case we are speaking of, the
Object or thing to be believed, is the gospel : now
we may imagine the Spirit of God may work a faith
or persuasion of this in us, by revealing or discover
ing to us this proposition, that the gospel is true.
But this I need not speak much to, because I do
not know any that pretend to have a particular and
immediate revelation from God, that the gospel is
true. So that though God may do this when he
pleaseth, yet I do not know any who assert this to
be the way whereby faith is wrought in men.
Thirdly, The Spirit of God may be conceived to
work faith in us, by propounding and offering to us
such arguments and evidence, as are apt to per
suade us of the truth of the gospel. And this, the
Spirit of God, which inspired the writers of the
Scripture, doth mediately by the Scriptures, and
those characters of divinity, which are in the doc
trines contained in them; and by those miracles,
s 2

252
t
which are there credibly related to be wrought by
the Spirit of God, for the confirmation of that doc
trine. And besides this, the Spirit of God may,
when he pleaseth, and probably often doth, imme
diately suggest those arguments to our minds, and
bring them to our remembrance.
Fourthly, The Spirit of God may be conceived
to work faith in us, by holding our minds intent
upon this evidence, till it hath wrought its effect
upon us. And this, I do not doubt, but the Spirit
of God, out of his abundant grace and goodness to
men, often doth; and I believe many men have
found their minds kept intent upon such considera
tions, as have mightily prevailed upon them, and
been effectual to persuade them to entertain and
obey the gospel; and must acknowledge that their
minds were awakened by such considerations, and
made attentive to them, beyond their own inclina
tions to think upon such things; and in such a
strange and unaccountable manner, as they cannot
in reason but attribute to some superior influence,
viz. to the Holy Spirit of God.
Fifthly, By removing the impediments which
hinder our effectual assent to the gospel. And in
this and the last particular, I conceive the work of
the Spirit of God in the producing of faith, princi
pally to consist: I say, in these principally, not
absolutely excluding the former. The great impe
diment to the belief and entertainment of the gos
pel, is the prejudice which the minds of men are
apt to conceive against it, either upon account of
their education in a contrary religion, or upon
account of their lusts, or some worldly interest to
which the gospel is opposite. Now these are as so
many bars upon the understandings of men, to keep

253
out the truth from entering into them. The preju
dice of a contrary education, is a monstrous obsta
cle to religion. When men have believed otherwise
from their youth, and have had contrary principles
implanted in them in their tender years, and have
all their lives been possessed with contrary appre
hensions of things ; the clearest truths that can be
offered to them, come upon infinite disadvantage;
their understandings are tinctured, and put false
colours upon every thing that is represented to
them. And this was the case of the Jews, when
the Messias came : they were possessed with pre
judices against his mean appearance, and had fa
shioned to themselves another kind of Messias, that
should be a glorious temporal prince ; and had
been brought up in this apprehension ; and this
made them so invincibly obstinate against the recep
tion of him; though the whole nation, when he
came, were in expectation of him. And this was
also the case of the gentiles, when the gospel was
first preached to them ; they had been educated in
a contrary religion, and were possessed with quite
other apprehensions, which mad§ the passage of
the gospel infinitely difficult. And I doubt not
but that in the first publishing of the gospel, the
Spirit did remarkably work upon the minds of
men, for the removing of these prejudices, and
thereby making way for the entertainment of the
gospel. And though this prejudice be not now
upon us in these parts of the world, who are brought
up in the Christian religion; yet the lusts and inte
rests of men are now great obstacles to the effectual
entertainment of the gospel ; and the Spirit of God
doth many times eminently appear in the restrain
ing and conquering the lusts of men, and removing

254
those other prejudices which hinder them from em*
bracing the truth.
Sixthly, The last way whereby the Spirit of
God may be said to work in us an effectual belief
of the gospel, is by furthering and helping forward
the efficacy of this persuasion upon our hearts and
lives, in the first work of conversion and regenera
tion, and in the progressive work of sanctification
afterward, both which the Scripture doth every
where attribute to the Spirit of God, as the author
and efficient cause. The faith which purifies the
heart, and conquers the world, and works by love,
hath this effect from the Spirit of God. Hence we
are said to be " sanctified by the renewing of the
Holy Ghost, and the belief of the truth," and to " be
kept by the mighty power of God through faith
unto salvation."
Thus I have shewn you, as briefly and clearly as
I could, how the Spirit of God doth coucur to the
begetting of this Divine faith and persuasion in us,
and consequently in what respects faith may be
said to be the gift of God. I shall only draw two
or three inferences from this discourse.
I. We may learn from hence to attribute all the
good that is in us, or that we do in any kind, to
God. Every good thing is from God ; so St. James
tells us, that " every good and perfect work comes
down even from the Father of lights." Much more
are we to ascribe to the free grace of God all the
revelation of supernatural truth, which we cannot
possibly come to the knowledge of, unless God of
his free grace and goodness be pleased to discover
it to us, And so likewise are we to ascribe to God,
and the operation of his Holy Spirit upon our
hearts, our belief of those truths, and assent to

255
them. Considering the corruption and degeneracy^
of human nature, and the opposition of the lusts
and prejudices of men to Divine truth, we stand in
need of the grace of God, and the operation of his
Spirit upon our hearts, to bring us to a firm assent
to the gospel ; for as flesh and blood could not re
veal these truths to us, so neither are they very apt
to assent to them when they are revealed.
In the phrase of Scripture, all good is attributed
to God ; and all spiritual good to the Holy Spirit of
God working in us, and assisting us to the doing of
it, As, on the other hand, the Scripture attributes
all those sins that are committed in the world to the
influence of evil spirits. " He that committeth sin
is of the devil." And though we do not know many
times, how the Spirit of God worketh a good incli
nation in us, yet it is safe to follow the phrase of
Scripture, and to ascribe all good to God, as in
some way or other the author of it.
II. This doth not excuse the infidelity of men,
that " faith is the gift of God." For though no man*
doth believe without some influence of the Divine
Spirit upon his heart, yet this does by no means ex
cuse those who believe not ; any more than it is an
excuse to the infidelity of men, that the Scripture
attributes it to the devil, as in some sort the cause
of it. He is said to " blind the eyes of them that
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ should shine unto them." But the unbelief
of men is a fault for all this ; because the devil can
not blind our minds, unless we consent to it: he
can only suggest false principles to us ; but we may
choose whether we will entertain them or not : he
can only tempt us to reject the truth ; but we may
choose whether we will do so or not. In this we

256
are faulty, because we may resist the devil, and
quench or repel those fiery darts which he casts
into our minds ; but if we will consent to his tempt
ations, and suffer ourselves to be blinded by him,
the fault of our unbelief is our own, as well as his ;
and we are guilty of the infidelity which we suffer
him to tempt us to.
So, on the other hand, though "faith" be "the
gift of God ;" yet those that believe not are faulty
upon this account, that they quench and resist the
blessed motions of God's Spirit, and the influence
and operation of the Spirit of God, which accom
pany the truth of the gospel to the minds of men,
and produce their effect wherever they are not op
posed and rejected by the prejudice and perverse-
ness of men.
III. Let us depend upon God for every good gift,
and earnestly beg the assistance and influence of
his Holy Spirit, which is so necessary to us to be
get faith in us, and to preserve and make it effec
tual upon our hearts and lives. Bread is not more
necessary to the support of our natural life, than
the Holy Spirit of God to our spiritual life.
For our encouragement to ask this gift, of God's
Holy Spirit, our Saviour hath told us, that God
is very ready to bestow it upon us. No father
upon earth is more ready to give bread to his chil
dren that cry after him, than God is to give his Spirit
to those that heartily and earnestly beg it of him.
So our Saviour assures us: (Luke xi. 11 — 13.) " If
a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will
he for a fish give him a serpent ? or if he shall ask
an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye. then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your

257
children: how much more shall your heavenly
Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him ?"
And now I have done with the first thing that I
propounded, which was to open the nature of faith
to you in general. I have been the longer upon this,
because I thought it very material and important to
the settling of right apprehensions in us concerning
religion and Divine things; and I have all along
endeavoured to make things as easy and plainas
the nature of the subject would permit. And though
probably many things that I have said, might not be
within the full reach and comprehension of all ca
pacities, yet, because I hoped they might be useful
and beneficial to some at least, I could not think
the other consideration a sufficient reason why I
should wholly omit them, and pass them by ; re
membering what St. Paul says, that "he was a
debtor to the wise," as well as the " unwise." And
St. Peter tells us, that St. Paul in his Epistles wrote
" many things which were hard to be understood"
by some persons ; yet, because those things might
be of use to others, the Spirit of God did not think
fit to omit the writing of them. What remains I
shall reserve to another discourse, with which I
shall conclude this subject.

SERMON CCXXIII.
THE EFFICACY, USEFULNESS, AND REASONABLENESS,
OF DIVINE FAITH.
But without faith it is impossible to please God. — *
Heb. xi. 6. /
In discoursing on these words, I have dispatched
the first thing which I proposed, viz. to give an
account of the notion and nature of faith in general ;
under which I have largely treated of a religious or
Divine faith in particular.
The second thing which I proposed, and to
which I now proceed, is to confirm the truth ofthe
proposition which I laid down from the words ; viz.
that faith is the great principle of religion. I told
you that these words, " Without faith it is impos
sible to please God," do not only imply that faith is
a necessary condition, without which men cannot be
religious : but, likewise, that it is a cause and prin
ciple of religion. Without faith a man cannot be re*-
ligious : and where there is true faith, it will have
this effect upon men — to make them religious.
Therefore I shall distinctly speak to these two
things :
First, That without faith there can be no religion.
Secondly, That where there is a true faith, it will
have this influence upon men, to make them reli
gious. First, That without faith there can be no religion.
And this will appear by inquiring into the nature of

259
all human actions, whether civil or religious : and
this is common to both of them, that they suppose
some kind of faith or persuasion. All human ac
tions have an order and reference to some end, and
consequently suppose some knowledge of the end,
and of the means whereby it may be attained. So
that unless a man do believe and be persuaded that
such a thing is some way or other good for him, and
consequently desirable and fit to be propounded as
an end, and that this end is attainable, and the
means which he useth are probable and likely for
the attaining of this end, he will sit still and do no
thing at all about it. So that, without faith, it is im
possible to do any thing : he that believes nothing
will do nothing.
To instance first in civil actions, in the com
mon affairs and concernments of life ; all these are
done by virtue of some faith or persuasion concern
ing them. For example, husbandry, or merchan
dize; no man will apply himself to these, but upon
some belief or persuasion of the possibility and ne
cessity, or, at least, usefulness aud convenience, of
these to the ends of life. No man would plough or
sow if he did not believe that there were such a
thing as the growing of corn, and that it is neces-*
sary for the support of our lives, and if he were not
persuaded ofthe probability of reaping some fruit
and benefit of his pains and industry. No man
would traffic to Turkey or the Indies, if he did not
believe there were such places, and that they af
forded such commodities, and that he might have
them upon such terms as might recompense the ad
venture of his charge and pains. And so in all
other actions of life.
So it is in Divine and religious things ; nothing

260
is done without faith. No man will worship God,
unless he believe there is a God ; unless he be per
suaded there is such a being, which, by reason
of his excellency and perfection, may challenge our
veneration ; and unless he believe the goodness of
this God, that " he will reward those that diligently
serve him." For all acts of religion being reasona
ble, they suppose at least an object and an end ;
that there is a God to be worshipped, and that it is
" not in vain to serve him. This faith is necessary to
natural religion. And in case God do discover and
reveal his will to men, no mau can obey the will of
God, unless he be persuaded that God hath some
way or other made known his will ; and be per-
' suaded likewise as to the particular instance where
in his obedienCe is required, that this is God's will.
For instance, no man will obey the precepts of the
Bible as* Divine laws and commands, unless he be
persuaded that the doctrine contained in the Holy
Scriptures is a Divine revelation. So likewise no
man can entertain Christ as the Messias and Sa
viour of the world, and yield obedience to his laws,
unless he believes that he was sent of God, and
ordained by him to be a Prince and a Saviour. So
that you see the necessity of faith to religion.
Secondly, I shall shew the influence that a Divine
faith hath upon men to make them religious. A
true Divine faith supposeth a man satisfied and per
suaded of the reasonableness and necessity of being
religious ; that it is reasonable for every man to be
so, and that it is necessary to his interest. Now
there needs no more to be done to put a man upon
any thing, but to satisfy him of these two things —
that the action you persuade him to is reasonable ;
that is, possible and fit to be done; and that it is

261
highly his interest to do it : that is, if he do it, it
will be eminently for his advantage ; if he do not
doit, it will be eminently to his prejudice, and he
is a lost and undone man. If you can once possess
a man, that is in any degree sober and considerate,
with these persyasions, you may make him do any
thing of which he is thus persuaded. Now a true
Divine faith supposeth a man satisfied and persuaded
of all this. *
1. Of the reasonableness of religion. He that A
verily believes there is a God, believes there is a
being that hath all excellency and perfection, thatis
infinitely good, and wise, and just, andv powerful,
that made and preserves all things. Now he that
believes such a being as this, cannot but think it
reasonable that he should be esteemed,, and ho
noured, and adored by all those creatures that are
sensible and apprehensive of these excellences; that,
seeing he is infinitely good, and the fountaitf'of all
being, and all the blessings we enjoy, we should
love so great a benefactor, and thankfully acknow
ledge his goodness to us ; not only by constant praise
of him, but by an universal obedience to his will,
and a cheerful submission to his pleasure. For what
more reasonable than gratitude? that, seeing he is in
finitely wise and powerful, as well as good, we should
trust in him, and depend upon him in all conditions,
and seek to him for what we want ? For what more
reasonable than to place our confidence in him, who
is able and willing to do us good ; and to sue to him
who knows our wants, and is ready to supply them?
And seeing he is truth itself, and hath been pleased
to reveal his will to us ; what can be more reasona
ble than to believe all those discoveries and revela
tions which " God, who cannot lie," hath made to

262
us, and to comply with the intention of them ? And
seeing he is the original pattern of all excellency
and perfection ; what can be more reasonable than
to imitate the perfections ofthe Divine nature, and
to endeavour to be as like God as we can ? And
these are the sum of all religion. So that whoever
firmly believes a God, and that he hath revealed and
made known his will to the world, cannot but be
fully satisfied and persuaded of the reasonableness
and equity of religion, and all those duties which
religion requires of us; and consequently, ofthe pos
sibility of performing all those duties which religion
requires of us, by the assistance of the grace arid
strength which God is ready to afford us, if we beg
it of him. For no man that believes the goodness
of God (which every man does, that believes a
God), can think that he will make it our duty to do
any thing which he hath left us in an utter impossi
bility of doing.
2. A true Divine faith supposeth a man satisfied
and persuaded of the necessity of religion ; that is,
that it is necessary to every man's interest to be re
ligious ; that it will be highly for our advantage to be
so, and eminently to our prejudice to be otherwise;
that if we be so we shall be happy, if we be not we
shall be miserable and undone for ever. And every
man that believes a God, and the revelations which
he hath made, cannot but be fully satisfied of this.
And this will appear upon these two accounts.
1. From the nature and reason of the thing. And,
2. From the promises and threatenings of God's
word. 1. From the nature and reason of the thing. Every
man that believes a God, must believe him to be
the supreme good ; and the greatest happiness to

263
consist in the enjoyment of him ; and a separation
from him to be the greatest misery. Now God is
not to be enjoyed, but in a way of religion. Holi
ness makes us like to God, and likeness will make
us love him ; and love will make us happy in the
enjoyment of him; and without this it is impossible
to be happy. There can be no happiness without
pleasure and delight ; and we cannot take pleasure
in any thing we do not love; and there can be no
love, without a likeness and suitableness of disposi
tion. So long as God is good, and we evil ; so long
as he is pure, and we unholy ; so long as he hates
sin, and we love it ; there can be no happy inter
course, no agreeable communion, and delightful so
ciety, between God and us. So that if we be holy,
happiness will result from this temper : and if we be
wicked, we are necessarily and unavoidably misera
ble. Sin separates between God and us, and hin
ders our happiness ; and it is impossible that a
wicked man should be near God, or enjoy him. God
and a sinner are two such unequal matches, that it
is impossible to bring them together ; " for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness?
or what communion hath light with darkness?"
2. Every man who believes the revelations
which God hath made, cannot but be satisfied, how
much religion is his interest from the promises and
threatenings of God's word. God in his word hath,
in plain and express terms, promised everlasting
glory and happiness to them that obey him ; and
hath threatened wicked men with dreadful and eter
nal punishments ; " to them that, by patient con
tinuance in well-doing, seek for glory, and honour,
and immortality," he hath promised " eternal life :
but to them that obey not the truth, but obey un-

264
righteousness," he hath threatened "indignation and
wrath, tribulation and anguish." Now if we believe
the gospel, which assures us of another life after
this, and a future judgment, which will determine
all men to a state of everlasting happiness or misery,
we cannot but know it to be our interest, by all pos
sible means, to endeavour to attain the happiness
which God hath promised, and to avoid the misery
which he hath threatened. All men naturally de
sire happiness, and dread misery and destruction ;
and these desires and fears are intimate to our na^
tures, and can never be separated from them ; be
cause they flow immediately from those principles
of self-love, and self-preservation, which are deeply
rooted in every man's heart, and are woven into the
very make and frame of his nature, and will last as
long as our beings. And so long as these principles
remain in us, there is no man that is firmly persuaded
ofthe promises and threatenings of the gospel, but
must believe it to be his highest interest to be
religious. Fear and hope are the two passions
which govern us ; hope is as it were the spur that
quickens us to our duty, and fear is the curb that
restrains us from sin ; and the greater the good
hoped for, or the evil that is feared, the greater
power and influence these passions have upon us.
Now there cannot be a greater good, than complete
and everlasting happiness ; nor a greater evil, than
extreme and eternal misery. So that whoever be
lieves the promises and threatenings of the gospel,
hath his hope raised to the expectation ofthe great
est good and happiness, in case of obedience; and
his fears extended to the expectation of the greatest
evil and misery, in case of final impenitence and dis
obedience. And a true Divine faith doth contain in

265
it both this hope and fear: for a faith in the pre
mises of the gospel is nothing else, but the hopes of
eternal life ; and a belief of the threatenings of the
gospel is nothing else, but the fear of hell and eter
nal misery. So that a firm -belief of the promises
and threatenings of the gospel, must needs have as
great influence upon men to make them religious, as
the highest hopes and greatest fears can have ; and
those men that are not moved by the hopes of the
greatest good, nor by the fears of the greatest dan
ger, are not to be wrought upon in human ways, no
thing will prevail with them.
Thus I have shewn you what influence a Divine
faith hath upon religion ; forasmuch as whoever
believes there is a God, and that the Scriptures are
the word of God, is fully satisfied and convinced
how reasonable it is, and how much it is his interest
to be religious. I come in the last place to the ap
plication of this discourse.
First, This shews why there is so little of true reli
gion in the world ; it is for want of faith, without
which it is impossible for men to be religious. Men
are not firmly persuaded that there is a God ; that
there is a Being above them that is omniscient, and
knows every thing that they do, and takes notice of
every word, and thought, and action ; that is so
good and so powerful, as to make those happy that
love and obey him ; and so just aud powerful, as
to make those miserable who hate him and rebel
against him. Men are not persuaded that their
souls are immortal ; and that there is another life
after this, in which men shall be happy or miserable
to all eternity, according as they demean them
selves in this world. Men are not firmly persuaded
that the Scriptures are the word of God, and that
VOL. IX. t

200
the precepts and prohibitions of the Bible are the
laws of a great King, who will amply reward the
observance of his laws, and severely vindicate the
breach and violation of them. Men do not believe
that the promises and threatenings of God's word are
true, and that every jot and tittle of them shall be
accomplished. For did men believe these things,
they would be religious ; they would not dare to
live in any known sin or impiety of life: unless we
can presume that a man can be seriously unwilling
to be happy, and have a longing desire to be mise
rable, and undone for ever. For whoever believes
the principles of religion, and the precepts, and pro
mises, and threatenings that are contained in this
holy book, and yet after all this can continue in
sin, he must not only put off the principles of a rea
sonable creature, but must quit the very inclina
tions of his nature; that is, he must knowingly
refuse that which he naturally desires, which is
happiness; and must embrace that, which of all
things that can be imagined he most abhors, and
that is misery.
So that if men were verily persuaded, that the
great, and holy, and just God, looks continually
upon them, and that it is impossible to hide from
him any thing that we do, they would not dare to
commit any sin in his sight, and under the eye of
him who is their Father and Master, their Sovereign
and their Judge, their Friend and Benefactor ; who
is invested with all these titles, aud stands to us in all
these relations, which may challenge reverence and
respect. Did men believe the holiness and justice
of God, that he hates sin, and will not let it go un
punished, would they venture to make him a wit
ness of their wickedness, who they believe will be

267
the avenger of it ? Did men believe that they shall
live for ever, and that after this short life is ended,
they must enter upon eternity; that when they leave
the world, there are but two ways which all men
must go, either into life everlasting, or into eternal
and intolerable torments ; did men believe this,
would they not with all possible care and diligence
endeavour to attain the one, and avoid the other ?
Were men possessed with a belief of eternity, how
would they despise temporal and transitory things !
How would they neglect the concernments of this
life, and overlook the little impertinences of time,
and refer all their thoughts and cares and endea
vours to eternity! This great and important inte
rest would so fill their minds, and take up their
thoughts, and employ their utmost cares, and endea
vours, and diligence, that they would scarce regard,
or speak, or think of any thing else; they would be
restless and impatient, until they had secured this
grand affair and concernment; they would subordi
nate all the interests of this world to that of the
other, and make all the concernments of time to
stoop to the grand concernment of eternity. Thus
men would do, were they but firmly persuaded that
there is another life after this, to which this bears
no proportion.
Did men believe the Scripture to be the word of
God, and to contain matters of the highest impor
tance to our everlasting happiness ; would they neg
lect it and lay it aside, and study it no more than
a man would do an almanack out of date, or than a
man, who believes the attaining a philosopher's stone
to be impossible, would study those books that
treat of it? If men did believe that it contains plain
and easy directions for the attaining of eternal hap-
t 2 '

268
piness, and escaping eternal misery; they would
converse much with it, make it their companion and
their counsellor, " meditate in it day and night,"
read it with all diligence, and put in practice the di
rections of it.
So that, whatever men pretend, it is plain, that
those who neglect God and religion, and contradict
the precepts of his word by their lives, they do not
firmly believe there is a God, nor that this book is
the word of God. If this faith and persuasion were
firmly rooted in men, they could not live wickedly.
For a man that desires happiness, can no more neg
lect those means which he is convinced are neces
sary for the obtaining of it, than a man that desires
life can neglect the means which he knows to be
necessary for the preservation of it.
Secondly, If faith have so great an influence upon
religion, then the next use shall be to persuade men
to believe. No man can be religious that doth not
believe these two things :
First, The principles of natural religion — that
there is a God ; that his soul is immortal ; and that
there are future rewards.
Secondly, That the Scriptures are the word of
God ; or, which comes all to one, that the doctrine
contained in them is a Divine revelation. Therefore
whoever would persuade men to be religious, he
must begin here; and whoever would improve men
in religion and holiness, he must labour to strength
en this principle of faith. Faith is the root of all
other graces : and they will flourish or decay, ac
cording to the degrees of our faith. Now he that
would persuade a man or prevail with him to. do any
thing, must do it one of these three ways ; either by
entreaty, or authority, or argument ; either he must

269
entreat him as a friend, or command him as sub
ject to him and under his power, or convince him
as a man. Now he that should go about to entreat
men to believe any thing, or to charge them so to do,
before he hath convinced them, by sufficient argu
ments, that it is reasonable to do so, would, in my
opinion, take a preposterous course. He that en
treats or chargeth a man to do anything, supposeth
that he can do the thing if he will : but a man can
not believe what he will ; the nature of a human un
derstanding is such, that it cannot assent without
evidence, nor believe any thing to be true, unless it
see reason so to do, any more than a man can see a
thing without light. So that if the dearest friend
that I have in the world should beg of me with the
greatest importunity; or any man that hath the
greatest authority over me, should lay his severest
commands upon me to believe a thing, for which I
see no reason, I could not do it ; because nothing
can command assent, but evidence. So that he
that would persuade men to believe either the prin
ciples of natural religion, or any Divine revelation,
must convince them of the truth of them ; for it is
unreasonable to desire a man to believe any thing,
unless I give him good reason why he should.
And this being the proper course which is to be
taken, there are two sorts of persons to whom I
shall apply myself in this exhortation : those who
do not believe these things, and those who are per
suaded of them : to the former, in order to the beget
ting of faith in them ; to the latter, in order to the
strengthening and confirming of their faith.
Those who do not believe, are of two sorts; either
such as do positively disbelieve these things, and
make it their business to arm themselves against

270
them with all the arguments they can ; who are so
far from believing a God, or any Divine revelation,
that they endeavour to persuade themselves of the
contrary, that there is no such thing; or else they
are such as are indifferent about these matters.
They have received the principles of religion by
their education, and they have nothing to say
against them, nor for them ; they never considered
them, nor the proper consequences of them; they
neither believe nor disbelieve them upon any rea
sonable account.
Now these are to be dealt withal in the same
way : for whatever will convince the disbeliever,
will much more persuade the indifferent, and con
firm the weak. For faith is to be strengthened by
the same arguments by which it is wrought. There
fore I shall apply myself to convince unbelievers ;
and every one may apply those arguments which I
use to this purpose, for the strengthening of their
own faith.
But before I come to those arguments I intend to
offer for the conviction of those that do not believe>
I think it convenient to endeavour, if possible, to
remove a violent, and I think unreasonable preju
dice which men have received against all those who
endeavour to make religion reasonable. As if
Bellarmine had been in the right when he said,
" That faith was rather to be defined by ignorance
than by knowledge." The plain English of which
is, that it is for want of understanding that men be
lieve the gospel ; and if the world were but a little
more knowing and wise, nobody would be a Christ
ian. I know not how it comes to pass, whether
through the artifice of the popish party, who " hate
the light, lest it should reprove them, and make

271
them manifest;" or through the ignorance of too
many well-meaning protestants; I say, I know not
how it comes to pass, but so it is, that every one
that offers to give a reasonable account of his faith,
and to establish religion upon rational principles, is
presently branded for a Socinian; of which we have a
sad instance in that incomparable person Mr. Chil
lingworth, the glory of this age and nation, who, for
no other cause that I know of, but his worthy and
successful attempts to make the Christian religion
reasonable, and to discover those firm and solid
foundations upon which our faith is built, hath
been requited with this black and odious character.
But if this be Socinianism, for a man to inquire
into the grounds and reasons of the Christian reli
gion, and to endeavour to give a satisfactory account
why he believes it, I know no way but that all con
siderate inquisitive men, that are above fancy and
enthusiasm, must be either Socinians or atheists.
T cannot imagine how men can do greater disser
vice to religion, than by taking it off from the ra
tional and solid basis upon which it stands, and bear
ing the world in hand, that men ought to believe
without reason; for this is to turn faith into cre
dulity, and to level Christian religion with the
vilest and most groundless enthusiasms that ever
were in the world. Indeed if we had only to deal
with Henry Nicholas and Jacob Behmen, who fight
against us in the dark, not with reasons and argu
ments, but with insignificant words, and obscure
phrases; we might make a shift to bear up against
them with this principle, and we might charge them
to believe us, as they do us to believe them, with
out giving them any reason for it : but if we were to
deal with Celsus, or Julian, or Porphyry, or some

272
of our modern atheists, we should soon find how
vain it would be to go about to cajole them with
phrases, and to gain them over to Christianity, by
telling them that they must deny their reason, and
lay aside their understandings, and believe they
know not why. If the great pillars of Christian
ity, the ancient fathers, had taken this course in
their apologies for Christian religion, it had never
triumphed over Judaism and paganism as it did;
and whoever hath read over those defences and vin
dications of the Christian religion against Jews and
heathens, which were written in the first ages of
the church, especially the books of Origen against
Celsus, and Eusebius's book De Demonst. and
Pr&parat. Evangel, shall find that they did very
solicitously endeavour to satisfy the world by all
rational ways both of the truth and reasonableness
of Christian religion. And if that was a good
way then, it is so now; and never more necessary
than in this age, which I fear hath as many atheists
and infidels, that go under the name of Christians,
as ever were in any age since Christian religion was
first planted in the world.
But my design at present is not to persuade men
particularly to the belief of Christianity (that I in
tend hereafter, by God's assistance to speak to), but
to persuade men to the belief of religion in general.
So that all that I shall do at present shall be, as
briefly as I can, to offer some arguments and consi
derations to persuade men to the belief ofthe prin
ciples of natural religion, and of the revelation
which God hath made of his mind and will in the
Holy Scriptures.
I. To persuade men to believe the principles of
natural religion, such as the being of a God ; the

273
immortality of the soul; and future rewards after
this life; I shall offer these two considerations:
First, That it is most reasonable so to do.
Secondly, That it is infinitely most prudent.
First, As to the being of God. Do but consider
these two things, which are undeniable — that there
is a world, however it came; and that mankind do
generally consent in a confident persuasion that
there is a God, whatever be the cause of it. Now
these two things being certain, and not liable to
any question, let us inquire whether a reasonable
account can be given of these without a God.
1. Supposing there be no God, how came this
vast and orderly frame ofthe world? There are but
two ways that can be imagined. Either it was from
eternity always of itself; or it began sometime to be.
That it should be always of itself, though it may be
imagined of the heavens, and the earth, which as to
the main are permanent, and continue the same: yet
in things that succeed one after another, it is altoge
ther unimaginable. As in the generation of men,
there can be no doubt, whether every one of them
was from another, or some of themselves. Some of
them must be of themselves: for whatever number
of causes be imagined in orderly succession, some
of them must have no cause, but be of themselves.
Now that which is of itself, and the cause of all
others, is the first. So that there must be a first
man ; and the age of man being finite, this first man
must have a beginning. So, that an infinite succes
sion of men should have been, is impossible; and
consequently, that men were always. But I need
not insist much upon this, because few or none of
our modern atheists pitch upon this'way. Besides
that Aristotle, who is reputed the greatest assertor

274
ofthe eternity of the world, doth acknowledge an
infinite progress and succession of causes to be one
ofthe greatest absurdities.
Suppose then the world began sometime to be;
it must either be made by counsel and design; that
is, produced by some being that knew what it
did, that did contrive and frame it as it is; which,
it is easy to conceive, a being that is infinitely good,
and wise, and powerful, might do : but this is to
own a God : or else the matter of it being supposed
to have been always, and in continual motion and
tumult, it at last happened to fall into this order,
and the parts of matter, after various agitations,
were at length entangled and knit together in this
order, in which we see the world to be. But can
any man think this reasonable to imagine, that in
the infinite variety which is in the world, all things
should happen by chance,, as well and as orderly as
the greatest wisdom could have contrived them?
Whoever can believe this, must do it with his will,
, and not with his understanding.
But seeing it must be granted that something is
of itself; how easy is it to grant such a Being to be
of itself, as hath other perfections proportionable
to necessary existence ; that is infinitely good, and
wise, and powerful? And there will be no difficulty
in conceiving how such a Being as this should make
the world.
2. This likewise is undeniable — that mankind do
generally consent in a confident persuasion that
there is a God, whatever be the cause of this.
Now the reason of so universal a consent in all
places and ages of the world, must be one and con
stant: but no one and constant reason of this can
be given, unless it be from the frame and nature of

275
man's mind and understanding, which hath the no
tion of a Deity stamped upon it, or, which is all
one, hath such an understanding, as will in its own
free use and exercise find out a God. And what
more reasonable than to think, that if we be God's
workmanship, he should set this mark of himself
upon us, that we might know to whom we belong?
And I dare say, that this account must needs be
much more reasonable and satisfactory to any in
different man, than to resolve this universal consent
into tradition, or state policy, both which are liable
to inexplicable difficulties, as * I have elsewhere
shewn at large.
II. As to the immortality ofthe soul. Supposing
a God, who is an infinite spirit, it is easy to imagine
the possibility of a finite spirit: and supposing the
goodness of God, no man can doubt, but that when
he made all things, he would make some best; and
the same goodness which moved him to make
things, would be a reason to continue those things
for the longest duration they are capable of.
III. As to future rewards. Supposing the holi
ness and justice of God, that " he loves righteous
ness, and hates iniquity;" and that he is the magi
strate aud governor of the world, and concerned to
countenance goodness, and discourage sin; and
considering the promiscuous dispensation of his pro
vidence in this world, and how " all things happeu
alike to all;" it is most reasonable to conclude, that
after this life men shall be punished and rewarded.
Secondly, It is infinitely most prudent. In mat
ters of great concernment a prudent man will incline
to the safest side of the question. We have consi-
* See Sermon I. vol. i. p. 317, where the arguments here briefly
named are handled at large.

276
dered which side of these questions is most reason
able : let us now think which is safest. For it is
certainly most prudent to incline to the safest side
of the question. Supposing the reasons for and
against the principles of religion were equal* yet
the danger and hazard is so unequal, as would
sway a prudent man to the affirmative. Suppose a
man believe there is no God, nor life after this ;
and suppose he be in the right, but not certain that
he is, (for that I am sure in this case is impossible;)
all the advantage he hath by this opinion, relates
only to this world and this present time : for he
cannot be the better for it when he is not. Now
what advantage will it be to him in this life ? He
shall have the more liberty to do what he pleaseth ;
that is, it furnishes him with a stronger tempta
tion to be intemperate, and lustful, and unjust ; that
is, to do those things which prejudice his body and
his health, which cloud his reason, and darken his
understanding ; which will make him enemies in the
world, and will bring him into danger. So that it
is no advantage to any man to be vicious : and
yet this is the greatest use that is made of atheis
tical principles ; to comfort men in their vicious
courses. But if thou hast a mind to be virtuous,
and temperate, and just, the belief of the principles
of religion will be no obstacle, but a furtherance to
thee in this course. All the advantage a man can
hope for by disbelieving the principles of religion, is
to escape trouble and persecution in this world,
which may happen to him upon account of religion.
But supposing there be a God, and a life after this ;
then what a vast difference is there of the conse-
q uences of these opinions ! as much as between finite
and infinite, time and eternity!

277
Secondly, To persuade men to believe the Scrip
tures, I only offer this to men's consideration. If
there be a God whose providence governs the
world, and all the creatures in it, is it not reason
able to think that he hath a particular care of men,
the noblest part of this visible world ? and seeing he
hath made them capable of eternal duration ; that
he hath provided for their eternal happiness, and
sufficiently revealed to them the way to it, and the
terms and conditions of it: now let any man pro
duce any book in the world, that pretends to be
from God, and to do this ; that, for the matter of it,
is so worthy of God, the doctrines whereof are so
useful, and the precepts so reasonable, and the argu
ments so powerful, the truth of all which was con
firmed by so many great and unquestionable mira
cles, the relation of which hath been transmitted to
posterity, in public and authentic records, written
by those who were eye and ear-witnesses of what
they wrote, and free from suspicion of any worldly
interest and design ; let any produce a book like
this, in all these respects ; and which, over and be
sides, hath, by the power and reasonableness of the
doctrines contained in it, prevailed so miraculously
in the world, by weak and inconsiderable means, in
opposition to all the wit and power of the world,
and under such discouragements, as no other reli
gion was ever assaulted with ; let any man bring
forth such a book, and he hath my leave to believe
it as soon as the Bible. But if there be none such,
as I am well assured there is not, then every one
that thinks God hath revealed himself to men, ought
to embrace and entertain the doctrine of the Holy
Scriptures, as revealed by God.
And now, having presented men with such argu
ments and considerations as are proper, and I think

278
sufficient to induce belief, I think it not unreason
able to entreat and urge men diligently and impar
tially to consider these matters ; and if there be
weight in these considerations to sway reasonable
men, that they would not suffer themselves to be
biassed by prejudice, or passion, or interest, to a
contrary persuasion. Thus much I may with rea
son desire of men : for though men cannot believe
what they will, yet men may, if they will, consider
things seriously and impartially, and yield or with
hold their assent, as they shall see cause, after a
thorough search and examination.
If any man will offer a serious argument against
any of the principles of religion, and will debate the
matter soberly, as one that considers the infinite
consequences of things one way or other, and would
gladly be satisfied, he deserves to be heard what he
can say : but if a man will turn religion into raillery,
and confute it by two or three bold jests ; he doth
not make religion, but himself ridiculous, in the
opinion of all considerate men ; because he sports
with his life.
So that it concerns every man that would not
trifle away his soul, and fool himself into irrecover
able misery, with the greatest seriousness to inquire
into these things, whether they be so or not, and
patiently to consider the arguments that are brought
for them.
And when you are examining these matters, do
not take into consideration any sensual or worldly
interest : but deal fairly and impartially with your
selves. Think with yourselves that you have not
the making of things true or false ; that the princi
ples of religion are either true or false, before you
think of them. The truth of things is already fixed ;
either there is a God, or no God ; either your souls

279
are immortal, or they are not ; either the Scriptures
are a Divine revelation, or an imposture ; one of
these is certain and necessary, and they are not now
to be altered. Things will not comply with your
conceits, and bend themselves to your interests.
Therefore, do not think what you would have to be :
but consider impartially what is.*
And if, upon inquiry, you be convinced that it is
the greatest reason and prudence to believe that
there is a God, and a future state, and that the
Scriptures are the word of God, then meditate
much of these things ; attend to the proper conse
quences of such a persuasion ; and resolve to live
as becomes those who believe there is a God, and
another life after this, and that it is best for you to
obey the precepts of his word, being persuaded that
whatever is there promised in case of obedience, or
threatened in case of disobedience, will certainly be
accomplished. And labour to strengthen yourselves in this be
lief; because faith is the spring of all rational ac
tions, and the root of all other graces; and accord
ing to the strength and weakness of faith, your
holiness, and obedience, and graces, will flourish
and decay.
And because the matters of faith do not fall under
our senses, and the things of another world are in
visible, and at distance, and consequently not so apt
to affect us, as present and sensible things, we
should take the more pains with ourselves, that by
revolving frequently in our minds the thoughts of
God, and representing to ourselves the happiness
and misery of another world, they may have as great
an effect upon us, as if they were present to us, and
we saw them with our bodily eyes.
* Of this see more in the Sermon before-mentioned, p. 275.

SERMON CCXXIV.
OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, THE MEANS OF ITS
CONVEYANCE, AND OUR OBLIGATION TO RE
CEIVE IT.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name. — John xx. 31.
I have largely discoursed concerning the general
nature of faith, and more particularly concerning
the faith which is truly Divine and religious : in the
latitude of which is contained a persuasion concern
ing the principles of natural religion, the being of
God, the immortality ofthe soul, and a future state ;
and a persuasion of the Divine revelation of the
Scriptures, and the matters contained in them.
Now among matters of Divine revelation, the doc
trine of the gospel is a principal part ; which is the
last and most perfect revelation, which God hath
made to the world, by his Son Jesus Christ; and a
firm belief and persuasion of this, is ,that which is
called Christian faith, or the faith of the gospel ;
and which, by way of eminency, is usually called
faith in the New Testament.
Now Christian faith is not opposed to a Divine
faith, but is comprehended under it ; as being a
principal aud eminent part of Divine faith, but not all
that which may be called Divine faith ; Christian
faith supposeth a belief of the principles of natural
religion ; and a belief of those revelations which

281
God formerly made under the Old Testament : but
it doth only formally contain in it a belief of the
gospel, viz. that revelation which God hath in
these last days made to the World by his Son Jesus
Christ. The heathens, who were destitute of Divine
revelation, did only believe the principles of natural
religion ; and the generality of them did not believe
those but in a very imperfect manner. The Jews,
" to whom were committed the oracles of God," did
superadd to the belief of the principles of natural
religion, the belief of such revelations as God was
pleased to make to them under that dispensation.
Christian faith superadds to both the former^ a belief
of the revelation of the gospel.
I shall now, therefore, by God's assistance, en
deavour to open to you the nature of Christian
faith from these words ; in which you have these
three things considerable:
First, The end of committing the gospel to
writing, which was, to persuade men to believe in
Christ, to propagate and continue Christian faith in
the world ; " These things are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God :"
and by faith to bring men to a participation of those
benefits, and the salvation which Christ was the
author of: " And that believing ye might have life
through his name." " These were written ;" tuvtu,
" these," which may either refer to armua, " these
signs or miracles," referring to the former verse, "and
many other signs," &c. but these signs or miracles
are written to confirm Jesus to be the person he
pretended to be, the Messias, tbe Son of God, and
consequently to confirm the truth of the doctrine
which he delivered ; that, by this confirmation,
men might be induced to believe him to be the
vol. ix. u

true Messias, and to give entertainment to his doc
trine. Or else (which is very probable) the word ravra.
may refer to the whole history of the gospel, in
which you have an account of the life of Christ, and
the doctrine which he taught, and the miracles which
were wrought for the confirmation of it. And so
we may look upon these two verses as a conclu
sion of the whole history ofthe gospel written by the
four evangelists. For as for the chapter following,
it seems not to be written by St. John himself, but
by the church, probably, as Grotius conjectures,
by the church of Ephesus, where he had resided,
and whom he had acquainted with the particulars
which are there set down ; the principal of which
is, the prediction of our Saviour concerning his
long life, for the sake of which the rest of the story
seems to be brought in; which particular was not
fit to be recorded till after his death ; I say, it
seems probable that St. John ended his gospel here,
and that the last chapter was added by others, as
the last chapter of the Pentateuch was added hy
some other after the death of Moses ; and the last
chapter of Joshua after his death. And this seems
very evident from the 24th verse of the chapter;
where, after a relation of our Saviour's prediction,
concerning " the disciple whom Jesus loved," it is
added, " This is the disciple which testifieth of these
things, and wrote these things (that is, the fore
going history of the gospel), and we know that
his testimony is true;" which seems plainly to be
spoken by some other persons : for it were impro
per for him to say this of himself, " We know that
his testimony is true."
So that here seems to be an end of the history of

283
Christ which St. John wrote ; and these two verses
seem lo be the conclusion of the whole gospel writ
ten by the four evangelists ; and then the sense of
them will be this ; " Many other signs truly did
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are
not written in this book ;" that is, the disciples were
witnesses of many other miracles which Christ
wrought, which they did not think necessary to
set down in this book, that is, in this history of
Christ written by the four evangelists : " But these
are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might
have life through his name ;" that is, These things
which are recorded in this history, this account
which is here given of the life, and actions, and doc
trine, and miracles of Christ, is sufficient to bring
men to the faith of the gospel, to satisfy men that
Christ was the Messias, the Son of God, and con
sequently that his doctrine is true.
And that this conclusion doth refer to the whole
history of the gospel written by the four evangelists,
I am induced to believe upon these two accounts:
1. Because St. John's gospel doth not seem to be
intended for a history of the life and actions of
Christ: but an appendix to the history which had
been written before by the other evangelists, and
to supply only what they had omitted. Therefore
you find that he gives no account of the genealogy
or birth of our Saviour, nor of his sermon upon the
mount, which did contain the sum of his doctrine,
nor of any of his miracles, or his other discourses,
which are related by the other evangelists ; nor doth
he relate any more of the history of his life, than
was just necessary to bring in and connect those
things which he thought fit to superadd to the
u 2

284
former history. So that, considering how defective
this gospel, taken by itself, is, in the most essen
tial parts of the history of the life, and doctrine,
and actions, of Christ; no man can think that
St. John did intend this for a full and sufficient
account of the life; and doctrine, and miracles of
Christ; or that, upon this imperfect relation,, in
which he had knowingly omitted many of the
most material and considerable things belonging to
the history of Christ, he could expect that men
should receive full satisfaction concerning him.
Therefore I think it is highly reasonable, and almost
necessary to conclude, that when he says, " These
things are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God ;" he does not solely
refer to the gospel which was written by himself;
but to the whole history of the gospel, which was
put together into one book or volume, which was
completed by this appendix.
2. Another reason I have for this, which doth
much strengthen this oonjecture, is what I find in
Eusebius, in the 18th chapter of the third book of
his history, where he tells us to this purpose, " That
St. John, who lived the last of the apostles, did re
vise what they had written of the history of Christ,
and added his Gospel as an appendix to the rest."
I have insisted the longer upon this, that no man
might think, when St. John says, " These things
are written that ye might believe," that his gospel
taken alone and by itself is a sufficient account of
Christ, and contains all that was requisite to bring
men to believe on him. This is the first thing in
the words, the end of committing the gospel to
writing. Secondly, You have here the nature Of Christian

285
faith described ; it is a believing that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God ; that is, that he is the true
Messias prophesied of in the Old Testament, and
promised as the Saviour of the world ; and that
he is the Son of God, who came from the Father
into the world ; and took our nature upon him, that
he might teach us and go before us in the way to
eternal happiness.
Thirdly, The blessed effect of this faith, or the
benefit that redounds to us upon believing: " that
believing, ye might have life through his name ;" that
is, that upon these terms and conditions you might
be made partakers of all those blessings and bene
fits which Christ, the Saviour of the world, hath
purchased for us, which are here set forth to us in
the name of " life;" it being usual iu the phrase of
Scripture, to express to us those things which are
most excellent and desirable by " life." Now the
principal benefits which Christ hath purchased, and
which in Scripture we are said to be made partakers
of by believing, are regeneration, justification or par
don of sin, and eternal life and salvation ; and the
two first of these, as well as the last, are called life
in Scripture. Regeneration, (in which I include
the continuance and progress of this work, which is
sanctification) that is, a new life, (Rom. vi. 4.) it is
called " newness of life." And we are said to have
this life by faith ; (Gal. ii. 20.) " And the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son
of God." And, (Col. ii. 12.) " Buried with him in
baptism, wherein also you are risen with him ;" that
is, regenerated and born to a new life. How ? " By
the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised
him from the dead ;" that is, by believing the power
of God, who raised up Christ from the dead, for

286
the confirmation of the truth of the gospel ; (1 John
v. 1.) " Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ*
is born of God." So likewise justification is called
life. While we are under sentence of condemna
tion, we are dead in law; but being justified and
pardoned, we are restored to life. So the apostle
expresseth it, (Rom. v. 18.) " So by the righteous
ness ofone, the free gift came upon all men unto,
justification of life." And that we are justified by
faith, the Scripture tells us so frequently, that I
shall not cite any texts for it.
And then eternal life and salvation ; and this is
the consummation of all, and I doubt not but is
here principally intended, in the text by the word
life. So that the meaning of this expression, " that
believing ye might have life through his name," is,
that by faith of the gospel ye might be renewed,
and pardoned, and saved ; though I think that the
last, viz. eternal life and salvation, is principally,
though not solely intended, as will appear by com
paring this place with these parallel texts : (John
iii. 1.5.) " That whosoever believeth in him should
not perish, but have eternal life:" and, (ver. 36.)
" He that believeth on the Son bath everlasting
life." (John v. 24.) " He that heareth my word, and
believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life.",
(1 Pet. i. 9.) " The end of your faith, even the sal
vation of your souls."
Thus I have, as briefly as I well could, explained
to you the meaning of the words, which I have
done the more fully, that you may see how those
observations which I shall raise from them are con
tained in them. The observations are these:
First, That writing is the way which the wisdom
of God hath pitched upon, as the standing way to ,

287
convey the knowledge of the gospel to the world.
" These things are written."
Secondly, That all things necessary to be be
lieved in order to salvation, are contained in the
gospel. " These things are written that ye might be
lieve, and believing might have life:" but if any
thing necessary to be believed by Christians, in or
der to eternal salvation, were omitted, then the gos
pel would be written to no purpose, and would fail
in the end for which it was written.
Thirdly, That the miracles related in the gospel
are a proper and sufficient means, or argument, to
bring men to Christian faith. For this is the nar
rowest and most restrained sense in which we can
take the words; "These things," that is, these
miracles, " are written that ye might believe," &c.
Now if St. John, by the Spirit of God, did record
miracles to this end, we may conclude that they
are proper and sufficient for this end.
Fourthly, That a credible history does give men
sufficient assurance of matter of fact, and such as
we may safely build a Divine faith upon. For, if
these miracles were recorded for this end, that
men might believe, then a credible history or rela
tion that such miracles were done, is sufficient to
assure us that such miracles were wrought ; and
upon this assurance we may build our faith ; other
wise, it had been in vain to have recorded these
miracles to this end.
Fifthly, That we are not now-a-days destitute of
a sufficient ground of faith ; because wre have. these
writings credibly conveyed to us, which contain
the doctrine of the gospel, and the relation of the
miracles, written for the confirmation of it.
Sixthly, That men now-a-days, those to whom

288
the gospel comes, are under an obligation to be
lieve; or, which is all one, that now-a-days men
may be guilty of such a sin as unbelief: for now-
a-days we may have sufficient grounds of faith.
Seventhly, That to believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God, is truly and properly Christian
faith. This is the description which is here given
of it, that it is a believing, " that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God."
Eighthly, That to believe that Jesus is the Christ
the Son of God, is truly and properly sanctifying,
and justifying, and saving faith ; by this faith we
have life. " These things are written, that ye might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God ; and
that believing ye might have life through his name."
These observations are all virtually contained in
these words. The greatest part of them I shall
very lightly pass over, and speak but briefly to
them, because I intend mainly to insist upon the
two last ; in the handling of which, I shall open to
you the nature of Christian faith, and shew you,
that the faith which is here described, is that which
is truly and properly justifying and saving.
First, That writing is the way which the wisdom
of God hath pitched upon, as the standing way of
conveying the knowledge ofthe gospel to the world.
This is matter of fact, and for the proof of it we
have the evidence of the thing. The gospel de facto
was written, and this writing is conveyed down to
us, and is the instrument which God hath in all
ages since the apostles' time, that is, since the eye
and ear- witnesses of the miracles of Christ and his
doctrine ceased, made use of to convey to the world
the knowledge of the gospel. And here it were
proper to shew what advantage this way of convey-

289
ance of the gospel hath above oral tradition: but
that I have already done,* in some former discourses,
where I shewed at large, that this way of convey
ance is a more universal and diffusive, a more cer
tain, and liable to less imposture and falsification,
a more equal and uniform, and a more human way
of conveyance, than oral tradition ; so that I shall
not insist longer upon this.
Secondly, That all things necessary to be be
lieved by Christians, in order to salvation, are con
tained in the written gospel ; or else, how could St.
John, in reason, say, that " these things are written
(to this end) that men might believe and be saved ;"
if these things be not sufficient to this end? which
certainly they are not, if any thing necessary to be
believed in order to salvation be left out. The pa
pists being urged with this text, to prove the suffi
ciency of the written word, in opposition to those
traditional doctrines which they pretend to be ne
cessary over and besides the written word, tell us,
that St. John doth not here speak of the doctrine
of Christ, but only of his miracles; these are writ
ten to confirm our faith ofthe Messias; but the
doctrine of Christ was not all written, but left
to the apostles to be delivered by mouth to their
successors, and so down to posterity. But I have
shewn before, that the necessary doctrines of the
gospel, as well as the miracles, are comprehended
in these things, which, St. John says, were written.
Besides that, it will be very hard for any man to
devise a convenient reason, why miracles, as well
as doctrines, might not have been left to the apo
stles, to have been traditionally delivered down to
* See the foregoing Sermons.

290
posterity without writing. For doctrines may as
well be committed to writing, as relations of mira
cles; and miracles may be with as much ease, and
certainty, and convenience in ail respects, delivered
down to posterity by an oral tradition, as doctrines
may. Thirdly, That the miracles related in the gospel,
are a proper and sufficient means to brihg men to
Christian faith. That they are so, it is a good sign,
that God did work them to this end, and after
wards commit them to writing for this very reason,
that the knowledge of them might be conveyed tb
posterity, and there might still remain in the world
a proper and sufficient argument to persuade men
to believe; and we may well imagine, that God
would not do any thing but what is very proper
and sufficient for its end. Now that miracles were
wrought by the Divine power purposely to this
end, and that they are in reason a very sufficient
attestation to a person, and confirmation of the
doctrine which he brings, I have largely shewn
elsewhere;* and that all along both in the Old and
New Testament, God did empower Moses and the
prophets, Christ and his apostles, to work mira-.
cles, to bring men to faith, and that this was the
principal argument whereby those Who did believe.
were wrought upon.
Fourthly, That credible history doth give men
sufficient assurance of matter of fact; and such as
surance, as we may safely build a Divine faith
upon. We freely believe innumerable things, which
are said to have been done many ages before we
were born, and make not the least doubt of them,
* See the foregoing Sermons.

291
only upon the credit of history : so that if the rela
tion of miracles be but granted to be a credible his
tory, we may, upon the credit ofthe relation, safely
believe that such miracles were wrought ; and, if
such miracles were wrought, we may safely believe
the doctrine to be from God, for the confirmation
of which they were wrought ; and, consequently, a
Divine faith may be safely built upon such an as^
surance of miracles, as we may have from a credi
ble history and relation.
Fifthly, That we are not now-a-days destitute of
a sufficient ground of faith ; because the doctrine
of the gospel hath still the same confirmation that
it had, viz. miracles: only we who live at this dis
tance from the time when, and the place where they
were wrought, have the knowledge of them con
veyed to ns, and come to be assured of them, in
another way. Those who lived in the age of Christ
and his apostles, had assurance of miracles from
their own senses : and we now are assured of them
by credible history and relation. Now, though these
ways be not equal, yet they are both sufficient to
beget in us an undoubted assurance, and such as
no prudent man hath any reason to doubt of. For a
man may be as truly and undoubtedly certain, that
is, as well satisfied that a thing was done, from the
credit of history, as from his own senses. I make
no more doubt whether there was such a person as
Henry the Eighth, king of England, than I do whe
ther I be in this place.
Sixthly, That now-a-days, those to whom the gos
pel comes, are under an obligation to believe; or
that now-a-days there is such a sin as unbelief of
the gospel. And I the rather note this, because
there are some well wishers to atheism, who, out of

prudence and regard to their own safety, choose ra
ther secretly to undermine religion, than openly to
deny it. I grant, indeed, that, in our Saviour's
time, when such great miracles were wrought, those
who saw those miracles (which they think nobody
did) were under an obligation to believe, and guilty
of a great sin iu not believing the gospel ; but now-
a-days, when we see no such miracles wrought for
the confirmation of the gospel, there lies no obliga
tion upon any man to believe it ; and that now there
is no such sin as unbelief. Now, any man may,
with half an eye, see the consequence of this as
sertion : for being once admitted, it doth as certainly
destroy Christian religion, as if men should deny
that there was any such person as Jesus Christ, or
that he ever wrought any miracles : for if to disbe
lieve the gospel be no sin, and consequently brings
a man into no danger; but on the other hand, dan
gers and persecutions do attend the belief and pro
fession of it ; it were the greatest folly in the world
for any man to believe ; unless this possibly may
be greater, for a man who does believe it, not to
obey and live according to it. And if this were true,
it were the greatest imprudence that can be, for any
man to be a Christian. And if that were once ad
mitted, there is all the reason in the world that
Christianity should be banished and extirpated ; not
only as useless and impertinent, but as a thing dan
gerous and pernicious to the welfare of mankind.
I shall therefore briefly prove to you, that it is
now one of the greatest sins that men are capable
of (except the sin against the Holy Ghost), for
those who have the gospel sufficiently propounded
to them, to disbelieve it ; I say, except the sin
against the Holy Ghost, which our Saviour tells

293
us, was " blaspheming the Spirit of God," whereby
he wrought his miracles, and saying it was the spi
rit of the devil ; and this sin, men in a lower de
gree and proportion may now-a-days be guilty of:
for as the pharisees who saw the works that Christ
did, and acknowledged them to be miracles, did
commit the sin against the Holy Ghost, in ascrib
ing those miracles, which were really wrought by
the power of the Holy Ghost, to the power of
the devil ; so men now-a-days who own the history
of Christ's miracles as true, maybe guilty ofthe sin
against the Holy Ghost, in a lower proportion, by
maliciously imputing those miracles to the power of
the devil.
But excepting the sin against the Holy Ghost, the
greatest sin that men are now capable of, is to
disbelieve the gospel, when it is sufficiently pro
pounded to them. Now the gospel is then suf
ficiently propounded, when there are sufficient
grounds offered to persuade men to the belief of it;
and I have already proved, that we now have suf
ficient ground to believe the gospel ; and if so, then
whosoever hath these grounds offered to him, is un
der an obligation to believe it: for every man is
bound to believe that, for which he hath sufficient
ground and reason ; and every man sins who neg
lects his duty ; that is, does not do that which he
stands bound to do.
And not only whoever disbelieves the gospel,
sins in so doing, but farther, he commits the great
est sin that now men are capable of. I say, now
capable of: for I doubt not but that it was a sin of
a higher degree, for those who saw Christ's miracles
to disbelieve, than it is for us who have only the
relation of them. For by the same reason, that

294
"he is more blessed that believes, and hath not
seen ;" a greater curse belongs to him, who hath
seen, and yet doth not believe ; and consequently
such a person is guilty of a greater sin. But be
cause we cannot now see the miracles, of Christ,
the greatest sin that men in this age are capable of,
is to disbelieve the gospel confirmed by miracles,
whereof we are assured by credible relation. For
the sin of disbelieving now hath these two aggra
vations :
1. It is against sufficient light and evidence; and
in this it is equal to the sins which are committed
against natural light.
2. It is a sin against the greatest mercies and ,
blessings that ever were offered to the world ; and
in this it exceeds the sins against natural light.
Whoever disbelieves the gospel, he rejects the offer
of eternal life and happiness. And these two ag
gravations the apostle puts together, (Heb. ii. 3.)
" How shall we escape, if we neglect so great sal--
vation, which at the first began to be spoken by the
Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that'
heard him !" And if this be thus, it highly concerns
us to inquire into the nature of this faith ; and this
brings me to the
Seventh observation ; That to believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God, is truly and properly
Christian faith. But the consideration of this I shall
leave to the next opportunity.

SERMON CCXXV.
OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH, WHICH SANCTIFIES, JUS
TIFIES, AND SAVES.
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God ; and that believing ye
might have life through his name. — John xx. 31.
In my former discourse upon these words, I pro
posed eight observations from them, six of which I
have already dispatched, designing to discourse of
the remaining two more at large. I proceed there
fore to the
Seventh observation which I laid down, "viz. That
to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
is truly and properly Christian faith. This is the
description which is here given of Christian faith.
In prosecution of this, I shall do these two
things :
First, Shew you what is included in " believing
that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God?"
Secondly, Prove that this is truly and properly
Christian faith.
First, What is included in " believing that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God ?" It signifies a firm
and effectual persuasion, that Jesus, that is, the
person the history of whose life and death is re
lated in the gospel, is the Christ ; that is', the true
Messias, promised and prophesied of in the Old
Testament to be the Saviour of the world ; and
that he is " the Son of God, (that is,) the only-be-

ayo
gotten of the Father," who was sent by him into
the world, and took our nature upon him, that he
might purchase eternal happiness for us, and in
struct us, and go before us in the way to it. So
that faith is a firm and effectual persuasion of, or
assent to, the whole gospel. Faith signifies Christ
ian religion, which comprehends an assent to the
doctrines of the gospel, and a suitable life and con
versation. I say, a firm persuasion of this ; for in the phrase
ofthe New Testament, none are accounted true be
lievers, or said to have a true faith in Christ, who do
not firmly continue in this persuasion ; and the own
ing and profession of it, notwithstanding all the suf
ferings and persecutions it might expose them to.
And an effectual persuasion ; for none are said
truly to believe in Christ, who do not shew forth
the proper and genuine effects of this faith ; who do
not live as they believe, and conform their lives to
that doctrine, to the truth whereof they profess an
assent. And hence it is that true Christians, that is,
those who did fashion their lives according to the
gospel, are called believers, and the sum of all
Christianity is usually contained in this word be
lieving, which is the great principle of a Christian
life; as in the Old Testament, all religion is ex
pressed by the " faith of God;" so in the New, by
" faith in Christ."
Now whosoever cloth firmly and effectually en
tertain this truth, that Jesus, whom the gospel de
clares to us is the true Messias, and Saviour of
the world, and the very Son of God, sent by him
into the world for this purpose, that he might by his
doctrine instruct, and by the example of his life go

297
before us in the way to eternal happiness, and by
the merit and satisfaction of his death and suffer
ings, appease and reconcile God to men, and pur
chase for them the pardon of their sins and eternal
life, upon the conditions of faith and repentance, and
sincere obedience ; I say, whosoever doth firmly and
effectually entertain these truths, will consequently
endeavour to obey the precepts of his doctrine, and
to imitate the example of his life, and will expect
salvation, thatis, the pardon of his sins, and eternal
life, from no other: because he is verily persuaded
he is a teacher, and a Saviour sent from God, that
his doctrine is true, and his satisfaction available,
and that the rewards which he hath promised to
those who believe and obey him, and the punish
ments which he hath threatened to the unbelievers
and disobedient, shall all certainly be fulfilled and
accomplished. All this is included in " believing
that Jesus is the Christrthe Son of God." So Christ
ian faith, or the faith of the gospel, contains plainly
in it these particulars :
1. An assent of the understanding to this truth,
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was a person
commissioned from heaven, and employed by God
to bring men to eternal happiness. And this fun
damental is necessary to all the subsequent acts of
faith, and that upon which they depend.
2. An assent of the understanding to the truth of
all those things which this person delivered to the
worid. So that if he tells us, that his death hath
made expiation for the sins of men, upon the condi
tions of faith and repentance and obedience, and
that God by him doth command the world to do
such and such things, and in case of obedience will
confer such and such rewards upon men, but in
VOL. IX. x

298
case of disobedience will inflict such punishments
upon them ; we are to believe all this to be true ; be
cause the person who acquainted us with these
things was sent by God, and employed from heaven
upon this message.
3. And consequently, a relying and depending
Upon him, and no other, for the conferring of these
benefits, and making good these promises to us.
4. Obedience to all his laws and commands ; be
cause believing them to be from God we cannot but
assent to them as good, and as laying an obligation.
upon us to yield obedience to them : and if we do
not obey them, we are presumed to disbelieve them ;
for if we did truly and heartily believe them to be
the commands of God, we would obey them.
Now that obedience of heart and life to the pre
cepts and commands of the gOspel, as well as an as
sent ofthe understanding to the truth of the gospel-
revelation, and a trusting and relying upon the me
rits of 'Christ, is included in the Scripture notion of
faith, will evidently appear to any that will consider
these texts. (Rom. i. 5.) " By whom we have received
grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith
among all nations for his name;" where the belief of
the gospel is called " the obedience of faith.1' (Rom.
x. 16.) " But they have not all obeyed the gospel: for
Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?"
But if faith do not include obedience, how could he
prove that there were some that did not obey the
gOspel, because Isaiah said, there were some that
did not believe it? And so likewise by comparing
1 Tim. iv. 10. where he is said to be " the Saviour
of them that believe," with Heb. v. 9. where he is
said to be the " author of eternal salvation unto all
them that obey him." As also by comparing Gal.

^99
v. 6. where it is said, " For in Jesus Christ, neither
circumcision availeth anything, noruncircumcision;
but faith which worketh by love," with 1 Cor. vii. IU.
" Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is no
thing : but the keeping of the commandments of
God." And so likewise by those texts, where un
belief and disobedience are equivalently used. I
will but mention one, (Heb, iii. 12.) The apostle*
from the example ofthe Israelites, cautions Christ
ians against unbelief: " Take heed, brethren, lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in
departing from the living God." And repeating the
same caution in the next chapter, at the 11th verse,
he varies the phrase a little, " Lest any man fall
after the same example of disobedience ;" the word,
is ajrEifleiae, which indeed our translators render
unbelief { but that confirms that which I bring it
for, that disobedience and unbelief are the same.
And so likewise we find faith and disobedience
opposed frequently in Scripture. (John iii. ,36.)
" He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting
life: and he that believeth not the Son, shall not
see life." In the Greek it is, " He that obeyeth
not the Son," as you will see in the margin of
the Bible. (I Pet. ii, 7.) " Unto you .therefore
which believe he is precious: but unto them which
be disobedient, the stone which the builders disal
lowed, the same is made the head of the corner:"
And this doth likewise appear in all those texts,
wherein repentance, and our forgiving of others, and
several other acts of obedience, are made the condi
tions of our justification, or the omission of them,
sins, as well as faith. So that we cannot he said
to be " justified by faith alone," unless that faith in
clude in it obedience. I have insisted the longer
x2

300
upon this, because the right understanding the
Scripture-notion of faith in Christ, doth very much
depend upon this: and if this one thing, that the
Scripture notion of faith doth include in it obedi
ence to the precepts of the gospel, were but well un
derstood and considered, it would silence and put
an end to those infinite controversies about faith
and justification, which have so much troubled the
Christian world, to the great prejudice of practical
religion, and holiness of life.
1 Secondly, That this is truly and properly Christ
ian faith. Which I shall prove by these two argu
ments. 1. Because it includes a belief of the whole gos
pel, or of all the revelation which God hath made
to the world by Jesus Christ. And certainly, there
cannot be a more proper notion of Christian faith,
than to believe the revelation which God hath made
by Jesus Christ: but to believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, doth include this. For who
soever believes him to be the Messias, and the Sou of
God, believes him to have come from God, and to
be authorized and commissioned by him to make
known his mind to the world, and consequently will
believe whatever he delivers. • For whoever believes
the goodness and veracity of God, as every man
does that believes a God, cannot but assent to the
truth of every thing which he is satisfied comes
from God.
2. That to " believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
Son of God," is truly and properly Christian faith,
or the faith of the gospel, will appear, by consider
ing how the Scriptures of the New Testament do
constantly describe to us the faith of the gospel;
and you shall find they do it, either by the very

301
phrase in the text, or other phrases or metaphors
equivalent to it, or else by a belief of that which
is the great argument and confirmation of Christ's
being the Messias, the Son of God. Very often the
faith of the gospel is described by the very phrase
in the text, " believing that Jesus is the Christ," and
that " he is the Sou of God." (John iv. 41,42.) " And
many more believed, because of his own word ; and
said unto the woman, Now we believe, not because
of thy saying : for we have heard him ourselves, and
know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of
the world." (John vi. 69.) "And we believe and are
sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God." (John xi. 27.) Says Martha to Christ, " Yea,
Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of
God, which should come into the world." (Acts viii.
37.) " I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
(1 John iii. 23.) " And this is his commandment, that
we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus
Christ, and love one another, as he gave us com
mandment;" thatis, that we should believe on him
under this name and title of " Jesus Christ the Son
of God." (1 John v. 1.) " Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ, is born of God." And, (ver. 5.)
" Who is he that overcometh the world, but be that
believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?' And, (ver.
10.) " He that believeth on the Son of God;" that is,
believeth Jesus to be the Son of God. And, (ver. 13.)
" These things have I written unto you that believe
on the name ofthe Son of God, that ye may know
that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on
the name ofthe Son of God."
Sometimes the faith of the gospel is described to
Us by other phrases that are tantamount to these ;
such as signify that " he came from God," and was

302
sent by hinw into the world, and was the Messias
ivfeom they expected. (John iii. 2.) Nicodemus de
scribes his faith in Christ thus ; " I know that thou
art a teacher come from God." (John vi. 29.) " This
is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent;" that is, that ye believe me to be sent
from God. (John viii. 24.) " For if ye believe not that
I am he, ye shall die in your sins ;" that is, if ye be
lieve not that I am the Messias, whom you expect
and look for. And so (John xiii. 19.) " That ye may
believe that I am he." And, (John xi.42.) "Thatthey
may believe that thou hast sent me." And, (John xvi.
30.) " By this we believe that thou earnest forth from
God." And, (John xvii. 8.) " They have believed
that thou didst send me."
Sometimes the faith of the gospel is expressed by
metaphors equivalent to these expressions, as by
" coming to Christ," and " receiving him" as the true
Messias, in several places, and sometimes by be
lieving that which is the great argument and confir
mation that Christ was the true Messias the Son of
God, that is, believihg his resurrection from the
dead. (Rom. iv. 24.) " To whom it shall be imputed
for righteousness, if we believe on him that raised
Up Jesus our Lord from the dead." (Rom. x. 9.) " If
thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord* Jesus,
and shalt believe in thine heart, that God hath raised
him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." (Col. ii.
12.) " Through the faith of the operation of God,
Who raised him up from the dead." Where faith is
described by a belief of the power whereby Christ
was raised from the dead. And to mention no more,
(1 Pet. i. 21.) " Who by him do believe in God,
that raised him up from the dead." Now the reason
why the faith of the gospel is described by the be-

303
lief of Christ's resurrection, is, because whoever
believes that Christ was raised from the dead, can
not but be satisfied, that this great miracle was a
sufficient attestation that he was no impostor, but
that he was what he pretended to be, viz. the Son
of God; and consequently that he ought to be be
lieved* and obeyed in all things. And thus much
may suffice to have been spoken to this seventh ob
servation. Eighth observation ; that to " believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God," is truly and properly
sanctifying, and justifying, and saving faith. So the
text tells us, that this faith gives us life; " But
these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name," that is, as I ex
plained this phrase in the opening of the text, that
upon these terms and conditions ye might be made
partakers of all those blessings and benefits, which
Christ the Saviour of the world hath purchased,
which are here set forth under the name of life; it
being usual hi the phrase of Scripture to set forth to us
those things whjch are most excellent and desirable,
by life, which men value above all other things.
Now the principal benefits which Christ hath pur
chased, and which we are said to be made partakers
qf by believing, are,
1. Regeneration; under which I include the con
tinuance and progress of this work, which is sanc
tification. 2. Justification ; by which I cannot find that the
Scripture means any more than pardon or remission
of sins.
3. Eternal life; and this I think is principally,
though not solely intended here iu the text, as I

304
have shewn, by comparing the text with other pa
rallel texts in the same evangelist. (John iii. 15.)
" That whosoever believeth in him should not 'pe
rish, but have eternal life." And, (ver. 36.) " He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life." I
say, I think eternal life is here principally intended,
though this supposes the others, regeneration and
justification, before we can attain it, which may also
very well be included here in the term of life. My
reasons are these :
1. Because I find in Scripture, that regeneration
and justification are expressed by the name of life.
Rom. vi. 4. our regeneration is called newness of
life, because before we were " dead in sins and tres
passes;" and (Rom. v. 18.) justification is called
'< justification of life," because, while our sins are un
pardoned, and we are under the sentence of con
demnation, we are dead in law; but being justified
and pardoned, we are, as it were, restored to life
agajn, 2. Because, in the phrase of Scripture, we are
said to be regenerate, and sanctified, and justified
by faith, as well as saved, (1 John v. J.) " He that
believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God."
(Gal. ii. 20.) '< The life which I now live in the flesh
I live by the faith of the Son of God ;" speaking of
the new life of sanctification. And (Col. ii.) we are
said to be '< risen with Christ," thatis, born to anew
life, " by the faith of the operation of God, that
raised up Jesus from the dead ;" and to " be justified
by faith," in innumerable places. So that it is very
probable upon these accounts that the evangelist
here, when he says, " that believing, you might
have life in his name," doth intend to take in rege
neration and justification, as well as eternal life,

305
which is the consummation of all the blessings of
the gospel. I come now to the observation, viz.
That this faith of the gospel, which I have de
scribed, is truly and properly a sanctifying, and jus
tifying, and saving faith.
I. I shall shew that it is properly a sanctifying
faith. II. A justifying and saving faith.
I. It is truly sanctifying. I know that this term
of a sanctifying faith, is not much in use among di
vines, and therefore it may seem a little more
strange: but they might have used it if they had
pleased, for it is every whit as proper to call faith
sanctifying, as justifying, or saving. It is true, in
deed, this express term of a sanctifying faith is no
where in Scripture; no more are the very terms of
justifying and saving faith: but we are said to be
justified and saved by faith in Scripture, which is as
much as if the terms had been used. And we are said
also to be sanctified by faith, as well as justified
and saved. (Acts xv. 9.) Our hearts are said to be
purified by faith. And so likewise, our " victory
over the world," that is, our conquering and subdu
ing of our covetous and ambitious and sensual lusts
and desires, is in a peculiar manner ascribed to
this faith which I have described. (1 John v. 4, 5.)
" This is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son
of God?"
II. That this faith is truly and properly justifying
and saving faith. I put these, justification and sanc
tification, together, partly because they are of the
same consideration as to the influence which faith
hath upon them; and the latter follows upon the

306
former ; for if we be justified by faith, that is, have
our sins pardoned, by the same act of faith we are
saved from hell, and consequently made capable of
eternal life ; I say, by the very same act of faith
that we obtain the pardon of our sins, we are saved
from hell, that is, the punishment due to, sin ; for
pardon removes- fhe guilt, and guilt is nothing else
but an obligation to punishment: and partly, be
cause I find the Scripture, useth, them promis
cuously. When St, James disputes about justifies
tion by faith, he useth the term pf being saved, bj
faith ; (James ii. 14.) " Can faith save him?" Some
times of being justified, (ver, 94.) " So that a. man
is not justified by faith "Qplyr"
In speaking to this proposition, that the faith pf
the gospel, which I have described, is properly jus
tifying and saving faith, I shall do these six things.
1. Shew, that j notification in Scripture signifies
no more than the pardon and remission of sins.
2, That faith can in no propriety of language be
said to be the instrument of qur parcjon.
3. That the influence that the faith of the gospel,
which I have described, harfi upon the pardon qf
sin, is this, that it is the whole and entire condition,
required on our parts, upon the performance of
which God hath promised to pardon our sins, and
to save us.
4. That the Scripture, -where it treats of justifies^
tion by faith, speaks of this faith which I have de
scribed, and no other.
5. That no metaphorical descriptions of justify
ing faith are allowable, any farther than as they
serve to illustrate and make clear the plain and
simple notion of the thing- For if metaphors once
come to be insisted on, and strained, and conse-

307
quences come to be drawn from them, and doc
trines founded, and theories built upon them, they
are of very ill consequence, and serve to no other
purpose but to blind and obscure the plain and sim
ple notions of things, and to seduce and mislead the
understandings of men, and to multiply controver
sies without end.
And I the rather take notice of this abuse of me
taphors upon this subject, because 1 do not know
any other head of divinity which hath suffered so
much by them as the doctrine of justifying faith ;
whereby the plain truth hath been very much ob
scured, and occasion ministered to many endless
disputes. 6. That if this plain and simple notion of justify
ing faith were admitted, it would supersede all those
controversies about justification, which have so
much troubled the church. These particulars I
Shall by God's assistance speak to, not out of a
mind to oppose and contradict others ; (what a piti
ful design is that! and how much below one that is
to speak to men in the name and fear of God !) but
oUt of a hearty desire to bring the truth to light, and
to contribute something to the clearing of that
which is of so great importance and concernment
to Christian religion.
1. That justification of a sinner, in Scripture, sig
nifies no more than the pardon of sin. That there
are several acceptations of the Word justification in
the New Testament, I deny not. Sometimes it sig
nifies approbation in general of a thing, or person,
So tbe word is used, Luke vii. 29. " And all the
people that heard him, and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the baptism of John."
— "Justified God;" how is that? thatis, they ap-

308
proved and followed his counsel, as appears evi
dently by the opposition in the next words : " but the
pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God
against themselves, being not baptized of him."
Those that " rejected the counsel of God," are op
posed to those that "justified God." And so at the
35th( verse, "But wisdom is justified of her chil
dren," thatis, approved. And so, very probably, it
may be understood in the parable of the pharisee
and the publican, " I tell you this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other;" that is,
of the two, God did rather approve of his humble
carriage, than the pharisee's proud and insolent be
haviour. Sometimes it signifies any proof or decla
ration of a thing. So, (Rom. iii. 4.) " Let God be
true, but every man a liar, as it is written, That thou
mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest
overcome when thou art judged ;" that is, that all
thy words or promises might be proved and declared
to be true, and that thou mayest prevail whenever
thou art impleaded by men of unfaithfulness and
unrighteousness. And so (1 Tim. iii. 16.) Christ is
said to be "justified in the Spirit," that is, by the
testimony of the Spirit concerning him ; as also by
the miracles which he wrought by the Holy Ghost,
and the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, which were
poured forth on the apostles, he was proved and
declared to be the true Messias, and the Son of God.
And this phrase of Christ's " being justified by the
Spirit," seems to be of the same sense with that ex
pression, (Rom. i. 4.) " Declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection from the dead ;" that is, he was
evidently proved to be the Son of God, by the great
miracle of his resurrection, which was wrought by

309
the power of the Holy Ghost. But most frequently,
to justify, in Scripture, signifies to pardon.
. Thus the word justify, doth signify variously, ac
cording to the subject or matter it is applied to ;
but when it is applied to a sinner, it signifies nothing
else but pardon of his sin. Nor can I possibly ap
prehend what other notion men can frame to them
selves of a sinner's being justified, distinct from
pardon and remission. Indeed, if a person be not
really guilty, that is, unjustly accused of a crime,
he may be said to be justified, when he is cleared
from the charge and accusation which is brought
against him : but if a man be guilty, he cannot
otherwise be said to be justified, than by having the
guilt removed ; that is, by being pardoned. And
that the Scripture understands the same thing by
justification, and pardon, or remission of sins, is,
I think, very evident from these two texts : (Acts
xiii. 38, 39.) " That through this man is preached
unto you the forgiveness of sins ;" that is, in and
through Jesus Christ, the way of pardon and for
giveness is declared ; " and by him, all that believe
are justified from all things, from which ye could
not be justified by the law of Moses ;" that is, ac
cording to this declaration, all that do believe, are
by him, that is, by the virtue of his sacrifice, ac
quitted and cleared from the guilt of all those sins,
for which there was no way of expiation provided
by the law of Moses, that is, of presumptuous sins,
for which there was no sacrifice, but the man was to
be cut off. Now if the meaning of this text be this,
that in and through Christ the way of pardon and
forgiveness is declared, and accordingly all that do
believe in him are pardoned, then to be justified and
pardoned are all one in this place; but this is the

310
meaning of the text, if by the phrase of being " jus
tified from all things, from which we could not be
justified by the law of Moses," be meant the pardon
ing of such sins and transgressions, for which, by
the' law of Moses, there was no way of expiation :
but this must of necessity be the meaning of this
phrase ; for what are those things, from which it is
said, " we could not be justified by the law of Mo
ses," but sinful transgressions and violations of the
law ? and how can a man be said to be justified from
any sin and transgression, otherwise than by the
pardon and forgiveness of it? The other text is,
(Rom. iv. 6 — 8.) " Even as David also describeth
the blessedness of the man, unto whom God im-
puteth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose
-sins are covered : blessed is the man to whom the
Lord will not impute sin." " Tbe man unto whom
*God imputeth righteousness," is the man whom
<xod justifies. ' Now, how does David describe the
blessedness of the man whom God justifies ? Thus,
**• Blessed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven,
and whose sins are covered," which is a metaphor
ical expression of the same thing, covering of sin
'being the pardoning of it. From hence I reason, if
accord ing to the apostle those propositions be equi
valent, " Blessed is the man whose iniquities are
forgiven," and " Blessed is the man whom God justi
fies," then, accordingto the apostle, justification and
forgiveness of sins are all one : but those proposi
tions are equivalent, if the apostle cite the text out
of the Psalms pertinently.
2. That faith can, in no tolerable propriety of
language, be said to be the instrument of our par
don, and consequently not of our justification. An

311
instrument is something subordinate to the principal
efficient cause, and made use of by it to produce
the effect ; and this, in natural and artificial causes,
may be understood, but what notion to have of a
moral instrument, I confess I am at a loss. But, to
bring the business out of the clouds, we may thus
conceive of the pardon of sin. God, in the gospel,
hath entered into a covenant of grace and mercy
with sinners ; one of the benefits promised by God
in the covenant, is pardon of sin. The conditions
upon which we shall be made partakers of the
benefit, are comprehended in this one word, faith,
which signifies the whole of Christian religion,
viz. such an effectual assent to the revelation of
the gospel, as doth produce repentance, and sin
cere obedience, and a trust and confidence in Christ
alone for salvation. The procuring or meritorious
cause of this benefit, viz. the pardon of our sins,
is the death of Christ, which is called his blood
or sacrifice. The principal efficient cause of out
pardon is God in fhe sentence of the law, or, which
is all one, in the tenor of this covenant, declaring
us pardoned upon these terras and conditions. Now
how can faith, which is an act on our parts, and the
condition to be performed by us, be said to be an
instrument, in the hand of God, of our pardon;
unless men will think fit to call a condition an in
strument, which I think no propriety of language
will allow ?
I shall now proceed to the third particular which
I proposed, but shall refer that to my next discourse
on this argument.

SERMON CCXXVL
OP JUSTIFYING FAITH.
, But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye
might have life through his name. — John xx. 31 .
The observation lam discoursing upon is this — that
to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God,
is truly and properly sanctifying, and justifying, and
saving faith. I have entered upon the latter part of
the observation, viz. to shew that this is truly and
properly justifying and saving faith. In speaking to
which, I proposed to shew six things :
1. That justification, in Scripture, signifies no
more but the pardon and remission of sins.
2. That faith can in no propriety of language, be
said to be the instrument of our pardon. Thus far
I have gone, and now proceed to what remains, viz.
to shew,
„ 3. That the influence which faith hath upon the %
pardon of sin, is this: that it is the whole and entire
condition, required in the gospel, of our pardon,
upon the performance of which God hath promised
to pardon sin ; which appears thus. All the condi
tions the gospel requires on our part in order to
pardon, may be reduced to these four heads.
(1.) An assent to the truth ofthe gospel.
(2.) A trust and confidence in Christ as our only
Saviour. (3.) Repentance from dead works.

313
(4.) Sincere obedience and holiness of life. But
I have already proved at large, that all these are
comprehended in the New Testament notion of faith,
which signifies the w^hole of Christian religion. And
that repentance and obedience are conditions of
our pardon, and consequently of our justification,
appears from these texts, (Acts iii. 19.) "Repent
therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be
blotted out." Doth not this imply, that upon condi
tion we do repent and be converted, God will
pardon our sins ? (1 John i. 9.) " If we confess our
sins" (that is, with a resolution to leave them ; as it is
said elsewhere, " He that confesseth, and forsaketh
his sins,) he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (Matt.
vi. 14, 15.) " For if ye forgive men their trespasses,*
your heavenly Father will also forgive you ; but if
yqu forgive not men their trespasses, neither will
your Father forgive your trespasses." And to the
same purpose (Matt, xviii. 35.) " So likewise shall
my heavenly Father do unto you, if ye from your
hearts forgive not every one his brother their tres
passes." (Luke vi. 37.) " Judge not, and ye shall
not be judged : condemn not, and ye shall not be
condemned : forgive, and ye shall be forgiven."
(Luke xi. 4.) " And forgive us our sins : for we also
forgive every one that is indebted to us." Where
doth the Scripture make any thing more plainly a
condition of pardon, than it here does our forgiving
of others ? upon condition of the performance where
of he promises to forgive us ; and without which he
threatens not to forgive us. I know not what a
condition is, if it be not that which if we perform
we shall receive the benefit promised ; if we do not,
we shall fall short of it.
VOL. IX. Y

314
4. That the Scripture where it speaks of justifica
tion by faith, Speaks of this faith, and no other, of such
a faith as takes in the whole of Christian religion.
The principal places where the Scripture designedly
ireats of justification by faith, are the 3d and 4th
chapters of the Epistle to the Romans ; the 2d and 3d
to the Galatians; and the 2d of St. James. In the
Romans and Galatians, St. Paul doth plainly oppose
faith to the law, and the righteousness of it to the
works of the law : and it will clearly appear to any
one that will carefully read over these discourses of
St. Paul's, that by faith is meant the dispensation of
the gospel, and by the law the Mosaical administra
tion ; and- the result of all those discourses is, that
men are not justified by performing the works
which the legal dispensation required ; but by as
senting and submitting to the revelation of the
gospel. And this is agreeable to what he says,
(Acts xiii. 38, 39.) "Through this man is preached
unto you forgiveness of sins ; and by him, all that
believe are justified from all things, from, which ye
could not be justified by the law of Moses."
It is true likewise, that the apostle, in the Epistle
to the Romans, doth not only dispute against those
who simply contended for justification by the legal,
dispensation: but were fallen also into the gross
error and mistake, that they did merit justifica
tion and pardon at God's hand ; which is impossi
ble : for pardon is free, and of grace, or else it is
not pardon. Therefore the apostle asserts, that we
are so justified by faith, that neither our assent to
the gospel, nor our obedience to the commands of
it, do merit this at God's hands; for this would
directly contradict justification by the faith of the
gospel. For how can any man possibly think, that

315
he merits pardon by his believing and obeying the
gospel, when this is part of the gospel which we
believe, that Christ died for our sins, and purchased
our pardon at so dear a rate ; which had been very
unjust, if we ourselves could have done any thing to
have merited it.
And that faith is taken for the revelation of the
gospel, in opposition to the legal administrations,
will appear by considering these texts, (Gal. iii. 23.)
" But before faith came, we were kept under the
law ;" by which the apostle plainly means this, that
before the revelation of the gospel to the world, we
were under the legal administration : for he adds
afterwards, " We were shut up unto the faith that
should afterward be revealed ;" and what is "the faith
that should afterward be revealed," but the gospel?
which in the fulness of time was to be revealed to
the world, till which time we were held under the
dispensation of the law : and (ver. 24.) " Wherefore
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto
Christ, that we might be justified by faith ;" that is,
the law was a discipline preparatory for the gospel,
that when that came, we might be justified by it :
and (ver. 25.) " But after that faith is come, we are
no longer under a schoolmaster," that is after the
gospel was revealed, we were set free from the
severe and harsh dispensation of the law ; and our
assent and submission to that revelation, is that
whereby we are said to be justified, (Rom. iii. 22.)
"Even the righteousness of God, which is by the
faith of Jesus Christ," that is, by the gospel, " unto
all, and upon all them that believe." And (ver. 26.)
" That he might be just, and the justifier of him
whjch believeth in Jesus ;" tov ek marnog 'It/gov, " the
jnstifier of him" that yields assent and submission to
y 2

316
the gospel of Christ. And this faith is said to be
" imputed to us for righteousness," (chap. iv. 24.)
" But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if
we believe on hiin that raised up Jesus our Lord
from the dead ;" that is, if we assent and submit to
the revelation of the gospel, which God hath con
firmed by that eminent miracle of raising up Christ
from the dead.
St. James tells us most expresslyj that the faith
which justifies doth contain obedience in it: and if
it do not, it is dead, and false, and ineffectual to all
purposes of pardon and salvation : and that if any
man pretend to faith, and that faith be destitute of
the proper and genuine effects of true faith, it will
be unprofitable to him, and not at all avail to his
justification and salvation. The sum of his dis
course is, that the faith which justifies and saves us,
must not only be a bare assent ofthe understanding
to the truths ofthe gospel : but must include in it
obedience to all the commands ofthe gospel: and
if it does not, it does no more deservethe name
of faith, than good words to a man in want, deserve
the name of charity : (chap. ii. ver. 14 — 17. " What
doth it profi^ my brethren, though a man say
he hath faith, and hath not works ? can faith save
him? If a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute
of daily food, and one of you say unto them, Depart
in peace, be ye warmed and filled ; notwithstanding
ye give them not those things which are needful to
fhe body ; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it
hath not works, is dead, being alone." And to this
purpose he instanceth in Abraham and Rahab, and
Shews that the faith which justified them, did include
in it the effects of faith, »viz. obedience and good
works, (ver. 21, 22.) " Was not Abraham our father

317
justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his
son upon the altar ? Seest thou how faith wrought
with his works, and by works was faith made per
fect ?" And (ver. 23.) " And the Scripture was ful
filled, which saith Abraham believed God, and it
was imputed unto him for righteousness." But if
Abraham was "justified by works," viz. by offering
up his son upon the altar, in obedience to God's
command, as he says before, at the 21st verse, how
was " the Scripture fulfilled, which saith, that faith
was imputed to him for righteousness," that is, he
was justified by faith ; unless faith take in the works
of obedience? From whence he concludes, "that
by works a man is justified, and not by faith only ;"
not by a naked assent to the truth, but by such a
faith as includes obedience ; which he farther illus
trates by a similitude at the last verse ; " As the
body without the spirit is dead, so faith without
works is dead also." A living faith doth as truly
contain obedience in it, as a living body contains a
spirit. And those distinctions which are commonly ap
plied to this discourse of St. James do not clear it,
but contradict the express design of it. Some say
that Fides quae est viva justificat ; sed non qua viva:
Faith which is living, justifies ; but not as a living
faith. Others say, {which is much to the same
purpose) Fides justificat sine operibus ; sed fides sine
operibus non > justificat : "Faith justifies without
works; but faith without works does not justify."
But St. James says expressly, " that we are justified
by works." How then is that true, that "faith
justifies without, works?" And he says that works
are the life of our faith. How then can any man
say, that " though faith justifies, yet not as it is a

318
living faith;" when we are justified by that which
is the very life of our faith, and that is obedience?
There are two other distinctions whereby men
endeavour to elude this plain text, which I did not
mention before ; " that faith justifies the person ;
and works justify the faith," and that this is St.
James's meaning. But what ground for this, when
the text speaks expressly of the person being jus
tified by works, as well as faith ? " Was not Abra
ham our father justified by works?" (ver. 21.) "You
see then that by works a man is justified : and not
by faith only." (Ver. 24.) " Likewise also was not
Rahab the harlot justified by works ?" What colour
is here for any man to say, that St. James doth not
speak of the justification of the person by works ;
but of the faith ? Or what necessity of framing this
distinction, but only to serve an opinion ? But at
this rate a man may maintain any thing, though it
be never so contrary to Scripture, and elude the
clearest text in the Bible.
The other distinction, which is much to the same
sense, is, that the apostle doth not here speak of a
real justification before God : but a declarative jus
tification before men. But according to this, what
sense can be made of (ver. 14.) " What doth it
profit, my brethren, if a man say, I have faith, and
have not works ? Can faith save him ?" That is, ac^
cording to this explication, Can faith without works
save him before men ?
And this doth not contradict St. Paul, who saith,
(Gal. ii. 16.) that " a man is not justified by the
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ."
For how does this, that we are justified not by
the legal dispensation, but by the faith of the gos
pel, which includes obedience and good works, con-

319
tradict what St. James says, that we are not justi
fied by a bare assent to the truth of the gospel, but
by obedience to the commands of it? And I do not
see that upon the contrary supposition, viz. that the
faith of the gospel doth not include obedience in it,
it is possible to reconcile these two apostles. Sup
pose this was St. Paul's meaning, that "we are jus
tified by faith," as the only condition and instrument,
call it what they will, of our justification; but not by
obedience or good works, as a condition of our jus
tification; by what kind of comment can St. James's
words be brought to this sense? What man would
allow that those words at the 21st verse, "Was not
Abraham our father justified by works, when he
offered Isaac his son upon the altar," should be ex
plained by this sense? Was not Abraham, when
in obedience to God's command he had offered his
son upon the altar, and upon this act of obedience
was justified, was not he justified by faith only, and
not by any work or act of obedience? Or that those
words at the 24th verse, " Ye see then that by
works a man is justified, and not by faith only,"
should be interpreted, Ye see then that by faith
only a man is justified, and not by works? and un
less they be thus interpreted, they are not to be re
conciled with the sense of St. Paul's words, which
many fasten upon them : but if St. Paul's words be
taken in the most plain and obvious sense they are
capable of, viz. that " we are not justified by the
works of the law," that is, by performing the works
required by the legal dispensation ; " but by the faith
of Jesus Christ," that is, by assenting and submitting
to the revelation of the gospel; we do not strain
St. James's words, to reconcile him with St. Paul.
And thus I have shewn, that where the Scripture

320
speaks of justification by faith, it speaks of this
faith which I have described. I add, and of no
other ; not of a bare appropriation of the grace and
mercy of the gospel; that is, in plain English, this
is not justifying faith, to believe that I am pardoned,
and justified, nor to have a firm assurance of this.
For if we be justified by faith, we must believe be
fore we can be justified; but if this be justifying
faith to believe, or be assured we are justified, we
must be justified before we believe; or else, when
we believe that we are justified, we must believe
that which is not true. Nor is this justifying faith,
to lay hold of the righteousness and merits of Christ
for the pardon of our sins ; that is, to trust and con
fide only in' that, as the meritorious cause of our
pardon. For though this be part of the notion of
justifying faith, it is not all ; though this be one of
the terms or conditions upon which we are justi
fied ; yet it is not the whole aud entire condition ;
which, besides this, takes in an assent to the whole
gospel, repentance from dead works, and obedience
to all the precepts of the gospel. And if any man
can produce any one text which saitb, that the faith
which' justifies, consists only in a trust and confi
dence in the merits of Christ, for the pardon of sin,
or any thing to this effect, I will be most ready
publicly to acknowledge my error : but if nobody
can do this, I shall beg their pardon, if I do con
tinue still of the same mind I was.
I have now done with the fourth thing I pro
pounded : but before I speak to the two heads
which remain, I must remove an objection or two,
that my former discourse may seem liable to.
Objection first, To make obedience a condition
of pardon seems to take away the freeness of God's
grace in pardoning sinners.

321
1. God's grace in pardoning a sinner is said to be
free, not because it is not suspended upon any con
dition ; for the Scripture tells us plainly, that it is
upon the condition of faith, and repentance, and
forgiving others, and the like; but it is free, be
cause God was pleased freely to give his Son to die
for our sins, and to accept of his sacrifice for the ex
piation of them, and to impose easy and reasonable
conditions upon us, in order to our enjoying of this
benefit; and upon such conditions, though they have
nothing of virtue or merit, of any natural or moral
efficacy, or deserve, or procure such a benefit as the
pardon of our sins, for the sake of his Son* whom
he gave to be a ransom for us, to receive us to grace
and mercy ; and I think this abundantly enough to
make our justification very gracious and free, though
not absolutely free from all condition.
Our salvation is said in Scripture to be as free
as our justification: we are said to be "saved by
grace," as well as "justified freely by his grace."
But will any man say, that we are saved without
any conditions, who reads these texts? "He that
believeth on the Son, hath everlasting life ; but he that
believeth not the Son, shall not see life." " Blessed
are the poor in heart : for they shall see God." " Ex- '
cept ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish." " If ye
walk after the flesh, ye shall die: but if through
the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye shall
live." " Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."
So that he who can understand how we may be
saved by grace, though our salvation be suspended
upou the condition of faith, repentance, and holi
ness, and obedience of life, may, if he please, under
stand how we may be justified freely by God's
grace, though it be upon the same conditions. So
I

322
that if men were not monstrously perverse, it is im
possible that they should not see the weakness of
this objection.
Objection the second, This is the doctrine of the
papists, that obedience and good works are a con
dition of our justification.
Answ. 1 . I am for the doctrine which is evidently
contained in Scripture, whoever hold it. A man
ought not to be frighted out ofthe truth by any name.
2. But there is a wide difference between the doc
trine of the papists about justification, and this
doctrine. They say, that obedience and good works
are not only a condition of our justification, but a
meritorious cause of it ; which I abhor as much as
any one. It is the doctrine of merit that the pro
testants chiefly oppose in the matter of justification;
and if some also oppose the papists about good
works being a condition, I know nobody that thinks
himself obliged to hold every opinion that any pro
testant hath maintained against the papists ; and
the like I say to the objection of Socinianism and
Arminianism, and a hundred names more, if people
think fit to fasten them upon it.
And now I might compare this doctrine with the
contrary. All that may be said against it is, that
it diminisheth the grace of God : but that I have
shewn it doth not : but then it hath these advan
tages. It is, so far as 1 can judge, (and mine own
judgment must govern me) much more plainly con
tained in the Scripture, and it is a doctrine more
*' according to godliness ;" it tends more to quicken
men to obedience, and a holy life, to believe that they
cannot have their sins otherwise pardoned, than to
believe that they may have their sins pardoned with
out obedience and a holy life ; and if obedience be

323
not a necessary condition of pardon, it is plain that
men may be pardoned without it. For example, if a
man promise me a thousand pounds, only upon this
condition, that I will believe him and trust him,
but without any condition of doing what he shall
command me, aud he shall declare thus much to
me ; if I can trust this man's word, I need not doubt
but I shall have the sum promised ; though I should
disobey him in every thing that he commanded me
to do: this is just the case; and if it be, it is no
wonder that men are so loth to disbelieve this plea
sant opinion, which gives men comfortable hopes of
the pardon of their sins, upon such easy terms,
Not that I am so uucharitable as not to acknow
ledge that our worthy and excellent divines, who
have been of this judgment, have always pressed
the necessity of holiness and obedience ; but I am
sorry they could not do it with so good advantage,
according to their principles, the natural conse
quences of them tending to licentiousness, and a
neglect of the precepts of the gospel ; to which pur
pose they have been sadly abused by several liber
tines in these and former times, ever since Luther's
days, and I could never yet see how antinomianism
could solidly be confuted upon those principles.
5. That no metaphorical descriptions of justify
ing faith are allowable any farther than as they serve
to illustrate the plain, and proper, and simple no
tion of faith. My meaning is, he that would teach
men what faith is, he must .first acquaint men with
the thing, and describe it in as proper and simple
words as can be, and not by figurative and meta
phorical phrases. Indeed, after a man hath de
livered the simple notion of a thing in proper words,
he may afterwards illustrate it by metaphors : but

324
then these are not to be insisted upon, and strained
to the utmost extent of the metaphor, beyond what
the true notion of the thing will bear; for if conse
quences once come to be drawn from metaphors,
and doctrines founded, and theories built upon
them, instead of illustrating the thing, they blind
and obscure it, and serve to no other purpose, but
to seduce and mislead the understandings of men,
and to multiply controversies without end ; and
(as I told you before) I do the rather take notice of
this abuse of metaphors upon this subject, because
I do not know any other head of divinity which
hath suffered so much by them, as the doctrine of
justifying faith, whereby the plain truth hath been
very much darkened, and occasion ministered to
many endless disputes. But this will best appear
by some particular instances. Justifying faith hath
usually been described by these metaphors, resting,
and relying, and leaning upon Christ, apprehending
and laying hold, and applying of Christ, receiving
of Christ, and coming to him. Now concerning
these, I shall briefly speak these three or four things :
(1.) That none of these metaphors, except the
two last, receiving of Christ, and coming to him,
are any where used in Scripture, to describe justify
ing faith by ; and therefore there is no reason why
they should be so much used and insisted on.
Let any man shew me where justifying faith is any
where in Scripture described by resting, and rely
ing, and leaning upon Christ, by apprehending, and
laying hold, and applying of him.
' (2.) If these metaphors were explained and turned
into "^proper and plain words, they can signify no
thing else, but that faith which I have been all this
while describing. For what can any. man under-

325
stand by resting, and relying, and leaning upon
Christ, but to trust in him, as the author of our eter
nal salvation, under which word all the benefits
which Christ hath purchased for us are compre
hended? Now can any man be said to trust in
Christ, as the author of his salvation, otherwise than
by assenting to the truth of the gospel, and com
plying with the terms and conditions of it? And
what can any man understand by apprehending,
and laying hold on, and applying Christ, other than
this, to make use of him for all those ends and pur
poses for which God hath appointed him ? And
what those are the Scripture tells us : that " he is
made unto us of God, wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption."
(3.) As for those Scripture metaphors of receiv
ing Christ, and coming to him, the Scripture useth
them but sparingly, and I dare say, for once that
it useth these metaphors, it doth twenty times de
scribe faith by plain and proper words ; and where
it doth make use of these metaphors, it doth suffi
ciently explain them. So you find coming to Christ
is explained by learning of him : (Matt. xi. 28, 29.)
" Come unto me all ye that labour, and are heavy
laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you, and learn of me : for I am meek and
lowly in heart ; and ye shall find rest unto your
souls." That is, Come to me as scholars and dis
ciples to be taught by me; in order to which it is
requisite we should believe him. Oportet discentem
credere, " He that will learn, must believe him that
teacheth him," and trust his skill. And so for re
ceiving him, lest the metaphor should seduce men,
":St John had no sooner used it, but he tells what he
means by it. (John i. 12.) " But as many as re-

S%6
ceived him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name;"
that is, believed him to be the person promised to
be the Messias, and Saviour of the world ; as ap
pears by the opposition in the verse before : " He
came to his own, and his own received him not ;"
that is, rejected him, did not own him to be the
true Messias. But now if we will strain such a me
taphor as this, beyond the intention of it, and be
cause believing is called a receiving of Christ, and
we receive things with the hand, and the hand is an
instrument, will from hence infer, that faith is an
instrument of our justification ; what may not men
make of the Scripture at this rate ?
(4.) I will add this concerning Scripture metar
phors in general, that where the Scripture useth
metaphors which were very familiar in those lan
guages in which the Scripture was written, and well
understood by those who spoke that language, but
are very obscure and uncouth to us, and not at all
used in our language, as most of the Scripture me
taphors are, the proper work of a minister is not to
insist in such cases upon Scripture metaphors, to
darken his discourse by them, but to explain them,
and make them intelligible, to translate them into
English, and instead of them, to use such phrases
as people are more familiarly acquainted with, and
are used in our own language. For a man may be
a barbarian that speaks to people in unknown
phrases and metaphors, as well as " he that speaks
in an unknown tongue ;" and the very same reason
that obligeth us to put the Scripture into a known
language, doth oblige men to explain the doctrines
contained in it by such phrases and metaphors as
are known and used in that language.

327
6. That if this plain and simple notion of justify
ing faith were admitted, it would supersede all
those controversies about justification, which have
so much troubled the reformed churches. Those
who have been curious to inquire into these matters,
have reckoned up at least twenty several opinions
among the protestants concerning justifying faith.
I do not desire to acquaint myself with those dif
ferences ; he that would know what justification
and justifying faith are, shall sooner come to un
derstand the nature of them, by diligent reading of
the Scriptures, than by reading over all the contro
versial writings of divines about them ; and if men
would but content themselves with those plain and
simple descriptions, which the Scripture gives us of
faith, there could not be any great difference about
it ; this would cut off most of those disputes which
have been commenced upon metaphors, and figura
tive speeches. And here I had thought to have
descended to a particular consideration of the con
troversies about justifying faith, but I am weary of
the work ; and therefore shall only make some
brief reflections upon this whole discourse, and
then apply it to our own use ; but this, God willing,
the next opportunity.

SERMON CCXXVII.
THE CONDITION OF THE GOSPEL-COVENANT, AND
THE MERIT OF CHEIST, CONSISTENT.
But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing
ye might have life through his name. — John
xx. 31.
I have in my former discourses on these words,
treated largely of the nature of Christian faith ; par
ticularly as it sanctifies, justifies, and saves men.
All that I farther propose is, to make some reflec
tions upon this whole discourse, particularly that
which relates to justifying faith, and then apply
all to our own use.
I have already taken notice of two objections, to
which my discourse may seem liable ; and if there
yet remain any prejudice upon any man's spirit
against this doctrine, I would desire such calmly
to consider it, and the agreeableness of it, not to
the opinions of men, but to the word of God, and
the suitableness of it to the great design of Christ
ian religion, every where expressed in the gospel,
which is to bring men to holiness and obedience.
And what argument and consideration can be more
powerful to take men off from sin, and to excite
them to the practice of holiness, than this, that re
pentance and obedience are an indispensable condi
tion of our justification and pardon? And this
is the very point in difference, whether the gospel

329
do not make repentance and obedience the condi
tions of our pardon and justification, as well as an
assent to the truth of the gospel, and a trust in
Christ as the meritorious cause of our salvation.
That they are, I have endeavoured to prove from
Scripture ; and, for the farther clearing of it, I de
sire that the nature of the gospel covenant may be
well considered, which I take to be this. On God's
part, there are certain benefits promised, justifica
tion and pardon of sin, and eternal life and salva
tion. On our part there are certain conditions re
quired before we can be made partakers of those
benefits ; these are, to assent to the truth of the
gospel, trusting in Christ as our only Saviour, re
pentance from dead works, and a sincere purpose
and resolution of obedience, and a holy life; these
make up the whole and entire condition of the gos
pel, and are often expressed by this one word, faith,
which signifies the whole duty of a Christian ; be
cause he that truly believes the gospel, will do what
ever the gospel requires. And hence it is, that to
be a Christian, and to be a believer, are in the
phrase of the New Testament all one. Now the
matter in controversy is plainly this ; whether this
whole condition be required of us in order to our
pardon and justification, as well as in order to our
salvation. That repentance, and obedience, and
holiness of life, are conditions of our salvation, I
think, is universally agreed ; I am sure it is clearly
expressed in these two texts — " Christ is the author
of eternal salvation to them that obey him ;" (Heb.
v. 9.) " Without holiness no man shall see the
Lord ;" (Heb. xii. 14.) And that the conditions of
our justification and salvation are the same, I think
is every whit as clear, both from Scripture, and from
vol. ix. z

330
the general acknowledgment of divines, by neces
sary consequence. From Scripture : St. James says,
that the same thing that justifies us, saves us ; for
when be disputes, whether we are justified by faith
only, or by faith and works, he hath this expression,
" What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man
sa<y he hath faith, and have not works; can faith
save him ?" From whence the inference is plain,
that upon the very same condition that we are justi
fied* we are saved. And it is evident, by necessary
consequence, from the general acknowledgment of
divines ; for I think this is universally agreed by
divines, that whatever puts a man into a state of
justification and pardon, puts a man into a state of
salvation ; and if this be true, it necessarily fol
lows, that the conditions of our justification and sal
vation are the same: and if assent to the truth of
the gospel, and trust in Christ as our only Saviour,
be the only conditions of our justification, then they
are the only conditions of our salvation ; and reu
pentance and obedience are not conditions of our
salvation : but if they be conditions of our salva
tion, then they are of our justification. And I will
be bold to say, that this bath as much of demon
stration in it, as any thing in divinity is capable of;
and I wonder extremely how any man that considers
the nature of the gospel covenant, can imagine that
We should be made partakers of any blessing or be
nefit promised in the covenant, without performing
the whole condition of the covenant.
And now, if any man ask, Cui bono ? To what
end is all this ? Suppose it be true, to what pur
pose is it to awaken differences, and stir up contro
versies about these matters? In order to these two
ends, which I take to be very considerable.

331
L: That we may be able to answer the papists,
wh6 charge us with solifidianism : as if we were of
this opinion-^-that if a man do but trust in Christ,
that is, be but confidently persuaded that he will
save him and pardon him, this is sufficient; and con
sequently, he that is thus persuaded, need not take
any farther care of his salvation, but may live as he
list : and I do not see how this can be avoided ;
especially if this be true, which our divines univer
sally assert, that whatever puts a man into a justi
fied state, puts him into a state of salvation ; I say,
I do not see how this charge can be avoided, unless
we own holiness and obedience to be conditions of
our justification, as well as trust in Christ. I know
no other middle way between popery and antino-
mianism. But,
2. Which is more considerable, Without this we
can give no satisfactory and reasonable account of
our religion to a heathen. Suppose a heathen
should say thus; Your religion gives a very good
account of the corruption and sinfulness of man
kind, and hath provided a very probable remedy for
the expiation of it, by the death ofthe Son of God:
but this seems to me very unreasonable, and to con
tradict the most natural notions that we have of
God's justice and holiness, that he should pardon
men, as you say he does, though they do not repent
of their sins, nor are resolved to leave them, nay,
though they be resolved to go on in a wicked
course. Did ever any wise prince pardon a traitor
Upon these terms? But whoever says that repent
ance, and' a sincere purpose and resolution of obe
dience are not the condition of our pardon, says,
that God will pardon men without repentance,
though they are not at all sorry for what they have
z 2

332
done, nor resolved to change their course: for
that is a condition without which a thing cannot
be ; and if repentance be not a condition of pardon,
a man may be pardoned without it. And if this be
true, Christianity is the most lewd and senseless
doctrine in the world. For what can be a greater
encouragement to sin than this, to tell men that they
may be pardoned without repentance? That is,
though they live in sin, and continue so to do. Pagan
ism never taught any such thing. Nay, they may add
farther, that this which you teach as the doctrine of
your religion, seems expressly contrary to your own
books, which you say contain your religion. Does
not the Bible say, that " he that confesseth and for-
saketh his sin shall find mercy ?" And doth not this
plainly imply, that repentance is a condition of par
don? " Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return
unto tbe Lord, and he will have mercy upon him :
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."
Doth it not say, that " if you forgive not men their
trespasses, neither will your heavenly Father for
give you ?" Can any words more plainly express a
condition than these do? — How should we be able
to defend our religion against such au assault, un
less we disclaim this charge, and tell them plainly,
and without a distinction, that our religion teacheth
that repentance, and resolution of holiness, and obe
dience, are conditions of our pardon and justifica
tion? I would to God men would consult the ho
nour of Christianity, and when they hold any opi
nion, they would not consider the interest of a
party, but the universal concernment of the Christ
ian religion ! If we had to deal with subtle hea
thens, as the primitive fathers of the church had, we

333
should see a necessity of laying aside such unrea
sonable opinions. I would fain have any man shew
any one clear passage out of any of the ancient
fathers and writers concerning Christian religion,
which says, that trust in Christ for salvation is the
only condition of our justification, and that repent
ance and obedience are not ; or that explains justi
fication by faith alone, in this sense. I know it is
usually said, the ancient fathers and Christians were
ignorant of the doctrine of justification in a great
measure, and knew very little of the mystery of the
gospel. I know not what they mean by mystery,
but I am sure they defined Christian religion better,
and gave a more reasonable and satisfactory ac
count of it, than any of those do who are so apt to
slight them.
The use of this doctrine is as follows :
First, To persuade men to place all their hope
and confidence of salvation in Jesus Christ, the Son
of God ; that is, to believe that through the alone
merit of his death and sufferings, God is reconciled
to us, and that only upon the account of the satis
faction which he hath made to Divine justice, we
are restored to the favour of God, and our sins are
pardoned to us, and we have a title to eternal life.
Not but that there are conditions required on our
part, to make us capable of these benefits, faith and
repentance, and sincere obedience and holiness of
life, without which we shall never be made par
takers of them : but that the satisfaction of Christ
is the only meritorious cause of these blessings.
And to persuade men to the belief of this, I shall
endeavour to satisfy them of these two things:
I. That Christ hath properly merited these bless
ings for us.

334
II. That he only hath done it. The first of these
propositions is directly levelled against the Soci-
nians : the Second against the papists. I shall speak
but briefly of them.
I. That Christ hath properly merited these bless
ings for us: and this being purely matter of
revelation, we are to rely upon Scripture only for
the proof of it. (xMatt. xx. 28.) " The Son of man
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and
to give his life a ransom for many," Xwpov owiroXXwv,
" a price of redemption," instead of that which should
have been paid by us. (John vi. 51.) " And the
bread which I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world." (John x. 11.) Christ
is called " the good shepherd that lays down his life
for his sheep." (John xv. 12, 13.) "This is my com
mandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved
you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a
man lay down his life for his friends." (Matt.
xxvi. 28.) " For this is my blood of the new testa
ment, which is shed for many, for the remission of
6ins." (Rom. v. 6.) " For when we were yet without
strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly,"
(1 Cor. xv. 3.) " For I delivered unto you first of
all, that which I also received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the Scriptures," (2 Cor,
v. 14, 15.) "For the love of Christ constraineth us;
because we thus judge, that if one died for all,
then were all dead : and that he died for all, that
they which live, should not henceforth live unto
themselves, but unto him which died for them, and
rose again." (Eph. i. 7.) " In whom we have re
demption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins
acoordingto the riches of his grace." (Col. i. 20 — .22.)
" And (having made peace through the blood of

335
his cross) by him to reconcile all things unto him
self; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth,
or things in heaven. And you that were sometime
alienated, and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now hath he reconciled, in the body
of his flesh through death, to present you holy
and unblamable, and unreprovable in his sight."
(1 Thess. v. 9, 10.) " For God hath not appointed
us to wrath ; but to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ, who died for us." (Heb. ii. 9.) " That
he by the grace of God should taste death for every
man." (Heb. ix. 11 — 15.) " But Christ being come
a high-priest of good things to come, by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands,
that is to say, not of this building ; neither by the
blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained
redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats, and the ashes of an heifer, sprinkling the
unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh ;
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without
spot to God, purge your conscience from dead
works, to serve the living God ? And for this cause
he is the Mediator of the new testament, that by
means of death, for the redemption of the trans
gressions that were under the first testament, they
which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance." And, (ver. 25 — 28.) " Nor yet that he
should offer himself often, as the high-priest entereth
into the holy place every year with blood of others :
for then must he often have suffered since the
foundation of the world : but now once in the end
ofthe world, hath he appeared to put away sin by
the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed

336
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment :
so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many;
and unto them that look for him, shall he appear
the, second time, without sin, unto salvation." (Heb.
x. 11, 12.) " And every priest standeth daily minis
tering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices,
which can never take away sins : but this man after
he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat
down on the right hand of God." (I Pet. i. 18, 19.)
" Forasmuch as ye know that ye were notredeemed
with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from
your fathers : but with the precious blood of Christ,
as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,"
(1 Pet. ii. 21. 24.) " Because Christ also suffered
for us; who his own self bare our sins, in his own
body, on the tree." (1 Pet. iii. 18.) " For Christ also
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God." (1 John ii. 1, 2.)
" My little children, these things write I unto you,
that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous :
and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for
ours only, but also for the-sins of the whole world."
(1 John iii. 16.) " Hereby perceive we the love of
God, because he laid down his life for us : and we
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
(1 John iv, 10.) " Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins." (Rev. i. 5.) " Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins> by
his own blood." (Rev. v. 9.) '* Thou wast slain
and hast redeemed ~us to God by thy blood, out of
every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation."
From these and many other texts, it seems to be

337
very plain and evident, that Christ died for our sins,
and suffered in our stead, and by the sacrifice of
himself has made an atonement for us, and recon
ciled us to God, and hath paid a price and ransom
for us, and by the merit of his death hath purchased
for us forgiveness of sins, and " inheritance among
them that are sanctified." And I do not know any
doctrine of our religion, that is founded and estab
lished upon more and plainer texts, which cannot
be understood in any other sense, without offering
great violence to the first and most obvious meaning
of them.
I know the Socinians have framed evasions to all
these texts, which I haA'e not time now to produce
and examine ; nor would it be worth the while. 1
shall only say this to them in general ; that there is
no principle of religion so plainly laid down in the
whole Scripture, but may be overthrown by the
same or the like evasions. Suppose Christ had
died in our stead, and made satisfaction for sin, and
God had intended to declare so much to us ; in what
plainer and more express and proper words could
he have done it, than the Scripture hath already
done? If God had said in the Scripture expressly
that " Christ had died in our place and stead, and
had satisfied for our sins;" these very expressions,
by the same arts of interpretation, might have been
strained and wrested to some other sense. So that
if God did not intend to express to us by these texts,
that " Christ satisfied for the sins of men ;" yet
they are so obvious to be interpreted to that sense,
and so hardly, if at all, capable of any other, that
we cannot imagine, without a great reflection upon
the wisdom of God, that he should dejiver his mind
to men in words and expressions so exceedingly

338
liable to a quite different sense from what he in
tended. Besides that there is nothing more unrea
sonable than to deny that to be the meaning of
Scripture, which if it had been the meaning could
not have been expressed in plainer and more advan
tageous words; especially when this is done, not in
one or two texts, but very many ; and not by one
form of expression, but several, and all inclining to
the same sense ; and, which is worst of all, this
violence is offered to Scripture in a matter which
does neither contradict other texts, nor the reason
of mankind, viz. that one man should suffer in
another's stead, and make satisfaction for the crimes
and faults which another hath committed ; sup
posing the party offended be willing to accept ofthe
commutation, and the party that suffers in another's
stead do voluntarily do it.
II, That Christ only hath merited these blessings
for us, and that he had no partner with him in this;
or there is^no other hath merited these blessings for
us, nor can we ourselves merit them.
1. No other hath merited these blessings for us.
Not to take notice of what the papists say, of the
meritoriousness of our works of supererogation,
which go into the treasury of the church, and make
up a public stock of merit, to be disposed and dealt
out by the pope at his discretion ; they have by
a most unparalleled blasphemy joined the Virgin
Mary with Christ in the work of our redemption ;
and some of them have been so impiously bold, as
to parallel the virtue of her milk with the efficacy of
Christ's blood. And though Christ say, " that he
trod the wine-press of his Father's wrath alone, and
ofthe people, there was none with him ;" yet Bona-
venture in his meditations ventures to corrupt the

339
text by this foolish gloss, Nullus erat tecum. Rede,
Domine, sed erat tecum femina ; " Right, Lord^
there was no man with thee, but there was a woman,
viz. thy mother."
2. Nor can we ourselves do any thing whereby
we can merit these blessings at God's hand. Con
sidering that we received our being, and all that we
are and have from God, and upon account of these
benefits are obliged to love him and serve him to the
utmost ; what a senseless piece of arrogance is it to
say, that a creature can merit any thing at God's
hand? Whatever we give God is of his own, and
when we have done all we can, we have done no
more than our duty. And can any man challenge a
reward for doing what he ought to do ? Can any man
make satisfaction for a fault that he hath committed,
by doing his duty, that is, by not committing an
other? It is a sure rule, debitum debito non solvitur.
We are indebted to God by the breach of his law :
but we cannot quit this debt, and satisfy for this
breach, by not breaking it again, because we owe to
God all possible obedience.
Besides that all our obedience is imperfect, and
is so far from meriting, that it stands in need of par
don; and can a man demerit and merit by the same
action? Can he who deserves to be punished for an
action, because he did it no better, deserve to be
rewarded for the same action, because he did it so
well ? And to say that Christ hath merited that our
imperfect obedience should merit, either signifies
only this, that Christ hath merited that our imper
fect obedience should be accepted by God, notwith
standing its imperfection (and this is true, but no
thing to the purpose of merit) ; or else it signifies,
that Christ hath merited that that which is no wise

340
meritorious, should be so ; that is, that the nature of
things should be altered ; which is not only false,
but senseless.
Secondly, To persuade us to live as we believe.
If we profess to believe the gospel to be true, then
let our hearts and lives be suitable to those truths
which we believe. If we believe Jesus to be the
Christ, the Son of God, we believe the doctrine
which he delivered to the world to be from God,
and consequently to be true ; we believe the pre
cepts of it are holy, and just, and good, and that
they are necessary to be observed by us, as being in
order to our peace and happiness ; we believe that
the promises of the gospel are " all yea, and amen,"
and shall every tittle of them be made good ; we be
lieve that the threatenings ofthe gospel shallall punc
tually be fulfilled. Now how ought men to live,
that believe all this ? Having a law given us which
hath the sanction of such promises and threatenings,
ought we not to conform our lives to it ; and charge
ourselves with obedience to all those precepts of
piety towards God, and purity and temperance in
the government of ourselves, and justice and right
eousness in our dealings with others, which are con
tained in this new law of the gospel ? If the gospel
hath promised eternal life and happiness to those
who do conscientiously abstain from sin, and follow
holiness ; having these promises, ought we not " to
cleanse ourselves from all filthiness both of flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God ?" If the
gospel hath threatened, that at the end ofthe world,
Christ will " come in flaming fire," &c. if we be
lieve these things shall be, " what maimer of persons
ought we to be in all holy conversation and god
liness?"

341
I have formerly shewed at large, how unbecom
ing it is for any man that professeth himself ,a
Christian, to live unsuitable to his profession, that
it is the greatest disparagement to the gospel, and
the highest reflection upon it that can be ; and that
it is infinitely dangerous to us; and though these be
very proper considerations,' yet, because I have for
merly urged them, I shall not now enforce my ex
hortation with these arguments ; but shall mention
two other considerations, and so conclude.
First, If our lives be not answerable to our belief,
our faith will be ineffectual to all intents and pur
poses. Secondly, A life unsuitable to our belief, is the
high way to infidelity and atheism.
First, If our lives be not answerable to our belief,
our faith will be ineffectual to all real intents and
purposes. 1. It will be ineffectual to give us the reputation
of Christians among wise and discerning persons.
We profess to believe the gospel ; but if we live
contrary to it, our profession is protestatio contra
factum, and therefore not credible ; because our ac
tions contradict it. The constant tenor of a man's
actions is a more credible and emphatical declara
tion ofthe inward sense of his heart, and shews bet
ter what the man believes, than the most solemn
profession in words. When our words are not con
firmed by our actions, they are but an empty sound,
and signify nothing. I may allude to that of St.
Paul, (1 Cor. xiii. 2.) " Though a man have all faith,"
yet, if he be destitute of the true effect of faith,
" charity, he is but as a sounding brass, and a tink
ling cymbal." St. James doth very well set forth the
inefficacy of such a faith, by this similitude, (James

342
ii. 15 — 17.) " If a brother or sister be naked, and
destitute of daily food, and one of you say unto
them, Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled ;
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which
are needful to the body, what doth it profit? even
so faith, if it hath not works, is dead," Men are
not so easily cozened as we think they are. Dis
cerning men will not be imposed upon, and put off
with a formal and empty profession of faith, when
there is nothing in our lives to answer it. It is not
standing up in the church, and professing that we
believe in God, and in Jesus Christ, that he was
born, and died, and rose again, and at the end of
the world will come to judge the quick and the
dead, that will persuade men that we are Christians.
Men will look into our lives, and examine our ac
tions, and inquire into our conversations : by these
they will judge of the truth and reality of our pro
fession. Let us not delude ourselves, and think to
pass for Christians upon these terms, among any
that know how to make a true judgment of things.
We may cozen ourselves ; but we cannot cheat
others, who are not so partial to us as we are apt
to be to ourselves. It is not our winking that hin
ders others from seeing us.
Nay, I go farther, it is not an earnest contending
for fundamental articles of our Christian faith, if we
live contrary to them, that will satisfy any wise man
that we believe them ; much less an intemperate
zeal for indifferent opinions in religion, Such were
the doctrines concerning the necessity on the one
hand, and the unlawfulness of circumcision on the
other ; but the assent to the one opinion or the other
in these matters, " neither circumcision availeth any
thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith that worketh

N.

349
by love, the new creature, the keeping of the com
mandments of God," as the apostle in several places
expresseth it. Men stand much upon the title of
orthodox, by which is usually understood, not be
lieving the doctrine of Christ or his apostles, but
such opinions as are in vogue among such a party,
such systems of divinity as have been compiled in
haste by those whom we have in admiration ; and
whatever is not consonant to these little bodies of
divinity, though possibly it agree well enough with
the word of God, is error and heresy ; and whoever
maintains it, can hardly pass for a Christian among
some angry and perverse people. I do not intend
to, plead for any error ; but I would not have Christ
ianity chiefly measured by matters of opinion. 1
know no such error and heresy as a wicked life.
That man believes the gospel best, who lives most
according to it. Though no man can have a worse
opinion of the Socinian doctrine than I have, yet I
had rather a man should deny the satisfaction of
Christ, than believe it, and abuse it to the en
couragement of sin. Of the two I have more
hopes of him that denies the divinity of Christ,
and lives otherwise soberly, and righteously, and
godly in the world, than of the man who owns
Christ to be the Son of God, and lives like a child
ofthe devil.
2. Such a faith as hath not an answerable life,
1 will be ineffectual to the purpose of justification and
salvation. St. James tells us, it is " a dead faith,
and profits nothing," that no man is justified by it,
nor will it save any man. Christ is the author of
eternal salvation to them who so believe his doc
trine as to obey it. He will come in flaming fire, to
render vengeance not only to them that do not be-

344
lieve, but tb them that do not obey the gospel. It
will not be sufficient at the day of judgment, to
plead our profession of faith in Christ, and to say,
" Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name,
and in thy name have cast out devils, and in thy name
have done many wondrous works?" Doing all this in
Christ's name, implies that they profess to believe
in him: but notwithstanding all this, if they be
" workers of iniquity," Christ will say to such, " De
part from me, I know you not." If our Saviour
makes a true and proper representation of the day
of judgment; and the proceedings of it, (Matt, xxv.)
men's faith shall then be tried by the real fruits and
effects of it ; then the inquiry shall be, how men have
lived ; what good they have done, or omitted and
neglected ? and accordingly sentence will be passed
upon them. Nay, such a faith is so far from saving,
that it will be an aggravation of our condemnation,
and sink us the deeper into hell. " There is one
that condemneth you, even Jesus in whom ye trust."
Secondly, A life unsuitable to our belief is the
high way to infidelity and atheism, to bring others
and ourselves to it.
1. To bring others to infidelity and atheism, and
to confirm them in it. What can be a more effec
tual bar to keep heathens, and Jews, and Turks,
from entertaining the gospel ? What can be a
greater confirmation of them in their infidelity, than
so to misrepresent Christian religion to them, as we
do by our unsuitable lives ? What can be a stronger
prejudice against it, to men who do not look nar
rowly into it, but only see it at a distance, than to
see what fruit it produces in the lives of Christians ?
May they not invert that proverbial speech of our
Saviour's, " Does a vine send forth thorns ?" If

345
Christianity were such a holy institution, how comes
it to pass that Christians are so wicked ? If Jesus
Christ were so excellent a master, we should see it
in his scholars; Si Christus sancta docuisset, Christi-
ani sande vixissent, as Salvian speaks. And it is
the way to bring men to atheism. What more likely
to take a man off from all religiou, than to see the
religion which pretends to be the best in the world,
represented by the lives of Christians at such a dis
advantage, as if it were a barren and fruitless and
ineffectual thing, and as if they who profess it, did
believe it to be a lie, and gave no credit at all to the
doctrines of it?
2. It is the way to bring ourselves to infidelity
and atheism. As an erroneous judgment and un
derstanding hath usually an evil influence upon
men's lives, so much more a vicious and corrupt life
hath a bad influence upon men's understandings.
It is so uneasy a thing for men to act contrary to
their reason, and against the dictates of their under
standings, that men for their own quiet, and in their
own defence, will bend their judgments, and make
them comply with the interest of their lusts. Men's
affections; which way soever they incline, set a bias
upon their understandings ; and this doth not only
proceed from the nature of the thing, but from the
just judgment of God : (2 Thess. ii. 10 — 12.) the
apostle tells us, " that those who receive not the
truth in the love of it, that they may be saved ; God
will send them strong delusions, to believe lies ;
that they all may be damned, who believe not the
truth, but have pleasure in unrighteousness." If
men once " have pleasure in unrighteousness," it will
not be long before they give over " believing the
truth," because God by his just judgment will give
vol. ix. 2 A

346
them over to themselves, to follow the bias of their
own corrupt hearts, which incline them to be
lieve lies. Of all persons in the world, a wicked
and unholy Christian is most likely to turn a specu
lative infidel and atheist ; and none so likely to fall
into this gross darkness, as those who resist and
quench so great a light as that of the gospel is,
which they profess to believe.

SERMON CCXXVIII.
OF THE MIRACLES WROUGHT IN CONFIRMATION
OF CHRISTIANITY.
God also bearing them witness, bot/fwith signs and
wonders , and with divers miracles, and gifts qf the
Holy Ghost, according to his oion will. — Heb. ii. 4,
Whoever impartially considers the Christian reli
gion, cannot but acknowledge the laws and pre
cepts of it to be so reasonable ; and the practice of
them so evidently to tend not only to the happiness
of particular persons, but to the peace and welfare
of the world ; and the promises and threatenings of
the gospel, which are the great motives to persuade
men to the obedience of those laws, to be so agree
able to the natural hopes and fears which mankind
were always possessed withal ; that upon this con
sideration, it might justly be expected, that the doc
trine of Christianity, upon the first publication of.it,
should have been entertained with a readiness of
mind proportionable to the reasonableness of it.
Or if the bare reasonableness of it be not thought
inducement enough, we may easily imagine, how
God, if he had pleased, could, upon the first appear
ance of this religion in the world, have given it such
advantages, as would mightily have contributed to
the more easy reception and entertainment of it.
He could have ordered things so, that our blessed
Saviour, the author of this doctrine, should have
been, as the Jews expected, a great temporal mo-
2 a2

348
narch ; he could have raised him to that dignity,
and have armed him with that authority, as must
have given him a mighty power and influence over
mankind, and would have gained the great, and the
wise, and the learned, to have been active instru
ments in the propagating of this religion, and in
persuading men to the embracing of it.
But he, " whose ways are above our ways, and
whose thoughts are above our thoughts, as the hea
vens are above the earth," did not think fit to have
it promoted apd carried on this way ; nay, he seems
on purpose to have stripped it of all secular advan
tages, that it might be perfectly free from all suspi
cion of a worldly interest and design, and that it
might be evident to all the world, that it was " a
plant which his own right hand had planted ;" and
that it did not owe its establishment to the autho
rity, and wisdom, and Contrivance of men, but to the
power of God, and to the immediate favour and
contrivance of Heaven.
And now, being thus destitute of all worldly as
sistance, though never so reasonable in itself, it was
not likely that it should be able with success to
grapple with the lusts and corruptions of men, to
which it was so directly opposite ; nor with the strong
prejudices of their education in a contrary religion,
which are always hard to be overcome ; nor with
the temporal interests of men, which were all at that
time to he renounced and quitted for its sake; un
less it had some other advantages to make way for
it, and to recommend it to the minds of men. For,
having no secular baits and allurements to tempt
men to the profession of it ; no earthly contrivance
and assistance to support it and bear it out, but, on
the contrary, the most violent and powerful opposi-

349
tion raised against it ; it was necessary thatthose who
offered it to the world, should be able to give credit
to it some other way, and to produce very sensible
and convincing arguments of another kind : other
wise they might have despaired of ever conquering
the prejudices of men against it, and of persuading
them to embrace that religion, which was so ap
parently contrary both to their inclinations and
interests. So that in these circumstances, in order to the full
conviction of men, that those who published this
doctrine to them came from God, and were commis
sioned and sent by him to teach the world, it was
very fitting, that God himself should give some re
markable testimony to the first preachers of it ; and
this the text tells us he did, by " bearing witness to
them, with signs and wonders, and with divers mira
cles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost."
For the better understanding of these words, we
shall do well to reflect upon the design of this Epis
tle, which was to establish the Jews, who had but
newly embiuced Christianity, in the steadfast belief
and profession of it, notwithstanding the troubles
and persecutions which attended it; and to this end
the apostle represents lo them that the gospel was
delivered with more authority, and had a greater
confirmation given to it, than the law. The law
was delivered by angels; but the gospel by the
Son of God : and if the contempt of the law was so
severely punished, what might they expect would be
the fate of those who should slightand reject the gos
pel? " If the word spoken by angels was steadfast,
and every transgression and disobedience received
a just recompence of reward ; how shall we escape,
if we neglect so great salvation, which at first began

350
to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto
us by them that heard him ; God also bearing them
witness with signs and wonders, and with divers
miracles, and gifts ofthe Holy Ghost, according to
his own will?" ~2vv£m/i.apTvpovvTOQ tov Oeov,- " God
adjoining this farther testimony of signs and won
ders." The apostles testified what they had heard
from our Lord ; and to give credit and confirmation
to their testimony, God was pleased to endow them
with miraculous gifts ; " he bare them witness with
signs, and wonders, and miracles." So likewise
Acts xiv. 3. it is said, that " God gave testimony
to the word of his grace, granting signs and won
ders to be done by the apostles." Sometimes there
are more words put together, to express the giving
of this miraculous power: (Acts ii. 22.) " Jesus of
Nazareth, approved of God by miracles, and won
ders, and signs." (2 Cor. xii. 12.) St. Paul speaking
of himself says, " The signs of an apostle were
wrought among you, in all patience, in signs, and
wonders, and miracles." These were the marks of
an extraordinary and immediate commission, such
as was that ofthe apostles.
It is to no purpose nicely to inquire into the dif
ference Of these words, cr^eia TcpaTa Svvduuc;; " signs,
wonders, and miracles," because in all probability
there is no difference intended, it being the manner
ofthe Hebrews, when they would express a great
thing, or a great degree of any thing, to heap seve
ral words together, signifying the same thing. So
we find, (Deut. vi. 5.) " Thou shalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy might ;" that is, greatly, with a very
ardent and intense degree of affection. So likewise
in the text, God is said to " bear witness to the

351
apostles, With signs, aud wonders, and miracles f
that is, in a very eminent and extraordinary man-?
ner, by great and wonderful miracles.
From these words three things offer themselves
to our consideration.
First, That miracles are a Divine testimony given
to a person or doctrine ; " God bearing them testi
mony, by signs, and wonders, and miracles."
Secondly, That God gave this testimony to the
apostles and first preachers of Christianity, in a
very eminent manner: for so the phrase signifies,
so many words being multiplied to express the
greatness of the thing.
Thirdly, We will consider the reason why mira
cles are now ceased in the church, and have been
for several ages, so that there have been no foot
steps of them for a long time.
First, That miracles are a Divine testimony
given to a person or doctrine. God is here said " to
bear witness to the apostles, with signs, and won
ders, and divers miracles;" that is, the miracles
which God enabled them to work, were an evidence
that their doctrine was from God.
And because there is some difficulty in this argu
ment, therefore, that we may the more distinctly
understand of what force this argument or testi
mony of miracles is, to prove the divinity of any
person or doctrine, it will be requisite clearly to
state these two things:
I. What a miracle is.
II. In what circumstances, and with what limita
tions, miracles are a sufficient testimony to the
truth and divinity of any doctrine. The clearing of
these two things shall be my work at this time.
I. What a miracle is. The shortest and plainest

352
description I can give of it, is this : that it is a super-*
natural effect, evident and wonderful to sense. So
that there are two things necessary to a miracle.
I. That it be a supernatural effect.
2. That it be evident and wonderful to sense.
1. That it be a supernatural effect. By a super
natural effect, I mean such an effect, as either in
itself, and in its own nature, or in the manner and
circumstances of it, exceeds any natural power that
we know of to produce it. For there are some
things that are miraculous in themselves; others
that are only miraculous in the manner and circum
stances of their operation. For instance : the resinv
rectidn of one from the dead, is a thing which in
itself is supernatural, and an effect above any power
that we know of in nature to produce; but the
healing of several diseases, and the speaking of
languages, are not things which are in themselves
and in their nature supernatural : for we see that
they may be acquired by natural skill and industry:
but to heal all sorts of diseases, in an instant, and
by a word, and without the application of natural
means; and on a sudden to speak languages which
a man never learned; these are things which, though
they be not in their nature, yet in such circum
stances as these, they are supernatural.
I say, that a supernatural effect, is that which is
above any natural power that we know of to pro
duce; by which I do not mean, that miracles are
always an immediate effect of the Divine power,
and consequently that God alone can work them.
For angels, good or bad, may do such things as ex
ceed any natural power known to us, and such as
we cannot distinguish by any certain marks and
characters from those effects which are wroughtby

353
the immediate power of God ; and if we cannot dis
tinguish them they are equally miracles to us. When
the angel slew a hundred and eighty-five thousand in
the camp of the Assyrians in one night, this ought
in all reason to be reckoned a miracle; and yet this,
though dqne by the command of God, an angel might
do by his own power and strength; for " they excel
in strength :" but what limitations to set to their
power, we cannot tell, only it is finite ; so that ex
cepting those things, which the Scripture hath pe
culiarly appropriated to God, we cannot say what
it is that an angel cannot do.
The same may be said concerning evil angels.
The devil may work wonders, or assist his instru
ments to work them. So Pharaoh's magiciaus
wrought several miracles by the power of the devil,
and did some of the very same things that Moses
and Aaron did, either really or in appearance, and
it is all one whether. For he who to men's senses
turns a rod into a serpent, works as great a miracle
to me, as he who really does it ; and if I am not to
believe a thing to be a miracle, when to my senses
it appears to be wrought, I am never to believe any,
unless I could make some difference between those
miracles which are real, and those that only appear
to be wrought ; for if we know not how to distin
guish them, they are to us all one as if they were
real : but if they may be distinguished, then there
will be need of another miracle, to shew which are
real and which not: and the same question and
doubt will arise about that miracle, and so without
end. So that I do not see what is gained by saying,
that Pharaohs magicians did only delude men's
senses, but did not turn their rods really into ser-

354
pents, as Aaron did his; because this may be said
on one side, as well as on the other: for to the
standers-by there was no difference, but the one
seemed to the senses of the beholders to be as real
as the other ; and the text makes no difference, but
says, " the magicians did in like manner ; for they
cast down every man his rod, and they became ser-
pents,"only Aaron's had this ad vantage, that "his rod
swallowed up their rods :" but the main difference
was here, Moses and Aaron wrought such miracles,
as the magicians could not work, neither really,
nor in appearance : for when Aaron by smiting the
dust with his rod, had turned it into lice, it is said
that the magicians attempted to do so with their enr
chantments, but could not, and then they yielded
and acknowledged that it was " the finger of God."
And if they had not been thus plainly overcome,
but could to all appearance of sense, have done all
those things which Moses and Aaron did, it might
justly have been disputed which had been the true
prophets. So that the devil and his instruments may work
miracles. Moses plainly supposeth that a false
prophet, who comes to seduce the people to idola
try, may work a true sign or wonder. (Deut. xiii.
1, 2.) "If there arise among you a prophet or a
dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a won
der; and the sign or the wonder come to pass,
whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after
other gods." And our blessed Saviour expressly
foretells, (Matt, xxiv.) that false Christs and false
prophets shall arise after his death, and shew great
signs and wonders.
From all which it is evident, that it is not of the
essence of a miracle (as many have thought), that it

355
be an immediate effect of the Divine power. It is
sufficient, that it exceed any natural power that we
know of to produce it. And if such effects be not
to be esteemed miracles, a miracle would signify
nothing; because no man could know when it is
wrought, nor distinguish it from those effects which
appear to be miraculous, but are not. This is the
first property or condition of a miracle, that it be
supernatural ; that is, such an effect as exceeds
any natural power that we know of to produce it.
But then,
2. There is another condition also required to
a miracle, that it be an effect evident and wonder
ful to sense: for if we do not see it, it is to us as
if it were not, and can be no testimony or proof
of any thing, because itself stands in need of an
other miracle to give testimony to it, and to prove
that it was wrought; and neither in Scripture, nor
profane authors, nor in common use of speech, is
any thing called a miracle, but what falls under the
notice of our senses ; a miracle being nothing else
but a thing wonderful to sense ; and the very end
and design of it is to be a sensible proof and con
viction to us of something which we do not see.
And for want of this condition, transubstantia
tion, if it were true, would be no miracle; it would
indeed be very supernatural ; but for all that, it
would not be a sign or wonder ; for a sign or won
der is always a sensible thing, something that is
wonderful and astonishing to sense, otherwise it is
no sign or wonder. That such a change as is
pretended in transubstantiation should really be
wrought, and yet there should be no sign and ap
pearance of it, is a thing very wonderful ; but not
to sense : for our senses perceive no change ; the

356
bread Tind wine to all our senses remaining just as
they were before. Now that a thing should remain
to all appearance just as it was, hath nothing
at all of wonder in it. We wonder indeed when we
see a strange thing done : but no man wondefs when
he sees nothing done.
So that to speak the truth, transubstantiation, if
they will have it a miracle, is such a miracle as any
man may work that hath but confidence to face
men down that he works it, and the fortune to be
believed. And however they of the church of
Rome are wont to magnify their priests, chiefly
upon the account of this miracle, which they say
they can work every day, and every hour if they
please ; yet I cannot understand, how it magnifies
them so much ; for when this great work (as they
call it) is done, there is nothing more appears to be
I done, than if there were no miracle. Now such a
' miracle as to all appearance is no miracle, I see no
reason why a protestant minister may not work as
often as he pleaseth, as well as they : or if he can
but have the patience to let it alone, it will work it
self : for certainly nothing in the world is easier
than to let a thing be as it is, and by speaking a
few words over it, to make it just what it was be
fore. In short, a miracle is a wonder to sense, and
where a man sees nothing that is strange done,
there is no miracle ; for if he will call it a miracle,
when things remain just as they were, and no sen*
sible change is made in them, every man may every
day work a thousand such miracles. I come now,
in the II. Second place, to consider in what circum-r
stances, and with what cautions and limitations
miracles do give testimony to the truth and divinity

357
of any doctrine ; for instance, ofthe Christian doc
trine: and for the clearing of this matter, I shall lay
down these propositions :
1. That the entire proof of the Christian doctrine
or religion, consisting of many considerations, when
taken together, make up a full demonstration of the
truth of it, when perhaps no one of them, taken
singly and by itself, is a convincing and undeniable
proof. The Christian religion hath all the characters of
divinity upon it which any religion can be expected
to have ; whether we consider the doctrine of it, in
which there is nothing unworthy of God ; for it
makes such a representation of God, and gives
such directions concerning his worship, as are most
agreeable to those apprehensions which the wisest
men always had of God, and of that service which
is most proper to be given to him. Indeed it de
clares something concerning God, which is very
mysterious and past our comprehensions ; but this
ought not to offend us, since natural light always
did acknowledge the Divine nature to be incom
prehensible. The precepts likewise of this religion are highly
reasonable, and such as plainly, tend to the per
fection and happiness of human nature ; and the
arguments to enforce these precepts, are not only
very powerful in themselves, but very suitable to
the natural hopes and fears of men.
Or if we consider the author of this doctrine,
our blessed Saviour, he will appear to be a Divine
person, " and a teacher sent from God," by the
clear predictions concerning him' long before he
came, which, when he came, were exactly fulfilled
iu him ; by the miracles he wrought to give testi-

358
mony of him ; by the eminent holiness and virtue
of his life; aud by innumerable things which he
foretold concerning himself, the destruction of Je
rusalem, and the dispersion of the Jewish nation,
and the success of his doctrine in the world, which
were all afterwards punctually accomplished. All
these proved him to be an extraordinary person.
But he was likewise declared to be " the Son of
God," by a voice from heaven, and by his resur7
rection from the dead.
Or if we consider the first publishers of this doc
trine, to whom " God bare witness, with signs and
wonders, and divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Ghost," and the wonderful success they met withal,
notwithstanding the outward meanness of their per
sons, insomuch that their doctrine very suddenly
prevailed, and passed like lightning through the
world ; and in the space of a few years, spread it
self beyond the utmost bounds of the vast Roman
empire, and this in despite ofthe most powerful op
position and fiercest persecutions that ever were
raised against any religion : so that, like the chil
dren of Israel in Egypt, it did thrive under affliction,
and the more it was oppressed, the more it grew
and multiplied ; because there was a Divine power
that did visibly accompany the first publishers of it,
and men " were not able to resist the Spirit whereby
they spake." / .
All these together make up a full and convincing
demonstration of the truth and divinity of the
Christian doctrine: and yet perhaps no one of these
alone is a sufficient proof of it. For though a doc
trine be never so reasonable in itself, this is no
certain argument that it is from God, if no testi
mony from heaven be given to it ; because it may

359
be the result and issue of human reason and dis
course: and though a doctrine attested by miracles,
yet the matter of it may be so unreasonable and
absurd, so unworthy of God, and so contrary to the
natural notions which men have of him, that no
miracles can be sufficient to give confirmation to it ;
and therefore in some cases the Scripture forbids
men to hearken to a prophet, though he work a
miracle. (Deut. xiii. 1 — 3.) " If there arise among
you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth
thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the won
der come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, say
ing, Let us go after other gods (which thou hast not
known), and let us serve them : thou shalt not
hearken unto the words of that prophet." And the
reason is given, (ver. 5.) " Because he hath spoken
to turn you away from the Lord your God." From
whence it is plain, that a miracle is not sufficient to
establish the worship of a false god.
The sum of what I have said is this : that we
do not found our belief of Christianity upon any
one argument taken by itself; but upon the whole
evidence which we are able to produce for it, in
which there is nothing wanting that is proper and
reasonable to prove any religion to be from God.
2. But yet miracles are the principal external
proof and confirmation of the divinity of a doctrine.
I told you before, that some doctrines are so absurd,
that a miracle is not a sufficient proof of them : but
if a doctrine be such as is no ways unworthy of
God, nor contrary to those notions which we have
of him, miracles are the highest testimony that can
be given to it, and have always been owned by
mankind for an evidence of inspiration. And there
fore Nicodemus takes it for an acknowledged prin-

360
ciple, that miracles are " a sign of a teacher sent
from God." (John iii. 2.) " We know that thou art
a teacher come from God : for none can do these
miracles which thou doest, except God be with
him." And the Scripture constantly resolves the
divinity of any person or doctrine into miracles as
the chief external evidence that they are from God.
This was the testimony which God gave to Moses,
to satisfy the people of Israel that he had sent him.
(Exod. iv. 1.) " And Moses answered, and said,
But behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken
unto my voice : for they will say, The Lord hath not
appeared unto thee." Upon this God tells Moses,
that he would give him a power of miracles, to be
an evidence to them that " they may believe, that
the God of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Ja
cob, hath appeared unto thee." And all along ia
the Old Testament, when God sent his prophets*
to make any new revelation, or upon any extraor
dinary message, he always gave credit to them, by
some sign or wonder. And when he sent his Son
into the world, he bare witness to him, by more and
greater miracles than Moses, or any of the prophets
had wrought. And to this testimony both our Sa
viour himself and the apostles appeal, as the great'
evidence of the divinity of their doctrine. When
John the Baptist sent his disciples to our Saviour,.
to be satisfied whether he were the Messias,. he re
fers them to his miracles, (Matt. xi. 4, 5,) " Go and"
shew John again those things which you do hear
and see. The blind receive their sight, and the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf
hear, the dead are raised up." And, (John v. 36.)'
" ButThaye greater witness than that of John : for
the works which the Father hath given me to finish^

361
the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that
the Father hath sent me." And, (Acts ii. 22.)
"Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among
you (a7ro tow (kov diroSeBeiyfikvov tig vjiag, a man demon
strated by God to you), by miracles, and wonders,
and signs, which he did in the midst of you." And
(Acts xiv. 3.) it is said, that when the apostles
preached the gospel, " God gave testimony unto the
word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders
to be done by their hands." From all which it is
plain, that our religion appeals to miracles, as the
great external confirmation of it.
3. Especially if miracles have all the circum
stances of advantage given to them which they are
capable of; if they be many and great, public and
unquestionable, and universal and of long continu
ance. And such were the miracles wrought by
Moses, and by our Saviour and his apostles, which,
for their nature and quality, for the number and
continuance of them, and for all other circumstances
that may give credit to them, and argue them to be
from God, are in no degree to be equalled by those
which any other religion hath pretended to.
And in these circumstances, miracles alone in
most cases are a sufficient proof of the divinity of a
doctrine ; for there is a great deal of difference in
reason to be made between one or two strange and
miraculous effects, and those not of the highest and
most unquestionable rank of miracles neither, pri
vately wrought, and before few witnesses ; and a
long-continued series of miracles of all kinds, and
such as are universally acknowledged to be above
the power of nature, and those publicly wrought in
the face and view of the world, in every city and
country, by a great many persons for many years,
vol. ix. 2 B

362
yea, for many ages together. The former may be
doubted of, but the latter carry so sensible a con
viction with them, that it is not credible, that the
Divine goodness should permit so great and over
powering a testimony to be given to a falsehood.
4. It cannot be denied, but that God doth some
times permit miracles to be wrought for the counte
nancing of a false doctrine. This the heathens pre
tended to at their temples and oracles ; and it is not
incredible, that God should permit the devil to do
several strange and extraordinary things ; though it
be certain that there was a great deal of cheat and
imposture mingled with them. To be sure the
Scripture owns the working of miracles by false
prophets. Moses takes notice of it in his law, and
provides against it as a case that might happen ;
and our Saviour expressly foretells it, (Matt, xxiv.)
and so does St. Paul, (2 Thess. ii. 9.) that " the man
of sin should come after the working of Satan, with
power, and signs, and wonders of lies ;" that is,
should wqrk miracles to countenance his false and
impious doctrines. And the Scripture likewise
tells us, for what reason God does sometimes per
mit this to be done. For the trial of the good :
(Deut. xiii. 3.) " For the Lord your God proveth
you to know whether you love the Lord your God
with all your hearts." And for the hardening of
the wicked, by the just judgment of God : (2 Thess.
ii. 10 — 12.) " Because they received not the love of
truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause
God shall send them kvepyoiav TrXa'vrjc (the efficacy of
imposture,) that they should believe a lie ; that they
all might be damned, who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
5. And lastly, God never permits miracles to be

363
wrought for the confirmation of a false doctrine, but
he affords sufficient marks, whereby those who are
free and impartial inquirers after truth, and sincere
lovers of it, may distinguish truth from imposture.
So our Saviour tells us, that the elect, that is, the
true and sincere Christians, should not be deceived
by the " signs and wonders of the false Christs and
false prophets." And therefore he was not afraid
of having the credit of his doctrine weakened by
foretelling that false prophets should work miracles;
because he knew when the devil had done his ut
most, the difference would be apparent enough be
tween the confirmation which he had given to the
Christian doctrine, and what the devil should be
able to give to his instruments. As,
1. Either the doctrine would be absurd in itself,
and such as no miracles can confirm. As in the
case which Moses instanceth in, of a miracle wrought
to seduce them from the worship of the one true
God, Who is naturally known, to the worship of
idols. Or else,
2. It would be contrary to that doctrine which had
already had a far greater and more Divine confirma
tion. And this, likewise, is another reason intimated
by Moses, why the people should not hearken to a
prophet that would seduce them to idolatry, though
he should work a miracle ; " because he hath spoken
to turn you away from the Lord your God, which
brought you out of the land of Egypt ;" that is, from
that God who hath demonstrated himself to them
by such a series of great and unquestionable mira
cles as ought in all reason to bear down any single
sign and wonder.
And the case is the same, if miracles should now
be pretended for the confirmation of any thing
2 b 2

364
plainly contrary to the Christian doctrine, which,
being established by such miracles as never were
wrought in the world upon any other occasion, it
cannot be thought reasonable, that any evidence
inferior to this should be able to control it, or to
give credit to any thing that contradicted it. And
in this case the apostle has expressly forbidden
Christians to hearken to a contrary doctrine,
" though they themselves, or an angel from heaven,
should preach it." (Gal. i. 8.) Therefore St. Paul
expressly lays down this rule, whereby we may
judge what miraculous powers are from the Spirit
of God, and what not. (1 Cor. xii. 1.) " Now con
cerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have
you ignorant," that is, what miraculous gifts are
from the Spirit of God, and what not ; and then
(ver. 3.) he gives this rule : " Wherefore I give you
to understand, that no man, speaking by the Spirit
of God, calleth Jesus accursed ; and that no man
can say, that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy
Ghost;" that is, if any man pretend to be inspired,
and to be endowed with a miraculous power, and
yet blasphemeth Christ, this spirit is not from God ;
but if any man be endowed with this power, and "
acknowledge Chrisfv we may safely conclude this
power to be from the Holy Ghost. The very same
rule St. John lays down yet more plainly : (1 John
iv. 1 — 3,) " Believe not every spirit," that is, not
every one that pretends to the gifts and inspirations
of the Spirit ; " but try the spirits, whether they
are of God : because many false prophets are gone
out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of
God : every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh, is of God, and every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh,

365
is not of God." And, (ver. 6.) " We are of God ; he
that knoweth God, heareth us : he that is not of
God, heareth not us : hereby know we the spirit of
truth and the spirit of error." This seems at first
sight to be a very odd rule, and what every false
teacher, and every sect may lay down in favour of
themselves, " he that knoweth God, heareth us : he
that knoweth not God, heareth not us ;" and no
thing can make it reasonable, but tbe consideration
that the Christian religion being already so abun
dantly confirmed beyond contradiction, is itself be
come a rule to try spirits or miracles by. Or,
3. The miracles which false prophets work are
presently confuted, and upon the spot. Thus
Moses confuted and conquered Pharaoh's magi
cians, by working miracles which they could not
work, which forced them to yield the cause, and
acknowledge that it was " the finger of God." And
so likewise Simon Magus, who had gained so great
a reputation among the people by his sorceries, as
to be called " the mighty power of God," was con
futed by the apostles, who, by the laying on of
hands, conferred a miraculous power on men,
which he not being able to do, would have purr
chased it with money. And so Elymas the sorcerer
was struck blind by St. Paul. And the miracles of
the heathen temples and oracles, upon the preach
ing of the gospel, ceased, as being ashamed of
themselves ; as Porphyry, one of the bitterest ene
mies of Christianity, does expressly acknowledge.
Or else,
Lastly, The miracles wrought, or pretended to
be wrought, to confirm false doctrines, are such as
do, some way or other, confute themselves ; or if
they be real, are sufficiently detected to be the

366
pranks of the devil, and not the great and glorious
works of God. Such were the miracles of the hea
then deities, wrought so privately and obscurely^
and confessedly mixed with so much of impos
ture, as to bring a just suspicion upon them, that,
when they were real, the devil was the author
of them. And such were the miracles which are
attributed to Mahomet ; either grossly absurd and
ridiculous, as that of part ofthe moon coming down
into his sleeve, and his remanding it to its place
again; or else destitute of all proof and witness, as
that of a camel's speaking to him by night ; and his
pigeon whispering to him in the ear; which, if it
had been intended for a miracle, the pigeon should
not have whispered, but have spoken out, that others
might have heard it. But Mahomet was so con
scious to himself of his own defect in point of mira
cles, that he laid no weight upon them, being, as he
said, " not sent to convert the world by miracles,
but to conquer them by force of arms."
And now I am sorry I have occasion to say it,
but it is too true, that the miracles pretended to by
tbe church of Rome, for the confirmation of their
erroneous doctrines, are of the same stamp with
these, taxed by several of their best writers of im
posture and forgery, of fable and romance, so ex
travagant, and freakish, and fantastical, wrought
without any necessity, and serving to no wise end,
that they are so far from giving credit to their doc
trines, that they are a mighty scandal to them,,
and to our common Christianity : whereas the truly
Divine miracles, reported to us in Scripture, how
unlike are they to these ? How venerable in them
selves, and in all the circumstances with which they
are related ? never wrought but upon great neces-

367
sity, and for excellent ends, full of benefit and ad
vantage, of mercy and compassion to mankind ; and,
in a word, such as are every way worthy of their
author, having plain characters of the Divine wis
dom and goodness stamped upon them.
And thus I have done with the first thing I pro
pounded to speak to, namely, that miracles are a
Divine testimony ; and in what circumstances, and
with what cautions and limitations they are so. I
shall at present only draw some inferences from
what hath been discoursed upon this argument.
1. What hath been said may satisfy us of the
truth and divinity of the Christian doctrine, which
had .so eminent a testimony given to it from heaven,
and did at first so strangely prevail in the world,
contrary to all human probability, " not by might
nor by power, but by the Spirit ofthe Lord." No
man can suppose a religion in circumstances of
greater disadvantage, and upon all human accounts
more unlikely to sustain and bear up itself, than
Christianity was. The first appearance of it was
so weak, its beginnings so small, and the instru
ments employed in the propagation of it so mean
and despicable, that no man but would have con
cluded it must have presently sunk and come to
nought; and no other reason can be given of the
strange success and prevalency of it, but that " it
was of God," and therefore " it could not be over
thrown." 2. From hence we may judge how groundless
the pretences are, which men now-a-days make to
inspiration and infallibility ; because this is not to
be proved and made out any other way but by mi
racles. For either we must believe every pretence
of this kind ; and then we are at the mercy of every

368
crafty and confident man, to be led by him into
what delusions-he pleases ; or we must only believe
those who give some testimony of their inspiration :
but the evidence of inspiration was always miracles.
This is the testimony which God hath always given
to those whom he hath sent upon an extraordinary
message to mankind. And this is that which we
reasonably demand of our modern enthusiasts, and
of the great pretender to infallibility, the bishop of
Rome ; because nothing can be more vain, than for
men to pretend to inspiration, and an infallible
spirit, without miracles. And yet I cannot learn
that the popes themselves, among all their bound
less privileges and powers, do so much as pretend
to a power of miracles, which yet is the only thing
that can in reason support their pretences to infalli
bility. 3. You see what an immediate testimony from
heaven, God was pleased to give to the first preachers
of the Christian doctrine, to qualify them with any
probability of success, to contest with violent and
almost invincible prejudices of men educated in a
contrary religion, and which had the secular autho
rity and laws on its side. For having this Divine
seal given to their commission, they did as it were
carry the letters-patents of heaven in their hands,
and an authority paramount to that of human laws.
And therefore the wisdom of God, which does no
thing which is superfluous and unnecessary, did
not think the apostles sufficiently armed and ap
pointed for this design, by a commission from the
mouth of the Son of God, without this Divine seal
and testimony of miracles, as a visible evidence of
their Divine commission. And, therefore, our Sa
viour, after he had commissioned them to preach

369
the gospel to all nations, commanded them not to
enter upon this work, nor " to depart from Jerusa
lem, till they had received the promise of the Fa
ther;" that is, the miraculous gifts of the Holy
Ghost, (Acts i. 4.) And so our Saviour explains
it, (Luke xxiv. 47.) where, after he had commanded,
" That repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem," he adds, (ver. 49.) " And behold, I
send the promise of my Father upon you : but tarry
ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with
power from on high." And to the same purpose,
(Acts i. 8.) " But ye shall receive power, after that
the Holy Ghost is come upon you ;" by which
he tells us, they were qualified to be " witnesses
unto bim, both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea,
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of
the earth."
4. And lastly, The consideration of what has
been said, doth justly upbraid us, that our religion,
which hath such evident marks of divinity upon it,
and comes down to us confirmed by so many mira
cles, should yet have so little efficacy upon the
lives ofthe greatest part of those who call themselves
Christians. It is true, miracles are now ceased
among Christians, our religion being sufficiently
established by those that were wrought at first ; and
now the greatest miracle in these latter ages, is a
good man, a true and sincere Christian: but the laws
of Christianity are still the same : and the motives
and arguments to a good life, are still the same ; and
though the miraculous gifts of the Spirit have left the
world, yet the sealing and sanctifying gifts of the Holy
Ghost do still remain. We cannot now speak all
languages, as the apostles did : but we may do that

370
which is much better, and more pleasing to God ;
we may live holy and virtuous lives. We have not
that faith which works by miracles : but we may
have that which is far more excellent, the faith
which works by charity : which, if we believe St.
Paul, is more than to speak with the tongues of
men and angels, more than to prophesy, and to un
derstand all mysteries and all knowledge.
The admirable piety and virtue of the first Christ
ians are still upon record for our imitation : but I
know not how it comes to pass, we choose rather
lazily to admire those patterns, than vigorously to
imitate them ; as if the holiness of those times were
also miraculous, and not intended for the imitation
of succeeding ages ; as if it were impossible for us
now to lead such lives as they did ; as if heaven,
and earth, God and men, and all things, were altered
since that time ; as if the Christian religion was now
quite dispirited, and had lost all its vigour and
force; and as if the Holy Spirit of God had to all
intents and purposes forsaken the world, and were
retired to the Father.
But our religion is still the same it was : the pre
cepts of it as reasonable, and the promises of it as
powerful as ever : God is still the same he was ; and
Christ still al the right hand of God, making inter
cession for us ; and the Holy Spirit of God still
ready to assist us, to every good word and work.
To conclude: we have, beyond comparison, the
best and most reasonable religion in the world ; a,
religion which carries along with it the greatest evi
dence of its truth, which contains thebestrul.es
and directions for a good life, which offers the most
powerful assistance to the obedience of its laws,
and gives the greatest encouragements thereto, by

371
the assurance of a blessed immortality in another
world. Now the better our religion is, our case is
so much the worse, if we be not made good by it.
Philosophy had some effect upon the world to make
some men temperate and chaste, just and honest in
their lives. And the Jewish religion (as weak and
imperfect as it was, and though it was but " the
shadow of good things to come") hath yet left us
many eminent examples of good and holy men.
What then shall become of us, if the best institution
in the world, the blessed gospel of the Son of God,
have less effect upon us than the doctrine of Pytha
goras, and the law of Moses had upon them ? " How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation,
which at first began to be spoken by the Lord, and
was confirmed unto us by them that heard him !
God also bearing them witness with signs and won
ders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Ghost, according to his own will. — To which
blessed and glorious Trinity, be all honour and
glory, now and for ever."

SERMON CCXXIX.
OF THE MIRACLES WROUGHT IN CONFIRMATION
OF CHRISTIANITY.
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Ghost, according to his own will. — Heb.
ii. 4.
I have begun to discourse upon these words, from
which I told you three things offer themselves to our
consideration. First, That miracles are a Divine testimony to a
person or doctrine. God is here said to " bear wit
ness to the apostles, by signs, and wonders, and
miracles." Secondly, That God gave this testimony to the
apostles and first publishers of the gospel, iu a very
eminent manner ; for so the phrase signifies, " God
bearing them witness, with signs, and wonders, and
miracles ;" so many words to the same sense being
purposely used to signify the greatness of the thing.
Thirdly, The reasons why miracles are now
ceased in the church, and have been for several
ages ; so that there have been no footsteps of this
miraculous power for several ages past. The first
I have spoken to, and proceed now to the
Second thing which I proposed to consider, viz.
That God gave testimony to the apostles and first
publishers of Christianity, in a very eminent man
ner ; for so the expression in the text signifies,

373
where so many words are used for the same thing, to
express, according to the manner of the Hebrew
phrase, the greatness ofthe thing; "God bearing them
witness, both with signs, and wonders, and with
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost," that
is, with many and great miracles, *cai /aepiafioig, " and
distributions of the Holy Ghost, according to his
own will ;" that is, God distributed these several mi
raculous powers and gifts among the apostles and
first preachers of the gospel ; not all to every one of
them, but some to one, and some to another, as to
him seemed best, and was most for the benefit and
edification of the church.
The history of it, in short, is this. When our
blessed Saviour ascended into heaven, he promised
to send down his Spirit in miraculous gifts upon his
apostles, to give credit to his doctrine, and to qua
lify them for the more speedy planting and propagat
ing of it in the world ; and accordingly, not many
days after he was ascended into heaven, as an evi
dence of the power and glory he was invested withal,
he, according to his promise immediately before his
ascension, sent down the Holy Ghost upon the apo
stles in a visible manner, that is, in the form of fiery
cloven tongues, as an emblem of one of the princi
pal gifts they were endowed withal, viz. the know
ledge and ability of speaking several languages,
which they had never learned. And this happened
upon the day of Pentecost, that so the gospel might
exactly correspond to the dispensation of the law,
which was the type and figure of it. And, therefore,
as our Saviour died at the time of the Jewish pass-
over, which was the type of his sufferings ; so the
gospel, which was the perfection and fulfilling of
the law, began to be published at the very same

374
time that the law was given from Mount Sinai, viz.
at the end of the seven weeks after the passover.
For, at this time the Holy Ghost descended upon the
apostles in miraculous powers and gifts ; when this
new law was " to come forth out of Sion, and the
word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
And among these gifts, the first we find mentioned
was the gift of tongues ; without which the gospel
must of necessity have been very slowly propagated
in the world : for had the apostles been first to learn
the several languages of the nations they were to
preach to, how tedious a work would that have
been ! it requiring the industry of some years, to
gain so perfect a mastery of a strange language, as
to be able to use it with that freedom and readiness
which are necessary for such a work.
And this gift all the apostles had, because they all
had occasion for it, being designed by our Sa
viour to be the chief publishers of his gospel to the
world. And this gift did also continually reside
upon them, and not only at some times, as some
other gifts did, because they had constant use of
this gift of tongues.
The interpreting of things spoken in a strange
tongue, was also a gift distinct from the gift of
tongues, though attending it ; insomuch that some'
persons had one, and some the other. So the apo
stle tells us, (1 Cor. xii. 10.) " To one is given divers
kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation
of tongues." The occasion of which was plainly
this ; it might happen, and often did, that the audi
tory might consist of people of several nations ; now
because no man could speak more than one language
at once, it was convenient others should have the
gift of interpreting what was spoken, to those who

375
understood not the language in which it was spoken,
that so all might receive the benefit of what was de
livered, and be edified thereby. So that here were
two several gifts serving the same end, viz. the con
veying of the knowledge of the gospel to mankind,
in a more speedy way than it could have been done
by ordinary means; and these were very plain and
sensible miracles, unquestionably supernatural, and
evident to the senses of all men. So that the gospel,
wherever it was preached, carried its own testimony
along with it, and was confirmed by the very man
ner of its conveyance and delivery : and well might
men entertain it as a Divine doctrine, when the very
manner, and the means whereby it was published,
was a miracle.
And here 1 cannot but take notice, how contrary
the arts and the ways of the church of Rome are to
the methods of God, and that when he was at the
expense of so many miracles to publish this doctrine
to the world, they should use so much industry and
violence to conceal it. God was pleased to endow
the first preachers of it with the gift of tongues, that
" their sound might go into all the earth, and their
word to the end of the world," that there might be
no nation nor language where this saving knowledge
might not come, that the sermons which they
preached, and the prayers which they put up to
God in public, for themselves and the people, and
all the offices of religion which they performed,
might be fully understood by all, and that all might
join in them, and have the benefit and comfort of
them; that their understandings might be informed
and enlightened by what was spoken, and their
affections raised and warmed by their understand
ings, and their wills excited by their affections,

376
and that the effect of all this might appear in
their lives and practice. Thus it was in the pri
mitive Christian church; but in the church Of
Rome, things are managed in a quite contrary way,
and have been for several ages. The doctrine of
salvation, as it is contained and delivered in the
Holy Scripture, is "a sealed book," which the people
are not thought " worthy to open or look into."
This "bread of life which came down from heaven,"
is like the show-bread among the Jews, " which
none may eat but the priest only," unless it be by
extraordinary favour, and particular licence from
the bishop. The people indeed come together, and
are present at the prayers and devotion of the priest ;
but the priest " that prays is a barbarian to them,"
and all the while the understanding of the people
is unfruitful, and " they cannot say Amen, because
they understand not what he says." l
But let any man shew me the least intimation in
Scripture or antiquity, that our Saviour or his apo
stles, or the primitive church, ever used this way;
and yet the danger of error and heresy was as great
then as it is now. So that the church of Rome
must pretend themselves wiser than our Saviour
and his apostles ; and to be more careful to prevent
heresy in the church, than they were. This they
are loath to say ; and yet they must say it, if they
will justify their own doings. But the plain truth
is, there is another and truer reason for it, though
they are not willing ter own it, and that is this ; if
the Scriptures were permitted to the people in a
language which they understood, the errors of their
church would be discovered and laid open, and
men would plainly discern how contrary mauy of
their doctrines and practices are, to those of our

377
Saviour and his apostles : for " every one that doeth
evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light,
lest his deeds should be discovered."
Secondly, The next miraculous gift I shall men
tion after the gift of tongues, is the gift of prophecy,
or foretelling things future, which was always looked
upon as an evidence of inspiration. And this we
find mentioned 1 Cor. xii. 10. " To another pro
phecy," and in several other places ; and to this
gift the apostle gives a great pre-eminence. (1 Cor.
xiv. ].) " Covet spiritual gifts : but rather that ye
may prophesy;" because foretelling of things to
come, was always esteemed by mankind an evi
dence of a person divinely inspired, and conse
quently was one of the greatest testimonies of the
truth of Christianity; and this the angel that ap
peared to St. John particularly takes notice of,
(Rev. xix. 10.) " The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy." The prophecies of that book
were to be a standing testimony of the truth of
Christianity in all ages of the church.
Thirdly, The next gift is that of healing all man
ner of diseases. And this the apostles seem gene
rally to have had, and the elders ofthe church also,
whose peculiar office it was to pray over the sick,
and to anoint them with oil; and upon their prayers,
God was pleased to grant miraculous recoveries, as
we find expressly promised, (James v. 14, 15.) " Is
any sick among you? let him call for the elders of
the church, and let them pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord : and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up."
This miraculous power we find likewise men
tioned to be conferred on the apostles in our Sa-
vol. ix. 2 c

378
vipur's life-time, when he first gave them commission
to preach the gospel to the Jews ; (Mark vi. 12, 13.)
where it. is said, that " they went out, and preached
that men should repent. And they cast out many
devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick,
and healed them."
And now that this miraculous gift is ceased, there
is no reason why the mere ceremony of anointing
with oil should continue ; which yet is still used in
the church of Rome, and made a sacrament ; though
it signify nothing : for they do not pretend to heal
men by it ; nay, they pretend the contrary, because
they never use it, but in extremity, aud where they
look upon the person as past recovery ; and if they
did not think so, they would not use it.
' But besides the healing, with this solemnity of
anointing with oil, and with prayer, which seems
to have been used by the elders of the church
only upon those who were members of the church,
there was likewise a general gift of healing, which
the apostles exercised upon all occasions wherever
they came ; and this was performed only by laying
their hands on the sick. And this we find pro
mised by our Saviour to his apostles when he gave
them commission to preach the gospel to all the
World, immediately before his ascension ; and not
Only to the apostles, but to those who should be
lieve upon their preaching: (Mark xvi. 17, 18.)
" These signs shall follow them that believe : in my
name shall they cast out devils," &c. And then it
follows, " they shall lay hands on the sick, and they
shall recover."
Fourthly, The power of raising the dead, which
hath always been esteemed one ofthe greatest and
most unquestionable miracles of all other. A prin-

379
cipal part of the apostles' office was to "be wit
nesses of our Saviour's resurrection from the dead,"
whereby he was so " powerfully demonstrated to
be the Son of God." But because this was a strange1
relation, and not easy to be credited, by those who"
were strangers to the apostles, and had never
known them before; therefore, that they might wit
ness this with more authority, God was pleased to
endow them with a miraculous power of all kinds ;
and particularly with a power of raising the dead;
and then there was no difficulty in receiving their
testimony concerning our Saviour's resurrection,
when men saw them in his name raise others from
the dead. And of this we have two instances in
the Acts of the Apostles ; of St. Peter's raising
Dorcas, (Acts ix.) and St. Paul's raising Eutychus,
(Acts xx.) And Irenaeus, who lived in the age after
the apostles, tells us, that in his time this power
continued among Christians.
Fifthly, Another miraculous gift was that of dis
cerning spirits ; the principal use of which was, to
try and judge who were true prophets. And of
this the apostle speaks : (1 Cor. xiv. 29.) " Let the
prophets speak two or three, and let the other
judge." And, (ver. 32.) " The spirits of the pro
phets are subject to the prophets." And this is
likewise called by the same apostle, " the gift of dis
cerning spirits," (1 Cor. xii. 10.) "To another is
given tbe discerning of spirits." Those who pre
tended to this gift, were tried by the bishops and
elders of the church, as the prophets were tried
among the Jews by the Sanhedrin. And of these
kinds of assemblies among the Christians, for the
trial of prophets, Eusebius speaks particularly in
his fifth book.
2 c 2

380
And it should seem, likewise, that this gift of
discerning spirits, extended also to the discovery of
the secrets of men's hearts ; by the revealing where
of, unbelievers were many times struck and con
vinced ; as may very probably be collected from
1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. " But if all prophesy, and there
come in one that believeth not, or one unlearned ;
he is convinced of all, he is judged of all. And
thus are the secrets of his heart made manifest ;
. and so falling down on his face, he will worship
God, and report that God is in you of a truth."
And upon this miraculous gift of knowing the
secrets of men's hearts, it seems to be very probable,
that that which is commonly called the power of
the keys did depend ; I mean the power of remit
ting or retaining sins : for they who had the privi
lege of knowing men's hearts, might do this upon
certain grounds, and were secured from mistake in
the exercise of their power upon particular persons ;
which the priests and ministers of the church now
are not, nor can be; because they cannot see into
men's hearts, whether they be truly penitent and
qualified for forgiveness or not. For I cannot easily
believe but that those words of our Saviour, " Whose
sins ye remit, they are remitted ; and whose sins ye
retain, they are retained ;" were intended to signify
something more than a mere declaration ofthe pro
mises and threatenings of the gospel, which any
man might make as well as the apostles and minis
ters of thb church. For that God will forgive the
penitent, and that he will not pardon the sinner, ex
cept he repent, is as true from any man's mouth, as
from ah apostle's : and as to the absolution of this
or that particular person, though a minister by the
skill and knowledge of his profession, is ordinarily

381
and reasonably presumed, by virtue of his office, to
be a better judge of a man's repentance, than other
persons are, and therefore may, with more authority
and satisfaction to the penitent, declare his judg
ment and opinion concerning him ; yet, not being
able to see into his heart, he may be mistaken con
cerning him: and if he be, his declaring his sins to
be forgiven, that is, his absolution of him, will do
him no good : and, on the other hand, his refusal
to absolve him, if he be truly penitent, will do him
no harm. As the judgment of a skilful lawyer is
of greater authority, and more satisfactory to us,
concerning our title to an estate, than the opinion
of another man who is not of the profession, nor
presumed to have the like skill ; but yet for all
this, his judgment does not alter the case, aud if
in truth the law be otherwise, our title is bad for
all this skilful man's opinion ofthe goodness of it.
And thus much is granted by the church of Rome,
that if the priest be mistaken in the use ofthe keys,
and gives absolution to one that is not truly penitent,
his sins are not remitted ; or if a person be excom
municated that is not truly guilty, his sins are not
retained ; what " he binds on earth, is" not " bound
in heaven ; and he whom he looseth and absolves;
on earth, is" not " absolved in heaven." But the proi
testants go farther, and do not only make a mis-.
taken absolution or excommunication void in itself ;
but they do not make the absolution of the priest
at all necessary to the forgiveness of sins, but only
convenient for the satisfaction and comfort of the
penitent. For which reason, our church does not
require a formal absolution to be given to the dying
penitent, unless he himself desire it ; which is a
certain argument, that, in the judgment of one

382
church, the absolution of the priest is not necessary
to the forgiveness and salvation of the penitent.
For had they thought it necessary, they would
have enjoined the priest to give it to every one
whom he judged penitent, whether he desired it
or not.
So that the absolution of the priest, having only
the authority of a man, presumed to be skilful in the
office, but no certain effect, in case he be mistaken
(as he. very easily may be, and if he be, as he ought
to be, a charitable man, no doubt often is) I cannot
think but that this power of remitting and retaining
sins, so solemnly conferred on the apostles by our
Saviour, had something in it that was miraculous,
and extraordinary, and did suppose the knowledge
of men's hearts, and that they were not mistaken
in the application of this power to particular per
sons ; and consequently, that in that.miraculous and
extraordinary degree, it was peculiar to the apostles
and their times. For I cannot easily be brought to
believe, that the meaning of this great promise to
the apostles should be only this, " Verily, verily, I
say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth (if
ye be not mistaken, as in many cases ye will be,
and in any case ye may be) shall be bound in hea
ven : and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall
be loosed in heaven." And if more be meant than
this, it must suppose a miraculous power of dis*
cerning the sincerity of men's hearts.
And, therefore, when the power of the keys is
conferred on the ministers of the gospel, in our form
of ordination, I suppose that only one or both of
these two things is intended by it, viz. a power to
admit persons into the Christian church by baptism,
in which is sealed to them the remission of sins ;

383
and to cast persons out of the communion of the
Christian church, by excommunication and the cen
sures of it; and an authority, by virtue of their of
fice, to declare to men the terms of pardon and for
giveness, which cannot be that infallible power of
absolving which the apostles had.
And I am the rather induced to think so, because
I find it promised to the apostles, together with the
miraculous power and efficacy of prayer, which St.
Chrysostom reckons among the miraculous gifts,
which he says were ceased in his time. That it
was thus promised, you may see Matt, xviii. 18,
19. " Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall
bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven : and what
soever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in
heaven. Again, I say unto you, that if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they
shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
which is in heaven." But surely, no man will pre
tend that any two Christians or ministers have now
this power, that whatever they shall agree together
to ask of God, which is fit and lawful in behalf of
any person, God will certainly grant it upon their
request. In the same sense I understand several
other texts concerning the efficacy ofthe prayers of
the apostles and first Christians, as in a great meaT
sure miraculous, and peculiar to the first times of
Christianity. And, I think, any man that atten
tively considers them, will think that they cannot
well be understood otherwise. Such as these:
(Matt. xxi. 22.) " And all things whatsoever ye
shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive."
(Mark xi. 24.) " I say unto you, What things soever
ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them." (John xiv. 14.) "If

384
ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it:" and
(chap. xv. 7.) "If ye abide in me, aud my words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be
done unto you." (1 John iii. 22.) " And whatsoever
we ask we receive of him;" and, (chap. v. 14, 15.)
" And this is the confidence which we have in him,
that if we ask any thing, according to his will, he^,
heareth us. And if we know that he hear us, what
soever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
that we desired of him." These promises I take to.
contain something extraordinary, and peculiar to
the first times of Christianity. And this will ap
pear exceeding probable, if we consider the occa
sion and circumstances of these promises which are,
so often joined with the promise of a miraculous
power, as in the place I mentioned before, (Matt.
xviii. 18, 19.) where, after the power of binding and
loosing, it immediately follows, that " if two of
you shall agree on earth, touching any thing they
shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father
which is in heaven." Matt. xxi. 22. and Mark xi.
23. says our Saviour there to his disciples; "Have
faith in God ; for. verily I say unto you, Whosoever
shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and
be thou cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his
heart, but shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he
saith." And then immediately it follows : " There
fore, I say unto you, Whatsoever things yon desire,
when you pray, believe that you receive them, and
ye shall have them ;" that is, Whatever ye desire of
God to do, he shall miraculously dp it, upon your
prayers. So likewise, (John xiv. 12 — 14.) " Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the
works that I do shall he do also ; and greater works

385
than these shall he do, because I go unto my Fa
ther. - And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,
that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I
will do it." Still you see this extraordinary effi
cacy of prayer is joined with the power of miracles,
._._ as one part and branch of it. More particularly,
we find the forgiveness of the sins of those whom
they prayed for, expressly promised : (1 John v.
15.) " And if we know that he heareth us, whatso
ever we ask, we know that we have the petitions
we desired of him." And then it follows : " If any
man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death,
he shall ask, and he shall give him life for the sin
that is not unto death." Where forgiveness of sins,
upon the prayers of Christians for one another, is
promised, except in the case of" a sin unto death,"
by which is meant apostacy from Christianity to the
heathen idolatry, which is the reason of the caution
which follows: "Little children, keep yourselves
from idols." And this extraordinary efficacy of
prayer, we find promised in a more special manner
to the elders of the church : (James v. 14, 15.) " Is
any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of
the church, and let them pray over him, anointing
him with oil in the name of the Lord : and the
prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord
shall raise him up: and if he have Committed sins,
they shall be forgiven him."
In comparing of all these texts, it seems plain, that
both the power of remitting and retaining sins, and
the strange efficacy of prayer, which were promised
to the apostles and first Christians, had something
miraculous and extraordinary in them, and were pe
culiar to the first ages ofthe church. I will not

386
be peremptory in these things ; but this seems to
be the most genuine and reasonable interpretation
of these texts.
Sixthly, And, besides these which I have men
tioned, there was likewise a power of inflicting cor
poral punishments and diseases upon scandalous and
obstinate Christians ; which in Scripture is called,
" a delivering men up to Satan, for the destroying
or tormenting of their bodies, that their souls might
be saved at last." And of this kind were those
diseases which befel the Christians, for their dis
orderly and irregular carriage at the sacrament, of
which the apostle speaks; (1 Cor. xi. 30.) " For
this cause many are weak and sickly among you,
and many sleep :" that is, to some of them these
distempers proved mortal. And we find that this
power did in some cases extend to the inflicting
of sudden and present death, as in the case of
Ananias and Sapphira. And, indeed, considering
that Christianity was at first destitute of any coun
tenance from the civil power, some such power as
this was necessary to maintain the authority of the
apostles against the contumacious and disobedient.
And then, lastly, there was the power of casting
out devils in the name of Christ, which was com
mon to the meanest Christian, and continued in the
church a long time after most of the other gifts were
ceased, as Tertullian, Minucius Felix, and Arno-
bius, do most expressly testify concerning their times.
Thus you see that there were almost all imagin
able kinds of miraculous powers conferred upon the
apostles and first Christians, to give the greater
establishment and confirmation to the Christian
doctrine. All the reflection I shall make upon what has

38?
been said, shall be this ; since our religion comes
down to us confirmed by such miraculous powers,
we ought to take the more earnest heed to it, to
believe it more steadfastly, and to practise it more
carefully in our lives. " For if the word spoken by
angels was steadfast, and every transgression and
disobedience received a just recompence of reward;
how shall we escape, if we neglect so great sal
vation ?"

SERMON CCXXX.
OF THE MIRACLES WROUGHT IN CONFIRMATION OV
CHRISTIANITY.
God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the
Holy Ghost, according to his ow?i will. — Heb. ii. 4.
In these words, three things offer themselves to our
consideration. First, That miracles are a Divine testimony given
to a person or doctrine.
Secondly, That God gave this testimony to the
apostles and first publishers of the gospel in a very
emineiit manner. Of these two I have discoursed
at large, and now proceed to the
Third aud last thing which I proposed, viz. the
reason why these miracles are now ceased in the
Christian church, and have been for a long time, so
that there have been no footsteps of this miraculous
power for many ages. And in the handling of this,
argument, I shall do these three things :
I. Shew that these miraculous gifts and powers
have ceased in the Christian church for several ages.
II. I shall assign a plain reason of the ceasing of
miracles after such a time.
III. Answer the objection from the innumerable
miracles which have been and are still pretended to
be wrought in the church of Rome.
I. I shall shew, that these miraculous powers and
gifts have ceased in the church for several ages..

389
That they are now ceased we find by certain expe
rience; nor are they pretended to at this day by any
part of the Christian church, except the church of
Rome, where yet they are nothing so plentiful now-
a-days, as they were in those ignorant ages, from
the time of the degeneracy and corruption of the
western church down to the Reformation ; and now
chiefly pretended to in those parts of the Roman
communion, where their religion reigns without any
Contradiction, and the people are under the awe and
lash of the Inquisition, so that they dare neither
gainsay, nor offer to detect the forgery and impose
ture of them; and yet here is less need of them, be
cause the people are all of a mind, and believe as tlie
church would have them, and dare not for their lives
do otherwise. For where the Inquisition rules, and
ignorance, the mother, not of true devotion, but of
credulity and superstition, is carefully preserved,
there is no need of miracles to make people believe
what they have a mind to : but in other places,
where their religion is opposed, and there is great
occasion for them, both to confirm those of their
own religion, and to reduce heretics and unbe
lievers, there is little or no pretence to them, as I
shall shew by and by.
So that all over the Christian church, except in
the church of Rome, all pretence to these miraculous
powers and gifts is now ceased, and hath been for
many ages. St. Chrysostom, speaking of his time,
which was about four hundred years after Christ,
says that these miraculous powers were then ceased,
and speaks as if no footsteps of them were left in
the pastors and governors of the church, much less
among private. Christians ; for which he gives us
this substantial reason (which I shall speak to after-

390
wards) that Christianity being now already esta
blished by miracles, there was no reason to expect
the continuance of them. St. Augustine indeed,
sometime after, speaks of many miraculous things
done at sepulchres of the martyrs. But this doth
not contradict what St. Chrysostom had said, be
cause he speaks of the living teachers and mem
bers ofthe church, in whom those miraculous gifts
and powers -were ceased : but that the same mira
culous cures were wrought upon the prayers bf
Christians, at the tombs of the martyrs, is a con
firmation ofthe thing, that God designed to honour
the primitive Christians and martyrs with these gifts,
and not to continue them to the succeeding ages of
the church; and therefore God was pleased that so
many- wonderful things should be done at their se
pulchres, to shew that he did intend, that these mi
raculous powers and gifts should die with them, and
continue no longer in the living members of the
church. II. I shall now assign a plain reason of the ceas
ing of these miraculous gifts after such a time ;
namely, because there was not the like necessity
and occasion for them, that there was before. They
were at first in a great degree necessary to introduce
the gospel into the world, which was destitute of all
other helps and advantages, to recommend it to the
esteem and liking of mankind ; to give credit to a
new doctrine and religion, so contrary to the inve
terate prejudices of men, bred up in another religion
very different from this, and so opposite to the lusts
and interests of men ; to make way for the more
speedy and effectual planting of this religion in the
world ; to strengthen the hands of the first pub
lishers of it, and to give credit to their testimony,

391
concerning that strange relation of theirs, of the re
surrection of Christ from the dead; to be a sensible
evidence and conviction to men, of the divinity of
that new doctrine which was preached unto them,
and to support and confirm them in the belief and
profession of it, against those terrible sufferings aud
persecutions, which for the sake of it they were ex
posed to. For these reasons God was pleased to
shed abroad so plentifully these miraculous gifts,
among the first preachers of Christianity ; and as
these reasons ceased or abated, so did these mira
culous powers and gifts ; and therefore, as soon as
the gospel was planted, which it was in a great part
of the then known world, during the lives of the
apostles, the gift of tongues ceased, and we hear no
more of it, because there was no farther use and oc
casion for it. Other gifts did continue longer, but
abated by degrees, according as Christianity gained
ground and establishment, and they grew less fre
quent, as there was less need of them. The power
of casting out devils, which was most common (for
every Christian had it) continued longest; aud there
was reason it should continue so long as the devil
reigned, and the pagan idolatry was kept up, to
shew that the Spirit of Christ was superior to the
devil, and would finally overcome him, and over
throw his kingdom, according to that of St. John,
(1 John iv. 4.) " Ye are of God, little children, and
have overcome them : because greater is he that is
in you, than he that is in the world." And this ap
peared in that they were able in the name of Christ
to cast him out, wherever he had taken possession,
which God permitted to be very frequent in those
times, for the more glorious manifestation of his
power, " in casting out the prince of this world."

392
But when the powers of the world became Christ
ian, and the heathen idolatry was every where over
thrown, and Satan's kingdom every where destroyed,
then this miraculous gift also ceased, there being no
farther occasion for it. And now that " the king
doms of the world were become the kingdoms of
our Lord, and of his Christ," and that the gospel
was planted, and had taken firm root and was fully
settled and established, these miraculous powers,
which were at first necessary to balance the mighty
difficulties and oppositions which Christianity met
withal, and to supply the want of all manner of
countenance from the civil authority, were with
drawn and did cease, because there was no need of
their longer continuance.
Besides that it is to be considered, that those mi
raculous powers which manifested themselves in
the first ages of Christianity, were intended by God
to give a standing confirmation to it in after ages;
as the miracles that were wrought at the giving of
the law, and the bringing of the children of Israel
into Canaan, were designed for a standing confir
mation of the Jewish religion, the memory whereof
was so carefully preserved and transmitted to after
ages, that they needed not to be repeated.
I come now in the
Third and last place to answer that objection from
the innumerable miracles which have been, and still
are preteuded to be, wrought in the church of Rome.
Aud so indeed we find that the Arians and other
heretics in former times pretended to miracles, for
the confirmation of their errors, a good while after
miracles were generally ceased in the Christian
church, which shews that this is no new or strange
thing.

393
In answer to this objection, I desire these follow
ing particulars may be considered :
First, That the most learned and judicious writ
ers of the Roman church do acknowledge that there
is no necessity of miracles now, and that Christi
anity is sufficiently established by the miracles
which were wrought at first to give testimony to
it; and therefore, not being necessary, without ma
nifest evidence of fact, it is not. necessary to believe
that they are continued.
Secondly, The miracles pretended to by the
church of Rome are of very doubtful and suspected
credit, even among the wisest persons of their own
communion ; and therefore, I hope they do not ex
pect we should give much credit to those miracles,
ofthe truth of which they themselves are in so much
doubt, that they are generally looked upon by the
more prudent and learned among them as pious
frauds, to raise and entertain the devotion of the
weak and ignorant. Several of them have been
convicted of fraud and imposture, not only here in
England, in times of popery, and at the beginning
of the Reformation, but in other countries, where
that religion bears sway.
And it is observable, that the greatest part of
tbe history of these miracles, (which they call le
gends) was written in the romance age, and much
in the same style, with the like wantonness and ex
travagance of fancy, and fulsome absurdity of in
vention, and, it is to be feared, with the like regard
to truth. And I know not whether romances had
not their name, as well as their original, from these
Roman legends, of which they are exact copies and
imitations; and as these were sacred, so those were
a sort of civil legends, in which they represented
vol. ix. 2 D

394
their heroes doing the like absurd feats and mira
cles in chivalry, as their saints in their legends are
said to do in religion ; and they were both written
by the lazy and unlearned monks, and by them
dressed up and fitted to the gust of those ignorant
and superstitious ages.
And yet these legends of " lying wonders" have
not only been put into the hands of the people, but
lessons out of them have been taken, as out of the
Scriptures, and distributed into the public offices of
their church, to be read there, as the Scriptures are,
and instead of them ; only with this difference — that
the people are permitted to have the Scriptures,
only in an unknown tongue, but the legends, out of
which these lessons are taken, they are permitted to
have at home, in their own tongue; as if there was
no danger of error or heresy from false stories, but
only from the word of truth. And herein is re
markably fulfilled that prophecy concerning the
followers of antichrist, (2 Thess. ii. 11.) that "be
cause they received not the truth in the love of it,
God would send them strong delusions, (kvkpyuav
TrXdvrjc, the efficacy of imposture,) that they should
believe a lie." And how could they more solemnly
declare the belief and love of lies, than by putting
these ridiculous fables into the public offices of -the
church, in place of the Holy Scriptures ; and at the
same time that they deny to the people the use of
the Scriptures in a known tongue, to permit them
the use, and to recommend to them the reading, of
these lying legends, out of which these ridiculous
lessons are taken?
Thirdly, The miracles of the church of Rome,
supposing several of them to be true, have such
marks and characters upon them, as render it very

395
suspicious that they are not operations of God, or
good spirits, but the working of Satan. If any
man have but the patience to rake into these dung
hills, and to read over these legends, even as they
have by the latter collectors and compilers been
purged and reformed, he shall find the miracles re
cited in them, to be generally of one stamp, very
foolish and absurd, frivolous and trifling, wrought
without any necessity, upon no good occasion, to no
wise end and purpose ; so that one may know them
by their very countenances to be the tricks and
pranks of the devil, and not the great and glorious
works of God, such as are the miracles recorded
in the Holy Scriptures.
Fourthly, The miracles of the church of Rome,
taking them for true, are very impertinently and un
seasonably wrought. When and where there is no
need and occasion for them, they are very rife and
frequent ; but where there is greatest occasion for
them, and most reason to expect them, they are
either not at all, or very rarely so much as pre
tended lo. In times and places where their reli
gion did most absolutely bear sway, and few or
none durst oppose it, and where the doctrines which
they pretended to confirm by these miracles were
most generally believed, as in those long, dark, and
ignorant times before the Reformation, and now in
Italy and Spain, where the Inquisition forceth them
all to be of one belief, or to profess to be so ; in these
times and places, where there was least need and
occasion for miracles, then and there did they most
abound, even more, (if we may believe their histo
ries) for several ages before the Reformation, than in
the times of our Saviour and his apostles. But
since the Reformation, and that many of their doc-
2 i) 2

396
trines are called in question and disbelieved, mira
cles are grown rare, and almost ceased, even in
popish countries ; and they have had but very-ill
success with those few they have pretended to ; wit
ness the miracle at Angiers in France, of a child
appearing over the altar at the time of mass, to con
vince all people of the doctrine of transubstantiar
tion, with which the papists made such a noise here
in England about fourteen or fifteen years ago, and
which at last was discovered to be an artificial jug
gle and contrivance of some cunning priest, and
published to the world for a cheat, by the honest
and worthy bishop of that place.
But where there seems to be' the most need of
them, they are most wanting : as for the conversion
of heathens, and the conviction of heretic infidels.
For the conversion of heathens : in which case, if
men did siucerely design the propagation ofthe true
and uncorrupted Christianity, I do not see why
miracles might not yet reasonably be expected; but
yet for all this, we hear of very few miracles, not so
much as the gift of tongues, even upon this occa
sion. In the first planting of the West Indies, we
hear of no miracles, except the most prodigious
cruelties that ever were in the world, to the infinite
scandal of the Christian name. And in the East
Indies, aud China, Xaverius and the first mission
aries speak with no assurance of any miracles
wrought by them ; and since that time, they have
so depraved the Christian religion there, by conceal
ing a most essential part of it, the death and suffer
ings of our Saviour, as if they were " ashamed of
the cross of Christ," that it is not credible, that God
should vouchsafe the countenance of miracles to
those who " preach another gospel."

397
And then for the conviction of heretics (as they
are pleased to call us protestants) one would think
miracles (since they have that power) would be very
proper for that purpose to be wrought among them ;
as now here in England, where they are continually
endeavouring (but especially of late with more than
usual vigour and hopes) to restore their religion, and
yet for all this, we cannot prevail with them to fa
vour us with the sight of one miracle, in order to
our conviction ; but if they have any, they keep
them private among themselves, though both reason
and Scripture tell us, that miracles were not in
tended for them that believe, but to convince them
that believe not
Fifthly, He from whom of all persons in that
church we might expect the most and greatest mi
racles, does not, so far as I can learn, pretend at all
to that gift; I mean the head of their church, the
pope, who, both as he is vicar of Christ, and suc
cessor of St. Peter in his full power and office, or if
he be not his successor,. yet as he is his shadow, and
pretends to be his successor, might fairly pretend to
a power of miracles above any in that church ; and
I have often wondered why he does not: but it
seems he contents himself with infallibility, which
is privilege and power enough for one man ; and
indeed, if he had it, and could satisfy others that he
hath it, that would serve his turn without miracles :
but the mischief of it is, there is no other external
evidence which can reasonably satisfy others of any
man's inspiration or infallibility, but miracles ; and
therefore, the pope hath done very unadvisedly,
in pretending to one without the other, when he
hath the same right and title to both ; that is, none
at all.

398
Sixthly, Most of the doctrines in difference be
tween us and the Church of Rome, which they
chiefly pretend to confirm by these miracles, are
not capable of being confirmed by them. There
are three sorts of doctrines, two of which are in
their own nature incapable of being confirmed by a
miracle, and a third upon supposition of its contra
riety to the Christian doctrine, which hath already
had an unquestionable Divine confirmation.
1. No doctrine which is contrary to sense, is
capable of being confirmed by a miracle, as tran
substantiation ; which, because it necessarily re
quires the renouncing of our senses, in order to the
belief of it, for that very reason miracles can give no
credit to it. For that which depends on the certainty
of sense, as miracles certainly do, can be no compe
tent argument to prove that which is contrary to
sense, as transubstantiation is.
2. No doctrine that does countenance or enjoin
idolatry is capable of being confirmed by a mira
cle. This is evident from Deut. xiii. where Moses
supposeth that a prophet might work a sign or a
wonder ; but if it was to seduce them from the wor
ship ofthe true God, who is naturally known, to the
worship of idols, in that case they were not to
hearken to him, notwithstanding he wrought a mi
racle ; but the church of Rome teacheth idolatry
in their worship of images, and of the host, and in
the invocation of saints and angels.
3. No doctrine contrary to any part of the Christ
ian doctrine, which hath already received an un
questionable Divine confirmation, is capable of be
ing confirmed by the miracles pretended to in the
church of Rome, if they were real. For I hope
they have not the face to pretend their miracles to

399
be equal to those of our Saviour and his apostles,
either for the certainty or greatness of them ; and I
have already shewn, that they notoriously want
both the credit and certainty of our Saviour's mi
racles, and the marks of their divinity.
Now several of the doctrines of that church are
directly contrary to, pr inconsistent with, the doc
trines of Christianity. Their endeavour to conceal
from people the doctrine of the gospel, contained in
the Holy Scriptures, is a notorious contradiction to
the design of the gospel, and to that particular
miracle whereby the knowledge of it was conveyed
to the world, the gift of tongues; and then the ser
vice of God in an unknown tongue, which is incon
sistent with true devotion, contrary to edification,
and to the plain scope and design of a whole chapter
of St. Paul to the Corinthians. And so likewise is
the communion in one kind, to our Saviour's express
institution; and the repetition of Christ's sacrifice,
to as express a declaration of the apostle to the
Hebrews to the contrary, as it is possible for words
to make.
Seventhly and lastly, which falls heaviest upon
them of all, the chief prophecies of the New Testa
ment, which are concerning false prophets, and con
cerning antichrist, have marked him out by this
character, that he should be a great worker of mira
cles, and magnify himself upon this pretence. (Matt.
xxiv. 24.) " For there shall arise false Christs, and
false prophets, and shall shew great signs and won
ders, insomuch that (if it were possible) they shall
deceive the very elect." And (2 Thess. ii. 9, 10.) St.
Paul foretells there, that in tbe great degeneracy and
falling away ofthe Christian church, "the man of sin
shall come after the working of Satan, with all power,

400
and signs, and wonders of lies," that is, either false
miracles, or miracles wrought to confirm false doc
trines, " and with all deceivableness of unrighteous
ness," all the legerdemain and juggling tricks of
falsehood and imposture ; and certainly nothing
was ever more visible than these are in the church
of Rome ; whether we consider their impudent for
geries of writings (which they have not the face now
to deny), or the nature and character of their mira
cles. So that though Bellarmine is pleased to make
miracles one of the marks ofthe true church, yet
the miracles of the church of Rome, if we consider
all the circumstances of them, are one of the plainest
marks of autichrist, and the very brand ofthe beast,
as we find him described, (Rev. xiii. 13, 14.) " And
he doth great wonders, and deceiveth them that
dwell on the earth, by means of those miracles which
he had power to do."
And now the church of Rome may be allowed to
work miracles ; and yet Divine miracles, such as
were wrought for the first confirmation of Christi
anity, may be ceased in the church ; which is a
sufficient answer to the objection, and upon the
whole matter shews, that the miracles pretended to
in the church of Rome, are so far from giving any
confirmation to her doctrines, that they are rather
an evident proof that she is the apostate and anti-
christian church.
I might now draw two or three inferences from
this whole discourse. As,
I. We have great reason to admire the wisdom and
goodness of God in the dispensation ofthe gospel,
that, by the sending down of his Holy Spirit toendow
the first publishers of this heavenly doctrine with
such miraculous gifts aud powers, he hath given such

401
abundant testimony to the truth of our religion, and
such firm grounds for our faith to rely upon.
II. The consideration of what hath been said con
vinceth men of the great sin of infidelity, and the
unreasonableness of it, after so clear conviction and
demonstration as God hath given to the world of
the truth of Christianity.
III. And lastly, They who believe the gospel,
are utterly inexcusable, if they do not obey it, and
live according to it. For this is the great end of all
the miracles which God hath wrought for the con
firmation of Christianity, that by the belief of the
gospel men might be brought to " the obedience of
faith," and live conformably to the precepts of that
holy religion, which the Son of God by so many
miracles hath planted and preserved in the world.
But these I have* discoursed of on another occa
sion, and therefore shall insist upon them no farther
at this time. * See Sermon CXCVII. vol. viii. p. 397.

SERMON CCXXXI.
THE ADVANTAGES OF TRUTH, IN OPPOSITION TO
ERROR.
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome
them : because greater is he that is in you, than he
that is in the world. They are of the world ; there
fore speak they of the world, and the world heareth
them. — 1 John iv. 4, 5.
In the beginning of sthis chapter, the apostle cau
tions Christians against the false teachers, and false
prophets, intending more especially those of the
gnostic sect, as is plain from the scope of the whole
Epistle, who were so busy to seduce Christians to
their impious ways,, and to tempt them to apostatize
from the Christian religion to the heathen idolatry,
for fear of persecution.
And to encourage them who had hitherto con
tinued in the truth, and resisted the seducing arts
of those false prophets, still to persevere in their
holy profession and practice, he tells them what
advantages they, who have embraced the truth and
lived according to it, have above those who seduce
men to errors, or are seduced by them. "Ye are
of God, little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is
in the world." That which gives truth and the pro
fessors of it the advantage over error and seducers,
is, that truth is from God, and the Spirit of God
dwells in those who sincerely embrace and obey it.

403
" Ye are of God," that is, ye are taught by him,
and instructed in the doctrine which is from God,
and relish Divine truth, which our Saviour calls sa
vouring the things which are of God, in opposition
to the things of the world, the lusts and interests
of the world which sway and rule in those false
prophets and seducing spirits. For so it follows in
the next verse, " they are of the world ;" they are
acted by worldly lusts and interests: "therefore
speak they ofthe world ;" they teach things suitable
to their worldly affections and interests : " and the
world heareth them," they who are of the same
temper are seduced and led away by them,
So that the apostle's design in these words, is
plainly to shew the great advantage which truth
and the sincere professors of it have above error,
and the teachers and disciples of it.
" Ye are of God." This phrase is very frequently,
and very peculiarly used by St. John ; it signifies
to belong to God in a special and peculiar manner,
and is the same with " being born of God," and
" being the children of God," (chap. iii. 10.) " In this
the children of God are manifest, and the children of
the devil: whosoever doth not righteousness, is not
of God." Where you see to be " of God," and to be
" the children of God," are the same thing : and so to
be the children of the devil, and to be of the devil,
are by this apostle used in the same sense, (chap.
iii. 8.) " He that committeth siu is of the devil."
And, (ver. 12.) "Cain was of that wicked one," that
is, a child of the devil, as he had called such before,
(ver. 10.) And because children do resemble their
parents in nature and disposition, therefore those
who are of a Divine temper and disposition, who
relish the things of God, and are apt to embrace

404
the truths of God when they are duly propounded
to them, are ready to be taught of God, are said
likewise to be of God : (John viii. 47.) " He that
is of God, heareth God's words : ye therefore hear
them not, because ye are not of God." So here in
the text, " Ye are of God ;" ye are of a temper and
disposition apt to relish Divine things, ready to
embrace the truths of God, and ye have entertained
them, and are his children, and are led by his Spirit,
and have the Spirit of God dwelling in' you; and
this makes you victorious. " Ye have overcome
them." He had spoken immediately before of false
prophets and antichrist, by which he doth point
out not one particular person, but the whole number
and faction of false teachers, as he tells us, (chap.
ii. 18.) that "now there are many antichrists. Ye
are of God, and have overcome them." This hath
enabled you to resist those seducing spirits, and
made you too hard for them, that " ye are of God ;
because greater is he that is in yo.u, than he that is
in the world." The force of the reasoning is this:
" Ye are of God," that is, ye are taught of God, and
have received his doctrine, and are born again by
the word of God, and are his children, and being
his children, ye have his Spirit ; and the Spirit of
truth and of God is a stronger principle, than that
spirit of error and seduction which is in the world,
that is, the devil. " Greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world." The Spirit of truth is
more powerful than the spirit of error and seduction;
and consequently they that are of God, who sin
cerely embrace and obey the truth, are able to over
come all the temptations of the world to apostacy
from the truth.
; My work at this time shall be to shew, what ad-

405
vantage good men, and those who sincerely embrace
and obey truth, have to secure them in the ways of
truth and holiness, against all the temptations ofthe
devil and the world. I say, in the ways of truth
and holiness, because, there is a strict connexion
between a hearty embracing of the truth of God,
and a .sincere obedience to it. And the apostle
speaks of both, in opposition to the gnostics, who
did not only endeavour to seduce men to apostacy
from Christian faith, but likewise from the practice
of a holy life. Now to secure men against tempt
ations to both these, they who are of God, who
sjncerely embrace and obey the truth, have a great
advantage, because that spirit and principle, which
rules and sways in them, is more powerful than that
spirit which rules in the world and in the children
of disobedience. " Greater is he that is in you,
than he that is iu the world ;" and that in these three
respects :
First, Divine truth carries greater evidence along
with it.
Secondly, The motives to persuade men to adhere
to truth and holiness, are more operative and powerful .
Thirdly, There is a greater and more immediate
assistance accompanies the truth of God, and they
who entertain it are acted by a more powerful prin
ciple than that which is in the world.
First, Divine truth carries greater evidence along
with it. As will appear if we consider three things :
I. The doctrines that are from God have more
intrinsic goodness in them, and teach such things
as are more worthy of God, and more likely to pro
ceed from him.
II. The external confirmation of these doctrines is
greater and hath more conviction in it.

406
III. The Spirit of God doth illuminate the minds
of good men, and is concerned to lead them into
the truth, and to secure them from dangerous and
damnable errors.
I. The doctrines which are from God, have a
more intrinsical goodness in them, and teach such
things as are most worthy of God, and more likely
to proceed from him. Whoever supposeth God to
make a revelation of himself to men whereby to
conduct them to happiness, must in all reason sup
pose such a Divine doctrine to contain plain rules
and directions to that end, and powerful helps,
motives, and encouragements, to enable and excite
men to the observation of those rules. For a man
would naturally reason, that God, who is so infi
nitely good, would, in revealing his will to men, aim
at no other end, but the happiness of his creatures:
and that he being infinitely wise as well as good,
the means would be proportionable, and conse
quently that the laws and precepts which he gives
would apparently tend to the happiness of mankind:
and because, if men have immortal souls, and are
designed to live for ever, their greatest happiness is
that of another world ; therefore it is reasonable to
conclude, that those rules and directions should
principally regard the eternal happiness of men in
another life, and in subserviency to that, should
respect likewise the temporal happiness of men in
this world.
And such laws and rules being supposed, the next
thing to be expected is, that God should consider
the condition and circumstances of persons to whom
these laws are given ; and if they be averse to them,
that they should be awakened and quickened to
the observance of them, by such motives and

407
encouragements as are proper and powerful to that
end ; and if they be weak and impotent to the per
formance of what God's laws require, that they
should be enabled and assisted by a proportionable
strength. Now the doctrine of the Christian religion, which
our blessed Saviour revealed to the world, and (as
we Christians say,) by Divine commission and
authority, hath all these marks aud characters of
divinity upon it. The laws of it are plain and
obvious to the common understanding of mankind ;
all men know what the precepts of piety, and good
ness, and mercy, and righteousness, and integrity,
and truth, and faithfulness, of meekness, and hu
mility, and patience, and forgiveness, and forbear
ance, and charity, mean ; and so I might instance
in temperance and chastity, and all those other
virtues and graces which the Christian religion
requires of us, and recommends to us. These all
tend to the advancement and perfection of our
natures, and make us like to God, and capable of
the enjoyment of him in the next life ; and besides
this, they do apparently conduce in all respects to
our temporal happiness in this world. And ex
cepting the case of persecution (to which God hath
promised abundant recompence in another world,)
the practice of these virtues is evidently to the ad
vantage of particular persons in this world, and to
the peace and happiness of human society.
And, because of the great corruption of human
nature, and the strong inclinations of it to vice, the
gospel offers proportionable1 arguments and encou
ragements to men to persuade them to their duty ;
an act of oblivion and pardon for what is past ;
perfect reconciliation to God in and through the

408
merits and mediation of our blessed Saviour, and
the eternal rewards and punishments of another
world ; which to men that believe the immortality
of their souls, and are not stupidly insensible of
their interest, are the most powerful considerations
in the world to take men off from sin, and to bring
them to goodness.
And because the corruption of human nature
hath brought a great weakness and impotency
upon mankind, God is pleased in the gospel to offer
to men the powerful assistance of his grace and
Holy Spirit, to enable them to perform all this
which he requires of them. And beyond this, what
can we expect God should discover to men, in order
to their happiness in this world, or the other? And
in all these respects the doctrine of the gospel,
revealed from heaven by the Son of God, hath, to
any impartial considerer, infinitely the advantage
of paganism or Mahometanism, dr any other doctrine
or institution that ever the world was acquainted
withal. But now, if we bring the doctrines of false pro
phets and seducing spirits, whom St. John calls
antichrists, to this trial, we shall find that they are
quite of another stamp, destitute of goodness, and
calculated not for the happiness and benefit of men,
but for base and unworthy ends ; whereby it is evi
dent, that the teachers of them are not " of God, but
of the world," and " therefore they speak of the
world, and the world heareth them." And of this I
will give two instances ; one in those false teachers
the gnostics, intended bjj the apostle in this Epis
tle ; and the other in a sort of seducers nearer to us
in our own times.
As- for the gnostics, besides their contradicting

409
and virtual renouncing the main principles of
Christianity, by denying that Christ was really come
in the flesh, or that he really died, or rose, affirming
all this to be only in appearance ; the sum of their
doctrine was either a heap of unintelligible words
and phrases, under a pretence of a high mystery ; or
a doctrine of liberty, as to all manner of vice and
wickedness, under a pretence of perfection, and
that whatever they did, they could not sin ; both
which at the first sight are as plain evidence as any
reasonable man can desire, that such a doctrine
could not be from God; nothing being more un
likely to be a Divine revelation, than such absurd
and confused stuff as no man can understand, and
which hath no tendency to make men better. But
above all, nothing can be more unworthy of God, nor*
more unlikely to proceed from him, than such a
doctrine as gives encouragement to vice and wicked
ness of life, under what pretence soever it be. For
what can be more contrary to God* and a greater
affront to the reason of mankind, than to let men
loose to do the vilest and lewdest things, under
pretence of perfection in goodness?
The other instance I intend is nearer at hand, and
concerns us more, and that is in the church of Rome,
and those false teachers which she sends abroad
into the world, and which at this day swarm among
us; and never did any character more unluckily
agree to any sort of men than this of the apostle
does to that church and the teachers of it, that
" they are of the world, and therefore they speak
of the world, and the world heareth them."
In which words there are three remarkable cha
racters given of the false prophets and teachers.
1. That they are acted by a worldly spirit, and
vol. ix. 2 E

410
carry on a secular interest and design ; " they are of
the world."
2. That they teach things suitable to their worldly
interest and design, and therefore they speak k< tov
Koaftov, " from the world," according to that worldly
spirit that acts them, and rules in them.;
3. Those that hearken to them are a sort of peo
ple like themselves, of worldly affections and inte
rests ; " the world heareth them."
1. They are acted by a worldly spirit, and carry
on a secular interest and design of. greatness and.
ambition, of dominion and tyranny, of riches and
wealth. Any man that considers the church of
Rome at this day, and by what steps and degrees,
by what worldly ways and unworthy means, she
hath attained to that power and wealth and great
ness, to that dominion and tyranny, which now for
several hundreds of years she hath exercised, not
only over the consciences of men in the most cruel
manner, but even over temporal princes and states,
in commanding their treasures and armies, in de
posing kings, and disposing of their kingdoms, and
in all imaginable instances of secular dominion and
tyranny, cannot but be satisfied by what spirit they
are acted, and that they as visibly carry on a worldly
interest and design, as the most ambitious secular
prince ever did.
2. They teach things suitable to their worldly de
signs and interests. Let but any man impartially
survey those which are the proper doctrines of the
Romish church, and which we challenge for innova
tion and corruption of the truly ancient catholic and
Christian doctrine, and it will at first sight be evident
to him, whither these doctrines tend, and that they
do not serve the ends of religion, but of worldly

411
greatness and dominion. What greater instance of
ambition, than the claim of the universal supremacy
of the bishop of Rome over all Christians and
churches in the world, without the least ground, or
indeed colour of ground, either from Scripture or an
tiquity ; and not only of an universal spiritual power
over Christians, but of an indirect temporal power
Over princes in order to spiritual ends, which may
be extended to any thing, and hath been, upon occa
sion, to the donation of kingdoms, and the deposing
of princes, and the transferring of temporal domi
nion from lawful and hereditary princes, to those
who had no manner of right or title ? What more
arrogant and directly tending to the enslaving of
mankind, than their pretence to infallibility, which
yet they could never agree among themselves where
to place ? What greater tyranny can be exercised
over mankind, than to oblige them to an implicit
faith, and blind obedience to believe what the church
believes, though they do not know what it is ; and
to do what the church commands, though they
doubt never so much of the lawfulness of it? Than
to hide the word of God from them, and to lock it
up in an unknown tongue, and to deter them from
the free use of that which was designed by God to
be the great instrument of the salvation of mankind ?
Than not to let men exercise their understandings
in the service of God ; nor, when they join in public
prayers, to suffer them to know what it is they ask of
God ; as if the priests' lips were so to preserve know
ledge, as to keep it all to themselves, and not to
make use of it for the benefit and edification of the
people? And lastly; to impose upon men, under pain
of damnation, the belief of doctrines, not only con
trary to the true sense of Scripture, but to all the
2 e2

412
sense and reason of mankind, as is the doctrine of
transubstantiation? How is it possible to bring
people into a greater subjection to the priests, and
dependance upon them, than by auricular confes
sion, and that unreasonable doctrine of making the
efficacy of the sacraments to depend upon the in
tention of the priest ; and consequently, to put it
into the power of a malicious and bad man to damn
all his parish ? And to mention but one thing more,
what better contrivance could be thought of to en
rich the church, and drain the purses of the people,
than their doctrines of purgatory and prayers for
the dead, of indulgences and satisfaction, and their
forms of sins and vices of all kinds, called the tax
ofthe apostolic chamber ? Can any man think that
these and such-like doctrines are " of God," which
do so directly serve the ends fof covetousness aud
ambition ? Any one that does not wilfully shut his
eyes, may plainly see that such doctrines, and such
teachers, are " of the world," and that they speak
and teach these things out of a worldly interest and
design. And here I might take notice likewise, that "they
speak from the world," also, in another sense, by
shewing what worldly and indirect means (not to
say wicked and sinful arts) they commonly make
use of to make disciples and gain proselytes, by flat
tery and falsehood, by concealing and misrepresent
ing their own doctrines and practices, by defaming
their adversaries with known fictions and calum
nies, tempting men from their religion by promises
of temporal advantages, which, when they have
gained them, they do not always perform and make
good. Can any thing be more opposite to the
genius of true religion, than to promote it by means

413
so plainly contrary to the very nature and design
of it?
3. Those who hearken to them and are seduced
by them, are generally like themselves ; " they speak
from the world, and the world heareth them." Not
but that men of very honest and sincere minds may
be seduced into great errors, through prejudice or
weakness, or a melancholy superstition : but gene
rally such a religion as is calculated for the pro
moting of secular interest, and is carried on by secu
lar arts, does gain upon carnal and worldly minds ;
and it is usually some worldly consideration or
other that prevails with men to embrace and profess
it. A religion that can find out ways to save men
without sincere repentance and a good life, is very
fit to make proselytes in the world ; they that teach
such doctrines speak from the world, and the
world is very apt to hear them.
And thus I have done with the first thing, where
by it appears, that Divine truth carries great evi
dence along with it, namely, that the doctrines
which are from God, have more intrinsical goodness
in them, and teach such things as are more worthy
of God, and more likely to proceed from him. I
will be briefer in the rest.
II. The external confirmation of Divine doctrines
is greater, and carries more conviction along with
it. By external confirmation, I mean chiefly that of
miracles. And though the pagan religion pretended
to sonie, and our Saviour plainly foretold, that anti
christs and false prophets should arise, and should
"shew signs and wonders ;" and St. Paul hath told
us, that " the man of sin" should " come with signs,
and wonders, and mighty power ;" yet none of these
are of any great consideration, in comparison of the

414
many, and great, and unquestionable miracles,
which were so universally wrought for the establish
ment of the Christian religion, and continued for
some ages ; they bear no manner of proportion to
them, neither for the nature, nor number, nor cir
cumstances of them, so as to shake or weaken any
man's belief of the Christian religion, which had so
much a greater confirmation given to it ; especially
when our Saviour did foretell, that false prophets
should do some things of this kind. For after a re
ligion is established by plain and unquestionable mi
racles, such as for their number, nature, publick-
ness, and continuance, and all imaginable circum
stances of advantage, were never upon any occasion
wrought in the world ; I say, after this, it is not rea
sonable, that one or two single miracles or wonders
pretended to, or really wrought by a false prophet,
should bring in question the truth of a religion con
firmed by a long series of the greatest and most un
questionable miracles.
Besides that the doctrine of it is such as is
worthy of God, and most likely to proceed from
him.* As for the miracles pretended to by the church of
Rome, they are generally so fantastical and ridicu
lous, and so unlike the works of God, and wrought to
no end aud purpose, not among unbelievers for their
conviction, which was always the great end of mira
cles, but among themselves, and so destitute of
credit, that the wisest among themselves are so far
from believing them, that they are heartily ashamed
of them, so that we need not trouble ourselves about
them, for they are not likely to give any great cort-
* See of this more at large, in the three last foregoing Sermons.

415
firmation to any doctrine, which stand in so much
need of confirmation themselves.
III. Besides the goodness of the doctrines which
are from God, and the external confirmation of them
by miracles, which is a great advantage to the recep
tion of them, the Spirit of God doth likewise illu
minate good men, and those who are desirous to
know the truth, and hath promised to lead them into
it, and to assist them in discerning between truth and
falsehood. So our Saviour hath assured us, (John
vii. 17.) " If any man will do his will, he shall know
of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I
speak of myself." Besides that the doctrines which
are from God do commonly carry the marks and
characters of their own divinity upon them ; the pro
vidence of God is likewise particularly concerned,
that good men, and those who are of honest minds,
and sincerely desirous to know the truth, should not
be deceived in matters of so great consequence to
the happiness and salvation of mankind. To the
same purpose is that promise, (John xiv. 21.) " He
that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he
it is that loveth me : and he that loveth me, shall be
loved of my Father, and I will love him ; and will
manifest myself to him." ,
God is always ready to reveal his will to those
who are sincerely desirous to do it, and will not
suffer men of honest minds to err dangerously in
matters wherein their eternal salvation is concerned.
Thus you see what advantage the Spirit of truth
hath above the spirit of error and seduction ; that
Divine truth carries greater evidence along with it,
both in respect of the goodness of the doctrines
which are from God, and the great confirmation that
is given to them, and the extraordinary illuminations

416
of God's Spirit, which is wont to accompany the
truths of God to the minds of good men, who are
ready and disposed to give entertainment to Divine
truth. I should now have proceeded to the second ad
vantage which the Spirit of truth hath above the
spirit of seduction, namely, that the motives to per
suade men to adhere to truth and holiness, are more
powerful and operative upon the minds of men, than
the motives to the contrary.
And then, Thirdly, That those who embrace and
obey the truth of God, have a greater assistance,
and are acted by a more powerful spirit and princi
ple, than any is in the world : and this seems to be
more especially the meaning of that in the text, " Ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is
jn the world." But these I shall not now enter upon.

SERMON CCXXXII.
THE ADVANTAGES OF TRUTH, IN OPPOSITION TO
ERROR.
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome
them ; because greater is he that is in you, than he
that is in the ivorld. They are of the world; there
fore speak they ofthe world, and the world heareth
them. — 1 John iv. 4, 5.
I proceed to the second advantage which the Spirit
of truth hath above the spirit of error and seduc
tion, namely, that the motives which good men have
to persuade them to adhere to truth and holiness, are
more powerful than the motives to the contrary.
They who embraced the Christian religion, did firmly
believe the eternal rewards and punishments of an
other world ; and this principle of faith being fixed
and rooted in them, made them victorious over
all the temptations of the world, over all the allure
ments and terrors of it; because they were fully
persuaded of the happiness and misery of an
other world ; the happiness of those who continued
steadfast in thefaith and obedience ofthe gospel, and
the dreadful misery and punishment of those who
disobeyed the gospel of Christ, or apostatized from
the profession of it. Hence it was that they were
not to be moved by any temporal considerations,
either of ease or advantage, or of trouble and per
secution in this world. Their eternal interest lay so
near their hearts, and they were so fully possessed
with the belief ofthe everlasting rewards and punish-

418
ments of another life, that they overlooked the
goods and evils of this life ; and all temporal consi
derations, ptit into the scales against their everlast
ing interest, were of no weight and moment with
them. And this our apostle Very particularly insists upon
in this Epistle, (ch. v. 4, 5.) "Whatsoever is born
of God, overcometh the world ;" the children of God
are victorious over the temptations of the world ;
and then he tells us what it is that makes them so,
" And this is the victory that overcometh the world,
even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of
God ?" The believing that " Jesus is the Son of God,"
infers the belief of his doctrine, and consequently
of that eminent part of it, the eternal recompence
of another world, which, whosoever firmly be
lieves, will be able to resist and overcome all the
temptations of this world. For by the belief of the
Christian religion, and faith in the Son of God, we
are fully assured of the reality and certainty of the
mighty rewards and punishments of another world,
though they be future and at a distance ; and a firm
persuasion of these things, makes them in some sort
present fo us, as to their efficacy and operation ; for
to a wise and considerate man, a great good, or a
great evil, which he believes will certainly befal
him, according as he managethhis affairs well or ill,
though it be at some distance, is of greater force
than a far lesser good or evil which is present and
nearer at hand. And of this we see many in
stances in the temporal concerns of men. A pru
dent man will forego his present ease and pleasure,
and part with a present advantage, lay down ready
money, upou the certain prospect of a far greater

419
benefit that will come to him some years hence ;
and will undergo present pain and trouble, to pre
vent a far greater mischief and inconvenience ; and
upon this principle of the belief of future good and
evil, all the great affairs of the world are managed.
Upon this principle men plough and sow, and ven
ture their estates in traffic to foreign parts, and trust
out their present stock, and purchase reversions,
and lake physic, and cut off a limb, and run all
those hazards of estate and life, which we see men
every day do ; and all this for the securing of some
great advantage, or the preventing of some great
mischief, which, though it be future and at a dis-»
tance, yet they probably or certainly foresee will
happen to them.
And this principle is so much the stronger, and
of greater force and efficacy, in matters of greater
moment and importance, where the good hoped for,
or the evil feared, is infinitely great, and concerns
us for ever. If we firmly believe the reality and
certainty of it, no temporal advantage or affliction
can come in competition with them, in the calcula
tion and account of a wise man ; because there is
no proportion between finite and infinite, between
the goods and evils which are temporal, and those
which are eternal ; though the one be seen, and the
other not seen; though the one be present and near
to us, and the other future and at a great distance.
Upon this principle the first Christians continued
firm and steadfast in the belief and obedience of the
gospel, and were bold and open in the profession
of it, notwithstanding all the cruel assaults of per
secution, though they hazarded the loss of all that
was dear to them in this world, and exposed them
selves to the suffering of whatever is grievous and

420
terrible to flesh and blood. They "gloried in tri
bulation;" and did not only patiently submit to the
greatest sufferings, but heartily praised God, who
" accounted them worthy to suffer for his name :
they took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, know
ing that, in heaven, they had a better and more en
during substance; they were tortured not accepting
deliverance, that they might obtain a better resur
rection;" and when they were harassed with all the
evils and calamities of human life, yet they fainted
not, knowing " that their light affliction, which was
but for a moment, would work for them a far more
exceeding and eternal weight of glory," having their
minds fixed, " not upon the things which are seen,
but upon the things which are not seen; the things
which are seen being but temporal, but the things
which are not seen being eternal."
Thus they overcame the world, not by the force
and power of this world, but by the belief of an
other world, and ofthe mighty rewards and punish
ments of it. Aud this " faith purified their hearts,"
and reformed their lives, and made them steadfast
and unmoveable in their holy profession, and raised
their minds above all. the temptations and terrors of
present and sensible things.
Let us now see on the contrary what kind of
motives and arguments false teachers use to seduce
men to their pernicious ways. " They speak from
the world," and commonly make use of base, and
low, and temporal considerations, of little tricks
and devices, aud " all deceivableness of unright
eousness," (as the Scripture calls it) to make disci
ples and gain proselytes. They terrify them with
temporal dangers and inconveniences, and represent
to them sufferiug, and persecution, and death, in all

421
their frightful shapes, to deter them from profession
of the true religion : they set before them all man
ner of worldly baits and allurements, ease, and
wealth, and preferment; they promise them liberty
from the strictness of those laws and rules which
religion ties them up to. By these arts and argu
ments the gnostics of old used to tempt men from
Christianity to shake their constancy in the profes
sion of it; and the same ways are still put in prac
tice by seducers at this day : they fell men of a glo
rious church that hath great power and interest in
the world; they amuse them with a great deal of
outward pomp and ceremony ; they promise them
preferment and great worldly advantages, by coming
over to them; they threaten them with fire and
faggot, with persecutions and massacres, and, where
they have power, they hold them fast when they
have gained them, by the terror of an Inquisition;
they promise them liberty, and what by the loose
ness of their casuistical divinity, and by the easiness
of their penances and absolutions, and the cheats
of their indulgences, they have devised ways to
reconcile almost the worst life that any man can
lead, with fair hopes of getting to heaven at last.
They tell them, indeed, they must make some stop
in purgatory : but they have so many ways to re
lease men from those sufferings, as do very much
abate the terror of them, to any man that hath but
credulity enough to believe them: for, besides the
vast treasure of merits iu the common bank of the
church, which the pope hath in his disposal, and
which nobody ought to doubt but that they are
faithfully employed by him for the ease and deli
verance of souls in purgatory; I say, besides* these,
there are so many particular ways of effecting this

422
business, that a man of ordinary discretion, with an
indifferent purse, may so order the matter, that he
shall only pass through purgatory, but need not
make any stay in that place of torments.
But though these be their common motives and
inducements to draw men to their communion, yet
they do not wholly omit the arguments taken from
the eternal happiness and misery of men ip another
World; for, to give them their due, there are no peo
ple in the world more prodigal of eternal salvation
and damnation : they promise the one upon the
easiest terms, and threaten the other upon the least
displeasure : if a man be in their communion, he
cau hardly fail of salvation ; and if he be out of it,
and differ from them in the least point of faith,
though but of their own making, he is sure to be
damned, though he had the graces and virtues, the
sanctity and charity, of an angel: and this is the
true reason why these arguments, which are so
powerful in themselves, signify so little from their
mouths; because every man that hath read the
Bible and understands, the Christian religion, plain
ly sees, that they have made terms of salyation and
damnation quite different from those which God
hath constituted; so that these motives, which are
so strong and mighty in themselves, quite lose their
edge and force, when they are managed by seducers
in so undue a manner, and to ends and purposes so
cross to the main design of Christianity. This is
the second advantage which the Spirit of truth hath
above the spirit of error and seduction, that the
motives to persuade men to adhere to truth and
holiness, are really in themselves more powerful
than the motives to error and seduction.
Thirdly, Those who sincerely embrace and obey

423
the truth of God, have a greater assistance, and are
acted by a more powerful spirit and principle, than
that which is in the world; and this seems more
especially to be the meaning of the reason here
given in the text, why the Spirit of truth is victo
rious over the spirit of error and seduction ; " Ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them :
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is
in the world;" that is, the Spirit which is in good
men, is more powerful than the devil, that evil spirit
which inspires and acts the " children of disobe
dience." For the farther explication of this, I will do these
three things :
I. Shew that there are these two principles in the
world, the Spirit of God, and the devil, very active
and powerful in good and bad men.
II. That the Spirit of God, which is in good men,
is greater than he that is in the world.
III. In what ways the Spirit of God doth move
and assist good men.
I. That there are these two principles in the
world, the Spirit of God, and the devil, very active
and powerful, the one in good, the other in bad
men. This is very credible in the general, from the
universal tradition and consent of mankind, in the
belief of good and evil spirits attending men, and
prompting them to good and evil; but we who em
brace the revelation of the gospel have a much
firmer and surer ground for it, nothing being more
plain and frequent in Scripture, than that the Holy
Spirit of God guides and assists good men in doing
the will of God; and that the devil " works in the
children of disobedience," and is always ready to
tempt men to and promote any evil action or de-

424
sign. From hence it is, that the Scripture does
almost every where ascribe all good motions and
actions to the operation and influence of God's
grace and Holy Spirit upon the minds of men; and
the sins of men to the temptation and suggestion of
the devil; and this is so well known to any one
conversant in the Holy Scriptures, that I need not
cite particular texts for the proof of it.
Itis true, indeed, that the motions of God's Holy
Spirit, and the suggestions of the devil, are very
secret to us, and imperceptible by us, so that no
man can say certainly, that this good inclination or
action is an immediate motion of God's Holy Spi
rit in me, or that evil thought and design is an im
mediate suggestion of the devil ; it is sufficient for
us, that we are assured from Divine revelation in ge
neral, that the Spirit of God very frequently does,
and is always ready to assist good men in the do
ing or suffering of God's will ; as the evil spirit,
where God permits him, is always busy to tempt
and seduce men to evil. And this ought not to be
strange to us, because our Saviour hath expressly
told us, that the Spirit of God works in men after
an imperceptible manner; (John iii. 8.) " The wind
bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound
thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and
whither it goeth : so is every one that is born of the
Spirit." Though we do not know the manner of
the Spirit's working, nor perceive the operations of
it upon our minds, yet we find the effects of it in
the renovation and sanctification of our hearts.
Thus, by undeniable arguments, men are assured
of a Divine providence governing the world, though
men do not always see, nor can make out to others,
the particular interpositions of it, so as to say that

425
this or that was an immediate effect of Divine Pro
vidence. To know certainly that a thing is, it is
not necessary that we should be able to give a par
ticular account of all its operations, and the man
ner of them ; these may be hidden from us, and
yet we may be sufficiently assured by other argu
ments that there is such a thing. Men are sure they
have souls, though they can give no account how
the actions of understanding, and remembrance,
and sensation, are produced by them : so it is in the
present case ; we are sufficiently assured from the
word of God, that good and bad spirits have a great
influence upon the minds of men, though we be
not conscious to their operations, and the manner of
them. II. The Spirit of God which is in good men, is
greater than. he that is in the world; he is more able
and ready to assist men to good purposes, than the
devil is to tempt and help forward that which is
evil. And this will appear, if we consider these
three things :
: 1. The Spirit of God is more powerful than the
devil ; and this is so evident in itself, that it needs
no proof.
2. The Spirit of God is as forward and willing
to assist men to good purposes, as the devil is to
the contrary. That extremity of malice and envy,
Avhich is in evil spirits, does, no doubt, make them
very forward and active to do all the mischief they
can to mankind, by tempting and seducing them to
sin : but, on the other hand, the utmost perfection
of goodness which in God is more and greater than
the malice of the devil, will incline more strongly
the Holy Spirit of God to pity and aid and help
good men, than the malice of the devil can urge
vol. ix. 2 F

him to procure the harrn abd misOhief of mankind ;
and if we cbuld suppbse their will and inclinations
eqlikl, yet our comfort is, their power is not.
3. The Spirit of God hath a mote free and imme
diate access to the minds of good tlien, and a more
mtiriiate COnjiifictiort With, and operation upon them,
thau tlie deVil. "The Spirit bf God is always pre
sent tb US, and Willing to dwell and abide in Us,
and ready to help and assist us, if- we be ready to
obey his dictates, and comply with his holy and
blessed ttiotittns ; if we did not resist, and quehch,
and grieve him, he Would always take up his abode
and habitation in US, arid Wbuld be continually ex
citing, and guiding, and assisting us to that Which is
good ; he knows our hearts, and sees all the seCfets
of dur sOuls; knows all our inclinations, knoWs
our weakness and our danger, what assistance we
want, and wheri it will be most seasonable; and
is as intimate to us, and as conscious to all the mo
tions of bur Spirits, as We ourselves are.
But now the devil is under great restraint, and can
not make nearer approaches to any man than God
permits him ; he does not know our hearts, nor can
pry into the secret of our thoughts. God knows,
but the devil does but guess at the thoughts, and de
sign's, and inclinations of men ; he hath no power
over us, nor any access to us, but what We give
him, or Gdd permits. By obedience to God's will,
and resisting the temptations of the devil to sin and
disobedience, we may not only keep out the devil,
but keep him at a great distance, and make him flee
from us, so that we shall have little trouble or mo
lestation from him ; for though he be unwearied in
his malicious attempts to ruin our souls, yet, be
cause he catiflot be every where," he haunts those

427*
uiost where he hath the greatest hopes of success;
and is too eager and intent Upon mischief to* em
ploy his time and temptations where he hath beei*
often foiled, and hath reason to despair of victory.
So that, if all things be considered, itis our own
fault if we want the assistance of God's Holy Spi
rit, or if the devil have any great power over us :
for God does not usually, but Upon great provoca
tion, take away his Holy Spirit from men, and lay
them open to the assaults and temptations of the
devil. If any be led eaptive by the devil, at his1
pleasure, it is those who have wilfully forsakeb
God, and " sold themselves to do wickedly."
III. We will consider in what ways the Spirit of
God doth move and assist good men. These two
ways :
1 . By exciting good motions in us, and enabling
us to bring them to effect.
2. By supporting us under persecution for religion.
1. By exciting good* motions in us, and enabling
us to bring them to effect. These the apostle puts
together. (Phil, ii, 13.) " For it is God that work
eth in you, both to will and to do, of his good plea^
sure." Itis he that stirs up good inclinations in
us, and carries them on to effect, And this he
makes an argument why we should be diligetit and
industrious in the Work of our salvation, because
God is so ready to assist Us : " Work out your own
salvation with feat and trembling ; for it is God that
worketh in you both to will and to do, of his good
pleasure." 2. By supporting us under persecution for reli
gion. In case of extraordinary temptations, and
violent assaults upon our constancy in religion, by
fierce and crUel persecutions, God affords imrh£-
2f2

428
diate and extraordinary supports to good men,
whereby they are many times borne up under the
greatest sufferings, not only with patience, but with
comfort and "joy unspeakable, and full of glory."
Wherever God suffers good men to be tempted above
humanity, he affords them an immediate Divine as
sistance, to bear them up, and make them victori
ous. So St. Peter tells us, (1 Pet. iv. 14.) "That
those who suffer and are reproached for the name
of Christ, the Spirit of glory and of God resteth
upon them." So likewise, St. Paul, (1 Cor. x. 13.)
speaking of those who had not yet been set upon
by any sharp persecution, " No persecution hath
taken you, but such as is common to man," « uv
avQpmmvog, nothing but what is human, what the spi
rit of man may bear: but if such a case happen, of
temptation above nature, and the spirit of a man
be too weak to support itself under it, God will, in
that case, afford men immediate and extraordinary
supports and comforts : " God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above what you are
able; but will, with the temptation, also make a
way to escape, that you may be able to bear it:"
and then it immediately follows ; " wherefore, my
dearly beloved, flee from idolatry;" because God
hath promised such an extraordinary assistance, in
case of persecution for religion, therefore he encou-
rageth them to continue steadfast in the profession
of Christianity, and cautions them against apostacy
to the heathen idolatry.
The inference from all this discourse is, to en
courage us to continue steadfast in the truth, and in
the practice of our hbly religion, " to hold fast the
profession of our faith without wavering," and not
to suffer ourselves to be shaken " with every wind of

429
doctrine," by the arts and cuuning of those who " lie
in wait to deceive ; who creep into houses, and lead
captive silly women, laden with sips, and led away
by divers lusts." You see what kind of persons
these false teachers used to proselyte ; women of no
virtue, of a prostituted reputation, "laden with
sins, and led away with divers lusts ;" a character
that notoriously agrees to some seducers of our
times. Therefore, let us " continue in the things which we
have heard," and not suffer ourselves to be " moved
from our steadfastness." The more we consider our
religion, and compare it with the unquestionable
revelation of God in the Holy Scriptures, the greater
reason we shall see to adhere to it. The doctrines
of our religion are of God, plainly contained in his
word, and such as are worthy of him, and likely to
proceed from him, and tend to the good and happi
ness of mankind, to make men really be'tter, and to
qualify them for that happiness which God hath
promised to holy souls. The doctrines of our re
ligion are free from the Suspicions of a worldly in
terest and design. But if we consider the doctrines
and innovations of that church which pretends to
be the only Christian catholic society in the world,
we shall find that they are of another stamp, and of
aqufte contrary tendency; that they savour so rankly
of a worldly interest, that any impartial man would,
at first sight, judge them to be the contrivances of
worldly, covetous, and ambitious men, and that
they did not look like Divine truths, and doctrines
that are of God, but that they are ofthe world; and
therefore, they that propagate them, and would se
duce men to them, " speak from the world, and
the world heareth them."

SEftMON CCXXXIII.
the evidences qf the truth qf the christian
religion ; with the cause and danger of
infidelity.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them thai are lost;
in whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them which believe mt, Ust the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ > who is the image of
Go($, should shine y,ntQ them> — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4*
I shall explain these words, and then proceed to
handle many things contained in them.
" If our gospel be hid," or veiled ; so by this
metaphor the apostle alludes to what he had said in
the latter part of the foregoing chapter, concern'
ing the veil which was upon Moses' face, and.
upon the hearts of the Jews, so that they could
not see to the end of that dispensation- There was
a great deal of obscurity in that administration:
" But the veil is done away in Christ." The gospel
is a clear reyelatiou. an4 sufficiently conspicuous in
itself: and now, if it be hid from any, the fault is
not in the obscurity of the object, but in the blind
ness of pen's minds.
"If the gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost." To them that deserve to perish, because they
Will not see.
,f In whom the god of this world hath blinded the
minds of them that believe not." Some of the fathers,
as St. Augustine, and St. Chrysostom, and several
ofthe Greek scholiasts, read these words otherwise;

431
*' In whom God hath bHnded the eyes of' the men
of this world who believe not ;" and so refer this
blindness to God's permission ; in which sense he
is said elsewhere in Scripture, " to harden men's
hearts." The reason why they choose this reading
of the words rather than the other, was in opposi
tion to the Marcjonites and Manichees ; the former
of which sects made use of this text to countenance
their opinion of two gods ; the one of the Old Tes
tament, whom they caUed the just God ; the other
pfthe New, whoqa they styled the good God : the
former of these, say they, made the world, and is
therefore, here called " the god of this world." The
Manichees made use of this text to prove that the
devil, whom they made the principle of' aU'evil and
imperfection, was the maker of this world, and is
therefore called the god of it.
But there is no need why for this reason we
should depart from the usual reading ofthe wprds ;
for there is nothing in the true importance of them,
that can giye countenance to these errors. For the
devil, though he did not make this world, may be
said to be the god of it, upon a very good account,
because the greatest part ofthe world, being sunk
into idolatry and wickedness, were hecome his lot
„ and portion, who worshipped him as God, and did
his works, and therefore were part of his dominion.
So St. John tells us, (J John iii. 8.) " He that com-
mitteth sin is ofthe devil ;" and, (chap. v. 19.) " We
know that we are of God, and the whole world lies
in wickedness," Iv r<5 vovtipv Ktnai, which may be ren
dered more agreeably to the opposition which the
apostle intended, " is subject to the evil one," is in
bis power, and under bis dominion. According to
which Plutarch tells us, that "every unreasonable

432
and brutish nature belongs to the lot of bad spirits."
So that in this sense the devil may very well be said
to be " the god of this world," as he is elsewhere
called by our Saviour, " the prince of this world ;"
(John xii. 31.) " Now shall the prince of this world
be cast out;" and, (John xiv. 30.) "The prince of
this world Cometh." And so the apostle, (Eph. vi.
12.) " The ruler ofthe darkness of this world."
"Lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,
who is the image of God, should shine unto them,"
a'iC to pf avyaaai, " lest they should see," or " behold
the light of the glorious gospel," for so Hesychius
tells US, thatavyd'Cwavydfcofiai, \Sopw Kal (3X£mo. Itis called
" the glorious gospel of Christ," because of the glori
ous confirmation that was given to it. by his mira
culous resurrection and ascension, and his sending
the Holy Ghost into the world ; and Christ is said
to be " the image of God," because the power of the
Deity did shew forth itself in the miracles which he
wrought. The words being thus explained, the most mate
rial things that offer themselves to our consideration
in them, are these three :
First, The full and clear evidence which we have
ofthe truth of the gospel, or of the Christian religion,
which the apostle expresseth to us in these words,
" the light of the glorious gospel of Christ."
Secondly, The cause of infidelity, notwithstand
ing all the evidence which the gospel carries along
with it, which the apostle expresseth in these words,
" in whom the god of this world hath blinded the
eyes of them that believe not."
Thirdly, The dangerous state of those who, hav
ing the gospel propounded to them, do not believe
it. The apostle tells them, that they are lost and

433
undone. " If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them
that perish."
I begin with the first of these, namely, the full
and clear evidence which we have of the truth of
the gospel, or Christian religion. The only thing
that can give us full assurance that any religion is
true, is, if we can be satisfied, that it is from God ;
for being once satisfied of that, there can remain no
doubt of the truth of any thing that comes from
him, it being an essential part of the notion which
every man hath of God, that he is " a God of truth."
Now there are two things must concur to give the
mind of man full satisfaction that any religion is
from God.
First, If the person that declares this religion
give testimony of his Divine authority, that is, that
he is sent and commissioned by God to that purpose.
Secondly, If the religion which he declares con
tain nothing in if, that is plainly repugnant to the
nature of God. I say, these two must concur; for
though I could suppose a person to. bring the
highest testimony imaginable of his Divine mission
and authority, suppose he should work a miracle
for the confirmation of his doctrine ; yet, if there
were any thing in the doctrine plainly repugnant to
the natural notions which 1 have of God, I could
not receive it as from God ; the reason of which is
plainly this — I can have no assurance that that is
from God, which, if it were true, I should be un
certain whether there was a God or not. I cannot
possibly have any greater assurance that any thing
is from God, than I have that there is a God ; and
I have no greater assurance that there is a God,
than I have of his essential perfections ; as, that he
is good, and powerful, and wise, and just, &c. For>

434
by the vepy same arguments that J come to. fcnqw
that there is a God, I know likewise that he must
necessarily have these perfections. So that, if ^ny
thing should be offered to me as a revelation from
God,, which plainly contradicts those natural notions
which 1 have of him, I must necessarily reject it,
yea, though it were hacked with a miracle ; because
po man can at the same time believe that there is. a
God of such and snch perfections, an4 entertain
any thing as from him, which evidently contradicts,
those perfections. And as this is reasonable in
itself, so it is Clear from Scripture. (Deut. xiii. 1 —
3.) " If there arise among you a prophet, or a
dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign, pr a
wonder : and the sign or the wonder come to pass,
whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let US go after
other gods (which thou hast npt known), and let us.
serve them : thou shalt not hearken unto the words
of that prophet." Here is the very case put, which
I am speaking of; a prophet comes and preacbeth
the worship of idols, as the Sim, tnooo, stars, &c.
and for the confirmation of this be is supposed fo
work a miracle ; and yet, notwithstanding this, we
are forbidden to hearken to him, because the doctrine
that he brings does evidently contradict the natural
notions which I have of God.
From aU which if appears, that these two things
must concur, to give us full satisfaction that any
religion is from God ; namely, first? That the per
son that declares this religion, gives testimony of
his Divine authority, that he is sent and commit
sioned from God to that purpose. And,
Secondly, That the religion which he declares.
contains nothing in it that is plainly repugnant to
the nature of God.

435
Now to bring this to my present purpose, I should
shew these two things concerning the Christian
religion: First, As to the Divine authority of the person
that declares this religion to the world, that he
was sent and commissioned by God to that pur
pose. Secondly, As to the religion itself, that there is
nothing in it that is repugnant to the nature of God.
I intend chiefly to speak of the first of these : for
I dare say, any one that will freely and without
prejudice consider the Christian religion, as it is
laid down in the Scriptures, and not as it hath been
abused by the wanton wits of some, and the designs
of others, will find nothing in it but what is very
suitable to the nature of God, and worthy of him :
he shall find nothing in the propositions of faith,
but what is suitable to the perfections ofthe Divine
nature, and hath a proper influence upon a godly
practice ; nothing in the precepts of life, but what
plainly tends to the perfection of human nature,
and the advantage and happiness of mankind ; no
thing in the arguments and motives to obedience,
as, namely, the love of Christ in dying for us, the
assistance of God's Holy Spirit, and the rewards and
punishments of another world, but what is very ac
commodate to our nature, and suitable to the wis
dom, and goodness, and justice of God : and these
three, the propositions of faith, the precepts of life,
the arguments and motives to obedience, do consti
tute the Christian religion, and make up the whole
gospel. Concerning most pf these, I have elsewhere
treated at large; therefore I shall now apply my
self chiefly to the first thing, namely, to shew that
we have abundant satisfaction of the Divine autho-

436
rity ofthe person that declares this religion to the
world. Now because we live at a great distance from the
age wherein this revelation of the gospel by Jesus
Christ was made to the world, it will be requisite
for our clearer proceeding in this matter, to con
sider distinctly these three things :
First, What evidence those who heard this doc
trine of the gospel immediately from our Saviour
had for his Divine authority. And this inquiry
only respects the disciples of our Saviour, and the
rest of^the Jews to whom he preached. .
Secondly, What evidence those had who received
this doctrine by the preaching of tlfe apostles.
And this concerns those to whom the gospel was
published by the apostles after our Saviour's death.
Thirdly, What evidence after-ages, until the pre
sent time, have of this. And this properly concerns
us, who live at a great distance from the times of
the first publication of the gospel.
And according to these three differences of time,
there are likewise but three ways whereby we can
come to the knowledge of matter of fact ; and they
are all such as are capable of giving us sufficient
assurance. The first is by the testimony of our own senses ;
and this was the advantage of those who heard our
Saviour's doctrine, and saw his miracles.
The second by the report and relation of credible
eye and ear witnesses ; and this advantage those
had who heard the apostles.
The third by a constant and uncontrolled rela
tion derived down successively from one age to an
other, either by word or writing, or both; which is
the way whereby the ages since the apostles to this

437
day have had the Christian religion derived down
to them.
First, To consider what evidence those who heard
the doctrine of the gospel immediately from our
Saviour himself might have of his Divine authority.
Now there are but four ways that 1 can at present
imagine (setting aside an internal revelation in every
man's mind) whereby men may be sufficiently satis
fied ofthe Divine authority of any person.
I. If it be prophesied of him, and foretold by per
sons divinely inspired, that God would send such
an one as his messenger and prophet into the world,
and afterward such a person comes, to whom all
the circumstances of those prophecies do agree.
II. By the testimony of an immediate voice from
heaven. III. By a power of working miracles.
IV. By the gift of prophecy, proved and made
good by the accomplishment of his own predictions.
Now I shall shew that those who lived in our
Saviour's time, and conversed with him, were capa
ble of satisfaction concerning his Divine authority
all these four ways. I shall begin with the
I. First, They were capable of being eye-witnesses-
that Christ was the great prophet and messenger of
God, the Messias prophesied of and foretold in the
Old Testament. And here I do reasonably take for
granted the Divine authority of the Old Testament,
and that the prophecies therein contained are of
Divine inspiration ; because those to whom our Sa
viour ordinarily preached, were only the Jews, who
acknowledged the Divine authority' of those books;
and therefore the accomplishment of those prophe
cies in the person of our Saviour, must needs be a
satisfactory argument to them, that he was the
Messias foretold.

438
Ndw to shew that the disciples of ouf Saviour,
and the rest of the Jews, were capable of receiving
full satisfaction in this, that Jesus Christ was the
Messias prophesied of in the Old Testament, I shall
proceed in these steps :
1. That the prophecies of the Old Testament fix
a time for the coming of the Messias ; they give
certain marks and signs whereby it may be known
when the Messiaswould come; as* that he should
come when the government should utterly be lost
from Judah: (Gen. xlix. 10.) " The sceptre shall
not depart from Judah till Shiloh come;" by whom
the ancient Jews did understand the Messias ; and
nothing but plain malice against. Christ, and the
Christiah religion, makes the modern Jews to de
part herein from the sense of their ancient masters,
That he should come before the destruction of the
second temple ; (Hag. ii, 6 — 9;) " For thus saith
the Lord of hosts, Yet once, it is a little while, and
I will shake the heavens, and the earth* and the sea,
antl the dry land. And I will shake all nations,
and the Desire of all nations shall come, and I will
fill this house with glory, saith the Lord of hosts.
The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the
Lord of hosts. The glory of this latter house shall
be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of
hosts : and in this place will I give peace, saith the
Lord of hosts." From whence it is plain, that this
house should remain when " the Desire of all nd-*
tions," that is, the Messias (according to the inter
pretation of the ancient Jews) should come, and
his presence should be the glory of this second
temple, and make it excel the first. And much to
the same purpose; (Mai. iii. 1.) «« Behold, I will
send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way
before me : and the Lord, whom ye seek, (that is,

439
the Messias) shall suddenly come to his temple,
even tbe messenger of the covenant, whom ye de*
light in : Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of
hosts." That he should Come at the end of so
mauy weeks of years, " from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and build Jerusalem,"
and after so many weeks of years should be cut off,
and after that " the city of Jerusalem and sanc
tuary Should be destroyed and made desolate,"
(Dan. ix. 24 — 27.) So that you see the prophecies
of the Old Testament do fix and ascertain the time
Of the Messias' coming, both by infallible marks
and signs, concomitant and Consequent, and by an
exact computation of years.
2. That the time fixed by those prophecies for the
coining of the Messias is already past. And this
appears, in that all those marks and signs, which it
was foretold should accompany and follow the com
ing of the Messias, are come to pass, and the time
limited for the coming of the Messias is long since
expired. For, (1.) The sceptre is long since departed from
Judah. The Jews are now dispersed amohg all na
tions, their government lost, their families con
founded, insomuch that they do not at this day
know those of the tribe of Judah from others. At
the Captivity, the government was not utterly lost,
for they had a prince of the captivity ; or at least it
Was interrupted but for seventy years, and then it
was restored to them again: but now the sceptre
hath been departed, and the govei'nment lost for
sixteen hundred years.
(2.)Thesecondtempleisdestl'oyed, to which it Was
foretold, that" the Desire of all nations shouldcome."
^3.) The city is destroyed and made desolate,

440
which was foretold should be " after the cutting off
of the Messias."
(4.) The " seventy weeks of years are accom
plished" and expired long since, which were to
begin from " the going forth of the commandment
to restore and build Jerusalem," and to end at the
coming of the " Messias the Prince." And whether
we fix the beginning of these weeks in the first or
second year of Cyrus, or in the reign of one of the
Dariuses or Artaxerxeses (for by universal consent
it must begin in some of them) it matters not to my
present purpose: for wherever it be fixed, these
weeks are long since expired.
3. And consequently the Messias is already come.
For if the predictions of the Old Testament be true,
which limit his coming to a certain time, which is
fixed both by infallible marks, and by an account
of years ; I say, if these predictions be true, that he
should come at such a time, and that time is past,
then he is already come.
The Jews seek to evade the force of this argu
ment by this pitiful shift, that the promises and pre
dictions of the Messias were not absolute, but con
ditional ; that is, he should come at such a time, if
the sins and impenitency of men did not hinder. To
this I answer,
(1.) This grants that the time for the coming of
the Messias is past.
(2.) The reason that they give why God hath de
ferred the accomplishment of those prophecies and
promises, is, because ofthe impenitency and wicked
ness of the people of the Jews at that time ; which
will agree very well with the history ofthe gospel,
and give us a very good account how they came to
reject the Messias ; because they were so wicked,

441
and their unbelief and impenitency were so great at
that time.
(3.) There is no such condition any where ex
pressed in any of those prophecies.
(4.) It is unreasonable that there should be such
a condition ; that the impenitency of men should
hinder the coming of him, who was to bring the
world to repentance, that is, to do that on his part
which is sufficient to that end.
(5.) Nothing could bring the veracity of God into
question more, than to make such predictions con
ditional, as, by the concurrent testimony of so many
prophets, have the time of their accomplishment so
punctually defined, and have not either a condition
expressly fixed to them, or in the nature of the thing
necessarily implied : and if this were not so, anyone
might pretend to be a true prophet, though the event
proved never so contrary to his prediction.
(6.) It appears out of the books of the Jews to
have been a constant tradition among them, that
the Messias should come when the state of the
people was most degenerate, and there was the
greatest corruption and dissolution of manners
among them. And if this be so, then their wicked
ness and impenitency could be no obstacle and im
pediment to the fulfilling of the promises and pre
dictions, concerning the Messias.
I should have added in the next place, that the
prophecies and promises in the Old Testament con
cerning the Messias, do all exactly, both as to the
time, and all other circumstances, agree to Jesus
Christ, who was, born at Bethlehem, who gave him
self out to be the Messias, and whom we Christ
ians own to be so. But this I reserve for the next
opportunity. vol. ix. . 2 G

SERMON CCXXXIV. \
THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost : in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them. — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
In discoursing on these words, I have begun to
shew, how those who heard the doctrine of the gos
pel immediately from our Saviour, might be satisfied
concerning his Divine authority ; and I mentioned
four ways by which such persons might receive full
satisfaction. I. By the agreement of the prophecies and pro
mises of the Old Testament to our Saviour,
II. By the testimony of an immediate voice from
heaven. III. By the power of working miracles.
IV. By the gift of prophecy, proved and made
good by the accomplishment of his own predictions.
In discoursing of the first of these, I proceeded
by these steps:
1. That the prophecies ofthe Old Testament did
fix a time for the coming of the Messias, and gave
certain marks and signs whereby it might be known
when the Messias would come.
2. That the time fixed by those prophecies for the
coming of the Messias is already past.
3. And consequently, that the, Messias is already
come. Thus far I have gone ; and now add,

443
4. The prophecies and promises of the Old Tes
tament concerning the Messias, do all exactly, both
as to the time and all other circumstances, agree to
Jesus Christ, that was born at Bethlehem, who gave
himself out to be the Messias, and whom we Christ
ians own to be so.
1 . The time specified in those predictions agree
to him. When he came into the world, the govern
ment was departed from Judah ; for they were then
in subjection to the Romans; and Herod their king,
who was put into the government by the Romans,
was an Idumaean. He came into the second tem
ple, Which, notwithstanding its being re-edified by
Herod, might justly be accounted the same, it not
having been again destroyed by any enemy, but only
pulled down in order to the beautifying and enlarg
ing of it ; notwithstanding which Josephus every
where calls it the same temple ; for he reckons but
two temples — the one, that which Solomon built,
which continued till the captivity of Babylon ; the
other, that which Zerubbabel built, and that he says
continued till the Romans destroyed Jerusalem.
And not long after our Saviour's death, the city of
Jerusalem and the sanctuary were utterly demo
lished, and " the end thereof was with a flood ;" there
was a total devastation of them ; which plainly shews
the seventy weeks did also expire about that time,
wherever we fix the beginning of them ; because the
prophecy of Daniel tells us plainly, that towards
the expiration of them, the city and the sanctuary
were to be destroyed ; which was fulfilled with a
great deal of severity, as if there were some extra
ordinary cause of those fearful judgments which
came upon them. And indeed we find, that after
they had committed the great sin "of crucifying
2g2

444
the Lord of life," fhey gave up themselves to all
manner of wickedness, " filling up the measure of
their sins, that wrath might come upon them to the
uttermost;" insomuch, that Josephus tells us, "That
he did verily believe, that if the Romans had not
come at that time to destroy them, either the earth
would have swallowed up their city, or a flood have
overwhelmed, or thunder and lightning, or fire from
heaven, would have consumed them, like Sodom
and Gomorrah; for (says he) this generation was
much more wicked than they were."
And, which is a very considerable argument to
the Jews, he came at the time when their whole
nation were iu expectation of the Messias; and,
indeed, the whole world were about that time in ex
pectation of a prince out of Judea. That the Jews
did expect the Messias about this time, appears by
the famous saying of one of their greatest rabbies,
Elias, that there should be two thousand years be
fore the law, two thousand years the law should
last, and two thousand years should be the time
of the Messias : and, according to the most exact
chronology, it was much about the four thousandth
year of the world that Christ was born. That a
great part of the world besides were at that time
in expectation of a prince to spring out of Judea,
appears from those known testimonies of Suetonius
and Tacitus : Percrebuerat toto oriente vetus et con
stans opinio, esse in falis, ut Judea profecti rerum
potirentur, saith Suetonius ; and Tacitus to the
same purpose. Both agree in the words of this
prophecy, which seem to be taken out of the pro
phecy of Micah, speaking of Bethlehem, in the land
of Judea ; " Out of thee shall come a governor."
And Suetonius tells us farther, that the belief and

44o
expectation of this among the Jews was so great at
that time, that this was the cause of their rebelling
against the Romans. A just judgment of God upon
them, that those who had rejected the true Messias,
should be deluded to their own ruin by the hopes of
a false one.
2. All other circumstances of those promises and
prophecies, are exactly answered in the history and
relation which the gospel gives of him. He was
emphatically " the seed of the woman," aceording
to the first and very obseurepromise made to our
first parents, (Gen. iii. 15.) " The seed of the woman
shall bruise the serpent's head :" I say, he was em
phatically " the seed ofthe woman," being, as our
books of the gospel tell us, born of a pure virgin,
which never knew man. He was the seed of Abra
ham, according to the second promise of him made
to Abraham, (Gen. xii. 3.) " In thee shall all the
families of the earth be blessed." He was " a pro
phet like unto Moses," being a great worker of
miracles above any of the prophets, as Moses also
was ; and by whom God gave a new law, as he did
by Moses, according to the other famous promise of
him, (Deut. xviii. 15.) " A prophet shall the Lord
your God raise up unto you, like unto me."
He was of the tribe of Judah, and of the seed
of David, as it was foretold the Messias should be ;
therefore he is called in the gospel, " the Son of
David ;" and the apostle to the Hebrews (chap.
vii. 14.) appeals to the Jews concerning this, as a
thing clear aud acknowledged among them, " It is
evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah," which
he would not have affirmed to the Jews without
proof, if it had not been granted by them.
For the other, that he was of the seed of David,

446
the Jews will by no means admit as a thing at all
evident from the history of the gospel concerning
him : for, say they, if that appear any where, we
should find it in his genealogy ; but there we find
no such matter; there indeed We have the gene
alogy of Joseph very differently related by the two
evangelists, Matthew and Luke : but what is this
to the genealogy of Christ, when the Christians
themselves avowedly declare, that Joseph was not
his father ? It is granted that Joseph was of Da
vid's line ; but to prove that Christ was really de
scended from David, instead of the genealogy of
Joseph, they should have shewn Mary's.
This is a very malicious and spiteful objection,
and the Jews insist very much upon it : but yet I
think it is capable of a very satisfactory answer, in
which I shall proceed by these steps.
(1.) We will grant, that both the genealogies of
our Saviour, that in Matthew and that in Luke,
are intended to shew that Joseph was of Abraham's
and David's line, and that neither of them is the
genealogy of Mary. Some indeed have thought so,
but it seems to me with very little probability ; I in
cline much rather to Grotius's excellent conjecture
about it, that Matthew's genealogy gives us an ac
count of the succession of the royal family down as
low as Joseph, and that in St. Luke the direct series
of Joseph's ancestors.
(2.) The Jews grant that it hath been an ancient
tradition among Christians, that Joseph and Mary
were of the same family, and that Mary was Virgo,
kirUXvpog^ one that had no brethren, an heiress, or co
heiress, and so according to the Jewish custom she
was bound to marry in her family; which the Jews
Were especially careful of in the family of David,

447
to preserve the succession of the royal line, of
which the Messias was to come.
(3.) The Jews have nothing to object against this
which shews it improbable.
(4.) If so, that they were ofthe same family, then
the genealogy of Joseph, though not directly and
expressly, yet by consequence, was the genealogy
of Mary ; and consequently, those genealogies in the
gospel do sufficiently shew that Christ was the Son
of David.
(5.) It cannot be imagined that the evangelists
should have omitted the genealogy of Mary, if it
had not been included in that of Joseph, especially
St. Matthew, who in his genealogy expressly tells
us, that he intended to shew that he was the Son of
David, and also denies Joseph to have been his real
father. (6.) If there had been any question, whether Mary
was of the line of David, the Jews would certainly
in that time have rejected him from being the Mes
sias, upon that very account ; nothing more plausi
ble for them to have said than this — that he pre
tended to have no father, and to be born of a virgin,
who was not of the line of David, how could he
then be the Messias, who was to be " of the seed of
David ?" But that he 'was always owned by the
Jews to be of that seed, appears by the title so fre
quently given to him of the Son of David.
It was prophesied that the Messias should be
born in Bethlehem of Judea, (Mic. v. 2.) which you
find accordingly fulfilled, (Matt. ii. 6.) the provi
dence of God so ordering it, that Augustus should
then lay a general tax, which occasion brought up
Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem ; not only that she
might be delivered there, but that their namtfs being

443
there entered, their family might be ascertained, and
there might no doubt afterward arise, but that they
were of the line of David.
It was foretold he should be " born of a virgin,"
(Isa. vii. 14.) which you see accordingly fulfilled,
(Matt, i.) That this is not the primary, but the mysti
cal sense, of that place in Isaiah, I think may without
prejudice be granted to the Jews, who in innumera
ble places of the Old Testament, do, besides the
first and literal sense, allow of a mystical one ; and
if it be objected that this is only the saying of us
Christians, that Christ was born of a pure virgin ; to
them it is easily answered, that if this be foretold
of the Messias, whoever he be, that he shall be born
of a virgin, as the Jews generally grant, we have as
much assurance of this, as they can have, or imagine
to have of theirs, whenever he should come. For if
is not any report or tradition that can give credit to
so strange a thing, but the unquestionable miracles
which he wrought, which prove him to come from
God, and consequently to be no impostor, but tp be
all that he pretended he was.
It was foretold of him that he should be a great
prophet and teacher; (Deut. xviii. 15.) " A prophet
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you, like
unto me." (Isa. Ixi. 1.) " The Spirit of the Lord is
upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the
gospel to the poor,"&c. (Ezek. xxxiv, 23.) " And
1 will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall
feed them, even my servant. David ; he shall feed
them, and he shall be their shepherd." And, (chap
xxxvii. ver. 24.) " And David my servant shall be
king over them, and they all shall have one shepherd :
they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe
my statutes, and do them," And this was eminently

449
fulfilled in that he foretold several future contingents;
as, his own crucifixion, Peter's denial of him, the de
struction of Jerusalem, the rising of false Christs,
and false prophets, (which I shall particularly'con-
sider hereafter,) the descending of the Holy Ghost,
and the admirable success of the gospel in the
world; in that he preached so pure and perfect a
doctrine to the world, and with so much authority ;
a doctrine so excellent and reasonable, so suitable
to the necessities, and agreeable to the reason of
mankind; a doctrine which tendeth so much to the
perfecting of human nature, and to the peace and
happiness of human society, above any other insti
tution in the world.
It was foretold that he should do many and great
miracles, and such as should be beneficial to men,
(Isa. xxxv. 5, 6.) " Then the eyes of the blind shall
be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be un
stopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,
and the tongue of the dumb sing." And was not
all this eminently accomplished in Jesus Christ?
What greater, or more public, or more frequent
and numerous, or more beneficial miracles, can al
most be imagined, than Christ did? So that we may
say to the Jews, as some of them did to the pha
risees in our Saviour's time, You talk of a Messias
to come; " yet when he is come, will he do greater
works than this man hath done?"
It was foretold of him, that the people should re
ceive him with joy and triumph when " he came
riding upon an ass to Jerusalem," (Zach. ix. 9.)
which we find fulfilled, Matt. xxi.
It was prophesied that he should suffer many
things, and be rejected, and despised of men. (Psal.
xxii. 6.) " ButI am a worm, and no man ; a reproach

450
of men, and despised of the people." (Isa. Iiii. 3.)
" He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sor
rows and acquainted- with grief: and we hid, as it
were, our faces from him; be was despised, and we
esteemed him not." Which we find fulfilled all along
in the history of the gospel.
It was prophesied that he should be sold for
thirty pieces of silver, (Zach. xi. 12.) which wa find
fulfilled, Matt, xxvii. 9. That when he who was
" the shepherd was smitten, the sheep should be
scattered," (Zach. xiii. 7.) which was accomplished,
Matt, xxvii. 56. " All the disciples forsook him
and fled." That he should be scourged and buffet
ed, and spit upon, (Isa. 1. 6.) " I gave my back to
the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off
the hair : I hid not my face from shame and spit
ting;" which you find punctually accomplished,
Matt, xxvii.
It was foretold that he should die a violent death,
(Isa. Iiii. 8.) " He was cut off out of the land of the
living." (Dan. ix. 26.) " Messfas the Prince shall be
cut off." That he should undergo all these suffer
ings with the greatest patience, (Isa. Iiii. 7.) " He
was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth : he was brought as a lamb to the
slaughter ; and as a sheep before her shearers is
dumb, so he opened not his mouth." That he
should suffer all these things not for himself, but
for sinners, (Isa. Iiii. 5.) he " was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and
with his stripes we are healed." And, (ver. 6.)
" The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
And, (ver. 8.) " For the transgression of my people
was he stricken." And, (ver. 10.) " His soul was

451
made an offering for sin." And, (ver. 12.) " He bare
the sins of many." And, (Dan. ix. 26.) it is said,
" the Messias should be cut off, but not for himself."
It was foretold that his hands and feet should
be pierced, (Psal. xxii. 16.) He should be " num
bered with the transgressors," (Isa. Jiii. 12.) And
accordingly he was condemned as a malefactor, to
suffer with malefactors, "being crucified between
two thieves."
It was foretold that he should have " gall and vi
negar given him to drink," (Psal. Ixix. 21.) that he
should be derided in the midst of his sufferings,
(Psal. xxii. 7, 8.) " All they that see me, laugh me to
scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head,
saying, He trusted on the Lord, that he would deli
ver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in
him." And this was most punctually accomplished,
(Matt, xxvii. 39. 43.) " And they that passed by,
reviled him, wagging their1 heads, and saying, He
trusted in God, let him deliver him now, if he will
have him."
It was foretold that he should cry out under his
sufferings, (Psal. xxii. 1.) " My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from
helping me'| and from the words of my roaring?"
That he should pray for his wicked persecutors,
(Isa. Iiii. 12.) that " he made intercession for the
transgressors :" and so he did most affectionately,
" Father, forgive them, for they know not what they
do." That they should cast lots for his garment,
(Psal. xxii. 18.) All, or most of which predictions,
were by the ancient Jews, understood ofthe Mes
sias, and were exactly fulfilled in Jesus Christ, as
appears fully out of the history of the gospel.
And then for the circumstances of his burial.

452
It was foretold, that he should " make his grave
with the rich,"" (Isa. Iiii. 9.) which was accom
plished, in that he was put into Joseph of Arima-
thea's own tomb.
His resurrection was foretold to be " after three
days," (Hos. vi. 2.) as several of the rabbies un
derstood that place; however, that he should rise
again, maybe plainly urged from these texts, where
it is said " that his kingdom should have no end ;"
and (Isa. Iiii. 10.) where it is said, that, after his
death, u He shall see his seed, and prolong his days;
and that the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper
in his hand." But most expressly, (Psal. xvi. 10.)
" Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt
thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption."
And his' " sitting at the right hand of God,"
which supposeth his ascension into heaven, (Psal.
ex. 1.) " Sit thou at my right hand, until I make
thine enemies thy footstool."
The wonderful success of the gospel, and the uni
versal spreading of it through the world, was fore
told, Gen. xii. 3. " In thee shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed ;" which implies, that the bless
ing of the gospel, which the Messias brought to the
world, should be .universally diffused. (Gen. xlix.
10.) " To him shall the gathering of the people be."
(Psal. ii. 8.) God promiseth there to give Christ " the
heathen for his inheritance, and the utmost parts
ofthe earth for his possession." Besides several other
places of the Psalms and prophets, too many to be
reckoned up.
Now the accomplishment of all these prophecies
happened in their days who saw our Saviour, and
conversed with him ; so that they were capable of
receiving full satisfaction concerning his Divine au-

453
thority, and that he was a person sent of God to
teach the world, and assure them that he was the
Messias, foretold and prophesied of in the books of
the Old Testament, which being by them received
as of Divine inspiration, did consequently assure
them that he was from Gpd.
II. The second way whereby we may be satisfied
concerning the Divine authority of a person, is by
the testimony of an immediate voice from heaven ;
and this testimony Christ had twice given to him :
the first publicly before a great assembly of people
at John's baptism, which was just before he began
his public ministry, (Matt. iii. 16, 17.) " The Holy
Ghost descending upon him like a dove, as he
came out of the water; and there was a voice from
heaven, which said, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well-pleased." The same voice was
heard by Peter, James, and John, at his transfigu
ration on the mount, as you may see, Luke ix. 35.
And this St. Peter mentions, as a considerable ar
gument of Christ's Divine authority, (2 Pet. i. 16
— 18.) " For we have not followed cunningly de-r
vised fables, when we made known unto you the
power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but
were eye-witnesses of his majesty. For he received
from God the Father honour and glory, when there
came such a voice to him from the excellent glory,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.
And this voice which came from heaven we heard,
when we were with him in the holy mount "
Indeed he makes this testimony to be such an ar
gument, as, concurring with that which I mentioned
before, is sufficient to persuade one that Christ was
sent from God ; but he does not make it to be equal
to that which he adds at the 19th verse: " We have

454
also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you
do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shin
eth in a dark place," Sec. Intimating, the prophecies
of the Old Testament were greater confirmation,
than this single testimony of a voice from heaven
does amount to.
III. I proceed to the next evidence, which those
who lived in our Saviour's time had of his Divine
authority, viz. the power of working miracles, which
he was endowed withal ; and this is the highest tes
timony that can be given to any person, that he is sent
from God. And in this respect chiefly is the gospel
called " the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,"
because of those glorious miracles whereby the gos
pel was confirmed. This is, as it were, the broad
seal of heaven, which is sufficient to give confir
mation to any doclrine which does not evidently
contradict the perfections of the Divine nature : and
it is not credible, that the providence of God is so
little tender of the concernments of mankind, as to
communicate this power to any person that will
abuse it to the confirmation of a lie. I deny not but
the devil may do many strange things, and such as
we cannot distinguish from some sort of miracles f
and where men, by some great precedent provoca
tion, have made it just for God " to give them up to
strong delusions to believe lies, because they would
not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighte
ousness ;" there God may permit the devil to work
strange wonders, as it is foretold, (2 Thess. ii. 9.)
that the coming of antichrist " shall be after the
Avorking of Satan, with all power and signs, and
lying wonders, and all deceiveableness of unrighte-
* Of this see more, Sermon CCXXVIII. &c. p. 348. of this
volume.

455
ousness." But in this case, there will remain two
ways, whereby impartial and considerate men, and
such as are not blinded by prejudice or their
lusts, may sufficiently discover that this is not from
God. 1. By the absurdity of the doctrine which those
wonders are brought to confirm : and such were the
lewd, and filthy, and senseless doctrines of the
gnostics, to which Simon Magus pretended to give
a confirmation by the wonders that he wrought, and
this, very probably, may be that which the apostle
refers to in this chapter. And such, likewise, are se
veral of the doctrines of popery : such as the ado
ration ofthe Virgin Mary, of saints and images, and
the doctrine of transubstantiation ; for the confirm
ation of which, they pretend a great many wonders
have been wrought.
2. By the contrariety of the doctrine to that
which hath had the confirmation of far greater mi
racles. Therefore, if we should grant to the papists,
that several of those miracles which they brag of
were really wrought, (which, considering the infinite
cheats and impostures which have been practised by
them in that kind, and have been discovered, we
have no reason to grant ;) yet, because the doctrine,
which they pretend to confirm, is absurd and unrea
sonable, and contrary to the doctrine which they
themselves own to have had a far greater confirma
tion, by miracles far greater, and more unquestion
able, more publicly done, and in such a manner,
and with such circumstances, as do free them from
all suspicion of imposture ; I say, for this reason,
we cannot admit those doctrines to be of Divine
authority ; because the confirmation which is given
to them by those wonders, is overpowered by a

455
greater and more Divine testimony; as the magi-1
cians of Pharaoh, though they did many odd feats,
yet were plainly mastered and conquered by the
greater miracles which Moses wrought.
The sum is this : That wherever any person is en
dowed with an eminent power of working miracles,
such as are of the first rank, great and unquestion
able, and many and publicly wrought, this is one
of the highest evidences we can have of the Divine
authority of any person or doctrine. Therefore Ni
codemus does upon this ground very reasonably con
clude, that our Saviour was sent from God, (John
iii. 2.) " We knowr that thou art a teacher come from
God : for no man can do those miracles which thou
doest, except God be with him." And our Saviour
himself insists upon this frequently, as the great
proof of his Divine authority, (Matt. xi. 3, 4.) When
John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to him,
to be satisfied whether he was the Messias, he bids
them report to John what the doctrine was which
they heard him preach, and what miracles they saw
him work for the confirmation of it : " Go and shew
John those things which you do see and hear ; the
blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, and the
lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, and the
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel
preached unto them." John v. 33, 36. our Saviour
there tells the Jews, that "John bare witness of him ;"
and that might satisfy them, because they looked
upon John as a prophet : " But (saith he) I have
greater witness than that of John ; for the works
which the Father hath given me to finish, the same
works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Fa
ther hath sent me." (John xv. 24.) " If I had not
done among them the works which no other man did,

457
they had not had sin." This was the great aggrava
tion of their unbelief, that they resisted the evidence
of so great miracles, such as no man in the world
ever wrought.*
1 I should now briefly run over the chief of those
miracles-of our Saviour, which we find recorded in
the history of the gospel ; and shew, that they have
all the advantages that miracles can have, to give
satisfaction to men concerning their reality. But this
I reserve for my next discourse.
* See more of this, Sermon CCXXI. p. 225. of this volume.

VOL. IX. 2 H

¦¦- E f> : ,'.',. . '
^'jir,!.''
SERMON CCXXXV.
'THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them. — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
In my last discourse, I was considering the third
evidence which those who lived in our Saviour's time
had of his Divine authority, viz. The power of
working miracles, with which he was endowed.
And in treating on this, I proposed briefly to run
over the chief of those miracles of our Saviour,
which we find recorded in the gospel, and to shew
that they have all the advantages that miracles can
have, to give satisfaction to men concerning their
reality. And that I may proceed in some kirnd of
order and method, I shall reduce the miracles that
concern our Saviour to these three heads :
First, The miracles of his life.
Secondly, Those that were wrought at his death.
Thirdly, The great miracles of his resurrection
from the dead, and those two that were consequent
upon it, his ascension into heaven, and his sending
the Holy Ghost upon the apostles and Christians in
miraculous gifts and powers.
I begin with the first, the miracles of his life.
And, in speaking of these, I shall shew, that they
had all the advantageous circumstances to convince

459
men of the reality of them, and to free them from
ail suspicion of imposture. They were many; they
were great and unquestionable miracles; they were
frequently wrought, and for a long time together;
publicly, and in the presence of multitudes; and
they were beneficial, and for the good of men.
1. They were many. There might be something
of imposture suspected in a few instances, that
might be chosen out for the purpose. But our Sa
viour gave instances of his Divine power in several
kinds ; so that there is scarce any thing that is mi
raculous can be instanced in, wherein he did not
shew his power. He healed all manner of diseases,
and that in multitudes of people, as they came ac
cidentally, without any discrimination ; (Matt. iv.
23, 24.) And though most of his miracles were
healing, yet he gave instances in other kinds ; as in
turning of water into wine, commanding down the
storm, and walking upon the waters, &c. And
though the history of the gospel mentions very many
miracles that he wrought, yet St. John tells us, that
those that are recorded are but very few in compari
son of what he did ; (John xx. 30.) "And many other
signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disci
ples, which are not written in this book." And,
(chap. xxi. 35.) " And there are also many other
things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be
written every one, I suppose that eveii the world it
self could not contain the books that should be
written." An hyperbolical expression, to signify the
great number of his miracles and actions, 'besides
what are recorded by the evangelists'.
2. As they were many, so they were great and
unquestionable, both as to the manner of doing
them, and as to the things that he did.
2 h 2

460
(1.) Many things which were not miraculous in
themselves, yet were so as to the manner of doing
them, which was not by any magical words, and
figures, and charms, and superstitious rites, accord
ing to the manner of those who pretended to work
miracles among the heathens. It is true, he healed
many diseases which were curable by physic and
art: yet then the manner was such as was above
the ordinary course of nature ; many he cured by a
word only, or by a touch, and the cure was wrought
immediately, and in the same instant when he spake
the word, though they were at a great distance.
Many were cured Without his taking any notice of
them, by touching the very hem of his garment, of all
which I might give several instances, but that they are
so well known to those who are acquainted with the
history of the gospel . Sometimes, indeed, he perform
ed the cure by degrees; as in the man that was restored
to sight, and saw men at first confusedly, and without
any distinction, as if they had been trees ; (Mark viii.
24.) Sometimes he used somekind of means, butsuch
as were very disproportionable in their nature to the
effect that was produced ; as in the case ofthe deaf
man, which he cured by putting his finger into his
ear, and by his spittle; (Mark vii. 33.) and the
blind man, whose eyes he anointed with clay mixed
with spittle, and sent him to wash in the pool of Si-
loam ; (John ix.-6, 7.) but most of his miracles he
wrought in an instant, and merely by his word.
(2.) As to the things he did, many of them were
miracu'lous in themselves. He cured many inve
terate diseases ; (Matt. ix. 20.) a woman that had an
issue of blood twelve years. He made the woman
straight, by touching her, that had been crooked and
bowed together eighteen years; (Luke xiii. 13.) and

461
the man that had an infirmity thirty-eight years;
only by bidding him take up his bed and walk ;
(John v. 8.) He cured the man that was born blind;
(John ix.) And, which all men will grant to be mira
culous, and to have exceeded all the power of nature
that we know of, he raised several from the dead ;
and because it might be said that several of those
were not really dead, but in a delirium or swoon,
there is one instance beyond all exception ; (John
ix.) he raised up Lazarus to life, after he had been
four days in the grave.
3. He wrought his miracles frequently, upon all
occasions that were offered, and for a long time to
gether, during the whole time of his public minis
try, which is generally computed to have been three
years and a half; a time sufficient to have detected
any impostor in ; especially one that shewed him
self so openly, and conversed indifferently with all
sorts of persons with so little guard and caution.
4. He did all his miracles publicly, not in cor
ners and among some select company of people, but
before multitudes, and in the greatest places of con
course ; so that if there had been any thing of im
posture in them, he gave the fairest opportunity
that could be to his enemies to have detected him.
Mahomet's miracles were wrought by himself alone,
without witness, which was the best way in the
world, certainly, for one that could work no mira^
cles, but yet could persuade the people what he
pleased : but our Saviour did nothing in private.
His transfiguration only was before three of his dis
ciples ; and therefore, he made no use of that as an
argument to the Jews, but charged his disciples to
tell it to none, till after his resurrection, because
that would give credit to it ; after they were as-.

463
sured. of that, they would easily believe his trans
figuration ; but all his other miracles were in the
sight of the people. He healed publicly, and ad
mitted all to see what he did. When he turned the
water into wine, it was at a public feast; when he
multiplied the loaves and the fishes, it was in the
sight of four or five thousand people; when he
raised Lazarus from the dead, it was before a great
multitude of the people. The works that he did
durst abide the light, and the more they were ma
nifested, the more miraculous they did appear.
5. His miracles were generally beneficial, and
for the good of men ; so that they had these two
characters of Divinity stamped upon them — that
they were effects both of power and goodness.
Most Of his miracles were such as tended to the
benefit of mankind ; most of them were either
healing or feeding miracles ; or refreshing, as turn
ing the water into wine ; or tending to the peace of
human society, as the miracle that he wrought ra
ther than he would give offence by not paying tri
bute. It is true, indeed, he might have shewn his
power every way ; he gave some instances of it in
other kinds, which might seem more for his pur
pose, and for the manifestation of his power, as in
his allaying the storm, and walking upon the water-:
but he Wrought no miracles that were destructive,
except only two ; namely, his permitting the devil
to enter into the swine, (Matt. viii. 28.) whereby the'
inhabitants of the place sustained a great loss. But
our Saviour did this upon very good reason, as a re
proof of that sordid temper which he saw to be in
them ; they were so immersed in the world, and
wedded to their interests, that they would, rather
than lose any thing in that kind, forfeit all the

463
blessings that the Messias brought with him ; and
this temper appeared afterwards in them; for though
they were convinced that he had wrought a miracle,
yet, because they had sustained some prejudice,
they desired him to depart out of their coast.
The other exception is his cursing the fig-tree ;
(Matt. xxi. 19.) which had a moral signification to
his disciples, and was a sharp warning to them,
what they must look for if they were unfruitful.'
Our Saviour rebukes our sloth and barrenness in
the fig-tree.
Secondly, Next to the miracles of our Saviour's
life, I mentioned those that were wrought at his
death, which, though they were not wrought by
him, yet they were wrought to give testimony to
him, that he was some extraordinary person ; foras
much as when he died the frame of nature was put
into such a trembling and melancholy posture ; so
the history of the gospel tells us, (Matt, xxvii. 45.)
that " from the sixth hour till the ninth, there was
darkness over all the land ;" which, as learned men
have calculated, could not be an eclipse, according
to the natural course of things. And, (ver. 51, 52,
&c.) " The veil of the temple was rent from the top
to the bottom, and the earth did quake, and the
rocks rent, and the graves were opened."
Thirdly, The great miracle which was wrought
after his death, in raising him up from the dead, to
gether with those two that were consequent upon it,
his visible ascending into heaven, and his sending
the Holy Ghost upon the apostles and primitive
Christians, in such miraculous gifts and powers.
First, The great miracle of his resurrection, after
he had lain three days in the grave. This was the
miracle which was to be the chief attestation of his

464
Divine authority, and to give confirmation to the
doctrine which he declared to the world. And ac
cordingly we find that the chief office of the apo
stles was to be witnesses of his resurrection ; and
the great evidence they were to give to the world of
his Divine authority was, that " God raised him
from the dead." And we find the Scripture every
where laying the great stress of his Divine authority
upon this miracle: (Acts xvii. 31.) " By that man
whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given as-.
surance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead." (Rom. i. 4.) " Declared mightily to be
the Son of God, by his resurrection from the dead."
(1 Pet. i. 21.) " Who by him do believe in God, that
raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory."
Now that this miracle was really wrought, I shall
endeavour to shew, by producing such evidence for
it, as the nature of the thing to be proved (which is
matter of fact) will bear. I shall, therefore,
First, Produce such testimony as we have for it.
Secondly, Add some considerations that may serve
to give strength and advantage to the testimony. .
First, For the testimony we have of this. In
short, we have it attested by an abundantly sufficient
number of eye-witnesses ; and greater evidence than
this, matter of fact is not capable of. For the eye
witnesses and the number of them, you have them
produced by St. Paul, (1 Cor. xv. 5—8.) The sum
of what he saith is this ; — that Christ, after his re
surrection, was seen once by Peter alone, once by
James alone, and twice by all the apostles together,
and by above five hundred brethren at once. So
that the number of the eye-witnesses is abundantly
sufficient. And that they did attest this, appears by
the history of the gospel, which hath descended

465
down to us by uncontrolled tradition. And in this
case we require no more credit to be given to the
gospel, than to any other history or narrative of
matter of fact ; which whosoever doth deny takes
away the faith of history, and makes it impossible to
prove the truth of any thing that is past.*
Secondly, I shall add some considerations that
may serve to give strength and advantage to this tes
timony ; partly relating to the persons that give this
testimony, and partly to the matter or thing which
they attest.
I. In reference to the persons that gave this testi
mony, we may consider them with these three ad
vantages :
(1.) That they are credible persons.
(2.) That they agree in their testimony.
(3.) That the greatest sufferings could not make
them conceal it or deny it.
(1.) For the credibility of the persons. Two
things render a witness suspected — want of know
ledge, or of integrity ; if either he do not sufficiently
know the thing which he attests ; or there be reason
to suspect his fidelity in relating the thing. Now
the witnesses in this case of the resurrection cannot
be questioned for either of these; not for want of
knowledge, because they were eye-witnesses, as I
said before: nor for want of faithfulness. There
are two things which ordinarily make us suspect
the fidelity of a witness ; if there be either an ap
pearance of deceit in the manner of the relation, or
of design in the end of it : but the witnesses of
Christ's resurrection are free from both these
grounds of jealousy.
1. There is no appearance of deceit in the manner,
* Of this sec more, Sermon CXC1I. vol. viii. p. 308

466
of their relating it. We suspect a relation thatis
either too general, or too artificial ; but the report
of these witnesses cannot be charged with either of
these'. For,
(1.) They report the thing with all its circum
stances of time and place ; when he rose, what were
the circumstances of it, where he was seen, and by
whom, how often he appeared, what he did and said.
(2.) They use no art or insinuation in the manner
of delivering, but report it with the greatest plain
ness, and nakedness, and simplicity, that can be
imagined ; without any ambiguity, or obscurity, or
flourish of language*; as becomes an honest rela
tor, who useth no arts, because he is notfjguilty to
himself of any design to deceive.
2. Nor is there any appearance of design as to
the end of their testimony. What design couldthey
have, who did knowingly renounce all secular ad
vantages of honour, and riches, and reputation, and
forego all worldly contentment, and expose them
selves to continual hazards and sufferings? They
got nothing by bearing this testimony, but what
every man that hath worldly designs doth most so
licitously avoid.
(2dly.) They concur and agree in their testimony.
They constantly delivered the same testimony, with
all its circumstauces, both in word and writing, se
veral persons in several places, without varying or
disagreeing in the least material circumstance.
(3dly.1 The greatest sufferings could not make
them either deny it or conceal it; which is a great
argument of their integrity. If the thing they at
tested had been false, it had been an unparalleled
madness for any one to persist in it to the loss of
life ; and incredible, that so many should conspire in

467
the same unreasonable and unaccountable folly;
especially when the religion which they professed,
did exclude all liars from all the happiness and re
wards of the next life, which they pretended to be
persuaded of; so that whatsoever those persons
might be otherwise, and however they might falsify
in other things, there is no reason to doubt of their
truth and fidelity in this report, because they died for
the testimony of it. Therefore the highest attestation
of a thing is called martyrdom, and the most credi
ble witnesses, martyrs. And though bare martyrdom
be not an argument of the infallible truth of a testi
mony^ or of the infallibility of the person that gives
it ; yet it is one ofthe highest arguments that can be
of his honesty and integrity in that thing, and that
he believes himself; otherwise he would not die for
it : and it is a good evidence of the general integrity
of these persons, as to all other things, that they were
so conscientious, as not, for fear of death, to deny
that which they believed to be a truth, nor to conceal
that which they believed to be of importance.
II. As to the matter or thing which they attested,
we may consider it with these advantages :
1. The resurrection of Christ was such a thing, as
in its own nature they were capable of giving evi
dence to.
2. We will consider a little the circumstances of
it, which add much to the credit of it.
3. We will consider the effects that this relation
and report had in the world.
4. The circumstances of the persons who enter
tained the belief of it.
1. Let us consider that the resurrection of Christ
is such a thing, as in the nature of it they were ca
pable of giving testimony to. Indeed, if it were

46a
such a thing, as either in the nature of it were abso
lutely impossible, as if a man should say he had
seen or handled a pure spirit; or else such, as
these persons could not reasonably be presumed to
be competent witnesses of it, as if aman that is alto
gether ignorant in geometry should say, that he had
seen such a man demonstrate a proposition in Eu
clid ; in these cases, though a man be ever so credi
ble, yet. be is not to be credited. But the resurrec
tion of Christ is no such thing ; no man that believes
that God can make a living body out of nothing, can
think it absolutely impossible to raise a dead body
to life : nor was it a thing they could not be pre
sumed competent witnesses of : for that which they
attest concerning the resurrection of Christ, is that
which every man may give evidence in, for it requires
nothing but common sense and understanding ; as
to touch and handle a body, and know that it is a
body; to see a man perform the operations of life, to
see him walk, and eat, and hear him speak : and
this they attest of Christ, after he was crucified, dead,
and buried ; that they saw him several times, and
conversed with him ; and they could not be mis
taken in the person, being so intimately and fami
liarly acquainted with him in his life-time.
2. We will consider a little the circumstances of
his resurrection. He had foretold in his life-time,
that he would rise again the third, day. The chief
priests and the pharisees remembered this saying,
and therefore, lest his disciples should come by night
and steal him away, they make the sepulchre sure,
seal the stone, and set a guard of soldiers. The
disciples, whom they were afraid of, they were scat
tered with fear ; and that it might appear that it was
the work bf God, there was a great earthquake,

469
which made the guard to tremble ; and in their
sight an angel, appearing in a most glorious manuer,
rolled away the stone ; and when he was risen, and
appeared to his disciples, they were terrified, and
thought it had been a spirit, until our Saviour bids
them see him, and handle him, that he had flesh
and bones, which a spirit could not have. He
conversed familiarly with them ; and for theirgreater
satisfaction did eat with them ; and to satisfy the
scrupulous unbelief of Thomas, he bid him put his
hand into the hole of his side, and see in his hands
the print of the nails, to shew that it was the same
body that was crucified. Now the greater their
jealousy and unbelief were, the greater is the evi
dence of the thing ; and it shews that it was upon
great conviction, and when they could no longer
resist the evidence of the thing, that they did be
lieve it: and after all this, they saw him ascend up
into heaven, and found the promise of the Spirit
made good to them, to furnish them with power and
gifts for carrying on the work of the gospel.
3. We will consider the strange and wonderful
effects that this report and relation had in the world.
The preaching of Christ crucified, and rising from
the dead, had a strange operation upon the world.
With snch admirable success did this prevail, that
in a few years the gospel was entertained in a great
part of the world. The plain and naked relation of
this, by men that were destitute of secular learning
and arts, without the help of power, or policy, or
any other worldly advantage, did prevail with men
to entertain and embrace that profession, against
the prejudice of education, the bias of corrupt
nature, and the advantages of worldly interests:
nor could all the opposition of the great and the

470
wise, the princes and the philosophers ofthe world,
give a check to the prevalency of it. Surely nothing
but Truth could have wrought those great wonders
and effects, naked and unarmed. Those strange
and miraculous effects which are matter of fact, and
undeniable, one would think should render it very
easy to any man to believe the miracle of Christ's
resurrection. 4. We will consider the circumstances of the
persons who entertained the belief of it. Many of
them were very rational, and serious, and inquisitive
persons, who had opportunity to satisfy themselves
about the truth of it; and if there had been any
reason to disbelieve the testimony that was given,
had such great and generous' spirits, that if it had
been for their advantage and interest to have be
lieved it, yet out of the greatness of their minds they
would not have entertained any ungrounded relation,
much less a religion built upon it. Such were some,
eminent among the Jews and heathens for their
great learning, and knowledge of philosophy, and
all excellent endowments, who were early converted
to Christianity. And as for the multitude who
embraced the gospel, the doctrine of it was so con
trary to their lusts, and the profession of it to their
interests,* that nothing can be imagined to have per
suaded them to the belief of it, but a high satisfaction
of the truth of it ; and particularly of this great
miracle of Christ's resurrection, upon which prin
cipally the gospel doth rely. And thus 1 have
endeavoured to give you the best evidence I could
ofthe truth of this miracle.
I should now proceed to take notice of the ob
jections that maybe made against it : but this I
shall reserve to the foUowing discourse.

SERMON CCXXXVI.
THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost : in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unlo them. — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
I have been considering the evidence which those
who lived in our Saviour's time had of his Divine
authority, from the power of working miracles,
with which he was endowed.
The miracles which concern our Saviour, I re
duced to three heads — those of his life; those
wrought at his death ; and the great miracle of his
resurrection from the dead, together with those two
that were consequent upon it— his visible ascension
into heaven, and his sending the Holy Ghost.
As to the resurrection of our Saviour, I have pro
duced the testimonies for it, and have added some
considerations that may give strength and advan
tage to that testimony; and shall now proceed to
take notice of the most considerable exceptions
that may be made against it. And all the exceptions
that can be brought against it, that are of any
moment, and that I know of, are these three— that
tradition of the Jews, that he was stolen out of the
grave; or that he was not really dead ; or that his
appearance was an illusion from evil spirits.. The

472
first of these is ancient, and was the invention of fhe
Jews, and denies the integrity of the witnesses of
his resurrection, making them deceivers : the two
last suppose the fidelity of the witnesses, but say,
they were deceived, either as to his death, or as to
his appearance afterward: and these have been
since invented by atheistical spirits. I shall briefly
answer them, and, first, in general, I say these two
things :
1. That they who deny this, have this disad
vantage, that they are to prove a negative, which is
never capable of that evidence, which an affir
mation is.
2. These exceptions look very like envy, for they
do not concur to make up one strong objection
against the testimony of Christ's resurrection ; but
each of them contradicts the other, and is incon
sistent with them : for if the tradition of the Jews
be true, that he was stolen out of his grave after he
was dead and buried, and that the story of his ap
pearing to them was a forgery, then the two latter
exceptions are false, and so of the rest ; so that
these exceptions look very like the false witnesses
that were suborned against Christ, that " they do
not agree together." But to the objections them
selves I answer,
First, The tradition of the Jews; that his body
was stolen out ofthe sepulchre, and all that which
is related afterwards, of his appearing to his dis
ciples and conversing with them, and ascending
into heaven, was a forgery and imposture.
Answer. — We have early notice given of this in
thehistoryofthe gospel, (Matt, xxviii. 11.) that when
the chief priests heard that his body was gone
out of sthe grave, they consulted together, and

473
hired the soldier^ to say that the disciples came by
night, and, whilst they were asleep, stole him away.
Observe what it was that the soldiers were to testify,
that, whilst they were asleep, the disciples came and
stole away his body. Very credible persons, that
were to give testimony of what they saw done
whilst they were asleep ! A man had need be hired
with a great sum to give such a testimony, so ridi
culous ; and it seems the pharisees looked upon the
governor as very simple, that would be so easily
persuaded of so unlikely a thing.
2. It should seem it was not believed by them
selves ; for Josephus, a knowing and learned man
of that nation and religion, who lived immediately
after that time, speaks positively in the 18th book
of his Antiquities, that " Christ was crucified, and
appeared to his disciples the third day, rising from
the dead ;" and he speaks not a word of the forgery,
which had been much for the credit of his nation
and religion.
3. If we compare the fidelity of the persons on
both sides ; the witnesses of Christ's resurrection
cannot be suspected of any worldly interest or de
sign ; but the priests and pharisees were concerned
both in reputation and interest, to blast this miracle
as much as they could; because, if it should be en
tertained, both their religion would be endangered,
and they would be looked upon as murderers of
him whose holiness and innocency were attested^ by
such a miracle.
4. If this exception had been true, it had been
easy to have discovered the imposture, and unde
ceived the people: the gospel would have fallen
and sunk in a short time. Nothing but truth could
have borne up and prevailed against so much op-
vol. ix. 2 r

474
position. If this had been the work of men, and
an imposture, it " would have come to nought ;" but
it was truth, and of God, and therefore it " could
not be overthrown."
Secondly, That he was not dead When he was
put into the grave, that he was but in a swoon or
deliquium, and so might rise again without a mi
racle. Answ. I. — We may reasonably suppose, that the
malice ofthe Jews took care to kill him. Besides,
the circumstances of the story do sufficiently evi
dence it. Upon the piercing of his side, " water and
blood came out ;" which was an evidence that his
heart was pierced. And after his body was ex
hausted of its blood, there could be no return to life
again. But it seems the soldiers were satisfied, in
the thing, who, when they came to break his bones,
spared him, " because they found he was already
dead." 2. If he was not dead yet, how could he rise
again ? It was a pitiful securing ofthe grave, and a
little great stone that was rolled upon it, if a weak
and wounded, and spent man, after so much pain,
and the expense of so much blood, could roll it away !
3. Suppose he did rise, what became of him
afterwards? How came we to have no particulars
of what became of him ? If those which the story
gives us be true, that after forty days he was taken
up into heaven, we need not doubt of his resurrec
tion, for this is as miraculous as that.
Thirdly, The third and last exception is as un
reasonable as any, which grants that he djd seem
to appear to his disciples, but they were imposed
ypon by the illusion of evil spirits.
Answ. 1. — That which may be an evasion in any

475
case, is to be admitted in no case. This exception
supposeth as much evidence for his resurrection, as
this or any other thing is capable of; and yet would
make it an illusion : but this denies all certainty ;
for if we may be deceived when we have the greatest
assurance of a thing that our senses can give us,
then we may not only question the resurrection of
Christ, but every thing else. ,
2. If we believe the providence of God, we cannot
think it to be so little vigilant, as that honest and
well-meaning persons should be continually exposed
to the insolence and cheats of evil spirits, and in a
matter of the greatest concernment should be ever
liable to be deceived, and cannot help it.
Having thus considered our Saviour's resurrec
tion, and answered the objections against it, I pro
ceed to those two miracles which followed his re
surrection ; namely, his ascension into heaven, and,
his sending the Holy Ghost upon the apostles and
primitive Christians in such miraculous powers and
gifts. First, His ascension into heaven. And of this
the disciples of our Saviour were also eye-witnesses.
So St. Luke tells us, (Acts i. 4. 9.) " And when they
were assembled together," and Christ among them
after his resurrection, and when he had given them
in charge what he would have.them do, " as they
looked on, he was taken up; and a cloud received
him out of their sight." What more visible demon
stration could there be, that this man was sent of
God, than that, after he had preached the doctrine
which he came to deliver to the world and con
firmed it by so many miracles, and God had given
so great an attestation to him, by raising him up
from the dead ; I say, what more visible demonstra-
2 i 2

476
tion that he came from God, than to see him taken
up into heaven, after he had finished the work for
which God sent him into the world?
Secondly, The sending of the Holy Ghost upon
the apostles and primitive Christians in such mi
raculous powers and gifts, whereby they were ena
bled to speak divers languages, in order to the more
expedite publishing of the gospel to the world, to
heal diseases, and to raise the dead, to foretell things
to come, and (which was common with the apostles
and all Christians for some ages) they had a power
of casting out devils, by adjuring them in the name
of Christ. Now what could be a clearer evidence
that he came from God, and was returned to him,
than the conferring of such miraculous powers and
gifts upon men, after he was ascended into heaven,
as a testimony that he was invested in his royalty,
having a power conferred upon him to dispense
those gifts to men ?
But ofthe ascension* of our Saviour, and the ex
traordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost, having upon
other occasions discoursed at large, I shall need to
add no more here ; only, before I conclude "this
head, I shall briefly mention the chief of those ob
jections, which these miracles which were wrought
by our Saviour, and on his behalf, are liable to, and
endeavour to return a satisfactory answer to them.
And there are two objections against his miracles
in general.
First, That he wrought them by the power of
the devil.

* See Sermons CXCV. CXCVI. CXCVII. CXCVIN. vol. viii.
p. 350, &c. and CCXXVHI. CCXXIX. CCXXX. p. 347, &c.
of the present volume.

477
Secondly, The other objection is taken from that
expression of the evangelist, (Matt. xiii. 58.) where it
is said, that when Jesus was in his own country, "he
did not many mighty works there, because of their
uubelief ;" which saying is perversely abused by some.
as if it signified, that the credulity, and strong ima
gination of the people, were a great ingredient into
his miracles.
First, That he wrought them by the power of the
devil. This was the objection which the Jews of
old made against our Saviour, (Matt. xii. 24.) that
he " cast out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of
the devils," who had power and authority over the
rest, and consequently to cast out those that were
subject to him ; and the Jews at this day make the
same objection against all his miracles. Celsus did
the same.
To this I cannot render a better auswer than our
Saviour himself did, when this objection was first'
started, which was twofold :
1. That it was very unlikely that the devil should
contribute to the ruin and overthrow of his own
kingdom. (Matt. xii. 25, 26.) " Every kingdom
divided against itself, is brought to desolation : and
every city or house divided against itself, shall not
stand. And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided
against himself: how then shall his kingdom stand?"
The force of which argument is this : that it cannot
be imagined, that he who preacheth a doctrine so
contrary to the design which the devil carried on
in the world, and so destructive to his kingdom,
as our Saviour did, should be assisted by him to
confirm the doctrine by any miraculous effects ;
especially such as did so directly tend to the over
throw of his own kingdom, and to dispossess him

478
ofthe advantage of tyrannizing over men, which he
was so desirous to get and hold.
But, 2. He tells them, that, by the same reason
that they attributed those miracles of his to the
deyil, all miracles that ever were wrought in the
world, might be attributed to him. Did it appear
by the tendency of his doctrine, or the course and
design of his life and actions, or by any magical
rites that he used, that he had any familiarity with
the devil ; or carried on any design for him ? What
colour of reason then was there to ascribe the mir
racles that he wrought to the devil, any more than
the miracles that Moses had wrought ; or any more
than those dispossessions which were wrought by
the children of their own nation, in the name of the
God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob? (ver. 27.)
" If I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom dq
your children cast them out ? therefore, they shall
be your judges." Several among yourselves do, or
at least pretend to cast out devils, by the powrer of
God, and you believe they do so ; why should you
not think that I do it by the same power? what
reason have you to suspect me of correspondence
with the devil more than them? No answer could
have been more satisfactory in itself, and more op
posite to those that made the objection.
The second objection is grounded upon a spiteful
and malicious perverting of those words of the
evangelist, (Matt. xiii. 58.) where it is said, that
Jesus, when he was in his own country, " did not
many mighty works there, because of their unbelief,"
From whence some atheistical persons, as Csesar
Vaninus, and a wretched man of our own nation,
who, I suppose, stole it out of him, have collected,
that credulity and strong imagination in the people,

479
were the principal ingredients in our Saviour's mi
racles ; and where he did not meet with persons so
disposed, he could do no great matter.
This objection deserves rather to be abhorred and
detested as a groundless and malicious insinuation,
than to be answered ; but because it seems to have
some colour as well as spite in it, I shall briefly re
turn an answer to it, and that by giving a plain ac
count of this passage in the evangelist ; and that is
this : our Saviour comes to Nazareth, the place
where he had been born, and he began to instruct
them in his doctrine, and, as he used to do wher
ever he came, he wrought some miracles for the con
firmation of his doctrine ; but they, upon an unrea
sonable prejudice taken up against hims because
they had known the meanness of his parents,
and of his education, despised both his doctrine
and his miracles. Our Saviour, perceiving that
upon this prejudice they rejected the evidence
of his miracles, the highest attestation that God
Can give, saw that there was no good to be done
upon them ; and therefore, leaving them to their
own obstinacy and unreasonable unbelief, he for
bore to do any more great works among them : for
the text doth not say that he did no mighty works
among them, because of their unbelief; but that he
did not many mighty works among them ; that is,
finding them possessed with this unreasonable pre
judice against him, he found they were not fo be
convinced by any miracle that he could work, and
therefore, though he had done some mighty works
among them, yet he forbore to do any more, as a just
judgment upon them for their obstinacy and unbe
lief. And that this is the plain meaning of it, there
needs no more to convince any man, but to read

480 '
over this passage of the evangelist, (Matt. xiii. 54
—58.) " And when he was come into his own <
country, he taught them in their synagogue, inso
much that they were astonished, and said, Whence
hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother
called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses,
and Simon, and Judas ? And his sisters, are they not
all with us? Whence then hath this man all these
things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus
said unto them, A prophet is not without honour,
save in his own country, and in his own house. And
he did not many mighty works there, because of
their unbelief," And now judge, how little reason
there is from these words, for any such foolish and
malicious objection.
I might add farther, if it were necessary, that
many of his miracles were such, as no credulity or
strength of imagination could assist to the working
pf them ; as I coqld make evident from very many
instances, particularly that of raising Lazarus, after
he had Jain four days in the grave. But enough of
this. Npw to reflect upon this evidence of Christ's
Divine authority from the miracles which he did,
and which were wrought to give testimony to him.
What greater satisfaction can any one be imagined
to have concerning any person, that he is sent from
God, than the apostles had, and the rest of those
who conversed wifh our Saviour, and saw the mi
racles that were wrought by him, and on his behalf?
Suppose we had lived in our Saviour's time and had
conversed with him, what greater evidence could
we have desired of his Divine authority, than to
have seen with our eyes so many strange thipgs done

481
by him, exceeding any natural power that we know
of, and things so beneficial to mankind; and all
these wrought so frequently, and so openly ? To
have seen this person put to death, and at that in
stant the whole frame of nature disordered and put
out of its course ? To have seen this person, after he
had lain three days in the grave, raised to life
again ; and to have the greatest assurance of this
that our senses can give us of any thing: by fre
quent and familiar conversation; by discoursing
with him ; by eating and drinking with him ; by
touching and handling of his body : and afterwards
to have seen this same person visibly taken up into
heaven ; and, according as he had promised before
he left the world, to have found ourselves afterwards
endowed with a miraculous power of speaking all
on the sudden all sorts of languages ; of healing dis
eases ; of foretelling things to come ; of casting out
devils ; of raising the dead : had we seen all this
with our eyes and experienced this strange power
in ourselves ; could there have remained any doubt
in us, but that this person was sent from God, and
specially commissioned from heaven, to declare the
mind of God to the world ?
If, after all this, any man will say, that so many
persons as were eye-witnesses of these things, might
be deceived in a plain sensible matter ; I would
desire that man to prove to me that he is waking, or
to evidence to me by better arguments, any thing
else that he thinks himself most certain of.
IV. The fourth evidence which those who lived
in our Saviour's time had of his Divine authority,
was the spirit of prophecy proved to be in him, and
made good by the accomplishment of his own pre
dictions. This also was a clear testimony that he

482
was from God ; for God challengeth this as peculiar
tothe Deity, to foretell future contingents. (Isa. xlK
23.) " Shew the things that are to come hereafter,
that we may know that ye are gods." The oracles
of the heathen did give out some dark and doubtful
conjectures about future things; but a clear and
certain prediction of things was always looked upon
as an argument, that the person that could do it was
inspired from God ; and therefore the spirit of pro
phecy which was in our Saviour, and by him con
ferred upon the apostles afterward, hath always
been justly looked upon as a good testimony that
he was from God. So the angel tells St. John,
(Rev. xix. 10.) that " the testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy."
Now the predictions of our Saviour were many;
and those very plain, and punctual, and particular;
and such as all, or most of them, had their accom
plishment in that age. That we may take a more
distinct view of them, I shall reduce them to these
five heads :
1. Those that foretold his death, and the circum
stances of it.
2. His resurrection, and the particular circum
stances of that.
3. The descent ofthe Holy Ghost upon the apo
stles, with the circumstances belonging to that.
4. The destruction of Jerusalem before the end of
that age, with the signs foregoing it, and the Con
comitant circumstances of that.
5. Those that foretold the fate ofthe gospel in the
world, the opposition it should meet with, and yet
the admirable success it should have, notwithstand
ing that opposition.
1. Those that foretell his death, and the eircum-"

483
stances of it. This he did very particularly, and at
several times ; (Matt. xvi. 21.) he told his disciplesi
" That he must go unto Jerusalem, and there suffer
many things of the elders, and chief priests, and
scribes, and be killed." Mark x.33, 34. and Matt.
xx. 18, 19. he foretells more particularly the man
ner of their proceedings against him, that " the
chief priests and scribes should condemn him to
death ;" but that they should not put him to death;
but " deliver him to the gentiles, to mock, and
scourge, and crucify him," which was afterwards
done by Pilate, the Roman governor. He foretold
likewise the manner how this should be brought
about, (Matt. xx. 18.) that he should be " betrayed
into the hands of men." And he did particularly
point out beforehand the man that was to betray
him, (Matt. xxvi. 23.) " He that dippeth his hand
with me in the dish, the same shall betray me." He
foretold that his disciples should forsake him, (Matt.
xxvi. 31.) " All of you shall be offended because of
me this night; for it is written, I will smite the shep
herd, and the sheep shall be scattered." And when
Peter declared his confident resolution to stick to
him, he foretold that he should deny him, with very
particular circumstances of the time and manner of
it ; (Mark xiv. 30.) " This night, before the cock
crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice :" which was
all punctually accomplished.
2. He punctually foretold his resurrection, with
the circumstances of it, that " he should rise again
the third day," (Matt. xvi. 21.) and that "after, he
was risen, he would go before them into Galilee,"
(Matt. xxvi. 32.) which was accomplished. (Matt.
xxxviii. 16.)
3. He foretold likewise the descent of the Holy

484
Ghost upon the apostles in miraculous powers and
gifts ; (Luke xxiv. 49.) " Behold I send the promise
of my Father upon you, but tarry ye in the
city of Jerusalem, until ye be endowed with power
from on high." He specifies the place where the
Holy Ghost should descend; and what the effects
of this descent of the Holy Ghost upon them should
be; he tells them particularly; (Mark xvi. 17, 18.)
"And these signs shall follow them that believe :
in my name shall they cast out devils, and they
shall speak with new tongues ; they shall take up
serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it
shall not hurt them ; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover." All which was punc
tually fulfilled in the second of the Acts, and the
following part of that history.
There are yet two other instances of our Saviour's
prophetical spirit, which I mentioned ; but those I
reserve to the next discourse.

SERMON CCXXXVII.

/

THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them. — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
I am considering the fourth evidence which those
who lived in our Saviour's time had of his Divine
authority, viz. the spirit of prophecy, proved to be
in him, and made good by the accomplishment of
his predictions. I gave five instances of our Sa
viour's predictions.
1. Those which foretold his death, and its cir
cumstances. 2. Those which foretold his resurrection, and its
circumstances. 3. Those which foretold the descent of the, Holy
Ghost upon the apostles, with the circumstances
thereof. These three I have considered, and now proceed.
to the two which remain :
4. The next instance therefore of our Saviour's
prophetical spirit, is his foretelling the destruction of
Jerusalem, with the circumstances of it. Now be
cause this is one of the greatest instances of our
Saviour's prophetical spirit, and so particular a
prediction, so punctually answered by the event,

486
therefore I shall insist the longer upon it; espe
cially because I look upon it as one of the most con
vincing arguments that can be brought against the
Jews for the truth of our religion^
And in order to our clearer proceeding in this
matter that I am speaking to, I shall do these three
things :
First, Explain the series and order of this pre
diction of our Saviour's concerning the destruction
of Jerusalem.
Secondly, Expound the particulars of it, as we
find them in Matt. xxiv. compared with the other two
evangelists that wrote of it, St. Mark and St. Luke.
Thirdly, Make some reflections upon this pre
diction, and the punctual accomplishment of it;
from which it may appear of what force this argu
ment is for the conviction of the Jews of the truth
of our religion.
First, I shall explain the series and order of this
prediction concerning the destruction of Jerusalem.
And this is necessary, because it seems to most in
terpreters to be so intermingled with a prophecy of
Christ's last coming at the end of the world, that it
is no easy matter to separate those two prophecies
of the destruction of Jerusalem, and the end ofthe
world. Besides that, it is encumbered with some
other difficulties, arising from some particular ex
pressions in this famous prediction of our Saviour's.
From the 34th verse of the 23d chapter of St.
Matthew, to the 29th of the 24th chapter, there is
a clear prediction of the destruction of Jerusalem,
with the preceding signs, and concomitant and sub
sequent circumstances of it: but at the 29th verse,
the prophecy of the end of the world seems lo be
designedly joined to it : for the evangelist says,

487
" Immediately after the tribulation of those days,
the sun shall be darkened," &c. Where he enume
rates dismal signs, and forerunners of the dissolu
tion of all things ; but it is now sixteen hundred
years since the destruction of Jerusalem, and yet
the world is not at an end. How is it then that the
evangelist says, " Immediately after the tribulation
of thosedays?" This is the first difficulty.
Secondly, After this prophecy of the end of the
world, we find these words in all the three evan
gelists, " Verily, I say unto you, This generation
shall not pass away, till all these things be fulfilled."
As if not only the destruction of Jerusalem, but the
end of the world were to happen in that age* This
is the other difficulty.
But notwithstanding all this, I doubt not but by
comparing the three evangelists together, to make
the series and order of these prophecies very clear.
In order whereunto, we are to consider that our
Saviour in this prophecy foretells three things very
distinct in time.
1. The destruction of Jerusalem.
2. The fate and condemnation of the Jewish na
tion after this desolation, and during their captivity
among the gentiles, among whom they were to be
scattered. And this we have clearly and fully ex
pressed by St. Luke, xxi. 23, 24. " There shall be
great distress in the land, and wrath upon this peo
ple. And they shall fall by the edge of the sword,
and shall be led away captive into all nations, and
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the gentiles,
until the time of the gentiles be fulfilled." So that
this prediction comprehends from the destruction
of Jerusalem all the time of the captivity of the
Jews among, the gentiles, which we see is not yet

488
expired, and God alone knows how long it shall
last. And then,
3. Forerunning signs of the end of the world,
which the evangelists say shall happen " after the
tribulation of those days;" thatis, when God hath
made an end of punishing the nation of the Jews.
And this seems to me wholly to clear and take off
the first difficulty.
As to the second, namely, that, after the prophecy
ofthe end of the world, we find these words added
by our Saviour, " Verily, I say unto you, This gene
ration shall not pass away, till all these things shall
be fulfilled," which seems to intimate that the end
of the world should happen in that age : for the
answering of this, I shall not betake myself to that
refuge which some have done, by explaining these
words thus — " this generation," thatis, this nation,
"shall not pass away," shall not be utterly destroyed,
but shall remain scattered up and down the world,
as a monument of God's displeasure against them,
till the end of all things. For though the expres
sion yevtd avrn, " this generation," may well enough
be translated " this nation — this race of people ;"
yet the precedent words will not admit this inter
pretation ; for it is said in the verse immediately be
fore, " So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these
things, know that it is near, even at the doors."
So that our Saviour speaks of something very near
at hand, which necessarily confines it to that gene
ration. Therefore, the plain solution of this difficulty is
this': that our Saviour ends his prediction of the
destruction of Jerusalem, and the end ofthe world,
at the 31st verse, where he says, that " the Son1 of
man shall send his angels with a great sound of a

trampet* and <they shall father together his «iect
#om Jtihe four winds, 'from one ead of heaven to the
©ther." And then he makes some reflections upon
what he had foretold concerning the destruction of
Jerusalem, and the end of tbe world.
(J.) As to the destruction of Jerusalem, he tell*
them a parable o£ the fig-tree, that* by the putting
forth of its leaves, we know that the summer is
nigh ; " So likewise, when ye shall see all these
things," nararefly, all those signs which I have given
you of the destruction rof Jerusalem, " know that
it is near, even at the doors V and then he adds,
" Verily, I say unto you, This generation shall not
pass away until all these things be fulfilled ;" that
is, many of those who are now alive, shall live to
see all those signs which I have mentioned. And
then, (2.) He reflects upon his prediction of the end of
the world, (ver. 36.) "But of that day and hour
knoweth no man," &c. that is, not of that other
day, of which I have been speaking, namely, sof
the end of the world, no man knows; as if he had
said, The signs which I have given of the destruc
tion of Jerusalem, are as plain* as the budding &f
•the fig-tree is a sign of summer: but I have not
given such plain signs of the end ofthe world, and
the day of judgment. That I have declared to you
in dark taliegotiefe, of the sun's being darkeued, And
the moon's not jgivattg her light, and the stars fall
ing fro»9 heaven ; which cannot be understood lite
rally, and thfe mystical meaning of them is very
hidden. And thus I hopfe I have removed those difficul
ties, And imade fhe order and series of this prophecy
vei-y <eleai\
vol. ix. 2 k

490
Secondly, I come in the next place to expound
the particulars of this prophecy, so far as it con
cerns the destruction of Jerusalem, as we find them
in the 24th of St. Matthew, compared with the
¦ other two evangelists that wrote of it, St. Mark and
St. Luke ; and to shew the exact accomplishment
of each of these particulars, not only from the tra
dition of Christians, but from the writings of the
Jews and heathens, which are so much the stronger
on our side, because they are the testimonies of
enemies. And, in the expounding of this prophecy,
I shall distinctly consider these three things :
1. Our Saviour's general prediction of the siege,
and total destruction of the city of Jerusalem, and
of the temple, which you have frdm the 34th verse
ofthe 23d chapter, to the 3d verse of the 24th.
2. His prediction of the signs that should forerun
the destruction of Jerusalem, from verse the 3d to
verse the 21st.
3. The concomitant and subsequent circumstances
of it, from verse 21, to verse 29.
1. Our Saviour's general prediction of the siege
of Jerusalem, and of the total destruction of the
city. This our Saviour foretells, (Luke xix. 41 — 44.)
" And when he was come near, he beheld the city,
and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
belong unto thy peace ! but now they are hid from
thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee,
that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee,
and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every
side ; and shall lay thee even with the ground, and
•thy children within thee : and they shall not leave
in thee one stone upon another; because thou knew-
est not the time of thy visitation." So Josephus

491
tells, lib. vi. that Titus raised a wall round about
Jerusalem, and kept them in on every side ; so that
none could come out, though many thousands were
famished with hunger ; which was so sad and dis
mal a calamity, that our Saviour, though he knew
how just a cause there was for it, yet, out of very
humanity and tenderness of nature, he could not
but, upon the foresight of so sad a destruction, weep
over it. He, indeed, expresseth his vehement de
sire that this might have been prevented ; (Matt.
xxiii. 37.) " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that kill-
est the prophets, and stonest them that are sent
unto thee ; how often would I have gathered thee,
as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
and ye would not !" Therefore, having brought this
ruin wilfully upon themselves, he pronounceth the
sentence of their desolation, (verse 38.) " Behold,
your house is left unto you desolate !" And at the
beginning of the next chapter, when the disciples
were shewing him the beautiful structure of the
temple, he foretells, that " there' should not one
stone be left upon another, which should not be
thrown down."
Now that all this was punctually accomplished,
Josephus tells us, lib. vii. Bell. Jud. that when the
Romans had taken the city, Caesar gave order to
lay it waste to the ground, excepting some part of
the wall which was left for the guards of soldiers,
and three ofthe strongest towers, which he ordered
to be left for a standing monument of the Roman
courage ; but all the rest of the city was so levelled,
that no man that should come to see it, could be
lieve that it was ever inhabited. *¦,
And our Saviour's prediction ofthe utter ruin of
the temple, was most remarkably fulfilled. For the
2 k 2

Roman feist©ry tells us, that Turnus Rufous, with a
plough-share, did tear up the foundation of tbeteim-
pie, and left no part of it, not so much as under
ground, undissolved. So that our Saviour's pro
phecy was literally fulfilled, "There was not left one
stone wpoti another, that was not thrown down.
2. I Shall next consider our Saviour's prediction
Gft'hcstigws which should forerun the destruction of
Jerusalem •; namely, these eight:
First, That there should tme up false and coinu-
terfeit Christs, or Messiases.
Secondly, Great judgments should befal the
world, and particularly that nation, not long before
that time; -there should be *' wars, and rumours of
wars, famines, pestilences, earthquakes, in divers
places." Thirdly, Fearful sights and signs from heaven.
Fourthly, Persecution of the Christians.
JBifthly, That upon this occasion there should be
a great apostacy of Christians.
Sixthly, That upon this persecution many false
prophet^ or teachers should arise.
Seventhly, That there should be an universal
publication ofthe gospel before this gveat desolation
should happen.
Eighthly and lastly, which was to be the most im
mediate sign and forerunner of their rum, " Tbe
abomination of desolation should be seen standing
in the holy place." And these you have set down
from the 3d verse of this 24th chapter, to the 21st,
which I shall briefly expound, and shew how the
event did correspond to the prediction.
Our Saviour having before foretold the destruc
tion of Jerusalem and the temple in general, the
disciples come to him, and ask him two questions ;

493
" When tbese things, should be ? and what should
foe: the sign of his coming?" that is, in judgment,, to
destroy Jerusalem!, and what "should be the signs
of tbe end of the world?" I shall only consideir the
first, the signs that should foreima the destiruction.
of Jerusalem* as being only pertinent to my present
purpose. First, He foretells there should be false and coun
terfeit. Cbrists, or Messiases:.(ver. 3, 4.) "Take heed
that no man deceive you \, for many shall eome in my
name, saying, I ain Christ, and shall deceive mamy.'?
This our Saviour gives as one of the first signs,
and therefore,, St. Luke adds, (chap. xxi. 8.) " The
time draweth near," that is, it should, not be long
before this sign should appear ; and it accordingly
happened). Josephus uaentions several, of these:; of
whom, though Josephus, do not expressly say that
they called themselves, tbe Messias, yet he says that
which is equivalent, that tliey undertook to rescue
the people from the R©man yoke, which, was the
thing which the Jews expected the Messias, shomld
do for then*: and therefore we find,, (Luke xxiv.
21.) that the disciples that were going up to Em
maus,, and knew not that Christ was risen, and were
doubtful what to think of him, because it was the
third day,, they say, " We hoped this had been he
that should have redeemed Israel;" that is,, they
hoped this had been the Messias, that being,, it
seems, a common periphrasis of tbe Messias, that he
was he that: was to deliver Israel. Such as one
Theudas pretended himself to be .;, not that Theudas
of whom Gamaliel speaks (Aets-v. 36i), but another
of the sanae name,, who, about tweke years after
our Saviour's, death, when one Cuspius Fadus was
procurator -of Judea, rose and seduced the peopJe ;

494
of whom Josephus (lib. xviii.) gives this account-
that, being a sorcerer, he rose up, and deceived
many; which is the very expression our Saviour
useth, " they shall deceive many." This man per
suaded a great multitude to bring their goods and
follow him down the river Jordan, which he pro
mised by his command to divide, and to give them
a safe passage over it. But while he was thus
playing the fool among the people, Fadus sent
some forces, and surprised him and his company,
killing many of them, and cutting off his head; and
so there was an end of him.
Such likewise were those impostors, which, about
two-and-twenty years after our Saviour's death,
were so rife among them, when Felix was governor
of Judea; of whom Josephus tells us," that they
drew multitudes after them into the wilderness,
promising to work great signs and wonders before
them; which agrees exactly with the description
which our Saviour gives of the false Christs and
false prophets (ver. 24.), where he says, that they
should " shew great signs and wonders," ariuila km
ripara, the very words which Josephus useth. And,
(ver. 26.) " If they shall say to you, He is in the
desert, go not. forth ;" answerable to what Josephus
says, " that they drew many after them into the
wilderness." Such an one likewise was the Egyptian prophet,
who, as Josephus tells, came to Jerusalem much
about the same time, and persuaded the people to
follow him to Mount Olivet, persuading them, that
from thence they should see the walls of Jerusalem
fall, and so might enter the city; which Felix un
derstanding, sent soldiers, and slew and took seve
ral of them, but the Egyptian impostor himself made

495
an escape; which is the reason of that saying ofthe
chief captain to Paul, (Acts xxi. 38.) " Art not thou
the Egyptian, which before these days madest an
uproar," &c.
Such another was that impostor (if he be distinct
from the former) who, as Josephus tells us, about
three years after, under Festus Portius, the procura
tor, deceived the people with vain promises of deli
verance and ease from their oppressions, if they
would follow him into the wilderness ; but Festus
sent soldiers, and destroyed him and his company.
" And shall deceive many ;" that is, by raising
false expectations in the people, shall draw them
into ruin, as Josephus tells us they did many of the
Jews. And this our Saviour elsewhere foretold as,
a just judgment of God upon them for rejecting of
him who was the true Messias ; (John v. 43.) " I am
come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not;
if another shall come in his own name, him ye will
receive." Secondly, The next sign our Saviour gives, is
" wars, and rumours of wars, famines, pestilences,
earthquakes," &c. (ver. 6, 7.) " And ye shall hear
of wars and rumours of wars." About this time
the Jews began to be set upon in several places, by
the command ofthe emperor, and many thousands
of them were slain at Alexandria and Babylon, as
Josephus tells us. And there was a fear and rumour ¦
of a general war denounced against them by Caius
Caligula, the emperor, unless they would receive
his statue into the temple. Upon this rumour the
whole nation was in great astonishment, insomuch
that the Jews left their business, and neglected to
till their grounds, expecting the Romans would
have fallen upon them ; of which consternation, both
Josephus and Philo give us a particular account.

Our Saviour atdds, " See that ye be mot troubled ;>
for these things must come to pass, but tbe ead is
not yet ;" that is, when yow see the nalftra m th**
danger from the Romans, be not ye troubled, astfe-n
Jews will be, thinking row will be* th© ruin* <s£ the
nation. This and many ©their things wall happen*
before the final end come. And! ajccordiragliy it fell
owt. Por so Josephus a-nd Taei't?usi tett ws, tha*
this- storm was blown over by tbe sudden* death of
the emperor.
(Verse 7.) « Nation sh-aM' rise up against na^jow.'*
Which happened undeir €1>audius and Mer-©v the
two next Roman emperors, when, in several cities,
as Cesarea-, Ptolemais-, and many others, th© Jews,
and those of other nations that inhabited those cities,
fell upon and destroyed one another, as may- be
read at large in Josephus-.
And "kingdom against kingdom." This seems
to refer to the several provinces or tetr-arehies in
Palestine, which were also called kingdoms, which
at this time had cruel wars against one another ; as
the Jews and the Galileans against the Samaritans,
and several others that Josephus speaks of.
"' And there shall be famines and pestilences ;"
accordingly Josephus tel'Jis us, that under Claudius-
Csesar there was a great famine in Judea; namely,
that which was prophesied of hy Agabus (Acts xi.
28'.) And this Grotius very probably supposeth t© be
the reason why St. Paul, in his epistles written about
that time, is so earnest with the Christians to- send
relief'to the saints at Jerusalem-. '' Pestilences," they
usually follow famine ; " and earthquakes^ in divers
places," which happened in the times of Claudias
and' Nero. Philostratus speaks of a great earth
quake that happened in Crete in the time of Clau
dius, and in several' other places* as Smyrna, Chae#,

Samos,. &c; not long before the destruction of Jeru-
satemi; Tacitus speaks of one in Asia abaut the,
same time. And though these were at a greater
distance than the other sigas which our Siawiour
mentions, yet the Jews, could not. but hear of them,
because several of the nation were dispersed into
some of those places.
Thirdly, " Fearful sights and signs from heaven."
So St. Luke, (chap. xxi. 11.) " There shall he fear
ful sights, and great signs from heaven." Josephus
gives us a clear comment upon this ; Bell. Jud. lib.
vii. says he, " This wretched people believed im
postors and counterfeits; but those great signs and
prodigies which did forerun their desolation, they
neither minded, nor believed." A little before their
destruction (he tells us) there hung over their city
a fiery sword, which continued for a year together.
A little before their rebellion against the Romans,
there appeared a comet, which shined so clear in
the temple, and about the altar, as if it had been
day. And the same day an heifer, that was led to
be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the middle of
the temple. The eastern gate of the temple, which
was of massy brass, and very heavy, and could
scarce be shut by the strength of twenty men, and
was constantly made fast with strong locks and
bars, flew open at midnight, which, when it was told
to the magistrate, and he came to see it, they could
scarce get strength enough to shut it. One evening
not long before their desolation, there were seen in
the air chariots and armies hovering over the city.
At the feast of Pentecost, the priests, going one
pight into the temple, according to their custom,
first heard a noise, and afterwards a sudden voice,
saying, " Let us go hence." And, which is, very
terrible, one Jesus, a plain countryman, four years

498
before any troubles began, when the city was ina
deep peace, came up to Jerusalem, and upon one
of their festivals, began to cry out with a loud voice,
" A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a
voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusa
lem and the temple, a voice against bridegrooms
and brides, a voice against the people." And thus
he went about crying day and night; and being
seized on by the magistrate, and punished and tor
tured, he would not give over, but still went crying
about, " Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" And thus he con
tinued for seven years and five months together,
and was neither weary nor hoarse until the city was
besieged, and then he was quiet ; but one time
went up upon the walls, and cried with a loud
voice, " Woe, woe to the city, and the temple, and
the people!" and added, " Woe also to myself!" and
immediately was struck dead by a stone out of a
cross-bow. Were not these "fearful sights,, and great signs,
from heaven?" and these we have all related by
one of the most prudent historians, who lived at
that very time, and that very place; and he says,,
that many were alive when he wrote, and could
attest all this.
(Verse 8.) " All these are the beginning of sor
rows." The Scripture usually compares the greatest
sufferings and afflictions to the pains of a woman
in travail, to which our Saviour here alludes, and
says, " These were but the first pangs, nothing to
those throes which should come at last."
These are three of the signs forerunning the de
struction of Jerusalem, which, were predicted by
our Saviour. There are yet five more, which I re
serve for my next discourse on this subject.

SERMON CCXXXVIII.
THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost : in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel qf Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them. — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
The fourth evidence, which those who lived in our
Saviour's time had of his Divine authority, was, the
spirit of prophecy, proved to be in him, and made
good by the accomplishment of his predictions.
I have given five instances of our Saviour's predic
tions, and am now treating of them, viz. his foretell
ing the destruction of Jerusalem, with the circum
stances of it.
In explaining the particulars of this prophecy, I
proposed three things to be considered :
1. Our Saviour's general prediction of the siege,
and total destruction of Jerusalem and the temple.
2. His predictions of the signs that should fore
run it.
3. His predictions ofthe concomitant and subse
quent circumstances of it.
I am upon the second of these, viz. our Saviour's
prediction of the signs that should forerun the
destruction of Jerusalem ; three of which I have
despatched, and now proceed to those which remain.
Fourthly, Another sign which our Saviour fore-

500
told, as a forerunner of the destruction of Jerusalem,
was, persecution of the Christians. " They shall
deliver you to be afflicted, and shall kill you." St.
Mark expresseth it more particularly ; (Mark xiii.
9.) " But take heed to yourselves : for they shall
deliver you up to. councils, and in the synagogues
ye shall be beaten, and ye shall be brought before
rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against
them." And these did partly happen before the
forementioned calamities, and partly upon them :
but our Saviour first reckons by themselves the
common calamities of the nation ; and then he comes
to those which did concern his disciples and
followers ; and this follows very fitly upon the
former more general calamities. For we find the
fathers in their apologies every where complaining,
that the Jews and heathens laid the blame of all; the
judgments and calamities which befel them, as
famine, pestilence, and earthquakes, upon the Christ
ians, as the causes of them ; and from this pretence*
they many times took occasion to persecute them.,
" They shall deliver you to be afflicted." This
was fulfilled in delivering some ofthe apostlesit© be
whipped and imprisoned by the chief priests and
rulers, as Peter and John. ; or giving them up to the
Roman power, as they did James and Peter to
Herod ; Paul to Gallio, Felix, and Festus, and last
of all to Nero.
" And shall kill you." St. Luke saith, "some of
you ;" for of others he saith, " that not a hair of tlieir
head should fall to the ground." Thus Stephen
was killed by a popular tumult; and the two
Jameses were put to death under colour of a judi
cial process ; the one stoned by the council of the
Jews, aud the other put to death by Herod,

SU1
r< And ye shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake." Which began under Nero, who,
charging the Christians with the burning of the city,
as Tacitus tells us, when himself had Set it on fire,
tortured many of them as guilty of tlie fact. *' For
my name's sake." This was exactly fulfilled, in
that the Christians were so miserably persecuted
for no other cause, but for being called Christians.
They did not punish them for opposing their idolatry,
for that the Jews did as well as the Christians, who
yet escaped their malice ; nor could they lay any
other crime to their charge. Hence was that com
mon saying among the heathens, Vir bonus Caius
Sejus; tantummodo quod Christianus.
Fifthly, And upon this persecution, the apostacy
of many from Christianity ; (verse 10.) " Then shall
many be offended ;" that is, fall off from Christianity
because of these persecutions ; as we read several
did, Demas, Hermogenes, Phygellus, and probably
several others.
*' And they shall betray one another, and hate
one another." Which was remarkably fulfilled in
the sect ofthe gnostics, who did not only decline
persecution themselves, but joined with those that
persecuted the Christians, as ecclesiastical history
tells us.
Sixthly, That likewise upon this occasion of
persecution " many false prophets should arise and
deceive many," (ver. 1 1 .) which seems to refer to
Simon Magus, who gave himself out to be the power
of God, and to the other heads of the gnostic sect.
(Ver. 12.) "And the love of many shall grow cold,
because iniquity shall abound." Which seems to
refer likewise fo the gnostics, of whom St. John, in
his First Epistle, doth so frequently make mention

of their name ; as " He that saith, I know him, and
keepeth not his commandments," &c. of whom he
doth so much complain for want of love to their
brethren. (Verse 13.) " But he that shall endure to the end
shall be saved ;" that is, he that shall continue con
stant in the profession of the faith, notwithstanding
these persecutions and apostacies, and false teachers
that shall arise, shall be saved.
Seventhly, That there should be an universal
publication of the gospel, before this great desola
tion should happen : (ver. 14.) "And this gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for
a witness unto all nations." And this was accom
plished before the destruction of Jerusalem : for the
gospel was published all over the Roman empire,
before that time : and that is it which is here
meant by " the world," in the same sense that Au
gustus is said by St. Luke, "to have taxed all the
world." And this is the very phrase which the
Romans constantly used, calling the Roman empire,
imperium orbis terrarum. And that the gospel was
thus published, we may easily believe, if we con
sider how many were sent forth for this purpose,
and what indefatigable pains they took in this work;
especially St. Paul, who preached from Jerusalem
to Illyricum, which, according to the account which
he gives of the journey, is computed to be no less
than two thousand miles, and yet he made con
siderable stays in many places.
" For a witness unto all nations ;" that is, that
all nations might be convinced ofthe unreasonable
obstinacy of the Jews, before God brought those
dreadful calamities upon that nation.
" And then shall the end come ;" that is, the final

5U3
destruction of the Jews, the total desolation of the
Jewish church and commonwealth, according to the
prophecy of Jacob, (Gen. xlix. 10.) which put these
two signs together, that " the sceptre shall not de
part from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his
feet, until Shiloh come ; and unto him shall the
gathering ofthe people.be."
Eighthly, The last and most immediate sign and
forerunner which he gave of their destruction, is,
"the Standing of the abomination of desolation in
the holy place :" (ver. 15.) " When ye shall see the
abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet
Daniel, standing in the holy place; then let them
which be in Judea flee into the mountains." There
is a great difference among expositors, what is here
meant by " the abomination of desolation standing
in the holy place." Some refer it to the statue of
Adrian the emperor, placed where the temple was
at Jerusalem. But that cannot be, because that
was a long time after the destruction of Jerusalem,
and therefore could not be given by our Saviour for
a sign and forerunner of it. Others (as Capellus)
refer it to the faction of the zealots, which, before
Titus came to besiege Jerusalem, seized upon the
temple, and profaned it by bloodshed and slaughter,
and made so horrible a devasf ation in the city. And
this would not be improbable, if St. Luke had not
given us so clear an interpretation of it; (Luke xxi.
20, 21.) who, instead of " the abomination of deso
lation," mentioned by St. Matthew and St. Mark,
puts the Roman armies : "And when ye shall see
Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that
the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them that
are in Judea flee to the mountains." So that, ac
cording to St. Luke, "the abomination of desolation

standing in the holy place," is the Roman amies
compassing Jerusalem ; which, therefore, is called
" the abomination of desolation," because it Would
cause so great a desolation araiOHg them. " When
ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then
know that the desolation thereof is nigh :" and it is
said to " stand in the holy place," beoaiuse Jerusa
lem was the holy city, and so many furlongs about
it were accounted holy. Now when the Roman
army should approach within the limits of the hioly
ground, then the " abomination of desolation" ratight
be said to "stand in the holy place:" but the word
abomination seems particularly to refer to the Ro
man ensigns, upon which were the images of their
emperors, which the Romans worshipped, as Sue
tonius expressly tells us; and Tacitus calls them
their bellorum dii, their gods of wan Now it was
an abomination to the Jews to see these idols set
up within the limits of the holy city. To which I
may add, what Josephus tells us afterward, that the
Romans, after they had conquered the city, set up
those ensigns in the ruins of the temple, aaad sacri
ficed to them,
<(Verse 15.) " Then let them that be in Judea flee
to the mountains ; and let him which is on the house
top not come down to take any thing out of his
house: neither let him which is in the field, retuirn
back to take his clothes;" which are several ex
pressions to signify what haste the Christians would
make, when they saw the Romans making so near
approaches to Jerusalem.
" Let them which are in Judea flee t© the moun
tains." Some refer this to the last siege by Titus,;
but I see no probability for that ; for the Jews did
not permit any to go out of the city. Others refer

505
it to Vespasian's drawing his forces toward Jerusa
lem sometime before the siege, but hearing of the
death of Nero, the emperor, he forbore to besiege it
till he had received orders from the new emperor;
and that this was a warning to the Christians, and
they took their opportunity then to flee into the
mountains. But this could not be neither, because,
for a good while before, the faction of the zealots
under John and Simon's faction, who lay without
the city, did slay all who endeavoured to escape
out of the city. If we limit these words to Jerusa
lem (which the text does not) the most probable
time was when Jerusalem was first compassed by
the Roman army under Cestius Gall us, who after
ward withdrew his siege; and then, indeed, those
that would, had liberty to flee away. And at this
time Josephus doth say that many did flee, foresee
ing the approaching danger. But there is no reason
to confine it to Jerusalem ; for our Saviour's words
are more large, " Then let them that are in Judea
flee to the mountains." And if so, there is an ex
press passage in Josephus to this purpose: that
when Titus was drawing up his forces towards Je
rusalem, a great number of those who were at Jeri
cho went from thence, tig to opuvti, into the moun
tainous places, and thereby consulted their own
safety. (Verse 15.) " Let him that is on the house-top not
come down to take any thing from thence." Our
Saviour alludes to the fashion of the Jewish houses,
which had plain roofs, upon which they used to
walk ; and he bids them make such haste, that
when they saw this sign they should not think or
saving any thing in their houses, but to betake
themselves presently to the mountains for safety.
vol. ix. 2 L

506
(Verse 16} " Neither let him that is in the field re
turn back to take his clothes." Another expression
to signify what haste they should make from the
approaching danger.
(Verse 17.) " But woe unto them that are with
child, and to those that give suck in those days,"
because of the impediment that this would be to
their flight. Or, possibly, it may refer to the dread
ful story, not paralleled in any place or age, which
Josephus tells of one Mary, who, in the time of the
siege, out of very famine, boiled her sucking child
and eat it. And therefore St. Luke (xxi. 23.) does
mention this of the women's being with child, not
as an impediment to flight, but as an instance of the
great calamity that should befal them : (Luke xxi.
23.) " But woe unto them that are with child, and
to them that give suck in those days: for there
shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon
this people."
(Verse 18.) " But pray ye that your flight be not in
the winter, nor on the sabbath-day." " Not in win
ter," because ofthe hardness ofthe season, and the
difficulty of travelling and living upon the moun
tains : " nor on the sabbath-day." This concerned
the Christian Jews as well as others, most of which
observed the Jewish law and rites after our Sa
viour's death, till the desolation of the Jewish state
and temple, as appears out of the history of the
Acts. For though St. Paul stood for the liberty
of the gentiles, yet it appears from Acts xxi, 21.
that he vindicated himself from the calumny or as
persion which was cast upon him, as if he taught the
Jews which were among the gentiles to forsake
Moses, and that they ought not to circumcise their
children, nor to walk after their customs. So that

507
the Christian Jewfoi^retaining the observance of the
Jewish sabbath, fa pon which it was not lawful to go
any farther than a sabbath-day's journey, which was
scarce two miles ; if the danger should happen at
that time (as the Romans usually took advantages
to make all their onsets on that day, knowing the
superstition of the Jews in that point) they must
needs have been in great perplexity.
Having thus particularly treated of the signs
which our Saviour foretold, as the forerunners of
the destruction of Jerusalem, I proceed,
3. To consider the concomitant and subsequent
circumstances of it. As,
1. The unparalleled greatness of their calamity.
2. The arising of false Christs.
3. Their being led into captivity, and dispersed
up and down in the world.
4. Their continuance in this captivity and dis
persed state out of their country, till the gospel had
had its course among the gentiles.
1. The unparalleled greatness of their calamity
and destruction ; (ver. 19.) " For then shall be great
tribulation, such as was not from the beginning of
the world to this time, neither ever shall be." This
is a very material circumstance in this prophecy,
that the calamity of the Jews should be so strange
and unparalleled as never was in the world before:
for though it might easily have been foretold from
the temper of the people, which was prone to sedi
tion, that they were very like to provoke the Romans
against them ; yet there was no probability that all
things should have come to that extremity; for it was
not the design of the Roman government to destroy
any of those provinces which were under them, but
only to keep them in subjection, and reduce them by
2 l 2

508
reasonable severity in case of rev tilt. But that such a
calamity should have happened to them under Titus,
who was the mildest and farthest from severity of all
mankind, nothing was more unlikely ; and that any
people should conspire together to their own ruin,
and so blindly and obstinately run themselves into
such calamities, as made them the pity of their ene
mies, was the most incredible thing; so that no
thing less than a prophetical spirit could have
foretold so contingent and improbable a thing as
this was.
St. Luke expresseth the dismal calamity that
should happen to them in other words, but much
to the same sense: (Luke xxi. 22, 23.) " For these
be* the days of vengeance, that all things which are
written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that
are with child, and to them that give suck, in those
days : for there shall be great distress in the land,
and wrath upon this people." And to this Josephus
fully gives testimony, as will appear, both by what
he says in general concerning their calamity, and
by the particular account of their miseries and suf
ferings. (1.) In general he tells us, " that never was any
age so fruitful of misery as this was;" and almost in
our Saviour's words, in his preface to his books of
the siege of Jerusalem, he says, that " all the ca
lamities that had fallen upon any nation from the
beginning of the world, were but small in compa
rison of what happened to the nation of the Jews in
that age." And in his sixth book he says, that " as
there was never any nation so wicked, so never any
nation suffered such calamitous accidents." But
this will best appear,
(2) By a brief and particular enumeration of

509
their calamities. Not to mention the burning and
destroying of several of their chief cities, as Zabu-
lon, Gadara, Japha, Jotapatah, Joppa, and several
others, I shall insist chiefly upon the sufferings of
the people themselves, by their tumults and sedi
tions against the Romans. Before the coming of
Vespasian, there were slain at Jerusalem and in
Syria two thousand, at Askalon two thousand five
hundred, at Ptolemais two thousand, at Alexan
dria fifty thousand, at Joppa eight thousand four
hundred, at Mount Asamon two thousand, at Da
mascus ten thousand; and afterward at Askalon by
Antonius a Roman commander eighteen thousand ;
in all, almost one hundred thousand.
By Vespasian in Galilee and other parts, very
great numbers; at Japha fifteen thousand, at Mount
Gerizim eleven thousand six hundred, at Jotapatah
(the city of which Josephus our historian was go
vernor) forty thousand, at Joppa four thousand, at
Tarichsea near upon eight thousand, at Gainala nine
thousand, at Giscala two thousand; in all fourscore
and ten thousand.
Afterward, by their own seditions at Jerusalem,
eight thousand five hundred at several times : aud
afterward, by the faction of the zealots, twelve thou
sand of the chiefest and noblest of the citizens were
slain at one time; at the river Jordan by Placidus
thirteen thousand, besides many thousands drowned,
so that the river was filled up almost with dead car
casses: at two towns in Idumsea by Vespasian ten
thousand, at Gerasa one thousand; in all forty-five
thousand. Whilst Vespasian was thus wasting the cities of
Judea, the faction of the zealots filled all places at
Jerusalem, even the temple itself, with continual
slaughters ; and after they had conquered Ananus,

510
who stood for the people against the zealots, and
got all into their own hands, they were divided into
parties, and made slaughter of one another ; and one
party let in Simon, who headed a seditious multi
tude, which he brought out of the country ; and
after that they were subdivided into three parties,
John's, and Eleazer's, and Simon's, which held se
veral parts ofthe city, and day and night continued
to destroy one another; in which seditions all their
granaries of corn, and magazines of arms,were burnt;
so that though provision had been laid in the city,
that would have sufficed for several years, yet, be
fore they came to be besieged by Titus, they were
almost reduced to famine.
And after they were besieged, at the first they
united a little against the Romans; yet, after a few
days, they divided again into factions, and more of
them were slain by one another's hand, and with
more cruelty, than by the Romans; insomuch that
Titus, the geueral ofthe Romans, wept several times,
to consider the misery they brought upon them
selves ; and their very enemies were more pitiful to
wards them, than they to one another.
After two months' siege, the famine began to rage
within, and then all manner of cruelties was exer
cised by the soldiers upon that miserable people;
and at last they were brought to such necessity, that
many endeavoured to flee out to the enemy, and yet
were not permitted; but as many as were suspected
of any endeavour to escape were cruelly killed. It
is not to be imagined what barbarous inhumanities,
in those straits, all exercised one towards another;
snatching the meat out of one another's mouth, and
from their dearest friends, and their very children.
And so obstinate were they, that neither those
calamities which tbey suffered, nor the severity of

511
the Romans in crucifying many thousands of them
before the walls, and threatening them all with the
same death, in case they would not yield, in ripping
open the bowels of two thousand of them in a night,
who fled out of Jerusalem, upon a report that they
had swallowed gold (as many of them had, Jose
phus, lib. vi. cap. 15.) nor all the kind messages of
Titus, offering peace to them, and using all manner
of intreaties and persuasions not to run upon their
own ruin, could prevail with them to accept of a
peace. And thus they continued, till by famine and
force the city was taken, and then their provocation
of the Romans to cruelty towards those they had got
into their power was so great, that Titus was not
able to withhold the soldiers from exercising great
cruelties towards them.
In short, from the beginning of the siege, to the
taking of the city, there were famished and slain by
the factions among themselves and by the Romans
one million one hundred thousand; the greatest
number, and with the saddest circumstances, that is
to be read of in any story.
Was not this " a time of great tribulation?" Were
not these "days of vengeance" indeed? Was there
ever a sadder accomplishment of any prediction,
than these words of our Saviour had?
And after all this, the temple was burnt and made
desolate, the whole city destroyed, and all their
whole land seized by the Roman emperor, and the
remnant of the people in other parts of the nation
were prosecuted with great severity. Great num
bers of Jews were destroyed at the taking of the
castle of Herodion, and Machaerus, and Massada,
and in the thickets or wood of Jandes. And there
were great slaughters of the Jews in Other parts, at
Antioch, in all places about Alexandria and Thebes,

512
and at Cyrene, so that it was visible that there was
" wrath upon this people."
(Verse 22.) " And except that the Lord had short
ened those days, no flesh should be saved : but for
the elect's sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath
shortened the days;" that is, if those calamities had
lasted a little longer, there would not one Jew have
been left alive : " but for the elect's sake," that is,
for the sake of those Christians who were left among
them, " those days were shortened :" God inclining
the heart of Titus to shew pity towards the remnant,
and not to suffer the nations to exercise any more
cruelty towards them ; particularly at Antioch (the
first seat of the Christians). Josephus tells us, that
when Titus came thither, the people petitioned him
earnestly, that they might expel the Jews, but he
told them that was unreasonable, for now their coun
try was laid waste, there was no place for them to go
to. Thus we see how, " for the elect's sake, those
days were shortened."
2. Another circumstance, which was to follow the
destruction of Jerusalem, was, the arising of false
Christs, and false prophets, (ver. 23. 24.) " And
then, if any man shall say to you, Lo, here is Christ,
or, lo, he is there ! believe him not. For false Christs
and false prophets shall arise, and shall shew signs
and wonders." Such was Jonathan, who presently
after the destruction of Jerusalem, as Josephus tells
us, drew many into the wilderness of Cyrene, prer
tending that he would shew signs and wonders to
them ; therefore our Saviour adds, (ver. 25, 26.)
" Behold, I have told you before. — Wherefore if they
shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert ; go not
forth." There appeared in Egypt, Crete, and Cyprus,
several other impostors, who gave themselves out to
be Christs and false prophets, who applied the pro-

513
phecies of the Old Testament to these counterfeit
Messiases; as they did that of Balaam concerning a
" star coming out of Jacob" to Barchochebas, be
cause Ins name signifies " the son of a star." And
this was a notorious impostor in the time of Adrian
the emperor, not many years after the destruction
of Jerusalem, about twenty (as I remember) Euse
bius counts; he had a great-multitude followed him,
which put to death many Christians, because they
would not renounce Christ, and join with them
against the Romans, and that was the cause of the
death of some hundred thousands of them.
3. Another subsequent circumstance, was, the
Jews being led into captivity, and dispersed into
all nations. This St. Luke adds, (Luke xxi. 24.)
" They shall be led away captive into all nations."
I need not prove this out of history ; we see the
effect of it to this day.
4. That they should continue in this captivity
and dispersed state, and their city remain in the
power of the gentiles, " until the times of the gen
tiles were fulfilled." So also St. Luke tells us,
(ver. 24.) " They shall be led away captive into all
nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of
the gentiles, until the time of the gentiles be ful
filled ;" that is, till the gospel have had its course
among the nations. And thus it is still with them
at this day, Jerusalem is in the hands of other na
tions, and the captivity ©f the Jews continues ; and
wheu it shall end, God alone knows.
Having thus explained the particulars of our Sa
viour's prediction, concerning the destruction of Je
rusalem, I should in the next place proceed to
make some reflections upon this prediction, and its
punctual accomplishment; but this I reserve for
the following discourse.

SERMON CCXXXIX.
THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost: in whom the god of this tvorld hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, shoidd shine unto them. — 2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
In discoursing on the fourth evidence which those
who lived in our Saviour's time had of his Divine
authority, viz. the spirit of prophecy, proved to be
in him, and made good by the accomplishment of
his predictions, I came t© consider that remarkable
prediction ofthe destruction of Jerusalem.
In doing this, I proposed three things :
First, To explain the series and order of this pre
diction. Secondly, To consider the particulars of it, as we
find them in the 24th of St. Matthew, compared with
the other two evangelists.
Thirdly, To make some reflections upon this pre
diction, and its punctual accomplishment. The two
former of these I have despatched, and now pro
ceed to what remains, viz. the
Third thing I propounded, which was, to make
some reflections upon this prediction of our Sa
viour's concerning the destruction of Jerusalem,
and the punctual accomplishment of it. And now
that I have been so large in the explication of this

515
prophecy, I shall make use of this argument farther
than I intended, not only to shew that those who
lived in that age, and saw our Saviour's prediction
so punctually answered by the event, might from
hence be satisfied of the prophetic spirit of our Sa
viour, and consequently of his Divine authority;
but likewise to shew of what force to the con
viction of the Jews this consideration is, ofthe de
struction of Jerusalem, and that long train of miser
able consequences which followed upon it, and
have lasted to this day.
And the reflections I shall make upon this shall
be these :
I. That nothing less than a prophetic spirit could
so punctually have foretold so many contingents,
and improbable things, as this prediction of our Sa
viour's does contain in it. Such were some of those
signs which did forerun the destruction of Jerusa
lem — as, the great famine which happened under
Claudius ; the several great earthquakes under
Claudius and Nero ; the universal publication of
the gospel all over the Roman empire, in so short a
space; those wonderful sights, and prodigious signs
from heaven, so strange as are not to be paralleled
in any history. And such likewise were the circum
stances ofthe destruction of the city and the temple;
as, that it should be an utter desolation, which was
strangely accomplished, when, as Josephus tells us,
the very mountain upon which the temple stood
was almost burnt up and consumed with the fierce
ness of the fire ; and the Roman history gives ac
count of the plucking up of the very foundations
ofthe temple, by Rufus Turnus : but the most re
markable circumstance of all, which is so fully ex
pressed by our Saviour in this prediction, was, the

,516
strange and unexampled calamities which should
attend this destruction, such as never befel any
people before, which our Saviour foretells in these
words, " Then shall be great tribulation, such as
was not from the beginning of the world to this
time, nor ever shall be." And never had any words
a more sad and full accomplishment than this part
of our Saviour's prophecy had, in those woful
miseries which befel that people by civil and in
testine seditions, and the utmost extremity that fa
mine could reduce a people to; besides the cruel
ties of a foreignenemy. No history makes mention
of so vast a number of men, that in so short a time
did perish in such sad circumstances ; fourteen or
fifteen hundred thousand within less than a year's
space, and more of these by far cruelly murdered by
one another's hands than by the Romans. So that
these were " days of vengeance," and " of great tri
bulation," such as the world had never seen before,
and " if they had not been shortened, no flesh could
have been saved," as our Saviour adds in the pro
phecy ; if things had gone on at that rate a little
longer, not one of the Jewish nation would have
been left alive.
Now that our Saviour should foretell so punctu
ally the sad calamity of this people, I take to be
one of the most material circumstances of this pro
phecy, and to be a thing so contingent and un
likely, that it could not have been foreseen, but by
Divine inspiration. For though one might easily
have foretold from the temper of the people, which
was prone to sedition, and very impatient of the
Roman government, that the Jews were very likely
in a short time to provoke the Romans against
them ; yet there was no probability at all, that

517
things should have come to that extremity ; for it
was not in the design of the Roman government to
destroy any of their provinces ; but that such a ca
lamity should have happened unto them under
Titus, who was the mildest and farthest from
cruelty of all mankind, nothing was more unlikely;
that ever any people should have been so besotted,
as the Jews were at that time, and have so madly
conspired together to their own ruin, as they did ;
that they should so blindly and obstinately run
themselves into such calamities, as made them the
pity of their very enemies, was the most incredible
thing in the world. Nothing but a prophetic spirit
could have foretold an event so contingent, and so
extremely improbable.
II. Not only those who lived in that age were
capable of satisfaction concerning the accomplish
ment of this prediction of our Saviour; but that we
also might receive full satisfaction concerning this,
the providence of God hath so ordered it, as to pre
serve to ns a more punctual and credible history of
the. destruction of Jerusalem, than there is of any
other matter whatsoever so long since done.
And this is more considerable, than possibly at
first we may imagine. For,
1. We have this matter related, not by a Christ
ian (who might have been suspected of partiality,
and a design to have paralleled the event with our
Saviour's prediction), but by a Jew, both by nation
and religion, who seems designedly to have avoided,
as much as possibly he could, the very mention of
the Christian name, and all particulars relating to
our Saviour, though no historian was ever more
punctual in all other things.
2. We have this matter related by one that was

518
an eye-witness of all those sad calamities that befel
the nation of the Jews, and during the war in Ga
lilee, against Vespasian, was one of their chief com
manders, and being taken by the Romans, was in
their camp all the time that Jerusalem was besieged.
3. As he was an eye-witness, and so able to give
the truest account of those matters, so hath he al
ways had the repute of a most faithful historian.
Joseph Scaliger, who was a very good judge in
these matters, gives this character of him; that he
was diligentissimus km (j>iXaXr)OksTaTog, omnium scrip"
torum; "The most painful historian, and the greatest
lover of truth, of any that he had ever read ;" De
quo nos hoc audacter dicimus, non solum in rebus Ju-
daicis, sed etiam in externis, tutius illi credi quam
omnibus Greeds et Latinis historicis; " Of whom
(says he) I might confidently affirm, that not only
in the Jewish affairs, but in all foreign matters, one
may more safely rely upon his credit, than upon
all the Greek and Latin historians put together."
4. There is no ancient history extant, that relates
any matter with so much particularity of circum
stances, as Josephus does this of the Jewish wars,
especially the siege and destruction of Jerusalem.
5. That the providence of God may appear the
more remarkable in this history, which is the only
punctual one that hath been preserved down to us
of this great action, it will be worth our observation
to consider, how remarkably this person was pre
served for the writing of this history.
When Vespasian made war upon Galilee, Jose
phus was chief commander there, and was besieged
by Vespasian, in the city of Jotapatah ; which, after
a long and stout resistance, being taken by the Ro
mans, he, with forty more, hid themselves in a cave,

519
where at last they were discovered by the Romans;
which Vespasian hearing of, sent and offered them
life ; and Josephus would have accepted of their
offer, but the rest would not permit him to yield
himself, but threatened to kill him ; and when by
no persuasions he could take them off from this ob
stinate resolution, he was glad to propound this to
them — that they should cast lots, two by two, who
should die first, and he that had the second lot
should kill the first, and the next him, and so on,
and the last should kill himself. The providence
tof God preserved Josephus and another to the last
lot; and when all the rest were killed, Josephus
persuaded him to yield himself up to the Romans,
and so they two escaped with their lives ; by which
remarkable providence he was preserved to write
this history.
III. It seems very plain, from this relation which
Josephus gives, that the Jewish nation were re
markably devoted by God to destruction, and most
fatally hardened and blinded to their own ruin.
This Josephus every where takes notice of, that
there was a sad and black fate hung over the na
tion, and God seemed to have determined their ruin.
And after the destruction of Jerusalem, when the
castle of Massada was besieged by the Romans,
Eleazer, the governor, in his speech to the soldiers,
reckons up the sad symptoms of God's displeasure
against them ; and tells them, that from the begin
ning of the war it was easy for any one to conjec
ture, that God in great wrath had devoted the na
tion, which he formerly loved, t© destruction.
And indeed all along the hand of God was very
visible against them ; for when, in the beginning of
their rebellion, Cestus Gallus, the Roman com-

520
mander, had an opportunity to have taken Jerusa
lem, and to have put an end to the war ; Josephus
tells us, that God, being angry with them, would
not permit it, but did reserve them for a greater and
sadder destruction. And afterward, when Vespa
sian renewed the war against them, Josephus tells
us, that he used all kind of earnest persuasion with
his countrymen to prevent their ruin, by submitting
to the Roman government ; but they were obstinate,
and would not hearken to any moderate counsels.
And when the sedition of the zealots began in Je
rusalem, Josephus takes notice, that all the wisest
men among them, and those who were most likely,
by their interest and moderation, to have saved the
city, were first of all cut off by the zealots, so that
there were none left to persuade the people to mo
derate things.
They provoked the Romans against them all
manner of ways ; their seditions among themselves
continued when the enemy was before their walls;
and when in probability they might have held out
so long as to have wearied the Romans, by their
own seditions they burnt all their granaries, and
provisions of corn, and magazines of arms, as if they
had consulted the advantage of the Romans against
themselves ; and which, was very remarkable, Jose
phus tells us, that before the siege the fountain bf
Siloam was almost dried up, and all the springs
about Jerusalem, so that water bore a great price ;
but as soon as Titus came before Jerusalem, the
springs broke out again, and there was never greater
plenty ; which if it had not happened, the Roman
armies could very hardly have subsisted. And
after the temple was destroyed, when Titus would
have given John and Simon, and the rest of the zea-

521
lots, their lives, they would not submit, but were all
destroyed by their own obstinacy. At Massada,
rather than yield to the Romans, nine hundred men,
women, and children, killed one another; so that
when the Romans entered the castle, they found
them all dead, except one woman and a child that
had hidden themselves.
Philostratus tells us, that when some of the nearer
nations would have crowned Titus for his victories
over the Jews, he refused it, saying, That he deserved
nothing upon that account, for it was not his work,
but God had made him the instrument of his wrath
against that people. So that there were never
greater acknowledgments of a Divine hand against
any people, than at this time against the Jews. Ne
ver was there greater courage and contempt of death
in any people, and yet they were conquered by
numbers much inferior tb them. Never was any
soldier so merciful as Titus was, artd so solicitous
to have spared the effusion of blood ; and yet he
was necessitated, against his nature, to exercise
great cruelties towards them. Many times he en
deavoured, by the most severe inhibitions, to re
strain the cruelties of the soldiers towards them ;
and when he found that they ripped open the
bowels of the Jews who fled out of Jerusalem, in
hopes to find gold which they had swallowed, he
was much enraged against the soldiers, and would
have put all to death that were engaged in that
cruelty, but that he found them so many; and not
withstanding this, when he forbade the like cruelty
to be exercised for the future, under the most se
vere penalties, yet Josephus says that the soldiers
did not forbear privately to do it ; and though, in
other cases, such a severe prohibition would have
vol. ix. 2 Kt

522
taken place ; yet, says he, because God had devoted
that people to ruin, all the ways which Titus used
for the saving of them, turned to their destruction,
(lib. vi. cap. 15.) Nay, there was as much blood
shed by the dissensions among themselves, between
those who desired peace with the Romans, and those
that would not hearken t© it, as by the Romans.
So much reason was there for that passionate wish
of our Saviour's concerning Jerusalem, " Oh ! that
thou hadst known, in this thy day, the things which
belong to thy peace ! but now they are hid from
thine eyes." Never was any nation so infatuated;
never were the things that tended to peace so
strangely hidden from any people as from the Jews.
IV. It must needs be, that it was for some very
great sin that God sent those dreadful calamities
upon that nation. Josephus says, that it was sure
for some greater impiety than that nation were
guilty of, when they were carried away captive to
Babylon. Nay, he says that the sins of Sodom and
Gomorrah were but small in comparison of those
the Jews were guilty of ; so that he says, that they
were so ripe for destruction, that if the Roman army
had not come when it did, he did verily believe that
either an earthquake would have swallowed up the
city, or a deluge overflown them, or fire from heaven
have consumed them ; which is very much the same
with that the apostle says of them, (1 Thess. ii. 16.)
that they were " filling up the measure of their
sins, that wrath might come upon them to the ut
termost." Now what can we imagine their great sin should
be at that time? All along the history of the Old
Testament, usually, the great sin whereby they pro
voked God was their idolatry, for which God sent

523
many judgments upon them, and at last sold them
into captivity. But when this desolation came upon
them, and for a long time before, even ever after the
captivity, they had been free from that great trans
gression, and were mightily bent against idolatry, so
that they would rather die than commit that sin.
The account which Josephus gives of their sin,
was their intestine seditions, and the cruelties and
profanations of the temple that were consequent
upon them. But that this could not be the original
provocation, is plain, because, by the acknowledg
ment of Josephus and the Jews themselves, this was
the greatest judgment and calamity that came upon
them ; yea, much greater than any thing which they
suffered by the Romans ; yea, so great, that it ren
dered them the pity of their very enemies ; and when
the Romans would have granted peace to them,
and gladly have put an end to those miseries they
saw them involved in, yet they continued their in
testine seditions, and would not betaken off from
destroying one another.
Let them then give us any probable account, for
what great sin it was, that God first gave them up-
to this great judgment of an indus'trious endeavour
to destroy one another ; or if they cannot, let them
believe the account which the history of the New
Testament gives of it, and the truth whereof was so
remarkably confirmed by the fulfilling of our Sa
viour's predictions against them. The apostle gives
a clear account of their sin in the forementioned
place, (1 Thess. ii. 15, 16.) that it was because " they
had killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets,
and persecuted the apostles :" by these steps they
" filled up their sins, and wrath came upon them to
the uttermost."
2 m 2

524
V. The punishment that was inflicted upon them
hath very shrewd marks and signatures upon it, from
which it is easy to conjecture, for what sin it was
that they were thus punished. TituS laid his siege
to Jerusalem at the very same time and season that
the Jews crucified Christ, namely, at the time of the
passover ; and the very day that he began his siege,
he crucified one before their walls, and afterward,
almost the only cruelty that the Romans exercised
towards them by the command and permission of
Titus, was crucifixion ; insomuch that sometimes
five hundred were crucified in a day, till they wanted
wood for crosses. So that they who earnestly cried
out against our Saviour," Crucify, crucify," had atlast
enough, God made them " eat the fruit of their own
ways, and filled them with their own devices ;" and
they who had bought Christ for thirty pieces of sil
ver, were afterwards themselves sold at a lower
rate. VI. Their religion was remarkably struck at, and
affronted, as if God intended to put an end to that
dispensation, and to abrogate their law. Most of
their great calamities happened to them upon the
sabbath-day, and upon their great festivals. Cestius
Gallus sat down with his army before Jerusalem ou
the sabbath. Titus besieged them at the time of
the passover. And Jerusalem was taken (as Di6,
in his Roman history, observes) on the sabbath-day,
that day for which the Jews have so great a venera
tion. The zealots profaned the temple by making
it a garrison, and by the rapine and bloodshed com
mitted in it ; they brought the priesthood into con
tempt, by choosing the meanest of the people into the
highest offices; they turned the materials of the
temple into instruments of war. The Romans them-

525
selves were as much grieved to see how the Jews
profaned the temple, as the Jews themselves ought
¦to have been if it had been so profaned by the
Romans ; they are the very words of Josephus.
And though Titus gave express orders, and used
great endeavours to have saved the temple, and
hazarded himself to have quenched it when it was
on fire ; yet he could not do it, but it was burnt to
the ground : and afterward, when the priests came
to him, and supplicated to him for their lives, con
trary to his usual clemency, he commanded them
to be slain, saying they came too. late; that it was
fit they should perish with the temple, and now that
was destroyed, for the sake of which they should
have been saved, he saw no reason to spare them.
Afterward the Roman ensigns were set up upon the
ruins of the temple, and the soldiers sacrificed to
them ; and their law was carried in triumph at Rome
before Vespasian and Titus.
These were as great signs as could be, that God
had a design to abrogate and put a period to that
administration ; especially if we take in this, which
Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen historian, tells
us, that this temple could never be rebuilt, though it
was attempted by the Jews several times, and that
whenever they went about to lay the foundation,
fire broke out of the foundation, and consumed the
workmen.
' I will add but one circumstance more, to shew
that that dispensation was at an end. God seemed
to have wholly given over his particular care of that
people, and to have no longer regard to the covenant
made with them, in which he had promised, that
when they came up three times a year, from all parts
of the land, to serve the Lord, he would so order

526
things by his providence, that the enemy should
make no advantage of their absence from their bor
ders ; nay, the enemy should not then desire their
land ; and yet, notwithstanding this, at the time of
the passover, when the whole nation were met at
Jerusalem, Titus came upon them, and enclosed
them all in the city.
VII. And lastly, Consider how God hath pursued
the Jews with great severity ever since, making them
to be stigmatized and hated in all nations ; great
Cruelties and oppressions have frequently been ex
ercised towards them ; and, by a strange providence,
God hath kept them distinct from other people, that
they might remain as a monument of his displeasure ;
and considering how other colonies of people have
fallen in, and been mixed with the inhabitants in an
age or two, so as they never could be kept distinct
for any long time ; that the Jews for sixteen hundred
years should still remain so, as it is an argument of
the special providence of God, so it is one of the
most material aud standing evidences of the truth
of our religion, that they should remain still as wit
nesses ofthe Old Testament; and as monuments of
the destruction of Jerusalem, and the fierce wrath
which God executed upon them for the crucifying
of Christ.
Upon the whole matter, if so particular a predic
tion as this of our Saviour's concerning the destruc
tion of Jerusalem, so punctually answered by the
event, be not an argument of Divine inspiration, then
there can be no evidence of any such thing as a
spirit of prophecy. For what greater evidence of a
true prophet, than to foretell so many things, so con
tingent and improbable ; all which have accordingly
afterward fallen out, just as they were foretold ?

527
Suppose the Jews say true, that Jesus Christ was
an impostor, and consequently justly put to death
by them ; what greater reflection upon the provi
dence of God can be imagined, than that this person
should be permitted to foretell, that such and such
calamities should befal those that had put him to
death, as a punishment upon them for that sin ; and
afterward all this should happen in so remarkable a
manner, as the world cannot give the like instance?
Is it in the least credible, that the Divine Providence
should permit such things, as of necessity will give
credit to an impostor, and would be good evidence,
to a prudent and considerate man, that he was di
vinely inspired ?
I have now done with the fourth head of our Sa
viour's predictions, namely, his prophecy of the de
struction of Jerusalem ; which I have been the
longer upon, because it is so considerable an evi
dence of the truth of our religion, and so strong an
argument against the Jews, that, if they are not
wrought upon by the consideration of the accom
plishment of this prediction of our Saviour's, and
the great severity of God still continued towards
that nation, it can be ascribed to nothing but the
just judgment of God, still hiding the things of
their peace from their eyes, and giving them up to
the same kind of fatal hardness aud blindness, which
sixteen hundred years ago was the cause of their
destruction. There remains yet one instance more of our Sa
viour's prophetic spirit, which I must reserve for
another discourse.

SERMON CCXL.
THE EVIDENCES OF THE TRUTH OF THE CHRISTr
IAN RELIGION.
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost : in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not", lest the light of
the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them. — 2 Cor, iv. 3, 4.
I am still upon the fourth evidence, which those
who lived in our Saviour's time had of his Divine
authority, viz. the spirit of prophecy, proved to be
in him, and made good by the accomplishment of
his predictions. Four instances I have already
given, and now proceed to the
Fifth and last instance I shall give of our Sa
viour's prophetic spirit, viz. in those predictions
which foretell the fate of the gospel iu the world ;
what discouragements and difficulties the first pub
lishers ofthe gospel should meet with from the per
secutions which the powers of the world should stir
up against them, and from the rising of false Christs
and false prophets ; what assistance they should
find in the carrying on the work ; and what success
the gospel should have, notwithstanding the opposi
tion that should be made against it, I shall speak
briefly to these.
I. What discouragements and difficulties the first
publishers of the gospel should' meet with. Our
Saviour foretells two great discouragements.
lf From the persecutions which the powers ofthe

5%9
world should stir up against them. This our Sa
viour gave his disciples early notice of, when he first
called them together, and sent them forth, (Matt. x.
16 — 18.) " Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the
midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents,
and harmless as doves. But beware of men ; for
they will deliver you up to the councils, and they
will scourge you in their synagogues. And ye shall
be brought before governors and kings for my sake."
And, (ver. 21, 22.) " And the brother shall deliver
up the brother to death, and the father the child :
and the children shall rise up against their parents,
and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall
be bated of all men for my name's sake." And that
the disciples might not be surprised with this, when
it should happen, as an unexpected thing, a little
before his death, when he foretold the destruction
of Jerusalem, he repeats this prediction to them
again, as you may see. Matt. xxiv. 9. " Then
they shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall
kill you : and ye shall be hated of all nations for my
name's sake." And (Luke xxi. 12.) " But before
all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and
persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues,
and into prisons, being brought before kings and
rulers for my name's sake."
And all this we find punctually fulfilled in those
persecutions that they met with at Jerusalem, and
in other places wherever they went to preach the
gospel, as you may read at large in the history of
the Acts of the Apostles. And afterward iu the
persecutions raised against the Christians by the
Roman emperors, where all kinds of cruelties and
tortures were exercised upon them, and the Christ
ians killed by thousands in a day, as if they would

5^0
have destroyed the very name of Christ Out of the
world, as every one knows that is acquainted with
ecclesiastical history.
Particularly he foretold the two sons of Zebedee,
James and John, that they should be put to death.
Matt. xx. 23. saith he unto them, " Ye shall drink
indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the bap
tism that I am baptized with." And this accord
ingly happened to them ; for we find (Acts xii. 2.)
that James was slain by Herod. Indeed St. John
lived a great while after, as our Saviour foretold,
(John xxi. 22.) that John should tarry till he
came ; that is, he should live till the destruction of
Jerusalem, which is very frequently in the evange
lists called " Christ's coming ;" and so he did, and at
last was put to death by the sword, as St. Chrysos
tom saith ; though Justin, Irenaeus, Clemens Alex-
andrinus, say nothing of it ; and Origen and Tertul-
lian say he died another death. v
He likewise foretold Peter what kind of death he
should die; namely, that when he was old, he
should be crucified : (John xxi. 18, 19.) " Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou
girdedstthyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest;
but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth
thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry
thee whither thou wouldest not." And the evange
list adds, " This spake he, signifying by what death
he should glorify God." And accordingly, he was
crucified about forty years after, as Eusebius tells
us, and several of the fathers.
2. Another great discouragement which our Sa
viour foretold they should meet with in the publish
ing of the gospel, was, from the rising of false Christs
and false prophets. This our Saviour foretells, in

531
the 24th of St. Matthew, verse 5—24, That many
should come in his name, and should deceive
many; that there should " arise false Christs and
false prophets, and shew great signs and wonders ;
insomuch, that, if it were possible, they should de
ceive the very elect." And this I have already
shewn was fulfilled in those many impostors that
rose up among the Jews, pretending themselves to
be Messiases, and drawing many people after them,
both before and after the destruction of Jerusalem ;
and in Simon, and the other heads of the gnostic
sect, who did great prejudice to Christianity, by
" turning the grace of God into wantonness," and
abusing the holy doctrine of our Saviour to all man
ner of licentiousness, and drawing of Christians, not
only to loose and filthy practices, but to a denial of
the gospel for fear of persecution, and at last to
join with the heathens in the persecuting ofthe
Christians. II. Our Saviour likewise foretold what assistance
the apostles should fiud in the carrying on their
work. He promised that he would be with them
in the preaching of the gospel, (Matt, xxviii. 20.)
More particularly before his ascension, he told theni
that they should receive power by the coming of
the Holy Ghost upon them, whereby they should be
qualified to be witnesses unto him, in Judea, and
Jerusalem, and Samaria, and to the utmost parts
of the earth, (Acts i: 8.) And (Matt. x. 19, 20.)
our Saviour promiseth that his Spirit should direct
them what to say, when they should be accused
before kings and governors: " When they deliver
you up, take no thought how or what ye shall
speak : for it shall be given you in that same hour
what ye shall speak : for it is not you that speak ;

532
but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh ia
you." And again to the same purpose, he encou-
rageth them a little before his death : (Luke xxi.
14, 15.) " Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to
meditate before what ye shall answer : for I will give
you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adver
saries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist."
And all this we find was made good to them after
our Saviour's ascension. They were wonderfully
assisted, and carried on above themselves in the
preaching of the gospel. So the evangelist St.
Mark tells us, (Mark xvi. 20.) that the apostles
" went forth and preached every where, the Lord
working with them, and confirming the word with
signs following." And all along in the history of
the Acts, we find, that they were extraordinarily
strengthened and assisted in the publishing ofthe
gospel. And particularly our Saviour's prediction
and promise were made good to St. Stephen, of
whom it is said, (Acts vi. 10.) that when he was dis
puting with the Jews, " they were not able to resist
the wisdom and the spirit by which he spake."
III. Our Saviour foretold also what success the
gospel should have, notwithstanding all the oppo
sition that should be made against it ; that it should
be " published in all nations ;" (Matt. xxiv. 14.)
and in despite of all the malice ofthe Jews, and the
potent opposition that the gentiles should make
against the publishers of the gospel, they should
" make disciples in every nation, and bear witness
unto Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth :"
(Matt, xxviii. 19. and Acts i. 8.) that he would
" build his church Upon a rock, and the gates of
hell should not prevail against it:" (Matt. xvi. 18.)
aud this we find was done with great success, both

533
among the Jews and gentiles, as appears out of the
history of the Acts of the Apostles, and other his
tories ofthe first ages ofthe church.
Particularly our Saviour foretold, that that act of
kindness which Mary shewed to him, in anointing
his head with precious ointment, should be remem
bered wherever the gospel was preached: (Matt.
xxvi. 13.) " Verily, I say unto you, Wheresoever
this gospel shall be preached in the whole world,
there shall also this, that this woman hath done, be
told for a memorial of her." And accordingly this
little particular history hath every where been pro
pagated with the gospel, and the fame of it hath
spread as far as the notice of Christianity.
And thus I have done with the fourth and last
evidence Of our Saviour's Divine authority, namely,
the prophetic spirit, which was proved to be in him,
aiid made good by the punctual accomplishment of
his predictions. I shall only shew that these in
stances which I have given, are clear arguments of
a prophetic spirit in our Saviour. And this will
appear, if we consider these two things :
First, That all these things which our Saviour
foretold, were purely contingent in respect of us,
that is, there was no necessity that they should come
to pass; and consequently nothing but infinite
knowledge could certainly foresee that they would.
Secondly, All or most of them were not only
contingent, but exceedingly unlikely ; there was no
probability that they should happen ; and, conse
quently, no one could reasonably and prudently
have foreseen that they would. And these two
things being made out, will abundantly evidence,
that the foretelling of these things doth argue a
prophetic spirit in our Saviour ; and consequently

534
his Divine authority. Things that have necessary
causes, if those causes be evident, any one may
foretell that they will be; things that are probable,
and likely to happen, every prudent man may rea
sonably conjecture that they will be, and conse
quently may in many cases successfully foretell them
without a spirit of prophecy : but such things as in
respect of us are purely contingent, and depend
upon no necessary causes we know of, especially if
they be withal unlikely to come to pass, no man
can foretell but by the inspiration of that Spirit,
whose infinite wisdom knows all things ; and this
is the true reason why the foretelling of future con
tingents hath always been looked upon as an argu
ment of inspiration.
First, These things which our Saviour foretold
were purely contingent ; that is, there was no neces
sity in human reason that they should come to pass:
and consequently no man without inspiration could
certainly foretell them. Those things are said to be
contingent in respect of us, which have no necessary
cause that we know of; particularly those things
which depend upon the will of free agents, either
the will of men, or of God. And such were those
things which our Saviour foretold ; many of them
depended upon the will of men, whether they should
happen or not, supposing the permissive will of God,
that is, that God had determined not to interpose
and hinder them.
The death of Christ, with all the wicked and
opprobrious circumstances of it, depended upon
the will of men ; and therefore it was a thing that
no man could foresee whether it would be or not.
So likewise the resistance and opposition that were
made to the gospel by the persecutions of men, and

535
the malice of false prophets, did depend upon the
wills of men.
But many of these events depended purely upon
the will of God, which no man could foreknow,
unless he did reveal it to him ; and if he did, this
was an argument of inspiration, which is the thing
we are contending for. Of this kind were the resur
rection of our Saviour from the dead; his being
taken up into heaven ; the miraculous powers and
gifts wherewith the apostles and primitive Christians
were endowed ; the fatal destruction of Jerusalem
and the Jewish nation, contrary to the design of
those who brought it. to pass; the prevalency of
the gospel in the world, in despite of all opposition
made against it. All these were brought to pass in
a more immediate manner by the power of God,
and therefore depended purely upon his will.
Secondly, Most ofthe things which our Saviour
foretold, were not only purely contingent in respect
of us, and therefore could not without inspiration
be certainly foreseen ; but were also exceedingly
unlikely and improbable in themselves, and there
fore could not so much as prudently have been con
jectured. And to make this out more fully, I shall
run over the several instances of our Saviour's pre
dictions, and shew how unlikely the things which
he foretold were to have come to pass: and if this
appear, it must be granted that our Saviour was a
prophet. 1. Our Saviour's prediction concerning his own
death and sufferings was a thing very unlikely to
have come to pass. It was very likely that the
pharisees and chief priests, whose interest was so
much struck at, should have malice enough against
him to design his ruin ; but that ever they should

536
have accomplished it without a popular tumult and
sedition, was very unlikely, considering the esteem
and favour he had among the people. Who could
have believed that the Jews, who had seen so many
miracles, and received so great benefits by them,
who were such admirers of his doctrine, and so as
tonished at it, who would have made him king,
should ever have consented to have put him to death?
Who could have thought that so soon after they had
so unanimously brought him to Jerusalem in tri
umph with such hosannahs and acclamations, the
same people should have been so eager t© have him
crucified ? I know there is nothing more inconstant
than the giddy and fickle multitude ; nothing less to
be relied upon than the opinion and applause of the
people : but because the humour of the people is so
uncertain, therefore, for this reason, it was hard to
prophesy what they would do. And nothing was
more improbable than that any should certainly fore
tell where this humour would at last fix and settle.
Nay, it was very unlikely that they, who had been
raised to so great and just an esteem of him, from a
clear conviction of his innocence and holiness, and
of the Divine power which attended him, should
have had either the wickedness or the confidence to
have gone about to compass the death of so inno
cent and Divine a person.
And it is very remarkable, that this was a thing so
incredible to the disciples, that though our Saviour
did several times, in the plainest words that could
be, tell them of his death and sufferings, yet they
could not understand it; that is, it could by no
means sink into them, they could not apprehend
that ever any such thing should come to pass; (Mark
ix. 31, 32.) " For he taught his disciples, and said

537
unto them; The Son of man is delivered into the
hands of men, and they shall kill him, and after that
he is killed he shall rise the third day. But they
understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask
him." And (Luke ix. 43 — 45.) after our Saviour had
done a great miracle, it is said, " they were all
amazed at the mighty power of God : but while they
wondered every one at all things which Jesus did,
he said unto his disciples, Let these sayings sink
down into your ears : for the Son of man shall be
delivered into the hands of men. But they under
stood not this saying, and it was hid from them,
that they perceived it not ; and they feared to ask
him of that saying." They looked upon it as a thing
incredible, that he, who did such works, and was at
tended with such Divine power, should ever be " de
livered into the hands of men :" if men should be so
malicious as to design his death, yet it was not cre
dible that God should give up such a person into
their hands. And again, a little before his suffer
ings, he inculcates this more particularly upon them,
(Luke xviii. 31 — 34.) "Then he took unto him the
twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the
prophets concerning the Son of man shall be ac
complished. For he shall be delivered unto the
gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully en
treated, and spit upon ; and they shall scourge him,
and put him to death." And then it is said of the
disciples, that "they understood none of these things,
and this saying was hid from them, neither knew
they the things which were spoken." What was the
matter ? Could any thing have been said in plainer
words, than our Saviour's declaring this to them ?
No, certainly, they understood very well the mean-
vol. ix. 2 n

538
ing of those words ; for it is said, (Matt. xvii. 23.)
that " when he said this to them, they were exceed
ing sorry/' they were very much troubled to hear
him say this; they understood very well what the
words signified, and they were troubled at the first
appearance and literal sense of them ; but it seems
they took them to be a parable, and to haye some
allegorical meaning hidden under them ; for they
could not imagine, that ever they should be literally
true. And, that this was their apprehension, seems
to be sufficiently intimated by both the evangelists,
St. Mark and St. Luke, who, after they had told us
that " the disciples understood not this saying," they
immediately add, that " they feared to ask Christ of
this saying;" that is, they did not understand whe
ther they were to take this saying in the obvious and
literal sense of it; or to look upon it as an allegory,
or a parable that had some hidden sense; but being
troubled at the saying, because the literal and obvi
ous sense had a great deal of horror, they were
afraid to ask our Saviour the meaning of it, (as they
used always to ask him the meaning of his para
bles) for fear he should tell them that he intended it
literally. Now from this it appears, how unlikely
it seemed to the disciples, thait our Saviour should
suffer such things as he foretold of himself.
2. Our Saviour's predictions concerning his rising
again out of the grave the third day ; concerning
his being taken up into heaven ; concerning the de
scent of the Holy Ghost upon the apostles, in such
miraculous powers and gifts after his ascension, were
all things very unlikely and incredible, because so
exceeding strange, and above the common course
of nature. We look upon it as a wonderful thing
for a man certainly to foretell an ordinary thing : but

539
if any man should tell us, that, after he was dead*
and had Iain three days in the grave, he should rise
again, and be visibly taken up into heaven, and from
thence bestow miraculous gifts upon men, and this
should accordingly gome to pass; it were impossi
ble not to think this man a prophet.
3. Our Saviour's prediction concerning the fatal
destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish nation, was
very unlikely. But this I spake to at large, when I
explained the prophecy.
4. The fate which our Saviour foretold the gospel
should have in the world, was a thing very improba
ble. That it should meet with great opposition and
persecution was not strange; nothing being more
likely than that a religion which was new to the
world, so contrary to the principles of those who
had been educated in another religion, and so oppo
site to the interests of men, should be opposed and
resisted to the utmost :, but then there are these three
things very strange, which our Saviour foretold
should attend the publication of the gospel.
(1.) That an action of no greater consideration
than that was of Mary's anointing our Lord's head,
and done privately, should be celebrated through
the world in all ages ; and the memory of it should
be as far, and as long propagated, as the most fa
mous actions of the greatest prince that ever was in
the world.
(2.) This was strange and unlikely, which our
Saviour likewise foretold, that false Christs, and
false prophets and teachers, should arise after his
death ; that, after the Jews had been so severe to our
Saviour, for giving out himself to be the Messias,
though he gave such convincing evidence of it, this
should not deter counterfeits from assuming so dan-
2n2

540
gerpus a person ; and that when Christianity was
persecuted,- .there should arise false apostles, and
false teachers, that should pretend to Christianity,
when it was so odious a profession, that any should
be found that should dissemble in a matter so full
of hazard and danger; this was very strange and
unlikely. But, because this prediction of our Saviour's con
cerning false Christs and false prophets is aspersed
by the atheists, and particularly by Vaninus, as one
of the most cunning and crafty actions that our Sa
viour did ; as if, after he had let himself into a re
putation and esteem in the world, he had designed
by this prediction to bolt the door against all others ;
therefore it will be requisite that I speak a little
more particularly to this.
I. It is acknowledged by the atheists themselves,
particularly by Vaninus, that it does not appear that
our Saviour carried on any worldly design. Why
then should he be suspected of it in this matter,
which is capable of a good interpretation, when his
whole life, and all the actiqns of it, do clear him of
any such suspicion ? But because it is said, that
though he carried on no design for riches and power,
yet he had a deep design to gain reputation and fame
to himself in after-ages ; therefore I shall add one or
two considerations more, to shew how unreasona
ble, and how perfectly malicious, this jealousy is.
2. Let us consider, then, that this predictiori of
his would either be accomplished or not ; but whe
ther it was, or wasnot, it can be no argument of any
design of vain-glory. „.If it had not come to pass (as
I have shewn it was very unlikely it should, espe
cially within the compass of the time which he had
prefixed for it) then he had been a false prophet, and

* 541
so he had lost his reputation, by the very means
whereby he intended to have established it, which I
do not understand the craft and cunning of: for ei
ther he knew certainly that it would come to pass,
or not ; if he did, he was a true prophet ; if he did
not, he did not do politicly, in putting his reputation
upon such a hazard.
3. If we suppose him, as this objection does, to
have been an impostor, and consequently not to
have believed his own doctrine of the immortality
ofthe soul, and another life after this; what an ap
parent madness had it been to neglect the present
advantages of this world, which he was capable of
enjoying ; and to lay out for a fame and reputation,
after he was dead and extinguished, and conse
quently when he should not be capable of having
any sense and enjoyment of it !
And the instance of the Romans, who ventured
their lives out of vain-glory, to get a name after
they were dead, will avail nothing in this case :
because it plainly appears from all the heathen
writers, that they did this upon a presumption of
their immortality, and a persuasion that they should
live in another world, and enjoy the pleasure ofthe
fame by which their names should be celebrated in
this world : but had they not been persuaded of
this, it would have been the greatest folly in the
world, to have ventured their lives to gain a fame
after death, and to be spoken of with honour when
they were not, and consequently could take no
pleasure in it. This may suffice to be said in short,
to this malicious and absurd- objection. But,
(3.) This was strange and unlikely, that the gospel
should have such success in the world. And the
more likely it was that it should meet with so much

542
opposition and resistance, the more unlikely was it
that it should prevail, especially by such means and
in such manner as it did ; that a few unlearned men,
destitute bf secular arts and learning, opposed by all
the wit and power that the world could exert, should
be able in the space of a few years to propagate and
plant all over the known world a doctrine so de
spised and persecuted, so contrary to the almost ¦
invincible prejudice of education in another religion,
so opposite to those two great governors of the
world, the lusts and the interests of men ; nothing
could have been foretold so unlikely and improba
ble as this is ; especially if we take in this, that the
chief instrument of spreading this doctrine in the •
world was the fiercest opposer and persecutor of
it, I mean St. Paul, who, by a light and voice from
heaven, was taken off from persecuting Christianity,
and became the most active and zealous instrument
of its propagation. The wonderful success and
prevalency ofthe gospel by such means, and in such
circumstances of difficulty, and potent opposition
made against it, are a plain indication, that this
doctrine was assisted and countenanced from Hea
ven ; that " it was of God, and therefore could not
be overthrown." Nothing but the mighty force of
truth could, naked and unarmed, have done such
wonders in the world.
And thus I have, I hope, fully shewn that those
who lived in the age of our Saviour, were capable
of haying sufficient assurance, that Jesus Christ,
who declared the Christian religion to the world,
was sent of God : from the prophecies concern
ing him ; the testimonies that were given him by
an immediate yoice from heaven ; the miracles
that Were wrought by him, and on his behalf;

543
and by the prophetic spirit, that gave evidence of
his inspiration. And if any one doubt whether he
gave these testimonies of his Divine authority to
the world, let him consider that it is almost as great
a miracle as any of those, that a doctrine preached
by one that gave no testimony of his Divine autho
rity to the world, should be so strangely propagated,
and maintain its possession so long in the world ; I
say, let him consider this, and methinks this should
convince him ofthe truth of Christianity.

SERMON CCXIX
THE EVIDENCE of the truth of the christian
RELIGION.
Jiut if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image
of God, should shine unto them. — -2 Cor. iv. 3, 4.
In discoursing of the evidence of our Saviour's
Divine authority, I proposed the considering three
things. First, What evidence they had who heard the
doctrine ofthe gospel immediately from our Saviour.
Secondly, What evidence they had who received
this doctrine by the preaching ofthe apostles.
Thirdly, What evidence after-ages have until the
present time.
The first of these I have handled at large ; and
now proceed to the
Second, viz. T© consider what assurance those
who heard the doctrine of Christ from the apostles
were capable of having concerning his Divine autho
rity: and of this I shall give you an account in
these three particulars :
, First, They had all the assurance concerning
this matter which men can have of any thing from
the testimony of credible eye and ear-witnesses.
Secondly, They had this testimony confirmed by
miracles*

545
Thirdly > They had yet a farther evidence of the
divinity of this doctrine, from the wonderful pre
valency and success of it, by such improbable and
unlikely means.
First, Those who received the doctrine of Christ
from the apostles, had all the assurance of Christ's
Divine authority that men can have of any thing
from the testimony of credible eye and ear-wit
nesses. The apostles who immediately conversed
with our Saviour, and heard his doctrine, and saw
his miracles, they had the testimony of their own
senses for his Divine authority ; they heard and saw
the attestations which God gave to him ; and those
to whom the apostles preached, received all this
from them, as from eye and ear-witnesses. S© that
those who received the doctrine of Christ from the
apostles, had all the arguments which the apostles
had, to satisfy them concerning Christ's Divine
authority, only they were not conveyed to them in
so immediate a manner. The apostles saw and heard
those things themselves, which gave them satisfaction
that Jesus Christ came from God : those to whom
the apostles preached, received these things from
their testimony.
And this also was a sufficient ground of assurance,
as will clearly appear, if we can make out these two
things. I. That the apostles were credible witnesses.
And, II. That if they were so, then their testimony was
sufficient to persuade belief.
I. That the apostles were credible witnesses. Of
their knowledge there can be no question, because
they gave testimony only of what themselves had
seen and heard : so that if they falsified in any

546
thing, it could not be for want of sufficient know
ledge, but for want of fidelity. Now those who
heard them, had all the arguments that could be
to satisfy them of their fidelity. They delivered
things plainly, and without artificial insinuations ;
they all agreed in their testimony, and were al
ways constant to themselves in the same relation;
there was no visible interest to sway them in the
least to falsify against their knowledge; they gained
nothing by it ; nay, so far were they from that,
that they run themselves hereby upon the greatest
-hazards and disadvantages; and, which is the high
est evidence that this world can give of any man's
sincerity, they ventured their lives for this testi
mony, and sealed it with their blood. For though
martyrdom be no sufficient argument ofthe truth of
that for which a man lays down his life, yet it is a
very good argument of a man's sincerity; it sig
nifies that a mjfn is in earnest, and believes him
self; and if the thing be not true, yet that he thinks
it to be so, otherwise he would not have died for it:
s© that if We have no reason to doubt of the know
ledge of those witnesses, (as certainly we have no
reason, the things which they testified being plain
matters, what they saw and heard, in which every
man knows whether he speaks truth or not ; I say,
if we have no reason to doubt of their knowledge)
we cannot question their integrity and sincerity,
having the highest evidence of that which this world
can afford ; for there cannot be a better argument
ofthe integrity of witnesses, than to lay down their
lives for their testimony. „
II. If the apostles were credible witnesses, then
was their testimony sufficient to persuade belief.
For what gredter evidence can any man have of

547
any thing which himself has not seen, than to re
ceive it from credible eye-witnesses ; that is, from
such persons as we have all the reason in the world
to judge worthy of credit ? This evidence men are
contented to accept in other cases, as sufficient to
induce belief; and if we will not accept it in matters
of religion, we are very partial and unjust. We find
that upon the evidence of credible witnesses men
generally proceed with good assurance in human
affairs : the chief temporal interests of men, of their
estates and reputation, and lives, are determined
upon no better evidence than this. Now if in mat
ters of religion we will reject the evidence which
shall be sufficient to sway our assent in other things,
it is a plain sign that we have less mind to religion
than to other things ; that we have some interest
or pique against it; otherwise we would not refuse
to yield an equal assent, where the evidence is
equal. This reason tells us ; and our Saviour in effect
says the same thing, when he chargeth those who
rejected this evidence of credible witnesses with the
sin of unbelief: (Mark xvi. 14.) " Afterward he
appeared unto the eleven, as they sat at meat, and
upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness
of heart, because they believed not them which had
seen him after he was risen." But now if the testi
mony of credible witnesses be not sufficient ground
of faith, it could have been no sin in the disciples,
not to believe those who had seen Christ risen from
the dead.
Secondly, Those who received the doctrine of
Christ from the apostles, had not only the testi
mony of credible witnesses, but they had this tes
timony confirmed by miracles. Because the apostles

548
were to go abroad into the world, and to preach to
many who never saw nor knew them before, and
consequently had no reason at first to believe their
testimony, till they were satisfied of the value ofthe
witnesses ; and this would require long time and
frequent conversation, so thatifhe gospel must have
made but a very slow progress at this rate: and be
cause they were like to meet with great opposition
from the powers and wits of the world, from the
prejudices, of education, and from the lusts and in
terests of men ; therefore, for the speedier and more
effectual propagation of the gospel, God was
pleased to confirm this testimony by miracles, to
endue those who were to preach the gospel to the
world, with miraculous powers and gifts, of speak
ing all languages, and healing diseases, and casting
out devils ; of foretelling things to come, and rais
ing the dead ; that, being accompanied with these
visible and sensible signs of the Divine presence
and power, their testimony might more easily be
believed. And that this was the end of those miraculous
gifts of the Holy Ghost, the Scripture frequently
tells us. Hence it is that our Saviour forbade them
to preach the gospel abroad, till they were fur
nished with this power, (Luke xxiv. 49.) " But tarry
ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with
power from on high." And (Acts i. 8 ) our Saviour
tells the apostles before his ascension, " But ye
shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is
come upon you ; aud ye shall be witnesses unto
me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria,
and to the utmost parts of the earth." This was
that which qualified them to be witnesses to Christ,
and which gave confirmation to their testimony. So

549
St. Mark tells us, (Mark xvi. 20.) " And they went
forth and preached every where, the Lord working
with them, and confirming the word with signs fol
lowing." To tke same purpose the apostle to the
Hebrews, (chap. ii. 3, 4.) speaking ofthe publishing
of the gospel, " How shall we escape, (says he) if
we neglect so great salvation, which at the first be
gan to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him ?" What was the
confirmation that was given to it? It follows in the
next words, " God also bearing them witness, both
with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles,
and gifts of the Holy Ghost." The apostles bare
witness of Christ, and God bare witness to them, by
those miraculous powers and gifts, that their testi
mony was true.
Thirdly, Those who received the doctrine of
Christ from the apostles, had yet a farther evidence
of the divinity of this doctrine, from the wonderful
success and prevalency of it, by such improbable
and unlikely means. Had the doctrine of Christ's
religion been suited to the corruptions of men, and
stolen insensibly into the world, and prevailed by
degrees in the revolution of many ages, as the hea
then superstition and idolatry did, which met with
no opposition from the lusts and interests of men,
it then had been no strange thing : or had it been
planted by power and force of arms, as the religion
of Mahomet was, then indeed the success of it had
been no argument that it was from God. Had it
been set off with all imaginable advantages of wit
and eloquence, as the philosophy of the heathens
was; and had it been entertained by a few more
sublime spirits, and those who were more studious
and contemplative, and whose understandings were

550
elevated above the common pitch, this might have
been looked upon but as human and ordinary, and
according to the common and usual course of things.
But that a doctrine which was so opposite to the
lusts and inclinations of men, which was persecuted
and opposed by all the powers of the world, and
despised and condemned by the witty part of man
kind ; that a doctrine, the profession whereof did
expose men to so many worldly inconveniences, to
so many dangers and sufferings, to derision and to
death, should be planted by a few mean and incon
siderable men, destitute of all secular power, and
advantages of human learning and eloquence; and
in so short a time be so vastly propagated, and
so generally entertained by all sorts of men, rich
and poor, philosophers and illiterate ; this was ex
traordinary, and can be attributed to nothing else
but a Divine power accompanying it, and bearing
it up against the power and malice of men. That
the doctrine of the gospel, delivered to the world by
mean persons, with so much simplicity and plain
ness, should so strangely affect the hearts of men,
and be of so admirable a force to stir up and inflame
men to piety and virtue, seems to me a very plain
argument of its divinity : for we do not find that
any doctrine that was merely human, had ever any
considerable power upon the minds of men, where
it was not set off with the arts of speech and
charms of eloquence; and then it only produceth
some present motions and heats ; but seldom hath
any lasting and permanent effect, such as the
Christian religion hath had in the world.
Thus I have shewn what assurance those who re
ceived the doctrine of the gospel from the apostles
were capable of having, concerning the divinity of

551
this doctrine, and the Divine authority of the per
sons who declared it to the world.
Thirdly, I am to consider, what assurance after-
ages, down to this day, are capable of having con
cerning this matter : and this principally concerns
us who live at the distance of so many ages from the
first revelation of the gospel. Of this I shall give
you an account in these two particulars :
First, We have an authentic and credible ac
count of this doctrine, and of the confirmation
which was in the first ages given to it, transmitted
down to us.
Secondly, The effects of this doctrine still remain
in the world.
First, We have a credible and authentic account
of this doctrine, and of the confirmation which in the
first ages was given to it* transmitted down to us.
I told you at first, that there are but these three
ways whereby we can be assured of matters of
fact. I. By the immediate testimony of our own senses,
if we ourselves be present when the thing is done or
spoken, and see and hear it1
2. By the testimony of credible eye or ear-wit
nesses of it. Or,
3. By a credible account or relation of it trans
mitted to us. And all these ways, in their kind, are
accounted sufficient to give men an undoubted
assurance of matter of fact. No man doubts of
what he himself sees or hears: men generallyr be
lieve many things which they have not opportunity
of seeing themselves, if they be attested to them by
credible eye-witnesses: and for things that were
done long ago, and which no man now alive was
witness of, men are abundantly satisfied by a credi-

55^
ble relation transmitted down to them. Upon this
account men do firmly believe, that Alexander
about two thousand years ago conquered a great
part of the world ; and that there was such a person
as Julius Caesar, who seventeen hundred years ago
conquered England ; and the like. Now if we have
the doctrine and history of the gospel, and all the
evidences of our Saviour's Divine auth©rity, con
veyed down to us, in as credible a manner as any
of these ancient matters of fact are, which mankind
do most firmly believe, then we have sufficient
ground to be assured of it.
Now there are but two ways imaginable whereby
the doctrine of Christ's religion and the evidences of
its divinity can be conveyed down to us — either by
oral report and tradition, or by books and writing.
The former of these the experience of the world
hath shewn to be very uncertain, and in the succes
sion of many ages liable to great changes and
hazard. Hence it is that the prudence of mankind,
and the necessity of human affairs, have introduced
the latter way of conveying the memory of things to
after-ages, namely, by writing and records : and the
good God likewise in his wise providence hath taken
care, that those who were eye and ear-witnesses of
our Saviour's doctrine and life, should commit to
writing the history and relation of those matters,
that so the memory of them might be preserved to
all generations ; and these books, which we call the
Holy Scriptures, are the authentic records of our
religion, without which Christian religion in proba
bility had long since either been strangely corrupted
or wholly lost out of the world. For that oral
report would not have preserved it, there is this
evidence, sufficient to convince any man that is not

55S
obstinately resolved to the contrary — that, of all the
persons that formerly lived in the world, and the
great actions that have been done, besides what are
recorded in history, and of the innumerable miracles
of our Saviour, which were not written in the books
of the gospel : I say, of all these, oral tradition hath
preserved nothing ; so that, if the doctrine of the
Christian religion, and the history of the life and
actions of our Saviour and the apostles, had not
been put into a surer way of conveyance than that
of oral tradition, in all probability before this time
there would have been left no certain monuments of
them in the world.
And, that we may understand how much these
latter ages are indebted to the wisdom and goodness
of God, that he hath furnished us with so fixed and
certain a way of being acquainted with his will, with
the doctrine and grounds of our religion, I might
represent to you what advantages this standing
revelation of the Scripture hath above that way of
oral tradition ; yea, though the revelation of the
gospel had been renewed every two or three ages.
But this has been done in some former discourses.*
I therefore proceed to the other ground of assurance,
which the ages after the apostles are capable of
having ; viz.
Secondly, The effect of this doctrine still remains
in the world. Christian religion is still professed
in several nations, and is entertained by a consider
able part of the world : and allowing for the differ
ence between tbe extraordinary assistance which at
first accompanied the gospel, and was necessary for
the planting of it, and the more human and ordinary
* See Sermons CXXVI. and CXXVII. vol. vi. p. 213, &c.
VOL. IX. 2 0

554
ways whereby it is now propagated, it hath con
siderable effects upon the hearts and lives of men.
It might justly indeed be expected, considering
the reasonableness of the Christian religion, and the
great evidence we have of the truth and divinity of
it, that it should have a greater force and power
upon men, than it hath in most parts of Christen
dom ; but we cannot reasonably expect in a prosper
ous state of Christianity, those extraordinary heats
and fervours which the primitive Christians had
whilst they were under continual persecution : we
cannot reasonably expect that unity among Christ
ians, and that they should be so generally and
universally good, as they were under a state of
persecution ; for common sufferings have a strange
force to unite men, and to endear them to one
another : in times of persecution it might be ex
pected that all or most of those who profess them
selves Christians, should be really so : when a pro
fession is dangerous to those that make it, and at
tended with persecutions, then there will be but few
pretenders to it; scarce any man will dissemble to
the hazard of his life : but when any religion flou-
risheth, and is prosperous, when it is an odious
thing, and against a man's interest, not to profess it,
then it may justly be feared that there will be great
numbers of hypocrites, of those who, in compliance
with the fashion, and the prevailing interest, will
take upon them the outward profession of it.
But, however, we see the same effects of Christi
anity still remain in the world : Christ is still owned
as the true Messias and the Son of God ; his doc
trine acknowledged to be true, and to have been
from God ; so that thus far his promise hath been
made good of " building his church upon a rock,"
and that " the gates of hell should not prevail

555
against it." That Christianity hath uninterruptedly
continued for above sixteen hundred years, is an
additional evidence ofthe divinity of this doctrine,
which the first ages of the world could not have :
only this is sadly to be bewailed, that this religion,
which hath all imaginable confirmation given to the
truth of it, should have no greater effect upon the
lives of men ; that when we have so much reason
to assent to it, yet so few can be persuaded to prac
tise it ; that when we make so many solemn pro
fessions of our belief ofthe truth of it, yet, by the
actions of our lives, we should so visibly contradict
the articles of our belief.
Thus I have gone tiirough the first thing I pro
posed to be considered in my text, viz, the full and
clear evidence which we have of the truth of the
gospel, and particularly of the Divine authority of
that person who declared the Christian religion to
the world. There are two other general heads
which the text would lead us to consider, which I
shall but briefly treat of, and so conclude this
subject. The second thing considerable in the words is,
the cause of the infidelity of men, notwithstanding
all the evidence which the gospel carries along with
it ; which the apostle expresseth in these words :
" But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost; in whom the god of this world hath blinded
the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them."
In speaking to this, I shall do these four things :
First, Shew why the iufidelity of men is attributed
to the devil, as the cause of it.
Secondly, Shew moreparticularly what influence
2o2

556
the devil hath upon the minds of men to keep them
in unbelief.
Thirdly, That this doth not excuse the infidelity
of men.
Fourthly, Shew the wickedness and unreason
ableness of infidelity.
First, Why the infidelity of men is attributed to
the devil, as the cause of it. There are two princi
ples that bear sway in the world, and have a more
immediate influence upon the mind of man ; the
Holy Spirit of God, and the devil. The former of
these is continually moving and inclining them to
good : the latter swaying and tempting' them to
evil ; and these two principles share mankind be
tween them. Hence it is that in Scripture the
Spirit of God, is said to dwell in good men ; and the
wicked and vicious part of mankind (whom the
Scripture frequently calls the world) are said to be
in the possession of the devil, and to belong to his
share and lot. Upon this account the devil is called'
in the text "the god of this world." Accordingly
St. John frequently rangeth mankind under these
two heads ; those that belong to God, and those
that belong to the devil* (1 John iii. 8.) " He that
committeth sin is of the devil : but he that commit-
teth not sin, is born of God." In the next verse he
calleth them the children of God, and the children
of the devil : " in this the children of God are mani
fest, and the children of the devil." So likewise
chap. v. 19. " And we know that we are of God,
and the whole world lieth in wickedness." Or, as
the words may be rendered more suitably to the
opposition which the apostle aims at, " the whole
world is subject to the wicked one ; we are of God,
but the rest of the world is subject to the devil."
Upon this account it is, that in the constant

55T
phrase of Scripture all good motions and inclina
tions, and all good graces and virtues, are ascribed
to the Spirit of God, as the author and worker of
them; and all wicked and vicious inclinations, all
the sins and vices of men, are attributed to the devil,
as in some sort the author and worker of them : and
because faith is the root of all other graces and
virtues, as infidelity is of sin and wickedness, there
fore faith is in a peculiar manner said to be the
work of the Holy Ghost ; and infidelity the work
of the devil. And as the Spirit of God is said " to
enlighten the understandings" of men, and " to
open their hearts that they may believe:" so the
devil is said "to blind the minds of them that be
lieve not." As the Spirit of God is said " to work
in them that believe ;" so the devil is said " to work
in the children of unbelief." (Eph. ii. 2.) He is called
" the spirit that worketh in the children of dis
obedience," dm&uag, of unbelief. This is one of the
principal designs which the devil hath always car
ried on in the world, to bring men to unbelief, and to
keep them in it. As it is the great work ofthe Spirit
of truth " to lead men into truth," and bring them
to the belief of it : so the great business ofthe devil
is to seduce men from the truth. Upon this account
he is said (John viii. 44.) to be "a murderer from
the beginning, because he abode not in the truth ;"
which refers to the first temptation, whereby he
ruined and destroyed our first parents, by seducing
them to unbelief; " Hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree in the garden ?" And because he found
this attempt so successful, he still pursues mankind
with the same temptation of unbelief. — This for the
first ; why infidelity is attributed to the devil, as
the cause of it.

558
I come, in the second place, to shew more particu
larly, what influence the devil hath upon the minds
of men, to keep them in unbelief; how, and in what
manner " he blinds the minds of them that believe
not." These two ways chiefly ; by false principles,
and by vicious and corrupt habits.
I. By false principles, which, when they have once
got possession of the understanding, like so many
enemies, they defend it, and hold out against the
truth. By this means the devil kept a great part
of the Jews and of the heathen world in unbelief;
and their minds were so blinded by these false prin
ciples which they had entertained, that they could
not see "the light of the glorious gospel of Christ."
As for the Jews, he had, with a great deal of art,
conveyed false principles into them, whereby they
were extremely prejudiced against Christ and his
doctrine, so that when he, who was " the Desire of
all nations," and whom the Jews had looked for,
with so longing an expectation, was come, they
could "see no beauty in him, wherefore he should
be desired." The devil, no doubt, understood very
well by the prophecies of the Old Testament, that
the Messias was to come, who would give a terrible
blow to his kingdom : and therefore, to provide
against this storm which he saw coming upon him,
he possessed the Jews a great while before with
false apprehensions of the Messias, that he was to
be a great temporal prince, and to deliver Israel
from all their enemies, and to subdue all nations to
them ; and he played his game so well, that the
most learned among the Jews were generally pos
sessed with this apprehension, under the notion of
a Divine doctrine, which had been brought down
to them by tradition from Moses and the prophets;

559
so that when the Messias came, and they saw no
thing ofthe outward glory and splendour which they
expected, they would not know him, but despised
and rejected him as a counterfeit and impostor.
As for the idolatrous gentiles, he had, for many
ages together, blinded them with false notions of
God and his worship, and with principles of a false
philosophy, by which, when they came to measure
the doctrine of Christ, the plain truths of the Christ
ian religion seemed foolish and ridiculous to them,
and by these prejudices the devil kept many of them,
especially of the philosophers, from believing the
gospel. And proportionably in every age, suitably to the
temper of it, he endeavours to possess men with
false principles, either to keep them in unbelief, or
to drive them to it.
II. The second way whereby the devil " blinds
the minds of them that believe not," is by vicious
and corrupt habits ; which, though they do not pos
sess the understanding, yet they have a bad influ
ence upon it ; as fumes and vapours from the lower
parts of the body affect the head. The vices and
lusts of men darken the understanding, aud fill the
mind with gross and sensual apprehensions of things,
and render men unfit to discern those truths that
are of a spiritual nature and tendency, and indis
posed to receive them. When men's " deeds are
evil, they do not love the light," lest it should reprove
their vices, " and make them manifest." Truth is
offensive and grievous to a corrupt mind, as the light
of the sun is to sore eyes. A vicious man is not
free to entertain those truths which would check
and cross him in his way ; he looks upon them as
enemies, and therefore thinks himself concerned to

560
oppose them. Every lust makes a man partial in
his judgment, and lays a false bias upon his under
standing, which carries it off from truth, and makes
it lean towards that side of the question which is
most agreeable to the interest of his lusts.
And by this means the devil kept many, both of
the Jews and gentiles, in unbelief: he had tempted
them to those sins which did indispose them for the
receiving of that doctrine which enjoins " the deny
ing qf ungodliness and worldly lusts," and chargeth
men so strictly with all manner of holiness and
purity^ The pharisees, under a mask qf religion,
were guilty of great wickedness and impiety ; and
the heathens were monstrously degenerated into all
manner of vice.' So that it was not only the false
principles, but likewise the vicious lives of men,
which were opposite to the doctrine of the gospel,
" and blinded their minds, that the light of the glo
rious gospel of Christ did not shine unto them."
" And the devil still makes use of this means to
bring men to infidelity, and keep them in it; as know
ing that the shortest way to atheism and infidelity,
is to debauch them in their lives. Therefore the
apostle seems to give this as the reason of the infi
delity of some in his time, (2 Thess. ii. 12.) "That
they all may be damned who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness." When men
once take pleasure in wickedness, then infidelity
becomes their interest; for they cannot otherwise
defend and excuse a wicked life, but in denying the
truth which opposeth it. That man only stands
fair for the entertaining of truth, who is under the
power of no lust, because he hath nothing to seduce
him, and draw him aside in his inquiry after truth ;
he hath no interest but to find truth : he- hath the-

561
indifference ©f a traveller, who is not inclined to
one way more than another, but is only concerned
to know the right way. Such indifferency of mind
every good man hath ; he is ready to receive truth,
when sufficient evidence is offered to him, because
he is not concerned that the contrary proposition
should be true ; if a man be addicted to any lust,
he is not likely to judge impartially of things : and
therefore our Saviour doth with great reason re
quire this disposition to qualify a man for the dis
cerning of truth, (John vii. 17.) " If any man will do
God's will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it
be of God, or whether I speak of myself." He that
is desirous to do the will of God, he is likely to
judge indifferently concerning any doctrine that pre
tends to be from God : for if there be not good evi
dence for it, he hath no reason to deceive himself, by
entertaining that as from God, which he hath no
assurance that it is so : and if there be good evp
dence for it, he hath no interest to reject it : but if
a man be enslaved to any vice or lust, he is not free
to judge of those matters which touch upon his in
terest ; but is under a great temptation to infidelity,
because he must needs be unwilling to acknowledge
the truth of that doctrine which lies so cross to his
interest. Thirdly, This does not excuse the infidelity of
men, that the devil is in some sort the cause of it ;
because he cannof'blind our minds, unless we con
sent to it: he can only suggest false principles to
us, but we may choose whether we will entertain
them ; he can only tempt us to be wicked, he can
not force us to be so whether we will or not : as we
may resist the dictates, and quench the blessed mo
tions and suggestions of God's Spirit, and too often

562
do ; so may we " resist, the devil," and repel or
quench "those fiery darts which he casts into our
minds, though we do not do it so often as we should.
We cannot resist the motions of God's Spirit with
out injury to ourselves; but we may safely oppose
the suggestions ofthe devil; and we may do it with
success, if we sincerely endeavour it. So God hath
promised, that if we resist the devil, he shall flee
from us : but if we voluntarily consent to his tempta
tions, and suffer ourselves to be blinded by him,
the fault is our own, as well as his, and we are
guilty of that infidelity which we suffer him to tempt
us into. And this will appear, if we consider,
Fourthly, The wickedness and unreasonableness
of infidelity. The Scripture every where gives ita
bad character, calling it, " an evil heart of unbelief,
to depart from the living God." Not to believe those
revelations of God, which are sufficiently propounded
to us, is " an apostacy from the living God," a kind
of atheism, and an argument of a very evil temper
and disposition. And therefore St. John speaks of
infidelity as the highest affront to God imaginable,
and as it were a giving God the lie ; (1 John v. 10.)
" He that believeth not the record which God hath
given of his Son," is said to make God a liar.
The greatest and clearest testimonies that ever
God gave to any person in the world were to Jesus
Christ, and yet how full of infidelity were the Jews,
to whom these testimonies were given ! They are the
great patterns of infidelity, who resisted such im
mediate evidence ; and by the characters which the
New Testament gives us of them, we may judge of
the evil and unreasonableness of infidelity : and if
we consult the history of the New Testament, we
shall find infidelity described by such characters

563
and properties, and accompanied with such quali
ties, as shew it to be a very evil and unreasonable
spirit. The principal of them are these :
1. Monstrous partiality in denying that which had
greater evidence than other matters which they did
believe. 2. Unreasonable and groundless prejudice.
3. A childish kind of perverseness.
4. Obstinacy and pertinacious persisting in error.
5. Want of patience to consider and examine what
can be said for the truth.
6. Rudeness, and boisterous falling into uncivil
terms. 7. Fury, and outrageous passion.
8. Infidelity is usually attended with bloody aud
inhuman persecution. But the treating on these
particulars I reserve for another subject.*
The third and last thing contained in the text is,
the dangerous state of those who, having the gospel
propounded to them, yet do not entertain and be
lieve it ; the apostle tells us they are in a lost and
perishing condition ; " If our gospel be hid, it is hid
to them that are lost."
I say of those who have the gospel propounded
to them. As for those to whom the gospel was
never offered, they shall not be condemned for their
unbelief of it : God will not punish them for not be
lieving the revelation which was never propounded
to them, but for sinning against " the law written in
their hearts." So the apostle hath stated this mat
ter; (Rom. ii. 12. 14, 15.) they thathave a lawrevealed
to them by God, shall " be judged by that law;"
but they that are without such a law, shall be
"judged without the law, by the law which is 'writ-
* See the following Sermons, on John iii. 19.

564
ten in their hearts." Those persons and nations in
the world, to whom the gospel was not revealed,
shall not be condemned for not believing it ; but for
sins committed by them against the light of nature,
and the law which is written in every man's breast.
But those who have the gospel propounded to
them, and yet continue in unbelief, their case is the
most dangerous of any persons in the world, whether
they be speculative or practical infidels.
1. For speculative infidels (of whom I have been
principally speaking) we may guess how great their
condemnation shall be, by the greatness of their sin,
which I have endeavoured fully to describe to you;
with all its aggravations. Itis called, (Heb. iii. 12.)
" an evil heart of unbelief, to depart from the liv
ing God, tv np diroGTtivai dm) Qtov £wvroe. Infidelity is
a kind of " apostacy from God;" it is said to be the
giving of God the lie, (1 John v. 10.) " He that be
lieveth on the Son of God, hath the witness in him
self: he that believeth not God, hath made hiin a
liar ;" and we cannot but think that God will se
verely punish those who put such affronts upon
him : it is but equal, that they who resist the clearest
light, should " have their portion in utter darkness."
2. For the practical infidels, those who in words
acknowledge the gospel to be true, but " in works
deny it ;" their condition is every whit as bad as
the others ; nay, I had almost said, that it shall be
more tolerable at the day of judgment for the spe
culative infidel than for them. He who denies the
truth of the Christian religion, and lives contrary to
the precepts of it, he acts suitably to his principles ;
but he that owns the truth ofthe gospel, and lives a
wicked life, offers violence to those principles which
he hath entertained.

565
For if we profess ourselves Christians, by this
profession we declare to the world, that we believe
that tbe Son of God hath delivered that doctrine to
the world which we call the gospel, and hath pro
mised to be" the author of eternal salvation to them
that obey him," and hath threatened men with eter
nal misery in case of disobedience ; and; that we
make uot the least doubt, but that both in his pro
mises and threatenings God will be as good as his
word : but if in the midst of this profession, we live
contrary to the holy precepts of the gospel, in " un
godliness and worldly lusts," in profane swearing,
by a trifling and irreverent use of the great and glo
rious name of God, in the neglect of God, and of
the duties of religion, in the profanation of his day,
in drunkenness and filthy lusts, in fraud and op
pression, in lying and perjury, in wrath and malice,
in enmity and uncharitableness one towards another ;
this very thing, that we have made profession ofthe
gospel, will be an aggravation of our condemnation.
Do we think, that, at the day of judgment, we shall
escape by pleading this for ourselves, that we be
lieved the gospel, and made profession of it? No,
out of our own mouths we shall be condemned ;
for it seems " we knew our Master's will, and yet did
it not ;" we were convinced that we ought not to do
such things, and yet we did them; we believed the
glorious promises of the gospel, and yet we " neg
lected this great salvation," as a thing not worthy
the looking after; we were verify persuaded ofthe
intolerable and endless torments of hell, and yet we
would leap into those flames.
Nothing can make more against us, than such an
apology as this ; our very excuse will be the highest
accusation and charge that can be brought against

566
us, and out of our own confession we shall be con
demned. All that now remains is, to make some applica
tion of this discourse which I have made to you con
cerning the truth of the Christian religion ; which I
should do in these two particulars,
First, To persuade us to a firm belief of the Christ
ian religion. And,
Secondly, To live according to it. But as to this,
I have prevented myself in some former discourses.*
* See Sermons CCXXIII. p. 258, and CCXXVII. p. 328, of
the present volume.

SERMON CCXLII.
THE EXCELLENCY AND UNIVERSALITY OF THE
CHRISTIAN REVELATION, WITH THE SIN AND
DANGER OF REJECTING IT.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. — John iii. 19.
At the 16th verse of this chapter our Saviour de
clares to Nicodemus (who was already convinced
by his miracles, that he was " a teacher come from
God") the great love and goodness of God to man
kind in sending him into the world, to be the Sa
viour of it ; " God so loved the world, that he gave
his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Considering the great wickedness of mankind, it
might justly have been feared and expected, that
God should have sent his Son into the world upon
a different errand, to have punished the wickedness
of men, and to have destroyed them from off the face
of the earth ; but he tells us at the 17th verse, that
" God sent not his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but that through him the world might be
saved ;" and that the only way to avoid this con
demnation, and to obtain that salvation which God
designed for us, is " to believe on him whom God
hath sent," (ver. 18.) " He that believeth on him is not
condemned ; but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name

30»
of the only-begotten Son of God." He is condemned
by this very act of rejecting the Son of God, because
he rejects the only way whereby salvation is to be
had ; and to aggravate the condemnation of such
persons, our Saviour here in the text represents
himself and his doctrine as " a light come into the
world," on purpose to discover to us our sinful and
miserable condition, and the way of our recovery
out of it, and salvation from it ; and those that be
lieve not on. him, who do, not entertain and welcome
this clear and gracious discovery of God's love and
goodness to mankind, as doing the absurdest thing
imaginable, and making the most preposterous
„ choice, preferring darkness before light : " This is
the condemnation, that light is come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil."
In which words there are these six things ob
servable :
First, The description which is here given of our
Saviour and his doctrine, they are called a light :
" Light is come ;" that is, the Son of God preaching
the doctrine of life and salvation to men.
Secondly, The universal influence of this light :
" Light is come into the world." It is designed
for illumination and instruction, not only of a par
ticular place and nation, but of a whole world.
Thirdly, The excellency and advantages of this
doctrine above any other doctrine or institution,
even that of the Jewish religion, which was likewise
immediately from God ; they are all but darkness
in comparison of it, " Light is come into the world;
and men loved darkness rather than light."
Fourthly, The absurdity and unreasonableness
of rejecting the doctrine of the gospel ; it is a pre-

ooy
ferring darkness before light: " men loved darkness
rather than light;" that is, they choose rather to
continue in their former ignorance, than to entertain
this clear and most perfect discovery of God's will
to mankind.
Fifthly, The true reason and account of this ab
surd choice : " Men loved darkness rather than
light, because their deeds were evil."
Sixthly, The great guilt of those who reject the
doctrine of the gospel ; by this very act of theirs
they are condemned, nay, they condemn themselves,
because they reject the only means of their salva
tion : " This is the condemnation," this very thing
condemns them, and argues the height of their folly
and guilt, that when light is come into the world,
they preferred darkness before it. I shall discourse
distinctly these particulars.
First, We will consider the description which is
here given of our Saviour and his doctrine ; they
are called light ; " Light is come into the world."
Light is a metaphor frequently used in Scripture
for knowledge, especially for spiritual and Divine
knowledge ; and those .who teach and instruct
others are said to be lights. So our Saviour is fre
quently called " the light of the world," and " the
true light ;" and his disciples, who were to instruct
the world, are called light, " ye are the light of the
world ;" and the doctrine of our Saviour is likewise
called a light, " the light of the glorious gospel of
Christ," (2 Cor. iv. 4.) And it is with respect to
his doctrine, that he is here said in the text to be
a " light come into the world :" which phrase, of
coming into the world, d©es not so immediately re
fer to his nativity, as to his commission from God;
for this phrase of coming into the world, is of the
VOL. ix. 2 P

570
same importance with that of being sent from God ;
as (verse 17.) where he says of himself, that " God
sent him not into the world to condemn the world;"
and here in the text, " this is the condemnation,
that light is come into the world," that is, that
when God sent his Son on purpose to preach such
a doctrine, men should reject it and set it iat
nought : and in this sense, this phrase, bf coming
into the world, is I think frequently used in the New
Testament, for coming in God's name, upon some
message into the*world. So chap. iv. 14. some ofthe
Jews being convinced of our Saviour's Divine com
mission, express it thus ; " Of a truth this is that pro-
? phet which was to come into the world." So chap.
xii. 46. speaking of himself as sent of God,,says he,
" I am come a light into the world ;" he had said just
before, " He that seeth me, seeth him that sent me;"
and then he adds, " I am a light come into the
world." There is one text indeed, where this phrase
seems to be taken for " being born into the world;"
(chap. i. 9.) " And that was the true light, which
enlightens every man that cometh into the world :"
but several ofthe fathers, as St. Cyril and St. Au
gustine, read this text otherwise, and that with great
probability, considering the use of this phrase every
where else ; I say, they read it thus : " This was
the true light, which, coming into the world, Cnlight-
eneth every man ;" that is, which was sent from God
to enlighten * all mankind: and so this phrase, of
coming into the world, refers' not to men's being
born into the world, but to our Saviour's being sent
from God: and this our Saviour seems to distin
guish from his birth : (John xviii. 37.) " To this
end was I born, and for this cause came Iinto the
world ,vthat I might bear witness to the truth ;" mean-

571
ing that he was not only born, but commissioned
by God for this end.
But enough for the explication of this phrase, the
proper importance whereof is not unworthy our
knowledge; especially since a sect amongst us build
their doctrine of a light within them, and born with
them, sufficient to conduct every man to salvation,
upon that text I mentioned before, " This was the
true light, which enlightens every man that cometh
into the world ;" for which there is no pretence, if
we read it as the original will very well bear it,
" This was the true light, which, coming into the
world, enlighteneth every man." And so our Savi
our says of himself, (chap. xii. 46.) " I who am the
light, am come into the world."
But that which I principally intended under this
head, is, the unfolding ofthe metaphor, which runs
through the text, that so we may come at the plain
sense and meaning of it, namely, why our Saviour,
©r (which is all one) the doctrine which he preached
to the world, is represented to us by light. And
here I might tell you that the doctrine of the gospel
is called a light, with regard to its cheering and
reviving nature; for " light (says Solomon) is sweet,
and it is a pleasant thing to the eye to behold the
sun :" so the gospel is " glad tidings of great joy." In
regard likewise of its purity; as light is the purest
of all corporeal beings, so the doctrine of the gospel
doth enjoin a greater holiness and purity than any
other religion ever did. And (not to be tedious in
slight thiugs) in regard of its sudden communica
tion and speedy propagation in the world. As light
darts itself from east to west in a moment ; so the
gospel was propagated with incredible swiftness,
and did in a very short space diffuse itself over the
2 P 2

i 572
world. Thus I might tell you, that in these, and
many more such pretty respects, the doctrine ofthe
gospel is called a light: but I do not love to hunt
down a metaphor ; for I know very well, that the
Scripture (like other authors) useth a metaphor only
to one purpose at One time; and though many more
similitudes may by fancy be found out, it is certain,
but one is intended ; which I take notice of on pur
pose to reprove the vanity and injudiciousness of
chasing metaphors farther than ever they were in
tended : for a metaphor is commonly used to repre
sent to our mind the first and most obvious like
ness of things. Thus the doctrine of the gospel is
called light, in respect of the clearness of its dis
covery, it being one of the chief and most obvious
properties of light, to discover and make visible
itself, and other things. So the apostle tells us,
(Ephes. v. 13.) " But all things that are reproved
are made manifest by the light :" and in this respect
and no othej;, the doctrine of the gospel is here
called a light; because it clearly discovers to the
world those things which they were either wholly
ignorant or uncertain of before ; and withal it carries
its own evidence along with it, and hath plain cha
racters of its own divinity upon, it.
And here I might shew at large these two things:
First, What discoveries the doctrine of the gos
pel hath made to the world.
Secondly, What evidence it brings along with it
of its own divinity, that it is from God.
First, What discoveries the doctrine of the gospel
hath made to the world. It hath more clearly dis
covered, 1. The^nature of God, which is the great founda
tion of religion.

573
2. Our own sinful and miserable state.
3. The way and means of our remedy and re
covery out of it.
4. A more perfect and certain law and rule of life.
5. A more powerful assistance, for the aid and
encouragement of our obedience.
6. And lastly, The gospel hath more clearly dis
covered to us the eternal rewards and punishments
of another world, which are the great arguments to
obedience and a holy life. 1 shall go over these as
briefly as I can, having elsewhere* treated more
largely on some of them.
1. In the doctrine of the gospel we have a clear
discovery made to us of the nature of God ; which
is the great foundation of all religion. For such as
men's notions and conceptions of God are, such
will their religious worship and services of him be ;
either worthy of him, and becoming his great and
glorious majesty; or vain and superstitious, an
swerable to the idol of their own imagination : and
such will be the actions of their lives ; for all men
make their God their example, and esteem it an es
sential piece of religion, to endeavour to be like
him. Now" the gospel gives us the most true and
perfect character of the Divine nature, most agree
able to reason and the wisest and best apprehen
sions of mankind, such a character as is apt to be
get in us the highest love and reverence towards .
him, and to engage us to the imitation of him, by the
constant practice of holiness and virtue ; represent
ing him to us as most amiable for his goodness, and
most dreadful for his power and justice ; describing
him to be a pure spirit, -which the heathen did not
generally believe; and consequently to be wor*
4 See Sermon V. vol. i. p. 443,

574
shipped in" such a manner, as is most suitable to his
spiritual nature, concerning which the Jews were
infinitely mistaken : for God did not command sa
crifices to the Jews, and all those external and
troublesome observances, because they were most
agreeable to his own nature; but because of the
grossness of their apprehensions, and the carnality
and hardness of their hearts. God did not prescribe
this way of worship to them, because it was best ;
but because the temper of that people, which was so
very prone to idolatry, would admit of no other.
The gospel likewise discovers to us more clearly
the goodness of God, and his great love to mankind,
one of the best and strongest motives in the wprld
to the love of God. The heathen did generally
dread God, aud look upon him as fierce and re
vengeful, and therefore, they studied by all means
to appease him, even by human sacrifices, and offer
ing up their own children to him ; and all alpng in
the Old Testament, though there be plain and ex
press declarations of the goodness of God, yet he
is generally described as very terrible and severe;
but the gospel is full of gracious declarations of
God's love and mercy to mankind. In the Old
Testament he is usually styled " the Lord of hosts,
the great and terrible God ;" but in the New Tes
tament, he represents himself in a milder style, " the
God of love and peace, the Father of our Lord Je
sus Christ," and in him " the Father of mercies, and
the God of all patience and consolation." And this
difference between the style of the Old and New
Testament was so remarkable, that one of the
greatest sects in the primitive church (I mean that
of the gnostics, which was subdivided into many
other sects) did upon this found their heresy of two

575
principles, ©r Gods ; the one evil, and fierce, and
cruel, whom they called the God of the Old Testa
ment ; the other kind, and loving, and merciful,
whom they called the God of the New.
2. The gospel hath likewise more clearly disco
vered to us our own sinful and wretched state ; that,
being made upright, and originally designed by God
to live in a holy and happy condition, and endued
with sufficient power for that purpose, we, by our
wilful transgressions and disobedience of an easy
law given to our first parents, are sunk into a
wretched state of ignorance and weakness of sin
and sorrow, and thereby are become estranged from
God, and obnoxious to his wrath and displeasure,
and utterly unable to help and recover ourselves
out of this sad and miserable state. And this is a
great advantage to us, to understand the truth of
our condition, and-the worst of our case ; because
a just sense of it will prompt us to seek out for a
remedy, and make us ready to embrace it when it
is offered to us. And therefore, in the
3. Third place, The gospel hath plainly disco
vered to us the way and means of our recovery out
of this wretched condition; namely, that, in tender
commiseration of our miserable and helpless con
dition, God was pleased to send his Son, his only
Son, into the world, to assume our nature, and " to
be made in all things like unto us, sin only ex
cepted ;" to dwell among us, to converse with us,
that he might instruct us in the way to happiness,
and lead us therein by the example of his holy life;
and that by his death he might be a propitiation
for our sins, and purchase the forgiveness of them,
and obtain eternal redemption for us. So that here
is an adequate and perfect remedy discovered in

576
the gospel, every way answerable to the weakness
and impotency, the degeneracy and guilt, of- man
kind, "God having laid help upon one that is
mighty, and able to save to the utmost all those
that come to God by him." He took our nature
upon him, and became man, "that he might bring
us to God," and, by restoring us to his image and
likeness, might repair those woful ruins which sin
had made in us ; and to obtain the pardon and for
giveness of our sins, " God spared not his own Son,
but freely gave him to death for us all ; and having
raised him from the dead, hath sent him to bless us,
in turning us away every one from our iniquity."
So that, by this means, the great doubts and fears
of mankind, concerning the way of appeasing the
offended justice of God, are removed and satisfied.
The gospel having given us full assurance, not only
that God is reconciled to us, and willing, after all
our offences and provocations, to become our friend;
but that he hath established the way and means of
it ; s© that " if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is
the propitiation for our sins, and for the sins of the
whole' world." And this is a peculiar advantage of
the Christian. religion, to assure us of the forgiveness
©f sins, ofthe manner how it is, procured, and the
certain terms upon which it is granted, which nei
ther by the light of nature, nor by any revelation
from God, was clearly discovered before.
4. The gospel hath likewise revealed to us a
more certain and perfect law and rule of life. It
hath fixed our duty, and made it more plain and
certain in all the instances of it, than either the light
of nature, or the utmost improvement of that light
by philosophy, or than the Jewish religion had done

577
before. It hath cleared our duty iu some instances,
which the light of nature had left doubtful, or which
the subtle disputes of men had made so. It hath
heightened our duty in several instances ; and those
things which had not the, clear force of law before,
but were only the counsels of wiser men, it hath
turned into strict precepts, and made them neces
sary parts of our duty. It commands universal
love, and kindness, and good-will among men, and
perfect forgiveness bf the greatest injuries and of
fences ; and inculcates these precepts more vehe
mently, and forbids all malice and revenge more
strictly and peremptorily, than any religion or phi
losophy had done before ; as will fully appear to
any one who will but attentively read and consider
our Saviour's sermon upon the mount.
I cannot now enlarge in giving a particular ac
count of the excellent laws and precepts of our re
ligion, relating to God, our neighbour, aud our
selves ; I shall only say of them, that they all tend
to the perfection of our nature, and the raising of
it to the highest pitch of virtue and goodness that
we are capable of in this life, and to qualify and
dispose us for the felicity of the next ; that they
every way conduce to the benefit and advantage of
particular persons, singly considered, and to the "
peace and welfare of human society ; in a word,
they all conspire in the glory of God, and the com
fort and happiness ©f man : and no religion that
ever was in the world, nor no philosophy, can shew
such a system of moral precepts, in which, as there
is nothing vain and faulty, so neither is there any
thing defective and wanting ; so that St. James doth
with great reason call it " a perfect law."
5. The gospel doth also discover and offer to us

578
a m©st powerful assistance for the aid and encou
ragement of our obedience, abundant help and
strength to enable us to the performance of all
which God requires of us. It offers us wisdom to
enlighten our dark minds, and to direct us in doubt
ful and difficult cases. (James i. 5.) "If any of
you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to
all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall
be given him." Our Saviour hath promised "to
give his Holy Spirit to them that ask it," to help
our weakness, and to raise our courage to strengthen
us against the power and force of strong and vio
lent temptations, and to assist us in all our conflicts
with our spiritual enemies, and to comfort and sup
port us in all our afflictions and sufferings.
And without this, all the other advantages which
our religion affords us would signify little. For
what would the knowledge of our sinful and miser
able state avail us, without power to rescue our
selves out of it ? What is the pardon of our sins
past, without strength against them for the future?
What would signify the most complete rule of life,
and the most perfect pattern of holiness and virtue,
without ability in some measure to observe them and
live up to them? Without this necessary aid and
support, we might despair of resisting the tempta
tions, and mastering the difficulties, of a Christian
course, of subd uing the power of bad inclinations, and
breaking the force of vicious habits, and bearing up
against the violence of extreme suffering and perse
cution for righteousness' sake ; without this graciqus
assistance we can do nothing of all this ; and by
the help of this we may become, as St. Paul ex
presses it, " more than conquerors."
6. And lastly, The gospel hath clearly discovered

579
to us the eternal rewards and punishments of an
other world, which are the great incentives and ar
guments to obedience, and a patient and constant
continuance in well-doing. The gospel (as the apo
stle to the Hebrews tells us) is in this respect a bet
ter covenant than the law, being established upon
better promises, and having the sanction of more
severe and terrible threatenings. These great and
powerful arguments to keep mankind within the
bounds of their duty, which the wisest ofthe heathen
had some doubt of, and which were but very im-r
perfectly revealed to the Jews, are clearly made
manifest by the gospel. So the apostle tells us,
that " life and immortality are brought to light by
the gospel ;" and that " therein the wrath of God is
revealed from heaven, against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men." And this gives the gospel
a mighty power and influence over the minds of
men. " Now God commands all men every where
to repent," and obey his laws ; " because he hath
appointed a day in which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man, whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised
him from the dead." The resurrection of Christ.
from the dead is a sensible demonstration to all
mankind of another life after this, and consequently
of a future judgment
I might proceed to shew, iu the second place,
That as the gospel is a light, in respect of its clear
discovery of other things to us, so likewise of itself,
and its own Divine authority.
It is a holy and reasonable doctrine, suitable to
the highest and best-improved reason of mankind,
and plainly tending to our perfection and happiness;
both for the sublimity of its mysteries, and the sim-

580
plicity and excellency of its precepts, every way
Worthy to have God for its author, and most likely
lo proceed from him, and from none else. In a
word, it is a doctrine in all respects so excellent
and perfect, that it is beyond the compass of human
understanding to imagine any thing better; and
impossible, that any religion, materially differing
from this, should be so good. No religion that
ever was, or which the wit of man can devise, can~
give us juster notions of God, a truer account of
ourselves, better rules of a good life, and arguments
more powerful to persuade us to goodness, than the
Christian religion hath done. And the intrinsic
, goodness and excellency of any religion, goes half
way in the proof of its Divinity ; to which, if God
be pleased to add the external confirmation of plain
and unquestionable miracles, it amounts to a full
demonstration, and hath all the evidence that it is
possible for any religion to have, that it is from
God, But this is a very large argument, which I have
handled in some other discourses.* All therefore
that I shall at present add, is an inference or two
from what I have been discoursing upon this argu
ment, suited to the solemnity of this season.f
I. We should welcome this light which is come
into the world with all possible expressions of joy
and thankfulness. The doctrine of the gospel is
fhe most glorious light that ever shone upon the
world, the best news that' ever arrived to mankind.
Light is a cheerful thing; "The light of the eyes
(says Solomon) rejoiceth the heart, and good news
* See Sermons CCXXVIII. CCXXIX. CCXXX. p. 347, &c,
and the preceding Sermons, in this volume.
t Preached on Christmas. day.

581
maketh the bones fat." When the angel brought
the news of our Saviour's birth to the shepherds,
with what joy does he relate it to them ! (Luke ii.
10, 11.) " Behold, I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, which
is Christ the Lord." And (Matt. ii. 10.) whenthe
wise men saw the star, which pointed at the place
of his birth, and conducted them to it, it is said,
" they rejoiced with great joy."
And whenever we commemorate the breaking in
of this glorious light upon the world, I mean the
birth of our blessed Saviour, how should our hearts
be filled with joy, and our mouths with praises I
We should every one of us break out into that
hymn of the blessed mother of our Lord; " My
soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath re
joiced in God my Saviour," for he hath regarded
me and all mankind in our low estate. He was
pleased to come down from heaven to save us from
hell ; and to become man, that he might " bring us
to God ;" and was contented to be miserable, that
he might make us happy ; and he did declare this
mighty affection to- us, when we were not only un
worthy of his love, but even beneath the Considera
tion and regard of his pity ; for what is man, that
God should be thus mindful of him, or the son of
man, that the Son of God should visit him ? that he
should condescend to inhabit our nature, and " to
dwell among us ?" All mankind may with equal or
greater reason say, as the centurion once did to
him, " Lord, we are not worthy that thou shouldst
come under our roof." What means this amazing
condescension, that thou shouldst leave thy glory,
to be thus obscured, and come from God, to be

582
" despised and rejected of men ;" and quit the ^re
gions of bliss and happiness, to become " a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief !" Was it for us
that thou didst all this? Yea, for our sakes, who
never had done any thing for thine, wljo may be
ashamed to remember, that we were grievous sin
ners, and bitter enemies to thee, when all this was
done for us.
Thus we should celebrate the memory of this
blessed season, and as often as the year returns,
with great joy and thankfulness commemorate the
great blessings which this day brought to the world,
and say with David, " This is the day which the
Lord hath made ; we will be glad and rejoice
therein." Abraham and David saw this day, but
far off; and yet they rejoiced : how should we
then be transported with joy, to whom this day is
come, and upon whom the Sun of righteousness is
long since risen, with healing and salvation under
his wings !
II. Let us " walk in this light."- This expression
the Scripture useth to signify what use we should
make of the advantages and opportunities which, by
the glorious light of the gospel, are afforded to us,
(John xii. 35.) " Walk while ye have the light, lest
darkness come upon you." (Ephes. v. 8.) " For ye
were sometimes darkness: but now are ye light in
the Lord : walk therefore as children ofthe light."
(Rom. xiii. 11 — 14.) " It is now high time to awake
out of, sleep : for now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. The night is far spent, the day
is at hand : let us therefore cast off the works of
darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let
us walk honestly, as in the day ; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness,

583
not in strife and envying ; but put ye on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh,
to fulfil the lusts thereof/' ,
This counsel is proper for Christians at all
times, who live under the light of the gospel ; but
more especially at this time, when we commemorate
the coming of this light into the world. Nothing
can be more unsuitable and contrary to it, than
works of darkness, I mean sin and wickedness, and
those abominable vices, which too many are apt to
indulge themselves in at this time, more especially
such as the apostle names in the text just now
mentioned, " rioting and drunkenness, chamber
ing and wantonness, contention and quarrelling."
We should at this time more especially put off
those vices, and " put on the Lord Jesus Christ;"
that is, be clothed with all those graces and vir
tues, which, in the precepts of his religion, and the
example of his life, he hath recommended to us.
This is the time when the " Word was made flesh,"
and put on our nature ; and what return can be
more proper for us at this season, than " to put on
the Lord Jesus ; and to make no provision for the
flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof?"
Nay, at this time we should retrench more than
usual from our excess and superfluity, both because
ofthe crying necessities ofthe poor, who are very nu
merous, and likewise for the relief of our distressed
and persecuted brethren, who are fled to us for
shelter from the barbarous rage of their persecutors.
What we would have done for the honour of Christ
at another time, let us now do for the relief of his
members ; and whatever kindness we shew to them,
he will take it as done to himself. We have great
cause to be cheerful at this time, and we may testify

our joy by feasting, or any other lawful expressions
of it : but we must not so feast, as to forget the
affliction of Joseph; and not to remember that we
also are in the body, and liable to the same suffer
ings. We must therefore take heed, that our table
do not become " a snare to us;" and that our mirth
do not degenerate into sensuality and sin.
Every Christian hath so many arguments against
sin, that we should abstain from it at all times: but
of all Other times we should be most ashamed to be
guilty of any lewdness and wickedness when we
are remembering "the appearance ofthe Son of God,
to bring salvation to us, and to teach us to deny
ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly,
righteously, and godly, in this present world."
,To conclude : let us by all that, hath been said be
persuaded so to celebrate the memory of Christ's
first coming, to " take away sin by the sacrifice of
himself," that we may with comfort and joy " wait
for the blessed hope, and the glorious appearance
of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ,
when he shall appear a second time, without sin
unto salvation."

SERMON CCXLIII.
THE EXCELLENCY AND UNIVERSALITY OF THE
CHRISTIAN REVELATION, WITH THE SIN AND
DANGER OF REJECTING IT.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil. — John iii. 19.
In discoursing on these words, I have already con
sidered the first thing observable in them, viz. The
description which is here given of our Saviour and
his doctrine ; they are called a light : " Light is
come," that is, the Son of God, bringing the doctrine
and knowledge of salvation to the world ; it being
one of the first and most obvious properties of light
to discover and make visible itself and other things :
" That which makes all things manifest is light ;"
and accordingly I have observed, that the Christian
religion hath made a clear discovery to us of many
great and important things, of which the world was
either ignorant or doubtful before : and likewise
that if brought great evidence along with it of its
own divinity, and that it was from God.
I proceed now to the second thing observable in
the text, viz. The universal influence of this light :
" Light is come into the world." The doctrine of
the gospel was designed for the illumination and
instruction, not of one particular place and nation,
but of the whole world. Thus our Saviour and his
vol. ix. 2 Q

580
doctrine are described by old Simeon, (Luke ii.
30 — 32.) " For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared before the face of all
people: a light to lighten the gentiles, and the
glory of thy people Israel." To the gentiles, who
were before in darkness, he is said to be a light :
but to the Jexvs, who had the light of Divine reve
lation in some degree before, he is said to be a
glory; that is, a brighter and more glorious light;
" A light to lighten the gentiles, and the glory of
thy people Israel." And (John i. 9.) he is called
" the true light, which lighteth every man that
cometh into the world," that is, which was sent into
the world for the illumination of all mankind. And
(John viii. 12.) he says of himself, " I am the light
of the world."
Now that the revelation of the gospel by Jesus
Christ was designed for the whole world, for the
instruction, and comfort, and benefit of all mankind,
I shall endeavour to make out by these three steps:
I. In that it is very credible, that God would
some time or other make such a revelation of his
will, as might be sufficient to direct and bring man
kind to happiness.
II. That before the revelation of the gospel by
Jesus Christ, no such geueral and universal decla
ration of God's will had been made to the world.
III. That the revelation of the gospel hath all the
marks and characters of an universal revelation,
and was certainly by God designed for that purpose.
I. It is very credible, that God would some time
or other, when his infinite wisdom and goodness
should think it most fit and seasonable, make such
a revelation of his will to the world, as might be
sufficient to direct and bring mankind to happiness.

587
The consideration of the Divine goodness is very
apt to induce such a persuasion ; for what more
reasonable to believe concerning God, than that he,
who is good to all, and the common Father of
all mankind, not the God ofthe Jews only, but the
God of the gentiles also (as St. Paul argues to this
purpose, in his Epistle to the Romans,) should some
time or other, in pity and compassion ofthe ignorant
and degenerate and helpless condition of mankind,
provide some universal remedy, by such a general
revelation of his will, as was every way fitted and
calculated to be of universal use and benefit to
direct all men in the way to happiness, and if they
be not wanting to themselves to bring them to it;
that, in the doubtings and uncertainties of mankind
concerning the will of God; and the rule of their
duty, he should give an universal law, equally
obliging all men, to be a perfect and standing rule and
measure of their duty in all, times and places, and
which should never stand in need of any addition,
amendment, or alteration.
For why should we think that God, who is so
equally related to us all, should confine -the effects
of his goodness to a few persons, or a small part of
mankind, to one particular family or nation? That
he, whose bounty is so equal and unconfined in the
disposing of temporal blessings, should be so partial
and narrow in the bestowing of his greatest and
best gifts, those spiritual blessings which concern
our souls, and our happiness to all eternity ? How
can we in reason imagine, that he who " causeth
the sun to rise, and his rain fo fall," upon the whole
world, should vouchsafe that great and most glo
rious light of his Divine and heavenly truth only to
a few, and shower down his spiritual blessings
2q2

588
upon a small part ofthe earth, leaving all the rest of
the world a wilderness, and a land of darkness ?
Thus to think of God is no ways agreeable to those
large apprehensions which mankind have always
had of the goodness of God, by no means honour
able to the Divine nature ; and therefore it is most
highly probable, that God should one time or other
make such a revelation of his will to mankind, as is
of universal concernment and advantage.
II. I shall shew that before the revelation of the
gospel by Jesus Christ, nosuch general and universal
declaration of God's will had been made to the world.
All the revelations which God had made to men
before, were either made to some particular persons
upon particular occasions, or to one particular
nation and people, I mean that ofthe Jews. Those
which were made to particular persons were so nar
row and limited, and of so private concernment,
that they signified nothing to the generality of man
kind ; nor could the knowledge of them, with any
degree of evidence, have been propagated. As for
that revelation which was made to the Jews, it was,
both in its nature and design, and in all the cir
cumstances of it, plainly limited to one particular
place and nation. And as God discovered no in
tention, so neither were there any proper means
and endeavours used to proclaim and propagate if,
as an universal law and institution obligatory to all
mankind. From the nature and all the circumstances ofthe
Jewish law, it clearly appears to have been designed
for a municipal law and constitution, for the govern
ing of one particular people and nation, within a
certain territory and spot of ground, to which a
great part of the precepts of it is peculiarly limited,

589
and could be exercised and practised no where
else; and not intended to take in and oblige all the
nations of the earth. For when this law was first
given, God plainly directs it to the people of Israel,
beginning it in this form of words, " Hear, O Israel,
the Lord thy God is one God ;" and " I am the
Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of
Egypt, and out of the house of bondage;" and he
frequently tells them, that he had separated them
from all the people upon the face ofthe earth, to be
a peculiar people to himself; to be governed by
peculiar civil laws, and by a particular way of reli
gious worship: for which reason the apostle calls
the Jewish law and religion " a wall of partition,''
which did separate and divide them from all other
people; so that even towards the strangers that
lived among them, they were not bound hi several
cases to observe the same laws towards them which
they were obliged strictly to observe towards their
brethren; as in the case of usury, and remitting
debts, and releasing of servants.
Besides that, a great part of their religion was
confined to a particular place, which God should
appoint, and which at last by his appointment was
fixed to the temple at Jerusalem, to which they
were obliged to resort thrice every year ; which it
was impossible for other nations to do. Not to
mention that the great promises and threatenings of
that law were, of plenty and prosperity, or of famine
and affliction in that land. To all which we may
add, that a great part ofthe laws and ordinances of
that' religion, was peculiarly fitted and suited to
the genius and inclination of that people, and made
in condescension to their capacities and prejudices,
to the obstinacy and hardness of their hearts.

590
Itis very clear, likewise, that God did not design
to spread and propagate this law any farther than
that people; since no means were appointed by him,
no endeavours were used, to that end : no apostles
and prophets were sent forth to proclaim and pub
lish this law to other nations ; nay, the providence
of God seems rather purposely to have designed to
conceal them and their law, till the time drew near
of God's revealing to the world a more perfect insti
tution, which should have its rise and beginning
there, and from thence be published over the world,
according to that of the prophet, that " the law
should come out of Sion, and the w©rd ofthe Lord
from Jerusalem :" but the law which was given by
Moses to the Jews was, for many ages in a great
measure concealed from the rest of the world. So
the Psalmist tells us, (Psal. cxlvii. 19, 20.) " He
sheweth his word unto Jacob ; his statutes and judg
ments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any
nation; and as for his judgments, they have not
known them." Nay, on the contrary, God had
provided, by several strict and severe laws, that the
people of Israel should have as little commerce and
conversation as was possible with other nations ; a
plain sign he never intended their religion to be pro
pagated among them : but this is so manifest from
the nature of the Jewish religion, and all the cir
cumstances of its constitution, that I need not to
labour any farther in the proof of it. I proceed
therefore to shew, in the
III. Third and last place, That the revelation of
the gospel hath all the marks and characters of an
universal revelation, and was certainly designed by
God for that end. And this will clearly appear, by
considering these four things : —

591
1. The person by whom God was pleased to make
this revelation to the world.
2. The nature and design of it.
3. The prophecies and predictions concerning it.
And, 4. The remarkable countenance and assistance
which were given from heaven to the first publishers
of it.
1. If we consider the person by whom God was
pleased to make this revelation to the world, we
cannot think that God had any less, design therein,
than the recovery and reformation of mankind. Now
the person employed by God to make this revelation
of his will, was tbe eternal and only-begotten Son of
God, assuming our nature and appearing in it ; I
say, the eternal aud only-begotten Son of God. So
the apostle to the Hebrews describes him, and there
by distinguisheth him from all the former prophets,
by whom, in former ages, God had made particular
revelations of himself to men : (Heb. i. 1 — 3.) " God,
who at sundry times (or by several parts and de
grees), and in divers manners, spake in times past
unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath ap
pointed heir of all things, by whom also he maile
the worlds : who being the brightness of his glory,
and the express image of his person, and upholding
all things by the word of his power." What a cha
racter is here of the greatest and most glorious per
son that ever was employed to men! a messenger
of God to man ; and who so fit as the Son of God,
who came from the bosom of his Father, to reveal
his will to all mankind ? Who so proper as he, who
made the world, and- upholds and preserves it, to
be sent upon so great an errand, las the recovery

592
and salvation of the whole world? And, on the
contrary, who so unfit, as this great and glorious
person, to be employed in any less and lower de
sign, than that which was of general concernment
to the benefit and happiness of all mankind ? So
great an ambassador was not fit to be sent to treat
of any thing less than an universal peace, aud the
reconciliation ofthe whole world.
And then, if we consider him as assuming human
nature, and thereby equally related to all mankind,
it was fit he should be concerned for that whole
race of creatures to whom he had so nearly allied
himself, and whose nature he had vouchsafed to
assume. It became him, who became man, to shew
himself a lover of mankind, to reveal the will of
God, and the way to happiness, lo all men, to be an
universal teacher and lawgiver; that by the direc
tion and doctrine, and the obedience of his laws,
" all men might come to the kuowledge of the truth,
and be saved."
2. If we consider the nature of this revelation, it
will appear to be designed for the general use and
benefit of mankind. The matters revealed, whether
concerning God or ourselves, this world or the
other, are of universal concernment. The laws of
this religion are not calculated for any particular
place or nation, one more than another ; and the
arguments and encouragements to the obedience of
these laws, are equally fitted Jo work upon all
capacities and conditions, and apt to affect them
alike, because they equally touch the interests and
concernments of all men : for since all men are equal
in the immortal duration of thein souls, and equally
obnoxious to the judgment of God in another world,
it concerns all men alike to understand their duty,

593
and the way to gain the favour of God, and thereby
to escape the endless and intolerable miseries, and
to obtain the unspeakable and everlasting happiness,
of another world : and to direct, and excite men
hereto, the whole revelation of the gospel, and the
doctrines, and all the laws of it, do plainly tend.
There is nothing in the Christian religion but what
is fit for all men to know and practise, in order to
their present peace and comfort, aud their future
and eternal happiness ; and these things surely are
of universal and equal concernment to mankind.
3. The predictions and prophecies concerning the
Messias, and the doctrine which should be delivered
to the world, do plainly shew, that this revelatiou
should be universal. In the first promise to Abra
ham, it is plainly foretold, that in his seed, that is,
as the Jews always understood it, in the Messias,
all the nations of the earth should be blessed.
And there are innumerable predictions in the pro
phets of the Old Testament to this purpose. I shall
meution but a few of many : (Psal. ii. 8.) " Ask of
me, (saith God to his Son) and I shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost
parts of the earth for thy possession." Psal. Ixxii.
17. speaking ofthe Messias, " Men shall be blessed
in him ; all nations shall call him Blessed." (Isa.
xlix. 6.) " I will give thee (says God there concern
ing him) for a light to lighten the gentiles, that thou
mayest be my salvation to the ends ofthe earth."
4. And lastly, This revelation was actually pub
lished to the world, God giving remarkable counte
nance and assistance from heaven to the first preach
ers aud publishers of it.
The apostles of our Lord and Saviour, in virtue
of his commission, and by his express command

594
just before his ascension, went forth and published
his doctrine to the world. Having, upon the day of
Pentecost, according to his promise which he made
to them before his death, and renewed to them after
his resurrection, when he was going to his Father ;
1 say, having, according to his express promise, re
ceived the miraculous gifts ofthe Holy Ghost, they
began to publish the gospel first to the Jews; and,
being rejected by the greatest part of them, they
preached it to the gentiles ; and as a confirmation
ofthe doctrine which they preached, they witnessed
the resurrection of Christ from the dead, as the
great evidence of the truth of his doctrine ; and to
give confirmation to this testimony, God enabled
them to work miracles, and particularly to raise the
dead to life, which was a confirmation of their tes
timony beyond all exception : and in order to the
more speedy and effectual propagation of this doc
trine, God was pleased to work a strange miracle
never wrought upon any occasion before or since;
he endowed the apostles and first preachers of
Christianity with a power of speaking all languages,
which they had occasion in their travels to make
use of, without ever having studied or learned them;
and this miraculous gift was common to allthe apo
stles, and continued till the gospel was published
by them in most parts of the then known world;
greater evidence than which God cannot be ima
gined to give of his design to communicate the
knowledge of this doctrine universally, and to all
nations : and if it was rejected in some places, and
the progress of it obstructed in others, this doth not
hinder but that God designed it to be universally
known, and that it is of its own nature fit to be a
law to all mankind ; and God, who, in his secret

595
counsel, hath not thought fit as yet to grant the
knowledge of this doctrine of salvation to some
parts of the world, may in his due time send this
light into those dark places of the earth, which
are full of the habitations of barbarousness and
cruelty, and grant the knowledge of salvation to
them. In the mean time, what cause have we to
bless God, to whom this light came so soon, and
who have enjoyed it so long ! " Let us walk in the
light, while we have it, lest darkness overtake us."
And thus much may suffice to have been spoken
of the second particular which I observed in the
text, namely, the universal influence of this light ;
"light is come into the world."
I proceed to speak briefly to the third particular
I mentioned, viz. the excellency and advantages of
this doctrine of the Christian religion, above any
other doctrine or institution, even that of the Jew
ish religion, which was likewise immediately from
God. They are all but darkness in comparison of
it, " Light is come into the world." But in this I
have in a great measure prevented myself, in what
I have already discoursed upon the two former
heads, and therefore I shall say the less upon it :
for by what I have already said, it will in good
measure appear, how obscure and imperfect the
discoveries both of natural light, and of the Jewish
religion were, in comparison of the bright revelation
of the gospel ; and that, both concerting the nature
of God, and the worship which is most suitable
and acceptable to hiin ; and likewise concerning the
rule of our duty, and the rewards and punishments
of another life, which are the great motives and ar
guments to obedience ; and which, as to the greatest
part of mankind, both Jews and gentiles, had but a

596
very weak and faint influence before. And how
could it well be otherwise, since the apprehensions
of mankind concerning these things were dark and
doubtful !
What gross and imperfect notions the heathens
had concerning God, we may judge by their univer
sal and abominable idolatry. How uncertain their
morality was (which yet was the best part of hea
thenism) we may see by their endless differences
and disputes concerning moral duties. How wa
vering they were concerning the immortality of souls,
and the rewards of another world, we may judge by
the different and contrary opinions of the greatest
philosophers about these points. So that heathen
ism was plainly defective, both in the knowledge of
God, which is the great foundation of all religion,
and the precepts of a good life, which are the rule
of it ; and the assurance of immortality, which is
the great motive to religion, and the only solid com
fort and support of the mind bf man under the evils
and afflictions of life, and against the fears of death.
And the Jewish religion, likewise, though it had
manifold advantages of paganism, yet was it very
short and imperfect in many of these respects which
I have mentioned : besides that, it gave no clear
and well-grounded assurance of the pardon and
forgiveness of sins ; and the rewards of another
world were very obscurely revealed under that dis
pensation. So that well might the apostle, upon
comparison of the law and the gospel, say, " The
law made nothing perfect : but the bringing in of a
better hope did."
And as for the evidence which those religions had,
paganism pretended to no other authority for their
idolatrous worship, but the long custom and prac-

597
tice of the world. This Symmachus, the hea
then, insists upon, instead of all other arguments :
Sequimur majores nostros, qui feliciter secuti sunt
suos: " We follow our forefathers, who happily fol
lowed theirs."
The Jewish religion, indeed, produced good evi
dence that it was from God ; but it is very destitute
of arguments to prove, that it was either an uni
versal, or perfect, or final revelation of God's will to
mankind ; nay, it was expressly said in their law,
that God would raise up another' prophet among
them, to whom they were to hearken, and to be
obedient in all things. The Messias was plainly
foretold, and spoken of, both in the law and the
prophets, as one that was to be the authoi4 of a more
perfect law and institution, which in due time was
to be revealed to the whole world, " to be a light to
lighten the gentiles," as well as to be the glory of
the people of Israel : and accordingly, " in the ful
ness of time," he came, and by a greater confirma
tion of miracles, than the Jewish religion had, he
put a period to that weak and imperfect institution;
and to shew that the law of Moses was at an end,
God hath now, for above sixteen hundred years,
taken away their place and nation, destroyed their
temple, and laid waste their country, and dispersed
them over the world ; so that they are not capable
of observing a great part of their religion. By all
which it appears, that whatever was in the world
before, was but darkness, in comparison of the
glorious light of the gospel ; so that well might our
evangelist say, " This light was the true light, which
coming into the world, enlightens every man :" " the
true light," by way of excellency and eminency ; as
our Saviour calls himself " the true bread which

598
came down from heaven," so the doctrine of the
gospel is called " the true light," in opposition to
those false or imperfect lights which were iii the
world before. This d©ctrine of the Christian reli
gion is a perfect, and therefore a final, discoyery of
the will pf God to man ; because it can receive no
amendment, therefore it shall never have any change
or alteration.
I will conclude this particular with that inference
which the apostle to the Hebrews makes, from the
consideration of the perfection and unchangeable^
ness of the gospel dispensation, which he calls " a
kingdom which cannot be shaken :" (Heb. xii. 28,
W.) " Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which
cannot be removed, let us have grace, whereby we
may serve God acceptably, with reverence and
godly fear. For our God is a consuming fire." The
better, and more perfect, and more unchangeable, our
religion is, the better we should be ; the more stead
fastly should we persist in the sincere profession
and practice of it : and if we do not, the heavier
will be our condemnation ; " for our God is a con
suming fire." I proceed to the
Fourth particular observable in the text, viz. The
great unreasonableness of rejecting this doctrine of
the gospel. It is to make the absurdest judgment
and choice possible, to prefer darkness before light.
" Men loved darkness rather than light;" that
is, they chose rather to continue in their former
ignorance, than to entertain the most clear and per
fect discovery of God's will to mankind. And
what can be more absurd and unreasonable, when
the difference is so palpable, and the choice so
plain? That man is blind that cannot distinguish
light from darkness ; and he is very perverse and

599
obstinate, who, seeing the difference between them,
will choose darkness rather than light. Such was
the unreasonableness of those who rejected the
gospel when it was revealed to the world ; since no
thing is more clear to an impartial and considerate
man, than that the Christian religion is the best and
most perfect institution, of the greatest and most
universal concernment to mankind, that ever was
revealed to men ; and our blessed Saviour, who
was the author and founder of this religion, gave
greater evidence that he came from God, than any
©ther prophet or teacher that ever was ; and the
worship of God which this religion prescribes, is
most agreeable to his nature, being a spiritual and
a reasonable service, fit for men to give, and for God
to accept. In a word, the precepts of the gospel are
more excellent in themselves, a,nd better calculated
for the happiness and perfection of human nature ;
and the motives and arguments to persuade men to
the obedience of these precepts, more powerful than
those of any other religion that ever yet appeared
in the world.
So that the difference between the Christian reli
gion and all others that have been received and pro
fessed in the world, is so plain and apparent, that
nothing but passion, or prejudice, or interest, or
some other faulty principle, can hinder any man
from yielding his assent to Christianity. The com
parison is almost equal to that betwixt light and
darkness; and therefore, our Saviour had great
reason to speak so very severely of the infidelity of
tbe Jews, who rejected such a doctrine, propounded
to them with so much evidence and advantage.
And because the Jews are the great Scripture pat
tern of perverse infidelity and opposition to the

000
truth, it will not be amiss to take our estimate and
measure of the unreasonableness of this spirit and
temper from the properties and characters which
we find of it in the Jews, most of which do still in
separably accompany the spirit of infidelity wher
ever it is ; that as face answers face in water, so
does the infidelity of this present age resemble that
of the Jews in our Saviour's time, in all those per
verse and unreasonable qualities which did then
attend them; and therefore I shall take notice of
some of the chief of them, as I find them dispersed
up and down in the history ofthe New Testament.
But this, and what remains to be said upon this
argument, I must reserve for another discourse.

SERMON CCXLIV.
THE EXCELLENCY AND UNIVERSALITY OF THE
CHRISTIAN REVELATION, WITH THE SIN AND
DANGER OF REJECTING IT.
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into
the world, and men loved darkness rather than
because their deeds were evil. — 'John iii. 19.

When 1 began to discourse on these words, I ob
served in them several particulars. As,
First, The description which is here given of our
Saviour and his doctrine, by the metaphor of light,
" Light is come."
Secondly, The universal influence of this light.
" Light is come into the world."
Thirdly, The excellency and advantages of the
doctrine of the gospel, above any other doctrine or
institution, even that of the Jewish religion, which
was likewise immediately from God. They are all
but darkness, in comparison with this : " Light is
come into the world; and men loved darkness."
These three I have dispatched, and have entered
upon the fourth particular observable in my text ;
namely, The great unreasonableness of rejecting this doc
trine of the gospel. It is to make the absurdest
judgment and choice that is possible, to prefer
darkness before light. " Men loved darkness rather
than light." The difference between the Christian
religion and all others is so very plain, that our Sa
viour had great reason to speak thus severely ofthe
vol. ix. 2 it

602
infidelity of the Jews. And because the Jews are the
great Scripture pattern of perverse infidelity, I pro
posed the taking an estimate of the unreasonable
ness of this spirit aud temper, from the characters
which we find of it in that people, most of which do
still inseparably attend the spirit of infidelity, wher
ever it is. I shall therefore take notice of some of
the chief of those characters, as I find them dis
persed up and down in the history of the New Tes
tament ; and they are these which follow : —
I. Monstrous partiality, in denying and rejecting
that revelation, which had not only as great, but
greater evidence, than other things which they did
believe, and were ready enough to entertain. They
believed Moses and the prophets : and the great
confirmation which was given to them, was by the
miracles which God wrought by them. Those mira
cles they did not see themselves, but received them
from the testimony of their forefathers, being brought
down to them by a very credible and uncontrolled,
revelation, which they had no reason to doubt ofthe
truth Of ; but-they themselves saw the miracles which
our Saviour wrought, which were more and greater
than the miracles of Moses and all the prophets* so
that they were eye-witnesses of that Divine power
which accompanied our Saviour; and yet they re
jected him and his doctrine : nay, so unequally did
they' deal with him, that, after they had rejected
him, notwithstanding all the evidence which he
gave that he came from God, they greedily received
and ran after false prophets who gave no such testi
mony. So our Saviour foretells concerning them,
(John v. 43.) and so afterwards it came to pass, " I
am come (saith he) in my Father's name," that is,
have given sufficient evidence that he sent me,

603
and " ye received me not; if another shall come in
his own name, him will ye receive." — " In his own
name," that is, without any miracles to prove that
he comes from God.
And to shew their horrible partiality yet more,
after they had refused the clearest testimony that
God could give of him, they were contented to
accept ofthe disagreeing testimony of two witnesses
against him, and upon that uncertain evidence to
put him to death.
And this hath been the temper of those that op
pose the truth, in all ages, and in all kind of matters.
Thus the church of Rome will needs understand
those words of our Saviour, "This is my body," in
the sense of transubstantiation, contrary to the plain
intention of them, and in contradiction to the reason
and senses of all mankind ; and yet they will not
understand the plain institution of the sacrament
in both kinds. And thus the atheists, who will not
believe that there is a God, who made the world,
can yet swallow things ten times harder to be be
lieved ; as, that either the world was eternal of itself,
or the matter of it ; and that the parts of this matter,
being in perpetual motion, did, after infinite trials
and attempts, at last happen to settle in this order
ip which we now are ; that is, that this admirable
frame of the world, which hath all the characters
upon it of deep wisdom and contrivance, was made
merely by chance, and without direction and design
of any intelligent author : so partial is infidelity, as
to assent to the most absurd things, rather than be
lieve the revelations of God, or to own those prin
ciples, which are naturally imprinted upon the
minds of men, and have the general consent of man
kind. 2 R 2

604
II. Another usual concomitant of infidelity is, un
reasonable and groundless prejudice. The Jews
were strangely'prejudiced against our Saviour, and
that upon the weakest and slightest ground ; as, that
his original was known amongst them. (John vii.
27.) " Howbeit we know this man whence he is :
but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence
he is." Surely they were very ready to fake excep
tions against him, that would urge this for an objec
tion ; for what if his original were known, might he
not be from God for all that ? Moses1 was a great
prophet, and yet it was very well known from
whence he was ; and it was no where said in the
Old Testament that his original should be un
known; nay, on the contrary, it was plainly declared,
that he was to be of the tribe of Judah, of the
lineage of, David, and to come out of Bethlehem.
Another prejudice against him was the meanness
of his parents, and of the manner of his education:
(Matt. xiii. 54.) " Whence hath this man this wis
dom, and these mighty works? Is not this the
carpenter's son ? Is not his mother called Mary ?
and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and
Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?
Whence then hath this man all these things ? And
they were offended in him." And so, likewise,
(John vii. 15.) " How knoweth this man letters,
having never learned?" A strange kind of unreason
able prejudice ! They could not believe him to be
an extraordinary person, because his parents and
relations, his birth, and manner of breeding, were so
mean ; because he had been brought up to a trade,
and not bred up like one of their scribes and rab
bies ; as if God could not inspire a man with all
those gifts, which men ordinarily acquire by study

605
and pains: and as if it had not been reasonable to
expect, that the Messias, who they believed was to
be the greatest prophet that ever was, should be
thus inspired. Now in all reason the argument is
strong the other way — that sure he was an extraordi
nary prophet, who all on a sudden gave such evi
dence of his great knowledge and wisdom, and did
such mighty works ; because this could not be im
puted to his breeding and education, since that was
so mean, and therefore there must be something ex
traordinary and divine in if; thus another man, who
had been free from prejudice, would have been apt
to reason.
Another unreasonable prejudice was grounded
upon a spiteful and malicious proverb, concerning
the country where our Saviour was brought up,
namely Galilee, (John i. 46.) ". Can any good thing
come out of Nazareth ?" And, (John vii. 41.) " Shall
Christ (thatis, the Messias,) come out of Galilee?"
And, (ver. 52.) " Search and look, for out of Galilee
ariseth no prophet." Nathanael, indeed, who was a
sincere good man, was easily wrought off from this
prejudice, and was contented to be convinced ofthe
contrary by plain evidence, when Philip desired him
" to come and see." (John i. 46.) But the Jews it
seems laid great weight upon it, as if this one thing
had been enough to confute all our Saviour's mira
cles, and, after they had shot this bolt at him, the
matter had been clearly concluded against him.
But wise and unprejudiced men do not use to be
swayed and carried away with ill-natured proverbs;
nor do they believe the bad characters, which are
given of a country, to be universally true without
exception, as if every country did not yield some
brave spirits, and excellent persons, whatever the

606
general temper and disposition of the inhabitants
may be observed to be; or as if aman could not be
an inspired prophet, unless he were bred in a good
air; nor be sent by God, unless men approved the
place from whence he came. The Bceotians among
the Greeks were a heavy and dull people, even to a
proverb ; and yet Pindar, a great poet and wit, was
born in that country. The Scythians were so bar
barous, that one would have thought surely no good
could come from thence ; and yet they yielded Ana-
charsis, none of the meanest of the philosophers.
The Idumeans were " aliens and strangers from the
commonwealth of Israel;" and yet Job, one of the
most excellent persons that ever lived, was born
among them. God can bring forth eminent instru
ments out of any place and nation he pleases, " out
of stones raise up children unto Abraham." Our
conceits are no rule to him, nor does he govern the
world by our foolish proverbs ; " His ways are not
as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts."
And thus some in our days have endeavoured to
slur the Reformation, by calling it " the northern
heresy ;" as if the light of truth were at as great a
distance from these northern parts, as that of the
sun, and nothing but error and heresy could come
thence; which is just such a conceit, and grounded
upon as wise a reason, as that ofthe Donatists, who
would needs have truth and the catholic church
confined to Africa, because that was the southern
part of the world, and because it is said in the Song
of Solomon, concerning the church, " Tell me, O
thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, and
where thou makest thy flocks to rest at noon."
Another mighty prejudice against our Saviour
we find mentioned John vii. 48. " Have any ofthe

607
rulers or pharisees believed on him ?" For this there
seems to be some better colour than for the other;
because the example of superiors and of persons
thought to be more knowing, is considerable indeed
in a doubtful case, and a good rule of action, when
we have no better; but ought to be of no force to
sway our judgment against clear and convincing evi
dence. Zedekiah and the princes of Judah would
not hearken to Jeremiah : yet was he a true prophet
for all that, though it was not their pleasure to think
so. Sometimes there is a gross and palpable cor
ruption in those who ought to be guides to others,
and they have a visible interest in opposing and re
jecting the truth. And this was the case of the
pharisees and rulers among the Jews in our Saviour's
time. Any one that had known them, and judged
impartially concerning them, would rather have
chosen to have followed any example than theirs.
Religion may sometimes be in greatest danger, from
those who ought to understand it best, and to be the
greatest supports of it. So it was of old among the
Jews, when the prophet complains, that " their
ieaders had caused them to err :" and so it hath
been among Christians, in the great degeneracy of
the Roman church ; their popes and their general
councils, as they call them, have been the great cor
rupters of Christianity, and seducers of Christen
dom ; which made Luther to say, with truth and
sharpness enough, Religio nunquam magis periclita-
tur quam inter reverendissimos ; " Religion is never
in greater danger than among the most reverend ;"
meaning the pope and the cardinals: when those
who ought to teach and reform others, are guilty of
the greatest errors and corruptions themselves.
I will mention but one prejudice more, which we
find John ix. 16. " This man (say the Jews con-

608
cerning our Saviour) is not of God, bedause he
keepeth not the sabbath-day." This indeed had
been a considerable exception, if it had been true ;
and therefore our Saviour takes great care to vindi
cate himself from this aspersion; he shews, that the
law of the sabbath did not oblige in all cases, and
that, being a positive precept, it ought to give place
to rnqral duties, which are of perpetual obligation,
and therefore he bids them " go and learn what
that meaneth, T will have mercy, and not sacrifice;"
and the plain meaning of that saying was, that when
positive institutions interfere with any moral duty,
they cease to oblige in that case; that the sabbath
was designed for the ease and benefit of men, and
not for their grievance and burden: and therefore,
where the life of man is concerned, the law of the
sabbath ceaseth ; as in case of necessity, " David
did eat of the show-bread, and was blameless,"
though by a positive law it was forbidden for any
man to eat of it but the priests only. Lastly, from
a general practice in a common case among them
selves, it being allowed by their own law, to take
an ox or an ass out of a pit on the sabbath-day;
and therefore much more to heal one on the sabbath-
day and " to loose a daughter of Abraham, that
had been bound eighteen years," as our Saviour in
vincibly argues.
Upon the like prejudice several churches and
communions in the world will not allow others to be
good Christians, and in a state of salvation, because
they do not lay the same weight that they do upon
positive institutions, not of Divine, but of mere ecr
clesiastical authority, in which they are more un
reasonable than the Jews.* But I proceed to a
* Of this see more. Sermons CXVI. CXVII. and CXTIII.
vols, v, and vi,

609
III. Third concomitant of their infidelity, and this
was, a childish kind of perverseness. Being strongly
prejudiced againstour Saviour, they were so peevish
and froward, that nothing would satisfy them. And
of this he himself gives us a remarkable instance ;
(Matt. xi. 16, 17.) " But whereunto shall I liken
this generation? It is like unto children sitting in
the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and say
ing, We have piped unto you, and ye have not
danced ; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not
lamented." The business was this : the Jews found
fault with John the Baptist, because his habit and
conversation were so rough and severe; and yet our
Saviour could not please them neither, who was of
.a quite different temper. " John the Baptist came
in the way of righteousness, and they received him
not;" his way was very strict and severe, " he came
neither eating nor drinking," was very strict in his
diet, and manner of living, of a coarse carriage and
melancholy temper, and " they said he had a devil."
He was to be a preacher of repentance, and his garb
was suitable to his employment. Our Saviour was
of a more easy and familiar and conversable temper,
suitable to a preacher of pardon and forgiveness:
" the Son of man came eating and drinking; and
they said, Behold a wine bibber and a glutton, a
friend of publicans and sinners." Now what could
be more childish and perverse than to be pleased
with nothing? . By this it plainly appeared, that
whatever garb he had put on, whatever his carriage
had been, they would have found fault with it, and
have made some exception against it; at this rate it
was impossible for him to escape the censure of
men so perversely disposed; and therefore our Sa
viour fitly compares them to " children playing in

610
the markets," who were neither pleased with mourn
ing nor dancing.
And this is the humour of infidelity, and of those
who oppose the truth, to cavil and make exceptions
at every thing, and to argue against religion and
the principles of it, from contrary topics, and argu
ments that are inconsistent with one another.
There are other instances of this perverseness in
the Jews; as, that when they believed Moses, and
had a mighty veneration for him, yet they would
not believe him when he testified concerning the
Messias. So likewise they looked upon John the
Baptist as a prophet; but yet would give no credit
to his testimony concerning Christ. Nay, so froward
were they, that when our Saviour had wrought the
greatest and plainest miracle that could be, in
feeding five thousand persons with five loaves and
two little fishes; yet, as if this had been nothing,
they still call upon him to work a miracle ; (John vi.
30.) " What sign workest thou, that we may see
and believe?"
IV. Another usual concomitant of infidelity, is ob
stinacy, and pertinacious persisting in error. This
likewise was the temper ofthe Jews, not to be con
vinced by any evidence that could be offered to
them. When our Saviour had several times put
them to silence, so that they were not able to an
swer him, yet they obstinately persisted in their for
mer conceit, and stiffly held the conclusion, though
they were' not able to make good the premises.
(Matt, xxii.) Our Saviour confuted the Sadducees
about the resurrection, and put them to silence ; and
then undertook the pharisees, and they could not
answer him neither ; both of them continued in their
opinion, though each of them thought the other to
be clearly baffled aud confuted.

611
.This obstinacy of theirs our Saviour makes a
great aggravation of their infidelity ; (Matt. xxi. 31,
32.) " Verily, I say unto you, that the publicans and
the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
For John came unto you by the way of righteous
ness, and ye believed him not : but the publicans
and the harlots believed him. And ye, when ye had
seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might be
lieve him."
Nay, which was the most unreasonable of all,
when they could not answer his arguments, nor
deny the miracles which he wrought, yet they were
resolved not to believe on him, nor to suffer others to
confess him. (John xi. 47,48.) After he had wrought
that great miracle, in raising Lazarus from the dead,
after he had lain four days in the grave, they were
so far from owning themselves convinced by it, that
hereupon they took counsel to put him to death.
So the text tells us, that " many of the Jews which
came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus
had done (namely, the raising of Lazarus), believed
on him : but some of them went their way to the
pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had
done." And now one would have thought, that
either they should not have acknowledged this
mighty miracle, or, if they had, that they should
have been convinced by it that he was from God :
but the miracle was so notorious, that they could
not deny it ; and they were so obstinately set against
him, that they would not be convinced by it; they
granted the premises, and yet denied the conclu
sion ; (ver. 47.) "Then gathered the chief priests
and pharisees a council, and said, What do we ? for
this man doeth many miracles ; if we let him alone
all men will believe on him." And it follows, (ver.

612
53.) " From that day forth they took counsel toge
ther to put him to death."
And after he was risen from the dead, and those
that bare witness to his resurrection had their testi
mony confirmed by miracles, yet the Jews continued
in the same obstinacy, as if they were resolved to
oppose the gospel in despite of all evidence that
could be brought for it. So we find (Acts iv. 15,
16.) that when the rulers and scribes beheld the
man whom the apostles had healed, standing by
them, it is said, " They could say nothing against
it." But when they had commanded them to go
aside out of the council, they conferred among them
selves, " saying, What shall we do to these men?
for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done
by them, is manifest to all them that dwell in Jeru
salem, and we cannot deny it : but, that it spread
no farther among the people, let us straightly
threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no
man in this name." What could be more unreason
able, than to own the miracle, and yet to reject the
testimony ?
V. Another quality which accompanied this spirit
of infidelity and opposition to the truth in the Jews,
was want of patience to consider and examine what
could be said for the truth ; a hastiness to pro
nounce and pass sentence, before they had heard
what could be said for it. Thus the pharisees,
when they saw our Saviour cast out devils, they
presently, without any farther consideration, pro
nounces, that he did it " by the prince of devils,"
(Matt. xii. 24.) Had they not been headily carried
on by passion and prejudice, they would never
have passed this rash sentence. Had they but
had patience to have considered matters, they could

613
not have believed, that the devil was confederate
with Christ against himself, and the interest of his
own kingdom.
And as it was then, so it is at this day ; many
continue in unbelief and error, not because there is
not evidence enough for the things proposed to
their belief, but because they have not patience
enough to consider what may be said for them.
Nay, in the church of Rome, that they may retain
their people in their communion, they strictly forbid
all examination of their religion, or so much as to hear
or read what can be said against it ; because this is
doubting, and doubting is next to infidelity, a mor
tal sin, and a temptation of the devil. There is but
one season and nick of time, wherein they will al
low any of the people to examine and inquire into
matters of religion, and that is, when they would
gain a man to their religion, and they allow it then
only because they cannot help it. Some reasons
they must offer to persuade men to be of their
church; and when they offer them, they must al
low them to consider them, and judge of the force
of them, though they had much rather they would
take their words for the strength and goodness of
them ; for they do what they can to hinder them
from advising with those that will dispute the mat
ter with them : or if they cannot prevent examina
tion, yet they divert them as much as they can
from any particular inquiry into their doctrines
and practices ; this they pretend is a tedious and
endless course, and therefore they commonly direct
them to a shorter way, which is, not to inquire first
into the truth of their doctrines, and the goodness
of their worship and practice; but first to find out
the true church, and then learn of her what doc-

614
trines and practices are truly Christian ; and by
this means they get their religion swallowed whole,
without any particular examination of their doc
trines and practices, which will not bear the trial;
and therefore, to make the work short, they take it
for granted, that there is always a visible catholic
church ; that this church is infallible in all matters
of faith ; and that the Roman church is this visible
infallible catholic church, because no other church
pretends to be so; as indeed there is no reason why
any particular church should pretend to be catholic,
or universal; or, to speak plainer, why a part should
pretend to be the whole: and all this being ad
mitted, there is nothing more now to be done, but
to receive all the doctrines which this church teach
eth, without any further examination of them, be
cause this church being supposed to be infallible,
all that she says must be true, though it appears
to be never so contrary to Scripture, or reason, or
sense. But now, in this way of proceeding, there
are two or three things which seem to be very
odd : —
1. That men must take their religion in a lump,
and not be allowed to examine the particular doc
trines and practices of it: which is to say, they have
an excellent religion, but men must by no means
examine it, nor look into it. This looks so suspi
ciously, that a wise man, for this very reason, if
there were no other, would reject it, because they
are so afraid to bring it to a trial.
2. It seems likewise very strange, that when they
go to make proselytes, they should take so many
things which are in question and controversy be
tween us, for-granted ; as, that the church in every
age is infallible, and that the church of Rome is the

615
infallible and catholic church. They meet indeed
sometimes with some easy and willing converts,
that will meet them thus far ; that is, more than
half way : but what if a man will not take all this
for granted, but will put them to the proof of it?
Why then he is not so civil as they hoped and ex
pected ; and commonly they give over tempting
him, or at least depart from him for a season, un
til they can find him in a more pliable temper ; for
it is a long work, and requires a great deal of time,
to prove some things, especially to the dull capa
city of a northern heretic: besides that, some things
are stubborn, and will not be proved, though never
so much pains be taken to do it; and so are the pro
positions now mentioned, towards the proof where
of I never saw any argument offered, that is within
distance, or indeed within sight, ofthe conclusion.
And then,
3. It seems a very strange method of coming to
know what the true doctrines of Christianity are,
by first knowing which is the true church : for it
is not the church which makes the doctrines of
Christianity to be true, but the profession of the
true Christian doctrine which makes the true
church; and therefore we must first know which
are the true doctrines of Christianity, the profes
sion whereof makes the true church, before we can
possibly know which is the true church; but which
are the true doctrines of Christianity is not to be
known but by a particular examination of them,
and comparing them with the rule of the Christian
faith, " the word of God." But they that have a
mind to delude men, and keep them in error, must
never admit their religion to be tried by this rule.
But to proceed.

616
VI. Another quality which accompanies infideli
ty and opposition to the truth, is rudeness and
boisterousness, falling into uncivil terms and re
proachful names. Such was the carriage of the
Jews towards our Saviour ; when they were not able
to reason with him, they fell to railing at him, (John
viii. 48.) When he argued against their infidelity in
the calmest manner, and, by the strongest and clear
est arguments, endeavoured to convince them of
the unreasonableness of it : " Which of you (saith
he) convinceth me of sin ? And if I speak the truth,,
why do you not believe? He that is of God, hear
eth God's words ; ye, therefore, hear them not, be
cause ye are not of God. Then answered the Jews,
Say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast
a devil ?" They presently call him heretic ; for so
the Jews esteemed the Samaritans.
VII. Another quality near akin to this, is fury
and outrageous passion. (John vii. 23.) The Jews
were in a great passion against our Saviour, for heal
ing on the sabbath-day. When the apostles wrought
miracles, it is said, that "the high priest, and they
that were with, him, were filled with indignation."
And when St. Stephen preached to them, it is said,
"They gnashed on him with their teeth." And St.
Paul acknowledgeth of himself, while he opposed
the truth of Christianity^ he was " mad against all
that were of that way."
VIII. And lastly, to mention no more, infidelity
and opposition to the truth, is usually attended with
bloody and inhuman persecution^ certain argument
of a weak cause, and which wants better means of
conviction. Thus the Jews treated our Saviour ;
when they could not deal with hiin by reason, they
persecuted him, and " sought to kill him." (John y.

617
16. and chap. viii. 59.) When our Saviour had an
swered all their objections, and they had nothing to
reply unto him, " they took up stones to cast at
him ;" a sign their reasons were spent, and that then-
arguments were at an end. Thus infidelity and error
betrays its own weakness, and want of reason on
its side, by making use of such brutish and unrea
sonable Weapons in its own defence. Our blessed
Saviour and his apostles never thought of propagat
ing their religion by these inhuman and barbarous
ways. These methods are proper to the destroyer,
but not to the Lamb of God, and Saviour of men.
" The Son of man came not to destroy men's lives,
but to save them ;" to do good to the bodies, and
to the souls of men ; and not to destroy their bo
dies, no, not in order to the saving of their souls.
All the means that he or his apostles used, were
teaching and persuading, and that with great meek
ness : " Learn of me, for I am meek," saith our
Lord : and the apostles every where command the
teachers of this religion^ "to shew all gentleness
to all men," and "in meekness to instruct those
that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will
give them repentance to the acknowledgment of
the truth." They did not go about to convert men
by armed force, and ways of violence and cruelty.
It is a sign that reason runs very low with that reli
gion, which hath no better arguments to persuade
men to it, than dragoons and the galleys ; these are
carnal, and therefore not Christian weapons. So
St. Paul tells us, " The weapons of our warfare are
not carnal," and yet they, were " mighty through God,
to subdue" a great part of the world to the belief and
obedience of the Christian religion. Thus I have
done with the fourth particular in the text — the un-
vol. ix. 2 s

61S
reasonableness of infidelity and opposition to the
truth. The two remaining ones I shall dispatch in
a few words.
Fifthly, therefore, I observed the true reason and
account of men's opposition t© the truth, and rejec
tion of it ; " Men loved darkness rather than light,
because their deeds were evil." And, indeed dark
ness is more suitable to a wicked and vicious life,
because the deformity of it is not so easily discovered
as in the light; this makes the evil of men's actions
more manifest, and their faults more inexcusable.
Men may pretend other reasons for their infidelity
and opposition of the truth, and may seem to argue
against the principles of religion in good earnest,
and against the reasonableness and truth of Christ
ianity, from a real contrary persuasion : but no man
that hath these things fairly proposed to him, and
with all the advantages they are.capable of, and hath
the patience to consider the true nature and design
of the Christian doctrine, but must acknowledge it,
not only to be the most reasonable, but the most
Divine, most likely to come from God, and to, make
men like God, of any religion that ever yet appeared
in the world. If any man reject it,, it is not because
he hath good and sufficient reasons against it ; but
because he is swayed by some unreasonable preju
dice and passion, or biassed by some lust or interest,
which he is strongly addicted to, and loath to part
with, and yet he must part with it, if he entertain
this religion, and submit himself to the terms and
rules of it. This is that which commonly lies at the
bottom of infidelity, and is the true reason of their
opposition to the truth — that " their deeds are evil."
And it is natural for every man to defend himself,
and justify his doings, as well as he can ; and if re-

619
ligion be clearly against him, to set himself with all
the despite and malice he can against religion ; and
to hate, and with all his might to oppose, that which
contradicts that course which he is in love with, and
is resolved to continue in : for, as our Saviour rea
sons in a like case, " No man can serve two masters ;
but either he will hate the one, and love the other ;
or he will cleave to the one, and quit the other." Men
cannot entertain the truth, and retain their lusts;
and, therefore, as our Saviour tells us immediately
after the text, " Every one that doeth evil, hateth the
light, neither cometh he to the light, lest his deeds
should be reproved." The light of truth is as griev
ous to a bad man, as the light of the sun is to sore
eyes : because it lays open and discovers the fahlts
and vices of men, and if they entertain it, will urge
them, aud put them upon a necessity of reforming
their wicked lives ; and because they have no mind
to this, therefore they resist the light, and endeavour
to keep it out. The vices and lusts of men are so
many diseases ; and men naturally loath physic, and
put it off as long as they can : and this makes many
inconsiderate and wilful men to favour their disease,
and take part with it against all counsel and advice ;
and when the great Physician of souls comes and of
fers them a remedy, they slight and reject him, and
will rather perish than follow his prescriptions.
And this was the true reason why the Jews re
jected the gospel : they were vicious in their lives,
and loath to undergo the severity of a cure ; they
were not willing to be saved by so sharp and unplea
sant a remedy. And this is still the true reason at
this day, of men's enmity and opposition to re
ligion, because it declares against their evil deeds,
and proclaims open war against those vices and lusts
2 s 2

620
which they love, and are resolved to live in ; so that
they have no other way to justify themselves and
their actions, but by condemning aud rejecting that
which reproves and finds fault with them.
And here I might shew more particularly, that
there are two accounts to be given why bad, men are
so apt to resist and reject tbe Divine truth, even
when it is revealed and proposed to them in the
fairest manner, and with the clearest evidence.
1. Because their minds are not so rightly prepared
and disposed for the receiving of Divine truth. And*
2. Because they have an interest against it, their
designs, and deeds are evil, they have some world
ly interest to carry on, or they are in love with
some vice or lust which they cannot reconcile with
the truths of God and religion. But this I have
done at large elsewhere.* I proceed, therefore,
to the
Sixth and last particular in the text, namely, The
great guilt of those who reject the doctrine of the
gqspel. By this very act of theirs they are con
demned^ nay, they condemn themselves ; because
they reject the only means of their salvation. "This
is the condemnation," this very thing argues the
height of their folly and guilt, that " when light is
come," they prefer darkness before it. If any thing
will condemn men, this will ; and if any thing will
aggravate their condemnation, and make it above
pleasure heavy and intolerable, this. will. If it were
in a dqubtful matter that men made so ill and foolish
a choice, the thing would admit of some excuse : but
the dispute is between light, and darkness. If the
Christian religion had not so plainly the advantage
* Sec Sermons LXXXVI. LXXXVII. LXXXVIII. vol. v~
p. 19, &c.

621
of any other institution that ever was ; if that holi
ness which the gospel commands, and that happi
ness which it promiseth, were not infinitely to be
preferred before the ways of sin and death, the un
believer and the disobedient might have something
* to say for themselves ; but the case is plainly other
wise : so that whoever, having the Christian religion
fairly and fully proposed to him, doth not believe it ;
or, professing to believe it, doth not live according to
it, " hath no cloak for his sin ;" neither the one for
his infidelity, nor the other for his disobedience:
and if any thing will aggravate the condemnation of
men, this will; for the greater light men sin against,
the greater is their guilt ; and the greater any man's
guilt is, the heavier will be his doom. The hea
then world, that lived for many ages in " darkness
and the shadow of death," shall be condemned for
sinning against that imperfect knowledge of their
duty, which they had from the glimmering of natural
light; but they shall be "beaten with few stripes,"
their punishment shall be gentle in comparison ; but
what punishment can be severe enough for those ob
stinate infidels that reject the light, and prefer dark
ness before it? for those impudent offenders, who
admit the light of the gospel; and yet rebel against
it; who do the works of darkness in the midst of
this light, at noon-day, and in the face of the sun ?
This consideration the Scripture frequently urgeth
upon those who enjoy the light of the gospel. " I
say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and
Sidon, for Sodom and Gomorrah, (the very worst
and wickedest of the heathens) than for you." "How
shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?"
If either we reject the knowledge of the truth, or sin
wilfully after we have received it, (thatis, apostatize

622
either to infidelity or impiety of life) there remains no
more sacrifice for sin, nothing but a fearful looking-
for of judgment and fiery indignation, to consume
the adversary, that is, such implacable enemies of
God and his truth ; in so doing, we resist and reject
our last remedy ; and after God hath sent and sacri
ficed his only Son for our salvation, we cannot in
reason think there remains any more sacrifice for
sin. — I have gone over the several particulars in the
text : 1 shall only make two or three inferences.
First, If the great design of the Son of God was
to enlighten the world with the knowledge of Di-
viue truth, what shall we think of those, who make
it their great endeavour to stifle and suppress this
light, and to hinder the free communication of it?
who conceal the word of life from the people, and
lock up the knowledge of salvation, contained in
the Holy Scriptures, in an unknown tongue?
Secondly, Having represented the unreasonable
ness of infidelity, and the evil concomitants of it in
the Jews, " Let us take heed lest there be in any of
us an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the
living God, and lest any of us fall after the same
example of infidelity." Let us not reject the prin
ciples of religion, because they are inconsistent with
our practices, but let us rather endeavour to recon
cile our lives to the rules of religion, and resolve to
reform those faults which religion reproves, and
which the reason of our own minds, if we would at
tend to it, reproves as much as religion; a clear evi
dence that we are in the wrong, and religion in the
right, because it hath the best and soberest reason
of mankind on its side.
Let. us then, with all readiness of mind, entertain
that light which God hath afforded to us, to con-

623
dnct us and shew us the way to happiness, whether
by the principles of natural religion, or by the re
velation of the gospel in its primitive purity and lus
tre, and not as it hath been muffled and disguised
by the ignorance and superstition which prevailed
"*in after-ages, till the light of the Reformation sprang
out, and restored a new day to us, aud " called us
again out of darkness info a marvellous light,"
which, by the blessing of God, we have now enjoyed
for many years, and which we cannot go about to
quench, without incurring the condemnation in the
text. Thirdly, and lastly, Let us take heed of practical
infidelity, of opposing and contradicting the Christ
ian religion by our wicked lives and actions. Though
we profess to believe the gospel, yet if our " deeds
be evil," we do in effect and by interpretation reject
it, and " love darkness rather than light ;" though
we assent to the truth of it, yet we " withhold it in
unrighteousness," we resist the virtue and efficacy
of it, and do oppose and blaspheme it by our lives ;
nay, we do as much as in us lies to make others
atheists, by exposing religion to the contempt and
scorn of such persons, and by opening their mouths
against it ; as either not containing the laws of a
good life, or as destitute of power and efficacy to
persuade men to the obedience of those laws.
Where (will they say) is this excellent religion, so
much boasted of? how does it appear? Look into
the lives of Christians, and there you will best see
the admirable effects of this doctrine, the mighty
force of this, institution! And what a shameful re
proach is this to us! What a scandal and dispa
ragement to our holy religion, to see some of the
I worst of men wearing the badge and livery of the

624
best religion and institution that ever was in the
world !
Ishall conclude all with the words ofthe apostle,
'(Phil. i. 27.) " Only let your conversation be as it
becometh the gospel of Christ ;" and "stand fast with
one spirit, with one mind, striving together for the
faith of the gospel."

end of vol. ix.

J. F. Dove, Printer, St. John's Square.

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