I. precepts, to hold the mystery of faith in a pure confcience; SERM. and, to hold faith and a good confcience, which fome having put away, concerning the faith have made shipwreck: a Tim.iii.9. man void of good confcience will not embark in Chrifti- i. 19. anity; and having laid good confcience afide, he foon will make shipwreck of faith, by apostasy from it. Refolute indulgence to any one luft is apt to produce this effect. 1 Tim. vi. which 18. Heb. xiii. goods; 16. Luke vi. 30. Luke xiv. Lukevi. 20, 24. If a man be covetous, he can hardly enter into the king- Matt. xix. dom of heaven, or fubmit to that heavenly law, which 23. vi. 19. forbiddeth us to treasure up treasures upon earth; chargeth us to be liberal in communication of our fo as to give unto every one that afketh; which in fome Luke xvi. 9. cafes requireth to fell all our goods, and to give them to Matt. xix. the poor; which declareth, that whofoever doth not bid 20. farewell to all that he hath, cannot be a difciple of Chrift; 33. which afcribeth happiness to the poor, and denounceth woe to the rich, who have their confolation here. Preach fuch doctrine to a covetous perfon, and, as the young gentleman who had great poffeffions, he will go his way forrow- Matt. xix. ful; or will do like the Pharifees, who were covetous, and having heard our Saviour difcourfe fuch things, derided Luke xvi. him: for the love of money, faith St. Paul, is the root of all evil, which while fome coveted after, they have erred from ovarov. the faith; ahavnav, they have wandered away, or 10. apoftatized from the faith. 22. 14. 1 Tim. vi. John xii. Matt. vi. 1. 31. If a man be ambitious, he will not approve that doctrine, which prohibiteth us to affect, to feek, to admit Phil. ii. 3. glory, or to do any thing for its fake; but purely to seek Gal. v. 26. God's honour, and in all our actions to regard it as our 43. v. 44. principal aim: which greatly disparageth all worldly glory 1 Pet. i. 24. as vain, tranfitory, mifchievous; which commandeth us! in honour to prefer others before ourselves, and to fit down 1 John ii. in the lowest room; which promifeth the best rewards to 16. humility, and menaceth, that whoever exalteth himself 10. fhall be abafed; the profeffion and practice whereof are commonly attended with disgrace: fuch doctrines ambi- Matt. xxiii. tious minds cannot admit; as it proved among the Jews; who therefore could not believe, because they received glory 11.xviii.14. Rom. xii. Luke xiv. 10. 12. Luke xiv. John v. 44. SERM. from one another; who therefore would not profess the I. faith, because they loved the glory of men rather than the John xii.43. glory of God. 26. Phil. ii. 4. 15. If a man be envious, he will not like that doctrine, 1 Cor. xii. which enjoineth him to defire the good of his neighbour, Guy xaips. as his own; to have complacence in the prosperity and 1 Cor. x. 24. dignity of his brethren; not to feek his own, but every man Rom. xii. another's wealth, or welfare; to rejoice with them that re1 Pet. ii. 1. joice, and mourn with those that mourn; which chargeth Gal. v. 20. us to lay afide all envyings and emulations, under pain of 13. damnation: he therefore who is poffeffed with an envious Jam. iii. 14, fpirit, or evil eye, will look ill upon this doctrine; as the Jews did, who being full of envy and emulation, did reject the Gofpel; it being a grievous eyefore to them, Acs v. 17. that the poor Gentiles were thereby admitted to favour and mercy. Rom. xiii. 16. xiii. 45. xvii. 5. Rom. xii. 20, 17. Matt. v. 39. 15. If a man be revengeful or fpiteful, he will be fcandalMatt. v. 44. ized at that law, which commandeth us to love our enemies, to bless thofe that curfe us, to do good to them that. 1 Pet. iii. 9. hate us, to pray for them that defpitefully use us; which 1 Cor. vi. 7. forbiddeth us to refift the evil, to render evil for evil, or 1 Theff. v. railing for railing; which chargeth us to bear patiently, Col. iii. 13. and freely to remit all injuries, under penalty of forfeiting. all hopes of mercy from God; which requireth us to de-. xviii. 35. pofe all wrath, animofity, and malice, as inconfiftent with 1 Pet. ii. 1. our falvation: which doctrine how can a heart fwelling Gal. v. 20. with rancorous grudge or boiling with anger embrace? Jam. i. 21. feeing it must be in meeknefs that we must receive the engrafted word, that is able to fave our fouls. Eph. iv. 32. Matt. vi. 15. Col. iii. 8. Eph. iv. 31. 1 Cor. ix. 25, 27. 3. i. 8. iv. 5. If a man be intemperate, he will loathe that doctrine, 2Tim. iv. 5. the precepts of which are, that we be temperate in all things, that we bring under our bodies, that we endure 2 Tim. ii. hardship as good foldiers of Chrift; to avoid all excefs; to Eph. v. 18. poffefs our veffels in fanctification and honour; to mortify 1 Theff. iv. our members upon earth; to crucify the flesh with its affecCol. iii. 5. tions and lufts; to abstain from fleshly lufts, which war 2 Pet. ii. 11. against the foul: with which precepts how can a luxurious and filthy heart comport? 4. Gal. v. 24. In fine, whatever corrupt affection a man be poffeffed I. Rom. vi. 6. with, it will work in him a distaste and repugnance to SERM. that doctrine, which indifpenfably, as a condition of falvation, doth prescribe and require univerfal holinefs, pu- Eph. ii. 11. rity, innocence, virtue, and goodnefs; which doth not iv. 22. allow any one fin to be foftered or indulged; which 1Theff.iv.3. threateneth wrath and vengeance upon all impiety, ini- Eph. v. 6. quity, impurity, wherein we do obftinately perfift; indif- Col. iii. 6. ferently, without any referve or remedy; wherein the wrath Rom. i. 18. of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and ii. 8. unrighteoufnefs of men, that detain the truth in unrighteoufness. An impure, a diffolute, a paffionate foul cannot affect so holy notions, cannot comply with fo ftrict rules, as the Gospel doth recommend; as a fore eye cannot like the bright day; as a fickly palate cannot relish favoury food. Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, because it dif- John iii. 20. covereth to him his own vilenefs and folly; because it detecteth the fadnefs and wofulness of his condition; because it kindleth anguish and remorse within him; because it checketh him in the free pursuit of his bad defigns, it dampeth the brisk enjoyment of his unlawful pleasures, it robbeth him of satisfaction and glee in any vicious course of practice. Every man is unwilling to entertain a bad conceit of himself, and to pafs on himself a fad doom: he therefore will be apt to reject that doctrine, which being supposed true, he cannot but confefs himself to be an arrant fool, he cannot but grant himself a forlorn wretch. No man liketh to be galled, to be ftung, to be racked with a sense of guilt, to be scared with a dread of punishment, to live under awe and apprehenfion of imminent danger; gladly therefore would he fhun that doctrine, which demonstrateth him a grievous finner, which speaketh difmal terror, which thundereth ghaftly woe upon him. * Η ἐμπαθής ψυχὴ οὐ δύναται μέγα τι καὶ γενναῖον ἰδεῖν, ἀλλ' ὡσπερ ὑπὸ τινὸς λήμας θελουμένη ἀμβλυωπίαν ὑπομένει τὴν χαλεπωτάτην. Chryf. in Joh. Orat. 25. Ἔστι γὰρ, ἔστι καὶ ἀπὸ τρόπων διεφθαρμένων, οὐκ ἀπὸ πολυπραγμοσύνης μόνον ἀκαίρου σκοτωθῆναι τὴν διάνοιαν. Ibid. SERM. He cannot love that truth, which is fo much his enemy, I, which fo rudely treateth and feverely perfecuteth him; which telleth him fo bad and unwelcome news f. Rom. viii. 7. Who would be content to deem Omnipotency engaged against him to fancy himself ftanding on the brink of a fiery lake? to hear a roaring lion, ready to devour him? to fuppofe that certain, which is fo dreadful and fad to him? Hence it is, that the carnal mind is enmity to God; Job xxiv. hence do bad men rebel against the light; hence, foolish men fhall not attain to wifdom, and finners fhall not fee her; for fhe is far from pride, and men that are liars cannot remember her. 18. Ecclus. xv. 7. ἡ πονηρία Hence a man refolvedly wicked cannot but be willing to be an infidel, in his own defence, for his own quiet and eafe; faith being a companion very incommodious, intolerably troublesome to a bad confciences. Being refolved not to forfake his lufts, he must quit thofe opinions which crofs them; feeing it expedient that the Gospel fhould be falfe, he will be inclinable to think it fo: thus he finketh down, thus he tumbleth himself headlong into the gulf of infidelity. The custom of finning doth alfo by degrees fo abate, and at length fo deftroy, the loathfomenefs, the ugliness, the horror thereof, doth fo reconcile it to our minds, yea conciliateth fuch a friendship to it, that we cannot easily believe it fo horrid and bafe a thing as by the Gospel it is represented to us. Vicious practice doth also weaken the judgment and ftuagripify the faculties. So that we cannot clearly apprehend, Vid. Chryf. or judge foundly about fpiritual matters. φθαρτική τῶν ἀρχῶν. in Joh. Or. 5. (p. 582.) The fame alfo quencheth God's Spirit, and driveth away f They hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. Prov. i. 29. v. 12. Β Τὸ ἀπισεῖν ταῖς ἐντολαῖς ἐκ τοῦ πρὸς τὴν ἐκπλήρωσιν ἐκλελύσθαι τῶν ἐντολῶν yiverai, &c. Chryf. tom. vi. Orat. 12. (p. 140.) Ωστε εἰ μέλλομεν ἐῤῥιζωμένην ἔχειν τὴν πίςιν, πολιτείας ἡμῖν δεῖ καθαρᾶς, τῆς τὸ πνεῦμα πειθούσης μένειν, καὶ συνέχειν ἐκείνης τὴν δύναμιν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐστὶν, οὐκ ἐστὶ βίον ἀκάθαρτον ἔχοντα μὴ περὶ πίστιν σαλεύεσθαι, &c. Chryf. tom. v. Οr. 55. his grace, which is requifite to the production and prefer- SERM. vation of faith in us. 14. In fine, from what spirit infidelity doth proceed we may fee by the principles, commonly with it espoused, for its fupport and countenance, by its great mafters and patrons; all which do rankly favour of baseness and ill nature. They do libel and revile mankind as void of all true goodness; from the worst qualities, of which they are conscious themselves or can obferve in others, patching up an odious character of it; thus fhrowding themselves under common blame from that which is due to their own wickedness; and difpenfing with that charity and honesty, which is by God's law required from them toward their neighbour and having fo bad an opinion of all men, they confequently muft bear ill-will toward them; it not being poffible to love that which we do not esteem. They allow nothing in man to be immaterial, or immortal; fo turning him into a beaft, or into a puppet, a whirligig of fate or chance. They afcribe all actions and events to neceffity, or external impulfe, fo rafing the grounds of juftice and all virtue; that no man may feem refponfible for what he doth, commendable or culpable, amiable or deteftable. They explode all natural difference of good and evil; deriding benignity, mercy, pity, gratitude, ingenuity, that is, all instances of good-nature, as childish and filly dispofitions. All the relics of God's image in man, which raise him above a beast, and distinguish him from a fiend, they scorn and expofe to contempt. They extol power as the most admirable, and disparage goodness as a pitiful thing; fo preferring a devil before an angel. They difcard confcience, as a bugbear, to fright children and fools; allowing men to compafs their defigns by violence, fraud, flander, any wrongful ways; fo banishing all the fecurities (befide selfishness and flavish fear) of I. |