{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_63909/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_63909","id":"gutenberg_63909","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/63909","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Methodist Church","Theology -- Early works to 1800","Theology -- History -- 18th century"],"text":"The Works of the\n Rev. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.\n\n VOLUME III.\n\n\n\n\n \u250c\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2510\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Punctuation has been standardized. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The concluding Table of Contents, has been moved to the front \u2502\n \u2502 of the book to make it more useable. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The Errata listed at the end of the Volume 3 has been \u2502\n \u2502 incorporated into the text. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The author has used an asterisk (*) to indicate passages he \u2502\n \u2502 considers most worthy of attention. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The text may show quotations within quotations, all set \u2502\n \u2502 off by similar quote marks. The inner quotations have been \u2502\n \u2502 changed to alternate quote marks for improved readability. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Characters in small caps have been replaced by all caps. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Non-printable characteristics have been given the following \u2502\n \u2502 Italic text: --> _text_ \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 This book was written in a period when many words had \u2502\n \u2502 not become standardized in their spelling. Words may have \u2502\n \u2502 multiple spelling variations or inconsistent hyphenation in \u2502\n \u2502 the text. These have been left unchanged unless indicated \u2502\n \u2502 with a Transcriber\u2019s Note. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 The symbol \u2018\u2021\u2019 indicates the description in parenthesis has \u2502\n \u2502 been added to an illustration. This may be needed if there \u2502\n \u2502 is no caption or if the caption does not describe the image \u2502\n \u2502 adequately. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Footnotes are identified in the text with a number in \u2502\n \u2502 brackets [2] and have been accumulated in a single section \u2502\n \u2502 at the end of the text. \u2502\n \u2502 \u2502\n \u2502 Transcriber\u2019s Notes are used when making corrections to the \u2502\n \u2502 text or to provide additional information for the modern \u2502\n \u2502 reader. These notes are identified in the text by a \u2666 symbol, \u2502\n \u2502 and are accumulated in a single section at the end of the \u2502\n \u2502 book. \u2502\n \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2500\u2518\n\n\n\n\n THE\n WORKS\n OF THE\n Rev. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.\n\n Late Fellow of _Lincoln-College_, OXFORD.\n\n\n VOLUME III.\n\n\n BRISTOL:\n Printed by WILLIAM PINE, in _Wine-Street_\n MDCCLXXI.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n CONTENTS\n Of the THIRD VOLUME.\n\n SERMONS on several Occasions.\n\n\n SERMON XXXI.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE XI.\n Matt. vii. 13\u201214.\n\n\n SERMON XXXII.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE XII.\n Matt. vii. 15\u201220.\n\n\n SERMON XXXIII.\n Upon our Lord\u2019s Sermon on the Mount.\n\n DISCOURSE XIII.\n Matt. vii. 21\u201227.\n\n\n SERMON XXXIV.\n The Origin, Nature, Property, and Use of the Law.\n\n Rom. vii. 12. _Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment\n holy, and just and good._\n\n\n SERMON XXXV.\n The Law established thro\u2019 faith.\n\n DISCOURSE I.\n Rom. iii. 31. _Do we then make void the law thro\u2019 faith? God\n forbid. Yea, we establish the law._\n\n\n SERMON XXXVI.\n The Law established thro\u2019 faith.\n\n DISCOURSE II.\n Rom. iii. 31.\n\n\n SERMON XXXVII.\n The Nature of Enthusiasm.\n\n Acts xxvi. 24. _And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, Thou art\n beside thyself._\n\n\n SERMON XXXVIII.\n A Caution against Bigotry.\n\n Mark ix. 38, 39. _And John answered him saying, Master, we saw\n one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because\n he followeth not us. And Jesus said, Forbid him not._\n\n\n SERMON XXXIX.\n Catholic Spirit.\n\n 2 Kings x. 15. _And when he was departed thence, he lighted on_\n Jehonadab, _the son of_ Rechab _coming to meet him. And he\n said, Is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And_\n Jehonadab _answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand._\n\n\n SERMON XL.\n Christian Perfection.\n\n Phil. iii. 12. _Not as tho\u2019 I had already attained, either were\n already perfect._\n\n\n THE PROMISE of SANCTIFICATION.\n EZEK. xxxvi. 25, &c.\n\n By the Rev. Mr. CHARLES WESLEY.\n\n\n SERMON XLI.\n Wandering Thoughts.\n\n 2 Cor. x. 4. _Bringing into captivity every thought to the\n obedience of Christ._\n\n\n SERMON XLII.\n Satan\u2019s Devices.\n\n 2 Cor. ii. 11. _We are not ignorant of his devices._\n\n\n SERMON XLIII.\n The Scripture Way of Salvation.\n\n Eph. ii. 8. _Ye are saved thro\u2019 faith._\n\n\n SERMON XLIV.\n Original Sin.\n\n Gen. vi. 5. _And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in\n the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his\n heart was only evil continually._\n\n\n SERMON XLV.\n The New Birth.\n\n John iii. 7. _Ye must be born again._\n\n\n SERMON XLVI.\n The Wilderness State.\n\n John xvi. 22. _Ye now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and\n your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you._\n\n\n SERMON XLVII.\n\n 1 Pet. i. 6. _Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness\n through manifold temptations._\n\n\n Illustration: (\u2021 decoration)\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXI.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n\n DISCOURSE XI.\n MATT. vii. 13, 14.\n\n\n _Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad\n is the way which leadeth to destruction, and many there be\n which go in thereat:\n\n Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth\n unto life, and few there be that find it._\n\n1. OUR Lord having warned us of the dangers, which easily beset us at\nour first entrance upon real religion, the hindrances which naturally\narise from within, from the wickedness of our own hearts: now proceeds\nto apprize us of the hindrances from without, particularly ill example\nand ill advice. By one or the other of these, thousands who once ran\nwell, have drawn back unto perdition: yea, many of those who were not\nnovices in religion, who had made some progress in righteousness. His\ncaution therefore against these, he presses upon us, with all possible\nearnestness, and repeats again and again, in variety of expressions,\nlest by any means we should let it slip. Thus, effectually to guard\nus against the former, _Enter ye in_, saith he, _at the strait gate:\nfor wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction,\nand many there be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate\nand narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that\nfind it_. To secure us from the latter, _beware_, saith he, _of false\nprophets_. We shall at present consider the former only.\n\n2. _Enter ye in_, saith our blessed Lord, _at the strait gate; for wide\nis the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many\nthere be which go in thereat: because strait is the gate, and narrow is\nthe way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it_.\n\n3. In these words we may observe, first, The inseparable properties\nof the way to hell: _Wide is the gate, broad the way that leadeth\nto destruction, and many there be that go in thereat_: secondly, the\ninseparable properties of the way to heaven: _Strait is that gate, and\nfew there be that find it_: thirdly, a serious exhortation grounded\nthereon, _Enter ye in at the strait gate_.\n\n\nI. 1. We may observe, first, The inseparable properties of the way\nto hell: _Wide is the gate and broad is the way, that leadeth to\ndestruction, and many there be that go in thereat_.\n\nWide indeed is the gate, and broad the way that leadeth to destruction.\nFor sin is the gate of hell, and wickedness the way to destruction. And\nhow wide a gate is that of sin? How broad is the way of wickedness! The\n_commandment_ of God _is exceeding broad_, as extending not only to all\nour actions, but to every word which goeth out of our lips, yea, every\nthought that rises in our heart. And sin is equally broad with the\ncommandment, seeing any breach of the commandment is sin. Yea, rather\nit is a thousand times broader: since there is only one way of keeping\nthe commandment: for we do not properly keep it, unless both the thing\ndone, the manner of doing it, and all the other circumstances are right.\nBut there are a thousand ways of breaking every commandment: so that\nthis gate is wide indeed.\n\n\u26663. To consider this a little more particularly. How wide do those\nparent sins extend, from which all the rest derive their being? _That\ncarnal mind, which is enmity against_ God, pride of heart, self-will\nand love of the world? Can we fix any bounds to them? Do they not\ndiffuse themselves thro\u2019 all our thoughts, and mingle with all our\ntempers? Are they not the leaven which leavens, more or less, the whole\nmass of our affections? May we not, on a close and faithful examination\nof ourselves, perceive these roots of bitterness, continually springing\nup, infecting all our words, and tainting all our actions? And\nhow innumerable an offspring do they bring forth, in every age and\nnation? Even enough to cover the whole earth with _darkness and cruel\nhabitations_.\n\n4. O! who is able to reckon up their accursed fruits? To count all\nthe sins, whether against God or our neighbour, not which imagination\nmight paint, but which may be matter of daily, melancholy experience?\nNor need we range over all the earth to find them. Survey any one\nkingdom, any single country, or city or town, and how plenteous is this\nharvest? And let it not be one of those, which are still overspread\nwith Mahometan or Pagan darkness: but of those which name the name of\nChrist, which profess to see the light of his glorious gospel. Go no\nfarther than the kingdom to which we belong, the city wherein we are\nnow. We call ourselves Christians: yea, and that of the purest sort; we\nare Protestants; reformed Christians! But alas! who shall carry on the\nreformation of our opinions into our hearts and lives? Is there not a\ncause? For how innumerable are our sins? And those of the deepest dye?\nDo not the grossest abominations of every kind, abound among us from\nday to day? Do not sins of every sort cover the land, as the waters\ncover the sea? Who can count them? Rather go and count the drops of\nrain, or the sands on the sea-shore. So _wide is the gate_, so _broad\nis the way that leadeth to destruction_.\n\n5. _And many there be who go in at_ that gate: many who walk in that\nway. Almost as many as go in at the gate of death, as sink into the\nchambers of the grave. For it cannot be denied, (tho\u2019 neither can we\nacknowledge it but with shame and sorrow of heart) that even in this,\nwhich is called a Christian country, the generality of every age and\nsex, of every profession and employment, of every rank and degree, high\nand low, rich and poor, are walking in the way of destruction. The far\ngreater part of the inhabitants of this city, to this day live in sin;\nin some palpable, habitual, known transgression of the law they profess\nto observe: yea, in some outward transgression, some gross, visible\nkind of ungodliness or unrighteousness; some open violation of their\nduty, either to God or man. These then, none can deny, are all in the\nway that leadeth to destruction. Add to these those who _have a name_\nindeed _that they live_, but were never yet alive to God: those that\noutwardly appear fair to men, but are inwardly full of all uncleanness:\nfull of pride, or vanity; of anger, or revenge; of ambition, or\ncovetousness: lovers of themselves, lovers of the world, lovers of\npleasure more than lovers of God. These indeed may be highly esteemed\nof men; but they are an abomination to the Lord. And how greatly will\nthese saints of the world, swell the number of the children of hell?\nYea, add all, whatever they be in other respects, whether they have\nmore or less of the form of godliness, who _being ignorant of_ God\u2019s\n_righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness_, as\nthe ground of their reconciliation to God and acceptance with him, of\nconsequence have _not submitted themselves unto the righteousness which\nis of_ God _by faith_. Now all these things being joined together in\none, how terribly true is our Lord\u2019s assertion, _Wide is the gate, and\nbroad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be who go\nin thereat_.\n\n6. Nor does this only concern the vulgar herd, the poor, base, stupid\npart of mankind. Men of eminence in the world, men who have many\nfields and yoke of oxen, do not desire to be excused from this. On\nthe contrary, _many wise men after the flesh_, according to the human\nmethods of judging, _many mighty_, in power, in courage, in riches,\nmany _noble are called_: called into the broad way, by the world, the\nflesh and the devil; and they are not disobedient to that calling. Yea,\nthe higher they are raised in fortune and power, the deeper do they\nsink into wickedness. The more blessings they have received from God,\nthe more sins do they commit: using their honour or riches, their\nlearning or wisdom, not as means of working out their salvation, but\nrather of excelling in vice, and so insuring their own destruction.\n\n\nII. 1. And the very reason why many of these go on so securely in the\n_broad way_, is because it is broad: not considering that this is the\ninseparable property of the way to destruction. _Many there be_, saith\nour Lord, _who go in thereat_: for the very reason why they should\nflee from it; Even _because strait is the gate, and narrow the way that\nleadeth unto life, and few there be that find it_.\n\n2. This is an inseparable property of the way to heaven. So narrow\nis the way that leadeth unto life, unto life everlasting; so strait\nthe gate, that nothing unclean, nothing unholy can enter. No sinner\ncan pass thro\u2019 that gate, until he is saved from all his sins, not\nonly from his outward sins; from his evil _conversation received by\ntradition from his Fathers_. It will not suffice, that he hath _ceased\nto do evil_, and _learned to do well_. He must not only be saved\nfrom all sinful actions, and from all evil and useless discourse;\nbut inwardly changed, throughly renewed in the spirit of his mind.\nOtherwise he cannot pass thro\u2019 the gate of life, he cannot enter into\nglory.\n\n3. For _narrow is the way that leadeth unto life_: the way of universal\nholiness. Narrow indeed is the way of poverty of spirit, the way of\nholy mourning: the way of meekness, and that of hungring and thirsting\nafter righteousness. Narrow is the way of mercifulness, of love\nunfeigned; the way of purity of heart; of doing good unto all men, and\nof gladly suffering evil, all manner of evil for righteousness-sake.\n\n4. _And few there be that find it._ Alas! how few find even the way of\nHeathen honesty? How few are there, that do nothing to another, which\nthey would not another should do unto them? How few, that are clear\nbefore God, from acts either of injustice or unkindness? How few, that\ndo not _offend with their tongue_; that speak nothing unkind, nothing\nuntrue? What a small proportion of mankind, are innocent even of\noutward transgressions? And how much smaller a proportion have their\nhearts right before God? Clean and holy in his sight? Where are they,\nwhom his all-searching eye, discerns to be truly humble? To abhor\nthemselves in dust and ashes, in the presence of God their Saviour?\nTo be deeply and steadily serious, feeling their wants, and _passing\nthe time of their sojourning with fear_? Truly meek and gentle, never\n_overcome of evil, but overcoming evil with good_? Throughly athirst\nfor God, and continually panting after a renewal in his likeness? How\nthinly are they scattered over the earth, whose souls are inlarged in\nlove to all mankind? And who love God with all their strength, who have\ngiven him their hearts, and desire nothing else in earth or heaven? How\nfew are those lovers of God and man, that spend their whole strength in\ndoing good unto all men? and are ready to suffer all things, yea, death\nitself, to save one soul from eternal death?\n\n5. But while so few are found in the way of life, and so many in\nthe way of destruction, there is great danger, lest the torrent\nof examples, should bear us away with them. Even a single example,\nif it be always in our sight, is apt to make much impression upon\nus: especially when it has nature on its side; when it falls in with\nour own inclinations. How great then must be the force of so numerous\nexamples, continually before our eyes; and all conspiring together with\nour own hearts, to carry us down the stream of nature? How difficult\nmust it be, to stem the tide, and to keep ourselves _unspotted in the\nworld_?\n\n6. What heightens the difficulty still more is, that they are not\nthe rude and senseless part of mankind, at least not these alone, who\nset us the example, who throng the downward way: but the polite, the\nwell-bred, the genteel, the wise, the men who understand the world:\nthe men of knowledge, of deep and various learning, the rational, the\neloquent! These are all, or nearly all, against us. And how shall we\nstand against these? Do not their tongues drop manna? And have they\nnot learned all the arts of soft persuasion? And of reasoning too:\nfor these are versed in all controversies and strife of words. It is\ntherefore a small thing with them to prove, that the way is _right_,\nbecause it is _broad_: that he who follows a multitude, cannot do evil,\nbut only he who will not follow them: that your way must be _wrong_,\nbecause it is _narrow_; and because there are so few that find it.\nThese will make it clear to a demonstration, that evil is good, and\ngood is evil: That the way of holiness is the way of destruction, and\nthe way of the world, the only way to heaven.\n\n7. O how can unlearned and ignorant men, maintain their cause against\nsuch opponents! And yet these are not all with whom they must contend,\nhowever unequal to the task. For there are many mighty, and noble, and\npowerful men, as well as wise, in the road that leadeth to destruction.\nAnd these have a shorter way of confuting, than that of reason and\nargument. They usually apply, not to the understanding, but to the\nfears of any that oppose them. A method that seldom fails of success,\neven where argument profits nothing: as lying level to the capacities\nof all men: for all can fear, whether they can reason or no. And all\nwho have not a firm trust in God, a sure reliance both on his power and\nlove, cannot but fear to give any disgust to those, who have the power\nof the world in their hands. What wonder therefore if the example of\nthese is a law, to all who know not God?\n\n8. Many rich are likewise in the broad way. And these apply to the\nhopes of men, and to all their foolish desires, as strongly and\neffectually, as the mighty and noble to their fears. So that hardly\ncan you hold on in the way of the kingdom, unless you are dead to all\nbelow, unless you are crucified to the world and the world crucified to\nyou, unless you desire nothing more but God.\n\n9. For how dark, how uncomfortable, how forbidding is the prospect on\nthe opposite side? A strait gate! A narrow way! And few finding that\ngate! Few walking in the way. Besides, even those few, are not wise men,\nnot men of learning or eloquence. They are not able to reason either\nstrongly or clearly; they cannot propose an argument to any advantage,\nthey know not how to prove what they profess to believe; or to explain\neven what they say they experience. Surely such advocates as these,\nwill never recommend, but rather discredit the cause they have espoused.\n\n10. Add to this, that they are not noble, not honourable men: (if they\nwere, you might bear with their folly.) They are men of no interest,\nno authority, of no account in the world. They are mean and base, low\nin life; and such as have no power, if they had the will to hurt you.\nTherefore there is nothing at all to be feared from them: and there is\nnothing at all to hope. For the greater part of them may say, _silver\nand gold have I none_: at least a very moderate share. Nay, some of\nthem have scarce food to eat or raiment to put on. For this reason,\nas well as because their ways are not like those of other men, they\nare every where spoken against, are despised, have their names cast\nout as evil, are variously persecuted, and treated as the filth and\noffscouring of the world. So that both your fears, your hopes, and all\nyour desires, (except those which you have immediately from God) yea,\nall your natural passions continually incline you to return into the\nbroad way.\n\n\nIII. 1. Therefore it is, that our Lord so earnestly exhorts, _Enter\nye in at the strait gate_. Or (as the same exhortation is elsewhere\nexpressed) _Strive to enter in_. \u2666\u1f08\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd. Strive as in an\nagony. _For many_, saith our Lord, _shall seek to enter in_, indolently\nstrive, _and shall not be able_.\n\n2. \u2019Tis true, he intimates what may seem another reason for this, for\ntheir _not being able to enter in_, in the words which immediately\nfollow these. For after he had said, _Many, I say unto you, will seek\nto enter in, and shall not be able_, he subjoins, _When once the master\nof the house is risen up and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to\nstand without_ (\u2666\u1f04\u03c1\u03be\u03b7\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u1f14\u03c7\u03c9 \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9. Rather, _Ye stand without_; for\n\u1f04\u03c1\u03be\u03b7\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 seems to be only an elegant expletive) _and to knock at the\ndoor, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us: he shall answer, and say unto\nyou, I know you not. Depart from me all ye workers of iniquity._ Luke\nxiii. 26, &c.\n\n3. It may appear, upon a transient view of these words, that their\ndelaying to seek at all, rather than their manner of seeking, was the\nreason why they were not able to enter in. But it comes, in effect, to\nthe same thing. They were therefore commanded to depart, because they\nhad been _workers of iniquity_, because they had walked in the broad\nroad: in other words, because they had not agonized to enter in at the\nstrait gate. Probably they did _seek_, before the door was shut: but\nthat did not suffice. And they did _strive_, after the door was shut.\nBut then it was too late.\n\n4. Therefore, _strive_ ye now, in this your day, _to enter in at the\nstrait gate_. And in order hereto, settle it in your heart, and let\nit be ever uppermost in your thoughts, that if you are in a broad\nway, you are in the way that leadeth to destruction. If many go with\nyou, as sure as God is true, both they and you are going to hell.\nIf you are walking as the generality of men walk, you are walking to\nthe bottomless pit. Are many wise, many rich, many mighty or noble\ntravelling with you in the same way? By this token, without going any\nfarther, you know, it does not lead to life. Here is a short, a plain,\nan infallible rule, before you enter into particulars. In whatever\nprofession you are engaged, you must be singular or be damned. The\nway to hell has nothing singular in it; but the way to heaven is\nsingularity all over: if you move but one step towards God, you are not\nas other men are. But regard not this. \u2019Tis far better to stand alone,\nthan to fall into the pit. Run then with patience the race which is\nset before thee, tho\u2019 thy companions therein are but few. They will not\nalways be so. Yet a little while and thou wilt _come to an innumerable\ncompany of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born,\nand to the spirits of just men made perfect_.\n\n5. Now then, _strive to enter in at the strait gate_, being penetrated\nwith the deepest sense, of the inexpressible danger your soul is in,\nso long as you are in a broad way: so long as you are void of poverty\nof spirit, and all that inward religion, which the many, the rich, the\nwise account madness. _Strive to enter in_, being pierced with sorrow\nand shame, for having so long run on with the unthinking crowd, utterly\nneglecting if not despising that _holiness, without which no man can\nsee the Lord. Strive_ as in an agony of holy fear, lest, _a promise\nbeing made you of entering into his rest_, even that _rest which\nremaineth for the people of God_, you should nevertheless _come short\nof it_. Strive in all the fervor of desire, with _groanings which\ncannot be uttered_. Strive by prayer without ceasing, at all times, in\nall places lifting up your heart to God, and giving him no rest, till\nyou _awake up after his likeness_ and are _satisfied with it_.\n\n6. To conclude. _Strive to enter in at the strait gate_, not only by\nthis agony of soul, of conviction, of sorrow, of shame, of desire, of\nfear, of unceasing prayer, but likewise by _ordering_ thy _conversation\nright_, by walking with all thy strength, in all the ways of God, the\nway of innocence, of piety and of mercy. Abstain from all appearance\nof evil: do all possible good to all men: deny thyself, thy own will,\nin all things, and take up thy cross daily. Be ready to cut off thy\nright hand, to pluck out thy right eye and cast it from thee: to suffer\nthe loss of goods, friends, health, all things on earth, so thou mayst\nenter into the kingdom of heaven.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXII.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n\n DISCOURSE XII.\n MATT. vii. 15\u201220.\n\n\n _Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheeps cloathing,\n but inwardly they are ravening wolves.\n\n Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of\n thorns, or figs of thistles?\n\n Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit: but a corrupt\n tree bringeth forth evil fruit.\n\n A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt\n tree bring forth good fruit.\n\n Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and\n cast into the fire.\n\n Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them._\n\n1. IT is scarce possible to express or conceive, what multitudes\nof souls run on to destruction, because they would not be persuaded\nto walk in a _narrow_ way, even tho\u2019 it were the way to everlasting\nsalvation. And the same thing we may still observe daily. Such is\nthe folly and madness of mankind, that thousands of men still rush on\nin the way to hell, only because it is a broad way. They walk in it\nthemselves, because others do: because so many perish, they will add\nto the number. Such is the amazing influence of example, over the weak,\nmiserable children of men! It continually peoples the regions of death,\nand drowns numberless souls in everlasting perdition.\n\n2. To warn mankind of this, to guard as many as possible against this\nspreading contagion, God has commanded his watchmen to cry aloud, and\nshew the people the danger they are in. For this end he has sent his\nservants the prophets, in their succeeding generations, to point out\nthe narrow path, and exhort all men, not to be conformed to this world.\nBut what if the watchmen themselves fall into the snare, against which\nthey should warn others? What if _the prophets prophesy deceits_? If\nthey _cause the people to err from the way_? What shall be done, if\nthey point out as the way to eternal life, what is in truth the way to\neternal death? And exhort others to walk, as they do themselves, in the\nbroad, not the narrow way?\n\n3. Is this an unheard of, is it an uncommon thing? Nay, God knoweth it\nis not. The instances of it are almost innumerable. We may find them in\nevery age and nation. But how terrible is this? When the ambassadors of\nGod, turn agents for the devil? When they who are commissioned to teach\nmen the way to heaven, do in fact teach them the way to hell? These are\nlike the locusts of _Egypt, which eat up the residue that had escaped_,\nthat had _remained after the hail_. They devour even the residue of\nmen that had escaped, that were not destroyed by ill example. It is not\ntherefore without cause that our wise and gracious Master, so solemnly\ncautions us against them: _Beware_, saith he, _of false prophets, which\ncome to you in sheeps cloathing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves_.\n\n4. A caution this of the utmost importance. That it may the more\neffectually sink into our hearts, let us inquire, first, who these\nfalse prophets are, secondly, what appearance they put on, and thirdly,\nhow we may know what they really are, notwithstanding their fair\nappearance.\n\n\nI. 1. We are, first, to inquire, who these false prophets are. And this\nit is needful to do the more diligently, because these very men have\nso laboured to _wrest this scripture, to their own_ (tho\u2019 not only\ntheir own) _destruction_. In order therefore to cut off all dispute,\nI shall raise no dust (as the manner of some is) neither use any\nloose, rhetorical exclamations, to deceive the hearts of the simple,\nbut speak rough, plain truths, such as none can deny, who has either\nunderstanding or modesty left: and such truths, as have the closest\nconnexion, with the whole tenor of the preceding discourse. Whereas too\nmany have interpreted these words without any regard to all that went\nbefore: as if they bore no manner of relation to the sermon, in the\nclose of which they stand.\n\n2. By _prophets_ here (as in many other passages of scripture,\nparticularly in the New Testament) are meant, not those who foretel\nthings to come, but those who speak in the name of God: those men, who\nprofess to be sent of God, to teach others the way to heaven.\n\nThose are _false prophets_, who teach a false way to heaven, a way\nwhich does not lead thither. Or (which comes in the end to the same\npoint) who do not teach the true.\n\n3. Every broad way is infallibly a false one. Therefore this is one\nplain, sure rule, \u201cThey who teach men to walk in a broad way, a way\nthat many walk in, are _false prophets_.\u201d\n\nAgain, the true way to heaven is a narrow way. Therefore this is\nanother plain, sure rule. \u201cThey who do not teach men to walk in a\nnarrow way, to be singular, are _false prophets_.\u201d\n\n4. To be more particular. The only true way to heaven, is that pointed\nout in the preceding sermon. Therefore they are _false prophets_ who do\nnot teach men to walk in _this way_.\n\nNow the way to heaven pointed out in the preceding sermon, is the way\nof lowliness, mourning, meekness, and holy desire, love of God and of\nour neighbour, doing good, and suffering evil for Christ\u2019s sake. They\nare therefore false prophets, who teach as the way to heaven, any other\nway than _this_.\n\n5. It matters not, what they call that other way. They may call it\n_faith_, or _good works_: or _faith and works_: or _repentance_: or\n_repentance, faith and new obedience_. All these are good words. But\nif under these, or any other terms whatever, they teach men any way\ndistinct from _this_, they are properly _false prophets_.\n\n6. How much more do they fall under that condemnation, who speak evil\nof this good way? But above all, they who teach the directly opposite\nway? The way of pride, of levity, of passion, of worldly desires,\nof loving pleasure more than God, of unkindness to our neighbour, of\nunconcern for good works, and suffering no evil, no persecution for\nrighteousness sake?\n\n7. *If it be asked, why who ever did teach this? Or who does teach it,\nas the way to heaven? I answer, ten thousand wise and honourable men:\neven all those, of whatever denomination, who incourage the proud, the\ntrifler, the passionate, the lover of the world, the man of pleasure,\nthe unjust or unkind, the easy, careless, harmless, useless creature,\nthe man who suffers no reproach for righteousness-sake, to imagine\nhe is in the way to heaven. These are false prophets in the highest\nsense of the word. These are traitors both to God and man. These are\nno other than the first-born of Satan: the eldest sons of Apollyon,\nthe destroyer. These are far above the rank of ordinary cut throats;\nfor they murder the souls of men. They are continually peopling the\nrealms of night: and whenever they follow the poor souls whom they have\ndestroyed, _Hell_ shall be _moved from beneath, to meet them at their\ncoming_.\n\n\nII. 1. But do they come now, in their own shape? By no means. If it\nwere so, they could not destroy. You would take the alarm, and flee for\nyour life. Therefore they put on a quite contrary appearance: (which\nwas the second thing to be considered.) _They come to you in sheeps\ncloathing_, altho\u2019 _inwardly they are ravening wolves_.\n\n2. _They come to you in sheeps cloathing_; that is, with an appearance\nof harmlessness. They come in the most mild, inoffensive manner,\nwithout any mark or token of enmity. Who can imagine, that these quiet\ncreatures, would do any hurt to any one? Perhaps they may not be so\nzealous and active in doing good, as one would wish they were. However,\nyou see no reason to suspect, that they have even the desire to do any\nharm. But this is not all:\n\n3. They come, secondly, with an appearance of usefulness. Indeed to\nthis, to do good they are particularly called. They are set apart for\nthis very thing. They are particularly commissioned, to watch over your\nsoul and to train you up to eternal life. \u2019Tis their whole business,\nto _go about doing good, and healing those that are oppressed of the\ndevil_. And you have been always accustomed to look upon them in this\nlight, as messengers of God, sent to bring you a blessing.\n\n4. They come, thirdly, with an appearance of religion. All they do, is\nfor conscience sake! They assure you, it is out of mere zeal for God,\nthat they are making God a liar. It is out of pure concern for religion,\nthat they would destroy it, root and branch. All they speak, is only\nfrom a love of truth, and a fear lest it should suffer. And, it may be,\nfrom a regard for the church, and a desire to defend her from all her\nenemies.\n\n5. Above all, they come with an appearance of love. They take all\nthese pains, only for _your_ good. They should not trouble themselves\nabout you, but that they have a kindness for you. They will make large\nprofessions of their good-will, of their concern for the danger you are\nin, and of their earnest desire, to preserve you from error, from being\nintangled in new and mischievous doctrines. They should be very sorry\nto see one who _means_ so well, hurried into any extreme, perplext\nwith strange and unintelligible notions, or deluded into enthusiasm.\nTherefore it is, that they advise you, to keep still, in the plain\nmiddle way: and to beware of _being righteous overmuch_, lest you\nshould _destroy yourself_.\n\n\nIII. 1. But how may we know, what they really are, notwithstanding\ntheir fair appearance? This was the third thing into which it was\nproposed to inquire.\n\nOur blessed Lord saw how needful it was for all men to know _false\nprophets_, however disguised. He saw likewise, how unable most men were,\nto deduce a truth thro\u2019 a long train of consequences. He therefore\ngives us a short and plain rule, easy to be understood by men of the\nmeanest capacities, and easy to be applied upon all occasions. _Ye\nshall know them by their fruits._\n\n2. Upon all occasions you may easily apply this rule. In order to know\nwhether any who speak in the name of God, are false or true prophets,\nit is easy to observe, first, What are the fruits of their doctrine, as\nto themselves? What effect has it had upon their lives? Are they holy\nand unblamable in all things? What effect has it had upon their hearts?\nDoes it appear by the general tenor of their conversation that their\ntempers are holy, heavenly, divine? That the mind is in them which was\nin Christ Jesus? That they are meek, lowly, patient lovers of God and\nman, and zealous of good works?\n\n3. You may easily observe, secondly, What are the fruits of their\ndoctrine, as to those that hear them? In many, at least, tho\u2019 not in\nall: for the apostles themselves did not convert all that heard them.\nHave these the mind that was in Christ? And do they walk as he also\nwalked? And was it by hearing these men, that they began so to do? Were\nthey inwardly and outwardly wicked, till they heard them? If so, it is\na manifest proof, that those are true prophets, teachers sent of God.\nBut if it is not so, if they do not effectually teach either themselves\nor others to love and serve God; it is a manifest proof, that they are\nfalse prophets; that God hath not sent them.\n\n4. An hard saying this! How few can bear it? This our Lord was sensible\nof, and therefore condescends to prove it at large, by several clear\nand convincing arguments. _Do men_, says he, _gather grapes of thorns\nor figs of thistles_? ver. 16. Do you expect that these evil men should\nbring forth good fruit? As well might you expect that thorns should\nbring forth grapes, or that figs should grow upon thistles! _Every\ngood tree bringeth forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth forth\nevil fruit._ ver. 17. Every true prophet, every teacher whom I have\nsent, bringeth forth the good fruit of holiness. But a false prophet,\na teacher whom I have not sent, brings forth only sin and wickedness.\n_A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt\ntree bring forth good fruit._ A true prophet, a teacher sent from\nGod, does not bring forth good fruit, sometimes only, but always;\nnot accidentally, but by a kind of necessity. In like manner, a false\nprophet, one whom God hath not sent, does not bring forth evil fruit,\naccidentally or sometimes only, but always and of necessity. _Every\ntree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the\nfire._ ver. 19. Such infallibly will be the lot of those prophets, who\nbring not forth good fruit, who do not save souls from sin, who do not\nbring sinners to repentance. _Wherefore_ let this stand as an eternal\nrule, _By their fruits ye shall know them_. ver. 20. They who in fact\nbring the proud, passionate, unmerciful lovers of the world, to be\nlowly, gentle lovers of God and man: they are true prophets, they are\nsent from God, who therefore confirms their word. On the other hand,\nthey whose hearers, if unrighteous before, remain unrighteous still, or\nat least, void of any righteousness which _exceeds the righteousness of\nthe Scribes and Pharisees_: they are false prophets; they are not sent\nof God; therefore their word falls to the ground. And without a miracle\nof grace they and their hearers together, will fall into the bottomless\npit.\n\n5. O _beware of_ these _false prophets_! For though they _come in\nsheeps cloathing_, yet _inwardly they are ravening wolves_. They only\ndestroy and devour the flock: they tear them in pieces, if there is\nnone to help them. They will not, cannot lead you in the way to heaven.\nHow should they? When they know it not themselves. O beware they do not\nturn you out of the way, and cause you to _lose what you have wrought_.\n\n6. But perhaps you will ask, If there is such danger in hearing them,\nought I to hear them at all? It is a weighty question, such as deserves\nthe deepest consideration, and ought not to be answered, but upon the\ncalmest thought, the most deliberate reflection. For many years, I\nhave been almost afraid, to speak at all concerning it, being unable\nto determine one way or the other, or to give any judgment upon it.\nMany reasons there are which readily occur, and incline me to say,\n\u201cHear them not.\u201d And yet what our Lord speaks concerning the false\nprophets of his own times, seems to imply the contrary. _Then spake\nJesus unto the multitude and to his disciples, saying, the Scribes and\nthe Pharisees sit in_ Moses\u2019 _seat_, are the ordinary, stated teachers\nin your church: _all therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that\nobserve and do. But do not ye after their works; for they say and do\nnot._ Now that these were false prophets in the highest sense, our Lord\nhath shewn during the whole course of his ministry: as indeed he does\nin those very words, _they say and do not_. Therefore by their fruits\nhis disciples could not but know them, seeing they were open to the\nview of all men. Accordingly he warns them again and again, to _beware\nof_ these _false prophets_. And yet he does not forbid them to hear\neven these. Nay, he in effect commands them so to do, in those words,\n_All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do_.\nFor unless they heard them, they could not know, much less _observe\nwhatsoever they bad them do_. Here then our Lord himself gives a plain\ndirection, both to his apostles and the whole multitude, in some\ncircumstances, to hear even false prophets, known and acknowledged so\nto be.\n\n7. But perhaps it will be said, he only directed to hear them, when\nthey read the scripture to the congregation. I answer, at the same time\nthat they thus read the scripture, they generally expounded it too. And\nhere is no kind of intimation, that they were to hear the one, and not\nthe other also. Nay the very terms, _All things whatsoever they bid you\nobserve_, exclude any such limitation.\n\n8. *Again, unto them, unto false prophets, undeniably such, is\nfrequently committed (O grief to speak! For surely these things ought\nnot so to be) the administration of the sacrament also. To direct\nmen therefore, not to hear them, would be in effect to cut them off\nfrom the ordinances of God. But this we dare not do, considering the\nvalidity of the ordinance doth not depend on the goodness of him that\nadministers, but on the faithfulness of him that ordained it, who\nwill and doth meet us in his appointed ways. Therefore on this account\nlikewise I scruple to say, hear not even the false prophets. Even by\nthese who are under a curse themselves, God can, and doth give us his\nblessing. For the bread which they break we have experimentally known\nto be _the communion of the body of Christ_. And the cup which God\nblest even by their unhallowed lips, was to us the communion of the\nblood of Christ.\n\n9. *All therefore which I can say is this: in any particular case, wait\nupon God by humble and earnest prayer, and then act according to the\nbest light you have. Act according to what you are persuaded, upon the\nwhole, will be most for your spiritual advantage. Take great care that\nyou do not judge rashly; that you do not lightly think any to be false\nprophets. And when you have full proof, see that no anger or contempt\nhave any place in your heart. After this, in the presence and in the\nfear of God, determine for yourself. I can only say, if by experience\nyou find, that the hearing them hurts your soul, then hear them not:\nthen quietly refrain, and hear those that profit you. If on the other\nhand, you find, it does not hurt your soul, you then may hear them\nstill. Only _take heed how you hear: beware of_ them and of their\ndoctrine. Hear with fear and trembling, lest _you_ should be deceived,\nand given up, like them, to a strong delusion. As they continually\nmingle truth and lies, how easily may you take in both together?\nHear with fervent and continual prayer, to him who alone teacheth man\nwisdom. And see that you bring whatever you hear, _to the law and to\nthe testimony_. Receive nothing untried, nothing till it is weighed in\nthe balance of the sanctuary. Believe nothing they say, unless it is\nclearly confirmed by passages of holy writ. Wholly reject whatsoever\ndiffers therefrom, whatever is not confirmed thereby. And in particular,\nreject, with the utmost abhorrence, whatsoever is described as the way\nof salvation, that is either different from or short of the way, our\nLord has marked out in the foregoing discourse.\n\n10. I cannot conclude, without addressing a few plain words, to those\nof whom we have now been speaking. O ye false prophets, O ye dry bones,\nhear ye for once the word of the Lord. How long will ye lie in the name\nof God? Saying God hath spoken: and God hath not spoken by you. How\nlong will ye pervert the right ways of the Lord, putting darkness for\nlight, and light for darkness? How long will ye teach the way of death,\nand call it the way of life? How long will ye deliver to Satan the\nsouls, whom ye profess to bring unto God?\n\n11. *_Wo unto you, ye blind leaders of the blind! For ye shut the\nkingdom of heaven against men. Ye neither go in yourselves, neither\nsuffer ye them that are entering to go in._ Them that would strive to\nenter in at the strait gate, ye call back into the broad way. Them that\nhave scarce gone one step in the ways of God, you devilishly caution\nagainst _going too far_. Them that just begin to hunger and thirst\nafter righteousness, you warn, not to be _righteous overmuch_. Thus you\ncause them to stumble at the very threshold; yea, to fall and rise no\nmore. O wherefore do ye this? What profit is there in their blood, when\nthey go down to the pit? Miserable profit to _you_. They _shall perish\nin their iniquity: but their blood will_ God _require at_ your _hands_!\n\n12. Where are your eyes? Where is your understanding? Have ye deceived\nothers, till you have deceived yourselves also? Who hath required this\nat your hands, to _teach_ a way which ye never _knew_? Are you _given\nup to_ so _strong a delusion_, that ye not only teach but _believe a\nlie_? And can you possibly believe, that God hath sent you? That ye are\n_his_ messengers? Nay; if the Lord had sent you, the _work of the Lord_\nwould _prosper in your hand_. As the Lord liveth, if ye were messengers\nof God, he would _confirm the word of his messengers_. But the work\nof the Lord doth not prosper in your hand: you bring no sinners to\nrepentance. The Lord doth not confirm your word: for you save no souls\nfrom death.\n\n13. How can you possibly evade the force of our Lord\u2019s words? So full,\nso strong, so express? How can ye evade _knowing_ yourselves _by your\nfruits_? Evil fruits of evil trees! And how should it be otherwise!\n_Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles?_ Take this to\nyourselves, ye to whom it belongs. *O ye barren trees, why cumber ye\nthe ground? _Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit._ See ye not,\nthat here is no exception? Take knowledge then, ye are not good trees:\nfor ye do not bring forth good fruit. _But a corrupt tree bringeth\nforth evil fruit._ And so have ye done from the beginning. Your\nspeaking as from God has only confirmed them that heard you, in the\ntempers, if not works, of the devil. O take warning of him in whose\nname ye speak, before the sentence he hath pronounced take place.\n_Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast\ninto the fire._\n\n14. My dear brethren, harden not your hearts. You have too long\nshut your eyes against the light. Open them now before it is too\nlate; before you are cast into outer darkness. Let not any temporal\nconsideration weigh with you: for eternity is at stake. Ye have run\nbefore ye were sent. O go no farther. Do not persist to damn yourselves\nand them that hear you! You have no fruit of your labours. And why\nis this? Even because the Lord is not with you. But can you go this\nwarfare at your own cost? It cannot be. Then humble yourselves before\nhim. Cry unto him out of the dust, that he may first quicken _thy_\nsoul: give _thee_ the faith that worketh by love: that is lowly\nand meek, pure and merciful, zealous of good works; rejoicing in\ntribulation, in reproach, in distress, in persecution for righteousness\nsake. So shall _the Spirit of glory and of Christ rest upon thee_, and\nit shall appear, that God hath sent thee. So shalt thou indeed _do the\nwork of an Evangelist, and make full proof of thy ministry_. So shall\nthe word of God in thy mouth be _an hammer that breaketh the rocks in\npieces_. It shall then be known by thy fruits, that thou art a prophet\nof the Lord, even by the children whom God hath given thee. And having\n_turned many to righteousness, thou shalt shine as the stars for ever\nand ever_!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXIII.\n\n UPON OUR LORD\u2019S SERMON ON THE MOUNT.\n\n DISCOURSE XIII.\n MATT. vii. 21\u201227.\n\n\n _Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into\n the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father\n which is in heaven.\n\n Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not\n prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils?\n And in thy name done many wonderful works?\n\n And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from\n me, ye that work iniquity.\n\n Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them,\n I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a\n rock.\n\n And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,\n and beat upon that house: and it fell not, for it was founded\n upon a rock.\n\n And every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them\n not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house\n upon the sand:\n\n And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew,\n and beat upon that house: and it fell, and great was the fall\n of it._\n\n1. OUR divine teacher having declared the whole counsel of God, with\nregard to the way of salvation, and observed the chief hindrances\nof those who desire to walk therein: now closes the whole with these\nweighty words; thereby as it were setting his seal to his prophecy, and\nimpressing his whole authority on what he had delivered, that it might\nstand firm to all generations.\n\n2. For thus saith the Lord, that none may ever conceive, there is any\nother way than this, _Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord,\nshall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will say to me in that day,\nLord, Lord; have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have\ncast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then\nwill I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me ye that work\niniquity. Therefore every one that heareth these sayings of mine and\ndoeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his\nhouse upon the sand. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and\nthe winds blew, and beat upon that house: and it fell, and great was\nthe fall of it._\n\n3. I design in the following discourse, first, to consider the case\nof him, who thus builds his house upon the sand: secondly, To shew the\nwisdom of him who builds upon a rock, and thirdly, To conclude with a\npractical application.\n\n\nI. 1. And, first, I am to consider the case of him who builds his house\nupon the sand. It is concerning him our Lord saith, _Not every one that\nsaith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven_.\nAnd this is a decree which cannot pass: which standeth fast for ever\nand ever. It therefore imports us in the highest degree, throughly to\nunderstand the force of these words. Now what are we to understand by\nthat expression, _That saith unto me, Lord, Lord_? It undoubtedly means,\n\u201cthat thinks of going to heaven by any other way than that which I have\nnow described.\u201d It therefore implies, (to begin at the lowest point)\nall good words, all verbal religion. It includes whatever creeds we\nmay rehearse, whatever professions of faith we make: whatever number\nof prayers we may repeat, whatever thanksgivings we read or say to\nGod. We may speak good of his name; and declare his loving-kindness\nto the children of men. We may be talking of all his mighty acts, and\ntelling of his salvation from day to day. By comparing spiritual things\nwith spiritual, we may shew the meaning of the oracles of God. We\nmay explain the mysteries of his kingdom, which have been hid from\nthe beginning of the world. We may speak with the tongue of angels\nrather than men, concerning the deep things of God. We may proclaim to\nsinners, _Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world_.\nYea, we may do this with such a measure of the power of God, and such\ndemonstration of his Spirit, as to save many souls from death, and hide\na multitude of sins. And yet \u2019tis very possible, all this may be no\nmore than _saying, Lord, Lord!_ After I have thus successfully preached\nto others, still I myself may be a cast away. I may in the hand of God,\nsnatch many souls from hell, and yet drop into it, when I have done.\nI may bring many others to the kingdom of heaven, and yet myself never\nenter there. Reader, if God hath ever blest my word to _thy_ soul, pray\nthat he may be merciful to _me_ a sinner!\n\n2. The _saying, Lord, Lord!_ may, secondly, imply, the doing no harm.\nWe may abstain from every presumptuous sin, from every kind of outward\nwickedness. We may refrain from all those ways of acting or speaking,\nwhich are forbidden in holy writ. We may be able to say to all those\namong whom we live, Which of you convinceth me of sin? We may have a\nconscience void of any external offence, towards God and towards man.\nWe may be clear of all uncleanness, ungodliness and unrighteousness, as\nto the outward act: or (as the apostle testifies concerning himself,)\n_touching the righteousness of the law_, i. e. outward righteousness,\n_blameless_. But yet we are not hereby justified. Still this is no more\nthan _saying, Lord, Lord!_ And if we go no farther than this, we shall\nnever _enter into the kingdom of heaven_.\n\n3. The _saying, Lord, Lord!_ may imply, thirdly, many of what are\nusually stiled good works. A man may attend the supper of the Lord,\nmay hear abundance of excellent sermons, and omit no opportunity\nof partaking all the other ordinances of God. I may do good to my\nneighbour, deal my bread to the hungry, and cover the naked with a\ngarment. I may be so zealous of good works, as even to _give all my\ngoods to feed the poor_. Yea, and I may do all this, with a desire to\nplease God, and a real belief that I do please him thereby: (which is\nundeniably the case of those our Lord introduces, _saying unto_ him,\n_Lord, Lord!_) and still I may have no part, in the glory which shall\nbe revealed.\n\n4. If any man marvels at this, let him acknowledge he is a stranger to\nthe whole religion of Jesus Christ: and in particular, to that perfect\nportraiture thereof, which he has set before us in this discourse. For\nhow far short is all this, of that righteousness and true holiness,\nwhich he has described therein! how widely distant from that inward\nkingdom of heaven, which is now opened in the believing soul? Which\nis first sown in the heart as a grain of mustard-seed, but afterwards\nputteth forth great branches, on which grow all the fruits of\nrighteousness, every good temper and word and work.\n\n5. Yet as clearly as he had declared this, as frequently as he had\nrepeated, That none who have not this kingdom of God within them, shall\nenter into the kingdom of heaven: our Lord well knew, that many would\nnot receive this saying, and therefore confirms it yet again: _Many_,\n(saith he; not one; not a few only; it is not a rare or an uncommon\ncase) _shall say unto me in that day_: not only, we have said many\nprayers; we have spoken thy praise; we have refrained from evil; we\nhave exercised ourselves in doing good: but what is abundantly more\nthan this, _We have prophesied in thy name. In thy name have we cast\nout devils; in thy name done many wonderful works. We have prophesied_:\nwe have declared thy will to mankind; we have shewed sinners the way to\npeace and glory. And we have done this, _in thy name_, according to the\ntruth of thy gospel. Yea, and by thy authority, who didst confirm the\nword, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. For _in_ or _by thy\nname_, by the power of thy word and of thy Spirit, _have we cast out\ndevils_; out of the souls which they had long claimed as their own, and\nwhereof they had full and quiet possession. _And in thy name_, by thy\npower, not our own, _have we done many wonderful works_: insomuch that\neven _the dead heard the voice of the Son of God_ speaking by us, and\nlived. _And then will I profess_ even _unto them, I never knew you_:\nno, not then, when you were _casting out devils in my name_. Even then\nI did not know you as my own: for your heart was not right toward God.\nYe were not yourselves meek and lowly, ye were not lovers of God and of\nall mankind: ye were not renewed in the image of God. Ye were not holy\nas I am holy. _Depart from me, ye_ who notwithstanding all this, are\n_workers of iniquity_; \u1f00\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03af\u03b1. Ye are transgressors of my law, my law\nof holy and perfect love.\n\n6. It is to put this beyond all possibility of contradiction, that our\nLord confirms it by that apposite comparison. _Every one_, saith he,\n_who heareth these sayings of mine and doth them not, shall be likened\nunto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand. And the rain\ndescended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that\nhouse_: as they will surely do, sooner or later, upon every soul of man;\neven the floods of outward affliction, or inward temptation; the storms\nof pride, anger, fear or desire. _And it fell and great was the fall\nof it_: so that it perished for ever and ever. Such must be the portion\nof all, who rest in any thing short of that religion which is above\ndescribed. And the _greater_ will their _fall_ be, because they _heard\nthose sayings, and_ yet _did them not_.\n\n\nII. 1. I am, secondly, to shew the wisdom of him that doth them,\nthat _buildeth his house upon a rock_. He indeed is wise, _who doth\nthe will of my Father which is in heaven_. He is truly wise, whose\n_righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees_.\nHe is poor in spirit; knowing himself even as also he is known. He sees\nand feels all his sin, and all his guilt, till it is washed away by the\natoning blood. He is conscious of his lost estate, of the wrath of God\nabiding on him, and of his utter inability to help himself, till he\nis filled with peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. He is meek and gentle,\npatient toward all men, _never returning evil for evil, or railing for\nrailing, but contrariwise blessing_, till he overcomes evil with good.\nHis soul is athirst for nothing on earth, but only for God, the living\nGod. He has bowels of love for all mankind, and is ready to lay down\nhis life for his enemies. He loves the Lord his God with all his heart,\nand with all his mind and soul and strength. He alone shall enter into\nthe kingdom of heaven, who in this spirit doth good unto all men; and\nwho being for this cause despised and rejected of men; being hated,\nreproached and persecuted, _rejoices and is exceeding glad_, knowing\nin whom he hath believed; and being assured, these light, momentary\nafflictions will _work out for him an eternal weight and glory_.\n\n2. *How truly wise is this man! He knows himself: an everlasting spirit,\nwhich came forth from God, and was sent down into an house of clay,\nnot to do his own will, but the will of him that sent him. He knows the\nworld; the place in which he is to pass a few days or years, not as an\ninhabitant, but a stranger and sojourner, in his way to the everlasting\nhabitations: and accordingly he uses the world, as not abusing it, and\nas knowing the fashion of it passes away. He knows God, his Father and\nhis Friend, the parent of all good, the center of the spirits of all\nflesh, the sole happiness of all intelligent beings. He sees, clearer\nthan the light of the noon-day sun, that this is the end of man, To\nglorify him who made him for himself, and to love and enjoy him for\never. And with equal clearness he sees the means to that end, to the\nenjoyment of God in glory, even now to know, to love, to imitate God,\nand to believe in Jesus Christ whom he hath sent.\n\n3. He is a wise man, even in God\u2019s account; for _he buildeth his house\nupon a rock_: upon the rock of ages, the everlasting rock, the Lord\nJesus Christ. Fitly is he so called; for he changeth not. He is _the\nsame yesterday, to-day, and for ever_. To him both the man of God of\nold, and the apostle citing his words bear witness, _Thou, Lord, in\nthe beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens\nare the works of thine hands. They shall perish, but thou remainest;\nthey all shall wax old as doth a garment. And as a vesture shall thou\nfold them up and they shall be changed: but thou art the same and thy\nyears shall not fail._ Heb. i. 10, 11, 12. Wise therefore is the man\nwho buildeth on him; who layeth him for his only foundation; who builds\nonly upon his blood and righteousness, upon what he hath done and\nsuffered for us. On this corner-stone he fixes his faith, and rests the\nwhole weight of his soul upon it. He is taught of God to say, Lord, I\nhave sinned: I deserve the nethermost hell. But I am _justified freely\nby thy grace, thro\u2019 the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. And the\nlife I now live, I live by faith in him, who loved me and gave himself\nfor me. The life I now live_: namely, a divine, heavenly life; a life,\nwhich is _hid with Christ in God_. I now live even in the flesh, a\nlife of love, of pure love both to God and man: a life of holiness and\nhappiness, praising God and doing all things to his glory.\n\n4. Yet let not such an one think, That he shall not see war any more,\nthat he is now out of the reach of temptation. It still remains, for\nGod to prove the grace he hath given: he shall be tried as gold in the\nfire. He shall be tempted not less, than they who know not God: perhaps\nabundantly more. For Satan will not fail to try to the uttermost,\nthose whom he is not able to destroy. Accordingly, _the rain_ will\nimpetuously _descend_: only at such times and in such a manner, as\nseems good, not to the prince of the power of the air, but to him\n_whose kingdom ruleth over all. The floods_, or torrents, _will come_;\nthey will lift up their waves and rage horribly. But to them also, the\nLord that sitteth above the water-floods, that remaineth a King for\never, will say, _Hitherto shall ye come and no farther: here shall your\nproud waves be stayed. The winds will blow and beat upon that house_,\nas tho\u2019 they would tear it up from the foundation. But they cannot\nprevail: it falleth not: for it is founded upon a rock. He buildeth\non Christ by faith and love: therefore he shall not be cast down. He\n_shall not fear, tho\u2019 the earth be moved, and tho\u2019 the hills be carried\ninto the midst of the sea. Tho\u2019 the waters thereof rage and swell, and\nthe mountains shake at the tempest of the same_: still he _dwelleth\nunder the defence of the Most High, and is safe under the shadow of the\nAlmighty_.\n\n\nIII. 1. *How nearly then does it concern every child of man,\npractically to apply these things to himself? Diligently to examine,\non what foundation he builds, whether on a rock or on the sand? How\ndeeply are _you_ concerned to inquire, what is the foundation of _my_\nhope? Whereon do I build my expectation of entring into the kingdom\nof heaven? Is it not built on the sand? Upon my _orthodoxy_ or right\nopinions, (which by a gross abuse of words I have called _faith_!)\nUpon my having a set of notions (suppose more rational or scriptural\nthan others have.) Alas! what madness is this? Surely this is building\non the sand: or rather on the froth of the sea! Say, I am convinced\nof this. Am I not again building my hope on what is equally unable to\nsupport it? Perhaps on my belonging to \u201cso excellent a church: reformed\nafter the true scripture-model: blest with the purest doctrine, the\nmost primitive liturgy, the most apostolical form of government.\u201d These\nare doubtless so many reasons for praising God, as they may be so many\nhelps to holiness. But they are not holiness itself. And if they are\nseparate from it, they will profit me nothing. Nay, they will leave\nme the more without excuse, and exposed to the greater damnation.\nTherefore if I build my hope upon this foundation, I am still building\nupon the sand.\n\n2. You cannot, you dare not rest here. Upon what next will you build\nyour hope of salvation? Upon your innocence? Upon your doing no harm?\nYour not wronging or hurting any one? Well; allow this plea to be true.\nYou are just in all your dealings: you are a downright honest man.\nYou pay every man his own: you neither cheat, nor extort: you act\nfairly with all mankind. And you have a conscience towards God: you\ndo not live in any known sin. Thus far is well. But still it is not\nthe thing. You may go thus far, and yet never come to heaven. When all\nthis harmlessness flows from a right principle, it is the _least part_\nof the religion of Christ. But in you it does not flow from a right\nprinciple, and therefore is no part at all of religion. So that in\ngrounding your hope of salvation on this, you are still building upon\nthe sand.\n\n3. Do you go farther yet? Do you add to the doing no harm, the\nattending all the ordinances of God? Do you at all opportunities\npartake of the Lord\u2019s supper? Use public and private prayer? Fast\noften? Hear and search the scriptures, and meditate thereon? These\nthings likewise ought you to have done, from the time you first set\nyour face towards heaven. Yet these things also are nothing, being\nalone. They are nothing without the weightier matters of the law. And\nthose you have forgotten. At least you experience them not; faith,\nmercy, and the love of God: holiness of heart: heaven opened in the\nsoul. Still therefore you build upon the sand.\n\n4. *Over and above all this, are you zealous of good works? Do you, as\nyou have time, do good to all men? Do you feed the hungry and cloath\nthe naked, and visit the fatherless and widow in their affliction?\nDo you visit those that are sick? Relieve them that are in prison?\nIs any a stranger and you take him in? Friend, come up higher. Do you\n_prophesy in the name_ of Christ? Do you preach the truth as it is in\nJesus? And does the influence of his Spirit attend your word, and make\nit the power of God unto salvation? Does he enable you to bring sinners\nfrom darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God? Then go and\nlearn what thou hast so often taught, _By grace ye are saved thro\u2019\nfaith. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but of his\nown mercy he saveth us._ Learn to hang naked upon the cross of Christ,\ncounting all thou hast done but dung and dross. Apply to him just in\nthe spirit of the dying thief, of the harlot with her seven devils.\nElse thou art still on the sand, and after saving others, thou wilt\nlose thy own soul.\n\n5. *Lord! increase my faith, if I now believe! else, give me faith,\ntho\u2019 but as a grain of mustard-seed!\u2015\u2015But _what doth it profit, if\na man says he hath faith, and have not works? Can_ that _faith save\nhim_? O no! That faith which hath not works, which doth not produce\nboth inward and outward holiness, which does not stamp the whole image\nof God on the heart, and purify us as he is pure: that faith which\ndoes not produce the whole of the religion described in the foregoing\nchapters, is not the faith of the gospel, not the Christian faith,\nnot the faith which leads to glory. O beware of this, above all other\nsnares of the devil, of resting on unholy, unsaving faith! if thou\nlayest stress on this, thou art lost for ever: thou still buildest thy\nhouse upon the sand. When _the rain descends and the floods come, it_\nwill surely _fall, and great_ will be _the fall of it_.\n\n6. *Now therefore, build thou upon a rock. By the grace of God, know\nthyself. Know and feel, that thou wast shapen in wickedness, and in sin\ndid thy mother conceive thee: and yet that thyself hast been heaping\nsin upon sin, ever since thou couldst discern good from evil. Own\nthyself guilty of eternal death: and renounce all hope of ever being\nable to save thyself. Be it all thy hope, to be washed in his blood,\nand purified by his Spirit, _who himself bore all thy sins, in his own\nbody upon the tree_. And if thou knowest he hath taken away thy sins,\nso much the more abase thyself before him, in a continued sense of thy\ntotal dependance on him for every good thought and word and work, and\nof thy utter inability to all good, unless he _water thee every moment_.\n\n7. Now weep for your sins, and mourn after God till he turns your\nheaviness into joy. And even then weep with them that weep: and for\nthem that weep not for themselves. Mourn for the sins and miseries\nof mankind: and see, but just before your eyes, the immense ocean of\neternity, without a bottom or a shore; which has already swallowed\nup millions of millions of men, and is gaping to devour them that yet\nremain. See here the house of God, eternal in the heavens; there, hell\nand destruction without a covering. And thence learn the importance of\nevery moment, which just appears, and is gone for ever!\n\n8. Now add to your seriousness, meekness of wisdom. Hold an even scale\nas to all your passions, but in particular, as to anger, sorrow and\nfear. Calmly acquiesce in whatsoever is the will of God. Learn in\nevery state wherein you are, therewith to be content. Be mild to the\ngood: be gentle toward all men; but especially toward the evil and the\nunthankful. Beware not only of outward expressions of anger, such as\ncalling thy brother _Raca_, or thou fool! but of every inward emotion\ncontrary to love, tho\u2019 it go no farther than the heart. Be angry at sin,\nas an affront offered to the Majesty of heaven; but love the sinner\nstill: like our Lord, who _looked round about upon_ the Pharisees _with\nanger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts_. He was grieved\nat the sinners, angry at the sin. Thus _be_ thou _angry and sin not_.\n\n9. *Now do thou hunger and thirst, not for _the meat that perisheth,\nbut for that which endureth unto everlasting life_. Trample under\nfoot the world and the things of the world: all these riches, honours,\npleasures. What is the world to thee? Let the dead bury their dead:\nbut follow thou after the image of God. And beware of quenching that\nblessed thirst, if it is already excited in thy soul, by what is\nvulgarly called religion, a poor, dull farce, a religion of form, of\noutside show, which leaves the heart still cleaving to the dust, as\nearthly and sensual as ever. Let nothing satisfy thee but the power of\ngodliness, but a religion that is spirit and life; the dwelling in God\nand God in thee; the being an inhabitant of eternity; the entering in\nby the blood of sprinkling _within the veil_, and _sitting in heavenly\nplaces with Christ Jesus_.\n\n10. Now, seeing thou canst do all things thro\u2019 Christ strengthening\nthee, be merciful as thy Father in heaven is merciful. Love thy\nneighbour as thyself. Love friends and enemies as thy own soul. And let\nthy love be _long-suffering_, and patient towards all men. Let it be\n_kind_, soft, benign: inspiring thee with the most amiable sweetness,\nand the most fervent and tender affection. Let it _rejoice in the\ntruth_, wheresoever it is found, the truth that is after godliness.\nEnjoy whatsoever brings glory to God, and promotes peace and good-will\namong men. In love _cover all things_; of the dead and the absent\nspeaking nothing but good: _believe all things_, which may any way tend\nto clear your neighbour\u2019s character: _hope all things_, in his favour,\nand _endure all things_, triumphing over all opposition. For true _love\nnever faileth_, in time or in eternity.\n\n11. Now be thou _pure in heart_; purified thro\u2019 faith from every unholy\naffection, _cleansing thyself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit,\nand perfecting holiness in the fear of God_. Being thro\u2019 the power of\nhis grace, purified from pride by deep poverty of spirit, from anger,\nfrom every unkind or turbulent passion, by meekness and mercifulness,\nfrom every desire but to please and enjoy God, by hunger and thirst\nafter righteousness; now love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and\nwith all thy strength.\n\n12. In a word. Let thy religion be the religion of the heart. Let it\nlie deep in thy inmost soul. Be thou little and base, and mean and vile,\n(beyond what words can express) in thy own eyes; amazed and humbled\nto the dust, by the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. Be serious.\nLet the whole stream of thy thoughts, words and actions flow from the\ndeepest conviction, that thou standest on the edge of the great gulph,\nthou and all the children of men, just ready to drop in, either into\neverlasting glory or everlasting burnings. Let thy soul be filled with\nmildness, gentleness, patience, long-suffering towards all men: at\nthe same time that all which is in thee is athirst for God, the living\nGod; longing to awake up after his likeness, and to be satisfied with\nit. Be thou a lover of God and of all mankind. In this Spirit do and\nsuffer all things. Thus shew thy faith by thy works: thus _do the will\nof thy Father which is in heaven_. And as sure as thou now walkest with\nGod on earth, thou shalt also reign with him in glory.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXIV.\n\n THE ORIGINAL, NATURE, PROPERTY AND USE OF THE LAW.\n ROM. vii. 12.\n\n\n _Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and\n good._\n\n1. PERHAPS there are few subjects within the whole compass of religion,\nso little understood as this. The reader of this epistle is usually\ntold, by _the law_, St. _Paul_ means _Jewish law_: and so apprehending\nhimself to have no concern therewith, passes on without farther\nthought about it. Indeed some are not satisfied with this account:\nbut observing the epistle is directed to the _Romans_, thence infer,\nthat the apostle in the beginning of this chapter, alludes to the old\n_Roman law_. But as they have no more concern with this, than with the\n_ceremonial law_ of _Moses_, so they spend not much thought, on what\nthey suppose is occasionally mentioned, barely to illustrate another\nthing.\n\n2. But a careful observer of the apostle\u2019s discourse, will not be\ncontent with these slight explications of it. And the more he weighs\nthe words, the more convinced he will be that St. _Paul_ by _the law_\nmentioned in this chapter, does not mean either the ancient law of\n_Rome_, or the ceremonial law of _Moses_. This will clearly appear to\nall who attentively consider the tenor of his discourse. He begins the\nchapter, _Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know the law_,\nto them who have been instructed therein from their youth) _That the\nlaw hath dominion over a man, as long as he liveth_? ver. 1. (What the\nlaw of _Rome_ only, or the _ceremonial_ law? No surely; but the _moral_\nlaw) _For_, to give a plain instance, _the woman that hath an husband,\nis bound by the_ (moral) _law to her husband as long as he liveth. But\nif her husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband_,\nver. 2. _So then, if while her husband liveth, she be married to\nanother man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be\ndead, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, tho\u2019\nshe be married to another man._ ver 3. From this particular instance\nthe apostle proceeds to draw that general conclusion. _Wherefore, my\nbrethren_, by a plain parity of reason, _ye also are become dead to the\nlaw_, the whole _Mosaic_ institution, _by the body of Christ_ offered\nfor you, and bringing you under a new dispensation: _that ye should_\nwithout any blame _be married to another, even to him who is raised\nfrom the dead_, and hath thereby given proof of his authority to make\nthe change, _that ye should bring forth fruit unto God_. ver. 4. And\nthis we can do now, whereas before we could not: _For when we were in\nthe flesh_, under the power of the flesh, that is, of corrupt nature,\n(which was necessarily the case till we knew the power of Christ\u2019s\nresurrection) _the motions of sin, which were by the law_, which were\nshewn and inflamed by the _Mosaic_ law, not conquered, _did work in our\nmembers_, broke out various ways, _to bring forth fruit unto death_.\nver. 5. _But now we are delivered from the law_, from that whole moral\nas well as ceremonial \u0153conomy; _that being dead whereby we were held_:\nthat intire institution being now as it were dead, and having no more\nauthority over us, than the husband when dead hath over his wife: _that\nwe should serve him_ who died for us and rose again; _in newness of\nspirit_, in a new spiritual dispensation, _and not in the oldness of\nthe letter_, ver. 6. with a bare outward service, according to the\nletter of the _Mosaic_ institution.\n\n3. The apostle having gone thus far, in proving that the Christian\nhad set aside the Jewish dispensation, and that the moral law itself,\ntho\u2019 it could never pass away, yet stood on a different foundation\nfrom what it did before, now stops to propose and answer an objection.\n_What shall we say then? Is the law sin?_ So some might infer from a\nmisapprehension of those words, _the motions of sin which were by the\nlaw. God forbid!_ saith the apostle, that we should say so. Nay, the\nlaw is an irreconcileable enemy to sin; searching it out wherever it is.\n_I had not known sin but by the law. I had not known lust_, evil desire\nto be sin, _except the law had said, thou shalt not covet_, ver. 7.\nAfter opening this farther in the four following verses, he subjoins\nthis general conclusion, with regard more especially to the moral law,\nfrom which the preceding instance was taken: _Wherefore the law is holy,\nand the commandment holy and just and good_.\n\n4. In order to explain and inforce these deep words, so little regarded,\nbecause so little understood, I shall endeavour to shew, first, the\noriginal of this law, secondly, the nature thereof; thirdly, the\nproperties, that it is _holy and just and good_, and fourthly, the uses\nof it.\n\n\nI. 1. I shall, first, endeavour to shew the original of the moral law,\noften called _the law_, by way of eminence. Now this is not, as some\nmay possibly have imagined, of so late an institution as the time of\n_Moses_. _Noah_ declared it to men long before that time, and _Enoch_\nbefore him. But we may trace its original higher still, even beyond\nthe foundation of the world, to that period, unknown indeed to men, but\ndoubtless inrolled in the annals of eternity, when _the morning stars_\nfirst _sang together_, being newly called into existence. *It pleased\nthe great Creator to make these his first born sons, intelligent beings,\nthat they might know him that created them. For this end he endued them\nwith understanding, to discern truth from falshood, good from evil: and\nas a necessary result of this, with liberty, a capacity of chusing the\none and refusing the other. By this they were likewise enabled to offer\nhim a free and willing service: a service rewardable in itself, as well\nas most acceptable to their gracious Master.\n\n2. To employ all the faculties which he had given them, particularly\ntheir understanding and liberty, he gave them a law, a compleat model\nof all truth, so far as is intelligible to a finite being, and of\nall good, so far as angelic minds were capable of embracing it. It\nwas also the design of their beneficent governor herein, to make way\nfor a continual increase of their happiness: seeing every instance of\nobedience to that law, would both add to the perfection of their nature,\nand intitle them to an higher reward, which the righteous judge would\ngive in its season.\n\n3. *In like manner, when God in his appointed time, had created a new\norder of intelligent beings, when he had raised man from the dust of\nthe earth, breathed into him the breath of life, and caused him to\nbecome a living soul, endued with power to chuse good or evil: he gave\nto this free, intelligent creature, the same law as to his first-born\nchildren: not wrote indeed upon tables of stone, or any corruptible\nsubstance, but engraven on his heart by the finger of God, wrote in the\ninmost spirit both of men and of angels: to the intent it might never\nbe far off, never hard to be understood; but always at hand, and always\nshining with clear light, even as the sun in the midst of heaven.\n\n4. Such was the original of the law of God. With regard to man, it was\nco-eval with his nature. But with regard to the elder sons of God, it\nshone in its full splendor, _or ever the mountains were brought forth,\non the earth and the round world were made_. But it was not long before\nman rebelled against God, and by breaking this glorious law, well nigh\neffaced it out of his heart; _the eyes of his understanding_ being\n_darkened_, in the same measure as his soul was _alienated from the\nlife of_ God. And yet God did not despise the work of his own hands:\nbut being reconciled to man thro\u2019 the Son of his love, he in some\nmeasure re-inscribed the law, on the heart of his dark, sinful creature.\n_He_ again _shewed thee, O man what is good_ (altho\u2019 not as in the\nbeginning) _even to do justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly\nwith thy_ God.\n\n5. And this he shewed not only to our first parents, but likewise\nto all their posterity, by _that true light which enlightens every\nman that cometh into the world_. But notwithstanding this light, all\nflesh had in process of time _corrupted their way before him_: till he\nchose out of mankind a peculiar people, to whom he gave a more perfect\nknowledge of his law. And the heads of this, because they were slow of\nunderstanding, he wrote on two tables of stone; which he commanded the\nfathers to teach their children, thro\u2019 all succeeding generations.\n\n6. And thus it is, that the law of God is now made known to them that\nknow not God. They hear, with the hearing of the ear, the things that\nwere written aforetime for our instruction. But this does not suffice.\nThey cannot by this means comprehend the height and depth and length\nand breadth thereof. God alone can reveal this by his Spirit. And so he\ndoes to all that truly believe, in consequence of that gracious promise,\nmade to all the Israel of God: _Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,\nthat I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel. And this\nshall be the covenant that I will make, I will put my law in their\ninward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their_ God,\n_and they shall be my people_. Jer. xxxi. 31, &c.\n\n\nII. 1. The nature of that law which was originally given to angels in\nheaven and man in paradise, and which God has so mercifully promised\nto write afresh, in the hearts of all true believers, was the second\nthing I proposed to shew. In order to which I would first observe, that\naltho\u2019 _the law_ and _the commandment_ are sometimes differently taken,\n(the commandment meaning but a part of the law) yet in the text they\nare used as equivalent terms, implying one and the same thing. But we\ncannot understand here, either by one or the other, the ceremonial law.\n\u2019Tis not the ceremonial law, whereof the apostle says, in the words\nabove recited, _I had not known sin but by the law_: this is too plain\nto need a proof. Neither is it the ceremonial law which saith, in the\nwords immediately subjoined, _Thou shalt not covet_. Therefore the\nceremonial law, has no place in the present question.\n\n2. Neither can we understand by the law mentioned in the text, the\n_Mosaic_ dispensation. \u2019Tis true, the word is sometimes so understood:\nas when the apostle says, speaking to the _Galatians_, (c. iii. v. 17.)\n_The covenant which was confirmed before_ (namely with _Abraham_ the\nfather of the faithful) _the law_, i. e. the _Mosaic_ dispensation,\n_which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul_.\nBut it cannot be understood so in the text; for the apostle never\nbestows, so high commendations as these upon that imperfect and shadowy\ndispensation. He no where affirms, the _Mosaic_ to be a _spiritual_\nlaw: or, that it is _holy and just and good_. Neither is it true, that\nGod will _write_ that law _in the_ hearts of them whose _iniquities he\nremembers no more_. It remains, that _the law_, eminently so termed, is\nno other than the moral law.\n\n3. Now this law is an incorruptible picture of the high and holy one\nthat inhabiteth eternity. It is he whom in his essence no man hath\nseen or can see, made visible to men and angels. It is the face of\nGod unveiled: God manifested to his creatures as they are able to bear\nit: manifested to give and not to destroy life; that they may see God\nand live. It is the heart of God disclosed to man. Yea, in some sense\nwe may apply to this law, what the apostle says of his Son, it is\n\u1f00\u03c0\u03b1\u03cd\u03b3\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u03b4\u03cc\u03be\u03b7\u03c2, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03ba\u03c4\u1f74\u03c1 \u03c4\u1fc6\u03c2 \u1f51\u03c0\u03bf\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03c3\u03b5\u03c9\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u00b7 _The streaming\nforth_ or out-beaming _of his glory, the express image of his person_.\n\n4. *\u201cIf virtue, said the antient Heathen, could assume such a shape as\nthat we could behold her with our eyes, what wonderful love would she\nexcite in us!\u201d If virtue could do this! It is done already. The law\nof God is all virtues in one, in such a shape, as to be beheld with\nopen face, by all those whose eyes God hath enlightened. What is the\nlaw, but divine virtue and wisdom, assuming a visible form? What is\nit, but the original ideas of truth and good, which were lodged in the\nuncreated mind from eternity, now drawn forth and cloathed with such\na vehicle, as to appear even to human understanding?\n\n5. *If we survey the law of God in another point of view, it is supreme,\nunchangeable reason: it is unalterable rectitude: it is the everlasting\nfitness of all things that are or ever were created. I am sensible,\nwhat a shortness, and even impropriety there is, in these and all other\nhuman expressions, when we endeavour by these faint pictures, to shadow\nout the deep things of God. Nevertheless we have no better, indeed\nno other way, during this our infant state of existence. As _we_ now\n_know_ but _in part_, so _we_ are constrained to _prophesy_, i. e.\nspeak of the things of God, _in part_ also. _We cannot order our speech\nby reason of darkness_, while we are in this house of clay. While I\nam _a child I_ must _speak as a child_. But I shall soon _put away\nchildish things_. For _when that which is perfect is come, that which\nis in part shall be done away_.\n\n6. *But to return. The law of God, (speaking after the manner of men)\nis a copy of the eternal mind, a transcript of the divine nature: yea\nit is the fairest offspring of the everlasting Father, the brightest\nefflux of his essential wisdom, the visible beauty of the Most High.\nIt is the delight and wonder of Cherubim and Seraphim and all the\ncompany of heaven, and the glory and joy of every wise believer, every\nwell-instructed child of God upon earth.\n\n\nIII. 1. Such is the nature of the ever blessed law of God. I am, in\nthe third place, to shew the properties of it: not all; for that would\nexceed the wisdom of an angel. But those only which are mentioned in\nthe text. These are three: _It is holy, just and good_. And first, _The\nlaw is holy_.\n\n2. In this expression the apostle does not appear to speak of its\neffects; but rather of its nature: as St. _James_ speaking of the\nsame thing under another name, says, _The wisdom from above_ (which\nis no other than this law, written on our heart) _is first pure_,\nchap. iii. 17. \u1f01\u03b3\u03bd\u1f74, chaste, spotless, internally, and essentially\nholy. And consequently, when it is transcribed into the life, as\nwell as the soul, it is (as the same apostle terms it,) chap. i. 27.\n\u03b8\u03c1\u03b7\u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 \u03ba\u03b1\u03b8\u03b1\u03c1\u1f70 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f00\u03bc\u03af\u03b1\u03bd\u03c4\u03bf\u03c2. _Pure religion and undefiled_; or, the\npure, clean, unpolluted worship of God.\n\n3. It is indeed, in the highest degree, pure, chaste, clean, holy.\nOtherwise it could not be the immediate offspring, and much less the\nexpress resemblance of God, who is essential holiness. It is pure from\nall sin, clean and unspotted from any touch of evil. It is a chaste\nvirgin, incapable of any defilement, of any mixture with that which\nis unclean or unholy. It has no fellowship with sin of any kind. For\n_what communion hath light with darkness_? As sin is in its very nature\nenmity to God, so his law is enmity to sin.\n\nTherefore it is, that the apostle rejects with such abhorrence, that\nblasphemous supposition, that _the law_ of God _is_ either _sin_ itself,\nor the cause of sin. God _forbid_, that we should suppose, it is the\ncause of sin, because it is the discoverer of it: because it detects\nthe hidden things of darkness, and drags them out into open day. \u2019Tis\ntrue, by this means, (as the apostle observes, ver. 13.) _sin appears\nto be sin_. All its disguises are torn away, and it appears in its\nnative deformity. \u2019Tis true likewise, that _sin by the commandment\nbecomes exceeding sinful_. Being now committed against light and\nknowledge, being stript even of the poor plea of ignorance, it loses\nits excuse as well as disguise, and becomes far more odious both to\nGod and man. Yea, and it is true, that _sin worketh death by that which\nis good_, which in itself is pure and holy. When it is dragged out to\nlight, it rages the more: when it is restrained, it bursts out with\ngreater violence. Thus the apostle, (speaking in the person of one,\nwho was convinced of sin, but not yet delivered from it) _sin taking\noccasion by the commandment_, detecting and endeavouring to restrain it,\ndisdained the restraint, and so much the more _wrought in me all manner\nof concupiscence_, ver. 8. All manner of foolish and hurtful desire,\nwhich that commandment sought to restrain. Thus _when the commandment\ncame, sin revived_, ver. 9. It fretted and raged the more. But this is\nno stain on the commandment. Though it is abused it cannot be defiled.\nThis only proves, that _the heart_ of man _is desperately wicked_. But\n_the law_ of God is _holy_ still.\n\n5. And it is, secondly, _just_. It renders to all their due. It\nprescribes exactly what is right, precisely what ought to be done, said\nor thought both with regard to the author of our being, with regard to\nourselves, and with regard to every creature which he has made. It is\nadapted in all respects to the nature of things, of the whole universe\nand every individual. It is suited to all the circumstances of each,\nand to all their mutual relations, whether such as have existed from the\nbeginning, or such as commenced in any following period. It is exactly\nagreeable to the fitnesses of things, whether essential or accidental.\nIt clashes with none of these in any degree; nor is ever unconnected\nwith them. If the word be taken in that sense, there is nothing\n_arbitrary_ in the law of God. Altho\u2019 still the whole and every part\nthereof, is totally dependent upon his will: so that _thy will be done_,\nis the supreme, universal law both in earth and heaven.\n\n6. \u201cBut is the will of God the cause of his law? Is his will the\noriginal of right and wrong? Is a thing therefore right, because God\nwills it? Or does he will it, because it is right?\u201d\n\nI fear, this celebrated question is more curious than useful. And\nperhaps, in the manner it is usually treated of, it does not so well\nconsist with the regard that is due from a creature, to the Creator\nand governor of all things. \u2019Tis hardly decent for man, to call the\nsupreme God, to give an account to him! Nevertheless, with awe and\nreverence we may speak a little. The Lord pardon us, if we speak amiss!\n\n7. It seems then, that the whole difficulty arises, from considering\nGod\u2019s will as distinct from God. Otherwise it vanishes away. For none\ncan doubt, but God is the cause of the law of God. But the will of\nGod is God himself. It is God considered as willing thus or thus.\nConsequently, to say, That the will of God, or that God himself is the\ncause of the law, is one and the same thing.\n\n8. *Again; if the law, the immutable rule of right and wrong, depends\non the nature and fitnesses of things, and on their essential relations\nto each other: (I do not say, their eternal relations; because the\neternal relation of things existing in time, is little less than a\ncontradiction:) if, I say, this depends on the nature and relations\nof things, then it must depend on God, or the will of God: because\nthose things themselves, with all their relations, are the works of his\nhands. By his will, _for his pleasure_ alone, _they_ all _are and were\ncreated_.\n\n9. And yet it may be granted (which is probably all that a considerate\nperson would contend for) that in every particular case, God wills this\nor this (suppose that men should honour their parents) because it is\nright, agreeable to the fitness of things, to the relation wherein they\nstand.\n\n10. The law then is right and just concerning all things. And it is\n_good_ as well as _just_. This we may easily infer from the fountain\nwhence it flowed. For what was this, but the goodness of God? What but\ngoodness alone inclined him to impart that divine copy of himself to\nthe holy angels? To what else can we impute his bestowing upon man the\nsame transcript of his own nature? And what but tender love constrained\nhim afresh to manifest his will to fallen man? Either to _Adam_, or\nany of his seed, who like him were _come short of the glory of God_?\nWas it not mere love that moved him to publish his law, after the\nunderstandings of men were darkened? And to send his prophets to\ndeclare that law, to the blind, thoughtless children of men? Doubtless\nhis goodness it was which raised up _Enoch_ and _Noah_, to be preachers\nof righteousness; which caused _Abraham_, his friend, and _Isaac_ and\n_Jacob_, to bear witness to his truth. It was his goodness alone, which\nwhen _darkness_ had _covered the earth, and thick darkness the people_,\ngave a written law to _Moses_, and through him, to the nation whom he\nhad chosen. It was his love which explained these living oracles by\n_David_ and all the prophets that followed: until, when the fulness of\ntime was come, he sent his only-begotten Son, _not to destroy the law\nbut to fulfil_, to confirm every jot and tittle thereof, till having\nwrote it in the hearts of all his children, and put all his enemies\nunder his feet, _he shall deliver up_ his mediatorial _kingdom to the\nFather, that God may be all in all_.\n\n11. And this law which the goodness of God gave at first and has\npreserved through all ages, is, like the fountain from whence it\nsprings, full of goodness and benignity: It is mild and kind; it is\n(as the Psalmist expresses it) _sweeter than honey and the honey-comb_.\nIt is winning and amiable. It includes _whatsoever things are lovely or\nof good report. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise_ before\nGod and his holy angels, they are all comprized in this: wherein are\nhid all the treasures of the divine wisdom and knowledge and love.\n\n12. And it is _good_ in its effects, as well as in its nature. As the\ntree is, so are its fruits. The fruits of the law of God written in\nthe heart, are _righteousness and peace and assurance for ever_. Or\nrather, the law itself is righteousness, filling the soul with a peace\nwhich passeth all understanding, and causing us to rejoice evermore,\nin the testimony of a good conscience toward God. It is not so properly\na pledge, as _an earnest of our inheritance_, being a part of the\npurchased possession. It is God made manifest in our flesh, and\nbringing with him eternal life: assuring us by that pure and perfect\nlove, that we are _sealed unto the day of redemption_: that he will\n_spare us as a man spareth his own son that serveth him, in the day\nwhen he maketh up his jewels_, and that there remaineth for us _a crown\nof glory which fadeth not away_.\n\n\nIV. 1. It remains only, to shew, in the fourth and last place, the uses\nof the law. And the first use of it without question is, to convince\nthe world of sin. This is indeed the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost:\nwho can work it without any means at all, or by whatever means it\npleaseth him, however insufficient in themselves, or even improper to\nproduce such an effect. And accordingly some there are whose hearts\nhave been broken in pieces in a moment, either in sickness or in health,\nwithout any visible cause, or any outward means whatever. And others\n(one in an age) have been awakened to a sense of the _wrath of God\nabiding on_ them, by hearing, that _God was in Christ, reconciling the\nworld unto himself_. But it is the ordinary method of the Spirit of\nGod, to convict sinners by the law. It is this, which being set home\non the conscience, generally breaketh the rocks in pieces. It is more\nespecially this part of _the word of God_, which is \u03b6\u1ff6\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u1f10\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03ae\u03c2,\n_quick and powerful_, full of life and energy, _and sharper than\nany two-edged sword_. This in the hand of God and of those whom he\nhath sent, _pierces_ through all the folds of a deceitful heart, and\n_divides asunder even the soul and spirit_, yea, as it were, the very\n_joints and marrow_. By this is the sinner discovered to himself. All\nhis fig-leaves are torn away, and he sees that he is _wretched and poor\nand miserable and blind and naked_. The law flashes conviction on every\nside. He feels himself a mere sinner. He has nothing to pay. His _mouth\nis stopt_, and he stands _guilty before God_.\n\n2. To slay the sinner is then the first use of the law; to destroy the\nlife and strength wherein he trusts, and convince him that he is dead\nwhile he liveth; not only under the sentence of death, but actually\ndead unto God, void of all spiritual life, _dead in trespasses and\nsins_. The second use of it is, to bring him unto life, unto Christ,\nthat he may live. \u2019Tis true, in performing both these offices, it acts\nthe part of a severe school-master. It drives us by force, rather than\ndraws us by love. And yet love is the spring of all. It is the spirit\nof love, which by this painful means, tears away our confidence in\nthe flesh, which leaves us no broken reed whereon to trust, and so\nconstrains the sinner stript of all, to cry out in the bitterness of\nhis soul, or groan in the depth of his heart,\n\n \u201cI give up every plea beside\n Lord, I am damn\u2019d\u2015\u2015but thou hast died.\u201d\n\n3. The third use of the law is, to keep us alive. It is the grand means\nwhereby the blessed Spirit prepares the believer for larger\ncommunications of the life of God.\n\nI am afraid this great and important truth is little understood, not\nonly by the world, but even by many whom God hath taken out of the\nworld, who are real children of God by faith. Many of these lay it\ndown as an unquestioned truth, that when we come to Christ, we have\ndone with the law; and that in _this_ sense, _Christ is the end of the\nlaw, to every one that believeth. The end of the law._ So he is, _for\nrighteousness_, for justification _to every one that believeth_. Herein\nthe law is at an end. It justifies none; but only brings them to Christ.\nWho is also in another respect, _the end_ or scope _of the_ law, the\npoint at which it continually aims. But when it has brought us to him,\nit has yet a farther office, namely, to keep us with him. For it is\ncontinually exciting all believers, the more they see of its height and\ndepth and length and breadth, to exhort one another so much the more,\n\n \u201cCloser and closer let us cleave\n To his belov\u2019d embrace:\n Expect his fulness to receive,\n And grace to answer grace.\u201d\n\n4. *Allowing then that every believer has done with the law, as it\nmeans the _Jewish_ ceremonial law, or the entire _Mosaic_ dispensation\n(for these _Christ hath taken out of the way_) yea, allowing we have\ndone with the moral law, as a means of procuring our justification (for\nwe are _justified freely by his grace, thro\u2019 the redemption that is in\nJesus_). Yet in another sense, we have not done with this law. For it\nis still of unspeakable use, first, in convincing us of the sin that\nyet remains both in our hearts and lives, and thereby keeping us close\nto Christ, that his blood may cleanse us every moment; secondly, in\nderiving strength from our head into his living members, whereby he\nimpowers them to do what his law commands; and thirdly, in confirming\nour hope of whatsoever it commands, and we have not yet attained, of\nreceiving grace upon grace, till we are in actual possession of the\nfulness of his promises.\n\n5. How clearly does this agree with the experience of every true\nbeliever! While he cries out, _O what love have I unto thy law! All the\nday long is my study in it_; he sees daily in that divine mirror, more\nand more of his own sinfulness. He sees more and more clearly, that he\nis still a sinner in all things; that neither his heart nor his ways\nare right before God. And that every moment sends him to Christ. This\nshews him the meaning of what is written, _Thou shalt make a plate\nof pure gold, and grave upon it, Holiness to the Lord. And it shall\nbe upon Aaron\u2019s forehead_ (the type of our great highpriest) _that\nAaron may bear the iniquities of the holy things, which the children of\nIsrael shall hollow, in all their holy gifts_: (so far are our prayers\nor holy things from atoning for the rest of our sin!) _And it shall be\nalways upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the Lord._\nExod. xxviii. 36, 38.\n\n6. To explain this by a single instance. The law says, _Thou shalt not\nkill_, and hereby (as our Lord teaches) forbids not only outward acts,\nbut every unkind word or thought. Now the more I look into this perfect\nlaw, the more I feel how far I come short of it: and the more I feel\nthis, the more I feel my need of his blood to atone for all my sin:\nand of his Spirit to purify my heart, and make me _perfect and entire,\nlacking nothing_.\n\n7. *Therefore I cannot spare the law one moment, no more than I can\nspare Christ: Seeing I now want it as much, to keep me to Christ, as\nI ever wanted it to bring me to him. Otherwise, this _evil heart of\nunbelief_ would immediately _depart from the living_ God. Indeed each\nis continually sending me to the other, the law to Christ, and Christ\nto the law. On the one hand, the height and depth of the law constrain\nme to fly to the love of God in Christ. On the other, the love of\nGod in Christ, endears the law to me _above gold or precious stones_:\nseeing I know every part of it, is a gracious promise, which my Lord\nwill fulfil in its season.\n\n8. *Who art thou then, O man, that _judgest the law, and speakest evil\nof the law_? That rankest it with sin, Satan and death, and sendest\nthem all to hell together! The apostle _James_ esteemed _judging_ or\n_speaking evil of the law_, so enormous a piece of wickedness, that he\nknew not how to aggravate the guilt of judging our brethren, more than\nby shewing it included this. _So now_, says he, _thou art not a doer of\nthe law but a judge!_ A judge of that which God hath ordained to judge\nthee. So thou hast set up thyself in the judgment-seat of Christ, and\ncast down the rule whereby he will judge the world! O take knowledge\nwhat advantage Satan hath gained over thee; and for the time to come\nnever think or speak lightly of, much less dress up as a scare-crow\nthis blessed instrument of the grace of God. Yea, love and value it for\nthe sake of him from whom it came, and of him to whom it leads. Let it\nbe thy glory and joy, next to the cross of Christ. Declare its praise,\nand make it honourable before all men.\n\n\u26669. And if thou art throughly convinced, That it is the offspring of\nGod, that it is the copy of all his imitable perfections, and that it\nis _holy and just and good_, but especially to them that believe: then\ninstead of casting it away as a polluted thing, see that thou cleave to\nit more and more. Never let the law of mercy and truth, of love to God\nand man, of lowliness, meekness and purity forsake thee. _Bind it about\nthy neck: write it on the table of thy heart._ Keep close to the law,\nif thou wilt keep close to Christ: hold it fast: let it not go. Let\nthis continually lead thee to the atoning blood, continually confirm\nthy hope, till all _the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in_ thee,\nand thou art _filled with all the fulness of_ God.\n\n10. And if thy Lord hath already fulfilled his word, if he hath already\n_written his law in thy heart_, then _stand fast in the liberty,\nwherewith Christ hath made thee free_. Thou art not only made free\nfrom _Jewish_ ceremonies, from the guilt of sin and the fear of hell:\n(these are so far from being the whole, that they are the least and\nlowest part, of Christian liberty:) but what is infinitely more, from\nthe power of sin, from serving the devil, from offending God. O stand\nfast in this liberty, in comparison of which, all the rest is not even\nworthy to be named. Stand fast in loving God with all thy heart, and\nserving him with all thy strength. This is perfect freedom; thus to\nkeep his law, and to walk in all his commandments blameless. _Be not\nentangled again with the yoke of bondage._ I do not mean of _Jewish_\nbondage: nor yet of bondage to the fear of hell: these, I trust, are\nfar from thee. But beware of being intangled again with the yoke of sin,\nof any inward or outward transgression of the law. Abhor sin far more\nthan death or hell; abhor sin itself, far more than the punishment of\nit. Beware of the bondage of pride, of desire, of anger; of every evil\ntemper or word or work. _Look unto Jesus_, and in order thereto, _look_\nmore and more _into the perfect law, the law of liberty_. And _continue\ntherein_: so shalt thou daily _grow in grace and in the knowledge of\nour Lord Jesus Christ_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXV.\n\n THE LAW ESTABLISHED THRO\u2019 FAITH.\n\n DISCOURSE I.\n ROM. iii. 31.\n\n\n _Do we then make void the law thro\u2019 Faith? God forbid. Yea, we\n establish the law._\n\n1. SAINT _Paul_ having in the beginning of this epistle, laid down his\ngeneral proposition, namely, That _the gospel of Christ is the power of\nGod unto salvation, to every one that believeth_: the powerful means,\nwhereby God makes every believer a partaker of present and eternal\nsalvation, goes on to shew, that there is no other way under heaven,\nwhereby men can be saved. He speaks particularly of salvation from\nthe guilt of sin, which he commonly terms justification. And that all\nmen stood in need of this, that none could plead their own innocence,\nhe proves at large by various arguments, addrest to the Jews as well\nas the Heathens. Hence he infers (in the 19th verse of this chapter)\n_That every mouth_, whether of Jew or Heathen, must _be stopt_ from\nexcusing or justifying himself, _and all the world become guilty before\nGod. Therefore_, saith he, by his own obedience, _by the works of\nthe law, shall no flesh be justified in his sight_, ver. 20. _But\nnow the righteousness of God without the law_, without our previous\nobedience thereto, _is manifested_, ver. 21. _Even the righteousness\nof God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all that\nbelieve_, ver. 22. _For there is no difference_, as to their need of\njustification, or the manner wherein they attain it. _For all have\nsinned and come short of the glory of God_, (ver. 23.) the glorious\nimage of God wherein they were created: and all (who attain) _are\njustified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus\nChrist_: ver. 24. _Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation, thro\u2019\nfaith in his blood_\u2015\u2015ver. 25. _That he might be just, and yet the\njustifier of him which believeth in Jesus_; ver. 36. that without\nany impeachment to his justice, he might shew him mercy, for the sake\nof that propitiation. _Therefore we conclude_, (which was the grand\nposition he had undertaken to establish) _That a man is justified by\nfaith, without the works of the law_, ver. 28.\n\n2. It was easy to foresee an objection which might be made, and\nwhich has in fact been made in all ages: namely, That to say _we are\njustified without the works of the law_, is to abolish the law. The\napostle, without entering into a formal dispute, simply denies the\ncharge. _Do we then_, says he, _make void the law through faith? God\nforbid! Yea, we establish the law._\n\n3. The strange imagination of some, that St. _Paul_, when he says,\n_A man is justified without the works of the law_, means only the\n_ceremonial_ law, is abundantly confuted by these very words. For did\nSt. _Paul establish_ the _ceremonial_ law? It is evident, he did not.\nHe did _make void_ that law through faith, and openly avowed his doing\nso. It was the _moral_ law only of which he might truly say, We do not\nmake void but _establish_ this _through faith_.\n\n4. But all men are not herein of his mind. Many there are who will\nnot agree to this. Many in all ages of the church, even among those\nwho bore the name of Christians, have contended, That _the faith once\ndelivered to the saints_, was designed to make void the whole law.\nThey would no more spare the moral than the ceremonial law, but were\nfor _hewing_, as it were, _both in pieces before the Lord_: vehemently\nmaintaining, \u201cIf you establish any law, _Christ shall profit you\nnothing: Christ is become of no effect to you: ye are fallen from\ngrace_.\u201d\n\n5. But is the zeal of these men according to knowledge? Have they\nobserved the connection between the law and faith? And that considering\nthe close connection between them, to destroy one is indeed to destroy\nboth? That to abolish the moral law is in truth, to abolish faith and\nthe law together? As leaving no proper means, either of bringing us to\nfaith, or of _stirring up that gift of God_ in our soul.\n\n6. It therefore behoves all who desire either to come to Christ, or to\n_walk in Him whom they have received_, to take heed how they _make void\nthe law through faith_; to secure us effectually against which, let us\nenquire, first, which are the most usual ways of _making void the law\nthrough faith_, and secondly, How we may follow the apostle, and by\nfaith _establish the law_.\n\n\nI. 1. Let us, first, inquire, Which are the most usual ways of _making\nvoid the law through faith_. Now the way for a preacher to make it all\nvoid at a stroke, is, Not to preach it at all. This is just the same\nthing, as to blot it out of the oracles of God. More especially when it\nis done with design; when it is made a rule, \u201cNot to preach the law:\u201d\nand the very phrase, \u201cA preacher of the law,\u201d is used as a term of\nreproach, as tho\u2019 it meant little less than, \u201can enemy to the gospel.\u201d\n\n2. All this proceeds from the deepest ignorance of the nature,\nproperties and use of the law: and proves that those who act thus,\neither know not Christ, are utter strangers to living faith: or at\nleast, that they are but babes in Christ, and as such _unskilled in\nthe word of righteousness_.\n\n3. Their grand plea is this: \u201cThat preaching the gospel (that is,\naccording to their judgment, the speaking of nothing but the sufferings\nand merits of Christ) answers all the ends of the law.\u201d But this we\nutterly deny. It does not answer the very first end of the law, namely,\nThe convincing men of sin, the awakening those who are still asleep on\nthe brink of hell. There may have been here and there an exempt case.\nOne in a thousand may have been awakened by the gospel. But this is no\ngeneral rule. The ordinary method of God, is to convict sinners by the\nlaw, and that only. The gospel is not the means which God hath ordained,\nor which our Lord himself used, for this end. We have no authority in\nscripture for applying it thus, nor any ground, to think it will prove\neffectual. Nor have we any more ground to expect this, from the nature\nof the thing. _They that be whole_, as our Lord himself observes, _need\nnot a physician, but they that be sick_. It is absurd therefore to\noffer a physician to them that are whole, or that at least imagine\nthemselves so to be. You are first, to convince them, that they are\nsick. Otherwise they will not thank you for your labour. It is equally\nabsurd to offer Christ to them, whose heart is whole, having never yet\nbeen broken. It is in the proper sense, _casting pearls before swine_.\nDoubtless, _they will trample them under foot_. And it is no more than\nyou have reason to expect, if they also _turn again and rent you_.\n\n4. \u201cBut altho\u2019 there is no command in scripture, to offer Christ to\nthe careless sinner, yet are there not scriptural precedents for it?\u201d I\nthink not: I know not any. I believe you can\u2019t produce one, either from\nthe four Evangelists, or the _Acts of the Apostles_. Neither can you\nprove this to have been the practice of any of the apostles, from any\npassage in all their writings.\n\n5. \u201cNay, does not the apostle _Paul_ say, in his former Epistle to the\n_Corinthians, We preach Christ crucified_? ch. i. ver. 23. And in his\nlatter, _We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord_? ch. v.\nver. 4.\u201d\n\nWe consent to rest the cause on this issue: to tread in his steps, to\nfollow his example. Only preach you, just as _Paul_ preached, and the\ndispute is at an end.\n\nFor altho\u2019 we are certain he _preached Christ_, in as perfect a manner\nas the very chief of the apostles, yet who _preached the law_ more than\nSt. _Paul_? Therefore he did not think the gospel answered the same end.\n\n6. The very first sermon of St. _Paul_\u2019s, which is recorded, concludes\nin these words. _By him all that believe are justified from all things,\nfrom which they could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware\ntherefore lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the Prophets,\nBehold ye despisers and wonder and perish. For I work a work in your\ndays, a work which you will in no wise believe, tho\u2019 a man declare\nit unto you_, Acts xiii. 39, &c. Now it is manifest, all this is\n_preaching the law_, in the sense wherein you understand the term:\neven altho\u2019 great part of, if not all his hearers, were either _Jews\nor religious proselytes_, ver. 43. and therefore probably many of them,\nin some degree at least, convinced of sin already. He first reminds\nthem, That they could not be justified by the law of _Moses_, but only\nby faith in Christ: and then severely threatens them with the judgments\nof God, which is in the strongest sense _preaching the law_.\n\n7. In his next discourse, that to the Heathens at _Lystra_, (ch. xiv.\nver. 15, &c.) we do not find so much as the name of Christ. The whole\npurport of it is, That they should _turn from those vain idols, unto\nthe living God_. Now confess the truth. Do not you think, If you had\nbeen there, you could have preached much better than he? I should not\nwonder, if you thought too, That his _preaching so ill_, occasioned\nhis being _so ill treated_: and that his being _stoned_, was a just\njudgment upon him, for not _preaching Christ_!\n\n8. To the jailor indeed, when _he sprang in and came trembling, and\nfell down before_ Paul _and_ Silas, _and said, Sirs, What must I do\nto be saved_, he immediately said, _Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ_.\n(ch. xvi. ver. 29, &c.) And in the case of one so deeply convinced\nof sin, who would not have said the same? But to the men of _Athens_\nyou find him speaking in a quite different manner, reproving their\nsuperstition, ignorance and idolatry; and strongly moving them to\nrepent, from the consideration of a future judgment, and of the\nresurrection from the dead, (ch. xvii. ver. 24\u201231.) Likewise _when_\nFelix _sent for_ Paul, on purpose that he might _hear him concerning\nthe faith in Christ_; instead of preaching Christ in _your_ sense\n(which would probably have caused the governor either to mock, or to\ncontradict and blaspheme) _he reasoned of righteousness, temperance\nand judgment to come_, till _Felix_ (hardened as he was) _trembled_.\n(ch. xxiv. ver. 24, 25.) Go thou and tread in his steps. _Preach_\nChrist to the careless sinner, by _reasoning of righteousness,\ntemperance and judgment to come_!\n\n9. If you say, \u201cBut he _preached Christ_ in a different manner in\nhis epistles;\u201d I answer, He did not there preach at all: not in that\nsense wherein we speak: for _preaching_ in our present question, means,\nspeaking before a congregation. But waving this, I answer, 2. His\nepistles are directed, not to unbelievers, such as those we are now\nspeaking of, but _to the saints of God in Rome, Corinth, Philippi_ and\nother places. Now unquestionably he would speak more of Christ to these,\nthan to those who were without God in the world. And yet, 3. Every one\nof these is full of the law, even the epistles to the _Romans_ and the\n_Galatians_: in both of which he does what you term preaching the law,\nand that to believers as well as unbelievers.\n\n10. From hence \u2019tis plain, you know not what it is, to _preach Christ_,\nin the sense of the apostle. For doubtless St. _Paul_ judged himself\nto be _preaching Christ_, both to _Felix_, and at _Antioch_, _Lystra_,\nand _Athens_. From whose example every thinking man must infer, That\nnot only the declaring the love of Christ to sinners, but also the\ndeclaring that he will come from heaven in flaming fire, is, in the\napostle\u2019s sense, _preaching Christ_. Yea, in the full scriptural\nmeaning of the word. To _preach Christ_, is, to preach what he hath\nrevealed, either in the old or new Testament: so that you are then\nas really preaching Christ, when you are saying, _The wicked shall\nbe turned into hell, and all the people that forget God_, as when you\nare saying, _Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the\nworld_!\n\n\u266610. Consider this well: that to _preach Christ_, is to preach all\nthings that Christ hath spoken; all his promises, all his threatnings\nand commands; all that is written in his book. And then you will know\nhow to preach Christ, without making void the law.\n\n11. \u201cBut does not the greatest blessing attend those discourses,\nwherein we peculiarly preach the merits and sufferings of Christ?\u201d\n\nProbably, when we preach to a congregation of mourners or of believers,\nthese will be attended with the greatest blessing: because such\ndiscourses are peculiarly suited to their state. At least, these will\nusually convey the most comfort. But this is not always the greatest\nblessing. I may sometimes receive a far greater, by a discourse that\ncuts me to the heart and humbles me to the dust. Neither should I\nreceive that comfort, if I were to preach or to hear no discourses\nbut on the sufferings of Christ. These by constant repetition would\nlose their force and grow more and more flat and dead: \u2019till at length\nthey would become a dull round of words, without any spirit or life or\nvirtue. So that thus _to preach Christ_, must in process of time, make\nvoid the gospel as well as the law.\n\n\nII. 1. A second way of _making void the law thro\u2019 faith_, is, the\nteaching that faith supersedes the necessity of holiness. This divides\nitself into a thousand smaller paths: and many there are that walk\ntherein. Indeed there are few that wholly escape it: few who are\nconvinced, we _are saved by faith_, but are sooner or later, more or\nless, drawn aside into this by-way.\n\n2. *All those are drawn into this by-way, who if it be not their\nsettled judgment, that faith in Christ intirely sets aside the\nnecessity of keeping his law, yet suppose either, 1. That holiness\nis less necessary now than it was before Christ came: or, 2. That a\nless degree of it is necessary; or, 3. That it is less necessary to\nbelievers than to others. Yea, and so are all those, who altho\u2019 their\njudgment be right in the general, yet think they may take more liberty\nin particular cases, than they could have done before they believed.\nIndeed the using the term _liberty_, in such a manner, for \u201cLiberty\nfrom obedience or holiness,\u201d shews at once, that their judgment is\nperverted, and that they are guilty of what they imagined to be far\nfrom them, namely of _making void the law thro\u2019 faith_, by supposing\nfaith to supersede holiness.\n\n3. The first plea of those who teach this expresly, is, that \u201cwe are\nnow under the covenant of grace, not works: and therefore we are no\nlonger under the necessity of performing the works of the law.\u201d\n\nAnd whoever was under the covenant of works? None but _Adam_ before\nthe fall. He was fully and properly under that covenant, which required\nperfect, universal obedience, as the one condition of acceptance; and\nleft no place for pardon, upon the very least transgression. But no\nman else was ever under this, neither Jew nor Gentile, neither before\nChrist nor since. All his sons were and are under the covenant of grace;\nthe manner of their acceptance is this: the free grace of God thro\u2019 the\nmerits of Christ, gives pardon to them that believe, that believe with\nsuch a faith as working by love, produces all obedience and holiness.\n\n4. The case is not therefore as you suppose, that men were _once_ more\nobliged to obey God, or to work the works of his law than they are\n_now_. This is a supposition you cannot make good. But, we should have\nbeen obliged, if we had been under the covenant of works, to have done\nthose works antecedent to our acceptance. Whereas now all good works,\ntho\u2019 as necessary as ever, are not antecedent to our acceptance but\nconsequent upon it. Therefore the nature of the covenant of grace,\ngives you no ground, no encouragement at all, to set aside any instance\nor degree of obedience, any part or measure of holiness.\n\n5. \u201cBut are we not _justified by faith, without the works of the law_?\u201d\nUndoubtedly we are, without the works either of the ceremonial or the\nmoral law. And would to God all men were convinced of this. It would\nprevent innumerable evils. Antinomianism, in particular; for generally\nspeaking, they are the Pharisees who make the Antinomians. Running\ninto an extreme so palpably contrary to scripture, they occasion others\nto run into the opposite one. These seeking to be justified by works,\naffright those from allowing any place for them.\n\n6. *But the truth lies between both. We are doubtless _justified by\nfaith_. This is the corner-stone of the whole Christian building. We\nare _justified without the works of the law_, as any previous condition\nof justification. But they are an immediate fruit of that faith,\nwhereby we are justified. So that if good works do not follow our faith,\neven all inward and outward holiness, it is plain our faith is nothing\nworth: we are yet in our sins. Therefore, that _we are justified by\nfaith_, even _by faith without works_, is no ground for _making void\nthe law thro\u2019 faith_: or for imagining that faith is a dispensation,\nfrom any kind or degree of holiness.\n\n7. \u201cNay, but does not St. _Paul_ expresly say, _Unto him that worketh\nnot, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is\ncounted for righteousness_? And does it not follow from hence, That\nfaith is to a believer in the room, in the place of righteousness?\nBut if faith is in the room of righteousness or holiness, what need is\nthere of this too?\u201d\n\nThis, it must be acknowledged, comes home to the point, and is indeed\nthe main pillar of Antinomianism. And yet it needs not a long or\nlaboured answer. We allow, 1. That God _justifies the ungodly_, him\nthat till that hour is totally ungodly, full of all evil, void of\nall good. 2. That he justifies _the ungodly that worketh not_, that\ntill that moment worketh no good work: neither can he: for an evil\ntree cannot bring forth good fruit. 3. That he justifies him _by\nfaith alone_, without any goodness or righteousness preceding:\nand, 4. *That _faith is_ then _counted to him for righteousness_,\nnamely, for _preceding righteousness: i. e._ God, thro\u2019 the merits\nof Christ, accepts him that believes, as if he had already fulfilled\nall righteousness. But what is all this to your point? The apostle\ndoes not say, either here or elsewhere, that this faith is counted\nto him for _subsequent righteousness_. He does teach, that there\nis no righteousness _before_ faith. But where does he teach, that\nthere is none _after_ it? He does assert, holiness cannot _precede_\njustification: but not, that it need not _follow_ it. St. _Paul_\ntherefore gives you no colour for _making void the law_, by teaching\nthat faith supersedes the necessity of holiness.\n\n\nIII. 1. There is yet another way of _making void the law thro\u2019 faith_,\nwhich is more common than either of the former. And that is, the doing\nit practically: the making it void in _fact_, tho\u2019 not in _principle_:\nthe _living_, as if faith was designed to excuse us from holiness.\n\nHow earnestly does the Apostle guard us against this, in those well\nknown words: _What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the\nlaw, but under grace?_ God _forbid_! Rom. vi. 15. A caution which it\nis needful throughly to consider, because it is of the last importance.\n\n2. The being _under the law_ may here mean, 1. The being obliged to\nobserve the ceremonial law. 2. The being obliged to conform to the\nwhole _Mosaic_ institution. 3. The being obliged to keep the whole\nmoral law, as the condition of our acceptance with God: and, 4. The\nbeing under the wrath and curse of God, under sentence of eternal death;\nunder a sense of guilt and condemnation, full of horror and slavish\nfear.\n\n3. Now altho\u2019 a believer is _not without law to_ God, _but under the\nlaw to Christ_, yet from the moment he believes, he is not _under the\nlaw_, in any of the preceding senses. On the contrary, he is _under\ngrace_, under a more benign, gracious dispensation. As he is no longer\nunder the ceremonial law, nor under the _Mosaic_ institution; as he\nis not obliged to keep even the moral law, as the condition of his\nacceptance: so he is delivered from the wrath and the curse of God,\nfrom all sense of guilt and condemnation, and from all that horror and\nfear of death and hell, whereby he was _all his life_ before _subject\nto bondage_. And he now performs (which while _under the law_ he could\nnot do) a willing and universal obedience. He obeys not from the motive\nof slavish fear, but on a nobler principle, namely, The grace of God\nruling in his heart, and causing all his works to be wrought in love.\n\n4. What then? Shall this evangelical principle of action, be less\npowerful than the legal? Shall we be less obedient to God from filial\nlove, than we were from servile fear?\n\n\u2019Tis well, if this is not a common case: if this practical\nAntinomianism, this unobserved way of _making void the law thro\u2019\nfaith_, has not infected thousands of believers.\n\n*Has it not infected you? Examine yourself honestly and closely. Do you\nnot do now, what you durst not have done when you was _under the law_,\nor (as we commonly call it) _under conviction_? For instance. You durst\nnot then indulge yourself in food. You took just what was needful, and\nthat of the cheapest kind. Do you not allow yourself more latitude now?\nDo you not indulge yourself a _little_ more than you did? O beware,\nlest you _sin, because you are not under the law, but under grace_!\n\n5. *When you was under conviction, you durst not indulge the lust of\nthe eye in any degree. You would not do any thing, great or small,\nmerely to gratify your curiosity. You regarded only cleanliness and\nnecessity, or at most very moderate convenience, either in furniture\nor apparel; superfluity and finery of whatever kind, as well as\nfashionable elegance, were both a terror and an abomination to you.\n\n*Are they so still? Is your conscience as tender now in these things,\nas it was then? Do you still follow the same rule both in furniture and\napparel, trampling all finery, all superfluity, every thing useless,\nevery thing merely ornamental; however fashionable, under foot? Rather,\nhave you not resumed what you had once laid aside, and what you could\nnot then use without wounding your conscience? And have you not learned\nto say, \u201cO, I am not _so scrupulous_ now.\u201d I would to God you were!\nThen you would not _sin_ thus, _because you are not under the law, but\nunder grace_.\n\n6. *You was once scrupulous too of commending any to their face, and\nstill more, of suffering any to commend _you_. It was a stab to your\nheart: you could not bear it: you sought the honour that cometh of\nGod only. You could not endure such conversation: nor any conversation\nwhich was not good, to the use of edifying. All idle talk, all trifling\ndiscourse you abhorred: you hated as well as feared it, being deeply\nsensible of the value of time, of every precious, fleeting moment. In\nlike manner, you dreaded and abhorred idle expence; valuing your money\nonly less than your time, and trembling lest you should be found an\nunfaithful steward even of the mammon of unrighteousness.\n\nDo you now look upon praise as deadly poison, which you can neither\ngive nor receive but at the peril of your soul? Do you still dread and\nabhor all conversation, which does not tend to the use of edifying; and\nlabour to improve every moment, that it may not pass without leaving\nyou better than it found you? Are not you less careful as to the\nexpence both of money and time? Cannot you now lay out either, as you\ncould not have done once? Alas! How has that _which should have been\nfor your health, proved to you an occasion of falling_? How have you\n_sinned, because you was not under the law, but under grace_!\n\n7. *God forbid you should any longer continue thus to _turn the grace\nof_ God _into lasciviousness_! O remember, how clear and strong a\nconviction you once had, concerning all these things. And at the same\ntime you was fully satisfied, from whom that conviction came. The world\ntold you, you was in a delusion: but you knew, It was the voice of God.\nIn these things you was not _too scrupulous_ then; but you are not now\n_scrupulous enough_. God kept you longer in that painful school, that\nyou might learn those great lessons the more perfectly. And have you\nforgot them already? O recollect them, before it is too late. Have you\nsuffered so many things in vain? I trust, it is not yet in vain. Now\nuse the conviction without the pain: practise the lesson without the\nrod. Let not the mercy of God weigh less with you now, than his fiery\nindignation did before. Is love a less powerful motive than fear? If\nnot, let it be an invariable rule \u201cI will do nothing now I am _under\ngrace_, which I durst not have done when _under the law_.\u201d\n\n8. *I cannot conclude this head, without exhorting you to examine\nyourself likewise touching sins of omission. Are you as clear of\nthese, now _you are under grace_, as you was when _under the law_? How\ndiligent was you then in hearing the word of God? Did you neglect any\nopportunity? Did you not attend thereon day and night? Would a small\nhindrance have kept you away? A little business? A visitant? A slight\nindisposition? A soft bed? A dark or cold morning?\u2015\u2015Did you not then\nfast often? Or use abstinence to the uttermost of your power? Was not\nyou much in prayer, (cold and heavy as you was) while you was hanging\nover the mouth of hell? Did you not speak and not spare, even for an\nunknown God? Did you not boldly plead his cause? Reprove sinners? And\navow the truth, before an adulterous generation?\u2015\u2015And are you now a\nbeliever in Christ? Have you the _faith that overcometh the world_?\nWhat! and are less zealous for your Master now, than you was when you\nknew him not? Less diligent in fasting, in prayer, in hearing his word,\nin calling sinners to God? O repent. See and feel your grievous loss!\nRemember from whence you are fallen! Bewail your unfaithfulness! Now be\nzealous and do the first works; lest if you continue to _make void the\nlaw through faith_, God cut you off, and _appoint_ you your _portion\nwith the unbelievers_!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXVI.\n\n THE LAW ESTABLISHED THRO\u2019 FAITH.\n\n DISCOURSE II.\n ROM. iii. 31.\n\n\n _Do we then make void the law thro\u2019 faith? God forbid! Yea, we\n establish the law._\n\n1. IT has been shewn in the preceding discourse, which are the most\nusual ways of _making void the law thro\u2019 faith_: namely, first, The not\npreaching it at all, which effectually makes it all void at a stroke:\nand this under colour of _preaching Christ_ and magnifying the gospel,\ntho\u2019 it be in truth, destroying both the one and the other: secondly,\nThe teaching (whether directly or indirectly) that faith supersedes\nthe necessity of holiness: that this is less necessary now, or a\nless degree of it necessary, than before Christ came: that it is less\nnecessary to us, because we believe, than otherwise it would have been:\nor, that Christian liberty is a liberty from any kind or degree of\nholiness: (so perverting those great truths, that we are now under the\n_covenant of grace_ and not _of works_: that _a man is justified by\nfaith, without the works of the law_; and that _to him that worketh not\nbut believeth, his faith is counted for righteousness_:) or, thirdly,\nThe doing this practically; the making void the law in practice tho\u2019\nnot in principle: the living or acting, as if faith was designed to\nexcuse us from holiness: the allowing ourselves in sin, _because we are\nnot under the law, but under grace_. It remains to enquire, how we may\nfollow a better pattern, how we may be able to say with the apostle,\n_Do we then make void the law thro\u2019 faith? God forbid! Yea, we\nestablish the law._\n\n2. We do not indeed establish the old ceremonial law: we know that\nis abolished for ever. Much less do we establish the whole _Mosaic_\ndispensation. This, we know, our Lord has _nailed to his cross_. Nor\nyet do we so establish the moral law (which it is to be feared, too\nmany do) as if the fulfilling it, the keeping all the commandments,\nwere the condition of our justification. If it were so, surely _in his\nsight, should no man living be justified_. But all this being allowed,\nwe still in the apostle\u2019s sense, _establish the law_, the moral law.\n\n\nI. 1. We _establish the law_, first, By our doctrine: by endeavouring\nto preach it in its whole extent, to explain and inforce every part of\nit, in the same manner as our great Teacher did, while upon earth. We\nestablish it, by following St. _Peter_\u2019s advice, _If any man speak let\nhim speak as the oracles of God_; as the holy men of old moved by the\nHoly Ghost, spoke and wrote for our instruction, and as the apostles\nof our blessed Lord, by the direction of the same spirit. We establish\nit whenever we speak in his name, by keeping back nothing from them\nthat hear; by declaring to them, without any limitation or reserve, the\nwhole counsel of God. And in order the more effectually to establish\nit, we use herein great plainness of speech. _We are not as many that\ncorrupt the word of God_, \u03ba\u03b1\u03c0\u03b7\u03bb\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u00b7 (as artful men their bad wines)\nwe do not cauponize, mix, adulterate or soften it, to make it suit\nthe taste of the hearers. _But as of sincerity, but as of God in the\nsight of God, speak we in Christ_: as having no other aim, than _by\nmanifestation of the truth_, to _commend ourselves to every man\u2019s\nconscience in the sight of God_.\n\n2. We then by our doctrine establish the law, when we thus openly\ndeclare it to all men: and that, in the fulness wherein it is delivered\nby our blessed Lord and his apostles: when we publish it in the height\nand depth and length and breadth thereof. We then establish the law,\nwhen we declare every part of it, every commandment contained therein,\nnot only in its full literal sense, but likewise in its spiritual\nmeaning: not only with regard to the outward actions, which it either\nforbids or enjoins: but also with respect to the inward principle, to\nthe thoughts, desires and intents of the heart.\n\n3. And indeed this we do the more diligently, not only because it is of\nthe deepest importance; inasmuch as all the fruit, every word and work,\nmust be only evil continually, if the tree be evil, if the dispositions\nand tempers of the heart, be not right before God: but likewise,\nbecause as important as these things are, they are little considered or\nunderstood. So little, that we may truly say of the law too, when taken\nin its full spiritual meaning, It is _a mystery which was hid from ages\nand generations since the world began_. It was utterly hid from the\nHeathen world. They, with all their boasted wisdom, neither _found out\nGod_, nor the law of God, not in the letter, much less in the spirit\nof it. _Their foolish hearts were_ more and more _darkened_, while\n_professing themselves wise, they became fools_. And it was almost\nequally hid, as to its spiritual meaning, from the bulk of the Jewish\nnation. Even these who were so ready to declare concerning others,\n_this people that know not the law, is accursed_, pronounced their\nown sentence therein, as being under the same curse, the same dreadful\nignorance. Witness our Lord\u2019s continual reproof of the wisest among\nthem, for their gross misinterpretations of it. Witness the supposition\nalmost universally received among them, that they needed only to make\nclean the outside of the cup: that the paying tythe of mint, anise and\ncummin, outward exactness would atone for inward unholiness; for the\ntotal neglect both of justice and mercy, of faith and the love of God.\nYea, so absolutely was the spiritual meaning of the law hidden from the\nwisest of them, that one of their most eminent Rabbi\u2019s comments thus,\non those words of the Psalmist, _If I incline unto iniquity with my\nheart, the Lord will not hear me_: that is, saith he, if it be only\nin my heart, if I do not commit outward wickedness, the Lord will not\nregard it; he will not punish me, unless I proceed to the outward act!\n\n4. But alas! The law of God, as to its inward spiritual meaning, is not\nhid from the Jews or Heathens only, but even from what is called the\nChristian world; at least, from a vast majority of them. The spiritual\nsense of the commandments of God, is still a mystery to these also.\nNor is this observable also in those lands, which are overspread with\n_Romish_ darkness and ignorance. But this is too sure, that the far\ngreater part, even of those, who are called _reformed Christians_, are\nutter strangers at this day to the law of Christ, in the purity and\nspirituality of it.\n\n5. Hence it is that to this day _the Scribes and Pharisees_, the men\nwho have the form but not the power of religion, and who are generally\nwise in their own eyes, and righteous in their own conceits; _hearing\nthese things are offended_: are deeply offended, when we speak of the\nreligion of the heart, and particularly when we shew, that without this,\nwere we to _give all our goods to feed the poor_, it would profit us\nnothing. But offended they must be: for we cannot but speak the truth\nas it is in Jesus. It is our part, whether they will hear or whether\nthey will forbear, to deliver our own soul. All that is written in\nthe book of God we are to declare, not as pleasing men, but the Lord.\nWe are to declare not only all the promises, but all the threatnings\ntoo which we find therein. At the same time that we proclaim all the\nblessings and privileges, which God hath prepared for his children, we\nare likewise to _teach all the things, whatsoever he hath commanded_.\nAnd we know, that all these have their use; either for the awakening\nthose that sleep, the instructing the ignorant, the comforting the\nfeeble-minded, or the building up and perfecting of the saints. We\nknow that _all scripture, given by inspiration of God, is profitable_\neither _for doctrine_, or _for reproof_, either _for correction_ or\n_for instruction in righteousness_: and _that the man of God_, in the\nprocess of the work of God in his soul, has need of every part thereof,\nthat he _may at length be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good\nworks_.\n\n6. It is our part, thus to _preach Christ_, by preaching all things\nwhatsoever he hath revealed. We may indeed without blame, yea, and\nwith a peculiar blessing from God, declare the love of our Lord Jesus\nChrist. We may speak, in a more especial manner, _of the Lord our\nrighteousness_. We may expatiate upon the grace of _God in Christ,\nreconciling the world unto himself_. We may, at proper opportunities,\ndwell upon his praise, as bearing _the iniquities of us all, as wounded\nfor our transgressions_ and _bruised for our iniquities_, that _by his\nstripes we_ might _be healed_. But still we should not _preach Christ_,\naccording to his word, if we were wholly to confine ourselves to this.\nWe are not ourselves clear before God, unless we proclaim him in all\nhis offices. _To preach Christ_, as a workman that needeth not to be\nashamed, is to preach him not only as our great _High-priest, taken\nfrom among men, and ordained for men, in things pertaining to God_; as\nsuch, _reconciling us to God by his blood_, and _ever living to make\nintercession for us_: but likewise as the prophet of the Lord, _who of\nGod is made unto us wisdom_. Who by his word, and his Spirit, _is with\nus always, guiding us into all truth_: yea, and as remaining a King\nfor ever; as giving laws to all whom he has bought with his blood: as\nrestoring those to the image of God, whom he had first re-instated in\nhis favour: as reigning in all believing hearts, until he has _subdued\nall things to himself_; until he hath utterly cast out all sin, and\n_brought in everlasting righteousness_.\n\n\nII. 1. _We establish the law_, secondly, when we so preach faith in\nChrist, as not to supersede, but produce holiness: to produce all\nmanner of holiness, negative and positive, of the heart and of the life.\n\nIn order to this, we continually declare (what should be frequently\nand deeply considered, by all who would not _make void the law thro\u2019\nfaith_) that faith itself, even Christian faith, the faith of God\u2019s\nelect, the faith of the operation of God, still is only the hand-maid\nof love. As glorious and honourable as it is, it is not the end of\nthe commandment. God hath given this honour to love alone: love is\nthe end of all the commandments of God. Love is the end, the sole end\nof every dispensation of God, from the beginning of the world, to the\nconsummation of all things. And it will endure when heaven and earth\nflee away; for _love_ alone _never faileth_. Faith will totally fail:\nit will be swallowed up in sight, in the everlasting vision of God. But\neven then love\n\n \u201cIts nature and its office still the same,\n Lasting its lamp and unconsum\u2019d its flame,\n In deathless triumph shall for ever live,\n And endless good diffuse, and endless praise receive.\u201d\n\n2. Very excellent things are spoken of faith, and whosoever is a\npartaker thereof, may well say with the apostle, _Thanks be to God,\nfor his unspeakable gift_. Yet still it loses all its excellence,\nwhen brought into a comparison with love. What St. _Paul_ observes\nconcerning the superior glory of the gospel, above that of the law,\nmay with great propriety be spoken of the superior glory of love, above\nthat of faith. _Even that which was made glorious, hath no glory in\nthis respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which\nis done away is glorious, much more doth that which remaineth exceed\nin glory._ Yea, all the glory of faith before it is done away, arises\nhence, That it ministers to love. It is the great temporary means which\nGod has ordained to promote that eternal end.\n\n3. *Let those who magnify faith beyond all proportion, so as to swallow\nup all things else, and who so totally misapprehend the nature of it,\nas to imagine it stands in the place of love, consider farther, That as\nlove will exist after faith, so it did exist long before it. The angels,\nwho from the moment of their creation, beheld the face of their Father\nthat is in heaven, had no occasion for faith, in its general notion, as\nit is the evidence of things not seen. Neither had they need of faith,\nin its more particular acceptation, faith in the blood of Jesus: for he\ntook not upon him the nature of angels; but only the seed of _Abraham_.\nThere was therefore no place before the foundation of the world, for\nfaith either in the general or particular sense. But there was for love.\nLove existed from eternity, in God, the great ocean of love. Love had\na place in all the children of God, from the moment of their creation.\nThey received at once from their gracious Creator, to exist, and to\nlove.\n\n4. Nor is it certain (as ingeniously and plausibly as many have\ndescanted upon this.) That faith, even in the general sense of the word,\nhad any place in paradise. It is highly probable, from that short and\nuncircumstantial account which we have in holy writ, That _Adam_ before\nhe rebelled against God, walked with him by sight and not by faith.\n\n \u201cFor then his reason\u2019s eye was strong and clear,\n And as an eagle can behold the sun,\n Might have beheld his Maker\u2019s face as near,\n As th\u2019 intellectual angels could have done.\u201d\n\nHe was then able to talk with him face to face, whose face we cannot\nnow see and live. And consequently had no need of that faith, whose\noffice it is, to supply the want of sight.\n\n5. On the other hand, it is absolutely certain, faith in its particular\nsense had then no place. For in that sense it necessarily pre-supposes\nsin, and the wrath of God declared against the sinner: without which\nthere is no need of an atonement for sin, in order to the sinner\u2019s\nreconciliation with God. Consequently, as there was no need of an\natonement before the fall, so there was no place for faith in that\natonement: man being then pure from every stain of sin, holy as God is\nholy. But love even then filled his heart. It reigned in him without a\nrival. And it was only when love was lost by sin, that faith was added,\nnot for its own sake, nor with any design, that it should exist any\nlonger, than until it had answered the end for which it was ordained,\nnamely, To restore man, to the love from which he was fallen. At the\nfall therefore was added this evidence of things unseen, which before\nwas utterly needless: this confidence in redeeming love, which could\nnot possibly have any place, till the promise was made, that the seed\nof the woman should bruise the serpent\u2019s head.\n\n6. *Faith then was originally designed of God, to re-establish the\nlaw of love. Therefore in speaking thus, we are not undervaluing it,\nor robbing it of its due praise: but on the contrary shewing its real\nworth, exalting it in its just proportion, and giving it that very\nplace which the wisdom of God assigned it from the beginning. It is\nthe grand means of restoring that holy love, wherein man was originally\ncreated. It follows, that altho\u2019 faith is of no value in itself (as\nneither is any other means whatsoever) yet as it leads to that end, the\nestablishing anew the law of love in our hearts, and as, in the present\nstate of things, it is the only means under heaven for effecting it: it\nis, on that account, an unspeakable blessing to man, and of unspeakable\nvalue before God.\n\n\nIII. 1. And this naturally brings us to observe, thirdly, The most\nimportant way of _establishing the law_: namely, The establishing it in\nour own hearts and lives. Indeed without this, what would all the rest\navail? We might establish it by our doctrine; we might preach it in\nits whole extent, might explain and inforce every part of it. We might\nopen it in its most spiritual meaning, and declare the mysteries of the\nkingdom: we might preach Christ in all his offices, and faith in Christ,\nas opening all the treasures of his love. And yet all this time, if the\nlaw we preached, were not established in our hearts, we should be of no\nmore account before God, than _sounding brass or tinkling cymbals_. All\nour preaching would be so far from profiting ourselves, that it would\nonly increase our damnation.\n\n2. This is therefore the main point to be considered, how may we\nestablish the law in our own hearts, so that it may have its full\ninfluence on our lives? And this can only be done by faith.\n\nFaith alone it is, which effectually answers this end, as we learn from\ndaily experience. For so long as we walk by faith not by sight, we go\nswiftly on in the way of holiness. While we steadily look, not at the\nthings which are seen, but at those which are not seen, we are more\nand more crucified to the world and the world crucified to us. Let but\nthe eye of the soul be constantly fixed, not on the things which are\ntemporal, but on those which are eternal, and our affections are more\nand more loosened from earth, and fixed on things above. So that faith\nin general is the most direct and effectual means of promoting all\nrighteousness and true holiness: of establishing the holy and spiritual\nlaw, in the hearts of them that believe.\n\n3. And by faith, taken in its more particular meaning, for a confidence\nin a pardoning God, we establish his law in our own hearts, in a still\nmore effectual manner. For there is no motive which so powerfully\ninclines us to love God, as the sense of the love of God in Christ.\nNothing enables us like a piercing conviction of this, to give our\nhearts to him who was given for us. And from this principle of grateful\nlove to God, arises love to our brother also. Neither can we avoid\nloving our neighbour, if we truly believe the love wherewith God hath\nloved us. Now this love to man grounded on faith and love to God,\n_worketh no ill to_ our _neighbour_. Consequently, it is (as the\nApostle observes) _the fulfilling of the_ whole negative _law. For\nthis, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt\nnot steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet:\nand if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in\nthis saying, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself._ Neither is love\ncontent with barely working no evil to our neighbour. It continually\nincites us to do good: as we have time, and opportunity, to do good\nin every possible kind and in every possible degree to all men. It is\ntherefore the fulfilling of the positive likewise, as well as of the\nnegative law of God.\n\n4. Nor does faith fulfil either the negative or positive law, as to\nthe external part only: but it works inwardly by love, to the purifying\nof the heart, the cleansing it from all vile affections. _Every one\nthat hath this_ faith _in him purifieth himself even as he is pure_:\npurifieth himself from every earthly, sensual desire, from all vile and\ninordinate affections: yea, from the whole of that carnal mind, which\nis enmity against God. At the same time, if it have its perfect work,\nit fills him with all goodness, righteousness and truth. It brings all\nheaven into his soul, and causes him to walk in the light even as God\nis in the light.\n\n5. Let us thus endeavour to establish the law in ourselves: not sinning,\n_because we are under grace_, but rather using all the power we receive\nthereby, _to fulfil all righteousness_. Calling to mind, what light we\nreceived from God, while his Spirit was convincing us of sin, let us\nbeware we do not put out that light; what we had then attained let us\nhold fast. Let nothing induce us to build again what we have destroyed;\nto resume any thing, small or great, which we then clearly saw was not\nfor the glory of God, or the profit of our own soul: or to neglect any\nthing, small or great, which we could not then neglect, without a check\nfrom our own conscience. To increase and perfect the light which we\nhad before, let us now add the light of faith. Confirm we the former\ngift of God, by a deeper sense of whatever he had then shewn us; by\na greater tenderness of conscience, and a more exquisite sensibility\nof sin. Walking now with joy and not with fear, in a clear, steady\nsight of things eternal, we shall look on pleasure, wealth, praise,\nall the things of earth, as on bubbles upon the water: counting nothing\nimportant, nothing desirable, nothing worth a deliberate thought, but\nonly what is _within the veil_, where _Jesus sitteth at the right hand\nof God_.\n\n6. Can _you_ say, _Thou art merciful to_ my _unrighteousness: my sins\nthou rememberest no more_? *Then for the time to come, see that you fly\nfrom sin, as from the face of a serpent. For how exceeding sinful does\nit appear to you now? How heinous above all expression? On the other\nhand, in how amiable a light do you now see the holy and perfect will\nof God? Now therefore labour that it may be fulfilled, both in you, by\nyou, and upon you. Now watch and pray that you may sin no more, that\nyou may see and shun the least transgression of his law. You see the\nmotes which you could not see before, when the sun shines into a dark\nplace. In like manner, you see the sins which you could not see before,\nnow the Sun of Righteousness shines in your heart. Now then do all\ndiligence to walk in every respect, according to the light you have\nreceived. Now be zealous to receive more light daily, more of the\nknowledge and love of God, more of the Spirit of Christ, more of his\nlife, and of the power of his resurrection. Now use all the knowledge,\nand love, and life, and power you have already attained. So shall you\ncontinually go on from faith to faith. So shall you daily increase in\nholy love, till faith is swallowed up in sight, and the law of love\nestablished to all eternity.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXVII.\n\n THE NATURE OF ENTHUSIASM.\n ACTS xxvi. 24.\n\n\n _And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, Thou art beside\n thyself._\n\n1. AND so say all the world, the men who know not God, of all that\nare of _Paul_\u2019s religion; of every one who is so a follower of him,\nas he was of Christ. It is true, there is a sort of religion, nay\nand it is called Christianity too, which may be practised without\nany such imputation, which is generally allowed to be consistent with\ncommon sense. That is, a religion of form, a round of outward duties,\nperformed in a decent, regular manner. You may add orthodoxy thereto,\na system of right opinions, yea, and some quantity of Heathen morality.\nAnd yet not many will pronounce, that _much_ religion _hath made you\nmad_. But if you aim at the religion of the heart, if you talk of\nrighteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, then it will not\nbe long before _your_ sentence is past, _Thou art beside thyself_.\n\n2. And it is no compliment which the men of the world pay you herein.\nThey, for once, mean what they say. They not only affirm, but cordially\nbelieve, that every man is _beside himself_, who says, the love of God\nis shed abroad in his heart, by the Holy Ghost given unto him, and that\nGod has enabled him to rejoice in Christ, with joy unspeakable and full\nof glory. If a man is indeed alive to God, and dead to all things here\nbelow; if he continually sees him that is invisible, and accordingly\nwalks by faith and not by sight: then they account it a clear case:\nbeyond all dispute, _much_ religion _hath made him mad_.\n\n3. *It is easy to observe, that the determinate thing which the world\naccounts madness, is that utter contempt of all temporal things, and\nsteady pursuit of things eternal; that divine conviction of things not\nseen; that rejoicing in the favour of God; that happy, holy love of\nGod; and that testimony of his Spirit with our spirit, that we are the\nchildren of God. That is, in truth, the whole spirit and life and power\nof the religion of Jesus Christ.\n\n4. They will however allow, in other respects, the man acts and talks\nlike one in his senses. In other things, he is a reasonable man:\n\u2019tis in these instances only his head is touched. It is therefore\nacknowledged, that the madness under which he labours, is of a\nparticular kind. And accordingly they are accustomed to distinguish\nit by a particular name, _Enthusiasm_.\n\n5. A term this, which is exceeding frequently used, which is scarce\never out of some men\u2019s mouths. And yet it is exceeding rarely\nunderstood, even by those who use it most. It may be therefore not\nunacceptable to serious men, to all who desire to understand what they\nspeak or hear, if I endeavour to explain the meaning of this term, to\nshew what _Enthusiasm_ is. It may be an encouragement to those who are\nunjustly charged therewith: and may possibly be of use, to some who are\njustly charged with it, at least to others, who might be so, were they\nnot cautioned against it.\n\n6. As to the word itself, it is generally allowed to be of _Greek_\nextraction. But whence the _Greek_ word \u1f10\u03bd\u03b8\u03bf\u03c5\u03c3\u03b9\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u03cc\u03c2, is derived, none\nhas yet been able to shew. Some have endeavoured to derive it from \u1f10\u03bd\n\u0398\u03b5\u1ff7, _in God_, because all _Enthusiasm_ has reference to him. But this\nis quite forced; there being small resemblance between the word derived,\nand those they strive to derive it from. Others would derive it from\n\u1f10\u03bd \u03b8\u03c5\u03c3\u03af\u03b1, _in sacrifice_, because many of the _Enthusiasts_ of old,\nwere affected in the most violent manner, during the time of sacrifice.\nPerhaps it is a fictitious word, invented from the noise, which some of\nthose made who were so affected.\n\n7. It is not improbable, that one reason why this uncouth word has been\nretained in so many languages, was because men were no better agreed,\nconcerning the meaning than concerning the derivation of it. They\ntherefore adopted the _Greek_ word, because they did not understand it:\nthey did not translate it into their own tongues, because they knew not\nhow to translate it: it having been always a word of a loose, uncertain\nsense, to which no determinate meaning was affixed.\n\n8. It is not therefore at all surprizing, that it is so variously taken\nat this day: different persons understanding it in different senses,\nquite inconsistent with each other. Some take it in a good sense, for\na divine impulse or impression, superior to all the natural faculties,\nand suspending for the time, either in whole or in part, both the\nreason and the outward senses. In this meaning of the word, both the\nprophets of old, and the apostles were proper _Enthusiasts_: being at\ndivers times so filled with the Spirit, and so influenced by him who\ndwelt in their hearts, that the exercise of their own reason, their\nsenses, and all their natural faculties being suspended, they were\nwholly actuated by the power of God, and _spoke_ only _as they were\nmoved by the Holy Ghost_.\n\n9. Others take the word in an indifferent sense, such as is neither\nmorally good nor evil. Thus they speak of the _Enthusiasm_ of the\npoets; of _Homer_ and _Virgil_ in particular. And this a late eminent\nwriter extends so far as to assert, there is no man excellent in\nhis profession, whatsoever it be, who has not in his temper a strong\ntincture of _Enthusiasm_. By _Enthusiasm_ these appear to understand,\nan uncommon vigour of thought, a peculiar fervor of spirit, a vivacity\nand strength not to be found in common men: elevating the soul to\ngreater and higher things, than cool reason could have attained.\n\n10. But neither of these is the sense wherein the word _Enthusiasm_ is\nmost usually understood. The generality of men, if no farther agreed,\nat least agree thus far concerning it, that it is something evil: and\nthis is plainly the sentiment of all those, who call the religion of\nthe heart, _Enthusiasm_. Accordingly I shall take it in the following\npages, as an evil; a misfortune, if not a fault.\n\n11. *As to the nature of _Enthusiasm_, it is undoubtedly a disorder\nof the mind; and such a disorder, as greatly hinders the exercise of\nreason. Nay sometimes, it wholly sets it aside: it not only dims, but\nshuts the eyes of the understanding. It may therefore well be accounted\na species of madness; of madness rather than of folly: seeing a fool is\nproperly one who draws wrong conclusions from right premises: whereas\na madman draws right conclusions, but from wrong premises. And so does\nan Enthusiast. Suppose his premises true, and his conclusions would\nnecessarily follow. But here lies his mistake, his premises are false.\nHe imagines himself to be what he is not. And therefore setting out\nwrong, the farther he goes, the more he wanders out of the way.\n\n12. *Every _Enthusiast_ then is properly a madman. Yet his is not an\nordinary, but a religious madness. By religious, I do not mean, that it\nis any part of religion. Quite the reverse: religion is, the spirit of\na sound mind: and consequently stands in direct opposition to madness\nof every kind. But I mean, it has religion for its object; it is\nconversant about religion. And so the _Enthusiast_ is generally talking\nof religion, of God or the things of God: but talking in such a manner\nthat every reasonable Christian may discern the disorder of his mind.\n_Enthusiasm_ in general may then be described in some such manner as\nthis: a religious madness arising from some falsely imagined influence\nor inspiration of God: at least, from imputing something to God which\nought not to be imputed to him, or expecting something from God which\nought not to be expected from him.\n\n13. There are innumerable sorts of _Enthusiasm_. Those which are most\ncommon and for that reason most dangerous, I shall endeavour to reduce\nunder a few general heads, that they may be more easily understood and\navoided.\n\nThe first sort of _Enthusiasm_ which I shall mention, is that of\nthose who imagine they have the _grace_ which they have not. Thus some\nimagine when it is not so, that they have _redemption_ thro\u2019 Christ,\n_even the forgiveness of sin_. These are usually such as _have no root\nin themselves_; no deep repentance, or thorough conviction. _Therefore\nthey receive the word with joy._ And _because they have no deepness of\nearth_, no deep work in their heart, therefore the seed _immediately\nsprings up_. There is immediately a superficial change, which together\nwith that light joy, striking in with the pride of their unbroken heart,\nand with their inordinate self-love, easily persuades them, they have\nalready _tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to\ncome_.\n\n14. This is properly an instance of the first sort of _Enthusiasm_:\nit is a kind of madness, arising from the imagination, that they have\nthat grace which in truth they have not: so that they only deceive\ntheir own souls. Madness it may justly be termed: for the reasonings\nof these poor men are right, were their premises good: but as those\nare a mere creature of their own imagination, so all that is built on\nthem falls to the ground. The foundation of all their reveries is this:\nthey imagine themselves to have faith in Christ. If they had this, they\nwould be _Kings and Priests to God_, possest of _a kingdom which cannot\nbe moved_. But they have it not. Consequently, all their following\nbehaviour, is as wide of truth and soberness, as that of the ordinary\nmadman, who fancying himself an earthly King, speaks and acts in that\ncharacter.\n\n15. *There are many other _Enthusiasts_ of this sort. Such, for\ninstance, is the fiery zealot for religion; or (more probably) for\nthe opinions and modes of worship, which he dignifies with that name.\nThis man also strongly imagines himself, to be a believer in Jesus,\nyea, that he is a champion for the faith, which was once delivered\nto the saints. Accordingly all his conduct is formed, upon that vain\nimagination. And allowing his supposition to be just, he would have\nsome tolerable plea for his behaviour: whereas now it is evidently the\neffect of a distempered brain, as well as of a distempered heart.\n\n16. *But the most common of all the _Enthusiasts_ of this kind, are\nthose who imagine themselves Christians, and are not. These abound not\nonly in all parts of our land, but in most parts of the habitable earth.\nThat they are not Christians is clear and undeniable, if we believe the\noracles of God. For Christians are holy; these are unholy: Christians\nlove God; these love the world. Christians are humble; these are\nproud: Christians are gentle; these are passionate. Christians have\nthe mind which was in Christ; these are at the utmost distance from it.\nConsequently, they are no more Christians, than they are archangels.\nYet they imagine themselves so to be; and they can give several reasons\nfor it. For they have been _called so_ ever since they can remember:\nthey were _christened_ many years ago: they embrace the _Christian\nopinions_, vulgarly termed, The Christian or Catholick faith. They use\nthe _Christian modes of worship_, as their fathers did before them.\nThey live what is called a good, _Christian life_, as the rest of their\nneighbours do. And who shall presume to think or say, that these men\nare not Christians? Tho\u2019 without one grain of true faith in Christ, or\nof real, inward holiness! without ever having tasted the love of God,\nor been _made partakers of the Holy Ghost_.\n\n17. *Ah poor self-deceivers! Christians ye are not. But you are\n_Enthusiasts_ in a high degree. Physicians, heal yourselves. But\nfirst, know your disease: your whole life is _Enthusiasm_: as being all\nsuitable to the imagination, that you have received that grace of God\nwhich you have not. In consequence of this grand mistake, you blunder\non, day by day, speaking and acting under a character, which does in no\nwise belong to you. Hence arises that palpable, glaring inconsistency,\nthat runs thro\u2019 your whole behaviour: which is an aukward mixture of\nreal Heathenism and imaginary Christianity. Yet still, as you have so\nvast a majority on your side, you will always carry it by mere dint\nof numbers, \u201cThat you are the only men in your senses, and all are\nlunaticks who are not as you are.\u201d But this alters not the nature\nof things. In the sight of God and his holy angels, yea, and all the\nchildren of God upon earth, you are mere madmen, mere _Enthusiasts_\nall. Are you not? Are you not _walking in a vain shadow_, a shadow\nof religion, a shadow of happiness? Are you not still _disquieting\nyourselves in vain_? With misfortunes as imaginary as your happiness or\nreligion? Do you not fancy yourselves great or good? Very knowing, and\nvery wise! How long? Perhaps till death brings you back to your senses;\nto bewail your folly for ever and ever!\n\n18. A second sort of _Enthusiasm_, is that of those, who imagine they\nhave such _gifts_ from God as they have not. Thus some have imagined\nthemselves to be endued with a power of working miracles, of healing\nthe sick by a word or a touch, of restoring sight to the blind; yea,\neven of raising the dead, a notorious instance of which is still fresh\nin our own history. Others have undertaken to prophesy, to foretel\nthings to come, and that with the utmost certainty and exactness. But\na little time usually convinces these _Enthusiasts_. When plain facts\nrun counter to their predictions, experience performs what reason could\nnot, and sinks them down into their senses.\n\n19. To the same class belong those, who in preaching or prayer, imagine\nthemselves to be so influenced by the Spirit of God as in fact they\nare not. I am sensible indeed, that without him we can do nothing; more\nespecially in our public ministry: that all our preaching is utterly\nvain, unless it be attended with his power; and all our prayer, unless\nhis Spirit therein help our infirmities. I know, if we do not both\npreach and pray by the Spirit, it is all but lost labour: seeing the\nhelp that is done upon earth, he doth it himself, who worketh all\nin all. But this does not affect the case before us. Tho\u2019 there is a\nreal influence of the Spirit of God, there is also an imaginary one;\nand many there are who mistake the one for the other. Many suppose\nthemselves to be under that influence, when they are not, when it\nis far from them. And many others suppose, they are more under that\ninfluence than they really are. Of this number, I fear, are all they\nwho imagine, that God dictates the very words they speak; and that\nconsequently, it is impossible they should speak any thing amiss,\neither as to the matter or manner of it. It is well known, how many\n_Enthusiasts_ of this sort also, have appeared during the present\ncentury: some of whom speak in a far more authoritative manner, than\neither St. _Paul_ or any of the apostles.\n\n20. The same sort of _Enthusiasm_, tho\u2019 in a lower degree, is\nfrequently found in men of a private character. They may likewise\nimagine themselves to be influenced or directed by the Spirit, when\nthey are not. I allow, _if any man have not the Spirit of Christ\nhe is none of his_: and that if ever we either think, speak, or act\naright, it is thro\u2019 the assistance of that blessed Spirit. But how\nmany impute things to him, or expect things from him, without any\nrational or scriptural ground? Such are they who imagine, they either\ndo or shall receive _particular directions_ from God, not only in\npoints of importance, but in things of no moment, in the most trifling\ncircumstances of life. Whereas in these cases God has given us our own\nreason for a guide: tho\u2019 never excluding the _secret assistance_ of his\nSpirit.\n\n21. To this kind of _Enthusiasm_ they are peculiarly exposed, who\nexpect to be directed of God, either in spiritual things or in common\nlife, in what is justly called, an _extraordinary_ manner. I mean, by\nvisions or dreams, by strong impressions or sudden impulses on the mind.\nI do not deny, that God has of old times manifested his will in this\nmanner. Or, that he can do so now. Nay, I believe, he does, in some\nvery rare instances. But how frequently do men mistake herein? How are\nthey misled by pride and a warm imagination, to ascribe such impulses\nor impressions, dreams or visions to God, as are utterly unworthy of\nhim? Now this is all pure _Enthusiasm_, all as wide of religion, as it\nis of truth and soberness.\n\n22. Perhaps some may ask, \u201cOught we not then to enquire, What is _the\nwill of God_ in all things? And ought not his will to be the rule of\nour practice?\u201d Unquestionably it ought. But how is a sober Christian to\nmake this enquiry? To know, what is _the will of God_? Not by waiting\nfor supernatural dreams. Not by expecting God to reveal it in visions.\nNot by looking for any _particular impressions_, or sudden impulses on\nhis mind. No: but by consulting the oracles of God. _To the law and to\nthe testimony._ This is the general method of knowing what is _the holy\nand acceptable will of God_.\n\n23. \u201cBut how shall I know what is _the will of God_, in such and such\na particular case? The thing proposed is in itself of an indifferent\nnature, and so left undetermined in scripture.\u201d I answer, The scripture\nitself gives you a general rule, applicable to all particular cases.\n_The will of God is our sanctification._ It is his will that we should\nbe inwardly and outwardly holy; that we should _be good and do good_ in\nevery kind, and in the highest degree whereof we are capable. Thus far\nwe tread upon firm ground. This is as clear as the shining of the sun.\nIn order therefore to know, what is _the will of God_ in a particular\ncase, we have only to apply this general rule.\n\n24. *Suppose, for instance, it were proposed to a reasonable man,\nto marry, or to enter into a new business: in order to know, whether\nthis is _the will of God_, being assured, \u201cIt is _the will of God_\nconcerning me, that I should be as holy and do as much good as I can,\u201d\nhe has only to inquire, \u201cIn which of these states can I be most holy,\nand do the most good?\u201d And this is to be determined, partly by reason,\nand partly by experience. Experience tells him what advantages he has\nin his present state, either for being or doing good: and reason is to\nshew, what he certainly or probably will have in the state proposed.\nBy comparing these, he is to judge, which of the two may most conduce\nto his being and doing good: and as far as he knows this, so far he is\ncertain, what is _the will of God_.\n\n25. *Meantime, the assistance of his Spirit is supposed, during the\nwhole process of the inquiry. Indeed \u2019tis not easy to say, in how many\nways, that assistance is conveyed. He may bring many circumstances to\nour remembrance, may place others in a stronger and clearer light; may\ninsensibly open our mind to receive conviction, and fix that conviction\nupon our heart. And to a concurrence of many circumstances of this kind,\nin favour of what is acceptable in his sight, he may superadd such an\nunutterable peace of mind, and so uncommon a measure of his love, as\nwill leave us no possibility of doubting, That _this_ even _this_, is\nhis will concerning us.\n\n26. *This is the plain, scriptural, rational way to know, what is\n_the will of God_ in a particular case. But considering how seldom\nthis way is taken, and what a flood of _Enthusiasm_ must needs break\nin, on those who endeavour to know _the will of God_, by unscriptural,\nirrational ways: it were to be wished, that the expression itself, were\nfar more sparingly used. The using it, as some do, on the most trivial\noccasions, is a plain breach of the third commandment. It is a gross\nway of taking the name of God in vain, and betrays great irreverence\ntoward him. Would it not be far better then, to use other expressions,\nwhich are not liable to such objections? For example. Instead of saying,\non any particular occasion, \u201cI want to know what is _the will of God_.\u201d\nWould it not be better to say, \u201cI want to know, what will be most\nfor my improvement: and, what will make me most useful.\u201d This way of\nspeaking is clear and unexceptionable. It is putting the matter on a\nplain scriptural issue, and that without any danger of _Enthusiasm_.\n\n27. A third very common sort of _Enthusiasm_ (if it does not co-incide\nwith the former) is that of those who think to attain the end without\nusing the means, by the immediate power of God. If indeed those means\nwere providentially with-held, they would not fall under this charge.\nGod can, and sometimes does, in cases of this nature, exert his own\nimmediate power. But they who expect this when they have those means,\nand will not use them, are proper _Enthusiasts_. Such are they who\nexpect to understand the holy scriptures, without reading them and\nmeditating thereon: yea, without using all such helps as are in\ntheir power, and may probably conduce to that end. Such are they who\n_designedly_ speak in the public assembly, without any premeditation.\nI say _designedly_: because there may be such circumstances, as at some\ntimes make it unavoidable. But whoever _despises_ that great means of\nspeaking profitably, is so far an _Enthusiast_.\n\n28. *It may be expected that I should mention what some have accounted,\na fourth sort of _Enthusiasm_, namely, The imagining those things to\nbe owing to the providence of God, which are not owing thereto. But\nI doubt. I know not what things they are, which are not owing to the\nprovidence of God: in ordering, or, at least, in governing of which,\nthis is not either directly or remotely concerned, I except nothing\nbut sin: and even in the sins of others, I see the providence of God to\n_me_. I do not say, his _general providence_; for this I take to be a\nsounding word, which means just nothing. And if there be a _particular\nprovidence_, it must extend to all persons and all things. So our\nLord understood it, or he could never have said, _Even the hairs of\nyour head are all numbred_. And, _Not a sparrow falleth to the ground,\nwithout the will of your Father which is in heaven_. But if it be\nso, if God presides _universis tanquam singulis, et singulis tanquam\nuniversis_; over the whole universe as over every single person, over\nevery single person as over the whole universe: what is it (except only\nour own sins) which we are not to ascribe to the providence of God? So\nthat I cannot apprehend, there is any room here, for the charge of\n_Enthusiasm_.\n\n29. *If it be said, The charge lies here: \u201cwhen you impute _this_ to\nprovidence, you imagine yourself the peculiar favourite of heaven.\u201d\nI answer, you have forgot some of the last words I spoke, _Pr\u00e6sidet\nuniversis tanquam singulis_. His providence is over all men in the\nuniverse, as much as over any single person. Don\u2019t you see, that he\nwho believing this, imputes any thing which befalls him to providence,\ndoes not therein make himself any more the favourite of heaven, than he\nsupposes every man under heaven to be? Therefore you have no pretence,\nupon this ground, to charge him with _Enthusiasm_.\n\n30. Against every sort of this, it behoves us to guard, with the utmost\ndiligence: considering the dreadful effects it has so often produced,\nand which indeed naturally result from it. Its immediate offspring\nis pride; it continually increases this source from whence it flows,\nand hereby it alienates us more and more, from the favour and from\nthe life of God. It dries up the very springs of faith and love; of\nrighteousness and true holiness. Seeing all these flow from grace. But\nGod _resisteth the proud and giveth grace_ only _to the humble_.\n\n31. Together with pride there will naturally arise an unadvisable\nand unconvincible spirit. So that into whatever error or fault\nthe _Enthusiast_ falls, there is small hope of his recovery. For\nreason will have little weight with him (as has been justly and\nfrequently observed) who imagines he is led by an higher guide, by\nthe immediate wisdom of God. And as he grows in pride, so he must\ngrow in unadvisableness and in stubbornness also. He must be less and\nless capable of being convinced, less susceptible of persuasion; more\nand more attached to his own judgment and his own will, \u2019till he is\naltogether fixt and immovable.\n\n32. Being thus fortified both against the grace of God, and against\nall advice and help from man, he is wholly left to the guidance of his\nown heart, and of the king of the children of pride. No marvel then\nthat he is daily more rooted and grounded in contempt of all mankind,\nin furious anger, in every unkind disposition, in every earthly and\ndevilish temper. Neither can we wonder at the terrible outward effects,\nwhich have flowed from such dispositions in all ages: even all manner\nof wickedness, all the works of darkness, committed by those who called\nthemselves Christians, while they wrought with greediness such things,\nas were hardly named even among the Heathens.\n\nSuch is the nature, such the dreadful effects, of that many-headed\nmonster _Enthusiasm_! From the consideration of which, we may now draw\nsome plain inferences, with regard to our own practice.\n\n33. And, first, If _Enthusiasm_ be a term, tho\u2019 so frequently used, yet\nso rarely understood, take _you_ care, not to talk of you know not what,\nnot to use the word, till you understand it. As in all other points,\nso likewise in this, learn to think before you speak. First, know the\nmeaning of this hard word; and then use it, if need require.\n\n34. But if so few, even among men of education and learning, much more\namong the common sort of men, understand this dark, ambiguous word,\nor have any fixt notion of what it means: then, secondly, Beware of\njudging or calling any man an _Enthusiast_ upon common report. This\nis by no means a sufficient ground, for giving any name of reproach to\nany man: least of all is it a sufficient ground, for so black a term\nof reproach as this. The more evil it contains, the more cautious you\nshould be, how you apply it to any one: to bring so heavy an accusation\nwithout full proof, being neither consistent with justice nor mercy.\n\n35. But if _Enthusiasm_ be so great an evil, beware you are not\nintangled therewith yourself. Watch and pray that you fall not into\nthe temptation. It easily besets those who fear or love God. O beware\nyou do not think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Do\nnot imagine you have attained that grace of God, to which you have\nnot attained. You may have much joy: you may have a measure of love,\nand yet not have living faith. Cry unto God that he would not suffer\nyou, blind as you are, to go out of the way: that you may never fancy\nyourself a believer in Christ, till Christ is revealed in you, and till\nhis Spirit witnesses with your Spirit, that you are a child of God.\n\n36. Beware you are not a fiery, persecuting _Enthusiast_. Do not\nimagine that God has called you, (just contrary to the spirit of him\nyou stile your Master) to destroy men\u2019s lives, and not to save them.\nNever dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself, and\nlet think. Use no constraint in matters of religion. Even those who are\nfarthest out of the way, never _compel to come in_, by any other means,\nthan reason, truth and love.\n\n37. Beware you do not run with the common herd of _Enthusiasts_,\nfancying you are a Christian when you are not. Presume not to assume\nthat venerable name, unless you have a clear, scriptural title thereto:\nunless you have the mind which was in Christ, and walk as he also\nwalked.\n\n38. Beware you do not fall into the second sort of _Enthusiasm_,\nfancying you have those _gifts_ from God which you have not. Trust\nnot in visions or dreams; in sudden impressions, or strong impulses\nof any kind. Remember, it is not by these you are to know, what is\n_the will of God_ on any particular occasion; but by applying the\nplain scripture-rule, with the help of experience and reason, and\nthe ordinary assistance of the Spirit of God. Do not lightly take the\nname of God in your mouth: do not talk of _the will of God_ on every\ntrifling occasion. But let your words as well as your actions be all\ntempered with reverence and godly fear.\n\n39. Beware, lastly, of imagining you shall obtain the end, without\nusing the means conducive to it. God _can_ give the end, without any\nmeans at all: but you have no reason to think he _will_. Therefore\nconstantly and carefully use all these means, which he has appointed\nto be the ordinary channels of his grace. Use every means which either\nreason or scripture recommends, as conducive (thro\u2019 the free love of\nGod in Christ) either to the obtaining, or increasing any of the gifts\nof God. Thus expect a daily growth in that pure and holy religion,\nwhich the world always did, and always will call _Enthusiasm_: but\nwhich, to all who are saved from real _Enthusiasm_, from merely nominal\nChristianity, is the wisdom of God and the power of God, the glorious\nimage of the Most High: righteousness and peace: a fountain of living\nwater, springing up into everlasting life!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXVIII.\n\n A CAUTION AGAINST BIGOTRY.\n MARK ix. 38, 39.\n\n\n _And John answered him saying, Master, we saw one casting out\n devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth\n not us.\n\n And Jesus said, Forbid him not._\n\n1. IN the preceding verses we read, that after the twelve had been\ndisputing, _which of them should be the greatest_, Jesus _took a little\nchild, and set him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms,\nsaid unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of these little children\nin my name, receiveth me: and whosoever receiveth me, receiveth not\nme_ (only) _but him that sent me_. Then _John answered_ (that is, said\nwith reference to what our Lord had spoken just before) _Master, we\nsaw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he\nfolloweth not us_. As if he had said, \u201cOught we to have received him?\nIn receiving him, should we have received thee? Ought we not rather\nto have forbidden him? Did not we do well therein?\u201d _But Jesus said,\nForbid him not._\n\n2. The same passage is recited by St. _Luke_, and almost in the same\nwords. But it may be asked, What is this to us? Seeing no man now\n_casts out devils_. Has not the power of doing this been withdrawn from\nthe church, for twelve or fourteen hundred years? How then are _we_\nconcerned in the case here proposed, or in our Lord\u2019s decision of it?\n\n3. Perhaps more nearly than is commonly imagined, the case proposed\nbeing no uncommon case. That we may reap our full advantage from it\nI design to shew, first, In what sense men may and do now _cast out\ndevils_: secondly, What we may understand by, _He followeth not us_.\nI shall, thirdly, explain our Lord\u2019s direction, _Forbid him not_, and\nconclude with an inference from the whole.\n\n\nI. 1. I am, in the first place to shew, in what sense men may, and do\nnow _cast out devils_.\n\nIn order to have the clearest view of this, we should remember, that\n(according to the scriptural account) as God dwells and works in the\nchildren of light, so the devil dwells and works in the children of\ndarkness. As the holy Spirit possesses the souls of good men, so the\nevil spirit possesses the souls of the wicked. Hence it is that the\napostle terms him, _The God of this world_: from the uncontrolled\npower he has over worldly men. Hence our blessed Lord stiles him _the\nprince of this world_: so absolute is his dominion over it. And hence\nSt. _John_, _We know that we are of God_, and all who are not of God,\n_the whole world_, \u1f10\u03bd \u03c4\u1ff7 \u03c0\u03bf\u03bd\u03b7\u03c1\u1ff7 \u03ba\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c4\u03b1\u03b9\u00b7 Not, lieth in wickedness: but\n_lieth in the wicked one_; lives and moves in him, as they who are not\nof the world, do in God.\n\n2. For the devil is not to be considered only as _a roaring lion,\ngoing about seeking whom he may devour_: nor barely as a subtle enemy,\nwho cometh unawares upon poor souls, and _leads them captive at his\nwill_: but as he who dwelleth in them and walketh in them; _who ruleth\nthe darkness_ or wickedness of _this world_, of worldly men and all\ntheir dark designs and actions, by keeping possession of their hearts,\nsetting up his throne there, and bringing every thought into obedience\nto himself. Thus the _strong one armed keepeth his house_; and if this\n_unclean spirit_ sometime _go out of a man_, yet he often returns with\n_seven spirits worse than himself, and they enter in and dwell there_.\nNor can he be idle in his dwelling. He is continually _working in_\nthese _children of disobedience_. He works in them with power, with\nmighty energy, transforming them into his own likeness, effacing all\nthe remains of the image of God, and preparing them for every evil word\nand work.\n\n3. It is therefore an unquestionable truth, that the God and prince\nof this world, still possesses all who know not God. Only the manner\nwherein he possesses them now, differs from that wherein he did it of\nold time. Then he frequently tormented their bodies, as well as souls,\nand that openly, without any disguise. Now he torments their souls\nonly, (unless in some rare cases) and that as covertly as possible.\nThe reason of this difference is plain. It was then his aim to drive\nmankind into superstition. Therefore he wrought as openly as he could.\nBut \u2019tis his aim to drive _us_ into infidelity. Therefore he works as\nprivately as he can: for the more secret he is, the more he prevails.\n\n4. Yet, if we may credit Historians, there are countries even now,\nwhere he works as openly as aforetime. \u201cBut why in savage and barbarous\ncountries only? Why not in _Italy_, _France_ or _England_?\u201d For a\nvery plain reason: he knows his men. And he knows what he hath to do\nwith each. To _Laplanders_, he appears barefaced: because he is to fix\nthem in superstition and gross idolatry. But with you he is pursuing\na different point. He is to make you idolize yourselves: to make you\nwiser in your own eyes than God himself, than all the oracles of God.\nNow in order to this, he must not appear in his own shape: that would\nfrustrate his design. No: he uses all his art, to make you deny his\nbeing, till he has you safe in his own place.\n\n5. *He reigns therefore, altho\u2019 in a different way, yet as absolute in\none land as in the other. He has the gay _Italian_ infidel in his teeth,\nas sure as the wild _Tartar_. But he is fast asleep in the mouth of the\nlion, who is too wise to wake him out of sleep. So he only plays with\nhim for the present, and when he pleases swallows him up.\n\n*The God of this world holds his _English_ worshippers full as fast as\nthose in _Lapland_. But it is not his business to affright them, lest\nthey should fly to the God of heaven. The prince of darkness therefore\ndoes not appear, while he rules over these his willing subjects. The\nconqueror holds his captives so much the safer, because they imagine\nthemselves at liberty. Thus the _strong one armed keepeth his house,\nand his goods are in peace_: neither the deist nor nominal Christian\nsuspects he is there; so he and they are perfectly at peace with each\nother.\n\n6. All this while he works with energy in them. He blinds the eyes of\ntheir understanding, so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ,\ncannot shine upon them. He chains their souls down to earth and hell,\nwith the chains of their own vile affections. He binds them down to\nthe earth, by love of the world, love of money, of pleasure, of praise.\nAnd by pride, envy, anger, hate, revenge, he causes their souls to draw\nnigh unto hell: acting the more secure and uncontrolled, because they\nknow not that he acts at all.\n\n7. But how easily may we know the cause from its effects? These are\nsometimes gross and palpable. So they were in the most refined of the\nHeathen nations. Go no farther than the admired, the virtuous _Romans_.\nAnd you will find these, when at the height of their learning and\nglory, _filled with all unrighteousness; fornication, wickedness,\ncovetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit,\nmalignity: whisperers, backbiters, despiteful, proud boasters,\ndisobedient to parents: covenant-breakers, without natural affection;\nimplacable, unmerciful_.\n\n8. The strongest parts of this description are confirmed by one, whom\nsome may think a more unexceptionable witness. I mean, their brother\nHeathen, _Dion Cassius_: who observes, that before _C\u00e6sar_\u2019s return\nfrom _Gaul_, not only gluttony and lewdness of every kind, were open\nand barefaced; not only falshood, injustice and unmercifulness abounded,\nin public courts as well as private families: but the most outrageous\nrobberies, rapine and murders, were so frequent in all parts of _Rome_,\nthat few men went out of doors without making their wills, as not\nknowing if they should return alive.\n\n9. *As gross and palpable are the works of the devil, among many (if\nnot all) the modern Heathens. The _natural religion_ of the _Greeks_,\n_Cherokees_, _Chicasaws_, and all other _Indians_, bordering on our\nsouthern settlements (not of a few single men, but of entire nations)\nis, to torture all their prisoners from morning to night, till at\nlength they roast them to death; and upon the slightest, undesigned\nprovocation, to come behind and shoot any of their own countrymen. Yea,\nit is a common thing among them, for the son, if he thinks his father\nlives too long, to knock out his brains: and for a mother, if she is\ntired of her children, to fasten stones about their necks, and throw\nthree or four of them into the river, one after another.\n\n10. It were to be wished that none but Heathens had practised such\ngross, palpable works of the devil. But we dare not say so. Even in\ncruelty and bloodshed, how little have the Christians come behind them?\nAnd not the _Spaniards_ or _Portuguese_ alone, butchering thousands\nin _South-America_. Not the _Dutch_ only in the _East-Indies_, or the\n_French_ in _North-America_, following the _Spaniards_ step by step.\nOur own countrymen too have wantoned in blood, and exterminated whole\nnations: plainly proving thereby, what spirit it is, that dwells and\nworks in the children of disobedience.\n\n11. These monsters might almost make us overlook the works of the devil\nthat are wrought in our own country. But alas! We cannot open our eyes\neven here, without seeing them on every side. Is it a small proof of\nhis power, that common swearers, drunkards, whoremongers, adulterers,\nthieves, robbers, sodomites, murderers, are still found in every part\nof our land? How triumphant does the prince of this world reign, in all\nthese children of disobedience?\n\n12. He less openly, but no less effectually works in dissemblers,\ntalebearers, liars, slanderers: in oppressors and extortioners; in the\nperjured, the seller of his friend, his honour, his conscience, his\ncountry. And yet these may talk of religion or conscience still! Of\nhonour, virtue and public spirit. But they can no more deceive Satan\nthan they can God. He likewise knows those that are his: and a great\nmultitude they are out of every nation and people of whom he has full\npossession at this day.\n\n13. If you consider this, you cannot but see in what sense, men may\nnow also _cast out devils_: yea, and every minister of Christ does cast\nthem out, if his Lord\u2019s work prosper in his hand.\n\nBy the power of God attending his word, he brings these sinners to\nrepentance: an entire inward as well as outward change, from all evil\nto all good. And this is, in a sound sense, to _cast out devils_,\nout of the souls wherein they had hitherto dwelt. The strong one can\nno longer keep his house. A stronger than he is come upon him, and\nhath cast him out, and taken possession for himself, and made it an\nhabitation of God thro\u2019 his Spirit. Here then the energy of Satan ends,\nand the Son of God _destroys the works of the devil_. The understanding\nof the sinner is now enlightned, and his heart sweetly drawn to God.\nHis desires are refined, his affections purified: and being filled with\nthe Holy Ghost, he grows in grace till he is not only holy in heart,\nbut in all manner of conversation.\n\n14. All this is indeed the work of God. It is God alone who can\ncast out Satan. But he is generally pleased to do this by man, as\nan instrument in his hand: who is then said, _to cast out devils in\nhis name_, by his power and authority. And he sends whom he will send\nupon this great work: but usually such as man would never have thought\nof. For _his ways are not as our ways, neither his thoughts as our\nthoughts_. Accordingly he chuses the weak to confound the mighty,\nthe foolish, to confound the wise: for this plain reason, that he may\nsecure the glory to himself; that _no flesh may glory in his sight_.\n\n\nII. 1. But shall we not _forbid_ one who thus _casteth out devils_, if\n_he followeth not us_? This it seems was both the judgment and practice\nof the apostle, till he referred the case to his Master. _We forbad\nhim_, saith he, _because he followeth not us_, which he supposed to\nbe a very sufficient reason. What we may understand by this expression,\n_He followeth not us_, is the next point to be considered.\n\nThe lowest circumstance we can understand thereby, is, he has no\noutward connexion with us. We do not labour in conjunction with each\nother. He is not our fellow-helper in the gospel. And indeed whensoever\nour Lord is pleased, to send many labourers into his harvest, they\ncannot all act, in subordination to, or connexion with each other.\nNay, they cannot all have personal acquaintance with, nor be so much as\nknown to one another. Many there will necessarily be in different parts\nof the harvest, so far from having any mutual intercourse, that they\nwill be as absolute strangers to each other, as if they had lived in\ndifferent ages. And concerning any of these whom we know not, we may\ndoubtless say, _He followeth not us_.\n\n2. A second meaning of this expression may be, he is _not of our\nparty_. It has long been matter of melancholy consideration, to all\nwho pray for the peace of _Jerusalem_, that so many several parties\nare still subsisting, among those who are all stiled Christians.\nThis has been particularly observable in our own countrymen, who\nhave been continually dividing from each other, upon points of no\nmoment, and many times such as religion had no concern in. The most\ntrifling circumstances have given rise to different parties, which have\ncontinued for many generations. And each of these would be ready to\nobject to one who was on the other side, _He followeth not us_.\n\n3. That expression may mean, thirdly, he differs from us, in our\n_religious opinions_. There was a time, when all Christians were of\none mind, as well as of one heart. So great grace was upon them all,\nwhen they were first filled with the Holy Ghost. But how short a space\ndid this blessing continue? How soon was that unanimity lost, and\ndifference of opinion sprang up again, even in the church of Christ?\nAnd that not in nominal, but in real Christians: nay in the very\nchief of them, the apostles themselves? Nor does it appear, that the\ndifference which then began, was ever entirely removed. We do not find,\nthat even those pillars in the temple of God, so long as they remained\nupon earth, were ever brought to think alike, to be of one mind,\nparticularly with regard to the ceremonial law. \u2019Tis therefore no way\nsurprizing, that infinite varieties of opinion should now be found in\nthe Christian church. A very probable consequence of this is, that\nwhenever we see any _casting out devils_, he will be one that, in this\nsense, _followeth not us_: that is not of our opinion. \u2019Tis scarce to\nbe imagined he will be of our mind, in all points, even of religion. He\nmay very probably think in a different manner from us, even on several\nsubjects of importance: such as, the nature and use of the moral law,\nthe eternal decrees of God, the sufficiency and efficacy of his grace,\nand the perseverance of his children.\n\n4. He may differ from us, fourthly, not only in opinion, but likewise\nin some points of practice. He may not approve of that manner of\nworshipping God, which is practised in our congregation: and may judge\nthat to be more profitable for his soul, which took its rise from\n_Calvin_, or _Martin Luther_. He may have many objections to that\nliturgy, which we approve of, beyond all others; many doubts concerning\nthat form of Church-government, which we esteem both apostolical\nand scriptural. Perhaps he may go farther from us yet: he may, from\na principle of conscience, refrain from several of those, which we\nbelieve to be the ordinances of Christ. Or if we both agree, that\nthey are ordained of God, there may still remain a difference between\nus, either as to the manner of administring those ordinances, or\nthe persons to whom they should be administred. Now the unavoidable\nconsequence of any of these differences, will be, that he who thus\ndiffers from us, must separate himself, with regard to those points,\nfrom our society. In this respect therefore _he followeth not us_: he\nis _not_ (as we phrase it) _of our church_.\n\n5. But in a far stronger sense, _he followeth not us_, who is not only\nof a different church, but of such a church as we account to be in many\nrespects antiscriptural and antichristian: a church which we believe\nto be utterly false and erroneous in her doctrines, as well as very\ndangerously wrong in her practice, guilty of gross superstition as well\nas idolatry. A church that has added many articles to the faith, which\nwas once delivered to the saints: that has dropt one whole commandment\nof God, and made void several of the rest by her traditions: and that\npretending the highest veneration for, and strictest conformity to\nthe antient church, has nevertheless brought in numberless innovations,\nwithout any warrant either from antiquity or scripture. Now most\ncertainly _he followeth not us_, who stands at so great a distance\nfrom us.\n\n6. And yet there may be a still wider difference than this. He who\ndiffers from us in judgment or practice, may possibly stand at a\ngreater distance from us, in affection than in judgment. And this\nindeed is a very natural and a very common effect of the other. The\ndifferences which begin in points of opinion, seldom terminate there.\nThey generally spread into the affections, and then separate chief\nfriends. Nor are any animosities so deep and irreconcileable, as those\nthat spring from disagreement in religion. For this cause the bitterest\nenemies of a man, are those of his own houshold. For this the father\nrises against his own children, and the children against the father;\nand perhaps persecute each other even to the death, thinking all the\ntime they are doing God service. It is therefore nothing more than we\nmay expect, if those who differ from us either in religious opinions\nor practice, soon contract a sharpness, yea bitterness toward us; if\nthey are more and more prejudiced against us, till they conceive as\nill an opinion of our persons as of our principles. An almost necessary\nconsequence of this will be, they will speak in the same manner as they\nthink of us. They will set themselves in opposition to us, and as far\nas they are able hinder our work: seeing it does not appear to them\nto be the work of God, but either of man or of the devil. He that\nthinks, speaks and acts in such a manner as this, in the highest sense,\n_followeth not us_.\n\n7. I do not indeed conceive, That the person of whom the apostle speaks\nin the text (altho\u2019 we have no particular account of him, either in\nthe context, or in any other part of holy writ) went so far as this.\nWe have no ground to suppose, That there was any material difference\nbetween him and the apostles; much less that he had any prejudice\neither against them or their Master. It seems we may gather thus much\nfrom our Lord\u2019s own words, which immediately follow the text, _There is\nno man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil\nof me_. But I purposely put the case in the strongest light, adding all\nthe circumstances which can well be conceived: that being forewarned of\nthe temptation in its full strength, we may in no case yield to it, and\nfight against God.\n\n\nIII. 1. Suppose then a man have no intercourse with us, suppose he be\nnot of our party, suppose he separate from our church, yea, and widely\ndiffer from us, both in judgment, practice, and affection: yet if we\nsee even this man _casting out devils, Jesus saith, Forbid him not_.\nThis important direction of our Lord, I am, in the third place, to\nexplain.\n\n2. If we see this man casting out devils\u2015\u2015But \u2019tis well, if in such a\ncase, we would believe even what we saw with our eyes, if we did not\ngive the lie to our own senses. He must be little acquainted with human\nnature, who does not immediately perceive, how extremely unready we\nshould be, to believe that any man does cast out devils, who _followeth\nnot us_, in all, or most of the senses above-recited. I had almost said,\nIn any of them: seeing we may easily learn even from what passes in our\nown breasts, How unwilling men are, to allow any thing good in those,\nwho do not in all things agree with themselves.\n\n3. \u201cBut what is a sufficient, reasonable proof that a man does (in the\nsense above) cast out devils?\u201d The answer is easy. Is there full proof,\n1. That a person before us was a gross, open sinner? Secondly, That he\nis not so now; that he has broke off his sins, and lives a Christian\nlife? And, thirdly, That his change was wrought by his hearing this man\npreach? If these three points be plain and undeniable, then you have\nsufficient, reasonable proof, such as you cannot resist without wilful\nsin, That this man casts out devils.\n\n4. *Then _forbid him not_. Beware how you attempt to hinder him, either\nby your authority, or arguments, or persuasions. Do not in any wise\nstrive to prevent his using all the power which God has given him. If\nyou have _authority_ with him, do not use that authority, to stop the\nwork of God. Do not furnish him with _reasons_, why he ought not any\nmore to speak in the name of Jesus. Satan will not fail to supply him\nwith these, if you do not second him therein. _Persuade_ him not, to\ndepart from the work. If he should give place to the devil and you,\nmany souls might perish in their iniquity, but their blood would God\nrequire at _your_ hands.\n\n5. \u201cBut what if he be only a _Layman_ who casts out devils? Ought I not\nto forbid him then?\u201d\n\nIs the fact allowed? Is there reasonable proof, That this man has or\ndoes _cast out devils_? If there is, forbid him not: no, not at the\nperil of your soul. Shall not God work by whom he will work? _No man\ncan do these works unless God is with him_, unless God hath sent him\nfor this very thing. But if God hath sent him, will you call him back?\nWill you forbid him to go?\n\n6. \u201cBut I do not know, That he is sent of God.\u201d _Now herein is a\nmarvellous thing_ (may any of the seals of his mission say, any whom he\nhath brought from Satan to God) _that ye know not whence this man is,\nand behold he hath opened mine eyes! If this man were not of God, he\ncould do nothing._ If you doubt the fact, send for the parents of the\nman: send for his brethren, friends, acquaintance. But if you cannot\ndoubt this, if you must needs acknowledge, _That a notable miracle\nhath been wrought_, then with what conscience, with what face can you\n_charge_ him whom God hath sent, _not to speak any more in his name_?\n\n7. I allow, That it is _highly expedient_, whoever preaches in his\nname, should have an outward as well as an inward call. But that it is\n_absolutely necessary_ I deny.\n\n\u201cNay, is not the scripture express? _No man taketh this honour unto\nhimself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron?_\u201d Heb. v. 4.\n\nNumberless times has this text been quoted on the occasion, as\ncontaining the very strength of the cause. But surely never was so\nunhappy a quotation. For, first, _Aaron_ was not called to preach at\nall. He was called _to offer gifts and sacrifice for sin_. That was his\npeculiar employment. Secondly, These men do not offer sacrifice at all;\nbut only preach, which _Aaron_ did not. Therefore it is not possible\nto find one text in all the Bible, which is more wide of the point than\nthis.\n\n8. \u201cBut what was the practice of the apostolic age?\u201d You may easily\nsee in the _Acts of the apostles_. In the 8th chapter we read, _There\nwas a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem:\nand they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea\nand Samaria, except the apostles_, ver. 1. _Therefore they that were\nscattered abroad, went every-where preaching the word_, ver. 4. Now\nwere all these outwardly called to preach? No man in his senses can\nthink so. Here then is an undeniable proof, what was the practice\nof the apostolic age. Here you see not one, but a multitude of\n_Lay-preachers_, men that were only sent of God.\n\n9. Indeed so far is the practice of the apostolic age, from inclining\nus to think it was _unlawful_ for a man to preach before he was\nordained, that we have reason to think, it was then accounted\n_necessary_. Certainly the practice and the direction of the apostle\n_Paul_ was, to _prove_ a man before he was ordained at all. _Let these_,\n(the deacons) says he, _first be proved: then let them use the office\nof a deacon_\u2015\u20151 Tim. iii. 10. Proved? How? By setting them to construe\na sentence of _Greek_? And asking them a few common-place questions? O\namazing proof of a minister of Christ! Nay: but by making a clear, open\ntrial (as is still done by most of the Protestant churches in _Europe_)\nnot only whether their lives be holy and unblameable, but whether they\nhave such gifts as are absolutely and indispensably necessary, in order\nto edify the church of Christ.\n\n10. *\u201cBut what if a man has these? And has brought sinners to\nrepentance? And yet the bishop will not ordain him?\u201d Then the bishop\ndoes _forbid him to cast out devils_. But I dare not forbid him. I have\npublished my reasons to all the world. Yet \u2019tis still insisted, I ought\nto do it. You who insist upon it, answer those reasons. I know not that\nany have done this yet, or even made an attempt of doing it. Only some\nhave spoken of them as very weak and trifling. And this was prudent\nenough. For \u2019tis far easier to despise, at least, seem to despise an\nargument than to answer it. Yet till this is done I must say, when\nI have reasonable proof that any man does cast out devils, Whatever\nothers do, I dare not forbid him, lest I be found even to fight against\nGod.\n\n11. And whosoever thou art that fearest God, _forbid him not_,\neither directly or indirectly. There are many ways of doing this. You\nindirectly forbid him, if you either wholly deny, or despise and make\nlittle account of the work which God has wrought by his hands. You\nindirectly forbid him, when you discourage him in his work, by drawing\nhim into disputes concerning it, by raising objections against it, or\nfrighting him with consequences, which very possibly will never be. You\nforbid him, when you shew any unkindness toward him, either in language\nor behaviour: and much more, when you speak of him to others, either in\nan unkind or a contemptuous manner: when you endeavour to represent him\nto any, either in an odious or a despicable light. You are forbidding\nhim all the time you are speaking evil of him, or making no account of\nhis labours. O forbid him not in any of these ways: nor by forbidding\nothers to hear him, by discouraging sinners from hearing that word,\nwhich is able to save their souls.\n\n12. Yea, if you would observe our Lord\u2019s direction in its full meaning\nand extent, then remember his word, _He that is not for us, is against\nus; and he that gathereth not with me, scattereth_. He that gathereth\nnot men into the kingdom of God, assuredly scatters them from it. For\nthere can be no neuter in this war. Every one is either on God\u2019s side\nor on Satan\u2019s. Are you on God\u2019s side? Then you will not only not forbid\nany man that _casts out devils_, but you will labour to the uttermost\nof your power, to forward him in the work. You will readily acknowledge\nthe work of God, and confess the greatness of it. You will remove all\ndifficulties and objections, as far as may be, out of his way. You will\nstrengthen his hands by speaking honourably of him before all men, and\navowing the things which you have seen and heard. You will encourage\nothers to attend upon his word, to hear him whom God hath sent. And\nyou will omit no actual proof of tender love, which God gives you an\nopportunity of shewing him.\n\n\nIV. 1. If we willingly fail in any of these points, if we either\ndirectly or indirectly forbid him, _because he followeth not us_, then\nwe are _Bigots_. This is the inference I draw from what has been said.\nBut the term _bigotry_, I fear, as frequently as it is used, is almost\nas little understood as _Enthusiasm_. It is, too strong an attachment\nto, or fondness for, our own party, opinion, church and religion.\nTherefore he is a _bigot_, who is so fond of any of these, so strongly\nattached to them, as to forbid any who cast out devils, because he\ndiffers from himself, in any or all these particulars.\n\n2. *Do _you_ beware of this. Take care, 1. That you do not convict\nyourself of _bigotry_, by your unreadiness to believe, that any man\ndoes cast out devils, who differs from you. And if you are clear thus\nfar, if you acknowledge the fact, then examine yourself, secondly. Am\nI not convicted of _bigotry_ in this, in forbidding him, directly or\nindirectly? Do I not directly forbid him on this ground, because he is\nnot of my _party_? Because he does not fall in with my _opinions_? Or\nbecause he does not worship God according to that scheme of _religion_,\nwhich I have received from my fathers?\n\n3. *Examine yourself, do I not indirectly at least forbid him, on\nany of these grounds? Am I not sorry, that God should thus own and\nbless a man that holds such erroneous opinions? Do I not discourage\nhim, because he is not of my church? By disputing with him concerning\nit, by raising objections, and by perplexing his mind with distant\nconsequences? Do I shew no anger, contempt or unkindness of any sort,\neither in my words or actions? Do I not mention behind his back, his\n(real or supposed) faults? His defects or infirmities? Do not I hinder\nsinners from hearing his word? If you do any of these things, you are\na _bigot_ to this day.\n\n4. _Search me, O Lord, and prove me. Try out my reins and my heart!\nLook well if there be any way of_ bigotry _in me, and lead me in the\nway everlasting._ In order to examine ourselves throughly, let the case\nbe proposed in the strongest manner. What if I were to see a Papist,\nan Arian, a Socinian casting out devils? If I did, I could not forbid\neven him, without convicting myself of _bigotry_. Yea, if it could be\nsupposed, that I should see a Jew, a Deist, or a Turk doing the same,\nwere I to forbid him either directly or indirectly, I should be no\nbetter than a _bigot_ still.\n\n5. O stand clear of this. But be not content with not forbidding any\nthat casts out devils. *\u2019Tis well, to go thus far, but do not stop\nhere. If you will avoid all _bigotry_, go on. In every instance of\nthis kind, whatever the instrument be, acknowledge the finger of God.\nAnd not only acknowledge, but rejoice in his work and praise his name\nwith thanksgiving. Encourage whomsoever God is pleased to employ, to\ngive himself wholly up thereto. Speak well of him wheresoever you are:\ndefend his character and his mission. Enlarge as far as you can his\nsphere of action. Shew him all kindness in word and deed. And cease\nnot to cry to God in his behalf, that he may save both himself and them\nthat hear him.\n\n6. I need add but one caution. Think not, the _bigotry_ of another, is\nany excuse for your own. \u2019Tis not impossible, that one who casts out\ndevils himself, may yet forbid you so to do. You may observe, this is\nthe very case mentioned in the text. The apostles forbad another to do\nwhat they did themselves. But beware of retorting. It is not your part,\nto return evil for evil. Another\u2019s not observing the direction of our\nLord is no reason why you should neglect it. Nay, but let him have all\nthe _bigotry_ to himself. If he forbids _you_, do not you forbid _him_.\nRather labour and watch and pray the more, to confirm your love toward\nhim. If he speaks all manner of evil of _you_, speak all manner of good\n(that is true) of _him_. Imitate herein that glorious saying of a great\nman (O that he had always breathed the same spirit!) \u201cLet _Luther_ call\nme an hundred devils: I will still reverence him as a messenger of God.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XXXIX.\n\n CATHOLIC SPIRIT.\n 2 KINGS x. 15.\n\n\n _And when he was departed thence, he lighted on_ Jehonadab _the\n son of_ Rechab _coming to meet him. And he saluted him and\n said, Is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And_\n Jehonadab _answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand._\n\n1. IT is allowed even by those who do not pay this great debt, that\nlove is due to all mankind: the royal law, _Thou shalt love thy\nneighbour as thyself_, carrying its own evidence to all that hear it.\nAnd that, not according to the miserable construction put upon it by\nthe zealots of old times, _thou shalt love thy neighbour_, thy relation,\nacquaintance, friend, _and hate thine enemy_: not so. _I say unto you_,\nsaith our Lord, _love your enemies, bless them that curse you: do good\nto them that hate you, and pray for them that despitefully use you\nand persecute you: that ye may be the children_, may appear so to all\nmankind, _of your Father which is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise\non the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the\nunjust_.\n\n2. But it is sure, there is a peculiar love which we owe to those that\nlove God. So _David, all my delight is upon the saints that are in\nthe earth and upon such as excel in virtue_. And so a greater than\nhe, _a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another: as I\nhave loved you, that ye also love another. By this shall all men know\nthat ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another_: John xiii.\n34, 35. This is that love on which the apostle _John_ so frequently and\nstrongly insists. _This_, saith he, _is the message that ye heard from\nthe beginning, that we should love one another_, 1 John c. iii. 11.\n_Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for\nus. And we ought_, if love should call us thereto, _to lay down our\nlives for the brethren_, v. 16. And again, _Beloved, let us love one\nanother, for love is of God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God: for\nGod is love_, c. iv. 7, 8. _Not that we loved God, but that he loved us,\nand sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God\nso loved us, we ought also to love one another_, v. 10, 11.\n\n3. All men approve of this. But do all men practise it? Daily\nexperience shews the contrary. Where are even the Christians who _love\none another, as he hath given us commandment_? How many hindrances lie\nin the way? The two grand, general hindrances are, first, that they\ncannot all think alike: and, in consequence of this, secondly, they\ncannot all walk alike: but in several smaller points their practice\nmust differ, in proportion to the difference of their sentiments.\n\n4. But although a difference in opinions or modes of worship, may\nprevent an intire external union, yet need it prevent our union in\naffection? Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May\nwe not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all\ndoubt we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding\nthese smaller differences. These remaining as they are, they may\nforward one another, in love and in good works.\n\n5. Surely in this respect, the example of _Jehu_ himself, as mixt a\ncharacter as he was of, is well worthy both the attention and imitation,\nof every serious Christian. _And when he was departed thence, he\nlighted on_ Jehonadab _the son of_ Rechab _coming to meet him. And he\nsaluted him and said, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy\nheart? And_ Jehonadab _answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand._\n\nThe text naturally divides itself into two parts, first, a question\nproposed by _Jehu_ to _Jehonadab_, _Is thine heart right, as my heart\nis with thy heart?_ Secondly, an offer made on _Jehonadab\u2019s_ answering,\n_it is. If it be, give me thine hand._\n\n\nI. 1. And, first, let us consider the question proposed by _Jehu_ to\n_Jehonadab_, _Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart?_\n\nThe very first thing we may observe in these words, is that here is\nno enquiry concerning _Jehonadab_\u2019s opinions. And yet \u2019tis certain,\nhe held some which were very uncommon, indeed quite peculiar to\nhimself: and some which had a close influence upon his practice; on\nwhich likewise he laid so great a stress, as to intail them upon his\nchildren\u2019s children, to their latest posterity. This is evident from\nthe account given by _Jeremiah_, many years after his death. _I took_\nJaazaniah _and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house\nof the Rechabites\u2015\u2015and set before them pots full of wine and cups,\nand said unto them, drink ye wine. But they said, we will drink no\nwine; for_ Jonadab (or _Jehonadab_) _the son of_ Rechab _our father_\n(It would be less ambiguous if the words were placed thus, Jehonadab\n_our father the son of_ Rechab: out of love and reverence to whom\nhe probably desired his descendents might be called by his name)\n_commanded us, saying, ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your\nsons for ever. Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant\nvineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents\u2015\u2015and\nwe have obeyed and done according to all that_ Jonadab _our father\ncommanded us_, Jer. xxxv. 3\u201210.\n\n2. And yet _Jehu_ (although it seems to have been his manner, both in\nthings secular and religious to _drive furiously_) does not concern\nhimself at all with any of these things, but lets _Jehonadab_ abound\nin his own sense. And neither of them appears to have given the other\nthe least disturbance, touching the opinions which he maintained.\n\n3. \u2019Tis very possible, that many good men now also may entertain\npeculiar opinions: and some of them maybe as singular herein, as\neven \u2666_Jehonadab_ was. And \u2019tis certain, so long as _we know_ but\n_in part_, that all men will not see all things alike. It is an\nunavoidable consequence of the present weakness and shortness of human\nunderstanding, that several men will be of several minds, in religion\nas well as in common life. So it has been from the beginning of the\nworld, and so it will be _till the restitution of all things_.\n\n4. Nay farther. Altho\u2019 every man necessarily believes, that every\nparticular opinion which he holds is true (for, to believe any opinion\nis not true, is the same thing as, not to hold it:) yet can no man be\nassured, that all his own opinions taken together, are true. Nay, every\nthinking man is assured, they are not: seeing _Humanum est errare et\nnescire_. To be ignorant of many things, and to mistake in some, is the\nnecessary condition of humanity. This therefore he is sensible is his\nown case. He knows in the general, that he himself is mistaken. Altho\u2019\nin what particulars he mistakes, he does not, perhaps cannot know.\n\n5. I say, perhaps he cannot know. For who can tell how far invincible\nignorance may extend? Or (that comes to the same thing) invincible\nprejudice: which is so fixt in tender minds, that it is afterwards\nimpossible to tear up what has taken so deep a root. And who can say,\nunless he knew every circumstance attending it, how far any mistake is\nculpable? Seeing all guilt must suppose some concurrence of the will:\nof which he only can judge who searcheth the heart.\n\n6. Every wise man therefore will allow others the same liberty of\nthinking, which he desires they should allow him: and will no more\ninsist on their embracing his opinions, than he would have them to\ninsist on his embracing theirs. He bears with those who differ from\nhim, and only asks him, with whom he desires to unite in love, that\nsingle question, _Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart_?\n\n7. We may, secondly, observe, That here is no enquiry made, concerning\n_Jehonadab_\u2019s mode of worship: altho\u2019 it is highly probably, there was\nin this respect also, a very wide difference between them. For we may\nwell believe \u2666_Jehonadab_ as well as all his posterity, worshipped\nGod at _Jerusalem_: whereas _Jehu_ did not; he had more regard to\nstate-policy than religion. And therefore altho\u2019 he slew the worshippers\nof _Baal, and destroyed_ Baal _out of_ Israel: yet _from the_ convenient\n_sin of_ Jeroboam, the worship of _the golden calves, he departed not_,\n2 Kings x. 29.\n\n8. But even among men of an upright heart, men who desire to _have a\nconscience void of offence_, it must needs be, that as long as there\nare various opinions, there will be various ways of worshipping God:\nseeing a variety of opinion necessarily implies a variety of practice.\nAnd as in all ages, men have differed in nothing more than in their\nopinions concerning the supreme Being, so in nothing have they more\ndiffered from each other, than in the manner of worshipping him. Had\nthis been only in the Heathen world, it would not have been at all\nsurprising. For we know these _by their wisdom knew not_ God; nor\ntherefore could they know how to worship him. But is it not strange,\nThat even in the Christian world, altho\u2019 they all agree in the general,\nGod _is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit\nand in truth_: yet the particular modes of worshipping God, are almost\nas various as among the Heathens?\n\n9. And how shall we chuse, among so much variety? No man can chuse for,\nor prescribe to another. But every one must follow the dictates of his\nown conscience, in simplicity and godly sincerity. He must be fully\npersuaded in his own mind, and then act according to the best light\nhe has. Nor has any creature power to constrain another to walk by his\nown rule. God has given no right to any of the children of men, thus to\nlord it over the conscience of his brethren. But every man must judge\nfor himself, as every man must give an account of himself to God.\n\n10. Altho\u2019 therefore every follower of Christ is obliged by the very\nnature of the Christian institution, to be a member of some particular\ncongregation or other, some church, as it is usually termed: (which\nimplies a particular manner of worshipping God;) for _two cannot walk\ntogether unless they be agreed_; yet none can be obliged by any power\non earth, but that of his own conscience, to prefer this or that\ncongregation to another, this or that particular manner of worship.\nI know it is commonly supposed, That the place of our birth, fixes the\nchurch to which we ought to belong: that one, for instance, who is born\nin _England_ ought to be a member of that which is stiled _The Church\nof England_, and consequently to worship God in the particular manner\nwhich is prescribed by that church. I was once a zealous maintainer\nof this: but I find many reasons to abate of this zeal. I fear, it\nis attended with such difficulties, that as no reasonable man can get\nover. Not the least of which is, that if this rule had took place,\nthere could have been no reformation from Popery: seeing it intirely\ndestroys the right of private judgment, on which that whole reformation\nstands.\n\n11. I dare not therefore presume to impose my mode of worship on\nany other. I believe it is truly primitive and apostolical. But my\nbelief is no rule for another. I ask not therefore of him with whom\nI would unite in love, \u201cAre you of my church? Of my congregation?\nDo you receive the same form of church-government, and allow the\nsame church-officers with me? Do you join in the same form of prayer,\nwherein I worship God?\u201d I inquire not, Do you receive the supper of\nthe Lord, in the same posture and manner that I do? Nor, whether in the\nadministration of baptism, you agree with me, in admitting sureties for\nthe baptized? In the manner of administring it? Or the age of these to\nwhom it should be administred? Nay, I ask not of you (as clear as I am\nin my own mind) whether you allow baptism and the Lord\u2019s supper at all?\nLet all these things stand by: we will talk of them, if need be, at a\nmore convenient season. My only question at present is this, _Is thine\nheart right, as my heart is with thy heart_?\n\n12. But what is properly implied in the question? I do not mean\nwhat did _Jehu_ imply therein? But what should a follower of Christ\nunderstand thereby, when he proposes it to any of his brethren?\n\nThe first thing implied in this: is thy heart right with God? Dost thou\nbelieve his being, and his perfections? His eternity, immensity, wisdom,\npower: his justice, mercy and truth? Dost thou believe, that he now\n_upholdeth all things, by the word of his power_? And that he governs\neven the most minute, even the most noxious, to his own glory and the\ngood of them that love him? Hast thou a divine evidence, a supernatural\nconviction, of the things of God? Dost thou _walk by faith not by\nsight? Looking not at temporal things, but things eternal?_\n\n13. Dost thou believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God _over all blessed\nfor ever_? Is he _revealed in_ thy soul? Dost thou _know Jesus Christ\nand him crucified_? Does he _dwell in thee, and thou in him_? Is he\n_formed in thy heart by faith_? Having absolutely disclaimed all thy\nown works, thy own righteousness, hast thou _submitted thyself unto the\nrighteousness of_ God, _which is by faith in Christ Jesus_? Art thou\n_found in him, not having thy own righteousness, but the righteousness\nwhich is by faith_? And art thou, thro\u2019 him, _fighting the good fight\nof faith, and laying hold of eternal life_?\n\n14. Is thy faith \u1f10\u03bd\u03b5\u03c1\u03b3\u03bf\u03c5\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03b7 \u03b4\u03b9\u2019 \u1f00\u03b3\u03ac\u03c0\u03b7\u03c2. Filled with the energy of\nlove? Dost thou love God? I do not say, _above all things_; for it is\nboth an unscriptural and an ambiguous expression: but _with all thy\nheart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul and with all thy\nstrength_? Dost thou seek all thy happiness in him alone? And dost thou\nfind what thou seekest? Does thy soul continually _magnify the Lord,\nand thy spirit rejoice in_ God _thy Saviour_? Having learned _in every\nthing to give thanks_, dost thou find, _it is a joyful and a pleasant\nthing to be thankful_? Is God the center of thy soul? The sum of all\nthy desires? Art thou accordingly _laying up thy treasure in heaven_,\nand _counting all things else dung and dross_? Hath the love of God\ncast the love of the world out of thy soul? Then thou art _crucified\nto the world_. Thou _art dead_ to all _below and thy life is hid with\nChrist in_ God.\n\n15. *Art thou employed in doing _not thy own will, but the will of him\nthat sent thee_? Of him that sent thee down to sojourn here a-while,\nto spend a few days in a strange land, till having finished the work\nhe hath given thee to do, thou return to thy Father\u2019s house? Is it thy\nmeat and drink _to do the will of thy Father which is in heaven_? Is\n_thine eye single_ in all things? Always fixt on him? Always _looking\nunto Jesus_? Dost thou point at him in whatsoever thou dost? In all\nthy labour, thy business, thy conversation? Aiming only at the glory of\nGod in all? _Whatsoever_ thou dost, either _in word or deed, doing it\nall in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto_ God, _even the\nFather thro\u2019 him_?\n\n16. Does the love of God constrain thee to _serve_ him _with fear_? To\n_rejoice unto him with reverence_? Art thou more afraid of displeasing\nGod, than either of death or hell? Is nothing so terrible to thee as\nthe thought of _offending the eyes of his glory_? Upon this ground dost\nthou _hate all evil ways_; every transgression of his holy and perfect\nlaw? And herein _exercise_ thyself, _to have a conscience void of\noffence toward_ God _and toward man_?\n\n17. Is thy heart right toward thy neighbour? Dost thou _love as\nthyself_, all mankind without exception? _If you love those only that\nlove you, what thank have you?_ Do you _love your enemies_? Is your\nsoul full of good-will, of tender affection toward them? Do you love\neven the enemies of God? The unthankful and unholy? Do your bowels\nyearn over them? Could you _wish yourself_ (temporally) _accurst_ for\ntheir sake? And do you shew this, by _blessing them that curse you, and\npraying for those that despitefully use you and persecute you_?\n\n18. Do you shew your love by your works? While you have time, as you\nhave opportunity, do you in fact _do good to all men_, neighbours or\nstrangers, friends, or enemies, good or bad? Do you do them all the\ngood you can? Endeavouring to supply all their wants, assisting them\nboth in body and soul, to the uttermost of your power? If thou art\nthus minded, may every Christian say, yea, if thou art but sincerely\ndesirous of it, and following on till thou attain, then _thy heart is\nright, as my heart is with thy heart_.\n\n\nII. 1. _If it be, give me thine hand._ I do not mean, \u201cBe of my\nopinion.\u201d You need not. I do not expect or desire it. Neither do I\nmean, \u201cI will be of your opinion.\u201d I cannot. It does not depend on my\nchoice: I can no more think, than I can see or hear as I will. Keep you\nyour opinion, I mine: and that as steadily as ever. You need not even\nendeavour to come over to me, or bring me over to you. I do not desire\nyou to dispute those points, or to hear or speak one word concerning\nthem. Let all opinions alone on one side and the other. Only _give me\nthine hand_.\n\n2. I do not mean, \u201cembrace my modes of worship; or, I will embrace\nyours.\u201d This also is a thing which does not depend either on your\nchoice or mine. We must both act, as each is fully persuaded in his\nown mind. Hold you fast that which you believe is most acceptable\nto God, and I will do the same. I believe the _Episcopal_ form of\nchurch-government to be scriptural and apostolical. It you think the\n_Presbyterian_ or _Independent_ is better, think so still and act\naccordingly. I believe infants ought to be baptized, and that this\nmay be done either by dipping or sprinkling. If you are otherwise\npersuaded, be so still, and follow your own persuasion. It appears\nto me, that forms of prayer are of excellent use, particularly in the\ngreat congregation. If you judge extemporary prayer to be of more use,\nact suitable to your own judgment. My sentiment is, that I ought not to\nforbid water, wherein persons may be baptized: and, that I ought to eat\nbread and drink wine, as a memorial of my dying Master. However, if you\nare not convinced of this, act according to the light you have. I have\nno desire to dispute with you one moment, upon any of the preceding\nheads. Let all these smaller points stand aside. Let them never come\ninto sight. _If thine heart is as my heart_, if thou lovest God and all\nmankind, I ask no more: _give me thine hand_.\n\n3. I mean, first, love me. And that not only as thou lovest all\nmankind; not only as thou lovest thine enemies, or the enemies of God,\nthose that hate thee, that _despitefully use thee and persecute thee_:\nnot only as a stranger, as one of whom thou knowest neither good nor\nevil. I am not satisfied with this. No: _If thine heart be right,\nas mine with thy heart_, then love me with a very tender affection,\nas a friend that is closer than a brother: as a brother in Christ, a\nfellow-citizen of the new Jerusalem, a fellow-soldier engaged in the\nsame warfare, under the same captain of our salvation. Love me as a\ncompanion in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, and a joint-heir of\nhis glory.\n\n4. Love me (but in an higher degree, than thou dost the bulk of mankind)\nwith the love that is _long-suffering and kind_, that is patient, if I\nam ignorant or out of the way, bearing and not increasing my burthen,\nand is tender, soft and compassionate still: that _envieth not_, if at\nany time it please God, to prosper me in his work even more than thee.\nLove me with the love that _is not provoked_ either at my follies or\ninfirmities; or even at my acting (if it should sometimes so appear\nto thee) not according to the will of God. Love me so as to _think\nno evil_ of me, to put away all jealousy and evil surmising. Love me\nwith the love that _covereth all things_, that never reveals either my\nfaults or infirmities: that _believeth all things_, is always willing\nto think the best, to put the fairest construction on all my words and\nactions: That _hopeth all things_; either that the thing related was\nnever done; or not done with such circumstances as are related: or at\nleast, that it was done with a good intention: or in sudden stress of\ntemptation. And hope to the end, that whatever is amiss, will by the\ngrace of God be corrected, and whatever is wanting supplied, thro\u2019 the\nriches of his mercy in Christ Jesus.\n\n5. I mean, secondly, commend me to God in all thy prayers, wrestle with\nhim in my behalf, that he would speedily correct what he sees amiss,\nand supply what is wanting in me. In thy nearest access to the throne\nof grace, beg of him, who is then very present with thee, that my heart\nmay be more as thy heart, more right both toward God and toward man:\nthat I may have a fuller conviction of things not seen, and a stronger\nview of the love of God in Christ Jesus: may more steadily walk by\nfaith, not by sight, and more earnestly grasp eternal life. Pray, that\nthe love of God and of all mankind, may be more largely poured into my\nheart; that I may be more fervent and active in doing the will of my\nFather which is in heaven; more zealous of good works, and more careful\nto abstain from all appearance of evil.\n\n6. I mean, thirdly, provoke me to love and to good works. Second thy\nprayer as thou hast opportunity, by speaking to me in love whatsoever\nthou believest to be for my soul\u2019s health. Quicken me in the work which\nGod has given me to do, and instruct me how to do it more perfectly.\nYea _smite me friendly and reprove me_, wherein soever I appear to thee,\nto be doing rather my own will, than the will of him that sent me. O\nspeak and spare not, whatever thou believest may conduce, either to the\namending my faults, the strengthning my weakness, the building me up in\nlove, or the making me more fit in any kind for the master\u2019s use.\n\n7. I mean, lastly, Love me not in word only, but in deed and in truth.\nSo far as in conscience thou canst (retaining still thy own opinions,\nand thy own manner of worshipping God) join with me in the work of\nGod, and let us go on hand in hand. And thus far, it is certain, thou\nmayst go. Speak honourably wherever thou art, of the work of God by\nwhomsoever he works, and kindly of his messengers. And if it be in thy\npower, not only sympathize with them when they are in any difficulty or\ndistress, but give them a chearful and effectual assistance, that they\nmay glorify God on thy behalf.\n\n8. Two things should be observed, with regard to what has been spoken\nunder this last head. The one, that whatsoever love, whatsoever offices\nof love, whatsoever spiritual or temporal assistance, I claim from him\nwhose heart is right, as my heart is with his: the same I am ready, by\nthe grace of God, according to my measure, to give him. The other, that\nI have not made this claim, in behalf of myself only, but of all whose\nheart is right toward God and man, that we may all love one another, as\nChrist hath loved us.\n\n\nIII. 1. One inference we may make from what has been said. We may learn\nfrom hence, what is a _Catholic spirit_.\n\nThere is scarce any expression which has been more grosly misunderstood,\nand more dangerously misapplied than this. But it will be easy for any\nwho calmly consider the preceding observations, to correct any such\nmisapprehensions of it, and to prevent any such misapplication.\n\nFor from hence we may learn, first, That a _Catholic spirit_, is not\n_speculative latitudinarianism_. It is not an indifference to all\nopinions. This is the spawn of hell, not the offspring of heaven. This\nunsettledness of thought, this being _driven to and fro and tost about\nwith every wind of doctrine_, is a great curse not a blessing; an\nirreconcileable enemy not a friend to true _Catholicism_. A man of a\ntruly _Catholic spirit_, has not now his religion to seek. He is fixt\nas the sun in his judgment concerning the main branches of Christian\ndoctrine. \u2019Tis true, he is always ready to hear and weigh, whatsoever\ncan be offered against his principles. But as this does not shew any\nwavering in his own mind, so neither does it occasion any. He does\nnot halt between two opinions, nor vainly endeavour to blend them into\none. Observe this, you who know not what spirit ye are of: who call\nyourselves men of a _Catholic spirit_, only because you are of a muddy\nunderstanding: because your mind is all in a mist: because you have\nno settled, consistent principles, but are for jumbling all opinions\ntogether. Be convinced, that you have quite missed your way: you know\nnot where you are. You think you are got into the very Spirit of Christ;\nwhen in truth you are nearer the spirit of antichrist. Go first and\nlearn the first elements of the gospel of Christ, and then shall you\nlearn to be of a truly _Catholic spirit_.\n\n2. From what has been said we may learn, secondly, That a _Catholic\nspirit_ is not any kind of _practical latitudinarianism_. It is not\nindifference as to public worship, or as to the outward manner of\nperforming it. This likewise would not be a blessing but a curse.\nFar from being an help thereto, it would so long as it remained be\nan unspeakable hindrance to the worshipping of God in spirit and in\ntruth. But the man of a truly _Catholick spirit_, having weighed all\nthings in the balance of the sanctuary, has no doubt, no scruple at\nall concerning that particular mode of worship wherein he joins. He\nis clearly convinced, that _this_ manner of worshipping God is both\nscriptural and rational. He knows none in the world, which is more\nscriptural, none which is more rational. Therefore without rambling\nhither and thither, he cleaves close thereto, and praises God for the\nopportunity of so doing.\n\n3. Hence we may, thirdly, learn. That a _Catholick spirit_ is\nnot indifference to all congregations. This is another sort of\nlatitudinarianism no less absurd and unscriptural than the former. But\nit is far from a man of a truly _Catholick spirit_. He is fixt in his\ncongregation as well as his principles. He is united to one, not only\nin spirit, but by all the outward ties of Christian fellowship. There\nhe partakes of all the ordinances of God. There he receives the supper\nof the Lord. There he pours out his soul in public prayer, and joins in\npublic praise and thanksgiving. There he rejoices to hear the word of\nreconciliation, the gospel of the grace of God. With these his nearest,\nhis best beloved brethren, on solemn occasions he seeks God by fasting.\nThese particularly he watches over in love, as they do over his soul,\nadmonishing, exhorting, comforting, reproving, and every way building\nup each other in the faith. These he regards as his own houshold, and\ntherefore according to the ability God has given him, naturally cares\nfor them, and provides that they may have all the things that are\nneedful for life and godliness.\n\n4. *But while he is steadily fixt in his religious principles, in what\nhe believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly adheres\nto that worship of God, which he judges to be most acceptable in his\nsight, and while he is united by the tenderest and closest ties, to\none particular congregation: his heart is enlarged toward all mankind,\nthose he knows and those he does not: he embraces with strong and\ncordial affection, neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies. This\nis Catholic or universal love. And he that has this, is of a _Catholic\nspirit_. For love alone gives the title to this character. Catholic\nlove is a _Catholic spirit_.\n\n5. *If then we take this word in the strictest sense, a man of a\n_Catholic spirit_, is one who in the manner above-mentioned, _gives his\nhand_, to all whose _hearts are right with his heart_. One who knows\nhow to value, and praise God, for all the advantages he enjoys; with\nregard to the knowledge of the things of God, the true scriptural\nmanner of worshipping him; and above all, his union with a congregation,\nfearing God and working righteousness. One who retaining these\nblessings with the strictest care, keeping them as the apple of his\neye, at the same time loves as friends, as brethren in the Lord, as\nmembers of Christ and children of God, as joint-partakers now of the\npresent kingdom of God, and fellow-heirs of his eternal kingdom, all\nof whatever opinion or worship or congregation, who believe in the Lord\nJesus Christ; who love God and man; who rejoicing to please and fearing\nto offend God, are careful to abstain from evil and zealous of good\nworks. He is the man of a truly _Catholic spirit_, who bears all these\ncontinually upon his heart, who having an unspeakable tenderness for\ntheir persons, and longing for their welfare, does not cease to commend\nthem to God in prayer, as well as to plead their cause before men: who\nspeaks comfortably to them, and labours by all his words, to strengthen\ntheir hands in God. He assists them to the uttermost of his power in\nall things, spiritual and temporal. He is ready _to spend and be spent\nfor them_; yea, _to lay down his life for_ their sake.\n\n6. Thou, O man of God, think on these things. If thou art already in\nthis way, go on. If thou hast heretofore mistook the path, bless God\nwho hath brought thee back. And now run the race which is set before\nthee, in the royal way of universal love. Take heed, lest thou be\neither wavering in thy judgment, or straitened in thy bowels. But keep\nan even pace, rooted in the faith once delivered to the saints, and\ngrounded in love, in true Catholic love, till thou art swallowed up in\nlove for ever and ever.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XL.\n\n CHRISTIAN PERFECTION.\n PHIL. iii. 12.\n\n\n _Not as tho\u2019 I had already attained, either were already perfect._\n\n1. THERE is scarce any expression in holy writ, which has given more\noffence than this. The word _perfect_ is what many cannot bear. The\nvery sound of it is an abomination to them. And whosoever _preaches\nperfection_ (as the phrase is) _i. e._ asserts that it is attainable\nin this life, runs great hazard of being accounted by them, worse than\na Heathen man or a Publican.\n\n2. And hence some have advised, wholly to lay aside the use of those\nexpressions: \u201cbecause they have given so great offence.\u201d But are they\nnot found in the oracles of God? If so, by what authority, can any\nmessenger of God lay them aside, even tho\u2019 all men should be offended?\nWe have not so learned Christ; neither may we thus give place to the\ndevil. Whatsoever God hath spoken, that will we speak, whether men will\nhear, or whether they will forbear: knowing that then alone can any\nminister of Christ be _pure from the blood of all men_, when he hath\n_not shunned to declare unto them all the counsel of God_.\n\n3. We may not therefore lay these expressions aside, seeing they are\nthe words of God, and not of man. But we may, and ought to explain the\nmeaning of them; that those who are sincere of heart, may not err to\nthe right-hand or to the left, from the mark of the prize of their high\ncalling. And this is the more needful to be done, because in the verse\nalready repeated, the apostle speaks of himself as not perfect: _not_,\nsaith he, _as tho\u2019 I were already perfect_. And yet immediately after,\nin the fifteenth verse, he speaks of himself, yea and many others, as\nperfect. _Let us_, saith he, _as many as be perfect, be thus minded_.\n\n4. In order therefore to remove the difficulty arising from this\nseeming contradiction, as well as to give light to them who are\npressing forward to the mark, and that those who are lame be not turned\nout of the way, I shall endeavour to shew.\n\n_First_, In what sense Christians are _not_, and,\n\n_Secondly_, In what sense they are _perfect_.\n\n\nI. 1. In the first place I shall endeavour to shew, in what sense\nChristians are _not perfect_. And both from experience and scripture\nit appears, first, that they are not perfect in knowledge: they are not\n_so_ perfect in this life, as to be free from ignorance. They know, it\nmay be in common with other men, many things relating to the present\nworld; and they know, with regard to the world to come, the general\ntruths which God hath revealed. They know likewise (what _the natural\nman receiveth not_: for these things _are spiritually discerned_) _what\nmanner of love it is, wherewith the Father hath loved them, that they\nshould be called the sons of God_: they know _the mighty working of his\nSpirit_ in their hearts, and the wisdom of his providence, directing\nall their paths, and causing all things to work together for their good.\nYea, they know in every circumstance of life, what the Lord requireth\nof them, and how _to keep a conscience void of offence both toward God\nand toward man_.\n\n2. But innumerable are the things which they know not. _Touching the\nAlmighty himself, they cannot search him out to perfection. Lo, these\nare but a part of his ways; but the thunder of his power, who can\nunderstand?_ They cannot understand, I will not say, how _there are\nthree that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Son, and the Holy\nSpirit, and these three are one_; or how the eternal Son of God _took\nupon himself the form of a servant_: but not any one attribute, not\nany one circumstance of the divine nature. Neither is it for them _to\nknow the times and seasons_, when God will work his great works upon\nthe earth; no, not even those which he hath in part revealed, by his\nservants and prophets, since the world began. Much less do they know,\nwhen God having _accomplished the number of his elect will hasten his\nkingdom_: when _the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the\nelements shall melt with fervent heat_.\n\n3. They know not the reasons even of many of his present dispensations\nwith the sons of men: but are constrained to rest here, tho\u2019 _clouds\nand darkness are round about him, righteousness and judgment are the\nhabitation of his seat_. Yea, often with regard to his dealings with\nthemselves doth their Lord say unto them, _What I do, thou knowest not\nnow; but thou shalt know hereafter_. And how little do they know, of\nwhat is ever before them, of even the visible works of his hands? How\n_he spreadeth the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth\nupon nothing_? How he unites all the parts of this vast machine by a\nsecret chain which cannot be broken? So great is the ignorance, so very\nlittle the knowledge of even the best of men.\n\n4. No one then is so perfect in this life, as to be free from ignorance.\nNor, secondly, from mistake, which indeed is almost an unavoidable\nconsequence of it; seeing those who _know but in part_, are ever\nliable to err, touching the things which they know not. \u2019Tis true, the\nchildren of God do not mistake, as to the things essential to salvation.\nThey do not _put darkness for light, or light for darkness_, neither\n_seek death in the error of their life_. For they are _taught of God_,\nand the way which he teaches them, the way of holiness is so plain,\nthat _the wayfaring man, tho\u2019 a fool, need not err therein_. But in\nthings unessential to salvation, they do err, and that frequently.\nThe best and wisest of men are frequently mistaken, even with regard\nto facts: believing those things not to have been, which really\nwere, or those to have been done, which were not. Or suppose they are\nnot mistaken as to the fact itself, they may be, with regard to its\ncircumstances; believing them, or many of them, to have been quite\ndifferent, from what in truth they were. And hence cannot but arise\nmany farther mistakes. Hence they may believe either past or present\nactions, which were, or are evil, to be good; and such as were, or are\ngood to be evil. Hence also they may judge, not according to truth,\nwith regard to the characters of men: and that not only by supposing\ngood men to be better, or wicked men to be worse than they are; but by\nbelieving them to have been, or to be good men, who were, or are very\nwicked: or, perhaps, those to have been, or to be wicked men, who were,\nor are holy and unreprovable.\n\n5. Nay, with regard to the holy scriptures themselves, as careful as\nthey are to avoid it, the best of men are liable to mistake, and do\nmistake day by day: especially, with respect to those parts thereof,\nwhich less immediately relate to practice. Hence even the children\nof God are not agreed, as to the interpretation of many places in\nholy writ: nor is their difference of opinion any proof that they are\nnot the children of God on either side. But it is a proof, that we\nare no more to expect any living man, to be _infallible_ than to be\n_omniscient_.\n\n6. If it be objected to what has been observed under this and the\npreceding head, that St. _John_ speaking to his brethren in the faith,\nsays, _Ye have an unction from the holy one, and know all things_,\n1 John ii. 20. The answer is plain, \u201cYe know all things that are\nneedful for your soul\u2019s health.\u201d That the apostle never designed\nto extend this farther, that he could not speak it in an absolute\nsense, is clear first from hence, that otherwise he would describe the\ndisciple as _above his master_; seeing Christ himself, as man, knew\nnot all things.\u2015\u2015_Of that hour_, saith he, _knoweth no man, no not the\nSon, but the Father only_. It is clear, secondly, from the apostle\u2019s\nown words that follow, _These things have I written unto you concerning\nthem that deceive you_: as well as from his frequently repeated caution,\n_Let no man deceive you_; which had been altogether needless, had not\nthose very persons, who had that unction from the Holy One been liable\nnot to ignorance only; but to mistake also.\n\n7. Even Christians therefore are not _so_ perfect, as to be free either\nfrom ignorance or error. We may, thirdly, add: nor from infirmities.\nOnly let us take care to understand this word aright. Only let us not\ngive that soft title to known sins, as the manner of some is. So, one\nman tells us, \u201cEvery man has his infirmity, and mine is drunkenness:\u201d\nanother has the infirmity of uncleanness; another that of taking\nGod\u2019s holy name in vain. And yet another has the infirmity of calling\nhis brother, _Thou fool_, or returning _railing for railing_. It is\nplain, that all you who thus speak, if ye repent not, shall with your\ninfirmities, go quick into hell. But I mean hereby, not only those\nwhich are properly termed _bodily infirmities_, but all those inward\nor outward imperfections, which are not of a moral nature. Such are\nweakness or slowness of understanding, dullness or confusedness of\napprehension, incoherency of thought, irregular quickness or heaviness\nof imagination. Such (to mention no more of this kind) is the want of\na ready or retentive memory. Such in another kind are, those which are\ncommonly in some measure consequent upon these: namely, slowness of\nspeech, impropriety of language, ungracefulness of pronunciation: to\nwhich one might add a thousand nameless defects, either in conversation\nor behaviour. These are the infirmities which are found in the best of\nmen, in a larger or smaller proportion. And from these none can hope to\nbe perfectly freed, till the spirit returns to God that gave it.\n\n8. Nor can we expect till then, to be wholly free from temptation.\nSuch perfection belongeth not to this life. It is true, there are\nthose who being given up to work all uncleanness with greediness,\nscarce perceive the temptations which they resist not, and so seem to\nbe without temptation. There are also many whom the wise enemy of souls\nseeing to be fast asleep in the dead form of godliness, will not tempt\nto gross sin, lest they should awake, before they drop into everlasting\nburnings. I know, there are also children of God, who being now\n_justified freely_, having found _redemption in the blood of Christ_,\nfor the present feel no temptation. God hath said to their enemies,\n_Touch not mine anointed, and do my children no harm_. And for this\nseason, it may be for weeks or months, he causeth them to _ride on high\nplaces_, he beareth them as on eagles wings, above all the fiery darts\nof the wicked one. But this state will not last always, as we may learn\nfrom that single consideration, that the Son of God himself, in the\ndays of his flesh, was tempted even to the end of his life. Therefore\nso let his servant expect to be; for _it is enough that he be as his\nmaster_.\n\n9. Christian perfection therefore does not imply (as some men seem\nto have imagined) an exemption either from ignorance or mistake, or\ninfirmities or temptations. Indeed it is only another term for holiness.\nThey are two names for the same thing. Thus, every one that is holy,\nis in the scripture sense, perfect. Yet we may, lastly, observe, that\nneither in this respect is there any absolute perfection on earth.\nThere is no _perfection of degrees_, as it is termed; none which does\nnot admit of a continual increase. So that how much soever any man has\nattained, or in how high a degree soever he is perfect, he hath still\nneed to _grow in grace_, and daily to advance in the knowledge and love\nof God his Saviour.\n\n\nII. 1. In what sense then are Christians perfect? This is what I shall\nendeavour, in the second place to shew. But it should be premised, that\nthere are several stages in Christian life as in natural: some of the\nchildren of God being but new-born babes; others having attained to\nmore maturity, And accordingly St. _John_, in his first epistle (c. ii.\n12, &c.) applies himself severally, to those he terms little children,\nthose he stiles young men, and those whom he intitles fathers. _I write\nunto you, little children_, saith the apostle, _because your sins are\nforgiven_: because thus far you have attained, being _justified freely_,\nyou _have peace with God, thro\u2019 Jesus Christ. I write unto you, young\nmen, because ye have overcome the wicked one_; or (as he afterwards\naddeth) _because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you_. Ye\nhave quenched the fiery darts of the wicked one, the doubts and fears,\nwherewith he disturbed your first peace, and the witness of God that\nyour sins are forgiven, now _abideth in your heart. I write unto you,\nfathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning._ Ye have\nknown both the Father and the Son, and the Spirit of Christ in your\ninmost soul. Ye are _perfect men, being grown up to the measure of the\nstature of the fullness of Christ_.\n\n2. It is of these chiefly I speak in the latter part of this discourse.\nFor these only are perfect Christians. But even babes in Christ are\nin such a sense perfect, or _born of God_ (an expression taken also\nin divers senses) as first, not to commit sin. If any doubt of this\nprivilege of the sons of God, the question is not to be decided by\nabstract reasonings, which may be drawn out into an endless length, and\nleave the point just as it was before. Neither is it to be determined\nby the experience of this or that particular person. Many may suppose\nthey do not commit sin, when they do: but this proves nothing either\nway. _To the law and to the testimony_ we appeal. _Let God be true, and\nevery man a liar._ By his word will we abide, and that alone. Hereby we\nought to be judged.\n\n3. Now the word of God plainly declares, that even those who are\njustified, who are born again in the lowest sense, _do not continue in\nsin_; that they cannot _live any longer therein_ (Rom. vi. 1, 2.) that\nthey are _planted together in the likeness of the death of Christ_.\n(verse 5.) That their _old man is crucified with him, the body of sin\nbeing destroyed, so that thenceforth they do not serve sin: that being\ndead with Christ, they are freed from sin_ (verses 6, 7.) That they\nare _dead unto sin_, and _alive unto God_ (verse 11.) That _sin hath no\nmore dominion over them_, who are _not under the law, but under grace_;\nbut that these _being free from sin, are become the servants of\nrighteousness_, verses 14, 18.\n\n4. The very least which can be implied in these words, is, that the\npersons spoken of therein, namely, all real Christians or believers\nin Christ, are made free from outward sin. And the same freedom which\nSt. _Paul_ here expresses in such variety of phrases, St. _Peter_\nexpresses in that one (_1 Pet._ iv. 1, 2.) _He that hath suffered in\nthe flesh, hath ceased from sin,\u2015\u2015that he no longer should live\u2015\u2015to the\ndesires of men, but to the will of God._ For this _ceasing from sin_,\nif it be interpreted in the lowest sense, as regarding only the outward\nbehaviour, must denote the ceasing from the outward act, from any\noutward transgression of the law.\n\n5. But most express are the well known words of St. _John_, in\nthe third chapter of his first epistle, verse the eighth, &c. _He\nthat committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the\nbeginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he\nmight destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God, doth\nnot commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin,\nbecause he is born of God._ And those in the fifth, verse 18. _We know\nthat whosoever \u2666is born of God sinneth not. But he that is begotten of\nGod keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not._\n\n6. Indeed it is said, this means only, he sinneth not _wilfully_; or\nhe doth not commit sin _habitually_; or, _not as other men do_; or,\n_not as he did before_. But by whom is this said? By St. _John_? No.\nThere is no such word in the text: nor in the whole chapter; nor in all\nthis epistle; nor in any part of his writings whatsoever. Why then, the\nbest way to answer a bold assertion is, simply to deny it. And if any\nman can prove it from the word of God, let him bring forth his strong\nreasons.\n\n7. And a sort of reason there is, which has been frequently brought to\nsupport these strange assertions, drawn from the examples recorded in\nthe word of God, \u201cWhat say they, did not _Abraham_ himself commit sin,\nprevaricating and denying his wife? Did not _Moses_ commit sin, when\nhe provoked God, _at the waters of strife_? Nay, to produce one for\nall, did not even _David, the man after God\u2019s own heart_, commit sin,\nin the matter of _Uriah_ the _Hittite_, even murder and adultery?\u201d It\nis most sure he did. All this is true. But what is it you would infer\nfrom hence? It may be granted, _first_, that _David_, in the general\ncourse of his life, was one of the holiest men among the _Jews_. And,\n_secondly_, that the holiest men among the _Jews did sometimes commit\nsin_. But if you would hence infer, that _all Christians do, and must\ncommit sin, as long as they live_: this consequence we utterly deny. It\nwill never follow from those premisses.\n\n8. Those who argue thus, seem never to have considered that declaration\nof our Lord (_Matth._ xi. 11.) _Verily I say unto you, among them that\nare born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist.\nNotwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater\nthan he._ I fear indeed there are some who have imagined _the kingdom\nof heaven_ here, to mean the kingdom of glory: As if the Son of God\nhad just discovered to us, that the least glorified saint in heaven\nis greater than any man upon earth! To mention this is sufficiently\nto refute it. There can therefore no doubt be made but _the kingdom of\nheaven_ here, (as in the following verse, where it is said to be _taken\nby force_) or, _the kingdom of God, as_ St. _Luke_ expresses it, is\nthat kingdom of God on earth, whereunto all true believers in Christ,\nall real Christians belong. In these words then our Lord declares two\nthings. _First_, That before his coming in the flesh, among all the\nchildren of men, there had not been one greater than _John the Baptist_:\nwhence it evidently follows, that neither _Abraham_, _David_, nor any\n_Jew_ was greater than _John_. Our Lord, _secondly_, declares, that he\nwhich is least in the kingdom of God (in that kingdom which he came to\nset up on earth, and which _the violent_ now began _to take by force_)\nis greater than he. Not _a greater prophet_ (as some have interpreted\nthe word) for this is palpably false in fact. But greater in the grace\nof God, and the knowledge of our Lord _Jesus Christ_. Therefore we\ncannot measure the privileges of real Christians, by those formerly\ngiven to the _Jews. Their ministration_ (or dispensation) we allow\n_was glorious_; but ours _exceeds in glory_. So that whosoever would\nbring down the _Christian_ dispensation to the _Jewish_ standard,\nwhosoever gleans up the examples of weakness, recorded in the law and\nthe prophets, and thence infers, that they who have _put on Christ_,\nare indued with no greater strength, doth _greatly err, neither knowing\nthe scriptures, nor the power of God_.\n\n9. \u201cBut are there not assertions in scripture which prove the same\nthing, if it cannot be inferred from those examples? Does not the\nscripture say expresly, _Even a just man sinneth seven times a day_?\u201d I\nanswer, No. The scripture says no such thing. There is no such text in\nall the bible. That which seems to be intended is the sixteenth verse\nof the twenty-fourth chapter of _the Proverbs_: the words of which are\nthese, _A just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again_. But this\nis quite another thing. For, _first_, the words _a day_, are not in\nthe text. So that if a just man falls seven times in his life, it is\nas much as is affirmed here. _Secondly_, here is no mention of _falling\ninto sin_ at all; what is here mentioned is, _falling into temporal\naffliction_. This plainly appears from the verse before, the words of\nwhich are these: _Lay not wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of\nthe righteous; spoil not his resting-place_. It follows, _For a just\nman falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall\ninto mischief_. As if he had said, \u201cGod will deliver him out of his\ntrouble. But when thou fallest, there shall be none to deliver thee.\u201d\n\n10. But however in other places, continue the objectors, _Solomon_ does\nassert plainly, _There is no man that sinneth not_ (1 _Kings_ viii. 46.\n2 _Chron._ vi. 36.) yea, _there is not a just man upon earth that doth\ngood, and sinneth not_ (Eccles. vii. 20.) I answer, without doubt,\nthus it was, in the days of _Solomon_. Yea, thus it was, from _Adam_ to\n_Moses_, from _Moses_ to _Solomon_, and from _Solomon_ to Christ. There\nwas _then_ no man that sinned not. Even from the day that sin entered\ninto the world, there was not a just man upon earth that did good, and\nsinned not, _until the_ Son of God was manifested _to take away our\nsins_. It is unquestionably true, that _the heir, as long as he is a\nchild, differeth nothing from a servant_. And that _even so_ they (all\nthe holy men of old, who were under the _Jewish_ dispensation) _were_\nduring that infant-state of the church, _in bondage under the elements\nof the world. But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent\nforth his Son, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the\nlaw, that they might receive the adoption of sons_; that they might\nreceive that _grace which is now made manifest by the appearing of our\nSaviour, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and brought life and\nimmortality to light thro\u2019 the gospel_, (2 Tim. i. 10.) Now therefore\nthey _are no more servants, but sons_. So that whatsoever was the case\nof those under the law, we may safely affirm with St. _John_, that\nsince the gospel was given, _He that is born of God, sinneth not_.\n\n11. It is of great importance to observe, and that more carefully than\nis commonly done, the wide difference there is between the _Jewish_\nand the _Christian_ dispensation: and that ground of it which the same\napostle assigns in the seventh chapter of his gospel, verse 38, &c.\nAfter he had there related those words of our blessed Lord, _He that\nbelieveth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall\nflow rivers of living water_, he immediately subjoins, _This spake\nhe of the spirit_, \u03bf\u1f57 \u1f14\u03bc\u03b5\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u2666\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03ac\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f31 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd,\n_which they who should believe on him, were afterwards to receive.\nFor the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not yet\nglorified._ Now the apostle cannot mean here (as some have taught)\nthat the miracle-working power of the Holy Ghost was not yet given.\nFor this was given; our Lord had given it to all his apostles, when he\nfirst sent them forth to preach the gospel. He then gave them _power\nover unclean spirits to cast them out_; power _to heal the sick_,\nyea, _to raise the dead_. But the Holy Ghost was not yet given in\nhis sanctifying graces, as he was after Jesus was glorified. It was\nthen when _he ascended up on high and led captivity captive_, that he\n_received those gifts for men, yea, even for the rebellious, that the\nLord God might dwell among them_. And _when the day of Pentecost was\nfully come_, then first it was, that they who _waited for the promise\nof the Father_, were made more than conquerors over sin, by the Holy\nGhost given unto them.\n\n12. That this great salvation from sin was not given till Jesus was\nglorified, St. _Peter_ also plainly testifies; where speaking of his\n_brethren in the flesh_, as now _receiving the end of their faith,\nthe salvation of their souls_, he adds, (1 _Pet._ i. 9, 10, &c.) _Of\nwhich salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who\nprophesied of the grace_ (i. e. the gracious dispensation) _that should\ncome unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of\nChrist which was in them did signify, when it testified before hand\nthe sufferings of Christ and the glory_ (the glorious salvation) _that\nshould follow. Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves,\nbut unto us they did minister, the things which are now reported unto\nyou by them that have preached the gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost\nsent down from heaven_ (viz. at the day of Pentecost, and so unto all\ngenerations, into the hearts of all true believers.) On this ground\neven _the grace which was brought unto them by the revelation of\nJesus Christ_, the apostle might well build that strong exhortation,\n_Wherefore girding up the loins of your mind,\u2015\u2015as he which hath called\nyou is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation_.\n\n13. Those who have duly considered these things must allow, that the\nprivileges of Christians, are in no wise to be measured by what the\nOld Testament records concerning those who were under the _Jewish_\ndispensation: seeing the fulness of times is now come; the Holy Ghost\nis now given: the great salvation of God is brought unto men, by the\nrevelation of Jesus Christ. The kingdom of heaven is now set up on\nearth: concerning which the Spirit of God declared of old (so far is\n_David_ from being the pattern or standard of Christian perfection)\n_He that is feeble among them at that day, shall be as_ David: _and the\nhouse of_ David _shall be as God, as the angel of the Lord before them_\n(Zech. xii. 8.)\n\n14. If therefore you would prove that the apostle\u2019s words, _he that\nis born of God sinneth not_, are not to be understood, according to\ntheir plain, natural, obvious meaning, it is from the New Testament you\nare to bring your proofs: else you will fight as one that beateth the\nair. And the first of these which is usually brought is taken from the\nexamples recorded in the New Testament. \u201cThe apostles themselves (it\nis said) committed sin: nay the greatest of them. _Peter_ and _Paul_:\nSt. _Paul_, by his sharp contention with _Barnabas_, and St. _Peter_,\nby his dissimulation at _Antioch_.\u201d Well; suppose both _Peter_ and\n_Paul_ did then commit sin: what is it you would infer from hence? That\n_all the other apostles_ committed sin sometimes? There is no shadow\nof proof in this. Or, would you thence infer, that _all the other\nChristians_ of the apostolic age committed sin? Worse and worse; this\nis such an inference as one would imagine a man in his senses could\nnever have thought of. Or, will you argue thus? \u201cIf two of the apostles\ndid once commit sin, then _all other Christians, in all ages_, do, and\nwill commit sin as long as they live.\u201d Alas, my brother! a child of\ncommon understanding, would be ashamed of such reasoning as this. Least\nof all can you with any colour of argument infer, \u201cThat any man _must_\ncommit sin at all.\u201d No; God forbid we should thus speak. No necessity\nof sinning was laid upon _them_. The grace of God was surely sufficient\nfor them. And it _is_ sufficient for _us_ at this day. With the\ntemptation which fell on _them_, there _was_ a way to escape: as there\n_is_ to every soul of man in every temptation. So that whosoever is\ntempted to any sin, _need_ not yield; for no man is tempted above that\nhe is able to bear.\n\n15. \u201cBut St. _Paul_ besought the Lord thrice, and yet he could not\nescape from his temptation.\u201d Let us consider his own words literally\ntranslated. _There was given to me, a thorn, to the flesh, an angel,\nor messenger of Satan, to buffet me. Touching this I besought the\nLord thrice, that it or he might depart from me. And he said unto\nme, my grace is sufficient for thee. For my strength is made perfect\nin weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in these my\nweaknesses, that the strength of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore\nI take pleasure in weaknesses,\u2015\u2015for when I am weak, then am I strong._\n\n16. As this scripture is one of the strong-holds of the patrons of\nsin, it may be proper to weigh it throughly. Let it be observed then,\n_first_, It does by no means appear, that this thorn, whatsoever it\nwas, occasioned St. _Paul_ to commit sin: much less laid him under any\nnecessity of doing so. Therefore, from hence it can never be proved\nthat any Christian _must_ commit sin. _Secondly_, The antient fathers\ninform us, it was bodily pain: a violent head-ach, saith _Tertullian_\n(de Pudic.) to which both _Chrysostom_ and St. _Jerom_ agree. St.\n_Cyprian_[1] expresses it a little more generally in those terms,\n_Many and grievous torments of the flesh and of the body[2]. Thirdly_,\nTo this exactly agree the apostle\u2019s own words, _A thorn to the flesh,\nto smite, beat, or buffet me. My strength is made perfect in weakness._\nWhich same words occur no less than four times in these two verses\nonly. But, _fourthly_, Whatsoever it was, it could not be either inward\nor outward sin. It could no more be inward stirrings, than outward\nexpressions, of pride, anger, or lust. This is manifest beyond all\npossible exception, from the words that immediately follow, _Most\ngladly will I glory in these my weaknesses, that the strength of Christ\nmay rest upon me_. What? Did he glory in pride, in anger, in lust? Was\nit through these _weaknesses_, that the strength of Christ rested upon\nhim? He goes on; _Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses; for when\nI am weak, than am I strong_; i. e. When I am weak _in body_, then am\nI strong _in spirit_. But will any man dare to say, when I am weak by\npride or lust, then am I strong in spirit? I call you all to record\nthis day, who find the strength of Christ resting upon you, can _you_\nglory in anger, or pride, or lust? Can _you_ take pleasure in _these_\ninfirmities? Do _these_ weaknesses make _you_ strong? Would you not\nleap into hell, were it possible, to escape them? Even by yourselves\nthen judge, whether the apostle could glory, and take pleasure in them?\nLet it be, _lastly_, observed, That this thorn was given to St. _Paul\nabove fourteen years_ before he wrote this epistle: which itself was\nwrote several years before he finished his course. So that he had after\nthis a long course to run, many battles to fight, many victories to\ngain, and great increase to receive in all the gifts of God, and the\nknowledge of Jesus Christ. Therefore from any spiritual weakness (if\nsuch had been) which he _at that time_ felt, we could by no means infer,\nthat he was never made strong, that _Paul_, the aged, the Father in\nChrist, still laboured under the same weaknesses: that he was in no\nhigher state till the day of his death. From all which it appears, that\nthis instance of St. _Paul_ is quite foreign to the question, and does\nin no wise clash with the assertion of St. _John, He that is born of\nGod, sinneth not_.\n\n17. \u201cBut does not St. _James_, directly contradict this? His words are,\n_In many things we offend all_, ch. iii. ver. 2. And is not _offending_\nthe same as _committing sin_?\u201d In this place I allow it is. I allow\n_the persons here spoken of_ did commit sin, yea, that they all\ncommitted _many_ sins. But who are _the persons here spoken of_? Why,\nthose _many masters_ or _teachers_, whom God had not sent (probably\nthe same _vain men_ who taught that _faith without works_, which is\nso sharply reproved in the preceding chapter.) Not the apostle himself,\nnor any real Christian. That in the word _we_ (used by a figure of\nspeech, common in all other, as well as the inspired writings) the\napostle could not possibly include himself, or any other true believer,\nappears evidently, _first_, From the same word, in the ninth verse;\n_Therewith_ (saith he) _bless_ we _God, and therewith curse_ we _men.\nOut of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing._ True; but not\nout of the mouth of the apostle, nor of any one who is in Christ a new\ncreature. _Secondly_, From the verse immediately preceding the text,\nand manifestly connected with it. _My brethren, be not many masters_\n(or teachers) _knowing that_ we _shall receive the greater condemnation:\nfor in many things_ we _offend all_: We! Who? Not the apostles, nor\ntrue believers; but they who knew they should _receive the greater\ncondemnation_, because of those many offences. But this could not be\nspoke of the apostle himself, or of any who trod in his steps; seeing\n_there is no condemnation for them, who walk not after the flesh,\nbut after the spirit_. Nay, _thirdly_, The very verse itself proves,\nthat _we offend all_, cannot be spoken, either of all men, or of all\nChristians; for in it there immediately follows the mention of a man\nwho _offends not_, as the _we_ first mentioned did: from whom therefore\nhe is professedly contradistinguished, and pronounced, _a perfect man_.\n\n18. So clearly does St. _James_, explain himself, and fix the meaning\nof his own words. Yet lest any one should still remain in doubt,\nSt. _John_, writing many years after St. _James_, puts the matter\nintirely out of dispute, by the express declarations above recited. But\nhere a fresh difficulty may arise. How shall we reconcile St. _John_\nwith himself? In one place he declares, \u201c_Whosoever is born of God,\ndoth not commit sin_.\u201d And, again, _We know that he which is born of\nGod, sinneth not_. And yet in another he saith, _If we say that we have\nno sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us_. And again,\n_If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is\nnot in us_.\n\n19. As great a difficulty as this may at first appear, it vanishes away\nif we observe, _first_, That the tenth verse fixes the sense of the\neighth: _If we say we have no sin_, in the former, being explained by,\n_If we say we have not sinned_, in the latter verse. _Secondly_, That\nthe point under present consideration is not, whether we _have or have\nnot sinned heretofore_: and neither of these verses assert, that we _do\nsin, or commit sin_ now. _Thirdly_, That the ninth verse explains both\nthe eighth and tenth; _If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just\nto forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness_:\nas if he had said, \u201cI have before affirmed, _the blood of Jesus Christ\ncleanseth us from all sin_. But let no man say, I need it not: I have\nno sin to be cleansed from. If we say _that we have no sin, that we\nhave not sinned_, we deceive ourselves and make God a liar. But if we\nconfess our sins, he is faithful and just, not only to forgive our sins,\nbut also to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, that we may go and sin\nno more.\u201d\n\n20. St. _John_ therefore is well consistent with himself, as well\nas with the other holy writers: as will yet more evidently appear,\nif we place all his assertions touching this matter in one view. He\ndeclares, _first_, The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all\nsin. _Secondly_, No man can say, I have not sinned, I have no sin to\nbe cleansed from. _Thirdly_, But God is ready both to forgive our past\nsins, and to save us from them for the time to come. _Fourthly, These\nthings I write unto you_, saith the apostle, _that you may not sin:\nbut if any man should sin_, or _have sinned_ (as the word might be\nrendered) he need not continue in sin, seeing _we have an advocate\nwith the Father Jesus Christ the righteous_. Thus far all is clear.\nBut lest any doubt should remain, in a point of so vast importance, the\napostle resumes this subject in the third chapter, and largely explains\nhis own meaning. _Little children_, saith he, _let no man deceive you_\n(as tho\u2019 I had given any encouragement to those that continue in sin.)\n_He that doth righteousness, is righteous even as he is righteous. He\nthat committeth sin is of the devil: for the devil sinneth from the\nbeginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he\nmight destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not\ncommit sin: for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because\nhe is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the\nchildren of the devil._ (Verses 7\u201210.) Here the point, which till\nthen might possibly have admitted of some doubt in weak minds, is\npurposely settled by the last of the inspired writers, and decided in\nthe clearest manner. In conformity therefore both to the doctrine of\nSt. _John_, and to the whole tenor of the New Testament, we fix this\nconclusion, \u201cA Christian is so far perfect, as not to commit sin.\u201d\n\n21. This is the glorious privilege of every Christian, yea, tho\u2019 he be\nbut _a babe in Christ_. But it is only of those who _are strong_ in the\nLord, _and have overcome the wicked one_, or rather of those who _have\nknown him that is from the beginning_, that it can be affirmed they are\nin such a sense perfect; as, _secondly_ to be freed from evil thoughts,\nand evil tempers. _First_, from evil or sinful thoughts. But here let\nit be observed, that thoughts concerning evil, are not always evil\nthoughts: that a thought concerning sin, and a sinful thought, are\nwidely different. A man, for instance may think of a murder which\nanother has committed, and yet this is no evil or sinful thought. So\nour blessed Lord himself, doubtless thought of, or understood the\nthings spoken by the devil, when he said, _All this will I give thee,\nif thou wilt fall down and worship me_. Yet had he no evil or sinful\nthought, nor indeed was capable of having any. And even hence it\nfollows, that neither have real Christians. For _every one that is\nperfect is as his Master_. (Luke vi. 40.) Therefore, if he was free\nfrom evil or sinful thoughts, so are they likewise.\n\n22. And indeed, whence should evil thoughts proceed, in the servant\nwho is _as his Master? out of the heart of man_ (if at all) _proceed\nevil thoughts_ (Mark vii. 21.) If therefore his heart, be no longer\nevil, then evil thoughts can no longer proceed out of it. If the tree\nwere corrupt, so would be the fruit; but the tree is good. The fruit\ntherefore is good also. (_Matth._ xii. 33.) Our Lord himself bearing\nwitness, _Every good tree bringeth forth good fruit. A good tree cannot\nbring forth evil fruit, as a corrupt tree cannot bring forth good\nfruit_, Matt. vii. 17, 18.\n\n23. The same happy privilege of real Christians, St. _Paul_ asserts\nfrom his own experience. _The weapons of our warfare_, saith he, _are\nnot carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds:\ncasting down imaginations_ (or reasonings rather, for so the word\n\u03bb\u03bf\u03b3\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03cd\u03c2 signifies: all the reasonings of pride and unbelief against\nthe declarations, promises or gifts of God) _and every high thing\nthat exalteth itself against the knowledge of God; and bringing into\ncaptivity_ every thought _to the obedience of Christ_, 2 Cor. x. 5, &c.\n\n24. And as Christians indeed, are freed from evil thoughts, so are they,\n_secondly_, from evil tempers. This is evident from the above-mentioned\ndeclaration of our Lord himself: _The disciple is not above his Master:\nbut every one that is perfect shall be as his Master_. He had been\ndelivering just before some of the sublimest doctrines of Christianity,\nand some of the most grievous to flesh and blood. _I say unto you, love\nyour enemies, do good to them which hate you: and unto him that smiteth\nthee on the one cheek, offer also the other._ Now these he well knew\nthe world would not receive: and therefore immediately adds, _Can the\nblind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?_ As if\nhe had said, \u201cDo not confer with flesh and blood touching these things,\nwith men void of spiritual discernment, the eyes of whose understanding\nGod hath not opened, lest they and you perish together.\u201d In the next\nverse he removes the two grand objections, with which these wise fools\nmeet us at every turn, \u201cThese things are too grievous to be borne,\u201d or,\n\u201cThey are too high to be attained:\u201d saying, _The disciple is not above\nhis Master_: therefore, if I have suffered, be content to tread in my\nsteps. And doubt ye not then, but I will fulfil my word: _for every\none that is perfect, shall be as his Master_. But his Master was free\nfrom all sinful tempers. So therefore is his disciple, even every real\nChristian.\n\n25. Every one of these can say with St. _Paul_, _I am crucified with\nChrist. Nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me_: words\nthat manifestly describe a deliverance from inward, as well as from\noutward sin. This is expressed both negatively, _I live not_: my evil\nnature, the body of sin is destroyed: and positively, _Christ liveth\nin me_, and therefore all that is holy, and just, and good. Indeed\nboth these, _Christ liveth in me_, and _I live not_, are inseparably\nconnected. For _what communion hath light with darkness, or Christ with\nBelial_?\n\n26. He therefore who liveth in true believers, hath _purified their\nhearts by faith_: insomuch that _every one that hath Christ in him, the\nhope of glory, purifieth himself even as he is pure_. (1 John iii. 3.)\nHe is purified from pride; for Christ was lowly of heart. He is pure\nfrom self-will, or desire; for Christ desired only to do the will of\nhis Father, and to finish his work. And he is pure from anger, in the\ncommon sense of the word; for Christ was meek and gentle, patient and\nlong-suffering. I say, in the common sense of the word: for all anger\nis not evil. We read of our Lord himself (_Mark_ iii. 5.) that he once\n_looked round with anger_. But with what kind of anger? The next word\nshews; \u03c3\u03c5\u03bb\u03bb\u03c5\u03c0\u03bf\u03cd\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03c2, being _at the same time grieved for the hardness\nof their hearts_. So then he was _angry at the sin_, and in the same\nmoment _grieved for the sinners_. Angry or displeased _at the offence_;\nbut sorry, _for the offenders_. With anger, yea, hatred, he looked\nupon _the thing_; with grief and love upon the _persons_. Go thou that\nart perfect, and do likewise. _Be thus angry, and_ thou _sinnest not_:\nfeeling a displacency at every offence against God; but only love and\ntender compassion to the offender.\n\n27. Thus doth Jesus _save his people from their sins_: and not only\nfrom outward sins, but also from the sins of their hearts; from evil\nthoughts and from evil tempers. \u201cTrue, say some; we shall thus be saved\nfrom our sins: but not till death, not in this world.\u201d But how are we\nto reconcile this with the express words of St. _John_? _Herein is our\nlove made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,\nbecause as he is, so are we_ in this world. The apostle here beyond all\ncontradiction speaks of himself and other living Christians, of whom\n(as tho\u2019 he had foreseen this very evasion, and set himself to overturn\nit from the foundation) he flatly affirms, that not only at, or after\ndeath, but _in this world_, they are as their Master, _1 John_ iv. 17.\n\n28. Exactly agreeable to this are his words in the first chapter of\nthis epistle, (verse 6, &c.) _God is light, and in him is no darkness\nat all. If we walk in the light, we have fellowship one with another,\nand the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin._ And\nagain, _If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive\nus our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness_. Now it is\nevident, the apostle here also speaks of a deliverance wrought _in\nthis world_. For he saith not, _the blood of Christ will cleanse_\n(at the hour of death, or in the day of judgment) but it _cleanseth_\n(at the time present) _us_ (living Christians) _from all sin_. And\nit is equally evident, that if _any sin_ remain, we are not cleansed\nfrom _all sin_: if _any_ unrighteousness remain in the soul, it is not\ncleansed from all unrighteousness. Neither let any sinner against his\nown soul say, that this relates to justification only, or the cleaning\nus from the guilt of sin; _first_, Because this is confounding together\nwhat the apostle clearly distinguishes; who mentions first, _to\nforgive us our sins_, and then _to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.\nSecondly_, Because this is asserting justification by works in the\nstrongest sense possible: it is making all inward, as well as outward\nholiness, necessarily previous to justification. For if the cleansing\nhere spoken of is no other than the cleansing us from the guilt of\nsin, then we are not cleaned from guilt; _i. e._ are not justified,\nunless on condition of _walking in the light, as he is in the light_.\nIt remains then, that Christians are saved in this world from all sin,\nfrom all unrighteousness: that they are now in such a sense perfect, as\nnot to commit sin, and to be freed from evil thoughts and evil tempers.\n\n29. Thus hath the Lord fulfilled the things he spake by his holy\nprophets, which have been since the world began: by _Moses_ in\nparticular, saying (_Deut._ xxx. 6.) _I will circumcise thine heart,\nand the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,\nand with all thy soul; by_ David crying out, _Create in me a clean\nheart, and renew a right spirit within me_: and most remarkably by\n_Ezekiel_, in those words, _Then will I sprinkle clean water upon\nyou, and ye shall be clean; from all_ your _filthiness, and from_\nall _your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you,\nand a new spirit will I put within you, and cause you to walk in my\nstatutes, and ye shall keep my judgments and do them.\u2015\u2015Ye shall be\nmy people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your\nuncleannesses.\u2015\u2015Thus saith the Lord your God, in the day that I shall\nhave cleansed you from all your iniquities\u2015\u2015the Heathen shall know that\nI the Lord build the ruined places,\u2015\u2015I the Lord have spoken it,\u2015\u2015and I\nwill do it_, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, &c.\n\n30. _Having therefore these promises dearly beloved_, both in the law\nand in the prophets, and having the prophetic word confirmed unto us\nin the gospel, by our blessed Lord and his apostles: _Let us cleanse\nourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness\nin the fear of God. Let us fear lest_ so many promises _being made us\nof entering into his rest_ (which he that hath entered into, _is ceased\nfrom his own works_) _any of us should come short of it. This one thing\nlet us do; forgeting those things which are behind, and reaching forth\nunto those things which are before, Let us press toward the mark of the\nprize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus_: crying unto him day\nand night, till we also are _delivered from the bondage of corruption\ninto the glorious liberty of the sons of God_.\n\n\n\n\n THE\n PROMISE of SANCTIFICATION.\n\n EZEK. xxxvi. 25, &c.\n\n\n By the Rev. Mr. CHARLES WESLEY.\n\n GOD of all power, and truth, and grace,\n Which shall from age to age endure;\n Whose word, when heaven and earth shall pass,\n Remains, and stands for ever sure:\n\n Calmly to thee my soul looks up,\n And waits thy promises to prove;\n The object of my stedfast hope,\n The seal of thine eternal love.\n\n That I thy mercy may proclaim,\n That all mankind thy truth may see,\n Hallow thy great and glorious name,\n And perfect holiness in me.\n\n Chose from the world if now I stand\n Adorned in righteousness divine,\n If brought unto the promis\u2019d land,\n I justly call the Saviour mine;\n\n Perform the work thou hast begun,\n My inmost soul to thee convert:\n Love me, for ever, love thine own,\n And sprinkle with thy blood my heart.\n\n Thy sanctifying Spirit pour\n To quench my thirst, and wash me clean;\n Now, Father, let the gracious shower\n Descend, and make me pure from sin.\n\n Purge me from every sinful blot;\n My idols all be cast aside:\n Cleanse me from every evil thought;\n From all the filth of self and pride.\n\n Give me a new, a perfect heart,\n From doubt, and fear, and sorrow free;\n The mind which was in Christ impart,\n And let my spirit cleave to thee.\n\n O take this heart of stone away,\n (Thy rule it doth not, cannot own)\n In me no longer let it stay:\n O take away this heart of stone.\n\n The hatred of my carnal mind\n Out of my flesh at once remove;\n Give me a tender heart, resign\u2019d,\n And pure, and fill\u2019d with faith and love.\n\n Within me thy good Spirit place,\n Spirit of health, and love, and power:\n Plant in me thy victorious grace,\n And sin shall never enter more.\n\n Cause me to walk in Christ my way,\n And I thy statutes shall fulfil;\n In every point thy law obey,\n And perfectly perform thy will.\n\n Hast thou not said, who canst not lie,\n That I thy law shall keep and do?\n Lord, I believe, tho\u2019 men deny:\n They all are false; but thou art true.\n\n O that I now, from sin releas\u2019d,\n Thy word might to the utmost prove!\n Enter into the promis\u2019d rest,\n The Canaan of thy perfect love!\n\n There let me ever, ever dwell;\n Be thou my God, and I will be\n Thy servant: O set to thy seal;\n Give me eternal life in thee.\n\n From all remaining filth within\n Let me in thee salvation have:\n From actual, and from inbred sin,\n My ransom\u2019d soul persist to save.\n\n Wash out my old orig\u2019nal stain:\n Tell me no more, it cannot be,\n Demons or men! The Lamb was slain,\n His blood was all pour\u2019d out for me.\n\n Sprinkle it, Jesu, on my heart!\n One drop of thy all-cleansing blood\n Shall make my sinfulness depart,\n And fill me with the life of God.\n\n Father, supply my every need:\n Sustain the life thyself hast giv\u2019n;\n Call for the corn, the living bread,\n The manna that comes down from heav\u2019n.\n\n The gracious fruits of righteousness,\n Thy blessing\u2019s unexhausted store,\n In me abundantly increase:\n Nor never let me hunger more.\n\n Let me no more in deep complaint\n \u201cMy leanness, O my leanness,\u201d cry!\n Alone consum\u2019d with pining want,\n Of all my Father\u2019s children I!\n\n The painful thirst, the fond desire\n Thy joyous presence shall remove,\n While my full soul doth still require\n The whole eternity of love.\n\n Holy, and true, and righteous Lord,\n I wait to prove thy perfect will:\n Be mindful of thy gracious word,\n And stamp me with thy Spirit\u2019s seal.\n\n Thy faithful mercies let me find\n In which thou causest me to trust;\n Give me thy meek and lowly mind,\n And lay my spirit in the dust.\n\n Shew me how foul my heart hath been\n When all renew\u2019d by grace I am;\n When thou hast emptied me of sin,\n Shew me the fulness of my shame.\n\n Open my faith\u2019s interior eye,\n Display thy glory from above;\n And all I am shall sink and die,\n Lost in astonishment and love.\n\n Confound, o\u2019erpower me with thy grace:\n I would be by myself abhor\u2019d,\n (All might, all majesty, all praise,)\n All glory be to Christ my Lord!\n\n Now let me gain perfection\u2019s height!\n Now let me into nothing fall!\n Be less than nothing in my sight,\n And feel that Christ is all in all!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLI.\n\n WANDERING THOUGHTS.\n 2 COR. x. 4.\n\n\n _Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of\n Christ._\n\n1. BUT will God so _bring every thought into captivity to the obedience\nof Christ_, that no _wandering thought_ will find a place in the mind,\neven while we remain in the body? So some have vehemently maintained:\nyea, have affirmed, that none are _perfected in love_, unless they are\nso far perfected in understanding, that all _wandering thoughts_ are\ndone away: unless not only every affection and temper, be holy, and\njust, and good, but every individual thought which arises in the mind,\nbe wise and regular.\n\n2. This is a question of no small importance. For how many of those\nwho fear God, yea and love him, perhaps with all their heart, have been\ngreatly distrest on this account? How many, by not understanding it\nright, have not only been distrest, but greatly hurt in their souls?\nCast into unprofitable, yea, mischievous reasonings, such as slackened\ntheir motion towards God, and weakened them in running the race set\nbefore them. Nay many, thro\u2019 misapprehensions of this very thing, have\ncast away the precious gift of God? They have been induced first to\ndoubt of, and then to deny the work God had wrought in their souls; and\nhereby have grieved the Spirit of God, \u2019till he withdrew and left them\nin utter darkness.\n\n3. How is it then, that amidst the abundance of books which have been\nlately published almost on all subjects, we should have none upon\n_wandering thoughts_? At least none that will at all satisfy a calm and\nserious mind? In order to do this in some degree, I purpose to enquire\n\n I. What are the several sorts of wandering thoughts?\n II. What are the general occasions of them?\n III. Which of them are sinful, and which not?\n IV. Which of them we may expect and pray to be delivered from?\n\n\nI. 1. I purpose to enquire, first, What are the several sorts of\nwandering thoughts? The particular sorts are innumerable; but in\ngeneral, they are of two sorts, thoughts that wander from God, and\nthoughts that wander from the particular point we have in hand.\n\n2. With regard to the former, all our thoughts are naturally of this\nkind. For they are continually wandering from God: we think nothing\nabout him. God is not in all our thoughts: we are, one and all, as the\napostle observes, _without God in the world_. We think of what we love:\nbut we do not love God: therefore we think not of him. Or if we are\nnow and then constrained to think of him for a time, yet as we have no\npleasure therein, nay rather, as these thoughts are not only insipid,\nbut distasteful and irksome to us, we drive them out as soon as we\ncan, and return to what we love to think of. So that the world and\nthe things of the world, what we shall eat, what we shall drink, what\nwe shall put on: what we shall see, what we shall hear, what we shall\ngain: how we shall please our senses or our imagination, takes up all\nour time, and engrosses all our thought. So long therefore as we love\nthe world, that is, so long as we are in our natural state, all our\nthoughts, from morning to evening, and from evening to morning, are no\nother than wandering thoughts.\n\n3. But many times we are not only _without God in the world_, but also\nfighting _against him_: as there is in every man by nature a _carnal\nmind which is enmity against God_: no wonder therefore that men abound\nwith _unbelieving_ thoughts: either saying in their hearts there is\nno God, or questioning, if not denying his power or wisdom, his mercy,\nor justice, or holiness. No wonder, that they so often doubt of his\nprovidence, at least, of its extending to all events: or that even tho\u2019\nthey allow it, they still entertain _murmuring or repining_ thoughts.\nNearly related to these and frequently connected with them, are _proud_\nand _vain_ imaginations. Again: sometimes they are taken up with\n_angry_, _malicious_ or _revengeful_ thoughts: at other times, with\nairy scenes of pleasure, whether of sense or imagination: whereby the\nearthy sensual mind, becomes more _earthy_ and _sensual_ still. Now by\nall these, they make flat war with God; these are _wandering thoughts_\nof the highest kind.\n\n4. Widely different from these are the other sort of _wandering\nthoughts_: in which the heart does not wander from God, but the\nunderstanding wanders from the particular point it had then in\nview. For instance: I sit down to consider those words in the verse\npreceeding the text, _The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but\nmighty thro\u2019_ God. I think, \u201cThis ought to be the case with all that\nare called Christians. But how far is it otherwise? Look round into\nalmost every part of what is termed the Christian world! What manner\nof weapons are these using? In what kind of warfare are they engaged,\n\n \u201cWhile men, like fiends, each other tear\n In all the hellish rage of war?\n\nSee how _these Christians_ love one another! Wherein are they\npreferable to Turks and Pagans? What abomination can be found among\nMahometans or Heathens, which is not found among Christians also?\u201d\nAnd thus my mind runs off, before I am aware, from one circumstance\nto another. Now all these are in some sense _wandering thoughts_. For\naltho\u2019 they do not wander from God, much less fight against him, yet\nthey do wander from the particular point I had in view.\n\n\nII. Such is the nature, such are the sorts (to speak rather usefully,\nthan philosophically) of wandering thoughts. But what are the general\noccasions of them? This we are, in the second place to consider.\n\n1. And it is easy to observe, that the occasion of the former sort\nof thoughts which oppose or wander from God, are in general, sinful\ntempers. For instance. Why _is not_ God _in all the thoughts_, in any\nof the thoughts of a natural man? For a plain reason: be he rich or\npoor, learned or unlearned, he is an atheist; (tho\u2019 not vulgarly\nso called) he neither knows nor loves God. Why are his thoughts\ncontinually wandering after the world? Because he is an idolater.\nHe does not indeed worship an image, or bow down to the stock of a\ntree: yet is he sunk into equally damnable idolatry: he loves, that\nis, worships the world. He seeks happiness in the things that are seen,\nin the pleasures that perish in the using. Why is it that his thoughts\nare perpetually wandering from the very end of his being, the knowledge\nof God in _Christ_? Because he is an unbeliever; because he has no\nfaith, or at least, no more than a devil. So all these wandering\nthoughts easily and naturally spring from that evil root of unbelief.\n\n2. The case is the same in other instances, pride, anger, revenge,\nvanity, lust, covetousness, every one of them occasion thoughts\nsuitable to their own nature. And so does every sinful temper, of which\nthe human mind is capable. The particulars it is hardly possible, nor\nis it needful to enumerate. It suffices to observe, that as many evil\ntempers as find a place in any soul, so many ways that soul will depart\nfrom God, by the worst kind of wandering thoughts.\n\n3. The occasions of the latter kind of wandering thoughts, are\nexceeding various. Multitudes of them are occasioned, by the _natural\nunion_ between the soul and body. How immediately and how deeply is\nthe understanding affected by a _diseased_ body! Let but the blood\nmove irregularly in the brain, and all regular thinking is at an end.\n_Raging madness_ ensues, and then farewell to all evenness of thought.\nYea, let only the spirits be hurried or agitated to a certain degree,\nand a temporary madness, a _delirium_ prevents all settled thought.\nAnd is not the same irregularity of thought in a measure occasioned by\nevery _nervous disorder_? So does _the corruptible body press down the\nsoul, and cause it to muse about many things_.\n\n4. *But does it only cause this in the time of sickness, or\npreternatural disorder? Nay, but more or less, at all times, even in\na state of perfect health. Let a man be ever so healthy, he will be\nmore or less delirious, every four-and-twenty hours. For does he not\n_sleep_? And while he sleeps, is he not liable to _dream_? And who\nthen is master of his own thoughts, or able to preserve the order and\nconsistency of them? Who can then keep them fixt to any one point, or\nprevent their wandering from pole to pole?\n\n5. *But suppose we are awake, are we always so awake, that we can\nsteadily govern our thoughts? Are we not unavoidably exposed to\ncontrary extremes, by the very nature of this machine, the body?\nSometimes we are too _heavy_ too dull and languid, to pursue any chain\nof thought. Sometimes, on the other hand, we are too _lively_. The\n_imagination_, without leave, starts to and fro, and carries us away,\nhither and thither, whether we will or no: and all this, from the\nmerely natural motion of the spirits, or vibration of the nerves.\n\n6. *Farther, How many wanderings of thought may arise, from those\nvarious _associations_ of our ideas, which are made entirely without\nour knowledge, and independently on our choice? How these connexions\nare formed we cannot tell: but they are formed in a thousand different\nmanners. Nor is it in the power of the wisest or holiest of men,\nto break those associations, or to prevent what is the necessary\nconsequence of them, and matter of daily observation. Let the fire but\ntouch one end of the train, and it immediately runs on to the other.\n\n7. *Once more. Let us fix our attention as studiously as we are able on\nany subject, yet let either _pleasure or pain_ arise, especially if it\nbe intense, and it will demand our immediate attention, and attach our\nthought to itself. It will interrupt the steadiest contemplation, and\ndivert the mind from its favourite subject.\n\n8. *These occasions of wandering thoughts lie within, are wrought into\nour very nature. But they will likewise naturally and necessarily arise,\nfrom the various impulse of _outward objects_. Whatever strikes upon\nthe organ of sense, the eye or ear, will raise a perception in the mind.\nAnd accordingly, whatever we see or hear, will break in upon our former\ntrain of thought. Every man therefore that does any thing in our sight,\nor speaks any thing in our hearing, occasions our mind to wander more\nor less from the point it was thinking of before.\n\n9. *And there is no question but those _evil spirits_, who are\ncontinually _seeking whom they may devour_, make use of all the\nforegoing occasions, to hurry and distract our minds. Sometimes by one,\nsometimes by another of these means, they will harass and perplex us,\nand so far as God permits, interrupt our thoughts, particularly when\nthey are engaged on the best subjects. Nor is this at all strange:\nthey well understand the very springs of thought, and know on which of\nthe bodily organs, the imagination, the understanding, and every other\nfaculty of the mind more immediately depends. And hereby they know, how\nby affecting those organs, to affect the operations dependent on them.\nAdd to this, that they can inject a thousand thoughts, without any of\nthe preceding means: it being as natural for spirit to act upon spirit,\nas for matter to act upon matter. These things being considered, we\ncannot admire, that our thought so often wanders from any point which\nwe have in view.\n\n\nIII. 1. What kind of wandering thoughts are sinful, and what not, is\nthe third thing to be inquired into. And first, all those thoughts\nwhich wander from God, which leave him no room in our minds, are\nundoubtedly sinful. For all these imply practical atheism, and by these\nwe are without God in the world. And so much more are all those which\nare contrary to God, which imply opposition or enmity to him. Such\nare all murmuring, discontented thoughts, which say in effect, We will\nnot have thee to rule over us: all unbelieving thoughts, whether with\nregard to his being, his attributes, or his providence. I mean his\n_particular providence_ over all things as well as all persons in the\nuniverse: that _without_ which _not a sparrow falls to the ground_,\nby which _the hairs of our head are all numbered_. For as to a _general\nprovidence_ (vulgarly so called) contradistinguished from a particular,\nit is only a decent, well-sounding word, which means just nothing.\n\n2. Again. All thoughts which spring from sinful tempers, are\nundoubtedly sinful. Such, for instance, are those that spring from a\nrevengeful temper, from pride, or lust, or vanity. _An evil tree cannot\nbring forth good fruit._ Therefore if the tree be evil, so must the\nfruit be also.\n\n3. And so must those be, which either produce or feed any sinful temper:\nthose which either give rise to pride or vanity, to anger or love of\nthe world, or confirm and increase these or any other unholy temper,\npassion, or affection. For not only whatever flows from evil is evil,\nbut also whatever leads to it; whatever tends to alienate the soul from\nGod, and to make or keep it _earthly_, _sensual_, and _devilish_.\n\n4. Hence even those thoughts which are occasioned by weakness or\ndisease, by the natural mechanism of the body, or by the laws of vital\nunion, however innocent they may be in themselves, do nevertheless\nbecome sinful, when they either produce or cherish and increase in us\nany sinful temper: suppose the desire of the flesh, the desire of the\neye, or the pride of life. In like manner the wandering thoughts which\nare occasioned, by the words or actions of other men, if they cause\nor feed any wrong disposition, then commence sinful. And the same we\nmay observe of those which are suggested or injected by the devil.\nWhen they minister to any earthly or devilish temper (which they do,\nwhenever we give place to them, and thereby make them our own) then\nthey are equally sinful, with the tempers to which they minister.\n\n5. But abstracting from these cases, wandering thoughts, in the latter\nsense of the word, that is, thoughts wherein our understanding wanders,\nfrom the point it has in view, are no more sinful than the motion\nof the blood in our veins, or of the spirits in our brain. If they\narise from an infirm constitution, or from some accidental weakness or\ndistemper, they are as innocent as it is to have a weak constitution,\nor a distempered body. And surely no one doubts but a bad state of\nnerves, a fever of any kind, and either a transient or a lasting\ndelirium, may consist with perfect innocence. And if they should arise\nin a soul which is united to an healthful body, either from the natural\nunion between the body and soul, or from any of ten thousand changes,\nwhich may occur in those organs of the body, that minister to thought:\nin any of these cases they are as perfectly innocent as the causes from\nwhich they spring. And so they are when they spring from the casual,\ninvoluntary associations of our ideas.\n\n6. If our thoughts wander from the point we had in view, by means of\nother men, variously affecting our senses, they are equally innocent\nstill: for it is no more a sin, to understand what I see and hear, and\nin many cases cannot help seeing, hearing, and understanding, than it\nis to have eyes and ears. \u201cBut if the devil injects wandering thoughts,\nare not those thoughts evil?\u201d They are troublesome, and in that sense\nevil; but they are not sinful. I do not know that he spoke to our Lord\nwith an audible voice; perhaps he spoke to his heart only, when he said,\n_All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship\nme_. But whether he spoke inwardly or outwardly, our Lord doubtless\nunderstood what he said. He had therefore a thought correspondent to\nthose words. But was it a sinful thought? We know it was not. _In him\nwas no sin_, either in action, or word, or thought. Nor is there any\nsin in a thousand thoughts of the same kind, which Satan may inject\ninto any of our Lord\u2019s followers.\n\n7. *It follows, that none of these wandering thoughts (whatever unwary\npersons have affirmed, thereby grieving whom the Lord had not grieved)\nare inconsistent with perfect love. Indeed if they were, then not\nonly sharp pain, but sleep itself would be inconsistent with it: sharp\npain; for whenever this supervenes, whatever we were before thinking\nof, it will interrupt our thinking, and of course draw our thoughts\ninto another channel: yea, and sleep itself, as it is a state of\ninsensibility and stupidity: and such as is generally mixt with\nthoughts wandering over the earth, loose, wild and incoherent. Yet\ncertainly these are consistent with perfect love: so then are all\nwandering thoughts of this kind.\n\n\nIV. 1. From what has been observed, it is easy to give a clear answer\nto the last question, What kind of wandering thoughts we may expect and\npray to be delivered from?\n\n2. From the former sort of wandering thoughts, those wherein the heart\nwanders from God: from all that are contrary to his will, or that leave\nus without God in the world, every one that is perfected in love, is\nunquestionably delivered. This deliverance therefore we may expect:\nthis we may, we ought to pray for. Wandering thoughts of this kind\nimply unbelief, if not enmity against God. But both of these he will\ndestroy, will bring utterly to an end. And indeed, from all sinful\nwandering thoughts we shall be absolutely delivered. All that are\nperfected in love are delivered from these; else they were not saved\nfrom sin. Men and devils will tempt them all manner of ways. But they\ncannot prevail over them.\n\n\u26662. With regard to the latter sort of wandering thoughts, the case\nis widely different. \u2019Till the cause is removed, we cannot in reason\nexpect the effect should cease. But the causes or occasions of these\nwill remain, as long as we remain in the body. So long therefore we\nhave all reason to believe, the effects will remain also.\n\n3. *To be more particular. Suppose a soul, however holy, to dwell\nin a distempered body. Suppose the brain be so throughly disordered,\nas that _raging madness_ follows: will not all the thoughts be wild\nand unconnected, as long as that disorder continues? Suppose a fever\noccasions that _temporary madness_, which we term a delirium, can there\nbe any just connection of thought, \u2019till that delirium is removed?\nYea, suppose what is called a _nervous disorder_, to rise to so high\na degree, as to occasion at least a _partial madness_, will there not\nbe a thousand wandering thoughts? And must not these irregular thoughts\ncontinue, as long as the disorder which occasions them?\n\n4. Will not the case be the same, with regard to those thoughts\nthat necessarily arise from violent pain? They will, more or less,\ncontinue while that pain continues, by the inviolable order of nature.\nThis order likewise will obtain, where the thoughts are disturbed,\nbroken or interrupted, by any defect of the apprehension, judgment or\nimagination, flowing from the natural constitution of the body. And how\nmany interruptions may spring from the unaccountable and involuntary\nassociation of our ideas? Now all these are directly or indirectly\ncaused by the corruptible body pressing down the mind. Nor therefore\ncan we expect them to be removed, \u2019till _this corruptible shall put on\nincorruption_.\n\n5. And then only, when we lie down in the dust, shall we be delivered\nfrom those wandering thoughts which are occasioned by what we see and\nhear, among those by whom we are now surrounded. To avoid these we must\ngo out of the world. For as long as we remain therein, as long as there\nare men and women round about us, and we have eyes to see and ears to\nhear, the things which we daily see and hear, will certainly affect our\nmind, and will more or less, break in upon and interrupt our preceding\nthoughts.\n\n6. And as long as evil spirits roam to and fro in a miserable,\ndisordered world, so long they will assault (whether they can prevail\nor no) every inhabitant of flesh and blood. They will trouble even\nthose whom they cannot destroy: they will attack if they cannot conquer.\nAnd from these attacks of our restless, unwearied enemies, we must not\nlook for an entire deliverance, till we are lodged _where the wicked\ncease from troubling, and where the weary are at rest_.\n\n7. To sum up the whole. To expect deliverance from those wandering\nthoughts which are occasioned by evil spirits, is to expect that the\ndevil should die or fall asleep; or at least should no more go about as\na roaring lion. To expect deliverance from those which are occasioned\nby other men, is to expect either that men should cease from the\nearth; or that we should be absolutely secluded from them, and have no\nintercourse with them: or that having eyes we should not see, neither\nhear with our ears, but be as senseless as stocks or stones. And to\npray for deliverance from those which are occasioned by the body, is\nin effect to pray that we may leave the body. Otherwise it is praying\nfor impossibilities and absurdities; praying that God would reconcile\ncontradictions, by continuing our union with a corruptible body,\nwithout the natural, necessary consequences of that union. It is as if\nwe should pray to be angels and men, mortal and immortal at the same\ntime. Nay, but when that which is immortal is come, mortality is done\naway.\n\n8. Rather let us pray, both with the spirit and with the understanding,\nthat _all_ these _things may work together for our good_: that we may\nsuffer all the infirmities of our nature, all the interruptions of men,\nall the assaults and suggestions of evil spirits, and in all be _more\nthan conquerors_. Let us pray, that we may be delivered from all sin,\nthat both root and branch may be destroyed; that we may be _cleansed\nfrom all pollution of flesh and spirit_, from every evil temper and\nword and work: that we may _love the Lord our God with all our heart,\nwith all our mind, and with all our soul, and with all our strength_:\nthat all _the fruit of the spirit_ may be found in us; not only _love,\njoy, peace_; but also _long-suffering, gentleness, goodness; fidelity,\nmeekness, temperance_. Pray that all _these things may flourish and\nabound_, may increase in you more and more, \u2019till an abundant _entrance\nbe ministered unto you, into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus\nChrist_!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLII.\n\n SATAN\u2019S DEVICES.\n 2 COR. ii. 11.\n\n\n _We are not ignorant of his devices._\n\n1. THE devices whereby the subtle _god of this world_, labours to\ndestroy the children of God, or at least to torment whom he cannot\ndestroy, to perplex and hinder them in running the race which is set\nbefore them, are numberless as the stars of heaven or the sand upon the\nsea-shore. But it is of one of them only that I now propose to speak,\n(altho\u2019 exerted in various ways) whereby he endeavours to divide the\ngospel against itself, and by one part of it to overthrow the other.\n\n2. The inward kingdom of heaven, which is set up in the heart of all\nthat _repent and believe the gospel_, is no other than _righteousness\nand peace and joy in the Holy Ghost_. Every babe in Christ knows we\nare made partakers of these, the very hour that we believe in Jesus.\nBut these are only the first fruits of his Spirit: the harvest is not\nyet. Altho\u2019 these blessings are inconceivably great, yet we trust to\nsee greater than these. We trust to _love the Lord our God_, not only\nas we do now, with a weak tho\u2019 sincere affection, but _with all our\nheart, with all our mind, with all our soul and with all our strength_.\nWe look for power to _rejoice evermore, to pray without ceasing and in\nevery thing to give thanks_; knowing _this is the will of God\nconcerning_ us _in Christ Jesus_.\n\n3. We expect to be _made perfect in love_, in that love which _casts\nout_ all painful _fear_, and all desire, but that of glorifying him we\nlove, and of loving and serving him more and more. We look for such an\nincrease in the experimental knowledge and love of God our Saviour, as\nwill enable us, always to _walk in the light, as he is in the light_.\nWe believe the whole _mind_ will be in us _which was also in Christ\nJesus_: that we shall love every man so as to be ready _to lay down our\nlife for his sake_. So as by this love to be freed from anger and pride,\nand from every unkind affection. We expect to be _cleansed from all our\nidols, from all filthiness_ whether _of flesh or spirit_: to be _saved\nfrom all_ our _uncleannesses_, inward or outward, to be _purified as he\nis pure_.\n\n4. We trust in his promise who cannot lie, that the time will surely\ncome, when in every word and work we shall _do his_ blessed _will on\nearth as it is done in heaven_: when all our conversation shall be\n_seasoned with salt_, all meet to _minister grace to the hearers_:\nwhen _whether we eat or drink or whatever we do_, it shall be done _to\nthe glory of God_: when all our words and deeds shall be _in the name\nof the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God even the Father thro\u2019 him_.\n\n5. Now this is the grand device of Satan, to destroy the first work\nof God in the soul, or at least, to hinder its increase, by our\nexpectation of that greater work. It is therefore my present design,\nfirst, to point out the several ways whereby he endeavours this: and,\nsecondly, to observe how we may retort these fiery darts of the wicked\none: how we may rise the higher by what he intends for an occasion of\nour falling.\n\n\nI. 1. I am, first, To point out the several ways whereby Satan\nendeavours to destroy the first work of God in the soul, or at least,\nto hinder its increase, by our expectation of that greater work. And\n1. He endeavours to damp our joy in the Lord, by the consideration of\nour own vileness, sinfulness, unworthiness, added to this, that there\n_must_ be a far greater change than is yet, or we cannot see the Lord.\nIf we knew we _must_ remain as we are, even to the day of our death,\nwe might possibly draw a kind of comfort, poor as it was, from that\nnecessity. But as we know, we need not remain in this state, as we\nare assured, there is a greater change to come, and that unless sin\nbe all done away in this life, we cannot see God in glory: that subtle\nadversary often damps the joy we should otherwise feel in what we have\nalready attained, by a perverse representation of what we have not\nattained, and the absolute necessity of attaining it. So that we cannot\nrejoice in what we have, because there is more which we have not. We\ncannot rightly taste the goodness of God, who hath done so great things\nfor us, because there are so much greater things, which as yet he hath\nnot done. Likewise the deeper conviction God works in us of our present\nunholiness, and the more vehement desire we feel in our heart, of the\nentire holiness he hath promised, the more are we tempted to think\nlightly of the present gifts of God, and to undervalue what we have\nalready received, because of what we have not received.\n\n2. If he can prevail thus far, if he can damp our joy, he will soon\nattack our peace also. He will suggest, \u201cAre you fit to see God? He\nis of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. How then can you flatter\nyourself, so as to imagine he beholds _you_ with approbation? God is\nholy: You are unholy. What communion hath light with darkness? How is\nit possible that _you_, unclean as you are, should be in a state of\nacceptance with God? You see indeed the mark, the prize of your high\ncalling. But do you not see, it is afar off? How can you presume then\nto think, that all your sins are already blotted out? How can this be,\nuntil you are brought nearer to God, until you bear more resemblance\nto him?\u201d Thus will he endeavour, not only to shake your peace, but even\nto overturn the very foundation of it: to bring you back by insensible\ndegrees, to the point from whence you set out first: even to seek for\njustification by works, or by your own righteousness; to make something\nin _you_ the ground of your acceptance, or at least necessarily\nprevious to it.\n\n3. Or if we hold fast, _other foundation can no man lay than that which\nis laid, even Jesus Christ_; and I am _justified freely by God\u2019s grace,\nthrough the redemption which is in Jesus_: yet he will not cease to\nurge, \u201cBut _the tree is known by its fruits_. And have you the fruits\nof justification? Is _that mind in you which was in Christ Jesus_?\nAre you _dead unto sin and alive unto_ righteousness? Are you made\nconformable to the death of Christ, and do you know the power of his\nresurrection?\u201d And then, comparing the small fruits we feel in our\nsouls, with the fullness of the promises, we shall be ready to conclude,\n\u201cSurely God hath not said, that my sins are forgiven me! Surely I have\nnot received the remission of my sins; for what lot have I among them\nthat are sanctified?\u201d\n\n4. More especially in the time of sickness and pain, he will press\nthis with all his might. \u201cIs it not the word of him that cannot lie,\nwithout holiness no man shall see the Lord? But you are not holy. You\nknow it well; you know holiness is the full image of God. And how far\nis this above, out of your sight? You cannot attain unto it. Therefore\nall your labour has been in vain. All these things you have suffered in\nvain. You have spent your strength for nought. You are yet in your sins\nand must therefore perish at the last.\u201d And thus, if your eye be not\nsteadily fixt on him who hath borne all your sins, he will bring you\nagain under that _fear of death_, whereby you was so long _subject unto\nbondage_: and by this means impair, if not wholly destroy, your peace\nas well as joy in the Lord.\n\n5. But his master-piece of subtility is still behind. Not content to\nstrike at your peace and joy, he will carry his attempts farther yet:\nhe will level his assault against your righteousness also. He will\nendeavour to shake, yea, if it be possible, to destroy the holiness\nyou have already received by your very expectation of receiving more,\nof attaining all the image of God.\n\n6. *The manner wherein he attempts this, may partly appear from what\nhas been already observed. For, first, By striking at our joy in the\nLord, he strikes likewise at our holiness: seeing joy in the Holy Ghost\nis a precious means of promoting every holy temper; a choice instrument\nof God whereby he carries on much of his work in a believing soul.\nAnd it is a considerable help not only to inward, but also to outward\nholiness. It strengthens our hands to go on in the work of faith and\nin the labour of love: manfully to _fight the good fight of faith, and_\nto _lay hold on eternal life_. It is peculiarly designed of God to be\na balance both against inward and outward sufferings: to _lift up the\nhands that hang down and_ confirm _the feeble knees_. Consequently,\nwhatever damps our joy in the Lord, proportionally obstructs our\nholiness. And therefore so far as Satan shakes our joy, he hinders our\nholiness also.\n\n7. *The same effect will ensue, if he can by any means either destroy\nor shake our peace. For the peace of God is another precious means of\nadvancing the image of God in us. There is scarce a greater help to\nholiness than this, a continual tranquility of spirit, the evenness\nof a mind stayed upon God; a calm repose in the blood of Jesus. And\nwithout this, it is scarce possibly to grow in grace, and in the vital\nknowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For all fear (unless the tender,\nfilial fear) freezes and benumbs the soul. It binds up all the springs\nof spiritual life, and stops all motion of the heart toward God. And\ndoubt, as it were, bemires the soul, so that it sticks fast in the deep\nclay. Therefore in the same proportion as either of these prevail, our\ngrowth in holiness is hindered.\n\n8. *At the same time that our wise adversary endeavours, to make our\nconviction of the necessity of perfect love, an occasion of shaking our\npeace by doubts and fears, he endeavours to weaken, if not destroy our\nfaith. Indeed these are inseparably connected; so that they must stand\nor fall together. So long as faith subsists, we remain in peace: our\nheart stands fast, while it believes in the Lord. But if we let go\nour faith, our filial confidence in a loving pardoning God, our peace\nis at an end, the very foundation on which it stood being overthrown.\nAnd this is the only foundation of holiness as well as of peace.\nConsequently whatever strikes at this, strikes at the very root of all\nholiness. For without this faith, without an abiding sense, that Christ\nloved me and gave himself for me, without a continuing conviction,\nthat God for Christ\u2019s sake is merciful to me a sinner, it is impossible\nthat I should love God. _We love him, because he first loved us_; and\nin proportion to the strength and clearness of our conviction, that\nhe hath loved us and accepted us in his Son. And unless we love God,\nit is not possible that we should love our neighbour as ourselves:\nnor consequently, that we should have any right affections, either\ntoward God or toward man. It evidently follows, that whatever weakens\nour faith, must in the same degree obstruct our holiness. And this\nis not only the most effectual, but also the most compendious way of\ndestroying all holiness. Seeing it does not affect any one Christian\ntemper, any single grace or fruit of the spirit, but so far as it\nsucceeds, tears up the very root of the whole work of God.\n\n9. *No marvel therefore, that the ruler of the darkness of this world,\nshould here put forth all his strength. And so we find by experience.\nFor it is far easier to conceive than it is to express the unspeakable\nviolence, wherewith this temptation is frequently urged on them,\nwho hunger and thirst after righteousness. When they see in a strong\nand clear light, on the one hand, the desperate wickedness of their\nown hearts, on the other hand, the unspotted holiness to which they\nare called in Christ Jesus: on the one hand, the depth of their own\ncorruption, of their total alienation from God; on the other, the\nheight of the glory of God, that image of the Holy One wherein they are\nto be renewed: there is many times no spirit left in them; they could\nalmost cry out, with God this is impossible. They are ready to give up\nboth faith and hope, to cast away that very confidence, whereby they\nare to overcome all things, through Christ strengthning them; whereby,\n_after_ they _have done the will of God_, they are to _receive the\npromise_.\n\n10. And if they _hold fast the beginning of their confidence stedfast\nunto the end_, they shall undoubtedly receive the promise of God,\nreaching through both time and eternity. But here is another snare\nlaid for our feet. While we earnestly pant for that part of the promise\nwhich is to be accomplished here, _for the glorious liberty of the\nchildren of God_, we may be led unawares, from the consideration of\nthe glory which shall be revealed. Our eye may be insensibly turned\naside from that _crown which the righteous Judge_ hath promised to\n_give at that day, to all that love his appearing_: and we may be drawn\naway from the view of that incorruptible inheritance which is reserved\nin heaven for us. But this also would be a loss to our souls, and an\nobstruction to our holiness. For to walk in the continual sight of\nour goal, is a needful help in our running the race that is set before\nus. This it was, the having _respect unto the recompence of reward_,\nwhich of old time encouraged _Moses_, rather _to suffer affliction with\nthe people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season:\nesteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures\nof Egypt_. Nay it is expresly said of a greater than him, that _for\nthe joy that was set before him, he endured the cross and despised\nthe shame_, till he _sat down at the right hand of the throne of God_.\nWhence we may easily infer, how much more needful for us, is the view\nof that joy set before us, that we may endure whatever cross the wisdom\nof God lays upon us, and press on thro\u2019 holiness to glory.\n\n11. But while we are reaching to this, as well as to that glorious\nliberty which is preparatory to it, we may be in danger of falling into\nanother snare of the devil, wherein he labours to intangle the children\nof God. We may take too much _thought for to-morrow_, so as to neglect\nthe improvement of to-day. We may so expect _perfect love_, as not to\nuse that, which is already _shed abroad in our hearts_. There have not\nbeen wanting instances of those, who have greatly suffered hereby. They\nwere so taken up with what they were to receive hereafter, as utterly\nto neglect what they had already received. In expectation of having\nfive talents more, they buried their one talent in the earth. At least\nthey did not improve it as they might have done, to the glory of God\nand the good of their own souls.\n\n12. Thus does the subtle adversary of God and man, endeavour to make\nvoid the counsel of God, by dividing the gospel against itself, and\nmaking one part of it overthrow the other: while the first work of God\nin the soul is destroyed by the expectation of his perfect work. We\nhave seen several of the ways wherein he attempts this, by cutting off,\nas it were, the springs of holiness. But this he likewise does more\ndirectly, by making that blessed hope an occasion of unholy tempers.\n\n13. Thus, whenever our heart is eagerly athirst for all the great and\nprecious promises, when we pant after the fulness of God, as the hart\nafter the water-brook, when our soul breaketh out in fervent desire,\n\u201cWhy are his chariot-wheels so long a coming?\u201d He will not neglect\nthe opportunity, of tempting us to murmur against God. He will use\nall his wisdom and all his strength, if haply in an unguarded hour,\nwe may be influenced to repine at our Lord, for thus delaying his\ncoming. At least, he will labour to excite some degree of fretfulness\nor impatience: and perhaps of envy at those, whom we believe to have\nalready attained the prize of our high calling. He well knows, that\nby giving way to any of these tempers, we are pulling down the very\nthing we would build up. By _thus_ following after perfect holiness,\nwe become more unholy than before. Yea, there is great danger that\nour last state should be worse than the first: like them of whom the\napostle speaks, in those dreadful words, _It had been better they had\nnever known the way of righteousness, than after they had known it, to\nturn back from the holy commandment delivered to them_.\n\n14. *And from hence he hopes to reap another advantage, even to\nbring up an evil report of the good way. He is sensible, how few are\nable to distinguish (and too many are not willing so to do) between\nthe accidental abuse and the natural tendency of a doctrine. These\ntherefore, will he continually blend together, with regard to the\ndoctrine of Christian perfection: in order to prejudice the minds of\nunwary men against the glorious promises of God. And how frequently,\nhow generally, I had almost said, how universally has he prevailed\nherein? For who is there that observes any of these accidental ill\neffects of this doctrine, and does not immediately conclude, this is\nits natural tendency? And does not readily cry out, \u201cSee, these are\nthe fruits (meaning the natural, necessary fruits) of such doctrine!\u201d\nNot so. They are fruits which may accidentally spring from the abuse\nof a great and precious truth. But the abuse of this, or any other\nscriptural doctrine, does by no means destroy its use. Neither can the\nunfaithfulness of man, perverting his right way, _make the promise of\nGod of no effect_. No: let God be true and every man a liar. The word\nof the Lord it shall stand. _Faithful is he that hath promised: he also\nwill do it._ Let not us then be _removed from the hope of the gospel_.\nRather let us observe, which was the second thing proposed, how we may\nretort these fiery darts of the wicked one: how we may rise the higher\nby what he intends for an occasion of our falling.\n\n\nII. 1. And, first, does Satan endeavour to damp your joy in the Lord,\nby the consideration of your sinfulness, added to this, that without\nentire, universal _holiness no man can see the Lord_? You may cast back\nthis dart upon his own head, while through the grace of God, the more\nyou feel of your own vileness, the more you rejoice in confident hope,\nthat all this shall be done away. While you hold fast this hope, every\nevil temper you feel, though you hate it with a perfect hatred, may be\na means, not of lessening your humble joy, but rather of increasing it.\n\u201cThis and this, may you say, shall likewise perish from the presence\nof the Lord. Like as the wax melteth at the fire, so shall this melt\naway before his face.\u201d By this means the greater that change is, which\nremains to be wrought in your soul, the more may you triumph in the\nLord and rejoice in the God of your salvation: who hath done so great\nthings for you already, and will do so much greater things than these.\n\n2. Secondly, the more vehemently he assaults your peace with that\nsuggestion, \u201cGod is holy, you are unholy. You are immensely distant\nfrom that holiness, without which you cannot see God: how then can you\nbe in the favour of God? How can you fancy you are justified?\u201d Take the\nmore earnest heed to hold fast, that, _Not by works of righteousness\nwhich I have done_. I am _found in him_: I am _accepted in the beloved;\nnot having my own righteousness_ (as the cause either in whole or in\npart of our justification before God) _but that which is by faith in\nChrist, the righteousness which is of God by faith_. O bind this about\nyour neck: write it upon the table of thy heart. Wear it as a bracelet\nupon thy arm, as frontlets between thine eyes: I am _justified freely\nby his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ_. Value\nand esteem more and more that precious truth, _By grace we are saved\nthrough faith_. Admire more and more the free grace of God, in so\nloving the world as to give _his only Son, that whosoever believeth on\nhim might not perish but have everlasting life_. So shall the sense of\nthe sinfulness you feel on the one hand, and of the holiness you expect\non the other, both contribute to establish your peace and to make it\nflow as a river. So shall that peace flow on with an even stream, in\nspite of all those mountains of ungodliness, which shall become a plain\nin the day when the Lord cometh, to take full possession of your heart.\nNeither will sickness or pain, or the approach of death, occasion\nany doubt or fear. You know a day, an hour, a moment with God is as\na thousand years. He cannot be streightened for time, wherein to work\nwhatever remains to be done in your soul. And God\u2019s time is always\nthe best time. Therefore be thou _careful for nothing_. Only _make_\nthy _request known unto him_, and that not with doubt or fear, but\n_thanksgiving_: as being previously assured, he cannot \u2666withhold from\nthee any manner of thing that is good.\n\n3. Thirdly, the more you are tempted to give up your shield, to cast\naway your faith, your confidence in his love, so much the more take\nheed that you hold fast that, whereunto you have attained. So much\nthe more labour to _stir up the gift of God which is in you_. Never\nlet that slip, I have _an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the\nrighteous_: and _the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God,\nwho loved me and gave himself for me_. Be this thy glory and crown of\nrejoicing. And see that no one take thy crown. Hold that fast, _I know\nthat my Redeemer liveth, and shall stand at the latter day upon the\nearth_. And I now _have redemption in his blood, even the forgiveness\nof sins_. Thus, being filled with all peace and joy in believing, press\non in the peace and joy of faith to the renewal of thy whole soul,\nin the image of him that created thee. Mean while cry continually to\nGod, that thou mayst see that prize of thy high calling, not as Satan\nrepresents it, in a horrid dreadful shape, but in its genuine native\nbeauty: not as something that _must_ be, or thou wilt go to hell, but\nas what _may_ be, to lead thee to heaven. Look upon it as the most\n_desirable_ gift, which is in all the stores of the rich mercies of God.\nBeholding it in the true point of light, thou wilt hunger after it more\nand more: thy whole soul will be athirst for God, and for this glorious\nconformity to his likeness. And having received a good hope of this,\nand strong consolation through grace, thou wilt no more be weary or\nfaint in this mind, but wilt follow on till thou attainest.\n\n4. *In the same power of faith, press on to glory. Indeed this is\nthe same prospect still. God hath joined from the beginning pardon,\nholiness, heaven. And why should man put them asunder? O beware of this.\nLet not one link of the golden chain be broken. God for Christ\u2019s sake\nhath forgiven me. He is now renewing me in his own image. Shortly he\nwill make me meet for himself, and take me to stand before his face.\nI whom he hath justified thro\u2019 the blood of his Son, being throughly\nsanctified by his Spirit, shall quickly ascend to the _New Jerusalem,\nthe city of the living God_. Yet a little while and I shall _come to\nthe general assembly and church of the first-born, and to God the judge\nof all, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant_. How soon will\nthese shadows flee away, and the day of eternity dawn upon me! How\nsoon shall I drink of _the river of the water of life, going out of the\nthrone of God and of the Lamb? There all his servants shall praise him\nand shall see his face, and his name shall be upon their foreheads. And\nno night shall be there; and they have no need of a candle or the light\nof the sun. For the Lord God enlighteneth them, and they shall reign\nfor ever and ever._\n\n5. And if you thus _taste of the good word and of the powers of the\nworld to come_, you will not murmur against God, because you are not\nyet _meet for the inheritance of the saints in light_. Instead of\nrepining at your not being wholly delivered, you will praise God for\nthus far delivering you. You will magnify God for what he hath done,\nand take it as an earnest of what he will do. You will not fret against\nhim, because you are not yet renewed, but bless him because you shall\nbe; and because _now is your salvation_ from all sin, _nearer than when\nyou_ first _believed_. Instead of uselessly tormenting yourself because\nthe time is not fully come, you will calmly and quietly wait for it,\nknowing that it _will come and will not tarry_. You may therefore the\nmore chearfully endure as yet, the burden of sin that still remains in\nyou, because it will not always remain. Yet a little while and it shall\nbe clean gone. Only _tarry thou the Lord\u2019s leisure: be strong, and he\nshall comfort thy heart, and put thou thy trust in the Lord_.\n\n6. And if you see any who appear (so far as man can judge, but God\nalone searcheth the hearts) to be already partakers of their hope,\nalready _made perfect in love_: far from envying the grace of God in\nthem, let it rejoice and comfort your heart. Glorify God for their\nsake. _If one member is honoured_, shall not _all the members rejoice\nwith it_? Instead of jealousy or evil surmising concerning them,\npraise God for the consolation. Rejoice in having a fresh proof of the\nfaithfulness of God in fulfilling all his promises. And stir yourself\nup the more, to _apprehend that for which you also are apprehended of\nChrist Jesus_.\n\n\u26666. *In order to this, redeem the time, improve the present moment.\nBuy up every opportunity of growing in grace, or of doing good. Let\nnot the thought of receiving more grace to-morrow, make you negligent\nof to-day. You have one talent now. If you expect five more, so much\nthe rather improve that you have. And the more you expect to receive\nhereafter, the more labour for God now. Sufficient for the day is the\ngrace thereof. God is now pouring his benefits upon you. Now approve\nyourself a faithful steward, of the present grace of God. Whatever\nmay be to-morrow, give all diligence to-day, to _add to your faith,\ncourage, temperance, patience, brotherly kindness and the fear of God_,\n\u2019till you attain that pure and perfect love. Let _these things be_ now\n_in you and abound_. Be not now slothful or unfruitful. So shall an\nentrance be ministred _into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord Jesus\nChrist_.\n\n7. Lastly, If in time past you have abused this blessed hope of being\nholy as he is holy, yet do not therefore cast it away. Let the abuse\ncease, the use remain. Use it now to the more abundant glory of God\nand profit of your own soul. In stedfast faith, in calm tranquillity of\nspirit, in full assurance of hope, rejoicing evermore for what God hath\ndone, _press_ ye _on unto perfection_. Daily growing in the knowledge\nof our Lord Jesus Christ, and going on from strength to strength,\nin resignation, in patience, in humble thankfulness for what ye have\nattained, and for what ye shall, run the race set before you, _looking\nunto Jesus_, \u2019till through perfect love ye enter into his glory!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLIII.\n\n THE SCRIPTURE WAY OF SALVATION.\n EPH. ii. 8.\n\n\n _Ye are saved through faith._\n\n1. NOTHING can be more intricate, complex, and hard to be understood,\nthan religion as it has been often described. And this is not only\ntrue concerning the religion of the Heathens, even many of the wisest\nof them, but concerning the religion of those also, who were, in some\nsense, Christians: yea, and men of great name in the Christian world,\nmen _who seemed to be pillars_ thereof. Yet how easy to be understood,\nhow plain and simple a thing is the genuine religion of Jesus Christ!\nProvided only, that we take it in its native form, just as it is\ndescribed in the oracles of God. It is exactly suited by the wise\nCreator and Governor of the world, to the weak understanding, and\nnarrow capacity, of man in his present state. How observable is this,\nboth with regard to the end it proposes, and the means to attain that\nend! The end is, in one word salvation: the means to attain it faith.\n\n2. It is easily discerned, that these two little words, I mean faith\nand salvation, include the substance of all the bible, the marrow, as\nit were, of the whole scripture. So much the more should we take all\npossible care, to avoid all mistake concerning them, and to form a true\nand accurate judgment concerning both the one and the other.\n\n3. Let us then seriously enquire\n\n I. What is salvation?\n II. What is that faith whereby we are saved, and\n III. How we are saved by it?\n\n\nI. 1. And, first, let us enquire, What is _salvation_? The salvation\nwhich is here spoken of, is not what is frequently understood by that\nword, the going to heaven, eternal happiness. It is not the soul\u2019s\ngoing to paradise, termed by our Lord, _Abraham\u2019s bosom_. It is not a\nblessing which lies on the other side death, or (as we usually speak)\nin the other world. The very words of the text itself, put this beyond\nall question. _Ye_ are _saved_. It is not something at a distance: it\nis a present thing; a blessing, which through the free mercy of God, ye\nare now in possession of. Nay, the words may be rendered, and that with\nequal propriety, _Ye_ have been _saved_. So that the salvation which is\nhere spoken of, might be extended to the entire work of God, from the\nfirst dawning of grace in the soul, \u2019till it is consummated in glory.\n\n2. If we take this in its utmost extent, it will include all that is\nwrought in the soul, by what is frequently termed, _natural conscience_,\nbut more properly, _preventing grace_: all the _drawings of the Father_:\nthe desires after God, which, if we yield to them, increase more and\nmore: all that _light_, wherewith the Son of God _inlighteneth every\none that cometh into the world, shewing_ every man, _to do justly, to\nlove mercy, and to walk humbly with_ his _God_: all the _convictions_\nwhich his Spirit, from time to time, works in every child of man.\nAlthough, it is true, the generality of men stifle them as soon as\npossible; and after awhile forget, or at least deny, that ever they\nhad them at all.\n\n3. But we are at present concerned only with that salvation, which the\napostle is directly speaking of. And this consists of two general parts,\njustification and sanctification.\n\nJustification is another word for pardon. It is the forgiveness of\nall our sins, and (what is necessarily implied therein) our acceptance\nwith God. The price whereby this hath been procured for us, (commonly\ntermed the _meritorious cause_ of our justification) is the blood and\nrighteousness of Christ, or (to express it a little more clearly) all\nthat Christ hath done and suffered for us, \u2019till _he poured out his\nsoul for the transgressors_. The immediate effects of justification\nare, the peace of God, a _peace that passeth all understanding_, and\na _rejoicing in_ hope _of the glory of God_, with joy _unspeakable and\nfull of glory_.\n\n4. And at the same time that we are justified, yea in that very moment,\n_sanctification_ begins. In that instant, we are _born again, born from\nabove, born of the Spirit_. There is a _real_ as well as a _relative_\nchange. We are inwardly renewed by the power of God. We feel the _love\nof God shed abroad in our heart, by the Holy Ghost which is given unto\nus_, producing love to all mankind, and more especially to the children\nof God: expelling the love of the world, the love of pleasure, of ease,\nof honour, of money: together with pride, anger, self-will, and every\nother evil temper: in a word, changing the _earthly, sensual, devilish\nmind_, into _the mind which was in Christ Jesus_.\n\n5. How naturally do those who experience such a change, imagine that\nall sin is gone? That it is utterly rooted out of their heart, and has\nno more any place therein? How easily do they draw that inference, \u201cI\n_feel_ no sin: therefore I _have_ none.\u201d It does not _stir_; therefore\nit does not _exist_: it has no _motion_; therefore it has no _being_.\n\n6. But it is seldom long, before they are undeceived, finding sin was\nonly suspended, not destroyed. Temptations return and sin revives,\nshewing it was but stunned before, not dead. They now feel two\nprinciples in themselves plainly contrary to each other, _the flesh\nlusting against the spirit_, nature opposing the grace of God. They\ncannot deny, that, although they still feel power to believe in Christ,\nand to love God; and although his _Spirit_ still _witnesses with_ their\n_spirits, that_ they _are children of God_: yet they feel in themselves,\nsometimes pride or self-will, sometimes anger or unbelief. They find\none or more of these frequently _stirring_ in their heart, though not\n_conquering_: yea, perhaps, _thrusting sore at them, that they_ may\n_fail: but the Lord is_ their _help_.\n\n7. How exactly did _Macarius_, fourteen hundred years ago, describe\nthe present experience of the children of God? \u201cThe unskilful (or\nunexperienced) when grace operates, presently imagine, they have no\nmore sin. Whereas they that have discretion cannot deny, that even we\nwho have the grace of God, may be molested again.\u2015\u2015For we have often\nhad instances of some among the brethren, who have experienced such\ngrace, as to affirm that they had no sin in them. And yet after all,\nwhen they thought themselves entirely freed from it, the corruption\nthat lurked within, was stirred up anew, and they were well nigh burnt\nup.\u201d\n\n8. From the time of our being _born again_, the gradual work of\nsanctification takes place. We are enabled _by the Spirit_ to _mortify\nthe deeds of the body_, of our evil nature. And as we are more and more\ndead to sin, we are more and more alive to God. We go on from grace to\ngrace, while we are careful to _abstain from all appearance of evil_,\nand are _zealous of good works, as we have opportunity, doing good\nto all men_. While we walk in all his ordinances blameless, therein\nworshipping him in spirit and in truth: while we take up our cross, and\ndeny ourselves every pleasure, that does not lead us to God.\n\n9. It is thus that we wait for entire sanctification, for a full\nsalvation from all our sins, from pride, self-will, anger, unbelief;\nor, as the apostle expresses it, _go on to perfection_. But what is\nperfection? The word has various senses: here it means, perfect love.\nIt is love excluding sin: love filling the heart, taking up the whole\ncapacity of the soul. It is love _rejoicing evermore, praying without\nceasing, in every thing giving thanks_.\n\n\nII. But what is that _faith_ through _which we are saved_? This is the\nsecond point to be considered.\n\n1. Faith in general is defined by the apostle \u2666\u1f1c\u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50\n\u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd _An evidence_, a divine _evidence and conviction_ (the word\nmeans both) _of things not seen_: not visible, not perceivable either\nby sight, or by any other of the external senses. It implies both a\nsupernatural _evidence_ of God and of the things of God, a kind of\nspiritual _light_ exhibited to the soul, and a supernatural _sight_ or\nperception thereof: accordingly the scripture speaks of God\u2019s giving\nsometimes light, sometimes a power of discerning it. So St. _Paul_.\n_God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our\nhearts, to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,\nin the face of Jesus Christ._ And elsewhere the same apostle speaks,\n_of the eyes of_ our _understanding being opened_. By this twofold\noperation of the Holy Spirit, having the eyes of our soul both _opened_\nand _enlightened_, we see the things which the natural _eye hath not\nseen, neither the ear heard_. We have a prospect of the invisible\nthings of God: we see the _spiritual world_, which is all round about\nus, and yet no more discerned by our natural faculties, than if it had\nno being: and we see the _eternal world_, piercing through the veil\nwhich hangs between time and eternity. Clouds and darkness then rest\nupon it no more, but we already see the glory which shall be revealed.\n\n2. Taking the word in a more particular sense, faith is a divine\nevidence and conviction, not only that _God was in Christ, reconciling\nthe world unto himself_; but also that _Christ loved_ me, _and\ngave himself for_ me. It is by this faith, (whether we term it, the\n_essence_, or rather a _property_ thereof) that we _receive Christ_,\nthat we receive him in all his offices, as our prophet, priest,\nand king. It is by this that he _is made of God unto us wisdom, and\nrighteousness, and sanctification, and redemption_.\n\n3. \u201cBut is this the _faith of assurance_, or _faith of adherence_?\u201d The\nscripture mentions no such distinction. The apostle says, _There is one\nfaith, and one hope of our calling_, one Christian, saving faith, as\n_there is one Lord_, in whom we believe, and _one God and Father of us\nall_. And it is certain, this faith necessarily implies an _assurance_\n(which is here only another word for _evidence_, it being hard to tell\nthe difference between them) that _Christ loved_ me, _and gave himself\nfor_ me. For _he that believeth_, with the true, living faith, _hath\nthe witness in himself. The Spirit witnesseth with his spirit, that\nhe is a child of God. Because_ he is a _Son, God hath sent forth the\nSpirit of his Son into his heart, crying Abba, Father_: giving him an\nassurance that he is so, and a child-like confidence in him. But let it\nbe observed, that, in the very nature of the thing, the assurance goes\nbefore the confidence. For a man cannot have a child-like confidence in\nGod, till he knows, he is a child of God. Therefore confidence, trust,\nreliance, adherence, or whatever else it be called, is not the first,\nas some have supposed, but the second branch or act of faith.\n\n4. It is by this faith we _are saved_, justified and sanctified, taking\nthat word in its highest sense. But how are we justified and sanctified\nby faith? This is our third head of enquiry. And this being the main\npoint in question, and a point of no ordinary importance, it will not\nbe improper, to give it a more distinct and particular consideration.\n\n\nIII. 1. And first, how are we justified by faith? In what sense is\nthis to be understood? I answer, faith is the condition, and the only\ncondition of justification. It is the condition: none is justified but\nhe that believes; without faith no man is justified. And it is the only\ncondition; this alone is sufficient for justification. Every one that\nbelieves is justified, whatever else he has or has not. In other words:\nno man is justified, \u2019till he believes: every man when he believes is\njustified.\n\n2. \u201cBut does not God command us to _repent_ also? Yea, and to _bring\nforth fruits meet for repentance_? To _cease_, for instance, _from\ndoing evil_, and _learn to do well_? And is not both the one and the\nother of the utmost necessity? Insomuch, that if we willingly neglect\neither, we cannot reasonably expect to be justified at all? But if\nthis be so, how can it be said, that faith is the only condition of\njustification?\u201d\n\nGod does undoubtedly command us, both to repent, and to bring forth\nfruits meet for repentance: which if we willingly neglect, we cannot\nreasonably expect to be justified at all: therefore both repentance,\nand fruits meet for repentance, are in some sense necessary to\njustification. But they are not necessary in the _same sense_ with\nfaith, nor in the _same degree_. Not in the _same degree_; for those\nfruits are only necessary _conditionally_; if there be time and\nopportunity for them. Otherwise a man may be justified without them,\nas was the _thief_ upon the _cross_: (if we may call him so; for a late\nwriter has discovered, that he was no _thief_, but a very honest and\nrespectable person!) But he cannot be justified without faith: this\nis impossible. Likewise let a man have ever so much repentance, or\never so many of the fruits meet for repentance, yet all this does not\nat all avail: he is not justified \u2019till he believes. But the moment\nhe believes, with or without those fruits, yea, with more or less\nrepentance, he is justified. Not in the _same sense_; for repentance\nand its fruits are only _remotely_ necessary, necessary in order to\nfaith: whereas faith is _immediately_ and _directly_ necessary to\njustification. It remains, that faith is the only condition, which is\n_immediately_ and _proximately_ necessary to justification.\n\n3. \u201cBut do you believe, we are sanctified by faith? We know you believe,\nthat we are justified by faith: but do not you believe, and accordingly\nteach, that we are sanctified by our works?\u201d\n\nSo it has been roundly and vehemently affirmed, for these five and\ntwenty years. But I have constantly declared just the contrary: and\nthat in all manner of ways. I have continually testified in private\nand in public, that we are sanctified, as well as justified, by\nfaith. And indeed the one of those great truths does exceedingly\nillustrate the other. Exactly as we are justified by faith, so are we\nsanctified by faith. Faith is the condition, and the only condition of\nsanctification, exactly as it is of justification. It is the condition;\nnone is sanctified but he that believes; without faith no man is\nsanctified. And it is the only condition: this alone is sufficient for\nsanctification. Every one that believes is sanctified, whatever else he\nhas, \u2666or has not. In other words: no man is sanctified till he believes:\nevery man when he believes is sanctified.\n\n4. \u201cBut is there not a repentance consequent upon, as well as a\nrepentance previous to, justification? And is it not incumbent on\nall that are justified, to be _zealous of good works_? Yea, are not\nthese so necessary, that if a man willingly neglect them, he cannot\nreasonably expect, that he shall ever be sanctified in the full sense,\nthat is, _perfected in love_? Nay, can he _grow_ at all _in grace, in\nthe_ loving _knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ_? Yea, can he retain\nthe grace which God has already given him? Can he continue in the faith\nwhich he has received, or in the favour of God? Do not you yourself\nallow all this, and continually assert it? But if this be so, how can\nit be said, that faith is the only condition of sanctification?\u201d\n\n5. I do allow all this, and continually maintain it, as the truth\nof God. I allow, there is a repentance consequent upon, as well as\na repentance previous to justification. It is incumbent on all that\nare justified, to be zealous of good works. And these are so necessary,\nthat if a man willingly neglect them, he cannot reasonably expect, that\nhe shall ever be sanctified. He cannot _grow in grace_, in the image\nof God, the mind which was in Christ Jesus. Nay, he cannot retain the\ngrace he has received, he cannot continue in faith, or in the favour\nof God.\n\nWhat is the inference we must draw herefrom? Why, that both repentance,\nrightly understood, and the practice of all good works, works of piety,\nas well as works of mercy, (now properly so called, since they spring\nfrom faith) are in some sense necessary to sanctification.\n\n6. I say, \u201cRepentance rightly understood.\u201d For this must not be\nconfounded with the former repentance. The repentance consequent upon\njustification is widely different from that which is antecedent to it.\nThis implies no guilt, no sense of condemnation, no consciousness of\nthe wrath of God. It does not suppose any doubt of the favour of God,\nor any _fear that hath torment_. It is properly a conviction wrought by\nthe Holy Ghost, of the _sin_ which still _remains_ in our heart, of the\n\u03c6\u03c1\u03cc\u03bd\u03b7\u03bc\u03b1 \u03c3\u03b1\u03c1\u03ba\u03cc\u03c2\u00b7 _the carnal mind_, which \u201cdoes still _remain_,\u201d as our\nchurch speaks, \u201ceven in them that are regenerate:\u201d altho\u2019 it does no\nlonger _reign_, it has not now dominion over them. It is a conviction\nof our proneness to evil, of an _heart bent to backsliding_, of the\nstill-continuing tendency of the _flesh_ to _lust against the spirit_.\nSometimes, unless we continually watch and pray, it lusteth to pride,\nsometimes to anger, sometimes to love of the world, love of ease, love\nof honour, or love of pleasure more than of God. It is a conviction of\nthe tendency of our heart to self-will, to atheism, or idolatry: and\nabove all to unbelief, whereby in a thousand ways, and under a thousand\npretences, we are ever _departing_, more or less, _from the living_ God.\n\n7. With this conviction of the sin _remaining_ in our hearts, there\nis joined a clear conviction of the sin remaining in our lives, still\n_cleaving_ to all our words and actions. In the best of these we now\ndiscern a mixture of evil, either in the spirit, the matter or the\nmanner of them: something that could not endure the righteous judgment\nof God, were he _extreme to mark what is done amiss_. Where we least\nsuspected it, we find a taint of pride or self-will, of unbelief or\nidolatry: so that we are now more ashamed of our best duties, than\nformerly of our worst sins: and hence we cannot but feel, that these\nare so far from having any thing meritorious in them, yea so far from\nbeing able to stand, in sight of the divine justice, that for those\nalso we should be guilty before God, were it not for the blood of the\ncovenant.\n\n8. Experience shews, that together with the conviction of sin\n_remaining_ in our hearts and _cleaving_ to all our words and actions,\nas well as the guilt which on account thereof we should incur, were\nwe not continually sprinkled with the atoning blood; one thing more is\nimplied in this repentance, namely a conviction of our helplessness,\nof our utter inability to think one good thought, or to form one good\ndesire; and much more to speak one word aright, or to perform one good\naction, but thro\u2019 his free, almighty grace first preventing us, and\nthen accompanying us every moment.\n\n9. \u201cBut what good works are those, the practice of which, you affirm\nto be necessary to sanctification.\u201d First, all works of piety, such\nas public prayer, family prayer, and praying in our closet: receiving\nthe supper of the Lord: searching the scriptures, by hearing, reading,\nmeditating: and using such a measure of fasting or abstinence, as our\nbodily health allows.\n\n10. Secondly, All works of mercy, whether they relate to the bodies\nor souls of men: such as feeding the hungry, cloathing the naked,\nentertaining the stranger, visiting those that are in prison, or\nsick, or variously-afflicted: such as the endeavouring to instruct\nthe ignorant, to awaken the stupid sinner, to quicken the lukewarm,\nto confirm the wavering, to comfort the feeble-minded, to succour the\ntempted, or contribute in any manner to the saving of souls from death.\nThis is the repentance, and these the fruits meet for repentance, which\nare necessary to full sanctification. This is the way wherein God hath\nappointed his children to wait for compleat salvation.\n\n11. Hence may appear the extreme mischievousness of that seemingly\ninnocent opinion, That \u201cthere is no sin in a believer; that all sin\nis destroyed, root and branch, the moment a man is justified.\u201d By\ntotally preventing that repentance, it quite blocks up the way to\nsanctification. There is no place for repentance, in him who believes\nthere is no sin either in his life or heart. Consequently there is no\nplace for his being _perfected in love_ to which that repentance is\nindispensably necessary.\n\n12. Hence it may likewise appear, that there is no possible danger in\n_thus_ expecting full salvation. For suppose we were mistaken, suppose\nno such blessing ever was, or can be attained, yet we lose nothing: nay,\nthat very expectation quickens us in using all the talents which God\nhas given us; yea, in improving them all, so that when our Lord cometh,\nhe will _receive_ his _own with increase_.\n\n13. But to return. Tho\u2019 it be allowed, That both this repentance and\nits fruits are necessary to full salvation, yet they are not necessary\neither in the _same sense_ with faith, or in the _same degree_: not in\nthe _same degree_; for these fruits are only necessary _conditionally_,\nif there be time and opportunity for them, otherwise a man may be\nsanctified without them. But he cannot be sanctified without faith.\nLikewise let a man have ever so much of this repentance, or ever\nso many good works, yet all this does not at all avail: he is not\nsanctified till he believes. But the moment he believes, with or\nwithout those fruits, yea, with more or less of this repentance,\nhe is sanctified. Not in the _same sense_; for this repentance and\nthese fruits are only _remotely_ necessary, necessary in order to\nthe continuance of his faith, as well as the increase of it: whereas\nfaith is _immediately_ and _directly_, necessary to sanctification. It\nremains, that faith is the only condition, which is _immediately_ and\n_proximately_ necessary to sanctification.\n\n14. \u201cBut what is that faith whereby we are sanctified, saved from\nsin and perfected in love?\u201d It is a divine evidence and conviction,\n1. That God hath promised it in the holy scripture. Till we are\nthroughly satisfied of this, there is no moving one step further.\nAnd one would imagine, there needed not one word more, to satisfy\na reasonable man of this, than the ancient promise, _Then will I\ncircumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord your_\nGod _with all your heart, and with all your soul_. How clearly does\nthis express the being perfected in love? How strongly imply the being\nsaved from all sin? For as long as love takes up the whole heart, what\nroom is there for sin therein?\n\n15. It is a divine evidence and conviction, secondly, That what God\nhath promised he is _able_ to perform. Admitting therefore that _with\nmen it is impossible_, to bring a clean thing out of an unclean, to\npurify the heart from all sin, and to fill it with all holiness, yet\nthis creates no difficulty in the case, seeing _with_ God _all things\nare possible_. And surely no one ever imagined it was possible to any\npower less than that of the Almighty! But if God speaks, it shall be\ndone. God saith, _Let there be light: and there is light_.\n\n16. It is, thirdly, a divine evidence and conviction that he is able\nand willing to do it _now_. And why not? Is not a moment to him,\nthe same as a thousand years? He cannot want more time to accomplish\nwhatever is his will. And he cannot want or stay for any more\n_worthiness_ or _fitness_ in the persons he is pleased to honour. We\nmay therefore boldly say, at any point of time, _Now is the day of\nsalvation_. To-day, _if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.\nBehold! All things are now ready! Come unto the marriage!_\n\n17. To this confidence, That God is both able and willing to sanctify\nus _now_, there needs to be added one thing more, a divine evidence and\nconviction, That _he doth_ it. In that hour it is done. God says to the\ninmost soul, _According to thy faith, be it unto thee_! Then the soul\nis pure from every spot of sin; _it is clean from all unrighteousness_.\nThe believer then experiences the deep meaning of those solemn words,\n_If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one\nwith another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from\nall sin_.\n\n18. \u201cBut does God work this great work in the soul _gradually_ or\n_instantaneously_?\u201d Perhaps it may be gradually wrought in some: I mean,\nin this sense. They do not advert to the particular moment, wherein sin\nceases to be. But it is infinitely desirable, were it the will of God,\nthat it should be done instantaneously; that the Lord should destroy\nsin _by the breath of his mouth_, in a moment, in the twinkling of an\neye. And so he generally does, a plain fact, of which there is evidence\nenough to satisfy any unprejudiced person. _Thou_ therefore look for\nit every moment. Look for it in the way above described; in all those\n_good works_ whereunto thou art _created anew in Christ Jesus_. There\nis then no danger: you can be no worse, if you are no better for that\nexpectation. For were you to be disappointed of your hope, still you\nlose nothing. But you shall not be disappointed of your hope: it will\ncome, and will not tarry. Look for it then every day, every hour, every\nmoment. Why not this hour, this moment? Certainly you may look for it\n_now_, if you believe it is by faith. And by this token you may surely\nknow, whether you seek it by faith or by works. If by works, you want\nsomething to be done _first: before_ you are sanctified. You think, \u201cI\nmust first _be_ or _do_ thus or thus.\u201d Then you are seeking it by works\nunto this day. If you seek it by faith, you may expect it _as you are_:\nand if as you are, then expect it now. It is of importance to observe,\nthat there is an inseparable connexion between these three points,\nexpect it _by faith_, expect it _as you are_, and expect it _now_! To\ndeny one of them is to deny them all: to allow one, is to allow them\nall. Do _you_ believe, we are sanctified by faith? Be true then to your\nprinciple; and look for this blessing just as you are, neither better,\nnor worse; as a poor sinner, that has still nothing to pay, nothing\nto plead, but _Christ died_. And if you look for it as you are, then\nexpect it _now_. Stay for nothing: why should you? Christ is ready. And\nhe is all you want. He is waiting for you: he is at the door! Let your\ninmost soul cry out,\n\n \u201cCome in, come in, thou heavenly guest!\n Nor hence again remove;\n But sup with me, and let the feast\n Be everlasting love.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLIV.\n\n ORIGINAL SIN.\n GEN. vi. 5.\n\n\n _And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,\n and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was\n only evil continually._\n\n1. HOW widely different is this from the fair pictures of human nature,\nwhich men have drawn in all ages! The writings of many of the antients\nabound with gay descriptions of the dignity of man: whom some of them\npaint as having all virtue and happiness in his composition, or at\nleast, entirely in his power, without being beholden to any other being:\nyea, as self-sufficient, able to live on his own stock, and little\ninferior to God himself.\n\n2. Nor have Heathens alone, men who were guided in their researches\nby little more than the dim light of reason, but many likewise of them\nthat bear the name of Christ, and to whom are intrusted the oracles of\nGod, spoke as magnificently concerning the nature of man, as if it were\nall innocence and perfection. Accounts of this kind have particularly\nabounded in the present century: and perhaps in no part of the world\nmore, than in our own country. Here not a few persons of strong\nunderstanding, as well as extensive learning, have employed their\nutmost abilities to shew, what they termed, \u201cThe fair side of human\nnature.\u201d And it must be acknowledged, that if their accounts of him\nbe just, man is still but _a little lower than the angels_, or (as the\nwords may be more literally rendered) _a little less than_ God.\n\n3. Is it any wonder, that these accounts are very readily received\nby the generality of men? For who is not easily persuaded to think\nfavourably of himself? Accordingly writers of this kind are almost\nuniversally read, admired, applauded. And innumerable are the converts\nthey have made, not only in the gay, but the learned world. So that\nit is now quite unfashionable to talk otherwise, to say any thing\nto the disparagement of human nature: which is generally allowed,\nnotwithstanding a few infirmities, to be very innocent and wise and\nvirtuous.\n\n4. But in the mean-time, what must we do with our bibles; for they will\nnever agree with this. These accounts, however pleasing to flesh and\nblood, are utterly irreconcileable with the scriptural. The scripture\navers, that _by one man\u2019s disobedience, all men were constituted\nsinners_: that _in_ Adam _all died_, spiritually died, lost the life\nand the image of God: that fallen, sinful _Adam_ then _begat a son in\nhis own likeness_: nor was it possible he should beget him in any other:\nfor _who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean_? That consequently\n_we_ as well as other men _were by nature, dead in trespasses and sins,\nwithout hope, without_ God _in the world_, and therefore _children\nof wrath_: that every man may say, _I was shapen in wickedness, and\nin sin did my mother conceive me_: that _there is no difference, in\nthat all have sinned, and come short of the glory of_ God: of that\nglorious image of God, wherein man was originally created. And hence,\nwhen _the_ Lord _looked down from heaven upon the children of men, he\nsaw they were all gone out of the way_, they were _all together become\nabominable, there was none righteous, no not one_, none that truly\n_sought after_ God: just agreeable this, to what is declared by the\nHoly Ghost, in the words above recited, God _saw_ when he looked down\nfrom heaven before, _that the wickedness of man was great in the earth_:\nso great, that _every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only\nevil continually_.\n\nThis is God\u2019s account of man: from which I shall take occasion, _first_,\nTo shew what men were before the flood; _secondly_, To enquire, Whether\nthey are not the same now? And, _thirdly_, To add some inferences.\n\n\nI. 1. I am, _first_, By opening the words of the text, to shew, what\nmen were before the flood. And we may fully depend on the account here\ngiven. For God saw it, and he cannot be deceived. He _saw that the\nwickedness of man was great_. Not of this or that man; not of a few men\nonly: not barely of the greater part, but of _man in general_, of men\nuniversally. The word includes the whole human race, every partaker of\nhuman nature. And it is not easy for us to compute their numbers, to\ntell how many thousands and millions they were. The earth then retained\nmuch of its primeval beauty and original fruitfulness. The face of the\nglobe was not rent and torn, as it is now: and spring and summer went\nhand in hand. \u2019Tis therefore probable, it afforded sustenance for far\nmore inhabitants, than it is now capable of sustaining; and these must\nbe immensely multiplied, while men begat sons and daughters for seven\nor eight hundred years together. Yet among all this inconceivable\nnumber, _only_ Noah _found favour with_ God. He alone (perhaps\nincluding part of his houshold) was an exception from the universal\nwickedness, which by the just judgment of God, in a short time after\nbrought on universal destruction. All the rest were partakers in the\nsame guilt, as they were in the same punishment.\n\n2. God _saw all the imaginations of the thoughts of his heart_\u2015\u2015Of his\nsoul, his inward man, the spirit within him, the principle of all his\ninward and outward motions. He _saw all the imaginations_. It is not\npossible to find a word of a more extensive signification. It includes\nwhatever is formed, made, fabricated within; all that is, or passes in\nthe soul: every inclination, affection, passion, appetite; every temper,\ndesign, thought. It must of consequence include every word and action,\nas naturally flowing from these fountains: and being either good or\nevil, according to the fountain from which they severally flow.\n\n3. Now God _saw that all_ this, the whole thereof _was evil_, contrary\nto moral rectitude; contrary to the nature of God, which necessarily\nincludes all good; contrary to the divine will, the eternal standard of\ngood and evil: contrary to the pure, holy image of God, wherein man was\noriginally created, and wherein he stood when God surveying the works\nof his hands, saw them _all_ \u2666to be _very good_: contrary to justice,\nmercy and truth, and to the essential relations which each man bore to\nhis Creator and his fellow creatures.\n\n4. But was there not good mingled with the evil? Was there not light\nintermixt with the darkness? No, none at all: God _saw that the whole\nimagination of the heart_ of man was only _evil_. It cannot indeed be\ndenied, but many of them, perhaps all, had good motions put into their\nhearts. For the Spirit of God did then also _strive with man_, if haply\nhe might repent: more especially during that gracious reprieve, the\nhundred and twenty years, while the ark was preparing. But still _in\nhis flesh dwelt no good thing_: all his nature was purely evil. It was\nwholly consistent with itself, and unmixt with any thing of an opposite\nnature.\n\n5. However it may still be matter of enquiry, \u201cWas there no\nintermission of this evil? Were there no lucid intervals, wherein\nsomething good might be found in the heart of man?\u201d We are not here\nto consider, what the grace of God might occasionally work in his soul.\nAnd abstracted from this, we have no reason to believe, there was any\nintermission of that evil. For God who _saw the whole imagination of\nthe thoughts of his heart to be_ only _evil_, saw likewise, that it was\nalways the same, that it _was only evil_ continually: every year, every\nday, every hour, every moment. He never deviated into good.\n\n\nII. Such is the authentic account of the whole race of mankind, which\nhe who knoweth what is in man, who searcheth the heart and trieth the\nreins, hath left upon record for our instruction. Such were all men\nbefore God brought the flood upon the earth. We are, _secondly_, to\nenquire, Whether they are the same now?\n\n1. And this is certain, the scripture gives us no reason, to think\nany otherwise of them. On the contrary, all the above-cited passages\nof scripture, refer to those who lived after the flood. It was above\na thousand years after, that God declared by _David_ concerning the\nchildren of men, _They are all gone out of the way_ of truth and\nholiness, _there is none righteous, no, not one_. And to this bear\nall the prophets witness, in their several generations. So _Isaiah_,\nconcerning God\u2019s peculiar people, (and certainly the Heathens were in\n_no better_ condition) _The whole head is sick, and the whole heart\nfaint. From the sole of the foot, even unto the head, there is no\nsoundness, but wounds and bruises and putrifying sores._ The same\naccount is given by all the apostles, yea, by the whole tenor of the\noracles of God. From all these we learn, concerning man in his natural\nstate, unassisted by the grace of God, that _all the imaginations of\nthe thoughts of his heart_ are still _evil, only evil_, and that\n_continually_.\n\n2. And this account of the present state of man, is confirmed by daily\nexperience. It is true, the natural man discerns it not: and this is\nnot to be wondered at. So long as a man born blind, continues so, he is\nscarce sensible of his want. Much less, could we suppose a place where\nall were born without sight, would they be sensible of the want of\nit. In like manner, so long as men remain, in their natural blindness\nof understanding, they are not sensible of their spiritual wants,\nand of this in particular. But as soon as God opens the eyes of their\nunderstanding, they see the state they were in before; they are then\ndeeply convinced, that _every man living_, themselves especially, are\nby nature _altogether vanity_, that is, folly and ignorance, sin and\nwickedness.\n\n3. We see, when God opens our eyes, that we were before \u1f04\u03b8\u03b5\u03bf\u03b9 \u1f10\u03bd \u03ba\u03cc\u03c3\u03bc\u1ff3\u00b7\n_without_ God, or rather _Atheists in the world_. We had by nature no\nknowledge of God, no acquaintance with him. It is true, as soon as we\ncame to the use of reason, we learned _the invisible things of_ God,\n_even his eternal power and Godhead, from the things that are made_.\nFrom things that are seen, we infered the existence of an eternal,\npowerful Being, that is not seen. But still, although we acknowledged\nhis being, we had no acquaintance with him. As we know there is an\nEmperor of _China_, whom yet we do not know; so we knew, there was\na King of all the earth; yet we know him not. Indeed we could not;\nby any of our natural faculties. By none of these could we attain\nthe knowledge of God. We could no more perceive him by our natural\nunderstanding, than we could see him with our eyes. For _no one knoweth\nthe Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son willeth to reveal him.\nAnd no one knoweth the Son but the Father, and he to whom the Father\nrevealeth him._\n\n4. *We read of an antient king, who being desirous to know, what\nwas the _natural language_ of men, in order to bring the matter to a\ncertain issue, made the following experiment. He ordered two infants\nas soon as they were born, to be conveyed to a place prepared for them,\nwhere they were brought up without any instruction at all, and without\never hearing an human voice. And what was the event? Why, that when\nthey were at length brought out of their confinement, they spake no\nlanguage at all; they uttered only inarticulate sounds, like those of\nother animals. Were two infants in like manner to be brought up from\nthe womb, without being instructed in any religion, there is little\nroom to doubt, but (unless the grace of God interposed) the event would\nbe just the same. They would have no religion at all: they would have\nno more knowledge of God, than the beasts of the field, than _the wild\nass\u2019s colt_. Such is _Natural religion_! Abstracted from traditional,\nand from the influences of God\u2019s Spirit.\n\n5. And having no knowledge, we can have no love of God: we cannot love\nhim we know not. Most men _talk_ indeed of loving God, and perhaps\nimagine they do. At least, few will acknowledge they do not love him:\nbut the fact is too plain to be denied. No man loves God by nature,\nany more than he does a stone, or the earth he treads upon. What we\nlove, we delight in: but no man has naturally any delight in God. In\nour natural state, we cannot conceive, how any one should delight in\nhim. We take no pleasure in him at all: he is utterly tasteless to us.\nTo love God! It is far above, out of our sight. We cannot, naturally,\nattain unto it.\n\n6. *We have by nature not only no love, but no fear of God. It\nis allowed indeed, that most men have, sooner or later, a kind of\nsenseless, irrational fear, properly called _superstition_, though the\nblundering _Epicureans_ gave it the name of _religion_. Yet even this\nis not natural, but acquired; chiefly by conversation or from example.\nBy nature, God _is not in all our thoughts_: we leave him to manage his\nown affairs, to sit quietly, as we imagine, in heaven, and leave us on\nearth to manage ours. So that we have no more of the fear of God before\nour eyes, than of the love of God in our hearts.\n\n7. Thus are all men _Atheists in the world_. But Atheism itself does\nnot screen us from _idolatry_. In his natural state, every man born\ninto the world is a rank idolater. Perhaps indeed we may not be such in\nthe vulgar sense of the word. We do not, like the idolatrous Heathens,\nworship molten or graven images. We do not bow down to the stock of\na tree, to the work of our own hands. We do not pray to the angels\nor saints in heaven, any more than to the saints that are upon the\nearth. But what then? We _have set up_ our _idols in_ our _hearts_:\nand to these we bow down and worship them: we worship ourselves, when\nwe pay that honour to ourselves which is due to God only. Therefore all\n_pride_ is idolatry: it is ascribing to ourselves what is due to God\nalone. And altho\u2019 pride was not made for man, yet where is the man that\nis born without it? But hereby we rob God of his unalienable right, and\nidolatrously usurp his glory.\n\n8. *But pride is not the only sort of idolatry, which we are all by\nnature guilty of. _Satan_ has stamped his own image on our heart in\n_self-will_ also. _I will_, said he, before he was cast out of heaven,\n_I will sit upon the sides of the north_. I will do my own will and\npleasure, independently on that of my Creator. The same does every man\nborn into the world say, and that in a thousand instances. Nay, and\navow it too, without ever blushing upon the account, without either\nfear or shame. Ask the man, \u201cWhy did you do this?\u201d He answers, \u201cBecause\nI had a mind to it.\u201d What is this but, \u201cBecause it was my will;\u201d that\nis in effect, because the devil and I are agreed: because _Satan_ and\nI govern our actions, by one and the same principle. The will of God\nmean-time is not in his thoughts, is not considered in the least degree:\nalthough it be the supreme rule of every intelligent creature, whether\nin heaven or earth, resulting from the essential, unalterable relation,\nwhich all creatures bear to their Creator.\n\n9. *So far we bear the image of the devil, and tread in his steps.\nBut at the next step we leave _Satan_ behind, we run into an idolatry\nwhereof he is not guilty: I mean, _Love of the world_, which is now as\nnatural to every man, as to love his own will. What is more natural to\nus, than to seek happiness in the creature, instead of the Creator? To\nseek that satisfaction in the works of his hands, which can be found\nin God only? What more natural than the desire of the flesh? That is,\nof the pleasure of sense in every kind? Men indeed talk magnificently\nof despising these low pleasures, particularly men of learning and\neducation. They affect to sit loose to the gratification of those\nappetites, wherein they stand with a level with the beasts that perish.\nBut it is mere affectation: for every man is conscious to himself,\nthat in this respect he is by nature a very beast. Sensual appetites,\neven those of the lowest kind, have, more or less, the dominion over\nhim. They lead him captive, they drag him to and fro, in spite of\nhis boasted reason. The man, with all his good breeding and other\naccomplishments, has no pre-eminence over the goat: nay, it is much\nto be doubted, whether the beast has not the pre-eminence over him?\nCertainly he has, if we may hearken to one of their modern oracles, who\nvery decently tells us.\n\n \u201cOnce in a season, beasts too taste of love:\n Only the beast of reason is its slave,\n And in that folly drudges all the year.\u201d\n\nA considerable difference indeed, it must be allowed, there is between\nman and man, arising (beside that wrought by preventing grace) from\ndifference of constitution, and of education. But notwithstanding this,\nwho, that is not utterly ignorant of himself, can here cast the first\nstone at another? Who can abide the test of our blessed Lord\u2019s comment\non the seventh commandment? _He that looketh on a woman to lust after\nher, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart._ So that\none knows not which to wonder at most, the ignorance or the insolence\nof those men, who speak with such disdain of them that are overcome\nby desires, which every man has felt in his own breast! The desire of\nevery pleasure of sense, innocent or not, being natural to every child\nof man.\n\n10. *And so is _the desire of the eye_, the desire of the pleasures\nof the imagination. These arise either from great, or beautiful, or\nuncommon objects: if the two former do not coincide with the latter;\nfor perhaps it would appear upon a diligent enquiry, that neither\n_grand_ nor _beautiful_ objects please, any longer than they are _new_:\nthat when the novelty of them is over, the greatest part, at least,\nof the pleasure they give is over; and in the same proportion as they\nbecome familiar, they become flat and insipid. But let us experience\nthis ever so often, the same desire will remain still. The inbred\nthirst continues fixt in the soul: nay the more it is indulged, the\nmore it increases, and incites us to follow after another, and yet\nanother object; altho\u2019 we leave every one with an abortive hope, and\na deluded expectation. Yea\n\n \u201cThe hoary fool, who many days\n Has struggled with continued sorrow,\n Renews his hope, and fondly lays\n The desperate bet upon to-morrow!\n\n \u201cTo-morrow comes! \u2019Tis noon! \u2019Tis night!\n This day like all the former flies:\n Yet on he goes, to seek delight\n To-morrow, till to-night he dies!\u201d\n\n11. *A third symptom of this fatal disease the love of the world,\nwhich is so deeply rooted in our nature, is _the pride of life_, the\ndesire of praise, of _the honour that cometh of men_. This the greatest\nadmirers of human nature allow to be strictly natural: as natural as\nthe sight or hearing, or any other of the external senses. And are\nthey ashamed of it, even men of letters, men of refined and improved\nunderstanding? So far from it, that they glory therein! They applaud\nthemselves for their love of applause! Yea, eminent _Christians_, so\ncalled, make no difficulty of adopting the saying of the old, vain\nHeathen, _Animi dissoluti est & nequam negligere quid de se homines\nsentiant_: \u201cNot to regard what men think of us, is the mark of a wicked\nand abandoned mind.\u201d So that to go calm and unmoved _thro\u2019 honour and\ndishonour_, thro\u2019 _evil report and good report_, is with them a sign of\none that is indeed _not fit to live; away with such a fellow from the\nearth_. But would one imagine, that these men had ever heard of Jesus\nChrist or his apostles? Or that they knew who it was that said, _How\ncan ye believe, who receive honour one of another, and seek not the\nhonour which cometh of_ God _only_? But if this be really so, if it\nbe impossible to believe, and consequently to please God, so long as\nwe _receive_ or _seek honour one of another, and seek not the honour\nwhich cometh of_ God _only_: then in what a condition are all mankind!\nThe Christians as well as Heathens! Since they all _seek honour one of\nanother_! Since it is as natural for them so to do, themselves being\nthe judges, as it is to see the light which strikes upon their eye,\nor to hear the sound which enters their ear: yea, since they account\nit the sign of a virtuous mind, to seek the praise of men; and of a\nvicious one, to be content with _the honour that cometh of_ God _only_!\n\n\nIII. 1. I proceed to draw a few inferences from what has been said.\nAnd, _first_, from hence we may learn one grand, fundamental difference\nbetween Christianity, considered as a system of doctrines, and the most\nrefined Heathenism. Many of the ancient Heathens have largely described\nthe vices of particular men. They have spoken much against their\ncovetousness or cruelty, their luxury or prodigality. Some have dared\nto say, That \u201cno man is born without vices, of one kind or another.\u201d\nBut still, as none of them were apprized of the fall of man, so none\nof them knew of his total corruption. They knew not, that all men\nwere empty of all good, and filled with all manner of evil. They were\nwholly ignorant of the entire depravation of the whole human nature,\nof every man born in the world, in every faculty of his soul, not so\nmuch by those particular vices, which reign in particular persons, as\nby the general flood of Atheism and idolatry, of pride, self-will and\nlove of the world. This therefore is the first, grand, distinguishing\npoint between Heathenism and Christianity. The one acknowledges, That\nmany men are infected with many vices, and even born with a proneness\nto them; but supposes withal, that in some the natural good much\noverbalances the evil. The other declares, That all men are _conceived\nin sin_, and _shapen in wickedness_: that hence there is in every man\na _carnal mind, which is enmity against_ God, _which is not, cannot be\nsubject to_ his _law_, and which so infects the whole soul, that _there\ndwelleth in_ him, _in his flesh_, in his natural state, _no good thing_;\nbut _all the imagination of the thoughts of his heart_, is _evil_, only\n_evil_, and that _continually_.\n\n2. Hence we may, _secondly_, learn, That all who deny this, call it\n_original sin_, or by any other title, are but Heathens still, in the\nfundamental point which differences Heathenism from Christianity. They\nmay indeed allow, That men have many vices: that some are born with us:\nand that consequently we are not born altogether so wise or so virtuous,\nas we should be: there being few that will roundly affirm, \u201cWe are\nborn with as much propensity to good as to evil, and that every man\nis by nature as virtuous and wise, as _Adam_ was at his creation.\u201d\nBut here is the shibboleth: is man by nature filled with all manner of\nevil? Is he void of all good? Is he wholly fallen? Is his soul totally\ncorrupted? Or, to come back to the text, Is _every imagination of the\nthoughts of his heart only evil continually_? Allow this and you are so\nfar a Christian. Deny it, and you are but an Heathen still.\n\n3. *We may learn from hence, in the _third_ place, what is the proper\nnature of religion, of the religion of Jesus Christ. It is \u0398\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1\u03c0\u03b5\u03af\u03b1\n\u03c8\u03c5\u03c7\u1fc6\u03c2\u00b7 God\u2019s method of healing a soul which is _thus diseased_. Hereby\nthe great Physician of souls applies medicines to heal _this sickness_;\nto restore human nature, totally corrupted in all its faculties. God\nheals all our Atheism, by the knowledge of himself, and of Jesus Christ\nwhom he hath sent; by giving us faith, a divine evidence and conviction\nof God and of the things of God: in particular, of this important\ntruth, Christ loved _me_, and gave himself for _me_. By repentance\nand lowliness of heart, the deadly disease of pride is healed: that of\nself-will by resignation, a meek and thankful submission to the will of\nGod. And for the love of the world in all its branches, the love of God\nis the sovereign remedy. Now this is properly religion, _faith_ thus\n_working by love_, working the genuine, meek humility, entire deadness\nof the world, with a loving, thankful acquiescence in and conformity to\nthe whole will and word of God.\n\n4. Indeed if man were not thus fallen, there would be no need of all\nthis. There would be no occasion for this work of the heart, this\n_renewal in the spirit of our mind_. The _superfluity of godliness_\nwould then be a more proper expression than the _superfluity of\nnaughtiness_. For an outside religion without any godliness at all,\nwould suffice to all rational intents and purposes. It does accordingly\nsuffice, in the judgment of those who deny this corruption of our\nnature. They make very little more of religion than the famous\nMr. _Hobbes_ did of reason. According to him, reason is only, \u201cA\nwell-ordered train of words:\u201d according to them, religion is only a\nwell-ordered train of words and actions. And they speak consistently\nwith themselves: for if the inside be not _full of wickedness_, if\nthis be clean already, what remains, but to _cleanse the outside of\nthe cup_? Outward reformation, if their supposition be just, is indeed\nthe one thing needful.\n\n5. But ye have not so learned the oracles of God. Ye know, that he\nwho seeth what is in man, gives a far different account both of nature\nand grace, of our fall and our recovery. Ye know that the great end of\nreligion is, to renew our hearts in the image of God, to repair that\ntotal loss of righteousness and true holiness, which we sustained by\nthe sin of our first parent. Ye know that all religion which does not\nanswer this end, all that stops short of this, the renewal of our soul\nin the image of God, after the likeness of him that created it, is no\nother than a poor farce, and a mere mockery of God, to the destruction\nof our own soul. O beware of all those teachers of lies, who would palm\nthis upon you for Christianity! Regard them not, altho\u2019 they should\ncome unto you with _all the deceivableness of unrighteousness_, with\nall smoothness of language, all decency, yea beauty and elegance of\nexpression, all professions of earnest good will to you, and reverence\nfor the holy scriptures. Keep to the plain, old _faith, once delivered\nto the saints_, and delivered by the Spirit of God to our hearts. Know\nyour disease! Know your cure! Ye were born in sin: therefore _ye must\nbe born again_, born of God. By nature ye are wholly corrupted: by\ngrace ye shall be wholly renewed. _In_ Adam ye _all died_: in the\nsecond _Adam, in_ Christ ye _all are made alive_. You _that are dead in\nsins hath he quickened_: he hath already given you a principle of life,\neven _faith in_ him _who loved_ you, and _gave himself for_ you! Now\n_go on from faith to faith_, until your whole sickness be healed, and\nall that _mind be in you, which was also in_ Christ Jesus!\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLV.\n\n THE NEW BIRTH.\n JOHN iii. 7.\n\n\n _Ye must be born again._\n\n1. IF any doctrine within the whole compass of Christianity may be\nproperly termed fundamental, they are doubtless these two, the doctrine\nof justification, and that of the new birth: the former relating\nto that great work, which God does _for us_, in forgiving our sins;\nthe latter, to the great work, which God does _in us_, in renewing\nour fallen nature. In order of time, neither of these is before the\nother: in the moment we are justified by the grace of God, thro\u2019 the\nredemption that is in Jesus, we are also _born of the Spirit_: but\nin order of thinking, as it is termed, justification precedes the new\nbirth. We first conceive his wrath to be turned away, and then his\nSpirit to work in our hearts.\n\n2. How great importance then must it be of to every child of man,\nthroughly to understand these fundamental doctrines? From a full\nconviction of this, many excellent men have wrote very largely\nconcerning justification, explaining every point relating thereto, and\nopening the scriptures which treat upon it. Many likewise have wrote on\nthe new birth; and some of them largely enough: but yet not so clearly\nas might have been desired; nor so deeply and accurately: having either\ngiven a dark, abstruse account of it, or a slight and superficial\none. Therefore a full, and at the same time, a clear account of the\nnew birth seems to be wanting still: such as may enable us to give a\nsatisfactory answer to these three questions, _first_, Why must we be\nborn again? What is the foundation of this doctrine of the new birth?\n_Secondly_, How must we be born again? What is the nature of the new\nbirth? And _thirdly_, Wherefore must we be born again? To what end\nis it necessary? These questions, by the assistance of God, I shall\nbriefly and plainly answer, and then subjoin a few inferences which\nwill naturally follow.\n\n\nI. 1. And, _first_, Why must we be born again? What is the foundation\nof this doctrine? The foundation of it lies near as deep as the\ncreation of the world: *In the scriptural account whereof we read,\n[3]_And_ God, the three-one God, _said, Let us make man in our image,\nafter our likeness. So_ God _created man in his own image, in the image\nof_ God _created he him_: not barely in his _natural image_, a picture\nof his own immortality, a spiritual being, endued with understanding,\nfreedom of will, and various affections: not merely in his _political\nimage_, the governor of this lower world, having _dominion over the\nfishes of the sea, and over all the earth_: but chiefly in his _moral\nimage_, which according to the apostle, is [4]_righteousness and\ntrue holiness_. In this image of God was man made. God _is love_:\naccordingly man at his creation was full of love: which was the sole\nprinciple of all his tempers, thoughts, words and actions. God is full\nof justice, mercy and truth: so was man as he came from the hands of\nhis Creator. God is spotless purity: and so man was in the beginning\npure from every sinful blot. Otherwise God could not have pronounced\n_him_, as well as all the other works of his hands, [5]_very good_.\nThis he could not have been, had he not been pure from sin, and filled\nwith righteousness and true holiness. For there is no medium: if we\nsuppose an intelligent creature, not to love God, not to be righteous\nand holy, we necessarily suppose him not to be good at all: much less\nto be _very good_.\n\n2. But although man was made in the image of God, yet he was not made\nimmutable. This would have been inconsistent with that state of trial,\nin which God was pleased to place him. He was therefore created able\nto stand, and yet liable to fall. And this God himself apprized him of,\nand gave him a solemn warning against it. Nevertheless _man_ did _not\nabide in honour_: he fell from his high estate. He _ate of the tree\nwhereof the_ Lord _had commanded him, Thou shalt not eat thereof_. By\nthis wilful act of disobedience to his Creator, this flat rebellion\nagainst his Sovereign, he openly declared, that he would no longer have\nGod to rule over him: that he would be governed by his own will, and\nnot the will of him that created him, and that he would not seek his\nhappiness in God, but in the world, in the works of his hands. Now\nGod had told him before, _In the day that thou eatest_ of that fruit\n_thou shalt surely die_. And the word of the Lord cannot be broken.\nAccordingly in that day he did die: he died to God, the most dreadful\nof all deaths. He lost the life of God: he was separated from him, in\nunion with whom his spiritual life consisted. The body dies, when it is\nseparated from the soul; the soul, when it is separated from God. But\nthis separation from God _Adam_ sustained in the day, the hour he ate\nof the forbidden fruit. And of this he gave immediate proof; presently\nshewing by his behaviour, that the love of God was extinguished in\nhis soul, which was now _alienated from the life of_ God. Instead of\nthis, he was now under the power of servile fear, so that he fled from\nthe presence of the Lord. Yea, so little did he retain even of the\nknowledge of him, who filleth heaven and earth, that he endeavoured to\n[6]_hide himself from the_ Lord God, _among the trees of the garden_!\nSo had he lost both the knowledge and the love of God, without which\nthe image of God could not subsist. Of this therefore he was deprived\nat the same time, and became unholy as well as unhappy. In the room of\nthis, he had sunk into pride and self-will, the very image of the devil,\nand into sensual appetites and desires, the image of the beasts that\nperish.\n\n3. If it be said, \u201cNay but that threatning, _In the day that thou\neatest thereof thou shalt surely die_, refers to temporal death and\nthat alone, to the death of the body only;\u201d The answer is plain; to\naffirm this, is flatly and palpably to make God a liar: to aver, that\nthe God of truth positively affirmed a thing contrary to truth. For\nit is evident, _Adam_ did not _die_ in this sense, _in the day that\nhe ate thereof_. He lived in the sense opposite to this death, above\nnine hundred years after. So that this cannot possibly be understood of\nthe death of the body, without impeaching the veracity of God. It must\ntherefore be understood of spiritual death, the loss of the life and\nimage of God.\n\n4. And _in_ Adam _all died_, all human-kind, all the children of men\nwho were then in _Adam_\u2019s loins. The natural consequence of this is,\nthat every one descended from him, comes into the world spiritually\ndead, dead to God, wholly _dead in sin_: entirely void of the life of\nGod, void of the image of God, of all that _righteousness and holiness_,\nwherein _Adam_ was created. Instead of this every man born into the\nworld, now bears the image of the devil, in pride and self-will; the\nimage of the beast, in sensual appetites and desires. This then is the\nfoundation of the new birth, the entire corruption of our nature. Hence\nit is, that being _born in sin_, we must be _born again_. Hence every\none that is born of a woman, must be born of the Spirit of God.\n\n\nII. 1. But how must a man be born again? What is the nature of the\nnew birth? This is the _second_ question. And a question it is, of\nthe highest moment that can be conceived. We ought not therefore in so\nweighty a concern, to be content with a slight enquiry; but to examine\nit with all possible care, and to ponder it in our hearts, \u2019till we\nfully understand this important point, and clearly see, how we are to\nbe born again.\n\n2. Not that we are to expect any minute, philosophical account, of the\n_manner how_ this is done. Our Lord sufficiently guards us against any\nsuch expectation, by the words immediately following the text: wherein\nhe reminds _Nicodemus_ of as indisputable a fact, as any in the whole\ncompass of nature: which notwithstanding the wisest man under the sun,\nis not able fully to explain. _The wind bloweth where it listeth_,\nnot by thy power or wisdom, _and thou hearest the sound thereof_:\nthou art absolutely assured, beyond all doubt, that it doth blow.\n_But thou canst not tell, whence it cometh, neither whither it goeth._\nThe precise manner how it begins and ends, rises and falls, no man can\ntell. _So is every one that is born of the Spirit._ Thou mayst be as\nabsolutely assured of the fact, as of the blowing of the wind: but the\nprecise manner how it is done, how the Holy Spirit works this in the\nsoul, neither thou nor the wisest of the children of men is able to\nexplain.\n\n3. However it suffices for every rational and Christian purpose, that\nwithout descending into curious, critical enquiries, we can give a\nplain scriptural account of the nature of the new birth. This will\nsatisfy every reasonable man, who desires only the salvation of his\nsoul. The expression, being _born again_, was not first used by our\nLord in his conversation with _Nicodemus_. It was well known before\nthat time, and was in common use among the Jews, when our Saviour\nappeared among them. When an adult Heathen was convinced, that the\nJewish religion was of God, and desired to join therein, it was the\ncustom to baptize him first, before he was admitted to circumcision.\nAnd when he was baptized, he was said to be _born again_: by which they\nmeant, that he who was before a child of the devil was now adopted into\nthe family of God, and accounted one of his children. This expression\ntherefore which _Nicodemus_ being _a teacher in Israel_, ought to\nhave understood well, our Lord uses in conversing with him: only in a\nstronger sense than he was accustomed to. And this might be the reason\nof his asking, _How can these things be_? They cannot be literally. _A\nman_ cannot _enter a second time into his mother\u2019s womb and be born_.\nBut they may, spiritually. A man may be _born from above, born of_ God,\n_born of the Spirit_: in a manner which bears a very near analogy to\nthe natural birth.\n\n4. Before a child is born into the world, he has eyes, but sees not;\nhe has ears, but does not hear. He has a very imperfect use of any\nother sense. He has no knowledge of any of the things of the world, or\nany natural understanding. To that manner of existence which he then\nhas, we do not even give the name of life. It is then only when a man\nis born, that we say he begins to live. For as soon as he is born,\nhe begins to see the light, and the various objects with which he is\nencompassed. His ears are then opened, and he hears the sounds which\nsuccessively strike upon them. At the same time all the other organs\nof sense begin to be exercised upon their proper objects. He likewise\nbreathes and lives in a manner wholly different from what he did before.\nHow exactly doth the parallel hold, in all these instances? While a\nman is in a mere natural state, before he is born of God, he has, in a\nspiritual sense, eyes and sees not, a thick impenetrable veil lies upon\nthem. He has ears, but hears not; he is utterly deaf to what he is most\nof all concerned to hear. His other spiritual senses are all locked\nup; he is in the same condition as if he had them not. Hence he has no\nknowledge of God, no intercourse with him; he is not at all acquainted\nwith him. He has no true knowledge of the things of God, either of\nspiritual or eternal things. Therefore though he is a living man, he\nis a dead Christian. But as soon as he is born of God, there is a total\nchange in all these particulars. The _eyes of_ his _understanding are\nopened_ (such is the language of the great apostle:) and he who of\nold _commanded light to shine out of darkness shining on his heart_,\nhe sees _the light of the glory of_ God, his glorious love, _in the\nface of_ Jesus Christ. His ears being opened, he is now capable of\nhearing the inward voice of God, saying, _Be of good chear, thy sins\nare forgiven thee: Go and sin no more_. This is the purport of what\nGod speaks to his heart: Although perhaps not in these very words. He\nis now ready to hear whatsoever _He that teacheth man knowledge_ is\npleased from time to time to reveal to him. He \u201cfeels in his heart (to\nuse the language of our church) the mighty working of the Spirit of\nGod:\u201d not in a gross, carnal sense, as the men of the world stupidly\nand wilfully misunderstand the expression: though they have been told\nagain and again, we mean thereby neither more nor less than this:\nhe feels, is inwardly sensible of the graces which the Spirit of\nGod works in his heart. He feels, he is conscious of a _peace which\npasseth all understanding_. He many times feels such a joy in God, as\nis _unspeakable and full of glory_. He feels _the love of_ God _shed\nabroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto him_. And all\nhis spiritual senses are then _exercised to discern_ spiritual _good\nand evil_. By the use of these he is daily increasing in the knowledge\nof God, of Jesus Christ whom he hath sent, and of all the things\npertaining to his inward kingdom. And now he may be properly said\n_to live_: God having quickened him by his Spirit, he is alive to\nGod through Jesus Christ. He lives a life which the world knoweth not\nof, a _life_ which _is hid with_ Christ _in_ God. God is continually\nbreathing, as it were, upon the soul, and his soul is breathing\nunto God. Grace is descending into his heart, and prayer and praise\nascending to heaven. And by this intercourse between God and man,\nthis fellowship with the Father and the Son, as by a kind of spiritual\nrespiration, the life of God in the soul is sustained: and the child\nof God grows up, \u2019till he comes to _the full measure of the stature of_\nChrist.\n\n5. From hence it manifestly appears, what is the nature of the new\nbirth. It is that great change which God works in the soul, when he\nbrings it into life: when he raises it from the death of sin, to the\nlife of righteousness. It is the change wrought in the whole soul by\nthe almighty Spirit of God, when it is _created anew in_ Christ Jesus,\nwhen it is _renewed after the image of_ God, _in righteousness and true\nholiness_: when the love of the world is changed into the love of God,\npride into humility, passion into meekness; hatred, envy, malice, into\na sincere, tender, disinterested love for all mankind. In a word, it\nis that change whereby the _earthly, sensual, devilish_ mind, is turned\ninto the _mind which was in_ Christ Jesus. This is the nature of the\nnew birth. _So is every one that is born of the Spirit._\n\n\nIII. 1. It is not difficult for any who has considered these things, to\nsee the necessity of the new birth, and to answer the _third_ question,\nwherefore, to what ends is it necessary that we should be born again?\nIt is very easily discerned, that this is necessary, first, in order\nto holiness. For what is holiness, according to the oracles of God? Not\na bare external religion, a round of outward duties, how many soever\nthey be, and how exactly soever performed. No: gospel-holiness is no\nless than the image of God stamped upon the heart. It is no other than\nthe whole mind which was in Christ Jesus. It consists of all heavenly\naffections and tempers mingled together in one. It implies such a\ncontinual, thankful love, to him who hath not with-held from us his Son,\nhis only Son, as makes it natural and in a manner necessary, to us, to\nlove every child of man; as fills us with _bowels of mercies, kindness,\ngentleness, long-suffering_. It is such a love of God as teaches us to\nbe blameless in all manner of conversation; as enables us to present\nour souls and bodies, all we are, and all we have, all our thoughts,\nwords and actions, a continual sacrifice to God, acceptable through\nChrist Jesus. Now this holiness can have no existence, \u2019till we are\nrenewed in the image of our mind. It cannot commence in the soul, \u2019till\nthat change be wrought, \u2019till by the power of the highest overshadowing\nus we are _brought from darkness to light, from the power of_ Satan\n_unto_ God: that is, \u2019till we are born again; which therefore is\nabsolutely necessary in order to holiness.\n\n2. But _without holiness no man shall see the_ Lord, shall see the face\nof God in glory. Of consequence the new birth is absolutely necessary,\nin order to eternal salvation. Men may indeed flatter themselves (so\ndesperately wicked and so deceitful is the heart of man!) that they may\nlive in their sins \u2019till they come to the last gasp, and yet afterwards\nlive with God. And thousands do really believe, that they have found\na _broad way which leadeth_ not _to destruction_. What danger, say\nthey, can a woman be in, that is so _harmless_ and so _virtuous_? What\nfear is there that so _honest_ a man, one of so strict _morality_,\nshould miss of heaven? Especially, if over and above all this, they\nconstantly attend on church and sacrament. One of these will ask with\nall assurance, \u201cWhat, shall not I do as well as my neighbours?\u201d Yes,\nas well as your unholy neighbours; as well as your neighbours that die\nin their sins. For you will all drop into the pit together, into the\nnethermost hell. You will all lie together in the lake of fire, _the\nlake of fire burning with brimstone_. Then, at length you will see (but\nGod grant you may see it before!) the necessity of holiness in order\nto glory: and consequently, of the new birth, since none can be holy,\nexcept he be born again.\n\n3. For the same reason, except he be born again, none can be happy even\nin this world. For it is not possible, in the nature of things, that a\nman should be happy who is not holy. Even the poor, ungodly poet could\ntell us,\n\n _Nemo malus felix_:\n\nNo wicked man is happy. The reason is plain. All unholy tempers are\nuneasy tempers. Not only malice, hatred, envy, jealousy, revenge,\ncreate a present hell in the breast, but even the softer passions,\nif not kept within due bounds, give a thousand times more pain than\npleasure. Even _hope_, when _deferred_ (and how often must this be the\ncase?) _maketh the heart sick_. And every desire which is not according\nto the will of God, is liable to _pierce us through with many sorrows_.\nAnd all those general forces of sin, pride, self-will and idolatry,\nare in the same proportion as they prevail, general sources of misery.\nTherefore as long as these reign in any soul, happiness has no place\nthere. But they must reign, \u2019till the bent of our nature is changed,\nthat is, \u2019till we are born again. Consequently the new birth is\nabsolutely necessary in order to happiness in this world, as well as\nin the world to come.\n\n\nIV. I proposed in the last place, to subjoin a few inferences which\nnaturally follow from the preceding observations.\n\n1. And, _first_, It follows, that baptism is not the new birth: they\nare not one and the same thing. Many indeed seem to imagine, they are\njust the same: at least, they speak as if they thought so: but I do\nnot know, that this opinion is publickly avowed, by any denomination\nof Christians whatever. Certainly it is not, by any within these\nkingdoms, whether of the established church, or dissenting from it.\nThe judgment of the latter is clearly declared, in their [7]_large\nCatechism_: _Q._ \u201cWhat are the parts of a sacrament? _A._ The parts of\na sacrament are two: The one, an outward and sensible sign; the other,\nan inward and spiritual grace thereby signified. _Q._ What is baptism?\n\u2666_A._ Baptism is a sacrament, wherein Christ hath ordained the washing\nwith water, to be a sign and seal of regeneration, by his Spirit.\u201d\nHere it is manifest, baptism, the sign, is spoken of as distinct from\nregeneration, the thing signified.\n\nIn the church-catechism likewise the judgment of our church is declared\nwith the utmost clearness. \u201cWhat meanest thou by this word, sacrament?\nI mean an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.\nWhat is the outward part, or form in baptism? Water wherein the person\nis baptized, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. What is the\ninward part or thing signified? A death unto sin, and a new birth unto\nrighteousness.\u201d Nothing therefore is plainer, than that according to\nthe church of _England_, baptism is not the new birth.\n\nBut indeed the reason of the thing is so clear and evident, as not to\nneed any other authority. For what can be more plain, than that the one\nis an external, the other an internal work? That the one is a visible,\nthe other an invisible thing, and therefore wholly different from each\nother: the one being an act of man, purifying the body; the other,\na change wrought by God in the soul. So that the former is just as\ndistinguishable from the latter, as the soul from the body, or water\nfrom the Holy Ghost.\n\n2. From the preceding reflections, we may, _secondly_, observe, that\nas the new birth is not the same thing with baptism, so it does not\nalways accompany baptism: they do not constantly go together. A man\nmay possibly be _born of water_, and yet not be _born of the Spirit_.\nThere may sometimes be the outward sign, where there is not the inward\ngrace. I do not now speak with regard to infants: it is certain, our\nchurch supposes, that all who are baptized in their infancy, are at\nthe same time born again. And it is allowed, that the whole office for\nthe baptism of infants proceeds upon this supposition. Nor is it an\nobjection of any weight against this, that we cannot comprehend, how\nthis work can be wrought in infants? For neither can we comprehend,\n_how_ it is wrought in a person of riper years. But whatever be the\ncase with infants, it is sure all of riper years who are baptized are\nnot at the same time born again. _The tree is known by its fruits_:\nand hereby it appears too plain to be denied, that divers of those who\nwere children of the devil before they were baptized, continue the same\nafter baptism: _for the works of_ their _Father they do_; they continue\nservants of sin, without any pretence either to inward or outward\nholiness.\n\n3. *A third inference which we may draw from what has been observed, is,\nthat the new birth is not the same with sanctification. This is indeed\ntaken for granted by many: particularly by an eminent writer, in his\nlate treatise on \u201cthe nature and grounds of Christian regeneration.\u201d\nTo wave several other weighty objections which might be made to that\ntract, this is a palpable one: it all along speaks of regeneration as a\nprogressive work, carried on in the soul by slow degrees, from the time\nof our first turning to God. This is undeniably true of sanctification;\nbut of regeneration, the new birth, it is not true. This is a part of\nsanctification, not the whole; it is the gate of it, the entrance into\nit. When we are born again, then our sanctification, our inward and\noutward holiness begins. And thenceforward we are gradually to _grow\nup in him who is our head_. This expression of the apostle admirably\nillustrates the difference between one and the other, and farther\npoints out the exact analogy there is between natural and spiritual\nthings. A child is born of a woman in a moment, or at least in a very\nshort time. Afterward he gradually and slowly grows, \u2019till he attains\nto the stature of a man. In like manner a child is born of God, in\na short time, if not in a moment. But it is by slow degrees that he\nafterward grows up to the measure of the full stature of Christ. The\nsame relation therefore which there is, between our natural birth and\nour growth, there is, also between our new birth, and our\nsanctification.\n\n4. *One point more we may learn from the preceding observations. But it\nis a point of so great importance, as may excuse the considering it the\nmore carefully, and prosecuting it at some length. What must one who\nloves the souls of men, and is grieved that any of them should perish,\nsay to one whom he sees living in sabbath-breaking, drunkenness, or\nany other wilful sin? What can he say, if the foregoing observations\nare true, but _you must be born again_. \u201cNo, says a zealous man, that\ncannot be. How can you talk so uncharitably to the man? Has he not\nbeen baptized already? He cannot be born again now.\u201d Can he not be\nborn again? Do you affirm this? Then he cannot be saved. Though he\nbe as old as _Nicodemus_ was, yet _except he be born again, he cannot\nsee the kingdom of_ God. Therefore in saying, \u201cHe cannot be born\nagain,\u201d you in effect deliver him over to damnation. And where lies the\nuncharitableness now? On my side, or on yours? I say, he may be born\nagain, and so become an heir of salvation. You say, \u201cHe cannot be born\nagain.\u201d And if so, he must inevitably perish. So you utterly block up\nhis way to salvation, and send him to hell, out of mere charity!\n\n*But perhaps the sinner himself, to whom in real charity we say, \u201c_You\nmust be born again_,\u201d has been taught to say, \u201cI defy your new doctrine;\nI need not be born again. I was born again when I was baptized. What!\nWould you have me deny my baptism?\u201d I answer, first, There is nothing\nunder heaven which can excuse a lie. Otherwise I should say to an open\nsinner, If you have been baptized, do not own it. For how highly does\nthis aggravate your guilt? How will it increase your damnation? Was\nyou devoted to God at eight days old, and have you been all these years\ndevoting yourself to the devil? Was you, even before you had the use\nof reason, consecrated to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost?\nAnd have you ever since you had the use of it, been flying in the face\nof God, and consecrating yourself to _Satan_? Does the abomination of\ndesolation, the love of the world, pride, anger, lust, foolish desire,\nand a whole train of vile affections stand where it ought not? Have you\nset up all these accursed things in that soul, which was once a _temple\nof the Holy Ghost_? Set apart for _an habitation of_ God _through\nthe Spirit_? Yea, solemnly given up to him? And do you glory in this,\nthat you once belonged to God? O be ashamed! Blush! Hide yourself in\nthe earth! Never boast more of what ought to fill you with confusion,\nto make you ashamed before God and man! I answer, secondly, You have\nalready denied your baptism; and that in the most effectual manner. You\nhave denied it a thousand and a thousand times; and you do so still day\nby day. For in your baptism, you renounced the devil and all his works.\nWhenever therefore you give place to him again, whenever you do any of\nthe works of the devil, then you deny your baptism. Therefore you deny\nit by every wilful sin: by every act of uncleanness, drunkenness, or\nrevenge: by every obscene or profane word; by every oath that comes out\nof your mouth. Every time you profane the day of the Lord, you thereby\ndeny your baptism: yea, every time you do any thing to another, which\nyou would not he should do to you. I answer, thirdly, Be you baptized\nor unbaptized, you must be born again. Otherwise it is not possible you\nshould be inwardly holy: and without inward as well as outward holiness,\nyou cannot be happy even in this world; much less in the world to come.\nDo you say, \u201cNay, but I do no harm to any man; I am honest and just\nin all my dealings; I do not curse, or take the Lord\u2019s name in vain;\nI do not profane the Lord\u2019s day: I am no drunkard; I do not slander my\nneighbour, nor live in any wilful sin.\u201d If this be so, it were much to\nbe wished, that all men went as far as you do. But you must go farther\nyet, or you cannot be saved: still you must be born again. Do you add,\n\u201cI do go farther yet; for I not only do no harm, but do all the good\nI can.\u201d I doubt that fact; I fear you have had a thousand opportunities\nof doing good, which you have suffered to pass by unimproved, and for\nwhich therefore you are accountable to God. But if you had improved\nthem all, if you really had done all the good you possibly could to\nall men, yet this does not at all alter the case: still you must be\nborn again. Without this nothing will do any good to your poor sinful,\npolluted soul. \u201cNay, but I constantly attend all the ordinances of God:\nI keep to my church and sacrament.\u201d It is well you do. But all this\nwill not keep you from hell, except you be born again. Go to church\ntwice a day, go to the Lord\u2019s table every week, say ever so many\nprayers in private, hear ever so many good sermons, read ever so many\ngood books, still you must be born again: none of these things will\nstand in the place of the new birth: no, nor any thing under heaven.\nLet this therefore, if you have not already experienced this inward\nwork of God, be your continual prayer, \u201cLord, add this to all thy\nblessings, let me be _born again_. Deny whatever thou pleasest, but\ndeny not this, Let me be _born from above_. Take away whatsoever\nseemeth thee good, reputation, fortune, friends, health. Only give me\nthis, To be _born of the Spirit_! To be received among the children of\nGod. Let me be born, _not of corruptible seed, but incorruptible, by\nthe word of_ God, _which liveth and abideth for ever_. And then let me\ndaily _grow in grace_, and _in the knowledge of our_ Lord _and Saviour_\nJesus Christ!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLVI.\n\n THE WILDERNESS STATE.\n JOHN xvi. 22.\n\n\n _Ye now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart\n shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you._\n\n1. AFTER God had wrought a great deliverance for _Israel_, by bringing\nthem out of the house of bondage, they did not immediately enter into\nthe land which he had promised to their fathers, but _wandered out of\nthe way in the wilderness_, and were variously tempted and distressed.\nIn like manner after God has delivered them that fear him from the\nbondage of sin and _Satan_; after they are _justified freely by his\ngrace, through the redemption that is in Jesus_, yet not many of them\nimmediately enter into _the rest_ which _remaineth for the people of_\nGod. The greater part of them wander, more or less, out of the good\nway into which he hath brought them. They come as it were into a _waste\nand howling desert_, where they are variously tempted and tormented.\nAnd this some, in allusion to the case of the _Israelites_, have termed\n_a wilderness-state_.\n\n2. Certain it is, that the condition wherein these are, has a right to\nthe tenderest compassion. They labour under an evil and sore disease;\nthough one that is not commonly understood. And for this very reason\nit is the more difficult for them to find a remedy. Being in darkness\nthemselves, they cannot be supposed to understand the nature of their\nown disorder. And few of their brethren, nay perhaps, of their teachers,\nknow either what their sickness is, or how to heal it. So much the more\nneed there is to enquire, _first_, What is the nature of this disease;\n_secondly_, What is the cause, and _thirdly_, What is the cure of it.\n\n\nI. And, _first_, What is the nature of this disease, into which so many\nfall, after they have believed? Wherein does it properly consist? And\nwhat are the genuine symptoms of it? It properly consists in the loss\nof that faith which God once wrought in their heart. They that are _in\nthe wilderness_ have not now that divine _evidence_, that satisfactory\n_conviction of things not seen_ which they once enjoyed. They have\nnot now that inward demonstration of the Spirit, which before enabled\neach of them to say, _The life I live, I live by faith in the Son of_\nGod, _who loved_ me _and gave himself for_ me. The light of heaven\ndoes not now _shine in their hearts_, neither do they _see him that\nis invisible_: but darkness is again on the face of their souls, and\nblindness on the eyes of their understanding. The Spirit no longer\n_witnesses with their spirits, that they are the children of_ God;\nneither does he continue, as the Spirit of adoption, _crying in their\nhearts, Abba, Father_. They have not now a sure trust in his love, and\na liberty of approaching him with holy boldness. _Though he slay me,\nyet will I trust in him_, is no more the language of their heart: but\nthey are shorn of their strength, and become weak and feeble-minded,\neven as other men.\n\n2. Hence, _secondly_, proceeds the loss of love, which cannot but\nrise or fall, at the same time, and in the same proportion, with true,\nliving faith. Accordingly, they that are deprived of their faith, are\ndeprived of the love of God also. They cannot now say, Lord, _thou\nknowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee_. They are not\nnow happy in God, as every one is, that truly loves him. They do not\ndelight in him as in time past, and _smell the odour of his ointments_.\nOnce, all their _desire was unto_ him, _and to the remembrance of his\nname_. But now even their desires are cold and dead, if not utterly\nextinguished. And as their love of God is _waxed cold_, so is also\ntheir love of their neighbour. They have not now that zeal for the\nsouls of men, that longing after their welfare, that fervent, restless,\nactive desire of their being reconciled to God. They do not feel\nthose _bowels of mercies_ for the sheep that are lost, that tender\n_compassion for the ignorant and them that are out of the way_.\nOnce they were _gentle toward all men_, meekly _instructing_ such as\n_opposed_ the truth, and _if any_ was _overtaken in a fault, restoring\nsuch an one in the spirit of meekness_. But after a suspense, perhaps\nof many days, anger begins to regain its power. Yea, peevishness and\nimpatience thrust sore at them that they may fall. And it is well if\nthey are not sometimes driven, even to _render evil for evil, and\nrailing for railing_.\n\n3. In consequence of the loss of faith and love, follows, _thirdly_,\nLoss of joy in the Holy Ghost. For if the loving consciousness of\npardon be no more, the joy resulting therefrom cannot remain. If the\nSpirit does not witness with our spirit, that we are the children of\nGod, the joy that flowed from that inward witness, must also be at an\nend. And in like manner, they who once _rejoiced with joy unspeakable,\nin hope of the glory of_ God, now they are deprived of that _hope full\nof immortality_, are deprived of the joy it occasioned: as also of that\nwhich resulted from a consciousness of _the love of_ God then _shed\nabroad in their hearts_. For the cause being removed, so is the effect:\nthe fountain being dammed up, those living waters spring no more, to\nrefresh the thirsty soul.\n\n4. With loss of faith and love and joy, there is also joined,\n_fourthly_, the loss of that peace which once past all understanding.\nThat sweet tranquillity of mind, that composure of spirit is gone.\nPainful doubt returns: doubt whether we ever did, and perhaps whether\nwe ever shall believe. We begin to doubt, whether we ever did find in\nour hearts, the real testimony of the Spirit? Whether we did not rather\ndeceive our own souls, and mistake the voice of nature for the voice of\nGod? Nay, and perhaps, whether we shall ever hear his voice, and find\nfavour in his sight. And these doubts are again joined with servile\nfear, with that _fear_ which _hath torment_. We fear the wrath of God,\neven as before we believed: we fear lest we should be cast out of his\npresence; and thence sink again into that fear of death, from which we\nwere before wholly delivered.\n\n5. But even this is not all. For loss of peace is accompanied with\nloss of power. We know, every one who has peace with God through Jesus\nChrist, has power over all sin. But whenever he loses the peace of God,\nhe loses also the power over sin. While that peace remained, power also\nremained, even over the besetting sin; whether it were the sin of his\nnature, of his constitution, of his education, or his profession: yea,\nand over those evil tempers and desires, which \u2019till then he could not\nconquer. _Sin_ had then _no more dominion over him_: but he hath now no\nmore dominion over sin. He may struggle indeed, but he cannot overcome;\nthe crown is fallen from his head. His enemies again prevail over him,\nand more or less bring him into bondage. The glory is departed from him,\neven the kingdom of God which was in his heart. He is dispossessed of\nrighteousness, as well as of peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.\n\n\nII. 1. Such is the nature of what many have termed, and not improperly,\n_the wilderness-state_. But the nature of it may be more fully\nunderstood, by enquiring, _secondly_, What are the causes of it?\nThese indeed are various. But I dare not rank among these, the bare,\narbitrary, sovereign will of God. He rejoiceth _in the prosperity of\nhis servants_: he delighteth not to _afflict or grieve the children of\nmen_. His invariable _will is our sanctification_, attended with _peace\nand joy in the Holy Ghost_. These are his own free gifts: and we are\nassured _the gifts of_ God _are_, on his part, _without repentance_. He\nnever repenteth of what he hath given, or desires to withdraw them from\nus. Therefore he never _deserts_ us, as some speak: it is we only that\n_desert_ him.\n\n2. The most usual cause of inward darkness is sin of one kind\nor another. This it is which generally occasions what is often a\ncomplication of sin and misery. And, _first_, Sin of _commission_. This\nmay frequently be observed to darken the soul in a moment: especially\nif it be a known, a wilful or presumptuous sin. If for instance, a\nperson who is now walking in the clear light of God\u2019s countenance,\nshould be any way prevailed on to commit a single act of drunkenness\nor uncleanness, it would be no wonder if in that very hour he fell\ninto utter darkness. It is true, there have been some very rare cases,\nwherein God has prevented this, by an extraordinary display of his\npardoning mercy, almost in the very instant. But in general, such an\nabuse of the goodness of God, so gross an insult on his love, occasions\nan immediate estrangement from God, and a _darkness that may be felt_.\n\n3. But it may be hoped, this case is not very frequent; that there are\nnot many who so despise the riches of his goodness, as while they walk\nin his light, so grosly and presumptuously to rebel against him. That\nlight is much more frequently lost, by giving way to sins of _omission_.\nThis indeed does not immediately quench the Spirit, but gradually\nand slowly. The former may be compared to pouring water upon a fire:\nthe latter to withdrawing the fewel from it. And many times will that\nloving Spirit reprove our neglect, before he departs from us. Many are\nthe inward checks, the secret notices he gives, before his influences\nare withdrawn. So that only a train of omissions wilfully persisted in,\ncan bring us into utter darkness.\n\n4. Perhaps no sin of omission more frequently occasions this, than\nthe neglect of private prayer; the want whereof cannot be supplied by\nany other ordinance whatever. Nothing can be more plain, than that the\nlife of God in the soul does not continue, much less increase, unless\nwe use all opportunities of communing with God, and pouring out our\nhearts before him. If therefore we are negligent of this, if we suffer\nbusiness, company, or any avocation whatever, to prevent these secret\nexercises of the soul, (or which comes to the same thing, to make us\nhurry them over in a slight and careless manner) that life will surely\ndecay. And if we long or frequently intermit them, it will gradually\ndie away.\n\n5. Another sin of omission which frequently brings the soul of a\nbeliever into darkness, is the neglect of what was so strongly enjoined,\neven under the Jewish dispensation, _Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy\nneighbour, and not suffer sin upon him: Thou shalt not hate thy brother\nin thy heart_. Now if we do _hate our brother in our heart_, if we do\nnot _rebuke_ him when we see him in a fault, but _suffer sin upon him_:\nthis will soon bring leanness into our own soul: seeing hereby we are\n_partakers of_ his _sin_. By neglecting to reprove our neighbour, we\nmake his sin our own. We become accountable for it to God: we saw his\ndanger, and gave him no warning. So, _if he perish in his iniquity_,\nGod may justly _require his blood at_ our _hands_. No wonder then if\nby thus grieving the Spirit, we lose the light of his countenance.\n\n6. A third cause of our losing this, is the giving way to some kind of\n_inward sin_. For example: we know every one that is _proud in heart\nis an abomination to the_ Lord: and that, although this pride of heart\nshould not appear in the outward conversation. Now how easily may a\nsoul filled with peace and joy, fall into this snare of the devil? How\nnatural is it for him to imagine, that he has more grace, more wisdom\nor strength than he really has? To _think more highly of himself than\nhe ought to think_? How natural, to glory in something he has received,\nas if he had not received it? But seeing God continually _resisteth\nthe proud, and giveth grace_ only _to the humble_, this must certainly\nobscure, if not wholly destroy the light which before shone on his\nheart.\n\n7. *The same effect may be produced by giving place to anger, whatever\nthe provocation or occasion be: yea, though it were coloured over with\nthe name of _zeal_ for the truth, or for the glory of God. Indeed all\nzeal which is any other than the flame of love, is _earthly, animal,\ndevilish_. It is the flame of wrath: It is flat, sinful anger, neither\nbetter, nor worse. And nothing is a greater enemy to the mild, gentle\nlove of God than this: they never did, they never can, subsist together\nin one breast. In the same proportion as this prevails, love and joy\nin the Holy Ghost decrease. This is particularly observable in the case\nof _offence_, I mean, anger at any of our brethren, at any of those who\nare united with us either by civil or religious ties. If we give way to\nthe spirit of offence but one hour, we lose the sweet influences of the\nHoly Spirit: so that instead of amending them we destroy ourselves, and\nbecome an easy prey to any enemy that assaults us.\n\n8. *But suppose we are aware of this snare of the devil, we may be\nattacked from another quarter. When fierceness and anger are asleep,\nand love alone is waking, we may be no less endangered by _desire_,\nwhich equally tends to darken the soul. This is the sure effect of\nany _foolish desire_, any vain or inordinate affection. If we _set our\naffection on things of the earth_, on any person or thing under the\nsun, if we desire any thing but God and what tends to God, if we seek\nhappiness in any creature, the jealous God will surely contend with us:\nfor he can admit of no rival. And _if_ we _will_ not _hear_ his warning\n_voice_, and return to him with our whole soul; if we continue to\ngrieve him with our idols, and running after other gods, we shall soon\nbe cold, barren and dry, and _the god of this world_ will _blind_ and\ndarken _our hearts_.\n\n9. But this he frequently does, even when we do not give way to any\npositive sin. It is enough, it gives him sufficient advantage, if we do\nnot _stir up the gift of_ God _which is in us_: if we do not _agonize_\ncontinually _to enter in at the strait gate_: if we do not earnestly\n_strive for the mastery_, and _take the kingdom of heaven by violence_.\nThere needs no more than not to fight, and we are sure to be conquered.\nLet us only be careless or _faint in our mind_, let us be easy and\nindolent, and our natural darkness will soon return, and overspread our\nsoul. It is enough therefore, if we give way to _spiritual sloth_: this\nwill effectually darken the soul. It will as surely destroy the light\nof God, if not so swiftly, as murder or adultery.\n\n10. But it is well to be observed, that the cause of our darkness,\n(whatsoever it be, whether omission or commission, whether inward\nor outward sin) is not always nigh at hand. Sometimes the sin which\noccasioned the present distress, may lie at a considerable distance.\nIt might be committed days or weeks or months before. And that God now\nwithdraws his light and peace, on account of what was done so long ago,\nis not (as one might at first imagine) an instance of his severity,\nbut rather a proof of his long-suffering and tender mercy. He waited\nall this time, if haply we would see, acknowledge and correct what was\namiss. And in default of this, he at lengths shews his displeasure, if\nthus at last he may bring us to repentance.\n\n\n(II.) 1. Another general cause of this darkness is _ignorance_; which\nis likewise of various kinds. If men know not the scriptures, if they\nimagine there are passages either in the Old or New Testament, which\nassert that all believers without exception, _must_ sometimes be in\ndarkness, this ignorance will naturally bring upon them the darkness\nwhich they expect. And how common a case has this been among us? How\nfew are there that do not expect it? And no wonder, seeing they are\ntaught to expect it: seeing their guides lead them into this way. Not\nonly the _Mystic_ writers of the _Romish_ church, but many of the most\nspiritual and experimental in our own, (very few of the last century\nexcepted) lay it down with all assurance, as a plain, unquestionable\nscripture-doctrine, and cite many texts to prove it.\n\n2. Ignorance also of the work of God in the soul, frequently\noccasions this darkness. Men imagine (because so they have been taught,\nparticularly by writers of the _Romish_ communion, whose plausible\nassertions too many Protestants have received without due examination)\nthat they are not always to walk in _luminous faith_: that this is only\na _lower dispensation_; that as they rise higher, they are to leave\nthose _sensible comforts_, and live by _naked faith_: (_naked_ indeed,\nif it be stript both of love and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost!)\nThat a state of light and joy is good; but a state of _darkness_ and\n_dryness_ is better: that it is by these alone we can be _purified_\nfrom pride, love of the world, and inordinate self-love; and that\ntherefore we ought neither to expect nor desire, to _walk in the light_\nalways. Hence it is (though other reasons may concur) that the main\nbody of pious men in the _Romish_ church, generally walk in a dark,\nuncomfortable way, and if ever they receive, soon lose the light of God.\n\n\n(III.) 1. A third general cause of this darkness is temptation. When\nthe candle of the Lord first shines on our head, temptation frequently\nflees away, and totally disappears. All is calm within: perhaps without\ntoo, while God makes our enemies to be at peace with us. It is then\nvery natural to suppose, that we shall not see war any more. And there\nare instances wherein this calm has continued, not only for weeks, but\nfor months or years. But commonly it is otherwise: in a short time _the\nwinds blow, the rains descend, and the floods arise_ anew. _They_ who\n_know not either the Son or the Father_, and consequently, hate his\nchildren, when God slackens the bridle which is in their teeth, will\nshew that hatred in various instances. As of old, _he that was born\nafter the flesh, persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even\nso it is now_: the same cause still producing the same effect. The evil\nwhich yet remains in the heart, will then also move afresh: anger and\nmany other _roots of bitterness_, will endeavour to spring up. At the\nsame time, _Satan_ will not be wanting, to cast in his fiery darts:\nand the soul will have to _wrestle_, not only with the world, _not_\nonly _with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, with\nthe rulers of the darkness of this world, with wicked spirits in high\nplaces_. Now when so various assaults made at once, and perhaps with\nthe utmost violence, it is not strange if it should occasion not only\nheaviness, but even darkness in a weak believer. More especially, if he\nwas not watching, if these assaults are made in an hour when he looked\nnot for them: if he expected nothing less, but had \u201cfondly told himself\n\n \u201cThe day of evil would return no more.\u201d\n\n2. The force of those temptations which arise from within, will be\nexceedingly heightened, if we before thought too highly of ourselves,\nas if we had been cleansed from all sin. And how naturally do we\nimagine this, during the warmth of our first love? How ready are we\nto believe, That God has _fulfilled in_ us _the_ whole _work of faith\nwith power_? That because we _feel_ no sin, we _have_ none in us, but\nthe soul is all love? And well may a sharp attack from an enemy whom we\nsupposed not only conquered but slain, throw us into much heaviness of\nsoul, yea, sometimes into utter darkness. Particularly when we _reason_\nwith this enemy, instead of instantly calling upon God, and casting\nourselves upon him by simple faith, who _alone knoweth to deliver his\nout of temptation_.\n\n\nIII. These are the usual causes of this second darkness. Enquire we,\n_thirdly_, What is the cure of it?\n\n1. *To suppose that this is one and the same in all cases, is a great\nand fatal mistake: and yet extremely common even among many who pass\nfor experienced Christians; yea, perhaps take upon them to be _teachers\nin Israel_, to be the guides of other souls. Accordingly they know\nand use but one medicine, whatever be the cause of the distemper. They\nbegin immediately to apply the promises, to _preach the gospel_, as\nthey call it. To give comfort is the single point at which they aim:\nin order to which they say many soft and tender things, concerning the\nlove of God to poor, helpless sinners, and the efficacy of the blood\nof Christ. Now this is _quackery_ indeed, and that of the worst sort,\nas it tends, if not to kill men\u2019s bodies, yet without the peculiar\nmercy of God, to _destroy both_ their _bodies and souls in hell_.\nIt is hard to speak of these _daubers with untempered mortar_, these\npromise-mongers, as they deserve. They well deserve the title which has\nbeen ignorantly given to others: they are _spiritual mountebanks_. They\ndo, in effect, make _the blood of the covenant an unholy thing_. They\nvilely prostitute the promises of God, by thus applying them to all,\nwithout distinction. Whereas indeed the cure of spiritual, as of bodily\ndiseases, must be as various as are the causes of them. The first thing\ntherefore is, to find out the cause, and this will naturally point out\nthe cure.\n\n2. For instance. Is it sin which occasions darkness? What sin? Is it\noutward sin of any kind? Does your conscience accuse you of committing\nany sin, whereby you grieve the Holy Spirit of God? Is it on this\naccount that he is departed from you, and that joy and peace are\ndeparted with him? And how can you expect they should return, till\nyou put away the accursed thing? _Let the wicked forsake his way;\ncleanse your hands, ye sinners; put away the evil of your doings._ So\nshall your _light break out of obscurity: the_ Lord _will return and\nabundantly pardon_.\n\n3. If upon the closest search, you can find no sin of commission which\ncauses the cloud upon your soul, enquire next, if there be not some sin\nof omission, which separates between God and you? Do you _not suffer\nsin upon your brother_? Do you reprove them that sin in your sight?\nDo you walk in all the ordinances of God? In public, family, private\nprayer? If not, and you habitually neglect any one of these known\nduties, how can you expect, that the light of his countenance should\ncontinue to shine upon you? Make haste to _strengthen the things that\nremain_: then your soul shall live. _To-day, if ye will hear his voice_,\nby his grace supply what is lacking. When you _hear a voice behind you\nsaying, This is the way; walk thou in it: harden not your heart_: be\nno more _disobedient to the heavenly calling_. Till the sin, whether of\nomission or commission, be removed, all comfort is false and deceitful.\nIt is only skinning the wound over, which still festers and rankles\nbeneath. Look for no peace within till you are at peace with God; which\ncannot be without _fruits meet for repentance_.\n\n4. But perhaps you are not conscious of even any _sin of omission_,\nwhich impairs your peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Is there not then\nsome _inward sin_, which as a _root of bitterness springs up_ in your\nheart to _trouble you_? Is not your dryness and barrenness of soul\noccasioned by your hearts _departing from the living_ God? Has not _the\nfoot of pride come against_ you? Have you not _thought_ of yourself\n_more highly than you ought to think_? Have you not in any respect\n_sacrificed to your own net, and burnt incense to your own drag_? Have\nyou not ascribed your success in any undertaking, to your own courage,\nor strength, or wisdom? Have you not boasted of something _you have\nreceived, as though you have not received it_? Have you not gloried _in\nany thing save the cross of our_ Lord Jesus Christ? Have you not sought\nafter or desired the praise of men? Have you not taken pleasure in it?\nIf so, you see the way you are to take. If you have fallen by pride,\n_humble yourself under the mighty hand of_ God, _and he will exalt you\nin due time_. Have not you forced him to depart from you, by giving\nplace to anger? Have you not _fretted yourself because of the ungodly_,\nor _been envious against the evil-doers_? Have you not been offended\nat any of your brethren? Looking at their (real or imagined) sin, so as\nto sin yourself against the great law of love, by estranging your heart\nfrom them? Then look unto the Lord, that you may renew your strength,\nthat all this sharpness and coldness may be done away, that love and\npeace and joy may return together, and you may be invariably _kind to\neach other_ and _tender-hearted; forgiving one another, even as_ God\n_for_ Christ\u2019_s sake hath forgiven you_. Have not you given way to any\nfoolish desire? To any kind or degree of inordinate affection? How then\ncan the love of God have place in your heart, till you put away your\nidols? _Be not deceived_: God _is not mocked_: he will not dwell in a\ndivided heart. As long therefore as you cherish _Delilah_ in your bosom,\nhe has no place there: it is vain to hope for a recovery of his light,\ntill you pluck out the right-eye and cast it from you. O let there be\nno longer delay. Cry to him, that he may enable you so to do! Bewail\nyour own impotence and helplessness; and the Lord being your helper,\nenter in at the strait gate: take the kingdom of heaven by violence!\nCast out every idol from his sanctuary, and the glory of the Lord shall\nsoon appear.\n\n5. Perhaps it is this very thing, the want of striving, _spiritual\nsloth_, which keeps your soul in darkness. You dwell at ease in\nthe land: there is no war in your coasts, and so you are quiet and\nunconcerned. You go on in the same even track of outward duties, and\nare content, there to abide. And do you wonder mean-time, that your\nsoul is dead? O stir yourself up before the Lord! Arise, and shake\nyourself from the dust: wrestle with God for the mighty blessing.\nPour out your soul unto God in prayer, and continue therein with all\nperseverance. Watch! Awake out of sleep and keep awake! Otherwise there\nis nothing to be expected, but that you will be alienated more and more\nfrom the light and life of God.\n\n6. If upon the fullest and most impartial examination of yourself, you\ncannot discern that you at present give way, either to spiritual sloth,\nor any other inward or outward sin, then call to mind the time that is\npast. Consider your former tempers, words and actions. Have these been\nright before the Lord? _Commune with him in your chamber and be still_,\nand desire of him to try the ground of your heart, and bring to your\nremembrance whatever has at any time offended the eyes of his glory. If\nthe guilt of any unrepented sin remain on your soul, it cannot be but\nyou will remain in darkness, till having been _renewed by repentance_,\nyou are again washed by faith in the _fountain opened for sin and\nuncleanness_.\n\n7. Entirely different will be the manner of the cure, if the cause\nof the disease be not sin, but _ignorance_. It may be, ignorance of\nthe meaning of scripture; perhaps occasioned by ignorant commentators;\nignorant at least in this respect, however knowing or learned they\nmay be in other particulars. And in this case, that ignorance must be\nremoved, before we can remove the darkness arising from it. We must\nshew the true meaning of those texts, which have been misunderstood.\nMy design does not permit me to consider all the passages of scripture\nwhich have been prest into this service. I shall just mention two or\nthree, which are frequently brought to prove, that all believers must,\nsooner or later, _walk in darkness_.\n\n8. One of these is _Isaiah_ l. 10. _Who is among you that feareth the_\nLord, _and obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness\nand hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the_ Lord, _and stay\nupon his_ God. But how does it appear either from the text or context,\nthat the person here spoke of ever had light? One who is _convinced of\nsin, feareth the_ Lord _and obeyeth the voice of his servant_. And him\nwe should advise, tho\u2019 he was still dark of soul, and had never seen\nthe light of God\u2019s countenance, yet to _trust in the name of the_ Lord,\n_and stay upon his_ God. This text therefore proves nothing less, than\nthat a believer in Christ \u201cmust sometimes _walk in darkness_.\u201d\n\n9. Another text which has been supposed to speak the same doctrine, is\n_Hosea_ ii. 14. _I will allure her and bring her into the wilderness,\nand speak comfortably unto her._ Hence it has been inferred, that\nGod will bring every believer _into the wilderness_, into a state of\ndeadness and darkness. But it is certain, the text speaks no such thing.\nFor 1. It does not appear, that it speaks of particular believers at\nall. It manifestly refers to the _Jewish_ nation; and perhaps, to that\nonly. But if it be applicable to particular persons, the plain meaning\nof it is this, I will draw him by love: I will next convince him of sin,\nand then comfort him by my pardoning mercy.\n\n10. A third scripture from whence the same inference has been drawn,\nis that above recited, _Ye now have sorrow: but I will see you again;\nand your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you_.\nThis has been supposed to imply, That God would, after a time withdraw\nhimself from all believers: and that they could not, till after they\nhad thus sorrowed, have the joy which no man could take from them. But\nthe whole context shews, that our Lord is here speaking personally to\nthe apostles, and no others; and that he is speaking concerning those\nparticular events, his own death and resurrection. _A little while_,\nsays he, _and ye shall not see me_, namely, whilst I am in the grave:\n_And again, a little while, and ye shall see me_, when I am risen from\nthe dead. _Ye will weep and lament, and the world will rejoice: but\nyour sorrow shall be turned into joy\u2015\u2015Ye now have sorrow_, because I am\nabout to be taken from your head. _But I will see you again_, after my\nresurrection, _and your heart shall rejoice. And your joy_ which I will\nthen give you, _no man taketh from you_. All this we know was literally\nfulfilled, in the particular case of the apostles. But no inference can\nbe drawn from hence, with regard to God\u2019s dealings with believers in\ngeneral.\n\n11. A fourth text (to mention no more) which has been frequently\ncited, in proof of the same doctrine, is, 1 _Pet._ iv. 12. _Beloved,\nthink it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you._\nBut this is full as foreign to the point as the preceding. The text,\nliterally rendered, runs thus. _Beloved, wonder not at the burning,\nwhich is among you, which is for your trial._ Now however this may\nbe accommodated to inward trials, in a secondary sense, yet primarily\nit doubtless refers to martyrdom, and the sufferings connected with\nit. Neither therefore is this text any thing at all to the purpose\nfor which it is cited. And we may challenge all men to bring one text\neither from the Old or New Testament, which is any more to the purpose\nthan this.\n\n12. \u201cBut is not darkness much more profitable for the soul than light?\nIs not the work of God in the heart, most swiftly and effectually\ncarried on, during a state of inward suffering? Is not a believer more\nswiftly and throughly purified, by sorrow than by joy? By anguish and\npain and distress and spiritual martyrdoms, than by continual peace?\u201d\nSo the _Mystics_ teach: so it is written in their books; but not in\n_the oracles of_ God. The scripture no where says, that the absence\nof God best perfects his work in the heart! Rather his presence, and a\nclear communion with the Father and the Son. A strong consciousness of\nthis will do more in an hour, than his absence in an age. Joy in the\nHoly Ghost will far more effectually purify the soul, than the want of\nthat joy. And the peace of God is the best means of refining the soul\nfrom the dross of earthly affections. Away then with the idle conceit,\nthat the kingdom of God is divided against itself: that the peace of\nGod and joy in the Holy Ghost are obstructive of righteousness: and\nthat _we are saved_ not _by faith_, but by unbelief; not by hope, but\nby despair!\n\n13. So long as men dream thus, they may well _walk in darkness_: nor\ncan the effect cease, till the cause is removed. But yet we must not\nimagine, it will immediately cease, even when the cause is no more.\nWhen either ignorance or sin has caused darkness, one or the other\nmay be removed, and yet the light which was obstructed thereby, may\nnot immediately return. As it is the free gift of God, he may restore\nit, sooner or later, as it pleases him. In the case of sin, we cannot\nreasonably expect, that it should immediately return. The sin began\nbefore the punishment, which may therefore justly remain, after the sin\nis at an end. And even in the natural course of things, tho\u2019 a wound\ncannot be healed while the dart is sticking in the flesh, yet neither\nis it healed as soon as that is drawn out; but soreness and pain may\nremain long after.\n\n14. Lastly, If darkness be occasioned by manifold, heavy and unexpected\ntemptations, the best way of removing and preventing this is, to\nteach believers always to expect temptation: seeing they dwell in\nan evil world, among wicked, subtle, malicious spirits, and have\nan heart capable of all evil. Convince them that the whole work of\nsanctification, is not (as they imagined) wrought at once: that when\nthey first believe, they are but as new-born babes, who are gradually\nto grow up, and may expect many storms, before they come to the\nfull stature of Christ. Above all, let them be instructed, when the\nstorm is upon them, not to reason with the devil, but to pray; to\npour out their souls before God, and shew him of their trouble. And\nthese are the persons unto whom chiefly we are to apply the great\nand precious promises: (not to the ignorant, till the ignorance is\nremoved; much less to the impenitent sinner.) To these we may largely\nand affectionately declare the loving kindness of God our Saviour, and\nexpatiate upon his tender mercies, which have been ever of old. Here\nwe may dwell upon the faithfulness of God, whose _word is tried to the\nuttermost_, and upon the virtue of that blood which was shed for us, to\n_cleanse us from all sin_. And God will then bear witness to his word,\nand bring their souls out of trouble. He will say, _Arise, shine; for\nthy light is come, and the glory of the_ Lord _is risen upon thee_. Yea,\nand that light, if thou walk humbly and closely with God, will shine\nmore and more _unto the perfect day_.\n\n\n\n\n SERMON XLVII.\n\n 1 PETER i. 6.\n\n\n _Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through\n manifold temptations._\n\n1. IN the preceding discourse I have particularly spoken of that\n_darkness_ of mind, into which those are often observed to fall, who\nonce walked in the light of God\u2019s countenance. Nearly related to this\nis the _heaviness_ of soul, which is still more common, even among\nbelievers: indeed almost all the children of God, experience this,\nin an higher or lower degree. And so great is the resemblance between\none and the other, that they are frequently confounded together: and we\nare apt to say indifferently, such an one is in _darkness_, or such an\none is in _heaviness_; as if they were equivalent terms, one of which\nimplied no more than the other. But they are far, very far from it.\nDarkness is one thing; heaviness is another. There is a difference,\nyea a wide, an essential difference, between the former and the latter.\nAnd such a difference it is, as all the children of God are deeply\nconcern\u2019d to understand: otherwise nothing will be more easy than for\nthem to slide out of heaviness into darkness. In order to prevent this,\nI will endeavour to shew,\n\nI. What manner of persons those were, to whom the apostle says, _Ye are\nin heaviness_: II. What kind of heaviness they were in. III. What were\nthe causes, and IV. What were the ends of it. I shall conclude with\nsome inferences.\n\n\nI. 1. I am in the first place to shew, what manner of persons those\nwere, to whom the apostle says, _Ye are in heaviness_. And, first,\nIt is beyond all dispute, that they were believers, at the time the\napostle thus addrest them. For so he expresly says, ver. 5. Ye _who\nare kept through the power of_ God _by_ faith _unto salvation_: again,\nver. 7. he mentions, _the trial of their_ faith, _much more precious\nthan that of gold which perisheth_. And yet again, ver. 9, he speaks of\ntheir _receiving the end of their faith, the salvation of their souls_.\nAt the same time therefore that they were _in heaviness_, they were\npossessed of living faith. Their heaviness did not destroy their faith:\nthey still _endured, seeing him that is invisible_.\n\n2. Neither did their heaviness destroy their peace, the peace that\npasseth all understanding, which is inseparable from true, living faith.\nThis we may easily gather from the second verse: wherein the apostle\nprays, Not that _grace and peace_ may be given them, but only, that\nit may _be multiplied unto them_; that the blessing which they already\nenjoyed, might be more abundantly bestowed upon them.\n\n3. The persons to whom the apostle here speaks were also full of a\nliving hope. For thus he speaks, ver. 3. _Blessed be the GOD and Father\nof our_ Lord Jesus Christ, _who according to his abundant mercy, hath\nbegotten us again_, me and you, all of us who are _sanctified by the\nSpirit_, and enjoy the _sprinkling of the blood of_ Jesus Christ, _unto\na living hope unto an inheritance_, that is unto a living hope of an\ninheritance _incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away_. So\nthat notwithstanding their heaviness, they still retained an hope full\nof immortality.\n\n4. And they still _rejoiced in hope of the glory of_ God. They were\nfilled with joy in the Holy Ghost. So ver. 8. the apostle having just\nmentioned the final _revelation of_ Jesus Christ (namely when he cometh\nto judge the world) immediately adds, _In whom though now ye see him\nnot_ (not with your bodily eyes) _yet believing, ye rejoice with joy\nunspeakable and full of glory_. Their heaviness therefore was not only\nconsistent with living hope, but also with _joy unspeakable_: at the\nsame time they were thus heavy, they nevertheless rejoiced with _joy\nfull of glory_.\n\n5. In the midst of their heaviness they likewise still enjoyed the love\nof God which had been shed abroad in their hearts, _Whom_, says the\napostle, _having not seen, ye love_. Tho\u2019 ye have not yet seen him face\nto face, yet knowing him by faith, ye have obeyed his word _My son give\nme thy heart_. He is your God, and your love, the desire of your eyes,\nand your _exceeding great reward_. Ye have sought and found happiness\nin him: ye _delight in the_ Lord, _and he hath given you your hearts\ndesire_.\n\n6. Once more, though they were heavy, yet were they holy: they retained\nthe same power over sin. They were still _kept_ from this _by the power\nof_ God: they were _obedient children, not fashioned according to their\nformer desires_, but _as he that had called them is holy_, so were they\n_holy in all manner of conversation. Knowing they were redeemed by the\nprecious blood of_ Christ, _a lamb without spot and without blemish_,\nthey had thro\u2019 the _faith and hope which they had in_ God, _purified\ntheir souls by the Spirit_. So that upon the whole, their heaviness\nwell consisted with faith, with hope, with love of God and man!\nwith the peace of God, with joy in the Holy Ghost, with inward and\noutward holiness. It did no way impair, much less destroy, any part\nof the work of God in their hearts. It did not at all interfere with\nthat _sanctification of the Spirit_, which is the root of all true\n_obedience_; neither with the happiness which must needs result from\n_grace and peace_ reigning in the heart.\n\n\nII. 1. Hence we may easily learn what kind of heaviness they were\nin: the second thing which I shall endeavour to shew. The word in\nthe original is \u03bb\u03c5\u03c0\u03b7\u03b8\u03ad\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2\u00b7 _made sorry, grieved_, from \u03bb\u03cd\u03c0\u03b7, _grief_\nor _sorrow_. This is the constant, literal meaning of the word: and\nthis being observed, there is no ambiguity in the expression, nor\nany difficulty in understanding it. The persons spoken of here were\n_grieved_: the heaviness they were in, was neither more nor less\nthan _sorrow_ or _grief_; a passion which every child of man is well\nacquainted with.\n\n2. It is probable, our translators rendered it _heaviness_ (tho\u2019 a\nless common word) to denote two things, first, The degree; and next,\nthe continuance of it. It does indeed seem, that it is not a slight\nor inconsiderable degree of grief which is here spoken of, but such as\nmakes a strong impression upon, and sinks deep into the soul. Neither\ndoes this appear to be a transient sorrow, such as passes away in an\nhour: but rather such as having taken fast hold of the heart, is not\npresently shaken off, but continues for some time, as a settled temper,\nrather than a passion, even in them that have living faith in Christ,\nand the genuine love of God in their hearts.\n\n3. Even in these this heaviness may sometimes be so deep as to\novershadow the whole soul, to give a colour, as it were, to all the\naffections, such as will appear in the whole behaviour. It may likewise\nhave an influence over the body: particularly in those that are either\nof a naturally weak constitution, or weakened by some accidental\ndisorder, especially of the nervous kind. In many cases we find _the\ncorruptible body presses down the soul_; in this, the soul rather\npresses down the body, and weakens it more and more. Nay, I will not\nsay, that deep and lasting sorrow of heart, may not sometimes weaken a\nstrong constitution, and lay the foundation of such bodily disorders,\nas are not easily removed. And yet all this may consist with a measure\nof that _faith which_ still _worketh by love_.\n\n4. This may well be termed a _fiery trial_: and though it is not the\nsame with that the apostle speaks of in the fourth chapter, yet many\nof the expressions there used concerning outward sufferings, may be\naccommodated to this inward affliction. They cannot indeed with any\npropriety be applied to them that are _in darkness_: these do not,\ncannot _rejoice_; neither is it true, that _the Spirit of glory and of_\nGod _resteth upon_ them. But he frequently doth on those that are _in\nheaviness_, so that though _sorrowful, yet_ are they _always rejoicing_.\n\n\nIII. 1. But to proceed to the third point, What are the causes of\nsuch sorrow or heaviness in a true believer? The apostle tells us\nclearly; _Ye are in heaviness_, says he, _through manifold temptations_:\n\u03c0\u03bf\u03b9\u03ba\u03af\u03bb\u03bf\u03b9\u03c2 _manifold_; not only many in number, but of many kinds.\nThey may be varied and diversified a thousand ways, by the change\nor addition of numberless circumstances. And his very diversity and\nvariety make it more difficult to guard against them. Among these\nwe may rank all bodily disorders: particularly acute diseases, and\nviolent pain of every kind, whether affecting the whole body or the\nsmallest part of it. It is true, some who have enjoyed uninterrupted\nhealth and have felt none of these, may make light of them, and wonder\nthat sickness or pain of body, should bring heaviness upon the mind.\nAnd perhaps, one in a thousand is of so peculiar a constitution, as\nnot to feel pain, like other men. So hath it pleased God to shew his\nalmighty power by producing some of these prodigies of nature, who have\nseemed, not to regard pain at all, though of the severest kind: if that\ncontempt of pain was not owing partly to the force of education, partly\nto a preternatural cause; to the power either of good or evil spirits,\nwho raised those men above the state of mere nature. But abstracting\nfrom these particular cases, it is in general a just observation,\n\n That \u201cPain is perfect misery, and extreme\n Quite overturns all patience.\u201d\n\nAnd even where this is prevented by the grace of God, where men do\n_possess their souls in patience_, it may nevertheless occasion much\ninward heaviness, the soul sympathizing with the body.\n\n2. All diseases of long continuance, though less painful, are apt to\nproduce the same effect. When God _appoints over_ us _consumption_\nor _the chilling and burning ague_, if it be not speedily removed, it\nwill not only _consume the eyes_, but _cause sorrow of heart_. This is\neminently the case with regard to all those which are termed _nervous\ndisorders_. And faith does not overturn the course of nature: natural\ncauses still produce natural effects. Faith no more hinders the\n_sinking of the spirits_ (as it is called) in an hysteric illness,\nthan the rising of the pulse in a fever.\n\n3. *Again, when _calamity cometh as a whirlwind_, and poverty _as an\narmed man_, is this a little temptation? Is it strange, if it occasion\nsorrow and heaviness? Although this also may appear but a small thing,\nto those that stand at a distance, or who look and _pass by on the\nother side_, yet it is otherwise to them who feel it. _Having food and\nraiment_ indeed (the latter word \u03c3\u03ba\u03b5\u03c0\u03ac\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1\u03c4\u03b1 implies lodging as well\nas apparel) we may, if the love of God is in our hearts, _be therewith\ncontent_. But what shall they do, who have none of these? Who as it\nwere _embrace the rock for a shelter_? Who have only the earth to\nlie upon, and only the sky to cover them? Who have not a dry, or warm,\nmuch less a clean abode for themselves and their little ones? No, nor\ncloathing to keep themselves, or those they love next themselves, from\npinching cold, either by day or night? I laugh at the stupid Heathen,\ncrying out\n\n _Nil habet infelix paupertas durius in se\n Quam quod ridiculos homines facit!_\n\nHas poverty nothing worse in it than this, that it _makes men liable\nto be laughed at_? \u2019Tis a sign this idle poet talked by rote of the\nthings which he knew not. Is not want of food something worse than\nthis? God pronounced it as a curse upon man, that he should earn it\nby _the sweat of his brow_. But how many are there in this Christian\ncountry, that toil and labour, and sweat, and have it not at last,\nbut struggle with weariness and hunger together? Is it not worse, for\none after an hard day\u2019s labour, to come back to a poor, cold, dirty,\nuncomfortable lodging, and to find there not even the food which is\nneedful to repair his wasted strength? You that live at ease in the\nearth, that want nothing but eyes to see, ears to hear, and hearts to\nunderstand how well God has dealt with you: is it not worse to seek\nbread, day by day, and find none? Perhaps to find the comfort also of\nfive or six children, crying for what he has not to give. Were it not,\nthat he is restrained by an unseen hand, would he not soon _curse_ God\n_and die_? O want of bread! Want of bread! Who can tell what this means,\nunless he hath felt it himself? I am astonished, it occasions no more\nthan heaviness even in them that believe!\n\n4. *Perhaps next to this we may place the death of those who were\nnear and dear unto us: of a tender parent, and one not much declined\ninto the vale of years: of a beloved child just rising into life,\nand clasping about our heart: of a friend, that was as our own soul:\nnext the grace of God, the last, best gift of heaven. And a thousand\ncircumstances may inhance the distress; perhaps the child, the friend,\ndied in our embrace! Perhaps, was snatched away, when we looked not\nfor it! Flourishing, cut down like a flower! In all these cases, we\nnot only may, but ought to be affected: it is the design of God, that\nwe should. He would not have us stocks and stones: he would have our\naffections regulated, not extinguished. Therefore\n\n \u201cNature unreprov\u2019d may drop a tear:\u201d\n\nThere may be sorrow without sin.\n\n5. *A still deeper sorrow we may feel, for those who are dead while\nthey live, on account of the unkindness, ingratitude, apostacy of those,\nwho were united to us in the closest ties. Who can express what a lover\nof souls may feel, for a friend, a brother dead to God? For an husband,\na wife, a parent, a child, rushing into sin as an horse into the battle,\nand in spite of all arguments and persuasions, hasting to work out\nhis own damnation? And this anguish of spirit may be heightened to an\ninconceivable degree, by the consideration, that he who is now posting\nto destruction, once ran well in the way of life. Whatever he was in\ntime past, serves now to no other purpose, than to make our reflections\non what he is, more piercing and afflictive.\n\n6. In all these circumstances we may be assured our great adversary\nwill not be wanting to improve his opportunity. He who is always\n_walking about seeking whom he may devour_, will then especially use\nall his power, all his skill, if haply he may gain any advantage,\nover the soul that is already cast down. He will not be sparing of his\nfiery darts, such as are most likely to find an entrance, and to fix\nmost deeply in the heart, by their suitableness to the temptation that\nassaults it. He will labour to inject unbelieving, or blasphemous, or\nrepining thoughts: he will suggest, that God does not regard, does not\ngovern the earth: or at least that he does not govern it aright, not by\nthe rules of justice and mercy. He will endeavour to stir up the heart\nagainst God, to renew our natural enmity against him. And if we attempt\nto fight him with his own weapons, if we begin to _reason_ with him,\nmore and more heaviness will undoubtedly ensue, if not utter darkness.\n\n7. It has been frequently supposed, that there is another cause (if\nnot of darkness, at least) of heaviness, namely, God\u2019s withdrawing\nhimself from the soul, because it is his sovereign will. Certainly\nhe will do this, if we grieve his holy Spirit, either by outward or\ninward sin: either by doing evil, or neglecting to do good: by giving\nway either to pride or anger, to spiritual sloth, to foolish desire\nor inordinate affection. But that he ever withdraws himself, because\nhe _will_, merely because it is his good pleasure, I absolutely deny:\nthere is no text in all the bible which gives any colour for such\na supposition. Nay it is a supposition contrary not only to many\nparticular texts, but to the whole tenor of scripture. It is repugnant\nto the very nature of God: it is utterly beneath his majesty and wisdom,\n(as an eminent writer strongly expresses it) \u201cto play at _bo-peep_ with\nhis creatures.\u201d It is inconsistent both with his justice and mercy, and\nwith the sound experience of all his children.\n\n8. One more cause of heaviness is mentioned by many of those who were\ntermed mystic authors. And the notion has crept in, I know not how,\neven among plain people who have no acquaintance with them. I cannot\nbetter explain this, than in the words of a late writer, who relates\nthis, as her own experience. \u201cI continued so happy in my Beloved, that\naltho\u2019 I should have been forced to live a vagabond in a desert, I\nshould have found no difficulty in it. This state had not lasted long,\nwhen in effect, I found myself led into a desert.\u2015\u2015I found myself in\na forlorn condition, altogether poor, wretched and miserable.\u2015\u2015The\nproper source of this grief is, the knowledge of ourselves, by which\nwe find, that there is an extreme unlikeness between God and us. We see\nourselves most opposite to him, and that our inmost soul is entirely\ncorrupted, depraved and full of all kind of evil and malignity, of\nthe world and flesh and all sorts of abominations:\u201d from hence it has\nbeen inferred, That the knowledge of ourselves, without which we should\nperish everlastingly, _must_ even after we have attained justifying\nfaith, occasion the deepest heaviness.\n\n9. But upon this I would observe, 1. In the preceding paragraph, this\nwriter says, \u201cHearing I had not a true faith in Christ, I offered\nmyself up to God, and immediately felt his love.\u201d It may be so; and yet\nit does not appear, That this was justification. \u2019Tis more probable, it\nwas no more then what are usually termed the _drawings of the Father_.\nAnd if so, the heaviness and darkness which followed, was no other\nthan conviction of sin, which in the nature of things must precede that\nfaith whereby we are justified. 2. Suppose she was justified almost\nthe same moment she was convinced of wanting faith, there was then no\ntime for that gradually increasing self-knowledge which uses to precede\njustification. In this case therefore it came after, and was probably\nthe more severe, the less it was expected. 3. It is allowed, there will\nbe a far deeper, a far clearer and fuller knowledge of our inbred sin,\nof our total corruption by nature, after justification, than ever there\nwas before it. But this need not occasion darkness of soul: I will not\nsay That it _must_ bring us into heaviness. Were it so, the apostle\nwould not have used that expression, _if need be_: for there would\nbe an absolute, indispensable need of it, for all that would know\nthemselves: that is in effect, for all that would know the perfect love\nof God, and be thereby _made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of\nthe saints in light_. But this is by no means the case: On the contrary,\nGod may increase the knowledge of ourselves to any degree, and increase\nin the same proportion the knowledge of himself and the experience of\nhis love. And in this case, there would be no \u201cdesert, no misery, no\nforlorn condition;\u201d but love and peace and joy gradually springing up\ninto everlasting life.\n\n\nIV. 1. For what ends then, (which was the fourth thing to be considered)\ndoes God permit heaviness to befal so many of his children? The apostle\ngives us a plain and direct answer to this important question; _That\nthe trial of their faith, which is much more precious than gold that\nperisheth though it be tried by fire, may be found unto praise and\nhonour and glory, at the revelation of_ Jesus Christ, ver. 7. There\nmay be an allusion to this, in that well-known passage of the fourth\nchapter (altho\u2019 it primarily relates to quite another thing, as has\nbeen already observed:) _Think it not strange concerning the fiery\ntrial which is to try you, but rejoice that ye are partakers of the\nsufferings of_ Christ: _That when his glory shall be revealed, ye may\nlikewise rejoice with exceeding great joy_, ver. 12, &c.\n\n2. Hence we learn, that the first and great end of God\u2019s permitting\nthe temptations which bring heaviness on his children, is the trial of\ntheir faith, which is tried by these, even as gold by the fire. Now we\nknow, gold tried in the fire, is purified thereby, is separated from\nits dross. And so is faith, in the fire of temptation; the more it is\ntried, the more it is purified. Yea, and not only purified, but also\nstrengthened, confirmed, increased abundantly, by so many more proofs\nof the wisdom and power, the love and faithfulness of God. This then,\nto increase our faith is one gracious end of God\u2019s permitting those\nmanifold temptations.\n\n3. They serve to try, to purify, to confirm and increase that living\nhope also, whereunto _the_ God _and Father of our_ Lord Jesus Christ\n_hath begotten us again of his abundant mercy_. Indeed our hope cannot\nbut increase, in the same proportion with our faith. On this foundation\nit stands: believing in his name, living by faith in the Son of God, we\nhope for, we have a confident expectation of, the glory which shall be\nrevealed. And consequently, whatever strengthens our faith; increases\nour hope also. At the same time it increases our joy in the Lord, which\ncannot but attend an hope full of immortality. In this view the apostle\nexhorts believers in the other chapter, _Rejoice that ye are partakers\nof the sufferings of_ Christ. On this very account, _happy are you;\nfor the Spirit of glory and of_ God _resteth upon you_. And hereby\nye are enabled, even in the midst of sufferings to _rejoice with joy\nunspeakable and full of glory_.\n\n4. They rejoice the more, because the trials which increase their faith\nand hope, increase their love also: both their gratitude to God for all\nhis mercies, and their good-will to all mankind. Accordingly the more\ndeeply sensible they are, of the loving-kindness of God their Saviour,\nthe more is their heart inflamed with love to him _who first loved us_.\nThe clearer and stronger evidence they have of the glory that shall\nbe revealed, the more do they love him who hath purchased it for them,\nand _given them the earnest_ thereof _in their hearts_. And this, the\nincrease of their love, is another end of the temptations permitted to\ncome upon them.\n\n5. Yet another is, Their advance in holiness; holiness of heart and\nholiness of conversation: the latter naturally resulting from the\nformer; for a good tree will bring forth good fruit. And all inward\nholiness is the immediate fruit of the faith that worketh by love.\nBy this the blessed Spirit purifies the heart from pride, self-will,\npassion; from love of the world, from foolish and hurtful desires,\nfrom vile and vain affections. Beside that sanctified afflictions have\n(thro\u2019 the grace of God) an immediate and direct tendency to holiness.\nThro\u2019 the operation of his Spirit, they humble more and more, and\nabase the soul before God. They calm and meeken our turbulent spirit,\ntame the fierceness of our nature, soften our obstinacy and self-will,\ncrucify us to the world; and bring us to expect all our strength from,\nand to seek all our happiness in God.\n\n6. And all these terminate in that great end, That our faith, hope,\nlove and holiness, _may be found_ (if it doth not yet appear) _unto\npraise_ from God himself, _and honour_ from men and angels, _and glory_\nassigned by the great Judge to all that have endured to the end. And\nthis will be assigned in that awful day to every man _according to his\nworks_, according to the work which God had wrought in his heart, and\nthe outward works which he has wrought for God: and likewise according\nto what he had suffered; so that all these trials are unspeakable gain.\nSo many ways do these _light afflictions, which are but for a moment,\nwork out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory_!\n\n7. Add to this the advantage which others may receive, by seeing our\nbehaviour under affliction. We find by experience, example frequently\nmakes a deeper impression upon us than precept. And what examples\nhave a stronger influence, not only on those who are partakers of\nlike precious faith, but even on them who have not known God, than\nthat of a soul calm and serene in the midst of storms, sorrowful yet\nalways rejoicing: meekly accepting whatever is the will of God, however\ngrievous it may be to nature: saying in sickness and pain, _The cup\nwhich my Father hath given me shall I not drink it_? In loss or want,\n_The_ Lord _gave: the_ Lord _hath taken away: blessed be the name of\nthe_ Lord!\n\n\nV. 1. I am to conclude with some inferences. And, first, How wide\nis the difference between _darkness_ of soul and _heaviness_? Which\nnevertheless are so generally confounded with each other, even by\nexperienced Christians! Darkness, or the wilderness-state implies\na total loss of joy in the Holy Ghost: heaviness does not; in the\nmidst of this we may _rejoice with joy unspeakable_. They that are in\ndarkness have lost the peace of God; they that are in heaviness have\nnot: so far from it, that at the very time _peace_ as well as _grace_\nmay _be multiplied unto_ them. In the former, the love of God is waxed\ncold, if it be not utterly extinguished: in the latter it retains\nits full force, or rather increases daily. In these, faith itself,\nif not totally lost, is however grievously decayed. Their evidence\nand conviction of things not seen, particularly of the pardoning love\nof God, is not so clear or strong as in time past: and their trust in\nhim is proportionally weakened. Those, tho\u2019 they see him not, yet have\na clear, unshaken confidence in God, and an abiding evidence of that\nlove, whereby all their sins are blotted out. So that as long as we can\ndistinguish faith from unbelief, hope from despair, peace from war, the\nlove of God from the love of the world, we may infallibly distinguish\n_heaviness_ from _darkness_.\n\n2. We may learn from hence, secondly, That there may be need of\n_heaviness_, but there can be no need of _darkness_. There may be need\nof our being in _heaviness for a season_, in order to the ends above\nrecited: at least, in this sense, as it is a natural result of those\n_manifold temptations_, which are needful to try and increase our faith,\nto confirm and inlarge our hope, to purify our heart from all unholy\ntempers, and to perfect us in love. And by consequence they are needful,\nin order to brighten our crown, and add to our eternal weight of glory.\nBut we cannot say, that darkness is needful, in order to any of these\nends. It is no way conducive to them: the loss of faith, hope, love,\nis surely neither conducive to holiness, nor to the increase of that\nreward in heaven, which will be in proportion to our holiness on earth.\n\n3. From the apostle\u2019s manner of speaking we may gather, thirdly, That\neven heaviness is not _always_ needful. _Now, for a season, if need\nbe_: so it is not needful for _all persons_; nor for any person, at\n_all times_. God is able, he hath both power and wisdom, to work when\nhe pleases, the same work of grace, in any soul, by other means. And in\nsome instances he does so: he causes those whom it pleaseth him to go\non from strength to strength, even till they _perfect holiness in_ his\n_fear_, with scarce any heaviness at all: as having an absolute power\nover the heart of man, and moving all the springs of it at his pleasure.\nBut these cases are rare: God generally sees good to try _acceptable\nmen in the furnace of affliction_. So that manifold temptations\nand heaviness, more or less, are usually the portion of his dearest\nchildren.\n\n4. We ought therefore, lastly, to watch and pray and use our utmost\nendeavours to avoid falling into darkness. But we need not be\nsollicitous how to avoid, so much as how to improve by heaviness. Our\ngreat care should be, so to behave ourselves under it, so to wait upon\nthe Lord therein, that it may fully answer all the design of his love,\nin permitting it to come upon us: that it may be a means of increasing\nour faith, of confirming our hope, of perfecting us in all holiness.\nWhenever it comes, let us have an eye to these gracious ends, for\nwhich it is permitted, and use all diligence, that we may not _make\nvoid the counsel of_ God _against ourselves_. Let us earnestly _work\ntogether with him_, by the grace which he is continually giving us,\nin _purifying_ ourselves _from all pollution both of flesh and spirit_,\nand daily _growing in the grace of our_ Lord Jesus Christ, till we are\nreceived into his everlasting kingdom!\n\n\n The End of the Third VOLUME.\n\n\n\n\n Footnotes.\n\n\n 1 \u2012 _De mortalitate._\n\n 2 \u2012 _Carnis & corporis multa ac: gravia tormenta._\n\n 3 \u2012 Gen. i. 26, 27.\n\n 4 \u2012 Eph. iv. 24.\n\n 5 \u2012 Gen. i. 31.\n\n 6 \u2012 Gen. iii. 8.\n\n 7 \u2012 _Q._ 163, 165.\n\n\n\n\n Transcriber\u2019s Notes.\n\n\n The following corrections have been made in the text:\n\n Page 5:\n Sentence starting: 3. To consider this a little more....\n \u2013 numeral \u20182\u2019 was skipped\n (3. To consider this a little more)\n\n Page 14:\n Sentence starting: Or (as the same exhortation....\n \u2013 \u2018\u1f08\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03b8\u03b5\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u1f08\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5\u2019\n (\u1f08\u03b3\u03c9\u03bd\u03af\u03b6\u03b5\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c3\u03b5\u03bb\u03b8\u03b5\u1fd6\u03bd)\n Sentence starting: For after he had said,...\n \u2013 \u2018\u1f04\u03c1\u03be\u03b7\u03b8\u03b5 \u1f14\u03c7\u03c9 \u1f10\u03c3\u1f00\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u1f04\u03c1\u03be\u03b7\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u1f14\u03c7\u03c9 \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9\u2019\n (\u1f04\u03c1\u03be\u03b7\u03c3\u03b8\u03b5 \u1f14\u03c7\u03c9 \u1f10\u03c3\u03c4\u03ac\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9)\n\n Page 74:\n Sentence starting: 9. And if thou art throughly....\n \u2013 \u20182\u2019 replaced with \u20189\u2019\n (9. And if thou art throughly)\n\n Page 85:\n Sentence starting: 10. Consider this well:...\n \u2013 duplicated paragraph number \u201810.\u2019\n (10. Consider this well:)\n\n Page 160:\n Sentence starting: 3. \u2019Tis very possible,...\n \u2013 \u2018Jehonabab\u2019 replaced with \u2018Jehonadab\u2019\n (as even _Jehonadab_ was)\n\n Page 161:\n Sentence starting: For we may well believe....\n \u2013 \u2018Jehonabab\u2019 replaced with \u2018Jehonadab\u2019\n (_Jehonadab_ as well as all his posterity)\n\n Page 189:\n Sentence starting: And those in the fifth,...\n \u2013 \u2018it\u2019 replaced with \u2018is\u2019\n (whosoever is born of God)\n\n Page 193:\n Sentence starting: After he had there related....\n \u2013 \u2018\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b8\u1f70\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u2019 replaced with \u2018\u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03ac\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd\u2019\n (\u03bf\u1f57 \u1f14\u03bc\u03b5\u03bb\u03bb\u03bf\u03bd \u03bb\u03b1\u03bc\u03b2\u03ac\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f31 \u03c0\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03b5\u03cd\u03bf\u03bd\u03c4\u03b5\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f30\u03c2 \u03b1\u1f50\u03c4\u03cc\u03bd)\n\n Page 228:\n Sentence starting: 2. With regard to the....\n \u2013 duplicated paragraph number \u20182.\u2019\n (2. With regard to the)\n\n Page 246:\n Sentence starting: Only _make_ thy _request....\n \u2013 \u2018withold\u2019 replaced with \u2018withhold\u2019\n (he cannot withhold from thee)\n\n Page 250:\n Sentence starting: 6. *In order to this,...\n \u2013 duplicated paragraph number \u20186.\u2019\n (6. *In order to this,)\n\n Page 257:\n Sentence starting: 1. Faith in general is....\n \u2013 \u2018\u1f1c\u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03ba\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50 \u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c4\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u2019 replaced with\n \u2018\u1f1c\u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50 \u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd\u2019\n (\u1f1c\u03bb\u03b5\u03b3\u03c7\u03bf\u03c2 \u03c0\u03c1\u03b1\u03b3\u03bc\u03ac\u03c4\u03c9\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50 \u03b2\u03bb\u03b5\u03c0\u03bf\u03bc\u03ad\u03bd\u03c9\u03bd)\n\n Page 262:\n Sentence starting: Every one that believes....\n \u2013 \u2018as\u2019 replaced with \u2018or\u2019\n (or has not)\n\n Page 275:\n Sentence starting: 3. Now God _saw that all_....\n \u2013 duplicated word removed \u2018to\u2019\n (saw them _all_ to be _very good_:)\n\n Page 303:\n Sentence starting: _Q._ What is baptism?\n \u2013 Omitted word added \u2018_A._\u2019\n (_A._ Baptism is a sacrament)","title":"The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 03 (of 32)","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":88268}