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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
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 SAMUEL A G N E \V , 
 
 OK PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 
 7h/(pv^(yh//dir£^§5(3r; 
 
 
 Cam', Division. •.^ ^—'V^ 
 
DISCOURSES 
 
 ONSEVERAL 
 
 Important Subjeds. 
 
 To which are added, 
 
 EIGHT SERMONS 
 
 PREACHED AT THE 
 
 Lady MOYER\ Lecture, 
 
 I N T H E 
 
 Cathedral Church of St. Paul, London, 
 
 By JEREMIAH SEEDy }A, ^. 
 
 Reftor o^Enham in Hampjhire^ and late Fellow - 
 of ^een's-Collegey Oxford. 
 
 The FIFTH EDITION. 
 
 VOLUME II. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 Printed for R. Man by, near Ludgate-HHl^ and 
 H. S. Cox, in Pater-NoJierRow. 
 MDCCLVII. 
 
 % 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 O F T H E 
 
 SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 TH E Notion of Pride flated, and the 
 Pretenfions to it examined* 
 Romans XII. 3. 
 Not to think of himfelf more highly than hi 
 ought to think ^ but to thifik fiber ly. P. i< 
 SERMON IJ. 
 On the Advantages of AfBidlion* 
 Psalm LXXVII. 3. 
 When I am in Heavi?iefe, I will think upon 
 God, 33 
 
 SERMON IIL 
 On Faith, Benevolence, ^c* 
 I Timothy L 19. 
 Holding Faith ^ and a good Confiience* 63 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 The Nature and Duration of future Pu* 
 nifhments confidered j and the Goodnefs 
 of God fully vindicated, as to that Ar- 
 ticle, againft the principal Objedlions of 
 fome late Writers. 
 
 Matthew XXVI. 24. 
 // had been goodjor that Man, if he had not 
 been born, g$ 
 
 A 2 S E R- 
 
The CONTENTS 
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 The Nature, PolTibility, and Truth of a 
 particular Providence fet forth. 
 Psalm CXIII. 5. 
 JVho is like unto the Lord our Gody who hath 
 his Dwelling jo high-, and yet hiimhleth 
 himjelf to behold the 'Things that are in 
 Heaven and Earth f P- 1 3 1 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 The intrinfic Excellency of the Scriptures, 
 a Proof of their divine Infpiration. 
 I Peter III. 15. 
 Be ready always to give an Anfwer to every 
 Man that ajketh you a Reafon of the Hofe^ 
 that is in you. i6y 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 The intrinfic Excellency of the Scriptures, 
 a Proof of their divine Infpiration. 
 .1 Peter III. 15. 
 Be ready always to give an Anfwer to every 
 Man that ajketh you a Reafon of the Hope^ 
 that is in you » 203 
 
 Eight SERMONS. 
 \On the Evidences of Chriftianity, the Cor- 
 ruption of our Nature 3 the Redemption, 
 and the Trinity. 
 
 SER- 
 
The CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 On the Truth of Chriftianlty. 
 John III, 2. 
 Rabbi^ we knoiv that thou art a Teacher 
 come from God : For no Man can do thefe 
 MiracleSy that thou doejiy except God be 
 'with him. P. 277 
 
 S E R M O N II. 
 On the Evidences of Chriftianity. 
 John III. 2. 
 Rabbiy we know that thou art a Teacher 
 come from God : For no Man can do thefe 
 Miracles^ that thou doejiy except God be 
 with him. 265 
 
 SERMON III. 
 On the Genuinenefs and Infpiration of the 
 Sacred Writers. 
 I Thess. II. 13. 
 When ye received the Word of Gody which 
 ye heard of us -, ye received it not as the 
 Word of Men, but (as it is in Truth) 
 the Word of God. 291 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 On the Corruption of human Nature. 
 Job XIV. 3, 4. 
 Doji thou open thine Eyes upon fuch an 07te f 
 and bringejl me into Judgment with thee f 
 Who can bring a clean Thing out of an Un^ 
 clean? Not one. 331 
 
 SER- 
 
The C O N T E N T S. 
 
 S E R M O N V. 
 
 On the Redemption. 
 I Peter III. i8. 
 
 Chri/i alfo hath once fuffered for Sins, the "Jiiji 
 for the IJnjuJi, that he might bring us unto 
 God. P. 3^9 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 On the Redemption. 
 1 Peter III. 18. 
 Chrijl alfo hath once fuffered for Sins, the Juji 
 for the Vnjuf, that he might bring us unto 
 God, 385 
 
 SERMON Vn. 
 On the Dodlrine of the Trinity. 
 Matthew XXVIII. 19. 
 Go ye therefore, and teach all Nations, 
 baptizing than in the Name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoji. 
 
 417 
 SERMON VIII. 
 On the Dodrine of the Trinity. 
 Matthew XXVIII. 19. 
 Go ye therefore, and teach all Nations, 
 baptizing them in the Name of the Father, 
 and cf the Son, and of the Holy Ghoji. 
 
 443 
 SER- 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 The Notion of Pride ftated, and the 
 Pretenfions to it examined. ^„.... 
 
 f. *■ ^ 
 
 V.THlI0L0G'I6:ir 
 Romans XII. p ^^^ ^^^p 
 
 Not to think of himfelf more highly tJJdh'M^ *^ 
 ought to things but to think foberJy , 
 
 IT is a common Obfervation, that How-Serm. \. 
 ever forward Men may be to repine at 
 the unequal Portion which God has 
 allotted them of worldly Bleffings 5 yet they 
 are generally well fatisfied with their Share 
 of inward Endowments : it being as hard 
 to meet with a Perfon, who humbly thinks 
 he has too little Senfe and Merit, as it is 
 to find one, who fanfies he has too great 
 Riches and Honours. 
 
 What makes men uneafy in their Cir- 
 
 cumftances, is that they are continually fct- 
 
 ting to View the bright Side of thefjifehes^ 
 
 and the dark Side of their Condition in Life ; 
 
 Vol. II. B tl^: 
 
2 "the Notio7t of Pride Jlatedj 
 
 Serm.I. the firfl to find out their own Grievances, 
 and the laft to difcern their own Faults and 
 Follies. Whereas if they took a contrary 
 Method, they would perceive, that God 
 had been kinder to the Worft of Men, than 
 the very Befl of Men could deferve. 
 
 Self-Love is a Paflion interwoven in our 
 Frame and Conftitution -, and if it be not 
 kept under due Regulations, Self-Conceit 
 "will be the neceffary Effed of it. For fince 
 we are apt to believe, what we wifh to be 
 true ; Is it a Wonder, if we over-rate thofe 
 Perfedions, which we have, and imagine 
 ourfelves polTeft of thofe, which we have 
 no Title to ? 
 
 In our Youth, Pleafure has often the 
 Afcendant ; in the Middle of our Age Am- 
 bition ; and Avarice brings up the Rear at 
 the Clofe of Life. But this Vice, of which 
 I am fpeaking, attends too many of us from 
 the Cradle to the Grave : we being equally 
 vain, whether we purfue Pleafure, Honour, 
 or Wealth : The Mafler Paffion of the 
 Soul is the fame, though its Servants are 
 often changed according to the different 
 Stages of Life. 
 
 For this Reafon the Apoftle ufliers in 
 the Words of my Text with a peculiar Em- 
 
 phafii 
 
a?2d the Pretext/tons to it exammeJ. 3 
 
 phafis and Force. For Ifciy, accordi?2g /^Serm. I. 
 the Grace given unto me, to every oJie among 
 yoii, not to think of himfelf jnore highly than 
 he ought to thinks but to think foberly. 
 
 In which Words St. Paul advifeth us, 
 and inftead of viewing ourfelves in that en- 
 gaging Light, which the fervile Flattery of 
 others, or our own afTuming Vanity (our 
 greateft Flatterer of all) might place us in, 
 we fhould endeavour to form a true Efti- 
 mate of our Worth, or in the Words of 
 the Text, think foberly. 
 
 Among the many Imputations, which 
 we are willing to fallen upon thofe whom 
 we have an Averlion to, that of Pride is, I 
 think, one of the moft common. Now, 
 if we would examine the innermoft RecelTes 
 of the Mind, I doubt we fliould often find, 
 that our own Pride is the Caufe, why we 
 tax others with it. Men elate with the 
 Thoughts of their own Sufficiency are ever 
 imagining, that others are wanting in their 
 Regard to them, and therefore very apt to 
 conclude, that Pride muft be the Caufe, 
 why they with-hold from them that Re- 
 fpeft, which they have an unqueftioned 
 Right to in their own Opinion. Of this wc 
 have a pregnant Inftancc in Scripture : I'ou 
 B 2 take 
 
4 The Notion of Pride Jlafedy 
 
 Seku.I. fake too much upon you, {aid Corah and his 
 Accomplices, when they themfelves were 
 taking too much upon them, and invading 
 the Province of Aaron, Hence it is, that 
 their Character feldom efcapes the Brand of 
 Vanity, who have the Fortune to be poiTeft 
 of thofe Accomplifhments, which would 
 make their Detradtors vain. 
 
 But before we afperfe others with this 
 Cenfure, let us confider what Pride is, and 
 corredl our Mirtakes about the Nature of it. 
 
 In the following Difcourfe I {hall there- 
 fore \/i ftate the Notion of Pride. 
 
 Wdly, Confider the Unreafonablenefs of 
 this Vice. 
 
 yi then, I am to flate the Notion of Pride. 
 
 Our Happinefs, as well as Knowledge, 
 arifes from Senfation and Refledlioui and 
 may be reduced to thefc two Articles, viz, 
 that of pleafing Senfations, and that of 
 agreeable Thoughts. Now as to a Defire 
 of indulging the former without Check or 
 Control, are owing Luft,- Drunkennefs 
 and Intemperance ; fo from a Defire of in- 
 dulging the latter beyond Meafure, Pride 
 takes it's Original. And it is very remark- 
 4 ahje. 
 
and the Pretenjions to it examined, 5 
 
 able, and thofe, who moft deny them-SERM. I. 
 felves pleafmg Senfations, will be, except^ 
 they are very much upon their Guard, apt 
 overmuch to indulge agreeable ReJJeBiojzs 
 upon themi'elves. In Proportion as they re- 
 lift the coarfer Self-indulgences, the more 
 refined and fpiritual Vices will gain an eafier 
 Entrance. Jufl: as fubtile and thin Matter 
 finds Admittance and fills up the Vacancy, 
 where Bodies of a grofler Contexture can- 
 not penetrate. Pride fprings from a partial 
 View of ourfelves, a View of the bright 
 Side of ourfelves, without balancing againft 
 it our numerous Imperfections and Defeds, 
 how little Good we can perform without 
 the Grace of God, and how little we ac- 
 tually do perform even with it. It does 
 not confift in the bare Confcioufnefs^ that we 
 have fome Accomplifhments, as for In- 
 ftance, good Senfe, Beauty, great Abilities ; 
 but in that Exultation of Mind, which is 
 confequent upon that Confcioufnefs, unal- 
 layed by any Self-Difiatisfa(flion ariiing from 
 a Survey of our Sins and Frailties. If our 
 Virtues and J^erfc6lions (fuppofing them our 
 own Acquifitions) were unallayed ; then an 
 unallayed Self-Complacency might juftly be 
 the Refult of a Knowledge of them : But as 
 B 3 human 
 
6 The Notion of Pride jlated^ 
 
 Serm. I. human Excellencies will have a Mixture of 
 human Weaknefles, our Self-Complacency 
 ought to be moderated in proportion to our 
 Faults and Imperfedions. The Difference 
 between Humility and Pride conlifls in this, 
 that the humble Man, whatever Talents he 
 is poffeft of, confiders them as fo many 
 Truds repofed in him by God, which are fo 
 far from raifing his Pride, that they excite 
 his Caution 5 as knowing that to ivhoju tmich 
 is given, of him much will he required: 
 Whereas the Proud values himfelf, as if he 
 were not only the Suhjedi but the Author 
 of thofe good Qualities j and fo makes an 
 Idol of himfelf, inftead of adoring and thank- 
 ing God for them. The proud Man is 
 dazded with the Luftre of his own Excellen- 
 cies : Whereas the humble Man, though 
 not infcnfibie of particular Endowments, 
 yet thinks meanly of Himfelf abfilutely and 
 upon the JVhole 3 and begs that God vv^ould 
 not weigh his Merits^ but pardon his Of- 
 fences. 
 
 A total Self-Loathing, however, would 
 be as great a Fault, as a clear and unmixed 
 Self- Liking; : It would deaden all the Powers 
 of the Soul, and fink it into a State of 
 Inadion. There is a Medium between a 
 
 juft 
 
and the Prete7iJio7is to it exaimned, 7 
 
 jufl Senfe of our Abilities, and an exorbi-SERM. I. 
 tant Opinion of them. The former is of* 
 admirable Service to Mankind, when qua- 
 lified with a due Proportion of Difcretion 
 and Modefly. A j aft Confcioufnefs of thofe 
 Talents, *' with which God has entrufted us, 
 will give Life and Spirit to our Undertak- 
 ings, and be a powerful Motive to thofe 
 Actions, which may make us truly glori- 
 ous : Modefty and Difcretion will be a Bar 
 to thofe Attempts, which being above our 
 Sphere may make us ridiculous. Thus do 
 thefe two a6l in Concert, and while the 
 former prompts us to difplay ourfelves ; the 
 latter prevents us from expofing ourfelves. 
 The Flame will afpire upwards, but it will 
 be with Trembling. 
 
 It is a falfe Humility to have low de- 
 rogatory Thoughts of human Nature in 
 general^ as if it were entirely and eflential- 
 ly corrupt, without any Mixture of Good- 
 nefs : True Humility chiefly teacheth us to 
 have low Notions of thofe perfonal Differ- 
 ences, which difihiguifi one Man from an- 
 other. Man ought to reverence himfelf, 
 as a Being capable of Knowledge, Virtue, 
 and everlafting Happinefs : but then he be- 
 comes blameable, when he is elate upon 
 B 4 the 
 
8 The Notion of Pride flated^ 
 
 Serm.I. the Account of accidental Differences; if, 
 for Inflance, being a Man of a large Com- 
 pafs of Thought and deep Penetration, he 
 {hall defpife another, becaufe he is of a dul- 
 ler Appreheniion or perhaps an Idiot. For 
 it is to be confidered, that the Soul is of 
 the fame Kind in both, equally great as to 
 all effentlal Qualities in the one as in the 
 other : and the only Superiority he has con- 
 fifts perhaps in a finer Contexture of the 
 Brain, or a livelier Flow of the Animal 
 Spirits : which is plain from this ; that an 
 Accident or a Difeafe fliall reduce a Man 
 of the mod diftinguifhed :Senfe to the Con- 
 dition of a Natural. And it would be juft 
 as reafonable to defpife a Man, becaufe He 
 could not work as well as we with wretch- 
 ed Inftruments : as to condemn a Man, be- 
 caufe He cannot reafon as well with a Body 
 incommodioufly formed for Thinking: The 
 Body being an Inflrument to the Soul in 
 Thinking. The Soul of one Man is lodg- 
 ed as it were in a commodious lightfom 
 ManfiOn, where it can command a fpaci- 
 ous Profped", and take in Variety of Ob- 
 jects ; and the Soul of another may be pent 
 up as it were in a dark Dungeon, where 
 there are few or no Inlets of Knowledge. 
 
 But 
 
and the Pretenjtons to it examined, 9 
 But when this earthly Tabernacle fliall bcSERM.I. 
 diilolved, and the Mind enlarged, they will, 
 Both of them, be upon an equal Foot. 
 When that Knowledge which is i?i Part 
 fiall be done away, and that which is per- 
 fed: is come; a Man of the duUeft Appre- 
 henfion fhall perhaps be in a Moment wifcr, 
 than the greateft Scholar after a Life laid 
 out in painful Rcfearches can be here. So 
 litde Rcafon is there to lay great Srefs up- 
 on thofe accidental Differences which di- 
 fllnguifh one man from another; at the 
 fame time that it is Ingratitude to God, as 
 well as falfe Humility, to depreciate hu- 
 man Nature in general. 
 
 Pride then is, as the Text expreffeth it, 
 the Thinking too highly of ourfehes. It is 
 an over-weening Conceit of our Dignity, 
 founded upon feme real or imaginary Supe- 
 riority to our Neighbours : which, when it 
 expreffeth itfelf in an imperious and over- 
 bearing Carriage, and a commanding Mien, 
 is called Haughtinefs ; and is generally the 
 Fault of a narrow Education : Whereas 
 Men of an enlarged Converfation give into 
 a more delicate Pride, which can never en- 
 joy itfelf, but when it is fo artful, as to 
 conceal itfelf under the Mafk of Humilitv. 
 
 the 
 
1 o 7^^ Notion of Pride Jiated^ 
 
 Serm. I. The Generality of Mankind confider onl3r 
 the Surface of their Actions, without ever 
 founding the Depths of their Heart, and 
 tracing the inward Workings of the Soul. 
 Indeed we cannot but be fenfible of the via- 
 lent Emotions and Agitations of any Paffion 5 
 but i\-\tjiiller and gentler Movements oft 
 efcape our Notice. Thus when Pride be- 
 comes fo enormous, as, in the Words of a 
 judicious Writer*, " to make Men ufe 
 *' their Servants, as if they were Brutes, 
 *' their Inferiors as Servants, and their 
 *' Equals as Inferiors;*' Men muft be blind 
 to over-look this Vice in others, or even 
 in themfelves. But when it conceals itfelf 
 under ftudied Difguifes and Refinements, 
 it will, except we are very attentive, elude 
 our Obfervation. To give fome Inftances, 
 a Perfon is perhaps very liberal : but while 
 he does not examine the Principle of his 
 Liberality, he Avail not perceive, that Pride 
 is often the Source of it, that he only 
 makes an Exchange of Money for Glory, 
 and.difpenfes his Favours, becaufe he va- 
 lues the Vanity of Giving, more than the 
 Thing, which he gives. Another mif- 
 takes the Affability of the Gentleman, or 
 
 Man 
 
 * Uoder'i Works, Page 520. 
 
and the Pretenfwjts to it examtmd* 1 1 
 Man of the World, for the Humility ofSERM.I. 
 the Chriftian. Whereas he ought to con- 
 fider, that we oft beat down thofe Vices 
 which are flagrant and glaring, by others 
 which are fecret and out of Sight. Thus 
 we often get the better of Intemperance 
 not by a Virtuous Principle, but merely by 
 a pafTionate Fondnefs for long Life, by the 
 Fear of Death or by Avarice. Thus we 
 often facrifice our outward Pride to an in- 
 ward one. We keep in our Infolcnce, be- 
 caufe a fupercilious and contemptuous Treat- 
 ment of others would only make us con- 
 temptible. But Affability and a Compla- 
 cency of Behaviour opens us a Paffage to 
 the Hearts of Men, and gains us an advan- 
 tageous Situation in their Minds. It may 
 be a more artful Manner to engage that 
 Refped: which we feem to decline. Men 
 of this Turn may be very affable, not to 
 do Honour to others, but as they take Af- 
 fability to be an Honour to themfelves. 
 
 It has been obferved, I fuppofe, by way 
 of Compliment to the prefent Age, that 
 one Vice at leafl:, viz. that of Hypocrify, 
 feems to be banillicd from among us : But 
 alas ! unlefs we could divert human Nature 
 of its Weakneffes, no Vice will ever be 
 
 quite 
 
12 . The Notion of Pride fiat ed^ 
 
 SERMJ.q'ii^e extinft, though it may appear under 
 ^-— V"-" another Form. Thus a religious Hypo- 
 crify feems indeed in fome meafure to be 
 »o more: But in the room of it, there 
 has .flarted up a genteel 2:nd. polite Hypo- 
 crify, a certain Decency o^ Behaviour, 
 which by putting on the ^appearances of 
 evejy Virtue, prevents the Reality of any. 
 What is foul and loathfomin each Vice, Men 
 mufl: keep out of Sight, unlefs they would 
 be public Nufances : but then they only part 
 with its outward Deformity, v/ithout any 
 Amendment of the Heart. Nay fome, I 
 believe, confound the Ideas of Politenefs 
 and Morality. They miflake the Aver- 
 fion, which they have in themfelves, to 
 whatever is ill-bred, iinfeemly, and offenfive 
 in any Sin, for a genuine Love of Goodnefs : 
 They imagine that to be a Virtue^ which is 
 oiily Vice refined. 
 
 The more a Man knows of the World, 
 the more fenfible he will be, that he muft 
 conceal the odaous Part of Pride, unlefs he 
 would be odious to himfelf. But then he 
 may retire into himfelf, to cherifli each fa- 
 vourable and delightful Idea of his own 
 Worth, that foothes and flatters his Vanity, 
 • lliutting out all humbling a,nd mortifying 
 
 Refledions, 
 
and the 'Prete?iJio7is to it exajn'med. 1 3 
 Refledions, that like fo many plain -dealing Serm. I. 
 Friends would put him out of Humour ^^ ' 
 with himfelf, by fuggefting to him unwel- 
 come, though neceffary, Truths. And yet 
 this is the very Ellence of Pride. 
 
 For Hupiiiity confifts in the inward 
 Frame and Difpofition of the Mind, in a 
 right Judgment, in the main, of ourfelves: 
 It is when we afcribe the Glory of our Ac- 
 tions to God alone, who gives us Power to 
 a(ft ; like poliflied veffels, which rcfled back 
 again the Rays of Light which they receive, 
 inftead of abforbing, imbibing and detaining 
 them. It is to have a deep Senfe that God 
 created us out of Nothing, and that Sin 
 reduceth us to a State worfe than Nothing 
 without the Mercies of God, and the Me- 
 rits of our Saviour. 
 
 Though there may be a Sincerity with- 
 out Humility, yet a Simplicity of Manners 
 is a neceffary Ingredient of it. For there is 
 a Difference between Simplicity and Since- 
 rity ; or, in other Words, a Man may be 
 very (incere without any Simplicity : He may 
 not be ambitious to be thought what he is 
 not ; yet be too oftentatious of what he is : 
 Unable to wait till others difcover, he is 
 impatient to difplay his own Perfedions with 
 
 all * 
 
14 '^he Notion of Pride Jlated^ 
 
 Serm. I. all the Advantages which Art and Addrefs 
 can give them. Whereas Simplicity Is free 
 from every Alloy of Vanity, or any Thing 
 of a fhewlfli Nature -, it fhines forth with 
 natural and unftudied Beauties, is not puffed 
 up, feeketh not its own, the Praife that is 
 due to it ; and its chief Ornament is, that 
 it does not affed; any. And yet the true 
 Sublime of Life, as well as of Writing, con- 
 Hfleth in the Simple. For noble Adions 
 and noble Qualities, like noble Thoughts, 
 fupport thejnfelves, they have an inherent 
 Greatnefs and native Luftre, which needs 
 not foreign Pomp and borrowed Ornaments. 
 Nothing does them more Harm, than fet- 
 ting them off too much and over-charging 
 them with Decorations. 
 
 To obviate Miftakes and to remove Scru- 
 ples, it will be neceflary to obferve that 
 Pride is not merely to think favourably of 
 ourfelves : For then indeed Pride, as fome 
 late Authors have maintained, would be an 
 unlverfal Vice j every Body being, more 
 or lefs, blaffed in his own Favour. But 
 Pride is to think yo favourably of ourfelves, 
 as to exclude a modeft Diffidence of our- 
 felves, and a falutary Senfe of the Num- 
 ber of human Frailties, the Imperfedlion of 
 
 our 
 
and the Pretenjtons to it exajiilmd, 1 5 
 
 our Virtues, the Malignity of our Crimes, Serm. I. 
 and our Dependance on God for every Thing '^ " ^ 
 good in us and for us. A Man may think 
 \iviXiit\i fomeijohat wifer and better than he 
 is i who, notwithftanding, may have an 
 humble or low Opinion of himfelf upon the 
 Whole, as being far from thinking himfelf 
 wife and good ejioiigh : far from thinking 
 that he fiandeth coUeded in himfelf, and 
 therefore needeth not take heed lefl he Jail. 
 A Man may not imagine himfelf quite fo 
 faulty as he is ; (for who can tell how oft 
 he ofendeth?) who yet may deferve the 
 Character of an humble Man ; if, at the 
 fame time, that he endeavoureth to improve 
 in Virtue, and get clear of every prefump- 
 tuous Sin 'j he flrives to deted:, and begs of 
 God to cleanfe him from, his fecret and 
 unfufpecfled Faults. Pride is a Vice or mo- 
 ral Evil : And nothing can be Evil, any 
 further, than it is in its genuine Tendency 
 produdtive of Evil. But what evil Effcd^ 
 would an Opinion too favourable of our- 
 fclves be attended with; provided it did 
 not rife to fo high a Pitch, as to make us 
 think prefumptuoufly and fecurely of our- 
 felves, contemptuouily and uncharitably of 
 our Fellow-Creatures, and behave irreve- 
 rently 
 
1 5 T^he Notion of Pride Jlated^ 
 
 Serm.I. rently and ungratefully to our Creator ? It 
 is, I doubt, almoft impoffible to hold the 
 Balance exadtly even without the leaft In- 
 clination to our Side j it is impoffible for 
 us, who are Parties, to pafs Judgment on 
 ourfelves with the flridl Rigour of Juftice 
 without the leaft Partiality, without any 
 favorable Softenings and Allowances : All, 
 that can be expe(5led from us, is, what I 
 believe every wife and modeft Man doeth, 
 'oiz. that looking around us and confider- 
 ing how apt every Man is in fome degree 
 to over-value himfelf, we learn from hence 
 to entertain and cherifh a conftant Sufpicion 
 and Mifgiving, that isoe do fo too : which 
 Mifgiving difpofeth us to look deeper into 
 ourfelves, to truft not fo much to our own 
 Abilities, as to our Vigilance and Circum- 
 fpedtion, and God's Bleffing upon us, and 
 to make our humble Application to him, 
 that he would look well^ if there be any 
 Way of Wickednefs in us, and lead us in the 
 Way everlajiing. 
 
 Having thus ftated the Nature of Pride, 
 I proceed, Wdly, To {hew the Unreafon- 
 ablenefs of this Vice. And this I fhall do, 
 by examining our Pretenfions to Pride. 
 
 Arc 
 
a7id the Pretenjtons to it examined, 1 7 
 
 Are we proud of Riches? Riches can-SERM. L 
 not alter the Nature of Things, they can- 
 not make a Man worthy, that is worthlefs 
 in himfelf : They may command an infipid 
 Complaifance, a formal Homage, and ce- 
 remonious Profeflions of Refpedt, and teach 
 a fervile World to fpeak a Language fo- 
 reign to their Hearts ; but where a Large- 
 nefs of Soul is wanting, they can never 
 procure an afFedtionate Efteem, grateful 
 Sentiments, and an undifTembled Love, 
 the willing Tribute of a generous Heart to 
 Merit only. The Value of the Eftate may 
 be very great -, but that of the Man is not 
 at all greater ; if he does not employ his 
 Eftate as the great Engine to procure mo- 
 ral Pleafures, and to do benevolent Offices., 
 And if it be true Wifdom to think that 
 earlyy which we muft think at laft ; let us 
 now be convinced, which we fhall certain- 
 ly be hereafter, that there is nothing truly 
 valuable, noble and manly, but the good 
 Senfe to know our Duty, an hearty Incli- 
 nation to pracfcife it, and a determinate 
 Steadinefs to perfevere in it to the End : 
 That the only true fubftantial Greatnefs is 
 rightly to apprehend, affectionately to wor- 
 fhip, and diligently to imitate our heaven- 
 VoL. IL C ly 
 
& 1 8 I'he Notion of Pride ft at ed^ 
 
 Serm.I. ly Father. The Unthinking may be car- 
 ried away v/ith Appearances, inflead of 
 Realities j but the Judicious fliould confi- 
 der Things intrinfically, and think him the 
 greateft, who iflrives, as much as in him 
 hes, to make others happy by his Benevo- 
 lence, good by his Example, and wife by 
 his Inftrudions. 
 
 Do we value ourfelves upon our Power? 
 No J what is remarked by fome body or 
 other, is a great Truth, viz. That there 
 is no Good in Power, but merely the Power 
 of doing Good. Upon our worldly Pru- 
 dence ? Thofe, who are * acquainted with 
 Hiflory know, how often the beft-laid De- 
 iigns have proved abortive. Among all 
 the Maxims of worldly Prudence, this is 
 one of the bed, 'uiz. That we fliould en- 
 deavour to difcover the reigning Paflion in 
 every Man, whom we would manage j 
 and when we have found out that, we have 
 got a Handle to turn him, which way we 
 pleafe. But then every Man, befides his 
 reigning Paffioh, has his particular Caprice 
 or Humour •, which will make our Mea- 
 fures often m.ifcarry. Beiides, no one Paf- 
 fion is perhaps mt perpetual Dilator : No, 
 our Pleart is rather a little Commonwealth ; 
 
 where 
 
and the Pretenjtons to it examimd. 1 9 
 where they govern us with an alternate Serm^ 
 Sway, and fometimes our Ambition, fome- 
 times our Anger, fometimes our Fear or 
 fome other AfFedion is uppermoft. 
 
 Human PoHcy therefore muft be uncer- 
 tain, becaufe Man, who is the Subjedt of 
 it, is fo uncertain, wavering and incon- 
 ftant ; and there can be no fixed and flated 
 Maxims to pleafe and manage fo changeable 
 and inconliaent a Creature : But we may 
 by certain and unchanging Rules gain the 
 Love of that Being, with whom there is no 
 Variablenefs, neither Shadow of Turning. 
 No Prudence therefore but the Spiritual, 
 'viz. To plcaii him who is the fame 
 yefterday, to-day, and for ever, can be 
 certain. 
 
 Are you proud of your diftinguifhed Vir- 
 tue ? He who is proud of diftinguiflied 
 Abilities, Learnijig and Wealthy is not the 
 lefs able, learned and wealthy, becaufe he 
 is proud of them. But he, who've proud 
 of diftinguifhed Virtue, ceafcth to be -tvV- 
 tuous, by his being fo. For the Man that 
 is pleafed with any Degree of Virtue, mere- 
 ly becaufe it is uncommon, would be forry, 
 if what he values himfe'lf upon, as a An- 
 gular Mark of Diftindtion, fhould become 
 C 7, common, 
 
20 I'he Notion of Pride flat ed^ 
 
 SERM.I.common, and all Mankind fliould rife to 
 the fame Eminence as himfelf in Morality. 
 Now this Temper argues a Want of Bene- 
 volence, and, confequently, of Virtue. It 
 fliews a mean, narrow, felfifh Turn of 
 Mind, to triumph in any extraordinary 
 Attainment, folely becaufe it is peculiar to 
 us, or confined to a feledl Few : A truly 
 generous, benevolent, and virtuous Spirit 
 would vvi(h, that All were not only al?nofiy 
 but ahogether fuch as he is j and be the hap- 
 pier in himfelf, if the Bulk of Mankind 
 were Partakers of that Happinefs which 
 refults from Virtue. 
 
 Befides, thofe, who feldom adt or think 
 nobly, may be proud of what they fo Jel" 
 dom think or a(fl. But to thofe, who 
 conjiantly entertain great Thoughts, and do 
 noble Adions, to them they are become {o 
 familiar^ that they make no great Lnpref- 
 fions upon them. At the fame time, that 
 they rife above the common Level of Ac- 
 tion, they think they do nothing but what 
 is common ; becaufe nothing but what is 
 commonly done by them. The Favours, 
 which you cannot receive without warm 
 Emotions of Joy and Gratitude, they can 
 beftow with great Coolnefs and Unconcern- 
 
 ednefs. 
 
and the Pretenjtons to it examined. 2 1 
 
 ednefs. Becaufe, though to receive fuchSERM. I. 
 Favours is fomething unufual to you j yet' 
 to do them is nothing new to them. 
 
 The more virtuous any Man is, the 
 more modeft and unpretending he mull: be. 
 He muft be fenfible of the numerous Dif- 
 orders which lurk within, ofhisfickly Ap- 
 petites, and the Corruption of his Heart ; 
 and how often the precarious Light of Rea- 
 fon, that Candle which God has hghted up 
 in his Mind, has been put out by feme fud- 
 ditn. Gujl of Paffion. If a Child could read 
 thofe fooliih, vain, wicked Imaginations, 
 which the beft of us have fometimes in- 
 dulged ; we fliould be a£hamed to look 
 him in the Face, and be out of Conceit 
 with ourfelves : And yet we do not fome- 
 times flifle them immediately j though we 
 know that He, whofe tremendous Majefty 
 fills the whole Compafs of Heaven and 
 Earth, cannot but be privy to them, and 
 difcern the fecret Meditations of our Heart. 
 The Knowledge of the Greateft Beings, 
 who underftandeth our Thoughts long before, 
 hath lefs Influence, than that of the fillieft 
 of Mortals would have, fuppofing he 
 could know the inward Workings of the 
 Soul. We are not worthy to approach 
 ? C 3 Him, 
 
22 "The Notion of Pride Jlated^ 
 
 Serm. I. Him, who ciwelleth in unapproachable Glory, 
 but through the Merits of our Redeemer. 
 We could not exped any Inftances of 
 Goodnefs from a Being lefs than infinitely 
 good. 
 
 And yet, notwithftanding our many Im- 
 perfedlions, I queftion whether, upon a 
 Suppofition that all of us were to be the 
 Judges and Rewarders of our own Merits ; 
 this World would be half large enough, 
 that every one might take a little. Several 
 other Worlds muft be taken in, to recom- 
 penfe us, as we think, fully, and adjuft 
 the Rewards to our imaginary Deferts. 
 
 He who thinks, that he has no Weak- 
 neffes to fubdue, either wholly or in part; 
 no virtuous Habits to acquire, or, at leaft, 
 to improve and perfed:} he who, in ihort, 
 thinks himfelf quite good enough ^ proves, 
 by the very Thought, that he is not fo. 
 then our Salvation is mod in danger, when 
 we difmifs all Apprehenlions about it. 
 
 But if Virtue (human Virtue) ajEFords no 
 ]uft Grounds for Pride; much lefs does 
 human Knowledge^ which bears no Propor- 
 tion to our Ignorance. The greatefl and 
 the leaft Objeds equally baffle our Enqui- 
 ries. Too gr^at and difproportioned an 
 
and the Prete?2jio?is to it examinecL 2 3 
 
 Objed embarraffes and overfets the Under- Serm. I. 
 {landing j too little an one eludes, and' 
 efcapes it. It is God alone ^ whole Al- 
 mighty Power, nothing is fo great that it 
 Qixi encumber ', whofe infinite Wifdom, no- 
 thing is fo little that it can efcape. Pre- 
 fumptuous Man 1 wouldft thou underftand 
 the Manner in which three Peribns exift in 
 the fame unbounded Effence ? Before thou 
 flriveft to fathom the Nature of the Great- 
 eft of all Beings 5 firfl, if thou canft, 
 comprehend how the lead of Beings exift, 
 Animals a hundred Times lefs than a Mite, 
 Myriads of fuch Animals, as can only be 
 difcerned by the Help of Glaffes. If the 
 whole Body be fo minute, as to be un- 
 difcoverable by the naked Eye ; how much 
 lefs the Limbs, of which that whole Body 
 is compounded ? How much lefs ftill the 
 Nerves, the Veins, the Blood in thofe 
 Veins, the animal Spirits in that Blood; 
 till we approach to the very Borders of No- 
 thino- ? For thefe Animals contain in Mini- 
 ature, all thofe Parts which we have in 
 larger Dimenfions. In fhort, for one Thing, 
 that we can poffibly account for in the 
 Book of Nature, there are Millions of 
 Things, of which we can give no Account: 
 C 4 Yet 
 
24 7>5^ Notion of Pride Jlatedy 
 
 Sekm.I. Yet we, who find almoft all Things ^o 
 puzzling and unaccountable in the Book of 
 Nature, exped: that every Thing in the 
 Book of Grace, which proceeds from the 
 fame Author, (hould be plain and level to 
 our Capacities. 
 
 True Knowledge is one of the ftrongefl 
 Fences againft Pride. When good Senfe 
 and Reafon fpeak, they come, like their 
 great Author, God, in the Jiill fmall 
 Voices without any empty Noife or Loqua- 
 city, or over-bearing Pretenfions. And thofe 
 who keep the beft Senfe within, feldom 
 hang out the Sign of Knowledge. Men 
 of this Stamp will own their entire Igno- 
 rance in many Things, and their imper- 
 fed: Knowledge in all the reft. Whereas 
 the Ignorant are fometlmes peremptory and 
 pofitive in Matters quite above their Sphere, 
 and, like fome Creatures, are the bolder for 
 being blind. In a Word, the Ingenuous will 
 confefs the Weaknefs of their Reafon ; and 
 the Prefumptuous betray it by their being fo. 
 
 If we are born without an Aptitude to 
 
 learn, and a Genius for Knowledge; we niay 
 
 refemble the Woman in the Gofpel, who had 
 
 /pent all fie had upon Phyficians^ and yet grew 
 
 no better^ but rather worfe. All the Tutors 
 
 and 
 
and the Pretenjions to it exa?mned. 2 j 
 and Inftrudors in theUniverfe will avail no Sehm.I. 
 •thing : For they cannot open the Eyes ofthofe^ 
 that are born blind. But, granting the utmoft 
 Happinefs of natural Parts, yet he, who 
 confineth himfelf to one Province of Know- 
 ledge, cannot underftand ev^ that through- 
 ly. Bccaufe there is that Harmony and 
 AUiance between the feveral Branches of 
 Science, that one refledls Light upon ano- 
 ther. He on the other hand who grafps 
 at every Part ©f Knowledge, is only a fu- 
 perficial Smattcrerin All J and is too gene- 
 ral a Trader in the Republic of Letters to 
 become rich. A Man of a flow Capacity 
 is apt to fit down under a Defpondency of 
 making any Advances in Literature : Men 
 of quick Parts are fometimes diflra6ted with 
 Variety of Purfuits. So many Thoughts 
 are continually rifing in their Minds, that, 
 like Trees overladen with Fruit, they feldom 
 bring any to its juft Perfedion. 
 
 After All, what figniiies all the Learn- 
 ing in the World, without a juft Difcern- 
 ment and Penetration ? And what is the Re- 
 fult of our Penetration, but that we fee 
 through the Littlenefs of almoft every 
 Thing, and our own efpecially ? That wc 
 difcern, and are difgufted with, feveral 
 Follies and Abfurdities, which are hid 
 
 from 
 
26 The Notion of Pride Jlated^ 
 
 Serm. I. from Perfons of a flower Apprehenflon ? So 
 that our fuperior Sagacity relembles the pre- 
 tended Second- Sightednefs of fome People, 
 by which they are faid to fee feveral un- 
 comfortable and difmal Objedts, w^hich 
 cfcape the reft of the World. This Man 
 ranges the Circuit of the Heavens, knows 
 the Laws by which the Planets revolve; 
 fees every Thing regular 3 then defcends 
 into himfelf, and finds, by furveying the 
 World within, that Man alone is irregular 
 and eccentric. He can account for the 
 Ufes of Tempefts, Earthquakes and Thun- 
 der; and perceives, that all Storms and 
 Tempefts, except thofe in a Man's Breaft, 
 fulfil the Word of God and obey his Will, 
 
 Some may perhaps value themfelves upon 
 the Strength of their Genius, the Largenefs 
 of their Heart, even as the Sand upon the 
 Sea Shore, and the Brightnefs of their Parts. 
 Alas ! the Strength of the PaiTions, and the 
 Quicknefs of the Appetites, generally keep 
 Pace with the Brightnefs of the Imagination. 
 And hence it comes to pafs, that thofe 
 who have, with an uncommon Compafs 
 of Thought, inculcated excellent Rules of 
 Morality in their Writings, have fometimes 
 broke through them all in their Pradtice : 
 
 Thf 
 
and the Pretenjions to it examlmcL 2 7 
 The Brightnefs of their Parts enabling them Sehm.I. 
 to lay down fine Precepts, and the Strength 
 of their Paffions tempting them to tranf- 
 grefs them. A Man may difcourfe admi- 
 rably well upon Oeconomy, who never was 
 Mailer of it in the Conduct of Life : Be- 
 caufe he may take a Pleafure in difcourfing 
 upon Oeconomy, or any other Subjecft, up- 
 on which he can difplay a beautiful Fancy ; 
 but to look carefully into his Affairs, to 
 balance his Accounts, and to proportion his 
 Expences to his Income, is a Drudgery, to 
 which he cares not to (loop. There is not 
 a greater Inlet to Vice and Mifery, than to 
 have (which is generally the Cafe of Men 
 of Wit, and the Caufe of the Irregularity of 
 their Condudl) too much Spirit to confine 
 one's Self to the common Bufinefs of Life ; 
 and too much Fire and Paffion to relifh the 
 calm Satisfadions of it. For this Temper 
 puts a Man always in queft of fomc thing 
 tranfporting, and every Way fitted to an 
 high Tafte. To a Man oi firong Se?ifati- 
 ons every Delight, that is gentle, feems dull -, 
 and every Thing, but what is high feafoned, ' 
 flat and taftelefs.' The Confequcnce of 
 which is, that difdaining common Bleffings, 
 and not able to enjoy himfelf without fome- 
 
 thing 
 
28 I' he Notion of Pride fiat ed^ 
 
 SERM.I.^^^ng out of the ufual Road, he overleaps 
 thefe Bounds, which confine meaner Mor- 
 tals, and precipitates himfelf into an end- 
 lefs Train of Inconveniencies. 
 
 But let us fuppofe, what is not a very com- 
 mon Cafe, that a Brightnefs of Imagination, 
 and a well-poifed Judgment, are happily u- 
 nitcd in the fame Perfon ; yet the ablefl 
 Writer, the brightefl Genius, the greateft 
 Man that ever lived j nay, an Archangel of 
 the higheft Clafs may fay, " O my God I 
 " that I Hve, and that I pleafe, if ever I 
 ** pleafe, is owing to thee. May it be then 
 " my uppermoft View to do thy Pleafure, 
 " from whom I have the Ability to pleafe !" 
 How vain and uncertain all Things are 
 here below, appears from this, that v/e 
 hold even Reafon itfelf, that ennobling 
 Quality, that boafted Prerogative, and di- 
 flinguiffiing Perfecflion of human Nature, 
 upon a very precarious Tenure ; and fome- 
 thing, as one expreifeth it, with a human 
 Shape and Voice, has often furvived every 
 thing human befides. The Brain, by too 
 great Quicknefs and Stretch of Thought, 
 like a Chariot Wheel, by the Rapidity of 
 its Motion, takes Fire; the thin Partiti- 
 ons, which divided Wit from Madnefs, 
 
 are 
 
and the Pretenjions to it exafntjjed. 29 
 
 are broken down. The mofl penetrating Serm. I. 
 and fparkling Geniufes border upon, and 
 fometimes more than border upon, down- 
 right Frenzy. They fhew us even then, 
 in their lucid Intervals, the Monuments 
 and Traces of what they have been, like the 
 Monuments of old Romey majeflic even in 
 its Ruins. Their fuddcn Starts of Senfe, 
 though foon broken off, give us more Plea- 
 fure, than the fober uniform Thoughts of 
 Men of flower Apprehenfion : Juil as the 
 maimed Statues, the broken Pillars, and im- 
 perfedt triumphal Arches of old RomCy de- 
 light us more, than the entire Performances 
 of lefs able and lefs maflerly Hands. 
 
 If then Reafon itfelf, which diftinguifli- 
 eth us from Brutes, be fo very precarious, 
 and depends upon fuch a fine and fubtile 
 Contexture of the Brain, as is liable to be 
 difordered by feveral Accidents ; the Obfer- 
 vation I would draw from hence is very 
 material, and worth our Confideration : If 
 Mankind were to be vain of nothing, but 
 what is their lafting Property, of which 
 they cannot be ftrippedi they would be 
 vain of nothing at all; there would be no 
 fuch thing as Vanity. 
 
 Art 
 
The Notmz of Pride flated^ 
 
 I. Art thou then proud of Knowledge ? 
 Alas ! the dim light of human Reafon looks 
 feeble and languid at the iirft Thought and 
 Contemplation of that Father of Lights^ in 
 'whom there is no Darknefs at all. Doft 
 thou pride thyfelf upon thy Power? All 
 the little Grandeur we can boaft, is lolt in 
 the Confideration of that only Potentate^ 
 who dwelleth in Light which no one can 
 approach to. Art thou elate upon the ac- 
 count of an ample Fortune ? Confider him 
 to whom the liMe World belongs, and all 
 that is therein ; who wanting nothing him- 
 felf, fupplies the Wants of every other Be- 
 ing. All human Pride flirinks into nothing, 
 when wc contemplate that great Being, who 
 is All in All. And the Man, who is pof- 
 feil with ]\\{x Notions of an all-perfe(5t God, 
 will never make a God of any thing elfc, 
 much lefs of himfelf. 
 
 Doft thou value thyfelf upon popular 
 Applaufe, and a great Name ? Think how 
 many that have made a diftinguifhed Fi- 
 gure in the World, are dead and unre- 
 garded, as if they never had been j their 
 Deaths unlamented, their Vacancy filled 
 up, their Perfons miffed no more, than 
 a Drop of Water, v^'hen taken from the 
 
 whole 
 
and the Pretenjions to it exajnined, 3 1 
 
 whole Ocean. And is it worth our whileSERM.I. 
 to flrive to pleafe a vain fantaftic World, 
 which will foon difregard us, and think 
 itfelf full as well without us ; inftead of 
 laying out our Endeavours to pleafe that 
 Almighty Being, whofe inexhauftable Pow- 
 er and Goodnefs will make his Servants 
 happy to all Eternity ? How ridiculous are 
 all our Aims ; except this be the grand Aim, 
 in v/hich all the reft center ! A Man, for 
 Inftance, makes it his Bufmefs to enfurc 
 to himfelf a Name after Death 3 that is, 
 to fave four or five Letters (for what is a 
 Name befides r) from Oblivion j and yet 
 fhall be neglectful of fecuring immortal 
 Happinefs : He fliall be fond of an i?na^ 
 ginary Life after Death ; and yet make no 
 Provifion for that real Life, which is to 
 laft for ever and ever; felicitous to have 
 his Name written and preferved in any 
 Book, but in that Book, where it will only 
 be of Service to him, the Book of Life » O 
 Virtue ! when this folemn Pageantry of 
 earthly Grandeur (hall be no more, when 
 all Diftindions, but moral and religious, 
 fhall vanilh .; when this Earth Ihall be dif- 
 folved, when the Moon fhall be no more a 
 Light by Night, nor the Sun by Day j 
 
 thou 
 
3 2 The Notion of Pride Jlated. 
 
 Serm.I. thou fhalt ftill furvive thy Votary's immor^ 
 tal Friend, thou {halt appear^ Hke thy great 
 Author, in perfeB Beauty ; thy Luflre un- 
 diniinifhed, and thy Glory unperifhable. 
 
 Let him therefore that gloriethy glory in 
 the Lord. He alone, who gave and upholds 
 all the Powers of Soul and Body, he alone 
 deferveth the Glory of them. As we are 
 Creatures., the Work of God'^ Hands, we 
 have nothing to glory of: But as we are Sin- 
 nerSy and, in that refpecfl, the Work of oi,f 
 own Hands, we have much to be afiamed 
 of. We then give the greateft Proof to God 
 of our Worth in efs, when we have a deep 
 Senfe, and make an humble Confeffion, of 
 our own Un worth inefs. 
 
 To God therefore, and to Him only. 
 Be afcribed, as is mojl due^ all 
 Might, &c. 
 
 SERMON 
 
S E R M O N II. 
 
 On the Advantages of Affliclion. 
 
 Being a Sermon occafioned by the Death 
 of Mr. Bia^ton^ of Montpdier-Ro^v^ in 
 Twicke?iham. 
 
 Preached in ^wickeiiham-Ch^L^^t], on Mid- 
 lent Sunday^ 1742 ; and publiilied at 
 the Requeft of the Audience. 
 
 Psalm LXXVII. 3. 
 
 When I am in Heavinefs^ I will think 
 upon God, 
 
 THE whole Pfalm is written witliSERM. ir. 
 a very beautiful Spirit of Poetry ; ^ 
 and if we confider it merely as an 
 human Compofition, may julUy challenge 
 our highelt Admiration. In the former 
 Part, the Pfalmill vents an Heart over- 
 charged with Grief, and writes with the 
 deepeft Emotions of borrow. /;; the Day 
 Vol.11. D of 
 
34- On the Advantages of AfliEiion. 
 
 SzKM.il.of my 'Trouble I fought the Lord^ my Sor^ 
 ran in the Night and ceafed ?iot, my Soul 
 refufed to be cofnforfed. And again, at the 
 feventh Verfe, Will the Lord abfent himfelf 
 for ever, and will he be no more favoura- 
 ble f Hath God forgotten to be gracious ? 
 Hath he in Anger Jhiit up his tender Mer- 
 cies ? Thus does he difcharge the Fulnefs 
 of his Soul ; 'till, by a very natural, and 
 yet very furprifing Tranlition, from a Re- 
 hearfal of his own Woes, he pafTes on to 
 celebrate the marvellous Ac^s of God. For, 
 to relieve himfelf under the Preflure of his 
 prefent AfHi(5tions, he has Recourfe to the 
 former Mercies, which God had voucH- 
 fafed to the Ifraelites, Surely I will re- 
 member thy Wonders of old. This ufhers 
 in' fhofe fublime Flights of Poetry, which 
 are peculiar to the Genius of the Eaftern 
 Nations. The Waters faw Thee, O God-, 
 the Waters faw Thee : They i&ere' afraid': 
 The Depths alfo were troubled, 6cc. Then, 
 to reprefent the Unfearchablenefs of God, 
 he compares him, by a very beautiful Al- 
 lufion, to a Being walking upon the Wa- 
 ters, the Traces of whofe Feet could not 
 therefore be difcovered : Thy Way is in the 
 Sea, and thy Paths in the great Waters ^ and 
 thy Footjieps are net knoivn. If 
 
 4 
 
On the Advantages of Ajjlitilon, ZS 
 
 If we {hould fet afidc the Sandion of Ser^i^ 
 divine Authority, which (lamps an addi- 
 tional Value upon the Plalm; yet it could 
 not fail to affed every Reader of a refined 
 Tafte. And when \Ve either confider thofe 
 melting Strains, in v/hich he defcribes his 
 own Woes ; or that exalted Vein, in which 
 he reprefents the Majefty of God ; we fhall 
 be at a Lois, whether to admire more the 
 Greatnefs of that Genius, which could ac- 
 quit itfelf with fo mafterly an Hand in 
 both the pathetic and fublime Way of 
 Writing j or the Juftnefs of that Judgment, 
 which could with fo dextrous an Addrcfs, 
 with fo eafy, and I had almoft faid, fo 
 natural an Art, glide from the one to the 
 bther. 
 
 The Author of the Pfalm had a Mind 
 deeply tindured with Piety. When his 
 Heart was in Hea'vinefs, he thought upon 
 God: But to think on him then with Plea- 
 fure, he muft have fet God conftantly be- 
 fore him in the fmooth Seafons of Life, 
 This will lead me to fliew, 
 
 \jl. The Happinefs and Reafonablenefs 
 of turning our Thoughts to God in gene- 
 ral. 
 
 b 2 Wdki 
 
36 On the Advantages of A ffliElion, 
 Sf.rm. II. Il^/y, The peculiar Advantages of Af- 
 fiidion, to bring us to a juft Senfe of God^ 
 and our Duty. 
 
 I/?, I am to (hew the Happinefs and 
 Reafonablenefs of turning our Thoughts to 
 God in general. 
 
 To repair to God only, when under Af- 
 fildlion, is to ufe Him as fome conceited 
 Philofophers have done, who never have 
 Recourfe to Him, and take Him into their 
 Schemes, but when they are in Diftrefs, 
 when they meet with fome Difficulty, 
 which they cannot plaufibly account for 
 or get over, without calling Him in to 
 their Aid. 
 
 Befides, never is there more Occafion 
 for Good-Humour, Chearfuhiefs, and an 
 undifturbed Serenity of Mind, than when we 
 form our religious Notices. For, though 
 the brighteft ideas of the Deity may be 
 retained and cheri(l:ied under any Indifpo- 
 fition of Mind or Body j yet, to retain and 
 cherilli them at that Jund:ure, they mufl 
 be imprinted in indelible Characters on the 
 Soul, when it was in an eafy Situation : 
 Other wife, Religion will not brighten up 
 our Minds, and lighten the Darbiejs of 
 
 them \ 
 
On the Advantages of AffliSiion. 3 7 
 
 them; our Minds will darken and difco- Serm. IL 
 lour Relio;ion. And what has given fome' 
 Pevople a Diftafte for it, is ; that having 
 never applied themlelves ferioufly to it, but 
 when they were in a dull, joylcfs, fuileii 
 Hutmur, wliich reprefcnted every Thing 
 they vv'jre converfant about to be dull and 
 joylefs i the No:ions of Religion, and of a 
 joylefs State, have been, however unduly 
 Connedted, ever after infeparahle. By me- 
 di a'iing on God only, or even chiefly, in a 
 melancholy Hour, you will afTociate the 
 Idea of Gloominefs and Horror with that 
 of Religion: You will view Him, juft as 
 He was worlhipped in old Gothic Build- 
 ings, in a dim folemn Light, which fheds 
 a penfive Gloom over, and faddens every 
 Objed. You will not ferve Him with 
 that Gladnefs which he requires : For 
 God loveth a chearful Worfliipper, as well 
 as a chtarfiil Giver. But you will repair 
 "with Reludance and Conftraint to that Ser- 
 in ce, which is perfeti Freedom. 
 
 We are indigent Creatures, infufiicient 
 of ourfelves for our own Happiriefs, and 
 therefore ever fecking it fcmewherc clle. 
 But where we fliall effectually feek for it, 
 is the Queftion. Unlefs the Thoughtful 
 D 3 and 
 
3 8 0,72 the Achantages of AffllBion, 
 
 Serm. Il.and the Penfxve diredt their Thoughts to, 
 and caft their Cares upon God ; there will 
 be little Difference berween Them and the 
 Gay and Unthinking, befides this j that 
 the Latter will have more of the Vanity of 
 Life J but They themfelvcs more of the 
 Vexations of it. If there were not another 
 Life, our Bufinefs would be, not to alarm 
 the Thinking Faculty, but to lay our top 
 adive and unquiet Thoughts to Reft. The 
 Mind would be like a froward Child, ever 
 fretful when fully awake ; and therefore 
 to be played and lulled aflcep as faft as we 
 can. Our main Happinefs would be to 
 forget our Mifery and ourfelves j to for- 
 get, that we are a Set of Beings, v/ho, 
 after we have toil'd out the live-long Day 
 of human Life, in Variety of Hardilaips; 
 arc, inftead of receiving our Wages at the 
 Clofe of it, to lleep out one long eternal 
 Night in an utter Extindion of Being. 
 
 If Man had an ample Fund of Happi- 
 nefs in himfelf, without any Deficiency ; 
 whence is it, that he is continually looking 
 out abroad for foreign Amufements -, A- 
 mufements, which are of no other Ufe, 
 but to keep off troublefome and ungrateful 
 Impreffions, and to make us infenfible of 
 
 the 
 
On the Aclvajitages of JlffllElion. 39 
 
 nhe TedioLifnefs of Living j Amufements,SER.M. IL 
 which rather fufpend a Senfe of Uneafi- 
 ■nefs, than give us any fubftantial Satisfac- 
 tion ; and keep the Soul in an equal Poife 
 •between Pleafare and Pain ? And is this 
 the great End which we have in View ? 
 Suppofing we could compafs it ; yet if it 
 be better not to be at all, than to be mi- 
 serable ; then certainly juft not to be mi- 
 fer-abky without any pojitive Happinefs, is 
 much at one, as 7jct to J?e at all. Whence 
 is it, that that reliefs Thing the Soul, too 
 enterprizing to trace every Thing elfe, yea 
 the deep Things of Qod ; is yet too coio^ 
 ^rdly to enquire into itfelf, and to view 
 the Worjiings of that ever- loved, yet ever- 
 avoided Object? Whence is it, that the 
 Mind, whofe adtive Energy prompts her to 
 give a fr^e and unconfined Range to her 
 Thoughts on other Subjedls, nay, to make, 
 if it were poffible, the Tour of the whole 
 Univerfe j yet, when fhe comes to dwell 
 jit home, and to furvey the little World 
 within, flags in her Vivacity, feels her- 
 felf in a forlorn Condition, and finds a 
 Drowfinefs and melancholy Gloom hang- 
 ing upon her ? Whence is it, but that the 
 Soul, whenever it turns its Thoughts in^ 
 D 4 ward^ 
 
40 On the Advantages of AffliSiion* 
 
 8erm. II. ward, finds within a frightful Void of fo* 
 lid Happlnefs, without any Poffibility in 
 itfelf of filling it up ? Indeed, in a Circle 
 of gay FoUieb, or in a Multiplicitv of Pnr- 
 fuits, when a Succeffion of different Ob- 
 je6ts is continually ftrlking upon the Mind, 
 the Capacity of the Soul is taken up, and 
 it forgets that inward Poverty and Indi- 
 gence which nothing can effedually re- 
 lieve but the unfearchable Riches of the 
 Love of God : But when we ftep afide 
 from the Noife and beaten Tracks of Life, 
 into Solitude and Retirement ; we foon per- 
 ceive, that we are, without fome Bufinefs 
 to engage, or fome Recreation to divert our 
 
 ^Attention, an infupportable Burthen to our 
 felvcs. You fancy the Man, whofe daily 
 Labour ferves for little elfe but to get his 
 daily Bread, and whofe daily Bread juft re^ 
 frefhes and ftrengthens him to undergo his 
 daily Labour, to be a very miferable Ob- 
 jecft^ and perhaps he is fo. Would you 
 make him more miferable ? Give him a 
 Fortune, which (liall fet him at Reft from 
 }iis Labours, and leave him nothing at .all 
 to do : And then the Wearifomnefs, which 
 
 'rellilted from a continual Drudgery, will 
 be nothing comparable to another kind of 
 
 \Veari« 
 
On the Advantages of AfltEilon, 41 
 
 Weariromnefs far more irkfome — the be Serm. IT, 
 ing weary of himfelf. Obferve o^reat Nnm- 
 bers of the Opulent and the Great : What 
 can be cjtncr from Home than their Per- 
 Jons ? Their Thoughts, which are confmii- 
 ally from Home, ever wandering abroad, 
 and returning unfatisfied. None is more 
 miferable, than a Man dillradled with Va- 
 riety of Bufinefs ; except he who has no 
 Bufinefs, no Amufement at all. Diverfions 
 and Paftimes, properly fo called, (for they 
 anfwer no other End, but to pafs away 
 our Time) may have the Effecfl of Opiates, 
 to beget a fliort Oblivion of our Cares and 
 ourfelves : Eut the only Cordial to invigo- 
 rate our Spirits, and to give us an exquiiite 
 Relifli and Enjoyment of this Life, is the 
 well-grounded Hope of a better, through 
 the Merits of Jefus Chriil. 
 
 If then any one (hould ajfk, Who ivill 
 Jloew us any Goodf Who will point out the 
 'Way to Felicity to u^ ? We muft anfwer, 
 in the Pfalmill's Words, Lord^ lift Thcu 
 up the Light of thy Countmance upon us. 
 For thou art our Happinefs, who alone 
 panft give a Stability to our moral Pleafures, 
 and fecure us from natural Evil, or fuoport 
 lis under it, Gud has filled \m-nk\i Light : 
 
 And 
 
4 3 On the Advantages of AffliBion. 
 
 S^RM. II. And as the whole material Creation would 
 be involved in one horrid and uncomfort- 
 able Gloom, if Light did not tiUven it 
 with its Smiles, and beautify ir vv.th a rich 
 Variety of Colours ; fo would the fpiritual 
 Creation live in an eternai Blacknefs of 
 JDarknefs^ did not God lift up the Light 
 of his Countenance upon it, brightening 
 it with the Beams cf his Truth, and chear- 
 ing it with the Liiiuences of his Favour. 
 Earthly Objects may indeed fwell and pufF 
 up the Mind with unfubftantial Blifs : But 
 nothing can fill up every Void in the Soul, 
 and fatisfy the whole Compafs of our De- 
 fires with the Fulnefs of folid and unmin- 
 gled Happinefs, but that fupreme Good, 
 that infinite Being, who is abo've Alk and 
 through All, and in us AIL 
 
 Such Truths as thefe we are too apt to 
 overlook in the Day of Profperity ; ^nd 
 therefore, 
 
 Wdly, Adverfity has its peculiar Advan- 
 tages, to bring us to a jufi: Senfe of God, 
 and our Duty to Him. 
 
 For, ly?, Adverfity will make us, howr 
 ever unwilling, reflcd; and dcfcend into 
 ourfelves. 
 
 When 
 
On the Advantages of AffiiB'ion. 43 
 When we enjoy one uninterrupted Flow Serm. \\, 
 of worldly Blifs, when we fail along a 
 fmooth and unruffled Surface with eafy 
 and gentle Gales ; Reafon, our Pilot which 
 fhould fit vigilant at the Helm, is too often 
 lulled into a fatal Security. But Adverfity 
 roufes the Mind from its Indolence, puts 
 us upon thinking clofely, and turning our 
 Thoughts every Way. Thofe, who have 
 met with no Misfortunes to mortify that 
 Pride of Heart, which is the Growth of 
 Profpcrity, fay to themfclves : Come city 
 let us enjoy the good Tubings that are prefect j 
 let us Jill ourfelves with cojlly Wijie and 
 Ointments^ and let no Flower of the Spring 
 pafs by us ; let us crown ourfelves with Rcfe 
 Buds, before they be withered. Thus the 
 glittering Scenes of Life beget a thoufand 
 gav Ideas, a fwarm of fantaftic Images, 
 which, hke Infeds, wanton and flutter in 
 the warm Sunfliine of Profperity ; but dif- 
 appear, die, and are no more upon the 
 firft Inclemency of the Seafon. 
 
 It is amazing, that Men, in the Fulnefs 
 of Health and Plenty, when every Thing 
 fmiles around them, HiOuld fliut out the 
 Confideration ol that Being, to whom they 
 owe the Fulnefs of their Health and Plen- 
 ty : 
 
44 On the Aavantages of AffliElton. 
 
 Serm. II. ty; like Groves in all the Frefhnefs of 
 '•^ — ''^^^ their Verdure, with all their Leaves thick 
 upon them, fliutting out the Beams of that 
 Sun, to which they are indebted for their 
 cheaifui Verdure : Yet fo it is. For what 
 have ihe Majority of the Wealthy, the 
 Mighty, and the Great, been doing in all 
 Ages ? Why juft what they did in the 
 Days of Noah : They did eat^ they drank j 
 they bought^ they fold -y they plant ed^ they 
 biiilded -y that is, the Divcrfions and Bufi- 
 . nefs of this Life engrolTed their Attention 5 
 //// the Day that Noah entered into the Ark^ 
 and the Flood came and defiroyed them AIL 
 Juft To Men do now, till Sicknefs confines 
 them to their Bed, or fome dire Misfortune 
 checks their Career. Which makes 'Je- 
 hofophat\ Example more remarkable : When 
 God had eflabltjhed the Kingdom in his Hand^ 
 and he had Riches and Honour in Abundance ; 
 his Heart was lift iipy not with P. ide and 
 Infolence, but in the Ways of the 
 Lord. 
 
 How thoughtlefs, how unreflecting up- 
 on their paft Condud; were fofcph'^ Bre- 
 thern, till JofepU^ hard Ufage gave them a 
 CompuncSlion of Mind, and a deep Senfe 
 of their farmer Sins? And they f aid one to 
 
 ' another: 
 
On the Advantages of AJfli&ion, 45 
 
 another: We are "cery guilty concernhigSi.Ksu\X. 
 ciir Brother ^ in that we fnw the Aiignljh 
 of his Soul ivhen he befoiight us, and wa 
 would 7iot hear : Therefore is this Diftrefs 
 come upo7i us. It is the Remark of the 
 Prophet AjnoSy that they^ who lie upon Beds 
 of Ivory J and fir etch themfehes upon their 
 CoucheSy who chaunt to the foiivd of the 
 Viol, who invent Inflruments of MufiCy who 
 drink JVine in Bowls^ are not grieved for 
 the AfiiiBion of jofeph. 
 
 I would by no means recommend a cen- 
 forioLis, four Severity, which is pchaps as 
 odious in the Sight of God, as a ihought- 
 lefs fantaftic Levity ; and is certainly more 
 incorrigible. For a philofophical, fuperci- 
 lious SuUennefs, which proceeds from think' 
 ing habitually in a wrong Channel, is a Vice 
 feldom amended : becaufe Thought, which 
 ihould cure the Diflemper, confirms and 
 rivets it. But Faults arifing from Wa?it of 
 Thinkings a coUeded Way of Thinking 
 for fome Time, will correct and fet rir^ht. 
 Now Sicknefs, Pain and Trouble, the mofl 
 effe(flual and perfuafive Teachers, v/iil make 
 a Man feel what he is, a poor iielplefs Crea- 
 ture ; recoiled: what he has been, and look 
 forward to what he ihall be to all Eternity. 
 
 Little 
 
46 On the Advantages of AffliEiion, 
 
 Serm. II. Little do they think, who are inured tc3 
 Eafe and Delicacy, whofe Affluence em- 
 powers them to do Goodi how many 
 Thoufands are wearing out Life in a fad 
 Variety of Pain '-, or are dying perhaps of 
 Poverty and a broken Heart j at the fame 
 Inftant that they are expending their Time 
 and Fortune in a Round of Folly, Sin and 
 Vanity, unconfcious of each liberal, each 
 tender Sentiment. 
 
 But Adverfity quickeris our Companion, 
 corredts that Levity, which is the Inlet to 
 Vice ; and begets a fixed Though tfulnefs 
 and Sedatenels, the Soil which Virtue loves : 
 It takes off our Infenfibility, breaks the 
 Fiercenefs of our Nature, and foftens us 
 into Humanity. For when our Hearts are 
 like melting Wax, they are moft du6lile, 
 tender, and fufceptive of humane Impreffi- 
 ons. We are acquainted with Grief-, and 
 by feeling Mifery and Pain, we learn tb 
 have a Fellow-Feeling for the Calamities of 
 our Fellow-Creatures. 
 
 2dly, Adverfity puts our Virtue to the 
 Tell, and proves the Sincerity of it. 
 
 It is no great Virtue for a Man to be 
 honeft, who pofi^efi^es an ample Fortune ; 
 though it would be a 'uery great Crinie for 
 
 him 
 
On the Advantages of AffliSiion, 47 
 
 him not to be fo. For what Temptations Serm. If, 
 can he have to DIflionefty, who has the' 
 Difcretion to extradt and enjoy the Sweets 
 of a great Eflate, without damaging or 
 hurting the Flower from which they pro- 
 ceed ? But to hold f aft to that which is good, 
 m the lowed Ebb of Fortune; to retain our 
 Integrity and intrinfic Worth, when flrip- 
 ped of every Thing that we were worth 
 befides, and furrounded with whatever fs 
 grievous, is the ftrongeft Evidence that can 
 be given of our Love of Goodnefs. Thou- 
 fands have acfled contrary to their Confcience, 
 and, with a Behaviour more pitiable than 
 their Circumftances, crouched beneath the 
 Prefture of hard Fortune, to low and for- 
 did Compliances ; who, it is to be charita- 
 bly hoped, would have flood upright and 
 unbending without that galling Load upon 
 them. 
 
 For how fhall a Man polTefs his Soul in 
 Patience, who has little or nothing befides 
 to poflefs? Now he finds, that a little 
 Merit, with a World of Supplenefs, Dex- 
 terity and Addrefs, may facilitate his Ad- 
 vancement ; but great Merit, and a rigo- 
 rous, unpliant Adherence to the Rules of 
 Morality, are too oft'=^n Bars to it ; That 
 
 the 
 
4^ 0?i the Advantages of /IffiiElkn. 
 
 Serm. ii. the Way from low Fortune to Greatnefs, 
 is up iftcep and craggy Hill : To climb up 
 it by -s. ftraight and direct Afcent, is almoft 
 imprafticable : To reach the Summit of it, 
 or even to rife to any Eminence, he muft 
 generally fall into crooked and indireB Paths, 
 which have feveral artful T'urns and Windings. 
 It is eafy for him who has a Sufficiency 
 of Fortune, and well-regulated Paffions, 
 to look upon a barren Superfluity of Wealth, 
 without cafting a wifhful Look, or a paf- 
 iionate Side-glance towards it j to fit loofe 
 and indifferevJ to the World in one Senfe, 
 '■oi'z. To have no felfifli and indired: Views ; 
 and yet in another Senfe to be a great Lover 
 of it, by affedionately widiing, and vigo* 
 roufly promoting, the general Good of it. 
 The great Difficulty is, to ad; and think 
 in fome meafure above the World, while 
 Poverty expofes us to the Neglect and Con- 
 tempt of it ; to fcorn to build our Fortunes 
 on the Ruins of our Probity ; to defpife the 
 little Injuries we receive, and to pity the 
 littk Men that do them j litde I mean ia 
 .themfeives, and in the Eye of Reafon; 
 though they may be very great in the Eye 
 of the World, and perhaps much greater ia 
 their own Eyes, 
 
 Hovf 
 5 
 
On the Advantages of AffliSiion, 49 
 
 How defpicable therefore are thofe, who, Serm. IL; 
 though flowing in Plenty, have loft a good'' ^ 
 Name, merely to gain a fine Title ; have 
 facrificed the true Greatnefs of the Mind, 
 for the Outfide of Greatnefs, fome external 
 Mark of Diftindion j and have ceafed to 
 be honourable, that they might be ftiled fo? 
 How truly efteemable thofe, who have 
 proved their Love of Virtue and Truth to 
 htjironger than Death, by foregoing the 
 Blandiftiments of Life, and encountring the 
 Terrors of Death for the Sake of them ? 
 
 Such were the primitive Martyrs, Men 
 of .whom this World was not worthy, and 
 therefore worthy of a better. Such was (a 
 Name above all Names) our blefled Saviour, 
 who left us an Example of Suffering, that 
 we might follow his Steps. 
 
 Had he appeared with all the Littlenefs 
 of Greatnefs and Power, with which the 
 Jews invert their Meffiah ; had he alTumed 
 ^ temporal Kingdom ; had he l?ound Kings 
 in Chains, and Nobles in Links of Iron; 
 his Example would have been of little or 
 no Ufe J or at leaft only to thofe who move 
 in an higher Orb : Not to mention, hov/ 
 ihconfiftent fuch a Pattern would have been 
 with a Religion, which teaches us to wean 
 
 Vol. II. E ^^ 
 
50 On the A(h) ant ages of JlffiSllon. 
 
 SsftM. II. our Affedlons from earthly Things. But 
 by fubmitting to a lower Scene of Ad:ion, 
 by taking upon him the Form of a Servaiity 
 by being content to be ennobled by himfelf, 
 which is the truefl Ennoblement j his Ex- 
 ample is of more univerfal Influence. This 
 gave him an Opportunity to exemplify fe- 
 veral Virtues, which the Bulk of Mankind 
 has every day Occafion to pradife : Such 
 as Humility, Patience, Refignation to God^ 
 and Contentednefs in the loweft Station. 
 Father y faith he, juft before his Crucifixion, 
 if it be poijible, remove this Cup from me -, 
 neverthdefsy not my Willy but thine be dojie. 
 And juft before his Death he cries out, 
 Father, forgive them ; for they know not 
 ivhat they do. And again, Father, info 
 thy Hands I commend my Spirit. Here are; 
 no unnatural Rants, no undiftinguifhing 
 Glare of Elocj^uence, no high-flown- Ex- 
 preflions, fuch as the Pride of Philofophy 
 has didated to its Votaries : The Thoughts 
 are great without being extravagant; eafy 
 without being low and groveling. As a 
 Man, he wifhes, if it were polTible, the 
 Removal of his Calamities , as a good and 
 great Man, he religns himfelf without 
 Referve to the Will of his Creator. He 
 
 affeds- 
 
On the Advantages of Affii&ion, 5 1 
 affedls no Infenfibility of Pain; he fpeajcs Serm^ii. 
 the genuine Language of human Nature, 
 but of human Nature greatly flrengthened 
 by Grace and Reafon, which may graft 
 upon and improve, but never deftroy Na- 
 ture. 
 
 And indeed^ through the whole Tenor 
 of our Saviour's Life, there was nothing 
 ihewy or oftentatious ; nothing, that was 
 fitter to dazzle the Eyes of the Beholders, 
 than to guide their Feet in the Way of Peace. 
 The focial as well as folltary Virtues fhone 
 with gentle, yet with fprightly Beams. 
 Piety fat gracefully upon him, with an eafy 
 Greatnefs, \Vith a fober Majefty, and with- 
 out any frightening and forbidding Appear- 
 ances. 
 
 3^/)r, Adverfity is of fervice to difengage 
 our Minds from earthly Purfuits, and to/.v 
 our noughts, where true Joys are to be 
 found. 
 
 God, fays Solomun, has fet the Days of 
 Adverfity o'ver agamjl thofe of Profperity, 
 that a Man Jkould find nothing after Hitn, 
 viz. after God to complain of, or to order 
 for the better. The Meaning is, God hath 
 fo balanced and mixed Adverfity and Pro- 
 fperity together ; that a Man upon a Re- 
 E 2 view 
 
5 2 T)n the Advantages of AffilBion, 
 
 Serm. II. view of the Whole, upon a full and impar- 
 tial Eftimate of Things, fliould have no 
 jull: Grounds to .arraign the Condu(5l of 
 Providence ; but (liall find he has had more 
 good Fortune than he deferved, and as much 
 as was beneficial to him ; and no more ill 
 Fortune than was necefiary to corredt his 
 Faults, moderate his Affedlions, and exer- 
 cife his Virtues. 
 
 Accordingly, we have Inftances of thofe, 
 who living in a pompous WorthleflTnefs, and 
 thinking at that Time that to morrow would 
 he as to day\ and more abundant^ would, in 
 all Probability, have been utterly undone 
 for ever ; if they had not been almoft un- 
 done here by fome fignal Calamity. A 
 Reverfe of Fortune has forced them upon 
 a Courfe of Life and Train of Thinking, 
 which they would fcarce have fallen into of 
 themfelves. Being obliged to retire from 
 the great World, they have, in Procefs of 
 Time, regretted nothing fo much, as that 
 they did not retire fooner, to think ftrong- 
 ly, apprehend clearly, and reafon juftly j 
 to penetrate deeply to the Bottom of Things, 
 and to look far to the End of them. And 
 when the Retrofpedt upon the pafl has af- 
 forded them no Comfort, they have open- 
 ed 
 
On the Advantages of AffilElion, 53 
 
 ed and brightened the Profpeft before Serm. II. 
 them. 
 
 For Riches oft beget in us a Fondnefs 
 for the prefent Scene of Things, and a 
 Deadnefs of Affedion to God and heavenly- 
 Things. But Afflidions fet the Soul free, 
 and leave it dlfencumbered in the Purfuit of 
 Heaven. Convinced by melancholy Proof 
 of the Infufliciency of v^'orldly Things, we 
 take Sandluary in the Fulnefs of the divine 
 Sufficiency. Finding ourfelves difconfolate 
 in a barren and dry Land, ivhere no Water 
 is ; we defire thofe Rivers of Fleafure^ 
 which flow at Gods Right Hand for ever^ 
 more. 
 
 Prayer 'is a natural Motion of the Soul 
 to God in any deep Diftrefs -, it becomes 
 then our necefTary Refuge, even though it 
 might not be our free Choice before : which 
 proves, that Religion, however it may be 
 llified in Profperity, is interwoven in our 
 Frame. A Man gready aggrieved by op- 
 preffive Power, without a Profpe6t of hav- 
 ing his Grievances redrelTed below, cannot 
 but make his humble, filent Appeal to the 
 Great God of Heaven, as to the lad Re- 
 fort of Juflice, ii)ho helpeth them to Rights 
 that fv.jfer wrong. We cannot help look- 
 E 3 ing 
 
54 On the Advantages of AffiiSiion. 
 
 Serm. II. Ing up to that Being, the Father of Mercies^ 
 and the God of Comforts^ from Thorn our 
 Help Cometh ; when we fee ourfelves aban- 
 doned and forlorn, when we look around 
 us, but there is none to fave us from immi- 
 nent Ruin. 
 
 Then, whatever inborn Vigour of Mind 
 we may have j we fly to God and beg an 
 additional Strength from him to fupport us 
 under our Calamities, Grace to turn them 
 to our Advantage, and eternal Happinefs to 
 reward them. Then we chiefly value this 
 Life, as it has a Connexion with a future ; 
 a Life in which we (hould be unwilling, 
 were the Choice given us, to tread the 
 fame Round over, and to meafure Time 
 back again ; and yet Man goes on, ftill de- 
 ceived by pafl: Pleafures, flill depending on 
 thofe to come ; till his Days are run out to 
 the very Dregs : Whereas the obvious 
 Thought is ; If fo little Satisfadion is to be 
 had, and fo much Pain to be undergone in 
 the Grcennefs and Verdure of Youth, what 
 fkall be done in the dry Tree ? 
 
 To a Man at Eafe in his Pofeffiom, thq 
 Dread of Diffolution, which fometimes poi- 
 fons all his Enjoyments, fhall be often a 
 greater and more painful 111, than his Diflb- 
 
 lution,, 
 
On the Advantages of Affii&ion, S5 
 
 lution, confidered in itfelf, and the S/ja- Serw. II. 
 {low of Death fliall be more formidably 
 iarge than the Reality : But a good Man 
 in Diftrefs could wi{h, if it were confident 
 with the Will of his Creator, to be dijfoh- 
 ^dy and to be with Chrijl : He wants to re?!- 
 Jer unto God, what is God's, viz. his Soul, 
 which bears that Image and Imprefs of the 
 Deity, which it has been his Bufinefs to 
 preferve bright and unfullied; He thinks it 
 would not be worth his while to live a Mo- 
 ment here, if he were not to live for ever 
 iiereafter. 
 
 I have been led into this Train of Re- 
 flexions by the Death of a Perfon, whom 
 we all know, and to whom I have particu- 
 lar Obligations^ The Lofs of even an in- 
 offenfive Perfon, with whom we conflaiit- 
 ly traveHed together in the common Road 
 ■of Life, without any otrlier Circumftance 
 to endear his Memory, cannot but in feme 
 ■meafure affeft an humane Heart. Every 
 Place where he generally was, fuggefts the 
 Idea of him : We mifs him there, and 
 fcarce at firll: recoUedl, that he is now no 
 more j but as foon as we do, that very Re- 
 collection brings a rnelancholy Thought 
 acrois the Mind j till, by degrees, the Im- 
 E 4 predion 
 
56 On the Advantages of AffliBion, 
 
 Serm. Il.preffion wears off, and the Idea of him is 
 disjoined from that of the Place^ which 
 jnuft hiow him no more. How much more 
 then ought fope of us here to be affedted, 
 who have lately been deprived of a very 
 worthy and efteemable Acquaintance, right 
 in his Principles, regular in his Practice, 
 and eafy and affable in his Converfation ? 
 
 Frank, open and ingenuous by Nature, 
 cautious and prudent by his Knowledge of 
 the World, ever ready to oblige 5 he lived 
 without a formed Defign of difpleafing any 
 body, and yet without the vain chimerical 
 J-IoDcs of pleafing every body. 
 
 He was a very proper Perfon to have 
 Recourfe to upgn any intricate Emergency. 
 For he at once preferved the cool Judgment 
 of a difinterefted Perfon, and yet entered as 
 heartily and thoroughly into the Affair, as 
 if he had been perfonally interefted in it ; 
 fruitful of Expedients, with the good Senfe 
 to fix upon that which was beft, and mod 
 to the Purpofe. 
 
 He had fo eftablifhed a Chara(fl:er for 
 Punduality, Fairnefs and Honefly, in his 
 Bufinefs, that People loved to have to do 
 with a Man of his unfufpedled Veracity j 
 gbove thofe indired Arts, which a great 
 
 Soul 
 
On the Advantages of AffiiElion. 57 
 
 5oul defpifeSf and a good one detejls ; the ^^'^*'- ^ 
 little temporary Expedients of Men, who 
 want to ferve a prefent Exigency, and pro- 
 cure fome fhort-lived Advantages} but have 
 not Senfe enough to confider the remote 
 Cojifcqiiences of an Adion, and to tiiink of 
 the Prophet's Quefliop, What ivilt ye do in 
 the End thereof? For certain it is, that 
 Knavery cannot long be concealed, nor 
 Honefty counterfeited : and the Lip of 
 Truth is eflqblijhed for cver^ but a lying 
 Tongue is but for a Moment. There was 
 a Dignity in his Afpe6t, Weight in his 
 Words, and an Dpennefs and Simplicity in 
 his Actions, which engaged Mens Efleem 
 for him, and made them repofe a firm 
 .Confidence in him. It feemed to be ;his 
 Opinion, that in complicated Cafes our fe- 
 cond Thoughts were better than our firft ; 
 and that we ought to deliberate long, before 
 we proceed to Action : But that in plain Cafe3 
 cur hrlT: Sentiments, the Sentiments of ge- 
 nuine, untainted Nature, were better than 
 our fecond ; and that to deliberate, was 
 only to endeavour to find out fome fpecious 
 Kefinements and artful GloA'es, by which 
 we might, with much ado, reconcile thofc 
 practices to our Confcicncc, to whicji it was 
 3 at 
 
5 8 On the Advantages of AffliBlon. 
 
 Serm. U.at firfl: View ftrongly abhorrent. He never 
 therefore deviated from the plain High- 
 Road of Honefty into thofe crooked and 
 intricate By-Paths, in v^^hich, where one has 
 {liortened his Way to Riches, hundreds have 
 loft and bewildered themfelves. 
 
 That he was an affectionate Hufband to 
 one of the beft and tendereft of Wives, and 
 a kind indulgent Mafter to his Servants, are 
 confefTed Parts of his Character j and yet 
 thefe are the fureft Tefts of an habitual 
 Good-Nature, and a prevailing Sweetnefs of 
 Difpofition. 
 
 Being bred a Scholar, he had a Capacity 
 and Knowledge, but not a Mind and Spi- 
 rit, above his Profeffion : For he as dili- 
 gently applied himfelf to it, as if he had 
 been by Nature and Education only fitted 
 for that Sphere. Before his Retirement 
 from Bufinefs and the World, he had an 
 enlarged Converfation in it : But though 
 he often kept Company with Men of loofe 
 Principles, he never departed from his own, 
 which he had early imbibed, and thorough- 
 ly digefted. For Men of this Stamp fel- 
 dom make any lafting Impreilions upon 
 Perfons oi firong Senfe^ and a thoroughly- 
 ^ood Difpofition : The utmoft they can do 
 
 is 
 
On the Advantages of AffltBion. 59 
 is to ftagger weak Men, and to make thofeSERM. n. 
 that are already in fome degree had^ much' 
 worfe. He was a conftant Frequenter of 
 the Church, during his Health s and, when 
 his lUnefs confined him to his Houfe, a 
 conftant Communicant at the three great 
 Seafons, and received the Sacrament with 
 that awful Compofure of Behaviour, which 
 befpoke a Mind recolleded and attentive, 
 and affedled all about him with a corre- 
 fpondent Serioufnefs. 
 
 His Faults and Frailties were fuch as all 
 Men are liable to : But his Perfedions were 
 the Attainments of few in Comparifon ; 
 particularly the great Patience with which 
 he bore the fevere Trials which God laid 
 upon him. He feemed to enjoy himf:If 
 and his Friends undei; fuch afflidlve Cir- 
 cumftances, as would have made moft: 
 others a Burthen to themfelves, and uneafy 
 to every one that came near them 5 and 
 was a fignal Example that the greateft Ad- 
 vantage one Man can have above another 
 in this Life, arifes from the Temper and 
 Difpofition of the Mind; that Temper, 
 which foftens every Care, and improves 
 every BlefTing. For he feemed to have had 
 more true Peace of Mind under a lafting 
 A Compli- 
 
6o On the Advantages of AffliStion, 
 
 Serm. 11. Complication of Diflempers, than others 
 are polTefl of in the Fuhiefs of Health and 
 Vigour : who want they know not what, 
 and are uneafy they know not why : And 
 if at any Time his Spirits were depreil: by 
 long-continued Pain, Converfation with an 
 intimate Friend would break the Gloom 
 that hung upon him, and brighten up his 
 Soul. Indeed his Malady grew upon him 
 to that degree, that it was almoft cruel to 
 wi(h him a longer Continuance among us : 
 All that his Friends could defire, was an 
 eafy PafTage out of this World into a better, 
 where tbej-e is no Pain or Sorrow, Hi§ 
 Soul is now enlarged from that corruptible 
 Body to which it was united ; and releafed 
 from thofe Miferies, which, by virtue of 
 that Union, it underwent. How foon we, 
 who in the Mid/i of Life are in D eat by may 
 follow him, God only knows : Each Day 
 brings us nearer to Eternity-, and it fhould 
 be our main Endeavour, that each may bring 
 us nearer to a blejjed Eternity. 
 
 But, wiiile we are in the Body, we muH: 
 more or lefs flfuggle with Difticulties, and 
 combat with Temptations. While we live, 
 wc muft perfevere, without flackening our 
 Jnduflry, to fight this good Fight : When 
 
 we 
 
On the Advantages of AfftiSllon, 6 1 
 
 we die, we have gained the decifive Vi£io- Serm. il 
 ry : and when we come before the Throne "^^ 
 of Grace, we fhall receive a glorious Tri- 
 umph'j a Triumph indeed, where inftead of 
 the fenfelefs Noife of an undiftinguiflied 
 and undiftinguifhing Populace : a numerous 
 Choir of ennobled Spirits fhall hail with 
 joyful Acclamations their happy Fellow- 
 Servant : While, to crown all, the great 
 Judge pronounces the blefTed Sentence : 
 Well done, thou good and faithful ^erva^it I 
 Enter thou into the Joy of thy Lord. 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 On Faith, Benevolence, &^c. 
 
 Being a Farewel Sermon preached in 
 Twickenham - Chzpel, June 20, 1742^ 
 and publifhed at the ^Requell of the 
 Audience. 
 
 5^ ^^ ^S^ «J)S^ cggJ ^gj «agj cggj CjjgJ ^g> cggj ^g^g3 cggJ cg^ c^g; cggj cj,^ ^g» 
 
 I Timothy I. 19. 
 
 Holding Faith, and a good Confcience, 
 
 ^"^ " ^ HIS being the laft Time, that 1 SermJIL 
 B fhall fpeak to you in the Capaci- 
 JL ty, which I now bear, of your 
 Preacher and Minifter -, I have chofen thefe 
 Words, the Advice of St. Paul to Timothy, 
 as containing the Sum and Subftance of our 
 Duty. In difcourfing upon v^hich, I (hall 
 throw together fome few Thoughts j 
 
 I/?, Upon Faith, 
 
 Wdly, Upon a good Confcience ; 
 
 11%, 
 
64- 07t Faith^ Be?tevolencey 8ca 
 
 Serm.iii. IWdly, Take my Leave of you, with a 
 fhort Ad chefs to you. 
 
 I. The firfl: Point is, that you would fe- 
 rioufly confider the ftrong Evidences of your 
 Faith J Evidences fo ftrong, that he would 
 be deemed a Madman, who was not deter- 
 mined by much lets in his fecular Affairs. 
 If any one fliould go about to difprove the 
 Conqueflsof^/(';^^72<^fr, he would be thought 
 not to be in his found Mind : And yet 
 there are much ftronger Proofs for the Re- 
 ality of the Miracles recorded in Scripture, 
 and particularly in the New Teilament; 
 than there are for the Viftories of Alexan- 
 der^ or even for the Being of fuch a Man. 
 
 Let it no more ftagger your Faith, that 
 there are fo great a Number of Unbelievers 5 
 than it ought to influence your Pradlice, 
 that there are fo great a Number of wicked 
 Men Befides, you may be deceived, by 
 miilakingy^cc;z^ Qualities iox Jirfi. A Pro- 
 penfity to think out of the common Road, 
 may be by no means the leading Qiiality 
 amonij; thofe that are ftiled Unbelievers: It 
 may be only a fecondary one, and fubfervi- 
 ent to a prifnary Dejire, that of being in 
 the Fajhion. Thofe very Men, who now 
 
 affea 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ &c, 6 J 
 
 afFedt to be thought Unbelievers, might, Serm.IIX. 
 probably, if they had lived in the Times 
 of the Grand Rebellion, have fet up for 
 Saints : Becaufe a reputed Sandity vi^as os 
 much the Mode of that Age, as Infidelity 
 is of this. There is a Torrent of Opinions 
 peculiar to almoft every Age : Men of light 
 unbalanced Minds, like light Matter, are 
 borne down by the Current ; and Men of 
 folid Senfe do not alv^^ays meet with the 
 Succefs, which they deferve, in ftemming 
 and oppofing it. The principles of Chri- 
 flianity may be out of Fafhion : But whaC 
 they want in the Fafliion, they make up iri 
 Weight, Solidity, and intrinfic Worth, 
 
 For one, that has been made a Profelyta 
 to Deifm, by Reading, Thinking and Stu- 
 dying, there are Multitudes, who become 
 fo by Converfation with thofe, v/ho have 
 no Way of keeping themfelves in Counte- 
 nance, but by difcountenancing Religion. 
 And what wonder is it, thatPerfons (hould 
 be laughed out of Religion, who never rea-^ 
 fined themfelves hito it? A Man in his 
 younger years muft be well-difpofed, and 
 of a ferious thinking Turn, to converfe at; 
 large, and yet continue a Chriftian : But 
 if he be of a ferious Turn, and impartially 
 VoL.IL F weigh: 
 
66 On Faith ^ Benevole^ice^ &d. 
 
 Seem.iii. weigh the numerous Proofs for it, he can- 
 not but continue a chriftian. ForChrifli- 
 anity has too many and ftrong Appearances 
 of Truth, for any, who deUberately and 
 unbiafTedly attends to them, to beheve it an 
 Impofture. It has been fiffeJ as Wheat : 
 And the Confequence is, that fome few tri- 
 fling Confiderations, which had been for- 
 merly alledged in favour of it, have been 
 fet afide, like the Chaffs which the Wind 
 fcattereth away from the Face of the Earth ; 
 but its fohd and fubftantial Arguments, hke 
 the good Seed, fall not to the Ground, but 
 remain firm, without any debafing Mixtures. 
 To reje£l Chriftianity, becaufe of the 
 Difficulties with which its Doctrines are 
 attended 3 it is to reje(5l it 2L%falfe for that, 
 which feems to be an Argument of its 
 I'ruth, 1 will explain myfelf immediately. 
 Chriftianity, fuppoling its Truth, is a Re- 
 velation from God ■ A Revelation from 
 
 God muft contain fomething of the Na- 
 ture, Will and Counfels of God, as far as 
 they relate to us. — Now, the Will, Coun- 
 fels and Nature of an infinite Being, mufl 
 be, in a great meafure, unfearchable to, 
 and incomprehenfible by, Beings of fuch a 
 fcanty Pittance of Underflanding, as we 
 
 have.-— 
 
On Faithy BenevolejtcCy 8cc. 67 
 
 have.-^That is, they muft be encumbered Serm.iii. 
 with infuperable Difficulties. — To objedt' 
 Difficulties then againft Chriftianity, is to 
 make that an Argument againft the Truth 
 of Chriftianity -, which Chriftianity, fiippo- 
 fing its Truth:, muft, in the Nature of the 
 Thing, be attended with. The united 
 Force of Unbelievers has never been able 
 to invalidate the feveral Argum.ents that 
 have been brought to prove the Truth of 
 Revelation 3 and while thefe prove it to be 
 true, Difficulties cannot alter the Nature of 
 Things 3 they cannot make that to be 
 falfe, for the Truth of which we have for- 
 cible proofs. 
 
 Liften not therefore to the Suggeftions 
 of defigning Men. Under a Pretence of 
 baniftiing your Apprehenfions of a future 
 Judgment, they will only dafti your Hopes, 
 and weaken your Expedlations of a blefted 
 Immortality; alarming thofe very Appre- 
 henfions, which they promifed to remove, 
 by adding to your other Terrors, this ?iew 
 Fear, which will continually haunt you -, a 
 Fear, left you have finned in difmiffing 
 your firft Perfuafion for very flight and fri- 
 volous Reafons. There may be feveral, 
 who have juft Senfe enough to fee there 
 
 F 2 are 
 
68 On Faithy Benevolence^ See. 
 
 Serm.iii. are Difficulties in Chriftianity ; but not 
 Senfe enough to fee they are /;/// Difficul- 
 ties : And thefe may be confirmed Infidels, 
 meer Reeds JJjaketi with the Wind^ with eve- 
 ry Blail: of vain Dodrine, But where there 
 are no infupcrablc Prejudices of Education 
 in the Cafe 5 take it for granted, that Men 
 of cool Heads, who dare think home, 
 who dare follow Truth with the fame In- 
 difference, as a Traveller enquires after the 
 beft Road that leads to his Journey's End, 
 do not think fo differently in material Points 
 d's you may imagine. They may hang out 
 falfe Colours J but, depend upon it, the 
 utmoil Length Men are capable of going, 
 who are thoroughly willing and able to 
 drive each Argument to an Head, is to 
 have fome Doubts and Scruples, which are 
 preponderated by an exceeding Weight of 
 Evidence on the other Side. Abfolute in- 
 fallible Certainty is in Heaven, and we are 
 upon Earth j but there is fuch a Degree of 
 moral Certainty, as is fufficient to over- 
 balance all Doubts. We know every Ob-* 
 jedion againft Chriftianity as well as they 
 doi and there is not the lead Shadow of a 
 demonftration againfl it : But the Reafons 
 fur it are fo ftrong, that though they do- 
 not 
 
0?! Faith ^ Be?ievole7ice^ &c. 69 
 
 not amount to a ftrid Demonftratiorij they SermIIF. 
 make near Approaches to it. 
 
 I know the Firmnefs of our AfTent does 
 not depend fo much on outward Evide/ices, 
 be they never fo forcible, as on the imvard 
 Frame and Bent of the Mind. Yet I take 
 it to be almoft as impofTible for a Man, fup- 
 pofing his Faculties to be good, and duly 
 exercifed, to be deceived intirely in a Point 
 of Moment J as it is for him, when under 
 the Influence of fom.e criminal Paflion, not 
 to deceive himfelf in Part, The Cafe is the 
 fame in relation to very material Errors, as 
 it is in regard to fecret Vices. The latter 
 may efcape our Obfervation, as to any parti- 
 cular, diflindt, explicit Knowledge of them: 
 However, we have general, confufed, indi- 
 flinft Notices, that all is riot right within, 
 as to the Article of Sins in fome meafure 
 unfufpedted ; and this is the Reafon, why we 
 are averfe to fearch out our Spirits ; led we 
 {hould find that to be too true, upon a nia- 
 ture Examination, which we miflrufted up- 
 on a carelef?, tranfient Glance of Thought. 
 Jull: fo it is in Matters of Belief. Wliere 
 there is a moral Certainty, any wrong Af- 
 fecflion may fo far blind even a Thinking 
 Man, that he (liall not have a thorough and 
 F 3 deter- 
 
70 On Faith ^ Benevolence^ 6cc. 
 
 Serm.iii. determined ConviBion of the Truth ; but 
 he cannot fhut out or fupprefs the Eviden- 
 ces for it fo entirely, as not to have a gene- 
 ral Dlpriijl^ and an implicit Sufpicion, that 
 he is in the Wrong: Which general Diftruil 
 is the Caufe, that he is fo unwilling to look 
 into a Book, which is written v^ith great 
 Strength of Reafon on the other Side, left 
 he fliould let in the Enemy Truth to diflurb 
 his Repofe. 
 
 There may be, however, fome Except 
 tions to what is here laid down. Men may 
 have fomething particular in their Temper ; 
 There is fometimes an unfufpedled Wrong- 
 nefs of Underitanding, which, becaufe it 
 does not difcharge itfelf in Raving, efcapes 
 the Eye of common Obfervers; but yet fliall 
 leaven a Man's whole Way of Thinking ; 
 And it generally falls in with the reigning 
 Bent of the Times, When the Nation 
 was in a Ferment about Religion, and for, 
 what was called, a greater Purity in it, it 
 /Iruck in with the general Vogue of the 
 Age, and vented itfelf in all the Extrava- 
 gancies of Fanaticifm : But now, when 
 Things have taken a different Turn, and 
 Jrreligion is the prevailing Mode j it has 
 received a pew Determination from thence. 
 
 Jienc^ 
 
On Faith, Benevolencey &c. 7 1 
 
 Hence fome are as diflempered Bigots forsERM.IlI. 
 their No-Religion, or what makes near^ - 
 Approaches to none f as others were about 
 a Century ago for a farther Reformation. 
 Some Perfons who have travelled early into 
 Countries, where Popery is eftabliflied, have 
 had Senfe enough, in their younger Years, 
 to fee through the grofs Impofitions and 
 Cheats, which are pradifed upon the Vul- 
 gar. But not being able to feparate Religi- 
 on itfelf from the undue Mixtures which 
 were blended with it, they have unhappily 
 contraded an Averfion for all Religion in 
 general. They have affociated with the Idea 
 of Religion all thofe numerous Tricks and 
 Fopperies, which have pafled there under 
 its facred Cover. And the Cafe of thofe, 
 who by this Means, or by any other Means 
 fimilar to this, have conceived an early 
 Dlftafte for Religion, refembles theirs, who 
 have contraded an Antipathy to fome Meats 
 or Liquors, however wholfome and nou- 
 rifliing, by reafon of fome bitter and un- 
 palatable Draughts or Ingredients being 
 mixed with them : The difagreeable Idea 
 always recurs, when they fee them. This 
 is certain, that offenfive ImpreiTions, which 
 have been given us of Religion, Learning, 
 
 F 4. or 
 
7 2 On Faith ^ Benevolence ^ &g. 
 
 ERM.IIl.or any thing elfe in our tender Years, be- 
 fore our Minds come to a Steadinefs an4 
 Confiftency j are like thofe Marks which are 
 made upon the Body of an Animal in its 
 Mother's Womb : they are feldom or never 
 erafed, but we carry them with us to the 
 prave. 
 
 But whatever Allowances we may make 
 for infuperable Prejudices, and invincible 
 Ignorance, in this Cafe, and many others ; 
 it is a Miftifke to think, that Deifts are lef? 
 eafy of Belief, than the reft of Mankind. 
 There may be a certain Stock of Faith^ 
 which we bring with us into the World ; 
 and as it has been obferved of the Affec- 
 tions^ that if they be with-held from their 
 statural Gratifications, they will often dif~ 
 charge themfelves on improper Obje(5ls: Juft 
 fo, if Men do not place their Faith onfuit- 
 able Objects, they will not ceafe to be Be- 
 lievers i they will mifplace it on unjuitable 
 ones ; and whatever they want in a true 
 Chriftlan Faith, they will more than make 
 up in believing ftrange Abfurditi.es j of 
 which numerous Inftances might be giverj 
 both in the pafl and prefent Times. 
 
 You may have bad Books indufliioufly 
 thrown in your Way : and you may have 
 
 sii 
 
On Faith y Benevolence^ &c. 73 
 
 an Imagination apt to Jla7'tle 2X Difficulties Se»m.IU- 
 ncw to you. jBut if you have a Turn for 
 folid Thinking and Reafoning, bring your 
 Mind clofe to the Difficulty, and make it 
 take a near View of it on every Side ; and 
 you will find that what /lartled it at a Di- 
 stance, was only fome idle TriJIe, which 
 Fancy had drejfed up in 2i formidable Shape. 
 And if you have not, defire thofe, who 
 have ftudied the Point, to turn to fuch Paf- 
 fages in Books already publiffied as contain 
 a fufficient Anfwer to it. For Infidelity- 
 can only go round and round the fame To- 
 pics, in an eternal Circle, without advancing 
 one Step further : It produces no ?iew 
 Forces : it only brings thofe again into the 
 JField, which have been fo often bafiedy 
 maimed and difabledy that, in Pity to them, 
 they ought to be difmifled, and difcharged 
 from any further Service. 
 
 You may complain that you have not 
 Capacities fufficient for fuch Things. Sup- 
 pofing your Abilities fo very flender, that 
 you cannot perceive the Truth of an hifto- 
 j-ical Fa(fl well attefled 5 yet one Thing 
 you may be fure of; that it is much better 
 for the Good of the whole, that Mankind 
 |liould abide by fuch a written Rule of 
 
 Faith 
 
74 0^ Faith^ Benevolence^ &c. 
 
 Serm-IU. Faith and Pradticc, as the Chriflian is ; tlian 
 that they fhould be left every one, in low 
 as well as high Life, to colled: a Religion 
 for themfelves, jufl as their Ignorance, Paf- 
 fions and Prejudices fliould miflead them. 
 You may fee, that this Scheme, which is 
 that of Infidelity, would be deftrudive of 
 the general Happinefs of the World: And 
 you may conclude, that whatever Scheme 
 would, at the Foot of the Account, leave 
 the World in a much worfe State, than 
 it was before, in Point of Happinefs, mufl 
 be difagreeable to his Will, who wiflies the 
 Happinefs of the World 5 and therefore con- 
 trary to Truth. What better Wifh could 
 the beft-natured Being form for the Bene- 
 fit of the World ; than that the Dodrines 
 of Chriftianity, thofe ftrong Incentives to 
 Virtue, fhould be univerfally believed 5 and 
 its Precepts univerfally pradifed ? 
 
 Il^/y, From a right Faith I now proceed 
 to what is, or ought to be, the Confequence 
 of it, a good Life. 
 
 A good Life is not one folitary and fingle 
 Virtue, however glaring; it is the Com- 
 bination and Meeting together of all the 
 moral and fpiritual Graces 5 Juft as Light 
 
 and 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ 6cc. 75 
 
 and Whitenefs is not one fingle Colour and Serm.IIL 
 Ray ; it is the Compofition of all the Colours 
 and Rays united and blended together. 
 
 Your firft and leading Duty is Piety to 
 God. And this takes in all religious Du- 
 ties, whether moral or pofitive j whether 
 we fully and clearly fee the Reafons of 
 them, or we fee them dimly and indiftindl- 
 ly, or we do not fee them at all ; know- 
 ing this (enough for us to know) that an 
 all-wife Being can enjoin no Duty, but 
 for' wife Ends and Purpofes j and an all- 
 good Being can command no Performance, 
 but what is for our Good and Benefit. 
 
 Let not your Piety break out in fudden 
 fliort interrupted Flafhes, but let it fhine on 
 in one continued fteady Day-light, Have not 
 juft Rehgion enough to make you uneafy 5 
 but enough to give you folid Satisfadion, 
 and a well-grounded AlTurance. Give God 
 all you can : give him your Heart — for that 
 is all. And then, inftead of contenting your- 
 felf with thinking, how holy and charitable 
 you would be, if you had fuch a Fortune, 
 cr were in fuch a Station j you will never be 
 eafy, till you arc as holy and charitable as it 
 is poflible for ycru to be, in whatever Station 
 vou are, or whatever Fortune you have. 
 
 j3ut 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ Sec. 
 
 But I have already difcourfed often on 
 this Subje6l : One Thing more however I 
 beg leave to mention. You are, moft of 
 you, regular Attendants on the Service' of 
 the Church : Take care, that your De- 
 portment out of Church, be correfpondent 
 to your Behaviour in it: Otherwife, you 
 will do religion more DilTervice, than if 
 you v^^ere its open and avowed Enemies. 
 For, pray obferve : Though Piety be the 
 moll: valuable Thing in itfelf, the Bulk of 
 Mankind are not capable of forming fine 
 abJiraSl Ideas of it in itfelf -, they muft 
 confider it, if at all, as it lies before them 
 in the hives and ConverJ'ation of Men repu- 
 tedly pious. And when they fee thofe 
 who have that Charadler, laying Strefs upon 
 Trifles, as if the whole of Religion con- 
 fifled in them, and neglecfling Effentials ; 
 when they fee them prying into the Secrets 
 of Families, or encouraging and liftening 
 to thofe that do fo, addided to Cenforiouf- 
 nefs and Supercilioufnefs j the little low 
 defpicable Notions, which they form of 
 Perfons profefling Piety, they will unjull:- 
 3y annex to Piety itfelf, and hold it ever 
 after cheap and contemptible. 
 
 \dlyy 
 
Oti Faith ^ Benevolence y 6cc. 77 
 
 2dl)\ Let therefore your Piety to GodSERM.ilL 
 be joined vfith, what ought to be infepara-' ^ 
 rable from it, Charity to Man. 
 
 By Charity, I do not mean only Almf- 
 giving ; for that is only one Branch of it, 
 one outward Expreflion of this Duty ; I 
 mean the moft liberal Sentiments and the 
 mofl enlarged Affedions towards all Man- 
 kind. A charitable Man will endeavour 
 too fee every Thing through the Mirror of 
 Good-Nature, which mends and beautifies 
 all Objedls, without altering any : Like 
 fine Painting, which, without deviating 
 from Nature, adds new Touches and 
 Graces to it; it does not change, but only 
 embellifh it , it does not give a mere Like- 
 nefs, much lefs a woful Likenefs, it gives 
 an agreeable and advantageous one. Far 
 ivQVCi furinifmg Evil, where there is none', 
 he will rather think ?io E'-cil, where there 
 re-illy is-, judging it better to err through a 
 good-natured Credulity, than through an 
 undiflinguifhing Sufpicion ; becaufe a good- 
 natured Credulity will only expofe him to 
 feme temporal Inconveniencies 3 but an un- 
 diftinguifiiing Sufpicion will beget in him a 
 fettled Uneafinefs, Jealoufy, Hatred, and 
 the whole Train of black Paffions, which, 
 
 will 
 
78 On Faith^ Benevolence^ &C. 
 
 Serm.iii. will render his Soul as dark as that Hell, 
 into which they will at lafl irrecoverably 
 fink him. 
 
 To defcend to particulars 5 ly?, A cha- 
 ritable Man wiH never hate any Body or 
 Community of Men, provided there be no- 
 thing immoral in their Profeflion j however 
 he may diflike fome Individuals in it. No- 
 thing is more unjuft, though I am afraid, 
 nothing is more ufual j than, if we have 
 had to do with fome wicked Men of any 
 Fraternity, to cry out, they are all become 
 {ihominable. Now an undiftinguifhing Cen- 
 fure upon a whole Profellion, for the Faults 
 of fome few particular Members, is gene- 
 rally a greater Crime, than any we can fix 
 upon thofe few particular Members. Be- 
 caufe it tends to bring an undeferved Dif- 
 credit upon a whole Body of Men, and 
 thereby to leflen their Ufefulnefs, To com- 
 mend a whole Body in the grofs, is an In- 
 dication of a weak, undiftinguifhing Judg- 
 ment ; and to condemn it in the grofs, of 
 Uncharitablenefs : Human Nature was ne- 
 ver fo good, but there vt-ere feveral worth- 
 Icfs Members of every ProfefTion ; and ne- 
 ver fo bad, but there were feveral of di- 
 ilinguiflied Worth in every Condition of 
 3 Life. 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence ^ &c. 79 
 
 Life. The Scholar defpifes the Man of Serm.iii. 
 Bufinefs, and the Man of Bufinefs the Scho- 
 lar : Now, what eftranges Men from each 
 other, fhould, in theReafon of the Thing, 
 mutually endear them : Becaufe the gene- 
 ral Good of the whole arifes from the diffe- 
 rent Purfuits of the feveral Individuals : 
 And if all Men were to go the fame Way, 
 and follow the fame Track of Employ- 
 ment; it would caufe a ftrange EmbarraiT- 
 ment: The Road would be fo much croud- 
 cd, that none could get forward. Hotiour 
 then all Men, even thofe of the meaneft 
 Occupations : Take in, with a comprehen- 
 five View, the whole Chain of the rational 
 World, where, though the Links may be 
 difproportioned in their Size, yet the leaft 
 ferves to flrengthen and fupport the great- 
 eft, and both, by depending upon, and aid- 
 ing each other, keep the whole Contexture 
 from falling afunder. 
 
 2dly, As you ought not to conceive a 
 Diftafte for any Man, or Body of Men, 
 upon the account of a different Profefllon ; 
 fo neither fhould you, becaufe they are of 
 a different Perfuafion, Sed:, or Party. 
 
 Suppofing yourfelf in the Right ; you 
 pity corporeal Blindncfs : why (hould you 
 
 not 
 
8o On Faithj Benevolence^ 6cc; 
 
 SERM.m.ttot likewife compaflionate, inftead of being 
 angry with, the Blindnefs of the Utidcr-' 
 Jlajidingi when it cannot difcern certain re-» 
 ligious Truths ? I know no Reafon but 
 this, which refolves itfelf into Pride j that 
 the corporeally blind own themfeh^es to be 
 fo\ but the blind in TJnderJlanding main- 
 tain, that we labour under that Dijietnpery 
 and not they. Now we are not fo tho- 
 roughly convinced, that our Underftanding 
 and Way of Thinking is perfectly right in 
 all Points, as that we have the full Enjoy- 
 ment of our Eye-fight: And this makes us 
 fo angry with the one, while we pity the 
 other. Enfure your own Salvation as much 
 as you can, but do not think hardly of 
 thofe, who differ from you even in funda- 
 mental Points, much lefs confign them 
 over to Damnation. Our bleffed Saviour, 
 who dlfapproved the Worfhip of the Sama-* 
 ritans, as appears from his Converfation 
 with the Samaritan Woman at the Well,, 
 yet fingles out, in his beautiful Parable,- 
 one of that Nation to do a generous Ac- 
 tion to the wounded Traveller, on purpofe, 
 one would think, to obviate this contradled 
 Turn of Mind, and to recommend thofe 
 to our Love, whofe religious Notions we 
 
 diflike. 
 
On Faith J Benevolence^ &c. 8i 
 
 diflike. Whether a good Man, who is aSERM.ni 
 Mifbeliever in fome Points, without any 
 Faultinefs or Irregularity of Will, will be 
 damned for his erroneous Way of Think- 
 ing, may be a Queftion among fome Peo- 
 ple } but I think it admits of none, that a 
 Man will be damned for an uncharitable 
 Way of Thinking and Ad:ing. 
 
 3^/y, You muft not pafs a hard precipi- 
 tate Cenfure upon a whole Nation or Coun- 
 try. Can any Taking good come out of Na- 
 zareth? was a low, confined, ungenerous 
 Thought : Goodnefs is not limited to\ or 
 excluded from^ any Place : The Good are 
 diffufed throughout all Nations, all Se<fts, 
 all Perfuafions, all Ranks and Orders of 
 Men. True Charity ever dwells with a 
 Largenefs of Soul, which takes in all Man- 
 kind, fincerely wifhing, that all, who arc 
 in any material Error, may embrace the 
 Truth J and all, that embrace it, may hold 
 a pure Faith in a pure Confcience. And I 
 queftion whether a generous-fpirited Way 
 of Thinking, a noble and exalted Ardor 
 of Soul, with ftrong Paflions, which fome- 
 fimes tranfport a Man into Exorbitances, be 
 not, upon the whole, much more com- 
 mendable ; than an infipid Resularity, and 
 
 Vol. II. G *^ a flat 
 
82 On Faith ^ Benevolence^ 6cc. 
 
 Serm.iii. a flat Corredlnefs of Life, which creeps on in 
 one dull Tenor, without ever overflowing : 
 with too little Spirit to reach any Heights 
 in Virtue ; too languid Paflions to be guilty 
 of any flagrant Vice : Juft as the Critics 
 have preferred the Sublime in Writing, with 
 a great many Inaccuracies and inequalities, 
 to a middhng Stile, though very faultlefs. 
 
 In (hort, true Charity is to detefl: nothing 
 but Vice i and to defpife nothing but con- 
 tracted, illiberal Notions, which would con- 
 fine God's Favour, and moft certainly limit 
 our AfFedtions, within a narrow Circle. 
 Form as amiable Sentiments as you can, of 
 Nations, Communities of Men, and Indi- 
 viduals. If they are true, you do them 
 only Jufl:icej if falfe, though your Opi- 
 nion does not alter their Nature, and make 
 them lovely -, you yourfelf are more lovely, 
 for entertaining fuch Sentiments. When 
 you feel the bright Warmth of a Temper 
 thoroughly good in your own Breaji, you 
 w'lWfee fomething good in every one about 
 you. It is a Mark of a Littlenefs of Spi- 
 rit, to confine yourfelf to fome minute 
 Part of a Man's Charadler ; a Man of ge- 
 nerous, open, extended Views, will grafp 
 the Whole of it .; without which he cannot 
 I pafs 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ Sec. 83 
 
 pafs a right Judgment on any Part. HeSERM.lir. 
 will not arraign a Man's general Condud' "^"^ 
 for two or three particular Actions i as 
 knowing, that Man is a changeable Crea- 
 ture, and will not ceafe to be fo ; till he is 
 united to that Being, who is the fame ye- 
 Jierday, to day, and for ever. He ftrives 
 to outdo his Friends in good Offices, and 
 overcome his Enemies by them. He thinks 
 he then receives the greateft Injury, when 
 he returns and revenges one : For then he 
 is overcome of Evil. Is the Perfon young 
 who has injured him? He will refledt, that 
 Inexperience of the World, and a Warmth 
 of Conftitution, may betray his unpra^ifed 
 Years into feveral Inadvertencies, which a 
 more advanced Age, his own good Senfe, 
 and the Advice of a judicious Friend, will 
 corred and reaify. Is he old ? the Infir- 
 mities of Age, and Want of Health, may 
 have fet an Edge upon his Spirits, and made 
 \i\mfpeak unad'^ifedly 'with his Lips. Is he 
 weak and ignorant ? he confiders, that it is 
 a Duty incumbent upon the wife to bear 
 with thofe that are not fo. Te fuffer Fools 
 gladly, fays St. Paul, feeing ye yourfelves 
 are wife. In fhort, he judges of himfelf, 
 as far as he can, with the ftria Rigour of 
 G 2 Jufticej 
 
84 On Faith^ Benevolence ^ 8cc. 
 
 Serm.iii. Juflice ; but of others, with all the Soften- 
 ings of Humanity. 
 
 From charitable and benevolent Thoughts, 
 the Tranfition is unavoidable to charitable 
 Adtions. For wherever there is an iriex- 
 hauftible Fund of Goodnefs at the Hearty 
 it will, under all the Difadvantages of Cir- 
 cumftances, exert itfelf in A(5ls of fubftan- 
 tial Kindnefs. He, that is fubftantially 
 good will be doing good. The Man, that 
 has a hearty determinate Will to be chari- 
 table, will feldoni put Men off with the 
 mere Will for the Deed. For a fincere 
 DeHre to do Good, implies fome Uneali- 
 nefs, till the Thing be done : And Unea- 
 fmefs fets the Mind at work, and puts it 
 upon the Stretch to find out a thoufand 
 Ways and Means of obliging, which will 
 ever efcape the Unconcerned^ the Indiffer- 
 ent, and the Unfeeling. 
 
 The moft proper Objeds of your Boun- 
 ty are the Neceffitous. Give the fame Sum 
 of Money, which you beftow on a Perfon 
 in tolerable Circumftances, to one in ex- 
 trenie Poverty ; and obferve, what a wide 
 Difproportion of Happinefs is produced. 
 In the latter Cafe, it is like giving a Cordial 
 to a fainting Perfon; in the former, it is like 
 3 giving 
 
0?i Faith y Bemvole^icCy &c. 85 
 
 giving Wine to him, who has already Serm.iii. 
 quenched his Thirft. Mercy is feafonablc 
 VI Time of Affiiclion^ like Clouds of Rxiin 
 in the Time of Drought, 
 
 And among the Variety of necefiitous 
 Objedts, none have a better Title to our 
 Compaffion, than thofe, who, after hav- 
 ing tafted the Sweets of Plenty, are, by 
 fome undeferved Calamity, obliged, with- 
 out fome charitable Relief, to drag out the 
 Remainder of Life in Mifery and Woe 5 
 who little Thought they fhould afk their 
 daily Bread of any but of God ; who, af- 
 ter a Life led in Affluence, cannot dig, and 
 are ajljamed to beg. And they are to be 
 relieved in fuch an endearing Manner, with 
 fuch a Beauty of Holinefs, that, at the fame 
 time that their Wants are fupplied, their 
 Confufion of Face may be prevented. 
 
 There is not an Inftance of this kind in 
 Hiftory fo affeding, as that beautiful ond 
 of Boaz to Ruth. He knew her Family, 
 and how rtie was reduced to the lowefl Ebb: 
 When therefore fiie begged Leave to glean 
 in his Fields, he ordered his Reapers to let 
 fall feveral Handfuls with a feeming Care- 
 leffnefs, but really with a fet Defign, that 
 file might gather them up without being 
 G 3 afliamed. 
 
86 On Faith ^ Be7ievolence^ &c. 
 
 Serm.iii. afliamed. Thus did he form an artful 
 Scheme, that he might give^ without the 
 Vanity and Ojlentation of giving ; andyy^^ 
 receive^ without the Shame and Conjujion 
 of making Acknowledgments. Take the 
 Hiftory in the Words of Scripture, as it is 
 recorded in the Book of Ruth. And when 
 jhe was rifen up to glean, Boaz commanded 
 his young Men, fay^^'^g > Let her glean even 
 among the Sheaves, and rebuke her not : 
 and let fall alfo fome of the Handfuls of 
 Purpofe, and leave them that foe may glean 
 thetn, ajid reproach her not. This was not 
 only doing a good Action ; it was doing it 
 likewife with a good Grace. 
 
 It is not enough we do no Harm ; that 
 we be negatively good^ we muft do Good, 
 fofitive Good, if we would eiiter into Lije, 
 When it would have been as good for the 
 World, if fuch a Man had never lived i it 
 would perhaps have been better for him, 
 if he had never been born. A fcanty For- 
 tune may limit your Benefcence, and con- 
 fine it chiefly to the Circle of your Domef- 
 tics, Relations and Neighbours ; but let 
 your Benevolence extend as far as Thought 
 can travel, to the utmoft Bounds of the 
 World ; Juft as It may be only in your 
 
 Power 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ 8cc. 87 
 
 Power to beautify the Spot of Ground that Serm-IH. 
 lies near and clofe to you ; but you could 
 wifh, that, as far as your Eye can reach, 
 the whole ProfpeA before you was chearful, 
 that every Thing difagreeable was removed, 
 and every Thing beautiful made more fo. 
 
 I have dwelt fo long upon this laft Vir- 
 tue, that I have not Time to difcourfe 
 upon the reft. One Duty, however, I fhall 
 juft touch upon, which will engage us 
 to Performance of all the reftj and that 
 is, frequent Self-Examination, or Self-Rc- 
 fledion. 
 
 We need not look far to meet with Per- 
 fons who, though they have a competent 
 Knowledge of the World, kjiow not what 
 manner of Spirit they are of\ condemning 
 the Want of Charity in others, with all the 
 Acrimony, Fiercenefs and Uncharitablenefs 
 imaginable; cenfuring People for the De- 
 fecft of Candour and a Sweetnefs of Dif. 
 pofition, with that mercilefs Keennefs and 
 Eagernefs of Spirit, which fliews them to 
 be, whatever others are, in the very Gall 
 of Bitternefs. Now the Ufe of fuch an 
 Obfervation, is not fo much to arraign them, 
 as to fufped: yourfelf. For he never knew 
 himfelf rightly, who never fufpeded him- 
 G 4 felf. 
 
88 On Faith^ Benevolence ^ &g, 
 
 Sbam.iII. felf. We feldom have that Charity which 
 covers a Multitude of Faults in our Neigh- 
 bours; and we much feldomer want that 
 Self'Lovc which covers a Multitude of 
 Faults in ourfelves. The Truth is, the 
 Bulk of Mankind do not refledt upon what 
 they do : There could not be fo n^any un- 
 kind Things faid'or done, and fo many kind 
 ones omitted by thofe, who are not void of 
 a Senfe of Religion; if they took a Survey 
 of every Thing that paffed. What is in-? 
 deed ?7otoriouSy extraordinary, and out of 
 the common Road in our Conduit, will en- 
 gage our Attention : For what is notorious, 
 ^nd glaring, forces itfelf upon our Obfer- 
 vation : But upon what is cojnmon, ordi* 
 nary, ^n^ frequent, in our Intercourfe with 
 one another, we feldom refieB at all, or at 
 leaft very tranfiently. Single ABs of Sin 
 may be owing to fome violent Sally of Paf 
 Jton ; but a continued Courfe of Sinning, in 
 any one Inflance, mull be owing to Self- 
 Deceit, occaiioned by Want of Self-Re- 
 fieilion, or to the delulive Hopes of repent- 
 ing fome Time or other. For a Man can- 
 not otherwife conftantly allow himfelf, in 
 the Practice of what he conftantly condemns. 
 Witjiout Self Refiedion, a Man may have 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ 6cc. 89 
 
 ^wry Vice under the Sun, without knowing Serm.UI. 
 he has any, provided he has it not in a high' 
 Degree. 
 
 Confider not what the World thinks of 
 fuch a Crime, but what it is in itfelf. For 
 the World, in Matters of Opinion, is fway- 
 ed more by Authority than Argument ; in 
 Matters of Pradice, by Example than Rule ; 
 and in few Things is governed by pure 
 Reafon only. Are you as apprehenfive of 
 a Miftake, as cautious not to take wrong 
 Meafures, as vigilant and circumfpedl in 
 your grand Concernment, your eternal 
 Welfare j as you would be in Cafes on 
 which your Life and Fortune depended ? 
 If you are, you will feldom ad; amifs : If 
 you are not, you fhew that a Worldly Tem- 
 per prevails more with you, than the Hopes 
 of God's Favour, and the Deiire of Salva» 
 tion. Many excellent Books are written, 
 many weekly Ledures are continually found- 
 ing in our Ears, with all the Strength of 
 Reafoning, and Beauty of Eloquence, to 
 perfuade us to — What ? one would think 
 it (hould be fomethingyt'^w/;7g-/y hurtful and 
 dij advantage oils to us. — No, no fuch Thing. 
 It is only to perfuade us, what, one would 
 ^hink, is no difficult Matter, and yet is the 
 
 mofl 
 
90 On Faith ^ Benevolence^ &c. 
 
 Serm-III. moft difficult of all, that we would not 
 make ourfehes eternally miferable^ that we 
 would endeavour after Eternal Happinefs, 
 For one, that perlfhes for want of know- 
 ing his Duty, there are Numbers, who are 
 loft for ever, for want of ferioufly confi- 
 dering it, and laying it to Heart. But I 
 am perfuaded better Things of you, my 
 Brethren ; you will reflect, that if there be 
 not another World, there is fcarce any 
 Thing worth Living for herej and if there 
 be, our main Concern in This, is to fit 
 ourfelves for That. 
 
 But this brings me, \\ldly\ and lajily. 
 To conclude with a fhort Addrefs to you. 
 
 It fignifies little, what Notions, a Per- 
 fon fo obfcure and undiftinguifhed as I am, 
 entertain. But fmce feveral Perfons have 
 been, without juft Grounds, fufpeded of 
 believing differently from what they profefs, 
 and to have an inward Dodtrine, which they 
 refcrve to themfelves, or communicate only 
 to fome few fele<fl Friends 5 I here declare, 
 in the Prcfence of God, that I am fully 
 perfuaded of the Truth of Chriftianity, and 
 the important DQ(51:rines thereof, which I 
 have, during the Space of nine Years, oft 
 
 inculcated 
 
On Faith ^ Benevolence^ &cc. 91 
 
 Inculcated to you; that I chufe to live, andSERM.IlI. 
 hope to die in that Perfuafion ; that, after' 
 having read the mofl confiderable Books 
 that have been written againfl it, I do not 
 know any Objedion, but what has received 
 repeated and fatisfadory Anfwers. A tho- 
 rough Chriftian in Prmciple, 1 wi(h I was 
 as good a one in my FraMice : and then I 
 fhould, in fome meafure, deferve that Ap- 
 probation, with which you have honoured 
 me. 
 
 I heartily thank you, that you have can- 
 didly overlooked my numerous Defeds, 
 kindly accepted my well-meant Endeavours 
 to ferve you, both from the Defk and from 
 the Pulpit; and, what is more, generoufly 
 encouraged them. And, to your other 
 Obligations, which you have conferred on 
 me, be pleafed to add this, which will be 
 the greatefi Obligation of all, viz. to make 
 Me, in fome degree, inftrumental to your 
 Salvation, by deliberately weighing what I 
 have laid down. 
 
 They are the laft Words of a departing, 
 though not a dying Friend ; and let them 
 therefore make a fuitable Impreflion. Qiiit 
 not your Religion, your Trufl in God, your 
 Virtue, for any Pleafure or Profit, which 
 
 this 
 
g2 On Faithy Benevolence^ &c. 
 
 6ERM.III. this World can give, for the World itfeif. 
 For all the Profit and Pleafure this World 
 can give, this World itfeif may fliortly be 
 nothing to you : But Religion and Virtue 
 will make you happy, when ^Lifes idle 
 EmployjnenfSy and its idler Follies, when 
 the World, when Time lliall be no more, 
 Falfe Friends will forfake you, and true 
 Friends may either leave you through ne- 
 ceflary Avocations, or they may be divided 
 from you by Death : Falfe Friends will 
 Jiand afar off in the Day of Trouble, and 
 even true Friends can, in fome Qzit^^Jiaiid 
 only looking upon your Mifery, afflided in- 
 deed imW your Aiiiidion, but without any 
 Power to eafe your Calamities : But God 
 is a prefent Friend, infinitely powerful and 
 good, in all Cafes, at all Times, in all 
 Places; He is able to hear us, wherefoever 
 difperfed ; and to relieve us, howfoever 
 diftreffed : Almofl: every Thing may fepa- 
 rate us from other Friends j But neither 
 Life nor ID eat by nor Principalities nor 
 Power Sy nothing but Sin, can feparate us 
 from Him, and the bleffed Influences of 
 his Prefence. 
 
 Some there have been here, and fome 
 there are here, to whom I am in a parti- 
 cular 
 
Ofi Faithy Benevolence^ Sec, 93 
 
 cular Manner indebted; from whom I haveSERM.iif. 
 received Obligations much greater than my' 
 Expcdations, and only not fo great as their 
 enlarged Souls and generous Inclinations to 
 do me good. — Some, of whom almoft every 
 one fpeaks well ; and few or none can 
 fpeak fo well as they deferve. It is a Plea- 
 fure even to be obliged to Perfons of their 
 Turn, ivho ghe liberally, and upbraid not ; 
 a Pleafure only not fo affedting as that 
 (which is beyond my Abilities) of obliging 
 them. 
 
 Injuries I do not remember, that I have 
 receiv^ed any from any of this Place: And 
 for whatever KindnelTes you have done me, 
 may God reward you fevenfold into your 
 Bofom. And I do not queftion but he 
 will reward you: For they were defigned 
 to cherifh and countenance Worth and 
 Learning; though beftowed on me. My 
 Relation to you, as a Paftor and Teacher, 
 is now upon the Point of expiring ; but 
 there is one Relation, which will always 
 fubfift, and that is, of your afFedionate 
 and (incere Well-wifiier: Whatever Diftance 
 of Place may be between us, I fliall rejoice 
 to hear of any Good that befals you, and be 
 heartily forry for any Difafler that affedls 
 
 you. 
 
94 On Faithy Benevolence^ 8cc. ~ 
 
 iSzRM.m.you. My Prayers, my befl Wifhes (alas! 
 what can I fay or do more ?j fhall always 
 be yours : For I am flill yours fincerely in 
 all good and Chriftian Offices. 
 
 Finally, Farewel, my Brethren • To 
 God's Grace I commend you. May he 
 grant you everlafting Welfare, and as much 
 Health and Profperity, as are confiftent with 
 your everlafting Welfare ! May your Souls, 
 while you live, improve in every Chriftian 
 Grace ; and when ye die, may they be pre- 
 fented without Spot before the Throne of 
 Grace ! May God protect you by his Pow- 
 er, guide you with his Counfel through the 
 feveral Stages of Life, and after that receive 
 you into Glory ! 
 
 SERMON 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 The Nature and Duration of future 
 Punifhments confidered ; and the 
 Goodnefs of God fully vindicated, 
 as to that Article, againft the prin- 
 cipal Objedions of fome late Wri- 
 ters. 
 
 
 Matthew XXVI. 24. 
 
 // had been good for that Man, if he had 
 not been born* 
 
 THESE Words are fpokenof y^^-SERM.lv. 
 das Ifcarioty but they are applica- ' 
 ble to every unrelenting Criminal j 
 and the Senfe of them is, Whoever lives 
 abandoned, and dies ipipenitent, fhall find 
 his Miferies in the whole Extent of his Be- 
 ing to overbalance the Enjoyments he has 
 had fo far, that it had been happy for him 
 not to have been at all j it being better not 
 to be at all, than to be fo miferable as he 
 
 fliall 
 
g6 Tthe Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.iV. {hall be : Or, in other Words, Non-Exift- 
 'ence, though not a Blefllng in itfelf, is foj 
 comparatively with the Torments which he 
 fhrall endure. 
 
 This is the plain exprefs authentic De- 
 claration of no lefs a Perfon, than our blef-* 
 fed Saviour j and it feems to overthrow the 
 Opinion of Ortgen, who imagined, that 
 the Damned fliould be admitted to everlaft^ 
 ing Happinefs after a determined Period of 
 Woe. For then it could not have been 
 faid with any Truth, that the Sum of their 
 Miferies fhould exceed their Pleafures; 
 linee an eternal Happinefs would outweigh 
 any finite Torments. Non-exiftence would 
 not have been, in the true Eflimate of 
 Things, a Bleffing to thofe, who were cer- 
 tain of an exceeding and everlafting Weight 
 of Glory. It would be good for that Man 
 to be born, who fliould fome Time or other 
 be happy for ever. 
 
 In the Profecution of this Subjed: I pro^ 
 pofe, 
 
 I/?, To confider the Duration of future 
 Punifhments : 
 
 Il^/y, To fet forth the Nature of them: 
 \\\dly^ To make fome praiTtieal Inferences. 
 
 As 
 
of future Punifoments co?2fidered. 9 7 
 
 As to the I/?, viz. The Duration of fu- Serm.IV 
 lure Punifliments. 
 
 When God (hall fet forth, before the 
 united Aficmbly of Men and Angels, the 
 Harmony and Confiftency of his Providence, 
 from the firfl Birth of Time to its laft Pe- 
 riod J it is to be humbly hoped, that mer- 
 ciful Abatements will be made for unavoid- 
 able Temptations, to which Men have been 
 expofed by their Situation in Life ; for the 
 Want of a regular and virtuous Education, 
 (Sc. And perhaps fome Part of what is 
 called moral Evil, may be, in the Eye of 
 him, who knovoeth ^whereof we are made, 
 nothing but natural Evil j as owing to the 
 native Impetuolity of fome Mens original 
 Complexions, and to the unadive Coldnefs 
 of other Mens natural Tempers, which, 
 whether they could wholly get the better 
 of, God only knows. It may be likewife 
 prefumed, that the Number of the Damn- 
 ed will bear no more Proportion to that of 
 the Blefled throughout the whole Creation; 
 than a Workhoufe or a Prifon does to the 
 whole Extent of a large Kingdom. 
 
 But whatever gracious Allowances may 
 
 be made J it is an cxprefs Scripture Do(5trine, 
 
 that the Wicked jhall go away into everlajl* 
 
 VoL. II. H tug 
 
9 8 T*he Nature and Duration 
 
 Sekm.iV. i??g Tiinifiment ', hut the Righteous into Life 
 eternal. 
 
 Let us fuppofe, that Mankind were to 
 live here for ever : Let us fuppofe, that 
 fome of them v/ere become abandoned and 
 incor'rigibly bad : Would it be any unjufti- 
 ilable Severity to confine Them for ever in 
 Prifon, that they might not feduce or annoy 
 the refl of the Creation ^ or even to in- 
 ilid: politive Puniiliments upon them, in 
 their Confinement, adequate to their Of- 
 fences, in order to deter others ? It is only 
 therefore to fuppofe, that the Soul is in its 
 own Nature deligned for aa immortal Du- 
 ration J that thofe, v/ho ars configned to- 
 everlafting Mifery, are fuch as by a conti- 
 nued Courfe of Sinning have fo difabled all. 
 the Powers of the Soul, that it is morally 
 impofiible for them, without the extraordi- 
 nary Grace of God, to ceafe from Sinning : 
 And then if it be no Injujiice^ as undoubt- 
 edly it is not, that every Sinner fliould be 
 a Sufferer ', there can be no Injuftice, that 
 every habitual^ eternal Sinner lliould be an 
 eternal Sufferer. 
 
 This Confideration, I think, takes ofF 
 the Force of the Objection, '■oiz. That there 
 Is no Proportion between temporary Crimes, 
 
 and' 
 
of future P tint Jljinents confuhred, 99 
 
 and eternal Punifhments. But, flnce fome Serm.IV. 
 have laid great Strefs upon it, 1 fliall con- 
 fider it farther. 
 
 I/?, Let it be confidered, that though 
 the outward Adts of Sin be temporary j yet 
 the Defilement and Habit contracfled by a 
 Repetition of thefe Acfts is, if we die in a 
 State of Impenitence, eternal. And as 
 eternal ill Habits are the Source of eternal 
 Torments; i:: will follow that the Impe- 
 nitent have entailed upon themfelves ever- 
 lalling Mifery. If, when Death has clofed 
 the Scene, there be no After-game to play ; 
 if all Overtures of Grace then ceafe ; if 
 Vice be liamped upon the Soul in indeUble 
 Characters ; if he that is filthy, mufi be 
 filthy Jim ', then it is an undeniable Confe- 
 quence, that he, who can ?2e'ver ceafe to 
 be ivickedy can ne^ver ceafe to be miferable. 
 The veteran Sinner is Heeled againft all 
 Impreflions, and the Mifer does not ceafe 
 , to love this World 'with all his Scul, and 
 with all Lis Ztrength^ even when he (lands 
 juft upon the Verge of another. How 
 often have we feen Men, that, however 
 inconfiftent in every thing elfe, have been 
 very confident in obeying one ruling,habitual 
 Paflion from iirft to lafl? Nay, we have 
 H 2 furprifing 
 
lOo \l%e Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.iv. furprifinglnftances upon Record, befides tb?t 
 of a dying Mifer j that even at the Ciofe of 
 Life, the grand and important Criiis, that 
 is to determine a Man's Happinefs or Mi- 
 fery j even then this ruHng Paffion Vv'ould 
 bear no Rival, no Competitor near the 
 Throne. Even then, hke a domineering 
 Favourite, who has long maintained the 
 Afcendantj it would not, for fear of be- 
 ing fupplanted, admit any thing to his 
 Death-bed, but what countenanced its 
 Interefts, and was fubfervient to its Or- 
 ders. What our Saviour faid to St. Petery 
 may be applied to an old habitual Sinner. 
 When- thou id a [I young, thou girdedft thy f elf ^ 
 and went 'whilher thou woiddji -, but when 
 thou art old, another JI:all bind thee, and 
 carry thee whither thou wouldfl not. His Sins 
 fiiall bind him, and carry him into Capti- 
 vity. He v/ill be apt to think, if he thinks 
 at all to the Purpofe; Why had I not the 
 fame Sentiments when young, as I have 
 now ? Or why have I not now the fame 
 vigorous Strength, which I had then, to 
 break my Bonds afunder ? Some have fo 
 much enfeebled the Powers of the Soul, 
 that their Reafon, like the Light of the 
 Sun, when the Face of Nature is over- 
 
 fpread 
 
oj future VimlJJjimjits coiif.dered^ lOi 
 
 fpread with Fogs, is jiift Arong enough toscRM.iv. 
 fliew and render vilible the melancholy 
 Scene, but not flrong enough to overcome 
 and difperfe the Vapours. 
 
 Thus often in ibis World Habits feem 
 to be incorporated into the Soul, and to be, 
 as it were, Parts of our Selves : And if we 
 carry our Enquiries farther, with the Light 
 of Revelation in our Hands, we fliall dif- 
 ■cover, that they are for ever rooted in the 
 Mind in the next World. St. PauU in 
 the xiiith Chapter of his firfl Epiflle to the 
 Corinthians^ difcourfes upon Charity, not 
 as an occafional ASi^ but as a ruling, Jland- 
 ing Principle. If I give, fays he, all tny 
 Goods to feed the Pooj% and ha~ce not Cha- 
 rity\ It profteth me nothing : i. e. Thoygli 
 I fliould pradtife fome occafional Ads of 
 Charity, however great ; yet unlefs it be a 
 fettled Principle, it will be of no Avail. 
 Well, what becomes of this habitual Cha- 
 rity ? Charity ?iei;cr jaileth ; but whether 
 there be Prophecies^ they JJ:all fail -y whe- 
 ther there be Tongues^ they Jhall ccafe ; 
 whether there be Knowledge, it fall ^Danif 
 away. That is, Prophecie^^, Languages, 
 and our imperfe<3: Knowledge, which is 
 but Ignorance in Comparifon, ilrall end 
 H 3 with 
 
10 2 l[he Nature and Duration 
 
 SERM.iV.with this World : But the Habit of Cha- 
 rity (hall remain beyond this tranfitory Scene 
 of Things, and accompany the Mind into 
 Heaven, and there remain with it to all 
 Eternity j as immortal as the Soul, and as 
 extenlive as the Creation. Now if good 
 Habits fhall follow their Poffellbrs into an- 
 other World, and there abide with them j 
 then ill Habits will, by Parity of Reafon, 
 do fo too. 
 
 This appears farther from the Cafe of 
 Thofe Angels, which kept not their Jirji 
 EJiate. Could any thing have reduced 
 thofe accurfed Spirits to a State of Submif- 
 fion to their Maker j one would have 
 thought, that the Fruitleffncfs of their for- 
 mer Attempt, the fevere Vengeance they 
 already felt, and the Dread of a much fe- 
 verer that hung over them, if they perliftcd 
 in their Wickednefsj and the Hopes of 
 mitigating their Doom, if they defined ; 
 might at lead have made ihtm pa/Jively obe- 
 dient: But though they believe and tremble, 
 yet flill they go on to a6t contrary to the 
 Conviiflion of their own Minds; flill they^o 
 about fee king whom they may devour ; ft ill 
 they proceed in a State of Hoflility to their 
 Creator : So fledfafl is Malice, fo uncon- 
 querable 
 
of futU7'e Pu/iipmients C07ifjdered, 103 
 
 ••querable is Pride. And this will be theSERM-l"^"- 
 Cafe of the Damned. For as the Good are 
 to be as the Ang;els of God ; the Bad will 
 -be as the Angds of Darknefs. 
 
 Whatever inborn Freedom of Mind v/c 
 might have j an inbred, habitual Slavery 
 to depraved A^ffecftions, will, in Procefs of 
 "Time, deflroy it : The Abilities may be 
 ■cramped, and the Powers of the Soul, as 
 well as the Organs of the Body, fo far 
 maimed, as to be incapable of anfwering 
 thofe valuable Purpofes, for which they 
 were originally defigned. From him that 
 hath not any Improvement, our Saviour 
 exprefly faith, fl:all be taken away eniien 
 that which he hathj the original Faculty and 
 Power to do Good. Befides, though wc 
 may endeavour to get rid of thofe out- 
 ward Calamities, which are generally forced 
 upon us, in oppefitlon to our ftrongeft 
 Inclinations; we feldom make it iieartily 
 our Bufincfs to remove thofe inward Mife- 
 ries, which we '-johmtarily bring upon our- 
 fehes. Though we feel ourfelves unhap- 
 py ', yet as they are our own Choice, we 
 applaud 2inA jujiify ourfelves in it, 'through 
 the unrelenting Stubbornnefs of a corrupt 
 Will. Thus the Jealous, the Melancholy, 
 H 4 the 
 
104 T^he Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.IV. the Envious, the Revengeful, dwell upon 
 every thing that may foment and heighten 
 their refpedlive Pafiions, whatever Torments 
 they may labour under from them ; and 
 fhut out each Confideration that may make 
 againft them. A Man cannot pradife Vir- 
 tue, w^ithout eftedually willing it : And 
 how can he effedually will that, to which 
 his Will, by a long uninterrupted Attach- 
 ment to Vice, is utterly averfe ? A long 
 Continuance in vicious Pleafures is to the 
 Soul, what Iron Chains are to the Body of 
 him, who has lain long in them : The 
 Chains may be ftruck off, but the Canker, 
 and Rufl:, if they have eaten into the Flefh, 
 will remain, and may difable him ever af- 
 ter. Juft fo worldly Pleafures may ceafe 
 with this V^^'orld; but the PuUution, grofs 
 Conceptions and the Indifpoiition to refined 
 and liberal Delights, which they leave be- 
 • hind, may continue to obflrudt the Free- 
 dom of the Soul, and deftroy its native 
 Energy *. Now when the whole Bent 
 of the Soul ilands the wrong Way, when all 
 
 * Qui in compedibus corporis femper fuerunt, etiam 
 cum foluti funt, tardius ingredluntur ; ut hi, qui ferro 
 vindli multos annos fuerunt. Ciceronis ^ujculana Difputct^ 
 iiones: Page 6u. Editio Davif. 
 
 our 
 
of future Ptmjjijments coitjtdered, 105 
 
 our Dcfires are riveted to vicious Objedis 3 Serm.IV. 
 it is no hard Matter to forefee, that Mife- 
 ry, eternal Mifery, muft be the unavoid- 
 able Refult. When we are as it u^ere 
 bound Hand and Foot by ill Habits ; when 
 the Spring of the Soul, by which (lie fhould 
 recover herfelf, which every vicious Adt 
 muft weaken, is, by a continued Reitera- 
 tion of them, quite broken ; the Consequence 
 is, that we rnufl be cajl into outer Darknefs. 
 
 Now where can be the Injuftice, that 
 God lljould fuffer thofc Evils to take place, 
 which a Man has brought upon himfelf, 
 by counteradting the Will of God.? Where 
 can be the Injuftice, that thcfe fhould be 
 for ever excluded from Heaven, who, by 
 a viciated Relilli, have difqualified them- 
 felves for heavtnly Blifs ? If Happinefs be 
 nothing but the Employment of the Facul- 
 ties of the Soul upon fiiitable Objects ; it 
 is certain, that celeftial and fpi ritual Ob- 
 je6ls c2innQifuit a Soul, which being long 
 and deeply immerfed in fenfual Delights, 
 has contradcd an habitual Dijiafle for them. 
 As Man v/as the Creature of God's Hands, 
 be was enabled and defigned to be a Par- 
 taker of Happinefs, and a Sharer of a blefted 
 Immortality with himfelf: But as he is an 
 
 habitual 
 
io6 "The Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.iv. habitual Sinner, and in that Refpedl the 
 'Creature of his own Hands, he has made 
 himfelf eternally miferable, by thofe Ha- 
 bits, which are the Foundation of Hell. 
 
 So far, perhaps, you may be willing to 
 allow, there is no Colour of Injuftice: 
 Bat this, you will fay, does not account 
 for the Perpetuity of pofdive Punifliments 
 for temporary Crimes. To which I an- 
 fvver, that even the Threats of eternal po- 
 fitros Penalties are not the rigorous De- 
 crees of mere Will and Pleafure j they are 
 fo many kindly Forewarnings of the necef- 
 fary Effeds of a rooted Averfion to Good- 
 nefs. For it m.ay be necejfary to fecure the 
 Happinefs of the Blefied, that, though the 
 Good and Bad, like the Wheat and Tares, 
 are blended together here j Ihey fhould, at 
 the End of the World, be finally fevered 
 the one from the other. It may be fie- 
 ce[faryy that if every Region of Joy and' 
 Comfort throughout the Creation be peopled 
 with unoffendiiig Beings ; the defperately 
 Wicked (liould be thruft down (which is a 
 poiitive Punidiment) into Places, where 7io 
 Joy and Comfort dwells, and there for ever 
 imprifoned ; that their Rancour and Ma- 
 lice miglit prey upon themfelves, or be 
 
 difcharged 
 
of future Punijljmenis conjidered, 107 
 difcharged upon their Fellow-CriniinalSj Serm.IV. 
 which, if let loofc, might difturb the in- 
 nocent Part of the World. The divine 
 Sandions, you fee then, are not the arbi- 
 trary Impofitions of Sovereign Power; they 
 are the genuine Refiilt of infinite Wifdoni 
 and Goodnefs, which, in Pity to the Uni- 
 verfe, has enacfled them, that the whole 
 may receive no Detriment. And whatever 
 other pofitive Punifhments may be fuper- 
 added ; they will be exactly adjufled to the 
 Demerits of each Offender. The Scripture 
 exprefsly declares, that the Wicked will be 
 beaten with fewer or more Stripes, in pro- 
 portion to the different Degrees of their 
 Wickednefs. 
 
 2dl)\ Let thofc, who infift fo much 
 upon it, that the Punifliment is difpropor- 
 tloned to the Crime; rePiCcl, whether they 
 do not confider Sin in ofie View, either as 
 to the FaB ahjiradiedh, or as to the Tim^ 
 which the Perpetration of the Facft takes 
 up; without confidering it in all Vieivs, 
 and in all its Confcqiitiices ; which yet is 
 the only Way to form a true Judgment of 
 the Malignity of it. For the Punilbment 
 is not dilproportioncd to Sin, habitual Sin, 
 if confidered with all its ntimcrous Train 
 
 of 
 
I o 8 "The Naturz and Duratioji 
 
 ;erm.IV. of ill Confequences J the Confequences be- 
 ing fuch, thar if unredrained it would fooii 
 involve the whole V/orld in one promifcu- 
 ous Ruin and Defolation. It is true, one 
 Man cannot do all this Mifchief. But then 
 one Man, w^ho, for Inftance, acfls unjufl- 
 Jy, contributes his- Part to the Introduction 
 of univerfal Diforder and Mifery. If all 
 fhould a(5l as unjuftly as himfelf, (and all 
 have as much Right as any one Man) the 
 Foundations of the moral World would be 
 quite out of Courfe. 
 
 To explain this by a familiar Inftance, 
 one Perfon robs another of a fmall Sum of 
 ^oney ; he is taken and fuffers Death for 
 the Fadl: Now v/hat Proportion is there 
 between the Punifhment and the Crime; 
 between depriving a Man of what he per- 
 haos could very well /pare, and depriving 
 the Perfon that did it of his Life^ of his 
 all in this World? None at all, if we con- 
 iider the Crime in this Light ctily : But if 
 we view it in all its Tendencies^ then the 
 Crime is adequate to the Punifliment ; fince 
 it tends to render Property, and what is va- 
 luable in this Life, precarious, and to fub- 
 vert the Peace of Society. 
 
 We know not, we cannot know, how 
 
 far 
 
of future Pimlflmieiits coiiftdcred. 109 
 
 far the Conlequences of any one Sin maySERM.U^, 
 extend, how far the Influence of our Beha- 
 viour may afFedt all that he within the 
 Sphere of our Activity, thofe beneath us, 
 and about us, our Domcftics, Relations, 
 and Neighbours. And thefe again may 
 fpread the Contagion farther. Thofe that 
 are vicious in a lefs Degree, however they 
 may blame the Corruption of the World in 
 general, are acceflary to that very Corrup- 
 tion. It is here as in a Battle: Every Per- 
 fon who fled, is apt to fliift off the Blame 
 from himfelf, and to lay it upon his Fellow- 
 Soldiers : But if each Perfon, who gave way, 
 had flood his Ground y what was a general 
 Rout, would have been a complete Victory. 
 Sin then deferves the grcate/i Evi/j becaufe 
 it is oppofite to the greatefl Goodj the ufii- 
 'uerfal Interefl : and as a confirmed Habit 
 of Sin implies the Love of it, a continual 
 Love of what is oppofite to the greatefl 
 Goodj muft ccntinually or for ever deferve 
 the greatefl Evil. 
 
 We may harangue as long as we pleafe 
 upon God's Benevolence. But no Argu- 
 ments can be drawn from it to foften the 
 feeming Rigour of the divine Sand;ions. For 
 yniverfal Benevolence muft confult the Good 
 
 of 
 
no l!'he Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.iv. of the whole j which can never be done by 
 abating the Penalties threatned to Vice; 
 and much lefs by removing all Apprehenfi- 
 ons of fuffering hereafter, andconfequently 
 emboldening Wickednefs j but by awaken- 
 ing carelefs Sinners, and ftriking a Terror 
 into determined Offenders. Whatever Sanc- 
 tions are moft effedual to compafs this End, 
 mufl be moft agreeable to the Goodnefs of 
 the divine Legiilator, who cannot promote 
 the Happinefs of the whole, without fe- 
 curing the Obfervance of his Lavv's. If 
 to annex fuch Penalties be for the Good of 
 the whole-, then what is for the Good of 
 the whole, cannot be Injuftice to any par- 
 ticidar Perfon ; fnice the Good of each 
 particular Perfon is naturally and originally 
 wrapt up in, and connected with, that of 
 the whole. And there is a previous Obliga' 
 tion upon every one that comes into the 
 World, either to do thofe Duties, or fub^ 
 mit to thofe Penalties, which preferve or 
 promote the general Happinefs, with which 
 his own was primarily interwoven. God 
 would have enforced our Obedience to Him 
 with lefs Penalties, if lefs had h<z^x\ fufficient. 
 But it is plain, that lefs Punifhments would 
 not have anfwered the End ; fince even 
 
 thofe 
 
 4 
 
of future Pumjhments conjidered. 1 1 1 
 
 thofe that he has denounced, do not, in Serm.IV. 
 many Cafes, check the Growth of Vice 
 and awe a wicked World into a Compli- 
 ance with his Will. 
 
 It is a Miliake therefore, and a dange- 
 rous one too, to admit, as fome late Wri- 
 ters have done, of no penal Evils in the 
 next World, but what terminate in the 
 Benefit of the Sufferer and are for the 
 Amendment of the immortal Agent. Upon 
 that Suppofition, there would be no Hell 
 properly fpeaking; there would only be a 
 Purgatory: And iht abandoned 2ind incura- 
 bly bad, who merit the greatejl Severit}", 
 would efcape with abfolute Impunity \ be- 
 caufe no Funifiment could produce an 
 Amoidment in them. Beddes, all Puniili- 
 ments, which come from God, have not 
 even in this Life been intended for the Re- 
 formation of the Criminal J fome of them 
 have been for the utter Excifwn and Ex- 
 tirpation of the irreclaimable, |When once 
 they have filled up the Meafure of their 
 Iniquities: Such were the Deluge, and 
 the unprecedented Dell:ru6tion of Jerufiz- 
 lem^ not to mention many other Inftances, 
 Hell is every where in Scripture reprefented 
 as the very Reverfe of a Place intended for 
 
 the 
 
112 'The Nature a7id Duration 
 
 SERMjV.theExercife of benevolent Affections, with-* 
 out which none fliall inherit the Kingdom 
 of God. It is defcribed as a State of Hor- 
 ror and Defpair, where, as St. Jolm fays, 
 they blajphetned the God of Heaven^ and re- 
 fented not to grce God the Glory. It can- 
 not therefore be a proper Scene to reclaim 
 the Guilty, and to purify the Soul. 
 
 Some there are, who take Shelter in the 
 Thoughts of Annihilation, and hope, or 
 pretend to hope, that God will uncreatc 
 the Soul, and deprive it of Being. And is 
 Annihilation then their only Hope ? A fad 
 gloomy Hope, and an horrid Confolation ! 
 To be as if they had never been, devoid of 
 Confcioufnefs, Senfe and Motion, to have 
 all thofe bufy Workings of the Mind, all 
 thofe adive Thoughts, which wander 
 through this World, and lofe themfelves 
 agreeably in the next, loft and fwallowed 
 up for ever in utter Extindion of Being j 
 is this their only Refource ? this, at which 
 Nature, which always ftruggles hard for 
 Self-Prefervation, ftarts back with Horror ? 
 Yet, alas ! they are even cut off from 
 this dreadful, this, I had almoft faid, de- 
 fperate Hope. For if Annihilation be the 
 only Punifliment which (liall be inflided 
 
 on 
 
of future Punijhments conjldered. 113 
 
 on Sinners j then all Sinners, however un- Serm.IV. 
 equal their Crimea may be, would be equally 
 piinified. If all were alike to be deprived 
 of Being; God would make no DiJlifiBion^ 
 where there is a very material Difference^ be- 
 tween the greateft and the lead of Sinners. 
 
 Farther, the Soul is an uncompounded, 
 immaterial Being, and therefore not cor- 
 ruptible as Matter is. Now if God has 
 created the Soul in its Nature immortal 5 
 then he cannot uncreate, or render it mor- 
 tal, without adting contrary to the fixed 
 and ftated Laws of Nature: But God never 
 adls contrary to his ftated Laws, except 
 upon fome extraordinary Emergency. Well 
 then, where is the extraordinary Occafion, 
 that the Deity fhould fuperfede his own 
 Laws, and put forth an immediate Adt of 
 Almighty Power, to reduce thofe Souls to 
 nothing, which he had empowered to fubfift 
 for ever? How can it be expected, that 
 He, who never annihilates the leaji Particle 
 of Mattery the leaft infignificant Atom, 
 (liould annihilate a fpiritual Subflance ? 
 Why a Set of obftinately rebellious Crea- 
 tures have plunged themfeives into Mife- 
 ry, by wilfully, deliberately, and frequent- 
 ly breaking the Laws of Morality s And 
 
 Vol. 11; I do 
 
114 7^^ Nature and Duration' 
 
 Serm.iv. do they exped, that God will remove 
 that Mifery, by breaking through the Laws- 
 of Nature, which he has eftabliflied upon 
 the maturefl Wifdom, for the Good of the 
 Whole? 
 
 Yes, fay the Objedors : For he does not 
 love to in Aid ufelefs and unavailing Mifery 
 upon his Creatures: And it is afked, what 
 life the Punishment of thefe unhappy Ob- 
 jedls can be of I To which I anfwer, that 
 we, whofe Judgments are very (hallow, 
 muft not pretend to arraign his Proceedings, 
 which are like the great Deep. This we 
 may take for granted, that no Evil is fuf- 
 fered to continue in the Creation, but to 
 prevent or avoid a greater .r And the Con- 
 tinuance of thefe Beings- in their wretched 
 Exigence may be of Advantage to let the 
 World in general know the deplorable 
 Confequences of an audacious Perfeverance 
 in a wilful Rebellion to their Creator,, and 
 to confirm the Blejfed in particular in their 
 Happinefs. For the BlelTed in Heaven arc 
 endued with Freedom of Will. We 
 know indeed, becaufe God hath promifed 
 it ; that, notwithftanding this Freedom of 
 Will, they will never fall from that blifsful 
 State. . But whether the Refleaion on the 
 
 Punifhment 
 
of f titter e 'Puntpme?its conjtdered. 115 
 
 Punifhment of the Wicked may not be one Serm.iv. 
 conliderable Means, among others, to keep 
 them invariably firm in an uninterrupted 
 Pradice of Goodnefs, and confequently in 
 an uninterrupted Enjoyment of Happincfs; 
 this, 1 prefume, we cannot determine. In 
 God's Houfe, the World, there are ?nany 
 Manfiom j and Variety of Beings may flill 
 continue to people the Variety of Apart- 
 ments in the Univerfe, after this Earth is 
 diflblved. Perhaps, as the Fall of the 
 Angels is revealed to us ; fo thefe unhappy 
 Sufferers may ferve to give awakening No- 
 tices to others, who inhabit fome other 
 Part of the Creation, left they alfo fall 
 into the fame ftate of Condemnation. Be 
 that as it will; God has a thoufand Ways 
 of bringing Good, general Good, out of 
 partial Evil, and making the PuniHiment 
 of the Bad, as well as Happinefs of the 
 Good, terminate in his own Glory. 
 
 This may ferve as an Anfwcr to thofc, 
 who afk, why God would produce into 
 the World Beings, who he forefaw would 
 be eternally miferable? The Reply is obvi- 
 ous. Why did he produce into the World 
 Beings, that he forefaw would be expofed 
 here to innumerable Misfortunes ? Why 
 
 I 2 did 
 
II 
 
 I'he Nature and Duration 
 
 SERM.lV.did he permit, what he could not but 
 forefee, temporal Evils j fuch as Volcano's, 
 Earthquakes, Famines, Plagues, (£c. ? But 
 thefe temporary EinlSj you will fay, are 
 productive of feme greater temporary Good, 
 Well J if God may permit tl temporary Evil^ 
 which he forefaw, to take place, becaufe 
 productive of a greater temporary Good; 
 why may he not permit an eteriial Evil, 
 which he forefav/, to take place, becaufe 
 productive of an eternal Goodf Or will 
 thefe Perfons demonftrate, that no eternal 
 Good can refult by God's infinite Wifdom, 
 from an eternal Evil ? But there is a wide 
 Difference between temporary and eternal 
 Evils : It is granted j yet the fame Prin- 
 ciple, which vindicates God's Ways with 
 Men, as to temporary Curfes, acquits him 
 likewife as to fufFering eternal Evils, 'viz. 
 That from both he can draw a much 
 q-reater Good, and caufe what is Evil re^ 
 fpeBi'vely to 2. few, to be abfolutely Good 
 upon the Whole. 
 
 Knowing the Terror of the Lord, fays 
 St. Faul, we perfuade Men. Yet fome 
 very worthy Pcrfons, mifled, I conceive, 
 by an Excefs of Good-Nature, have weak- 
 ned, inftead of alarming, the Terrors of 
 
 the 
 
of futwe Pumjhme?its coitftdered, 117 
 
 the Wicked. Thofe good Men, who op-SERM.rv. 
 pofe this Dodlrine, may have to do with 
 others that are not {o\ and one would be 
 glad to know, where they would^ or indeed 
 where they can flop. If eternal Punifli- 
 ments be thought exceffive by them, will 
 not others remonftrate againft a Punifh- 
 ment of a thoiifand Years as of too long a 
 Duration for the Sins of this fliort Life ? 
 Nay, will not that of an hundred Years, or 
 fifty ; or indeed any ginjen Space of Time, 
 that is confiderdble, be liable to the fame 
 Objection ? There is no End of yielding, 
 and one Concefiion does but pave the Way 
 to another. When once they have given 
 up the Eternity of Punifhments, when 
 once they have deferted that Poft which 
 was ftrid:ly tenable i they may be driven 
 backwards by thofe, who will difpute every 
 Inch of Ground v/ith them j till at laft they 
 have not fufficient Ground left to ftand 
 upon. 
 
 And let them ferioully refled:, what they 
 are doing. Whether at a Time, when the 
 Torrent of Wickednefs rifes high, and 
 makes every thinking Man befides them- 
 felves afraid; whether at fuch a Jundlure it 
 be proper to break down, or lower thofe 
 I 2' Fences 
 
1 1 8 *The Nature and Duration 
 
 SuRM.lv. Fences and Mounds, v/hich keep out the 
 Overflowings of Ungodlinefs? ^' OurDefire, 
 *' and l^o\'t, and Hope, ( fays a great 
 ** Writer * } are not fo apt to be wrought 
 *^ upon by the Promifes of Rewards and 
 ** Happinefs ; as our Fear is from the Ap- 
 *' prehenfion of the Divine Difpleafure. 
 *' For, (as he obferves) though we have 
 *' loft in a great mcafure the Guft and 
 ** ReHfh of true Happinefs ; yet we ftill 
 *' retain a quick Senfe of Pain and Mifery." 
 Celfus, though a piolf^fled Enemy to 
 Chriftianity, yet commcnas the Chriftians 
 for maintaining that the Good fioiild be 
 happy hereafter ; but the Unrighteous doom" 
 ed to Punifiments ftriBly eternal: From 
 which Opinion, fays he, neither let themy 
 nor any other Mortal depart, -j- But I 
 proceed, 
 
 Wdlyy To confider the Nature of future 
 Punishments. 
 
 Some there are, who will not allow, 
 that God immediately and direBly, by a 
 foptive A£t, confers any Rewards upon 
 Virtue, or infii<5ls any Punifhment upon 
 
 Vice, 
 
 * Archblfhop r/Z/o/yS/z, Vol. T. B^^-- 3d. 
 
 f Celjiis apud Orhenm ; Pag. 409, Editio Cantah. 
 
of future Punifl>inents confidered, irQ 
 
 Vice, hereof hereafter. All the Penalties S^"^^-^"^; 
 and Rewards they admit of are fuch, as 
 naturally flow from our Adtions, Thus 
 they make Hell to be nothing but a Re- 
 morfe of Confcience, an infeparable Atten- 
 dant, as they think, on Wickednefs. This 
 is, in effect, to dethrone God as a Legif- 
 lator, to weaken the Interefts of Virtue, 
 and to make dangerous Concefllons in fa- 
 vour of Vice. For, if this Scheme were 
 true ; then the greatejl Sinners would have 
 the leaji Punijhmenf, perhaps ?ione at all : 
 For the greatejl Sinners are hardened, pa/i 
 all Remorfe, all Feeli?ig, but that of Pain. 
 Thofe, on the other hand, that have made 
 the leaJl Advances in Vice, would bear the 
 greatejl Punifliment, as they would feel 
 the mofl Kemorfe, Whereas God moft ab^ 
 horsj and confequently will mojl feverely 
 puniJJ?^ thofe, who are fo far from having 
 any CompunBions of Confcience, that they 
 delight in Wickednefs, 
 
 We have {landing Proofs of the Deluge 
 to this Day. The Extivice of Sea Creatures, 
 the numerous Beds of Shell-Fifli, and other 
 Spoils of the Ocean dcpofited on the high- 
 efl Hills, found not only in Iflands, but in 
 Continents, where the Sea could never 
 1 4 come. 
 
1 20 *The Nature and Duration 
 
 SiRM.Iv, come, but by a Miracle, are fo many in- 
 conteflable Demonftrations and authentic 
 Monuments of the Deluge ; as that is an 
 authentic Monument of God's yujilce and 
 Vengeance j and that He, who cut off all 
 the old World except eight Perfons, for 
 their Sins, is not a Being quite fo eafy in 
 refped of Vice, as wc may fondly imagine. 
 In fhort, the whole Univerfe witneffeth, 
 that a Deluge of Waters once overfpread 
 the Univerfe. And if even in this World, 
 which Is defigned for a State of Trial and 
 J*robatlon, and not for an exaft diftributive 
 Jujlice^ proportioned to Mens feveral Me- 
 rits and Demerits, God could involve all 
 Mankind, except fome few, in one pro- 
 mifcuous Ruin -y . what Puni(hments may 
 await the Impenitent, when the lafl deci- 
 iive Day of Jujlice and 'Judgment cometh ? 
 May not thofe Senfes, which God has cre- 
 ated to be fo many Inlets of Pleafure^ be- 
 come fo many Avenues of Pain and An- 
 gulfh f 
 
 I know fome have denied a local Hell. 
 
 But it is very clear from Scripture. Depart 
 
 from me, ye Workers of Iniquity, Into the 
 
 Fire prepared for the Devil and his Angels, 
 
 }. e. Depart from the Place, where I am ; 
 
 into 
 
of futur^ Pumjhments conjidered. 121 
 
 into that, where the Devil and his Angeh Serm.iv. 
 are to be. And again, the Devils bejought 
 our Saviour, that he would not command thefn 
 to go out into the Deep j or, as it is in the 
 Original, into the Abyfs. It appears then 
 that the Bad go from this World, wli^re 
 there is only a Mixture of Evils, into a 
 Scene of mere Mifery, Horror, and Tor- 
 ment. If God, who delights to communi- 
 cate Happinefs to as tnany Beings as the U- 
 niverfe can co?ivemently holdy has, in pur- 
 fuance of this Scheme, filled every beauti- 
 ful and agreeable Province in it with Crea- 
 tures fufceptive of Felicity in the Purfuit 
 of Virtue and Perfed:ion ; the neceflary 
 Confequence is, that thofe Creatures, who 
 have difqualijied themfelves for Happinefs, 
 muft be condemned to difmal and uncom- 
 for table Maniions j from which, probably, 
 after the lafl: Adjuftment of Things, there 
 will be no Outlet, nor PofTibility of mak- 
 ing an Inroad upon the reft of the Crea- 
 tion. There will be a Congruity between 
 the Nature of the Place, and that of the 
 Inhabitants, which will fettle them there ; 
 and every one, like Judas, muft go to his 
 own Place. It is idle to difpute, whether 
 the Fire denounced againft the unrelenting 
 
 be 
 
12 2 'The Nature and Duration 
 
 3ERM.iv.be metaphorical or real. Suppofe it a Me- 
 taphor ; yet thofe Metaphors, which reprc- 
 fent Things of another World, do not ge- 
 nerally exceed the Originals, or the Reality 
 of the Things defigned to be Ihadowed out 
 by them. 
 
 The Ingredients of future Punifhment 
 are partly politive, and partly the natural 
 Confequences of bad Adlions, mz. Appe- 
 tites ever craving and clamorous, but ever 
 unfacisfied; Trimdation and Angui/h upon 
 every Soul that dnih Evil : An eternal Ba- 
 niibment from the blefled Prefence cf God, 
 and the Society of Angels, aiid juji Men 
 made perfeB j and a Confinement to the 
 Company of malicious Spirits, an everlaft- 
 ing Torment to themfelves, and ever tor- 
 menting all about them. 
 
 My Gody my Gody why haji thou forfahn 
 mef Our Saviour cried out, when he felt 
 only a momentary ^indi partial Eclipfe of the 
 Light of the divine Countenance. But 
 when a deep and genuine Defpau* laddens 
 the Scene all around, without the leaft 
 Beam of Light from any Point of Heaven; 
 then — I was going to defcribe the Mifery. 
 But if Words can paint this Night-Piece 
 of Horror, the Copy muft be drawn by 
 4 thofe. 
 
of future Puntpfne7tts confdercd. 123 
 thofe, whofe Unhappinefs it will be to be^^RMJV. 
 too well-acquainted with the Original. 
 Here the Body prcjfed down the Soul^ and 
 the earthly Tabernacle the Mind, that mil- 
 fed upon many Things : But when the Soul 
 fhall be clothed with refined Matter, which 
 will not encumber her in her Operations j 
 her whole Duration will be one continued 
 Stretch of Thought, without any Paufe or 
 Intermiffion. And what a Mifery mull it 
 be to be thinking flill ; and yet to have 
 little or nothing to think on, but endlefs 
 Mifery ? To be at once deprived of all fen- 
 fual Delights, and cut off from the En- 
 joyment of rational and fubftantial Blifs, is 
 a Mifery that we cannot now conceive, 
 and — may we never feel ! 
 
 That this may never be our Portion, let 
 us, \\\dly. Attend to fuch pradical Infe- 
 rences, as arife from what I have before 
 laid down. 
 
 j/?, Beware of evil Habits. It is im- 
 poflible to overcome intircly our jirjl Na- 
 ture ; and it is next to impoffible to over- 
 come long ftanding Habits, which are our 
 jecond Nature. To deftroy the Power of 
 Vice is like laying the Ax to the Root of the 
 
 Tree : 
 
124 TIjs Nature and DurattQ7t 
 
 SE9.MjlV.Tree : And it is not one Stroke^ however 
 'vigorous, or one Endeavour, which will 
 bring the Tree down, and root it up ; 
 though it may contribute towards it : No, 
 there muft be fever al repeated Strokes, and 
 a continued Perfeverance, to gain the de- 
 cifive ViSiory over it, and to finifh its Ruin; 
 however deeply rooted. When Sin has had 
 for a long Time, the Dominion over us, 
 our Refolutions of Amendment will be, ac- 
 cording to the beautiful Thought of St. 
 Aujiin, *' like the Endeavours of thofe, 
 *' who are trying to wake out of a deep 
 ** Sleep, into which they fink back again, 
 *' overcome by the dead Weight, which 
 " hangs upon them." Take care then 
 of your Actions : Every evil Adion is a 
 Step towards an evil Habit ; and every evil 
 Habit is a Step towards that bottomlefsGulph, 
 from which there is no Return. For when 
 once ill Habits are rivetted in the Soul, you 
 are miferable for ever, by a NeceJJity ofNu" 
 iure : you have made yourfelf an Ohjedt 
 incapable of Mercy, and indifpofed to re- 
 ceive the Communications of the divine 
 Favour. Let it be acknowledged that a 
 fincere and thorough Repentance, implying 
 an entire Change of the Heart, can never 
 
 be 
 
of future Punijhments confdered, 125 
 be too late; but let it be likewife granted, Serm-IV- 
 that a late Repentance is very feldom in 
 this Senfe fincere. If the Man were rein- 
 ftated in his former Health, Eafe poihbly 
 might recant the Vows^ that were made in 
 Pai?i, as null and void. 
 
 2dly^ As you are to avoid evil Habits, 
 be fure betimes to acquire good Habits, as 
 the necelTary Qualifications for Heaven. 
 Some feem to think, that Religion coniifls 
 in fome broken disjointed Acis of Piety : 
 But let tliem not deceive themfelves : True 
 Religion coniifls in the inward Frame of 
 the Mind, in the flanding Bent of the In- 
 clinations, in fettled Habits of Piety con- 
 ftantly refiding in the Breafl, and, as often 
 as there is Opportunity, breaking forth into 
 outward Ads. Thus a Man fhall think 
 himfelf devout, if he now and then occa/i- 
 onally fays his Prayers, and frequents the 
 public Worfhip ; though he often abfents 
 himfelf upon every flight Occafion, upon 
 no Occafion at all. But let him not deceive 
 himfelf: If he were really devout, h<* 
 would have a Relifh for A(fts of Piety, 
 his Heart would cleave fledfajlly unto God : 
 and then he would not neglect private or 
 public Prayers upon frivolous Pretences. 
 Thus again a Man fhall think himfelf cha- 
 2 ritable, 
 
126 7he Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.iv. ritabie, becaufe he now and then performs 
 ' occafional tranfient A(5ts of Charity : But 
 he alone is a charitable Man, who lo'ues 
 Mercy and Charity, and fieweth that he 
 loves them, by the main Tenor and Current 
 of his Adions ; who, with a flrong Bene- 
 volence of Soul, is glad to relieve proper. 
 Objedts of Charity when he can 5 and fin- 
 cerely forry v^hen he cannot. And yet the 
 very Sorrows of the Charitable give more 
 fubflantial Satisfaction than the Joys of the 
 Selfifli. For Compaflion for the Diftrefled 
 (a Sorrow of which the charitable are moil 
 fufceptible) gives them to underftand, that 
 the habitual Difpofition of their Mind is right ; 
 And he, v/ho does not feel that lovely Dif- 
 pofition within, mufl want a Pleafure, the 
 Abfence of which no other Pleafure can 
 counterbalance. He is a thoroughly good 
 Man, who has often tried zndifoimd his Vir- 
 tue genuine J and clear of all Oftentation-, who, 
 inftead of boajiing or complainifigy loves to 
 conceal the Goodh^ does, and the Ills htfuf- 
 fers ', who thinks that Happinefs fcarce any 
 at all, which is folitary and uncommunicated', 
 as Paradife was no Paradife to Adam, till he 
 had a Partner of it. Till we have acquired 
 an habitually-good Bent of Temper, we 
 have not acquired thofe Qualifications, which 
 
 are 
 
of future Puntfhments confdered, 1 27 
 
 are the main Ground- work and Foundation Serm.iv. 
 of our future Happinefs: We are not ?neet 
 to be Partakers of the Inheritance of the 
 Saints in Light, 
 
 Therefore, 3^/y, Let us all conlider, 
 that ouv future Mifery or Happinefs depends 
 upon our prefent Behaviour. Our Happi- 
 nefs in Manhood depends upon thofe early 
 Accomplifhments, which we have acquired 
 in our younger Years. If that proper Seed- 
 Time of Life be negleded, we muft exped: 
 no Harveft in the Autumn of it. Juft fo 
 our Felicity in another Life muft be owing 
 to the Preparations we make for it here. 
 And what we mujl be to all Eternity, will 
 be the Confequence of what iiue have been 
 in this World. 
 
 There is a certain Fool-hardinefs prevail- 
 ing among us in relation to 2^ future State. 
 Men live as carelefsly or profligately, as if 
 they never were to depart this Lifej and then 
 depart this Life with as much Stupidity and 
 Hardnefs of Heart, as if they never were 
 to live again. They rufli unprepared into 
 the Prefence of ihajufly the holy Legiflator 
 of the whole World, as inconfiderately and 
 audacioufly, as the Hoffe rujl:es to the Bat- 
 tle, a Creature not capable of being fright- 
 ed with Confequences, becaufe incapable of 
 
 refle<flin<^ 
 
 o 
 
12 8 T'he Nature and Duration 
 
 Serm.iv. refledting upon them. God, fay they, is 
 all Goodnefs j and therefore they dare to be 
 what he mud neceffarily hate, the very Re- 
 "cerfe of Him — all Wickednefs : Not confi- 
 dering, that the Goodnefs of God fhould lead 
 them to Repentance, For God cannot love 
 a Nature diredly and habitually contrary to 
 his; and cannot but love what is in fome 
 degree conformable to his Holinefs and 
 Purity. Now what he loves muft be for ever 
 happy ; and what he hates for ever mifera- 
 ble. Let Men think or fay, what they 
 v^-ill, to the contrary; it is Goodnefs which 
 ought to make every immoral Agent afraid^ 
 a determined, impartial, iiniverfal Good- 
 nefs in a Being, who, becaufe he is inji?iite- 
 ly Good, will inflidt every deferred Evil, 
 which is produdiive of a prepollent Good-, 
 and will inflid none, but what is producftive 
 of fuch ; who will confult the univerfal In^ 
 terefl, and not that of 2ifew incurable Mem- 
 bers of the whole ftupendous Body of the 
 Univerfe. 
 
 Such Men would do well to refled, that 
 Men even here in the natural Courfe of 
 Things bring upon themfelves fuch ill Ha- 
 bits of Body, and Miferies of all Kinds, 
 that they can never extricate themfelves 
 from, as long as they Uve. The Courfe 
 
 of 
 
of future T U72l[hni2nts ccnfdered. 129 
 
 'of Nature is fo eftabllilied, that Death alone Serm.IV. 
 ifometimes puts a Period to thofe Ills, which 
 they have plunged themfelves into by their 
 Follies and Vices : If they were to live for 
 -ever, they would be probably miferable for 
 <ver, by the ill Confequences of their Sins, 
 •which take place in a natural Way. Now 
 whatever comes to pafs by the fettled Coiirfe 
 of Nature^ is as much done by him^ who 
 appointed the Courfe of Things, and fore- 
 faw every Confequence that would ^rife 
 from every Manner of Acting j as if he 
 had immediately inflidied the Punifime?it 
 himfelf. And as the fame God, who ap- 
 pointed the Nature of Things here, is the 
 God of the other World as well as this ; 
 may not fomething like this come to pafs 
 in that other State ? May not the Impeni- 
 tent be for ever lamenting thofe Ills, v/hich 
 no Prudence can redrefs, no Patience make 
 fupportable, and no Time put a Period to ? 
 
 I cannot conclude this Head, without 
 wifhing, that ^// of us may believe the Doc- 
 trine which I have here inculcated, to be 
 true ; and that this Belief, with the Con- 
 currence of other Motives, may have that 
 Eifedt, that none of us vniy feel it to be fo. 
 
 Vol. II. K S E R- 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 The Nature, Poffibility and Truth, 
 of a particular Providence fet forth. 
 
 S^<SS>c9S} 
 
 Psalm CXIII. 5. 
 
 Who is like unto the Lord cur God^ ivho hath 
 his Dvelling fo high; md yet humbleth 
 himfelf to behold the 'Things that are in 
 Heaven and Earth ? 
 
 IT is one great Recommendation of the Serm. V. 
 Sacred Writings, that they have ex- 
 prefled themfelves with more Juftnefs 
 of Thought concerning the Nature of God, 
 than any other Compoiitions whatever. 
 What the Vanity of Science, falfely fo called, 
 has afcribed to Nature^ or to fecond C^uks, 
 exclufively of the Firft, is by them refolved 
 into the immediate Will and Pf'ovidence of 
 God. This is the trueft Philofophy, as 
 well as the beft Divinity. For what is 
 Nature ? is it an ufiderfta?iding Being ? or 
 is it not f If it be not, how can an unde- 
 K 2 7%«/w^ 
 
132 'The Nature^ Pojftbility and 'Tmth^ 
 
 Serm. '^•Jigning Being produce plain Notices of Con^ 
 trivance and Dejign ? If it be an Under- 
 Jiandtng Being, who ads throughout the 
 Univerfe 5 then it is that great Being, whom 
 we call God. For Nature, Neceffity, and 
 Chance, mere Phantoms, which have no 
 Reafon, Wifdom, or Power, cannot ad:, 
 with the utmoft Exaclnefs of Wifdom, 
 powerfully, incelTantly, and every where. 
 And here I would obferve, that no Words 
 are more undetermined in their Signification, 
 than thofe, which pafs current in common 
 Converfation. We never queftion, but that 
 we clearly under fl and Terms, which are 
 daily in ufe, 2iudL familiar to us : Whereas 
 thofe Words are often mere Sounds, with- 
 out Senfe^ or any fettled Sgnification. Thus 
 few feem to know (though it is the only 
 clear and determinate Meaning of it) that 
 Nature in this Cafe means nothing, but the 
 conftant onA fated Operation of God upon 
 Matter, 
 
 We have no lefs Reafon to beg our daily 
 Bread of Almighty God, than the Ifrae- 
 lites had to pray for their Suftenance, when 
 they were fed with Manna from Heaven, 
 For that a Handful of Corn (hould multiply 
 to a prodigious Degree, and that the Fields 
 
 fhould 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth, 133 
 
 (hoxAd Jland fo thick with Corn ^ that //^t-ySERM. Y 
 Jhoiild laugh and fmg, wwx^ be afcribed to' 
 God 5 as well as that the Food of Angels 
 was given from above to the Ifraelites : 
 Becaule a regular, conftant and iinifor?n Ef- 
 fe6t, in which there are evident Traces of 
 Wifdom and Benevolence, ftands as much 
 in need of the Operation of a wife and be- 
 nevolent Being, equal to the EfFe6t, to 
 produce it conjiantly at fet Times and Sea- 
 fons ; as an occajionaly infrequent and ex- 
 traordinary Phaenomenon does to produce it 
 now and then, when an extraordinary Occa- 
 fion offers. 
 
 The Ge?ieration of a human Body in the 
 ordinary Way is no more to be accounted 
 for by the Laws of Mechanifm, than the 
 Raijing of a dead Body from the Grave : 
 And the only affignable Motive, why we 
 attribute the latter to the immediate Agency 
 of God, and not the former ; is that the 
 latter is an iiniifiial Operation of the Deity. 
 If we faw Bodies commonly rife from the 
 Grave, as we do Corn from Seed fown in 
 the Earth ; we ihould endeavour to explain 
 this Effedt, juft as we do the other, from 
 philofophical Caufes exclufive of the Firft*. 
 
 • See Dr. Clarke\ Reply to Ldhnitz, Page 351. 
 
 Kq Ne 
 
134 '^^^ Nature^ Pojftbility and Truths 
 
 Serm. V. No Beings, but what have Life and 
 Senfe, can^ in Propriety of Speech, be term- 
 ed Cauies: All other Things, being dead and 
 una5iivt\ are only like Tools in the Hand 
 of a Workman : And whatever we afcribe 
 to Matter a pajjirje Being, mufl: be refolv- 
 ed into his Will, who ufeth Matter as an 
 hiftrument. Can Matter, which refifts 
 every Change of State, effedl what it refifts, 
 not only move itfelf, but change its Moti- 
 on from a flraight to a circular one, and 
 give itfelf a new Direcftion ; as the Planets 
 muft do to defcribe their Orbits round the 
 Sun ? 
 
 But I need not infift upon this Point 
 any longer. For to deny a Providence in 
 general, is, in efFed:, to deny a God. If 
 there be a God invefted with the Attributes 
 of infinite Power, Wifdom and Goodnefs -, 
 Providence is nothing but the Exercife of 
 thofe Attributes, viz. his Wifdom, Power 
 and Goodnefs on the Creation in general. 
 It cannot be fuppofed, that he will let thofe 
 Attributes lie dormant in Him in a State of 
 Inaction, without exerting them at all. 
 
 A general Providence then muft be 
 granted : But a particular Providence is 
 clogged with fome Difficulties. I (hall there- 
 fore, to remove them, I/?, 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth. 135 
 
 yi. State the Dodrine of a particular Serm. V. 
 Providence. 
 
 Wdly, Shew the Poffibility of it. 
 
 IWdly^ I fhali prove the Certainty and 
 Truth of it. 
 
 Wthly, Subjoin and conclude with fome 
 pradlical Refledions. 
 
 \fty Then, I am to ftate the Dodrine of 
 a particular Providence. 
 
 ifty We muft not exped, that God's par- 
 ticular Providence would interpofe, where 
 our own Endeavours are fufficient. For 
 that would be to encourage Sloth and Idle- 
 nefs, inftead of countenancing and fupport- 
 ing Virtue. Nor ought we to expecfl to be 
 relieved from Difficulties and DiftrefTes, into 
 which our own Mifmanagement and cri- 
 minal Condudl have plunged us. But when 
 without any Fault of ours our Affairs are 
 fo perplexed and intangled, that human 
 Affiftance will be of no Avail; then we 
 muft have Recourfe to God, that he would 
 give us JVifdom to condu<5l us through all 
 the Labyrinths and Intricacies of Life, Re- 
 folution to grapple with Difficulties, and 
 Strength to overcome them. In this Light 
 K4 the 
 
136 *The Nature^ PoJfibiUtj! and Truths 
 
 Serm. v. the Prayer, which Jofephus puts into the 
 Mouth of Mofes juft before his PafTage 
 through the Red Sea, is very juft and beau- 
 tiful. Unpayable Rocks barred his Efcape 
 one Way, the numerous Hofl of the Egyp- 
 tiam blocked up others : Before him flood 
 the Red Sea. in this Situation Mofes^ juft 
 upon the Brink of Ruin, applies himfelf thus 
 to God : " Lord, thou knoweft that no 
 " Strength, Wifdom or Contrivance of 
 " ours can here be of any Significancy. It 
 " is in thy Tower alone to find out a Way 
 *' for the I>eliverance of this Pcopk, who 
 " by thy Command and under thy Con- 
 " dud have left Egypt. Defpairing of all 
 ^^ other Ways, we flee to thee alone for 
 ** Succour; Lord, let it come fpeedilyj 
 " give us a full Proof of thy Almighty 
 «« Power and Veracity. We are in great 
 " Straits, great and unfurmountable by tis ; 
 « but to T^hee flight and inconfiderable. 
 " The Sea is thine and it obftrufts our 
 '* Progrefs : The Mountains that fhut us 
 *' up, are thine too. Thou canft divide 
 *' this Sea, or turn its Waves into firm 
 '* Land, or make us find a fafe Paflage 
 " through the Deep *.'* 
 * Jo/ephi O^QTZ, Vol. I. Pag. 90. H«^fl«'s Edit. 
 
 4 Here 
 
of a particular Pr evidence fet forth. 137 
 Here was a Kjiot too hard for any ^«/Sbrm. V, 
 the Deity to unty : and therefore the Deity 
 defcended upon the Scene to unravel the 
 perplexing Difficulty. But in common 
 Cafes the befl Way is to rely upon Provi- 
 dence, as if all human Endeavours and Re- 
 fources were ufelefs, as indeed they are, 
 without iti and yet to exert our Endea- 
 vours as vigorouily, as if Providence would 
 not interpofeatall. For God will not pro- 
 Jlitute his Power to fuperfede our Endea- 
 vours as to what we can do 5 He will only 
 fupply, what we ca?inot do. 
 
 2diyy We muft not expert that Provi- 
 dence would fo far confult our private In- 
 tereft, as to counterwork that of the whole, 
 Thofe general Laws, which are calculated 
 iot the Good of the Whole ^ may, in fome 
 Cafes, be detrimental to fome few Perfons ; 
 but, in the mainj are beneficial even to the7n. 
 For if God (hould, upon no extraordinary 
 Emergency, for no prepoUent Good, deviate 
 from his Laws 3 the utmoft Reach and Com- 
 pafs of Thought would avail no more, than 
 Childhood and Ignorance : All human In- 
 dujiry and Forefight would be at a Stand, 
 which depend on Things going generally 
 on in Tijtated Track. For there could be 
 
 no 
 
138 The Nature^ Pojftbility and Itruth^ 
 
 Serm. v. no Room for Counfel., Deliberation and Fore- 
 cajl^ where there was no orderly Conjiitu- 
 tioUj no fettled Courfe of Nature, It would 
 not fignify to till the Ground, that we 
 might reap the Fruits of the Earth in due 
 Seafon : There would be no Dependance 
 upon the ebbing and flowing of the Wa- 
 ters at fet Times, and fo in a thoufand other 
 Cafes. It is for the Intereft even of that 
 Man, who is uneafy becaufe the Settlement 
 of Nature is not changed in compliance 
 with his Wifhes j that God has given Things 
 a Law J which Jhall not be broken upon eve- 
 ry frivolous Occafion. For if the Deity 
 fhould depart from his uniform Manner of 
 Acting upon his Application in any material 
 Point J why fhould he not do fo to gratify 
 the Importunity oi other Perfons? The Con- 
 fequence of which would be, we fhould 
 live in an irregular disjointed World, where 
 there would be no Harmony, no Order, 
 no Law 5 but all would be Confuiion and 
 Anarchy. God can and does govern the 
 rational World, without fubverting and 
 unhinging the Frame of the natural, 
 
 ^dly. We are not to expedt that Provi- 
 dence upon our repeated Requefts would 
 grant what we imagine a Biefling j there 
 
 being 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth. 139 
 
 being feveral Things which wc think to be Serm. V. 
 BlefTings, that are not fo upon the Whole^ 
 or not io to iis. And Providence is not like 
 an over-indulgent Parent, v/ho deftroys the 
 future Happinefs of his Children, by com- 
 plying with their importunate Petitions, and 
 removing their prefent Uf2eafinefs. 
 
 We muft diflingui{h likewife between 
 natural and fantajiic Wants. Providence 
 has generally made ample Provifion for the 
 former^ but not for the latter. Befides 
 thofe Defires, which are inborn, there are 
 feveral, which are inbred in us, by early 
 Cuftom and by a Negledl of Reafon : Such 
 are thofe of high and fumptuous Food, of 
 Honours, and all the Fride of Life, Now 
 every regular Inclination, eijery Plant, which 
 our heavenly Father hath planted, he will 
 take care, in concurrence with our own 
 Endeavours, to feed and nourifh. But we 
 ourfelves, if wc will not part with them, 
 mufl maintain thofe fpurious and illegiti- 
 mate Defires, which we have begot in our- 
 felves. There would be as exa£} an Adjufl- 
 ment of the Means of Subfijlence to the re- 
 fpedtive Wants of the rational Creation, as 
 there is to thofe of the a?iimal World j if 
 Men unfatisfied with Neceflaries and Conve- 
 
 niencies 
 
1 40 The Nature^ PojfftbiUty and Truth ^ 
 
 Serm. V. niencies had not made Life miferable by <:r- 
 ^z^/Wi UneafinelTes and Cravings. In fliort, 
 we are got into a Worlds in fome meafure, 
 as it were of our own Modellings inflead of 
 having it, as it came originally from God: 
 We have introduced much Mifery and Dif- 
 order by Luxury, Pride, Ambition, and by 
 unnatural Defires, 
 
 Nor muft we, /^thly^ hope, that Provi- 
 dence will prevent every Calamity, that 
 may befal good Men. All, that the AfTer- 
 tors of a particular Providence contend for, 
 is that, if he does not think fit to prevent 
 it, he will either fupport them under it, 
 or refcue them from it j or make all 
 Things, at the laft Winding up of the 
 Drama, work together for Good to them 
 who love him. To annex worldly Hap- 
 pinefs confiantly and univerfally to Virtue, 
 and worldly Mifery to Vice, would lay too 
 great a Biafs and Reftraint upon our Incli- 
 nations 5 it would over- rule the Will, and 
 neceflitate it to be virtuous. This Life 
 would be no State of Probation and Trial : 
 There would be no Temptation to Vice, 
 when all the Advantages lay on the Side 
 of Virtue. 
 
of a particular Providence Jet forth . 141 
 
 llJfyy Having flated the Dodrine of sSbrm-V. 
 particular providence, I proceed to prove 
 the Poflibility of it. 
 
 We mufl: diftinguifh between the grand 
 and fundamental Laws of Nature ; and 
 thofe of an inferior ^Xi^ fubordinate Nature. 
 The Oeconomy of Nature may be in a 
 great meafure unalterable, as to the grand 
 2Xi^ fundamental Laws, by which the Uni- 
 verfe is fteered : Such are thofe refpedting 
 the Revolution of the heavenly Bodies, the 
 Succeffion of Day and Night, and the 
 Round of the Seafons. But there 2xzfiib' 
 ordinate and inferior Laws, which God 
 may alter without any feemlng or vifible 
 Alteration. And to recede from them, un- 
 der proper Limitations, occafionally, at the 
 Inftance of particular Perfons, may be no 
 Detriment to the Univerfe, and yet of great 
 Importance to them. Such are the Laws 
 relating*to the Courfe of infetiious and pcf- 
 tilentiai Vapours, the State of the Atmo- 
 fphere, &c. Nay, with whatever deciflve 
 Airs Men may talk of God's Government 
 by general Laws -, yet, as iofome of thefe 
 Points, feveral Matters of Fadl are not to 
 be accounted for upon that Scheme. Thus 
 
 for 
 
142 The Nature^ PojfibiUty and Truth y 
 
 Serm. v.fbr Inftance, according to general LzwSy 
 'the greater Quantity of Rain has fallen, the 
 greater Quantity {hould fiiil continue to 
 fall : becaufe the more Water refted upon 
 the Ground, and fwelled the Rivers 3 the 
 greater Quantity of Vapours mufl be at- 
 tracfled by the Sun, and defcend again in 
 Showers. And yet this is contrary to Ex- 
 perience. On the contrary, the longer 
 any Drought has continued; the longer, 
 without the Interpofltion of Providence, it 
 fhould ftill continue : Becaufe the Ground 
 being parched, and the Rivers either dried 
 up or much funk 3 the Number of Va- 
 pours, which are exhaled from thence, 
 muft be very inconfiderable. All pretend- 
 ed Solutions of this Appearance do hut Jhift 
 off the Difficulty one Remove, without fully 
 obviating it 5 except we call in the divine 
 Providence, which giveth the former and 
 the latter Rain, to our Aid. 
 
 God undoubtedly can abate or quicken 
 the Force of Winds, Storms and Lightning; 
 can retard and weaken, or increafe and ac- 
 celerate their Influence, without reverfing 
 the fettled Courfe of Nature in a Manner 
 perceptible to us ; fo as to bring about what 
 he fees fit, and prevent what he does not 
 
 think 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth. 143 
 think fo. We ourfelves very often, with-SERM. v 
 in the limited Sphere of our Adivity, flop or 
 haften the Motion of Bodies, or change their 
 Diredion. And fhall we deny the Exertion 
 of that Power to the great Creator^ which 
 the me am p, of his Creatures is inverted with ? 
 May he not clog or quicken the Wheels, 
 and diredl the Springs of natural Caufes, fo 
 that Wind and ^t or m vci2iy fulfil his tVord? 
 
 The Deity muft proportion his Care to 
 the intriiific Worth of the Objeoi. Now 
 one Being, who is ennobled with the di- 
 flinguifhing Perfedlions of Reafon a?id Li- 
 berty^ is of more Value, than the whole 
 Mafs of Matter^ how vaft foever in Ex- 
 tent. He will therefore have a greater 
 Regard for rational Beings in proportion to 
 the fuperior Excellency of their Nature. 
 God made the material World intirely for 
 the fpirituah, and confequently will go- 
 'uern it with "Regard to the latter : The 
 material World being but the mere Shell, 
 which was formed and beautified for the 
 Sake of its Inhabitants, This would in- 
 cline one to think, that God is not fo tied 
 up to general Laws, as to have 720 Referve 
 of Power left to himfelf, to provide for 
 particular Exigencies. 
 
 But 
 
f 44 l^he Nature^ Pojflhility and Truths 
 
 Serm. v. But fuppofing he feldom or never fwerves 
 from his ftated Method of Acting, yet the 
 particular Occurrences of each Man's Life 
 may be directed by a Power delegated to 
 Angehy and that too, confijiently with th 
 eftablified Courfe of Nature. This Suppo- 
 fition is confirmed by feveral Texts of Scrip- 
 ture. Thus we read in the fecond Book 
 of Chronicles xvi. 9. The Eyes of the Lord 
 run to and fro throughout the whole Earthy 
 to/hew himfelf (it fhould be rendered them- 
 fehes) Jlrong in the Behalf of them, whofe 
 Heart is perfeB towards him. That by 
 the Eyes of the Lord is here meant the An- 
 gels of God, is plain from St. yohn, who 
 mentions Revel, v. 6. the feven Eyes which 
 are the feven Spirits or Angels of God fent 
 forth into all the Earth. The Pfalmift ex- 
 prefsly fays, The Angel of the Lord encamps 
 eth about them that fear himy and deliver eth 
 them. 
 
 We fee, that as the Scale of Beings de- 
 fcends downwards from Man to Brutes, 
 from Brutes to Infedls, from Infeds to 
 Plants ; the higher Beings in each Link 
 of the Chain have fome kind of Domi- 
 nion and vifible Authority over their im- 
 mediate Inferiors : Man for Inilance over 
 
 Animals, 
 
of a pai'tkularFrovklencefet forth. 145 
 
 Animals, and Animals over Plants. AndjS^'^^'- 
 from that Harmony which runs through 
 all God's Works, we may conclude that 
 as the Scale afcends upwards from Man to 
 Angels; they too have fome Power and In- 
 fluence over US'., as we have over Brutes, and 
 Brutes over thofe of a lower Species. 
 
 If it be afked, why in punlfliing the 
 Wicked, in curbing and over-ruling their 
 Adions, fo that they fliall not be able to 
 go beyond the Will of God to do lefs or 
 more-, and in protedting, chaftifing or tj-y- 
 ing the Good, God does not aKvays ad: 
 immediately ; it may be fufficient to an- 
 fwer, that as God does not exert a fuper- 
 natural Power, where an human is fuf- 
 ficient ; fo He may never put forth his 
 Ormiipotence^ where an Angelical Power 
 is equal to the Effed: to be produced j or 
 in other Words, he may never ufe more 
 Power ov, greater Means, than it was requi- 
 fite. The Angels of God are minijlring Spi- 
 rit s ^ fent forth to minijler for them^ whofjall 
 be Heirs of Salvation, 
 
 Let us fuppOfe that a Perfon, whom 
 God defigns to be the Inflrument of pro- 
 moting the Happinefs of the World before 
 he dies, has an Intention to go fome Way, 
 where AfTafTms lay in wait for him, or to 
 
 Vol, II. L pafs 
 
146 7 he Nature^ Pojfthility and Truth ^ 
 
 Serm. v. pafs by a Building, which is ruinous and 
 ready to fall *. It is not necelTary, that 
 God fhould abfolutely deftroy the Liberty 
 of free Agents, or fufpend the Force of 
 Gravitation : He may, by the Miniftry of 
 Angels, lay feveral Impediments in his 
 Way, give him a different Turn of Think- 
 ing, {\y<^<yt.^ feveral Reafons, why it may 
 be proper to defer his intended Journey, or 
 put him upon taking a different Road, or 
 over-rule his Intentions. A thoufand Im- 
 preffions may be mad^ upon him, in this 
 or any other Cafe, when imminent Dan- 
 ger threatens him, to alter his Purpofe. 
 However fixed and deter7?iined fome may 
 fuppofe the Laws, by which the ?}iaterial 
 World is governed, to be -, the Mind of 
 Man at leaft is chaitgeable and capable of 
 new Determinations : and God, in whofe 
 Hand the Heart of Man is, as the 
 Rivers of Wafer ^ and who iumeth it, 
 ivhitherfoever he lijieth, may change it by 
 Iticret Influences, and by making Things 
 appear in another Light, than they did. 
 Or he may render the Hajid of the Ruffian 
 wiperformingy by ftriking a Terror into his 
 Hearty at the Injianty that he meditates 
 
 the 
 
 * See Woll'ajloni Religion of Nature, Pages 99, and 106 
 I a Edit. 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth, 147 
 
 the Blow. Or there may be feveral Ways Serm, V. 
 above our Underflanding, by which God 
 may fuit his Providence to private Cafes, 
 where the Courfe of Things goes on in a 
 regular Channel without overflowing. 
 
 This is certain, that though feveral 
 Things may feem accidental to us, who are 
 ignorant of their true Caufes ; yet nothing 
 is accidental to the Deity ^ to whofe View 
 every Caufe, how minute foever, that lies 
 hid in the Depth of Futurity, is unlocked 
 and expofed. And, what we mifcal Cha}ice^ 
 Fate or Fortune in our Language here be- 
 low j they, who fpeak aiiother La?jguage 
 above, more agreeable to the Truth and Rea- 
 fon of Things, call the wife DiJpcnfatio?i5 
 of an all-direEiing Providence. Fortune 
 and Chance are but Words to fignify our 
 Ignorance : The Scripture teacheth us a 
 more jtijl Manner of exprelTing ourfelves, 
 as for Inftance ; The Lot is cajl i^ito the 
 Lap J but the ivhole Difpofmg : hereof is of 
 the Lord. What appears a Cafualfy to 
 us, is here referred to the Difpofal of 
 the fupreme Difpenfer of Good and Evil. 
 And again, when the eleven Apoflles were 
 to chufe another into the Room of Judas by 
 Loty they afcribe the Dire^fion of the ylf 
 L 2 fair 
 
14^ ^ he Nature^ Pojjlhil'ity andTruth\ 
 
 Serm. Y.fair to God's unerring. Providence, though 
 it was managed by Cajling of Lots : Thou, 
 Lord, tvho knoweft 'the Hearts of all Men, 
 fiew, IV bet her of thefe two thou hajl chofen. 
 Whatever is feemlngly efFeded by the 
 Miniflry of fecond Caufes, God fo lays, 
 dired:s and conduds the Train of Events, as 
 to ferve his own beneficial Purpofes. The 
 Scripture very fully and exprefsly aflerts a 
 particular Providence : God holdeth our Soul 
 in Life : He is a very prefent Help in 
 Trouble : The very Hairs oj our Head are 
 all numbered : Not a Sparrow falls to the 
 Ground without the Deity: Nothing be- 
 ing fo fmall and inconfiderable, as to efcape 
 his in^mit" K?iowledge \ Nothing fo ^r^^/" 
 or unwcildy, as to encumber his Almighty 
 Power, 
 
 Still this Ob}edlon may be advanced : 
 We may fuppofe two Men equally Good, 
 equally the Care of Providence, begging at 
 tlie fame Time, the one for an Eaftern 
 Wind, the other for a Weftern, as moft 
 commodious for his Voyage. How can 
 God's Providence gratify Both, when their 
 Requefts are contrary? To which I anfwer, 
 that, . though God cannot gratify Both, by 
 granting their particular Requefts, which 
 
 interfere^ 
 
of a particular Providence fei forth. 149 
 
 interfere, becaufe he cartnot do what im- Serm. y. 
 pHes a Contradicftion ; yet he may confult 
 the Intereji and Advantage of Both : He 
 may be equally gracious in what be with- 
 holds from the one, as in what be 'vouch' 
 fafeth to the other. He may hiake an 
 Incident, however -contrary to his Wiflies, 
 turn out upon the Whole to his Benefit, by 
 an unexpeded Train of Occurrences, by 
 fecret and un{ijfpe6led Methods, in the 
 Cafe o^ two contrary and claQiing Petitions^ 
 God will do what is for the Good of the 
 Whole ; but fo, as that the particular Good 
 of each Individual, who prays affedlionately, 
 means well and ads up to that Meaning, 
 fhall coincide with the general Plan. Nay 
 if the flormy Wind, which he deprecates, 
 /hould arife and fink him in the Deep; yet 
 it may bring him to a far more valuable 
 Haven, the Haven where he would be^ the 
 Land of everlafling Reft. 
 
 But can God, you will fay, behold the 
 Things that are in Heaven and in Earth, 
 and with one comprehenfive View com- 
 mand the whole Compafs of the Univerfe? 
 Yes. He^ that made tlje Eye^ J}:all he not 
 fee J and He^ that made the Ear, fall he 
 mt hear f Or he that tcacbeth Man Know^ 
 L 3 Jcdge^ 
 
150 ^he Nature^ PoJJibility and Truths 
 
 grRM. N. ledge y fiall he not know ? Confider that He 
 in veiled you with the Faculty of Knowijig 
 and Ihinhng: And can you ftupidly ima- 
 gine, that what, you know and think by 
 iinA from him^ can efcape his Thoughts and 
 Knowledge ? Look upon that glorious Lu- 
 minary the Sun : Its I^ight flies fwift as 
 Thought from one Part of the Univerfe to 
 the other , it penetrates into every Corner, 
 and nothing is hid from the Heat thereof 
 And can you think, that the Kitowledge of 
 the Deity does not extend much farther 
 and penetrate deeper, than the L/ight of 
 that Body, which is the Work of his Hands f 
 It is as certain that God fecth us and all 
 our Adions, as that he giveth us the Power 
 of feeing. Fain would we imagine him 
 far from us\ though even fpontaneous Mo- 
 tion be a Proof of his immediate Prefence. 
 The Soul wills the Motion of the Hand and 
 Foot, and they immediately move obedient 
 to its Orders. Yet the Soul has no more 
 a Power, independently of its Maker, to 
 move its Limbs by a mere Thought \ than 
 it has a Povv^er to move the Sun, Moon, 
 and Stars by merely willing it : And He, 
 who has made the former confequent upon 
 pur Vuiitionj might haye made the latter 
 
of a particular Providence Jet forth, 151 
 fo too by his Almighty Power. The Jews, Serm. v. 
 as we learn from Maimoiiides^ waved their 
 Sacrifice upwards and downwards, North 
 and South, Eafl and Weftward, to intimate 
 that the Being, to whom they confecrated 
 their Sacrifice, was every where, a Being 
 whom no Place could confine^ and none 
 exclude *. 
 
 Let us then leave it to him, who alone 
 is equal to the mighty Province, to adjufl: 
 in fuch a Manner the various interfering 
 Interefts of Mankind in general, and to con- 
 fult the private Cafes of each Individual; 
 that every Man, who makes it his Bufinefs 
 to recommend himfelf to God, may find 
 his Happinefs over-balance his Mifery. 
 
 But this brings me to my III^ Head, 
 viz. to prove the Truth and Certainty of 
 a particular Providence. 
 
 j/?. That the Deity fliould not grant 
 every particular good Man, what is really 
 for his Good upon the Whole ^ and no ways 
 inconfiftent with that of the Public ; muft 
 either argue, that He is wiwilling, or tliat 
 he is unable to grant it. Infinite Goodnefs 
 cannot but be idiling to communicate Hup-. 
 fuiefs to every Individual, who is not want- 
 L 4 ing 
 
 • See Outram de Sacrifciii, Page 162. 
 
152 I'he Nature^ PoJJlbilky and Ti^uth^ 
 
 Serm. v. ing to himfelf ; and infinite Power cannot 
 but be able to bring about, whatever his 
 Goodnefs wills. 
 
 Let us fuppofe a Man combating with 
 {omQimcommon Diftrefs, to which his Strength 
 is greatly unequal ; let us fuppofe, that 
 this Man, who has regarded God during 
 the main Tenor of his Life according to 
 the beft of his Abilities, now implores him 
 with all the 'Energy of Devotion, as his 
 lajl^ his only Refuge. Can we imagine, 
 that the Father oj Comforts and the God of 
 Mercy will ftand looking upon his Trouble j 
 without either vouchfafing to him any out- 
 nvard Affiftance, which he can eafily do in 
 an unperccived Manner, to whom all Nature 
 is fiibfervienf y or communicating to him 
 any ifzward Confolation, though he knows 
 each Avenue to the Soul ? He may not 
 think fit entirely to remove his Misfortune ; 
 but he will either lejjen or abate it, fo that 
 he fliall not be tempted above what he is 
 able-, or he will adjuft his Succour to his 
 Exigency. 
 
 2.dly, God will refpedi and treat every 
 Man agreeably to what he is ; and there- 
 fore there can be no irrefpeBive Courfe of 
 Things. Matter and Motion are very uiz- 
 
 dijii?2guifiifig : 
 
of a particular Frovidencefet forth. 153 
 diftingiiijln7ig: they male no Difference be-SERM. V. 
 tween him that ferveth God^ and Him 
 that fer'veth ht?n not: But God doih: For 
 no good Man, I believe, ever prayed coa- 
 flantly and affedionately to his Maker, with- 
 out having an Experience, that God has an- 
 fwered his Prayers at fome nice and critical 
 Conjun6ture. If all Things happen accord- 
 ing to the Laws of Mechanifm, by a fixed 
 Chain . of natural Caufes, without any A£t 
 of a refpeBive Providence, without any 
 Superintendency and DireBion of Events ; 
 then wc live, to all Appearance, in a fa- 
 therlefs World, liable to a thoufand Dan- 
 gers, Cafualties and Diflrefles, which no 
 Forefight can prevent, no Skill elude, no 
 Power fence off. It is an Impeachment of 
 God's Goodnefs to fuppofe, that as foon as 
 he has made any Man, he difmiffes him 
 immediately out of his Hands and abandons 
 him, without a Defign to anfwer his Pray- 
 ers, or take any farther Notice of Him in 
 his Paffage through this World, or to ac- 
 commodate the Difpenfations of Providence 
 to his Wants and Deportment. 
 
 3^/y, Inflind: is a Proof, that Provi- 
 dence extends itfclf to every parti cidar 
 prute-, Inftincl being the immediate Ener- 
 gy 
 
154 ^^ NaturBy PoJJlbility and 'truths 
 
 Serm. V.gy of the Deity ading upon each of the 
 Brute Creation. For it operates, as foon 
 as Animals are born : As foon as they 
 make their Entrance upon, this new Scene, 
 the World, they do not a(ft as mere Stran- 
 gers : They feem to be acquainted with the 
 Food that is beneficial to them, and to fhun 
 what is dangerous. A defencelefs Brood, 
 when Danger threatens, take Shelter under 
 the Wings of their Parent j while another 
 Brood, though hatched under the fame Fowl, 
 runs to the Water, regardlefs of the afFe(flion- 
 ate Cries and tender Yearnings of their Fofier- 
 Mothery which would call them away from 
 an Element, which it thinks deftrudive to 
 them. -Now, what we call Inflinc!^, can- 
 not be the Refult of mere Matter and Mo- 
 tian : For undired:ed Matter and Motion 
 cannot JInm Danger ^ and purfue what is 
 advantageous. It cannot be the EfFcd; of 
 Reafon in the Creatures ihemfehes : For 
 Reafon is an Acquifition^ and Men ripen 
 into rational Beings by a progrej/ive Open- 
 ing and Unfolding of the Mind. Reafon 
 is an improveable Faculty, in its Nonage 
 for feveral Years j and our Soids^ as well as 
 Bodies y come naked into the World and 
 unfurnijl'ed. Injiin^l mull be then, as I 
 
 faid 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth, 155 
 
 faid before, the divine Energy ading im- Serm. V, 
 mediately upon the Animal Creation : It 
 muft be his Power, who giveth Fodder to 
 the Cattle, and feedeth the young Ravens that 
 call upon him, 
 
 Befides, every Species of Brutes obfervcs 
 a peculiar Track ; They go on in a Line 
 without deviating from itj Inftindl does 
 that by 07je unvarying Method, which Rea- 
 fon does by fever al : They obferve the 
 fame Plan in the Structure of their Ncfls, 
 even thofe, which had never feen one be- 
 fore : Whereas if they had Reafon, they 
 would vary as much in their Schemes, as 
 we do J they would projed: new Plans and 
 improve old ones. And whereas rational 
 Creatures can corredt the Reports of the 
 Senfes, and over- rule their Solicitations; 
 Brutes are entirely governed by natural Im^ 
 pulfesy and by the Prompting of the fen^^ 
 tive Appetites. 
 
 Now if Providence condefcends to re- 
 gard every Individual in the Brute Creation 
 fo far, as to z<St conftantly in it and upon it ; 
 fhall he not much more extend his Care to 
 every particular Perfon in the rational 
 World, and adapt hisDifpenfationstotheNe- 
 Ceflities of each fmgle Perfon in it; Conftder 
 
 the 
 
15^ 216^ Nature^ Pojfthility and Truth^ 
 
 Serm. V. the Fowls of the Air-, for they fow not, net' 
 ther do they reap, nor gather into Barns -, yet 
 your heavenly Father feed^th them : Are ye not 
 much better than They f He, whofe over- 
 flowing Bounty has fupplied the Birds of 
 the Air and the Beafts of the Field with 
 whatever is fuitable to their Natures, will 
 provide for Mankind in a Way fuited to 
 the Condition of the rational Nature. He 
 cpeneth his Ha?td and filleth all things liv- 
 ing with Plenfeoiifnefs : And fhall he not 
 anfwer the various Occafions and Circum- 
 ilances of Man, the Mafler-piece of the 
 viiible Creation ? 
 
 /i^thly, Thofe who admit a general Pro- 
 vidence, but deny a particular one, feein 
 to forget that Generals are nothing but a 
 ColleSlion of Particulars -, they are nothing 
 but the Sum total of Individuals. And 
 confequendy as Generals include Particu- 
 lars J a general Providence muft imply a 
 particular one. If the Whole of worldly 
 Affairs and Concerns be the ufiiverfal Chain 
 of Providence ; then each Man's private 
 Concerns are 072e Link of that Chain which 
 is affixed to the Throne and direded by the 
 unerring Hand of God. Whatever other 
 Laws, by which the World is governed, 
 
 there 
 
of a particular Providence fit forth. 157 
 
 there may be^ xhefupreme Law, to which Serm. V- 
 all the reft muft give way, is the Intereft ' 
 of the Whole: And the Intereft of the IVbole 
 cannot be promoted without a conftant Re- 
 gard to the Parts, of which the whole is 
 compofed. Now if 2^ fixed, determined and 
 unchangeable Courfe of Nature eould be 
 made to correfpond to the various Interefts 
 and Exigencies oi free 2.n6. mutable Agents 5 
 there would be no Occafion for any Inter- 
 pofition of the Deity, who may have made 
 Provifion for particular Cafes in his original 
 Conftitution of Things. But if this be, as 
 perhaps it is, impoflible, if many beneficial 
 Events of the higheft Importance may be 
 brought about, and much needlefs Miiery 
 fometimes prevented by a particular Direc- 
 tion of Matter, which cannot, of itfelf, 
 change its Line of Diredion ; it is deroga- 
 tory, one would think, to God's Goodnefs 
 to imagine, that He would, merely for the 
 Sake of ad:ing [imply and uniformly, without 
 any other End in View, make Mankind or 
 any Part of Mankind undefervedly and un- 
 necejjarily unhappy : or that He, who can 
 order Matters fo, that his Foofjleps fliall not 
 be known, (hould never go out of the cofn- 
 man Road of his Providence to avert E- 
 
 vii 
 
158 T'he Nature^ PoJJibility a7id Truth ^ 
 
 Serm. V.vil and produce fome confiderable Goodj 
 ^ which could not otherwife be produced. There 
 mufl be then an Adjuflment of the State of 
 the natural World to that of the rational 
 and intelligent Creation. All the Argu- 
 ments, which prove that God governs the 
 World in general in a Manner which fuits 
 beft with Reafon^ prove likewife that he 
 takes care of particular Cafes in the fame 
 Manner. For God can no more adl con^ 
 trary to Reafon in any particular Cafe, than 
 he can in general do fo. The T^ime^ the 
 Manner and Co?tdition of each Man's Exift- 
 ence mufl: be determined by Him, upon 
 whom each Man's Exiftence depends 5 
 which cannot be done without defcending to 
 Particidars, 
 
 ^thly^ The furprifing Difcoveries of 
 Murder, the Fall of the Wicked into the 
 Pit, which they made for others j the 
 ilrange and judicial Infatuation of Men wife 
 at all other Times, when fome great Event 
 was to be brought about, which can only 
 be refolved into his Power, who maketh 
 the Knowledge of the Wife fooliJJj, and 
 tunieth their Counfeh backwards -^ the In- 
 difcretion of others fucceeding, when well 
 concerted Plots have failed 5 the Difpro- 
 3 portion 
 
of a particular ProviJencefet fc ^th, 159 
 
 portion of the vifible Means to the Effed jSerm. V* 
 thefe are (o many Arguments to prove a' 
 particular Providence at the Heln), who has 
 a peife(fl V;rw of all Things, whether great 
 or fmali, at all Times, and in all Places, 
 with ir finitely more Eafe; than we can at- 
 tend to one Thing at once. 
 
 There is great Reafon to think, that 
 God often breaks the fine fpun Threads of 
 human Policy, and brings the moil unpro- 
 mifing Projects to bear. Were the Soul 
 diverted of the Body; (he might find her- 
 felf as much miilaken about feveral Turns 
 of Affairs ; as the 'Trojan Hero was, who 
 was enraged at the Grecians ^ whom he 
 thought the fole Authors of his Country's 
 Ruin; But when the Mijl was removed 
 which dimmed his mortal Sight, he faw 
 the Dcftrudion of the City, in which he 
 thought human Agents were (inly concern- 
 ed, was caufed by Beings of a much Ju^ 
 perior Nature. 
 
 We have a pregnant Inftance in Scrip- 
 ture, that God vouchfafed to fit at ti:ie 
 Helm of the Jewifli State. For when all 
 the Males three times a Year were obliged 
 to go to the Temple at yerufrlem, and 
 conl'equently left the Frontiers of their 
 
 Country 
 
l6o 7 he Nature^ Pojftbility and Truths 
 
 •Serm. v. Country unguarded j what could hinder 
 their Enemies, (and no Nation had more 
 Enemies,) who ufed to defy the Armies 
 of the living God, from making a Defcent 
 upon a naked and defencelefi Country? 
 What, but He, who in the Language of 
 Scripture boweth the Hearts of a whole 
 Nation, as the Heart of oi^e Man ? When 
 God has fome great Defign in View, He 
 giveth one univerfal Bent of IncHnation to 
 a whole People with the fame Eafe, with 
 which a Gujl of Wind inclines all the Tiops 
 of Corn in a waving Field the fame Way. 
 
 This, you will fay, is only a Proof of 
 a national Providence -, it facilitates, how- 
 ever, our Belief of a Providence extend- 
 ing to each Individual. What follows, 
 dire6tly proves it, as to the better Part of 
 us, our Soiih. God is every where pre- 
 fent 'y and to fuppofe that an infinitely good 
 Being can be invifibly prefent to the Soul, 
 without awakening in it pure and virtuou^ 
 Notices, and exciting it to the Purfuit of 
 Piety, not indeed by irreliftible Force, but 
 bv rational Motives, would be to entertain 
 a worfe Notion of an all-gracious God, than 
 we do of a pious Man, For any good Man, 
 who is continually prefent with us, %vill be 
 
 fuggefting 
 
^f a partkularProvidencefet forth, 1 6 1 
 
 fuggcfting advantageous Rules for the Con-SERM. V. 
 du(fl of Life, if he hath our eternal Inte- 
 reft at Heart. The Philofophy now in 
 vogue allows, that God continually adls 
 upon Matter; and that whatever Motion 
 there is in the great Bodies of the Univerfe, 
 is owing to his immediate Operation. But 
 if God adts continually and immediately 
 upon Mattel", it will be hard to affign any 
 fufficient Reafon, why he fliould not adt 
 upon, what is much nobler than Matter, 
 the fpiritual World. 
 
 There are very few, who have not, 
 fome time or other, jufl as they were upon 
 XhQ Point of perpetrating a <^^^Ad;ion, felt 
 a fudden Check or Reftraint upon them, 
 which has rendered their Defign abortive. 
 Somethino;, they knew not what, at that 
 very Crlfn^ when, if they had gone a Step 
 farther, it had been too late to retreat, hath 
 withheld them irom fmnitig. A chill Fear- 
 fulnefs and Trembling hath come upon 
 them that were Strangers to Fear ; and 
 an unufual Damp hath overcaft the Soul 
 which had been inured to hardy Attempts. 
 When any good Suggeflion without any 
 antecedent Train of Ideas arifcth in our 
 Minds, we know not how or from what 
 
 Vol. II. M Quar- 
 
1 6 2 Tthe Nature^ Pojftbility and Truthy 
 
 Serm. v. Quarter, we ought to look upon it as a 
 
 **'"^'~**' Beajn of Light darting in upon our Minds 
 
 from the great Father of Lights 5 and let 
 
 us improve, cultivate and ripen it, till it 
 
 ♦ breaks forth into correfpondcnt Adions. 
 
 iVthlyy I (hall make two or three Re- 
 flexions, and fo conclude. 
 
 ifi^ Let us learn from hence to form the 
 moft auguft Ideas of the divine Nature, of 
 which ours is capable. 
 
 Look how wide and fpacious this Earth 
 is, on which we live : Yet this Earth is as 
 it were but one petty Province of God's 
 univerfal Empire^ one little Wheel of the 
 vaft Machine^ the whole World, How 
 aflonilhingly great then is that Being who 
 fets each Wheel in Motion, and regulates 
 the whole Circumference of the Creation ; 
 where there are Diverjities of Adminijira^ 
 tions, but the fame God, which worketh All 
 in All? It is his Power, which wields y^ 
 ma72y mafjy BodieSy and bids the Planets go 
 their evcrlajiing Round; it is his Wifdom^ 
 which adjufls fuch Variety of Movements 
 without the leaf Co? f upon ; it is his Good" 
 nefs, which has enriched the Univerfe with 
 fuch a Profufon of Good, beautified it with 
 3 fuch 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth. 163 
 fuch Order and Harmony, and emhled IiSerm^ 
 with fuch Magnificence and Grandeur. 
 
 Yet this Earth, all thefe Worlds, which 
 move above us, far more, than the naked 
 Eye, than Glaffes, than the Imagination 
 can reach, are but before him (in the Lan- 
 guage of the Prophet IJaiah) as a Drop of 
 a Bucket, and are counted as the f mall Duft 
 of the Balance : Behold he taketh up the . 
 JJles, as a -jery little Thijig : That is, the 
 Ifles and indeed the whole Univerfe are in 
 his Hands, what a light infignificant Weight 
 is in ours, which we take up and manage 
 at our Eafe, without being in the leaft en- 
 cumbered by it. What is your Spirit 
 amidft fuch a Multitude of Spirits, as pro- 
 bably inhabit thefe Worlds? No more, 
 than a Drop amidft the vaft Colledion and 
 Affemblage of Waters. — Yet you are as 
 much the Care of the great Author of all 
 thefe Worlds, and Father of all thefe Spirits, 
 as if there were no Creature for him to pro- 
 ted and love but you. No Perfon how- 
 foever litde or infignificant, who regards 
 him, can be unregarded by Him, who, with 
 one Glance of Thought can know every Thing, 
 without Study and painful Refearches ; 
 and with one Motion of his Will can do e- 
 M 2 '^'■'^y 
 
1 64 ^he Nature^ Po^thility and Truths 
 
 Serm. v. %^ery Thing, without Toil or laborious Ef- 
 forts. He hath preferved your Going oufy 
 and your Coming in^ comforting you in 
 Troubles, dired:ing you in Difficulties, fav- 
 ing you from feveral Dangers, which you 
 know nothing of, and condud:ing you 
 through this Maze of Life. 
 
 idly, Inftead of fearing yourfelf with 
 melancholy Views, and letting your Heart 
 fail you for Fear, and for looking after 
 thofe things, that are to come upon the 
 Earth, when Wickednefs and Irreligion 
 prevail ; let it be a Matter of Joy and 
 Comfort to you, that arnidfl all the Con- 
 fufion and Madnefs of the World, Men 
 cannot fafter perplex and entangle 'Things, 
 than God can unravel them j or embroil 
 the World, than he can bring Order out 
 of Confufion ; that the Wicked are under 
 the fecret Control of his Providence ; that 
 the Lord is Kivg, be the People never fo 
 impatient j he fitteth between the Cherii" 
 bims, be the Earth never fo unquiet ; that 
 he can make the Machinations of wicked 
 Men an accidental Occafion of Good, and 
 ferve his gracious Defigns, in oppofition to 
 their own. 
 
 Laftly, let us never do any Thing to 
 5 throw 
 
of a particular Providence fet forth. 165 
 
 throw ourfelves out of his Protecftion. LetSERM. V. 
 us con fid er how 'vain all Schetnes of Hap- 
 pincfs are, out of which He, the Fountam 
 Head of Happinefs, is left, who can dafli 
 the Joys of Profperity with fuch unpalatable 
 Ingredients, as render them no Joys at all ; 
 and qualify the Bitternefs of Poverty with 
 fuch Infufions of Joy and Gladnefs, as fhall 
 make it eafy and tolerable. And perhaps 
 He, who 7nade the Soul, can alone make it 
 thoroughly happy or miferable : He can pierce 
 it through and through with Sorrow and 
 Pain, and make it, when incorrigibly bad, 
 irretrievably wretched j or he can pervade 
 it 2.nd ^il the whole Capacity of it with un^ 
 conceivable Blifs, Then, and not till then, 
 we are intirely undone, when God has ca/i 
 out our Souly caft it from his Prefence, from 
 the Comforts of his Prefence. For his 
 Prefence is every where : But it is to the 
 Good and the Wicked, juft what it was 
 to the Ifraelites and Egyptians before the 
 Red Sea : To the former a Pillar of Light 
 to brighten up every Thing around them ; 
 to the latter a Cloud and Darknefs to trou^ 
 ble and difquiet them. While we enjoy 
 the Light of the divine Countenance, we 
 need not be dejeded at the Frowns of the 
 
 M 3 whole 
 
1 66 l!he Nature^ PoJJibility^ &c. 
 
 Serm. V. whole World. For if God be for us, it 
 will in a (hort Time iignify little or no- 
 thing, who was againft us : But if He be 
 againjl us, what will it iignify, who was 
 for us ? Our Communication and Inter" 
 courfe with our neareji and deareft Relations 
 may be intercepted by our Misfortunes: 
 But our Intercourfe with the nearefi Objedt 
 of all, even Hiniy in whom we live, and 
 move, and have our Being, cannot be inter- 
 cepted but by our Vices, He who never 
 faileth them that feek him, will never for- 
 fake us, till we forfake Him and Virtue* 
 He is, according to the expreffive Defcrip- 
 tion of ^i,fohn. Light and Love, pure un- 
 clouded Light, without any Mixture of 
 Darknefs and Ignorance; and pure unallayed 
 Love, without any Tindure of Malice and 
 Hatred : He knows whatever is really Good 
 for us ; and will do whatever in his unerring 
 Judgment is moft efFedually conducive to 
 our Good, making every difaftrous Incident 
 Anally terminate in our Benefit, 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON VL 
 
 The intrinfic excellency of the Scrip- 
 tures, a Proof of their divine In- 
 fpiration. 
 
 In Two SERMONS. 
 
 I Peter III. 15. 
 
 Be ready always to give an Anpwer to every 
 Man that ajketh you a Reafon of the 
 Hope that is in you, 
 
 IT Is furprifing to obferve, what a clofe Serm.VI. 
 Connexion and Alliance one material' 
 Truth has with another. Thus, for 
 Inftance, that there is a God, thofe mani- 
 feft Traces of infinite Wifdom, which 
 appear through the whole Oeconomy of 
 Nature, fufficiently make out. The whole 
 World is in this refpedt, as it were, one 
 great Temple, where, as in the Jewifh, 
 the Shechinah or divine Prefence (hines 
 M 4 confefl: 
 
1 68 "The intrinftc Excellency 
 
 SERM.VLconfejd in a vifible Glory. The fame Ar-^ 
 'guments, that prove our own Exiftence, 
 demonftrate God's. How do we prove 
 there is a vital Principle within any Per- 
 fon? Why, becaufe he moves, he thinks 
 and afts : And can we from thefe Opera- 
 tions conclude there fubiifls within us a 
 Principle, which aduates and informs the 
 Body : And (hall we not from the ftupen- 
 dous Operations of the Univerfe conclude, 
 there is a Being that aduatcs and invigo- 
 rates all Nature * ? Matter cannot be a ne* 
 ceffarily exiftent Being. Becaufe that alone 
 is neceff'arily exiftent, which exifts immuta* 
 My, and cannot but be what it is. Where«» 
 as, on the other hand, Matter does not per- 
 fifl in an umfor?n State of Being, but is li- 
 able to Changeij and admits of new Modi^ 
 
 locations. 
 
 * Eft, eft profsfto ilia Vis : reque in his Corporibus, 
 atque in hac in.becillitate ineft quiddam, quod vigeat 
 ^G fentiat : tt non ineft in hoc tanto Natura; tarn prac- 
 fiaro motLi ; nifi forte idcirco effe non putant, quia non 
 apparet, nee ceinitur : proinde quafi noftram ipfam men- 
 tern, qua fapimus; qua providemus, qua hasc ipfa agimus 
 ac dicimus, videre, aut plane quails, aut ubi fit, fentire 
 pofiumus. Cictro pro Milone. Unde fcis tibi ineffe vitale 
 Pnncipium ? dvefpondebis, quia loquor, quia ambulo, qui« 
 pperor. Stulte, ex cperjbus corporis agnofcis viventem ; 
 %'x opeiibus Creadoiui. liOfJ agjiofcis Creatorem? S, A^^ 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proof &c. 169 
 fications. The infinite Variety^ that there Serm.VI. 
 is in the World, which fliews a manifold' 
 Wifdom, is no more confiftent with the 
 Scheme of unintelligent Necejity, than 
 Regularity, Uniformity and Defign is with 
 that of Chance, 
 
 And if there be a God, there muft be 
 fome Religion -, or, in other Words, fome 
 Homage mufl be due from an indigent and 
 dependent Creature, to his great Creator, 
 Preferver and Benefadlor. And if fome 
 Religion be neceflary, it mufl be one that 
 is fufticient, or is fufficiently calculated for 
 the Generality of Mankind. Now, that 
 natural Religion, or that Religion, which 
 the Light of Nature didates, is not fuffi- 
 ciently calculated for the Generality of Man- 
 kind, is evident from hence ; that to trace 
 a confiderable Number of Dodtrines up to 
 the Fountain-Head from which they flow, 
 by the Strength of unafTided Reafon, and 
 to purfue them to their remoteft Confe- 
 quences, is a Tafk at leaft extremely dijicult 
 to Men of Letters^ but I may venture to 
 fay impra^icabk to the Ignorant, Befides, 
 pure natural Religion is a mere Utopia?i 
 Scheme, which may perhaps have exifted 
 in the Minds of fome few reclufe contem- 
 plative 
 
lyo The intrinjic Excellency 
 
 JiRM.Vi.plative Men, but was never in fad 
 eftablifhed in any one Nation from the 
 Foundation of the World to the prefent 
 Times. As certain as it is, that there is a 
 God J fo certainly muft he will the Belief 
 and Practice of fome Religion ; the Belief 
 of fome Religion, and a Pradlice conform- 
 able to that Belief, being necefary to the 
 Good of Mankind. And as certainly as 
 he wills the Belief and Pra(ftice of fome Re- 
 ligion ; he mufl will the Belief and Prac- 
 tice of the beji Religion : And what Re- 
 ligion is there, that equals or rivals the 
 €hrifttan Revelation ? 
 
 Such Refledions, as thefe, enable us, in 
 fome meafure, to ad in conformity to the 
 Apoftle*s Advice 5 they make us ready to 
 give an Anfwer to every Man that ajketh us 
 a Reafon of the Hope, or, as the Word here 
 fignifies, of the Faith, that is in us, 
 
 I ihould enter into too fpacious a Field, 
 if I attempted to do Juftice to all the Proofs 
 of Revelation : It fhall therefore be my 
 Bufmefs at preient to dwell upon that Ar- 
 gument, which may be drawn from the in- 
 trinfic Excellency of revealed Religion, 
 In the Profecution of which Defign, 
 
of the Scriptures y a Proofs &c. 171 
 
 I/?, I {hall confider the intrinfic Excel- Serm.VI. 
 iency of revealed Religion, as to the Ma-' 
 nifeftations of the divine Nature. 
 
 Wdly, As to the beautiful Plan of Mo- 
 rality which is laid down in Scripture, 
 together with the Motives and Encourage- 
 ments, by which it has fupported and en- 
 forced that Plan. 
 
 Ill^/y, I fhall confider the Force of the 
 Argument which may be drawn from thefe 
 Particulars. 
 
 I/?, I fliall confider the intrinfic Excel- 
 lency of revealed Religion, as to the Mani- 
 feflations of the divine Nature. 
 
 That God is Lon^e^ or an inexhauftible 
 Fountain of Goodnefs : that of Him as the 
 great Creator, through Him as the great 
 Preferver, and to Him as the End and 
 Center, all I'hings are\ that he entitles him- 
 felf I AM, the Being who exifts abfolutely 
 and emphatically, in oppofition to the fleet- 
 ing and precarious Exiftence of his Creatures, 
 which fcarce deferves the Name, in com- 
 parifon with his j that a thoufand Tears are 
 •with him as one Day, and one Day as a thou- 
 fand Years : that he only fa id, Let there be 
 Light, and there was Light, that what- 
 ever he commands, is finished by his com- 
 manding 
 
172 The intrinjic 'Excellency 
 
 Serm.VI. manding it ; are fome of the nobleft Ideas 
 that we can conceive of the nobleft Being 
 that is. In thefe Expreflions there is that 
 natural and unlaboured^ yet great and noble 
 simplicity ^ vih.\c\i JurpaJJeth the Refinements 
 of Siile and ambitious Ornaments of profane 
 Writers : Juft as there is a native Beauty 
 in tTie Lily, which our heavenly Father has 
 ekathed ; that exceeded the artificial Pride 
 of Drefs, in which Solomon appeared, ivhe7i 
 arrayed in all his Glory. Such Thoughts 
 are enobled by themfelves, and dignified 
 by their own inward Merit, v/ithout any 
 need of external Pomp to embellifh them. 
 At other Times the facred Writers deliver 
 themfelves with all the Heightnings of Ora- 
 tory, as particularly yob^ when he is de- 
 fcribing the infinite Power of God, and St. 
 Faul, when he is fetting forth the Love 
 of the Deity manifefted in the Redemption 
 of Man : Not that they affected Eloquence; 
 but when the Spirit of God came upon them, 
 and impregnated their Minds with great 
 Ideas; they naturally broke out into fuch 
 lofty and correfpondingExpreflions, as might 
 be a proper Clothing for their Thoughts: As 
 when our Saviour was transiigured, and his 
 Face {hone as the Sun; his Raiment too be- 
 came as white as Snow. 
 
 That 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs 8cc. 173 
 
 That the Heavejis declare the Glory (?/"Serm.VL 
 Gcd^ and the Firmament P^eweth his Handy- 
 
 ivorky &c. That he that made the Eye^ 
 
 JJjall he not fee ? He that planted the Ear ^ 
 
 J]:all he not hear ? &c. That the Heaven, 
 
 a?2d the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain 
 Gody much lefs the Temple built by Sg^ 
 lomon. That the Deity wields and go- 
 verns the whole Expanfe of the material 
 Creation as a very little Thijig^ as the Drop 
 of a Bucket J or the Dujl of the Balance ; 
 and that he can turn the Hearts of the 
 whole ifjtellcBual World, as the Heart of 
 one Man. — Thefe, with feveral others, are 
 PafTages which would be highly admired 
 in a ClaJJic Writer; but, unhappily for them^ 
 they are read with Coldnefs and Indifference; 
 becaufe they are in a Book, which it is too 
 fafhionable to depreciate. For though Men 
 pretend to think for themfelves ; yet not 
 one in a thoufand does fo ; no not even 
 in judging of Books : They are governed 
 by no fixed Standard in the Judgments 
 which they form; but applaud or condemn 
 according to the prevailing Mode and 
 Fafliion of the Age, in which they live. 
 Otherwife, Mofes^ the Author of 'Job, Da- 
 vidy Ifaiahy and St. Paul would have had 
 
 as 
 
174 ^^^ intrinjic Excellency 
 
 Skrm.vi. as many Admirers as Readers ; Authors, 
 who feem to have imitated none before 
 them J and whom none after them have 
 been able to imitate, or reach their fublime 
 Strains of Eloquence. 
 
 Thofe Authors in dead Languages, who 
 are looked upon as the vao^ finijlded Models 
 of good Writing, would fufFer fo much 
 by a literal Verfion, that we fhould not have 
 the Patience to perufe them with Attention ; 
 yet the Scriptures have been rendered Word 
 for Word with the moft fcrupulous Exadt- 
 nefs : And if, notwithflanding this, they 
 defervedly claim our higheft Admiration ; 
 it is a Proof that they have in them that 
 Energy of Beauty, which no Drefs, how- 
 foe ver difadvantageous, can intirely conceal 
 or disfigure. They muft have that Jolid 
 Senfe and Stib/iance, which, like true Goldy 
 can never be lojl or evaporate, however 
 melted down and diffolved; but ftill retains 
 lis former Weight. Some Writers may have 
 painted Things more finely and delicately than 
 they have done : But none have imaged 
 them io firongly and nervoufy. 
 
 Obferve, what a wide Difference there 
 is between two PalTages in the Pfalms, and 
 in Plato on the fame Subjed. That, which 
 
 is 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proof &c. 175 
 
 js in Plato y is as follows : *' Though you Serm.vt. 
 " could fink into the deepcft Caverns of 
 " the Earth, though you had Wings and 
 " could fly up to the Heights of Heaven > 
 ** M^hether you continue in this World, or 
 " remove to Hell, or to fome Place more 
 ** terrible; the Divine Providence would 
 " feize you every where*.'* Thus the 
 great Plato^ who confelTedly wrote with 
 the nobleft Elevation of Thought on divine 
 Subjects: But how infinitely fhort doth 
 this fall of that PafTage in the Pfalms which 
 he feems to have had in View ? Whither 
 foall I go then from thy Spirit ^ or whither 
 fiall I go then from thy Prefence ? If I 
 climb up into Heaven, thou art there 5 If^ I 
 go down to Hell, thou art there alfo : If' I 
 take the Wings of the Mornings and remain 
 in the utter mojl Parts of the Sea ; even there 
 alfo thy Hafid Jhall lead fne, aiid thy right 
 Handjhall hold me. If Ifay^ per adventure 
 the Darknefs Jhall cover me ; then fiall my 
 Night be turned to Day : Tea, the Dark- 
 nefs is no Darknefs with thee ; but the Night 
 is as clear as the Day : The Darhiefs and 
 Light to thee are both alike, 
 
 • Plato de Lcgibus. Lib. II. 
 
 If 
 
176 The intriiijic Excellency 
 
 Serm.VI. If Flato imitated the Pfalmift, his Copy 
 is unequal to the Original: It is like zfecon^ 
 dary Rainbow, the faint ReJJeBion of the 
 Jirft', where, though the Colours be agree- 
 able, yet they are not fo lively, glowing 
 and diftindl, as they are at frjl Hand in 
 that, which compajfeth the Heaven with a 
 glorious Circle, and which the Hands of the 
 Mo/i High have bended. 
 
 Pretender^ to a fine Tafte may extol that 
 PafTagc in Virgil, where he fays, * Night 
 involved in its Shade Heaven and Earth 
 and the Frauds of the Grecians-, who are 
 not affedled by a much nobler Beauty, 
 though of the fame kind in the Pfalmifl, 
 viz. God jiilleth the raging of the Sea, and 
 the Noife of his Waves, and the Madnefs of 
 the People f In both Places, there is an 
 unforced and unafFed:ed, yet a ftriking and 
 furprizing Affemblage of Ideas. In the 
 former, Heaven, Earth and the Frauds of 
 the Grecians ; in the latter, the Raging of 
 the Sea and the Madnefs of the People, 
 are naturally, yet unexpectedly put together. 
 But the latter PalTage, befides this Beauty, 
 is recommended by the noble Sentiment, 
 
 which 
 
 Involvens umbra terramque, polumque, 
 
 MyriTiidonuinque dolos.— — — firgiUi uiimidos Lib. II. 
 
of the Scriptures y a Proofs Sec. 177 
 
 which it conveys. The wifefl Statefmen,SERM.vr. 
 when the Populace is in a Ferment ; jufl 
 as the ableft Pilots, when the Sea rageth, 
 are at a Lofs what to do ; they reel to and 
 J'rOj a7id fi agger like a drwiken Mnn^ and 
 are at their JVifs End: And he alone, 
 who can fay to the tempeftuous Deep, here 
 ffmll thy proud Wave i bejlayed^ can alone ftill 
 the Madnefs of an incenfed People, and fay, 
 Hitherto flmll you come^ and no further. 
 
 Something Hiould be added concerning 
 that a.ffeBionate Matiner^ in which thefe 
 Truths are conveyed. When the Heart 
 does not didlate to the Head ; whatever is 
 faid generally evaporates in empty Specu- 
 lation i the Notions only hover in the 
 Brain, without influencing the Will. But 
 when an Author writes from the Heart, 
 the Reader catches the Flame from the 
 Writer, and feels his Breaft glow with the 
 fame generous Ardor. Take one Inflance 
 of this, out of many, from Ifaiah : Zion 
 faidy the Lord hath fcrfaken me, and my 
 Lord hath forgotten me. Can a Woman 
 forget her fucking Child ^ that fie J]:ould not 
 have Conipajjion on the Son of her Womb ^ 
 Yea, they may forget ; yet lanll I not for- 
 get thee. It is thus, that God fignifies his 
 
 Vol. IL N ten- 
 
1 7 S The inl?'i?2jtc Excellency 
 
 Sbrm.vi. tender Love in the mod endearing and ex'- 
 prefTive Terms, which Language can fur- 
 nifb. O'bferve how the Pfalmift defcribes 
 Godj as that fovereign Good, on whom we 
 ought to center our Afte(5tions, and re- 
 pofe our Confidence : Whom have I in 
 Heave?! but thee? and there is none upon 
 Earth that I defire in Comparifon of thee : 
 My Fiefi and my Heart faileth -, but God 
 is the Strength of jny Heart and my Portion 
 for ever : Words forcible enough, one 
 would almofl: think, to invigorate the Soul 
 under all the Decays of the Body, and to 
 fufpend the Pains of the Dying. The 
 Scriptures, unlike fome Books which are 
 written upon the Being of God, in a cold 
 unaffedting Manner > at the fame Time that 
 they convey Light to the Underftanding, 
 powerfully inflame the Will, and touch the 
 inmoft Springs of the Soul. 
 
 Few or none have ever wrote worthily 
 of that great Being, roho fpake and it ^ivas 
 donc^ ivho cojnmanded and it flood fajl -, but 
 thofe, who have derived their Sentiments 
 from the Fund of the Scriptures, and bor^ 
 rowed that Fire from Heaven^ which arii" 
 mated their Writings: Which Confidera- 
 jion would incline one to think, that he who 
 
 ia 
 
of the Scnptttres^ a Proof Sec. 179 
 is the Subject of thefe elevated Thoughts Serm.VL 
 in the facred Pages, is the Author of them 
 too. 
 
 As to the Glories of God and of ano- 
 ther World, I may venture to fay, that 
 the iit?7w/i Stretch of human Thciight 
 could never reach fo far ; and the titmofi 
 Force of ExpreJJion cannot reach farther, 
 than the infpired Writers have done. And 
 could one Book be produced before the 
 Date of Chriftianity, where every Perfec- 
 tion of the Deity is difplayed in fuch a 
 nerijous Energy of Thought ; and every 
 Branch of Morality is fet forth in fuch a 
 plain Familiarity of Style -, where the 
 Terms of our Salvation are fo punctually 
 afcertained, as they arc in the Scripture; 
 Then fome Perfons would have fome Co- 
 lour of Reafon to difparage Revelation. 
 But the Enemies of Chriftianity know this 
 to be impoffible : They know it contains 
 jlronger Motives to true Holinefs, than any 
 Religion before had\ and as f.ro?ig as any 
 other can have : They know, that fecure in 
 its own genuine Charms, it fears no Rival 
 to eclipfe, and needs no Foil io fet off its fu^ 
 perior Beauties. 
 
 N 4 The 
 
i8o l^he intrinfic Excellency 
 
 Ser.m.vi. The Poiver, Wifdom and Goodiicfs of 
 our Creator may be demon ft rated by nu- 
 merous and Inconteftable Arguments from 
 the Creatio?!. But one may look long 
 enough into the C7'eation^ and confider it 
 throughout, before one can deduce one 
 Argument from thence to prove, what 
 Mankind moft wants to have proved, hia 
 Mercy to repenting Criminals^ What iig- 
 nifieth it to prove God's Goodnefs to the 
 World in gencraly without proving, that 
 he will be good to us Men^ to (what we 
 all are) miferable Shiners f Arguments of 
 God's clear and unmixed Mercy to penitent 
 Offenders, there can be none from Matter 
 of FaB^ if we fet the Scriptures alide ; 
 Arguments from Metaphyfics are very in- 
 concluiive ; but if they were not fo, they 
 are too abftraded to make any ftrong and 
 durable Imprcffion upon fuch Beings as we 
 are : One exprefs and authentic Declaration 
 from God himfeli v^ould be of more Weight, 
 than a thoufand fiiie-fpun ConjeBures with-, 
 out it. Accordingly the God of the Chri- 
 flians is not merely our Creator and Prefer- 
 ver^ a Being of inexhauftible Power and 
 unfathomable Wifdom j he is a pod of 
 Mercy and Comfort^ who is not willing that 
 
 any 
 
vf the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 1 8 1 
 
 atjy JJjoiiId perifi\ who pit ieth iis^ as a Fa-^R^^i-^'^- 
 ther pitieth his own Children^ who healeth the 
 broken-hearted, who refcueth us from the 
 Bondage of Corruption by his Grace, and re- 
 dcemeth us from the Fiinijhmcnt of it by his 
 ■Merits. Such a God we fin ful Creatures 
 wanted ; and fuch a God the Scriptures, 
 which are exadly adapted to our NeceCities, 
 have reprefented him to us. 
 
 No Religion whatever hath given us a 
 
 clearer Infight into both the Dignity and 
 
 Meannefs of our Nature. The fame facred 
 
 Writings, which inform us, that wc were 
 
 made in the Image of our Creator, and that 
 
 we fliall be hereafter Hiirs with him, with 
 
 fevcral oiher Coniiuerations very proper to 
 
 beset in us an ^."'"^^ittov of ad:in? up to the 
 
 Dignitv or our Natuie, and to fpirit up 
 
 the moil low and grovelling Minds-, the fame 
 
 facred Writings teach us that ^)ve can do 
 
 nothing: of ourlelves without the Grace of 
 
 God co-operating with us, that nothing but 
 
 the Merits of our Saviour can entitle us to 
 
 any Rewards, vvith feveral other Refled:ions 
 
 proper to prefer ve in our Minds a Senfe of 
 
 our Dependence, and to humble the moft 
 
 haughty and infolent. Thus the Chriftian 
 
 Religion, which giveth us the moft amia- 
 
 N 3 ble 
 
1 82 "The mtrmfic Excellency 
 
 5F.RM.vi.bIe as well as auguft and awful Ideas of our 
 'Creator, difplays at once the bright and 
 dark Side of human Nature, the one to arii- 
 mate the 'Endeavours of the Good^ and the 
 other to damp the Prefumptions of the Vai?i. 
 But this brings me, 
 
 \\dly\ To confider the intrinfic Excellen- 
 cy of the Scripture as to the Plan of Mora- 
 lity, which is laid down there, together 
 with the Motives and Encouragements by 
 which it has fupported and enforced that 
 Plan. 
 
 The Scriptures have taken care to lay 
 down fuch pregnant Truths, as are big with 
 feveral others, and fruitful in their Confe- 
 quences. Of this Nature is the Precept 
 about loving God with all our Strength : 
 Of this Nature likewife is that about loving 
 our Neighbours as curfelves -, or what is 
 much the fame, that we fhould do to others, 
 what we fhould judge reaionable others 
 fhould do to us, if we were in their Cafe. 
 This iafl Precept is fufficient to determine 
 all Cafes of focial Morality 5 it being the 
 Foundation of Honefly, Equity, Mercy, 
 and Charity. It is a Duty incumbent upon 
 us to flore our Underflanding with fuch 
 
 lead- 
 
\ 
 
 * 
 
 of the Scriptures, a Proofs 6cc. 1 13 
 hading Truths; becaufe fuch great Truths Serm.VI. 
 come as it were in State to the Underftand- 
 in"", waited upon by a numerous Retinue 
 of inferior dependent Truths: Like the Sun 
 attended by a large Train of Planets, which 
 are fubordinate to him, and receive their 
 Light from him. 
 
 The Scriptures have been very full in 
 pointing out every Duty in general: Be- 
 caufe corrupt human Nature is very back- 
 ward in tracing out and difcovering Duties. 
 But they have not pointed out each Limi- 
 t-atim of our Duty j Becaufe corrupt Na^ 
 ture is very ingenious^ and not at all reltic- 
 tant to do that Office. It is rather apt to 
 make Limitations^ where there are none^ 
 than not to find them where they really 
 are. It was not fo much the Defign of 
 Revelation pundually and exadtly to fix the 
 theory of Morality, as to engage our 
 Hearts to the PraBi-ce of it by the mbft 
 powerful and afifecfting Confiderations. And 
 that may be one Reafon, why it often refts 
 in Generals^ without defcending to minute 
 Particularities. For if our Hearts be not 
 engaged in favour of Virtue, \\. will be of 
 no Avail to have each minute Particularity 
 of Duty adju/ied. We lliall break tlirough 
 N4 it, 
 
184 'The intrmjic Excelle?tcy 
 
 SERM.vi.it, however minutely and particularly it is 
 laid before us. A general Knowledge of 
 his Duty is fiifficient to him, whofe Heart 
 is right ', and all the particular Unfoldings 
 of it will be of little Signijicancy to him, 
 whole Heart is not fo. 
 
 God, who knew what was in Man, and 
 has faited his Revelation to our Exigencies ; 
 has taken mofl care to fupply us with that, 
 which was mojt wanted : And therefore the 
 Scriptures are mojl full, explicit, and par- 
 ticular, as to thofe Branches of Morality, 
 to which our Nature was moJl averfe. And 
 though fome complain that the Bible is not 
 clear and determinate e?iough as to certain 
 Points J yet, if I miftake not, the main 
 Quarrel againfl it is, that it is too clear and 
 determinate in enjoining certain Duties, and 
 forbidding certain Vices j as to which they 
 could have willied to have been left more 
 at large. It cramps their Freedom of 
 Action, and will not give certain importu- 
 nate Paffions their full Scope. It is there 
 that the main Strefs is laid upon thofe Vir- 
 tues, in which the Heathen World were 
 moftly or entirely defective, fuch as the Love 
 of God with all our Heart, univerfal Be- 
 vplence, the Forgivenefs of our Enemies, 
 
 Meek- 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs 6cc. 185 
 Meekncfs, Long-fufFering, the flriaefl: Pu- Serm.VI. 
 rity and Chaftity. One diftinguiihing Ex-' ' ^^ 
 cellency is, that it guards againfl the Hopes 
 of compenfating foi the habitual Breach of 
 one Commandment, by tne Obl'civance of 
 others. For it informs us, that ho, who 
 habitually and deliberately offends in one 
 Pointy does not perform any Duty out of 
 a fincere Regard to God, the only true 
 Principle of Virtue ; a very great Truth, 
 but unknown to the Gentile V/riters. There 
 was no fnch Thing in the Pagan World, 
 as a rational and determii'.ate Scheme of 
 wor (hipping God in Spirit and in 'Truth , 
 and no fuch Duty enjoined, as Humility in 
 its full Latitude. No fuch Precept occurs 
 in Heathen Writers, as that we fliould give 
 Alms in fee ret \ that our Father which feet h 
 in jecrei, may reward us openly. And yet 
 this is the mod fubflantial Teft of genuine 
 Virtue. For we ought to be jealous of 
 thofe {hining Qualities, which draw upon 
 us the Admiration of the World, fuch as 
 Generofity, Valour, &c, becaufe we are 
 often aduatec: to the Difplay of them by a 
 Principle of Vain-Glory : But the Per- 
 formance of good Actions in private, when 
 the Stream of our Goodnefs runs under 
 
 Ground, 
 
1 86 Tlje intrinjic Excellency 
 
 Serm.vi. Ground, ftands clear of all finlfter Views, 
 and can only be refolved into a Principle 
 of pleafing our Maker. 
 
 Before the Appearance of Chriftlanity, 
 the World had narrowed their Notions of 
 Love, and confined it to the Pale of their 
 Friends, Relations, and Country. A mo- 
 ral Writer of the mofl: extenfive Views, 
 even Socrates himfelf expreffeth himfelf 
 thus : " Vv'^hen the Grecians and Barbari- 
 *' ajis fight one againft the other, this is 
 " properly called Fighting : For they are 
 " Enemies by Nature. But if Grecians^ 
 *' that are Friends by Nature, quarrel with 
 '' one another, this is an unnatural Dif- 
 " temper*." Thus Socrates recommend- 
 ed an Attachment to his own Country, ex- 
 clufively of the reft of Mankind, againft 
 whom he makes a Stat€ of Enmity to be 
 natural. But Chriftianity has enlarged the 
 Sphere of our AfFecftions, as well as opened 
 a wider Field of Truth for the Underftand- 
 ing; and enjoined a Love, as extenfive as 
 the Light of the Sun, and as ac^live as its 
 Heat. Then our Affedions are prejudicial, 
 when like the Sun-Beams, colled:ed in a 
 burning Glafs, they centre in one Point ; 
 
 when 
 
 • Plato de Repuh. Lib. V. 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 187 
 
 when they are widely diffufed, they chearSERM.VL 
 and refrelh all Nature. Chriitianity has' 
 taught us to love every one, but to dread 
 no Man whatever : At the fame Time, 
 that it cheriflieth every manly, noble, and 
 exalted Principle, of which human Nature 
 is capable ; it fliuts out every little, fervile, 
 and illibe-ral Pafhon. A Love fo extenfive 
 was fit to be enjoined by that Being, who 
 is Love itfelf and has in him the Fulnefs of 
 every amiable Perfedion. 
 
 Whereas other Writers took Things in 
 too high a Key, and were proud to foar 
 above the Level of common. Apprehen- 
 iions ; the infpired Writers (loop to the 
 loweft Capacities, at the fame Time, that 
 they enlighten the highefl. Of which the 
 Parables of the uncompajfionate Servant, 
 of the Samaritan^ of the prodigal Son, of 
 the poor Man's Eit'^ Lamby of the Vine- 
 yard in Ifaiahy of the barren Tree which 
 cumbered the Ground-, are fo many beau- 
 tiful Inflances. We view moral Truths 
 through the Veil of Allegories and Para- 
 bles ; like fo many Pidures through a 
 tranfparent Glafs, v^hich covers, but does 
 not hide them. Some of the mofl impor- 
 tant fpiritual Sentiments, as particularly in 
 
 the 
 
1 8 8 The intrinjic 'Excellency 
 
 Serm.vi. the elegant Parables of the Tares, are made 
 eafy to us by the moft familiar fenfible Imges. 
 Thus does Truths like the great Author of 
 it, ftand confelTed in a vifibie Shape, receive, 
 as it were, a Body, and become, if I may 
 ufe the Expreffion, incarnate. 
 
 From thefe few Stridlures on the Plan 
 of Morality contained in the Scripture, I 
 proceed to what was the principal Inten- 
 tion of the facred Writers, the Enforce- 
 ment of Morality by proper Sandlions and 
 Encouragements. 
 
 The infpired Penmen have placed Vir- 
 tue on its true Foundation, not upon any 
 prefent Complacency, not upon any low 
 temporal Motives of Convenic?2cy j but upon 
 heavenly Views, upon the Will of God as 
 our 'Judge and Rewardjr, To follow Vir- 
 tue difintereftedlyy without any Regard to 
 our Happi/iefs here or hereafter, is to pur- 
 fue it as an empty Idea, and not as a fub- 
 Jiantial Good. To love it for the Sake of 
 ptrf.mt Pleafiire and Happinefs, will never 
 induce an effedual Obligation j becaufe" 
 Virtue and Pleafure do not always coincide ; 
 and becaufe that reflex A<51 of the Mind, by 
 which it applauds itfelf, when it has 'en- 
 tertained a generous Sentiment, or done a 
 
 noble 
 
of the Sc?'iptu?'eSy a Proofs Sec. 189 
 noble Adion, is cafily over-ruled and dif-SERM.VI. 
 abled by the urgent Solicitation of any 
 boillerous and craving Paflion, and by any 
 uncommon Diftrefs and Ang^uifli. Fine 
 uninterefting Ideas of Virtue, even in a 
 Soil fufceptible of them, which fome Soils 
 are noty jiourijh as a Flower of the Field : 
 Which, however delicate and beautiful 
 the Leaves may be, as foo?i as the Wind 
 (any flrong tempeftuous Wind) goeth over 
 it, is gone, and the Place thereof, for a 
 Time, hioijoeth it no more. Befides, whe- 
 ther of the two ads upon nobler Principles, 
 the Man, who cultivates Virtue for the 
 rejlex Approbation of his own Mind, or 
 he who pra<5tifeth it for the unerring Ap- 
 probation of his Maker t The Man, who 
 loves Goodnefs for a much lower, becaufe 
 prefent, Confideratlon, viz, the Pleafure 
 immediately confequent to a good Adlion ; 
 or he, who commands a more fpacious 
 Frofpedi, has more open and extended 
 Views, and looks beyond this tranfient 
 Scene of Things, to that Fulnefs of 'Joy, 
 which is at God's right Hand for ever- 
 more f 
 
 Be * that as it will, an exceeding and 
 eternal Weight of Glory will turn the 
 
 Scales, 
 
iQO The intrinfic Excellency 
 
 SrRM.Vl. Scales, and preponderate in all Cafes In 
 Favour of Morality : But weigh a cold 
 unafFedino; Thought about abil:ra<5t Fit- 
 neiies, and the Lovelinefs of Order, againft 
 the Ib'ong PrefTure of incumbent Mifery ; 
 and it will be found wanting^ lighter tha?i 
 Vanity^ and nothing in Comparifon. God 
 defigned the World in general fhould be 
 governed by Morality, and not only a/fw 
 national Men, fond of Refinements, who 
 may be fo enamoured of Virtue, as to 
 think it needs no Reward, but itfelf j nor 
 Vice any Punifhment, but its own natural 
 ill Confequences. And what God defigned 
 for the Grofs of the Species, that he has 
 enforced by fuch fnbjiantial Rewards and 
 Punidiments, as may intcrejl all the Powers 
 of a Soul deeply immerj'ed in Matter-, 
 and not by fuch airy n^ifionary Notions, as 
 fcem to be calculated for quite another Or- 
 der of Beings. And this is one great Proof 
 of the Excellency of Chrifiianity, that it 
 can appeal to the common Senfe of Man- 
 kind : " Handle me and fee y the refined 
 " Schemes, which are fet up in oppofition 
 *' to me, have not that Subftance and Soli- 
 ** dity, ivhich yc fee me have." Thofe fine- 
 fpun Notions may afford Entertainment to 
 
 fpecidative 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 191 
 
 fpeculative Men in their Clofets-, but thcSERw.VL 
 Chrillian Dodlrlne of a future State, is the 
 only one that can be of any JJfc in co?n??wn 
 Life, conveying to us the flrongeft Ideas 
 of that Mifery, to which the Bad will be 
 configned i and of that Happinefs, to which 
 the Good will be admitted. 
 
 Eye hath not feen, ?ior Ear heard^ nei- 
 ther hath entered into the Heart of Man to 
 ccriceii^e the Things that God hath prepared 
 for theniy that h've him. In which Words 
 there is, as a great Writer * obferveth, a 
 very beautiful Gradation of Thought. 
 Great, fplendid, and numerous are the 
 Objeds, which thS Eye hath feen : Yet 
 the Ear may hear far more than one Man's 
 Eye hath feen, by an enlarged Converfa- 
 tion with thofe who have read and tra- 
 velled : But though a greater Variety of 
 Objeds may gain. Admittance to the Mind 
 through this Entrance, than through that 
 of the Eye; yet ftill it enters into the 
 Heart of Man to conceive or imagine far 
 more glorious Things, than even the Ear 
 has heard. A fprightly, adventurous, and 
 inventive Imagination painfs Objeils lar- 
 ger than the Original, and forms what vi- 
 
 lionary 
 
 • Sec Dr. C/arkis podhumous Sermons, Vol. II, 
 
192 The intrinfic Excellency 
 
 SERM.VI.fionary Scenes it pleafes within. But ftill 
 thofe Things, which God has prepared for 
 them that love him, as much exceed the 
 Heightnings of a pregnant Fancy, and the 
 ro man tick Profpeds of Blifs, which it can 
 enter into the Heart of Man to conceive ; 
 as the Conceptions of the Heart, and the 
 Powers of a luxuriant Imagination furpafs 
 the Seeing of the Eye, and the Hearing of 
 the Ear. 
 
 Again St. 'John tells us, we JJ?all be like 
 God : For we fball fee him, as he is. That 
 is, the feeing of God as he is in his own 
 Nature, the diredl Knowledge of the So- 
 vereign Good, and the Emanations of Hap- 
 pinefs from him immediately, (for to fee 
 God as he is, does not fignify merely to 
 contemplate his Nature) will fo entirely 
 fill the Compafs of the Soul,' and engrofs 
 all her Powers, that having no Room to 
 entertain ignoblcr Objeds, which might 
 tempt her to Vice, fhe mufl become, in 
 fome degree, unalterably like her Creator 
 in Goodnefs by a moral Neceflity. Plea- 
 fu7'e and Virtue, which here often draw 
 different Ways, will hereafter unite their 
 Forces, and ad in friendly Concert. This 
 Thought is the Thought of an unlettered 
 
 Writer J 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 1:93 
 
 Writer; yet it is a Thought fo rational, Se^m.VL 
 as well as elevated ; that it would be a 
 vain Attempt to ftrive to equal it from 
 Writers before him of the moft diftinguilhed 
 Abilities and clofeft Application. 
 
 Let us fcan over the brighteft x'\uthor3 
 of Antiquity, let us point out the Mafter- 
 Strokes of thofe Authors when they are 
 inculcating Benevolence : Yet where can 
 we find fo bright a Defcription of Bene- 
 volence or Charity, as there is in St. Pr.ul's 
 xiiith Chapter of his firft Epiflle to the 
 Corinthians ; or fo noble an Incitement to 
 it, as there is in thefe Words, Chai'ity ne- 
 ver faileth ^ i. e. The fame Principle of 
 univerfal Love to Mankind, which repeated 
 A(5ts of Goodnefs beget in us here, will 
 beautify, enlarge, and ennoble the Soul to 
 all Eternity. 
 
 Not all the Writings of Philofophers 
 can give a dying Man, juft upon the 
 Threfliold of another World, half that 
 well-grounded Comfort and rational AfTu- 
 rance of being happy, as may be derived 
 from four or five Lines of St. 'John^ "cizt 
 That hefaw in Heaven a great Multitude^ 
 not to be numbered^ of all Nations-, Tribes, 
 and Pcopky and TongiicSy jlanding before 
 
 Vol. n. O ihc 
 
1 94 ^'^^ intrlnfic Excellency 
 
 sUm.VL f he Tbrone and before the Lamb, clothed in 
 white Robes y with Palms (the Enfigns of 
 Victory) in their Hands j and the Praifes 
 cf God and the Lamb in their Mouths, 
 For from hence we may learn, what Rea- 
 fon could never prove, that not only the 
 fuperior Few, Men of the moft advanced 
 Virtue, Saints and Apoftles ; but an in- 
 numerable Multitude, the undijliiiguijked 
 Many, undiftinguifhed by any extraordi- 
 nary Degree of Holinefs, fliall be Par- 
 takers of thofe pure and unmixed Joys, 
 which are fuitable to glorified Souls adting 
 in glorified Bodies, which will enlarge our 
 Faculties, fatisfy our Defires, and tranfcend 
 our Expe<5tations. 
 
 And indeed we may obferve, that, when- 
 ever the Scriptures draw back the Veil, and 
 difplay to our View any thing concerning 
 another World ; they do not do it to /well 
 and puff up the Soul with lifelefs Specula- 
 tions, with unconcerning, though ingenious 
 and curious Notions j but to Jill the Mind 
 with ii-utfub/iantial Knowledge, that may- 
 make us wife unto Salvation : V^hich makes 
 them, though not the moft iine-fpun, yet 
 the moft ufeful, and confequently the heft 
 Scheme of Metaphyfics that ever was ad- 
 vanced. Thus 
 
 4 
 
of th2 Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 195 
 
 Thus when the facred Writings defcribc Serm.vl 
 the thoiifandsy thoiifands that fiand b'^fore 
 God, and the t6n thoiifand times ten thou- 
 fand that minifter tmto him ; could a Man 
 of the largeft Compafs of Thought have 
 found a nobler Employment for thofc Be- 
 ings, as well as more inftrudlive to us, 
 than to reprefent them as taking a gene- 
 rous and difinterefted Complacency in the 
 Redemption and Happinefs of their Fellow- 
 Creatures ; praifmg God, and faying. Glory 
 be to God in the higheji, and on Earth 
 Peace, Good- will towards Men ? And in 
 another Place, not like us, valuing them- 
 felves, and defpifing others -, not dazzled 
 with the Luflre of their own Excellencies, 
 but afcribing all Glory, and Honour, and 
 Power to him alone who is the Source 
 of whatever is lovely, great, and gloriouSj 
 cajling down their Crowns before the Throne 
 of God, gii)ing Glory and Honour ajid Power 
 to Him alone ^ Rev. iv. lo, ir. Great 
 and marvellous are thy Works, Lord God 
 Almighty ; juji and true are thy Ways, then 
 King of Sai?its ! They (liew us, that to 
 Creatures admitted to a conflant and imme-^ 
 diate Attendance on God, every Thing 
 muft appear little , but God himfdf ; that 
 
 O % th« 
 
196 T'he intrmftc Excellency 
 
 SERM.vi.the Lnjlre of the greatcj}. created Being 
 'mufl vanifh and be loft in the Prefence of 
 Him, from whom it borrows its Luftre. 
 
 Contemplative Perfons may value fomt 
 
 Branches of Knowledge, juft as feveral 
 
 Men do fome kinds of Food^ merely be- 
 
 caufe they are rare and uncommon, not be- 
 
 caufe they zvq fuhfiantialy ncimfiing, and 
 
 ivholfome. Their Difficulty and Obfcurity, 
 
 not their Serviceablenefs to the World, 
 
 ftamps a Value upon them. And their 
 
 Heads may refemble thofe Cabinets, which 
 
 are flored with tifclefs RaritieSy and curious 
 
 Trifles, fit for Sheiv and Oftentation, but 
 
 not for any I'aluable Purpofes of Life. 
 
 But the Scriptures, though they open and 
 
 enlarge the Mind, and give it the moft 
 
 comprehenfive Views 5 yet feldom fay any 
 
 Thing to inform the Head, which has not 
 
 a Tendency to awaken and penetrate the 
 
 Heart: They feldom gratify our mei^e 
 
 Curioiity, or make us wifer and more 
 
 knowings but in order to make us better^ 
 
 which is indeed the only true Wifdom. 
 
 No Well meaning Pcrfon even in low 
 Life ever applied himfelf to the reading of 
 the Scriptures with the fame Diligence, 
 Care, and Attention, which he bellowed 
 
 upon 
 
of the Scj^iptureSy a Proofs 6cc. 197 
 
 upon Things of lefs Confequence ; butSERM.Vi. 
 he gathered from thence as much falutary 
 and practical Knowledge, as would con- 
 duct him Hifely in the Way to everlafling 
 Life. Though the ftudious and the thought- 
 ful may by an unwearied Application dif- 
 cover feveral fpecidative Truths which are 
 ?iot there j yet thofe Truths are only like 
 thofe Stars^ which are defcried by the 
 Help of Telefcopes : They have no more 
 ufejul Light to guide their Feet, and dired: 
 their Steps in their Journey through this 
 World, than thofe, who have made no fuch 
 Difcoveries. 
 
 There is no material D'efed: in a State 
 of Nature, when Men had only the Light 
 of unaflifted Reafon, but what is fupplied 
 to a Tittle by a State of Grace, by the 
 Chriftian Difpenfation. Were Men, for 
 Inftance, at a lofs to afcertain from un- 
 enlightened Reafon the Acceptablenefs of/ 
 their Repentance, and a Fulnefs of Par- 
 don thereupon -, Chriftianity has fully fet 
 before us the Terms of our Salvation : 
 We have there a Mediator, who hath 
 borne our Sins, the properefl Perfon to ad- 
 juft: the Difference between the jarring 
 Q 3 Claims 
 
19^ The intrinjic Excellency 
 
 $ERM. VI. Claims of Juftlce and Goodnefs. Did we 
 'want a dilHn<5t Account of Rewards and 
 Punishments -, of their Degree and Dura- 
 tion ? It gives us awakening Notices of ano- 
 ther World, and whatever was proper to 
 inilrucTb our Reafon, as well as to engage 
 our Hopes and alariii our P'eiirs. Did we 
 want forae f.xed and determinate Rule of 
 Worfhip to prevent the endlefs Sallies of 
 human Fancy ? There we are taught each 
 Particular of a manly and rational Worfhip; 
 we are invited by the Promifes of divine 
 Affiftance, and emboldened by the Inter- 
 ceflion of a divine Mediator to have Accefs 
 to the Throne of Grace. 
 
 It is well v/orth our while, as it will 
 give us the greater Value for Chriftianity, to 
 obferve, that in thefe, as well as other In- 
 flances', wherever the Light of Reafo?ij as 
 
 ■ having no fure Frinciples to carry it far* 
 ther, v/as forced to leave a Blanks the 
 Light of the Gofpel has been very exad: in 
 
 filling up the void Space. Where human 
 Sagacity might indeed begin to build, but 
 v/as not able to finifh after the utmoft Ex- 
 pence of Thought, there Revelation has 
 fupplied it with Materials to complete the 
 Striiclure. Thus do our Wants in a State 
 
 of 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 199 
 
 of Nature, and our Supplies in a State ofSERM.vr. 
 Revelation, exadly tally and correfpond. 
 And from hence we may infer, that, who- 
 ever is ^.Jjncere natural Religionift, cannot 
 be far from the Kingdom of Heaven^ is 
 clmojl a Chriftian already ; and will be foon, 
 if he continues unprejudiced, altogether fo. 
 For he, who \% fine ere ly dejirous io know 
 and do the Will of God, muft heartily wifh 
 he had better Helps, than natural Religion 
 affords, to compafs this End. He muft 
 think, that God's infinite Goodnefs would, 
 at fome peculiar Grids of Time, when he 
 faw the Advantages arifing from it would 
 overbalance the Jnconveniencies, grant Man- 
 kind, by a Notification of his Will, fome 
 full and exprefs Allurances of what belongs fo 
 their Peace, of Things of infinite Concern- 
 ment. And when he examines all the 
 different Pretenfions to Revelation, he will 
 find none, that can come into Competition 
 with the Chrijlian-y which alone contains 
 whatever is excellent in natural Religion, 
 and has befides grafted upon it feveral rich 
 and falutary Fruits of its own Gi^owth^ 
 which Reafon muft ever thankfully adopt. 
 For natural Religion neither proves the Sin- 
 cerity or unallayed Nature of Happinefs 
 O 4 here- 
 
2 GO l^he mtri?tfic Excellency 
 
 SzRM.Vi. hereafter, nor the Degree nor the Dura-^ 
 tion of it : Nor can it be determined by 
 Reafon, whether our future Happinefs or 
 Mifery would be finally decided by an irre- 
 vocable Sentence, according to our De- 
 portment here J or whether, after the Clofe 
 of this Life we might not pafs through fe- 
 veral intermediate States of Probation, be- 
 fore a decifive and irreverfible Judgment 
 was palled upon us. But Revelation affures 
 us, that the Condition of our Exiftence 
 here, hov/ever inconfiderable it may feem 
 in itjelf ahJlraBedly from a future State, is 
 infinitely confiderable in its Confeqiiences — 
 that he, that lives and dies righteous^ will 
 he righteous Jiill; and He, that dies JUthy, 
 will be Jilthy Jlill, Rev. xxii. ii, 12. 
 Death fetting as it were a kind of Seal up- 
 on the State of the Soul — that the Wicked 
 mufl be finally fevered from the Good — • 
 that in Heaven there is no Poflibility of 
 falling away from Goodnefs, and in Hell 
 no Room for Amendment. For then God's 
 Grace will be withheld, and Virtue, when 
 every Spark of it is extindt, is only, like 
 the Veftal Fire, to be rekindled by a Beam 
 from Heaven, 
 
 Sd 
 
of the Scriptures^ a 'Proofs 8cc. 201 
 
 So far was Chriftianity from narrowing Serm.VI. 
 our Views, that it alone has raifcd them, 
 as high — as Heaven ; and extended them 
 as far--'^^s Eternity. A Man may look 
 into his Bible, and fee plainly there what 
 will become of him, when the pr^fent 
 Scene is lliifted, as to his moji importanty I 
 had almofl faid, his only Concern, a fu- 
 ture State ', who, if he were left to him- 
 felf, the more he confidered the Point on 
 every Side, the more he would find himfelf 
 bewildered in Doubts, without coming to 
 any Determination. 
 
 Happy are we, if we know our Hap- 
 pinefs, who have a Revelation, like its great 
 Author, full of Grace and Truths 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 The intrinfic excellency of the Scrip- 
 tures, a Proof of their Infpira- 
 tion. 
 
 ^ig' ^ "^gj <^g^ cQE? t^jg* <^e> '^s"^r 
 
 I Peter III. 15. 
 
 Be ready always to give an Anpwer to every 
 Man that ajketh you a Keafon of the 
 Hope that is in you, 
 
 TO affirm, as fome have done, that Ser. vn. 
 unenlightened Reafon is abfolute-' 
 ly fufficient, and that a Revela- 
 tion is needlefs, is neither better nor 
 worfe ', than to fay, that Men either are, 
 or may be, Jo wife of themfeheSj that it 
 is not in the Power of God himfelf to 
 make them wifcr -j that their natural Abi- 
 hties are fo very confiderable, as to fuper- 
 fede the Ufe of any fupernatural Notices, 
 even from the Father of Lights : A Po- 
 rtion 
 
204 The intriitfic 'Excellency 
 
 Ser. VII. fition fo fliocking, that if it be not down- 
 right Blafphemy j it certainly maketh very 
 near Approaches to it *. 
 
 But, you will fay, where was God*s 
 impartial Goodnefs in with- holding from 
 others thofe Advantages, which he has 
 afforded us ? If a Revelation were wanted, 
 why was not that, which was equally want- 
 ed by all, made equally known to all, at all 
 Times ? 
 
 If we trace this Obje<5lion to its Ori- 
 ginal, we fliall find it jflands on a wrong 
 Foundation : It fuppofes the Deity to be 
 determined by the Wants of Men, exclu- 
 Jively of all other Regards : Whereas what 
 may be very fit, the Wants of Men fingly 
 
 con- 
 
 * I would not be thought to depreciate Reafon in gene- 
 ral, which rightly underllood, as taking in all Helps and 
 Evidences, whether intrinfic or cxtrinfic, is the only Facul- 
 ty we have to difcern Truth from Falfhood. It is no more 
 a Difparagement to Reafon to aflert, it can do little in 
 religious Affairs without the Help of Re-velation ; than to 
 jnaintain, it would make a flender Figure without the Af- 
 fiftance of Education: For what is Revelation bui Ar.Ptances 
 and Inftrudions from Heaven ; as Education is InftruCtion 
 communicated to us from our Feilo-ix -Creatures ? Deduft 
 thofe religious Truths that were difcovered to us, and only 
 place thofe down, that were difcovered by us ; ar.d the re- 
 maining Sum of our Knowledge, at the Foot of the Account, 
 will not be very confiderable. 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs 6cc. 205 
 
 confidered j may be unfit upon the Whole, Ser. vir. 
 all Circumflances and Confideratlons being "^^ 
 laid together. Thus confider the Necefli- 
 ties of a poor Man feparately, and you 
 may think it proper he (hould be relieved : 
 But if you know he will abufe your Cha- 
 rity in Drunkennefs, or do himfelf or 
 others fome Prejudice, the Fitnefs ceafeth. 
 Here then the Fallacy lieth. We form 
 our Judgment of what God ought to do 
 upon one fingle View of the Neceffities of 
 Men J where feveral other Particulars ought 
 to be taken into the Account to make our 
 Reafoning juft and exad:. We know not, 
 for Inflance, whether an Attempt to re- 
 medy the Difadvantages of thofc, who 
 want a Revelation, might not be attended 
 with greater Difadvantages to them : Whe- 
 ther they might not inflame their Account 
 by rejeding it, if offered 3 or abufing it, 
 if received. He alone, v^^ho fees through 
 the whole Plan of the Creation, who 
 knows before-hand the difi^erent Tempers 
 and Difpofitions of all Mankind, in all 
 Ages and Nations, and the various Confe- 
 quences that would arife from every pcfli- 
 ble Manner of adtlng at every Period of 
 Time; knew alone, at what Period of 
 
 Time, 
 
2o6 T'he intrinfc Excellency 
 
 Ser. vn. Time, to what Ages and Nations it was 
 proper to give a Revelation. God then 
 might be equally v^iiling at all Times to 
 m.ike a fuller Manifeftation of his Will j 
 (for fome Traces and Remains of a Reve- 
 lation Men flill had :) But Men might not 
 at all Times be equally difpofed and quali- 
 fied to receive it. 
 
 I anfwer farther, that it might as well 
 be objected, why has not God given to all 
 Men equal inward Abilities to difcover the 
 Truth J as why he has not given to all 
 Men equal external Evidences ? The An- 
 fwer is the fame to both Objecflions, njiz, 
 that God is not obliged to deal equally with 
 all his Creatures in the Difpenfation of his 
 Favours, having a Right to do what he 
 will with his own: It is enough to vindi- 
 cate his moral Charader, that he will deal 
 equitably with them according to the Im- 
 provement of their refpedive Talents, 
 compenfating for fome People's Want of 
 Knowledge, whether natural or revealed, 
 by making favourable Allowances to them, 
 and balancing the fuperior Advantages pf 
 others, by making larger Demands from 
 them, and requiring no more of a?2y Perfon 
 than he has given him fufficient Means to 
 
 knowy 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proof 6cc. 207 
 
 knowy and Ability to perfor?n. Let us ba-StR. Vir. 
 
 lance the Account. To the Chriftians 
 
 greater Knowledge greater Duty 
 
 greater Difficulty greater Reward, if 
 
 they do well greater Punifhments, if 
 
 ill. To the Heathens lefs Light lefs 
 
 Duty lefs Reward if they do well 
 
 lefs Punirhment if ill. 
 
 Thus all feeming Inequalities are ad- 
 jufted. Where the Difficulty of the Con- 
 queft is the greateft, there the Triumph 
 ought to be the mofl: glorious, and the 
 Prize mofl: valuable. If thofe, who have 
 the mofl: clear and diflinct Notices of their 
 Duty, will be more feverely puniflied for 
 their Crimes than others 3 it is but equit- 
 able, that they fhould be entitled to fuperior 
 Rewards, when their Pradice in fome 
 meafure keeps Pace with their Know- 
 ledge: Otherwife, Knowledge would be a 
 great Misfortune, and Darknefs better than 
 Light. 
 
 That Reafon therefore is fo far fufficient, 
 as to enable Men to procure as much Hap- 
 pinefs here and hereafter, as God, accord- 
 ing to the Variety of his Difpenfations to 
 Creatures, whether of the fame or a dif- 
 ferent Order, has, in his comprehenlive 
 
 Wifdom, 
 
2o8 The intri7ijic Excellency 
 
 Ser. Vil.Wifdom, thought fit; and that none will 
 be accountable for invmcible Ignorance j 
 this we readily grant : But that Reafon is (o 
 unlimitedly fufficient, as to difcover with- 
 out the Affiflance of God all thofe benefi- 
 cial and fpiritual Truths, which are reveal- 
 ed ; and to procure, without the Merits of 
 Chrift, all that Happinefs which is promifed 
 to Chriftians j this we deny. 
 
 God may diverfify his Creation, as he 
 pleafes, his manifold Wifdom may bring 
 upon the Theatre of Nature, Variety of 
 Creatures, under unequal Circumflances, 
 confidently with his Goodnefs; provided 
 he has put it in every one's Power to make 
 his Happinefs prepollent and fuperior to his 
 Mifery in the Whole of his Exiftence. But 
 this God may have done, without having 
 Pvccourfe to levelling Principles, without 
 being obliged to put Heathens and Chrifti- 
 ans, any more than he has put Men and 
 Angels, on the fame Foot. 
 
 The main Strefs of the Queftion then 
 lies here. Whether, notwithftanding the 
 diftinguifhing Advantages of fome Creatures 
 above others, it be not enough to vindicate 
 God's Goodnefs, that he has formed no 
 Creature whatever, whether Angel or Man, 
 
 Chriftiaii 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs 6cc. 209 
 
 Chriftian or Heathen, but what has fuffi-SER. VII. 
 cient Means to make the Sum of his Hap-' 
 pinefs exceed that of his Mifery, either here 
 or hereafter ? If they fay, this is not fuffi- 
 cicnt J they are not Deifts but fomething 
 worfe ; they fet afide that Principle, which 
 feems to account for that Difproportion of 
 Happinefs in the World, fo vifible in the 
 Scale of Beings rifing one above another, 
 from the meaneft Infect to the higheft 
 Archangel. \i they fay, it is fufficient ; 
 the fame Reafon, which juftifieth God in 
 giving Angels greater Degrees of Know- 
 ledge and Blifs, than Men j will juftify him 
 too in giving Chriftians a larger Allotment 
 of both than Heathens. For there is the 
 fame Principle to vindicate God in both 
 Cafes, 'viz. every one's Enjoyments will, 
 if it be not their own Fault, over- balance 
 their Unhappinefs : Therefore the Conclu- 
 lion ought to be the fame, 'uiz, God is 
 equally juftified in both Cafes. When once 
 his Goodncfs has defigned every Creature, 
 who is not wanting to himfelf, a P?'epon- 
 derancy of Blifs ; his unerring Wifdom may 
 difpofe of the Surplus, that remains beyond 
 this, as he thinks fit. Whereas, accord- 
 ing to the Suppofition of the Deifts, there 
 Vol. II. P muft 
 
 • 
 
2 1 o 'The intrinfic Excellency 
 
 Ser. vil. mufi: have been a dull undiftingulllied 
 Samenefs in every Oeconomy of Providence, 
 without any Regard to the different Difpo- 
 fitions of Mankind, at different Periods of 
 Time: Every Procedure of God muft have 
 been, from Eternity to Eternity, only a dif- 
 ferent Edition of the fame unvaried Defign 
 without any new Additions. 
 
 I have already, in a former Difcourfe, 
 fliewn the fuperior Advantages and intrinfic 
 Excellency of revealed Religion and the 
 Scriptures, I/?, as to the Manifeftation of 
 the divine Nature; and Il^/y, as to the 
 beautiful Plan of Morality contained in them, 
 together with thofe Motives and Encourage- 
 ments, by which they have fupported and 
 enforced that Plan. 
 
 It was not improper to remove the Ob- 
 jecflion, which I have been confideringj 
 before I entered upon my \\\d Head, to 
 which I now proceed, viz. to confider the 
 Force of the Argument, which may be 
 drawn from the intrinfic Excellency of the 
 Scriptures in favour of their divine Infpi- 
 ration. 
 
 To whom w^s It owing, that the Jewifi 
 Writers fliould have fuch lovely and great 
 Ideas of God, and fuch juft Notions of 
 
 the 
 
of the Script ureSy a Proof &c. in 
 the Wortliip due to him, far above anySER. Vif> 
 Thing which we meet with in the Writ- 
 ings of the greatell: Lights of the Heathen 
 World } every one of which either patro- 
 nized Idolatry, or fell into Errors of worfe 
 Confequence ? Can it be accounted for by 
 the Force, of natural or human AfTiftances ? 
 No, the eminent Philofophers of Athem 
 and Ro^ne equalled them, it is certain, in 
 natural Abilities ; and exceeded them con- 
 fefTedly in the Superftrudlures of acquired 
 Knowledge, and all the Advantages of a 
 refined 'Education. It muft be therefore 
 owing to {on\^ fufer natural or divine Helps ; 
 and none but He, in whom are contained 
 all the Treafures of Wifdom^ could have 
 enriched their Minds to fuch a Degree, and 
 furnifhed fuch a vafl Expence of Thought. 
 If yudea was enobled by thefe exalted 
 Notions, of which other Nations, who 
 were funk into the Dregs of Polytheifm 
 and Idolatry, were deftitute ; if the kind- 
 ly Dew of Heaven defcended on this Fleece 
 only, while all the Earth around betrayed 
 a Want of refrefhing Moifture j this was 
 the Lord's doings and ought to be marvel^ 
 lous in our Eyes, 
 
 P2 Had 
 
212 *The iJitrinfic Excellency 
 
 Ser. VII. Had God revealed himfelf to the Greeks^ 
 or fome other Nation famed for their cu- 
 rious Refearches into every Branch of Lite- 
 rature, and for the Depths of Wifdom 
 and PoHcy } thofe Truths,, which were fo 
 many Emanations fro-m the great Fountain 
 of Light, would have been looked upon 
 as the Refult of their Penetration, and 
 their own Difcoveries : But by communi- 
 cating his Will to a People of no inven- 
 tive and enterprizing Genius, of no enlarged 
 Reach and Compais of Thought; fuch 
 Sufpicions are avoided, and the Proofs of a 
 Revelation more confpicuous and iiluftrious. 
 And this may be one Reafon among others, 
 why at a Time, when the reft of the World 
 were biggotted to Superflition, Idolatry, 
 and a falfe Religion, God fingled out this 
 Nation, in that Point not fo corrupt as 
 others, to be the Guardian and Depolitary 
 of the true. 
 
 If nothing recommended the Scripture 
 but this fingle Confideration, that all thofe 
 collected Beams of fpiritual Light center 
 in it alone, which were widely diffufed 
 amidft a Variety of Treatifes, and loft amidft 
 a Crowd of palpable Abfurdities 3 even 
 this would be no improbable Argument of 
 
 its 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proof, Sec. 213 
 its Divinity : But this is not all : Let us, S^"^- VJ^ 
 in order to compile an adequate unerring 
 Standard of religious Truths, take in all the 
 Ailiftances wc can get from all the Philofo- 
 phcrs in Greecey from Tniiy at Rome, nay 
 even from Co?ijucius as lar as China ; and 
 yet, after all, the Scheme will be defedive 
 in, what the Scriptures have recommended, 
 a pure rational Wor(hip of God only in 
 Spirit and in Truth, a Fulnefs of Pardon 
 for every Sin upon Repentance, and the 
 Noblenefs of the Rewards hereafter. The 
 Love of God will not be required in fo 
 high a Degree, as it is in the Scriptures ; 
 nor enforced by fo ftrong a Motive, as our 
 Saviour's dying for Mankind has done ; nor 
 our Charity and Love to the Diftreffed re- 
 commended by fo powerful an Incentive, as 
 that our Redeemer has made them his Re- 
 prefentatives, and will place to his ov.'n 
 Account, whatever was done for his Sake to 
 them. 
 
 One may challenge any Man to produce 
 before Chriflianity, among the Heathen 
 World, fuch a complete Syftem of Mora- 
 lity, reaching all the Duties of Life, with- 
 out any Defedj and Jh/I without overjlow- 
 ing, or any Redundancy, as the Scriptures 
 P 3 contain. 
 
214 *^^^ tntri?tfic Excellency 
 
 Ser. VII. contain. Very remarkable, are the Words 
 of Mr. Lccke *. *' It is true, fays he^ 
 there is a Law of Nature : But who is 
 there, that ever did or undertook to 
 give it us all entire as a Law ; no more, 
 nor no lefs than what was contained in 
 and had the Obligation of that Law ? 
 Who ever made out all the Parts of it, 
 put them together, and fhewed the World 
 their Obligation ? Where was there any 
 fuch Code, that Mankind might have 
 Recourfe to as their unerring Rule, be^ 
 fore our Saviour's Time ? Such a Law 
 of Morality Jefus Chrifl hath given, us 
 
 in the new Teftament. And fuch a 
 
 one out of the new Teftament, I think 
 the World never had, nor can any one 
 fay is elfe where to be found," And 
 gain, " If you fent Men to the Sayings of 
 the Wife, and the Declarations of the 
 Philofophers, you fent them into a wild 
 Wood of Uncertainty, to an endlefs 
 Maze, from which they fhould never 
 get out; if to the Religions of the V/orld, 
 yet vt'crfe : And if to their own Reafon, 
 you refer them to that which had fome 
 Light and Certainty, but yet had hi- 
 
 " therto 
 
 See Locked Rpafonablenefs of Chrjftianity. 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 215 
 
 therto failed all Mankind in a perfcdSER. Vii. 
 Rule, and refolved not the Doubts that 
 had rilen among tlie fludious and think- 
 ing Philofophers -, nor had yet been able 
 to convince the civilized Part of Man- 
 kind, that they had not given, nor could 
 without a Crime, take away the Lives of 
 their Children, by expofing them." 
 It is needlefs to tell any Man of plain 
 Senfe, that there mufl be always a Fropor- 
 tion between the Caufe and the Effect. 
 Now, if we exclude the drcine Power, 
 *what Proporticn can we find between the 
 Caufes of Chriftianity, and Chrijlianity it- 
 felf ? Chriilianity is a Keligon^ which has 
 dijahufcd the World, and refcued it from 
 thofe many vicious Pradlices, fuch as the 
 expofing of Infants, Polygamy, ^c, which 
 were univerfally defended among the Pa- 
 gans, and from human Sacrifices, and from 
 innumerable abominable and brutal Rites j 
 a Religion fo perfedlive of human Nature, 
 and fo expreffivc of the divine-, that we 
 wa?it Ideas to carry us to a Conception of 
 any Thing beyond it. And ivho were the 
 Authors or Caufes of this Religion ? Why, 
 a Set of Men bred up in lo'U) Life to mean 
 Employments, which cramp the native 
 P 4 Powers 
 
2i6 "The infringe Excellency 
 
 Ser. VII. Powers of the Mind. And can we feriouily 
 think that a Set of unlettered^ unenterpri- 
 Jing Men could open feveral rich Mines of 
 Truth, which had efcaped the laborious 
 Refcarches of the profoundeft Scholars , and 
 the happy Sagacity of the mofl penetrat- 
 ing Wits? 
 
 Since therefore every RffeB muil have a 
 competent and proportionable Caufe ; and 
 fince the fuppofed natural Czu^t^ 2.ndi Au- 
 thors of Chriftianity, confidered as i72ere 
 Men exclufive of divine Infpiration, v^ere 
 plainly unequal to the Taflc, nor could ever 
 have brought to Light fuch Doctrines, as 
 exceeded whatever the Philofophers before 
 had done ; though, laying afide their Dregs, 
 we fliould draw off the very Flower and 
 Spirit of their Writings : It is evident, 
 we mull: have Recourfe to fome fuperna- 
 tiiral and adequate Caufe, which interefted 
 itfelf in this Affair. And to whom, but 
 to the Father of Lights in 'whom there is 
 710 Darknefs at all, can we be indebted i 
 that now Perfons of the Jlenderejl Capaci- 
 cities may view thofe elevated and beneficial 
 Truths in the ftrongeft Point of Light, 
 which the j^;/^/? "Spirits of the Gentile World 
 could not before fully afcertain ; that our 
 
 meanefi 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 217 
 
 meanefl Mechanics, with a moderate Share Ser. VII. 
 of Application, may have jufter and fuller 
 Notions of God's Attributes, of eternal 
 Happinefs, of every Duty refpedting their 
 Maker, Mankind, and them.felves ; than 
 the moft dijiingidjl.'ed Scholars among the 
 Heathens could attain to, after a Life laid 
 out in painful Refearches ? 
 
 Chriftianitv has been a Li'^'bt to Uo'hten 
 the Deifts j as well as the Glory ^ Happi- 
 nefs, and Salvation of every good Chrifti- 
 an. Even they who decry Revelation, 
 are greatly indebted to it, foi much clear- 
 er and more enlarged Views of Things> 
 than they could have had, if bred up in 
 Countries altogether unenlightened by it. 
 Even they, enjoy the Benefits and gather 
 the Fruits of Chriftianity, at the fame 
 Time, that they are ftriving to damage and 
 wound the Tree which bears them. 
 
 The Maintainers of the Sufficiency of 
 human Rcafon are, as to this Point, very 
 much didreffed: Strange! that Rcafon 
 without Revelation Ihould be a fiiTticicnt 
 Guide, when they cannot prove, that it 
 has condu(5led any one Man in any one ^ge 
 or Natio72j no not even Socrates hiriifelf, 
 to a full unerring Standard of Duty. How 
 
 happened 
 
2 1 8 'Th^ intrmftc Excellency 
 
 Ser. VII. happened it then, that the Authors of the 
 Scriptures fhould alojie, of all Mankind, 
 have Se?ife enough to form an adequate 
 Scheme of DutVy Courage enough to fet 
 on foot the Fropagation of it, and Ferje- 
 verance enough to bring it to bear^ not- 
 withftanding all the Engines of worldly 
 Power were played againft them ? How 
 comes it, that all fucceeding Writers have 
 not been able to difcover one important re- 
 ligious Truth, but what is either exprefsly 
 contained in the Bible, or is implied in it, 
 and may be fairly deduced from it ? All 
 that fucceeding Writers have done, has been 
 only to flate and limit the Doctrines, to 
 colled:, adjuft, and range, in an exadt 
 Chain of Reafoning, thofe religious and 
 moral Obfervations, which lie fcattered 
 in the Scripture with a noble Profufion, 
 Juft as the utmofi; Skill of Mankind can- 
 not form ojje new Flant : They may 
 indeed cultivate^ and place in a regular 
 Symmetry and Order^ thofe Trees, as well 
 us thofe Flowers, which are fown in a 
 beautiful Diforder by the Author of Na- 
 ture. Thefe Things are only thus to be 
 accounted for, viz. That God who does 
 nothing in vain, but is not wanting in what 
 
 is 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs Sec. 219 
 
 isnecefTary, imprinted on their Minds thefeSER. VII, 
 compreheniive Truths, but left it to them' 
 to exprefs them in what Language and Or- 
 der they thought proper. It was not ne- 
 cefTary, that God fliould beautify the facred 
 Writings with all the 'Elegancies of Lan- 
 guage and Meihcd'y it was enough that he 
 has enriched them with an inexhauftible 
 Fund of ufeful Truths. They needed not 
 the Spe£lacles of Books, whole Eyes God 
 himfelf opened, to difcern and reveal thefe 
 wondrous Things. 
 
 Unlettered Men, in attempting to reveal 
 the Deep Things of God, muft have fallen 
 into palpable Abfurdities, unlefs they had 
 been direcfted by that Spirit, which fearch-^ 
 eth all Things \ yea the deep Things of God, 
 For even lettered Men^ fpeculative Adven- 
 turers of the (Ironged and brighteft Parts, 
 whenever they have, without the Help of 
 Revelation, made Excurfions into the World 
 of Spirits, have difcovered nothing but their 
 Ignorance, and Liablenefs to grofs MiftakeSp 
 Men, who were not under the Power of 
 an ungoverned Imagination, would fcarce 
 have fallied cut into Subjeds, where our 
 Faculties can find no fure Footing j and 
 Men, who iirre, could never have worked 
 
 out 
 
2 20 I'he i?itrinjic "Excellency 
 
 ;f,r. VII. out fuch a plauiible and confiftent Scheme, 
 IS our Faculties cannot confute. How 
 comes it then, that the facred Writers, in 
 fetting before us the Nature and Offices of 
 good and bad Angels, the Joys of Heaven^ 
 C?r. have kept clear of all flagrant Errors, 
 for any thing that we can make out to the 
 contrary ? How comes it that all Inquirers 
 after them, have been unable to prove any 
 Thing relating to thefe Points, which they 
 have not f aid', and to difprove any Thing, 
 which they have faid ? How comes it, if 
 they were uninfpired, that though they 
 have delivered feveral Doctrines, which 
 Reafon cannot afcertain j yet they fay no- 
 thing which Reafon can gainfay\ upon Sub- 
 jedls to which our Faculties are difpropor- 
 tioned, and as to which we are therefore 
 more fubjed to Abfurdities ? 
 
 Add to this, that we have a vital Senfe 
 of the Goodnefs of Chriftianity. No Body 
 that heartily believed in our Saviour, and 
 adted agreeably to his Precepts, ever repent- 
 ed that he had done fo : Thoufands have 
 felt a Remorfe and Compundion of Soul, 
 that they have not been altogether Chrifti'- 
 ans. The more a Man has been a fincere 
 and found Chriftian ; the more Peace and 
 
 Sunfhine 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs £cc. 221 
 
 Suniliine of Mind he has felt in himfelfjSER- ^'II- 
 and the more Confidence he has expreffed 
 towards God. For this fenfible Experience 
 of the Goodnefs and Truth of Chriftianity 
 we have the united Suffrages of Men of 
 diflinguillied Piety, from the firft Birth of 
 Chriflianity, down to the prefent Times. 
 Several of them enjoyed as much Peace as 
 this World can give j and all of them that 
 Peace, which it cannot give. He certainly 
 acts moft agreeably to the Will of the Dei- 
 ty, and to (what is infeparably conned:ed 
 with his Will) the Truth of Things, who 
 embraces and adheres to that Religion, 
 which will make him the meekeft, hum- 
 bled:, the moft benevolent, pious, and, in 
 all Refpeds, the beft Man ^ which gives 
 him the mofl aflonifliing, yet the moft 
 amiable Views of the Divinity, and the 
 moft rational and interefling Account of 
 Heaven and Hell, which contains, what- 
 ever God, through a diffufive Goodnefs, 
 has done for Mankind ; and what Man- 
 kind have yet to do for themfclves, to work 
 cut their Salvation. 
 
 The intrinfic Excellency of Chriftianity, 
 I am afraid, has given many the greatefl 
 Dillafte for it. For I never could affign 
 
 any. 
 
2 2 2 I'he intri?2jic Excelkftcy 
 
 Ser. VII. any Reafoii, v^hy Mahojnetans and Papijis 
 (great Numbers of Them) feem to be very 
 much /« earneji about their Religions ; but 
 We (too many of us) very remifs and in- 
 different to Ours, but this very bad one, 
 "ctz. that thofe Religions chiefly confift in, 
 and lay too great Strefs upon, outward Adls 
 and little Obfervances : Whereas true Chri- 
 ftianity defcends deep into the Hearty con- 
 verting tlye Soul, and indifpenfably enjoins 
 an unreferved Obedience to God, and an 
 inward Relifh of Goodnefs rooted in our 
 Mindsy^nd influencing our Practice through- 
 out. Nov^ Men v^ould rather undergo in- 
 numerable l?odily Aufterities, and obferve 
 all the Oiitfide of Piety; than cultivate an 
 univerfal and unjullied Purity of Heart. 
 A Self-indulgence as to that Sin which moft 
 eafily befets us, be it Vanity, fpiritual 
 Pride, Lufl-, or any other Vice, gives us 
 fo great Pleafure, that no Self-Denials^ as 
 to other Points, can countervail it^ if they 
 can be called Self-Denials. For then we 
 effedfually deny ourfelves, when we refrain 
 from thofe darling, but unlawful Pleafures, 
 whether of Body or Mind, to which we 
 have the flrongeft Bias. A pure undefiled 
 Religion coming from God, the great 
 3 Searcher 
 
of the Scriptures y a Proofs &c. 223 
 
 Searcher of Hearts, requires this Sacrifice Shr. ViL 
 of the Heart, without which no other Sa- 
 crifices, no external Performances, how- 
 ever feemingly difficult, will be of any 
 Avail. A Religion commanding us to be 
 as ftriift and regular in our Lives, as the 
 Pharifee in our Saviour's beautiful Parable, 
 and yet as humble and unp-etending as the 
 Publican^ was worthy of God j but we, 
 by railing idle Cavils againfl: it, make our- 
 felves unworthy of it. 
 
 A complete Syftem of moral and reli- 
 gious Truths, comprehending every Thing 
 that has a Tendency to purify a rational 
 Mind, and to qualify it for everlafting Blifs, 
 feems to be a Work beyond the Powers of 
 any unenlightened Man, the Excellency of 
 whofe Writings, whatever confiderable and 
 important Truths they might contain, to 
 (hew he was a bright and able Man ; would 
 be adulterated with impure Mixtures, and 
 debafed by coarfe Alloys of Errors, per- 
 haps of a dangerous Nature, (not to men- 
 tion many OmifTions,) to prove he was a 
 mere Man : Much more was fuch a Scheme 
 above the Abilities of uneducated Men. 
 There feems to be fomething in Ma7ii 
 NafurCy which difqualiiies him from form- 
 ing 
 
2 24 The intf^injtc Excellency 
 
 Ser. vir. Ing a Religion /tr himfelf^ without taking 
 in any Alliflances from Hea^uen. And 
 whoever has fet about it, has either ciir^ 
 tailed and maimed it, leaving out fome im- 
 portant Duties, which is the Cafe of Deijm ; 
 or he has blended it with fpurious and fu- 
 perftitlous Additions, which is the Cafe of 
 Popery. Thofe who want to have the 
 modelling of Religion in their own Hands, 
 are like the Countryman in the Fable, who 
 requefted the Management of the Weather 
 as he pleafed : They had much better 
 leave that Affair to his Direction, who alone 
 can order all Things for the befi:. Take a 
 Survey of all confeiiedly human Inventions ; 
 and you will find, that when compared 
 with Chriftianiiy^ they ha'ue no Glory by 
 Reafon of the Glory ^ that excelleth. 
 
 Difhcultles indeed and Obfcurltics there 
 are in Scripture, as well as other ancient 
 Books : But then we muft diflinguifli be- 
 tween Difficulties which affect the 7nain 
 Dejign oi a Revelation; and thofe of a 
 Jlighter and lefs momentous Nature. Not- 
 withftanding the Charge of Difiiculties and 
 Obfcurities j the Scripture, though deepy 
 is clear in e^ccr^ Do61:rine, that^tends to the 
 , Glory of God, the Good of Mankind, 
 
 • ' and 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs 6cc. 225 
 and the Benefit of our own Souls. So far Sek. YIL 
 God has gonej and farther than this he 
 needed not go, to anfvver the End of a 
 Revelation. Whatever Things there are 
 in it b^?'d to he tmderjiood -, which a mode- 
 rate Application cannot clear up j they may 
 exercife the Abilities of the Curious, but 
 are not neceffary to edify the Bulk of Man- 
 kind. Any Man, who diligently and im- 
 partially fe arches the Scriptures , comparing 
 Place with Place, interpreting the darker 
 Paffages by the clearer, and attending to 
 the Scope and Defign of the Author j may 
 furnifh himfelf with an intelligible, con- 
 fijient and determiitate Rule of Faith and 
 PraBicCy may derive from thence Hopes 
 full of a bleifed Immortality, and find 
 there that beautiful Ajfemblage of moral 
 Truths, clear and unmixed-, which lye 
 fcattered through the Writings of all the 
 Philofophers, and are blended, in them, with 
 pernicious Errors. Whatever Precept is 
 briefly and in general Terms delivered in 
 one Place, is more clearly and diftindtly 
 unfolded in another : And no important 
 Doctrine is founded only on one Text ; it is 
 inculcated m fever al, and placed before us 
 in various Views and Reviews -, like fome 
 Vol. II. CL beau- 
 
2 26 'The intrinfic Excelleiicj 
 
 SER.vfr. beautiful and mafterly Statue placed in a 
 Garden, in which feveral Openings termi- 
 nate, and confpire to let us fee it in Variety 
 of Lights. Which Confideration makes 
 it impoflible for any one, who has a wrong 
 Hypothefis to fernje, to endeavour, if he 
 ■be not lo/i to all Senfe of Shame, to obtrude 
 ftich a Tranilation upon the Public, as fhall 
 not contain a fufficient Antidote for any 
 fundamental Error. 
 
 Difputes, it is true, there will always 
 be about Scripture, a Gift not defigned for 
 fuch an Ufe, as there have been about eve- 
 ry Thing elfe. And is it a Wonder, Men 
 ihould difpute about Religion, which' is 
 almoft the ofily Thing, about which it is 
 worth while to difpute at all ? If Religion 
 were fet afide, would all Difpute^ imme- 
 diately ceafe ? No, there would be many 
 more, which a ferious Senfe of it upon our 
 Minds prevents, about Things of lefs Im- 
 portance, about every Thing on which 
 Men had mifplaced their Efteem. It is a 
 Miftake to imagine, that the Obfcurity of 
 Scripture has given Birth to different Opi- 
 nions in material Points ; Mens precon- 
 ceived Opinions have made them endeavour 
 to obfcure and darken the Scripture^ though 
 
 never 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs &c. 227 
 
 never fo plain. However, fuppofing theSKR. VIJ. 
 Tranflatlon to be JLift and faithful in the 
 main, which it is allowed by all compe- 
 tent Judges to be J the Unlearned may 
 diflinguifh between torturing the Words of 
 infpired Writers, prefTing them into their 
 Service, and compelling them to come in^ in 
 favour of fome darling Notion ; and on 
 the other hand, giving them an eafy^ un- 
 forced^ and natural Interpretation. They 
 may eafily perceive, who impofe a Se?tje 
 upon the Bible making it fpeak /^^/r ow« ; 
 and who are content to take one from it. 
 
 Little Mi?2ds may be affedled with little 
 TriJleSy with fome minute Particularity in 
 Scripture, with fome Text that fecms un- 
 accountable : They may examine the Bible 
 (to ufe the Allufion of a great Genius) as 
 it were with a Microfcope, which confines 
 them to 2ijijigle Part j but does not enable 
 them to take in the Confiftency of the Whole^ 
 or to perceive the Relatim which each Part 
 has to another. A Mind truly large and 
 compreheniive will grafp the ivhole Compafs 
 and Subjiatice of Chriftianity, and confider, 
 how happily it has fupplied the Defedls, 
 redtified the Miftakes, and enforced the 
 Difcoveries of human Reafon -, carrying 
 Q^ Religion 
 
2 2 8 The mtrmfic Excellency 
 
 Ser. vti. Religion to fuch a juft Degree of Perfec- 
 tion, that whatever fails J}:ort of it, is je- 
 june and defeBive ; and whatever attempts 
 to go beyond it, is vifionary and romantic. 
 The more a Man ftudies the Scriptures with 
 theie exteniive Views, the more he will 
 admire them : For they are like thofe Per- 
 fons, whom an intimate Acquaintance en- 
 dears more and more, whatever Prejudices 
 we Height, 2i\. Jir/i Sight, have conceived 
 againfl them. Ke will find, that they 
 afford as much Light, as our Condition 
 needs j and much more^ than our iinajijiexi 
 Facidties could attain to. 
 
 Here is a Book which takes in a 'vafl 
 Ct'mpafs : It begins from Eternity, with 
 the Creation of the World, and the For- 
 mation of Man ; and ends in Eternity, 
 with the iaii Judgment, and the Confum- 
 mation of all Things. And yet, through- 
 out, tiiere is one Chain and regular Series 
 of well-conned:ed Events, from the Fall 
 to the Redemption J and from the Redemp- 
 tion to the lall grsnd Revolution, when 
 nil '^Things jl all he put under our Saviour's 
 Vcet. A mid ft this great Variety, there is, 
 juii as in the Works of Nature, an Vni- 
 jurmity^ every Thing is diverjifiedj and 
 
 yet 
 
of the Scriptures, a P'roof, 6cc. 229 
 yet every Thing regular. From the /r/?SERj^ 
 Inftitution of Sacrifices immediately after 
 the Fall, through feveral intermediate 
 Steps, to the grand umverfal Sacrifice, 
 which they prefigured, of our Saviour, one 
 uniform Defign is carried on, 'viz. the Pre- 
 fervation of true Religion in the World, 
 and the difcountenancing of Vice and Ido- 
 latry. Now in a Book comprehending 
 fuch a Train of Difpenfations, and fuch a 
 vaft Extent of Time, written in feveral Ages^ 
 by feveral Hands, and on feveral SubjeBs ; 
 it is not at 2^ fur prizing^ that there fliould 
 be many Things puzzling and unaccount- 
 able to us (hort-fighted Creatures, (for fuch 
 there are in the Works of the Creation ;) 
 but it is amazing, fuppofing the Authors 
 of it were not under the immediate Gui- 
 dance of God, that, notwithflanding the 
 firiBeft Scrutiny has been made, notwith- 
 flanding e'^oery particular PalTagc has been 
 fifted, no one material Flaw has been dif- 
 covered, that has endangered the whole 
 Fabric. Nay thofe very Things, which 
 were thought infuperable Objedions againft 
 it; have, upon a clofer Examination, been 
 found illuftrious Confrmations of the Truth 
 of it. Do you think that the Mahometan, 
 
 Q3 the 
 
230 T'he intrmjic Excellency 
 
 Ser. vii.the Pagariy or any other falfe Religion, 
 'could have flood their Ground, if Reafon 
 had had as fair Play againfl themi as it has 
 had againfl Chrijiiantty ; if the whole Ar~ 
 tillery of reafoning Malice, refolved to 
 leave no Stone unturned, and to find or 
 make Objections at any rate, had been, 
 for many Ages, difcharged againfl them ? 
 Faljhood cannot long bear the Shock of an 
 unreftrained, determined, and powerful 
 Oppofition-, and Truth itfelf mufl greatly 
 fufFer, by having all the Weapons of Ri- 
 dicule and Sophiflry employed againfl it, 
 in the Opinion of (a confiderable Number) 
 the half-thinking, injudicious, and inatten- 
 tive. And if all the Load of Objections 
 and Difliculties induflrioufly raifed, like fo 
 many Weights tied about a Body, cannot 
 fink Chriftianity ; it mufl be upheld and 
 fupported by that Energy of Truth, which 
 is flronger than all Things, and will pre- 
 vail. 
 
 If there were one decifive unanfwerable 
 Argument againjl Chriflianity, which 
 wounded it in its Vitals j it would be un- 
 accountable, why difinterefled Men, of 
 diilinguiflied Penetration, great Maflers of 
 
 Reafon, 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs Sec. 231 
 
 Reafon, who had thoroughly weighed and Ser. VIL 
 underftood the Nature of Evidence, (hould 
 have inviolably adhered to it, and profeiled 
 their Belief of it to the lafi^ and more at 
 laji than ever. But it is not at all unac- 
 countable, why feme few inquifitive Men, 
 notvvithftanding the decifive Arguments for 
 it fliould have difbelieved it, or at leaft 
 cndeavoured to difbclieve it. Becaufe Men 
 of very good Underrtandings may have 
 criminal, and over-violent Attachments, to 
 the Things of this World : And very flen- 
 der and precarious Realbnings will go a 
 great Way, when Men have a flrong In- 
 tereft, and therefore a ftrong Liclination, 
 to be Difbelievers : But the Things con- 
 cerning Religion relate chiefly to another 
 World, are diflant, and out of Sight: 
 And Men have feldom, if ever, fo ftrong 
 a Bias that Way, as not to allow Reafon a 
 fair Hearing. 
 
 Many are the Devices of a Man's Hearty 
 hilt the Counfel of the Lord, that fiall jland. 
 Many have been the Devices of Men's 
 Hearts and Heads againft Chriftianity -, 
 From its Toiith up have they fought againft 
 it : But it is the Counfel of the Lord, and 
 0^4 there- 
 
232 l^he intrinfic Excellency 
 
 Ser. VIL therefore has hitherto flood, and W// main- 
 tain its Ground. 
 
 But to what, you will fay, is the Growth 
 of Infidelity owing ? Is it not to this, that 
 the Age is more inquifitive and difcerningy 
 and confequently lefs credulous ? Alas ! 
 The Spring of Credulity is not dried upy 
 it only flows in another Channel. Witnefs 
 many Impofitiom upon the Public : Witnefs 
 thofe Schemes, which, within our Memo- 
 ries, have impoverifhed, if not ruined, fe- 
 veral Families. Thofe, who will not con- 
 fult the immortal Welfare of their Sotds, 
 who will not be Adventurers for another 
 better World, upon the fure Bottom of 
 the Word of God, how-flrongly foever at- 
 tefted J yet will trufl their Perfons in the 
 Hands of an illiterate Pretender to Phyfic, 
 If Men be more Jcrupulous of AfTent in re- 
 ligious Matters, too liable to Fraud and Im- 
 pofition in others 5 the Reafon, I fuppofe, 
 may, without much Difiiculty, be aflign- 
 ed : It is not that we are lefs credulous ; 
 "we are only more vicious. Credulity is flill 
 the fame : The Objecis, on which it is 
 placed, are only changed and diverfified. And 
 though implicit Belief might be the Fault 
 of former Ages, when Popery prevailed; 
 
 implicit 
 
of the Scriptures^ a Proofs 8cc. 233 
 
 implicit Dijbelicf is the reigning Folly oFSer. Vfl. 
 the prefent. There is the fame Quantity 
 of Folly fiill, juft as there is of Matter ; 
 and, like Matter, it admits of different 
 Modifications, and appears in Variety of 
 Forms. There is no furer Way of judg- 
 ing, of the Se7:fe and Difcernment of an 
 Age, than by obferving the public Enter- 
 tainmcnts, which are mo ft In Vogue. And, 
 if fo, then let it be obferved, that Chri- 
 ftianity decayed, in an Age and Nation 
 when and where ^tajle and Sejifewtiit at the 
 loweft Ebb 5 where every rational Entertain- 
 ment was dilcouragcd j and low fantaftic 
 Performances, without the leaft Tindurc 
 of juft-Thinking, Morality, and Wit, ufurp- 
 ed the Room of them. 
 
 The Caufe of Infidelity is obvious : It is 
 Luxury, which, wherever it got Footing, 
 never failed to erafe alj religious Impreflions. 
 Thus it was in Greece-, thus in Rome of old, 
 when the feu/elefs Syftem of Epicurus was 
 patronized by Men of much greater and 
 more eminent Abilities, than Any, that 
 now^ efpoufe Infidelity. Thus it was even 
 in Judc^a itfclf, when the Sed of the Sad- 
 ducees prevailed. It may be thought, that 
 the great Number of bad and poifonous 
 
 Books, 
 
2 34- ^^^ irttrinftc Excellency 
 
 StER. VII. Books, has occafioned the great Loofenefs 
 and Depravation of the Age : But the Truth 
 is, the Loofenefs and Depravation of the 
 Age, to which bad Writers will always ac- 
 commodate themfelves to give a current 
 Value to thofe Works, which want an in- 
 trinfic one, has occafioned the Number of 
 poifonous Writings : Not to mention, that 
 they are generally very defpicable Authors, 
 almofl all, except one, whom one is forry 
 to fee in fuch bad Company ; one who, 
 whatever fine Talents he had, was never re- 
 markable for clofe and folid Reafoning. Thofe 
 are the mod determined Enemies to Chri- 
 flianity and indeed to all Religion, whofe 
 Thoughts run in one black Channel, yc^Z'tr/y 
 bad. The Generality of Unbelievers are 
 Men, who have too enlarged a Converfa- 
 tion, too much Vivacity and Quicknefs to 
 reft in Generals ; and too little Leifure, Ca- 
 pacity and Application to enter fully into 
 Particulars J and examine Things thorough- 
 ly. Hypocrify feems to be transferred from 
 revealed Religion to natural ^ from Fiety 
 to Morality. Morality and Benevolence, 
 make a fine and fplendid Appearance in 
 the Writings and Converfation of the Deifts, 
 but feem to have little or no Influence up- 
 on 
 
of the Scriptures y a Proofs &c. 235 
 
 on their Lives ; like that Luminary which s^'^- ^'^; 
 towards its decline looks the largeft, when 
 its Luftre and Influence are the weakeft. 
 And it is vifible, that Charity, and even 
 common Honefty have decayed together 
 with Chriftianity, their firmefl: Support. 
 
 A long uninterrupted Flow of Eafe and 
 Tranquillity has lulled us into a fatal In- 
 dolence and Infenfibility to all religious No- 
 tions : Some fignal 'Judgment •, fome extra- 
 ordinary Indication of the divine Difplea- 
 fure, feems almoft necelTary to purge the 
 Nation of its Drofs, to ronfc it into a feri- 
 ous Sejife of Religion^ and make us difcern 
 and value thofe Things, that belong to our 
 Peace^ bejore they be hidden Jrom our Eyes : 
 Juft as when the Sky is full of noxious and 
 peftilential Vapours ; fome violent Hurricane, 
 fome dreadful Burfts of Thunder are necef- 
 fary to difperfe them, to clear the infeded 
 Air, and reflore it to its former Serenity. 
 
 Ei^ht 
 
Eight SERMONS 
 
 On the Evidences of Chriftianity, the 
 Corruption of our Nature, the 
 Redemption, and the Trinity. 
 
 Preached at the Lady Moyers Ledure, in 
 the Cathedral of St. Paul, London, in the 
 Years 1732 and 1733. 
 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 On the Truth of Chriftianity. 
 
 John III. 2. 
 
 Rabbi, ive know, that thou art a Teacher, 
 come from God : For no Man can do thefe 
 Miracles, that thou doeji, except God be 
 with him, 
 
 THE Propofition contained in the^^'^^-J* 
 Text is, that fome Miracles are 
 fo circumftanced, as to be diredt 
 Evidences of a divine Power. By a Mira- 
 cle, 
 
 6 
 
23^ The Truth of Chrijlianity, 
 
 Serm. Lcle, is meant an EiFed: evident to the 
 Senfes, contrary to the fixed and eftabhfh- 
 ed Courfe of Nature. Strange ! that Man 
 fliould difbelieve an Operation different 
 from the prefent Courfe of Nature ; when 
 Man himfelf, the Jirji Man, from whom 
 all the reft defcended, could not have been 
 brought into Being, but by an Ad: of Power 
 different from the Courje of Nature, as 
 it is now pJIabliJJjed. For (omQ jirJi Man 
 there muft be : And, v/hoever he was, he 
 muft be brought upon the Theatre of Na- 
 ture without Farents, without any fecojtd 
 Caufes, by the iinmediate Power and Will 
 of the Jirfl^ or, in other Words, by an 
 Operation, which, if it were not, ftridtly 
 fpeaking, a Miracle 3 was, at leaft, equi- 
 valent to one. 
 
 Nor is it at all improbable, that He, who 
 called Man into Beifig, by 2i, particular Dif- 
 play of Power, diftind: from thofe general 
 Laws, which obtain at prefent ; would ex- 
 ert fome unufual and uncommon Adls of 
 Power for (what was of greater Importance 
 than his mere Being) his Well-Beitig, his 
 eternal Weil-Being. 
 
 In the Profecution of this Subjed, 
 
 I/?. I 
 
The 'Truth of Chrijlianity. 239 
 
 I//, I fliall attempt to fliew, that feveral Ser^m^l 
 Miracles arc deciiive Proofs of a divine 
 Power. 
 
 Wdly, That we have fufficient Evidence, 
 that fuch Miracles w^ere wrought for the 
 Confirmation of ReHgion. 
 
 I/?, I fhall attempt to fliew, that feveral 
 Miracles are decifive Proofs of a divine 
 Power. 
 
 What Powers evil Spirits may have, 
 and what is the utmofl Extent of their 
 Abilities 5 it is beyond the Extent of ours, 
 in all Cafes, to determine : But that God 
 would fuffer them to exert thofe Powers 
 in working fuperior and uncontroled Mi- 
 racles ; this I cannot admit : Becaufe God 
 is too good to permit fuch a ^7iare to be 
 laid for the Bulk of Mankind, who will . 
 be always governed more by what affe(5ts 
 their Senfes, than by thofe Arguments, 
 which addrefs themfelves coldly to their 
 Underftandings. Striking and pompous Mi- 
 racles, though they enforced a Do(ftrine 
 feemingly abfurd, would dazzle and over- 
 power the Soul, and force an Admittance 
 for it mto the Mind ; Whereas dry and 
 I abftraded 
 
240 2^/^^ Truth of Chrijlianity. 
 
 Serm. i.abflradled Reafonings operate but flowly 
 'and languidly in Comparifon. He, who 
 could raife the Dead, and fufpend the 
 Laws of Nature, would convince the Ge- 
 nerality of Men much fooner, than if he 
 brought feveral Demonflrations to fupport 
 ' what he advanced. 
 
 1 cannot then believe, that God would 
 permit evil Beings to work confiderable 
 Miracles, without affertlng the Superiority 
 of his Power; becaufe this would una- 
 voidably miilead the Grofs of the Species 
 into Error. I cannot likewife believe It, 
 for another Reafon, becaufe it would in- 
 validate and weaken the ftrongeil Proofs of 
 his Providence. 
 
 For either we muft fay, that no finite 
 EffeSfs whatever bear the Imprefs of the 
 JDeity^ and prove an infinite Being at the 
 Helm, (which is to difcard all the Argu- 
 ments a pojlerwri -,) or fuch aflonipnng 
 Notices of Power ^ as our Saznour and Mofes, 
 and others gave, bid as fair for the Proof of 
 it, as any Pbc^?iomena. 
 
 For why may we not as well believe, 
 that finite Beings are empowered to make 
 the Sun, or other Planets, revoke in their 
 OrI?itj and go their everlafting Round ; as 
 
 that 
 
"The Truth of Chrijliamty, 241 
 
 that they are empowered to arreft theSERw. [. 
 Courfe of the Sun (or the Earth,) make 
 it go backwards^ or eclipfc it, when the 
 Moon is at the full ? Let us confidcr the 
 Cafe of yoJJjtia flopping the Sun. If the 
 Laws, by which the material World is go- 
 verned, be nothing, as is generally agreed, 
 but God's pandiJig and uniform Operation 
 upon Matter j I aflc, did God fufpend his 
 Action upon the Sun, when it was (lopped j 
 or did he not? If he did, then he wrought 
 the Miracle; for the Miracle was nothing 
 but the Sufpenfion of the Laws of Nature : 
 but if he did not, if he flill continued his 
 regular Adion ; then it fecins, there was 
 ano^he^ Being concerned, who over-ruled 
 hi:^ Power, or at leaft kept it at Bay j and 
 thus Polytheifm will be unavoidablg. 
 
 The fame kind of Rcafoning may be 
 applied to other miraculous Fads. I could 
 as foon believe, that evil Spirits might call 
 me into Being, and fet the Springs of Na- 
 ture a going atjirfl j as that they can raife 
 me when dead, re-animate a Lump of 
 fenfelefs Matter, and remand my Soul, 
 when it is in the Hand of God, to its for- 
 mer Lodging refitted up. No Creature 
 cam come into, or be reflored to Being, 
 
 Vol. IL R but 
 
24^5 l^he Truth of Chrijliai^ity, 
 
 Serm. i.but by him, who is the Fountain of all 
 Beings. 
 
 He that had Power to create Bread two 
 feveral Times, to fatisfy fome thoufands;, 
 might have Power to create the whole 
 World 'j there being no more Impoffibihty 
 in the one, than in the other. Either then 
 creative and providential Powers are no di- 
 vine Powers ; or elfe thefe Effedls Hkewife 
 bear the Stamp of the Deity. 
 
 If the Sick may be healed, and the Deaf 
 made to hear by an inferior Being j can 
 the Maimed be made whole j (^Matthew xv. 
 3 1 .) or a loft Limb reftored ? He, who 
 produced and preferves that infinitely com- 
 plicated Engine, the human Body^ can alone 
 form or reftore any Member of it. For 
 in each Member of it there is a curious In- 
 terweaving of endlefs Fibres, there ar6 
 continual Streams running to and from each 
 Part of itj through an Infinity of Canals, 
 to convey Nutrition throughout : Each 
 Member maintains a conftant Correfpond^ 
 ence with the Head and the Heart ^ it is 
 the Inftrument or Occafion of exciting cer- 
 tain Scnfations in the Soul, and is enabled, 
 by an incredible Adivity, to execute her 
 Orders, ^s foon as fhe ifTues them out, and 
 
 v/ills 
 
The Tnith of Chrifiianity. 243 
 
 wills the Motion of the Hand or Foot, orSERM. I. 
 any other Part : A Power to be derived only 
 from Him, who commands^ and it is imme- 
 diately done. 
 
 It may be of fome Importance to in- 
 quire, whether it be confiftent with God's 
 Wifdom to intruft any Beings, much lefs 
 evil ones, with fuch ample Powers, as to 
 referve to himfelf no diftinctive Characters 
 of his own Power ; whether this be not to 
 give up the moft valuable Branches of his 
 Prerogative, and in effecft to unking him- 
 felf: Whether this would not be the Cafe, 
 if evil Spirits might perform all the Mira- 
 cles recorded from Genefis to the Apocalypfe, 
 For if no fuch Jiipernatural Notices, no 
 fuch undeniable Change of Nature, carry 
 evident Marks and Impreffions of the Dei- 
 ty ; then the confijient uniform Workings 
 of God, according to eftablifhed Laws* 
 cannot prove the Deity j and if they can- 
 not prove it, then we are left, to all Ap- 
 pearance, in 2. father lefs and forlorn World. 
 We may then be as fure that fuch Mira- 
 cles could be wrought by none but God, 
 as we are, that the World is governed by 
 God. 
 
 R 2 But 
 
244 T'he Truth of Chrijlia?7ity. 
 
 Serm. I. But flirther, the Argument for the UnW 
 ty of God is this, that. 07ie Being is jhji- 
 cienf to produce all the Fhcenomena in Na- 
 ture, and therefore we have no Occalion to 
 fuppofe any 7nore than one : Which Argu- 
 ment is enforced by the fwiilh Ratio, 
 Analogy, and Harmony, which runs 
 throughout Nature, as far as the Sphere of 
 our Obfervation extends. But if another 
 Being can give as glaring Indications of 
 Power, in a fupernatural Manner, as are 
 fliewn in the ordinary Courfe of Nature, 
 if he can break through that fjnilis Ratio 
 and Harmony; then this Argument mull be 
 difmifTed as inconcludve. For the Mani- 
 feftation of two difiind; equal Powers mull 
 lead us to the Acknowledgment of two 
 diflind; equal Beings. 
 
 ; The {landing Miracle of the Sabbatical 
 or feventh Year, well deferves our Confi- 
 deration; when the Land lying unculti- 
 vated, the Produce of the Earth in one 
 Year (rhe fixth,) according to Mofes^ Pro- 
 mife. Lev. xxv. 21. was to be thrice as 
 much as ufual, or Provifion for three Years. 
 Now either this Miracle was performed, 
 or not. If not, then the whole Body of 
 the Jetvs muft have a flagrant Proof, that 
 
 their 
 
The Ti'Uth of Chrljlianily. 245 
 
 their Lawgiver was an Impoil:or, and con-SERu. I. 
 fequently, mufl: have been fo far from' 
 believing him, that they would have been 
 a Nation of Infidels. Nay, they could 
 not adually have obferved the Sabbatical 
 Year, according to his Diredions, upon a 
 Failure of his Promife. But if this Mira- 
 cle was performed, then it mud be the 
 Lord's doing : For God would never fuffer 
 any evil Spirit, for fuch a long Tract of 
 Time, for feveral Centuries, by an oft- 
 repeated Exemplification of his Power to 
 do thrice as much in a fupernatural Man- 
 ner-; as he himfelf did in one Year, in the 
 ordinary Courfe cf his Providence. It is 
 as certain then, that no fuch Miracles could 
 be wrought by any evil Spirit; as that there 
 are not two diflind: independent Beings at 
 the Helm. Where there is an infinite Dif- 
 proportion of Power between two Beings, 
 there muft be fome fufficient Marks of 
 Diftindtion, to afcertain, which of them 
 adls. It cannot therefore be impofiible to 
 hit the dividing Point, between the little pu- 
 ny Feats of evil Spirits, and the auguft Dif- 
 play of divine Power. But if fuch an un- 
 interrupted Series of unparalleled Miracles 
 as our Saviour did, do not point out to us 
 R 3 the 
 
246 The T'ruth of Chri/liaJtity. 
 
 Serm. I. the appropriate Enfigns of the Deity j what 
 'others can we fingle out as fufficiently and 
 peculiarly expreffive of his Majefty ? The 
 moft aflonifhing Idea we can conceive of 
 the moft aflonifhing Being that is, is, that 
 he brings about Things, by the mere Adt 
 and Fiat of his Will, without any tedious, 
 flow, gradual Procefs ; that it is as eafy 
 for him to effe^ whatever he wills, as it is 
 to W// any Effed:. But behold another, if 
 he were another, ufurps his fovereign Stile : 
 / will, he thou clean, Lazarus come forth : 
 It is fpoke, it is done : Nature hears his 
 Voice, and, confefTing her Author, inflantly 
 obeys the dread Command. 
 
 Thofe fettled and eflabliflied Rules, by 
 which Gcxi governs the material World, 
 being for the general Good of the Whole, 
 God will never aft by particular Wills, and 
 Pvliracles in numerous, open, uncontefted 
 Infcances ; nor will he fuffer others to aft 
 by them, but for fome fuperior and pre-, 
 pollent Good, which cannot be attained but 
 by a Deviation from the fettled Courfe of 
 Nature. Either then the Miracles were 
 wrought for fome fuperior Good ; or they 
 were not. If they were, then there is no 
 abfolute Neceffity to fuppofe other Beings 
 
 concerned : 
 
1h^ Truth of Chrijlianity, 247 
 
 concerned: It was not beneath the Deity Serm.l 
 to interpofe; it was no Proftitution of his 
 Power and Dignity, but an A<5t of Conde- 
 fcenfion and Goodnefs worthy of himfelf. 
 If they were not for fome prepollent Good j 
 then he would not fuffer them to be wrought 
 at all : Since if evil Beings might, for no 
 prepollent Good, interrupt the Courfe of 
 Nature, and turn Things into another 
 Channel, all human Affairs muft ftand flill, 
 all our Induftry muft ftagnate, and all our 
 Prudence be fuperfeded. For where every 
 Thing in the Courfe of Nature was preca- 
 rious, where there was no regular Condud: 
 or Providence 3 no regular and well con- 
 certed Means could be of any Service, to 
 procure any defirable End, or avert any Evil, 
 Wifdom, and Folly, Carefulnefs, and Idle- 
 nefs, would be upon a Level; if Beinc^s 
 of a fuperior Nature were left at large, to 
 difconcert, unfettle, and embroil every 
 Thing. I can eafily fee, that God may 
 facrifice the Uniformity and Harmony of 
 his Providence, upon fome uncommon Exi- 
 gency ; the Love of the Happiiiefs of his 
 Creatures being fuperior to his Love of 
 Order : But that he fliould fuffer a Set of 
 evil Spirits to break through that magnifi- 
 R 4 cent 
 
24 S The 'Truth of Chi'ijlianity. 
 
 Serm. I. cent Simplicity, and regular Variety, which 
 conftitute Beauty j that he {hould fufFer an 
 Impoftor to go on in a continued Series of 
 unrivalled Miracles, to raife the Dead, and 
 himfelf, to confer the fame Powers on his 
 Followers, and to enable them to fpeak all 
 Languages \ and all this with a Defign to 
 deceive a Set of Creatures, who may be, 
 and are, every Day deceived, without the 
 Expence of one Miracle ; is a Suppofition 
 highly injurious to the Wifdom of the Dei- 
 ty, which has given Things a Law, which 
 ihall not be broken upon every flight Oc- 
 cadon. 'Tis in A7'^/2/r^, as'ina Po£'?;^ : The 
 great Author of it may break through fet 
 formal Rules^ when a greater Beauty may 
 be compalTed hy fwerving from them, than 
 by fcnipuloujly adhering to them. But then 
 he will never permit others to break through 
 his regular Adjuftment of Things, and 
 blend their own Performances promifcuoully 
 with his. I grant that evil invifible Beings 
 may be the Minifters of God's Vengeance, 
 as well as vifible Beings are 5 nay, they are 
 much properer Inflruments, as their Intel- 
 leds are clearer, their Reafon more cxten- 
 five, and their Powers more enlarged. 
 But all this may be done confidently with 
 
 the 
 
'The T'ruth of Chrijlianity. 249 
 
 the Laws of Nature; at lead without anySERM. I. 
 notorious uncontroled Breach of them. 
 
 To thefe Miracles of Power we may add 
 Prophecies, which are Miracles of Know- 
 ledge, Now, how God himfelf (liould cer- 
 tainly forefee uncertain Events, is uncon- 
 ceivable by us ; but it is abfolutely impof- 
 iible, that any fuch Degree of Knowledge 
 fhould be lodged in finite Beings. Yet there 
 are feveral fuch Prophecies as fuppofe infal* 
 lible Knowledge of contingent Events ; and, 
 confequently, mufl; be afcribed to God alone. 
 Such is the Prophecy about Cyrus by Name, 
 and what he would do, above an hundred 
 Years before he was born, Ifaiah's Prophe- 
 cy concerning our Saviour's Sufferings, a 
 Prophecy fo very punctual, that, if we were 
 not certain of the contrary, one would fuf- 
 pedt that the Author had lived after our Sa- 
 viour, and had nothing to do but to adjuft 
 the pretended Prophecy to the Event. Such 
 is our Saviour's Predi(flion concerning the 
 unexampled Deftrudlion of *^crujalein^ and 
 the Difperfion of the 'Jews^ till the Fuhiefs 
 of the Gentiles fioidd come in. 
 
 There then is no queflion, but, if the 
 Miracles were wrought, they were wrought 
 by God himfelf: Which brings me to the 
 
 \\d. 
 
250 The Truth of Chrijlianity* 
 
 Serm. I. Wd, Point, which was to prove, we hav6 
 Sufficient Evidence the Miracles were adu- 
 ally wrought. 
 
 And in order to this, I need not prove, 
 that the Apoftles could not be deceived 
 themfelves, lince they were Eye-Witnefles 
 of our Saviour's Miracles ; much lefs could 
 they be deceived, as to the Miracles they 
 themfelves performed, particularly as to that 
 of the Gift of Tongues. For they mufl 
 have had as much an internal Confcioufnefs, 
 that they could on a fudden underftand and 
 fpeak a Variety of Languages, which they 
 never learned ; as they had an internal Con- 
 fcioufnefs of their own Exiftence. They 
 muft have an intimate Feeling of what 
 paffed within them. 
 
 My Bufmefs fhall be to (hew, 
 
 iftj That the Apoftles had no Intere/l 
 to deceive ethers : and 
 
 2dlyy That they could not have deceived 
 Mankind if they would. 
 
 ifl. Then I am to prove, That the Apo- 
 ftles had no Intereft to deceive others. 
 
 If 
 
'the I'ruth of Chriflianlty. 251 
 
 If Chriftianity was an Impofture, it wasSERM. I. 
 a ftrange Impofture indeed ; an Impofture 
 beneficial to the World, but deftrudive to 
 the Authors, in the Nature and Tendency 
 of the Thing itfelf: beneficial I fay to the 
 World, fince it forbad every Vice, and 
 enjoined every Virtue, that could make a 
 Man more happy in himfelf, more fervice- 
 able to the World, and more acceptable to 
 God. But as vifibly, in its genuine Con- 
 fequences, deftrudlive to the Authors ; fince 
 they could not expe(51: to impeach the Juftice 
 of the Jewifh Government, by charging 
 the Crime of Murder, the Murder of the 
 Trince of Life upon the Rulers, to difturb 
 publick Settlements, and unhinge national 
 Religions with Impunity ^ fince they knew 
 from the Indignities their Mafter met with, 
 that they were to promote it at the Expence 
 of whatever was dear and valuable to them 
 in this Life ; fince the Pagan Priefts would 
 every where work up the Dregs of the Po- 
 pulace into a Ferment, againfl: the Pro- 
 pagators of a Religian^ which could not 
 take place but at the Expence of their 
 Intereft. 
 
 It may be faid, the Apoftles were adu- 
 ated by Ambition : They were impatient 
 
 to 
 
252 I'he "Truth of Chrifitanity* 
 
 Serm. I.to fet themfelves above the tindiJiingiiiJJ:ed 
 Many\ and to fliew the Superiority of their 
 Parts by dilTenting from the Common 
 Herd. 
 
 It is granted, that Ambition is fome- 
 times as predominant in the Vulgar, as it is 
 in Men of Letters, or Heroes : But then 
 it operates in a quite different Manner, and 
 flows in another Channel. 
 
 For inftance, an ignorant Peafant, who 
 has had a narrow and confined Education, 
 may be defirous to be the Oracle of the 
 Village, in which he hves, and to get and 
 maintain an Afcendant over it. This would 
 probably be the Height of his Ambition : 
 It could never enter into his Head, if he 
 were in his Senfes, without the Advantages 
 of a refined Converfation, or the Knov/- 
 ledge of Books, to eredl himfelf into a 
 Teacher of many Nations. The Philofo- 
 pher indeed might be tempted to enlarge 
 the Scene of Adion, and to fpread his 
 Fame and Knowledge throughout the 
 World : But a Defire of Difiindion in 
 poor unlettered Men of common Senfe, is 
 confined within a narrower Sphere, it never 
 prompts them to take the JVorld for their 
 ^heatre^ and Ma?2kind for their Audience, 
 
 If 
 
l*he Truth of ChriJliajtJty, 253 
 
 If then the Apoflles were Men of com-SeRM. I. 
 mon Senfe, which is plain from that ex- 
 cellent Syftem of Morality, which they 
 have left us, explained in the cleared Pre- 
 cepts, enforced by the flrongefl Motives, 
 and exemplified by the brightefl Pattern ; 
 they could not, were their PafTion for Glory 
 l^ver {o ilrong, merely upon the Strengch 
 of that Motive, have formed a ui!d ro- 
 mantic Projedl of propagating a new Reli- 
 gion among the polite, as well as barbarous 
 Nations, wi-hout either Riches or Power 
 to obtrude their Sentiments upon the World, 
 or Avt and Addrefs to infimiate them. 
 
 No, if they had not been fwayed by a 
 Principle of Obedience to their Creator, 
 and a well-grounded Belief in him, that 
 he would profper their Endeavour ; that 
 Attempt, viz. for a few defencelefs igno- 
 rant Men to change the Religions of all 
 the Earth, by introducing a rational Devo- 
 tion, and a pure Morality, had been a 
 kind of religious Knigkt Erraiitry, which 
 fome frantic Riithufwjis might have fet on 
 foot ; but was inconfillent with their Cha- 
 raifler, who fpoke the Words of Sobernefs 
 and Truth. Thefe then were the true 
 Springs of their A(^ions, a fettled Convic- 
 tion 
 
254 ^J^^ Truth of Chrijlianlty, 
 
 Serm. i.tion of the Truth of the Refurredion, a 
 '£rm Confidence that they repofed in 
 their Maker and Saviour, and a certain 
 Expectation of Heavenly Rewards in Re- 
 verfion. Had they not believed the Truth 
 of the Refurred:ion, and that God vi^ould 
 give a Sanction to it by Miracles ; Vain- 
 Glory, it is certain, could not prompt 
 them to embark in an Attempt which, they 
 could not but forefee, muft terminate in 
 their Difgrace and Defeat j they being in 
 themfelves very incompetent Inftruments, 
 to occafion fo great a Revolution in Reli- 
 
 gion. 
 
 Befides, it is plain Ambition could never 
 have been their Motive : Had they indeed 
 pretended to preach and write from their 
 own Fund of Senfe, and to ftrike out an 
 intirely new Track of Thought, without 
 treading fervilely in the Steps of another; 
 then there had been fome Colour for tax- 
 ing them with Vain-Glory : But, inftead 
 of this, they difclaim the Vanity of being 
 thought Originals : They refer all the 
 Glory of being ih^jirji Author of thefe be- 
 neficial Truths to their Lord and Mafter: 
 He was the Majler Builder who laid the 
 Plan J they defire only to be confidered as 
 
 Ufidet^- 
 
l^he 'Truth of Chrijlianity , 255 
 
 Under- Agents and Workmen j a Chara6ler,SERM. I. 
 to which ambitious Men are not wilHng to 
 ftoop : They every where make our Saviour 
 the. immediate Fountain-Head of that 
 Knowledge which watered and enriched the 
 World J they only pretend to be the Chan- 
 nels^ through which it was conveyed. 
 
 There are few or no other public Ac- 
 tions, but what a witty Malice may put 
 fome finifter Interpretation upon j and the 
 beft Deeds in Appearance may\ and often, 
 no queflion, do^ proceed from a Principle 
 of Vanity : But the Adions of the Apoftles 
 will ftand the Teft of the feverell Scruti- 
 ny. For they could not adl upon any 
 indired and interefled Views of wcrldly 
 Honour, Ambition, or Gain ; they mufl 
 have been fupported by a determined Refo- 
 lution of Mind, to bear the utmoft PreiTures 
 of Mifery and Torment, in the Caufe of 
 Truth, founded upon a Profped of future 
 Happinefs. So far are they from confult- 
 ing the Dignity of human Nature who de- 
 ny the Truth of Chriftianity, that they do, 
 what in them lies, to rob us of the moft 
 inconteflable Examples of human Virtue, 
 and confequently, to depreciate our Na- 
 ture, 
 
 It 
 
256 'The Truth of Chrijlianity, 
 
 Serm, I. It is objeded indeed, whereas the pri- 
 mitive WitnefTes fealed their Teftimony 
 with their Blood 5 that Confideration does 
 not weigh much, fince feveral Criminals 
 have perfiiled to the laft in the Denial of 
 known Fad:s. 
 
 - To this 1 anfwer, that thefe Wretches 
 generally do it with the Profped: of a Pardon 
 or a Reprieve. But pray, which of thefe 
 hardened Creatures would perfevere to atteft, 
 what he knew to be faife j provided a Par- 
 don was offered, if he wotild confefs the 
 Truth ? Yet this was the Cafe of the A- 
 poftles : They might at any Time have 
 preferved their Lives, by laying open the 
 Cheat, if it had been one: Nay, in the firll 
 Council, that of the JeivSy before which 
 they were convened, all that was defired 
 of them was, that they fliould preach no 
 more in the Name of ycfus. 
 
 He that can produce one Inftance of a 
 Man that would rather part with his Life, 
 than retract, what he knew to be falfe, when 
 he might fave his Life by retradiing j mufl 
 find fome Hiftory as yet unknown to the 
 iearned World. Much lefs can a Number 
 of fuch Men be produced, who all, with 
 ^n inflexible Stubbornnefs, with an tmcon- 
 
 qiierabk 
 
'The Truth of Chrijlianlly. 257 
 
 qiierahk Spirit, were confiftcnt from firflSERM. I. 
 to laft, till Death clofcd the Scene, with- 
 out one of them throwing oft the ?vlaflc. 
 I have often heard that Terrors and Tor- 
 ments have made a Man abjure what he 
 knew to be true\ but I never heard, that 
 they had fomething fo inviting in them, as 
 to make a Man, much lefs a Number of 
 Men, maintain what they were confcious^ 
 was a Falfiood, a Falfiood improjitahk to 
 them, when they might have been refcued 
 from Death by recanting. There is then 
 this material Difference : Criminals either, 
 in the firft place, falfify with an Intention 
 to fave themfelves from the Stroke of 
 Juftice : v/hereas the Apoftles brought their 
 Lives, knowingly and wilfully, into im- 
 minent Danger j nay, adually loft them, 
 for nothing but perfevering to atteft the 
 Truth, unavved by any Terrors, unallured 
 by Hopes of Pardon: Or fecondly, Male- 
 fadors have died, as they lived, under an 
 Infenfibility of each good and virtuous Im- 
 preffion. Grofs and heavy Minds, that 
 think of nothing in this World but what 
 ftrikes their Senlcs, may think of nothing 
 beyG7id this World : But the Apoftles muft 
 have lived an exemplary Life, and in an 
 Vol. 1L S unintcr- 
 
25S *The Truth of Chrijlianity, 
 
 Serm. I. uninterrupted Tenour of Virtue. For a pro- 
 fligate and immoral Life would have blafted 
 their Credit as much, as the Detedion of a 
 notorious Falfhood. And it is not to be fup- 
 pofed, that Men of exemplary Lives, who 
 in .their Writings inculcate the jufleft and 
 therefore the noblefl Sentiments of the Dei- 
 ty, and a flridl Regard to Truth, would 
 die with a Falihood in their Mouths. 
 
 I own that Enthuflafm will put Men 
 upon defperate Attempts. But then the 
 Apoftles could 720t have been E/ithufiaJis, 
 For they muft have had an abfolute Certain- 
 ty, whether our Saviour was rifen, after fuch 
 oft-repeated, lafling, fenfible Evidence of 
 his being alive, after having feen, handled, 
 and felt him : They muft be intimately 
 confcious (the highefl: Degree of Certain- 
 ty) whether they could fpeak all Languages, 
 -agreeably to his Fromife after his rifing 
 from the Dead, 'viz. that they fliould be 
 endued with Power frojn on High. If they 
 then afferted thefe Things without any Foun- 
 dation, they ku^w what they aiferted to be 
 falfe. Now he is net an Enthufia/l, who 
 afferts what he Jz^iows to be falfe ; he is 
 fomething worfe. 
 
 That Charge being difmiflcd, the only 
 
 tolerable 
 
^he Truth of Chrtfiiainty. 259 
 
 tolerable Motive that can be afligned, isSer^m^ 
 that of Vain-Glory, which I have already' 
 dilproved. For it is plain to the Force of 
 a Demonftratlon, that they were not in- 
 fluenced by other worldly Views 5 when 
 they knew, that renouncing Eafe and Plea- 
 fure, their Country and Friends, they were 
 to face Poverty, Bonds, and Death, under 
 their moft forbidding and frightful Appear- 
 ances. I thinks fays St. FauU that God 
 hath fet forth us the Jpojlles lafl, as it were 
 appointed to Death : For aae are made a 
 SpeSlacle to the World and unto Angels and 
 Men, — Even unto this prefe?it Hour we both 
 hunger and thirji^ and are naked and are 
 buffeted^ and have no certain Dwelling-Placc, 
 and labour working with our own Hands i 
 we are reviled, perfecuted and defamed-^ 
 we are made as the Filth of the World, 
 and the Off-fcouring of all 'Things. 1 Cor. 
 iv. 9, ^c. 
 
 Hear what Clemens Romanus, Contem- 
 porary with the Apoftles, fays, in his firll 
 Epiftie to the Corinthians, the moft va- 
 luable Monument of Chriftian Antiquity,^ 
 next to the infpired Writings. " It was of 
 " unjuft Envy, that Peter fuffered, not 
 " one or two, but feveral Pains^ and hav- 
 S 2 *' ing 
 
26o l^he Truth of Christ ajthy. 
 
 Serm. I.** ing undergone Martyrdom, is gone Into 
 " the Place of Glory, which was due to 
 *' him. It is out of Envy (continues the 
 " fame Author) that Paul got the Prize 
 *' of Patience, having been put feven 
 " Times in Irons, ftoned, and fcourged > 
 *' being the Herald of the Gofpel in the 
 " Eaft and Weft, he made his Faith fa- 
 " mous. Having taught the whole World 
 " Juftice, and being come to the E^^Jre^ 
 " mity] of the V/efi, when he had fuffered 
 " Martyrdom before the Chief of th6 
 " State, he went out of the World *.'* 
 Thefe are the Words of an Author, who 
 had no Temptations to falfify, and living 
 in the fame Age with the Apoflles, could 
 not want an Opportunity to inform liimfelf 
 of the Truth of what he delivers. Since 
 then the Apoftlcs were not fwaycd by Vain- 
 Glory, or other worldly Confiderations ; 
 they muft have been either a6led by a dif^ 
 interefted Love of Pain and Mifery, con- 
 trary to the known Workings of human 
 Nature, contrary to the firft Principle, that 
 of Self-Prefervation, and an invincible De^ 
 lire of Happinefs : Or they muft have been 
 fwayed by a fettled Convidion of the 
 
 Truth 
 
 * Cotelerii Patrei Apoftolici. Veh I. Pag. 15c, 151, 
 
the Truth of Chrijlianity. 2 6 1 
 
 Truth of the Refurrcdlion, and nnimatcdSERM. I. 
 by the Hopes of an cvcrlafting Weight of' 
 Glory. Thefe are the only afllgnable 
 Springs of Adion. 
 
 Difbelievcro would be thought to be great 
 Patrons of focial Morality : But one can- 
 not well conceive how Society, and confe- 
 quendy focial xMorality, can fubfid upon 
 their Principles, which are fruitful of Dif- 
 truft and Jealoufy. They, who can im- 
 pioufly believe the Apoflles to have been 
 Deceivers and Knaves, muft, if confift- 
 ent with themfelves, believe even one elfe 
 to be fo too, as far as he has Capacity and 
 Opportunity. They who can entertain a 
 Doubt of the Apoflles Honefty, after the 
 jlrongcfi Proofs of their Integrity, that they 
 could polTibly give, or Mankind require, 
 muft entertain a general imdifllnguijhing 
 Sufpicion of every Perfon about them. 
 
 Add to this, that a Vein of Simplicity 
 runs throughout their whole Compofure, 
 and Nature, void of Art, fpeaks in every 
 Line. And whatever critical Skill and Accu- 
 racy in Languages they might want ; they 
 every where feem to fpeak, what is more 
 eftimable than all the Languages bcfides, the 
 Language of the Heart : They never cad 
 S 3 in 
 
262 T^he Iruth of Chriflianity, 
 
 Serm. I.in Shades, what might appear too bold, glar- 
 'ing, and incredible at the firft tranfient 
 View : They never fmooth the Way and 
 prepare the Reader, for what might feem 
 pffenfive : They every where leave the Ac-. 
 tio7is to Jpeak^ and their Readers to judge, 
 for themfehes. Plain honeft I'rutb wants 
 no artificial Colourings ; and Fal/J^ood is apt 
 to betray itfelf^ by laying them on too thick. 
 Truth fhines w^ith unborrowed Beauties, and 
 has no need of foreign Ornaments : But ori 
 Fahhood, which has no Comelijzefs in itfelf. 
 Men bejiow the more abundant Comehnefs, 
 Here they lavifli out all their Art, prodigal 
 of Decorations, to divert the Eye from at- 
 tending to its genuine Deformity. 
 
 The Evidence flill rifes higher, if we 
 confider that the Truth of the miraculous 
 pads in Scripture-Hiilory, is proved by 
 Events fubfequent to them; which Events, 
 mz. the Propagation and Ellablifhment of 
 Chriftianity, could never have taken place, 
 unlefs the miraculous Fads had been true : 
 For it was as impoflible, that the twelve 
 Apodles {hould propagate Chriftianity, a- 
 gainft the united Forces of ^ews and Gen- 
 tiles, ?vlagiftrates and Philofophers j as that 
 twelve unarmed Men fhould defeat the 
 
 whole 
 
The Truth of Chri/lianity. 263 
 
 whole Roman Army, The Relation there- Serm. I. 
 fore, which the Scripture gives us, of Mi-' 
 racles, muft be true : Becaufe, without a 
 Suppofition of Miracles adlually performed, 
 we cannot rationally account for that great 
 Turn in religious Affairs, which not very 
 long after followed, viz, the Subverfion 
 of Pagan Idolatry in Part, and the Intro- 
 duction of the Worfliip of God in Spirit 
 and in Truth. 
 
 But this Argument for the Truth of 
 Chriftianity falls under my next Head, and 
 piuft be referved for another Difcourfe. 
 
 
 %!"-..f^T<*j ^ 
 
 
 84 S E R- 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 Preached at the 
 
 Lady MOVER'S Lecture. 
 
 On the Evidences of Chriftianlty. 
 
 John III. 2. 
 
 IRabbl, we Iznow^ that thou art a Teacher^ 
 come from God : For no Man can do thcfe 
 Miracles, that thou docjly except God be 
 ivith him, 
 
 IHave already proved in a former DIf- Serm. II. 
 courfe, that Miracles may be fo cir- 
 cumftanced, as to be direct and decifive 
 Evidences of a divine Pov^^er and Commif- 
 lion. — That it was abfohitely impoffible 
 the Apoftles Ihould be deceived themfelvcs, 
 as Witnefles of our Saviour's Miracles and 
 their own. — That it was tnorally inipol- 
 
 fible 
 
2 66 ^'h^ Evidences of Chrijlianity. 
 
 Serm. II. fible they fliould attempt to deceive others. 
 
 The Subjed of my prefent Difcourfe 
 
 is to prove, that the Apoftles could not 
 have deceived Mankind, if they would ; 
 nor have impofed a falfe Religion upon the 
 World, by virtue of a pretended Commif- 
 fion from Heaven. 
 
 If the Chriftian Religion, containing 
 Dodrines unpalatable to Flefh and Blood, 
 void of e'uery Ad'vantage^ befides its own 
 internal Excellency, to recommend it, and 
 clogged with a great many InmmbranceSy 
 could carry Convidion with li from Eajl to 
 Wefti by fuch mcompetmt Inftruments, in 
 fo fiort a Time, in fpite of the mofi re-t 
 fohed Ofpofition : If this Plant, from a 
 Jlender Appearance at firft, grew, and wax- 
 ed a great Tree, when no ki?idly Siinjhine 
 of worldly Power yet fmiled upon it 5 nay, 
 when the Inclemency of the Seafon beat 
 hard againft it j the Growth of it was un- 
 doubtedly marvellous. 
 
 It is granted, that in Matters of pure 
 Speculation, the Bulk of Mankind may be, 
 and often are, deceived 3 becaufe they have 
 not Leifure or Capacity, to unravel ftudied 
 Sophiflry, and nicely to diftinguifh between 
 w^hat is plaufible, and what is folid and 
 
 fubftantial : 
 
The Evidences of Chrijltanity. 267 
 
 fubflantial: But the Cafe is different as to^ERM- II. 
 Miracles, which are Matters of Fa5l^ that 
 fall under the Cognizance of our Senfes. 
 Here the Vulgar and the Learned are equal- 
 ly competent Judges, and you can perfuade 
 neither of them to believe he fees a glaring 
 Facft, which he does not ad:ually behold. 
 Either then the Apoftles wrought fuch 
 Matters of FaiStj or they did not. If they 
 idid, then they were invefted with a Power 
 from God : For evil Spirits would not, if 
 they could, empower them to beat down 
 Idolatry : If they did not, then it is unac- 
 countable, how a Set of Fifhermen, de- 
 fpifed for their Poverty, and odious upon 
 the account of their Nation, {hould pro- 
 pagate through many Nations, not to fay 
 the v/hole known World, fuch an unlikely 
 Story as this, ^'iz. That one, who was 
 crucified as a common Malefadlor in Ju- 
 dauy was to be adored as a God j and that 
 too at fuch a Jundure of Time, when their 
 numerous Converts in feveral Parts of the 
 World, fome of whom were Men of 
 known Diftindion and Opulency, (fuch as 
 Dionyfius of the Areopagus^ Jofepb of the 
 yewijh Sanhedrim^ Sergius Pauhis a Pro- 
 pnful^ Flavins Clemens a Roman Conful, 
 
 6cc,) 
 
268 I'he Evidences of Chrijlianity, 
 
 Serm. II. occ.) who had, very probably, enjoyed one 
 continued Sunfliine of Prosperity j mufl bid 
 adieu to all the Blandifhments of Life, un- 
 dergo, whatever is diflafleful to human Na- 
 ture, and either fufFer, or be in danger of 
 fuffering Martyrdom. 
 
 I would gladly have the Deifts try the 
 Experiment : Let them fend the ableft the/ 
 can fingle out of their numerous Fraternity 
 to broach fuch a like Story: For Inftance, 
 that one, who fufFered in England for a 
 Malefad:or, is rifen from the Dead, and is. 
 to be worfhipped as the Saviour of Man^ 
 kind : Let them fend them to Portugal or 
 Spain, where the Inquifition reigns, and 
 where as exquifite Tortures will be applied 
 to them, as were to the primitive Martyrs. 
 It is eafy to fee the Confequence : They 
 themfelves would meet with a very warm 
 Reception -, but their Do<flrine with a very 
 cold one : Both would be involved in the 
 fame Doom, both perifh and come to 
 nought. If then the Apoftles had not a 
 Power of working genuine Pvllracles, and 
 difplaying the ampleft Credentials of divine 
 Power J it will be the greateft Miracle of 
 all, that without either Riches to bribe, 
 Authority to awe, or acquired Knowledge 
 
 and 
 
The Evidences of Clmjlianity, 269 
 
 and Dexterity to overreach Men into a Serm.il 
 Compliance with their Notions, they fl:iouId '— -v— ^^ 
 pave the Way to fo general and great a 
 Turn in religious Affairs ; when thefe 
 boafled Maftcrs of Reaibn, the Deifts^ 
 thefe Men of large Views, vv^ho by an un- 
 common Superiority of Soul have difen- 
 gaged themfelves from the Prejudices of 
 Education, would not be able to bring over 
 a Majority of Men, nay, perhaps, not one 
 Man of common Senfe in any one Nation ; 
 if they lliould fet on foot fuch another un- 
 promiling Projedl. 
 
 Let us fuppofe, that a Perfon in our 
 Days fhould embark in a Dcfign of can- 
 celling all the old Religions, and building 
 a new one upon their Ruins; that, to com- 
 pafs this Defign, he pretended to raife ths 
 Dead, make the Blind fee, the Lame walk, 
 the Deaf hear, ^c. that not long after his 
 Death, his Followers puhliHi a punctual 
 circumftantial Relation of all thefe Things, 
 mentioning the Places where, the Perjhns 
 upon ivhomy the Witfiejfes before whom, 
 thefe Miracles were faid to be wrought : 
 Let us put the Cafe, that they too pretended 
 to have the fame miraculous Powers veiled 
 in them, and that their Dodrine gained 
 
 Footing 
 
270 T^e Evidences of Chrijiianity* 
 Serm. II. Footing every where, not only in England^ 
 but in foreign Countries : Would the Ma- 
 giflracy, and thofe whofe Intereft was at 
 ftake, remain unadlive in fuch a critical 
 Jundure, and fuffer the People to be fe- 
 duced by fuch over- bearing Preteniions ? 
 No, certainly : They would fend, which 
 might be eafily done, to the Places where, 
 the Perfons upon whom, and the Witneffes 
 before whom, thofe aftonifhing Notices of 
 divine Power were faid to be difplayed : 
 They would take down the Depofitions of 
 creditable and fubllantial WitnelTes in every 
 Place, that the Dead were 720t raifed, nor 
 the Sick cured there, nor thoufands fed in 
 a miraculous Manner, ^c. They would 
 circulate and difperfe thefe Atteflations, and 
 •fend the Antidote, wherever the Infedlion 
 was fpread. 
 
 Now I afk, Did the Jewifi and Pagan 
 Magiftracy and Prieflhood, upon the firfl 
 Publication of the Fad:s, when the Gofpel 
 began to fpread, take thefe eajy Meafures, 
 which Common Senfe fuggefled, to fupprefs 
 Chriftianity, and confront its Evidence ? 
 If they did, then Chriftianity muft have 
 been ftifled and overlaid in its Infancy, by 
 the Weight of feveral Thoufands of difin- 
 
 terefted 
 
l^e "Evidences of Chriflia?iity, 271 
 
 terefted Witnefles, giving it under their Serm.il 
 Hands, that no fuch glaring A<ftions were 
 pubiickly done. This, I fay, muft have 
 been the Conlequence, if the Fads had 
 been falfe j efpecially when all the Engines 
 of worldly Power were applied agalnfl it. 
 If they did not take this eafy Method ; 
 they 'virtually and implicitly owned the 
 Truth of the Fadts : They confelTed the 
 World was not decei'ved; becaufe, if it had 
 been fo, they neither wanted Power nor 
 Inclination to undeceive it. 
 
 But it is objedled, that fuch Accounts 
 were publifhed, which the Chriftians, when 
 they got the Power into their Hands, wife- 
 ly took care to fupprefs. To which I an- 
 fwer J When did the Chriftians get the 
 Power into their Hands? Why, after Chri- 
 ftianity had flood the Shock, and outlived 
 the Rage, of ten long Perfecutions. But 
 this does not at all invalidate what I faid, 
 *uiz. That Chrifrianity muft have been over- 
 laid in its Infancy^ by the Weight of au- 
 thentic Accounts, well-attefted againft its 
 Truth : Whereas then it was too late ; it 
 had taken the deeper Root, by weathering 
 out the Storm. Befides this is n-atis die- 
 turn J there are no Traces left of any Books, 
 
 that 
 
2 7 2 "The Evidences of Chrijlianity , 
 
 Serm. II. that ever denied the Fads ; no Mention of 
 them occurs any where. We have indeed 
 fome Remains of CelfuSy Hieroclesy Por- 
 phyry, and Julianj declared Enemies to 
 Chriftianity. But w^hat they alledge does 
 not amount to a Denial of the Fads : So 
 far are they from that, that they afcribe 
 the Miracles of our Saviour to Magic, and 
 the yeivs m the Talmud, juft as their Fore- 
 fathers do in the New Teftament, to a 
 Correfpondence or Intercourfe with th6 
 Devil. 
 
 To account for the Rife and Propaigatiori 
 of Chriftianity, our Adverfaries have re- 
 courfe iofalfe Miracles, which they fay are 
 very common among Chriftians. By Chri- 
 ftians here they mean the Papijls : But if 
 Popilh Priefts chufe to ad their pretended 
 Miracles in By- Places, in Cloyfters, or at 
 leaft only before Men of their ow?2 Perfua- 
 fion, where they have the Power in their 
 Hands, to fence off an impartial Enquiry 
 into them 3 and yet their pious Frauds have 
 been generally deteded: Jf, notwithftand- 
 ing their confefTed Depth of A?'t and Fi- 
 nejfe to execute a v/elUconcerted Projed, 
 they have never attempted to do a Wonder 
 in the Eye cf a Protejiant Nation, before 
 
 a greaS 
 
The Rvidences of Chrijiia?2ity, 273 
 a great Concourfe of Hcretich^ as theySEr.M. ir. 
 call us i then I defire to know, how a Set 
 of unpolified Men, unpraclifed in jludied 
 Wiles and myfteriom Frauds^ fhould auda- 
 cioufly and fuccefsfully carry on a flagrant 
 Cheat, in the Eye of Thoufands of its 
 moft inveterate Foes, the Priefls and Rulers 
 of the yewiJJj Nation, and indeed the 
 Rulers and Priefts of every other Nation, 
 who wanted neither Difcernment enough 
 to iinmajk and expofe it, if it had been fuch, 
 nor Power to criij}:) and ftifie it. This, I 
 fay, was impoffible, if their Miracles had 
 been Impoftures, and therefore they were 
 iiot fo. And fince the Difcovery of Impof- 
 tures \\2,% jl agger ed the Faith of fome weak 
 Men, and made them look upon Chriftia- 
 nity in the fame difadvantageous Light ; I 
 will venture to fay, that the more jiumeroin 
 the hnpojlures are, which are difcccered j 
 the more Chriftiamty is conjirvied thereby : 
 Becaufe it proves, that 7io Impojlure can fiand 
 the Teft of a fevere Examifiation^ when 
 Men of Power and Policy vigoroufly interejl 
 themfelves in the Detection of it, and are 
 refolved to go to the Bottom of //. Impof- 
 iicres need only to be held tip to the Lighty 
 to be feen through j But Chriftianity, the 
 Vol. II. T more 
 
274 ^^ Evidences of Chrijlianky. 
 
 Serm. Ii.more thoroughly it was canvajfed, and the 
 'more n:igcroiifiy it was oppofed^ the ?nore it 
 gained Foctiiig in the World. There is then 
 this Difference between an Impojiicre and a 
 genuine Miracle. The former loves Obfcu^ 
 rity ; the latter is dedrous to be fet in the 
 Jirongeft 'Point of View, and challenges the 
 neareil: infpedlion, of the moft penetrating 
 Judge. 
 
 Be(id:s, 'Tacitus^ an Heathen Hiftorian, 
 affbres us, that in Nerds Reign, but thirty 
 Years after our Saviour^s Refurredtion, there 
 was (ingens Multitiido) a prodigious Multi- 
 tude of Chriftians at Rome, above two 
 thoufand Miles from ye?'iifalem ; that Nero 
 in Aided upon them the moft exquijite Pu- 
 nifliments j and particularly, that they were 
 burnt to give Light in the Streets, when 
 Day- light failed. 
 
 What (hall we fay, as to that prodigious 
 Multitude, who, in Nero's Reign, were 
 faithful unto Death, unwearied by Toils, 
 unihaken by Mifery, and undifmayed by 
 Terrors, even by Death the King of Ter^ 
 rors f They could not be miftaken j fincc 
 they who converfed with the Apoftles, 
 mull know, whether they made good their 
 Pretenfions to a miraculous Power, or not ; 
 
 or. 
 
T'h Evidences of Chrijlianity. 275 
 
 or, in other Words, whether they were Serm. il. 
 Impoftors, or Perfons commiffioned by' ^'"^ 
 God. Did they then wilfully cc?ifpire to 
 hnpofe upon others ? Upon v/hat Motives ? 
 That of Vain-Glory ? No, certainly. The 
 great Leaders of Parties may fometimcs 
 exped to be tranfmitted down to Pofleriiyy 
 with Marks of Honour^ and to leave be- 
 hind them a bright and lofting Uracil of 
 Glory. But their numerous Retinue of 
 Followers muft expedl to die unnoticed^ as 
 they lived unknown : Each of Them will 
 be loft in the Crowd, like fo many Cyphers, 
 undiftinguiflied, and of no Confideration or 
 Moment^ any farther than they contribute 
 to make the principal Figure, which was 
 placed at the Head of them, more confi^ 
 derable. Now that Men fhould give up 
 the moft ivcighty and '■caluable Confidera- 
 tions of this Life ; nay Life itfelf, for in- 
 'valuable Rewards in Heaven, and for an 
 exceeding Weight of Glory ; that they fliould 
 fufpend all Defire of Jppkife, till they re- 
 ceived the ineftimable Applaufe of their 
 
 Creator This is eafily accounted for. 
 
 But that Men fliould give up their All here, 
 for Nothing in Reverfion j that they fliould 
 refign Life itfelf, without even expeding 
 
 T 2 that 
 
276 'The Evidences of Chrljlianity» 
 
 Serm. II. that imaginary Life, a great Name aft&r 
 Death, merely to attefl and fupport an uri- 
 profitable Faljhood — This is highly incredi- 
 ble, ablurd, and impollible. 
 
 I grant, that feveral may die Martyrs 
 for an Opinion that is falfe^ becaufe, though 
 it be falfe, they may be perfiiaded it is true. 
 But Miracles,* upon which Chriftianity is 
 founded, are Matters of Fa5i^ of which 
 the early Followers of the Apoftlcs mufl 
 have been Eye-witneffes. And no body 
 ever died to afTert an Untruth in Matters of 
 Fa^ly as to which he could not be deceived, 
 fuppofing the 'Truth of his Senfes : Though 
 feveral have died, rather than renounce 
 Opinions^ the Falfity of which they had 
 not Judgment enough to difcover. Much 
 lefs can it be imagined, that, under the 
 early Perfecutions of Nero and Domitian, 
 many Thoufands of Chriflians would go on 
 in an uninterrupted Track oi falfifijing wil^ 
 fully, at the Expence of their Lives 3 with- 
 out one of them, even in the Article of 
 Deaths deviating into Truth. 
 
 The numerous Converts to Chrlflianity 
 in the firfl Century, could 7iot have believed 
 it to be true, if it had been falfe. For 
 tliey mufl have had an inward Confciouf- 
 
 nefs. 
 
The Evidences of Chrijha7nsy* 277 
 
 nefs, whether they had received thofe mi-S^RM. ir. 
 raculous Gifts or not, for the Abufe and 
 Mif-application of which St. Paul in his 
 firfl Epiftle to the Corinthians cenfures and 
 reproves them. They muft have had an 
 abfolute Certainty^ fuppoling no extraordi- 
 nary Gifts were communicated to them, 
 that he, from whom they received their 
 ReHgion, and whofe Epiftles, as appears 
 from St. Feter and others, were univerfally 
 read as of divine Authority, was 2. Jl^ame- 
 lefs Impojior. And yet they could not have 
 profeJJ'ed the BeHef of it, kno%ving it to be 
 an Impojlure^ at a Time, when Chriflians 
 were of all Men mod miferable^ without 
 any Profped of worldly Honour and Ad- 
 vantage, but with a certain Expectation of 
 exquifite Torments; except upon a Suppo- 
 fition that they loved Mifery and hated 
 Happinefs, as fuch. 
 
 PUfiy, a Perfon of unfufpecfted Veracity 
 in the Reign of Trajan, not feventy Years 
 after the Refurredtion, in a Letter to the 
 Emperor, informs him that, where he was 
 Governor in Bithynia, a Place above twelve 
 hundred Miles from Jerufaletn the neareft 
 Way ; to arrive at which you muft travel 
 through feveral Nations, of different Lan.- 
 T 3 guages, 
 
278 T'he Evldeitces of ChriftiaitUy, 
 
 Serm. ii.guages, Syrians, Famphyltam^ Caricrjis^ 
 ' Lyciansj Sec. Chriftianity had fo far pre- 
 vailed, that t/je Temples of the Gods ivere 
 almoji defolated^ their facred Rites a long 
 Time intermitted^ and there were 'very few 
 that would buy any Sacrifices ; notwithftand- 
 ing great Severities were inf idled upon Chri^ 
 flians of every Rank^ Sex^ and Age, 
 
 fujiiji Martyr, who lived in the fame 
 Century, informs us, in his Dialogue with 
 Trypho the few, that there was no Nation 
 in the known World, where fome did not 
 pray to God in the Name of fefus Chrif, 
 What fhall we fay then ? that the Apoflles 
 tra»velled from one End of the Earth to the 
 other, without underfianding the Languages 
 of feveral Nations ? Then it would have 
 been impoflible to have made any Converts, 
 by fpeaking to them in an unknown Tongue. 
 Or fhall we fay, that Men bred up in low 
 Employments had a vaft Variety of Lan- 
 guages at Command? That would have been 
 almoft impoflible, if they had made it the 
 whole Buiinefs of their Lives. Li lliort there 
 is no other Way of accounting for it, but' by 
 Infpiration : They could not acquire themj 
 they muft be the Gift of God. And when 
 I ccnlider, that they enlightened as many 
 
 Nations 
 
*The Kvldeiices of Chriftiantty. 279 
 
 Nations with a rational Devotion, and found Serm. IL 
 Morality, as Alexander ravaged by the Force 
 of Arms J that they did more in one Century 
 to difabufe the World, and refcue it from 
 human Sacrifices, and to propagate benefi- 
 cial Truth, than the Pbilofophcrs had done 
 for fnajiy Ages : I think, what was a mere 
 Compliment, when applied to a certain 
 great Hero, is but ftrid: Jultice done to 
 them, I'iz. that they were the Inftruments 
 /« tanth Rebus gerendts^ quantas midere i:ix 
 hominis'y perjicere Jiullius nijl Dei, *' in 
 " bringing thofe Things to bear, which 
 ** merely to attempt was more than human ; 
 ** but to perform was certainly God-like and 
 *' divine." That the Apoftles, though lou\ 
 fhould overcome the Great : and though 
 ignorant, fhould teach the Wife ; can only 
 be afcribed to him, who has chofen the 
 iveak Things of this World to cojifound the 
 Mighty, 
 
 Befides, fuppofing the Apoftles had af- 
 ferted without any Foundation, that at the 
 Death of our Saviour, when the IVIoon 
 was at the Full, and confequently, there 
 could be no natural Eclipfe, yet there was 
 2i fupernatural ont, and a Darknefs of three 
 Hours Continuance j that in the Meti'opolis 
 
 T^ ®f 
 
280 \fhe Truth of Chrijlianity. 
 
 Serm. iLof the Nation, the Partition of the Temple 
 was rent from the Top to the Bottom j that 
 the Graves were opened, and the Dead 
 appeared in the Heart of the Nation ; that 
 fiky Days after, at the Solemnity of Pejt- 
 iecofty to celebrate which People reforted 
 from different Parts of the World, there 
 was a Defcent of fiery Tongues upon them, 
 by virtue of which feveral, who, it could 
 be proved, knew no Tongue but their na- 
 tive one, were empowered to converfe pub- 
 lickly with Men of different Nations, in 
 their own Language: Suppofe, I fay, they 
 fhould have afferted thefe Things without 
 any Foundation j could they have perfuad- 
 ed one Man to have fwallowed fuch crude 
 glaring Falilioods in Matters of Fad:, and 
 make him believe he faw what he never 
 did, a fupernatural Eclipfe, and heard what 
 he did not, the Miracle of Tongues ? If 
 they could, 1 fhould not know which i;noft 
 to wonder at, their Modejly in ajfertiiig 
 fuch notorious Untruths : or his Viiderjiand' 
 ing in believing them. Thus their Story 
 would have been an empty Bubble, which 
 muff have funk and vaniihed, almoft as 
 foon as it rofe. That fingle Fadt of the 
 miraculous Eclipfe, if falfe, muff have 
 
 proved 
 
7he Evidences of Chrijliantty, 281 
 
 proved a Miljlone about the Neck of it, and^ERM- 1^^ 
 funk it irretrievably. Jt put it in the Power 
 of Man, Woman, and Child, to difprove 
 their Relation : Every one would tell them, 
 fuch a Thing muft be notorious and vifible 
 to the whole World: which yet had efcaped 
 their Notice, and that of eiiejy one clfe 
 they knew. They could not then have Z;/?- 
 pofed upon the Age in which they lived. 
 
 The only Thing, that can be fuppofed is, 
 that the Story might be put upon after Agcs^ 
 at fome diftant Period of Time. 
 . Place then the Date and Rife of Chrl- 
 ftianity, at ni^kat Period of Time you pleafe ; 
 could the Propagators of it perfuade any 
 People, to believe fuch a Story of public 
 notorious Fads, which they never beard of 
 before, without Fcundation or Evidence? 
 No certainly, if they fliould tell us, that, 
 to perpetuate the Memory of thefe Actions, 
 the Hiftory of them had been written by 
 Eye-JVitneffeSi public Sacraments appointed, 
 iveekly and annual Fejiivals celebrated from 
 that Time to this^ and a Church founded, 
 againfl which the Gates of Hell never could 
 prevail. For then the Story would carry 
 its own Confutation along with it, and they 
 plight have as well attempted to make 
 
 People 
 
282 The Evidences of Chrijltanity. 
 
 6erm. II. People believe they heard ignorant Men 
 fpeak all Manner of Languages^ ov faw our 
 Saviour raife the Dead-, as that there was 
 then in Being a Church, againft which 
 the Gates of Hell ?iever had prevailed, in 
 which thefe Fejiivals had been always ob' 
 ferved, and thefe Sacraments always kept 
 up. The Cry would have been 3 what is 
 become of your Church, which was to be 
 impregnable as a Rock, and lafting as the 
 Sun ? Is it become an invifible Church in- 
 deed ? Out of your own Mouths will we 
 condemn you : What need we farther Wit' 
 7JeJJ'es ? Now would any Nation, difcarding 
 the Religion which they had been bred up 
 in, admit a new one in its Stead, upon 
 the account of fuch a groundlefs felf-con- 
 tradiSfory Story ? What, would they fay, 
 could fuch glaring and notorious Fa(Sts, 
 which muft have alarmed the whole World, 
 like the Sailing of a Ship, leave no Traces 
 behind them of their Exiftence in Hiftory ? 
 In fhort fuch an unfupported and overgrown 
 J^aljhood muft have fallen to the Ground by 
 its own unwieldly Bulk, without any one to 
 overturn it. 
 
 To apply this to Chrijliajiify in general. 
 If the marvellous Fadts were not true, the 
 
 Books, 
 
The Evidences of Chrljliamty, 283 
 
 Books, which contain them, could never f^^^j_^^; 
 have been received ; nor the Feftivals and 
 Obfervances, which commemorate them, 
 have taken place in that Age, in which 
 thev were faid to be done : Becaufe it was 
 then in e'-ocry Body's Power to difprove them. 
 They could not, in any after AgeSy have 
 been impofed upon Mankind : Becaufe 
 though Abfurdities may be grafted upon an 
 old Religion, yet no Nation ever did, or 
 will, voluntarily embrace a Religion entire- 
 ly ;zt"Zt;, without any Evidence, And it is 
 certain, they were not thus impofed upon 
 Mankind lo7jg after-, becaufe it appears by 
 uncontradiSled wj-itten Tradition, that thefe 
 A<ftions, augufl Ceremonies, and Feftivals, 
 did commence at the "Period ajjigned^ and 
 have flowed down from their firfi Fountain" 
 Head to the prefent Age, in one uninter^ 
 rupted Stream. 
 
 To apply this to the Truth of the Re*^ 
 furred ion in particular. The ApoJloUcal 
 Age could not be deceived by a (ham Story 
 of a Refurre(flion, becaufe our Saviour's 
 Refurreciion was as public and notorious, 
 as his Death and Crucifixion^ though not in 
 ?{/t'^, yet in its immediate Confequences^ I 
 mean thofe Miracles wrought before Thou- 
 
 fands. 
 
284 The Evidences of Chrijlianity. 
 
 Serm. iLfands, by Eye-WitnefTes, to confirm the 
 'Truth of it. Was it then fet on foot in 
 fomc after Age F No j becaufe both the 
 weekly and yearly Memorials of it are of as 
 old a Date as Chrifitanity itfelf, and, from 
 the firll: Propagation of it, have been fuc- 
 ceffively handed down to us. That Sunday 
 was the weekly Memorial of it, even in the 
 Apojlolical Age, is plain from St. 'John^ 
 who fays, that he was in the Spirit on the 
 Lord's Day, or the Day then fet apart to 
 commemorate the Lord's Refurredtion. And 
 that there was an annual Memorial of it, 
 inflituted by the Apoftles, and continued 
 down to us, is plain from the early Dif- 
 putcs about the precife Time, on which it 
 was to be obferved i though the Obferva- 
 tion of EaJIer as an Apoftolical Inflitu- 
 tion, was never controverted. In {hort, 
 the Hiftory of the Gofpel has all the Tefti- 
 mony, that any ancient Matter of Fa(5t ever 
 had j and it has, befides, feveral material 
 Evidences^ which other ancient Matters of 
 Fad: have jiot. For are there any other an- 
 cient Matters of Fadl, which were attefted, 
 by Eye-Witneffes, who expeded nothing in 
 this Life but Miferies and Hardfiips for 
 their Atteftations 3 who were ready to lay 
 
 dowa 
 
The Evidences of Chrijlianity, 285 
 
 down their Lives for the Truth of whatSEaM. 11. 
 they faid j who could not be deceived them- 
 felves, had no Intereft to deceive others, 
 nor could have deceived them if they 
 would ? Are ih^nc Jianding Monuments and 
 fcnfible Obfcr'uations, appointed to keep up 
 the Memory of other ancient Matters of 
 Fadt, commencing from the T^ime in 
 which the ABions were done, and from 
 thence, as from the Jirji Link, defcending 
 to Pofterity in one continual Chain? Did 
 any Religion befides conquer hyjujf cringe and 
 by having its Thoufands, and ten Thoufands 
 flain ? Or did any befides, though its Inftru- 
 ments were vaftly unequal to the Tafk, bear 
 down all Oppo/ition, and triumph over the 
 Rage of the Jews^ the Learning of the Phi^ 
 lofopherSy the Power of Pniperors^ and the 
 Prejudices and Pa/Jions of all Mankind t 
 
 If Chriftianity was an Impoflure; it was 
 an Impoflure y^// Generis, a pure Original ^ 
 imitating no Impoflure, that ever wtis heard 
 i:^^ before y and which no Impoflure, I dare 
 fay, will ever after venture to imitate : 
 An Impoflure, in which there could be no 
 Prieflcraft. For the Priefts, by profef^ng 
 and propagating it, expofed themfelves to 
 fuperior Tortures : They flood in the Front 
 
 of 
 
2 86 7he Evidences of Chnjlianity, 
 
 Serm. ILof the Battle, and were fure to fall xhcjirj}, 
 and the Bijkop generally ended in the Mar- 
 tyr, An Impofture in which there could 
 be no St ate- craft : For all the States of the 
 World for three hundred Years were cofit' 
 bined againfi it. 
 
 So ftrong, in {hort, if we take the Ar- 
 guments from Prophecy, the internal Ex- 
 cellency of Chriflianity, and the Neceffity 
 of a Revelation into the Account, is the 
 Evidence for Chriftianity 5 that it is the 
 laft Thing I fhould believe, that an inquiji- 
 iive unprejudiced Man, of a found Head, 
 and an upright Heart, could be a deter- 
 mined Infidel. Nothing ought to be ad- 
 mitted in bar to fuch pregnant Proofs, but 
 fome ahfolute ImpoJJibility in the Nature of 
 the Thing : Mere Dijiculties weigh No- 
 thing : For at that rate we mufl: disbelieve 
 every Thing in Nature ; every Thing in 
 Nature being attended with great^ nay in-' 
 fuperable Difficulties. 
 
 Could we fuppofe a Being in fome other 
 Part of the wide Creation, of the fame 
 Size of Underftanding with ourfelves, but 
 an inti-re Stranger to the natural Hiftory of 
 the World J fhould anyone inform him of 
 the amazing Properties of the Loadilone, 
 
 the 
 
"The Evidences of Chrifiianity, 287 
 
 ihc Phenomena of Light and Colours, theSERM. II. 
 Circulation of the Blood contrary to all the 
 known Laws of Motion, the Revolutions 
 of the Planets, the Cokejion of Matter, 
 the infinite Divifibility of finite Matter, 
 nay, of the leaft Grain of that finite Mat- 
 ter, the furprizing Effeds of Chemiftry; 
 he would think the Hi fiery of Nature far 
 more unaccountable, than any Deifl can 
 the Book of Grace, and the Hiflory of the 
 Bible. 
 
 Poor fhort-fighted Creatures ! the leafi 
 Grain of Sand is able to baffle the finejl 
 Underftanding : And yet we would pretend 
 to found the Depths of the divi?je Nature 
 and Counfcls j never confidering, what has 
 been often obferved, that, " if what was re- 
 " vealed concerning GoJ, were always adapted 
 " to our Comprehenfion ; how could it with 
 " any Fitnefs reprefent that Nature, which 
 " we allow to be ijicomprehcnfible V We 
 need not to ranfack the Scriptures for Diffi- 
 culties : Every Thing about us and ivithin 
 us, above us and beneath us, convinces us, 
 that we are very ignorant ; and, if once we 
 come to a Refolution to quit what is clear 
 (fuch are the Proofs for Chriftianity) upon 
 the account oi what is objiurc ; wo. {hall 
 
 run 
 
288 T^Ioe Evidences of Chrijlianity, 
 
 Serm. II. run into univerfal Scepticlfm. We will no! 
 believe, that the Deity does or difcovers any 
 thing marvellous and unaccountable in ari 
 imiLJual and fupernatural Manner, though 
 cuery Things that he does in the common 
 Road of Providence, be marvellous a:nd 
 unaccountable to us. 
 
 Though Men may difagree about Mat- 
 ters of pure abJiraB Reajoning ; yet every 
 reafonable Man is determined by the £1)^- 
 dencei for Matters of FaB^, when they 
 amount to a moral Certainty ; unlefs it be 
 in Cafes, where the PaJJions interefl them- 
 felves, and indifpofe the Mind for the Re- 
 ception of Truth. Every intelUgeiit Per- 
 fon, after Examination, muft judge alike 
 in theje Matters ; except his Judgment be 
 0"jerruledy and his AiTent ohJlruBed by fome 
 ivac72g Affedxion, by fome ftrong Bias, 
 and fome infuperable Prejudice^ perhaps 
 unfufpedted by himfelf: Otherwife a Man 
 might ferioufly difpute, whether yidius 
 . Cafar made a Defcent upon Rngland^ con- 
 quered Pompey, and was ftabbed in the 
 Senate-houfe j which no Man in his Senfes 
 ever did, or ever will do. Either then it 
 mull: be maintained, contrary to what I 
 have already proved, that the Evidences o-f 
 
 Chriflianity 
 
Tli Evidences of Chriftianity . 289 
 
 Chriftianity do not amount to a moral Cer- ^'^"- ^^^ 
 tainty,- or, if they do, it will be diffi- 
 cult to affign a Reafon, why clear, ftrong, 
 and indubitable Proofs fhould not have as 
 much Force and Weight in the Affair of 
 Religion, as they have in all others ; unlefs 
 we may fuppofe there is fomething amifs 
 nvithin, fome latent Difingenuity of Tem- 
 per, which here, though not in other Cafes, 
 fhuts up all the Avenues, by which Light 
 can find an Entrance. 
 
 Though we have not a fcientifcal in^ 
 fallible Certainty of the Truth of Chrifti- 
 anity ; yet we have an infallible Certainty, 
 that we ought to be determined by fitch 
 Evidences, as Chriftianity is furrounded 
 with : Becaufe either we muft a(5t upon 
 fiich Evidence in the daily Courfe of Life, 
 or remain in a State of utter InaBion. He, 
 that will not admit moral Certainty to be a 
 fufficient Principle of Adion ; if his Prac- 
 tice be conformable to his Perfuafion, muft: 
 neither eat nor drink, till he has a mathc^^ 
 matical Demonftration, that what he eat? 
 and drinks will prove ivholefcmc j he will be 
 fure of 720thing in this World, but that he 
 muft, by ading up to fuch a Notion, de- 
 part fpeedily out of it. If we have a fnoral 
 Vol. IL U Ccr- 
 
29^ ^^ Evidences of Chrljliajilty, 
 
 Serm. II. Certainty of the Truth of Chriftianity ; if 
 every ujiprejudiced Mind is determined by 
 moral Certainty, we may argue thus. — It 
 is demonftrably certain, that there is a Be- 
 ing of infinite Goodnefs, Truth and Vera- 
 
 racity. It is demonftrably certain, that 
 
 a Being of infinite Goodnefs^ Truth, and 
 Veracity will not miflead his Creatures into 
 zmavoidable Errors, nor fufFer an Impofturc 
 to pafs upon the World, in his Name, in 
 a Matter of the laft Importance, with fuch 
 manifeft Tokens of Credibility, and moral 
 Certainty, as muft, and do in every other 
 Cafe, determijie an unprejudiced Mind : — 
 therefore it is demonftrably certain, that 
 Chriftianity is no Impofture. Thus the 
 Chriftian Faith, in the laft Refort, refolves 
 itfelf into, and terminates in, the divine 
 Veracity : It is as fure as that God cannot 
 lie^ that he who has laid his Creatures under 
 an Obligation to a£l upon moral Evidence, 
 would not have done fo, if fuch ftrong 
 Evidence could ever inevitably deceive them 
 in an Affair of infinite Concernment. 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON liL 
 
 Preached at the 
 
 Lady MOTE R's Lecture. 
 
 On the Genuinenefs and Infpiration 
 of the Sacred Writers. 
 
 I Thess. II. 13. 
 
 U'%'n ye received the Word of God, ivhlch 
 ye heard of us j ye received it not as the 
 Word of Men, but (as it is in Truth) 
 the Word of God, 
 
 WHEN St. Paul preached the Serm.iiI; 
 Gofpcl of Chrijl to the Thef 
 falo7iians, they embraced it 
 gladly^ and believed it to be, what it really 
 is, of divine Authority and Infpiration. 
 
 That we may do fo too, it v/ill be ne- 
 ceflary to prove, 
 
 U2 Ifti 
 
2g2 T'he Genuhiemfs and Infpiration 
 
 Serm.iit. IA The Genuinenefs of thofe Books, 
 which contain the Gofpel of yefus Chrifi^ 
 And, 
 
 IL//)'j Their divine Infpiration. 
 
 I,/?, I am to prove the Genuinenefs of 
 thofe Books, which contain the Gofpel of 
 ^efus Chriji. 
 
 Thofe Authors are confefTedly genuincj 
 who have received the Sanation of their 
 Contemporaries, or immediate ouccefTors, 
 followed by an uninterrupted Series of 
 Vouchers. 
 
 Thus St. Paul quotes the Gofpel of St, 
 Luke, whofe Praije is in the Gofpel through- 
 out all the Churches J as of equal Authority 
 with the Writings of Mofes. For the 
 Scripture faithy thou Jhalt not muzzle the 
 Ox that treadeth out the Corn, and, the 
 Labourer is Tvorthy oj his Reward, i Tim. 
 V. 1 8, which laft PafTage occurs no where 
 but in St. Luke x. ver. 7. as the former is 
 
 to be met with Deut, xxv. ver. 4. • 
 
 Thus St. 'Johuy as Eufebius * informs 
 us, ftamped his Authority, at the Inflance 
 
 of 
 
 * Eufebii Hift. Eccl. Lib. 3, cap. 24. 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 293 
 
 of his Friends, upon the Gofpels of M-t^^-SermJU. 
 thew, Mark, and Lr^M and then added his' "* ' 
 own as a Supplement to them. 
 
 Much the fame Account we have from 
 the ancient Author of the Martyrdom of 
 Timothy, with this additional Circumftance, 
 that before St. John reviewed them, they 
 had already been tranflated into feveral Lan- 
 guages +. Nor is it at all unlikely, that 
 the fame Zeal, which prompted St. John to 
 expofe one Fraud, as we (hall prove by and 
 by ; would llkewife determine him to au- 
 thorize the genuine Records of Chriftianity. 
 This is what the World might expeft from 
 a Perfon fo venerable, for his Wifdom and 
 Authority, as well as for his great Age : 
 And this is, what common Senfe would 
 fuggeft to one j who lived after Forgeries had 
 begun to creep abroad. 
 
 Though Clemens Romajius, Barnabas, 
 Bermas, Ignatius, Polycarp, Writers who 
 had been converfant with the Apoflles, fel- 
 dom afcribe any of the Books of the New 
 Teftament to their refpedive Authors j yet 
 they 'virtually own them all to be genuine, 
 by fhewing the moft diftinguiihed Regard 
 
 U3 to 
 
 -j- Photii BMothcca Cod. 254. 
 
294 ^^^ Genulnenefs and Infpiration 
 
 gERM.lll. to them, by often quoting them and oftr 
 'ner alluding to them : An Honour they do 
 no other Writings except thofe of the Old 
 Teftament. They tranfcribe numerous Pre- 
 cepts from the Scriptures, of which their 
 own Lives were indeed the moft beautiful 
 Tranfcript. That they have not exprefsly 
 named the Authors, from whom they bor- 
 row, is eafily accounted for : They wrote 
 chiefly, if not entirely, for the Benefit of 
 their Contemporaries, and it was needlefs 
 to point out to thofe, who lived fo near 
 the Fountain Head, from what Source they 
 drew that living Water, which they had 
 fo thoroughly imbibed, and fo plentifully 
 transfufed into their own Compofitions. 
 
 What a religious Veneration thefe early 
 Writers paid to the Scriptures, the follow- 
 ing PafTage of Ignatius -f- will clearly (hew. 
 *' Your Prayer to God, fays he, {hall make 
 '* me perfecft, that I may attain to that 
 ** Portion, which his Mercy has afligned 
 ^' me ; having Recourfe to the Gofpel, as 
 " to the Flefh of jffus Chriji', and to the 
 " Apoflles, as to the Prefbytery of the 
 
 " Churcl^. 
 
 •j- Ignatii Epill. ad Philadelph. Seft. 5. Cotelerii Patres 
 Apoftol. Tom. 2. Vide Notas Johannis Clerici in locum. 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 295 
 
 ** Church. Let us alfo love the Pro-SERM.iil. 
 *' phets, becaufe even they preached the 
 *• Gofpel, believed in Chrlft, and hoped 
 *' for him*/' 
 
 The Meaning of thefe remarkable Words 
 is plainly this. That he as firmly believed 
 the Gofpel, as if he had heard "Jefm Chriji 
 himfelf alive, and in the Flefli, delivering 
 
 to 
 
 • Quod a Nemlne, quod quidem fciam, hoc ufque ob- 
 fervatum fuit, monuit nos olim clariiTimus Grabius, Ignatium 
 utriufque hujus Canonis mentionem feciffe, in Epiftola ad 
 Philadelphicos. n^oaSvfa'v tJ EYArrEAin «; C*F«' '^'"^'*' 'b 
 ro7; 'AnOSTOAOIi; «? ■nr^so-ovTEfiw 'E»;xXy,!7'a?- >^ T«; HPO- 
 
 4>HTAi; 01 df^.-JTufMir, &c. Nempe per EJaryiXioi-, Codi- 
 cem Evangelicum, per 'A7roro>.yj, Codicem Epiftolicum, 
 "per nfo(p^rcc;, Canonem Vet. Teftamenti (^^^^x^-x'«^« ^"- 
 telMgendum exiftimat. Id quod nobis poflea perfuafiffimuin 
 erat, etiam ex aliis Ignatii Locis. Nonnunquam enim E- 
 vangelii vocem ftridius fumere videtur pro Codice Evange- 
 lico ; (ut cum Evangelicum e|aif£Tw? efle ait, iv w to 'au^ 
 t:u, ^£^^^w'"a., k) « dvurcccTi', -rfuxilificc^. Epift. ad Smyrn. 
 §. 7. & in Ep. ad Philadelph. 'E^a.if(lcv tx^i to Eua.yyi>^tov, 
 rr.v uidr'-ccr» kc. §. 8.) tum vero alias laxiori fignificatu 
 Evangelium apud Eum pro Canone integro N. T. accept 
 tum videmus ; ubi fimul memorat Legem Mofis, Prophe- 
 tias, & Evangelium ; (a? ax inrncruy ai w^oip*il£r«», a^ o no- 
 ft®-Mw(5-£wj d}X b^i fA£X£» 'v-j TO Evayyih,Kj>. Ep. ad Smyrn. 
 §.5.) Quod fi vero res ita fe habebat, Canon Epiftolicus 
 mediocri Temporis intervallo pra^celTerit necefle eft Epifto- 
 la? Ignatianas ; idcoque & prodierit fub annum forte asrae 
 Vulgaris CX. five etiam aliquanto ante. Mil/ii Prclego.'n. 
 pag. 24. 
 
 U4 
 
296 The Genuinenefs and hifpiratton 
 
 SERM.liI.to him the Precepts therein recorded j that 
 'he betook himfelf to the Writings of the 
 Apoftles, with no lefs AiTurance, than if 
 that venerable Prefbytery were then acfling, 
 immediately under the .great Bifhop and 
 Shepherd of their Souls, "Jefui Cbrijl j that, 
 after thefe, the next Regard was to be paid 
 to the Writings of the Prophets, becaufe 
 they had foretold our Saviour's Advent, his 
 Death and Paffion. 
 
 From hence we may gather, that the 
 Canon of the New Teftament was then 
 fettled and put upon a Foot of Equality with 
 the Old. When he fays. Let us love the Fro- 
 ■phetSy who could be known to him no other-? 
 wife than by their Writings, he undoubtedly 
 means their Compolitions, and the Books of 
 the old Teftament: And when he fays, he 
 has Recourfe to the Go/pel, and the Apofiles, he 
 no lefs plainly means the main Body of the 
 New Teftament, as divided into the four 
 Gofpels, and the Epiftles of the Apoftles. 
 
 In his Epiftle to the Inhabitants of Smyr^ 
 fia, Section the 7th, he writes thus: " It 
 " becomes us to attend to the Prophets, 
 •* but efpecially the Gofpel, in which the 
 " Paffion has been f]iewn to us, and the 
 ?^ Refurredion perfeded/- 
 
 And 
 
of the Sacred Writers. 297 
 
 And again, Se(5lion 5th, in the fame Serm. Ill, 
 Epiflle, ** whom neither the Prophecies, 
 ** nor the Law of Mofes, nor even the 
 " Gofpel, to this very Day could per- 
 *' fuade." 
 
 From Ignatius, who, as St. Chryfojlom 
 fays, converfed familiarly with the Apoftles, 
 and was intirqiately acquainted with their 
 Do(^rine j let us pafs on to Polycarp, who 
 was not only inflrudlcd by the Apoftles, 
 but by them conftituted Bifhop of the 
 Church of Smyrna J. 
 
 From him we learn, that In that early 
 Age, the Books of the New Teftament 
 were generally ftudied, and dignified with 
 the Name of Holy Writings. " For, I 
 ^* truft, fays he, that ye are well verfed in 
 ^* the Holy Scriptures, and that Nothing 
 
 *' (of this kind) has efcaped you. And 
 
 ^* in thefe it is faid. Be ye angry and Jin 
 " not. And, let not the Siin go down upon 
 ** your Wrath *." 
 
 And in another very {hort Paragraph •^, 
 where he has quoted the Sacred Writings 
 no lefs than four Times, he ftyles thofe 
 
 Writings, 
 
 J Irenfsus, Lib. 3. cap. 3. 
 
 * Polycarpi Ep. ad Philippenfes, Scft. 12, 
 
 •j- Ibidem, Seft. 7th. 
 
298 7 he Ge?mi72enefs and hifpiration 
 
 pERMJll. Writings, which he quotes, ** the Oracles 
 ' ^"^ '" of the Lord." The Church of Smyrna, 
 over which he prefided, in their Account 
 of his Martyrdom, written immediately af- 
 ter his Death, appeals to the Scriptures, as 
 of deciiive Authority. " We do not com- 
 " mend, fay they, thofe who offer them- 
 *' felves [to Martyrdom] lince the Gofpel 
 " teaches no fuch Thing -f-." 
 
 If, as it plainly appears from Ignatiui 
 and Polycarp, the Writings of the New 
 Teftament were put upon a Level with 
 thofe of the Old ; then it will follow, that 
 they were read at that Time in private Fa- 
 milies and public Congregations ; fince the 
 yewijh Scriptures confefTedly had that dif- 
 tinguifliing Mark of Relpedt paid to them : 
 And it is plain, they received the fame 
 Scriptures which we do : Since their Quo- 
 tations every where agree in Senje and Sub- 
 fiance with the Books which we now re- 
 ceive, though they do not confine them- 
 felves always precifely to the fame Words : 
 For it was the Cuftom of that Age to quote 
 memoriter. 
 
 That St. Paur?, Epiftles were thus pub- 
 lickly read, we have earlier Evidence. He 
 
 himfelf 
 
 f Cotelerii Patres Apollol. Page 196. 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 299 
 
 himfelf orders one of them (if not two) Serm.iil 
 to be read in the Churches of the Laodi- 
 ceans and Colojjians * j and we may fairly 
 gather from St. Peters, Words -f-, that the 
 reft of his Epiftles had the fame juft Ho- 
 nour done them. 
 
 Papias, who was Contemporary with 
 thefe Writers, and converfant with the im- 
 mediate Diiciples of the Apoftles, exprefsly 
 afcribes J the Gofpels of St, Matthew and 
 Mark to their refpedtive Authors, and efta- 
 bUflies the Genuinenefs of the firft Epiftle 
 of Peter, and the iirft of Job?!. 
 
 The Sum of the Evidence from the 
 Apoftolical Writers is this : That the Writ- 
 ings of the New Teftament were then ga- 
 thered into one Volume, publickiy read in 
 Churches, and univerially received j lince 
 they are quoted by Clemens at Rome, by 
 Barnabas at Cyprus, by Ignatius in Syria, 
 by Poly carp at Smyrna, and by Papias at 
 Hierapolis in Pkrygia. 
 
 When yuftin Martyr, in the Year 140, 
 in his fecond Apology mentions, (and men- 
 tions 
 
 * CololTians iv. 16. 
 
 f 2 Pet. iii. 16. 
 
 X Eufebii Ecclcf. Hid. Lib. 3. cap. 39. 
 
300 ithe Genuimnefs and Infpiration 
 
 SERM.Ill.tions it, not as fomething new,) that e'l^ery 
 Sunday the Prophetical Writings, and the 
 Memoirs of the Apojiks were read publickly 
 in the Chrijiian Congregations -, can it be 
 doubted but he meant thofe very Writings 
 of the Apoflles, whom he fo frequently 
 cites in his own ? Add to this, that the 
 SyriacVcrdon^ which feveral learned Men 
 have, I think, proved to be made in or 
 near the Times of the Apoflles, but is un- 
 doubtedly of great Antiquity, agrees exadl- 
 ly (fome Differences not material except- 
 ed,) with our prefent Canon. If the pre- 
 fent Scriptures then were Forgeries j either 
 they were publifhed in the Apojlolical Age, 
 or not. If they were, then the Apoflles, 
 who made it their Bufmefs to propagate fin- 
 cere and unmixed Truth, would not fee 
 their pious Labours defeated, but would 
 take care to unmafk the Impoflure. Of 
 this we have a pregnant Inflance in St. 
 ^ohn. No fooner were the A6ls of Faiil 
 and T^hecla forged, than he took care to 
 detedl, convidl, and degrade the Author of 
 them, who was a Prefbyter, and gave No- 
 tice of it to the AJiatic Churches ^ as we 
 learn from Tertuilian -f, ■• 
 
 But 
 
 •f De Baptifmo, cap. 17, 
 
of the Sacred Writ en. 301 
 
 But if they were publifhed after thei>ERMlll* 
 Apoflolical Age j then it will be impoflible 
 to account how they came to be received 
 every where, in fo (hort a Time with an 
 univerfal Agreement, in Countries fome 
 hundreds of Miles diftant from one another, 
 without any Oppojition, by Perfons who 
 were rigidly tenacious of whatever was A-- 
 poftolical, as appears by the early Contro- 
 verfy about Eafler^ by Perfons who facri^ 
 feed their Lives for the Truths contained 
 in thofe Books. Tertullian appealing to 
 the Apoflolical Churches, giveth us to un- 
 derftand, that in his Time *, ipfcs autheii* 
 ticce Liiterce eorum recitantur. ** the very 
 ** authentic Letters of the Apoflles were 
 " read there ;" where, by authentic^ he 
 muft mean Aiitographay the Apoftles Hand 
 Writing; otherwife why fl:iould he fmgle 
 out and fpecify the Churches planted by the 
 Apoftles ? The genuine Copies of their 
 Writings in Greeks if that was all he meant, 
 were certainly read in ot/jer Churches, befides 
 thofe which were planted by the Apoftles. 
 
 Great Noife I know has been made a- 
 bout the many fpurious Pieces : But the 
 Queftion, in fliort, is this, ly?. Whether 
 
 thofe 
 
 • "[trtulL Ue Prsfcript. Cap. 36. 
 
^0 2 The Genuinenefs and Ijtfpiration 
 
 SermJII. thofe fpurious Pieces were generally received 
 in the early Ages? If they can prove this, 
 they will fay fomething to the Purpofe to 
 invalidate the prefent Canon: If they can- 
 not, then thofe Forgeries cannot be put 
 upon an equal Foot with the prefent Scrip- 
 ture. For the Argument for the prefent 
 Scripture is this, that it is incredible, fuch 
 a Number of good and learned Men, with-^ 
 out any interefted Views, in the moft diftant 
 Countries, {hould combine together in a 
 Cheat, or be impofed upon by one. It 
 is much eafier to fuppofe a falfe Statute- 
 Book put upon a whole Nation, than a 
 fpurious Bible put upon the whole Chriftian 
 World, wherefoever difperfed, without a 
 Difcovery. 
 
 2dly, Can any one Martyr be produced 
 for the fuppofititious Pieces ? No, on the 
 contrary, thofe who difagreed with the 
 Apoftolical Churches, and introduced wild 
 and abfurd Notions, held it unnecefTary to 
 fufFer Martyrdom, ytijlin Martyr (Apol. 
 2^.) makes It the diftinguifhing Charad:er of 
 all the Heretics In his Age, that they were 
 fo far from fuffering, that they never wer6 
 perfecuted for their Religion. l^ertidUa?i 
 (Sco?'piacon) calls them Martyrionm Re^ 
 
 fragatoreSy 
 
 4 
 
Of the Sacred Writers . 303 
 
 fragatores, Decliners of Martyrdom. They SERM.irf, 
 were too wife to part with their Lives for ' "^""^ 
 fuch chimerical and romantic Inventions. 
 Whereas feveral thoufands expired leifurely 
 in ftudied Torments, attefting the Truth 
 of the Gofpels, when they might be eafily 
 fatisfied of their Genuinenefs by the con- 
 curring Teftimony of the Chriftian World, 
 as well as by Tradition, from the Churches 
 planted by the Apoftles. 
 
 3^/v, Whoever will give himfelf the 
 Trouble to read over the Fragments of 
 thefe Forgeries, preferved by the Ancients, 
 and colleded by the Moderns, may eafily 
 fee they carry their own Confutation along 
 with them ; they carry evident Marks of 
 Spurioufnefs. And when he compares 
 them with the genuine Produdlions of the 
 infpired Writers, he will find that PafTage 
 of Cicero applicable, Opinioimm commenta 
 delet Dies, Naturce jiidicia co7ifirmat. The 
 former were like mifhapen Monders, which 
 are very fhort-lived; the latter, like the 
 genuine Produdlions of Nature, that have 
 ftrong i^taminn^ gradually increafed in 
 Strength. They weathered out the Storm, 
 and outlived the Rage of ten Perfecutions. 
 It need not, I think, dagger the Faith of 
 
 any. 
 
'304 T^he Genuinemfs and Infptration 
 
 feERM.iii.any, that the Gnojlicks, who patronized 
 abominable Impurities ^ that the Maiiichcd' 
 ans and Ejicratites^ who held two inde- 
 pendent Principles, and Bafilides with his 
 Followers, who maintained the Lawfulnefs 
 of unnatural Luft, fhould rejed: the Scrip- 
 tures, and forge new ones* They were 
 againfl the Gofpels for this very good Rea- 
 fon, becaufe the Gofpels were againft them< 
 They affigned no Reafons why they reje(5lcd 
 fome Parts of Scripture, and admitted o- 
 thers ; but were aded by Caprice and arbi- 
 trary Humour J unlefs this may pafs for a 
 Reafon, that they pretended to be wifer than 
 the Apoftles, and able to corred them. See 
 Irencetis^ Lib. 3. 
 
 Difmifling therefore thefe Heretics, it 
 will be material to obferve, that the Scrip- 
 tures vifibly bear that Stamp of Antiquity,- 
 which they pretend to ; that they are con- 
 formable to the Genius of that Age and 
 Nation, in which they were faid to be 
 penned j that there are in them no Ana* 
 chronifms, no Miftakes about the Tenets, 
 religious Rites, and Variety of Sedls among 
 the Jeis^s, at that particular Jundure ; no 
 Blunders about thofe feveral eminent Per- 
 foaages, which then aded in a public Ca- 
 pacity 
 
of the f acred Writers » 3 5 
 
 pacity: Their Speech and Idiom never be- Serm.IIL 
 wraying them, to be of a different Country,* 
 but every where adapted to that Diale6l 
 and Manner of Expreffion, which was 
 pecuHar to the "Je^vs, If the Scriptures 
 were not of that Antiquity, vvhich they 
 lay Claim to j then it would have been 
 morally impoffible, for a Writer of a later 
 Date, to h\t crificallyWiQ K\^ o^ Antiquity, 
 to hit the dijiinguifbing Marks, and appro- 
 priate Charadierijticks of the Time and 
 Nation, in which they were pretended to 
 be compofed, and to be confiftent, and all 
 of a Piece, from firfl to laft, throughout 
 feveral Performances of a confiderable 
 Length, without being ever off his Guards 
 without once dropping the Mafkj without 
 once giving way to Phrafes, that were in 
 Vogue, when he himfelf lived, Piirafes, 
 that would be ever uppermoft in his Mind, 
 and preffing for a Vent j without any Al- 
 lufions to Cuftoms, that were not then in 
 being J without any Miftakes in Chronology, 
 Geography, and the Hiftory of thofeTimes* 
 
 It is thus, that all Forgeries have been 
 laid open, and none of them have been 
 able to ftand the Teft of Criticirm -, Some- 
 thing there was in their Stile or Matter ; 
 
 Vol. 1L X Some- 
 
306 l.he Genuimnefs and Infpiratton 
 
 StRM.iii. Something in the Nature and Texture of 
 the Books, that betrayed them. And it is 
 ealier for a Perfon of Learning, Sagacity^ 
 and Judgment, to difcover the Age of an 
 Author y than it is for a Connoijjeur to dif- 
 cover that of a Medaly Coin, BiBure^ or 
 Statue. It remains then, that the Scriptures 
 are as ancient, as they pretend to be. 
 
 And if fo, then they muft be true ; o- 
 therwife they could not have been received : 
 For as they contain a punctual circumftan- 
 tial Relation of public Fads, with the 
 Time wheriy the Places where ^ and the Fer- 
 fom before whom they were performed, the 
 Authors of them could not have put upon 
 the World fuch a continued Series of mar- 
 vellous unparalleled Ad:ions, faid to be done 
 in the Eye of the World, when they muft 
 be frefh in their Memories, without being 
 deteded. 
 
 It is certain, that St. Faid\ Epiil:les (all 
 except that to the Hebrews^ ever were 
 looked upon as genuine, by uncontroverted 
 written Tradition, from the Time in which 
 they were publifhed in a continued Train of 
 Vouchers, down to the prefent Age ; the 
 very judaizing Chriflians, who would not 
 be (determined by his Authority, as an Ene^ 
 
 my 
 
of the Sacred Writers. 307 
 
 my to thofe yewifh Ceremonie?, which Serm.iii. 
 they would have incorporated with Chri- 
 ftianity, never denying him to be the real 
 Author. St. Peter 2 Epiftle iii. 16. firft 
 of all gives a full Sanction to all his Epiftles, 
 giving us to underftand, that they were read 
 publickly, as other Scriptures, and that 
 many made a bad Ufe of them. Clemem 
 Romanus his Fellow-Labourer, whofe Name 
 is in the Book of Life^ in his firft Epiftle to 
 the Corinthians^ defires them to read again 
 St. Paurs firft Epiftle to them, where he 
 bids them fliun Divifions, while oiie faid^ I 
 am of Paid ^ another I am of Apollos^ another 
 of Cephas. JgnatiuSy in his firft Epiftle to 
 the Ephefians^ makes mention of St. PauC% 
 to them. Polycarp, writing to the Philip- 
 piansj very warmly recommends St. Paul's 
 Epiftle to them, with high Commenda- 
 tions, both of the Author and his Compofi- 
 tion. And thefe three Is^ft mentioned Wri- 
 ters in the Apoftolical Age, beautify their 
 own Performances with Quotations from his. 
 If then St. Paul's Epiftles, for which we 
 have uncon^radidled decifive Evidence, be ge- 
 nuine, Chriftianity will ftand its Ground: For 
 they contain all the efiTential and vital Articles, 
 all the main (S/^w/«<2of theChriftian Do6trine. 
 
 X 2 Be fides, 
 
3 o 8 ^'J'he Genuimnefs and Infpiration 
 
 Serm.iii. Befides, he muft have little Knowledge 
 'of Fainting ^ that cannot difcover St. PauFs 
 Letters to be Origi?ials * ; His very Soul 
 fpeaks in all his Writings. There is that 
 undilTembled Zeal for the Glory of God^ 
 and the Salvation of Mankind ; that Cou- 
 rage, that beautiful Difregard to his own 
 Interefi:, when it interfered with higher 
 Views 5 that Boldnefs of Expreffion, that 
 Life and Spirit, which is hard to be coun- 
 terfeited. The fame Force and Energy, 
 which animated all his ASfions, and em- 
 powered him to fpread the Gofpel from 
 Eaft to Weft, ennobles all his Compofitions -, 
 and it would be almoft as impoffiblc for an 
 Impoftor to write^ as St. Paul did ; as it 
 would be to adf^ as he did. It is very diffi- 
 cult to perfoliate a warm, affedfionate, inte^ 
 refiing Writer. We may trace the fame 
 Features, and an exadl Refemblance in his 
 Speeches in the Adis of the Apoftles, and in 
 his Epiftles, which proves them both to be 
 the Offspring of the fame Parent. In both 
 there is the fame Greatnefs of Spirit, the 
 fame glowing Language, and elevated 
 Thoughts, warm from the Heart. In both 
 he either fpeaks or writes with too animated 
 
 a Zeal 
 
 * Temple's Effays, zd Vol. Page jg* 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 309 
 
 a Zeal to be a cold Deceiver^ with too much Serm.iii. 
 Senfe^ Solidity, and Confiftency to be an 
 Enthufmft. 
 
 Let us review the Ground, which wc 
 have already gained. Thofe Authors, ac- 
 cording to the celebrated Maxim of Hueti- 
 uSy are genuine, that are quoted as fuch by 
 Writers, in or next to the Times they were 
 faid to write, and fo downwards, by fuc- 
 ceeding Ages, in an uninterrupted Series^ 
 If this Axiom be not granted, al: Hiftorical 
 Evidence mull fall to the Ground : We 
 may Tt]Q(\ all ancient Hiftorians^ for it is the 
 only Evidence we have of their being au- 
 thentic. But, befides this Evidence, which 
 the Scriptures have 5n common with ancient 
 Writers, they have an additional Enforce- 
 ment, which other Writers have not, viz, the 
 Impoffibility that a Forgery, in a Matter of 
 fuch vaft Confequence, fliould gain Foot- 
 ing throughout the Chriftian World, and 
 be received with the profoundeft Veneration, 
 in all their religious AfTemblies, when liv- 
 ing near the Fountain-head, they could 
 not want Opportunity and Power to detecft 
 it, if it had been fuch ; and being expofed 
 continually to Martyrdom, they could have 
 no Intereft to adhere to it, in Contradidi- 
 X 3 on 
 
3 1 o T'he Genutnenefs and Infpiration 
 
 SERM.iii.on to their own Sentiments. The lefs In- 
 tereft they had to receive the Books, as ge- 
 nuine, the more Evidence they would re- 
 quire. 
 
 The Scriptures have travelled to us with 
 the Pajfport of ^W former Ages, from their 
 jirji fetting out into the World, down to 
 the prefent Times. While the Apoftles, 
 and their immediate SuccejGTors, were living, 
 it was too early to obtrude any forged Books 
 upon the World with Succefs j becaufe 
 they both couldj and undoubtedly would, 
 have detected them. But after the Apo- 
 ftles, and their immediate SuccefTors, were 
 dead, it was too late to impofe upon the 
 World any fpiirious Compofitions ; becaufe 
 then the genuine Works were every where 
 received ; which could not in a Trice be 
 fpirited away, and others, as it were by 
 Inchantment, fubftituted in their Room, 
 without any Notice taken. 
 
 In (hort, if Books which have all the 
 unexceptionable Credentials, internal and 
 external, of being genuine, that any an- 
 cient Record can have, be, after all, mere 
 Forgeries ; then we have nothing to do, but 
 to comrnit to the Flames all paft Records, 
 and to believe Nothing but what we fee. 
 
 But 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 311 
 
 But if this be impoflible j then the Scrip- Serm.IIL 
 tures, the Book of Grace j and the World, 
 the Book of Nature ; both compofed by 
 the fame Hand, both having imprelTed up- 
 on them the moft Uvely Traces of divine 
 Goodnefs and Benevolence, will only peri JJj 
 together : And the Scriptures, the Ground- 
 work and Pillar of our Faith , will laft, 
 till Faith be loft in Intuition. 
 
 Having proved the Genuinenefs of the 
 Books of the New Teflamenti I now 
 proceed, 
 
 IL//)', To prove the Authors were di- 
 vinely infpired. 
 
 By Infpiration I mean the Adion of God 
 upon Men's Minds, conveying Truths to 
 them, and imprefling Sentiments upon them, 
 in an extraordinary Manner. 
 
 The Poflibility of this admits of no Dlf- 
 pute. The Power of God, which enables 
 lis to communicate our Thoughts to one 
 another, can alfo undoubtedly communicate 
 his Thoughts to us j and make us as inti- 
 mately confcious, that thofe Impreffions are 
 made by him folely, as that a?2y Impreffions 
 are made upon us at all. It will be more 
 X 4 material 
 
312 'The Genuinenefs and Infptration 
 
 ;erm.iil material to ftate the Cafe, becaufe there 
 has been fome Confufion on this Head. 
 
 We niurt diflinguifh between an Aflift-» 
 ance of DireBion, from the Holy Spirit; 
 and an Affiflance of immediate Suggeflion, 
 In relating Matters of Fa(ft, of which the 
 Apoftles were Eye-witnefTes, or in points 
 ing out Things, whereof they had a pre- 
 vious and competent Knowledge ; there 
 the Afliflance of DireBion from the Holy 
 Spirit was only wanting, to guard them 
 from any Error, at leail: any material Error j 
 that they fliould not infert any Falfhood, 
 or leave out any momentous Truth. But 
 in Cafes, which were plainly above their 
 Reach, fuch as clearly explaining, and 
 ftrongly enforcing, a complete unerring 
 Syftem of religious and moral Truths, as 
 difcovering thofe Sandions, which 'Eye had 
 not fcen, nor Ear heardy nor had it entered 
 into the Heart of Man to conceive ; in re- 
 vealing Myfleries, and declaring Things to 
 come ; an imrnediate ^iiggeflion of the 
 Iloly Spirit was requifite to imprint thefe 
 Truths upon their Minds, and to enable 
 them to convey them to us : Their natural 
 Abilities being unequal to the Tafk, 
 
 We 
 
of the Sacred Writer's, 313 
 
 We do not maintain, that every WordSERM.liL 
 or Sentence in the Holy Scriptures, was 
 d'lBated immediately by God : St. Faul 
 might falutc the Brethren, and write for 
 what he wanted from Troas without any 
 
 fuperuatural Affiftance : For what Men 
 know without any immediate Impulfe from 
 God i that they may certainly lorite, with- 
 out any immediate Impulfe from him. Nay, 
 we may make a larger ConceiTion, and 
 allow, without any great Difadvantage to 
 the Chriftian Caufe, that there may be \7t 
 Scripture fome few Inaccuracies, as to the 
 Point of Language, and other unconcern- 
 ing Niceties. For this will only prove, 
 that, where there was no extraordijiary Oc^ 
 cafion to interpofe, God did not think fit 
 to interpofe in an extraordinary Manner. 
 All, that we contend for, is this ; that in 
 the dodtrinal and prophetical Parts of Scrip- 
 
 , ture, and whatever elfe was neceflary to be 
 revealed ; the Apoftlcs wrote from the im- 
 mediate Suggejiion of the Holy Spirit : And 
 as to all other Things, that facred Perfon 
 fo far fuperintended and dire(5ted them, as 
 to feciire them from Error : It not being 
 confident with the Honour of God to fuf- 
 fer thofe, who by Miracles proved a Mif- 
 
 fion 
 
314 ^^^ Genuinenefs and Infpiratton 
 
 SirmJII. f5on from him, to ftamp a Credit upon 
 Faldiood, by virtue of that Miilion. 
 
 Having thus far cleared the Way, I (hall 
 proceed to prove the Matter of Fad:, that 
 the Apoftles w^ere adually infpired. 
 
 Now it is certain, that the Apoftles were 
 infpired, in propagating and preaching the 
 Gofpel : Men of their Education could 
 never acquire fuch a prodigious Variety of 
 Languages, as enabled them to fpeak to the 
 feveral Nations, where they travelled, in 
 their own native Tongues, and to fpread 
 the Gofpel from Eaft to Weft, to the ut- 
 termoft Parts of the known World. This 
 Command of feveral Tongues, by which 
 they were empowered to make Converts in 
 the remoteft Countries, cannot be accounted 
 for in a natural Wajj it muft be the Ef- 
 itdi of Infpirafion. . 
 
 Now if God infpired them in the Affair 
 of Freaching j it would follow much more 
 ftrongly, that he infpired them in commit- 
 ting, what they preached, to Writing : 
 Since their ^reaching was confined within 
 a ?2arrower Circle, and operated but upon 
 Few in Comparifon. But their Writings 
 took in a wider Sphere, were of a more 
 diffujive Infuo/ce, and were intended to 
 
 reach 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 315 
 
 reach to all Jges, as well as extend to allSERMJII. 
 Nations. 
 
 I have already proved, In a former Dif- 
 courfe, that the Miracles recorded in Scrip- 
 ture were wrought by God ; and that we 
 have fufficient Evidence, that fuch Mira- 
 cles were actually wrought.- — If then fuch 
 Miracles were performed -, fuch an unin- 
 terrupted Profufion of unrivalled wondrous 
 Works was given by him, who doth no- 
 thing in vain, for fome iinportant End.^—^ 
 No other important End can be affigned, 
 but the refcuing Mankind from Error, and 
 
 difcovering to them neceffary Truth. — 
 
 Where God defigns the End, he muft de- 
 fign the Means requifite to that End. 
 The Means requifite to that End are to 
 preferve his Inftruments, in revealing his 
 Will, from every material Miftake. 
 Confequently, we may implicitly acquiefce 
 in the Belief of the Scriptures. For, if 
 there are no material Miftakes, it can do 
 us no Harm to believe, what will no way 
 affe<ft us. But if there are material Er- 
 rors, which may affed: our Happinefs; then 
 God's Defign, in which he embarked, 
 proved abortive ; and that mighty Appa- 
 fatus, that Wafle of Miracles, anfwercd no 
 3 rational 
 
3 1 6 7he Genuinenefs and Infpiration 
 
 Serm.iii. rational End at all, if it did not compafs 
 this End, njtz. to guide Mankind to bene- 
 ficial Truth, and to refeue them from 
 Falfhood. 
 
 Divine Credentials (fuch are Miracles) 
 
 prove a divine Miffion.- -He who has a 
 
 divine Miflion, thus attefted, fpeaks with 
 
 Authority from God. He who fpeaks 
 
 with Authority from God, muft fpeak fe- 
 verr"! important Truths, and can fpeak No- 
 thing, but the Truth. It is certain, that 
 the Apoftles pretended to divine Infpiration ; 
 and it is as certain, that, if they had been 
 uninfpired, that Being, who cannot lie^ 
 would never have dechired himfelf in Fa- 
 vour of Perfons guilty of a folemn and de- 
 liberate Lie, and borne them Witnefi with 
 Signs and Wonders. When therefore we 
 are afked, v/hether the Apoftles, who were 
 but Men, could be infallible ? we anfwer, 
 that in the common Scenes, and ordinary 
 Occurrences of Life, they we;e fallible, 
 like other Men ; but when they afted in 
 their extraordinary Capacity, as Amhajja- 
 dors of God, as Prophets and Apoftles; 
 there they muft be confidered as infallible. 
 Had they grofsly miftaken, or wilfully 
 mifreprefented the divine Willy God would 
 
 have 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 317 
 
 h2.vt revoked the Commiffion, which theySERM.lll. 
 had abufedy for the fame Reafon that he 
 authorized them at firfl: ; and would have 
 inverted fome other Perfons with fuperior 
 Powers to confront them, and to difabufe 
 the World from any Error, that might be 
 impofed upon it in his facred Name. How 
 weak, when confidered in this Light, is 
 the Objedion againft Infpiration, from the 
 Difagreemcnt of St. Feter and St. Faid^ 
 when the latter at Antioch withftood the 
 former to the Face? For, fuppofing that 
 St. Peter had differed from St. Faul^ in a 
 Point of DoBri7ie and Principle, and not, 
 as he only did in a Point of Behaviour-, 
 yet what would be the mighty formidable 
 Confequence, that could be drawn from 
 thence ? Nothing would follow but this, 
 viz. that when any Perfon fent by God 
 fliould attempt to deceive others ; the Deity 
 would raife up fome other Man, who 
 fhould be effectually enabled to withflani 
 him, to undeceive Mankind, and to pre- 
 vent that Milchief, which his Falling-off 
 from the Truth might otherwife occa- 
 fion. 
 
 That at a Time, when the Word of God 
 was made of none Effect by the Traditions of 
 
 the 
 
3 1 8 Tthe Genuinenefs and Infptratton 
 
 Serm.iii. the Pharifeesy when the Jews were devoted 
 to external Obfervances to the Negledl of 
 inward Piety, when they were prepoffefTed 
 with an Opinion, that they were to conti- 
 nue God's peculiar People without the Ad- 
 miffion of the Gentiles j fome of the lowefl 
 Rank and Education fhould enlarge their 
 Minds from national Prejudices, and invete- 
 rate Errors, and fliould publifh the only Re- 
 ligion, which is fit to be the Religion of all 
 Mankind^ free from the Superftitions of the 
 Pagan World, and the numerous Ceremonies 
 of the Jewifi ; is a Matter of Fad:, which 
 wants to be accounted for, and cannot be 
 accounted for, but by Infpiration. Where 
 fhall we find among the Philofophers fuch a 
 compleat Body of moral and religious Duties 
 founded upon fuch Promifes and Threatnings, 
 as the Gofpel contains ? 
 ■ " That if you put Virtue into one Scale 
 *' and the whole World into the other, the 
 *' former will infinitely outweigh the lat- 
 ** ter *;'* is a very exalted Notion, and 
 would have been a juft one, if the Author 
 had taken into the Account a future State, 
 ^- which only can give fuch a Weight to Vir- 
 tue. 
 
 * Audebo virtutls ampUtudinem quail in altera librae lance 
 ponere. Terram, niihi crede, ea lanx et maria deprimet. 
 Cicero it finihus. Page 435. Ed. Da^v'ti., 
 
Of the Sacred Writers* 319 
 
 tue. How much more rationally noble andSERM.m. 
 beautiful is this parallel Thought of our' 
 blefled Saviour 1 What is a Man profited, if 
 be Jhall gain the whole World, and lofe his 
 oivn Soul? Or ivhat Jhall a Man give in 
 Exchange for his Soul? Matt. xvi. 26. 
 
 Befides thefe Arguments for Infpiration, 
 from Miracles in general, from the Gift of 
 Tongues in particular, and from the inter- 
 nal Excellency of the Scriptures; another 
 arifes from the Prophecies ; fuch as thofe 
 of Daniel, concerning Alexanders Conqueft 
 over the Perfaiis, the amazing Rapidity 
 with which he fubdued Perfia, Afm, and 
 hidia intimated in this ExprefTion, he touch- 
 ed not the Ground, that is, he rather flew 
 than went, he reduced them in a lefs Com- 
 pafs of Time, than a Traveller could have 
 taken an accurate Survey of them. He 
 goes on, in his eighth Chapter, to foretel 
 that, after Alexanders Death, his King- 
 dom (hould be divided into four Parts, 
 which accordingly came to pafs ; that out 
 of one of them Hiould arife a l^ng, (An- 
 tiochus Epiphanes) who fliould harafs and 
 perfecute the Jews, and prophane the Tem- 
 plfe. Thefe Predictions are fo clear and 
 punctual, that Porphyry could not evade 
 
 the 
 
3 20 T'he Genuinenefs and Infpiratton 
 
 SERM.m.the Force of them, but by fuppofing, with- 
 out any Grounds, that the Book was forged 
 after the Events. To difprove this unfup- 
 ported Suppofition it is enough to obferve, 
 that the whole Jewijh Nation could not be 
 confenting to, or impofed upon, by a Fraud 
 of this Nature, fo as to receive a Forgery into 
 the Sacred Canon, at a Time when it was 
 divided into feveral religious Sedts and Par- 
 ties, which kept a watchful Eye over one an- 
 other y at a Time, when the Zeal of the yews 
 for their facred Writings was fo great, that 
 they refufed to deliver them up to Antiochtis 
 EpiphaneSy and were refolved to facrifice 
 their Lives, rather than part with them. 
 
 But fuppofing thefe Prophecies forged 
 after the Events ; what (hall we fay as to 
 thofe, which we know to be verified at 
 this Day ? 'uiz. Egypt fiall be the basest 
 of Kz??gcioT?iSy neither fiall it exalt itfelf 
 ANY MORE above the Nations. For I will 
 difninijh them^ that they Jhall no more 
 rule over the Nations, Ezek. xxix. 14, 15. 
 And again, Babylon Jhall be no more inha" 
 hited for ever, 7ieither Jhall it be dwelt 
 in from Generation to Generation^ Jer. 1. 39. 
 And again, Te (the Jews) Jljall be feat term- 
 ed among all Nations, from one End of the 
 
 Earth 
 
<c 
 
 of the f acred Writers, 3 2 x 
 
 ^arth to the others and f,:all become ^a'Serm.TIL 
 Ajlonijlmicnty a Proverb, and a By-wcrd'^ 
 among all Nations. 
 
 Our Saviour foretels, that jiof o?ic Stone 
 of the yeivifi Temple fioidd be left upon 
 a?20ther : And, when 'Julian the Emperor 
 endeavoured to rebuild it, " dreadful Balls 
 ** of Fire breaking from the Founda- 
 " tion, made the Place inaccefTible. The 
 
 Workmen, as oft as they repeated their 
 
 Efforts, were at feveral Times deftroyed ; 
 " and, the Element repulfing them fo of- 
 *' ten, as if it were defignedly, the En- 
 " terprize was baffled." Thefe laft are 
 the Words of Amjuianus Marcelli/iiis, an 
 Heathen Hiftorian, who was an Officer 
 under yidian. Thus this Emperor, by 
 endeavouring to invalidate our Saviour's 
 Predidion, concerning the Deftrucflion of 
 the yciciJJj Church and State, till the Fid- 
 nefs of the Ge?itiles fioidd come in, only 
 confirmed it the more. 
 
 Thefe Prophecies, and many others, to 
 which the Events exactly ccrrefpondcd, give 
 an inconteftable Proof, that the Scriptures 
 are the Word of God ; fince none but Gcd 
 can difcover future Events, which depend 
 upon the Determination of free Agents. 
 
 Vol. II. Y A par- 
 
32 2 l.he Genuimnefs and hijplration 
 
 Serm.iil a partial Infpiration, is to all Intents 
 and Purpofes the fame as no Infpiration at 
 all. For Mankind would be as much em- 
 barrajjedy to know iiDhat was infpired^ and 
 what was not ; as they could be to collet a 
 Religion for themfelves : The Confequence 
 of which would be, that we are left, jufl 
 where we were before ; and that God put 
 himfelf to a great Expence of Miracles to 
 effed nothing at all : A Confequence high- 
 ly derogatory and injurious to his Honour. 
 It is much more conliftent with God's Ho- 
 nour to fuppofe, that, when he thought 
 fit to interpofe himfelf, he took care to 
 difplay Truth in its genuine and native 
 Simplicity, without any bafer Alloys ; that 
 he made his Revelation all of a Piece, and, 
 like himfelf /'z/r^ uninixed Light, in which 
 there is no Darknefs^ no Error, no Falfe- 
 hood ; than to fanfy he did his Work by 
 halves y let others adulterate his Suggeftions 
 with their own impure Mixtures, and, in 
 a motley Piece, blend, what ought always 
 to be kept diftind:, the Dodrines of God, 
 and the Inventions of Men. Had any one 
 Point of Dodrine been falfe or erroneous, 
 God would not have authorifed their Doc- 
 trines in the grofs by Mii'acles. For God 
 
 can 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 323 
 
 can no more authorife Falfehood in parf^StK\\.iu. 
 than he can what is wholly and entirely fo. 
 He wrought with them, and cciijirmed the 
 Word with Sigiis following^ Mark xv\. 20. 
 He did not imprefs the Sandion of his Au- 
 thority upon this or that Propofition exclu- 
 fively of others, but confirmed the Whole of 
 what they delivered without diftinction ; 
 and therefore we mud recei'-ce the Whole 
 without diftindion, and not think ourfelves 
 at liberty to fingle out fome Points as obli- 
 gatory, and rejed: others. 
 
 It is no Argument againft univcrfal In- 
 fpiration -, that St. Paul declares, fo the 
 refi fpeak i, 77ot the Lord. For the Mean- 
 ing is not, that he was deflitutc of in fpi- 
 ration; but that the Lord (our Saviour) had 
 not, during his Life, fpoken and deter- 
 mined concerning the Point in Debate, con- 
 cerning unequal Marriages, of a Believer, 
 for Inflance, with an Infidel. That this 
 is the Senfe appears from what goes before : 
 To the Married fpeak not /, but the Lord. 
 That is, though our Saviour had left the 
 Point of unequal Marriages undetermined, 
 yet he had decided the Cafe of Divorces. 
 St. Paid does not declare he was unin- 
 fpired ; but that our Lord had not pro- 
 nounced a definitive Sentence on certain 
 Y 2 Points. 
 
324. 'The Ge?2ui?tenefs arid Infpiration 
 
 Serm.III. Points. As little can be gathered from thefc 
 Words, / tbink^ I hare the Spirit of the 
 Lord: For they are an Irony, in anfwer 
 to thofe, who called in queftion the Truth 
 of his Mifiion, as much as to fay, " What- 
 *' ever you may imagine, who oppofe my 
 *' MilTion; yet I, who fliould know beft, 
 " with humble Deference to your Judg- 
 '^ ment, fuppofe, 1 have the Spirit of the 
 « Lord." 
 
 Whatever Difputes may be raifed about 
 the Degree of Infpiration ; it is an obvious 
 Conclufion of Reafon ; that when God 
 defigned to notify his Will to Mankind, he 
 would take care that the Perfons commif- 
 fioned by him, for that Purpofe, fliould 
 publifh what was his Will : and Nothing 
 contradiBory or difagreeable thereto. Take 
 this Key in your Hand, and you unlock 
 all the Difficulties, that have been raifed 
 formerly, and revived of late, againfl In- 
 fpiration. For the Bible muft be allowed to 
 contain an infallible Rule of Faith and Prac- 
 tice J unlefs it can be proved, which has 
 not yet been done, that the Authors of it 
 have omitted fome Truth eflentially neceiTary 
 to Salvation, or advanced fomelhing flagrant- 
 ly abfurd, and mianifeflly repugnant to the 
 Will of God. No olhcr Cbjedions are of 
 
 any 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 325 
 
 any Force or Signlficancy : Becaufe noSERM.iil. 
 other Objedions can fct afide the pofitive 
 Evidence for fuch an Afliftance of the Spirit, 
 as wasfufficient toprefcrve tliem from Error 
 and guide them to all necelTary Truths. 
 
 Now, as to the Charge of Inconfift- 
 encies, Abfurdities, and Contradidions ; 
 whatever has been urged on this Head, has 
 been fatisfadorily anfwered by feveral able 
 Writers. But, fuppofing all Objedions of 
 this kind could not be folved -, it is much 
 more reafonable to fuppofe, that they may 
 admit of a rational Solutiony though we 
 at this Diftance of Time, who want an 
 adequate Knowledge of the Cufloms, Pe- 
 culiarities, and Genius of the Eaflern Na- 
 tions, cannot hit upon it ; than that a Re- 
 ligion attefted by Miracles, confirmed by 
 Prophecies, and recommended by its own 
 internal Excelleficy, fhould be falfe. God 
 would not have fuffered an Impodure to 
 come recommended to us with fuch flrong 
 and commanding Evidences, ns have deceiv- 
 ed (if they were deceived) as rational, i?i^ 
 qiiijitive and difmt ere/led Men as ever Ihed 
 in the World i Evidences fo flrong, that no 
 Inflance can be gi\'en of any T/jing elfe, that 
 was ever y?///^if?c'^ to be falfe, which had fo 
 Y 3 many 
 
326 1*16 Genulnenefs and Infpiration 
 
 Serm.iii. many and fo bright Indications and Marks 
 of Truth, as Chnftianity has. 
 
 We ought to pafs the fame Judgment 
 upon God's Word, which we do upon his 
 Works, In the latter there appear plain Sig- 
 natures of Goodnefs and Wifdona through- 
 out the whole Frame of Nature. But if 
 among the Works of the Creation, which are 
 generally excellent, there are fome particu- 
 lar Exceptions, fome Creatures, ior In- 
 fiance, which, far from anfwering any 
 wife End which we can difcern, are really 
 noxious and baneful to the Reft: What do 
 we infer from thence? That the Creation is 
 not the Work of a wife and good God ? 
 Or even, that thefe Creatures were not 
 formed by him ? No, no fuch Thing : 
 We conclude nothing, but that thefe Sub- 
 jedls lie too deep for us, and that our Views 
 are too narrow to account for every Thing, 
 Juft fo, the Chaiafters of Goodnefi and 
 Wlfdom are generally impreffed upon the 
 Bible : And if in a Book generally fo good 
 and excellent there are fome particular 
 Things hard to he under floods nay, feem-p 
 ingiy abfurd j we ought to refolve it into 
 our Want of Penetration and Difcernment ; 
 And we nnight as well argue, " feveral 
 3 ** Things 
 
of the Sacred Writers. 327 
 
 *' Things in the Creation appear to us pro-SERMm 
 " dudive of evil, and hurtful -, and there- 
 " fore, becaufe they are not of a Piece with 
 ** the reft of God's Works, they cannot he 
 *' his Productions j" as pretend to reafon 
 thus ; " Such Texts feem unaccountable to 
 " us, and therefore we will not allow them 
 «* to be written under the Diredion of an 
 " All-wife Being." Inftead of fuch a pre- 
 cipitate Judgment, it would be much wifer 
 to exprefs ourfelves as ^\..Aiifiin did: " What 
 ** I iinderjlafid in Scripture, is excellent; 
 *' and 1 do not queftion, but what I do not 
 " underftand is fo too." We fliould re- 
 member, that a Book, which fpeaks of 
 Things remote from common Apprehen- 
 fion, which lays before us the deep Thirigs 
 of Gody muft in the Nature of the Thing 
 be more puzzling, than any Compofition, 
 which contains the fliallow Devices of an 
 Underftanding like our own. 
 
 Men may retire into their Clofets, and 
 there imagine with themfelves, how eafy 
 and plain a Book (hould be, which is of 
 a divine Oric^inal, without any amazino- 
 Fads, without any dark and unintellip-ihle 
 PaiTages j and when they find that the Re- 
 velation which wc have, does not tally with 
 Y 4 their 
 
338 T'he Ge2mi?W2efs and Infpiration 
 
 ^ERM.III. their vain Imaginations, may prefume to 
 'rejed: it. And, Hiould they, inftead of 
 looking abroad, and feeing what the Ad- 
 miniflration of the Univerfe is in JaB, fit 
 down and form imaginary Schemes, how 
 Qod fhould govern the World ; the Courfe 
 of Nature^ as it is in reality, would no 
 iTiore correfpond with their preconceived 
 Hypothefis, than the Scriptures do. They 
 would never imagine a priori^ that a con- 
 fiderable Part of the rational World fhould 
 be cut o£F, before they came to the Ufe of 
 their Reafon, and fhould jufl make their 
 Entrance upon the Theatre of Nature, to 
 go out again, without feeming to anfwer 
 one valuable End or Purpofe: They would 
 never conceive, v^^ithout feeing hov/ Things 
 really are, that there fliould be fo much 
 Evil, natural and moral, in the World j that 
 feveral Nations lliould Jit in T)arknefs^ ami 
 the Shadow of Death* 
 
 One plain Argument^ that God has made 
 fuch a Revelation as we have, fliould out- 
 weigh 2ithouJand plaufible Conjecfures brought 
 againft it, to fliew, that it can be no Re- 
 velation from God j and that if it had, it 
 inuil have been [nade mfuch a Manner, and 
 no other ^ The Reafon is as follows : We 
 
 # 
 
of the Sacred Writers, 329 
 
 can eafily judge of the Strength of thofe Ar-SERM.III. 
 guments, which prove that God has, \xvfa5l^ 
 pubh/licd his Will to Mankind ; for they 
 are clear ^ full, and obvious: But we are 
 intirely ijicompetejit Judges-, how, in ivhat 
 Manner, with what Degree of Clearnefs in 
 every Point, God, whofe T^houghts are not 
 as our Thoughts, (liould pubHdi his Will, 
 how much Light it was proper he fhould com- 
 municate, and what Intricacies he might 
 fuffer, on purpofe to be the Tefts of humble 
 welhdifpofed Minds, and to be a Stone of 
 ^tumbling, and a Rock of Offence, to the 
 Perverfe and Difingenuous. We may con- 
 clude from the Uniformity of God's Pro- 
 ceedings, that his revealed Will mufl bear 
 fome Analogy and Correfpondence to the 
 Con/lit ut ion of Nature, as fettled by him. And 
 when every Thing can be accounted for, and 
 is eafy to be underftood, in the Condudt of 
 his Providence-, then, and not till then, we 
 ought to expert, that every Thing f]iould be 
 fo too in a divine Revelation, 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 Preached at the 
 
 Lady MOTER's Lecture, 
 
 On the Corruption of Human 
 Nature. 
 
 Job XIV. 3, 4. 
 
 Dojl thou open thine Eyes upon fuch an one 9 
 and bringeft me into Judgment with thee ? 
 
 Who can bring a clean Thing out of an Un^ 
 clean f Not one. 
 
 THESE Words contain Job's Ex-Serm 
 pofluktion with his Maker, and' 
 the Senfe of them, to ufe the 
 Words of a great Writer, who clearly 
 proves, that they have a plain Reference to 
 the Introdudion of Corruption, by the Sin 
 
 of 
 
 ,iv. 
 
33 2 ^^ Corruption 
 
 Serm.iv. of the Woman, is as follows, " Why art 
 " thou extreme to mark all my Errors ? 
 " Is it reafonable to exped Purity in a 
 " Man born of a Woman, who is by the 
 " very Condition of his Birth unclean * ?'* 
 The Difobedience of our firfl Parents in- 
 volved their Pofterity, and entailed a De- 
 pravity of Nature upon their Defcendants : 
 Which Depravity, though it is not a Sin 
 in tts-, till the Will clofes with it, and deli- 
 berately confents to it 3 yet is certainly 
 finful in itjelfi and therefore is fliled Ori- 
 ginal Sin» For if it were not fo, if the 
 firfl Rife of evil Thoughts, and every Ten- 
 dency and Bias to Vice were not criminal 
 in itfclf\ the Confent of the Will to it 
 could never make it fo. For the Confent 
 of the Will cannot alter the 'Nature of 
 Things. 
 
 St. Paiih Col. iii. 9, 10. fays, Te have 
 flit off the old Man with his Deeds y and 
 have put on the new Man^ which is renewed 
 in Knowledge after the I m age oJ 
 Iliniy that created him-, or, as it is in ano- 
 ther Place, Ephef. iv. 24. which after God 
 is created in Righteoufncfs and tru-e Holi^ 
 
 Jiefs^ 
 
 * Bifhop Sh:rIock\ Second DilTfrtauor, Pag. 2^^^. 
 
of Human Nature, 333 
 
 ficfs. Now to be renewed after the Image Serm.iV. 
 of our Creator, fignifies in the Original, to' 
 receive again, what we had once loft. Man 
 therefore once had (in his primitive State) 
 that Image, to which he is to be reftorcd 
 by the Grace of our Lord Jcfiis Chrifl. 
 This is the Senfe which Irenceus^ a Father 
 of the fecond Century, puts upon thefe 
 Words. For he fays, ** What we loft in 
 " Adam^ inz. the divine Image and Like- 
 *' nefs, we receive again in Chri/iyefus^.'' 
 
 Adam was formed in the Image of God ; 
 and what that Image was, we learn from 
 the foregoing Words of St. Pnul^ that ye 
 flit on the iieiv Man, which^ after Gcd 
 (after the Image of God) is created in Righ" 
 teoufaefs and true Holinefs. It is plain, 
 that we who 2.XQjJ:ape?i in Wickedncfsj who 
 are born with ftrong Propenfions to Vice, 
 are not created in Righteoujnefs and true 
 Holinefs : It is plain therefore, that we are 
 fallen from our original and primitive State 
 of Innocence. 
 
 Far be it from me to vilify human Na- 
 ture, as if it were totally bad, without any 
 Remains and Traces of its primitive Great- 
 ncfs. I own, that any Man may, through 
 
 the 
 
 * Irentcuii Lib, 5. cap. 20, 
 
334 ^^^ Corruption 
 
 Serm.IV. the Grace of God and his own Endeavours^ 
 'ftand clear of all prefufnptuous Sins, and 
 much more of all evil Habits. I own 
 that our Paffions are innocent in themfelves, 
 though they are often wrong in their De- 
 gree, being not very feldom difproportioned 
 to the real Value of Things ; very violent 
 and exorbitant, where they ought to be 
 moderate, and very moderate and remifs, 
 where there is no imminent Danger of Ex- 
 cefs. I grant, that, though our Nature 
 is degenerated, yet it is not entirely 'inverted, 
 fo as to have no Relifh for Goodnefs -, that 
 we are not only capable of Virtue ; but alfo 
 of great Attainments therein ; we may not 
 only be virtuous, but even excel in Virtue. 
 
 Notwithftanding, there are plain Proofs 
 that we are fallen Creatures, from the Per- 
 verfenefs of our Will, and the Weaknefs 
 of our Underftanding. 
 
 For no Creature coukl come originally 
 from God\ Hand, but v/hat was perfe^ in 
 its kind: No rational Creature can be 
 perfeB in his kind, in whom there is a 
 flrong Propenfion to Vice, that is, to what 
 is unreafonahle, and a great Irregularity of 
 the Appetites and Affetftions. Had Man 
 continued fuch as he was at firft formed ; 
 
 the 
 
of Human Nature, 335 
 
 the Balance certainly muft have been, atStRM.lV. 
 leaft, even, between the fenfitive and in-' 
 tclledual Part in our Compofition, between 
 our Paflion and our Reafon: But that it 
 is not fo, is plain from this j that it is not 
 the Province of Wifdom to run into the 
 Arms of a Temptation, and boldly to grap- 
 ple with it; which when we do, we fel- 
 dom fail of being foiled in the Confli<5t, 
 But our Vidory over Temptations is to de- 
 cline a Combat with them ; and a confi- 
 drable Part of the Innoccncy, which is in 
 the World, may be owing to the Want of 
 Opportunities to commit Vice. There is a 
 Stock of Corruption in us, though fome- 
 times unfufpeded by us, which often dif- 
 covers itfelf, as foon as there are fuitable 
 Objeds to call it forth. Hence it is, that 
 few or none are to be trufled with abfolute 
 Power; becaufe an unlimited Extent of 
 Power gives thofe vicious Inclinations their 
 full Play, which before were cramped and 
 confined within narrow Bounds. We da 
 not diftruft ourfelves ; becaufe we know 
 not what is in ourfelves. Many, who 
 would have faid in a private Capacity, Is 
 thy Servant a Dog, that he fljould do thefe 
 things ? have done the very Things in a 
 
 public 
 
336 ^he Corruption 
 
 Serm.iv. public Sphere, which they heartily cori- 
 'demned before. So much Reafon is there 
 for that Prayer, Lord^ deliver me from my- 
 felf. He, that thinketh he ftandeth^ let 
 him take heed, Icjl he fall: then moft 
 efpecially, when he thi?7keth he ftandeth. 
 For Security is our Ruin : And the Minuts 
 we are off our Guard, we may be furprized 
 into Vice by a powerful Tempter, who 
 knows each Avenue to the Soul, or by our 
 own PaJJiofts, the mojl powerful Tempters 
 of All. And he, who is now virtuous, is 
 no more fecure of continuing fo, without 
 much Circumfpedion, and the Grace of 
 God ; than he, who is in perfe6t Health, 
 is fafe againft every Attack of Infection. 
 
 We fee the wifeft of Men, in their un- 
 guarded Hours, betrayed into unaccount- 
 able Follies ; we ftartlc at it, and cry out. 
 Lord, what is Man I Why, a Being, who, 
 without God's 7{pholdi?2g Power, would 
 the next Moment fink into Nothing ; and, 
 without the AfTiftances of his Spirit, would 
 be a Sinner, that is, worfe than. Nothing ; 
 then always betraying his Weaknefs, when 
 he depends prefumptuoufly upon his own 
 Strength; a Child ever in this Refped', 
 that, if left to himfelf, withotit the Gui- 
 dance 
 
of Human Nature. 337 
 
 dance and Support of his heavenly Parent, Serm.iv. 
 he would /^// and injure himfelf. 
 
 A Philofopher, in his Clofet, makes 
 many admirable Reflexions, and lays down 
 excellent Rules for the Condud of Life, 
 under any Afflidlion or Provocation ; yet, 
 among his many fine Reflexions^ he forgets 
 this One, as true as any of them, 'uiz. 
 that all thefe Thoughts are the Refult of 
 a Mind ^/ Eafe-y and therefore will certain- 
 ly vanifli and difappear, as foon as it is not 
 fo : Like the Children of Ephraim, who 
 being harnejfed, carryiiig Bows, and mak- 
 ing a goodly Appearance, ttir7ied thcfjifehes 
 back in the Day of Battle. 
 
 It is certain, that Reafon was originally 
 given us to govern the PaiTions in all Cafes ; 
 It is certain, that it does not now regu- 
 late and govern them in all Cafes j it is 
 certain therefore, that we are in a fallen 
 difordered State. To give fome Inftances j 
 Are there many of us, who when any great, 
 immediate, and unforefeen Danger threat- 
 ens, have fo much Command of themfelves, 
 as to have that juft Degree of Fear, which 
 is neceflary to alarm their Caution, and to 
 prevent any Rafhnefs j but is not fo immo- 
 derate, as to overfet the Spirits, and betray 
 Vol. II. Z the 
 
338 *The Corruption 
 
 SERM.iv.the Succours of Reafon ? If they have, 
 they are more indebted for it to an inborn 
 Vigour of Spirit, and a Familiarity with 
 Danger, than to all the Reafonings^ which 
 Philofophy ever fuggefted. For that Cou- 
 rage, which depends ,upon Reafon, is very 
 precarious: It is like that Health, which 
 is fupported by conflant Medicines: A native 
 Strength of Conftitution and conilant Exer- 
 cife are of infinitely more Service. 
 
 Take another Inftance, how unequal the 
 Confiidt is between Reafon and Paflion. 
 Suppofe a Man over- whelmed with Sorrow; 
 and produce your ftrong Reafons, why he 
 ought not to grieve j and what will they 
 avail? Length of Time fhall abate and 
 wear away that Sorrow, which Reafon could 
 not conquer : Nay, a trifling Diverfion, 
 fuited to the Capacity of a Child, fhall have 
 greater Influence than all the Confolations 
 of Seneca and Epi^etus. To put a Man 
 upon Thinking is not the moft efFedtual 
 Way of getting the better of immoderate 
 Grief : The beft Expedient is to divert his 
 Thoughts. We confefs ourfelves to be 
 miferable Sinners-, and we are therefore 
 Tnofi miferable under any Diftrefs, becaufe 
 we are Sinners: And Sin, which is the 
 
 Sting 
 
of Human Nature. 339 
 
 Sting of 'Deaths is likewife that of Sorroiv. Serm.iv* 
 Were all right within their own Breads, 
 Men in Affliction might retreat within 
 themfelves, with as much Satlsfadion, as 
 they retire home, when the Storm beats 
 hard upon them abroad. But the Reafon, 
 why they fliun themfehes^ much more than 
 the World does themy when unfortunate, 
 is J that, whatever Self-Compkcency a 
 Fulnefs of Spirits, the natural Refult of un- 
 interrupted Profperity, might infpire; Ad*- 
 verfity lowers their Thoughts as well as 
 Spirits, and fliews them to themfelves in a 
 Glafs, which gives their real, not a flatter-^ 
 ing Likenefs. 
 
 The PafTions are certain WilUngs and 
 Nillings in the Soul, attended with a Com*' 
 viotion of the Blood and Spirits, From 
 hence an Argument may be drawn, that 
 we are not in a primitive State of Order 
 and Redlitude : For if we were, the Soul 
 muft be vefted with a Power of ciirbijig and 
 controling ; or qiiickenitig and exciting the 
 Animal Spirits, according as Rcafo?i diredls. 
 But that the Soul is not inverted with this 
 Prerogative, we need not look far for In- 
 flances. For Example, Men of a cold 
 phlegmatic Temper, have Senfe enough to 
 Z 2 fee 
 
340 The Corruption 
 
 SERM.iv.fee their Duty, but not Sp'n'f enough to 
 adl up to it refohitely in all Cafes ; a melan- 
 choly Chllnefs damps their Endeavours; 
 and they bring no Fniit to Perfedlion, for 
 want of a kindly Warmth to ripen it. For- 
 bearances indeed of Adtion are always in their 
 Power J and therefore they need not be 
 pofiti'uely bady or commit any prefumptuous 
 Sin ; but it is not in their Power, without 
 the extraordinary Grace of God, to reach 
 the utmofi Heights and Attainments in Vir" 
 tiie. For Reafon, abftradledly from ftrong 
 PafTions, is a fedentary Principle ; it is like 
 the Genius of Socrates, which rather checked 
 and reftrained him when he was going to 
 do wrong, than put him upon vigoroufly 
 purfuing what was right. 
 
 On the other hand, the Men, in whofe 
 Compofition Fire and Spirit is the predo- 
 minant Ingredient, have an irregular Great- 
 nefs of Soul, and ftrange Inequalities in 
 their Conduct : The Great and the Extra- 
 vagant bordering fo near, that the Tranfi- 
 tion is eafy from the one to the other. A 
 generous Ardour of Soul is not many 
 Removes diftant from Enthufiafm and chi- 
 merical Deligns : They defpife and difdain 
 little and low Sins, as what would make 
 
 them 
 
of Human Nature, 341 
 
 them cheap; but they do not, it may be, Serm.iv. 
 detejl and abhor great Vices. Whereas there 
 is a certain Foint in Virtue and Vice, a cer- 
 tain determined Proportion, of Goodnefs and 
 Wickednefs, beyond which Men of cool 
 and languid Affedtions dare not venture to 
 proceed; they, on the contrary, have al- 
 ways been eminently good, or exceeding fmf id y 
 or both at different Times. One would 
 think, their good Senfe fhould govern their 
 enterprizing Spirit and Ambition : Alas ! 
 too often, unlefs they have got a Habit of 
 Recolledion, their Ambition and fiery Spi- 
 rit get the better of their good Senfe. 
 
 If Men proceed to Adion while their 
 PalTions are warm, they do not fee Things 
 juftly, and therefore are apt to adl too ha- 
 Aily: If they ftay till their Paffions are 
 cool; they are apt not to ad at all; their 
 Refolutions, like Fruit, that rots by hanging 
 too long on the Tree, come to Nothing. 
 
 But to fliew more effedtually, that we 
 are a Set of lapfed and diftempered Crea- 
 tures let it be obferved, that we do not 
 love or hate, rejoice or grieve, hope or 
 fear, fo far, as is confident with Reafon, 
 and no farther. We love the Things of 
 this World, beyond the Proportion of Good 
 Z 3 which 
 
342 'The Corruption 
 
 Serm.iv. which Is in them: The Love of Virtue 
 'and heavenly Happinefs does not keep face 
 with the Worth of the Objecls beloved. 
 The leaft Glance of Reflexion w^ill (hew, 
 how often we have been difqiiieted with 
 little Things, and pleafed with as little. 
 Strange 1 that we fhould not make one Re- 
 flexion more, viz, how little we ourjehes 
 mufl: be, who can be thus pleafed and dif- 
 quieted above meafure. The fear of Evils 
 to come, is often more tormenting than the 
 Evils themfelves : There is only one Thing 
 we cannot dread too much, and that is God's 
 Difpleafure. For even thereafter as a Man 
 fearethj fayeth the Pfalmifl:,yo is his Difplea- 
 fure : That is, let a Man's Fears be raifed 
 to never fo high a Pitch ; God's Difpleafure 
 is an Evil fully proportioned to them : Yet 
 fearing every other 111 too much, we have 
 not jufl: Apprehenflons of his Vengeance. 
 Is there a Man who does not feel the Force 
 of Ifaiah'% flgnificant Expoftulation ? Who 
 art thoUi that thou fhoiildeft be afraid of a 
 Man that fhall die^ and of the Son of Man, 
 that f?all be made as Grafs ? And forget-- 
 cf the Lord thy Maker, who firetched out 
 the HeavenSy and laid the Foundation of the 
 '{frthf Yet this Being, awfully jufl:, the 
 
 4~y{ 
 
of Human Nature* 343 
 
 aimoft only Objedl:, that oi*ght to be feared^ s^km.iY, 
 •is the almoft only Obje6l, which we do mi' 
 fufficiently fear. And he can be regardlefs 
 of the Wrath of an Almighty Gody who is 
 intimidated by a Shadow^ an InfcB^ a Worni^ 
 and the Son of Man^ who is a IVorfii : 
 How many virtuous Adions are owing to 
 natural Conftitution, and to a Regard for 
 our Reputation ? How litde Virtue is there 
 any where pradifed through a Senfe of Re- 
 ligion ? Men do not revere themfehes in 
 fecret, becaufe they do not fufficiently re- 
 vere that Beings who feeth in fecret, and 
 will reward or punifli them openly : But 
 they reverence the World and dread its Cen- 
 fures. What a Contradidion is Man ! this 
 Minute perhaps indulging/^mz/j Reflexions, 
 the next, the Sport of idle PafJio?is, If we 
 raife our Thoughts to the Author of our 
 Being ; the leaft Trifle, the leaft flriking 
 Objed upon Earth, ihall be able to divert 
 our Attention, and to call off our Mind, 
 which was on the Wing, from Heaven. 
 The Truth is, ever fince the Fall, the Body 
 clogs the native Energy of the Soul, and 
 pins it down to this low ignoble Sphere ^ 
 though it has an inborn Confcioufnefs of 
 being intended for a much higher and no- 
 % 4 bier 
 
344 ?^^ Corruption 
 
 SERM.IV.bler Scene of Adtion. The Soul is like a 
 King dethroned, who, though confined and 
 imprifoned in a Dungeon^ is confcious, that 
 he was born to and defigned for a Throne, 
 We feci a Law in our MemberSy warring 
 againfl the Law of our Mindy and brijiging 
 us into Captivity. And to have all our 
 Thoughts laid open to the View of the 
 World, to be naked, yet fiot afiamed, might 
 do well enough in a State of Innocence, 
 but does not fuit our lapfed Condition. 
 
 A Being of infinite Holinefs and Purity^ 
 •who hates Sin, could not produce a Being 
 into the World without any Contagion de- 
 rived in a natural Way from our fir ft Pa- 
 rents, who (hould labour under a moral 
 ImfoJJibility of avoiding all Sin, at all Times. 
 Now that Man labours under a moral Im- 
 pofiibility of avoiding all Sin, at all Times, 
 is evident from hence, viz. that, what no 
 mere Man ever did do, it is morally impof- 
 fible, any Man ever JJjould do. Now no 
 mere Man, from the firft Stage of his 
 Exiftence to the laft Period of it, ever dif- 
 charged all the Duties of Life, without any 
 Omiflion, and abftained from the Com- 
 mifiion of every Vice. It is evident there- 
 fore, to the Force of a Demonftration, that 
 
 Man 
 
of Human Nature, 345 
 
 Man is a fallen Creature, and not fuch asSERM.lv. 
 he came, originally, out of the Hands of' 
 an infinitely pure and holy Being. Who 
 can fajy I have made my Heart cleajty I am 
 pure from my Sin? Prov. xx. 9. In many 
 Things we offend alh 
 
 Into what can this univerfal Depravatiofi^ 
 which prevails every where, more or lefs, 
 among the Sons of Men, be refolved, but 
 into an univerfal Caufe^ the inborn Cor- 
 ruption of Nature, and an original Taint, 
 derived from our firft Parents ? Can it be 
 refolved into Education r Many Parents, 
 after all the Care which they have laid out, 
 in educating their Children virtuoufly, have 
 Reafon to expoftulate, as God, the com- 
 mon Parent of us all, does in Ifaiah^ What 
 could have been done more to my Viiieyardy 
 that I have 7tot done in it? Whereforey 
 niohen I looked^ that it J}:ould bring forth 
 Grapes J brought it forth wild Grapes ? The 
 only Way to educate Children rightly, is 
 to teach them early to deny themfelves the 
 Gratification of thofe irregular Appetites, 
 which Nature has implanted *. Self-will, 
 
 Stubborn- 
 
 * Vidi ego, Sc expertus fum Zelantem parvulum. Non- 
 dum loquebatur, & intuebatur pallidus amaro Aipeclu col- 
 laftaneum fuum. Sd-n^i Augujiini Confejf.hib. i.cap. 7. 
 
34^ ^^^ Corruption 
 
 Serm.iv. Stubbornnefs, and an Inclination to Things 
 forbidden, merely becaufe they are forbid- 
 den, difcover themfelves even in our Infan- 
 cy ; Vice is the natural Produd: of the Soil ; 
 the more uncultivated the Mind is, the more 
 it is overrun with it : But Virtue is the flow 
 laborious Refult of repeated Sclf-Denials, 
 Hardihips, and Difficulties. 
 
 If Mankind were in a State of Integri- 
 ty, and primitive Uprightnefs ; there could 
 fcarce be, one would think, fo much Evil 
 in the World, as there really is, A great 
 Part of Mankind feems to refemble the 
 Damoniac in the Gofpel, who had been 
 often bound ivitb Fetters and Chains-, and 
 the Chains had been plucked afunder by him, 
 and the Tetters broken in Pieces, and no 
 Man could tame him. They are curbed and 
 reftrained by divine and human Laws, by 
 temporal Penalties, and the Dread of eter- 
 nal Mifery \ and yet one impetuous Paflion 
 breaks through all thefe ftrong Fences, juft 
 as a Thread of Tow is flapped afu?ider^ 
 ivhen it toucheth the Fire. It argues a 
 ftrange Ignorance of the World, to expert 
 that Men fhould be fwayed by calm ra^ 
 tional Motives only, and by the Charms of 
 Virtue. The very Neceflity of Govern* 
 
 ment 
 
of Human Nature, 34.^ 
 
 ment is founded chiefly upon this, thatSERM.lV. 
 Men are not fit to be trufled with the Go- 
 vernment of themfelves, without any Check 
 or Control upon them. And if any Man 
 fliould attempt to govern a fingle Family 
 only, by pure Reafon, without exerting 
 any Adt of Authority; Experience would 
 foon convince him, that he had been form- 
 ing a vifionary Scheme. How comes it, 
 unlefs we are in a State of Degeneracy, that 
 Reafon, which was originally defigned to 
 be the governing Principle, is fo feeble ; 
 and the Paffions, which fliould be fubjecft 
 to it, fo headftrong ? 
 
 Man was originally formed for the 
 Knowledge of God, and Worfhip of him 
 only : Yet, in all Countries unenlightened 
 by Revelation, Men were fo far from 
 knowing and adoring the true God, that 
 they were univerfally immerfed in Idolatry 
 and Superflition. All the Nations even now, 
 as well as of old, where Revelation hath 
 not got Footing, bear Teftimony to the 
 Weaknefs of human Underftanding. The 
 Worfhip of God in Spirit and in Truth, 
 was not difcovered by us, it was revealed to 
 us. And what Mankind did not afcertain 
 for fo many Ages, till the Propagation of 
 
 Chriftianity j 
 
34^ 7^^ Corruption 
 
 SERM.lV.Chriftianity; they probably would never 
 have difcovered, to the End of the World, 
 if left to themfelves, without any Aflift- 
 ances from Heaven. But thefe, you will 
 fay, were the Errors of the Grofs of the 
 Species : The Philofophers knew undoubt- 
 edly and taught better Things. So far from 
 that, that they admitted as great Abfurdi- 
 ties, only of another Kind : Some of them 
 aflerting God to be the Soul of the World, 
 of which our Souls are fo many Parts, 
 and into which they were to be refolved, 
 after the DifTolution of the Body ; others 
 of them maintaining, that the Mther^ or 
 empty Space, was God j others, the whole 
 World ; and fome few only contending, 
 that he was an infinite Mind, which great 
 Truth, however, they blended with very 
 erroneous Notions, 
 
 Again, Man was formed for loving his 
 'Neighbour as himfelf. Yet the World is 
 generally inclined to the ill-natured Side, 
 flow to believe what is advantageous to a 
 Man's Character, but ready to credit any 
 blackening Reports. Are Men grateful in 
 proportion as they are rejentful^ Their 
 Hearts burn within them with Refent- 
 ment for an Injury received ; nay, fome- 
 
 times 
 
of Human Nature, 349 
 
 times for a Favour refufed: But do theySERw.lV. 
 feel as lively a Glow of Gratitude, when ' ^ 
 fome Kindnefs is done them ? 
 
 Obferve the Man, who makes Preten- 
 fions to an exalted and difinterefted Bene- 
 volence : Perhaps, after all his Pretenfions, 
 an agreeable enchanting Form (hall make 
 its Way irrefiftibly to his Heart, and, at a 
 heat, in a Mometit^ ftamp upon his Mind 
 more tender and endearing Sentiments, and 
 recommend the Perfon, who is the Owner 
 of it, 7nore powerfully to his AffeSlioUj than 
 long tried and approved Worth, and an un- 
 interrupted Intercoiirfe of friejidly Office::^ 
 can another, who is dejlitiite of that Ad- 
 vantage. There is nothing fo infignificant, 
 by which we differ from one another, but 
 about which we may differ likewife : Info- 
 much, that the Word Differeticey which 
 originally lignifies, that Things are not the 
 fame, is made ufe of to exprefs Difcord 
 and Animofity. It is as well our Duty in 
 point of Benevolence, though it be not fo, 
 ' much in Fafhion, to encourage Merit and 
 Ingenuity, as it is to relieve Diftrefs. Yet, 
 though Men of Merit are often preferred, 
 how few in comparifon have been preferred 
 merely as Men of Merits without any othar 
 
 Con- 
 
35© 215^ Corruption 
 
 SERM.rv.Confideratlon ? Nay perhaps it would be 
 'for the Advantage of thofe, who are pof- 
 felTed of uncommon Worth, to do, as 
 Mofes did, when his Face (hone with hea- 
 venly Glory, fo that the Ifraelites could not 
 .ftedfajlly behold it j 'viz. to draw a Veil o- 
 ver it, and to moderate that Luftre, which 
 is painful to mofl Eyes, and infupportable 
 to diflempered ones. The Bulk of Man- 
 kind regard a Man in proportion to what 
 he is worth, the o?ily Worth, that fome 
 feem to have any Notion of. 
 
 Again, we were defigned for an exadl 
 Knowledge of ourfelves. Yet, feeing eve- . 
 ry Thing elfe through a Glafs darkly, we 
 fee ourfelves through a flattering Glafs, in 
 the faireft and bright ejl Light. But could 
 we, feveral of us, view ourfelves juft as 
 we are, without thofe falfe Colours, and 
 gilded Luftre, which Self-Love flieds a- 
 round its Votaries j it might be a greater 
 Mifery to us, than any we ever felt. For, 
 in all other Cafes, an imaginary Worth af- 
 fords a fantaftic Pleafure, which buoys up 
 our Spirits, and is a kind of Counterpolfe 
 to thofe Sufferings, which we undergo, 
 however folid and real : But in this Cafe, 
 Mifery, genuine Mifcrv, would have its 
 
 full 
 
of Human Nature. 351 
 
 full Effcdl without any Confideration toSERM.iVi 
 break, the Force of it. Many of us muft, 
 in fome meafure, deceive ourfehes to be 
 tolerably happy : To difabufe the Mind of 
 its ill-grounded Ejleem^ and flrip it of e-^oery 
 agreeable but wrong Idea, would iink fe- 
 veral of us into a Set of joylefs, dull, fpi- 
 ritlefs Creatures. It would be to turn us 
 out of a Fool's Paradife, where the Mind 
 was delightfully loft and bewildered, among 
 gay Delufiom and fine "oifionary Scenes ^ in- 
 to a dreary Heath and barren fVildernefs, 
 where there was little or nothirig goodly, 
 fair, and amiable. 
 
 Laftly, we were formed for the Attain- 
 ment of beneficial Truths. Yet there are 
 not many certain Truths, demonftrable from 
 intrinfic Evidences, from the abftrad: Na- 
 ture of the Thing ; though Reafon can 
 prove feveral, by the Help of external E- 
 vidences. Setting Revelation afide, Man- 
 kind would have Reafon to wifh that they 
 did not know fo ?}tuch as they do ; or that 
 they knew a great deal more. At prefent 
 they have jpft Knowledge enough to dif* 
 quiet and perplex them, but not enough, 
 without the Scriptures, to make them eafy. 
 In a total Darknefs they would view No- 
 thing 
 
352 T^ke Corruption 
 
 Serm.1V. thing at all, and in a full Day-Light they 
 would view Objedts clearly and juftly : But 
 in a Twilight of Knowledge they imagine 
 they fee Things, that are 7iot\ and fee 
 Things, that are^ otherwife than they real- 
 ly are. Youth, fanguine Youth, may be 
 poiitive and peremptory, and fanfy it knows 
 every Thing, becaufe as yet it knows No- 
 thing fully. But Men, who have read, 
 and lludied, and thought muchj towards 
 the Clofe of Life retain fcarce one Senti- 
 ment unaltered and unimproved, which 
 they had at their firft Entrance upon their 
 Studies : Juft as that famed VefTel, v^hicK 
 had been in feveral Voyages, and firft failed 
 round the Globe, had fcarce one Plank the 
 fame, upon its laft Arrival in Port, with 
 which it was firft launched. There are fe- 
 veral confiderable Truths, which, like the 
 great Author of Truth, dwell in Light 
 ijDhich 710 Man can approach to : Whatever 
 Evidences they may be furrounded with, 
 they are ifiaccejjibie to us. 
 
 I might proceed, to demonftrate the 
 Truth of the Fall from thofe plain Monu- 
 ments of it, thofe Miferies which, in Con- 
 fequence of it, were introduced into the 
 World. Can it be proved, that natural 
 5 Good 
 
of Human Nature. 353 
 
 Good and natural Evil are fo clofely con-SERM.iv. 
 nedted, that there could not be fuch a 
 Quantity of natural Good, except there 
 was jull: fuch a Quantity of natural Evil 
 too ? That, for Inflance, the World could 
 not be fo happy ; except there were fo ma- 
 ny acute and painful Difeafes, fo many 
 noxious Infeds, Famines, Eruptions from 
 burning Mountains, ^c ? Are thefe, what 
 God, upon a Review of the Creation, pro- 
 nounced n^ery good ? No, there is no ac- 
 counting for fo much natural Evil ; except 
 it was fent as a {landing Indication of God's 
 Difpleafure againfl thofe 7noral Diforders, 
 which prevailed in the World, confequent 
 to the Fall. 
 
 People may, I know, ftart many Diffi- 
 culties upon this Head. But it is, I think, 
 not fo reafonable fo fuppofe, that God 
 created Man originally had\ as that, when 
 Man had corrupted his Nature, he let that 
 Corruption defcend upon his Poflerity, in 
 a natural Way. Juft as it would be 
 more irreconcileable to the Sentiments 
 which we have of the Deity, to ima- 
 gine he would iiumediately form a Crea- 
 ture difordered in his Senfes j than that, 
 when a Parent had brought this Diftem- 
 
 VoL. 11. A a per 
 
354 ^^^ Corruption 
 
 Serm.iv. per upon himfelf by Debauchery, he per* 
 mitted the Madnefs to devohe upon his 
 Children, 
 
 It is one Thing to fay, that Cod was, 
 or could be the Author of Evil -y and ano- 
 ther to fay, that, when Evil was intro- 
 duced by Man^ he did not work a Mi- 
 racle^ to prevent the natural Confequences 
 of it; but fuffered it for the fake of 
 bringing a greater Good out of it 5 and 
 that by the Redemptiony he has advanced 
 Man to much fuperior Happinefs, than 
 he could have had any Title to, if he 
 had continued in a State of Innocence. This 
 is the fcriptural Solution of the Difficulty. 
 Where Sin abounded Grace did much more 
 abound. As in Adam all die % fo in Chriji 
 fiall all be 7nade alive. As by one Man 
 Sin entered into the Worlds and Death by 
 Sin ; fo the Grace of God hath abounded 
 unto all Men, through Jefus Chrid. This 
 was the Labour of Love (if any Thing 
 to Love can be a Labour) to countervail 
 the ill Effects of the Fall, by an univer- 
 fal Remedy. 
 
 However great a Pvlyflery the Tranfmif- 
 fion of Sin may be, which yet is not a 
 greater Difficulty, than the Tranfmiffion 
 
 of 
 
of Humaji Nature, 355 
 
 of Madnefs, or any other Difeafe, fromSERw.iV. 
 Father to Son: yet Man^ without this' 
 Clue to unravel the Intricacies of his Na- 
 ture, is a greater Myftery to himfelf^ than 
 the Tranfmljjion of Sin can be to him. 
 Original Sin cannot be fo inconceivable by 
 him, as he is by himfelf vv^ithout it. For, 
 pray ohferve : It cannot enter into the 
 Head of Man to conceive greater Incon- 
 fiftencies, Abfurdities, and Contrarieties ; 
 than he may find, if he looks honeftlyand 
 fairly into it, in his own Heart. Flow 
 many pious Refolutions he forms, which, 
 perhaps, dye in Embryo, before they ripen 
 into Birth; and yet how many foollfh and 
 vain Projeds : His Thoughts now afpiring 
 to, and grafping after, heavenly Happinefs, 
 and anon finking into the Dregs of Cor- 
 ruption ! He is a ftrange Compound of 
 Excellency and Bafenefs j of the Angel and 
 the Brute; a motly Mixture of Know- 
 ledee and Ignorance, of Virtue and Vice, 
 of Happinefs and Mifery ; the Flefh war- 
 ring againft the Spirit, and the Spirit againfl; 
 the Flefli ; two fuch mortal Enemies, that 
 they are continually jarring and oppofingeach 
 other ; and yet two fuch dear Friends, that 
 they dread a Separation from each other. 
 
 A a 2 Let 
 
356 The Corruption 
 
 Serm.iv. Let then the Difficulties of the Fall be 
 never fo great; yet there is no getting rid 
 of them, but at the Expence of an Ab- 
 furdlty, the greatefl of Abfurdities, 'viz, 
 that Creatures fo corrupt as we are, could 
 be imynediately formed by an infinitely per- 
 fe5l God, (who cannot behold Iniquity and 
 Corruption with Pleafure) without any CoU" 
 tagion dt:rii)cd from, and tranfmltted to us 
 by, our firfl Parents. Let a Man look 
 within himfelf, and he will find, he will 
 feel, a Demonftration of one Part of the 
 Scriptures, the Truth of the Fall : Or, if 
 he cannot fee it there, he will prove by 
 his very Blindnefs the Truth which he 
 denies. But if he admits this Part of the 
 Scriptures to be true, I cannot perceive, why 
 he fiiould demur as to the reft. For there 
 is no Part of them which is attended with 
 greater Difficulties. " I appeal (fays a 
 *' lively Writer) to yourfelf, in your own 
 " Degree of Goodnels, if you could create 
 " your own Children, whether you would 
 ** not create them in a better State, and 
 ** with lefs of Evil, than that in which 
 " you was born yourfelf. Therefore, only 
 " fupponng God to have your Degree of 
 '* Goodnefsj he could not have created 
 
 " the 
 
of Htima?i Nature, 357 
 
 " the firft Man, from whom your Nature ^ei^m-^V^ 
 *' is derived, in the State that you are ; 
 " and therefore, fuppofing him only to be 
 " good, you have fufhcient Proofj but 
 " fuppofing him to be, what he undoubt- 
 " edly is, infinitely good, you have a full 
 '* Demonftration, that you are a fallen 
 " Creature, or not in that State in which 
 " God created you." 
 
 What remains, but that we ftrive to re- 
 cover that Happinefs by thinking fohcrh\ 
 which our firft Parents forfeited by ambi- 
 tious and afpiring Thoughts. Humility is 
 the Valley, in which Benevolence (and 
 every other Virtue) delights to grow. For 
 whatever Profcflions of Benevolence proud 
 Men may make j Pride and Benevolence are 
 utterly inconfiftent. He, who is big with 
 the Sentiments of his Dignity, muft have 
 an Averfion to thofe, who do not feem to 
 have as exalted an Opinion of him, as he 
 has of himfelf. Now, as none can think as 
 extravagantly of a proud Man, as he thinks 
 of himfelf J the Confequence is, that he 
 muft hate all Mankind, except a few Flat- 
 terers. He muft be angry with thofe, who 
 do not proportion their Regard to his ijna- 
 ^inary Deferts, which it is impoffible to do, 
 A a 3 For 
 
35^ ^^ Corruption^ 6cc. 
 
 Serm.iv. For though it be no difficult Matter to dif- 
 cern how much Merit another Man really 
 has ; it is not quite fo eafy to determine, how 
 much he may imagine himfelf to have. 
 Therefore no proud Perfon can be a benevo- 
 lent and moral Man ; and no humble Perfon 
 brought up in the Chriftian and Proteftant 
 Religion, one would be apt to think, can 
 be a mere moral IS/Lan. For he, who is hum- 
 ble, will not truft in his own Righteoufnefs, 
 or make ^ny proud Pretenfions to exalted 
 Worth. The Confideration and Senfe of 
 his Unworthinefs, will difpofe him to ac- 
 cept the Offers of Salvation by Jefus Chrift, 
 and make him endeavour to fulfil the Terms 
 of it. He, who has no high Notions of his 
 own Merits, will be glad to be accepted by 
 thofe of his blelTed Saviour, 
 
 SER^. 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 On the REDEMPTION. 
 
 In Two Sermons. . 
 
 Preached in part, at the Lady Moyer% 
 Ledture, in the Year 17335 and, lincc 
 That Time, confiderably altered. 
 
 I Peter III. i8. 
 
 Chrili alfo hath once fnffered for Sins, the Jnfl 
 for the Unjujl, that he might bri?ig us untQ 
 God. 
 
 WH AT is faid of the great Duties Serm. 
 of MoraUty, and the Difference 
 between Virtue and Vice, viz, 
 Afi your own Hearty and Nothing is fo 
 plain : It is to mi/iake them cojh the Pain 
 and Time -y may, with a httle Variation, be 
 apphed to the fundamental Dodrines of 
 A a 4 Chri- 
 
360 T'he Redemption, 
 
 Serm^. Chriflianity, -j/2;. the Trinity and Satisfac- 
 tion : Search the Scriptures, and Nothing 
 can be plainer, or more eafy to find there: 
 Not to find them there, or, to fpeak more 
 properly to explain them away when fiDund, 
 requires a great deal of Labour, Subtlety, 
 and uncommon Dexterity. The natural 
 Import of the Words of my Text is this, 
 that Chrift died, not merely for our Bene- 
 fit, as an Example of Patience, and to 
 confirm the Truth of his Dodrine, by his 
 Blood ; but, as a propitiatory Sacrifice for 
 the Sins of Mankind, that we might, by 
 virtue of his meritorious Sufferings, be re- 
 deemed from the Punishment due to them. 
 The Words of St. Faul, Romans v. 7, 8. 
 confirm the Senfe of this Text, Scarcely 
 for a Righteous Man will one die : Tct per- 
 adventure , for a good Man fome would even 
 dare to die. Rut God commendeth his Love 
 towards us, in that, while we were yet Si?!- 
 ners, Chrijl died for us. Our Saviour died 
 for us, in the fame Senfe, that one Man 
 "would dare to die for another, whom he 
 greatly loved, by fubflituting himfelf in 
 the room of us Sinners. So David fays. 
 Would to God, I had died for thee, or in- 
 ilead of Thee, Ah f atom ^ my Son, God 
 
 h(itk 
 
T'he Redemptio72, 361 
 
 hath made him^ who knew no Siuy to he SinjSEKtA. V. 
 or an Offering for Sin, fir zis» Accordingly 
 Ifaiah faid : Thoufialt make his Soul an Of- 
 firing fir Sin. 
 
 Again ; our Saviour is faid to bear our 
 Iniquities. The obvious Senfe of which 
 Paffages will appear, by comparing it with 
 another : T^he Son fiall not bear the Iniqui- 
 ties of the Father y i. e. the Son (hall not 
 fuffer inflead of, or for the Sins of, the 
 Father. 
 
 In a word, the Scripture Proofs of the 
 Redemption are fo many, that it would be 
 endlefs to quote them All ; and fo well 
 known, that it is almoft needlefs to quote 
 any : And we muft either look upon a 
 Dodtrine, which is inculcated in fuch a 
 Variety of Expreffions, and upon which 
 fuch an uncommon Strefs is laid, to be of 
 the very EfTence of Chriftianity ; or we 
 mull look upon the Scriptures, as a Book 
 not defigned to teach and inform, but to 
 confound, puzzle, and miflead Mankind. 
 
 And (ince our Adverfaries pretend, they 
 have recourfe to a figurative Senfe ; be- 
 caufe the literal one, in their Opinion, is big 
 with Abfurdities 5 I fliall therefore endea- 
 vour, 
 
 ^ I/?, To 
 
362 'The Rede?nption, 
 
 s«RM. V. Iy?j Todifprove and confute thofe Schemes, 
 which they have advanced, in oppofition to 
 the true Scripture Dodlrine of our Salvation 
 by Jefus Chrift. 
 
 Wdlyy I (hall make it my Bufinefs to refcue 
 the Method of our Salvation, as laid down 
 in Sacred Writ, from the Charge of Abfur-^ 
 dities, with which they load it. 
 
 yt then, I fhall endeavour to difprove 
 and confute thofe Schemes, which they 
 have advanced, in oppofition to the true 
 Scripture Dodrine of our Salvation by Jefus 
 Chrift. 
 
 The firft Scheme which I fliall confider 
 is, That our own intrinfic Worth, or right 
 Behaviour, muft be the Foundation of our 
 Acceptance with God ; and not whit ano- 
 ther has done for us j which can never 
 render us perfonally pleafmg to, or approved 
 by God. 
 
 The fecond Hypothefis, which will fall 
 under Confideration, is. That God is ob- 
 liged to accept of Repentance, in lieu of 
 perfed: Obedience, without any Atpne- 
 ment. 
 
 As 
 
Ithe Redemption, 363 
 
 As to the firft, Serm. V. 
 
 It is alledged, that God does not ap-' 
 prove, or difapprove, from capricious Hu- 
 mour or arbitrary Plcafurc, but from the 
 real Valuablenefs or Unvvorthinefs of fuch 
 the Objccfl of his Approbation or Difiilce : 
 And that therefore. Nothing but Mens 
 right Behaviour could make them the Ob- 
 jed:s of God's Favour. 
 
 To unravel which Fallacy, 
 
 In the firft place, we mufl: carefully dif- 
 tinguifh between the Approbation^ and the 
 Good-ivill^ or Benevolence j of the Deity. For 
 the Deity juft fo far approves of Beings, as 
 they are really good^ and his Approbation is 
 always proportioned to the feveral Degrees 
 of Goodnefs in them. But his Bejievolence 
 needs not keep exad: Face with, and be 
 determined folely, and wholly, by his Ap- 
 probation and their Goodnefs. The Ap- 
 probation of an unerring Being muft, in the 
 Nature of the Thing, be founded on fome- 
 thing intrinfic^ and in the Beings approved: 
 But his Benevolence often does, and in fome 
 Cafes muft, proceed from Motives extrinfic 
 to the Beings themleives : Of which, a- 
 mong many others, the Communication 
 of greater Degrees of Happinefs to fome 
 
 Beings 
 
364 - T^he Redemption, 
 
 Serm. V. Beings than others^ antecedently to, and 
 therefore without any Regard to, their Me- 
 rits at the Creation, is a pregnant In- 
 ilance. And he who made fome Beings 
 Angels and not Men^ for no other Reafon 
 than his own Will; may, certainly, ad- 
 vance us from Men into Angels of BHfs, at 
 the Injlance and Intercejjion of our blelTed 
 Saviour. It may be granted, that the Deity 
 cannot love any Being farther, than it is 
 lovely in itfelf, with a Love of EJleenty 
 Complacency^ or Good-likings And yet 
 there may be a conliderable Degree of Be- 
 nevolence and Gccd'will in the Deity, to- 
 wards Beings, for whom he has but a flen- 
 der Share of Elleem and Approbation. The 
 Reafon is very plain : The Benevolence 
 of the Deity is infinite ; but his Approba- 
 tion is finite^ and adjicfied to the intrinfic 
 Worth of each Creature, be it lefs or more. 
 Our perfonal Valuablenefs therefore, or our 
 right Behaviour, may be the only Ground 
 of the divine Approbation ; but God forbid, 
 that it (liould be the only Ground of his Fa- 
 *vour and Acceptance. Suppofing the Dei- 
 ty to be infinitely Good, and to take a 
 Delight in communicating Happinefs to 
 his Creatures, there will always be a flrong 
 
 Reafon 
 
The Redemption. 365 
 
 Reafon y^r his Beneficence, or the Com-ScRw. v. 
 munication of Good to us, when there lies 
 no Reafon agahift it. The only Reafons, 
 that could lie againft it, were — either that 
 we are Subjedls intirely indifpofed for, and 
 incapable of, Happinefs, through our e^oil 
 and inveterate Habits — or that it is not con- 
 fident with God's Wifdom, Juflice, and 
 his Regard for the Whole, to admit us to 
 a State of an exceeding and everlafting 
 Weight of Glory. The firft Impediment 
 we oiirfchesy by the Grace of God, mull: 
 remove, by correding each habitually bad 
 Difpofition and Bent of Inclination. The 
 fecond our bleffed Saviour removed, by the 
 Sacrifice of himfelf, made it confiftent with 
 the Good of the Whole, to beftow Hap- 
 pinefs upon us, and gave the divine Bene- 
 volence full Scope to exert itfelf. 
 
 Though nothing that another Perfon 
 does, can make us more perfonally "calu^ 
 {ible, yet the common Courfe of Things 
 every Day proves, that, what another Per- 
 fon does, may avert Mifery from us, or 
 procure Happinefs to us. If there is any 
 Thing wrong in fuch a Procedure, then 
 the whole Courfe of Nature is manifeftly 
 fo : It being neceffary in the ordinary Courfe 
 
366 T^e Redemption, 
 
 Serm. v. of Nature, which is no lefs God's Appoint- 
 ment than his fupernatural and extraor- 
 dinary Difpenfations ; that one Man fhould 
 be refcued from Ruin, or advanced to Hap- 
 pinefs, by the Interpofition of another *. 
 
 And the Arguments, which are brought 
 to difprove the Grace of our Lord yefus 
 Cbrijl^ conclude with equal Strength (that 
 is, with no Strength at all) againli the Cha- 
 rity of our Fellow-creatures. The Laws 
 of Nature, as well as the Oeconomy of 
 our Redemption, point out to us, that, 
 though no Man can with Juftice be ejieem-^ 
 ed for what another Agent does ; yet One 
 may be made more happy, or lefs miferable, 
 by the means of Another. 
 
 The Author of the Book of Job feems 
 to have had no Notion of founding the 
 Favour of God to us, merely upon his Ap- 
 probation of us, when he fays, God charg- 
 eth his Angels with Folly : The Stars are 
 not pure in his Sight : How much lefs Man 
 that is a Wormy and the Son of Man that is 
 a Worm ? 
 
 Created beings, that are perfe(fl in their 
 kind, God muft abfolutely approve j Beings, 
 
 that 
 
 *► See Biihop Sutlers, Analogy. Page 211. 
 
'The 'Redemption, 367 
 
 that are abfolutely bad, he muft abfolutelySERM. V. 
 dilapprove. But between Perfedion, and 
 ablolute Depravity, there are fo many 
 intermediate Degrees of Goodnefs, and its 
 oppofite Quality ; of Amiablenefs and Un- 
 amiablenefs j and thele often fo compli- 
 cated and blended together in the fame 
 Subjed: ; that no one can be aflured, how 
 the Scale would preponderate, or where 
 the Over-balance vi^ould be, in the Judg- 
 ment of that Being, who fees not as Man 
 fees. Nay, the more amiable any Man 
 was in the Sight of God, the more liable 
 he would be, upon this Scheme, to De- 
 fpondency, not to fay, Defpair. For cer- 
 tainly, if any Thing can make fuch Beings 
 as we are, amiable in the Sight of God ; it 
 muft be a modeft Opinion of ourfelves, 
 and a juft Senfe of our own Unworthinefs. 
 But the more modefl Opinion a Man enter- 
 tains of himfelf ; the more diffident he will 
 be of his own Righteoufnefs, and the Di- 
 vine Approbation. 
 
 So true it is, that whoever has deviated 
 from Scripture, has left us, at the Foot 
 of the Account, in a worfe State than he 
 
 found us. 
 
 For 
 
368 The Redemption, 
 
 Serm. V. For what is this intrinfic Valuablenefs, 
 ' on which fome lay fo great Strefs ? Are we 
 not like thofe Things, which, to be greatly 
 admired, muft not be thoroughly under- 
 ftood ? It is Ignorance^ which is the Mother 
 of Admiration of cur Fellow- creatures : 
 True Knowledge is the Mother of found 
 and jiibjlantial Devotion* For the more 
 we know of Men^ the lefs we fhall be apt 
 to admire them: But our Admiration of 
 God rifes higher, in proportion to the 
 Knowledge we have gained of his Nature 
 and Works : And our Devotion to him, who 
 only is wonderful, and only doeth wondrous 
 Things, muft be heightened in the fame 
 Meafure, as our Admiration is j unlefs our 
 Reafon v^^as given us, as one exprefleth it, 
 " to wonder at our Maker, but not to ferve 
 " him." There are few, but who would 
 rather depart out of the World, than have 
 their foolifli, vain, and wicked Thoughts, 
 and whatever was tranfaded behind the 
 Scene, within our own Breafts, difclofed, 
 without Referve to the View of the whole 
 World. Nature is very often rebelling a- 
 gainft Principle, and fometimes getting the 
 better of it. The Paflions hafty and im- 
 petuous, unlefs we have an habitual Guard 
 
 upon 
 
7 he Redemption, 369 
 
 upon ourfelves, hurry us into Adion, andsERM. V. 
 plunge us into Folly j before Reafon, a flow' 
 fedentary Principle, puts in its Remonftran- 
 ces. And what is the Coniequence ? That 
 very Reafon, which either continued in a 
 State of Inaction, or poorly and abjedtly 
 complied with their Demands, ads the Part 
 of an after-wife Friend, who, though he 
 does not reftrain us from doing wrong, yet, 
 as foon as the Adtion is done, upbraids us 
 with pungent Reflexions, and tells us (fad 
 ^ruth I) that we are Fools. 
 
 When we confider the Number, Malig- 
 nity, and particular Aggravations of our 
 Sins, a ?nodeft ingenuous Man will be fen- 
 fible he wa7its a Redeemer -, and the Pre^ 
 fumptuotis betrays his Want of one, even 
 by his bei7tg fo. We have Vanities enow, 
 and too many ; but let us not add to the 
 Catalogue of them this o?ie Vanity, more 
 grofs and flagrant than all the refl:, viz. to 
 imagine, that our fiiite imperfeSi Services 
 can, of themfelves, infure to us, what is of 
 infinite Value, perfeSf, endlefs^ and unalter- 
 able Happinefs. 
 
 He, who thiiiks he has Worth enough 
 
 to fecure a Title to abfolute Pardon and a 
 
 Fulnefs of Blifs, proves by the very l^hought 
 
 Vol. II. B b that 
 
370 The Redemption^ 
 
 Serm. v.that he has too little. For we then give 
 the beft Proofs of our Worthinefs when we 
 have a deep Senfe, and make an humble 
 Confefiion of our own Unworthinefs. Hu- 
 man Nature, confcious of its numerous 
 Frailties, flirinks back at the Thoughts of 
 an Interview with its Creator ; and No- 
 thing can difarm Death of its Terrors, but 
 that Religion, which has made us the mofl 
 gracious Overtures 3 and in which the aw- 
 ful Majefiy of the 'Judge is qualified by the 
 lovely Mercies of the Saviour, None of 
 us can merit : And after All we can do, 
 (though none of us do all we can) we arc 
 but unprofitable Servants : But he makes 
 the nearejl Approaches to Merits who, 
 after his fincere Endeavours to pleafe his 
 Maker, humbly difclaims all Merits but 
 
 the all-fufficient Merits of his blelTed 
 
 Saviour* 
 
 If any Doubt remain with any one 
 whether the divine Approbation, and the 
 divine Favour, are equivalent and fynony- 
 mous Terms; let him, to put the Matter 
 paft Difpute, reflecfl, what a Difference 
 there is between thefe two Petitions : God 
 approve of me, a Sinner : And, God be 
 favourable or merciful to me, a Sinner. 
 
 The 
 
The Redemption* 371 
 
 *f he former is highly ridiculous and abfurd.SERM. V, 
 For it is impoffible, that God (hould ap- 
 prove Sinners, as fuch ; and the bed of 
 us are but penitent Sinners : But it is not 
 impoffible, that he may be mercijid and 
 befievolent to Thofe, whom he cannot ap- 
 prove, as far as they are Sinners : (For 
 otherwife, he would never have command- 
 ed us to hate and difapprove the Sin, but 
 yet to regard the Sinner with a Love of 
 Benevolence.) Which Benevolence of the 
 Deity may exert itfelf in Adls of folid and 
 fubftantial Favour, when our Saviour's Sa- 
 tisfaction hath made it no ways interfere 
 with the Ends of his Government, and the 
 general Good. 
 
 In fhort, we muftyo far^ or in fuch a 
 low Degree, approve ourfelves to God, as 
 to be deemed by him Subjeds not inca- 
 pable of, or difqualified for, everlafting Hap- 
 pinefs. But when that is done; it is through 
 Chrifl alone, that the Weaknefs of our En- 
 deavours mud be pardoned^ and the Since- 
 rity of them accepted. 
 
 Which brings me, fecondly, to diftin- 
 
 guifli between a Capacity for a Thing, and 
 
 a 'Title to a Thing. Nothing, but what 
 
 intey-nally alters the Sinner, can make him a 
 
 B b 2 Sub- 
 
372 T'he Redemption, 
 
 Serm. V. Subject capable of God's Favour hereaf- 
 ^^"^ ' ter. A Capacity for everlafting Happinefs, 
 muft be partly founded on our own good 
 Habits and Difpolitions j fince heavenly 
 Pleafures cannot fuit a Soul, that is deeply 
 and habitually immerfed in Vice. But 
 the Title to Happinefs muft be founded 
 on fomething extrinfic. We are told, that 
 we fhall be jVaj/feAoi, equal to the Angeh 
 hereafter. Now, though Man had never 
 jinnedy he had no more Ground to expeBy 
 that he fhould be as the Angels of God 
 hereafter ; than he has Reafon to complainy 
 that he is not an Angel at prefent : Much 
 lefs, when Man had fm?iedj when he was 
 become an obnoxious Creature, could 
 Reafon fupport fuch extravagant Preten- 
 fions. 
 
 Though therefore our Saviour's Suffer- 
 ings, as not internally altering the Sinner, 
 could not give him a Capacity or Relifi 
 for Happinefs ; yet, they might give him 
 what he wanted, when a Subje(5l capable, 
 a 'Title to eternal Blifs. Repentance muft 
 remove the dif qualifying Circumftances, 
 thofe Circumftances, that are a Bar to end- 
 iefs Felicity. But, wheji the difqualifying 
 Circumftances are removed, then eternal 
 2^ Life 
 
'The Redemption, 373 
 
 Life is the Gift of God, through Jefiis Chrijf. Serm. V. 
 Repentance in itfelf, confidered intrinfical1)\ 
 cannot be fo acceptable to God as unfmning 
 Obedience : And therefore it wanted fome- 
 thing extrinfic to make it To : Our Saviour 
 performed an iinfmjting Obedience, and it 
 was placed to our Account. 
 
 But this brings me to the fecond Scheme, 
 which I promifed to confute, the Efficacy ' 
 of mere Repentance, without any Atone- 
 ment. 
 
 And here a great many Queftions may 
 be afked, which the Light of Nature can- 
 not determine, "oiz. Whether Repentance, 
 if it can atone for any, will atone only for 
 lefs Crimes ; or alfo for notorious Sins, long 
 perfifted in ? If for the latter, Whether it 
 will be fo far available as to procure a total 
 Exemption from Punifhment; or only to 
 fofteji the Rigour of the Penalty ? If it avails 
 fo far, as to procure a total Exemption, 
 which can never be proved j Whether it 
 could likewife entitle to any Happincfs f And 
 what that Happinefs would be? Whether 
 an unmixed eternal Happinefs; or only a 
 Happinefs of afiort Duration ? 
 
 It were to be wifhed, that thofe who are 
 
 fo refllefs in their Endeavours to deftroy 
 
 B b 3 Chri- 
 
374 ^^^ Redemption, 
 
 Serm. V.Chriftianity, would let it alone, till they 
 could propofej in lieu of it, fome fatisfac- 
 torv Scheme for a wife Man to live and 
 die by ; fome tolerable Hypothefis to fup- 
 port us under the Calamities of Life, and 
 the Pangs of Death, fo well calculated 
 for our Comfort in this World, and our 
 Happinefs in the next. But the Misfor- 
 tune is, they forfake the Fountain of living 
 Water Sy and hew out broken Cijierns, which 
 will hold no Water, An authentic Promife 
 of eternal Life, from him who keepeth his 
 Promife for ever, is of infinitely more Va- 
 lue ', than all the dry and jejune Specula- 
 tions of Reafon, abftradedly from Revela- 
 tion. 
 
 Will Repentance alone recover that Hap- 
 pinefs, which Mankind had forfeited 5 and 
 refcue them from that Mifery, to which 
 they were become obnoxious ? Do we not 
 find, in the ordinary Courfe of Nature, 
 which is God's Appointment, that Punifh- 
 ments, which no After-Condud:, no fubfe- 
 quent Reformation, can entirely remove, 
 'often attend upon Guilt * ? A Man, for 
 fnftance, fhall feel the ill Effed:s.of De- 
 bauchery, 
 
 * See Bilhop Butlers Analogy, Page 200. 
 
Tbe Rede?nption, 375 
 
 bauchery, and a profligate Courfe of Life,S£RM. v. 
 long after he has repented and been reclaim- 
 ed. Now, if we thus fuffer for our Sins, 
 notwithftandirfcg our Repentance in the dai- 
 ly Courfe of God's natural Providence, and 
 his ftated and uniform Methods of adting 
 towards his Creatures here ; What Grounds 
 have we to imagine, that Repentance alone, 
 without the Merits of our Saviour, will 
 free us from all the ill Confequencesof Sin, 
 in God's religious and moral Settlement of 
 Things hereafter, in his final Adjuflment 
 of Rewards and Punishments ? 
 
 It appears from the Cuftom of Sacri- 
 ficing, which prevailed every where ; that, 
 whoever maintains, that Repentance will 
 expiate Guilt without any propitiatory Sacri- 
 fice, cannot fet up his Reafon in oppofi- 
 tion to Revelation, without fetting it up in 
 oppofition to the Common Senfe and Reafon 
 of Mankind in all Ages and Nations. Some 
 material Truths there were undoubtedly in 
 the Pagan Religion j though they were 
 adulterated with confiderable and palpable 
 Errors : Some Fii e there was ; though it 
 was fo involved in Smoke, that it could not 
 yield a fufficient Light. Whereas Tiuth 
 (hines forth in the Scriptures without any 
 B b 4. Alloy 
 
3 7 6 '^he Redemption* 
 
 Ser-m. v. Alloy of Falfehood in its native Simplicity 
 and genuine Brightnefs. It is there we have 
 an authentic Account, that while all other 
 Eeings are indeed the Objedt of God's Boim^ 
 ty, Man is diPiinguifhed from the reft by 
 being made the Objecft of his Mercy : Man 
 alone is admitted to the glorious Privilege 
 of being pardoned upon Repentance through 
 the Merits of him, who took away Sin by 
 the Sacrifice of himfelf. 
 
 That God will put the repejitmg Sinner 
 upon a better Foot, than the veteran un- 
 relenting Criminal, is indeed an evident 
 Concluiion of Reafon : But then it is as 
 evident an one, that he will not put him 
 upon the fame Foot with the Angels^ that 
 need no Repentance . 
 
 For to put Offenders^ without any Atone- 
 ment, upon a Foot of Equality with the 
 Guihkfs and unoffending, would be to make 
 110 Diil.ind:ion, where there was a very ma- 
 terial Difference. 
 
 Here there a#e three Sorts of Beings in 
 
 the Creation. Beings, that need no Re* 
 
 ■pentance — Fenitent Sinners. hnpenitent 
 
 Sinners. It will be allowed, that God may 
 confign the la ft to a State of pure Mifery, 
 and xht fjf to a State oi pure Happinefs'y 
 
 and 
 
The, Redemption. 377 
 
 and all the Difficulty will be, what GocIserm. V. 
 will do with the middle Set of Creatures/ 
 ^/sr. penitent Sinners. To make them as 
 happy as the firft, would be as inconfiftent 
 with our Notions of Juftice, as to make 
 them as miferable as the laft. Here Reafon 
 fcems to be either intirely at a ftand; or, if 
 it can prove any Thing, only to prove this ; 
 that Beings in whom there is a Mixture of 
 moral Good and Evil, fhall be configned to 
 fome State, in which there fhall be a propor- 
 tionable Mixture of natural Goodi and Evil. 
 
 Some late Authors, however, have been 
 hardy enough to affert the Efficacy of mere 
 Repentance; and to fupport their AfTer- 
 tions, have argued after the following Man- 
 ner, 'uiz. Men, by a thorough Reforma- 
 tion, ceafe to be perfonally difpleafing, and 
 become perfonally pleaiing to God, and, 
 confequently, do not need any Thing that 
 is perfonally pleafing in another to make 
 them fo. 
 
 The Author feems to be defcribing fome 
 vifionary ideal Beings, which may exift, 
 perhaps, in his Imagination ; but are in 
 fa(5t no where to be found in this World. 
 For what is this Reformation, which re- 
 moves whatever is difpleafing ? Why an 
 
 abfo- 
 
378 l^he Redemption, 
 
 Serm. v.abfolutely perfed: Repentance, which can 
 have no Place in fuch imperfed; Beings as 
 we are. It is a mere Notion^ not a Reality. 
 Is our Repentance a Return to an intire un-' 
 interrupted Obedience, without any Alloy 
 or Tindure of Vice ? Or is it only to fuch 
 an Obedience, as is attended with feveral 
 Relapfes j but by which, by degrees, and in 
 the main, we gain Ground over our Vices : 
 And, though far, very far, from being per- 
 fect, yet are in a progreffive State towards 
 Perfedion ? 
 
 But granting, there could be fuch an 
 abfolutely perfed Reformation j granting 
 farther, what can never be proved, that 
 fuch a Reformation would remove God's 
 Difpleafure: Yet does the Deity punifh as 
 frail and paffionate Men do, merely becaufe 
 he is difpleafed with, or difapproves of, the 
 Agent, without anfweriag any beneficial 
 and falutary Ends whatever ? All Difplea- 
 fure apart. Governors, who confult the 
 Good of the Whole, may, and often do, 
 inflid Punifhments, to difcountenance Vice, 
 and fupport the Caufe of Virtue and Good- 
 nefs. And he alone, who fees paft, pre- 
 fent, and future, in one united Point of 
 View, sv\\o{q Foreknowledge looks through 
 
 every 
 
T!be Rede^nption. 379 
 
 every pofiible Confequence, that can refult^^'^"- ^• 
 from every Manner of ading towards peni- 
 tent Sinners j can himfelf alone know, and 
 reveal to us how he will deal with peni- 
 tent Sinners, fo as not . to counter-aSi the 
 univerfal Good. 
 
 It is farther urged, that the Deity mud 
 confider us as Beings, not only liable, but 
 alio hkely, to commit Sin ; born with 
 ilrong Propenfions to Vice, and furrounded 
 with numerous Temptations. And when 
 we have done all that can be reafonably 
 exped:ed from fuch frail Creatures as we 
 are, (that is, when we have done our beft) 
 then we are the proper Objefbs of God's 
 Favour, without any Need of an Atone- 
 ment, or propitiatory Sacrifice. 
 
 Here again, as ufual, the Authors confider 
 Mankind in Theory, and not in Fad: They 
 confider them, as what th^y Jhould and ought 
 to be, ferving God, to the utmofl Stretch of 
 their limited Powers, with the collecfled and 
 united Force of every Faculty ; and not as 
 what they really are, often wilfully doing, 
 what they ought not; and bftner omitting 
 what they ought to do. 
 
 Whatever Allowances we may fuppofe 
 a gracious God will make, for the Frailties 
 
 of 
 
380 T'he Redemption. 
 
 Serm. V. of our Nature; yet the original Weak- 
 nefTes which we bring with us into the 
 World, are, in Procefs of Time, fo blended 
 with our acquired Follies ; that it being im- 
 poffible to diflinguifh, in all Cafes, the one 
 from the other, we cannot draw much fo- 
 lid Comfort from thence. Whatever we 
 are at prefent^ no Body can tell, what we 
 might have been -, if from firft to laft we 
 had taken all poffible Care, to weed out 
 each rifing Folly, and to cherifh the Growth 
 of every Virtue : Even in thofe Sins, which 
 are called Sins of Frailty^ and are, in fome 
 meafure, fuch ; there is generally fuch a 
 Degree of JVilfidnefs^ that, in fome Cafes, 
 it is no eafv Matter to afcertain, which is 
 the predominant Ingredient in the Compo- 
 lition. K fuperjicial Inquirer may, no doubt, 
 be highly pleafed with himfelf. But the 
 more thoroughly any Man examines himfelf, 
 the more a Man confiders how feldom, if 
 ever, he fully adls up to thofe Principles 
 which he entertains, generally falling ihort 
 of them, and fometimes ading contrary to 
 them J the more he would be diffatisfied 
 with himfelf. 
 
 Is there a Man, who can lay his Hand 
 upon his Heart, after having faithfully 
 
 ex- 
 
T'he Redemption* 381 
 
 examined it, and declare, that whatever Serm. v. 
 Frailties he may have, yet he has flrove to 
 the beft of his Power, in every Stage of 
 Life, to fubdue each inordinate Paffion, to 
 difcharge every Duty, and to cultivate each 
 virtuous Habit ? Let him ftand forth at 
 the lafl: decifivc Day, and put in his Claim, 
 (for an equitable Claim he perhaps may 
 have) to fuch a Degree of Happinefs, as 
 will preponderate, or be fuperior to any 
 fiort- lived Mifery^ which he may have en- 
 dured here, and be proportioned to his 
 Deferts. But even he could have no well- 
 -grounded Reafon to expedl, unlefs the 
 Merits of our Saviour had enfured it to 
 him, a Happinefs iinallayed in its Nature, 
 exceeding in its Degree whatever he could 
 have imagined, and everlafting in its Dii- 
 ration. 
 
 After all, fuch a Being, as is defcribed 
 before, is, I am afraid, merely vifionary: 
 Men of the moft diftinguifhed Piety having 
 Reafon to pray. Enter not into "Judgment 
 with thy Serva7jt3 O Lord: For in thy Sio-hf 
 Jhall no Man living be jiijiiji^d. 
 
 Several indeed are too apt, in the Pride 
 and Bloom of Life, to flatter themfelves m^ 
 to ^j:ound\cfi PrefumptionSy and ^Jdnguine 
 
 Con- 
 
3^2 ^he Redemption. 
 
 Serm. V. Confidence. But when they come, jud 
 upon the Verge of another World, coolly^ 
 and calmly to adjuil Accounts between their 
 Maker and themfelves ; I doubt thofe Sins, 
 which, like Shadows^ looked fo little at the 
 NooJi of Life, will greatly lengthen with 
 xhQir fetting Sun. Be that as it will} it is 
 certain, that the Obfervation, 'viz. that 
 none ever pufhed their Capacity, in Matters 
 of Knowledge, as far as it was able to ex- 
 tend ; holds as true in Matters of Morality : 
 None ever exerted their Abilities as far as 
 they were able to carry them, to the ut- 
 moft Extent of their Capacity in the Purfuit 
 and Practice of Virtue. 
 
 And yet natural Religion may require 
 not only the Beings and Reality of each 
 Virtue ; but the utmoft Degree of Virtue 
 in our Power under the Penalty of future 
 Funifhment. Becaufe every Thing which 
 we have^ being derived frv7n God ; every 
 Thing which we can do^ is but our bound- 
 en Tribute to Him. Chriftianity, on the 
 other hand, requires indeed the Being and 
 Reality of Virtue, under the Penalty of 
 Damnation. But it requires the utmojl De- 
 gree^ and the higheft Attainments, in Vir- 
 tue, only under the Penalty of an Abate- 
 
 ment 
 
Hoe Redemption, 383 
 
 7nent or Difcount of Happinefs. He thatSeRM. V. 
 has fowed fparingly ; according to that gra- 
 cious Difpenfation, (hall reap proportionably, 
 though in a lefs Degree 5 than he, that has 
 fowed bountifully. He, that has cultivated 
 virtuous Habits, though in a lower Mea- 
 fure, fhall be happy, though not equally 
 with him, who has made much nearer Ap- 
 proaches to the Standard of Perfedion. 
 
 So much Reafon have we to be thank- 
 ful to him, who has refcued us from the 
 Punijhment ', provided we ftrive to refcue 
 ourfclves from the Dominion of Sin j ia 
 Confidence of whofe all-fufficicnt Merits, 
 we may fecurely launch out into the Depths 
 of Eternity, as St. Feter ventured to ivalk 
 upon the Sea, while we have a Saviour 
 to lend an helping Hand, and to fupporf 
 uSy as he did him, from finking into the 
 deep Abyfs below. 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 Preached at the 
 
 Lady MOVER'S Lecture. 
 
 On the REDEMPTION. 
 
 ^^*^^ ^^^ 5^^ <?^S5»,. ifj:^*. ^!5 a^A 
 
 
 ^ I Peter III. i8. 
 
 Chrift hath alfo once fuffered for Sifts^ the yufl 
 for the Unjuji, that he might bring m unto 
 God. 
 
 HAVING, in a former Difcourfe, Serm.VI. 
 fliewn the Weaknefs and Infuffi- 
 ciency of thofe Schemes, which 
 have been fet up In oppofition to Scrip- 
 ture J I now proceed to my 
 
 11^ general Head, to eftablifli and con- 
 firm the true Scripture Dod;rine of the Sa- 
 tisfadlion. After which 
 
 Vol. IL C c I Hiall 
 
386 The Redemption. 
 
 Serm.vi. I fl:iall In the laft Place, confider the 
 'Extent of the Redemption. 
 
 ijl, I fliall endeavour to eflablifli and 
 confirm the true Scripture Dodlrine of the 
 Satisfadion. 
 
 And this I fliall do, — by enquiring what 
 
 Neceffity there was for a Satisfadion 
 
 by (hewing — that our Saviour was the only 
 proper Perfon to fatisfy for our Sins, as he 
 
 only could merit Forgivenefs for them < 
 
 that his Merits might be imputed to us- ■ 
 
 and our Iniquities borne by him-, and by 
 
 removing Objedions. 
 
 That there was a Neceffity iqf a Satlf- 
 fadtion 5 appears very ftrongly frdtn Scrip* 
 ture Evidence, the only Evidence, which 
 perhaps we are capable of, in Matters of 
 fo high a Nature. For unlefs there had 
 been an abfolute Neceflity, unlefs there 
 had been a Knot too hard for any but the 
 Deity to untie ; a God indeed, who was the 
 Brightnefs of his Father s Glory , and the 
 expfrfs Image of his Perfon y would not 
 have defcended upon the Scene of this 
 World, to unravel the perplexing Diffi- 
 culty. Certainly a Being of infinite Be- 
 nevolence, would not have expofed his 
 
 only 
 
l*he Redemption, 387 
 
 only Son, in ijuhoin he ivas ivcll plea fed , toSERM.VI. 
 needlefs, as well as undeferved Mifery. 
 
 Again ; It is faid, it is 7tot pojjible that the 
 Blood of Bulls and Goats^ which have no 
 inherent Worth and Efficacy, Jhoiild take 
 away Sins^ or the Penalty of Sin, Heb. x. 4. 
 Therefore it was neceflary, that a Perfon of 
 inconceivable Dignity, and fuperior Excel- 
 lency, (hould fatisfy the Demands of Juf- 
 tice, and procure for us the Endearments 
 of divine Mercy. Hifn hath God Jet forth 
 to be a Propitiation for Sin, to declare his 
 Bighteouftjefsy or to difplay his Juftice, for 
 the RemiJJioti of Sins that are paft ; that he 
 might be jiift, and the fufiifer of them^ that 
 belie'-oe in fcfus Chrijl. 
 
 To rejedl a Satisfaction thus ftrongly 
 proved from Scripture, merely becaufe we 
 do not perceive the abfolute Fitnefs and 
 Neceffity of it, by any Evidence from the 
 Nature of the Thing j is intirely to fct 
 afide the Divine Authority. For a Regard 
 to the divine Authority, can only be fliewn 
 by aiTenting to Proportions inevident in 
 themfehes^ as having his Sandlion, or being 
 revealed by him. To Propofitions evident 
 in themfelves we fhould have aflented, whe- 
 ther revealed by him or not; nay, if they 
 C c 2 had 
 
388 T'he Redemption. 
 
 SERM.Vi.had been difcovered to us by the moft ahan' 
 ^ doned dinner ^ or notorious Liar. It is 
 aftonifhing therefore to find Perfons avert- 
 ing, in exprefs Words, that it is not the 
 Declaration of Ged^ but the Fitnefs of the 
 Thing declared i which is the proper Ground 
 of our j^Jj'cntj i. e. they will not beheve 
 the Deity affirming a Propofition, unlefs 
 they have fuch a clear and diftind: Percep- 
 tion of the Fitnefs of the Thing affirmed j 
 as mufl induce their Belief, whether the 
 Deity had afjirmed it, or no. Modejier 
 Men will be inclined to think, that all the 
 Declarations of an infinitely wife Being 
 imply a Fitnefs j a Fitnefs in the Nature 
 of the Thing, but unperceived by us, 
 whofe Ideas do not reach the whole Com- 
 pafs and Extent of FitnefTes and UnfitnefTes. 
 A Man of fiiperior Senfe may difcover a 
 Fitnefs, that efcaped the Obfervation of 
 one of lefs Penetration : An jJngel may 
 difcern a Fitnefs. which efcapes a Man of 
 the highell: Reach of Thought : And the 
 Deity mufl perceive an Infinity of FitnefTes, 
 which are undifcoverable by the mofl ex- 
 alted Archangel. And here I would ob- 
 ferve, once for All, that moft of the Ob- 
 jcdions, which I have met with againfl 
 
 Scripture, 
 
"The Redemption. 3^9 
 
 Scripture, proceed from hence; that MenS^RM-Vi- 
 fet up for Frec-T^hinkers, in Cafes where" ^ 
 they can be but Half-Thinkers, or even 
 lefs than that. Particularly in this Cafe, 
 we, who fee but fome fcattered Links of 
 the univerfal Chain, fome disjointed Parts 
 of the whole united Syftem, cannot per- 
 ceive, what is beft and moft fitting for the 
 Good of the Whole ; and therefore ought 
 to acquiefce in his Declaration, who cer- 
 tainly dees. Our Conclufion is but the 
 Sum total of our Reafoning; and as a 
 Sum can never be juftly cafl up, when any 
 one Particular is omitted : So neither can 
 the Sum total of our Reafoning be jufl 
 and exad, when any one intermediate Idea, 
 which ought to be taken into the Account, 
 is dropped or wanting. What may feem 
 to us to have no Fitnefs, who view only 
 fome detached Branches of God's univerfal 
 Kingdom j might appear very reafonable, 
 could we fee through the whole Contex- 
 ture of Things. Juft as fome loofe dif- 
 jointed Paffages from Scripture, appear odd 
 and unpromifnig by themfelves ; and yet 
 are very beautiful, and pertinent ; the 
 Thread, Connexion, and Dependency of 
 one Thing on another, being confidcred. 
 C c 3 Nothing 
 
390 l^he Redemption, 
 
 Serm.vi. Nothing can match the Ignorance and /«- 
 ^fufficiency of thofe Perfons, except it be 
 their great Self -Sufficiency, who vainly 
 imagine, they have Compafs of Thought 
 enough, to grafp all that is necefTary to a 
 clear and determinate Refolution of the 
 Point in Debate. I have often thought, in 
 how a ridiculous a Light we muft appear, to 
 intelligent Beings of a fuperior Rank, while 
 we are thus meddling with Matters that 
 are too high for us.* A Set of Children, 
 who Ihpuld form Schemes to govern Eu- 
 rope, to adjuft the interfering Interefts of 
 contending Princes, and to direct their So- 
 vereign in complicated Cafes, upon the moil 
 critical Emergencies; could not appear 
 more abfurd to the ableft Statefmen ; than 
 we muft do to them, when we fit in Judg- 
 ment upon God's Difpenfations, fcan the 
 whole Plan of his Providence, and deter- 
 mine, what his infinite Wifdom ought to 
 do. No, Let Angels and Archangels de- 
 fire to look into, and contemplate, the Na- 
 ture of our Redemption : Let Man be 
 humbly content to enjoy the Benefits of it. 
 When God fhall unfold the whole Scheme 
 of his Adminiftration ; when he (hall lay, 
 before the whole Syflem of intelligent Be- 
 ings, 
 
The Redemption, 391 
 
 ings, the Harmony, Uniformity, and Con-SERM.vi. 
 flftency of his Providence, from iirft to lafl;'*' ^^^ 
 then we may expedt greater Light into thefe 
 Affairs. In the mean Time, it is enough 
 for us to know ; that Scripture proveSy and 
 Reafon cannot difprove^ the Neceffity of a 
 Satisfadion. 
 
 idh\ Our Saviour was the only proper 
 Perfon to fatisfy for our Sins, as he alone 
 could merit the Forgivenefs of them. 
 
 Now no created Being could merit. Be- 
 caufe the higher Excellencies any Creature 
 is ennobled with, the more he is indebted 
 to the Giver of them j and his Services 
 muft be difproportioned to the Favours he 
 has received. For fuch a Being to think, 
 that any Thing he could do, could merit 
 Forgivenefs, and everlafting Happinefs, for 
 a World of Sinners, muft have been the 
 higheft Prefumption, if God had not ap- 
 pointed him : But, if God had appointed 
 him, it was fo far from Merit, that it was 
 his Bounden Duty^ in Return for the many 
 unmerited Graces, which he had received. 
 
 Our Saviour, who was God as well 
 
 as Man, might merit. He could, out of 
 l^is own Fund, difcharge our Debts, or buy 
 
 Cc 4 us 
 
39 2 The Redemption. 
 
 Serm.vLus with a Price. — He had fomething of 
 his 0W71 to merit withal, which ;zo mere Crea- 
 ture could have. He had Power to take 
 up his Life^ and he had Power to lay it 
 down. 
 
 And though his Sufferings were the Suf- 
 ferings of the Man j yet the offering up of 
 his human Nature, was the Offering of the 
 God^ of the fecond Perfon in the bleffed 
 Trinity. For as it is faid. We are redeemed^ 
 not with corruptible Things^ but with the 
 precious Blood of Chrift : So it is faid, that 
 he by the eternal Spirit ; or, as it might 
 be rendered, by his eternal Spirit, offered 
 himfelf up without Spot to God. And in 
 feveral other Paffages, the Merit of his 
 Sufferings is refolved into the Dignity of 
 that Nature, which ftamped a Value upon 
 them : Who being the Brightnefs of his 
 Glory ^ and the exprefs Image of his Per/on, 
 and upholding all things by the Word of his 
 Power, purged, or expiated, our Sim. In 
 whom we have Redemption through his Bloody 
 even the Forgivenefs of Sins : Who is the 
 Image of the invifible God, &c. Feed the 
 Church of God, which he hath purchafed 
 with his own Blood. And, though the 
 God-head was impaflive -, yet the Perfon, 
 
 who 
 
7^^ Redemption, 393 
 
 who was God as well as Man, might fufFeriSERM.Vl. 
 Juft as, though the Soul is unperifliable > 
 yet Man, who is compounded of Soul and 
 Body, is mortal. 
 
 Now, for the fecond Perfon of the Tri- 
 nity to offer up, what was his oivn inde- 
 pendently, what was clofely allied and 
 endeared to him, by a per final Unions 
 what derived a diftinguifhed Luftre from 
 him J to offer it up uncojillrained, mufl 
 either conftitute Merit, or we do not know 
 what does. 
 
 As one Being enriched with Knowledge, 
 and ennobled with Virtue, is far more va- 
 luable, than the whole Mafs of dead and 
 infenfate Matter : Thus one perfed Model 
 of Virtue, without any Alloy of Vice, thus 
 offered up by God bleffed for e^cer^ was of 
 more Worth, that the whole World of fin- 
 ful Beings. And, whatever was deficient 
 in the human Sacrifice, confidered abftradt- 
 edly, and merely as human, might be fup- 
 plied by the Merits, of the infinite Offerer 
 fuperadded to it, and placed to our Ac- 
 count. What thofe Merits particularly 
 v/ere we need not curiouily inquire. A 
 Man may know the Matter of Fadl:, that 
 he is ranfomed from Captivity and Slavery 
 
 by 
 
394 ^^ Redemption, 
 
 Serm.VI. by a gracious Sovereign, without under- 
 flanding particularly, explicitly, and fully, 
 the Kindy Manner, and Value of the Ran- 
 fom, that was laid down, and the Price, 
 with which he was p'jrchafed. 
 
 It is enough we are informed, that a 
 Divine Perfcn interefted himfelf in the 
 Affair : And when a God interpofed, what 
 he, an ivjinite Perfon, has done for us, 
 cannot, in the Nature of Things, be whol- 
 ly, and adequately comprehended by us : But 
 what we have to do, in confequence of his 
 Tranfadions, for ourfelves, mull be clear 
 and level to our Capacities. Thus God 
 was in Chrijl, reconciling the World to 
 himfelf. 
 
 Having fliewn, that there was a Neccf- 
 fity fome Being fhould merit for us, and 
 that our Saviour was the only Being that 
 could merit ; I now proceed to (hew, in 
 what Senfe his Merits could be imputed to 
 us, and our Iniquities laid upon him. 
 
 And it muft be owned, that our Saviour's 
 good Adiions cannot be properly and ftriftly 
 curs nor our bad Adiions his : And in this 
 Senfe, perfonal Merit and Demerit cannot 
 be transferred. But the Reward oi his good 
 Adtions, {I (hall confider the Funijhment 
 
 of 
 
I'he Redemptio7t, 395 
 
 of our Sins by and by) may, notwIthftand-SE»iM-Vi. 
 ing, be made over to us, or conferred up-^ 
 on us. To exemplify this by a familiar In- 
 ftance : A Perfon does his Country feme 
 eminent and fignal Service, for which the 
 mofl advantageous Pods, and diflinguifliing 
 Marks of Honour, are offered him : He 
 declines them, as to his own Perfon -, but 
 defires they may be beflowed upon fuch as 
 have been faithful to him, and arc qualified 
 for them ; and he fliall look upon it as if 
 done to himfelf. 
 
 Is there any Thing abfurd or ridiculous 
 in fuch a Condud: ? Why might not then 
 our blefled Saviour confer the Rewards of 
 his meritorious Sufferings and Actions, as 
 we may difpenfe our Favours, on whom 
 he thought proper? Why might he not 
 do, what he would with his own, and 
 place them to our Account : provided he 
 did not mijplace them, upon unfuitable 
 Objed:s, or proftitute them to Beings habi- 
 tually immoral ? 
 
 Whatever Privileges our Saviour ac-- 
 quired, by that inimitable Original of Love 
 and voluntary Condefcenfion, were his : 
 And what were his^ he might difpofe of as 
 his. For to difpofe of them as his, was 
 
 only 
 
39^ T^he Redemption. 
 
 SERM.VLonly to iife them as his. Father y I will 
 that thofe "ivhom thou haji give7i me, may be 
 iviih me ; that they may behold my Glory. 
 Here we muft attend to the Diftindtion 
 between Approbation and Kindnefs. The 
 Approbation of an Adlion cannot be tranf- 
 ferred, with Juflice, from the Agent to 
 another Perfon ; yet the Ki?tdnefs confe- 
 quent to that Approbation, may, and often 
 is, with the Confent of the meritorious 
 Perfon, thus transferred ; becaufe in being 
 kind to others at his Inftance and Requeft, 
 we are, in the lail: Refort, kind to himfelf-. 
 We reward him in others. 
 
 Thus by the Obedience of one many be- 
 came Righteous, And he, who knew no 
 Sin, was made Sin, or an Expiation for 
 Sin, that we might be the Right eoufnefs of 
 God in him. Thus he was the Lord, our 
 Right eoufnefs. And we became the Heirs 
 of God, for his Sake, and upon his Ac- 
 count, who had no Pretenfions to fuch ex- 
 alted Privileges upon our own. 
 . So much may ferve to prove, in what 
 Senfe our Saviour's Merits were imputed to 
 us. I now proceed to fliew in what Senfe 
 he could be faid to bear our Iniquities. 
 And here it mull be granted, that perfonal 
 
 Guilt 
 
The Redemption^ 3^y 
 
 Ga/7/ cannot be transferred j but the legal^^^viNi. 
 Guilt may, that is, the Obligation to Pu- '"■'"^''*^ 
 nirhment, which refults from the Violation 
 of the Law. For God does not puniHi 
 merely for puniihing's Sake : He does not 
 inflicft iifekfs Mifery upon his Creatures : 
 He does not punifh merely becaufe he dif- 
 approves of, or is difpleafcd with. Guilt ; 
 but becaufe of the /// Ccnfeque?2cc5 which 
 would follow, if he fuffered Guilt to go 
 nnpunifhed : Becaufe it is neceffary to vin- 
 dicate the Honour of his Government, to 
 fupport his Authority as fupreme Law- 
 giver, and to fecure the Refpecft due to his 
 Laws. Now if the Reverence due to 
 God's Laws could be maintained, and all 
 the wife and good Ends of Puniihment 
 anfwered by the Subllitution of another Per- 
 fon (equal to the mighty Province) in the 
 room of the Offender ; then the Deity 
 might accept of a Commutation, remit 
 the Punifhment to the Offender, and tranf- 
 fer it upon his Subflitute. For when the 
 Reafoiis of infliding a Penalty are taken off, 
 there the Fenalty itfelf undoubtedly may 
 be taken off. The only Thing then that 
 remains, is to prove, that our Saviour's Suf- 
 ferings were fwfficicnt to fecure the Ho- 
 nour 
 
39^ ^^^ Redemption. 
 
 SERM.VI.nour and Refpeddue to God's Laws. Now, 
 whatever has a Tendency to imprefs upon 
 our Mind, a mofl awful Senfe of God's 
 Averfion to Sin, has a Tendency to preferve 
 a Reverence for God's Laws. And no- 
 thing could have imprinted upon our Minds, 
 a more awful Senfe of God's Averfion to 
 Sin, than that he would not forgive it, 
 notwithftanding our Repentance, upon lefs 
 difficult Terms, than the Son of God's giv- 
 ing himfelf a Ranfom for this World : 
 That he would not pardon the Breach of 
 his Laws, without our Saviour's offering 
 up what he had as great a Value for, as he 
 had a Hatred and Deteftation of the Of- 
 fences committed againft his Law. 
 
 We know not how far the State of this 
 World might affed: other intelligent Beings, 
 in fome other Part of the Creation, how 
 far it might countenance a Rebellion and 
 give them difadvantageous Ideas of their 
 fupreme Lawgiver; if a whole World of 
 penitent Offenders, how long, how of- 
 ten, or how greatly foever, they have 
 finned, might be admitted to everlafting 
 Glory, without any Sufferings perfonal or 
 vicarious. They might imagine, that, 
 what could be fo eafily pardoned, was not 
 
 very 
 
Tl^e Redemption, 399 
 
 very ofFeniive to their Creator, nor would Serm.vi. 
 be deftrudive to themfelves. To obviate' 
 thcfe ill Impreffions, the Deity Ihewed he 
 fo hated Sin, that he gave his only begotten 
 So?2j rather than not co7idemn Sin in the 
 Flejh: He fhewed, that when Man had 
 finned, nothing that mere Man could do, 
 was of Worth and Efficacy enough, to 
 reinftatc him in his Favour. He laid a 
 Plan of the Redemption fo amazing, that 
 Creatures of a Nature not fo frail as ours, 
 could have no Grounds to expert the like 
 Favour, in cafe they revolted from their 
 Allegiance to himj and fo fufficient, as to 
 leave no Room, for material Exceptions 
 againfl it, to thofe enlightened Beings, who 
 may fee farther, than the mere Shell and 
 Surface of it. 
 
 From what has been laid down, the 
 Weaknefs of the following Objedion dif- 
 covers itfelf, viz. that Sin cannot be pu- 
 nijhed ab fir aulcdly from the Si finer : Becaiife 
 Sin ahjlra6ledly from the Sifiner^ is a mere 
 ahJlraB Notion. For the fupreme Legi- 
 flator does not punifh the Sinner for his 
 Sins merely as fuch, abJlraBedly from the 
 ill Confequences which would arife from 
 the hnpunity of Sin. The formal Reafon 
 
 of 
 
40 o The Redemption, 
 
 SERM.vi.of Punifhment is, the eijil Tendency which 
 Sin mud have, if unpunifhed. For, all 
 evil Tendency apart, to punilh would be 
 to make the Being punifhed miferable, 
 without a fufficient Caufe : Now, though 
 Sin, as fomething perfonal, cannot be re- 
 moved from the Sinner; yet the /// Confe- 
 qiiences of Sin unpuniflied may be removed, 
 by a valuable Confideration, fitted to ob- 
 tain every End which could be propofed 
 from his perfonal Puni{hment, and offered 
 and accepted in lieu of it. When there 
 is no Reafonyor putting a Creature to Pain, 
 when no delirable End or Advantage can 
 be compaffed by it ; there is always a Rea- 
 fon againfi doing it, viz, that it is a Pain, 
 tinnecejfary Pain. Some Writers, however, 
 have afferted, that, notwithlianding all 
 the Ends of Government could be anfwer- 
 ed, and the general Happinefs fecured, by 
 the Interpofition of another Perfon; yet 
 fuch a Procedure would be contrary to the 
 Truth and Right of the Cafe. But what 
 Truth would be violated ? Not certainly 
 moral Truth. For a Truth, which has 
 no Reference to Happinefs, muft be a 
 Matter of Indifference ; it muft be a fpe- 
 culative unconcerning Truth, and there- 
 fore 
 
The Rede?nptio?7, 401 
 
 fore not a moral Truth. If an Adion, Serm.VI. 
 which was neither defigned for, nor is pro-' 
 dudlive of, Benefit or Harm, be, as it 
 undoubtedly is, an indifferent Adion j an 
 Adion which, in the Whole of its Effe(fls, 
 increafes Happinefs and leiTens Mifery, (fup- 
 pofing a right Intention in the Agent,) muft 
 be morally goody in Proportion to the Mo- 
 ment of Good, which it produces ; and 
 therefore fuch a Procedure, as was calcu- 
 lated for the general Good, without any 
 Injury done, as I fhall prove immediately, 
 to the mediating Party, muft be morally 
 good. 
 
 It may be objected, that in the Subject, in 
 which the Fault is, in that fame Subjevft 
 ihould the Punifhment bcj and that it is a 
 flagrant Injuftice, to punifh an innocent Per- 
 fon inilead of the Guilty. 
 
 And, it is granted, that it is Injuftice to 
 punifh a Perfon, merely becanfe he is inno- 
 cent : But it is not fo, notwithpanding he 
 is innocent, when he deliberately chufes 
 to undergo the Punlfliment j when he has 
 an uncontelled Right to difpofe of himfelf, 
 and when great and important Eiids are an- 
 fwered by it. There can be no InjuJIicey 
 where there is no Ljvafion of any Property j 
 
 Vol. II. D d and 
 
402 "The Redemption, 
 
 SERM.vi.and there could be no Invajion of any Pro^ 
 'perty; when our Saviour, by 2. free ^ gene^ 
 rous, unconjirained A(5l refigned, what he 
 had an undifputed Right to lay down, his 
 own Life. Nor is it any Impeachment of 
 God's Goodnefs to let an Evil of Suffering 
 take place, an Evil, which was produdtive 
 of an iiniverfal prepollcnt Good. It could 
 be no Injury to our Saviour, for another 
 Reafon, viz. that he received an ample 
 Recompence for the Hardlliips, which he 
 fuflained in his human Nature, by diftin- 
 guifhed Rewards, and an Accefllon of 
 Glory to it. The Arguments, which are 
 brought to prove, that he, who was no 
 Sinner, ought not to have been a Sufferer 
 for us, prove as flrongly, at leaft, that he 
 ought to have been 7io Sufferer at alL For 
 he no more defer ved thofe Sufferings on his 
 own Account, than he did on ours. And 
 yet we fee innocent Perfons > Children, for 
 Inftance, who are capable of no adlual 
 Guilt, fuffer daily. And if they may fuf- 
 fer for 7io affignable 'Endy which we can 
 comprehend ; Why might not our Saviour 
 fuffer for fo valuable an End^ as to avert 
 Mifery from, and procure an endlcfs Felicity 
 for, all penitent Sinners? Nor is it any 
 5 more 
 
The Redemptmu 403 
 
 more an Ablurdity, that God (liould per-SERM.VI. 
 mit a guiltlefs Pcrfon, to part with that, 
 which he has a Right to difpofe of, to i'ave 
 a whole World from Ruin ; than that he 
 fhould command an innocent Perfon, to 
 give away fome Part of his PoiTeffions and 
 Property, to refcue a Family, that has in- 
 volved itfelf, from Ruin. In both Cafes 
 the Innocent fuffer for the Guilty \ and part 
 with what is dear and valuable to them, to 
 promote, what is more dear and valuable ; 
 the Good of their Fellow-creatures. Had 
 Men as full a Power lodged in them, to dif- 
 pofe of their Lives, as they have, con- 
 felTedly, of their Money, for the Benefit 
 of Mankind ; fuch Ads would indeed be 
 Injuftice, w^hen impofed upon them : But, 
 when they proceeded from their own Choice 
 and free Confent, they would be Inflances 
 of heroic Goodnefs. 
 
 It has been reprefented as a flrange Ex- 
 pedient, to deter Beings from Sin, or to 
 fhew Difpleafure againft it; that an inno- 
 cent Perfon {hould fuffer inftead of the 
 Sinner: To infift upon this, we are told, 
 is obftinately to perfijl in Error^ rjithcut 
 the leajl Face of an Argument. To which 
 I anfwer: That there is an Obitinacy in 
 D d 2 Error 
 
404 'the Redemption, 
 
 Serm.vi. Error fome where or other : But where k 
 'hes, will appear, by and by, by laying 
 open the Chicanery of this Objedlion : 
 Which is as follows. The Objedors con- 
 lider our Saviour abjlraBedly^ as to his own 
 Nature J without conlidering him in his 
 relative Capacity, as to the Office he un- 
 dertook. Whatever Right he had to be 
 treated as an innocent Perfon, antecedently 
 to his offering himfelf as a Ranfom ; yet, 
 when he had offered himfelf as a Subftitute, 
 he voluntarily waved and relinquifhed that 
 Right: And therefore might be treated, 
 not according to that Right which he had 
 foregone, or made a Ceflion of; but accord- 
 ing to the Capacity which he had affumed. 
 Now to apply what is here laid down, in 
 order to unravel this Piece of Sophiflry: 
 They very artfully drop the Idea of Subjii- 
 tiite^ retaining only that of an innocent Per- 
 fon : They take into the Account his Na^ 
 ture, omitting his Office : And thus, fup- 
 preffing a jnatei'ial Tart of the Truth, they 
 confound unattentive Readers, (which the 
 Bulk of Readers ever will be) with this 
 fpecious Fallacy, viz. To punifli an inno- 
 cent Perfon, as our Saviour was, inflead of 
 the Guilty, is fo far from being a Tefli- 
 
 mony 
 
The Redemption, 405 
 
 mony of Difpleafure againft Sin; that uSerm^ 
 is the Reverfe. And it would be fo, to' ^ 
 punifli him merely as fuch^ in that fmgle 
 abjiradi View, without any Relation to the 
 Character which he fuftained : But to pu- 
 nifli him as one who gave up his Right to 
 be treated as innocent; who voluntarily 
 offered himfelf, as a Subftitute for an of- 
 fending World, is certainly an Indication 
 of the divine Difpleafure againft Sin : Be- 
 caufe, iinlefi God had been fo far difpleafed 
 at Sin, as not to readmit even penitent Sin- 
 ners, merely as fuch, to Favour 3 he had 
 required no Subftitute, no vicarious Punifti- 
 ment at all. God's Averfion to Sin, upon 
 the account of its Malignity and prejudi- 
 cial Nature, is fliewn, in proportion to the 
 Difficulty of pardoning it ; and the Diffi- 
 culty of pardoning it, in proportion to the 
 Dignity of the Perfon, who fuffered. 
 
 It is objedled, that fuch a Satisfaction 
 muft be inconfiftent with God's free Grace: 
 Becaufe, if it was a juft and reafonable 
 Satisfadion ; God could not have refufed 
 it : But if not juft and reafonable ; then 
 he ought not to have accepted it. 
 
 To which I anfwer, that this is a grofs 
 
 and palpable Fallacy : It fuppofes the very 
 
 D d 3 Thing, 
 
4-06 'The Redemption, 
 
 Serm.vi. Thing, which ought to have been proved, 
 or rather admits of no Proof. 
 
 It fuppofes, that a Satisfaction may be juft 
 and reafonable, antecedently to the Will of 
 the Legillator : Whereas, in all vicarious 
 PuniHiments, the Legiflator's Confent muft 
 be prefiippofed, as abfolutely necelTary to 
 make them, juil and reafonable : Which 
 Confent he may withhold 5 and infill:, that, 
 the Crime being ours, the Puniihment fhould 
 be fo too. 
 
 Befides, when it is faid, that the Satif- 
 faclion was reafonable, it may be afked, 
 Reafonable, as to what? It was reafonable 
 in this Refped:, that it was an Expedient 
 to fecure the Honour of God's Laws, and 
 to prevent the ill Confequences of the In- 
 demnity of Sin, though repented of: But 
 it might have been as reafonable, at leail, 
 and would have anfwered the fame End, 
 jf Sinners had fuffered in Per [on. There- 
 fore tliis Obje6tion proceeds, a diclo feciindmn 
 qiiid^ ad diBufn fimpHciter, from what is rea- 
 fonable in 07ie View, to what is fo intirely, 
 and in all Views, without any poffible AI-* 
 ternative, which might be as reafonable. 
 
 If it be obiected ; that the fecond Per- 
 ion in the Trinity could not fatisfy the 
 
 firfl : 
 
I'he Redemption* 407 
 
 firft: becaufe they are of one undivided Serm.vi. 
 EfTence. 
 
 I reply, That the whole Force of this 
 Objection, refts upon our Notions of the 
 Divine Unity, which are too inadequate to 
 reafon folidly upon. Thofe, who advance 
 this Objedion, fhould prove, either that 
 the Union muft be too clofe to admit of 
 diftindt Actions and Offices 5 or too wide 
 to make the three Perfons one God. The 
 Manner of the divine Unity is as unfearch- 
 able, as his Eflence j and our Ideas of it 
 too indeterminate and indiftindl, to beget 
 any full and determinate Knowledge, which 
 muft always keep Pace with our Ideas. 
 The three Perfons are one Being, becaufe 
 zmdhided : But it does . not follow, that 
 becaufe they are undivided; that therefore 
 they are i?idijiin£l : To be undivided, and 
 to be indiftind:, being not the fame Idea. 
 Whither fiall I go, fays the Pfalmift, frojji 
 thy Pre fence ? If I go up into Heaven^ thou 
 art there? If I go douun to Hell, thou art 
 there alfo : If I take the IVijigs of the 
 Morjiing^ and remain in the uttermoft Parts 
 of the Sea ; e'uen there alfo Jlmll thy Hand 
 lead me J and thy right Hand fiall hold me. 
 Now Being in Heaven, Being in Hell, 
 D d 4 Being 
 
40 8 T*he Redemption* 
 
 Serm.VI. Being in the Sea, may be one Being, be- 
 caufe undivided -, but not, becaufe indi- 
 ftind: : For certainly Being in Heaven is 
 diftind from Being in Hell. The Unity 
 then of the three Perfons, as to their Na- 
 ture, refults from their Indivifibility. — • 
 
 Indivifibility is no Bar to Diftincftion. — 
 
 What is no Bar to Diftindion, can be none 
 
 to diftindl Actions or Offices. Confe- 
 
 quently, Son and Father, though indivifi- 
 ble, and therefore one Being, might ad di- 
 flindly, in giving and receiving Satisfadion. 
 Still it may be urged j that this does not 
 intirely remove the Difficulty : That, how- 
 ever diflind, they are one and the fame 
 Lawgiver : And confequently, the fame 
 Lawgiver fatisfied the fame Lawgiver : 
 y/hich is an Abfurdity. 
 . To take off the Force of this Objedion, 
 it is fufficient to obferve : That to be fo- 
 yereign Lawgiver is no ejfential Perfedion 
 of the Deity. If it were, he could never 
 have been without it : He muft have been 
 Lawgiver ab aternOj i. e. He muft have 
 been Lawgiver, before there were any Be- 
 ings to give Laws to. It is plain then, to 
 be Lawgiver is only a relative Property. 
 Our Saviour confequently might be truly 
 
 5 G°^^5 
 
Tlje Redemption* 409 
 
 God, /. €. ennobled with all the eJfentialSzKu.Yl. 
 J^erfedlions of Godj at the fame Time that' 
 he diverted himfelf of the relative Capa- 
 city of fovereign Lawgiver, during the Time, 
 that he was tranfadling the gracious Scheme 
 of our Redemption. It is true, it is necef- 
 fary, that God fhould be Lawgiver to us, 
 Jiajite rerum Hypotheji : But then, upon the 
 Suppofition of more Perfons in the divine 
 Nature, it is no more neceflary, that the 
 Son ihould be always fupreme Lawgiver -, 
 than that the Father fhould be 'Judge at 
 the laft Day. The fame Attributes are in^ 
 herently vefled in both : But the Exertion 
 of thofe Attributes, in this or that Provi?ice, 
 in this or th^it particular Scheme of Acflion, 
 is free and voluntary. 
 
 There is a Point in Knowledge, where 
 Vfefiilnefs ends, and unconcerning Specula^ 
 tion begins. As far as any Thing is ufejid 
 and important to our Happinefs, fo far, by 
 the Help of Revelation, all is generally 
 clear and plain j beyond that, all is dark and 
 inacceffible to us in a great meafure. The 
 Reafon is, God has drawn a Veil over this 
 Part of Knowledge, left by attending to 
 Things rcT/icte from TJfe, and Matters of 
 ^ere Curiojity^ the Mind fliould be divert- 
 ed 
 
41 o l^he Redemption, 
 
 SERM.Vi.ed from uleful and fraSiical Inquiries, 
 The Circle of our Knowledge, as far as 
 it conduces to Happinefs, though not very 
 large, is, by the Help of Scripture, exad: 
 and full. To exemplify this, in the Point 
 of the Redemption, fome Perfons complain 
 of a Darknefs fpread over the Face of this 
 Difpenfation. But as to what f As far as 
 it is a Doctrine of Ufe and Importance^ fo 
 far it is clearly and diftinftly revealed. 
 We are cxprefsly told, vi^hat our Saviour 
 has purchafed for us, and w^hat we have 
 to do, to qualify ourfelves for the Happi- 
 nefs which he has purchafed. It is difco- 
 vered to us, that God, through his Merits, 
 will confer upon every penitent Oifender 
 that exceeding and eternal Weight of Blifs, 
 which even the Unoffending could have 
 had no Title to. ^o far it is a Dodrine of 
 folid Ufe and Importance. 
 
 But we want, perhaps, more fully to 
 underftand the internal Manner, and par- 
 ticular Efficacy of his Merits and Inter- 
 ceffion, and the Whole of the Tranfadtion 
 between the Father and the Son, in the 
 ftupendous Work of our Salvation. Here 
 jnere Curiofity commences 5 and therefore 
 no Wonder, our Knoivkdge fliould in a 
 
 great 
 
T'he Redemptlo?:. 411 
 
 great meafure end. Thefe are the ThingsSERM.vi. 
 which Angels defire to look into ; and we,' 
 till we are Angels, fliould not expedl a full 
 and comprehenfive Satisfadion about. 
 
 Let us compare Creation and Redempti- 
 on. From the former we derive our Beings 
 from the latter our eternal Well-being. 
 Both Truths are involved in great Difficult 
 ties : Both are either, Jbr that Reafon, to 
 be rejeded j or (which is the much better 
 Conclulionj) both, notwithJlandi?2g that Rea- 
 fon, to be admitted. 
 
 I {hall now, in the laft Place, confider the 
 Extent of the Redemption. 
 
 Our Saviour laid down his Life for the 
 Sins of the whole World. He came, that 
 as in Adam all die, fo in Chriji Jlmild all 
 be fnade alive. As by one Man's Difobe- 
 dience many (the Many, or Mankind in 
 general) were made dinners, treated as fuch, 
 and made fubjed: to Death, the Wages of 
 Sin-, fo, by the Obedience of one, JlmJl 
 majiy be made righteous, Clemens Roma?ius, 
 an Apoftolical Father, exprefsly declares, 
 that the Blood of Jefus was fo precious in 
 God's Sight, as to obtain the Privilege of 
 Repentance for all the World, in all pajl 
 
 Ages-, 
 
412 "The Redemption. 
 
 &E^iA.wi. Ages ', and that the Ninevifes repent ingy 
 ^ upon the Preaching of yonas, were faved 
 by it, though Aliens from God*, 
 
 From hence we may conclude, that, 
 though thofe, who have performed the 
 Conditions of the Gofpel-Covenant, Faith 
 and penitential Obedience, fhall fhine out 
 with diftinguifhed Glory : yet the Benefits 
 of his Paffion fhall be applied, in fome 
 rneafure, even to thofe, who never heard 
 of his Name. The Sphere of his Benefi- 
 cence extended backwards to the Founda- 
 tion of the World, and reaches forward to 
 the laft Conflagration J fo that Nothing, 
 which is capable of being faved, is hid from 
 the Heat thereof He became the Savi- 
 our of all Ages, from the firfl: Birth of 
 Time to its laft Period j the Father of 
 Mankind, from the Rifing up of the Sun, 
 to the Going down- of the fame. The 
 Eleffings of his Coming into the World, are 
 as extenfive as the \Vorld, and as lafling as 
 Eternity. 
 
 View leifurely the ftupendous Scheme— 
 
 a whole World redeemed from Mifery a 
 
 whole World made happy, if their own 
 Impenitence doth not prevent it - made 
 
 ever- 
 
 * Clemens Romanus, Epi(l. i. cap. 7. 
 
l^he Redemption, 413 
 
 ei^erlajlingly happy: — and tell me, whatSERw.vI. 
 
 Sentiments it ought to infpire you with 
 
 Why, Sentiments of Gratitude too big to 
 be uttered, too fervent to be concealed. 
 
 We think no Language too harfli, no 
 Ufage too fevere, to thofe, who can be 
 guilty of a bafe Ingratitude, to a generous 
 Friend, Parenf, or Father of his Country. 
 But what are the moft diftinguifhing Be- 
 nefits, which a Father of his Country, a 
 Parent, a Friend, can heap upon us, in 
 comparifon of what our Saviour has done 
 for us ? Lighter than Vanity, and Nothing, 
 when weighed in the Balance with an ex- 
 ceeding and eternal Weight of Glory, the 
 greateft BlefTing that Man could receive, 
 or even God beftow. 
 
 Behold, with the Eye of Faith, a Spec- 
 tacle worthy to be beheld by God with Plea- 
 fure, and by Angels with Wonder and A- 
 ilonifhment : a Spcd:acle ridiculous in the 
 Eyes of thofe, who are too dull to difcern 
 the Saviour through the Sufferer; but in 
 the Eye of thofe emiobled Beings, who fee 
 Things as they are in themfelves, and not 
 as they are fet off by Fomp, a Spectacle more 
 auguft and awfully glorious, than ever be- 
 fore 
 
414- ?"^^ Redemption, 
 
 SERM.vi.fore appeared on the Theatre of Nature. 
 
 Behold the Son of God pouring forth his 
 Blood, as well as Prayers, even for thofe, 
 that {hed it : Behold him at once bearing 
 the Infults, expiating the Sins, and pro- 
 curing the Happinefs of Mankind j till at 
 laft he bows his facred Head, and fhuts up 
 the folemn Scene with thefe fhort butcom- 
 prehenfive Words, It is finished: The 
 great, the ftupendous Work is done, the 
 univerfal Sacrifice, which fhall take in all 
 Mankind, and which all Mankind jfhall 
 contemplate throughout Eternity with awful 
 Joy and Gratitude, is completed. 
 
 And can wc receive thefe aftonifliing 
 Endearments, this prodigious Expence of 
 Goodnefs, which, like the blefied Effects 
 that we are to receive from it, is fuch as 
 Eye. had not feen before, nor Ear heard, 
 nor had it entred into the Heart of Man^ 
 to conceive ; Can we receive it, I fay, 
 with a dull Infenfibility, and a flupid In- 
 difference ? 
 
 If we find ourfelves affecled with en- 
 dearing Sentiments of Love, towards vir- 
 tuous Charadters, which we read of in 
 ancient Hiftory : If, when their Story is 
 
 re- 
 
l*he Redemption, 415 
 
 reprefented on the Stage, we feel oui-Serm.vi. 
 Hearts interefted in their Favour : If we' 
 honour and efleem them, from whom we 
 reap no Advantage : How much more 
 ought we to love, eftcem, and honour 
 him, the Benefit of whofe Acftions and 
 Sufferings reaches to all Ages, all Nations, 
 all Mankind? What are they (the great 
 Heroes of Antiquity) to us, or we to them ; 
 who might be an Honour to the Age in 
 which they lived, but are of no Service to 
 us ; like Stars at an immenfe Diflance, the 
 Light of which may fill their own Sphere, 
 but reaches not down to this lower World ? 
 But our Saviour was a Perfon born for 
 the whole World, for which he died, 
 a Bleffing to all Mankind from the Be- 
 ginning of Time, and whom all Mankind 
 will have Reafon to blefs, when TimeJJjaU 
 he no more. 
 
 But let us remember, that there were 
 two Ends of our Saviour's Coming into the 
 World ; the one to be a complete Pattern 
 of Goodnefs in his Life^ and the other to 
 be a full Satisfadfion for Sin by his Death. 
 In vain we expedt to be faved by his 
 Deaths as a full Satisfadion for Sin j un- 
 
 lefs 
 
41 6 The Redemption* 
 
 SERM.Vi.lefs we endeavour to copy after his htfe^ 
 as a complete Pattern of Goodnefs. He 
 came, not to make our Repentance need- 
 lefs, but to make it valid and efFedtual. Te 
 are not your own, fays St. Paul -, fir ye are 
 Sought with a Price. Therefire glorify 
 God in your Body^ and in your Spirit ^ which 
 are God's, 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 Preached at the 
 
 Lady MOTER's Lecture^ 
 
 On the Dodrine of the Trinity. 
 
 
 Matthew XXVIII. 19. 
 
 Co ye therefore, and teach all Nations, 
 baptizing them in the Name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghojl. 
 
 TH E Text fet before us the fo- Ser. V\U 
 lemn Commiffion, which our Sa- 
 viour gave to the Apoftles, by 
 which they were to baptize all Nations 
 into the Belief and Worfhip of the Holy 
 Trinity* 
 
 Though fome have treated this Doctrine 
 
 as a mere notional barren Thing; yet, that 
 
 our Sa-cicur is God, and the Holy Gbo/i 
 
 Vol. IL E e God, 
 
41 8 I'he DoElrine of the ^Trinity, 
 
 Ser. VII. God, is no n\ovQ 2. fpeculative Pointy than 
 this Propofition, viz. there is a God, is fo. 
 Both Propofitions are the Foundations of 
 feveral Duties, which are the neceflary Parts 
 of a good Life. The Worfhip of our Sa- 
 viour as God, our Gratitude and religious 
 Homage to him, as fuch, are pradical 
 Points, as much as any Offices of Morality 
 whatever. The Knowledge of our Duty 
 equally obliges us to the Performance of 
 it j through whatever Channel it is convey- 
 ed, whether by the Light of Nature, or 
 that of Revelation. And from the Time, 
 that the Scriptures had dlfcovered to us the 
 Nature and refped:ive Offices of our Re- 
 deemer and Sanc^lifier -, we were as much 
 obliged to adore Them, as to adore the 
 Father. And if a wilful Negled: of behav- 
 ing fuitably to thofe Relations, which we 
 bear to the Father and our Fellow-creatures, 
 makes us the proper Objects of Puniffi- 
 ment ; then a flagrant Negledl of adting 
 fuitably to thofe Relations, which we bear 
 to the Son and Holy Ghoft, muft likewife 
 cxpofe us to the divine Difpleafure *. In 
 
 fhort 
 
 * See tliis Point {et in a beautiful Light hy one of the 
 iineft Thinkers of the Age in his Analogy of natural and 
 rcveakd Religion. Page J 5 i , &c. 
 
l^he DoSlrme of the Trinity, 419 
 
 Ihort we do not live a good Life, unlefsSER. vil. 
 we treat Beings, as what they are in them- 
 felves, and according to what they have 
 done for us. The Man, who does not, as 
 far as in him lies, confider the Dignity of 
 the Perfon of his Benefadtor, nor the Great- 
 nefs of the Benefits received from Him, is 
 an immoral Man. His Life is isoj-ong^ and 
 therefore his Faith cannot be right. 
 
 To return to my Text, from which I 
 have digrelTed, *' Whatever Perfons " (as 
 a confiderable Writer exprefleth it) " are 
 " named in conjun(ftion with God the Fa- 
 " ther in fuch an authoritative Manner, as 
 ** to give a Commiffion, upon the Execu- 
 " tion of which the Remiffion of Sins and 
 ** eternal Salvation depends, or in fuch a 
 *' Manner, as fuppofes Men to be confe^ 
 ** crated and dedicated to thofe Perfons j 
 \\ they all muftbeGod." I {hall, therefore, 
 
 ly?. Endeavour to prove from Scripture^ 
 that there are more Perfons than One in the 
 divine Nature. 
 
 \\dly\ I fhall anfwer the Objedlions 
 again (I this Dodlrine from the Nature of 
 the Thing. 
 
 E e 2 I/?, I 
 
420 'The DoSirine of the Trinity. 
 
 Ser. VII. ]/?, I ihall endeavour to prove from Scrips 
 tiirc^ that there are more Perfons .than One 
 in the divine Nature. 
 
 I (hall lay the main Strefs upon the Di- 
 vinity of our Saviour : becaufe, if that is 
 made good, there can be no reafonable Ob- 
 jedion again ft the Divinity of the Holy 
 Ghcji ; efpecially fince he is faid to fearch 
 all 'Things, yea the deep Thhjgs of God, 
 and to k7iow the 'Thi?igs of God, (v^hich no 
 mere Creature can do,) as intimately as the 
 Spirit of a Man knowefh his own Thoughts. 
 1 Cor. ii. ID, II. 
 
 In the ift Place, the Scripture every 
 where afTerts, that God alone is to be wor- 
 fliipped ; the fame Scripture declares, that 
 our BlelTed Saviour is to be worfhipped : 
 The obvious Confequence of which is, our 
 Saviour is God. Thus St. Stephen adores 
 him with dired; Worfliip : hti'd yefus, re* 
 ceive my Spirit : A Petition of the fame 
 Force and Energy with that, which our 
 Saviour offered up to the Father on the 
 Crofs : Father, into thy Hands I commend 
 77iy Spirit. And again : to him is afcribed 
 Glory and Praife a7id Dominion (after his 
 Mediatorial Kingdom, which forne have 
 
 made 
 
T^he DoSlrme of the T'r'nnty, 421 
 
 made the Foundation of his Worfhip, (hall Ser. vil. 
 ceafe) even for ever and ever. All the 
 Subtleties, by which the Arians would evade 
 the Force of thefe Texts, only prove, that 
 a Man of plain Underftanding, but of an 
 honeft Heart, is lefs liable to err ; than a 
 Philofopher of much deeper Penetration, 
 who has an Attachment to fome favourite 
 Sche??ie, For the Former, who does not 
 lean to his own Under ft andiiig^ refts in the 
 moft obvious and natural Conftru6lion of 
 the Words of Scripture. "Whereas the Lat- 
 ter is fond of Kefinemejits, and will invent a 
 thoufand Devices to confute (what will ever 
 be too hard for Him) cotnmon Senfe. 
 
 The Heart, when it is biafled to any 
 Darling Notion, will always get the better 
 of the Heady how goodfoever it be. There- 
 fore the firft Rule iliould be even in the 
 Search of faving K?iowledge : Keep your 
 Heart with all Diligence. 
 
 Thus the Arians own, that the Son is 
 to be worfhipped j but aflert, that the Wor- 
 fhip ought to terminate in the laft Refort 
 in the Father. To which I anfwer, that 
 this Worfhip, which is paid to Chrift, but, 
 according to their Scheme, ought to ter- 
 minate in the Father, is (to ufe their own 
 £03 Di- 
 
42 2 T!he Do&rine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser. VII. Diflindion, a Diftin(5tion which no where 
 occurs in Scripture,) either fupreme or in- 
 ferior Worfhip. If the Former, then it 
 ought not to be paid at all to the Son, pro- 
 vided he is an inferior Being. For fupreme 
 Worfhip is a Tribute due only to the fu- 
 preme God : It would be Sacrilege to give 
 the highefl Honour to any, who is not the 
 higheft in the Scale of Beings : But if the 
 Worfhip offered to Chrifl is only an inferior 
 Worfhip, then it is unworthy of the fu- 
 preme Objed;, and confequently ought not 
 to terminate in him, who would be disho- 
 noured thereby. Befidcs : How can inferior 
 Worfhip terminate in Him, who has for- 
 bidden all Creature Worfhip ? It is a flagrant 
 Crime to ferve the Creature bejides the Crea^ 
 tor, and to worfhip Thofe who by Nature are 
 no Gods. Either then our Saviour is God 
 by Nature; or he is not to be worfhipped. 
 St. John Rev. V. 13. tells us exprefly, that 
 he heard in a prophetical Vifion every Crea- 
 ture in Heaven^ and Earthy and under the 
 Earthy fayin^^ Blejjtng^ and Honour ^ and Glo- 
 ry y and Power be unto Him that fitteth upon 
 the 'Throne, and unto the Lamb for ever 
 and ever. You fee here the fame Honour 
 ^nd Adoration is jointly paid to both Father 
 
 and 
 
l*he DoBrme of the 7'ri?iity. 423 
 
 and Son without any Dlftindlion or Difpro^ Ser. Vlt. 
 portion of Refpe6t, which the Father would 
 not have fuffered, if there had been an 
 infinite Difproportion between them ; the 
 one being the fupreme God, the other a 
 Creature. 
 
 But farther: Whatever unfcriptural Di- 
 ftindtions fome may make of fupreme and 
 fubordinate Worfliip ; yet he, who at the 
 fame Time that he dwelleth in Heaven, to 
 make Interceflion for us, can be prefent 
 upon Earth, to know the Variety of Peti- 
 tions, mental as well as vocal, private as 
 well as public, which are put up by feveral 
 Millions of People in different and widely 
 diftant Parts of the Earth in one and the 
 fame Moment of Time, and can be able 
 to redrefs their Grievances, mufl be God 
 in the higheft Senfe of the Word. For 'tis 
 the Deity alone, that can command fuch 
 an unbounded Profpe(5t, and take in the 
 whole Compafs of Nature. Either then 
 all Prayer mull be directed to a Being who 
 feeth in Secret^ who hath a free and unre- 
 ftrained Admittance to the hidden Refources 
 
 of the Heart, who is God abfolntely 
 
 Or we may be obliged to addrefsourfelves in 
 
 Prayer to a Perfon, who is not intimately 
 
 E e 4 pre- 
 
424 TZ^ DoSirine of the Trinity » 
 
 6er. ViLprefent to whatever is tranfadled within the 
 Breail:, who cannot difcern the internal and 
 aifedionate Application of the Mind to him, 
 in {hort, too ignorant to know, too impo- 
 tent to relieve our Wants. But as this is 
 highly abfurd ; it follows, that to whom- 
 foever we are obliged to prefer our Petitions, 
 he muil: be the Searcher of Hearts, confe- 
 quently our Saviour is fo, and therefore 
 God. Can a Creature, where two or three 
 throughout the World, are gathered toge-^ 
 ther in his Name, he in the midji of them ? 
 Matih. xviii. 20. Can a Creature be a 
 kind of univerfal Soul to the whole Chri- 
 ftian World, and if any Man love hiniy 
 come together with the Father, and 7Jiake 
 jjis Abode with him? fohn xiv, 23. 
 
 idly. It is faid, that he, that built all 
 'Things, is God : But it is affirmed, that all 
 Things were made by the Word, viz. our 
 Saviour, and without him was not any Thing 
 made, that was made, St, fohn i. 3. From 
 Jience we may infer, that Chrift, as Crea- 
 tor, is God, rejedling the fenfelefs Notion 
 of a Creature-Creator , In anfwer to this, 
 the Arians mutter fomething very dark and 
 obfcure about the Prepofitions By and 
 Through (By or Through whom God made 
 
 the 
 
T^e DcElr'me of the Tj'inity, 425 
 
 the WorUJ inhm^tingj what they care notScR. vil. 
 to fpeak out, that our Saviour was a mere' 
 Inftrument in the Work of the Creation, 
 but forgetting, that the very fame Prepo- 
 fition is hkewife appHed to the Father, 
 Through whom are all Things ; forgetting 
 likewife, that not only ail Things were 
 created by him, but alfo for hi7?i ; and 
 hy him they do cojifiji. ColofT. i. 16, 17. 
 And Things are not made for the fake of 
 the Inftriifnent by him, who made all Things 
 for Himfelf, Prov. xvi. 4. And again, 
 Thou^ Lord, (not another, throughh'im) Thou, 
 Lord, hajl laid the Foundation oj the Earthy 
 and the Heavens are the Work of thy Hand. 
 They fJ^all periflo, but thou fJjalt endure. 
 They all jl: all wax old, as doth a Garmeiit ; 
 but thou art the fame, and thy Tears Jl:all 
 not fail. Heb. i. 10, 11, 12. He is ex- 
 prefsly ftiled the Beginfiing and the E?id, 
 Rev. xxii. 13. The Beginning, that is, 
 the efficient Caufe, from which all Things 
 proceed; and the End, that is, the final 
 Caufe, to which all Things are referred: 
 and nothing higher can be faid of God the 
 Father. 
 
 Add to this, that he is called God over 
 all blcjfcd for ever. Romans ix. 5, The 
 
 firfi 
 
426 T'he Doctrine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser. Whfirft and laft^ Alpha and Omega, which was, 
 and iSi and is to come, the Almighty. Rev. 
 \. 8, 17, 18. The mighty, the true, the 
 great God : King of Kings, and Lord of 
 Lords } in whom all the Fuhtefs of the God" 
 bead dwelleth fubjlantially : All T^hings are 
 naked and open to him : Upholding all Things 
 by the Word of his Power. 
 
 If it be faid that the Word, God, is a 
 relative Term, and that our Saviour is fliled 
 God in refpedl of his Office and the Re- 
 lation he bears to us, but not in refped: 
 of his Nature-, I anfwer; he is ftiled God, 
 before any Thing was made by him. In 
 the Beginning was the Word, and the Word 
 was with God, and the Word was God. 
 All Things were made by him, &c. St. fohn 
 i. I, 3. Now, as he could have no Rela- 
 tion to his Creatures before they were made, 
 nor any Offxe or Authority over them, he 
 muil: be God abfolutely, not relatively, God 
 by Nature, and not by virtue of his Office 
 or Authority. But, fuppofing the Word 
 God to be relative ; the Term yehovab, 
 which is often applied to the Son, is of ab- 
 folute Signification, and implies unchangea- 
 ble, necefTary, independent Exiflence, the 
 incommunicable Property of the fupreme 
 
 Deity, 
 
*The DoSinne of the 'Ti'hnty, 427 
 
 Deity, whofe Name only is Jehovah. Thus^^"^- ^^ 
 St. John faith xix. 37. Another Scripture 
 faith, they floall look on him, whom they have 
 pierced. The Scripture is Zechariah xii. 
 10. where God is introduced fpeaking ; 
 They fiall look on me, viz. Jehovah, as ap- 
 pears from what goes before, whom they 
 have pierced. And again, I'hefe Things 
 /aid If ai ah when he faw our Saviour's Glory, 
 atjd fpake of him, St. ^c/v/ xii. 41. Turn to 
 Ifaiah, and you find it: I faw the Lord []q- 
 
 hovah) fating upon his Throne. Above 
 
 it flood the Seraphims — ajid one c7-ied unto 
 another and f aid: Holy, Holy, Holy^ is the 
 herd of Hojis. The whole Earth is full of 
 his Glory. Ifaiah vi. i, 2, 3. It would be 
 endlefs to cite all the Paflages, in which 
 the Name of Jehovah is given to our blelTed 
 Saviour. 
 
 The Man, who Is obftlnate in the Dilbe- 
 lief of his Saviour's Godhead, muft be, 
 one would think, ftrongly tempted to rejed: 
 the Scriptures, as a Book big with Blaf- 
 phemy ; fmce every Idea diflinSiive of God 
 from his Creatures is there afcribed to 
 him ; unlefs Paternity, a mere Relation of 
 Order, be the di/lin^ive Ide^ of God : which 
 is fo far from implying any Inferiority, that 
 
 it 
 
428 The DoBf'ine of the Trinity. 
 
 'Ser. vii.it proves the very Reverfe, For unlefs o«- 
 ly SoTiy and o??Iy begotten, fignify the only 
 created^ (the Confequence of v^^hich would 
 be, that our Saviour is the only Creature in 
 the World ; ) it muft follow, that he is un- 
 created, and therefore of the fajne Nature 
 with his Father. 
 
 To fay, that when creative and pro- 
 vidential Powers are afcribed to the Son, 
 thefe are the Attributes and Powers of the 
 Father communicated to, exercifed in, and 
 manifefted by the Son, is to get rid of a Dif- 
 ficulty at the Expence of an Abfurdity. 
 
 For how can there be a Communication 
 of the elTential Properties of the Deity 
 without a Communication of the divine 
 Eflence ? 
 
 Whatever Attributes are communicated, 
 muft be proportioned to the Capacity of the 
 Receiver. And if the Son be not infinite ; 
 what is finite, cannot be fufceptive of infi- 
 nite Attributes. 
 
 There is one material Flaw in the Arian 
 Scheme, which muft endanger the whole 
 Fabrick, 'uiz. that they have made two 
 Gods, a God fupreme, and a God inferior, 
 in dired: Oppofition to the firft Command- 
 ment, T.houfl)alt have Jio other Gods, but me ; 
 
 no 
 
the DoSirine of the T^rinity. 4^9 
 
 no oihtv Elohim, a Word, as the Learned Shr^ 
 know, expreflive not only of fupreme, but 
 alfo of inferior Gods : The plain Senfe of 
 the Commandment therefore is this : Thou 
 fialt have no other Gods, whether fupreme 
 or inferior, but the one Jehovah.^ That 
 can never be true and genuine Chriftianity, 
 upon the Principles of which it is impof- 
 fible to confute any rational unprejudiced 
 Jew : But upon the Principles of Arianifm 
 it is impoflible to convince any rational 
 Jew. For the obvious Reply would be, 
 that Religion mufl be falfe, which exprefsly 
 contradifts the firft Commandment : The 
 Arian Scheme does fo by fetting up two 
 Gods, the one Supreme, the other Inferi- 
 or : And therefore muft be falfe. If the 
 Arians fhould reply, that they have no other 
 adorable God but him, whom the fupreme 
 God, as they cxprefs it, hath appointed to be 
 -worfApped', a Jew would reply, that God 
 hath made the Commandment unalterable 
 and irreverfible. No Credentials, no Mi- 
 racles can prove, that the fupreme Being 
 hath appointed any i?2ferior God to be wor- 
 fiipped: becaufe he hath entrcd his Caveat 
 againft admitting Miracles to be a Proof 
 of his allowing any inferior to God to be a- 
 
 dored 
 
43^ The DoEirme of the Trinity. 
 
 Se». vn.dored. He exprefsly faith, If there arife 
 ''*~ amo7ig you a Prophet or a Dreamer of Dreams, 
 and give thee a Sign or Wonder^ and the Sign 
 or Wonder come to pafs, whereof he fpake 
 unto Thee, f^y'^'ng-* Let us go after 
 OTHER Gods, which thou haft not know?! 
 AND SERVE Them; Thou Jhalt not hearken, 
 &c. Deut. xiii. i, 2, 3. 
 'H- I (hall beg leave to propofe fome Queries 
 
 to thofe w\\o are of a different Way of 
 Thinking, which are as follow : 
 
 Whether in thofe Points, which have 
 an ima:iediate Connexion with Pradtice, and 
 which relate to the G:reat and fundamental 
 Article of the Obje(5l of Worfhip, the 
 Chriftian Reliction, being: intended for the 
 Ufe of Mankind in general, muft not be fuit- 
 ed to that conunon Sejife and Reafon, which 
 Mankind in general have, as dijiindi from 
 fuperior, exalted and refined Senfe, the di- 
 flinguiihing Perfedion of z few only? 
 
 Whether, fuppofing Arianifm to be true, 
 common Senfe, as diflind; from metaphyseal 
 Subtleties, would enable the Generality of 
 Mankind to diftinguifh between a Perfon, 
 fuch as cur Saviour is, by whom all 
 Things were created, and who upholdeth all 
 Things by the Word of his Power ; and a 
 
 Perfon 
 
T}>e DoEirim of the Trifiity, 431 
 
 Perfon who is properly and ejfcntially GodPSER. VII. 
 
 Whether it would enable them to point 
 out any Difference between a Perfon, by 
 whom all 'Things^ to which he mufl be pre- 
 fent, confiftt as they arc faid to do by our 
 blefled Saviour; and a Ytiiow JlriBly Omni- 
 prefent ? Whether they would not be apt 
 to imagine, that he, whom St. Paul ftiles 
 ever All, God blejfedfor ever^ is the fupreme 
 God? 
 
 Whether, fuppofing, according to the A- 
 rian Hypothefis, two adorable Gods, one of 
 which muft infinitely tranfcend the other ; 
 the Bulk of Mankind could with a meta- 
 phyfical Accuracy adjufl their Homage to 
 the Dignity of each Being, to whom it was 
 paid, never offering fovereign and abfolute 
 Adoration where relative was only due ; 
 but lowering and heightening their Inten- 
 tions, in an exad: Proportion, fo as never 
 to exceed, nor to fall fhort in their religious 
 AddreiTes ? 
 
 Whether that Senfe of numberlefs Paf- 
 fages in Scripture relating to the Trinity, 
 which occurs firft to a Man of natural Sa- 
 gacity and Ho7ieJly, who reads the Bible 
 without any View to confirm a darling 
 Hypothefis, is not generally the true one ? 
 
 Whereas 
 
43 2 The DoSiriM of the Trinity* 
 
 Ser. VII. w^hereas the Interpretation, which depends 
 upon refined Subtleties^ artificial Turns of 
 Wit and Criticifm, and furprizing laboured 
 Glofles, is greatly to be fufpedled. 
 
 Whether a Polytheift might not explain 
 away all the fcriptural Proofs for the U7iity 
 of the divine Nature by the fame Subter- 
 fuges and evafive Arts, which an Antitri^ 
 nitarian makes ufe of to elude the Argu- 
 ments from Scripture to prove a Trinity of 
 Perfons f 
 
 Whether thofe Texts, which feem to 
 imply the Son to be inferior to the Father^ 
 may not be reconciled with thofe, which 
 afcribed to him all the eflential Attributes 
 of God, by underflanding them either of 
 his humaji Nature, as diftind: from the di- 
 vine, or of the minijlerial Office, which 
 he undertook in the Oeconomy of the Re- 
 demption, or of fuch a Subordi?tation on- 
 ly, viz. that of a Son to a Father, a 
 mere Relation of Order, which is not 
 inconfiflent with a ftrid: Equality of Na- 
 ture ? 
 
 Whether the exclufive Term of the orily 
 true God, when applied to the Father, 
 need be fo rigoroufly interpreted, as to ex- 
 clude not only Creatures and other Godiy 
 
 which 
 
The DoSirine of the Trinity. 433 
 
 ^vhich are feparate from him s but even the Shr^ 
 Son and Holy Ghoft, who are fo united, 
 as to be One, and infeparably included with 
 him ? But if it muft be thus rigoroufly in- 
 terpreted, whether it will not follow from 
 Jfaiah and St. Paul compared together, that 
 the Son like wife is the only God? Look un- 
 to me, and be ye Javed, all the Ends of the 
 Earth : For I am God, and there is 
 none elfe : I have fworn by myfelf the 
 Word is gone out of my Mouth in Righte^ 
 oufnefs, and Jhall not return, that unto me 
 every Knee fiall bow, every "Tongue Jhall 
 /wear. Ifaiah xlv. 22, 23. Compare the 
 New Teftament. We Jhall all ftand before 
 the Judgment Seat of Chrijl. For it is writ- 
 ten. As I live, faith the Lord, every Knee 
 fjll bow to me, and every Tongue Jhall con- 
 fefs to God, Romans xlv. 10, 11. And 
 again, Jt the Name of Jefus every Knee 
 Jhall bow, of Things in Heaven, and Things 
 in Earth, and Things under the Earth, 
 ■ Phil. ii. 10. The Application of the Text 
 in Ifaiah to Chria is manifeft from thefe 
 two Paffages: It is as manifeft that the Perfon 
 fpoken of in IJaiah is the only God, / am 
 God, and there is noJie elfe: Therefore 
 Scripture treating of the Unity of God 
 Vol. II. ^ f P^^^"' 
 
434 ^^ DoEirine of the I'rijtity, 
 
 Ser. vil places it in another Perfon, befides theFa- 
 'ther* 
 
 Whether common Chriftians, without 
 underflanding technical Terms, fuch as 
 Mode, Ferfon, Subjia?tce, numerical^ and 
 fpecijicaly may not underftand, that Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghoft, though really diftindt 
 from one another, may be fo far one, as to 
 havg 2i^injep arable U/iion of Prefence, Will, 
 and all Perfeftions ; fo far one, that they 
 can no more exi^ or a^ a/wider ^ than they 
 can not exifl at all ? 
 
 Whether fuch a Faith, which requires 
 no great Abfl:ra<£lion of Thought, may not 
 anfwer feveral beneficial Ends ; and in- 
 cline them, from the Fulnefs of an ever- 
 grateful Heart, to pay the Tribute of un- 
 diflembled Love and Adoration to the Fa- 
 ther, whofe unfathomable Wifdom laid and 
 concerted the ftupendous Plan of our Re- 
 demption, to the Son, whofe unbounded 
 Love undertook the Execution of it, and 
 to the Holy Spirit, whofe never-failing 
 Grace enables them to fulfil the Condi- 
 tions of it ? 
 
 Whether common Chrlflians may not 
 have correder Notions of the three divine 
 Perfons by refling in 'the general Truth of 
 
 the 
 
lie DoSlrine of the Trinity. 435 
 
 the Doctrine J than fpeculative Refiners, Ser. Vil. 
 who want to have explicit and determinate 
 Ideas of Things incomprehenfible, who 
 are for defcending into minute Particulari- 
 ties, the Knowledge of which, becaufe they 
 are Matters of nfelefs Speculation and mere 
 Amufement, is therefore unattainable by us? 
 The Objedions againft the myfterious 
 Docflrines of the Gofpel conclude as flrong- 
 !y for AtheiftUj as they do agaijijl Chrijti" 
 anity, A Perfon, who is an Half-thiuktv, 
 may flop at Half-way: But he, who will 
 be at any Expence of Thought, mufi: fee, 
 that for the very fame Reafon, for which 
 he rejedls the three Perfajs^ viz. becaufe 
 the Dodtrine is incomprehenfible j he mufl, 
 if Gonfiftent with himfelf, difbelieve even 
 072e divine Perfon. There is fuch a mu- 
 tual Harmony and Correfpondence in the 
 Compages of Truths, that, if one Member 
 fufferSy all the Members fuffer with it ; ajtU 
 H one Member be honoured^ all the Mem- 
 bers rejoice with it. That fomething has 
 exifted from all Eternity, is a Truth, which 
 forces irielf upon the Mind, and extorts the 
 AfTent of every thinking Man, of every 
 Chriflian, Deift, and even Atheift. And 
 yet I do nof know any thing fo hard of 
 F f 2 Di- 
 
43^ ^he DoEirine of the Trinity* 
 
 Ser. Vil.Digeilion in the Dodrlne of the Trinity, 
 as there is in the Notion oi Eternity^ viz. 
 that, whatever has exifted without any Be- 
 ginning, muft have exifted no longer at this 
 prejtmt Moment of Time, than it had exift- 
 ed Millions of Ages ago. For the prefent 
 Moment of Time is in the Center or Mid- 
 dle between two Eternities, that which is 
 paft, and that which is come : the Mo- 
 ment of Time, that was prefent fome Mil- 
 lions of Ages ago, was then the Center or 
 Middle ; and the Moment to come, fome 
 Millions of Ages hence, will be then the 
 Center. 
 
 Chriftianity does not require us to puzzle 
 ourfelves or others with metaphyfical Dif- 
 quifitions ; how or in what particular Man- 
 ner three are fo infeparably united as to be 
 one ; no more than natural Religion enjoins 
 us to embarrafs our Minds with Inquiries, 
 how Fore-Knowledge in God is reconcilea- 
 ble with Free-Will in Man ; how our Father, 
 which is in Heave?!, can be about our Path, 
 and about our Bed; how, if he is extended, 
 the Confcioufnefs of Being in Heaven (ihough 
 locally diJlinB and immenfely diflant) can 
 be one and the fame with the Confcioufnefs 
 ©f Being on Earth 3 or, how, if he is unex- 
 
 tended^ 
 
T'he DoBrine of the l^rinify. 437 
 
 tended^ he can adl every Vv^here, without Scr. vii. 
 heing Jhbjia'dt tally prefent ; or how any 
 Thins: can be made out of Nothino-. In 
 all theie Points we underftand the Terms of 
 the Propofitions, and the Proofs of them 
 from Rtalbn or Revelation, without being 
 a.ble to penetrate into the Minutice of them, 
 and every curious Nicety relating to them. 
 
 Men may pretend to underftand what 
 they do not, and be ambitious of under- 
 ftanding, what they cojinot % grafping at 
 Things, to which their Capacities arc not 
 fuited. The Man, who, without ever 
 confidering thefe Points as to their Modus, 
 fliould immediately declare he knows no- 
 thing of the Matter, has made as great 
 Advances in Knowledge in a Moment; as 
 the Perfon who has impaired his Health, 
 and exhaufled his Spirits in fuch unconcern- 
 ing Refearches. Such are feveral Points in 
 natural Phiiofophy, as well as Theology. 
 The only Ufe they are of, is to check our 
 Prefumption, and to make us know (a very 
 ufeful Part of Knowledge, but of which 
 fome feem incapable,) that there are many 
 Things, which we camiot know ; that we 
 had much better lay out our Time in know- 
 ing ourfelves as to our moral Character ; 
 F f 3 the 
 
43 S The I)oEl rim of the Trinity. 
 
 SER.vii.the QJiIy Subjed: perhaps, as to which the 
 ^ more minute, particular and full our Search is, 
 without letting any Thing, howeyer fmall, 
 efcape our Notice j the more ufefid it will 
 be : Yet this is a Subject, which we gene- 
 rally decline, as to any pundual and tiho- 
 rough Examination. As far as our Idea^- 
 extend, our Faith, which mufl keep pace 
 with our Ideas, reaches ; and no farther. 
 Thus we believe nothing concerning the 
 precife and particular Modus, of the divine 
 Unity, of the Reconcileablenefs of Fore- 
 Knowledge with Free- Will, of Creation, 
 Gfr. becan.fe we underfland nothing a- 
 bout it. Only we think it highly unrea- 
 fonable not to believe a Dodlrine, as far as 
 we underftand it] becaufe there is fome- 
 thing in it which we do not underftand. As 
 well might we rejecft the whole Theory of 
 Vifion, merely becaufe we cannot conceive, 
 how cur Ideas, which have no T>imenfions, 
 can reprefent Columns, Statues, Buildings, 
 which have. We have no very adequate 
 Notions of the Manner of Unity even as 
 to material Beings : For each material Be- 
 ing, however one in fome Refpedl, in am- 
 ther is an Infinity of Beings, as it is infinitCr 
 }y divifible: How much more muft we be 
 
The DoSlrine of the Trinity. 439 
 
 at a lofs to afcertain the Manner of the cH-Ser. vii. 
 vine Unity ? 
 
 Let us then confider, how far our Point 
 of View extends, what falls within the Reach 
 of every well-conflituted Eye, and what is 
 far above out of our Sight. Let us not venture 
 upon an immenfe Ocean in a little feeble 
 Bark, which will be carried away ivith eve- 
 ry Wind, and foon overfet. We cannot 
 perceive the inter 7ial Conftitution and real 
 Nature of material Things, as they are in 
 themfehes', we only perceive them, as they 
 are relative to, and afFed: us. Juft fo nei- 
 ther Reafon nor Revelation were given us to 
 attain to a Knowledge of the intimate Ef- 
 fence of the Deity, or, as fome affe(5l to 
 call it, his abflraB 7netaphyfical Siibjiance^ 
 what real Diflindions it may admit of, and 
 how they are confident with its Unity. 
 Revelation was deligned to let us know what 
 the three Perfons in the Divine Nature have 
 done for us, and what relative Duties we 
 owe to them. So far Knowledge is uleful ; 
 and where Ufefulnefs ends, Darknefs and 
 Ignorance generally commences. There 
 are in every Branch of Science, as well as 
 in Divinity, the weightier Matters^ which 
 may be underflood with a proper Degree 
 Ff 4 of 
 
44^ T'he DoSlrine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser. vil of Application ; and there are alfo feveral 
 Minutenejfes^ little PmifnUos, 2.xi^ fine- [pun 
 curious Notions : and thofe Subjedts are in- 
 telligible enough in the grofs and in gene- 
 ral-^ which, when branched out too minute- 
 iy into all their little Circwnjlantials and 
 Appe7idageSj are extremely perplexed and 
 intangled. Juft as Matter lies open to the 
 View in its Bulk and in its majfy and more 
 fuhfiantial Parts : whereas the intimate Con- 
 figuration and Texture of its finer and mi^ 
 nuter Particles will be ever indifcernible. 
 
 It is morally impoffible we Should err in 
 judging Chrifiianity to be true 5 becaufe the 
 Proofs for it are ftrong, decifive, and lie level 
 to our Capacities ; but we may very pro- 
 bably err in fanfying that to be abfurd, 
 which relates to the Nature and Efence of 
 the Deity, where there is an infinite Dif^ 
 proportion between the Faculty and the Ob- 
 jed:. If there be any Criterion of Truth, 
 if we are not necelTarily liable to be de- 
 ceived j we may fafely conclude, that, 
 what has all the difiinSiive Characters of 
 'Truth, that any ancient Record can have, 
 cannot be a Forgery or Impofture : But we 
 cannot be fure, but that in Matters of fo 
 f^igh and elevated a Nature, what wc con^ 
 
 ceive^ 
 
"The DoSirine of the Trinity, 44 1 
 
 cciijey [without c\t2iv\y perceiving any thing) Ser. vn. 
 to border upon an Ablardity, may be not fo 
 in itfelf, but merely owing to our Want of 
 more extenfive Views. 0?ie Proof from a 
 Matter oi Faci fiiould weigh more to confirm 
 a my/lerious Do(ri:rine, than all the ideal and 
 jnetaphyfical Arguments, which fall fliort of 
 Demonftration, to difproi:e it. Becaufe we 
 are very competenty^/^f5 of Matter of Fa^-, 
 but all our Ideas about the intrinfic Nature of 
 God are (hort and indijiinB : and where our 
 Ideas are indi/Iincfy our Knowledge, which 
 is founded upon them, muft be fo too. One 
 intermediate Idea, which is wanting, might, 
 if taken into the Account, make our Con- 
 clufion quite different : And one foreign 
 Idea, which has intruded where it has no- 
 thing to do, will, like a little Leaven, fpread 
 and diffufe itfelf, and give a Tindture to the 
 whole Mafs of our Reafoning. 
 
 This is only a. general Anfwer to the Dif- 
 ficulties with which this Dodrine is attend- 
 ed. Under my fecond Head, which muft 
 be referved for another Difcourfe, I fliail 
 remove particular Objedions. 
 
 SER- 
 
SERMON VIII. 
 
 Preached at the 
 
 Lady MQTER's Lecture. 
 
 On the Dodrine of the Trinity. 
 
 
 Matthew XXVIII. 19. 
 
 Co ye therefore, and teach all NatiojiSy 
 baptizing them in the Name of the Father y 
 and of the Son^ and of the Holy Ghojl. 
 
 THE Deity Is to human Minds, Ser.VIII. 
 what the main Ocean is to nar- 
 row Veflcls : They may take in 
 as much Knowledge of his Nature, as their 
 fcanty Dimenfions will admits and yet 
 there will remain an infinite Surplus ftill, 
 which we want Capacities to receive * ; 
 \vifliing, that human Nature was raifed to 
 
 * Spe Cudnjcorth^ Intdledu^l Syflem. 
 
 ^3 
 
444 ^^ DoEirine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser.viii. an higher Perfedion, that the divine Na- 
 ture may be better underftood, more per- 
 fectly loved, and more vi^orthily praifed. 
 The Chain of Beings afcends upwards, 
 
 from Brutes to Mer from Men, in a 
 
 beautiful and regular Gradation, to Angels, 
 Archangels, and all thofe thoufand thou- 
 fandsy that Jland before God, and the ten 
 thoufand times ten thoufand, that ininijier 
 unto him. The Tranfitions in this Poem 
 of Nature, from one Kind to another, are 
 fo extremely fine and delicate j that we 
 fcarce can diftinguifh, where one ends, and 
 the other begins. Yet the Dignity of the 
 nobleft of thefe Beings, bears no/ more 
 Proportion to his, who dwelleth in unap- 
 proachable Glory; than a gilded Cloud, on 
 which the Evening Sun has imprefled its 
 Beams, and enriched with beautiful Stains 
 of Light, does to that great Abyfs of 
 Light, from which it derives its reflecfled 
 Beauty. He can flill make Beings, which 
 fhall as much furpafs an Archangel of the 
 higheft Clafs ; as an Archangel of the 
 highelt Clafs furpafies the moft groveling 
 Infedt. For every finite Creature, how 
 great foever; muft be infinitely beneath an 
 
 all-perfedl Being. This, however, is the 
 
 Bein^, 
 
TToe DoBrine of the Trinity, 445 
 
 Being, whofe Nature we would meafureSER-Viir. 
 by our own, and make God after our Like-*" 
 nefs, inftead of humbly endeavouring to 
 be as like him, as we can. The mofl: ad- 
 vanced Notion, which we can form of him, 
 as diftind: from all his Creatures, is merely 
 negative, excepting the Idea of neceflary 
 Exiftencc, which may imply fomething 
 pofitive. For Exiftence, Power, Good- 
 nefs, Wifdom, &c. -are not his peculiar 
 and incommunicable Properties. When they 
 are afcribed to him without Bounds, then 
 they are Ideas diJlinSiive of him, though 
 Ideas purely negative, as implying only a 
 Negation of Limits. We cannot extend 
 even our Conjeflures concerning the divine 
 Nature, beyond thofe Ideas, which are de- 
 rived from Senfation and Refledion : Yet, 
 with thefe forry Materials of Knowledge, 
 fome attempt to dethone their Saviour and 
 the Holy Ghoft, and to degrade them into 
 the Rank of Creatures. 
 
 I have already proved, from Scripture, 
 that there are more Perfons than one in the 
 divine EfTence. 
 
 I now proceed to clear this Docftrine from 
 the principal Objections againft it, from the 
 
 Reafon of the Thing. 
 
 All 
 
44-6 'the DoSirme of the Trinity. 
 
 8er.viti,» All the Objedions againft the Trinity 
 ^'^'^^ proceed from hence, that Men difcourfe 
 about an infinite Beings as they would a- 
 bout a fijite one, without confidering the 
 Difference of the Subjedl they are upon, 
 and what an immenfe Difproportion there 
 is. But this, certainly, is not to treat him 
 as what he is : *' It is not to treat him, as 
 " a Being infinitely more remote, in the 
 *' real Excellency of his Nature, from the 
 ** higheft and perfedefl of all created Be- 
 *' ings ', than the greateft Man, nay, the 
 '* purefl Seraphim, is from the moft con- 
 *' temptible Part of Matter* :" It is not to 
 treat him, as a Being infinitely exceeding, 
 what our narrow Underftandings can con- 
 ceive of him. We ought to diflinguifh care- 
 fully between ContradiBions arifing from a 
 plain Perception of the Difagreement of 
 Ideas ; and mere Difficulties arifing from 
 the Defeat, and ImperfeBion of our Ideas. 
 And certainly our Ideas muft be very im- 
 perfed and defedive, when the awful and 
 tremendous Efi^ence of the Deity is the Sub- 
 jed of our Enquiry. What Arrogance is 
 it for us, whofe Knowledge reaches no far- 
 ther than the mere Shell and Surface of na- 
 tural 
 5 Loakis, EfTa^' of Underftanding, Folio. Pnge 203. 
 
The DoEirine of the Trinity* 447 
 
 iural Things, to pretend to fearch the ^/-Ser.viiI, 
 mighty to Perfe^fion, to penetrate into the 
 intrinfic Nature of God, and to pronounce 
 with a decifive Air of Self-fufficiency 3 he 
 muft exift in this f articular Manner, and 
 no other ? 
 
 The poor groveling Creature, that would 
 audacioufly found the unfathomable Depths 
 of an zi?i created EJjence^ yet is a Myjlery 
 to himfelf, his little defpicable Self j and 
 can no more account for the Union of 
 Soul and Body, two Subftances yet one 
 Perfon ; than he can comprehend the aw- 
 ful Myflery of three Perfons, yet one in- 
 divifible Subftance, in a Subjeft iniwiitely 
 removed beyond the narrow Ken of aa 
 human Underftanding. 
 
 We believe the Trinity, becaufe we have 
 clear, full and exprefs Proofs of it from 
 Scripture : They, who dilbe/iieve k, rejed: 
 it, becaufe of Objedtions bcoug-ht ao-ainft it 
 from the Nature of tb.t Thmg, which is 
 confefTedly unfearch-aole, dark and myfleri- 
 ous. Therefor*: clear l^roofs are the Foun- 
 dation of our Belief: But fomething dark 
 and obfcure is t'he Foundation of their D//- 
 helief. We., 'have clear Reafons to found 
 CUr Faith upon ; but they have nothing 
 
 clear. 
 
44 S The DoBrine of the7ri72ity, 
 
 Ser. VIII. clear, and level to their Underftanding to 
 found their Want of Faith upon. 
 
 The firft and grand Objedion againft 
 the Divinity of our Saviour, and the Holy 
 Spirit is this : That either the three Per- 
 fons mud be three Siihftances^ "which is 
 Writhe? f?ji ; or they mufl be three Modes, 
 which is Sabellianifm. 
 
 It is thus, Man, weak Man, moft af- 
 fured of what he is moft ignorant^ and 
 moft ignorant of- what he fliould know 
 befi^ viz. himfelfj argues againft well-fup- 
 ported Truths, from loofe Conjedures and 
 vifionary Notions^ dreft up in the Form of 
 Itridl Reafoning, without the Power there- 
 of, and then dignifies his crude and indi- 
 oei^ed Notions with the pompous Name 
 of Dchionjiration^ where the only De- 
 monftration is, that the Subject admits of 
 
 none. 
 
 For in the i'irft place, though in finite 
 Bein"-s there is no Diftindion but that of 
 Modes and SubAance^ ; we cannot hence 
 infer, that the iinfearchahk Nature of God 
 may not admit of fome other real but in- 
 compreheiilible Diflin6tion ; a Diftindlion 
 greaPer than that of three Modes, yet lefs 
 than that of three Subjiances, 
 
 I Though 
 
The DoElrine of the "Trinity. 449 
 
 Though an human Soul is a Spirit as wellSER.Viir. 
 as God ; yet Spirit, or immaterial Being, does "-^ ' ' 
 not point out, as Body does, one dctcr?ni}iate 
 Kind of B-.ing, but every Sort of Beings, 
 that are not corporeal '^. It is a negative 
 Idea, a mere Denial of Matter. As my 
 f^oul is of a quite different Effence from the 
 Table on which I write, though they are 
 both Subflance: So God tranfcends my 
 Soul, though they are both Spirit, infinite- 
 ly more, than my Soul can the Table. To 
 argue then from our Nature to the divine ; 
 to fay that becaufe the one admits of no 
 Diftindtion, but that of Modes and Sub- 
 ftances, the other may not : What is this, 
 but to argue a pari, where there is an 
 infinite Difparity, a boundlefs Difpropor- 
 tion ? 
 
 2dly, Thofe, who oh]tdi that we muft, 
 cither with the Sahellians, maintain the 
 Perfons to be three Modes only ; or with 
 the Trithei/h, three Subftances, mufl fird 
 demonftrate, that Subftance atid Subftance, 
 however clofe and inviolable the Union may 
 be, muft necefiarlly make Subftances ; or 
 that Being and Being cannot be /o united 
 
 * See Dr. Cuvhe on the Omniprefence, in the fii ft A'olume 
 of his Pofthumous Sermons. 
 
 Vol. II. <^g as 
 
45 o ^^ DoSirine of the 'Trinity, 
 
 SER.viii.as to be one. For if they cannot demon- 
 ilrate this, there will be this plain Me- 
 dium between Sabellianifm and Tritheifmt 
 that the three Perfons will be more than 
 three Modes, each being Subftance j and 
 yet not three Subflances, becaufe ifidijfo- 
 luble Union of Subftance with Subftance 
 may conftitute Unity, or whatever is ejfen- 
 iially and neceffarily united^ may be efjen^ 
 tially and necefTarily one. Thus our Savi- 
 our's Words, / am in the Father, and the 
 Father in me, will give the beft Solution of 
 the Difficulty. 
 
 I may obferve farther, that either Being 
 and Being in Union does not make Beings j 
 or there is no fuch Thing as one Being in 
 JSJattire, upon their Hypothe/is, who main- 
 tain, as the moft able Defender oi Arianijm 
 does maintain, that fpiritual, as well as cor- 
 poreal Beings, are extended. For each ex^ 
 tended Being, it is well known, is nothing 
 but Being and Being in Union j and only 
 one, becaufe of the Continuity of the Parts. 
 He (that great Mafter of Reafon) fuppofed 
 the Deity to be infinitely expanded. It was 
 likewife his Opinion, that there is no Me- 
 dium between a Being and Nothings and 
 that Per/on is an intelligent Being. Well : 
 
 The 
 
T*he DoElrme of the Trinity, 45^ 
 
 The Deity, according to his Scheme, muftSERAm 
 
 confift of an hifriity of Parts • Each of 
 
 thofe Parts mull be either a Being, or No- 
 thijj^^ — Each of thefe Parts muft be like- 
 wife an intelligent Being. For an intelli- 
 gent Whole cannot be made up of unintelli- 
 gent Parts. And if each of thefe Parts 
 
 be an intelligent Being j then each muft 
 
 be a Perfon-y — The Confequence of which 
 is, that according to his Hypothefu, there 
 muft be as many Perfons in an infinitely ex- 
 panded Subftance, as there are Parts. Thus 
 this great Philofopher (for a great Philofo- 
 pher he certainly was) at the fame Time that 
 he oppofed the Catholic Scheme of three 
 Perfons, in the fame undivided Subftance ; 
 muft, if confiftent with himfelf, maintain 
 ma7jy more than three Perfons, even an In- 
 finity of Perfons in the fame Subftance. 
 
 Such is the Frailty of human Nature, 
 even in great Men. They can fee the 
 leaft Mote of a Difficulty in another's 
 Scheme j they cannot behold the Beam^ 
 that is in their own. 
 
 Nor was he fingular in that Opinion : 
 
 Several able PhiloCophers, both at home and 
 
 abroad, have embraced the Scheme of Ex- 
 
 tcnHcn. Now the fime Principle, viz. that 
 
 G 'T 2 Be- 
 
452 ^h& DoSirim of the 'Trinity. 
 
 Ser.viii. Being and Being in Unio7i, does not make 
 'a Plurality of Beings, which acquits them 
 from the Charge of Polytheifm, clears the 
 Orthodox hkewife from the Imputation of 
 ^ritheifm. If this Principle does not hold 
 true, they mufl: confequentially maintain an 
 Infinity of Gods; if it docs^ we cannot be 
 faid to maintain a Trinity of Gods. 
 
 It is not material to examine, whether 
 the Hypothefis of Extenfion is true or falfcj 
 the Principle, upon which alone the Pa- 
 trons of it can be vindicated from the 
 Charge of aOTerting a Multitude of Deities^ 
 will fland its Ground. 
 
 Let us '^ try the whole Force of Me- 
 taphyfics ; let us think as much as poflible 
 upon the Stretch ; yet, after the utmoft 
 Expence of Thought, the only Concep- 
 tions we can frame of the divine Unity are 
 Indivifibility and Simplicity -, the one a- 
 mounting to no more than a Negation of 
 Diyifion, and the other of any foreign or 
 heferpgeneotis Mixtures. He who from 
 thefe two negative Ideas would pojitively in- 
 fer, that there muft be only one Perfon in 
 the divine Nature, muft form a Demonflra- 
 tion, where he has not fufficient Data to 
 build upon» It is hard to fix a pofitive 
 
 Principle 
 
The DoBrine of the Trinity, 453 
 
 Principle of Indhiduatioti, from whence Ser.viii. 
 wc may clearly argue, even in Jinite Be- 
 ings. I know fome make Confcioiifnefs the 
 Ground of Unity : But then what is the 
 Ground of Confcioiifnefs f Nothing can be 
 the Ground^ Reafon, or Principle of any 
 Thing, which is, in the Order of our Ideas 
 and of Nature, fubfcquent to the Thing, 
 of which it is fuppofed to be the Ground. 
 But Confcioufnefs is fubfeqiient to the Uni- 
 ty ; and therefore not the G?'ound of it. 
 Confcioufnefs is that reflex Adt, by which 
 I know what I am : Now, if I muft be 
 what I am, (one or more) before I know 
 what I am ; then Confcioufnefs mufl h^ fub- 
 feqiient to the Unity. The being what I 
 am, muft be the Foundation of my know- 
 ing what I am, and not vice verfd. Con- 
 fcioufnefs, a perfonal Adl, does not conjii- 
 tute but prefu'ppofe, the Perfonality^ from 
 which the perfonal A(5l refults. It may be 
 added, that, if we are only one becaufe 
 confcious ; then we put off Unity, like our 
 Cloaths, when we lye down and fall afleep ; 
 and refume it again when we awake. This 
 Scheme bears a near Refemblance to his, 
 who made Neceflity a mere Mode of Exift- 
 ence, in the Order of our Ideas, antece- 
 G g 3 dent 
 
454 The DoBrine of the Trinity. 
 
 Ser.viii. dent to, and the Ground of, the Subftance, 
 whofe Mode and Attribute it is: Jufl fo, 
 this Hypothejjs fuppofes Confcioufncfs to be 
 the Ground of an Identity^ which mull be 
 prior to the Confcioufncfs. We cannot 
 juftly argue, that we are confcious we are 
 
 one- therefore we are one : The Procefs 
 
 of the Argument fhould be thus : We are 
 one — therefore we are confcious we are one : 
 The Truth of our confcious Knowled8;e de- 
 pending upon the Nature of Things j and 
 not the Nature of Things upon our confci- 
 ous Knowledge. 
 
 Difmiffins: therefore Confcioufncfs as the 
 Ground of Unity, we can advance no far- 
 ther, than that Maxim of the Schools, 
 Vnum eft indi'uifmn in fe. The Perfons 
 
 then are each Bei?ig becaufe they exift, 
 
 invefted with diftinSi Offices and peculiar 
 Relations : but not Beings, becaufe they do 
 not exiUfeparately. 
 
 And this puts me in mind, fecondly, of 
 another Objedion j that if Union of Sub- 
 ftance with Subflance, conftitutes one Sub- 
 fiance ; then Union of Perfons with each 
 other mufl conftitute one Perfon. 
 
 But to this I anfwer, that the Objedion 
 fuppofes Unity of Perfon and Subflance to 
 
 be 
 
The DoBr'me of the Trinity, 455 
 
 be the fame, which wants to be proved. Ser.viii. 
 We ufc the Word Plurality of Perfons to' 
 exprefs that the Subftance, however united, 
 is yet dijiifigiiijhed by appropriate Relations, 
 as that of a Son to a Father, and by diftindt 
 Offices: Whereas Plurality of Subflances 
 implies, the Subftance to be divided or di- 
 vifible. So many feparable Perfons are fo 
 many Subftajices -, but Perfons, incapable of 
 any Difunion or Divifion, are one SubJ}a?2ce, 
 Obferving that Father, Son, and Holy 
 Ghoft are every where, in Scripture, dig- 
 nified with the fame infinite Perfedlions of 
 Power, Knowledge, ^c.\ and inverted with 
 the fame eflential Attributes ^ we conclude, 
 they have all the fame EfTence 3 the EfTence 
 being nothing but an AfTemblage of all the 
 effential Attributes : But finding, that they 
 have likewife perfonal Properties, diftin^t 
 Offices and Relations, we conclude they are 
 diflindt Perfons. 
 
 It may be obje6led, that the Son is not 
 felf-exiflent : And if not felf-exiftent, then 
 not ncceffarily exiftent. But I reply, the 
 Ideas are diflindt : The former implying, 
 whence a Being is ; the latter, what he is : 
 Self- exiflent, that the Being is of notic; 
 neceffarily-exiflent, that the Being imnm- 
 G g 4 tably 
 
45^ T^he DoElrhie of the Irinity, 
 
 Se R. VIII. /<?Z'/y exifts : The one is a mere negative 
 Idea, being only a Negation of any Caufe 
 of Exiflence j the latter implies fomethin^ 
 fofitive^ viz. Permanency, Stability, and 
 an infinite Ability to exift. The Son,, 
 though he is of the Father, and therefore 
 not felf-exiftent j. yet is neeeflarily-exiftent, 
 being the Jebovab^ the to oy, and is co- 
 eternal with the Father: Jufl as Thought, 
 however fubfequent in the Order of our 
 Ideas, is co-eval with an eternal thinking 
 Mind. Nor is there any more Difficulty, 
 in the Notion of an eternal Reference of 
 the Son to the Father, than there is in the 
 Notion of Eternity itfelf. It is ridiculous 
 to ob']e(!^ that God is a fcJf-exiJient Perfon^: 
 ef all fojjibk Perfe5lions. For if the Ob- 
 jectors can prove, that Self-Exiftence and 
 neceflary Exiflence are fynonymous Terms,- 
 then the Logos mufl be felf-exiflent, be- 
 caufe he is neceffarily exiflent : and indeed 
 the Nature is felf-exiflent, though the Per- 
 fonality proceeds from the Father by fuch a 
 ?iecejjary and eternal ACl, as thofe, where- 
 by he loves^ enjoys and contemplates himfelf. 
 But if neceflary Exiflence be diflindt from 
 Self-Exiflence j Self-Exiflence, as dijlindi 
 fi:oin neceffary Exiflence, does not imply 
 
 any 
 
T'he DoSirine of the Trinity, 457 
 
 any /'C/?r/'Uf Perfedion : and therefore theSER.viil. 
 Son, notwithftanding he be not a felf-exi- 
 ftent Ferfon^ may be vefted with all the po- 
 iitive Attributes of the Deity. 
 
 After our Adverfaries have darkened this 
 Subjed:, by metaphyfical Objedions, and 
 fpeculative Niceties concerning Modes and 
 Subftances, Pcrfon and Effence, felf-exift- 
 ent and neceiTarily-exiftentj which, if we 
 do not reply to, they tell us, all that we ca?i 
 fay will be to no Purpofe 5 it is very unfair, 
 thirdly, to objedl that this Dodrine is too 
 obfcure to be made an Article of Faith ; the 
 common People having not Capacities to 
 apprehend it. 
 
 To this I anfwer, that the common Peo- 
 ple may underftand the DoElrine of the 
 Trinity; and yet not be competent Maf- 
 ters of the Contro'uerfy about the Trinity. 
 They may furvey the plain Scripture Ground 
 upon which it flands, without being able 
 to comprehend the elaborate Entrenchments 
 and Fortifications^ which are raifed to re- 
 pel the vigorous Attacks of its Enemies. 
 Secondly, the Dodtrine is very clear as to 
 the Proofs ; and as to the Manner^ not 
 more obfcure than Eternity, Self-Exiilence^ 
 and Omniprefence, which every Body muft 
 3 believe. 
 
45 ^ ^^ Do&rine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser.viii. believe. A Man of plain Senfe may be^ 
 lieve, and have general Ideas, that Father, 
 Son, and Holy Ghoft, fo far really diftind 
 as not to be one the other, may yet be fo 
 infeparably united as to be one, in as ftri(5t 
 a Senfe as any Thing he can frame a No- 
 tion of here, is one^ and that though three 
 Perfons multiply and divide the human Na- 
 ture; it does not follow, that they muft 
 divide or multiply the divijie^ which tran- 
 fcends ours, infinitely more than our Na- 
 ture does that of infenfate Matter. ** The 
 " Perfons are diftij.B and real, as any other 
 " Perfons are; but fo united withal, as «<? 
 " other Perfons are or can be : And there- 
 " fore they are not (like other Perfons) as 
 " ma?iy Beings ^ as Perfons, but one Being 
 " only." Juft fo a Man may have a ge?ie- 
 ral Idea of Eternity : He may under/land, 
 (without being able to imagine any Thing 
 about it) that there mufl be a Being, who 
 had no Beginning of Exiftence : But when 
 he would endeavour to obtain a more expli- 
 cit, dijiinB, and determinate Idea, the 
 Mind Is quite overwhelmed, by an Obje<5t 
 too big, unwieldy, and difproportioned to 
 be grafped and managed by it. In vain our 
 Mind widens, to take in the vaft Idea of 
 
 an 
 
7^^ DoBrine of the Iriniiy. 459 
 
 an Eternity; in vain it adds Thoufands toSER.VllI. 
 Thoufands, and Millions to Millions ; our 
 Thoughts are quite loft and fvvallowed up 
 in Infinity. So far is it from being true, 
 that, as one exprefles it, Religion ends^ 
 Inhere My/iery begins ; that Religion begins 
 with a Myftery, the greateft Myftery of 
 all, the SelfExiftence and Eternity of 
 God. Let a Man acquaint us, how an 
 Eternity can he paft^ unlefs it was once pre- 
 Jent\ and how that could be once prefenf, 
 which had never a Begimiijig. If you believe 
 a God, you muft believe Myfteries, it having 
 been fully proved by a very great Writer ^^ 
 that, whatever has exifted from Eternity, 
 exifts in a Manner, of which we can frame 
 no Notion, but what is big with fecfnifig 
 Abfurdities. Seeming Abfurdities I fay, not 
 real. For they, like thofe, with which 
 the Divifibility of Matter and Infinites of 
 all Sorts in Mathematics are encumbered,' 
 are only Indications of the Defedlivenefs of 
 our Ideas. But if you deny a God, then 
 nothing will be, properly fpeaking, myf.ericus 
 to you : For Myfteries have their bright^ as 
 well as dark Side : Every Thing will be 
 
 thoroughly 
 
 * See the 8th Volume of the Spe£lators. N° 590, 
 
4^0 Yhe DoEirine of the Trinity, 
 
 ^^^y III. thoroughly dark and abfolately iintntelligibU, 
 For we can account for nothing in Nature, 
 without fuppofing an Author of it. 
 
 The Generality walk on in the plain 
 high Road of common Senfe : They fee 
 the Dodrine of the Trinity is edifying, and 
 not more unintelHgible, than that a Being 
 'which is in Heaven^ fliould be about our 
 Path, and about our Bed : They are your 
 metaphyfical Adventurers, that lofe them- 
 felves, and others, in fludied Intricacies* 
 Time^ Place and Motion^ are what every 
 Body knows in the Grofs\ and yet let them 
 pafs through the Hands of a Metaphyfician, 
 and they become too fine and fubtle for 
 each grojjer View. The moft iUiterate 
 Perfons have a fuperficial and obvious No- 
 tion of them, fuch as anfwers all the Pur- 
 pofes of Life ; though they cannot form ac- 
 curate and Philofophical Ideas of them, nor 
 anfwer all the Difficulties, which the Au- 
 thor of the hiftorical Didionary has flarted 
 againft one of them in the Article of Zeno. 
 It is thus as to the Trinity : The Doctrine, 
 as to the main Subflance, " is clear enough 
 *' to be looked upon j though too deep to 
 *' be feen through*." We may take a gene* 
 
 ral 
 
 '^ See Dr. Wate^laniTi Importance of the Trinity, pag. 2C. 
 
l})e DoElrine of the 'Trinity, 46 1 
 
 ral View of it, as that Father, Son, andSER.viir. 
 Holy Ghoft may be diftind:, without being' 
 divided j united but not confounded : We 
 then bewilder ourfelves, when we would 
 too nicely fcan tiie minute Circumftances, 
 and would fix a particular and determinate 
 Mode, 
 
 Indeed, in mofl metaphyfical Difputes, 
 we are like Men upon marJJjy Ground ; 
 We may fkim lightly over the Surface, 
 and take a general Survey of the Nature of 
 the Soil : But if we dwell too long upon 
 any particular Spot ; if we muft critically 
 and minutely examine into the Ground on 
 which v/e tread, we fink of courfej and 
 the more we ftruggle to get free j the more, 
 except we have uncommon Strength, we are 
 gravelled irretrievably. 
 
 The Truth of the Cafe is this : Our 
 Profped is bounded by a very narrow Ho- 
 rizon ; our Faculties limited within a very 
 narrow Sphere of Adim^. Within that 
 Sphere lie the Proofs of^od's Attributes, 
 and of Matter of Fad, upon which Re- 
 velation depends: And ivithin that Sphere 
 Things, in the main, are eafy and ohvicu^ 
 to us. Beyond it, all^ except fome few 
 negative indeterminate Ideas, is an immenfe 
 
 Blank 
 
462 l*he Do&rme of the Trinity. 
 
 Ser. VIII. Blank to us : And beyond it, if any Thing, 
 the Manner of the Divine Exiflence, and the 
 Nature of the Unity and DiJiinBioJi in the 
 tremendous Deity, are infinitely removed. 
 
 I may obferve farther, that the Antitri' 
 nitariam firfi introduced Metaphyfics into 
 this Queftion, on purpofe to perplex it 
 with laboured Abflradlions, and fludied 
 Refinements i and then the Catholics were 
 obliged, though rt-ludtant, to follow them 
 through all their Mazes and Windings, to 
 ihew that the Dodrine would abide the 
 Tefl; of Metaphyfics. For if fome Mens 
 Underdandings, like the Earth under the 
 Curfcy will be fruitlul of little elfe, but 
 Thorns and Thijiles to entangle and perplex j 
 it is 2. Duty incumbent upon the Labourers 
 in the Vineyard, to weed the Soil, and not 
 let the Dod:rine be over-run and choaked 
 by them. 
 
 Whoever has examined all the wild Pa- 
 radoxes, and particular Tenets, of the 
 Philofophers, ancient and modern j muft be 
 fenfible, that Stupidity has not milled the 
 XJnthinking into more palpable Abjurdlties ; 
 than an AffeBation of thinking out of the 
 common Road^ has betrayed lome of the 
 finefi Geniufcs and ablefi Scholars. 
 
 Nor 
 
The DoEl7'i7te of the 'Trinity. 46 3 
 
 Nor is Reafon oftener in fome Men the^^"^-^^^- 
 Dupe of the Pajjions 5 than it is in others 
 of the ImaginatiGrij of an inventive, ad- 
 venturous Imagination, launching out into 
 thofe Depths, where it can find no fure 
 Footing. 
 
 The grand Inlet of Error has been to 
 argue a priori^ from antecedent philofo- 
 phical Notions ; and then to pervert the 
 Scripture to countenance thofe Notions, to 
 prefs it into the Service, and compel it to 
 come in 3 which has been the Source of 
 Herefy : Or elfe to reje& it ; which has 
 been the Source of Infidelity, 
 
 And what is this, but to pufh our En- 
 quiries beyond our Capacities ? Matter of 
 Facft (a Revelation fupported by well-at- 
 tefted Matters of Faft) is here all in all : 
 But to argue from the abJlraB Nature of 
 the Thing, of which we know little or 
 nothing, is what we may mifcall human 
 Reafon , but is in reality human Conjec- 
 ture^ not to fay, human Folly and Pride. 
 It is to pretend to Wijdom^ without hav- 
 ing, what is the Beginning of Wifdom, a 
 reverential Fear of God before our Eyes. 
 There is a metaphyfical Knight -Errantry, a. 
 fpcculatii:e F ool- liar dine f^ in fome very 
 3 great 
 
464 The DoBrine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser.viil great but too enterprizing Men, which 
 tempts them to grapple with Objeds, to 
 which every judicious Stander-by fees their 
 Strength to be vaftly unequal. 
 
 And ivhatever Abfurdities Tome People 
 may alledge, without being able to prove, 
 again ft the Trinity ; the greatejl Abfurdity 
 of all is, that weak ignorant Creatures 
 ihould pretend to fathom an infinite Sub- 
 ject with a very fcanty Line. Want of 
 Humility in Points of fo high a Nature, 
 is always, in fome degree, Want of Senfe, 
 There may be a bright and fparkling Ima- 
 gination, without Humility j but there 
 can be no fuch .thing as a well-poifed 
 Judgment, and found fober Senfe. For 
 good Senfe teaches us to be diffident of our 
 (Dvvn Senfe, where the Subjed: is placed 
 beyond the Boundaries of clear and diftindt 
 Perception. 'Thofe Repugnancies to Reafoji 
 which fome People imagine they have dif- 
 covered in this Point, are like the Retrogra-? 
 dations of the Planets and the Irregularities 
 of their Motions 5 They are ovAy fee?nifigy 
 pot real, and are owing to the Height of 
 the Objed:s, their Diftance from us, and 
 the Incommodioufnefs of our Situation for a 
 juft Pifcernment of thefe Things : Could 
 
 we 
 
The DoElrme of the Trmity. 465 
 
 we fee from a proper Point of VieWy weSER.viir. 
 fhould find, that what appeared to us irre- 
 gular, was it! itjelf equal and uniform. 
 
 Let us then proceed, in our Refearches 
 after Truth, with all due Humiliry and 
 Modefty. It is better to be In the Wrong 
 in fome few Points, with Modefty and 
 Humility 5 than to be in the Right, (which 
 is not often the Cafe) with thofe proud and 
 prefumptuous Reafoners, who ftand upon 
 Terms with their Maker, and lole the 
 humble and meek Chrijliariy in the vain 
 Difputer of this World, For however va- 
 luable a clear Difcernment, and an un- 
 common Reach of Thought may be -, yet 
 Humility, which does not exercife itfelf in 
 Matters which are too high^ is undoubtedly 
 far more amiable in the Sight of that Being, 
 who though 'he inhabiteth Eternity, yet 
 dwells with the Lowly and Contrite. It is 
 better having one Eye, though we do not 
 fee fo clearly, to enter ijito Life ; than hav- 
 ing two Eyesy with all our Quick- Sighted- 
 nefs, and enlarged Views, to be caft into 
 Hell : Which may be the Cafe, if Mif- 
 belief in an important pradical Point, is 
 cccafioned, not by anyDefedl of Underlknd- 
 ing, but by the Perverfcnefs of the Will. 
 
 Vol. II. Hh To 
 
^66 The DoBrine of the Trinity, 
 
 Ser.viii. To withhold our Aflent, till all Difficulties 
 are cleared up, and ^//intricacies unravelled, 
 is very unreafonable. For All cannot be 
 cleared . up, unlefs we, who hardly guefs 
 aright at Things before /<;j, could comprehend, 
 whatever He, whofe Glory is above the Hea- 
 venSj is in himfelf, and whatever he does 
 for us. We then give the beft Proofs of 
 the Strength of our Reafon, when we own 
 the Weaknefs of it, in the deep Thiitgs of 
 God; humbly content toy^^ him through a 
 Glafs darkly j till we can fee him as he is. 
 Face to Face : To whom, Father, Son, and 
 Holy Ghoft, be afcribed, (^c. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
i 
 
 / 
 
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