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^i/OJIWD-JO^ ^IJONVSOl
THEOLOGICAL
LECTURES^'
READ
In the P U B L I C K HALL
OF THE
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH,
Together with
EXHORTATIONS to the Candidates for the Degree of
MASTER OF ARTS.
By ROBERT L E I G H T O N, D. D.
PRINCIPAL of that UNIVERSITY,
AND
Afterwards ARCHBISHOP of GLASGOW.
Tranflated from the ORIGINAL LATIN.
To which are added,
&ules and Inftru&ions for a Holy Life, and other Remains
of the fame excellent Author.
LONDON:
Printed for D. WILSON, at Plato's Head, in the Strand.
MDCCLXUI.
PREFACE
BY THE
Publifher of the Latin Edition.
To the R fc A fc E R,
" TTTHAT is grand and fubftantial, fays
cc yy Quimilian, pleafes long ; while that,
" which is only neat and handfome, charms
" for a while, but foon cloys (tf )'.' Now, what
can be imagined more grand and fubflantial,
than to contemplate the great Creator of the
univerfe, in his vifible works ? to view, in this
vaft volume, which lies always open, his infi-
nite power, wifdom, and goodnefs, and admire
the inftances thereof that appear always new and
aftonifhing ? Again, what can be more agreeable
and fublime, than, turning our eyes to the great
myfteries of revealed religion, to read with
(a) Quae folida & ampla funt diu placent; quz autem lepida
& concinna, paululum quidem mulcent, fed cho fatiant.
Fab. gyiitf.
A 2 wonder
iv j Preface by tie Publifier
wonder and delight what is contained in the Ik-
cred fcriptures, concerning the Saviour and Re-
deemer of the human race, from the dreadful
gulph of death and mifery, into which they had
fallen ; to review with attention what is therein
difcovered, with regard to our higheft happi-
nefs, the rewards of virtue, and the punifhment
of an impious life; and to have thefe impor-
tant matters deeply imprefTed upon the heart?
Tnefe truths, however great and interefting,
are laid before thee, pious and chriftian Reader,
in thefe Theological DifTerta ions ; where thou
wilt find them deduced with great learning, ex-
plained with clearnefs and accuracy, and con-
firmed by powerful arguments, tot par au-
thor, now in heaven (b), who, while he lived,
was equally remarkable for learning and piety,
never ufed to ftray beyond the verge of this di-
tine fyrtem.
That thefe remains of his were the facred
lectures he read in the Publick Hall of the Uni-
verfity of Edinburgh, while he was principal
of that univerfity, will admit of no manner of
doubt : there are a great many ftill alive, who
can atteft this truth ; as they were themfelves
prefent
eftbe Latin Edi'i'n. v
prefent at thefe lectures, to their great fatisfac-
tion and improvement. They all heard them,
fome took notes of them ; and, it is to be hoped,
fome had the fubftarce of them powerfully im-
preffed upon their hearts. To thefe I appeal,
and to them, I doubt not, this work will be very
acceptable j fince thofe inflrudions, which gave
fo much pleafure, when heard but once, and
that in a curfory manner, they may now have
recourfe to as often as they pleale ; they may
read them at their leifure, and draw from them
matter of moft delightful meditation. And,
to be fure, thofe who have the leaft divine
difpofition of mind, will make it the principal
bufinels of their life., and their higheft plea-
fure, to firay through thofe delightful gar-
dens, abounding with fuch fwcet and tragrant
flowers, and refiefh their hearts with the celef-
tial honey that may be drawn from them ; nor
is there any ground to fear that fuch fupplies will
fail} for how oftea foever you have recourfe
to them, you will always find them blooming
full of juice, and fwelled with the dew of hea-
ven ; nay, when, by deep and continued medi-
tation, you imagine you have pulled the fineft
flower, it buds forth again, and what Virgil
writes concerning his fabulous golden bough is,
inftricleft truth, applicable in this cafe, '
A 3
vi Preface by the Publijher
r Uno avulfo, non deficit ah.er, y
Aureus.
The Lectures I now prefent thee with, I
caufed to be copied out fair from a manufcript in
the author's own hand-writing ; which was a
work that required great care and attention, on
account of the blots and interlineations of that
original manufcript ; for the author had written
them in hafte, and without the leaft thought of
ever publidiing them. This done, at the defire
of a great many, I got them printed, and now
lay them before the publick, in the fame order
in which they were read, as far as can be recol-
lected from circumftances.
You muft not expect to find in thefe truly
facred lectures, the method commonly ufed in
theological fyftems $ for while our reverend au-
thor clearly explains the doctrines of religion, be
intermixes to excellent purpofe the principles
of piety, and while he enlightens the under-
flanding, he at the fame time warms the heart.
Being to treat of religion, he ufes a practical
method, which is moft fuitable to his fubject,
and begins with happinefs, that being the fcope
and defign of religion, as well as the ultimate
end
of the Latin Edition. vii
end of human life. He begins with an expla-
nation of happinefs in general, on which he
treats at fomc length ; then proceeds to confider
the happinefs of man, which may be called per-
fect and truly divine, as it has for its object the
infinitely blefled and perfect Being who created
him, and formally confifts in the beatific vifion
and fruition of him, which is referved in heaven
for thofe, who by faith are travelling through
this earth, towards that blefled country. He
adds, with great propriety, that happinefs, fo
far as it is compatible with this wretched life of
forrows, confifts in true religion, and in religion
alone; not only as it is the way which leads
directly to that perfect happinefs referved in
heaven -, but becaufe it is itfelf of divine original,
and, in reality, the beginnings of that very hap-
pinefs, which is to be perfected in the life tc*
come.
He obferves, that the doctrine of religionis moft
juftly called Theology, as it has the moft high,
God for its author, object, and end. He fug-
gefts many excellent thoughts, concerning the
divine exigence,, and reafons from the "com-
mon confent of nations, from the creatures we
fee about us, and from, what we feel and expe-
rience within ourfelves, as all thefe io loudly pro-
A 4
yjii Preface by the Publijher
claim the being of God: but the argument,
taken from the harmony and beautiful order of
the univerie, he profecutes at great length ; and
from this consideration, which is attended with
.greater evidence than all the demonftrations of
the fciences, he clearly proves the exiftence of
$n eternal, independent Being.
WMi regard to the nature of God, he advances
but little, and with great caution j for concern-
ing the fa premp Being he thought it dangerous
even to (peak truth j but is very earned and dif-
fufe in his exhortations, to make the wifdom,
power, and goodnefs of God, that mine forth
\viih great luftre in all his works, the fubjedt of
pur conflant and moft ferious meditations. As
to the unfathomable depth of his eternal decrees,
he was greatly pleafed with that expreffion of St.
Auguftin, " Let others difpute, I will admire *."
Among his works, the firft is that vaft and
ftupenduous one, the primitive creation of all
things, which, befides the infallible teflimony
of the infpired oracles, our author, by a con-
cife, but clear differtation on the fubjecl:, proves
quite confonant and agreeable to reafon. He
(c) Alii difputent, ego mirabor.
then
$f the Latin Edition. be
then treats of man, of his original integrity, and
the mod unhappy fall that foon followed. But
to this mofl lamentable ftory he fubjoins another,
as happy and encouraging as the other is moving,
I mean, the admirable Jcheme of divine love for
the falvation of finners. A glorious and blefled
method ! that to the account of the molt (hocking
mifery fubjoins the doctrine of incomparable
mercy ! Man, forfaking God, falls into the
niiferable condition of devils j God, from whom
he revolted, determines to extricate him, by
his powerful hand, out of this mifery ; and that
this might be the more wonderfully effected,
pod himfelf becomes man. cl This is the glory
" of man, by fuch means raifed from his woful
? c ftate ! this the wonder of angels, and this the
< f Aim and fubftance of all miracles united in
t one ! (cf The word was made flefli! He
who died as man, as God rofe again, and ha-
ying been feen on earth, returns to heaven,
from whence he came. On each of thefe he
advances a few thoughts that are weighty and
ferious, but, at the fame time, plcafing and
agreeable.
(</) Hie hominis ex tanto dedecore refurgentis honoi, hie
cngelorum flupor, hoc miraculorum omnium compendium !
To
x Preface by the Publijher
To thefe lectures I have added fome Exhorta-
tions by our author, to the candidates for the
degree of matter of arts, delivered at the annual
Solemnity held in the univerfity for that purpofe ;
together with his meditations on fome Pfalms,
viz. the 4th, 32d, and 130^(^5 becaufe I
was unwilling that any of the works of fo
great a man {hould continue in obfcurity, to be
devoured by moths and book-worms, efpecial-
ly one calculated for forming the morals of
mankind, and for the direction of life. For in,
thefe meditations, he exhorts and excites the
youth under his care, not by laboured oratory,
and pompous expreffions, but by powerful
eloquence, earneft entreaties, and folid argur
ments, to the love of Chrift, purity of life, ancj
contempt of the world.
But what will all this fignify to thee, Reader^
if thy mind is carried away with childim folly,
or the wild rage of paffions, or even if thou art
ftill labouring under a ftupid negligence of the
means of grace, and unconcerned about eternal
happinefs and thy immortal foul ? I doubt not,
however, but thefe truly divine eflays will fall
(/) Thefe were likewife written ii Latin, and have been already
translated and publifhed.
into
of tie Latin Edition. xl
into the hands of feme, who are endued with a,
better difpofition of mind ; nor are we to defpair
of the reft, " for the father of fpirits liveth ftill,
" and he hath his feat in heaven, who inftructsthe
" hearts of men on this earth (f)." May, there-
fore, the greateft and beft of Beings grant, that
theie academical exercifes may have happy efr
feds : and that our heavenly Father would fe-
cond thefe means with his all-powerful grace,
{hall be, while he lives, the humble and ardent
prayer of him,
Who earneftly defires thy falvation,
JA. FALL,
(/) Vivit cnlm fpirituum pater, & cathedram babet in crlo,
i cor da docetin terrii.
THE
THE
CONTENTS.
Left. Page
I. <f H E Introduction 1
II. Of Happinefs, its name and nature,
and tbe defire of it implanted in the human
hart 12
III. Of tbe Happinefs 0/*Man, and that it
is rea'fy to be found i
IV. In which it is proved that Human Fe-
licity cannot be found either in the earth or
earthly things 27
V. Of tbe Immortality of tie Soul 39
VI. Of tbe Happinefs of tbe Life to come 5 1
VII. Of the Being of God. 62
VIII. Of tbe Worship o/God, Providence,
and the Law given to Man 8 1
IX. Of tbe Pleafure and Utility of Religion 90
X. Of tbe Decrees of God 98
XI. Of
jdv C O ISf T E N T S.
Left. Page
XL Of tie Creation of tie World 106
XII. Of the Creation of Man 123
XIII. Of Div ine Providence 1 3 6'
XIV. O/Chrift the Saviour 151
XV. C/*Regeneration 159
XVI. Of Regeneration 176
XVII. Of true Felicity and eternal Punifh-
ment 190
XVIII. Of the ChriftianReligion, and that it
is the true way to Happinefs 20 1
XIX. That Holinefs is the only way to Hap-
pinefs on this earth 2 1 2
XX. Of our Happinefs, particularly that it
is in God, 'who can dire 3 us to the true
way of attaining it j that this way he has
difwvered in the f acred fcriptures, the di-
i)ine authority ivhereof is aj/erted and
'illuft rated 220
XXI. Of the Divine Attributes 238
XXII. How to regulate life, according to the
rules cf religion 246
XXIII. 0/Purity of Life 255
XXIV. Before the Communion 263
An
CONTENTS. xv
Page
An Exhortation to the Students upm their re-
tu n to the Univerfity after the vacation 273
Exhortations to the Candidates for the Degree
of Matter of Arts in the Univerfity of
^Edinburgh 283
EXHORTATION I. 285
II. 204
III. - 300
IV. ~ _ 3o8
v. - _ 3I5
VI. -. _ 32I
VII. 720
33^
Val edidory Oration 3 ^
Rules and Inftruftionsy^r a Holy Life ore
Letter to the Synod ofGlafgow, &c. 3 go
Letter to the Synod ofGlafgow 372
Letter to a Perfon under Trouble of Mind 386
Letter to a Perfon under Trouble of Mind 388
Letter to the Heritors of Straton 303
Letters to the Rev. Mr. James Aird 394.
A Defence of moderate Epifcopacy 400
THEOLOGICAL
LECTURES.
***##*#*#*******#*#*#****##****##**
LECTtJRE 1.
INTRODUCTION.
ITH little ftrength I undertake a great
work, or rather, with the leaft abili-
ties, I venture upon a tafk which is of
all others the greateft and moft important.
Among the various undertakings of men, can
an inftance be given of one more fublime than
an intention to form the human mind anew,
after the divine image? Yet it will, I doubt
not, be univerfally acknowledged, that this is
the true end and defign, not only of Minifters in
their feveral congregations, but alfo of profeflbrs
of divinity in fchools. And though, in moft
B refpects,
2 INTRODUCTION. Left. L
refpects, the minifterial office is evidently fupe-
rior to that of profeflbrs of theology in colleges^
in one refpect the other feems to have the pre-
ference, as it is, at leaft for the mod part, the
bufinefs of the former to inftruct the common
fort of men, the ignorant and illiterate ; while it
is the work of the latter to feafon with heavenly
doctrine the minds of feledt focieties of youth,
who have had a learned education, and are de-
voted to a ftudious life; many of whom, it is to
be hoped, will, by the divine blefling, become
preachers of the fame falutary doctrine them-
felves. And furely this ought to be a power-
ful motive with all thofe who, by the divine
difpenfation, are employed in fuch a work, to
exert themfelves with the greater life and fpirit
in the difcharge of their duty; efpecially when
they confider, that thofe Chriftian inftruclions,
and feeds of true piety, they inftill into the ten-
der minds of their pupils, will by them be fpread
far and wide, and, in due time, conveyed, as
it were, by fo many canals and aqueducts, to
many parts of the Lord's vineyard. Plutarch
employs an argument of this kind to prevail with
the philofophers to exert themfelves in the in-
ftruction of pripces and great men, rather than
with a haughty fullennefs to avoid their com-
pany; "for thus, fays he, you will find a mort
" way to be ufeful to many." And, to be fure r
he
Left. I. INTRODUCTION: 3
he that conveys the principles of virtue and wif-
dom into the minds of the lower clafles of men,
or the illiterate, whatever progrefs his difciples
may make, employs his time and talents only
for the advantage of his pupils 5 but he that
forms the minds of magiftrates and great men,
or fuch as are intended for high and exalted fta-
tions, by improving one fingle perfon, becomes
a benefactor to large and numerous focieties.
Every phyfician of generous principles, as Plu-
tarch exprefles it (a), would have an uncommon.
ambition to cure an eye intended to watch over
many perfons, and to convey the fenfe of feeing
to numbers ; and a muiical inftrument-maker
would, with uncommon pleafure, exert his fkill
in perfecting a harp, if he knew that it was to
be employed by the hands of Amphion, and,
by the force of its mufic, to draw ftones toge-
ther for building the walls of Thebes. A learn-
ed and ingenious author, alluding to this fable,
end applying it to our prefent purpofe, calls pro-
feffors of theology in fchools, makers of harps,
for building the walls of a far more famed and
beautiful city, meaning the heavenly Jerufalem,
in fuch manner, that the {tones of this building
being truly and without a fable living, and
charmed by the pleafant harmony of the gofpel,
B 2 come
4 INTRODUCTION. Left. 1,
come of their own accord to take their places in
the wall.
I am not fo little acquainted with myfelf, as to
entertain the leafl hope of fuccefs in fo great a
work by my own ftrength and abilities j but,
while I humbly depend upon the divine good-
nefs and favour, I have no reafon to defpair j
for in the hand of Omnipotence all instruments
are alike : nor can it be queftioned that he, who
made all things out of nothing, can produce any
change he pleales in his creatures that are al-
ready made j he who gives life and breath, and
all tbings(^), can eafily ftrengthen the weak,
and give riches in abundance to the poor and
needy : our emptinefs only ferves to lay us
open to, and attract the fullnefs of him, "who
<{ fills all things, and is over all j who gives
" wifdom to the mind, and prevents its irre-
<< gular Tallies (c)."
Under his aufpices, therefore (young gentle-
men) we are to afpire to true and faving, wif-
dom, and to try to raife ourfelves above this
fublunary world. For it is not my intention to
perplex you with curious queftions, and lead
you through the thorny paths of difputation ;
but, if I had any ihare of that excellent art, it
uijv, xcu n/o>j
\f) Oj tsctrroi
^ row f tvyn /SsXt'j.
would
Left. I. INTRODUCTION. 5
would be my delight to direct your way, through
the eafy and pleafant paths of righteoufnefs, to a
life of endlefs felicity, and be mylelf your corn-*
panion in that blefled purfuit. 1 would take
pleafure to kindle in your fouls the moil ardent
defires, and fervent love of heavenly things j
and, to ufe the expreflion of a great divine, add
" wings to your fouls, to fnatch them away from
" this world, and reftore them to God (</)." For,
if I may be allowed to fpeak with freedom, moft
part of the notions that are treated of in theo-
logical fchools, that are taught with great pomp
and oflentation, and difputed with vaft buftle
and nolfe, may poffibly have the fharpnefs of
thorns: but they have alfo their barrennefs;
they may prick and tear, but they can afford
no folid nourifhment to the minds of men.
" No man ever gathered grapes off thorns, nor
<c figs off thirties. To what purpofe, faith a
" Kempis, doft thou reafon profoundly con-
<c cerning the Trinity, if thou art without hu^
<e milky, and thereby difpleafeft that Trini-
" ty (<?)?" And St. Auguftin, upon the words
of Ifaiah, *' I am the Lord that teacheth thee
tl to profit," obferves with great propriety, that
(^) Quorfum alta de Trinitate difputare, fi careas hvmiili-
fate, & fix: Trinitate difpliccas ?
B 3 the
6 INTRODUCTION. Left. I.
the prophet here mentions utility in oppofition
to fubtility (f). Such are the principles I would
wifh to communicate to you ; and it is my ear-
neft define and fervent prayer, that while I, ac-
cording to my meafure of ftrength, propofc
them to your underftanding, he who fits in
heaven, yet condefcends to inftrucl: the hearts
of men on this earth, may effectually imprefs
them upon your minds.
But that you may be capable of this fuper-
natural light and heavenly inftrudion, it is, firll
of all, abfolutely neceffary, that your minds be
called off from foreign objects, and turned in
upon tTiemfelves ; for as long as your thoughts
are difperfed and fcattered in purfuit of vanity
and infignificant trifles, he that would lay be-
fore them the principles and precepts of this
fpiritual wifdom, would commit them, like
the fybils prophecies, that were written on
loofe leaves of trees, to the mercy of the in-
conftant winds, and thereby render them en-
tirely ufelefs. It is certainly a matter of great
difficulty, and requires uncommon art, to fix the
thoughts of men, efpecially of young men and
boys, and turn them in upon themfelves. We
read in the parable of the gofpel, concerning
the prodigal fon, that,- firft of all, be came to
(f] Utilia non fubtilia.
Lea. I. INTRODUCTION. 7
bimfelf* and then returned to his father. It is cer-
tainly a very confiderable flep toward^s conver-
fion to God, to have the mind fixed upon itfelf,
and difpofed to think ferioufly of its own im-
mediate concerns; which the pious St. Ber-
nard excellently exprefles in this prayer, " May
{ I, fays he, return from external cbjedts to my
" own inward concerns, and" from inferior ob-
" jeds riie to thofe of a fuperior nature (g)" I
(hould look upon it as no fmall happinefs, if, out
of this whole fociety, I could but gain one, but
wifh earnefijy I could prevail with many, and
ftill more ardently that I could fend you all
away, fully determined to entertain more feri-
ous and fecret thoughts than ever you had be-
fore with regard to your immortal ftate and
eternal concerns. But how vain arc the thoughts
of men! What a darknefs overclouds their
minds (h) ! It is the great complaint of God
concerning his people, that they have not a heart
to under/land (/). It is at once the great dif-
<rrace and mifery of mankind, that they live
"without forethought (k). That brutifh thought-
leffnefsf/), pardon the expreffion, or, to fpeak
(P) Ab exterioribus ad interiora redeam, & ab inferioiibus
ad fuperiora afcendam.
(h] O vanas hominum mentcs ! O pe&ora cceca f
(i) Non habent cor ad cogitandum.
(I)
B 4 more
'
8 INTRODUCTION. i Led. I,
more intelligibly, want of confideration, is the
death and ruin of fouls j and the antients ob-
ferve, with great truth and juftice, tf that a
<c thoughtful mind is the fpring and fource of
*< every good thing (m) ."
It is the advice of the Pfalmift, that we
fhould converfe much with our/elves : an advice,
indeed, which is regarded by few -, for the
greateft part of mankind are no where greater
Grangers than at home. But it is my earned
requeft to you, that you would be intimately
acquainted with yourfelves, and, as becomes per-
fons devoted to a ftudious life, be much at home,
much in your own company, and very ofteri
engaged in ferious converfation with vourfelves.
Think gravely, to what purpc r e do I live?
Whither am I going ? Aik thyfelf, haft thou
any fixed and determined purpofe ? any end
thou purfueft with ftedfaftnefs () ?' The prin-
ciples I have embraced under the name of the
Chriftian religion, the things I have fo often
heard about a future ftate, and life, and death
eternal, are they true or falfe ? If they are true,
as we 'all abfolutely profefs to believe they are,
then, to be fure, the greateft and moft impor-
tant matters of this world are vain, and even
(//;) Intelledluscogitabundusprincipium omnis boni.
(K) Eft aliquid quo tendis, & in quid dirigis arcum ?
leis
Left. I. INTRODUCTION. 9
jefs than vanity itfelf: all our knowledge is but
ignorance, our riches poverty, our pleafures bit-
ternefs, and our honours vile and di (honourable.
How little do thofe men know, who are am-
bitious of glory, what it really is, and how to
be attained ? Nay, they eagerly catch at the
empty fhadow of it, while they avoid and turn
their backs upon that glory which is real, fub-
ilantial, and everlafting. The happinefs of
good men, in the life to come, is not only in-
finitely above all our expreflions, but even be-
yond our moft enlarged thoughts. By com-
paring, ho\vever, great things with fmall, we
attain fome faint notion of thefe exalted and
invifible bleffings, from the earthly and vifible
enjoyments of this world. In this refpedt, even
the Holy Scriptures defcend to the weaknefs of
our capacities, and, as the Hebrews exprefs it,
" the Law of God fpeaks the language of the
<c children of men (0)." They fpeak of this
celeftial life, under the representations of $n
heritage, of riches,, of a kingdom, and a crown,
but with uncommon epithets, and fuch as are
by no means applicable to any earthly glory, or
opulence, however great. It is an inheritance,
but one that is uncorrupted, undefiled, and that
fadeth not away: a kingdom, but one that
0) Lex Dti loquitur linguam fiHorum hominum.
can
jo INTRODUCTION. Left. I.
can never be fhaken, much lefs ruined ; which
can never be faid of the thrones of this fub-
lunary world, as evidently appears from the
hiftories of all nations, and our own recent
experience. Hear, ye ions of Adam, a co-
vetous and ambitious race, here is room fora
laudable avarice j here are motives to excite your
ambition, and, at the fame time, the means
of fatisfying it to the full : But it moft be ac-
knowledged, that the belief of thefe things is
far from being common. What a rare attain-
ment is faith! Seeing among the prodigious
crowds of thofe who profefs to believe, in this
world, one might juftly cry out, where is a
true believer to be found ? That man fhall
never perfuade me, that he believes the truth
and certainty of heavenly enjoyments, who
cleaves to this earth, nay, who does not fcorn
and defpife it, with all its baits and allurements,
and employ all his powers, as well as his utmoft
induftry, to obtain thefe immenfe and eternal
bleffings.
Nor is thfire any thing in the way to thefe
enjoyments that can deter you from it, unlefs
holinefs in heart and life appear to be a heavy
and troublefome tafk to you : whereas, on the
contrary, nothing furely can be named, that
is either more fuited to the dignity of human
nature, more beautiful and becoming, or at-
tended
Left. I. INTRODUCTION. n
tended with greater pleafure. I therefore be-^
feech and intreat you, by the bowels of divins
mercy, and by your own moft precious fouls,
that you would ferioufly confider thefe things,
and make them your principal ftudy; try an
experiment, attended with no danger or ex-
pence, make a trial of the ways of this wifdom,
and I doubt not but you will be fo charmed
with the 'pleafantnefs thereof, that you will
never thence forward depart from them. For
this purpofe, I earneftly recommend to you, to
be conftant and affiduous in prayer 5 nay, it is
St. Paul's exhortation, that you pray without
ccafmg (/>). So that prayer may be, not only,
according to the old faying, " the key that
" opens the day, and the lock that fhuts up the
" night (q) ;" but alfo, fo to fpeak, a ftaff for
fupport in the day-time, and a bed for reft and
comfort in the night; two conveniencies which
are commonly exprefled by one ilngle Hebrew
word.- And be aflured, that the more fre-
quently you pray, with fo much the greater
eafe and pleafure v/ili your prayers be attended,
not only from the common and neceflary con-
nexion between acts and habits, but alfo from
the nature of this duty ; for prayer, being a
kind of converfation with God, gradually pu-
ty) i Thet.y. 17. (?) Clavisdiei, fcfera noftis.
rifles
12 OfHappinefs. Lea. II.
rifies the foul, and makes it continually more
and more like unto him. Our love to
God is alfo very much improved by this fre-
quent intercourfe with him ; and by this love,
on the other hand, the foul is effectually dif-
pofed to fervency, as well as frequency in pray-
er, and can, by no means, fubfift without it.
LECTURE II.
Of HAPPINESS, its Name and Nature, and the
, Defireofit implanted in the Human Heart.
HO W deep and dark is that abyfs of
mifery, into which man is precipitated by
his deplorable fall, fince he has thereby loft,
not only the pofleffion, but alfo the knowledge
of his chief or principal good ? He has no
diftinct notion of what it is, of the means of
recovering it, or the way he has to take in pur-
fuit of it. Yet the human mind, however
ftunned and weakened by fo dreadful a fall,
flill retains fome fair.t idea, fome confufed and
obfcure notions of the good it has loft, and fome
remaining feeds of its heavenly original (a). It
(a) Cognati femina ceeli,
has
Led. II. Of Happinefs. 1 3
has alfo ftill remaining a kind of languid fenfe
of its mifery and indigence, with affections
fuitable to thofe obfcure notions : from this
imperfect fenfe of its poverty, and thefe feeble
affections, arife fome motions and efforts of the
mind, like thofe of one groping in the dark, and
feeking reft every where, but meeting with it no
where. This at leaft is beyond all doubt, and in-
difputable, that all men wifh well to themfelves,
nay, that they all catch at, and defire to attain the
enjoyment of the moft abfolute and perfect good :
even the worft of men have not loft this regard
for themfelves, nor can they pofiibly diveft them-
felves of it. And though, alas 1 it is but too
true, that, as we are naturally blind, we run.
ourfelves upon mifery under the difguife of
happinefs, and not only embrace, according to
the common faying, " a cloud inftead of
cc Juno (<)," but death itfelf inftead of life ; yet,
even from this moft fatal error, it is evident
that we naturally purfue either real happinefs,
or what, to our miftaken judgment, appears-
to be fuch. Nor can the mind of man
diveft itfelf of this propenfion, without diveft-
ing itfelf of its being. This is what the
fchoolmen mean, when, in their manner of
expreffion, they fay, " That the will is car-
() Nubem pro Jur.on?.
" ried
15 Of Happinefs. Led. if.
" tied towards happinefs, not fimply as will,
" bat as nature (c)."
It is true, indeed, the generality of man-
kind are not well acquainted with the motions
of their own minds, nor at pains to obferve
them, but, like brutes, by a kind of fecret
impulfe, afe violently carried towards fuch en-
joyments as fall in their way : they do but very
little, or not at all, enter into themfelves, and
review the ftate and operations of their own
minds ; yet in all their actions, all their wiihes
and defires (though they are not always aware
of it themfelves) this thirft after immortality
exerts and difeovers itfelf. Confider the buly
part of maokind, hurrying to and fro in the
exercife of their feveral profeffions, phyfici-
ans, lawyers, merchants, mechanicks, farmers,
and even foldiers themfelves j they all toil and
labour, in order to obtain reft, if fuccefs at-
tend their endeavours, and any fortunate event
anfwer their expectations. Encouraged by thefe
fond hopes, they eat their bread with the fweat
of their brow: but their toil, after all, is ehd-
lefs, conftantly returning in a circle ; and the
days of men pafs away in fuffering real evils^
and entertaining fond hopes of apparent good y
(<) In beatitudineitt fertur voluntas, non ut voluntas, fed ut
natura.
which
Left. It Of Happinefs. 41
which tjiey feldom or never attain : tl Every
" man walks in a vain ihewj he torments him-
te felf in vain (d)" He purfues reft and tafe,
like his madow, and never overtakes them ; but,
for the moft part, ceafes to live before he begins
to live to purpofe. However, after all this
confufed and fluctuating appetite, which de-
termines us to the purfuit of good, either
real or apparent, as it is congenial with us,
and deeply rooted in the human heart, fo it
is the great handle, by which divine grace
lays hold, as it were, upon our nature, draws
us to itfelf, and extricates us 1 out of the pro-
found abyfs of mifery, into which we are
fallen.
From this it evidently follows, that the de-
fign of Sacred Theology is the very fame with
that of human nature, and ' he that rejects it
<c hates his own foul," for fo the wife King of
Ifrael emphatically expreffes it. He is, the mofl
irreconcileable enemy to his own happinefs,
and abfolutely at variance with himfelf; ac-
cording to that of St. Bernard, " After I was
" fet in oppofition to thee, I became alfo con-
" trary to my felf (*)."
(J) Pfal.- xxxix. 6.
r (e) Poftquam pofuifti me contrarinra tibi, faftus fum con-
trarius mihi.
Thcfe
16 Of Happinefs. Left. II.
Thcfe ccnfiderations have determined me to
begin thefe inftrudions, fuch as they are,
which, with divine affiftance, I intend to give
you concerning the principles of the Chriftian
religion, with a fhort . difquifition concerning
the chief or ultimate end of man. And here
it is to be, firft of all, obferved, that the tran-
fendent and fupreme end of all is the glory of
Gcd- t all things returning, in a moft beautiful
circle, to this, as the original fource from
which they at firft took their rife j but the end
of true religion, as far as it regards us, which
is immediately connected with the former, and
ferves, in a moft glorious manner, to promote
it, 'is the falvation and happinefs of mankind.
Though I fhould not tell you, what is to
be underftood by the term happinefs or felicity
in general, I cannot imagine any of you
would be at a lofs about it. Yet I mail give a
brief explication of it, that you may have the
more diftincT: ideas of the thing itfelf, and the
jufter notions of what is to be further advanced
on the fubject. Nor is there, indeed, any con-
troverfy on this head ; for all are agreed, that
by the terms commonly ufed in Hebrew,
Greek, and Latin (f) to exprefs happinefs OF
(/) Y# K in Hebrew, pax^olns & so$eupv/M in Greek, /<//-
citas & beatitude in Latin.
felicity,,
Left. II. Of Happinefs. 17
felicity, we are to underftand that perfect and
complete good t which hfuited and adapted to in-
telligent nature : I fay, to Intelligent nature, be-
caufc the brute creatures cannot be faid to be
happy, but in a very improper fenfe. Happinefs
cannot be afcribed to horfesor oxen, let them be
ever fo well fed, and left in the full pofTeffion of
liberty and eafe. And as good in general is pe-
culiar to intelligent beings ; fo, more efpecially,
that perfect good, which conftitutes felicity in its
full and moft extenfive acceptation. It is true,
indeed, in common converfation, men are very
prodigal of this term, and, with extravagant le-
vity, mifapply it to every common enjoyment
of life, or apparent good they meet with, efpe-
cially fuch as is moft fuited to their prefent exi-
gencies ; and thus, as Ariftotle, in his Ethicks,
expreflfes it, " The fick perfon confiders
" health, and the poor man riches, as the
" chief good (#)." It is alfo true, that learned
men, and even the facred Scriptures, give the
name of felicity to fome fymptoms, and fmall
beginnings of future happinefs ; but, as we
have already obferved, this term, in its true and
compleat fenfe, comprehends in it thatabfolute
and full perfection of good, which entirely ex-
cludes all uneafinefs, and brings with it every
thing
1 8 Of Happinefs. Led. II.
thing that can contribute to fatisfaction and de-
light. Confequently that good, whatever it be,
that moft perfectly fupplies all the wants, and
fatisfies all the cravings of our rational appetites,
is objective felicity > as the fchools exprefs it j and
actual, or formal felicity, is the full poffejfim and
enjoyment of that complcat and chief good. It
confifts in a perfect tranquillity of the mind, and
not a dull and ftupid indolence, like the calm
that reigns in the dead fea ; but fuch a peace
of mind as is lively, active, and conftantly at-
tended with the pureft joy : not a mere abfence
of uneaiinels and pain ; but fuch a perfect eafe as
is conftantly accompanied with the moft per-
fect fatisfaction, and fupreme delight: and, if the
term had not been degraded by the mean ufes
to which it has been proflituted, I fliould not
fcruple to call it pieafure (b). And, indeed, we
may ftill call it by this name, provided we pu-
rify the term, and guard it by the following
limitations j fo as to underftand by felicity, fuch
a pieafure as is perfect, conftant, pure, fpiritual,
and divine : for never, fince I ventured to think
upon fuch fubjects, could I be fatisfied with the
opinion of Ariftotle, and the fchoolmen, who
diftinguifh between the fruition of the chief
good, which conftitutes true felicity, and the
delight
Left. III. Of Happinefs. I(}
delight and fatisfaction attending that fruition ;
becaufe, at this rate, that good would not be the
ultimate end and completion of our defires, nor
defired on its own account ; for whatever good
we wifh to poffefs, the end of our wifhing is,
that we may enjoy it with tranquillity and de-
light : and this uninterrupted delight or fatisfac-
tion, which admits of no allay, is love in pof-
feflion of the beloved object, and at the height
of its ambition.
LECTURE III.
Of the HAPPINESS of MAN, and that it is really
to be found.
YO U will not, I imagine, be offended,
nor think I intend to infult you, becaufe
I have once and again, with great earneftnefs
and fincerity, wished you and myfelf a found
and ferious temper of mind ; for, if we may
reprefent things as they really are, very few
men are poffefled of fo valuable a ble fling. The
far greater part of them are intoxicated either
with the pleafures or cares of this world j they
ftagger about with a tottering and unftable pace ;
and, as Solomon expreffes it, " The labour of
C 2 the
20 Of Happinefi. Left. III.
tc the foolifh wearieth every one of them ; be-
<' caufe he knoweth not how to go to the
<c city (a)" The heavenly city, and the vifion
of peace, which very few have a juft notion of,
or are at pains to feek after; nay, they know
not what it is they are feeking ; they flutter
from one object to another, and live at hazard j
they have no certain harbour in view, nor direct
their courfe by any fixed ftar : but to him that
knoweth not the port, to which he is bound, no
wind can be favourable; neither can he, who has
not yet determined at what mark he is to moot,
direct his arrow aright. That this may not be
our cafe 3 but that we may have a proper object to
aim at, I propofe to fpeak of the chief end of
our being.
And to begin at the father of fpirits, or pure
intelligences. God, blefled for ever, compleatly
happy in himfelf from all eternity, is his own
happinefs. His felf-fufficiency (b), that eternal
and infinite fatisfadtion and complacency he
has in himfelf, is the peculiar and moft com-
pleat felicity of that fupreme Being, who de-
rives his exiftence from himfelf, and has given
being to every thing elfe; which Chryfoftom
has well exprcffed by faying, " That it is God's
te peculiar property to ftand in need of no-
tc thing (c)." And Claudius Victor beautifully
(/?) Ecclef. X. 15. (
defcribes
Lea. III. Of Happinefs. 21
defcribes him, cc as vetted with all the majefty
" of creative power, comprehending in his in-
" finite mind all the creatures to be afterwards
" produced, having all the revolutions of time
" conftantly prelent to his all-feeing eye, and
" being an immenfe and moft glorious kingdom
to himfelfY^I."
Yet, ail we can fay of this primary uncreated
Majefty and felicity, is but mere talking to little or
no fort of purpofej for here not only words fail
us, but even thought is at a ftand, and quite over-
powered, when we furvey the fupreme, fdf-
exiftent Being (e), perfectly happy and glorious
in the fole enjoyment of his own infinite per-
fections, throughout numberlefs ages, without
angels, men, or any other creature : So that the
poet had reafon to fay, " What eye is fo ftrong,
'* that the matchlefs brightnefs of thy glory
" will not dazzle it, and make it clofe (f) ?"
Let us, therefore, defcend into ourfelves, but
with a view to return to him. again, and not
(/) Regnabatq; potens in majeftate creandi,
Et facienda videns, gignendaq; mente capaci,
Secula defpiciens, & quicquid tempora volvunt
Prefens Temper habens : immenfum mole beata
Regnum erat ipfe fibi.
(f)
'Ov Tf*v3-i. Synof. Hym. Tert.
C 3 only
22 . Of Happinefs. Led:. III.
only fo, but in fuch a manner, that the end
and defign of our defcending to enquire into
our own fituation be, that we may, with great-
er advantage, return and reafcend to God : for,
if we enquire into our own ultimate end, this
difquifition muft rife above all other beings, and
at lad terminate in him ; becaufe he himfelf is
that very end, and out of him there is neither
beginning nor end. The felicity of angels,
which is an intermediate degree of happinefs,
we {hall not infift on, not only becaufe it is
foreign to our purpofe, but alfo becaufe our fe-
licity and theirs will be found upon the matter to
Be precifely the fame.
With regard to our own happinefs, we fhall
firft mew, that fuch a happinefs really exifts - 3
and, next, enquire what it is, and wherein it con-
Ms. We afiert then, that there is fuch a thing
as human felicity : and this ought rather to be
taken for granted as a matter unqueftiona'ole,
than ftridly proved. But when I fpeak of hu-
man felicity, I am well fatisfied you will not
imagine, I mean fuch a happinefs as may be had
from human things, but that I take the term
fubje&ively, and underftand by it the happinefs
of man. Now, he who would deny, that this is
not only among the number of poffibles,but actu-
ally attained by fome part, at lea ft, of the human
race, would not only render himfelf unworthy
of
Led. III. Of Hafpinefe. 23
of fuch happinefs, but even of human nature
itfelf -, becaufe he would thereby do all in his
power to deprive it of its higheft expectations,
and its greateft honour: but, whoever allows,
that all things were produced by the hand of an
infinitely wife Creator, cannot poffibly doubt,
that man, the head and ornament of all his vifi-
ble works, was made capable of a proper and
fuitable end. The principal beauty of the crea-
tion confifts in this, that all things in it are dif-
pofed in the moft excellent order, and every
particular intended for fome noble and fuitable end ;
and if this could not be faid of man, who is the
glory of the vifible world, what a great defor-
mity muft it be, how great a gap in nature (g);
and this gap muft be the greater, that, as we
have already obferved, man is naturally endued
with ftrong and vigorous defires towards fuch
an end : yet, on this abfurd fuppofition, " all
" fuch deiires and expectations would be vain,
" and to no purpofe (b) ;" and fo fomething
might be faid in defence of that peevifh and
impatient expreffion, which efcaped the Pfalmift
in a fit of exceffive forrow, and he might have
an excufe for faying, " Why haft thou made
" all men in vain (?) ?" This would not only
(g)
( h)
(/) Pfal. Ixxxix. 47.
C 4. ' have
24 Of Happlnefs. Led. Ill,
have been a frightful gap in nature, but, if I am
allowed fo to fpeak, at this rate the whole hu-
man race muft have been created in mifery,
and expofed to unavoidable torments, from
which they could never have been relieved, had
they been formed not only capable of a good
quite unattainable, and altogether without their
reach ; but alfo with ftrong and reftlefs defires to-
wards that impoflible good. Now, as this is by no"
means to be admitted, there muft necefTarily be
fome full, permanent, and fatisfying good, that
may be attained by man, and in the pofleffion
of which he muft be truly happy.
When we revolve thefe things in our minds,
do we not feel from within a powerful impulfe
exciting us to fet afide all other cares, that we
may difcover the one chief good, and attain to
the enjoyment of it ? While we inhabit thefe
bodies, I own we lie under a neceffity of ufing
corporeal and fading things ; but there is no ne-
cefllty that we mould be flaves to our bellies and
the lufts of the flefh, or have our affections
glued to this earth : nay, that it fhould be fo,
is the higheft and moft intolerable indignity.
Can it be thought, that man was born. merely
to cram himfelf with victuals and drink, or
gratify the other appetites of a body, which he
has in common with the brutes ? to fnuff up
the wind, to entertain delufive and vain hopes
all
Left. III. Of Happmefs. 25
all the days of his life, and, when that fhort
fcene of madnefs is over, to be laid in the grave,
and reduced to his original dufl ? Far be it from
us to draw fuch conclufions : there is certainly
fomething beyond this, fornething fo great and
lading, that, in refpecl of it, the fhort point of
time we live here, with all its buftle of bufmefs
and pleafures, is more empty and vanishing than
fmoke. " I am more confiderable, fays R. S.
" and born to greater matters, than to become
" the (lave of my diminutive body (k) ?" With
how much greater truth might we fpeak thus,
were we regenerated from heaven ? Let us be
afhamed to live with our heads bowed down, like
groveling beafts gazing upon the earth, or even
to catch at the vain and airy madows of fcience,
while, in the mean time, we know not, or do
not confider, whence we took our rife, and
whither we are foon to return, what place is to
receive our fouls, when they are fet at liberty
from thefe bodily prifons. If it is the principal
defire of your fouls to underftand the nature of
this felicity, and the way that leads to it, fearch
the Scriptures; for, from them alone, we all
think, or profefs to think, we can have eternal
life. I exhort, and befeech you, never to fuffer
(-4) Major fum, & ad majora genitus, quam ut fim mancipium
* jnci corpufculi.
fo
26 O/ Happinefs. Led. III.
fo much as one day to pafs, either thro' lazy
negligence, or too much eagernefs in inferior
ftudies, without reading fome part of the facred
records, with a pious and attentive difpofition of
mind; ftill joining with your reading fervent
prayer, that you may thereby draw down that
divine light, without which fpiritual things can-
not be read and underftood. But with this
light mining upon them, it is not poffible to
exprefs how much fweeter you will find thefe
infpired writings, than Cicero, Demofthenes, Ho-
mer, Ariftotle, and all the other orators, poets,
and philofophers. They reafon about an imagina-
ry felicity, and every one in his own way advances
fome precarious and uncertain thoughts upon it ;
but this book alone (hews clearly, and with ab-
folute certainty, what it is, and points out the
way that leads to the attainment of it. This is
that which prevailed with St. Auguftine to ftudy
the Scriptures, and engaged his affection to them.
" In Cicero, and Plato, and other fuch writers,
" fays he (/), I meet with many things wittily
" faid, and things that have a moderate ten-
*' dency to move thepaffions; but in none of
" them do I find thefe words, Come unto me,
(/) Apud Ciceronem & Platonem, aliofque ejufmodi fcrip-
tores, multafunt acute didla, & leniter calentia, fed in iis omni-
bus hoc non invenio, Venite ad roe, &c. MATT. xii. 28.
" all
Led. IV. Of Happinefs. 27
" all ye that labour, and are heavy laden, and I
" will give you reft."
LECTURE IV.
In which it is proved that HUMAN FELICITY
cannot be found either in the Earth, or earthly
Things.
WE are all in queft of one thing, butal-
moft all of us out of the right road :
therefore, to be fure, the longer and the more
fwiftly we move in a wrong path, the farther
we depart from the object of our defires : and
if it is fo, we can fpeak or think of nothing
more proper and feafonable, than of enquiring
about the only right way, whereby we may all
come to fee the bright fountain of goodnefs (a).
I know you will remember, that, on the laft oc-
cafion, we propofed the moft important of all
queftions, viz. that concerning our ultimate end,
or the way to difcover true happinefs j to which
we afferted, that all mankind do afpire with a
() Boni fontem vifere lucidum.
natural
*28 Of Happinefs. Left. IV.
natural, and therefore a conftant and uniform ar-
dour (b) ; or rather, we fuppofed, that all arc
fufficiently acquainted with this happinefs, nay,
really do, or at leaft may feel it within them,
if they thoroughly know themfelves. For this
is the end of the labours of men, to this tend
all their toils j this is the general aim of all, not
only of the (harp-fighted, but the blear-eyed
and fhort-fighted (c}> nay, even of thofe that
are quite blind j who, though they cannot fee
the mark they propofe to themfelves, yet are in
hopes of reaching it at laft : that is to fay, tho'
their ideas of it are very confufed and imperfect,
they all delire happinefs in the obvious fenfe of
the word. We have alfo obferved, that this
term, in its general acceptation, imports that
full and perfect good which is fuited to intelli-
gent nature (d). It is not to be doubted, but the
felicity of the Deity, as well as his being, is in
himfelf, and from himfelf ; but our enquiry is
concerning our own happinefs. We alfo pofi-
tively determined, that there is fome blefled
end fuited and adapted to our nature ; and that
this can by no means be denied : for fince all
parts of the univerfe have proper ends fuited
and adapted to their natures, that the moft no-
lip fcToy re, t^ooi T
ble
Led. IV. Of Happinefs. 29
ble and excellent creature of the whole fublu-
nary world, mould, in this, be defective, and
therefore created in vain, would be fo great a
folecifm, fuch a deformity in the whole fabric,
and fo unworthy of the fupreme and all-wife
Creator, that it can by no means be admitted,
nor even fo much as imagined. This point being
fettled, viz. that there is fome determinate good,
in the poffeflion whereof the mind of man may
be fully fatisfied, and at perfect reft, we now
proceed to enquire what this good is, and where
it may be found.
The firft thing, and at the fame time a very
confiderable ftep towards this difcovery, will be,
to fliew where, and in what things this perfect
good is not to be found ; not only becaufe this
point being fettled, it will be eafier to determine
wherein it actually conlifts ; nay, the latter will
naturally flow from the former: but alfo be-
caufe, as has been obferved, we mall find the
far greater part of mankind purfuing vain ma-
dows and phantoms of happinefs, and through-
out their whole lives wandering in a great varie-
ty of bye-paths, feeking the way to make a pro-
per improvement of life, almoiT, always hunting
for that chief good where it is not to be found.
They muft firft be recalled from this rambling
and fruitlefs courfe, before they can poffibly be
directed into the right road. 1 (hall not fpin out
this
30 Of Happinefs. Left. IV.
this negative propofhion, by dividing the fubjecT:
of it into fever al branches, and infifting fepa-
rately upon every one of them ; but confider all
thefe errors and miftakes, both vulgar and prac-
tical, fpeculative and philofophical, however
numerous they may be, as comprehended under
one general head, and fully obviate them all by
one fingle propofition, which, with divine af-
fiftance, I {hall explain to you in this Lecture,
and that very briefly.
The propofition is, that human felicity, or
that full and compleat good that is fuited to the
nature of man, is not to be found in the earth,
nor in earthly things.
Now, what if, inftead of further proof or il-
luftration, I mould only fay, if this perfect fe-
licity is to be found within this vifible world,
or the verge of this earthly life, let him, pray,
who hath found it out, ftand forth : let him
tell, who can, what ftar, of whatever magnitude,
what conftellation or combination of ftars, has
fo favourable an afpect, and fo benign an in-
fluence, or what is that firigular good, or affem-
blage of good things in this earth, that can
confer upon mankind a happy life ? All things
that, like bright ftars, have hitherto attracted
the eyes of men, vaniming in a few days, have
proved themfelves to be comets, not only of
no benign, but even of pernicious influence :
according
Left. IV. Of Happinefs. 3 1
according to the faying, " There is no comet
< but what brings fome mifchief along with
<c it (e)." All that have ever lived during
fo many ages, that the world has hitherto lafted,
noble and ignoble, learned and unlearned, fools
and wife men, have gone in fearch of happinefs :
Has ever any of them all, in times paft, or is
there any at this day that has faid, I have found
it (/) ? Different men have given different defi-
nitions and defcriptions of it, and, according to
their various turns of mind, have painted it in a
great variety of fhapes ; but, fince the creation
of the world, there has not been fo much as one
that ever pretended to fay, Here it is, I have it,
and have attained the full pofleffion of it. Even
thofe, from whom moft was to be expected,
-men of the utmoft penetration, and moft pro-
perly qualified for fuch refearches, after all their
labour and induftry, have acknowledged their
difappointment, and that they had not found it.
But it would be wonderful indeed, that there
{hould be any good fuited to human nature (g),
and to which mankind were born, and yet that
it never fell to the (hare of any one individual
of the fons of men ; unlefs it be faid, that the
things of life, in this refpect, refemble the fpe-
(/) top**. (s)
culations
32 Of Happinefs. Left. IV.
culations of the fchools ; and that, as they talk
about objefts of knowledge that were never
known, fo there was fome good attainable by
men, which was never actually attained.
But to look a little more narrowly into this
matter, and take a tranlient view of the feveral
periods of life. Infants are fo far from attaining
to happinefs, that they have not yet arrived at
human life; yet, if they are compared with
thofe of riper years, they are, in a low and im-
proper fenfe, with regard to two things, inno-
cence and ignorance, happier than men : for
there is nothing that years add to infancy fo in-
variably, and in fo great abundance, as guilt and
pollution j and the experience and knowledge
of the world which they give us, do not fo much
improve the head, as they vex and diftrefs the
heart. So that the great man reprefented in the
tragedy embracing his infant, who knew no-
thing of his own mifery, feems to have had fome
reafon to fay, <c That thofe, who know nothing,
<c enjoy the happieft life ()." And, to be fure,
what we gain by our progrefs from infancy to
youth is, that we thereby become more expofed
to the miferies of life, and, as we improve in the
knowledge of things, our pains and torments
are alfo increafed ; for either children are put to
(b) To yiStcu t*vi
fervile
Led. IV. Of Happinefs* 33
fervile employments, or mechanic arts -, or, if
they happen to have a more genteel and liberal
education, this very thing turns to a punifh^
ment, as they are thereby fubje&ed to rods,
chaftifements, and the power of parents and in-
ftruclors, which is often a kind of petty tyranny;
and, when the yoke is lightened with the great-
eft prudence, it ftill feems hard to be born, as
it is above the capacity of their young minds,
thwarts their wifhes and inclinations, and en-
croaches upon their beloved liberty.
Youth, put in full poffeffion of this liberty,
for the moil part ceafes to be matter of itfelf ;
nor can it be fo truly faid to be delivered from
its former mifery, as to exchange it for a worfe,
even that very liberty. It leaves the harbour, to
fail thro' quickfands and Syrens ; and, when
both thefe are patted, launches out into the deep
fea. Alas 1 to what various fates is it there ex-
pofed ? How many contrary winds does it meet
with ? How many florins threatening it with
(hipwreck ? How many mocks has it to bear
from avarice, ambition, and envy, either in con-
fequence of the violent ftirrings of thofe pafiions
within itfelf, or the fierce attacks of them from
without ? And amidft all thefe tempefts, the
(hip is either early overwhelmed, or broken by
ftorms, and, worn cut by old age, at Jaft falls
to pieces.
D Npr
34 Of Happinefs. Led. IV.
Nor does it much fignify what ftate of life
one enters into, or what rank he holds in hu-
man fociety ; for all forms of bufinefs and con-
ditions of life, however various you may fuppofe
them to be, are expofed to a much greater variety
of troubles anddiftreffes, fome to prefTures more
numerous and more grievous than others, but
all to a great many, and every one to fome pe-
culiar to itfelf. If you devote yourfelf to eafe
and retirement, you cannot avoid the reproach
and uneafinefs that conftantly attend an indolent,
an ufelefs, and lazy life. If you engage in bu-
iinefs, whatever it be, whether you commence
merchant, foldier, farmer, or lawyer, you al-
ways meet with toil and hazard, and often with
heavy misfortunes and loffes. Celibacy expofes
to folitude; marriage, to folicitude and cares.
Without learning you appear plain and unpo-
lifhed j but, on the other hand, the fludy of
letters is a matter of immenfe labour, and, for
the moft part, brings in but very little, either
with regard to the knowledge you acquire by it,
or the conveniencies of life it procures. But I
will enlarge no farther j you find the Greek
and Latin poets lamenting the calamities of life,
in many parts of their works, and at great
length : nor do they exaggerate in the leafr. ;
they even fall fhort of the truth, and only enu-
merate a few evils out of many.
The
Led. IV. Of Hapfinefl. 35
The Greek epigram, afcribed by fome to Po-
fidipus, by others to Crates the Cynic philofo-
pher, begins thus, " What ftate of life ought
IC one to chufe, &c. (/') ?" and having enume-
rated them alljConcludes in this manner, " There
" are then only two things eligible, either never
" to have been born, or to die as foon as one
" makes his appearance in the world (}."
But now, leaving the various periods and
conditions of life, let us, with great brevity, run
over thofe things which are looked upon to be
the greateft bleffings in it, and fee whether any
of them can make it completely happy. Can
this be expected from a beautiful outfide ? No $
this has rendered many miferable, but never
made one happy ; for fuppofe it to be fometimes
attended with innocence, it is furely of a fading
and perifhing nature, " the fport of time or
" difeafe (/)." Can it be expected from riches?
Surely no ; for how little of them does the owner
poffefs, even fuppoling his wealth to be ever
ib great ? What a frnall part of them does he
ufe or enjoy himfelf ? and what has he of the
reft but the pleafure of feeing them with his
eyes ? Let his table be loaded with the greateft
@6, &C.
(/t) Er' a^a -TOM SVIHIII&' ^ipEcrjj ^ TO ysvio$a,i (M^nnr' r> S
D 2 variety
36 Of Happinefs. Left. IV.
variety of delicious dirties, he fills his belly ouF
of one j and if he has an hundred beds, he lies
but in one of them. Can the kingdoms, thrones
and fceptres of this world confer happinefs ?
No 3 we learn from the hiftories of all ages, that
not a few have been tumbled down from thefe
by fudden and unexpected revolutions, and
thofe not fuch as were void of conduct or cou-
rage, but men of great and extraordinary abi-
lities j and that thofe who met with no fuch
misfortunes, were ftill far enough from happi-
nefs, is very plain from the fituation of their af-
fairs, and in many cafes from their own confef-
fion. The faying of Auguftus is well known:
I wifli I had never been married, and had died
" childlefs (m) :" and the expreffion of Severus
at his death, " I became all things, and yet it
" does not profit me ()." But the moft noted
faying of all, and that which beft deferves to
be known, is that of the wifeft and moft flourifh-
ing king, as well as the greateft preacher, who,
having exactly computed all the advantages of
his exalted dignity and royal opulence, found
this to be the fum total of all, and left it on re-
cord for the infpection of pofterity and future
ages, " Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.''
() ei$ otp&ov uyafMsl* tptvau ayovo; T ctvohtrxt,
AH
Left. IV. Of Happtnefs. 37
All this may poffibly be true with regard to
the external advantages of men j but may not
happinefs be found in the internal goods of the
mind, fuch as wifdom and virtue ? Suppofe
this granted ; ftill that they may confer perfect
felicity, they muft, of neceffity, be perfect
themfelves. Now, {hew me the man, who,
even in his own judgment, has attained to per-
fedion in wifdom and virtue : even thofe who
were accounted the wifeft, and actually were
fo, acknowledged they knew nothing; nor was
there one among the moft approved philofophers,
whofe virtues were not allayed with many ble-
mimes. The fame muft be faid of piety and true
religion, which, though it is the beginning of
felicity, and tends directly to perfection j yet, as
in this earth it is not full and compleat itfelf,
it cannot make its poffeffors perfectly happy.
The knowledge of the moft exalted minds is
very obfcure, and almoft quite dark, and their
practice of virtue lame and imperfect. And
indeed who can have the boldnefs to boaft of
perfection in this refpect, when he hears the
great Apoftle complaining of the law of the flefh,
and pathetically exclaiming, " Who {hall deii-
<{ ver me from this body of death, &c. (0)"
Befides, tho' wifdom and virtue, or piety, were
perfect, fo long as we have bodies, we muft,
(o) Rom. vii. 24.
D 3 -at
38 Of Happinefs. Left. IV.
at the fame time, have all bodily advantages,
in order to perfect felicity. Therefore the Sa-
tyrift fmartly ridicules the wife man of the Stoics,
<c He is, fays he, free, honoured, beautiful, a
" king of kings, and particularly happy, except
" when he is troubled with phlegm (/>)."
Since thefe things are fo, we muft raife our
minds higher, and not live with our heads
bowed down like the common fort of mankind j
who, as St. Auguftine exprefles it, look for a
happy life in the region of death (q). To fet
our hearts upon the perifhing goods of this
wretched life, and its muddy pleafures, is not
the happinefs of men, but of hogs; and if plea-
fure is dirt, other things are but fmoke. Was
this the only good propofed to the defires and
hopes of men, it would not have been fo great
a privilege to be born. Be therefore advifed,
young gentlemen, and beware of this poifonous
cup, left your minds thereby become brutifh,
and fall into a fatal oblivion of your original, and
your end : turn that part of your compofition,
which is divine, to God its creator and father,
without whom we can neither be happy, nor
indeed be at all.
Dives,
Liber honoratus, pulcher, rex denique regum,
Pracipue fcelix, nifi cum pituita molefta eft.
Beatam vitam puaerunt in regionc mortis.
LEC-
Left. V. Of the Immortality, &c. 39
LECTURE V.
Of the IMMORTALITY of the SOUL.
THERE are many things that keep man-
kind employed, particularly bufmefs,
or rather trifles -, for fo the affairs, which are
in this world confidered as moft important,
ought to be called, when compared with that of
minding our own valuable concerns, knowing
ourfelves, and truly confulting our higheft
interefts ; but how few are there that make this
their ftudy? The definition you commonly give
of man is, that he is a rational creature ; tho',
to be fure, it is not applicable to the generality
of mankind, unlefs you underftand, that they
are fuch, not actually, but in power only, and
that very remote. They are, for the moft part
at leaft, more filly and foolifh than children,
and, like them, fond of toys and rattles : they
fatigue themfelves running about and faunter-
ing from place to place, but do nothing to
purpofe.
What a wonder it is, that fouls of a heaven-
ly original have fo far forgot their native country,
and are foimmerfed in dirt and mud, that there
are few men who frequently converfe with them-
D 4. felves
40 Of 'tie Immortality Led. V,
felves about their own ftate, thinking gravely of
their original and their end, ferioufly laying to
heart, that, as the pcet exprefles it, " Good
*' and evil are fet before to mankind (0)5" and,
after mature confideration, not only think it
the moft wife and reafonable courfe, but are alfo
fully refolved to exert themfelves to the utmoft,
in order to arrive at a fovereign contempt of
earthly things, and afpire to thefe enjoyments
that are divine and eternal. For our parts, I am
fully perfuaded we will be of this mind, if we'
ferioufly reflect upon what has been faid. For
If there is, of neceffity, a compleat, permanent,
and fatisfying good intended for man, and no
fuch good is to be found in the earth or earthly
things, we muft proceed farther, and look for
it forne where elfe j and in confequence of this
conclude, that man is not quite extinguifhed by
.death, but removes to another place, and that
the human foul is by all means immortal.
Many men have added a great variety of dif-
ferent arguments to fupport this conclufion,
fome of them ftrong and folid, and others, to
fpeak freely, too metaphyflcal, and of little
ftrength, especially as they are as obfcure, as
eafily denied, and as hard to be proved, as that
very conclufion, in fupport of which they are
adduced.
() flrj rot tufysatwn aojttx j #y$o>
They
Led. V. of the Soul. 4 1
They who reafon from the immaterial nature
of the foul, and from its being infufed into the
body, as alfo from its method of operation,
which is confined to none of the bodily organs,
may eafily prevail with thofe who believe thefe
principles, to admit the truth of the conclufion
they want to draw from them ; but if they meet
\vith any who obftinately deny the premises, or
even doubt the truth of them, it will be a mat-
ter of difficulty to fupport fuch hypothefes with
clear and conclusive arguments. If the foul of
man was well acquainted with itfelf, and folly
underflood its own nature ; if it could invefti-
gate the nature of its union with the body, and
the method of its operation therein, we doubt
not, but from thence it might draw thefe,
and other fuch arguments of its immorta-
lity; but fmce, fhut up in the prifon of a dark
body, it is fo little known, and fo incomprehen-
fible to itfelf; and lince, in fo great obfcurity, it
can fcarce, if at at all, difcover the leaft of its'
own features and complexion, it would be a
very difficult matter for it to fay much concern-
ing its internal nature, or nicely determine the
methods of its operation. But it would be fur-
prizing, if any one mould deny, that the very
operations it performs, efpecially thofe of the
more noble and exalted fort, are flrong marks,
and
42 Of the Immortality Left. V.
and confpicuous characters of its excellence and
immortality.
Nothing is more evident than that, befides
life and fenfe, and animal fpirits, which he has
in common with the brutes, there is in man
fomething more exalted, more pure, and that
more nearly approaches to divinity. God has
given to the former a fenfitive foul, but to us a
mind alfo ; and, to fpeak diftinctly, that fpirit,
which is peculiar to man, and whereby he is
raifed above all other animals, ought to be call-
ed mind rather than foul(^). Be this as it may,
it is hardly poffible to fay, how vaftly the human
mind excels the other with regard to its wonder-
ful powers, and, next to them, with refpect to
its works, devices, and inventions. For it per-
forms fuch great and wonderful things, that the
brutes, even thofe of the greateft fagacity, can
neither imitate, nor at all underftand, much lefs
invent : nay man, tho' he is much lefs in bulk,
and inferior in flrength to the greateft part of
them ; yet, as lord and king of them all, he
can, by furprifing means, bend and apply the
ftrength and induftry of all the other creatures,
the virtues of all herbs and plants, and, in a
word, all the parts and powers of this vifible
world, to the convenience and accommodation
of his own life. He alfo builds cities, erects
() Animus potius dicendus eft quam anima.
common -
Led. V. of the Soul. 43
commonwealths, makes laws, conduces armies,
fits out fleets, meafurcs not only the earth, but
the heavens alfo, and invefligates the motions
oftheftars. He foretells eclipfes many years
before they happen j and, with very little diffi-
culty, fends his thoughts to a great diftance, bids
them vifit the remoteft cities and countries,
mount above the fun and the ilars, and even
the heavens themfelves.
But all thefe thingsare inconfiderable, and con-
tribute but little to our prefent purpofe, in refpect
of that one incomparable dignity that refults to the
human mind from its being capable of religion,
and having indelible characters thereof natural-
ly ftampt upon it. It acknowledges a God, and
worfhips him ; it builds temples to his honour ;
it celebrates his never-enough exalted Majefty
with facrifices, prayers, and praifes, depends
upon his bounty, implores his aid, and fo carries
on a conftant correfpondence with heaven : and,
which is a very ftrong proof of its being ori-
ginally from heaven, it hopes at laft to return
to it. And, truly, in my judgment, this previ-
ous impreffion and hope of immortality, and
thefe earneft defires after it, are a very ftrong
evidence of that immortality. Thefe impref-
fions, though in moft men they lie over-power-
ed, and almoft quite extinguifhed by the weight
of their bodies, and an extravagant love to pre-
fent
44 Of tie Immortality Led. V.
fent enjoyments j yet, now and then, in time
of adverfity, break forth, and exert them-
felves, efpecially under the preffure of fevere
diftempers, and at the approaches of death. But
' thofe whofe minds are purified, and theirthoughts
habituated to divine things, with what conftant
and ardent wifhes do they breathe after that blef-
fed immortality ! How often do their fouls com-
plain within them, that they have dwelt fo long in
fchefe earthly tabernacles ! Like exiles, they earneft-
ly wifh, make intereft, and ftruggle hard to
regain their native country. Moreover, does
not that noble neglect of the body and its fenfes,
and that contempt of all the pleafures of the
e(h, which thefe heavenly fouls have attained,
evidently mew, that, in a mort time, they will
be taken from hence, and that the body and
foul are of a very different, and almoft contra-
ry nature to one another -.that therefore the dura-
tion of the one depends not upon the other, but
is quite of another kind ; and the foul, fet
at liberty from the body, is not only exempted
from death, but, in fome fenfe,then begins to live,
and then firft fees the light. Had we not this
hope to' fupport us, what ground would we
have to lament our firfl nativity, which placed
us in a life fo fliort, fo diftitute of good, and
fo crouded with miferies ; a life which we pafs
entirely in grafping phantoms of felicity, and
fuffering
Led. V. of the Soul 45
fuffering real calamities : fo that, if there
were not, beyond this, a life and happinefs that
more truly deferves thefe names, who can help
feeing, that of all creatures man would be the
moft miferable, and, of all men, the befl the
moft unhappy.
For although every wife man looks upon
the belief of the immortality of the foul as one
of the great and principal fupports of religion,
there may poffibiy be fome rare, exalted, and
truly divine minds, who would choofe the pure
and noble path of virtue for its own fake, would
conftantly walk in it, and, out of love to it,
would not decline the fevereft hardfhips, if they
fhould happen to be expofed to them on its ac-
count ; yet it cannot be denied, that the com-
mon fort of chriftians, tho' they are really and
at heart found believers and true chriftians, fall
very far fhort of this attainment, and would
fcarcely, if at all, embrace virtue and religion,
if you take away the rewards -, which, I think,
the Apoftle Paul hints at in this expreffion,
" If in this life only we have hope, we are of all
" men the mod miferable (c)." The Apoftle r
indeed, does not intend thefe words as a direct
proof of the immortality of the foul in a feparate
ftate, but as an argument to prove the refurrec-
tion of the body ; which is a doctrine near a-
kio ; and clofely connected with the former.
(c) i Cor. xv. 19.
For
46 Of the Immortality Left. V.
For that great federation is added as an inftance
of the fuperabundance and immenfity of the
divine goodnefs, whofe pleafure it is, that not
only the better and more divine part of man>
which, upon its return to its original fource, is,
without the body, capable of enjoying a perfectly
happy and eternal life, mould have a glorious
immortality, butalfo that this earthly tabernacle,
as being the faithful attendant and conftant
companion of the foul, through all its toils and
labours in this world, be alfo admitted to a mare
and participation of its heavenly and eternal feli-
city 5 that fo, according to our Lord's expreffion,
every faithful foul may have returned into its
bofom, " good meafure, prefled down, fhaken
" together, and running over (d)"
Let our belief of this immortality be founded
entirely on divine revelation, and then, like a city
fortified with a rampart of earth drawn round it,
let it be outwardly guarded and defended by
reafon ; which, in this cafe, fuggefts arguments
as ftrong and convincing as the fubjecl: will ad-
mit of. If any one, in the prefent cafe, promifes
demonftration, " his undertaking is certainly
" too much (e) ;" if he deiires or expects it from
another, " he requires too much (/")." There
are indeed very few demonftrations in philofo-
(</) Luke vi. 38. (t)
( f ) M/ya ?uj' TO ai'T59^.
phy,
Lect.V. of the Soul. 47
phy, if you except the mathematical fciences,
that can be truly and ftriclly fo called; and, if
we enquire narrowly into the matter, perhaps
we fhall find none at all ; nay, if even the ma-
thematical demonftrations are examined by the
flrict rules and ideas of Ariftotle^the greateft
part of them will be found imperfect and defec-
tive. The faying of that philofopher is, there-
fore, wife and applicable to many cafes : " De-
" monftrations are not to be expected in all cafes,
<c but fo far as the fubject will admit of
" them(). But, if we were well acquainted
with the nature and eflence of the foul, or even
its precife method of operation on the body, it
is highly probable we could draw from hence
evident and undeniable demonftrations of that
immortality which we are now afTerting : where-
as, fo long as the mind of man is fo little ac-
quainted with its own nature, we muft not ex-
pect any fuch.
But that unquenchable thirfl of the foul,
we have already mentioned, is a flrong proof of
its divine nature : a thirft not to be allayed with
the impure and turbid waters of any earthly
good, or of all worldly enjoyments taken to-
gether. It thirfts after the never-failing foun-
tain of good, according to that of the Pfalmifl;,
C?) K " vsifu 7ro5sf E; diTwrion, XX' t$' wrw $!%eiou TO twox.si-
y.
As
48 Of the Immortality Led. V.
"As the hart panteth after the water-brooks(&) :"
it thirds after a good, inviflble, immaterial, and
immortal, to the enjoyment whereof the miniftry
of a body is fo far from being abfolutely ne^
ceffary, that it feels itfelf fhutup, and confined
by that, to wliich it is now united, as by a par-
tition-wall, and groans under the preflure of it.
And thofe fouls, that are quite infenfible of this
thirft, are certainly buried in the body, as in
the carcafe of an impure hog j nor have they fo
entirely divefted themfelves of this appetite, we
have mentioned, nor can they po&bly divefl
themfelves of it, fo as not to feel it feverely, to
their great mifery, fooner or later, either when
they awake out of theirlethargy within the body,
or when they are obliged to leave it. To con-
clude : no body, I believe, will deny, that we
are to form our judgment of the true nature of
the human mind, not from the floth and ftupi-
dity of the moft degenerate and vileft of men,
but from the fentiments and fervent delires of
the beft and wifeft of the fpecies.
Thefe fentiments, concerning the immorta-
lity of the foul in its future exiftence, not only
include no impoflibility or abfurdity in them,
but are alfo every way agreeable to found reafon,
wifdom, and virtue, to the divine ceconomy,
(}.>} Pfal. xlii. i.
and
Led. V. of tie Soul. 49
and the natural wishes and defines of men ;
wherefore moft nations have, with the greateft
reafon, univerfaliy adopted them, and the wifeil
in all countries, and in all ages, have chearfully
embraced them. And though they could not
confirm them with any argument of irrefiftible
force, yet they felt fomething within them that
correfponded with this doctrine, and always
looked upon it as moft beautiful and worthy of
credit. " Nobody, fays Atticus in Cicero, mail
" drive me from the immortality of the
" foul (/) ;" And Seneca's words, are, " 1 took
" pleafure to enquire into the eternity of the
" foul, and even, indeed, to believe it. I refigned
ec myfelf to fo glorious an hope, for now I begin
" to defpife the remains of a broken conftitution,
" as being to remove into that immenfity of
tc time, and into the pofleffion of endlefs
" ages ()." O how much does the foul gain
by this removal !
As for you, young gentlemen, I doubt not
but you will embrace this doctrine, not only a*$
agreeable to reafon* but as it is an article of the
chriflian faith. I only put you in mind to re-
let.
(?) Me remo de immortalitate depellc
(f) Juvabat de seternltate animarum quserere, Imo mehercule
credere : dabarn K\C Ipci rants, jam cnim reliquias infraftse
ztatis conternnebam, in immenfum illud tempus, irin pofleffio-
nem omnis arvi tranfitotus. SEW. Epif. 102.
E volvs
50 Of the Immortality, &c. Left. V.
volve it often within yourfelvcs, and with a fc-
rious difpofition of mind ; for you will find it
the ftrongeft incitement to wifdom, good morals,
and true piety ; nor can you imagine any thing
that will more effectually divert you from a
foolifh admiration of prefent and perifhing things,
and from the allurements and fordid pleafures of
this earthly body. Confider, I pray you, how
unbecoming it is, to make a heaven-born foul,
that is to live for ever, a flave to the meaneft,
vileft, and mod trifling things j and, as it were,
to thrufl down to the kitchen a prince that is
obliged to leave his country only for a fhort time.
St. Bernard pathetically addrefles himfelf to the
body in favour of the foul, perfuading it to treat
the latter honourably, not only on account of
its dignity, but alfo for the advantage that will
thereby redound to the body itfelf. " Thou
" haft a noble gueft, O fiem ! a moft noble
" one indeed, and all thy fafety depends upon
< its falvation: it will certainly remember
<c thee for good, if thou ferve it well; and
" when it comes to its Lord, it will put him in
{ mind of thee, and the mighty God himfelf
" will come to make thee, who art now a vile
" body, like unto his glorious one: and, O
' wretched flefh, he, who came in humility
and obfcurity to redeem fouls, will come in
" sreat majefty to glorify thee, and every eye
fhall
. VI. OfthcHappinefs,&c. 51
" fhall fee him (/)." Be mindful, therefore,
young gentlemen, of your better part, and ac-
cuftom it to think of its own eternity j always,
and every where, having its eyes fixed upon that
world, to which it is mod nearly related. And
thus it will look down, as frcvm on high, on all
thefe things, which the world confiders as lofty
and exalted, and will fee them under its feet;
and of all the things, which are confined within
the narrow verge of this prefent life, it will have
nothing to defire, and nothing to fear.
etoefo(dbi*db:^^
LECTURE VI.
Of the HAPPINESS of the LIFE to come.
OF all the thoughts of men, there is certain-
ly none that more often occur to a ferious
mind, that has its own intereft at heart, than
that, to which all others are fubordinate and fub-
fervient, with regard to the intention, the ulti-
(/) Nobilem hofpitem habes, O caro ! nobilem valde, & tota
tua falus de ejus falute pendet : omnino etiam memor erit tui in
bonum, fi bene fervieris illi ; & cum perrenerit ad Dominun
fuum, fuggeret ei de te, & veniet ipfe Dominus virtutum,
te vile corpus configurabit corpori fuo gloriofo, qui ad animas
redimendas humilis ante venerat, & occuhus, pro te glorifi-
cando, O tnifera caro, fublimis veoiet & manifeftus.
E 2 mate
52 Of the Happinefs teft. VI.
mate and moft defirable end of all our toils and
cares, and even of life itfelf. And this impor-
tant thought will the more clofelybefet the mind,
the more marp-fighted it is in prying into the
real torments, the delufive hopes, and the falfe
joys of this our wretched flate; which is indeed
fo miferable, that it can never be fufficiently
lamented : and as for laughter amidft fomany
forrows, dangers and fears, it muftbe confider-
ed as downright madnefs. Such was the opi-
nion of the wifefl of kings : <c I have faid of
" laughter, fays he, it is mad j and of mirth,
c what doth it (a) ?" We have, therefore, no
caufe to be much furprifed at the bitter com-
plaints, which a grievous weight of afflictions
has extorted, even from great and good men 5
nay it is rather a wonder, if the fame caufes do
not often oblige us to repeat them.
If we look about us, how often are we
(hocked to obferve either the calamities of our
country, or the fad difafters of our relations and
friends, whom we have daily occafion to mourn,
either as groaning under the preflures of poverty,
pining away under languiming difeafes, tortured
by acute ones, or carried off by death, while we
ourfelves are, in like manner, very foon, to draw
tears from the eyes of others; nay, how often
are we a burden t ourfelves, and groan heavily
(*) Ecclef, ii. z.
under
Le6t. VI-, of the -Loft to come. 53
under afflictions of our own, that prefs hard up-
on our eftates, our bodies, or our minds ? Even
thofe who feem to meet with the feweftand the
leaft inconveniencies in this life, and dazzle the
eyes of fpedators with the brightnefs of a feem-
ingly conftant, and uniform fejicity - 3 befides, that
they often fufTer from fecret vexations and cares,
which deftroy their inward peace, and prey upon
their diftreffed hearts ; how uncertain, weak,
and brittle is that falfe happinefs which appears
about them, and, when it mines brighteft, how
eafily is it broken to pieces : fo that it has been,
juftly faid, " they want another felicity to fecure
" that which they are already poiTciTed of ()."
If, after all, there are fome whofe minds are;
hardened againft all the forms and appearances
of external things, and that look down with e-
qual contempt upon all the events of this world,
whether of a dreadful or engaging afpec~t, even
this dilpofition of mind does not make them
happy : nor do they think themfelves fo, they
have ftill fomething to make them uneafy ; the
obfcure darknefs that overfpreads their minds,
their ignorance of heavenly things, and the
ftrength of their carnal affections, not yet en-
tirely fubdued. And, tho' thefe we are now
fpeaking of are by far the nobleft and moil
beautiful part of the human race ; yet, if they
(b] Alia felicitate ad ilhm felicitatem tusndam opus eft.
E 3 had
54 Of tie Happinefs Left. VL
had not within them that bleffed hope of re-
moving hence, in a little time, to the regions
of light, the more feverely they feel the ftraits
and afflictions, to which their fouls are expofed
by being (hut up in this narrow earthly cottage,
fo much they certainly would be more mifera-
ble than the reft of mankind.
As oft, therefore, as we reflect upon thefe
things, we will find that the whole comes to
this one conclufion : " There is certainly fome
" end (c)" There is, to be fure, fome end
fuited to the nature of man, and worthy of it $
fome particular, compleat, and permanent good :
and fince we in vain look for it within the nar-
row verge of this life, and among the many
jniferies that fwarm on it from beginning to end,
we muft of neceflity conclude, that there is
certainly fome more fruitful country, and a more
lafting life, to which our felicity is referved,
and into which we will be received when we
remove hence. This is not our reft, nor
have we any place of refidence here ; it is the
region of fleas and gnats, and while we fearch
for happinefs among thefe mean and peri{hing
things, we are not only fure to be difappointed,
but alfo not to efcape thofe miferies, which, in
great numbers, continually befet us j fo that we
may
Left. VI. oftbe Life to come. 55
may apply to ourfelves the faying of the famous
artift, confined in the iiland of Crete, and truly
fay, " The earth and the fea are (hut up againft
<c us, and neither of them can favour our efcape ;
" the way to heaven is alone open, and this way
" we will ftrive to go (^)."
Thus far we have advanced by degrees, and
very lately we have difcourfed upon the im-
mortality of the foul, to which we have added
the refurreclion of our earthly body by way of
appendix. It remains that we now enquire
into the happinefs of the life ta come.
Yet, I own, I am almoft deterred from en-
tering upon this enquiry by the vaft obfcurity
and fublimity of the fubject, which in its nature
is fuch, that we can neither underftand it, nor,
if we could, can it be exprefled in words. The
divine Apoflle,who had had fome glimpfc of this
felicity, defcribes it no otherwife than by his
filence, calling the words he heard, " unfpeak-
" able, and fuch as it was not lawful for a man
" to utter (e)." And, if he neither could, nor
would expreis what he faw, far be it from us
boldly to force ourfelves into, or intrude upon
what we have not feen ; efpecially as the fame
Apoftle, in another place, acquaints us, for our
(ct) Nectellus noftrx, nee patet unda fugz,
Reftat iter coeli, coelo tentabimus ire.
(<) Zgrrr* fitMiTK, *, vr. t|ov afyairu X*^<r*. 2 Cor. tfi. 4.
E 4 future
56 Of the Happinefs Left. VI.
future caution, that this was unwarrantably done
by forne ra(h and forward perfons in his own
time. But iince in the facred archives of this
new world, however invisible and unknown to
us, we have feme maps and defcriptions of it
fuited to our capacity"; w are not only allowed
to look at them, but, as they were drawn for
that very purpofe, it would certainly be the
greateft ingratitude, as well as the higheft negli-
gence in us, not to make fome improvement of
them. Here, however, we muft remember,
what a great odds there is between the defcription
of a kingdom in a fmall and imperfect map, and
the extent and beauty of that very kingdom, when
viewed by the travellers eye; and how much greater
the difference muft be, between the felicity of
that heavenly kingdom, to which we areafpiring,
and all, even the moft ftr iking figurative expref-
fions, taken from the things of this earth, that are
ufed to convey fome faint and imperfect notion of it
to our minds ? What are thefe things, the falfe
glare and fhadows whereof, in this earth, are
purfued with fuch keen and furious impetuofity,
riches, honours, pleafures ? All thefe, in their
jufteft, pureft, and fublimeft fenfe, are com-
prehended in this biefTed life : it is a treafure,
that can neither fail nor be carried away by force
or fraud : it is an inheritance uncorrupted and
undefiled, a crown that fadeth not away, a
never*
Left. VI. of tie Life to come. 57
never-failing flream of joy and delight : it is a mar-
riage-feaft, and of all others the moil joyous and
moft fumptuous ; one that always fatisfies, and
never cloys the appetite : it is an eternal fpring, and
an everlafting light, a day without an evening :
it is a paradiie, where the lillics are always white
and full blown, the faffron blooming, the trees
iweat out their balfams, and the tree of life in
the midft thereof : it is a city where the houfes
are built of living pearls, the gates of precious
ftones,and the ftreets paved with the pureft gold ;
yet all thefe are nothing but veils of the happi-
nefs to be revealed on that mofl blefied day - 3 nay,
the light itfelf, which we have mentioned a-
mong the reft, though it be the molt beautiful
ornament of this vifible world, is at beft but a
fhadow of that heavenly glory ; and how fmall
foever that portion of this inacceffible brightnefs
may be, which, in the facred Scriptures, (Lines
upon us through thefe veils, it certainly very
well deferves that we fhould often turn our eyes
towards it, and view it with theclofeft attention.
Now, the firft thing that neceflarily occurs in
the conflitution of happinefs, is a full and com-
pleat deliverance from every evil, and every
grievance ; which we may as certainly expect
to meet with in that heavenly life, as it is im-
poffible to be attained while we fojourn here
below. All tears lhall be wiped away from our
eyes,
58 Of the Happlnefs Left. VI.
eyts, and every caufe and occafion of tears for
ever removed from our fight ; there, there are no
tumults, no wars, no poverty, no death, nor
difeafe; there, there is neither mourning nor
fear, nor fin, which is the fource and foun-
tain of all other evils : there is neither violence
within doors, nor without, nor any complaint,
in the ftreets of that bleffedcity ; there, no friend
goes out, nor enemy comes in. 2. Full vi-
gour of body and mind, health, beauty, purity,
and perfect tranquillity. 3. The mod delight-
ful fociety of Angels, Prophets, Apoftles, Mar-
tyrs, and all the faints ; among whom there are
no reproaches, contentions, controverfies, nor
party-fpirit, becaufe there are, there, none of the
fources whence they can fpring, nor any thing
to encourage their growth ; for there is, there,
particularly, no ignorance, no blind felf-love,
no vain-glory nor envy, which is quite excluded
from thofe divine regions j but, on the contrary,
perfect charity, whereby every one, together
with his own felicity, enjoys that of his neigh*-
bours, and is happy in the one as well as the
other : hence there is among them a kind of in-
finite reflection and multiplication of happinefs,
like that of a fpacious hall adorned with gold and
precious ftones, dignified with a full affembly
of kings and potentates, and having its walls
quite, covered with the brighteft looking glafles.
4, But
Ledt. VI. of the Life to come. 59
4. But what infinitely exceeds, and quite eclipfes
all the reft, is that boundlefs ocean of happinefs,
which refults from the beatific vifion of the ever
blefled God ; without which, neither the tran-
quillity they enjoy, nor the fociety of faints,
nor the pofTeffion of any particular finite good,
nor indeed of all fuch taken together, can fatisfy
the foul, or make it compleatly happy. The
manner of this enjoyment we can only expect
to underftand, when we enter upon the full pof-
feffion of it ; till then, to difpute, and raife
many queflions about it, is nothing but vain
foolifh talking, and fighting with phantoms of
our own brain. But the fchoolmen, who con-
fine the whole of this felicity to bare fpeculation,
or, as they call it, an intelhttual aft (f), are, in
this, as in many other cafes, guilty of great
prefumption, and their conclufion is built upon
a very weak foundation. For although contem-
plation be the higheft and nobleft act of the
mind ; yet compleat happinefs neceflarily re-
quires fome prefent good fuited to the whole
man, the whole foul, and all its faculties. Nor
is it any objection to this doctrine, that the whole
of this felicity is commonly comprehended in
Scripture under the term of vifion - 3 for the men-
tal vifion, or contemplation of the primary and
infinite good, moft pspperly fignifies, or, at
(/) A&os iutelleftualis.
Jwft,
60 Of the Happinefs Left. VL
leafl, includes in it the full enjoyment of that
good ; and the obfervation of the Rabbins con-
cerning Scripture-phrafes, f< That words ex-
<c preffing the fenfes, include alfo the affections
<{ naturally arifing from thofe fenfations (g)," is
very well known. Thus, knowing is often put
for approving and loving ; and feeing for enjoying
and attaining. " Tafte and fee that God is good,"
fays the Pfalmift -, and, in fact, it is no fmall
pleafure to lovers to dwell together, and mutu-
ally to enjoy the fight of one another. {t Nothing
" is more agreeable to lovers, than to live to-
gather (//)."
We muft, therefore, by all means conclude,
that this beatific vilion includes in it not only a
diftinct and intuitive knowledge of God, but,
fo to fpeak, fuch a knowledge as gives us the
enjoyment of that moft perfect Being, and, in
fome fenfe, unites us to him -, for fuch a vifion
it muft, of neceffity, be, that converts that love
of the infinite good, which blazes in the fouls
of the faints, into full pofTeflion, that crowns
all their riches, and fills them with an abundant
and overflowing fulnefs of joy, that vents itfelf
in everlafting blefiings and fongs of praife.
And this is the only doctrine, if you believe
it, and I make no doubt but you do : This, I
(g) Verbafenfus connotant affedlus.
U$ TO ffutflV*
fay,
Left. VI. oftbe Life to come. 61
fay, is the only doctrine that will tranfport your
whole fouls, and raife them up on high. Hence
you will learn to trample under feet all the
turbid and muddy pleafures of the flefh, and all
the allurements andfplendid trifles of die prefent
world. However thofe earthly enjoyments,
"that are fwelled up by falfe names, and the
ftrength of imagination, to a vaft fize, may ap-
pear grand and beautiful, and ftill greater, and
more engaging to thofe that are unacquainted
with them ; how fmall, how inconfiderable do
they all appear to a foul that looks for a heaven-
ly country, that expects to mare the joys of an-
gels, and has its thoughts conftantly employed
about thefe objects ? To conclude, the more
the foul withdraws, fo to fpeak, from the body,
and retires within itfelf, the more it rifes above
itfelf, and the more clofely it cleaves to God, the
more the life it lives, in this earth, refembles
that which it will enjoy in heaven, and the
larger foretaftes it has of the firft fruits of that
blefied harvelr. Afpire, therefore, to hclinefs,
young gentlemen, " without which no man
" mall fee the Lord."
LEG-
62 Of the Being of God. Led. VII.
LECTURE VII.
Of the BEING of Goo.
THOUGH, on moft fubjeas, the opinions
of men are various, and often quite oppo-
fite, infomuch that they feem to be more re-
markable for the vaft variety of their fentiments,
than that of their faces and languages; there are,
however, two things, wherein all nations are
agreed, and in which there feems to be a perfect
harmony throughout the whole human race;
the defire of happinefs^ and afenfe of religion. The
former no man defires to (hake oft; and though
fome, poffibly, would willingly part with the lat-
ter, it is not in their power to eradicate it en-
tirely ; they cannot banifh God altogether out
of their thoughts, nor extinguish every fpark of
religion withiii them. It is certainly true, that
for the moft part this defire of happinefs wanders
in darknefs from one object to another, without
fixing upon any ; and the fenfe of religion is
either fufFered to lie inactive, or deviates into
fuperftition. Yet the great Creator of the world
employs thefe two, as the materials of a fallen
building, to repair the ruins of the human race,
and
Led. VII. Of the Being of God. 63
and as handles whereby he draws his earthen,
veflel out of the deep gulph of mifery into
which it is fallen.
Of the former of thefe, that is, felicity, we
have already fpoken on another occafion : we
fhall therefore now, with divine affiftance, em-
ploy fome part of our time in considering that
fenfeof religion, that is naturally impreffed upon
the mind of man.
Nor will our labour, I imagine, be unprofit-
ably employed in collecting together thefc few
general principles, in which fo many, and fo
very diffimilar forms of religion, and fentiments,
extremely different, harmonioufly agree : for as
every fcience, moft properly, begins with univer-
fal proportions, and things more generally
known ; fo in the prefent cafe, befides the o-
ther advantages, it will be no fmall fupport to
a weak and wavering mind, that, amidft all the
difputes and contentions fubiifting between the
various fedls and parties in religion, the great
and necefTary articles, at leaft, of our faith are
eftablimed, in fome particulars, by the general
confent of mankind, and, in all tjhe reft, by that
of the whole chriftian world.
I would therefore moft earneftly wifh, that
your minds, rooted andeftabiifhed in the faith (<?),
were firmly united in this delightful bond of
(a] tfxfcpiHtf *} fttfpN^MMc Tr.ri*. Colof. ii. 7.
religion,
64 Of the Bei?2g of God. Left. VII,
religion, which, like a golden chain, will be
no burden, but an ornament j not a yoke of flave-
ry, but a badge of true and generous liberty.
I would, by no means, have you to be chriftians
upon the authority of mere tradition, or educa-
tion, and the example and precepts of parents
and matters, but purely from a full conviction of
your own underftandings, and a fervent difpofi-
tion of the will and afTedions proceeding there-
from; " for piety is the fole and only good
< among mankind (/)," and you can expect
none of the fruits of religion, unlefs the root of
it be well laid, and firmly eftablifhed by faith ;
" for all the virtues are the daughters of faith (c)"
fays Clem. Alexand.
Lucretius, with very ill-advifed praifes, ex-
tolls his favourite Grecian philolbpher as one
fallen down from heaven to be the deliverer of
mankind, and difpell their diftreffing terrors and
fears, becaufe he fancied he had found out an
effectual method to banifh all religion entirely
out of the minds of men. And, to fay the
truth, in no age has there been wanting brutifh
fouls, too much enflaved to their corporeal fenfes,
that would wifh thefe opinions to be true ; yet,
after all, there are very few of them, who are
able to perfuade themfelves of the truth of thefe
(I) "E> yap x^ poov tv a'ifywWf ayaSoy bcrej&K*. Trifmegift.
(f) Hac-ai yaf a'prai Tnrw? ^yursfif.
vicious
Lea. VII. Of the Being of Gcd. 65
vicious principles, which, with great impudence,
and importunity, they commonly inculcate upon
others : they belch out, with full mouth, their
foolifh dreams, often in direct oppofition to
confcience and knowledge ; and, what they
unhappily would wifh to be true, they can
fcarcely, if at all, believe themfelves. You
are acquainted with Horace's recantation,
wherein he tells us, tc That he had been long
f< bigoted to the mad tenets of the Epicurean
" philofophy ; but found himfelf at laft obliged
" to alter his fentiments, and deny all he had
afierted before (</).'
Some fouls lofe the whole exercife of their
reafon, becaufe they inform bodies, that labour
under the defect of temperament or proper or-
gans j yet you continue to give the old definition
of man, and call him a rational creature ; and
fhould any one think proper to call him a reli-
gious creature y he would, to be fure, have as much
reafon on his fide, and needed not fear his opinion
would be rejected, becaufe of a few madmen,
who laugh at religion. Nor is it improbable,
as fome of the antients -have aflerted, that thofe
few among the Greeks, who were called A-
theifts, had not that epithet becaufe they ab-
(</) Parcus Deorum cukor, & infrequens
Jnfamentis dum fapientiae
Confijltus erro, &c. Od. xxxv. lib. i.
F folutely
66 Of the Being of God. Left. VIL
folutely denied the being of God, but only be-
caufe they rejected, and juftly laughed at the
fictitious and ridiculous deities of the nations.
Of all the inftitutions and cuftoms receive^
among men, we meet with nothing more fo-
lemn and general than that of religion, and
facred rites performed to the honour of fome
deify j which is a very ftrong argument, that
that perfuafion, in preference to any other, is
written, nay rather engraven, in ftrong and in-
delible characters upon the mind of man. This is,
as it were, the name of the great Creator ftamp-
ed upon tEe nobleft of all his vifible works,
that thus man may acknowlege himfelf to be
his ; and (concluding, from the inlcription he
finds impreflfed upon his mind, that what be-
longs to God ought, in ftri<5t juftice, to be re-
ftored to him) be wholly reunited to his
firft principle, that immenfe ocean of good-
nefs whence he took his rife (^). The diftem-
per that has invaded mankind is, indeed, grievous
and epidemical : it confifts in a mean and de-
generate love to the body and corporeal things j
and, in confequenceof this, a flupid and bruti(h
forgetful nefs of God, though he can never be
entirely blotted out of the mind. This forget-
fulnefs a few, and but very few, alarmed, and
(e) To, ra & ru sy.
awakened
Lect. VII. Of the Being of God. 67
awakened by the divine rod, early (hake off;
and even in the moft ftupid, and fuch as are
buried in the deepeft deep, the original im-
preffion fometimes difcovers itfelf, when they
are under the prefliire of fome grievous calamity,
or on the approach of danger, and efpecially
upon a near profpect of death : then the thoughts
of God, that had lain hid, and been long fup-
prefTed, forced out by the weight of pain, and
the impreflions of fear, come to be remembered,
and the whole foul being, as it were, roufed
out of its long and deep deep, men begin to
look about them, enquire what the matter is,
and ferioufly reflect whence they came, and
whither they are going. Then the truth comes
naturally from their hearts. The ftormy fea
alarmed even prophane failors fo much, 'that
they awaked the keeping prophet ; f{ Awake,
< fay they, thou deeper, and call upon thy
" God." '
But however weak and imperfect this origi-
nal, or innate, knowlege of God may be, it dif-
corers itfelf every where fo far, at leaft, that
you can meet with no man, or fociety of men,
that, by fome form of worfhip or ceremonies,
do not acknowledge a Deity, and, according to
their capacity, and the cuftom of their country,
pay him homage. It is true, fome late travel-
lers have reported, that, in that part of the new
F % world
6B Of the Being of God. Led. VII.
world called Brazil, there are fome tribes of the
natives, among whom you can difcover no fym-
ptorns, that they have the lead fenfe of a Deity :
but, befides that the truth of this report is very
very far from being well afcertained, and that the
observation might have been too precipitately
made by new comers, who had not made fuffi-
cient enquiry : even fuppofing it to be true, it is
notoffuch confequence, when oppofed to all the
reft of the world, and the univerfal agreement
of all nations and ages upon this fubject, that
the leaft regard mould be paid to it. Nor muft
we imagine that it, at all, lefTens the weight of
this great argument, which has been generally,
and mod juflly urged, both by antients and mo-
derns, to eftablifh the firft and common founda-
tions of religion.
Now, whoever accurately confiders this uni-
verfal fenfe of religion, of which we have been
fpeaking, will rind that it comprehends in it
thefe particulars : j. That there is a God. 2.
That he is to be worfhipped. 3. Which is a
confequence of the former, that he regards the
affairs of men. 4. That he has given them
a law, enforced by rewards and puni&ments ;
and that the diftribution of thefe is, in a very
great meafure, referved to a life different from
that we live in this earth, is the firm belief, if
not of all, at leaft, of the generality of man-
kind,
Led. VII. Of the Being of God. 69
kind. And tho* our prefent purpofe dees not
require, that we mould confirm the truth of all
thefe points with thole ftrong arguments that
might be urged in their favour ; but rather, that
we mould take them for granted, as being fuffi-
ciently eftablimed by the common confent of
mankind : we mail, however, fubjoin a few
thoughts on each of there!, feparately, with as
great brevity and perfpicuity as we can.
j. THAT THERE is A GOD. And here
I cannot help fearing, that when we endeavour
to confirm this leading truth, with regard to the
firft, and uncreated Being, by a long and labour-
ed feries of arguments, we may feem, inflead
of a fervice, to do a kind of injury to God and
man both. For why mould we ufe the pitiful
light of a candle to difcover the fun, and eagerly
go about to prove the being of him, who gave
being to every thing elfe, who alone exifts ne-
cefiarily, nay, we may boldly fay, who alone
exifts j feeing all other things were by him ex-
traded out of nothing, and, when compared
with him, they are nothing, and even lefs than
nothing, and vanity ? And would not any man
think himfelf infulted, {hould it be fufpeded,
that he doubted of the being of him, without
whom he could neither doubt, nor think, nor
be at all ? This perfuafion, without doubt, is
innate, and ftrongly impreffed upon the mind
F 3 of
70 Of the Being of God. . Led. VII.
of man, if any thing at all can be laid to be fo (/).
Nordoesjamblicusfcrupleto fay, " Thattoknow
11 God is our very being ("):" and in another
place, " That it is the very being of the foul to
" know God, on whom it depends ()." Nor
would bethink amifs, who, in this, fhouldefpoufe
the opinion of Plato ; for to know this, is no-
thing more than to call to remembrance
what was formerly imprefled upon the mind ;
and when one forgets it, which, alas ! is too
much the cafe of us all, he has as many remem-
brancers, fo to fpeak, within him, as he has
members -, and as many without him, as the in-
dividuals of the vaft variety of creatures to be feen
around him. Let, therefore, the indolent foul,
that has almoft forgot God, be roufed up, and
every now and then fay to itfelf, tc Behold this
" beautiful ftarry heaven, &c."
But becaufe we have too many of that fort
of fools, that fay in their heart, " There is no
God," and if we are not to anfwer a fool, fo as
to be like unto him ; yet we are, by all means,
to anfwer him according to his folly, left he be
wife in his own conceit ; again, becaufe a cri-
minal forgetfulnefs of this leading truth is the
(/) Primum vifibile lux, &primum intelligibile Deus.
(g) Efle noftrum eft Deum cognofcere.
() Efle anLraas, eft quoddam intelligere, fell. Deum, unde
tlependct.
fole
Left. VII. Of the Being of God. 7 1
fole fource of all the wickednefs in the world ;
and finally, becaufe it may not be quite unpro-
fitable, nor unplcafant, even to the bed of men,
fometimes to recoiled their thoughts on this
fubject ; but, on the contrary, a very plea-
fant exercife to every welPdifpofed mind,
to reflect upon what a folid and unmaken foun-
dation the whole fabric of religion is built, and
to think and fpeak of the eternal fountain of
goodnefs, and of all other beings, and confe-
quently of his necefTary exigence ; we reckon
it will not bearnifs to give a few thoughts upon
it. Therefore, not to infill upon feveral argu-
ments, which are urged with great advantage
on this fubjecl, we (hall only produce one or
two, and (hall reafon thus.
It is by all means neceflary, that there mould
be fome eternal being, otherwife nothing could
ever have been j lince it muft be a mod (hocking
contradiction to fay, that any thing could have
produced itfelf out of nothing. But if we fay,
that any thing exifted from eternity, it is mod
agreeable to reafon, that that mould be an eternal
mind, or thinking being, that fo the nobleft
property may be afcribed to the mod exalted
being. Nay, that eternal being muft, of abfolute
neceffity, excel in wifdom and power, and, in-
deed, in every other perfection ; fince it muft
itfelf be uncreated, and the caufe and origin of
F 4 all
_- *
72 Of tie Being of God. Left. VII.
all the creatures, otherwife fome difficulty will
remain concerning their production : and thus
all the parts of the univerfe, taken lingly, fug-
geft arguments in favour of their Creator.
The beautiful order of the univerfe, and the
mutual relation that fubfifts between all its parts,
prefent us with another ftrong and convincing
argument. This order is itfelf an efFed, and,
indeed, a wonderful one ; and it is alfo evident-
ly diftincl: from the things themfelves, taken
iingly ; therefore it muft proceed from fome
caufe, and a caufe endowed with fuperior wif-
dom j for it would be the greateft folly, as
well as impudence, to fay it could be owing to
mere chance. Now, it could not proceed from
man, nor could it be owing to any concert or
mutual agreement between the things them-
felves, feparately considered ; feeing the greateft
part of them are evidently incapable of confulta-
tion and concert : it muft therefore proceed from
fome' one fuperior being, and that being is GW,
" who commanded the ftars to move by ftated
<e laws, the fruits of the earth to be produced
<c at different feafons, the changeable moon to
' mine with borrowed light, and the fun with
cc his own (/)."
(/') Qui lege mover!
Sidera, qui fruges diverfo temporenafci,
Qui variam Phoeben alieno jufferit igne
Compleri, fokmq; fuo.
He
Left. VII. Of tie Being cf God. 73
He is the monarch of the univerfe, and the
moft abfolute monarch in nature : for who elfe
affigned to every rank of creatures its particular
form and ufes, fo that the ftars, fubjected to no
human authority or laws, mould be placed oa
high, and ferve to bring about to the earth, and
the inhabitants thereof, the regular returns of
day and night, and diftinguifh the feafons of the
year. Let us take, in particular, any one
fpecies of fublunary things, for inflance man,
the nobleft of all, and fee how he came by the
form wherewith he is veiled, that frame or con-
ftitution of body, that vigour of mind, and that
precife rank in the nature of things, which he
now obtains, and no other. He muft, certain-
ly, either have made choice of thefe things for
himfelf, or muft have had them affigned him
by another; whom we muft confider as the
principal actor, and fole architect of the whole
fabric. That he made choice of them for him-
felf, nobody will imagine ; for, either he made
this choice before he had any exiftence of his
own, or after he began to be : but it is not eafy
to fay which of thefe fuppofitions is moft abfurd.
It remains, therefore, that he muft be indebted,
for all he enjoys, to the mere good pleafure of
his great and all-wife Creator, who framed his
earthly body in fuch a wonderful and furprifing
manner, animated him with his own breath,
and
74 Of the Being of God. Left. VII.
and thus introduced him into this great palace
of his, which we now behold ; where his mani-
fold wifdom, moft properly fo called, difplays it-
felf fo glorioufly in the whole machine, and in
every one of its wonderfully variegated parts.
The firft argument, taken from the very
being of things, may be farther illuftrated by the
fame inftance of man. For unlefs the firft man
was created, we muft fuppofe an infinite feries
of generations from eternity, and fo the human
race muft be fuppofed independent, and to owe
its being toitfelf ; but by this hypothecs man-
kind came into the world by generation, there-
fore every individual of the race owes its being
to another ; confequently the whole race is from
itfelf, and at the fame time from another, which
is abfurd. Therefore the hypothecs implies a
plain and evident contradiction. " O ! im-
" menfe wifdom, that produced the world ! Let
" us for ever admire the riches and fkill of thy
" right-hand (k) ;" often viewing with atten-
tion thy wonders, and, while we view them,
frequently crying out with the divine Pfalmift,
* O ! Lord, how manifold are thy works, in
" wifdom haft thou made them all ; the earth
" is full of thy riches (/) ! From everlafting to
(k) O! immenfa, opifex rerum, fapientia! dextrx
Divitias artemq; tuaj miremur in zevum.
(/) Pfal. civ. 24.
" everlafting
Led. VII. Of the Being of God., 7^
" everlafting thou art God, and befides thee
" there is no other (*)." And with Hermes,
" The Father of all, being himfelf underftand-
" ing, life and brightnefs, created man like
" himfelf, and cherimed him as his own fon.
** Thou Creator of univerfal nature, who haft
" extended the earth, who poifeft the heavens,
ct and commanded the waters to flow from all
" the parts of the fea, we praife thee, who art
" the one exalted God, for by thy will all
things are perfeded (TZ)." The fame author
aflerts, that God 'was prior to humid nature..
In vain would any one endeavour to evade the
force of our argument, by fubftituting nature
in the place of God, as the principle and caufe
of this beautiful order : for either, by nature,
he underftands the particular frame and com-
pofition of every fingle thing, which would be
faying nothing at all to the purpofe in hand ;
becaufe it is evident, that this manifold nature,
which in moft inftances is quite void of reafon,
could never be the caufe of that beautiful order
and harmony which is every where confpi-
cuous throughout the whole fyftem : Or he
(m) Pfal. xc. 2.
(n) *
x^ TO
means
76 Of the Mng of God. Left. VII.
means an univerfal and intelligent nature, difpo-
fingand ordering every thing to advantage. But
this is only another name for God j of whom H
may be faid, in a facred fenfe, that he, as an in-*
finite nature and mind, pervades and fills all his
works. Not as an informing form, according
to the expreffion of the fchools, and as the
part of a compounded whole, which is the idleft
fiction that can be imagined ; for, at this rate,
he muft not only be a part of the vileft infects,
but alfo of ftocks and ftones, and clods of earth;
but a pure, unmixed nature, which orders and
governs all things with the greateft freedom
and wifdom, andfupports them with unwearied
and almighty power. In this acceptation, when
you name nature, you mean God, Seneca's
words are very appofite to this purpofe. " Whither--
" foeveryou turn yourfelf, you fee God meet-
c ing you, nothing excludes his prefencc, he
" fills all his works : therefore it is in vain for
" thee, mod ungrateful of all men, to fay,
" thou art not indebted to God, but to nature,
t{ becaufe they are, in fact, the fame. If thou
cc hadft received any thing from Seneca, and
ee mould fay, thou owed'ft it to Annaeus or
" Lucius, thou would'ft not thereby change
rt thy creditor, but only his name ; becaufe,
" whether
Led. VII. Of the Being of God. 77
te whether thou mentions his name or furname,
" his perfon is ft ill the fame (o)"
An evident and moil natural confequence of
this univerfal and neceflary idea of a God, is his
unity ; all that mention the term God, intend to
convey by it the idea of the firft moft exalted,
neceflary exiftent, and infinitely perfect being :
and it is plain, there can be but one being en-
dued with all thefe perfections. Nay, even the
polytheifm, that prevailed among the heathen
nations, was not carried fo far, but that they
acknowledged one God, by way of eminence,
as fupreme, and abfolutely above all the reft,
whom they filled the greatefl and beft of Beings,
and the Father of gods and men. From him
all the reft had their being, and all that they
were, and from him alfo they had the title of
gods, but ftill in a limited and fubordinate fenfe.
lii confirmation of this, we meet with very
many of the cleareft teftimonies, with regard
to the unity of God, in the works of all the hea-
jhen authors. That of Sophocles is very re-
markable: " There is indeed, fays he, one God ;
(e) Quocunq; te flexeri-s ibi Dcum vides occurrentem tibi,
nihil ab illo va9at ; opus fuum ipfe implet : ergo nihil agis, in-
gratifiime mortalium, qui te negas Deo debere, fed naturae,
quia eidem eft utrumq; ofncium. Si quid a Sencea accephTes,
& Annzo te diceres debere vel Lucio, non creditorem mutare's,
fed nomen, quoniam five nomen ejus dicas, five prenomen,
fjve cognomen, idem tamen ipf; eft. SENECA, 4.de Benef.
" and
7 8 Of tie Being of God. Left. VII.
" and but one, who has made the heavens, and
" the wide extended earth, the blue furges of
" the fea, and the ftrength of the winds ./>)."
As to the myftery of the facred Trinity,
which has a near and necefTary connection with
the prefcnt fubjeft, I always thought it was to
be received and adored with the moft humble
faith, but by no means to be curioufly fearched
into, or perplexed with the abfurd queftions of
the fchoolmen, We fell by an arrogant ambi-
tion after knowledge, by mere faith we rife a-
gain, and are reinftated ; and this myftery, in-
deed, rather than any other, feems to be a tree
of knowledge, prohibited to us while we fojourn
in thefe mortal bodies. This moft profound
myftery, though obfcurely reprefented by the
lhadows of the Old Teftament, rather than
clearly revealed, was not unknown to the moft
antient and celebrated doclors among the Jews,
nor altogether unattefted, however obftinately
later authors may maintain the contrary. Nay,
learned men have obferved, that the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghoft, are exprefsly acknowledged
in the books of the Cabalifts, and they produce
furprifmg things to this purpofe out of the book
Zohar, which is afcribed to R. Simeon, Ben,
Joh,
Oj XfXKi/ T* invit cj yxTctv fjt,etxftx.
JT* Ti
Lea. VII. Of the Being of God. 79
Joch, and fome other Cabaliftical writers. Nay
the book, juft now mentioned, after faying a
great deal concerning the Three in one eflence,
adds, " That this fecret will not be revealed to
" all till the coming of the Meffias (q)" I infift
not upon what is faid of the name confiding of
twelve letters, and another larger one of forty-
two, as containing a fuller explication of that
moft facred name, which they called Ham-
mephoradi (r).
Nor is it improbable, that fome dawn, at
leaft, of this myflery had reached even the
heathen philofophers. There are fome who
think they can prove, by arguments of no in-
coniiderable weight, that Anaxagoras, by his
>s s or mind, meant nothing but the fon, or wif-
dom that made the world ; but the teflimonies
are clearer, which you find frequently among
the Platonic philofopher^ concerning the tfhree
fubfejllng from one (s) -, moreover, they all call
the felf-txiftent Being, the creating word, or
fhe mind and the feu! of the world (t). But the
words of the Egyptian Hermes are* very fur-
priling: " The mind, which is God, together
(q) Hoc arcanum non revelabitur unicuique, quoufq; venerit
Meffias.
(r} Maim. Mor. Nev. part. i. c. 16.
(/) Fief i Tfiwv ! Iw; tworo>Tw.
It) To ftyTO, on TO ^mfyov Tvcyov, feu *u>, % ni T xoV/x-v ^t^j.
' with
So Of the Being of God. Left. VII.
<e with his word, produced another Creating-
<e mind -, nor do they differ from one another,
" for their union is life ()."
But what we now infift upon is, the plain,
and evident neceffity of one fupreme, and there-
fore of one only principle of all things, and the
harmonious agreement of mankind in the be-
lief of the abfolute neceflity of this fame prin-
ciple.
This is the God, whom we admire, whom we
worfhip, whom we entirely love, or, at leaft,
whom we delire to love above all things, whom
we can neither exprefs in words, nor conceive
in our thoughts; and the lefs we are capable
of thefe things, fo much the more neceflary
it is to adore him with the profoundeft humi-
lity, and love him with the greateft intention
and fervour.
(a) 5
LECTU RE
Led. VIII. Of the WmrJLlp of God, &c. 8 1
LECTURE VIII.
Of the WORSHIP of GOD, PROVIDENCE, and
the LAW given to M A N .
THOUGH I thought it by no means pro-
per to proceed without taking notice of
the arguments, that ferved to confirm the firft and
leading truth of religion, and the general con-
fent of mankind with regard to it j yet the end,
1 chiefly propoled to myfelf, was to examine
this confent, and point out its force, 'and the ufe
to which it ought to be applied ; to call off your
minds from the numberlefs difputes about reli-
gion, to the contemplation of this univerfal agree-
ment, as into a more quiet and peaceable coun-
try, and to fhew you, what I wiih I could ef-
fectually convince you of, that there is more
weight and force in this univerfal harmony and
confent of mankind in a few of the great and u-
niverfal principles, to confirm our minds in the
fum and fubflance of religion, than the innu-
merable difputes, that ftill fubiift with regard to
the other points, ought to have to difcourage us
G in
S2 Of the Worjhlp of God, Lect. Vlll.
in the exercife of true piety, or, in the leaft, to
weaken our faith.
In confequence of this it will be proper to
lay before you the other propofitions contained
in this general confent of mankind, with regard
to religiorf. Now, the firft of thefe being,
" That there is one, and but one eternal prin-
* c ciple of all things j" from this it will moft
naturally follow, "' that this principle or deity is
" to be honoured with fome worfhip j" and
from thefe two taken together, it muft be, with
the fame neceffity, concluded, c that there is a
" providence, or, that God doth not defpife
" or neglect the world, which he has created,
" and mankind, by whom he ought to be, and
" actually is worfhipped, but governs them
" with the moft watchful and perfect wifdom/'
All mankind acknowledge, that fome kind
of worfhip is due to God, and to perform it is
by all means worthy of man: and upon the
minds of all is ftrongly impreffed that fentiment
which Lactantius exprefTed, with great peripi-
euity and brevity, in thefe words, tc ta
" know God is wifdom, and to wormip him
s< juftice (^: j>
In this wcrmip fome things are natural, and
therefore of more general ufe among all nations,
fuch as vows and prayers, hymns and praifes y
(a) Deamnofle, fapientia ; colere, juftitia.
Left. VlII. and the Law given to Man. 83
as alfo fome bodily geftures, efpechlly fuch as
feem moft proper to exprefs reverence and re-
fpect. All the reft, for the moft part, aclu-
ally confifl of ceremonies, either of divine in-
ftitution or human invention. Of this fort are
Sacrifices, the ufe whereof, in old times, very
much prevailed in all nations, and ftill continues
in the greater part of the world.
A majefty fo exalted, no doubt, deferves the
higheft honour, and the fublimeft prailes on his
own account ; but ftill if men were not per-
fuaded that the teftimonics of homage and re-
fpect, they offer to God, were known to him,
and accepted of him, even on this account
all human piety would cool, and prefently dif-
appear j and, indeed, prayers and vows, where-
by we implore the divire affiftance, and follicit
bleffings from above, offered to a God, who
neither hears, nor, in the leaft, regards them,
would be an inftance of the greateft folly ; nor
is it to be imagined, that all nations would ever
have agreed in the extravagant cuftom of ad-
drefling themfelves to gods that did not hear.
Suppoling, therefore, any religion, or divine
wormip, it immediately follows therefrom, that
there is alfo a Providence. This was ac-
knowledged of old, and is ftill acknowledged
by the generality of all nations, throughout the
world, and the moft famous phiiofophers.
G 2 There
84 Of the Worjklp of God, Left. VIII
There were, indeed, particular men, and fome
whole feels, that denied it : others, who ac-
knowledged a kind of Providence, confined it
to the heavens, among whom was Ariftotle, as
appears from his book de Mundo ; which notion
is juftly flighted byNazianzen^vho calls it a mere
limited Providence (b}. Others allowed it fome
place in things of this world, but only extended
it to generals, in oppolition to individuals ; but
others, with the greateft juftice, acknowledged
that all things, even the moft minute and incon-
fiderable, were the objects of it. " He fills his
c< own work, nor is he only over it, but alfo in
it (c )." Moreover, if we afcribe to God the
origin of this fabric, and all things in it, it will
be moft abfurd and inconfiftent to deny him the
prefervation and government of it ; for if -he
does not preferve and govern his creatures, it
muft be either becaufe he cannot, or becaufe he
will not; but his infinite power and wifdom
make it impoffible to doubt of the former, and
his infinite goodnefs of the latter. The words
of Epi&etus are admirable : " There were five
f great men, faid he, of which number were
" Ulyfles and Socrates, who faid that they
" could not fo much as move without the
(c) Opus fuum ipfe implet, nee folum prseeft, fed ineft.
<e knowledge
Led. VIII. and the Law given to Man. 85
11 knowledge of God (d) ;" and in another
place, " If I was a nightingale, I would aft the
tf part of a nightingale; if a fwan, that of a
" fwan ; now that I am a reafonable creature,
(t it is my duty to praife God (e)."
It would be needlefs to fliew, that fo great a
fabric could not ftand without fome being' pro-
perly qualified to watch over it ; that the uner-
ring courfe of the ftars is not the efYec~l of blind
fortune j that what chance fets on foot is often
put out of order, and foon falls to pieces ; that,
therefore, this unerring and regular velocity is
owing to the influence of a fixed eternal law.
It is, to be fure, a very great miracle, merely to
know fo great a multitude, and fuch a vail va-
riety of things, not only particular towns, but
alfo provinces and kingdoms, even the whole
earth, all the myriads of creatures that crawl
upon the earth, and all their thoughts ; in a
word, at the fame inftant to hear and fee all
that happens (/) on both hemispheres of this
globe ; how much more wonderful muft it be,
to rule and govern all thefe at once, and, as it
were, with one glance of the eye. When we
pTrlot at at r,i/ x^ ooirovEv;, >
. Arrian. lib. i. cap. 12. Ilept EOX, &c.
i vjJul^v ps n 7ov Qiov. Ibid. cap. 1 6.
IlavT tyipeTt, >ej v TravT bnm&ur,
G 3 confiJer
86 Of the Worjhip of God, Led:. VIII.
confider this, may we not cry out with the
poet, " O thou great Creator of heaven and
<c earth, who governed: the world with con-
" ftant and unerring fway, who biddcft time to
" flow throughout ages, and continuing un-
" moved thyfclf, giveft motion to every thing
elfe, ficc. ()"
It is alfo a great comfort to have the faith of
this Providence constantly imprefled upon the
mind, fq as to have recourfe to it in the midft of
all confuflons, whether public or private, and
.all calamities from without or from within ; to
be able to fay, the great King, who is alfo my
father, is the fupreme ruler of all thefe things,
and with him all my interefts are fecure ; to ftand
jfirm, with Mofes, when no relief appears, and
to look for the falvation of Gcd (b) from on
high, and, finally, in every diftrefs, when all
hope of human afliftance is {"wallowed up in
defpair, to have the remarkable faying of the
Father of the faithful ftamped upon the mind, and
to lilence all fears with thefe comfortable words,
" God will provide." In a word, there is no-
thing that can fo effectually conform the heart
(g) O *l u ^ perpetua mundum ratione gubernas
Terrarum coeliq; fator, qui tcmpus ab aevo,
Ire jubes ; ftabilifq; manens das cunda moveri, &c.
Boeth.de Can. Philofoph. lib, iii.metr. 9,
of
Left, VIII. and the Law given to Man. 87
of man, and his inmoft thoughts, and confe-
quently the whole tenor of his life, to the moft
perfect rule of religion and piety, than a firm
belief, and frequent meditation on this divine
Providence, that fupcrintends and governs the
world. He, who is firmly perfuaded, that an
exalted God of infinite wifdom and purity is
conftantly prefent with him, and fees all that he
thinks or acts, will, to be fure, have no occafion
to over-awe his mind with the imaginary pre-
fence of a Lselius or a Cato. Jofephus affigns
this as the fource or root of Abel's purity : <c In
11 all his actions, fays he, he confidered that Gcd
" was prefent with him, and therefore made
'< virtue his conftant ftudy (/)."
Moreover, the heathen nations acknowledge
this fuperintendence of divine Providence over
human affairs in this very refpect, and that it is
exercifed in obferving the morals of mankind,
and diftributing rewards and punimments. But
this fuppofes fome law or rule, either revealed
from heaven, or ftamped upon the hearts of
men, to be the meafure and teft of moral good
and evil, that is, virtue and vice. Man, there-
fore, is not a lawlefs creature (k), but capable
of a law, and actually born under one, which
(l) Tldy-H rtt$ V7TG Ct'JlS TTfaTTtywVoJJ irotftHCU TOII $toJOuftWj ^. .".','
omTro. Antiq. lib. i. cap. 3.
() Zfe'IV UK(U>f.
G 4 he
88 Of the Worjbip of God, Lect VIII.
he himfelf is alfo ready to own. " We are
< born in a kingdom, fays the Rabbinical phi-
" lofopher, and to obey God is liberty (/)." But
this doctrine, however perfpicuous and clear jn
itfelf, feems to be a little obfcured by one cloud,
that is, the extraordinary fuccefs which bad men
often meet with, and the misfortunes and cala-
mities to which virtue is frequently expofed.
The faying of Brutus, " O ! wretched virtue, thou
<c art regarded as nothing, &c. (m}" is well
known j as are alfo thofe elegant verfes of the
poet, containing a lively picture of the perplexity
of a mind wavering, and at a lofs upon this fub-
ject : <c My mind, fays he, has often been per-
" plexed with difficulties and doubts, whether
" the Gods regard the affairs of this earth, qr
* c whether there was no Providence at all, &c,
" for when I confidered the order and difpo-
" fition of the world, and the boundaries fet to
<e the fea I thence concluded, that all things
< were fecured by the providence of Gcd, &c,
" But when I faw the affairs of men involved
* in fo much darknefs and confufion, &c. ()"
But
(/) In regno nati fumus, Deo parere, libertas.
(m] a rX^&n' p~n wj o/ii, &C.
() Sepe mihi dubiam traxit fententia mentem
Curarent fuperi terras, &c.
Narh cum difpofiti quaefiffem fcederamundi
Prxfcriptofq; maris fines
hinc
Left. VIII. and the Law given to Man- 89
But not to infift upon a great many other con-
ifiderations, which even the philofophy of the
heathens fuggefted, in vindication of the doc-
trine of Providence ; there is one confideration
of great weight to be fet in oppoiition to the
whole of this prejudice, viz. that it is an evi-
dence of a ra(h and forward mind, to pafs fen-
tence upon things that are not yet perfect an4
brought to a final conclufion, which even the
Roman ftoic, and the philofopher of Cheronea
infift upon, at large, on this fubjed. If we will
judge from events, let us put off the caufe, and
delay fentence, till the whole fcries of thefe e-
yents come before us ; and let us not pafs fen-
tence upon a fuccefsful tyrant, while he is
triumphant before our eyes, and while we are
quite ignorant of the fate that may be awaiting
himfelf or his fon, or at leaft his more remote
pofterity. The ways of divine juftice are won-
derful. <c Punifhment ftalks filently, and with
<c a flow pace ; it will, however, at laft over-take
" the wicked (<?)." But, after all, if we expect
another fcene of things to be exhibited, not here,
hinc omnia rejbar
Confilia firmata Dei, &c.
Sed cum res hominnm tarita caligene volvi
Afpicerem, &c.
Claudian in Rufinnm, lib. i.
but
90 . Of the Pleafure Left. IX,
but in the world to come, the whole difpute,
concerning the events of this fhort and precari-
ous life, immediately difappears, and comes to
nothing. And to conclude, the confent of wife
men, ftates, and nations on this fubjecl, though
it is not quite unanimous and univerfal, is very
great, and ought to have the greateft weight.
But all thefe maxims, we have mentioned, arc
more clearly taught, and more firmly believed
in the chriftian religion, which is of undoubted
truth : it has alfo fome doctrines peculiar to it-
felf (/>), annexed to the former, and moft clofe-
ly connected with them, in which the whole
chriftian world, though by far too much divided
with regard to other difputed articles, are unani-
moufly agreed, and firmly united together j but
of this hereafter.
LECTURE IX.
Of tie Pleafure and "Utility of RELIGION.
THOUGH the Author of the following
paflage was a great proficient in the mad
philofophy of Epicurus, yet he had truth ftrong-
(/)
jLect. IX. and Utility of Religion. 91
ly on his fide, when he faid, " That nothing
" was more pleaiant than to be Rationed on
" the lofty temples, well defended and fe-
" cured by the pare and peaceable doctrines of
" the wife philofophers (a}"
Now, can any doctrine be imagined more
wife, more pure and peaceable, and more facred,
than that which flowed from the moft perfect
fountain of wifdom and purity, which was fent
down from heaven to earth, that it might guide
all its followers to that happy place whence it
took its rife ? It is, to be fure, the wifdom of
mankind to know God, and their indifpenfible
duty to worfhip him : without this, men of the
brighteft parts, and greateft learning, feem to
be born with excellent talents, only to make
themfelves miferable ; and, according to the
expieffion of the wifeft of kings, " He that in-
<c creafeth knowledge, increafeth forrow (b}.'*
We muft, therefore, firft of all, confider this
as a fure and fettled point, that religion is the
f6le foundation of human peace and felicity.
This even the prophane fcoffers at religion are,
in fome fort, obliged to own, though much a-
gainft their will, even while they are pointing
their wit againft it ; for nothing is more com-
(a) ' Bene quam munita tenere
Edita doftrina fapientum ternpla ferena. LUCRET .
(^) Qui fciendam auget, auget cruciatum. Eclef. i. 18.
mon
92 Of the Pleafure Left. IX.
mon to be heard from them, than that the
whole do6trine of religion was invented by fome
wife men, to encourage the practice of juftice
and virtue through the world. Surely then re-
ligion, whatever elfe may befaid of it, mufl be
a matter of the higheft value, fince it is found
neceflary to fecure advantages of fo very great
Importance $ but, in the mean time, how un-
happy is the cafe of integrity and virtue ; if
what they want to fupport them is merely ficti-
tious, and they cannot keep their ground but
by means of a monftrous forgery ? But far be
it from us to entertain fuch an abfurdity ! for
(he firft rule of righteoufnefs cannot be other-
wife than right, nor is there any thing more
nearly allied, nor more friendly to virtue than
truth.
But religion is not only highly conducive
to all the great advantages of human life, but is
alfo, at the fame time, moft plealant and de-
lightful. Nay, if it is fo ufeful, and abfolutely
neceflary to the interefls of virtue, it muft, for
this very reafon, be alfo pleafant, unlefs one will
call in queftion a maxim univerfally approved
by all wife men, cc That life cannot be agree-
" ble without virtue (c) :" a maxim of fuch ir-
refragable and undoubted truth, that it was a-
dopted even by Epicurus himfelf.
nv -nfc apir!??.
Hovp
Left. IX. and Utility of Religion. 93
How great, therefore, muft have been the
madnefs of that noted Grecian philofopher, who,
while he openly maintained the dignity and
pleafantnefs of virtue, at the fame time employ-
ed the whole force of his underftanding, to
ruin and fap its foundations ? For that this was
his fixed purpofe, Lucretius not only owns, but
alfo boafts of it, and loads him with ill-advifed
praifes, for endeavouring, thro' the whole courie
of his philofophy, to free the minds of men
from all the bonds and ties of religion ; as if
there was no poffible way to make them happy
and free, without involving them in the guilt of
facrilege and atheifm : as if to eradicate all fenfe
of a deity out of the mind, were the only way
to free it from the heavieft chains and fetters ;
though, in reality, this would be effectually
robbing man of all his valuable jewels, of his
golden crown and chain, all the riches, orna-
ments, and pleafures of his life : which is incul-
cated at large, and with great eloquence, by a
greater and more divine mafter of wifdom, the
royal author of the Proverbs, who, fpeaking of
the precepts of religion, fays, " They mall be
" an ornament of grace unto thine head, and
" chains about thy neck (d) :" and of religion,
under the name of wifdom, " If thou feekeft her
11 as filver, and fearcheft for her as for hidden
(./} Proverbs 5. 9.
" treasure."
9 4 Of tie Pleafure Left. IX.
'* treafure (e)." Happy is the man that findeth
" wifdom, and the man that getteth under-
<* Handing. For the merchandife of it is better
*< than the merchandife of filver, and the gain
{ thereof than fine gold (/)." " Wifdom is
c the principal thing, therefore get wifdom :
4< and with all thy getting,get underftanding^)."
And it is, indeed, very plain, that if it were pof-
fible entirely to diflblve all the bonds and ties of
religion ; yet, that it mould be fo, would, cer-
tainly, be the intereft of none but the word and
moft abandoned part of mankind. All the good
and wife, if the matter was freely left to their
choice, would rather have the world governed
by the fupreme and moft perfect being, mankind
fubjccled to his juft and righteous laws, and all
the affairs of men fuperintended by his watch-
ful providence, than that it mould be otherwife.
Nor do they believe the doctrines of religion
with averfion, or any fort of reluctancy, but cm-
brace them with pleafure, and are exceffively
glad to find them true. So that, if it was pof-
fible to abolifh them entirely, and any perfon,
out of mere good- will to them, mould attempt
to do it, they would look upon the favoilr as
highly prejudicial to their intereft, and think his
good-will more hurtful than the keeneft hatred.
(<?) Prov. ii. 4. (/) Ibid. xiii. 14. (^) Ibid. ir. 7.
Nor
Lea. IX. and Utility of Religion. 9 j
Nor would any one, in his wits, chufe to live
in the world, at large, and without any fort of
government, more than he would think it eli-
gible to be put on board a (hip without a helm
or pilot, and, in this condition, to be tofled
amid ft rocks and quickfands. On the other
hand, can any thing give greater confolation, or
more fubftantial joy (), than to be firmly per-
fuaded, not only that there is an infinitely good
and wife Being, but alfo that this Being pre-
ferves and continually governs the univerfe,
which himfelf has framed, and holds the reins of
all things in his powerful hand ; that he is our
father j that we and all our interefts are his con-
ftant concern j and that, after we have fojourned
a fhort while here below, we mall be again
taken into his immediate prefence ? Or can this
wretched life be attended with any fort of fatif-
fadtion, if it is diverted of this divine faith, and
bereaved of fuch a blefied hope ?
Moreover, every one, that thinks a generous
fortitude and purity of mind, preferable to the
charms and muddy pleafures of the flefh, finds
all the precepts of religion not only nor grievous,
but exceeding pleafant, and extremely delight-
ful. So that, upon the whole, the faying of
Hermes is very confident with the nature of
things, " There is one, and but one good thing
(h) <J>r T 7X7UV XfifpiM f*ov ai ?,/3oK.
" among
96 Of the Pleajure Led. IX.
" among men, and that is religion (/)." Even
the vulgar could not bear the degenerate expref-
lion of the player, who called out upon the
ftage, tc Money is the chief good among man-
" kind (k) j" but fhould any one fay, " Religion
" is the principal good of mankind," no objec-
tion could be made againft it ; for, without
doubt, it is the only objedt, the beautfes where-
of engages the love both of God and man.
But the principal things in religion, as I have
frequently obferved, are "juft conceptions
" of God. Now concerning this infinite
Being, fome things are known by the light of
nature and reafon, others only by the revelation
which he hath been pleafed to make of himfelf
from heaven. That there is a God, is the dif-
tinct voice of every man, and of every thing
without him : how much more then will we be
confirmed in the belief of this truth, if we at-
tentively view the whole creation, and the
wonderful order and harmony that fublift be-
tween all the parts of the whole fyftem ? It
is quite unneceflary to (hew, that fo great a fa-
bric could never have been brought into being
without an all-wife and powerful Creator ;
nor could it now fubfift without the fame al-
(&) Pecunia magnum generis humani bonum.
(/) an Ir' etfltnnHi vXev.
mighty
Led. IX. and Utility of Religion. 97
mighty Being to fupport and preferve it. cf Let
<c men therefore make this their conftant fludy,
<c fays Ladlantius, even to know their common
<c parent and lord, whofe power can never be
" perf dly known, whofe greatnefs cannot be
" fathomed, nor his eternity comprehended(/).' s
When the mind of man, with its faculties,
come to be once intenfely fixed upon him, all
other objects difappearing, and being, as it were,
removed, quire out of fight, it is entirely at a
ftand, and over-powered, nor can it poffibly
proceed further. But concerning the doctrine
of this vaft volume of the works of God,
and that ftill brighter light, which ftiines forth
in the Scriptures, we {hall fpeak more fully
hereafter.
(/) Ut. Parentetn fuum, Dominumq; cognofcant, cujus nee
virtus asftimari poteft, nee magnitude pcrfpici, nee asternitas
comprehendi.
H LECTURE
98 Of the Decrees of God. Left. X.
LECTURE X.
Of the Decrees of GOD.
AS the glory and brightnefs of the Divine
Majefty is fo great, that the ftrongeft
human eye cannot bear the dired; rays of it, he
has exhibited himfelf to be viewed in the glafs of
thofe works, which he created at firft, and by his
unwearied hand continually fupports and governs;
nor are we allowed to view his eternal counfels
and purpofes thro' any other medium but this.
So that, in our catechifms, efpecially the (horter
one, defigned for the inftruclion of the ignorant,
it might, perhaps, have been full as proper, to
have pafled over the awful fpeculation concern-
ing the divine decrees, and to have proceeded,,
dire&ly, to the confederation of the works of
Godj but the thoughts you find in it, on this
fubject, are few, fober, clear, and certain : and,
in explaining them, I think it moft reafonable
and moft fafe, to confine ourfelves within thefe
limits, in any audience whatever, but efpecially
in this congregation, confifting of youths, not
to
Lecl. X. Of the Decrees of God. 99
to fay, in a great meafure, of boys. Seeing,
therefore, the decrees of God are mentioned. in
our Catechifm, and it would not be proper to
pafs over in filence a matter of fo great moment,
I .mail accordingly lay before you fome few
thoughts upon this arduous fubjecl.
And here, if any where, we ought, accord-
ing to the common faying, to reafon, but in few
words. 1 mould, indeed, think it very impro-
per to do otherwife ; for fuch theories ought to
be cautioufly touched, rather than be fpun out
to a great length. One thing we may confi-
dently aflert, that all thofe things, which die
great Creator produces in different periods of
time, were perfectly known to him, and, as it
were, prefent with him from eternity ; and eve-
ry thing that happens, throughout the feveral
ages of the world, proceeds in the fame order,
and the fame precife manner, as the eternal mind
at firft intended it mould. That none of his
counftls can be difappointed or rendered ineffec-
tual, or in the leaft changed or altered by any
event whatfoever : " Known to God are all his
" works (a)," fays the Apoftlein the council of
Jerufalem ; and the ion of Sirach, " God fees
" from everlafting to everlafting, and nothing
" is wonderful in his fight (b). Nothing is new
(a) Nota funt Deo abi initio omnia fua opera. Ad. xv. 18.
() A feculo in feculum rcfpicit Deus, & nihil ell mirabile
in confpe&u ejus.
H 2 or
ico Of the Decrees of God. Left. X.
or unexpected to him; nothing can come to
pds that he has not forefeen ; and his firft
thoughts are fo wife, that they admit no fecond
ones that can be fuppofed wifer. " And this
" (lability, and immutability of the divine de-
crees ()," is aff-Tted even by the Roman philo-
fopher : " It is neceflary, fays he, that the fame
c< things be always pleafmg to him, who can
" never be pleafed but with what is beft (</)."
Every artifl, to be fure, as you alfo well
know, works according to fome pattern, which
is the immediate object of his mind ; and this
pattern, in the all-wife Creator, mufl necefTa-
rily be entirely perfect, and every way com-
pleat. And, if this is what Plato intended by
his ideas, which not a few, and thefe by no
means unlearned, think very likely ; his own
fcholar, the great Stagirite, and your favourite
philofopher, had, furely, no reafon, fo often,
and fo bitterly, to inveigh againft them. Be
this as it may, all that acknowledge God to
be the author of this wonderful fabric, and all
thefe things in it, which fucceed one another
in their turns, cannot poffibly doubt, that he
has brought, and continues to bring them all
about, according to that moft perfect pattern
(c) To d fMTuffhiijToit cj axuojTov Trap 5e
(/) Necefle eft illi eadem temper placere, cui nifi optima
placere non pofTunt.
fublifting
Left. X. Of the Decrees of God. 101
fubfifting in his eternal councils ; and thefe
things, that we call cafual, are all unalterably
fixed and determined tohim. For according to
that of the philofopher, *< Where there is mofl
<c wifdom, there is leaft chance (e)," and there-
fore, furely, where there is infinite wifdom,
there is nothing left to chance at all.
This maxim, concerning the eternal councils
of the fupreme Sovereign of the world, befides
that it every where mines clearly in thd books of
the facred Scriptures, is alfo, in itfelf, fo evident
and confident with reafon, that we meet with
it in almoft all the works of the philofophers, and
often, alfo, in thofe of the poets. Nor does it
appear, that they mean any thing elfe, at leaft,
for the moft part, by the term fate : though
you may meet with fome things in their works,
which, I own, found a little harfh, and can
fcarcely be fufficiently foftened by any, even
the moft favourable interpretation.
But, whatever elfe may feem to be com-
prehended under the term fate, whether taken
in the mathematical or phyfical fenfe, as fome
are pleafed to diftinguifh it, muft, at laft, of
neceffity be refolved into the appointment and
good pleafure of the fupreme Governor of the
world. If even the blundering aftrologcrs and
(r) Ubi plus eft fapientize, tbi minus eft cafus.
H 3 fortune-
102 Of the Decrees of God. Left. X.
fortune-tellers acknowledge, that the wife man
has dominion over the flars ; how much more
evident is it, that all thefe things, and all their
power and influence, are fubject and fubfervient
to the decrees of the all-wife God ? Whence
the faying of the Hebrews, " There is no planet
to Ifracl (/)."
And according as all thefe things in the
heavens above, and the earth beneath, are daily
regulated and directed by the eternal King ; in
the fame precife manner were they all from eter-
nity ordered and difpofed by him, <c who work-
<{ eth all things according to the counfel of his
" own will (g}>" who is more ancient than the
fea and thg mountains, or even the heavens
themfelves.
Thefe things we are warranted and fafe to
believe ; but what perverfenefs, or rather mad-
nefs, is it to endeavour to break into the facred
repofitories of heaven, and pretend to accom-
modate thofe fecrets of the divine kingdom to
the meafures and methods of our weak capaci-
ties ! To fay the truth, I acknowledge that I
am aftonifhed, and greatly at a lofs, when I hear
learned men, and profeHbrs of Theology, talk-
ing prefumptuoufly about the order of the divine
(/) Non efle planetam Ifraeli.
(g) Qui cunda exequitur fecundum confiliura Voluntatis fuae.
Eph. i. ii.
decreesj
Led. X. Of the Decrees of God. 103
decrees, and when I read fuch things in their
works. Paul confidering this awful fubjeft,
u as an immenfe fea, was aftonifhed at it, and
" viewing the vaft abyfs, ftarted back, and cry-
* f ed out with a loud voice, O! the depth, &c.()"
Nor is there much more fobriety or moderation
in the many notions that are entertained, and
the difputes that are commonly raifed about re-
conciling thefe divine decrees, with the liber-
ty and free-will of man.
It is indeed true, that neither religion, nor
right reafon, will furTer the actions and defigns
of men, and confequently, even the very mo-
tions of the will, to be exempted from the em-
pire of the counfel and good pleafure of God.
Even the books of the heathens are filled with
moft exprefs teftimonies of the moft abfolute
fovereignty of God, even with regard to thefe.
The fentiments of Homer are well known (/);
and with him agrees the tragic poet Euripides,
" O ! Jupiter, fays he, why are we, wretched
" mortals, called wife ? For we depend entire-
" ly upon thee, and we do whatever thou in-
" tendeft we (hould *."
uarwtf wpoj TriXay^ earnpv JXiTyiasVa; My fiaf&s l'3lw
<,*&c. Chryf.
12 Ztv Tt otjr
era
jr. IKET. 1. 734..
H 4 And
J 04 Of the Decrees of God. Left. X.
And it would be eafy to bring together a vaft
collection of fuch fayings, but thefe are fufficient
for our prefent purpofe.
They always feemed to me to ad: a very ridi-
culous part, who contend, that the effed of the
divine decree is abfolutely irreconcilable (/) with
human liberty ; becaufe the natural and neceflary
liberty of a rational creature is to ad or chufe
from a rational motive, or fpontaneoufly, and of
.purpofe(*); but who fees not, that, on the fuppo-
iition of the moft abfolute decree, this liberty is
not taken away, but rather eftablimed and con-
firmed ? For the decree is, that fuch an one. mail
make choice of, or do fome particular thing
freely. And, whoever pretends to deny, that
whatever is done or chofen, whether good or
indifferent, is fo done or chofen, or, at leaft,
may be fo, efpoufes an abfurdity. But, in a
word, the great difficulty in all this difpute is,
that with regard to the origin of evil. Some
diftinguifh, and juftly, the fubftance of the
adion, as you call it, or that which is phyfical in
the adion, from the morality of it. This is of
fome weight, but whether it takes away the
whole difficulty, I will not pretend to fay. Be-
lieve me, young gentlemen, it is an abyfs, it is
an abyfs never to be perfectly founded by any
pugnare.
(m) To MOTOV (Jatifiuioy.
plummet
Left. X. Of the Decrees of God. 105
plummet of human underftanding. Should any
one fay, " I am not to be blamed, but Jove
c< and fate ()," he will not get off fo, but may
be nonplus'd by turning his own wit againft him;
the fervant of Zeno, the Stoic philofopher, be-
ing catched in an aft of theft, either with a de-
flgn to ridicule his matter's dodlrine, or to avail
himfelf of it, in order to evade punimment, faid,
< e It was my fatetobe a thief; and to be punifh-
<e ed for it, faid Zeno(o)." Wherefore, if you
will take my advice, withdraw your minds from
a curious fearch into thi's myftery, and turn them
directly to the ftudy of piety, and a due reve-
rence to the awful majefty of God. Think
and fpeak of God and his fecrets with fear and
trembling, but difpute very little about them ;
and, if you would not undo yourfelves, beware
of difputing with him : if you tranfgrefs in any
thing, blame yourfelves j if you do any good,
or repent of evil, offer thankfgiving to God.
This is what I earneftly recommend to you, in
this I acquiefce myfelf ; and to this, when much
toffed and diftrefied with doubt and difficulties,
I had recourfe, as to a fafe harbour. If any of
you think proper, he may apply to men of
() a* lyu) aml^ iipi, aXXa i
(0) In fatis mibi, inquit, fuit furari. Et caedi, Jr.quit
Zeno.
greater
1 06 Of the Creation of the World. Led. XI.
greater learning ; but let him take care, he
meet not with fuch as have more forwardnefs
and prefumption.
LECTURE XI.
Of the CREATION of the WORLD.
WHOEVER looks upon this great fyftem
of the univerfe, of which he himfelf
is but a very fmall part, with a little more than
ordinary attention, unlefs his mind is become
quite brutifh within him, it will, of neceffity,
put him upon confidering whence this beautiful
frame of things proceeded, and what was its firft
original ; or, in the words of the poet, " From
<e what principles all the elements were formed,
" and how the various parts of the world at
<c firft came together (a)"
Now, as we have already obferved in our
ditfertation concerning God, that the mind rifes
() Quibufq; exordia primis
Omnia, &ipfe tener mundi concreverit orbis.
ViR.EcUvi.
direclly
Led. XI. Of the Creation of the World. 1 07
directly from the confideration of this vifible
world, to that of its invifible Creator ; fo from
the contemplation of the firft and infinite mind,
itdefcends to this vifible fabric ; and again, the
contemplation of this latter, determines it to re-
turn with the greateft pleafure and fatisfaction
to that eternal fountain of goodnefs, and of
every thing that exifts. Nor is this a vicious
and faulty circle, but the conftant courfe of a
pious foul travelling, as it were, backwards and
forwards from earth to heaven, and from heaven
to earth ; a notion quite fimilar to that of the
angels afcending and defcending upon the ladder
which Jacob faw in his vifion. But this con-
templation, by all means, requires a pure and
divine temper of mind, according to the maxims
of the philofopher : " He that would fee God
" and goodnefs, muft firft be himfelf good,
<c and like the Deity ()." And thofe, who have
the eyes of their minds pure and bright, will
fooner be able to read in thofe objects that are
expofed to the outward eye, the great and evi-
dent characters of his eternal power and god-
head.
We mail therefore now advance fome thoughts
upon the creation, which was the firft and moft
xa^o*. Plot.
(lupendpus
1 08 Of tie Creation of tie World. Left XI.
ftupendous of all the divine works : and the
rather, that fome of the philofophers, who were,
to be fure, pofitive in aflerting the being of a
God, did not acknowledge him to be the au-
thor or creator of the world . As for us, accord-
ing to that of the epiftle to the Hebrews, " by
" faith we underftand, that the worlds were
<c framed by the word of God (c)." Of this we
have a diftinct hiftory in the firft book of Mofes,
and of the facred Scripture, which we receive as
divine. And this fame doctrine the prophets
and apoftles, and, together with them, all the
facred writers, frequently repeat in their fermons
and writings, as the great foundation of faith,
and of all true religion ; for which reafon, it
ought to be diligently inculcated upon the minds
of all, even thofe of the moft ignorant, as far as
they are able to conceive and believe it ; though,
to be fure, it contains in it fo many myfteries, that
they are fufficient not only to exercife the moft
acute and learned underftand ings, but even far
exceed their capacities, and quite over-power
them -, which the Jewith doctors feem to have
been fo fenfible *or, if I may ufe the expreffion,
fo over fenfible of, that they admitted not their
difciples to look into the three firft chapters of
(c} nr wajAEK icaTf7j<r9 rov uwecfpuevrt 0. Cap. xi. 3.
Generis,
Left. XL Of the Creationoftbe World. 1 09
Genefis, till they arrived at the age required, in
or to enter upon the prieftly office.
Although the faith of this doctrine immedi-
ately depends upon the authority and teftimony
of the Supreme God of truth, for, as St. Am-
brofe expreffes it, " To whom fhould I give
" greater credit concerning God, than to God
" himfelf (d} ?" it is however fo agreeable to
reafon, that if any one chuie to enter into the
difpute, he will find the ftrongeft arguments pre-
fenting themfelves in confirmation of the faith
of it ; but thofe on the oppofite fide, if any fuch
there be that deferve the name, quite frivolous,
and of no manner of force. Tatian declared,
that no argument more effectually determined
him to believe the Scriptures, and embrace the
chriftian faith, c< than the confident intelligible
" account they give of the creation of the uni-
" verfe (e)."
Let any one that pleafes, chufe what other
opinion he will adopt upon this fubject, or, as it
is a matter of doubt and obfcurity, any of the
other hypothefis he thinks moft feafible. Is he
for the atoms of Epicurus, dancing at random in
an empty fpace, and, after innumerable trials,
throwing themlelves at laft into the beautiful
fabric which we behold, and that merely by a
{</) Cui enim magis deDeo, quam Deo credam. Ambrof.
(e) To EnxoloAijTrTo* rrij ?*&*?'& ^onffiu^. Tatian.
kind
1 10 Of the Creation of the World. Left. XI,
kind of lucky hit, or fortunate throw of the
dice, without any Amphion with his harp, to
charm them by his mufick, and lead them into
the building ? To fay the truth, the Greek phi-
lofopher had dreamed thefe things very prettily,
or, according to more probable accounts, bor-
rowed them from two other blundering philofo-
phers, Democritus and Leucippus, though he
ufed all poifible art to conceal it, that he might
have to himfelf the whole glory of this noble in-
vention. But whoever firft invented, or'publifhed
this hypothefis, how, pray, will he perfuade us,
that things are actually fo ? By what convincing
arguments will he prove them? Or what credible
witneffes will he produce to atteft his facts ? For
it would neither be modeft nor decent, for him
nor his followers, to expect implicit faith in a
matter purely philofophical and phyfical, and at
the fame time, of fo great importance, efpecially
as it is their common method fmartly to ridicule
and fupercilioufly to defpife the reft of mankind,
as being, according to their opinion, too credu-
lous in matters of religion. But what we have
now faid is more than enough upon an hypo-
thefis fo filly, monftrous and inconfiftent.
After leaving the Epicureans, there is no
other noted mift, that I know of, remaining for
one that rejects the doctrine of the creation, but
only that fiction, of the Peripatetick fchool, con-
cerning
Lett. XI. Of the Creation of tbe World. 1 1 1
cerning the eternity of the world. This Arifto-
tle is faid to have borrowed from a Pythagorean
philofopher, named Ocellus Lucanus, who, in
that inP.ance, feems to have deferted not only the
doctrine of his matter Pythagoras, but alfo that
of all the more ancient philosophers. It is true,
two or three others are named, Parmenio, Me-
lifTus, &c. who are fufpected to have been of
the fame fentiments with Ocellus j but this is
a matter of uncertainty, and therefore to be left
undetermined. And indeed, both Ariftotle and
Ocellus feems to have done this at random, or
without proof, as they have advanced no argu-
ments in favour of their new doctrine, that can
be thought very favourable, much lefs cogent
anjd convincing.
It is furely impoflible to demonstrate the truth
of their opinion a priori, nor did thefe authors
attempt it. They only endeavoured to mufter
up fome difficulties againft the production of the
world in time, the great weaknefs whereof any
one, who is but tolerably acquainted with the
chriftian religion, will eafily perceive. Ariftotle's
arguments rather make againft fome notions
efpoufed by the old philofophers, or rather
forged by hlmfelf, than againft the doctrine of
the creation. Nay, he himlelf fometimes fpeaks
with great diffidence of his own opinion on this
fubject, particularly in his topicks, where, among
other
112 Of the Creation of tbe World. Led. XI.
other logical problems, he propofes this as one,
viz. " Whether the world exifted from eter-
" nity or not (/)?"
On the contrary, befides that the world has
evident marks of novelty, as is acknowledged by
Lucretius in a remarkable paiTage of his poems,
which is very well known, " Befides, fays he,
" if the earth and the heavens were not origi-
" nally created, but exifted from eternity, why
" did not earlier poets defcribe the remarkable
<c actions of their times long before the The-
* ban war and the deftruction of Troy ? But,
*' in my opinion, the univerfe is not of old
<c (landing, the world is but a late eftablifli-
" ment, and it is not long fince it had its be-
" ginning," and more to that purpofe (g).
If we duly confider the matter, and acknow-
ledge the courfe of the ftars, not only to be
owing to a firft mover, but alfo that the whole
fabric, with all the creatures therein, derive
their exiftence from fome Supreme Mind, who
is the only fountain of being ; we muft certainly
conclude, that that felf-exiflent principle, or
f, * .
(g) Praeterea finulla fuit genitalis origo
Terrae & Cceli, femperq; aeterna fuere,
Cur fupra bellum Thebanum & funer-i Trojae,
Non alias alii quoque res cecinere Poets ?
Verum, ut opinor, habec novitatem fuirma, recenfq;
Natura eft mundi, neq; pridem exordia cepir.
fource
Led. XI. Of the Creation of the World. 113
fource of all Beings is by all means eternal ; but
there is no neceffity at all, that we mould fup-
pofe all other things to be coeval with it ; nay,
if it is not abfolutely neceflary, it is at leaft high-
ly reafonable and confident to believe the con-
trary.
For, that this world, compounded of fo many,
and fuch heterogeneous parts, mould proceed,
by way of natural and neceflary emanation, from
that one firft, pured, and mod fimple nature,
nobody, I imagine, could believe, or in the leaft
fufpect : can it poflibly be thought, that mor-
tality mould proceed from the immortal, cor-
ruption from the incorruptible, and, what ought
never to be fo much as mentioned, even worms,
the vileft animalcules, and mod abject infects,
from the beft, moil exalted, and mod blefled
Majedy ? But, if he produced all thefe things
freely, merely out of his good pleafure, and
with the facility that condantly attends almighty
power; how much more confident is it to be-
lieve, that this was done in time, than to ima-
gine it was from eternity ?
It is a very difficult matter to argue at all a-
bout that, the nature whereof our mod enlarged
thoughts can never comprehend. And though,
among philofophers and divines, it is difputed,
whether fuch a production from eternity is pol-
fible or not j there is probably fomcthing con-
I cealed
1 1 4 Of tie Creation of the Wtrld. Left. XI.
cealed in the nature of the thing, tho' unknown
to us, that might fugged a demonftration of
the impoffibiiity of this conceit ; for what is
finite, in bulk, power, and every other refpect,
feems fcarcely capable of this infinity of duration ;
and divines generally place eternity among the
incommunicable attributes of God, as they are
called : it feems, to be fure, moft agreeable to
reafon, and, for ought we know, it is abfolutely
neceffary, that, in all external productions, by a
free agent, the caufe fhould be, even in time,
prior to the effect, that is, that there muft have
been fome point of time whe/ein the being pro-
dacing did, bat the thing produced did not exift.
As to the eternal generation, which we believe,
it is within God himfelf, nor docs it conftitute
any thing without him, or different from his
nature and effence. Moreover, the external
production of a created being of a nature vaftly
different from the agent, that is fuppofed to
produce it, and to act freely in that produc-
tion, implies, in its formal conception, as the
fchools exprefc it, a tranflation from non-entity
into being ; whence it feems neceffary to follow,
that there muft have been fome point of time,
wherein that created being did not exift.
The notions of the Platonifts, concerning
pre-exiftent matter, do not concern the preient
fubjcdt ; but, to be fure, they are as idle and
empty
Left. XI. Of tie Creation of the World. 1 1 5-
empty as the imaginary eternity of the world in
its prefent form. As angels were not produced
out of matter, it is furely furprifing that thofe,
who atflert their creation by God, (liould find dif-
ficulty in acknowledging the production of other
things, without pre-exiftent matter, or even of
matter itfelf. The celebrated maxim of the
philofophers, " That out of nothing nothing is
" produced," we receive, but in a different and
founder fenfc, viz. that nothing can be produced
but either from pre cxiftent matter, or by a pro-
ductive power, in which it was virtually con-
tained. And, in this fenfe, this famous maxim
affords an invincible demonftration a pofteriori,
for the fubject is not capable of any other, to
prove that there muft be fome being that exifted
befo r e any creature, and the unity and eternity
of that being.
The great Creator of the world, having all
things virtually in himfelf, needed neither matter
nor inftruments in order to produce them : " By
c the word of the Lord were the heavens made,
c and all the hoft of them by the breath of his
" mouth (g)." Thefe were his levers and tools,
the word of the Lord, or that effectual act of his
will, which gave being to all things (). " The
" mighty Lord of all called directly to his holy,
(/) PfaL xxxiii. 6. () na7p{.
I 2 "Intel-
1 1 6 Of tie Creation of the World. Left. XL
" intelligent, and creating word, let there be a
" fan, and a fun immediately appeared, &c. (/')"
Here he fpoke, and it was done, " the word
V and the effect (hewed themfelves together (/)."
If you afk what moved infinite goodnefs to per-
form this great work ; I anfvver, that very good-
jnefs you mention : for if, as they fay, it is the
nature of goodnefs to be always communicative ;
that goodnefs, to be fure, muft be the moft
diffbfive, which is in itfelf greateft, richefi, and
fo very immenfe, that it cannot be in the leaft
diminished, much lefs exhaufted, by the great-
eft munificence. Here there is no danger, that
that iliould happen, which Cicero prudently
cautions againft, in the cafe of human gocdnefs,
viz. " That liberality mould undo itfelf (/)."
For that liberality muft be immortal and endlefs,
the treafures whereof are infinite.
Nor is it to be doubted, but, from this very
goodnefs, together with the immenfe power and
wifdom, which fhine forth fo brightly in the
creation and all the creatures, an immenfe weight
of glory is reflected upon the Creator himfelf,
and the fource of all thefe perfections; nor muft
it be denied, that the manifold wifdom of God
(/) O* & iravluv ja'fi- wfl/wj K^uns-t tu utvra a.yvu xj ;o>jTw'*J
hfjiuippxu Xo'yw t'r >)Ai' ^ apse, ru (pdvxi, &c. Trifmeg.
(/f) a'/xa IV-, UIMX. lffn>
(/) Ne liberalitate pereat liberalitas.
propofed
Left. XI. Of the Creation of the World. i \ j
propofed this end likewife. And there is no-
thing more certain than that, from all thefe
taken together, his works, his benevolent and
diffufive goodnefs, his power and wifdom illu-
flrated in the creation, and the glory that con-
tinually re/lilts therefrom, from his wife coun-
fels, and his own moft perfect nature, whence
all thefe things flow ; nothing is more certain,
I fay, than that, from all thefe taken together,
the divine Majefty enjoys an eternal and inex-
preflible delight and fatisfaclion : and thus all
things return to that vaft and immenfe ocean,
from whence they at firft took their rife, ac-
cording to the expreflion in the Proverbs,
" He hath made all things for himfelf (m) :"
and the words of the fong in the Revelations
are moft exprefs to this purpofe, " Thou art
<c worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and
honour, and power, for thou haft created all
" things, and for thy pleafure they are, and
" were created ()." Nor could it indeed be
otherwife, than that he, who is the beginning
of all things, mould alfo be the end of all } a
wonderful beginning without a beginning, and
an end without an end. So that, as the author
of the epiftle to the Hebrews reafons concern-
ing the oath of God : As he could fwear by
() Prov. xvi. > () Rev. iv. n.
I no
I \ 8 Oftbe Creation of the World. Left. XL
" no greater, he fwcre by himfelf." In like
manner we may argue here, as he could pro-
pofe no greater end or defign, he propofed
himfelf. It was the faying of Epicurus, <c That
* { the wife man does every thing for his own
<{ fake (o) :" we, who are other ujfe taught,
fhould rather fay, that the wife man does no-
thing for his own fake, but all for that of God.
But the moft exalted, to be fure, and the wifeft
of all beings, becaufe he is fo, muft of neceffity
do all things for himfelf; yet, at the fame time,
all his difpenfations, towards his creatures, are
moft bountiful and benevolent.
That the world was made directly and im-
mediately for man, is the doctrine not only of
the Stoicks, but alfo o the matter of the Peri-
patetick fchool: " We are, fays he, in fome re-
" fpeft, the end of all things (/>).'' And in
another place, " Nature has made all things for
" the fake of man (q}" Cicero fpeaks to the
fame purpofe (r) ; and Lactantius more fully
than either (s). But Mofes gives the greateft
light on this fubjed:, not only in his hiftory of
(0) Sapientem omnia facere fui caufa.
(/) Sumus enim et nos quodammodo omnium finis. 2 Phyf.
tit. 23.
( ? ) Natura hominum gratia omnia fecit.
(r) DC legibus.
(j) Sol irrequietis curfibus & fpatiis inequalibus orbes con-
Scit, &c, ad finem capitis, De iraDei. Cap. 13. 14.
the
Led. XI. Of the Creation of the World. 1 1 9
the creation, but alfo in Deuteronomy, wherein
he warns the Ifraelities againft worshipping 01
angels : for this reafon ; becaufe, fays he, " they
" were created for the fervice of man (/) :" and
the fun, in Hebrew, is called Shemefh, which
fignifies a fcrvant.
But O ! whither do our hearts ftray ! ought
we not to dwell upon thispleafarit contemplation,,
and even die in it? I mould choofe to be
quite loft in it, and to be rendered altogether
infenfible, and, as it were, dead to thefe earthly
trifles, that make a noife around us. ' O fwect
reciprocation of mutual delights ! ct The Lord
< fliall rejoice in his works (u)" fays the
Pfalmift : and, prefently after, < c My medita-
* tion of him fliall be fweet, I will be glad in
*' the Lord (#)." Let us look fometimes to the
heavens, fometimes to the fea, and the earth,
with the animals and plants that are therein, and
very often to ourfelves ; and in all thefe, and in
every thing elfe, but in ourfelves particularly,
let us contemplate God, the common Father of
all, and our moft exalted Creator, and let our
contemplation excite our love.
They, who have fent the ignorant and un-
learned to pictures and images, as books proper
for their inftruclion, have not adted very wifer
(.') Deut. () Pfal. civ. 31. (*),Ibid. ver. 34.
1.4 iy.
120 Of the Creation of the World. Left. XI.
ly, nor has that expedient turned out happily or
luckily for the advantage of that part of man-
kind ; but furely this great volume, or fyftem,
which is always open, and expofed to the view
of all, is admirably adapted to the inftruc"Hon
both of the vulgar and the wife ; fo that Chry-
foftom had good reafcn to call it "The great
" book for the learned and unlearned (y)."
And the faying of St. Bafil is very much to the
purpofe, " From the beauty of thofe things,
" which are obvious to the eyes of all, we ac-
< l knowledge that his inexpreffible beauty ex-
c< cells that of all the creatures; and from the
<c magnitude of thofe fenfible bodies, that fur-
< c round us, we conclude the infinite and im-
<e menfe goodnefs of their Creator, whofe ple-
<c nitude of power exceds all thought, as well
,< f as expreffion (z)."
For this very end it evidently appears, all
things were made, and we are the only vifible
beings that are capable of this contemplation :
<c The world, fays St. Bafil, is a fchool, or Ic-
" rninary, very proper for the inftruction of ra-
rot
twcp/uyiSig xj iraura.* ^lavowen Iv tu 9rXj9s> T?5 tctvrx
T. Alex, horn, i.
" tional
Led. XI. Of the Creation of the World. 1 2 1
<c tional fouls in the knowledge of God (#)."
We have alfo the angels, thofe minifters of fire,
to be fpectators with us on this theatre. But
will any of us venture to conjecture, what they
felt, and what admiration feized them, when
they beheld thofe new kinds of creatures rifing
into being, and thofe unexpected fcenes, that
were filcceffively added to the preceding ones,
on each of the fix days of that firft remarkable
week: <( When he laid the foundations of the
<f earth, and placed the corner ftone thereof;
cc when the morning ftars fang together, and all
" the (bus of God (houted for joy ()."
But O the ftupidity of mankind! All thofe
ftupendous objects are daily round us ; but be-
caufe they are conftantly expofed to our view,
they never affect our minds : fo natural is it for
us to admire new, rather than grand objects.
Therefore the vaft multitude of ftars, which
diverfify the beauty of this immenfe body, does not
call the people together j but, when any change
happens therein, the eyes of all are fixed upon
the heavensi " No body looks at the fun, but
" when he is obfcured j nobody obferves the
(a) o xwrp?i}/^w> XoyxJV h$curKotteK>t x^ T?;
Alex. horn. i.
Job xxxviii. 6, 7.
" meon,
122 Of the Creation of the World. Left. XL
" moon, but when Ihe is eclipfed, then nature
" feems to be in danger, then vain fuperftition
" is alarmed, and every one is afraid for him-
" felf (c)" " But furcly, fays St. Bernard,
<c concerning the fun and moon, thefe are great
" miracles, very great to be fure : but the firft
" production, or creation of all things, is a vaft
" miracle, and makes it eafy to believe all the
<{ reft 5 fo that, after it, nothing ought to excite
" our wonder ^."
(< ) Sol fpe&atorem, nifi cum deficit, non habet ; nemo ob-
fervat lunam nifi laborantem, tune orbes conclamant, tune
pro fe quifq; fuperftitione vana trepidat. SEN.
(/) Magna funt haec miracula, magoa nimis ita eft ; mira-
culum autem immenfum eft ipfa prima omnium produftio,
feu creatio, quae miraculorum omnium adco facilem fidem
facit, ut poft earn nihil fit mirum.
LECTURE
Led. XII. Of the Creation of Man. 123
LECTURE XII,
Of the Creadon cf M AN.
THIS great theatre being built, beljdes
thofe fpe&ators, which had been but
lately placed in the higher feats, it pleafed the
fupreme Creator and Lord to have another com-
pany below, as it were in the area : thefe he
called forth into being by creation, and man
was introduced into this area, " to be a fpeda-
" tor of him and of his works $ yet not a
c< fpedator only, but alfo to be the interpreter
cf of them (a}." Nor yet was man placed there-
in merely to be a fpcdator and an interpreter ;
but alfo, in a great meafure, to be pofleffor and
lord thereof ? or, as it were, the Creator's
" fubftitute (b}" in a fpacious and convenient
houfe ready built, and ftored with all forts of
ufeful furniture.
(a) J{ SjfltTJJK Tl UTB xj TUT a'l'Ttf ffyw, X^ fAOttll
'ww. Arrian.
Now,
124. Of tie Creation of Man. Left. XII.
Now, that man himfelf is a grand and noble
piece of workmanmip, appears even from this
circumftance, that the moft wife operator, when
he was going to create him, thought fit to pre-
face his defign with thefe words, " Let us make
" man." So that he was created, not merely
by a word of command like the reft of the crea-
tures, <{ but by a confultation of the blefled
Trinity (f)."
And, indeed, man is a wonderful compofi-
tion, the conjunction of heaven and earth ;
cc The breath of God, and the duft of the
<c ground ;" the bond of union between the vi-
fible and invifible world, and truly a " world in
" miniature, a kind of mixt world, nearly
" related to the other two (*/)." Nor is he only
a lively epitome and reprefentation of the greater
world, but alfo dignified with the image of his
great Creator. He made the heavens and the
earth, the fea and the ftars, and then all forts
of living creatures ; but, in the words of the
poet, " a more divine creature, and more ca-
f pable of elevated fentiments, was yet wanting,
(f) Faciamus hominem. Ut non folo jukentis fermone ficut
reliqua, fed confilio fanbe Trinitatis conditus fit. Arnob,
Greg. Nyff.
and
Led. XII. Of the Creation of Man. 1 25
and one that could rule over the reft, therefore
man was born, &c. (e)"
The reft of the creatures, according to the
obfervation of the fchoolmen, which is notamifs,
had the impreflion of the divine foot ftamped upon
them, but not the image of the Deity. Thefe he
created, and reviewing them, found them to be
good, yet he did not reft in them ; but, upon
the creation of man, the fabbath immediately
followed. He made man, and then retted,
having a creature capable of knowing that he
was his Creator, one that could wormip him,
and celebrate his fabbath, whofe fins, if he
fhould commit any, he might forgive, and fend,
cloathed with human nature, his only begotten
fon, <f in whom he is abfolutely well pleafed,"
and over whom, as the perfon that fulfilled his
good pleafure, he rejoices for ever, to redeem
his favourite creature. By the production of
man, the fupreme Creator exhibited himfelf in
the moft admirable light, and, at the fame time,
had a creature capable of admiring and loving
him ; and, as St. Ambrofe obferves, " one that
" was under obligation to love hisCreator the more
"ardently, the more wonderfully he perceived
(e) Sanftius his animal, mentif<j; capacius altar,
Deerat ad hue, & quod dominari in csetera poflet,
Natus homo eft. Ovid, i Met,
" himfelf
i 26 Of the Creation of Man. Le. XI L
" himfelf to be made (/).'* And man, fays the
fame author, was made a two footed animal,
that he might be, as it were, one of the inha-
bitants of the air, that he might " afpire at
" high things, and fly with the wings of
fublime thoughts (g)."
And, indeed, the ftrudture of man is an
inftance of wonderful art and ingenuity, whether
you confider the fymmetry of his whole fabric
taken together, or all his parts and members
feparately. Gregory Nyffen fpeaks very much
tothepurpofe,when he fays, " The frame of man
" is awful, and hard to be explained, arid con-
" tains in it a lively reprefentation of many of
cc the hidden my fteries of God (b)." How won-
derful is even the flrudture of his body, which,
after all, is but the earthen cafe of his foul ? ac-
cordingly it is in the Chaldaic language called
Nidne, which fignifies a (heath. How far does
the workmanmip exceed the materials ? and
how juftly may we fay, " What a glorious
" creature out of the meanefi elements (/)?"
(y) Et quidem tanto ardentius amaret conditorem, quanta
jnirabilius fe ab eo conditum intelligeret.
(g) Et faftus eft homo bipe=;, ut fit unus quafi de volatilibu?,
jui alta vifu petat, & quodam remigio voliiet fublimum cogi-
tationum.
()&) i) TM 6\6pw7T8 xcilce.c-x.tvr> ^iSepa TJ? ^ kffifpSnw&i xj nti&a. xj
(0
The
Left. XII. Of tie Creation of Man. 127
The Pfalmift's mind feems to have dwelt upon
this meditation, till he was quite loft in it,
" How fearfully, fays he, and wonderfully am
<c I made I" And that celebrated phyfician,
who ftudied nature with fitch unwearied appli-
cation, in his book upon the ftruclure of the
human body, in which, after all, there is nothing
divine, often expreiTes his admiration in thefe
words, " Who is worthy to praife the wifdom
" and power of the Creator (k) ?" and many
other iuch exclamations. The Chriftian writers,
however, are moft full upon this fubject, par-
ticularly St. Bafil, St. Chryfoftom r and others,
who carry their obfervations fo far as the nails,
and hair, efpecially that on the eye-lids. And
Nyffen, on the words, " Let us make man,"
has the following obfervation : "Man is a
* 6 grand and noble creature How can man be
" laid to be any great matter ? feeing he is a
" mortal creature, fubjecl to a great many paf-
" fions : from the time of birth, to that of his
" old age, expofed to a vaft many evils and
" diftrefles, and of whom it is written, Lord,
" what is man, that thou mould be mindful of
<c him, ccc. The hiftory we have of the pro-
11 duclion of man, delivered me from this diffi-
** culty j for we are told, that God took fome
Of
ia8 Of the Creation of Man. Left. XII.
" of the duft of the earth, and out of it formed
" man j from thefe words I underftood, that
" man was at once nothing, and yet fomething
" very grand (/)." He intended to fay, that
the materials, out of which man was made^
were low, and, as it were, nothing ; but, .if
you confider the wonderful workmanmip, how
great was the honour conferred upon him ! The
<( earth did not fpontaneoufly produce man
t{ as it did gramoppers ; God did not commit
" the production of this or that particular
" creature to his miniftring powers -, no, the
' gracious Creator took the earth in his own
" hand (m)." But befides the noble frame of
his body, tho' it was made of the duft of the
earth, that divine breath, and, by means of it,
ths infufion of a precious foul, mixes heaven and
earth together ; not, indeed, in the common
acceptation of that term, as if things fo vaftly
different were promiicuoufly jumbled together,
and the order of nature fubverted ; but only im-
(/) Msya avOpwcEros *J Tt^twy. "AX>. True ts.tyoi, 5 a.tfyu'K&' ; TO ttn-
xijpov uo TO f*vpwi; vrJStym v-zzroxESjicsi'ov, TO ixytwuT>5s ; yrlfaj p,vfa
x.a.x.tt'v fo-pov l^a.v\\^. Ilep 5 E'I Tr^a*. Kt'fts T;J !j-i> 8 <zvQfUTT<&; or*
fti/x^afx.U at/12, &C. M pot TW TOK*v\iit> ^aTB-opjjera* eXu> Ifof'ux, T?{
ys^ffiwj TS eivQguTff* dvctytttxr^HGXy &C. Oral. ii.
(/) ait i y? a'Jloi/.ixTwj a"nri^ r?j Tsrltyao llsjS^xcri, AX* ax Jicre
plying,
Left. XII. Of the Creation of Man. 129
plying, that the two parts of the human confti-
tution are compounded with mexpreffible art,
and joined in a clofe union. As to the mifery
of the human race, and the contemptible figure
in which rhelifeof man appears, it is to be afcribed
to another fource, very different from the earthly
materials, out of which his body was made.
That he was created happy, beautiful, and
honourable, he owed to his great and good
Creator ; but he himfelf is the author of his
own mifery. And hence it is, that though,
with regard to his original and pure nature,
we ought, for the ftrongeft reafons, to fpeak
more honourably of him, than of any other part
of the vifible world ; yet, jf we view him, " in
" his prefent circumftances ()," no part of the
creation, to be fure, defer ves to be lamented in
more mournful ftrains.
But what words can exprefs, what thought
can comprehend, the dignity and powers of that
heavenly foul that inhabits this earthly body,
and the divine image that is damped upon it ?
The philofophers of all ages and nations have
been enquiring into the nature of it, and have not
yet found it out.
A great many have alfo amufed themfelves
with too whimfical conjectures and fencies, and
() ?$.
K endeavoured
130 Of tie Creation of Man. Left. XII.
endeavoured to difcover, by very different me-
thods, a figure of the bleffed Trinity in the fa-
culties of the foul. Nor was Methodius fatisfied
with finding a reprefentation of this myftery in
the foul of every particular man, but.alfo ima-
gined he had difcovered it in the three firft per-
fons of the human race, viz. Adam, Eve, and
their firft born fon, becaufe in them he found
unbegotten begotten, and proceeding, as alfo unity
of nature, and the origination of all mankind.
"But not to infift upon thefe, it is certain, the
rational, or intellectual, 'and immortal foul, fo
long as it retained its original purity, was adorn-
ed with the lively and refulgent image of the
father of fpirits, its eternal Creator ; but after-
wards, when it became polluted and flained
with fin, this image, though not immediately
quite ruined, was, however, miferably obfcured
and defaced. 'Tis true, the beautiful and erect
frame of the human body, which gives it an
advantage over all other creatures, and fome
other extenal graces, that man pofleflev may
poffibly be fome reflected rays of the divine ex-
cellence j but I mould hardly call them the
image of God : as St. Ambrofe well obferves,.
' How can flefh, which is but earth, be faid
" to be made after the image of God, in
, c< whom there is no earth at all ? and {hall we
" be
Led. XII. Of the Creation of Man. 1 3 r
" be faid to be like God, becaufe we are of a
'< higher rank than (heep and does (o)."
The dominion over the reft of the creatures,
which man enjoys, is a kind of faint (hadow of
the abfolute and unlimited fway of the fupreme
Majefty of heaven and earth. 1 dare not, how-
ever, venture to fay, it is that image, of which
we are fpeaking ; but, as thofe who draw the
picture of a king, after laying down the linea-
ments of the face and body, ufe to add the pur-
ple robe, and othtr enfigns of royalty, this do-
minion may certainly fupply the place of thefe,
with regard to this image of God on man. But
the lively colours, in which the image itfelf are
drawn, are " Purity, fays NyiTen, abfence of
<c evil, understanding, and fpeech (p)" For
even the eternal fon, and the wifdom
of the father, feems to be intended by the
pbilofophers under the term of the creating
mind (q) ;" and by the divine apoftle John, he
is called the Word : to thefe we have very good
ground to add charity, as nothing can be named
that renders man liker to God (r) ; for " God is
(o) Caro terra eft, qui dicatur ad imaginem Dei fata cum in
Deo terra non fit ? & an eo Dei fimiies dicemur, quia damulis
atque ovibus celfiores fumus ?
(?)
(r)
K 2 " love,
j 32 Of the Creation of Man. Left. XIL
w love, and the fountain of it (*)." It is true,
charity is a valuable difpofition of the mind,
but it alfo difcovers itfelf in the frame of the
human body ; for man was made quite defence-
fefs, having neither horns, claws, nor fting,
but naked and harmlefs, and, as it were, -entire-
ly formed for meeknefs, peace, and charity.
The fame author, fpeaking of the image of
God on man, expreffes himfelf as follows,
ff Wherefore that you may be like God, exer-
" cife liberality and beneficence, ftudy to be in-
< nocent, avoid every crime, fubdue all the
" motions of fin conquer all the beads that
* { are within you. What, you will fay, have
"' I beafts within me ? Yes, you have beafts,
c and a vaft number of them. And that you
** may not think I intend to infult you, is
" anger an inconfiderable beaft, when it barks
'< in your heart? What is deceit, when it lies
" hid in a cunning mind, is it not a fox ? Is not
the man, who is furioufly bent upon calumny,
' a fcorpion ? Is not the perfon, who is eagerly
" fet on refentrnent and revenge, a moft vene-
et mous viper ? What do you fay of a covetous
f( man, is he not a ravenous wolf ? And is not
'* the luxurious man, as the prophet exprefles
" it, a neighing horfe ? Nay, there is no wild
beaft
'Left. XII. Of the Creation of Man. 1 3 3
" beaft but is found within us; and do you
" confidcr yourfelf as Lord and Prince of the
" wild beads, becaufe you command thofe
" that are without, though you never think of
" fubduing, or fetting bounds to thofe that are
c{ within you? What advantage have you by
<{ your reafon, which enables you to overcome
" lions, if, after all, you yourfelf are overcome
" by anger ? To what purpofe do you rule over
" the birds, and catch them with gins, if you
" yourfelf, with the inconftancy of a bird,
<c are hurried hither and thither, and fome-
11 times flying high, are cnfnarcd by pride,
t: fometimes brought down, and catched- by
" pleafure ? But as it is fhameful for him, who
" rules over nations, to be a ilave at home, and
{ for the man, who fits at the helm of the ftate,
" to be meanly fubjecled to the beck of a con-
tC temptible harlot, or even of an imperious
<c wife; will it not be, in like manner, difgrace-
tc ful for you, who exercife dominion over the
<{ beafts that are without you, to be fubject to
<c a great many, and thofe of the word fort,
'* that roar and domineer in your diftempered
(/) GEW" ojLMt* to-n) 3i 753; ^rraTiJo;;, ^arif atnbutxiitf. ^a xci,
nx$, pwnrowfot; uv t KsD,oat.^x\^v ran vtc&uv rut b^w, a^i Sfyhij, T*
v iftiSt tyu Sv;f* e'p^w iv ipavru ', i. {MJP'HZ irohvv o^.o & cro; Svpiutt
&C.
K * Khali
134 Of the Creation of Man. Left. XII.
I (hall, laft of all, here fubjoin, what feme
of the antients have obferved, viz. that the na-
ture of the human foul, as it lies hid out of fight,
and to us quite unknown, bears an evident re-
femblance to that of God, who is himfelf un-
fearchable and pad finding out ().
But when we have well confidered all thefe
things, and the many other thoughts of this
kind, that may occur ; may we not cry out,
how furprifing and mocking is the madnefs and
folly of mankind ! the far greater part whereof,
as if they had quite forgot their original and na-
tive dignity, difparage thernfelves fo far, as to
purfue the meaneft objects, and fhamefully
plunge thernfelves in mud.
The words of Epictetus are divine, and have
a wonderful favour of piety : c You goto the
'? city of Olympta, fays he, to fee fome of the
" works of Phidias ; but you have no ambition
<{ to convene, in order to underftand, and look
" at thefe works, which may be feen without
*? travelling at all. Will you never underfland
te what you are, nor why you were brought
*' into the world ; nor, finally, what that is
<c which you have now an opportunity to view
" and contemplate (x) ?" And in another place,
() Kati" Etxoya rvirwv rev JftmiyS, x) aywpira ta.
(A") *E>? favfjiTrictv jtteVoS>i/*flt, Iv Mrfe TO ipyw ra (piwu ova OB
Arr. lib. i. cap. 6.
l For
Left. XII. Of the Creation of Man.
" For if we were wife, what have we elfe
cc to do, both in public and in private, but to
<c praife and celebrate the deity, and to return
<{ our thanks to him? Ought we not, while-
" we are digging, plowing, and eating, to
<( fing to God this hymn ? Great is the Lord,
ce who has provided us with thefe ncceffaries of
" life, &c. (7).
As for you, young gentlemen, I would have
you to be fenfible of the honour and dignity of
your original ftate, and to be deeply imprefled
with the indignity and difgrace of your nature,
now fallen and vitiated, and dwell particularly
upon the contemplation of ir. Suffer not the
great honour and dignity of the human race,
which is to know the eternal and invifible God,
to acknowledge him, love him, and worship
him, to decay and die away within you : this,
alas ! is the way of the far greater part of the
world ; but do you live in continual remem-
brance of your original, and afTert your claim
to heaven, as being originally from it, and foon
to return to it again.
(_y) 'Et ya.p > ii%ou.iv t aAXo T* ton vp.u.$ TFOKM xj xotyiT x^ J^t<x fi
i^tiw TO SEJOV xj fj<pr; 1 .;i' x^ iTTi^sf^iy^sn TJ %^'f Ta$ ; ax son x^'o^aTrlwr
faHetf xj IffSioraj aunt, f'y o SBCJ or* r,u.l>i
Ibid. cap. 16.
K 4 LEG-
136 Of Divine Providence. Led:. XIII,
LECTURE XIII.
Of Providence.
TH E doctrines, we have been handling,
are the great fupports of faith, piety, and
the whole of religion ; wherefore it is moft juft,
that the zeal and care of the fcholars mould
concur with that of their teachers, to have them
well fecured in the mind and affections : <{ For
<e a weak foundation," as the lawyers obferve,
* c is the ruin of the work (a)." There are
two principal pillars, and, as it were, the Ja-
chin and Boaz of the living temples of God,
which the apoftle to the Hebrews lays down in
thefe words : " He, that cometh to God," (un-
der which expreffion is comprehended every de-
vout affection, and every act of religious worfhip)
* c muft believe that GOD is, and that he is a
" rewarder of them that diligently feek him.'*
" That God is," not only implies, that he is
eternal and felf-exiftent j but alfo, that he is, to
(a) Debile emim fundamentum fallit opus.
all
Led. XIII. Of Divine Providence. 137
all other beings, the fpring and fountain of
what they are, and what they have, and, con-
fequ.ently, that he is the wife and powerful
Creator of angels and men, and even of the
whole univerfe ; this is the firft particular,
" that God is. The fecond, " that he is a re-
" warder of them thac diligently feek him,'*
afcertains the providence and government of God t
exemplified in its moft eminent effect, with
regard to mankind. For providence extends
further than this, and comprehends in
it a conftant prefervation and fupport of all
things viiible and invifible, whether in heaven
or earth, and the fovereign government and dif-
pofal of them. Mechanicks, when they have
completed houfes, {hips, and other works they
have been engaged in, leave them to take their
fate in the world, and, for the moft part, give
themfelves no further trouble about the accidents
that may befal them. But the fupre me architect,
and wife Creator, never forfakes the works of
his hands, but keeps his arms continually about
it, to prefer ve it ; fits at the helm to rule and
govern it ; is himfelf in every part of it, and
fills the whole with his prefence. So great a
fabric could not poffibly ftand, without fome
guardian and ruler ; nor can this be any other
than the Creator himfelf: for who can pay a
greater regard to it, fupport it more effectually, or
govern
13 Of 'Divine Providence: Left XIII.
govern it with greater wifdom, than he who
made it ? " Nothing can be more perfecllthan
11 God, therefore it is neceffary the world
* l ihould be governed by him (b)" fays Cicero.
And, tc they who take away providence, tho'
<* they acknowledged GOD in words, in fad:
" deny him (c)."
If we believe that all things were produced
out of nothing ; the confequence is, that by
the fame- powerful hand that created them, they
muft bepieferved and fupported, to keep them
from fall-'ng back into their primitive nothing.
It muft be alfo owned, that, by the fame power-
ful hand, the regular motions of the ftars, the
contexture of the elementary world, the various
kinds of creatures, and the uninterrupted fuc^-
ceffion of their generations, are continued and
prefer ved. Nor is divine providence to be con-
fined within the heavens, or in the lower world
reftrained to the care of generals, in oppofition
to individuals ; although the paripatetic fchool
inclined too much to this opinion, and, even the
mafter of that fchool, Ariftotle himfelf, in his
often quoted book, if it really be his, de Mundo.
For, that providence extends to all things in
() Nihil Deo praeftantius, ab eo igitur regi necefle eft.
Cic.
(r) Qui providentiam negant, verbis licet Deum ponunt,
reipfa tollunt.
Lefl. XIII. Of Divine Providence. 139
this lower globe, from the higheft to the
lowed, and comprehends within its fphere par-
ticular, as well as general things, the leaft as
well as the greateft, is confirmed not only by
the doctrine of the facred fcripture, but alfo by
the teftimony of all found philofophy.
Therefore, in maintaining the doctrine of
providence, ift, we affirm, that the eternal
mind has an abfolute and perfect knowledge of
all things in general, and every fingle one in
particular > nor does he fee only thofe that are
actually prefent, as they appear in their order
upon the ftage of the world ; but at one view
comprehends all that are paft, as well as to come,
as if they were all actually prefent before him(^).
This the antient philofopher Thales is faid to
have afTerted exprefsly, even with regard to the
hidden motions, and mpft fecret thoughts of the
human mind ; for being afked, " If any one,
" that does evil, can conceal it from God ? He
" anfwered, no, not even his evil thoughts (*)."
" Nothing is left unprovided for, fays St. Bafil,
" nothing is overlooked by God his watchful
ct eye fees all things, he is prefent every where,
" to give falvation to all (/")." Epictetus has
(ff) To!' ?o1 T*T Iffc-ipnx Wfo? ufi*.
(e) 0tc T^ Xa'9o xxo rl ta^d^ffoit J ('*& $i &amxpt-/&:
(y) 'Outfit etvfonqlw, ^i vusktutw Kotfa, Qiu rotH* tfMtMf o
TTOCTI <mfu t cxoff'^ui ixatfu rr.n <rw?f>.
alfo
140 Of Divine Providence. Left. XIII.
alfo fome very divine thoughts upon this fub-
And here, was any one to refled ferioufly on
the vaft number of affairs, that are conftantly in
agitation in one province, or even in one city, the
many political fchemes and projects, the multi-
plicity of law matters, the flill greater number
of family-affair?, and all the particulars compre-
hended under Co many general heads, he would
be amazed and over-powered with the thoughts
of a knowledge fo incomprehenfibly extenfive.
This was the very thought which excited the
divine Pfalmift's admiration, and made him cry
out with wonder and aftoniftiment, " Such
" knowledge is too wonderful for me j it is
" high, I cannot attain unto it ()/'
2dly, He not only knows all things, and
takes notice of them, but he alfo rules and
governs them : <{ He hath done whatever he
4C pleafed in the heavens and the earth, fays
" the Pfalmift :' and, " He worketh all
<c things, fays the Apoflle, according to the
" counfel of his own will :" he does all things
according to his pleafure ; but that pleafure is
influenced by his reafon, all things abfolutely ;
but yet all things with the greateft juflice, fanc-
tity, and prudence.
() Arr. lib. i. cap. 12. . (b) Pfal. cxxxix. 6.
He
Led. XIII. Of Divine Prwidence. 141
He views and governs the actions of men in
a particular manner j he hath given him a law - t
he hath propofed rewards, and annexed punifli-
ments to enforce it, and engage man's obedi-
ence. And having difcovered, as it were, an
extraordinary concern about him, when he
made him, as we have obferved upon the words,
" Let us. make man ;" in like manner, he ftill
continues to maintain an uncommon good will
towards him ; and, fo to fpeak, an anxious
concern about him : fo that one of the antjents
moft juftly called man, " God's favourite crea-
" ture." And he fpoke much to the purpcfe,
who faid, < God is neither a lover of horfes,
" nor of birds, but of mankind (/')." With
regard to the juftice of the fupreme government
of providence, we meet with a great deal, even
in the antients poets.
" O father Jove, fays /Efchylus, thou reigneft
" in heaven, thou takeft notice of the rafh and
<J wicked actions of Gods and men. Thy care
" even extends to the wild beads-, thou obferves
" the wrongs done them, and fecures their pri-
vileges ^)."
(i) o to; a
(^) Cl Ziv
Zf J* if
2o x^ Syft
<c Though
142 Of Divine Providence. Led, XIIL
< c Though juftlce, fays Euripides, comes
<c late, it is ftill juflice j it lies hid, as it were,
" in ambum, till it finds an opportunity to in-
e flift due punifhment upon the wicked
man(/J."
" Doft thou think, fays ./Efchylus, to get
< the better of the divine knowledge, and that
<c juftice ftands at a diftance from the human
" race ? She is near at hand, and fees without
" being feen j me knows who ought to be
" punimed - y but when fhe will fuddenly fall
tc upon the wicked, that thou knoweft not (;)."
c The weight of juftice, fays the fame au-
" thor, in another place, falls upon fome quick-
" ly in the day-time, it lies in wait for fome
<c fins till the twilight ; the longer it is delayed,
t the feverer the punifhment ; accordingly,
" fome areconfigned to eternal night ()."
AM
^EXa s orcc,
Ti* King* &fmt.
(m) Aoxtt; Ta^tut yv&rtfra, tx?ra' txvrt
'H y l
() PoTffij J* I-
ra? i/.e)" f
Taj 3' oxgacT' tpj w|.
The
Lc&. XIII. Of Divine Providence. 143
There are two difficulties, however, on this
head which are not eafily folved. i ft, The fuccefs
that commonly attends the wicked in this world,
and the evil to which the good are expcfed. On
this fubjecl:, even the philofophers, pleading the
caufe of God, which, if we take their word,
they thought a matter of no great difficulty, ad-
vanced a great many things. Seneca tells us,
<c There is a fettled friendmip, nay, a near re-
" lation and fimilitude between God and good
" men ; he is even their father j but, in their
<c education, he inures them to hardships :
u when therefore you fee them ftruggling with
" difficulties, fweating, and employed in up-
" hill work ; while the wicked, on the other
" hand, are in high fpirits, and fwim in plea-
< fures j confider, that we are pleafed with
* c modefty in our children, and forwardnefs in
lt our Haves : the former we keep under by
" fevere difcipline, while we encourage impu-
<f dence in the latter. He perfuaded, that God
" takes the fame method ; he does not pam-
<c per the good man with delicious fare, but
ic tries him ; he accuftoms him to hardmips,
" and, which is a wonderful expreffion in a
" heathen, PREPARES HIM FOR HIMSELF (0)."
(0) Inter bonos viros ac DEUM t^l amicitia, imoneceffituco,
& fimilitudo, irao ilJe corum pater, fed durius cos educat, cum
And
Of Bwine Devotion. Left. XIII.
And in another place, <c Thofe luxurious per-
" fons, whom he feems to indulge and to fpare,
sc he referves for evils to come. For you are
" miftaken, if you think any one excepted ;
" the man, who has been long fpared, will at
" laft have his portion of mifery ; and he, that
" feems to have been difmifled, is only delayed
C for a time (p)" and a vaft deal more to this
purpofe. The fame fort of fentiments we meet
with in Plutarch : " God takes the fame me-
ct thod, fays he, with good men, that teachers
st do with their fcholars, when they exal more
< than ordinary of thofe children, of whom
" they have the greateft hopes (q)" And it
is a noble thought, which we meet with in the
fame author, " If he, who tranfgrefTes in the
41 morning, fays he, is punifhed in the even-
" * n g> y ou w ^ not ^ a y tnat > i n tn ^ s cafe, juftice
itaq; eos videris laborare, fudare, & ardam afcendere, males
autem lafcivire, & voluptatibus fluere, cogita, filiorum nos
modeftia dele&are, vrnularum licentia : illos difciplina trifti-
ori contineri, horum aliaudaciam. Idem tibi de DEO liqueat,
bonum virum deliciis non innutrit, experitur, indurat, &
SIBI ILLUM PR^PARAT.
(/) Eos autem quibus indalgere videlur, quibus parcere,
molles Venturis malis fervat. Erratis enim fi quern judicatis
exceptum, veniet ad ilium diu felicem fua portio. Et qui vide-
tur dimiflus effe, delatus eft. SEN. deGubern. Mundi.
(o) Hanc rationem DEUS fequitur in bonis viris, quam in
difcipulis fuis preceptores, qui plus laboris ab iis exigunt, in
quibur certior fpes eft. Plut. { TW ifgaJi^ f^u^iwt.
is
Left. XIII. Of Divine Providence. 145
" is flow 5 but to God one, or even feveral ages,
" are but as one day (r)." How near is this to
St. Peter's faying on the fame fubjedt (s) ?
2dly, The other point upon this fubjeft,
which perplexes men fond of controverfy, and
is perplexed by them, is how to reconcile hu-
man liberty with divine providence, which we
have taken notice of before. But to both thefe
difficulties, and to all others, that may occur
upon the fubjecl:, I would oppofe the laying of
St. Auguftine, " Let us grant that he can do
< e fome things which we cannot underftand (/)."
What a melancholy thing would it be to live
in a world where anarchy reigned ? It would
certainly be a woful fituation to all ; but more,
efpecially, to the beft, and mofl inoffenfive part
of mankind. It would have been no great pri-
vilege to have been born into a world without
God, and without providence j for if there was
no fuprcme ruler of the world, then undoubted-
ly the wickednefs of men would reign without
any curb or impediment, and the great and
powerful would unavoidably devour the weak
and hsJplefs, " as the great fimes often eat up
(r) Si qui mane peccavit, vefpere puniatur, tardum hoc
non dies, at DEO feculum, vel etiam plura fecula pro die uno.
(j) 2 Pet. iii. 8.
(/) Demus ilium aliquod facere, & nos non po/Te intelligere.
L " tha
146 Of Divine Providence. Led. XHL
tl the fmall, and the hawk makes havock a-
f: mong the weaker birds ()."
It may be objeded, that this frequently hap-
pens, even in the prefent world, as appears from
the prophecies of Habbakuk(#) ; bat the prophet,
immediately after, afTerts, that there is a fupreme
power, which holds the reins in the midft of
thefe irregularities j and, tho' they are fome-
times permitted, yet there is a determinate time
appointed for fetting all things to rights again,
which the juft man expeds, and, till it comes,
lives by faith (y). SomepaiTages of Arifton's
Tambicks are admirable to this purpofe.
" A. Be patient ; for God ufes to fupport
c: worthy men, fuch as you are, in a remark-
ec able manner: and unlefs thofe, who ad in
<c a becoming manner, are to receive fome great
tc reward, to what purpofe is it, pray, to cultivate
* c piety any longer ? B. I wi(h that may be the
*' cafe ; but I too often fee thofe, who conform
" themfelves to the rules of piety and virtue, op-
<c prefied by calamity ; while thofe, who mind
*' nothing but what they are prompted to by
<rt private intereft and profit, thrive and fiouri/h
c< much better than we. A. For the prefent
( w ) Pifces ut fsepe ninutos
Magna comeft, & aves enecat acciplter.
(,v) Hab. cap. i.
' ,) Ibid. cap. ii.
Led. XIII. Of Divine Providence. 147
" it is To, indeed ; but it becomes us to look a.
" great way forward, nnd wait till the world
<{ has compleated its full revolution ; for it is
te by no means true, that this life is entirely
t{ under the dominion of blind chance, or for-
<e tune, though many entertain this wicked
" notion ; and the corrupt part of mankind,
tc from this confideration, encourage themfelves
<{ in immorality : but the virtues of the good
" will meet with a proper reward, and the
" wicked will be punifhed for their crimes 5
" for nothing happens without the will of
<c heaven (2)."
What the poets fometimes advance concern-
ing a fupreme fate, which governs all things,
they often afcribe to God j though now and
then they forget themfelves, and fubjedl even
the fupreme Being to their fate, as the Stoic
philofophers did alfo: but poffibly they both
had a found meaning, though it was couched
under words that found a little harfh ; and this
meaning now and then breaks forth, particularly
when they celebrate God, for difpofing all
things, by an eternal law, according to his own
good pleafure, and thereby make him the
fupreme and univerfal governor, fubjecl: to no
other, but, in fome refpecl, to himfelf, or to
(*) A. u^ffn. Bor&tit <KffH 7o7?u a|eJ;
*ifc'6i o Stcf, &C.
L 2 his
H8 Of Dhine Prwidence. Left. XIII.
his decrees ; which, if you underftand them in
a found fenfe, is all that they can mean by their
crtpwrarof, anc j their w ^ra&arrw. The fame judg-
ment is to be paired with regard to what we
find faid about fortune ; for either that word fig-
nines nothing at all, or you muft underftand by-
it the fupreme mind, freely difpofing of all
things ; and this is very clearly attefted by the
following excellent verfes of Menander.
" Ceafe to improve your minds, for the
* e mind of man is nothing at all. The govern-
tc ment of all things is folely in the hands of
ic fortune ; whether this fortune be a mind, or
<c the fpirit of God, or whatever elfe it is, it
ct carries all before it ; human prudence is but a
*' vapour, a mere trifle, &c. (a)"
We have alfo a great many proofs, that, in
the opinion of the old poets, fate and fortune
were precifely the fame; one inftance wheie-
of we meet with in the following pafTage,
* c Fortune and fate, Pericles, are the givers of
" all that man enjoys (b)"
() avo-ourt f
AnQ(>u'i3-n>&> va? frit
tT" Eft 7ravT x xve^u]/ t
K a-u^or, v) Gr^otijHx, i' y SJT^, xaiwoc,
Ken q>*.waG>g t &C.
And
Left. XIII. Of Divine Providence. 149
And, inftead of the terms fate and fortune,
they fometimes ufed the word neceffity. But
all thefe were but other names, though ill-
chofen, for providence. f Euripides, having faid
a great deal concerning fate or neceffity, at laft
refolves the whole into this : <{ Jupiter executes,
<f with thee, all he had decreed before (<;)."
And Homer's words are very remarkable :
* e Jupiter, fays he, increafes or diminimes the
" valour of men, as he thinks proper ; for he
(C is the moft powerful of all (d)."
And in another place, " Jove, from Olympus,
" diftributes happinefs to good and bad men in
" general, and every one in particular, as he
<c himfelf thinks proper (*)."
Let us, therefore, look upon God as our
father, and venture to truft him with our all ;
let us afk and beg of him what we want, and
look for fupplies from no other quarter. This
the indulgent father in Terence defired, and
much more our heavenly father. And furely
every thing is better conducted by a dutiful love
and confidence, than by an ignoble and fervile
(c ) Kxt yxf Zsvs 9, /r<n
Xuf era* TBTO T**tfl. Eurip. in Alceftidc.
(/) Zet,'; ^ a'fST*)* ou$yvvi o<peJ&ti TE /*iyy6i re.
"Otsr'zr^ !< iS^jjo-iv o ya% KstpTir* a.-naivlay. Horn. II. XX.
(e) Zst'? o* u.rro<; vipn oX@o "OAi;/x<crt j (H6f<WBJtf-i
'f.rv?.9;r.c/Kxor<riy, cww; i$t^v6 ixrw. Hoin, OdyfT. iv.
L 3 fear*
150 Of Divine Prwidence. Left. XIII.
fear; and we are very injurious both to him an4
ourfelves, when we think not, that all things,
on his part, are managed with the greatcft good-
nefs and bounty. It is a true teft of religion and
obedience, when, with honourable thoughts,
and a firm confidence in our father, we abfo-
lutely depend upon him, and ferye him from a
principle of love. <c Be not, fays Atiguftine, a
." froward boy, in the houfe of the bcft of fa-
<c thers ; loving him when he is fond of thee,
<c and hating him when he gives thee chaftife-
ee rnent; as if, in both cafes, he did not intend
" to provide an inheritance for thee (/)/' If
we fuppofe this providence to be the wifcft and
the heft, ic is necefTary that, in every inftance,
pur wills fhould be perfectly fubmifUve to its
defigns j otherwife we prefer our own pleafure
to the will of heaven, which appears very unna-
tural. St. Auguiline, on the expreffion, upright
in heart, which we frequently meet with in the
Pfalms, makes an excellent obfervation : "If
" you chearfully embrace, fays he, the divine
** will in fome things, but in others would ra-
" ther prefer your own j, you are crooked in
" heart, and would not have your crooked in-
?' clinations conformed to his upright intentions,
(/) Ne fis puer kifulfus in domo optirai patris, amans
patrem, fi tibi blanditur, & odio habens, quando te flngcilat,
non et blandicas, 2c fiagellans hxreditatem paret.
<f but
Left. XIV. Of Cbrijl the Saviour. 1 5 Y
*< but, on the contrary, would bend his upright
" will to yours (g)"
LECTURE XIV.
Of CHRIST tbe SAVIOUR.
IT is acknowledged, that the publication of
the gofpel is exceeding agreeable, and per-
fectly anfwers its original name, which fignifies
good tidings. How much fweeter is this joyful
news, than the moft ravifhing and delightful
concerts of mufick ? Nay, thefe are the bed
tidings that were ever heard in any age of the
world ! O happy fhepherds, to whom this news
was fent down from heaven ! Ye, to be fure,
though watching in the fields, expofed to the
fevere cold of the night, were in this more
happy than kings, that flept at their eafe in
gilded beds, that the wonderful nativity of the
(g) Si vcluntatem divinam in quibufdam ample&eris in a'iis
tuam malles, curvus es corde, & non vis curvam tuam volunta-
tem ad illius rcftam dirigere, fedillius rec\am vis ad tuam cur-
vam incurvare.
L 4 fupreme
152 Of thrift tie Saviour. Led. XIV.
fupreme King, begotten from eternity, that na-
tivity which brought falvation to the whole
world, was firft communicated to you, and
juft at the time it happened. " Behold, fays
" the angel, I bring you glad tidings of great
<c jy> which (hall be to all people; for unto you
" is born this day a Saviour (*)." And im-
mediately a great company of the heavenly
hoft joined the angel, and in your hearing fung,
" Glory to God in the highefl (b)." And in-
deed, in the ftricTreft trqth, " A moft extraordinary
** child was fent down from the lofty heavens,
" &c. (f)"
Whence alfo his name was fent down along
with him, " His name (hall be called Jefus,
<e for he fhall fave his people from their fins.
" O fweet name of Jefus, fays St. Bernard,
<c honey in the mouth, melody in the ears, and
" healing to the heart." This is the Saviour,
who, though we were fo miferable, and fo juft-
ly miferable, yet would not fuffer us to perifli
quite. Nor did he only put on our nature, but
alfo our fins ; that is, in a legal fenfe, our guilt
being transferred to him ; whence we not only
read, " that the word was made flefh (d) ;" but
alfo, <{ that he was made fin for us, who knew
(a) Lukeii. 10, n. ^) Luke ii. 14.
(r ) Jam nova progenies caslo demittitur alto, &c. Virg. Eel.
(</) John i. 14,.
ct ne
Led. XIV. Of Cbrift the Saviour, 153
ic no Cm(e)', and even, as we have it in the
epiftle to the Galatians, that he was made a
curfe (/), that from him an eternal bleffing
and felicity might be derived to us. The fpot-
lefs lamb of God bore our fins, that were de-
volved upon him ; by thus bearing them, he
deftroyed them j and by dying for them, gained
a compleat victory over death. And how won-
derful is the gradation of the bleffings he pro-
cured for us j he not only delivered us from a
prifon and death, but prefents us with a king-
dom ; according to that of the Pfalrnift, " Who
< c redeemeththee from deftruction ; who crown-
" eth thee with loving kindnefs and tender
?' mercies (g)"
I believe there is none fo ftupid or infenflble,
as to refufe that thefe tidings are very agree-
able and pleafing to the ear. But we may, not
without fome reafon, fufpect of the greateft part
of nominal chriftians, who commonly receive
thefe truths with great applaufe, that it may be
laid to them, without any injuftice, {< What is
<c all this to you r" Thefe privileges are truly
great and manifold, and indifferently directed
to all, to whom they are preached, unlefsthey
reject them, and (hut the door againft happir
pefs offering to come in : and this is not only
(g) Pfal. ciii. ( e ) 2 Cor. v. 12. '/) Gal. in".
the
1 54 Of Chnftthe Saviour. Lech XIV.
the cafe of a great part of mankind, but they
alfo impofe upon themieives by falfe hopes, as
if it were enough to hear of thefe great bleffings,
and dream themfelves happy, becaufe thefe
founds had reached their ears. But O unhappy
men ! what will all thefe immenfe riches fignify
to you, I muft indeed fay, if you are not
allowed to ufe them, but rather, if you know
not how to avail yourfelves of them ?
I therefore earneftly wim that thefe words-
of the gofpel were well fixed in your minds :
<c He was in the world, and the world was
<f made by him, and the world knew him not.
" He came into his own, and his own received
*' him not ; but as many as received him, to
' them gave he power to become the fons of
God ()"
In him all the treafures of wifdom and know-
ledge are hid, and without him there is nothing
but emptinete j te becaufe in him all fulnefs doth
* { dwell." But what advantage can it be to us to
hear thefe riches of oar Jefus fpoke of at great
length, and to excellent purpofe, or even to
fpeak of them ourfelves, if, all the while, we
talk of them as a good foreign to us, and in
which we have no concern, becaufe our hearts
are not yet open to receive him. What, pray,
(*) John I. 10, IT, 12.
would
Lea. XIV. Of Cbrift the Saviour. 155
would the moft accurate defcription of the For-
tunate inlands, as they are called, or all the
wealth of the Indies, and the new world, with
its golden mines, fignify to a poor man half
naked, ftruggling with all the rigours of cold
and hunger ? mould one, in thefe circumftances>
I fay, hear or read of thefe immenfe treafures ;
or fliould any one defcribe them to him in
the moft ftriking manner, either by word of
mouth, or with the advantage of an accurate
pen ; can it be doubted, but this empty difplay
of riches, this phantom of wealth and affluence,
would make his fenfe of want and mifery the
more intolerable ; unlefs it be fuppofed, that
defpair had already reduced him to a ftate of
infenfibility ? What further enhances the mifery
of thofe, who hear of this treafure, and think
of it to RO purpofe, is this, that there is none
of them, who is not miferable by choice, " and
li a Beggar in the midft of the greateft wealth,"
and not only miferable by choice, but obflinately
fo, from an invincible and diftracled fondnefs
for the immediate caufes of his mifery : <c For
? ' c who but a downright madman would reject
<c fuch golden offers (/) ?"
To give a brief and plain (late of the cafe ;
to thofe, that (incerely and with all their hearts
(/) Quis enim nifi mentis inops oljlatum hoc refpuat
. rn ?
receive
156 Of Chrift the Saviour. Left. XIV.
receive him, Chrift is all things ; to thofe that
receive him not, nothing* For, how can any
good, however fuitable or extenfive, be actually
enjoyed j or, indeed, any fuch enjoyment con-
ceived, without fome kind of union between
that good, and the perfon fuppofed to fland in
need of it ? " Behold, fays the Pfalmift, all
" thofe, that are far from thee, {hall perim."
To be united to God, is the great, and the only
good of mankind ; and the only means of this
union is Jefus, in whatever fenfe you take it:
he ought truly to be called the union of unions ;
who, that he might with the greater confiftency,
and the more clofely unite our fouls to God,
did not difdain to unite himfelf to a human
body.
The great bufinefs of our life, therefore,
young Gentlemen, is this acceptance of Chrifr,
and this inseparable union with him, which we
are now recommending. Thrice happy, and
more than thrice happy are they, who are joined
with him in this undivided union, which no
complaints, nor even the day of death can
diflblve ; nay, the laft day is happy above all
other days, for this very reafon, that it fully and
finally compleats this union, and is fo far from
diflblving it, that it renders it abfolutely perfect
and everlafling.
But
Left. XI Vi Of drift tie Swicur. i$j
But that it may be coeval with eternity, and
laft for ever, it is abfolutely necefTary that
this union mould have its beginning in this flbrort
and fleeting life. And, pray, what hinders
thofe of us, that have not entered into this union
before, to enter into it without delay ? Seeing
the bountiful Jefus not only rejects none that
come unto him, but alfo offers him felf to all that
do not willfully reject him, and {landing at the
door, earneftly begs to be admitted. O ! " why
" do not thefe everlafting doors open, that
the king of glory may enter (/)," and reign
within us ? Nay, though he were to be fought
in a far country, and with great labour, why
fhould we delay, and what unhappy chains de-
tain us ? why do we not, after fhaking them all
off, and even ourfelves, go as it were out of our-
felves, and feek him-inceffantly till we find him?
then rejoicing over him, fay with the heavenly
fpoufe, " I held him, and would not let him
go";" an d further add, with the fame fpoufe,
that bleffed expreffion, <c My beloved is mine,
" and I am his." And, indeed, this propriety is
always reciprocal. No man truly receives Jefus,
that does not, at the fame time, deliver up him-
felf wholly to him. Among all the advan-
tages we purfue, there is nothing comparable
to this exchange. Our gain is immenfe from
(/) Pfal v x i v .
both,
158 Of Cbrift the SavioUr. Led. XIV,
both, not only from the acceptance of him, but
al/b from furrendering ourfelves to him : fo long
as this is delayed, we are the mofl abject
flaves : when one has delivered himfelf up to
Chrift, then and then only he is truly free, and
becomes mafter of himfelf. Why fhould we
wander about to no purpofe ? To him let us turn
our eyes, on him fix our thoughts, that he,
who is ours by the donation of the Father, and
his own free gift, may be ours by a chearful
and joyous acceptance. As St. Bernard fays on
thefe words of the prophet, " To us a child is
<c born, to us a fon is given. Let us therefore
<c make ufe of what is ours, faith he, for our own
" advantage (m)." So then, let him be ours by
-poffejfion and ufe (ri), and let us be his for ever,
never forgetting how dearly he has bought us.
(/) Puer nafus eft nobis, films no&is datus eft. Utamu'r,
inquit, noftro in utilitatem noftram.
() xlu
L E C T U R E
led. XV. Of Regeneration. 159
LECTURE XV.
Of REGENERATION.
THE Platonics divide the world into twcr,
the fenflble and intellectual world 5 they
imagine the one to be the type of the other, and
that fenfible and fpiritual things are ftamped,.
as it were, with the fame (lamp orfeal. Thefe
fentiments are not unlike the notions, which
the matters of the cabaliiiical doctrine among.
the Jews, concerning God's fepbirotb and feal,
wherewith, according to them, all the worlds,
and every thing in them, are damped or
fealed 5 and thefe are probably near akin to-
what Lord Bacon of Verulam calls his pa-
ralklafignacula, and Jym&olfzantcs fchematijmL
According to this hypothefis, thele parables and
metaphors, which are often taken from natural
things to illuftrate fuch as are divine, will not be
fimilitudes taken entirely at pleafure; but are
often, in a great meafure, founded in nature,
and the things themfelves. Be this as it may,
that great change, which happens in the fouls
of
160 Of Regeneration. Led. XV.
of men by a real and effectual conversion to God,
is illuft rated in the holy fcriptures by feveral re-
markable changes both natural and civil, parti-
cularly by a deliverance from claim, prijon and
Jlavery j by a tranjition from one kingdom to an-
other, and from darknefs into light ; by a reftora-
tionfrom death to life ; by a new creation ; by a
marriage-, and by adoption and regeneration. Con-
cerning this great change, as itisreprefentedunder
the laft of thefe figures, we propofe, with divine
affiftance, to offer a few thoughts from thefe
words of St. John's gofpel, which we have al-
ready mentioned ; " to as many as received him,
<c to them gave he power, or the privilege to
*' become the fons of God (a)." Together with
thefe words of our Saviour in another place of
the fame gofpel, " except a man be born again
" of water and of the fpirit, he cannot enter in-
e to the kingdom of God (),"
If, indeed, we confider the nature and the
original of man, it is not, without reafon, that
he is called the fon of <3W, according to that
paffage, which the apoftle, in his fhort, but
moft weighty fermon to the Athenians, quotes
from the poet Aratus, and at the fame time ap-
proves of, " for we are all his offspring (<:)."
Our firfr. parent, in St. Luke's gofpel, is alfo ex-
(a) John i. 12. () Ibid. iii. 3. (<r) TS y f % yi^ iV/tw.
prefsly
Led. XV. Of Regeneration. \ 6 1
prefsly called the Son of God (</), not only bc-
caufe he was created immediately by God, wich-
out any earthly father, but alfo on account of the
divine image, that was originally imprefTed up-
on the human nature.
. And this glorious title, which diflinguimes
him from all other corporeal beings, he has in
common wich the angels, who are alfo fo called
in feveral places of the book of Job (e). It is
indeed true, to uie the words of St. Bafil,
" That every piece of workmanfhip bears fome
" mark or character of the workman who made
" it(/) :" for I fhould rather chufe, in this
cafe, to ufe the word ' mark or character than
likenefs : but of man alone it is faid, " Let us
" make him after our own image." And this
diitinftion is not improperly exprefTed by the
fchoolmcn, who fay, as we have already
obferved, that all the other works of God
are ftamped with the print of his foot ; but
only man, of all the vifible creation, fconotir-
ed with the image or likenefs of his face. And
indeed, on account of this image or refemblance
it is, that he is in dignity very nearly equal to
the angels, though made inferior to" them.
Here it is to be obierved, that this inferiority
{</) Lukeiii. ult.
(#) Job i. 6. and xxxviii. 7.
(f) vai re yyet&pftw t%jm TU T~a T*!O- T:
M is
1 62 Of Regeneration. Left. XV.
is but little, " Who was made, faith the A-
" pottle, a little lower than the angels (g) :"
fo that, with regard to his body, he is nearly re-
lated to the brute creatures, and only a little fu-
perior to them, with regard to temperament,
and the beautiful elegance of his frame, but
made out of the very fame materials, the fame
moift and foft clay, taken from the bofom of
their great and common mother ; whereas, to
ufe the words of the poet, " The foul is the
" breath of God, which takes its rife from
< heaven, and is clofely united to his earthly
" body, like a light mut up in a dark cavern(^) ."
That divine part of the human compofition
derives its original from the father of fpirits, in
the fame manner with thofe minifters of fire,
who are not confined to corporeal vehicles j con-
cerning whom the oracle, having acknowledged
one fupreme and divine majefty, immediately
fubjoins ; <c and we angels are but a fmall
" part of God (i).
And with regard to this principle, which
excells in man, which actually conftitutes the
man, and on account of which he moft truly
deferver that name, he is a noble and divine ani-
(g) Heb. ii. 9.
() Vvxy ^ rv ar,fj.ce. Gta > p.i%m /]Xt)
N*Z,
(0 M^4
mal j
Left. XV. Of Regeneration. 163
mal j and whatever fome fanciful and proud
men may boaft, concerning their families, " if
te we confider our original, and that God was
" the author of the human kind, none of
" Adam's race can be called ignoble (k)"
But if, on the other hand, we regard our
woeful fall, which was the confequence of fin,
we are all degenerate ; we have all fallen from
the higheft honour into the greateft difgrace,
and the deepeft gulph of all forts of mifery ; we
have given away our liberty and greateft dignity,
in exchange for the moft fhameful and moft
deplorable bondage j inftead of the fons of God,
we are become the flaves of Satan ; and if we
now want to know to what family we belong,
'the Apoftle will tell us, ce That we are chil-
C{ dren of wrath, and fons of difobedienee (/)."
But, as the overflowing fountain of goodncfs
and bounty did not chufe that fo noble a monu-
ment of his wifdom mould be entirely ruined by
this difmal fall j could any one be more proper
to raife it up again, or better qualified to reftore
men to the dignity of the fons of God, than
his own eternal Son, who is the moft perfedl
(k} Si primordia noftra,
Anthoremq; Deum fpedles,
Null us degener extat.
Boeth. de Conf. Phil. lib. iii. met. 6.
(/) 'y' cl Vn9a; ^ rx.* opyr.i;. Eph. U. 2, 3.
M 2 and
1 64 Of Regeneration. Led*. XV.
and exprefs image of the Father. Nor does this
glorious perfon decline the fevere fervice : tho'
he was the fon of his Father's love, the heir and
lord of the whole univerfe ; though he might
be called the delight of his moft exalted Father,
and of all blefled fpirits, and now, with the
greateft juftice, the darling of the human kind j
yet he left his Father's bofom, and, O wonder-
ful condefcenfion ! became the fon of man, that
men might, anew, become the fons of God :
whence he is alfo called the fecond Adam, be-
caufe he recovered all that was loft by the
firft.
That all, who fincerely receive him, might
be again admitted into the embraces of the Fa-
ther, and no more be called children of wrath,
he himfelf fubmitted to the punimment due to
our difobcdience ; and, by bearing it, removed
our guilt, and pacified juflice. He alfo went
into the flames ofdivine wrath to deliver us from
them ; and, by a plentiful ftream of his moft
precious blood, quite extinguifhed them. He
likewife took effectual care that thofe, who were
now no longer to .be called children of wrath,
(hould alfo ceafe to be children of dif obedience, by
pouring out upon them a plentiful efFufion of his
fandtifying fpirit j that their hearts being there-
by purged from all impure affections, and the
love of earthly things, they might, under the
influence
Led. XV. Of Regeneration. 165
influence of the fame good fpirit, chearfully lead
a life of ilncere and univerfal obedience. Now,
it cannot be doubted, that thofe, who are fo
acted and conducted by the divine fpirit, are
truly the Jons of God. Whence that fpirit,
whereby they call God their Father, and, with
confidence apply to him as fuch, is called the
fpirit of adoption*
Mpreover, this wonderful reftoration is often
called adoption, not only to diftinguifh it from
the natural and incomparable dignity, which
belongs to the only begotten Son ; but alfo be-
caufe we, by no means, derive this privilege
from nature, but abfolutely from the free do-
nation of the Father, through the mediation of
his only Son. We muft not, however, conclude
from this, that this privilege has nothing more
in it than an honourable title, or, as they call
it, an external relation. For it is not only infe-
parably connected with a real and internal
change, but with a remarkable renovation,
and, as it were, a transformation of all the facul-
ties of the foul, nay, even of the whole man.
You will accordingly find thefc words applied
to this purpofe, by the apoftle Paul, in his
epiftle to the Romans (;;;). And, to conclude,
it is with a view to convince us, that, toge-
(*) Rom. xii. z.
M 9 ther
1 66 Of Regeneration. Left. XV.
ther with the title of fons, the fpirit of God is
given to believers, aa4 they are inwardly renewed
thereby, that we, fo often, in fcripture meet
with this regeneration, which is the fubject
of our prefent difcourfe.
If we confider the lives of men, we will be
apt to imagine, that the generality of mankind,
who live in the world under the name of chrif-
tians, think it fufficient for them to be called by
this name, and dream of nothing further. The
common fort of mankind hear with pleafure and
delight of free remiflion of fins, imputed righte-
oufnefs, of the dignity of the fons of God, and the
eternal inheritance annexed to that dignity ; but
when they are told, that repentance, a new
heart, and a new life, contempt of the world,
and the pleafures of theflefh, fading and prayer,
are ablolutely neceffary for a chriftian, c< Thefe
<c are hard fayings, who can bear them ?"
Though at the fame time, it muft be faid, that
they, who do not regard thefe neceflary duties,
will have no {hare in the reward annexed to
them.
There are many things which diftinguim
this divine adoption from that which obtains a-
mongmen. ift, The former is not an expe-
dient to fupply the want of children, which is
commonly the cafe among men; for God has
Jiis only begotten Son, who is incomparably
preferable
Le. XV. Of Regeneration. 167
preferable to all the reft taken together, who is
immortal as his Father ; and though, from a
principle of wonderful humility, he conde-
fcended to become mortal, and even to die, yet
he rofe again from the dead, and liveth for ever.
From him is derived all that felicity, which our
heavenly Father is pleafedto confer upon us, out
of his mere grace and bounty, through the me-
rits and mediation of his dear Son. And is there
any one, on whom this felicity is beftowed,
who will not freely acknowledge himfelf to be
quite unworthy of fo great an honour (n) ?
Yet fuch honour has the eternal and incom-
prehenfible love of God condefcended to beftow
on us, who are quite unworthy and undeferving;
and in this alfo, the divine adoption differs from
that which is cuftomary among men, who ge-
nerally chufe the moft deferring they can meet
with. But all thofe, whom God maketh choice
of, are unworthy, and fome even are remark-
ably fo. 2dly, Men generally adopt but one a
piece, or at mod a few ; but divine adoption
admits into the heavenly family a mod nume-
rous hoft, extending even unto myriads, that
Jefus, who is the head of the family, " may
" be the firft born among many brethren."
And, 3dly, They are all heirs j whence it is
() Haud equidem tali me dignor honore. Virg. xEneid. \.
M 4 faid,
1 68 Of Regeneration. Lefl. XV.
faid, in another place, '< That he might bring
" many fons into glory." Nor is the inheri-
tance of any individual in the leaft diminished
in confequence of fo vaft a multitude of heirs
for it is an inheritance in light, and every one has
the whole of it. Nor do the children come into
the poflfeffion of this inheritance by the death of
the Father, but every one, when he dies himfelf ;
for the Father is immortal, and, according to
the apoftle, the " only one that has immorta-
" lity ;" that is, in an abfolute, primary, and
and independent fenfe. Nay, he himfelf is the
eternal inheritance of his fons, and death alone
brings them into his prefence, and admits them
into the full enjoyment of him. 4thly, Which
I would have particularly obferved, this divine
adoption is not a matter of mere external honour,
nor fimply the beftowing of riches and an inhe-
ritance ; but always attended with a real internal
change of the man himfelf, to a being quite dif-
ferent from what he was before ; which is alfo
recorded in facred Scripture, concerning Saul,
when he was anointed King : but this human
adoption can by no means perform. This laft,
in the choice of a proper object, juftly pays re-
gard fo merit ; for tho' the richeft, and even the
beft of men, may cloath richly the perfon whom
he has thought proper to adopt, and get him
inftructed in the beft principles and rules of
conduct j
Left. XV. Of Regeneration. 169
conduct ; yet he cannot effectually diveft him
of his innate difpofitions, or thofe manners that
have become natural by cuftom : he cannot
form his mind to noble actions, nor plant with-
in him the principles of fortitude and virtue.
But he, that formed the heart of man, can re-
form it at his pleafure : and this he actually does ;
whenever he admits a perfon into his royal fa-
mily, he, at the fame time, endows him with royal
and divine difpofitions : and, therefore, if he
honours any perfon with his love, that perfon,
thereby, becomes deferving ; becaufe, if he
was not fo before, he makes him fo j he ftamps
his own image upon him, in true and lively co-
lours ; and, as he is holy himfelf, he makes
him holy likewife. Hence it is, that this hea-
venly adoption is no lefs properly, truly, or fre-
quently, in the facred Scriptures, called regene-
ration (o).
And though a Jew, and a celebrated doctor
of the Jewi(h law, excepted againft this doctrine,
when it was propofed to him under this name ;
yet neither all of that nation, nor even the
Gentile philofophers, were quite unacquainted
with it. Rabbi Ifrael calls the profelytes, new-
born Jews. And thefe paffages, which we
frequently meet with, concerning the feed of A-
() riaMpyEXEC'la.
braham,
1 70 Of Regeneration. Led. XV,
braham, and in the prophets, concerning the
numerous converts that were to be made to the
ehurch, are by their Rabbins, and the Chaldee
paraphraft, applied to this fpiritual generation,
which they believed would remarkably take
place in the days of the Meffiah; particularly
thefe two paflages in the Pfalms, in one where-
of the fpiritual fons of the church are compared
to the drops of the morning dew (/>), not only
on account of its celeftial purity, but alfo with
regard to the vaft multitude of them. Some
of thefe doctors alfo obferve, that the number
of profelytes would be fo great in the days
of the Meffiah, that the church, omitting the
ceremony of a circumcilion, would receive them
into its bofom, and initiate them by ablu-
tion or baptifm. Concerning this renovation
of the mind, Philo Judaeus fays exprefsly, " God
< c who is unbegotten himfelf, and begets all
e things, fows this feed, as it were, with his
" own hand, &c. (y)" Hierocles, and other
Pythagorean philofophers, treat alfo of this moral
or myftical regeneration ; and under this very
name Plutarch alfo makes mention of it, and
defines it to. be <e the mortification of irrational
(/) Pfal. xlv. 1 6. Pfal. ex. iii.
(?) ctytwrof o toj, x} ret ffvpifunoi ysyaV, raiipi pa Tare Te ytv*-
p TO ?3iov, &C.
and
Led. XV. Of Regeneration. 171
" and irregular appetites ;" and Seneca's words
relative to this fubject are, "The families of the
" arts and fciences are the moft noble, chufe in-
" to which of them you will be adopted, for by
" this means we may be born according to our
" own choice j nor will you be adopted into the
" name only, but alfo into the goods of the fa-
" mily (r)."
Is not alfo the common cuftom, that pre-
vailed among the antients, of honouring their
heroes, and thofe men who were remarkable for
exalted virtue, with the title of fons ef God, a
plain allufion to this adoption we have under our
confideration ? And what we have obferved on
the philofophers, who acknowledged this moral
or metaphorical regeneration, is fo very true,
that it gave a handle to the fictions of thofe an-
tient hereticks, who evaded the whole doctrine
and faith of the laft refurrection, by putting this
figurative fenfe upon it. As to what the Roman
philofopher obferves, that we may be born in
this manner at our own pleafure or difcretion,
though, to be fure, it is not without our con-
fent, yet it does not altogether, nor principally
depend upon us ; our facred and apoftolic doc-
trine prefents us with much more juft and pure
(r) Nobiliffimae funt ingeniorum familiar, elige in quam arf-
feifci veils, hac enim ratione, nobis ad arbitrium noftrum nafci
licet, nee in nomcn, tan turn adoptaberis, fed & in ipfa bona.
notions
172 Of Regeneration. Led. XV.
notions on this fubjeft, when it teaches us, that
" of his o n will he begat us by the word of
" truth (s)." This is alfo reprefented in exprefs
terms in thofe words of the gofpel, which im-
mediately follow the pafTage we mentioned at
the beginning of this difcourfe, " which were
' born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
" flefh, nor of the will of men, but of God (/)."
And, with great propriety, there is immediately
added another generation ftill more wonderful
and myfterious, which is the principal and fource
of this renovation of ours, <c the word was made
" flefh." For to this end, God was pleafed to
clothe himfelf with our flefh, that he might put
his fpirit within us, whereby we, though car-
nal in confequence of the corruption of our
nature, might be born again into a new, fpiri-
tual and divine life, The Holy Ghoft, by
overfhadowing the bleffed virgin, was, in a very
particular manner, the author of the human
nature of the Son of God, and to the virtue and
divine power of the fame fpirit all the adopted
children of the Deity owe their new birth. And
as creation goes fometimes under the name of
generation, for inftance, in the words of Mofes,
" of the rock that begot thee thou art unmind-
<f ful, and haft forgotten the God that formed
'* thce () j" that book alfo of the Bible,
(/) James \, 18. (;) Jphni. 13. (*) Deut. xxxii. 18.
which
Led. XV. Of Regeneration. 173
which, from the firft word of it, is called Bere-
Jtith, is by the Greeks named Gene/is, and in
the oldeft copy of the Septuagint, the generation
of the world. And, in the beginning of it,
Mofes fpeaking of the creation of the world,
fays, " Thefe are the generations of the heaven
c and the earth (*)." So, on the other hand,
this fpiritual generation is called creation, and
with an additional epithet, the new creation ; it
has alfo, for its author, the fame powerful fpirit
of God, who of old fat upon the face of the
waters as a bird upon its young, or, as St. Bafil
renders it, hatched ; fo alfo in conversion the
fame fpirit rcfts upon our unformed minds, that
are lifelefs, unprepared, and nothing at all but
cmptinefs and obfcurity, and out of this dark-
ncfs brings forth light, which was the firft and
mod beautiful ornament of the univerfe j to which
the apoftle alfo alludes in his fecond epiflle to
the Corinthians (y). The refurreclion of the
dead is alfo the peculiar work of this enlivening
fpirit of God j and to him the apoftle Peter ex-
prefsly afcri'bes the refurredion of Chrift; " for
<c Chrift alfo, fays he, hath once fufFered for fins,
<c thejuft for the unjuft, that he might bring
tc us to God, being put to death in the flcfti, but
" quickened by the fpirit (2)." And here, again,
(*) Gen. ii. 4. (7)2 Cor. iv. 6. () i Pet. ui. t9.
there
174 Of Regeneration, Left. XV,
there is a mutual exchange of names ; for, in the
gofpel according to Matthew, the refurredlion
of the dead is called the regeneration, " Verily
" I fay unto you, fays our Lord, that ye which
" have followed me, in the regeneration, when
<c the fon of man (hall fit in the throne of his
<c glory, ye alfo mall fit upon twelve thrones(0 )."
Here, in the regeneration muft be connected
with the following words, and by no means
with thofe that go before. And that this was
a common method of fpeaking among the Jews,
appears from Jofephus, " To thofe, fays he,
ct whofe fate it is to die for obferving the law,
" God has given the privileges of being born
" again, and enjoying a more happy life, fo that
ct they are gainers by the exchange (b)" In
like manner Philo faith, " We mall haften to
" the regeneration after death, &c. (c)" On the
other hand, it is very well known, that this
ipiritual regeneration, we are fpeaking of, is
often in Scripture called the refurredtion.
Of this refurre&ion the word of the gofpel is,
as it were, the trumpet; and, at the fame time,
the immortal feed of this new birth, and there-
fore of immortality itfelf. Thus it is reprefented
(a) Math. xix. 28.
() Tot's f p vofjiut 3ia^t'X%8/!'Twii aflroOawSr* $uxsv o to? y\n?ai\
T orator xj (3i6t a/xiw XajSsm sx we^iTfowsjf. Lib. i. COnt. App.
(r) HJ 9u>Ay(nt'w e^im^ty f<T ri 6To>' > &C.
by
Lel. XV. Of Regeneration. 175
by the apoftle Peter (d], and by the apoftle
James, who exprefsly tells us, c< that he hath
" begot us with the word of truth (e)" Now
the enlivening virtue and plaftic power of this
word is derived from the Holy Ghoft, who is the
true fpring and fountain of this new life. Nor
are the moft extended powers of the human
mind, or the ftrength of its underftanding, any
more able to reftore this life within it, even upon
hearing the glad tidings of the gofpel, than it
was capable of producing itfelf at firft, or of be-
ing the author of its own being, or after death
cf reftoring itfelf to life.
To this exalted dignity are admitted the hum-
ble, the poor, the obfcure, the ignorant, bar-
barians, flaves, fmners, whom the world look
upon as nothing, and hold in the greateft con-
tempt : of thefe nothing is required but true and
fincere faith ; no learning, nor noble extract, nor
any fubmiflion to the Mofaic law, but upon
every man, of whatever rank or condition, who
believes this word, he in return beftows this
dignity, " that they mould become the fons of
" God;" that is, that what Chrift was by na-
ture, they mould become by grace. Now, what
is more fublime and exalted than this honour,
that thofe, who were formerly children of Satan,
(4 i Pet. i. 23, (,) Jam.!. 1 8.
and
176 Of Regeneration. Led. XVI.
and heirs of belly mould by faith alone be made
*' the fonsof God, brethren of Chrift, and joint
" heirs of the heavenly kingdom ?" If the facred
fire of the Romans happened at any time to be
extinguimed, it could only be lighted again at
the rays of the fun. The life of fouls, to be
fure, is a facred flame of divine love - y this flame,
as we are now born into the froward race of
fallen mankind, is, alas ! but too truly and un-
happily extinguimed, and by no means to be
kindled again, but by, -the enlivening light and
heat of the fun ofrigbteoufnefs y who is moft au-
fpicioufly anfen upon us.
LECTURE XVI.
Of REGENERATION.
TH E great corruption of mankind, and
their innate difpofition to every fort of
wickednefs, even the doctors of the heathen
nations, that is, their philofophers and theo-
logers, and their poets alfo, were fenfible of,
and acknowledged; though they were quite
ignorant of the fource from which this calamity
was derived. They all own, " That it is natural
to
Left. XVI. Of Regeneration. 177
" to man to fin (a) j" even your favourite philo-
fopher, who prevails in the fchools, declares,
that we are Itrongly inclined to vice (b) ; and
fpeaking of the charms and allurements of for-
bidden pleafurcs, he obferves, that mankind
by nature " is eaiily catched in thefe fnares (c)."
The Roman philofopher takes notice, " That
" the way to vice is not only a defcent, but a
* downright precipice (J)."
And the comic poet, ct That mankind has
" always been, in every refpedl, a deceitful,
" fubtle creature^)."
The fa ty rift like wife obferves, " That we
tc are all eafily prevailed on to imitate things
" that are, in their nature, wicked and dif-
" graceful (/)."
And the Lyric poet, " That the human race,
<c bold to attempt the greateft dangers, rufhes
ic with impetuofity upon forbidden crimes (g)."
(6) ivxarcttpifui;. A rift. Eth. ii.
(f) ivyyfctTov inon VTTO TU'-J Toii?Tfc>.
Advitia, non tantum pronum iter, fedet prarccps.
fx.iv xa.ru mafia $>) Tfowst
(/) - Deciles imitandis
Turpibus & pravis omnes fumus. Juv. Satyr, xiv.
(j^) - Audax omnia perpeti,
Gens humana ruit per vetitum ncfas. HOR. Od. lib. i.
N ' All
I7&- Of Regeneration. Left. XVI.
All the wife men among the heathens exerted
their utmoft, to remedy this evil by precepts and
inftitutions of philofophy, but to very little pur-
pofc. They could not, by all their arts and
ail their precepts, make others better; nay, with
regard to moft of them, we may fay, nor
even themfelves. But, " when there was no
" wifdom in the earth, fays Laftantius, that
" blefied doctor was fent down from heaven,
<c who is the way, the truth, and the life (&),"
and, by an almighty power, effected what all
others had attempted in vain.
It is not at all to be doubted, but the end
propofed by philofophy, was to renew and to
reform mankind, and to reduce the courfe of
their lives to a conformity with the precepts of
wifdom and virtue. Whence the common de-
finition, given of philofophy, is, ft That it is
" the rule of life, and the art or fcience of living
<c uprightly." To this purpofe Seneca fays,
" Philofophy is the law of living honeftly and
" uprightly." True religion, to be fure, has
the fame tendency : but it promotes its end with
much greater force, and better fuccefs ; becaufe
its principles are much more exalted, its pre-
cepts and inftruftions are of greater purity, and
it is, befides, attended with a divine power,
(b) Sed cum nulla eflet fspientia in terris, mifTus efte coelo
dodorille, via, veritas & vita.
whereby
Left. XVI. Of Regeneration. 179
whereby it makes its way into the hearts of
men, and purifies them with the greateft force
and efficacy ; and yet, at the fame time, with the
moft wonderful pleafure and delight. And this
is the regeneration of which we are fpeaking,
and whereof we have already obferved, that
philofophy acknowledged it, even under the
fame name ; but that it effected ir, we abfolute-
ly deny. Now, it is evident from the very name,
that we are tounderftand by it an inward change,
and that a very remarkable one. And fince
God is called the author and fource of this
change, whatever the philofophers may have
difputed, pro and con y concerning the origin of
moral virtue, we are, by no means, to doubt,
but this facred and divine change upon the
heart of man, is produced by an influence truly
divine : and this was even Plato's opinion con-
cerning virtue; nor do I imagine you are unac-
quainted with it. The fame philofopher, and
feveral others befides him, exprefsly aflerted,
that virtue was a kind of image or likenefs of
God, nay, that it was the effect of infpiration,
and partook, in fome refpect, of a kind of divine
nature. " No mind can be rightly difpofed
" without divine influence," fays Seneca (/) :
And it was the faying of the Pythagorean philo-
(/) Nulla fine Deobona menseft.
N 2 fophers,
180 Of Regeneration. Left. XVI.
fophers, " That the end of man is to be made
< like to God (k). This mind, fays Trif-
" megiftus, is God in man, and therefore fome
" of the number of men are gods (/)." And a
little further on, " In whatever fouls the mind
prefidcs, it illuftrates them with its own
" brightnefs, oppofing their immoralities and
" mad inclinations, juft as a learned phyfician
<<r inflicts pain upon the body of his patient, by
" burning and cutting it, in order to recover it
<c to health : in the fame manner, the mind
<c airlifts a voluptuous foul, that it may pull up
" pleafure by the very roots ; for all difeafes of
'* the foul proceed from it : impiety is the feve-
" reft diftemper of the foul (w)."
What wonder is it then, if thefe very thoughts
are exprefled in the more divine oracles of the
iacred fcriptures, more fully, and with greater
clearnefs? And this conformation of the human
mind to the divine nature, is commonly repre-
lented therein, as the great bufinefs, and the
end of all religion.
What was more often inculcated upon the
antient church of the Jews, than thefe words,
ct Be ye holy, becaufel am holy ?" And that
oj l/n>, & x^ TJ rut wfyurrus ^10*
. Trifm. ^:fi i^jotvS'Crpos TXT.
(m) offw?- n*$vyn\<;, &C.
the
Left. XVI. Of Regeneration. 1 8 1
the fame ambition is recommended toChriftian c ,
appears from the firft fermon, we- meet with in
the gofpel, of our Lord and Saviour, who came
down to this earth, that he might reftore the
divine image upon men. " Be merciful, fays
<c he, as your Father, who is in heaven, is mcr-
cc ciful." And, according to Luke, " Be per-
" feel, as your Father is perfect." And again,
'* BlefTed is the pure in heart." And, indeed,
this is the true beauty of the heart, and its true
nobility; but vice introduces degeneracy, and
deformity alfo.
Now, the more the mind difengages and
withdraws itfelf from matter that pollutes it (),
that is, from the body it inhabits, the purer and
more divine it conftarrtly becomes ; becaufe it
attains to a greater refemblance with the Father
of fpirits ; and, as the apoftle Peter expreffes it,
" partakes more fully of the divine nature."
Hence it is, that the apoftle Paul warns us at fo
great length, and in fuch ftrong terms, againft
living after tbefefo y as the very death of the
foul, and direcYly oppoUte to the renewed na-
ture of a Chriftian. He that is born of God, is
endued with a grcataefs of foul, that makes him
eafily defpifc, and confider as nothing, thofe
things, which he prized at a very high rate be-
N * fore:
182 Of Regeneration. Led. XVI.
fore : he confiders heaven as his country ; even
while he lives as a ftranger on this earth, he
afpires at the higheft objects, and cc flying up
" towards heaven, with foaring wings, looks
" down with contempt upon the earth (0)."
And yet, with all this fublimity of mind, he
joins the deepeft humility. But all the allure-
ments of fin, " though they continue to have
*' the fame appearance they had before (/>),"
and poffibly throw themfelves in his way, as the
very fame that were formerly dear to him, he
will reject: with indignation, and give them the
fame anfwer that St. Ambrofe tells us was given
by a young convert to his miftrefs, with whom
he had formerly lived in great familiarity ;
** though you may be the fame, I am not the
< fame I was before (q)*'
Laclantius elegantly fets forth the wonder-
ful power of religion in this refpedl: t Give
" me, fays he, a man that is paffionate, a flan-
<c derer, one that is headftrong and unmanage-
< able, with a very few of the words of God,
" I will make him as quiet as a lamb. Give
<f me a covetous, avaritious or clofe handed
<{ perfon, I will prefently make him liberal, and
udam
Spernit humum fugiente penna.
(p) Etfi illis fades, quae fuit ante, manet.
(?) At ego certe non fum ego.
** oblige
Led. XVI. Of Regeneration. 183
l oblige him to give away his money in large
" quantities with his own hands. Give me one
" that is afraid of pain, or of death, he (hall, \\\
" a very little time, defpife croffes, flames, and
" even Phalaris's bull. Shew me a luftful per-
cc fon, an adulterer, a compleat debauchee, you
" (hall prefently fee him fober, chafte, and
" temperate (r). So great is the power of
divine wifdom, that, as foon as it is infufed into
the human bread, it prefently expells folly,
which is the fource and fountain of fin, and ib
changes the whole man, fo refines, and, as
it were, renews him, that you would not know
him to be the fame. It is prophefied of the
days of the Meffiah, ' That the wolf and the
' lamb mall lie down together, and the leo-
" pard feed with the kid." The gofpel has a
wonderful effect in fofcening even the rougheft
difpofnions, and " there is none fo wild, but
lt he may be tamed, if he will but patiently
<< give attention to this wholefome doctrine (s),"
(r) Damihi virum qui fit iracundus, maledicus, efFraenatus,
pauciflimis Dei verbis tarn placidum quam ovem reddam. Da
cupidum, avarum, tenacem, jam tibi etim liberalem dabo, &
pecuniam fuam propriis plenifq; manibus largicntem. Da ti-
midum doloris ac mortis ; jam cruces, & ignes, &c Phalaridis
t.mrum contemnet. Da libidinofum, adulterum, Ganeonem ^
jam fobriom, caftum, continentem videbis.
(s] Nemo adeo ferus ell, u,t non mitcfcere poffit
.fciitic modo dodtrina: patientcm commodet aurem.
N Now,
184 Of Regeneration. Led. XVI.
Now, whether you call this renovation or
change of the mind repentance, or divine love,
it makes no difference j for all thefe, and indeed
all the Chriftian graces in general, are at bot-
tom one and the fame; and, taken together,
conjlitute iybat we may call the health find vigour
of the mind, the term under which Arifto of
Chios comprehended all the moral virtues. The
apoftle Paul, in his fecond epiftle to the Corin-
thians, deicribes thefe adopted children of God
by their repentance (t) ; in the epiftle to the Ro-
mans, they are characterifed by their -love () ;
and in the paflage of St. John's gofpel, we have
mentioned already, by their faith (#) ; but what-
ever name it is conveyed by, << the change it-
<J felf is effected by the right-hand of the moft
<c high." As to the manner of this divine ope-
ration, to raife many difputes about it, and make
many curious difquiiitions with regard to it, would
be not only quite needlefs, but even abfurd.
Solomon, in his Ecclefiaftes, gives fome grave
admonitions with regard to the fecret prcceffes
of nature in forming the foetus in the womb (_}'),
to convince us of our blindnefs with refpecl: to
the other works of God : how much more hid-
den and intricate, and even paft our finding out,
is this regeneration, which is- purely fpiritual ?
(t) 2 Corinth, vi. 17, 18. (it) Rom.viii. 28. (#) John i.
12. (j) Eccl. xi. 5.
Led:. XVI. Of Regeneration. 1 85
This is what our Saviour alfo teaches us, when he
compares this new birth, to the unconfined, and
unknown, turnings and revolutions of the wind;
a fimilitude which Solomon had lightly touched
before, in that paflage of the Ecclefiaftes, to
which we juft now alluded. O! that we felt
within ourfelves this blefled change, though we
mould remain ignorant with regard to the man-
ner of it ; fince we are fufficiently apprifed of
one thing, which it is greatly our intereft fre-
quently and ferioufly to reflect upon : Uniefs
" a man be born again, he cannot fee the king-
ce dom of God." This fpirhual progeny is alfo
compared to the dew, the generation whereof is
hidden and undifcovered. " Hath the rain a
(( father, and who hath begotten the drops of
" the dew (z) ?" Good men are alfo called
children of light (a] > and light in the Lord(b}.
But it is from the Father of lights himfelf, and
from his only begotten Son, that thefe ftars (for
this title of the angels may, without injujftice, be
applied to them) derive all the light they enjoy.
Now the nature of light is very intricate, and
the emanation and the manner of its production
is yet a fecret even to the mod (harp- lighted of
thofe who have made nature their ftudy, an4
(as) Job xxxiii. 28. (a} \ Thef. v. 5.
(1} Eph. V. 8,
no
i86 . Of Regeneration. Left. XVI.
no fatisfa&ory theory of it has yet appeared.
But whatever it is, it was produced by that firft
and powerful word of eternal uncreated light,
" Let there be light." By the fame powerful
word of the Almighty Father, there immedi-
ately fprings up in the mind, which was former-
ly quite involved in the darknefs of ignorance
and error, a divine and immortal light, which
is the life of men, and, in effect, the true rege-
neration. And becaufe this is the moft effec-
tual means of purifying the foul, it is afcribed
to the water, and to the fpirit. For this illu-
mination of the Holy Ghoft is, indeed, the in-
ward baptifm of the fpirit -, but in the primitive
times of Chriftianity, the baptifm of water, on
account of the fuppofed concurrence of the fpirit,
was commonly called the illumination, and the
folemn feafons, appointed for the celebration of
this myftery, the days of illumination or light.
And in the very fame manner, the baptifm of
the Holy Ghoft, is by John Baptift called the
baftifm of fire r , on account of the wonderful in-
fluence it has in illuminating and purifying the
foul. It is, to be fure, a celeftial fire quite in-
vilible to our eyes, and of fuch a nature, that
the fecret communications of it to our fouls can-
not be investigated -, but the fum of all is what
follows.
Led. XVI. Of Regeneration. 187
It feemed good to infinite goodnefs and wif-
dom, to form a noble piece of coin out of clay,
and to (lamp his own image upon it, with this
infcription, " The earthly Ion of God:" this is
what we call man. But, alas ! how fqon did
this piece of coin fall back to clay again, and
thereby loft that true image, and had the in-
fcription mamefully blotted out ? From that
time, man, who was formerly a divine crea-
ture, and an angel cloathed with flem, be-
came entirely flelhy, and in reality a brute :
the foul, that noble and celeftial inhabitant of
his earthly body, became now quite immerfed
in matter, and, as it were, entirely converted in-
to flem, as if it had drunk of the river Lethe ; or,
like the fon of an illuftrious family, carried
away in infancy to a far country, it is quite igr-
norant of its prefent mifery, or the liberty and
felicity it has loft, becomes an abjecl: flave, de-
graded to the vileft employments, which it na-
turally, and with pleasure performs ; bccaufe
having loft all fenfe of its native excellency and
dignity, and forgotten its heavenly original, it
now relimes nothing but earthly things, and
catching at prefent advantages, difregardg eterr
nal enjoyments, as altogether unknown, or re-
moved quite out of light. But if in any parti-
cular foul, either from fome fpark of its native
excellency ftjll remaining alive, or any indiir
1 88 Of Regeneration. Left. XVI.
trnct report that reaches it, fome defires or emo-
tions towards the recovery of its native liberty
fhould arife ; yet, as it has no fufficient ftrength
of its own, nor finds any way open, that can
lead to fo great a bleffing, thefe ineffectual
wiflhes come to nothing, and the unhappy foul,
having loft its hopes, languishes in its chains,
and is at iaft quite ftupified.
Philofophy, as we have already obferved,
perceiving that man was born to higher views
than this world affords, attempted to raife him
from his prefent dejection, fecure his claim to
heaven, and reftore him to a conformity and
likenefs to God j but in vain. To redeem the
fons of man, and reftore them to what they had
loft, it was neceffary that the eternal Soil of God
fliould come down from heaven. Our fall was
eafily brought about, but our reftauration was a
work of the greateft difficulty, and only to be
performed by the powerful hand of God j there
are but few, whom the exalted Father of fpirits
has loved, and Chrift has raifed up to heaven.
He is the fource whence the fpirit of God flows
down to us, he is the fountain of that new life
and fanctified nature, by which we mount to-
wards God, whereby we overcome the world,
and, in confequence thereof, are admitted into
heaven. And happy, to be fure, are thofe truly
noble fouls, whofe fate it is to be thus born again,
to
Led. XVI. Of Regeneration. 189
to be admitted into the choirs of the holy angels,
and to be cloathed with thofe glorious robes
that are whiter than fnow : they will follow the
lamb wherever he goes, and he will lead them
to the cryftal ftreams, and even to the fountain
oflifeitfelf.
But all thofe, that are to be the attendants of
the lamb, in thofe blefied paftures, which are to
be met with in his heavenly country, muft of
neceflity, even while they live in this lower
world, be followers of him in his humble in-
nocence and purity . Ttiisfpotlefs, holy, and pure
lamb of God, is the guide and fhepherd of a pure
and holy flock, a flock dear to God> and otdiftin-
guifhed beauty ; but the flepherd is ftill more beau-
tiful than they (c)." But the impure goats, and
uncleanly hogs, he beholds at a diftance, and
leaves them to unclean fpirits, to be poflefled by
them at pleafure, and afterwards to be precipitated
into the depth of mifery ; unlefs it be determined
to deliver fome of them from that (hocking form,
by a wonderful and divine change, and to con-
vert them into lambs, which is effected in pro-
per time, by the influence of the Holy Ghoft.
Whence they are called the holy, pure, and
divine fons of God ; and all love to earthly
things, all carnal, impure affections, are baniihed
(() Formofi pecoro cuftos formofior.
QUt
190 . Of true Felicity Led. XVII.
out of thofe hearts ; which are, as it were,
temples confecrated henceforth to God : " for
<c the dwelling place of the holy one muft be
LECTURE XVII.
Of TRUE FELICITY and ETERNAL
PUNISH MENT.
OHow infipidand unfatisfadtory are all the
pleafures of this earthly life, which we
now live, in refpeft of that incomparable, and
altogether heavenly delight, which attends the
meditation and contemplation of divine things !
When mortals are thus employed, they eat the
bread of angels ; and if there are any, who do
not relifli the fweetnefs of this food, it is becaufe
the divine part of their compofition is become
brutifli, and, forgetting its original, lies buried
in earth and mud. But though the foul is re-
duced to thefe woeful circumftances, it is not
yet fo entirely diverted of itfelf, but it ftill retains
fome faint remains of its heavenly original, and
\a) ayjy yap y;s :s~t oMtr ; T;-;i9> r .
more
Left. XVII. and eternal Punifonie nt. 191
more exalted nature j infomuch, that it cannot
acquiefce in, or be at all fatisfied with thofe fading
enjoyments, wherewith it is furrounded, nor
think itfelf happy or eafy in the greateft abun-
dance of earthly comforts. And tho', poffibly,
it may not be fully fenfible of what it wants;
yet it perceives, not without fome pain and un-
eaHnefs, that fomething is ftill wanting to make
it happy. The truth is, befides that great and
unknown good, even thofe, whom by an abufe
of that term we call moft happy, are in want of
a great many things : for if we look narrowly
into the condition of thofe, who are arrived at
the highcft pitch of earthly fplendor, we fhall
certainly find fome defect, and imperfection in
ir, and be obliged to conclude with the poet,
" That fince the earth began to be inhabited by
<f men, a full cup of good things, without any
tc mixture of evil, never fell to the (hare of one
tc man ; a graceful body is often difhonoured
<{ by bad morals, and a mind of uncommon
" beauty is fometimes joined to a deformed
" body, &c. (*)."
(a) Etenim mortalibus ex quo
Tellus caepta coli, nur.quam fincera bonorum
Sors ulli concefla viro ; quern corpus honeltat
Dedecorant mores ; animus quern pulchrior ornat
Corpus deftituit, &c.
But
292 Of true Felicity Left. XVII.
Bat what we call the chief and fupreme good
muft, of neceffity, be compleat, and entirely
free from every defeat; and therefore, what is
not in every refpect perfect, properly fpeaking,
is not perfect at all. The happinefs of rich and
great men, which the poor admire and refpect,
is only a gaudy and fplendid fpecies of mifery.
What St. Bernard fays of the rafh and ill-found-
ed opinion, which the generality of mankind
form, of the lives of the faints, from the imper-
fect knowledge they have of them, " They fee
" our crofTes, but they fee not our comforts(^),"
may be here inverted : we fee the advantages of
thofe men, that are puffed up with riches and
honours, but we fee not their troubles and vexa-
tions. " I wim, I wim, fays one, that thofe,
<{ who defire riches, would confult with rich
" men j they would then, to be fure, be of an-
" other opinion (e)"
I will fpend no more time in defcribing or la*
menting the wretched ftate of mankind on this
earth, becaufe it would anfwer no end. For,
fuppofe a more compleat affemblage of fublu-
nary enjoyment?, and a more perfect fyftem of
earthly felicity than ever the fun beheld, the
mind of man would inftantly devour it, and, as if
(/) Cruces noftras vident, unftiones non vident.
(f) Utinam, utinam qnidivitias appetunt, cum divitibusdeli-
bcrarent j certe vota mutarent.
it
Left. XVII. and eternal Punijhment. 19 j
it was (till empty and unfatisfied, would require
forhething more. And indeed, by this infatia-
ble thirft, the mind of man difcovers its natural
excellence and dignity j for thus it proves, that
all things here below are inefficient to fatisfy,
or make it happy ; and its capacity is fo great
and.extenfive, that it cannot be filled by the
whole of this vifible frame of things. For as
St. Auguftine obferves, " Thou haft made us,
" O Lord, for thyfelf, and our hearts are reftle'fs
" till they return to thee (f)" The mind,
that makes God its refuge, after it has beeri
much tofTed to and fro, and diftrefled in the world,
enjoys perfect peace, and abfolute fecurity ; and
it is the fate of thofe, and thofe only, who put
into this fafe harbour, to have, what the fame
St. Auguftine calls a very great matter, " The
" frailty of man, together with the fecurity of
God ()."
Therefore, it is not without reaTon, that the
royal Pfalmift boafts not of his victories, nor the
fplendor of his royal crown, but of this one ad-
vantage ; " The Lord is the portion of mine in-
" heritance, and of my cup thou maintained the
* lot:" and on the jufteft grounds, he imme-
(/) Fecifti nos, Domlne, propter te, & inquietum eft eor nof->
trum, donee in te redeat.
(g) Habere fragilitatem hominis & fecuritatem Dei.
O diately
1 94 Of true Felicity Lect. XVI/,
diately adds, " The lines have fallen to me in
' pleafant places ; yea, I have a goodly he-
fc ritage ()." And it is quite agreeable to rea-
fon, that what improves and compleats any
thing elfe, muft be itfelf more compleat and
perfect : fo that the mind of man can neither be
made happy by earthly enjoyments, which are
all far inferior to it in dignity, nor be fo in itfelf.
Nay, neither can the angels, though of a more
perfect and fublime nature, confer felicity either
upon men, or themfelves -, but both they and
we have our happinefs lodged in that eternal
mind, which alone is its own felicity : nor is it
pofiible for us to find it any where elfe, but in
our union with that original wifdom and good-
flefs, from which we at nrft took our rife. Away
then with all the fictitious fchemes of felicity pro-
pofed by the philofophers, even thofs of them
that were moft artfully contrived ^ for even A-
riftotle's perfection of virtue, as well as what
the Stoics fancied concerning their wife man,
are mere fictions. They are nothing but dreams
and fancies, that ought to be banimed to Utopia j
for what they defcribe is no where to be found
among men ; and, if it were, it would not con-
fHtute compleat felicity. So far, indeed, they
are to be commended, that they call in the
0) Pfal. xvi. 5, 6.
mind
Left. XVII. and efern al Punifhment.
mind from external enjoyments to itfelf j but in
this they are defective, that when the mind is
returned to itfelf, they carry it no further, nor
direct it to afcsnd, as it were, above itfelf. They
fometimes, it is true, drop fuch expreffions as
thefe, " That there can be no good difpofition
" of the mind without God (/) j" and that, in
order to be happy, the foul muft be raifed up
to divine things : they alfo tell us, "That the
" wife man loves God moft of all, and for this
" reafon is the moft happy man (/)." But
thefe expreffions they drop only at random, and
by the by. O ! how much fuller and clearer
are the inftructions of the teacher fent down
from heaven ; " BlefTed are the pure in heart,
for they mall fee God (/)."
But becaufe the pureft minds of the Saints,
while they fojourn in this earth, ftill retain fome
mixture of earthly drofs, and arife not to perfect
purity j therefore, they cannot yet enjoy the full
vifion of God, nor, confequently, that perfect
happinefs, which is infeparably connected with
it. (l For they fee only darkly, and through a
(C glafs (m) j" but with the advantage even of
this obfcure light, they direct their fteps, and
(/) Nullam poffe effe fine Deo bonam mentem.
(<() "Afx 6 <ropo; w^AsraT^, *? <* TSTO t^*<*5r<TO'.
(/) Matth. v. 3.
(w) i Cor. xiii. 12.
O2 gd
196 Of true Felicity Led. XVIL
go onchearful and unwearied: the long wifhed
for day will at length come, when they will be
admitted into the fulled light. That day,
which the unhappy men of this world dread as
their laft, the Tons of light wiih for, as their
nativity into an endlefs life, and embrace it with
the greateft joy when it comes.. And this, in-
deed, feems to me to be the ftrongeft argument
for another life, and an immortality to come :
For fince no compleat, or abfolutely perfect
happinefs is to be found in this life,, it muft
certainly follow, that either there is no fuch
thing to be had any where, or we muft live
again fomewhere, after our period here is out.
And, O ! what fools are we, and flow of hears
to believe, that think fo rarely, and with fuch
coolnefs, of that bleffed country ; and that, in
this parched and thirfty land, where even thofc
few, who are fo happy, have only fome fore-
taftes of that fupreme happinefs ; but when
they remove hence, " They (hall be abundant-
<c ]y fatisfied, or, as the word ought to be tranf-
" lated, intoxicated (), O Lord, with the fat-
tc nefs of thy houfe, and thou fhalt make them
" drink of the river of thy pleafures ( 0) :" thus
the divine Pfalmifl exprerles it j and, to be fure,
it is very furprifmg, that the great and antient
() Inebriabuntur. ( ) pfel. xxxvi. 9^
philofopher
Left. XVII. and eternal Punifoment. 1 97
philofopher Pythagoras, in communicating his
thoughts upon the fame fubject, fliould happen
to fall upon the very fame figure : For he ufed
to promife thofe of his difciples, that conducted
themfelves right in this life, that they fhould
be continually drunk (/>) in that which is to
come.
But what we have faid formerly of the feli-
city of the life to come, and all that we could
fay, were we to treat of the fame fubjecl over
again, is but mere trifling. And yet it is not
difagreeable to hear children fpeak, even with
ftammering, about the dignity of their Father,
and of the riches and magnificence of his inhe-
ritance. It is pleafant and decent to fpeak of
our native country, even while we are fojourning
in a foreign land : but, for the prefent, I ihall
infill no longer on this fubjsd, but, turning the
tables, lay before you that dreadful punishment,
which ftands in oppofition to this happinefs, by
prefenting you only with a tranfient view of the
future mifery of the wicked j and though this
is indeed a moil unpleafant tafk, yet nothing
but our own carelefsnefs, and inattention, can
render it ufelefs.
Here, firfl of all, it is to be obferved, that
as, in this life, there is no perfect felicity ; fo,
O 3 neither
198 Of true Felicity Left. XVII.
neither here is there any compleat mifery.
Thofe, whom we look upon as the moft wretch-
ed in this world, have their differ ings chequered
with many intervals of eafe ; but the mifery
to come admits of no abatement ; it is all of a
piece, without admitting any mixture of relief.
They are furely mad with their notions, who
here talk of the advantages of being or exiftence,
and contend that it is more defirable <{ to be
<c miferable, than not to be at all (q)" For
my parr, I am fully fatisfied, they can never per-
fuade any man of the truth of their aflertion ;
nor even believe it themfelves, when they think
ferioufly on the fubjecl:. But not to infift on
this, it is certain, that all kind of delights are
for ever banimed from that eternal and frightful
prifon. There is there no light, no day, nor
fleep, which is the bleffing of the night : and,
indeed, nothing at all but places full of darknefs,
precipices, nakednefs, and all kinds of horror ;
no entertainments, merry meetings, nor any fen-
fible pleafure ; and to be for ever feparated from
allfuch, muft be no fmall mifery, efpecially to thofe
who ufed to pafs their time amidft fuch fcenes of
mirth and jollity, and imagined themfelves in
fome meafure happy therein ; and that the re-
membrance of this may diftrefs them the more,
(?) Miferum effe quam non efle.
they
Led. XVI f. and eternal Punifimcnt.
they will be continually haunted with a thought.,
that will cleave to them like a worm devouring
their bowels, and conftantly keep them in mind,
that out of a diftracled fondnefs for thefe fleeting
pleafures, which have now flown away, with-
out hope of returning, they have loft thofe joys
that are heavenly and eternal, whereof they will
have fome knowledge j but what kind of
knowledge that will be, and how far extended
to enhance their torments, is not ours to deter-
mine. But who will attempt to exprefs the ex-
cefs of their mifery, or defcribe thofe ft reams of
brimftone, and eternal flames of divine wrath ?
or rather, who will not tremble, I fay, not in
defcribing them, but even in thinking of them,
and be quite overpowered with an idea fo
(hocking ?
That I may no further attempt " to fpeak
" things unutterable (r), and to derogate from
<c a grand fubje6t by inadequate expreffions (5):"
Behold now, my dear youths, if you believe
thefe things, behold, I fay, you have now life
and death laid before you, chufe for yourfelves.
And that you may not put off a matter of fuch
importance, confider thefe things, pray, feri-
oufly, and fay to yourfelves, concerning the
(r) T*
(s) M?gna modis tenuare parvis.
O 4 vaniChing
2op Of true Felicity, tec. Left. XVII.
vanishing fhadows of external things, How
long will thefe enjoyments laft, O ! how foon
will they pafs ? Even while I am fpeaking thefe
words, while I am thinking of them, they fly
paft me. Is any one opprefled with calamities ?
Let him fay chearfully with a remarkably good
man, " Lord, while I am here, kill me, burn
" me,, only fpare me there (/)." Is there any
among you of weak capacity, unhappy in ex-
prefiing himfelf, of an unfavourable afpect, or
.deformed in body ? Let him fay with himfelf,
it is a matter of fmall confequence : I mail foon
leave this habitation ; and, if I am but good my-
felf, be foon removed to the rnanfions of the
blefled. Let thefe thoughts prevent his being
dejected in mind, or overcome with too much
forrovv. If any one is diflinguimed by a good
underftanding, or outward beauty, or riches,
let him reflect, and ferioufly confider, how
foon all excellencies of this kind will pafs away,
that he may not be vain, or lifted up with the
advantages of fortune. Let it be the chief care
and ftudy of you all, to avoid the works of
darknefs, that fo you may efcape utter and eter-
nal darknefs ; embrace with open and chearful
hearts that divine light, which hath (hone frorri
(/) Domine, hie ure, exde, modo ibi parcas.
heaven 3
Led. XVIII. Of the Cbriflian Religion, 20 1
heaven j that, when you are diverted of thefe
bodies, you may be received into the glorious
manfions of that bleffed and perfect light,
LECTURE XVIII.
Qf the CHRISTIAN RELIGION, and that it is
the true way to Happinefs.
IConfefs, young Gentlemen, that whenever
I think on the fubjedt, I cannot help won-
dering at the indolence and madnefs of mankind.
For tho' we boaft, that, to order our affairs with
prudence and difcretion, and conduct our lives
according to the principles of reafon, is the
great privilege and ornament of our nature, that
cliftinguimes us from the brute creatures ; how-
few are there, that, in this refped, act like men,
that propofe to themfelves an end, and direct all
their actions to the attainment of it ? It is very
certain, that the greateft part of mankind, with
a folly fomething more than childifh, go in quefl
of painted butterflies, or commonly purfue the
birds with ftones and clods j and even thofe, who
(bin out their lives to the utmoft extent of old
202 Of tie Cbrlftian Religion. Left. XVIII.
age, for the moft part gain little by it, but only
this, that they may be called very aged chil-
dren (#), being as ignorant as infants why they
came into the world, and what will become of
them when they leave it. Of all queftions, there-
fore, none can be more properly propofed to
you, who are juft upon the verge of manhood,
I mean entering upon a rational life, than this,
Whither are you going ? What good have you,
in view ? To what end do you propofe to live ?
For hence, poffibly, your minds may be excited
within you, to an earned defire after that per-
fect and fupreme good, and you may not con-
tent yourfelves with cool fpeculations upon this
fubjecT:, as if it were a logical or philofophicai
problem, that falls in your way of courfe ; but
with that application, that is proper in a queftion
concerning a matter of the greateft moment,
where it highly concerns us to be well informed,
and where the higheft rewards and greateft dan-
gers are propofed to our view. And, in this
hope, I have often addrefled myfelf to you
upon the fubject of happinefs, or the fupreme
good, at different periods of time, entertaining
you in the intervals with effays and fuitable ex-
hortations upon other fubjecls ; yet fo as to ob-
ferve a kind of method, and keep up a connec-
tion
Left. XVIII. Of the Cbnjlian Religion. 203
tion throughout the whole. I have taken notice
of the name, and general notion of happinefs,
the univerfal defjres and wiihes whereby men
are excited to the purfuit of it, the no lefs uni-
verfal, becaufe natural ignorance of mankind,
and their errors and miftakes in the fearch of it.
Whence it happens, that, as they all run in the
wrong road, thefafler they advance, the further
they depart from it ; and like thofe who ply the
oars in a boat, they look one way, and move
another. And though it feemed almoft unne-
ceffary, as fads fufficiently demonstrate the truth
of our aflertion, yet by a brief recapitulation,
wherein we took notice only of the principal
heads and clafles of things, we proved that hap-
pinefs is, by no means, to be found in this earth,
nor in any earthly enjoyments whatfoever. And
this is no more than all, even fools as well as
wife men, are willing to own : they not only
pronounce one another unhappy, but, with re-
gard to this life, all of them in general, and
every one for himfelf in particular, acknowledge,
that they are fo ; and, in this refpedt, experience
fullyjuftifies their belief: fo that, if there were
no further profpect, I am apt to believe all man-
kind would agree in that common faying,
'f That if mankind wereapprifed beforehand of
" the nature of this life, and it were left to their
" own
204 Of the Chriftian Religion. Left. XVIII.
" own option, none would accept of it ()." As
the immortality of the foul has a near connection
with this fubject, and is a natural confequence
from it, we, therefore, in the next place, be-
fiowed fome time in illuftrating that doctrine.
In the laft place, we advanced fome thoughts
upon the future happinefs and mifery, fo far as
is confident with the weaknefs of our capacities
to comprehend things fo little known, and to
cxprefs fuch as are, in a great meafure, ineffable.
Having treated of thefe things according to
our meafure, it remains that we now enquire
about the way, which directly leads into that
happy city, or to that happinefs which isreferved
in the heavens. This is a great and important
article, comprehending the end and defign of
our life, as* well as the hopes and comforts of it j
and is very proper to be firft treated of in a cate-
chetical, or, indeed, any methodical fyftem of
theology, as appears fromreafon and precedents :
for by this difcuffion we are immediately in-
troduced into the whole doctrine of true religion.
Accordingly, the firft queftion in the generally
received Catechifm, which you have in your
hands, is, " What is your only confolation in
() Vitam haac, fi fcientibus daretur, neminem accepturum.
SENECA.
life
Left. XVIII. Of tbeC&rifttan Religion. 20$
" life and in death (c) ?" And the firft queftion
of another Catechifm, which not long ago was
ufed, particularly in this Univerfity, is, " What
" is the only way to true felicity (d] r" For the
falvation and happinefs of mankind, in fubordi-
nation to the glory of God, which is, to be
furc, the fupreme end of all, is the peculiar and
genuine fcope of theology ; and, from it, the
definition of this fcience Teems to be moft pro-
perly drawn : nor do I imagine that any one is
fo weak, as from hence to conclude, that it
ought to be called anthropology, rather than
theology : for though it not only treats of the
happineis of mankind, but alfo has this happi-
nefs, as has been obfcrved, for its chief end and
deiign } yet, with good reafon, and on many
accounts, it has obtained this more fublime title.
It has God for its author, whom the wifeft of
men would in vain attempt to find out, but from
the revelation he has made of himfelf ; every
fuch attempt being as vain as it would be to look
for the fun in the night-time, by the light of a
candle ; for the former, like the latter, can only
be feen by his own light. God cannot be known
but fofaras he reveals himfelf : which Sopho-
cles has alfo admirably well exprefled : " You-
(r) Quae eft unica tua confolatio in vita & in morte.
(</) Quse eft unica ad veram felicitatem via.?
" will
2o6 Of the Chriftian Religion. Left. XVIII.
<c will never, fays he, underftand thofe divine
cc things, which the gods have thought proper
* to conceal, even though you mould ranfack
<c all nature (e)"
Nor has this facred fcience God for its author
only, but alfo for its fubject and its ultimate end,
becaufe the knowledge of him, and his wor-
fliip, comprehends the whole of religion j the
beatific vifion of him includes in it the whole of
our bappinefs, and that happinefs is at laft re-
folved into the divine grace and bounty.
I mould therefore chufe to give this brief and
clear definition of theology, viz. " That it is a
" divine doctrine, directing man to real felicity,
" as his chief end, and conducting him to it by
" the way of true religion." I call it a doSirine,
becaufe it is not confidered here as a habit in
the mind, but as a fummary of celeftial
truth. I call it a divine doffri ne^ for all the rea-
fons already mentioned ; becaule, for inftance,
it is from God, he is the fubject of it, and it all
terminates in him at laft. I call it a doftrine di-
reffing man, for I confine my notion of it to
that doctrine only, which was fent down from
heaven for that purpofe. What fignify then
thofe distinctions, which are indeed founding,
but quite tedious and foreign to the purpofe,
(f ) AXX* a ydf KV TO. Eia xf thrrlorr' 0tS,
Ul.
that
Led. XVIII. Of the Chriftian Religion. 207
that divide theology into archetypal and effypal)
and again into the theology of the church mili-
tant, and that of the church triumphant ?
What they call archetypal theology is very im-
properly fo named ; for it is that perfect know-
ledge which God has cf himftlf (/) : and the
theology of the church triumphant, ought rather
to be called the beatific vifion of God(^-). The
theology in queflion, tc is that day fpringing
" from on high, which hath vifited us, to give
" light to them which fit in darknefs, and in
" the diadow of death, to guide our feet in
" the way of peace (/6)." That peace is true
happinefs, and the way of peace is true religion:
concerning which I (hall offer a few thoughts,
and very briefly. Firfl of all, you are to obferve,
that man is not a lawlefs creature, but capable
of a law, and actually fubjedt to one. This ex-
preffion conveys no harfh, nor dishonourable
idea ; nay, this fubjection is fo far from being a
burden, that it is the greateft honour. To be
capable of a law, is the mark and ornament of
an intelligent rational foul, and that which dif-
tinguiihes it from the brutes j it evidently fup-
pofes a refemblance to God, and an fntercourfe
with heaven ; and to live actually under the di-
rection of religion and the law, is the great
(/) yrvn$* () M/K*. () Luke i. 78j 79.
honour
o8 Of the Chriftian Religion. Left.
honour and ornament of human life, and wha<
diftinguimes it from the irregular conduct of
the brute creation. For as the poet exprefle's it;
" One beaft devours another, fifties prey upon
" fifties, and birds upon birds, becaufe they are
< lubject to no law; but mankind lives under a
" juft law, which makes their condition far pre-
ferabie (/)."
The brute creatures devour one another with-
out blame, becaufe they have no law ; but, as
Juvenal obferves, " Men alone, of all other
<{ earthly creatures, as they derive their reafon
" from the higheft heaven, are venerable for
" their underftanding, which renders them capa-
t ble of enquiring into divine things, and quali-
" fies them for learning arts, and reducing them
<c to practice (k)"
And hence it appears, that we were born
fubjecls to religion, and an eternal law of nature.
For fince our blefled Creator has thought proper
to endue us with a mind and understanding, and
Tinreti.
Venerabile foil
Sortiti ingeninm divinorumq; capace^,
Atq; exercendis, capiendifq; artibus apte
Senfum a ccelefti demifTum traximtis arce." jfuv. Sat. jrv.
powers
Led. XVIII. Of the Cbriftian Religion.
powers fufficicnt for that purpofe: to be fure
we are bound by an indifpeniible law, to ac-
knowledge the primary and eternal fountain of:
our own being, and of all created things, to love
him above all other objects, and obey his com-
mands without rcferve or exception. So that
in this very law of nature is founded a ftrong
obligation upon us to give due obedience to every
divine pofitr/e inditution, which he fhall
think proper to add for fccuring the purpofes of
religion and equity. Wherefore, when our firft
parents, by eating the forbidden fruit, tranfgref-
fed the lymbolical command, intended as a proof
of their obedience, by that very act they moft
bafely broke the primary and great law of nature,
which is the foundation of religion, and of every
other law whatever.
It is not my intention to fpeak here of our
redemption by the Meffias, the only begotten
Son of God the Creator ; it is fufficient for our
prefent purpofe to obferve, that our great Re-
deemer has indeed delivered us from the
chains of fin and death, but has, by no means,
difTolved the bonds of religion, and the everlafl-
ing law of nature: nay, thefe are, in many re-
fpects, {lengthened and confirmed by this re-
demption j and a chearful fubmiiTion to them
by virtue of his fpirit, which is poured out upon
us, is a great part of that royal liberty of the
P fons
2 1 o Of the Chrijlian Religion. Left. XVIIL
fons of God, which is fecured to us by his means,
as by imitating his example, we arrive at the
full poffeffion of it, which is referved for us in
the heavenly kingdom. The way, therefore,
to happinefs, which we are in fearch of, is true
religion, and fuch, in a very remarkable manner,
is that of the Chriftians.
On the truth and excellence of this religion
you have a great many learned writers, both
antient and modern. And indeed it is exceed-
ing plain, from its own internal evidence, that,
of all the forms of religion (/} that ever the world
faw, there is none more excellent than that of
chriftianity which we profefs, wherein we glory,
and in which we think ourfelves happy, amidft
all the troubles of the world : 'there is none that
is more certain and infallible, with regard to
its hiftory, more fublime with regard to its myf-
teries, more pure and perfect in its precepts, or
more venerable for the grave fimplicity of its
rites and worfhip : nay, it appears evident, that
this religion alone is, in every refpect, incompa-
rably preferable to every other. It remains,
young Gentlemen What do you think I am
going to fay ? It remains, that we become true
Cbrijlians. I repeat it again, if we will be happy,
let us be Chriftians. You will fay, your wifh
(/)
is
Left. XVIII. Of tbe Chriftian Religion. 2 1 1
is eafily fatisfied, you have your define, ive are
(ill Chrifaam already. I wi(h it may be fo ! I
will not, however, objed to any particular per-
fon upon this head j but every one of you, by a
fhort trial, wherein be will be both witnefs and
judge, may fettle this important point within
himfelf. We are all Chriftians. Be it fo.
But are we poor in fpirit ? Arewehumble, meek,
and pure in heart ? Do we pray without ceafing ?
Have we nailed all our carnal appetites and
defires to our Saviour's crofs, " living no longer
" to ourfelveSj but to him that died for us ?' ?
This is the true deferip'ion of a Chriftian, by
the teftimony of that gofpel which we acknow-
ledge-to be Chrift's. And thofe, who are en-
tire ftrangers to thefe difpofitions of mind, know
not, to be fure, the ivay of .peace. Thefe I
earneftly intreat and befeech torcufe themfclves,
and {hake off their indolence and floth, left, by
indulging the vile defires of the flefh, they lofe
their fouls forever. But if there are any among
you, and, indeed, I believe there are fome, who
with all their hearts afpire to thefe Chriftian
virtues, and, by their means, to that kingdom,
which can never be fliaken (m] \ " Be ftrong in
*' the Lord, have your loins girt about with
" truth, and be fober, and hope to the end."
Yen
2 1 2 Holinefi the only Left. XIX
You will never repent of this holy warfare*
where the battle is fo fhort, the vidlory fo cer-
tain, and your triumphal crown, and the peace
procured by this conflict;, will laft for ever.
LECTURE XIX.
Holinefs is the only Happinefs on this Earth.
THE journey we are engaged in is indeed
great, and the way up-hill ; but the
glorious prize, which is fet before us, is alfo
great, and our great and valiant captain, who
has long ago afcended up on high, fupplies us
with ftrength. If our courage at any time failsus,
let us fix our eyes upon him, and, according
to the advice of the Apoflle, in his divine Epiftle
to the Hebrews, " Look unto Jefus," removing
our eyes from all inferior objeds, that, being
carried up aloft, they may be fixed upon him,
which the original words feem to import (a) ?
then being fupported by the fprrit of Chrift,
we {hall overcome all thofe obftacles in our way,
that feem moft difficult to our indolent and effe-
(a) It; bjc-ax <popw"f*w. Hb. xii. 2.
minate
Lea. XIX Rippinefs on Earth. 2 1 3
minate flefh. And, though the way from the
earth towards heaven is by no means eafy, yet
even the very difficulty will give us pleafure,
when our hearts are thus eagerly engaged, and
powerfully fupported. Even difficulties and
hardfhips are attended with particular pleafure,
when they fall in the way of a courageous mind ;
and, as the poet expreflcs it, " Serpents, thirft,
*' and burning fands, are pleafing to virtue.
* e Patience delights in hardfhips : and honour,
** when it is dearly purchafed, is pofTrfled with
" the greater fatisfadlion (If)."
If what we are told concerning that glorious
city obtain credit with us, we will chearfully
travel towards it, nor will we be at all deterred
by the difficulties that may be in the way. But,
however, as it is true, and more fuitable to the
weaknefs of our minds, that are rather apt to
be affected with things prefent and near, than
fuch as are at a great diftance, we ought not to
pafs over in filence, that the way to the happi-
nefs referved in heaven, which leads through
this earth, is not only agreeable, becaufe of the
blefled profpect it opens, and the glorious end to
which it conduct?, but alfo for its own fake,
() ' Serpens, litis, ardor arena;
Dulcia virtuti. Gaudet patientia duris :
J^jetius eft quoties magnofibi conftat honeflum.
LUCAN, lib ix. 9.
P 3 and
2 1 4 Holinefs the only Left. X IX.
and on account of the innate pleafure to be
found in it, far preferable to any other way
of life that can be made choice of, or, indeed,
imagined. Nay, that we may not, by low ex-
preffions (<:), derogate from a matter fo grand
and fo confpicuous, that holiriefs and true reli-
gion, which, leads directly to the higheft felicity,
is itfelf the only happinefs, as far as it can be en-
joyed, on this earth. Whatever naturally tends
to the attainment of any other advantage, parti-
cipates, in fome meafure, of the nature of that
advantage. Now, this way to perfect felicity,
if any thing can be fo, is a means that, in a very
g eat meafure, participates of the nature of its
end (d) -, nay, it is the beginning of that happi-
nefs, it is alfo to be confidered as a part of it, and
differs from it, in its completed ftate, not fo
much in kind, as in degree : fo that in Scripture
it has the fame names : as for inftance, in tha*t
paflage of the Evangelift, " This is life eternal,
<c that they might know thee, the only true
" God (?) j" that is, not only the way to eternal
life, but alfo the beginning and firft rudiments
of it, feeing the fame knowledge, when com-
pleted, or the full beatific vifion of God, is eter-
nal life in its fullnefs and perfeftion. Nor does
the divine Apollle make any diftinclion between
(<) MwpoXoyMs. (</) rt^pwYa-w. (<>) John xvii. 3-
thefe
Led XIX. HappJnefs on Eartb. 215
thefe two : <c Now, fays he, we fee darkly
" through a glafs, but then we (hall fee openly,
<{ or, as he exprefies it, face to face. Now I
" know in part, but then I {hall know, as I aifo
cc am known (/)." That celeftial life is called
an inheritance in light (g), and the heirs of it,
even while they are fojourning in this earth,
children of the light (), and, exprefsly, light in
tie Lord. " You were, fays the Apoftlc, fome-
" time darknefs, but now are ye light in the
tc Lord (/)." They will be there perfectly
holy, and without fpot j and even here they are
called holy, and, in fome refpect, they are fo.
Hence it is, that thofe who are really and truly
good and pious, are, in Scripture, often called
blefled, tho' they are not fully and perfectly fo.
" Bleffed is the man that feareth the Lord ().
" , And bleffed are the undented in the way (/)."
Even the philolophers give their teftimony
to this truth, and their fentiments on the fubject
are not altogether to be rejected : for they, al-
moft unanimoufly, are agreed, that felicity, fo
far as it can be enjoyed in this life, confifts folely,
or at leaft principally, in virtue : but [as to their
affertion, that this virtue, is perfect in a perfect
life, it is rather expreffing what were to be
(/) i Cor. xiii. if. (g) Col. i. 12. () i Theff. v. 5.
(/) Eph. v. 8. (*) Pfal. cxii. i. (/) Pfal. cxix. i.
P 4 wiflied,
2 1 6 Holinefs tie only Led. XIX,
wiflied, than defcribing things as they are. They
might have faid, with more truth and juftice,
that it is imperfed: in an imperfect life ; which,
no doubt, would have fatisfied them, if they
had known, that it was to be made perfedt in
another place, and another life, that truly de-
ferves the name, and will be compleat and per-
fect. In this, however, we heartily agree with
them, that virtue, or, as we rather chufe to ex-
prefs it, piety, which is abfolutely the fum and
fubftance of all virtues, and all wifdom, is
the only happinefs of this life, fo far as it is ca-
pable thereof.
And if we ferio.ufly conflder this fubjec~t but
a little, we mall find the faying of the wife King
Solomon, concerning this wifdom, to be unex-
ceptionably true. u Her ways are ways of plea-
" fantnefs, and all her paths are peace.'-
Doth religion require any thing of us more,
than that we live foberly, righteoufly, and godly
in this prefent world ? Now what, pray, can be
more pleafant or peaceable than thefe ? Tem-
perance is always at leifure, luxury always in
a hurry : the latter weakens the body and pol-
lutes the foul, the former is the fanctity, purity,
and found ftate of both. It is one of Epicurus's
fixed maxims, " That life can never be pleafant
^ without virtue (m)" Vices feize upon men
Imp io/wj $jr.
with
XIX. Happinefi on Earth. 217
with the violence and rage of furies; but the
Chriftian virtues replenish the breaft, which
they inhabit, with a heavenly peace and abun-
dant joy, and thereby render it like that of an
angel. The flaves of pleafure and carnal af-
fections have within them, even now, an
earneft of future torments j fo that, in this pre-
fent life, we may truly apply to them that ex-
preffion in the Revelation, '" They, that worihip
" the beaft, have no reft day nor night. There
lt is perpetual peace with the humble, fays the
" moft devout A.Kempis; but the proud and
" the covetous are never at reft ()."
If we fpeak of charity, which is the root and
fpring of juftice, what a lafting pleafure does it
diffufe through the foul 1 " Envy, as the faying
<c is, has no days of feftivity (o] : ?> it enjoys not
even its own advantages, while it is tormented
with thofe it fees in the poffeflion of others;
but charity is happy, not only in its own en-
joyments, but alfo in thofe of others, even as if
they were its own : nay, it is then moft happy
in the enjoyment of its own good things, when,
by liberality, it makes them the property of
others: in mort, it is a godlike virtue (/>),
() Jugis pax cum humlli, fuperbus autem & avarus nun~
<juam quiefcunt.
(o) Invidia feftos dies non agit.
There
2i3 Holinefs the only Led. XIX.
There is nothing more divine in man, * c than
" to wifh well to men, and to do good to as
<c many as one poffibly can (q) ," but piety,
which worfhips God with conftant prayer, and
celebrates him with the highert praifes, raifes
man above himfelf, and gives him rank among
the angels. And contemplation, which is in-
deed the moft genuine and pureft pleafure of the
human foul, and the very fummit of felicity,
is no where fo fublime, and enriched, as it will
be found to be in true religion, where it may
expatiate in a fyftem of divine truths moft ex-
tenfive, clear, and infallibly certain, myfteries
that are moft profound, and hopes that are the
moft exalted : and he that can render thefe
fubjects familiar to his mind, even' on this earth
enjoys a life replete with heavenly pleafure.
I might enlarge greatly on this fubject, and
add a grelt many other confiderations to thofe
I have already offered j but I /hall only further
obferve, that that fweet virtue of contentment, fo
effectual for quieting the mind, which philofophy
fought for in vain, religion alone has found ; and
alfo difcovered, that it takes its rife from a firm
confidence in the almighty power of Divine Pro-
vidence. For what is there that can poffibly
give uneafinefs to him, who commits himfelf
(?) Omnibus bene velle, &quam pluiimis poffit benefacere.
entirely
keel. XIX. Happixefs on Earth. 2 1 9
.entirely to that paternal goodnefs and wifdom,
which he knows to be infinite, and fecurely
devolves the care of all his concerns upon it ?
If any of you object, what has been obferved
before, that we often fee good men meet with
fevere treatment, and alfo read, that " many
' are the afflictions of the juft (r; :" I anfwer,
do you not alfo read what immediately follows,
*' But the Lord delivereth him out of them
" all (s) ?" And it would be madnefs to deny,
that this more than compenfates the other.
But neither are the wicked quite exempted from
the misfortunes and calamities of life ; and
when they fall upon them, they have nothing
to fupport them under fuch preilures, none to
extricate or deliver them.
But a true Chriftian, encouraged by a good
confcience, and depending upon the divine fa-
vour, bears with patience all thefe evils, by the
efforts of generous love, and unfhaken faith;
they all feem light to him, he defpifes what
he fufFers, while he waits with patience
for the object of his hope ; and, indeed, what,
either in life or in death, can he be afraid
of, " whofe life is hid with Chrift in God;"
and of whom it may be juftly faid, without ex-
aggeration, " If the world mould be crufhed,
(r) Pfal. cxxxiv. (>) Ibid.
" and
220 Our Happinefs in God. Left. XX.
" and broken to pieces, he would be undaunted,
<{ even while the ruins fell upon his head {/) ?"
LECTURE XX.
Of our HAPPINESS, particularly that it lies in
GOD, 'who alone can direct us to the true way
of attaining to it ; that this way he has dif-
covered in the Sacred Scriptures, the divine
authority whereof is afferted and illuftrated.
THESE two expreffions, " That there
" is a beginning, and that there is alfp
" an end (0)," convey matters great in them-
felves, and which ought to be confidered as of
vaft importance to us. It is abfolutely neceflary,
that there fhould be fome one principle of all
things ; and by an equal degree of neceflity,
this principle mull be, of all others, the greateft
and the beft. It is alfo neceflary that he, who
gave bbing to all things, muft have propofed to
himfelf fome end to be attained by the produc-
tion and difpofal of them; but, as the end of the
(f) Si fraftus illabatur orbis
Inapavidum ferient ruinx. HOK.
f ) r< p T 'J *fW ^ * r " "P* T * T ^^ t
bcft
Left. XX. Our llatytnefs in God. 221
beftof all agents muft itfelfalfobethehigheftand
the beft, this end can be no other than himfelf.
Andthereafoning of the author of the Epiftle
to the Hebrews, concerning the oath of God,
may alfo be applied to this cafe : < As he had
" no greater to fwear by, fays the Apoftle, he
<c fwore by himfelf." In like manner, as he
had no greater or better end to propofe, he pro-
pofed himfelf. " He hath made all things for
" himfelf, fays the author of the book of Pro-
tc verbs, even the wicked forthe day of evil ()."
And the Apoftle Paul, in his Epiftle to the
Romans, gives us a lively defcription of that
incomparable circle, the moft compleat of all
figures : " Of him, and through him, and to
" him, are all things, to whom be glory for
<c ever, Amen (<;)."
Now man, the ornament and mafter- piece
of all the vifible creation, by extraordinary art,
and in a method peculiar to himfelf, returns to
his firft original, and has his Creator not only
for the principle of his being, and of his well-
being, but alfo for his end. Thus, by a won-
derful inftance of wifdom and goodnefs, God
has fo connected his own glory with our happi-
nefs, that we cannot properly intend or deiire
the one, but the other muft follow of courfe,
(b) Prov. xvi. 4. (c) Rom. xi. 36.
and
222 Our Happinefs in God. Left. XX.
and our felicity is at laft refolved into his eternal
glory. The other works of God ferve to pro-
mote his honour ; but man, by rational know-
ledge and will, offers himfelf, and all that he
has, as a facrifice to his Creator. From his
knowledge of him he is induced to love him j,
and in confequencc of his love, he attains at Lift
to the enjoyment of him. And it is the wifdqnv
as well as the happinefs-of man, to propofe to
himfelf, as the fcope and ultimate end of his
life, that very thing, which his exalted Creator
had propofed before.
But, that we may proceed gradually in our
fpeculations upon this fubject, we muft firft
conclude, that there is a proper end intended
for man ; that this end is fuited to his nature,
and perfectly accommodated to all his wants and
deiires, that fo the principal part of this won-
derful fabric may not be quite irregular, and la-
bour under a manifeft imperfection.
Nor can there be a more important fpecula-
tion, nor one more worthy of man, than that
which concerns his own end, and that good,
which is fully and perfectly fuited to his cir-
cumftances. Chance or fortune mud. of necef-
fity, have a great influence in our life, when we
live at random ; we muft, therefore, if we be
wife, or rather that we may be wile, propofe
to ourfelves an end, to which all our actions
ought
. XX. Our Uafptnefs in God. 22$
ought to have a reference, and by which, as a
certain fixed ftar, we are to direct our courfe.
But it is furprifing to obferve, how much all
the wifeft men among the heathens were per-
plexed in their enquiries after this end, and into
how many different opinions they were divided
about it. Of this, however, we have fpoken at
greater length in another place.
Now, to be brief, it is neceiTary, that this
good, or end, fhould be " perfect, fuitable, not
" eafily taken away, nay, fuch as we can, by
tl no means, be deprived of; and finally, it
<c muft confift of fuch things as have a parti-
<c cular relation to the foul, and not of external
c enjoyments (d)" Whence <c flavifh and
" brutalpleafures (^)," vain and perifhing honours
and riches, which only ferve tofupport and pro-
mote the former, are, in this enquiry, juftly,
and without the lead hefitation, hilled off the
ftagebyall foundphilofophers; who, with great
unanimity, acknowledge, that our felicity con-
fifts folely, or at lead principally, in virtue. But
your favourite philosopher Ariftotle, and the
Peripatetics, who are his followers, feem to
doubt, whether virtue alone be fufficient for this
purpoie, and not to be very confident with them-
x Ta
felvcs.
224 Our Happlnefe in God. Left. XX:
felves. The Stoics, who proceeded with greater
courage, and acted more like men, affirmed,
that virtue was fully fufficient for this on
without the helps and fupplements required by
the former. And that, while they bellowed
fuch high praifes on virtue, they might not feem
to have quite forgotten God, they not only faid,
that virtue was fomething divine, in which they
were joined by Ariftotle, but alfo concluded,
that their wife man did all things with a direcft
" reference to God (/)." It was alfo a gene-
ral maxim with the followers of Plato, " That
c the end of man is to be, as far as is poffible,
" made like unto God (g). 1t And Plato him-"
felf, in his fecond book of laws, and in his Phaedo,
aflerts, that man's chief good is the knowledge of
the truth : yet, as this knowledge is not perfect
in the prefent life, he is of opinion, that it can
fcarcely be faid of any man, that he is happy
here below ; but there is hope to be entertained
concerning the dead, provided they are purified
before they leave the world. But there are two
things particularly, with regard to this queftion,
\vhich our religion, and moft precious faith,
teaches with incomparably greater fulnefs and
(y) Mrr
(g) TtX-
evidence,
XX. Our Happinefs in God.
evidence, than all the fchools and books of the
philofophers.
1. That our felicity is not to terminate in
ourfelves, but in God. < BlefTed is the man
" that feareth the Lord (b] : and, the pure in
" heart mail fee God (/)." " To feek God,
" fays St. Auguftine, is to defire happinefs,
" and to find him is that happinefs ()."
2. That our happinefs is not confined with-
in the limits of this fhort life, nor does it end
with it : on the contrary, it is fcarce begun in
this world j but when the prefent life comes to
a period, then this happinefs is completed, and
becomes eternal. Our life on this earth, there-
fore, is only fo far happy, as it has a refemblance
to that we (hall enjoy in heaven, and becomes,
as it were, an earneft of it : that is, when it is
employed in pure and fincere piety, in obedience
to the will of God, and an ambition to promote
his glory, till we arrive at that happy flate,
where our hunger and thirft (hall be abundantly
fatisfied, and yet our appetites never cloyed.
For it is evident, that man, in this life, be-
comes fo much the more perfect and happy, in
proportion as he has his mind and affections
more thoroughly conformed to the pattern of
(b} Pfal. cxii. i. (/) Matth. Y. 8.
(/f) Secutio Dei appetitus beatitatis, confecutio beatitas.
that
226 Our Happineft in God. Left. XX,
that moft blefTed and perfect life : and this is in-
deed the great ambition of a true Chriftian j
this is his ftudy, which he ceaies not to purfue
with ardour day and night : nor dees he let fo
muchasone day pafs, without copying fome lines
of that perfect pattern -, and the more he advances
in purity of mind, the greater progrefs he makes
in the knowledge and contemplation of divine
things.
But who will inftruct us with regard to the
means of reaching this blefled mark ? Who
will lhew us how we may attain this conformity
to God, and moft effectually promote his ho-
nour and glory, fo that at laft we may come
to the enjoyment of him in that endlefs life, and
be for ever fatisfied with the beatific vifion of
him ? What faithful guide (hall we find to direct
us in this way ? Surely he himfelf muft be our
leader; there is no other befides him, that can
anfwer our purpofe. It is he alone that ac-
quaints us with his own nature, as far as it is
neceflary for us to know it j and he alone that
directs us to the way wherein he chufes to be
worfhipped. " God cannot be known but by
'* his own revelation of himfelf (/)." When
he is pleafed to wrap himfelf up in a cloud,
neither man, in his original integrity, nay, nor
(/) Non potefl Deus, aifi de Deo intelligi.
even
. XX. Our Uappinefs in God. 22?
even the angels, can know, or invefligate his
nature or his intentions. We are indeed ac-
quainted in the facred records, " That the
'* heavens declare the glory of God (m) :" and
this, to be fure, is very true in certain refpe&s,
but they do by no means declare the hidden,
myfteries of the Creator, nor his intentions,
and the manner of that worfhip and fervice he
requires from his reafonable creatures. And
therefore the Pfalmift, having begun the pfalm
witli the voice and declaration of the heavens,
immediately after mentions another light much
clearer than the fun himfelf, and a volume or
book more perfect than the language of all the
fpheres. Nothing is more certain, than that
the doctrine, which leads us to God, muft take
its rife from him ; for by no art whatever
can the waters be made to rife higher than their
fountain. It was therefore abiblutely neceflary,
for the purpofe I have mentioned, that fome
revelation, concerning God, mould be made to
mankind by himfelf $ and, accordingly, he did
reveal himfelf to them from the beginning ; and
thefe revelations the father of lies mimicked by
thofe delufions of his, that were pub!i(hed by
the heathen oracles. The divine Wifdom, in
revealing himfelf to mankind, has thought
(w) Pfal. xix. i.
Qjz proper,
228 Our Happinefs in God. Led. XX.
proper, at different periods of time, to make ufe
of different methods and ways, or, according to
that of the Epiftle to the Hebrews, " at fundry
" times, and in divers manners (n) ;" but at laft
it fecmed good to him, that this facred doctrine
fhould be committed to writing, that, with the
greater certainty and purity it might be handed
down to fucceeding ages. If we confider his
abfolute power, it would certainly have been as
eafy for him to have preferved this doctrine pure
and entire, without committing it to writing ;
but, for the moft part, he has been pleafed
to make ufe of means naturally fuited and adapt-
ed to his purpofes, and difpofes all things, fo
as effectually to fecure his ends, yet in an eafy
natural manner fuited to our capacities and con-
ceptions of things.
If any one would prove, that thefe books
which we receive as fuch, are in fact the re-
pofitories of this facred and celeftial doctrine,
the moft proper method he could take would
be, firft, to {hew, that the facred hiftory and
doctrines, contained in them, are true j and then,
from their own teflimony, conclude them
divine.
For the truth of our religion being once well
cflablifhed, it is, to be fare, a moft juft poftu-
lation,
Led. XX. Our Happinefs in God. 229
latton, and fuch as ought not to be denied to
any feet of men, that, in this inftance, the
teftimony of the Chriftian church fhould be be-
lieved, when it points out the books wherein
the fum and fubftance of that religion are origi-
nally and authentically depofited (0).
The truth of the facred hiftory being once
granted, the divinity of the doctrine will natu-
rally follow of courfe ; as the hiftory mentions
fo many and fo great miracles that were wrought
in confirmation of the doctrine j thofe particu-
larly that were performed in proof of the Old
Teftament, by Mofes, the fervant of God, by
whofe miniftry the law was given to the Jews ;
and thofe that were wrought in confirmation of
the New by Jefus Chrift, the only begotten fon
of Gcd, and author of the Evangelic law ; as
alfo tnofe that were wrought by his fervants the
Apoftles, and other Chriftians : and abfolutely
to deny the force of all thefe, would be an in-
ftance of impudence and obftinacy fo great, that
the keeneft enemies of the Chriftian name of
old did not venture upon it. But the Scriptures
have two great evidences of their divinity, their
own internal character, and that external tefli-
mony. There are two things which princi-
pally prove their internal character.
(o)
i, The
230 Our Happinefi In God. Led. XX.
ift. The incomparable fublimity and purity
of the doctrine they contain: fur in vain will you
look forfuch profound myrteries, and fuch pure
and holy precepts, any where elfe.
2. The inimitable and evidently divine ma-
jefty of the flile, attended, at the fame time,
with a furprifing and wonderful fimplicity,
Their voice is not the voice of man ; but the
whole of them, notwithstanding their great ex-
tent, founds fomething more grand, than can be
expected from the mouths of mortal men. Nor
ought we to pafs over that divine efficacy, which
the Scriptures have, not only to move the minds
of men, but alfo, by a divine operation (/>), to
change them into fomething quite different from
what they were before; according to that of
Laclantius, <c Give me a fierce, cruel, and
* c paffionate man, with a few of the words of
<: God I will make him as meek as a lamb,
" 6cc. (q)." And the external teftimony, al-
ready mentioned, has, to be fure, as much
weight as any thing of that kind can poffibly
have. Who would deny to the regular fuccef-
iion of the Catholic church, the credit of a wit-
nefs ? Who, on the other hand, would claim
the authority of a judge and arbitrator ? It
would be quite filly to afcribe to the church a
(f)
(7) Da mihi ferum, &c. utfupra.
decifive
Left. XX. Our Happlnefs in God. 23 1
decifive power, as if, when a book were firfl
preferred to it, or brought out of any place,
where it had been long concealed, it could im-
mediately pronounce whether that book was of
divine authority or not. The church is only a
witnefs with regard to thefe books we acknow-
ledge, and its teilimony extends no farther than
that they were received,- in the firft ages of
chrifHanity, as facred and divinely infpired, and
as fuch handed down from age to age, to the
church that now is j and he that would ven-
ture to difcredit this teftimony, muil have a heart
of lead, and a face of brafs.
There is no occafion to difpute fo fiercely
about the inward teftimony of the Holy Ghpft :
for I am perfuaded that thofe who talk about it,
underftand nothing more by if, than that the
Holy Spirit produces, in the hearts of men, that
faith whereby they chearfully and iincercly re-
ceive thefe books, and the doctrine contained
in them, as divine ; becaufe fuch a faith either in-
cludes, in the very notion of it, or at leaft is ne-
celTarily connected with, a religious frame of the
mind, and a fincer.e difpofition to univerfal obe-
dience. c And he that believeth, as the Apoftle
" John exprefTeth if, has this teftimony in him-
" ielf (r)," though he cannot convey, or traiif-
(r) i John v. 10.
fer
232 Our Happinefs in God. Left. XX.
fer it to others. Now, to aflert the neceffity of
fuch an internal teftimony, is nothing more
than to fay, that, whatever evidence the Scripture
may have in itfelf, or from other confiderations,
yet the divine faith of this truth muft be from
above. And he that would deny this, would
thereby plainly difcover, that he was an entire
granger to that faith himfelf. u The Scripture,
" fays Thomas a Kempis, muft furely be be-
" lieved and understood, by means of the fame
" fpirit, by whom it was at firft delivered (s)."
And, as St. Auguftine exprefles ir, " the only
* c effectual teacher is he, who has his chair in
" heaven, and yet inftrudts the hearts of men
" on this earth (/)" The fame divine fpirit
plants faith in the mind, together with the pro-
per intelligence of divine things, and daily aug-
ments and improves thefe difpofnions. This
great gift of the fpirit is, therefore, to be fought
by fervent and conftant prayer 5 and the Son of
God, who is truth itfelf, has afTured us, that
tnY moft bountiful Father will give it to thofe
that afk him. Ariftotle has told us, Cc That
" divine infpiration is to be fought by facri-
" fices ()." And it is no lefs true, " that
(j) Eodem certe fpiritu et credenda, et intelligenda facra
fcriptura, quo tradita eft.
(/) Qui cathedram habet in caelo, corda docet in terris.
() Ti &E97ri'vroy T~IJ Svyian; ^JTT?TIOF.
" the
Left. XX. Our Hatyinefs in God. 133
cc the faith and underftanding of things revcal-
C cd by divine infpiration are to be fought by
" prayer (x)". Varro tells us, that he wrote
firfl of human, and then of divine inftitutions,
becaufe focieties of men exifted firft, and the
latter were inftituted by them. True religion,
on the contrary, inftead of being inftituted by
any city or fociety on earth, hath inftituted a
city altogether heavenly and divine, and is itfelf
infpired by God, who is the giver of eternal life
to all that worfhip him in fincerity (y).
It is truly furprifmg to obferve, how diffe^
/ently this religion was of old received among
nien, and what different entertainment it meets
with even to this day, though the doctrine
has been always the fame ; though it is ftill
inforced by the fame arguments, and has the
fame difficulties and prejudices to ftruggle with.
When the divine Apoftle preached in the Areo-
pagus at Athens, a great many mocked and
ridiculed him: others faid, t{ We will hear thee
" again of this matter ; but certain men claye
" unto him and believed (#)." And that we
may not think that this faith, in thofe who be-
lieved, was owing to their uncommon pcnetra-
(.)) St. Aug. deCiv. Dei, lib. vi. c. 3.
() Afts xvii. 32, 34.
tion
234 Our Happinefe in' God. Left. XX.
tion or fagacity on the one hand, or to their
weaknefs and fimplicity on the other, of the
two mentioned in Scripture, that believed on
this occafiqn, the one was a philofopher, and
the other a woman. Now, tho', without doubt,
human liberty is to be allowed its due weight
in this matter j yet we cannot help acknow-
ledging, that a certain influence or energy (a)
feems to difcover itfelf here.
The bails of religion is faith 3 juft apprehen-
fions or right notions (b) of God, according to
Epictetus. St. Ignatius fays, " Faith is the be-
*' ginning of life, and love the end of it (c] :"
and the words of the Apoflle are, " He that
" cometh to God, muft believe that he is, and
" that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
" feek him >" fo that the giving of a, law to
man, and the enforcing it with the motives of
rewards and punimmentsjs not inconfiftent with
the filial and difinterefted obedience of a ra-
tional creature, even in a ftate of innocence.
All true and lively faith begets love ; and
thus that heavenly light is the vehicle of heat:
and as, by this means, true faith has a tendency
to the practice of Qbedience, fo all true obedi-
() QUixr Tjva pi>ipaii vel ivepyuea,
encc
]Le<ft. XX. Our Happinefs in God. 235
ence depends upon faith, and flows from it -, but
it alfo proceeds from love, becaufe faith firft
produces love, and then works by it. All
knowledge of rayfteries is vain, and of no
value ; unlefs it have an influence upon the
affections, and thereby on the whole conduct: of
life. The luminaries of heaven are placed on
high ; but they are fo placed, that they may
(hine, and perform their periods, for the benefit
of this earth (d}.
i. We muft believe, that God is: this
truth is written in capital letters on every page
of the facred books of Scripture : for all things
that are therein delivered by God, and concern-
ing him, confirm this, and take it for a primary
and undoubted principle. But thefe facred
books acknowledge another more univerfal evi-
dence of this leading truth, and an evidence
quite diftinct from theirs, to which they refer all,
even the moft obftinate unbelievers, and thofe
that are entirely ignorant of this celeflial doctrine,
for full conviction (e).
As it is quite plain, that the teftimony of
the written word will have little or no in-
fluence upon men, who have not received the
leaft tincture of divine faith ; mould any perfon,
deputing with them, reafon after this manner,
(J) Gen. i. 17. (t) Rom. i. zo.
the
236 Our Happinefs In God. Left. XX.
there is a God, becaufe this is afierted in the
facred Scriptures, and their teftimony muft, by
all means, be believed, becaufe they are the
word of God: an argument of this kind, to be
lure, would have no other effect, but to expofe
the perfon that urged it to the ridicule of Atheifts
and unbelievers; becaufe it evidently begs the
queftion, and runs into a vicious circle. He,
therefore, that would bring over fuch perfons to
jthe faith, muft reafon after a quite different
manner. But let him, on the other hand, who
once accepts thefe books, with the fubmiffion
due to their real dignity, and divine authenticity,
receive light and edification from them on every
article of faith, and with regard to the whole
fyftem of religion in general: let him alfo, in
congratulation to their exalted author, cry out>
" With thee, O Lord, is the fountain of life :
<{ and in thy light we (hall fee light (d)." And
let him that defires to be, not only a nominal pro-
ficient in theology, but a real lover of God, and
alfo to be taught of him (<?), refolve within him-
felf, above all things, to make this facred volume
his conftant fludy, mixing his reading with fre-
quent and fervent prayer ; for if thefe are omit-
ted, his labour will be altogether in vain, fup-
pofing him to be ever fo well verfed, not only
(/) Pfal. xxvi. 9. () 4t%&^i^9fc3J)kiite',
in
Left. XX. Our Happinefs in God.
in thefe books, but alfo to have all the" advan-
tages that can be had from the knowledge of
language?, and the affiftance of commentators
and interpreters. Different men have different
views in reading this book ; as in the fame field
the ox looks for grafs, the hound for a hare, and
the ftork for a lizard. Some> fond of critical
remarks, pick up nothing but little ftones and
fhells. Others run in purfuit of fublime myfte-
ries, giving themfelves but very little trouble a-
bout the precepts and inftruclions, that are clear
and evident ; and thefe plunge themfelves into a
pit, that has no bottom. But the genuine dif-
ciples of this true wifdom are thofe, who make
it their daily employment to purify their hearts
by the water of thefe fountains, and reduce their
whole lives to a conformity with this heavenly
dodVme. They defire not to know thefe things
only, that they may have the reputation of
knowledge, or to be diflinguifhed in the world ;
but that their fouls may be healed, and their
fteps directed, fo that they may be led, through
the paths of righteoufnefs, to the glorious felicity
which isfet before them.
The fum of all is, that our felicity lies folely
and entirely in that blefled God, who is alfo the
fountain and fource of our bein^ ; that the only
means of our union with him is true religion ;
and this, again, confifts in our entertaining juft no
tions
238 Of the Divine Attributes. Left. XXL
tions of God, worfhipping him acceptably, and
endeavouring a conftant and unwearied obe-
dience to all his commands, according to that
moft pure and perfect rule laid down in thefe
divine books, which weprofefs to receive asfuch.
Let us, therefore, have conftantly fixed in our
minds thefe words of the Pfalmift, c< BleiTed
" are the undefiled in the way, that walk in
" the way of the Lord. Thou haft command-
" ed us to keep thy precepts diligently. O !
" that my ways were directed to keep thy
' ftatutes (/)."
LECTURE XXI.
Of the D i v i N E ATTRIBUTES.
OF all the maxims that are naturally writ-
ten on the heart of man, there is none
more certain or more univerfally known, than
THAT GOD isj concerning which I have gi-
ven a diflertation fome time ago. But of all the
fecrets and hidden things of nature, which have
been the fubject of human ftudy and inquiry,
there is nothing, by a prodigious odds, fo diffi-
(/') Pfalm cxix. I, 4, 5.
cult
Left. XXI. Of the Divine Attributes. 239
cult or unfearchable, as to know WHAT HE is.
The faying of St. Auguftine, concerning time,
is well known in the fchools ; with how much
greater truth might it be faid of him, who is
more ancient than time, " and who bid time
" flow from the beginning (a) ? That he hath
* e made darknefs his hiding-place, and amidft
<c that darknefs dwells in light inacceffible (b)"
which, to our eyes, is to be fure more dark than
darknefs itfelf. O the divine darknefs ! fays a
great man (c] ; and another moft acutely, " If
f< you divide or cut afunder this darknefs, who
"will fhine forth (</)?" When, therefore,
we are to fpeak of him, let us always call to
remembrance the admonition, which bids -us
" fpeak with reverence and fear (e)" For
what can we fay that is worthy of him, fince
man, when he fpeaks of God, is but a blind
perfon defcribing light ? Yet, blind as we are,
there is one thing we may, with great truth,
fay of that glorious light, and let us frequently
repeat it; O when will that blefTed day mine
forth, which mail deliver the foul from thofe
(a) Qui tempus ab asvo
Ire jubet. BoETH.Conf. Phil. lib.iii. met. 9.
(I) Pfalm xviii. n. (<) 12 TO Sto O-KOTO?.
thick
240 Of the Divine Attributed Led!. XXL
thick integuments of flefh, that, like fcales on the
eye, obftrucl: its fight, and (hall introduce it into
a more fall and open view of that primitive e-
ternal light ? Perhaps the propereft anfwer we
could give to the queftion, What is God ? would
be to obferve a mofl profound filence : or, if we
fhould think proper to anfwer any thing, it
ought to be fomething next to this abfolute fi-
lence; viz. Got) is ; which gives us a higher
and better idea of him, than any thing we can
either exprefs or conceive.
Theological writers mention three methods,
whereby men come to fome kind of knowledge
of God thernfelves, and communicate that
knowledge to others, viz. the way of negation,
the way of can] alien > and the way of eminence :
yet the very terms, that are ufed to exprefs thefe
ways, mew what a faint knowledge of the in-
vifible Being is to be attained by them ; fo that
the two laft may be juftly reduced to the firft,
and all our knowledge of this kind called nega-
tive. For to pretend to give any explanation
of the Divine EfTence, as diftinct from what we
call his attributes, would be a refinement fo ab-
furd, that, under the appearance of more accu-
rate knowledge, it would betray our ignorance
the more : and fo unaccountable would it be to
attempt any fuch thing, with regard to the un-
fearchable majefty of God, that pofubly the
moft
Left. XXI. Of the Divine Attributes. 241
moil towering and exalted genius on earth ought
frankly to acknowledge, that we know neither
our own effence, nor that of any other creature,
Qven the meaneft and moft contemptible. Tho'
in the fchools they diftinguim the divine attri-
butes or excellencies, and that by no means im-
properly, into communicable and incommuni-
cable; yet we ought fo to guard this diftinction,
as always to remember, that thofe which are
called communicable, when applied to God,
are not only to be underftood, in a manner, in-
communicable, and quite peculiar to himfelf j
but alfo, that in him they are, in reality, infinitely
different from thofe virtues ; or rather, in a mat-
ter where the difparity of the fubjedts. is fo very
great, thofe fhadows of virtues, that go under
the fame names, either in men or angels ; for it
is not only true, thatall things, in the infinite and
eternal being, are infinite and eternal, but they
are alfo, though in a manner quite inexpreffible,
himfelf. He Is good without quality, great
without quantity, &c: He is good in fuch a
leiife, as to be called by the Evangeh'ft, the only
good being (/). He is alfo the only wife being ;
< l To the only wife God," faith the Apoftle.
And the fame Apoftle tells us, in another place,
" That he only hath immortality," that is,
(/) Matth. xix. 17.
R " from
242 Of the Divine Attributes. Led. XXI.
" from his own nature, and not from the will
" or difpofition of another ()." " If we are
t{ confidered as joined to, or united with God,
" fays an antient writer of great note, we have
<c a being, we live, and in forne fort are wife j
* but if we are compared with God, we have
*' no wifdom at all, nor do we live, or fo
" much as have any exigence (b)" All other
things were by him brought out of nothing, in
eonfequence of a free act of his will by means
of his infinite power ; fo that they may be juftly
called mere contingencies, and he is the only
neceflarily exiftent being. Nay, he is the only
really exijlent being. ?<> sr? ; or, as Plotinus
cxpreffes it, -^ vmfSis &,. Thus alfo the Scptuagint
fpeaks of him, as the only exiftent being (/'),
and fo alfo does the heathen poet (). This is
likewife implied in the exalted name Jehovah,
which expreffes his being, and that he has it
from himfelf - y but what that being is, or where-
in its effence, fo to fpeak, confifls, it does not
fay ; nor, if it did, could we at all conceive it.
Nay, fo far is that name from difcovering what
Qf) *
(b) Deo fi' conjungimur, fumus, vivimds, fapimus : Deo fi
eomparamur, ncc fapimus omnino, nee vivimus,-imo nee fumus.
Greg. Mag. Mor.
(/) S .
(k) ffi rJj cf-S'irtpx W?X fiyasX ffxrtiSi&;-
his
Led. XXI. Of the Divine Attributes.
his being is, that it plainly infinuates, that his
exigence is hid, and covered with a vail. I am
ivho I am ; or, 1 am 'what 1 am (I). As if he
had faid, I myfelf know what I am, but you
neither know, nor can know it j and if I fhould
declare wherein my being confifts, you could
not conceive it. He has, however, manifefted
in his works, and in his word, what it is our
intereft to know, " That he is the Lord God,
<l merciful and gracious, abundant in goodnefs
<{ and truth."
We call him a mod pure fpirit, and mean
to fay, that he is of a nature entirely incorporeal ;
yet this word, in the Greek, Hebrew, and all
other languages, according to its primitive and
natural lignifkation, conveys no other idea,
than that of a gentle gale, or wind, which every
one knows to be a body, though rarified to a
very great degree ; fo that, when we fpeak of
that infinite purity, all words fail us; and even,
when we think of it, all the refinements of the
acuteft understanding are quite at a ftand, and
become entirely ufelefs, It is, in every refpecl:, as
neceffary toacknowledge hiseternity,as his being;
provided, that, when we mention the term God,
we mean by it the firft being, fuppofing that
expreffion to include alfo his fclf-eTiiftence.
(!) Exod. Jii. 14.
R 2 This
244 Oftk* Divine Attributes. Left. XXL
This idea of a firft and eternal being is again in-
feparably connected with an infinite degree of
all poffible perfection, together with immutabi-
lity, and abiblute pcrfeverance therein. But all
thefe are treated of, atgreat length, in Theological
books, whereof you have a very large colledion.
In like manner, if we fuppofe God to be the
firft of all beings, we muft, unavoidably, there-
from, conclude his unity: as to the ineffable
Trinity fubfifting in this Unity, a myftery dif-
covered only by the &cred Scriptures, efpecially
in the New Teftament, where it is more clear-
ly revealed than in the Old, let others boldly
pry into it, if they pleafe, while we receive it
with an humble faith, and think it Efficient for
us to admire and adore.
The other Attributes, that ufe to be men-
tioned on this fubjecl, may be fuppofed to be
perfectly comprehended under the following
three, viz. power, wifdom, and gcodnefs : for
bolinejs, juftice, mercy, infinite bcunty, &c. may
be, with great propriety, racked under the ge-
neral term ofgocdnefs.
But rather than infift upon metaphyiical fpe-
culations, let us, while we walk daily in thefe
pleafant fields, be conftantly calling frefh and
never fading flowers. When the Pialmift
o
cries out, Great is the Lord, and greatly to
{ be praifed, and of his greatnefs there is no
" endj
XXI. Of the Divine Attributes. 245
" end (m) j he wanted to fliew, faith St. Au-
<c guftine, how great he is ; but how can this
tc be done? Though he repeated, great, great, -
" the whole day, it would have been to little
" purpoie, for he muft have ended at laft,- be-
" caule the day would have ended; but his
" greatnefs was before the beginning of days,
<c and will reach beyond the end of time ()."
The poet exprefles himfelf admirably well, ct I
" will praife thee, O bleffed God, with my
" voice, I will praife thee, alib, with filence.
* c For, thou, O inexpreffible Father, who can'fl
<c never be known, underflandeft the filence of
(l the mind, as well as any words or expref*
tc fions(o)."
.(,) Pfalm.cxlv. 5.
t dicere quarn magnus fit, fed hoc qui fieri poteft ?
Etfi tota-die magnum dicerer, parum effet, finiret enim ali-
quando, quia, finiretur dies, magnitudo autem illius ante dies,
& ultra dies."
(c]
Toer
-if e^TE. Syn. hymno. 410.
R 3 LECTURE
246 Of a religious Life. Led. XXII,
LECTURE XXII.
How to regulate Life according to the Rules of
RELIGION,
I Have now, at different times, addrefled myfelf
to you upon feveral fubjects of great impor-
tance, and of the utmoft neccffity; though,
what I have hitherto faid, was only defigned as.
a preface, or introduction, to what I further
propofed; but to attempt toprofecute thisdefign,
at the very end of the year, would be quite im-
proper, and to little or no purpofe $ I {hall,
therefore, altogether forbear entering upon it,
and, for this time, lay before you a few advices,
which may be ufeful, not only in order to em-
ploy, to greater advantage, the months of vaca-
tion, that are now at hand, but alfo the better to
regulate your whole lives.
And my firft advice fhall be, to avoid too
much fleep, which wafles the morning hours,
that are moft proper for fludy, as well as for the
exercifes of religion ; and ftupifies and enervates
the flrength of body and mind. I remember,
that
Left. XXIL Of a religious Life.
that the famous abbot of Clairevaux (a\ when
he found the fryars fleeping imrnoderately, ufed
to fay, " That they flept like the fecular
41 clergy (/>)." And, though we do not admit
of the fevere rules to which the monks fubjecled
themfelves, we rnuft at leafl allow, that the
meafure and degree of fleep, and other bodily
refreshments, fuitable for a young man, devoted
to ftudy and devotion, is very far different from
that excefs, in which the common fort of man-
kind indulge themfelves.
Another advice, which is a kin to, and near-
ly connected with the former, fhall be, to ob-
ferve temperance in eating and drinking : for
moderation in fleeping generally follows fobriety
in eating, and other fenfual gratifications ; hut
that thick cloud of vapours, that arifes from a
full ftomach, mud of necefiity overwhelm all
the animal fpiriis, and keep them long locked
up in an indolent inactive ftate. Therefore the
Greeks, not without reafon, exprefs thefe two
duties, to be fcber, and to be ivatcbful, indiffe-
rently by the fame term. And the Apoflle Pe-
ter, that he might make his connection more
evident, ufes, indeed, two words for this purpofe ;
but exhorts to thefe duties, as clofely connected
together, or rather, as if they were, in fome
(a) St. Bernard. () Seculariter dormire.
R 4 refpect,
248 Of a religious Life. Left. XXII.
refpeft, but one, - Be, fiber, be vigilant (c).
And, in the fame Epiftle, having lubftituted
another word for fobriety, he exprefTes watch-
fulnefs by the fame word he had put for fobriety
in the other 'place, Be fober and 'watch (d}. Both
thefe difpofitions are fo applied to the mind,
as to include a fober and watchful ftate of the
body and fenfes ; as this is exceeding ufeful,
nay" quite neceflary, in order to a correfpondent
frame of the mind : and that difpofition, both
of body and mind, not only fubfervient, but
alfo necefiary to piety and confbncy in prayer :
* c Be fober and watch unto prayer (*)."
When the body is reduced to its lighted and
moft aclive flate, ftill, as -it is corruptible, it is,
to be fure, a burthen to the mind ; how much
more muft it be fo, when it is deprefled with
an immoderate load of meat and drink ; and, in
confequence of this, of fleep ? Nor can the
mind roufe itfelf, or ufe the wings of contem-
plation and prayer, with freedom, when it is
overpowered with fo heavy a load : my/neither
can it make any remarkable progrefs in the
ftudy of human literature^ but will move flow-
ly, andembarrafled, be at a ftand, like a wheel-
carriage in deep clay. The Greeks, very juftly,
exprelTed
n-^etn. I Pet. iv. 7.
(e) j raj vpos-svXas.
Led. XXII. Of a religious Life. 249
exprefTed the virtue, we are now recommend-
ing, by the term ^p^, it being, as your fa-
vourite philofopher (/') obferves in his Ethicks,
the great prcfervative of the mind. He is cer-
tainly a very great enemy to his own under-
ftanding that lives high, and indulges himfelf
in luxury. <c A fat belly is feldom accompanied
" with an acute underftanding (g)" Nor is
it my intention in this, only to warn you againft
drunkennefs and luxury j I would willingly
hope, that fuch an advice would be fuper-
fluous to you : nut, in this conflict, I would
willingly carry you to fuch a pitch of victory,
that, at your ordinary and leaft dehcious meals,
that you would always ftop fome degrees within
the bounds, to which your appetite would carry
you. Conlider " that, as Catofaid, the belly has
no ears (#)," but it has a mouth, into which a
bridle muft be put, and, therefore, I addrefs not
myfelf to it, but to the directing mind, that is fet
over it, which, for that reafon, ought to goveTn
the body, with all its fenfes, and curb them at
its pleafure. St. Bernard's words are admirable
to this purpofe, " A prudent mind, devoted to
<e God, ought fo to act in its body, as the
" mafter of a family in his own houfe. He
(_/") Ariftotle. (g) Hy.^tz y.rfj? hrvrlv u r'atrst won.
(/?) Ventrera non habere aures.
*' ought
25 Of a religious Life. Left. XXII.
<c ought not to fuffer his flefh to be, as Solo-
ec mon exprefies it, like a brawling woman,
" nor any carnal appetite to act like a rebellious
" fervant; but to enure them to obedience
< and patience. He muft not have his fenfes
" for his guides, but bring them into fubjeclion
< and fubferviency to reafon and religion. He
< muft, by all means, have his houfe and fa-
" mily fo ordered, and well difciplined, that he
*' can fay to one, Go, and he goeth, and to an-
" other, Come, and he cometh > and, to his
<c fervant the body, Do this, and it doeth what
cc it is bid, without murmuring. The body
muft alfo be treated with a little hardfhip,
that it may not be difobedient to the mind (*)."
t( For he, faith Solomon, that delicately bring-
<c eth up his fervant from a child, (hall- have
*' him become a rebellious fon at laft (k}."
is what I would have you afpire to, a con-
(*') Sic prudens & Deo decatus animus habere fe debet in
corpora fuo, iicut pater familias in domo fua. Non habeat,
licut Solomon dicit, mulierem litigiofam carneni fuam, nee
ullum appetitum carnis ut fervum rebellem, fed ad obedien-
tiam & patientiam afluefaftum. Habeat fenius fuos nor. duces,
fed rationi & religion! fervientes & fequaces j habeat omnem
omnino domum vel familiam fuam fie ordinatam, & difciplinae
fabditam, ut dicat huic vade, & vadat, & alii, veni, & veniat,
&: fervo corpori, facito hoc, & fine murmure fiat quod jubetur,
& paulo certe durius traiftandutn eft corpus, ue animo male
pareat.
^) Prov. xxix. 21.
queft
Led. XXII. Of a religious Life. 25 1
queft over your flefh, and all its lufts -, for they
carry on a deadly war againft your fouls ; and
their defires are then moft to be refitted, when
they flatter moft. What an unhappy and dif-
honourable inverfion of nature it is, when the
flefli commands, and the mind is in fubjection !
When the flefh, which is vile, grofs, earthly,
and foon to be the food of worms, governs
ct the foul, that is the breath of God, &c. (/)"
Another thing I would have you beware
of, is immoderate fpeech. The evils of the
tongue are many 5 but the fhorteft way to find
a remedy for them all, is to fliidy filence, and
avoid, as the poet expreffes it, " exceffive
? prating, and a vafl defire of fpeaking (m)"
" He is a perfect man, as the Apoftle James
t( exprefles it, who offends not in word()j"
and therefore, doubtlefs, he that fpeaks leaft,
offends in this refpect more rarely. " But in
fc the multitude of words, as the wife man
<{ obferves, there wants not fin (0)." To fpeak
much, and alfo to the purpofe, feidom falls to
the (hare of one man (/>). Now, that we may
avoid loquacity, we muft love folitude, and
render it familiar ; that fo every one may have
a'ij/xa Sew, &C.
Improba garrulitas, fludiumq; immane loquer.di.
() Jam. iii. 2. (o) Prov. x. 19.
[p) Xp<{ TO T* iri WB?>?.a x^ TO, >;i^a.
an
252 Of a religious Life. Left. XXII.
an opportunity to fpeak much to himfelf, and
little to other people. <l We muft, to be fure,
cc fays aKempis, be in charity with all men ;
te but it is not expedient to be familiar with
<{ every one (0." General, and indifcriminate
converfation with every one we meet, is a mean
and filly thing. Even, when we promifeour-
felves comfort and fatisfadtion, from free conver-
fation, we often return from fuch interviews
with uneafinefs ; or, at leaft, have fpoken and
heard fuch things, as, upon ferious reflection,
may juftly give us concern. But, if we would
fecure our tongues and fenfes, or keep fafe our
hearts, and all the hTues of life,.. we muft be
frequent at prayer, in the morning, at 'noon,
and at night, or oftener throughout the day,
and continually walk, as in the prefence of God ;
always remembering, that he cbferves not only
our words and actions, but alfo takes notice of
our moft fecret thoughts. This is the fum and
fubftance of true piety : for he, who is always
ferx/ible, that that pure and all-feeing eye is con-
tinually upon him, will never venture to fin, with
fet purpofe, or full confent of mind. This
lenfe of the divine prefence, would certainly
make our life, on this earth, like that of the
(?) Charitas certe habenda eft erga omnes, fed familiaritas
son exped.it.
. angels ;
Left. XXII. Of a religious Life. 253
angels ; for, according to our Lord's expreffion,
it is their peculiar advantage, " continually to
" behold the face of our Father, who is in
" heaven." By this means Jofeph efcaped the
fnares laid for him by his imperious miftrefs ;
and, as if he had thrown water upon it, ex-
tinguifhed that fiery dart with this feafonable
reflection, " Shall I do this great wickednefs,
" and fin againft God(r)." tie might have
efcaped the eyes of men, but he flood in awe
of that invifible eye, from which nothing can
be hid. We read of a good man of old, who
got the better of a temptation, of the fame kind,
by the fame ferious consideration ; for, being
carried from one chamber to another, by the
woman that tempted him, he ftill demanded a
place of greater fecrefy, till having brought
him to the moft retired place of the whole houfe,
here, faid (lie, no perfon will find us out, no
eye can fee us. To this he anfwered, will no
eye fee ? Will not that of God perceive us ? By
which faying, he himfelf efcaped the friare,
and, by the influence of divine grace, brought
the finful woman to repentance. But now,
Let us pray.
PRAISE waits for thee, O Lord, in Zion,;
and to be employed in paying thee that tribute,
(r) Gen xxxix. 9.
is
254 Of a religious Life. Left. XXIL
is a becoming and pleafant exercife : it is due to
thee from all the works of thy hands, but parti-
cularly proper from thy faints and celcftial fpirits,
JElevate, O Lord, our minds, that they may
not grovel on the earth, and plunge themfelves
in the mire ; but, being carried upwards, may
tafte the pleafures of thy houfe, that exalted
houfe of thine, the inhabitants whereof are con-
tinually finging thy praifes. Their praifes add
nothing to thee, but they themfelves are per-
fectly happy therein. While they behold thy
boundlefs goodnefs, without any vail, admire thy
uncreated beauty, and celebrate the praifes there-
of throughout all ages* Grant us, that we may
walk in the paths of holinefs, and, according
to our meafure, exalt thy name, even on this
' earth, until we alfo be tranflated into the glori-
ous aflembly of thole who ferve thee in thy
higher houfe.
Remember thy goodnefs and thy covenant to
thy church militant upon this earth, and expofed
to dangers amidft fo many enemies : yet we
believe, that, notwithftanding all thefe dangers,
it will be fafe at laft : it may be diftrefled, and
plunged in the waters, but it cannot be quite
overwhelmed, or finally perim. Pour out thy
bleffing upon this our nation, our city, and unr-
verfity : we depend upon thee, O Father, with-
out whofe hand we (hould not have been, and
without
XXIII. Of Purity of Life: 2$$
without whofe favour we can never be happy.
Infpire our hearts with gladnefs, thou, who a-
lone art the fountain offolid, pure, and perma-
nent joy, and lead us, by the paths of righteouf-
nefs and grace, to the reft and light of glory,
for the fake of thy Son, our Redeemer, Jefus-
Chrift; Amen,
LECTURE XXIII.
Of PURITY of LIFE.
IN every aft of religious worfhip, what a
great advantage would it be, to remember
that faying of our great Mafter, which nobody
is altogether ignorant of, and yet fcarce any
know as they ought, " That God, whom we
61 worjbifa is a fpirit, and therefore to be wor-
c< (hipped in fpirit and in truth (a)." He is a
fpirit, a moft pure fpirit, and the father of
ipirits : he is truth, primitive truth, and the
moft pure fountain of all truth : " But we alt
" have erred in heart (b)." We are indeed
(a) John iv. 24.
xapJ BTiaw^siot.
fprrits,
256 Of Punty of Life. Left. XXIII.
fpirits, but fpirits immerfed in flefhj nay, as it
were, converted into flefh, and, the light of
truth being extinguimed within us, quite in-
volved in the darknefs of error : and, what iliil
fets us in greater oppofition to the truth, every
thing about us 'is falfe and delufive ; " There
" is no foundnefs (c)." How improper, there-
fore, are we, who are deceitful and carnal (d),
to wormip that fpirit of fupreme truth ? Though
we pray, and faft often, yet all our facrifices,
as they are polluted by the impure hands where-
with we offer them, muft be offenfive, and
unacceptable to God ; and the more they are
multiplied, the more the pure and fpotlefs Deity
muft complain of them, as the grievance is
thereby enhanced. Thus, by his prophet, he
complained of his people of old : " Your new
< moons, faith he, and your appointed feafts,
tc my foul hateth : they are a trouble to me ;
" I am weary to bear them : therefore,
" when you fpread forth your hands, I will
<c hide mine eyes from you, and, as it were,
" turn my back upon you with difdain : but,
u if you will warn you, and make you clean,
" then come, and let us reafon together (e] :"
as if he had faid, then let us converfe together,
and if there be any difference between us, let
(<) eofi/ t7*Ej. (</) i'px.oi >c^ -iJ/frsM. (f) Ifai. i.
US
Left. JCXIII. 6f Purity of Life.
iis talk over the matter, and fettle it in a friend-
ly manner, that our complaints may be turned
into mutual embraces, and all your fins being
freely and fully forgiven, you may be reftored
to perfect innocence : Though your fins be
" as fcarlet, they fhall be as white as fnow ;
" though they be redder than crimfon, they
" mall be whiter than wool : wa& yourfelves,
" and I will alfo wafh you, and moft complete-
< ly wipe away all your ftains."
But that we may be the better provided for
this ufeful, and altogether neceflary exercife of
cleanfing our hearts and ways, and apply to it
with the greater vigour, let us dwell a little upon
that facred expreflion in the Pfalms,'* Wherewith
'< fhall a young man purify his way?" The
anfwer is; * c By taking heed thereto according
" to thy word(/)." In this queftion, feveral
things offer themfelves to our obfervation.
i . That, without contrdverjy (g) y purity of
life, or converfation, is a moft- beautiful and
defirable attainment, and that it mutt, by all
means, begin at the very fountain, that is, the
heart ; whence, as Solomon obferves, cc pro-
<c ceed the iffues of life." In the beginning of
the pfalm, they are pronounced blefTed, " Who
* c are pure, or undefiled in the way, who walk
(/) Pfal. CX'ix. 9. (g) cwsXoysuAfc'f.
S in
2 5 S Of Purity of Life. Left. XXIII.
<{ in the law of the Lord." And, in another
place, " Truly God is good to Ifrael, fays the
" Pfalmift, even to fuch as are of a clean
" heart (b}~ And the words of our Saviour to
this purpofe are, {t Blefled are the pure in heart,
t for they mall fee God (*)." Nor is the true
and genuine heauty of the foul any thing diftincT:
from this purity and fanclity ; this is the true
image of its great Creator} that golden crown,
which mod unhappily dropt off the head of
man, when he fell : fo that, with the greateft
juftice, we may lament and fay, " Woe unto
" us that we have finned." And it is the gene-
ral defign and intention of all religion, all its
myfteries, and all its precepts, that this crown
may be again reflored, at leaft, to fome part of
the human race, and this image again ftamped
upon them; which image, when fully com-
pleated, and for ever confirmed, will certainly
conftitute a great part of that happinefs, we
no.w hope for, and afpire after. Then, we
truft, we fhall attain to a more full conformity
and refemblance to our beloved head. And,
even in this wayfaring flate, the more deeply
and thoroughly our fouls are tinctured with the
divine flame of charity, joined with this beautiful
purity, the more we referable him, " who is .
() Pfal. Ixxiii. r. (/) Matth. v. 8.
" white
Led. XXIII. Of Purity of Life. 259
'* white and ruddy, and fairer than the fons of
" men." The Father of mercies has made
choice of us, that we may be holy ; the Son of
God, bleflfed for ever, has once for all fhed his
blood upon earth, in order to purify us, and
daily pours out his fpirit from heaven upon us,
for the fame purpofe.
But to cunlider the matter as it is in itfelf,
where is the perfon, that does not, even by. the
force of natural inftindt, difdain filth and nafti-
nefs, or at lead prefer to it purity and neatnefs
of body ? Now, as the foul greatly excells the
body, fo much the more deiirable is it, that it
fhould be found in a ftate of beauty and purity.
In like manner, were we to travel a journey,
who would not prefer the plain and clean way
to one that were rough and dirty ? But the way
of life, which is not the cafe in other matters,
will be altogether fuch as you would have it,
or chufe to make it. With God's affiftance,
and the influence of his grace, a good man is at
pains to purify his own way ; but men of an
impure and beaftly difpofition, who delight to
wallow in the mire, may always eafiiy obtain
their fordid wilh. But I hope that you, dif-
daining fuch a brutifh indignity, will, in prefe-
rence to every thing elfe, give your moft ferious
attention to this enquiry, by what means even
young men and boys may purify their way, and,
S 2 avoiding
Of Purify of Life. Left. XXIII.
avoiding the dirty paths of the common fort of
mankind, walk in fuch as are more pleafant and
agreeable.
2; Obferve, that purity is not fuch an eafy
matter, that it may fall by chance in the way
of thofe that are not in quell of it, but a work
of great art and induftry. Hence you may alfo
learn, that the way, even of young men or
boys(^), ftand very much in need of this care-
ful attention. It is indeed true, that, in fome
refpecl, the reformation of youth is eafier, and
fooner accomplimed, that they are not ac-
cuftomed to mamefol and wicked ways, nor
confirmed in finful habits ; but there are other
regards, wherein it is more difficult to reduce
that period of life to purity, particularly, as it
is more ftrongly imprefled with the outward
objects that furround it, and eafily difpofed to
imbibe the very worft : the examples and in-
citements to vice befet youth in greater abun-
dance, and thofe of that age are more apt to fall
in with them.
But, whatever may be faid of the eafinefs or
difficulty of reforming youth and childhood, it i$
evident from this queftion, which, without doubt,
is propofed with wifdom and ferioufnefs, that
this matter is within the verge of poffibility, and
(/*) The Hebrew word ufed in the text, properly fignifies x
boy.
Of
Left. XXIII. Of Purity of Life. 26*
of the number of fuch as are fit to be attempted.
Youth is not fo headftrong, nor childhood fo
foolifh, but by proper means they can be bent
and formed to virtue and piety. Notwithftand-
ing the Irregular defires and forwardncfs (/) of
youth, and that madnefs, whereby they are
hurried to forbiden enjoyments, there are words
and expreffions that can foothe this impetuofi-
ty, even fuch, that by them youth can tame
and compofe itfelf, " By attending to itfelfand
" its ways, according to thy word :" that match-
lefs word, which contains all thofe particular
words and expreffions, not only that are proper
to purify and quiet all the motions and affections
of the foul, but alfo, by a certain divine power,
are wonderfully efficacious for that purpofe. And
what was faid of old, concerning Sparta, and its
difcipline, may be, with much greater truth, af-
ferted of the divine law, and true religion, viz.
that it had a furprizing power to tame and Jubdue
mankind (in}* And this leads us directly to the
anfwer of the quefUon in the text ; " By attend-
<{ ing thereto, according to thy word."
This is not, therefore, to be done according
to our philofophy, but according to thy word,
O eternal light, truth, and purity ! The philofo-
phy of the heathens, it is true, contains fome
(/) tZx&.i;*, a9te'</.ar*K (/) Aa^ac-J^sTON
S mora
262 Of Purity of Life. Led. XXIII.
moral inftruclions and precepts, that are by no
means defpicable ; but this is only fo far as they
are agreeable to the word of God, and the
divine law, though the philofophers themfelves
knew nothing of it : but the only perfect fyftem
of moral philofophy, that ought to be univer-
fally received, -is the doctrine of Chriftianity.
This the antient fathers of the primitive church
have afTerted, and fully proved, to the honour
of our religion. But thofe, who ipend their
Jives in the ftudy of philofophy, can neither
reform themfelves nor others, if nature be but
a little cbftinate ; and their wifdom, when it
floes its utmoftj rather conceals vices, than era-
dicates them j but the divine precepts make fo
great a change upon the man, and, fubduing
his old habits, fo reform him, that you would
not know him to be the fame. If any of you
then afpire to this purity of mind and way, you
muft, with all poflible care, conform yourfelf,
and every thing about you, to the inftruclions
and precept^ of this divine word. Nor think
this a hard faying; for the fiudy of purity has
nothing in it that is unpleafant or difagreeable,
unlefs you think it a grievance to become like
unto God.
Confider now, young men, nay you, who,
without offence, will fuffer yourfelves to be
called boys 3 confider, I fay, wherein confifts that
true
Led. XXIV. Of Purity of Life. 263
true wifdom, which deferves to be purfued
with the cnoft earned ftudy and application, and
whereby, if you will, you may far exceed thofe
that are your fuperiors in years j be ambitious
to attain the advantage mentioned in the text,
and confequently the condition upon which it
depends, for they are infeparably connected
together ; reconcile your minds to a ftrift at-
tention to your way?, according to the divine
word, and by this means (which is a very rare
attainment) you will reconcile youth, and even
childhood, to the purity here recommended :
account the divine Word and precepts prefera-
ble to your daily food, yea, let them be dearer
to you than your eyes, and even than life itfelf f
LECTURE XXIV,
Before ths COMMUNION.
IT is the advice of the wife man, " ETvvell at
" home, or vvkh yourfelf ; " and tho' there
are very few that do this, yet it is furprifing, that
the greateft part of mankind cannot be prevail-
ed upon, at leaft, tovifit :hemfelves fometimes;
but, according to the faying of the wife Solomon,
84 '< Tho
264 Exhortation Left. XXIV.
<f The cys of the fool are in the ends of the
< earth." It is the peculiar property of the
human mind, and its fignal privilege, to re-
flect upon itfelf ; yet we, foolifhly neglecting
this moft valuable gift, conferred upon us by
our Creator, and the great ornament of our na-
.ture, fpend our lives in a brutim thoughtleflhefs.
Was a man, not only to turn in upon himfelf,
carefully to fearch and examine his own heart,
and daily endeavour to improve it more and
more in purity, but alfo to excite others, with
whom he converfed, to this laudable practice,
by feafonable advice, and affecting exhortations,
he wpuld certainly think himfelf very happy in
thefe exercifes. Now, though this expedient
is never unfeafonable, yet it will be particular-
ly proper, on fuch an occalion as this, to try
it upon yourfelvcs, as you are not ignorant,
that it is the great apoflolical rule, with refpect
to all thatarecalled to celebrate the divine myfte-
ries, " that every man examine himfelf, and
" fo let him eat of that bread, and drink of that
cup (a)"
I do not here intend a full explication of this
ipyfteiy, but only to put you in mind, that, in
order to a faving ufe, and participation thereof, a
twofold judgment mutt, of neceffity, be formed -,
(a) I Cor. ;d. 28.
the
Left. XXIV. before the Communion.
the firft with refpedt to our own fouls, and the
other to that of the Lord's body. Thefe the
Apoflle confiders as clofely conneded together,
and therefore expreffes both by the fame word.
The trial we are to make of ourfelves, is indeed
expreffed by the word &*/w*si, which fignifies to
prove, or to try ; but immediately after he ex-
preffes it by judging ourfelves, <c for if we would
" judge ourfelves, &c. ()" whereas, in the
preceding verfes, he had mentioned the other
judgment to be formed, and exprefled it by the
fame word &**?, which iignifies to judge or
difcern, cf Not difcerning the Lord's body (c)"
And this is that which renders a vaft many un-
worthy of fo great an honour ; they approach
this heavenly feaft, without forming a right
judgment, either of themfelves, or of it : but,
that we form a judgment of ourfelves, it is ne-
ceflary, that we firfl bring ourfelves to an im-
partial trial : and, to be fure, I fhould much
rather advife you to tfris inward felf-examination,
and heartily wi(h I could perfuade you to it,
than that you mould content yourfelves with a,
lifelefs trial of your memory, by repeating com-
pofitions on this fubjedt.
Coniider with yourfelves, pray, and think
{i:rioufly, what madnefs, what unaccountable
(3) Et yetf ictvrvs ciixf wof*i.
(</) M^ hzXfHV T ffUptX. TU HVfOt.
folly
266 Exhortation Left.
folly it is, to trifle with the Majefty of the mod
high God, and to offer to infinite wifdom the
facrifices of diftraclion and folly ? Shall we,
who are but infignificant worms, " thus pro-
" voke the Almighty King to jealoufy (d)," as
if we were ftronger than he, and, of purpofe,
run our heads, as it were, againft that power,
the flighted touch whereof would crui'h us to
duft ? Do we not know, that the fame God,
who is an enlivening and faving light to all that
wormip with humble piety, is, neverthelefs, a
confuming fire to all the impious and profane,
who pollute his facrifices with impure hearts
and unclean hands ? And that thofe efpecially,
who have been employed in his church, and in
the divine offices, yet have not experienced his
influence as a pure and mining light, will una-
voidably feel him as a flaming fire ? Let his faints
rejoice and exult before God, for this he not
only allows, but even commands j yet let even
thofe of them, who have made the greatefl ad-
vances in holinefs, remember, that this holy
and fpiritual joy is to be joined with holy fear
and trembling : nay, the greater progrefs they
have made in holinefs, the more deeply will
they feel this imprefled upon their minds, fo that
|hey can by no means forget it. " The great
eye
. XXIV. before the Communion . 267
" eye is over us, let us be.afraid(^)." Great is our
God, and holy ; even the angels worihip him.
Let his faints approach him, but with humility
and fear ; but, as for the flothful, and thofe
that are immerfed in guilt, that fecurely and
with pleafure indulge themfelves in impure af-
fections, let them not dare to come near. Yet,
if there are any, let their guilt arid pollution be
ever fo great, who find arifing within them a
hearty averfion to their own impurity, and an
earneft defire after holinefs; behold there is
opened for you a living and pure fountain, mod
effectual for cleanfingand wafliingaway all fort
of ftains, as well as for refrefliing languishing
and thirfty fouls. And he that is the living and
never-failing fountain of purity and grace, en-
courages, calls, and exhorts you to come to him,
" Come unto me, all ye that arc athirft, &c."
And again, " All that the Father giveth me a
" (hall come unto me, and him that cometh
cc unto me, I will, by no means, reject or caft
' out (/)."
Afk yaurfelves, therefore, what you would
be at, and with what difpofitions you come to
this moft facred table ? Say, whither art thou
going, and what feekeft thou, O my foul ? For
it would be an inflance of the moft extravagant
(e) oppapiV* -rfoMv./.iv. (f) John vi. 37.
floth
268 Exhortation Left. XXIV
floth and folly to fet about a matter of fo great
importance, and fo ferious, without any end,
without the profpefl of any advantage, and
therefore without any fericus turn of mind, or
as one doing nothing ; yet this is the cafe of
vaft numbers, that meet together in divine af-
femblies, and at this holy facrament. Is it any
wonder, that thofe {hould find nothing, who
abfolutely have nothing in view ? and that he,
who is bound for no harbour, fliould meet with
no favourable wind ? They give themfelves up
to the torrent of cuftom, and fleer not their
courfe to any particular port, but fluctuate and
know not whither they are carried -, or, if they
are alarmed with any fting of confcience, it is
only a kind of inconiiderate and irregular motion,
and reaches no further, than the exterior furface
of facred inftitutions. But, as for you, who,
according to the expreffion of the angels, <c Seek
" Jefus, fear not, you will certainly find him,
<f and in him all things : for it hath pleafed the
5 C Father, that in him all fullnefs (hould
<e dwell (g) i" fo that in him there is no vacuity,
and without him nothing elfe but emptinefs
and vanity; let us embrace him, therefore, with
pur whole hearts, and on him alone let us de-
pend and rely.
fe) Col. i. 19.
]Let
Led. XXIV. before the Communion.
Let his death, which we commemorate by
this myftery, extinguish in us all worldly affec-
tions : may we feel his divine power working us 1
into a conformity to his facred image; and
having our ftrength, as it were, renewed by his
means, let us travel towards our heavenly coun-
try, conftamly following him with a refolute and
accelerated pace.
The concern of purifying the heart in good
earneft, taking proper meafures for conforming
Che life to the rules of the gofpel, is equally in-
cumbent upon all. For this is the great and
true defign of all divine worfhip, and of all re-
ligious inftitutions ; though the greater part of
mankind fatisfy themfelves with the outward
furface of them, and therefore catch nothing
but fhadows in religion itfelf, as well as in the
other concerns of life. We have public prayers,
and folemn facraments ; yet if, amidft all thefe,
one (hould look for the true and lively charac-
ters of ChriAian faith, or, in the vaft numbers
that attend thefe inftitutions, he fhould fearch
for thofe that, in the courfe of their lives, ap-
prove themfelves the true followers of their
great Mafter, he would find reafon to compare
them to " a few perfons, fwimming at a great
" diftance from one another, in a vaft o-
(/>) Apparent ran nantes in gurgitc vafto.
270 Exhortation Left. XXIV.
It has been obferved long ago by one, ** that
<e in Rome itfelf he had found nothing of
" Rome (i) j" which, with too great truth,
might be applied to religion, about which we
make fo great a buftle at prefent : there is fcarce
any thing at all of religion in it j unlefs we ima-
gine that religion confifts of words, as a grove
does of trees. For, if we fuppofe it lies in the
mortification of fin, unfeigned humility, bro-
therly charity, and a noble contempt of the
world and the flefh, " whither has it gone
< and left us (k)." As for you, young Gentle-
men, if you would apply to this matter in good
earned, you muft, of neceffity, beftow fome
time and pains upon it, and not fondly dream,
that fuch great advantages can be met with by
chance, or in confequence of a negligent and
fuperficial enquiry. If we are to alter the
courfe of our life for die time to come, we muft
look narrowly into our conduct during the pre-
ceding part of it ; for the meafures to be taken
for the future are, in a great degree, fuggefted
by what is paft. He acts wifely, and is a happy
man, who frequently, nay daily reviews his
words and actions ; becaufe he will, doubtlefs,
perform the fame duty with greater eafe, and
(/) Se in Romse, Romaj nihil inveniffe.
to
Led. XXIV. before the Communion. 271
to better purpofe, when he is called to it, with
more than ordinary folemnity. And, there-
fore, they, who have experienced how pkafant
this work is, and what a mixture of utility is
joined with this pleafure, will apply to it with
a chearful mind, whenever opportunity requires
it ; as to others, they muft, of neceffity, fe$
about it fome time or other : I fay of neceffity,
if 1 am allowed to fay it is neceffary to avoid the
wrath to come, and to obtain peace and fal-
vation. Repentance may poffibly appear a la-
borious and unpleafant work to our indolence,
and, to repent , may feem a harfh expreffion ; to
pcrim, however, is ftill more harfh ; but a fm-
ful man has no other choice. Our Lord, who
is truth itfelf, being acquainted with the cruel
execution performed by Herod upon the Gali-
leans, takes this opportunity to declare to his
hearers, that, " unlefs they repented, they fhould
' all likewife perifh (/)." The Saviour of the
world, it is true, came for this very purpofe,
that he might fave thofe that were miferable and
loft, from the fatal neceffity of being utterly un-
done j but he never intended to take away the
happy and pleafant neceffity of repentance :
nay, he ftrengthened the obligation to it, and
impofed it as a duty, infeparably connected with
(/) Luke xiii. 5.
grace
Exhortation Led.
grace and happinefs ; and this connexion he not
only preached in expreffions to the fame purpofd
with his forerunner John the Baptift, but even
in the very fame words ; " Repent ye, for the
* c kingdom of heaven is at hand (m)" And
in another place, having told us, that he came
<c not to call the righteous, but finners (),"
he immediately adds to what he called thofd
finners j not to a liberty of indulging them-
felves in fin, but from fin to repentance. His
blood, which was fhed on the crofs, is indeed
a balfam more precious than all the balm of
Gilead and Arabia, and all the ointments of
(he whole world ; but it is folely intended fof
curing the contrite in heart.
But, alas ! thatgrofs ignorance of God, that
overclouds our mind, is the great and the un-
happy caufe of all the guilt we have contract-
ed, and of that impenitence which engages us
to continue in it. Had men but the leaft know-
ledge, how difagreeable and hateful all finfulpollu-
tion renders us to his eternal and infinite purity ;
and, on the other hand, what a likenefs to him
we attain by holinefs, and how amiable we are
thereby rendered in his fight, they would look
upon this as the only valuable attainment, they
would purfue it with the mod vigorous efforts
(w) Matth, iv. 7. () Matth. ix. 13.
Of
Left. XXIV. before the Communion. 273
of their minds, and would make it their conftant
ftudy day and night, that, according to the di-
vine advice of the Apoftle, '* being cleanfed
* c from all filthinefs of the flefh and fpirit, they
* c might perfect holinefs in the fear of God (o)."
An EXHORTATION to the
STUDENTS, upon their return to the UNI^
VERSITY after the Vacation.
WE are at laft returned, and fome, for the
firft time, brought hither by that fupreme
hand, which holds the reins of this vaft uni-
verfe, which rules the ftormy winds, and fwel-
ling fea, and diftributes peace and war to na-
tions, according to its pleafure. The great
Lord of the univeffe, and Father of mankind;
while he rules the world with abfolute fway,
does not defpife this little flock, provided we
look up unto him, and humbly pray, that we
may feel the favourable effects of his prefence
and bounty ; nay, he will not difdain to dwell
Within us, and in our hearts, unlefs we, through
(c) 2 Cor. vii. i.
f folly,
274 Exko lath", to tie Students,
folly, and ignci / - ^i. our true h'ippinefs, mut
the door againft Turn, when he offers to come
in. He is the moft high, yet has chofen
the humble heart for the moft agreeable place
of his refidence on this earth : but the proud
and haughty, who look with difdain on their
inferiors, he, on his part, defpifes, and beholds,
as it were, afar off. He is moft holy, and
dwells in no hearts, but fuch as are purged
from the drofs of earthly affections; and that
thefe may be holy, and really capable of re-
ceiving his facred Majefty, they muft of necef-
fity be purified. <{ Know ye not, fays the di-
cc "vine Apeftie, that you, even your bodies,
" are the temples of the Holy Ghoft (a)," and
therefore are to be prefer ved pure and holy ? but
the mind, that dwells within them, muft be
flill more holy, as being the prieft that, with
conftant and unwearied piety, offers up the fa-
crifices and fweet incenfe of pious affections,
chearful obedience, ardent prayers, and divine
praifes, to the Deity of that temple.
Of your ftudies, and exotic learning, I intend"
not to fay much. The knowledge, I own,
that men of letters, who are the moft indefa-
tigable in ftudy, and have the advantage of
the greateft abilities, can poffibly attain to, is at
(*) 1 Cor. vi. 19.
beft
Exhortation to the Stu&ii&s. 275
beft but very fmall. But fince the knowledge
of languages andfciences, however inconfidera-
b!c it may be, is the bufinefs of this fociety of
ours, and of that period of years you are to pafs
here, let us do, pray, as the Hebrews exprefs it,
' the work of the day while the day lafts [b] i"
" for tire flips filently away, and every fucceed-
c< ing hour is attended with greater disadvantages
" than that which went before it (c)."
Study to acquire fuch a philofophy as is not
barren and babbling, but folid and truej not
fuch an one as floats upon the: furface of endlefs
verbal controverfies, but one that enters into the
nature of things ; for he fpoke good fenfe, that
faid, " The philofophy of the Greeks was a
" mere jargon, and noife of words (d)."
You, who are engaged in philofophical en-
quiries, ought to remember in the mean time,
that you are not fo flricl:ly confined to that ftudy,
but you may, at the fame time, become profi-
cients in elocution j and, indeed, it is proper you
fhould. I would, therefore, have you to apply
to both thefe ftudies with equal attention, that
fo you may not only attain fome knowledge of
nature, but alfo be in condition to communicate
() Opus diei in die fuo.
(c) Tempus nam taciturn fubruit, horaq;
Semper praeteritadeterior fubit.
T 2 your
Exhortation to the Students.
your fentiments, with eafe, upon thofe fubjects
you underftand, and clothe your thoughts with
words and expreffions j without which, all your
knowledge will differ but very little from buried
ignorance.
In joining thefe two ftudies together, you have
not only reafon for your guide, but alfo Arifto-
tle himfelf for your example ; for we are told, that
it was his cuftom to walk up and down in the
fchool in the morning, teaching philofophy,
particularly thofe fpeculative and more obfcure
points, which in that age were called rationes
acroamatict, and thus he was employed, till the
hour appointed for anointing, and going to ex-
ercife (e) : but, after dinner, he applied to the
more entertaining arts of perfuafion, and made
his fcholars declaim upon fuch fubjects as he
appointed them.
But to return to my own province ; for, to
fay the truth, I reckon all other things foreign
to my purpofe ; whatever you do, with regard
to other ftudies, give always the preference to
facred Chriftian philofophy ; which is, indeed,
the chief philofophy, and has the pre-eminence
over every other fcience, becaufe it holds Chrift
to be the head (/), in whom all the treafures of
wifdom and knowledge are hid. This, the A-
(r)
pofllc
Exhortation to the Students. 277
poftle tells us, was not the cafe of thofe falfe
Chriftians in his time, whofe philofophy re-
garded only fome idle fuperftitions, and vain
obfervations. Cultivate therefore, I fay, this
facred wifdom fent down from heaven, " Let
" this be your main ftudy (g) } for its myfteries
are the moft profound, its precepts the mod
pure, and, at the fame time, the moft pleafanr.
In this ftudy, a weak underftanding will be no
difadvantage, if you have but a willing mind,
and ardent defines. Here, if any where, the
obfervation holds, " That if you love learning,
" you cannot fail to make great progrefs there-
* in ()." For- fome, that have applied with
great induftry to human philofophy, have found
it to be like a difdainful miftrefs, and loft their
labour ; but divine philofophy invites and en-
courages even thofe of the meaneft parts.
And, indeed, it may be no fmall comfort
and relief to young men of flow capacities, who
make but little progrefs in human fciences,
even when they apply to them with the moft
exceffive labour and diligence, that this heaven-
ly doctrine, tho' it be the moft exalted in its
oVn nature, is not only acceflible to thofe of the
loweft and meaneft parts, but they are chear-
(g) lv
a^. Ifoc. ad Dem.
T 3 fully
278 Exhortation to the Students.
fully admitted to it, gracioufly received, prefer^
red to thofe that are proud of their learning,
and very often advanced to higher degrees of
knowledge therein j according to that of the
Pfalmift, " The law of the Lord is pure, en-
" lightening the eyes j the entrance of his word
cc giveth light, it givethalfo underftanding unto
<e the fimple(z)." You therefore, whom fome
very forward (k) youths leave far behind in
other ftudies, take courage ; and to wipe off
this {tain, if it be one, and compenfate this dif-
couragement, make this your refugej you cannot
pofiibly arrive at an equal pitch of eloquence or
philofophy with fome others, but what hinders
you, pray, from being as pious, as modeft, as
meek and humble, as holy and pure in heart, as
any other perfon whatever ? and, by this means,
in a very mort time, you will be completely
happy in the enjoyment of God, and live for
ever in the blefTed fociety of angels, and fpirits
of juft men made perfect.
But if you want to make a happy progrefs in
this wifdom, you muft, to be fure, declare war
againft all the iufts of the world and the flem,
which enervate your minds, weaken your
ftrength, and deprive you of all difpofition and
fitnefs for imbibing this pure and immaculate
Pfal. cxix. 130. (>f)
do&rine.
Exhortation to tke Students. 279
do&rine. How ftupid is it to catch To greedily
at advantages fo vaniming and fleeting in their
nature, if, indeed, they can be called advantages
at all : " Advantages that are carried hither and
" thither, hurried from place to place by the
" uncertainty of their nature, and often fly a-
" way before they can be poffefled (/) ?" An
author, remarkable for his attainments in rein
gion, juflly cries out, " O ! what peace and tran-
t( quillity might he poffefs, who could be prevail-
< ed upon to cut off all vain anxiety, and only
<c think of thofe things that are of a divine and
* e faving nature (m) !" Peace and tranquillity is,
without doubt, what we all feek after, yet there
are very few that know the way to it, though
it be quite plain anpl open. It is indeed no
wonder, that the blind, who wander about
without a guide, fhould miflake the plained
and moft open path - y but we have an infallible
guide, and a moft valiant leader, let us follow
him alone ; for he, that treadeth in his fleps,
can never walk in darknefs.
(/) 1 a.iu
mirturra.
() O quiomnem vanam folicitudinem amputaret, &falutaria
duntaxat ac divina cogitaret, quantam quictem & pacem pof-
fideret !
T 4 L<*
80 Exhortation to tie Students]
Let us pray.
O! INVISIBLE God, who feefl all things;
eternal light, before whom all darknefs is light,
and in comparifon with whom every other light
is but darknefs : The weak eyes of our under-
Handing cannot bear the open and full rays of
thy inacceffible light; and yet, without fome
glimpfes of that light from heaven, we can
never diredt our fteps, nor proceed, towards that
country, which is the habitation of light. May
it therefore pleafe thee, O Father of lights, to
fend forth thy light and -thy truth, that they
may lead us diredly to thy holy mountain.
Thou art good, and the fountain of goodnefs 5
give us understanding, that we may keep thy
precepts. That part of our paft lives, which
we have loft in purfuing fhadows, is enough,
and indeed too much ; bring back our fouls into
the paths of life, and let the wonderful fweet-
nefs thereof, which far exceeds all the pleafures
of this earth, powerfully, yet pleafantly, preferve
us from being drawn afide therefrom by any
temptation from fin or the world. Purify, we
pray thee, our fouls from all impure imagina-
tions, that thy moft beautiful and holy image
rnay be again renewed within us, and by con-
templating thy glorious perfections, we may
feel daily improved wjthin us that divine fimi-
Exhortation t6 the Students. 281
litude, the perfection whereof, we hope, will
at laft make us for ever happy in that full and
beatific vifion we afpire after. Till this moft
blefled day break, and the fhadows fly away,
let thy Spirit be continually with us, and may
we feel the powerful effects of his divine grace
conftantly directing and fupporting our fteps,
that all our endeavours, not only in this fociety,
but throughout the whole remaining part of our
lives, may ferve to promote the honour of thy
blefled name, through Jefus Chrift our Lord,
Amen.
EXHORTATIONS
T O T H E
CANDIDATES
For the DEGREE of
MASTER OF ARTS
IN T HE
UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH.
By ROBERT LEIGHTON, D. D.
PRINCIPAL of that UNIVERSITY,
A N. D,
Afterwards Archbiftiop of GLASGOW.
Tranflated from the ORIGINAL LATIN.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EXHORTATIONS to the CANDIDATE*
for the Degree of MASTER
EXHORTATION I.
ERE I allowed to fpeak freely what
I fincerely think of moft of the
- affairs of human life, even thofc
are
importance, and tranfacled with the
greateft eagernefs and buttle, I fhould be apt to
fay, " that a great ncife is made about the mereft
<c trifles (^2) :" but if you fhould take this amifs,
as a little unfeafonable upon the prefcnt occafion,
and an infult upon your folemnity, I hope you
will the more eafily forgive me, that I place in
the fame rank, with this philofophical conven-
tion of yours, the moft famous councils and ge-
neral aflemblies of princes and great men ; and
fay of their golden crowns, as well as your crowns
of laurel, " that they are things of no value,
" and not worth the purchafing (b).'\ Even
(a) Magno conatu magnas nugas.
p*iai;v.
the
$86 ExHORTA-flON I.
the triumphal, inaugural, or nuptial proceffions
of the greatefl Kings and Generals of armies,
-with whatever pomp and magnificence, as well
as art, they may be fet off, they are, after all, fo
far true reprefentations of their falfe, painted,
and tinfel happinefs, that, while we look at
them, they fly away; and, in a very (hort time,
they are followed by their funeral proceffions,
which are the triumphs of death over thofe
who have, themfelves, triumphed during their
lives. The fcenes are fliifted, the actors alfo
difappear ; and, in the fame manner, the great-
eft (hews of this vain world likewife pafs away.
Let us, that we maylop off the luxuriant branches
of our vines, take a nearer view of this object, and
remember, that what we now call a laurel crown,
will foon be followed by cyprefs wreaths : it
will be alfo proper to confider how many, that
in their time were employed, as we are now,
have long ago acted their parts, and are now con-
figned to a long oblivion j as alfo, what vaft
numbers of the riling generation are following
us at the heels, and, as it were, pufhing us for-
ward to the fame land of forgetful nefs ; who,
while they are hurrying us away, are at the
fame time haftening thither themfelves. All
that we fee, all that we do, and all that we
are, are but mere dreams ; and if we are not
fenfible of this truth, it is becaufe we are ftill
afleep :
EXHORTATION I. 287
afleep: none but minds that are awake can
difcern it ; they, and they only, can perceive
and defpife thefe illujtons (c) of the night. In
the mean time, nothing hinders us from fub-
mitting to thefe, and other fuch cuftomary for-
malities, provided our doing it interfere not
with matters of much greater importance, and
profpeds of a different and more exalted nature.
What is it, pray, to which, with the moft ar-
dent wifties, you have been afpiring, through-
out the whole courfe of thefe four laft years?
Here you have a cap and a title, and nothing at
all more. But, perhaps, taking this amifs, you
fecretly blame me in your hearts, and wim me
to congratulate you upon the honour you have
obtained. I chearfully comply with your defire,
and am willing to explain myfelf. Thefe fmall
prefents are not the principal reward of your
labours, nor the chief end of your ftudies ; but
honorary marks and badges of that erudition and
knowledge, wherewith your minds have been
ftored by the uninterrupted labours of four whole
years. But whatever attainments in learning
you have reached, I would have you ferioufly
to reflect, how inconfiderable they are, and
how little they differ from nothing ; nay, if
what we know is compared with what we
know
88 EXHORTATION I.
know not, it will be found even vaftly lefs thari
nothing: at leaft, it is an argument of little
knowledge, and the fign of a vain and weak
mind, to be puffed up with an overbearing opi-
nion of our own knowledge : while, on the
contrary, it is an evidence of great proficiency
in knowledge, to be fenfible of our ignorance
and inability. " He is the wifeft man, fays
f Plato, who knows himfelf to be very ill qua-
ct lifted for the attainment of wifdom (</)."
Whatever be in this, we often find the fciences
sand arts, which you cultivate, to be ufelefs, and
entirely barren, with regard to the advantages
of life ; and, generally fpeaking, thofe other
profeffions that are illiterate and illiberal, nay
even unlawful, meet with better treatment, and
greater encouragement, than what we call the
liberal arts. " He that ventures upon the fea,
*' is enriched by his voyages : he that engages
<c in war, glitters with gold : the mean parafite
< lies drunk on a rich bed ; and even he, who
** endeavours to corrupt married women, is re-
" warded for his villainy. Learning alone ftarves
c< in tattered rags, and invokes the abandoned
<c arts in vain */'
Philo. apol. Socr.
(*) Qui pelago credit, magno fe fznore tollit :
Qui pugnas 8e caftra petit, prsecingitur auro :
EXHORTATION I. 289
But as fometimes the learned meet with a
better fate, you, young Gentlemen, I imagine,
entertain better hopes with regard to your
fortune ; nor would I difcourage them, ye I
would gladly moderate them a little by this
wholefome advice ; lean not upon a broken reed,
neither Jet any one, who values his peace, his
real dignity, and his fatisfadtion, give himfelf
up to hopes, that are uncertain, frail, and deceit-
ful. The human race are, perhaps, the only
creatures, that by'this means become a tormerit
to themfelves j for, as we always grafp at futu-
rity, we vainly promife ourfelves many and grestt
things, in which, as commonly happens, being
for the moft part difappointed, we muft, of ne-
cefiity, pay for our foolim pleafure with a pro-
portionate degree of pain. Thus, the greateft
pare of mankind find the whole of this wretched
life checquered with delufivejoys and real tor-
ments, ill -grounded hopes, and fears equally
imaginary : amidft thefe, we live in continual
fufpenfe, and die fo too.
But a few, alas ! a few only, yet fome, who
think more juftly, having fet their hearts upon
heavenly enjoyments, take pleafure in defpifing,
Vilis adulator pifto jacet ebrius oftro;
Etqui follicitat nuptas, ad praimia peccat.
Sola pruinofis horret facundia pannis,
Atque inopi lingua defertas invocat aftes.
U with
sgo EXHORTATION I.
with a proper greatnefs of mind, and trampling
upon the fading enjoyments of this world. Thefe
make it their only ftudy, and exert their utmoft
efforts, that, having the more divine part of their
competition weaned from the world and the
flem, they may be brought to a refemblance and
union with the holy and fupremeGod, the Fa-
ther of fpirits, by purity, piety, and an habitual
contemplation of divine objects : and this, to be
fure, is the principal thing, with a noble ambi-
tion whereof I would havc.your minds infla-
med ; and whatever profeffion, or manner of
life you devote yourfelves to, it is my earneft
exhortation and requeft, that you would make
this your conftant and principal ftudy. Fly, if
you have any regard to my advice, fly far from
that controverfial contentious fchool-divinity,
which, in fac"r, confifts in fruitlefs difputes a-
bout wordsj and rather deferves ihe name of
vain and foolim talking.
Almoft all mankind are conftantly catching
at fomething more than they pofTefs, and tor-
ment them felves in vain; nor is our reft to be found
among thefe enjoyments of the world, where atl
things are covered with a deluge of vanity, as
with a flood of fluctuating reftlefs waters ; and
the foul flying about, looking in vain for a place,
on which it may fet its foot, mod unhappily
lofes its time, its labour, and itfelf at laft, lita
" the
EXHORTATION I. 291
<< the birds in the days of the flood, which having
" long fought for land, till their ftrength was
<c quite exhaufted, fell down at laft, and perimed
" in the waters (/)."
O ! how greatly preferable to thefe bufhes,
and briars, and thorns, are the delightful fields
of the gofpel, wherein pleafure and profit are a-
greeably mixt together, whence you may learn
the way to everlafting peace, that poverty of
fpirit, which is the only true riches, that purity
of heart, which is our greateft beauty, and that
inexpreffible fatisfaclion, which attends the ex-
ercife of charity, humility ,'and meeknefs? When
your minds are ftored and adorned with thefe
graces, they will enjoy the moft pleafant tran-
quillity, even amidft the noife and tumults of
this prefent life ; and you will be, to ufe the
words of Tertullian, candidates for eternity j a
title infinitely more glorious and fublime, than
what has been thi day conferred upon you. And
that great and laft day, which is fo much dread-
ed by the (laves of this prefent world, will be
the moft happy and aufpicious to you j as it will
deliver you from a dark difmal prilbn, and place
you in the regions of the moft full and marvel-
lous light.
(/) Qua; fitifq; diu terris ubi fiftere detur,
Iu mare lafTatis vclucris vaga decidit alis.
U 2 Let
EXHORTATION I.
Let us pray.
MOST exalted God, who haft alone created,
and dod govern this whole frame, and all the
inhabitants thereof, vifible and invilible, whofe
name is alone wonderful, and to be celebrated
with the higheft praife, as it is indeed above all
praife and admiration. Let the heavens, the
earth, and all the element?, praife thee; let
darknefs, light, all the returns of days and years,
and all the varieties and viciffitudes of things,
praife thee ; let the angels praife thee, the arch-
angels, and all the bleffed court of heaven, whofe
very happinefs it is, that they are condantly
employed in celebrating thy praifes. We con-
fefs, O Lord, that we are of all creatures the
mod unworthy to praife thee, yet, of all others, we
are under the greateft obligations to do it -, nay,
the more unworthy we are, our obligation is fo
much the greater. From this duty, however un-
qualified we may be, we can bynomeansabftain,
nor indeed ought we. Let our fouls blefs thee,
and all that is within us praife thy holy name,
who forgiveft all our fins, and healed all our
difeafes, who delivered our fouls from dedruc-
tion, and crowned them with bounty and ten-
der mercies. Thou fearched the heart, O
Lord, and perfectly knows the mod intimate
recedes of it : reject not thofe prayers, which
thou
EXHORTATION I. 293
thou peceiveft to be the voice and the wifhes
of the heart ; now it is the great requeft of our
hearts, unlefs they always deceive us, that they
may be weaned from all earthly and periihing
enjoyments ; and if there.is any thing, to which
they cleave with more than ordinary force} may
they be pulled away from it by thy Almighty
hand, that they may be joined to thee for ever
in an infeparable marriage-covenant ; and, in
our own behalf, we have nothing more to afk.
We only add, in behalf of thy church, that it
may be protected under the fhadow of thy
wings, and every where, throughout the world,
watered by thy heavenly dew, that the fpirit
and heat of worldly hatred againft it may be
cooled, and its inteftine divifions, whereby it
is much more grievoufly fcorched, extinguifh-
ed. Blefs this nation, this city, and this uni-
veriity, in which, we beg, thou would be pleafed
to refide, as in a garden dedicated to thy name,
through Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.
U * E X H O R-
294 EXHORTATION II.
EXHORTATION. II.
WOULD you have me to fpeak the truth
with freedom and brevity ? The whole
world is a kind of ftage, and its inhabitants
mere actors. As to this little farce of yours, it
is now very near a conclufion, and you are upon
the point of applying to the fpeclators for their
applaufe. Should any fupercilioyfly decline
paying this fin all tribute (a\ you furely may,
with great eafe, retort their contempt upon
themfelves, merely by faying, " Let your feve-
" rity fall heavy on thofe, who admire their own
<c performances ; as to this affair of ours, we
" know it is nothing at all :" for I will not allow
myfelf to doubt, but you are very fenfible, that
there is indeed nothing in it.
It would, to be lure, be very improper, ef-
pecially as the evening approaches, to detain you,
and my other hearers, with a long and tedious
difcourfe, when you are already more than e-
nough fatigued, and aimoft quite tired out, with
hearing. I fhali therefore only put you in minci
(a] ifou/at,
of
EXHORTATION II. 295
of one thing, and that in a few words. Let Hot
this folemn toy(b], however agreeable to youthful
minds, fo far impofe upon you, as to fetyoua
dreaming of great advantages and pleafures to
be met with in this new period of life you are
entering upon. Look round you, if you pleafe,
and take a near and exadt furvey of all the diffe-
rent ftations of life that are fet before you. If
you enter upon any of the ftations of adiv-e life,
what is this but jumping into a bufh of thorns,
where you can have no hope of enjoying quiet,
and yet cannot eafily get out again ? But if you
rather chufe to enter upon fome new branch of
fcience, alas 1 what a fmall meafure of know-
ledge is to be thus obtained, with what vaft la-
bour is even that little to be purchafed, and how
often, after immenfe toil and difficulty, will it
be found, that truth is flill at a diftance, and
not yet extracted out of the well{^) ? We in-
deed believe that the foul, breathed into man,
when he was firft made, was pure, full of light,
and every way worthy of its divine original : but
ah ! Father of mankind, how foon, and how
much was he changed from what he was at
firft! He foolifhly gave ear to the fatal feducer,
and that very moment was feized upon by death,
whereby he at once ioft his purity, his light or
(r) ir. ra @v$u i tt*rnu, ?
U 4 truth,
296 EXHORTATION II.
truth,, and, together with himfelf, ruined us
alfo.
Now, fince that period, what do you com-
monly meet with among men of wifdom and
learning, as they would wifh to be accounted,
but fighting and bickering in the dark : and
while they difpute, with the greateft heat, but
at random, concerning the truth, that truth
efcapes" out of their hands, and inftead of it,
both parties put up with vain fhadows or phan-
toms of it, and, according to the proverb, em-
brace a cloud inftead of Juno.
But, fince we are forced to own, that even
the mofl contemptible and minuted things in na-
ture, often put all our. philofophical fubtlety to a
nonplus, what ignorance and foolim $refiimp-
ilon (d] is it for us to aim at ranfacking the mod
hidden recefles of divine things, and boldly at-
tempt to fcan the divine degrees, and the other
moft profound myfteries of religion, by the im-
perfedT: and fcanty meafures of our underftand-
ings ? Whither would the prefumption of man
hurry him, while it prompts him to pry into
every fecret and hidden thing, and leave nothing
at all unattempted ?
As for you, young Gentlemen, efpecially
thofe of you that intend to devote yourfeives to
{/) a'uS^staj.
theological
EXHORTATION II. 297'
theological ftudies, it is my earneft advice and
rcquefl to you, that you fly far from that infec-
tious curiofity, which would lead you into the
depths of that controverfial, contentious theo-
logy, which, if any do&rine at all deferves the
name, may be truly termed, " fcience falfely fo
" called (e)." And that you may not, in this
refpect, be impofed upon by the common repu-
tation of acutenefs and learning, I confidently
affirm, that, to underftand and be matter of
thofe trifling difputes that prevail in the Ichools,
is an evidence of a very mean understanding ;
while, on the contrary, it is an argument of a
genius truly great, entirely to flight and defpife
them, and to walk in the light of pure and
peaceable truth, which is far above the dark and
cloudy region of controverfial difputes. But,
you will fay, it is neceflary, in order to the de-
fence of truth, to oppofe errors, and blunt the
weapons of Sophifts. Be it fo, but our difputes
ought to be managed with few words, for naked
truth is moil effectual for its own defence, and
when it is once well underftood, its natural light
difpells all the darknefs of error; "for all things,
<c that are reproved, are made manifeft by the
" light (/)," faith the Apoftle. Your fa-
vourite philofopher has alfo told us, " That
(e) YivSunuosyvuffi:. (f} Eph. V. 13.
" what
2 9^ EXHORTATION II.
" what is ilraight difcovers both rectitude and
" obliquity." And Clemens Alexandrinus has
very jutlly obferved, That the antient philo-
" /phers were not greatly difpofed to difputes
" or doubting ; but the latter philofopbers a-
c mong the Greeks, out of a vain defire to en-
" hance their reputation, engaged fo far in
" -wrangling and contention, that their works
" became quite ufelefs and trifling (g)."
There is but one ufcful controversy or difpute,
one fort of war, moft noble in its nature, and
mod worthy of a Chriftian, and this not to be
carried on againft enemies at a great diftance,
but fuch as are bred within our own breafts ;
againft thofe, it is moft reafonable to wage an
endiefs war, and them it is our duty to perfe-
cute to death. Let us all, children, young
men and old, exert ourielves vigoroufly in this
warfare ; let our vices die before us, that death
may not find us indolent, defiled, and wallow-
ing in the mire ; for then it will be moil truly,
and to our great mifery, death to us : whereas,
to thofq fanclified fouls, who are conformed
to Chrift, and conquerors by his means, it ra-
ther is to be called life, as it delivers them from
their wanderings and vices, from all kinds of
(g) 6T of Ta>.a;rafc rut <pt,Vwoa : ' its ITTI To a//,o j3tjTS(V x^ Vopi
tS/poi'To X/\' ot TtTv Trap' iKhr.ft iurifoi Lm Q&oTtplat x.t*r,{ > T?.2j
. ,-:C.:w.'M y^ hirmtaf *5 T*i aXfftrov ifcyonw Qtowxpar.
evils,
EXHORTATION II. . 299
evils, and from that death, which is final and
eternal.
Let us pray.
ETERNAL GOD, who art con ftantly .adored
by thrones and powers, by feraphims and che-
rubims, we confef^ that thou art moft worthy
to be praifed; but we, of all others, are the
moft unworthy to be employed in (hewing forth
thy praife. How can polluted bodies, and im-
pure fouls, which, taken together, are nothing
but mere finks of fin, praife thee, the pure
and holy Majefty of heaven ? Yet, how can thefe
bodies, which thou haft wonderfully formed,
and thofe fouls, which thou haft infpired, which
owe entirely to thine unmerited favour all that
they are, all that they poflefs, and all they hope
for, forbear pra : fing chee, their wife and bounti-
ful Creator and Father ? Let cur fouls, there-
fore, and all that is within us, blefs thy holy
name ; yea, let all our bones fay, O Lord, who
is like urito thee, who is like unto thes ? Far
be it, rnoft gracious Father, from our hearts,
to harbour any thing that is difpleafing to thee :
let them be, as it were, temples dedicated to
thy fervice, thoroughly purged from every idol
and image, from every object .of impure love
and earthly affection. Let our moft gracious
King and Redeemer dwell and reign within us ;
may he take full poffeflion of us by his fpirit,
and
300 EXHORTATION III.
and govern all our actions. May he extend his
peaceable and faving kingdom throughout the
whole habitable world, from the rifing of the
fun to the going down thereof.
Let the nations acknowledge their King, and
the ifles be glad in him, and particularly that
which we inhabit, with thofe in its ncig! Inur-
hood ; and that they may be truly birr -n him,
may they daily fubmit, more perfectly . j na duti-
fully, to his golden fceptre, and the holy laws
of his gofpel. Blefs this nation and city, and
this our univerfity; may it be continually water-
ed with the dew of thy fpirit, and plentifully
produce fruit acceptable in thy fight, through
Jefus Chrift our Lord. Amen.
EXHORTATION III.
THIS day, which has been the object of
your earneft wifhes, throughout the
courfc of four whole years, is now almoft over,
and haftening to a clofe. What has it produced
for your advantage? Can he, that has reapt
moftfuccel's fully of you all, fay he has filled his
arms with iheayes ? Though poflibly you would
excufe
EXHORTATION III. 301
excufe me to exprefs myfelf with great freedom
on this occafion, yet I will not take the liberty
to depreciate too much your part ftudies, the fpe-
cimens you have given to-day of your abilities,
and the degree that has been conferred upon
you. This at leaft, I imagine, I may fay y
without offence, the moft of thofe things we
greedily catch at, and labour moftearneftlyto ob-
tain, and confequently even your philofophy, is
a real and demonftrative truth of that great para-*-
dox, that there is a vacuity in the nature of things.
And, in truth, how great is this vacuity ! fee-
ing even the human race is no inconfiderable
part of it ? Though this day is marked with
more than ordinary folemnity, it is, after all,
but the conclufion and period of a number of
days, that have been idly fpent, and is itfelf e-
lapfing to little or no purpofe, as well as the
reft. But O ! how glorious muft that blefTed
day be, which all purified fouls, and fuch as
are dear to God, earneftly long for, through-
out the whole of this perifhin^ life, and ccrt-
ftantly wait, with a kind of impatience, until it
dawn, and the fhadows fly away.
I am, indeed, of opinion, that thofe of you,
who think moll juftly, will readily own, your
attainments, hitherto, are of no great moment.
But, poffibly, henceforth you intend to begin
life^ as it were, anew ; you afpire to greater
matters,
jo2 EXHORTATIONS ITT.
matters, and entertain views worthy of h urn a if
nature ; you already begin to live, and to be wife ;
you form defir.es,- and conceive hopes of rifing
to arts, riches, and honours : all this is very-
well. Yet there is one confideration I would
have you to admit among thefe ingenious pro-
jects and defigns. What if death fhould come
upon you, and looking, with an envious eye,
upon this towering profped, put aftop to a pro-
ject that extends itfelf fo far into futurity, and,
like a fpider's web, entirely deftroy it with a
gentle breath of wind ? Nor w'ould ihis be any
prodigy, or indeed an extraordinary event, but
the common fate of almoft all mankind. " We
" are always refolving to live, and yet never
" fet about life in good earned (a}." Archi-
medes was not fingular in his fate; but a great
part of mankind die unexpectedly, while they
are poring upon the figures they have defcribed
in the fand. O wretched mortals ! who having
condemned themfelves, as it were, to the mines,
feem to make it their chief ftudy to prevent their
ever regaining their liberty. Hence new em-
ployments are affumed in the place of old ones ;
and, as the Roman philofopher truly exprelTes
it, " one hope fucceeds another, one inftance
u of ambition makes way for another j and we
(a) ViSuros agimus Temper, nee vivimus unquam.
" never
EXHORTATION III. 303
<c never defire an end of our rriifery, but only
" that it may change its outward form (b}."
When we ceafe to be candidates, and to fatigue
ourfelves in foliciting intereft, we begin to give
our votes and intereft to thofe who folicit us
in their turn : when we are wearied of the
trouble of profecuting crimes at the bar, we
commence judges ourfelves ; and he, who is
grown old in the management of other mens
affairs for money, is at laft employed in impro-
ving his own wealth. At the age of fifty, fays
one, I will retire, and take my eafe j or the
fixtieth year of my life mall entirely difengage
me from publick offices and bofmefs. Fool !
art thou not amamed to referve to thyfelf the
laft remains and dregs of life ? Who will ftand
furety, that thou (halt live fo long ? and what
immenfe folly is it, fo far to forget mortality,
as to think of beginning to live at that period of
years, to which a few only attain ?
As for you, young Gentlemen, I heartily
wi(h you may think more juflly ; let your fouls,
as it were, retire into themfelves, and dwell at
home; and having fhaken off the trifles that
make a buftle and noife around you, coniidsr
ferioufly, that the remaining part of your life is
(} Spes fpem excipit, nmbitionem ambititio, Sc miferiarum
non quasritur finis, fed fchema tsntnra mataur.
Icng
364 EXHORTATION III.
long only in one refpeft, (and in this indeed its
length may be juftly complained of) that it is
fraught with every fort of mifery and affliction,
and has nothing agreeable in it, but the ftudy
of heavenly wifdom alone j " for every thing
" elfe is vanity (r)." Look about you and fee,
whether there is any thing worthy of your affec-
tion, and whether every thing you fee does not
rather excite your indignation and averfion ? At
home are contentions and difputes -, abroad, in
the fields, robbers ; clamour and noife at the
bar ; wickednefs in the camp ; .hypocrify in the
church j and vexation or lamentable miftakes
every where. Among the rich and great there
are falfe and inconftant friendships, bitter en-
mities, envy, fraud, and falmood j and cares, in
great numbers, flutter round the mod ftately and
fumptuous palaces.
What a confiderable part of mankind are
ftruggling with open and (harp afflictions ? To
Whatever fide you turn yourfelf, what do you
commonly hear, but lamentation and mourning ?
How many complaints of the poor, that are
diftrefled for want of daily bread, or drag a
mcft wretched life under the grievous op-
preffion of powerful tyrants ? How frequent are
the groans of the flck and languifhing ? How'
great
EXHORTATION III. 305
great the multitude of thofe that lament their
friends and relations, carried off by death, and
will themfelves, in a fhort time, and for ths
fame reafon, be lamented by others ? And to,
conclude, how innumerable are the iniieries
and afhjclions, of various kinds, that ieem alter-
nately to re-echo to one another ? Can it be any
wonder then, that a life of this kind (hould
fometimes force, even from a wife man, fuch
exprefiions of forrow and concern, as the fol-
lowing : " O mother, why didft thou bring
c * me forth, to be opprefied with afBiclions^and
" forrows ? Why didft thou introduce me into
" a life full of briars and thorns (d] r"
But you are now philofophers, and amidll:
thefe difmal calamities, you comfort yourfelves
with the inward and hidden riches of' wifdom,
and the fciences you have acquired. The
fciences ! Tell us in what p?.rt of the earth they
are to be found ? Let us know, pray, where they
dwell, that we may flock thither in great num-
bers. I know, indeed, where there is abun-
dance of noife, 'with vain and idle words, and a
jarring of opinions, between contending difpu-
tants; I know where ignorance, under the
difguife of a gown and a beard, has obtained
'.-i 3^y.y.: a -
X the
306 EXHORTATION III.
the title of fcience : but, where true knowledge
is to be found, I know not. We grope in the
dark, and though it is truth only we are in queft
of,' we fall into innumerable errors. But, what-
ever may be our cafe, with refpecl to the know-
ledge of nature, as to that of heavenly and di-
vine things, let us chearfully embrace that rich
prefent, which infinite goodnefs has made us, and
be thankful, that the day-fpring from on high
hath vifited us. " Becaufe there was no wif-
' dom on this earth, fays Lanclantius, he fent
" a teacher from heaven (<?)." Him let us foU
low as our guide ; for he that follows his direc-,
tion, fhall not walk in darknefs.
Let us pray.
INFINITE, eternal Creator and King of hea-
ven and earth, bodies, and fpirits, who, being
immoved thyfelf, moveft all things, and phangcft
them at thy pleafure, while thou remained:
thyfelf altogether unchangeable, Wjho.fupporteft
all things by thy powerful hand, and governed
them by thy nod, the greateft as well as the
lead ; fo that the greateft are no burden to thee,
nor doft thou contemn the leaft. Behold ! the
nations, before thee, are as the drop of the buc-
ket, and like the fmall duft of the balance ; and
(e) Cum nulla in terriscffet fapientia e eoel mifit doftorem.
thefe
EXHORTATION III. 307
thefe ifies of ours, with all the reft in the world,
are, in thy fight, but a very little thing. Yet
thou deigneft to be prefent in our afTemblies,
and take notice of our affairs, which are very
inconfiderable. Let our fouls adore thee, and
fall down, with the greateft humility, at the
footftool of thy throne, continually intreating
thy grace, and conftantly offering thee glory,
Oar praifes add nothing to thee ; but they exalt
ourfelves, enhance our happinefs, and unite us
with the focicty of angels ; yet thou receives
them, with a gracious hand, as mo ft acceptable
facrifkes, and incenfs of a fweet frnelling fa-
vour. Let us celebrate thee, O Lord, who
art great, and greatly to be praifed. Let all na-
tions praife thee, from the rifing of the fun to
the going down thereof. Set our hearts on
fire with the flames of thy divine love, that they
may wholly afcend to thee as burnt offerings,
and nothing of ours may remain with us. O!
blefTed transmigration, where the blind confi-
dence of the fiem is transformed into a lively and
pure faith, that has no dependance, but upon
thee alone, where felf-love, and the love of the
world, is exchanged for the love of thy infinite
beauty; 'when our will {hall centre in thine,
and be altogether abforbed by it. Let- this
change, O bountiful Father, be brought about,
fpr it is a change only to be effected by the power
X 2 of
EXHORTATION JV.
of thy hand ; and, as foon as our fouls are made
fenfible of it, thy praife fhall be for ever founded
within us, as in temples devoted to thy fervice.
Let thy whole church, O Lord, flourifh and
rejoice in the light of thy favour. Be favoura-
ble to this our univerfity, city, and nation. Dif-
pel, we pray thee, the thick clouds, and quiet
the winds and ftorms j for when they rage moft,
and make 'the greateft noife, they know thy
voice, and obey it. Thou art the only God of
peace, who createft it with a word, and makeft
righteoufnefs and peace mutually to kifs one an-
other. We depend upon thee only ; and to
thee alone we render praife and glory, as far
as we can, through Jefus Chrift. . Amen.
EXHORTATION IV.
OUR life is but a point, and even lefs than
'a point ; but as it is not a mathematical
point, as they call it, nor quite indivifible, when
we divide it into minute parts, it appears fome-
thing confiderable, and alTumes the imaginary
appearance of a large fpace of time ; nay, ac-
cording to Ariftotle's notion, it appears divifible
'in infinitum. Befides thofe common and idle
divifions
V." ' EXHORTATION IV. 309
divifions of human life, into the four ftages of
childhood, youth, manhood, and old age, and
into periods of ten years, which fuppofe the
yet fmaller divilions of years and months ; men
have many various ways of diftributing the pe-
riods of their life, according to the different oc-
cupations and ftudies they have been engaged
in, the remarkable events that have happened
to them, and the feveral alterations and revolu-
tions in the courfe of their lives. And I doubt
not, but you, young Gentlemen, look upon
this prefent inftant of time, as the beginning of
a new period of your life ; you have my leave to
do fo, provided you ferioufly consider, at the
fame time, that the whole of the life, we live
in this world, is of a frail and fleeting nature,
and, in forne refpecl:, nothing at all. And
into whatever parts or periods we divide it, if
we confider the miferies, and lamentable cala-
mities, with which it is fraught, the life, even
of a child, may feem too long ; but, if we con-
lider the time only, we muft conclude the life
of the oldeft man to be exceeding fhort and
fleeting.
A great part of mankind no fooner look upon
themfelves to be capable of worldly affairs, and
think on entering upon fome profeffion fuitable
to a ftate of manhood, but they are cut off, in
the very beginning of their courfe, by an un-
X 3 forefeeri
310 EXHORTATION IV.
forefeen and untimely death ; and, to be Cure,
this is the great diftemper of young, and even
of old men, that, by their defires and defign?,
they launch out a great way into futurity, and
form a feries of projects for many years to come;
while, in the mean time, they rarely, or at
Jeaft very fuperficially, confider, how foolifli and
precarious it is to depend upon to-morrow, arid
how foon this prefent form of ours may difap-
pear; how foon we may return to our original
'duft : " And that very day, as the royal prophet
" warns us, our thoughts, even the wifeft and
" heft concerted thoughts of the greateft men,
<c and moft exalted princes, perifh." And
this I take particular notice of, that no fuch
illufion may get pofleffion of your minds j for
it is not the common fort of mankind only, that
impofe upon themfelves in this refpect, but the
generality of thofe, who defire to be accounted
not only men of learning, but alfo adepts in
wifdom, and actually pafs for fuch. Not that I
would prohibit your making an early and pru-
dent choice, under the divine direction, cf the
employment and profeflion of life you intend to
purfue; nay, I would ufe every argument to
perfuade you to make ufe of fuch a choice, and
when you have made it, to profecute the in-
tention of it with the greateft diligence and acti-
vity. I only put you upon your guard, not to
1 entertain
EXHORTATION IV, 311
entertain many and towering hopes in this
world, nor form a long feries of conceded pro-
jects ; becaufe you will find them all more vain
and fleeting than illufions of the night : fome
neceflary means will fail, fome favourable op-
portunity be miffed; after all your induftry, the
expected event may not happen, or the thread
of your life may be cut, and thereby all your
projects rendered abortive. And, though your
life mould be drawn out to ever To great a length,
and fuccefs constantly anfvver your expectation?,
yet you know, and I wifli you would remem-
ber it, the fatal day will come at laft, perhaps
when it is leaft expected .; that fatal and final
day, I fay, will at laft come, when we muft
leave all our enjoyment?, and all our fcbemes,
thofe we are now carrying on, and thofe we
have brought to perfection, as well as thofe that
are only begun, and thofe that fubfift only in
hopes and ideas.
And thefe very arguments, that have been
ufed to confine your minds from indulging
themfelves in too remote profpects, will alfo
ferve to perfuade you, in another fenfe, to look
much farther ; not with regard to worldly en-
joyments, for fuch profpects, ftrictly fpeak-
ing, cannot be called long, but to look far be-
yond all earthly and perilhing things, to thofe
that are heavenly and eternal : and thofe that
X 4 will
312 EXHORTATION IV.
will not raife their eyes to fuch objects, as the
Apoftle Peter exprefles it, " are blind, and can-
".not fee afar off."
But of you, my dear youths, I expect better
things ; I need not, I imagine, ufe many words
to perfuade you to induftry, and a continual
progrefs in human ftudies, and philofophical
learning. If the violence and infelicity of the
times has deprived you of any part of that pe-
riod of years, ufually employed in thefe ftudies
at this univerfity, you will furely repair that
lofs, as foon as poffible, by your fubfequent read-
Ing and application. But, if no fuch misfor-
tune had happened, you are not, I believe, ig-
norant, that our fchools are only intended for
laying the foundations of thofe ftudies, upon
which years, and indefatigable induftry, are to
raife the fuperftrudlure of more compleat erudi-
tion j which, by the acceffion of the divine
Spirit, may be confecrated into a temple for
God. And this is what I would recommend to
your efteem, and your earneft defires, beyond
any other ftudy whatever, <c That you may be
" holy, becaufe our God is holyj" that, when
you leave this univerfity, thofe, with whom
you converfe, may not find you puffed up with
pride, on account of a little fuperficial learning,
nor bigotted, talkative, or fond of entering into
unfeafonable difputesj but confider you all as
patterns
EXHORTATION IV. 313
patterns and examples of piety, purity, tempe-
rance, modefty, and all chriftian virtues ; par-
ticularly that humility, that (hone fo brightly
in Chrift himfelf, and which he earnestly ex-
horts all his difciples to learn from him . I will not
fufpect, that any one of you will turn out to be
an immodeft perfon, a glutton or drunkard, or,
in any fhape, impious and profane ; but I earn-
eftly exhort and befeech you, my dear young
men, to make it, above all other things, your
principal ftudy, to have your hearts purged from
all impure and ignoble love of the world and
the flefh, that, in this earth, you may live to
God only ; and then, to be fure, when you re-
move out of it, you will live with him for ever
in heaven.
May the honorary title, you have this day
received, be happy and aufpicious j but I earn-
eftly pray the Father of lights, that he would
deign to beftow upon you a title mere folid and
exalted, than is in the power of man to give,
that you may be called the Sons of God, and
your converfation may be fuitable to fo great a
name, and fo glorious a Father.
Let us pray.
ETERNAL King, thy throne is eftabliflied
and immoveable. from everlafting, and will con-
tinue fo throughout all the ages of eternity :
before
314 EXHORTATION IV*
before the mountains were brought forth, be-
fore thou hadft formed the earth and the world,
even from everlafting to everlafting, thou art
God. All things that exift, whether vilible or
invifible, derive from thee their being, and all
that they pofTeft, and they all, from the leaft to
the greateft, are fubfervient to thy purpofes,
who art their fupreme King and Father : many
of them, indeed, aft without knowledge, or
defign, yet ferve thee with a conftant and uner-
ling obedience j others pay their homage from
principles of reafon and inclination, and all the
reft are forced to promote thy intentions, tho*
by constraint, and againft their wills. Thou
art great, O Lord, thou art great, and greatly to
be praifed, and of thy greatnefs there is no end.
The heavens are far raifed above the earth, but
thy majefty is much farther exalted above all our
thoughts and conceptions. Imprefs, we pray
thee, on our hearts, moft bountiful Father, a
profound fenfe of our meannefs and infignifi-
cancy j and make us acceptable to thee, thro'
thy grace, in thy beloved Jefus, blotting out all
our fins by the blood of his crofs, and purifying
our hearts by the effulion of thy Spirit from on
high. Illuminate, moft gracious God, this af-
fembly of ours by the light of thy divine fa-
vour, and let thy effectual bleffing, we pray thee,
attend the work, we are now employed about
(by thy approbation, and the gracious difpofi-
tion
EXHORTATION V. 315
tion of thy providence), and may the refult of
all be to the glory of thy name, thro' Jefus
Chrift our Lord. Amen.
EXHORTATION V.
THE complaint, with regard to the variety
of all perifhing and tranfitory enjoy-
ments, which has been long general among
mankind, is indeed juft and well-founded ; but
it is no lefs true, that the vanity, which refides
in the heart of man himfelf, exceeds every thing
of that kind we obferve in the other parts of the
vifible creation : For, among all the creatures
that we fee around us, we can find nothing fo
fleeting and inconftant j it flutters hither and
thither, and forfaking that only perfed: good,
which is truly fuited to its nature and circum-
ftances, grafps at phantoms and fhadows of hap-
pinefs, which it purfues with a folly more than
childifh.
Man wanders about on this earth ; he hopes,
he wifhes, he feeks, he gropes and feels about
him ; he defire?, he is hot, he is cold, he is
blind, and complains that evil abounds every
where : yet he is, himfclf, the caufe of thofe
evils
316 EXHORTATION V.
evils which rage in the world, but moft of all
in his own breaft ; and therefore being toffed
between the waves thereof, that roll continually
within and without him, he leads a refilefs and
difordered life, until he be at laft fwallowed up
in the unavoidable gulph of death. It is, more-
over, the fhame and folly (a] of the human race,
that the greateft part of them do not refolve up-
on any fixed and fettled method of life, but,
like the brute creatures, live and die, without
defign, and without propofing any reasonable
end. For how few are there, that ferioufly and
frequently confider with themfelves, whence
they come, whither they are going, and what
is the purpofe of their life ? who are daily re-
viewing the ftate of their own minds, and of-
ten defcend into themfelves, that they may as
frequently afcend, by their thoughts and medr-
tations, to their exalted Father, and their hea-
venly country j who take their ftation upon
temporal things, and view thofe that are eter-
nal : yet thefe are the only men that can be
truly faid to live, and they only can be ac-
counted wife.
And to this it is, my dear youths, that I
would willingly engage your fouls ; nay, I hear-
tily wiih, they were carried thither by the fiery
hariots
EXHORTATION V.
chariots of celeftial wifdom. Let the common
fort of mankind admire mean things ; let them
place their hopes on riches, honours, and arts,
and fpend their lives in the purfuit of them, but
let your fouls be inflamed with a far higher am-
bition. Yet I would not altogether prohibit
you thefe purfuits ; I only defire you to be mo-
derate in them. Thefe enjoyments are neither
great in themfelves, nor permanent j but it is
furprifing, how much vanity is inflated by them.
What a conceited, vain nothing is the creature
we call man ! for, becaufe few are capable to
difcern true bleffings, which are folid and in-
trinfically beautiful, therefore the fuperficial
ones, and fuch as are of no value at all, are
catched at ; and thofe who, in any meafure,
attain to the pofleflion of them, are puffed up
and elated thereby.
If we confider things as they are, it is an
evidence of a very wrong turn of mind to boafl
of titles and fame, as they are no part of our-
felves, nor can we depend upon them. But he,
that is elevated with a fond conceit of his own
knowledge, is a ftranger to the nature of things,
and particularly to himfelf; fince he knows
not that the higheft pitch of human knowledge
ought, in reality, rather to be called ignorance.
How fmall and inconfiderable is the extent of
pur knowledge ? Even the moil contemptible
things
318 EXHORTATION V.
things in nature are fufficient to expofe the
greatnefs of our ignorance. And, with refpect
to divine things, who dares to deny, " that the
" knowledge, mankind has of them, is next to
tf nothing (b) ? " Becaufe the weak eyes of
our underftanding, confined, as they are, with-
in fuch narrow houfes of clay, cannot bear the
piercing light of divine things ; therefore the
fountain of all wifdom hath thought proper to
communicate fuch imperfect difcovcries of him-
felf, as are barely fufficient to direct our fteps to
the fuperior regions (c) of per feel: light. And
whoever believes this truth, will, doubtlefs,
make it his chief care, and principal ftudy, con-
flantly to follow this lamp of divine light, that
{nines in darknefs, and not to deviate from it,
either to the right hand or the left. It is in-
deed my opinion, that no man of ingenuity
ought to defpife the ftudy of philofophy, or the
knowledge of languages, pr grammar itfelf j
though, to be fure, a more expeditious and
fuccefsful method of teaching them, were
much to be wifhed : but what I would recom-
mend with the greated earneftnefs, and per-
fuade you to, if poffible, is, that you would infe-
parably unite with fuch meafures of learning
and improvements of ydur minds as you can
(c\ us; t
attain,
1
EXHORTATION V. 319
attain, purity of religion, divine love, modera-
tion of foul, and an agreeable inoffenfive beha-
viour. For you are not ignorant, what a low
and empty figure the higheft attainments in hu-
man fciences muft make, if they be compared
with the dignity and duration of the foul of
man ; for however confiderable they may be in
themfelves, yet, with regard to their ufe, and
their whole defign, they are confined within
the fhort fpace of this perifhing life. But the
foul, which reafons, which is employed in.
learning and teaching, in a few days will for
ever bid farewel to all thefe things, and remove
to another country. O how inconfiderable are
all arts and fciences, all eloquence and philofo-
phy, when compared with a cautious concern
that our laft exit out of this world may be
happy and aufpicious, and that we may depart
out of this life candidates of immortality, at
which we can never arrive but by the beautifu}
way of holineis.
Let us pray.
Infinite and eternal God, who inhabiteft thick
darknefs, and light inacceffible, whom no mor-
tal hath feen, or can fee ; yet ail thy works evi-
dently^ declare and proclaim thy wifdom, thy
power, and thy infinite goodnefs : And, when
we contemplate thefe thy perfections, what is
it
320 EXHORTATION V.
it our fouls can defire, but that they may love
thee, worfhip thee, ferve thee, for ever pro-
claim thy praifes, and celebrate thy exalted
name, which is above all praife, and all admi-
ration ? Thy throne is conftantly furrounded
with thoufands and ten thoufands of glorified
fpirits, who continually adore thee, and cry out
without ceaiing, Holy, boty, holy, Lord God Al-
tnigbty, who was, who is, and who is to come.
Let others feek what they will, and find and
embrace what they- can, may we have always
this one fixed and fettled purpofe, that it is good
for us to draw near to God. Let the feas roar,
the earth be fhaken, and all things go to ruin
and confufion j yet the foul, that adheres to*
God, will remain fafe and quiet, and mall not
be moved for ever. O blefled foul ! that has
thee for its reft, and all its falvation ; it (hall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, it fhall
not fear when heat cometh, nor mail it be un-
eafy in a year of drought. 'Tis our earneft pe-
tition and prayer, O Father, that thy hands may
loofe all our chains, and effectually deliver our
fouls from all the fnares and allurements of the
world and the flefh, and that, by that fame
bountiful and moft powerful hand of thine,
they may be for ever united to thee throu fo h thy
pnly . begottenjSon, who is our union and our
peace. Ee favourably prefent, moft gracious
God,
EXHORTATION VI. 321
God, with this aflembly of ours, that whatever
we undertake, in obedience to thy will, may be
carried to perfection by the aid of thy grace, and
tend to the glory of thy name/ thro' Jefus Chrift
our Lord. Amen.
EXHORTATION VI.
I A M not ignorant, that it is one of the com-
mon arts of life to fet off our own things
with all the pomp we can ; and, if there is any
worth in them, by no means to depreciate it,
but rather to endeavour, with all our might, to
enhance their value as much as poffible ; nay,
thofe of them, which are quite vain and worth-
lefs, we ufe to magnify with pompous expref-
iions, and daub with falfe colours, and to do
otherwife is reckoned a kind of ruftic fimplicity.
But you, young Gentlemen, who are acquainted
with my manner, will, I imagine, ealily for-
give this indifference of mine j and therefore I
fay, if there are any, that dcfpife thefe per-
formances of ours, we leave them at full liberty,
for weourfelves held them in contempt before ;
but, to fpeak freely, together with them we un-
dervalued all worldly things : " They are all
Y " mad?
322 EXHORTATION VI.
" made of the fame mean materials (a)" O life,
fhort with regard to duration, long in confide-
ration of thy miferies, involved in darknefs, be-
fet with fnares, ftill flu&uating between falfe
joys and real torments, groundlefs hopes, and
fears equally imaginary, yet fooliflily, and even
to diffraction loved by moft; we will not die,
and yet we know not how to live ; our prefent
pofleffions are loath fome as food to a man in a
fever, and we greedily catch at future enjoy-
ments, which, when they come to be prefent,
will be received with the fame indifference : for,
among the advantages of this fleeting life, no-
thing is equally agreeable to thofe, who have it
in poffeflion, and thofe who have it only in de-
fire and hope.
We are all in general of fuch a nature, that
we are weary of ourfelves, and, what we lately
preferred to every thing elfe, upon experience
we reject. This inconflancy is undoubtedly a
iign of a mind diftempered, forcibly drawn
away from its center, and feparated from its
only durable reft. Nor need you go far, young
Gentlemen, to look for an in fiance of this dif-
temper ; let 'any of you defcend into himfelf
(which very few do, and even they but rarely)
he will find it within him : upon a very flight
inquiry ?
EXHORTATION VI. 323
inquiry, he will furely be fenfible of it ; for,
paffing other confiderations, with what fervent
wifhes have you, in your hearts, longed for this
day ? yet I forewarn you, that all your pleafure
will either die with the day itfelf, which is now
fad drawing to a clofe, or but for a very mort
time fttrvive it. And, as commonly happens,
it will be fucceeded by the anxious cares of be-
ginning life, as it were,, anew, or, which is
much more grievous and unhappy, and from
which, I earneftly pray, you may be all effec-
tually preferved, by thofe temptations and al-
lurements of vice, which tend to debauch and
ruin you; for thefe allurements, after the manner
of fome robbers, attack the unwary and unexpe-
rienced with blandifliments and careffes, that
thereby they may have an opportunity to undo
them. If therefore, as foon as ye enter upon a
life of freedom, thofe deceitful and deadly plea-
fures of fenfe tempt you with their delufive
fmiles, I would put you in mind, how unwor-
thy it is of a free and generous mind, efpeciaily
that of a Chriftian, to become an abject flave,
and fubmit to the moft mameful bondage ; how
difgraceful and wretched a choice it i?, to be-
come the Jlave of a mad (lift rafted ma/ier(b}?
and how much more generous and exalted is the
Y 2 plea-
324 EXHORTATION VI.
fure of defpifing them all, and trampling them
under foot, when they come in competition
with the pure and permanent delights of divine
love ?
As to exalted degrees of honour, and heaps
of riches, the idols of all ranks of mankindj
which they worfliip with the rage of enthufiafm
and madnefs, we may not only apply to them
what was obferved of old concerning Hercules's
flatue, and fay, " they have nothing divine in
" them (c) j >N but alfo, that they are entirely
void of real goodnefs. Even thofe, who have
the greateft experience of them, are at laft ob-
liged to own this : the force of truth extorts the
confeffion, though they make it with regret and
againft their will. All the beauty and bright-
, nefs of thefe idols refemble the decorations of a
ftage,, that dazzle the eyes of the vulgar, and
the enjoyment of them is, in reality, but a
fplendid kind of flavery, and gilded mifery. 'Tis
a pathetic expreflion of St. Bernard, " O ambi-
" tion, the torture of the ambitious, bow hap-
<c pens it, that though thou tormenteft all, thou
" yet makeft thyfelf agreeable to all (d)" O
how eafily does even the leaft glimpfe of eternal
and infinite beauty raze out of the mind all the
(f) f bJb Iia* $.
(rt 7 ) O! ambitio, ambientium crux, quomodo omnes tor-
quens omnibus places ?
impreffions
EXHORTATION VI. 325
impreffions made upon it by the objefts we
daily converfe with on this earth, and turn its
admiration of them into contempt and dif-
dain.
But if any one, having thoroughly examined
and defpifed thefe fhadows, refolves folely to
purfue a more compleat knowledge of things,
and follow the dreams of learning, we cannot
deny, that he judges more juftly ; yet, after all,
muft know, if he is wife, or at leaft he ought
to know, that he may be wife, '< what vanity
" and fuperfluityis to be met with even here(^) ;"
for often, when one has applied himfelf to his
books and ftudie?, with the greateft affiduity,
and alrnoft fpent his life upon them, all his pains
evaporate into fmoke, and the labour of years
is entirely loft. And, what is moft of all to be
lamented, this is fometimes the cafe with re-
fpect to theology, which is the chief of all arts
and fciences, as fo large a portion of that vine-
yard is (till poflefled with briars and thorns.
How many are the difputes and controverfies,
how many the trifling arguments and cavils,
which poffibly may have fomething of the marp-
nefs of thorns, but undoubtedly a great deal of
their barrennefs and their hurtful quality ? A
philofopher of old feverely reproves the fophif-
ters
326 EXHORTATION VI.
ters of his time in thefe words, "What was for-
" merly the love of wifdom, is now become the
" love of words (/)." We, to be fure, may
fubflitute, in place of this, a complaint ftill
more bitter, that what was theology before,
is now become foolim talking ; and that many
of our divines, tho' they ferve one God, and
that the God of peace, " yet fplit into parties
<c upon the lighteft occafions, and with great
" impiety divide the whole world into fac-
" tions (g)." And I am much afraid, this
evil, in a great meafure, derives its original from
the education of youth in fchools and colleges.
For the mod part of men manage this bufinefs,
as if difputing was the end of learning, as fight-
ing is the defign of going to war : hence the
youth, when they enter the fchool, begin dif-
puting, which never ends but with their life.
Death impofes filence, and fo, at laft, " thefe
" fierce paffions of their minds, and thefe inve-
<{ terate contentions, are compofed to reft by
" the weight of a little duft thrown upon
" them (&;."
(/) Q^ 32 philofophia fuit, fafta philologia eft.
(<") crp^st^orrxij xj xoypGv o'Ac
Hi motus animorum, atque hacc certamina tanta
Pulveris exigui jadlu comprefla quiefcunt.
4. Georg.
As
EXHORTATION VI. 327
As for you, young Gentlemen, if my earneft
wifhes, and fincere advice, can have any weight
with you, you will early extricate yourfelves out
of thefe flames of contention, that your minds,
being lighted up by the pure and celeftial fire of
the divine Spirit, may fhine forth in holinefs,
and burn with the moft fervent charity.
Let us pray.
Honour and praife is due to thee, O infinite
God. This is the univerfal voice of all the
blefTed fpirits on high, and all the faints on
earth : worthy art thou, O Lord, to receive glo-
ry, and honour, and power, becaufe thou haft
created all things, and'for thy pleafure they are.
We, here before thee, with united hearts and
affecYions, offer thee, as we can, the facrifice of
gratitude, love and praife. How much are we in-
debted to thee for ourfelves, and for all that
we poflefs ! for in thee we live, move, and have
our being. Thou haft redeemed us from our
fins, having given the Son of thy love, as a facri-
fice and ranfom for our fouls, the chaftifement
of our peace fell upon him, and by his ftripes
we are healed. On this confideration, we ac-
knowledge, we are no longer at our own difpo-
fal, fince we are bought with a price, and fo
very great a price, that we may glorify thee, O
Y 4 -Father,
EXHORTATION VI.
Father, and thy Son, in our fouls and our bo-
dies, which are fo juflly thine ; may we devote
ourfelves to thee, through the whole remaining
part of our life, and difdain the impure and ig-
noble flavery of fin, the world, and the flefh,
that, in all things, we may demean ourfelves as
becomes the fons of God, and the heirs of thy
celeftial kingdom, and make daily greater pro-
grefs in our journey towards the happy poflef-
iion thereof.
Blefs thy church, and our nation, and this
our univerfity : may it be thine, we pray thee :
we intreat, thou would become our father, our
protector, and our fupreme teacher, who haft
thy chair in heaven, and teacheft the hearts of
men on this earth. May the youth flourim un-
der thy in ft ruction, that they may be not only
learned, but efpecially upright, pious and true
Chriftians, entirely devoted to the honour of
thy name, through our Lord Jefus Chrift.
Amen.
EXHOR-
EXHORTATION VII. 329
EXHORTATION VII.
THESE academical exercifes of ours are,
to be fure, no great matter, nor do we
make any high account of them ; yet, after all,
we fet no higher, perhaps even a lefs value up-
on the buftling affairs of mankind, which make
a much greater noife, and the farces that are
acted upon the more exalted theatres of the
world, which, to fpeak my fentiments in a few
words, are for the mod part outwardly more
pompous, than thefe of ours, but inwardly
equally vainj and more infignificant than the
bufy amufements of children playing on the
fands, and eagerly building little houfes, which,
with giddy levity, they inftantly pull down a-
gain (a}. Or if you chufe to be more fevere
upon the fruitlefs labours of mankind, and their
bufy and irregular motions backward and for-
ward, and from one place to another, you may,
with a great man, that knew all thefe things
by experience, compare them to the fluttering
tf
(a) 12$ ort
Or Mm un ato'vnyii a$v%pa
330 EXHORTATION VII.
of frightened fies, the tollfome hurry of the ants,
and the motions of puppets (b). ' But he that, a-
midft all the confufions and commotions, which
happen in human affairs here below, has re-
count to divine contemplation, and the hopes
of eternity, as the lofty impregnable tower of
true wifdom, " is the only perfon that enjoys
" uninterrupted eafe and tranquillity, like the
" heavenly bodies, which conftantly move on
" in their orbits, and are never, by any vio-
" fence, diverted from their courfe (c)."
And indeed, what wonder is it, that he can
eafily view all the dreadful appearances of this
wretched life, with a refolute and fleady coun-
tenance, who, by frequent interviews and daily
converfation with death itfelf, which we call
the king of terrors (d ), has rendered it familiar
to him, and thereby not only divefted it of its
terrors, but alfo placed it in a beautiful, plea-
fant, and quite amiable light. By this means,
he dies daily, and doubtlefs, before he fufFers a
natural death, he dies in a more exalted fenfe
of the word, by withdrawing, as far as is pof-
fible, his mind from the incumbrance of earthly
(I) MtJwv fGrroriptvut JtaJ^aj, pvQMHtn 7aX#tsroa$ ^ a
Otia folus agit, f:cut cceleftia Temper
Inconcufla fuo volvuntur fidera lapfu. Luc, lib. u.
(d)
things,
EXHORTATION VII. 331
things, and, even while it lodges in the body,
weaning it from all the worldly objects, that arc
placed about him. And, in this very fenfe,
philofophy of old was moft properly called the
meditation of death (*), which the Roman ora-
tor has, in my opinion, explained with great
propriety, and the precifion of a philofopher.
" What is it we do, fays he, when we with-
" draw the mind from pleafure, that is, thebo-
" dy, from our means and fubflance, that is the
ct fervant of the body, that provides for its
" wants, from the commonwealth, and every
<c kind of bufinefs ; what is it we then do, I
c< fay, but recall it to itfelf, and oblige it to
" ftay at home ? Now, to withdraw the mind
<f from the body, is nothing elfe, but to learn
<c to die (/)." Let us, therefore, reafon thus,
if you will take my advice, and feparate our-
fclves from our bodies, that is, let us acciiftom
ourfelves to die: this, even while we fojourn on
this earth, will be to the foul a life like to that
which it will enjoy in heaven, and, being de-
livered from thefe fetters, we fhall move at a
() Ml*/T19 flfltWTB.
(/) Quid aliud agimus cum a voluptate, id eft ei corpore,
cum a re familiari quse miniftra eft & famula corporis, eum a
repub. cum a negotio omni feveramus ariimum, quid turn agi-
mus (ir.quam) nifi ilium ad feipfum advocamus, & fecum effe
cogimus ? Secernere autem a corpore animum, necquicquam
aliud ert quam emori difcere v
better
332 EXHORTATION VII.
better rate, the courfe of our fouls will be lefs
retarded in our journey to that happy place, at
which, when we arrive, we can then, and then
only, be truly faid to live ; for this life is but a
kind of death, the miferies whereof I could
paint, if it were feafonable j but, to be fure, it
was moft juftly called a life of tbe greatefi mi-
fery (g) by Dionyfius the Areopagite, or who-
ever was the author of that book, that goes un-
der his name.
And indeed, young Gentlemen, I am of
opinion, that fuch a view, and meditation of
death, will not be unfuitable, or improper, even
for you, though you are in the prime of life,
and your minds in their full vigour -, nay, I
would gladly hope, you yourfelves will not
imagine it would, nor be at all offended at me,
as if, by mentioning that inaufpicious word un-
feafonably, I difturbed your prefent joy, drew
a kind of black cloud over this bright day of
feftivity, or feemed to mix among your laurels,
a branch of the hated cyprefs. For a wife
man would not willingly owe his joy to mad-
nefs, nor think it a pleafure, foolimly to forget
the fituation of his affairs.
The wife man alone feels true joy, and real
wifdom is the attainment of a Chriftian only,
(g)
who
EXHORTATION VII. 333
who bears with life, but hopes for death ; and
pafTes through all the ftorms and tempefts of the
former with an undaunted mind, but with the
moft fervent wifhes looks for the latter, as the
fecure port, and the fair havens (h) in the
higheft fenfe of the expreflion ; whofe mind is
humble, and, at the fame time, exalted, nei-
ther depending upon foreign, that is, external
advantages, nor puffed up with his own 5 and
neither elevated nor deprefled by any turns or
viciflitudes of fortune.
He is the wife man, who relimes things as
they really are ; who is not, with the common
fort of mankind, that are always children, ter-
rified by bugbears, nor pleafed with painted rat-
tles. Who has a greatnefs of foul, vaftly fupe-
rior to all fading and periihing things ; who
judges of his improvements by his life, and
thinks he knows every thing he does not covet,
and every thing he does not fear. The only
thing he defires, is the favour and countenance
of the Supreme King ; the only thing he fears,
is his difpleafure ; and, without doubt, a mind
of this caft muft, of neceffity; be the habitation
of conftant ferenity, exalted joy, and gladnefs
fpringing from on high. And this is the man,
that is truly pofTefled of that tranquillity and
bafft
334 EXHORTATION VIL
happy difpofition of mind ( /), which the Philofo-
phers boaft of, the Divines recommend, but few
attain. And though he will neither willingly
fuffer himfelf to be called a philofdpher, nor a
philologer, yet he is, in reality, well verfed in
the things of God (k), and, by a kind of Divine
influence and inftruftion (/), has attained to the
light of pure and peaceable truth j where he
paffes his days in the greateft quietnefs and fc-
renity, far above the cloudy and ftormy regions
of controverfy and difputation.
If any of you has been thus inftructed, he has
certainly attained the higheft of all arts, and has
entered upon the moft glorious liberty, even be-
fore he hath received any Univerfity degree.
But the reft, though they are prefently to have
the title of Matter of Arts, ftill continue a filly,
fervile fet of men, under a heavy yoke of bon-
dage, whereby even their minds will be crampt
with oppreffive laws, far more intolerable than
any difcipline however fevere. None of you,
I imagine, is fo exceffively blinded with felf-
conceif (m), fo ignorant of the nature of things,
and unacquainted with himfelf, as to dream that
he is already a philofopher, or be puffed up with
an extravagant opinion of his own knowledge,
(/) fvQvpletv % yaXnw. (-0
'!} ./ia TwJ |M,o^a je} $%. (m) dv$H$ska.
becaufe
EXHORTATION VIL 3.35
becaufe he has gone through the ordinary exer-
cifes at the Univerfity -, though, to fpeak the
truth, the philofophy, which prevails in the
fchools, is of a vain, airy nature, and more apt
to infpire the mind with pride, than to improve
it. As it is my earneft prayer, fo it is alfo the
object of .my hope, that you will retire from
this Seminary, with your minds excited to a
keen and wholefome thirft after true erudition,
rather than blown up with the wild-fire of
fcience, falfely fo called : And what, of all
other attainments, is of greateft confequence,
that you will leave us, deeply affected with the
mod ardent love of heavenly wifdom. What-
ever may be your fate, with refpect to other
things, it is my earneft requeft, that it be your
higheft ambition, and your principle ftudy, to
be true Chriftians ; that is, to be humble, meek,
pure, holy, and followers of your moft aufpi-
cious Captain, the Lamb, wherever he goeth ;
for he that followeth him fhall not walk in dark-
nefs, but be conducted, through the morning
light of Divine grace, to the meridian, and
never-ending brightnefs of glory.
Let us pray.
Eternal Father of mercies and of lights, the
pnly reft of the immortal fouls, which thou haft
created,
336 EXHORTATION VII.
created, and their never-failing confolation : In-
to what by-paths of error do our fouls divert,
and to what dangers are they expofed on every
hand, when they ftray away from thee ? But,
while they keep within thy hiding place, O
moil high, they are fafe under the fhadow of
thy wings. O how happy are they, and how
well do they live, who pafs their whole lives
in that fecret abode, where they may conti-
nually refrefli themfelves with the delicious
fruits of thy love, and mew forth thy praife !
where they may tafte and fee, that thou art good,
O Lord, and be thoroughly perfuaded of the irn-
menfe riches of thy bounty, which all our mife-
rics cannot exceed, nor our poverty exhauft; nay,
which the conftant effulion of them upon the
whole univerfe, and all its parts, cannot in the
leaft diminish. As for us, who are before thee,
the moft unworthy of -all thy creatures, yet, at
the fame time, the moft exceffively loaded
with all the inftances of thy goodnefs, can we
avoid crying out with the united voices of our
hearts, Let praife be afcribed to the Lord, be-
caufe he is good, and his mercy endureth for
ever. Who {hall declare the great and won-
derful works of God, who {hall {hew forth his
praife ? who ruleth by his power for ever, and
his eyes obferve the nations, that the rebel-
lious may not exalt themfelves -, who reftores
our
EXHORTATION VII. 337
our fouls to life, and fuffers not our feet to be
moved. But, on the other hand, alas ! how
juftly may our fongs be interrupted with bit-
ter lamentations, that, under fuch ftrong and
constant rays of his bounty, our hearts are To cold
towards him ? O how faint and languid is our
love to him ! How very little, or near to no-
thing, is the whole of that flame, which we
feel within us, and, as that love fails within us,
we mifplace our affections upon the things a-
round us ; and as we follow vanity, we become
vain and miferable at the fame time. But may
thy Spirit, O Lord, whom we humbly and
earneftly beg of thee, defcending into our
hearts, infpire us thoroughly with life, vigour,
and celeftitl purity.
Pleafe to enlighten thy church throughout
the whole habitable world, and particularly in
thefe iflands, with the continued light of thy
countenance : if thou apply thy healing hand,
we fhall prefently be whole ; nor need we
look to any quarter for other remedies, than
thofe we have always found to be more
powerful than our moft obftinate diftempers.
Blefs this city, and this celebrated univeifity.
Grant, moft gracious Father, that the numbers
of youth, we fend out from it this day, and
every year, may be by thy effectual grace, con-
fecrated and devoted to thy fervice. Forbid,
Z we
338 EXHORTATION VIII.
we pray thee, that they (hould either be the
means of fpreading pollution among thy peo-
ple, or fufter themfelves to be tainted with the
infeflion of a wicked world ; but let this foun-
tain of learning be continually enriched with
thy heavenly influences, that it may conftantly
fupply pure and limpid ftreams, for the welfare
and improvement of thy church and people, to
the glory of thy exalted name, through our
Lord Jefus Chrift ; to whom, with thee, and
the Holy Spirit, be honour, praife, and glory,,
world without end. Amen.
EXHORTATION VIII.
AMIDST thefe amufements, we are
unhappily lofing a day. Yet fome part
of the weight of this complaint is removed,
when we confider, that, while the greateft part
of mankind are buttling in crowds, and places
of traffick, or, as they would have us believe,
in affairs of great importance, we are trifling
our time more innocently than they. But what
ihould hinder us from doling this laft fcene in
a ferious manner, that is, from turning ouc
eyes
EXHORTATION VIII. 339
eyes to more divine objects, whereby, though
we are fatigued with other matters, we may
terminate the work of this day, and the day it-
felf agreeably ; as the beams of the fun ufe to
give more than ordinary delight, when he is
near his feeing ?
You are now initiated into the philofophy,
fuch as it is, that prevails in the fchools, and, I
imagine, intend, with all poffible difpatch, tQ
apply to higher ftudies. But O! how pitiful
and fcanty are all thofe things, which belet us
before, behind, and on every fide ? The buft-
ling we oblerv^, is nothing but the hurrying of
ants eagerly engaged in their little labours.
The mind muft furely have degenerated, and
forgotten its original as effectually, as if it had
drunli of the river Lethe, if extricating itfelf out
of all thefe mean concerns and defigns, as fo
many fnares laid for it, and rifmg above the
whole of this vifible world, it does not return to
its Father's bofom, where it may contemplate
his eternal beauty, where contemplation will in-
flame love, and love be crowned with the pof-
feffion of the beloved object. But, in the con-
templation of this glorious object, how great
caution and moderation of mind is necenary,
that, by prying prefumptcuflv into his fecret
councils, or his nature, and rafciy breakin: nto
Z 2 "the
340 EXHORTATION VIII.
the fanftuary of light (a), we be not quite in-
volved in darknefs? And, with regard to what
the infinite, independent , and neceffary exiftenf
Being (), has thought proper to communicate
to us concerning himfelf, and we are concerned
to know, even that is, by no means, to be ob-
fcured by curious, impertinent questions, nor
perplexed with the arrogance of difputation 5
becaule, by fuch means, inftead of enlarging
our knowledge, we are in the fair way to know
nothing at all j but readily to be received by
humble faith, and entertained with meek and
pious afFe&ions. And if, in thefe noticts of
him, that are communicated to us, we meet
with any thing obfcure, and hard to be under-
ftood, fuch difficulties will be happily got over,
not by perplexed controverlies, but by conftant
and fervent prayer. " He will come to under-
cc ftand, fays, admirably well, the famous Bi-
" (hop of Hippo (c), who knocks by prayer,
" not he, who, by quarrelling, makes a noife
" at the gate of truth ( d )." But what can we,
who are mortal creatures, underftand, with re-
gard to the inexpreffible Being, we nowlpeak of,
() ElJ T
() To; o1 W j Mi.
(r) St. Auguftine.
(</) Intelliget qui oran4o pulfat, non qui rixando obftrepit
ad oftium reritatis.
efpecially
EXHORTATION VIII. 341
efpccially while we fojourn in thefe dark prifons
of clay, but only this, that we can by no means
comprehend him ? for though, in thinking of
him, we remove from our idea all fort of imper-
fection, and collect together every perceivable
perfection, and adorn the whole with the high-
ert titles, we muft, after all, acknowledge, that
we have faid nothing, and that our conceptions
are nothing to the purpofe. Let us therefore
in general acknowledge him to be the immove-
able Being, that moveth every thing ; the im-
mutable God, that changeth all things at his
pleafure ; the infinite and eternal fountain of
all good, and of all ex ftence, and the Lord and
fole Ruler of the world.
If you, then, my dear youths, afpire to ge-
nuine Chnftianity, that is, the knowledge of
God and divine things (^), I would have you
confider, that the mind muft firft be recalled,
and engaged to turn in upon itfelf, before it can
be raifed up towards God, according to that ex-
preflion of St. Bernard, " May I return from
" external things to thofe that are within my-
" felf, and from thefe again rife to thofe that
<c are of a more exalted nature (/ )." But the
(t)
(/) Ab exterioribus ad intsriora redeam, ab interioribus ad
fuperiora afcemlam.
Z 3 greateft
342 EXHORTATI6N VHI.
greateft part of men live abroad, and are, truly,
Grangers at homej you may fooner find them
any where, than with themfelves. Now, is not
this real madnt is, and the higheft degree of
ink fibility ? Yet, after all, they feem to have
fornc reaibn in their madnefs, when th*y thus
flray away from themfelves, fince they can fee
no.hing within them, that, by its promifing
afpecl:, can give them pleasure or delight. Eve-
ry thing there is ugly, frightful, and full of
naftinefs, which they 'would rather be ignorant
of, than be at the pains to purge away ; and
therefore prefer a flothful forgetfulnefs of their
mifery, to the trouble and labour of regaining
happinefs. But how prepoflerous is the moft
diligent ftudy, and the higheft knowledge,
when we neglect that of ourfelves ? The Ro-
man philofopher, ridiculing the grammarians
of his time, obferves, " that they enquired
ff narrowly into the misfortunes of UlyiTes, but
(t were quite ignorant of their own (g)." The
fentiments of a wife and pious man are quite
different, and I wifh you may adopt them. It
is his principal care to be thoroughly acquainted
with himfelf, he watches over his own ways,
he improves and cultivates his heart as a garden,
nay, a garden confecrated to the King of Kings,
(g) Ulyffis mala explorant, ignorant fua.
who-
EXHORTATION VIII. 343
who takes particular delight in it; he carefully
nurfes the heavenly plants and flowers, and
roots up all the wild and noxious weeds, that
he may be able to fay, with the greater confi-
dence, " Let my beloved come into his own
" garden, and be pleafed to eat of his fruits."
And when, upon this invitation, the great
King, in the fullnefs of his gocdnefs, defcends
into the mind, the fou! may then eafily afcend
with him, as it were, in a chariot of .fire, and
look down upon the earth, and all earthly
things, with contempt and difdain : " Then ri-
" fing above the rainy regions, it fees the
" ftorms falling beneath its feet, and tramples
" opon the hidden thunder (&)."
Let us pray.
Whatever fans/action we look for without
thee, O Heavenly Father, is mere delufion and
vanity ; yet, though we have fo often experi-
enced this, we have not, to this day, learned
to renounce this vain and fruitlefs labour, that
we may depend upon thee, who alone can give
full and compleat fatisfaclion to the fouls of
men. We pray, therefore, that, by thy Al-
(b) Celfior exurgens pluviis nimbofq, cadentes,
Sub pedibus cernehs, & cceca tonitrua caleans.
Z 4 mighty
344 EXHORTATION VIII.
mighty hand, thou would fo effectually join
and unite our hearts to thee, that they may
never be feparated any more. How unhappy
are they who fbrfake thec, and whofe hearts
depart from thy ways ? They (hall be like
fhrubs in the defart, they fhall not fee when
good cometh, but dwell in a parched and barren
land. BlefTed, on the contrary, is he, who
hath placed his confidence in thee ; he (hall be
like a tree planted by the rivers of water, he
fhall not be afraid when heat cometh, nor be
uneafy in the time of drought. Take from us,
O Lord, whatever earthly enjoyments thou
fhalt think proper; there is one thing will abun-
dantly make up all our lofles, let Chrift dwell
in our hearts by faith, and the rays of thy favour
continually refrefh us in the face of this thine
Anointed ; in this event, we have nothing more
to afk, but, with grateful minds, mall for ever
celebrate thy bounty, and all our bones mall fay,
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, who is like unto
thee ?
Let thy church be glad in thee, and all in
this nation, and every where throughout the
world, that regard and love thy name ; by the
power and efficacy of the gofpel, may their
number be daily augmented, and let the gifts of
thy grace be alfo encreafed in them all. Blefs
this univerfity $ let it be like a garden watered
by
VALEDICTORY ORATION. 345
by thy heavenly hand, that thy tender (hoots
may grow, and in due time produce abundant
fruit, to the eternal honour of thy moft glorious
name, through our Lord Jefus Chrift. Amen.
VALEDICTORY ORATION.
THOUGH this, I imagine, is the laft
addrefs I mall ever have occafion to
make to you, I will not detain you long from
your ftudies, nor encroach on the time allowed
you for recreation. This is, to be fure, the
firft time that Tome of you have heard me ; but
I have a great many others to bear witnefs of
the conftant defign of all my difTertations in
this place. They will teftify, that the inten-
tion of all my difcourfes was, " that the form
of found words (a}" that is, the Chriftian
dodtrine, and confequently the fear and love of
God, might not only be impreffed, but alfo en-
graven upon your hearts in lading and indelible
hoya* T^wO-.
characters ;
346 VALEDICTORV ORATION.
characters j and that you might not only admif
as a truth, but alfopay the higheft regard to this
indifputable maxim, " that piety and religion is J
" the only real good among men ()." More-
over, that your minds might be the lefs incum-
bered in their application to this grand ftudy of
religion, and the more expeditious in their pro-
grefs therein, I conftantly endeavoured, with
all poffible warmth, to divert you from thofe
barren and thorny queftions and difputes, that
have infected the whole of theology: and this
at a time, when the greateft part of divines and
profeflbrs, and thofe of no fmall reputation, en-
gaging furioufly in fuch controverfies, { have
" fplit into parties, and unhappily divided the
" whole world (c)." It was my conftaht prac-
tice to efta'blifh thofe great and uncontroverted
articles of our holy religion, which are but few
and clear ; fome part whereof are confirmed by
the common conferit of nations, and of all the
human race j and all the reft by the unanimous
voice of the whole Chriftian world. Of the
firft fort are thofe We have often advanced irt
treating of the being and perfections of the one
fupreme and eternal Principle, and the produc-
tion of all things by him; the continual prefer-
() o-n s xj pom It otvO^Voff e
(c) rx|xTa, xj xo<rpto o>.o> ri^r
vation
VALEDICTORY ORATION. 347
vation and governm; i of the world by bis Pro-
vidence; the law of Cod given to mankind, and
the rewards and punifhments annexed to it.
The other clafs of the orand articles of religion
are indeed peculiar to Chriftian Philofophy, but
believed in common by all the profeflbrs of that
religion. Thefe are the great foundations of our
faith, and of all our hope and joy, with regard
to the incarnation of the Son of God, his death
and refurreclion for the deftruclion of fin,
and confequently of death ; his afcenlion into
the higheft heavens with that fame flefh of
ours, in which he died, and his exaltation
there above all ranks of angels, dominions,
and thrones, &c. j whence we expect he
will return in great glory, in that v day, when
he will be glorious in all his faints, and admi-
red in thofe that believe. As many therefore
as defire to receive him in this his laft mani-
feftation, with joy and exultation, mud of
neceffity be holy, and, in conformity to their
mod perfed and glorious Head, fober, pious,
Upright, and live in full contempt of this perill-
ing tranfitory world, their own mortal fiefh, and
the fordid pleafures of both : in a word, all the
enjoyments, which the mean and fervile admire,
they muft trample under foot and defpife. For
whoever will drive for this victory, and drive
fo as at laft to obtain it, the Lord will own him
for
348 VALEDICTORY ORATION.
for his fervant, and the great Matter will acknow-
ledge him for hisdilciple. He will attain a like-
nefs to God in this earth, and, after a (hort con-
flict, will triumph in the divine prefence for ever.
Thefe are the doctrines, which it is our intereft
to know, and in the obfervation of which our
happinefs will be fecured. To thefe you will
turn your thoughts, young Gentlemen, if you
are wife ; nay, to thefe you ought to give due
attention, that you may be wife : thefe phan-
toms, we catch at, fly away ; this fliadow of a
life, we now live, is likewife on the wing.
Thofe things, that are without the verge of
fenfe, and above its reach, are the only folid
and lafting enjoyments. Why are ye fond
" of thefe earthly things, fays St. Bernard,
" which are neither true riches, nor are they
C yours ? If they are yours, continues he, take
<{ them with you (d)." And Ladtantius admi-
rably well obferves, that " whoever prefers the
cc life of the foul, muft, of neceffity, defpife
' that of the body ; nor can he afpire to the
c higheft good, unlefs he defpife advantages of
" an inferior kind. For the all-wife God did
" not chufe, that we mould attain to immor-
<e tality in a foft indolent way, but that we
(J) Quid terrena hzec ampleftimini, quae nee verse divitias
font, nee veftrae ? Si veftrse funt, tollite vobifcum.
" mould
VALEDICTORY ORATION. 348
' mould gain that incxprefTible reward of cter-
" nal life with the higheft difficulty, and feve-
<l reft labour (e)." And, that you may not be
diicouraged, remember the great Redeemer of
fouls, your exalted Captain, hath gone before
you, and we have to do with an enemy already
conquered. Let us only follow him with cou-
rage and activity, and we have no ground to
doubt of victory. And indeed it is a victory
truly worthy of a Chriftian, to fubdue the bar-
barous train of our appetites, and fubjcct them
to the empire of reafon and religion ; while, on
the other hand, it is the moft fliameful bon-
dage to have the more divine part of our com-
petition meanly fubjected to an ignoble earthly
body. Now, this victory can only be fecured
by ftedfaft believing, vigorous oppofition to our
fpiritual enemies, unwearied watching, and in-
ceffant prayer. Let prayer be not only the key
that opens the day, and the lock that (huts out
the night 5 but let it be aHb, from morning to
night, our ftaffand ftay in all our labours, and to
enable us to go chearfully up into the mount of
(e) Quifquis animze vitam maluerit, corporis vitam contem-
nat neceffe eft, nee aliter afpirare ad fummum poterit bonum,
nifi quae funt imadefpexerit. Noluit enim fapientiifimus Deus,
nos immortalitatem delicate ac molliter afTequi, fedadillud
vitac eternse inenarrabile praemium fumma cum difficultate, &
magnis laboribus pervenire.
God.
VALEDICTORY ORATION,
God. Prayer brings confolation to the Ian-
guiming foul, drives away the devil, and is the
great med.um,, whereby all grace and peace is
communicated to us. With regard to your
reading, let it be your particular care to be fa-
miliarly acquainted with the Sacred Scriptures
above all other books whatever j . for from
thence you will truly derive light for your di-
rection, and facred provilions for your fupport
OD your journey. In fubordinatbn to thefe you
may alfo ufe the writings of pious men that are
agreeable to them j for thefe alfo you may im-
prove to your advantage, and particularly that
little book of a. Kempis, Of the Imitation of
thrift (/), <fi fince the fum and fubftance of
<< religion confifts in imitating the Being that
" is the object of your wor(hip (g)"
May our dear Redeemer Jefus imprefs upon
your minds a lively reprefentation of his own
meek and immaculate heart, that, in that great
and lad day, he may, by this mark, know you
to be his, and, together with all the reft of his
fealed and redeemed ones, admit you into the
manfions of eternal blifs. Amen.
(/} De imitatione ChrUlj.
(#) Svimma religionis eft imitari quern colis.
T
Let
ORATION. 351;
Let its pray.
Eternal Creator, and fupreme Governor of
ihe world, fongs of praife are due to thee in
Zicn 3 nay, as thou art infinitely fuperior to all
our fongs and hymns, even filence in Zion re-
dounds to thy praife. Let the foeieties of an-
gola be rather employed in finging thy praifes ;
hut let us, with filence and aftoniihment, fall
down at the footftool of thy throne, while they
are taken up in the repetition of their celebrated
doxology, Holy y holy, holy, Lord God of Ho ft s,
who filieft heaven and earth with thy glory !
But O that we had within us proper powers for
exalting that moft facred name! that name,
which, according to their meafure, is celebrated
by ail the parts of this vifible world, which fur-
round us, the heavens, the ftars, the winds, the
rivers, the earth, the ocean, and all the crea-
tures therein. Thou furely didft at firft im-
plant in us fouls, and powers for this purpofe,
fuperior to the reft of the vifible creation j as
we were then not only qualified to offer thee
praifes. founded on the rational conviction
of our minds, and animated by the affec-
tions of our hearts - y but alfq capable of pro-
nouncing more articulately even the praifes that
refult from all the reft cf thy vifible works.
VALEDICTORY ORATION.
But, alas ! thefe heavenly fouls, thefe principles
proceeding from a divine original, we have moft
deeply immerfed in mire and dirt, nor is any
hand able to extricate them out of this mud,
or cleanfe them from their pollution, but thine.
O moft exalted and bountiful Father, if thou
wilt gracioufly pleafe to grant us this grace and
favour, we {hall then offer thee new longs of
praife as incenfe, and ourfelves thus renewed
as a burnt offering : and all the reft of our time
in this world we fhall live, not to ourfelves,
but wholly to him, who died for us.
May thy church, throughout the whole
earth, and efpecially in thefe 'Hands, .be f.ip-
ported by thy moft puweiful hand, and con-
tinually be made to rejoice in the lighc of thy
gracious countenance. Let our King be joyful
in thee, and, as he depends upon thy bounty,
let him never be moved ; let his throne be efta-
blimed in piety and righteoufnefs, and let peace,
and the gofpel of peace, be the conftant bleffings
of his kingdoms, through Jefus Chrift our Lord;
to whom, with thee, and the Holy Spirit, be
praife, honour, and glory, for now, and ever
more. Amen.
FINIS.
RULES and INSTRUCTIONS
FOR A
HOLY LIFE.
ALSO
LETTERS
To the SYNOD of
Glafgow and Dumblain,
Taken from Authentick COPIES, with fome
others taken from the Author's Originals.
A a
(355)
RULES and INSTRUCTIONS
FOR A
HOLY LIFE.
FOR difpofing you the better to obferve
thefe rule^, and profit by them, be pleafed
to take the following advices.
I. Put all your truft in tbe fpecial and fingular
mercy of God, that he for his mercy's fake, and
of his only goodnefs, will help and bring you to
perfection ; not that abfolute perfection is attain-
able here, but the meaning is to high degrees of
that fpiritual and divine life which is always
growing, and tending towards the abfolute per-
fection above ; but in fome perfonscomes nearer
to that, and rifeth higher even here, than in the
moft. If you, with hearty and fervent defire,
do continually wifh and long for it, and with
moft humble devotion, daily pray unto God, and
call for it, and with all diligence do bufily labour
A a 2 and
Rules and Infiru&ions
and travel to come to it, undoubtedly it mall
be given you ; for you moft not think it fufficient
to ufeexercifcs, as though they had fuch virtues
in them, that of themfelves alone, they could
make fuch as do ufe them, perfect ; for neither
(hofe, nor any other, whatever they be, can of
themfelves (by their ufe only) bring unto per-
fection. But our merciful Lord God, of his own
gbodnefs (when you feek with hearty defines and
fervent fighings) maketh you to find it: when you
aflt daily with devout prayer, then he giveth it to
you j and when you continually, with unwearied
labour and travel, knock perfeveringly, then he
doth mercifully open unto you : and becaufe that
thofe exercifes do teach you to feek, afk, and
knock, yea they are none other but very devout
petitions, feekings, and fpiritual pulfations for the
merciful help of God j therefore they are very
profitable means to come to perfection by God's
grace. ,
2. Let no particular exercife hinder your pub-
lick and ftanding duties to God and your neigh-
burs, but for thefe rather intermit the other for a
time, and then return to them as foon as you can.
3. If in time of your fpiritual exercife, you find
yourfelf drawn to any better; or to as good a con-
templation as that is, follow the tract of that good
motion fo long as it mall laft.
4.A1-
for a Holy Life. 357
4. Always take care to follow fuch exercifes,
of devout thoughts, withal putting in practice
fuch leflbns as they contain and excite to.
5. Though at firft ye feel no fweetnefs in fuch
exercifes, yet he not clifcouraged, nor induced to
leave them,but continue in them faithfully, what-
foever pain or fpiritual trouble ye fee!, for doing
them for God and his honour, and finding none o-
ther prefent fruit, yet you (hall have an excellent
reward for your diligent labour and your pure in-
tentions : and let not your falling fhort of thefe
models and rules, nor your daily manifold im-
perfections and faults, difhearten you ; but con-
tinue ftedfaft in your defires, purpofes and en-
deavours, and ever afk the beft, aim at the beft,
and hope the beft, being forry that you can do no
better, and they mall be a rnoft acceptable
facrifice in the fight of God, end in due time you
Jhall reap if you faint not : and of all fuch in-
ftructions, let your rule be to follow them as much
as you can ; but not too fcrupuloufly, thinking
your labour loft if you do not exactly and ftrictly
anfwer them in every thing ; purpofe ftill bet-
ter, and by God's grace all mall be well.
A a 3 SECT.
358 Rules and
SECT. I.
Rule i. Exercife tfyfclf in the knowledge
and deep confederation of our Lord God, calling
humbly to mind how excellent and incompre-
henfible he is -, and this knowledge malt thou
rather endeavour to obtain . by fervent defire
and devout prayer, than with high ftudy and
outward labour: It is the fingular gift of God,
and certainly very precious. Pray then,
2. " Myft gracious Lord, whom to know is
<c the very blifs and felicity of man's foul, and
<e yet none c <n know thee, unlefs thou wilt open
<c and {hew thyfelf unto him, vouchfafe of thy
*' infinite mercy now and ever to enlighten my
" heart and mind to know thee, and thy moft
<{ holy and perfect will to the honour and glory
V of thy name. Amen"
3. Then lift up thy heart to confider (not with
too great violence, but fobriety) the eternal and
infinite power of God, who created ail things by
his excellent wifdorri j his unmeafurable good-
tiefs, and incomprehenfible love, for he is very
and only God, moft excellent, moft high, moft
glorious, the everlafting and unchangeable
goodnefs, an eternal fubftance, a charity infi-
pite, fo excellent and ineffable in himfelf, that
all dignity, perfection and goodnefs that is poffi-
blc
for a Holy Life. 359
t>le to be fpoke or thought of, cannot fufficient-
ly exprefs the fmalleft part thereof.
-4. Confider that he is the natural place, the
center, and reft of thy foul : if thou then think
of the moft blefled Trinity, mufe not too much
thereon, but with devout and obedient faith,
meekly and lowly adore and worfhip.
5. Confider Jefus, the Redeemer and Hufband
of thy foul, and walk with him as becomes achafte
fpoufe, with reverence and lowly (hamefulnefs,
obedience and fubmifTion.
6. Then turn to the deep, profound con-
fideration of thyfelf, thine own nothingnefs,
and thy extreme defilement and pollution, thy
natural averfion from God, and that thou muft
by converiion to him again, and union with him,
be made happy.
7. Confider thyfelf and all creatures as nothing
in comparifon of thy Lord, that fo thou mayeft
not only be content, butdefirousto be unknown,
or being known, to be contemned and defpifed
of all men, yet without thy faults or defervings,
as much as thou canft.
8. " O God, infufe into my heart thy hea-
" venly light and blefled charity, that I may
" know and love thee above all things; and a-
<c bove all things loath and abhor myfelf. Grant
<{ that I may be fo ravifhed in the wonder and
[' love of thee, that I may forget myfelf, and
A a 4 all
360 Rules and Inflruflions
" all things j fed neither profperity nor ad-
" verfity, may not fear, to fuffer all the pains
" of this world, rather than to be parted and
" pulled away from thee, whofe perfections in-
cc finitely exceed all thought and underfianding.
? c O ! let me find thee more inwardly and ve-
" rily prefent with me, than I am with myfelf,
tf and make me mod circumfpect how I do ufe
" mvfelf in the prefence of thee, my holy Lord."
" Caufe me alway to remember how ever-
" lading and con (Ian t is the love thou beared
". towards me, and fuch a charity and continual
" care as tho' thou hidft no more creatures in
" heaven or earth befides me. What am I ?
c< a vile worm and filth."
9. Then afpire to a great contrition for thy
fins, and hatred of them, and abhorring of
thyfelf for them, then crave pardon in the blood
of Jefus Chrid, and then offer up thyfelf, foul
and body, an oblation or facrifice in and through
him, as they did of old, laying wood on the altar,
and then burning up all j fo this {hall be a
faciifice of fweet favour, and very acceptable to
God.
jo. Offer all that thou haft, to be~ nothing, to
ufe nothing of all that thou haft about thee,
and is called thine, but to his honour and
glory : and refolve through his grace, to ufe all
the powers of thy foul, and every member of
thy
jor a Holy Life. 361
thy body, to his fervice, as formerly thou haft
done to fin.
n. Confider the paffion of thy Lord, how
he was buffeted, fcourged, reviled, flretched
with nails on the crofs, and hung on it three
long hours, fuffered all the contempt and fhame,
and all the inconceivable pain of it, for thy fake.
12. Then turn thy heart to him, humbly
<c faying, Lord Jefus, whereas I daily fall, and
." am ready to fin, vouchfafe me grace as oft as I
<c -(hall, to rife again ; let me never prefume,
" but always mod meekly and humbly acknow-
" ledge my wretchednefs and frailty, and re-
" pent, with a firm purpofe to amend ; and
" let me not defpair becaufe of my great frailty,
" but ever truft in thy moft loving mercy, and
V readinefs to forgive."
SECT. If.
1. Thou flialt have much to do in mortifying
of thy five fenfes, which muft be all mut up in
the crucified humility of Jefus Ciuift, and be, as
they were, plainly dead.
2. Thou mufl now learn to have a continual
eye inwardly to thy foul, and fpiritual life, as
thou haft ufed heretofore to have all thy mind
and regard to outward pleafure and worldly
fhings.
3. Thou
362 Rules- and Inftrutfions
3. Thou muft fubmit and give thyfelf up un*
to the difcipline of Jefus, and become his fcho-r
Jar, refignihg and compelling thyfelf altogether
to obey him in all things ; fo that thy willing
and nil ling, .thou utterly and perfectly do caft
away from thee, and do nothing without his
licence : at every word thou wilt fpeak, at eve-
ry morfel thou wilt eat, at every ftirring or
moving of every article or member of thy body,
thou muft afk leave of him in thy heart, and
afk. thyfelf whether having fo done, that be ac-
cording to his will, and holy example, and with
fincere intention of his glor'y. Hence,
4. Even the mod necefT ry actions of thy
life, though lawful, yet muft thus be offered
i;p with a true intention unto God, in the union
of the rnoft holy works, and blefled merits of
Chrift, faying, < Lord Jefus, bind up in the
" merits of thy bleiTed fenfes, all my feeling
<e and fenfation, and all my wits and fenfcs, that
<: I never hereafter ufe them to any fen-
" fuality!"
5. Thus labour to come to this union and
knitting up of thy fenfes in God and thy Lord
Jefus, and remain fo faft to the crofs, that thou
never part from it, and ftill behave thy body
and all thy fenfes as in the prefence of thy Lord
, and com-mit all things to the moft trufty
providenc?
for a Hcty Life. 363
providence of thy loving Lord, who will then
order all things delectably and fweetly for thee ;
reckon all things betides for right nought, anc)
thus mayft thou come unto wonderful illumina-
tions, and fpiritual influence from the Lord thy
God.
6. If for his love, thou canft crucify, re-
nounce and forfake perfectly thyfelf and all
things; thou muft fo crucify thyfelf to all things,
and love and defire God only, with thy care and
whole heart, that in this rnoft ftedfaft and (bong
knot and union unto the will of God, if he
would create hell in thee here, ihon mighteft
be ready to offer thyfelf, byhis grace, for hise-
ternal honour and glory, to furTer it, and that
purely for his will and pleafure.
7. Thou muft keep thy memory clean and
pure, as it were a wedlock -chamber, from all
ftrange thoughts, fancies and imaginations; and
it muft be trimmed and adorned with holy
meditations and virtues of Chrift's holy crucified
life and paffion, that God may continually ancj
ever reft therein.
PRAYER.
8. {< Lord, inftead of knowing thee, I have
<c fought to know wickednefs and fin ; and
f f whereas my will and defire were created tq
" love
364 Rules and Inft
" love thee, 1 have loft that love, and declined
cfx to the creatures j while my memory ought
11 to be filled with thee, I have painted it with
{ the imagery of innumerable fancies, not only
" of all creature?, but of all finful wickednefs.
" Oh ! blot out thefe by thy blood, and imprint
" thine own blefled image in my foul, blefled
'* Jefus, by that blood that iffued out from
' thy moft loving heart, when thou hangedft
<' on the crofs ; fo knit my will to thy moft
*' holy will> that I may have no other will but
" thine, and may be moft heartily and fully
" content with whatfoever thou wilt do to me
" in this world j yea, if thou wilt, fo that I
tf hate thee not, nor fin againft thee, but retain
* c thy love, make me fuffer the greateft pains."
SECT. III.
Rule i. Exercife thyfelf to the perfect abne-
gation of all things which may let or impede
this union;, mortify in thee every thing that is
not God, nor for God, or which he willeth
and loveth not : refigning and yielding up to
the high pleafure of God, all love and affeclion
for tranfitory things ; defire neither to have nor
nor beftow or give them, but only
for
for a Holy Life. 365
for the pure love and honour of God : put a-
way fuperfluous and unneceflary things, and
affect not even things necelTary.
2. Mortify all affection to, and feeking of
thyfelf, which is fo natural to men, in all the
good they defire, and in all the good they do,
and in all the evil they fuffer ; yea, by the in-
ordinate love of the gifts and graces of God, in-
flead of himfelf, they fall into fpiritual pride,
gluttony and greedinefs. .
3. Mortify all affection to and delegation in,
meat and drink, and vain thoughts and fancies,
which though they proceed not to confent, yet
they defile the foul, and grieve the Holy Ghoft,
and do great damage to the fpiritual life.
4. Imprint on thy heart the image of Jefus
crucified, the impreffions of his humility, po-
verty, mildnefs, and all his holy virtues ; let
thy thoughts of him turn into affection, and thy
knowledge into love, for the love of God doth
moft purely work in the mortification of nature;
the life of the fpirit purifying the higher powers
of the foul, begets the folitarinefs and departure
from all creatures, and the influence and flowing
into God.
5. Solitude, filence, and the ftrait keeping of
the heart, are the foundations and grounds of a
fpiritual life.
6 Do
3 66 Rules and InftruStiobs
6. Do all thy necelTary and outward works
without any trouble or carefulnefs cf mind, and
bear thy mind amidft all, always inwardly lifted
up and elevated to God, following always more
the inward exerciie of love, than the outward
acts of virtue.
7. To this can no man come unlefs he be rid
and delivered from all things under God, and
be fo fwallowed up in God, that he can con-
temn and defpife himfelf and all things ; for the
pure love of God maketh the fpirit pure and
iimple, and fo free, that without any pain and
labour, it can at all times turn and recollect it-
felfin God.
8. Mortify all bitternefsof heart towards thy
neighbours, and all vain complacency in thyfelf,
all vain-glory and defire of efteem, in words
and deeds, in gifts and graces. To this thou
{halt come by a more clear and perfect know-
ledge and confideration of thy own vilenefs;
and by knowing God to be the fountain of all
grace and goodnefs.
9. Mortify all affection towards inward, fen-
fible, fpiritual delight in grace, and the follow-
ing devotion with fenfible fweetnefs in the lower
faculties or powers of the foul, which are no-
ways real fandtity and holinefs in themfelves,
but certain gifts of God to help our infirmky.
10 Mor-
for a Holy Life. 367
1 o. Mortify all curious inveftigation or fearer^
all Speculation and knowledge of unnecefTary
things, human or divine ; for the perfect life
of a Chriftian confifleth not in high knowledge^
but profound meeknefs ; in holy Simplicity, and
in the ardent love of God ; wherein we ought
to defire to die to all affection to ourfelves, and
all things below God ; yea, to fuftain pain and
dereliction, that we may be perfectly knit and
united to God, and be perfectly fwallowed up
in him.
1 1 . Mortify all undue fcrupuloufnefs of con-
fcience, and truft in the goodnefs of God ; for
our doubting and fcruples oft-times arife frorri
inordinate felf-love, and therefore vex us j they
do no good, neither work any real amendment
in us ; they cloud the foul, and darken faith,
and cool love, and it is only the ftronger beams
of thefe that can difpel them, and the Wronger
that faith and divine confidence is in us, and the
hotter divine love is, the foul is fo much the
more excited and enabled to all the parts of holi-
nefs, to mortifications of paffions and lufts, to
more patience in adverfity, and to more thank-
fulnefs in all eftates.
12. Mortify all impatience in all pains and
troubles, whether from the hands of God or
men, all defire of revenge, all refentmcnt of in-
juries,
368 Rules and
juries, and by the pure love of God, love thy very
perfecutors as if they were thy deareft friends.
13. Finally, mortify thy own will in all
things, with full refignation of thyfelf to fuffer
all dereliction on outward and inward, all pain,
and prefiures, and defolations, and that for the
pure love of God : for from felf-love, and felf-
will, fpring all fin, and all pain.
A PRATER.
14. " Oljefus, my Saviour, thy blefled
" humility ! imprefs it on my heart, make me
' moft fenfible of thy infinite dignity, and of
<c my own vilenefs, that I may hate myfelf as a
" thing of nought, and be willing to be defpifed,
<f and trodden upon by all, as the vileft mire of
" the ftreets, k that I may ftill retain thefe words,
" I AM NOTHING, I HAVE NOTHING,
I CAN DO NOTHING, AND I DESIRE
NOTHING BUT ONE."
SECT. IV.
i. Never do any thing with propriety and
fingular affedtion, being too earneft, or too
much given to itj but with continual meek-
nefs of heart and mind, lie at the foot of God,
and fay, <e Lord, I defire nothing, neither in
" myfelf
for a holy Life. 369
*' myfelf nor in any creature, fave only to
" know and execute thy bleffed will (faying
" always .in thy heart) Lord, what wouldeft
" thou have me to do? transform my will into
" thine, fill full and fwallow up, as it were,
" my affections with thy love, and with an in-
" fatiable defire to honour thee, and defpife my-
feif."
2. If thou afpire to attain to the perfect: knit-
ting and union with God, know that it requi-
reth a ptrfect expoliation, and .denudation, or
bare nakednefs, and utter forfaking of all fin,
yea, of all creatures, and of thyfelf particularly :
even that' thy mind arid underftanding, thy af-
fections and defires, thy memory and fancy, be
made bare of all things in the world, and all fen-
fual pleasures in them, fo as thou wouldeft be
content that the bread which thou eateft, had
no more favour than a ftone, and yet for his
honour and glory that created bread, thou art
pleafed that it favoureth well : But yet from the
delectation thou feeleft in it, turn thy heart to
his praifes and love that made it.
3. The more perfectly thou liveft in the ab-
ftraction and departure, and bare nakednefs of
thy mind from all creatures, the more nakedly
and purely ihalt thou have the fruition of the
B b Lord
370 Rules and Inftru&iom
Lord thy God, and (halt live the more heaven-
ly and angelical a life. Therefore,
4. Labour above all things, moft exaftly to
forfake all for him j and chiefly to forfake and
contemn thyfelf, purely loving him, and in a
manner forgetting thyfelf and all things, for the
Vehement burning love of him : thus thy mind
will run fo much upon him that thou wilt take
no heed what is fweet or bitter, neither wilt
thou confider time or place, nor mark one per-
fon from another, for the wonder and love of
thy Lord God, and the defire of his blefled will,
pleafure, and honour in all things; and wh#-
foever good thou doit, know and think that
God doth it, and not thoti.
5. Chufe always (to the bed of thy fkill)
what is moft to God's honour, and moft like
unto Chrift and his example, and moft profita-
ble to thy neighbour, and moft againft thy own
proper will, and leaft ferviceable to thy owff
praife and exaltation.
6. If thou continue faithful in this fpiritual
work and travel, God at length, without doubt,
will hear thy knocking, and will deliver thee
from all thy fpiritual trouble, from all the tumults,
noifeand incumbrance of cogitations and fancies,
and from all earthly affeclions, which thou
canft by no better means put away, than by
continual and fervent delire of the love of God.
7. Do
for a Hoiy Life. 371
7. Do not at any time let or hinder his work-
ing, by following thine own will ; for, behold,
how much thou doft the more perfectly forfake
thine own will, and the love of thyfelf, and of
all worldly things, ib much the more deeply and
lafely fhalt thou be knit unto God, and increafe
5h his true and pure love:
IS E C T. V.
1. If thou fti'.l above all things feek that utli-
bn, thou muft transfund and pour thy whole will
Irito the high pleafure of God ; and whatfoeVer
befals thee, thou muft be without murmuring,
and retraction of heart, accepting it moft joyful-
ly for his love, whole will and work it is.
2. Let thy great joy and comfort evermore be,
to have his pleafure done in thee, though iri
pains, ficknefs, perfections, opprefllons, or
inward griefs and preflures of heart; coldnefs or
barrennefs of mind, darkening of thy will and
ienfes, or any temptations fpiritual or bodily:
3. L 7 nder any of thefe be always wary thou
turn not to finful delights, nor to fenfual and
carnal pleafures, nor fetthy heart on Vain things,
feeking comfort thereby, nor in any ways be idle,
but always as thou canft, compel and f'crce thy-
B b 2 iclf
372 Rules and InftruSilons
felf to forne good fpiritual exercife or bodily
work ; and though they be then unfavoury to
thee, yet are they not the lefs, but the more
acceptable to God.
4. Take all affections as tokens of God's love
to thee, and trials of thy love to him, and pur-
pofes of kindnefs to inrich thee, and increafe
more plentifully in thee his bleffed gifts and
fpiritual graces, if thou perfevere faithfully unto
the end j not leaving off the vehement defire of
his love, and thy own perfection.
5. Offer up thyfelf wholly to him, and fix
the> point of thy love upon his moft bleffed in-
created love, and there let thy foul and heart
reft and delight, and be as it were refolved, and
melted moft happily into the bleffed God-headj
and then take that as a token, and be allured
by it, that God will grant thy lovely and holy
defire; then malt thou feel in a manner, no
difference betwixt honour and mame, joy and
forrow : but whatfoever thou perceiveft to ap-
pertain to the honour of thy lord, be it ever fo
hard and unpleafant to thyfelf, thou wilt hear-
tily embrace it, yea, with all thy might follow
and defire it ; yet when thou haft done what
is poffible for thee, thou wilt think thou haft
done nothing at all, yea, thou lhalt be afhamed,
and deteft thyfelf, that thou haft fo wretchedly
and
for a holy Life. 373
and imperfectly ferved fo noble and worthy a
lord j and therefore thou wilt defire and endea-
vour every hour to do and fufTer greater and
more perfect things than hitherto thou haft done,
forgetting the things that are behind, and pref-
fing forward, &c.
6. If thou haft in any meafure attained to
love and abide in God, then mayeft thou keep
the powers of thy foul and thy fenfes, as it were,
fhut up in God, from gadding out to any world-
ly thing or vanity, as much as pofiible, wherq
they have fo joyfully a fecurity and fafenefs :
fatiate thy foul in him, and in all other things
(till fee his bieffed prcfence.
7. Whatfoever befalleth thee, receive it not
from the hand of any creature, but from him
alone, and render back all to him, feeking in all
things his pleafure, and honour, the purifyng
and fubduing thyfelf. What can harm thee,
when all muft firft touch God, within whom,
thou haft inclofed thyfelf ?
8. When thou perceivefl thyfelf thus Jtnit to
God, and thy foul more faft and joined nearer
to him, than to thine own body, then (halt
thou know his everkfting, and incomprehen-
fible, and ineffable goodnefs, and the true no-
blenefs of thy foul that came from him, and
was made to be re-uni;ed to him.
B b 3 9, If
374 Rules and
9. If thou wouldfl afcend and come up tq
thy Lord God, thou mud climb up by the
wounds of his bleffed humanity, that remain as
it were for that ufe ; arid when thou art got up
there, thou wouldft rather fuffer death, than
willingly commit any fin.
10. Entering into Jefus, thou cafteft thyfelf
into an infinite lea of goodnefs, that more eafily
drowns and happily fwallows thee up, than the
ocean does a drop of water. Then {halt thou
be hid and transformed in him, and (halt often
be as thinking without thought, and knowing
without knowledge, and loving without love
comprehended of him whom thou canft not
comprehend.
SECT. VI.
1 . Too much defire to pleafe men mightily,
prejudgeth the pleafing of God.
2. Too great earneftnefs and vehemency,
and too greedy delight in bodily work and ex-
ternal doings, fcattereth and lofeth the tranquil-
lity and calmnefs of the mind.
3. Cad all thy care on God, and commit all
to his good pleafure j laud, and praife, and ap-
plaud him in all things fmall and great; for-
fake thy own will, and deliver up thyfelf freely
ancj
for a boly Life.
and chearfully to the will of God, without re-
ferve or exception, in profperity and adverfiry,
iweet or lour, to have or to want, to live or to
die.
4. Unite thy heart from all things, and unite
it only to God.
5. Remember often and devoutly, the life
and paflion, the death and refurredtion of our
Saviour Jefus.
6. Deicant not on other mens deeds, but con-
fider thine own ; forget other mens faults, and
remember thine own.
7. Never think highly of thyfelf, nor defpife
any other man.
8. Keep filence and retirement as much as
thou canft, and through God's grace they will
keep thee from fnares and offences.
9. Lift up thy heart often to God, and'deflre
jn all things his affiftance.
10. Let thy heart be filled, and wholly taken
up with the love of God, and of thy neighbour,
and do all that thou doft in that fmcere charity
and love.
The fum is j
i. Remember always the prefence of God.
,J2. Rejoice always in the will of God. And,
3. Direct all to the glory of God.
B b 4 SECT,
376 Rules find Infract lens
S E C T. VII.
1. Little love, little truft ; but a great love
brings a great confidence.
2. That is a bleffed hope that doth not
.ilacken us in our duty, nor maketh us fecure,
.but increafeth both a chearful will, and gives
greater ftrength to mortification and all obe-
dience.
..3. What needeil thou, or why travelled
thou about fo many things; think upon one,
defire and love one, and thou {halt find great
reft. Therefore,
4. Wherever thou be, let this voice of God
he ftill in thine ear, My fon, return inwardly to
thy heart, abftradt thyfelf from all things, and
mind me only. Thus,
5. With a pure mind in God > clean 'and bare
from the memory of all things, remaining un-
moveably in him, thou {halt think and defire
nothing but him alone ; as though there were
nothing elfe in the world but he and thou only
together ; that all thy faculties and powers being
thus recollected into God, thou mayeft become
p'h'e fpirit with him.
1
6. Fix thy mind on thy crucified Saviour, and
remember continually^his great meek'riefs, love
nnd obedience, his pure chaflity, his unfpeakable
; \ * patience,
for a loly Life. 377
patience, and all the holy virtues of his huma-
nity.
7. Think on his mighty power and infinite
goodnefs ; how he created and redeemed thee,
how he juftifieth thee,' and worketh in thee all
virtues, graces and goodnefs ; and thus remem-
ber him, until thy memory turn into love .and
affection. Therefore,
8. Draw thyj mind thus from all creatures,
unto a certain filence, and reft from the jangling
and company of all things below God ; and
when thoucanft come to this, then is thy heart
a place meet and ready for thy Lord God to a-
bide in, there to talk with thy foul.
9. True humility gaineth and overcometh
God Almighty, and maketh thee alfo apt and
meet to receive all graces and gifts ; but, alas !
who can fay that he hath this blefled meeknefs,
it being fo hard, fo uncertain, fo fecret and un-
known a thing, to forfake and mortify perfectly
and exactly thyfelf, and that moft venomous
worm of all goodnefs, vain- glory?
10. Commit all to the high providence of
God, and fufFer nothing to reft or enter into thy
heart, fave only Gcd ; all things in the earth are
too bafe to take up thy love or care, or to trouble
thy noble heart, thy immortal and heavenly
mind : let them care and forrow, or rejoice a-
bout
37 8 Rules and Infirutfions, &c.
bout thefe thing?, who are of the world, for
whom Chrift would not pray.
11. Thou canil not pleafe nor ferve two
matters at once ; thou canft not love divers and
contrary things ; if then thou wouldft know
what thou- lovtft, mark well what thou think-
eft moft upon ; leave earth, and have heaven ;
leave the world, and have God.
12. All fin and vice fpringeth from the pro-
perty of our own will : all virtue and perfection
eometh 'and groweth from the mortifying of it,
and therefigning of it wholly to the pleafurc
and will of God.
.
L E T-
.
( 379 )
LETTERS from Archbifhop LEIGHTON
to the Synod of GLASGOW and DUMBLAIN.
Taken from Authentick COPIES, with fome
others tak.n from the Author's Originals.
TH E fuperadded burden that I have here,
fits fo hard upon me., that I cannot efcape
from under it, to be with you at this time; but my
heart and defires fhall be with you, for a blefiing
from above upon your meeting. I have nothing
to recommend to you, but, if you pleafe, to take
a review of things formerly agreed upon, and
fuch as you judge moil ufeful, to renew the
appointment of putting them in practice,*" ajjd
to add vvhatfoever further fhall occur to youf
thoughts that may promote the happy difcharge
of your miniftry, and the good of your people's
fouls. I know I need not remind you, for I am
confident you daily think of it, that the principle
of fidelity and diligence, and good fuccefs in
that great work, is love, and the great fpring of
Jove to fouls, is love to him. that bought them.
He
Letter to the Synod of Glafgow.
He knew it well himfelf, and gave us to know it,
when he faid, Simon, love/I thou me, feed my fiecp,
feed my Iambs. Deep impreffions of his bleiled
name upon our hearts, will not fail to produce
lively expreffions of it, not only in our words
and difcourfes in private and publick, but will
make the whole trad: of our lives to be a true
copy and tranfcript of his holy life : And if this
be within us, any fparks of divine love, you,
know the beft way not only to preferve them,
but to excite them, and bio w them up into a flame,
is by the breath of prayer. Oh prayer ! the con-
verfe of the foul with God, the breath of God in
rnan returning to its original, frequent and fervent
prayer, the better half of our whole work, and
that which makes the other half lively and
effectual, as that holy company tells us, when
defigning deacons to ferve the tables, they add,
but "jvejhallgi-'veourfefaes continually to pr ay er, and
the mini/iry of the word. And is it not, brethren,
our urifpeakble advantage beyond all the gainful
and honourable employments of the world, that
the whole work of our particular calling is a kind
of living in heaven, and befides its tendency to the
faving of the fouls of others, is all along fo proper
and adapted to the purifying and faving our own?
But you will poffibly fay, what does he himfelf
that fpeaks thefe things unto us ? Alas ! I am
aihamed
Letter to the Synod of Glafgo w. 381
afhamed to tell you, all I dare to>fay is this, I
think I fee the beauty of holinefs, and am ena-
moured with it, though I attain it not ; and how
little foever I attain, would rather live and die in
the purfuit of it, than in the purfuit, yea and
pofTeffion and enjoyment, though unpurfued, of
all the advantages this world affords. And
I truft, dear brethren, you are all in the fame
opinion, and have the fame delire and defign,
and follow it both more diligently and with
better fuccefs. But I will flop here, left I fhould
forget myfelf, and pofTibly run on till I
have done that already ; and yet if it be fo,
I will hope for eafy pardon at your hands,
as of a fault I have not been accuftomed
heretofore, nor am likely hereafter often to be
guilty of. To the all powerful .grace of our
great Lord and Mafter, I recommend you and
your flocks, and your whole work amongft
them j and do earneftly intreat your prayers for
Tour univortbieft, but tr.oft
brother and fervantj
R. LEIGHTON,
Letter
C380
Letter to the Synod of Glafgow, whveenrt
April 1673.
Reverend Brethren,
IT is neither a matter of much importance,
nor can I yet give you a particular and fa-
tisfying account of the reafons of my abfence
from your meeting, which I truft with the help
of a little time will clear itfelf : but I can allure
you, I am prefent with you in my mod af-
fectionate wifhes of the gracious prefence of thai
holy fpirit amongft you, and within you all, who
alone can make this and all your meetings, and
the whole work of your miniftry, happy and fuc-
cefsfuU to the good of fouls, and his glory
that bought them with his own blood. And I
doubt not that your own great defire, each for
yourfelf, and all for one another, is the fame;
and that your daily and great employment is,
by inceflant and fervent prayer, to draw down
from above large fupplies and increafes of that
bleffed fpirit which our Lord and Mafler hath
affured us that cur heavenly father will not fail
to give to them that cjk it. And how extreme a
negligence and folly were it to want fo rich a gift
for want of afking, efpecially in thofe devoted
to fo high and holy a fervice, that requires fd
gre^t degrees of that fpirit of holinefs and divine
love to purify their minds, and to raife them
above
Letter to tie Sjnod of Glafgoflr. 383
above their fenfes, and this prefent world ?
Oh ! my dear brethren, what are we doing, that
fuflfcr our fouls to creep and grovel on this earth,
and do fo little afpire to the heavenly life of
ebriftians, and more eminently of the meflcngers
and minirters of God, as (lars, yea, as angels,
which he hath made Jpirits> and bis mincers
a fame of fire ? Oh ! where are fouls to be
found amongft us, that reprefent their own
original, that are poiTctt with pure and fublime
apprehenfions of God the father of fpirits, and
are often raifed to the aftoniming contemplation
of his eternal and blefied being, and his infinite
holinefs, and greatnefs, and goodnefs, and are
accordingly burnt up with ardent love ? And
where that holy fire is wanting, there can be
no facrifice, whatsoever our invention, or utte-
rance, or gifts may be, and how blamelefs fo-
ever the externals of our life may be, and even
our hearts free from grofs pollutions; for it is
icarce to be fufpeded that any of us will fuffcr
any of thofe ftrange, yea, infern.il fires of am-
bition, or avarice, or malice, or impure lufts
and fenfualities, to burn within us, which
would render us priefts of idols, of airy nothings,
and of dunghill-gods, yea, of the very god of
this world, the prince of darknejs. Let men
judge us and revile us as they pleafe, that im-
v ports
Letter to the Synod of Glafgow.
ports nothing at all ; but God forbid any thing
fhould poffefs our hearts but he that loved us,
and gave himfelf for us j for we know we can-
not be veffih of honour meet for the mafter's ufe,
unlefs we purge ourfelves from all flthinefs of
jlejh andjpirit, and empty our hearts of all things
befide him, and even of ourfelves and our own
will, and have no more any defires nor delights,
but his will alone, and his glory, who is our
peace, and our life, and our all. And truly I
think it were our beft and wifeft reflexion, upon
the many difficulties and difcouragements with-
out us, to be driven by them to live more with-
in ; as they obferve of the bees, that when it is
foul weather abroad, they are bufy in their hives.
If the power of external difcipline be enervated
in our hands, yet who can hinder us to try, and
judge, and cenfure ourfelves, and to purge the
inner temples, of our own hearts, with the more
feverity and exaclrnefs ? and if we be dafhed and
befpattered with reproaches abroad, to ftudy to
be the cleaner at home ? and the lefs we find of
meeknefs and charity in the world about us, to
preferve fo much the more of that fweet temper
within our own hearts, bleffing them that curfe
us, and praying for them that perfecute us- y fo
fhall we moft effectually prove ourfelves to be the
children of our heavenly Father > even to their
con*
Letter to the Synod of GJafgow. 385]
conviction, that will fcarce allow us, in any
fenfe, to be called hisfervants.
As for the confufions and contentions that
ftill abound and increafe in this church, and
threaten to undo it, I think our wifdom mall
be to ceafe from man, and look for no help till
we look more upwards, and difpute and dif-
dourfe lefs, and faft and pray more, and fo draw
down our relief from the God of order and
peace, who made the heavens and the earth.
Concerning myfelf I have nothing to fay, but
humbly tointreat youtopafs by the many failings
and weaknefles you may have perceived in me
during my abode ambngft you 5 and if in any
thing I have injured or offended you, or any of
you, in the management of my publick charge,
or in private converfe, I do fincerely beg your
pardon : though I confefs I cannot make any
requital in that kind, for I do not know of any
thing towards me, from any of you, that needs
a pardon in the leaft, having generally paid me
more kindnefs and refpec~t, than a much better
Or wifer man could either have expeded or de-
ferved. Nor am I only a fuitor for your par-
don, but for the addition of a further charityj
and that fo. great a one^ that I have nothing to
plead for it, but that I need it much, your pray-
trs. And I am hopeful as to that, tomakeyoufomc
C c little,
386 Letter to a P erf on
little, though very difproportioncd return, for
whatfomever becomes of me (through the
help of God) while I live, you fhall be no one
day of my life forgotten by,
Tour moft unworthy , but
mofl affectionate Bro-
ther and Servant,
R. LEIGHTON.
P. S. I do not fee whom it can offend, or
how any fhall difapprove of it, if you will
appoint a faft through your bounds, to intreat a
bleffing on the feed committed to the ground,
and for the other grave caufes that areftill thefame
they were the lafl year, and the urgency of
them no whit abated, but rather ihcreafed ; but
in this I prefcribe nothing, but leave it to your
discretion, and the direction of God.
The two following Letters were written to Per-
fom under Trouble of Mind.
' Cbriflian Friend,
T Hough I had very little vacant time for it,
yet I would have feen you, if I could
have prefumed it might have been any way
ufeful fertile quieting of your mind ; however,]
fince I heard of your condition, I ceafe not daily,
as
'under Trouble of Mind. 387
&slcan,toprefent it to him, who alone can effec-
tually fpeak peace to your heart j and I am con-
fident in due time will do fo. It is he that
Jlilleth the raging if the fea, and by a word
can turn the violenteft ftorms into a great calm.
What the particular thoughts or temptations are
that difquiet you, I know not ; but whatfoever
they are, look above them, and labour to fix
your eye on that infinite goodnefs, which never
faileth them that by naked faith do ablolutely
rely and reft upon it, and patiently wait upon
him, who hath pronounced them all without
exception, blefled that do fo. Say often within
your own heart, Tho* he flay me, yet will 1 trttft
in him ; and if, after fome intervals, your trou-
bled thoughts do return, check them ftill with
the holy Pfalmift's words, Why art thou caft
down, O my foul? &c. If you can thoroughly
fink yourfelf down through your own nothing-
nefs into him who is allj and entirely renouncing
your own will, embrace that bleft and holy will
in all things, there I am fure you (hall find that
reft, which all your own diftempers, and all the
powers of darknefs, (hall not be able to bereave
you of. 1 incline not to multiply words, and
indeed other advice than this I have none to
give you. The Lord of peace, by the fprink-
ling of the blood of his fon Jefus, and the fweet
C c 2 breathings
388 Letter to a Perfon
breathings of the great comforter his own holy
Spirit, give you peace in himfelf. Amen.
T Plough I have not the honour to be ac-
quainted with your lady (hip, yet a friend
of youi's has acquainted me with your condition,
though I confefs the unfitteft of all men to
minifter any thing offpiritual relief to any per-
fon, either by prayer or advice to you ; but he
could have imparted fuch a thing to none of
greater fecrecy, and withal of greater fyrnpathy
and tender compaffion towards (uch as are exer-
cifed with thofe kinds of conflicts, as having
been formerly acquainted with the like myfelf,
all farts of fceptical and doubtful thoughts,
touching thofe great points, having not only pad
through my head, but fome of them have for
fome time fat more faft and painfully upon my
mind ; but, in the name of the Lord, they were
at length quite difpelled and fcattered. And,
oh ! that 1 could love and blefs him who is my
deliverer and ftrength, my rock and fortrefs, ?
where I have now found fafety from thefe in -
curfions, and I am very confident you (hall very
fhordy find the fame ; only wait patiently on the
Lord, and hope in him, for you (hall yet praife
him for the help of his countenance, and it is
that
under Trouble of Mind. 389
that alone that can enlighten you, and clear your
mind of all thofe fogs and mifts that now poflefs
it, and calm the dorms that are raifed within it.
You do well to read good books that are proper
for your help, but rather the fliorteft and plained,
than the moft tedious and voluminous, that fome-
times intangle a perplexed mind yet more by
grafping many more queftions and anfwers and
arguments than is needful : but above all, ftili
cleave to the incomparable fpring of light and di-
vine comfort, the holy fcriptures, even in defpite
of all doubts concerning them ; and when you
find your thoughts in diforder, and at a lofs, en^
tertain nodifpute with them by any means at that
time, but rather divert from them to fhort
prayer, or to other thoughts, and fome times
to well chofen company, or the beft you can
have where you are ; and at fome other time,
when you find yourfelf in a calmer and fcrener
temper, and upon the vantage ground of a little
more confidence in God, then you may refume
your reafons againft unbelief, yet fo as to be-
ware of cafting yourfelf into newdifturbance; for
when your mind is in a fober temper, there is
nothing fo fuitable to its ftrongeft reafon, no-
thing fo wife and noble as religion j and believe
it is fo rational, that as now I am framed, I am
afraid that my belief proceeds too much from
reafon, and is not fo divine and fpiritual as I
Cc 3 would,
390 Letter to a Per/on
have it, only when I find (as in fome meafure
through the grace of God I do) that It hath
fome real virtue and influence upon my affec-
tions and tract of life, I hope there is fome what
of a higher tincture in it j but in point of reafon,
I am well affured, that all that I have heard
from the wittieft atheifts and libertines in the
world, is nothing but bold ravery and madnefs,
and their whole difcourfe a heap of folly and
ridiculous nonfenfe ; for what probable account
can they give of the wonderful frame of the vifi-
ble world, without the fuppofition of an eternal
and infinite power, and wifdom and goodnefs
that formed it and themfelves, and all things in
it? And what can they think of the many
thoufands of martyrs in the firft age of chrif-
tianity, that endured not iimple death, but all
the inventions of the moft exquifite tortures, for
their belief of that moft holy faith, which if the
miracles that confirmed it had not perfuaded
them to, they themfelves had been thought the
moft prodigious miracles of madnefs in all the
world ? 'Tis. not want of reafon on the fide of
religion that makes fools difbelieve it, but the.
intereft of their brutifli lufts and diflblute
lives makes them wim it were not true j and
there, is the yaft difference betwixt you and
them 5 they would gladly believe lefs than
they.
under trouble of Mind. 3 9 1
they do, and you would alfo gladly believe more
than they do : they are fometimes pained and
tormented with apprehenfions that the doctrine
of religion is or may be true ; and you are
perplexed with fuggeftions to doubt of it, which
are to you as unwilling and unwelcome as thefe
apprehenfions of its truth are to them. Believe
it, madam, thefe different thoughts of yours, are
not yours, but his that inierts them, and throws
them as fiery darts into your mind, and they
(hall affuredly be laid to his charge, and not to
yours. Think you that infinite goodnefs is ready
to tike advantage of his poor creatures, and tore-
jed and condemn thofe that, againft all the af-
faults made upon them, defire to keeptheir heart
for him, and to acknowledge him, and to love
him, and live to him. He macje us, and knows
our mould, and, as a father, pities his children,
and pities them that fear him, for he is their fa-
ther, and the tendereft and kindefl of all fathers ;
and as a father pities his child when it is fick,
and in the rage and ravery of a fever, tho' it
even utter reproachful words againft himfelf,
{hall not our deareft father both forgive and pity
thofe thoughts in any child of his, that arife not
from any wilful hatred of him, but are kindled
in hell within them ? And no temptation hath
befallen you in this, but that which has been inci-
C c 4 dent
292 Letter to a Perfon, &c.
dent to men, and to the bed of men ; and thejc
heavenly Father hath not only forgiven them,
but in due time hath given them an happy uTue
out of -them, and fo he will afluredly do to you ;;
in the mean time, when thefe aflaults come
thickeft and violenteft upon you, throw
yourfelf down at his footftool, and fay, " O
" God, Father of mercies, fave me from
" this hell within me. I acknowledge, I
<c adore, I blefs thee, whofe throne is in heaven,
* c with thy bleffed fon and crucified Jefus,
<e and thy holy fpirit, and alfo, tho' thou flay
" me, yet I will truft in thee : But I cannot
<c think thou canft hate and reject a poor foul
" that defires to love thee, to cleave to thee,
* c fo long as I can hold by the fkirts of thy gar-
*' ment, until thou violently fhake me off,
" which I am confident thou would not do/be-
*5 caufe thou art love and goodnefs itfelf, and thy
" mercies endure for ever" Thus, or in what
other frame your foul {hall be carried to vent
itfelf into his bofom, be allured, your words, yea
your filent iighs and breathings, fhall not be lofr,
but mall have a mod powerful voice, and afcend
into into his ear, and mail return to you with
mefTages of peace and love in due time, and in
the mean time with fecret fupports that you faint
not, nor fink in thefe deeps that threaten to fwal-
low,
Letter to tie Heritors of Straton. 393
low you up. But I have wearied you, inflcad of
refrcming you. I will ;idd no more, but that
the poor prayers of one of the unworthieft cai-
tives in the world, fuch as they be, {hall not be
wanting on your behalf, and he begs a {hare in
yours ; for neither you, nor any in the world,
needs that charity more than he does. Wait on
the Lord, and be of good courage, and he Jhall
ftrengthen your heart -, wait, Ifay, on the Lord.
Letter to the Heritor^ of the Parr/h of Straton.
Worthy Gentlemen and Friends,
BEing informed that it is rny duty to prcfent
a perfon fit for the charge of the miniftry
now vacant with you, I have thought of one,
whofe integrity and piety I am fo fully perfuad-
ed of, that I dare confidently recommend him
to you as one who, if the hand of God do bind
that work upon him amongft you, is likely
through the bleffing of the fame hand, to be
very fcrviceable to the building up of your fouls
heaven- wards, but is as far from fuffering himfelf
to be obtruded, as I am for obtruding any upon
you : So that unlefs you invite him to preach,
and after hearing of him, declare yourconfent
and defire towards his embracing of the call, you
may be fecure from the trouble of hearing any
fur-
394 Letter to Mr James Aird.
further concerning him, either from himfelf
or me j and if youpleafe to let me know your
mind, your reafonable fatisfaction mall be to my
utmoft power endeavoured by,
Tour affectionate Friend,
and humble Servanty
R. LEIGHTON.
The Perfon's Name is Mr. J antes Aird, he
was Minifter at Ingram in Nor thumber land r and
is lately removed from thence, and is now at
Edinburgh , if you write to him, direct it to be
delivered to Hugh Patter fon Writer in Edin-
burgh 9 near the Crofs, on the north-fide of the
ftreet.
This, if you pleafe, may be communicated to
fuch of the inhabitants of the parifli as you mall
think fit.
'This and the two following Letters were wrote to
the Reverend Mr. James Aird, Minister at
Torry.
Dear Friend>
I Did receive your letter, which I would have
known to be yours, though it had no other
fign but the piety and affectionate kindnefs ex^
prefled in it,
Jwill
Lstter to Mr. James Aird. 35
I will offer you no apology (nor I hope I need
not) for not writing fince that ; yea, I will con-
fefs, that if the furprifing an4 unexpected qcca-
fjon of the bearer had not drawn it tiom me, J
fhould hardly for a long time to come have done
what I am now doing j and yet itill love you
more, than they do one another that interchange
letters even of kindnefs, as often as, the Gazettes
pome forth, and as long as they are too. And
now I have begun, I would end juft here j for
I have nothing to fay j nothing of affairs (to be
furc) private or publick, and to ftrike up to dif-
courfes of devotion, alas ! what is there to be
faid, but what you fufficiently know, and daily
read, and daily think, and I am confident daily
endeavour to do ? And I am beaten back, if I
had a great mind to ipeak of fuch things, by the
fenfe of fo great deficiency in doing thofe things
that the moft ignorant among chriftians cannot
chufe but know. Inftead of all fine notions, I
fly to KtJp &/, X PK TI frww. I think them the
great heroes and excellent perfons of the world
that attain to high degrees of pure contemplation
and divine love, but next to thofe, them that in
afpiring to that, and falling fhort of it, fall down
into deep humility and felf- contempt, and a real
defire to be defpifcd and trampled on by the
world. And I believe that they that fink loweft
intq
396 Letter to Mr. James Aird.
into that depth, ftand neareft to advancement to
thofe other heights : For the great King who is
the fountain of that honour, hath given us this
character of himfelf, that berejifts the proud, and
gives grace to the humble. Farewel, my dear
friend, and be fo charitable as fometimes, in your
addreffes upwards, to remember a poor caitif,
who no day forgets you.
1 3th December
1676. R. L.
Dear Friend,
ITruft you enjoy that fame calm of mind,
touching your prefent concernment, that I
do on your behalf. I dare not promife to fee
you at Edinburgh at this time, but 'tis poflible I
may. I know you will endeavour to/et your-
felf on as flrong a guard as you can, againft the
aflaults you may meet with there from divers
well meaning perfons, but of weak underftand-
ings and ftrong paflions j and will maintain the
liberty of your own mind both firmly and meekly .
Our bufinefs is the ftudy of fincerity and pure
intention, and then certainly our blefled guide
will not fuffer us to lofe our way for want of
light ; we have his promife, that if in all our
ways we acknowledge him y be will direcJ our paths.
While we are confulting about the turns and
Letter to Mr. James Aird. 397
and new motions of life, it is fliding away, but
if our great work in it be going on, all is well.
Pray for, Tour poor Friend t
Dujnblain, Jan. 13. R. L.
My Dear Friend,
I Have received from you the kindeft letter/
that ever you writ me ; and, that you may
know I take it fo, I return you the free and
friendly advice, never to judge any man before
you hear him, nor any bufinefs by one fide of it.
Were you here to fee the other, I am confident
your thoughts and mine would be the fame.
You have both too much knowledge of me, and
too much charity to think, that either fuch little
contemptible fcraps of honour or riches fought in
that part of the world with fo much reproach,
or any human complacency in the world, will
be admitted to decide fo grave a queftion, or
that I would fell (to fpeak no higher) the very
fenfual pleafure of my retirement, for a rattle, far
lefs deliberately do any thing that I judge offends
God. For the offence of good people in cafes
indifferent in themfelve?, but not accounted fo
by them ; whatfoever you do or do not, you
fhall offend fome good people on the one fide
or other : and for thofe with you, the great fal-
lacy in this bufinefs is, that they have n.ifreckoned
them-
Letter to Mr. James Aird.
themfelves, in taking my filence and their zeals
to have been content and participation ; which
how great a miftake it is, few know better or
fo well as yourfeif j an .the truth is, I did fee
approaching and inevitable neceffity to ftrain
with them in divers practices, in what ftation
foever, remaining in Britain, and to have efcap-
ed further off (which hath been in my thoughts)
would have been the greateft fcandal of all.
And what will you fay, if there be in this thing
fomewhat of that you mention, and would al-
low, of reconciling the devout on different fidesj
and of enlarging thofe good fouls you meet with
from their little fetters, chough poffibly with lit-
tle fuccefs ? yet the defign is commendable,
pardonable at leaft. However, one comfort I
have, that in what is preft on me there is the
leaft of my own choice, yea, on the contrary,
the ftrongeft averlion that ever I had in any
thing in ail my life ; the difficulty in fhort lies
in a neceffity, of either owning a fcruple which I
have not, or the rudeft difobedience to authority
that may be. The truth is, I am yet impor-
tuning and ftruggling for a liberation, and look
upward for it*j but whatfoever be the ilTue, I
look beyond it, and this weary weary wretched
* 'Tis highly probable this has been wrote when he was delibe-
rating about accepting a biftioprick*
life
Letter to Mr. James Aird. 399
life through which the hand I have refigned to,
I truft, will lead me in paths of his chuling,
and fo I may pleafe him, 1 am fatisfied. I hope,
if ever we meet, you fliali find me in the love of
folitude and a devout life.
Tour unaltered Brother and Friend,
R. L.
When I fet pen to paper, I intended not to
exceed half a dozen lines, but flid on infenfibly
thus far ; but though I fhould fill the paper on
all fides, ftill the right view of this bufinefs
would be necefTarily fufpended till , meeting.
Mean while, hope well of me, and pray for me.
This word I will add, that as there hath been
nothing of my choice in the thing, fo I undergo
it (if it rnuft be) as a mortification, and that
greater than a cell and hair-cloth j and whether
any will believe this or no, I am not careful.
A modeft
c
A mode ft Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy, as f~
tablified in Scotland at the Re/f oration of King
Charles II.
I. IT 1 Pifcopal government, managed in con-
J > junction with prefbyters, prefbyteries,
and fynods, is not contrary to the rule of Scrip-
ture, or the example of the primitive church,
but moft agreeable to both.
II. Yea, it is not contrary to that new cove-
nant, which is pretended by fo many as the
main, if not the only, reafon of their fcrupling ;
and for their fakes it is neceilary to add this : for
notwithstanding the many irregularities both in
the matter and form of that covenant, arid in the
illegal and Violent ways of prefftng and profe-
CUttng of it ; yet to them who ftill remain un-
der the confcience of its full force and obliga-
tion, and in that fome inconvinceably perluaded,
it is certainly moft pertinent, if it be true, to de-
el are the confiftence of the prefent government,
vert with that obligation.
And as both of thefe aflertions, I believe, upon
the exadeft (if impartial and impaffionate) in-
quiry, will be found to be in themfeives true,
fo they are owned by the generality of the Pref-
byterians in England, as themfeives have pub-
limed
A Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy. 40 1
klimed their opinions in print, with this title,
''Two Papers of propofdh, humbly presented to
bis Maje/iy, by the reverend minifters of the Pref-
byterian perfuajjon y printed at London, anno
1661.
Belides other pafiages in thole papers to
the lame purpofe, in p. 1 1 and 1 2 are thefe
words : " And as thefe are our general ends
" and motives, fo we are induced to infift up-
4< on the form of a fynodical government, con-
" junc~t with a fixed prefidency or epifcopacy - y
<l for thefe reafons :
< i. We have reafon to believe, that no
tc other terms will be fo generally agreed on,
" &c.
<c 2. It being agreeable to the fcripture and
ce the primitive government, is likelieft to be
<f the way of a more univerfal concord, if ever
" the churches on earth arrive at fuch a blef-
cc fing: however, it will be moft acceptable to
c God and well informed confciences.
" 3. It will promote the practice of difci-
11 pline and godlinefs without difcord, and
" promote order without hindering difcipline
" and godlinefs.
" 4. And it is not to be filenced (though
l in fome refpedts we are loathe to mention it)
tc that it will fave the nations from the viola-
D d " tion
4<32 A Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy*
" tion of the foicmn vow and covenant, with
[t out wronging the church at all, or break-
" ing any other or.th, etc."
And a little after, they add, < c That the pre-
<c lacy declaimed in that covenant, was the en-
" groffing the fole power of ordination and ju-
fc rifdiclion ; and exercifing of the whole difci-
<c pline, abfolutely by bifhops themfelves, and
* e their delegates, chancellors, furrogates, and
<f officials, Sec. excluding wholly the paftors of
'" particular churches from all (hare in it."
And there is one of prime note amongft them,
who, in a large treatiie of church-government,
does clearly evidence, that this was the mind
both of the parliament of England, and of the
afTembly of divines at Weftminfter, as they
themfelves did exprefllv declare it in the admit-
ting of the covenant, That they underftood it
not to be againft all Epifcopacy j but only againft
that particular frame, as it is worded in the arti-
cle itfelff-. As for ourprefent model in Scotland,
and the way of managing it, whatfoever is amifs
(and it can be no wrong to make that fuppofi-
tion, concerning any church on earth) the
f Baxter of Church Government, P. III. C. i. tit.
p. 275. " An Epifccpacy defirable for the reformation, pre-
" fervation, and peace of the Churches, a fixed piefidenr,
dumnU vita." Seep. 297, fy 330. ibid.
bre-
A Defence of Moderate Epifccfacy. 463
brethren that are diflktisfied, had poffibly better
acquitted their duty, by free admonitions and
Significations of thtir own fenfe in all things;
than by leaving their ftations, which is the only
thing that nas made the breach (I fear very
hard to cure, and in human appearance near to
incurable). But there is much chanty due to
thofe following their ownconfciences j and they
ewe, and 1 hope they pay, the fame back again
to thofe that do the fame in another way. And
whatfoever maybe the readied and happieft
way, of reuniting thofe that are naturally fo
minded, the Lord reveal it to them in due
time.
This one word I mail add, That this diffe-
rence fhould arffe to a great height, 1 may feem
fomewhat ftrange to any man, that calmly con-i
fiders, that there is in this church no change at
all, neither in the doctrine nor worship; no,
ncr in the fubfhnce of the difcipline itfelf j but
when it falls on matter eafily inflammeable,'
a little fparkle, how great a fire will it kindle !
Oh ! who would not long for the fhadows
of the evening, from all thole poor childifh con-
tefts !
But fome will fay that we are engaged againft
prelacy by covenant, and therefore cannot yield
to fo much as yo\i do, without perjury.
D d 2
404 A 'Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy.
Anf. That this is wholly untrue, I thus de-
monftrate. -When that covenant was prefent-
ed to the afiembly with the bare name of pre-
lacy joined to popery, many contrair and reve-
rend divines, defired that the word (prelacy)
might be explained, becaufe it was not all Epif-
copacy they were again/I ; and thereupon
the following claufe, in the parenthefis, was
given by way of explication, in thefe words,
(That the church government by archbifhops,
bimops, their chancellors, and commifTaries,
deans, and chapters, arch-deacons, and all the
other ecclefiaftical officers depending on that
hierarchy) by which it appears, that it was only
the Englifli hierarchy or frame, that was covenant-
ed againft ; and that which was then exiftent,
that was taken down.
II. When the houfe of lords took the co-
venant, Mr. Thomas Coleman, that gave it them,
did fo explain it, and profefs that it was not their
intent to covenant againft all Epifcopacy s and
upon this explication it was taken ; and cer-
tainly the parliament was moft capable of giving
the due fenfe of it, feeing it was they that did
impofe it.
III. And it could not be all Epifcopacy that
was excluded, becaufe a parochul Epifcopacy
was
'
A Defence of Moderate Epiftopacy. 405
was at that fame time ufed and approved com-
monly in England.
IV. And in Scotland they had ufed the help of
vifiters, for the reformation of their churches,
committing the care of a country or circuit, to
fome one man, which was as high a fort of Epif-
popacy at leafi as any I am pleading for j betides
that, thf y had moderators in all their fynods,
which were temporary bifhops.
V. Alfo the chief divines of the late aflembly
at Weftminfter, that recommended that co-
venant to the nations, have profeffed their own
judgment for fuch a moderate Epifcopacy as I
am here defending, and therefore they never
intended the exclusion of this by covenant.
After the fame author fayeth, As we have
prelacy to be aware of, fo we have the contrary
extreme to avoid j and the church's peace, if it
may be fo procured, and as we muft not take
down the miniftry, left it prepare men for Epif-
copacy, fo neither muft we be againft any profi-
table ufe and exercife of the miniftry, or dcfi-
rable order amongft them, for fear of introdu-
cing prelacy, &c.
There is another that has wrote a treatife on
purpofe, and that zealous enough, concerning
the obligation of the league and covenant, under
D d 3 the
406 A Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy.
thenameofTheophilusTimercus, and yet therein
it is exprefsly afferted, that however at frft view
it might appear, that the parliament had re-
nounced all Epifcopacy, yet, upon exader in-
quiry, it was evident to the author, that that very
fcruple was made by Tome members in parlia-
ment, and refolved, with the confent of their
brethren in Scotland, that the covenant was
only intended againft prelacy, as it was then in
being in England, leaving a latitude for Epifco-
pacy } &c.
It would be noted, that when that covenant
was framed, there was no Epifcopacy at all in
being in Scotland, but in England only j fo that
the extirpation of that frame only could theft
be merely intended.
Likewife it would be confidered of, though
there is in Scotland at prefent the name of dean
and chapter and commiflaries ; yet that none of
thefe do exercife at all any part of the difcipline
underthat name, neither any other, as chancellor
or furrogate, &c. by delegation from bimops,
with total exclufion of the community of prefby-
ters from all power and (hare in it, which is the
greateft point of difference between that model
and this with us, and impprts fo much as to the
main -of difcipline.
I dp
A Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy. 407
I do no* deny that the generality of the peo-
ple, even of miniftcrs in Scotland, when they
took the covenant, did underftand that article, as
againft all Epifcopacy whatsoever, even the
moll moderate ; efpecially if it mould be reftored
under the exprefs name of bishops and archbi-
ihops, never considering how different the na-
ture and model, and way of exerciim^ it, might
be thought on under thefe names j and that the
due regulating of the thing is much more to be
regarded, tjian eiiher the returning or altering
.the name ; but though they did not then confi-
der any fuch thing, yet certainly it concerns them
now to confider it, when it is reprefented to
them, that not only the words of the oath itfelf
do very genuinely confift with fuch a qualified
and diftinftive fenfej but that the very ccrnpofers
and impofcrs of it, or a confiderable part of them,
did fo underftand and intend it; and unlefs they
can make it appear, that the Epifcopacy now in
queftion with us in Scotland, is either contrary
to the word of God, or to that mitigated fenfe
of their own oath, it would feem more fuitable
to chriftian charity and moderation, rather to
yield to it, as tolerable at lead, than to continue
fo inflexibly to their firft rniftakes, and exceffivc
seal for love of it, as to divide from the church,
and break the bond of peace.
Dd 4 it
408 A defence of Moderate E>pifcopacy.
It may like wife be granted, that fome learned
men in England, who have refufed to take the
covenant, did poffibly except againft that article
of it, as fignifying the total renunciation and abo-
lition of Epiicopacy, and feeing that was the
real event and confequence of it, and they ha-
ving many other ftrong and weighty reafons for
refufing it, it is no wonder that they were little
curious to enquire what paft amongft the con-
trivers of it, and what diftinclion or different
fenfes, either the words of that article might ad-
mit, or thofe contrivers might intend by them.
And the truth is, that, befides many other evils.,
the iniquity and unhappinefs of fuch oaths and
covenants lie much in this, that being com-
monly framed by perfons that even amongft
themfelves, are not fully of one mind, but have
their different opinions and interefts to ferve
(and it was fo even in this) they commonly
patched up fo many feveral articles and claufes,,
and thofe too of fo verfatile and ambiguou,s
terms, that they prove moft wretched fhares
and thickets of briars and thorns tp the con-
fcieqces of thofe who are engaged in them, and
matter, of endlefs contentions and difputes a-
mongft them, about the true fenfe and intend-
ment, and the ties and obligations of tbofe doubf-
ful claufes, efpeciajly in fuch alterations and re-
volutions
A Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy. 409
volutions of affairs, as always may, and often
do even within few years follow after them, for
the models and productions of fuch devices are
not ufually long-lived. And whatfoever may be
faid for their excuCe in whole or in part, who
(in yieldance to the power that preffed it, and
the general opinion of this church at that time)
did uke that covenant in the moft moderate and
leaft fchifmatical fenfe that the terms can admit ;
yet I know not what can be faid co clear them
of a very great fin, that not only framed fuch an
engine, but violently impofed it upon all ranks
of men; not minifters and other publick per-
fons only, but the whole body and community
of the people, thereby engaging fucfci proves of
poor ignorant perfons to they know not what,
and (to fpeak freely) to fuch a hodge-podge of
things of various concernments, religious and
civil, as church difcipline and government, the
privileges of parliaments, and liberties of fub-
jefts, and condign punimment of malignants,
things hard enough for the wifeffc and learnedeft
to draw the juft lines of, and to give plain defi-
nitions and decifions of them, and therefore
certainly, as far off from the reach of poor coun-
try people's ''underftanding, as from the true
intereft of their fouls, and yet to tie them by a
^cligious oath, either to know all, or to contend
for
4io A Defence of Moderate Epifcopacy. ,
for them blindfold, without knowing of them.
Where will there be inftanceola grca f er oppref-
lion and tyranny over conferences tl-nn ibis?
Certainly, they that now gov-rn in this church
cannot be charged with any thing near, or like
unto it; for whatfoever they jequire of intrants
to the miniftry, they require neither iubfcrip-
tions nor oaths of minifttrs already entered, -and
Far lefs of the whole body of the people And
it were ingenuouily done to take fome notice of
any point of moderation or whatibever elfe is
really commendable, even in thofe we Account
our greateft enemies, and not to take any party
in the world, for the abfolute flandard and un-
failing rule of truth and righteoufnefs in all
things.
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