A Discourse of the Judgments of God, Chapter 11
CHAP. XI. Of the Ʋſe true Reaſon may make of the aſſurance Senſe hath of the Evils we call Judgments; and how far it may advance toward Chriſtianity.
BEfore we enter upon the more direct powers of Judgment in order to practice, let us ſee what will neceſſarily follow from Gods ſetting ſuch a thing as Adverſity in the world, and what advantages to the Doctrine of Chriſtianity, as worthy all acceptation, will flow from this naked conſideration by eaſie inferences, as conſectaries from Principles.
We will then take but thus much, that is moſt undoubted: That humane condition is very obnoxious to unhappineſs and miſery, whether we conſider it as united into Communities, or broken into ſingle perſons. It is a great receipt of trouble, man is born to it, as the ſparks flye upward. All Hiſtories, Ages, Families, Perſons, and Sects of men are agreed in this, becauſe it is evident to ſenſe.
Our ſenſes are thoſe agents and emiſſaries of our Souls, that we moſt truſt, and in whoſe intelligence we moſt eaſily ſettle, and with leaſt doubt. God hath therefore taken care Religion ſhould have ſome foundation here, even in the certain and unqueſtionable aſſurance of ſenſe.
That it is appointed to all men once to dye, is a reſolution of unexceptionable experience; and upon this, Heathens have raiſed great ſtructures of moral wiſdom and practice. That there is a world of creatures in ſo great a variety, and yet framed with aſpects upon, and ſubordinacies one to another, is in no mans power to deny: all our ſenſes bring us every moment ſtrong aſſurances of theſe things, like one poſt after another, that Scepticiſm about them is but a ridiculous madneſs. How do theſe preſs to the acknowledgment of a God! peſtilences, famines, deſolations by war, and the miſeries attending them, are ſuch known things to us, that we cannot doubt. And how do theſe urge to the awe of a Juſtice! For upon this indubitable Philoſophy of ſenſe, fall in thoſe common notions, wherein man is taught, by reading, what is written in his heart. They come into the former, as light upon the Fabrick of the world, that ſhews us the uſe and ends of every thing, and invites to action. And theſe have as ready an aſſent in mans Soul, and would have as general an agreement of mankind in them, as the other, were it not that men finding them in the way of their irreligious and ſenſual practice, are neceſſitated to call them into queſtion, as far as they can, and accuſe them of incertainty or falſhood, which firſt impeach their ways of folly, and condemn them of wickedneſs. For the Law is a continual grief to them that are out of the way. From hence diſcourſes to the diſhonour of ſuch awful Heſts have a pleaſingneſs, and give advantage to thoſe that affect a reputation by diſſenting from the moſt received Principles, to ſpeak of them, as if they were the common cheats into which the herd of people are either driven, or abuſed; while they to whoſe lives ſuch Harangues are ſet, cannot indeed believe what they ſeem to admire ſo much. But when we conſider, the great ſentiments of Religion have their trueſt reverence for their relation to another world; and few think, but that the preſent might be well enough managed without them, being altogether careleſs of the other: It is not to be conceived, how they are continued ſo certain among men in ſpight of the combination againſt them, if they had not an evidence in mans Soul, paſt the cunning of any deſign poſſibly to infuſe or remove. Not to mention the exotick Characters of them in thoſe parts which have had no commerce with the learned world, moſt reaſonably to be ſuſpected of ſuch artifice.
But we will firſt reaſon upon that acknowledgment, which bears no difference of opinion: That is,
There are ſuch univerſal unhappineſſes in the world, which comprehend greateſt Powers, and Bodies of men, beſides thoſe that graſp more frequently, and with greater liberty, private families and perſons. Touching which we will alſo ſuppoſe a while, that they are no more then certain revolutions and conjunctions, or but the play and ſport of things againſt humane condition.
And raiſing things no higher then thus, yet we ſhall find ſo much towards God and Chriſtianity, even hereby introduced, upon but a wiſe and manly computation of things, that will make the reſt much more eaſie, and ſurprize us with the reaſonableneſs of the whole beyond imagination, that ſenſe could have contributed ſo much to Religion. For what man of Soul can deny, but that ſeeing all worldly things are ſo inconſtant, and ſo often adverſe; humility, indifferency to the world, and the happineſs of it; ſobriety, a temperate uſe of all things, contentment with our condition, patience, are virtues created even of neceſſity? and if theſe were admitted and received in their full ſtrength, how eaſie would the aſcent from them to the higher Principles of Religion be? He that is thus initiated, would find freer approach to the myſtery of Godlineſs, and take the Dye of it by being thus coloured firſt.
And yet, except we ſhall count all but dream and miſtake, that ever hath riſen from the Soul and ſenſe of mankind; except there be no ſuch things as reaſon and diſcourſe, theſe things muſt be received. And ſurely the operations of our minds concerning them, are as plain, and commanding, as that we have bodies, and that they have motion, and are ſubject to ſuch impreſſions as they are.
Let us further argue herein, leaving out ſtill the ſuppoſition of a God and his Judgments: And what can we take inſtead of what I have propoſed, but the Senſualiſts, Let us eat and drink, for to morrow we dye; let us crown our ſelves with Roſe-buds before they be withered; that is, let us ruffle as high as we can in all manner of pleaſure and ſenſual fruition how impure ſoever, while we have ſeaſon, and in a moment go down to the dead: Let us take the mirth and jollity the preſent time affords, not fore-ſtalling unhappineſs with preconceipts of it; and when worſe comes, let us bear it as well as we can, but throw from us all thoſe fantomes of a mind or virtuous conſideration, as if they were only air, and breath for their truth, and of no ſervice to man, but to torture and deprive him of all enjoyment.
Now this doth ſo violently deſpoil a man of all he can be ſuppoſed to have an underſtanding given him for, and turns him into the condition of a beaſt, that it cannot ſeem credible, man ſhould have powers given him, and poſſibilities of conſideration above ſuch a ſtate, and nothing at all to do with them. We ſee in all other creatures their action and their powers are equal, except we could imagine, that beaſts have phanſies and contemplations of things of a higher ſtate then their own.
But who that hath not forfeited all ſober face, dares owne ſo brutiſh a life, who doth not deteſt ſuch a debaſement of reaſon, that it ſhould either have nothing to do, or no more then ſenſe can do in the Beaſts?
Yet leſt this ſhould be too much to be conſident upon, we will only ſay, There is a great diſpoſition in the mind and Soul of man, that is never ſo little opened and unfolded by ingenuity, education, or obſervation of it ſelf, to improve it, and compoſe it ſelf by reaſon to an excellency ſtanding in virtue and magnanimity, to caſt the accounts of evil, publick or private; and to ſecure it ſelf firſt by moderation and withdrawment from all theſe outward things; then by the better enrichments of ſelf with knowledge and goodneſs: laſtly, to flanck it ſelf with patience and reſolution, that it may be defended on every ſide againſt whatever can befal it on the right hand or the left.
That men of Philoſophy have flown this pitch without any tincture of Chriſtianity, or colour of the Doctrine of the Scriptures upon them, is enough known: That they have diſcourſed of greatning their ſpirits againſt all aſſaults of Fortune, of conſtancy of mind raiſed upon the confidence of a mans native excellency, and domeſtick riches, out of the reach of all extern diſorder, thoſe writings of theirs ſo much magnified, and worn by every hand, teſtifie.
Furthermore, ſeeing every man feels within him an Impetus to purſue that firſt-born deſire to be happy; he that goes about it conſiderately, muſt needs find, There can be no ſuch thing as happineſs in the outward man, whoſe condition is ſubject to every change.
The room of the body is indeed too narrow and cloſe, the receipts of it too dark and pent, to entertain ſo great a preſence as happineſs; but beſides this, the acceſſes are too open to pain and miſery, the ſound and noiſe of all kind of diſturbance is ever about it, and one time or other the things crowd in upon it. But happineſs is even, and all alike; it is a conſiſtency, a perpetuity, or nothing: A perpetuity, that at this time we date not into Eternity, but allow that to be ſo, which fills up its own meaſure, and runs out to its own utmoſt length; that in this caſe we allow to be ſo, that is commenſurate with the preſent life and being in the world. But it is impoſſible to preclude the preſſures of evil from this moment; for no man can tell how ſoon a diſeaſe bred within his own walls, ſhall wage a war againſt him, and blaſt all his contentments; how immediately a violence from without ſhall rob him of what moſt pleaſes him. Whoever then will lodge any ſuch thing as a felicity within himſelf, muſt retire it into this appartment of his Soul, and himſelf ſequeſtred from body, and diſſolved from it, muſt retreat into ſpirit, that he may enjoy it: He muſt forſake all things beyond the line of mind, and looking upon them as the daily prey of every contingent, be wholly unconcerned what becomes of them; though he uſes them while they are to be had, yet with greateſt indifferency, coolneſs, and freedom from them, and even then deſpiſing them, when he ſeems to enjoy them. He muſt bear the ſtrokes of evil with that part alone upon which they fall, and never let them touch his mind. In the mean time he muſt raiſe and ennoble his Soul, and carry all kind of treaſure into it, that is proper for it; he muſt fortifie, and environ it on every ſide with courage and longanimity; he muſt watch, that it be not betrayed by luſt or inordinate affection, nor made weak and falſe by ſuch correſpondencies which do not only open an avenue to ſuffering, but leave a guilt behind them; of which, though we ſuppoſe no higher Judge then himſelf, yet the reverence he owes to his own authority, and the ſeverity he feels from himſelf, when that is offended, obliges him to innocency.
Thus while he hath a being in the world, he maintains it in peace and greatneſs; firſt not taken and decoyed out of himſelf by the general applauſe of pleaſures, riches, and honours, he hears in the world; nor ſunk below himſelf, when he finds any of theſe gone, whoſe ſervice he accepted, ſo as to be well without them, though he did not moroſely refuſe them, but either when through their own inconſtancy they change their maſter, or are compelled to leave him; he is yet the ſame he was, living in himſelf, and ſupplyed in all things by himſelf: For he hath taken the elevation of every thing in the world, and of his own Being; he hath ſet down the incertainty of theſe things, and therefore he is not amazed at what he expected; he hath taken the eſtimate of wiſdom and vertue, and finds them invaluable in their price, unmoveable in their nature; his buſineſs is therefore to fabricate his mind for them: Theſe are his happineſs, that do not feel the pain of a diſeaſe, the cruelty of a ſword, the pinches of a famine; his Soul is the Cabinet of them, that nothing from without can either find or touch, while it keeps it ſelf diſtinct, and alone from the body, which it viſits by a neceſſary charity and care of it, but dares not mix with it, leſt it firſt be inſecured with its luſts, and after infected with its miſery.
Thus hath Reaſon in the dark, and unenlightned by Sacred Truth, ſelt out happineſs, and having enough from ſenſe, that it could not be out of the Soul, hath placed it within. But if there be no better ſtate beyond this life, who feels not a compaſſion, that ſuch a man as hath been deſcribed, muſt dye; that ſo great a Soul that can protect it ſelf, while it is in motion and action, muſt yet be ſuppreſſed by death; that he whoſe reaſon and magnanimity endures the torture, muſt yet be ſilenced and ſtupified by Fate! Who doth not wiſh that Soul ſhould out-live that body in a perfecter ſtate, that lived now ſo much above and beyond it? Yea, who would not deſire that that Soul that had ſo well commanded a body, ſhould have a glorious one to ſhine in, and that out of the aſhes of that body in which ſuch a Soul dwelt, and taught it virtue, another more perfect ſhould riſe?
In the mean time, would not juſt cauſe of complaint ariſe, if Fortune or a blind courſe of things, ſhould have any diſpoſe of, but the outſide of ſuch a man? Who would not deſire there ſhould be a God, who with skill firſt exerciſes virtue into a luſtre, and then rewards it? Who that hath any love to virtue, would not bewail it, if there were no other difference between virtue and vice, then what is ſeen here; and rejoyce in an Eternal Judgment that would illuſtrate and crown it? Who would not wiſh virtue ennobled with the love of ſo bleſſed a Being as God, and that it ſhould be made more conſiderable by pleaſing him; that it ſhould be enriched by the knowledge of Jeſus Chriſt, ſo great an Exemplar of it in our nature; that it ſhould be aſſiſted by the bleſſed Spirit of Grace, without which it cannot ſuſtain it ſelf? And who that behaves himſelf thus in the world (as we have deſcribed) can but think the Principles of Chriſtianity would beſt fit his purpoſe and manner of life, and therefore be willing to eſpouſe them? For though this we have inſiſted upon, be all a man can do, and that he muſt do to retain any thing o… the honour of a man; it is yet but poor and unhappy, if ſeparated from the hopes and promiſes of immortality, very jejune and cold, when alone; virtue without Chriſtianity is but like the temporary and periſhing things of the world, that make a blaze, and then go out. Though that of virtue be the pureſt, yet it is as ſoon quenched by death; and while it is, it wants much of the true alloy and reaſon: For ſo great an object of goodneſs, whom continually to love and adore, ſo great a Spectator and Judge, ſo gracious a Father of Spirits, and their excellent endowments, as God, makes as great a difference in theſe things, as the light of the Sun doth in the world, compared with the light of the Moon; and as the influences of the one ſurpaſs thoſe of the other, ſo do the virtues falling from the knowledge of God and Jeſus Chriſt, excel thoſe chiller irradiations of Moral Diſciplines, when ſeparated from Diviner Fire.
But we have thus far argued from the ſentiments of Morality upon Senſe, that we might from thence conclude; Seeing there is no ſecurity for man in his compounded ſtate of Body and Soul, and that yet the appetite of man contends towards happineſs with ſo much earneſtneſs, he muſt either be a beaſt ſtifling all motions but of ſenſe, and the juſt preſent ſatisfaction; ſo that he may enjoy himſelf, when things are well, and ſuffer as a beaſt, when evil falls upon him, without any agitation of a mind: or elſe he muſt be an Angel, removing his chief intereſts out of the body.
This wiſe men, without any ſuſpition of ſubordination from Chriſtianity, confeſſed, and therefore the ground on wch true Religion ſtates all things, muſt needs be to Morality, that is not ſullen and prejudiced, the moſt acceptable: For ſageſt Ethicks (guided by Chriſt indeed, as Cyrus by God, though they knew him not) acknowledged this concluſion of the matter, That there muſt be ſome higher end of men then the body, and that all his condition muſt be reſigned to that; and hereupon waded as far as they could into thoſe deeper Doctrines of the Immortality of the Soul, a Judgment, a future ſtate, beſides that which was much opener to them, the acknowledgment of the Firſt Being, God.
Now he that upon theſe grounds dyes to his fleſh to live in his Soul, is not far from the Kingdom of God and Chriſt; which teaches a man to deny himſelf, and ſow his preſent life to let it dye as a grain of wheat, which except it dye, abides alone (that is) can never be any more then it is, but loſes it ſelf at laſt; whilſt that which ſubmits it ſelf to a ſhort death, in expectation of a better reſurrection, propagates it ſelf to Eternity.
The aſſurances of Everlaſting life at the end, and in the mean time that no imaginable thing, either height or depth, life or death, what is preſent or to come, ſhall ſeparate from that love of God in Chriſt, which makes more then a Conqueror in all, are true grounds of the happineſs of man, and only ſufficient herein.
All theſe Chriſtianity hath the honour to reveal, and yet Morality hath ſo great need of to impe it ſelf with, that if it were it ſelf alone, it muſt needs adore this Revelation; however as it is blended in men with corruption of Nature, and planted among thoſe roots of bitterneſs that ſpring up and defile it, it may profeſs an emnity; yet certainly as thoſe Heathen Princes paid a reverence to that God that had foretold their ſucceſſes by his Prophets, ſo it is impoſſible but all wiſe uſe of reaſon muſt needs ſay of the Doctrine of Chriſt, There is a divine thing in it, ſeeing it doth not only eſtabliſh the ſame rules of life with that reaſon, but advances the encouragements of them to the very Heavens.