Practical Discourses Volume 1, Discourse 8
1 JOHN III. 7.
Little Children, let no man deceive you: He that doth righteousness, is righteous, even as he is righteous.
THese Words are a short and plain Resolution of that Grand Case, viz. how a Man may know whether he be in a state of Grace and Favour with God; or, which is all one, whether he be a good Man and a good Christian. The Gnosticks, against whom St. Iohn particularly directs this Epistle, placed all Righteousness and Goodness in certain pretended Illuminations, which had nothing in them but certain swelling Words of Vanity, and like gilded Bubbles were blown up with wind, and filled with mystical Nonsence. And tho' in their Lives and Manners they were a Reproach and Scandal not only to Religion, but even to humane Nature; yet merely upon the account of these their own Wild Dreams, they vaunted themselves to be the only Elect, and Favourites of God, and imagined themselves advanced to that degree of Perfection, as that they were above all Law, and freely dispensed with under the Broad-Seal of Heaven to live as they list, and to wallow in Riot and Voluptuousness. Against these wild Men the Apostle here seems to forewarn his little Children; suffer not these vile Deceivers to impose upon your Faith this their damnable Error, viz. that by receiving their high-flown Mysteries and pretended Revelations, you shall without any more ado be constituted perfect and righteous Men in the sight of God; for from God himself I do assure you that he, and he only, that doth Righteousness, is righteous even as he is righteous; i. e. as Christ is righteous, of whom I just before discoursed.
In the Prosecution of which Argument I shall endeavour these two Things; First, to shew you, what it is to do Righteousness in general; Secondly, what that righteous Doing is which in the sense of Christianity constitutes us Righteous Men.
1. What it is to do Righteousness in general. I answer, it is to give to every one his Due, or to perform to God, our selves, and to all the World whatsoever is owing from the State of our Nature, and the Relations and Circumstances wherein we are placed. And in this Latitude to do Righteousness is the sum of Religion, and the Whole Duty of man. The righteous Man therefore, or the Man that doth Righteousness is, in the sense of the Text, one, that demeans himself so, as in the Judgment of Right Reason he ought to do towards God, himself, and all the World; that looking upon himself under the Relation of God's Creature and Pensioner, doth freely render him all that Homage, and Reverence, and Love, and Gratitude, and Trust, and Adorotion that are owing to so great a Creator, and so liberal a Benefactor; One that considering the Frame of his own Nature, how he is compounded of contrary Principles, viz. Spirit and Flesh, Reason and Sense, exercises himself in all those humane Virtues, which consist in the Dominion of his superior Principle of Reason over his sensitive Passions and Appetites; such as Patience and Equanimity, Courage and Meekness, Temperance and Chastity; all which are proper to us as Beings made up of contrary Principles, from whence spring those contrary Appetites and Inclinations in us; in the good or bad Government whereof, the Essence of humane Virtue and Vice consists. In a Word, the righteous Man is one, who, considering his State, and Circumstances, and Relations in the World, behaves himself in them all as right Reason directs and obliges him; that as he is a Member of humane Society, bears an hearty Good-Will to the whole Corporation of Mankind; that is courteous and affable, peaceable and condescending, long-suffering and ready to forgive; that is grateful to those from whom he hath received Good, and so far as he hath Opportunity, is ready to do Good to others; that is faithful to his Promises, sincere in his Professions, just and honest in his Dealings; that heartily wishes every Man were good, and without manifest Reason to the contrary, believes every one to be so; that when he sees a Fault is ready to excuse it, and where he cannot, silently bewails and laments it; that as a Subject is loyal and obedient to his Superiors, and as a Superior is careful of the Publick Good, and just and benign towards all his Inferiours; that as a Father loves his Children, piously and wisely educates them, and is provident for their Happiness both here and hereafter; that as a Child reverences his Parents, and is ready to comfort and assist them in their Needs, and in all lawful Things to render them a chearful Obedience; that as a Husband is kind to his Wife, compassionate to her Infirmities, and easie to be entreated by her; that as a Wife is modest in her Behaviour, careful and vigilant in her Family, and soft and tractable to the Will of her Husband; that as a Master is just and benevolent to his Servants, and studious of their Welfare both temporal and eternal; that as a Servant is industrious in his Business, and faithful to his Trust, and obedient to his Master; that in Adversity is resigned and contented, honestly industrious to live, and grateful to those that relieve him; that in Prosperity is humble and modest, and full of good Works; and to name no more, He is a cordial Friend, a good Neighbour, a faithful Correspondent, and a zealous Lover of his Country: These are the main Ingredients that compound a righteous Man; and accordingly we find that whereever he is mentioned in Scripture, he is always described by such like Characters as these: thus in the 15th Psalm, where the Psalmist sets himself on purpose to describe the righteous Man that should dwell in the Tabernacle of God, he is represented as one that walketh uprightly, and worketh Righteousness; that speaketh Truth, and is tender of his Neighbour's Reputation; that freely lends to those that are in Need, and will not be bribed against the Innocent. So also Ezek. 18. 14, 15, 16, 17. he is described to be one that is no Idolater, no Adulterer, no Oppressor; that doth not defraud his Neighbour of his Right, but is just and Liberal to the Poor, and freely lends to those that are in need. And Micah 6. 7. the Prophet tells us what it is that renders us just and acceptable in the sight of God, viz. doing Iustice, loving Mercy, and walking Humbly with God. So also in the New Testament we are taught, that pure and undefiled Religion consists in visiting the Fatherless and Widows in their affliction, and keeping our selves unspotted from the World. James 1. 27. and Gal. 5. 22. St. Paul tells us that the fruits of the Spirit which render us righteous in the sight of God, are such as these, Love, Ioy, Peace, Long-suffering, Gentleness, Goodness, Faith, Meekness, Temperance; and to name no more, the same Apostle Tit. 2. 11. saith that the Righteousness which the Gospel, or Grace of God designs to propagate in the World, is this, that denying ungodliness and worldly-lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present World; which Three, are the Sum of all those Virtues which constitute a Righteous Man.
Having thus shewed what it is in general to do Righteousness, I now proceed in the second Place to shew what that Righteous Doing is, which in the Sense of Christianity doth constitute us Righteous Men: In order to which it will be necessary to premise these Three Things.
1. That Christianity supposes many Imperfections and Infirmities in those whom it yet allows to be Righteous Men; and indeed if it did not, it could admit no Man in the World to be righteous. For it hath seemed good to the Divine Wisdom to introduce us into the World in an imperfect State, that so by the good Use of our own free Wills and rational Faculties, assisted by his Grace, we might by Degrees advance to a more sublime and perfect Condition, till through our gradual Progress from this rude and imperfect State, we at length arrive to the Perfection of Happiness for which we were made: And such is the Condition of our Nature, as that it is as necessary for us to begin imperfectly, as to be born Infants; nor can a Babe in Christ any more have the Perfections of a grown and experienced Christian, than can an Infant of a Span long have the Strength and Wisdom of a Man. In this State of Things therefore, if God will not allow the lowest Degree of our Perfection to be good, neither can he the highest; for our Improvement being gradual, there must of necessity be a first Degree, before there can be a second; and therefore if God allows not the first, he must for the same Reason disallow the second of the same kind, and so on from the third to the highest Degree of all. Seeing therefore Christianity is a Religion for Men, it must be supposed to be fitted to their low and imperfect Condition, which it could not be if it did not abate for our Defects, and admit us to be righteous in the main, even while we are imperfectly so; and that it doth so, is apparent by the distinction it frequently makes between the less and the more Perfect, still allowing both to be Righteous. Thus it distinguishes between Babes and Men, allowing both to be in Christ; between the Weak, and the Strong, and Confirmed, allowing both to be in the Faith: And our Saviour himself speaking of some, who upon receiving the Seed of the Gospel brought forth Thirty, of others who brought forth Sixty, and others a Hundred-fold, doth yet allow them all to be good Ground. Matth. 13. and Luke 19. 14. He as well allows him to be a good and faithful Servant who had improved his Tallent into Five, as he who had improved his into Ten. From all which it is evident, that the Gospel doth not judge of our main State by the Degrees, but by the Reality of our Righteousness.
2. It is to be premised, that that which constitutes us Righteous Men in the Judgment of the Gospel, is some internal vital Principle of Righteousness. For as all other Things receive their Denomination from their Forms, so it is from some internal Form of Righteousness that righteous Men receive their Denomination. It is not the simple doing righteous Actions that constitutes a Man righteous; for he may be a very bad Man, not only while he doth that which is Righteous, but also in the very doing of it. Thus a Man may fast and pray, only to gloss his Oppressions; he may do an honest Action, to disguise a knavish Design, in which Case he sins in the doing of it, because in the doing it, he prophanes Religion by making it a Cloak for his Wickedness; a plain Evidence, that Actions which in themselves are materially good, do partake of the Principles from whence they do proceed, and receive their Form and Denomination from them; seeing even good Actions may be infected by a bad Principle, and derive into themselves the Malignity and Baseness of the Fountains from whence they flow. And if without a righteous Principle our Actions cannot be righteous, to be sure neither can we; b cause we are as our Actions are. Hence you may observe in the New Testament, that good Men are generally denominated from some internal Form of Goodness; they are said to be born of God, and to have the seed of God remaining in them. 1. Joh. 3. 9. and to be renewed in the Spirit of their Mind, Eph. 4. 23. to be spiritually minded, Rom. 8. 6. and to be transformed by the renewing of their Mind, Rom. 12. 2. and to be partakers of the Divine Nature, 2 Pet. 1. 4. all which, do plainly denote, that to constitute us righteous. Men in the Sense of the Gospel, there is necessarily required some internal Form and Principle of Righteousness.
3. And lastly, We must premise, that Christianity being the Law or Rule of our Religion, the internal Principle, which in the Sense of this Law constitutes us Righteous, must be strictly Religious; that is, it must be such as doth immediately respect God, who is the great Object of all Religion. For Religion in the strictest Sense, is the Rule of Divine Worship, and under this Notion of Divine Worship, or Homage, and Obedience to God, Christianity exacts every Duty of us; for it requires us to do all as unto God, and to do all to the Glory of God; i. e. in Obedience to him, and out of a sincere Acknowledgment of his Authority over us, and immutable Right to rule and command us: And even those moral Virtues which do immediately respect our Neighbours and our selves, are enjoyned as Duties unto God, and bound upon us with religious Obligations. So that now all the Acts and Functions of a good Life are adopted into the Rubrick of Christan Worship, and required of us as Acts of Obedience to God; from whence it follows, that the Spring and Principle of those Acts must be strictly Religious, immediately respecting God and his Authority over us; it being impossible those Acts should be truly religious, which do not proceed from a religious Principle.
These Things being premised, I come now to lay down what that Principle is, which in the Sense of Christian Religion constitutes us righteous Men. In general, it is a considerate, universal prevailing Resolution to obey God, proceeding from our Belief of the Christian Religion: For the better understanding of which, I shall briefly explain the particular Terms of it.
1. I say it is a Resolution.
2. It is a Resolution of obeying God.
3. It is a considerate Resolution.
4. An universal, and
5. A prevalent one.
6. A Resolution of obeying God, springing out of our Belief of the Christian Religion.
1. It is a Resolution; by which I exclude the Habit of Obedience from being the prime and constitutive Principle of Christian Righteousness. For Christianity, as was shewn before, supposing great Imperfections and Infirmities even in those whom it allows to be righteous in the main; if we would judge rightly of our own State by the Christian Rule, we must take measure of our selves from that which is the lowest and most imperfect Principle of Righteousness, and not conclude our selves to be unrighteous, because we are not righteous to such a Degree; but as for the habit of Obedience which consists in an inherent Promptness, Facility and Easiness to obey, it is so perfect a Principle, as is not attainable but under a long Progress in Religion. For when after a vicious Course of Life we begin to reform, we are so far from being habituated to obey God, that we obey him with Difficulty, and strong Reluctancy, and are fain to row against the Stream of our own Inclinations; in which state we are far from having attained to an Habit or Promptness of obeying. So that by making this the constitutive Principle of Christian Righteousness, we exclude from the State of Righteousness all Beginners in Religion, and do allow none to be faithful Servants, but those who have conquer'd the difficulties of obeying. The true Form or Principle therefore, from which we receive the Denomination of righteous Men is that Point or Term, from which we begin to be righteous, and that is a righteous Resolution. For Choice and Resolution is the Spring of all voluntary Actions, and consequently from thence we begin to act righteously, and in the pursuit of that, we grow and improve into an habit of Righteousness. Our first step, is to resolve well; our next, to do well; the uninterrupted Repetition of which, will at length improve into an habit of well-doing. I will arise, says the Prodigal, and go to my Father; that was the first step of his Return, and the vital Principle whence all his After-motions did proceed.
2. It is a Resolution to obey God; by which I exclude those good Resolutions from being the Christian Principle of Righteousness which have no respect at all to God, but either to the gratifying our natural Temper only, or to the securing our Health, or Reputation, or secular Interest; which, tho' they may be productive of very good Morals in our Conversation, are far from being the inward Form and Principle of Righteousness which Christianity requires; for that, as was before premised, must be strictly religious, and consequently, must be a Resolution to obey God. For that we should obey God, is the fundamental Law of Religion, whence all its particular Laws derive their Force and Obligation; and therefore to resolve to obey God must be the fundamental Principle of Religion from whence all the particular Acts of it proceed. So that the internal Principle which constitutes us religiously good, must answer to that external Principle which obliges us to be so; and it is only our Resolution to obey God, which answers to that external Principle that makes it our Duty to obey him. In this Resolution, and in this only, consists the Submission of our Wills to God, the Homage and Fealty of our Souls; without which, all external shews of Piety and Virtue, are but a dead Formality. Not that an actual explicite Resolution of obeying God is necessary to every good Action, for this is impossible: our Occasions of doing good being so infinite, and so often occurring in our secular Affairs, and our Minds so incapable of attending many Things at once, that it is not in our Power to form an actual Resolution of Obedience, as often as we are called upon to do good Actions. It is sufficient therefore, that in general we have such a Resolution fixt in our Minds; and this, tho' we do not exert it in every particular Action, will constitute every Action good, and render it acceptable to God.
3. It must be a considerate, well-weighed Resolution; by which I exclude from being the Principle of Christian Righteousness, all those rash and unsettled Purposes Men make in Heats of Passion. For there can never be any holding good Resolution, but what is founded upon Reason and Iudgment; for Reason is the same Thing in all Circumstances; it is a stiff and inflexible Thing, that will not ply and bend to the Alterations of our Humours and Interests; whereas Passion is a fickle and inconstant Thing that is generally governed by outward Accidents, and is as various and mutable as they. He therefore that founds his good Resolutions upon Heats of Passion, sets his Soul upon a Weather-cock, which every contrary Blast of Humour or Interest, blows into a contrary Position. Till such time therefore as a Man hath a new Judgment of Things, it will be in vain for him to make any new Resolutions; because it is morally impossible that any Resolution should be lasting, that is not founded upon Reason and Iudgment. But when a Man hath steared the past Course of his Life by an old, inveterate, false Judgment of Things, it will require a great deal of serious Consideration to form and settle a new one; and if before this is done, men enter upon new Resolutions, they must resolve without considering either the Matters they resolve on, or the Motives which should support their Resolution; insomuch that when they come to practise what they thus hastily resolved, either they find more Difficulty in the Matter than they were aware of, or want sufficient Motives to carry them through it; by reason of which their Resolution flaggs in the Execution, and many times yields to the next Temptation that encounters them. To the forming therefore of a holding Resolution, such as will prove a living Principle of Righteousness, great Care must be taken to found it on a through Consideration both of the Particulars we resolve upon, together with their appendent Difficulties; and of the Motives and Arguments with which Christianity backs and inforces it. First we must set before our Eyes the Sins we must part with, and the Duties we must submit to, and fairly represent to our selves the many Difficulties and Temptations that are like to attend us in both; and having thus placed our selves in the midst of the Difficulties of a religious Life, and so far as in us lies, rendred them actual and present to us; we must never cease pressing our stubborn Wills with the Arguments and Motives of Religion, till we have obtained of them an explicite Consent to every Duty that calls for our Resolution. And when we have thus weighed all Particulars over and over in the Ballance of an impartial Consideration, and implored the Divine Assistance, (without which our strongest Resolutions will certainly fail, and which is never wanting to any but those who are wanting to themselves) let us then resolve, and seal our Resolution with solemn Vows and Promises to God: For thus our blessed Saviour, when he saw the Multitude forward to follow him, fairly proposes to their Consideration the Difficulties they must engage in, if they would be his Disciples; that so their resolving in too much haste, might not give them Occasion to repent at leisure; as you may see at large Luke 14. 26—34. And elsewhere he compares rash and inconsiderate Resolvers, to a Man that goes about to build a Tower, without ever considering what it will cost, or whether he hath Money sufficient to finish it; and so when he hath laid the Foundation gives it over, and renders himself ridiculous; and the same he compares also to a King that goes to war without ever considering whether he hath Force enough to encounter his Enemy, and so rushing headlong into the Battle, is either forced to retreat, or yield to the Mercy of the Conqueror. And in the Parable of the Prodigal Luke 15. wherein he purposely describes the whole Progress of the Soul towards God; the first Thing the Prodigal did after he came to himself, was to consider what an happy Change he should make in his Condition by returning to his Father; how many hired Servants of my Fathers have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! and having well considered this, he at length resolves, I will arise and go to my Father. Thus also the Prophet David introduces his Resolution of Amendment, through a deep and serious Consideration of his ways, I thought on my ways, and turned my Feet unto thy Testimonies. Psal. 119. 59.
4. It must be an universal Resolution of obeying God, such as indifferently extends to all the Instances of our Duty, otherwise it can be no intire Principle of Righteousness; because tho' it may reform us in some Instances, it must leave us unreformed in others, and so can only render us less wicked, but never intirely good. For seeing the Christion Law exacts of us universal Obedience, and doth not oblige us in one Instance, and dispense with us in another; it is impossible that any Resolution should be the Principle of that Righteousness it requires, but that which respects the whole. If we keep the whole Law, saith St. James, and yet offend in one point, we are guilty of all; for which he subjoyns this Reason, he that hath said, do not commit adultery; said also, do not kill, James 2. 10, 11. i. e. it is the same Authority that forbids the one as well as the other; and therefore, tho' thou dost not the one, yet if thou dost the other, thou sinnest against the Authority of both. Seeing therefore we are not accounted universally righteous by the Law of Christ, unless we do universally obey it, a partial Resolution to obey can never constitute us Righteous; because such a Resolution will never make us universally obedient. Then shall I not be ashamed, saith David, when I have respect unto all thy Commandments. Psal. 119. 6. So that to make our Resolution a Christian Principle of Righteousness, it is necessary that it should be universal, i. e. of equal extent with that Law which is the Measure of our Righteousness; that like a fruitful Womb it should be pregnant with every good Work, and vertually contain in it every Particular that our Religion hath made our Duty.
5. It must be a prevailing Resolution; a Resolution of such Force as doth engage us to do what we resolve, and actually prevails over all Temptations to the contrary. For all the Vertue of a good Resolution consists in its Relation to Action, because if that we resolve to do, be not necessary, it is indifferent whether we resolve to do it or no; but if it be, it must be done, otherwise we had been as good never to have resolved to do it. The goodness of our Resolution therefore consists in this, that it is an Engagement to practise what we resolve; and consequently if our Resolution to obey God, be not prevalent enough to engage us to obey him, it is so far from being a true Principle of Christian Righteousness, that it is a meer insignificant Cypher. For as that can be no Cause which produces no Effect; so that can be no Principle of Righteousness, which is not productive of it; and if to make it a Principle of Righteousness, it is necessary, that it should be a prevalent Engagement to a righteous Life, then it follows that when it ceases to be prevalent, it ceases to be a Principle of Righteousness; and consequently that whenever we do commit any Sin that is inconsistent with a prevailing Resolution to obey God, we do for that Time cease to be righteous Men. But there are no Sins inconsistent with a prevailing Resolution to obey God, but such as do prevail against it, and actually over-power it; and therefore as for those Weaknesses, Surreptions, and Surprizes, which, for Distinction-sake, we call Sins of Infirmity; either we do not consent to them, and consequently they are so far from over-powering our good Resolution, that they do not at all contest with it; or if we do consent to them, it is unawares, before we can oppose our Resolution against them. So that tho' upon Surprize they do win our Consent, yet they do not win it from our good Resolution, which in this suddain Hurry of Thoughts had not time to canvas for it; but had Power enough to have obtained it, had it had but Opportunity to prefer its Claim; and therefore as for such Sins as these, they may fairly comport with a prevailing Resolution of Obedience. But then there are Sins of Wilfulness which proceed either from wilful Habits, or from deliberate Choice, and these are no more consistent with such a Resolution, than one Contrary is with another in the same Degree. For he who sins wilfully is prevalently resolved to sin; and to be so, and at the same time prevalently resolved to obey God is a Contradiction in Terms. Whilst therefore Sin hath the Prevalence in us, we are so long Servants of Sin, and do so long cease to be Servants of Righteousness. 'Tis true, there are Degrees of Wickedness, and the longer a Man continues wicked, the worse he will be; but still he is a wicked Man, who is more prevalently resolved to sin than to obey God; and he who is so, tho' but for an Hour or a Day, is so long wicked, as well as he who continues so for a Month or a Year: He is not wicked indeed to so high a Degree, and so may far more easily recover; but from the Time that we deliberately consent to any known Sin, to the Time that we repent of it, we are wilful Sinners. If we repent immediately, we immediately recover into that good Estate from whence we were fallen, and so our Wound is cured almost as soon as it is made. For the proper Repentance of single Acts of wilful Sin, is either to resolve not to repeat them, or, where it can be done, to undo them again by Restitution. But when our baffled Resolution to obey God is thus recover'd into a prevalent Engagement to obey him, it revives into a living Principle of Righteousness; but yet before we can reasonably conclude it is such, we must make some Tryal of it; for as it is certain, that until it be Prevalent, it is not a true Principle of Righteousness; so it is certain, that till for some time it hath actually prevailed, we cannot be secure that it is prevalent. That is not to be called a prevalent Resolution, that for a Day or a Week puts us into a Fit of Religion, and so expires; such flashy Purposes are so far from being thorough Cures, that they are only so many Intermissions of our Disease, that always leave us as bad or worse than they found us. But if upon sufficient Tryal we find that our Resolution doth hold against all Temptations, and actually engage us to our Duty in despite of all Sollicitations to the contrary, we may then safely conclude, that it is that very vital Principle, which in the Judgment of our holy Religion, doth constitute us Righteous Men. And accordingly Matth. 21. 28, 29, 30. our Saviour compares those who might, but did not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, to a Son that first resolved to go whither his Father commanded him, but afterwards cooled and did not obey; implying, that the great Fault, which spoiled his Resolution, and rendred it insignificant was this, that it was not firm and prevalent; which had it been, it had actually entered him in the Kingdom of Heaven.
6. And lastly, It must be a Resolution to obey God, springing out of our Belief of the Christian Religion; and this it is which renders it strictly and properly, a Christian Principle of Righteousness. 'Tis true indeed, if either we never heard of Christianity, or it had never been proposed to us, with sufficient Motives of Credibility, our Infidelity would have been only our Misery, but not our Crime; and if upon a through Consideration of the Arguments of natural Religion, and of the Good and Evil which naturally springs out of good and evil Actions, we were effectually resolved to study the Will of God, and, so far as we understood it, to obey it; it had been no criminal Defect in our Resolution not to be founded upon our Belief of Christianity; because to believe without sufficient Reason, is so far from being our Duty, that it is our Defect, and an Argument of our Weakness, and foolish Credulity. But now that Christianity hath been made known, and sufficiently proposed to us, we cannot be good Men, unless we do believe it, and if we do believe it, we cannot be good Christians if we do not thereupon effectually resolve to obey it. In short therefore, they who have not the Gospel, are obliged to obey God upon the Motives of natural Religion, which is all that can reasonably be expected from them; but as for us who have the Gospel, wherein, together with the Arguments of Nature, God hath fairly proposed to us the higher Motives of Christianity, we are bound to believe these as well as those; and upon this Belief to proceed to a firm Resolution of Obedience; which if we do, our Resolution is strictly Christian in Contra-distinction to theirs who have not the Gospel, and so resolve only upon Principles of Natural Reason; not but that their Resolution is for substance the same with ours, only ours is founded upon greater and more prevalent Motives. The Duties of Christianity are the same with those of Natural Religion, and excepting those three positive Precepts, of Baptism and the Lords Supper, and of worshipping God in and through Christ, there is no Command in the Gospel distinct from the Eternal Rules of Morality which the Gospel doth improve upon new Principles, and strengthen with more powerful Obligations.
And thus I have explained to you what is that Vital Form and Principle which, in the Sense of the Law of Christ, doth constitute us Righteous Men. In short, he is a Righteous Man in the true Christian Sense, who upon a through Consideration of the Arguments and Motives of Christianity is universally and prevalently resolved to obey its Laws. To conclude all therefore, from hence I infer
1. What is the true safe Way for a Man to resolve his own Conscience concerning the main State of his Soul, whether in the Gospel-sense he be Righteous, or no. I know it is a common Doctrine with some Men, that the Resolution of this great Case depends upon an inward Whisper, Suggestion, or Testimony of the Spirit of God, which I fear hath fatally deluded too many Men into a groundless Confidence and Assurance. For when all of a sudden they feel themselves surprized with joyous and comfortable Thoughts, they presently conclude it to be an inward Whisper and Testimony of the Spirit of God, when many times there is nothing in it but an unaccountable Frisque of melancholy Vapors heated and fermented by a feverish Humour; and many of these sudden Joys and Dejections, which these Men interpret to be the Incomes and With-drawings of the Spirit of God, do apparently proceed from no other Cause than the Shiverings and Burnings of an Ague; upon which account Hysterical Fits are frequently mistaken for spiritual Exercises. And when Men have most confidently believed themselves overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, their Fancies have been only hagg'd and ridden by the Enthusiastick Vapors of their own Spleen. And some times I make no doubt, but this sudden Flush of joyous Thoughts proceeds from a worse Principle, even from the suggestion of the Devil; who, tho' he hath no immediate Access to the Minds of Men, can doubtless act upon their Spirits and Humours, and thereby figure their Fancies with sprightly Ideas, and tickle their Hearts into a Rapture; and this Power of his we may reasonably suppose he is ready enough to exert upon any mischievous Occasion, when ever he finds a Man willing to be deceived, and to rely upon ungrounded Presumptions. The true and only safe May therefore for a Man to resolve himself is impartially to survey himself, and to consider whether in the main his Intentions and Actions are righteous. If you ask, by what Signs and Tokens shall a Man know this? I answer, there is nothing can be a true Sign of Righteousness but Righteousness, nothing but what is an Act or Instance of Righteousness. But then we must have a great Care, that we do not argue from particular Acts and Instances that we are Righteous in the main; For you may as well conclude that you are not blind, because you hear well, or that you are not deaf, because you see well, or that you have all your Senses, because you have one or two, as that you are Righteous in the main, because you are so in this or that particular. Well then, how shall we do to resolve our selves in this most material Enquiry? Why do but consider what it is to be Righteous, and then reflect upon your own Motion, and you will quickly feel whether you are Righteous or no; for to be Righteous is for the main to intend righteously, and act accordingly. If you ask again, how you shall know whether you so intend and act; I shall only answer, that it is an unreasonable Question, and that you might as well ask, whether you are hungry or thirsty; because you do as naturally feel the Motions of your Soul, as those of your Body; and for you to ask another Man what your own Intentions are, is to make him a Conjurer instead of a Casuist. Would it not look extremely ridiculous for a Man to ask his Creditor or Customer, Good Sir, how shall I know whether I intend to pay my Debts, or am sincerely resolved not to over-reach you? Should any Man ask me such a Question, I should only bid him consult himself, and if then he suspected his own Honesty, truly I should suspect that he had too much Reason for it. For if a Man intends righteously, to be sure he intends it knowingly; and if he knowingly intends it, he cannot but know he intends it; for if he cannot know that he doth it, it is because he cannot know how to do it; and if he cannot know how to do it, he is not a capable Subject of Morality, but must of necessity live and act at random, and blunder on, like a Traveller in the dark, without being able to distinguish whether he goes right or wrong. Wherefore as you would not be deceived in a Point of the highest Importance in the world, a Point upon which your everlasting Fate depends, viz. whether you are Righteous Men or no; do not measure your selves by any other Rule, but this sure and infallible one in the Text, He that doth Righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
2. From hence I infer, that seeing Righteousness is the good State of our Souls, that the main Thing upon which we ought to value our selves is upon our being truly Righteous. For if we have any such Thing as a rational and immortal Soul about us, it is doubtless by far the noblest Ingredient of our Beings; 'tis that by which we are near allyed to Angels, and do even border upon God himself. He therefore who values himself by any Thing but his Soul, and that which is its Grace and Perfection, begins at the wrong End of himself, forgets his Iewels, and estimates his Estate by his Lumber; in so much that one would think it impossible, did not too many woful Expeperiments daily evince the contrary, that any Creature owning and believing a rational and immortal Spirit to be a Part of its Being, should be so ridiculous as to value it self by such little trifling Advantages as a well-coloured Skin, a Suit of fine Cloaths, a Puff of Popular Applause, a Bag of red or white Earth; and yet, God help us, these are the only Things almost by which we difference our selves from one another. You are a much better Man than your Neighbour, who is a very poor contemptible Wretch, a little creeping despicable Animal, not worthy to be taken notice of by such a one as you. Why in the name of God, Sir, what's the matter? Where is this mighty Difference between you and him? Hath he not a Soul as well as you, a Soul that is capable to live as long and be as happy as yours. Yes, that is true indeed; but notwithstanding that, you thank God for it, you are another guize Man than he; for you have a much bandsomer Body, your Apparel is finer and more fashionable; you live in a more splendid Equipage, and have a larger Purse to maintain it; and to your great Comfort, your Name is more in Vogue and makes a far greater Rattle in the World. And is this all the Difference then between your mighty Self, and your poor Neighbour? Alas, a few Days more will put an End to all this; and when your rich Attires are reduced to a Winding-sheet, and all your vast Possessions to six Foot of Earth, what will become of all these little Trifles, by which you value your selves so highly? Where now will be the Beauty, the Wealth, the Port and Garb, of which you are so conceited? Alas, now that lovely Body will look as pale and gastly, that lofty Soul will be left as bare, as poor and naked, as your despised Neighbours; and should you now meet his wandring Ghost in the vast World of Spirits, what will you have left to boast of more than he; now that your Beauty is withered, your Wealth vanished, and all your outward Pomp and Splendor buried in a silent Grave? Now you will have nothing left to distinguish you from the most Contemptible, unless you have wiser and better Souls, which are the only Preheminencies above other Men that will survive our Funerals, and distinguish us from base and abject Souls for ever. If we are now more pious, and humble, and just, and charitable than other Men, this will stick by us when our Heads are laid, and to all Eternity render us glorious and happy. And indeed when once we have thrown off our Body and all our bodily Passions and Necessities, the only Goods we shall be capable of enjoying are God, our selves, and the Society of blessed Spirits, and these are no otherwise enjoyable but only by Acts of Piety and Vertue. It is only by our Contemplation and Worship, our Love and Imitation of God that we can enjoy him; it is only by our Prudence and Moderation, our Temperance and Humility that we can enjoy our selves; it is only by our Charity and Iustice, our Modesty, peaceable and mutual Submission and Condescention to one another that we can enjoy the glorious Society of blessed Spirits, but if our unbodied Spirits carry with them these divine Graces into the other World, we shall by them be possessed of every Thing our utmost Wishes can propose; of a good God, a god-like, joyous and contented Mind, a peaceful, kind, and righteous Neighbourhood, and so all above, within, and without us will be a pure and perfect Heaven. So that if when I go from hence to seek my fortune in the World of Spirits, God should thus bespeak me, O man! seeing thou art now leaving all the Enjoyments of sense, consult what will do thee good, and thou shalt have whatever thou wilt ask to carry with thee into the spiritual State: I say should God thus offer me, I am sure the utmost Good I could wisely crave, would be this, Lord give me a Heart inflamed with Love, and winged with Duty to thee, that thereby I may but enjoy thee; give me a sober and a temperate Mind, that thereby I may enjoy my self; give me a kind and peaceable and righteous Temper, that thereby I may enjoy the sweet Society of blessed Spirits: O give me but these blessed Things, and thou hast crowned all my Wishes, and to Eternity I will never ask any other Favour for my self but only this, that I may continue a holy and a righteous Soul for ever; for so long as I continue so, I am sure I shall enjoy all spiritual Goods, and be as happy as Heaven can make me. What a prodigious Piece of Folly therefore is it for Men to value themselves more upon these outward Advantages, of which ere long they must be stript, than upon the Graces and Vertues of their own Minds, on which they must subsist for ever? Suppose now that you were a Merchant in a far Country where you were allowed for a short uncertain Time the Benefit of free Trade and Commerce in order to your gaining a good Estate to maintain you in your own Native Country, when ever you are forced to return; would you be so indiscreet as to lay out all the Product of your Merchandize in building fine Houses, and purchasing great Farms, when you know not how soon you may be commanded to depart and leave all these immoveable Goods behind you? Or rather would you not think your selves obliged by all the Rules of Interest and Discretion to convert all your Gain into portable Wealth, into Mony or Jewels or other such moveable Commodities, as, when ever you are forced to depart, you might carry Home along with you, and there maintain your selves with them in many years Ease and Plenty? Do but think then, and think it often, that while you live here you are but Strangers and Foreign Merchants; that you came hither from another, World, to which you know not how soon you may be forced to return; that all the Wealth, the Lands and Houses you gain by your present Commerce are immoveable Goods which you must leave behind you when you go from hence, and that there is nothing portable of all that you can gain in this World but only the Graces and Vertues of your Minds, and that therefore while you have Opportunity it concerns you above all Things to store and treasure up a plentiful Portion of these; that so whenever you are shipt off into the eternal World you may carry such an Estate of them thither with you as may suffice to maintain you there in Glory and Happiness for ever; which God of his infinite Mercy grant.