Immanuel, Chapter 2
CHAP. II.
True Religion deſcribed, as to the nature of it, by Water; a Metaphor uſual in the Scriptures: Firſt by reaſon of the cleanſing vertue of it. The defiling nature of Sin, and the beauty of Holineſs manifeſted. Secondly, by reaſon of the quenching vertue of it. This briefly touch'd upon, and the more full handling of it referred to its proper place. The nature of Religion deſcribed by a Well of Water: That it is a Principle in the Souls of Men, proved by much Scripture. An Examination of Religion by this teſt; by which Examination are excluded all things that are meerly external; external Reformations and Performances inſtanced in. A godly man hath neither the whole of his buſineſs, nor his motives lying without him. In the ſame Examination many things internal found not to be Religion: It is no ſudden paſſion of the Mind; no, not though the ſame amount to an extaſie; foreign
I Come now to ſpeak of the Nature of True Religion, which is here deſcribed by our bleſſed Lord, by a well of Water: Firſt, by Water, ſecondly, by a Well of both theſe, but more briefly of the former.
1. Pure Religion, or Goſpel-Grace, is deſcribed by Water. This is a compariſon very familiar in holy Scriptures, both of the Old Teſtament, and the New, By this ſimilitude Goſpel-Grace was typi…ied in the Ceremonial Law, wherein both Perſons and Things ceremonially unclean were commanded to be waſh'd in Water, as is abundantly to be ſeen in that adminiſtration. Under this notion the ſame Grace is pray'd for by the Pſalmiſt, when he had defiled himſelf in the Bed of a Stranger, Pſal. 51. 7. Waſh me, and I ſhall be whiter than Snow: He had drunk Water out of a ſtrange Ciſtern, (as his Son Solomon deſcrib… that unclean act, Pro. 5. 15.) and now he calls out for Water from the Fountain of Grace to undefile him: He now crys out for Water from the Fountain of Grace, the bleſſed Meſſiah, that ſprung up into the world at Bethlehem, and that with more earneſtneſs than formerly, we read that he wiſh'd for the Water of the Well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate, 2 Sam. 23. In the ſame phraſe the ſame grace is promiſed by the Miniſtry of the Prophets, who propheſied of the grace that ſhould come unto us. Thus we read of the fair and flouriſhing ſtate of the Church, Iſa. 58. 11. Thou ſhalt be like a watred Garden, and like a ſpring of Water, whoſe Waters fail not; and of the fruitful ſtate of the Goſpel-Proſelytes, Joel 3. 18. All the Rivers of Judah ſhall flow with Waters, and a fountain ſhall come forth of the Houſe of the Lord, and ſhall water the Valley of Shittim. Which promiſes that they are underſtood of the grace of Sanctification, the Prophet Ezekiel ſheweth plainly▪ Ezek. 36 25. I will ſprinkle clean Water upon you, and ye ſhall be clean; from all your filthineſs, and from all your Idols will I cleanſe you: for ordinary elementary Water cannot cleanſe men from Idols. The Prophet Iſaiah alſo puts it out of doubt, whoſe Prophecy, together with the interpretation of it, we find both in one verſe, Iſa. 44. 3. I will pour water upon him that is thirſty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon thy Seed, and my Bleſſing upon thine Off-ſpring. By the ſame Ceremony the Goſpel-Diſpenſation ſhadows out the ſame Myſtery, in the Sacrament of Baptiſm; and by the ſame phraſe, our Saviour offers and promiſes the ſame Grace, Joh. 7. 37. If any man thirſt, let him come unto me and drink: and his Apoſtles after him, who in alluſion to Water, call this Grace the waſhing of Regeneration, Tit. 3. 5. To which I might adde 1 Pet. 3. 21. and many other Texts, if it needed.
Now as the grace of God is compared to Fire, becauſe of its refining nature, and conſuming the droſs and refuſe of Luſt in the Soul; and to other things for other reaſons; ſo is it compared to Water, eſpecially for thoſe two properties, viz. Cleanſing and quenching. For obſerve this by the way, that it is a very injurious thing to the holy Ghoſt, to preſs the Metaphors which he uſeth in Scripture, further than they do naturally & freely ſerve. Neither are we to ſtick in the letter of the Metaphor, but to attend unto the ſcope of it. If we tenaciouſly adhere to the phraſe, wanton wits will be ready to quarrel with abſurdities, and ſo unawares run into ſtrange blaſphemies: They will cry out preſently, How can Fire waſh, when they read that of the Prophet. Iſa. 4. 4. The Lord will waſh away the filth of the Daughter of Sion, by the Spirit of Burning? But who art thou, O man, that wilt teach him to ſpeak, who formed the Tongue? The Spirit of God intends the vertue and property of things when he names them, and that we muſt mainly attend to.
Firſt therefore, by the phraſe Water, is the Cleanſing nature of Religion commended to us: It is the undefiling of the Soul, which Sin and Wickedneſs hath polluted: Sin is oft deſcribed in Scripture by filthineſs, loathſomneſs, abomination, uncleanneſs, a ſpot, a blemiſh, a ſtain, a pollution; which indeed is a moſt proper deſcription of it. The ſpots of Leproſie, and the ſcurff of the fowleſt ſcurvy are beauty ſpots in compariſon of it: Job upon the Dunghil, furniſhed cap-a-pe with ſcabs and boils, was not half ſo loathſome as goodly Abſalom, in whoſe Body there was no blemiſh from the ſole of his foot to the crown of his head; but his Soul was ſtained with the ſanguine ſpots of malice and revenge, and feſtred with the loathſome Carbuncle and Tumour of Ambition. Lazarus lying at the gates full of raw and running ſores, was a far more lovely object in the pure Eyes of God, than dame Jezabel looking out at the window, adorned with ſpots and paints. If the beſt of a godly man that he hath of his own, even his Righteouſneſs, be as a filthy rag, Iſa. 64. 6. Whence ſhall we borrow a phraſe ſoul enough to deſcribe the worſt of a wicked man, even his wickedneſs; I need ſay no more of it, I can ſay no worſe of it, than to tell you it is ſomething contrary to God, who is the eternal Father of Light, who is Beauty, and Brightneſs, and Glory it ſelf; or to give it you in the Apoſtle's phraſe, Rom. 3. 23. a falling ſhort of the glory of God. Which hath made me many times to wonder, and almoſt ready to cry out with the Prophet, Be aſtoniſhed, O ye Heavens at this, when I have ſeen poor, ignorant, wicked, and prophane Wretches, paſſing by a perſon or a family viſited with ſome loathſome Diſeaſe, in a mixture of fear and diſdain, ſtopping their Noſes, and haſtning away; when their own Souls have been more vile than the dung upon the Earth, ſpotted with Ignorance and Atheiſm, ſwollen with the riſings of Pride and Self-will, and contempt of God and his holy Image. This might well be a matter of wonder to any man, till he conſider with himſelf, that one part of theſe mens uncleanneſs, is that very blindneſs which keeps them from diſcerning it: I ſpeak principally of the defilement of the Soul; though indeed the ſame do pollute the whole Converſation: Every action ſpringing from ſuch an unclean Heart, thereby becomes filthy; even as Moſes his hand, put into his boſome became leprous, Exod. 4. or rather as one that is unclean by a dead body, defileth all that he toucheth, Hag. 2. 13.
Now Religion is the cleanſing of this unclean ſpirit and converſation; ſo that though the Soul were formerly as filthy & odious as Augeus his Stable, when once thoſe living Waters flow into it, and thorow it from the pure Fountain of Grace and Holineſs, the Spirit of our God, one may ſay of it as the Apoſtle of his Corinthians, 1 Cor. 6. 11. Such were ſome of you; but ye are waſhed, but ye are ſanctified, &c. The Soul that before was white as leproſie, is now white as Wool▪ Iſa. 1. 18. the Soul that before was like Moſes his hand, leprous as ſnow, is now like David's Heart, white as ſnow, yea, and whiter too, Pſal. 51. 7. Oh what a beauty and glory is upon that godly Soul that ſhines with the image and brightneſs of God upon it! Solomon in all his glory was not beautiful like ſuch a Soul; nay, I dare ſay, the ſplendor of the Sun in its greateſt ſtrength and altitude, is a miſerable glimmering, if it be compared with the Day-Star of Religion; that even in this Life ariſes in the heart, or if you will in the Prophets ſtile, the Sun of Righteouſneſs, which ariſeth with healing in his wings, upon them that fear the Name of God. To ſpeak without a Metaphor, the godly Soul having entertained into its ſelf the pure effluxes of Divine Light and Love, breathes after nothing more than to ſee more familiarly, and love more ardently, its inclinations are pure and holy, its motions ſpiritual and powerful, its delights high and heavenly; it may be ſaid to reſt in its love, and yet it may be ſaid that love will not ſuffer it to reſt, but is ſtill carrying it out into a more intimate union with its beloved object. What is ſaid of the Oyntment of Chriſts Name, Cant. 1. 3. is true of the Water of his Spirit, it is poured forth, therefore do the Virgins love him: Religion begets a chaſte and virgin-love in the Soul towards that bleſſed God that begot it, it bathes it ſelf in the Fountain that produc'd it, and ſuns it ſelf perpetually in the warm beams that firſt hatch'd it. Religion iſſues from God himſelf, and is ever iſſuing out towards God alone, paſſionately breathing with the holy Pſalmiſt, Whom have I in Heaven but thee? In Earth there is none that I deſire beſide thee! The Soul that formerly may be ſaid to have lain among the Pots, by reaſon of its filthineſs, is now as the wings of a Dove covered with ſilver, and her Feathers with yellow gold: the Soul that formerly may be ſaid to have ſitten down by the fleſh pots of Egypt, in regard of its ſenſual and earthly Loves, being redeemed by the almighty grace of God, is upon its way to the holy Land, haſtning to a Country, not earthly but heavenly, Heb. 11. This pure Principle being put into the Soul, puts it upon holy Studies, indites holy Meditations, directs it to high and noble ends, and makes all its embraces to be pure and chaſte, labouring to compaſs God himſelf, which before were adulterous & idolatrous, free for ſin, and ſelf, and the world, to lodge and lie down in. In a word, this Offſpring of Heaven, this Kings Daughter, the godly Soul, is all glorious within; yea, and outwardly too, ſhe is cloathed with wrought gold, Pſal. 45. 13. Her faith within, is more precious than gold, 1 Pet. 1. 7. and her Converſation curiouſly made up of an Embroidery of good Works, ſome of P…ety, ſome of Charity, ſome of Sobriety, but all of Purity, ſhineth with more noble and excellent ſplendor, than the high Prieſts Garments and Breſt-plate ſpangled with ſuch variety of precious Stones. This precious Oyntment, this holy Ʋnction, as the Apoſtle calls it, 1 John 2. 20. is as diffuſive of it ſelf and ten thouſand times more fragrant than that of Aaron ſo much commended in Pſal. 133. that ran down from his head upon his beard, and from thence upon the skirts of his garment. Not my feet only, but my hands and my head, Lord; ſaid Peter, John 13. Not well knowing what he ſaid; but the Soul that is truly ſenſible of the excellent purity which is cauſed by Divine Waſhings, longs to have the whole man, the whole Life alſo made partaker of it, and cries, Lord not my head only, not my heart only, but my hands and my feet alſo, make me wholly pure as God is pure. In a word then, true Religion is the cleanſing of the Soul, and all the powers of it, ſo that whereas Murderers ſometimes lodged in it, now Righteouſneſs; the Den of Thieves, thieviſh Luſts and Loves, and Intereſts, and Ends, which formerly ſtole away the Soul from God its right Owner, is now become a Temple fit for the great King to dwell, and live, and reign in: And the whole Converſation is turned from its wonted vanity, worldlineſs, and iniquity, and is continually employed about things that are true, honeſt, juſt, pure, lovely, and of good report, Phil. 4. 8.
2. By the phraſe Water, the Quenching nature of Religion is commended to us. God hath indued the immortal Soul with a reſtleſs appetite and raging thirſt after ſome chief Good, which the heart of every man is continually groping after, and catching at, though indeed few find it, becauſe they ſeek it where it is not to be found. If we ſpeak properly, it is not gold, or ſilver, or popular applauſe, which the covetous or ambitious mind doth ultimately aim at, but ſome chief good, happineſs, ſufficiency, and ſatisfaction in theſe things: wherein they are more guilty of Blaſphemy than Atheiſm: for it is clear that they do not deny a ſupreme Good, (for that which men do chiefly and ultimately aim at, is their God, be it what it will) but they do verily blaſpheme the true God, when they place their happineſs there where it is not to be found, and attribute that fulneſs and ſufficiency to ſomething elſe beſides the living God. Sin hath not deſtroyed the nature and capacity of the rational Soul, but hath diverted the mind from its adequate object, and hath ſunk it into the Creature, where it wanders hither and thither, like a baniſhed man, from one Den and Cave to another, but is ſecure no where. A wicked man, who is looſed from his centre by ſin, and departed from the Fountain of his Life, flies low in his affections, and flutters perpetually about the Earth, and earthly Objects, but can find no more reſt for the foot of his Soul, than Noah's Dove could find for the ſole of her foot. Now Religion is the hand that pulls this wandring Bird into her own Ark from whence ſhe was departed; it ſettles the Soul upon its proper centre, and quenches its burning thirſt after happineſs. And for this reaſon it is called Water in Scripture, as appears from Iſa. 58. 11. The Lord ſhall ſatisfie thy Soul in drought; and of Iſa. 45. 3. I will pour Water upon him that is thirſty, and floods upon the dry ground; compared with John 7. 37. Jeſus ſtood and cried, ſaying, If any man thirſt, let him come unto me, and drink. Religion is a taſte of infinite Goodneſs which quenches the Souls thirſt after all other created and finite Good; even as that taſte which honeſt Nathaniel had of Chriſts Divinity, took him off from the expectation of any Meſſiah to come, and made him cry out preſently, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Iſrael, Joh. 1. 49. And every religious Soul hath ſuch a taſte of God even in this life, which though it do not perfectly fill him, yet doth perfectly aſſure him where all fulneſs dwells. But of this I ſhall have occaſion to diſcourſe more largely, when I come to treat of the conſequent of true Religion.
I proceed therefore to the ſecond phraſe whereby our Saviour deſcribes the nature of true Religion, It is a Well, a Fountain in the Soul,—Shall be in him a Well of Water. From which phraſe, to wave niceties, I ſhall only obſerve,
That Religion is a Principle in the Souls of men.
The Water that Chriſt pours into the Soul, is not like the Water that he pours upon our Streets, that waſhes them, and runs away; but it becomes a cleanſing Principle within the Soul it ſelf; every drop from God becomes a Fountain in man. Not as if man had a kind of foreign in himſelf, or were the firſt ſpring of his own motions towards God: I find not any Will in the natural man ſo divinely free. God hath indeed given this to his natural Son, his only begotten Son, to have life in himſelf, Joh. 5. 26. but not to any of his adopted ones. If you ask me concerning man in his natural capacity, I am ſo far quickning power, a principle of life in himſelf, that I muſt needs aſſert the contrary with the Apoſtle, That he i… dead in treſpaſſes and ſins, Epheſ. 2. 1. ſo far from thinking that he hath in himſelf a Well of Water, that I muſt call him, with the Prophet, Iſa. 44. thirſty and dry ground. As for the Regenerate man, I will not enter into that deep controverſie concerning the co-operation of mans Will with the Spirit of God, and its ſubordination to that in all gracious acts, or what a kind of cauſe of them this renewed will of man may be ſafely called, only I will affirm, That Repenting and Believing, are properly mans acts, and yet they are performed by Gods power; firſt Chriſt muſt give this Water, ere it can be a Well of Water in the Soul: Which is enough, I ſuppoſe to clear me from ſiding with either of thoſe parties, whether thoſe that aſcribe to God that which he cannot do, or thoſe that aſcribe to Free-will that which God alone can do. But I fear nothing from theſe Controverſies, for that way wherein I ſhall diſcourſe of this matter, will nothing at all border upon them. This then, I affirm, That Religion is a living Principle in the Souls of good men: I cannot better deſcribe the nature of Religion, than to ſay it is a Nature; for ſo does the Apoſtle ſpeak, or at leaſt allows us to ſpeak, when he calls it a participation of a divine Nature, 2 Pet. 1. 4. no…hing but a Nature can partake of a Nature; a mans Friend may partake of his Goodneſs and Kindneſs, but his Child only partakes of his Nature: He that begets, begets a Nature, and ſo doth he that begets again. The Sun enlightens the World outwardly, but it does not give a Sun like nature to the things ſo enlightened; and the Rain doth moyſten the Earth, and refreſh it inwardly, but it does not beget the nature of Water in the Earth: But this Water that I give (ſays our Saviour) becometh a Well of Water in the Soul. Religion is not any thing without a Man, hanging upon him, or annext to him; neither is it every ſomething that is in a man, (as we ſhall ſee anon) but it is a Divine Principle informing and actuating the Souls of good Men, a living and lively Principle, a free and flowing Principle, a ſtrong and laſting Principle, an inward and ſpiritual Principle. I muſt not ſpeak of all theſe diſtinctly in this place, for fear of interfering in my diſcourſe. When I ſay Religion is a Principle, a vital Form acting the Soul and all the powers of it, an inward nature, &c. Saith not the Scripture the ſame here, a Well or Fountain of Water? And elſewhere, a new man, the hidden man of the heart, the inward man, Epheſ. 4. 24, 1 Pet. 3. 4. As the Soul is called an inward man, reſpective to the Body, 2 Cor. 4. 16. ſo Religion is called an inward man, reſpective to the Soul it ſelf, Rom. 7. 22. It is a man within man. The man that is truly alive to God, hath in him not only inward parts, for ſo a dead man hath, but an inward man, an inward Nature and Principle. Again, It is called a Root, Job 19. 28. or if not there, yet plainly in Mark 4. 17. Where temporary Profeſſors are ſaid to have no root in themſelves. And this is by the ſame propriety of ſpeech, whereby a wicked principle is called, A Root of bitterneſs, Heb. 12. 15. Again, it is called a Seed, the Seed of God, 1 Joh. 3. 9. where this Seed of God is called an a biding or remaining principle. In the firſt Creation God made the Trees of the earth, having their ſeed in themſelves, Gen. 1. 11. and in the New Creation, theſe trees of Righteouſneſs, of Gods planting, are alſo made with ſeed in themſelves, though not of themſelves: it is ſaid to be the Seed of God indeed, but remaining in the godly Soul. Again, it is called a Treaſure, in oppoſition to an Alms or Annuity, that laſteth but for a day or an year, as a Well of Water, in oppoſition to a Diſh of Water; and a Treaſure of the heart, in oppoſition to all outward and earthly treaſures, Matth. 12. 35. It is a treaſure affording continual expences, not exhauſted, yea encreaſed by expences; wherein it exceeds all treaſures in the World. By the ſame propriety of Speech, Sin is called a treaſure too, but it is an evil treaſure, as our Saviour ſpeaks in that ſame place. Do you not ſee what … ſtock of wickedneſs ſinful men have within themſelves, which although they have ſpent upon ever ſince they were born, yet it is not impaired, nay, it is much augmented thereby: And ſhall not the ſecond Adam beſtow ſomething as certain and permanent upon his Off-ſpring, as the firſt Adam conveyed to his Poſterity? Though men have ſomething without them to guide them in the way of life, yet it is ſome living principle within them, that does denominate them living Men. The Scripture will abundantly inform you which is the true Circumciſion, Col. 2. 11. the true Sacrifice to God, Pſal. 51. 17. And ind… …he Law it ſelf is not ſo much to … …ſidered as it was engraven in Tables of Stone, as being written in the heart, Jer. 31. 33. The Jews need not have taken up their reſt in the Law, conſidered as an outward Rule or Precept; for they knew, or might have known, that God requireth truth in the inward parts as one of themſelves, a Prophet and King of their own acknowledgeth, Pſal. 51. 6. But I doubt many Chriſtians are alſo ſick of the ſame Diſeaſe, whilſt they view the Goſpel as an Hiſtory, and an external diſpenſation; whereas the Apoſtle, when he oppoſeth it to the Law, ſeems altogether to make it an internal thing, a vital form and principle ſeated in the minds and ſpirits of men, 2 Cor. 3. The Law was an external Rule or Diſpenſation, that could not give Life, though it ſhewed the way to it, Gal. 3. 21. but the Goſpel in the moſt proper notion of it, ſeems to be an internal impreſſion from God, a living principle whereby the Soul is enabled to expreſs a real conformity to God himſelf. If we conſider the Goſpel in the Hiſtory of it, and as a piece of Book-Learning, it is as weak and impotent a thing as the Law was, and men may be as overly and formal in the profeſſion of this, as they were of that, which we ſee by daily ſad experience. But if we conſider the Goſpel, as an efflux of Life and Power from God himſelf upon the Soul, producing Life where-ever it comes, then we have a clear diſtinction between the Law and the Goſpel; to which the Apoſtle ſeems to refer, when he calls the Corinthians the Epiſtle of Chriſt, not written with ink, nor in Tables of Stone, but with the Spirit of the living God, in fleſhly Tables of the Heart, 2 Cor. 3 3. According to which notion of the Law and Goſpel, I think we may (with a learned man of our own) come to a good underſtanding of that tormented Text, Jer. 30. 31. quoted by the Apoſtle, Heb. 10. 8. This is the Covenant that I will make I will put my Law into their minds, &c. The Goſpel doth not ſo much conſiſt in verbis, as in virtute; a Divine Principle of Religion in the Soul, is the beſt Goſpel: And ſo Abraham and Moſes under the Law, were truly Goſpellers; and on the other hand, All carnal Chriſtians that converſe with the Goſpel only as a thing without them, are as truly legal, and as far ſhort of the Righteouſneſs of God, as ever any of the Jews were.
Thus we ſee that Religion is a Principle in the Souls of good Men.—Shall be in him a Well of Water.
We ſhall here now take notice of the difference between the true, and all counterfeit Religions. Religion is that pearl of great price, which few men are poſſeſſed of, though all men pretend to it, Laodicean-like, ſaying, they are rich, and need nothing, when indeed they are poor and have nothing. This then ſhall be the teſt by which at preſent we will a little try the counterfeit pearls. True Religion is an inward nature, an inward and abiding principle in the minds of good men, a well of water.
1. Then we muſt exclude all things that are meerly external; theſe are not it. Religion is not ſomething annex'd to the ſoul ab extra, but a new nature put into it. And here we ſhall glance at two things.
1. A godly ſoul does not find the whole of his ſoul lying without him. Religion does not conſiſt in external reformations, though never ſo many and ſpecious. A falſe and overly Religion may ſerve to tie mens hands, and reduce their outward actions to a fair ſeemlineſs in the eyes of men: but true Religion's main dominion and power is over the ſoul, and its buſineſs lies moſtly in reforming and purging the heart, with all the affections and motions thereof. It is not a battering Ram coming from without, and ſerving to beat down the out-works of open and viſible enormities of life; but enters with a ſecret and ſweet power into the ſoul it ſelf, and reduces it from its rebellious temper, and perſwades it willingly to ſurrender it ſelf, and all that is in it. Sin may be beaten out of the outward converſation, and yet retire and hide it ſelf in the ſecret places of the ſoul, and there bear rule as perfectly by wicked loves and luſts, as ever it did by prophane and notorious practices. A man's hands may be tied by ſome external cords caſt upon them, from viſible revenge, and yet murders may lodge in the temple of his heart, as murderers lodged in the Temple of old: mens tongues may be tied up from the foul ſin of giving fair words concerning themſelves, very ſhame may chaſtize them out of proud boaſtings, and ſelf-exaltings; when in the mean time they ſwell in ſelf-conceit, and are not afraid to bear an unchaſte and ſinful love towards their own perfections, and adore an image of ſelf ſet up in their hearts. What a fair out-ſide the Phariſee had, himſelf will beſt deſcribe, (for indeed it is one of his properties to deſcribe himſelf) Luke 18. 11. God, I thank thee that I am not, &c. but if you will have a draught of his inſide, you may beſt take it from our Saviour, Matth. 23. Neither doth Religion conſiſt in external performances, though never ſo many, and ſeemingly ſpiritual. Many profeſſors of Chriſtianity, I doubt, ſink all their Religion into a conſtant courſe of duties, and a model of performances, being more ſtrangers to the life, and ſtrength, and ſweetneſs of true Religion. Thoſe things are needful and uſeful, and helpful, yea, and honourable, becauſe they have a relation and ſome tendency to God; but they are apt to become ſnares and idols to ſuperſtitious minds, who conceit, that God is ſome way gratified by theſe, and ſo they take up their reſt in them. That Religion, that only varniſhes and beautifies the outſide, tunes the Tongue to Prayer and Conference, inſtructs and extends the Hands to Diligence and Almeſdeeds, that awes the Converſation into ſome external Righteouſneſs o… Devotion, is here excluded, as alſo by the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 13. Much leſs can that paſs for Religion, that ſpends it ſelf about Forms, and Opinions, and Parties, and many diſputable points, which we have ſeen ſo much of in our own Generation. The Religion that runs upon modes, and turns upon intereſts, as a door turns upon its hinges, is a poor narrow ſcant thing, and may eaſily view it ſelf at once, all together from firſt to laſt. Men may be as far from the Kingdom of Heaven in their more ſpiritual Forms, and Orthodox Opinions, as they were in their more carnal and erroneous, if they take up their reſt in them: Neither is it the purſuing of any intereſt that will denominate them religious, but the grand intereſt of their Souls.
2. A godly Soul in his more inward and ſpiritual acts, hath not his motive without him: For a man may be ſomewhat more inward in his motions, and yet as outward in his motives as the former. Religions acts and gracious motions are not originally and primarily cauſed by ſome weights hung upon the Soul either by God or men, neither by the worldly Bleſſings which God gives, nor the heavy afflictions which he ſends. The Wings by which the godly Soul flies out towards God, are not waxt to him, as the Poets feign Icarus's to have been; but they grow out of himſelf, as the wings of an Eagle that flies ſwiftly towards Heaven: On the other ſide, a Soul may be preſs down unto humiliation under the heavy weight of Gods Judgements, that has no mind to ſtoop, no ſelf-denying or ſelf-debaſing diſpoſition in it. Thus you may ſee Jehu flying upon the Wings of Ambition and Revenge, born up by ſucceſſes in his Government; and his Predeceſſor Ahab bowing down mournfully under an heavy Sentence. The Laws, and Penalties, and Encouragements, and Obſervations of men, do ſometimes put a weight upon the Soul too, but they beget a more ſluggiſh, uneven, and unkindly motion in it. You may expect that under this head I ſhould ſpeak ſomething of Heaven and Hell; and truly ſo I may very pertinently, for I think they do belong to this place. If you take Heaven properly, for a ſull and glorious union to God, and fruition of him, and Hell for an eternal ſeparation and ſtragling from the Divinity, and ſuppoſe that the love of God, and the fear of living without him, be well drunk into the Soul, then verily theſe are pure and religious Principles: But if we view them as things meerly without us, and reſerved for us, and under thoſe common carnal notions of delectableneſs and dreadfulneſs, they are no higher nor better motives to us, than the carnal Jews had in the Wilderneſs, when they turned their Backs upon Egypt, where they had been in bondage, and ſet their Faces towards Canaan, where they hoped to find Milk and Honey, Peace, Plenty and Liberty. A Soul is not carried to Heaven, as a Body is carried to the Grave, upon mens Shoulders; it is not born up by Props, whether humane or divine; nor carried to God in a Charior, as a man is carried to ſee his Friend: The holy fire of arden… Love wherein the Soul of Elijah had been long carried up towards God, was ſomething more excellent, and indeed more deſirable, than the Fiery Chariot by which his Body and Soul were tranſlated together. Religion is a ſpring of motion which God hath put into the Soul it ſelf.
And a… all things that are external, whether actions or motives, are excluded in this Examination which we make of Religion: So neither,
2. Muſt we allow of every thing that is internal, to be Religion. And therefore,
1. It is not a fit, a ſtart, a ſudden paſſion of the mind, cauſed by the power and ſtrength of ſome preſent Conviction in the Soul, which in a hot mood will needs make out after God in all haſte. This may fitly be compared to the raſh and rude motion of the Hoſt of Iſrael, who being chidden for their ſlothfulneſs over night, roſe up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the Mountain, ſaying, Lo▪ we be here, and will go up unto the place which the Lord hath promiſed, for we have ſinned, Numb. 14. 40. And indeed it …ares with theſe men oftentimes as it did with thoſe, both as to the undertaking, and as to the ſucceſs; their motion is as ſinful as their ſtation; and their ſucceſs is anſwerable, they are driven back and diſcomfited in their enterprize. Nay, though this paſſion might ariſe ſo high as to be called an extaſie or a rapture, yet it deſerves not the name of Religion: For Religion is (as one ſpeaks elegantly) like the natural hea… that is radicated in the hearts of living Creatures, which hath the dominion of the whole body, and ſends forth warm Blood and Spirits, and vital nouriſhment into every part and Member, it regulate… and orders the motions of it in a due and even manner. But theſe extatical Soul…, though they may blaze like a Comet, and ſwell like a torrent or land-flood for a time, and ſhoot forth freſh and high for a little ſeaſon, are ſoon extinguiſhed, emptied, and dried up, becauſe they have not a Principle, a ſtock to ſpend upon, or as our Saviour ſpeaks, no root in themſelves. Theſe mens motions and actions bear no more proportion to Religion, than a Land-flood that ſwells high, and runs ſwiftly, but it is only during the rain, or in the Scripture-phraſe, no more than a morningdew that ſoon paſſes away, (Hoſ. 6. 4.) is like a Well or Fountain of Water.
2. If Religion be a Principle, a new Nature in the Soul, then it is not a mee… Mechaniſm…, … piece of Art. Art imitates Nature; nothing more ordinary (I doubt) than for Religion it ſelf, that new Nature, to go into an Art. I need not tell you, how all the external acts and ſhootings forth of Religion, may be diſſembled and imitated by Art, and be acted over by a mimical apiſh Phariſ…, who finds nothing at all of the gentle and mighty hea…, not the divine and noble life of it in his own Soul, whereby he may fairly deceive the credu…ous World, as I have partly hinted already. But it is poſſible (I wiſh it be not common) for men that are ſomewhat more convinced, enlightened, and affected, to imitate the very power and ſpirit of Religion, and to deceive themſelves too, as if they poſſeſt ſome true living Principle; and herein they exceed the moſt exquiſite Painters. Now this may be done by the power of a quick and raiſed Fancy; men hearing ſuch glorious things ſpoken of Heaven, the City of the great King, the New Jeruſalem, may be carried out by the power of ſelf-Love, to wiſh themſelves there, being mightily taken with a conceit of the place. But how ſhall they come at it? Why they have ſeen in Books, and heard in diſcourſes, of certain ſigns of Grace, and evidences of Salvation; and now they ſet their fancies on work, to find or make ſome ſuch things in themſelves. Fancy is well acquainted with the ſeveral Affections of Love, Fear, Joy, Grief, which are in the Soul, and having a great command over the animal Spirits, it can ſend them forth to raiſe up theſe Affections, even almoſt when it liſteth; and when it hath raiſed them, it is but putting to ſome thoughts of God and Heaven, and then theſe look like a handſome platform of true Religion drawn in the Soul; which they preſently view, and fall in love with, and think they do even taſte of the powers of the world to come, when indeed it is nothing but a ſelf-fulneſs and ſufficiency that they feed upon. Now you may know this artificial Religion by this; Theſe men can vary it, alter it, enlarge it, ſtraiten it, and new mold it at pleaſure, according to what they ſee in others, or according to what themſelves like beſt; one while acting over the Joy and Confidence of ſome Chriſtians, anon the Humiliation and Brokenneſs of others. But this fanciful Religion, proceeding indeed from nothing but low and carnal conceits of God and Heaven, is of a flitting and vaniſhing nature. But true Chriſtians are gen…y, yet powerfully moved by the natural force of true Goodneſs, and the beauty of God, and do move on ſtedily and conſtantly in their way to him, and purſuit of him. The Spirit of Regeneration in good men, ſpreads it ſelf upon the underſtanding, and ſweetly derives it ſelf through the will and affections, which makes true Religion to be a conſiſtent and thriving principle in the Soul, as not being acted upon the ſtage of imagination, but upon the higheſt powers of the Soul it ſelf: and may be diſcerned by the evenneſs of its motions, and the immortality of its nature: for a good man though indeed he cannot go on alwayes with like ſpeed and cheerfulneſs in his way, yet is not willing at any time to be quite out of it.
By this ſame nature of true Religion, you may examine all thoſe ſpurious and counterfeit Religions, that ſpring from a natural belief of a Deity, from convictions, obſervations, fleſhly and low apprehenſions of Heaven, booklearning, and the precepts of men, as the Prophet calls them, and the reſt, which are ſeated in the fancie, and ſwim in the brain; whoſe effect is but to gild the outward man, or at beſt, but to move the ſoul by an external force, in an unn…tural, inconſtant and tranſient manner. In a word, All theſe pretenders to Religion may ſeem to have water, but they have no well; as there are others, deep men, principled indeed with learning, policy, ingenuity, &c. but not with true goodneſs, whom the Apoſtle calls Wells, but without Water, 2 Pet. 2. 7. But the truly godly, and Godlike ſoul hath in it ſelf a principle of pure Religion—The water that I ſhall give him, ſhall be a well of water, ſpringing up into Eternal Life.